Staff Reporter

MUSCAT: Whether it is sending home a poor Bangladeshi worker or treatment of a patient with medical complications, or helping expatriates with visa issues, Mo-hammed Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan, 54, is always ready to help his com-patriots in Oman.

“Thanks to the social club, we are able to deal with different situ-ations,” Bhuiyan told the Times of Oman.

The President of the Bangladesh Social Club in Oman has been run-ning a travel agency and offering Haj and Umrah packages for the past 35 years. He also runs a petrol

pump in Oman. When he is free from his daily business responsi-bilities, he is seen at the club office in Ruwi signing papers, or meet-ing club members, or advising what he says “gullible Bangladeshi workers” resentful of brokers back home.

Big promises“This is one of the big issues here. We get to meet Bangladeshis, who have been sent by brokers of small companies on the promise of great jobs, permanent visas, hefty salaries and what not. When they reach Oman, they find a different world out here,” he stated.

Such workers, Bhuiyan said, are

either sent back home with free tickets or taken care of until they adjust in Oman.

Bhuiyan has also helped in the repatriation of hundreds of illegal workers.

“Thank God our embassy and Oman’s Ministry of Manpower are always there to help in such ef-forts,” he said.

The club also helps poor Bangla-deshis with serious medical condi-tions in getting free treatment at various hospitals.

“Yesterday, we came to know about a poor Bangladeshi, who needed immediate hospitalisation. We got him free treatment. Nor-mally, such a treatment would cost

OMR1,500. But the club made ef-forts and got him free treatment,” Bhuiyan said.

Monetary helpRecently, the club got monetary help from the government for the treatment of a newborn baby, who had a hole in his heart.

“The baby is being treated at the Royal Hospital,” he said.

Bhuiyan’s efforts have seen the club finally acquire land, where a new social club would come up soon. He said that more branches are coming up in Salalah, Sur and other areas of the country, “which will help us reach out and help more Bangladeshis in Oman.”

44250

TUESDAY, December 15, 2015 / 3 Rabi Al Awal 1437 AH timesofoman.com wtimesofoman.com facebook.com/timesofoman twitter.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company

We repeat our call to the private sector to take the lead in this respect and to work hard with a high national spirit towards increasing the level of Omanisation in both the large and small enterprises and companies in the private sector.

Before The Council of Oman, 2001

FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTYTHE SULTAN

‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’

HM receives thanks from Bahrain, AlgeriaMUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received a cable of thanks from His Majesty King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, in reply to His Maj-esty’s condolences cable on the death of Sheikh Issa bin Ali bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

In his cable, King Issa ex-pressed his utmost thanks and appreciation for His Majesty’s sincere condolences and sympa-thy, praying to the Allah the Al-mighty to rest the deceased’s soul in peace and protect His Majesty against all harms.

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin

Said has also received a cable of thanks form President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of People’s Democrat-ic Republic of Algeria in reply to His Majesty’s congratulatory ca-ble on the occasion of his county’s National Day.

In his cable, President Boute-flika expressed his utmost thanks and appreciation for His Majesty the Sultan’s congratu-lations and best wishes, praying to Allah the Almighty to grant His Majesty good health and well-being to achieve further progress and prosperity for the Omani people. -ONA

C A B L E S

FAHD INAUGURATES NATIONAL MUSEUMHis Highness Sayyid Fahd

bin Mahmoud Al Said,

Deputy Prime Minister for

the Council of Ministers,

on Monday patronised

over the opening cer-

emony of the National

Museum in Muscat. The

opening of the museum

coincides with Oman’s

45th National Day celebra-

tions. -ONA See also >A4

FOR MORE PHOTOS

‘Regulate our fares’, say taxi drivers to officials

TARIQ AL HAREMI tariqh@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Taxi drivers are call-ing for the unification of transport services in the Sultanate under one umbrella for regulating fares, creating designated parking sta-tions and monitoring taxi activity.

Soon after the launch of Mwasalat, taxi drivers are saying they have been negatively affected by the introduction of the low-cost bus service which has prompted many passengers to travel by the bus rather than take taxis.

During the trial period, Mwasalat transported passengers for free which did not sit well with taxi drivers.

“The trial period after the

launch of Mwasalat affected us greatly,” said Suleiman Al Jardani, one of six taxi drivers who have been elected by more than 600 taxi drivers to speak for them.

“Who will refuse a ride for free? We have financial obligations by paying car instalments, whether they are minibuses or saloons. How will we pay our bills and feed our family? Some of us have jobs but the majority doesn’t,” he added.

On the list of requests is the

establishment of a union consist-ing of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Muscat Municipality, and the Directorate General of Traffic, providing des-ignated parking areas, and Oman National Transport Company (ONTC) ticket prices to be equal to that of taxis.

Many taxi drivers are demand-ing price regulations to provide a fair deal to passengers.

While the ‘good guys’ are com-pliant to the agreed fares, the ‘bad

guys’ often rip off unsuspecting passengers.

Al Jardani said that the ONTC charges 300 baizas to transport passengers from Ruwi to Ma-bellah, while minibuses and sa-loons charge 800 and 900 baizas respectively.

Similarly, the minibus charges 400 baizas from the Azaiba traffic lights to the pedestrian crossing across the way from Zubair Auto-motive to the Shell station at the highway.

To Al Hail, it will cost just 500 baizas, as per the agreed pricing among the drivers.

An official from the Ministry of Transport and Communications told Times of Oman that taxis pose problems and cause accidents while Mwasalat service is better and safer.

Price regulationsIn response, Al Jardani said, “Most of the taxi drivers are not compliant because there isn’t a governing body to regulate prices.”

He added, “For years, we have been asking for price regulations; and if there would have been one, we would have followed it.

“One taxi driver was not com-pliant with the agreed fare, so we took to the public prosecution af-ter we heard that he had hiked his cab fare.”

Adil Al Balushi, another taxi driver said that some passengers ask for a receipt from the taxi. “Some people ask me for a receipt and I will be glad to give them one, but I can’t because the prices are not approved.”

When the Times of Oman asked whether they accept the idea of being monitored, Al Jardani, without hesitation, said they wel-come the idea since it would be safer for the passenger and them-selves as well. >A6

A single regulator

for all transport

should be created,

say drivers, whose

income has been hit

by new bus services

A pillar of support for Bangladeshi workers in distress

S E R V I C E T O C O M M U N I T Y

Bangladesh Social Club presi-

dent Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan.

A7Two top GCC commanders killed in Yemen

OMANHM honour for officers

1His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Supreme Commander of

the Armed Forces, conferred the excellent service and Royal commendation medals on commissioned and non-commissioned officers. >A6

MARKET‘Islamic banks must focus on innovation’

2Islamic banking institutions in Oman need to develop human

resources, identify the opportunities and help increase public awareness, said Central Bank of Oman Executive President Hamoud bin Sangour Al Zadjali. >B1

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

13 burglars arrested for 81 cases of theftTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Three gangs compris-ing 13 burglars have been arrested in North Al Batinah for allegedly committing 81 thefts, a top Royal Oman Police (ROP) official an-nounced on Monday.

The official said that only 33 of the thefts had been reported to the police headquarters in North Al Batinah, while there were no complaints for the remaining crime incidents.

According to the official, the criminals had targeted houses, commercial shops and companies

and had also robbed people inside their cars. “The accused were caught erasing evidence at a crime scene,” the official said.

After investigations, the sus-pects were arrested and detained by the police.

Cases have been filed against all the accused and they have been referred to the public prosecution for further investigations before being produced in court.

Khat smuggling Meanwhile, police officers in Dho-far foiled an attempt to smuggle 1,495 bundles of the (Khat) drug,

which was being brought to the Sultanate from sea using a boat.

“The three accused were Arab nationals,” ROP said.

ROP has also advised citizens and residents to be wary and cau-

tious and report any crime to the nearest police station. They must make sure not to tamper with the crime scene, ROP added.

50 infiltratorsThe ROP, in collaboration with other military and security de-partments, last week arrested 50 infiltrators of different nationali-ties in a number of wilayats.

They had all entered the Sultan-ate illegally.

The ROP also deported 83 in-filtrators after taking necessary legal actions, in coordination with their respective embassies.

N O R T H A L B A T I N A H

CONCERNED: Taxi drivers are complaining of losses in earnings since Mwasalat’s launch. – Supplied photo

MARKETPort of Salalah opens OMR55m liquid berth

3A new deep-water general cargo and liquid bulk terminal has been

opened by the Port of Salalah in a major step to a make it a Gulf regional gateway port and trans-shipment hub on the Arabian Sea. >B3

A2 T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

OMAN

Unlicensed training institutes ordered to shut operations

Staff Reporter

MUSCAT: Private training insti-tutes without licences have been asked to immediately halt opera-tions across the country, a state-ment from the Ministry of Man-power said on Monday.

“The Ministry of Manpower notifies all individuals and estab-lishments that it’s not allowed to

advertise, permit or execute any training programme without get-ting a licence for practising train-ing activity in pursuant to Article (3) of the Regulations on Training Institutions issued by Ministe-rial Decision no 490/2010 on 10/10/2010,” the statement read.

“Executing such unapproved activities and programmes is an explicit breach of the regula-

tions,” the ministry warned.

AppealThe statement also called on citi-zens and residents not to enrol in any academic training pro-gramme marketed by private training institutions and inves-tigate the presence of accredited trainers for such programmes through the organisational struc-ture approved and displayed in the reception halls of each accredited private training institution.

“The ministry is ready to clarify all procedures adopted by the pri-vate training institutions,” it stated.

It’s not allowed to advertise, permit or

execute any training programme without

a licence, the Ministry of Manpower has

notified all individuals and establishments

Oman’s telecom regulator to launch updated online application systemTimes News Service

MUSCAT: An updated online ap-plication system will be launched soon by the Type Approval Depart-ment, Oman’s Telecommunica-tions Regulatory Authority (TRA) announced.

Following this, the current sys-

tem will be shut down from 3pm on December until 7am on De-cember 21. TRA has advised its customers to avoid inconvenience, and to submit all urgent applica-tions before 3pm on December 16.

It has also asked authorised sig-natories to ensure that they have the latest PKI-enabled ID, resi-

dent and SIM cards, as well as en-sure their activation through the e.Oman kiosks that are located at several commercial centres.

For any further clarifications, customers can contact the Tel-ecommunications Regulatory Au-thority’s Type Approval Depart-ment at ta@tra.gov.om

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

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

Exhibition on HM’s biography heldMUSCAT: An exhibition con-taining photographs of His Maj-esty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, was inaugurated by Sayyid Badr bin Saud bin Har-ib Al Busaidi, Minister Responsi-ble for Defence Affairs.

Armed Forces Day Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF) mu-seum recently organised the exhi-bition themed ‘Leader Biography and Country Renaissance’, on the occasion of the Armed Forces Day, which falls on December 11 every year.

The chief guest toured the various sections of the exhibi-tion that displayed a collection of photographs of His Majesty the Sultan and reflected scenes

from Royal visits, His Majesty’s inspection visits to military sites, and His Majesty while presiding over the national celebrations and military parades.

The exhibition also includes other photographs that narrate the generous care His Majesty has devoted to nation-building.

Painters and artists repre-senting personnel at SAF, Royal Guard of Oman (RGO), Engi-neering Services and Oman In-novators Society took part in the exhibition.

The opening ceremony was attended by Mohammed bin Nasser Al Rasbi, secretary-gen-eral of the Ministry of Defence; Lieutenant-General Ahmed bin Harith Al Nabhani, SAF chief of staff; Major General Mattar bin

Salim Al Balushi, commander of the Royal Army of Oman (RAO); Air Vice Marshal Mattar bin Ali Al Obaidani, commander of the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO); Rear Admiral Abdul-lah bin Khamis Al Ra’eesi, com-mander of the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO).

Major General Khalifa bin Abdullah Al Junaibi, RGO com-mander and Major General Salim bin Musallam Qatan, comman-dant of the National Defence Col-lege also attended the event. - ONA

A R M E D F O R C E S D A Y

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

A3

OMANT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Share your world with us on Instagram

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY SHARE YOURPHOTOGRAPHS

Plans for 3 new Indian schools in Sultanate

Times News Service

MUSCAT: To cater to the grow-ing needs of the Indian commu-nity, the Indian School Board in Oman is working on opening new schools in Al Amerat, Al Ansab and Barka, Wilson V. George, chairman, board of directors of Indian Schools in the Sultanate of Oman, said.

He also informed that a branch of the Indian School Muscat (ISM) in Ghubrah will open from the next academic year.

“The school for smaller classes of ISM at Ghubrah will open in April 2016 and will cater to more than 300 students,” he told the Times of Oman on Monday.

Expansion projectsThe capacity enhancement planned for Indian schools is in addition to the current expan-sion projects ongoing at existing schools, such as the Indian School Al Maabela, which inaugurated its Phase-III building recently.

The Indian School Al Maabe-la’s extension comprises 12 class-rooms, with a multi-purpose hall that can accommodate more than

500 students. Every year, there is heavy rush for admissions at Indian schools, where the board receives around 5,000 applicants.

“Hopefully, with the new schools coming up and the capac-ity increases in existing schools, the pressure on admissions will ease and we may be able to get rid of the two-shift system in some of the existing schools in the near future,” George said.

Available seatsThe number of seats available for the 2014-2015 academic year was around 3,000.

“But we had to accommodate around 5,000 students, which was very challenging. However, we could take up that challenge by creating additional seats with the help of the Ministry of Educa-tion,” he added.

Indian schools are the largest community schools in Oman, where over 40,000 students are enrolled. The third phase of the Indian School Al Maabela school building was officially inaugurat-ed by George.

The other guests present on the occasion included Thulasi-das, director-in-charge, board of directors, Indian School in Oman, Kiran Asher, vice-chairman, board of directors, Indian schools in Oman, Ambujakshan M. K, president, School Management Committee ISAM, and members of the School Management Com-mittee, ISAM were present.

In his inaugural address, George thanked and praised the School Management Task Force Committee members for being there throughout and appreci-ated the progress made.

Indian School

Board is working on

opening new schools

in Al Amerat, Al

Ansab and Barka

British School Muscat student is ‘UK Young Geographer of the Year’Times News Service

MUSCAT: Rohan Woodcock, a Year 6 pupil at the British School Muscat (BSM), performed ex-ceptionally well in the Key Stage 2 category (students aged 9-11) of the United Kingdom’s Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) ‘Young Geographer of the Year 2015’ competition, and recently attended the ceremony in London to receive his award.

This is the second year BSM has sent its students to participate in the Society’s Young Geographer of the Year competition and also its

second successful in the competi-tion, with Flurina Briner receiving a commendation award last year in the KS2 category.

This year’s competition was an opportunity for geography pupils

to explore why Antarctica matters. To celebrate the centenary of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition, students were also asked to respond to the question, ‘Why does Antarctica matter?’

Scientific endeavourDr Rita Gardner CBE, director of the Royal Geographical Soci-ety (with IBG), said: “Shackleton’s amazing story of leadership and survival is part of the UK’s great Antarctic heritage and tradition of scientific endeavours. Antarc-tica is still vitally important today, not least for its role in helping us

understand climate change. We asked school children to consider the importance of Antarctica and have got a fantastic response. Thousands of pupils from over 300 schools submitted entries to the competition recognising the im-portance of the world’s last great wilderness.”

In support of the competition, the society has asked a range of experts, who work on issues sur-rounding Antarctica, to tell us why Antarctica matters to them. The videos can be seen on the Royal Geographical Society’s #WhyDoe-sAntarcticaMatter? page.

AWARD

A4 T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

OMAN

Times News Service

MUSCAT: His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, Depu-ty Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers, on Monday patron-ised over the opening ceremony of the National Museum in the Gov-ernorate of Muscat.

The opening of the museum co-incides with the Sultanate’s cel-ebrations of the 45th Glorious Na-tional Day. Sayyid Fahd unveiled the plaque at the main entrance declaring open the National Muse-

um. Entry ticket no. “1” was issued to Sayyid Fahd.

Sayyid Fahd said the National Museum is a source of pride and one of the major achievements made during the blessed era of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said , who attaches great care to history, culture and heritage in this coun-try. “Oman is very rich in history and heritage and it is our duty to transfer them to our sons because they play an important role in our daily life in this country,” he added.

The entrance fees for Omanis

and residents in Oman are OMR1, and OMR5 for tourists.

The National Museum was es-tablished as per the Royal Decree No. (62/2013) issued on Muhar-ram 16, 1435 AH corresponding to November 20, 2013 to be a signifi-cant project tasked with preserv-ing the Omani heritage and mate-rial and non-material collectables of all manifestations of the history, culture and arts of the Sultanate, in a form that highlights the cultural, historical and cultural dimensions of the Sultanate.

National Museum aims to pre-serve the components of Omani cultural heritage by supporting re-search and scientific and histori-cal studies, and plans for the con-servation, in addition to education and community outreach, which is achieved through the Learning Center, which provides excellent educational services for all visitors and different age groups especially for children and students, as well as provision of services to visitors and special groups.

National Museum hosts the first

Museum Education Centre in the Sultanate and the first facilities for the preventive conservation, which are designed according to the standards of the International Council of Museums.

“Children and people with spe-cial needs can access the museum for free,” said Khawla Al Habsi, a supervisor at the National Muse-um while adding that the museum features advanced facilities for people with special needs, includ-ing people with visual and physical challenges, by employing the lan-guage of symbols (Braille) in Ara-bic as part of the museum’s open store system where a visitor can see live the stages of the archaeo-logical artefacts.

National Museum is the first public building in the Sultanate that includes advanced facilities for people with special needs, in-cluding the blind and persons with physical disability by using Braille language in Arabic, and open dis-play for direct interaction with its contents.

This is the first museum in the

Middle East that uses Braille lan-guage in Arabic in the context of the Arab interpretation of museum and open storage system. The construc-tion area of the museum is 13.700 square metres of which 4,000 square metres area is dedicated to 15 fixed display halls, including the Earth and Man Hall, Maritime History Hall, Hall of Arms, Hall of Civilizational Achievements, Aflaj Hall, Currency Hall, Prehistory Hall, Hall of Oman and the Outside World, Hall of Greatness of Islam, and Renaissance Hall along with a hall dedicated to temporary exhi-bition, which has been designed in accordance with the international regulations and standards used for this kind of facilities.

The museum contains more than 7,000 collectables distributed into various fixed display halls.

Sayyid Fahd, their highnesses, ministers and advisers toured the halls of the museum during which they were briefed by the museum staff. A documentary titled “Oman: Pearl of Orient in the Land of Hope”, was screened in the audio-

visual presentations hall using HD technology.

Oman aspires through this mu-seum to assume its prestigious position in the field of museum industry and keep pace with the technical and technological devel-opments in the museums sector by adopting the best standards and techniques used in the field of mu-seum management.

The museum will have its own website to allow researchers and scholars read the available research and studies and get ac-quainted with these items.

The museum, in comparison to similar projects in the region, has its roots in Omani history and stems from the soil of this country. It specializes in Omani cultural heritage through the ages as the exhibits are either Omani in origin or related to Oman.

Between 2010 and 2014, the mu-seum invited 30 experts and schol-ars from within and outside and was assisted by 21 archaeological missions for the preparation of the contents of the museum. -ONA

National Museum hosts the first Museum

Education Centre in Oman and facilities

for preventive conservation, which are

designed according to the standards of the

International Council of Museums

– ONA/Hasan Shaban Al Lawati

NATIONAL MUSEUM SHOWCASES RICH HERITAGE

SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT

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

A5

OMANT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Tweet all about it

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY LAUNCH TWITTER PAGE

SAYYID KHALID RECEIVES SAUDI ARABIAN AMBASSADOR Sayyid Khalid bin Hilal bin Saud Al Busaidi, Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court,

received in his office Eid Mohammed Al Thaqafi, ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the

Sultanate, on Monday. The meeting reviewed bilateral relations between Oman and Saudi

Arabia. — ONA

9 young creativewriters awarded

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Nine young writers were awarded by the Cultural Club in Al Qurm for their creative writings submitted as part of the ‘Penned Thoughts: Ali Mehdi’s young writers’ annual competi-tion, held recently under the pa-tronage of His Highness Sayyid Faisal bin Turki Al Said.

The competition was first initi-ated in 2014 to commemorate the late Omani poet, Ali Mehdi, who died at a very young age.

90 entries Nearly 90 entries were submit-ted covering three genres of po-etry, essay and short story from young writers aged between 16 and 23 years.

“Ali Mehdi’s Young Writers’ An-nual Competition, successfully managed over the past two con-secutive years to attract potential writers to come forward and be identified for their creative work,” said Mehdi, father of the late poet and member of the organising committee.

Mehdi added that the compe-tition aims to provide the right platform to talented youth to come forward and reflect their literary skills in the language they see fit.

Zahra Al Abri, Rana Al Sariri and Abir Al Busaidi were selected as winners in the poetry category,

while the winners in the essay cat-egory were: Ashwaq Al Maskery, Dvita Kapadia and Maryam Abdul Hamid.

Second consecutive timeFor the second consecutive time, Mahnoor Anees Khan won the first prize in the short story catego-ry, followed by Houriya Al Balushi and Dvita Kapadia. All winners were female.

Around 85 per cent of all par-ticipants were female. However, the male contribution reflected an increase of 8 per cent, compared to last year. The entrants were from different governorates in Oman, with Muscat leading with 47 per cent of the total participants.

The judging panel for this year consisted of Adrian Roscoe, Su-sanne Shunnaq, Faryal Ahmed, Adil Al Khafaji and Chandrika Balasubramanian. All the judges belong to reputable educational institutions and have volunteered for assessing the work of the youth and selected the winners, based on specific criteria for each category.

Award winning ceremony was co-sponsored by the Cultural Club and the National Youth Committee.

The competition was

first initiated in 2014

to commemorate the

late Omani poet, Ali

Mehdi, who died at a

very young age

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

31 universities take part in career fair at Indian schoolTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Some 31 reputed uni-versities and colleges from Aus-tralia, Germany, Dubai, the UK and the US participated in a Ca-reer Fair organised at the Indian School Al Ghubra auditorium on December 7.

The fair provided students and parents the opportunity to ex-plore a spectrum of disciplines.

Mohiuddin Mohammed Ali, director at the Galfar Engineer-ing and Contracting Company, was the chief guest on the occa-sion and inaugurated the Indian School Al Ghubra’s Career Fair 2015. Nitin Rajdawas was the guest speaker.

Setting goalsIn his address, the chief guest asked students to set goals for themselves and strive hard to achieve them. He insisted on students remaining focussed, dreaming big and never giving up their goals.

Guest Speaker Rajdawas, who is a Chartered Accountant, spoke about chartered accountancy as a field of study in great depth.

Good initiative Parents and students, who attend-

ed the fair, hailed the initiative as it helped them gain new insights into career options. It not only benefitted the students, but also offered them an excellent chance to map out their future courses and careers.

G H U B R A

EXPLORING OPTIONS: Parents and students, who attended the fair,

appreciated the initiative taken by the school. – Supplied photo

Turkish Embassy opens charity exhibition

A6

OMANT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

These kinds of exhibitions help in knowing

other countries’ culture and heritage

Sayyida Alia bint Thuwaini Al Said

HM honour conferred on officers for dedicated duty

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, conferred the excellent service and Royal commendation medals on commissioned and non-com-missioned officers and person-nel of the Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF), and other departments at the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Guard of Oman (RGO), in appreciation for their dedication

in serving their country and carry-ing out the sacred duty.

The excellent service and Roy-al commendation medals were conferred at Bait Al Falaj Camp on Monday by Sayyid Badr bin Saud bin Harib Al Busaidi, Min-ister Responsible for Defence Af-fairs.

Sayyid Badr congratulated the officers and personnel for this Royal honour. He urged them to

exert more efforts to develop this dear country under the wise lead-ership of His Majesty Sultan Qa-boos bin Said.

The medals presentation cer-emony was attended by Moham-med bin Nasser Al Rasbi, Secre-tary General of the Ministry of Defence, Lt.Gen Ahmed bin Harith Al Nabhani, SAF Chief of Staff, Maj.Gen Mattar bin Salim Al Bal-ushi, Commander of the Royal

Army of Oman (RAO), Air Vice Marshal Mattar bin Ali Al Obaid-ani, Commander of the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO), Rear Admiral Abdullah bin Khamis Al Ra’eesi, Commander of the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO), Maj. Gen Khalifa bin Abdullah Al Junaibi, RGO Commander and Maj. Gen Salim bin Musallam Qatan, Com-mandant of the National Defence College (NDC). -ONA

The Royal

commendation

medals were

conferred at Bait

Al Falaj Camp

ROYAL HONOUR: Sayyid Badr bin Saud bin Harib Al Busaidi, Minister Responsible for Defence Affairs, congratulated the officers and personnel for the honour. – ONA

Majlis, Iraqi Council discuss cooperationMUSCAT: A meeting of Majlis Al Shura and the Iraqi Council of Representatives was held on Monday, where they discussed the means of supporting the consultative cooperation be-tween the two countries at all levels, particularly in the legis-lative areas.

The Omani side was led by Khalid bin Hilal Al Ma’awali, Chairman of the Majlis Al Shu-ra and the Iraqi side was led by Dr. Saleem Al Jabouri, Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Repre-sentatives.

CooperationThe session was attended from the Omani side by Rashid bin Ahmed Al Shamsi, Deputy Chairman of the Majlis Al Shu-ra, Mohammed bin Abu Bakr Al Ghassani, Deputy Chairman of the Majlis Al Shura, members of the Majlis Al Shura Office and Sheikh Ali bin Nassir Al Mah-rouqi, Secretary General of the Majlis.

The Iraqi guest and his ac-companying delegation also toured the Council of Oman.

Dr. Saleem al-Jabouri, Speak-er of the Iraqi Council of Rep-resentatives and his accompa-nying delegation arrived on an official two-day visit to the Sul-tanate. -ONA

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

Mwasalat hits orange taxi businessSome drivers do illegal acts in the cabs which would put the coun-try’s reputation on the line but due to them decent drivers face problems, Al Jardani said.

“If there had been a govern-ing body for taxis, we would have complained against a driver for any wrongdoing but there isn’t one,” said Al Jardani.

“What we do is confront the driver and warn him about his ac-tions and his usual reply is ‘it is my car, and I will do as I like’,” added Al Jardani.

One of the requests that taxi drivers are making is the designa-tion of parking areas or stations for taxis in the Wilayats of Mus-cat, Barka, Bidbid, Samail and Quriyat. There are only three lo-cations in Muscat for taxi parking: Muttrah Corniche, Souq A’Seeb and Mabellah.

“We’ve been asking for parking areas for years. We need specific station for taxi drivers as it is our dream for passengers to get in the taxi comfortably just like any

other country in the world,” said Al Jardani.

“We have been prevented from parking in Ruwi near OK Center, in organised parking lanes. Now

there is a sign that says no parking at anytime,” he further added.

The orange taxis are being pos-sibly driven out of the business at the moment and one must wonder

how to counter the problem if the government does not act for the welfare of their citizens.

“There is a lot of competition, especially when Mwasalat came into the picture. I used to make OMR30 a day from Wadi Kabir to Ruwi before Mwasalat, now I’m lucky to make OMR3 a day. I haven’t had work for 5 days now,” said Sami Al Hadhrami, a dis-traught taxi driver.

Insurance payment“We are considering selling our taxis to pay off our insurance and feed our family,” he added, saying that the average insurance cost for minibuses are about OMR1,200.

Dr Nithin RS, CEO of Axis group of companies, suggested one solution would be to give free insurance and registration to all taxis and then utilise the taxi body space for private advertisement on monthly/per taxi rates which can be charged to private compa-nies as an additional income to Government.

R E V E N U E D I P S

< FROM

A1

STIFF COMPETITION: ONTC charges 300 baizas to transport

passengers from Ruwi to Mabellah, while minibuses and saloons

charge 800 and 900 baizas respectively. – Supplied photo

Staff Reporter

MUSCAT: A two-day charity ex-hibition titled the Turkish Char-ity Bazaar was opened by the em-bassy of the Republic of Turkey yesterday, in the premises of the Omani Women’s Association.

The exhibition was inaugurat-ed by Her Highness Sayyida Alia bint Thuwaini Al Said.

Culture and heritage “These kinds of exhibitions help in knowing other countries’ cul-ture and heritage. This is one way

to know what other countries pro-duce,” Sayyida Alia told the Times of Oman. “I have been to Turkey before but I have never seen these types of items here. They (Turk-ish Embassy) are doing an amaz-ing thing, moreover it’s for char-ity,” she added.

Charity BazaarUnique Turkish products, such as handicrafts, textiles, silverware and foodstuff were displayed and being sold at the Charity Bazaar. Most of the items exhibited have been brought by the Embassy

from various art centres in Tur-key. According to the Embassy officials, the revenue from this event will go to the benefit of chil-dren in need.

Sayyida Alia reiterated that such exhibitions should be en-couraged to identify the needy in different countries.

“I encourage having more of such exhibitions from different culture so that we get to know about that country,” she said.

She also added that after at-tending the exhibition, she has decided to visit the country again.

Raffle draw A raffle draw will be held at the end of the event for the visitors of the exhibition. The winners will be awarded a Muscat-Istanbul round trip for two persons via Turkish Airlines. Many voucher tickets from reputed brands in Muscat will be also distributed among the raffle draw winners.

The Charity Bazaar can be vis-ited between 10:30am and 8pm.

Many officials from other friendly countries, as well as spe-cial guests of the Turkish Embas-sy, attended the ceremony.

T U R K I S H P R O D U C T S

FOR THE BENEFIT OF CHILDREN: Most of the items exhibited at the Turkish Charity Bazaar have been brought by the Embassy from

various art centres in Turkey. – Mohammed Ali

Holy Quran contest

winners honoured

MUSCAT: Assigned by His Majes-ty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Salmi, Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, on Monday patronized over the honouring ceremony of the winners of the 25th edition of Sul-tan Qaboos Holy Quran Memoriza-tion Competition.

The ceremony was attended by His Eminence Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalili, Grand Mufti of the Sultanate, ministers, under-secretaries and judges.

The competition aims at urg-ing the Omanis to memorise the Holy Quran, learning from its

lessons and meanings, prepar-ing excellent reciters of the Holy Quran and enhancing the Sultan-ate’s presence at the international competitions for the Holy Quran memorisation.

Habib bin Mohammed Al Riy-ami, Secretary General of the Sultan Qaboos Higher Centre for Culture and Science (SQHCCS), said that the 25th edition of the competition witnessed a qualita-tive shift in terms of increasing number of the registered com-petitors that rose to 100 per cent compared to the previous compe-titions. -ONA

A S S I G N E D B Y H I S M A J E S T Y

A7

REGIONT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Top UAE, Saudi commanders killed in Yemen rocket strike

DUBAI: Two senior commanders from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were among doz-ens of Gulf, Yemeni and Sudanese soldiers killed in a rocket strike in Yemen as fighting flared before Tuesday’s peace talks, local media and Yemeni sources said.

The Tochka rocket strike on a Red Sea army camp south-west of the besieged city of Taiz early on Monday appears to be one of the bloodiest setbacks for Gulf forc-es in months of fighting against Houthi forces and Yemeni army units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Sultan Moham-med Ali Al Kitbi, an Emirati of-ficer, was killed near Taiz, Emirati state news agency WAM reported. Saudi Press Agency SPA said Colonel Abdullah Al Sahian and Kitbi “were martyred at dawn on Monday while shouldering their duties in overseeing operations to liberate Taiz”.

Photographs of Sahian, who had been decorated by Saudi-backed Yemeni President Ab-drabbo Mansour Hadi for bravery two days earlier, were displayed

by Saudi-owned Al Hadath televi-sion channel.

The Houthis said via their own media outlets that the two com-manders were among scores killed in a rocket attack near Bab Al Mandab on the Red Sea coast.

A source in Hadi’s forces con-firmed that a rocket had been fired at coalition forces in the Dhubab area, north of Bab Al Mandab and south-west of the city of Taiz, add-ing that “tens were killed” in a camp that houses Yemenis, Suda-nese, Emiratis and Saudis.

Saudi Arabia has led an Arab coalition in a military campaign

since late March to stop the Hou-this from taking complete con-trol of Yemen after they seized the capital Sanaa last year and advanced south towards the port city of Aden. The Saudi-led cam-paign has retaken Aden and the city of Marib, east of Sanaa, but has failed to oust the Houthis from Taiz or end attacks on the Saudi border that have killed scores of the kingdom’s soldiers.

Monday’s strike was the worst reported since more than 60 Saudi and Emirati troops were killed in September when another Tochka rocket hit the Al Safer air base near Marib in northeastern Yemen. The Houthis and Saleh’s former political party, the General People’s Congress, are sending representatives to Switzerland on Tuesday for talks with Yemen’s in-ternationally recognised govern-

ment under President Hadi.Alarmed by the rise of IS, under

pressure from the West and with stalemate on the battlefield, Yem-en’s civil war rivals are expected to launch their most serious peace efforts so far at UN-mediated talks in Geneva starting on Tues-day. The nine-month-old conflict between a Saudi-led Arab alli-ance and Houthis has outlasted two earlier UN attempts at peace making, caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and pushed Yemen towards total cha-os. Fuelling the urgency behind Tuesday’s talks is a perception in the West that the war is a danger-ous distraction diverting regional attention from what should be the pre-eminent task of fighting IS on its home turf and ending Syria’s larger war.

“There is an opportunity now

more than at any of the previous talks and negotiations to stop this war... to confront terrorism and challenges,” a spokesman for the Saudis’ adversary, the Houthi militia group, Mohammed Abdul Salam, said.

According to officials in the government of President Hadi, Western countries are keen to avoid a power vacuum that could give militants the haven they now enjoy in the southern port of Aden and other lawless areas. The newest branch of IS has ex-ploited the chaos to launch spec-tacular attacks in Yemen on both the mosques of the Houthis and senior officials and troops loyal to the government. “In recent weeks, Washington and London have ex-erted intense pressure on Presi-dent Hadi and the government side to make concessions and not to be extreme in terms of execut-ing the Security Council Resolu-tion,” one senior Yemeni govern-ment official told Reuters.

The official was referring to a UN Security Council Resolution in April that called on the Houthis to quit the capital, Sanaa, and oth-er cities they seized in late 2014 and early 2015. “There’s an inter-national inclination toward pre-serving the Houthis and allowing them to continue having an active political role, especially in terms of... confronting terrorism,” the of-ficial said.

Unstable ever since a 2011 re-volt toppled veteran president Saleh, Yemen finally plunged into civil war last year when the ex-leader joined forces with the Hou-this to seize power, triggering a Arab military intervention.

Neither side has prevailed mil-itarily and in the wake of a rash of attacks claimed by Islamic State, the United States has increased calls for the Gulf to divert their diplomatic and military attention away from Yemen back toward the militants’ main base in Syria and Iraq. — Reuters

Sultan Mohammed

Ali Al Kitbi, an

Emirati officer, and

Saudi officer Colonel

Abdullah Al Sahian

were among scores

killed in a rocket

attack near Bab Al

Mandab on the

Red Sea coast

Kerry to discuss Assad’s role in talks at MoscowPARIS: US Secretary of State John Kerry will use talks in Mos-cow on Tuesday to try to narrow differences with Russian leader Vladimir Putin over the role of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in any political transition, a sen-ior State Department official said on Monday.

He will also seek to prepare the ground for a third round of talks of world powers on Syria amid doubts over whether a meeting pencilled in for Friday in New York will go ahead.

Russia’s foreign ministry said late on Monday that Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Ser-

gei Lavrov had agreed in a phone call on the need for specific pre-conditions to be met before any new meeting, throwing its tim-ing into doubt.

Russia is one of Assad’s staunchest allies and launched a campaign of air strikes to sup-port his forces against insurgents on September 30. It says only the Syrian people and not ex-ternal powers should decide his political fate.

Speaking in Paris before Kerry visits Moscow on Tuesday, the State Department official said Kerry would raise concerns about Russia’s continued bombing of

Syrian opposition forces instead of IS militants, an approach likely to anger Moscow.

Ahead of the talks, the Russian foreign ministry issued a state-ment criticising US policy on Syr-ia, complaining that Washington was not ready to fully cooperate in the struggle against IS mili-tants and needed to rethink its policy of “dividing terrorists into good and bad ones”. Kerry’s meet-ing with Putin follows a meeting last week in Riyadh which agreed to unite a number of opposition groups excluding IS to negotiate with Damascus in Syrian peace talks. — Reuters

R U S S I A V I S I T ’ ’

‘No evidence of terrorism in Russian plane crash’CAIRO: Egypt said on Mon-day it had found no evidence so far of terrorism or other illegal action linked to the crash of a Russian passenger plane in Si-nai that killed all 224 people on board on October 31.

Russia and Western govern-ments have said the Airbus A321 operated by Metrojet was likely brought down by a bomb, and the IS militant group said it had smuggled an explosive on board. But Egypt’s civil aviation ministry said it had completed a preliminary report on the crash and said it had so far found no evidence of a criminal act.

Illegal intervention“The technical investigative committee has so far not found anything indicating any illegal intervention or terrorist action,” the ministry said in a statement.

The crash hit Egypt’s tourism industry, a cornerstone of the economy. — Reuters

R E P O R T

MEDAL OF COURAGE: Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, right, shakes hands with Saudi

Colonel Abdullah Al Sahyan after he was awarded with a medal of courage in Aden in this file picture.

A top Saudi commander was killed during Arab coalition operations against Houthi rebels. – AFP

Turkish troops leave Iraqi campANKARA: Some Turkish troops started leaving their camp in Iraq and moving north on Monday, a Turkish military source and a sen-ior official said, days after Baghdad protested to the United Nations and ordered them out.

Any move northwards would take them back closer to Iraq’s bor-der with Turkey, but the officials did not say where they were going and it was unclear how far Ankara was bowing to pressure to bring its soldiers home. Iraq said in early December hundreds of Turkish troops had arrived in its territory without its knowledge, calling it a hostile act. Turkey said at the time the troops were meant to guard an international mission training and equipping Iraqi forces who are preparing for an offensive to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul, seized by IS militants more than a year ago.

But the move was widely seen as a Turkish attempt to establish a greater foothold in the simmering conflicts across its border, which have already pulled in other re-gional and global powers.

The office of Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Friday it would reorganise its military personnel at the Bashiqa camp near Mosul after talks with Iraqi officials to settle the dispute. Last week President Tayyip Er-dogan said it was out of the ques-tion that the troops would with-draw entirely from Iraq. “Within the scope of the new arrangement, a convoy of 10-12 vehicles carrying some of our troops in Bashiqa have moved towards northern Iraq,” a senior Turkish official said.

Meanwhile, US Vice President Joe Biden welcomed the reported withdrawal of Turkish troops and urged Turkey to continue trying to cooperate with Baghdad, the White House said on Monday. “The Vice President encouraged the Turkish government to con-tinue its dialogue with Baghdad on additional measures to im-prove relations between Turkey and Iraq,” it said. — Reuters

A F T E R P R O T E S T

SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT

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

A8

INDIAT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Rights of minorities must be respected, says Pranab

KOLKATA: President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said the “rights and sensitivities” of the minorities must be respected “in letter and spirit” to ensure every community is a part of the “na-tional narrative”, remarks that come against the backdrop of the row over religious intolerance.

Pranb also said the State must do its best to provide equal treat-ment to every citizen and asked people to rise above caste and communal loyalties.

Broad human outlook“We must encourage a broad hu-man outlook in all our citizens and

educate them to rise above caste or communal loyalties.

We must learn to respect the rights and sensitivities of minori-ties, both in letter and spirit,” he said while delivering the Indira Gandhi Memorial Lecture of the Asiatic Society at Kolkata in the eastern In-dian state of West Bengal.

Focus should remain on rais-ing standards of living and reduc-ing existing disparities in power, wealth, income, consumption and utilisation of social services like education and health, the President said.

Reduce regional imbalances“The State must do its best to re-duce regional imbalances and pro-vide a just, fair and good adminis-tration which will ensure equal treatment to every individual ir-respective of his caste, religion, race, colour, sex or place of birth,” Pranab said.

The president said: “Some-times it does happen that regional interests overtake our commit-ment to the national interest and one has to guard against such tendencies.”

“We must cultivate a secular and democratic outlook, and pro-mote a way of life that is inclusive and that does not interfere with civic duties and rights as well as responsibilities,” he said.

Calling for maintaining an at-mosphere where every commu-nity feels a part of the “national narrative”, Pranab said national integration demands that every citizen recognise the primacy of national interest over group or in-

dividual interests. The President said an individual owes loyalty to family, his profession, residence, language, religion, country to which he belongs.

“Loyalties to these different groups do not however need to be in conflict with one another. They can exist in harmony and when-ever these interest collide, meth-ods of reconciling them should be worked out,” he said.

The President said in a nation every individual belongs to cer-tain groups and interests simul-taneously which makes groups as important as individuals.

“It is is therefore necessary to also lay the foundations for na-tional integration at that level,” the president said.

Appreciating the role of Asi-atic Society, the president said it was founded by William Jones and was declared an Institu-tion of National importance by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984 through an Act of Parliament.

“It can be said that the revival of India’s spirit originated here. The world’s attention was drawn to India’s philosophical thought, literature, mathematics, astrono-my, and scientific investigations,” he said. - PTI

The Indian President

said focus should

remain on raising

standards of living

and reducing

existing disparities

in power, wealth,

income, consumption

and utilisation of

social services like

education and health

PAYING RESPECT: President Pranab Mukherjee and others pay

one minute silence in the memory of Asiatic Society president

Ramakanta Chakraborty’s spouse, at Indira Gandhi Memorial

Lecture on National Integration in Kolkata on Monday. - PTI

RBI dismisses social media rumours over scribbled notesMUMBAI: Dismissing rumours on the social media, the Reserve Bank on Monday said all notes in-cluding those with scribbling will continue to be legal.

“As I understand, one of the top-ics trending on Whatsapp is the statement that at the end of the year notes with writing will not be accepted. This is absolutely false. Those notes continue to be a legal tender,” RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said in an audio message.

“RBI has had the policy in the past of disfigured note being with-drawn from circulation to be re-placed by clean notes. That does not mean that they are not legal tender, they can be used every-where, they can be accepted eve-rywhere. There is no terminal date for acceptance, so please disregard those rumours, they are not cor-rect,” he said.

RBI denied having issued a com-munication circulating on the social media alerting members of public that banks will not accept currency notes with scribbling on them from January 1, 2016. All currency notes issued by it are le-gal tender and banks and members can freely and without fear accept them in exchange for good and ser-vices, RBI said in a statement. - PTI

L E G A L T E N D E R

Kerala coalitions indulge in ‘loot’ of state by turns: Modi

THRISSUR: On his first visit to the south Indian state of Kerala after assuming office, Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi launched a strong attack on the ruling Con-gress-led UDF and the CPI(M), accusing them of indulging in ”loot” of the state by turns during their tenure in power and hiding their “sins”.

Addressing a public meeting organised by the party, he assert-ed that BJP has emerged as the “third force” in Kerala that will replace the two fronts in the next year’s Assembly elections and transform the state’s fortunes.

“Unfortunately, Kerala’s poli-tics is such that two coalitions have been ruling the state and looting its people. One coalition comes to power and loots. Peo-ple get angry every five years and throw it out and another coalition comes. This cycle has been con-tinuing so far.

“Both the coalitions are busy hiding each other’s sins and then continue with their loot.

Corruption“Now the people of Kerala need not get angry any more. A third force has emerged in Kerala. It is like deity Shiva’s third eye, which will destroy the sins and free the state from the evils and corrup-tion. The emergence of the third

force will change Kerala’s future and bring prosperity and peace in the state,” Modi said.

Likening the third force to the ‘third eye’ of Shiva in this temple town, where the famous Wadaku-nathar Temple for Shiva is lo-cated, he said it would destroy the “evils” of the two fronts, an appar-ent reference to the Congress-led UDF and CPI(M)-led Left Front.

The Prime Minister, who was on his first visit to Kerala after assuming office, was addressing a public meeting organised by his party at the Thekkinkadu ground in front of the temple where the annual world-famous Pooram festival is conducted.

Looking at the good crowd and its response, Modi said the gath-ering is an indication that Kerala has decided to bring a “change” by electing BJP to power in the next elections.

Referring to the dominance of the two rival fronts in Kerala for decades, Modi said in a state where social reformers like Sree Narayana Guru had fought and removed social untouchability, a climate of political untouchabil-ity is still prevalent in Kerala.

“This untouchability is carried to such lengths and those opposed to their political ideology are har-assed and sometimes physically eliminated. Their (fronts’) think-

ing process is such,” he said. Modi said that at least over 200 BJP workers have been killed in the last 50 years just because of ideo-logical differences.

Political vendetta “If you see the political history of any state in India, Kerala is prob-ably the only one where in the last 50 years BJP has suffered politi-cal vendetta and probably no oth-er party has suffered that much like in Kerala,” he said.

The Prime Minister the BJP worker in Kerala stands tall and is a shining example of commitment and perseverance to the party workers throughout the country.

“I tell BJP men everywhere to look at the dedication of BJP workers in Kerala. There is no victory in sight, no power or posi-tions in sight. But they have been fighting for the nationalist cause.After every election, the only re-view they used to undertake is to check whether they have retained their deposits, whether the defeat margin is bigger or smaller than the previous results,” he said. -PTI

R A L L Y

GARNERING SUPPORT: Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other BJP leaders waves to the

crowd at a BJP rally in Thrissur on Monday. - PTI

Slugfest over toddler’s death intensifies

NEW DELHI: A case of death due to negligence has been lodged by police probing loss of life of a toddler in a West Delhi slum cluster demolished by railways even as political slugfest over it intensified on Monday with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal assert-ing that no such razing will be al-lowed without rehabilitation.

Stepping into the demolition row, the Delhi High Court came down heavily on the Railway Ministry and police for razing the

slum cluster and directed the au-thorities to immediately rehabili-tate over 5,000 people rendered homeless in this biting cold.

Amid AAP’s offensive against the Centre and Rahul Gandhi, Kejriwal held a 30-minute meet-ing with Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu where ways to remove encroachment of land belong-ing to the railways was discussed threadbare. As the slum dwellers braved cold and hunger, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi de-

scended at the demolition site and targeted both AAP govern-ment and the Centre and assured the homeless that he will fight their “battle”. The post mortem report of the six-month-old girl said she died due to shock and injuries on chest and head due to impact of blunt force and men-tioned about fractures in ribs and head. The report said the toddler died 30 hours before the autopsy indicating she might have died around 9.30am. - PTI

D E M O L I T I O N D R I V E

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

Deadlock over GST bill continuesNEW DELHI: Hopes of an agreement on the GST Bill ap-perared to fade despite talks be-tween the government and the Congress on Monday even as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley apprehended a “wash out” of the current Winter session.

The deadlock continued on the Constitution amendment bill to provide for a uniform Goods and Services Tax after in-conclusive talks between Jaitley and Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma with the party making it clear that the engagement cannot be restricted to only one issue.

With just seven days left from Tuesday for the winter session, Jaitley and Parliamentary Af-fairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu hosted a lunch for the Congress leaders along with Chief Whip in Lok Sabha Jyoti-raditya Scindia.

Jaitley himself described the talks as a “non meeting”.

Citing the absence of Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mal-likarjun Kharge, who was not in Delhi, the Congress leaders sought another meeting, which was readily accepted by the government, which is to keen to break the logjam.

“Today’s talks remain incon-clusive. It is a work in progress. There was no structured discus-sion today,” Sharma said noting that it was the first such meet-ing after Prime Minister Nar-endra Modi reached out to Con-gress President Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

Over-obsessedHe insisted, “Engagement be-tween Government and Opposi-tion cannot be restricted to one issue. After not engaging Op-position for 18 months, Govern-ment is desperate to discuss with us just one bill. First they should not be over-obsessed with one bill as other important legisla-tions are also pending.” - PTI

W I N T E R S E S S I O N

As I understand, one of the topics trending on Whatsapp is the statement

that at the end of the year notes with writing will not be accepted. This is

absolutely false. Those notes continue to be a legal tender

Raghuram Rajan, RBI governor

A9

INDIAT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Love us on Facebook

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY LAUNCH FACEBOOK PAGE

Talks with Pakistan to herald a new chapter of peace: Sushma

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Mon-day expressed the hope that the re-newed dialogue between India and Pakistan will open a new chapter of peace and development in the region.

Making a statement on her visit to Pakistan in both houses of par-

liament, Sushma Swaraj said it was decided that a “Comprehen-sive Bilateral Dialogue” will start and foreign secretaries of the two countries will work out the mo-dalities under the “new dialogue”.

“The new dialogue, we sincerely hope, marks a new beginning also for peace and development in the

whole region,” she said.Sushma said India emphasised

the need to speed up the judicial process in the 2008 Mumbai ter-ror attack by terrorists.

The minister said her meet-ings with Pakistan Prime Minis-ter Nawaz Sharif and his Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz in

Islamabad were held against the backdrop of “positive develop-ments” of the talks earlier between the two national security advisers in Bangkok.

“Both sides condemned terror-ism and resolved to cooperate to eliminate this menace. There we dwelt on the need for Pakistan to

expedite the Mumbai terrorist at-tack trial,” Sushma Swaraj said.

“The Indian side was assured of the steps being taken to expedite its early conclusion.”

Priority“This government accords the highest priority to the country’s security. In order to meet the threats, the government will take all steps, including through diplo-matic channels,” she added.

“At the same time, the govern-ment is also committed to building an environment of peaceful and cooperative relations with all our neighbours, including Pakistan, so that the efforts for peace and development in South Asia, initi-ated by the government on the day of assuming office itself, are taken further forward,” she said.

The minister said there were two aims of the dialogue: Address-ing the issues of concern through

dialogue, and establishing coop-erative relations.

She said that when Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi met Pakistan Premier Sharif during the Confer-ence of Parties (CoP) 21 climate chnge summit meeting in Paris on November 30, “there was a dis-cussion on how the two countries could build an atmosphere con-ducive for again re-engaging with each other”.

“Following PM’s conversation with PM Nawaz Sharif in Paris, the two leaders decided that both sides should hold the NSA-level meeting,” Sushma Swaraj said.

The national security advisers met in Bangkok on December 6.

“They focused on peace and security, terrorism, tranquillity along the Line of Control, and In-dian-administered-Kashmir, the state which has been most directly impacted by terrorism and viola-tion of LoC,” she said. - IANS

Making a statement on her visit to Pakistan

in both houses of parliament, Sushma Swaraj

said it was decided that a ‘Comprehensive

Bilateral Dialogue’ will start and foreign

secretaries of the two countries will work out

the modalities under the ‘new dialogue’ MESSAGE OF PEACE: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj speaks in the Lok Sabha in New Delhi on Monday. -PTI /TV GRAB

A10

PAKISTAN T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

BRIDAL COUTURE WEEKModels present creations by designer Nabila on the last day of the Fashion Bridal Couture Week in Lahore, on Sunday. The

country’s biggest bridal fashion show stunned the attendees while presenting the latest bridal trends and styles by most

famous Pakistani and international fashion designers under one roof. - AFP

Pakistan bears the worst of climate change effects

KARACHI: Massive flooding dis-placing millions, prolonged heat waves with temperatures averag-ing above 38 degrees centigrade, ravaging hurricanes and deluges caused by excessive rainfall.

These are not exceptional ca-tastrophes but have been continu-ous in their pattern in Pakistan.

According to the Climate Risk Index 2015 prepared by German watch between 1994 and 2013, more than 530,000 people have died worldwide and losses worth $2.17 trillion (purchasing power parity) were inflicted as a direct result of over 15,000 extreme weather events.

With rising population already

feeding on scarce resources, the climate change time bomb is tick-ing for the country.

Temperatures in northern Pa-kistan have already been estimat-ed to have increased by 1.9 degrees centigrade in the past century and as a result glacial cover in Paki-stan is on the decline.

Economic costsThe latter is pivotal to feeding water to the Indus which through its tributaries irrigates the rest of the country.

Year after year Pakistan faces

huge economic costs in terms of damage to property and infra-structure, agricultural productiv-ity losses and rebuilding and reha-bilitation costs of those afflicted by environmental disasters.

The issue of environmental protection is critical and was first recognised as a problem of per-tinent importance when the first World Climate Conference was held in 1979. More recently, it has been regarded as an issue of grave concern and became the subject of the recent 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations

Framework Convention on Cli-mate Change from November 30 to December 11, 2015.

Policymakers of more than 190 countries in the world attended the conference and have pressed for the rise in global temperatures to remain below two degrees cen-tigrade. This goal is imperative since it signifies the highest pos-sible rise in global temperatures from pre-industrial levels that the world can afford to achieve a 50 per cent chance of avoiding the worst effects of climate change.

According to World Bank data on CO2 emissions, from 2011-15 United States and China have re-mained as the top producers of carbon emissions standing at 5.3 million and 9 million tons respec-tively. Pakistan has produced 0.2 million metric tons.

Although Pakistan has been a low producer of greenhouse gases, yet it has been one of the worst affected countries due to global warming. Even after having been consistently affected by climate exigencies year after year, its re-sponse to solve the issue has re-mained lacklustre.

Unfortunately, we have not even crossed the first step; immediate recognition of climate risk and environmental protection as an issue of critical concern remains absent from the policy landscape.

Promoting solar power, improv-ing energy efficiency and adding to forest cover are some of the steps that can be taken by Pakistan to protect its environment.

In this context, the Khyber-Pa-khtunkhwa government’s Billion Tree Tsunami programme should be applauded as an effort toward to protect forest cover and should motivate other provincial govern-ments to take concerted efforts in protecting their forests.

However, even this measure has become a victim of political bar-gaining and received no mention from our premier at the recent cli-mate change conference.

The first step towards reducing carbon emissions and protecting the shared global environment should come from industrialised nations which are large producers of greenhouse gases.

Sizable investments are re-quired to significantly reduce emissions particularly in sectors that emit large magnitude green-house gases.

In this regard several countries, multilateral development banks and multilateral climate funds have pledged hefty amounts of money for climate financing.

There are serious economic and environmental consequences if we fail to reduce carbon emissions quickly. - Express Tribune

With rising

population already

feeding on scarce

resources, the climate

change time bomb

is ticking for

the country INUNDATED: Pakistani people look at flood waters at Kala Shah

Kako on August 18, 2013. Year after year, Pakistan faces huge eco-

nomic costs in terms of damage to property and infrastructure,

agricultural productivity losses and rebuilding and rehabilitation

costs of those afflicted by environmental disasters. - AFP file photo

e-commerce enters a new era, surpasses $100m milestoneKARACHI: Not long ago, e-commerce in Pakistan was pri-marily related to online sales of smartphones, laptops and fashion apparel and almost all online retail sales were generated from Kara-chi, Lahore and Islamabad — the largest urban centres constituting major markets for e-commerce even today.

Fast forward to 2015, Pakistan’s e-commerce sector held the coun-try’s first ever ‘Black Friday’ in the last week of November.

The industry noticed people buying washing machines and tel-evisions online with orders com-ing from as far as Tando Allahyar.

The rural town, as opposed to a daily average of one, placed 50 or-ders on Homeshopping.pk, a major player, which had 40,000 people on its website when the deal start-

ed at midnight (the night between Thursday and Friday).

According to major market play-ers, one-third of the total Black Friday transactions were online — a major shift in the consumer hab-it from cash-on-delivery (CoD), which still accounts for more than 95 per cent of Pakistan’s e-com-merce that has already surpassed the $100 million milestone.

Picking upThese Black Friday trends indi-cate e-commerce in Pakistan is certainly picking up.

According to industry experts, e-commerce follows a four-phase growth cycle from infancy to ma-turity in any new region.

Some say China has entered the third phase while India is close to finishing the second.

However, when it comes to Pa-kistan, many say the country’s e-commerce is still in its infancy.

But a successful Black Friday, which received an overwhelming response from consumers across Pakistan, certainly merits a ques-tion: is the country’s e-commerce entering level two?

“Absolutely, Pakistan’s ecom-merce is entering the second phase,” says Saman Javed, Head of Communications and PR at Daraz, which started Black Friday sales and invested heavily in its market-ing for consumer awareness.

“One-third of the payments were online, which indicates a shift in consumers’ attitude who now trust online payment system,” Javed said, adding the response was beyond the company’s expec-tations, which shows the demand

people have here is almost similar to elsewhere in the world.

Though it didn’t disclose sales figures, Daraz said it offered Rs132 million in discounts during Black Friday sales when 1.5 million peo-ple visited its website.

Another factor indicating an overwhelming consumer response was the websites of Daraz.pk and Homeshopping.pk — which at-tracted almost all the traffic on November 27 — went down imme-diately after the sale began.

“We witnessed something we have never seen before,” Shayaan Tahir of Homeshopping said, adding there were 1,000 people on their page at a single point in time.“It will be even bigger next year.” Homeshopping sold Rs5.6 million worth of iPhones at more than one phone per minute during

the first hour of its ‘White Friday’ sale before running out of stock.

While smartphones remained the top-selling category on all ma-jor platforms, other sectors were also impressive.

Daraz says it had record-break-ing sales for fashion while home appliances brands, such as Ken-wood and Dawlance were also amongst the top sellers.

On the other hand, TVs were among top selling categories at Homeshopping.

Internet technologyThough still in the 10 per cent range, the mobile broadband pen-etration is the real reason for the growth of e-commerce.

“Third-generation (3G) mobile Internet technology is reaching remote areas and adding new In-

ternet users thus boosting our traf-fic,” Tahir of Homeshopping said adding 50 per cent of their traffic is now coming from mobile phone platform, up from 20 per cent eight months ago.

Since the rollout of 3G, which started in mid-2014, Pakistan has been adding more than 1 million new users to its mobile Internet base every month.

The aforesaid e-commerce trends and telecom indicators cer-tainly indicate the e-commerce is set to enter the second phase but there is still a long way to go before it becomes a major market.

“The country’s overall retail market is worth $40 billion but we are still 0.2 per cent of that,” Tahir said adding awareness is the key to further growth of the sector in the country. - Express Tribune

O N L I N E S H O P P I N G

Supreme Court rejects

Qadri’s review petition

against death penalty

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a review petition against the death sentence of former elite force guard Mumtaz Qadri for killing former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer.

A three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa took up Qadri’s re-view petition against the court’s October 6 order for maintaining his death penalty.

During the hearing, which con-tinued for almost 45 minutes, former Lahore High Court (LHC) judge Mian Nazir Akhtar failed to point out any error in the court’s judgement, resulting in dismissal of the review petition over non-maintainability.

The former commando of the Punjab Police’s Elite Force had challenged the Islamabad High

Court (IHC)’s verdict on his death sentence in the country’s top court.

Lawyers for Mumtaz Qadri filed the plea in the apex court claiming that the matter was not about mur-der but provocation.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court also declared the IHC decision of annulling the death sentence un-der the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) null and void.

The sentence was first awarded by an anti-terror court and was then upheld by the IHC before be-ing challenged in the apex court.

Last month, Qadri threatened to commit suicide if he is not al-lowed to meet his family in a sepa-rate room. Qadri was sentenced to death for the murder of former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer in Islamabad’s Koshar Market on January 4, 2011. - Express Tribune

F O R M E R P U N J A B G O V E R N O R ’ S K I L L I N G

PM approves naming 122 schools after APS victimsISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approved on Mon-day rechristening 122 schools and colleges of Islamabad after names of the December 16 Army Public School Peshawar attack victims.

The initiative has been under-taken to ensure the memory of the victims continues to persist in our nation’s history, announced the prime minister.

On December 16, 2014, Taliban gunmen slaughtered 150 people, more than 130 of them children aged between nine and 19, at the Army Public School in Peshawar in an assault that shocked and out-raged the country.

National Action PlanSubsequently, a 20-point National Action Plan was approved by the country’s political leadership fol-lowing the attack.

Military courts were later set up after the 21st constitutional amendment, and end of moratori-um on execution of death penalties as a response to the deadly attack.

The prime minister said the intolerant do not want our chil-dren to learn but he will not give in to their demands. To fight back against enemies, we must promote tolerance, enlightenment and education in our homeland, added Nawaz. -Express Tribune

M E M O R Y O F V I C T I M S

A11

ASIAT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Stay ahead of the curve with

WhatsNews

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY INSTALL WHATSNEWS

BIG WAVES: A resident walks past big waves spilling over a wall onto a coastal road in Albay prov-ince, south of Manila, on Monday. – AFP

Typhoon Melor makes landfall in Philippines

MANILA/BANGKOK: Hun-dreds of thousands of people were evacuated from the central Phil-ippines on Monday as a typhoon with winds of up to 150 kph (95 mph) made landfall, dumping heavy rain that could cause flood-ing, landslides and storm surges, authorities warned.

About 40 domestic flights were grounded, while 73 ferries and hundreds of fishing boats were ordered to remain in port as typhoon Melor hit the village of Batag on the northern tip of Samar island. Known locally as typhoon Nona, it was expected to roll across nearby islands before making landfall later close to Sor-sogon, about 385 km (240 miles) southeast of the capital, Manila, on the heavily populated main is-land of Luzon.

Similar path to Haiyan Melor was plotting a similar path to Haiyan, a category 5 typhoon that struck the central Philip-pines in 2013. Almost 8,000 peo-ple were killed or left missing by Haiyan. Disaster authorities have temporarily closed schools and some offices and evacuated about 750,000 people in three prov-inces. About 8,000 people were stranded after the coast guard stopped ferries and fishing boats from leaving ports in the central Philippines. “Melor is a very com-pact typhoon, so that will prevent its most devastating impacts from

extending too far from its centre,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Adam Douty.

He said the typhoon had weak-ened a little as it encountered drier air early on Monday. “While Melor will not slam onshore as a super typhoon as once feared, it still poses dangers to lives and property,” Douty said.

Alexander Pama, executive di-rector of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said typhoon Melor was expected to cause flooding, land-slides and storm surges of up to 4 metres (13 feet) and disrupt pow-er and communications.

About 20 provinces, some around Manila, are under public storm alert due to strong winds and torrential rains of up to 300 mm (12 inches) within a 300 km (185 miles) radius.

Meanwhile, aid agencies have prepared post-disaster assistance kits and put their response teams on standby as they monitor the impact of the typhoon. “We are closely monitoring the path of the typhoon and have pre-positioned stocks such as hygiene kits, wa-ter, and temporary shelter kits

in case these are needed,” Den-nis O’Brien, Plan International’s director for the Philippines, said in a statement. “One of our main concerns is ensuring that chil-dren, as the most vulnerable to harm in times of disasters, and all those who might be affected, will have access to clean water, sanita-tion, and hygiene kits to help pre-vent the spread of disease.”

The impactReports from the Red Cross chap-ters affected by Typhoon Melor indicate “minimal impact so far”, with some damage to buildings, said Kate Marshall, a spokes-woman for the International Fed-eration of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in the Philippines.

“Rainfall is expected to be heavy to intense, but so far we have not had reports of that,” Marshall said in an email.

IFRC has its pre-positioned enough supplies for 17,500 fami-lies - including hygiene kits, blan-kets, sleeping mats, jerry cans - in the cities of Cebu, Subic and Man-daluyong in the metropolitan Ma-nila area. — Reuters

Heavy rain could

cause flooding,

landslides and

storm surges, the

authorities warned

EVACUATION: Military personnel evacuate residents from a vil-lage in the city of Legaspi in Albay province, south of Manila on Monday. – AFP

Founder:Chairman / Editor-in-Chief:

Deputy Editor-in-Chief:Chief Executive Officer:

Telephone: Fax:

E-mail:

Telephone: Fax:

E-mail:

Telephone: Fax:

E-mail:

Printed and published by: Post Box:

Postal Code:

E D I T O R I A L

A D V E R T I S I N G

C I R C U L A T I O N

Essa bin Mohammed Al ZedjaliMohamed Issa Al ZadjaliAnees bin Essa Al Zedjali Ahmed Essa Al Zedjali

2472666624813153editor@timesofoman.com

2472666624812624advertising@timesofoman.com

2472666624818270circulation@timesofoman.com

Muscat Media Group 770112

#TRENDING

Richard J.C. Galustian

Sunday’s Rome Conference on Libya was a non-event designed to please Western bureaucrats and achieve their aims, not help the Libyan

people who have been sliced, diced, and divided since Gaddafi’s fall. For example, the conference did not give Libya 40 days to form a Presidential Council as was envisaged but gave all power to a nine-member council that will be formed ‘automatically’ on sign-ing of the agreement. That council then was to be given 30 days to form a new government. Six of the names were not selected by Libyans as one would expect but by a Spaniard working for the UN! The last three have yet to be announced. The conference expects the two rival Libyan governments to sign a truce in Tunis on December 16, something highly unlikely. Even if some Libyans sign something who exactly will they be representing; it will be worthless.

For me these failures will simply give the green light for foreign Air Forces to start bombing in the near future IS in Libya. Good. As far as Britain is concerned, after a bruising House of Commons en-counter on extending strikes to Syria, Prime Minis-ter Cameron is facing a new dilemma - whether to go back to parliament to ask for air strikes in Libya.

That is a ‘Catch-22’ for him. Sunday’s Conference was rather a theatrical affair chaired by US Secre-tary of State John Kerry, with a notably absentee, Cameron’s Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond.

IS is growing leaps and bounds in Libya, and has now taken hold of the Libyan town of Sabratha, a UNESCO world heritage site and home to one of the world’s best-preserved Roman amphitheatres. De-struction is in store for this famous landmark.

More seriously IS threaten to cut off oil ports and dislocate what remains of Libya’s economy and seize the oil. France, pressured by a huge upsurge in the popularity of the National Front, needs to show decisiveness and its Prime Minister said last week the bombing sooner or later of IS in Libya was in-evitable. In my opinion that could mean as soon as next week. In addition, Egypt and Tunisia, being hit by Libya trained IS, are screaming for action, with Egypt contemplating military action on their own no doubt in concert with the popular but controversial Gen. Hafter based in East Libya. The Foreign office and State Department have a love-in with the Mus-lim Brotherhood that dates from post 9/11, pushing it as a non-extremist alternative movement to both IS and Al Qaida. A huge mistake. With the Brotherhood

on the back foot elsewhere in the MENA region, the Foreign office and State Department mandarins are nevertheless pushing a UN peace deal that gives the Brotherhood backed Libya Dawn militias control of Tripoli, the Central Bank and National Oil Company, to the fury of the last elected government which fled Tripoli for Tobruk which remains recognised by the UN. Senior military officials I spoke to are less con-cerned with the politics than the job at hand - bomb IS early, and you need less bombs. Leave it to fester and Libya will become a Caliphate on the Mediter-ranean, only this time controlling a large swathe of the North African coastline. Already IS holds 150 miles of coastline around its central base from Sirte. Its failure so far to attack ships passing through the Med, is likely to be just tactical. It needs more time to grow and take firmer root; all that is lacking is more of a robust capability. Italy is rightly fearful of an at-tack by IS particularly directed at the Vatican.

Sunday’s Rome conference thus saw a degree of desperation on the part of Kerry and assorted diplo-mats particularly Italian, under the West’s unprec-edented pressure to get a unity government agreed I believe so the bombers can be “invited” to strike.

What will the West do, should, like Syria and Iraq, the recognised Libyan Government invite Russia’s military help? That said, Cameron needs no Com-mons vote for strikes; the UN resolutions of 2011 giving authority to bomb anyone in Libya endan-gering civilians remain in place, and in fact those resolutions, under Chapter 7, are stronger than the Chapter 6 resolution passed by the UN in the case of Syria. Tactically, my guess is that the generals are encouraged they can succeed. IS units dug into three outposts, Benghazi and the hills above Derna in the east and Sabratha, west of the Tripoli, make good tar-gets. This is because they are surrounded by militias of various stripes, some extremist, many not, who could help pick them off as they flee the bombing as the surrounding terrain leaves no place to hide.Sirte is more of a problem, with IS embedded amongst the relatively larger civilian population and the town, now a magnet for foreign fighters from Tunisia, Mali, Sudan and Yemen, its units pushing across the Sirte Basin, is home to Libya’s biggest concentration of oil fields. Libya’s militias are unwilling to sacrifice lives to winkle IS out of Sirte, but French and even Russian bombing may contain it, and at least keep the oil ports out of militant hands.

Regardless of whatever happens from now, chaos is guaranteed to prevail in Libya.

Trump exposes hypocrisy of American politicians This refers to the US presidential election campaign. It is interest-ing to note that controversial billionaire Donald Trump makes the most outrageous statement when his poll ratings begin to slide.

In my opinion, it is not he who is man-aging the campaign, but rather a group that wants to expose the hypocrisy of US political class. Until now both the other Republican and Democrat candidates have been successful in trashing Trump’s vitriol. Being a ‘non-politician’, Trump has successfully shown the US public who is fooling who. It wouldn’t surprise me if the eventual nominees turn out to be political novices. — Rashid Kidwai, Mabella

Need for global leadership to endimperialist policiesThis refers to the climate deal arrived at in Paris. The conclusion of a deal does not mean success. The United Nations should instead focus on banning war and produc-tion of war-making technology. Also, what is needed, is a process whereby the global

leadership considers itself a single nation and those powers indulg-ing in divide and conquest policies are sanctioned. The best way for this is to dissolve the United Nations Security Council as it is a tool for the imperialists. The current wars are being fought only because of the imperialists.— Sandy Randal, Sur

T I M E S O F O M A NT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5A12

Rome conference on Libya a non-event

ONLINE HOT PICKS

READERS’ FORUM

CLIPPINGS PICTOGRAPH

OCO to provide assistance to many familiesMUSCAT: The executive office of Omani Charitable Organi-sation (OCO) held its 26th meeting under the chairmanship of Mohammed bin Ali bin Nassir Al Alawi, minister of legal affairs and chairman of the board of the organisation, on the OCO premises in Al Khuwair. During the meeting, which was held on Monday night, it was decided to offer a financial aid of RO100,000 to social security families via the Minis-try of Social Affairs, Labour and Vocational Training which will benefit 1,678 cases as well as offering cash assistance of RO85,600 to 484 citizens.

1944: The battle for Luzon begins.

1965: The United States drops 12 tons of bombs on an indus-trial centre near Haiphong Harbor, North Vietnam.

1960: The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after an 11-year, $27m project to fortify it without eliminating its famed lean.

1972: The Commonwealth of Australia orders equal pay for women.

M O S T R E A DTIMESOFOMAN.COM

M O S T P O P U L A R V I D E O

M O S T S H A R E DFACEBOOK.COM/TIMESOFOMAN

On June 1, Japan’s new Corporate Governance Code went into effect. This was a big and important step

in the revitalization of Japan’s stagnant economy. The code will nudge Japan in the direction of

shareholder capitalism, away from the stifling corporatism.

bit.ly/japancoshakeup

NOAH SMITH

The recent global and regional politicking has created a situation for Pakistan that can be described

as an extraordinary opportunity to reduce dependence on external economic funding and loans, and control extremism and terrorism

inside Pakistan.bit.ly/opportunitiespak

DR HASAN ASKARI RIZVI

To the extent that demand factors drive an oil-price drop, one would

not expect a major positive impact; the oil price is more of an automatic stabilizer than an exogenous force driving the global economy. Supply shocks, on the other hand, ought to have a significant positive impact.

bit.ly/oilpricesggrowth

KENNETH ROGOFF

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

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

A virtual discovery of the National Museum of Oman in Muscat.

DECEMBER 2000Scan this QR code to send letters to the Readers’ Forum, containing not more than 200 words with full name, address and telephone number, may be sent by mail (Times of Oman, P.O. Box 770, P.C. 112, Ruwi).

I N S T A G R A M O F T H E D A Y INSTAGRAM.COM/TIMESOFOMAN

TIMESOFOMAN.COM/VIDEOS

1 Consider alternative to Hatta border crossing to UAE, advises UK embassy

bit.ly/uaehattaborder

2 Oman to play its part on climate changebit.ly/omanclimatech

3 Income tax, investments discussed by Oman’s Majlis Al Shura panel

bit.ly/itaxmajlisshura

4 Hollywood star Kristen Stewart in Oman for film shoot

bit.ly/KSshootfilmoman

5 e-cigarettes, e-shisha banned in Oman

bit.ly/e-cigshishabanned

1 Indian school teachers in Oman win awards for excellence

bit.ly/asherkaziaward

2 Oman health: Take steps against seasonal flu, warn doctors

bit.ly/omanhealthflu

3 Oman health: OMR41 million National Heart Centre opens in Bausher

bit.ly/nhcbausher

4 National Museum of Oman opens

bit.ly/onationalmuseum

5 #OmanPride: TAISM’s Terry Fox Charity Run raises money for cancer research

bit.ly/taismterryfoxrun

T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M / O P I N I O N

TOTAL PAGE LIKESTOTAL VIEWS

37,748,980 275,870

T W E E T W E L I K E

@thaqeefsidSunset over Muscat. #hypebeast #vscocam #muscat #sunset #goldenhour @ Muscat, Oman https://t.co/cIvs72Grxp

«

SHARE THIS!

NUMBER OF HOTELS IN OMAN

Source: National Centre for Statistics and Information

2014201320122011

Number of stars

235

13

19

26

47

130

248

13

19

26

46

144

266

12

22

28

52

152

287

12

23

29

58

165

Total

5

4

3

2

One star and unclassified hotels

Photo: Marlon Bartolo

NEW INDIAASSURANCE

“Insure withNew India andbe secure”

Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.

STEPHEN HAWKING

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

We invite our readers to write articles on topics related to Oman. The articles should

not exceed 800 words. Send us your article along with

your picture to akhtar@timesofoman.com

Tel: 24838800 | Fax: 24838899 | Email: niamct@omantel.net.om | Website: www.newindiaoman.com

A13

WORLDT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Merkel vows to stem high tide of refugees

KARLSRUHE (GERMANY): German Chancellor Angela Mer-kel promised at a congress of her conservative party on Monday to reduce substantially the number of migrants entering Germany, responding to rank-and-file con-cerns about the influx of a million refugees this year alone.

Despite being named person of the year by both Time magazine and the Financial Times for her bold response to the crisis, Merkel faces growing opposition at home to her open-door refugee policy and has begun hardening her position.

She told her centre-right Chris-tian Democrats (CDU) that the decision in August to welcome the refugees fleeing war and depriva-tion in the Middle East was a “hu-manitarian imperative”, but she also vowed to stem the flow. “We want to, and we will, noticeably reduce the number of refugees,” she said to rapturous applause at the congress in Karlsruhe, in the southwestern state of Baden-Wurttemberg, which holds a state election next March.

Merkel, 61, received an eight-minute standing ovation at the end of her speech to roughly 1,000 CDU delegates in a vast confer-ence centre adorned with massive posters reading “For Germany and Europe”. Her use of the phrase

“noticeably reduce” came directly from a resolution the CDU leader-ship hastily reworked on the eve of the congress to head off an open rebellion over her refugee policy.

In the updated resolution, the party leadership added: “A contin-uation of the current influx would in the long-term overwhelm the state and society, even in a country like Germany.”

DefenceMerkel defended her catchphrase of “we can do this” during the refugee crisis by saying the party must show its Christian roots, and she likened it to pledges made by former conservative chancellors Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl in troubled times.

She said Adenauer’s declaration during the Cold War that “we vote for freedom” and Kohl’s promise of “flourishing landscapes” af-ter reunification had both come true, adding that Germany could

similarly deliver on the “we can do this” pledge. “Germany should be a country that is open, curious, tolerant and even exciting,” Mer-kel said, painting an upbeat vision for the future and stressing how far the country had come since she took power a decade ago.

“Ten years ago things were not good,” she said. “Europe was deeply divided over the Iraq war. In Germany we had five million unemployed. People spoke of Ger-man angst, we were the sick man of Europe.”

Merkel, a Protestant pastor’s daughter who grew up in com-munist East Germany, has seen support for her party fall since the refugee crisis erupted in the late summer.

A poll by Emnid on Sunday put support for her conservative alli-ance of the CDU and their Bavar-ian allies at 37 percent, down from 43 percent in mid-August.

Merkel on Sunday also brushed

off what a Germany magazine said was a request from the United States to provide more military help in the fight against IS.

“I believe Germany is fulfilling its part and we don’t need to talk about new issues related to this question at the moment,” Merkel told the ZDF broadcaster when asked about the Der Spiegel maga-zine report of the US request.

Der Spiegel reported on Satur-day that US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter had sent a letter asking for a bigger military contri-bution from Germany, a week after parliament approved a plan to join the campaign in Syria.

A German Defence Ministry spokesman confirmed a letter had been received from the United States and its content was under consideration, giving no further details. Der Spiegel said the letter did not make specific demands and was similar to requests sent to other US partners. —Reuters

German Chancellor

Angela Merkel

averts rebellion with

tougher rhetoric on

migrants, and sticks

with ‘we can

do this’ pledge

Far-right fails to win any region in French electionsPARIS: Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Front did not win any region in French elections on Sunday, in a setback to her hopes of being a serious presidential contender in 2017.

The regional election run-off, in which the conservatives won seven constituencies and the Socialists five, was no real vic-tory for either of these two main-stream parties, shaken by the far- right’s growing appeal to disillu-sioned voters.

Boosted by fears about security and immigration after the mili-tant attacks in Paris a month ago that killed 130 people, the Nation-al Front (FN) had won more votes than any other party nationally in last week’s first round.

Although it won no region on Sunday after the Socialists pulled out of its key target regions and urged their supporters to back the conservatives of former Presi-dent Nicolas Sarkozy, the FN still recorded its best showing in its history. “Tonight, there is no place for relief or triumphalism,” Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls said. “The danger posed by the far right has not gone away; far from it.”

Similar themeSarkozy struck a similar theme, calling the strong FN showing a “warning sent to all politicians, ourselves included, in the first round”. “We now have to take the time for in-depth debates about what worries the French, who ex-pect strong and precise answers,” he said, citing Europe, unem-ployment, security and national identity issues. Le Pen, who had hoped to use regional power as a springboard to boost her chances in 2017 presidential elections, lost by a huge margin in north-ern France on Sunday, where she led her party’s ticket, attracting 42.8 per cent of the votes in the run-off vs 57.2 per cent for the conservatives.

Long content with attracting protest votes, the FN has changed strategy since Le Pen took the party over from her father Jean-

Marie in 2011, seeking to build a base of locally elected officials to target the top levels of power.

But while it has been winning more and more votes in each elec-tion since then, its isolation in France’s politics means it cannot strike the alliances it would need to win major constituencies. So it failed once more on Sunday to turn growing popularity into power.

In the southeast, another FN target where Le Pen’s niece Mari-on Marechal-Le Pen was the FN’s lead candidate, the conserva-tives scored 53.7 per cent and the FN 46.2 per cent, official results based on 84 per cent of the votes said. “There are victories that shame the winners,” Marechal-Le Pen said, slamming the Socialists’ decision to pull out of the race for the run-off.

Aside from immigration con-cerns, which have been boost-ing nationalistic parties in other European countries too, the FN’s rise has been built on deep disaf-fection with mainstream politics among French voters and a frus-tration with President Francois Hollande’s inability to reduce un-employment. With five regional wins out of 13, the Socialists did less badly than they had feared

but it was still a huge defeat. Re-gional boundaries were redrawn after the 2010 election, in which the Socialists had won 21 out of 22 regions. Sarkozy, weakened by his party’s poor showing in the first round, said the National Front’s high score should be a warning to all mainstream politicians.

Among those in his party elect-ed thanks to left-wing voters and a much higher turnout in the run-offs, there was no triumphalism.

“I thank the voters for protect-ing our beautiful region,” said Xa-vier Bertrand, the Republicans’ main candidate in Nord-Pas de Calais-Picardie. “I also want to thank the voters of the Left who clearly voted to create a rampart” against the FN. The regional elec-tion, the last one before the 2017 presidential and parliamentary ballots, was seen as a test for its main contenders, Hollande, Sarkozy and Le Pen. “An imme-diate danger was avoided,” left-leaning Catholic daily La Croix wrote in an editorial.

“But if no answers are made to the French people’s concerns, the National Front will continue its rise until the presidential elec-tion,” it said in a front-page head-lined: “Defeat for all.” — Reuters

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

Diplomats, reporters

denied access to trial

of China rights lawyer

BEIJING: The trial of one of China’s most high profile human rights lawyers, on charges of incit-ing ethnic hatred and provoking trouble, lasted just three hours on Monday, with police blocking diplomats, foreign reporters and protesters from the Beijing court.

Also on Monday, a Beijing court has recommended a suspended death sentence for the wife of disgraced Politburo member Bo Xilai be commuted to life in pris-on, after she showed repentance and committed no further crime, Chinese media said on Monday.

Pu Zhiqiang, who has spent nearly 19 months in detention, faces up to eight years in prison if convicted, according to one of his lawyers, Shang Baojun.

As many as 11 diplomats from countries including the United States, Germany and France congregated near the courthouse seeking to observe the trial. They were refused admittance by the police. Dan Biers, deputy po-litical counsellor of the US em-bassy in Beijing, called for Pu’s release and criticised the “vague charges” that have been handed down against Pu. Police tried to prevent Biers from reading out a statement near the courthouse, pushing him and foreign report-ers out of the way. Dozens of po-lice and plain clothes security surrounded the Beijing No. 2 In-termediate People’s Court, where they blocked foreign journalists attempting to report on the trial.

Neither the court nor public security authorities could imme-diately be reached for comment. China’s Foreign Ministry spokes-man Hong Lei said “law enforce-ment authorities carried out or-der management at the scene in accordance with the law”.

“The relevant people should cooperate,” Hong said at a daily news briefing, urging all foreign countries to “respect China’s ju-dicial sovereignty”.

China has charged many rights activists with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, saying it is a country with rule of law and dismissing any international criticism on its rights record.

The main accusations against Pu revolve around seven micro-blog posts on his online accounts, his lawyers say. The posts had criticised China’s ethnic policy in the troubled western region of Xinjiang and denounced several officials. Pu’s trial lasted a little over three hours, Mo Shaoping, another one of his lawyers, told Reuters. “He admitted the seven microblogs were written by him, there was no issue with it, this is a fact,” Mo said, recounting what Pu said in court.

“Secondly, he said that if these microblog posts had caused inju-ry to other people, he apologises for it. Thirdly, he had no intention to incite ethnic hatred or pick quarrels and provoke trouble.”

Meanwhile, Gu Kailai was sentenced in 2012 for murder-ing British businessman Neil Heywood the previous year, kicking off China’s most sensa-tional political scandal in years. A suspended death sentence is normally commuted to life in jail. The Beijing High Court is now making a formal recommenda-tion for that, said state radio, which carried the court state-ment on its website. — Reuters

H I G H P R O F I L E C A S E

Germany should be a country that is

open, curious, tolerant and even exciting

Angela Merkel, German Chancellor

WARM WELOCME: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and leader of the Christian Democratic Union

(CDU) acknowledges applause after her keynote speech, while standing next to CDU secretary general

Peter Tauber, CDU deputy head and Hesse’s state Premier Volker Bouffier, right, during the party con-

gress in Karlsruhe, Germany on Monday. – AFP

TOUGH TIMES: Human rights

lawyer Pu Zhiqiang. – AFP

BIG UPSET: Marion Marechal-Le Pen, centred, French far-right

National Front (FN) party top candidate in the Provence-Alpes-

Cote d’Azur region, delivers a speech after the announcement of

the results of the second round of the French regional elections in

Marseille on Sunday, flanked by FN candidates Stephane Ravier,

left, and Jeannine Douzon. – AFP

A14

GLOBAL EYET U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

IRAQ: Camels walk in the southern desert of Samawa in an area used by Iraqi herdsmen to graze

their stock, in Iraq, on Monday. – AFP

GERMANY: A couple walks at the Tegeler lake in Berlin, Germany, on Monday as the sun goes down. – AFP

INDIA: A view of snow-covered Pir Panjal Ranges in the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, on Monday. – PTI

SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT

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

IVORY COAST: Ivorian singer Alasco poses with a sparrowhawk on

his head before performing at the Grand Bassam street art festival

in Grand-Bassam, Ivory Coast, on Sunday. – AFP

UNITED STATES: The Manhattan Bridge sits in morning fog on Monday in New York City. Tempera-

tures across much of the New York metropolitan area continued to be unseasonably warm with mid

60’s being recorded in many areas over the weekend. – AFP

IRAN: A general view taken from the west of Tehran shows the heavily polluted skyline of the Ira-

nian capital on Monday. Air pollution in Iran’s capital hit its worst level — for a day without a sand-

storm — in at least nine months, prompting warnings that all citizens should stay indoors. – AFP

SINGAPORE: People take part in Christmas festivities among Supertrees structures at the Gardens by

the Bay in Singapore on Monday. – Reuters

A15

WORLDT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

WARM GREETINGS: Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, left,

one of the four leading candidates for Spain’s national election,

greets Leopoldo Lopez, father of Venezuelan jailed politician

Leopoldo Lopez, during a campaign rally in Las Rozas, outside

Madrid, Spain, on Sunday. – Reuters

7 killed in Turkey’s Kurdish towns

DIYARBAKIR: Seven people were killed in clashes with se-curity forces in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast, officials said on Monday, as authorities declared curfews across the restive region.

The clashes are the latest in months of violence following the collapse of a ceasefire between the government and the Kurdis-tan Workers Party (PKK) in July. Since then, Ankara has imposed round-the-clock curfews in many areas. Two people were killed as police clashed with crowds pro-testing against a security crack-down in the main southeastern city of Diyarbakir, a hospital offi-cial and witnesses said.

Further south, five Kurdish mil-

itants were killed in Mardin prov-ince’s Dargecit district, another area under curfew, security offi-cials said. It was not clear exactly when they were killed.

Armoured police vehicles roamed Diyarbakir’s streets, firing water cannon and tear gas as hun-

dreds gathered for a march called by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Dem-ocratic Party (HDP) to protest a two-week-long curfew in the city’s district of Sur. Teargas billowed in the city streets as armoured vehi-cles sped around and protesters lobbed stones at police. Shopkeep-

ers shuttered their stores ahead of the protest, which the government said was banned. Few buses were operating, rubbish was not col-lected and most students did not go to school. Youths with scarves masking their faces tried to block streets with piles of bricks and

burning wood before police pur-sued them into side steets.

In Sirnak province, the governor imposed a curfew in two towns near the borders of both Syria and Iraq from Monday night, a day af-ter teachers were seen streaming out of the area on the orders of

education authorities. Locals, an-ticipating that the teachers were being recalled ahead of a curfew, formed queues at bakeries and shops to buy food, witnesses said. Several thousand teachers are based in the towns.

The two towns of Cizre and Silopi were under tight security, with police armoured vehicles stationed at the entrances to both, witnesses said.

Public order“A curfew is declared to neutralise separatist terror group members, remove explosives-laden bar-ricades and ditches... and secure public order,” the Sirnak gover-nor’s office said in a statement. It said the curfew would begin at 11 p.m. (2100 GMT).

A curfew was also imposed on Monday in the town of Nusaybin on the Syrian border to restore or-der “in response to increasing ter-ror incidents”, state authorities in the town announced.

According to data compiled by the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, 52 curfews have been imposed since mid-August across seven Turkish provinces in the re-gion, affecting areas where some 1.3 million people live. — Reuters

Armoured police

vehicles roamed

Diyarbakir’s streets,

firing water cannon

and tear gas, while

authorities declared

curfews across

the restive region

Teargas billowed in the city streets as armoured

vehicles sped around and protesters lobbed stones at

police. Shopkeepers shuttered their stores ahead of

the protest, which the government said was banned

Spain’s ruling party

consolidates lead but

well short of majority

MADRID: Spain’s ruling Peo-ple’s Party (PP) held onto its lead in the last polls before Sunday’s general election, but looked set to fall well short of a majority, leaving the door open to potential pacts.

Surveys published on Monday suggested the conservative PP would top the poll, with the main opposition Socialists (PSOE) and two newcomers, liberal Ciudada-nos and left-wing Podemos, fol-lowing closely behind.

No new polls are permitted under Spanish voting rules after the end of today. The fragmented vote is unusual for Spain, where the PP and the PSOE have tra-ditionally alternated in power. A deep economic crisis marked by soaring unemployment and corruption scandals has broken their dominance, leaving many seeking alternatives.

Official surveyWith the last official survey on Dec. 3 showing as many as one in three voters were undecided or planning to abstain and the four main parties in such close prox-imity, the final outcome remains highly uncertain.

A minority government could also be on the cards, as Spains parliamentary system makes any

number of ad hoc alliances possi-ble should the winner fail to gain an outright majority.

Prime Minister Mariano Ra-joy and Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez will fight to win over un-decided voters on Monday even-ing in last televised debate before the ballot.

The largest of the four polls published on Monday, by Sigma Dos for the conservative news-paper El Mundo, showed the PP winning with 27.2 per cent, followed by the PSOE on 20.3 percent, Ciudadanos with 19.6 percent and Podemos with 18.4 per cent.

A poll by Metroscopia for left-leaning El Pais also showed the PP winning, with 25.3 per cent, closely followed by the PSOE with 21 per cent and Podemos and Ciudadanos only slightly lag-ging on 19.1 per cent and 18.2 per cent respectively.

Smaller polls in newspapers La Razon and El Periodico also put PP in the lead with their three op-ponents close behind.

No poll gave the PP enough votes to form a majority in par-liament, raising the prospect of potentially prolonged coali-tion talks or a minority govern-ment that could struggle to rule effectively. — Reuters

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

RISING TEMPERS: A barricade burns as Kurds clash with the Turkish police as they protest against the recent curfews imposed on Kurd-

ish towns, on Monday, in downtown Diyarbakir. – AFP

SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT

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

A16

WORLDT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Tablet lovers add us on Google +

dd +

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY ADD IN GOOGLE+

Obama ‘runs wild’ in Alaska

NEW YORK: They shared tea made out of catkins, ate wild salm-on picked over by a bear, talked about being a dad and discussed climate change — all while snipers kept watch from the mountains and the official food taster looked on warily.

US President Barack Obama’s “Running Wild” Alaska episode

with wilderness expert Bear Grylls airs on NBC television on December 17, and Grylls said the short trip showed an intimate and fun side of Obama that has rarely been seen.

“He said it was one of the best days of his presidency,” Grylls told reporters. “There were times along the route I had to pinch my-self and think, actually, this is the

president of America’.”The episode was filmed in

September on a trek to Alaska’s shrinking Exit Glacier that was aimed at drawing world atten-tion to climate change. Last year alone, the Exit Glacier melted and retreated 187 ft (57 m) toward the Harding ice field, which has itself lost 10 per cent of its mass since 1950. Obama is the first sitting

president of any nation to take part in “Running Wild with Bear Grylls,” following in the footsteps of celebrities like Ben Stiller, Kate Winslet and Zac Efron.

SpoofGrylls, a British former SAS soldier turned adventurer and survival specialist, said the idea for the TV episode came from the White House. “They (the White House) approached us, saying would we consider taking the president on an adventure to Alaska. I almost didn’t really believe it. I thought this was a spoof,” Grylls said.

Grylls said a team of about 50 Secret Service personnel, a food taster, snipers and helicopters accompanied the pair during the

day-long trek through a forest and across a glacial outwash.

Obama threw himself into it, shrugging off the food taster, shar-ing Gryll’s water bottle, lighting fires and eating berries.

“He didn’t have any problems. He wanted the physicality...he was up for everything,” Grylls said.

Along the way, Grylls said the pair talked not only about climate change but about being a father and the challenges of living in a bubble away from ordinary peo-ple. “I hope we did something that really put a smile on his face that lasted for a while,” Grylls said.

Asked what he had learned from the trip, Grylls quipped, “Whoever you are, everyone puts their trou-sers on one leg at a time.” — Reuters

The short trip with

wilderness expert

Bear Grylls for US

president’s TV

episode showed an

intimate and fun side

of Obama that has

rarely been seen

Thailand’s king makes public appearance

BANGKOK: Thailand’s revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej made a rare public appearance on Mon-day after failing to show up for na-tionwide celebrations marking his birthday earlier this month.

Local television showed footage of the monarch, who turned 88 on December 5, swearing in dozens of judges at a reception room in a Bangkok hospital where he has been convalescing.

The king was last seen in public on September 1 and did not make an appearance on his birthday - the second year running he missed the celebrations he would usually take part in.

He has spent the past few months at Siriraj Hospital where he was treated for hydrocephalus, a build-up of cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain.

Last week, thousands of cyclists led by Crown Prince Maha Vajira-longkorn rode through Bangkok to honour the king in an outpouring of loyalty. — Reuters

J U D G E S S W E A R I N G I N

THE OTHER SIDE: The episode was filmed in September on a

trek to Alaska’s shrinking Exit Glacier that was aimed at drawing

global attention to climate change. – Reuters

42 killed as police bus crashes into ravine in ArgentinaBUENOS AIRES: A bus carrying Argentine border patrol officers crashed into a ravine in the north-ern province of Salta on Monday, killing 42 people, while nine were being treated for injuries, provin-cial emergency official Francisco Marinaro told local television.

“We have 42 dead so far,” he said in a TV interview from the scene, where an overturned bus was shown, swarmed with emer-gency workers. Nine people were rescued and being treated in local clinics. “The bus fell about 18 me-ters (59 feet),” Marinaro said.

The vehicle was part of a three-bus convoy carrying officers of Argentina’s gendarmerie, which patrols the country’s borders. Salta borders Bolivia, Chile and

Paraguay. Passengers on the other two buses were the first people on site to attempt to save the officers trapped in the wreckage, officials said. Border security has become a hot issue in Argentina as the country has emerged as part of a route used for smuggling Andean drugs to Europe and for human traffickers.

President Mauricio Macri, elect-ed last month on a platform that in-cluded improving Argentina’s rural roads, sent his condolences to fami-lies of the victims of the crash. “We need to improve our highways so these things don’t keep happening,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a news conference in Buenos Aires province. — Reuters

T R A G E D Y

THE ILL-FATED BUS: Gendarmerie members at the scene after a bus drove off a bridge in the Salta

province, north of Argentina on Monday. – AFP

MARKEWWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5B

Muscat

5,403.67 - 11.32

- 0.21%

Dubai

2,916.00+ 33.20

+ 1.15%

Abu Dhabi

4,026.23+ 25.52

+ 0.64%

Saudi Arabia

6,686.27- 78.33

- 1.16%

Kuwait

5,602.38- 30.90

- 0.55%

Bahrain

1,286.70 - 5.51

- 0.45%

Qatar

9,742.78+ 99.13

+ 1.03%

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

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

Euro ............................................2.34

Pound ...........................................1.69

Indian Rs ............................. 173.43

Pak Rs ...................................266.03

Bangla Taka......................200.36* Rates are as of Dec. 14

Source: Bank Muscat

Indian Rs ...................................174.20

Pakistan Rs ............................ 270.00

Sri Lanka Rs .......................... 370.00

Bangla Taka............................ 204.15

Phil Peso ................................... 122.40

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

Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) .......13.85

Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) .......13.40

Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ............129.25

Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) .............122.50

* Rates as of Dec. 14

Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds

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

Oman Crude ............. (Spot) ........$33.99

Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) .........$34.74

Murban Crude ........ (Spot) ........$35.26

Arabian Light ......... (Spot) ........ $32.57

N.Sea Brent ............... (Spot) ........$36.48

West Texas Int ....... (Spot) ........$34.66

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

Oil prices fall below $35 for the first time since 2009LONDON: Oil fell below $35 a barrel in New York for the first time since 2009 as Iran reiterated its pledge to boost crude exports, bolstering speculation Opec mem-bers will exacerbate the global oversupply.

Futures fell 1.8 per cent to $34.99 a barrel in New York, the lowest since February 19, 2009. Crude lost almost 11 per cent last week, the biggest drop in a year. There’s “absolutely no chance” Iran will delay its plan to increase shipments even as prices decline, said Amir Hossein Zamaninia, the nation’s deputy oil minister for in-ternational and commerce affairs.

Oil slumped last week to levels last seen during the global finan-cial crisis, while speculators in-creased bets on falling US crude prices to an all-time high after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) ef-fectively abandoned production limits. The supply glut will persist at least until late 2016 as demand growth slows and Opec shows “re-newed determination” to maxim-ise output, according to the Inter-national Energy Agency (IEA).

“Gloom nourishes gloom,” said Eugen Weinberg, head of com-modities research at Commerz-bank in Frankfurt. “The market is

fully acknowledging that OPEC is no longer in price-control mode or providing a floor, and that the group is unlikely to change that strategy any time soon.”

Iran, which expects interna-tional sanctions over its nuclear programme to be lifted by the first week of January, has already se-cured customers for its planned supply expansion, Zamaninia said in an interview in Tehran.

The government is also prepar-ing to offer oil and natural gas con-tracts to investors.

The country pumped 2.8 million barrels a day last month, data com-piled by Bloomberg show.

Opec, which set aside its output quota at a December 4 meeting, is displaying hardened resolve to maintain sales, the IEA said in its monthly report Friday.

While the group’s strategy has affected other producers, trigger-ing the steepest fall in non-Opec supply since 1992, world oil inven-tories will probably swell further once Iran restores exports, pre-dicted the Paris- based energy ad-viser to developed economies.

World powers said they per-suaded some of Libya’s feuding factions to form a new government of national unity and act against Islamic State. - Bloomberg News

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

Oman’s crude production risesTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Oman’s crude oil pro-duction rose 3.05 per cent or by 995,708 barrels per day to 29.87 million barrels in November.

Also, the country exported 24.61 million barrels during the same month, which shows a daily export average of 820,206 barrels, said the monthly statistics released by the Ministry of Oil and Gas. Crude oil exports edged up 0.15 per cent in November, from the previous

month. China topped the list of crude oil importing countries from Oman, with an increase of 0.72 per cent and making up for 68.85 per cent of Oman’s crude exports. Tai-wan and South Korea also import-ed Oman Crude, with a share of 15.25 per cent and 8.14 percent, re-spectively. These two nations did not import from Oman in October.

India’s imports increased by 1.23 per cent, while Thailand and Japan showed a marginal fall in their imports.

The average price of West Texas grade at the New York stock ex-change was pegged at $43.73 per barrel, reflecting a $2.89 drop from October. The London ICE was re-corded $46.23 per barrel, which indicated a fall of $3.24 per barrel, compared with October 2015.

Oman Crude witnessed a major fall in price at the Dubai exchange, where the price for the January 2016 futures trade was$42.28, dropping by $3.75per barrel, com-pared with December 2015.

N O V E M B E R D A T A‘Islamic banks need to focus on innovation’

BUSINESS REPORTER

MUSCAT: Islamic banking insti-tutions in Oman need to develop human resources, identify the opportunities and help increase public awareness, said the execu-tive president of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO).

There is also a need to focus on purposeful innovation in de-veloping viable and acceptable Sharia-compliant products and services instead of replicating the conventional approach, Hamoud bin Sangour Al Zadjali told the 2nd Islamic Banking Knowledge Forum hosted by Bank Nizwa on Monday.

Several measures takenHe said that the introduction of Islamic banking was aimed at diversifying banking services in the local market and the CBO has taken several measures to support this sector.

Al Zadjali hailed the good per-formance of Islamic banking in Oman, saying, “Islamic banks and windows in the Sultanate have succeeded in attracting a notable share in the domestic banking market due to demand for Sharia-compliant products both on de-posits and financing sides.”

The share of Islamic banking in the total assets of the Omani banking sector accounted for about 6.5 per cent at the end of September 2015, he noted.

Banking sector Commenting on the banking sec-tor in general in Oman, the official said that it is operating soundly and banks are showing strong financial indicators in terms of asset quality, provision coverage, capital adequacy and profitability.

“The banking sector, between

the period of September 2014 to September 2015, recorded growth of 16.4 per cent in the total as-sets to reach OMR29.6 billion,” he said.

Al Zadjali said that the main objective of the CBO’s monetary

policy is to ensure the stability in the financial system and maintain liquidity in the banking sector.

“We will take steps to ensure the availability of sources of funds at banks, including the use of repurchase operations to inject liquidity in the local currency if the need arises, in addition to for-eign currency Swap operations,” he noted.

Commenting on the challenges, Al Zadjali said, “The most impor-tant challenge facing the banks in the Sultanate at the moment is continuing to support the na-tional economy by persisting to attract national savings and meet the various economic sectors’ needs in the country and provid-ing sufficient flexibility to deal with different economic fluctua-tions, including, of course, the de-clining trend in oil prices in global markets.” >B4

There is also a

need to focus

on purposeful

innovation in

developing viable

and acceptable

Sharia-compliant

products, said the

central bank chief

VITAL RESOURCE: Iranian government is also preparing to offer oil

and natural gas contracts to investors. — Bloomberg file picture

Hamoud bin Sangour Al

Zadjali. — Supplied picture

ELHAM POURMOHAMMADI elham@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: A decision requiring commercial banks to allocate 5 per cent of their total loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is expected to be discussed at an upcoming meeting as the deadline expires at the end of the year, said an official at the CBO.

“There are continuous negotiations between the banks and the central bank, as well as the authority in charge of CMA (Capital Market Authority) regula-tions and functions,” Hatem Al Shanfari, member of the Board of Governors at CBO, told reporters on Monday.

In 2013, CBO had stipu-lated that commercial banks’ loans to SMEs must account for at least 5 per cent of their total loans.

Theywere given an exten-sion until the end of 2015 to implement the same.

Preparedness Some risks may be associat-ed with pushing the banks to comply with the decision in a short period of time with-out them being prepared, Al

Shanfari said on the side-lines of Bank Nizwa’s Islamic Banking Knowledge Forum.

“So, part of the partner-ship approach that the gov-ernment is using is to make sure that everyone is ready for such a commitment. If it is going to take a little longer, I do not think there will be much harm as long as we do it right,” the official said.

Asked if the decision will be announced by the end of the year, he noted, “The Board of Governors will be meeting soon, and I think this may be one of the issues they will deliberate on.”

Commenting on whether lowering the percentage is being considered, he said, “It is always good to put high targets and if you do not get close to it, you will be close enough. If you put it low, then there will be no challenge.”

Asked about options for raising additional financial resources, he said, “There are a number of resources available internally, such as local debt market, direct borrowing and using the reserves that have been ac-cumulated in the past.” > B4

CBO meet to discuss regulation on funding of small enterprises

B2

MARKETT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

editor@timesofoman.comwebeditor@timesofoman.com

SEND US YOUR VIEWS AND COMMENTS

Oman Agricultural Development Co to buy back sharesMUSCAT: Majority shareholders of Oman Agricultural Development Company said that they are offering to purchase shares from minority shareholders (those who own 5,000 shares or less) at a price of OMR1.654 per share. It is for converting the company into a closely held company from public firm. This offer is valid for one month starting from December 20, 2015 and ends on January 19, 2016.

Al Madina Insurance not to pay dividendMUSCAT: Al Madina In-surance Company’s board decided to renounce the proposal of distribution of dividends to the share-holders according to the financial results audited as on June 30, 2015 to due to the closeness of year-end. — Times News Service

B R I E F SShell-BG Group deal clears ‘final regulatory’ hurdle

LONDON: Royal Dutch Shell cleared the final regulatory hurdle for its takeover of BG Group after receiving the green light from Chi-na on Monday, leaving the deal on track for completion by early 2016 following shareholder votes.

The combination will transform Shell into the world’s top liquefied natural gas (LNG) trader and a ma-

jor offshore oil producer focused on Brazil’s rapidly-developing sub-salt oil basin that would rival Exx-on Mobil’s position as the world’s biggest international oil company.

The acquisition, worth about $70 billion when it was announced and the biggest in the sector in a decade, had already received man-datory and unconditional approv-

als from Australia, Brazil and the European Union.

Shares little changedShell shares were little changes by 0815GMT, while BG shares traded nearly two per cent higher.

Last month, sources told Reu-ters that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) had

pressed Shell to sweeten long-term LNG supply contracts as the world’s top energy consumer faces a large surfeit over the next five years. Since its announcement on April 8, when oil was at around $55 a barrel, Shell has had to battle a slump in oil prices and investor concerns over the financial merits of the deal in the face of an extend-

ed period of weak energy prices.Heralding a “more resilient and

competitive” business, the Anglo-Dutch company slashed the com-bined group’s planned investment programme, highlighted cost sav-ings of $3.5 billion and announced plans for $30 billion in asset dis-posals to pay for the acquisition while maintaining the cherished dividend.

With the regulatory approv-als out of the way, Shell and BG turn their focus to shareholders and will publish within weeks a prospectus containing informa-tion on the deal and the change in the share structure and also announce dates for general meet-ings where the transaction will be put to vote.

“We will now seek approval from both sets of shareholders as we move towards deal completion in early 2016,” Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said, according to the company statement.

The integration of the two com-panies has been planned by a joint committee in recent months but could encounter some difficulties as BG’s small and relatively nim-ble operations are merged with Shell’s much larger structure. The deal could also result in job cuts where BG’s 5,000 jobs overlap with Shell’s nearly 100,000-strong work force. — Reuters

The merger will

transform Shell

into the world’s top

liquefied natural

gas trader and a

major offshore oil

producer focused

on Brazil’s rapidly-

developing sub-

salt oil basin that

would rival Exxon

Mobil’s position as

the world’s biggest

international

oil company JOINING HANDS: Andrew Gould, chairman of BG Group (left), shakes hands with Jorma Ollila, chair-

man of Royal Dutch Shell, at the London Stock Exchange in London, UK. — Bloomberg file picture

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

Sohar Port to take part in major forumTimes News Service

MUSCAT: With investments in port development in the Mid-dle East nearing $35 billion and set to rise over the next decade, the Sohar Port and Freezone headed to Dubai this week for the Terminal Operations Con-ference, which is known as TOC Middle East.

This year’s event, held at the La Meridien Hotel and Con-ference Centre, focused on analysing the shifts in regional container trades and the impli-cations for ports, said a compa-ny release.

Terminal Operations Confer-ence Middle East 2015 will offer attendees the chance to con-nect with the region’s strong-est players, receive exclusive updates on current and future infrastructure projects and get a better understanding of how to benefit from the changing land-scape of Middle East shipping.

The conference will also as-sess the sustainability of con-tainer demand generated in the Middle East/South Asia thea-tre, shipping lines strategies and related port developments.

Container throughput at the state-of-the-art container terminal in Sohar, operated by OICT, has doubled over the past year.

T O C M I D D L E E A S T

A380 owners tout for surplus Singapore planesFRANKFURT: Owners of five Airbus Group A380s leased to Sin-gapore Airlines have begun tout-ing the superjumbos around po-tential future operators while the Asian carrier evaluates whether to retain them.

Singapore Air must reach a de-cision by next September, though a clause requiring it to refurbish the jets at a total cost of as much as $125 million provides a strong incentive to extend 10-year leases that expire from 2017, according to Dr Peters Group, which owns four of the double-deckers.

Dr Peters and Doric, which con-trols the other plane and manages all five, has teamed with Airbus and former Doric partner Mark Lapidus to drum up interest in the A380s while Singapore Air mulls

its options. Carriers in the US, Turkey and China, as well as top European leisure operators, could be in the running.

“No airline wants to pay $125 million without having an air-craft,” Dr Peters Chief Executive Officer Anselm Gehling said in an interview. If the planes do become free, Turkish Airlines is a potential user, he said, though hasn’t decid-ed if it wants new or old aircraft, while United States carriers will decide whether they see a role for second-hand superjumbos “in one or two years.”

Denser layoutAirlines from China and other parts of Asia may also look at used A380s, with a fleet of four to five examples required to make the

model viable, according to Ge-hling. New operators may want denser seating arrangements than current customers, which gener-ally view the A380 as a fleet flag-ship, so that capacity could grow to 700 or 800 people in a single class, he said.

Turkish Air, or Turk Hava Yol-lari, has already been looking at second-hand double-deckers, though said in June that it had decided against leasing relatively young A380s deemed surplus to requirements by Malaysian Airlines.

Efforts to secure customers for the Singapore A380s are in full swing even as Airbus struggles to find buyers for new superjumbos. Among announced purchasers, Transaero Airlines of Russia is

now defunct and Skymark Airlines of Japan is in bankruptcy protec-tion, while Hong Kong Airlines canceled orders and Virgin Atlan-tic Airways and Indian Ocean car-rier Air Austral seem unlikely to take planes.

Rental rateThe last new order was placed in 2014 by Lapidus, who has yet to find users for the 20 double-deck-ers he’s due to take.

Second-hand A380s are valued at between $90 million and $110 million by experts, Gehling said, though none have yet been sold. That compares with a current list price of $428 million.

Singapore Air ordered the A380s in 2000, when the model sold for $235 million, though as an

early customer would most likely have received a significant dis-count. Dr Peters took over its four planes from 2007, the year deliver-iesto the Asian carrier began, at a cost of about $200 million apiece.

Singapore is paying Dr Peters $1.71 million per month per air-craft, or about $205 million over the life of the lease, based on fees for the first plane, according to publicly available documents.

Obliged to returnThe airline is obliged to return the A380s in “full life” condition — meaning that their cabins, engines and other elements must be like new — or make a payment of up to $25 million for each plane handed back without being refurbished, Gehling said. — Bloomberg News

S U P E R J U M B O J E T S

B3T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

MARKETPort of Salalah opens OMR55m liquid berth

Times News Service

MUSCAT: A new deep-water general cargo and liquid bulk terminal has been opened by the Port of Salalah in a major step to a make it a Gulf regional gateway port and trans-shipment hub on the Arabian Sea.

As delegated by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and on

the occasion of the 45th National Day, His Highness Sayyid Tariq bin Shabib Al Said, sponsored the opening of the additional general cargo and liquid jetty at Salalah Port at a cost of OMR55 million.

The opening ceremony was attended by Dr Ahmed bin Mo-hammed Al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communications, a number of their excellences, honourable, public & private of-ficials, sheikhs and dignitaries of the Governorate of Dhofar at-tended the opening ceremony.

Said bin Hamdoon Al Harthy, undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport and Communica-tions for Ports and Marine Affairs delivered a speech where he said that the project includes the con-struction of all supportive facili-ties and integrated infrastructure.

The new terminal will add 20 million tonnes of dry cargo and six million tonnes of liquid bulk cargo in annual handling capacity. The 1,266 metre-long quay facility is located on the leeward side of the southern breakwater at the Port and provides two 320 metre-long general cargo berths, and two 300 metre-long liquid bulk berths, said a press release issued by the Port of Salalah.

“The new facility will be able to handle a wide range of vessels, ranging from naval ships, to ves-sels handling limestone, cement, livestock, project cargo and other dry bulk commodities as Salalah continues to grow as a key centre of trade and logistics for the re-gion,” said David Gledhill, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Port of Salalah.

The new terminal was built by the Government of Oman at a cost of OMR55 million.

The quay wall is 1,266 metres in length, 84 metres wide, and is dredged to a depth of 18 metres. The project also includes support structures, such as power substa-tions, a fire pump house, a prayer hall, a canteen, and administra-tive offices. Liquid bulk cargoes are an increasingly important commodity for Omani industry and trade. “A dedicated pipe cor-ridor links the new liquid bulk terminal directly with one of our customers operating within the port, and in the future, an exten-sion will connect the Salalah Free Zone where new customers are setting up their plants.” said Port of Salalah deputy CEO Ahmed Akaak. — With inpouts from ONA

The new terminal will

add 20 tonnes of dry

cargo and 6 tonnes

of liquid bulk cargo

in annual handling

capacity. The

1,266m-long quay

facility is located

on the leeward side

of the southern

breakwater at the

port and provides two

320 metre-long each

general cargo and

liquid bulk berths

RIBBON CUTTING: His Highness Sayyid Tariq bin Shabib Al Said cuts the ribbon to mark the open-

ing of the additional general cargo and liquid jetty at Salalah Port, flanked by public and private

officials, sheikhs and other dignitaries and officials. — ONA

‘Invest Easy’ portal adds more featuresTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Additional features to ease company registration were incorporated in the Invest Easy portal by the Ministry of Com-merce and Industry. These servic-es will provide many facilities for investors and the business sector, according to a press release.

The services include changing the commercial registration data (amending the trade name, legal form, capital data, fiscal year of the commercial registration, address of the company and headquarters data). Another feature is amend-ing the business activities data, the investors and signatories data; as well as the cancellation and liq-uidation of companies.

Some electronic services will be available through service provi-sion offices and the investors’ ser-vices offices at the ministry. These

services include selling contracts and determining the activities and licensing them.

The new services are available in all ministry departments and directorates across various gover-norates and Sanad offices in Mus-cat Governorate.

Invest Easy project seeks to im-prove the availability of data; i.e. providing a comprehensive and integrated file for the company through traditional channels and the internet for all the stakehold-ers. It also seeks to facilitate the company registration procedures and to activate all relevant trans-actions for the persons who carry the personal identification card authenticated by the electronic certification system (PKI). The project also endeavours to facili-tate the procedures of getting li-censes with all the requirements posted for investors.

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

UPGRADED SERVICES: New services are available in all ministry

departments and directorates across various governorates and

Sanad offices in Muscat Governorate. - Supplied picture

Conference on enhanced oil recovery to be held in March

Times News Service

MUSCAT: A major conference on enhanced oil recovery will be held in Muscat on the sidelines of Oil and Gas West Asia exhibi-tion (OGWA) between March 21 and 23, 2016.

Organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the fifth edition of the SPE EOR Conference at OGWA will be held at the Golden Tulip Hotel, Muscat. While the foundation for this internationally-recog-nised conference is enhanced oil recovery, each year the ex-ecutive committee selects a theme in line with the current market situation, with this year’s theme being “The EOR Paradigm Shift.”

The opening ceremony on March 21 will feature remarks by Dr. Saleh bin Ali Al Anboori, director general of Manage-ment of Petroleum Invest-ments, Ministry of Oil and Gas and conference chairman; Raoul Restucci, managing di-rector, Petroleum Development Oman. The executive plenary session on the same day will focus on the theme of the event, bringing to light factors influ-encing the EOR paradigm shift.

The technical programme committee has accepted 115 papers to be presented at the conference during 20 technical sessions, along with a number of panel sessions.

These selected papers bring knowledge and experiences from 49 companies spanning 21 different countries.

O I L A N D G A S A S I A E X P O

China’s economy recovering, more support neededBEIJING: China’s activity data was stronger than expected in November, with factory output growth picking up to a five-month high, signalling that a flurry of stimulus measures from Beijing may have put a floor under a frag-ile economy.

Still, analysts believe more pol-icy steps are needed to weather nagging headwinds from a cool-ing property market, risks from high domestic debt levels, and weak global demand as financial markets brace for interest rate rises by the US Federal Reserve.

“Real interest rates are still high due to falling producer pric-es,” Wang Jun, senior economist at the China Centre for Inter-national Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), a Beijing-based think-tank. “It’s still necessary to cut in-terest rates to support economic growth and combat deflation.”

Factory output grew an an-nual 6.2 per cent in November, data from the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) showed, quick-ening from October’s 5.6 per cent and beating expectations of 5.6 per cent.

Growth in China’s fixed-asset investment, one of the main driv-ers of the economy, rose 10.2 per cent in the first 11 months, un-changed from the gain in Janu-ary-October, and higher than an expected 10.1 per cent rise.

Retail sales grew an annual 11.2 per cent in November — the strongest expansion this year — compared with 11.0 per cent in October. Analysts had forecast 11.1 per cent growth in November. “While low base could be the fac-tor driving the headline growth, we still have to acknowledge that China’s data are illustrating signs of stabilisation, albeit at a low level,” said Zhao Hao, senior economist at Commerzbank in Singapore.

The data came after weak trade and inflation readings earlier this week, which underscored the persistent slack in the economy.

Weak demand, overcapacityThe world’s second-biggest

economy has been hit by weak demand at home and abroad, fac-tory overcapacity and challenges posed by its transition to a con-sumption-led growth model from one reliant on investments.

With the Fed poised to raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade at next week’s

review, the risk of intensifying capital outflows has added to Bei-jing’s policy challenge.

Supply-side reformPremier Li Keqiang has recently pledged to step up “supply-side” reform to generate new growth engines in the economy while tackling factory overcapacity and so-called zombie firms.

With its trade sector ailing, there are also signs China is ramping up efforts to send more excess production abroad with tax cuts for the export sector.

China’s output of key indus-trial commodities including coal and steel remained weak in No-vember amid chronic oversupply as slowing construction demand took its toll.

“Supply-side management should be supported by loose fis-cal and monetary policy,” Li Hui-yong, an economist at Shenyin & Wanguo Securities said.

Li said the economy faced “in-creased uncertainties” from a cooling property market, excess factory capacity, high debt lev-els and Beijing’s anti-corruption drive. He expects the central bank to cut interest rates by 50 basis points in the next 12 months, on top of more cuts in bank reserve ratios.

Over the past year Chinese au-thorities have launched the most aggressive policy stimulus since the 2008/09 global financial cri-sis, including cutting interest rates six times since late 2014 and lowering bank reserve re-quirements. — Reuters

A C T I V I T Y D A T A

VITAL FACTS November factory output

was up 6.2 per cent

Jan-Nov fixed-asset

investment was up 10.2

per cent

November retail sales

growth stronger-than-

expected

Property investment

growth slows to 1.3 per

cent in Jan-Nov

More policy steps seen

needed despite signs of

steadying

B4

MARKETT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

MUSCATSECURITIES MARKET

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR MONDAY, DECEMBER 14

REGULAR MARKET .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 484,998 ......... 232,189..................... 27 ........... 0.480 ...........0.480 ...........0.474 ........... 0.478 .............0.472 ........... 0.006 ..............1.271.................0.474 ..............0.474...................0.480 ............... 1,095,491,201 ......0.100

OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER ...................................................97,851 .............18,974........................5 ............0.192 ........... 0.194 ...........0.192 ........... 0.194 ............. 0.192............ 0.002 ............. 1.042 ................0.194 ..............0.194...................0.195 .................. 130,928,161 ........0.100

OM0000004933 ...........AL SUWADI POWER .................................................. 100,000 ............19,383........................5 ............0.192 ........... 0.194 ...........0.192 ........... 0.194 ............. 0.192............ 0.002 ............. 1.042 ................0.194 .............. 0.192...................0.194 ..................138,594,830........0.100

OM0000002176 ............AL JAZEERA STEEL PRODUCTS ..........................60,653 ................7,816......................14 ............0.127 ........... 0.130 ...........0.127 ........... 0.129 ............. 0.128.............0.001 ............. 0.781.................0.130 ..............0.130...................0.135 ....................16,111,837..........0.100

OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES .......................................75,000 ............ 12,348........................4 ............0.163 ........... 0.165 ...........0.163 ............0.165 ............. 0.164.............0.001 ............. 0.610 ................0.165 .............. 0.162...................0.165 ................... 47,957,418 .........0.100

OM0000004669 ...........SHARQIYAH DESALINATION .................................. 3,544 .............15,948........................7 ........... 4.500 ...........4.500 ...........4.500 .......... 4.500 .............4.485 ............0.015 ............. 0.334 ................4.500 .............4.100...................4.500 ..................44,010,972 .........1.000

OM0000001145 ............PORT SERVICES CORPORATION ........................... 1,000 ...................136........................ 1 ............0.136 ........... 0.136 ...........0.136 ............0.139 ............. 0.139............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.136 ..............0.128...................0.136 ................... 13,210,560 .........0.100

OM0000001509 ............DHOFAR INT.DEV.AND INV. HOLD. ........................3,613 ...............1,409........................2 ........... 0.390 ...........0.390 ...........0.390........... 0.398 .............0.398 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.390..............0.380...................0.000 ..................98,067,200 .........0.100

OM0000001517 ............HSBC BANK OMAN ........................................................ 5,000 .................. 525........................ 1 ............0.105 ........... 0.105 ...........0.105 ........... 0.105 ............. 0.105............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.105 .............. 0.101...................0.107 ..................210,032,843........0.100

OM0000002168 ............AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ............................... 300,000 ...........90,000......................13 ........... 0.300 ...........0.300 ...........0.300 .......... 0.300 .............0.300 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.300 .............0.294...................0.300 ..................88,864,105 .........0.100

OM0000002200 ...........AHLI BANK .................................................................... 100,000 ............19,300........................2 ............0.193 ........... 0.193 ...........0.193 ............0.193 ............. 0.193............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.193 .............. 0.178...................0.192 ..................275,031,976 ........0.100

OM0000002226 ...........AL JAZEERA SERVICES .............................................. 1,000 .................. 336........................ 1 ........... 0.336 ........... 0.336 ...........0.336 ........... 0.350 .............0.350 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.336 ..............0.320...................0.336................... 21,421,496 .........0.100

OM0000002275 ...........SHELL OMAN MARKETING ...................................10,000 ............20,000........................2 ........... 2.000 ...........2.000 ...........2.000 .......... 2.000 .............2.000 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................2.000 ............ 0.000...................2.000 ................ 190,000,000 .......0.100

OM0000002341 ............OMAN CHLORINE.......................................................... 1,962 ...............1,004........................2 ............0.510 ...........0.520 ...........0.510 ........... 0.510 ............. 0.510............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.520............. 0.000...................0.512 ...................33,078,920 .........0.100

OM0000002374............UNITED FINANCE ......................................................... 5,000 .................. 545........................3 ............0.109 ........... 0.109 ...........0.109 ........... 0.109 ............. 0.109 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.109 .............. 0.107...................0.109 ...................33,873,379 .........0.100

OM0000002820 ...........GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES ......................... 211,395 .............19,026......................12 ........... 0.090 ...........0.090 ...........0.090........... 0.090 .............0.090 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.090..............0.088...................0.090 ................... 5,295,890 ..........0.100

OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ..........................83,976 ...........128,521..................... 10 ............1.530 ........... 1.540 ...........1.530 ............1.530 ............. 1.530............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................1.540 .............. 1.530...................1.540 ................ 1,147,500,000 ......0.100

OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 254,726 ............18,474......................17 ........... 0.072 ........... 0.074 ...........0.072........... 0.073 .............0.073 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.074 ..............0.073...................0.074................... 21,168,587 .........0.100

OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO....................................................................... 171,193 .......... 122,274......................14 ........... 0.704 ........... 0.716............0.704 ............0.716 ............. 0.716 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.716 .............. 0.716...................0.720..................466,076,069 .......0.100

OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL ................................................57,413 ...............4,470..................... 10 ........... 0.077 ........... 0.078 ...........0.077 ........... 0.078 .............0.078 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.078 ..............0.077...................0.078...................13,650,000 .........0.100

OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY .....................................................66,693 .............27,478........................4 ............0.412 ........... 0.412 ...........0.412 ........... 0.412 ............. 0.414............-0.002 ........... -0.483 ...............0.412 .............. 0.412...................0.434 ..................24,926,000 ........0.100

OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE ................84,812 .............13,254......................12 ............0.152 ........... 0.159 ...........0.152 ............0.156 ............. 0.157 ............-0.001 ........... -0.637 ...............0.159 .............. 0.157...................0.162 ...................31,200,000 .........0.100

OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 381,812 ............ 59,560..................... 35 ............0.156 ........... 0.158 ...........0.155 ............0.156 ............. 0.157 ............-0.001 ........... -0.637 ...............0.157 .............. 0.157...................0.158 ................... 23,411,700 .........0.100

OM0000001962 ............AL MADINA INVESTMENT .....................................39,828 ...............2,130......................11 ............0.051 ........... 0.055 ...........0.051 ........... 0.053 .............0.054 ...........-0.001 ........... -1.852................0.054..............0.053...................0.054 .................. 10,979,023 .........0.100

OM0000001418 ............RAYSUT CEMENT ........................................................ 16,690 .............17,024........................7 ............1.020 ........... 1.020 ...........1.020 ........... 1.020 .............1.040 ...........-0.020 ........... -1.923................1.020 ..............1.000...................1.020 ................. 204,000,000 .......0.100

OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ............. 91,128 ...............8,657......................11 ........... 0.095 ........... 0.095 ...........0.095 ........... 0.095 .............0.097 ...........-0.002 ........... -2.062 ...............0.095 ..............0.095...................0.096....................8,550,000 ..........0.100

OM0000002549 ...........BANK DHOFAR ............................................................ 136,250 ............28,741........................9 ............0.210 ........... 0.212 ...........0.210 ............0.211 .............0.220 ...........-0.009 ........... -4.091 ...............0.211 ..............0.212...................0.220 .................325,937,723 ........0.100

OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS .................................................... 6,828 ...............2,732........................8 ........... 0.402 ...........0.402 ...........0.400 .......... 0.400 ............. 0.418............-0.018 ........... -4.306 ...............0.400............. 0.400...................0.410 ...................21,000,000 .........0.100

OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ..............55,000 ............ 13,200........................ 1 ........... 0.240 ...........0.240 ...........0.240 .......... 0.240 .............0.260 ...........-0.020 ............-7.692................0.240 .............0.243...................0.250 ...................5,040,000 ..........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 2,907,365 ......905,454...................250 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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

PARALLEL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 675,838 ........... 48,659..................... 36 ............0.071 ........... 0.073 ...........0.071 ........... 0.072 ............. 0.071.............0.001 ............. 1.408 ................0.072 ..............0.072...................0.073................. 108,000,000 .......0.100

OM0000001251 ............DHOFAR BEVERAGES FOOD STUFF .......................650 ...................169........................ 1 ........... 0.260 ...........0.260 ...........0.260 .......... 0.260 .............0.260 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.260............. 0.000...................0.000 ...................5,200,000 ..........0.100

OM0000001368 ............CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. .................... 77,692 ...............2,563........................8 ........... 0.033 ........... 0.033 ...........0.032........... 0.033 .............0.033 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.032..............0.032...................0.033....................2,805,000 ..........0.100

OM0000001566 ............OMAN FISHERIES ......................................................... 5,000 ..................260........................ 1 ........... 0.052 ........... 0.052 ...........0.052........... 0.052 .............0.052 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.052 ..............0.052...................0.053....................6,500,000 ..........0.100

OM0000004511 ............ALIZZ ISLAMIC BANK.................................................98,411 ............... 6,401........................9 ........... 0.065 ........... 0.066 ...........0.065 ........... 0.065 .............0.065 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.065 ..............0.065...................0.066...................65,000,000.........0.100

OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 847,639 ..........121,212..................... 42 ............0.143 ........... 0.143 ...........0.143 ........... 0.143 ............. 0.144 ...........-0.001 ........... -0.694 ...............0.143 .............. 0.143...................0.144 ..................209,152,009........0.100

OM0000001400 ...........OMAN FLOUR MILLS ................................................ 20,000 ...............9,280........................ 1 ........... 0.464 ........... 0.464 ...........0.464........... 0.464 .............0.468 ...........-0.004 ........... -0.855 ...............0.464............. 0.000...................0.464 ..................73,080,000.........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 1,725,230 ...... 188,544..................... 98 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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

BONDS AND SUKUK MARKET ...................................................................................................................................................................... OM0000005971 ............B.MUSCAT COMPL. CONVR. B.B.3.5 ....................... 2,739 ..................260........................ 1 ........... 0.095 ........... 0.095 ...........0.095 ........... 0.092 .............0.092 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.095 ..............0.096...................0.099...................29,822,868 .........0.100

.............................................SUM: ...................................................................................... 2,739 ..................260........................ 1 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. .........1........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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 ....................................... 5,408.57 ...............5,393.57 ................... 5,403.67 ................... 5,414.99 ................ -11.32 .................. -0.21Financial Index .................................... 6,489.90 ...............6,475.92 ................... 6,489.03 ...................6,502.21 ................ -13.18 .................. -0.20Industrial Index ....................................6,753.09 ............... 6,721.17 ....................6,721.33 ....................6,763.81 ............... -42.48 .................. -0.63Services Index .......................................3,094.15 .............. 3,082.40 ................... 3,094.15 ...................3,089.50 ....................4.65 ................... 0.15MSM SHARIAH INDEX.......................858.55 ..................855.64 ...................... 856.28 ...................... 858.56 ..................-2.28 .................. -0.27

Trading SummaryVolume ................ Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up ............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded4,635,334 ................... 1,094,258 .....................349 ................ 14,501,851,711 .................. 7 ......................11 .................... 19 .........................37

MSM index falls again

MUSCAT: Share prices on the Muscat Securities Market touched the lowest level since August 2012, before partially recovering as the session pro-gressed during a dull trading day. It declined by 0.21 per cent on Monday before closing at 5,403.67 points, the lowest level in more than three years.

The Sharia Index edged down by 0.27 per cent to close at 856.28 points. Phoenix Power was the most active in terms of volume while Bank Muscat led in terms of turnover. Today’s top gainer was Bank Nizwa, up by 1.41 per cent, while Gulf International Chemicals, down by 7.69 per cent, was the top loser.

As many as 349 trades were executed on Monday, generat-ing turnover of OMR1.09 million with 4.6 million shares changing hands. Out of 37 traded securities, seven advanced, 11 declined and 19 remained unchanged. GCC and Arab investors remained net buyers for OMR171,000 followed by Omani investors for OMR 33,000 while foreign investors were net sellers for OMR204,000 worth of shares.

Financial Index closed at 6,489.03 points, down by 0.20 per cent. Bank Nizwa and Bank Muscat advanced by 1.41 per cent and 1.27 per cent, respectively. BankDhofar, Al Sharqia Invest-ments, Al Madina Investments and Al Anwar Holding declined by 4.09 per cent, 2.06 per cent, 1.85 per cent and 0.64 per cent, respectively.

Industrial Index declined by 0.63 per cent to finish the ses-sion at 6,721.33 points. Al Jazeera Steel, up by 0.78 per cent, was the sole sector gainer. Gulf In-ternational Chemicals, Al Maha Ceramics, Raysut Cement, Oman Flour Mills and Voltamp Energy declined by 7.69 per cent, 4.31 per cent, 1.92 per cent, 0.85 per cent and 0.48 per cent, respectively.

Services Index gained 0.15 per cent and ended at 3,094.15 points. Al Batinah Power, Al Suwadi Power, Renaissance Services and Sharqiyah Desalination gained by 1.04 per cent, 1.04 per cent, 0.61 per cent and 0.33 per cent, respectively. Phoenix Power and OIFC declined by 0.69 per cent and 0.64 per cent, respectively.

Emerging markets fallEmerging-market currencies fell to a record and the benchmark equity gauge dropped toward a six-year low as a renewed selloff in commodities worsened risk appetite. South Africa’s rand gained as President Jacob Zuma decided to backtrack on his choice for finance minister.

Russia’s ruble led declines in developing countries as Brent crude slumped to $36 a barrel in London. The Brazilian real dropped for a third day as ana-lysts in a central bank survey deepened their forecast for a re-cession in 2016. Stock indexes in Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Rus-sia lost at least 1 per cent. The rand gained the most since 2011, reversing part of last week’s sell-off, after Zuma appointed Pravin Gordhan as finance minister.

Slowing economic growth in China and commodity prices at 16-year lows are weighing on sen-timent as traders predict the Fed-eral Reserve will end a seven-year era of near-zero interest rates this week. Emerging-market cur-rencies are on course for their worst annual performance since 1997, while shares are poised for the biggest drop in four years.

“Oil and metal prices are a sig-nal of growth expectations and all emerging markets are hit,” said Aurelija Augulyte, a strategist at Nordea Markets in Copenhagen. The South African rand “got pun-ished too much and would benefit if the Fed is dovish.

-United Securities/Bloomberg News

Phoenix Power was the most active in

terms of volume, while Bank Muscat led

in terms of market turnover

Indian stock market recovers MUMBAI: India’s mid-cap stocks rebounded from a two- month low and materials producers helped the benchmark index to gain in volatile trading before the U.S. Federal Reserve’s final meeting of 2015 this week.

Reliance Communications Ltd. surged 6.2 per cent, the top gainer on the S&P MidCap Index. JSW Steel Ltd. rallied to a nine-month high and Jindal Steel & Power

Ltd. had the biggest advance this month after the government lev-ied an anti-dumping duty on some products on Friday evening.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. is set to sign an agreement to buy Italian car designer Pininfarina SpA, people familiar with the matter said. Shares of the Indian maker of sport utility vehicle rose 1.8 per cent.

The mid-cap gauge rose 0.7 per

cent at close. The S&P BSE Sensex changed direction at least eight times and moved into positive ter-ritory in the last half hour as Euro-pean stocks rallied from a 10-week and Standard & Poor’s 500 futures pointed to stronger US equities. Indian stocks capped a second week of losses on Friday as global funds pulled about $200 million last week before the Fed’s policy decision. - Bloomberg News

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

Growth of Islamic banksIn a speech, Jamil El Jaroudi, chief executive officer of Bank Nizwa, highlighted the growth of Islamic finance around the world and em-phasised the importance of collab-oration between public and private organisations to produce tangible results. He said, “Globally, the as-sets intermediated by the Islamic Banking industry have reached an estimated $2 trillion. This growth is expected to accelerate further global expansion in response to increasing demand for Sharia-compliant financial products and services.” Attended by more than 150 gov-ernment and public sector rep-resentatives, the forum served as a platform for decision-makers and industry experts to address the challenges and opportunities within the Islamic banking es-pecially against the backdrop of plummeting oil prices.

Speaking to Times of Oman, El Jaroudi said that Bank Nizwa will focus on enhancing efficiency and increasing its presence in the mar-ket across the Sultanate in 2016.

“When economic situation changes, I think the best way is to

look into efficiency,” he said, add-ing, “You have to take into consid-eration the growth around you. So you cannot be overgrowing the market or you cannot be really go-ing back.”

So the bank’s focus in the up-coming year is to enhance pro-ductivity and visit more cities in Oman,El Jaroudi noted. Bank Nizwa’s budget for next year is ex-pected to be approved soon.

The forum consisted of two in-teractive panel discussions. The first, entitled ‘Economic Outlook in the Context of the Region’ was moderated by Hatem Al Shanfari, member of the Board of Gover-nors of the CBO and featured Eng. Salim Al Aufi, undersecretary at the Ministry of Oil and Gas, as well as Sheikh Ahmed Al Marhoon, director general of Muscat Secu-rities Market and Eng. Amran Al Marhoubi, technical director of Petroleum Development Oman.

Al Marhoon called for increased efforts to diversify the economy, saying that there is huge poten-tial in a number of sectors such as fisheries, agriculture, mining and tourism.

I S L A M I C B A N K I N G F O R U M

< FROM

B1'Role of technology important'

“Internationally, direct bor-rowing and raising debt in-struments are normally the way forward for countries like Oman, not only specific to Oman, but all the coun-tries in the region that are facing such challenges,” the official added.

He also highlighted the importance of technological innovation in the bank-ing sector and said that it is an important enabler, which would help the banks enhance their efficiency and productivity.

Some milestones have been achieved in this regard, but still there is a lot of room for growth, Al Shanfari said.

S M E D E V E L O P M E N T

< FROM

B1

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

B5T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

ROUND-UPLove us on Facebook

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY LAUNCH FACEBOOK PAGE

Discovery Sport attracts worldwide customers

DUBAI: Now available in 170 glob-al markets, Land Rover’s Discovery Sport has already attracted 40,000 customers around the world with its combination of contemporary design, outstanding versatility and advanced engineering.

Advanced technology is inte-grated throughout, including a handful of discreet features deliv-ered through a network of sensors which measure everything from the intensity of the sun’s rays and air quality in the cabin, to wind-screen mist and rain – without any input from the driver, says a press release.

Sun load sensorThe Discovery Sport features a sun load sensor on the dashboard that measures the intensity of the sun’s rays every 200 milliseconds, automatically adjusting the air conditioning to counteract solar

gain through the windscreen. When driving out of the shade

into the sun, the system impercep-tibly increases the output of the air conditioning, even taking into ac-count the angle of the sun to com-bat its effect on cabin temperature. Cabin humidity is also measured, with the air conditioning finely ad-justed to achieve the programmed temperature.

The flexible 5+2 seating of Dis-covery Sport features face-level air vents in second row seats to maximise the effects of the climate control system. An auxiliary air conditioning unit in the third row seats, also offering face level vents, is available for optimum perfor-mance in hot climates.

Sensing its surroundingsThe Discovery Sport is available with Dual Zone climate control with an air quality sensor, which monitors humidity and smog lev-els. Once it detects high pollution levels, the system switches auto-matically to re-circulation mode. Rain sensitive wipers activate au-tonomously according to the con-ditions, while a sensor fitted to the windscreen automatically detects and clears windscreen misting.

In the event of driving through water, ultrasonic sensors fitted to the underside of the door mirrors measure the distance from the mirror to the water surface. The Wade Sensing control unit then calculates the depth of the water,

taking into account any forward or backward tilt of the vehicle, before displaying the depth on the touch screen, emitting an audible warn-ing signal to warn that the vehicle is approaching its maximum wad-ing depth.

Stereo cameraAn advanced stereo camera mount-ed alongside the rear view mirror scans the road ahead looking for vehicles as potential obstructions. The 3D imaging camera covers a 50-degree horizontal field of vision and spans up to 50 metres.

High beam assistThe stereo camera also automati-cally activates and dips the beam to avoid dazzling other road us-ers when an oncoming vehicle is detected. This ‘High Beam Assist’ function dips the headlamps within 500 milliseconds –faster than a tra-ditional driver-operated switch.

Similarly, the auto-dimming rear view uses two sensors and instantly adjusts to maintain the optimum brightness to ensure another vehicle can’t dazzle the driver. A forward-facing sensor in the rear view mirror can measure the amount of light available to the driver, while a second rear-facing sensor scans up to 1,000 metres behind, monitoring the lights of upcoming vehicles.

For example, on dark rural roads the front sensor detects the low level of ambient light and can rec-ognise that the driver will be more susceptible to glare. If the sensor then detects a vehicle behind with bright lights, the mirror will be darkened. If the driver is in a well-lit city, the mirror will only fade by a small amount.

Land Rover shines

spotlight on a

suite of advanced

technologies in

existing Discovery

Sport designed to

enhance passenger

safety, comfort

and convenience

MJEC sponsors Sohar

University’s energy

conservation campaign

MUSCAT: Majan Electric-ity Company (MJEC), one of the companies under the Nama Group, recently sponsored the energy conservation campaign organised by Sohar University.

Held recently, the campaign included events and sessions that aimed to educate students in the university about rationalisation of electricity consumption and how to effectively use electricity, says a press release.

Sponsoring this campaign is a part of the company’s commit-ment to social responsibility and spreading awareness regarding energy conservation to all seg-ments of the society, and also strengthening the bonds of com-munication between the compa-ny and the community.

The campaign was launched with a presentation by the En-ergy Conservation Group of the university. This was followed by a speech by Eng. Ibrahim Ali Al Farsi, Customer Service S.M where he spoke about the con-cept of conservation and its im-portance in saving energy for the future generations. He also talked about the need to awaken

the sense of responsibility and commitment in the younger gen-eration towards preserving the environment. The launch also included a presentation by the students of electrical engineer-ing department about the impor-tance of renewable energy and case study on how to produce power to light up the parking area using renewable sources.

As part of the campaign, stu-dents held an exhibition on elec-tricity consumption, in which representatives of MJEC spread awareness regarding steps to conserve electricity, including the use of energy-saving electri-cal devices. It also introduced students to modern techniques of conserving electricity, along with ways to reduce electricity bills and increase the lifespan of electrical appliances.

Furthermore, fliers with all relevant information on the com-pany and electricity distribution were widely distributed as part of the campaign.

MJEC also gave away gifts to the students and the audience to motivate them to adopt energy conservation methods.

C O R P O R A T E S U P P O R T

Renaissance supports Omani students

MUSCAT: Fifteen aspiring Om-ani students and their families attended an international gradu-ation ceremony in Muscat Hall at the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently.

The students were sponsored by Renaissance to study abroad and bring their newly certified skills and training to the developing hos-pitality economy, here in Oman, says a press release.

Each student has completed a two-year Advanced Diploma in Hospitality with the Colombo Academy of Hospitality Manage-ment (CAHM) at the William An-gliss Institute, Sri Lanka Institute

of Information Technology. The ceremony was hosted by

Renaissance and speakers includ-ed Stephen Thomas, CEO of Re-naissance, Steven Bradie-Miles, CEO of CAHM and Professor Lak-shman Ratnayake, chairman of the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology.

The particular commitment and dedication of the Omani students shone through in their results, with two receiving special awards for their performance at CAHM: Mohammed Salim Al Hajri, was recognised as the Best Student in Hospitality Operations/Finance Management and Ahad Abdullah

Al Jabri was recognised as Most Outstanding Graduate, due to her outstanding academic record (she scored a perfect ‘A’ in all 61 exams), as well as her leadership and man-agement skills.

Al Jabri said: “I am truly hon-oured that I have been chosen as the outstanding student this year. I am sure that for all of my fellow graduates there have been times of stress that put us out of our com-fort zones.”

She continued: “And I would like to add a thank you to Renaissance for giving me this opportunity to add a lot to my professional life and our SME company, Meshan.”

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

Oath-taking ceremony held at PSM

MUSCAT: A splendid oath-taking ceremony was held at Pakistan Junior School Muscat recently.

In the ceremony, the responsi-bilities of proctorship were given to Class II to Class IV students. Adnan Shahzad, chairman, Board of Directors, Usman Lakhan, Mo-hammad Hafeez Malik, Waseem Iqbal, directors board, members of parents council, Atta Ullah Niazi, senior principal, Khalid Jadoon, principal, Munazza Ghafoor, principal, parents, teachers and students attended this ceremony, says a press release.

The ceremony started with recitation from the Holy Quran in a beautiful voice by Shifaa Haider from Class IV. Munazza wel-comed the guests and informed the audience about the purpose of the event.

Munazza commented that the sole purpose of giving these re-sponsibilities to the students is to sharpen their leadership skills and to inculcate the sense of re-sponsibility and discipline among

the children. The badges were distributed among the students in the event by the chairman BoDs, board directors and senior principal.

An oath was taken by the sen-ior principal from the proctors that they would perform their duties with full responsibil-

ity and honesty. Atta Ullah Ni-azi stated that the students are selected on the basis of merit and they will become the role model for other students. He also thanked Munazza for conducting the outstanding event.

The ceremony concluded with the National Anthem of Pakistan.

S T U D E N T L E A D E R S

Jotun’s 2016 Wall Trends: A journey of reflections and designMUSCAT: Jotun, the region’s leading paint manufacturer, has unveiled its 2016 Wall Trends.

Handpicked and developed by Jotun’s Global Colour and Crea-tive Director, Lisbeth Larsen, together with regional colour ex-perts, the Jotun 2016 Wall Trends is designed to cater to the design needs and aspirations of home-owners, both regionally and glob-ally, says a press release.

The Jotun 2016 Wall Trends features a selection of beautiful colours and themes that are in-spired by the world that surrounds us. It’s in the vintage blues of the forties, fifties and sixties, or na-ture’s glistening green leaves, and the simplicity of pure white; the Jotun 2016 Wall Trends are re-flections of a journey — one that makes a house become a home. For 2016, Jotun has designed three colour themes that are inspired by various social, cultural and envi-ronmental cues, translating them into shades that adorn walls and best express personalities. Each theme features complementary shades that come together to cre-ate the overall look and feel for a space; each of the three themes also function as mood boards to guide the colour selection process

for not just walls but surrounding furniture and accessories.

Stemming from Jotun’s most beautiful paint ever, Fenomastic My Home, in combination with the unique Lady Design special effect wall paint, the 2016 Wall Trends breathe life and character into spaces. Fenomastic My Home Rich Matt offers the best colour accuracy, ensuring homeowners achieve the exact look they desire. Each colour from the 2016 Wall Trends collection is guaranteed to look stunning on walls as they’ve been tested on large surface areas before production.

Speaking about the 2016 Wall Trends, Tore Myrvang, sales and marketing manager at Jotun said: “Over the decades, we have experi-enced an evolution of interiors and design trends globally. As infor-mation becomes more and more accessible the world is literally at your fingertips. People are savvier than they were before and are in-spired by the world of information that they’re exposed to.

“Social media channels offer a window into lives’ that homeown-ers aspire to own a slice of. Jotun’s 2016 Wall Trends offers home-owners the opportunity to bring those inspirational cues, tones

and textures into their own homes with a high level of flexibility to personalise their spaces.”

Reflections of TimeExuding sophistication and luxu-ry, Reflections of Time takes you through a journey in time.

The palette features variants of the sophisticated blues, warm neutrals, and a touch of gold or linen that represents the passage of time. Reflections of Time has drawn inspiration from the glam-our and elegance predominant in the forties, fifties and sixties.

A brilliant representation of vin-tage meets modern luxury, home-owners can be lost in sweet nostal-

gia surrounded by soft walls and a rich ambience.

Reflections of LightLike pure light, Reflections of Light maintains that elegance lies in simplicity. The palette is a com-bination of clean white hues in contrast with terracotta and soft blacks, inspiring transformation in its simplest form. Silent and subtle, this palette creates spaces that are delicate, yet powerful. Drawing inspiration from the functional way of living, Reflec-tions of Light offers true order in design, and homes transform into luxurious yet minimalistic spaces that are warm and inviting.

Reflections of EarthTaking inspiration from the great outdoors – the bark of a tree in the woods after the first rain, or the green of a pine leaf as the morn-ing sun emerges – Reflections of Earth creates an ambience of natural warmth that is comfort-ing. The palette features shades of green, warm tones of browns and concrete synonymous with nature and the natural way of living. Col-ours from the Reflections of Earth theme work well in minimalistic homes, sparsely decorated with key nature-inspired décor.

Mahira Saqib, assistant mar-keting manager at Jotun Oman said: “The Jotun 2016 Wall Trends encourages people to take design risks and transform their homes from blank canvases to on-trend spaces, allowing walls to move from the background to the fore-ground, or even taking centre stage. At the same time, our new collections offer solutions to those who prefer a more subtle look. For the first time, Jotun has also un-veiled textured walls as key wall trends, and these are exclusive to the Middle East region. The dif-ferent textures, especially natural materials including concrete, lin-en, bricks and stones, that are part

of the 2016 Wall Trends represent design brilliance and excellence, all achievable only using paint.”

Texture and depthHomeowners in the region have long been looking for ways to add natural elements or materials to create a rich cosy feel, or highlight areas in their homes with art-inspired walls. Adding depth and texture with natural elements to a wall is a key design trend for the region, a trend that will continue to gain popularity in 2016. Wheth-er it’s the industrial-chic concrete finish, or the elegant Roman-esque Timeless Stone and White Brick effects, texture can immediately transform the look and feel of a space. Also popular is the Linen textile finish and the Washed-Out Grey fade, all created using Jotun’s Lady Design range of products.

“Jotun’s 2016 Wall Trends en-courages individuality and origi-nality, therefore remaining true to our brand promise of enabling the creation of beautiful homes and iconic buildings,” added Larsen.

All colours and textures featured as part of the brand’s 2016 Wall Trends are now available across all Jotun multi colour stores across the region.

B E A U T I F U L C O L O U R S A N D T H E M E S

HARMONY OF HUES: Officials from Jotun Paints unveiled 2016 Wall

Trends featuring a selection of beautiful colours and themes. – Jun

Estrada/TIMES OF OMAN

B6 T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

ROUND-UPAll-new Nissan Maxima: Modern and charismatic

MUSCAT: Suhail Bahwan Auto-mobiles, the exclusive distributors of Nissan vehicles in Oman, un-veiled the all-new game-changing Nissan Maxima 2016.

The completely redesigned 8th generation model is the sporti-est andmost powerful Maxima ever. The all-new 2016 Maxima is a modern and charismatic vehicle over-delivering on the fundamen-tals earned over eight generations for quality, reliability and class-above in innovation, safety fea-tures, dynamic performance and premium styling.

AuraNissan Maxima’s styling show-cases Nissan’s new design language - including V-Motion front end, signature boomerang lights, kick-up C-pillars and unique floating roof appearance. Inside, the Nissan Maxima’s premium class-above, bespoke interior is anchored by a driver’s cockpit that rivals luxury vehicles. The new vehicle was de-veloped under the inspiration of the Blue Angels at the Naval Air Sta-tion in Pensacola – Florida, United States. It holds a specific style in-spired by the ‘jet fighter’ styling theme and ergonomic layout.

The futuristic appearance is finished with large dual exhaust chrome tailpipe finishers and 18-inch machined aluminium-alloy wheels. The Nissan Maxima SR adds 19-inch aluminum-alloy wheels that use a unique diamond-cut machined finish.

The Nissan Maxima’s totally re-designed interior is anchored by a “command centre” driver’s cock-pit and a premium bespoke style crafted execution. The console also features luxurious padding on the sides with contrasted stitch-

ing. A new Display Commander control on the console allows fin-gertip control of the center display as befitting a premium sport sedan.

The Nissan Maxima’s interior execution was a strong focus from the onset of development, with the goal of offering an interior that truly rivals luxury vehicles. It offers genuine stitching on the instrument panel, doors and con-sole, available ambient lighting, available premium leather seating surfaces with diamond-quilted in-serts, unique faceted finishers and a sporty D-shaped (flat-bottom) steering wheel.

The all-new Nissan Maxima 2016’s comfort is inspired by Nis-san’s ‘Zero Gravity Seats’ design with added foam topper pad for ini-tial softness and long-term comfort that consists of acoustic laminated glass (windshield and front side glass), and Active Noise Cancella-tion System for a quieter cabin.

As with the exterior, interior colours were carefully considered to fit with Maxima’s exclusive sports-premium personality.

PerformanceIn a number of aspects the Nis-san Maxima’s performance sub-stantially eclipses market perfor-mance and is on a par with many sports cars, moving it closer to its big brother - the Nissan GT-R.

The Nissan Maxima’s 3.5-litre VQ-series V6 has been redesigned with more than 60 percent new parts (compared to the previous generation 3.5-litre V6). With 300 horsepower, the Nissan Maxima has a high specific output of 85.7 horsepower/litre. The revised en-gine helps it achieve an anticipat-

ed 15 percent increase in highway fuel economy to an EPA estimated 30 miles per gallon.

Complementing the revised powerplant is a new, performance-oriented Xtronic transmission fea-turing a wider ratio range, which allows for stronger acceleration from a standing start and an all-new D-Step shifting logic that pro-vides rapid shifts at high throttle openings.

TechnologyThe Nissan Maxima’s next-gener-ation premium-level technology features include an 8.0-inch col-our display features multi-touch control for intuitive smartphone-like gestures such as swiping and pinch-to-zoom. The system is paired with a standard 7.0-inch Advanced Drive Assist Display (ADAD) within the instrument cluster.

The vehicle boasts an extensive range of safety, security and driv-ing aids, including Predictive For-ward Collision Warning (PFCW), Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC), Forward Emergency Braking (FEB), Rear Cross Traffic Alert (CTA) and Blind Spot Warning (BSW). The Nissan Maxima also offers an available Driver Atten-tion Alert (DAA) system which monitors steering input patterns to establish a baseline and helps alert the driver when drowsy or in-attentive driving is detected (only on Nissan Maxima SR grade).

Safety Standard safety and security fea-tures on all 2016 Maxima trim lev-els include the Nissan Advanced Air Bag System (AABS) with sup-

plemental front air bags with seat belt and occupant classification sensors; front seat-mounted side impact supplemental air bags; roof-mounted curtain side impact supplemental air bags with rollo-ver sensor for front and rear-seat outboard occupant head protec-tion; front seat belts with pre-tensioners and load limiters and adjustable upper anchors; and LATCH System (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children).

Every Maxima also offers child safety rear door locks; Zone Body construction featuring front and rear crumple zones and occupant zone; Nissan Immobiliser system and anti-theft alarm system. Max-ima offers a variety of advanced technologies that are standard on three trim levels include Intelli-gent Cruise Control (ICC), Blind Spot Warning (BSW), class-exclu-sive Predictive Forward Collision Warning (PFCW), Forward Emer-gency Braking (FEB), and Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA).

Suhail Bahwan Automobiles over the years have institution-alised robust systems and people processes to continuously monitor and measure customer satisfac-tion levels at point of sale and ve-hicle service. This is done through periodic surveys with customers, analysing key consideration fac-tors for improving customer sat-isfaction and implementing them. Good reliable customer service has helped SBA to build a loyal fol-lowing thus ensuring additional revenue streams and enhanced its reputation in Oman.

“When it comes to providing good service, the firms that are able to build strong relationships with their customers are more likely to maintain a solid core of enthusiastic supporters.

“Quickly resolving issues and going beyond customers’ expecta-tions encourages repeat business from patrons, and in many cases, we go further than that. High qual-ity customer service helps to cre-ate customer loyalty. Customers today are not only interested in the product they are being offered, but also all the additional elements of service that they receive starting from the greeting when they enter a retail outlet,” a key SBA spokes-person opined.

The completely

redesigned 8th

generation model is

the sportiest and most

powerful Maxima ever

Tibiaan Properties rolls

out smart property

management solution

MUSCAT: Well-known real es-tate service firm Tibiaan Prop-erties is leveraging software technology to better serve its growing clientele of property owners and tenants.

The company, which manages an expanding portfolio of com-mercial and residential projects across Oman, is preparing to roll out a smart new property man-agement programme designed to enhance the delivery of services to its diverse customers, says a press release.

To the end, Tibiaan has enlisted the expertise of Ozone United Company, a leading technology services and software solutions provider, in the development of a comprehensive web-based solu-tion customised to the brokerage firm’s distinctive brand of services.

The innovative programme promises to transform the way how Tibiaan’s staff manage their day to day operations. From the convenience of their desktops, laptops or other devices, staff can enjoy instant access to informa-tion on client properties under company management - in real time. Likewise, the tenant man-agement feature can be easily ac-cessed to ascertain the registra-tion particulars or rent payment schedules of individual tenants, and so on.

Most notably, maintenance management of Tibiaan’s port-folio of properties will be fully streamlined once the new solu-tion is fully deployed. It allows for maintenance requests to be registered and followed-up on-line. Furthermore, as a customer-centric solution, the new proper-ty management system will help

Tibiaan connect better with its tenants. Automatic SMS alerts, for example, will provide tenants with a timely heads-up on up-coming rental payments. Tenants can also log in to track the status of their post-dated cheques and thereby keep a close tab on their rental payment history.

According to Faisal Musthafa Ebrahim, CEO of Ozone United, the new programme will inject a great deal of efficiency and quality in the way how Tibiaan manages its property and tenan-cy portfolios.

“All of the processes, tasks and duties associated with property management will be automated as a result of this initiative, al-lowing Tibiaan’s staff to devote more time to business growth and enhanced customer service delivery. Besides, as all of the cli-ent and tenant data is recorded systematically, the programme makes it convenient for informa-tion to be easily accessed, ana-lysed and evaluated to help with speedy decision-making. Dash-board reports offer a bird’s eye view on the overall performance of the business. So it helps drive performance and add value to the overall business.”

Welcoming the deployment of the solution, Fahad Al Ismaili, founder and CEO of Tibiaan Properties, commented: “Tibi-aan’s decision to embrace this new property management solu-tion is in line with our broader strategy to modernise our ser-vice delivery and stay better con-nected with our growing client base. It enables us to work faster and smarter, albeit in cost-effec-tive way.”

S O F T W A R E T E C H N O L O G Y

A’Saffa conducts training for staffMUSCAT: A’Saffa Foods, Oman’s leading producer of natural, tasty, halal and healthy food products, recently held a specialised train-ing exercise for their senior man-agement and staff on ‘Advanced Marketing and Sales Concepts’ at the Modern College of Business and Science.

During the intensive two-day seminar managers and execu-tives were given a comprehensive insight into various issues in ad-vanced marketing concepts and to ensure the company keeps pace with a leading competitive edge, says a press release.

The course was focused at strengthening employee’s ana-lytical capabilities and improvis-ing their skill-set in order so that they could be abreast with the developments impacting their performance. Employees who are well-versed with their functional and business roles often commit errors in management, and the company feels that even if they don’t, they need to enhance their business knowledge and technical skills required. The staff members were also taken through an inten-sive workshop that also focused on the concepts of marketing that provided both offensive and defen-

sive strategic context to identify opportunities and threats.

Innovative and hugely success-ful marketing and sales strategies have helped A’Saffa become a rec-ognised leader in the poultry busi-ness and across its rapidly growing frozen food product ranges as the business grows into an Omani food manufacturing powerhouse. The Advanced Programme on Mar-keting and Sales for Supervisory Staff dealt with various aspects on contemporary issues in the field of marketing and sales along with executive behavioural dimensions towards self-development.

Commenting on the training

workshop, Sidhartha Lenka, head of Sales and Marketing, A’Saffa Foods, said: “This was the latest in a series of workshops that the company has invested in to help with the continuing development and enhancement of the skills and capabilities of our senior manage-ment team. As a business A’Saffa Foods is committed to investing in the talent and careers of its staff at every level of the business and the recent workshops are a continu-ation of that philosophy that has helped us to achieve excellent staff retention levels and make our com-pany an employer of choice for tal-ented individuals in the Sultanate.”

A D V A N C E D C O N C E P T S

Powered by Cummins engine, JAC trucks make transportation efficient and reliable

MUSCAT: The 3 Ton (2.8L) and 4 Ton (3.8L) JAC Motors light-duty trucks available in Oman exclusively at Towell Auto Centre (TAC) offer heavy-duty perfor-mance and are reliable, rigid, safe and suitable for various road con-ditions, due to their world-class independent technology diesel engines, says a press release.

A senior spokesperson of TAC commented: “JAC trucks inte-grate global advanced technology and are equipped with interna-tionally renowned Cummins en-gine that offers impressive fuel efficiency, environmental perfor-mance, excellent value and ulti-

mate safety. JAC 4 ton trucks use a Cummins ISF diesel engine that meets Euro III emission stand-ards. Cummins ISF engines are also fairly responsive and make the truck feel pretty lively and flexible, regardless of what load is carried at the back, being able to merge well with the city traffic.”

The 2.8L JAC truck boasts maximum power of 107hp at 3600rpm with maximum torque of 240Nm at 2000rpm while the 3.8L model delivers maximum power of 141hp at 2600 rpm and 450Nm of torque at 1200 - 2200rpm, giving them perfor-mance comparable and at times

exceeding that of their rivals.Officially known as Jianghuai

Automobile Co Ltd, JAC Motors was established in 1964 and has been listed in Shanghai Stock Ex-change since 2001.

Today, JAC Motors is the num-ber one commercial vehicle brand in China, selling passenger and commercial vehicles to over 100 countries worldwide.

In Oman, TAC is the sole dis-tributor of JAC light-duty trucks. With a network of 11 showrooms, 13 service outlets and 10 parts outlets spread across Oman, TAC is one of the leading automobile distributors in the region.

H E A V Y - D U T Y P E R F O R M A N C E

B7T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

ROUND-UPLove us on Facebook

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY LAUNCH FACEBOOK PAGE

Omantel to pick SME award winners today

MUSCAT: Omantel will organise a celebration today to announce the winners of the Omantel Busi-ness Excellence SME Awards.

The celebration will be held un-der the auspices of Hamood Sang-

our Al Zadjali, executive president of the Central Bank of Oman, CEOs and entrepreneurs, says a press release.

Omantel had earlier announced in October the opening of regis-

tration for the fourth edition of Omantel Business Excellence SME Awards. Applicants compete in the six main categories of the award, namely, Best Performing Company - Small Enterprise, Best Performing Company - Medium Enterprise, Best New Entrant, Turnaround Success Story of the Year, Community Contribution and Best Business Idea for the Year. The award comes in line with Omantel’s efforts to support SME sector and recognise the success-ful entrepreneurs.

Commenting on the ceremony, Shaikha Hamid Al Awfi, manager, Marketing Communications at

Omantel Business Unit, said: “Om-antel is committed to supporting the growth of SMEs by all means to ensure their viability and competi-tiveness in the marketplace.

“The turnout for this version of edition of Omantel Business Ex-cellence SME Awards has been great by the SMEs operating in different sectors in the various governorates. All applications were assessed by independent assessors that include Ernst & Young and a number of SME ex-perts. The winner of each category award has been selected accord-ing to very clear and transparent criteria,” she added.

All applications for the Business Excellence

SME Awards were assessed by independent

assessors that include Ernst & Young

and a number of SME experts

BankDhofar promotes Hussain Al LawatiMUSCAT: BankDhofar has an-nounced the promotion of Hussain Ali Ibrahim Al Lawati as assis-tant general manager (AGM) and head of Business Banking, says a press release.

Kamal Hassan Al Murazza, Chief Wholesale Banking Officer at BankDhofar, said Hussain’s pro-motion comes within the bank’s efforts to support and nurture the small and medium size enterprises sector in the Sultanate. “His con-tribution to grow the SME portfo-lio at the bank and the new initia-tives he introduced to enrich our SME customer experience made BankDhofar one of the leading drivers of the SME sector growth.”

Hussain joined BankDhofar in 2014 as head of Corporate Market-ing and Business Development,

bringing a wealth of extensive experience he accumulated dur-ing his previous posts in several reputed banks and financial in-stitutions, including his role as a member of the credit committee of Al Rafd Fund. Hussain holds a BA in Accounting from the Uni-

versity of Mumbai and a Diploma in Management from the Institute of Leadership & Management, UK. He is also an International Certi-fied Expert in SME Finance from Frankfort School of Finance & Management.

BankDhofar has been a leader in the market in terms of senior lead-ership development and Omanisa-tion. The bank prides itself as one of the best workplaces in the Sul-tanate, and it continues to attract talented human resources and ex-perts in the banking industry. To-day BankDhofar is recognised as one of the most talent-attracting private sector organisations in the Sultanate. The bank has achieved high levels of Omanisation in all departments and units, with over 92% Omanis.

A G M A N D H E A D O F B U S I N E S S B A N K I N G

ISD hosts Christmas celebrationsMUSCAT: With traditional gai-ety, enthusiasm and exuberance to its full, Indian School Darsait (ISD) organised Christmas cel-ebrations recently.

A special assembly was held to instil the spirit of Christmas among children. The celebration started with melodious carols by the students who took everybody to Christmas ambience and festiv-ity. Earlier the students and staff had put up beautiful decorations and coloured lights in the audi-torium that made one and all feel Christmassy, says a press release.

The highlights of the day were the inter-house crib making and tree decoration competition and a one hour programme that con-sisted of a Biblical presentation. It was Santa Claus who stole

the show through his melodra-matic arrival. The gestures and jovial movements on the part of that customary ‘Father Christ-mas’ made everyone spellbound throughout the programme. The children singing ‘Jingle bell, Jin-gle bell’ accompanied Santa who in turn conveyed the best wish-es and greetings of the season

through surprise gifts and sweets.Dr. Sridevi P. Thashnath, prin-

cipal, addressing the gathering gave the Christmas message and shared her experience.

She said: “Christmas symbolis-es love and peace and it’s the time for caring and sharing. It is the time that our dreams and aspira-tions in life come true.”

S P E C I A L O C C A S I O N

Sheida conducts workshop on ‘Gas Detection Solutions for Life’MUSCAT: Detection of various gases had been the concern and challenge of all the industries in general to protect precious lives.

With this objective in focus and to support the entire indus-try, Sheida International organ-ised a workshop ‘Gas Detection Solutions for Life’ for the ben-efit of all the organisations facing this challenge, at Grand Hyatt Muscat, recently.

It was organised along with Industrial Scientific of USA, the world leader in the areas of gas detection and services. All the specialists in this field from the industries like oil and gas, con-struction, sewage treatment took part in this event and generated productive discussion to address the cause. The event was dedi-cated to the 45th National Day of Oman, says a press release.

The programme was attended by senior delegates from PDO, BP, Oxy, Haya, Orpic, Weatherford, Galfar, Majan Shipping, Arabian Industries, etc. The event gen-erated considerable discussion on various concerns facing the

industry due to loss of life when working in confined safety. The issues were addressed and solu-tions recommended.

The programme is designed specifically to cover the day to day problems faced by the all the or-ganisations. The programme also covered the latest international standards, the major criteria of choosing the right gas monitors,

maintain them effectively, moni-toring and updating the critical safety records.

Fahad Ubaid, business manag-er, Sheida welcomed the partici-pants, the experts from Industrial Scientific USA, Stefan Scheiper, Ridha Bellamine. Ashiq Mustafa addressed the audience and Um-mer Koya, ED, Sheida, thanked the participants.

P R O D U C T I V E D I S C U S S I O N

Bank Muscat leads delegation to Malta, explores SME cooperationMUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the flag-ship financial services provider in the Sultanate, in pursuance of the private sector role in the eco-nomic development of Oman, led a delegation to Malta comprising members from the bank and Riya-da – the Public Authority for SME Development (PASMED).

Ilham Al Hamaid, AGM – SME Credit, Marketing & Regional Cor-porates, led the delegation which visited Malta Enterprise; Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enter-prise and Industry; Malta Confed-eration of Women’s Organisations; Institute of Tourism Studies; Life Science Park; University of Malta; Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology; Women Directors in Malta and Bank of Valletta, says a press release.

Ilham Al Hamaid said: “Bank Muscat is proud to be closely in-volved in the strengthening of trade and investment relations between Oman and Malta. Based on the outcome of the meetings with the various Malta entities, possible avenues for cooperation

are being identified and an ap-propriate strategy formulated for embarking on a new frontier of mutually beneficial association with counterparts in Malta, there-by contributing to strengthening of relations between the two friendly countries.”

SME forumThe two sides discussed the execu-tion strategy of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in April this year between Malta En-terprise, the development agency that facilitates international in-vestment in Malta, and Bank Muscat for setting up a Business Forum for SMEs. Taking forward the strategy for investment collab-oration between Oman and Malta, an SME forum will be organised in Oman in the first quarter of 2016. Oman’s favourable investment cli-mate covering various sectors and the thrust on SME development were highlighted in the meetings. The delegation mooted steps to ex-plore avenues for better collabora-tion between the two sides.

The discussions noted that huge potential exists for cooperation in different sectors of the economies of Malta and Oman. There is polit-ical commitment and willingness on both sides to enhance coopera-

tion between the two countries, making it easier to achieve the set objectives. Malta and Oman can take advantage of the strategic geographical position they both occupy in their respective regions,

the officials added.In October, Riyada organised

a video conference with the par-ticipation of Bank Muscat and a number of entrepreneurs from the Omani side and the public and

private sector representatives from the Maltese side. Aimed at strengthening cooperation be-tween the two countries in the field of SME development, the conference discussed steps to identify the most promising SME business opportunities in the two countries; exchange of experi-ences and information relating to entrepreneurship; and creation of partnerships between the Omani and Maltese sides.

Early this year, Bank Muscat led a successful Omani business del-egation to Malta to explore invest-ment and trade opportunities be-tween the two countries, followed by a reciprocal visit by the Malta Business Delegation to Oman.

The Mediterranean island na-tion of Malta connecting Europe with African markets is an off-shore financial centre with world class facilities in ports, logistics and education. Malta offers lo-gistical facilities to Omani busi-ness community, particularly SMEs, to tap European as well as African markets.

S T R E N G T H E N I N G T R A D E R E L A T I O N S

Land Rover Defender taxi cab spotted on streets of London LONDON: Londoners were de-lighted when they spotted a one-of-a-kind Land Rover Defender ‘taxi’ driving through the streets of the capital.

The Defender, one of the world’s best loved 4x4s, was star-ring in a commemorative film to celebrate this global automotive icon and to promote the forth-coming charity auction of the Defender 2,000,000 being held at Bonhams New Bond Street head-quarters on December 16, says a press release.

The film also stars a number of other more unusual, specially modified vehicles including a Series II Land Rover ice cream van, a specially tailored Paul Smith Defender and the first

ever Series Land Rover show car, displayed at the Amsterdam Motor Show in 1948, all taking in London’s famous landmarks as they tell the story of the De-fender’s rich history.

All proceeds from the auction of ‘Defender 2,000,000’ will be donated in their entirety to Land Rover’s humanitarian and con-servation partners — the IFRC and the Born Free Foundation.

O N E - O F - A - K I N D T A X I

B8

ROUND-UPT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Love us on Facebook

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY LAUNCH FACEBOOK PAGE

Signature to host Luxury Awards night tomorrowMUSCAT: At a gala function to be held at the sprawling grounds of Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton Ho-tel, tomorrow, Signature, Oman’s top luxury magazine, will host the Sultanate’s most prominent Luxu-ry Awards night, while also debut-ing The Luxury 100 limited edition coffee-table book.

Attended by the country’s top diplomats, business owners and senior managers, the event has all the makings of a Signature clas-sic. ID Design, the Sultanate’s re-nowned luxury décor brand, is the luxury partner for the event, says a press release.

“The Luxury 100 book lists the most dynamic luxury products of the year, and is Signature’s endeav-our to recognise the best of the best. We have meticulously gone through hundreds of products to come up with The Luxury 100 list. Like all of Signature’s other ven-tures, this will become a bench-mark of luxury in the Sultanate and in the region,” said Alpana Roy, executive vice president, United Media Services.

Unique initiativeThe Luxury 100 is a unique initia-tive that is the region’s only list of the most iconic luxury products of the year, and is set to become an

annual property. While luxury has many iterations, no one can dis-pute its visual quality. It looks the part. Signature has almost a dec-ade of expertise, and after months of study and research, the editors, a select mix of readers and indus-try experts have weighed in to cre-ate this list. Each product that has been included belongs in the top-end of its respective category, and has proven its luxury credentials with its popularity. The categories include personal luxury goods, luxury cars and luxury hospitality.

Limited edition bookThe superlative compilation of luxury that is The Luxury 100 is

not a ranking. It is what Signature likes to call a consolidated ‘List of Lists’ that embodies the spirit of luxury. The brands are listed al-phabetically in the book, which will have a special limited collec-tor’s edition print-run.

In addition to the limited edi-tion book, special awards will be presented across categories to the products that are the best of the best. Totalling 26 in all, these awards signify a dedication to craftsmanship and salutes the brand’s luxury credentials.

These include awards for Lux-ury Sports Timepiece of the Year, Tourbillon Timepiece of the Year, Collector’s Timepiece of the Year, High Jewellery Collection of the Year, Sports Car of the Year, SUV of the Year, Fragrance of the Year, Beauty Product of the Year and Most Coveted Community, among others.

Signature, the Sultanate’s most dynamic luxury media brand, has once again created an innovative property that will help recognise luxury, while giving the local mar-ket a medium of regional and glob-al exposure.

The event is supported by Times of Oman and Al Shabiba as media partners, and Oman Printers & Stationers as print partner.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X XS P E C I A L A W A R D S

Six Senses Integrated Wellness: An innovative approach to fitnessMUSCAT: Six Senses Spas has spent the last two years work-ing with some of the most highly respected doctors and wellness professionals including Dr Me-hmet Oz, Dr Michael Breus and Dr Steven Gundry to develop an approach to wellness which ad-dresses some of the most com-mon issues people face as a result of their ultra-stressed daily lives.

The result is Six Senses Inte-grated Wellness - an innovative approach to wellness that allows the group’s in-house experts to measure and analyse key physi-ological biomarkers to provide guests with lifestyle and nutri-tional advice, and design a per-sonalised programme of spa treatments, fitness and wellness activities based on the preven-tative principles of the Eastern medicine approach and the re-sult-oriented Western influences, says a press release.

There are several building blocks that form the foundations of this concept, including nutri-tion to help guests understand the basic principles of healthy and nutritionally-balanced eating; sleep health to optimise sleep and understand its benefits on their overall well-being; movement through the variation of high and low intensity exercise; alternative therapies; holistic spa treatments as well as yoga, meditation and mindfulness to balance the nerv-ous system.

The ultimate goal is to offer guests real benefits and guidance by providing in-depth informa-tion about their health and per-sonalizing every aspect of their stay at Six Senses resorts to en-hance their lives and well-being.

This winter sees the introduc-tion of Six Senses Integrated Wellness through the launch of personalised wellness pro-grammes designed by Six Senses in-house wellness experts.

Each personalised wellness programme begins with a well-ness screening which uses a fin-ger oximeter to observe the heart rate, tissue oxygen uptake and

distribution, arterial stiffness and stress parameters. Furthermore, the screening technology uses the Electro Interstitial Scan-Galvan-ic Skin system that provides use-ful information by measuring and interpreting resistance to the flow of gentle electric current through interstitial fluid (fluid between the cells) throughout the body. In addition, bioelectrical impedance analysis, BIA, is a widely recog-nised technique for estimating body composition.

This information together with in-depth discussions about the guest’s lifestyle, concerns and personal goals, enables Six Senses wellness experts to rec-ommend a personalised wellness programme, including daily spa treatments, fitness and wellness activities as well as nutritional advice on foods to favour or avoid during their stay. Each screening is performed by an educated and experienced integrative wellness professional, who is competent to lead guests through results and able to develop customised, results-driven programmes.

The programmes help to ad-dress the most common concerns around digestion, weight loss, elimination of built up toxins, weakened immune system, sleep, stress relief, muscle toning or building better stamina. It also helps guests achieve their full potential should they wish to be challenged and improve their cur-rent performance.

At the end of the stay, each guest receives a post-programme

follow up consultation during which Six Senses wellness ex-perts provide advice and tools on how to continue and main-tain a healthy lifestyle at home. A follow-up wellness screening session is recommended for pro-grammes of one week and beyond.

The underlying principle of this approach is for guests to take charge of their health, while ex-periencing joy and fulfilment in what they do. At Six Senses, they believe that without enjoyment, incentive diminishes and the re-sults are simply more difficult to achieve and maintain long term into the future.

Six Senses Wellness Screening and programme personalisation are now available at Six Senses Zighy Bay, Six Senses Laamu, Six Senses Yao Noi and Six Senses Douro Valley as well as partner Six Senses spas at Puente Roma-no Resort & Spa in Marbella, Al Bustan Palace in Oman, Soneva-Kiri in Thailand and SonevaFushi in the Maldives.

Personalised programmes at Six Senses Yao Noi and Six Sens-es Spa at SonevaKiri also incor-porate a performance test with Fusionetics, an evidence-based sports science platform to help guests understand, monitor and improve their personal fitness levels. The test involves conduct-ing six different movements and the execution of these being reg-istered on a platform. The results optimise performance and reduce the risk of injury through a variety of training techniques.

P E R S O N A L I S E D P R O G R A M M E S

Deutsche Bank chief addresses NBO Chairman’s Speaker Series

MUSCAT: The Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Germany’s leading bank, Deutsche Bank, Dr Paul Achleitner was the speaker at the December edition of the Na-tional Bank of Oman (NBO) Chair-man’s Speaker Series.

Dr Achleitner shared his perspec-tive on ‘Capital Markets in a post-crisis environment’ with an audi-ence of dignitaries, entrepreneurs, students, NBO customers and em-ployees at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Muscat, says a press release.

The NBO Chairman’s Speaker Series was launched in 2014 as a platform for inspirational leaders from diverse disciplines to share their experiences, knowledge and innovative ideas with a cross-section of Omani society, particu-larly students, youth in the early

stages of their careers and aspir-ing entrepreneurs.

“This series continues to attract international speakers of the very highest calibre,” said Moham-med Mahfoodh Al Ardhi, Chair-man of NBO. “We are delighted Dr Achleitner was able to join us in Muscat to share his fascinat-ing insights into how capital mar-kets function through challenging economic conditions. With an increasing number of Omani com-panies and individuals operating in the global capital markets, Dr

Achleitner’s views carried great weight with the audience and will have sparked many fresh ideas.”

Dr Paul Achleitner has been Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bank AG since 2012. After four years at Bain & Co. in Boston he joined Goldman Sachs in 1988 where he served in New York, London and Frankfurt in various capacities, since 1994 as a partner of the firm. Between 2000and 2012 he was CFO of Al-lianz in Munich. Besides chairing the Supervisory Board of Deutsche

Bank Paul Achleitner serves on the Supervisory Boards of Bayer and Daimler as well as on the Share-holders’ Committee of Henkel.

The NBO Chairman’s Speaker Series has previously welcomed guests including Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, group chief execu-tive officer and managing director of Mubadala; Mohamed Alabbar, founder and chairman of Emaar Properties; Sir Terrence Clarke, former British ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman; and space pio-neer Dr Anousheh Ansari.

Dr Paul Achleitner

shared his

perspective on

‘Capital Markets

in a post-crisis

environment’

‘The Luxury 100’ is a

unique initiative that is

the region’s only list of

the most iconic luxury

products of the year

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

SPOR SY O U R G A M E

SECTIONC T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

DHONI, RAHANE, JADEJAUP FOR GRABS IN IPL DRAFT>C3 >C11

INSIDE LIFESTYLE

Kiwis grind down stubborn Lankans

DUNEDIN: Trent Boult took two quick wickets after lunch to help New Zealand complete a 122-run victory over Sri Lanka on the fifth day of the first Test at University Oval in Dunedin on Monday.

The visitors were bowled out for 282 having been set 405 runs to win and while they were always chasing the game from day one, they made it difficult for Brendon McCullum’s side.

Having put 431 on the board after being sent in to bat, New Zealand needed 117 overs to bowl Sri Lanka out for 294 in their first innings, and were in the 96th over of the tourists’ second innings be-fore seamer Doug Bracewell took a caught and bowled from Suranga Lakmal to end the game. “It was a pretty professional display but gee, we had to work pretty hard as well to get 20 wickets,” McCullum said in a televised interview.

“I think the bowlers did an out-standing job. Obviously when you don’t bowl first on a wicket like that, it’s going to be tough,” he added of the green-tinged wicket presented last Thursday. “But the guys batted well, so over all a pretty professional performance and one we’re pleased with.”

Sri Lanka were 224-6 at the lunch break on Monday before paceman Boult grabbed both Rangana Herath (six) and Milinda Sarawardana (29) in the first 20 minutes of the middle session.

Spin-bowling all-rounder

Mitchell Santner bowled Dush-mantha Chameera for 14 and Lak-mal belted four boundaries in his 23 before hitting the ball straight back to Bracewell.

“I thought we fought really hard,” Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said. “We showed a lot of guts, es-pecially the bowlers in the way they batted in both innings but unfortu-nately we couldn’t hang in there.”

The match swung sharply in New Zealand’s favour when Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal both suffered brain explosions at the crease during the extended first session. The pair had looked comfortable on the benign pitch but both were out in quick succes-sion for failing to offer shots.

Mathews was first to go, bowled

for 25 by Neil Wagner, before Chan-dimal was trapped lbw for 58 by Santner. The pair, who had put on 56 runs, were both dismissed with the score on 165, and that ultimately proved the beginning of the end de-spite some lusty blows from the tail.

“There is always a little bit of concern and you have to pretend that you have things under con-trol,” McCullum said with a grin.

“It was more a case of getting the two big Sri Lankan wickets, Ange-lo and Dinesh, then once we were able to do that then we were able to get a bit of momentum.”

“We are a little bit disappoint-ed with the way we went in the first innings with the way we bowled, especially on that wicket,” Mathews said in a televised inter-view. “There was a lot of grass on that wicket and after we won the toss I expected a little bit more from the bowlers. But we didn’t land the ball on the right spot and they capitalised on that.

“With the batting lineup they have if you bowl too loose they will capitalise (and) unfortunately they got off to a flier.”

The second match of the two-Test series starts at Seddon Park in Hamilton on December 18. - Reuters

The visitors were bowled out for 282 having

been set 405 runs to win and while they were

always chasing the game from day one, they

made it difficult for Brendon McCullum’s side

BIG WICKET: Tim Southee of New Zealand successfully appeals for a leg before call call on Kithuruwan

Vithanage, centre, during Day Five of the first International Test cricket match against Sri Lanka in

Dunedin at University Oval. – AFP

‘Frenetic start set game up, bowlers’ toil sealed it’

DUNEDIN: A frenetic first in-nings set up New Zealand’s 122-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first test on Monday, but captain Brendon McCullum was pleased with the way his bowlers stuck to their task without tangible reward.

New Zealand ended Sri Lanka’s stubborn resistance after lunch on the fifth day at University Oval in Dunedin with the visitors bowled out for 282 when chasing 405 runs for victory.

The match had begun terribly for McCullum, who lost his 17th toss in 28 tests as captain.

His team was sent in to bat and his counterpart Angelo Mathews could barely suppress his glee at the amount of grass cover still left on the pitch. Martin Guptill and Tom Latham, however, blunted the Sri Lankan attack and raced along at more than four runs an over in an opening stand of 56 that set the tone.

“The way Martin Guptill and Tom Latham started, it was going to be tricky that first hour or two and ... the guys played exception-ally well,” McCullum said.

“They hit the ball down the

ground and every time the Sri Lankans missed they were able to capitalise and we got off to a four-an-over start and in a test match that’s not easy to do.

“We gathered momentum from there and to put on 400 on the first day, yeah, we probably lost a cou-ple more wickets we would have liked but it advanced the game.”

New Zealand were 409-8 at stumps on day one, with time to

bowl the tourists out twice on a wicket not expected to deterio-rate quickly.

Sri Lanka proved defiant in their batting and it took New Zea-land 117 overs to bowl them out for 294 in their first innings.

McCullum surprised many on Sunday with a declaration that set a target of 405 to win, when a total above 450 might have been safer.

“Sometimes you have to risk losing to win as well and we felt that we needed enough time to bowl Sri Lanka out,” McCul-lum said. Rain and hail show-ers, which forced players off the field three times on Sunday, also played a part.

“If the weather had come into play a bit more today we would have desperately needed that time,” he added.

“But when you have guys like Neil Wagner who is going to come in and bowl long and hostile spells leading up to a new ball then you know you’re going to be in the game.

“In the end you have to back your bowlers and I think the way they went about it was outstand-ing.” - Reuters

T E S T S E R I E S

HAPPY CAPTAIN: New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum laughs with teammate Trent Boult. – AFP

Sometimes you have to risk losing to win as well and we felt that we needed enough time to bowl Sri Lanka out

Brendon McCullumNew Zealand skipper

New Zealand 1st innings: 431 (M. Guptill 156, K. Williamson 88, B. McCullum 75; N. Pradeep 4-112) Sri Lanka 1st innings: 294 (D. Karunaratne 84, D. Chandimal 83) New Zealand 2nd innings 267 for 3 decl. (T. Latham 109no, K. Williamson 71) Sri Lanka 2nd innings:D. Karunaratne c Watling b Southee 29 K. Mendis c Watling b Southee 46 U. Jayasundara c Watling b Wagner 3 D. Chandimal lbw b Santner 58 A. Mathews b Wagner 25 K. Vithanage lbw b Southee 38 M. Siriwardana c B. McCullum b Boult 29 R. Herath c Guptill b Boult 6

D. Chameera b Santner 14 S. Lakmal c & b Bracewell 23 N. Pradeep not out 4 Extras (b-2, lb-4, w-1) 7Total (all out, 95.2 overs) 282 Fall of wickets: 1-54, 2-64, 3-109, 4-165, 5-165, 6-213, 7-236, 8-249, 9-268, 10-282Bowling: T. Boult 15-2-58-2, T. Southee 21-6-52-3, D. Bracewell 19.2-5-46-1, M. Santner 22-6-53-2, N. Wagner 17-5-56-2, K. Williamson 1-0-11-0 (w-1)Umpires: Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong TV umpire: Paul Reiffel Match referee: David Boon Result: New Zealand won by 122 runs

S C O R E B O A R D

SESAME

KNOW

YOUR SPICE

C2

SPORTST U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Stay ahead of the curve with

WhatsNews

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY INSTALL WHATSNEWS

Chappell backs Kohli, Shastri, says nothing wrong with Nagpur pitch

NEW DELHI: Ian Chappell, former Australian skipper, has backed the arguments of In-dian skipper Virat Kohli and Team Director Ravi Shastri that there was nothing wrong in the Nagpur pitch.

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell has virtually backed the Indian position and does not see anything wrong in the spin-friendly Nagpur pitch which saw India thrash South Africa inside three days in a recent Test, say-ing matches played elsewhere on seaming tracks have ended “in the blink of an eye”.

On a wicket which spun from day one, India thrashed South Af-rica by 124 runs inside three days

in the third Test at the VCA stadi-um at Nagpur last month, prompt-ing the ICC to seek a report from BCCI regarding the “poor” condi-tion of the track.

Chappell virtually supported all those arguments put forward by the likes of Indian Team Director Shastri and captain Virat Kohli, who have pointed out that some Test matches on seaming pitches in Australia and South Africa have ended inside three days and hence there was nothing wrong with the Nagpur wicket.

“With controversy surround-ing the surfaces prepared for Test matches in Nagpur and Adelaide, it’s time to ask the question: is it the pitches or the performers who are responsible for Test matches being over in the blink of an eye?” Chappell wrote in a column which appeared in ‘Cricinfo’.

“Ravi Shastri, the Indian team director, quite rightly made the point that if the ICC was investi-gating the surface in Nagpur, then why wasn’t a similar forensic ex-amination being conducted on the Adelaide pitch, where the match

was completed in a similarly short time frame?” said Chappell.

In the first ever day-night Test match in Adelaide last month, Australia had beaten New Zealand inside three days.

Chappell wondered why a track offering spin on the first day can be worse than a wicket which assists seam and pace on the opening day.

“A good batsman prides him-self on his ability to prosper under any conditions, enjoying what-ever challenge is presented. Why should a pitch that spins on the opening day be deemed worse than one that seams first up?” asked the 72-year-old Chappell who played for Australia in 75 Tests between 1964 and 1980.

“That brings us to the ques-tion: What is a good pitch? A good pitch is one that provides a contest between bat and ball and hope-fully a close finish. That means a good pitch can vary from region to region. In some places the sur-face will suit faster bowlers and in others, it will favour spinners,” added Chappell.

Chappell advised international

teams to start looking at the tech-nique of their own players and stop blaming curators.

“Both teams have to play on a Test pitch and it’s not the curator’s fault if one side is either techni-cally unable to cope or is beaten before a ball is delivered,” he said.

“There’s certainly a need for an investigation but it should be look-ing at how cricket is evolving and what is the best way for the game to progress. It’s time to start look-ing at the players and stop blaming the curators.”

He felt the South African team, which lost to India 0-3 in the recent four-match Test series, lacked the technique to cope with the conditions.

“I watched some of South Af-rica’s batting in Delhi, on a pitch that was even for both sides, and I’m not surprised they were exter-minated in Nagpur. If South Africa continue to utilise flawed tech-niques and mindsets, it won’t mat-ter where they are playing, they will encounter difficulty.

“In many cases the technique and mindset were designed purely

for survival. If you allow spinners to dictate terms for long periods, with fielders hovering round the bat, on pitches providing assis-tance, then survival will be brief,” said Chappell.

“The better the spinner, the more aggressive the batsman’s thought process should be, as this promotes decisive footwork rather than a feeling that your sprigs are stuck in freshly laid tar. An ag-gressive thought process doesn’t necessarily mean seeking regular boundaries; a succession of sin-gles can disrupt the line and length of the best spinner. With a string of singles he’s got to constantly change plans, and unless he’s pa-tient, that will drive him to distrac-tion,” he said.

The former captain said that there would not be this issue of ad-vantage of home-town-pitches if the teams were well-balanced.

“If Test teams are well bal-anced and capable of performing adequately under any conditions then there would be no advantage gained by preparing ‘home-town pitches’. In fact a trend towards Test pitches that provide encour-agement to bowlers might actu-ally convince batsmen of the need to seek a well-rounded technique, one that’s equally adept at com-bining aggressive and survival techniques.”

Talking about the Adelaide pitch, he said, “In Adelaide, the debate raged over the amount of grass left on the pitch. Bearing in mind the surface had to cope with Test cricket under lights for the first time and the use of a Pink ball, I thought the pitch was fair. It cer-tainly provided a keen contest.

“I was accustomed to seeing Australian pitches covered with an even mat of grass, and if this again becomes a trend it will be good for the game. I found the Adelaide Test enthralling but what preceded it on a dull Perth pitch and followed at Bellerive with a lifeless and ut-terly inept West Indies team, less than inspiring.” - PTI

Former Australian

captain Ian Chappell

has virtually backed

the Indian position

and does not see

anything wrong in

the spin-friendly

Nagpur pitch which

saw India thrash

South Africa inside

three days in a recent

Test, saying matches

played elsewhere on

seaming tracks

have ended ‘in the

blink of an eye’

Why should a pitch that spins on the opening day be deemed worse than one that seams first up?

Ian ChappellFormer Australia captain

Club World Cup finds adulation in S.AmericaOSAKA: Club World Cup still adored in South America, ignored in Europe

Unloved in Europe, the Club World Cup is still adored in South America where players regard the tournament as the pinnacle of their careers and clubs as the high point in their history.

Thousands of fans of South American champions River Plate have been arriving in Japan over the last week, hoping their team can pull off a major upset and de-throne European champions Bar-celona.

In contrast to the indifference among European media and fans, the build-up in South America lasts for weeks and is often compa-rable to the World Cup itself.

Spanish champions Barcelona, who have squeezed the tourna-ment into their busy schedule, arrived in Japan on Monday, three days before their semi-final against Asian champions Guang-zhou Evergrande on Thursday.

River Plate, on the other hand, have coasted through the last few months since winning the Lib-ertadores Cup, clearly with their minds on Japan, and arrived more than one week ahead of Wednes-day’s semifinal in Osaka against Sanfrecce Hiroshima, champions of the host nation.

For their send-off from Argen-tina, River held a public train-ing session in their stadium and a carnival-like procession to the airport.

An estimated 25,000 flag-wav-ing, drum-banging fans lined the 30-kilometre route, letting off fireworks, and dozens of private car followed the team bus, hoot-ing incessantly, to form a huge and rowdy convoy which blocked the highway.

In all, River are expected to re-ceive the backing of around 15,000 fans who have defied a 30-hour flight and enormous expense to make the trip.

River, who won the old Inter-continental Cup in 1986 but lost to Juventus 10 years later, were also given rapturous reception as they arrived by bullet train in Osaka from Tokyo as several hun-dred supporters crowded onto the platform.

“This is a unique moment and I wouldn’t change it for anything,” midfielder Carlos Sanchez told reporters after a training session. “I’m not going to have another op-portunity like this.”

Veteran Javier Saviola, who has returned to end his career at River after he was raised at the club, said the Millionaires had al-ways been obsessed with beating Europe’s best.

“I started playing for the club when I was eight and it (River’s obsession) has been there all the time,” he said.

“The club has always seen it as an opportunity for glory but, if anything, there’s more expectation this time than there was in 96 with Juventus.”

The tournament, featuring the six continental club champions plus national champions of the host nation, has existed in its cur-rent form since 2005, having suc-ceeded the Intercontinental Cup, a one-off played in Tokyo between the European and South American champions.

The 1980s saw South American dominance but the momentum changed with the globalisation of the sport which has turned the region’s clubs into feeders for Eu-rope-based teams.

The South Americans are now closer to the standard of teams from Asia and Africa and often find the semi-final a real strug-gle, especially with the tantalizing prospect of a match against a big-

name European side at stake.Curiously, as the gap has wid-

ened, South American enthusi-asm appears to have grown, the appeal now being that a team such as River Plate, made up largely of journeymen players, can have a pop at trying to beat star-studded Barcelona.

Former Porto and Olympique Marseille midfielder Luis Gonza-lez said he had fond memories of getting up at dawn to watch the fix-ture during the 1980s.

“Those live broadcasts early in the morning,” he told FIFA.com. “I never thought I’d have the chance to play in such an amazing compe-tition. For us, playing in the Club World Cup is like touching the heavens.” - Reuters

F O O T B A L L

READY FOR THE BATTLE: Argentina’s River Plate head coach Marcelo Gallardo (top centre, with ball) speaks to players prior to their foot-

ball training session in Osaka. – AFP

Low points tally could seal title, says City’s Pellegrini

LONDON: The closeness of this season’s Premier League race has led Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini to predict that the title could be won by a team with less than 80 points for just the fourth time in the competition’s history.

Manchester United have achieved the feat twice in the Premier League era (in 1996-97 and 1998-99) and are the last club to lift the title with less than 80 points.

Arsenal won the league with 78 points in the 1997-98 season, becoming the only other club to match United, and Pellegrini said this season’s title could won by a team with one of the lowest points totals on record.

“It is a very difficult title to win because the amount of points all the teams have now is not nor-mal,” the Chilean told report-ers after his side’s 2-1 win over Swansea City at the weekend.

“You don’t have that in every Premier League season. May-be this season the teams are stronger, maybe the games are closer. Every season is different but to win the Premier League this season will be very difficult.

Pellegrini also suggested that he was more concerned with ensuring domestic success than winning the Champions League. I always think the Premier League is the most important,” he said. “In the Champions League you can have a bad game, go out in the semifinal and no-body remembers what you did.The Premier League is the work of the whole year. I always say it must not be an obsession to win the Champions League.

“It’s a very important title and beautiful to do it but you must not try to win that and lose focus on the Premier League.” - Reuters

E P L

Finn to join England squad in South Africa

LONDON: England have added fast bowler Steven Finn to their squad for the four-match series in South Africa that starts with the first Test on Boxing Day.

He was initially left out be-cause of a foot injury but proved his fitness on the England Lions tour of the United Arab Emir-ates, playing in two Twenty20s against Pakistan A last weekend.

“I’ve been really pleased with the way things have gone with the Lions,” Finn said in a news release on Monday.

“I’ve bowled my overs and my foot has come through fine. I’m excited by the prospect of linking up with the team out in South Africa.”

Finn, 26, played the last of his 26 Tests against Australia at the Oval in August.

The second Test against South Africa will be played in Cape Town from January 2, with further matches in Johan-nesburg (January 14-18) and Pretoria (January 22-26). - Reuters

C R I C K E T

C3

SPORTST U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Dhoni, Rahane and Jadeja up for grabs

MUMBAI: India’s limited-overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, along with his teammates Ravin-dra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin, among others, will be up for grabs for the two new IPL teams in the draft to be held here on Tuesday.

Sanjeev Goenka’s New Rising won the bid for the Pune franchise while Intex won the bid for Rajkot after a reverse bidding process held in Delhi on Decmber 8 to re-place suspended teams Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Roy-als for the next two editions to be held in 2016 and 2017.

Also available for picking by the Twenty20 League’s two new fran-chises are other top international stars such as New Zealander Brendon McCullum, Australia’s Shane Watson, now retired from international cricket, and current captain Steven Smith, and West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo from a total of 50 cricketers, who played for suspended IPL teams CSK and RR in the last edition earlier this year.

Pune will be given the choice to pick the players first because they were the lowest bidders (negative bids) to buy the new team for two years in the draft to be held at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s recereation centre at the Bandra Kurla Complex.

The bidding process for the two new franchises was necessitated by the suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Roy-als for the involvement of some of their officials and co-owners in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal, which was probed by the Supreme Court-appointed Justice (retd) R M Lodha committee.

However, both the CSK and RR

will be allowed back in the league after serving out their suspension.

The cricketers from the two suspended franchises will be di-vided into two groups of capped and uncapped and the top names will be sold through the draft sys-tem. The two new teams will have a minimum of Rs 400 million and a maximum of Rs 660 million to buy players.

“The two new franchises have the option to pick a maximum of five players from the draft.

Those players who are unsold will be put up for being chosen at the players’ auction to be held in next February,” a BCCI source told PTI ahead of the draft.

“The trading window (for buy-ing players left free by other fran-chises) also commences on De-cember 15 and ends on December

31,” the source added.It would be interesting to see

whether India’s T20 and World Cup winning skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni still commands the sort of appeal that he generated when CSK gunned for him and won with a stunning million-dol-lar bid, unheard of in cricket then, in the first-ever players auction held in eight years ago.

Dhoni, who led the Super Kings for eight seasons, is expected to be in the first list and the franchises, choosing the first two players in the draft in which one player each will be put up to be chosen alter-nately, would have to shell out Rs 125 million.

It would also be interesting to note whether Rajkot guns for its home player Jadeja whose stocks have risen after he made his

comeback into the Indian squad in the Test series against South Africa and shone with both ball and bat.

Other leading players who would be in the draft are CSK’s Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Dwayne Bravo and Brendon McCullum and RR s Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith and Shane Watson.

As per the tender for the two new teams, the first capped player would be paid 125 million while the remaining four capped players are to get Rs 95 million, Rs 75 mil-lion, Rs 55 million, and Rs 40mil-lion respectively.

Uncapped players can be picked for a stipulated fee of Rs 40 mil-lion. The ninth edition of the IPL is scheduled from April 9 to May 29, 2016. - PTI

Sanjeev Goenka’s

New Rising won

the bid for the Pune

franchise while

Intex won the bid for

Rajkot after a reverse

bidding process

held in Delhi on

Decmber 8 to replace

suspended teams

Chennai Super

Kings and Rajasthan

Royals for the next

two Indian Premier

League editions to be

held in 2016, 2017

It would be interesting to see whether India’s T20 and World Cup winning skipper

Mahendra Singh Dhoni still commands the sort of appeal that he generated when

CSK gunned for him and won with a stunning million-dollar bid, unheard of in cricket

then, in the first-ever players auction held in eight years ago

Usman Khawaja suffers setback in Test return bid

SYDNEY: Top order batsman Usman Khawaja has suffered a setback in his bid to return to the Australia team for the second Test against West Indies after being ruled out of a domestic Twenty20 match by his Sydney Thunder side on Monday.

Khawaja suffered a hamstring strain in the second Test against New Zealand last month and missed the final Test in that series as well as the innings and 212-run victory over West Indies in Ho-bart. The 28-year-old was includ-ed in a 13-man squad for the Box-ing Day Test in Melbourne but told by coach Darren Lehmann that he would have to prove his fitness in Australia’s Big Bash League.

The Thunder will play only two matches before the second test and Khawaja has now been scratched from the first — a derby with Sydney Sixers on Thursday.

“Cricket Australia have been working with Thunder medical staff on Usman’s return to play criteria following his hamstring injury,” said a statement on the Sydney Thunder website (www.sydneythunder.com.au).

“At this stage the plan is to have him return for the Thunder’s sec-ond match against the Melbourne Stars at the MCG on Sunday. His participation will be confirmed later in the week.” Grasping his third opportunity in Test cricket,

Khawaja had laid a solid claim to the number three spot in the Aus-tralian batting line-up with cen-turies in the first two tests against New Zealand.

The stylish lefthander’s poten-tial return will give the Australian selectors a dilemma after Shaun Marsh came into the side for Kha-waja and scored 182 in a world record partnership of 445 with Adam Voges against West Indies.

Lehmann has said all-rounder Mitchell Marsh is assured of his place in the side because of the potential for injury in the bowl-ing unit, leaving space for only five specialist batsmen in the line-up.

The unbeaten 269 Adam Voges scored in Hobart means he will surely join David Warner and Steve Smith as an automatic pick, leaving Shaun Marsh, opener Joe Burns and Khawaja battling it out for the remaining two spots.

Burns has not impressed in his five innings since scoring a cen-tury against New Zealand in Bris-bane last month but Lehmann has questioned whether Smith would want to use Shaun Marsh, who batted at number five against West Indies, as an opener.

Khawaja is widely considered the most likely batsman to nail down the tricky number three spot in the Australian line-up, making him a certainty to play if he can prove his fitness. - Reuters

N O T F I T Y E T

FATMA-ANGELINA COMBO ADVANCE IN BANGKOKOman’s Fatma Al Nabhani opened their campaign $25,000 Bangkok ITF Tournament with

a win in the doubles opener on Monday. Fatma Al Nabhani paired with Angelina Gabueva

of Russia survived a tense tie-breaker set against Thailand combo of Chompoothip

Jandakate and Tamachan Momkoonthod to advance to the second round. Fatma and An-

gelina won the first round match 6-1, 4-6 (10-4). Meanwhile, Fatma Al Nabhani will play

her opening singles against Yuuki Tanaka of Japan on Tuesday.

C4

SPORTST U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

BAE Systems, Oman Sail launch schools’ leadership initiative

MUSCAT: BAE Systems, the glob-al defence, aerospace and security company, the Ministry of Educa-tion of the Sultanate of Oman and Oman Sail have joined forces to launch a schools’ leadership development initiative aimed at

teaching eighty 15 and 16-year old Omani High School students, male and female, skills to enhance their decision making, communication and confidence.

The ‘Leadership in Schools’ initiative was delivered by Oman Sail at the Corporate and Personal Development Centre in Mussanah over two days on 9 and 10 Decem-ber. The students, from schools in Al Batinah South Governorate, took part in outdoor challenges on land

and in the water using Oman Sail’s facilitators to develop valuable transferable skills such as problem-solving, integrity and creativity.

Matthew Foster, BAE Systems Oman General Manager, com-mented: “As part of our commit-ment to the youth of Oman, we are delighted to be working with Oman Sail to develop the leader-ship attributes and skills of young Omanis through the ‘Leadership in Schools’ programme. This ex-

citing and dynamic programme takes schoolchildren out of their day-to-day routine and uses the power of sport and outdoor educa-tion to teach them softer skills that will be beneficial in later life. BAE Systems’ education programmes in Oman ensure that young people ex-perience new opportunities which will help them to be more produc-tive, competitive and successful in the workplace and play a key role in their personal development.”

Ahmed Al Mamari, CPD Sen-ior Facilitator at Oman Sail, said: “Together with BAE Systems, we are offering students a unique op-portunity to learn how to work as a team, develop themselves, com-municate more effectively and perform outside their comfort zone. The ultimate aim is to pro-vide students with motivation and self-awareness by using sailing and outdoor activities to teach the skills that colleges and employers

look for in an individual.”On both days, forty students

took part in practical exercises to instil leadership and teamwork values through to those requiring mental and physical agility.

Sailing has been proven to be an effective teaching tool and, as a result of Oman Sail’s commit-ment to increase participation, has provided opportunities for young Omani men and women to excel in new roles and explore diverse career paths. The ‘Leadership in Schools’ initiative forms part of Oman Sail’s Corporate and Per-sonal Development programme (CPD), an initiative that uses the company’s expertise in develop-ing international-level sporting athletes to teach the Omani youth skills that will help them succeed in education and their career, and to fulfil their ambitions.

BAE Systems is a strong sup-porter of education and training as part of the company’s commit-ment to developing the skills of young people in the wider com-munity in which they operate. In Oman the company actively sup-ports education and skills devel-opment in schools and colleges, as well as offering opportunities for Omani students to join its gradu-ate programme in the UK and sup-porting Chevening Scholarships in Oman.

The students, from

schools in Al Batinah

South Governorate,

took part in outdoor

challenges on land

and in the water

using Oman Sail’s

facilitators to

develop valuable

transferable skills

such as problem-

solving, integrity

and creativity

HONING SKILLS: Participants of the ‘Leadership in Schools’ initiative organised by Oman Sail and supported by BAE Systems. – Supplied photo

ISG U-13 trounce PSMMUSCAT: The Under-13 Divi-sion Oman Cricket Junior League match between ISG and PSM took place at the Municipality 2 ground saw ISG winning by 10 wickets.

Batting first, PSM posted 92/7 in 20 overs. Sai Madhu was the chief destroyer with 2 wickets for ISG. In response, ISG scored 95 in 8.1 overs for no loss. Sanin and Piyush scored 32 not out and 47 not out respectively to claim the bonus point.

Brief scores: PSM: 92 for 7 in 20 overs. (ISG) Sai Madhu – 2/13 of 4 lost to ISG: 95 no loss in 8.1 overs (Sanin 32no, Piyush 47no). Points: ISG – 3 (BP) ; PSM - 0

ISAS winIn another U-13 division match between ISAS beat ISM ‘B’ by 32 runs at the Municipality 1 ground.

Batting first, ISAS posted 202 for 4 in 20 overs. Sameet and Sahil top scored with 72 and 80 not out respectively. In response, ISM ‘B’ scored 171 for 9 in 20 overs, with Indraneel top scoring with 34.

Sonu claimed 2 wickets for ISAS. Brief scores: ISAS 202 for 4

in 20 overs (Sameet 72, Sahil 80 not out beat ISM ‘B’ 171 for 9 in 20 overs (Indraneel 34, Sonu 2 for 20). Points: ISAS 2 ; ISM ‘B’ 0

Bharat shinesISM A beat BOC A by 8 wickets in another U-13 match.

Batting first, BOC ‘A’ posted 85

all out in 18.5 overs. Bharat Srini-vasan claimed four scalps for ISM ‘A’. In response, ISM ‘A’ scored 86 for 2 in 10.2 overs to claim the bonus point. Azam Ali top scored with 42 not out for ISM ‘A’.

Brief scores: BOC ‘A’ 85 all out in 18.5 overs. (Bharat Srinivasan 4 for 12) lost to ISM ‘A’ 86 for 2 in 10.2 overs (Azam Ali 42 not out). Points: ISM ‘A’ 3 (BP) ; BOC ‘A’ 0

J U N I O R C R I C K E T

GOOD SHOW: Bharat Srinivasan of ISM ‘A’. – Supplied photo

AL FAISAL CLINCH GOB TROPHYAl Faisal CT won the GOB champions trophy organised by GOB cricket team with support

of Asia Express Exchange. A total of 22 top teams participated in the two-day tournament.

In the final, Al Faisal beat Bisiya Lions by 40 runs. Al Faisal batting first scored 83 in six

overs and then restricted Bisiya to 43 for 9 in six overs. Al Faisal’s Ifrat was the man of the

final. Shami of Al faisal earned the best sixes awards, while Wasem of Bisiya was adjudged

the best batsman and Adnan od Al faisal was declared the best bowler and player of the

tournament . Chief organiser Gaddafi Irfan handed over the prizes. — Supplied photo

Rome to host 2022 Ryder Cup matchesLONDON: Rome will become only the third Ryder Cup host from Continental Europe after Italy pipped Germany, Spain and Austria on Monday in the bidding race to stage the 44th edition of the matches in 2022.

The Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, situated 17km from the centre of the Italian capital, is to follow in the footsteps of Val-derrama, Spain in 1997 and Le Golf National, on the outskirts of Paris, in 2018.

There were initially seven bid-ders but Denmark, Portugal and Turkey withdrew their interest in the early stages.

“I would like to offer my con-gratulations to Italy whose bold and ambitious bid has seen them become the host nation for the

2022 Ryder Cup,” said European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley in a statement.

“History has shown time and again the Ryder Cup is pure thea-tre with the players the stars, and there is no question the Eternal City of Rome will pro-vide a wonderful backdrop for one of the great occasions in world golf.”

The tour said it was particu-larly pleased by the pledge to un-dertake a complete reconstruc-tion of Marco Simone to meet

the highest standards demanded by the matches. There was also a commitment to guarantee a prize fund of seven million euros ($7.67 million) at the Italian Open for 11 years beginning in 2017.

Prize money at the 2016 Ital-ian Open will also double from 1.5 million euros to a minimum of three million.

“The Italian bid was consist-ently strong and impressive across the board in terms of in-frastructure, commercial struc-ture and government support,”

said Europe’s Ryder Cup director Richard Hills.

“The plans outlined for the golf course at Marco Simone are spec-tacular alongside the commitment to develop all levels of golf in Italy.”

Costantino Rocca was the first Italian golfer to play in the Ry-der Cup, at The Belfry in England in 1993. The Molinari brothers, Francesco and Edoardo, also made their debuts in the matches at Celtic Manor in Wales in 2010.

The next edition of the bien-nial team event will be held at Hazeltine, Minnesota in Septem-ber 2016 while Whistling Straits, Wisconsin is to stage the matches in 2020.

Europe have won the last three Ryder Cups against the United States. - Reuters

G O L F

There were initially seven bidders but Denmark, Portugal

and Turkey withdrew their interest in the early stages

C5

SPORTST U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Love us on Facebook

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY LAUNCH FACEBOOK PAGE

Angel di Maria’s football career in just the last three years has seen him be a part of the biggest teams in Spain, England and now France. The hope for the player is that he stays with the Parisian club for a long while and helps it assert world dominance

FINDING HIS FEET IN PARIS AFTER A TOUGH TIME AT OLD TRAFFORD

WHEN Angel di Maria arrived in Paris, excitement was very high. The side had bought a

star. The 27-year-old’s debut had to wait because he arrived at PSG with a bit of a hamstring issue.

It was against Monaco in the fourth game week that he could make his first appearance for the club and sure enough, it was obvious just why PSG spent such a massive amount for him.

Fine startIndeed, if we just look at stats, the Ar-gentinean has done well with seven goals and six assists so far. He averages

an impressive 3.9 key passes every 90 minutes in the league. Not a bad output for the opening part of a new season at a new club and country. Not to mention, he comes to Paris at the back of which would make you question all the people calling him a flop.

The knee-jerk reaction has been un-called for, but it is undoubted that he is still trying to find his feet in the team and it will take some more time for the fans to see the player integrated in PSG’s style of play.

The former Benfica star has been the first one to admit that he needs to adapt to the club’s way as there is more pa-

tience and build-up required as opposed to Real Madrid, where counterattacking was of utmost importance.

Back to his favorite positionDi Maria has been operating on the right side of Blanc’s 4-3-3 system, as he did in his early days at both Benfica and Real Madrid.

As a winger, his main task was the stretch opposing defences and increase the width in PSG’s attack. Recently, Blanc has asked the player to cut inwards to ensure his technical abilities can be exploited.

Given Blanc has a bit of a selection co-

nundrum up-front, perhaps it wouldn’t be the worst idea to use di Maria on the left flank and start Lucas Moura on his preferred right side.

Ibrahimovic, once fit, will lead the line which means Edinson Cavani would be the benched player. El Matador has been disappointing in on many occasions this season and Blanc, who would most cer-tainly be concerned, must also consider benching the Uruguayan.

PSG are not relying on the player for goals and he is not someone who has es-pecially prolific seasons. But Blanc using Di María in that advanced role is provid-ing him with the opportunity to get more

shots away and he averages 3.9 shots 90 minutes too.

He can certainly play an even more decisive role at the club as the player has gone missing in a few games, notably the 0-0 draw against former team Real Ma-drid. But by and large, his form has been good since he started at his new club and it also makes you question if Manchester United should have tried to hold on to him a little harder.

Then again, it certainly seems as though the player never wanted Man-chester United and it was just a stopgap before the eventual PSG dream could be realised. - Aakriti Mehrotra/o-posts.com

C6

SPORTST U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Tweet all about it

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY LAUNCH TWITTER PAGE

Barca face Arsenal, Chelsea play PSG again in Champions League

NYON: Holders and Spanish league leaders Barcelona will play Premier League leaders Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions League, 10 years after the sides faced each other in the final, fol-lowing Monday’s draw for the first knockout stage.

Spanish league leaders Barcelo-na, chasing a sixth title, prevailed 2-1 in the 2006 final at the Stade de France in Paris and also tri-umphed in the knockout phase in 2010 and 2011.

Chelsea, who are enduring a tor-rid time in the Premier League, will face French league leaders Paris St Germain in the knockout stages for the third year in succes-sion after the French champions triumphed at the same stage last season and the London club had

the upper hand in the quarter-fi-nals the previous year.

Another clash between big guns will feature former winners Ju-ventus and Bayern Munich, while 10-times champions Real Madrid were drawn against AS Roma.

It is the game between the pace-setters in Spain and Arsenal which most catches the eye, however.

“We are certain to see a sporting spectacular,” said Barca director Albert Soler.

“Arsenal and Barcelona have a similar style of play. The fans will enjoy themselves, we’re two sides with a similar understanding of the game. They will be two great matches. We must have maximum respect for Arsenal.”

“Barca are used to playing under pressure in every sense. But we are the reigning champions and that gives you an edge.”

Arsenal club secretary David Miles said: “It is not easy and the one to avoid at this stage, but it is up to us and we will give them a game.

“Messi, Neymar, Suarez... you

could go on, but we have our own world class players and I am sure they will be fantastic games in London and in Barcelona.”

There is also a familiar feel about the Chelsea v PSG tie.

“There is not much we don’t know about Paris,” said Chelsea general secretary David Barnard.

“You only know if it’s a good

draw after the tie. We are ambi-tious, we have two-and-a-half months to prepare,” PSG sports director Olivier Letang said.

Real Madrid and Roma have also seen a lot of each other in the competition, though not since 2008 when the Italians won 201 home and away in the last 16.

“You have to be very much on your guard. If we see ourselves as favourites things won’t go well for us,” said Real director Emilio Butragueno. “We know what can happen if you have 10 poor min-utes on a European night.”

Juventus could come to regret having blown their finale in the group stage, leaving Manchester City, who will take on Dynamo Kiev, with the better draw on paper.

“Everybody wanted to avoid Barca and Bayern so we are not so lucky but Bayern will not be glad they drew Juve,” said Juventus ambassador Pavel Nedved.

Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “They have a good side (Kiev)and it will be difficult for us. They are growing in the competition and it will be a big challenge but we hope to be ready. They are a strong side, but they like to play football and it is just 11 v 11. We are improving and gaining experience in the com-petition so we hope to do well.”

PSV Eindhoven will take on Atletico Madrid and Benfica will be against Zenit St Petersburg.

Gent, in their first participation in the competition, will take on Germany’s VfL Wolfsburg. The first legs of the ties are spread over four days in February, with the re-turns on March 8, 9 and 15, when there are two matches. - Reuters

Spanish league

leaders Barcelona,

chasing a sixth title,

prevailed 2-1 in the

2006 final at the

Stade de France

in Paris and also

triumphed in the

knockout phase

in 2010 and 2011

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW: UEFA Champions League final ambassador Javier Zanetti shows the name of FC Barcelona football club during the draw for the Champions league round of sixteen at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. – AFP

United go into unknown in Europa LeagueNYON: Triple European champi-ons Manchester United and their under-fire coach Louis van Gaal face a tricky task against little-known Midtjylland in the last 32 of the Europa League following Monday’s draw.

United, knocked out of the Champions League last week, meet the Danish league winners, an unsung club backed by owner Matthew Benham who elimi-nated Southampton earlier in the competition.

Midtjylland’s pony-tailed chairman Rasmus Ankersen, ap-pointed by former financier and professional gambler Benham, who also owns English second-tier club Brentford, issued a warn-ing after the draw. “We have al-ready beaten one English team so we are not afraid,” said Ankersen.

“We are a small club with a small budget and we know we can’t outspend them so we have to out-think them and, so far, this way has worked for us in the Eu-ropa League.

“We know we have a chance and we will take up the challenge. If we can beat Southampton we can beat Manchester United and the players will feel that and be-lieve it.”

Midtjylland have adopted the use of mathematical modelling and key performance indicators in their management and style of play, factors Van Gaal will need to

study after a probable call to fel-low Dutchman and Southampton manager Ronald Koeman. Van Gaal has received a lot of criticism following his team’s Champions League exit and their 2-1 defeat by promoted Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.

In other eye-catching ties Liv-

erpool manager Juergen Klopp returns to Germany to face Augs-burg, another club in their maiden European campaign, while Se-villa, bidding for a hat-trick of Eu-ropa League titles, meet Norwe-gian team Molde.

Former Champions League winners Borussia Dortmund and

Porto also lock horns while Olym-pique de Marseille take on Athlet-ic Bilbao, Anderlecht play Olym-piakos Piraeus, Shakhtar Donetsk face Schalke 04 and Lazio meet Galatasaray.

The first legs will be played on February 18 and the return matches seven days later. - Reuters

F O O T B A L L

MARGAO: FC Goa are keen to avoid another loss at the semi-fi-nals as they prepare to overturn a 0-1 deficit against Delhi Dynamos in the second leg semi-final clash of the Indian Super League (ISL) here on Tuesday.

FC Goa lost the first leg semi-final 0-1 in New Delhi on Decem-ber 11. They have added impetus of playing the final of the tournament at their home on December 20.

Last year, FC Goa lost to even-tual champions Atletico de Kolka-ta at the same stage on penalties.

But coach Zico feels his team is better prepared to tackle their semifinal opponents this time.

“Delhi Dynamos did not have supremacy over us in the last game. Both teams had chances but Delhi took theirs and we didn’t,” Zico told reporters during the pre-match media briefing on Monday.

Zico is expected to change his

line-up and tweak team formation as Brazilian striker Reinaldo and defender Raju Gaekwad are both unavailable.

Another Brazilian striker Ra-fael Coelho may replace Reinaldo.

Goa beat Delhi Dynamos 2-0 in their opening league clash at home earlier in the tournament.

Asked what had changed be-tween then and now, Zico said, “nothing much has changed. Both have the same players and if I can see any change, it’s just that the players are a little bit tired.”

Dynamos could have killed the contest in the first leg but missed plenty of chances.

Coach Roberto Carlos knows that his team was superior in the first leg after losing both the league clashes and was confident that they can be the first team to seal a place in the final.

“My team will always attack. The formation will always be attacking. It will be almost the same. We will shoot on goal,” said Carlos, when asked if he would try and defend the win that they

secured in New Delhi. Dynamos have been a low scoring team all through the league but Carlos said he had nothing to worry as attack-ing players like Gustavo dos San-tos, Robin Singh, Florent Malou-da, Richard Gadze and Adil Nabi were all capable of scoring goals in crucial matches.

“The players are motivated and confident. We have to set up some details for this match and then we are ready. It’s our most important match,” said Carlos.

Former Chelsea winger FRenchman Florent Malouda, who was also present for the me-dia briefing, was equally confident.

“For us, it’s better not to make any calculation. Whenever we have tried to calculate, it’s not been good for us. We lost twice to Goa (in the league stage) and learnt our lessons from those losses,” said Malouda. - IANS

I N D I A N S U P E R L E A G U E

FC Goa under pressure in semifinalsGoa coach Zico feels his team is better prepared to tackle their semifinal opponents Delhi this time

Decision to bar Nakhid upheldBERNE: Former Trinidad and To-bago player David Nakhid cannot run for the presidency of football’s scandal-plagued governing body FIFA, said the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

CAS explained in a statement on Monday that it had dismissed his appeal against a decision taken by FIFA’s electoral committee on Oct. 28 during which his candidacy was refused. Under the organisation’s electoral rules, Nakhid needed written backing from five national football associations to be eligible for the Feb. 26 election that will decide who replaces outgoing president Sepp Blatter.

The Trinidadian was barred from registering by FIFA’s elector-al committee because one associa-tion had signed letters of support for Nakhid and a rival candidate.

Last month FIFA’s electoral committee said five candidates had passed integrity checks and were approved for the election.

The five were Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Sal-man Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bah-rain, former FIFA official Jerome Champagne of France, UEFA gen-eral secretary Gianni Infantino of Switzerland and South African busi-nessman Tokyo Sexwale. - Reuters

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

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

DiningSECTIONC L I F E S T Y L E T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Succulent Sliders

There are millions of types of fast food out there, but I think we all will agree that a big fat burger is king of all. Sliders are just reformed burgers with controlled portions that look almost too cute to eat. The best part is their versatility.

STORY 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 .

LIFESTYLEC8 T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

DATES

Phot

ogra

phy:

Sha

bin

E

PallaviNigam

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.comtwitter @pallavizzapallavizza.com

TANDOORI CHICKEN SLIDERSIngredients

250g, chicken minced 1/2 onion, chopped 1tsp ginger paste 1tsp garlic paste 1tsp red chilli powder 1tsp cumin powder 1tbsp, finely chopped coriander leaves 1tbsp coriander powder 1tbsp garam masala 1tsp chat masala powder Slider buns 2 tomatoes 2 onions, julienne Cheddar cheese slices

For green chutney mayo 1 green chilli 1 clove of garlic Few mint leaves Few coriander leaves Lime juice 4tbsp, mayonnaise white

Preparation To make tandoori chicken pattice, put the chicken mince in a bowl, add chopped onion, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander leaves, coriander powder, garam masala, chat masala powder, mix everything together properly, and make pattice, heat a pan, grill the pattice till cooked. To make the green chutney mayo: put green chilli, garlic, mint leaves, coriander leaves, lime juice in a mix-er, grind it, then take out in a bowl, and add mayonnaise, mix properly. To assemble the sliders, grill the buns, apply chutney on the lower bun, place a slice of tomato, place the pattice on top, again spread chutney, place cheddar slice, and close it.

MUSHROOM PATTY SLIDERSIngredients

5-6, white mushrooms, sliced 1tsp dried oregano 1 garlic clove, minced 1/2 onion, finely chopped 1tbsp rolled oats 1tbsp breadcrumbs 1/2 egg, beaten Salt & pepper Tomato roundels Lettuce Tomato ketchup

Preparation Sauté sliced mushroom till cooked, then chop it, add oregano, garlic clove, onion, oats, bread crumbs, beaten egg, salt and pepper. Mix everything together, make a pattice. Grill it till golden brown. Assemble your slider with tomato roundels, lettuce and tomato ketchup.

LAMB KIBBEH SLIDERSIngredients

250g lamb mince 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 onion (small), chopped 1 garlic clove, chopped 1tsp pine nuts, toasted 1tsp Ras al hanout 2tsp breadcrumbs 1/2 beaten egg 1tsp chopped rosemary Salt & pepper Slider buns Tomato, sliced round Lettuce 1tbsp barbecue sauce

Preparation Take out lamb mince in a bowl; add chopped red bell pepper, onion, garlic clove, toasted pine nuts, Ras al hanout, breadcrumbs, egg, rose-mary, salt and pepper. Mix properly, make a pattice, grill it till cooked. Now to assemble the slider, toast the buns, place tomato slice on the lower bun, place some lettuce, then patty, then on top spread barbecue sauce, then close with top slider. Enjoy hot with some more barbe-cue sauce.

SELECT A SUBSTITUTE SUBSTITUTE

Dried figs or dried raisins

swati@timesofoman.com

Dates are soft and sweet, and can be eaten fresh or dried

or used in sweet desserts like breads, cakes, and cookies.

Equivalents2 cups whole pitted dates = 340g

450g unpitted = 60 dates or 2 1/2 cups pitted

LIFESTYLEC9T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Mushrooms give earthy appeal to stuffing The golden turkey is the star of the show at most holiday meals, leav-ing the meagre stuffing beside it looking downright sad. It’s the stuffing ’s time to shine when you give it a hearty upgrade with mushrooms. Simply chop your favourite mushroom variety like porcini, shiitake or cremini and add to your favourite recipe for a rich earthy flavour that is incredible satisfying.

Jalapenos infuse heat into sweet cranberry sauce Cranberry sauce is a holiday essen-tial, yet it’s the side dish that gets ignored the most. This year spice up your cranberry sauce with spicy jalapenos and watch it disappear fast. Simply seed and mince one to three jalapenos and add when boil-

ing cranberries. The sweet heat is delectable on meats or as a relish to complement appetizers.

Cheese is the ideal topping for rollsThe lonely bread basket gets a holiday upgrade when you sprin-kle tasty cheese to the top crust of baking bread. Hard cheeses like parmesan, asiago and fontina are good options. Grab your favourite shredded variety of Stella cheese when grocery shopping and you’ll be set for this incredibly simple, yet superbly savoury addition to your rolls.

Nuts add rich crunch to green bean casseroleGreen bean casserole is a holiday staple that is often topped with fried onions. This year think bigger with rich, delectable flavours. Start by

making your traditional recipe, but update the topping by using chopped walnuts with crumbled corn bread for a tasty crunch that will garner rave reviews from guests.

Tangy romano cheese enhances asparagusSautéed asparagus is a colourful addition to any holiday meal. Give the dish an elegant upgrade by sprinkling cooked asparagus with tangy Stella Romano cheese. The sharp, salty cheese mingles with the pungent flavours of the aspara-gus for a side dish that is as tasty as it is eye-catching. This dish is great with turkey, duck or beef.

Turmeric brings out savoury notes in vegetablesAs one of today’s most talked about spices, a quick dash of tur-

meric is perfect for adding a lit-tle pizazz to classic side dishes. For example, the warm, peppery flavour of turmeric brings out the savoury notes of roasted veg-etables. It’s also a fantastic addi-tion when sprinkled on braised greens like kale or collards.

Gorgonzola adds zip to creamy potatoesStarches are a must for any holi-day meal, but that doesn’t mean you’re stuck with basic mashed. Instantly upgrade your favourite spuds when you add flavourful Stella gorgonzola. The robust fla-vour of gorgonzola pairs perfect-ly with white or sweet potatoes. Mash directly into potatoes for a rich, creamy dish or sprinkle on top for a tasty topping like in this sweet potato recipe.

FOOD IS A CENTRAL PART TO ANY HOLIDAY CELEBRATION, BUT AFTER HAVING THE SAME RECIPE FOR THE FIFTH OR SIXTH TIME, EVEN BELOVED DISHES CAN FEEL BLAND AND BORING. THIS YEAR, SPICE UP TRADITIONAL FARE WITH A FEW UNIQUE TWISTS GUARANTEED TO HAVE GUESTS RAVING.

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Cranberry Gorgonzola Gremolata Makes 6 servings

Ingredients: 6 medium sweet potatoes 1/4 cup butter, melted1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced1 lemon zested

1 clove garlic, minced finely3 tbsp pecans, minced3 tbsp dried cranberries, finely chopped1 scallion, minced

Stella gorgonzola, crumbled

PreparationPreheat oven to 230C. Place sweet potatoes on cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Flip over and return to oven to bake until tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

When cool enough to do so safely, peel sweet potatoes. Place in a medium skillet over low heat with butter, salt and maple syrup for 5 minutes, basting the potatoes with the butter mixture occasionally. Lightly smash the potatoes until there is an even consistency. Hold over low heat.

In a small bowl, toss together parsley, lemon zest, garlic, pe-cans, cranberries and scallion. Gently fold in the gorgonzola.

Move sweet potatoes to a serving dish and sprinkle with the cranberry blue cheese gremolata. Serve hot.

Courtesy of Brandpoint

FIND-IT-ALLC10 T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

CITY CINEMAContact (10 am to 6PM) 24567664 | 68 www.citycinemaoman.netfacebook.com/citycinemaoman

SHATTIIn the Heart of the Sea (3D) (Action) (PG12) Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy2:30, 9:15 PMBridge of Spies (Biography | Drama) (PG) Cast: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda4:45 PMBus 657 (Action | Crime | Thriller) (12+) Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Dave Bautista2:45 PMThe Good Dinosaur (3D) (Animation | ) (U) 2:30, 4:30, 7:00 PMHyena Road (Drama | War) (15+) Cast: Rossif Sutherland, Paul Gross4:45, 9:00, 11:30 PMHowl (Horror) (18+) Cast: Mark Huckerby, Nick Ostler10:15, 11:45 PMClose Range (Action | Crime) (12+) Cast: Scott Adkins, Nick Chinlund, Caitlin8:30, 11:30 PMVictor Frankenstein (Horror | Drama) (12+) Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy6:30 PMZinzana (Arabic) (Crime | Drama) (PG12) Cast: Ali Suliman, Ahd, Saleh Bakri7:30 PM

MUSCAT GRAND MALLThe Good Dinosaur-3D (Animation) U11:00AM, 1:00, 2:30, 4:30 & 7:15PMGold Class: 7:00PMMacbeth (Drama | War) 12+Cast : Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard9:15 & 11:30PMGold Class :2:30 & 9:00PMClose Range (Action | Crime) 12+Cast: Scott Adkins, Nick Chinlund3:00 & 11:30PMGold Class : 2:30 & 9:00PMIn the Heart of the Sea (Action) PG12

Cast : Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy12:15 & 9:00PMGold Class: 4:45 & 11:15PMThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay-2 : 3DCast : Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson4:45PM; (Sci-Fi) PG12A Second Chance (Romance / Drama) PG12Cast : Bea Alonzo, John Lloyd Cruz

6:30PM

PANORAMA MALLIn The Heart of The Sea (Action)(3D (PG12)7:00, 9:15 pmIn The Heart of The Sea (Action, Adventure)(MX4D)(PG12)2:45, 5:45, 8:30, 11.30 PMIn The Heart of The Sea (Action, Adventure)(3D)(PG12)- VIP LOUNGECast : Chris Hemsworth, Cillian MurphyTimings : 8:45 PMCreed (Drama, Sport)(2D)(15+)4:30 pmBridge of Spies (Biography, Drama)(2D)(PG)9:00 pmHyena Road (2D)(15+)Cast: Rossif Sutherland, Paul Gross3:15, 9:15, 11:30 pm

Lary Gaye (Comedy)(2D)(15+)Cast: Rebecca Romijn, Jessica Lowndes5:30 pmHarbinger Down (Horror, Sci-Fi)(2D)(15+)Cast: Lance Henriksen, Matt Winston7:30, 11:45 pmMacbeth (Drama, War)(2D)(12+)Cast: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard2:45, 11:30 pmThe Godd Dinasaur (Animation)(3D)(U)2:30, 5:00, 7:00 pmHyena Road (2D)(15+)-VIP LOUNGECast: Rossif Sutherland, Paul Gross3:45, 11:00 pmMacbeth (Drama, War)(2D)(12+)-VIP LOUNGECast: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard6:30 pm

AZAIBA Close Range – 2D (12+) Action, Crime Cast – Scott Adkins, Nick Chinlund5:15, 9:15, 11:45 PMIn the Heart of the Sea – 2D (PG12) Action2:15, 11:55 PMSalt Mango Tree – 2D (PG) Comedy, Drama Cast – Biju Menon, Lakshmi Priya7:10, 9:30 PM

Hate Story – 2D (PG12)ThrillerCast – Zarine Khan, Sharman Joshi, Daisy2:00, 4:20, 6:40, 9:05, 11:30 PMPathemari – 2D (PG12) Drama6:45 PMTamasha – 2D (PG12) Romance, Drama2:30, 4:35, 9:00, 11:00 PMPrem Ratan Dhan Payo – 2D (PG) Family3:00 PMBengal Tiger – 2D (TBC) Action Cast – Ravi Teja, Tamannaah, Rashi Khanna, Boman Irani6:15 PM

RUWIScreen 1Hate Story 3 (Thriller) – PG12Cast : Zarine Khan, Daisy Shah, Karan Singh3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PMScreen 2Tamasha (Romance/Drama) – PG12Cast : Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor3.45, 9.45 PMPrem Ratan Dhan Payo (Drama) – PGCast : Salman Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Neil NitinMukesh6.45 PM

Screen 3Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (Family) – PG3.45, 9.45 PMSalt Mango Tree (Drama) – Malyalam – PGCast : Biju Menon, Lakshmi Priya6.45 PM

SURClose Range (Action | Crime ) (12+)Cast: Scott Adkins, Nick Chinlund, 3:15, 8:30, 11:45 PMHowl (Horror ) (18+)Cast: Mark Huckerby, Nick Ostler4:45, 10:00, 11:30 PMThe Good Dinosaur 3D ( Animation ( U ) 3:00, 5:00, 6:30 PMSalt Mango Tree ( Malayalam) ( PG) Cast : Biju Menon, Lakshmi Priya6:45 PMIn the Heart of the Sea 3D (Action) (PG12) 9:15 PM

SOHARIn the Heart of the Sea - 3D (PG12) Action 6:25, 11:45 PMIn the Heart of the Sea - 2D (PG12) Action 3:00 PMVictor Frankenstein - 2D (12+) Drama Cast : Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy11:30 PMPathemari - 2D (M) (PG12) DramaCast : Mammoty, Joy Methew, Srinivasan7:00 PMHate Story 3 - 2D (PG12) Thriller Cast : Zarine Khan, Sharman Joshi6:15 PMMacbeth - 2D (12+)Drama | War Cast : Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard3:00, 9:30, 11:45 PMThe Good Dinosaur - 3D (U) Animation 2:30, 5:30, 7:30 PMThe Good Dinosaur - 2D (U) Animation 4:15 PMLarry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attandant - 2D (18+) ComedyCast : Rebecca Romijn, Jessica Lowndes4:30 PMBengal Tiger - 2D (Telgu) (TBC) Action4:30 PMHarbinger Down- 2D (15+) Horror | Sci-FiCast : Lance Henriksen, Matt Winston5:15, 11:30 PMZinzana - 2D (PG12) Crime | Drama | Thriller

Cast : Ali Suliman, Ahd, Saleh Bakri2:30, 9:30 PMSalt Mango Tree - 2D (PG) Comedy | DramaCast : Biju Menon, Lakshmi Priya 9:00 PM

BURAIMIIn the Heart of the Sea– 3D (Action) (PG12)Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy5:15, 9:15PMClose Range– 2D (Action, Crime) (12+)Cast: Scott Adkins, Nick Chinlund3:30, 9:45, 11:30PMThe Good Dinosaur – 3D (Animation) (U)3:00, 5:00, 7:30PMHarbinger Down – 2D (Horror, Sci-Fi) (15+)Cast: Lance Henriksen, Matt Winston5:15, 11:45PMMacbeth– 2D (Drama, War) (12+)Cast: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard3:15, 7:30, 9:30, 11:30PMSalt Mango Tree – 2D (Comedy, Drama) (PG)Cast: Biju Menon, Lakshmi Priya

7:00PM

SALALAHIn the Heart of the Sea (3D) (PG12) (Action) 12:00, 6:45, 11:15PMHyena Road (2D) (15+) (Drama | War) 10:00AM, 2:00, 9:00, 11:35PMClose Range (2D) (12+) (Action | Crime) 12:15, 8:15, 9:55, 11:55PMHowl (2D) (18+) (Horror) Cast: Mark Huckerby, Nick Ostler4:30, 10:05PM Creed (2D) (15+) (Drama | Sport)Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone 2:05PMThe Good Dinosaur (3D) (U) (Animation) Voice Overs: Jeffrey Wright, Frances10:05AM, 12:10, 2:15, 6:15PMTamasha (2D) (PG12) (Romance| Drama) 4:10PMLarry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attandant (2D) (18+) (Comedy) Cast: Rebecca Romijn, Jessica Lowndes, 10:30AM, 4:15PMZinzana (2D) (PG12) (Arabic) (Crime/Drama) Cast: Ali Suliman, Ahd, Saleh Bakri6:05PM Salt Mango Tree (2D) (PG) (Malayalam) Cast: Biju Menon, Lakshmi Priya7:45PM

CINEMA SCHEDULE 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

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

Lifeline Hospital Salalah 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

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

@PANORAMA MALL @SHATTI

Harbinger Down (Horror, Sci-Fi)(2D)(15+)Cast: Lance Henriksen, Matt Winston7:30, 11:45 pm

@SUR

Howl (Horror ) (18+)Cast: Mark Huckerby, Nick Ostler4:45, 10:00, 11:30 PM

Hyena Road (Drama | War) (15+) Cast: Rossif Sutherland, Paul Gross4:45, 9:00, 11:30 PM

BAHJA CINEMAFilm information 24540856 / Advance Booking 24540855Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

Close Range (Action / Crime)Cast: Scott Adkins, Nick Chinlund, Caitlin Keats4.00, 8.15, 10.00 & 11.55 pm CP No : 3041 (12+)Howl (Horror)Cast: Ed Speleers, Holly Weston, Shauna Macdonald2.00, 6.00 & 10.00 pm CP No : 3042 (18+)Hyena Road (Drama / War)Cast: Rossif Sutherland, Paul Gross, Clark Johnson1.30, 3.45, 7.45 & 11.55 pm CP No : 3043 (15+)In the Heart of the Sea (Action / Adventure / Biography) Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson6.00 pm CP No : 3031 (PG12)

STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776Website: www.isurf.co.om

Pathemari (Mal) (Rom/Drama) Cast: Mammootty, Jewel Mary & Srinivasn 6-30 pm at Cinema Main; 9-45 pm at Cinema -3 Anarkali (Mal) (Rom/Drama) Cast: Prithviraj, Biju Menon & Priya Glor 3-30 pm Cinema -2; 6-45 pm Cinema-3Amar Akbar Anthony (Mal) (Act/Drama) Cast : Prithviraj & Jaya Surya 3-45 Cinema -3; 9-30 pm at Cinema Main Salt Mango Tree (Mal) (Com) Cast Biju Menon, Sohasani & Mani Ratnam 3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 pm at Cinema -4 Bengal Tiger (Telugu) (Act) Cast : Ravi Teja, & Tamannaah 6-30 & 9-30 pm Cinema-2 3-30 pm at Cinema Main Next change: Dilwale (Hindi); Tanga Magan (Tamil); Bajirao Mastani (Hindi)

Programmes are subject to change

Dhuhr 12.07pmAsr 3.07pmMaghrib 5.27pmIsha 6.43pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 5.20am

PRAYER TIMINGS

WEATHER

250

Maximum

160

Minimum

TEMPERATURE

40-70%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

MYTHILI RAMESHDecember 15, 2005

ADITHYA VIJUDecember 15, 2003

ABHINAV SANTHOSHDecember 15, 2009

WITH LOVE

LIFESTYLEC11T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

Select and StoreStore them in airtight containers preferably in the dark as they turn rancid quickly. If you refrigerate them you can use it for six months; or freeze up to 1 year. If you have made tahini paste from it then keep the paste in a tightly sealed glass jar and stir before use.

What’s It?Known to be a very ancient spice, sesame is one of the first plants used for its seeds. It has been in use from hundreds of years before, mostly for the oil. They are tiny, flat oval seeds which is either creamy white or black in colour. The seeds are sold dried and whole or ground. It has a rich, nutty flavour, with a buttery taste and is a common ingredient in many cuisines across the world.

HistorySesame is a flowering plant mostly grown in Africa and India. It grows in pods and is one of the oldest oilseed crops. Sesame has one of the highest oil contents of any seed and is avail-able throughout the year. Matches well with: bread, chicken, chickpeas, eggplant, fish, lamb, noo-dles, shellfish, tahini.

Culinary UseSesame seeds are sprinkled over cakes and breads. In some of the Middle Eastern countries, sesame seeds are mixed with sumac and thyme to make zataar, a wonderful Middle Eastern condiment often used as paste on grilled lamb, or as a dip. It is also the main ingredient in halwa that is made in the Mid-dle East and in tahini. Sesame oil is also used in cooking. Black sesa-me seeds are used mostly in Japa-nese cuisine, and other colourful rice and noodle dishes.swati@timesofoman.com

LEARNING HOW to grill is not as hard as you would see on television. All you need is the proper tem-perature for your griller especially if you are using an electric grill. Nevertheless, if you have the con-ventional griller, try to find some dried wood or charcoal. Ignite the coals or wood by placing crumpled papers below each coal and then set the papers on fire. Do not pour gasoline on the coals or dried wood. The smoke coming from the coals will give a gasoline-like aroma to your grilled meat. These are your best weapons in grilling.

Choose the best part of the chick-en. I usually use chicken thighs and legs since they are the fattiest parts of the chicken. These parts will yield a juicy, barbecued chicken. Al-though these may sound unhealthy, the taste is incredibly delicious. Some would still prefer grilling chicken breasts with the skins on.

Before you start grilling your chicken, do not forget to marinate it at least overnight. The longer you marinade your meat, the bet-ter it absorbs the flavours. I prefer to use readymade marinades as these save much preparation time in the kitchen. The downside of most readymade marinades is their high sodium content. But if you have time, you can make your own marinade from scratch. In the recipe below, the marinade and the chicken were simmered to-gether to speed up the process of grilling and also to let the flavours marry together. I like Asian-style marinades such as this:

For every kg of chicken1/2 cup light soy sauce (available in the Asian section of grocery stores)2-3 tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice4tbsp brown sugar

1 medium stalk of lemon grass (pounded)3 cloves crushed garlic1tsp sesame oil (optional)

Combine all the above ingredi-ents in a heavy skillet and let it boil for two minutes. Add in the chicken and simmer for another five minutes. Drain the chicken in a colander and reserve the mari-nade for basting during grilling. Basting is necessary so that the chicken won’t dry out. The mari-nade can also be made as a sauce by making a basic roux.

This is simply done by placing a tablespoon of butter on a non-stick pan and let it cook for min-utes. Pour over the marinade and whisk until the sauce thickens. Taste the sauce and adjust the sea-sonings accordingly.

You can also opt to make a dry, rub marinade. This dry rub is comprised

of herbs and spices and a little oil. For chicken, dried or fresh tarragon and rosemary blends together very well. If you want a spicier, grilled chicken, add a pinch of chilli powder and cayenne pepper. There are lim-itless marinades for grilled chicken. A little imagination and creativity are the keys. Make sure that when grilling the chicken, never let the flame flare up. This will result in burnt chicken. This does not appeal both to the eyes and to the palate. If this occurs, sprinkle a little water over the flame. Some also like their grillers to be covered during the grilling process.

Personally, I liked mine uncov-ered. There is just something about the smoke which is, for me, the es-sence of grilling. Grilled foods are best served warm, right off the grill with some salads or other vegeta-bles of your choice.— Angelica Florin/Courtesy Article City

Grilling can be a fun, family activity during weekends. Spend your lazy afternoons

in your backyard, and take out those grillers for a grilled chicken for your dinner

How to Make the Perfect Grilled Chicken

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

Sesame adds a delicious, nutty flavour to both sweet

and savoury dishes from the Middle East to the Far East.

Story Swati Dasgupta

KNOW

YOUR SPICE

LIFESTYLEC12 T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 5

This dark leafy vegetable

is a powerhouse of

nutrition that can be used

in a lot of different ways.

ONE

INGREDIENT

FIVE WAYS

NGREDIENT

FFFIVEE WWAYS

KaleMake Pesto

Add kale to your basil pesto,

or use it exclusively in place

of basil or other herbs.

Sauté It Take little extra-virgin olive

oil and sauté kale with on-

ions and garlic for an easy

side dish.

Chop and TopCoarsely chop kale for a pizza

topping. Put it with the cheese

for the crispy flavour.

Puree ItToss kale leaves into the

food processor with a can of

chickpeas, a squeeze of lemon,

olive oil, and a dollop of tahini

sauce to make kale hummus.

Wrap-it-up Use kale leaves to roll up

spring rolls or wontons.

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 D8

T U E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 5

RENT D2

*Classified Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

Business in Oman for Sale

Profi table business in Oman running since 20 years

having more than 3 outlets in various locations.

Serious parties may send email to :sprtnft ns@gmail.com

*Tourist visa arranged

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

D2 T U E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

Profs / jack. Contact 93219378 V. Nice flat in Wadi Kabir. Contact: 95755953 /95555162 2 BHK flat for rent opp. Sheraton, CBD. Contact 99046569 At Al Athaiba ground floor with split AC, 2beds, 2bathrooms, kitchen & sitting room Behind AL Zubair rent 350/-PDC. Contact: 99879939 At Wadi Kabir Industrial two floor showrooms, 80 sm each, rent 450/- R.O (PDC). Contact: 99879939

3 Room flat in North Ghubra, 18 November Street with three toilets. For residential or commercial use. RO. 315/- Contact 94477222.

At Al Athaiba (2nd floor) 2 bed, sitting room , 1 bathroom , kitchen , split AC rent 310/- PDC. Contact: 99879939 2bed rooms flat with hall, 2 bath-rooms in Darsait near Muscat Munici-pality. Contact: 92584715 / 24700120 House for rent in Al Amerat . Contact: 92532371 / 92294259

1 Flat for rent 4 BRM hall 4 toilets, kitchen, store rent R.O 400/- (per month) in Darsait 12 cheques month-ly . Contact: Morean 98292846 New deluxe 1BHK for rent in Darsait behind ISD School. Contact 99142314

1/2/3 BHK Flats & Showrooms at

FOR RENT2BHK,

3 washroom Flat with

Split Air Conditioners -

Near Lulu Darsait

CONTACT :

93202733

Flat for rent 3BRM hall, 2 toilets, kitchen, store payment R.O 350/- payment 12 cheques monthly in Darsait (ENT) . Contact: Morean 98292846 1BHK R.O 225 close to Indian Nurs-ery, Darsait, 2BHK close to ISWKG Wadi Kabir bldg 1690 R.O 300/-. Contact : 99476728 1000sqmtrs industrial land for rent in Ghala suitable for warehouse workshop etc. Contact 24700120 /92584715 Shops for rent good for offices + stores behind bldg, behind whole sale center Al Amerat space 11 x4 meters R.O 250/- per month. Contact: 92877449

2 Bedrooms Flat for rent in front of Indian School Ghubra. Contact: 92197959 / 92502497 2 Bedroom Townhouse with Swim-ming pool, free Wi-Fi for Rent near British Council in Madinat Sultan Qa-boos. Contact: 92197959 / 92502497. Showroom / Office for rent located in Prime location of Azaiba Main Highway. Contact: 92197959 / 92502497.

2 Bedrooms Flat for rent located in Prime location of Al Khuwair. Contact: 92197959 / 24527852. Villa for rent in Wadi Kabir. Contact: 95562646 Rent for flat in Wadi Adai, big room big hall one toilet, one Kitchen. Contact : 99345137 Flat villa type for rent - in al khuwair 33/, 4 Bed Rooms .4 bath Rooms, 1 Family Hall, 1 Dining Room, 1 Living Room, 1 Kitchen, Store. Contact 99315515 1& 2 BHK CBD Ruwi Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99024730

6 B/R villa for office use in Al Khoudh, 2 & 3 B/R flat in AL Khuwair for office. Contact: 99776071 /99057348 NEW WAREHOUSE FOR RENT at Ghala Ind. Area. 800 & 2500 approx sqms Near Hotel Al-Madinah Holi-day, Ghala. Container can enter. Immediate access to roads & highways. Contact : 94583320 4 B/R, 3 flats building in Azaiba behind Al Meera. Contact: 99776071 /99057348 Single flat sharing for Keralite bachelor in Ruwi near Qaboos Mosque R.O 95 (W/E). #98478286 2 B/R flat in Wattaya and Azaiba. Contact: 99776071 /99057348

WAREHOUSE IN MABELA

Industrial AreaBrand new with raised

fl oor, dock leveler, offi ce space.Total covered area

1300 Sqm.

With 10 meters height.

Contact - 92525766Email-

properties@alsirajholdings.com

One / two B/R RES / comm. flat near Oman Medical College direct-ly from owner. Contact: 92158031 1BHK R.O 170/-, & 2BHK R.O 215 near medical Darsait Muttrah house. Contact : 95076261

DAILY GUIDET U E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 5 D3

FOR SALE

FOR RENT

Beauty Salon for urgent sale in Azaiba prime location behind Al Fardan building. With sponsor and 1 staff and 1 ready visa clear-ance. Call: 95318629 / 95169411 Used supermarket shelving’s Godolas . Contact: 97752395 Running restaurant with seven clearance for sale Awabi Muscat. Contact: 95497007 Al Qurum, 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, sitting, kitchen, split ACs price 65,000 R.O. Contact : 99879939 Sports shop for sale at Ruwi. Contact: 98453599 /93050776 Top Quality sparingly used Outdoor Catering & Bakery Equip-ments including chairs etc for sale in Muscat .Please call for viewing 99471085.Serious buyers only. Scrap available for sale, power cables & accessories. Contact – 24446399 / Email – ravi.ztc@omzest.com Zawawi Trading Road no.8 Rusayl 3Ton Forklift, Special made for Oman market, Japanese Isuze C240 Engine, Cascade side shifter, High amount exhaust, 3m lifting height, Solid tyres, One year war-ranty. Contact: 98883445 We have laundry for sale in Ghala prime location 3 visa clearances available. Contact: 93782735 / 99208033 Shop for sale at Ghala Sanaya main junction (prime location) shop for sale. Contact: Kamil 92696479 60,000 Sq Mtrs Agriculture Land in Misfah, can be changed to In-dustrial Land. OMR 29 Per Square Meter. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 400 sq mtrs Commercial/Resi-dential land in Maabela Phase 5 Block 2. OMR 155 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 5 plots of fertile agriculture lands in Misfah East totaling 4,532 sq mtrs having date trees and using falaj water for irrigation. OMR 158 Thousand for all 5 plots. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 2,688 sq mtrs commercial land in MBD North. OMR 1.39 Million. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 Window AC 30 Nos (general make all good conditions), refrigera-tor, freezer & mess equipments for sale. Contact: 98064113/ 99315878 Quotation fax on: 24448101 /24448103 Mangalorean restaurant at Wadi Kabir & shop at Ruwi for sale. Contact: 98428507 / 93655003 Sale house & office furniture & electronic items. Contact : 99834373/ 96642500/22010080

ACC. AVAILABLE

Furnished sharing accommodation in ruwi near O.K. Center for non-cook-ing indian bachelor. #98805474 Single room, toilet, sharing, and kitchen near Azaibah Bank Mus-cat family only. Contact 96755127 A Bedroom along with separate bathroom available for rent for an Executive Bachelor in Al Khuwair (near Zawawi Mosque). Contact 92138451 Room for rent available in a flat for Executive bachelor at Azaiba, behind Al Meera Hypermarket with attached bath with cot & A/c, rent inclusive of water & electric-ity. Contact 96404166 / 97433992 Single room bathroom in Darsait R.O 140/-. Contact: 93289652 Independent rooms in Qurum / Al Hail. Contact 95529970 Furnished single room bath-room separate for bachelors, near Kuwait Mosque, Wadi Kabir, facilities Cooking & Wifi, rent RO 110/- including Electricity & Water. Contact 96228168 Big room available near Hamriya R/A for Muslim couple / small family / Executive bachelor rent 150/- per month including W+ E. Contact : 99495131 Furnished room in new building for working Muslim lady/ Muslim couple only. Location AINT, Darsait. Contact - 99008069 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, sitting room, Kitchen & store including utilities bills at Al hail. #92817777 Single room for expat Indian bach-elors near Al Aktham restaurant Al khuwair for RO 120. Water and electricity included. Contact: 98803261 1 Bedroom with attached Bath, fully furnished, separate entrance at Mabela for ladies only. Contact: 99634841

MV SALE

Jeep Wrangler 2012 20,000km, Expat from new, dealer serviced, RO6500 Contact 99440320 Sohar BMW 7301car for sale, model 2007. One handed used car and service with BMW for sale. Contact: 99231676 or 24667405 New car Pathfinder Classic 4X4,4L V6.Only 11500 OMR. Zero KM.Call 99416162 Yaris 2011, full automatic Toyota warranty, 90,000 km, expat use R.O 3100/-. Contact: 92227165 Mazda 626 in VGC, 2001 model, single expat Owner, full service history with dealer, 180000 kms. Offer price OMR 1000. Contact 99296768 Single owner Ford Escape 2012 white, 2.5L, 10100 kms. All tyres recently replaced, Comprehensive insurance including UAE Mulkiya valid Oct 2016. OMR 5250 92320155 divadmuscat@gmail.com FOR SALE or rent Tata Dawoo Truck 12 ton 2014 Model. Contact: 92719681 Chaverlet Epica 2004 model RO -700, for sale. Contact 92194205 BMW 318/ 2003 for sale. Contact 96364990 Ford focus, automatic, 2010 model, silver colour, expat driven, 58000 kms, dealer serviced, regis-tration till sep 2016, price ro 2750. Contact- 93207590

FOR RENT

Indian Granite 600x300x20 - 15000 sq mts

Indian Granite Slabs - 20000 Sq mts

Our factory yard at Ghala Industrial area.

STOCK CLEARANCE SALE

Contact 99337723 / 95118906

FOR SALEDozer Kom 355A -3Dozer Kom 155A- 3

Grader Champion 780Excavator PC 400 with breaker

Man green water tanker 5000 IGAll are in good condition

99310448/99612010/95208455

Ghubra-Beautiful Room, attached bath, separate entrance, huge ter-race, near Shell & Bank Muscat, for Male/Female - Indian/Asian/West-ern. OMR 180. Strictly for Vegetarian, non-drinker. Contact 99283938 (No Kitchen). Big room attach bath kitchen in Muscat near Palace R.O 90/-. Contact: 95094028 1& 2 BHK flats for rent at Hamriya Mabela and Al Khoud shop at Al Khoud. Contact: 24834644 / GSM : 93994401 /02/03/3lines Showroom space available at MBD area near old manpower building ground floor 220 Sq.MTR Mezzanine floor 320 SQ. mtrs, rent R.O 2650/- per month. Contact: 99449885 02 BHK commercial / residential (with split AC) flats at Honda Road. Contact: 99342733 / 99795241

02 BHK residential flat opposite to Al Nadha hospital. Contact: 99342733 / 99795241 1000 sqm industrial land with com-pound wall & two rooms at Misfah. Contact: 99342733 / 99795241 1&2 BHK M.B.D R.O 280/- & 300/-. Contact: 92144045 1,2 BHK Ghubra R.O 300/-, 325/- & 350/-. Contact: 97799175 1 BHK Mumtaz R.O 250/-. Contact: 92144045 2 BHK Ghubra R.O 300/-. Contact: 92144045 1BR, 3BR Mars hypermarket Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99338133 / 92103604 2BHK flats available for near PDO gate no 2 Qurum. Contact: 94057023 Flats for rent at Al Mablah block eight. Contact: 99445177 Restaurant for lease running restaurant at excellent location in Wadi Kabir is available on lease. Contact: 93334685 / 91760712 1 Bed room in Al hail south R.O 130/- Monthly. Contact: 93993354 Flats shops & store for rent in Ruwi Honda road Mumtaz. Contact: 97293708 / 92433127 Single BHK flat available in Honda road Ruwi. Contact - 24833972/ 24833974/99367448

Flat in Wadi Kabir, 3 BHK rent 280/- R.O. Contact: 99330810 2BHK Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti mosque. Contact: 97007934 / 92629232 600 SQT commercial flat for rent opposite Oman flourmill Darsait more details. Contact: 91214849/ 99364735 2 BHK Flats for rent Muttrah near Oman house. Contact: 97007934 / 92629232 1BHK flat near Star Cinema 220/-. Contact 99358589 /95570288 Flats for rent in Wadi Kabeer. Contact: 99388994 Flats for rent in Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99376454 7 Bedrooms villa in Ghobrah North. Contact - 96420432 Flat for Rent 1/2 BHK Flat at Mut-trah, near Oman flour mills, 10 min. from Corniche.Equipped with split unit ACs, internet points, free-to-air dish connection, CCTV monitored, basement parking. Rent RO.250/350 per month. Contact: 99229263; 93221054; 95215289 One flats for rent 2 bedroom all with bath al Ghobrah north near In-dian school (hot burger restaurant) Tel. 9976610

ACC. WANTED

LOST

CHANGE OF NAME

Single room required for an Executive with reasonable rent. Contact 95405033

3 BHK behind Oman House, Muttrah. Contact: 99319149 Shops, studio flat and spacious outlet and offices (good for clinic) are offered for rent in Al Amarat opp. ROP police station. Contact: 91231380 2 bedroom luxury fully furnished flat for rent at Ghala short or long term basis. Contact: 99886386 / 99881653 New apartment for rent at Al Amerat second floor consists of two rooms with two toilets, reception with toilet, kitchen. Contact: 95588568 Villa, 2 flats at Al Khuwair (17/2) Contact: 99444786

NEAR

AL FALAJ HOTEL :

Furnished Flat -

WEEKLY/

MONTHLY.

I Sameer Imtiyaz Lokde (holder of Indian passport No. G 0693660) son of Imtiyaz Rehman Lokde having permanent residence in India - Shalimar Bldg 4th floor R.N 79 Mumbra (complete postal address in India ) and presently re-siding in Muscat P.O Box -291 P.C 116 Mina Fahal (complete postal address in Oman) intend to change my name from Sameer Imtiyaz Lokde (old name) to Sameer Imtiyaz logde (new name) for all practical purpose. Any objection towards my name change may please be communicated to Embassy of India, Muscat, Diplomatic Quarters, Al Khuwair, P.Box No, 1727 Postal Code 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman.

Barber shop for sale in Ghubra. Contact 92955874

Haasher Tasawar has lost Pa-kistani Passport No. KG 567558. Finder please handover to ROP Raheel Arshad has lost Pakistani Passport No. BU 1911021. Finder please handover to ROP MD Rubel has lost Bangladeshi Passport No. C 1650811. Finder please handover to ROP

DAILY GUIDED4 T U E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANT-SIT. WANTED

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

EDUCATION

ENGINEER

ENGINEER

DESIGNER

DRIVER

MEDICAL

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCEDOMESTIC HELPER

CATERING

ARCHITECT

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

CATERINGTECHNICIAN /MECH.

SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING

ADMIN

DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN

MISCELLANEOUS

25 years male BA. English , Qualified as mast in digital animation having 5 yrs ex in character animation special-ized Auto Desk mago and motion building software knowledge, seeking suitable placement. Contact: 97917357

Cooks (Arabic Indian) gulf exp looking job. Contact: 99531802

HR & Admin Executive (MBA) In-dian male 26 years, with more than 4 years experiences in HR / Admin (16 months in Oman) looking for suitable placement. NOC available. Contact: 968-98757304 / 968 -98314238 Email: muroollah789@gmail.com Now in visiting visa looking for job, fluency in Arabic writing, typing, reading & speaking, looking in Ad-min, document controller secretary translator & HR Assistance. do need-ful. Contact: 968- 97240204 Email: dmethaju@gmail.com 15 yrs experience in administration (rent a car) in UAE, holder of UAE driving license on visit in Oman seeking suitable post. Contact: 98606800 / 99431708 HR/ Admin with total 7 years GCC experience looking for immediate change over with suitable position NOC available. Contact 95521535 Email: kbino110@gmail.com 10 years experience in secretarial / Admin job. Contact: 94868626 Indian female, Masters in HR, having 4 + years Oman experience in media management and HR, looking for openings in HR, Educa-tion, Admin, Corporate communi-cations. Contact 98252030 Indian male MBA- UK 18 yrs Gulf exp in Administration/ HR & Pub-lic relationship. Fluent in Arabic/ English with D/L. Looking for suitable position. Contact - 99897280 Indian Female, MBA-HR having 8+ experience in Administration/HR, Customer Support, Office Coor-dinator with good Computer skill, Now on Visit Visa, looking for suit-able position. Contact: 90196235

Sales Ladies wanted for Ladies Boutique. Age: 20-35 yrs. Al Khoudh. Send CV to sameer916@hotmail.com or call 91159905 Urgently required for a reputed company in Oman (Tyre, Battery & Lubricant division) Sr. Execu-tives/Executive-5 nos (Sohar, Ni-zwa & Muscat), Techno Commer-cial Professional-5nos, Driver (Omani)-1no. Required minimum 3-5 yrs experience in the same field with market exposure hold-ing valid Omani driving license or GCC. Kindly fwd your CV’s to ashwin@taasintl.org Contact: (+968)93891700

Wanted an Accountant. Contact: lawfirmfm@gmail.com We are looking for Chief Finan-cial Officer, Male 40- 45 years old, Bachelor of Science in Account-ancy with 5 - 15 yrs. of experience. Contact: +968 24702133 Email: admin-dept@daud.om

SECT. /OFFICE

Urgently required Female Secretary : Oman based leading manufacturing com-pany has immediate requirement Graduate with min. 5 yrs of experi-ence & capable to handle Manage-ment office work independently & Secretarial work, knowledge of computers & accounts will be an advantage. Age limit upto 30 yrs. Send CVs to vacancyinoman123@gmail.com

Looking for a FOREIGN STAFF has experience in Oman in real estate field. Interested contact: Mobile: 99109094 Email: aburashid94dd@gmail.com Instrumentation & controls Technician with 2-3 years experi-ence preferably in water sector and having valid driving license Send CV to shiju@spec-link.com or call Ph:+968 99450811

Driver cum maintenance person. Wanted cheerful, caring, clean and honest young man for an Indian family. Must have excellent driving skills and a valid GCC license. Can do and helpful attitude. Age 28 to 35, good references and English. Attractive salary, please apply to jobscharismat@gmail.com or call 99471085 for interview. Light duty driver. Contact: 98505294

Civil Site Supervisor for telecom tower projects across Oman. Send CV to fyjo@spec-link.com or call +968 9946 7227

DESIGN & ESTIMATION ENGINEER (HVAC+ FIRE FIGHTING) Degree/Diploma in Mechanical Engineering with 3 to 4 years of experience in estimation, designing and tendering. Working knowledge of AutoCAD is must. Should have good communica-tion skills. Contact- vacancyforoman@gmail.com

A Grade Construction company in Muscat urgently requires “Safety Officer”. Send C.V hr.azatllc@gmail.com or fax C.V to 24422458 Experienced Petrol Mechanic, denter required. Contact: 98045373 Electrical Technician: candidates with ITI / diploma in Electri-cal Engg & minimum 7 years experience in a process plant , preferably with some exposure to instrumentation also, may places mail CV: msindco@gmail.com

A well known private school is in need of English, Mathematics, Science and Computer Teachers. Contact: 96910649 Email: staffing.oman@gmail.com

Looking for new private clinic GP Doctor who finish license in Oman, Muscat. Contact: 97882811 Leading medical services company looking for GP Doctors, Nurses - male & female. Preference given to candidates in oman with MOH/ prometric. Send resume to athirababylon@gmail.com, tamara@babylon-om.com. ph: 24613069 Urgently required Philipina Nurse with MOH license at prometric parsed. Contact: 99724013 Wanted a Staff Nurse with MOH license for a well running clinic in Seeb. Contact: 99442701 Wanted GP Doctor with MOH license, job location in Muscat with good salary and benefits. Drop your cv at careerhr1972@gmail.com.

A reputed Dairy Company in Oman is looking for following Vacancies.

Please forward your CV’s to

Van Salesman:

3 Year experience with NOC

Drivers – Omani National Only: 2 year experience with Valid

Omani D/L

Debt collector: Omani National with 4 years experience with Valid Omani D/L

Wanted Project Manager. Contact: almoosaengineering@gmail.com Urgently required Project Man-agers, Civil Engineers, Foreman, Electrical Engineer, Electrical quantity surveyors for a reputed construction company. Send your CVs to mohamed@oasisgrace.com Contact: 99881459 / 24826566 can send fax: 24812226 Traveling agency Manager Director. Contact: 92223669

Urgently required cold room refrigeration Technician must know up to commissioning gulf experience preferred .Pls forward CV to nasmatmasirah@gmail.com Contact: 97982623/ 95183616 Instrumentation & controls Technician with 2-3 years experience preferably in water sector and having valid driving li-cense call Ph:+968 99450811 Send CV to shiju@spec-link.com

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, with 13yrs experience, 6 yrs Oman in manufacturing, trading & con-tracting Cos, capable of handling all accounting, finance, bank-ing, L/C, import, export & fina-lization seeks placement. NOC Available. Call+968-98932752, mail:jjohnmuscat@hotmail.com 28/ male MBA – finance /B.com – accountant with 4 years of Dubai / India experience looking for a suitable placement. Contact: 90187483 Email: shobinkarikkan1987@gmail.com Senior Accounts Admin Manager B.com M.com 25 years experience accounts up to finalization holding light duty license seeks suitable placement. Contact: 93064975 Accountant Bachelor of commerce English, 2 years experience visit visa. Contact: 98584398/ 95539923

An Indian female

HOUSEMAID (Muslim)

to take care of an Omani lady.

Salary best in the industry.

URGENTLY REQUIRED

Contact - 99250595 or mail to

tc.subi@yahoo.com

Reputed building materials com-pany looking for outdoor Sales executive having valid Omani driving license with more than 2 years local sales experience in tiles / sanitary ware. Please fax CV to 24798709 Email: united@omantel.net.om Urgently required Salesman having experience in marble and granite D/L and NOC must. Contact: 93484330 Email: preciousmrbl@gmail.com

CA (Inter), MBA, 25 yrs exp. in Ac-counts, Sales, Marketing & Admin-istration in poultry industry seeks suitable placement immediately. Contact 91 9704075855, +968 96500893, Email : sanaullah.sheikh@rediffmail.com

28/male/MBA - Finance/B.Com - Accountant with 4 years of Dubai/india experience looking for a suitable placement. shobinkarik-kan1987@gmail.com 90187483

Indian male MBA 2 years experi-ence on visit visa. Contact: 90196322 Email: nithinvarghese19@gmail.com

Game operators & gardener, with at least relevant field experience. Please send your CV to fuad@hadidmajan.com Required expatriate manpower goods loading & unloading labors. For inquiry Contact: 98111363

SKILLED / UNSKILLED

IT (SALES)

An IT Company dealing with wireless connectivity /networking requires a Salesman urgently. Forward your CV to vctsjobsoman@gmail.com

Indian male 29 yrs, M.Com, MBA, ICWA (pursuing) 5 years experi-ence in finance & accounts, Tally, SAP , Sage &MS Office on visit visa till December . Contact: 92840519 / 98450609 Indian male, MBA finance, B.Com have 1 and half years experienced as Accountant and office assistant of India, on visit visa. Contact: 97445488 Accountant looking part time job. Contact: 99867456 Email: ashkar7673@gmail.com Indian male 37 yrs,(M. Com finance) with 12 yrs experience (9 yrs in Oman) in accounts up to finalization can join immediately having NOC & Oman driving license looking for suitable placement. Contact: 90194907 Email: ke.jinson@gmail.com

Filipino, 29, Male, BS Commerce, 5years experience Payables/Re-ceivables/Payroll/Document Control.Excellent Communication/MS Office skills. Contact: 95057206patrick110486@yahoo.com Indian Female, CA Final, 5+ years’ experience in A/cs. Currently in Oman.Ph:94704800 email id: vinithsavith@gmail.com Indian male accountant cum admin with good experience in India & Oman knowledge of tally ERP.9 cur-rently on visit visa seeking suitable placement. Contact: 94834687 Indian male MBA, 8 years experi-ence in hospitality industry, account-ing looking for a job, now in visit visa. Contact: 92115860 Indian male 9 years experienced Accountant cum store keeper with D/L Oman & UAE transfer available. Contact: 97085435 Email: sudhimohd@gmail.com Part time Accountant services, yearly finalization works, monthly report, profit& loss report, consulting and audit works. Contact: 96247295 Pakistani male age 28 years MBA finance work experience 3 years as Accountant currently in Muscat Oman on visit visa. Contact: 99685330 Email: hussain_ca87@yahoo.com Indian male 28 yrs, 3 years experi-ence Oman driving license available accounts/ assistant accounts/ sales representatives, Tally, focus experi-enced Graduated, diploma in Account-ing +2 SSLC. Contact: 96565010 Indian Male 28. B.Com with 11yrs experience in in secretarial and document controller field in Saudi Arabia with Saudi license looking for a vacancy contact 00966501913557 and yarajunun@gmail.com Indian CA, 8 yrs + Exp (6 yr in Oman & UAE ) in Finance , Accounts & Auditing , seeking suitable position in Muscat/Dubai, Can Join Immediately, NOC Available , Contact: 98707434 / Email: casmart007@gmail.com CPA AUS with 5 years PWC exp in field of accountant finance audit seeking urgent placement now available on visit visa. Contact 94150073 Indian male 20 years in Oman experience with language institute (registrar, admin, account clerk) seeking a suitable position. NOC available. Contact: 96553961 Email: u.m.sulfi@gmail.com Chief Accountant IndianMale, B.Com Graduate+ PGDCA, Total 18 Years Experience, 13 Year in GCC, 7 Years in Oman. Exposure in Tally ERP9, Peach Tree, MS Office. Having NOC Available for Immedi-ate Joining. Contact - 97060826 Email-tomnedum71@yahoo.co.in Accountant Indian female, 26 yrs, B.Com 2 yrs experience in ac-counting, purchase vouchers, bank reconciliation. Contact: 95690207 Email: pereira.rita08@gmail.com Indian male 26 years B.Com jiC.A Inter tally ERP’s 3 years ex-perience in accounts, audit on visit visa. Contact: 90185373 Email: shaheervahid@gmail.com

Accountant, Indian Male, 15 Years experience (8 Years in Oman with Driving License & NOC) Seeks suit-able placement, Contact 94117616, 91238272 Email: praveen78oman@gmail.com

Hard working and 2 years experienced Indian male MBA (fin & mktg) on visit visa looking suitable jobs. Contact: 93279943 / 97876709

WANTED

Interested candidates can send their CV on-

projectshr2015@gmail.com

PROJECT MANAGER

Required for a reputed Construction Company,

having degree or diploma in civil with 10 to 15 years

experience with valid Oman

driving license.

Urgent requirement of

e Technician (Air-condition)

With experience of 5 years for a

reputed organization in the glass

industry.

Interested candidates may send

their resumes at:

Shawarma / griller / helper wanted. Contact 95529970

Senior Architect with 16+ years experience in Multi turnkey pres-tigious in KSA, UAE, Qatar, Libya, Oman, India. Contact: +974 433657155 Email: aftab1706@gamil.com

MEDICAL

Indian male , B.Com, 21 yrs, account-ant with 1 and half years experience looking for suitable job for more discussion. Contact: 96512733 Email: azazahemad968@gmail.com Male Indian with 7 years experience in accounting & 6 years experience in sales and marketing very good knowledge of tally currently in Mus-cat on a visit visa. # 96148427 Email: jijokurianp@gmail.com

Required Graphic designer and sales person for Advertising agency. Contact: 97982406 Email: choice.ap@gmail.com

Looking for full-time housemaid - please call 99385119

PLANNING ENGINEER (HVAC) Degree/Diploma in Mechanical Engineering with minimum 7 years of experience in the plan-ning and coordination of multiple projects, cost evaluation/ control and handing over. Good communi-cation skills. Contact- vacancyforoman@gmail.com Urgently Required: Civil Engineer with an experience minimum in 5 years in building construction, MUST have NOC and immediately join. Apply, fax 00968–24605955, emails sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com, sbeoman@yahoo.com.

Wanted Lab Technician for Ibra clinic. Very attractive salary for MOH license holders. Send bio-data to jmjmedicare@gmail.com 99373493

Insurance agency company require Sales Executive with experience Oman driving license. Clearance available. Send CV to: ahiginsurance@gmail.com Looking for experienced sales candidates in (outdoor & indus-trial signage, exhibition stands & media locations). Fluent English. Email : creativityeast@gmail.com Urgently required experienced Sales man for a leading FMCG co. located at Seeb. Please forward your CV at our email: recruityarek@gmail.com Kitchen cabinet manufacturing company is looking sales person, most have Oman D/L and must know any kitchen designed soft-ware and two years experience. Contact: 93326636

Chartered Accountant with ICWA Inter having 5 years experience in Finance, Accounts, Costing, Budgeting, Insurance, Treasury & Banking operations - NOC Avail-able + Oman Driving License Contact : 97881548 Email-financecost2@gmail.com Indian lady, bachelor degree in Preparatory Programme (BPP) and Bachelor of Commerce (BCom), completed training course in MS Word, Excel, Power Point and Out-look from KTI looking for full time / part time job opportunity in Oman. Contact 92437568, 96795853, Email: linda_navs@yahoo.com Indian male 25 yrs, Graduate in commerce, overall 5 yrs exp in ac-counts/ finance field. On visit visa. Immediately available. Contact – 92836216 / muhammad.tausif623@gmail.com 25 years (20 years in Oman & 5 years in Indian) well experienced finance controller seeking for suitable position, with valid Oman driving license. Contact: 99756765

DAILY GUIDET U E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 5 D5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

DRIVER ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN

Indian male, Mechanical En-gineer on visit visa looking for suitable job. Contact:97416564, Email:jovinmathias@gmail.com Indian Male, 35 years old, ITI – Mechanical Maintenance Techni-cian (Total 14 years) 7years Oman experience. Ready for NOC , VISA transfer, ready to join immedi-ately, Mob .96254637 Email.abilashbt@gmail.com

Indian Male, 36 years old, ITI – STEEL FABRICATION Supervisor (13 years) 11 Oman experience.(6 years in Plant maintenance) Ready for NOC , VISA transfer, ready to join immediately, Mob + 92257422 Email: jacktcr@gmail.com

Indian Female 25 BE.CS Engg with 2yrs Exp in Tech Support at Hewlett Packard & S/W Develop-ment at ISRO India,looking for a job in IT/TechnicalSupport/HR/Administrative/Teaching field. Contact : 92891427,24128682 reshmatj@gmail.com

B.E Civil Engineer having 10 years experience (04 years in Oman) looking for a suitable placement NOC available. Contact: 98065360 Email: shafeeqahmedr@gmail.com Robotics/Embedded Systems Engineer, Masters in Electron-ics Engineering, experience in software field & robotics, seeks suitable opportunities. Email: mariaannajoseph@gmail.com Mob: 91306841 B.Tech (IT) Indian Male 2 years Oman experience in I.T & Network-ing, holding Oman Driving License, presently on employment visa, seeks for a suitable placement. Ready to join immediately. NOC available. Contact: 92462578 Sudanese Civil Engineer with 5 years experienced AutoCAD primavera & GIS Arabic & English language looking for a suitable job. Contact: 91340584 Indian male diploma Civil Engineer having total 6 years experience in building continuation looking for suitable job. #94257287 Indian Male 23 years B.Tech Civil having 2 years experience in quantity survey and site manage-ment looking for suitable place-mentContact:- 95042656 Diploma in Mechanical Eng piping system in AutoCAD work, 21+ years experience with Driving license. Contact: 95267113 Email: rkakkaryil@gmail.com

7 years Gulf experienced Automatic door system technician. All type of automatic door, gate barrier, Access control, CCTV, working in Oman (NOC available). Contact 96707646 Email: pramod.raj.p@gmail.com B.Tech (IT) Indian Male 2 years Oman experience in I.T & Network-ing, holding Oman Driving License, presently on employment visa, seeks for a suitable placement. Ready to join immediately. NOC available. Contact: 92462578 IT / Net work Engineer with MIT , CCNA certified CCNP and MCSE training , 2 years working experi-ence currently on visit visa in Muscat. Contact: 94153542 Email: shahzadmahmood51@yahoo.com Indian female MCA IT 3years experience in the field of computer hardware and windows, Network Administration on visit visa. Contact: 96730971 Email: anjuretankar@gmail.com Hardware & net working, 2 years exp. Contact: 96244031 Female, 24yrs, B-tech Computer Science, currently on visit,1yr expe-rience and certified special training .skills in software testing,management,administration,java,oracleDB,Android,C++,C.seeking suitable place-ment.Contact:98741930, amruthamohandas515@gmail.com Structural Steel Supervisor / foreman 12 and half experience in overseas, I.T.I fitter, NOC available. Contact: 96195185 India: 917356668511 Omani 6 years excellent exp look-ing for opening in IT. # 95356166 Indian female M.Com qualified CME (INTER) good communica-tion & computer skills fresher presently in Muscat seeking placement. Contact: 90387811 Email: ghazalasuhan@yahoo.com

IT

Well experienced team available to provide feasibility reports & business solutions, product

development, risk management methods for startups, progressive,

defunct operations. Creating of ERP modules.

Contact - 93343251 E

IT

SALES / MARKETING

MEDICAL

MISCELLANEOUS

Prometric passed Indian male Nurse (ACLS & BLS) is looking for immediate placement. Contact: 93831951 An experienced Staff Nurse with MOH license and data flow cleared looking for job, NOC available. Contact: 97045785 / 98899146 Experienced prometric cleared Indian female dentist seeks suit-able placement in Muscat. Contact: 94673720 /92880267 An experienced Sudanese female Dentist with MOH license look-ing for job. Contact: 96436517 /97396088

EDUCATION

Teacher special education (MR, LD, Autism) Indian female 26 yrs on visiting visa, good experience looking suitable placement. Contact: 95128634 Email: thomassabu35@gmail.com Computer Teacher M.SC In-dian male 10 years teaching exp in Maldives as O level computer teacher presently located at Berha on family visa. Contact: 94867456 / 95262691 Indian female MSC, B, ED M.PHIL currently on visit visa seeking suit-able placement, 2 years experience Contact: 96916534 / 91969756 Email: aryanair23@gmail.com

HOSPITALITY

Hospitality/Hotel/ Restaurants Dynamic result oriented hospital-ity professional with 20 years of international exp. MBA in Hotel Management, specializing in Hotel/Restaurant start ups, concepts & Franchise development with proven records. Seeking for Challenging positions in reputed groups as GM/COO/CEO/Business Head. (NOC available) Contact: 96059470 Dutch male qualified commer-cial pilot (Faa-ME-IR certified) is looking for job openings in middle east. rutjestom@outlook.com

Candidate with good communica-tion. Contact 90187827 Indian, 38 years with 15 years in sales & marketing filed with GCC valid license. Contact: 94744746 Sales & Marketing Executive MBA with 3 years experience in sales looking for suitable placement. Contact: 91345727.

Indian male sales marketing with G.C.C license 7 years exp. Contact: 98097459 Email: shl_kami@yahoo.com Age 26 Indian male B.Com completed 3 years outdoor sales experience, one year Gulf experi-ence good marketing knowledge, having Oman driving license. NOC available seeking suitable place-ment. Contact: 98792682 Indian male with Oman driving license and 27 years’ Oman expe-rience in FMCG sales /newspaper distribution across the Sultanate seeks job. No objection certificate/release letter is available from the present employer. # 98962949 Graduate, computer literate, experienced in sales, credit control, accounts, Omani D/L , seeks suit-able placement. Gsm 9880-5474 Indian male 23 years with 4 years experience in Purchase and Sales, graduate in EC, currently on visit-ing visa, seeking suitable job in Oman. Contact: 96761020. Email: adikmuthumuttam@gmail.com 12 years of experience in Oman; marketing strategies & operations, logistics, government tenders, public relations & dealing with international companies -4 years of experience in UK, engineering CNC & industrial areas, have dual nationality, fluent in English & Arabic speaking and writing , (I can travel abroad easily without visa, for finalizing business or any other purpose). Contact: 94123939 Indian male, with experience in sales, marketing, and client rela-tion, with UAE driving license, on visit visa, seeks suitable job. Contact: 95269818 Email: naushers@yahoo.com Indian male, MBA Finance & Mar-keting 28 yrs,6+ Exp, with Driving license, Hospital Phrma Herbal Marketing, construction A/c & sales , F&B industry, 93379044 Indian male, MBA Marketing having 2.5 years Sales experience immediately looking for a suitable position. Contact: 91415145, Email: shariqs88@gmail.com Indian male 29 yrs, BHM , 6 years overall 3 yrs in Oman in sales with D/L. NOC available to join immedi-ately. Contact: 92594055 Indian male 46 years, Sales Manager experience in modular kitchens & furnitures. Contact: 94522616 Indian male, 24, MBA Marketing and HR, I year experience. On visit visa. Looking for suitable job. Contact 94014073 Marketing Executive/Merchan-diser, Omani License, BA 8 years Experience in Multinational Groups. Contact 97601343

10 year experience fit – out pro-ject Engineer, holding Omani driv-ing license searching for a suitable placement. Contact: 95896061 Email: supreethshetty88@gmail.com

Female Engineer material / controller 3 years experience in road companies, with D/L. Contact: 98001764 Civil Engineer (Diploma) looking for urgent placement (final exit). Contact: 95200650

Electrical Engineer ( B.Tech) Indian female 4 years experience in India presently located at Al Ghubra on family visa. Contact: 97228117

Indian male, Mechanical Engineer having 1Year experience, on visit visa looking for suitable job. Contact: 97416564, Email: jovinmathias@gmail.com

Indian male 24 yrs bachelor me-chanical 2 yr experience looking for job. Contact: 95179021 / 96974981 Email: atharhussain54@gmail.com BCA & GNIIT Higher diploma in NIIT. Looking for job, .presently in Muscat oman. Looking for a suit-able position, Able to get NOC from the present company. Network management in computer, soft-ware developing, Accounting. Contact 98631210 Civil Engineer 6 yrs Exp in Oman with license. Contact: 98975528 Diploma in Electrical Engineer-ing with 6 years’ experience in Electrical Automation , Program-ming, Project, Power, Energy and Supervision in Civil Work. Currently in Oman and looking for suitable position, Please contact 94873560/92406652 STP Operator having 25 yrs experience in Oman. Contact: 93089468 Project Manager / Site manager two years experience with BE Civil Engineer + DAE civil technology skills Primavera 6, Ms Office, age 26 years seeking suitable job. Contact: 94842408 Email: engrali300@gmail.com Electrical Project Engineer 5 years experience in primacy substation cables and OHL valid driving license. NOC available. Contact: 91204243 QA Engineer 5+ years experience executing ISO internal audit imple-ment QA document. NOC available. Contact: 95361454 Email: mohamedshalifawaz@gmail.com QA/QC Engineer 10 yrs experi-ence 7 yrs in GCC oil& gas industry looking for opportunity in Oman. QMS Auditor CSWIP3.1, API 570 BE MECH, MBA-PM NOC available. Contact 94663812 Email: srsaamy@hotmail.com Civil Supervisor, 5 yrs experience in high rise buildings worked in BP Khazzan projects. NOC available. Contact: 96259407 Email: rp2251990@gmail.com Buyer cum expeditor having more than 7 years of experience in oil& gas sector major client Oman gas company & British petroleum, knowledge in logistics and ship-ping clearance. NOC available. Contact: 98708758 Email: sak-thivigneshraj@gmail.com Need for job Generator Mechanic 2 years auto diesel cores, exp. 7 years Pakistan 1 and half years in Oman oil filed. Contact: 92849823 Indian male Mechanical Engg with 6 yrs experience in MEP field, seeking suitable placement with GCC license now in visit visa. Contact: 98086267 Email: khaleel1586@gmail.com Road and Construction Engineer with 5 years exp in Oman. Contact: 97646908 Civil Engineer with 6 years exp in Oman. Contact: 93242103 Email: mohamedf91987@gmail.com Mechanical Engineer with 3 Yrs experience in international Oil & Gas company looking for job Contacts: Tel: 90164236 Email: mustafaoshi-62@hotmail.com Project Engineer 6 years experi-ence in Oman, construction (site manager) fluent Arabic, English and good Hindi. Tele 97858589

Experienced Light Duty Driver, Fluent in English, Arabic Well knowledge of Oman Areas Seeking Suitable placement 97950869 Driver with car available. Contact: 93015630 Driver with big Pajero only pick, drop. Contact: 91800277 Light driver looking for job. Contact: 98549627 10 yrs exp in GCC driver. Contact: 93722881 Pakistani with light duty driver license seeks job. Contact: 92789805 3 years experience driver avail-able. Contact: 95859247 Light driver, looking for job. Contact: 98372745/99090362 Looking for Job driving. Contact: 97418036

Candidate with communication & analytical skills. Contact 90187827 Indian Female, 24 Years - MSc Biotechnology. Worked in Interna-tional Crops Research Institute For The Semi Arid Tropics for project work as trainee. Looking for suit-able job. Mobile: 92619048, Email: anusreeg1991@gmail.com

MBA (marketing) with 17 years experience in freight forwarding/ logistics industry in GCC & Oman. Presently working as branch manager in Muscat. Looking for a suitable position. Release and NOC available. Contact: 99856331

Civil Engineer (BE) having total 5 years experience in building construction looking for a suitable placement. D/L available Contact# 94450270 Indian female civil engineer B.Tech having 3 years experience sound knowledge of software, REVIT STAD PRO structural detailing currently on family visa seeks suitable place-ment. Contact: 95345591 Indian male 23 yrs old PG Diploma in Petroleum Engineering and B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering having UAE driving license on visit visa seeks suitable placement immediately. Contact: 95880127 / 95084905 Email: vijith2573459@gmail.com Sr. Civil Engineer, Indian male with 22 yrs of experience in building construction, pipeline work special-ist in tendering, billing, quantity surveying with Gulf experience. contact 95225759 Email : rafiksimna@gmail.com Civil maintenance painting, tile works decor works, plumbing, elec-tric, shop furnishing carpentary works and all other maintenance. Contact 97897831, 92112094 (Indian, Keralite) Civil Engineer with 5 years in Oman with 5 years in Oman with driv-ing license (Sudanese with bachelor degree). Contact: 91448244 Electrical Engineer (B.E) with 8 years experience valid Omani driv-ing license looking for job. Contact: 93909951 Bachelor Civil Engineer 6 Years in Oman experience Valid Driving License seeks suitable placement Phone 97619722 Email – golamrob@yahoo.com Mechanical Engineer M.Tech 2 years experience as HVAC design engineer rev IT M.E.P AutoCAD. Contact: 91050913 Email: rahmanmechengg@yahoo.com Civil Engineer 6 yrs Exp in Oman with license. Contact: 98975518 Sri Lankan Engineer (27 Years old) – B.Sc Engineering (Hon) Mining / Geotechnical Presently in Muscat, 1.5 years experience. Contact 91295802 / acmfaslan123@gmail.com Mechanical Engineer (UK) , 28 years old male, having 4 years experience in Oman looking for suitable placement with valid Oman D/L immediate available, NOC avail-able. Contact: 968 97612297 Email: ymirza11@caledonian.ac.uk

DOMESTIC HELP

House maid looking for job. Contact: 98257659

Indian Male, 34 years with 14 years oil & gas tankers sailing experience in reputed firm with Class 1 UK COC Master’s license seeking suitable placement in port/drydock/terminal facilities/shipping and marine services. Contact- 98842135/99090098 email:-menon.dhanesh@gmail.com Graduate, computer literate, experienced in sales, credit control, accounts, Omani D/L , seeks suit-able placement. Gsm 9880-5474

Civil Engineer 8 years experience in Oman as a project engineer for governmental & private projects. Contact – 90164912 Civil Engineer (B.Tech), Indian male 24 years with 1+years Indian experience,(Certified in Staad Pro/ Quantity Survey/ Auto Cad).Looking for a Suitable position. Available In Sultanate of Oman (Muscat) on Visit Visa. Contact: 92835952. E-mail: mohammedamair.bin@gmail.com

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

MBA In Operations Management Indian male : MBA in Lean Opera-tions And Systems with 3 years of experience seeks suitable placement in Oman. Contact : 0096894369897 The Business Development Man-ager, Iraqi, Experience 15 Years Inside and outside Oman follow-ing activities: construction(Very strong and qualified to bringing business for civil work Or any type of the construction work for many million per year with a good experience in pricing and collect payment and cash management of the company & marketing pro-jects & investments& tenders & real estate. Contact: - 92385033 Indian male 4 years experience M.S.C Marine biotechnology, look-ing for Production Manager. Contact: +919629032023 Email: evergreenram88@gmail.com The Business Development Manager, Iraqi, Experience 15 Years Inside and outside Oman following activities: tenders& real estate& construction & marketing projects& investments& transpor-tation & Marine services& companies management& develop business. Contact :- 92385033 Indian male, with experience in operations management, informa-tion security, purchase & stores mgmt, hold UAE driving license, on visit visa, seeks suitable job. Contact : 91904541 Email: naushers@yahoo.com Sudanese male Manager & Accountant master degree in Economics, 15 years experience in accounts and Banking looking for job. Contact: 97396088 / 96436517

Driver with new car looking for job.contact: 95873286 Driver (light & heavy duty) valid gulf /Indian) looking job. Contact: 95175192

Male, B.E in industrial & production engineering, 8 years experience (5 years in oil & gas) and 3 years in available currently on visit visa, seeking immediate placement. Contact: 97863823 Indian female 22 years old electrical engineer fresher currently in Oman visit visa B.Tech knowledge in Au-toCAD /ECAD seeking placement in electrical related field. #90372125 Email: limisha93@gmail.com Indian female on visit visa master of engineering (M.E) in computer science with 2 years experience software trainee, worked as math-ematics and IT Teacher seeking for suitable job. Contact: 94528019 Email: indhu101291@gmail.com 7 Yrs Exp. PM in Mech. Engg in the field of Building Const. Oil & Gas Seeking Job.94625598 29 yrs Indian male B.E (ECE) with more than 5 yrs experience in Oman with valid D/L. Contact 96652145

Indian male IT, CCNA, RHCE, MCITP, 3 years experience have GCC driving license seeking suitable position on visit visa (until 27th Dec). Contact: 93311963 Email: sajal035@gmail.com An Indian male 27yrs, B. Tech in (Computer Science) 6 years of exp in technical support, troubleshooting and managing seeks suitable place-ment. Contact:- 97483775, email:- mir.jak89@gmail.com B.Tech (IT) Indian male 29 years having 4 years experience in soft-ware support, hardware & network-ing in Oman looking for IT / Admin job in Oman. NOC available with valid Oman D/L. Contact: 91906494 Email: rajanit1988@gmail.com CCNA MCITP network sup-port /network technician with 2 years experience Indian male having bachelors degree on visit visa. Contact : 93080871 sean.f.peters@outlook.com Age 28 years experience 2years & 8 month in IT accounting technical skill, java, J.S.P tally Peachtree M.S excel, SQL ,Working java program-mer India , accountant , Dubai ,Qualification MCA, B.C.A mathe-matic visit visa. Contact: 95673451

Indian Male 32, MBA (Marketing & Finance) with 10 years experi-ence in Marketing of Banking Products & Insurance Industry. Seeking for a Job in Oman. Contact: 93576980, 97750460 Email: senthil.cbe83@gmail.com

Civil Engineer diploma, 4 yrsexp seeks suitable position ina reputed company. NOC available. Contact – 96789711

Electrical Engineer Indian male having 5 yrs of exp in designing, ex-ecution & planning in electrical field. Having valid GGC driving license. Looking for a suitable job. Contact – 98052942 / azamjeelani@gmail.com

Autocad , Oman exp in ARCh, structural, interior, knows 3D ph : 96946306 Professional architect 3ds max (interior, exterior) looking for pri-vate work. Contact: 96041201

Mechanical Engineer (B.Tech) Indian m with good knowledge in MEP, currently in Oman on visit visa looking for suitable placement. Contact: 90154793 Email: sangu.vazhoor@gmail.com

DAILY GUIDED6 T U E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 5

SITUATION WANTED

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

MISCELLANEOUSNRI

3 storey Building for sale Thiru-valla , near Nelladu building with 4 flats and 3 shops for sale. Contact : 97835464/ 0091 8606029166

Plot for sale Shadnagar Municipal-ity, Mahboob Nagar District, walk able distance to existing colonies, national highway and basic ameni-ties at reasonable price. Contact – 0091 8686631669 Plot, propeties for sale in prime location in pune 95272138,(+918390982975)

Luxurious villas in a Gated community with all the modern facili�es at

Vakathanam By-Pass (MC road-NH 220)Web: www.royalcastles.inemail: info@royalcastles.in

+968 92855909, +91 9961 11 9988

royal castles vakathanam, kottayam

MATRIMONIAL

Kerala RC boy 31 yrs paramedical working in Oman hailing from Tellichery Dioces. Contact: 92866673 Keralite, Thiruvananthapuram based “Young and Handsome Boy”, Hindu – Viswakarma (Carpen-ters), Birth Star – Pooyam, MCA, 29 years(05/11/1985, 01.30 AM), 176 cm height, Wheatish colour, Moderate family, Working as ‘Com-mercial Assistant’ in a reputed automotive company. seeking alliance of girls from the suit-able family. Contact: Rejeesh - 92801583, 94238934, Shanmughan - +919895891202, +914712619230 Indian male 32 years (Muslim) looking for alliance invites pro-posals from other nationals also. Contact: 92148351 RCSC MOH Nurse working in Min-istry hospital Sur seeking suitable alliance from Keralite Malayalees Christian boys (preference in Muscat, well educated). Contact: Gince Sebastian 98055621 / 97929487 Kerala Ezhava boy 28 years MBA working in Oman seeking suitable alliance. Contact: 98185755 23 Years Malayalee Christian girl born & educated in Bangalore, seeking suitable alliances from well settled Keralite Malayalee Christian boys. Contact - 99494371 Muslim Girl, M.B.B.S 23 years 5’ 4” fair, looking for suitable alliance from Doctors from Kerala / Tamil Nadu. Contact: 00968 98553628

GENERAL ELECTRONICS SERVICES LLC

CONTACT: 99627299 / 93327841

BRING HOME - LIVE MUSIC & CINEMA

HOME THEATER&

KARAOKE

HR & Admin Executive ( MBA) Indian male 26 year old, with more than 4 years of experiences in HR& Admin (16 month in Oman) looking for suitable placement, NOC avail-able. Contact: +968-98757304 Email: nuroollah789@gmail.com Indian Male, 28, MBA Finance & Mcom. more than 5yrs exp. in A/c & Finance (Including 2 yrs in Oman), NOC available, Seek Suita-ble Placement, Contact: 93939421, email: baleeq.ams@gmail.com Indian Accounts professioanl with 2 years of experience currently on visit visa looking for suitable job openings Contact: Gsm: 92395449 jaleelcabdul@gmail.com Part- Time Accountant, well experience senior accountant ,do-ing all type of accounting works, Finalization, Budgeting available. Contact 98803439 Post graduate master of social work having 5 years experience at present visit visa seeking suitable opportunity.Contact 99876307

Planning Engineer: B.E(Electrical and Electronics Engineering): Indian Male 33 yrs with 10 years of experience in UAE & Muscat. Skilled in the areas of project coor-dination, planning & procurements. Contact: 00971503529608 Email Id: saravananbe44@gmail.com 29 year Indian male B-Tech Engi-neering, with 6 yrs of Professional experience in Manufacturing Oil & Gas Industries seeking for a suit-able placement (NOC Available).Kindly contact me on 94628362, email-mahinathdevani@yahoo.co.in MBA (F), B.COM. Indian female having knowledge of accounts with Tally looking for job. pres-ently on family visit visa. Contact :- 94704661. Email:- bhumicapandya@gmail.com MBA - (F), M.Com,B.COM. Indian female having knowledge of ac-counts with Tally looking for part time or full time job. Presently on family visa. Contact :- 91892264. Email: yashicapandya@gmail.com 31 year Indian male PG in HR with 5 yrs Professional experi-ence in HR in Construction Oil & Gas Oman seeking for a suitable placement(NOC Available).Kindly contact me on 93488914, email-Kaarthickshankar@gmail.com Indian Male, 26 years, With 7 years of experience in Sales Field in shipping company in “Dubai” , looking for suitable placement. Experienced working in safety Ma-rine equipment and well versed with MS Office. Contact: 90182494, Manojmallya999@gmail.com Indian male, totally 8+ years experience in IT Assistant, 5 Years in Oman, Looking for a suitable position in Oman, Holding Oman Driving license & also NOC is available. Contact: 98248024, email- bala.abins@gmail.com Indian male B.Eng. in IT, CCNA, MCSA, MCSE, 3 yrs exp. in IT / networking/ server support, valid Omani D/L seeking suitable placement in IT/Network/Server support. Contact 92607532 ACCA (Associate Certified Char-tered Accountant) with 2 years experience. Looking for opportuni-ties in Finance, Accounts. Presently Available in Oman for Personal interviews -# 96124257, 93692578. Email at naeemnoe5@gmail.com Indian male, QA/QC Instrument Inspector, 8 years exp in GCC, on visit visa. # 92430370 Email: rajeshgcc.kumar@gmail.com, Indian female, MBA HR & Finance, having 1 year experience, seeking suitable placement. Currently in Oman. Contact: 96052366. Indian male 23yr BA TTM(Travel and Tourism Management) with Advanced Diploma in Supply Chain Logisitics and Shipping Management, Experienced in Logisitics (Customs Clearance) seeking in suitable placement, currently on visit visa(Oman) Contact; 90291092 email:iyas.adhur@gmail.com Male 27, BCA, Diploma in Net-working, CCNA certified engineer, 4 years experience in IT support & networking seeks job. Contact-90193811 Indian male, 11 years exp. in ac-counting, knowledge in tally also. Looking for a part time job. Contact. 98983122

Indian female, 27, food tech-nologist (MSc Food Technology), 2years experience in research and development - instant foods, sea-sonings. Contact -93987174 email :mayacnair@outlook.com 8 yrs exp 2d, 3d draughtsman (HOLDING OMANI DRIVING LICENSE) seeking job. Contact 93790601 Project Manager in Mechanical Engg. (M.sc.) with 8 years experi-ence in Building Construction, oil & gas seeking job-94625598 (nima.azimzadeh@gmail.com) Indian male 23yr BA TTM(Travel and Tourism Management) with Advanced Diploma in Supply Chain Logistics and Shipping Management, Experienced in Logistics(Customs Clearance) seeking in suitable placement. Currently on visit visa (Oman) Contact; 90291092 email: iyas.adhur@gmail.com Driver Cum Salesman Profes-sional, Indian male having 7 Years of Experience in Oman Having Valid Driving License working as a Office Driver, Looking for a suitable Position, NOC available. Contact: 99680429 Email:anzarkutty1975@gmail.com 31 year Indian male PG in HR ,with 5 yrs Professional experi-ence in HR in Construction Oil & Gas Oman seeking for a suitable placement(NOC Available).Kindly contact me on 93488914, email-Kaarthickshankar@gmail.com MBA(HR & Marketing) & B.Com, Indian male 28 yrs,2 yrs exp. in Qatar, having oman driving license, currently on family visa (NOC available).looking for hr, admin, assistant accountant, marketing & sales job in salalah.Contact:98138376, email: subinabraham87@gmail.com Software Engineer , Oracle EBS R-12 Technical Consultant 9 Years Experience. HRMS/ Payroll, Education, Hotel, Textile, Shipping Container Terminal. Email: sziahussain@hotmail.com. Contact 97912264 Indian male 25 yrs, MBA (Fi-nance, Marketing), Overall 2 yrs exp in Accounts/Finance field, On Visit Visa. Immediately available. Contact - 92989197/94786544. abdulqhizer2004@gmail.com Indian male 24yrs, B. tech in (Computer Science) 4 years of exp in technical support, sales and networking, seeks suitable place-ment. Contact:- 95955696, email:- mir.jak89@gmail.com Indian male B.Eng. in IT, CCNA, MCSA, MCSE, 3 yrs exp. in IT/networking/ server support, valid Omani D/L seeking suitable placement in IT/Network/Server support. Contact 92607532 Indian male, 28 yrs, E & I Engi-neering diploma (3 years), 7 years exp.(India, Oman, KSA) in electri-cal and instrumentation with driving license, looking suitable job #91051803 Iraqi pharmacist with 15 years experience as Senior med rep. regu-latory affairs and Marketing & sales Manager seeking job in pharmaceu-tical co. Contact 96720441 Indian male B.Eng. in IT, MCSA, MCSE, 3yrs exp. in IT support, valid Omani D/L seeking suitable placement in IT/Network/Server support. Contact 92607532

Indian female, Science Graduate, 3 year’s experience in Teaching English & Science seeking suit-able placement. Also interested in Teaching Spoken English for student at any level. Contact : 96431456 / 95704814l Sudanese Manager and Account-ant, master degree in Econom-ics Diploma(Development and Planning).Egypt. More than 15 years Experience in Government Accounts..and Banking. Speaking arabic and English, skill full in M.S office, seeks suitable placement. Contact 97396088 Indian male 23 yr BA TTM (Travel and Tourism Manage-ment) with Advanced Diploma in Supply Chain Logisitics and Shipping Management, exp in Logisitics (Customs Clearance) seeking in suitable placement, currently on visit visa(Oman) contact;90291092 email:iyas.adhur@gmail.com Btech graduate, 26yr male, 4 years experience as system and network engineer. Looking for suit-able placement. Mob : 93125669, Email : amritrajsasidharan@gmail.com. Indian Male 23 years B.Tech Civil having 2 years experience in quantity survey and site manage-ment looking for suitable place-ment contact:- 95042656 Indian male, MBA, finance, hav-ing MNC 2 year experience in accounts and audit, skilled in sap, seeking suitable position. Contact : 96930855 Indian male, 26 years, With 7 years of experience in Sales field in shipping company in “Dubai” , looking for suitable placement. Experienced working in safety Marine equipment and well versed with MS Office. Contact: 90182494, manojmallya999@gmail.com Indian male having 14years of ex-perience in HR, Purchase Dept and Sales having Oman driving license looking for a suitable position at Salalah. Noc available. Mail. Madhuvtk@ gmail.com 32 years Indian Male MSC,MBA-HR having 8yrs Exp(HR /Payroll/Admin) with Oman valid DL. Seek-ing suitable opening in Human Resource, Payroll & Admin/ backend jobs. Contact :00968-99322978 Indian male 23yr BA TTM(Travel and Tourism Management) with Advanced Diploma in Supply Chain Logistics and Shipping Management, exp in Logistics(CHA) seeking in suitable placement. Currently on visit visa (Oman) Contact; 90291092 email:iyas.adhur@gmail.com Indian male auto cad draughts-man (civil) 8 years experience .seeking for job in Dubai & Qatar. Contact - 00968-99070584 (Mct):0091-9895061474 (India)email: remluvp@gmail.com Indian Female Accountant 5 Years of Experience in Accounting Tally, Office coordination, And Admin, Currently on Visit Visa Seeking Suitable Placement. Contact: 95684179 Indian male B.Eng. in IT, MCSA, MCSE, 3yrs exp. in IT support, valid Omani D/L seeking suitable placement in IT/Network/Server support. Contact 92607532

Manager / Working Partner. Indian M.Com with 20 years Dubai experience in media advertising industry, client service, marketing, production, gifts trading, branding with D/L. Contact -93031168 Indian male BE Electrical & elec-tronics and pg in power systems (transmission & distribution) on visit, Seeking placement. Contact – 94669679 Email prsabarish@gmail.Com BE electronics & instrumentation engineer, with one year of experi-ence. Looking for suitable positions. On visit visa. Contact-99339306, e-mail: kannanr101@gmail.com Indian male be electrical and pg in power systems (transmission & distribution) with 1 year experi-ence on visit, seeking placement. Contact – 94669679/ email prsabarish@gmail.com Looking for a part time accounting & admin job. Contact 99196621. Indian (Kerala) Male, 32yrs, look-ing for a job as Accounts Assis-tant/ Cashier/ Salesman (indoor), having 5 yrs experience in Oman. Currently on Visit Visa. Contact-94410485, Email: visanthvijay@gmail.com

SIT.WANTED

Ayurvedic treatment for joint pain, backache, paralysis, massage steambath, obesity, Spondylitis, Ideal Care Ayurvedic Clinic, 18 November Street Azaiba. Contact: 99639695 / 98342990 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 Ayurvedic treatment for backache, paralysis, arthritis etc & massage, All Season (Vaidyaratnam). Contact 24475280 / 95371664 / 92504980 www.siddhayur.com

GOOD NEWS

SITUATION WANT-ED

BUSINESS

Required expatriate partner or investor, to invest various com-mercial fields. For inquiry. Contact : 98209820 We will register LLC. trade license for foreign investors and do all actions. Contact: 92833566

MANPOWER

FOR LADIES

Home service for ladies only facial, waxing, body massage, (if you not waxing menicure pedicure) only 20 Riyal, Contact 9243 0239

MISCELLANEOUS

SALES / MARKETING

Indian 18 years experience in Oman Driver cum Sales man fields NOC available. Contact: 92459603 Sales & marketing building mate-rials (G. hardware, tiver, steel etc) Indian male fluent English, Arabic, Malayalam etc GCC D/L 8 years exp available release letter or NOC. Contact: 92882101 Email: sameermoul@gmail.com

SKILLED / UNSKILLED

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE

Looking for job as Mason, steel fixer, electrician. Contact: 93015630 Masonry / finishing foreman 20 years experience NOC available. Contact: 98435309/ India + 91 9446958838 Indian male, having 15 yrs of exp in site supervising, telephone line, supervising with valid D/L, looking for job. Contact: 93931162 Mason, SH / carpenter, steel fitter gulf & Indian exp looking job. Contact: 95175192 Electrician, plumber (exp gulf / Indian) looking job. Contact 95175192

Indian lady with release paper.searching for admin or accounts asst or showroom sales job. Contact 94417080 MCA, Indian female looking for a job in admin office works. 96370225 Secretary MBA Indian male 5 years exp in India, 1 yr exp as Secretary / document controller in tendering dept in Oman seeking urgent place-ment. Contact 91566118 / 93089367

TOURS & TRAVELS

Indian female BSC IATA, 14 years exp in travel & tourism in Oman looking for suitable placement. Contact: 96433490 Email: indu623@yahoo.co.in Indian female 24 yrs, Bachelor in Travel & Tourism and 2 year exp in Oman as ticketing executive.GDS-Sabre, Amdeus, Galilio. seeking suitable job. Contact- 95883404

Classes for Spoken EnglishTOEFL / GRE / GMAT / SAT

Excellent Guidance and Coaching Satisfaction Guaranteed

IELTS PREPARATION Target Band 8.0

EAGLES INSTITUTE92325542 | 93657915 | 93657917 | Email: engominst@gmail.com

DAILY GUIDET U E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 5 D7

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

SITUATION WANT-SERVICES

SITUATION WANT-SERVICES

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your marble. Contact 24793614/ 99314807 We are doing electrical, plumber, painting, & carpentering work any type of job small or big. Contact: 99208033 / 93782735 Water proofing ABUQABAS- Contact 99320217/24788722

House shifting & transporting. Contact 92490422 Cleaning & Carpet Shampooing, Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99344723 Pest Control Treatments. Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99344723 House shifting. Contact: 99657644/98518013

Split & window A/c servicing & maintenance. Contact : 93769089 / 95323517 Al farzdaq Al Fedi Trad and Cont Maintenance services electric, plumbing and A/C. Contact: 96524904 / 94285064 Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles polishing, carpet shampooing, maintenance. contact ABU QABAS- 99320217 /24788722

CLASSES

IELTS & TOEFLAcademic / General

Target Band 8 TQT Institute.

Ph # 24480800 / 99347202

Karate and self defense classes at Azaiba 18 Nov Street. RO 10 per month twice a week Monday and Tuesday 6. 30 TO 7. 30. PM. CONTACT 98294551

Spoken Arabic class for Non Arabic Speakers & English

class for Malayalam Speakers in Azaiba and Ruwi

earn in two monthstion guaranteed

Tel: 95244310

WEBSITE

WEB, ERP and Business Intel-ligence (BI) creation and manage-ment at rock bottom price. Contact: http//webviewoman

RENT A CAR

RENT A CAR

Rental car. Contact: 92516090

Marble grinding resurfacing & ceiling crystallization / polishing general cleaning of villas & flats. Terrazzo floor scrubbing, ceil-ing, polishing & buffing. Contact: 98598280 /94134784

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing, Contact 99314807/ 24792998

Cleaning Sofa shampoo carpet shampoo house. Contact: 92179395 Debt collection services your money we collect value com-mercial services. Fax: 00968-24783669 Contact: 00968- 2479815 /00968- 24701422 /00968- 94665476 Email: salim@valuedbtcollection.com

COMPUTER

DRIVING

Learn driving with professional. Contact: 94022250

AVAILABLE

Party & Wedding equipment rentals. Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirting, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery, Crockery, Glassware, Chafing Dishes, Ice Sculp-tures, to Large Sound Systems and spectacular lighting. Call Andrea 9606 2222 for Catering and Croyden 9623 5555 for Sound & Light. ww.tunesoman.com, E-mail: info@tunesoman.com Available office space in Prime location on 18th November Street, Azaiba Kindly. Contact: 99288664

A/C maintenance, installation spilt A.C and maintenance window A/C and ducted and package the reunites. Contact: Asad Abbas 98667326 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. Contact: 24810137, 99450130

D8 T U E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain Marine Tours contact 98029602, 92808636

TOURS

SITUATION WANTEDCARGO

SITUATION WANTEDCARGO

ABDULHAKIM AL BIMANI

TRADING & CONTRACTOR

Expert in Shipping cargo by sea & air

to Zanzibar, Pemba, Dar es Salam in

Tanzania, Burundi, Th e Philippines,

Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.

Reasonable price.

Contact: 97440625/95416662

FOR HIRE

Bobcat available for rent. # 97623299 Car with driver available for rent. Contact: 93015630 Toyota Coaster 32 seater bus with driver available on monthly lease rent. Contact – 99705821 / brightsilverllc@gmail.com

TRANSPORTATION7 Ton/ 10 Ton- Trailer

Local transport- MCT- UAE

Contact96609857

Amir Ali

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation & tours. Contact: 99324045 Pick & drop anytime in Al Khuwair. Contact 99764307 Transportation available Ruwi to Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Azaiba. Contact: 91103909

Transportation available Ruwi Seeb. Contact 99867456 Transportation. Contact: 98505294 Transportation. Contact: 95190627