times of oman - december 22 , 2015
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TUESDAY, December 22, 2015 / 10 Rabi Al Awal 1437 AH timesofoman.com wtimesofoman.com facebook.com/timesofoman twitter.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com ISO 9001:2008 Certifi ed Company
We have attached major priority to our domestic policy since the beginning of the Blessed Renaissance so that our human resources can be developed is such a way as will enable them to serve the community and work for the good of the nation.
Before The Third Session of The Council of Oman, 2003
FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTYTHE SULTAN
‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’
OMANSurprise checks on restaurants continue
1Authorities continued to crack down on restaurants and eateries selling sub-
standard food and found to be violating trade norms, in the Bausher neighbourhood of the capital, offi cials said on Monday. >A2
MARKETOil prices hit 11-year low on supply glut
2Brent crude oil prices hit their lowest in more than 11 years on Monday,
driven down by a relentless rise in global supply that looks set to outpace demand again next year. Oil production is running close to record highs. >B1
SPORTSSeeb Club lift HM’s Cup for Youth
3Seeb Club lifted His Majesty’s Cup for Youth for the ninth time on
Monday when the Ministry of Sports Aff airs rewarded the Sultanate’s top 10 clubs for their overall achievements in sports fi eld and youth activities. >C5
T O P T H R E E I N S I D E S T O R I E S
A3Passion for music and vintage cars
REJIMON [email protected]
MUSCAT: More than OMR1 million is the estimated loss from a fi re, which burnt down a hyper-market warehouse opposite the Indian School in Muladha, a top offi cial from the retail chain said.
“Our initial estimate shows that the loss may be above OMR1 million. It may take some time to get the exact fi gure,” the offi cial from the Makkah Hyper-market said.
“More than 20 fi re engines,
dozens of water tankers were de-ployed and at least 80 fi re fi ghters from nearby units had to battle for nearly nine hours to douse the blaze, which had engulfed the warehouse,” the offi cial told the Times of Oman.
“As the fi re went beyond con-trol, the fi re fi ghters had to use bulldozers to raze the building to contain it,” the offi cial added.
The fi re, which started at around 2pm, was doused by 11pm on Sunday. On Monday morning, two fi re engines visited the site to make checks. >A6
N I N E - H O U R B A T T L E
No plans to ask 50-plus expat staff to pack bags
Source: National Centre for Statistics & Information Graphics
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
20051,877
20061,776
20072,176
20082,540
20092,946
20103,107
20113,632
20124,431
20133,768 2014
3,335
FIRE CASES2005-2014
More than OMR1m loss in Makkah Hypermarket fi re
REJIMON KHASSAN SHABAN AL [email protected]@timesofoman.com
MUSCAT: Expatriates aged 50 years or more and working in Oman’s government sector can breathe as offi cials confi rmed the Sultanate would not take any de-cision similar to a recent decision taken by Kuwait.
Quoting the Kuwaiti Civil Ser-vices Commission (CSC) sources, the local media in Kuwait City had reported that the government body has received instructions to termi-nate the jobs of all expatriate gov-ernment employees, of all nation-alities, aged 50 years and above,
eff ective March 1, 2016. However, a senior offi cial with Royal Oman Police (ROP) said they have not received any such notice from the Omani government or the Man-power Ministry.
According to latest government data, there are 1,682,752 expatri-ates working in Oman.
Meanwhile, a Majlis Al Shura member said he personally feels that the retirement age should be fi xed for both nationals and expa-triates in the government and pri-vate sectors.
“If we need new and innovative ideas and more productivity, in-fuse fresh blood. There are many studies globally stating that at the age of 60, a worker will become less productive. So, we should fi x the retirement age of workers and the government should plan strategi-cally to face the situation where aged people are relieved from their responsibilities,” Tawfi q Al Lawa-ti, a Shura member, said.
“By saying that expatriates crossing 60 should be sent back doesn’t mean that it’s a move to ban them. We can bring in young expatriates in their place,” the Shura member added.
The Majlis Al Shura member also said no exceptions should be considered while fi xing the retire-ment age. >A6
Unlike Kuwait’s move,
Oman has no plans
to retire expatriates
working in the
government sector
at the age of 50
‘Huge potential for privatisation’Staff Reporter
MUSCAT: There is ‘big’ poten-tial for privatisation of many companies that are still owned by the government, said the Ex-ecutive President of the Capital Market Authority (CMA).
“The government is taking this into consideration, and we hope to see government companies being privatised in the coming months,” Sheikh Abdullah bin Salim Al Salmi told reporters after KPMG’s seminar on cor-porate governance held at the Crowne Plaza on Monday.
Oman’s budget defi cit for the fi rst eight months of 2015 rose to
OMR2.68 billion, as a plunging crude oil export revenue started aff ecting the fi scal balance, ac-cording to the data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
The government has been con-sidering privatisation as an op-tion to raise additional revenues and boost the private sector at the same time.
Three companiesOn Thursday, Finance Minister Darwish Al Balushi told Reuters that Oman will privatise three state-owned companies next year. He declined to give further details. >A6
C M A E X E C U T I V E P R E S I D E N T
A2 T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
OMAN
ALAWI RECEIVES QATARI OFFICIALYousef bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Aff airs, yesterday received
Hamad bin Ahmed Al Mohannadi, secretary-general of the Council of Ministers of Qatar
and his accompanying delegation. The two sides reviewed the fraternal relations between
the two countries and exchanged viewpoints on a range of issues of common interest. The
meeting was attended by Mohammed bin Yousef Al Zarafi , Undersecretary of the Foreign
Ministry for Administrative and Financial Aff airs, and offi cials in the ministry. — ONA
Surprise checks go on at eateries and restaurants
Times News Service
MUSCAT: Authorities contin-ued to crack down on restaurants and eateries selling sub-stand-ard food and found to be violat-ing trade norms, in the Bausher neighbourhood of the capital, of-fi cials said on Monday.
Offi cials said that Muscat Mu-nicipality’s food inspectors had taken action against eateries located inside commercial com-plexes and shopping malls, as part of a four-day drive.
“The team checked 92 restau-rants and coff ee shops. Thirty-one violation letters were issued,” a top municipality offi cial told the Times of Oman (TOO).
The offi cial added that the Mu-nicipality had destroyed 44 kilo-grams (kilos) of meals, 71 kilos of raw foodstuff and six cans of expired products.
“Legal procedures will be initi-
ated (against them),” the offi cial warned.
Salim Al Ghamri, a member of the Muscat Municipal Council, said the growing number of res-taurants in Muscat was a cause for concern. “We need more su-pervision and restrictions so that they everybody follows the law,” he told TOO on Tuesday.
He also admitted that things are getting out of control with the rising number of restaurants.
A day earlier, Shura members and food safety experts had ex-pressed concerns over the sale of expired food in Bausher, where authorities had found nearly half of the restaurants violating food safety standards.
“Municipality authorities should intensify the inspec-tions because consumers cannot check what is happening inside the kitchens of such restaurants,” Bausher Shura member Moham-med Al Busaidi told TOO.
With the Sultanate desperately trying to woo more tourists to the country, food standards, many ar-gue, have to be best.
According to the Robert Ma-cLean, principal of the National
Hospitality Institute (NHI), food safety has become a very impor-tant issue in Oman, particularly due to the rising number of foreign tourists arriving in the country.
“We at the NHI are at the fore-front of food safety training, man-agement, auditing and inspection in Oman. Despite the many chal-lenges which are still evident, there has been a marked increase in the general standard of food safety in higher class properties, i.e. 4 or 5-star hotels and pre-mium restaurant outlets,” Ma-cLean stated. “In addition to the pressure from tourists, the local pressure to raise standards is also increasing. More people travel outside the country now than be-fore and can see the higher stand-ards being followed in diff erent parts of the world.”
Meanwhile, during its eff orts, the Muscat Municipality’s offi -cials have found around 53 res-taurants violating food safety standards.
Two restaurants were shut down after authorities found ro-dents and fl ies, offi cials revealed, adding that such surprise checks would continue.
Muscat Municipality
food inspectors
checked 92
restaurants and
eateries in Bausher
neighbourhood and
issued violation
letters to 31 of them,
a top municipality
offi cial saidFixed telephone lines user base in Oman rises 13.7%MUSCAT: Sultanate’s total num-ber of fi xed telephone lines, in-cluding post- and pre-paid, public, WLL, and ISDN channels, regis-tered a growth of 13.7 per cent dur-ing the fi rst 10 months of 2015.
Fixed telephone subscriber base stood at 426,558 by the end of October, as against 420,491 regis-tered by the end of last December, according to the fi gures issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
Meanwhile, there has been a 6.6 per cent rise in the number of mobile subscribers (post- and pre-paid) during the period, with fi g-ures rising to more than 6,604,440 as against 6,561,696 by end of September 2015. Among fi xed lines, fi xed prepaid (card fi xed) telephones witnessed the highest growth at almost 60 per cent.
Prepaid mobile connections grew by 6.4 per cent to 6,025,475
NCSI statistics said. Interestingly, during the period, the number of Internet subscribers surged by 24.4 per cent to 224,111 primarily due to a 25 per cent growth in fi xed broad-band subscribers whose numbers
reached 221,283 by the end of Oc-tober 2015. NCSI fi gures show a growth of 7.6 per cent in the num-ber of Active Mobile Broadband Subscribers pushed such subscrip-tions to over 3,112,104. — ONA
N C S I D A T A
STRICT ACTION: Municipality destroyed 44kgs of meals, 71kg of
raw foodstuff and six cans of expired products. — Supplied picture
We need more supervisions and restrictions so that they everybody follows the law
Salim Al Ghamri, member of the Muscat Municipal Council
TELEPHONE FIXED LINES
Source: NCSI Graphics
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
August September
Postpaid
Prepaid
Other services
October
413,942 420,491 426,558
A3
OMANT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
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Singer keeps passion for music, cars alive
BABA [email protected]
MUSCAT: He sings in six diff er-ent languages, is a banker by pro-fession, and a hobbyist of classic cars. Meet Nadeem Al Balushi, 39, one of the most popular and versa-tile Omani singers.
“I may be anything, but to me music is everything,” he told Times of Oman. “If I leave singing what would be I?” he said, answering quickly, “Just another ordinary person working in the bank and earning money.”
Versatile singerThe singer caught people’s atten-tion when he launched his fi rst music album, “Beyond Bounda-ries” at Oman’s Qurum amphithe-atre last year.
The album had 10 songs sung in Arabic, English, Punjabi, Hindi, Balauchi and Swahili.
“I never learnt these languages. But I always loved music and songs of all kinds. That’s how I picked up these languages,” he said.
Al Balushi added that he fi nds it diffi cult to speak in languages oth-er than his mother tongue, “but I can sing songs in these languages.”
Some of the support though comes from his Indian mother, who often talks in Hindi or Urdu with his Omani father.
“I started listening to music when I was 10 years old. At the same time, I was also playing the keyboard. At age 15, I started
singing too. Since then I haven’t stopped,” he said.
He is the fi rst Omani to have launched a one-man band and so far Al Balushi has successfully staged more than 5000 entertain-ing shows.
He has also sung in a couple of Bollywood movies, including the fl op “18.11—A Code of Secrecy,” whose music was composed by Kashmir-born Music Director Jaan Nissar Lone.
Passion for old carsThe Omani singer is again going to Mumbai to record his next album and sing in couple of movies.
Apart from singing, Al Balushi is fond of classic cars.
“Another hobby that makes me a diff erent person,” he laughed.
He is the owner of two clas-sic cars and has just ordered the Knight Industries Two-Thousand, better known as KITT from the ad-venture TV series “Knight Rider.”
“There is another on the way from Hollywood,” he said. “A Dodge Charger 1970 from Vin Die-sel’s Fast & Furious movie series,” Al Balushi added.
He further said that he loved keeping and riding classic cars, which he may sell in the future “but that stage isn’t now.”
Nadeem Al Balushi,
who caught people’s
attention when
he launched his
fi rst music album,
‘Beyond Boundaries’
in Muscat last
year, is a banker by
profession, and
a hobbyist of
classic cars
Asian national arrested for indecent assaultTimes News Service
MUSCAT: An Asian national was arrested by the Directorate General of Inquiries and Investi-gations from Saham Royal Oman Police (ROP) for indecent assault and harm.
Details of the case were re-vealed by the ROP, which had received a report about a man entering the victim’s home and indecently assaulting and abus-ing her and then fl eeing the scene of the crime.
Search and investigation teams immediately scrambled to the scene and after collecting the necessary information and leads, they were able to fi nd and arrest the suspect the next day.
The suspect has confessed to his crime.
Arrested for selling dieselSome expatriate workers were arrested by the Directorate Gen-eral of Investigations and Inquir-ies for storing, transferring and selling diesel illegally from their residence in Saham.
After inquiries and investiga-tions, the ROP arrested fi ve per-sons for the illegal act.
Legal procedures have been initiated against them and they have been referred to the public prosecution.
Seven held in drug casesCustoms offi cers, in cooperation with the Directorate of Narcotics Control at the Muscat Interna-tional Airport, were able to foil three drug smuggling attempts recently. Three Asian nationals were arrested for trying to smug-gle marijuana and psychotropic pills through the airport.
In related news, the Directo-rate of Narcotics Control also arrested two citizens in Seeb for their attempt to smuggle a large amount of morphine, which was in their possession.
Narcotics ControlMeanwhile in Dhofar, the Di-rectorate of Narcotics Control arrested two Asian nationals in Salalah for possession of narcot-ics with peddling intent. Two pieces of hashish was found in their possession.
All the narcotics have been seized and the suspects have been referred to the public prosecution.
C R I M E F I L E
Secretary General of Qatar’s Council of Ministers visits ITATimes News Service
MUSCAT: On his visit to the Sultanate, Hamad Ahmed al Mo-hannadi, secretary-general of Qa-tar’s Council of Ministers, paid a visit to the Information Technol-ogy Authority’s (ITA) premises at Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM).
Dr Salim Sultan Al Ruzaiqi, chief executive offi cer of ITA, welcomed the guest and the accompanying delegation. A presentation on role of ITA in implementing the Oman Digital Society and eGovernment Strat-egy (e.oman) was also presented.
The delegation then visited the Oman National CERT to fi nd out more about the centre’s role and responsibilities in enhancing information security levels and the eff orts made to raise regional and international cooperation between the Sultanate and other countries in the fi eld of informa-
tion security and cyber security emergency response.
The delegation also toured the Sas Centre for Entrepreneurship and Sas for Virtual Reality; dur-ing which some of the incubated projects showcased their work.
Throughout the visit, a number of topics related to the develop-ment of the IT sector and coop-eration between the Sultanate, represented by ITA and the State of Qatar, were exchanged.
K N O W L E D G E O A S I S M U S C A T
Nadeem Al Balushi. — Supplied picture
Dr Salim Sultan Al
Ruzaiqi welcomed
the guest and
the delegation
A4 T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
OMAN
Festive spirit adds to Oman’s beauty
MOBIN MATHEW [email protected]
MUSCAT: Christmas is just few days away but the festive spirit and the aroma of partying is already in the Sultanate’s pleasant air.
Many expats have left the coun-try or are fl ying home to celebrate the occasion with their families, but those who will celebrate in Oman, mesmerising moments and magnifi cent food await them.
The churches across the coun-try are all set for the main prayers on Friday [December 25] even as the Sultanate’s top hotels and res-taurants are all ready to provide their guests some mesmerising moments with entertainments and splendid feasts.
Hotels — decked to welcome guests for the Christmas and New Year celebrations — are off ering an array of culinary delights and or-ganising special parties.
Al Bustan Palace, A Ritz-Carl-ton Hotel, are hosting a series of celebrations for families.
Seasonal treats“Guests can enjoy a selection of seasonal treats including holiday sweets and cookies with tea or cof-fee from the ‘Festive Sweets Trol-ley’ that will be available in the atrium till December 31,” Melanie Dorange, Director of Public Rela-tions, Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel told Times of Oman.
The Al Bustan offi cial said they’re off ering unique dining ex-periences at China Mood, Beach Pavilion and Al Khiran Terrace.
Besides the fi nest food, a spec-tacular show will be presented from the Tea Sommelier to de-light guests of all ages whilst they dine in the magical beachfront ambience.
Beach Pavilion will off er a fi ve-course tasting menu accompanied by a live vocal performance in the elegant beachfront setting of the renowned restaurant.
Al Khiran Terrace will serve a
lavish Christmas Eve Buff et boast-ing over 15 live cooking stations overlooking the pool and gardens.
“The youngest guests can enjoy a variety of activities to remain en-tertained throughout the evening and build up the excitement ahead of the arrival of Santa Claus,” Melanie said.
Magic and mystique“Visitors can also bring in the New Year in style with a night of magic and mystique on the shores of the sea of Oman through a Masquer-ade Gala on December 31 at 8pm,” Melanie added.
To start the New Year in a magi-cal way, guests can join the count-down to 2016 on the beachfront, where they can light their very own lantern and send it fl ying into the sky with the beautiful back-drop of the Hajjar Mountains.
Grand Hyatt Muscat is also all set to welcome the guest with dif-ferent packages.
“Our festive off ers are an oppor-tunity for families to get together and spend time with loved ones and celebrate living grand for the holiday season,” Nichole Bassit, Marketing Communications Man-ager at the Grand Hyatt Muscat, told Times of Oman.
La carte menuOn the Christmas Eve the Tuscany restaurant will transform into the ideal place for an intimate even-ing, off ering an exclusive a la carte menu perfectly created by Italian Chef Mauro Ferrari.
Mokha Café will set the mood with a buff et of festive delights and live cooking stations, she said.
At Safari Rooftop Grill House,
festive goers can enjoy all-inclu-sive package of food and beverages including slow roast US Butterball Turkey with options.
Club Safari off ers regular door charge entry for OMR 5 featuring a live DJ on the tables until the early morning, the offi cial said.
Tuscany is welcoming guests to a Black Tie dinner with a fi ve-course set menu. Club Safari and Millennium Resort Mussanah are also off ering several packages to on the festive season.
“As one of the prominent fam-ily hotel destinations in Oman, we are committed to off ering the best packages for children and parents.
With world class facilities that ca-ter to every age segment, we prom-ise our guests a memorable festive experience,” said Kay Paensanit, PR & Marketing Executive of Mil-lennium Resort.
According to Kay, special off er for this Christmas is that guests (two persons) can enjoy a night stay in the deluxe room for inclu-sive of choice of either Christmas Eve dinner or Christmas Day brunch and breakfast for OMR134.
InterContinental Muscat brings a host of events, according to Baid-ha Al Sikaiti, Public Relations & Communications Manager.
Christmas Eve begins with
Trader Vic’s exquisite four-course dinner, where chefs prepare the fi nest dishes from choice of glazed oysters Rockefeller or caramel-ized beef-noodle salad to the tradi-tional Trader Vic’s roasted Turkey. Trader Vic’s a la carte menu and special kids menu are also avail-able. “For outdoor lovers, Tomato invites you to sit back and relax under the stars while they whisk you away with festive three-course Mediterranean dinner in the midst of the picturesque ambience of the poolside or join the Musandam Café and Terrace Restaurant for a lavish Christmas Eve buff et with a variety of international cuisine
and fl avours,” Al Sikaiti said.According to Al Sikaiti guests
can spend the Christmas Day at the Musandam Café and Terrace Restaurant for an afternoon of family, fun and festivities.
“Visitors can enjoy the vari-ety and the quality of spectacular buff ets and sumptuous brunches in the indoor dining space or the wide-open outdoor terrace with loads of fun and celebration throughout the day,” Baidha added.
InterContinental Muscat also off ers Christmas & New Year room packages to the guests.
Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Re-sort & Spa off ers range of culinary delights and special parties to wel-come guests in this Festive season.
“With a buff et feast in Al Ta-noor restaurant to a fi ne dining fi ve-course menu in Bait al Bahr, our valued guests are guaranteed a remarkable dining journey,” said Rebecca Platt, Director of Com-munications in Shangri-La.
She also said that Al Tanoor and Samba restaurants will be off er-ing a variety of festive choices for families and children, while the resort’s four specialty restaurants will be off ering tasty menus to tempt everyone’s palate. Highlight of the evening will be a grand party taking place at the Turtle Beach for guests to experience a count-down party like no other hosted by Shangri-La’s live band and resi-dent DJ, the resort offi cials said.
Sultanate’s top
resorts and hotels,
all decked up to
welcome guests for
Christmas and New
Year celebrations,
are off ering an array
of culinary delights
and organising
special parties
Science Cafe 2015 session to focus on organic gardeningTimes News Service
MUSCAT: Growing organic fruits and vegetables in the back garden will be the topic for dis-cussion at the fi nal Science Café of 2015, scheduled to be held at 7:30pm, on December 30, at the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) Farm.
Organised by the Oman Ani-mal and Plant Genetic Resources Centre (OAPGRC), the staff from the University farm will be show-ing attendees how to grow their own fresh produce organically, no matter what the skill level or how much space is available.
“Organic Gardening: Time to Grow” will be a 90-minute crash course covering the basics of how to grow organic edibles in your garden, patio, balcony or window-box. We’ll be focusing on what’s easy to grow, how to choose what to plant and how to keep crops alive and thriving,” remarked Dr. Nadiya Al Saady, OAPGRC’s ex-ecutive director.
Gardening organicallyMore and more people are inter-ested in gardening organically. They recognise how important this approach is for the environ-ment and that it produces safe and tasty food. However, many are unsure about how to go about it. “We’ve had some excellent Science Cafés this year. The ini-tiative is now supported by Oman
LNG, attendance has shot up and the scientists we’ve had present have been marvellous. And we’re particularly excited about our partnership with the Sultan Qa-boos University Farm,” said Al Saady, adding: “Encouraging or-ganic gardening is an important step towards building a more sus-tainable food system in Oman.”
Led Dr Abdulrahim Al Ismaili, assistant professor, Department of Soils, Water and Agricultural Engineering, SQU, Abdulbaqi
Ahmed Al Raisi, assistant direc-tor (Plant Operation), College of Agriculture and Marine Sci-ences, SQU and Dr Abdullah Al Ghafri, director of the Afl aj Re-search Unit, Biological Sciences and Chemistry-Biology Section, College of Arts and Sciences, Uni-versity of Nizwaon, the upcoming Science Café event will demon-strate some of the main ideas that underpin organic gardening, in-cluding getting the soil ready and choosing seed.
More nutritious“Food grown at home is over-all fresher, more nutritious and tastes better than store-bought food and you can’t beat the price,” pointed out OAPGRC’s Ex-ecutive Director.
Organic urban gardens are also key to saving energy, protecting water quality and top soil, pro-moting biodiversity, beautifying densely populated urban areas and reducing food kilometres, saving on the damaging green-house gas emissions associated with today’s modern food chains. All of this helps improve Oman’s environment.
“The 30 December Science Café has been designed specifi -cally to encourage people to think more about diet, health, wellness and the environment. We hope to teach those attending how to grow their own fresh, organic, healthy food,” concluded Al Saady.
S Q U I N I T I A T I V E
HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com [email protected]
Dr. Nadiya Al Saady.
— Supplied picture
Franchise expo to be held in 2016
MUSCAT: The fi rst-ever Oman Franchise Expo and Conference (OFEC 2016) is all set to present exciting business opportunities for Oman small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and aspir-ing entrepreneurs.
With the aim to support vari-ous initiatives in developing entrepreneurship amongst the nationals, Al Nimr Expo and the Middle East and North Africa Franchise Association (MENA-FA) is joining hands in organis-ing the OFEC 2016.
Franchise businessesIt will provide local and inter-national franchise businesses an ideal platform to introduce and establish their brands and unique business concept to hundreds of potentials fran-chisees in Oman and the region.
The event is endorsed by the Public Authority for SMEs De-velopment (Riyada) and Oman Chamber of Commerce and In-dustry (OCCI) and supported by the Oman/American Busi-ness Council and UK Trade and Investment.
The OFEC 2016 will be held at the Oman International Ex-hibition Centre between May 9 to 11, 2016. It will be composed of exhibits of franchise busi-nesses, products and services of support industries, including local made products. — ONA
D E B U T E X H I B I T I O N
“Organic Gardening: Time to Grow” will be a 90-minute crash course covering the basics of how to grow organic edibles in your garden, patio, balcony or window-box.
Nadiya Al Saady, OAPGRC’s executive director.
A5
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SAYYID KHALID RECEIVES CYPRUS, TUNISIA ENVOYSSayyid Khalid bin Hilal bin Saud Al Busaidi, Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court, re-
ceived in his offi ce on Monday Farhad Khlif, Ambassador of Tunisia and Andreas Panayi-
otou, Ambassador of Cyprus to the Sultanate. During the meetings, cordial conversations
were exchanged. — ONA
Oman, Iran hold talksTEHRAN: Oman and Iran held the fourth round of political con-sultations at the Ministry of For-eign Aff airs in the Iranian capital, Tehran on Monday.
The Omani side was led by Dr. Ali bin Ahmed Al Isa’ee, Head of the GCC Department, Acting Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry for Diplomatic Af-fairs, while it was headed from the Iranian side by Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Deputy For-eign Minister for Arab and Afri-can Aff airs.
The two sides reviewed the bi-
lateral relations between the two countries and means of enhanc-ing them to serve the joint inter-ests of the two countries.
The two sides also exchanged viewpoints on several regional and international issues, as well as the eff orts exerted to solve them by peaceful methods.
The session was attended from the Omani side by the Sultanate’s ambassador to Iran, Head of the Levant Department, Head of the Offi ce of the Undersecretary for Diplomatic Aff airs and offi cials from both sides. -ONA
P O L I T I C A L C O N S U L T A T I O N S
MUSCAT: A seminar on tu-berculosis (TB) treatment at primary health centres will be organised by the Ministry of Health at the Health Sci-ences Institute in Al Wattiyah on Tuesday.
The ministry will be repre-sented by Non-Communicable Diseases Administration. On the fi rst day, the TB National Record and Follow up Booklet will be launched. Sixty doctors, nurses and paramedics will take part in the seminar. -ONA
M I N I S T R Y O F H E A L T H
Seminar on TB treatment
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OMANT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
The average retirement age now is 65 years for males and 63.5 years for females in 34 countries
Tonia Gray, general manager of Competence HR
No human casualties, but loss in millionAs the workers had locked the warehouse and had gone for lunch, there were no casualties.
Stocks meant for distribution at 13 outlets of the hypermarket were stored in the warehouse.
Police help“The fi re outbreak was noticed by nearby residents. My men rushed to the site. They tried to break into the warehouse, but they failed. They rang the police and sought help from the nearby water fi lling unit. Water tankers came fi rst and later on one fi re engine. However, as the situation worsened, more fi re engines were called,” the offi -cial added.
According to the offi cial, some of the gutted items may not qual-ify for an insurance claim as they were stocked in excess due to technical issues.
“As it is the year-end and outlets are carrying out an audit of stocks, for their convenience, we were not sending some items to the outlets. Unfortunately, those items, which may not be covered by the insur-
ance, were also gutted. The loss is too much,” the offi cial said, adding that the reason behind the fi re has not been ascertained yet.
Meanwhile, Mark Pudwell,
business development and train-ing manager at Competence HR, said one of the main causes of the fi res, in both the domestic and industrial premises, were ei-
ther sub-standard electrical wir-ing or poorly maintained wiring systems.
“The relevant authorities are responsible for inspecting the electrical wiring systems during installation to ensure that they conform to the required national standards. Part of the inspection process involves the verifi cation of the electrical contractors’ cer-tifi cation of qualifi cation and is essential for ensuring the compe-tency of those involved in the in-stallation process,” Pudwell said.
Overloaded circuit“In older properties, which have been constructed prior to the im-plementation of building stand-ards, the wiring systems are often not designed to withstand the requirements of modern living or work place demands and as such, are often completely overloaded to the point where the system fails and fi res occur with devastat-ing results. It is also the case that building maintenance contrac-tors use sub-standard or damaged
electrical extension leads to carry out their work, which can result in electrical failure and fi res,” he added.
A risk engineer at a Muscat-based insurance fi rm said that generally, the main reason for fi re accidents was a short circuit.
Loose wiring“Temporary or loose electrical wiring at the work site/workshop, the overloading of electrical out-lets/fi xture by connecting too many switches with no surge pro-tector, keeping combustible mate-rials/stocks near the electrical fi x-tures, improper ventilation in the LT and HT electrical panel room and poor electrical wiring stand-ards without a circuit breaker and surging current protection,” the risk engineer said.
C O U N T I N G L O S S E S
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TOWERING BLAZE: Stocks meant for distribution at 13 outlets of
the hypermarket were stored in the warehouse. – PACDA
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Retirement
age of expats
“If we start considering excep-tions, then the list will become endless,” the Shura member added.
Another Majlis Al Shura mem-ber had earlier suggested fi xing the retirement age for nationals in or-der to provide job opportunities to the youngsters.
The present labour law is silent on the retirement age. However, while discussing the termination clauses, the law said the contract shall not be terminated on the part of the employer unless the worker reaches the age of 60 at least.
Meanwhile, Gita Krishnan, group fi nance and administration manager at the Mohd. Al Harthy Group of Companies, said that “Old is Gold,” but defi nitely all that glitters is not gold.
“Yes, defi nitely older people have to give way to the young-er generation, but in a phased manner. Youngsters have to be groomed under the expertise, ex-posure and the experiences of the older employees. Then the transi-tion would be smooth and produc-tive,” Krishnan, who is 53 years old, said.
However, Tonia Gray, general manager of Competence HR, said age should not be a factor while determining when anyone should stop working.
“The primary reasons for con-sidering a ‘mature’ person stop-ping work would be if they are suff ering from ill health prevent-ing them from undertaking their responsibilities or if they are un-able to keep up with the times, for example, changes in technology. The mature generation has a lot to off er to an employer, primarily due to their extensive experience and knowledge, which cannot be replaced by employing a fresher,” Gray said.
“The average retirement age now is 65 years for males and 63.5 years for females in 34 countries,” she added.
Meanwhile, another HR offi cial in Muscat said retirees are likely to have up-to-date skill sets and the work experience employers require, yet labour rules in GCC countries restrict their ability to work past retirement and they were forced to end their services.
“In many other industrialized markets, aged 60 and above re-tirees are also allowed to work part-time without forfeiting their benefi ts, and under certain condi-tions. There is certainly a disad-vantage that organizations will lose the talent. However, there is also a necessity that employees will be relieved from their servic-es by the age of 60 and welcome new talent in the organization, which will benefi t from more fo-cused and skilled resources. But I feel the ban at age of 50 is perhaps not a right move as it shows a de-motivation factor by law itself,” the HR offi cial added.
The Kuwaiti government took such a decision following a trend where the number of expat govern-ment employees aged 50 years and above were found to be much more than the 20,000 Kuwaiti citizens qualifi ed with university, medium and lesser degrees, who had been unable to fi nd employment and were placed on employment wait-ing lists.
S M O O T H T R A N S I T I O N
Earlier this year, Al Balushi had said the planned privatisation programme involving a number of state-owned fi rms was under consideration and would be im-plemented during the next three years, after getting the necessary approvals.
Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi , un-dersecretary at the Ministry of Oil and Gas, had also said earlier that the government sees priva-tisation as a way to share wealth with the public and therefore it will move ahead with its plans in due course. The government looks at it as more of a strategy to share the generated wealth with as many people as possible and the companies can implement their plans in this regard when they achieve sustained profi tabil-ity, he said at the time.
Unifi ed GCC LegislationProviding updates on a proposal to introduce a unifi ed legislation for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) securities markets, the ex-ecutive president of CMA said,
“The work is in progress. We are progressing in that regard and are trying to bring the practices
together and integrate as much as we can of our capital markets.”
Asked if he is in favour of a sin-gle stock market for the GCC, Al Salmi said, “It is premature to talk about it.”
He also said that work is pro-gressing on the plan to establish a stock market platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“We are dealing with the Tai-wanese, and the feasibility study has already been done. We are reviewing the feasibility study. It is in the progress… and we hope to see something materialise soon,”
Al Salmi said. The offi cial also commented on the new amend-ments made in the auto insurance policy, saying that the fi nal ver-sion will be issued after the pro-cess is complete.
A seminar was recently or-ganised for employees of the underwriting, compensation and claims departments at the insurance and insurance bro-kerage companies, as well as compliance offi cers of insurance companies’ boards, to familiar-ise them with the articles of the amended insurance policy.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Salim Al Salmi, Executive President of the
Capital Market Authority. -Jun Estrada
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Indian prodigy gears up for hisMuscat concert
Times News Service
MUSCAT: Siddhant Bhosale, the son of renowned Indian singer Sudesh Bhosale, is look-ing forward to performing at the much-awaited “Amitabh aur Main” concert scheduled for December 26 at Muscat’s City Amphitheatre.
The concert, which has been staged successfully in India, is being organised by Oman’s lead-ing event management company Light and Shadow Enterprises. Minara will be the presenter of the event.
Speaking about his experience of performing for these concerts, along with his father Sudesh Bhosale, Siddhant said, “These series of concerts are very ex-citing and a new experience for me. I have received an amazing
response from the audience. It’s a delight to share the stage with my father.”
Sharing information on how he got started in the music indus-try, Siddhant said, “My grand-mother and great grandmother were both renowned Hindustani classical singers. Being born into a musical family, I had an early exposure to singing. I received my fi rst formal Hindustani clas-sical singing lesson from my grandmother, Suman Bhosle. As the years went by, I started learning the guitar, drums and piano. Having the chance to per-form live with my father since an early age, gave me a lot of ex-perience of performing before a live audience.” Asked about who else, apart from his father, have
been musical infl uences for him and how they have infl uenced his music, Siddhant said, “I just love music and exploring new mu-sic. I gain inspiration from any kind of music, no matter what the genre is. In my college days, I was heavily infl uenced by John Mayer, an American singer and songwriter, in terms of his guitar playing and song writing skills. From the Indian fi lm industry, just like my father, I look up to Kishore Kumar as the most ver-satile singer.”
Siddhant has so far worked with Shankar Ehsaan Loy and Shameer Tandon in the Hindi playback fi eld and in the Mar-athi industry, with Anil Mohile, Adarsh Shinde, Utkarsha Shinde.
“I would love to work with the pioneers of modern Bollywood music, such as, Pritam, A.R. Rah-man, Salim Sulaiman and Vishal Shekhar,” Siddhant said.
He further hopes to sing for as many actors as possible. “I would rather sing for as many singers as possible. I have a very versatile and young tone, which moulds well and would suit a lot of actors of the new generation,” he said.
Female singer Arpita Thakkar will also join the Sudesh Bhon-sale and Siddhant.
“It is a much awaited show that fans cannot aff ord to miss and the tickets are selling out really fast with a fantastic response,” said Akshay Chowdhary, di-rector of Light and Shadow Enterprises.
Born into a family
of Hindustani
classical singers,
Siddhant had an
early exposure to
singing from his
grandparents
Siddhant Bhosale
State-owned fi rms’ privatisation
S H A R I N G W E A L T H
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REGIONT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
DESTRUCTION: Members of
the Iraqi security forces point
at destruction in the rural
Husayba Al Sharkiya area,
east of Anbar province’s capi-
tal Ramadi, as they undertake
military operations to attack
IS group on Sunday. – AFP
IS preventing civilians from leaving Ramadi
BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON: IS militants are preventing ci-vilians from leaving Ramadi ahead of an attack planned by the Iraqi army to retake the western city that the militants captured in May, an Iraqi De-fence Ministry spokesman said on Monday.
“There are families that man-aged to escape the gangs of IS,” the spokesman, Naseer Nuri, told Reuters, using a local de-rogatory name for the group.
“There is intelligence infor-mation from inside the city that they are preventing fami-lies from leaving; they plan to use them as human shields,” he added, without indicating the number of those who had man-aged to fl ee.
Iraqi military planes on Sun-day dropped leafl ets on Ramadi, asking residents to leave within 72 hours and indicating safe routes for their exit.
Iraqi intelligence estimates the number of IS fi ghters that are entrenched in the centre of Ramadi, capital of Anbar prov-ince, at between 250 and 300.
Meanwhile, Iraq on Mon-day welcomed an announce-ment by Turkey that it would pull its troops back from a base in northern Iraq, and said it hoped the withdrawal would be completed. The deployment of around 150 troops to the camp this month prompted Iraq to accuse Turkey of violating its sovereignty and lodge a formal complaint at the UN Security Council.
Turkey withdrew some troops to another base inside Iraq’s Kurdistan region last week and said it would continue to pull out of Nineveh province, where the camp is located. It did not say how many troops would be moved or where to. “The council of ministers discussed the crisis with Turkey and reiterated its welcome of Turkey’s announce-ment that it will withdraw from Iraqi territory,” the Iraqi govern-ment said in a statement.
Turkey had said it was de-ploying the troops to train an Iraqi militia to fi ght IS militants.
The United States and its al-lies conducted 15 strikes against IS in Iraq and Syria on Sunday, the coalition leading the op-erations said in a statement on Monday.
In Iraq, a dozen strikes near four cities hit several IS tactical units, vehicles, weapons caches, fi ghting positions and other targets, the Combined Joint Task Force said. Six strikes hit near Mosul, the IS strong-hold in northern Iraq, and four near Ramadi, where the Iraqi military on Sunday asked civil-ians to leave the city before a planned off ensive. The remain-ing two strikes in Iraq were near Bayji, the military said. — Reuters
B E F O R E O F F E N S I V E
Yemeni forces advance to capitalDUBAI: Forces loyal to Yemen’s government fought their way into the province surrounding the capital on Monday, tribal sources said, the closest they have advanced toward Sanaa since the Houthi movement seized it in September last year.
The advance comes despite a conditional agreement to extend a seven-day truce in Yemen, follow-ing a week of UN-sponsored peace talks in Switzerland in which the parties reached a broad framework for ending the nine-month-old war that has killed nearly 6,000 people.
“(President Abdrabbo Mansour) Hadi’s forces took control of two mountains in the Nihm district in Sanaa province,” one tribal source
said. The area is about 60km (37 miles) north-east of the capital.
A military alliance of mostly Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia began bombing Yemen’s Houthi movement in March to try to re-store Hadi’s government and roll back gains made by the Houthis.
Yemeni forces loyal to Hadi, backed by alliance air strikes, have made a number of gains against the Houthis in recent weeks. But
the Houthis, a tribal militia remain in control of much of the north-ern part of the country. On Friday, Hadi loyalists captured the city of Al Hazm, the provincial capital of northwestern Al Jawf province. Both sides have accused each oth-er of violating the ceasefi re that began with the start of the peace talks on December 15.
UN Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed had voiced deep concern at “numerous reports of violations of the cessation of hos-tilities” and set up a mechanism to strengthen compliance, a UN statement said. The peace talks are scheduled to resume on Janu-ary 14. — Reuters
Forces loyal to
Yemen’s President
Abdrabbo Mansour
Hadi took control of
two mountains in
the Nihm district in
Sanaa province,
said a tribal source
HARDSHIP CONTINUES: Women walk to a water well to collect
water in Amlah of Yemen’s northwestern province of Saada on Sun-
day. The advance of the forces loyal to Yemen’s government comes
despite a conditional agreement to extend a seven-day ceasefi re in
Yemen. – Reuters
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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 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
The nation wants this Bill passed. In the next two days, parties should rise above politics and pass this Bill. I appeal to the Congress party for it
Derek O’Brien, Trinamool Congress leader
SC rejection spurs demand for quick passage of Juvenile billNEW DELHI: The Supreme Court’s rejection of plea against release of juvenile off ender in De-cember 16 gang rape case on Mon-day spurred demands inside and outside Parliament for passage of a bill — that seeks to lower the age defi ning juvenile from 18 to 16 years —on Tuesday itself.
Government said the amend-ments to Juvenile Justice Act that will allow children between 16-18 years to be tried as adults in hei-nous crime cases will come up be-fore Rajya Sabha today, as protests against release of the juvenile con-vict continued at Jantar Mantar.
The Juvenile Justice Amend-ment Act has already been passed in the Lok Sabha.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said “the government is ready and very keen to pass this Juvenile Bill”, as a demand for ex-peditious passage was made in the Rajya Sabha.
Parliament’s Winter session concludes on Wednesday.
Derek O’Brien (TMC) said he has given a notice under rule 267 seeking suspension of business in the Rajya Sabha and taking up the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protec-tion of Children) Act, 2014.
He said the House had only three days to go before end of the Winter Session and government’s listed agenda includes commercial courts, arbitration and real estate bill. The government has not even listed the juvenile bill for discus-sion and passing today, he said during Zero Hour.
“It is incumbent upon the House to listen to what is going on out-side,” he said, asking the House to rise above politics. “It is not a per-fect bill but let us list it and pass the bill,” O’Brien said.
Minister of State for Parliamen-tary Aff airs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the bill was listed on Decem-
ber 8, 10 and 11. “We have listed it for tomorrow,” he said, adding if all agree the bill can be taken up for discussion on Monday itself.
Plea to rise above politicsOutside Parliament, Prasad tar-geted Congress, saying “the Bill has been thrice listed in the past for consideration and passage in Rajya Sabha; however, the House has not been able to run”. Derek O’Brien said the various parties should rise above politics and al-low the passage of the Bill.
“The nation wants this Bill passed. In the next two days, par-ties should rise above politics and pass this Bill. I appeal to the Con-gress party for it,” he said.
Union Minister Uma Bharti said she will appeal to Congress presi-dent Sonia Gandhi to allow pas-sage of the Bill in the interest of the girls in the country.
“There is an obvious anger in
the country against the release of the juvenile accused in the Nirb-haya case. The Bill was listed three times, but the Congress is not al-lowing the session to work and jus-tice is not being delivered to Nirb-haya,” Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said.
Samajwadi Party leader Ramgo-pal Yadav blamed “politics” for the delay in the passage of the Bill.
The victim’s mother Asha Devi while stating that her fi ght against the system would continue de-manded that the new Juvenile law be passed by Rajy Sabha on Tues-day itself, a stand which was also echoed by Chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women(DCW) Swati Maliwal.
CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat explained that even if the amend-ments to the Act were passed, the new provisions would not apply retrospectively to the juvenile con-vict in the gang rape case. - PTI
D E C E M B E R 1 6 G A N G - R A P E C A S E
PROTESTS AGAINST JUVENILE’S RELEASE: Students display plac-
ards against the release of the juvenile convict in Nirbhaya case, in
New Delhi on Monday. - PTI
‘Economy stagnant with a complete lack of direction’
NEW DELHI: Former fi nance minister P. Chidambaram on Mon-day tore into government’s man-agement of economy saying there is “complete lack of direction” with no command over situation and the economy is “stagnant”.
Nineteen months into govern-ment, he also asked the BJP-led government where are the jobs and private investment promised by the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The government seems to be stalled. The mid-year (economic) analysis (tabled in Parliament last week) is a confession that the government has not been able to push growth.
Tempering expectations“They have begun the exercise of tempering expectations down to about 7.2-7.3 per cent, a far cry from what they said at the begin-ning of fi nancial year that they will achieve a growth rate of 8-8.5 per cent,” he said in an interview.
Also, the government has start-ed talking about not being able to achieve the fi scal defi cit target of 3.5 per cent of GDP for 2016-17.
“All these points to a lack of command over the situation and lack of capacity to deal with the problem,” he said adding
“This is complete lack of direc-tion.” In its Mid-Year Economic Analysis, the government on Fri-day lowered its economic growth forecast for 2015-16 to 7-7.5 per cent from 8.1-8.5 per cent.
It said the target of bringing it down to 3.5 per cent in the next will face pressure from higher out-go on central staff wages due to im-plementation of the 7th Pay Com-mission and Defence pensions.
Asked where was the govern-ment lacking, he said, “I don’t think they have a command over the situation. Where are the jobs they promised, where is the pri-vate investment that they said will happen once they come to offi ce?”
Stating that the Indian econo-my is “stagnant”, Chidambaram said when United Progressive Al-liance (UPA) left offi ce, the coun-try recorded 6.9 per cent growth in 2013-14.
“First quarter of 2014-15 growth was 7.3 per cent or so. Now one and a half year later, we seem to be stuck in the same groove of 7.3 per cent. So it is fair to say that the economy is stagnant for the last 18 months. There is no uptick, no upturn at all,” he said.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) was coming in but no more than what came earlier, he said.
“In the last 10 years FDI has been range bound — $35-45 bil-lion a year. This year also we are getting the same amount of FDI, about $45 billion.There is nothing unusual about the fi gure.”
Asked about his expectations from the next year’s budget, Chi-dambaram said from the indica-tions in the mid-year review, “the next budget will be a challenging budget. Do they have the capac-ity to face up to the challenge? We would have to wait and see.”
Apprehending further cuts in social expenditure, he said the government has already slashed spending.
With nominal GDP growth less than interest rate, it will have to further cut expenditure in the next three months if they want to meet the fi scal defi cit target of 3.9 per cent for current 2015-16 fi scal.
The slump in oil prices to six year low has been a double bo-nanza for the government — the oil import bill was lower and so also the subsidises. On the other
side, excise and customs duties have been raised to mop up large amounts of revenue.
“Therefore it is a double bonan-za,” he said.
On the government blaming legacy issues for the slow pick up in the economy, he said, “How long can they blame the previous government which demitted of-fi ce 19 months ago.
How long can they blame?“They cannot go on blaming
the previous government. Every government has legacy issues. Then you should have asked for a moratorium on government for two years.”
Asked about the government claims of 40 per cent jump in FDI this fi scal, he said, “A data point to data point does not indicate a trend. A deliberate mistake which everybody makes. You take one data point and say another data point, that does not indicate a trend. A student of economics or statistics will tell you that. Over a period of 10 years FDI has been range bound $35-45 billion. This year also it is within the same range only.”
To a question of Congress being blamed for obstructing the na-tion’s progress, he asked, “Which is the legislative measure that the Congress has stalled? The last two sessions they boasted that Parlia-ment had worked to over 100 per cent of capacity. How could that have happened of opposition had not cooperated.”
The only measure relating to the economy which is stalled is the Good and Services Tax (GST) bill, he said.
“But who stalled the GST bill.The GST bill was stalled by BJP for several years for no reason what so ever. Yes we admit that we are stall-ing the GST bill now, but we are stalling it after putting down our objections in writing.” - PTI
Where are the
jobs and private
investment promised
by the BJP and Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi, asked former
fi nance minister
P. Chidambaram
They cannot go on
blaming the previous
government. Every
government has
legacy issues. Then
you should have asked
for a moratorium
on government
for two years
P. ChidambaramFormer finance minister
Afghan forces foil attack on Indian mission in Jalalabad
KABUL/NEW DELHI: Afghan security forces have arrested a would-be suicide bomber and thwarted his plan to attack the Indian Consulate in Afghanistan’s Jalalabad city, second such inci-dent within a week.
Citing Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS), of-fi cials on Monday said the forces arrested the suicide bomber who was planing to attack the Indian Consulate in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province.
The bomber, identifi ed as Na-sir, is a resident of Tagab district of north-eastern Kapisa province, Attaullah Ludin, a spokesman for the provincial governor, was quot-ed as saying by the Tolonews.
He said Nasir had recently joined the Taliban and confessed to his plot during investigations.
There was no comment from the Taliban on the incident.
Last week, security personnel arrested two IS terrorists who had planned to attack vehicles of the Indian Consulate in Jalalabad city.
Ata-ur-Rahman alias Hanzala and Abdullah alias Qari Ismail were arrested with a 30-KG bomb before reaching to their target, Khaama Press reported, citing a statement released by NDS on December 14. In a footage sent to media together with the statement by NDS, one of the suspects iden-tifying himself as Ata-ur-Rahman says they were told to plant the landmine on the side of the road to target vehicles of the Indian Con-sulate. Indian Consulate is located close to the area from where the suspects were rounded up.
When asked to comment on these arrests, External Aff airs Ministry Vikas Swarup in New Delhi said that it once again shows the security situation in Afghani-stan and the need to be ever-vigi-lant against such attempts. -PTI
S E C O N D S U C H I N C I D E N T
Over 36 million rural inhabitants at risk due to drinking water quality problems NEW DELHI: Over 36 million people living in more than 63,000 rural habitations are exposed to health hazards due to drinking water quality problems like ex-cess arsenic, fl uoride, iron, salinity or nitrate.
Of this, 1,318 rural habitations are arsenic-aff ected, Minister of State for Drinking Water Ram Kri-pal Yadav told the Upper House in a written reply.
“As reported by the state govern-ments under the Online Integrated Management System (IMIS) of the Ministry as on December 15, there are 63,378 rural habitations aff ected by water quality prob-lems like excess arsenic, fl uoride, iron,salinity or nitrate in one or more rural drinking water sources.
“The total population at risk as on December 15 is 3.6 crore,” Ya-dav said. The Union Minister also said there are 1,318 arsenic- aff ect-ed rural habitations in the country which are yet to be provided with safe drinking water. The permis-sible limit of arsenic in drinking water is 0.05 milligram per litre.
“Due to prolonged consumption of excess arsenic in drinking water, dermal changes are characterized including in children by increased pigmentation and hardening of the skin that is combination of mela-nosis and keratosis.
“The most common sequence is the gradual development of sport-ted or raindrop pigmentation fol-lowed by gradual emergence of a
hyper-keratotic chagnes.If not detected and prevented
in the early stages, these mani-festations may lead to cancer,” he said in the reply. Yadav said the ministry has advised all states to commission piped water supply schemes preferably from safe sur-face water sources as a long-term sustainable solution.
“Since such projects take certain
time, the ministry has suggested the states to install community water purifi cation plants especial-ly in arsenic and fl uoride-aff ected habitations so as to provide 8-10 litres per capita per day of safe wa-ter for drinking and cooking pur-poses, quickly,” he said.
Replying to another question, the minister said there are “no habitations in the country without drinking water facilities” as per the IMIS.
He said some of the rural popu-lation living in 63,000 houses are “not getting clean drinking water” as one or more of drinking wa-ter sources at these habitations are “contaminated by chemicals” like arsenic, fl uoride, iron, ni-trate and salinity. Yadav informed that the government has released Rs2,758.45 crore to states in the current fi scal for providing safe drinking water to rural areas.
The minister said the govern-ment has prepared a “strategic plan” to cover 90 per cent of the rural population through piped water supply schemes by 2022. - PTI
E X C E S S A R S E N I C
SCARCITY: Villagers gather around a well to fi ll their pots with wa-
ter in Natwargadh village, some 110km from Ahmedabad. Minister
of State for Drinking Water Ram Kripal Yadav said the government
has prepared a ‘strategic plan’ to cover 90 per cent of the rural pop-
ulation through piped water supply schemes by 2022. - AFP fi le photo
19 students stopped from
boarding US-bound fl ight
HYDERABAD: Air India barred 19 students from boarding its fl ight to the US on the grounds that the two universities in which they had secured admission are under “scrutiny” of US authorities.
The national carrier asked its staff to not allow the 19 students to board its fl ight to San Francis-co at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here on Sunday night.
The students have taken ad-mission at two San Francisco- based varsities that are currently under US government scanner, an Air India offi cial said.
“In the past, we have witnessed that students who secured ad-mission in those institutions have been deported to India as soon as they land there. To avoid embarrassment to them and save their money, we prevented them from boarding the fl ight,” the of-fi cial said on Monday.
The government-run airline is refunding the entire ticket cost to these students, the offi cial added.
In a statement, Air India said they had on December 19 received
a communication from the US Customs and Border Protection Agency that the two universities were under scrutiny and students who arrived in San Francisco were not allowed to enter the US and deported back to India.
“So far, 14 students who trav-elled on Air India fl ights to San Francisco have been deported. Students travel on a one-way ticket to the US and, in the event of deportation, incur huge ex-penditure to buy a ticket back to India on fi rst available ser-vice. Further, seats are often not available on any airlines to travel back,” the statement said.
Considering the situation, stu-dents booked for travel to take admission to these universities are not being accepted on Air In-dia fl ights, it further said. Mean-while, one of the universities in question said on its website that “absolutely false” reports are be-ing disseminated by certain me-dia outlets and other groups that the institute has been blacklisted by the US government. - PTI
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INDIAT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
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‘Harness solar energy to fight climate change’
NEW DELHI: Terming the nega-tive impact of environment pollu-tion as a challenge, Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi on Monday said there is a need to harness solar energy.
“Discussions of environment have been taking for long, but for the last few years, its negative impact has been felt on normal human lives...There is a challenge before the mankind to fi nd a solu-tion to this problem,” Modi said.
He was speaking at an event where he fl agged off an electric
bus, gifted by the Road Transport and Highways Ministry to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, to ferry MPs at Parliament.
He was clear that the coun-tries are going to work to harness solar energy. Referring to the recent CoP-21 summit in Paris, Modi highlighted two signifi cant initiatives — Mission Innova-tion launched jointly by the US, France and India, with the help of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foun-dation, on development of green technologies and the creation of the International Solar Alliance of countries with abundant sunlight.
The headquarters of this alli-ance will be in Delhi, the prime minister said.
“There are 122 nations which get the benefi t of sunrays for more than 300 days in a year. With In-dia’s initiative, an organisation of
such nations has been formed,” Modi said. Resolutions in Paris by world leaders include work on innovation to get fossil fuel-free energy, Modi added.
“US, France and India have tak-en initiatives for innovation. The Bill Gates Foundation has also been associated with it. A positive result will come by,” he hoped.
Congratulating Road Trans-port and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on his contribution to en-vironment and technology lead-ing to the refurbished bus with no pollution, the PM suggested that the technology can be used in public transport as well.
Such buses would “not only signifi cantly contribute in mini-mising pollution, but would en-courage younger generation to come into research and making of batteries”. - PTI
Modi highlighted
the signifi cant
initiative of Mission
Innovation launched
jointly by the US,
France and India,
with the help of the
Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation,
for development of
green technologies
Jaitley fi les civil and criminal cases against AAP leaders
NEW DELHI: Finance Minis-ter Arun Jaitley on Monday fi led both civil and criminal defama-tion cases against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and fi ve other AAP leaders for alleg-edly defaming him and sought Rs100 million in damages and their prosecution for off ences that entails a punishment of upto two years in jail.
A week after a CBI raid on the Chief Minister’s secretariat against his principal secretary that triggered allegations by AAP against Jaitley in the aff airs of the Delhi’s cricket body Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), the minister took the le-gal recourse saying the AAP lead-ers’ “malicious and defamatory” campaign was causing irrevers-ible damage to him.
The others who have been named in both the petitions are Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, San-jay Singh, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpai.
The Patiala House Courts in the heart of the city saw the rare spectacle of a union minister walking amidst a jostling crowd of BJP supporters, who shouted slogans against Kejriwal, to enter the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjay Khanagwal to fi le the criminal complaint.
Jaitley came to the court a lit-tle after lunch at 2.05pm and the proceedings lasted 35 minutes.
The complaint was fi led un-der various sections of the IPC including 499 (defamation), 500 (punishment), 501 and 502 (printing and sale of defamatory matter). Senior advocate Sid-
dharth Luthra, who appeared for Jaitley, himself an eminent law-yer, pleaded for immediately re-cording the minister’s statement but the court just took cognisance of the complaint and posted the case for January 5 when Jaitley will record his testimony.
Earlier in the day, Jaitley fi led a civil suit in the Delhi High Court against Kejriwal and fi ve others AAP leaders for issuing allegedly false and defamatory statements against him and his family members. In the criminal defamation complaint, Jaitley said Kejriwal and other AAP leaders with common intention have from December 15 “un-dertaken a false, malicious and defamatory campaign against Jaitley and his family members for political mileage causing ir-reversible damage to him.”
It was done to defl ect issues from an unrelated search during investigation by CBI of a bureau-crat in the secretariat of the Delhi Government based on a com-plaint by a third party, he said.
Meanwhile, a defi ant Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday asserted that the Aam Aadmi Party will not be scared by civil and criminal defamation suits against him and fi ve other AAP leaders by Finance Minis-ter Arun Jaitley and asked him to prove his innocence before the inquiry commission.
Kejriwal suggested that Jait-ley should instead cooperate with the Commission of Inquiry formed by the Delhi government to probe the alleged irregularities in the DDCAA. - PTI
D E L H I A N D D I S T R I C T C R I C K E T A S S O C I A T I O N R O W
ELECTRIC BUS LAUNCHED: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
launches an electric bus to ferry lawmakers to Lok Sabha, at Par-
liament House in New Delhi on Monday. - PTI
DEFAMATION CASE: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley surrounded
by security and party workers as he arrives at Patiala House
Courts to fi le a defamation case against Delhi CM Arvind Kejri-
wal and other Aam Aadmi Party leaders, for their DDCA corrup-
tion allegations against him, in New Delhi on Monday. - PTI
A10
PAKISTAN T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
CONFLICT ZONE: Afghan National Army soldiers walk in Helmand on Monday. Clashes intensifi ed as
the Taliban pressed an off ensive to capture a key district in Helmand, a day after an offi cial warned
that the entire southern province was on the brink of collapse. - AFP
Raheel’s bid to restart Afghan peace dialogue
ISLAMABAD/KABUL: Paki-stan-brokered peace talks be-tween Afghanistan and Taliban insurgents could restart in early January after weeks of pressure from partners including the Unit-ed States and China, offi cials in Islamabad and Kabul said.
The head of Pakistan’s army, General Raheel Sharif, is expect-ed in Afghanistan this week in the latest in a series of high-level contacts between Islamabad and Kabul to restart the peace process which was broken off in July.
The aim is to end more than 14 years of war with the Taliban, who held power in Afghanistan until 2001 but were overthrown in a US-backed campaign for harbouring the Al Qaeda leaders behind the September 11 attacks.
Since then they have waged a potent insurgency against the Ka-bul government, stepping up their attacks since the pullout of most foreign troops in 2014.
A senior Pakistani offi cial told Reuters the resumption of talks should take “not longer than two weeks ... I would say the fi rst week of January we will see the process restart again.” He said the current plan was for the meetings to be held in Pakistan.
The aim was to bring Afghan and Pakistani leaders together with special representatives from China and the United States as well as Taliban representatives.
“The understanding is that all stakeholders should be there, eve-ryone with a stake in this,” said the offi cial, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media on the issue.
According to a Taliban offi -cial in the movement’s offi ce in Qatar, Pakistan had also asked deputy Taliban leader Sirajud-din Haqqani, head of a Taliban-affi liated network blamed for a spate of recent suicide attacks in Kabul, to join the talks. But after repeated failed eff orts, prospects for any immediate breakthrough appear distant, with a high risk the process may “crash soon after takeoff ”, in the words of one sen-ior Afghan offi cial who has been closely involved. “The Taliban are suff ering from leadership chaos and the movement is fractured and it is not clear who is going to talk and which side is going to continue to fi ght,” said the offi cial, who like others spoke on condi-tion of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
An earlier round of talks in the
Pakistani hill resort of Murree came to a halt in July, when con-fi rmation came that the Taliban’s elusive leader, Mullah Moham-mad Omar, had in fact been dead for more than two years.
His successor, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, has faced strong op-position from rival insurgent factions and the Taliban were re-cently forced to deny widespread reports he had been badly wound-ed or even killed in a shootout during an internal dispute.
Growing challengeIS extremists has also been pos-ing a growing challenge, fuelling fears that Taliban leaders will be reluctant to be drawn into talks for fear of losing credibil-ity among rank-and-fi le militants who have been buoyed by a string of battlefi eld successes. If the Taliban were to stop fi ghting, they might be tempted to switch alle-giance to IS.
After insurgent fi ghters man-aged to seize the northern city of Kunduz in late September and hold it for several days against US-backed government troops, the motivation for joining peace talks is also not clear.
High-profi le insurgent attacks in the southern city of Kandahar and on a Spanish embassy guest house in Kabul, as well as Tali-ban gains in its heartland prov-ince of Helmand, have scotched hopes of a letup in violence over the winter. - Reuters
The aim is to end
more than 14
years of war with
the Taliban, who
held power in
Afghanistan until
2001 but were
overthrown in a US-
backed campaign
for harbouring
the Al Qaeda
leaders behind the
September 11 attack
LUCKY TO BE ALIVE: In this photograph taken on November 9,
2015, a wounded Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier gestures
after receiving treatment at Sardar Mohammed Daoud Khan Mili-
tary Hospital in Kabul. - AFP
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Actress Ayesha Omar talks about near-death experienceKARACHI: Actress Ayesha Omar, who suff ered a terrible road acci-dent last week, has fi nally shared her experience of the horrifi c in-cident which left her hospitalised.
The actress of Bulbulay fame took to Facebook Sunday night to disclose details and thanked friends and family for their “love, prayers and wishes” during her time of need.
Through her status she assured her fans that she was out of danger and was home after spending three nights at the hospital.
She revealed that her right arm is immobile due to the injuries sustained, and she has broken her right collar bone and fractured her right shoulder.
Agonising pain“Thankfully, I didn’t lose con-sciousness at the time of the ac-cident despite being in agonising pain and my fi rst thought was of gratitude. I was shocked and grate-ful to be alive and wanted to be out of the car ASAP but refused to let anyone touch me because I knew I had broken something in my shoulder and didn’t want to be mishandled,” she wrote.
And then she delved right into the incident: “We hit an overtak-ing truck on the highway just be-fore Hyderabad and faced two
collisions — the other by another truck from the back. It’s a miracle that Azfar and I came out alive be-cause the car was completely de-stroyed. I was immobile and Azfar and a group of passersby picked me up and put me into a police mo-bile that took us to a rundown govt clinic in Jamshoro,” she shared.
Panic and trauma soon wel-comed sympathy as Ayesha re-membered innocent lives caught in similar traumatic experiences. “My next few thoughts were a mixture of extreme terror of being kidnapped or mugged by dacoits on the highway, taking advantage of our vulnerable situation. And of thousands of little kids strewn on the ground after various ex-plosions in the world, with no one to help them and provide any medical help.”
Having suff ered minor injuries,
Azfar was in complete control of the situation and the actress was grateful to him for taking care of her during the car ride to Karachi. “If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have made it back safely and god knows how I would’ve been han-dled,” she added.
Take picturesShe went on to share the horrify-ing moment when “random men” wanted to take pictures with her. Luckily, she was met with some kind people who “kept cover-ing my face while I was lying on the stretcher in the hospital in Jamshoro.”
In between all the commotion, Ayesha was aware of her sur-roundings and kept asking for her belongings — bag and phone.
Unfortunately, she had to bear the pain until she reached Karachi. “Had no access to a proper doctor or painkillers until we reached Khi. Those six hours were the toughest few hours of my life and Azfar Re-hman protected and cared for me like I was his own child.”
“The accident happened at 6:30 pm in the evening and we were re-ceived by my closest ones at South city hospital at 2 am.
“From there on it was just x-rays and painkillers,” she shared of her encounter. — Express Tribune
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Libya after lies and spinRichard J. C. Galustian
Last week, the impossible fi nally occurred after three years of frustrating negotia-tions, blood, and failures: A Libyan gov-
ernment was formed by foreigners, by the Unit-ed Nations on December 17, 2015 in Morocco. Sounds like a major success yes? Maybe.
Timely? Absolutely.The real story of how the Libyan National Uni-
ty Government (NUG) emerged needs to be told to pundits, armchair generals, and perhaps, to Libyans of diff erent stripes themselves in order to grasp what comes next in my humble opinion.
Clearly, a confl uence of events helped the United Nations stitch together the NUG led by Faiez Seraj. Let’s review how the conver-gence of three events resulted in a possible ‘workable’ nexus.
At the Rome Conference of December 13, 2015, according to a good source, US Secre-tary of State John Kerry threw a “diplomatic tantrum”, demanding that a NUG come to-gether now. Kerry, fresh from his talks with new best pal Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over the Syrian peace plan, the US Sec-retary of State is using his “rogue status” to make quick US diplomatic decisions I believe without consulting Washington or his own State Department.
Kerry, like his predecessor before him, Hillary Clinton, holds the “Libya fi le” close to his respec-tive heart (as Clinton held the Libya 2011 fi le for example) and has apparently a “pass” by the Obama Administration to do whatever is needed, and fast. After all, the behaviour of the two DOS secretaries is symptomatic of Washington’s cur-rent environment of foreign policy “lack of cen-tre” decision-making on the cuff .
Obama’s lawyer mind, along with the bloated and utterly useless National Security Council, can’t make a decision to fi nd their way out of a paper bag. Obama subcontracts important deci-sions to his appointees. Enter the swashbuck-ling, charming, not overly well endowed cer-ebrally, Irish- American, Kerry, who has secured Lavrov’s liking and backing. Amazing how this new American-Russian realpolitik works! So much for Ukraine and sanctions.
Another piece of the puzzle comes in the form of the very real threat from the IS extremists. As the American and Russian-led coalitions bomb IS and their heathen, reports began to circu-late that Libya’s ‘Daesh-stan’ was expanding. A symbolic anticipated act being that the new UNESCO world heritage site at the ancient Ro-
man city of Sabratha was in immediate danger destruction by IS.
Given the popular sentiment across much of the world to smash IS now and ask questions later about containment and destruction of their evil, vile, anti-social ideology, Kerry and Lavrov, along with their counterparts from the UN Se-curity Council, to include several Arab states, said enough is enough with IS in Libya and want to bring the hammer down hard on the toxic ex-tremists. These extremists include the hodge-podge coterie of not only IS but also the Muslim Brotherhood members and the Ansar Al Sharia. But fi rst, a Libyan government needs to invite foreign intervention.
Enter the NUG which is undoubtably ready to grant the necessary permission.
A third piece to the UN interconnection is about money. Lots and lots of money. The signing ceremony on 17th was spun beautifully and bril-liantly by the United Nations. It is true that 80 HOR (Tobruk’s House of Representatives) and 25 GNC (Tripoli’s General National Congress) people were in attendance but few signed any-thing because they have no part in the new NUG. Instead, the plan was signed by 39 of the 40 Libya Dialogue people, all of whom have promised jobs and salaries courtesy of the UN. Surprise! And all of whom sense they are about to become what amounts to the legislative arm of a new govern-ment - a government gifted $100 billion in for-eign assets. So the new deal is signed but only by the people who negotiated it. Now, the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) and the Libyan National Oil Company (NOC) are about to function openly with this new UN installed government. In fact, CBL is about to start issuing loans.
To boot, France’s Total and Italy’s ENI are part of the fi nancial equation that will make NOC vi-able again. Money, and oil, it seems, is about to be used to again “buy off ” those militias, factions, and tribes, that are alienated and ostracised by the international mandate.
Everyone has their hands out shouting “Show me the money”! What comes next may be called the “Frankenstein’s monster” option.
Just as in Mary Shelly’s novel, Dr. Franken-stein attempts to create life from death. But in the end, there are lessons learned including the risks of tampering with nature’s unique order, the dangers of ambition turning into obsession,
and the necessity for human con-nection of any and every kind.
Scan this QR for full story online
Food business handlers need to be trainedThis refers to the story, Raise the bar on food safety at restaurants (December 21), which was very timely. Oman is one of the biggest importers of food from the Indian subcontinent and Asia, catering
to the needs of expatriate communities liv-ing here and who bring richness and diver-sity, in addition to diff erent ethics in han-dling of food they serve. Although Oman has very strict guidelines for food safety, it is imperative that diff erent communi-ties in food business be given education in food storage, handling and processing. It should not only be localised to restaurants, but should be extended to food and fruit or vegetable imports in grocery stores, many of which are sold beyond their expiry date, posing enormous health risk.— Dr Nitin Saksena, Sydney. Australia.
Caribbean nations need to play cricket as separate countriesThis refers to the story, West Indies spin-ner Bishoo in frame for Melbourne start, (December 21). The never ending pathetic
display of cricketing skills shows why the former giants need to be stripped of their Test status. They should now be playing as sepa-rate countries with only Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Barbados and Antigua having the coveted status. — Sabeena Arthur, Qurum.
T I M E S O F O M A NT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5A12
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Agreement for road project signedMUSCAT: An RO3.69 million agreement was signed at the Ministry of Communications yesterday for the construction of Hima-Duqm road in the Wusta region. Salim bin Abdullah Al Ghazali, minister of communications, signed the agree-ment on behalf of the Sultanate’s government, while the direc-tor general of Al Shanfari Trading and Contracting Company signed it for the implementing company. According to the agreement, the company will construct a 158km road between Hima and Duqm, in addition to the Irish bridges and other drainage systems.
1929: Soviet troops leave Manchuria after a truce is reached with the Chinese over the Eastern Railway dispute.
1966: The United States announces the allocation of 900,000 tons of grain to fi ght the famine in India.
1997: Hussein Farrah Aidid relinquishes his disputed title of Presi-dent of Somalia.
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
The credit goes to an international coalition of visionary people: The leaders who make polio
eradication a high priority in their countries and the funders who
underwrite the work of combating the disease
bit.ly/poliofi ghtheroes
BILL GATES
After independence, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (then North West
Frontier Province) remained under the Frontier Crimes Regulation
till 1956 and Balochistan till 1973. Federally Administered Tribal
Areas has never got the chance to be represented by those it elects
bit.ly/colonialeralaw
MUHAMMAD ANWAR
A few weeks ago, United States Speaker Paul Ryan set out what
he called a bold mandate for House Republicans: “a complete alternative to the left’s agenda.”
The intent is to lay out a platform for Republicans, particularly the party’s presidential candidate, to
run on next yearbit.ly/paulryanmandate
ALBERT R. HUNT
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
24 December declared as a holiday in Oman.On the occasion of the Holy Prophet’s Birthday
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).
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1 Call to raise the food safety standards at restaurants in Oman
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2 Oman to privatise three state-owned companiesbit.ly/orpicliwaplastics
3 Holiday declared in Oman on Prophet’s (PBUH) birthday
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4 WhatsApp outruns Brazil’s unprepared legal system
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5 4 Common Paediatric Diseases in Oman
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1 Freezing conditions hit Jabal Al Akhdhar farmers hard
bit.ly/jabalalakhdarfreeze
2 SQU students create wireless charger for smartphones
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3 His Majesty issues Royal Decree on second phase of railway project
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4 Emirates announces special fares to welcome the new year
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5 Road accidents fall 14.9% in Oman
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@futbolesqueAFC@martinehami enjoying the winter in Oman. .busy worry work. .excited for tonight...What plans for Christmas & NY?
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BUILDING PERMITSIN THE SULTANATE
Muscat 11,025
Dhofar 1,494
Musandam 574
Al Buraimi 902
Al Dakhliyah 4,967
North Batinah 6,285
South Batinah 4,940
Al Dhahirah 3,196
North Sharqiyah 2,774
South Sharqiyah 2,741
Al Wusta
Total
255
39,153Source:
National Centre for Statistics and Information
Photo: Mona Mohiyadheen
NEW INDIAASSURANCE
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New India and
be secure”
Be careful when you fi ght the monsters, lest you become one.
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ASIAT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
14factories, 13 low-rise buildings and three dormitories were
among the buildings fl attened. Xinhua said 14 people had
been rescued and more than 900 people had been evacuated
Court accepts charge sheet in Bangladesh building collapseDHAKA: A court in Bangladesh agreed on Monday to put on trial several defendants on murder charges over the collapse of the Rana Plaza which killed 1,135 workers, many of them making garments for Western retailers, a court offi cial said.
Forty-one defendants in total face charges over the April 2013 disaster at the complex, which housed fi ve garment factories supplying global brands.
Plaza owner Sohel Rana is the principal accused.
The collapse of Rana Plaza, built on swampy ground outside the capital Dhaka, ranks amongst the world’s worst industrial ac-cidents, and sparked an outcry for greater safety in the world’s second-largest exporter of ready-made garments.
Rana himself is in jail, while 16 of his co-accused are on bail and the remaining 24 have absconded.
The court issued arrest war-rants against them on Monday.
Shortly after the collapse a former chief engineer of the
state-run Capital Development Authority said that Rana had not received proper consent for the building, and that an additional three storeys had also been added illegally. Duty free access off ered by Western countries and low wages helped turn Bangladesh’s garment exports into a $25 billion a year industry.
Sixty percent of the clothes go to Europe, with 23 percent head-ing to the United States and 5 per-cent to Canada.
Roy Ramesh Chandra, presi-dent of United Federation of Garments Workers said that the trial process has taken a long time. “Still, it is a step forward and we demand justice,” he said. - Reuters
R A N A P L A Z A
85 missing as waste spill buries buildings in China
SHENZHEN (China): At least 85 people were missing after a giant mound of mud and construction waste spewed out of an overfull dump site in a southern China boomtown and buried 33 build-ings in the country’s latest indus-trial disaster.
The site should have been closed down in February, but ac-cording to local workers, mud and waste had continued to be dumped there, a news portal run by the city government in Shenz-hen said.
Probe orderedPremier Li Keqiang ordered an of-fi cial investigation into Sunday’s landslide in Shenzhen, just across the border from Hong Kong.
The mudslide smashed into multi-storey buildings at the Hengtaiyu industrial park in the city’s northwestern Guangming
New District, toppling them with-in seconds in collisions that sent rivers of earth skyward.
Villager Peng Jinxin said the mud came like “huge waves”, as residents ran out of the way.
“At one point the running mud was only ten metres away from me,” Peng told the offi cial Xinhua news agency.
The frequency of industrial accidents in China has raised questions about safety standards following three decades of break-neck growth in the world’s sec-ond-largest economy.
Just four months ago, more than 160 people were killed in huge chemical blasts in the north-ern port city of Tianjin. State tel-evision showed scenes of devasta-tion in Shenzhen, with crumpled buildings sticking up from heaps of brown mud which stretched out across the industrial park.
WarnedOver a year ago, a government-run newspaper warned Shenzhen would run out of space to dump the waste left behind from a build-ing frenzy. Besides new buildings,
a network of subway lines is being built in Shenzhen, and mounds of earth are being excavated and dumped at waste sites.
“Shenzhen has 12 waste sites and they can only hold out until next year,” the offi cial Shenzhen Evening Post, published by the city government, said in October, 2014. Once a quiet fi shing village, Shenzhen was chosen by Beijing three decades ago to help pioneer landmark economic reforms, and it has boomed ever since.
The mudslide at the business park had covered an area of more
than 380,000 square metres (94 acres) and was 10 metres (11 yards) deep in parts, Shenzhen Vice Mayor Liu Qingsheng told reporters, according to Xinhua.
Almost 3,000 rescuers were at the scene, Xinhua said, with sniff -er dogs and drones.
Rescuers were focusing on sev-eral areas where sensors had de-tected signs of life, it added.
The Ministry of Land Re-sources said the accumulation of a large amount of waste meant that mud was stacked too steep, “causing instability and collapse, resulting in the collapse of build-ings”. Local media said no foreign companies were believed to have been aff ected.
A nearby section of China’s ma-jor West-East natural gas pipeline exploded, state television added, though it was not clear if this had any impact on the landslide.
Xinhua said the pipeline was owned by PetroChina, China’s top oil and gas producer, that the 400-metre-long ruptured pipe “has been emptied” and a tempo-rary pipe will be built.
PetroChina wrote on its micro-blog the pipeline blast had hit at least one industrial user, a Hong Kong power plant operated by Castle Peak Power Co Ltd, a com-pany majority owned by a subsidi-ary of CLP Holdings, that has now switched to coal for power genera-tion. Fourteen factories, 13 low-rise buildings and three dormi-tories were among the buildings fl attened. Xinhua said 14 people had been rescued and more than 900 people had been evacuated by Sunday evening. - Reuters
The mudslide
smashed into multi-
storey buildings
at the Hengtaiyu
industrial park in
Guangming New
District, toppling
them within seconds
in collisions that
sent rivers of
earth skyward
SEARCHING FOR SURVIVORS: Rescue workers look for survivors after a landslide hit an industrial
park in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province on Monday. - AFP
Philippines vows stronger military to back South China Sea claimCLARK FIELD/BEIJING: Phil-ippine President Benigno Aquino vowed on Monday to leave behind a stronger and a more capable armed forces to face maritime challenges in the South China Sea when he leaves offi ce next year.
Aquino, ineligible to run for re-election under the constitution, promised to spend about 83.90 bil-lion pesos ($1.77 billion) in a fi ve-year period until 2017 to strength-en the military as China asserts its claims to most of the waters.
Spending planThe spending plan was only ap-proved this year, meaning the bulk of that money will be spent in com-ing months.
“We’re planning to acquire new frigates, strategic sealift vessels, long-range patrol and close air support aircraft and other equip-ment,” Aquino said at the 80th an-niversary of the armed forces.
He did not mention the South
China Sea dispute specifi cally, but the equipment has been ear-marked by the military to defend Philippine territorial rights.
“I have personally witnessed how the military grew stronger and more eff ective in preserving peace and stability, the key in building confi dence in the Philippines.”
The strategic sealift vessel, be-ing built in an Indonesian ship-yard, will be delivered early next year and the Israeli-made radar will be completed by 2017, the same time all the fi ghters from South Korea are delivered.
He said the United States and Japan were helping develop capac-ity and capability as “some coun-tries” in Asia have been increasing defence spending amid rising ten-sion in the South China Sea.
China has overlapping claims with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei in the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne
trade passes every year. The Phil-ippines has challenged Beijing before the arbitration court in The Hague, a case Beijing has not recognised.
Aquino said his government has already spent 56.79 billion pesos since 2010, acquiring a squadron of light fi ghters from South Korea and combat helicopters from Italy.
Washington has transferred two former coast guard cut-ters and transport planes to the Philippines.
The military has an ambitious 15-year modernisation plan to spend about 998 billion pesos, ac-quiring frigates, submarines, ad-vanced missile system, and radars to put the country at par with its Southeast Asian neighbours.
Meanwhile, China on Monday rejected a UN tribunal’s arbitra-tion on the disputed South China Sea saying it had no jurisdiction over the case even as Beijing as-serted it would not accept any
third-party settlement of territo-rial disputes. “China’s territorial sovereignty should be decided by all the Chinese people, and no oth-er people or organisation has the right to handle it,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told media here.
He was replying to a question on the recent release of a court hearing record by an international tribunal in the Hague lodged by the Philippines as China brushed aside the UN tribunal arbitrating the case saying that it will not ac-cept its verdict in the matter.
Hong said China’s position on the South China Sea stands on a solid international legal base and will remain unchanged.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at the hearing, the Philippines which fi led the pe-tition ignored facts, international law and justice, and attempted to deny China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea islands. - Agencies
M O D E R N I S A T I O N P L A N
DISASTER: In this photograph taken on April 25, 2013, Bangla-
deshi volunteers and rescue workers are pictured at the scene
after the Rana Plaza complex collapsed in Savar, on the outskirts
of Dhaka. - AFP
Syria funds
suggest IS link
of militants held
in Indonesia
JAKARTA: Some of the Indone-sian men arrested at the weekend after tip-off s that they were plan-ning a string of militant attacks had received funding from Syria, hardening evidence of their links to IS, police said on Monday.
Offi cials said the raids in fi ve cit-ies across the island of Java, during which nine people were detained and bomb-making equipment was seized, may have foiled plans to target New Year celebrations.
Police said they remained on high alert, underlining concern about a resurgence of militant at-tacks by Indonesians who have re-turned from Syria.
“They received transfers of funds...they have a connec-tion with Syria,” national police spokesman Anton Charliyan told a news conference.
“What we gather so far is they are linked to the IS group,” he said. “They got the money from a senior IS fi gure who works as a coordina-tor to link IS to Indonesia.”
Police suspect that four of those arrested belonged to the Al Qaeda-affi liated Jamaah Islamiah group.
Media reports on Sunday said some of the men had planned to launch attacks in Java and neigh-bouring Sumatra island on minor-ity communities. Police have been largely successful in destroying domestic militant cells since then, but they now worry that the infl u-ence of IS could pitch the country back into violence.
Charliyan said the militants appeared to be planning attacks on certain public locations, gov-ernment and police offi cials and “those considered enemies of IS”, but gave no details. Authori-ties plan to deploy about 150,000 security personnel to safeguard churches and other places around the country during Christmas and New Year celebrations. - Reuters
P L A N N I N G A T T A C K S
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION: Philippine President Benigno
Aquino, centre, inspects troops during the Armed Forces of the Phil-
ippines 80th anniversary celebration at Haribon Hangar, Air Force
City, Clark Air Base, Pampanga, south of Manila on Monday. - AFP
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‘Can’t retrieve information from warplane’s black box’
MOSCOW: Investigators in Mos-cow said on Monday they were un-able to retrieve information from the damaged black box of a Rus-sian warplane shot down by Tur-key last month, data the Kremlin hoped would support its version of what happened.
Russia’s Defence Ministry publicly opened the recorder last week, hoping its contents would confi rm Moscow’s assertions that the bomber did not stray into Turkish air space and was mali-ciously downed.
“Retrieving the information
and a read out of fl ight data...has proven to be impossible because of internal damage,” said Sergei Bainetov, the Russian Air Force’s deputy head of fl ight safety.
Bainetov said 13 of the fl ight re-corder’s 16 microchips had been destroyed and that those remain-
ing were damaged.The damage was so severe, he
said, because of the sheer force with which the plane had hit the ground after being struck by an air-to-air missile, severing a cord that connected the black box and the jet’s avionics.
The defence ministry would now turn to specialised scientifi c institutions in the hope that they could get something from the damaged chips, he said, saying it was an uncertain process that was likely to take “a lot of time.”
The downing of the Russian SU-24 fi ghter-bomber by Turkish jets on November 24 was the most se-rious confrontation between Mos-cow and a NATO member state in the last 50 years.
Russian President Vladimir Pu-tin accused Turkey of “stabbing Russia in the back” and ordered a raft of retaliatory economic sanc-tions against Ankara.
Turkey says the warplane, part of Russia’s Syria-based strike force, strayed into its airspace and ignored repeated warnings to leave. Russia says the plane did not leave Syria and posed no threat to Turkey.
Meanwhile, Russia reinforced its air base in Armenia with attack and transport helicopters, Inter-fax news agency cited the Russian military as saying on Monday.
A total of six Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters have been sent to the base near the capital city of Ye-revan, Interfax reported. Russia deployed seven helicopters to Ar-menia earlier in December. — Reuters
Russia’s Defence
Ministry publicly
opened the recorder
last week, hoping
its contents would
confi rm Moscow’s
assertions that the
bomber did not stray
into Turkish air
space and was
maliciously downedRISING TENSIONS: The Russian Navy landing ship Saratov sets sail in the Bosphorus, on its way to
the Black Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday. — Reuters
SEEKING A SAFE HAVEN Migrants and refu-
gees understood to
be from Afghanistan
camp at the place de
la Republique
in Paris on
Monday. — AFP
Spain’s two main leftist parties reject new mandate for Rajoy after upsetMADRID: Spain’s two biggest left-wing parties ruled out sup-porting a government led by the ruling People’s Party (PP) on Monday, complicating Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s eff orts to build a coalition to stay in pow-er after a tight general election.
Parties began staking out posi-tions for what are expected to be weeks of complex talks on form-ing a government after Rajoy’s centre-right PP won most votes in Sunday’s election but fell well short of the 176 seats needed for a parliamentary majority.
Two newcomers - leftist anti-austerity Podemos (“We can”) and the liberal Ciudadanos (“Citizens”) - entered the main-stream for the fi rst time, ending domination by the PP and So-cialists stretching back to soon after dictator Francisco Franco’s death in 1975.
The two parties won scores of seats in parliament, tap-ping widespread anger over a recently-ended economic slump and high-level corruption in the European Union’s fi fth-largest economy.
The close vote, which put the Socialists in second place ahead of Podemos and Ciudadanos, makes it extremely diffi cult for any party to win majority sup-port, raising the possibility of a deadlock that could force new elections in the new year.
Markets were spooked by the political uncertainty and nerv-ous investors moved out of Span-ish assets, sending the country’s shares lower and benchmark bond yields higher.
As leader of the largest party, Rajoy gets fi rst chance to try to reach an agreement with other parties that would allow him to govern.
But the Socialists and Podem-
os quickly said that they would reject a new government led by the 60-year-old Rajoy.
“Podemos would not permit a PP government, either actively or passively,” Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias told reporters, meaning that his party will nei-ther vote for PP rule nor abstain in a parliamentary vote on a new government.
Senior Socialist offi cial Ce-sar Luena said his party would vote ‘no’ to a government headed by Rajoy and the PP. The two left-wing parties won 159 seats between them in the 350-seat parliament, and with Catalan nationalists likely to join them in opposing the PP, it appears to make it virtually impossible for the PP, which won 123 seats, to construct a majority. — Reuters
I M P A S S E
NO REAL WINNER: People chat about politics, a day after the
most fragmented national election in Spain’s history, in down-
town Ronda, southern Spain, on Monday. — Reuters
The close vote, which
put the Socialists in
second place ahead
of Podemos and
Ciudadanos, makes
it extremely difficult
for any party to win
majority support,
raising the possibility
of a deadlock that
could force new
elections next year
CAPE CANAVERAL: Two US astronauts fl oated outside the International Space Station on Monday in a hastily planned spacewalk to move a stuck rail car before a Russian cargo ship reaches the outpost on Wednes-day, NASA said.
Station commander Scott Kelly and newly arrived fl ight engineer Timothy Kopra were due to spend about 3.5 hours on an abbreviated spacewalk to latch the stalled car into a parking spot along the sta-tion’s exterior truss.
The car serves as a mobile base for a Canadian-built robotic crane to move rails outside the station, a $100 billion research laboratory that fi les about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.
The rail car jammed about 4 inches (10 cm) short of its intend-ed latching point last Wednesday, blocked by a crew equipment cart that was left with its brake on.
Kelly and Kopra fi xed the stuck rail car in 15 minutes, leaving them time to tackle work to pre-pare the station for new modules, said mission commentator Rob Navias from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Russia, one of 15 nations that own and operate the station, plans to launch a new research labora-tory, while the U.S.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration is prepar-ing to install docking ports for new commercial space taxis that are slated to begin fl ying in 2017.
NASA usually spends months planning spacewalks, but the one
that began shortly before 8 a.m.EST (1300 GMT) was just ar-
ranged over the weekend.Kopra arrived at the station six
days ago with Britain’s fi rst profes-sional astronaut, Timothy Peake, and Russia’s Yuri Malenchenko.
Kopra and Kelly released the brake handle during the space-walk, freeing up the mobile trans-porter, Navias said. — Reuters
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WORLDT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
Astronauts spacewalk to fix station’s stuck rail carThe car serves as
a mobile base for
a Canadian-built
robotic crane to move
rails outside the
station, a $100 billion
research laboratory
that fi les about
400 km above Earth
REPAIRS: This NASA TV image grab obtained Monday shows a live broadcast of Scott Kelly during the spacewalk outside the Interna-
tional Space Station. — AFP /NASA TV
Uganda arrest supporters of opposition candidate
KAMPALA: Ugandan police on Monday arrested 20 supporters and security guards at the head-quarters of an opposition can-didate vying to end the nearly 30-year rule of President Yoweri Museveni in elections next Febru-ary, police and a campaign spokes-woman said.
The arrests underscored grow-ing fears by rights groups and analysts that violence could break out in the East African country as 71-year-old Museveni faces his toughest challenge yet to extend his grip on power.
Amama Mbabazi, a former Mu-seveni ally who previously served as prime minister, fell out with the president last year and has emerged as one of two formidable rivals, alongside long-time opposi-tion fi gure, Kizza Besigye.
Most analysts, though, expect Museveni, who has previously been accused of using state re-sources and security personnel to promote his candidacy, to win the race.
A spokeswoman for the Mba-bazi campaign, Josephine Ma-yanja-Nkangi, said that police had raided the campaign offi ces early on Monday and arrested security personnel and supporters.
Outrageous behaviourMbabazi was quoted by local tel-evision as saying that police had arrested “any male” they saw.”We condemn this outrageous behav-iour by the state, this abuse of the state apparatus to promote the po-litical agenda of a candidate con-testing for elective offi ce,” he said.
Police spokesman Fred Enanga, said those who were arrested were suspected of taking part in a clash earlier this month between sup-porters of Mbabazi and Museveni in a southwestern village in where both campaigns were attempting to hold a rally.
“The ones we arrested have cas-es to answer,” he said. — Reuters
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Beauty crown comes, goes same day
LAS VEGAS: The host of the Miss Universe pageant mistak-enly announced the wrong winner on Sunday, who then had to give up the crown and hand it over to a 26-year-old actress and model from the Philippines.
It was the fi rst edition of the annual beauty show since it was thrust into controversy when then co-owner and US presiden-tial candidate, Donald Trump, made disparaging remarks about immigrants.
Host Steve Harvey incorrectly announced that Miss Colombia had won the 64th edition of the contest, broadcast live on the Fox television network.
The eventual winner, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, a Filipino-German actress and model born in Stutt-gart and raised in Cagayan de Oro, was initially runner-up. But them Harvey announced to the audience that he had made a gaff e.
Ariadna Gutierrez Arévalo, 21, of Sincelejo, Colombia, had already been crowned by Miss Universe of 2014, Paulina Vega of Barranquilla, Colombia, who was forced to remove the crown and give it to Miss Philippines.
Olivia Jordan, 27, of Tulsa, Okla-homa, fi nished third. “I’d like to apologise wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia and Miss Philippines for my huge mistake,” Harvey said on Twitter. “I feel terrible.”
Wurtzbach appeared to take the blunder in her stride.
“It’s a very non-traditional crowning moment,” she said back-stage afterward in a video clip of a conversation with Miss USA post-ed by the Miss Universe pageant on its Twitter feed.
“It is very 2015.”Earlier, when asked why she
wanted to be Miss Universe, Wurtzbach said: “I will use my voice to infl uence the youth and I would raise awareness to certain causes like HIV awareness, that is timely and relevant to my country.”
It was the fi rst Miss Universe title for a contestant from the Phil-ippines in more than 40 years.
Notable momentsAmong the notable moments of the pageant, Flora Coquerel of France, who was at the Paris stadium the night of the November attacks by militants, reached the fi nal fi ve and Ariana Miyamoto of Japan, whose father is African-American, reached the last 10.
Miyamoto’s height of 1.73 m (5.7 ft) and bronze skin are unusual in Japan and her selection to repre-sent Japan created an online fi re-storm in her native country.
For the fi rst time, viewers had a
chance to vote on the winner, rat-ing contestants in the swimwear, evening gown and interview com-petitions. Until recently, the pag-eant was co-owned by Comcast Corp’s NBCUniversal and Trump, who is leading national polls in the 2016 Republican presidential nomination race.
Earlier, Trump’s remarks about Mexicans in announcing his presidential candidacy in June drew sharp criticism, and the Spanish-language network Univi-sion pulled out of a deal to televise the pageant.
Trump, who has sued Univision for $500 million, bought out NBC’s stake in the Miss Universe Organi-zation, which produces both Sun-day’s pageant and the Miss USA contest. He sold the company in September.
The panel of judges included former National Football League great Emmitt Smith, celebrity blog mogul Perez Hilton and 2012 Miss Universe winner Olivia Culpo.
Hilton said the two most important things about the pageant were the vastly larger audience and Trump was no longer owner. — Reuters
Steve Harvey, the
host of the Miss
Universe pageant,
announced the wrong
winner broadcast
live on a television
network
LAS VEGAS: One person was killed and dozens injured on Sunday night when a woman deliberately drove her car onto a crowded sidewalk on the Las Vegas Strip, police said, near the hotel where the Miss Universe beauty pageant was being held.
The woman, who had a 3-year-old in the car with her, was taken into custody and was expected to be charged on Monday, Las Vegas Metropoli-tan Police Department offi cials told reporters.
MayhemJustin Cochrane, a tourist who was having dinner on the Strip, told CNN the sedan with a cracked windshield barreled past him at about 30 miles per hour (48 km per hour). The driver swerved to avoid a truck, then accelerated back onto the sidewalk, he said. “It was mayhem, and it was very intentional,” he said. “People were fl ying. This child I saw, literally, hit, and the sound, I’ll
never forget.”Police said the driver, who
is in her 20s, had mounted the curb as many as three times before fl eeing the scene. CNN
reported that she was being tested for use of drug and drinks.
Las Vegas Deputy Police Chief Brett Zimmerman gave no indications as to a motive
but ruled out the possibility of terrorism. Las Vegas authori-ties gave injury tallies ranging from 26 to 36 people, and said six who were in critical condi-tion had been stabilized. The young child accompanying the driver was not hurt.
University Medical Center treated 15 patients, with three listed as critical, two discharged and the rest in serious condi-tion, a spokeswoman said in an email. An 11-year-old was among the injured, along with visitors from Montreal, Canada, she said.
A Reuters witness said emergency and police vehicles swarmed the area. Some pas-sersby were using smartphones to snap photos of the scene while others seemed more focused on the glitzy sights of the famed Strip. — Reuters
One killed as woman drives car onto Las Vegas Strip sidewalk
WINNER TAKES IT ALL: Contestants comfort Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez, top right, after she was incorrectly crowned Miss Universe at the Miss Universe pageant on
Sunday, in Las Vegas. – AP/PTI
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THE ACCIDENT SITE: Police and mediapersons stand at the Las
Vegas Strip after a car ran into a group of pedestrians. – AFP
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MARKEWWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5B
Muscat
5,404.25 + 49.28
+ 0.926%
Dubai
3,101.19+ 75.14
+ 2.48%
Abu Dhabi
4,191.25+ 35.54
+ 0.86%
Saudi Arabia
6,947.87+ 16.79
+ 0.24%
Kuwait
5,613.66+ 41.73
+ 0.75%
Bahrain
1,189.78 - 4.81
- 0.40%
Qatar
9,846.83- 66.09
- 0.67%
CURRENCY RATES* DRAFT RATES (OMR1)* GOLD PRICES*Forex rates vs OMR1*
US Dollar ................................. 2.58
Euro ............................................2.36
Pound ............................................1.73
Indian Rs .............................. 171.76
Pak Rs .....................................267.31
Bangla Taka......................200.36* Rates are as of Dec. 21
Source: Bank Muscat
Indian Rs ....................................172.10
Pakistan Rs ............................. 271.00
Sri Lanka Rs .......................... 370.00
Bangla Taka...........................204.00
Phil Peso ................................... 122.30
* Rates as of Dec. 21 Source: Oman UAE Exchange
Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) ....... 13.75
Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) .......13.30
Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ............128.50
Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) ............. 121.50
* Rates as of Dec. 21
Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds
Type ............................Delivery...........Price
Oman Crude ............. (Spot) .........$31.52
Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) .........$31.87
Murban Crude ........ (Spot) ........$33.39
Arabian Light ......... (Spot) ........$30.57
N.Sea Brent ............... (Spot) ........$36.25
West Texas Int ....... (Spot) ........$34.25
CRUDE OIL PRICE
DIGEST VIDEO
S CA N T H I S Q R CO D E TO I N STA N T LY L AU N C H T H E V I D EO
Top stories in one minute with our new daily Digest
Oman’s total bank credit grows 10% to OMR18.3b
A. E. [email protected]
MUSCAT: Oman’s commercial banks have achieved a robust 10.44 per cent growth in total credit to OMR18.32 billion for the last one year ending October 2015, from OMR16.59 billion reported in the same period last year, ac-cording to the latest monthly statistics released by the Central Bank of Oman.
The incremental growth for the last one year was OMR1,731.8 mil-lion, which is more or less in line with the loan growth seen in 2014 and was mostly driven by both the corporate and retails segments.
Corporate sectorThe demand for credit from the corporate sector is mostly for funding projects, which are either state-owned entities, such as the Oman Oil Refi neries and Petro-
leum Industries Company (Orpic) or semi-government-related enti-ties. Orpic had last week signed major deals for funding its $6.4 billion Liwa Plastics Industries Complex with international, re-gional and local banks.
Major real-estate projects, in-cluding hotels and resorts, are also driving demand for credit. The pipeline for credit is still strong, which will continue for another two more quarters since local
banks are also actively participat-ing in syndicated loan facilities for project funding.
Deposit growthTotal deposits at Omani banks rose moderately by 5.92 per cent to OMR18.16 billion for the 12-month period ending October 2015, from OMR17.15 billion a year ago. Deposit growth in Oman and other Gulf countries refl ected a slowdown, mainly due to the fact that government and govern-ment-related entities have been withdrawing their deposits from banking institutions in view of low oil incomes, which has started aff ecting liquidity.
The recent sukuk issue and de-velopment bond issues of the gov-ernment have also absorbed siza-ble liquidity from banking system. The dearth in liquidity has started aff ecting interest rates across the board, which include both deposit
and lending rates.Oman has seven conventional
banks — Bank Muscat, the Na-tional Bank of Oman, BankDhofar, HSBC Bank Oman, Bank Sohar, Oman Arab Bank and Ahli Bank.
Total assets of commercial banks by October-end had touched OMR28.29 billion, indicating a marked growth of 15.68 per cent from the same period last year.
Islamic fi nanceIslamic banks and window opera-tions also showed a robust 64 per cent growth in total fi nancing to OMR1,559.5 million by October-end, from a mereOMR950.9 mil-lion during the same period last year. The deposits of Islamic banks and window operations also surged ahead to OMR1,368.2 million by the end of October, from OMR477.3 million during the same period last year, noted the monthly bulletin.
Incremental growth for the last one year was
OMR1,731.8m, which is nearly in line with the
2014 loan growth and was mostly driven by
both the corporate and retails segments
Oil prices hit 11-year low on supply glut
LONDON: Brent crude oil prices hit their lowest in more than 11 years on Monday, driven down by a relentless rise in global supply that looks set to outpace demand again next year.
Oil production is running close to record highs and, with more barrels poised to enter the mar-ket from nations such as Iran, the United States and Libya, the price of crude is set for its larg-est monthly percentage decline in seven years. Brent futures fell by as much as 2 per cent to a low of $36.05 a barrel on Monday, their weakest since July 2004, and were down 49 cents at $36.39.
While consumers have enjoyed lower fuel prices, the world’s rich-est oil exporters have been forced to revalue their currencies, sell off assets and even issue debt for the fi rst time in years as they struggle to repair their fi nances.
The price of oil has halved over the past year. >B4
E N E R G Y M A R K E T
New code of corporate governance will bring effi ciency: CMA chief BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT: Oman’s new code of corporate governance will help companies run their activities more effi ciently and will also give a boost to corporate social respon-sibility (CSR), said a senior offi cial.
The new code issued by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) is eff ective from July 2016, except for the new independence rules for directors which are applicable upon election, according to Sheikh Abdullah bin Salim Al Salmi, the executive president of CMA.
He made the comments at KP-MG’s seminar on corporate gov-ernance, held at Crowne Plaza on Monday to provide insights into the new code of corporate gov-ernance. A number of updates have been provided in the new code, he told the seminar, which brought together a number of professionals from across the business community and govern-ment sectors.
Applicability Asked if the new code would en-courage more companies to go public, Al Salmi told reporters, “At the end of the day, the code of cor-porate governance is meant to help the companies to be more effi cient and run more professionally.”
“If that is happening, defi nitely, it will refl ect on the performance and outcome of the company. So, I think having companies that are run professionally and eff ectively will encourage other companies to follow suit,” he added.
“With regard to the code, we are not making it exclusively for public listed companies. It is ap-plicable for all companies, all kind of companies, and this is what makes the diff erence be-tween a company that is run in accordance with the code and another company which is run otherwise,” the offi cial noted.
Sustainability centre Commenting on the Centre for Corporate Governance and Sus-tainability, he said that the board has already been appointed and the centre’s responsibilities in-clude helping the companies comply with the code and provid-ing training and consultancy.
The executive president of CMA also said that one of the objectives of the centre is to pro-
mote corporate governance along with CSR.
According to KPMG experts, corporate governance remains one of the cornerstones of sus-tainable business development and is a key factor in investment decisions. They say that corpo-rate governance compliance is critically important and sound corporate governance practices benefi t all stakeholders, while also providing the transparency that investors demand.
ResponsibilityPaul Callaghan, partner at KPMG, emphasised the impor-tance and responsibility of listed companies and their boards.
“The new code of corporate governance prescribes that all board members should be non-executives. Some of the key highlights of the new code are: performance of the board to be measured by a third party; chairperson of audit commit-tee cannot chair any other board committee; and formal code of conduct for directors to be devel-oped. The new code also raises some questions for boards to consider including: what should the required code of conduct for directors include? What criteria will the third party use to assess board performance?”
Roadmap The KPMG seminar discussed the challenges that the listed companies will face in imple-menting the new code.
“The key next step is for board’s to assess the impacts of the new code and develop a road-map to implement the necessary changes. Interestingly, I am also pleased to note the new code introduces requirements for corporate social responsibility planning and annual reporting, which is in line with global best practice. The revised guidance strengthens the overall corpo-rate governance framework and promotes the value of strong boards and board committees,” Callaghan noted.
K P M G S E M I N A R
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MARKETT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
Toshiba forecasts record $4.5b lossTOKYO: Toshiba forecast a record ¥550 billion ($4.5 billion) loss and will cut more jobs and restructure businesses that include chips, tele-visions, personal computers (PCs) and home appliances following a long-running accounting scandal.
The projected net loss for this fi scal year includes ¥260 billion in taxes because of a reversal of de-ferred income- tax assets, it said in a statement on Monday.
The forecast doesn’t include possible impairment of goodwill and fi xed assets at the company’s nuclear power systems business because Toshiba is still checking that, it said.
Toshiba is trying to recover
from an accounting scandal that padded profi ts for almost seven years by halting development and sales of TVs outside Japan, cutting costs at its PC and home appli-ances businesses and considering
alliances with third parties. Job cuts at these segments amount to about 30 per cent of the lifestyle division’s workforce.
Shares slump“Considering how bad things have gotten, this level of restructuring is the least they can do,” said Mit-sushige Akino, Tokyo-based ex-ecutive offi cer at Ichiyoshi Asset Management, which doesn’t hold Toshiba shares. “They need to do more, but it’s not as simple as cut-ting people and closing unprofi t-able businesses. The questions is what will the results be two years after the restructuring.” Shares of the industrial conglom-
erate fell as much as 9.8 per cent, the most since May 11, to close at ¥254.8 in Tokyo trading before the announcement. The company has lost about $9 billion, half of its market value, over the past eight months. The shares plunged after initially announcing the account-ing probe in April.
The company will end consign-ment of design and manufactur-ing to outside vendors for its PC business, while concentrating on business-to-business sales and fo-cusing the consumer portion of the segment to the Japan and United States markets. Product platforms will be reduced to less than one-third of the current number, the
company said.Toshiba’s Indonesia TV plant
will be sold to China’s Skyworth for an estimated ¥3 billion, the Tokyo-based company said.
Plans also include accounting training, corporate governance reviews, management seminars and an evaluation system for the president and chief executive of-fi cer, according to the statement on Monday. - Bloomberg News
The Japanese fi rm
will cut more jobs
and restructure
businesses that
include chips, TVs,
computers and home
appliances following
an accounting scam
Delivery ofA320neo will be delayed
NEW DELHI: Airbus’ latest A320neo model suff ered a fresh blow after number one Indian airline IndiGo said it had been told its fi rst jet would be late, two weeks after Qatar Airways put back deliveries citing engine issues. The planemaker blamed ‘industrial reasons’ for the delay in Indigo handovers, the carri-er’s owner, InterGlobe Aviation, said in a fi ling on Monday.
Airbus is “in discussions with our fi rst customers on their de-livery milestones,” spokesman Justin Dubon said, declining to comment on individual clients.
The setback comes after Qa-tar Air, due to be the fi rst user of the revamped narrow-body, balked at taking receipt because of problems with the cooling of the jet’s Pratt & Whitney tur-bines that may mean aircraft have to be held on the ground for longer. Deutsche Lufthansa subsequently stepped in to take the initial delivery, with Indigo scheduled to be next in line.
“IndiGo does not have clear visibility of its future A320n-eo delivery schedule, and the potential for additional delays exists,” the Gurgaon-based discount carrier said. Airbus informed it of the de-lay last Thursday, with the fi rst plane due to have been handed over on December 30.
Capacity optionsShares of India’s biggest air-line fell as much a 5.2 per cent and traded down 4.7 per cent at Rs1,085.90 in Mumbai. Shares of Toulouse, France-based Air-bus fell 1 per cent in Paris and were later priced 0.7 per cent lower at €62.85. IndiGo said it’s looking at options to cover the shortfall in capacity. President Aditya Ghosh did not reveal whether the airline will seek compensation from Airbus. The manufacturer said that its new plane has been certifi ed by both the European and US agencies. - Bloomberg News
A I R B U S J E T
HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com [email protected]
Hyundai to miss
its sales target
SEOUL: Hyundai Motor is poised to sell fewer vehicles than it projected for the fi rst time since the global fi nancial crisis, after an economic slow-down sapped demand in China and emerging-market earnings slumped due to unfavorable ex-change rates.
South Korea’s largest au-tomaker will have to sell at least 50 per cent more than its monthly average this year in December to reach its full-year target of 5.05 million vehicles. Such a feat is unlikely.
2016 sales forecastThey also predict that Hyun-dai’s 2016 sales will be lower than the target set for this year given the absence of new best-selling models and continued weakness in Russia and Brazil.
Hyundai has benefi ted in re-cent years from the surge in de-mand for automobiles in China, which became the largest mar-ket for the carmaker in 2009.
The increasing reliance turned into a drag after eco-nomic growth moderated this year and a summer stock-mar-ket rout dented consumer con-fi dence. - Bloomberg News
A U T O M O T I V E
B3T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
MARKET
Saudi plans to divest stake in state fi rms
RIYADH: Saudi Arabian offi cials are considering plans to sell shares in state-owned entities and com-panies, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions, as the kingdom seeks to bolster revenue to counter the plunge in oil prices.
The government may sell stakes in ports, railways, utilities and air-ports, the two people said. State-owned hospitals may also be pri-vatised as part of deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to reduce the kingdom’s re-liance on oil revenue, one person said. Saudi offi cials weren’t imme-diately available for comment.
Additional revenueThe world’s biggest oil exporter is trying to tap additional sources of revenue after crude prices declined about 35 per cent this year. The kingdom, which relies on oil for at least 80 per cent of its revenue, is on course to post a budget defi cit equal to 20 per cent of economic output this year, according to the Interna-tional Monetary Fund.
Rather than draw down further on its foreign-currency reserves, Saudi Arabia is expected to cut spending when it unveils its budg-et this month. The government this year issued bonds for the fi rst time since 2007, and has raised fees for international air travel passengers. - Bloomberg News
O I L P R I C E F A L L Shell Oman’s new fleet card offers wide range of features
Times News Service
MUSCAT: A new fl eet card man-agement system with a range of features was introduced by Shell Oman Marketing Company. The offi cial launch took place in the presence of Adil bin Ismail Al Raisi, managing director, and other members of the senior management team.
A leader in technology and in-novation, Shell Oman has made signifi cant investment in this platform to give fl eet custom-ers a diff erentiated experience. Easy to access and simple to use, the system comes with enhanced control, greater security and ex-tra savings. Moreover, for the fi rst
time in Oman, the new platform also allows for a corporate Ad-vance Payment account, giving customers the freedom to prepay for use of fuel.
Some of the new features of the card management system in-clude customised PIN-enabled cards and online authorisation of transactions. Customers can now download invoices and a variety of card reports online and acces-sible 24/7 through Shell Cards
Online – an online web portal.
Radio frequencyShell Oman also announced their latest technology - Shell Vehi-cle Recognition System (VRS), a fully automated revolution in fl eet management. This new fuelling product uses Radio Frequency Identifi cation (RFID) technology to communicate fuelling type and limits at the retail station with no manual intervention. Fleet cus-
tomer’s vehicles with the RFID ring installed are automatically recognised and the right type and quantity of fuel is dispensed –without a card!
Speaking at the launch, Mo-hammed bin Abdullah Al Kindy, commercial fl eet and fuels man-ager of Shell Oman Marketing Company said, “We endeavour to provide our customers with value propositions that meet their busi-ness requirements by applying
the latest technology to simplify day-to-day tasks. This new card management system is aimed at providing enhanced fl eet services with more control, along with in-creased security.”
Easy to access and
simple to use, the
system comes with
enhanced control,
greater security and
extra savings
HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com [email protected]
TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION: For the fi rst time in Oman, the new platform also allows for a corporate Advance Payment account,
giving customers the freedom to prepay for use of fuel. - JUN ESTRADA/Times of Oman
Conference to create awareness on ‘franchise concept’ in OmanTimes News Service
MUSCAT: The maiden Oman Franchise Expo & Conference (OFEC) is all set to present busi-ness opportunities for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and aspiring entrepreneurs in Oman.
With the aim to support various initiatives in developing entre-preneurship amongst the nation-als, Al Nimr Expo and the Middle East and North Africa Franchise Association (MENAFA), is join-ing hands in organising the Oman Franchise Expo and Conference 2016, which will provide local and international franchise business-es an ideal platform to introduce and establish their brands and unique business concept to hun-dreds of potentials franchisees in Oman and the region.
The event is endorsed by the Public Authority for SME Devel-opment (Riyada) and the Oman Chamber of Commerce & Indus-try and supported by the Oman-American Business Council and UK Trade and Investment.
The event will take place from May 9 to 11 at the Oman Interna-tional Exhibition Centre which will comprise exhibits of fran-chise businesses, product and services of support industries, in-
cluding local made products. Another key component of the
OFEC 2016 is the Oman Fran-chise Conference where fran-chise experts will share up-to-date industry information, best practices and success stories with the aim of inspiring and helping local home-grown brands and companies to be at par globally.
Support to SMEsA series of seminars will also be held on the sidelines which will equip aspiring entrepreneurs and potential franchisee with the right knowledge before venturing into franchise business.
“OFEC 2016 will off er a great
opportunity for Entrepreneurs and SMEs to expand their horizon in the franchising industry. This event aims for the continuation of cooperation in the fi eld of fran-chise development programmes and ongoing support for SME’s in Oman & Middle East region. At MENAFA, we look forward to make this event and future events satisfactory for all the parties in-volved,” said Omar Al Haza’a, vice chairman-director of Business Development of MENAFA.
Salim Al Hashmi, chairman of Al Nimr Expo, said at the press briefi ng that this inaugural show intend to host a local home grown and international brands featur-ing concepts in food, retail and service industries from the Unit-ed States, Australia, Italy, United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Ma-laysia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia looking to enter the local market.
Sherwin Sevillena, chief exec-utive offi cer of Al Nimr Expo also said that the three-day Oman franchise expo and conference is expected to gather hundreds of visitors to explore the wide-range of business opportunities in food, retail and service sectors by participating brands that de-sire to penetrate the Sultanate of Oman market.
B U S I N E S S
Oman Arab Bank opens newbranch in Port of Sohar areaTimes News Service
MUSCAT: A new branch was opened by Oman Arab Bank in the Port of Sohar, expanding its net-work to 65 branches and offi ces.
The opening of the new branch is in line with the bank’s plans to expand its network and serve cus-tomers throughout the Sultanate.
Oman Arab Bank is the fi rst bank to open a branch at Port of Sohar and it is the fi nancier of this project and many other construc-tion and infrastructure projects in the Sultanate.
The bank aims to provide fi nan-cial business facilities transfers and various banking services for its clients by establishing presence in the port.
The opening ceremony was held under the auspices of Moham-med Ibrahim Al Zadjali, member of Shura Council representing wilayat Sohar, and was attended by a number of the wilayat’s senior offi cials as well as key offi cials of the bank.
On behalf of the bank, Ahmed Amer Al Kharousi, head of branch-es, delivered a speech in which he said, “We renew our commitment towards our customers to remain dedicated to delivering outstand-ing customer service and to pro-vide world-class retail and corpo-rate banking services as well as
innovative banking and fi nancial solutions and facilities.”
Al Batinah branchesOman Arab Bank has now 13 branch-es in Al Batinah Governorate, name-ly the branches of Sohar, Nakhal, Barka, Tharmad, Saham, Rustaq, Falaj Al Qabael, Al Khabourah, Al
Waqeebah, Al Suwaiq, Shinas, Al Musana and Port of Sohar.
The bank has over 120 ATMs and CDMs across the Sultanate and provides a complete range of products and services in retail banking, corporate and project fi nance, investment banking and trade fi nance.
E X P A N S I O N
UNIQUE CONCEPT
Franchise experts will share up-to-date industry information, best practices and success stories with the aim of inspiring and helping local home-grown brands and companies to be at par globally
BOOSTING BUSINESS: A series of seminars will equip aspiring entrepreneurs and potential
franchisee with the right knowledge before venturing into franchise business. – Supplied picture
OPENING: The opening ceremony was held under the auspices
of Mohammed Ibrahim Al Zadjali, member of Shura Council
representing the Wilayat of Sohar. – Supplied picture
B4
MARKETT U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
MUSCATSECURITIES MARKET
SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR MONDAY, DECEMBER 21
REGULAR MARKET .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
OM0000002374............UNITED FINANCE ..................................................... 592,240 ............67,495..................... 28 ............0.110 ........... 0.115 ............0.110 ............0.114 ............. 0.110 ............ 0.004 ............. 3.636 ................ 0.115 ...............0.115................... 0.116 ...................35,427,203 .........0.100
OM0000002549 ...........BANK DHOFAR ............................................................ 160,000 ........... 34,869......................13 ............0.211 ...........0.220 ........... 0.211 ........... 0.218 ............. 0.211 ............ 0.007 ............. 3.318 ................0.218 ..............0.210...................0.218 ..................336,750,823 ........0.100
OM0000001749 ............OMAN CEMENT .......................................................... 879,015 ......... 404,347........................7 ........... 0.460 ...........0.460 ...........0.460........... 0.460 .............0.446 ............0.014 ............. 3.139 ................0.460..............0.460...................0.494 .................152,201,447 ........0.100
OM0000001707 ............OMAN CABLES INDUSTRY .................................... 14,734,610 44,161,480 .......................6 ............1.790 ...........3.000 ...........1.790 ............1.790 ............. 1.740 ............ 0.050 ............. 2.874 ................1.790 .............. 1.700................... 1.785 ..................160,563,000........0.100
OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 3,712,468 ...... 614,401................... 114 ............0.163 ........... 0.167 ...........0.163 ............0.165 ............. 0.161 ............ 0.004 ............. 2.484 ................0.167 .............. 0.166...................0.167 ...................24,762,375 .........0.100
OM0000001418 ............RAYSUT CEMENT ...........................................................8,196 ...............8,483........................3 ............1.035 ........... 1.035 ...........1.035 ............1.035 ............. 1.010 .............0.025 ............. 2.475 ................1.035 .............. 1.035...................0.000 ................ 207,000,000 .......0.100
OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO.........................................................................65,687 .............47,010......................19 ............0.716 ........... 0.720 ...........0.712 ............0.716 .............0.700 ............0.016 ............. 2.286 ................0.720 ..............0.708...................0.720..................466,076,069 .......0.100
OM0000002168 ............AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ................................ 20,200 ............... 6,221........................6 ........... 0.302 ........... 0.310 ...........0.302........... 0.308 .............0.302 ........... 0.006 ............. 1.987 ................0.310 ............. 0.300...................0.310 ................... 91,233,814 .........0.100
OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE .............. 485,000 ............79,766..................... 45 ............0.165 ........... 0.165 ...........0.163 ........... 0.164 ............. 0.161 ............ 0.003 ............. 1.863 ................0.165 ..............0.164...................0.165 ...................32,800,000 ........0.100
OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 2,554,120 ....1,197,496...................303 ........... 0.462 ...........0.480 ...........0.462........... 0.468 .............0.462 ........... 0.006 ............. 1.299 ................0.468 ..............0.468...................0.470................ 1,072,572,975 ......0.100
OM0000002366 ...........AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING ........................58,900 ............... 4,915........................3 ........... 0.084 ........... 0.085 ...........0.083........... 0.083 .............0.082 ............0.001 ............. 1.220 ................0.085 ..............0.084...................0.086....................2,490,000 ..........0.100
OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING .............70,280 ...............6,480........................6 ........... 0.093 ........... 0.093 ...........0.091 ........... 0.092 ............. 0.091.............0.001 ............. 1.099 ................0.093 ..............0.093...................0.095................... 11,212,500 .........0.100
OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ........... 180,911 .............17,229..................... 23 ........... 0.094 ........... 0.097 ...........0.094........... 0.095 .............0.094 ............0.001 ............. 1.064 ................0.096 ..............0.096...................0.097....................8,550,000 ..........0.100
OM0000001087 ............OMAN UNITED INSURANCE .................................40,238 ...............8,852........................4 ........... 0.220 ...........0.220 ...........0.220 .......... 0.220 ............. 0.218............ 0.002 ............. 0.917 ................0.220 ............ 0.220...................0.229 ................. 22,000,000 ........0.100
OM0000003125 ............GLOBAL FINANCIAL INVESTMENT ................ 3,117,221 .......348,872..................... 32 ............0.110 ........... 0.113 ............0.110 ............0.112 ............. 0.111 .............0.001 ............. 0.901 ................ 0.112 .............. 0.110................... 0.112 .................. 22,400,000 ........0.100
OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ........................ 223,488 ......... 347,962..................... 46 ............1.545 ........... 1.570 ...........1.545 ............1.555 ............. 1.550............ 0.005 ............. 0.323 ................1.570 .............. 1.560...................1.570 ................ 1,166,250,000 ......0.100
OM0000001517 ............HSBC BANK OMAN .................................................... 392,922 ............41,035......................21 ............0.106 ........... 0.106 ...........0.104 ........... 0.104 .............0.104 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.104 ..............0.103...................0.105 ................. 208,032,530 .......0.100
OM0000001533 ............OMINVEST ......................................................................15,000 ...............6,330........................ 1 ........... 0.422 ...........0.422 ...........0.422........... 0.422 .............0.422 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.422..............0.426...................0.432..................233,307,613 ........0.100
OM0000002176 ............AL JAZEERA STEEL PRODUCTS .......................... 54,766 ............... 8,211........................5 ............0.152 ........... 0.152 ...........0.148 ........... 0.150 ............. 0.150............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.148 .............. 0.147...................0.148 ................... 18,734,694 .........0.100
OM0000002820 ...........GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES ..........................116,516 .............10,836........................3 ........... 0.093 ........... 0.093 ...........0.093........... 0.093 .............0.093 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.093 ..............0.093...................0.094 ................... 5,472,419 ..........0.100
OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES .......................................91,250 .............15,056........................6 ............0.165 ........... 0.165 ...........0.165 ............0.165 ............. 0.165............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.165 .............. 0.162...................0.167 ................... 47,957,418 .........0.100
OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR.................................................................. 10,669 ............... 1,675........................3 ............0.157 ........... 0.157 ...........0.157 ............0.157 ............. 0.157 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.157 .............. 0.157...................0.159 ................. 226,306,080 .......0.100
OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY ........................................................... 331 ...................136........................2 ............0.412 ........... 0.412 ...........0.412 ........... 0.412 ............. 0.412............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.412 .............. 0.414...................0.424 ..................24,926,000 ........0.100
OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL ................................................. 9,400 .................. 733........................2 ........... 0.078 ........... 0.078 ...........0.078 ........... 0.078 .............0.078 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.078 ..............0.078...................0.080 ..................13,650,000 .........0.100
OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER .................................................. 86,891 .............16,596........................3 ............0.191 ........... 0.191 ............ 0.191 ............0.191 ............. 0.191 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................ 0.191 .............. 0.191...................0.195 ..................128,903,499........0.100
OM0000004933 ...........AL SUWADI POWER ....................................................10,600 ...............2,025........................ 1 ............0.191 ........... 0.191 ............ 0.191 ............0.191 ............. 0.191 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................ 0.191 .............. 0.191...................0.194 .................. 136,451,611 ........0.100
OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS ................................................ 129,000 ............51,600......................13 ........... 0.400 ...........0.400 ...........0.400 .......... 0.400 .............0.400 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.400..............0.394...................0.400 ..................21,000,000 .........0.100
OM0000002200 ...........AHLI BANK .................................................................... 560,453 ......... 106,685..................... 20 ............0.191 ........... 0.192 ...........0.190 ........... 0.190 ............. 0.192............-0.002 ........... -1.042 ............... 0.191 .............. 0.191...................0.192 ..................270,756,867 ........0.100
OM0000002648 ...........NATIONAL FINANCE ................................................ 20,000 ...............2,700........................ 1 ............0.135 ........... 0.135 ...........0.135 ............0.135 ............. 0.137 ............-0.002 ........... -1.460 ...............0.135 .............. 0.133...................0.140 ...................35,535,849 .........0.100
OM0000004735 ...........SEMBCORP SALALAH .................................................. 3,500 ...............8,400........................2 ........... 2.400 ...........2.400 ...........2.400 .......... 2.400 .............2.450 ...........-0.050 ........... -2.041 ...............2.400 .............2.405...................2.590 .................229,097,268........1.000
.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 28,403,872 47,627,897 ................. 741 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......30........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
PARALLEL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000001566 ............OMAN FISHERIES ...................................................... 40,900 ...............2,170........................7 ........... 0.053 ........... 0.054 ...........0.052........... 0.053 .............0.052 ............0.001 ............. 1.923 ................0.052 ..............0.052...................0.054 ...................6,625,000 ..........0.100
OM0000004511 ............ALIZZ ISLAMIC BANK.............................................. 163,595 .............10,972........................6 ........... 0.067 ........... 0.068 ...........0.067 ........... 0.067 .............0.066 ............0.001 ..............1.515 .................0.068 ..............0.067...................0.068...................67,000,000 .........0.100
OM0000002564 ...........AL HASSAN ENGINEERING....................................77,000 ...............5,470......................11 ............0.071 ........... 0.072 ...........0.070............0.071 .............0.070 ............0.001 ............. 1.429 ................0.070.............. 0.071...................0.072.................... 5,339,768 ..........0.100
OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 1,922,080 ...... 140,318..................... 47 ........... 0.074 ........... 0.074 ...........0.073 ........... 0.073 .............0.072 ............0.001 ............. 1.389 ................0.073 ..............0.073...................0.074..................109,500,000 .......0.100
OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 610,121 .............87,247..................... 20 ............0.143 ........... 0.143 ...........0.143 ........... 0.143 ............. 0.143............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.143 .............. 0.143...................0.144 ..................209,152,009........0.100
OM0000001368 ............CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. .................. 170,000 .............. 5,610......................14 ........... 0.033 ........... 0.033 ...........0.033 ........... 0.033 .............0.034 ...........-0.001 ........... -2.941 ...............0.033 ..............0.033...................0.034 ...................2,805,000 ..........0.100
.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 2,983,696 .......251,787................... 105 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 6........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
BONDS AND SUKUK MARKET ...................................................................................................................................................................... OM0000004602 ...........BANK MUSCAT CONV. BONDS 4.5 ...........................1,097 .................. 194........................2 ........... 0.200 ...........0.200 ........... 0.113 ............0.113 ............. 0.113 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................ 0.113 ...............0.113...................0.200 ..................34,210,650 .........0.100
OM0000004628 ...........BANK SOHAR BONDS 4.5 ................................................724 .....................72........................2 ........... 0.100 ........... 0.100 ...........0.100 ........... 0.100 .............0.100 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.100 ..............0.100................... 0.110 .................... 7,150,000 ..........0.100
.............................................SUM: .......................................................................................1,821 .................. 266........................4 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 2........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
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 ....................................... 5,404.25 .............. 5,354.24 ...................5,404.25 ...................5,354.97 ................. 49.28 ...................0.92Financial Index .....................................6,491.88 .............. 6,432.63 ................... 6,483.18 ...................6,434.00 ..................49.18 ................... 0.76Industrial Index ....................................6,817.24 ................6,767.17 ....................6,817.05 ................... 6,749.58 ..................67.47 ................... 1.00Services Index .......................................3,063.75 .............. 3,053.30 ....................3,063.75 ...................3,060.26 ....................3.49 ................... 0.11MSM SHARIAH INDEX...................... 862.04 ..................854.23 ...................... 862.04 ...................... 852.42 ....................9.62 ................... 1.13
Trading SummaryVolume ................ Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up ............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded31,389,389 ............... 47,879,950 .....................850 ............... 15,775,214,293 ................20 ........................4 .................... 14 .........................38
MSM index ends higher
MUSCAT: Share prices on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) recovered for the fi rst time after several days of fall. The MSM30 Index closed higher at 5,404.25 points, up by 0.92 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index rose 1.13 per cent to end at 862.04 points.
Oman Cables was the most ac-tive in terms of volume as well as turnover. United Finance, up by 3.64 per cent, was the top gainer while Construction Material In-dustries was the top loser, down by 2.94 per cent.
As many as 840 trades were executed on Monday, generating a turnover of OMR31.3 million with 47.8 million shares chang-ing hands. Out of 38 traded secu-rities, 20 advanced, four declined and 14 remained unchanged. For-eign investors were net buyers to the tune of OMR43.18 million fol-lowed by GCC and Arab investors at OMR96,000. Omani investors, who were net sellers, sold shares amounting to OMR43.28 million.
Financial Index rose by 0.76 per cent to close at 6,483.00 points. United Finance, BankD-hofar, Al Anwar Holding and Al Izz Bank increased by 3.64 per cent, 3.32 per cent, 2.48 per cent and 1.52 per cent, respectively. National Finance and Ahli Bank declined by 1.46 per cent and 1.04 per cent, respectively.
Industrial Index ended at 6,817.05 points, up by one per cent. Oman Cement, Oman Ca-bles, Raysut Cement and Al An-war Ceramic increased by 3.14 per cent, 2.87 per cent, 2.48 per cent and 1.99 per cent, respec-tively. Construction Material was the only loser in the sector and was down by 2.94 per cent to close at OMR0.033.
Services Index closed at 3,063.75 points, up by 0.11%. Ore-doo Oman, OIFC and Omantel in-creased by 2.29 per cent, 1.86 per cent and 0.32 per cent, respec-tively. Sembcorp Salalah was the only loser and was down by 2.04
per cent to close at OMR2.400.
Emerging stocks rallyChinese shares led a rally in emerging markets on speculation the government will accelerate plans to make state-owned com-panies more effi cient.
Azerbaijan scrapped its cur-rency peg to the United States dollar, sending the manat plung-ing the most on record.
The Shanghai Composite In-dex rose 1.8 per cent and stocks in Hong Kong extended their biggest weekly advance in two months after a report in Econom-ic Information Daily highlighted plans by China’s power industry to bring in more investors next year and allow mixed ownership. Banks steered gains in Turkish shares as equities in emerging Europe increased. The won end-ed a two- day drop after Moody’s Investors Service upgraded South Korea’s credit rating. The Azeri manat slid 33 per cent.
Speculation that China will speed up privatisation eff orts to combat the worst economic slowdown in a quarter of a cen-tury has supported the nation’s stocks in recent months. For in-vestors, the steps may help shift the focus away from the US Fed-eral Reserve as it gradually raises borrowing costs while develop-ing economies such as China and India ease monetary policy.
“There will be more reforms driven by the Chinese govern-ment and generally, these re-forms are long-term positive,” said Thomas Yong, the Kuala Lumpur-based chief executive offi cer at Fortress Capital Asset Management., which oversees about $278 million.
“The US Feddeal Reserve will likely be a theme for investors to watch out for with progressive hikes through 2016.”
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index increased 0.3 per cent to 792.19. - United Securities/Bloomberg News
United Finance, up by 3.64%, was the
top gainer, while Construction Material
Industries, down by 2.94%, lost the most
Qatar’s Al Thani-owned private bank plans to acquire European institutionsGENEVA: KBL European Private Bankers, the Luxembourg-based wealth manager ultimately owned by Qatar’s Al Thani family, expects to make two acquisitions in Eu-rope in addition to its purchase of UBS’s private bank in Belgium.
“My assumption today is that we will announce two transac-tions within a reasonable time-frame,” Yves Stein, chief execu-tive offi cer of KBL European Private Bankers, said in a tel-ephone interview on Friday. “We are rather confi dent that we will soon be back to the press with an announcement in this respect.”
Stein declined to provide details of potential acquisition targets. Founded in 1949, KBL is a collec-tion of affi liated private banking businesses owned by Precision Capital, the Luxembourg holding company representing the inter-ests of the Al Thani ruling family of Qatar.
The network includes Puila-etco Dewaay in Belgium, Theo-
door Gilissen in the Netherlands, Brown Shipley in the UK and Merck Finck in Germany, as well as KBL units in France, Monaco and Spain.
Together they oversaw almost €100 billion ($108 billion) for pri-vate and institutional clients at the end of June, according to the company’s half-year report.
Stein, who joined KBL in 2013 from Geneva-based asset and wealth manager Union Bancaire Privee, said he’s seeking fur-ther deals in countries including
France, Germany and the U.K. after acquiring Hampton Dean fi nancial planners in the UK, and UBS’s private bank in Belgium.
Top-fi ve playerKBL is seeking deals to become a top-fi ve player in markets where it operates, with the ‘sweet spots’ in wealth management being in-dividuals with from 1 million to 5 million euros and families with at least €25 million, Stein said.
KBL was one of the private banking businesses sold in the af-
termath of the 2008 fi nancial cri-sis as bailed-out European lend-ers divested assets and refocused their strategies. Precision Capital acquired it from Belgium’s KBC Groep in 2012 and also purchased Dexia’s BIL private bank in 2011.
Geneva-based KBL (Switzer-land) was fi ned $18.8 million last month as part of a US non-prosecution program for Swiss banks that facilitated tax evasion for Americans. KBL was found to have kept accounts for US taxpay-ers in the names of entities in Pan-ama, the British Virgin Islands and Liechtenstein and helped Ameri-cans conceal identities through insurance policy accounts.
KBL and BIL’s Swiss units completed a merger last month, and Stein isn’t looking for acquisi-tions in Switzerland. The merger came about because KBL didn’t have a sustainable ‘critical mass’ to operate independently and wasn’t related to the US tax issue, Stein said. - Bloomberg News
B A N K I N G
The network includes Puilaetco Dewaay in Belgium,
Theodoor Gilissen in the Netherlands, Brown Shipley
in the UK and Merck Finck in Germany, as well as KBL
units in France, Monaco and Spain
Russia pumps 10m
barrels of oil a day
Even wealthy Gulf Arab states have been hit. Last week Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain raised interest rates as they scrambled to protect their currencies.
“With Opec not in any mood to cut production ... it does mean you are not going to get any rebalanc-ing any time soon,” Energy Aspects chief oil analyst Amrita Sen said.
“Having said that, long term of course, the lower prices are today, the rebalancing will become even stronger and steeper, because of the capex (oil groups’ capital expendi-ture) cutbacks ... but you’re not go-ing to see that until end-2016.”
Refl ecting the determination among the biggest producers to woo buyers at any cost, Russia now pumps oil at a post-Soviet high of more than 10 million barrels per day (bpd), while Opec output is close to record levels above 31.5 million bpd.
Oil market liquidity usually evaporates ahead of the holiday pe-riod, meaning that intra-day price moves can become exaggerated.
On average, in the last 15 years, December is the month with least trading volume, which tends to be just 85 per cent of that in May, the month which sees most volume change hands.
Brent crude prices have dropped by nearly 19 per cent this month, their steepest fall since the col-lapse of failed US bank Lehman Brothers in October 2008.
US crude futures were down 26 cents at $34.47 a barrel, their low-est since 2009.
“Really, I wouldn’t like to be in the shoes of an oil exporter getting into 2016. It’s not exactly looking as if there is light at the end of the tunnel any time soon,” Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen said.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs believes it could take a drop to as little as $20 a barrel for sup-ply to adjust to demand.
Brent oil, the international benchmark, plunged to the low-est since July 2004 on Monday, trading as low as $36.05 a barrel in London. – Reuters
O I L M A R K E T
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Lulu Group opens its first outlet in Cairo
CAIRO: UAE based Lulu Group has set its foot in Egypt by open-ing its fi rst hypermarket in Cairo, capital of Egypt.
The 119th hypermarket of the group was inaugurated by Khalid Hanafy, Egyptian Minister for Trade, in the presence of Galal El Saeed, Governor of Cairo, Mo-hamed Abdul Sayed, adviser to the Prime Minister, Khalifa Thu-naiji, deputy UAE ambassador to Egypt and other high ranking gov-ernment and civil offi cials, says a press release.
Yusuff Ali M. A., chairman of Lulu Group, Saifee T. Rupawala, CEO, Ashraf Ali M. A., executive director, Mohamed Althaf, direc-tor of Lulu Egypt and other top company offi cials, were also pre-sent on the occasion.
Apart from this, a large number of people were also found anx-iously waiting outside the store to get inside latest shopping ad-
dition in the capital city. Egypt, a country that links North Africa with the Middle East, is consid-ered as a strong economy with high market potentials under the able leadership of President Ab-del Fattah El Sisi.
The new store is located in Twin Plaza Opposite Police Academy on the Zakir Hussein road extension in the 1st settlement of New Cairo. Spread over an area of 170,000 square feet, the new store is spe-cially designed to off er the resi-dents with a world class shopping experience like never before at fair prices and friendly service. The hypermarket will provide the wid-est range of quality and value-for-money products all under one roof.
Egypt has been attracting lot of investments especially from GCC countries in various sectors including infrastructure, energy and retail following the invest-ment conference held at Sharm Al Sheikh in March where President Abdel Fattah El Sisi opened the doors for GCC investment in his country. Egypt is viewed as a mar-ket for the UAE companies with around 600 companies now oper-ating there. In a hope to stabilise
the country, the UAE has provided Egypt with an unprecedented eco-nomic support whether on grant based investments or bringing pri-vate sector to the Egyptian market.
Commenting on Lulu Group’s Egypt plans, Yusuff Ali said: “We consider Egypt as a very impor-tant market for us and our experi-ence of more than four decades of success and accomplishment in the retail industry is sure to help us become the most popular re-tailer in the region. Egyptians are already well aware of Lulu and we hope to bring world class shopping closer to them in various impor-tant location of this great country. As per the plan, we intend to invest EGP 3 billion (US$ 300 million) in setting up 10 new hypermarkets in next two years across Egypt.
“The hypermarket will also of-fer a window of opportunity to lo-cal community. We will encourage the Egyptian agricultural sector by procuring and promoting local agricultural produce and also ex-port them to our stores across the GCC and Far East. Currently we are exporting EGP 50 million and this will go upto EGP 150 million next year, Yusuff Ali added. Main
exporting products include fruits and vegetables, meat, fi sh, cheese and pickles. Lulu also plans to set up own food processing plants to further boost the exports.
“We believe that having a strong national workforce is vital to our long-term success as it helps in creating sustainable community living. Currently, there are more than 800 Egyptians employed at our new hypermarket in Cairo and we intent to employ 10,000 more Egyptians in next two years. We already have more than 3,000 working in our operations in GCC countries and continuously train them in our various operations,” said Yusuff Ali.
The new hypermarket provides the widest range of quality and val-ue-for-money products all under one roof. It has separate sections for fresh fruits and vegetables, meat and poultry, dairy products, ready-to-eat products and a live bakery. The outlet also off ers a huge area dedicated to electron-ics, IT products, home appliances, sports, furnishing and furniture, kitchenware, toys, stationery and health and beauty products.
The new hypermarket also of-fers a wide choice of world-class fashion brands and products for men, women and children. A spe-cial area is also dedicated for pro-moting local products and handi-crafts of Egypt.
The systematically arranged sections promise customers an easy and hassle-free shopping experience. Extra-wide aisles, extensively laid out counters and ample parking space are some of the distinguishing features of the new store.
The new store is
specially designed
to off er the residents
with a world class
shopping experience
like never before,
at fair prices with
friendly service
Indian School Muladha
organises athletic meet
MULADHA: The Annual Athlet-ic Meet 2015-16 of Indian School Muladha, the most awaited event in the school calendar, was held on the lush green grounds of the school recently.
S. A. S. Naqvi, former coach of the Indian hockey team, was the chief guest. The glittering opening ceremony commenced with the arrival of the chief guest accom-panied by Niyas Noorudheen, the general manager of Future Con-sultants, says a press release.
The school choir sang the National Anthems of India and Oman. Dr Kazi Arshad Jafar, president of the School Man-agement committee, welcomed
the gathering. A bouquet was presented by Nalini Regunath, the senior-most teacher in the school, to the chief guest who declared the meet open, amidst thunderous applause.
To celebrate the occasion, pi-geons were set free by the guest into the sky. The most solemn part of the ceremony was the torch relay by the school’s note-worthy sportspersons and the synchronised march past by the students in four houses - Muscat, Nizwa, Sialalah and Sur. Jamil Parwez, the sports captain ad-ministered the oath to the ath-letes. The school choir sang a song of inspiration.
S P O R T S D A Y
Hyundai unveils new generation i20 WRCMUSCAT: Hyundai Motorsport kicked off the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) by unveiling its brand new car, the new generation i20 WRC, in front of more than 150 assembled media and guests at the team’s factory in Alzenau, Germany.
The formal reveal of the new generation i20 WRC marks the opening of an exciting new chap-ter in the short history of Hyundai Motorsport, building on two suc-cessful seasons in the competitive WRC environment. In that time, the team has undertaken a steep learning curve to establish itself as a genuine competitor against tough opposition, says a press release.
Commenting on the new i20, Jin (James) Kim Vice president and head of operations for Hyundai Motor Company in Africa and the Middle East said: “Our ongoing in-volvement with the WRC is a real brand shaper for us. The champi-onship is something which really appeals to our target youth audi-ence therefore we will continue to invest in this sector of our busi-ness, and this special edition i20 is testament to this.”
Following its foundation-laying year in 2013, the team quickly developed a brand new WRC car from scratch for its fi rst season of competition in 2014. The car proved to be both quick and relia-ble, securing a maiden win in Ger-many in August 2014. From there, the team enjoyed a more consist-ent second season, scoring four podium fi nishes and fi ghting for second place in the Manufactur-ers’ Championship right up to the season fi nale.
In early 2015, the team com-
mitted to a year-long test and de-velopment program for a WRC specifi cation of the road-going new generation i20, with its com-petitive debut set for Monte-Carlo 2016. The new generation i20 has already accumulated 8,000km of testing prior the launch, and has proven to be quicker than its pre-decessor, with the team’s drivers also praising improved drivability.
The new car is the result of the Hyundai Motorsport’s evolution since 2013 and although the team is still young, it is far more estab-
lished in the WRC community.This growth is also refl ected in
the team’s bolder ambitions for the 2016 season, namely to fi ght at the front in every stage and to mount a heightened championship assault.
Hyundai Motorsport will fi eld three cars in every round of the 2016 Championship, with DaniSordo, Hayden Paddon and Thierry Neuville all confi rmed for a full season of WRC. From Mon-te-Carlo in January to a new-look season fi nale in Australia, while also taking in a brand new event in China, the trio of drivers will share the #3, #4 and #20 cars during the season. The precise car-driver composition will diff er from event to event, off ering the team full fl ex-ibility in its Championship strat-egy. The team will begin its third season with two new generation i20 WRCs and one previous model at Rallye Monte-Carlo before in-creasing to three identical cars from Rally Sweden.
All three drivers were present at the launch, which revealed a revised livery for the fi ve-door new genera-tion i20 WRC, as it was shown off in public for the fi rst time.
F I A W O R L D R A L L Y C H A M P I O N S H I P
Musical night held in Muscat to pay tribute to BurmanMUSCAT: Muscat audience ex-perienced many a nostalgic mo-ments in the recently held musi-cal night as a tribute to musical maestro late R. D. Burman.
Orbit Events Management pre-sented yet another mega musical show titled Yeh Shaam Pancham Ke Naam at the Le Grand Hall of Al Falaj Hotel recently. It was an evening reminiscing the musi-cal melodies of the most popular music director of Bollywood R. D. Burman, also known as Pancham Da. Gloria Gangte, deputy ambas-sador of India to Oman offi ciated the event as chief guest, says a press release.
Renown playback singer of Bollywood Raman Mahadevan along with sought after musi-cians Narendra Salaskar (guitar) and Sachin Sawant (percussion) had come from Mumbai. Stu-dents of music teacher Ramesh Narayanan in Muscat Sumana Shashidar, Deepak Varvani, Devi-ka Sreekumar, Sakshi Bhagavath, and Hari Menon also rendered popular songs of Pancham Da alongside Raman.
Local members of orchestra – Jayan and Anil on keyboard, Bai-ju on bass guitar, Praderp on fl ute, David on drums and Girish on tabla made the evening musically complete. Ramesh Narayanan along with his brothers Rajesh and Retish also mesmerised the audience with the evergreen song Yadon Ki Barat.
“Every song was extremely well performed. All the singers and musicians were highly tal-ented and experienced. Together, they brought R. D. Burman’s mu-sic to life and made the evening memorable for us,” said one of overjoyed member of audience.
“To perform numbers like Mehboobaa Mehbooba of Sholay is no mean deal. Be it the duet Jaanejan Dhoondtha Fir Raha or the fast paced song of Rocky, Aa Dekhen Zara, Raman and other singers made them soulful,” said another.
“For a musical evening of this nature to be successful, it is not only important to select the best performers, but it is also equally essential to select the right songs. Pancham Da’s every musical composition is better than the other. He has thousands of award winning songs to his credit. Therefore, it is a chal-lenge to identify those numbers
to which our Muscat audience would relate well. After the song selection is over, the next chal-lenge is to sequence them in such a way that the musical evening reaches its crescendo and leaves the audience asking for more. This is where the experience and knowledge of music teacher Ramesh Narayanan worked the magic,” says Ramesh, CEO of Orbit Events.
The mood of the event was set from the very fi rst song Yeh Shaam Mastani from Kati Pa-tang and gradually moved to fast-er paced songs and medleys. The second half again started with a melodious song of Praveen Sul-tana from Kudrat Hume Thumse Pyaar Kitna. The evening had a befi tting grand fi nale song ren-dered by all the singers on stage Kuch Na Kaho from the fi lm 1942 A Love Story.
Raman Mahadevan’s interac-tive style of presentation and ex-tremely jovial and energetic stage presence made the program joy-ful. Raman presented 2 medleys (mix of songs in continuation without break). Each had some of the choicest of Pancham’s music and many a members of audience danced to these tunes in a state of ecstasy. Master of Ceremo-nies was Ramesh of Orbit Events, whose multi-lingual presenta-tion was also noteworthy.
The event was supported by a host of sponsors Design Engi-neering Group; CEMEC Engg; Nabil Biscuits; National Environ-mental Services; Badr Al Samaa; Mars International; Al Fajar Al Alamia Co; Teejan Equipment; Khimji Ramdas; Country Club; Mustafa Sultan Enterprises and a few more who wish to remain anonymous. Offi cial airlines were Oman Air and media partners Times of Oman.
R D T H E M A E S T R O
Orbit Events Management
presented yet another
mega musical show titled
'Yeh Shaam Pancham Ke
Naam' at the Le Grand Hall
of Al Falaj Hotel
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Omantel felicitates SME award winners
MUSCAT: Under the auspices of Hamoud bin Sanjour Al Zadjali, executive president of the Central Bank of Oman, Omantel honoured the winners of the fourth version of Omantel Business Excellence SME Awards. The ceremony was attended by a number of under-secretaries, senior offi cials and owners of SMEs.
The Best Performing small en-terprise went to Royal Develop-ment & Investment’, Hoehler & Partner won the ‘Best Performing
Company - Medium Enterprise’, Sawa Bazaar won the ‘Best New Entrant’, Insight Information Technology won ‘Turnaround Success Story of the Year’, You-nous Al Majarafi Trading won the ‘Community Contribution’ and RFCC Cement Tiles won ‘Best Business Idea for the Year, says a press release
During the event, Talal bin Said Al Maamari, CEO of Omantel ex-pressed satisfaction over the turn out by SMEs owners for the diff er-ent categories of the awards.
He pointed out that the awards, which has been introduced four years ago, were well received by SMEs. “We are proud to support this important sector and help it to grow, increase production and
maximise contribution towards the sustainable growth of the Omani GDP.
“We are very happy to recognise the dedication and persistence of a number of entrepreneurs who strived to serve the higher inter-ests of the nation and contribute to the growth of our country.”
Commenting on Omantel sup-port to SMEs, Talal Al Mamari saidm “Apart from launching A’amali package that caters to the needs of this important segment of our customers, Omantel off ers lots of business opportunities to SMEs and has dedicated a certain percentage of its procurement ac-tivities for SMEs.”
On the other hand, Todd Dick, vice president for the Business
Unit at Omantel said that Omantel Business Excellence SME Awards attracted a large number of ap-plications from entrepreneurs who had tough competition with each other to win such prestigious awards. The participants have been keen on showing their best before the judging panel. They also tried to showcase their innova-tions or high quality services that bring value to the Omani society.
He added that SMEs sector is a very important sector. The eff orts done to enhance the performance of this sector will yield fruits in the near future.
Omantel thus has been a leader in meeting the needs of this sector either by providing them with high quality communication services or creating the healthy milieu for in-novation and creativity.
Winners of Omantel Business Excellence SME Awards will get a number of benefi ts that will help them expand and provide better services to their customers. The benefi ts include free subscription for one year to one of the SME services, 2 million free bulk pro-motional SMSs, two smart phones, OMR5,000 in cash and a market-ing campaign through diff erent media means.
Winners of Omantel
Business Excellence
SME Awards will get
a number of benefi ts
that will help them
expand and provide
better services to
their customers
Nissan now off ers benefi ts on SentraMUSCAT: After gaining rave re-views from auto enthusiasts, the Sentra now comes in a new 1.6 SV CVT P26 from the house of Su-hail Bahwan Automobiles which is set to create another milestone.
The new Sentra boasts of top of the range options that focuses on class-above design standards inside and out.
Loaded with full options, the Sentra 1.6 SV is an edge over com-petitors in its segment making it an enticing option for patrons, says a press release.
The presence of the Nissan Sentra vehicles on the road is apt-ly supported by Nissan Oman’s world-class service facilities and trained manpower. The Nissan Sentra off ers drivers the spa-ciousness and comfort of cars usually found in the larger seg-ment, as well as technology usu-ally associated with much more
expensive cars. Apart from Nissan Sentra 1.6
and 1.8L engine options, the Sen-tra 1.6 SV has an engine capacity of 113hp, Dimensions (LxWxH) – 4615 x 1760 x 1495mm and Xtronic CVT Transmission.
Auto enthusiasts can now avail exciting benefi ts on the Nissan Sentra 1.6L and 1.8L that includes cash gift of OMR500, free service for two years or 20,000km (pe-riodic maintenance only), free registration, six years unlimited mileage warranty and easy and convenient fi nancing options. Flexible EMI’s can also be tailor made for any individual require-ment from in-house Auto Fi-nance team.
Suhail Bahwan Automobiles off ers wide range of after sales service with modern technology and state-of-the-art facilities in strategic locations.
Y E A R - E N D P R O M O T I O N
Isuzu technicians emerge winners in global after-sales contestMUSCAT: A team of Isuzu techni-cians from OTE Group did the Sul-tanate proud by winning third place in the Isuzu World Technical Com-petition held in Tokyo recently.
This global honour further re-affi rms the service capabilities of the Isuzu Oman team that helps uphold the brand’s claim ‘Trucks for Life’, says a press release.
The Isuzu team from OTE Group, comprising Silvestre Jr. Guitering Pamittan and Manoj Nair, under the guidance of coach Vinay Kandulna, competed in a category that witnessed stiff com-petition among teams from 23 countries. The OTE team has been steadily moving up the ladder over
the years. The team was placed in fi fth position in 2013. In 2014 it moved up to fourth and this year further moved up to claim its place within the coveted global three.
Now in its 10th year, the compe-tition, fondly referred to as the ‘I-1 Grand Prix’, sees Isuzu technicians from around the world going head-to-head in a series of challenges.
The 2015 competition was split into two emissions categories. Category A was fought out be-tween countries with EURO IV and above emissions levels, and
Category B for those countries with emission levels below EURO IV. The Isuzu team from OTE Group, participated in Category B, which witnessed participation of teams from 23 countries.
With written and technical tests, the Isuzu World Technical Competition assesses not only the vehicle inspection, vehicle repairs and engine procedures but also knowledge of structure and opera-tions, adjustment and diagnosis of engine and chassis.
OTE Group has been regularly winning accolades and awards over the years for its service excel-lence at various regional and glob-al platforms from leading auto-
mobile manufacturers. The group continuously focuses on regular training and evaluation of its ser-vice advisors and technicians to provide superior service and ut-most care to its customers.
As a leading Japanese automo-bile manufacturer, Isuzu is pre-sent in over 100 countries and en-joys overwhelming No.1 position in many markets across the globe. In Oman too, Isuzu is the brand leader and is immensely popular because of its unmatched reli-ability, versatility and quality of its after-sales service.
OTE group is the exclusive dis-tributor for Isuzu range of vehicles in the Sultanate of Oman.
O T E G R O U P
Oman Shipping supports Outward Bound OmanMUSCAT: Four groups of stu-dents, totalling 68 young people, recently completed a four-day ex-perience-based, outdoor, life-skills programme sponsored by Oman Shipping Company with Outward Bound Oman.
The course aims to bridge the gap between the world of educa-tion and work by providing stu-dents with the necessary skill sets to enter the workforce fully pre-pared for a rewarding professional career, says a press release.
In 2014 Oman Shipping Com-pany entered into a three-year partnership with Outward Bound Oman aiming to help enrol 216 students into the programme that will help unlock their potential. The recent group of students all experienced the unique terrain of Jebel Akhdar and came from a variety of girls and boys schools in the Batinah and Dakhiliyah re-gions as well as from Caledonian College in Muscat.
They were assigned a variety of tasks, exercises and responsibili-ties that enhanced their problem
solving abilities, developed their communication capabilities and improved their planning and or-ganisational talents; all key life skills sought out by employers throughout Oman.
Conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Educa-tion and their National Careers Guidance Centre, the ‘Life Skills’ course also encouraged these students to consider the rewards of volunteerism and how each individual can help bring about
change in their own capacity. “We are pleased to contribute to
the development of Omani youth in new and innovative methodol-ogy, where the students will learn key life skills from Omani diver-sifi ed environment. In addition, OSC will continue its support to OBO as leading youth develop-ment organisation in the Sultan-ate as part of its social investment programmes,” said Wasam Al Naj-jar, general manager, Corporate Aff airs at Oman Shipping.
‘ L I F E S K I L L S ’ C O U R S E
Junior sports day held at Al Injaz
MUSCAT: Al Injaz Private School, Al Ansab, held its Junior Annual Sports Day for the Kin-dergarten and Grades 1 – IV re-cently on the Al Ansab premises of the school.
Dr Munir bin Ahmed bin Salim Al Balushi and Saeed bin Nasser Al Nomani, who are well wish-ers of good quality education for children, attended the occasion as chief guests. They praised the enthusiasm and sportive spirit of the students and the eff orts of the school to enthuse sports and aca-demics, says a press release.
The students of Kindergarten and Grade 1 presented a colour-ful rhythmic drill. The students of Grade II - IV presented and elas-tic exercise drill, a pyramid for-mation and an acrobatic display which included jumping through the ring of fi re.
The competitive and team spirit of the students were highly appreciated by all present. The Section of Special Needs of the school also enthusiastically par-ticipated in the races. At the end of the races, the winners were awarded medals, prizes and cer-tifi cates by the chief guests.
The school encourages stu-dents to participate in sports to
maintain the healthy balance of an active mind and body for maxi-mum development of the student.
Al Injaz, Ansab, follows the
IGCSE and Bilingual curriculum and has classes from Kindergar-ten to Grade XII. Admissions are open for 2015-16.
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Cash gift offer adds to Toyota Avalon’s appeal
MUSCAT: Toyota Avalon is a world-class sedan with an elegant and refi ned design. One of the most upscale cars in the class, the Toyota Avalon has the reviewers raving, says a press release.
Now, the buzz is around the ben-efi ts that accompany every Avalon. “Those who purchase a Toyota Avalon between now and January 21, 2016 can get back a OMR1,100 cash gift,” says the spokesperson. “This is applicable on 2015/2016 YM models of 2015 production for all purchases except those made by government organisa-tions and ministries. Please visit nearest Toyota showroom for full details,” he adds.
The off er makes the Avalon even more tempting to own. Indeed, there is a lot to love in the refi ned masterpiece by Toyota; about whom it is quoted that, “The Av-alon is one of Toyota’s best off er-ings, with truly attractive styling, a high-quality interior, plenty of room and an immensely enjoyable driving experience.”
Avalon’s exterior lighting com-plements the design lines. The industry-fi rst Quadrabeam head-light cluster utilises a sleek and compact double-eye PES head-light design with two square glass condenser lenses that have been adopted for the low beams and off er outstanding lighting perfor-mance. A stronger, more expres-sive front-fascia design with larger
grille opening creates an aggres-sive appearance. The Avalon’s in-terior elaborates on the exterior’s elegant, refi ned theme to create a premium interior experience that combines high technology and craftsmanship with an artistic level of sculpted surfaces. This panel is covered in supple, hand-stitched premium soft-touch ma-terial with the seam adding some creative fl air as it goes across the dash panel.
The driver is engaged by an Optitron-type combination meter, which produces a sharp, high qual-ity display and 3.5-inch Thin-fi lm Transistor (TFT) colour multi-information display. Furthermore, the Avalon’s interior surfaces are fi nished in premium materials such as soft-touch materials for the dash panel, unique smoke chrome trim surrounding the centre panel, and high-quality glossy panel trim around the shifter. All of this atten-tion to detail to touch surfaces and subtle enhancements to texture and visual appeal are aimed at el-evating the overall interior experi-ence for driver and passengers.
The Avalon’s seats are available as 10-way power adjustable for the driver’s seat, and 8-way adjust-ment for the front passenger seat. The driver’s seat incorporates a seat-cushion length extender; a four-way lumbar support is built into the driver’s seat and a two-way lumbar support for the pas-
senger. An electric seat heater and seat ventilation system have been adopted to help enhance driver and passenger seat comfort.
The Avalon utiliees a 3.5-litre, six-cylinder V6 engine that features Dual VVT-i (Variable Valve Timing with intelligence) to help off er su-perior power and effi ciency by opti-mising the intake and exhaust valve timings to increase engine perfor-mance across the entire range.
The Avalon features an auto-matic transmission that has been optimised for improved fuel econ-omy and performance. Steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters help activate fast and responsive shifts while keeping both hands on the wheel. The Avalon off ers three drive modes: Eco, Normal & Sport.
The Avalon off ers a long list of convenient, user-friendly tech-nologies as one would expect with the Toyota’s fl agship sedan. The Avalon features a standard dis-play audio system with 6.1-inch TFT touchscreen that off ers au-dio system operation, Bluetooth compatibility, customisable vehi-cle settings, available rear camera display and operation of iPod and USB devices.
Toyota Avalon is equipped standard with a smart key system that locks and unlocks the front doors and enables opening of the doors when the key is within a short distance of the door han-dle. The key’s transmitter also al-
lows the engine to be started with the push of a button. The Avalon is equipped with a rear window power shade that blocks direct sun rays for the rear passengers, the shade adopts an auto-down function when shifting into re-verse. A lighter weight power sun-roof design has been adopted to help reduce vehicle weight.
Avalon has a total of ten SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-tem) airbags providing enhanced safety. It also features Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Traction Control (TRAC), Anti-lock Brake System (ABS), Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA).
All specifi cations listed above are standard Toyota equipment. Safety kit (fi re extinguisher, warning tri-angle, tyre pressure gauge & fi rst aid kit) is a dealer installed non Toyota item provided on Toyota models as standard equipment. The vehicle specifi cations may change without prior notice. Pictures and colours may diff er from actual specifi ca-tions of the vehicles. For further de-tails and& to ascertain availability of stocks, please visit your nearest Toyota showroom.
In Oman, Toyota’s outstanding product quality is supported by the nationwide parts and service net-work of Saud Bahwan Automotive. No wonder then that today, Toyota is one of the most trusted and well-known brands.
Customers purchasing
a Toyota Avalon until
January 21, 2016 can
get back OMR1,100
as cash gift
Ooredoo’s new Shahry
plan off ers value deals
MUSCAT: Delivering un-matched value, Ooredoo has launched its range of new Shahry postpaid plans to include four ex-citing bundles for customers.
The new plans off er more data, more voice and more SMS, with greater savings than ever before; all in a single convenient plan, says a press release.
Feras Al Shaikh, Ooredoo di-rector of Sales, said, “Our Shah-ry plans have been a success since we launched them in early 2014. However, customer needs change, so we’ve enhanced our plans to make sure we deliver the service that meets these chang-ing needs. Data, for example, has grown exponentially over the past year, so the data allowances in each plan refl ect this. These new plans deliver more value than ever before in our postpaid portfolio and the higher the plan, the greater the value.”
Each of the Shahry plans is de-fi ned by the data allowance that customers need to power their online use. Customers opt into Shahry plans and then choose between one of four data bundles, each of which comes with voice and SMS. The fi rst two bundles are for light to medium mobile broadband use.
Shahry 500MBCustomers get 200 national
minutes to any network and 200 SMS, as well as the 500MB data allowance, all for just OMR10.
Shahry 2GBThe second option is the 2GB
data bundle, which comes with 600 national minutes to any network and 600 SMS for only OMR20.
Shahry 5GBFor customers who need a big-
ger mobile broadband allowance, the 5GB per bundle has 1,500 national minutes to any network and 1,500 SMS for OMR35.
Shahry 10GBFor those constantly on the go
and who need to stay connected for longer, there’s the 10GB data bundle, with a generous 3,000
national minutes to any network and 3,000 SMS for just OMR60.
New and existing custom-ers will be able to enjoy the new enhanced Shahry plans which started yesterday.
Customers on the existing Shahry plans can migrate to the new plans smoothly and enjoy all the new benefi ts on off er.
P O S T P A I D P L A N S
Customer needs
change, so we’ve
enhanced our plans to
make sure we deliver
the service that meets
these changing needs.
These new plans
deliver more value
than ever before in our
postpaid portfolio and
the higher the plan, the
greater the value
Feras Al ShaikhOoredoo director of Sales
Celebrity chef Issa Al Lamki to endorse A’Saff a productsMUSCAT: A’Saff a Foods, the Sultanate’s largest fully inte-grated poultry and value added processed food producer, with the business philosophy of ‘Core values of Healthy Food, Health and Happiness’, announced Oman’s celebrity Chef Issa Al Lamki as the brand ambassador of A’Saff a Foods.
Through this synergistic agree-ment, Chef Issa Al Lamki will be promoting the products of A’Saff a Foods through all forms of com-munications and consumer en-gagement activities in Oman and also in the GCC and Mena region, says a press release.
Known as the Sultanate’s fi rst celebrity chef — Al Lamki has built up more than two decades of experience working in the kitch-ens of prominent hotels like the Crowne Plaza and the Al Bustan Palace in Oman, as well as the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He is a fi rm believ-er in the importance of healthy foods, and supports A’Saff a’s mis-sion to bring consumers 100 per cent naturally-fed, hygienically-raised, farm-fresh, halal, healthy chicken and nutritious allied products that taste great and pro-vide energy for wherever life’s adventures may lead.
“Proper nutrition is one of the most important elements to good health and in turn happiness, and I know from years of professional cooking that the healthy choice is not always easy to fi nd, or the one you have time to make,” said Al Lamki. “A’Saff a Chicken are bred and cared for at A’Saff a’s state-of-the-art production facility under strict biosecurity measures to eliminate the risk of contamina-tion and disease, hence ensuring that the chickens and other value added processed products are nu-tritious and healthy.
“That’s why I’m thrilled to be working with A’Saff a Foods, to educate people on the benefi ts of healthy eating and provide them with 100 per cent naturally-fed, farm-fresh, halal, healthy chicken and other meal options that have compelling fl avours, without skipping on nutrition.”
“From his prolifi c career, it was clear that Chef Issa Al Lamki shares the same drive to reach new goals as we do. But it was his genuine joy for cooking and un-derstanding of the importance of health and nutrition, that made this relationship such a perfect fi t,” said Dr Nasser Zahir Nasser Al Maawali, CEO of A’Saff a Foods. “We are pleased to welcome him
to the A’Saff a family and look forward to working together to inspire a movement for better health, taste and happier lives in the Sultanate.”
“Our expertise and competence in fully integrated poultry pro-duction and farm management systems, food production, pro-cessed food technology, and chef-inspired food recipes helps us to deliver new, fl avourful choices that consumers can enjoy any-time,” said Sidhartha Lenka, head of Marketing and Sales, A’Saff a Foods. “As a market leader, we endeavour to provide consum-ers with food products that are wholesome and processed hy-gienically from pure, tasty, pre-mium, natural, healthy and halal ingredients and aromatic spices. In doing so, we are pleased to have Oman’s fi nest Chef Issa Al Lamki as brand ambassador, as we be-lieve that he as a trusted industry name and his association with the brand off ers further guarantee of the purity and authenticity of eve-ry product that comes out of the A’Saff a Foods brand umbrella.”
A’Saffa’s value-added pro-cessed food products are pro-duced at a fully automated state-of-the-art production plant in Muscat.
B R A N D A M B A S S A D O R
CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT: Chef Issa Al Lamki, fi rst celebrity chef of Oman, will be promoting
the products of A’Saff a Foods through all forms of communications and consumer engagement
activities in Oman and also in the GCC and Mena region. - A. R. Rajkumar/ TIMES OF OMAN
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Meethaq Sharia Board reviews growth strategy
MUSCAT: The Meethaq Sharia Supervisory Board led by Sheikh Dr Ali Qaradaghi, chairman, held the fourth meeting of 2015 to re-view the fourth quarter perfor-mance and growth strategy for 2016 of Meethaq, the pioneer of Islamic banking in Oman from Bank Muscat.
The meeting was attended by board members Sheikh Essam
Muhammad Ishaq, Sheikh Majid Al Kindi, Abdulqader Thomas and Dr Saeed Al Muharrami, says a press release.
The board reviewed new prod-ucts and services to be introduced in 2016, especially electronic banking services aimed at further adding value and convenience to Meethaq customers. The meeting also reviewed fi nance for corpo-rate projects as well as audit report for the fourth quarter of 2015.
Sulaiman Al Harthy, group gen-eral manager, Meethaq Islamic Banking, said: “The Meethaq Sha-ria Supervisory Board discussed many important topics to con-solidate the leading position of Meethaq Islamic Banking in terms of fi nancing receivables, branch network, products and services, IT infrastructure and human re-sources. Meethaq is proud to have
on board some of the brightest minds on Islamic fi nance to chart the way forward. The Sharia Board has made valuable contributions in establishing Meethaq as the leading Islamic banking service provider in Oman.”
As the leading Islamic fi nancial services provider in the Sultan-ate, Meethaq has many achieve-ments relating to fi nancing major projects in various fi elds, thereby contributing to the growth and development of the Sultanate’s economy. The notable fi nance fa-cilities off ered by Meethaq in 2015 include the refi nancing facility of OMR78 million signed with Oman Shipping Company for its three very large crude carriers (VLCCs).
Presently, Meethaq has 13 branches across the Sultanate and plans to expand the network as well as launch new products and
services to complement the unique Islamic banking experience. The bank has invested in staff , systems and controls to ensure the service is delivered in a professional, seg-regated and fully Sharia compli-ant manner. Meethaq off ers a full suite of Islamic banking products and services, including savings account, current account, home fi nance, auto fi nance, credit card and mobile banking.
Redefi ning exclusive and rela-tionship based Islamic banking experience, Meethaq launched Hafawa Priority Banking service for high saving Meethaq custom-ers in 2015. Presently, the Hafawa network includes eight centres in Meethaq branches in Qurm, Al Khoud, Seeb, Saham, Ibra, Nizwa, Buraimi and Salalah. Meethaq plans to further expand the Hafawa network.
Meethaq has adopted the best practices in Islamic banking and fi nance worldwide to combine a robust model which protects customers and complements the Islamic banking industry. Every Meethaq product goes through the process of Sharia compliance certifi cation by the Sharia Super-visory Board and is created in line with the guidelines of the Central Bank of Oman.
The board reviewed
new products and
services to be
introduced in 2016,
especially electronic
banking services,
aimed at adding
further value and
convenience to
Meethaq customers
MCDONALD’S TREAT FOR LITTLE FLOWERS NURSERY CHILDRENChildren at Little Flowers Nursery were all smiles as
McDonald’s Hamburglar character paid a special visit
at the nursery in celebration of their annual fun day
activity. McDonald’s took part in the event spreading
happiness among children of all ages. Children had a
day full of fun with Hamburglar’s delightful presence,
give-away items along with their favourite Happy
Meals. — Supplied photograph
Dhofar Automotive receives appreciation at customer care meetingMUSCAT: As offi cial dealers of the four celebrated all-American au-tomotive brands namely Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram, the famed Alfa Romeo as well as the esteemed Fiat and Fiat Professional, Dhofar Automotive has always had a keen focus on customer care.
To honour their dedication to customer service, the Middle East Regional Offi ce of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) recently held its Annual Regional Customer Care Conference in Oman and highlighted Dhofar Automotive’s new facility in Mabelah. Identify-ing it as a centre adhering and liv-ing up to industry best practices in the region, Dhofar Automotive also received due appreciation
for being able to demonstrate the impact it has achieved in terms of customer satisfaction based on Net Promoter Scores (NPS), says a press release.
The Net Promoter Score serves as a management tool that can be used to gauge the loyalty of a fi rm’s customer relationships and is an excellent measure of the loyalty that exists between a pro-vider and a consumer. Dhofar Au-tomotive fared high on this scale further validating the company’s records and claim on customer-centric strategies.
The conference, which was pre-ceded by Tarik Al Bahnini, head of Customer Care Operations at FCA’s Middle East Regional Offi ce,
reviewed current Customer Care and Customer Relationship Man-agement practices and processes. As an ongoing objective to consist-ently meet and exceed the demand-ing scores and requirements laid down by FCA globally, Tarik also
introduced a number of new direc-tions and development plans that were specifi cally designed to fur-ther enhance regional standards.
“Our team here at Dhofar Au-tomotive places customers as our fi rst priority and ensures that we
deliver the highest levels of cus-tomer care,” said Hawra Al Lawati, Customer Relationship Manage-ment (CRM) Manager at Dho-far Automotive. “It is this same policy that has helped us to win the hearts of our customers and it is due to the unending support, faith and loyalty that our custom-ers have bestowed upon us that we have reached so far.”
In an ongoing endeavour to im-plement new ideas and initiatives to achieve customer care objec-tives, Dhofar Automobiles believes in giving it a more personal touch. The latest campaign involves a plan of regular customer com-munication days, where senior offi cials from Customer Relation-
ship departments personally meet 20 random customers from both the service centre locations in Azaibah and Mabelah in order to get fi rst-hand customer feedback on their experience with Dhofar Automotive. Treating customer feedback as an invaluable input to understand customer needs and wants, Dhofar Automotive uses this information to address cus-tomer issues and continuously improve their service levels across the company.
Dhofar Automotive focus on customers helps it to maintain an excellent track record and also a competitive edge amongst other global players in a dynamic indus-try that is always evolving.
A N N U A L R E G I O N A L C O N F E R E N C E
Malabar Gold opens new outlet at Sharjah AirportDUBAI: Malabar Gold & Dia-monds, the leading jewellery retail-er launched its 143rd outlet globally and third outlet in Sharjah.
Ali Salim Al Midfa, chairman of Sharjah Airport Authority inaugu-rated the showroom recently in the presence of Sheikh Faisal Saoud Al Qassimi, director, Sharjah Airport Authority, Dr P. A. Ibrahim Haji, co chairman - Malabar Group; Sham-lal Ahamed M. P., managing direc-tor- International Operations of Malabar Gold & Diamonds; Abdul Salam K. P., group executive direc-tor - Malabar Gold & Diamonds, and Abdul Basheer, Zonal Head – Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Shar-jah. Members of Sharjah Airporty Authority, DUFRY Sharjah and well-wishers also attended the in-auguration, says a press release.
This elegant showroom conven-iently located at Sharjah Airport, Transit Area, Opposite the Duty Free will be the 1st showroom of its kind inside an airport. It opens up a new business arena target-ing global travellers and transit
passengers. This outlet will be the fi rst of its kind operating 24/7 and throughout 365 days.
“Such an outlet off ers custom-ers an opportunity to buy their favorite jewellery while transiting or leaving for their home country. Truly a last minute opportunity to buy a gift for a loved one or for self-gifting,” said Shamlal Ahamed.
Like all other Malabar Gold & Diamonds outlets, this show-room displays a signifi cant col-lection of traditional as well as contemporary jewellery in gold, certifi ed diamonds, platinum and precious stone jewellery from across the world that can hold you spell-bound with their awe-inspiring beauty.
E X P A N S I O N
BankDhofar supports
Entrepreneur Event
MUSCAT: BankDhofar, rein-forcing its role as a key player and a major contributor in driving the development and growth of the SME sector in the Sultanate, recently supported the Entrepre-neur Event that was organised by the Ministry of Defence and the SME Development Fund.
The event was inaugurated by Mohammed bin Nasser Al Rasbi, secretary general of the Ministry of Defence, at Lulu Al Bandar. Faisal Hamed Al Wahaibi, Bank-Dhofar’s Chief Retail Banking Offi cer, represented BankDhofar at the event in which BankDho-far and Maisarah Islamic Bank-ing Services participated as main sponsors, says a press release.
Commenting on the event, Hussain Ali Al Lawati, assistant general manager and head of Busi-ness Banking at BankDhofar, said, “Our support to this initiative comes within our strategic plan to support Omani entrepreneurs and to contribute to the growth and development of the SME sec-tor in the Sultanate. We are one of the fi rst banks to introduce SME related solutions, products and services, and we have been work-ing for years to promote good business ideas and to provide fi -nancial solutions and strategic guidance to entrepreneurs.”
Three-day eventThe three-day event provided a platform to introduce business opportunities in the SME mar-ket as well as various challenges faced by start-ups. It brought
together speakers and partici-pants from various government departments, private sector or-ganisations and prominent SME business owners. The event also encompassed variety of activi-ties and sessions, including spe-cial addresses by guest speakers, start-ups exhibition and panel discussions. It highlighted the development of SMEs in Oman, the training programmes off ered by the SME Development Fund, challenges faced by SMEs and the role of government depart-ments in facilitating the develop-ment of the sector.
BankDhofar and Maisarah Is-lamic Banking Services continue to implement several strategic initiatives to cater to all busi-nesses from large corporates to SMEs, providing a full array of banking products, quick turn-around time, improved cash management and competitive service charges.
Customised solutions have been introduced to revitalise SMEs allowing them to avail various creative solutions that are all geared towards helping their growth.
This placed BankDhofar and Maisarah on top of the list of best banks in the region. In 2015 alone, BankDhofar received a number of prestigious awards from lead-ing international organisations, including ‘SME Bank of the Year – Oman’ at the ABF Retail Banking Awards 2015 and ‘Best SME Bank Oman 2015’ by Global Banking & Finance Review.
P A N E L D I S C U S S I O N S
Huawei G8 smartphone launched in Middle East
DUBAI: Huawei Consumer Business Group launched its latest device and newest mem-ber to the 8 family — the G8 smartphone in the Middle East, recently. The device is ideal for young consumers looking for a smartphone that features en-hanced technological capabili-ties at an aff ordable price, says a press release.
The G8’s hero feature is its groundbreaking camera that boasts a 13-megapixel sapphire lens made to capture moments with friends and family with ex-ceptional clarity.
The smartphone is equipped with smart functions, fi nger-print technology and long last-ing battery life making it user friendly and easy to use for a variety of functions on a day-to-day basis.
‘’When designing the G8, we were focused on creating a smartphone that really spoke to a younger audience to ensure that their wants and needs were not only meet but also, exceed-ed. The Huawei G8 off ers ad-vanced performance capabili-ties for seamless daily use with a particular focus on elements of the device that a younger audi-ence wants. For example, the G8 features a longer lasting battery, enhanced fi ngerprint security and stronger connectivity keep-ing our consumers connected for longer periods of time,’’ said Sandeep Saihgal, vice president Huawei Consumer Business Group Middle East.
The classy, all-metal integrat-ed body of the Huawei G8 brings beauty and more balance to the user’s lives and is available in three diff erent colours, silver, gold and grey.
E N H A N C E D F E A T U R E S
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Eight-year ban for Blatter, Platini
ZURICH: FIFA President Sepp Blatter and European soccer boss Michel Platini were both banned from soccer for eight years on Monday for ethics violations, leav-ing the global game leaderless as it fi ghts a swirl of corruption cases.
The pair, who were also fi ned, had been suspended in October while an investigation was carried out into a two million Swiss franc ($2.02 mil-lion) payment that soccer’s global governing body made to Platini in 2011, with Blatter’s approval.
The decision means that Blat-ter’s 17 years at the helm of world soccer will end in disgrace, and spells the end of Platini’s hopes of replacing the 79-year-old Swiss in a presidential election in February.
FIFA’s Ethics Committee said it had not found evidence that the payment, made at a time when Blatter was seeking re-election, constituted a bribe, but that it had nevertheless lacked transparency and presented a confl ict of interest.
This meant the men were
spared potential life bans. Both have denied any wrongdoing and are almost certain to challenge the decision in FIFA’s Appeals Com-mittee and, if necessary, the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Laus-anne, Switzerland.
“The evidence available to the adjudicatory chamber in the pre-sent case was not suffi cient to es-tablish, to the extent required, that Mr Blatter sought the execution or omission of an offi cial act from Mr Platini,” said a statement, re-ferring to the ‘bribery and corrup-
tion’ section of the code.But the committee’s adjudica-
tory chamber did fi nd that the payment had been “without a legal basis” and a breach of regulations governing gifts and other benefi ts.
Abuse of positionsIt said Blatter “found himself in a situation of confl ict of interest, despite which he continued to per-form his related duties, failing to disclose said situation and the ex-istence of personal interests linked to his prospective activities”.
“By failing to place FIFA’s inter-ests fi rst and abstain from doing anything which could be contrary to FIFA’s interests, Mr Blatter vio-lated his fi duciary duty to FIFA,” it added.
The chamber concluded that Blatter’s actions ultimately dem-onstrated “an abusive execution of his position as President of FIFA”.
It also said Platini’s argument that there had been an oral agree-ment for the payment had not been convincing, and that he, too, had abused his position as a FIFA vice-
president and Executive Commit-tee member. “Mr Platini failed to act with complete credibility and integrity, showing unawareness of the importance of his duties and concomitant obligations and re-sponsibilities,” it said.
Blatter was fi ned 50,000 Swiss francs and Platini 80,000.
The ethics inquiry began in the wake of the Swiss attorney gen-eral’s decision to open criminal proceedings against Blatter over the payment to Platini. The offi ce is also investigating FIFA’s award
of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup fi nals to Russia and Qatar.
In the United States, prosecu-tors have indicted 27 current or former soccer offi cials, includ-ing eight former FIFA executive committee members and the cur-rent heads of both the North and South American federations, over allegations that they ran bribery schemes connected to the sale of television rights for soccer com-petitions. Twelve people and two sports marketing companies have been convicted. - Reuters
The decision means
that Blatter’s 17 years
at the helm of world
soccer will end in
disgrace, and spells
the end of Platini’s
hopes of replacing
the 79-year-old Swiss
in a presidential
election in February
ZURICH: Banned FIFA presi-dent Sepp Blatter will appeal against his eight-year ban by the world soccer body’s ethics committee imposed on Monday, he told reporters. “I will fi ght for me and I will fi ght for FIFA,” Blatter said, adding he would take his objections to FIFA’s appeals body, go before the Lausanne-based sports arbitra-tion panel, or take legal action under Swiss law if needed.
Meanwhile, UEFA chief Michel Platini also vowed on Monday to go to court to fi ght a decision by the independent Ethics Committee of the world football body FIFA to ban him for eight years, calling it a “pure masquerade”.
Platini and Sepp Blatter, the former FIFA president who is also appealing, were both banned and fi ned for ethics violations in connection with a two million Swiss franc pay-
ment that FIFA made to Platini in 2011, at a time when Blatter was seeking re-election.
Until he was suspended in October, Platini was the favourite to succeed Blatter as FIFA president in an election next February. “The decision is no surprise to me: the procedure initiated against me by FIFA’s ethics committee is a pure mas-querade,” the Frenchman said.
“It has been rigged to tarnish my name by bodies I know well and who for me are bereft of all credibility or legitimacy.”
Platini said his conscience was clear and that he would challenge the decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport and ultimately seek damages in civil proceedings. “I will fi ght this to the end,” he said. In a separate statement, FIFA said it “acknowledges the decisions of the Ethics Committee and has no further comment”. - Reuters
Banned FIFA leader and UEFA chief vow to fi ght it out
While Sepp
Blatter said
‘I will fight
for me and I
will fight for
FIFA’, Michel
Platini called
FIFA Ethics
Committee’s
decision
a ‘pure
masquerade’
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Bishoo in frame for Melbourne start
MELBOURNE: West Indies are considering a recall for leg-spin-ner Devendra Bishoo as they look to fi ght their way back into the series in the second Test against Australia later this week.
The tourists’ bowlers were fl ogged to all parts of the Bellerive Oval during the innings and 212 run defeat in Hobart which opened the three-match series.
Left-arm orthodox spinner Jomel Warrican, playing only his second Test, took three wickets in Australia’s only innings but they
came at the cost of 158 runs as the home batsmen ran rampant.
Bishoo took six for 80 against the Australians in the Caribbean earlier this year and again showed his class in the drawn tour match
against a Victoria XI at the week-end, even if his two wickets came at a cost of 60 runs.
“He bowled better,” West Indies coach Phil Simmons told reporters in Geelong.
“There was a lot more drive in his deliveries and everything like that. We’ll see what happens over the next three days and we’ll see what the MCG wicket is like, then we can make a decision about the
combination we’re going with.” The Guyanan, a wicket-taker
in a West Indies squad that ap-pears to have very few of them, made his Test debut in 2011 in a maiden campaign that earned him
the ICC’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year award. After his break-through year, however, he lost his mojo in two series on the unforgiv-ing tracks of India and Bangladesh and the second Test against Eng-land earlier this year was his fi rst in three years.
Another heavy workload against the English in Grenada — 51 overs in the tourists’ fi rst innings — took its toll on more than his enthusi-asm, leaving him with virtually no skin on his spinning fi ngers.
He was fi t again when the Aus-tralians visited in June and his six victims in Roseau included Brad Haddin, who was dismissed by a wonder ball that pitched on leg, turned sharply and crashed into the top of the wicketkeeper’s off stump.
Comparisons were made with the Shane Warne “Ball of the Cen-tury” to dismiss Mike Gatting in 1993 and the delivery illustrat-ed that Bishoo can get as much turn from the ball as any world class spinner.
The drop-in wicket at the Mel-bourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is unlikely to off er too much for the spinners but even if the 30-year-old does not get the nod for the Boxing Day match, he could get the call for the third Test in Sydney.
The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), which hosts the fi nal Test from January3, traditionally off ers some turn and Australia have in-cluded two spinners in their squad for that match. - Reuters
Bishoo took six
for 80 against the
Australians in the
Caribbean earlier
this year and again
showed his class in
the drawn tour match
against a Victoria XI at
the weekend, even if
his two wickets came
at a cost of 60 runs
The Guyanan
Devendra
Bishoo, a wicket-
taker in a West
Indies squad
that appears to
have very few
of them, made
his Test debut in
2011 in a maiden
campaign that
earned him the
ICC’s Emerging
Cricketer of the
Year award
Khawaja seals Test spot with T20 ton
MELBOURNE: Usman Kha-waja proved his fi tness with an unbeaten century in the domestic Twenty20 Big Bash League to secure his place in the Australia team for the second Test against West Indies. Aus-tralia coach Darren Lehmann had said the top order bats-man’s place in the team for the Melbourne Test, which starts on Saturday, was assured if he could prove he had recovered from a left hamstring strain.
Despite having missed Syd-ney Thunder’s fi rst outing of the season because of the injury, Khawaja scored a match-win-ning 109 off 70 balls and looked sharp in the fi eld in a convincing runout at the Melbourne Crick-et Ground (MCG) on Sunday.
“I’m really happy with the way it felt to be honest,” Khawaja said in a televised interview af-ter the one-run victory over the Melbourne Stars.
“The Test was when I went back out on the fi eld and how it felt backing up and it felt really good. The longer I was out there the more I started trusting my body. I was a little bit anxious at the start but the further along I got through the more happy I felt. I’m really happy with the start, I’ll keep trying to tick all the boxes and keep trying to work on my body. Fingers crossed, I’ll be right for the rest of the summer.”
Khawaja was handed his third chance to establish him-self in Test cricket after a raft of retirements over the last 12 months. Taking the tricky berth at number three in the batting order, the stylish lefthander grasped his opportunity with both hands with 174 against New Zealand in Brisbane and an innings of 121 in the second Test in Perth. The hamstring injury forced him to sit out the inaugural day-night Test in Ad-elaide as well win in Hobart against West Indies. - Reuters
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Williamson ton steers Kiwis to convincing win over Sri Lanka
HAMILTON: Kane Williamson scored his fi fth century in eight Tests in 2015 to guide New Zealand to a fi ve-wicket victory over Sri Lanka before lunch on the fourth day of the second Test at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Monday.
The victory gave Brendon Mc-Cullum’s side a 2-0 series sweep over the tourists after they won the fi rst Test in Dunedin by 122 runs.
“It was defi nitely hard fought and I thought the improvement of the Sri Lankan side was pretty evi-dent throughout the Test series,” McCullum said in a TV interview.
“Credit to Angelo and Sri Lanka for putting us under im-mense pressure (in Hamilton) and thankfully we were able to withstand it through an innings of sheer quality.”
Williamson fi nished 108 not out, taking his run tally in 2015 to 1,172 — the most by a New Zealander in a calendar year — at an average of 90.15.
The hosts reached their vic-tory target of 189 with fi ve wickets down, wicketkeeper BJ Watling fi nishing unbeaten on 13 alongside Williamson and scoring the win-ning run with a sweep for a single off Milinda Siriwardana.
Sri Lanka fast bowler Dushman-tha Chameera took four for 68 to go with his fi rst innings haul of fi ve for 47. New Zealand held a slight advantage when they resumed on Monday on 142 for fi ve but both sides had the chance to win the match with Williamson always the player most likely to determine the outcome.
The 25-year-old, whose right knee was heavily strapped during his innings on Sunday, resumed on 78 not out with Watling yet to score having faced the fi nal two balls on day three.
Williamson, however, domi-nated the strike to dash Sri Lan-ka’s hopes of victory and brought up his 13th Test century when he pulled Chameera behind square for his fi fth boundary of the day to move to 102. The shot moved him to 1,166 runs, surpassing the 1,164
his captain McCullum scored in 2014, as well as reducing the target to 20.
Neither side truly got to grips with the wicket throughout the match as short-pitched bowling produced steepling bounce that
resulted in numerous mistimed pull or hook shots to fi elders in the outfi eld.
The hosts capitalised on a spec-tacular collapse by Sri Lanka on Sunday, when they took all 10 wickets for 62 runs either side of
lunch to set up their modest vic-tory target. “I thought we had a chance,” Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said.
“We had them under pressure in the fi rst couple of days but they came back strong (and) in the sec-
ond innings we made a mockery out of our batting.
“We have the talent and the skill is there, it’s just a matter of time.
“The more they play the more they learn and the more faith we have in them.” - Reuters
The victory gave
Brendon McCullum’s
side a 2-0 series
sweep over the
tourists after they
won the fi rst Test in
Dunedin by 122 runs
Sri Lanka 1st innings: 292 New Zealand 1st innings: 237 Sri Lanka 2nd innings: 133New Zealand 2nd innings T. Latham c Pradeep b Chameera 4 M. Guptill c Karunaratne b Chameera 1K. Williamson (not out) 108 R. Taylor c sub b Chameera 35 B. McCullum c Mathews b Chameera 18 M. Santner c Chandimal b Lakmal 4 B. Watling (not out) 13 Extras (lb-1, nb-5) 6 Total (5 wkts, 54.3 overs) 189 Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-11, 3-78, 4-130, 5-142.Bowling: D. Chameera 17-1-68-4 (nb-2); S. Lakmal 12-4-20-1; R. Herath 11-0-48-0; N. Pradeep 12-1-43-0 (nb-3); A. Mathews 1-0- 4-0; M. Siriwardana 1.3-0-5-0.Umpire: Nigel Llong, Paul Reiff el.TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough.Match referee: David Boon.
S C O R E B O A R D
ALL SMILES: New Zealand players celebrate with the trophy after winning the series on day four of the
second Test match against Sri Lanka at Seddon Park in Hamilton. – AFP
HAMILTON: While impressed by Kane Williamson’s match-winning century, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum praised his bowlers on Monday for their tenacity and ability to change plans to suit the condi-tions, which helped them seal a series win over Sri Lanka.
Williamson’s 108 not out guided the hosts to a fi ve-wicket victory before lunch on the fourth day of the second Test Tn Hamilton on Monday, earning him the man-of-the match award.
The win also ensured New Zealand swept the two-Test series against Angelo Mathews’ side, following a 122-run fi rst Test victory on the benign pitch at University Oval in Dunedin.
Neither side were truly com-fortable in the second match at Seddon Park, with the pitch providing more pace and steep bounce than expected without producing much swing or seam movement.
“It was bizarre,” McCullum said in a televised interview. “Plans changed during the Test match. The short-pitched bowl-ing became a real weapon on a
wicket that had plenty of pace and bounce on it.
“At times you see some of the shots that don’t look that good, but then you think of the
constant pressure that has built up by both teams ... and it brings those sorts of mistakes.
“It takes a very special player to overcome those and we
saw that in Kane.”New Zealand’s bowlers,
who struggled in the fi rst Test against Australia in Brisbane last month before fi nding form in the inaugural day-night Test in Adelaide, kept plugging away on a fl at Dunedin pitch before eventually getting their reward.
Sri Lanka did not make it easy for them, lasting 117 overs in scoring 294 in their fi rst in-nings and then 95 overs in the second to make 282.
“The guys have got better as the season has gone on,” McCullum said of his bowlers. “In Australia we were a little bit short of a gallop in terms of where we wanted to be and where we operate.
“But what we are seeing is a team that is continually improving and a bowling group that is world class.
“We know we have the ability to take 20 wickets when we’re on song, it’s just a matter of making sure we’re working to-gether in partnerships and try-ing to build as much pressure as we can, because we know we have the ability to bowl those wicket-taking balls.” - Reuters
New Zealand’s ‘world class’ bowlers still improving: McCullum
SATISFIED CAPTAIN: New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum,
left, speaks to Tim Southee during their Test match against Sri
Lanka at Seddon Park in Hamilton. – AFP
‘King’ Kane keeps it simple in record yearHAMILTON: New Zealand cap-tain Brendon McCullum called him ‘The King’ but Kane Wil-liamson swatted aside the praise after his record-breaking century capped a fi ve-wicket victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka on Monday.
Williamson, who was dis-missed for one in the fi rst innings at Seddon Park, provided a match-winning 108 not out in the second as the hosts chased down 189 for victory.
“It was an innings of sheer qual-ity from ‘The King’ and the rest of us were able to sit back and watch someone at the top of his game,” McCullum said in a televised in-terview. “I thought it was an out-standing innings.”
The century, Williamson’s fi fth of 2015, was not only a record for New Zealand batsmen in a calen-dar year but also took the 25-year-old past McCullum’s record tally of 1,164 Test runs in 2014.
It moved him top of the Inter-national Cricket Council’s world player rankings, the fi rst New Zea-land batsman to reach top spot.
McCullum and Williamson are the only New Zealanders to score more than 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year, though William-son, who will end 2015 with 1,172 runs at 90.15, said he did not really focus on milestones.
“It’s always nice to get a score,” Williamson told reporters after he was named Man of the Match.
“But ... it means more, I suppose, when you spend some time in the middle and make a larger contri-
bution to a team performance“The wicket wasn’t easy to bat
on. It was extremely important we formulated partnerships along the way. It was nice to do that today and get the team across the line.”
Williamson made a Test cen-tury on debut against India as a 20-year-old in 2010 and was
hailed as having the potential to become New Zealand’s best bats-man, even if it took him another 11 Tests before he passed 100 again.
Until that 102 not out against South Africa, which saved the match at Wellington’s Basin Re-serve in 2012, he had passed 50 just four more times.
The righthander’s tenac-ity, on full display when he took a nasty blow to the groin from a Dale Steyn delivery that cracked his protective box, indicated his growing maturity.
Since the start of 2014, Wil-liamson has become the backbone of the New Zealand batting lineup and last year fl irted with the 1,000 run milestone only to fall just short with 929.
Unlike McCullum, who topped 1,000 runs courtesy of a triple century, two double centuries and an innings of 195 in 2014, Wil-liamson has been the model of consistency in 2015.
He started with 242 not out against Sri Lanka in January and added four more centuries. He also scored four half centuries.
His only failures were at Head-ingley in Leeds with scores of 0 and six, and last month in Ad-elaide where he made 22 and nine.
“You always can improve and I think that’s the beauty of inter-national cricket, particularly test cricket, is playing all around the world against diff erent opposition and you constantly have to adapt your game,” he added.
“The most pleasing thing is, I guess each game you set out, you want to contribute as best you can to the team performance and that’s all I want to do, really.
“I just try and keep things as simple as possible. Looking at each game as it comes and trying to prepare as best as I can for it - but defi nitely trying to keep things simple.” - Reuters
T O P B A T S M A N
The century, Kane Williamson’s fifth of 2015, was
not only a record for New Zealand batsmen in a
calendar year but also took the 25-year-old past
McCullum’s record tally of 1,164 Test runs in 2014. It
moved him top of the ICC’s world player rankings, the
first New Zealand batsman to reach top spot
Batting collapse cost us the match: Mathews
HAMILTON: There was no great surprise in Sri Lanka cap-tain Angelo Mathews’ analysis of his side’s fi ve-wicket loss to New Zealand before lunch on the fourth day of the second Test in Hamilton on Monday.
Any side that loses 10 wickets for 62 runs is odds on to go on and lose the match and Mathews thought his team’s second in-nings batting was a “mockery”.
“We just had to bat well and dig deep, but we made a real mock-ery out of our second innings batting and we just couldn’t give enough runs for the bowlers to get them out,” Mathews told re-porters at Seddon Park.
“It is actually very disappoint-ing the way the game unfolded towards the end.
“We had our chance, especial-ly after getting them all out for 240-odd in the fi rst innings. We had a healthy lead.”
The visitors were well placed at 71 without loss before lunch on the third day, a lead of 126 with 10 second inning wickets still in hand.
New Zealand’s bowlers then sparked a remarkable collapse with three wickets for six runs before lunch and then took the last seven for another 56 after the break with a short-pitched plan to dismiss the visitors for 133.
“After the fi rst couple of wick-ets they used the tactic of bump-ing us,” Mathews said.
“We thought the best way to handle it was to try and be posi-tive and to score some runs off it, not recklessly. They tried to ne-gotiate it but they couldn’t really.”
New Zealand were set a victo-ry target of 189 runs, which the hosts achieved about an hour into the fourth day with Kane Williamson scoring 108 not out, his fi fth century of the year and 13th overall. Williamson’s ap-proach to his innings eff ectively sealed the match, Mathews said.
“Both teams struggled to face the short ball. Both teams were applying that same tactic and the batters from the both teams just couldn’t handle it, apart from Kane Williamson.”
Despite the 2-0 series loss — New Zealand won the fi rst test in Dunedin by 122 runs — Mathews felt there was still plenty of positives to take out of the tour, particularly the devel-opment of younger players like Dushmantha Chameera.
“Chameera was absolutely brilliant,” Mathews said. “He is just fi nding his way in Test cricket. He’s played just a few games and he was able to shake the New Zealanders. — Reuters
T E S T C R I C K E T
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Etihad Al Khoud triumph at OFA Community CupMUSCAT: Etihad Al Khoud emerged the champions at the OFA Fives Community Foot-ball Tournament organised by the Oman Football Association (OFA) on Saturday.
According to information pro-vided by the OFA, the focus in the one-day event was more on ‘a community day around football’, which was that around 700 peo-ple joining in for the fun.
According to the OFA state-ment, the tournament which start-ed at 7.30 am and ended at 5.00 pm witnessed a total of 128 games.
“All the participants in the tournament were given free bot-tles of Tanuf while there was also food and refreshments stalls available to all during the course of the event. OFA sponsors Eff ect
also joined in with more fun dur-ing the knockout rounds as they turned up and distributed cans of Eff ect to refresh all those tired from the group stages,” the state-ment added.
The OFA is looking to organ-ise more of such community football events.
“The OFA even took a survey of approximately 300 people to understand how they could bet-ter engage with the community. The results of the survey were positive as most people said they would like to further participate in OFA Community Engagement activities such as the OFA Fives.”
In the fi nal match of the tour-nament, Etihad Al Khoud got the better of Al Suqoor to clinch the title. Al Jaliyat fi nished third.
F O O T B A L L
MCCC record 127-run win over PSMMUSCAT: Muscat Cricket Coach-ing Centre (MCCC) humbled Pa-kistan School Muscat (PSM) in a massive 127-run victory in a Kh-imji Ramdas-sponsored U-19 Di-vision cricket match played at the Municipality Ground I during the morning session on Saturday.
Winning the toss and batting fi rst, MCCC posted 294 for seven in 35 overs. Komail and Noman claimed two wickets each for PSM.
In reply, PSM were bowled out for 167 in 22 overs. Ahsan Sajjad top scored with 70. Indunil and Devanshu claimed three and four wickets respectively.
Brief scores: MCCC 294 for 7 in 35 overs (Sohail 41; Komail 2/31) bt PSM 167 in 22 overs (Ah-san Sajjad 70; Indunil Udara 4/24, Devanshu 4/8). Points: MCCC - 3, PSM - 0.
ISAS ease past BOCIn an Al Turki Enterprises-spon-sored U-16 Division match, Indian School Al Seeb (ISAS) eased to a ten-wicket win over Bosher Olym-pic Centre (BOC) at the Munici-pality Ground II during the after-noon session on Saturday.
Batting fi rst, BOC were bundled
out for 47 in 14.2 overs. Moham-med Irbaz and Mohammed Juber claimed fi ve and three wickets re-spectively for ISAS.
In reply, ISAS raced 51 without loss in just 3.5 overs with Kaif and Usman scoring 24 and 25 unbeat-en runs respectively.
Brief scores: BOC 47 in 14.2 overs (Mohammed Irbaz 5/7) lost to ISAS 51 for no loss in 3.5 overs
(Kaif 24 b.o, Usman 25 n.o). Points: ISAS – 3, BOC - 0.
PSM beat ISDIn another Al Turki Enterprises-sponsored U-16 Division match, Pakistan School Muscat (PSM) de-feated Indian School Darsait (ISD) at the Municipality Ground during the morning session on Saturday.
Batting fi rst, ISD scored 197 for
six in 25 overs. Moin and Harike-shav scored 47 and 45 respectively. Ehsan claimed two scalps for PSM.
In reply, PSM scored 200 for fi ve in 23 overs with Ubaid Ullah smashing a brilliant unbeaten 101.
Brief scores: ISD 197 for 6 in 25 overs (Moin 47, Harikeshav 45; Ehsan 2/27) lost to PSM 200 for 5 in 23 overs (Ubaid Ullah 101 n.o). Points: PSM – 2, ISD - 0.
O M A N C R I C K E T
MASSIVE WIN: MCCC players celebrate after their win over PSM. – Supplied photo
Cook, Root smash tons as Hales boosts Test hopes
PIETERMARITZBURG: Alas- tair Cook and Joe Root scored centuries and Alex Hales a timely knock of 56 as England piled on the runs against South Africa A in their last warm-up game before the fi rst Test.
Cook reminded the hosts of his ability with a solid knock of 126, bringing up his century with a six over mid-wicket, while Root scored 117 as England amassed 414 for six before declaring late in the day. Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali claimed a wicket each as South Africa A reached 35 for two in their second innings, 243 behind the tourists, after the second day of the three-day match.
The contribution from Cook’s opening partner Hales will have
gone a long way to assuaging con-cerns about handing him a Test debut on Saturday, when England and South Africa begin their four-match series in Durban.
Hales had been pencilled in to open with Cook after showing form in limited overs internation-als but after scoring just 16 runs in two innings in England’s opening warm-up game in Potchefstroom last week, he needed a good knock to back up the confi dence shown in
him by coach Trevor Bayliss.Cook and Hales compiled a
confi dence-boosting opening partnership of 112 before Hales was bowled by an in-swinger from Dane Paterson at the City Oval.
Nick Compton, who is expected to make his Test return at number three for England, scored 29 before being trapped leg before wicket.
Cook went when he lobbed spin-ner Keshav Maharaj to mid-on but England did not let up on the
home bowlers as Root raced to 50 off 60 balls and brought up his cen-tury off 116 balls. He was out when he top edged a pull to backward square and was caught off Maha-raj’s bowling. Root and Ben Stokes, who scored a brisk 66, put on 104 runs for the fi fth wicket.
The fi nal day’s play will provide an opportunity for the bowlers to stake a last claim for test selection with Steven Finn and Mark Footitt looking to impress. - Reuters
Cook reminded the
hosts of his ability
with a knock of 126,
bringing up his ton
with a six over mid-
wicket, while Root
scored 117 as England
amassed 414 for
six before declaring
late in the day
SOLID KNOCKS: England’s Alastair Cook, left, and Alex Hales run between wickets during their tour
match against the South Africa A side in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, on Monday. – Reuters
ISL good for show but zero benefi t for Indian football: ZicoPANAJI: The much touted In-dian Super League (ISL) is good as a spectacle, but it does not ben-efi t Indian football in any way, FC Goa chief coach and Brazilian legend Zico said on Monday.
Zico, who was speaking to re-porters a day after his team lost a close-fought ISL fi nal against Chennaiyin FC on Sunday, also said that over-reliance on for-eigners, as well as eight months of non-ISL activity were key rea-sons why the tourney, billed as football’s biggest tournament in India, would do nothing to benefi t football in the country.
“With all due respect to ISL, I don’t see any benefi t it (ISL) can bring to Indian football. I cannot see any benefi t. For show it is good, but for Indian football it is zero. Just see the results of the Indian national team,” Zico said, when asked about the kind of impact ISL would have on Indian football.
Zico also said that over-depend-ency on foreign players at every
position made it very diffi cult for local talent to fi nd a break and that India should follow the football development models followed by Japan, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, if it needs to develop as a force in world football. The Brazilian also said that once the ISL tournament winds up in three months, there was no infrastructure in place to support footballers.
“Once you stop this tourna-ment, the infrastructure is not the same. Players spend eight months without playing,” Zico said.
Zico also blamed the fi nal loss on the Japanese referee and Chen-naiyin coach Marco Materazzi who allowed his team to “maim and cripple” the Goa players.
“I have no idea why these three Japanese guys, they have all the strength and power to referee these three important games. I know by the palm of my hand, the thinking of the Japanese refer-ees,” Zico said. - IANS
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Seeb lift His Majesty’s Cup for Youth
MUSCAT: Seeb Club lifted His Majesty’s Cup for Youth for the ninth time on Monday when the Ministry of Sports Aff airs reward-ed the Sultanate’s top 10 clubs for their overall achievements in the fi eld of sports and youth activities in the year 2014.
The ceremony was organised at the Ministry of Education audito-rium under the auspices of Dr. Mo-hammed bin Hamad Al Rumhi, the Minister of Oil and Gas and in the presence of Minister of Sports Af-
fairs Sheikh Saad bin Mohammed Al Mardhouf Al Saadi. The cere-mony was also attended by Rashad Al Hinai, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Sports Aff airs, and the representatives of various sports clubs from across the Sultanate.
Rashad Al Hinai in his welcome
address, said: “This is the time for celebrations as we announce the results and winners of the annual competition for His Majesty’s Cup for Youth. This time around this awarding ceremony is coinciding with the 45th National Day cel-ebrations.”
He further said: “This is one trophy that refl ects the continued interest of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos in sports and youth activi-ties, and one that instils a sense of commitment and perseverance in young people and motivate clubs to achieve their objectives.”
Speaking specifi cally about objective and format of the com-petition, he said: “His Majesty Cup for Youth is characterised by the diversity and multiplicity of evaluation criteria. The winning clubs are selected based on their achievements in the fi elds of
sports and youth activities based on internal and external reviews. The involvement of clubs in ad-ministrative and fi nancial aspects is also taken into consideration.”
Rashad Al Hinai, however, ex-pressed disappointment with the number of clubs that have par-ticipated in the competition for 2014 awards.
“Twenty-three clubs took part in the competition for the 2014 awards whereas there were 33 clubs entered the fray a year ear-lier,” he said. “We hope for a wider participation of clubs future.”
Trophies and cash prizesSeeb Club were presented with the prestigious trophy for their out-standing achievements in various sports and youth activities during 2014. Besides the trophy, the club were also presented with a cheque of OMR 30,000.
The second place, which carries a silver trophy and cash prize of OMR 28,000, went to Saham Club, while Nizwa settled for the bronze trophy and OMR 26,000.
Three-time His Majesty’s Cup winners Al Nasr, retained their fourth place fi nish like in the 2013 edition and took home OMR 24,000. Dhofar, meanwhile, took fi fth place and OMR 22,000.
Al Ittifaq (OMR 20,000), So-har (OMR 18,000), Suwaiq (OMR 16,000), Ibri (OMR 14,000) and Ahli-Sidab (OMR 12,000) fi nished in sixth to tenth places respectively.
The annual awards
ceremony honours
Oman’s top 10 clubs
for their overall
achievements in the
fi eld of sports and
youth activities and
Seeb were handed the
coveted His Majesty’s
Cup for Youth for
the ninth time
TOP 10: Ministry of Sports Aff airs rewarded Oman’s top 10 clubs for their overall achievements in the fi eld of sports and youth activities in the year 2014 during the His Majesty’s Cup for Youth awarding cer-
emony organised at the Minisry of Education auditorium on Monday. – TALIB AL WAHAIBI/Times of Oman
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Oman Sail successfully hosts National Day Sailing Festival
MUSCAT: More than 8,000 peo-ple fl ocked to Kalbuh Park this weekend to take part in Oman’s fi rst ever National Day Sailing Fes-tival, organised by Oman Sail. The event was dedicated to His Majes-ty Sultan Qaboos and to celebrate Oman’s long-held affi nity with the sea and sailing.
As part of the celebration, 90 of Oman Sail’s young sailors between the ages of eight and 12 took to the water in their Optimist dinghies to form the Omani fl ag. The young sailors, all trainees from Oman Sail’s Marina Bandar Al Rowdha Sailing School, were grouped in green, red and white clusters to cre-ate the Sultanate’s national fl ag and then under the patronage of Murad Ali Al Hoti, Shura Representative of Muttrah, were presented with awards at a special ceremony. The fl ag formation was accompanied by a musical show staged by Oman Scouts and Guides.
Speaking at the event, Oman
Sail’s CEO David Graham said: “Sailing and the sea is as much a part of Oman as the mountains and the sand and was the driving force behind the Sultanate’s growth as a major trading nation and helped to develop a generation of explorers. Oman Sail has been tasked with reigniting Oman’s maritime her-itage and our teams are certainly doing that.
“The community is at the heart
of everything we do, and the Na-tional Day Sailing Festival off ers the chance for everyone here to get closer to the sea and explore Oman’s nautical roots with us.”
“None of this could have been possible without His Majesty’s continuous support of Oman Sail and wise leadership of the Sultan-ate of Oman. We wish him contin-ued good health and we hope that Oman Sail’s teams will continue
to fl y the Omani fl ag with pride around the world.”
With an emphasis on family fun, the sailing festival at Kalbuh Park attracted people of all ages, dem-onstrating the strong and steady growth of interest in sailing that has occurred since Oman Sail was fi rst established in 2008 to make sailing more accessible in Oman.
Visitors to the festival were treated to giveaways and a range of
activities such as marine-themed games, a bouncy castle, a food vil-lage, henna painting and a special performance by Red Bull.
On the water, there were oppor-tunities to try sailing on a Hobie 16 with Oman Sail instructors while a corner of the site was set aside for SEAOMAN to give the public a taste of their cruising and yacht-ing tours, diving and powerboat-ing courses.
As part of the
celebration, 90 of
Oman Sail’s young
sailors between the
ages of eight and
12 took to the water
in their Optimist
dinghies to form
the Omani fl ag
BRAVE SAILORS: Oman Sail’s young sailors who made the Sultanate’s national fl ag formation off Kalbuh Park pose for group photos along with Oman Sail offi cials. – Supplied photos
MARVELLOUS EFFORT: Oman Sail’s young sailors form the Sultanate’s national fl ag during the National Day Sailing Festival. – Supplied photo
Renault complete take over of Lotus team
United not as ‘glum’ as during Moyes’ tenure: Jones
LONDON: Renault have com-pleted their takeover of the Lotus Formula One team and paid debts to creditors including the British tax authorities, the London High Court heard on Monday.
“We have a completion of the share purchase,” a lawyer for the French car company told the judge, Mr Justice Birss, at a hearing that formally dismissed an insolvency petition that would have put the team into administration.
“We have the keys, so to speak,” he added.
The share purchase agree-ment (SPA) that made Renault the controlling shareholder had been due for completion on Dec. 16 but the court heard that the acquisition was fi nalised only late last Friday.
Jeremy Bamford, counsel for the revenue and customs (HMRC), confi rmed payment had been received and cleared on Monday. Other petition-ing creditors said they had also been paid in full.
Lawyers for Proton, the Ma-laysian car company that owns the Lotus sportscar brand, did not attend the hearing with the court informed that the peti-tioner had either been paid or reached an arrangement.
“The insolvency procedure has worked in the way intend-ed,” Birss said in summing up, with the company saved and debts paid in full.
The case had been adjourned repeatedly to allow Renault time to decide their Formula One future and complete the takeover of a team that employs some 480 people at their factory in central England.
Renault, an engine supplier to former world champions Red Bull this season, are returning to Formula One as a full construc-tor by buying back the team they previously owned.
The team was sold by Renault to Luxembourg-based Genii Cap-ital, who renamed it Lotus, after a Singapore Grand Prix race-fi xing scandal that rocked the sport in 2009. As Benetton and then Re-nault, the team had won world titles with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso.
This season Genii injected only enough cash into Lotus to keep the team on the grid, while leaving a string of creditors waiting to be paid.
Bailiff s impounded the cars after the Belgian Grand Prix in August and the team were de-nied access to the paddock hos-pitality in Japan due to unpaid bills. - Reuters
LONDON: The mood in the Manchester United dressing room under manager Louis van Gaal is not as bad as it was during the “glum” days of David Moyes’ tenure, defender Phil Jones has said after Saturday’s 2-1 Premier League loss to Norwich City.
“I wouldn’t say it’s the lowest moment. I think it became pret-ty glum, if you like, under David Moyes and it was unfortunate. We weren’t playing well at the time,” Jones told British media.
“There’s no point saying we’ve played some good football this season because ultimately we’ve lost three games in a row — but we have in patches. We need to stick together, there’s nothing else you can do.”
The England international became the latest United player to speak about the atmosphere at the club, after goalkeeper Da-vid de Gea dismissed reports of dressing room unrest.
“The manager is doing all he can and is doing a terrifi c job. It’s not even questionable in the dressing room,” Jones said.
“The players in there aren’t hiding behind anyone. We know full well we have to take respon-sibility. There’s no other way. The manager picks the team and the team has got to go out and do its best.” - Reuters
F O R M U L A O N E
F O O T B A L L
Impressive Sterling will make history, says Man City’s SilvaLONDON: Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling has been among the most impressive play-ers this season and the 21-year-old “will make history”, midfi elder and teammate David Silva has said.
Sterling, who joined the Sky Blues from Liverpool during the off -season, has scored eight goals in 23 appearances so far, includ-ing smashing in his fi rst hat-trick in the 5-1 dismantling of Bourne-mouth in October.
“He (Sterling) is going to make history. He’s technically very gift-ed and he’s got a lot more to come,” Silva told British media ahead of Monday’s Premier League clash against Arsenal.
“He has only just turned 21, so he is going to improve and get more experience, and read the games a lot better.
“He has a lot more time to prove how good he is — and he is pretty good already. It’s not just his abil-ity either. He has a great personal-ity that is going to help him a lot.”
City bolstered their squad over the summer by bringing in big money signings, including Ster-ling and Belgian Kevin De Bruyne, after a disappointing title defense last season when they fi nished eight points behind champions Chelsea at second.
“It was very pleasing to see the club bring in players of the quality of Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling,” Silva added.
“They are young players, fresh
players and they bring that on to the pitch, too.”
City sit third in the table but head into Monday night’s top-of-the-table clash with second-placed Arsenal having failed to
win in their last four away games.Victory at the Emirates Sta-
dium would ensure they leapfrog Arsenal to second place behind Leicester City, heading into the festive period. - Reuters
F O O T B A L L
GREAT PERSONALITY: Raheem Sterling
WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM
DiningSECTIONC L I F E STY L E T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
For a Sweet Christmas
It’s the season to satisfy your sweet tooth. While cake is a common dessert for this festive season, why not try out something diff erent this year? From the very classic peppermint barks to bauble cupcakes and snowmen cookies, it’s all about indulgence this week.
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 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
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:
twitter @pallavizza
pallavizza.com
SNOWMEN COOKIESIngredientsFor the cookie dough• 300g plain fl our• 1tsp ground pepper• 1 tsp mixed spice• 1tsp baking powder• Pinch of salt• 100g brown sugar• 4 tbsp honey• 2 eggs• 100g chilled butterFor the royal icing to decorate the snowmen• 400g icing sugar• Whites of 5 eggs•1/2 tsp of cream of tartarPreparation• In a bowl, put all the cookie dough
ingredients together, knead the dough. Then roll out the dough and with the help of cookie cutter cut the snowmen out of it.
• Place the snowmen in a baking tray, lined with parchment, and bake at preheated oven at 170 degrees for 20 minutes. After they are done let them cool down completely.
• To make the royal icing (icing to decorate cookies), in a mixing bowl add icing sugar, and cream of tartar, mix them properly, then add whites of 5 eggs, keep whisking till it’s a snowy white icing, fi ll it in a piping bag and ice it on top of snowman cookie. To make the hat, eyes and button, mix black colour to the royal icing.
PEPPERMINT BARKSIngredients• 250g semisweet chocolate, broken
into pieces• 250g white chocolate, broken into
pieces• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract • Crushed red and green candiesPreparation• Lightly grease the pan and line with a
baking paper, keep aside.• Melt the chocolate and add 1/4 tsp
peppermint extract, mix, and spread on baking paper. Pop it into the freezer for 10 minutes.
• Melt the white chocolate, add the other 1/4 tsp peppermint extract, and mix. Now, take out the hardened chocolate from freezer and spread the melted white chocolate on top.
• Crush the candies and sprinkle on top, pop it into the freezer for another 10 minutes.
• Cut the wedges, wrap in a cellophane, tie with a bow and it’s a perfect gift for Christmas.
CHRISTMAS BAUBLE CUPCAKESIngredientsFor the cupcakes• 270g soft butter• 250g caster sugar• 4 large eggs• 1/2tsp Allspice• 1&1/2tsp ground ginger • 1&1/2 tsp cinnamon powder• 240g self raising fl our • 3tbsp milk• 1tbsp Golden syrup or honey For the decoration• White fondant• Pink colour• Flower stencil• Gold dust• 2 tbsp butter cream frosting• Round cookie cutter
Preparation• Cream the butter and sugar, add eggs,
allspice, ground ginger, cinnamon powder, self raising fl our. Mix every-thing together, then add milk along with golden syrup.
• Bake at 170 degrees for 22 minutes. Let them completely cool down.
• To decorate, knead your fondant till fl exible, now add pink colour to it and again knead till it’s completely pink.
• Then place a stencil, roll it, brush it with gold dust, blow off the extra dust, remove the stencil, cut the rounds of it.
• Apply, butter cream frosting on top of cupcakes, and place the roundels on top, your beautiful cupcake is ready.
SELECT A SUBSTITUTE SUBSTITUTE
Use thin asparagus stalks
Equivalents16 oz can of green beans =
2 cups asparagus
STITUTEn asparagus stalks
[email protected]@timesofoman.c
lentsan of eans =
asparagus
Green beans, also
called string beans
are eaten steamed or
boiled. The cooked
beans can be served
warm as a vegetable
or chilled and used in
salads. Green beans
are available fresh,
frozen, or canned.
GREEN BEANS
LIFESTYLEC9T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
Christmas EveDecember 24Enjoy a lavish buff et dinner at Musandam Café and Terrace Restaurant with a vari-ety of international cuisine and fl avours with special beverage packages. Timing: 7pmCost: OMR 26++ adults; OMR 13++ children under 12 years; children under 6 years are complimentary
Enjoy exquisite four-course dinner at Trader Vic’s, where chefs prepare the fi nest dishes from choice of glazed oysters Rockefeller or caramelised beef-noodle salad to the traditional Trader Vic’s roasted turkey. Timing: 7pmCost: OMR 28++
For outdoor lovers, Tomato invites you to have with the festive three-course Mediterranean dinner in the midst of the picturesque ambience of the pool side.Timing: 7pmCost: OMR 19++
Christmas DayDecember 25Spend the day at the Musandam Café and Terrace Restaurant and enjoy the variety and the quality of spectacular buff ets and sumptuous brunches in the inviting indoor dining space or the wide-open outdoor terrace with loads of fun and celebration throughout the day.Timing: 12.30pm-4pmCost: OMR 30++ adults; OMR 15++ for children under 12 years; children under 6 years are complimentary
Contact: +968 2468 0000E-mail: [email protected]
Christmas Eve DinnerDecember 24SultanahIndulge in a festive six course menu in an elegant setting with live entertainment and jazz band.Cost: OMR 50*
ShahrazadCelebrate Christmas Eve the Moroccan way with a delicious six-course menu served
alongside live Moroccan entertainment.Cost: OMR 50*
Capri CourtEnjoy traditional Italian dishes and discover a taste of Italy with our festive fi ve-course menu.Cost: OMR 35*
Bait al BahrSample seasonal seafood with a sumptu-ous fi ve-course menu overlooking the tranquil waters of the Sea of Oman. Cost: OMR 35*
Al TanoorShare a Christmas buff et with your clos-est friends and family this Christmas Eve.Cost: OMR 25*SambaEnjoy a family friendly Christmas buff et with a variety of festive choices for chil-dren and parents alike.Cost: OMR 22*For an additional OMR 10* enjoy unlimited beverages, soft drinks and juices in Al Tanoor or Samba restaurants
Christmas Day December 25LunchAl TanoorSee the spectacular winter wonderland dessert buff et while enjoying a traditional Christmas Day buff et lunch or dinner at Al Tanoor restaurant.Cost: OMR 25*
DinnerSambaFor a traditional family Christmas enjoy a festive buff et on this special day.Cost: OMR 18*
Bait al BahrEnjoy Christmas dinner with a four-course menu of the fi nest, fresh seafood then make your way to the rooftop B.A.B. lounge for special Christmas drinks.Cost: OMR 25*
Capri CourtChristmas dinner with the best of Italian cuisine in an innovative four-course menu created by specialty chefs.Cost: OMR 25*
SultanahDine in Sultanah restaurant and sample an exquisite barbecue buff et with unlim-ited drinks and selected beverages while listening to live entertainment.Cost: OMR 59*
ShahrazadSavour the fl avours of Morocco in a fi ve-
course feast and enjoy entertainment from Moroccan musicians.Cost: OMR 35**Prices subject to service charge and taxes.
Contact: +968 2477 6565 e-mail: fb [email protected]
Christmas EveDecember 24For those looking for a combination of the fi nest Asian fl avours to tantalise their taste-buds, a fi ve-course tasting menu will be served at China Mood. A spectacular show will be presented from the Tea Sommelier to delight guests of all ages whilst they dine in the magical beachfront ambience. Timing: 7pm to 11pm Cost: OMR 45 + taxes Children can dine a la carte from our Ritz Kids menu
Festive favourites will be on off er as part of a fi ve-course tasting menu at Beach Pavilion. Accompanied by a live vocal performance, visitors can look forward to an unforgettable dining experience under the stars, in the elegant beachfront setting of the restaurant.Timing: 7pm to 11pm Cost: OMR 45 + taxes Children can dine a la carte from our Ritz Kids menu
A sumptuous Christmas Eve Buff et boast-ing over 15 live cooking stations will be served at Al Khiran Terrace overlooking the pool and gardens. The youngest guests can enjoy a variety of activities to remain entertained throughout the evening and build up the excitement ahead of the ar-rival of Santa Claus. Timing: 7pm to 11pm Cost: OMR 25+ taxes for buff et OMR 39+ taxes with beveragesOMR 12+ taxes for children
Christmas DayDecember 25The celebrations continue through to Christmas Day at Al Khiran Terrace where a day brunch will also encompass spectacular live cooking stations in ad-dition to a vast array of food displays in-cluding seafood, international and Arabic fl air, cold cuts, grill and carving stations, individual appetizers and more. Timing: 12.30pm to 4pmCost: OMR 35++ brunch buff et with
complimentary dining for children under 6 years of age.OMR 49 + taxes with selected beverages OMR 59 + taxes with selected beverages and soft drinks OMR 16 + taxes for children above 6 to 12 Complimentary for children under 6.
Contact: 968 2476 4205 or e-mail: [email protected]
Christmas Eve December 24 Buff et dinner at Mydan with free fl ow of water, soft drinks, and canned juice. There would also be an array of beverages. Half price for children below 12 years old. Free meal for children below six years old.Timing: 6.30pm-10.30pmCost: OMR 30 net per person
Christmas Day BrunchDecember 25Christmas buff et brunch in Mydan. A welcome glass of beverage. Free fl ow of water, soft drinks and canned juice. Half price for children below 12 years old. Free meal for children below six years oldTiming: 12 noon-3.30pmCost: OMR 30 net per person
Christmas Day RoastChristmas roast mini brunch at the pool side. A glass of beverage, free fl ow of water, soft drinks, and canned juice. Half price for children below 12 years old. Free meal for children below six years oldTiming: 12 noon – 3.30pmCost: OMR 20 net per person
Contact: +968 2687 1555 E-mail: [email protected]
December 25Christmas buff et dinner at pool side with music.Timing: 7-10.30pmCost: OMR 19 per adult; children under 5 years are complimentary, from 5 to 10 OMR 8.
Contact: +968 9350 4905E-mail: [email protected]
FIND-IT-ALLC10 T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
CITY CINEMAContact (10 am to 6PM) 24567664 | 68 www.citycinemaoman.netfacebook.com/citycinemaoman
SHATTIStar Wars: The Force Awakens (3D) (Action | Adventure | Fantasy) (PG12) Cast: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher6:00, 9:30, 11:45, 11:55 PMStar Wars: The Force Awakens (2D) (Action | Adventure | Fantasy) (PG12) Cast: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher3:15 PMDilwale (Action | Crime) (PG12) Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Kriti Sanon, Varun Dhawan 3:00, 9:00, 11:30 PMBajirao Mastani (Drama | History) (TBC)Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh8:45 PMThe Good Dinosaur (3D) (Animation) (U)Voice Overs: Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, Maleah Nipay-Padilla4:00 PM
MUSCAT GRAND MALLStar Wars: The Force Awakens -3D (Action | Adventure | Fantasy ) PG12Cast : Oscar Isaac, Harrison Ford11:00AM, 12:45, 4:30, 6:15, 9:00 & 11:45PMGold Class: 3:00, 8:45 & 11:15PMDilwale (Action | Romantic | Comedy) PG12Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Kriti Sanon, Varun Dhawan, 1:30, 3:15, 8:45 & 11:30PMGold Class: 5:45PMThe Good Dinosaur-3D (Animation) UCast: Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand10:45AM & 7:00PM
PANORAMA MALLStar Wars: The Force Awakens - (Action,
Adventure)(3D)(PG12)Cast : Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac4:45, 9:15 pmStar Wars: The Force Awakens - (Action)(VIP LOUNGE)(PG12)Cast : Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac2:45, 5:15, 11:00 pmStar Wars (Action, Adventure)(MX4D)(PG12)Cast : Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac2:30, 5:45, 9:00, 11:30 pmDilwale (Action, Romance)(2D)(PG12)Cast : Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Kriti Sanon2:15, 5:15, 8:15, 11:15, 11:45 pmDilwale (Action)(2D)(PG12)-VIP LOUNGECast : Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Kriti Sanon7:45 pmBAJIRAO MASTANI (Drama)(2D)(PG12)Cast : Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone2:45, 5:45, 8:45, 11:45 pmThe Good Dinosaur (Animation)(3D)(U)Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, Maleah Nipay-Padilla2:30, 7:15 pm
AZAIBA Dilwale – 2D (PG12) (Action, Romantic)
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhavan, Kriti Sanon11:45 AM, 2:00, 2:30, 5:00, 5:30, 8:00, 8:30, 11:00, 11:30PMStar Wars: The Force Awakens - 3D (PG12) (Action | Adventure | Fantasy)Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Brendan2:00, 4:25, 6:50, 9:15, 11:45PMBajirao Mastani – 2D (PG12) (Drama, History, Romance)Cast: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra11:15 AM, 2:15, 5:15, 8:15, 11:15PM
RUWIScreen 1Dilwale (Action/Romance) – PG12Cast : Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PMScreen 2Bajirao Mastani (Romance/Drama) – PG12Cast : Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh3.45, 6.45, 9.45 PM
Screen 3Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (Family/Drama) PGCast : Salman Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Neil Nitin Mukesh3.45 PMBajirao Mastani (Romance/Drama) – PG126.45, 9.45 PMCast : Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh
SURStar Wars : The Force Awakens (Action | Adventure | Fantasy) (PG12)Cast: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy5:45, 8:10 PMDiwale (Action | Romance ) (PG12) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon3:00, 8:45, 11:35 PMBajirao Mastani (Action | Romance | History) ( PG12) Cast : Ranbir Singh, Dipika Padkone, Priyanka5:50, 10:35 PMThe Good Dinosaur 3D ( Animation) ( U ) 3:50 PM
SOHAR
Macbeth - 2D (12+)Drama | War Cast: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jack Madigan5:30, 11:55 PMThe Good Dinosaur - 3D (U) Animation | Adventure | ComedyVoice Overs : Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, Maleah Nipay-Padilla6:30 PMThe Good Dinosaur - 2D (U) Animation | Adventure | ComedyVoice Overs : Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, Maleah Nipay-Padilla2:45 PMStar Wars: The Force Awakens - 2D (PG12) Action | Adventure | Fantasy Cast : Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher5:45, 9:20 PMStar Wars: The Force Awakens - 3D (PG12) Action | Adventure | Fantasy Cast : Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher3:00, 8:40, 11:30 PMDilwale - 2D (PG12) Action | Comedy | Cast : Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon3:30, 8:30, 6:45, 11:15 PMBajirao Mastani - 2D (TBC) Drama | History | Romance Cast : Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh2:30, 7:45, 10:45 PMWhen Marnie Was There - 2D (PG) Anima-tion | Drama | FamilyVoice Overs : Sara Takatsuki, Kasumi Arimura, Nanako Matsushima4:45 PM
BURAIMIStar Wars: The Force Awakens– 2D (Action, Adventure, Fantasy) (PG12)Cast: Daisy Ridley, Oscar Issac, Harrison Ford3:15, 6:00, 9:15, 11:30PMClose Range – 2D (Action, Crime) (12+)Cast: Scott Adkins, Nick Chinlund, Caitlin Keats7:45, 11:30PMThe Good Dinosaur – 3D (Animation, Adventure, Comedy) (U)
Voice Overs: Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, Maleah Nipay-Padilla5:45PMDilwale – 2D (Action, Romantic, Comedy) (PG12)Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Kriti Sanon3:00, 6:00, 8:50, 11:45PMBajirao Mastani– 2D (Drama, History) (PG12)Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh3:15, 8:30PM
SALALAH
In the Heart of the Sea (3D) (PG12) (Action | Adventure | Biography) Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Brendan4:00PMStar Wars: The Force Awakens (3D) (PG12) (Action|Adventure|Fantasy) Cast: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac10:15 AM, 12:45, 6:15, 9:20, 11:55 PMStar Wars: The Force Awakens (2D) (PG) (Action|Adventure|Fantasy) Cast: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac3:00PMDilwale (2D) (PG12) (Action | Romantic | Comedy) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Kriti Sanon, Varun Dhawan12:00, 3:25, 6:25, 8:45, 11:45PM Bajirao Mastani (2D) (PG12) (Drama/History)Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh5:30, 8:30, 11:30PMThe Good Dinosaur (3D) (U) (Animation| Adventure |Comedy) Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, Maleah Nipay-Padilla10:00AM, 2:00PM When Marnie Was There (2D) (PG) (Anima-tion | Drama | Family) Voice Overs: Sara Takatsuki, Kasumi Arimura, Nanako Matsushima12:00PM
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
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Egypt 24 600 982/411
France 24681 800
Germany 24835000
India 24684500
Indonesia 2469 1050
Iran 24 696 944/7
Iraq 24603642
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Japan 24 601 028
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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
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KML Royal Dutch Airlines 24566737
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LOT Polish Airlines 24796387
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Oman Air 24531111
Pakistan International
Airlines 24792471
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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
@AZAIBA @RUWI
Bajirao Mastani – 2D (PG12) Drama, History, RomanceCast – Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra11:15AM, 2:15, 5:15, 8:15, 11:15PM
@PANORAMA MALL
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (MX4D) (Action | Adventure | Fantasy) (PG12) Cast: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Issac2:30, 5:45, 9:00, 11:30 pm
Dilwale (Action/Romance) – PG12Cast : Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PM
BAHJA CINEMAFilm information 24540856 / Advance Booking 24540855Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com
Dilwale (Action / Comedy) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon1.00, 4.00, 7.00 & 10.00 PM CP No: 3047 (PG12)Close Range (Action / Crime) Cast: Scott Adkins, Nick Chinlund, Caitlin Keats6.15 & 10.15 PM CP No: 3041 (12+)Hyena Road (Drama / War)Cast: Rossif Sutherland, Paul Gross4.00 & 8.00 PM CP No: 3043 (15+)Howl (Horror)Cast: Ed Speleers, Holly Weston, Shauna Macdonald2.00 PMCP No: 3042 (18+)
STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776Website: www.isurf.co.om
Dilwale (Hindi) (Act\Com) Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Kajol & Varun Dhawan 3-30 & 9-30 pm at Cinema Main; 6-30 pm at Cinema-2 Bajirao Mastani (Hindi Rom\Act/Drama) Cast: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone 6-30 pm Cinema Main; 3-30 & 9-30 pm at Cinema-2Amar Akbar Anthony (Mal) (Act/Drama) Cast : Prithviraj & Jaya Surya6-45 pm Cinema -3 Salt Mango Tree (Mal \ Com) Cast Biju Menon, Sohasani & Mani Ratnam 6-45 & 9-45 pm at Cinema -4 Bengal Tiger (Telugu) ( Act) Cast: Ravi Teja, & Tamannaah 3-45 Cinema -4 Pathemari (Mal/ Drama) Cast : Mammootty & Jewel Mary 3-45 & 9-45 pm at Cinema- 3 NEXT CHANGE: Tanga Magan (Tamil); Pasanga (Tamil); Soukhayam (Telugu); Rangi Taranga (Kannada) Programmes are subject to change
Dhuhr 12.10pm
Asr 3.10pm
Maghrib 5.30pm
Isha 6.46pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 5.24am
PRAYER TIMINGS
WEATHER
260
Maximum
160
Minimum
TEMPERATURE
45-75%RELATIVE HUMIDITY
Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 17 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 [email protected]
WITH LOVE
NAMRA ALI December 22, 2014
BASHAAR MUBARAKDecember 22, 2005
LIFESTYLEC11T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
Shred it and add to your sandwiches, salads, and wraps — the love for
lettuce is here to stay. So if you thought it’s just for salads then check out
these great ways to add it in your menu.
ONE
INGREDIENT
FIVE WAYS
NGREDIENT
FIFIFIFFFIFF VEVEVEE WWWAYS
LettuceOyster sauceSeparate the lettuce
leaves, and blanch them
for about 30 seconds,
then pour the oyster
sauce mixture over it,
and serve immediately.
Ideal vesselThey make great ves-
sels for eating marinated
grilled shrimp or chick-
en drizzled with sauce of
your choice.
Pizza passionThrow some fresh, crisp
iceberg lettuce or any
other variety of lettuce
on top of your pizza for a
great crunch.
DrinksTake kale, spinach, let-
tuce, and apple green
juice, and blend. This
green juice is known for
its refreshing quality.
Wrap it upCombine meat, lettuce,
avocado, and tomatoes
wrapped up in some
eggs. Serve with sour
cream.
KEEP YOUR snacks small in size and also simple by adding a little salt to taste and mild pepper for the festive season, says an expert.
Chef Tushar from McCain Foods Kitchen has shared con-venient snacking tips for this fes-tive season. •Keep your snacks bite-sized: Keep your snacks small in size so that they can be easily picked up from the plates with hand or tooth-picks.•Use minimum spices: Strong spic-es such as chillies and peppers can rob your taste buds of the refi ned tang of the bubbly you are having. Keep your snacks simple with just a little salt to taste and mild pepper seasoning.•Oil them right: Go for an oil with
a high smoke point. Canola, sun-fl ower, and rice bran oils are con-sidered good as they can be heated to high temperatures without burning.•Fry in parts: To ensure that your snacks are evenly cooked and crispy, fry them in parts. The fewer amounts of snacks you fry in one go, the more evenly they will turn out.•Signature dishes: Let there be no more than two signature dishes. Do not confuse your guests. Let two unique dishes outshine.•Prepare close to serving time: Snacks should be prepared as close to serving time as possible to ensure the desired freshness and crispiness, otherwise they might get soggy. -IANS
LIFESTYLEC12 T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
IN THE ERA of insulated lunch bags, it’s time for lunch-packers to think outside the sandwich and opt for improved and wholesome lunch options like soup. Here are fi ve “souper” reasons why:
* Soggy bread relief: Juicy toma-toes and dollops of mayonnaise make the sandwich, but drippy ingredients and layers of deli meats are a recipe for soggy bread. The fi x? Fill a thermos with a wholesome, organic soup and pack a side of crunchy top-pings. Cheddar Bunnies make great kid-friendly croutons.
* Convenience: Everyone loves a classic ‘wich, but not all good things come between two layers of bread. Save time spreading mus-tard and think soup. Thanks to recyclable carton packaging tech-nology, soup is as easy as pour and heat. Yes, soup is science.
* Warmth: When it’s freezing outside,
biting into cold cuts and iceberg lettuce isn’t helping the situation. Enter a pipin’ hot thermos of soup. Take that, winter.
* Extra veggies: Some say soup was invented by a magician to trick kids into eating vegetables. One thing is certain, you can’t trick kids into eating the unwant-ed ... especially in between two slices of bread. The good news? Organic tomato soup has 1/2 cup of blended vegetables per serv-ing. Now that’s magic.
* Organic: Bread only needs four ingredients - water, fl our, yeast, and salt - but not according to many conventional bread brands with long lists of hard-to-pro-nounce additives. Organic soups are made without artifi cial fl a-vours, synthetic colours, preserva-tives and high fructose corn syrup. Go on, put your spoon where your mouth is. Get ahead of bread. — Courtesy of Brandpoint
Handy snack tips for this festive season
Five reasons soup is the new sandwich
C O O K I N G I D E A S
The delicate stigma of the crocus fl ower,
harvesting saff ron is quite the task,
which is why the resulting spice is the
most expensive in the world. But there is
no substitute for the vibrant yellow hue
and heavenly aroma it lends to dishes.
BY SWATI DASGUPTA
KNOW
YOUR SPICE
Saff ron
What’s It?Saff ron is the world’s most expensive spice and it got its name from the Arabic word zafaran which means ‘yellow’.It is bright orange-red coloured threads which has a strong perfume, with an aroma of honey. It has a pungent bitter-honey like taste.
Cooking with ItSaff ron is found in diff erent cuisines mostly Mediterranean and Asian. While it is mostly used to colour rice like pilaf it is also used while making risotto and many other Italian rice dishes. It combines well with fi sh and seafood, and used in Spanish paella. In England, it is used to make Cornish saff ron.
HistorySaff ron is cultivated in India, Turkey, China, and Iran. In French it is called safrané which means ‘coloured using saff ron’. It was valued for its colouring properties and the Romans brought it to England.
Select and StoreLook for bright colour ones in the stores while buying. Like all other spices store in a cool dry place, out of the light.
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 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
RENT D2
Contact : 990 49 722
FOR RENTAL KHUWAIR
INDEPENDENT VILLA - 5 BED ROOM
att ached bath rooms, split a/c, car parking.
*Tourist visa arranged
Email: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461
FOR RENT
D2 T U E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
DAILY GUIDE
FOR SALE
Profs / jack. Contact 93219378
V. Nice fl at in Wadi Kabir.
Contact: 95755953 /95555162
At Al Athaiba ground fl oor with
split AC, 2beds, 2bathrooms,
kitchen & sitting room Behind
AL Zubair rent 350/-PDC.
Contact: 99879939
1000 Sq mtrs industrial land for
rent in Ghala suitable for ware-
house workshop etc.
Contact 24700120 /92584715
Villa for rent in Wadi Kabir.
Contact: 95562646
2 BHK near Oman house behind
Khimji H.O. Contact – 95865686
3 BHK fl at near Darsait ID medical.
RO 420/- Contact – 99358589 /
97079146 / 95570288
2 BHK fl at for rent near (ISM)
Indian School Muscat.
Contact: 99489594
Flat for rent, 2 room, 2 bathroom
with AC 250/-. Contact: 94447825
New villa at south Mawalah 5 bed-
room, family hall, Majlis, 5 twl for
RO.650/- Contact - 99332367
Villas available for rent at Al
Hail close to the wave (Al Mouj)
compound swimming pool & gym.
Contact: 99833747
House for rent in Al Amerat .
Contact: 92532371 / 92294259
2 BHK with split / AC in MSQ op-
posite Al Fair. Contact: 96708000
1BHK fl at near Star Cinema 220/-
Contact 99358589 /95570288
Flat for Rent 1/2 BHK Flat at
Muttrah, near Oman fl our 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
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
At Al Athaiba (2nd fl oor) 2 bed,
sitting room , 1 bathroom , kitchen ,
split AC rent 310/- PDC.
Contact: 99879939
2bed rooms fl at with hall, 2
bathrooms in Darsait near Muscat
Municipality. Contact: 92584715 /
24700120
At Wadi Kabir Industrial two
fl oor showrooms, 80 sm each,
rent 450/- R.O (PDC). Contact:
99879939
Flats shops & store for rent in
Ruwi Honda road Mumtaz.
Contact: 97293708 / 92433127
1BHK R.O 225 close to Indian
Nursery, Darsait, 2BHK close to
ISWKG Wadi Kabir bldg 1690 R.O
300/-. Contact : 99476728
1000sqmtrs industrial land for
rent in Ghala suitable for ware-
house workshop etc. Contact
24700120 /92584715
1& 2 BHK fl ats for rent at Hamriya
Mabela and Al Khoud shop at
Al Khoud. Contact: 24834644 /
GSM : 93994401 /02/03/3lines
2 bedroom luxury fully furnished
fl at for rent at Ghala short or long
term basis. Contact: 99886386 /
99881653
02 BHK residential fl at opposite
to Al Nadha hospital. Contact:
99342733 / 99795241
1,2 BHK Ghubra R.O 300/-, 325/- &
350/-. Contact: 97799175
Flats for rent at Al Mablah block
eight. Contact: 99445177
Single BHK fl at available in Honda
road Ruwi. Contact - 24833972/
24833974/99367448
2BHK Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti
mosque. Contact: 97007934 /
92629232
Offi ces & Showrooms in Al Khoud.
Contact - 94051789-97201688
600 SQT commercial fl at for rent
opposite Oman fl ourmill Darsait
more details. Contact: 91214849/
99364735
Flats for rent in Wadi Kabir.
Contact: 99376454
1000 sqm industrial land with com-
pound wall & two rooms at Misfah.
Contact: 99342733 / 99795241
7 Bedrooms villa in Ghobrah North.
Contact - 96420432
2 BHK Flats for rent Muttrah near
Oman house. Contact: 97007934 /
92629232
One fl ats for rent 2 bedroom all
with bath al Ghobrah north near In-
dian school (hot burger restaurant)
Tel. 9976610
Open showroom AL Ghobrah 18
November 175SQM & offi ce space Al
Qurum next to Al Araimi Complex.
Contact: 94300909
1.2.3 BHK & villa. Contact: 97799175
1BHK Darsait R.O 225/-.
Contact: 92144045 /97799175
1/2/3 BHK Flats & Showrooms at Mutt rah, near Oman fl our mills,
10 min. from corniche. equipped with split/cassett e unit ACs, internet points, free-
to-air dish connecti on, CCTV monitored, basement parking. Rent RO.250/350/450
(Negoti able) per month.
Contact : 99229263; 93221054; 95215289
NEW Flats & Showrooms for Rent
FOR RENT2BHK,
3 washroom Flat with Split Air Conditioners -
Near Lulu Darsait
CONTACT : 93202733
1BHK Mumtaz R.O 250/-.
Contact: 92144045 /97799175
1BHK M.B.D R.O 280/- & 250/-.
Contact: 92144045/97799175
2BHK available near Hamriya round
about main road rent R.O 170/- PM.
Contact: 99513510
Flats in Darsait. Contact -
94051789-97201688
Flats in Wadi Kabir. Contact -
94051789-97201688
Fully Furnished apartments in
Boucher (35) Contact - 94051789-
97201688
Flats in Muttrah. Contact -
94051789-97201688
Offi ces in Ghala. Contact -
94051789-97201688
Offi ces in Qurum opposite City
Center. Contact - 94051789-
97201688
Brand new villas in Al Ansab.
Contact - 94051789-97201688
Offi ces & Showrooms in Muttrah.
Contact - 94051789-97201688
Mini Furnished Apartment in Qu-
rum. Contact - 94051789-97201688
Duplex villa in QURUM 29.
Contact - 94051789-97201688
Villa, 2 fl ats at Al Khuwair (17/2)
Contact: 99444786
Wadi Kabir, one bedroom fl at.
Contact: 99313274
2 BHK fl at with air conditions
at Ruwi MBD area,
near Al Adil supermarket.
Contact: 932111557/24814853
Semi furnished spacious room
with attached washroom separate
entrance near Indian school
Al Ghobrah for non cooking
Executive Indian bachelor.
Contact: 95146361/92657598
For rent 1bed room fl at, near In-
dian school (ISD) at Darsait.
Contact: 94776771/ 99669216
Two fl oor beautiful villa for rent
at AL Khoud – VIP neighborhood,
close to all amenities , ground
fl oor consist of sitting rooms , two
toilets , hall & kitchen, fi rst fl oor
, three bedrooms , balcony & hall
with two toilets, shaded garage
for two cars , monthly rental OMR
600/-. Contact: 95348567
2 Bed rooms fl at with hall, 2
bathrooms in Darsait near Muscat
Municipality. Contact: 92584715/
24700120
Store for rent in Mabela, road
no. 10, total area 700 sq.mt, built
up area 200 sq.mt with covered
shed, open area 500 sq.mt. With
boundary wall. Contact -98273761
/96677134.
2bedroom centrally Ari con-
ditioned fl at in CBD, central
bank Area. Contact: 24714625
/99053493
3 Bed with split A/C near Hojar
roundabout R.O 275/-. Contact:
99326048/ 95250986
One & Two bedroom apartments
available for rent near grand mall,
opposite panorama mall, next to
Diwans offi ce, at south Ghobrah.
Contact: 99833747
02 BHK commercial / residential
(with split AC) fl ats at Honda Road.
Contact: 99342733 / 99795241
One / two B/R RES / comm. fl at
near Oman Medical College direct-
ly from owner. Contact: 92158031
Used super market shelving’s
Gondolas. Contact: 97752395
Exercise cycle for sale.
Contact – 92847957
Marble factory for sale, location
Misfah. Contact – 98586828
Cradle lift for external build-
ing painting hundred mtr height
almost new. Contact 99235701
/97747705
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
Shop for sale in CBD area prime
location call 97449011
Villas in Al Khoud. Contact -
95056808-97201688
Luxury Apartments in Boucher
(35). Contact - 95056808-
97201688
Fully Furnished apartments in
Boucher (35) Contact -95056808-
97201688
Running restaurant with seven
clearance for sale Awabi Muscat.
Contact: 95497007
Barber shop for sale in Ghubra.
Contact 92955874
Al Qurum, 2 bedrooms,
3 bathrooms, sitting, kitchen,
split ACs price 65,000 R.O.
Contact 9987 9939
3Ton Forklift, Special made for
Oman market, Japanese Isuze
C240 Engine, Cascade side shifter,
High amount exhaust, 3m lifting
height, Solid tyres, One year
warranty. Contact: 98883445
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
In a Luxury Buildingin Al Seeb MarketNear Police station
FLATS FOR RENT
Call: 99888007 - 99473500
DAILY GUIDET U E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5 D3
FOR SALE
ACC. AVAILABLE
ACC. AVAILABLE
1 Bedroom with bathroom for fe-
male in Al Hail including electric-
ity & water. Contact - 92817777
Furnished single rooms available
for bachelors at Ruwi.
Contact: 98650994
Single room available in Mumtaz
area Ruwi. Contact: 91978472
Spacious semi furnished room
with separate bathroom for execu-
tive bachelor Opp. O.C Center Ruwi.
Contact: 92273779
Furnished room, attached bath in
Mumtaz area. Contact - 99743709
For rent independent room with
attach B/room & kitchen near BP
Petrol pump & Seeb Indian School,
Mabela for RO.100 /- without Elect
& Water. Contact 91516775
Big room available near Hamriya
R/A for Muslim couple / small
family / Executive bachelor rent
150/- per month including W+ E.
Contact : 99495131
MV SALE
Izuzu 3.5 ton model 2013-3nos.
Contact: 99719124
Izuzu 5 ton model 2009 – 1nos.
Contact: 99719124
Expat used Ford Escape 2012,
102000 kms insurance Oman /
UAE Mulkiya 10-2016. OMR 4850/-
. Contact - 93264005
Toyota Yaris model 2011 M/T, km
165000. Price RO.2150/-.
Contact: 95286741
Toyota Corolla Oct 2012 Regd
MY. Excellent condition, km done.
33,000/- Contact - 97717152
Hummer H2 model 2006, 178000
km, Full options Number 1 Army edi-
tion.OMR 7200. Contact -99466773
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
Indian Granite 600x300x20 - 15000 sq mts
Indian Granite Slabs - 20000 Sq mts
Our factory yard at Ghala Industrial area.
STOCK CLEARANCE SALE
Contact 99337723 / 95118906FOR SALE
Dozer 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
ACC. WANTED
Single room required with reason-
able rent. Contact - 95405033
Single room required for an
Executive with reasonable rent.
Contact 95405033
USED EXCAVATORS
FOR SALE• KOMATSU PC 450• HITACHI 350• KOBELCO 250
Please Contact: 99855374 / 98517544
Mangalorean restaurant at Wadi
Kabir & shop at Ruwi for sale.
Contact: 98428507 / 93655003
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), refrig-
erator, freezer & mess equipments
for sale. Contact: 98064113/
99315878 Quotation fax on:
24448101 /24448103
Grade one, non residential civil
construction company, seven
months old, with all approvals, in
Sohar, for immediate sale.
Contact: 98236616
Furnished sharing accommodation
in ruwi near O.K. Center for non-cook-
ing indian bachelor. #98805474
FOR SALEUsed cars – saloon cars, SUV 4WD & Pickups for sale on
as is where is basis. Mercedes Benz car E-230 model 2009,
Km run: 187,500 good running condition. Used porta cabins (5 Nos) and steel scrap for sale.
Th ese are available for inspection in NTS camp Ghala. Interested parties may contact on – 99259157 / 93891398. Sealed off ers with vehicle- wise quote should be submitted on
or before 27th December 2015 with security deposit.
NRI
Plot for sale Shadnagar
Municipality, Mahboob Nagar
District, walk able distance to
existing colonies, national highway
and basic amenities at reasonable
price. Contact – 0091 8686631669
A House of 2150 sq.Ft in Padmana-
banagar Bangalore facing south
east on a corner plot of 2315 Sq.Ft
for sale , serious buyer. Contact:
00919845195766, 968 99770173
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: [email protected]
+968 92855909, +91 9961 11 9988
royal castles royal castles vakathanam, kottayamvakathanam, kottayam
INLAYS/ MOTIFS/ DESIGNS WORKS
We have fully computerized state of the art water jet machines for
marble/ granite/ porcelain/ ceramic ti le. Inlays/ Moti fs/
Designs at very reasonable rates.To register your enquiries for
above work contact: Mr. Ravi 96529679 or Mr. Osama
Hasan 99376020 Email: [email protected] or
GENERAL ELECTRONICS SERVICES LLC
CONTACT: 99627299 / 93327841
BRING HOME - LIVE MUSIC & CINEMA
HOME THEATER&
KARAOKE
Room for rent with furniture.
Al Bustan villeage. .
Contact 93687466
A Bedroom along with separate
bathroom available for rent for an
Executive Bachelor in Al Khuwair
(near Zawawi Mosque). #92138451
Room for rent available in a fl at
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
Single room for expat Indian bach-
elors near Al Aktham restaurant Al
khuwair for RO 120. Water and elec-
tricity included. Contact 98803261
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
1 Bedroom with attached Bath,
fully furnished, separate entrance
at Mabela for ladies only.
Contact: 99634841
MATRIMONIAL
Rose Mary age 25 yrs Born Oman,
B.com 2 years ACCA, MBA. Con-
tact: 92841175 T.C.R. EKM .DT. Only
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 alli-
ance of girls from the suitable fam-
ily. Contact: Rejeesh - 92801583,
94238934, Shanmughan -
+919895891202, +914712619230
23 Years Malayalee Christian
girl born & educated in Banga-
lore, seeking suitable alliances
from well settled Keralite Ma-
layalee Christian boys. Contact
- 99494371
DRIVING
Learn driving with professional.
Contact: 94022250
VEHICLES FOR SALE PDO/Non PDO
LOCATION – Near MOD GATE NO- 12, Muscat MITSHUBISHI L200 – PICKUP - 12 NoMITSHUBISHI 3T CANTER - 8NoMITSHUBISHI Lancer 1.3 L - 7 NoMITSHUBISHI ROSA MINIBUS - 1 NoMITSHUBISHI Pajero - 1No
Contact person -Mr. Arun Kurian - +96899225341,Mr. Jino Kosy- +96899428582
DAILY GUIDED4 T U E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED
SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED
Email: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624
SKILLED
ENGINEER
MANAGER
MISCELLANEOUS
DRIVER
BEAUTY
MEDICAL
ACCOUNT. & FINANCE
DOMESTIC HELPER
EDUCATION
CATERING
DRIVER
ACCOUNT. & FINANCE
CATERING
SALES / MARKETING
SALES / MARKETING
ADMIN
ADMIN
ARCHITECT DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN
Cooks (Arabic Indian) gulf exp
looking job. Contact: 99531802
Instrumentation & controls Technician with 2-3 years experi-
ence preferably in water sector and
having valid driving license Send
CV to [email protected] or
call Ph:+968 99450811
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
fi eld with market exposure hold-
ing valid Omani driving license
or GCC. Kindly fwd your CV’s to
Contact: (+968)93891700
Wanted Indian Accountant with
experience in Oman-
Contact 91339401
We are looking for Chief Finan-cial Offi cer, Male 40- 45 years old,
Bachelor of Science in Account-
ancy with 5 - 15 yrs. of experience.
Contact: +968 24702133
Email: [email protected]
Wanted experienced driver for rent
a car and tourism. Email:
Required Indian driver to work in a
house. Salary RO 150/-
Contact – 96255558
Experienced Petrol Mechanic, denter required. Contact: 98045373
Wanted Chemical Engineer with
5-10 years experience in
STP Operations and Maintenance.
Kindly send your resumes to
Fax us at +968-24792175.
Wanted Market Research Expert with experience in Feasibility
Studies. Kindly send your resumes to
Fax us at +968-24792175.
Civil Site Supervisor for telecom
tower projects across Oman. Send CV
to [email protected] or call +968
9946 7227
Experienced Light Duty Driver,
Fluent in English, Arabic Well
knowledge of Oman Areas Seeking
Suitable placement 97950869
Exp driver (Keralite).
Contact: 93412587
Indian light driver having 2
years experience in Oman Know
language Hindi, English , Arabic
need job. Contact: 97366822
Driver with car. Contact: 91452930
B.Com Qualifi cation experience
Saudi 5 years Saudi light driving
license. Contact: +919994321140
Email: [email protected]
Driver with Car looking for Job.
Contact 95560701.
Bangladeshi male 48 yrs, light
driver 14 yrs of exp, need job &
visa. Contact - 98236656
Driver looking for a job with visa
NOC available. Contact: 91039598
Indian light driver.
Contact: 92279370
Driver with experience of 10 years
in Oman seeks suitable place-
ment. Contact: 92191698
Light driver. Contact: 96313100
Driver with car available.
Contact: 93015630
10 yrs exp in GCC driver.
Contact: 93722881
Looking for Job driving.
Contact: 97418036
Driver with new car looking for
job.contact: 95873286
Driver (light & heavy duty) valid
gulf /Indian) looking job.
Contact: 95175192
Engineering Company based in Oman (Muscat)is looking urgently to hire
the following positi on:
Fax NO. 24596440 Email:[email protected]
Positi on: Accountant (Omani Only)
(Bachelor or Diploma )Experience: 2 to 3 years
Reputed building materials com-pany looking for outdoor Sales ex-ecutive having valid Omani driving
license with more than 2 years local
sales experience in tiles / sanitary
ware. Please fax CV to 24798709
Email: [email protected]
15 years GCC experienced in
fi nance treasury management CPA,
CMA, ACCA, MBA qualifi ed char-
tered accountant available for im-
mediate joining. Contact: 94872345
Email: [email protected]
Indian male B.com, 47 years old,
25 years, GCC experience in
Finance, HR & Admin with valid
Omani driving license looking for
a suitable placement (NOC avail-
able) Contact: 93238378
Indian male good experienced in
accountant ERP Tally 9 and admin
in Indian &Oman currently on visit
visa looking for suitable job.
Contact: 94834687
Indian male 22 BBM graduate
with tally certifi ed 5 month experi-
ence as accounts offi cer 2 looking
for suitable job immediately now on
visit visa. Contact: 98949120 Email:
Male 24 MBA fresher in marketing
and fi nance seeking immediate
placement. Contact: 96112920
Indian male B.com accountant job
6 years experience in Oman looking
suitable placement. # 95741442
Accountant senior looking suit-
able job please call 91422074
Chief Accountant looking for
full / part time job. Contact:
95598477/98803439
Cook waiters, must know Indian & Arabic food to cook. Contact: .97158376 Email:
Need cook Arab food sandwich
suitable salary, with visa.
Contact: 98292846
Indian male , B.Com, 21 yrs, ac-
countant with 1 and half years
experience looking for suitable job
for more discussion.
Contact: 96512733
Email: [email protected]
Indian male 25 yrs, Graduate in
commerce, overall 5 yrs exp in ac-
counts/ fi nance fi eld. On visit visa.
Immediately available.
Contact – 92836216 /
SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, with
13yrs experience, 6 yrs Oman in
manufacturing, trading & con-
tracting Cos, capable of handling
all accounting, fi nance, bank-
ing, L/C, import, export & fi na-
lization seeks placement. NOC
Available. Call+968-98932752,
mail:[email protected]
Accountant looking part time job.
Contact: 99867456
Email: [email protected]
28/ male MBA – fi nance /B.com –
accountant with 4 years of Dubai
/ India experience looking for a
suitable placement.
Contact: 90187483 Email:
Young 24, ACCA affi liate, ad-
vanced diploma in Accounting and
business, seeking suitable place-
ment in accounts, fi nance or audit
with valid driving license.
Contact: 92430152
Email: [email protected]
Urgently required for full time a Gujarati House maid for small
family (2 members), aged around
40-50, Visa Available. Contact -
99370306, after 08:00 pm only or
Whats app.
Looking for full-time housemaid
- please call 99385119
Indian Male 32, MBA (Marketing &
Finance) with 10 years experience
in Marketing of Banking Products
& Insurance Industry. Seeking for
a job in Oman. Contact: 93576980,
97750460
Email: [email protected]
Chief Accountant / fi nance of-
fi cer , Indian male , M.com 15 yrs
experience , Qatar , Saudi good
at account fi nalization statement
analysis , budgeting , variable
analysis, well versed in tally &
accounting packages. Currently in
Doha, seeking suitable position in
Muscat. Contact: 0097455075643
Email: [email protected]
Indian Male, Chartered Account-
ant and Cost Accountant, CISA
from USA, 25 Years of experi-
ence, 10 Years in Dubai, Seeking
Job in Accounts, Finance, Audit,
Banking, Project IT etc. Contact
Pawan Gupta on 00971504273221,
0096896123649. E mail address
is [email protected] and
website is www.pawanpraind.com
Indian CA, 8 yrs + Exp (6 yr in
Oman & UAE) in Finance, Accounts
& Auditing, seeking suitable posi-
tion in Muscat/Dubai, Can Join
Immediately, NOC Available,
Contact #: 98707434 /
ACCA, 8 years comprehensive
experience of audit, Engineering/
Manufacturing & Trading-FMCG is
looking for a change.NOC available
Contact: 91147885
Chartered Accountant 15 yrs- UAE
exp, seeking suitable job in Oman.
Contact – 0091 9446230586 /
Chief / Senior Accountant having
12 years of Oman experience in
reputed fi rms. Looking for suitable
placement. Contact – 99513082
Indian male 25 yrs MBA fi nance/
marketing. Over all 2 yrs of exp in
accounts/ fi nance fi eld. Currently
on visit visa in Oman, immediately
available. Contact – 92989197 /
94786544 Email:
Finance Controller 15 yrs exp in
Oman. Contracting, consultancy,
trading oil & gas, tourism, IT etc.
Project fi nancing feasibility ERP
cost control. Contact – 98571309
Experienced male accountant
available 3 yrs & 9 months exp in
Oman as accountant NOC available
ready to join. Contact - 95368181
ACCOUNTS AND ADMIN
MANAGER Degree in Accounts
with minimum 8 years of experi-
ence in accounts/fi nance and ad-
ministrative work. Good analytical
and managerial skill to control and
operate the department
independently. Contact-
ACCA /B.com (3.7 years experi-
ence) looking for accounts / audit
job. Contact: 97769145
Email: [email protected]
Indian male 11 yrs exp in account-
ant (4 yrs in Oman with D/L &
NOC) seeking suitable placement
in Sohar area .Contact: 91212471 /
94049967
Email: [email protected]
Indian lady, bachelor degree in
Preparatory Programme (BPP) and
Bachelor of Commerce (BCom),
completed training course in
MS Word, Excel, Power Point and
Outlook from KTI looking for full
time / part time job opportunity
in Oman. Contact 92437568,
96795853,
Email: [email protected]
Part time Accountant services,
yearly fi nalization works, monthly
report, profi t& loss report, con-
sulting and audit works. Contact:
96247295
Accountant Indian female, 26
yrs, B.Com 2 yrs experience in ac-
counting, purchase vouchers, bank
reconciliation. Contact: 95690207
Email: [email protected]
Multimedia and graphic designer Fil-
ipino male 25 , looking for job in Mus-
cat 3 years experience in 6 graphic and
3D design on visit visa immediately
available. Contact: 95844940
Email: [email protected]
Interior designer 4+ exp, turnkey
projects & freelancing for fl ats, offi ce
& corporate. Contact – 93140552/
A construction company in Muscat urgently requires sub contractors for: plastering, tiling, and painting.
Interest parties contact: 99344279
Email: [email protected]
Looking for experienced con-struction laborers as a subcon-tractor for a villa construction in
Mawaleh.Contact: 96203333
Urgently require a Female Beauti-cian for a saloon in Sur, must have
exceptionally good skills in thread-
ing ,waxing ,haircuts & facial treat-
ments .Hair styling & bridal make
ups would be added advantage
.(Visa available)For more details
please contact on 95214535
Need one Nurse for private clinic
scientifi c clinic Salalah.
Contact: 99082092
Wanted Medical Lab Technician (male or female) for a reputed poly
clinic. Kindly contact – 97101062 or
send email to –[email protected]
Reams Clinic - Muscat-Al Khoudh
urgently required Medical
Laboratory Technician salary +
Accommodation, Minimum 3 years
Experience in Sultanate of Oman
GP Nurse salary +Accommodation
minimum 5 years Experience in
Sultanate of Oman.
Contact - [email protected]
Wanted GP Doctor with MOH
license, job location in Muscat with
good salary and benefi ts. Drop your
cv at [email protected].
Egyptian woman resident has con-
siderable experience in the adminis-
tration and secretarial executive for
companies. Contact: 97221126
Indian female, MBA HR & Finance,
having 1 year experience, seeking
suitable placement. Currently in
Oman. Contact: 96052366.
Indian male 12 yrs exp in Oman
as administrator/ HR/ operation
manager with D/L & NOC. Contact –
96055815 / [email protected]
Now in visiting visa looking for job,
fl uency in Arabic writing, typing,
reading & speaking, looking in Ad-
min, document controller secretary
translator & HR Assistance. do need-
ful. Contact: 968- 97240204
Email: [email protected]
10 years experience in secretarial
/ Admin job. Contact: 94868626
Indian male MBA- UK 18 yrs Gulf
exp in Administration/ HR & Public
relationship. Fluent in Arabic/
English with D/L. Looking for
suitable position. Contact - 99897280
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: [email protected]
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 Female, MBA-HR having
8+ experience in Administration/
HR, Customer Support, Offi ce Coor-
dinator with good Computer skill,
Now on Visit Visa, looking for suit-
able position. Contact: 90196235
Urgently Required for Frozen Division
Van Salesman - (2) Sales Supervisor - (1)
Driver - (2) Candidates with relevant
GCC experience can mail their resume at
SITUATION VACANT
Send your CV to [email protected]
Leading MEP contracting company looking for following gulf experienced hands
1. Asst. Operations’ Manager – preferably B Tech (Elect) with min 5 years in building service with good communication& administrative skills.2. A.C Engineer – B Tech (Elect / Mechanical) with min 2 years in building service.
Kindly include the details of projects handled by you, in your CV.
REQUIRE QUALIFIED & EXPERIENCED
MARKETING EXECUTIVES
For sales of Gift items & watches,
with valid driving license .MALE CANDIDATES ONLY.
Contact - 91544446
ALUMINUM SUPERVISOR
Having ability to manage workshop -
ACCOUNTANT- 5 year experience,
up to fi nalization of accounting Contact email-
[email protected] & [email protected]
ACCOUNT. & FINANCE
INTERNATIONAL CONSULTING FIRM WISHES TO RECRUIT HIGHLY QUALIFIED ENGINEERS FOR OUR PROJECTS
IN SULTANATE OF OMAN.
Electrical Engineers (B.Sc Degree in Electrical)Site Supervision, Testing & Commissioning, Protection & ControlExperience:10 – 20 yearsTh e fi eld of these Projects are:HV/MV/LV Electrical Neworks including Grid Stations, Distribution Networks, OHTL, U/G Power Cables.
CVs mentioning Oman tel. No. to be submitted to:[email protected]
A fast food restaurant in Muscat
required experience Motor Cycle Drivers with license # 96447979.
Forward CV: -
Urgent Staff requirement for Omar
Al Khayyam Group of restaurant (restaurant manager, restaurant cashier, waiters, Indian / Chinese / Tandoor cooks. Contact: +96893798969 or
email: ok.offi [email protected]
Required building material sales man, CCTV Technician, Mainte-nance supervisor & Mason. Contact - 99383044
Sales Ladies wanted for Ladies Boutique. Age: 20-35 yrs. Al Khoudh.
Send CV to [email protected]
or call 91159905
Travel agent in Muscat require experience Counter Staff (male/ female) Sales & Marketing (male/
female) interested send CV on
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
Wanted Marketing personnel for
tours and rent a car. Email:
Fax: 24796040
Wanted building Materials sales exp sales executive male /female
with D/L for an LLC Company.
Email: [email protected]
Looking for Salesman (outdoor)
experience in building material,
consulting, Contraction Company.
Should have Driving license,
must have good spoken English,
should have working knowledge of
computers. Please send your CV to
Urgently required Graphic Designer & marketing executive please forward your CV
Insurance agency company require Sales Executive with
experience Oman driving license.
Clearance available. Send CV to:
Young dynamic professional with
4yrs of Oman Experience in HR &
Admin looking for suitable place-
ment.(NOC Available)-
Contact 91507099
1. Medical Lab Technician2. Staff Nurse3. Accountant – MaleKindly Email your cv @:
A Reputed Medical Complex Requires
experienced professional An Eye Lesser Centre/Muscat seeking for a staff Nurse with
good experience in ophthalmic surgeries and
having (MOHL) Oman Ministry of Health License.
STAFF NURSEREQUIRED
Please send CV to [email protected]
Architect looking for freelance
work in (design plans and 3dmax).
Contact: 96041201
Urgently Required: Project Manager with an experience 15
years in building construction,
MUST have NOC and immediately
join. Project Coordinator with an
experience 10 years in building
construction, MUST have NOC and
immediately join.
Apply, fax 00968–24605955,
emails [email protected],
Teacher maths and science, computer required for
Omani private school. Contact:
95141554/958225772
MISCELLANEOUS
Indian male, MBA, fi nance, hav-
ing MNC 2 year experience in
accounts and audit, skilled in sap,
seeking suitable position.
Contact : 96930855
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
Indian male auto cad draughts-
man (civil) 8 years experience
.seeking for job in Dubai & Qatar.
Contact - 00968-99070584
(Mct):0091-9895061474 (India)
email: [email protected]
Indian Female Accountant 5 Years
of Experience in Accounting Tally,
Offi ce coordination, And Admin,
Currently on Visit Visa Seeking
Suitable Placement. #95684179
DAILY GUIDET U E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5 D5
SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED
ENGG. / TECH./MECH.
ENGG. / TECH./MECH. ENGG. / TECH./MECH.
DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN
ENGG. / TECH./MECH.
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 Email: profi [email protected]
A result oriented professional B.E.(Mech), 30+ years experience in
Oil & Gas Projects, Fabricati on, R & M and Services. Seeking job as
GM, CEO, Country Head. NOC & immediate availability.
Phone : +91 9773828663, Email : [email protected]
HOSPITALITY
IT
MISCELLANEOUSEDUCATION
Sri Lankan female 26 years of
age, seeking suitable position in a
reputed fi rm .Holds BSC in computer
applications. 3 years of experience.
Has experience in the teaching fi eld
too. Contact: 92006612
Indian female M.SC B.ED qualifi ed
TEFL two years experience in gulf
seeking suitable job in teaching.
Contact: 91706466
Computer Teacher M.SC Indian male
10 years teaching exp in Maldives as
O level computer teacher presently
located at Berha on family visa.
Contact: 94867456 / 95262691
Indian male 42 B.A Degree & di-
ploma in hotel management with
16 yrs experience in India Abroad
having V/L Oman D/L looking for
suitable placement.
Contact: 91575956
Email: [email protected]
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, con-
cepts & Franchise development
with proven records. Seeking for
Challenging positions in reputed
groups as GM/COO/CEO/Business
Head. (NOC available)
Contact: 96059470
Dutch male qualifi ed commer-
cial pilot (Faa-ME-IR certifi ed) is
looking for job openings in middle
east. [email protected]
Mechanical Engineer ( B.E) passed out in 2014 fi rst class ,
who has done certifi cate course in
AutoCAD 2D , seeks employment in
core mechanical fi eld.
Contact: 93850221/97400106
M.Tech (Civil Engg) graduate ,
Indian male , 19 years experience
in construction fi eld , 8 years gulf
experience , 4 yrs in Dubai and 4
yrs in Oman , handled luxurious
hotels and waterfront properties
is looking for project manager job.
Contact: 91158903
Email: [email protected]
NOC is available
Indian male Electrical Engineer, having 6 years gulf experience in
designing, assembling, commis-
sioning execution etc having valid
GCC license too looking for a suit-
able. Contact: 00968-98052942
Email: [email protected]
Indian 43 yrs B.E civil experience 16
yrs gulf exp 4 yrs Saudi Arabia Qatar
Oman skill project coordination
supervisory quality control planning
& procurement monitoring the work
activities NOC available seeking
suitable area. Contact: 92910646
Email: [email protected]
Indian male mechanical Engineer
with 6 yrs experience in MEP fi eld
seeking a job have GCC license.
Contact: 98086267
Email: [email protected]
Dynamic Indian chemical engineer
(NITW) with 1years experience in
business development & valid Oman
D/L. Seeks suitable opportunity.
Contact: +96896141612
Email: [email protected]
Diploma in Mechanical Engineer-
ing, 36 years, Male, Indian, having
16 years of experience in machine
maintenance & machine breakdown,
worked with reputed companies in
India, currently on visit visa seeking
suitable placement.
Contact - 99011507
E-mail: [email protected]
Indian Male, 28 Yrs, M.Tech having
5+ years experience (3 Year Indus-
try+2 years Lecturer), Now on visit
visa, looking for suitable position,
please contact: 99249131
Indian male, 25years, B-Tech Gradu-
ate with two years experience in
Oman as Civil Engineer in a reputed
construction company. Looking for
suitable jobs. Resident card will ex-
pired on 06-01-2016.NOC available.
Seeking immediate placements.
Contact: 96179737/97076972,
email:[email protected]
Mechanical Engineer with 2 yrs
exp in the fi eld of manufacturing,
on visit visa, looking for suitable
job. Contact – 91417949 /
B.Sc Civil Engineer. Work
Experience 11 years 11 Months.
Last 7 years have been work-
ing in Oman in the fi eld of Civil
Construction. Present Position:
Resident Engineer of a Consult-
ing Company. Looking for the
post of Project Manager/Coordi-
nator/Resident Engineer. Have
driving license. Visa could be
transferable.Contract:93592334,
e-mail:[email protected]
B.Tech Civil Indian female(2
years of teaching exp;on family
visa) looking for engineering job.
96289945;
E-mail: [email protected]
Diploma in Civil Engineer having
9 years experience in Oman with
valid Oman driving license, release
available, searching placement.
Contact: 97232020
B.SC civil Engineer having 10 years
experience s, 7 years in Oman in
building construction with Oman
valid D/L, looking for suitable place-
ment. Contact: 93493547
Civil Engineer, Indian, 10 years
GCC experience with Oman D/L.
Contact: +919961800496
Electrical engineer Indian male 30
years , having 5 years of experi-
ence in industrial automation and
utility maintenance in Indian ( MRF
Tyres) seeking suitable placement.
Contact: 92789995 Email:
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: [email protected]
B.E Civil Engineer having 10 years
experience (04 years in Oman) look-
ing for a suitable placement NOC
available. Contact: 98065360 Email:
Mechanical Engineer M.Tech
2 years experience HVAC design
& site Engg revit MEP Auto CAD.
Contact: 90150913 Email:
Civil Engineer having total
5 years experience in building
construction, looking for suitable
placement. D/L available.
Contact – 94450270
Indian 27 years, Procurement
Engineer with 7 years of experi-
ence including 3 years in Oman
looking for a suitable. NOC &
driving license available.
Contact: 95852033.
Building construction site super-
visor with Omani D/L since Mar
.2010 in Oman looking placement
in good company.
Contact: 93061107
Civil Draughtsman having 10
years experience in engineering
consultancies N.O.C available.
Contact: 00968- 96712846
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
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: [email protected]
Indian male, 26 yrs, 4yrs expe-
rienced as Telecom engineer in
ooredoo FTTX project in Qatar with
valid GCC driving license, currently
in Oman, seeks suitable placement.
Contact 90194856
Email: [email protected]
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
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
Indian female, 31 yrs, 7 yrs expe-
rienced as AutoCAD civil drafts-
man (2 yrs experience in Oman)
currently in Oman seeks suitable.
Contact 96789441
Email: [email protected]
Indian male 23 years BE degree
in electronics & telecommunica-
tion, diploma in industrial control
& automation, holding valid Oman
D/L. Contact: 95726383 Email:
Electrical Engineer with 18 years
exp in UAE. Contact: 98148034
Email: [email protected]
Robotics/Embedded Systems
Engineer, Masters in Electron-
ics Engineering, experience in
software fi eld & robotics, seeks
suitable opportunities.
Email: [email protected]
Mob: 91306841
Sudanese male with a college de-
gree looking for suitable placement.
Contact: 94235133
Seeking suitable job for QA/QC
Inspector multi discipline, having
8 yrs exp with CSWIP 3.1 AWS-
CWI BGAS Grade II B.E Mech. NOC
available. Contact – 97312558 /
Indian male 42 years 13 years
experience with Oman driving
license in MEP contracting looking
job store keeper / purchaser.
Contact 95197065
Indian 28 yrs, 5 years experience
in purchase looking for a suitable
NOC available, driving license
available. Contact: 96772166
Indian male having more than 10
yrs exp in sea fright & air freight,
having GCC D/L looking for suitable
placement. Contact – 91714980/
Indian female on visit MBA
(International Business- Market-
ing & Logistics), BE (Computers &
Science Engg.) Trained in SAP-BI/
BW with 1 year experience seek-
ing for job Contact: 90228586
Email:[email protected]
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,(Certifi ed 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:
7 years Gulf experienced Auto-
matic door system technician. All
type of automatic door, gate bar-
rier, Access control, CCTV, working
in Oman (NOC available).
Contact 96707646
Email: [email protected]
IT support 9 years experience
servers network, hard / software
maintenance Web design CMS.
Contact: 97603094
NEBOSH, IOSH Indian male HSE
offi cer experience 8 yrs, 6 yrs GCC.
Contact: 93235457 Email:
IT Hardware Engineer with 3 years
of experience of computer hardware
, windows and ms offi ce looking
for a suitable position on visit visa.
Contact: 99062987 Email:
Indian male IT, CCNA, RHCE,
MCITP, 3 years experience have
GCC driving license seeking suit-
able position on visit visa (until
27th Dec). Contact: 93311963
Email: [email protected]
Network Professional, CCNP with
6 years experience and Bachelors
degree on visit visa looking for
suitable job. Contact: 96760618,
Female 26 years B.Tech computer
science with 4 yrs exp in India
Tableu Qlik view hive and software
testing. Looking for suitable
placement. Contact – 97139075
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
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
,Qualifi cation MCA, B.C.A mathe-
matic visit visa. Contact: 95673451
Civil Engineer diploma, 4 yrsexp
seeks suitable position ina reputed
company. NOC available.
Contact – 96789711
Electrical Engineer Indian male hav-
ing 5 yrs of exp in designing, execu-
tion & planning in electrical fi eld. Hav-
ing valid GGC driving license. Looking
for a suitable job. Contact – 98052942
Female Engineer material /control-
ler 3 years experience in road com-
panies, with D/L. Contact: 98001764
Indian male, Mechanical Engineer
having 1Year experience, on visit
visa looking for suitable job.
Contact: 97416564,
Email: [email protected]
Indian, looking for work building
maintenance electrical & plumb-
ing. Contact: 99365092
An Indian male HSE professional
9yrs experience out of 6yrs in
Oman 3 yrs in India. Graduate,
safety diploma, IOSH & NEBOSH
. Working as Sr. HSE offi cer in a
reputed MNC in MCT. NOC avail-
able, seeking suitable placement.
Contact: 90187224
7 Yrs Exp. PM in Mech. Engg in
the fi eld 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. # 96652145
Electronics & Communication Engineer : Master degree in VLSI
& Embedded systems , looking for
electronics/telecom/embedded jobs
or teaching in colleges or schools
or institutions . Currently on family
visa. #97092459 or 91342287
Electrical Project Engineer 5
years experience in primacy
substation cables and OHL valid
driving license. NOC available.
Contact: 91204243
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. Contact- 94257287
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
Diploma in Mechanical Eng piping system in AutoCAD work,
21+ years experience with Driving
license. Contact: 95267113
Email: [email protected]
Mechanical Engineer M.Tech 2
years experience as HVAC design
engineer rev IT M.E.P AutoCAD.
Contact: 91050913 Email:
Road and Construction Engineer with 5 years exp in Oman.
Contact: 97646908
Mechanical Engineer with 3 Yrs
experience in international Oil
& Gas company looking for job
Contacts: Tel: 90164236 Email:
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
Civil maintenance painting,
tile works decor works, plumb-
ing, electric, shop furnishing
carpentary works and all other
maintenance. Contact 97897831,
92112094 (Indian, Keralite)
Bachelor Civil Engineer 6 Years
in Oman experience Valid Driving
License seeks suitable placement
Phone 97619722
Email – [email protected]
Property Facility Operations Manager 25 years experience, holding
GCC driving license (Oman, UAE, Bahrain)
With NOC. Looking for suitable openings.
Contact - 91283701 Email -
MEDICAL
Prometric passed male nurse with
ACLS & BLS closured, looking for
suitable placemen.
Contact: 93831951
Indian young male B.Tech Gradu-
ate with strong academic history
six month experience in biomedi-
cal seeks suitable placement in
instrumentation fi eld preferred
presently under visiting visa.
Contact: 91053004
Indian female M.Sc. Biotechnol-
ogy, 1st rank holder, NET qualifi ed,
SRF -doing PhD in Biochemistry
Amala cancer research Centre
(Calicut University) on family visa
seeking suitable placement.
Gsm-90153917
MOH Licensed Indian Female
Dentist, presently available in
Oman seeking a suitable place-
ment anywhere in Muscat.
Contact: 91410733 / 99310630.
Experienced Indian female Dentist with MOH licence looking
for job. Contact 98437191
Indian BDS doctor looking for
a suitable position prometric
passed. Contact: 90377433
MSc Bioinformatics BSc Biotech-
nology, 3 to 4 years experience in
outsourcing related to U.S based
Pharma Company regarding chemin-
formatics and drug designing work
related to human kinases. Contact –
93871822 / [email protected]
An experienced Sudanese female Dentist with MOH license look-
ing for job. Contact: 96436517
/97396088
MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR
Result oriented hospitality profes-
sional with 20 years management
experience in Oman and other gulf
countries looking for a suitable
vacancy in hotels, restaurants and
catering companies.
Contact: 968 97204636
Result oriented hospitality profes-
sional with 20 years management
experience in Oman looking for a
suitable vacancy hotels, res-
taurants & catering companies.
Contact 97204636
Restaurant Manager having
13 years experience in fast food
restaurant in Oman & UAE, seeking
for suitable placement, holding NOC
letter & Oman driving license.
Contact: 99874953
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
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 qualifi ed 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
Building maintenance foreman
looking for suitable position with
driving license. Contact: 99526958
20 yrs experienced MEP Manager
seeks suitable placement
(NOC available). Contact: 97892269
Manager Post of Family Visa,
MBA 14 years Experience in
Multinational Groups in Sales &
Marketing. M.Z. 96220975
Indian male, with experience in op-
erations management, information
security, purchase & stores mgmt,
hold UAE driving license, on visit
visa, seeks suitable job.
Contact 91904541
Email: [email protected]
The Business Development Manager, Iraqi, Experience 15 Years
Inside and outside Oman following
activities: tenders& real estate&
construction & marketing projects&
investments& transportation & Ma-
rine services& companies manage-
ment& develop business.
Contact :- 92385033
SKILLED / UNSKILLED
Looking for job as Mason, steel
fi xer, electrician. Contact: 93015630
Masonry / fi nishing foreman 20
years experience NOC available.
Contact: 98435309/
India + 91 9446958838
Mason, SH / carpenter, steel fi tter
gulf & Indian exp looking job.
Contact: 95175192
Electrician, plumber (exp gulf / In-
dian) looking job. Contact 95175192
SALES / MARKETING
Capable confi dent hard working
Indian male B.Com MBA looking
suitable jobs. Contact – 93279943
Indian, 38 years with 15 years in
sales & marketing fi led with GCC
valid license. Contact: 94744746
28 years old Indian male looking
for job in Oman six years of market-
ing experience in India currently
staying on visiting visa qualifi ca-
tion, BSC degree.
Contact: 94855667/92255983
Omani employee looking for a job
as Sales with experience in this
fi eld .Contact: 91161736
Indian male 29 yrs, BHM, 3 yrs exp
in Oman in sales with D/L & NOC.
Contact: 92594055
Indian young male BBA graduate
with good academics seeks
suitable placement in marketing
sales fi nance mainly prefers white
collared jobs driving license
issued in Muscat.
Contact: 97853013
MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR
Indian male 8 yrs exp in Oman
working as housekeeping supervi-
sor in star hotel, seeking for a job
NOC available. Contact – 91753210
25 years male BA. English ,
Qualifi ed as mast in digital
animation having 5 yrs ex in char-
acter animation specialized Auto
Desk mago and motion building
software knowledge, seeking suit-
able placement. Contact: 97917357
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
An Indian male 27yrs, B. Tech in
(Computer Science) 6 years of exp
in technical support, troubleshoot-
ing and managing seeks suitable
placement. Contact:- 97483775,
email:- [email protected]
Hardware & net working, 2 years
exp. Contact: 96244031
DAILY GUIDED6 T U E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
Email: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624
SITUATION WANTED
SITUATION WANTED
SIT. WANTED
Indian male auto cad draughts-
man (civil) 8 years experience
.Seeking for part time job.Mobile
no: 0096899070584 /
Email: [email protected]
Sudanese male, 31 year old, have 3
year Diploma in electrical engineer
5 year experience in diff erent ac-
tivities. Contact - 94549609
Indian Accounts professioanl with
2 years of experience currently on
visit visa looking for suitable job
openings Contact: Gsm: 92395449
MISCELLANEOUS
SALES / MARKETING
TOURS & TRAVELS
Indian female BSC IATA, 14 years
exp in travel & tourism in Oman
looking for suitable placement.
Contact: 96433490
Email: [email protected]
TECHNICIAN /MECH.
Instrumentation & controls Technician with 2-3 years
experience preferably in water
sector and having valid driving
license call Ph:+968 99450811
Send CV to [email protected]
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 Offi ce. Contact: 90182494
Indian male B.Eng. in IT, CCNA,
MCSA, MCSE, 3yrs exp. In IT/
networking/server support, valid
Omani D/L seeking suitable place-
ment in IT/Network/Server sup-
port. Contact 92607532
Looking for Network Engineer Job, NOC Available Can join imme-
diately. Qualifi cation: BE Telecom-
munication, CCNA, CCNP Voice.
Driving License: Oman, Current
Company: Global Solutions, Client:
Diwan Experience: 3.5 Years.
Contact – 97312044 /
Mechanic Diesel Engines &
Hydraulic, 25 years Experience in
Multinational Companies.
Contact - 91685048
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 available.
Contact: +968-98757304
Email: [email protected]
Indian Male, 28, MBA Finance &
Mcom. more than 5yrs exp. in A/c &
Finance (Including 2 yrs in Oman),
NOC available, Seek Suitable Place-
ment, Contact: 93939421,
email: [email protected]
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 Engineer-
ing): Indian Male 33 yrs with
10 years of experience in UAE &
Muscat. Skilled in the areas of
project coordination, planning
& procurements. Contact:
00971503529608 Email Id:
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:
Indian male, MBA , 25 Yrs, 1 years
experience in auditing and 10
month in sales. Currently on visit
visa seeking suitable placemen.
Contac: 92054304
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:
Male B.com 8 month experience
in sales seeking suitable place-
ment. Contact: 98371144
Indian male graduate with
7 yrs exp in sales & marketing
immediate join NOC available.
Contact : 96746107
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: [email protected]
Sales & Marketing Executive MBA
with 3 years experience in sales
looking for suitable placement.
Contact: 91345727.
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 experi-
ence in FMCG sales /newspaper dis-
tribution across the Sultanate seeks
job. No objection certifi cate/release
letter is available from the present
employer. Contact: 98962949
Graduate, computer literate,
experienced in sales, credit control,
accounts, Omani D/L , seeks suit-
able placement. Gsm 9880-5474
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, fl uent in English &
Arabic speaking and writing ,
(I can travel abroad easily without
visa, for fi nalizing business or any
other purpose). Contact: 94123939
Indian male, MBA Finance &
Marketing 28 yrs,6+ Exp, with
Driving license, Hospital Phrma
Herbal Marketing, construction
A/c & sales , F&B industry,
Contact : 93379044
Indian male, MBA Marketing
having 2.5 years Sales experience
immediately looking for a suitable
position. Contact: 91415145,
Email: [email protected]
Indian male 46 years, Sales Man-
ager experience in modular kitch-
ens & 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
29 year Indian male B-Tech Engi-
neering, with 6 yrs of Professional
experience in Manufacturing Oil &
Gas Industries seeking for a
suitable placement (NOC Avail-
able).Kindly contact me on
94628362, email-
MBA (F), B.COM. Indian female
having knowledge of accounts
with Tally looking for job. pres-
ently on family visit visa.
Contact :- 94704661. Email:-
Indian-male 34yrs,m.Com with
14 yrs exp.( 8 Yrs in oman) work-
ing as procurement offi cer in
contg & trdg co llc.( Worked for
road,civil,electro-mechanical,corr
osion,scaff olding,insulation & Oth-
ers Projects in Oman ) and having
Oman LT D/L, Looking for suitable
placement- M:94064650,
Email: [email protected]
Indian youth BA warehouse man-
ager/sales in Oman 1 year provide
NOC, OMAN Driving license holder
seeks jobs.94 525213
Indian Expat female, BSc Physics
and Tally ERP 9, educated with
valid Oman Driving license seeks
suitable position. Please contact:
0096894864575
Civil Engineer 5 Years EXP 2
years in Oman as a QS Seeking for
part time job as QS.
Contact - 91507508
B Sc. Computer Application + M B
A from UK With 3 years of Experi-
ence, Mumbai, India Available on
Visit Visa (27Years)looking for a
suitable Placement.
Contact: 94030166/ 96739581
Email ID:
Part time accountant available,
well experienced in accounting up
to fi nalization. Knowledge in tally
also. contact. 92643875
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-
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 Offi ce.
Contact 90182494,
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- [email protected]
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 Certifi ed Char-
tered Accountant) with 2 years ex-
perience. Looking for opportunities
in Finance, Accounts. Presently
Available in Oman for Personal
interviews -
Contact: 96124257, 93692578.
Email at [email protected]
Indian male, QA/QC Instrument
Inspector, 8 years exp in GCC,
on visit visa. # 92430370 Email:
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:[email protected]
Male 27, BCA, Diploma in Net-
working, CCNA certifi ed engineer,
4 years experience in IT support &
networking seeks job.
Contact-90193811
Indian female, 27, food tech-
nologist (MSc Food Technology),
2years experience in research and
development - instant foods, sea-
sonings. Contact -93987174 email
Driver Cum Salesman Profes-
sional, Indian male having 7 Years
of Experience in Oman Having
Valid Driving License working as a
Offi ce Driver, Looking for a
suitable Position, NOC available.
Contact: 99680429
Email:[email protected]
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
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: [email protected]
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-
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:
Software Engineer , Oracle EBS
R-12 Technical Consultant 9 Years
Experience. HRMS/ Payroll,
Education, Hotel, Textile,
Shipping Container Terminal.
Email: [email protected].
Contact 97912264
Indian male 25 yrs, MBA (Fi-
nance, Marketing), Overall 2 yrs
exp in Accounts/Finance fi eld, On
Visit Visa. Immediately available.
Contact - 92989197/94786544.
Indian male, 11 years exp. in ac-
counting, knowledge in tally also.
Looking for a part time job.
Contact. 98983122
Indian male 24yrs, B. tech in
(Computer Science) 4 years of exp
in technical support, sales and net-
working, seeks suitable placement.
Contact:- 95955696,
email:- [email protected]
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 aff airs and Marketing & sales
Manager seeking job in pharma-
ceutical 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
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:[email protected]
Btech graduate, 26yr male, 4
years experience as system and
network engineer. Looking for
suitable placement.
Mob : 93125669, Email :
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, 26 years, With 7 years
of experience in Sales fi eld in ship-
ping company in “Dubai” , looking
for suitable placement. Experienced
working in safety
Marine equipment and well versed
with MS Offi ce. Contact: 90182494,
Classes for Spoken EnglishTOEFL / GRE / GMAT / SAT
Excellent Guidance and Coaching Satisfaction Guaranteed
IELTS PREPARATION Target Band 8.0
EAGLES INSTITUTE92325542 | 93657915 | 93657917 | Email: [email protected]
DAILY GUIDET U E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5 D7
SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES
SERVICESWe Provide Cleaners,
Offi ce boys, Cleaning Contracts, General cleaning etc.
Al Mudakhir Nati onal Est. LLC Contact : 94277020
CLASSES
IELTS & TOEFL
Academic / 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
• Learn in two months• Satisfaction guaranteed
Tel: 95244310
WEBSITE
WEB, ERP and Business Intel-
ligence (BI) creation and manage-
ment at rock bottom price.
Contact: http//webviewoman
COMPUTER
SERVICES
Pest Control Treatments. Ocean Center LLC.
Contact: 99344723
Water proofi ng ABUQABAS-
Contact 99320217/24788722
Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with
Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain
Marine Tours contact 98029602,
92808636
TOURS
TRANSPORTATION7 Ton/ 10 Ton- Trailer
Local transport- MCT- UAE
Contact96609857
Amir Ali
TRANSPORTATION
Transportation. Contact: 99664703
Transportation taxi mini bus.
Contact: 93091106
Transportation. Contact 99508282
Transportation & tours.
Contact: 99324045
Pick & drop anytime in Al Khuwair.
Contact 99764307
Transportation available Ruwi to
Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Azaiba.
Contact: 91103909
Transportation. Contact:
99099714
Transportation available Ruwi
Seeb. Contact 99867456
Transportation. Contact:
98505294
Al farzdaq Al Fedi Trad and Cont
Maintenance services electric,
plumbing and A/C.
Contact: 96524904 / 94285064
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
Debt collection services your
money we collect value com-
mercial services. Fax: 00968-
24783669 Contact: 00968-
2479815 /00968- 24701422
/00968- 94665476 Email:
House shifting. Contact:
99657644/98518013
Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles
polishing, carpet shampooing,
maintenance. contact ABU QABAS-
99320217 /24788722
Contact 24814222 or 97112510 for appointment
AL RAZI AYURVEDIC CLINIC Near Khimji Mart, MBD Area, Ruwi Our Ayurvedic Treatment includes
Abhyangam, Kizhi Massage, Shirodhara, Vasti , Udwarthnam
50% Discount on full body massage.
Ayurvedic treatment for backache,
paralysis, arthritis etc & massage,
All Season (Vaidyaratnam).
Contact 24475280 / 95371664 /
92504980
www.siddhayur.com
FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to know
more about Islam, please call:
99425598, 99250777, 99353988,
99253818, 99341395, and
99379133. For ladies: 99415818,
99321360, 99730723
Orvisit:www.islamfact.com
Balloons beautiful design &
Archie’s works for party, birthday
& New Year functions all events.
Contact 95194801/96594592
GOOD NEWS
GOOD NEWS
Enetstorage off er!! Cloud based
software & mobile responsive
websites locally developed, host-
ing, hardware & cctv/networking
solutions. Contact 94369696 or
Repair desktop laptop, printer,
scanner, networking &all software
inst. Contact 99876547
Marble grinding resurfacing &
ceiling crystallization / polishing
general cleaning of villas & fl ats.
Terrazzo fl oor scrubbing,
ceiling, polishing & buffi ng.
Contact: 98598280 /94134784
GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing,
Contact 99314807/
24792998
MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of
your marble. Contact 24793614/
99314807
House shifting & transporting.
Contact 92490422
Split & window A/c servicing &
maintenance. Contact : 93769089 /
95323517
SITUATION WANT-
ED
BUSINESS
We will register LLC. trade license
for foreign investors and do all
actions. Contact: 92833566
Ayurvedic treatment for joint
pain, backache, paralysis, massage
steambath, obesity, Spondylitis,
Ideal Care Ayurvedic Clinic,
18 November Street Azaiba.
Contact: 99639695 / 98342990
*Classifi ed Advertisement
space booking
with text, should be done
till 12.00 noon
for next day’s publication.
* Subject to space
availability
D8 T U E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 5
DAILY GUIDEEmail: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624
SITUATION WANTEDCARGO
RENT A CAR
Rental car. Contact: 92516090
AVAILABLE
AVAILABLE
LOST
Party & Wedding equipment rentals.
Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirt-
ing, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery,
Crockery, Glassware, Chafi ng Dishes,
Ice Sculptures, 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: [email protected]
Available offi ce space in Prime location on 18th November Street, Azaiba
Kindly. Contact: 99288664
FOR LADIES
Home service for ladies only facial, waxing, body massage, (if you
not waxing menicure pedicure) only
20 Riyal, Contact 9243 0239
*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability
CHANGE OF NAME
FOR HIRE
Bobcat available for rent.
Contact 97623299
Car with driver available for rent.
Contact: 93015630
Silver car, car rental at good rate. Contact: 96166155/93530540
I DAWN CHERIAN KANJI-CAL (holder of Indian Passport
No.L3320508) son of CHE-
RIAN KANJICAL NINAN hav-
ing permanent residence in
KANJICAL,ANGADICAL SOUTH
P.O,CHENGANNUR, ALLEPPEY,
KERALA, PIN-689122(compete
postal address in India) and
presently residing in CITY
MEDICAL CENTRE, POST BOX
NO-275,POSTAL CODE-411, SUR,
SULTANATE OF OMAN(complete
postal address in Oman intend to
change my name from CHERIAN
DAWN KANJICAL(old name) to
DAWN CHERIAN (Given name)
KANJICAL(Surname)(new name)
for all practical purpose. Any objec-
tion towards my name change
may please be communicated to
Embassy in India, Muscat, Diplo-
matic Quarters, Al Khuwair, P. Box
No.1727, Postal Code 112, Ruwi,
Sultanate of Oman.
Kanubhai Bhikhabhai Gohel has
lost India Passport No. G 2167903.
Finder please handover to ROP