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Pilot project launched to provide high speed Internet through power cablesMUSCAT: A pilot project to pro-vide high speed Internet services through the use of the communi-cations infrastructure of electric-ity companies has been launched by the Oman Broadband Com-pany (OBC) in cooperation with Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) and the Tel-ecommunications Regulatory Au-thority (TRA).

Said bin Hamdoun Al Harthy, undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport and Communications for Ports and Maritime Affairs, sponsored the inauguration, which was held in the TRA building.

Al Harthy said the pilot project was a good step by the OBC to use

power transmission cables of the electricity companies rather than digging and laying new cables.

Explaining the idea, he said that it would contribute to reducing the time, effort and cost.

In this case, fibre optic cables in the Wilayat of Bausher will be used (Hamam Al Sunub) to provide In-ternet services.

Project accomplishedEng. Said bin Abdullah Al Man-theri, CEO of OBC, explained that the experiment was successfully accomplished in coordination with OETC and TRA.

He added that a mobile phone station, which is about 40 metres

from the electricity transmission tower in the Wilayat of Bausher (Hamam Al Sunub), was chosen, and a meeting point about 400 metres from the line of electricity transmission and Omantel fibre optic network was selected.

He said that OBC coordinated with the authorities concerned to agree on a route, and construction work as well as extending the fibre optic cables between an electric-ity transmission station, a mobile phone station and the Omantel network at a distance of about 440 metres from both sides at a cost of OMR9,000.

The station provides 40 Mbps Internet connection, compared to

3 Mbps at present, he added. Talal bin Said Al Maamary, CEO

of Omantel, said that the pilot pro-ject was a good experience and within the framework of OBC’s efforts to find channels for the in-tegration of infrastructure among a group of participating institu-tions, noting that this was needed because there was a significant in-vestment in the infrastructure.

Qais bin Saud Al Zakawani, ex-ecutive director of the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA), said that the ERA took the initiative and asked the company operat-ing in the electricity sector to help OBC for the success of this pilot project. — ONA

C O S T - E F F E C T I V E S T E P

Ministry bans sale of fish by vendors outside designated space from AprilFAHAD AL GHADANI/ REJIMON Kfahadnews@timesofoman.comreji@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: From April 2015, fish can only be sold by vendors inside the market, the Ministry of Agricul-ture and Fisheries has made clear.

Numerous people had been found buying fish from individual vendors sitting outside the market such as Muttrah and Seeb, forcing the ministry to step in and put a stop to the practice.

Fawaz Al Farsi, a resident of Azaiba, said the ministry’s move would also help residents get rid of the fish smell that spreads in the residential areas. “The smell of fish enters my house as numerous vendors are doing business in the residential areas,” he said.

He added that the ministry should have initiated this move earlier as many residents were to-tally dependent on these vendors. They should also think of renting shops for these vendors so they can do business without bothering the residents.

Considering the price of fish, Ali Saleh, a vendor who does busi-ness in Amerat, explained that he not only sold fish but also looked after the interests of his regular customers. “I visit the fish market everyday to select the fish for my customers. Then I wash and pre-pare it for them,” he said.

He added that the new rule would not only kill his business

but also his only source of income. “There is no place for new ven-

dors in the fish market, and I am thinking of opening a proper fish shop once I can save some money,” he said. “The government should take another look at some of the conditions or requirements, but should not stop the sale at once.”

However, some expatriates were unhappy with the regulations.

“Such a regulation will force us to go to the market during our working hours,” said Amar Ali, one of the many expatriates living in Al

Khuwair who found it more con-venient to buy fish from vendors outside the market.

Busy schedule“I do not have time in the morn-ing or afternoon to go to the fish market as I work with a private company,” said Amar, who usually makes his purchases while on his way back home from work.

“I am used to this routine and it is very difficult to stop it at once,” he said. Ahmed Salah, another expatriate in Amerat, felt that the

ministry should think of allocat-ing special areas for individual fish vendors. “A proper place with the necessary hygienic conditions can solve the problem,” he said.

He said that for some residents who lived far away from the fish market and shops, it would be al-most impossible to buy fish once this rule came into force.

“The fish market is open from early morning to late afternoon, which is normally office time,” he said. The authority concerned could extend the working hours

of the fish market so that people working in the private sector could benefit, he added.

“Occupational hazards encoun-tered by butchers can be divided into three. They are diseases caused by biological hazards, musculoskeletal disorders and occupational injuries,” Shibu Mo-hammed, dermatologist at Badr Al Samaa in Ruwi, said.

“Workers at an unhygienic fish market are susceptible to infec-tious diseases such as brucellosis, erysipeloid, leptospirosis, derma-tophytoses and warts. Brucellosis is caused by a bacterium and the infected person will suffer from, headaches, weakness, joint pain, night sweats, and loss of appetite. Erysipeioia and leptospirosis are also caused by bacteria.

“Erysipeloid is transmitted by infection of skin puncture wounds, scratches and abrasions; it causes redness and irritation around the site of infection and can spread to the blood stream and lymph nodes,” the medic said.

“Leptospirosis is transmitted through direct contact with in-fected animals or through water. Muscular aches, eye infections, fever, vomiting, chills, and head-aches occur, and kidney and liver damage may develop,” the medic added.

“The authorities should ensure maximum hygienic conditions at fish markets to avoid health risks,” the medic pointed out.

L O N G D U E

RIGHT MOVE: The ministry’s move would help get rid of the fish smell that spreads in the residential

areas, said some residents. – O K Mohameed Ali/Times of Oman

Lack of health insurance puts ailing expat workers in limbo

REJIMON Kreji@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Dozens of expatri-ate workers are lying in different hospitals in Oman even after they have been cured of their ailments because they are unable to foot their bills, an investigation by Times of Oman has revealed.

For example, the mortal re-mains of Muraleedharan Nair, an Indian expatriate worker in Ibri, could not be sent back home and remained in a mortuary for weeks recently, because neither his sponsor nor his friend was able to raise funds to clear the hospital dues.

The bills were around OMR6,000, but after the discount

from the hospital it came down to OMR3,500, which was still too much for his friends and the spon-sor. Muraleedharan did not have any health insurance to cover his medical expenses.

“We were in a fix. We did not know how to raise the money. At the same time, how can we just turn a blind eye to the issue and leave the body in a hospital end-lessly? He was the sole bread winner of his family,” Geetha Ku-mar, a doctor, who is actively in-volved in social work in Ibri, told Times of Oman.

However, the social workers raised the money and with the help of the compassionate spon-sor and Muraleedharan’s body was finally repatriated to India.

Many casesThis is not an isolated case. Muneer, a Bangladeshi, who fell down from a building; Moham-med, an Indian, who lost a leg in an accident and Basheer, another Indian who is undergoing treat-ment after an accident in Muscat, have all had similar experiences.

And these are just a few ex-amples of people waiting for someone to turn up and clear their bills, only because they lack health insurance cover. Health insurance cover is not mandatory for expatriate blue collars as per the Omani Labour Law.

“It is not mandatory. However,

according to the practice here, if a worker is admitted to a hospital following an injury or illness, it is the employer’s responsibility to meet all the medical expenses even if the employee does not have insurance. Moreover, it is also the employer’s responsibil-ity to pay for the repatriation of the mortal remains,” said Deepa Sudhir, a legal advisor and a panel lawyer of the Indian Embassy in Muscat.

“In case of Indians who come through official channels such as a job contract attested by the embassy, it is the embassy that ensures that the worker gets in-surance cover till the job contract expires,” added Deepa.

An official from the Bangladeshi embassy said that women coming to Oman get health insurance cov-er till their contract ends. “How-ever, we do not have any such schemes or policies for men, even though they are more vulnerable to accidents and ailments,” added the official. Social workers, who deal with such cases, say they are embarrassed to approach philan-thropists to raise money for bed-ridden workers. >A5

Inadequate or absence of insurance cover

lands blue collar workers in big trouble when

they need to foot their medical bills, or for

repatriating their mortal remains on death

He used to send the major part of the money

to his family. He has four children and a

wife. He is the sole bread winner for them

Friends of the hospitalised Bangladeshi

Stroke-hit expat fights odds in ICU

REJIMON K.reji@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: What happens if an

expatriate blue-collar worker,

who lacks proper health coverage

and funds, is admitted to a hospi-

tal with acute illness? Will he be able to clear the hefty

hospital bill all alone? Will he be

able to fl y back to his home coun-

try before his condition worsens

or will he be left to languish in a

hospital bed forever? Will the un-

certainty end?Md. Nazmul Haque, a blue-

collar worker from Bangladesh,

is facing exactly such an uncer-

tainty in an intensive care unit in

Badr Al Samaa hospital in Ruwi.

He is not sure about who will

help him. He is not sure whether

he will be able to fl y back home to

meet his family.As he has lost his speech abil-

ity following a brain stroke 14

days back, only tears roll down

his cheeks and his hands trem-

ble even as his friends wish him

a speedy recovery. Nazmul, who

was on a ‘free visa’ status, was

mehow managing taking up

But he lost speech and his right

side became paralysed,” Nazmul’s

friends said.Nazmul was staying in a shared

accommodation and was only

able to earn around OMR90 after

all the hard work.“He used to send the major part

of the money to his family. He has

four children and a wife. He is

the sole bread winner for them.

So, when we hospitalised him,

we realised that he had not saved

a single rial for emergency,” the

friends added.According to the medics, even

though Nazmul was admitted

in a very bad condition, he is re-

cuperating now. “He had a brain

stroke. The right side of his body

is paralysed. He lost his speech

ability. After he showed some

progress, we shifted him to the

general ward, but then again, he

developed breathing problems

and pneumonia. So, we have put

him back in intensive care unit,” logist said

is coordinating the situation, said

that they are trying their best to

raise funds to clear the hospital

bills and send Nazmul back to

Bangladesh. “We have to send

him as soon as possible. We can’t

leave him to suff er in a hospital

bed,” Sanaullah said.Meanwhile, Nazmul’s visa also

expired three months ago.“Nazmul is undocumented.

But, the embassy will be able to

sort out those things and help

him. It is not advisable to keep

him here and have the hospital

bills rising even though we have

a small fund to support him,” an

offi cial from the Bangladeshi em-

bassy said.Meanwhile, Shaji Sebastian,

an Indian social worker, said that

there is not much diff erence in a

hospitalised Indian or Bangla-

deshi blue-collar worker.“If an Indian blue-collar work-

er is hospitalised, support from

the mission house to clear his

hospital bills is rare. In most of ial workers have

Nazmul Haque, a

blue-collar worker

from Bangladesh, is

facing uncertainty

in the hospital

DIRE STRAITS: Nazmul lost his speech ability following a brain

stroke 14 days back. –Cio Datan/TIMES OF OMAN

ES

Times

MUScietyannuweekrent cons

UnWas35 psion

R A M

The July 24th edition of Times of Oman carried the report of a

Bangladesh blue-collar worker

lying on a hospital bed in Ruwi

following a brain stroke. As he

lacked proper health insurance

coverage and the hospital bills

were huge, he was stranded in

the hospital for weeks.

OMANIllegal digging of wells to invite action

2Civic authorities have warned of legal action against those found

digging wells as a source of free water supply without obtaining proper approval. “Many residents have unlicensed wells inside their houses,” said a reliable source. >A3

MARKETAccumulated assets of banks increase

3There is a consensus among international experts that the

financial performance of the commercial banks in the Sultanate of Oman has been strong in 2014 in terms of quality of assets, provisions, capital adequacy and profitability. >B1

OMANThe long-standoff over foreign spouses

1The Ministry of Interior is reluctant to reveal the statistics of how many

Omanis are married to foreign spouses who have not yet been given the nationality but their number can easily run to a few thousands waiting to be granted citizenship. >A2

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

A4Broadway on Ice casts a magic spell

NEED FOR COVER: Health insurance cover is not mandatory for

expatriate blue collars in Oman. - Photo: Times of Oman

A2 S U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 14

OMANA migrant worker may get killed or become

disabled and may not be able to work further, and,

therefore, he must get some financial assistance

D B ChettriPresident of the Muscat chapter of the NRNA.

The authorities are reluctant to reveal the statistics of how many Omanis are married to foreign

spouses who have not yet been given the nationality but their number can easily run to a few thousands waiting to be granted citizenship and many of them for more than a decade.

The applicants are in legal lim-bo not knowing exactly the status of their applications. Many of them say the process is opaque, complex and excessive. Those foreign nationals who are caught

in the legal trap of nationality are mostly wives of Omanis. The long delays, that in some cases can take two decades, leads to frustration, break in marriages, health deterioration and even suicides in extreme cases.

Waiting for a passport for years after being married to an Omani national may well be a breach of basic human rights. The present law for a spouse of an Omani to acquire a nation-ality has many conditions. A foreign woman married to an Omani man will only get Omani passport 10 years after her mar-

riage has been registered in the Ministry of Interior. She should be in Oman for a decade with not more than 60 days absence in one year. She would need to pass spoken and written test in Arabic language as well.

If that is not an obstacle enough, the wife would not get the citizenship if she does not share a child with her Omani husband even if she has fulfilled all the obligations. A woman in that situation feels that she gets punished twice, for not having children and not getting the citizenship. For a man married to

an Omani woman, all the above applies but he has to wait for 15 years. But wait, there is an-other catch in the foreign spouse marriage law. The Ministry of Interior “reserves the right to reject the nationality applica-tions without giving any reason.” The applicants also do not have the right to hire a lawyer to repre-sent them if they are rejected citizenship because the Ministry of Interior does not give the court the jurisdiction to hear any ap-peals or complaints.

Which basically means that one may well wait for 10 to 15 years raising children with the person they are married to or look after their spouses in sick-ness for many years and still be denied the right of citizenship. To say this law is one sided is not an understatement. It only

favours the Omani nationals but does not guarantee important rights to their foreign spouses. For instance, foreign spouses of Omani nationals can work in Oman their entire career but cannot contribute to the social security. Which essentially means, they will not get a pen-sion. In terms of working status, if you are a foreigner married to an Omani national, you don’t get the same right as your spouse when you apply for a job. You may get tangled up with the grey employment laws that do not specify the working status of a foreign national married to Omanis.

You will not get a job in the civil service or government organsiations where employ-ment is mainly reserved to Omanis. If you get a job in the private sector, they would insist on removing your legal status from your Omani spouse’s visa to the company’s visa. This may not be good news because if the company decides to terminate your contract, you may lose the

right to stay in Oman. You will have to go back to the Ministry of Interior using certain agonising procedures to get you back to the visa of your Omani spouse.

Changing conditionsThe foreign spouse nationality law was established in the mid-1980s to protect the local culture, tradition and heritage. It was also designed to make it difficult for Omanis to marry foreign-ers, especially Omani men who could not afford the high dowries demanded by the brides’ families. Many Omanis sympathised with the rule at that time. However, young Omanis who were born after the law was enacted don’t understand the logic behind it. They say you don’t have a choice whom you fall in love with. In conclusion, the government has to ease up the pain of foreign nationals married to Omanis. Their future in the country must be properly secure so they can enjoy all the rights.

saleh@timesofoman.com

Spouses married to Omanis face uphill climb to acquire citizenshipC O M M E N T A R Y

SALEH AL SHAIBANY

SUNDAYBEAT

One may well wait for 10 to 15 years raising children with the person they are married to or look after their spouses in sickness for many years and still be denied the right of citizenship

H AV E YOU R SAY AT T W I T T E R.CO M /T I M ES O F O M A N O R S CA N T H E CO D E TO I N STA N T LY P O ST YOU R T H O U G H TS .

Digital record of rare manuscripts compiled

MUSCAT: A project to digitise rare and important manuscripts and documents concerning sci-ence and history of the Sultanate from the early ages, has been im-plemented by the Ministry of Her-itage and Culture.

The ministry is relying on man-uscript imaging technology to preserve all these rare documents as e-copies in their form and col-our and make them available to researchers, students and those interested.

In an interview to the Oman

News Agency (ONA), Said bin Nassir Al Na’ebi, director of the technical department at the Direc-torate General of Documents and Manuscripts at the Ministry of Heritage and Culture, said, “So far, we have filmed and digitised 3,950 manuscripts, out of 4,836 that ex-ist at the Manuscripts Centre in the ministry. We have also filmed and digitised 320 manuscripts be-longing to some civil and private libraries and some individuals.”

Al Na’ebi added that the min-istry had begun the digitisation

project in 2010 by preserving the manuscripts on microfilm.

There are manuscripts which are difficult to photograph due to their poor quality and the only way to preserve and protect them is with the imaging process, as acid-ity could weaken and crush the pa-per due to poor binding while also

blurring some or all the letters and words.

Before the start of the imaging process, a staff from the depart-ment of restoration and binding manuscripts is asked to retrieve them, even if takes months. Im-aging is a continuous process for manuscripts that are in good con-dition.

He pointed out that in the future, the ministry aims to post the man-uscripts on the World Wide Web in accordance with the approved regulations to ensure the security of manuscripts and intellectual property rights to the ministry. Posting the manuscripts on the In-ternet would enrich the e-Arabic content already present there and would publicise the knowledge about Omani manuscripts and an-cient intellectual output.

Among the short-term plans, the ministry has sought to make a copy of these manuscripts and save them elsewhere to protect them from any unexpected emergency that could result in the loss of the digital copies.–ONA

So far, the Ministry has filmed and digitised

3,950 manuscripts, out of 4,836 that exist

at the Manuscripts Centre. They have also

filmed and digitised 320 manuscripts

belonging to some civil and private libraries

PROTECTING HERITAGE: The ministry aims to post the manuscripts on the World Wide Web in accordance with the approved regulations

to ensure the security of manuscripts and intellectual property rights to the ministry.–ONA

Social security for migrant workers from Nepal soonTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Social security for workers from Nepal may become a reality soon as the Non-Resi-dent Nepali Association (NRNA) has submitted a proposal to en-sure safety of workers and their families in case of death and ac-cidents.

“We have forwarded a proposal to the Nepal government to create a social security and collective in-vestment fund for migrant work-ers to ensure their safety,” said D B Chettri, president of the Mus-cat chapter of the NRNA.

The main reason behind creat-ing this welfare fund is to ensure the safety of workers and their families during a crisis. “A mi-grant worker may get killed or become disabled and may not be able to work further, and, there-fore, he must get some financial assistance,” he argued.

Stating that there was a favour-able response from the Nepal government, he said, “There has been a positive response to our appeal from the Nepali govern-ment. Migrants are saving the country with their remittances, so the government cannot ignore their economic security.”

He also said that NRNA is per-suading the government of Nepal to ensure that workers should also get proper education and training before coming down to Oman.

“This will help them to be more aware of foreign culture and law and order,” he said.

According to Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Nepal, around 30 per cent of the country’s 5.6 million households depend on

earnings from overseas jobs while the contribution of remittances to the gross domestic product (GDP) is 23.4 per cent.

A UNIFEM-commissioned study submitted to the Ministry of Labour and Transport Man-agement (MoLTM), Nepal, has suggested that the government should provide social security to workers migrating for jobs.

The suggestions include skill-based training to overseas job aspirants, self-reliance skills to returnees and pension to workers contributing to the Mi-grant Workers Welfare Fund (MWWF).

Around 4 million Nepalis are working overseas, mostly in Qa-tar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Oman. “The government must take a lead on the issue,” he said while assuring support to the drive whenever the government launched it.

According to the National Cen-tre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the number of Nepali na-tionals in the private sector as of November 2014 was 13,010. Of this, 9,398 are males and 3,612 are females.

W E L F A R E M E A S U R E

The main reason behind creating this welfare fund is to ensure their safety

ISM conducts French music competitionTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Students got a chance to showcase their skills in French language as the Department of French at the Indian School Muscat held ‘French Group Singing Compe-tition’ for classes IX and X on Wednesday.

This is an annual event aimed to enhance the language skills of French students. The ambassador of France to Oman, Roland Dubertrand, was the chief guest. Guilhem Constans, director of Centre Franco–Omanais, was also present. Members of Sanskriti Club re-ceived the dignitaries by offer-ing them potted plants.

Judges from the Centre Franco-Omanais Damien Jean-Marie and Amelie Beaus-sin adjudicated the perfor-mances. Staff from the Embas-sy of France, Principal Srinivas K Naidu and a large number of students witnessed the event.

S C H O O L E V E N T

A3

OMANS U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 4

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Illegal wells to invite legal actionFAHAD AL GHADANIfahadnews@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Civic authorities have warned of legal action against those found digging wells as a source of free water supply with-out obtaining proper approval.

“Many residents have unli-censed wells inside their houses,” said a reliable source at the Minis-try of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources (MRMWR).

He said if the ministry receives any information about such an un-licensed well, a team will visit the house and inspect the well. If the well is found as having been dug without obtaining the necessary approval, the violator would be questioned.

Article two of the Water Protec-

tion Law, promulgated by Royal Decree No. 29/2000, states that each new or substitute well con-structed after July 1990 should have a legal permit and should be inventoried and registered, other-wise it shall be considered illegal.

“Constructing a new well, in-creasing the capacity of an existing well, repairing a well, substituting an existing well with a new one or selling the water pumped from the well, are all illegal actions unless carried out after obtaining an ap-proval from the MRMWR,” said the source.

Poisoning casesHe explained that in some cases, residents have suffered the ill ef-fects of poisoning since they had constructed wells near an area

where sewage water used to col-lect. “The well water was mixed with the sewage water, conse-quently leading to poisoning many residents,” said the source.

He added that many people who construct illegal wells try to sell the water to earn some money. “It is totally illegal and such violators will face fines and might be put be-hind bars in some cases,” said the source. He added that both the well owner and the contractor, would have to face legal action.

Article 39 in the violations chap-ter of the Water Protection Law states that whoever digs a new or a substitute well without a valid per-mit shall be punished with impris-onment for a period of not less than two weeks and a fine not exceeding OMR1,000 or either of the two pen-

alties. He shall also be compelled to fill back the well at his own expense.

A Mabila resident, who refused to be identified, said that in some cases, residents find no way but to dig a well even without a valid per-mit. “I live in an area where there is no water supply by the govern-ment and water tankers are the only source,” said the resident. He added that paying around OMR80 to OMR100 every month was be-yond his means.

“I found it difficult to meet my big family’s demands as I was pay-ing almost a quarter of my salary for the water tankers,” said the res-ident. He said many of his neigh-bours, who have dug illegal wells, advised him to do likewise. “After listening to many of neighbours, I have decided to dig a well without

seeking a valid permit,” said the resident. He added that the con-cerned authority should consider such situations and include them in the approved cases to issue a permit for a new well.

The ministry source said that there many cases in which the ministry issues a permit for a new well. Once there is no other water source, the ministry issues per-mits for applicants.

“The distance from nearest wa-ter source should not be less than one kilometre in order to receive a permit from the ministry,” said the source. The number of ben-eficiaries shall not be less than five people in order to obtain a permit. “The well water should be restrict-ed for drinking purposes and for domestic use only,” he added.

Article Two of the

Water Protection Law,

promulgated by Royal

Decree No. 29/2000,

states that each new

or substitute well

constructed after July

1990 should have

a legal permit and

should be inventoried

ITA drill beefs up steps on cyber security

MUSCAT: It was an occasion to test the readiness for cybersecu-rity incidents.

Information Technology Au-thority (ITA) represented by Oman Computer Emergency Readiness Team (OCERT) on Thursday or-ganised a drill at Al Bustan Palace Hotel to evaluate readiness for cy-bersecurity incidents.

The programme targets 120

participants from the different public and infrastructure agen-cies in the Sultanate in a bid to enhance readiness for tackling cy-bercrimes and security incidents.

The programme included three exercises that highlighted the OCERT’s method of work, its role in regular monitoring Omani web-sites, ensuring quick response to any cybersecurity penetration in-

cidents, in addition to evaluating the role of the Centre in providing detailed reports for the public and law-enforcement organisations.

Badr bin Ali Al Salhi, Director General of the National CERT said that the aim of the drill was aimed to enhance cooperation be-tween Oman CERT and the public and private organisations to ad-dress cybersecurity incidents.

He added that over the past three years, Oman OCERT has addressed more than 2000 cyber-security incidents that affected public and private organisations, as well as individuals.

They also addressed more than 80,000 attempts to have illegal ac-cess to the websites of the Sultan-ate, more than 8,000 attempts to plant malwares.–ONA

T E C H I N F R A S T R U C T U R E

Camel races held in IbriIBRI: It turned out to be a thrill-ing contest as a camel race was organised on Thursday by Om-ani Camel Racing Federation (OCRF) along with Occidental Oman, at Rafash Racing field in the Niyabat of Hamra Al Doro in the Wilayat of Ibri.

The race was held over two days. It started on Wednesday with a wide participation of camels at the level of governo-rates of the Sultanate. In the first round Sougha, owned by Sheikh Kashon bin Humaid al- Dari, won the first place. In the second round Al Araba, owned by Matar bin Ali Al Junaibi came first. In the third round Al Shaiem, owned by Badr bin Hamad Al Dari won the first place. In the fourth round Al Shahiniyah, owned by Saif bin Hamad Al Dari, got the first position and in the fifth and final round Salalah , owned by Salim bin Mohammed Al-Sha-bibi, got the first place.

The prizes included four cars for 1st position winners.–ONA

T R A D I T I O N A L S P O R T

A4 S U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 14

OMAN It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I don’t think I am ever going to get a chance to watch something as unique as this again

Reaction of a member of the audience at the ROHM

‘Broadway on Ice’ casts magical spell

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Featuring a cast of 16 world-class figure skaters, two singers and a pianist, Broadway on Ice staged at Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) from Wednesday to Saturday, was a veritable treat to the art loving audience of Oman.

The one-of-a-kind theatrical experience was all about grace and artistry. Every moment of the per-formance was worthy of the time spent at the ROHM which was transformed into an ice skating rink for this special event.

Merging the grace of figure skat-ing and musical hits from Broad-way, the show charmed audiences of all age groups.

Conceived and produced by Willy Bietak, the extravaganza on ice was about outstanding tal-ent and incredible skills. Display-

ing impressive jumps, spins and lifts and singing songs from well-known musicals, including Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story, Chicago and Fun-ny Girl, the performers won the hearts of the audience.

In fact, all the shows at the ROHM ran full.

“It was one of the memorable shows that I have ever watched. I must say it was a once in a life-time opportunity. I don’t think I am ever going to get a chance to watch something as unique as this again. I thank ROHM for including this in their list of concerts for the season,” said a member of the audi-ence from India.

“I especially liked the perfor-mance Oh What a Night and Give My Regards to Broadway,” he said.

The skaters included Marc-Olivier Bosse, Andrew Bu-chanan, Wesley Campbell and Danny Clausen along with Aaron Gillespie, Robin Johnstone, Alex-andra Schauman and Elizabeth Putnam. The other skaters were Erin Reed, Scott Smith, Cole Stan-bra and Arielle Trujillo in addition to Angela Vandermissen, Saman-tha Veloso, Natalia Zaitseva and Lukasz Rozycki.

Three special guest stars - American Davis Gaines the best known Broadway performer, Austrian soprano Ira Lauren and American pianist and composer Lincoln Mayorga – impressed with their performances.

Willy Bietak’s

extravaganza

on ice presented

outstanding talent

and incredible skills

at the ROHM

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DANCE SYMPHONY: Displaying impressive jumps, spins and lifts and singing songs from well-known musicals including Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story, Chicago and Funny Girl, the performers won the hearts of the audience.

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Signboards installed to help foreign visitors

Times News Service

MUSCAT: To make visiting Oman a pleasant experience, the Minis-try of Tourism (MoT) has installed signboards and awareness boards in various states and provinces in the Sultanate.

For illustration, 99 signboards with guidelines have been in-stalled in Dhofar and Salalah while 10 awareness plates have been in-stalled in Jabal Akhdar.

The ministry has completed the first phase of installation of the signs in the North and South Al Batinah, Ad Dhairah, Musandam, Buraimi and Dhofar governorate. The total number installed so far is 270.

Between April and December-end, more than 50 programmes including sports and entertain-ment events were organised by the ministry.

Citing an example, the ministry stated that they organised compe-titions for children and traditional games during the period of Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha. In addition, horse and camel racing, children’s competitions and events that cor-respond with World Tourism Day were held in the summer. These events included live performances by traditional Omani bands.

The idea of tourism awareness in the Sultanate helps create a growing tourist destination in the Middle East. Also, it assists tourist access destinations and facilities and to help create a positive im-pact from the events that are held continuously.

For example, the Oman Agenda is a monthly specialised leaflet which aims to familiarise resi-dents and tourists about the im-portant events to be organised in the various governorates of the

Sultanate by the ministry and vari-ous public and private organisa-tions.

The monthly events on the agenda can be followed electroni-cally through the ‘Oman Agenda’ website in Arabic and the English language.

The ministry is also involved in the tourist information centre that offer detailed and comprehensive information about the events and destinations in the Sultanate.

The tourist information service

system includes the tourism logo guide services, travel network in-formation services, tourism pro-motional materials display and tourist information hotline.

Likewise, the tourist informa-tion centre also participates in the festivals such as the Muscat Festi-val is held annually between Janu-ary and February.

Also, they participated in the International Women’s Day exhi-bition that was held in the Qurum Natural Park in March 2014.

In its efforts to

help visitors, the

Ministry of Tourism

has installed 99

signboards with

guidelines in

Dhofar while 10

awareness plates

have been installed

in Jabal Akhdar. This

initiative is expected

to further boost

tourism awareness

Qatar Airways to

boost air link for

Salalah tourists

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Salalah, the second largest city of Oman, will see Qa-tar Airways adding four new ser-vices by February, 2015.

Earlier this month the airline started offering three additional flights per week, and from Feb-ruary 3 next year, another ad-ditional flight per week would be added. A total of eight flights per week make it even easier and more convenient for passengers to visit this vibrant tourist desti-nation in the Sultanate.

Qatar Airways commenced services to Salalah in May 2013, its second destination in Oman after Muscat. With Muscat al-ready served 28 times a week and Salalah four times a week, the additional flights to Salalah will take Qatar Airways’ capac-ity across Oman to a total of 36 weekly services.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker said the launch of these additional flights demonstrated the air-line’s strong regional network with many flight scheduling op-tions to choose from.

“We are extremely delighted to announce the increase in flights to the popular leisure destination of Salalah that has a tremendous appeal for visitors across the Gulf, Europe, the United States and other countries.

“Thousands of tourists already visit Salalah every year, and we look forward to help further boost leisure and business tour-ism while providing travellers

from Oman with greater choice and more flying options.”

Salalah is a destination that offers distinctive natural at-tractions where its coast blends with beautiful mountains. The city is frequented by visitors from around the world who are charmed by its beautiful beach-es and coastline offering major attractions for scuba diving and bird watching.

With the additional flights, Salalah will now have four early morning departures connect-ing via Doha to Europe and the Americas and four early evening departures connecting to flights in the Asia Pacific region. A mix of morning and evening flights means convenient connections for passengers from Salalah to key markets in the Qatar Air-ways’ route network of 146 des-tinations.

The Salalah-Doha route is op-erated with an Airbus A320, fea-turing a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business Class and up to 132 seats in Economy. Se-lected A320s feature seatback TV screens providing all passengers in both cabins with the next gen-eration interactive onboard en-tertainment system and a choice of more than 900 audio and video on demand options.

Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 17 years of its op-erations, to the point where it today operates a modern fleet of 144 aircraft to 146 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas.

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

GULF ATTRACTION: With the additional flights, Salalah will now

have four early morning flights that will be connecting Europe

via Doha – Supplied photo

ART AND CULTURE: The Tourism Ministry is also involved in tourist information centres that offer

detailed and comprehensive information about the events and destinations in the Sultanate.–Supplied photo

Uninsured workers face hardships “We come across such cases every day. Not all the workers are docu-mented. If the worker is docu-mented, it is less complicated, but if he is not, then it is a huge prob-lem. As embassies do not have any provision to settle hospital bills, we are compelled to approach phi-lanthropists,” said Shameer PTK, a Muscat-based social worker.

“It is a complicated and em-barrassing situation. The home country and the host country

should come up with a solution,” said Shameer.

Meanwhile, an insurance com-pany official said that having an insurance policy would always be helpful for expatriates.

Different policies“There are different kinds of health insurance policies for individuals, families and groups. Companies prefer to take group policies be-cause it covers all their medical

requirements,” said Dr Regikumar, an official of the New India Assur-ance Company.

“We also have a workmen com-pensation policy for labourers with a very nominal premium. If a worker takes this policy, his fam-ily is eligible for compensation worth OMR5,000 in case of death, and if he is injured all his treat-ment expenses, sick leave and permanent disability compensa-tion will be met,” he said.

Premiums will be extremely low for the personal accident policy worth OMR5,000 for a group and it covers death with repatriation expenses, medical expenses due to accidents, compensation for per-manent disablement etc,” added Regikumar.

Until the end of October, there were 1,558,452 expatriates, includ-ing 599,167 Indians and 533,057 Bangladeshis, working in the Sul-tanate of Oman.

L A B O U R I S S U E S

< FROM

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OMANS U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 14

Fruits and vegetables intake can help quit smokingTARIQ AL HAREMItariq@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Increasing consump-tion of fruits and vegetables may help smokers to kick the habit.

“For this method to work, peo-ple first need to have the will to quit smoking,” said Dr Waseem Al Biomi, dietician and nutritionist at the Diet and Nutrition Centre, Oman.

Balanced dietBy keeping a balanced diet and substituting tobacco for healthy snacks such as fruits and vegeta-bles, smokers will not get the urge to touch a cigarette.

“People often confuse hunger with an urge to smoke. They can simply substitute a cigarette for a piece of fruit like an apple or a cu-cumber,” said Dr Waseem.

“The fibre contained in fruits and vegetables, especially leafy vegetables such as lettuce, will give you a feeling of fullness, so you won’t need a cigarette,” he added.

It is customary to have coffee or tea after a hearty meal, but people also smoke a cigarette or sheesha.

“The tannic acid contained in tea and coffee increases the diges-

tion rate which makes the person hungry again, and so the cigarette is utilised.

“Substituting the drinks for fruits such as apples, oranges and

pears will regulate the digestion process,” explained Al Biomi.

Of course, smoking is detrimen-tal to the human body. Stamina will deteriorate and strength will

be weakened. After quitting, the body will experience discomfort from withdrawal including, nau-sea, headaches, cramps and intes-tinal disorders

Ghassan Atari, a student, quit smoking early when he noticed these symptoms.

Withdrawal symptoms“I decided to quit smoking af-ter realising that I was losing my stamina and strength. I suf-fered from withdrawal symptoms when I tried to stop, so I changed my lifestyle and started eating healthier food. I increased con-sumption of vitamin C-rich fruits as well as green vegetables such as broccoli and spinach. It helped me forget about touching another cigarette again.”

A study conducted by the Uni-versity of Buffalo, US, in 2012 where 1,000 people aged 25 and over were surveyed, stated that those who increase consumption of fruits and vegetable are three times more likely to refrain from

smoking and they can go on for thirty days without touching a stick. An increase in consumption of healthy food also has the effect of making cigarettes taste bad.

With the recent Majlis Al Shura proposal to ban licencing and serv-ing of sheesha in cafes, one simply cannot expect a habitual charac-teristic of a person to disappear without education and encourage-ment.

Stopping sheeshaOther than smoking being a per-sonal choice, cafes could poten-tially lose major profits from stop-ping sheesha alone. Employees could lose their jobs and the gov-ernment’s tax revenue could sig-nificantly decrease.

When asked about this, Dr. Wa-seem said, “Health-wise, it is a good decision to ban sheesha, but if you ask people, they will tell you that they only smoke occasionally with friends. They do not smoke when they are alone. It’s not a grave issue.”

K I C K T H E H A B I T

People often confuse hunger with an urge to smoke. They can simply substitute a cigarette for a piece of fruit like an apple or a cucumber

Dr Waseem Al BiomiDietician & nutritionist, Diet and Nutrition Centre, Oman

Apollo expansion to be completed by January

Times News Service

MUSCAT: The massive expan-sion programme of the Apollo Medical Centre, which will ramp up the existing facilities and take the number of beds to 60, is in an advanced stage of completion.

“The work is going on and we have invested almost OMR1.5 million for expanding the existing facilities to create the best qual-ity health care centre,” said V T

Saileshwaran, managing direc-tor of Apollo Medical Centre. He said the number of beds will be in-creased to 60 from 50 at present.

“Apollo has a name in the mar-ket and when people are sick, they should first think of coming to

Apollo,” said Saileshwaran, add-ing, “the centre will be completed by January next year.”

Enhanced facilities as part of the expansion programme include an additional lift, a more spacious emergency department and well-

equipped operation theatres.Saileshwaran said the primary

focus will be on mother and child care and orthopaedic treatment, although the hospital has all spe-cialities.

“A lot of patients with liver problems are reported in Oman and, therefore, we are going to have a special facility for patients suffering from such diseases.”

Apollo is getting around 300 to 350 patients per day, which will go up to 500, once the expansion pro-gramme is complete.

He said the centre refers sev-eral patients to Apollo’s Indian centres, especially in Chennai and Hyderabad. Talking about the difficulty in getting the right doc-tors, he said that Indian doctors are well-paid back home, which affects Omani hospitals when it comes to hiring specialists and experienced doctors.

Apollo Medical Centre, which is associated to India’s Apollo Hos-pitals Group, provides the most modern state-of-the-art health-care services under one roof with highly motivated and dedicated professionals.

Apollo Medical

Centre has invested

almost OMR1.5

million for expanding

the existing facilities

to provide quality

healthcare to people

QUALITY CARE: V T Saileshwaran, managing director of Apollo

Medical Centre, says the number of beds will be increased to 60

from the current 50. – Supplied picture

Mehdi focuses on mystical themesTARIQ AL HAREMItariq@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Poetry has been one of the most popular art forms in history and Oman boasts many talented poets who have made a name for themselves locally and internationally.

Focusing on themes of love, loyalty, integrity and patriotism, these poets have dominated the traditional Omani poetry scene.

Mazen Mehdi, a local, is among those who enjoy writing and recit-ing poetry. However, his form of poetry is not traditional, but fo-cuses on dark fantasy and mysti-cal themes.

“Concepts such as darkness, na-ture, spirituality and melancholy are the keys to each of my poems. I see the visions in my mind and illustrate them and then comes the most difficult part where you have to translate them into words which have a deeper meaning,” said Mazen.

Oman is a country that is steeped in tradition and culture, and rarely strays from its roots. Poetry is one of the traditions that many locals practice and the sub-jects are usually about loyalty and patriotism. Messages about the society and ways of life are also common when listening to tradi-tional poetry.

“Meditation and philosophy have always been my favourite topics. The principles of knowl-edge and meditation are very amusing to me. There are many subjects and themes which can be found in my poems, but to be honest I have always created those dark themes since I have always been attracted to dark-ness itself,” explained Mazen.

“There are many definitions to the word darkness. For exam-ple, if you imagine the Gothic era, you will find it very rich in visual arts and architecture. The style of medieval art is truly sublime and ancient. It has this history and muse,” he added.

To many who are not exposed to this form of poetry, they might view it as unorthodox or too dark, to say the least.

Goth poetThe Goth poet stressed that his poetry does not include themes that offend groups, societies or beliefs. “Islam is my religion. My poems do not offend a certain be-lief and I’ve always considered such guidelines. I do not consider it as a restriction because my re-spect for religion comes from un-derstanding and since my poems are committed to different sub-jects involving art, I do not feel that my poems offend religion at all,” explained Mehdi.

He added, “I do understand that a majority of people in this society will not respond to this kind of art, but then again, this is quality art and perhaps poetry is one of the finest arts since history. It is al-ways about how people conceive such work without being fanatical about its material, and since the content is far from religion, I can still present my poems without any concern.”

Mazen has been writing poetry since 1996 with the support of his family and his influences, such as the father of Gothic literature, Edgar Allan Poe and German au-thor Goethe Faust. His poems are inspired by his life’s events and his need to express his moods and thoughts. Mazen had also thought about pursuing a career in poetry.

“I have never approached a publishing house to publish my poetry, but I do have a big network of friends who I always share my poems with. My interest in poetry is merely a hobby, but if I get the

opportunity to publish my poems, I will surely do so, and I would re-quire to hire a professional illus-trator,” he said.

Extra dimensionHe further explained, “I feel that if I give an extra dimension to my poems the outcome would be great. That is why having such a beautiful illustration next to each of my poems would give it more depth.

“One of the important things which I try to achieve is to make the reader see what he/she reads. The imagination factor imme-diately grabs the reader since it is rich in imagination and deep in sentiment it will envelop the reader at once.”

For those who enjoy imagina-tion and escaping into a fantasy world of their own, Gothic poet Mazen offers poems of epic pro-portions through his vision of a mysterious world drenched in a dark symphony of wonders.

P O P U L A R A R T F O R M

I feel that if I give an extra dimension to my poems the outcome would be great. That is why having such a beautiful illustration next to each of my poems would give it more depth

Mazen Mehdi,Omani poet

Apollo has a name in the market and when people

are sick, they should first think of coming to Apollo

CV T Saileshwaran, managing director of

Apollo Medical Centre

Training cadres helps

in country’s growth

Times News Service

MUSCAT: To meet the training requirements of the employees for 2015, the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE), repre-sented by its Human Resources Development Centre, is develop-ing a plan.

PEIE considers giving training to its employees very important as it expands their knowledge and capabilities and enhances their performance.

The Human Resources Devel-opment Centre organises a series of training programmes, work-shops and events throughout the year focusing on a variety of fields including management, financial and technical aspects.

These programmes target staff of PEIE and the national cadres in the companies and factories in the various industrial estates of PEIE.

Highlighting the achievements of the centre during 2014, Salwa Al Shukaili, the centre’s director, said: “In line with PEIE’s vision and strategic plans in the field of

developing and advancing the na-tional cadres, PEIE has been giv-ing an immense importance to annual training plans targeting its employees and the personnel of the companies and in the various industrial estates of PEIE. This importance is derived from the be-lief about the role played by train-ing activities in supporting the overall national development.”

Around 281 training opportuni-ties were offered to the employees of PEIE during this year, and 72 employees took part in various awareness lectures.

Focusing on management, fi-nancial, behavioural and technical aspects, the training opportunities targeted different management levels. “As for the companies and factories based in the various in-dustrial estates, the number of participants representing these companies and factories stood at 139 in management fields; and 20 were trained in occupational health and safety, in addition to other awareness programmes,” she added.

P E I E

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REGIONS U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 4

Sheikh Ali Salman, 49, was handed a new four-year term at Al Wefaq’s general congress on Friday night, in a meeting held to comply with a law on associations that led to the three-month ban.

IS rebels lose ground to Kurds in Kobane

BEIRUT: The IS militant group has lost ground in the Syrian bor-der town of Kobane, where Kurd-ish fighters now control more than 60 per cent of territory, a monitor-ing group said on Saturday.

The strategically located town on the border with Turkey has become a major symbol of resist-ance against IS, which has seized large parts of Syria and Iraq, com-mitting widespread atrocities.

The militants launched a major offensive in mid-September to try to capture Kobane, and at one point controlled more than half of the town, known in Arabic as Ain Al Arab. But supported by US-led air strikes and reinforced by Kurds from Iraq, “Kurdish forces now control more than 60 per cent of the city”, said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Hu-man Rights.

“IS has even left areas that the Kurds did not enter for fear of mines,” he added.

FrontlineA Kurdish activist from Kobane, Mustefa Ebdi, said that Kurdish militia defending the town had advanced eastwards on the front-line during the past week.

IS has withdrawn from the seized Kurdish militia headquar-ters in the north of the city, as well as from southern and central dis-tricts, according to activists.

“The Kurdish advance is due

largely to the air strikes by the co-alition,” said Ebdi. “The militants are now using tunnels after failing in their tactics of car bombs and explosive belts,” he said.

Dozens of IS militants have car-

ried out suicide bomb attacks in Kobane in the face of fierce Kurd-ish resistance. More than 1,000 people are reported to have been killed in the battle for the town, most of them militants. — AFP

Kurdish forces now

control more than

60 per cent of the

city, said Rami Abdel

Rahman, director of

the Britain-based

Syrian Observatory

for Human Rights

Salman re-elected as Al Wefaq chiefDUBAI: Bahrain’s main opposition movement Al Wefaq said Saturday that it had re-elected the leader of the banned group, who was sum-moned by police hours later.

Sheikh Ali Salman, 49, was handed a new four-year term at Al Wefaq’s general congress on Friday night, in a meeting held to comply with a law on associations that led to the three-month ban.

The interior ministry ordered Salman to appear before police investigators on Sunday, said Al Wefaq, which described the move as “serious”.

SummonsNeither the opposition group nor the ministry, which confirmed the summons, said why it was is-sued. Police deployed in force as the notice was delivered to the Al Wefaq chief ’s residence on the outskirts of the capital Manama, witnesses said.

It came a day after thousands

of people protested along a road linking two of their villages near Manama to call for the dismissal of the parliament and government.

“Bahrain Authority is illegiti-mate. The people will continue struggle for freedom,” said some of the English-language banners they held aloft during a march.

Following the demonstration, which ended without incident, the opposition issued a statement saying “the government and the current parliament have no popu-lar mandate”.

In July, the justice ministry sued Al Wefaq demanding it rec-tify its “illegal status following the annulment of four general assem-blies for lack of a quorum and the non-commitment to the public and transparency requirements for holding them”. The Manama administrative court slapped Al Wefaq with the ban on October 28 and gave it three months to hold an assembly to elect its leaders. — AFP

B A H R A I N ’ S M A I N O P P O S I T I O N M O V E M E N T

Policeman shot dead in CairoCAIRO: Gunmen on a motorbike killed a policeman and wounded another in a drive-by shooting in the Egyptian capital on Saturday, the Interior Ministry said.

“Armed men on a motorcycle opened fire on the police before fleeing,” ministry spokesman Hani Abdel Latif said.

The police officers had been guarding branches of two foreign banks, Britain’s HSBC and Union

National Bank of the United Arab Emirates, when they were at-tacked near a Cairo square.

Militants killedMeanwhile, police on later Friday shot dead two members of Egypt’s most active militant group Ansar Beit Al Maqdis, the interior min-istry announced.

It claimed one of the men killed at a checkpoint east of the capi-

tal had been responsible for the militant group’s operations in the Cairo region. Police spotted the militants’ car at a checkpoint, the ministry statement said. “The oc-cupants of the car opened fire to try to get away, but the police fired back,” it added.

“Three policemen and two ci-vilians there by chance were in-jured” and the two militants were killed, it said. — AFP

A R M E D M E N O N B I K E

BEIRUT/CAIRO: Syria said on Saturday it is willing to participate in “preliminary consultations” in Moscow aimed at restarting peace talks next year to end its civil war.

But members of the West-ern-backed Syrian opposition dismissed the Russian plan on Saturday, saying there was “no initiative”.

Syrian state television quoted a source at the for-eign ministry saying “Syria is ready to participate in preliminary consultations in Moscow in order to meet the aspirations of Syrians to find a way out of crisis”.

Moscow, an ally of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, has pushed to restart talks that collapsed in Geneva in February.

Common approachRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said this month that he wanted Syrian opposi-tion groups to agree among themselves on a common approach before setting up direct talks with the Damas-cus government.

But Lavrov did not specify which opposition groups should take part. Some oppo-sition groups are tolerated by

Damascus but shunned by the opposition in exile.

Hadi Al Bahra, head of the Turkey-based opposition National Coalition, met with Arab League Chief Nabil Elaraby in Cairo on Saturday and told a news conference that “there is no initiative as rumoured”.

“Russia does not have a clear initiative, and what is

called for by Russia is just a meeting and dialogue in Mos-cow, with no specific paper or initiative,” he was quoted by Egyptian state news agency Mena as saying. Russia has long backed Assad, including with arms supplies for Syria, but he has become a more important ally for Moscow since the 2011 protests in the Middle East. — Reuters

Syria ready to attend Russian peace talks; Western-backed opposition rejects move

MAKING A POINT: Hadi Al Bahra, right, head of the Syrian Nation-al Coalition, and Syrian opposition member Haitham Al Maleh, who is standing next to him, talk to the media at the Arab League after their meeting with Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Al Araby (not in picture) in Cairo on Saturday. – Reuters

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INDIAS U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 14

Pandit Dastgir, a Muslim scholar with a passion for SanskritMUMBAI: In downtown Worli, it is common to hear the strange greeting of ‘Assalamu-Alaikum, Guruji’ whenever an 80-year-old Muslim man steps out of his mod-est home. He is none other than renowned Sanskrit scholar Pandit Gulam Dastagir, who over six dec-ades has impressed the Shanka-racharyas, late prime minister Indira Gandhi, RSS leaders and Is-lamic scholars, all with equal elan.

Armed with a deep knowledge of both Islam and Sanskrit, Pandit Dastagir can speak with authority on any religious topic — and earn their unabashed admiration.

Born in Chikhali village in Solapur district, Pandit Dastagir completed his schooling before joining a gov-ernment Sanskrit institution.

Encouraged“I was the only Muslim student in a class of around four dozen Brahmins. My Brahmin Guruji developed a special liking for me and encouraged me. I acquired my entire Sanskrit knowledge of the scriptures, Vedas and other texts

there,” Pandit Dastagir said.Around mid-1950s, he shifted to

Mumbai and joined the Maratha Mandir Sansthan’s Marathi-me-dium Worli High School as a San-skrit teacher for all classes.

Two decades later, to comply with professional requirements, he appeared directly for a Master’s degree in Sanskrit from Mysore University.

After the Emergency, when the Janata Party ruled India, Pandit Dastagir was suddenly targeted. “They suspected I was a namesake Muslim propagating the RSS and Jana Sangh ideology through San-skrit. It was only after a long in-vestigation that they were proved wrong,” the man chuckled.

When Indira Gandhi returned to power in 1980, she summoned him and was surprised to discover that Pandit Dastagir was actually a ‘Syedvanshi’, or belonging to a clan considered the direct descendents of Prophet Muhammed(Pbuh).

“She met me several times and appreciated my knowledge and love for Sanskrit. In 1982, she

told the education ministry to ap-point me as a ‘Rashtriya Sanskrit Pracharak’,” Pandit Dastagir said.

When baffled officials asked Gandhi how should his duties be classified, she reportedly shot back: “He will teach us what needs to be done. Let him function inde-pendently.”

For two years, he toured India

extensively and propagated San-skrit in government and private institutions. He quit the post after Gandhi’s assassination in 1984.

“I acquired MA in Sanskrit only in 1987 when I was around 50 years old although I was proficient in the language long before.”

Since his retirement, Pandit Dastagir lectures on the similari-

ties between Islam and Hinduism with reference to various aspects of one of the world’s oldest and richest languages, Sanskrit.

“Sanskrit is not only for Brah-mins. But this perception made the masses reluctant to study it. I cre-ate awareness about Sanskrit all over India among different castes and religions,” he said.

Flaying conversionsPandit Dastagir explained that Hinduism does not recognise ‘con-versions’ or the caste system. “The current craze for ‘conversions’ has no basis in Hindu scriptures. It is not recognised. At best, you can change a person’s name, not his soul from the religion of his/her birth,” he said.

An old darling of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), Pan-dit Dastagir credits the group with giving him full encouragement to pursue his vocation without hav-ing to change his religion.

He feels the RSS was not against any religion. “But if anybody threatens Hinduism, they will

hit back, irrespective of the op-ponent’s religious beliefs,” Pandit Dastagir said. He has also never encountered objections from fel-low Muslims over his passion for Sanskrit. “Comparative study of different religions makes you more reasonable. I am not a fanatic, just an ordinary Muslim.”

His love for Sanskrit has not made him lose Islamic identity. He prays daily at the mosque. “I have built up a huge library of thou-sands of books on Sanskrit and Is-lam which I study and propagate,” Pandit Dastagir said.

He laments that there are many other Muslim Sanskrit scholars in the country but financial con-straints prevent them from propa-gating the ancient Indian language.

Pandit Dastagir’s wife Vahida is a supporting housewife. Their son Badiujjama is a Sanskrit scholar but runs a shop, elder daughter Gyasunissa Shaikh runs a Sanskrit research centre in Solapur, and their other daughter Kamrunnisa Patil never pursued her father’s passion. - IANS

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

VETERAN SCHOLAR: Renowned Sanskrit scholar Pandit Gulam

Dastagir at his home in Worli, Mumbai on Saturday. - IANS

EIGHT KILLED IN BHIVANDI FIREFlames come out after a fire in timbre mart in the power loom town of Bhivandi, on Saturday. At least eight migrant workers

were killed in a major fire that swept through a timber warehouse in Bhiwandi town early Saturday. Initially, five people had

suffocated to death. Four others, who had suffered burns were admitted to local hospitals. Out of them, three succumbed to their

injuries. According to Thane police, the blaze was reported at 2am in the timber goods warehouse in Mankoli. -PTI

NIA to probe killings by militants in Assam

GUWAHATI: The NIA has been directed by the Home Ministry to take up the cases relating to the recent killing of more than 70 Adi-vasis by NDFB(S) militants in two districts of Assam.

The four cases registered by As-sam Police in two districts —Sonit-pur and Kokrajhar — will be taken over by the National Investigation Agency, an official release said.

The Assam government in a let-ter on Friday had recommended the investigation of these cases by the NIA.

Considering the gravity of the offences and relevant factors, the Central government is of the opin-ion that these attacks are sched-uled offences under the NIA Act, 2008 and should be probed by it,

the release said. During his visit to Assam on Wednesday and Thurs-day, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said that the NIA will probe the NDFB attack cases.

Reviewed troop deploymentMeanwhile, Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag on Saturday reviewed the deployment of Army in those areas of the north-east-ern Indian state Assam, where NDFB(S)militants killed over 70 people, and examined the blue-print for deployment of additional forces in the region.

The Army chief arrived here on Saturday morning and reviewed the current status of operations and various measures taken to im-prove the security scenario in the

state, a defence spokesperson said.He directed his field command-

ers to enhance the intensity of op-erations against those responsible for the carnage and assured addi-tional support for renewed focus on operations.

The Army chief also interacted with various commanders in the field to obtain a first-hand per-spective of the area-domination operations.

He directed the troops to extend all possible support to the state ad-ministration in bringing back nor-malcy and at the same time carry out relentless operations against the perpetrators of terror.

He was also briefed on the pro-active actions undertaken by the Army along with different agen-

cies to intensify the pressure on the militant outfits.

He expressed satisfaction over the steps taken by the command-ers at all levels and asked for greater synergy with the central and state intelligence and security agencies.

He assured the troops that he would continue to maintain a close watch on the dynamics in the region.

He thereafter undertook an aer-ial survey of the strife-torn areas of the state along with the officers leading the operations.

The Army chief later left for Delhi. The NDFB(S) militants car-ried out a series of deadly attacks on Tuesday on Adivasi tribals in several places in Assam. - PTI

During his visit to

Assam on Wednesday

and Thursday, Home

Minister Rajnath

Singh had said

that the National

Investigation Agency

would probe the

cases of attack by

National Democratic

Front of Bodoland BEEFING UP SECURITY: Chief of the Army Staff General Dalbir Singh Suhag arrives to review the situa-

tion in Assam after the attacks by NDFB militants, in Guwahati on Saturday. - PTI

India asks Pakistan

to hand over Dawood

NEW DELHI: India on Saturday asked Pakistan to hand over un-derworld don Dawood Ibrahim saying enough evidence have been given to it on the prime accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.

Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said India’s stand has been very clear for a long time that Dawood has been in Pakistan and he has been living in Karachi.

“We have been asking to hand over him to India for a long time.

Already many evidence have been given to Pakistan. Pakistan should now act and hand him over to us,” he told reporters here.

Rijiju said Pakistan should co-operate with India in fight against terrorism if it is serious.”We want it to act on evidence,” he said.

In Lucknow, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Dawood is India’s most wanted terrorist and India has repeatedly asked Paki-stan to hand him over to it.

“Wait and watch,” Singh said without elaborating, when asked when India can get hold on him.

The comments came amidst reports which suggested that Da-

wood is running his business em-pire with impunity and the billions he makes are being spent in terror operations around the globe.

“Dawood has been tracked in Karachi, alive and kicking, and is heard expanding his real estate business,” web-portal NewsMo-bile said based on tapes received from western diplomatic sources.

“This clearly proves that the underworld don is blatantly run-ning his terror supermarket from Pakistan and his real estate in-terests are helping him generate enough funds to expand his oper-ations,” said NewsMobile editor-in-chief Saurabh Shukla.

The Home Minister last month had said Pakistan was providing shelter to Dawood and the under-world don was staying along the Pakistan-Afghan border.

India’s most wanted terrorist, Dawood is the mastermind of the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai that claimed around 300 lives.

Asked about the news reports, Rijiju said government will ex-amine the fresh evidence that have come. -PTI

M A S T E R M I N D O F 1 9 9 3 M U M B A I S E R I A L B L A S T S

‘Online monitoring of

acid sale to check acid

attacks on women’

LUCKNOW: Voicing concern over increasing incidents of acid attacks on women, Home Min-ister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said an online monitoring of sale of acid would be done to check such incidents.

“An online monitoring of sale of acid would be done to put an effective check over such inci-dents,” Singh said while address-ing platinum jubilee function of Mahila College here.

He said that the system would be first launched in Delhi.

Emphasising the need to im-part self defence training to girl students, he said that, “Girl stu-dents of all schools and colleges should be given training in self defence.”

On the strength of women in security forces, Singh said, “Home ministry has sent an ad-visory to all the chief ministers to give 33 per cent representation to women in security forces.”

He said as of now the strength of Central Para Military Force was around 10 lakh in which rep-resentation of women was mere 1.4 per cent.

“Our target is to increase this participation to at least five per cent in the next three years,” he said.

Over increasing incidents of women harassment and rape, he said “a system is being developed wherein a control room can be in-formed with the push of a button of a mobile phone and it will also reach PCR mobile vans.”

Appreciating courage of No-bel Peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai, he said despite attack by certain forces the campaign

she has undertaken to promote girl education was laudable.

Rajnath, while asking the stu-dents to play a meaningful role in building nation and society along with the family,said people should get rid of the inferiority com-plex that western countries were ahead in science and technology.

Citing examples of ancient Indian seers, he said the world had learnt from India. The Home minister said that under a planned conspiracy, Macaulay implemented such an educa-tional system where roots of the people of the country got discon-nected from their glorious past.

“We have to regain the lost pride. Not only in economic sec-tor, but we have to emerge as a super power in spiritual world as well,” he said.- PTI

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

We have to regain the lost pride. Not only in economic sector, but we have to emerge as a super power in spiritual world as well

Rajnath SinghHome Minister

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INDIAS U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 4

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Article 370 is non-negotiable: PDP

SRINAGAR: The stalemate over government formation in Indian-administered-Kashmir contin-ued for the fifth day on Saturday as PDP sought assurance from BJP over certain issues like safe-guarding Article 370 and revoca-tion of AFSPA which form the

core agenda of the regional party.“All options are still open, no de-

cision has been taken yet on forma-tion of government in the state with any other party,” PDP spokesper-son Naeem Akhter said here.

He said the leadership of PDP,

which emerged as the single larg-est party in the assembly elec-tions, was discussing all its op-tions for government formation including an alliance with the BJP. “There are certain issues which form our core agenda and

require an assurance that these will be accepted by our potential alliance partner, whichever party it might be,” he said.

Akhter said his party’s stand on safeguarding Article 370, which guarantees special status to Jam-mu and Kashmir within the In-dian union, was non-negotiable.

CommittedHe also said that the party was committed on revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act from the state, besides initiating a political process for resolution of Kashmir issue.

Asked if his party would con-sider the demand for rotational chief ministership from any fu-ture alliance partner, the PDP spokesman said the negotiations have not reached that stage with any of the parties.

He said Congress has also given a proposal for government forma-tion to the PDP which is under the consideration by the party.

On the National Conference’s offer of unconditional support to PDP for government formation,

Akhter said his party has received no such communication so far from its arch rival.

“As and when such an offer is received we will surely discuss it and decide the future course of action,” he said.

Meanwhile, PDP President Mehbooba Mufti said only Akhter is authorised to articulate the party’s views in the media on policy matters. “The statements of the Chief Spokesman (Akhter) should be taken as the stated posi-tion of the party on various policy issues.

“In the prevailing hazy political scenario, unqualified comments in the media only add to the con-fusion and fuel wild speculation,” Mehbooba said in a statement.

She said as a responsible po-litical party, the PDP will take not only its cadres but the people of the State on board before arriving on any decision regarding the fu-ture course of action.

“I want to assure my party cadres and the people that what-ever decision is to be taken will be taken in the larger interest of

the State and its people,” the PDP president said.

She said the mandate given by the people to the PDP to repre-sent the political aspirations and economic interests of all the re-gions and sub-regions of the state would be represented and valued in adequate measure.

Crucial mandateMeanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday said talks are going on with other parties on government formation in Jammu and Kashmir. “We have a crucial mandate in Jammu and Kashmir. We will be involved in govern-ment formation. Talks are going on. Let’s see what happens,” BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav told reporters here. However, he did not disclose with whom they are talking. - PTI

PDP spokesperson

Naeem Akhter said

all options were still

open and no decision

had been taken yet on

the formation of the

government in the

state with any other

party

In the prevailing hazy political scenario, unqualified comments in the media only add to the confusion and fuel wild speculation

Mehbooba MuftiPDP President

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Four rebel JD(U) MLAs disqualifiedPATNA: Four JD(U) MLAs were on Saturday disqualified from Bi-har Assembly for anti-party ac-tivities, including cross voting in Rajya Sabha election.

With this, membership of eight rebel JD(U) MLAs has been ter-minated since last month by the Assembly Speaker under the provisions of anti-defection law following the party’s recommen-dation after the legislators were accused of backing two independ-ent candidates Anil Sharma and Sabir Ali for Rajya Sabha seats in June polls instead of party’s offi-cial candidates.

The disqualified MLAs are Ajit Kumar (Kanti,Muzaffarpur), Raju Singh (Sahebganj, Muzaf-farpur), Poonam Devi Yadav (Bigha, Patna) and Suresh Chan-chal (Sakra, Muzaffarpur).

The legislators cried foul alleging that were not given a proper chance to present their case and would move court against the decision.

No threat to governmentThe development does not pose any threat to JD(U) government in Bihar as RJD, Congress, CPI and three Independents contin-ue to extend outside support to it since last year.

Speaker Uday Narayan Chaud-hary on Saturday passed the order in the presence of four legislators against whom the ruling party had initiated proceedings for ter-

mination of their membership for anti-party activities, Assem-bly secretary in-charge Hareram Mukhiya said. Chaudhary dis-qualified these four rebel JD(U) MLAs under the provisions of the anti-defection law, Mukhiya said.

The JD(U) Chief Whip Shrawan Kumar welcomed the Speaker’s decision and said that the disqualified lawmakers de-served punishment for working against their party.

In a strong warning to other rebel ruling party MLAs, he said

they should also be prepared for strict and anti-defection proceedings would be initiated against them soon in an incre-mental manner.

The Speaker had reserved his order on disqualification proceed-ings against these four JD(U) MLAs last month, the Legislative Assembly secretary in-charge said. With disqualification of four MLAs, the JD(U)’s strength has come down to 111 in a 243-mem-ber Assembly. The BJP has 88 members in the House followed

by RJD (24), Congress (5), CPI(1) and Independents (5).

Unilateral verdictSuresh Chanchal, whose Assem-bly membership was terminated, alleged that the legislators were not given proper chance to pre-sent their case during hearing of disqualification proceedings against them.

The Speaker had passed a uni-lateral verdict after meting out similar treatment to four others, Chanchal alleged. - PTI

B I H A R A S S E M B L Y

Fog claims 12 lives in north IndiaNEW DELHI: A dense blanket of fog enveloped the entire North affecting schedule of at least 70 trains and hitting road traffic ad-versely while there was no let up in cold wave on Saturday which claimed five lives in northern In-dian state Uttar Pradesh and two in Punjab.

Delhi recorded the second lowest temperature of the sea-son with mercury dipping to 4.8 degrees Celsius, three notches below the normal level.

The maximum temperature settled at 19.2 degrees Celsius, two degrees higher than Friday The city had recorded its lowest minimum temperature at 4.2 de-grees Celsius on December 22.

Foggy conditions were wit-nessed in several parts of the city which affected about 50 north-bound trains.

In the plains of UP, cold wave coupled with dense fog contin-ued to wreck havoc. Five persons were killed in Barabanki district last night. Three persons includ-ing a home guard died of severe cold in different parts of Bara-banki, a spokesman of the district administration said. The rest two were killed in an accident caused due to poor visibility on Saturday.

The lowest minimum tempera-ture in the state was recorded at 2.8 degrees in Agra.

Run over by trainMeanwhile, a railway engineer and four contract labourers were run over by a train on Saturday when they were repairing the

railway track in Bihar’s Rohtas district, police said.

“Due to dense fog, they failed to see the Ajmer-Sealdah Express coming on the track and were crushed to death,” police said.

The incident occurred near Kumhau station.

“Five of them died on the spot and two were seriously injured and admitted to a hospital for treatment,” officials said.

Cold conditions continued unabated in Punjab and Haryana as fog affected schedule of several trains and flight.

Several trains, including Shatabdi Express from New Delhi, were delayed, a railway spokesperson said, adding, How-rah-Kalka Mail is also running late by 11 hours.

Four flights — two of Jet Air-ways from and to Delhi and one

each of Jet Airways from Mumbai and Indigo from Bangalore were cancelled, while a number of oth-er flights were expected to land in Chandigarh behind the schedule, an official said.

Hisar was the coldest place in Haryana on Saturday, recording a minimum temperature of 1.8 degrees which is four notches be-low normal, a MeT official said.

Chandigarh settled at 6.2 de-gree Celsius.

Rajasthan also reeled under cold wave and fog and 18 trains were running late under the North Western Railway and four trains were partially cancelled, a North Western Railway spokes-person said on Saturday.

The mercury dipped to 0.6 degrees in Churu, while Mount Abu’s low settled at 2 degree Cel-sius. - Agencies

B I T I N G C O L D

FURIOUS: JD(U) leaders Ajit Kumar, Poonam Devi Yadav and Suresh Chanchal after they were dis-qualified from the Bihar Legislative Assembly for anti-party activities, in Patna on Saturday. - PTI

ANXIOUS WAIT: People wait for train during a dense fog in New Delhi on Saturday. - PTI

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PAKISTAN S U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 14

An intense battle took place, in which 16 terrorists were killed and 20 injured. Fleeing terrorists left behind nine dead bodies of their accomplicesPakistani military

‘Pervez inaction on Benazir killing led to school strike’

GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH: Standing before the tomb of Bena-zir Bhutto in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said on Saturday that had then President Pervez Musharraf taken notice of the Karsaz attack, then the Peshawar school massacre would never have happened.

Addressing the crowd on the seventh dead anniversary of the

former prime minister, who was killed allegedly by militants in a bomb and gun attack in Rawal-pindi, Zardari lamented Mushar-raf’s indecisiveness for a military operation.

“Had that he (Musharraf )taken notice of the Karsaz 2007 bomb blast and started an operation against terrorists then, the Pe-shawar incident would not have occured.”

He further lamented how the establishment, despite Benazir’s warning, had failed to separate the Afghan and Kashmir issues, which had contributed to the cur-rent malady.

“We only accept this law condi-tionally as long as it does not be-come a black law and is not used against political institutions,” Zardari said, adding that it not be should be used against politicians, intellectuals and the media.

“When a similar law was intro-

duced the last time, we were in jail and our cases were being tried under such courts. Aitzaz (Ahsan) appeared on my behalf in the Su-preme Court where we success-fully established that trials cannot be held under military courts.”

He also clarified media reports citing the rift between him and his son Bilawal.

“I know that people against the PPP have been saying that there are rifts between me and Bilawal, and about our party, but this party is still alive,” he clarified.

Further, the PPP leader said, “To take on big responsibilities, one has to pass through the tor-ture of prison.”

“When it comes to Makhdoom sahib (Makhdoom Amin Faheem), he has never been traitorous [to thePPP] in the past,” the former president said in an attempt to clear reports claiming that the PPP stalwart is joining an ‘anti-

PPP’ group comprising members of the Muttahida Qoumi Move-ment (MQM) and Pakistan Mus-lim League-Functional (PML-F), among others.

“We are hopeful that he will not be a traitor today either,” Zardari said.

Fahim had also recently met Musharraf, giving rise to specula-tion that the former is creating a forward block within the PPP.

Airstrikes kill 55 rebelsMeanwhile, at least 55 militants were killed in airstrikes and a gun battle with ground forces in Orakzai and Khyber tribal dis-tricts — near the Afghan border -- when troops raided a hideout where the insurgents had gathered for a meeting, the military said in a statement.

“An intense battle took place, in which 16 terrorists were killed and 20 injured,” it said, adding that

“fleeing terrorists left behind nine dead bodies of their accomplices”.

Troops arrested two critically wounded militants while four sol-diers were also wounded in the battle, the statement said.

Separately, 39 militants, includ-ing two rebel commanders, were killed in airstrikes in the north-west late Friday and an ammu-nition depot was also destroyed, according to military spokesman Major General Asim Bajwa.

It was not possible to indepen-dently verify the casualties as me-dia are banned from visiting the far-flung area.

Taliban commanderIn another incident, police said they arrested an important Tali-ban commander who was wanted for attacks on police and was also involved in the killing a local jour-nalist in northwestern Khyber Pa-khtunkhwa province.

The army has been waging a major offensive against long-standing Taliban and other mili-tant strongholds in the restive tribal areas on the Afghan border for the last six months.

The offensive gathered mo-mentum after the December 16 attack on an army-run school in Peshawar which killed 150 peo-ple, 134 of them children.

The Pakistani military says it has killed more than 1,700 mili-tants so far in its heavy offensive in the tribal zone, with 126 soldiers having lost their lives. - Agencies

On the seventh death

anniversary of the

former premier,

Pakistan Peoples

Party co-chairman

Asif Ali Zardari

lamented how the

establishment,

despite Benazir’s

warning, had failed to

separate the Afghan

and Kashmir issues

Pervez Musharraf Benazir Bhutto Asif Ali Zardari

Bid to bomb passenger train foiledQUETTA: The police have foiled a terror bid in Quetta on Saturday after recovering two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) meant to target passen-ger train Jaffar Express.

The passenger train, bound for Rawalpindi, had stopped at the Quetta railway station after a police official spotted explo-sives planted along the railway track.

“Unidentified men had plant-ed two remote-controlled IEDs beneath the railway track to tar-get the Jaffar express and for-tunately the they were defused before the train arrived,” Capital City Police Officer Quetta Abdul Razzaq Cheema told reporters.

“Local residents spotted the unidentified men while they were planting the bombs on railway track and informed the local police in time,” Cheema said, while lauding the effort of local residents for helping out the police.

“It shows that Baloch people do not support militants and hate terrorism,” Cheema said while announcing a reward for the informers.

The suspects fled from the scene and left before the police arrived.

A heavy contingent of se-curity forces along with the Bomb Disposal Squad arrived at the site and cordoned off the area, after which BDS officials de-tracked and defused the bombs. — Express Tribune

B A L O C H I S T A N

Media has important role in war on terrorism, says ShahbazLAHORE: Chief Minister Shah-baz Sharif said on Friday that a centre of excellence and a utility store would be established at the Journalists’ Colony.

He was speaking to a delegation of Lahore journalists. Sharif said the government had always tried to resolve the challenges confront-ing journalists.

He ordered the constitution of a committee to assist them in over-coming challenges confronting them.

The committee would include Education Minister Rana Mash-hood, government spokesperson Zaeem Qadri and TV journalists

Salman Ghani and Najam Wali. Sharif said media had a pivotal role in the war on terrorism.

He said the nation looked up to media as the guardian of national interests in the war on terrorism. He said the government had al-ways prioritised the quick resolu-tion of the community’s problems.

Sharif said the Peshawar car-nage was unprecedented in the history of mankind. He said the unanimous approval of the na-tional action plan constituted a watershed in the history of the na-tion. The chief minister said the war on terrorism was a war for the nation’s survival.

He said the nation would emerge victorious in the war on terrorism. Shahbaz Sharif said the country was fighting an acute energy crisis. He was chairing a meeting organised to review progress on solar projects in Ba-

hawalpur’s Quaid-i-Azam Solar Park. It was agreed to speed up work on 900 megawatt-solar pro-jects. Water and Power Federal Minister Khwaja Asif was also present on the occasion.

Sharif said the energy crisis

had taken a toll on the industrial, agriculture, education and health sectors. He said the government was taking every step to quickly overcome the crisis.

Minister Asif said efforts were being made to quickly complete the project.

Separately, a delegation of Pa-kistan Ittehad Council called on the chief minister. The delega-tion was led by central president Khalid Mehmood Khokhar.

The delegation members praised Sharif for abolishing the export duty on potatoes. Khokhar thanked the chief minister for personally ensuring that the

problems of the community were resolved.

Sharif said agriculture was the backbone of the national econ-omy. He said the role of farmers was seminal in the sector.

Benefit of farmersHe said the government would continue to promote agriculture and take steps for the benefit of farmers. Sharif said the govern-ment would ensure that farmers’ interests were secure.

He said a comprehensive strat-egy had been formulated for the development and promotion of the sector. — Express Tribune

B U R N I N G I S S U E

Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif said the nation looked up to media as the guardian of national interests in the war on terrorism

‘Zinda Bhaag’ to be first Pakistani film on NetflixKARACHI: It’s been over a year since the release of critically acclaimed Punjabi film Zinda Bhaag, but the accolades contin-ue to roll in.

Being Pakistan’s first official entry, in over 50 years, at the 86th Academy Awards in the category for Best Foreign Language Film, the flick is all set to accomplish another first.

Zinda Bhaag will be the first Pakistani film to be released on Netflix. The producers of the film are currently in the process of finalising a deal with internet streaming-media Netflix.

Mazhar Zaidi, the producer of the movie, told The Express Trib-une that Zinda Bhaag has already been made available on a similar platform, iTunes UK.

Zaidi divulged little informa-tion about how the deal came about, simply stating that it was the team of Zinda Bhaag that in point of fact approached the ex-ecutives of Netflix.

He elucidates his reason be-hind approaching Netflix, saying, “It is an immense platform in the western world and the number of cinemagoers has actually de-creased over the past few years.”

Selection criteriaThe journalist-turned-filmmaker said that Zinda Bhaag has already gone through a very rigorous “se-lection criteria” as Netflix and iTunes tend to have an extensive procedure. The film needed to meet their “technical require-ments like audio, video and legal documentation”.

Zinda Bhaag, despite being a critical success, was unable to merit the same level of success

at the local box office. As to what might have appealed to the exec-utives of the internet streaming-media service, Zaidi responded, “A film cannot be judged in num-bers. In my opinion what might have appealed to the people of Netflix about the film could be its global appeal. Our film has content which will be appreci-ated by international audiences worldwide.”

Boys at schoolTo explicate the impact the film has had on intercontinental view-ers, he narrated an incident in Canada when a Bulgarian woman approached him after the screen-ing of the film, and said “The boys you showed in Zinda Bhaag are the boys I went to school with. That’s how much I related to the film.”

He further added that, “local-ised content will only work in Pa-kistan and what people like about the movie was that it portrayed Pakistan in a different light.”

Zaidi was hopeful that other

Pakistani film producers would start looking at the greater pic-ture rather just thinking about box office numbers. “Basically, the Netflix deal will open up the idea that a film has many revenue streams and that the box office is only a small aspect in the longer run. For instance, we’ve explored many alternative avenues and are also on the Emirates movie cata-logue,” remarked the producer of the hit flick.

He also thought that direc-tors and producers will gradually learn to fully capitalise upon the many revenue streams and “shall design their content to cater bet-ter to it”.

Available from JanuaryThe movie is expected to be made available on Netflix in the first quarter of January 2015, once the deal is finalised. He was also optimistic that the movie would garner a strong au-dience on the platform and help create more awareness about Pa-kistan. — Express Tribune

C R I T I C A L L Y A C C L A I M E D P U N J A B I F I L M

A film cannot be judged in numbers. In my opinion what might have appealed to the people of Netflix about the film could be its global appeal. Our film has content which will be appreciated by international audiences worldwide

Mazhar ZaidiProducer of ‘Zinda Bhaag’

A11

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Houthis to press offensive

SANAA: Yemen’s Ansarullah Houthi militia vowed on Saturday to press ahead with an offensive it launched in September to consoli-date its grip across Yemen, despite fierce resistance from majority sect tribes and Al Qaeda.

The country has been rocked by instability since the fight-ers seized control of Sanaa in September. They have since ex-panded their presence in central and western Yemen, but have met fierce resistance from powerful majority sect tribesmen backed by fighters from Al Qaeda.

“The Yemeni people is deter-mined to pursue its revolution... and combat corruption,” Ansarul-lah chief Abdulmalik Al Houthi said in a statement published by Yemeni media.

He said he will also push ahead with the offensive to “guarantee security” and “put an end to politi-cal tyranny” -- repeating slogans used by the Houthis to justify launching their campaign in Sep-

tember. On the streets of central Sanaa, meanwhile, hundreds of youths staged a rally demanding that the Huthi militiamen with-draw from the capital, an AFP cor-respondent said.

The demonstrators marched to the mayor’s office carrying banners that read: “No to armed groups” and “Yes to security and stability”.

On September 21, the Houthis signed a UN-brokered deal with the government under which they had pledged to lay down their arms and pull out of the city.

They have yet to respect the terms of the agreement.

Strict measuresIn his statement, the Houthi leader also called on supporters to “organise better in order to pre-pare for any eventuality”, without elaborating.

He also warned of “strict meas-ures” that could be adopted, but again did not provide any details

on what these might be.In another development, An-

sarullah has told residents in ar-eas it controls that Saturday will no longer be considered part of the weekend, a militia official said.

The militia official said the new regulation has entered into force in the Houthi stronghold of Saada in the remote north, as well as in the neighbouring province of Am-ran.

In the south, meanwhile, two soldiers were killed on Saturday and four wounded in a roadside bomb explosion in Hadramawt province, a military source said.

The source blamed Al Qaeda’s Yemen franchise for the blast which he said was detonated by remote control. — AFP

Yemeni people are

determined to pursue

their revolution and

combat corruption,

said Houthis’

Ansarullah chief

Abdulmalik Al Houthi

FLASHING THE V-SIGN: A Yemeni girl flashes the V-sign as she takes part in a rally against the deployment of armed militias from the Houthi movement, in Sanaa on Saturday. — AFP

STREET STALL: An arms dealer holds a rifle magazine as he sits at his stall on a street in Yemen’s northwestern city of Saada on Saturday. — Reuters

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Ukraine rebels free 145 war prisonersKIEV: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Saturday wel-comed home as heroes 145 sol-diers freed by pro-Russian rebels during the largest prisoner swap of the eight-month separatist war.

The Western-backed leader, beaming and wearing a black bomber jacket, walked up to the back cargo bay of a military trans-port plane that landed at a mili-tary airport outside Kiev in the dawn hours of Saturday to hail the men.

He firmly shook hands and tightly embraced them -- some young and others sporting greying beards -- as they trundled down the steps wearing regular civilian clothes and knitted skull caps in the searing cold.

Brimming with joy“My heart as that of a president and citizen is brimming with joy that you — as I had promised — will be able to meet the new year with your families and comrades and arms,” Poroshenko said as the released men huddled around him on the tarmac.

Ukraine’s chronically under-funded army has been criticised heavily by the public for failing to stamp out a revolt that has claimed 4,700 lives and continues

to threaten the former Soviet re-public’s very existence.

Poroshenko appeared to be addressing that rebuke by prais-ing the men for “not breaking or changing and firmly keeping your military morale, demonstrating the best qualities of a Ukranian warrior”.

Ukraine’s allies in Europe hope that Friday’s exchange will mark

a watershed moment in a war that seems at a stalemate but still rages on because of the immense mistrust between the two sides.

Kiev on Friday freed 222 insur-gent fighters captured around the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk and its surrounding regions.

But the original deal -- agreed with the help of European and Russian mediators in the Belarus-

sian capital Minsk on Wednes-day -- called for the release of 150 state troops and 225 militants.

“Unfortunately, not everyone was released.

“Another four of your comrades will come back on (Saturday),” Poroshenko said in reference to a much smaller prisoner swap expected to take place in another part of eastern Ukraine.

“But we will search for and find everyone and not leave anyone be-hind,” Poroshenko promised.

“The country will fight for each one of its faithful sons.”

Saturday’s swap was due to in-volve both sides’ fighters captured in Donetsk’s neighbouring break-away region of Lugansk.

Easing crisisThe Minsk negotiations were called to reinforce a largely ig-nored peace plan struck in Sep-tember that aimed to both stem the bloodshed and ease the crisis in East-West relations the con-flict has sparked.

The eastern revolt began only weeks after Russia’s March sei-zure of Crimea and appeared to have been staged in reprisal for the February ouster in Kiev of a Moscow-backed elected presi-dent. — AFP

P R I S O N E R S W A P

HEROES: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, right, welcomes Ukrainian troops freed from captivity after they arrived at an airport near Kiev early on Saturday. — AFP/Presidential Press-Service/Mikhail Palinchak

N. Korea hit by Internet shutdownBEIJING: North Korea suffered an Internet shutdown for at least two hours on Saturday, Chinese state-media and cyber experts said, after Pyongyang blamed Washington for an online blackout earlier this week.

“At Pyongyang time 7:30 pm (1030 GMT) North Korea’s In-ternet and mobile 3G network came to a standstill, and had not returned to normal as of 9:30 pm,” Xinhua news agency reported.

Xinhua’s reporters in North Korea found that the Internet was “very unstable” throughout the day, the report added.

Respected cyber security firm Dyn Research also said on Twit-ter that North Korea suffered a “country-wide Internet blackout” on Saturday.

North Korea earlier in the day called US President Barack Obama a “monkey” for inciting cinemas to screen a comedy featuring a fictional plot to kill its leader, and blamed Washington for an Inter-net blackout this week.

The isolated dictatorship’s pow-erful National Defence Commis-sion (NDC) threatened “inescap-able deadly blows” over the film and accused the US of “disturbing the Internet operation” of North Korean media outlets.

The earlier Internet outage trig-gered speculation that US authori-ties may have launched a cyber-at-tack in retaliation for the hacking of Sony Pictures — the studio be-hind madcap North Korea comedy The Interview. — AFP

C Y B E R O U T A G E

Japan okays $29b stimulus packageTOKYO: The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ap-proved a fresh stimulus package worth $29 billion on Saturday in a bid to boost the economy, hit hard by a tax hike.

“With speedy implementation of these measures, I think we can bolster consumption and lift the provincial economy and expand the positive growth cycle to all corners of the country,” Abe told a meeting with ruling lawmakers shortly before the cabinet officially approved the package.

The world’s third largest econ-omy is seeing a barrage of weak economic indicators after an April consumption tax rise slammed the brakes on growth.

Monetary easingSince coming to power two years ago, Abe has offered a series of pro-business, big-spending policies in a bid to bring Japan out of defla-tion.

His programmes were support-ed by the Bank of Japan’s aggres-sive monetary easing.

The efforts have driven down the yen and boosted earnings of major firms, particularly export-ers.

Of the 3.5 trillion yen in the fresh stimulus, 600 billion yen will go to programmes to boost the lo-cal economy, 1.2 trillion yen for steps to help consumers and small businesses, and 1.7 trillion yen to rebuild areas hit by natural disas-ters, such as the 2011 tsunami and massive landslides this year. — AFP

B O O S T I N G E C O N O M Y

The 3.5-trillion-yen package is designed to help the provincial economy, small businesses and the household sector, as well as to increase public spending to rebuild areas hit by natural disasters

Al Shebaab leader with $3m US bounty on head surrendersMOGADISHU: A leader of So-mali extremist group Al Shebaab, who has a $3 million US bounty on his head, has surrendered, a Somali government source and local media said on Saturday.

Zakariya Ismail Ahmed Hersi was one of seven Al Shebaab lead-ers for whom the US State De-partment in 2012 offered a total of $33 million in reward money for information that led to their cap-ture. If confirmed, Hersi’s surren-der would be a second major blow to al Shebaab’s leadership in just a few months. In September the group’s main leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, was assassinated by a US drone strike.

“Al Shebaab leader Zakariya Is-mail surrendered to government forces in El Wak, Gedo region. He is expected to be flown to Moga-dishu tomorrow,” a senior govern-ment official told Reuters.

State radio website Radio Muqdisho also reported Hersi’s surrender and said he was “the general secretary of al Shebaab’s finance (department)” but did not give reasons for his surrender.

A member of Al Shebaab’s media team told Reuters by tel-ephone that the group had seen media reports about Hersi’s ar-rest and was “going to investigate whether or not the man talked about belonged to us”.

AmnestyWhile the government offered an amnesty to Al Shebaab mem-bers in September, none of the key leaders of the group has so far taken up the offer. Although Al Seabaab still controls chunks

of the countryside in south and central Somalia, this year it has lost several key towns during two major offensives by African Union peacekeepers and the So-mali National Army. However, the group continues to carry out hit-and-run attacks in Somalia and in neighbouring Kenya, where it has killed hundreds of people over the past 18 months. It attacked a major African Union base in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday in an audacious raid that lasted several hours. - Reuters

B R E A K T H R O U G H

Al Shebaab leader Zakariya Ismail surrendered to government forces in El Wak, Gedo region. He is expected to be flown to Mogadishu tomorrow

Somalia government source

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COMMEN ARYT I M E S O F O M A NA12

This year was worthy of note for good reasons and bad. It’s been a year in which many around the world have celebrated, but also in which many have suffered, whether in Britain, Africa, the Middle East or further afield.

And while it has been a successful year for Ukip, it’s important that we don’t just judge the past 12 months solely in political terms. This was a year in which we saw Britons dig deep; for those suffering from the Ebola crisis, to the memory of those who fought and died to defend our liberties. I was moved to see the 888,246 ceramic poppies on display out-side the Tower of London, and delighted that hun-dreds of thousands of people gathered to see them. The coming year will be just as noteworthy — and it will also be a year of great uncertainty.

It is worth, therefore, remembering and reflect-ing upon what came before us, and what lessons we can take away from it. Next year is the 800th anni-versary of Magna Carta; arguably one of the most important documents in human history. This Great Charter guaranteed the basic freedoms of the Brit-ish people — and it is something that is still cele-brated the world over to this day. Sadly, our children are today scarcely educated on the documents that established the rights of free-born Englishmen, as it is often referred to.

But Magna Carta’s significance cannot be stressed heavily enough. It asserted that nobody was above the law — an idea which is constantly tested, and one which may have some serious res-onance in 2015, as political scandals begin, once again, to stack up. Accountability and answerabil-ity are two of the major themes now derived from Magna Carta. I for one hope that we as a people will seriously consider what this means ahead of our own major political event of 2015: the general elec-tion in May.

Whether we’re thinking about the backroom deals or political cover-ups in Westminster, or whether we’re talking about the European Union and its unaccountable bureaucrats — I person-ally think that major lessons need to be taken from Magna Carta. On the 800th anniversary of its seal-ing at Runnymede, there will be no greater occasion in our lifetimes to celebrate its significance and think on its impact.

Next year will also see the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo — the decisive victory for Britain and her allies which left Europe with 50

years of peace. Bringing Napoleon’s reign of terror to an end and creating a period in which the British Empire flourished is something you’d think we’d want to celebrate as a nation. Instead, I’m afraid, our politically correct “leaders” have decreed that not a penny is to be spent on the occasion. Well, close enough to not a penny anyway. Even the Bel-gians are spending £20m on commemorations, while Britain’s Government shrugs and looks the other way. It’s very sad.

I’m not sure whether the decision has been taken so as to not “offend” anyone, but I know we should all try and think about the positive contributions Britain has made to Europe in the past — and the positive contribution we can still make to Europe. Namely, leaving the European Union.

It sounds odd, doesn’t it? But actually, sometimes you can achieve more by being on the outside than you can by being on the inside. I should know! Stub-born friends need tough love. And we should remain friends with Europe and its nations, demonstrating our concern by leading them away from political and economic miasma.

Britain can make a positive difference. A dif-ference that would reverberate, especially to the peoples of Europe that are suffering terribly due to their membership of the EU and their adoption of the euro. The peoples of Greece, Italy, and Spain would, in time, thank us. As I’m sure would the peo-ples of the former communist countries of Europe, and indeed the strongholds of Germany and France. Perhaps these countries’ political classes wouldn’t like it — and nor would ours.

But since when were political decisions sup-posed to be taken by a small minority of people, for a small minority of the people? It shouldn’t have been the case in 1215 either, which is why King John was made to sign Magna Carta.

And while our victory at Waterloo was brilliant, it sadly cost many lives. I’m sure, like me, you’re glad that this level of bloodshed is no longer com-monplace in keeping the peace in Europe. But the change was not because of the EU, despite what the propagandists tell you.

It was in fact due to a rejection of tyranny — and the will to confront it. From its major wars to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the 20th century contained many examples of what happens when political de-cisions are made with the will of the people in mind. In 2015, we would do well to remember what free-dom — political and economic — can do for a nation, a continent, and indeed for the world. - The Independent

Magna Carta will turn 800 the coming year

Magna Carta’s significance cannot be stressed heavily enough. It asserted that nobody was above the law — an idea which is constantly tested, and one which may have some serious resonance in 2015, as political scandals begin

Letters, 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), by fax (24813153) or by e-mail (times@omantel.net.om)

HISTORICAL MILESTONE

The IMF, under the $6.6 billion bailout programme meant to aid Pakistan’s growth and move towards economic stability, has is-sued a new set of conditions to the government. Its fulfillment

would pave the way for the next loan tranche after Pakistan secured $1.05 billion during the clubbed fourth and fifth reviews earlier this month. The conditions focused on strengthening the State Bank of Pa-kistan (SBP), freeing it from the clutches of the finance ministry in a bid to grant it more autonomy and improve the working of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

The Extended Fund Facility, which was approved by the interna-tional lender in September 2013, means that Pakistan has to con-tinuously implement structural reforms that would strengthen its economy, improve business climate and increase its revenues while protecting the vulnerable from the impact of these measures. Hence, the most crucial role is to be played by the SBP and specifically the FBR. One hardly raises an eyebrow when fingers are pointed at this inept body. Tax collection, in absolute terms, may be on the rise but the fall in the number of registered taxpayers is a reminder of the FBR’s ineffectiveness. For years, the public has asked for an easier process to file tax returns.

The FBR has repeatedly ignored these appeals. Now, the IMF has set an indicative ceiling of the collection target. It has asked for an end to the issuing of Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) that benefit cer-tain influential segments of the economy by giving them tax exemp-tions. The government has assured that no new SROs would be issued while also promising more autonomy for the SBP. While admitting that it could not implement some reforms, Pakistan has also assured the IMF that the programme would now remain on track. Despite the urgent need for implementation, these reforms have never seen the light of day. In hope of securing the next loan tranche, the government might just go ahead with these changes that it has promised time and again. - The Express Tribune

Implementing reforms

There was a time when President Vladimir Putin was welcomed, even courted, by governments in the West. Now, as tensions between them grow over the issue of Ukraine, and as Russia’s

economy is under stress, Putin is pursuing new friends, including one of the world’s most noxious leaders, Kim Jong-un of North Korea. Ac-cusations last week by the United States that North Korea had hacked the computers of Sony Pictures and stolen millions of documents did not slow the Russian president down. Kremlin, on the contrary, an-nounced that Putin had invited the North Korean dictator to Moscow next year to help mark the 70th anniversary of the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union often helped prop up North Korea’s brutal totalitarian regime. This year, after Russia’s invasion of Crimea led to a crisis and the imposition of sanctions by the United States and Europe, Putin has moved to strengthen those ties as part of a “Look East” policy designed to compensate for the loss of economic and political interaction with the West. Russia is interested in North Korea’s mineral resources and needs its help in building a gas pipeline through North Korea to reach the wealthier South Korea. Meanwhile, North Korea sees Russia as a way to reduce dependency on China, its main source of food and fuel. Kim is also seeking help to block a Unit-ed Nations Security Council resolution that would refer Pyongyang to the International Criminal Court for its human rights abuses.

But with its basket-case economy and unpredictable leaders, North Korea is a difficult friend, and just how far Putin could take the rela-tionship is unclear. It’s one thing if he exploits North Korea for eco-nomic purposes. It’s quite another if his quest for collaborators makes him unwilling to work with the West in pressing North Korea to end its nuclear program; so far, that is not the case.

Putin’s courtship of North Korea has not distracted him from his continuing efforts to build closer relationships with China and India. China’s president, Xi Jinping, made Russia his first foreign trip after taking office, and he attended the Sochi Olympics while President Obama and European leaders boycotted them. In May, as the West imposed sanctions on Russia, Putin completed a $400 billion, 30-year deal providing natural gas to China. For decades, people speculated about some kind of China-Russia alliance, but one never really mate-rialised. As for India, Putin was warmly welcomed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a visit there this month and given assurances that Russia would remain India’s top weapons supplier. Putin is also seeking closer ties with Turkey to dilute the effect of sanctions and is also trying to persuade Serbia and Bosnia that integration with the West is not their only option. - The New York Times News Service

Vladimir Putin now courting the world

N I G E L FA R A G E

Majlis Al Shura members play crucial role in societyThis refers to the news story, Are we electing right person for Majlis Al Shura? (December 27). Some of the recent discus-sions and debates on issues that directly affect public life point out to the fact that Majlis Al Shura members have a major role to play in society. A member’s educational qualifications and better understanding of public issues strengthen the whole of Majlis Al Shura and this would reflect in decisions of strategic importance taken by the body. At the same time, an appraisal of what has been done in the past would reveal the roles and responsibilities of an elected member. The important aspect is that the members of Majlis Al Shura must be able to speak on behalf of the people. They should

be able to think and act wisely while respecting the views and aspirations of general public.Ramachandran NairRuwi

Elect the right people on the basis of their abilityThis refers to the news story, Are we electing right person for Majlis Al Shura? (December 27). Right man for right job is indeed important. The right person should be elected based on their abilities, capabilities, convictions and qualifications.Keyur SampatMuscat

India’s health care budget one of the lowest in worldWe Indians cannot avoid the truth that the health care budget

of our country is among the low-est in the world. The government health centres are in pathetic conditions and NGOs often act with no monitoring. We had an issue recently in India where dozens of people lost their eye sight. The cut in health care budget is hitting people hard.Jaison MathaiMuscat

Man has used sword mostly for destructionThe Devil in George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman has proclaimed that in the art of life, man’s investment is virtually nothing. Yet, in the art of death, man often outdoes nature. The sword, I believe, can either be used to protect or to annihilate. Man has used the sword and his physical power mostly for de-

struction. With passage of time, today’s generations are brought up on a cult of violence propa-gated by movies and video games and the list seems to be endless.Debasmita DeyWadi Kabir

Rising tide of economy has only increased inequalitySustainable development and eradication of poverty can be possible only when the inequality gap is reduced to minimum and benefits are equitably shared. But alas! We still have on our planet at least two fifth of the race living in chilling penury on less than $1.25 a day. Rising tide of income has neither lifted all the boats nor has it reduced the widening gap of inequality.Gohor KhanRuwi

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TODAY IN HISTORY

OPINION POLL

1688 William of Orange makes a triumphant march into London as James II flees.

1846 Iowa is admitted as the 29th State of

the Union. 1904 Farmers in Georgia burn two million

bales of cotton to prop up falling prices. 1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt states,

“The definite policy of the United States, from now on, is one opposed to armed intervention.”

1936 Benito Mussolini sends planes to Spain to support Francisco Franco’s forces.

BAC CONDUCTS NATIONAL SKILL TESTMUSCAT: The Bahwan Automotive Centre, as part of its national technical education programme, has conducted the national skill contest for the sixth consecutive year. Hamed Khamis Abdullah Al Amri, director general at the Department of Labour, Minis-try of Social Affairs, Labour and Vocational Training, and T. Natsume, general manager of Toyota Motor Corporation, Bahrain Representative office, senior government officials and representatives of PDO and some private companies were present to appraise the performance of the contestants.

FROM OUR ARCHIVES

It will be some time before Pakistan fully re-covers from the shock of arguably, the most profound tragedy of its 67-year-old exist-

ence. But now that it’s time for sombre reflec-tion at yearend, what is heart achingly evident is that the 132 schoolchildren killed in cold blood on December 16 in Peshawar have been able to achieve in their demise what has eluded the na-tion in life here: a remarkable convergence of an otherwise disparate political class and the mili-tary establishment!

As a result, first promising signs have emerged that a resolute new Pakistan is willing to go all the way to root out terrorism, the presence of Taliban apologists in its midst notwithstanding. It is no small achievement given that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), the two top po-litical parties, that until early this year had held the country hostage to “peace” talks with the Taliban, appear to have taken an about-turn. So brutal have the Taliban been in trying to force their heinous agenda that no sane person can any longer think otherwise.

Although it is hard to give them the benefit of doubt, both the PML-N and PTI betrayed fear in pushing for a dialogue until the butchering Tali-ban divested them of the notion that peace could be made with those who have historically always used such an opportunity to buy time, regroup and go back to murder and mayhem as a way of enforcing their agenda.

Even the most hardened of Taliban backers amongst the religious parties and groups have been forced to eschew “brotherhood” in the wake of the schoolchildren’s massacre.

As Pakistan enters the New Year, there is hope that things may, after all, change for the better. The entire political and military leader-ship locked horns this past week, resulting in a comprehensive 20-point National Action Plan to root out terrorism in all its forms. Prime Minis-ter Nawaz Sharif has constituted a stalwart team to implement the plan, which he has promised to oversee working in “days, not weeks”.

The powerful military led the push for setting up special courts to try terrorists for swift re-sults. The decision is still a sticking point given past history, but Army Chief General Raheel Sharif gave the three secular parties most op-posed to the idea — Pakistan People’s Party, Mut-tahida Qaumi Movement and Awami National Party — assurances that it would not be used for political victimisation.

The parties were also assured that only “jet black terrorists” — a term the military uses for hardened criminals — would be tried in these courts and, then, only after approval from the federal government. The military has begun preparations for the said courts that will have a two-year span.

Criticism over special courts stems from a not-so-judicious use in the past, bringing into focus the rights of the accused and possible abuse of law given the short timeframe. Sections of the me-dia have also editorially questioned the need for measures that undermine the functioning of judi-cial courts in a democratic dispensation.

Will it not erode the confidence of a judiciary that, in the last few years, has been hailed as a har-binger of hope for its apparent independent mien?

Perhaps, it will although that in itself does not absolve the lower and higher judiciary of their failure to convict ostensibly, the most hardened of criminals, citing lack of concrete evidence. Having said that, in the absence of a witness pro-tection progamme and dire threats to presiding judges in some cases, it would probably be harsh to strictly dub them as failures!

But it has gone on for too long, and certainly the military’s patience has run out. Ideally, the need-ful should have been done by empowering the ju-diciary though legislation, but given the present and clear danger posed by the terrorists, the spe-cial courts will come into play. However, we’ve not heard the last on the issue, if only for the fact that the superior judiciary will, inevitably, be hearing a petition or two against the decision to set up special courts and we could yet have a spanner thrown into the works by a judiciary wary of en-croachment on their territory!

In such a situation, Prime Minister Sharif may be forced to either seek parliamentary approval or have a presidential ordinance issued. However, not entirely ruled out is the possibility that the ju-diciary may even let this pass, if only not to be at the receiving end of the Taliban’s retribution.

That apart, the National Action Plan itself is a pretty neat order that envisages action against militant organisations, their offshoots, sources of funding and even disguised charity work they do. In a nutshell, there is very little to fault, but of course, as always the proof of the pudding would lie in its eating (read implementation).

The author is a senior journalist based in Islamabad. All the views and opinions expressed in the article are solely his and not of Times of Oman.

National Action Plan offers new ray of hope in Pakistan

HISTORYNET.COM

Russia interest ratesRussia’s central bank raised its key interest rate from 10.5% to 17% to try to ease the rouble’s fall in value. The bank has spent more than $70 billion supporting the roublesince the start of the year

GraphicsGraphic News / GraphicsGraphic News /Source: Trading Economics

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March 18: Russian PresidentVladimir Putin approves billfor annexation of Crimea

LAST POLL RESULT

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A couple of years ago, a Canadian minister proudly declared that

Santa Claus was a citizen of Canada. After all, his home and toy factory are at the North Pole, which, according to the minister’s interpreta-tion, belongs to Canada.

Though Santa Claus has not commented on the matter, it is now clear that he could choose several passports when he travels the world on December 24th. In 2007, a privately funded mini-sub-marine planted a Russian flag directly beneath his alleged home. And two weeks ago, Denmark, which has sover-eignty over Greenland, staked its own territorial claim, also covering the North Pole.

By filing its claim with the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continen-tal Shelf, Denmark has joined our era’s “great game”: the contest for economic control over a large part of the Arctic. And Denmark’s claim is massive. Not only does it seek sovereignty over everything between Greenland and the North Pole; it is also extend-ing its claim to nearly 900,000 square kilometres, all the way to the existing limits of the Russian economic zone on the other side of the Pole — an area 20 times Denmark’s size.

How to assess countries’ claims to Arctic territory hinges on the status of the Lomonosov Ridge, a vast formation that rises from the sea floor and stretches 1,800 kilometres from Greenland to the East Siberian conti-nental shelf. Everyone agrees that it is a ridge. The key question is whether it is an extension of the Greenland shelf or an extension of the East Siberia shelf.

Denmark, together with the government of Green-land, now claims that it is the former, giving it the right to extend its economic zone across a huge area at the top of the world. Though nothing is yet known about the claim that Russia says it will present in the spring, there is no doubt that it will argue the opposite.

And what about the Cana-dians and their claim? That remains to be seen, but there have been reports that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is dissatisfied that Canadian scientists are not being suffi-ciently aggressive in pressing the country’s case.

Nonetheless, for all the hype about a “race for the Arc-tic,” and despite the rather icy atmosphere among the claim-ants, there is little reason to fear conflict. Under the terms of the 2008 Ilulissat Decla-ration, all of the countries bordering the Arctic Ocean agree to resolve their claims peacefully and based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. According to settled

procedure, a UN commission will first judge whether the claims have merit. If they are overlapping, which is highly probable, bilateral negotia-tions will be held.

Such talks, to put it mildly, could take time. Norway and Russia negotiated over a far smaller territorial delimita-tion for four decades.

Both Denmark and Russia have been devoting significant resources to exploring the Lo-monosov Ridge. Denmark has hired Swedish icebreakers for repeated expeditions, and Russia has been deploying special submarines to obtain samples from the ridge and the ocean floor.

The Arctic region has always been strategically vital for Russia, accounting for roughly 85 per cent of Russia’s natural-gas production, which is based primarily in Western Siberia. The Kremlin has activated a new military com-mand for the Arctic, and is busy reopening air bases and radar stations along its Arctic shoreline.

But it is a very long way from these new Russian bas-es to virtually everywhere. And, in addition to the vast distances, there is the harsh climate. A Canadian military commander, asked what he would do if foreign soldiers attacked his country’s Far North, calmly replied that he would dispatch an expedi-tion to rescue them. Though Russia had hoped for a rapid increase in shipping along the Northern Sea Route, commercial traffic this year fell by 77 per cent.

Of course, the stakes are too high for Canada, Denmark, and Russia to allow the re-gion’s remoteness and its hos-tile environment to influence how resolutely they press their claims. Boundaries like these are fixed once and for-ever, and no one knows what discoveries, technologies, and opportunities the future might bring. But for the time being, neither Santa Claus, nor anyone else, has reason to be worried. The nature of the Lomonosov Ridge will be debated for years to come, while his thoughts — and ours — are likely to be focused on more immediate issues. - Project

Syndicate

The battle for Santa’s home

C A R L B I L D T

Global influences making lives unpredictable

KA M R A N R E H M AT

A couple of years ago, I met Sir John Major quite by chance at a book launch.

The Coalition Government was enduring an especially torrid week, so I asked him what he made of its travails. He said he felt overwhelmed with sympathy.

I presumed he just meant that he knew, from his own difficulties in No 10, how thankless power can be. But he went further. The fun-damental difference now as com-pared with then, he said, was how global in nature all our problems are — and how much harder that makes them to solve.

History will look more kindly upon Sir John than his contem-poraries did. As we plan ahead for the news agenda in 2015, it is precisely the global nature of Britain’s problems that makes them so hard to solve — and pre-dict. Take just two: our economy and our energy.

Britain’s economy is beset by forces it cannot control. The near-doubling of the global supply of la-bour and the rapid rise of automa-

tion and digital technology have put huge, irreversible pressure on the wages. Britons are hugely vulnerable to a crisis-prone euro-zone, never mind everywhere else.

On energy, nobody foresaw the extraordinary drop in oil prices. But the fact is Britain is a bit-part player in the battle between sheikhs and shale which is re-shaping the energy map. How can you get global co-operation on cli-mate change when the economics of it are so unpredictable?

Many of the other great chal-lenges, from organised crime and cyber war to terrorism, are simi-larly global in nature and local in their effects.

And the cause which this pa-per was founded to uphold is the same. I’m talking about the global threat to democracy.

The worst form of government except for all the others that have been tried — as Winston Church-ill, who died 50 years ago next year, put it — is in terrible shape. Ameri-ca’s constitution seems ever more anachronistic, and Washington

has spent years in gridlock. The standard of leadership in France is dismal. The Spanish have be-trayed their largely unemployed young. Brussels is ever more laby-rinthine, and Turkey, which once promised to reconcile theocracy with democracy, is sliding toward authoritarianism. Meanwhile the Arab Spring is long gone, and Russia and China have strongman leaders who disdain people power.

And we in Britain can hardly talk. Our electoral system is out of date; trust is at an all-time low; populists are on the march; party membership has collapsed; and Westminster is reviled. For these reasons and more, we are five months away from the most unpredictable election in our history.

The world has never been more complex, as Sir John had the wis-dom to recognise. The only cer-tainty in 2015 is uncertainty, and we will do our best both to make sense of it all, and to fight for that cause — democracy — in which we so strongly believe. - The Independent

A M O L R A J A N

The ‘race for the Arctic,’ and despite the rather icy atmosphere among the claimants is unlikely to lead to any conflict. All the countries bordering the Arctic Ocean have agreed to resolve their claims peacefully

Even the most hardened of Taliban backers amongst the religious parties and groups have been forced to eschew ‘brotherhood’ in the wake of the schoolchildren’s massacre. As Pakistan enters the New Year, there is hope that things may, after all, change for the better

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GERMANY: A rose hip is covered with hoar frost in Petersdorf, eastern Germany, on Saturday. – AFP

NEPAL: Elephants feed at a feast during the Elephant Festival event at Sauraha in Chitwan, south of

Kathmandu, on Saturday. Elephants and ‘mahouts’, or elephant riders, from Chitwan are participating

in the Elephant Festival, which involves elephant races, elephants playing an exhibition soccer match

and taking part in various other sporting activities. The event runs from Friday to Tuesday. – Reuters

CENTRAL ENGLAND: A man walks past an icicle on a gate after overnight snowfalls in Buxton, central England, on Saturday. Motorists were trapped overnight in the north of Britain, as a result of heavy snow-

falls, local media reported.– Reuters

THAILAND: A man casts a fishing net as local residents make their way on a flooded road in the Pattani province in Thailand on Satur-

day. Many parts of the southern province remain flooded after recent heavy rains, local media reported. – Reuters

BRAZIL: An ‘Ararinha-azul’ (Spix’s Macau-Cyanopsitta spixii) born

in captivity at the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodevirsity Conser-

vation (ICMBio) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. – AFP

FRANCE: Members of a group of ‘sea-walkers’ called Chtis

Pingouins take a morning walk on a windy day in Valras-Plage,

southern France on Saturday. Dozens of people enjoy walking in the

sea about twice a week, even in winter, organisers said. – Reuters

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Yangon goes to polls for first time in 60 years

YANGON: Residents of Myan-mar’s commercial hub Yangon went to the polls on Saturday for the first municipal elections in six decades, with voters enthusias-tic for change even though many knew little about the candidates or their policies.

The election is being closely watched as a test of the country’s democratic credentials ahead of a landmark nationwide poll slated for November next year, despite strict curbs on who could vote on Saturday and the limited power of the councillors they were electing.

For many the ballot for the Yan-gon City Development Committee, which closed on Saturday after-noon, was the first chance to vote under the country’s quasi-civilian government, which replaced out-right military rule in 2011.

It was also a rare opportunity to have a say over the future of Myan-mar’s biggest city, where residents grumble about runaway construc-tion and soaring rents, worsening traffic, poor sanitation and weak pollution control.

“It’s very difficult to have big ex-pectations as this is the first YCDC election for 60 years,” Khin Maung Tun, 50, a resident in Thaketa township said. “But we came here

to vote and show our spirit.”Despite such enthusiasm, lo-

cal media said turnout was low, although there were no official fig-ures immediately available.

RestrictionsRestrictions on who can vote en-franchised just 400,000 of the city’s several million residents, while other clauses have strictly controlled who can stand for the YCDC. Just under 300 candidates, among them businessmen, retired civil servants and activists, are competing for 115 positions on the committee — although the top

posts will remain largely appoint-ed. Campaigns were muted — or non-existent — in a country where politicians are unused to wooing the electorate, although election officials said the ballot would be transparent, free and fair.

Despite the lack of intimacy with the candidates’ politics, many residents appeared determined to vote after years of repressed demo-cratic aspirations under junta rule.

“I do not know anything about candidates. I just found out their names while voting,” Phone Maw Lynn, a resident in Sanchaung township said after voting.

“I hope for some significant change by voting,” he said without revealing who he voted for.

While Saturday’s election marked a major step by the YCDC, which has not been chosen by popular bal-lot since 1949, analysts cautioned against reading too much into the vote. Ahead of the ballot, critics said the poll was deeply flawed, citing the rule of just one person per house-hold being allowed to vote, the nar-row age restrictions for candidates and a ban on political parties from taking part.

Appointees will still outnum-ber elected figures on the city’s top council within the YCDC, which has major responsibilities over infrastructure, heritage and tax collection in Yangon. “It may be free and fair. But because this election is free and fair, we can not assume the coming 2015 gen-eral election will be free and fair also,” said independent political analyst Yan Myo Thein. — AFP

The election is being

closely watched as

a test of Myanmar’s

democratic

credentials ahead of

a nationwide election

slated for November

next year

Frightened hippo jumps from truck, gets badly hurtTAIPEI: A hippo that panicked while being transported by truck in Taiwan jumped from the ve-hicle, breaking a leg and caus-ing confused residents to report spotting a dinosaur on the loose.

Television footage showed the enormous animal lying on the road with a white fluid ooz-ing from its eyes after it jumped through a truck window and landed on a parked car before falling onto the road on Friday.

The sound of the collision star-tled people nearby who flocked to see the animal and contacted the police in central Miaoli county.

CrashOne woman was quoted by the United Daily News as saying that she ran out of her house after hearing the crash and thought she saw “a dinosaur” lying on

the road. The truck driver was quoted by the newspaper as say-ing that he saw the hippo “flying out” of the vehicle after getting spooked during the drive.

The injured animal, named “A Ho” after the Chinese name for hippo Ho Ma, lay on the road for a few hours before being put into a cargo container and taken back to its farm in central Taichung city, officials said.

Taiwanese authorities said Saturday that the animal’s owner could face a fine of up to $2,400 (Tw$75,000) for violat-ing animal protection laws after the hippo suffered a broken leg and damage to its teeth.

Local media said the hippo was a star attraction at its farm and had even appeared in a popular television soap opera several years ago. — AFP

F L Y I N G O U T

RARE OPPORTUNITY: People cast their votes at a polling station in Yangon. Myanmar’s main city

went to the polls on Saturday, but observers warned that the process is riddled with flaws and could

cast a shadow over crucial 2015 general elections. – AFP

SHOCKING INCIDENT: An injured hippo lies on the street after

jumping off from a truck in Miaoli county. The hippo jumped

out of truck when it was being transported on Friday, getting its

teeth and leg broken. According to the driver, he slammed on the

brake when heading to the city of Taichung from Miaoli County,

which probably frightened the hippo. – Reuters

I do not know anything about candidates. I just

found out their names while voting,

Phone Maw Lynn, A resident in

Sanchaung township, Yangon

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Malaysians furious as rescuers struggle to find flood survivors

PENGKALAN CHEPA (MA-LAYSIA): Rescuers struggled on Saturday to get help to the tens of thousands of people affected by Malaysia’s worst flooding in dec-ades as angry victims accused the government of being slow in its response.

Malaysians have vented their anger at Prime Minister Najib Razak after photos went viral on social media showing him play-ing golf with US President Barack Obama during the storms.

The number of people forced to flee their homes climbed past 120,000 with weather forecast-ers warning of no respite for the northeastern states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang.

From the air, parts of Kota Bharu, the state capital of badly-affected Kelantan, resembled a vast, muddy lake, with row after row of rooftops peeking out of the murky waters.

Tempers were frayed among people sheltering at a crowded re-lief centre just outside Kota Bharu, with fears the situation would worsen as it continued to rain in surrounding areas.

“I am angry with them (the gov-ernment). We don’t care about their politics. We just want the gov-ernment to do what they should do and help us,” 23-year-old Farhana Suhada, who works for a courier service, told AFP.

Six-month-old babyHolding on tightly to her six-month-old baby, she said: “For breakfast I had three biscuits and tea. There’s not enough water and no food at all for my baby. I had to buy my own milk.”

Farhana was forced to aban-don her home four days ago after flood waters rose quickly almost to neck level.

“I have lost everything, including huge damage to my house and my car and motorcycle,” said Suhada, who was among 200 people seeking refuge in a two-storey school.

The under-fire Najib, mean-while, arrived in Kelantan to lead the national flood response after cutting short his vacation in Ha-waii and was expected to meet

flood victims. The massive flood-ing, caused by torrential northeast monsoon rains, has so far left five people dead. The region is regular-ly hit by flooding during the annual monsoon, but this year’s rains have been unusually bad.

Swept awayDeputy Prime Minister Muhyid-din Yassin conceded that rescu-ers were struggling with power outages and roads being washed away by the floods.

“I admit the situation is chal-

lenging to the rescue workers and we are trying our best to make sure that the food arrives to the victims depending on the flood situation,” he was quoted as say-ing by the Star newspaper.

Military helicopters and trucks were seen in the Kota Bharu area, which is near the border with southern Thailand, but rescue ef-forts were being hampered by fast rising waters and strong currents while roads to hard-hit areas were impassable.

“The severity and scale of the

floods had taken the authorities completely by surprise as it was worse than anticipated, over-whelming all disaster manage-ment plans and preparations,” Lim Kit Siang, veteran opposition MP with the Democratic Action Party said in a statement Saturday.

Worst affectedKelantan, one of the worst-af-fected areas, is led by the opposi-tion Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and is one of the poorest states in the country.

At one relief centre, flood vic-tims were seen lying on the ground while children ran around.

The Universiti Sains Malaysia hospital, located in Kota Bharu, was busy handling flood victims flown in from nearby areas -- in-cluding a pregnant woman from Pasir Mas district where strong winds and currents have made res-cue operations difficult.

“It’s been three days, but the cur-rents are still very strong and the bad weather conditions are mak-ing it difficult for everyone,” a res-cue worker told AFP on condition of anonymity. — AFP

The number of

people forced to flee

their homes climbed

past 120,000 with

weather forecasters

warning of no respite

for the northeastern

states of Kelantan,

Terengganu and

Pahang

TRAUMATISED: Flood victims who abandoned their homes to seek shelter gather at a school used as an evacuation centre in Pengkalan

Chepa, near Kota Bharu, Malaysia, on Saturday. — AFP

Malaysians have vented their anger at Prime Minister Najib Razak after photos went viral on social media showing him playing golf with US President Barack Obama during the storms

Turkey a ‘source of power’ for Muslims: Hamas chiefANKARA: Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal on Saturday praised Turkey as a “source of power” for all Muslims in gratitude to Tur-key’s leaders for supporting the Palestinian cause.

“A democratic, stable and de-veloped Turkey is a source of power for all Muslims,” Meshaal said in an address to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) annual congress in the conservative central Anatolian city of Konya.

Meshaal said a “strong Tur-key means a strong Jerusalem, a strong Palestine,” voicing hopes to “liberate Palestine and Jerusa-lem,” according to the state-run Anatolia news agency.

His brief address was inter-rupted repeatedly by cheering crowds in the hall waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and chant-

ing: “Down with Israel!”The Hamas chief often shows

up at the ruling party’s events. He also attended the AKP’s congress in 2012 when President Recep

Tayyip Erdogan was serving as prime minister.

Symbol of innocentCurrent Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, in his speech said Turkey’s red flag featuring a cres-cent with a star was a “symbol of the innocent in the world.”

“God is witness ... we will make this red flag a symbol of the in-nocent. This red flag will fly side by side with the flags of Pales-tine, free Syria and all other in-nocents’ flags anywhere in the world,” he told the congress.

Turkey’s leaders, in particular Erdogan, are known for their an-gry outbursts at Israel. A staunch

supporter of the Palestinian cause, Erdogan has often blasted the Jewish entity over its military assaults on the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Hamas. — AFP

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

Khaled Meshaal

Belarus dismisses its premier

MINSK: Belarussian strongman Alexander Lukashenko on Satur-day sacked his prime minister as the tightly-controlled ex-Soviet state struggles with the effects of Russia’s economic crisis next door. Lukashenko dismissed Mikhail Myasnikovich, who had served in his post since Decem-ber 2010, and appointed his chief of staff Andrei Kobyakov as his new head of government, his ad-ministration said.

Lukashenko also replaced the head of the central bank as well as several other top officials in-cluding ministers of economy and industry.

Ahead of the cabinet shakeup, Lukashenko issued a stern warn-ing to the government on Friday, saying several officials might have spent too long at their posts.

“That can be fixed,” he said.Although the Belarussian ruble

is not officially pegged to the Rus-sian currency, Belarus is highly dependent on its former master

Moscow and is hugely sensitive to its economic woes.

The collapse of the Russian ru-ble this month sparked panic in the neighbouring country, where Belarussians rushed to convert their savings into dollars.

The run on the Belarussian ru-ble forced the central bank to an-

nounce a “temporary” tax of 30 per cent on all purchases of for-eign currency and raise interest rates to 50 per cent.

Lukashenko has admitted that his country’s economy has been hit hard as around 40 per cent of its exports are bound for Russia. — AFP

E C O N O M I C W O E S

Mikhail Myasnikovich

BMARKE

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Accumulated assets of banks rise to OMR24.6b

MUSCAT: There is a consensus among international experts that the financial performance of the commercial banks in the Sultan-ate has been strong in 2014 in terms of quality of assets, pro-visions, capital adequacy and profitability. The emerging Is-lamic banks have contributed to diversifying banking services and increasing options before cus-tomers. The support provided by the government and the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector has generated numerous job opportunities.

In terms of macroeconomics, the GDP at current prices grew by 4.6 per cent during the first quar-ter of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013. In terms of prices, the average annual inflation meas-ured by the change in consumer price index was contained at 0.9 per cent as of November 2014.

The accumulated assets of the commercial banks grew by 12.4 per cent to OMR24.6 billion in 2014 compared to OMR21.9 bil-lion in 2013.

Of the total assets, credit, which constituted 66.5 per cent, grew by 11.2 per cent during the first half of 2014 to hit about OMR16.2 billion. The credit given to the private and public sectors grew by 11.3 per cent and 9.3 per cent respectively while the credit provided to the govern-ment decreased by 28.5 per cent.

The sector-wise distribution

of credit provided to the private sector shows that as of the end of June 2014, the financial non-banking companies (FNBC) re-ceived 48.3 per cent followed by personal loans 44.7 per cent, fi-nancial companies 4.7 per cent and other sectors 2.3 per cent.

The investment of commercial banks in securities grew by 23 per cent to hit OMR4 billion in 2014, compared to OMR3 billion in 2013.

Certificates of depositsAs of the end of June 2014, commercial banks purchased OMR2.5 billion worth of certifi-cates of deposits and OMR565.6 million worth government de-velopment bonds from the CBO to absorb liquidity in the market. The investments of the commer-cial banks in foreign securities grew by 3.5 per cent in 2014 to reach OMR549.5 million.

In terms of liabilities, the total deposits with commercial banks

grew by 16 per cent to OMR17.3 billion in 2014 compared to OMR14.9 billion in 2013.

Deposits of the government with commercial banks grew by 19.7 per cent to hit OMR5.1 billion. The private sector deposits grew by 8.4 per cent to hit OMR1 billion during the same period.

The private sector deposits, the main component of the deposits or 63 per cent of the total depos-its, grew by 16.2 per cent to reach OMR10.9 billion in 2014 com-pared to OMR9.4 billion in 2013.

In terms of sector-wise distri-bution for private sector deposits, 48.4 per cent came from individu-als, 29.5 per cent from the NFBC, 20.4 per cent from the financial companies and others 1.7 per cent.

The MSM-listed banks wit-nessed 8 per cent growth in net profits to hit OMR236.05 million in 2014 compared to OMR217.95 million during the corresponding period last year.

As of the end of 2014, 20 banks

were licensed by the CBO for op-erations in the Sultanate includ-ing seven national banks, nine foreign banks and two full-fledged Islamic banks. The number of branches of these banks are 524 including 458 for the national banks. Only eight of the 20 banks are listed on the MSM.

While the performance of the commercial banks in the Sultan-ate was highly rated, the develop-ment of their assets through in-vestment portfolio activities has been weak for some of them and even null for others despite the support provided by the CBO.

The MSM-listed commercial banks have enjoyed high trust in credit and the highest profits. They are also the most active in terms of investing assets in port-folios and the most attractive for investors.

During the global financial cri-sis, commercial banks played an important role in activating the growth of private sector com-

panies by creating investment portfolios between the public and the companies operating in the Sultanate.

Tender resultsCertificates of deposit tender were allotted at the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) this week. The to-tal amount allotted for issue No. 897 was OMR561 million.

A bulletin issued by the CBO stated that the average interest rate of these certificates was 0.13 per cent whilst the maximum ac-cepted interest rate was 0.13 per cent. These certificates will ma-ture on January 21.

The certificates of deposit are issued to licensed banks by the CBO as a monetary policy instru-ment aimed at absorbing excess liquidity in the banking sector in particular and maintaining sta-bility of the interest rate and the money market in general.

The Repo rate during December 24th to 30th is 1 per cent. — ONA

Deposits of the

government with

commercial banks

grew by 19.7 per cent

to hit OMR5.1 billion.

The private sector

deposits grew by 8.4

per cent to hit OMR1

billion during the

same period

SME travel agencies get OCCI help to overcome cash hurdle

BUSINESS REPORTER MUSCAT: Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) is seeking to help small and me-dium enterprise (SME) travel agencies by providing them with the bank guarantee required by the international aviation body.

According to the Interna-tional Air Transport Association (IATA) regulations, members should issue a certain amount in bank guarantees before they can issue air tickets for international airlines.

Financial securityIn a recent meeting of the OCCI, it was mentioned that SME travel agents have difficulty obtaining the required financial security.

The meeting, which was at-tended by Redha Juma Moham-med Ali Al Saleh, the OCCI’s vice-chairman for administration and financial affairs, discussed the possibility of finding alternative financial security in coordina-tion with the chamber’s tourism committee.

The OCCI officials discussed the possibility of coordination with insurance companies to help facilitate the operations of entre-preneurs and small and medium companies in the travel sector.

Agricultural insuranceThe meeting also reviewed the issue of ‘agricultural insurance’

and its economic feasibility and highlighted the need to develop the necessary mechanisms to stimulate and support small and medium-sized enterprises and simplify the procedures in their financial and banking transactions. The participants also discussed a number of top-ics related to the challenges and opportunities in the insurance sector in the Sultanate after the introduction of amendments to certain provisions of the Insur-ance Companies Law.

It was demanded that the pri-vate sector, represented by the OCCI, be involved in the semi-nars and forums related to bank-ing and insurance.

A trade delegation specialising

in the financial and insurance sector is scheduled to visit Tai-wan in 2015 to benefit from the country’s successful experience in this sector.

At the beginning of the meet-ing, a reference was made to the recent statement of His High-ness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, deputy prime minister for the Council of Ministers, in which he said that the decline in oil prices will not have an impact on lives of the people, Omanisa-tion and training programmes.

The officials present also called for more activate partici-pation of the private sector in the country, which they said is nec-essary for maintaining a stable economic climate.

O C C I I N I T I A T I V E

Redha Juma Mohammed Ali Al Saleh. — Supplied picture

ROBUST GROWTH: Of the total assets, credit, which constituted 66.5 per cent, grew by 11.2 per cent during the first half of 2014 to hit

about OMR16.2 billion. — Times file picture

Credit Suisse bid to dismiss US mortgage suit deniedNEW YORK: Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse can be prosecuted for its role in the US housing fi-nance meltdown, according to a court decision, which dismissed the company’s bid to halt a suit.

The bank had filed a motion to have a suit for fraud over the sale of questionable mortgage securi-ties that dealt buyers $11.2 billion in losses in the housing crisis dis-missed. But Justice Marcy Fried-man of New York’s Supreme Court authorised the state’s attorney general to pursue the suit in a deci-sion on Wednesday.

Freidman denied the bank’s claim that a three-year statute of limitations had been exceeded, in-sisting that the state had six years to file against Credit Suisse.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sued Credit Suisse in November 2012, stat-ing that the Swiss bank deceived investors over the quality of resi-dential mortgage-backed securi-ties (RMBS) that it sold in 2006 and 2007. - AFP

B A N K I N G

Electricity and water production in Oman rises

MUSCAT: Electricity production in the Sultanate stood at 21,674.7 Giga Watt (GW) per hour at the end of September 2014 comparing to 20,630.5GW per hour during the same period in 2013, constituting a 5.1 per cent rise.

The statistical bulletin released by the National Centre for Sta-tistics and Information (NCSI) pointed out that the total electric-ity production in the Sultanate rose by 8.3 per cent to 21,709GW per hour at the end of September 2104 comparing to 20,051.5GW per hour during the same period in 2013.

Meanwhile, water production in the Sultanate stood at 231.798,4 million gallon at the end of Sep-tember 2014, constituting a 6.7 per cent increase compared to 217.225,3 million gallon during the same period in 2013. — ONA

N C S I S T U D Y

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MARKETS U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 14

BANKDHOFAR PLANS TO RAISE CAPITAL BY UP TO OMR115M, PLANS BOND ISSUEBank Dhofar plans to boost its

capital by issuing up to OMR115.5

million of Tier 1 capital instru-

ments in 2015. This is part of an

initiative to strengthen its capital

base and fund planned growth

in the coming years. In addition,

the bank said it would issue up to

$500 million of senior non-capital

debt instruments in the next four

years. Both plans would require

shareholder and regulatory ap-

provals. BankDhofar also said that

it would call for extra-ordinary

general meeting of the sharehold-

ers to consider and approve the

above, subject to regulatory ap-

provals. — Times News Service

Takaful Oman opens its first branch in Nizwa

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Takaful Oman Insur-ance SAOG, the newest entrant into Oman’s insurance sector, and the Sultanate’s first fully-fledged Islamic risk protection provider, opened its first branch office at Nizwa.

Takaful Oman has the backing of many reputed business hous-es and prudent investors from Oman. The company’s mission is to promote Takaful awareness by offering innovative Shari’a-com-pliant products and services that deliver exceptional value and are tailored to the specific needs of customers through a highly dedi-

cated professional team. Takaful Oman provides a whole suite of both life and non-life products such as Group Life Takaful Plan, Group Health/ Medical Takaful Plan, Motor Takaful and Fire & Allied Perils Takaful in addition to Fidelity Guarantee Takaful, Erection All Risk Takaful, Con-tractors All Risk Takaful and Public Liability Takaful.

The branch was inaugurated by Dr Khalifa Bin Hamad Al Saadi, governor of Dakhiliya re-gion. In the presence of the com-pany’s Chairman Sheikh Rashid bin Saif Al Saadi and Sayyida Rawan Ahmed Al Said, manag-ing director (MD) & CEO.

The chairman said, “Since our inception we have received very encouraging response from our customers. Personalised service and our emphasis on transparen-cy have earned us both name and respect in the market. We believe that we can replicate this success across Oman and therefore our new branch, which just opened in Nizwa, can be seen as a small step towards the big leap of reaching out to customers across Oman.”

The MD & CEO said, “Our new branch is a stellar example of how we stand by our promises. We started with an aim to serve value-based, holistic products which would not only register growth for the company but also meet the needs of customers in the best way possible. And today I can confidently say that we are on the right track and are making huge strides in meeting our busi-ness goals while focusing on our commitment to the Omani com-munity at large. The opening of our first branch at Nizwa is also symbolic keeping in mind our intention to spread the Takaful concept right across the country.”

The company’s mission is to promote

Takaful awareness by offering innovative

Shari’a-compliant products and services

that deliver exceptional value

Qatar Airways receives its first A350 wide body jetTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Qatar Airways wrote another page of history as its — and the world’s — first Airbus A350 XWB (Xtra Wide Body) and its fourth A380 arrived in Doha si-multaneously, allowing the airline to further capitalise on its rapid expansion plans.

The delivery of the newest members of Qatar Airways’ fleet of 146 aircraft are the first of 80 A350s and the fourth of 13 A380s on order and mark yet another ma-jor 2014 milestone for the five-star airline.

The A350 aircraft, for which Qatar Airways is the global launch customer, is set to commence ser-vice on the Doha–Frankfurt route starting in January 2015.

The world’s first A350 XWB aircraft to be delivered flew to Doha from France, following the handover ceremony and press conference which were attended by Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, senior Airbus and Rolls Royce officials, and more than 150 international media in Toulouse.

With the delivery of the A350 XWB aircraft, Qatar Airways be-comes the first airline in the world to operate every family of Airbus’ modern airliner portfolio, com-prising the A320, A330, A340, A350 and A380.

After acquiring the A380 earlier this year, the addition of the A350 XWB aircraft is the second signifi-cant fleet milestone for Qatar Air-ways in 2014.

The A350 XWB (Xtra Wide Body) features the very latest in aerodynamics, design and ad-vanced technologies and will set new standards in passenger expe-rience, operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Welcoming the arrival of Qatar Airways’ first A350 XWB aircraft and its latest A380 in Doha, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker said: “We take immense pride in taking delivery of two aircraft at the same time joining our modern and dynamic fleet that is connecting the world. As 2015 commences, we are look-ing forward to a new period of enhanced growth with our fleet setting fresh benchmarks for the aviation industry.”

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

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Panama Canal claims cost overruns totalling $737 millionPANAMA CITY: The consortium expanding the Panama Canal is making fresh claims for cost over-runs totalling $737 million, offi-cials said on Friday.

Canal administrator Jorge Qui-jano told reporters that the Pana-ma Canal Authority had received two claims on Tuesday that “will be evaluated” to determine if there is probable cause. But he warned that “at first glance, the issues will be very difficult for the counter-party to justify.”

And in the latest setback for the behind-schedule, over-budget up-grade, a union representative said excavation work was on hold after negotiations broke down between the consortium and workers who

have been on strike since Tuesday.

Better safetyAbout 1,000 workers are on strike, demanding better safety and treat-ment. Talks between the two sides are due to resume Monday. One of the consortium’s latest claims, for $333 million, is related to the weight of the gate for the third set of locks it is building for the canal — at 55,000 tonnes, compared to the 35,000 tonnes initially planned.

But Quijano pointed to a clause in the contract according to which the canal authority would pay up to the value of a gate weighing 49,000 tonnes.

The second claim, for $404 mil-lion, is due to delays in the fourth

phase of excavation in the Pacific sector. The consortium, Grupos Unidos por el Canal, says that the delay in excavation work may mean it will not receive water needed to test the gates.

Quijano, however, said he has a “plan B” to provide the necessary water for testing.

The canal authority will pay an-other $120 million in adjustments to the contract and other small claims, Quijano said.

Work began in 2007 to expand the canal with a third set of locks to enable it to handle the modern mega-freighters that global ship-ping companies prefer.

But the $5.25 billion project has been plagued by delays, strikes and

a bitter dispute over $1.6 billion in cost overruns with the consortium carrying out the upgrade, led by Spanish construction firm Sacyr.

Initially scheduled for comple-tion in 2014, the project’s due date has been pushed back to early 2016.

Nearby Nicaragua, meanwhile, launched construction this week on a rival canal, a $50 billion pro-ject that the Chinese firm behind it plans to complete in five years.

Quijano estimated that the Nic-aragua Canal construction would reduce by up to 30 per cent the transit of ships through the Pan-ama Canal, because it is closer to the lucrative market in the United States. - AFP

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

Xbox services restored; PlayStation still offline

WASHINGTON: Microsoft’s online network for its Xbox gam-ing console was restored to nearly full service on Friday after an al-legedly coordinated Christmas Day hack brought it and Sony’s PlayStation network down.

The PlayStation network re-mained down, while Xbox’s ser-vice returned to all except three of its applications during the day.

The disruption started Christ-mas Day, PlayStation and Xbox said on their Twitter feeds, adding that they were working to restore service. A message posted to the Xbox status page early on Friday upgraded service to “limited” -- a sign that support teams were mak-ing inroads in fixing the problem. And PlayStation asked its users for patience. “We are working to restore full network services for all platforms -- thanks, as always, for your patience!” it said on Twitter.

A new Twitter user going by the

name “Lizard Squad” took credit for the disruption, claiming it had the “nation on strings.”

The name is the same used by a group of hackers that has targeted Sony in the past, though it was not possible to verify the Twitter ac-count’s authenticity.

The account did not return re-quests for comment and only be-came active on Wednesday.

Sony was hit by a sophisti-cated hacking attack this month that stole massive amounts of data from its servers. The US has blamed North Korea for the at-tack, with the reclusive state seen as furious at the release of Sony film “The Interview,” which paro-dies leader Kim Jong-Un.

After initially canceling the film’s December 25 release, Sony backtracked and brought it out to a small number of US theatres.

The film was also made avail-able online -- including through

the Xbox console and, soon, the PlayStation. On its @PlaySta-tion Twitter account, Sony said: “We’re aware that some users are having issues logging into PSN -- engineers are investigating.”

A day after the difficulties be-gan, @AskPlayStation posted: “Our engineers are continuing to work hard to resolve the network issues users have experienced today. Thanks for your continued patience!”

Analysts said a direct connec-tion with the Sony Pictures attack was unlikely, and that the latest hack was probably the work of fame-seeking amateurs.

“The timing suggests that this is an attack that we can put in the category of adolescents who are looking for a bit of glory,” said Pierre Samson of the European Circle Security and Information Systems.

“There is a very small proba-bility that there was a direct link with the attack on Sony Pictures, you can order an attack to online services fairly easily with few re-sources.”

He said thousands of simi-lar hacks are launched daily, al-though they are not always effec-tive. Though a direct connection between “The Interview” and the service disruptions could not be

confirmed, some gamers were convinced a link exists. “I blame that darn movie ‘The Interview,’” wrote a user going by as2009man on a PlayStation community fo-rum message board.

“It’s the gift that keeps on giv-ing.” Another poster to the same forum said he was getting fed up with the game world’s vulner-ability to repeated denial of ser-vice attacks.

“A DDos attack is like a semi (truck) driver intentionally jack-knifing his rig on a busy interstate and shutting down traffic for a few hours,” said a gamer writing un-der the name shadoefax.

Game users also took to Twitter to vent their frustration.

“After this christmas, #lizard-squad is forever on the naughty list,” one frustrated gamer fumed.

A major cyber attack on Play-Station in 2011 saw personal details from 77 million custom-ers stolen, preventing customers from playing online and forcing Sony to disable the network for more than three weeks. - AFP

The PlayStation network remained down,

while Xbox’s service returned to all except

three of its applications during the day

COST UPDATE: One of the consortium’s latest claims, for $333 mil-

lion, is related to the weight of the gate for the third set of locks it is

building for the canal. — Bloomberg file picture

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MARKETS U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 14

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WhatsNews

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY INSTALL WHATSNEWS

Sensex down on sustained sell-offMUMBAI: After logging 1-1/2-week high on the first day of the week, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex afterwards reacted down-wards by 130 points to end the shortened week at 27,241.78 on sustained heavy sell-off by for-eign funds amid profit-booking as derivatives December contract expired on December 24.

The BSE and the NSE re-mained closed on December 25, 2014 for observing “Christmas Holiday”.

The market got no major trig-ger from overseas markets fol-lowing Christmas holiday at-mosphere.

Expectations of early hike in the key interest rates by the US Federal Reserve in the world’s biggest economy after data showed the fastest economic growth in more than a decade in third quarter. It will strength-ened the dollar and will affect the inflows negatively in the emerg-ing markets, including the India.

This also resulted in profit-booking by wary operators and retail investors.

The market also suffered af-ter the government unable to get pass the key legislative reforms bills during the winter session of the parliament.

Failure to pass the GST Bill till now has led to market disap-pointment as it had discounted the successful approval of the Bill in the current session itself.

Markets gave a mixed response to Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir election outcome im-pacting the investor sentiment.

The BSE 30-share barometer resumed the week higher and touched a 1-1/2-week high of

27,851.10 after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement that In-dia could well achieve six per cent growth next fiscal and the vision to achieve 9-10 per cent econom-ic growth, cheered participants.

Rupee declinesHeavy outflows and weakness in local equities weighed on the ru-pee as it depreciated for the third successive week to end the trun-cated week by 27 paise at 63.57 against the Greenback.

The Forex market was closed on December 25 on account of “Christmas Holiday”.

The rupee resumed steady at its last weekend’s close of 63.30 per dollar at the Interbank For-eign Exchange (Forex) Market and tried to recover to log a high of 63.1375 on initial rally in do-mestic stocks.

However, it fell back on dollar buying by importers, mainly oil refiners, to meet their month-end requirements and capital out-flows to a one-week low of 63.70.

It, later, recovered some ground and finished the week at 63.57, still showing a net fall of 27 paise or 0.43 per cent. In straight three week, the rupee has plunged by 180 paise or 2.91 per cent.

Foreign portfolio investors continued their selling for the last twelve days since Decem-ber 9. They sold shares worth $358.56 million on the first three days of the week, as per Sebi data.

Forex dealers said the rupee closed lower taking cues from the dollar demand from oil compa-nies and also the dollar index is trading multi year high. To make the things worse local indices also traded weak. - PTI

W E E K L Y R E V I E W

Shanghai’s free trade zone to be expanded

SHANGHAI: China will dra-matically expand the size of a free trade zone (FTZ) in Shanghai to include the city’s commercial centre where major multinational companies and Chinese banks have their headquarters, state media reported.

The official Xinhua news agen-cy cited the conclusion of the 12th meeting of the National People’s Congress on Friday, but it did not given a date for the formal expan-sion nor mention any new poli-cies for the zone.

Under the plan, the zone will be enlarged to include the Lujiazui financial district, Shanghai’s river-

side commercial centre and home to its tallest skyscrapers. It will in-clude the Jinqiao and Zhangjiang districts nearby.

Preferential policiesThe expansion will allow compa-nies in those areas to take advan-tage of existing preferential poli-cies for companies in the free trade zone and it fulfils a government commitment to expand the zone once conditions were deemed ripe.

The zone was launched in 2013 to much fanfare but it has failed to live up to expectations.

Media reports predicting that opening the FTZ would be fol-

lowed by deep liberalisation to China’s capital account, the scrapping of wide restrictions on foreign investment, and even the lowering of China’s censor-ship firewall inside the zone went largely unfulfilled.

Policy benefitsAt the same time, the leadership gave the green light to many pro-jects outside the zone that du-plicated or exceeded the policy benefits the Shanghai municipal government hoped would remain exclusive.

Not only did Beijing authorise competing zones in other cities, it also launched nationwide pilots testing liberalisation for currency controls and cross-border invest-ment -- most recently the Shang-hai-Hong Kong Stock Connect programme -- that diminished the zone’s relative appeal.

Ending isolationThe Shanghai zone’s geographic isolation out near the airport and the port area was also a disadvan-tage. Companies with existing footprints in the city were reluc-tant to relocate given uncertain-

ties about the depth of Beijing’s commitment to the Shanghai FTZ - a caution now paying off for those who waited.

Service industriesIn addition, analysts said that while many of the liberalisations implemented in the zone targeted service industries, the zone’s sepa-rate areas were all far from the central business district.

Long commutes to meetings de-terred many companies that might have otherwise been interested, analysts said.

In addition, real estate specula-tion grew so fierce that the zone government stepped in to control prices.

The Xinhua report also said that the geographic limits of trade zones in Guangdong, Fujian prov-ince and the city of Tianjin had been set. - Reuters

Under the plan, the zone will be enlarged

to include the Lujiazui financial district,

Shanghai’s riverside commercial centre and

home to its tallest skyscrapers. It will include

the Jinqiao and Zhangjiang districts nearby

BIG BOOST: The Shanghai zone’s geographic isolation out near the airport and the port area was also a disadvantage. — Bloomberg file picture

VOLATILE TRADING: The market also suffered after the

government was unable to get passed key legislative reforms

bills during the winter session of parliament. — Bloomberg file picture

Big questions for US markets for 2015NEW YORK: Wall Street was generally calmer in 2014 than in previous years, but that doesn’t mean the stock market was devoid of drama. Big selloffs in biotech-nology and social media stocks had strategists predicting doom in the spring, and the plunge in oil prices has clouded the outlook for the coming year.

With that in mind, Reuters asked Wall Street strategists a few questions on odd things to watch for in 2015.

The big AppleShares of Apple, the most valuable publicly traded US company, will finish higher for a sixth straight year. With a current market value of about $663 billion, if one were to pick a company that would be

the first to hit $1 trillion in value, Apple’s a safe choice - but not next year, investors said. The iWatch, its latest product, may not be enough to propel the stock further.

“I don’t really see this company as having another blockbuster category of products. The watch doesn’t feel like a great idea. I’m kind of out of the Apple mystique thing,” said Kim Forrest, vice-president and senior analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pitts-burgh.

Nasdaq 5000With its gains on Friday, the Nasdaq Composite Index sits just about 200 points shy of the vaunted 5,000 level, which it has not seen in nearly 15 years - and its all-time intraday high of

5,132.52 reached on March 10, 2000, isn’t far off. “I think Nas-daq will test and probably achieve higher highs than we did in 2000 because I think we’re in a secular bull market that has another eight to 10 years left to run,” said Jeffrey Saut, managing director at Ray-mond James & Associates.

For the Nasdaq to hit 5,000, it would take a gain of four per cent. And to get to that all-time high, it would take about a seven per cent increase. Whether that’s warrant-ed is something over which inves-tors disagree.

After a series of market-crip-pling operational glitches in re-cent years, found everywhere from Nasdaq to options markets, investors are bracing for more such events.

Exchange-traded fundThis year, a gold-mining ex-change-traded fund, Market Vec-tors Gold Miners ETF, dove 10 per cent in the waning seconds of trading one day in early Decem-ber.

Earlier in the year, high-fre-quency trading firm Virtu Finan-cial cancelled an initial public of-fering after the release of Michael Lewis’ book “Flash Boys” brought negative publicity to computer-ised trading.

None of these incidents were as damaging as the May 2010 “flash crash.” The most notable in 2014 came out of the bond mar-ket in mid-October, when 10-year Treasuries yields crashed more than 0.3 percentage point without warning. - Reuters

W A L L S T R E E T

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S U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 4

ROUND-UPB5

Attractive benefits make Nissan Pathfinder enticing, irresistible

MUSCAT: Nissan from the house of Suhail Bahwan Automobiles in-troduces brand new offers on all their SUV, crossover, sedan and LCV models.

Nissan promises to give back something special to their valued customers. Their exclusive vehicle promotions are enticing and one-of-a-kind promising unlimited benefits to valued patrons, says a press release.

Nissan has a heritage of show-casing some of the most amazing benefits for their customers by introducing unique offers on their prestigious line up of vehicles. In an effort to make Nissan vehicles affordable and accessible to all, Suhail Bahwan Automobiles has taken up this unique initiative.

Nissan’s promotion promises customers benefits galore. Cus-

tomers purchasing the Nissan Pathfinder 3.5L will be eligible to receive free registration, free in-surance (Oman only), easy finance options, periodic maintenance service for 2 years/ 35K, (which-ever comes first), extended war-ranty amount and a cashback of OMR250.

The next gen SUV The new Nissan Pathfinder is set to define what the next generation SUV should offer: perfect off-road capability (i-Auto 4WD system), dynamic design, class-leading com-fort, thoughtful technology, and a rewarding driving experience.

With the introduction of the all-new fourth generation, not only does Pathfinder provide ca-pability with spacious seating for seven, and an intuitive 4 Wheel

Drive System, but it also resets the standard for the segment with an unprecedented level of premium style, comfort, fuel economy and thoughtful technology.

The all-new Pathfinder enters the Nissan range at a time when demand for SUVs in Oman contin-ues to show considerable growth. With the feature-packed all-new Pathfinder, Nissan is confident of capitalising on this growth and strengthening its position in the off-road segment.

Dynamic designAlong with reduced weight, Pathfinder’s new unibody plat-form provided the designers an opportunity to create the more aerodynamic exterior without compromising headroom or cargo capacity. Moving upscale in appearance, the new exterior styling presents a smart fusion of signature Nissan styling cues and dynamic strength. The look

is adventure-ready with wheel-oriented muscular fenders and a strong, stable stance. The upper body features an open cabin with large windows which can be com-plemented with an available Dual Panoramic Moonroof, to enhance the new Pathfinder’s open, airy in-terior environment.

Class-leading comfort The new Pathfinder offers the comfort of a larger SUV with its flat floor enhancing interior pack-aging flexibility. The Pathfinder’s unique versatility is exemplified in the design of the EZ Flex™ Seating System, giving 5.5 inches of sliding second row seating travel while additionally providing exceptional third row access even with a child safety seat remaining securely in place (on the passenger curb side). Pathfinder’s quiet, comfortable in-terior benefits from a wide range of available features, rich leather-appointed seating surfaces; ven-

tilated, heated and cooled front seats; sliding second row seats and an advanced Bose Audio System with 12 speakers.

Thoughtful technologyThoughtful technology is also found throughout the All-new Pathfinder interior, starting with Nissan’s advanced, class-exclusive Around View Monitor, which pro-vides the driver a virtual 360-de-gree image of the area around the vehicle. The instrument panel in-cludes Advanced Drive-Assist™ Display (standard on every mod-el), features a 4.0-inch LCD col-our display, and utilises 3D-effect graphics to relay key information right in front of the driver. The instrument panel includes a large multifunction center IT display, available Nissan Navigation Sys-tem, Streaming Audio via Blue-tooth and Rear View Monitor.

Other technology includes Tri-Zone Automatic Climate Control, Bluetooth Hands-free Phone Sys-tem, power rear liftgate, iPod® in-tegration and tri-zone entertain-ment system with 2nd row head restraint-mounted DVD display screens.

Rewarding experienceAddressing buyers’ desire for more efficiency in every aspect of their lives, All-New Pathfinder’s engine and CVT combination develops 13% better acceleration than the previous generation while return-ing 30% better fuel efficiency. Fea-

turing a 3.5-litre DOHC V6 engine mated to a next-generation Xtron-ic CVT® (Continuously Variable Transmission) the ideal rpm for the driving conditions are always maintained. All-New Pathfinder is the only vehicle in class with se-lectable 2WD,

Auto or 4WD Lock modes for its available intuitive ALL-MODE 4x4-i system. The system lets the driver choose full-time 2WD for maximum fuel economy, Auto mode to automatically monitor conditions and adjust the balance of power between front and rear wheels for best traction, or 4WD Lock mode when the confidence of full-time 4WD is desired. In ad-dition, standard Hill Start Assist helps add control when starting and driving away on a steep incline (both 4WD and 2WD models).

With best-in-class standard towing capacity, up to 5000lb, the All-new Pathfinder also retains its ability to tow boats, jet skis, trail-ers and a variety of other recrea-tional gear.

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

Customers purchasing the Nissan Pathfinder

3.5L will be eligible to receive free

registration, free insurance (Oman only),

easy finance options, periodic maintenance

service for two years/35K (whichever comes

first), extended warranty amount, and a cash-

back of OMR250

Bank Nizwa provides students of Nizwa College of Technology with insight into Islamic financeMUSCAT: Bank Nizwa recently organised a special session with the students of Nizwa College of Technology to deliver an intro-ductory, yet comprehensive over-view of Islamic banking, how it is evolving within the Sultanate and the associated benefits of Islamic finance in relation to the real econ-omy, says a press release.

Attended by over 40 students and academic staff, the discussion was led by Mohamad Noranuar Sajari, Senior Manager of Shari’a Compliance who outlined some of the bank’s key products and ser-vices, demonstrating how they of-fer unique propositions for people at every stage of their lives.

“Oman’s population comprises largely of youth. It is therefore imperative that we provide them with a solid understanding of how

Islamic banking presents financial solutions for them now and in the future. Whether it is performing Shari’a compliant transactions in general, opening a new account, buying a car or constructing a house, our products and services can suit their financial needs and help them lead financially secure

lifestyles in accordance with their beliefs,” said Mohamad.

Committed to providing people of Oman with a transparent un-derstanding of what is dynamically changing the financial landscape of the Sultanate, the session high-lighted four main topics, including the principles and objectives of

Islamic finance; how Islamic bank-ing can create the foundation for a fully-fledged Islamic economy; and the differences between the Islamic and conventional banking sectors.

Bank Nizwa’s strategy is to raise awareness on Islamic banking and its benefits across all communities in Oman through continuous col-laboration with organisations and institutes in both the public and private sector.

In addition to this latest ses-sion, the bank has recently part-nered with Youth Vision, a local non-government organisation re-sponsible for youth development programmes, to underscore the importance and benefits associ-ated with the growing industry and will continue building on this momentum with more tie-ups throughout the coming year.

D I S C U S S I O N

be’ah picks winners of ‘Conserving Our Beautiful Oman’ photo competitionMUSCAT: Oman Environmen-tal Services Holding Company (be’ah) has selected the winners of the ‘Conserving Our Beautiful Oman’ photo competition held earlier this week. The partici-pants submitted their piece of art at the photography society, where three professional photographers and panel of judges evaluated and selected the winning photos, says a press release.

The panel of judges commend-ed be’ah for taking such an ini-tiative. The jury evaluation was based on two main categories, the beauty of Omani nature, which highlighted the exquisite aspects of Omani nature and biodiversity such as plants, birds, wild ani-

mals and rare marine, whereas the second category emphasised on the impact of waste on en-vironment and human beings specially the negative impact of waste on health and habitat.

Significant messageThe competition saw a large number of participants and more than 500 photos. The winning photos delivered a significant message about the need to re-duce and reuse waste materials. Participants will get a chance to display their photos at the pho-tography exhibition to be held during the celebration of Oman Environment Day from January 8-11, 2015 at Muscat Grand Mall.

D I S T I N C T I V E P H O T O S

Sohar Aluminium organises ‘Let’s have Fun’ for childrenMUSCAT: Continuing its efforts to engage with the community across all spheres, Sohar Alumin-ium (SA) conducted its 5th ‘Let’s have Fun’ with Sohar Aluminium event under the theme ‘Waste Management and Recycling’.

An evening full of entertain-ment and leisure, integrating fun with learning for kids in Sohar was held recently. Kids aged from three years and above had the opportu-nity to take part in an attractive ar-ray of fun events and educational programmes that included quizzes and games at a specially dedicated area for them at the Safeer Mall, Sohar, says a press release.

Let’s have Fun with Sohar Alu-minium is a novel “edutainment” experience for young ones that raises awareness on various topics that Sohar Aluminium believes in such as safety matters and envi-ronment protection in an exciting and jolly atmosphere.

Theme of the eventThe event that took place from 5pm to 9pm was attended by around 500 visitors. This fifth event focused on recycling and waste management, in which chil-dren came to know the various waste management methods, the recyclable materials and the haz-

ards of unsafe disposal of waste. Sohar Aluminium’s safety mas-

cot, Salim, gave the kidstips on staying safe at home, in the car and at school. The function also in-volved a magic that excited the au-dience as the children marvelled at the tricks the magician pulled and his sleight of hands skills.

Through such events, SA aims to maintain its close ties with the surrounding communities and maximise its positive impact in community services. They also aim to raise awareness among the community by sharing their values on various environmental, health and safety issues.

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

BP Oman supports Oman’s digital media developmentMUSCAT: As part of BP Oman’s Social Investment Programmes, an interactive digital media pro-gramme was conducted at SAS Center for Virtual Reality (SAS VR), in collaboration with ASM Technologies LLC and in partner-ship with Injaz Oman.

This programme is an example of BP Oman’s commitment to de-veloping local capabilities in digi-tal media, says a press release.

Khalid Al Kindi, deputy gen-eral manager of BP Oman, said, “BP Oman takes great interest in programmes that focus on energy sustainability in an innovative way. Supporting educating Oma-ni youth is part of our in-country value to develop Omanis for the workforce. I have visited the fa-cility and interacted with the students during the programme. I was very impressed with the students’ dedication, energy and work quality.”

Earlier this month, a batch of 40 trainees graduated from the BP sponsored programme. With the support of BP Oman’s Wells HSE Site Lead, Abdullah Al Ma-qimi, one of the trainee-groups developed a Rig Familiarisation Programme that utilises visuali-sation and immersive technology to enhance the safety and opera-tions of the organisation.

Abdullah said, “The aim of the programme is to develop Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) content to support the training

of local resources to meet the de-mands of BP Oman’s industry’s practices-requirements. It was a very practical and challenging experience for the students; espe-cially that some students had the chance to visit one of BP’s rigs in Nizwa yard to collect field infor-mation to model and design dif-ferent parts of the rigs.

The trainees, who are Omani jobseekers, were trained on vari-ous content creation tools includ-ing Adobe Creative, Autodesk 3D Max and Virtual Reality Author-ing Suite. During three months, trainees developed proof of con-cept projects for targeted users and were tested on their profi-ciency and knowledge. The top 10 trainees from each batch then proceed to a nine-month pre-in-cubatee phase in which they are to develop content for local and

international clients.Elias Tang, managing director

of ASM Technologies, comment-ed on the programme, saying, “The participating Omani youth could take the next step to set up their own companies to support the development and mainte-nance work on virtualisation and content development for the oil and gas sector.”

Tang added, “Our work with BP Oman is in line with the govern-ment’s vision of creating capacity for Omanis, as well as spearhead-ing the growth of technoprenuer-ship in the ICT sector. BP Oman supports the growth of the digi-tal media sector in Oman, as the initiative encourages for locally developed quality digital media content, which also proliferate the creation of digital media intel-lectual proprieties in Oman.”

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

B6

ROUND-UPS U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 14

Exclusive offers continue for new Nissan Sentra

MUSCAT: As SBA celebrates 10 years of successful operations in Oman, Nissan has been launch-ing irresistible offers on its sleek range of vehicles that comes with exclusive benefits making it excit-ing and fun for its valued custom-ers, says a press release.

Nissan Oman continues to surprise their valued customers with their ongoing promotion. Customers purchasing the Nis-san Sentra 1.6/1.8 will be eligible to receive free registration, easy finance options, periodic mainte-nance service for two years/ 35K (whichever comes first), extended warranty amount and a cashback of OMR400.

The sensational Sentra Nissan Sentra focuses on class-above design standards inside and out. Automatic dual-zone climate control system with rear passen-ger air vents, navigation system, rearview camera, intelligent key & Push engine start, and leather seats on selected models are just some of the features Sentra intro-duces to the segment. However, all models benefit from the stand-ard fitment of soft interior trims, and a wide range of safety equip-

ment including dual airbags, ABS (anti-lock Braking System), EBD (Electronic Brake- force Distri-bution), and BA (Brake Assist).

The presence of the new Nis-san Sentra vehicles on the road is aptly supported by Nissan Oman’s world-class service facili-ties and trained manpower. The Nissan Sentra 1.6L and 1.8L taxi offer drivers the spaciousness and comfort of cars usually found in the larger segment, as well as technology usually associated with much more expensive cars.

The Nissan Sentra’s light-weight body surrounds an interior offering class-leading roominess. All passengers can spread out comfortably whether in the front or the rear which boasts legroom to match models in the higher mid-size sedan segment. Luggage is equally well accommodated thanks to Sentra’s 510-litre boot – again, much bigger than models in its class and matching those in the mid-size sedan segment.

The Nissan Sentra comes standard with antilock brakes, stability control, front-seat side airbags, full-length side curtain airbags and active front head re-straints.

Customers

purchasing the

Nissan Sentra

1.6/1.8 will be

eligible to receive

free registration,

easy finance

options, periodic

maintenance service

for two years/35K

(whichever comes

first), extended

warranty amount,

and a cash-back of

OMR400

Sale International continues to promote growth of SMEsMUSCAT: Sale International Oman, the leading telecom dis-tributor in Oman, continues to promote the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) while maintaining 70 per cent Omanisa-tion, says a press release.

The company, recently appoint-ed as single distributor for Omantel prepaid products, boasts the largest Omani direct sales force in telecom distribution in addition to the larg-est e-recharge network. “At Sale In-ternational, in addition to creating a wide network of sales point, we are dedicated to accelerating the nation’s development by support-

ing SMEs that form the backbone of the country’s economy,” stated Asad Al Zuwaidi, Wholesale Sen-ior Manager of Sale International. “We have benefited immensely from Sale International’s expertise

and sales approach. Since aligning with Sale International, we have been able to focus more on growth in our business,” stated Aqeel Omer Yaqoob Al Balushi, a SME owner of Abu Khaizer.

T E L E C O M D I S T R I B U T O R

Volkswagen Oman appoints Paul Ross as new marketing manager

MUSCAT: Wattayah Motors, the official distributor of Volk-swagen in Oman, announced the appointment of Paul S. Ross to the post of Marketing Man-ager for the Volkswagen brand. Ross will lead and direct all as-pects of marketing for Volkswa-gen Oman, says a press release.

Commenting on the new ap-pointment, Andrew Squires, GM for Volkswagen Oman said, “I would like to thank Naji Zeitouni, our former Market-ing Manager, for his valuable contributions to the success of Wattayah Motors’ and Volkswa-gen Oman.

“We are excited to welcome Paul to Wattayah Motors and to the Volkswagen management team. He has extensive global experience related to branding, leadership skills and the auto-motive industry. ”

N E W R O L E

S U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 4

ROUND-UPB7

City Cinema gives raffle draw winner Mazda3

MUSCAT: At a prize giving cer-emony at Muscat Grand Mall City Cinema, Aiman Manzoor received a brand new Mazda3 hatchback. He is the winner of a raffle draw, which took place as part of a promotion that started last month, says a press release.

Mazda Oman had tied up with City Cinema to give its customers a chance to win an all-new Maz-da3 on purchase of tickets for the movie Happy New Year.

Aiman Manzoor is very happy indeed. “I cannot thank Mazda Oman and City Cinema enough for my new car. I never thought I could win a Mazda3; I have never won any competition, nor has an-

yone in my family. This is a dream come true. It is also a very good looking car. Once again, thank you Mazda Oman and City Cinema for making this year a very happy one for me and my family.”

A senior spokesperson of Towell Auto Centre (TAC), sole distributors of Mazda in Oman points out: “On behalf of the entire TAC family, huge congratulations to Aiman Manzoor for winning the all new Mazda3. We hope he enjoys driving this fast and zippy, fun to drive vehicle. Mazda3 is a very special car, known for its combination of superb handling, overall ride comfort, excellent overall packaging and well-pro-

portioned design globally. The growing number of Mazda3 on the roads of the Sultanate is evidence of the fact that the car is popular among automobile aficionados in Oman as well.”

Neha Singh, Business Opera-tions Manager, City Cinema adds: “We received an overwhelming response for the raffle draw and we are glad to be able to reach out to a large audience through this mass platform. We are grateful to Towell Auto Centre for their sup-port in making this event a grand success. We look forward to de-signing more customer driven ac-

tivities to enhance the experience of moviegoers in Oman.”

TAC also makes owning a Maz-da extra pleasant with its efficient after sales service and quick re-sponse time. With a network of 13 service outlets and 10 parts out-lets spread across Oman, TAC is the only Mazda distributor in the world to win the Mazda Customer Service award five years in a row. With 98.2 per cent parts deliver-ability, TAC also offers quick, ef-ficient service with genuine parts available for all models and have highly trained staff who pride in their quality of service.

Aiman Manzoor, the promotion winner,

said, ‘I cannot thank Mazda Oman and City

Cinema enough for my new car. I never

thought I could win a Mazda3. I have never

won any competition, nor has anyone in my

family. This is a dream come true’

Ford’s new safety feature all set to make driving more fun

MUSCAT: Ford’s active involve-ment in pioneering a range of advanced technologies is making news besides bringing smiles on owners’ faces.

Take for instance the new tech-nology to be introduced in the future from Ford, Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection designed to reduce the severity of and, in some cases, even elimi-nate frontal collisions involving pedestrians, says a press release.

Pre-Collision Assist with Pe-destrian Detection uses radar and camera technology to scan the roadway ahead and, if a collision risk with a vehicle or pedestrian is detected, provides a warning to the driver. If the driver does not respond in time, the system can automatically apply up to full braking force to help reduce the severity of or even eliminate some frontal collisions.

Pre-Collision Assist may help drivers avoid rear end collisions with other vehicles at all speeds,

while Pedestrian Detection can help the driver avoid pedestri-ans at lower speeds both may reduce the severity of forward collisions or even prevent cer-tain forward collisions.

The system processes informa-tion collected from a windshield-mounted camera and radar lo-cated near the bumper; it then checks the information against a database of pedestrian shapes to help distinguish people from typi-cal roadside scenery and objects.

While the new system may be especially helpful in unexpected situations, it does not replace the driver and has limitations in-cluding night time, low and harsh lighting conditions, vehicles mov-ing in a different direction and certain weather conditions.

Ford engineers tested the sys-tem on closed test tracks using rigs fitted with manikins to repli-cate pedestrians. They then spent months refining the technology on roads around the world to test

system reliability. This real-world testing was an important part of the development, because pedestrians in an urban setting can present a wide range of po-tential situations.

Ford covered more than 300,000 miles on three conti-nents that included a wide range of settings and situations.

Other driver-assist technolo-gies available from Ford include lane-keeping system with lane-keeping aid, Blind Spot Informa-tion System (BLIS) with cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support, and active park assist.

Ford vehicles are known the world over for their exceptional safety, luxury and unsurpassed technological superiority.

Ford ploughs in millions of dol-lars into R&D each year to ensure that every Ford offers maximum safety and motoring pleasure for its customers.

T E C H N O L O G I C A L A D V A N C E M E N T

Al Hassan achieves 3m LTI free man-hours MUSCAT: Al Hassan Engi-neering Co (AHEC), Oman’s leading EPC Contractor added another feather to its cap re-cently with the achievement of 3 million LTI Free man-hours without any Lost Time Injury (LTI) at the Saih Nihayda Con-densate Plant project, says a press release.

To mark this milestone, AHEC organised a safety cer-emony at the site, graced by senior officials from PDO, ABB and Al Hassan.

During the ceremony, the corporate management of PDO also recognised select employ-ees of AHEC with certificates for their outstanding achieve-ments in health and safety.

Al Hassan gives the high-est priority to Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) so as to protect and keep safe its employees and the work place as well as to strive to achieve world class standards in HSE.

Speaking at the ceremony, Gouhar Sherif, head of Oil & Gas and Petrochemicals AHEC applauded the team’s efforts and requested them to further endeavour to complete the project on time without any LTI/RTA.

M I L E S T O N E

SMARTEN UPDRIVE SAFE

A TIMES OF OMAN HANDS-FREE DRIVING

B8

ROUND-UPS U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 14

Mitsubishi successfully completes the first ‘Team Pajero Adventure’

MUSCAT: General Automotive Company (GAC), the official dis-tributors for Mitsubishi in Oman, has successfully completed the first of three trips of its annual desert adventure, the ‘Team Pa-jero Adventure’. The two-day trip which took place on December 12 and 13 saw over 250 people in 60 Mitsubishi Pajeros drive into de-

sert for a weekend of fun and ad-venture, says a press release.

Organised by GAC specifically for Pajero owners and enthusiasts, each of these trips gives Pajero owners a taste of a true desert ad-venture in the vehicle best suited to handle the challenge — the Mit-subishi Pajero. The Team Pajero Desert Adventure was split into three separate groups over three weekends, the first of which was completed last weekend and the next scheduled to be completed over the remaining two.

Commenting on the Desert Ad-venture, Rajesh Sharma, the Na-tional Marketing Manager of Gen-eral Automotive Company, said: “In addition to being a fun trip for the entire family to enjoy, these an-nual ‘Team Pajero’ events provides a great opportunity to give owners a real-world driving experience in challenging off-road conditions

in a safe and secure environment. This first trip was a great success, with every participant providing us with positive feedback and ex-pressing their intentions to join us once again next year.”

The event, which began at the Mitsubishi showroom on the morning of December 12, saw 250 Mitsubishi customers and 18 GAC staff members set off to-wards the desert in 50 Pajeros and 10 Marshall Vehicles respectively, one of which was the fully upgrad-ed Pajero model on display at the recently held Motorshow Oman 2014. All participants followed a predefined course as they headed to Wahiba Sands.

Once at the Al Raha Camp, the convoy of Pajero vehicles were es-corted by Marshalls and provided with a specialised desert driving training. The drivers were then taken on a dune bashing session,

after which the group is taken atop a dune overlooking the camp to witness the stunning sunset. Once back at the camp a large number of activities and entertainment were be prepared for the families to en-joy. The following morning, Camel riding sessions and dune bikes were provided for the customers to enjoy at their discretion. The con-voy left the camp shortly after.

Reiterating the success of the ‘Pajero Adventure’, a Mitsubishi customer who attended the event, Kurien George, the Divisional Manager of Al Hajiry Internation-al said, “The Pajero Adventure was a great experience with unforget-table moments. It was quite a dif-ferent experience driving in desert and dune bashing. The evening was also lively and fun. I greatly appreciate the support and assis-tance we received from the team at GAC they did a great job.”

“With the first trip success-fully behind us, we have two more planned for December 19 and 26 respectively. However, the Team Pajero Adventure has welcomed a growing number of Pajero owners with every passing year and most spaces for these trips are already booked. We suggest any Pajero owner wishing to take part in the two upcoming trips to register with us at the earliest,” added Rajesh.

In its latest iteration, the 2015 Mitsubishi Pajero offers a modern look with a revised front grille and an aggressively shaped bumper with integrated LED daytime run-ning lamps. The legendary vehicle is packed with features that make it a pleasure to drive both on the road and off. From the power of its 3.5 or 3.8 litre MIVEC engine through to a comprehensive suite of safety fea-tures, the Pajero was designed from the ground-up to cope with any

kind of driving condition. Whether highway cruising, urban driving or more challenging off-road adven-tures in the wadis and dunes of the Sultanate, the Pajero has proved its mettle time and again.

The roomy interior of the Pajero accommodates seven people and is equipped with a manual Dual AC, CD player with 4 speakers, Overhead Console with Sunglass storage, Map Lamp and Trip Com-puter with an Information Cen-tre. Also available, is Mitsubishi’s Multi Communication System (MMCS) with Voice Command via steering wheel controls, an 850-watt Rockford Acoustic De-sign 12-Speaker Premium Audio System and electro-chromatic rear-view mirror. As a result of its multifaceted characteristics the Pajero is extremely popular with families, businesses and individu-als across the Sultanate.

Organised by GAC

specifically for

Pajero owners and

enthusiasts, each

of these trips gives

Pajero owners a

taste of true desert

adventure in the

vehicle best suited to

handle the challenge

— the Mitsubishi

Pajero

OOC, Opal renew partnership to offer dedicated educational workshopsMUSCAT: Oman Oil Company (OOC), the Sultanate’s energy in-vestment arm recently renewed its partnership for the third con-secutive year with Oman Society for Petroleum Services (Opal), the non-profit organisation respon-sible for promoting the oil and gas industry’s standards and best practices, to offer dedicated edu-cational workshops as part of the capacity building programme ‘My Job, My Oath’.

This year’s sessions span over the entire month of December benefiting an estimated 400 par-ticipants from all over the Sultan-ate through centralised training in the Governorate of Muscat. With more than 800 participants over the last two years, the programme is expected to exceed the mark of 1,200 beneficiaries by end of year, says a press release.

Since its launch in 2011, ‘My Job, My Oath’ has been building the capacity of new joiners to the private and government sectors and shedding light on their role in developing the country.

It covers topics related to ca-reer development, principles of a healthy work environment, in-

creasing work productivity and Omani labour law with an overall objective of supporting the de-velopment of human capital. It targets government employees, and members of NGOs, as well as school and university students.

“The ‘My Job, My Oath’ work-shops are geared towards ad-dressing the needs, questions, and challenges that Omani youth face when joining the workforce,” said Al Mutassim Al Sariri, head of Corporate Sustainability at Oman Oil Company. “The trainers are not only explaining employment and capacity building concepts along-side the attendees’ rights and re-

sponsibilities, but also suggesting easy-to-follow steps for them to follow after the training to achieve their professional goals and as-sume their roles as active contrib-utors to the economic diversifica-tion efforts of Oman.”

Al Sariri added, “While raising awareness about particular as-pects of the working environment as a means of involving and devel-oping the youth, Oman Oil Com-pany is also enhancing its contri-bution to the In-Country-Value programme by awarding training to the Muscat-based company, First Capital Financial and Man-agement Consulting.”

Musallam Al Mundhari, Acting CEO of Oman Society for Petro-leum Services, said “We are offer-ing these interactive workshops in collaboration with Oman Oil Company as a forum for emerg-ing young professionals to discuss and develop effective communica-tions’ strategies to achieve their career objectives. We are helping them learn how to maximise pro-fessional opportunities by devel-oping concrete skills related to the topics of peer networking, roles and obligations in the workplace, as well as work ethics, and Omani labour law with the aim of creating a positive and productive work en-vironment.”

OOC and Opal provide the work-shops to achieve and meet the growing requirements for skilled professional individuals in the oil and gas sector and related in-dustries. This initiative is in line with OOC’s Corporate Sustain-ability strategy of implementing programmes benefiting the com-munity, focusing on training job seekers for employment, promot-ing and supporting Small and Me-dium Enterprises (SMEs), as well as building capacity.

‘ M Y J O B , M Y O A T H ’

GAC launches new website for FusoMUSCAT: General Automotive Company (GAC), the official dis-tributors of Mitsubishi and Fuso range of vehicles in Oman, has announced the launch of a new website for the Fuso commercial vehicles brand in Oman, http://www.fusooman.com/.

The website has been designed for easy navigation and compre-hensive information on Fuso’s entire product line making it even easier for customers in Oman to access and experience GACcom-mercial vehicle offerings from Fuso, says a press release.

Commenting on the new web-site, Rajesh Sharma, the National Marketing Manager of GAC said. “As a follow-up to the positive feedback we received for the ded-

icated Mitsubishi Oman website we launched over a year ago, we wanted to offer our Fuso custom-ers a similar digital experience. As a result we have developed a website that not only delivers rapid information access and smooth navigation but also ad-heres to both Fuso and GAC cor-porate guidelines.”

The new website has been de-signed in a similar style to the well-received Mitsubishi website launched in May last year, offer-ing a similar user-friendly design and features. Most key links are designed to be directly available on the homepage without being cluttered — offering several use-ful tools for customers to use and take advantage of.

S O C I A L M E D I A

ISD celebrates ChristmasMUSCAT: Soaking in the spirit of Christmas, traditional gaiety, en-thusiasm and exuberance to its full, both senior and primary sections of Indian School Darsait (ISD) organ-ised Christmas celebrations on De-cember 10 and 11 respectively.

The auditoriums where the formal functions held were fes-tooned with colourful streamers and balloons and brightly deco-rated Christmas trees. Overrid-ing every other emotion, a wave of cheer enveloped the school, says a press release.

Depicting the true essence of love, joy and peace, children enact-ed the Christmas play which was a portrayal of the birth of Jesus. Be-sides, the angel singing praises to God in the presence of shepherds and later visit of the Holy Mary

gave a sense of originality and au-thenticity to the play that was in-terspersed with carol singing by the students.

To explore the creativity of the students, an inter-house crib and Christmas tree decorating com-petition was also organised at the venues assigned in front of the senior school. Students participat-ed vibrantly and their artistic cre-ation was fabulous and amazing. The entry of Santa Claus struck a different note with all children making the auditorium resound with thunderous applause. The Fa-ther Christmas greeted everyone and distributed sweets. Whereas in primary school, the highlights of celebration were The Little Drummer Boy, a skit that conveyed the essence of vivid Christmas

symbols and mesmerising dance performances tuned to evergreen Christmas songs.

Dr Sridevi P. Thashnath, prin-cipal, addressed the gathering and delivered the Christmas message in both sections of the school. She said, “All religious festivals con-vey the very same message of love, sharing and joy.” She congratu-lated the students especially the choir for their enthralling perfor-mance and the drummer boy and the skit that created definitely a Christmas ambience. She also expressed her deep appreciation for the colourful stage decoration with glittering lights. Further, she profusely thanked the teachers of both primary and senior school for coordinating the programmes and making the events ‘Christmassy’.

S E A S O N ’ S J O Y

Celebrate New Year in style with Atana HotelsMUSCAT: Atana Hotels, Oman’s own hospitality brand is welcom-ing local and international tourists to Musandam this festive season to experience Oman’s rich herit-age in the stunning surroundings of the Musandam peninsula.

Guests will have the opportu-nity to unwind in the four-star, Atana Musandam or the Atana Khasab and ring in the new year in an authentic environment of Omani style, spirit and character — inclusive of world class levels of hospitality and personal service, says a press release.

“The month of December is filled with many reasons to cel-ebrate. While some guests wish to experience the festive season of Christmas, others wish to bid goodbye to 2014 and welcome the New Year with family and friends over a sumptuous dinner and dance. Atana Hotels encour-ages holiday travellers to soak up the spirit of the holiday season in the midst of a truly relaxing guest experience,” commenting on the release of the Atana holiday spe-cials, Pascal Eppink, Managing

Director of Atana Hotels, said.On the most awaited night of

December — New Year’s Eve, guest can ring in the New Year at Atana Khasab and Musandam whilst enjoying a bottle of spar-kling beverage and an array of del-icacies while being entertained by a DJ and an Arabic dancer. Chil-dren too will enjoy a gala evening at the Kids’ Corner featuring lots of fun activities and a special new year’s chocolate fountain. A glass of sparkling will be provided for adults at midnight to usher in the New Year. Your place at the mem-orable evening can be secured at

only OMR40 ++ per person.Atana Hotels are the place to re-

lax with your family and explore all that the breathtaking Musandam peninsula has to offer. The prop-erties have been designed in the style of a traditional Omani family house, combining aspects of our rich heritage with all the elements that create a special destination where guests can relax, explore or just celebrate family time. Both Atana Khasab and Atana Musan-dam provide quality, affordable ac-commodation for visitors to one of the most beautiful and undiscov-ered parts of Oman.

F E S T I V E S E A S O N

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

SPOR SY O U R G A M E

SECTIONC S U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 14

CLARKE UNLIKELY TO MAKE START OF WORLD CUPAustralia captain Michael Clarke doubts he will be fit for the start of the World Cup in February but hopes to be back at some stage during the tournament. Clarke had surgery on his injured hamstring after straining it for a fourth time in as many months. >C3

Ahli-Sidab hope to snatch back His Majesty’s Cup from Al Nasr

A SESHAGIRI RAOraoas@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Revenge will be on the minds both Al Nasr and Ahli-Sidab players when the two sides clash in the final of His Majesty’s Cup Hock-ey Championship at the Sultan Qa-boos Sports Complex on Sunday.

The title match - to be played under the auspices of Dr. Faud bin Jaafar Al Sajwani, the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, and in the presence of Minister of Sports Affairs Sheikh Saad bin Moham-med Al Mardhoof Al Saadi, Oman Hockey Association (OHA) chief Sheikh Mahfoodh Ali Juma Al Juma and Asian Hockey Federa-tion’s top official Tayyib Ikram - is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

In the past few years, a new ri-valry has emerged in the Sultan-ate’s hockey with Ahli-Sidab and Al Nasr battling for top honours in both OHA League and the prestig-ious His Majesty’s Cup.

Ahli-Sidab - who once domi-nated the hockey scene along with

other Muscat-based outfit Seeb - are now being given a run for their money in each competition by ev-er-improving Al Nasr.

In fact, the eight-time champi-ons were dethroned by the Salalah side in 2013 His Majesty’s Cup fi-nal though they managed to exact revenge by beating the same op-ponents in May this year to lift the OHA League title.

But such is the significance and prestige attached with His Majes-ty’s Cup - the Sultanate’s premier hockey event - that shootout loss in 2013 final still rankles Ahli-Sidab, who are now being coached

by India’s K K Poonacha, under whom the club have made it to the third final after having won one ti-tle and finished runners-up once.

While Al Nasr, whose rise as a hockey power started in 2006, will be looking to seal their sixth title in their ninth final, Poonacha ex-pressed confidence that Ahli-Sid-ab can snatch back the prestigious trophy from their rivals.

“The players have been in good shape this season. All of them are in good form and they have shown that in the matches we have played so far in this competition,” said Poonacha.

Speaking at the match-eve press conference at the OHA Headquar-ters on Saturday, the Indian coach said: “Going by the boys display so far, I think they have the ability to go all the way. I have complete con-fidence in the team to lift the title this time.”

Ahli-Sidab have so far benefit-ted from the experience of three Indians recruits — drag flicker Darshan Dalwai, Moni Muthanna and M. B. Aiyappa.

But in the final they will miss two key Omani players — reliable defender Ali Salem and experi-enced forward Assad Al Qasmi.

But Poonacha is confident of his team overcoming the problem.

“Both Ali Salem and Assad are out with injuries. But we have enough bench strength to over-come this problem”, he said.

But at the same time, Poonacha refused to take Al Nasr lightly.

“Al Nasr are a good side. They are the defending champions and they have the experience of play-ing in a big match like this one. They also have very good players, most of whom are playing for the national teams,” he said.

“We have to be at our best to beat them and hopefully we will

achieve our target tomorrow,” Poonacha added.

Ahli-Sidab’s goalkeeping coach Hamood Abdullah Al Wahaibi said his team are hoping to keep a clean slate against Al Nasr and lift the cup.

“We have a good team. The de-fence is good. More importantly our goalkeepers are in good form, especially our number one keeper Amjad Abdullah has been solid so far in the tournament. We are ex-pecting him to continue with that solid performance in the final and keep a clean slate to win the cup,” Hamood, a former international and Seeb Club veteran, said.

Meanwhile, Al Nasr coach Mo-hammed Al Batrani said his team are hoping to win the second suc-cessive title after putting in a lot of hard work since their OHA Leauge final loss to Ahli-Sidab.

“We were forced to field a sec-ond string team in the OHA League as most of our main players were with the national team camping in Holland during that time. But since May we have been working hard and preparing well for this tournament,” he said.

“I am happy we have reached this stage and now we have an op-portunity to defend our title,” he added.

It has not been an easy ride for Al Nasr, who also have two foreign recruits in the form of Egyptians Ahmed Es and Mohammed Idris.

“We don’t have our own astro turf ground. So it makes us proud to be reaching the finals of these big tournaments and winning the titles,” the coach added.

Al Nasr captain Shakir Awadh said: “The players, the coaching staff and our club officials have been working hard and we don’t want all those efforts to go waste.

“Our goal is to win the cup and we are confident of achieving that goal,” he added.

A fascinating final is

in store as defending

champions Al Nasr

and Ahli-Sidab

take their rivalry to

a new high in the

summit clash of His

Majesty’s Cup Hockey

Championship

EYEING THE TROPHY: Al Nasr Club hockey team pose for a group photo along with their Indian coach K. K. Poonacha, standing third right, during a match. – TIMES OF OMAN

HOPING FOR AN ENCORE: Al Nasr are hoping to repeat their 2013 success by beating Ahli-Sidab in the final. – TIMES OF OMAN

Ajmal pulls out of Pakistan’s World Cup squadKARACHI: Suspended Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has with-drawn from the World Cup squad because he has no chance of get-ting his action cleared before the tournament.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials met on Saturday and de-cided that all-rounder Mohammed Hafeez, who is also suspended from bowling in international cricket, will travel to Chennai, In-dia for a test.

“If Hafeez clears the informal test than we will apply to the Inter-national Cricket Council to hold his official test for his bowling ac-tion to be cleared,” the PCB said in a statement.

The 37-year-old Ajmal, who was named in the preliminary squad, will continue remedial work on his action and play domestic cricket until he has satisfied himself he can take the ICC test.

“Ajmal withdrew himself,” PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan told reporters.

“We didn’t want to take a risk with Ajmal’s career because latest reports suggested his elbow extension was not still within the 15 degrees allowed by the ICC despite all the remedial work on his action.

“We were aware that if he took the official ICC test in a bid to make the World Cup squad and failed it he could be suspended from playing for one to two years and that would mean the end of his career,” Khan said.

Ajmal, Pakistan’s top spinner and wicket taker in all formats of the game for the last three years, was suspended from bowling in September after failing the ICC test. Hafeez was banned last month.

Teams have to name their fi-nal 15-man World Cup squads by January 7.

Pakistan also faces race against time to get all-rounder Moham-med Hafeez cleared after his ac-tion was reported as suspect last month.

He was subsequently suspended earlier this month.

A PCB meeting on Saturday de-cided Hafeez will proceed to Chen-nai, India to have an unofficial test while Ajmal will do more remodel-ling work in Lahore.

“The PCB committee discussed the future course of action to be adopted with regard to Ajmal and Hafeez and agreed that in the case of Ajmal, further remedial work should continue in collaboration with Saqlain and a bio mechanist in Lahore,” PCB said in an earlier statement.

If Hafeez clears the unofficial tests then the PCB will apply for his official reassessment with the ICC. - Reuters/AFP

C R I C K E T

RACE AGAINST TIME: Saeed Ajmal.

LAHORE: Pakistan on Satur-day appointed retired top mili-tary officer Naveed Cheema as manager for next year’s cricket World Cup, replacing former captain Moin Khan.

Sixty-year-old Cheema, a retired brigadier who also held the manager’s post from 2011 to 2013, is currently serving as chief secretary of Punjab province.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Moin had to step aside as he also held the post of chief selector and such a dual role was not allowed.

Moin would “stay on as chief selector as part of the squad for the ICC World Cup 2015”, the PCB said in a press release.

Cheema would also serve as team manager for two One-day Internationals in New Zealand

on January 31 and February 3, held ahead of the World Cup running from February 14 to March 29 in Australia and New Zealand.

PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan praised Moin’s services and greeted his decision to continue as chief selector.

Moin said he accepted that he could not stay on in two positions. — AFP

Pakistan replace Moin as World Cup manager

E

e

ey

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New Zealand’s scintillating show forces Sri Lankans to follow on

CHRISTCHURCH: New Zealand had the scent of victory after only the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka Saturday after a scintillating bowling spell forced the tourists to follow on 303 runs in arrears.

After New Zealand posted 441 in their first innings at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, a four-pronged pace attack led by Trent Boult dismissed Sri Lanka for 138 inside 43 overs.

“That first innings was some-thing special. It just seemed to hap-pen against a quality side so it was brilliant,” New Zealand’s chief de-stroyer Boult said after returning figures of three for 25 off 11 overs.

Sri Lanka made a more solid

start to their second innings, reaching 84 without loss at stumps, but with three days re-maining they were still 219 runs in arrears and Boult believed the signs were good for New Zealand.

“It’s a great opportunity to win a Test match in New Zealand,” the left-arm quick said.

He described the pitch as “in-consistent” with the amount of as-sistance it gave but said if the New Zealand bowlers kept the pressure on “then I think we’re going to be successful”.

New Zealand had resumed the second day at 429-7 and lost their last three wickets for a cheap 12

runs in 32 balls as their innings folded for 441.

The quick end signalled that the bowlers had found how to exploit the green-tinged surface and 13 wickets fell in two sessions after the batsmen led by New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum’s 195 had dominated the first day.

In a pre-lunch onslaught Boult ripped through Sri Lanka’s top or-der starting with the removal of Dimuth Karunaratne for nought with his fourth delivery to bring up his 100th Test dismissal.

He followed with the wickets of Kaushal Silva for four and Sri Lanka dangerman Kumar Sanga-

karra for six. Sangakkara was six runs short of becoming only the fifth player to reach 12,000 Test runs when he was beaten by a late swinging Boult delivery that caught an outside edge and was snapped up by Tim Southee at third slip.

Southee split the webbing be-tween the thumb and forefinger of his left hand securing the catch and required five stitches.

But the injury did not affect his right-arm deliveries and after a tight but fruitless opening spell he joined the action after lunch, claim-ing Lahiru Thirimanne (24) and Niroshan Dickwella (2) in the space

of four balls. Neil Wagner chimed in with the wickets of Prasanna Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews and Tharindu Kaushal before Jimmy Neesham mopped up the tail with the wickets of Dhammika Prasad and Suranga Lakmal.

Amid the carnage, only Mathews carried the fight to New Zealand as he raced from 40 to his 19th half-century with a four and six off suc-cessive deliveries from Wagner.

But his belligerence was to prove his downfall when he charged at Wagner a third time and skied a top edge to Tom Latham at third man. In addition to Boult’s impres-sive figures, Wagner took three for

60, Southee two for 17 and Neesh-am two for 28.

In their second innings Karunaratne was not out 49 at stumps with Silva on 33, with Karunaratne receiving a life when he was dropped on 10 by substitute Cole McConchie off Boult’s bowling.

New Zealand’s first innings fold-ed tamely with only Mark Craig, not out 12, offering token resist-ance as Mathews and Lakmal re-moved Southee and Boult without scoring.

Lakmal also removed Wagner for four to finish with three for 90 while the more economical Mathews took three for 39. - AFP

After New Zealand

posted 441 in their

first innings, a four-

pronged pace attack

led by Trent Boult

dismissed Sri Lanka

for 138. Sri Lanka

made a more solid

start to their second

innings, reaching 84

without loss

New Zealand 1st innings T. Latham c Kaushal b Eranga 27 H. Rutherford b Lakmal 18 K. Williamson b Prasad 54 R. Taylor run out 7 B. McCullum c Karunaratne b Kaushal 195 J. Neesham c Sangakkara b Mathews 85 B. Watling lbw Mathews 26M. Craig not out 12 T. Southee c Thirimanne b Mathews 0 N. Wagner c Kaushal b Lakmal 4 T. Boult c P. Jayawardene b Lakmal 0 Extras (lb-4, nb-7, w-2) 13 Total (all out, 85.5 overs) 441 Fall of wickets: 1-37, 2-60, 3-88, 4-214, 5-367, 6-420, 7-429, 8-431, 9-440.Bowling: S. Lakmal 19.5-3- 90-3 (nb-2); S. Eranga 18-1-82-1; A. Mathews 12-2-39-3; D. Prasad 12-2-62-1 (w-2); T. Kaushal 22-0-159-1 (nb-5); L. Thirimanne 2-0-5-0.Sri Lanka 1st innings D. Karunaratne lbw Boult 0 K. Silva lbw Boult 4 K. Sangakkara c Southee b Boult 6

L. Thirimanne c Craig b Southee 24 A. Mathews c Latham b Wagner 50 N. Dickwella c B. McCullum b Southee 2 P. Jayawardene c Williamson b Wagner 10 D. Prasad c B. McCullum b Neesham 18 T. Kaushal c Williamson b Wagner 6 S. Eranga not out 10 S. Lakmal c B. McCullum b Neesham 2 Extras (lb-3, nb-1, w-2) 6 Total (all out, 42.4 overs) 138 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-8, 3-15, 4-58, 5-60, 6-88, 7-105, 8-118, 9-128.Bowling: T. Boult 11-4-25-3 (w-1); T. Southee 12-4-17-2; J. Neesham 6.4-1-28-2 (w-1); N. Wagner 11-0-60-3 (nb-1); M. Craig 2-0-5-0.Sri Lanka 2nd innings D. Karunaratne not out 49 K. Silva not out 33 Extras (lb-1, nb-1) 2Total (for no loss, 35 overs) 84 Bowling: T. Boult 7-2-16-0; T. Southee 7-2-11-0; N. Wagner 11-1-37-0 (nb-1); M. Craig 7-2-12-0; J. Neesham 2-1-4-0; B. McCullum 1-0-3-0

S C O R E B O A R D

MAJOR MILESTONE: New Zealand’s Trent Boult, centre, celebrates his 100 Test wickets during day

two of their first Test match against Sri Lanka at Hagley Park Oval in Christchurch on Saturday. – AFP

I regret my act of dissent in 1981 MSG Test: GavaskarMELBOURNE: Almost three decades after the infamous walk-out incident in the Melbourne Test match which generated huge controversy, former India cap-tain Sunil Gavaskar on Saturday regretted his act of dissent and said that it was a big mistake on his part.

In the 1981 series that had been dogged by some inconsist-ent umpiring, a Dennis Lillee in-cutter caught Gavaskar plumb in front and umpire Rex Whitehead, standing in just his third Test, raised the finger.

But Gavaskar, who thought that the ball had got his bat on the way to the pad, protested by standing his ground long enough.

Gavaskar also slapped his pads with the bat, letting the umpire know about his anger. As Gavaskar reluctantly started to leave, Lillee reportedly made one comment too many and the Indian snapped, returned to the crease and instructed fellow

opener Chetan Chauhan to walk off the pitch with him. A bemused Chauhan did as he was told, but at the boundary rope, the batsmen were met by team manager Sha-hid Durrani and Bapu Nadkarni, the assistant manager.

Chauhan was persuaded to re-turn to resume his innings, while Gavaskar walked into the pavilion.

“I regret the decision. It was a

big mistake on my part. As Indian captain I was not supposed to act in that manner. In no way I can justify my act of defiance. Wheth-er I was out or not, I should not have reacted that way,” Gavaskar said during a tea-time chat show with Sanjay Manjrekar and Kapil Dev. “If the incident would have occurred in present times then I would have been fined.” - PTI

C R I C K E T

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SPORTSS U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 4

Smith slams big ton as tail whips India

MELBOURNE: Captain Steven Smith took a sharp catch to snare India’s first wicket after scoring a big century to fire Australia to a mammoth first innings total of 530 on day two of the third Test in Mel-bourne on Saturday.

Standing in for the injured Mi-chael Clarke, Smith scored a ca-reer-high 192 to anchor a stunning tail-end assault on India’s bowl-ers, who leaked 314 runs for the final five wickets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

“Our tail have come out and taken the bowlers on,” Smith told reporters after pacemen Mitchell Johnson (28) and Ryan Harris (74) piled on the runs.

“Mitch Johnson again today looked good and Ryan Harris came out and batted beautifully. I don’t think they (India) had an answer for the way they were playing. It’s great for us that the tail can come out and do that and be really aggressive.”

Returning to the field after tea, Smith ended a 55-run open-ing partnership by diving low at

second slip to catch an edge from Shikhar Dhawan (28) off the bowl-ing of Ryan Harris.

Opener Murali Vijay (55 not out) and number three batsman Cheteshwar Pujara (25 not out) pushed India to 108 for one at stumps, still 422 runs adrift of the hosts’ total. The tourists were lucky not to be two wickets down, however, with wicketkeeper Brad Haddin spilling an edge from Pu-jara when the batsman was on 12.

Vijay’s unbeaten half century, his fourth knock over 50 in the se-ries, will give India some hope of reeling in the total on the benign drop-in wicket.

“They got a (few) too many runs for our liking,” said spinner Ravi-chandran Ashwin, who finished with three wickets but conceded 134 runs.

“But if you look at the overall game, the score is pretty par for this wicket... It seems slow and pretty flat as well.”

Smith’s third century from three Tests, however, has all but sealed the four-match series for Austral-ia, who lead 2-0.

The 25-year-old smashed 15 boundaries and two sixes to all corners of the sun-bathed ground, before falling short of a maiden double-century when attempting an audacious ramp shot off pace-man Umesh Yadav.

Smith’s wicket brought the in-nings to a close and he walked off at tea to a standing ovation from the crowd of over 51,000.

Smith and Haddin had resumed in the morning with Australia still vulnerable on 259-5 but plundered 67 runs before the wicketkeeper

dismissed himself with a botched leave that bottom-edged through to India captain and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Mitchell Johnson bolted to 28 before he was stumped trying to slog Ashwin. Bulky paceman Ryan Harris joined in the run feast, belt-ing a career-high 74, his third test half-century.

He hoisted a big six to reach his final score and was out next ball, trapped lbw by Ashwin. By then, Australia were 482 for eight and in complete command. - Reuters

Standing in for the

injured Michael

Clarke, Smith scored

a career-high 192 to

anchor a stunning

tail-end assault on

India’s bowlers

Australia 1st innings C. Rogers c Dhoni b Shami 57D. Warner c Dhawan b Yadav 0S. Watson lbw Ashwin 52S. Smith b Yadav 192S. Marsh c Dhoni b Shami 32J. Burns c Dhoni b Yadav 13B. Haddin c Dhoni b Shami 55M. Johnson st Dhoni b Ashwin 28R. Harris lbw Ashwin 74N. Lyon b Shami 11J. Hazlewood not out 0Extras (b-1, lb-9, w-1, nb-5) 16Total (all out, 142.3 overs) 530 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-115, 3-115, 4-184, 5-216, 6-326, 7-376, 8-482, 9-530.Bowling: I. Sharma 32-7-104-0 (nb-5), Ya-dav 32.3-3-130-3, Shami 29-4-138-4 (w-1), Ashwin 44-9-134-3, Vijay 5-0-14-0.India 1st inningsM. Vijay not out 55S. Dhawan c Smith b Harris 28C. Pujara not out 25Extras: 0Total (1 wkt; 37 overs) 108 Fall of wickets: 1-55.Bowling: Johnson 9-3-24-0, Harris 7-3-19-1, Hazlewood 9-4-19-0, Watson 4-0-14-0, Lyon 8-0-32-0.

S C O R E B O A R D

MELBOURNE: Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of the fourth and final Test against India after aggravating a hamstring injury.

Marsh strained his ham-string during the second Test in Brisbane and was sidelined for the ongoing third Test in Melbourne.

“Mitchell Marsh had scans on his injured hamstring this morning after reporting some soreness yesterday. The scans

confirm that he has suffered a setback in his rehab and will not be available for the Sydney Test match,” team physio Alex Kountouris said in a statement.

Kountouris said the team’s focus would be to get Marsh fit for the One-day Interna-tional tri-series against Eng-land and India which starts on January 12.

Debutant batsman Joe Burns replaced Marsh in the team for the third Test.- Reuters

Marsh to miss final Test

192runs from 305 balls

15 fours, 2 sixes

STEVENSMITH

Dhoni rewrites world record for most stumpings

MELBOURNE: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni broke the world record for most num-ber of stumpings in international cricket after he effected his 134th dismissals on day two of the third Test against Australia here on Saturday.

The 33-year-old Dhoni set the record at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

He surpassed Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara when he stumped Mitchell Johnson off

the bowling of off-spinner Ravi-chandran Ashwin for his world record dismissal.

He reached the landmark in his 460th innings while Sangak-kara has 133 stumpings from 485 innings.

Sri Lanka’s other keeper Ro-mesh Kaluwitharana is third on the list with 101 stumpings from 270 innings.

Another Indian, Nayan Mongia is 10th on the list with 52 stump-ings. - PTI

C R I C K E T

ANOTHER LANDMARK: Australia’s Mitchell Johnson, right, is

stumped by Indian wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni during

the second day of their third Test match at the Melbourne Cricket

Ground (MCG) in Melbourne on Saturday. – AFP

Clarke unlikely to make start of World Cup

MELBOURNE: Australia captain Michael Clarke doubts he will be fit for the start of the World Cup in February but hopes to be back at some stage during the tournament.Clarke had surgery on his injured hamstring after straining it for a fourth time in as many months during the first Test against India in Adelaide.

Clarke came out of the surgery feeling positive but conceded on Saturday he would struggle to be fit for Australia’s opening match against England on February 14.

“I’m really confident that the way things are progressing at the mo-ment, that if I continue ticking the boxes, I’ll be a really good chance for the World Cup,” Clarke told

host broadcaster Channel Nine.“I think I’ll certainly be fit and

available for the majority of the World Cup. I’m hoping the selec-tors will give me the opportunity (to come back).”

Steven Smith has been leading the Test side in Clarke’s absence while George Bailey led the one-day international team during the recent series victory at home against South Africa.

After hurting his hamstring in Adelaide, a distraught Michael Clarke told reporters he had to face the possibility that he might never play again.

He has since rowed back on those comments and remains deter-mined to take back the reins. - Reuters

F I T N E S S D O U B T S

HOPES TO BE BACK: Captain Michael Clarke.

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Du Plessis gets his ton but rain wins the day

PORT ELIZABETH: Faf du Ples-sis scored his fourth Test century but rain washed out almost the entire second day as South Africa closed on 289 for three in the sec-ond Test against West Indies on Saturday.

Only six overs were possible before lunch, during which time the Proteas added 19 runs to their overnight total for the loss of Du Plessis. The rest of the day was a washout as heavy rain kept the players from the field, meaning an earlier start on Sunday at 1000 lo-cal time (0800 GMT) to make up some of the lost overs.

Du Plessis, 99 not out overnight, was made to wait another 90 min-utes before play got underway and only faced two balls. The first was a gift, a leg-stump half-volley from seamer Jerome Taylor that was easily dispatched to the square-leg boundary to bring up his century off 229 balls. Taylor got it right on the second ball, though, finding a thin edge as Du Plessis looked to

defend outside off stump and was caught behind by wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin.

“It was a very frustrating day,” said Du Plessis after play was final-

ly called off more than four-and-a-half hours after the stoppage. “We had a very good day one and were exactly where we wanted to be.”

With more rain predicted for

Sunday, Du Plessis admitted it might be difficult for South Africa to force a series-clinching win to follow their victory.

“We will just have to do what we plan to do a lot quicker. We’ve got a very good bowling armoury but on the St George’s Park wicket it does take a bit longer.”

Hashim Amla will start day three on 23 along with AB de Vil-liers, who is nine not out, looking to accelerate.

West Indies will hope to break the partnership between the home side’s two best batsmen quickly after they added a South African record of 308 for the fourth wicket in the first Test in Pretoria.

The visitors will then try to run through the tail quickly with Stiaan van Zyl, playing his second game, and debutant Temba Bavu-ma the last remaining recognised batsmen.

South Africa won the first Test by an innings and 220 runs, with the third and final match of the se-ries to start in Cape Town on Janu-ary 2. - Agencies

Only six overs were

possible before lunch,

during which time the

Proteas added 19 runs

to their overnight

total for the loss of Du

Plessis

PLAYING SPOIL SPORT: Groundsmen pull the covers onto the field during the rain-hit second day of the second Test match between South

Africa and West Indies at St. George Park in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. – AFP

South Africa 1st inningsA. Petersen c Johnson b Gabriel 17D. Elgar c Ramdin b Peters 121F. du Plessis c Ramdin b Taylor 103H. Amla not out 23A. de Villiers not out 9Extras (lb-4, nb-7, w-5) 16Total (3 wkts, 94 overs) 289Fall of wickets: 1-47 , 2-226 , 3-274.Bowling: Taylor 22-4-74-1 (nb-2, w-1), Peters 15-6-44-1, Holder 16-5-34-0 (nb-1), Gabriel 15-0-52-1 (nb-3), Benn 25-3-81-0 (nb-1), Samuels 1-1-0-0.

S C O R E B O A R D

FOURTH TON: South Africa’s Faf du Plessis celebrates reaching his

a century during the second day of their second Test match against

the West Indies at S.George Park in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. – AFP

Japan team coach Aguirre denies match-fixing and calls for calmTOKYO: Japan coach Javier Aguirre denied on Saturday any involvement in match-fixing in Spain and called for calm from the team’s supporters during their Asian Cup defence.

The Mexican was among 41 people named by Spain’s anti-corruption prosecutor in court this month following a probe into Real Zaragoza’s 2-1 win at Le-vante on the final day of the 2010-11 campaign.

The victory ensured Zaragoza, coached by Aguirre, avoided rel-egation.

The Japan Football Asso-ciation has sent a delegation to Spain to conduct a probe into the case but said Aguirre will remain in charge for next month’s Asian Cup in Australia.

Speaking through a translator, Aguirre said he believed Spanish soccer was clean and the investi-gation would not impact Japan’s preparations for the tournament.

“I worked in Spain for 12 years and I have never done anything unethical or unprofessional,” Aguirre told reporters at the JFA’s headquarters in Tokyo on Saturday.

“I would like to tell our sup-porters to stay calm during this investigation. We need their sup-port to take the Asian Cup title.

“I will be concentrating and preparing for the Japan team to win the Asian Cup.”

The 56-year-old Aguirre re-placed Italian Alberto Zacchero-ni, who stepped down after Japan were eliminated in the first round of this year’s World Cup in Brazil.

The prosecutor in Spain alleg-es the Levante players were paid a total of 965,000 euros to delib-erately lose the game.

“I will be cooperating with the Spanish authorities and seeing

this case through to the end,” Aguirre added.

Defending champions Japan open their tournament against Palestine on January 12 and also have Iraq and Jordan in their group. - Reuters

F O O T B A L L

I would like to tell our supporters to stay calm during this investigation. We need their support to take the Asian Cup title

Javier AguirreJapan coach

Sunil Chhetri named

Indian player of year

MUMBAI: Indian captain Sunil Chhetri was on Saturday named the ‘AIFF 2014 Player of the Year’ for the second consecutive year.

The 30-year-old Chhetri was chosen for the award on the basis of votes from coaches of I-League Clubs. He led Bengaluru FC to its maiden I-League title in the first year of its participation.

Chhetri, who had also won the award in 2013 will be presented a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh besides a trophy, an All India Football Fed-eration (AIFF) release said.

This is his third ‘AIFF Player of the Year Award’ in four years and fourth overall. In the process, he overtook legendary I. M. Vijay-an’s feat of winning it three times.

Chhetri had earlier won the

award in 2007, 2011 and 2013 while Vijayan had won it in 1992, 1997 and 2000.

In 2014, Chhetri finished as the highest Indian goal-scorer in I-League with 14 strikes.

Meanwhile, Manipuri striker Bala Devi was declared the ‘2014 AIFF Woman Footballer of the Year’. In 2014, Bala Devi scored 16 goals to help India retain the SAFF women’s crown in Islama-bad. The 24-year old Bala Devi would be presented Rs 1 lakh, be-sides a trophy.

AIFF also named Sandesh Jhingan as the ‘2014 Emerging Footballer of the Year’.

All the awards will be present-ed in an Awards Night early next year. - PTI

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

Gervinho’s home burgled

ROME: Italian club A.S. Roma striker Gervinho had a forget-table Christmas Day after he discovered his Italian home in Axa, near Rome, had been bur-gled as he spent time with fam-ily in the Ivory Coast.

The former Arsenal man was robbed after he posted photos on social media informing fans he was going to be out of the coun-try, reports dailymail.co.uk.

It is reported that the un-known culprits have made away with expensive jewellery and watches. It was Gervinho’s brother who discovered the burglary and reported it to the police.

It is possible that the thieves entered through a door window although it remains unclear if the alarm was turned off before they entered.

Gervinho is expected to re-turn to Rome Tuesday, when the extent of the robbery will be confirmed. The Ivorian has 11 goals to his credit this season from 41 appearances for Roma in Serie A. - IANS

F O R G E T T A B L E D A Y

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Raha, HJB, Enhance Eagles, Uday Khimji record easy winsMUSCAT: Khursheed Alam came up with a superb all-round perfor-mance as Raha defeated Enhance by a massive 123-run margin and earned a bonus point in a Muscat Pharmacy and Stores-sponsored 50 overs-a-side A Division match.Put into bat first, Raha made 218 all out with Zeeshan scoring 44. Arfan, Sultan Ahmed and Waseem Ahmed contributed 27, 26 and 21 respectively.

Coming in to bat for the last wicket with the score on 194, Khursheed played a quick fire in-nings scoring 23 off just 14 balls with three boundaries.

Muthu Pandian showed his prowess as a bowler scalping his first five-wicket haul of the season conceding only 18 runs in the 9.1 overs. Nester Dhamba picked up three wickets fiving away 48 runs in 10 overs.

In reply, Enhance crumbled af-ter the fall of the first wicket with only 20 runs on the board. Wickets

fell at regular intervals with Khur-sheed claiming three wickets, a performance that earned him the man of the match award. Da-vid, Farhan and Waseem Akhtar picked up two wickets apiece which helped them to restrict their opponents to 95 all out in 34.1 over.

Brief scores: Raha 218 all out in 49.1 overs (Zeeshan 44, Arfan 27, Sultan 26, Khursheed 23, Waseem 21, Muthu 5/18, Nester 3/48) bt Enhance 95 all out 34.1 overs (Khursheed 3/43, Farhan 2/7, Wa-seem 2/13, David 2/14).

In a Khimji Ramdas-sponsored 30 overs-a-side B Division match, Enhance Eagles beat Renaissance CT by 45 runs after having made 171 in 28.5 overs. Opener Pranav Mehta and lower middle order bat Sohail Iqbal scored 46 and 40 re-spectively. One drop Parth Trivedi scored 26. Utuman Ansar had four dismissals conceding only 18 runs in the four overs he bowled while Maddumage Jagath picked up two wickets for Renaissance.

Chasing an achievable total, Re-naissance kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were bundled out for 126 in 24.4 overs, thanks to a superb bowling performance by Ikhtiar Kazmi who returned with figures of five wickets for 15 runs in 3.4 overs.

One of the wickets included the opener Thuwan Deen who was the lonely batsman to provide any re-sistance scoring 51 in 59 balls with six hits to the ropes and one over it. S. Parameswaran had three dis-missals to his credit while Kunal Pandia had two.

Brief scores: Enhance Eagles 171 all out 28.5 overs (Pranav 46, Sohail 40, Parth 26, Utuman 4/18, Maddumage 3/36) bt Renaissance CT 126 all out in 24.4 overs (Thuwan 51, Ikhtiar 5/15, Parameswaran 3/25, Kunal 2/23).

In another B Division match, Hassan Juma Bhacker (HJB) reg-istered a comfortable win over the all-Omani team of OCT Al Amerat. Put into bat first, HJB scored a

massive 214 losing all their wick-ets in 20 overs.

After the dismissal of the open-ers, JIbran Yousuf and Daniel Nelson added 61 runs to raise the score to 120 by when the former had scored 42 in 31 balls. Daniel was the next to go after making a quick 39-ball 55. Nasser Haider picked up four wickets for 35 while Atif Yousuf gave away 27 runs to dismiss three batsmen.

Batting second, OCT Al Amerat found the going tough and were dismissed for 137 in 23.5 overs. Samir Mohammed played a su-perb knock to score 61 in 34 balls but could not help his side reach the target.

Syed Muntazir with three wick-ets conceding 9 runs in the two overs he bowled, Mohammed Rashid and Mudassar with two wickets each were the main wicket takers for HJB.

Brief scores: HJB 214 all out in 20 overs (Daniel 55, JIbran 42, Nasser 4/35,

Atif 3/27) bt OCT Al Amerat 137 for 23.5 overs, Samir 61, Muntazir 3/9, Rashid 2/20, Mudassar 2/23).

In an Al Ansari-sponsored 20 overs-a-side C Division match, Uday Khimji Int beat the all-Om-ani team of OCT Seeb after having made 183 runs with three wickets in hand.

Navneet Turpude top scored with 42 off just 29 balls and Raman Kumar made 30 in 18 balls, the two putting on a 38-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Later Muhammed Tayyab scored a useful 24 to raise his side score to respectability. For the Omani players, Issam Othman and Abbas Al Balushi both scalped two wickets each.

Required to score at over nine runs an over for a win, OCT Seeb could only manage 155 for eight in their allotted 20 overs. Opener Dhiyab Hussain (41) and the cap-tain Abbas combined well to add 44 runs to the total until the latter

was dismissed for 30 scored off just 14 balls.

Later Farooq joined the opener and the two put out on 28 runs for the fifth wicket when he was dis-missed for 26 scored in 18 balls. Dhiyab was the seventh to be dis-missed.

Earlier his opening partner, Osman Al Zadgeh contributed a very useful 21 in 10 balls with five boundaries. With only four overs remaining and over 40 runs need-ed for a win, Samir Othman played a cameo to score an unbeaten 22 off just 13 balls.

Afzaal Hussain, Navneet Tirpu-de and Roshan Mankar all picked up two wickets each to steer their side to a 28 runs win.

Brief scores: Uday Khimji 183 for 7 in 20 overs (Navneet 42, Raman 30, Tayyab 24, Issam 2/27, Abbas 2/41) bt OCT Seeb 155 for 8 in 20 overs (Dhiyab 41, Abbas 30, Farooq 26, Samir 22 NO, Osman 21, Afzaal 2/28, Navneet 2/29, Roshan 2/30).

C R I C K E T

Oman’s readiness for GCC Women’s Games lauded

MUSCAT: The GCC Olympic Committees officials have lauded the Sultanate’s preparations to host the GCC Women’s Games in the New Year.

According to information re-ceived from the Oman Olympic Committee on Saturday, the 82nd meeting of the Executive Office of the Chairpersons of the GCC

Olympic Committees was held in Kuwait on Saturday.

During the meeting, which was chaired Obaid bin Zayed Al Anzi, Secretary General of the Kuwaiti Olympic Committee and held in the presence of Dr. Abdullah bin Aqlah Al Hashim, Assistant Sec-retary General for Human and Environment Affairs at the GCC Secretariat General, and Sheikh Badr bin Ali Al Rawas, member of Oman Olympic Committee Board and chairman of Oman Volleyball Association, the members dis-cussed a number of issues in the agenda.

The chairman praised the ef-

forts the Sultanate’s sports offi-cials for their readiness to host the fourth edition of the GCC Wom-en’s Games in March 2015.

The meeting also praised the ef-forts of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee for the preparations for hosting the second GCC Games scheduled to be held in Dammam for October 17 to 27 in 2015.

Durng the meeting, the officials also approved inclusion of sports like of equestrian, endurance race and bowling to the list.

The members were also briefed on the second GCC Beach Games to be held in Doha from April 3 to 16 in 2015.

During a meeting held in Kuwait on Saturday,

the Olmpic officials praised the efforts the

Sultanate’s officials for their readiness to host

the fourth GCC Women’s Games in March

OTA honoured for role

in Olympic Day events

MUSCAT: The Oman Olympic Committee (OOC) honoured the Oman Tennis Association (OTA) for their role in conducting a successful Olympic Day events recently. The OTA was chosen as the best event organiser at the Olympic Day activities oganised at Qurum Park.

At the end of day’s proceedings, Head of the Olympic Day Super-vising Committee Mutassim bin Hamoud Al Zadjalii presented a memento the Oman Tennis As-sociation for their contribution to the Olympic Day activties.

The OTA conducted mini ten-nis at two of the five Olympic Day venues - in Buraimi and Muscat.

The International Tennis

Federation has been supporting the mini tennis programme in the Sultanate since 2012 which helped clubs like Quriyat, Majees, Dhofar, Al Bashayir, Saham, Su-wait and Nizwa to develop mini tennis. Various sports and other activities were conducted dur-ing the Olympic Day encouraging people from various backgrounds to practice sports.

Meanwhile, the OTA in a state-ment said: “We are encouraged by the public response to our ac-tivities during the Olympic Day. It is a big boost to tennis in Oman. We will soon undertake visits to various schools to study the ways to introduce of tennis through mini tennis programmes.”

M A J O R C O N T R I B U T I O N

Struggling Palace sack WarnockLONDON: Neil Warnock on Sat-urday became the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season when he was sacked by strugglers Crystal Palace.

“Crystal Palace Football Club can today confirm that Neil Warnock has been relieved of his duties and is no longer first-team manager,” a statement on the club’s official website an-nounced.

The 66-year-old will be re-placed by Keith Millen who takes over in a “caretaker role” for Sun-day’s game against Queens Park Rangers.

Warnock’s dismissal comes less than 24 hours after Friday’s 3-1 loss to Southampton, leav-ing the London club with just one win in their last 12 league matches.

This latest below par perfor-mance pushed the team which had shocked Liverpool last month into the relegation zone.

In their statement Palace add-ed: “The club would like to put on record its thanks to Neil for all his hard work and energy over the past four months.

“Keith Millen will lead the team against Queens Park Rang-ers tomorrow as caretaker man-ager.”

The Palace board will be keen to make a swift appointment given the transfer window is days away from reopening.

Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood and Tony Popovic are already standout candidates to replace Warnock, with the lat-ter having last month led West-ern Sydney Wanderers to the Asian Champions League.

The former Australia inter-national has strong ties with the Eagles, having played for the club for five seasons before returning in 2011 as part of Dougie Freed-man’s backroom set-up.

Sherwood is again in the run-ning for a job he ruled himself out of in August, with the ex-Spurs head coach saying he would have wanted to succeed Pulis had he been offered the position after his interview.

Malky Mackay, now in charge at Wigan, had been the favourite to succeed Pulis, only for allega-tions of misconduct to see Palace end their interest.

Warnock began his second spell at Palace in August, replac-ing Tony Pulis.

Friday’s defeat to Southamp-ton saw Warnock incense home fans by bringing defender Martin Kelly on for winger Yannick Bo-lasie when they were three goals down, while there were also boos from the Selhurst Park faithful at the final whistle.

“When you lose a game you’re responsible, I’ve no complaints about that,” he said of the fans’ reaction. - AFP

F O O T B A L L

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United bandwagon gathers pace under Louis van Gaal

LONDON: While Chelsea and Manchester City slug it out at the top of the Premier League, Louis van Gaal’s Old Trafford revolution gathers ever more momentum in the red half of Manchester.

The Dutchman endured a tricky start to his reign but seven wins in eight league games have put Man-chester United hot on the heels of the pacesetters.

If the current United side can emulate the teams of Alex Fer-guson who were renowned for a

strong second half of the season, Van Gaal’s men could yet have their say in the destiny of the title.

United visit Tottenham Hotspur in a lunchtime kickoff on Sunday as the games continue to flow thick and fast over the festive period.

“The signs have been good in recent weeks,” midfielder Michael Carrick told the club website (Ma-nUtd.com).

“We were bitterly disappointed not to win last week (at Aston Vil-la) but we beat Newcastle and now

have two big away games. They will be a good test for us to see where we are at.”

After the trip to Spurs, United — seven points behind City and 10 adrift of Chelsea — are away at Stoke on New Year’s Day.

“We’re continuing to look up and will continue to try to catch them (City and Chelsea),” mid-fielder Carrick said.

“We’re not satisfied with third — it’s obviously an improvement and we’re getting better, but we want to keep looking up.”

Seventh-placed Spurs have won three on the bounce with striker Harry Kane emerging as one of the stars of the season, his first-minute strike in the 2-1 victory over Leicester on Friday taking his tally to 15 in all competitions.

“We’ve built up some momen-tum now with some wins,” he said.

“United have picked up form. It’s going to be a tough game but we are confident at the minute. We’re ready for it.”

Chelsea make the trip south to face a fourth-placed Southamp-ton side who appear to have got over their blip following a flying start to the campaign.

“We have found the belief again,” said Southampton man-ager Ronald Koeman after Saints followed up a 3-0 drubbing of Everton with a 3-1 success at Crystal Palace on Friday.

“We know Chelsea are strong. It will be a challenge.”

Manuel Pellegrini’s City will set a club record of 10 wins in suc-cession in all competitions if they can take three points at home to Burnley. - Reuters

If the current United

side can emulate

the teams of Alex

Ferguson who were

renowned for a

strong second half

of the season, Van

Gaal’s men could yet

have their say in the

destiny of the title

GETTING BETTER: Manchester United’s Dutch manager Louis van Gaal hands out Christmas presents

to fans before during the English Premier League match against Newcastle United at Old Trafford in

Manchester on December 26. – AFP

We are a very good team now, says MourinhoLONDON: Jose Mourinho be-lieves his Chelsea side have im-proved sufficiently in 2014 to justify their position as Premier League leaders.

A 2-0 victory over West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on Box-ing Day, courtesy of goals from ex-perienced John Terry and Diego Costa, kept Chelsea three points ahead of last season’s champions Manchester City.

The Blues, who finished third last season, will have their title credentials tested again against Southampton on December 28, but Mourinho is confident his players can rise to the occasion at

St Mary’s and finish the calendar year on top.

“We are a much better team when we have the ball,” he said. “Last year we were very strong defensively but lacked a bit of creativity when we had the ball. The challenge was to bring that dynamic without losing the quali-ties of the team.

“At the beginning of the season there was a little bit of conflict between those two ideas and we made defensive mistakes.

“At the moment we have a good balance.

“The team is happy to have the ball and also comfortable when

the opposition has it. We are a very good team.”

Sunday’s trip to the south coast will see Mourinho renew his re-lationship with Southampton manager Ronald Koeman. The pair were colleagues at Barcelona when Manchester United man-ager Louis van Gaal was in charge at the Nou Camp.

“I was there before him,” Mour-inho added. “Obviously he was a very big player for Barcelona but he left. I arrived there in 1996 and I think Ron came back in 1999 so I was already a member of the tech-nical staff.

“We helped each other but we

were there to help Mr van Gaal be-cause he was the boss then. I think we did our work quite well.

“I know that he is a good coach and I know the football principles that he defends and he likes.

“When I saw him get his hands on (Mauricio) Pochettino’s team I thought he was the right guy to do it. Obviously they lost some good players but they were very clinical in their choices.

“They don’t have any pressure because they are very, very far away from relegation and the title is not for them. They are in a fan-tastic situation to play beautiful football.”

Hectic period Mourinho reported no new in-jury worries for the Southampton game and revealed he had made al-terations to the training schedule to make sure his squad remained in peak condition over the hectic Christmas period.

“I had two training sessions for tomorrow (Saturday) but they were crying so much in the dressing room I decided to make a change,” he added. “They are training now so tomorrow, instead of two ses-sions, there is only one. They are human, like the Southampton guys are human. It will be very difficult for us and for them.”- AFP

I M P R O V E D

Rodgers encouraged by battling Liverpool

BURNLEY: Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes his side proved they have the guts to rescue their spluttering season after grinding out a 1-0 win over Burnley.

After a miserable run which in-cluded their exit from the Cham-pions League, Rodgers’ side have now lost once in their last nine games in all competitions.

Their victory at Turf Moor on Friday was their first win in four Premier League games and the result, secured by a Raheem Sterling’s well-taken goal in the 62nd-minute, lifted Liverpool up to ninth place.

Rodgers believes a top-four fin-ish is still a possibility and with a home game to come against Swansea on Monday ahead of a trip to bottom club Leicester on New Year’s Day, the Reds will be confident of adding to their points tally over the festive period.

They may well have to play better than they did against a Burnley side which was unfor-tunate to lose for the first time in five home games after dominat-ing the first half.

But Rodgers believes the man-ner of the performance bodes well for his team.

“In terms of our character and resilience in the game, we showed outstanding qualities when need-ed,” Rodgers said. “I was really pleased with that. We had to show a different side to us, different types of qualities to what we showed against Arsenal and Bournemouth.

“We didn’t play too well in the first half but we defended well, got our blocks in, stopped crosses and it didn’t come into the box.

“We needed to show more com-posure in the second half. We made a change with Emre (Can) coming on. He showed real good athleticism and power and good footballing ability in that position and what we had to do in defend-ing, we did well. The players de-serve huge credit.”

Poor run As well as bringing on Can in place of Kolo Toure at half-time, Liverpool were also forced into a change of goalkeepers after just 15 minutes when a thigh injury forced Brad Jones to come off.

That meant a return for Simon Mignolet, who had lost his place after a poor run of games culmi-nating in Liverpool’s Champions League exit in early December.

“I thought he did well,” Rodg-ers added. “He came for a couple of crosses really well; caught one and punched one. He didn’t have a great deal to do, and his kicking was good.”

If Jones is ruled out of Mon-day’s game, Rodgers confirmed that 21-year-old Danny Ward will come on to the bench.

Clarets manager Sean Dyche was disappointed not to have any reward from what he considered to be his team’s best performance under his charge during the first 45 minutes.

But he insisted: “I’m encour-aged. Sometimes you prefer an ugly one that you win but there’s no future in that, there’s a future in how we’re operating. I think it’s as well as we’ve played, consider-ing the opposition, probably since I’ve been at the club. I thought we were if not totally dominant, we were very dominant and we were on all levels.” - AFP

F O O T B A L L

China has a slim chance of winning, says Perrin

GUANGZHOU: China on Sat-urday said it does not have the “best chance” to win the 2015 Asian Cup, to be held in Austral-ia in January, after its 23-man squad was unveiled.

“We are not the favourite, we do not have the best chance,” China’s head coach Alain Perrin said in response to a question.

“What I know is that the play-ers are ready to give the best they can,” Perrin said, adding that “anything was possible”.

China survived a scare before scraping into the Asian Cup on goal difference thanks to a late penalty in their 3-1 defeat to Iraq in March.

That defeat made for a shaky start for the newly hired former Lyon boss, after he was selected following a lengthy search to replace Spaniard Jose Antonio Camacho.

“I hope that the efforts the players made during these few months of preparation, and the team spirit of that group, will allow us to get past the first round,” Perrin said.

The Frenchman was speak-ing to reporters after the play-ers, all wearing suits and in high spirits, were introduced on a television programme from a studio in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

The 2013 Asian player of the year Zheng Zhi, who plays for club giants Guangzhou Ever-grande, will bolster the midfield.

Zheng, the team’s captain, was a hit with fans during nearly three seasons at Charlton Ath-letic and a year with Scottish giants Celtic before returning to China to join Evergrande. - AFP

A S I A N C U P

Alain Perrin

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMSECTIONC S U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 14LIFE & STYLE

Analysts say that by using technology

to help salespeople provide a more personalised

shopping experience, brands can retain the high

level of customer service that people have

come to expect of luxury labels

n a recent afternoon, thou-sands of shoppers thronged Regent Street, a thorough-fare lined with brands like Hugo Boss, Barbour and

Karl Lagerfeld.As people shopped, some of their cell-

phones received messages from the stores that they passed, offering online promo-tions, product reminders and other sales-related information.

“It points me to things that I hadn’t even thought about,” said Mike Johnson, a 45-year-old engineer who was shop-ping for a birthday present for his son. “I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, so any help is welcomed.”

The public’s almost insatiable appetite for technology is continuing to blur the lines between physical stores and online shopping. As part of that change, Regent Street has debuted a smartphone app that is linked with beacon technology, or small transmitters that interact with mobile devices.

So far, 130 stores, or roughly 80 per cent of the retailers along Regent Street’s mile-long strip, have installed sensors at their entrances that can communicate directly with nearby phones and other mobile de-vices carrying the app.

App users must select what type of in-formation they want to receive, and the technology allows brands to build a de-tailed profile of customers who redeem online special offers, respond to mobile advertising and even enter the physical stores. Such data, until recently, was avail-able only to online retailers, which typi-cally have greater access to consumers’ digital information.

“If you ping people with messages in-discriminately, it quickly becomes spam,” said Henry Lawson, chief executive of autoGraph, the Seattle digital market-ing company that developed the Regent Street app. “But if you’re selective, you can build up a level of trust directly with each consumer.”

The app project, which is one of the

largest rollouts of the technology any-where in the world, is just one example of the changes in luxury retailers’ approach to consumers.

For many retailers, the push comes in response to the growth of luxury e-commerce sites such as Net-a-Porter and Yoox, which have taken the online retail techniques pioneered by Ama-zon and eBay and have brought them to fashion sales.

“We’re at the beginning of a retail revo-lution,” said Adam Silverman, a principal analyst in San . Francisco with Forrester Research, the technology consulting company. “In the future, there won’t be any difference between physical stores and e-commerce.”

Burberry, the British heritage label, is acknowledged in the fashion world as a leader in digital outreach. In Sep-tember, for example, it allowed custom-ers watching a live stream of its runway show to order items directly through Twitter. And since Burberry opened its

flagship store on Regent Street two years ago, the company has also been refin-ing in-store features in an Art Deco 44,000-square-foot space.

Almost all of the items on sale are tagged with small microchips that in-teract with monitors around the store to display extra information about the coats, bags and dresses. And when peo-ple enter the store’s changing rooms, videos of the clothes that they are trying on seem to appear magically on floor-to-ceiling screens, along with more photos of the products.

Luxury retailers are also taking a page out of the playbook of tech giants like Apple, which has used its global chain of stores to promote a lifestyle based around its brand.

Companies such as Ralph Lauren, for example, have created smartphone apps that allow users to customise their own clothes and makeup and then share the items on social media, large monitors at the brands’ stores around the world and

even on interactive billboards in places like Times Square in New York.

And to help customers find what they’re looking for, other luxury retailers, includ-ing Gucci, have rolled out smartphones for their sales associates so they can locate detailed information about clothing lines, obtain a customer’s purchase history and allow payments to be processed anywhere in the store.

Analysts say that by using technology to help salespeople provide a more person-alized shopping experience, brands can retain the high level of customer service that people have come to expect of luxury labels, while also offering new services that mimic what shoppers previously have found only online. “It’s smart use of tech-nology,” said Miriam Burt, a vice president in the retail advisory division at Gartner, the technology research company. “In high-end fashion, what people value most is informed and available staff. If technol-ogy can help, that’s a huge bonus.” -Mark Scott/

The New York Times News Service

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EXTRAS U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 14

our co-worker brought in brownies, your daughter made cookies for a holiday party and candy is arriving from far-flung relatives. Sugar is everywhere. It is celebration, it is fes-tivity, it is love.

It’s also dangerous. In a recent study, we showed that sugar, perhaps more than salt, contributes to the development of cardio-vascular disease. Evidence is growing, too, that eating too much sugar can lead to fatty liver disease, hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, obesity and kidney disease.

Yet people can’t resist. And the reason for that is pretty simple. Sugar is addictive. And we don’t mean addictive in that way that people talk about delicious foods. We mean addictive, literally, in the same way as drugs. And the food industry is doing everything it can to keep us hooked.

Up until just a few hundred years ago, concentrated sugars were essentially absent from the human diet — besides, perhaps, the fortuitous find of small quantities of wild honey. Sugar would have been a rare source of energy in the environment, and strong crav-ings for it would have benefited human survival. Sugar cravings would have prompted searches for sweet foods, the kind that help us layer on fat and store energy for times of scarcity.

Today added sugar is everywhere, used in approximately 75 per-cent of packaged foods purchased in the United States alone. The average American consumes anywhere from a quarter to a half pound of sugar a day. If you consider that the added sugar in a single can of soda might be more than most people would have consumed in an entire year, just a few hundred years ago, you get a sense of how dramatically our environment has changed. The sweet crav-ing that once offered a survival advantage now works against us.

Whereas natural sugar sources like whole fruits and vegeta-bles are generally not very concentrated because the sweetness is buffered by water, fibre and other constituents, modern indus-trial sugar sources are unnaturally potent and quickly provide a big hit. Natural whole foods like beets are stripped of their water, fibre, vitamins, minerals and all other beneficial components to

produce purified sweetness. All that’s left are pure, white, sugary crystals.

A comparison to drugs would not be misplaced here. Similar refinement process-es transform other plants like poppies and coca into heroin and cocaine. Refined sugars also affect people’s bodies and brains.

Substance use disorders, defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, exist when at least two to three symp-toms from a list of 11 are present. In animal models, sugar produces at least three symptoms consistent with substance abuse and de-pendence — cravings, toler-ance and withdrawal. Other druglike properties of sugar include (but are not lim-ited to) cross-sensitisation,

cross-tolerance, cross-dependence, reward, opioid effects and oth-er neurochemical changes in the brain. In animal studies, animals experience sugar like a drug and can become sugar-addicted. One study has shown that if given the choice, rats will choose sugar over cocaine in lab settings because the reward is greater; the “high” is more pleasurable.

In humans, the situation may not be very different. Sugar stimu-lates brain pathways just as an opioid would, and sugar has been found to be habit-forming in people. Cravings induced by sugar are comparable to those induced by addictive drugs like cocaine and nicotine. And although other food components may also be pleas-urable, sugar may be uniquely addictive in the food world. For in-stance, functional M.R.I. tests involving milkshakes demonstrate that it’s the sugar, not the fat, that people crave. Sugar is added to foods by an industry whose goal is to engineer products to be as irresistible and addictive as possible. How can we kick this habit? One route is to make foods and drinks with added sugar more ex-pensive, through higher taxes. Another would be to remove sugar-sweetened beverages from places like schools and hospitals or to regulate sugar-added products just as we do alcohol and tobacco, for instance, by putting restrictions on advertising and by slapping on warning labels.

But as we suggested in two academic papers, one on salt and sug-ar in the journal Open Heart and the other on sugar and calories in Public Health Nutrition, focusing narrowly on added sugar could have unintended consequences. It could prompt the food industry to inject something equally or more harmful into processed foods, as an alternative.

A better approach to sugar rehab is to promote the consumption of whole, natural foods. Substituting whole foods for sweet indus-trial concoctions may be a hard sell, but in the face of an industry that is exploiting our biological nature to keep us addicted, it may be the best solution for those who need that sugar fix. - James J. Dinicolantonio and Sean C. Lucan/The New York Times News Service

Up until just a few hundred years ago,

concentrated sugars were essentially

absent from the human diet, besides,

perhaps, the fortuitous find of small

quantities of wild honey

A comparison to drugs would not be misplaced here. Similar refinement processes transform other plants like poppies and coca into heroin and cocaine. Refined sugars also affect people’s bodies and brains

WE have all heard the expression “necessity is the mother of invention,” penned by Jonathan Swift. It was amended by Mark Twain (“necessity is the mother of taking chances”) and Thorstein Veblen (“invention is the mother of necessity”).

How does Swift’s line apply to this deal? South is in three no-trump. After West leads his fourth-highest spade, what should declarer do?

North was aggressive in jumping straight to three no-trump. But he decided that if his diamond suit was worth five tricks, the contract would probably make. Alternatively, if partner could not get more than two or three tricks from the suit, probably even two no-trump would be too high. Also, by not inviting game, he kept the defenders in the dark about the strength of South’s hand.

Note that if North had raised to two no-trump, South would have had a close decision. Yes, he had only 15 high-card points, an apparent minimum, but he had three aces, one king and respectable spot cards. So it would have been reasonable to bid game, especially when vulnerable.

Now back to the play in three no-trump. South started with eight top tricks: two hearts, five diamonds and one club. He needed a ninth from somewhere.

At the table, South played a low spade from the dummy at trick one. East won with his jack and returned the suit, giving the defenders the first five tricks.

It was a necessity for South to call for dummy’s spade queen. His best chance of not only a spade trick but also his ninth winner was that West had underled the ace-king. If East had either of those honors, the contract was almost certainly unmakable.

Phillip Alder

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ENTERTAINMENT

You have to do what you have to do

B I G N A T E

B O R N L O S E R

M A R M A D U K E

A C E S O N B R I D G E

K I D S P O T H E A L T H C A P S U L EC R O S S W O R D

Ans

wer

to p

revi

ous

puzz

le

WITH LOVE

Previous puzzle Solution

HOW TO PLAY Fill the empty cells with the numbers 1 to 9, so that each number appears once in each row, column and area. — Seven Galaxies

S U D O K U

S U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 4

Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 16 years) whose birthday you are celebrating, along with his/her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and parents’/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi or through e-mail to extra@timesofoman.com

25 Promise to pay26 Mr. Kingsley28 Pipe material29 Neptune’s

kingdom30 Cookbook amt.32 Happy shout33 Callous35 Astronaut’s org.36 Yecch!

38 Things on a list39 Query starter40 Drift here and yon41 Nefertiti’s god42 Furtive whisper44 Pocket jingler45 Put away gear47 Luau strummer48 Spanish hero El —50 Dangerous curve

ACROSS 1 Tea time, perhaps 5 Driver’s need, at

times 8 Ripoff12 Unfounded, as

rumors13 Clamor14 Go at an easy gait15 Actress Dobrev16 Sunday entree (2

wds.)18 Cheesy snack20 Looks at

flirtatiously21 Sisters’ clothes24 Intuitions27 Daisy — Yokum28 Seattle hrs.31 Worked the soil32 Paraffin33 Currier’s partner34 Pleasure35 Wassail

alternative36 Pop a top37 Anchors —!39 Stoles43 Dull sounds46 Pungent

condiment (2 wds.)

49 Tiny pest51 Forum hellos52 Rapper Lil’ —53 Major Hoople or

General Halftrack54 Oasis abode55 Mag. staffers56 Current events

DOWN 1 Shark giveaway 2 Valhalla host 3 Humerus

neighbor 4 Contacted 5 Pulsate 6 Ja, to Jacques 7 Amazon milieu 8 Plod heavily 9 Glowing ember10 Nave neighbour11 N.Y. nine17 Increased, as

prices19 Owns22 PR matter23 Take a toll on24 Channels 2-13

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SIDRA AZAMDecember 28, 2009

NOEL J, THOTTUNGALDecember 28, 2004

C10

FIND-IT-ALLS U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 14

PHARMACIESRound the clockAl Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24783334; Appolo Medical Centre, Hamriya: 24782666; Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24702542, Salalah: 23291635; Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra: 24503585Muscat RegionApollo, Al Hamriya. Tel: 24787766Muscat, A Seeb Market. Tel: 24421691Muscat, Al Khuwair. Tel: 24485740Muscat, Al Hail South. Tel: 24537080Dhofar RegionMuscat, Al Nahdha Road, Salalah. Tel: 23291635

HOSPITALSAl Amal Medical & Health Care Centre: 24485052Atlas Hospital: Ruwi: 24811743/ Ghubra: 24504000Al Musafir Specialised Medical Clinic: 24706453Hatat Polyclinic LLC,Ruwi: 24563641, Azaiba: 24499269, Sohar: 2683006Al Raffah Hospital: 24618900/1/2Al Massaraat Clinic & Laboratory: 24566435Al Makook Medical Coordinance Centre: 24499434Apollo Medical Centre, Hamriya: 24787766, 24787780Capital Polyclinic: 24707549Badr Al Samaa Polyclinic, Ruwi: 24799760/1/2Capital Clinic, Seeb: 24420740Ceregem National Raak: 24485633Dr Harub’s Clinic: 24563217Elixir Health Centre: 24565802Emirates Medical Centre: 246045401st Chiropractic Centre: 24472274Hamdan Hospital: 23212340International Medical Centre LLC: 24794501/2/3/4/5Kims Oman Hospital: 24760100

24 Hrs Emergency: 24760123Lama Polyclinic, Sohar: 26751128, MBD: 24799077, Al Khuwair: 24478818Magrabi Eye and Ear Hospital: 24568870Muscat Private Hospital: 24583600Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, Al Khuwair: 24477666Al-Hayat Polyclinc LLC: 22004000

ROYAL OMAN POLICEEmergencies and inquiries: 9999General Directorate of Passport and Residence: 24569603Directorate General of Customs: 24521109Traffic violations inquiries: 24510228Public Relations Admin: 24560099

ACCOMMODATIONAl Bahjah Hotel: 24424400Al Bustan Palace: 24764000 Al Khuwair Hotel Apartments: 24478171Al Madina Holiday Inn: 24596400Al Maha International Hotel: 24494949Al Fanar Hotel: 24712385Al Falaj Hotel: 24702311Al Qurum Resort: 24605945Azaiba Hotel Apartments: 24490979Beach Hotel: 24696601Bowshar Hotel: 24491105Coral Hotel Muscat: 24692121Crowne Plaza Muscat: 24660660Crystal Suites: 24826100Golden Tulip Seeb: 24510300Grand Hyatt Muscat: 24641234Haffa House Hotel: 24707207Hotel Muscat Holiday: 24487123InterContinental Muscat: 24680000Majan Continental Hotel: 24592900Marina Hotel: 24711711Midan Hotel Suites: 24499565Mina Hotel: 24711828Muttrah Hotel: 24798401

Nuzha Hotel Apartments: 24789199Oman Dive Centre: 24824240Park Inn: 24507888Qurum Beach House Hotel: 24564070Radisson Blu Hotel: 24487777Ramee Dream Resort Seeb: 24453399Ramee Guestline Hotel: 24564443Ruwi Hotel: 24704244Safeer Hotel Suites: 24691200Sheraton Oman Hotel: 24772772Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa: 24776666The Chedi Muscat: 24524400The Treasurebox Muscat Hotel: 24502570

AIRLINE OFFICESMuscat Airport Flight information (24 hours): 24519456/24519223Aeroflot: 24704455, Air Arabia: 24700828, Air France: 24562153, Air India: 24799801, Air New Zealand: 24700732, Biman Bangladesh Airlines: 24701128, British Airways: 24568777, Cathay Pacific: 24789818, Egypt Air: 24794113, Emirates Air: 24404400, Ethiopian Airlines: 24660313, Gulf Air: 80072424, Indian: 24791914, Iran Air: 24787423, Japan Airlines: 24704455, Jazeera Airways: 23294848, Jet Airways: 24787248, Kenya Airways: 24660300, KML Royal Dutch Airlines: 24566737, Kuwait Airways: 24701262, LOT Polish Airlines: 24796387, Lufthansa: 24796692, Malaysian Airlines: 24560796, Middle East Airlines: 24796680, Oman Air: 24531111, Pakistan International Airlines: 24792471, Qatar Airways: 24771900, Qantas: 24559941, Royal Jordanian: 24796693, Saudi Arabian Airlines: 24789485, Singapore Airlines: 24791233, Shaheen Air: 24816565, SriLankan Airlines:

24784545, Swiss International Airlines: 24796692, Thai Airways: 24705934, Turkish Airlines: 24703033

MUSEUMSBait Al Baranda: Corniche (seafront opp fish market), Open from Saturday to Thursday 9am to 1pm and 4 to 6pmNatural History Museum: Al Khuwair, Tel: 24604957, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm; Thursday: 9am to 1pmMuseum of Omani Heritage: (former Omani Museum), Madinat Al Alam, Sat-Wed 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday - 9am to 1pm, Tel: 24600946Armed Forces Museum: Bait Al Falaj, Tel: 24312651, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm; Thurs 9-12pm and 3-6pm; Fri 9-11am and 3-6pm. Al Hoota Caves 24498258; Turtle Beach 96550606/96550707Children’s Science Museum: Shatti Al Qurum, Tel: 24605368, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pmOman-French Museum: near Muscat Police Station, Tel: 24736613, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm, Thurs: 9am to 1pmBait Al Zubair, Muscat: Tel: 24736688, Al Saidiya St., Muscatmuseum@baitalzubairmuseum.comOpen from Sat to Thurs: 9:30am to 6pm.National Museum Ruwi: Tel: 24701289, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pmSohar Fort Museum: Tel: 26844758, Open from Saturday to Wed: 8 to 1:30pm Thurs: 9am to 1pmMuscat Gate Museum: at Al Bahri Road, Muscat open from Sat to Wed 8am to 2pm

PRAYER TIMINGS

W E A T H E R

Dhuhr 12.14pm

Asr 3.14pm

Maghrib 5.34pm

Isha 6.50pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 5.27am

Sunset 5:29pm

Sunrise (Tomorrow) 6:47am

High tide 1:07pm 1:51am

Low tide 7.21pm 8:34am

OMAN

Max 27Min 19

Max 25Min 15

Max 25Min 17

Max 25Min 10

Max 28Min 18Max 26

Min 10

Max 27Min 12

Max 27 Min 25

Mainly clear skies over most of the Sultanate with chances of late night to early morning low level clouds or fog patches over governorates of Al-Buraimi, Al-Dhahira, most of the

Sultanate coasts.EXPECTED WIND: Wind will be northerly to northwesterly light to moderate over most of the Sultanate becoming light variable at night and be northeasterly light to moderate occasionally fresh along Arabian Sea coast.SEA STATE: Moderate to rough along the southeastern coast with a maximum wave height of 2.5 metres and slight along Musandam

western coast and Oman Sea coast with a maximum wave height of 1.25 metres.HORIZONTAL VISIBILITY: Good over most of the Sultanate becoming poor during fog formation.THE NEXT 48 HOURS OUTLOOK: Stable weather over most of the Sultanate. Chances of late night to early morning low level clouds or fog patches over coastal areas of the Sultanate and the governorates of Al-Buraimi, Al-Dhahira, Musandam, North Al-Sharqiya, Al-Wusta and parts of Dhofar.

Max Min

GULFAbu Dhabi 26 19Doha 26 19Dubai 27 18Kuwait 28 11Manama 23 18Riyadh 29 16

WORLDAthens 14 10Baghdad 16 9Beijing 7 5Berlin -1 -3Boston 9 1Cairo 20 9Colombo 25 24Frankfurt 2 -3Hong Kong 17 12Istanbul 18 5Johannesburg 23 14Kuala Lumpur 32 24Lisbon 14 4Paris 0 -4Perth 29 19Singapore 31 25Tokyo 9 2Toronto 2 -2

WORLD

Max 9Min 3

Max 19Min 6

Max 9Min 1

Max 27Min 12

Max 17Min 7

Max 22Min 17

Max -8Min -16

Max 28Min 21

SUNDAYFLT NO ARRIVALS FROM ETA WY406 CAIRO  0005WY676 JEDDAH  0005WY682 RIYADH  0005WY648 KUWAIT  0010WY904 SALALAH  0015WY816 BANGKOK  0015WY824 KUALA LUMPUR  0055WY916 SALALAH  01504H583 DACCA  0200NL669 SIALKOT  0200TK776 ISTANBUL-BAHRAIN  0300QR1132 DOHA  0345ET624 ADDIS ABABA  0350EK866 DUBAI  0355GF560 BAHRAIN  0405EY384 ABU DHABI  0405FZ041 DUBAI  0415WY324 KARACHI  0540WY686 RIYADH  0600WY902 SALALAH  06304H584 DOHA  0640WY638 ABU DHABI  0650WY658 BAHRAIN  0700WY668 DOHA  0710WY674 JEDDAH  0730WY602 DUBAI  0805WY202 BOMBAY  0815WY102 LONDON HEATHROW  0820FZ043 DUBAI  0850WY274 JAIPUR  0855NL768 LAHORE  0900G9114 SHARJAH  0915WY236 HYDERABAD  0920WY242 DELHI  0920WY226 COCHIN  0930EK862 DUBAI  0940WY252 MADRAS  0940WY212 TRIVANDRUM  0940WY346 ISLAM ABBAD  0955QR1128 DOHA  1010EY382 ABU DHABI  1015IX549 TRIVANDRUM  1020WY3302 MUKHAIZNA  1045WY282 BANGALORE  1100WY3922 DUQUM OMAN  1105WY604 DUBAI  1110G9841 RAS AL KHAIMA  1120WY372 COLOMBO  1130FZ037 DUBAI  1200WY424 BEIRUT  1205IX337 CALICUT  1210PK223 PESHAWAR  1220WY606 DUBAI  1330WY918 KHASAB  1440WY906 SALALAH  1445WY812 BANGKOK  1525WY656 BAHRAIN  1530WY632 ABU DHABI  1535FZ045 DUBAI  1555WY204 BOMBAY  1710WY292 CALICUT  1720WY610 DUBAI  1730WY246 DELHI  1730WY264 LUCKNOW  1735WY232 HYDERABAD  1740WY664 DOHA  1745QR1126 DOHA  1745GF564 BAHRAIN  1810WY3306 MUKHAIZNA  1845G9116 SHARJAH  1915WY254 MADRAS  1920TG507 BANGKOK-KARACHI  1935FZ047 DUBAI  1945WY434 TEHRAN  2000WY614 DUBAI  2030WY914 SALALAH  2035WY386 MALE  2110WY152 ZURICH  2110WY312 CHITTAGONG  2115WY116 FRANKFURT  2115WY124 MUNICH  2115KL441 AMSTERDAM-DOHA  2120WY144 MALPENSA  2120AI973 DELHI  2125WY624 DUBAI  21256.00E+81 BOMBAY  2130WY134 PARIS  2130WY414 AMMAN  2135FZ049 DUBAI  2145AI907 MADRAS  2200QR1134 DOHA  2210UL205 COLOMBO  2225GF566 BAHRAIN  2240EY388 ABU DHABI  2250BA073 LONDON HEATHROW-ABU DHABI  2255WY908 SALALAH  2305AI985 AHMEDABAD-BOMBAY  2310WY648 KUWAIT  2315LX242 ZURICH-DUBAI  23209W540 BOMBAY  2325WY654 BAHRAIN  2330LH618 FRANKFURT-ABU DHABI  2330WY612 DUBAI  2335WY696 DAMMAM  2350WY910 SALALAH  2355WY928 SALALAH  2355WY717 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM  2355

MONDAYFLT NO ARRIVALS FROM ETA

WY676 JEDDAH  0005WY406 CAIRO  0005WY682 RIYADH  0005BG021 DACCA-CHITTAGONG  0100WY916 SALALAH  01504H583 DACCA  0200TK776 ISTANBUL-BAHRAIN  0300QR1132 DOHA  0345EK866 DUBAI  0355GF560 BAHRAIN  0405EY384 ABU DHABI  0405FZ041 DUBAI  0415WY902 SALALAH  0630WY638 ABU DHABI  0650WY638 ABU DHABI  0650WY324 KARACHI  0700WY686 RIYADH  0700WY658 BAHRAIN  0700WY674 JEDDAH  0730WY672 MEDINA  0745WY602 DUBAI  0805WY202 BOMBAY  0815WY102 LONDON HEATHROW  0820FZ043 DUBAI  0850G9114 SHARJAH  0915WY242 DELHI  0920WY236 HYDERABAD  0920WY918 KHASAB  0930WY226 COCHIN  0930WY252 MADRAS  0940WY212 TRIVANDRUM  0940WY346 ISLAM ABBAD  0940EK862 DUBAI  0940QR1128 DOHA  1010EY382 ABU DHABI  10159W530 TRIVANDRUM  1035WY342 LAHORE  1100WY272 JAIPUR  1100WY282 BANGALORE  1100WY604 DUBAI  1110WY372 COLOMBO  1140FZ037 DUBAI  1200WY384 MALE  1205IX337 CALICUT  1210WY332 KATHMANDU  1210PA450 LAHORE  1215WY904 SALALAH  1215WY818 BANGKOK  1235WY606 DUBAI  1330WY3302 MUKHAIZNA  1330WY906 SALALAH  1415WY656 BAHRAIN  1530WY632 ABU DHABI  1535FZ045 DUBAI  1555WY204 BOMBAY  1710WY292 CALICUT  1720WY610 DUBAI  1730WY246 DELHI  1730WY3304 MUKHAIZNA  1730WY264 LUCKNOW  1735WY232 HYDERABAD  1740WY664 DOHA  1745QR1126 DOHA  1745EK864 DUBAI  1800GF564 BAHRAIN  1810WY3922 DUQUM OMAN  1900WY646 KUWAIT  1900G9116 SHARJAH  1915WY254 MADRAS  1920FZ047 DUBAI  1945WY434 TEHRAN  2000WY614 DUBAI  2030AI977 BANGALORE-HYDERABAD  2105KL441 AMSTERDAM-DOHA  2120WY624 DUBAI  2125AI973 DELHI  2125WY312 CHITTAGONG  21256.00E+81 BOMBAY  2130WY414 AMMAN  21359W534 COCHIN  2140FZ049 DUBAI  2145AI907 MADRAS  2200QR1134 DOHA  2210WY338 KATHMANDU  2235GF566 BAHRAIN  2240EY388 ABU DHABI  2250BA073 LONDON HEATHROW-ABU DHABI  2250SG061 AHMEDABAD  2300WY908 SALALAH  2305AI985 AHMEDABAD-BOMBAY  2310WY662 DOHA  2315LX242 ZURICH-DUBAI  23209W540 BOMBAY  2325WY654 BAHRAIN  2330LH618 FRANKFURT-ABU DHABI  2330WY612 DUBAI  2335WY914 SALALAH  2345WY696 DAMMAM  2350WY636 ABU DHABI  2350WY717 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM  2355WY910 SALALAH  2355

FLT NO DEPARTURES TO ETD AI986 BOMBAY  0005LX243 DUBAI-ZURICH  0020BA072 ABU DHABI-LONDON HEATHROW  00259W539 BOMBAY  0025LH619 ABU DHABI-FRANKFURT  0050WY685 RIYADH  0105WY811 BANGKOK  0105WY323 KARACHI  0105WY211 TRIVANDRUM  0110WY251 MADRAS  0110WY201 BOMBAY  0120WY225 COCHIN  0125WY235 HYDERABAD  0135WY273 JAIPUR  0140WY601 DUBAI  0150WY341 LAHORE  0150WY151 ZURICH  0155WY241 DELHI  0155WY281 BANGALORE  0200WY423 BEIRUT  0200WY657 BAHRAIN  0205WY637 ABU DHABI  0205WY371 COLOMBO  0210WY123 MUNICH  0210WY133 PARIS  0215WY115 FRANKFURT  0215WY667 DOHA  0220WY143 MALPENSA  0225WY345 ISLAM ABBAD  02504H584 DUBAI-DACCA  0300NL772 PESHAWAR  0330TK777 BAHRAIN-ISTANBUL  0350ET625 ADDIS ABABA  0450EK867 DUBAI  0455FZ042 DUBAI  0510QR1133 DOHA  0520EY385 ABU DHABI  0525WY3301 MUKHAIZNA  0715WY3921 DUQUM OMAN  07204H584 DACCA  0740GF561 BAHRAIN  0745WY903 SALALAH  0800WY603 DUBAI  0800WY291 CALICUT  0920WY263 LUCKNOW  0920FZ044 DUBAI  0935WY245 DELHI  0955WY231 HYDERABAD  0955G9115 SHARJAH  1005WY905 SALALAH  1030WY203 BOMBAY  1030NL769 LAHORE  1030WY605 DUBAI  1030WY253 MADRAS  1040WY311 CHITTAGONG  1040WY717 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM  1045EK863 DUBAI  1055EY383 ABU DHABI  1105IX554 TRIVANDRUM  1110WY655 BAHRAIN  1110QR1129 DOHA  1115WY3303 MUKHAIZNA  1115WY917 KHASAB  1140WY331 KATHMANDU  1205G9842 RAS AL KHAIMA  1210WY631 ABU DHABI  1225IX350 CALICUT  1310FZ038 DUBAI  1315PK224 PESHAWAR  1320WY663 DOHA  1330WY413 AMMAN  1330WY101 LONDON HEATHROW  1330WY433 TEHRAN  1340WY927 SALALAH  1415WY609 DUBAI  1420WY405 CAIRO  1430WY3305 MUKHAIZNA  1515WY675 JEDDAH  1630WY913 SALALAH  1630FZ046 DUBAI  1700WY613 DUBAI  1700WY623 DUBAI  1820WY681 RIYADH  1845QR1127 DOHA  1845WY907 SALALAH  1850GF565 BAHRAIN  1855WY647 KUWAIT  1900WY661 DOHA  1900WY695 DAMMAM  1910WY653 BAHRAIN  1910WY909 SALALAH  1940G9117 SHARJAH  2005WY611 DUBAI  2025WY635 ABU DHABI  2030FZ048 DUBAI  2040TG508 KARACHI-BANGKOK  2040WY825 KUALA LUMPUR  2110WY915 SALALAH  2135FZ050 DUBAI  2225KL442 DOHA-AMSTERDAM  2230WY817 BANGKOK  22356.00E+82 BOMBAY  2245AI908 MADRAS  2300AI974 DELHI  2310QR1135 DOHA  2320GF567 BAHRAIN  2325UL206 COLOMBO  2335EY381 ABU DHABI  2350WY673 JEDDAH  2350WY901 SALALAH  2350WY671 MEDINA  2350

FLT NO DEPARTURES TO ETD AI986 BOMBAY  0005LX243 DUBAI-ZURICH  00209W539 BOMBAY  0025BA072 ABU DHABI-LONDON HEATHROW  0025LH619 ABU DHABI-FRANKFURT  0050WY685 RIYADH  0105WY211 TRIVANDRUM  0110WY251 MADRAS  0110WY201 BOMBAY  0120WY225 COCHIN  0125WY235 HYDERABAD  0135WY601 DUBAI  0150WY345 ISLAM ABBAD  0150WY341 LAHORE  0150WY241 DELHI  0155WY281 BANGALORE  0200WY637 ABU DHABI  0205WY657 BAHRAIN  0205WY323 KARACHI  0210WY371 COLOMBO  0210WY667 DOHA  0220WY383 MALE  0235BG022 CHITTAGONG-DACCA  02504H584 DACCA  0300TK777 BAHRAIN-ISTANBUL  0350WY271 JAIPUR  0350EK867 DUBAI  0455FZ042 DUBAI  0510QR1133 DOHA  0520EY385 ABU DHABI  0525WY917 KHASAB  0630GF561 BAHRAIN  0745WY3931 SOHAR  0800WY903 SALALAH  0800WY603 DUBAI  0800WY291 CALICUT  0920WY263 LUCKNOW  0920FZ044 DUBAI  0935WY245 DELHI  0955WY231 HYDERABAD  0955WY3301 MUKHAIZNA  1000G9115 SHARJAH  1005WY815 BANGKOK  1010WY905 SALALAH  1020WY203 BOMBAY  1030WY605 DUBAI  1030WY311 CHITTAGONG  1040WY253 MADRAS  1040WY717 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM  1045EK863 DUBAI  1055EY383 ABU DHABI  1105WY655 BAHRAIN  1110QR1129 DOHA  11159W533 COCHIN  1135WY631 ABU DHABI  1225IX350 CALICUT  1310WY337 KATHMANDU  1310PA451 LAHORE  1315FZ038 DUBAI  1315WY413 AMMAN  1330WY101 LAHORE  1330WY663 DOHA  1330WY433 TEHRAN  1340WY645 KUWAIT  1340WY113 FRANKFURT  1345WY3303 MUKHAIZNA  1400WY153 MALPENSA-ZURICH  1405WY121 MUNICH  1415WY131 PARIS  1420WY609 DUBAI  1420WY405 CAIRO  1430WY3921 DUQUM OMAN  1515WY675 JEDDAH  1630WY613 DUBAI  1700FZ046 DUBAI  1700WY623 DUBAI  1820WY681 RIYADH  1845QR1127 DOHA  1845WY907 SALALAH  1850GF565 BAHRAIN  1855WY647 KUWAIT  1900WY661 DOHA  1900WY653 BAHRAIN  1910WY695 DAMMAM  1910EK865 DUBAI  1915WY909 SALALAH  1940WY913 SALALAH  1950G9117 SHARJAH  2005WY611 DUBAI  2025WY635 ABU DHABI  2030FZ048 DUBAI  2040WY915 SALALAH  2135AI978 HYDERABAD-BANGALORE  2200FZ050 DUBAI  2225WY421 BEIRUT  2230KL442 DOHA-AMSTERDAM  22309W529 TRIVANDRUM  2240WY411 AMMAN  22406.00E+82 BOMBAY  2245AI908 MADRAS  2300AI974 DELHI  2310QR1135 DOHA  2320GF567 BAHRAIN  2325WY434 SALALAH  2350WY673 JEDDAH  2350EY381 ABU DHABI  2350

A I R L I N E S

LONG DISTANCE BUS TIMINGS (OMAN NATIONAL TRANSPORT COMPANY SAOC) *SUBJECT TO CHANGE

QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (Route 36)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 15:00 Quriyat 16:30 Daily15:00 Sur 18:00 Daily15:00 Jaalan 19:30 Daily

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (Route 36)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41)06:30 Sohar 08:50 Daily06:30 Buraimi 11:00 Daily08:00 Buraimi 14:30 Daily via Ibri13:00 Sohar 15:45 Daily13:00 Buraimi 17:40 Daily 16.00 Sohar 18.35 Daily 16.00 Buraimi 20:20 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41)07:00 Sohar 08:55 Daily07:00 Ruwi 11:40 Daily13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri13:00 Sohar 14:55 Daily13:00 Ruwi 17:40 Daily 13:00 Sohar 19:20 Daily 17:00 Ruwi 22:15 Daily

TO SINAW (Route 52)17:30 Sinaw 20:50 Daily

TO SINAW (Route 52)07:00 Ruwi 10:25 Daily

To Yanqul (Route 54)14:30 Nizwa 16:50 Daily14:30 Yanqul 19:30 Daily

To Yanqul (Route 54)06:00 Nizwa 08:40 Daily06:00 Ruwi 11:00 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54)08:00 Nizwa 10:20 Daily08:00 Al Araqi 12:30 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54)15:40 Nizwa 17:55 Daily15:40 Ruwi 20:20 Daily

TO SUR (Route 55)07:30 Sur 12:00 Daily14:30 Sur 18:45 Daily

TO SUR (Route 55)06:00 Ruwi 10:45 Daily14:30 Ruwi 19:00 Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (Route 62)06:30 Fahud 10:30 Daily06:30 Yibal 11:15 Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (Route 62)12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily12:30 Ruwi 17:30 Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201)06:00 Sohar 08:30 Daily06:00 Dubai 11:30 Daily13:00 Sohar 15:30 Wed,Thur13:00 Dubai 18:30 Wed,Thur15:00 Sohar 17:35 Daily15:00 Dubai 20:55 Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201)07:30 Sohar 10:50 Daily07:30 Ruwi 13:40 Daily13:00 Sohar 16:15 Thur-Fri13:00 Ruwi 19:10 Thur-Fri15:30 Sohar 18:45 Daily15:30 Ruwi 21:35 Daily

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (Route 100)07:00 Salalah 20:00 Daily10:00 Marmul 20:30 Daily10:00 Salalah 23:30 Daily19:00 Salalah 07:40 Daily

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (Route 100)07:00 Ruwi 19:50 Daily10:00 Marmul 13:15 Daily10:00 Ruwi 22:30 Daily19:00 Ruwi 07:30 Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101)06:00 Marmul 16:50 Daily

SALALAH TO DUBAI (Route 102)15:00 Dubai 07:00 Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101)06:00 Marmul 16:30 Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (Route 102)15:00 Salalah 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily 07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily 07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily 16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI) TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

LISTINGS

BORN today, you are dedicated to doing your best, no matter what you choose to do. This is true whether you are engaged in personal difficulties, professional endeavours, recreational activities or anything else. The distinction between work and hobby is irrelevant to you; whatever you do, you do to the best of your ability. This is sure to win you a stellar reputation; others know that if they call on you to join forces with them, they will be getting the best! The only question will be your availability, for it is likely that many requests will be made of you on a daily basis. You are a superb teammate, as you always seem to know not only what needs to be done, but why — and you will always work for the overall good of the group.

You aren’t the kind to pin yourself down to a single line of work; you enjoy having the freedom to explore this avenue or that creative outlet, and you will often explore more than one at a time. Where multitaskers are valued, you are probably the most highly valued of all!

Also born on this date are: Jordin Sparks, singer; Ralph Fiennes, actor; Robin Gibb, singer; Maurice Gibb, singer; Diane Sawyer, journalist; Barbara Billingsley, actress; Charles de Lint, author; Hector Elizondo, actor; Gene Rayburn, game show host; Giacomo Puccini, composer; Connie Mack, baseball manager.

You have a choice to make: Do you want to continue along the same course, not knowing what will come of it, or shift to a sure thing?

VIRGO [AUG. 23-SEPT. 22]

LIBRA [SEPT. 23-OCT. 22] LLLLLLLLLLLLLLL[S[S[S[S[[[S[[S[S[S[[S[S[SSS[SS[SSSS

SCORPIO [OCT. 23-NOV. 21] S[

SAGITTARIUS [NOV. 22-DEC. 21] S[[[[[[[[[[[[[[

AQUARIUS [JAN. 20-FEB. 18]

You can get more done simply by doing what comes naturally than by trying to adopt another’s methods. Stick to what you know.

You can give someone special a little more attention. He or she may be surprised by the depth of your feelings!

It’s a good day to put that certain plan into motion, but it may be tricky to keep someone from finding out what you’re doing!

You’re eager to put aside certain responsibilities for the time being and enjoy some social time with family and friends. Get the job done!

The pace may be faster today than you had expected, but you are well-equipped to deal with what transpires in your own inimitable fashion.

You may want to talk with a friend or family member about certain activities that are not altogether traditional. Objections will be few.

You may be playing cat-and-mouse with someone who is eager to engage you in a new way. But are you the cat or the mouse?

PISCES [Feb. 19-March 20]

You’ve been moving a little more slowly than usual, but you’ll be able to pick up the pace in order to address a friend’s major concerns.

GEMINI [MAY 21-JUNE 20]

CANCER [JUNE 21-JULY 22]

LEO [JULY 23-AUG. 22]

CAPRICORN [DEC. 22-JAN 19]

Y O U R B I R T H D A Y

ARIES [March 21-APRIL 19]

TAURUS [APRIL 20-MAY 20]

You are looking forward to something quite enjoyable in the days to come. How you approach a family member’s request will set the tone.

You are in the right place to satisfy the needs of a friend or loved one. The only question you have concerns the timing of your efforts.

You may be overcomplicating things. A close look at your methods will reveal to you a new and simpler option.

-www.met.gov.om

C11

EXTRAS U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 4

Men become better at multitasking, more empathic, and more forgetful as they help

raise their young children, according to a new study

New fathers experience brain change to bond with children

Men become better fathers in the early months of child rearing as their

brains change — becoming more motherly.

Researchers from Yale Univer-sity scanned the brains of 16 uni-versity-educated professionals at different stages of their young child’s life, and discovered that be-coming a father can trigger a ma-jor brain chemistry change.

The study, the first to look at the neurological changes brought about by fatherhood, concluded that fathers who are involved in bringing up their children adapt quickly and become as suited to parenthood as mothers.

Among the changes to the fa-ther’s brain is the expansion of grey matter, shrinking grey mat-ter elsewhere and a larger pre-frontal cortex.

These changes manifest as in-creased emotional response, im-

proved multitasking and also a worse memory.

Researchers found that gay fathers experience the same brain change if they are involved in raising the child. The study, published in the journal So-cial Neuroscience, concluded: “These early father-infant inter-actions and emotional bonding become the basis of the father-infant attachment, which has a long-lasting impact on cognitive functions and social attachment for offspring.

“The findings may thus lead to the identification of specific brain regions of potential importance for early father-infant attachment.”

Researcher Ruth Feldman, a psychology professor from Bar-Ilan University, said this is just the beginning.

She told the Sunday Times: “It was already known that women’s brains develop the greatest number

of new connections after childbirth.“We have now shown that fa-

thers’ brains are sensitive to the experience of child-caring in those that are actively involved, but we don’t yet know what hap-pens longer term.” Here are seven ways in which a man’s brain is changed by fatherhood:

More grey matterThe growth of grey matter in the striatum, amygdala and hypothal-amus are the cause of the positive brain changes.

Better multitaskingThis is one of the key fatherhood adaptations, caused by that grow-ing grey matter.

More emotionally responsiveThe bond between father and child is strengthened by improved emotional responsiveness, and

this is seen to have a lasting posi-tive effect on the child as well.

Detecting babies’ needsFathers become increasingly per-ceptive of what their child is cry-ing out for - food, sleep, etc. More Like a Mother

It turns out that men are just as suited to parenthood as women, with the brain changes observed found to mirror those that moth-ers experience.

Worse memoryUnlike mothers, however, fa-thers see their memory retrieval ability deteriorate.

Worse decision-makingLikewise, as the father’s brain re-focuses on emotionality, the part of the brain in which complicated decisions are made becomes less active. -Zachary Davies Boren/The Independent

Gut bacteria helped humans to be resilient

A NEW study has found that microbes residing within the guts of our ances-tors helped them thrive and evolve into more stable and resilient populations. The human race survived because our ancestors were robust enough to han-dle environmental changes and the natural disasters they encountered, it added. To look at the microbiome’s ef-fects on people as they age, research-ers created a mathematical model to

simulate an ancient hunter-gatherer population. During the study, Martin Blaser, microbiologist at New York University’s Langone Medical Center, noticed that the stomach bacteria Helicobacter pylori could live symbiotically in people’s guts for decades, without causing them any harm. But it could also cause stomach ulcers and stomach cancer — a risk that grows with age. “I began thinking that a real symbiont is an organism that keeps you alive when you are young and kills you when you are old. That is not particularly good for you, but it’s good for the species,” Blaser was quoted as saying in a LiveScience report.

Brain variations may help treat OCD better

RESEARCHERS have discovered that identifying brain variations may help physicians predict who would respond positively to surgeries to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). OCD is a debilitating disor-der characterised by repetitive in-tentional behaviours and intrusive thoughts. Features of the anterior cingulate cortex (part of the brain that plays a role in a wide variety of functions, such as regulating blood pressure and heart rate) structure

and connectivity seemed to predict whether a patient would respond to the surgical treatment, the findings showed. “These results suggest that the variability seen in individual responses to a highly consistent, stereotyped procedure may be due to neuroanatomical variation in the patients,” said Gar-rett Banks from Columbia University, New York.

‘Timing’ key to leveraging social media marketing

THE SECRET to how certain prod-ucts create a ripple in social media while others fail despite working hard is hidden in a proper timing strategy of promotion, says a re-search. People in social networks are often influenced by each other’s de-cisions, resulting in a run of behav-iours in which their choices become highly correlated. “Our work began from the realisation that an organi-sation trying to guide the success of

a cascade sometimes has an interesting source of leverage un-der its control — the timing by which it introduces the cascade to different parts of the network,” said study co-author Jon Kleinberg from Cornell University. -IANS

SC I ENCE

What makes people intellectually humble?

DO YOU know why some people are “intellectually humble” from others? This is simply because they love learning so they spend time learn-ing from other people. According to a study, the two clusters of humble traits — the social and intellectual — often come as a package deal for people who are “intellec-tually humble”. “In many ways, this is the defining feature of ‘intellectual humility’ and what makes it distinct from general humility,” said lead study author Peter Samuelson. -IANS

STUDY

C12

EXTRAS U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 14

It’s family time in London for Shilpa Shetty

BOLLYWOOD actress Shilpa Shetty celebrated Christmas in London with her family and friends. The 39-year-old, who is married to British Indian businessman Raj Kundra, also cooked a delectable meal of turkey for the festival, courtesy a recipe by celeb-rity chef Jamie Oliver. “In London fr Christmas. Spent the day cooking nd celebrating with family and friends. Wish u all a Merry Christmas filled

with love :)” Shilpa posted on Twitter. “Did the turkey, gam-mon, stuffing with yorkshires and the works! Thank god fr Jamie Oliver’s tips;)” she added.

Rajkummar Rao dances with ‘talented’ Malaika

ACTOR Rajkummar Rao, who has danced for a change in Dolly Ki Doli, has thanked the film’s producer Ar-baaz Khan for giving him the chance to dance alongside Malaika Arora. “For those who haven’t seen it, tried my hands in this dance no. in Dolly ki Doli. There is lot more in the full song,” Rajkummar tweeted along with a link of the item song Fashion khatam mujh par. The 30-year-old took to social media Friday to express his gratitude

towards Arbaaz and director Abhishek Dogra. “Thank you sir @arbaazSkhan and @abhishekdograa for giving me this opportunity with Fashion Khatam with the most talented #malaikaarorakhan,” Rajkummar added. Dolly Ki Doli, which also stars Sonam Kapoor and the Fukrey boys Pulkit Samrat and Varun Sharma in pivotal roles, is set to hit the theatres in India in January, 2015.

I trust Anurag Kashyap blindly: Tejaswini Kolhapure

ACTRESS Tejaswini Kolhapure, whose debut film Paanch with Anu-rag Kashyap didn’t release, says she is a huge fan of the filmmaker’s work and she would blindly do any film with him. “I love Anurag’s films and if he gets any script, I will blindly do that,” said Tejaswini, the talented but underused sibling of Padmini Kol-hapure. “I trust him blindly. I don’t have to read his script to work with him,” she added. Directed by Kashyap,

Ugly features Rahul Bhatt and Ronit Roy. The reactions to it and her performance have so far been overwhelming. -IANS

B O L L Y W O O D

Cyber attackers claim they want to improve online security

What is the Lizard Squad and what you should knowStarting on Christmas Eve,

reports began emerging of problems with the networks

used by both Xbox Live and Play-Station which allow users of the consoles to play the video games with a wider online community. A group calling itself the Lizard Squad took to social media to claim responsibility, saying on Twitter: “Jingle bells jingle bells xbox got ran.”

Here are a flurry of facts about the group:1. Several technology experts have pointed out that the Lizard Squad members have not exactly hacked the games’ networks. Rath-er they have used so-called Dis-tributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks which overwhelm servers with massive amounts of fake traf-fic. This renders them inoperable.2. The website Winbeta.org said it conducted an interview

with a core member of the Lizard Squad and was told the attack on the networks had been carried out “for the laughs”. But the mem-ber said there was also a serious point to the attack and the group wanted the games’ manufacturers to upgrade online security. “Tak-ing down Microsoft and Sony net-works shows the companies’ in-ability to protect their consumers and instead shows their true vul-nerability,” the group member said in the encrypted conversation.3. The Lizard Squad had an-nounced their plans in advance. The member said the group had chosen Christmas Day as it would “anger and reach the largest amount of people — more people angry calls for a greater response from the companies”.4.The group member said the Lizard squad did not want to case genuine harm. The member told

Winbeta.org the group could take down the NASDAQ if they wanted to damage the economy, but that was “not the goal”.5. The Lizard Squad began to emerge earlier this year and be-came associated with a number of attacks on gaming networks, the Washington Post reported. It said this was not the first time the group had targeted Sony and Microsoft’s gaming networks. It claimed to have hit the PlaySta-tion network in August and Xbox in early December. The group also struck RiotGames’ League of Leg-ends and Blizzard’s Battle.net.6. In August, a Twitter account associated with the group tweet-ed out a bomb scare, forcing an American Airlines flight to make an emergency landing, the Wash-ington Post also reported. On board was Sony Online Entertain-ment President John Smedley.

The incident reportedly put Liz-ard Squad squarely in the sights of the FBI. For as-yet unexplained reasons, the group has also in-voked Islamic State in some of its social media posts.7. Engineers at both Xbox Live, which is owned by Microsoft, and PlayStation, which is owned by Sony, have been working to resolve the problem. By Friday afternoon, Microsoft claimed to have solved the issue while Play-Station was said to still be facing problems.8. A group calling itself The Finest Squad has gone to cyber blows with the Lizard Squad, an-nouncing its plan to bringing “cyber-criminals to justice”. The group has reportedly managed to break into the Twitter accounts of some Lizard Squad members and made public their real identities. -Andrew Buncombe/The Independent

B I R T H D A Y B O Y

SALMAN KHAN reportedly cel-ebrated his birthday Friday night at his farmhouse in Panvel with some of the known faces of Bolly-wood including filmmaker Karan Johar and actors Ajay Devgn, Pri-yanka Chopra and Sonakshi.

He also tweeted a picture of his birthday cake on Saturday morn-ing which had “Happy Birthday Bhai” written on it.

Later, the film fraternity took to Twitter to wish the Dabangg star. Preity Zinta: @BeingSalmanKhan Happy Birthday Salman wishing you loads of love, success, good health & blockbusters!

Sonakshi Sinha: Happy birth-day to @BeingSalmanKhan, Who has gone 10 steps beyond the original performance of o o jaane jaana last night. U the best!!!

Jacqueline Fernandez: And it’s the happiest day of all!! @Be-ingSalmanKhan mwaaahhhhhh #HappyBirthdaySalmanKhan

Bipasha Basu: Happy Birthday to the one n only @BeingSal-manKhan !Wish you extreme love peace happiness!

Sophie Choudry: Happy b’day to the amazing, forever hand-some, all heart @BeingSal-manKhan. - IANS

Salman Khan turns 49, wishes pour in

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

CONNECT H E D A I LY G U I D E

D

D4 VACANCY CARGO D7

S U N D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 4

RENT D2

New deluxe building in Misfah Industrial Area, 11 shops with A/C,

huge spaces including kitchens and bathrooms which can be used for

Contact - 98880333

DAILY GUIDE Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

New deluxe 2 BR fully furnished

& unfurnished with free Internet

available at Al Khuwair near KM

Hypermarket. Office space with cas-

sette type AC’s with partition with

free internet available at Al Khuwair

near KM Hypermarket.

Contact 99460330

Flat for rent at Al Amerat, Al Mahj.

1 BR + hall + 2 toilets + kitchen with 3

split units. Rent RO 200/-, payment

12 CHS one year. Contact 92796630

2 BR, 2 toilets, kitchen at

Al Mawaleh. Contact 99444786,

99747560

5 bedrooms villa with 2 halls, 4

bathrooms in Darsait behind Khimjis

Mart. Contact 24700120, 92584715

1,000 sq mtrs industrial land in

Misfah Industrial area near to Khan-

co. OMR 1,500 Monthly. Electricty

and boundary wall will be provided.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

1 BHK near Medical, Darsait.

RO 180/- Muttrah House.

Contact 98748925

We have 1 BHK, 2 BHK, 3 BHK flats,

4, 5 bedrooms villa, open space offic-

es & shops available in Ghala, Gho-

brah, Qurum, Mabela, Ruwi, Darsait,

Mumtaz, Wadi Kabir. All brand new

buildings & very affordable prices.

Contact 93782735 / 99208033

3 BHK flat in Al.Khuwair.

Contact - 99792181

1 BHK flat in Al.Khuwair 25.

Contact - 99792181

6 BHK commercial villa in

Ghobrah. Contact - 99792181

New shops and flats, 2 BR, 3 toilets,

building 497 opposite Mohammed

Al Ameen Mosque.

Contact 94006969

Flat for rent in Al Khuwair consists

of 2 bedrooms and living room at

RO 350. Contact 99109094

D2 S U N D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 4

Good villa in good area in

Al Wattayah, 5 rooms. If serious

please contact 95885537

Flat for rent 2 bedrooms one hall in

South Al Hail. RO 270.

Contact 93221474

1 & 3 BHK flat for Rent in Darsait.

Contact 99792181

Travel & Tourism Office in

Al Khuwair on main road for rent or

investment. Contact 99331998

1 BHK flats at Muttrah near Oman

House. Contact 93231403

2 Bedroom flat at Muscat OMR.180).

Call- 91393005

2 BHK apartment for residential use

at Al Khuwair 33. Contact 94057023

2 BHK apartment for office use at

Al Khuwair 33. Contact 94057023

Studio flat in Ruwi.Contact 99792181

3 BHK flat in Al.Khuwair 33.

Contact 99792181

New villa for rent-direct from owner:

2 floor villa in Mabela 8, 6 Rooms,

8 Toilets Spacious kitchen, dining

rooms in both floors.

Contact Number 92828303

Flats, 3 Rooms & AC, kitchen, hall, in

al Mabela south, cost 220 RO,

Contact# 99377290

Flat in Al Khuwair 33, 2 rooms,

Majlis, kitchen & 2 bathrooms.

Contact 99003626

For rent (flats), 2 bedrooms

+hall+kitchen, location: South

Al Mawaleh. Contact 99870020

2 BHK flat in Wattaya.

Contact 99792181

1 BHK flat in Ruwi. Contact -

99792181

300 Sqr mtrs store or labor camp

for Rent in Wadi Kabir.

Contact - 99792181

2 BHK flat in Wattaya.

Contact - 99792181

1 / 3 BHK Flat Ghobrah, close to ISG

Way 4041, building 4390.

Contact 99319880

Flats in Al Khuwair 42 with 2

rooms, Majlis. Contact 96961306

Flat- Darsait. Contact – 99326879

1 BHK new bldg with split A/C &

curtains near Khimjis Mart, MBD.

Contact 93582912, 99339750

Villa, ground floor in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99743569, 97004265

Flats and shops. Contact

93009999

Show room on the main road Saham

center total area 450 m sq. Contact:

99366558 / 99334226

Apartments in Al Khuwair new area

each apartment contains

(2 bedrooms + living room)

for RO 365. Contact 93181111

Brand new ware houses for rent :1)

At Rusayl Industrial Area adjacent

to Amiantit Oman 3500 SQM built

up area with parking / movement

area for trucks / trailors etc., 2)At

Wadi Kabir Sanaya 500 SQM area

for all storages including Medical /

Cosmetics / Food stuffs etc. Contact

99273774 / 94652485 / 99202278

New Villa for Rent Two floors

newly built villa in Maabillah, 8 Full-

fledged Residential Area

6 Rooms, 8 Toilets, excellent finish-

ing spacious Kitchen, Big Dining

Rooms in Both Floors, Easy Access

to Muscat and Sohar using Maabil-

lah Bridge. Contact 92828303

For rent 2 bedrooms, hall, kitchen,

3 bathrooms, balcony, complex split

units, brand new deluxe flats. Near

Seeb flyover main road side.

Contact 97755586

Flats ground floor, 3 Rooms & AC,

kitchen, hall, in Al Mabaila South.

Contact 99377290

For rent apartments: An apartment

in old Muscat at Oman Arab Bank’s

building. 3 bedrooms + 3 bathrooms,

dining room, living room and a

kitchen. Air conditioned apartments.

2 bedrooms + 2 bathrooms, living

room, dining room area and kitchen

in an excellent location in Al Khuwair

opposite the court of first instance.

For further information call 97072976

Industrial Land in Misfah.

Contact 93009999

3 BHK flat Ghobrah close to ISG way

– 4041, building – 4390.

Contact: 99319880

1 BHK flat Wadi Kabir, RO 230/-

Contact 99358589, 95570288,

97079146

Flat one bedroom at Al Khuwair 33,

owner. Contact 92800007

6 shops, single shutter, 46SQM,

Mabela industrial, way7767,

building 11528, Contact 99441193,

97148641

For rent shops and offices in

Al Mabela. Contact 99355330

1 BHK flat in Wadi Kabir. RO 180/-.

Contact 99376454

Furnished & unfurnished deluxe

2 BHK flats with split A/Cs, fixed

wardrobes, kitchen appliances,

CCTV, security access system &

secured car park, opposite

Kims Hospital, Al Falaj.

Contact 99657906 or 24702141

Office space with cassette type A/C’s

with free internet at al Khuwair near

KM Hypermarket. Contact 99460330

One / Two BR, directly from owner

at Bausher. Contact 92158031

2 Offices Space Available in Ruwi

for 800 OMR & 900 OMR.

Contact – 91120552

2 BHK flat near Darsait Lulu,

rent RO 250/-. Contact 99578510

2 BHK available in Darsait, 1 B/R

and hall, 2 B/R and hall. Contact

99357586, 97500025, 97884787

DAILY GUIDES U N D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 4 D3

We are dealing with sale of all

beauty salon equipments, furnitures

& cosmetics. Contact 942 888 61 /

942 888 63

FOR RENT

FOR RENT

56 SQM, 2 shutters Shop,

Office Wadikabir, 450/=,

Contact 93004802, 99441193

1 room, bathroom, kitchen, Wadi

Kabir, RO 150/-. Contact 99358589,

95570288, 97079146

Flats/villas owned by ROP pension

fund available for rent in Muscat.

Contact 99349526

1BHK 7flats Mabela Industrial,

way7767, building11528, single

party, 99441193, 97148641.

2BHK, 2 Bath, Split A/C, Wadikabir,

Indian Elementary School, R.O 330/-

Contact- 93004802, 99441193

1 BHK with attached toilet & bath-

room behind Bank Muscat at

Wadi Kabir. Contact 99373290,

24815012

6 Nos. flat for rent and sale in

Mawaleh Block-5, each flat area –

123 SQM, have 3 bedrooms, 3 toilet,

Majlis and kitchen, rent RO 280 and

sale – RO 40,000. Contact Said –

91174310, Adnan – 97777911

2 BHK with A/C, commercial

Al Khuwair. Contact 92144045

1 BHK flat Al Qurum, RO 270/-,

Contact 99358589

2 & 3 BHK near ISD School.

Contact 99024730

Villa, Amerat Souq as house/offices/

clinic/institute. Contact 99647903,

98026234

2 BHK at Al Azaiba, Building No.5145

Way 4470. Contact 99224748,

99425665

1 BHK at Ghobrah - Near Indian

School. Contact: 99014885

2 B/ R Fully Furnished Executive

Apartment @ Al Khuwair 33 Near

Zaker Mall. 3 Bedroom Furnished ex-

ecutive apartment @ Al Khuwair 25

5 B/R Luxury Fully Furnished villas

at Azaiba with servants, 3 Bedroom

Unfurnished Villa @ Mawalah South

Area 6 with Servant Quarter,

5 Bedroom Unfurnished Villa @

Al Qurum heights Sea view.

Contact - 99249069 / 92888376/

93201688

Flat for rent, sitting room, 2 bed-

rooms, 2 bathrooms and a kitchen,

RO 250/- near SPO, Wadi Kabir.

Contact 95643086

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

Port cabins – New & refurnished

Porta cabin for sale and rent.

Contact 96723468

2 b flat in paradise lakes B9 on

emirates road 994 sf ready for

handover asking 48,000 OR

tel 95339258

Café Shop for Sale at Ghobrah North.

Contact 99359755

3 floor Commercial building in

Muttrah behind Police. Generating

income of OMR 20 Thousand annu-

ally. Neat and well maintained. Built

on 197 sq mtrs land. 2 tailor shops

on ground floor and 6 flats.

OMR 207 Thousand.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

2 BHK Flat near Kuwaiti Mosque,

Wadi Kabir. Tel: 24816774

/97608564

Building of 3 floors with 20 rooms

in Mawaleh near Pizza Hut.

Contact 99044164

Flats for Sale in Boushar: OMR

35 Thousand 1 bedroom. OMR 45

Thousand 2 bedroom. Monthly

income 1 bedroom OMR 270 and 2

bedroom OMR 350. Tel: 99333479 or

95215360

A big shop for sale near K.M Trading

Ruwi. Contact 95901254

23,886 Sq Mtrs Agriculture land

with water well in Al Salwa, Barka.

OMR 260 Thousand. Tel: 99333479

or 95215360

Restaurant for leasing/sale in

Al Hail. Contact 94148970,

94148972, 97820877

Sale!, all household items, like

fridge, freezer, cooking range, wash-

ing machine, window/split A/Cs,

LCD TV, Laptop, tab and many more

for attractive prices.

Location : near Toyota service

Center, Honda Road.

Contact - 97048983, 95293643

Pharmacy for sale in Al Amerat.

Contact 98994208

Robin Generator Diesel DY27 – 3

KYA Hydraulic Pipe Bender 1/2” – 2”,

Spain automatic voltage regulator

240 v, Japan torque multiplier 3/4

x 1/2 32 mm input England Kango

angle grinder 9’110 v, England.

Contact 98691109, 96334847

Tools, hardware, carpentry & furni-

ture items etc clearing sale.

Contact 96609864, 98691109

A new furnished restaurant for sale

at upcoming industrial zone in Mis-

fah. Expat leaving Oman. Genuine

buyers call 93833107

A newly opened Barber Shop for

sale at upcoming industrial zone in

Misfah. Expat leaving Oman.

enuine buyers call 93833107.

Darsait Business Office furniture,

Isuzu 4 ton brand new.

Contact 91391363

Cleaning and Maintenance Com-

pany for sale: A fantastic opportunity

to Purchase an established Business

with a good turnover cleaning and

maintenance company for sale.

Contact 95812423

ACC. WANTED

Wanted a studio flat, for Keralite

family in MBD & Ruwi area only.

Contact 92283175

Wanted a family sharing ac-

commodation for Keralite family

in Ghala area. Please contact:

91677974

Wanted a two Bedroom Flat in and

around Ruwi Area. Gsm 99058344

Furnished single room with sepa-

rate bathroom near al meera hyper-

market, azaiba. Gsm 94288863

Furnished Bed Room with attached

bath Available in MBD w.e.f. 15th

January 2015. Contact 92205343

ACC. AVAILABLE

Room with attached bathroom

available for rent in Al Khuwair

33 opposite Al Maya supermarket.

Contact 97607198

Room + balcony + separate toilet for

non cooking single Indian Bachelor,

RO 140/-. Contact 98928452

Spacious semi furnished room with

separate entrance and attached

washroom near Indian School

Al Ghobrah for non cooking Indian

Executive Bachelor.

Contact 95146361 / 92657598

Accommodation available for single

executive lady only with lady near

Honda Road. Contact 92918592

Furnished single / sharing room for

executive bachelor at Rex Road (Kan-

nada, Telugu). Contact 92873832

Room available in Al Khuwair for

Indian with sharing kitchen and

toilet for matured non alcoholic non

smoking. Contact 96930219

BUYING/SELLING

LOST

Looking for commercial lands for

sale in Al Ghobrah North (urgent

serious buyers, commercial lands in

al Ghobrah North (corners prime loca-

tion). Contact 91155779

Looking for purchase of Used Portable Compressor (350 CFM,

7 Bar Pressure) powered with Diesel

run Generator.

Kindly Contact 99014686 or

operation@khancogroup.com

Used household & office furni-

ture and electronic items. Contact

99834373, 97102699

AVAILABLE

Established Restaurant for

rent with sponsorship. Contact

97628242

Party & Wedding equipment rentals.

Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirt-

ing, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery,

Crockery, Glassware, Chafing Dishes,

Ice Sculptures, to Large Sound

Systems and spectacular lighting.

Call Andrea 9606 2222 for Catering

and Croyden 9623 5555 for Sound &

Light. www.tunesoman.com,

E-mail: info@tunesoman.com

2BHK, 2 Toilets, 1 Store, own desk,

room size 4x4.Location:

back of City Center Seeb,

near Shell Station.

Contact: Ms. Lyn 97004746

Big showroom (two floors) for sale

opposite Oman house & Muttrah

Hotel. Total 600 square meter.

Contact 92827734 / 93206400

Building material shop for sale at

Al Ghobrah near Mars Hypermarket.

Contact 99881647 / 93797343

Household items on sale.

Contact 93833107

Luxury villa for sale in Manila, Phil-

ippines, 2 floor, attached bathroom,

guest room with swimming pool for

RO 85,000 /- only.

Contact +96895036001,

email: alsemsaq@hotmail.com

FOR SALE

Contd on Pg

Ajaypal Singh has lost Indian

Passport No. F5969523. Finder

please handover to ROP

An Apartment that resembles a

penthouse has 2 rooms with 2

toilets, living room & an elegant

balcony. Fully furnished, suited

for families. Final price RO.300/-

Mabela 8 near German University.

Contact – 99888400

Apartment with a twist in Al Ma-

bela, spacious apartment 3 rooms,

3 toilets, dining area, living room

& fully air-conditioned. Perfect for

families. Final price RO.250/-

Contact - 99888400

DAILY GUIDED4 S U N D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 4

DOMESTIC HELP

SKILLED LABOR

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT

MEDICAL

ELECTRICIAN / TECHNI-

IT

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANT-SIT. WANTED

Urgently Required House boy/cleaner for an Indian Family /

Fulltime –Leave Vacancy 99471085

/ 99470969

Urgently Required Housemaid

for an Indian Business Family /

Fulltime –Leave Vacancy 99471085

/ 99470969

Required female housemaid salary

(RO 170/-). Contact 91403177

Required Housemaid urgently in

Rustaq for a Malayalee family,

preferably Indians.

Contact 99810765

Required full time Housemaid

for Indian family in Darsait. Visa

+ accommodation + Food will be

provided. Contact 99736979

Required House maid urgently in

Al Khuwair (Indian or Srilanka).

Contact. 96103792.

AUTOCAD

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

Chartered Accountant, 32, Male, 10+

yrs experience in Finance, Accounts,

Audit, exposure in Oracle, SAP,

Tally. Contact 94641805,

immediate availability.

Accountant, Indian B.Com, 5 yrs

experience in Oman in finance & Ac-

counts with valid Oman D/L.

Contact 95960600

Egyptian Female, 3 yrs experience

in Finance & Accounts, Administra-

tion skills, speaking English fluently,

good skills in computer. #94067437

Indian male, 23 yrs, Bachelors

Degree with 2 yrs Indian experi-

ence, presently on visit visa looking

for suitable job. Contact 93489787,

email : mkmuneervml@gmail.com

Full/part time, Indian male, 10 yrs

experience, 6 yrs in Oman with

Oman Driving License seeking suit-

able placement. Contact 97123002

Accounts Executive, Indian male,

M.Com having 8 years GCC experi-

ence (4 yrs in Dubai & 4 yrs in

Muscat, Oman) with valid Omani

D/L & NOC available seeks suitable

placement. Contact 93218852

Finance Manager, CPA, with more

than 15 yrs. of experience in GCC.

Fully knowledgeable in Finance,

General & Management Accounting .

NOC available. Contact 96209331

Pakistani male, MBA Finance, 6 yrs

experience in Accounts, Purchase

and Store looking for position in

Accounts, Purchase or Store Dept.

NOC available. Contact 94046323.

Email : habib_sh62@yahoo.com

B.Com Graduate, 5 yrs experience,

Indian male 26 yrs, looking for

Accountant job. Contact 93975526,

email : afsarsabith@yahoo.com

Male, MBA, 10 yrs exp in production

in Marble Industry Sales & Market-

ing, Admin & Accounts. Ready to join.

Contact 94670691

Pakistani National, 24 yrs, 1 yr of

experience in Accounting & Multi-

national firm, currently on visit visa

looking for a suitable job.

Contact 93578561

ADMIN/HR

ENGINEERS

SALES / MARKETING

DRAUGHTSMAN

Urgently required Omani/ non Omani looking for Electrical Engineer having 3 to 4 years Oman

experience with good communica-

tion skills. Send CV to -

info@reddotsgroup.com

An international Construction Company requires Proposal En-gineer, A Bachelor’s degree in Civil

Engineering, minimum of 3-5 years

experience in Proposal Department

in construction, Having knowledge

and experience in preparation of

proposals in Oman, Excellent com-

mand of both written and spoken

English and Arabic

Please send your CV

harun.koyyar@adaliholding.com

Procurement Engineer, Power Plant Field experience,

Electrical / Mechanical. Email :

shahram@teccontracting.com /

kheradmand@teccontracting.com

Wanted immediately shelf boys

for a foodstuff Trading Company in

Muscat with release / no objection

from sponsor. Send CV to

iskunju@omantel.net.om

A Supply Company in Muscat requires: 1-Sales Executive (Male)

with minimum 1 yr experience,

email: jobsmuscat25@gmail.com

Salesman wanted for prestigious

interior design and office furniture

Supply Company. Experience and

driver’s license needed. Excellent

remuneration package.

Email: tony@materials-plus.com

Salesman cum Merchandiser ur-gently required for a reputed FMCG

Company engaged in manufactur-

ing and trading in Oman. Candidate

must have minimum 4-5 yrs experi-

ence in the similar field and valid

Omani Driving License. Interested

candidates may send their CV to

sunnex3@gmail.com

Freight forwarding professional for Sea Freight sales and operations. Minimum 5 years experience in GCC

sea freight operations.

Oman driving license required.

Email: telljobs@gmail.com

Building Materials experienced

Sales and Marketing guy need job,

having Omani Driving License.

Contact 95094141, 93676713

Highly reputed Perfume Company requires Omani Sales girl promoters. Contact 95663682, 92956876 Urgently required Sales & Market-ing Executive having experience in

Real Estate. Send your CV at

admin@goldenkeyreal-estate.com

Required an experienced person who has ideas to start a new

business in electrical field or supply

with minimum cost.

Contact 99426421

MISCELLANEOUS

Chief Accountant, 14 yrs experience

in Oman looking for suitable place-

ment. Contact 97385562

Sr. Accountant, Indian male, 34 yrs,

MBA (F&M), CMA (pursuing), 8 yrs

exp in a multinational FMCG with

valid Oman D/L, NOC available ,

looking for a suitable position:

Contact 95645945

India Accountant: Male, M com,

7 Yrs experience in Accounts up to

finalization, having knowledge of

ERP, Tally seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 93950138

Email:lijinrajan123@gmail.com

Indian male, 24 yrs, B.Com, 3 yrs

experience in Accounting looking

for a job in Offices and Accounting.

Contact 94618319,

email : rafseerpp1990@gmail.com

Indian male, M.Com qualification

with 3 yrs Accounting experience in

India on visit visa seeking for suit-

able job. Contact 91083803

Indian Male, MBA 2 yrs experience

in Accounts, Admin & HR on visit

visa. Contact 92045306

Indian Male, Chief/Sr Accountant,

21 yrs experience up to finalization.

Contact 94481076

Indian male, 32 years, M. Com.7 out

of 9 years experience in Oman in

Accounts/finance. Having NOC and

valid Oman D/L. Contact 98277143,

Email: anzarks@gmail.com

India Accountant: Male, M com,

7 Yrs experience in Accounts up to

finalization, having knowledge of

ERP, Tally, seeks suitable place-

ment. Contact:93950138

Email: lijinrajan123@gmail.com

24yrs, Indian female, 7 months

audit experience, seeking suit-

able placement in audit/accounts.

Contact:asmashaikh39@gmail.com,

Gsm: 99284429 / 94134253

Indian Male, 28 yrs old B.Com hav-

ing 7 yrs experience (3 yrs in MCT)

looking for a suitable placement in

Accounts / Sales currently on visit

visa. Contact 93128830, email:

gopusree.gopu407@gmail.com

Indian Male, MBA 2 years experi-

ence in Accounts and Admin looking

for suitable placement. # 92045306.

Male 25 Pakistani MA Economics/

CAT.4 years experience in utility sec-

tor flexible to do any role in finance/

HR & supply chain.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/

view?id=186570782 no 94626209

Electrician with driving license.

Call 92341826

Fire safety technician. Call 92341826

Indian Male, qualified ICWA, M.com

with 2years experience in accounts,

costing, auditing & SAP in reputed

listed companies, seeks suitable

placements. Mob: 94619453

Email: cmashahidkt@gmail.com.

Indian male MBA 32 yrs having

10 yrs of exp seeking suitable place-

ment in Admin/ HR/ Operations/

Coordination/ Logistics etc.

Holding valid Oman D/L .

Contact - 99054786

Auto cad d/man, gulf exp, 3d,

3dmax, Photoshop, NOC available

ph: 93772966

Civil Draughtsman, Indian Male,

23 yrs with 3yrs experience in Au-

toCAD 2D & 3D, MEP, HVAC, 3Ds Max

and Photoshop looking for suitable

position, presently in Muscat, Oman

on visit visa. Contact 91764358,

mohdsiraj02@yahoo.com

Indian male, 27 years, BCOM, certi-

fication in NSE & C, C++ & Data Struc-

tures with 7yrs + experience, looking

for Admin/Marketing/IT profile, fast

learner, hardworking and proactive,

available to ASAP,

Contact 94642053/ 95865990.

Email: aditya1987@outlook.com

Legal Advisor and consultant in

International Arbitration (Egyptian

Resident) legal and administrative

expertise and the Omani labor law

and drafting contracts.

Contact 99664890

Indian Male MBA 32 yrs having 8+

yrs of Exp (GCC, AFRICA), urgently

looking job in HR/Admin/ /Opera-

tion/Purchase/Academics / BD. Now

on visit visa, NOC available, join

immediately. Contact 94535618,

95930705

Indian female with excellent

communication skills, confident,

dedicated to work and enthusiastic.

Knowledge about ms office. Has

6 years of experience in cus-

tomer service, telecommunication,

HR.Looking for immediate place-

ment. Contact # 97348819

Indian female with 10 yrs of experi-

ence in HR/Banking/Operations

seeks a suitable placement. Can be

contacted on 98919015 or

sherianne.coelho@gmail.com

Pakistani Male, 27 yrs, MBA in HR,

BBA in Marketing and Finance hav-

ing 2 yrs experience in Sales and

Admin, on family visit till 15 Febru-

ary looking for suitable position.

Contact 94543222,

email: wajid_rais@hotmail.com

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Medical Centre at Sinaw requires:

General practitioners (GP), dental surgeons, gynecologist, pediatri-cian, staff nurses, X-ray techni-cian, lab technician, pharmacist & physiotherapist. Contact 92104057

and send CV’s to

halamedicalgroup@gmail.com

G.P. Doctor required with MOH

license for a leading clinic in capital.

Contact 99044345 / 99339396

Private Dental Clinic in Buraimi

city needed a dentist have practice

license in Oman. Contact 98379121

Wanted a Dentist to work in Capital

Area with MOH License. Interested

candidates can email at :

findjobs2015@hotmail.com

Dentist required to work urgently in

dreams clinic at Al Khoud and must

be resident in Sultanate of Oman.

Please send your CV to the following

email – towershr70@gmail.com /

balushi70@gmail.com /

info@towersinternationalgroups.com

Mobile – 99882340 / 24545914

General practitioner Doctor is

required to work urgently in Dreams

Clinic at Al Khoudh and must be

resident in the Sultanate of Oman.

Please send your CV to the follow-

ing email: towershr70@gmail.com,

balushi70@gmail.com &

info@towersinternationalgroups.

com, Mobile 99882340,

Tel: 24545914

Urgently required temporary/per-manent General Physician & Gyne-cology Doctors. Contact 96064925,

kunoozghala@gmail.com

Urgent placement (with MOH) Pharmacist - 2 nos & Asst. pharma-cist - 2 nos. Contact - 99338219

Urgently required dentist for a

polyclinic. Contact - 96721709

Urgently require the following

labors for a construction company

in Muscat on monthly basis- Tile fixing mason - 2 nos, Helpers – 4 nos. Contact – 96473187

DESIGNER

AutoCAD 3D, 2D Photoshop, 3D

max Ph: 97103168

Interior Designer, UAE Experi-

ence, Knows Photoshop, Corel

draw etc.. Ph : 97103168

Interior Designer, UAE Experi-

ence, Knows Photoshop, Corel

draw etc.. Ph : 97103168

Syrian 3d designer ready to hand

over any project in few days time.

Contact 96767004

Man-Friday requires with excel-

lent driving and basic maintenance

skills, attractive package for right

candidates 99471085/99470969

Light duty driver with Marketing

knowledge. Send CV to

jobs@prestigeprojectsoman.com

or call 92341826

DRIVER

Financial expert with full knowl-

edge of Tally. Email: kheradmand@

teccontracting.com /

shahram@teccontracting.com

Required experienced Account-ant Tally, excellent English &

driving license. Contact –

omanlaw.om@gmail.com /

24497762 / 92192510

Required 3 Nos of Accountants

for our reputed organization based

in Al Ghubrah.

Knowledge of Tally with Accounts

background up to finalization.

Contact 98016111,

email : gopal@arabianvending.com

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ADMIN

Part time Java programmer required. Please contact Sreejit on

93520108 or write to

Sreejith@tekdeliver.com

Required Omani PRO (AGE 18-23

yrs). Send resume to

lulubd2012@gmail.com

Pakistani male 32 years IT network

+ Computer Hardware professional

A+ MCSE Termination Technician

work Experience in Salalah airport.

10+ years experience in IT field and

2 years Oman working experience

looking for a suitable placement

contact no 96733205 Email

faisalzaman24@gmail.com

Filipino Accountant with 13 years

working experience in the field of

accounting looking for a suitable

job in Muscat. Contact: 94547323

Tunisian women looking for

Secretarial/office job khnows eng-

lish, frensh and arabic/Italian.

Contact: 91171838

Indian Female 23 years M.Com

Graduate on visit visa hav-

ing four month experience as

an Accountant in a company

at Muscat. Looking for a suit-

able job. Immediately available

for joining. Contact: 95846642,

Email:shreedhanya916@gmail.

com

B.Tech. (Civil), 2 years experi-

ence in designing, and training

corporate professionals in Dubai

in software, presently working in

India, seeks suitable job opening.

madhunambiarm@hotmail.com

Manager Maintenance/Work-

shop/Purchase, 31 yrs. exp. in

mechanical, electrical, electronics,

parts fabrication, purchase dep’t,

oman exp. 5yrs, have NOC, looking

for job. Pls. contact -

pkv2k3@yahoo.com, 99331289

Senior Accounts Professional,

Indian Male, 35 years, M.Com,

MBA (Fin) 8 years in Oman, with

valid Oman DL and NOC available.

Capable to handle accounts up to

finalization. Contact 9602 3965.

Indian female, 34 yrs, B.A, B.Ed

(S.S), DCA, Doing M.A by distance,

having 6 yrs experience in School

(5 yrs in Indian School, Oman).

Contact 98728700, 92458872

Indian female 24 yrs, MBA

(finance) (1 year experience as

administrator cum junior level

accountant looking for suitable job

& holding visiting visa. Contact

97481488, Email:

ayeshaowasi12345@gmail.com

Hotel Manager, Indian male,

25 years exp. in Budget & 3 Star

Hotel, with Omani Driving License

, Seeks Placement. NOC/Release

Available. Contact: 99799774,

Email: smoin_moinsb@yahoo.co.in

Indian Female, IATA, BSc looking

for suitable placement.

Contact-95514305.

Email-jitureshmi@gmail.com

M. Sc. Medical lab technician (Prometric passed) having 6 years

experience in India. Currently on

visit, looking for a suitable place-

ment. Please contact 97248144,

samiullah_ar@yahoo.co.in.

10 yr GCC Exp Light duty driver

(HOLDING OMANI DRIVING LI-

CENSE) seeking job.

Contact : 97485952 , 91660291

Project Manager civil, Indian,

seeking suitable placement, hav-

ing 18 yrs exp (13 yrs in Oman) in

tendering, contracting and manag-

ing projects, available with release.

Contact: 99244245, 95321251

Admin Executive, 31, Indian Male,

having 8+ years exp. in reputed

companies, seeking suitable place-

ment in any gulf region. Contact

+968 99276601 & 97693456.

Email: muralimahdav77@gmail.

com

Civil Engineer Diploma, 6 years

experience in Oman

Contact: 97415597.

Indian male -39, Graduate 15 years

experience in FMCG sales and

marketing and logistics operations

with valid driving license looking

suitable placement. #92090949

Mechanical Engineering Post

Graduate with 10+ years work

experience looking for a suitable

immediate opening in construc-

tion, oil& gas, and other related

companies, currently on visit visa.

Contact: 92975815

Indian Male 26years BCOM

having 5years rich experience

in Accounts and Admin looking

for suitable placement. Contact

:96897914340,00919902200486

Email: sudhakaranchan06@gmail.

com

Indian male 2 years experience in

Light & Heavy motor vehicle Me-

chanic. Diesel & Petrol. Seek suit-

able placement Contact 99421537.

Indian male QA/QC Engineer-Civil

(BE,ACQE)on visit visa, 10 years of

experience in building construc-

tion projects in Qatar & U.A.E.,

holding valid GCC driving license.

Mobile: 93958533,

E-mail: sheikhnavid@yahoo.com

Indian female, 25 yrs, bachelors of

businesses management, having

experience of 5 years as a fund/

financial administration, on visit

visa,looking for suitable placement.

Cell 94662416

Apurwaverma@gmail.com

26 hrs Indian Accountant with

2 years experience, B.Com, seeking

suitable position, available immedi-

ately, contact No:9821 3292,

e-mail: Indite2faraaz@gmail.com

DRIVER

Looking for driver job. Contact 98219182

Driver available with car.

Contact 95068976

Light driver looking for job.

Contact 92791678

Driver LD, Pakistani. #93873120

15 years experienced Indian Light

Driver. Contact 98993526

Required Omani Nationals driv-ers, cleaners, painters and Ac-countant. Minimum 1-2 yrs expe-

rience. Interested candidates may

please send CV to fax: 24694998.

Email: fareedadesign@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS

DAILY GUIDES U N D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 4 D5

DAILY GUIDESITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

DRIVER

EDUCATION

Light Driver having own visa

looking for job as driver

Contact: 92303692

Light driver looking for job. Contact

96794309 / 98335778

Driver with car. 2 yrs exp. in Oman.

Contact 96424316 / 93614356

Pakistani light duty driver seeks

job with 8 yrs Dubai experience.

Contact 91376612

Driver available. Contact 93353997

Light driver seeking job.

Contact 95447293

B.Sc Civil Engineer over 19 yrs

experience in construction field with

project management skills, seeks

suitable placement. NOC available &

can join immediately. Kindly contact

92198264,

email : mdrana1970@gmail.com

M. tech Electrical Eng. Female, now

in visit visa. Contact +968-94654481.

B. Tech Civil Eng. 3 yrs exp in Oman

with driving license.

Contact +968-93733627.

Mail id : joinvisam@gmail.com,

neethusprakash@gmail.com

Agriculture Engineer has 5 yrs

experience in Landscaping, pest

control and tenders in Oman.

Contact 93340641

Mechanical Engineer BE with ex-

perience in maintenance & service

of Heavy construction equipments,

vehicles, cranes, inspection, safety,

managing workshop & site.

Contact: 97458641.

Civil Engineer with 2 yrs experience

(structural design – construction

works-instructor of structural design

soft ware’s), computer literacy

(ETAB-SAFE-AutoCAD-Primavera).

Contact 94634906

Sr. Site Supervisor (Civil) since

March 2010 in Oman looking for

better opportunity having Omani D/L

(Release available). Contact 93061107

27 yrs, Male, Diploma in Civil Engi-

neering, 7 yrs exp, 05 yrs in Oman

as Site Engineer. NOC available

seeking a suitable placement im-

mediately. Kindly contact 98925718

/ 94619501.

Email: engineertanoli@gmail.com

Indian Male, 31 yrs, Xth and one

year Diploma in Electronics, and 7

yrs experience in OFC work seeking

suitable jobs, presently on visit visa.

Contact 97942303,

email: gkjith@yahoo.com

Sudanese Engineer, computer and

network engineering, 7 yrs experi-

ence work in Oman 3 yrs.

Contact 9916606 / 96272760

Sudanese Electrical Engineer work-

ing as a project manager in Oman for

2 yrs total experience, 5 yrs driving

and Muzoon CEP license.

Contact 91473717

Indian Male, 25 yrs M.Sc Tech ap-

plied Geology, presently on visit visa

seeking for Geologist job.

Contact 94076379,

email: yasiralig786@gmail.com

Pakistani Male, 32 yrs, MBA

Marketing, 6+1 experience in Sales/

Marketing/Business Development

having valid Omani Driving License

looking for suitable placement.

Contact 95492039,

shahid.mood@gmail.com

18 yrs Oman experience in Building

Materials in Sales. NOC available.

Contact 93105775

BE Mechanical, 9 yrs experience in

Sales & Business Development, Oil

& Gas equipments like pumps etc.

Contact 91139771

Quantity Surveyor (Civil Building)

looking for Part time job Contact

no:-94391712 E-mail address-

inayathhussain@yahoo.com

Indian, B Tech Electrical & Electron-

ics, 5 yrs exp in India. On visit visa

in Oman. Looking for suitable open-

ing in Oman. Available for immedi-

ate placement. Contact 97879255.

mail1605unni@gmail.com

Civil Engineer (B.Tech), Indian

Male, 24 yrs with 1+ yrs Indian

experience (Certified in Quantity

Survey/Primavera/AutoCAD) look-

ing for a suitable position, available

in Sultanate of Oman (Muscat) on

visit visa. Contact 91303860,

email: mdayubmak@gmail.com

Indian lady (single), 35 yrs looking

for a job, more than 10 yrs exp in

Oman, presently working in Nursery

(Nanny) (exp in Child Care, bus

helper, teaching Assistant and Craft

Worker), known : English, Arabic,

Malayalam, Tamil (Hindi spoken).

Contact 98712415

Currently working as Lecturer of IT,

(M.Sc IT) (M Phil computer Science)

having experience for more than 5

years, looking for suitable place-

ment. Contact 91105949

HOSPITALITY

MEDICAL

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

Indian male Graduate with 20+

years of Administration, Operations

& Management experience in IT,

Oil & Gas & Hospitality Industry. 12

years in Oman with vast contacts,

very strong management, operation-

al, communication and interper-

sonal skills, can handle any size of

business and projects whether it’s in

initial stage or established. Can join

immediately. Local release available

on request. Contact: 9906 4589

Sr. supervisor 27 years of experi-

ence in construction (building &

roads) with 9 yrs in Oman looking

for suitable opportunity. Visa trans-

fer & NOC are available.

CONTACT NO. 98177179

General Manager / working partner

20 years in Dubai adverting agency

experience. Contact 93031168

Management Professional, exper-

tise in team building operations,

project management, leadership,

writing on visit visa till 19th Janu-

ary 2015. Contact 93516436,

email: dsouza.amit@gmail.com

Indian female with nine years of

experience in 5 Star hotels as As-

sistant Food & Beverage Manager

looking for a suitable placement in a

reputed Star hotel.Contact: 91219787

MECH./TECHNICAL

Welder 6G, 3G, TIG, ARC,

Fabrication, Gulf Exp Ph: 97103168

21 yrs experienced in Hotels and

Hospitality business, 14 yrs worked

in leading hotels in Oman looking

for a suitable management posi-

tion Hospitality Industry. Contact

93191659 / 99149131

SALES / MARKETING

Indian Male, B.Tech E&I, 10 yrs

experience in Sales, Procurement,

BDM. 6 yrs Oman experience in

Oil & Gas Sector. Seeking suitable

placement. Oman D/L, NOC

available. Contact 97233074

Purchase Officer, B.Com, Graduate,

Indian, total 9 yrs experience in

construction field. NOC & release

available. Contact 99188257.

Indian Male, MBA Marketing and

IT, 1 yr experience currently on visit

visa, age 24 yrs seeking suitable

placement. Email:

nithinsolamonbaby@gmail.com.

Contact 94541453

Male, 26 yrs, M.Com, last 1 yr & 9

months in sales with Oman Driving

License seeking for sales job.

Contact 95116991

Indian Male, MBA Marketing,

2 yrs currently on visit visa, 24 yrs

old, seeking suitable placement.

Contact 94653198,

email: rzmd786@gmail.com

Sales & Marketing Indian male

MBA (marketing & sales) business

development experience at all levels

of management. Currently on visit

visa. Contact – 91272819

Sales & Marketing Manager, well

experienced in Oman & UAE in

LHH, FMCG & foodstuff is seeking

a job in Oman. Contact 93886230 /

96556789

Indian Male MBA (USA) having

5 yrs of International experience

in Sales and Marketing. Visit visa.

Contact 98853309

Indian male 33 yrs, MBA Market-

ing 8+ years of (Gulf) experience in

Marketing Communication/Event

Management/Branding/Website

Management and Sponsorship, look-

ing for suitable vacancies.

Contact 95390193

24 yrs Indian Male, MBA in Market-

ing and Production currently on

visit visa seeks suitable placement.

Contact 91038969

Filipino 30 years old, male- looking

for job vacancy in Muscat area for

document controller position with

6 years experience in gulf country.

Available for interview. Contact#-

92809514 Email-

glyn_mendoza2000@yahoo.com

SECRETARIAL/OFFICE

Indian Female experienced front

office executive on visit visa seeks

suitable placement.

Contact - 94284565

Email - priyamenon51@yahoo.co.in

Indian female, well experienced

in secretarial, administration,

customer care & supervisory jobs.

5 years experience in Muscat.

Immediately available for joining.

Contact: 92139298

Jordanian Engineer Electrical 7 yrs

exp. Consulting, site & shop drawing

works. Ready to join immediately.

Worked in UAE & Saudi Arabia.

Contact - 00971555594733

Indian B.Tech Civil Engineer having

6 yrs experience in Oman with D/L

seeks placement. NOC available.

Contact 93604858,

ashins4u@gmail.com

Indian male, 27 yrs, B.E (Electronics

& Communications Engg) having

5 yrs experience in BPO & Security

Systems seeking suitable place-

ment. Currently on visit visa.

Contact 97784627, 93728674,

email : sijuu1985@gmail.com

Indian male, 24 yrs, diploma in

Electronics, 2 yrs experience in

Sales, with Oman, D/L seeking suit-

able placement. Contact 93195828,

99312081

Civil Engineer B Tech , Site engineer

Experienced, Drafting on Visit Visa

Ph : 91642050

Electrical Engineer (B.Tech), 26,

Indian male, 1+ yr experience in

Transformers installation mainte-

nance and HT/LT distribution lines.

Presently on visit visa seeking suit-

able placement. Contact 91747294,

kosayeed@gmail.com

QA/QC Engineer. 6 yrs experience

in UAE. CSWIP and NACE certified;

Looking for a suitable opening.

Mob: +971 551606314

B.Tech Engineer QA/QC, 7 yrs GCC

Oil & Gas experience API.570 CSWIP

3.1 NDT Level 2 seeking placement

in Oman. NOC available.

Contact sajinrj009@gmail.com

27, Male, Diploma in Civil Engineer,

7 yrs experience, 5.5 yrs in Oman,

valid Omani D/L seeking suit-

able placement. Contact 92751167,

95826452, Email :

halalmahmud08@gmail.com

Civil Engineer (Diploma) looking for

an urgent placement.

Contact 95200650

Mechanical Engineer (B.Tech),

Indian female, 23 yrs with 1 yr ex-

perience certified in PDMS, process

design management looking for a

suitable position. Contact 91788939,

Email : siddivi9@gmail.com

Indian male - 23 yrs - BE (Mech)-

Experience in Volkswagen - on

visit visa - contact 99669889 /

97930494;

Email: arun.runnithan@gmail.com

Mechanical Engineer (HVAC)

1+ year experience.

Contact: 93707101

Civil Engineer B Tech, Site Engineer

Experienced, Drafting on Visit Visa

Ph : 91642050

Sudanese Mechanical Engineer,

3 yrs experience as Sit Engineer,

HVAC System, and driving license,

easy to transfer immediately.

Contact 91135140

Instrumentation Engineer, 1 yr experience in Apollo Tyres as

Trainee, experience in calibration

of different types of gangel, control

valve, flow transmitter, temperature

& pressure transmitters, visiting

visa as 21 days in Muscat.

Contact 99589726

B.Tech civil, female, 8 yrs experi-

ence in Oman (QS) and teaching

experience in India (Chemistry)

2 yrs seeking suitable job.

Contact 98274607

Indian male, 30 D.C.P, B.Com having

7 yrs experience in construction

procurement seeking suitable place-

ment.NOC available. #95223816

Civil Structural Engineer, (fresher)

young Indian Male, Post Graduate,

seeking suitable placement.

Contact 93133530. Email id:

adars118251@gmail.com

B.E Civil 5 yrs exp (2 yrs in India)

2 yrs Oman & 1 year in Qatar. Salary

expected RO.500/- above.

Contact - 94412557

Structural Engineer (M.Tech)

Indian male 24, 1 year Experience,

available in Oman till January 11.

email:mathew481989@gmail.com,

GSM: 94619546,

B.Tech (EC) 5yrs exp. in building

automation and network adminis-

tration with CCNA MCSE, JAVA &

ORACLE PL/SQL certified. Seeking

suitable placements.

GSM 94575080

Email- afzalpa007@gmail.com

IT Professional, Indian male, B.Sc

Graduate with 4+ yrs Gulf (UAE)

good exp in System Administration,

IT Support, Server Desktop, laptop,

smartboard, datashow biometric,

CCTV, currently on visit visa.

Contact 98936548,

vaseemj@yahoo.com

Female, B Tech (Software Profes-

sional), Oracle SQL .NET Database,

Experienced (Teaching & Engg)

Ph: 94550127

B.Tech Indian male IT & Network

Engineer, CCNA Certified. 7 Years

experience working with reputed

organization, in product support,

maintenance & onsite implementa-

tion exposure, on visit visa. Contact

– 96731961 / 92890014 / Email –

aliuddinsk@gmail.com

Health care IT software Engineer

with 4+ yrs exp looking for a suit-

able position in software division

of reputed organization. Currently

on visit visa. Contact – 94654705 /

Email – hasankhan15@hotmail.com

IT Prof, MCA having 6+ yrs exp,

seeks suitable position.

Contact 94543668

INFORMATION TECH

Mechanical Engineer (B.Tech),

Indian Male, with Oil Engg & Qual-

ity Control Systems, NDT-Level 2

qualified as per ASNT Level II, one

year experience as Site Engineer.

Presently on visit visa,

seeking suitable placement.

Contact # 91260427, 95147671,

Email: akhilanandan@gmail.com

Electrical Engineer, 9 yrs GCC exp

in Electrical Projects with valid

Omani D/L, NOC available can join

immediately. Contact 99148940

Email : jobluk.om@gmail.com.

B.Tech Chartered Electrical Engineer

from India with 4 years experience

in various electrical projects, core

strength in designing power scheme

layouts, estimations, BOQs, execution,

commissioning, testing etc. Contact

94638744, 96473165,

email : ceng.shaz@gmail.com

Electrical Engineer {B.E. Electrical

and Electronics Engineering} Indian,

Male, 22 years old, with Advanced Di-

ploma in Industrial Automation ( IAO

Certified ) having good communica-

tion skills in English, looking for suit-

able position in Sultanate of Oman on

Visit Visa.Contact 91714513

email: bob.ignatius@gmail.com

BSc Civil Engineer with 5 yrs exp

and Omani Driving License and

valid PDO Driving License and OSHA

Safety License and PDO Permit to

work courses and release visa.

Contact 92548097

CAPTAIN-All Type Tankers Unlim-

ited (Ind/UK) + STCW Certification

+ 19Yrs experience and 3.5Yrs as

Captain LPG/ OilChem with MNC

SEEKS JOB at OMAN in PORT DE-

VELOPMENT/ DRYDOCK/ MARINE

SUPDT./ MOORING MASTER. Visit-

ing MUSCAT 25 Dec ~ 5 Jan shall

be available for interview. Contact

mstmariner@gmail.com or

+968 99476560

B.Tech Indian Female, Electri-

cal Engineer, 2 yrs experience

in Kiriloskar Electric Co. & KSEB

looking for suitable position.

Contact 94564078,

Email: elnaj19@gmail.com

Looking Part time Job in HVAC-

93198128

Experienced female Electrical

Engineer.Contact 93800906

Indian Male, IT Support Engineer,

2 yrs in Oman & 5 yrs Indian experi-

ence. Contact 97311847

Indian male, 23 yrs B.E Electron-

ics & Communication / Automation

(PLC, Scada, Umi, VFD), 1 yr experi-

ence seeking job.

Contact 94663035,

email : nayeemn956@gmail.com

Sudanese Mechanical Engineer, 7 yrs experience in : 1-Thermal

Power Plants O & M of boilers

turbines utilities HVAC firefighting,

2-Factories of FMCG maintenance

of moulders fillers, carton packers,

compressors, generators, RO process

plants. Contact 94649850

Indian Civil Engineer M-Tech in

construction management, experi-

enced in Primavera P6, looking for

suitable placement, preferably in

planning. GSM: 92550987 or

email: niyasmanassery@gmail.com

Project Manager, Civil Engineer,

Total Experience 5 Years, 4 Years

in Oman. Construction Building

Experience .Fluent Arabic, English

and V. Good Hindi. Good in Excel and

AutoCAD. Contact – 97858589

B.Sc Engineer (Civil), having 14 years

of experience (5 years in Oman) is

seeking a suitable placement (NOC

available). GSM: 97746047,

Email:golamparvez@yahoo.com

Indian Male, 22 yrs, B.Tech, Marine

Engineer, presently on visit visa

seeks suitable placement.

Contact 93191777,

email: ask.akash@gmail.com

,

Female, 26 yrs, B.Tech in Mechani-

cal Engineer with 3 yrs experience

in Piping Stress Analysis in Oil &

Gas Sector, currently on family visa,

looking for a placement.

Contact 95890939,

email : rita.debnath682@gmail.com

Indian Male, 26, B.E Mechanical

Engineer, fresh graduate currently in

Oman looking for suitable place-

ment. Contact 96176365

B.Sc Staff Nurse, promerty with

good score, 4 yrs experience on

visit seeking placement. Contact

96914497 / 93730302

Indian Female, Dentist fresher look-

ing for suitable placement.

Contact 98857686,

email : drsumbulahmad@gmail.com

Pharmacist-Indian female having

MOH license looking for new oppor-

tunities. On family visa valid up to

Aug 2016. Contact: 92247993

General Physician with 6 years

experience passed OMSB prometric

exam for General Practice, looking

for suitable job, gwan2015@hotmail.

com, +971567830841

Lab Technician, Civil (8yrs Gulf ex-

perience) looking for a suitable job

(NOC available) Contact-93344378

Female Graduate 2 and half years

experience in Medical coding

(specialty radiology & urgent care)

on visit seeks suitable placement.

Contact 93188644

MISCELLANEOUS

Logistics Officer, Experience in

Store keeping. Contact : 99505934

Building Caretaker, Gulf exp, knows

Arabic, Hindi Ph : 91218278

Welder 6g 3g, Gulf Experienced

Ph : 97103168

Autocad 3Dmax , Photoshop

Ph : 97103168

Indian Male, 39 yrs having Degree

in B.Sc Maths and Diploma in

Supply Chain and Logistics with

computer knowledge having 14 yrs

experience in store keeping within

that 5 yrs in Dubai seeking

opportunities in store, logistics or

office assistants. Contact 96186573

Indian Female, 27, B.Sc, B.Ed, 4 yrs

experience in Money Exchange

seeking for suitable job. Contact

96007473, 92174724

Pakistani Male, 34, College 2 yrs,

2 yrs experience as Sales Repre-

sentative, 3 yrs experience as Clerk/

Office Assistant, 3 yrs experience as

Salesman in Oman, Excel, Busy. ERP.

language known: English, Arabic,

Urdu and Hindi.

Contact 96763346

Indian female MSc costume design

& fashion having 3 yrs exp in teach-

ing seeking suitable job.

Contact: 97614456

SKILLED /UNSKILLED

SALES / MARKETING

Fresh MBA (Marketing) Graduate,

Indian Male, looking for opportuni-

ties in Oman, Contact: 94653375,

email: rohittalekar2014@gmail.com

Indian Male, MBA in Marketing and

Finance, 10 years’ Sales & Business

Development Experience with valid

D/L of Oman & UAE looking for a

suitable placement. NOC Available.

Contact: 93969961

e-mail abhilash.pvrk@gmail.com

Indian Male, 7 yrs experience in

building materials trading having

Oman D/L, immediate release avail-

able. Contact 98676713

Civil foreman maintenance D/L,

12 yrs in Oman, 2 yrs in Kuwait.

Contact 96405865, 99534138,

India - +91 7589248550,

+91 9464255409,

email: sukhwinder9@yahoo.com

Qualified Manager: (12+ yrs. Oman

Exp.) Vast knowledge in A/c &

Admin, Costing, Banking, Credit

Control, Insurance, International

Purchase/Logistics & Finance, With

D/L looking for suitable position.

Contact: jskanchan01@gmail.com ,

Gsm: 93826090

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

D6 S U N D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 4

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

ACC. AVAILABLE

NRI

M.V. FOR SALE

Tucson V6 2007, automatic,

RO 2800/-. Contact 99384640

Lexus IS 250, model 2007,

good condition. Contact 95530560

Toyota Yaris 1.5 2010 December,

Automatic, expat driven, single

owner, new tyres, new Insurance

82,000 kms in new condition.

OMR 3400/-. Contact 93876159

Lexus GS300, 2006 for sale.

Contact 93218349

Prado 2010 full automatic

80,000 km. excellent condition,

RO 11,900/-. Contact

95573638

Lancer 2008, full auto, good condi-

tion. Contact 96788982

For sale Toyota Camry 2010,

Mazda 6 2006.

Contact 97100370

Nissan Sunny auto 2009, 100 k,

RO 2,500. Contact 93289652

Plot & Villa in Trissur, Kerala for

sale, plot (8 cent) for sale near

Amala Medical College Hospital,

Trissur, Kerala. Villa for sale 2200

SQ ft in 6 cent Pottor, Trissur,

Kerala. Contact 99203128

Villa for sale 2200 sq ft in 8 cent.

Kottayam. Contact: 92652534

Sharing flat for Indian Family /

working lady in Ghobrah R/A.

Contact 98205758

Independent furnished room

executive Wadi Kabir. Contact

99336206

Available bath attached fully

furnished single room for bachelors.

Contact 9904 2116

Furnished single room with

attached bathroom near Mars

Hypermarket, Al Ghubrah. Contact

97312111, RO 150/- per month

Sharing family room for rent in

Hamriyah. RO 90/- W+E.

Contact 99639211

Independent rooms in Qurum/Al

Hail. Contact 95529970

Furnished room in CBD Area for

non-cooking bachelor free Wi-Fi,

advance deposit call 99078540

2 Bedroom flat for offices with fur-

niture near Al Manaf Hotel, Ghala.

Contact 99525743, 99439705

Room with separate entrance & A/C

in Al Khuwair near Rawasco for non-

cooking Indian Bachelor, rent RO

120/-, Contact 97201100,

95397442

1 BR accommodation available at

Rex Road, suitable for bachelors.

Contact 99889590

EVERY FRIDAY 2.00PM ON INDIA’S KAIRALI PEOPLE TV

● Worldwide ● Air Ticket ● Car Rental ● Holiday Packages ● Hotel Reservations ● Travel Insurance

Call: 0096824790400, 0096898569830 Email: info@omanorienttravels.com

For Astrological consultation,

Jathakam. Contact: 99860435 /

97102599

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANT-ED

SIT. WANTED

Indian Male 26 years B.Com having

5years rich experience in Accounts

and Admin looking for suitable

placement. Contact: 96897914340,

00919902200486, E mail:

sudhakaranchan06@gmail.com

Indian Male, 24 yrs, MBA in HR/

Marketing. More than 1 years experi-

enced in retail Banking

(Axis Bank) Presently in family

visit in Oman seeking for a suitable

placement.Contact : 99892082 /

997 43 709

Indian Male 24 years, looking for a

Suitable Job in Telecom / Network-

ing. 1 year sales experience. MSc.

Communications Engineering &

Valid Driving license. Ph: 99027504.

Email: jackrprasad@yahoo.com

BCA graduate, 2 years experience in

JAVA and .NET development looking

for a suitable job. Mob. 98395032.

For CV visit ‘http://muhammeds-

wafuvan.weebly.com

Indian male executive secretary

having vast experience in Admin,

Logistics & procurement well versed

with computer .seek suitable place-

ment. Contact: 99514286

Civil engineer B.E, Indian male,

having 18 yrs exp 11 yrs in Oman,

with valid D/L, seeking suitable

placement release available.

Contact_95321251, 99244245,

kader_fz99@yahoo.co.in

26,male, ACCA finalist, have pro-

fessional experience up to finali-

zation of accounts, statutory and

internal audit, expertise in using

tally and focus & oracle software,

2 years experience in accounts till

finalization, seeking job,

GSM-97654769,email id-

abdullah.nooralam@yahoo.com

Indian Male 26 years BCOM having

5years rich experience in Accounts

and Admin looking for suitable

placement. Contact: 96897914340,

00919902200486, E mail:

sudhakaranchan06@gmail.com

Operation Manager, Indian male,

30 yrs exp. In Front Office Hotel

Industry with Omani driving license

seeks placement.NOC /Release

Available. Contact - 99799774

Indian Male, B.COM, ICWA, CMA

Australia, 24 years experience in

finance, costing, accounts, internal

audit. Valid Oman driving license.

NOC available. Can join immediately.

Contact 97917136

Indian female M.A B.Ed. with

One year three months teaching

experience. Subject: English seek-

ing for a better placement. Now

working in Oman #: 93961142,

92184408 Email:-

anoopkesavan78@gmail.com.

Part- Time Accountant well versed

with all accounting, Finalization,

Budgeting available.# 98803439

B.Sc. Computer science graduate

with CCNA certification and also

with a working 2 years experience,

looking for a suitable position in

IT sector. Please contact: +

96892595819

Diploma in Civil engineering, male,

5 yrs experience in Oman, worked

as Site Engineer at Hyundai Engi-

neering & Construction Company.

Beximco Engg Const Company, PHP

Steel Mills Ltd seeking job urgently.

Contact 97140857

Indian Male 23years B.E Electrical

and Electronics Engineering having

1 year experience in Admin, Electri-

cal Engineer, Electrical supervi-

sor and Project Engineer looking

for suitable placement. Contact :

+96899682689, +91 8136994996.

Email: thalus09@gmail.com

Indian Male, 22 years, B.Tech Me-

chanical (Fresher) from NIT, Calicut.

Software skills – ANSYS, PRO-E Solid

works. # 91294510 / 99437002,

email: nsp1618@gmail.com

Pakistani Male with 18 yrs of

experience in GCC in Sales & Mar-

keting, excellent English & Arabic

speaking, NOC available, looking

for suitable placement.

Contact 96383958

Diploma in Civil Engineering,

Bangladeshi Male. Oman 5 yrs ex-

perience, seeks suitable placement.

Contact 97140857

Indian female, well experienced

in secretarial, administration,

customer care & supervisory jobs.

5 years experience in Muscat.

Immediately available for joining.

Contact: 92139298

Civil draughtsman part time work

for job mob: 96023726

20 years experience in Indian Air

force with Mechanical Engineering

diploma. 5 years in Administration

5 years experience in handling

general engineering tool store man-

agement. 8 years in banking cash

management service. # 95451097.

jacobsam2010@gmail.com

Indian Male, Post graduate with

experience as Document control-

ler on visit seeking a suitable job.

Please contact 97248144.

samiullah_ar@yahoo.co.in

Indian Male having 10 years of

Experience in Oman having Valid

Omani Driving license working in

Purchase Dept looking for a suit-

able position. Salary is negotiable.

obarla313@gmail.com

Mob: 92654817/ 97490313

B. Pharm, Indian Female, Oman

MOH License holder, seeking job.

Email:shivallath@gmail.com

Contact no: 99665183

Indian Male, 24 yrs, MBA in HR/

Marketing. More than 1 years

experienced in retail Banking(Axis

Bank) Presently in family visit in

Oman seeking for a suitable place-

ment. #99892082 /997 43 709

Experienced Salesman with 5 years

experience vehicle looking for job.

Contact 93079087

Post Graduate with experience in

sales and marketing on visit seek-

ing a suitable placement.

Please contact 94562734,

dyasaakhan@gmail.com

Indian Experienced Driver, can

work also as Salesman. looking for

a suitable job Contact 99551310

Senior Accounts Professional,

Indian Male, 35 years, M.Com,

MBA (Fin) 8 years in Oman, with

valid Oman D/L and NOC available.

Capable to handle accounts up to

finalization. Contact 96023965

Young male, 22 years, B. Arch.

Graduate with 7 months training

experience, seeks suitable entry-

level position in an architecture

firm or architecture and engineer-

ing consultancy. Currently on visit

visa, ready to join immediately.

Phone no. 91265929

Email: jay.kay.92@gmail.com

Indian Female 31, B.Com, TALLY

having 6 years experience in

Accounts department in Oman,

seeking suitable placement.

Email: naibyjoshy@gmail.com,

GSM: 92056034

Indian male 27year B.Com gradu-

ate 2year experience in marketing.

Looking for good placement in any

field, since from 4year in Oman.

Contact 98765838

MBA in HR, 6+ years work ex-

perience in HR & Admin in MNC,

Indian Female, 26, Good commu-

nications skills seeking suitable

placement. Contact 97914669

Male 25 Pakistani MA Econom-

ics/CAT.4 years experience in

utility sector flexible to do any

role in finance/HR & supply chain.

https://www.linkedin.com/pro-

file/view?id=186570782.cell no

94626209

MBA in HR, 6+ years work ex-

perience in HR & Admin in MNC,

Indian Female, 26 Good commu-

nications skills seeking suitable

placement. Contact 97914669

Male 30, 6 years Oman experience

in Sales, Currently working with an

UAE based Company operating in

UAE and Oman Market with valid

UAE and Oman D/L looking for

suitable placement. Contact +968

91212407 (NOC not required)

Diploma in civil Engineer, Male, 5

years experience in Oman as a Site

Engineer, worked at Hyundai Engi-

neering & Construction Company,

JMB-1, 20 storied high rise building,

Industrial building, sub-station,

roads & highway at Indian Railway

Construction Company, looking for

suitable placement. #97140857

Fish farming and inland pond

development, management and

research 5 years plus 1 year

experience in Oman, fisheries

training manual development.

+98698262184.

OPERATION MANAGER, Indian

male, 30 yrs exp. In Front Office

Hotel Industry with Omani driving

license seeks placement.NOC /

Release Available. #99799774

26 years Indian male with MBA &

PGDFM, Total 3.4 years experience

in Administration seeking suitable

placement in Muscat. Holding

Oman valid driving license.

Contact: 93359371,

Indian Male, B.Sc Fashion & Apparel

Design having 4+ yrs of experience

(in Retail Sector as Designer-Visual

Merchandising & Marketing) seek-

ing suitable placement in any sec-

tions. Contact 94535866,

Email: tomsjon@gmail.com

Accountant, Indian male, 25 yrs,

BBM CA, Computer proficiency:

TALLY9, C+, 1 yrs Experience in

Oman, Seeks suitable placements.

mob: 97145531

Indian Male, 24 years old on visit

visa, 3 years Diploma in Civil Engi-

neering, 3 yrs experience.

Contact 98515106

Indian Male, 22 years, B.Tech

Mechanical (Fresher) from NIT

Calicut, Software skills –

ANSYS, PRO-E solid works.

Contact 91294510 / 99437002.

Email: nsp1618@gmail.com

Indian Female, BSC Nurse, on

visit having 4 years experience in

Medical Surgical with Prometric

Certificate looking for a suitable

placement. Contact: 98329941/

Email: ancyanish2011@gmail.com

Indian Male, 23 yrs MBA Market-

ing & Finance, 6 months experience

as a Sales and Operations Officer

looking for suitable job.#99106181,

email : akram8145@gmail.com

Civil Engineer, Diploma, Male 25,

3 years experience in site, CAD, 3d,

MS Project, Seeking job in Oman.

Contact 92887561,

jubincivileng@gmail.com

Required Accountant job 4years

experience visa exp 3.dec.14 Hold-

ing D/L. Contact - 98283400

Indian Female, M.Sc Software

Engineering having 2 yrs experience

in IT & Admin seeks suitable place-

ment. Contact 94391214,

anucherian@gmail.com

Senior Accounts Professional, Indian Male, 35 years, M.Com, MBA

(Fin) 8 years in Oman, with valid

Oman DL and NOC available. Capable

to handle accounts up to finalization.

Contact 9602 3965.

Marketing Executive male 23 years,

2 years exp with NOC available, GCC

driving license, working in sales and

warehouse management looking for

suitable opening please

Contact 94030909

Indian male-26 having 2 years

experience in Oman as a store keeper

looking for the good placement, NOC

available by the current company.

Contact 96671102, email:

mohdparvez656@yahoo.com

Indian Male, 22 years, B.Tech Me-

chanical (Fresher) from NIT Calicut,

Software skills – Ansys,

Pro-E solid works. Contact 91294510

/ 99437002.

Email: nsp1618@gmail.com

MBA, Indian Male, 28 yrs, HR &

Admin, Marketing sales, 1 yr experi-

ence in India. I have release looking

for any suitable job in Oman.

Contact 97484159

Infosys experienced male with

engineering degree in Electronics

and communication from a reputed

University seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 95786295/

azhar.mumtaz90@gmail.com

57 Yrs. Old healthy person seeking

an opportunity in any area of works

(Shop sales man, Painting, Store asst,

traffic controller, Foremen, Control-

ler) .Saudi experienced.

Contact-97239854-Asher

Indian Male 38 years, Electronic

Engineer with 14 yrs of Oman

experience and proven track record

as Sales & Marketing Manager

(Electronics, Electrical & Electro-

Mechanical Products) with valid

Oman D/L looking for a suitable

placement in a reputed Organiza-

tion. Please contact 92208744,

Email: ebpadmakumar@yahoo.com

Eight years experience in the field of

Sales, Marketing & Branch in charge

& Having Valid Oman Driving License

with NOC.Presently in Oman. Seeking

for Placements # Sumesh: 92718716

onsumesh@gmail.com

B.Sc (Bio-Technology) & MBA hav-

ing 4 years experience in Marketing

and Sales currently on visit visa

seeking suitable placement in Oman.

Email: meersameer768@gmail.com,

GSM: 94517678

Indian Male, 38 years, Electron-

ics Engineer with 14 years of Oman

experience and proven track record

as Sales & Marketing Manager (Elec-

tronics, electrical & electro mechani-

cal products) with valid Oman D/L

for a suitable placement in a reputed

Organization. Contact 92208744,

email : ebpadmakumar@yahoo.com

Indian Male, 24 yrs, MBA in HR/

Marketing. More than 1 years experi-

enced in retail Banking

(Axis Bank) Presently in family

visit in Oman seeking for a suitable

placement. Contact 99892082/

997 43 709

Indian Male having 20 years Ex-

perience in Travel Agency in Oman.

Looking for suitable placement.

Contact 95692050.

29 yr old indian male graduate 5yrs

oman exp in sales and marketing with

valid oman driving license looking for

suitable job.Noc available ready to join

immediately Contact 95136784

Senior Accounts Professional, Indian Male, 35 years, M.Com, MBA

(Fin) 8 years in Oman, with valid

Oman DL and NOC available. Capable

to handle accounts up to finalization.

Contact 9602 3965.

Part time accountant available.

Accounting experience up to finaliza-

tion and tally also.

Contact 96423671

Indian male with over 19 years of

qualitative experience in Automobile

field, expert in providing techni-

cal advice on repairs and servicing

seeks jobs in sales/ service in mane-

gerial capacity. #91-7736048460.

yamaharajesh@gmail.com

Indian male Engineer (B.E in E&C,

MBA) with 5 years admin/profes-

sional experience looking for a

suitable placement in a reputed

company. Contact 91387463

email: i.career543@gmail.com

Diploma in civil engineering having

an experience 23years (19years in

Oman) experience in Estimator /

quantity surveyor looking for a

suitable placement.

Willing to join immediately

Contact: 96328687.

DAILY GUIDES U N D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 4 D7

DAILY GUIDESITUATION WANTEDCARGO

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with

Buffet, & Land Tours

Al- Ainain Marine Tours Contact-

98029602, 92808636

TOURS

TOURS

RENT A CAR

DRIVING

BUSINESS

Licensed Engineering Consultancy

(Chemical) Company looking for In-

ternational or local partners to start

operations in Oman. For enquiries

call 99264162

Wanted dentist or investor to buy a

well-running dental clinic in Sohar

immediately. Contact 92625962,

95904234

Omani National looking for expat

investing partner in Restaurant in

Al Amerat. Infrastructure almost

ready. Jamal Adan Trading.

Contact 98711083, email :

faisal.patel0038@gmail.com

We assist in new business set up

local sponsorship, real estate ser-

vices, assist in company formation

services. Contact - 93166088

M.V.WANTED

Required Nissan Tida / Toyota

yaris / Suzuki swift / hyundai/Kia

hatchback car in good condition.

Contact 95405033

MATRIMONIAL

Catholic (LC) Malayalee aged 40

unmarried 5’6”, 70 kg looking for

bride. Contact 99851123

Remarriage, 40 yrs

Ezhava Man from TVM.

Contact 93289652

Well respected Goan RC family

seeks alliance for daughter, fair,

attractive, 30/5.1”, working in Oman

as head of Marketing in top MNC.

Looking for decent well established

NRI settled abroad, caste no bar.

Contact 96284073

RC girl, 26 yrs, 164 cm, fair, Muscat,

MOH Nurse (BSC Nurse) looking

for suitable alliance from reputed

family with educated professional

working in Oman/Abroad.

Contact 91768933

Kerala Viswakarma BS girl,

24 year, M. Sc Microbiology,

seek suitable alliance.

Contact : 95466271

Parents of Christian Girl (Catholic

/ Cheramar) age 30 yrs, 5.4”, me-

dium complexion from Ernakulum

district, Kerala working in a reputed

hospital in Muscat as Pharmacist

seeking for suitable alliance.

Contact +91-9946510794

(Oman - +968 99066561)

Christian Boy, 32 yrs Muscat Busi-

ness looking for suitable alliance

from reputed family. # 98003111

Proposals are invited from parents

of professionally qualified Nair Boys

for 24 year old Upper Middle Class

Nair girl hail from Trivandrum, (171

cm, Star-Bharani) employed in a

reputed Company in Oman. Contact:

0968-9950 2593 /99798041.

(KM ID.2844689)

Sunni Muslim parents of Mumbai-

Maharashtra origin, father working

in Muscat invite alliance for their 28

years old daughter, well educated

from well settled Gulf Residence,

professional / post Graduate of

Mumbai-Maharashtra origin. In-

terested candidates / parents may

contact 99333752

FOR HIRE

TRUCK FOR HIREIsuzu 10 ton cargo body truck

(2012 FVR) with UAE experienced driver

available for long term / short term rent.

Contact: 95346950

Running truck wash for rent in

Ouhi Sunia Sohar. Serious people

can. Contact on 97864747

50 seater bus with PDO specifica-

tion for rent or lease.

Contact 99839898

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

D8 S U N D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 4

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

SITUATION WANT-SERVICES

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing,

Contact 99314807/24792998

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your

marble. # 24793614/ 99314807

Pest Control Treatments!!! Termites! Cockroaches! Bedbugs!

Ocean Centre LLC.

Contact 99344723

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QA-

BAS- 99320217 /24788722

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QA-

BAS- 99320217 /24788722

Door to Door Computers repair

specialist laptop software Website

cartridges. Contact 99199376

A.M Trading Pest control. Contact 99067923

Waterproofing, light weight Screed,

Antitermite and MS Fabrication.

Contact 92888337

For All Your Maintenance Solutions,

A/c Servicing & Fixing, Painting,

Cleaning, Electric. Contact. 99002390

Contact: 91262820 / 96458007

Cargo Truck body fabrication. Please contact 92326955. Bridge

Gulfa llc, Misfah industrial area.

Water proofing ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

GULF INTERNATIONAL LLC

all kind of pest control.

Contact 92326955

Window & split unit A/C servicing

& maintenance. Contact 96236476

Civil Maintenance, Painting Elec-

tric, Plumbing, Decor, Tile Fixing,

Lecithin Copra Board flat stifling ,

Carpet Cleaning and A/C Servicing.

Contact 97897831 (Indian keralite)

Carpet & sofa cleaning, house clean-

ing. Contact 99542979 / 98855815

Split & window A/C servicing &

maintenance. Contact 93769089

For all your maintenance needs

including, Painting, Plumbing,

Electricity, Laying of Interlock Tiles,

Marbles etc. Tel: 99383574

Mr. Chandran

Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile pol-

ishing, pest control & anti-termite

treatment, general cleaning paint-

ing, Plumbing, Electrical, shifting.

Contact Mundhir Al-Rizaiqi trading.

L.L.C. # 24810137, 99450130

CLASSES

WEBSITE

WEB, ERP and Business Intelli-

gence (BI) creation and man-

agement at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

COMPUTER

Al Manar Vocational pleased to an-

nounce at vocational short and long

term courses in tailoring, cooking

and internal design. Contact us now :

24698070 or 91144335

Split & window AC servicing and

repairing. Contact 99557080

Window & split unit AC servicing &

maintenance. Contact 96236476

Civil maintenance, electrical &

plumbing work. Contact 99557080,

96236476

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT IS-LAM. If you would like to know more

about Islam, please call: 99425598,

96050000, 99353988, 99253818,

99341395, and 99379133.

For ladies: 99415818, 99321360,

99730723 Orvisit: www.islamfact.com

Ayurvedic treatment for backache,

paralysis, arthritis etc & massage,

All Season (Vaidyaratnam).

Contact 24475280 / 95371554 /

92504980 , www.siddhayur.com

Ayurvedic treatment for joint pain,

backache, paralysis, massage, steam

bath, obesity, spondylitis, ideal

care Ayurvedic Clinic, 18 November

Street, Azaiba. Contact 99639695 /

99117987

GOOD NEWS

For HT cable jointing and

termination works 33KV/11KV.

Contact 99056438 /

Email: npgoman@gmail.com

Electrical Plumbing Painting

Contract and Maintenance.

Contact 98456535

House shifting transport. Contact

99657644, 98518013

Catering services We do industrial

catering service, Canteen/ mess,

3 times packed meals, and all

types of catering events. Contact

92188777/ 99249899

For All Your Maintenance Solutions,

A/c Servicing & Fixing, Painting,

Cleaning, Electric. Contact 99002390

Painting Interlock plumbing

maintenance. Contact 92142319

Carpet & Sofa Shampooing. Ocean

Centre LLC. Contact 99884591

BEAUTY

Varkey’s Gents Salon & Spa – Offer 25% on all spa facilities like hamam

spa, massages with steam bath, Jacuzzi, aroma therapy, pedicure & mani-

cure, facial treatments. Contact 92935679

Maintenance – 1) A/C Mainte-

nance, 2)fridge, washing machine

& dish washer repairing, 3)painting

& cleaning services, 4)electrical &

plumbing carpentry work. Contact

99447257 / 97014234 / 24504281

Transportation. Contact 91379976

Transportation with car & driver.

(VIP’s only). Contact 95040768

Transportation. Contact 93425167

Pick & Drop any time. # 97014786

Transportation. Contact 99664703

Transportation. Contact 99508282

Transportation available 99159277

TRANSPORTATION

TRANSPORTATION

MANPOWER

Transportation. Contact 96538078

Transportation Available #97180655