times of oman

44

MONDAY, November 24, 2014 / 1 Safar 1436 AH timesofoman.com wtimesofoman.com facebook.com/timesofoman twitter.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company

230

DIGEST VIDEO

S CA N T H I S Q R CO D E TO I N STA N T LY L AU N C H T H E V I D EO

Top stories in one minute with our new daily Digest

Remittance tax on expats back in focus

REJIMON K [email protected]

MUSCAT: A tax on the billions of rials expatriates send home every year would add OMR60 million to Oman’s coffers, say Majlis Al Shura members who have called for a 2 per cent levy on remittances.

Yesterday, the Majlis Al Shura approved an advisory commit-tee’s proposal to help the Sultanate overcome a budget deficit due to drop in oil prices.

There has already been mixed reaction to the move which would hit 1.9 million expats, with some fearing it would drive an increase in black market money transfers.

The economic and financial committee of the Shura Council, a consultative body, recommended imposing a tax of 2 per cent on the remittances while discussing the draft budget.

“The approval to tax expatriate remittances is one of the several steps proposed to overcome the budget deficit, which the Sultan-ate will face while adjusting the oil

price,” Tawfiq Al Lawati, a Shura member who took part in the meeting, told Times of Oman.

Remittances from the expatri-ate community in Oman stood at OMR3.502 billion in 2013, com-pared to OMR3.109 in 2012; an increase of 12.6 per cent. Accord-ing to the Shura committee around OMR60 million could be earned by taxing expat remittances per year.

“The budget is based on oil price set on $85. The global aver-age is $75. So, we have proposed to revise it to $80. While revising it, the budget will face a deficit of OMR500 million to OMR700 mil-lion. So, to overcome the deficit we have proposed several measures, including taxing the remittances,” the Shura member added.

In a report issued by Central Bank of Oman in July this year, the remittances over the past five years were OMR13,621 billion, including OMR2.04b in 2009, OMR2.193b, in 2010, OMR2.774b in 2011, OMR 3.109b in 2012 and OMR3.502b in 2013.

The report attributes the rise to the increase in the number of

expatriate workers in the private sector, some 1,527,000 workers in 2013 compared to 1,316,000 in 2012. Apart from remittances by migrant workers, who are mostly working in the private sector, the report also takes into account outflows from expats employed in the public sector.

Commenting on the tax pro-posal, the CEO of Oman UAE Ex-change said that it might encour-age illegal money transfer.

“If it is a government decision, we have to follow it. But our con-cern is that this may encourage illegal money transfer,” Tonny George Alexander, CEO of Oman UAE Exchange, said.

“Every country has right to mo-bilise income for its development. We cannot say no to their plans. As majority of the expat workers belong to the low-income group, they should be exempted from tax,” Umesh Kumar, Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Account-ants of India Muscat Chapter, said.

Other than the move to impose tax on remittances to overcome the budget deficit, the Shura has sug-gested cutting the defence budget by 5 per cent, spending on certain government projects, rationalisa-tion of the oil expenditure in line with production and also revision of the royalty fee on minerals trade.

“The royalty fee was reduced from 10 per cent to 5 per cent three years ago. We have proposed to make it again 10 per cent,” the Shu-ra member added.

Taxing expats and cutting defence

expenditure are among the proposed steps

to meet the deficit due to drop in oil prices

A4

OMANWife to lose resident status if out of Oman

2Since your wife is out of Oman and if she exceeds her stay beyond 180

days, she will lose her resident status and will not be able to re-enter the country. >A3

OMANOmanis set to get e-visas in India

3For easing visa processing and help increase tourist inflow, India is all set

to launch e-visa facility from November 27 for 40 countries, including Oman. >A4

OMANNo cancellation of traffic fines

1On its Twitter account, Royal Oman Police (ROP) has scotched the rumours

about traffic fines being cancelled on the occasion of 44th National Day. >A2

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

HM issues four Royal Decrees

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has issued four Royal Decrees as follows:

Royal Decree No. 62/2014 promulgates a law fixing fees for the hydrocarbon materials and petroleum products shipping port. Article (1) stipulates that the provisions of the attached “Law on Fixing Fees for the Hy-drocarbon Materials and Petro-leum Products’ Shipping Port” shall be enforced.

Article (2) cancels all that contravenes or contradicts the provisions of this Decree.

Article (3) states that the De-cree shall be published in the gazette and that it shall be en-forced with effect from the day following its date of issue.

Issued on November 23, 2014. Royal Decree No. 63/2014

endorses the organisational structure of the Directorate General of the Supreme Council for Planning.

Article (1) approves the or-ganisational structure of the Secretariat General of the Su-preme Council for

Planning in accordance with the procedure stated in the an-nex attached to the Decree.

Article (2) cancels all that contravenes or contradicts the provisions of this Decree.

Article (3) states that this decree shall be published in the gazette and that it shall take ef-fect on its date of issue. Issued on November 23, 2014. >A6

D E C I S I O N

SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT

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

Source: Central Bank of Oman Graphics

Remittances 2009-2013

0

1

2

3

In billion OMR

2.02.2

2.8

3.1

7.5%

26.5%

12.1%

12.6%

3.5

Municipality considers ban on quad bikes

Fans disappointed at Oman loss

FAHAD AL [email protected]

MUSCAT: Expectations of Oma-ni fans had soared sky-high after their team thrashed Kuwait 5-0 in the quarterfinal encounter in Riyadh, but the soccer aficiona-dos were left fuming at the team’s disappointing 3-1 loss to Qatar on Sunday in the Gulf Cup semifinal.

They were raising questions on the tactics used by national coach Paul Le Guen against Qatar.

Thanks to the hype created af-ter the victory over Kuwait, life in Muscat virtually came to a stand-still before the kick-off on Sunday evening with supporters glued to their TV sets at home and on the big screens at hotels in the city.

But what disheartened the Omani supporters more was the way the team gave in after taking a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute of the match.

“I am more disappointed with the way we lost the game,” said Ali Al Nabi. “They did not show any desire to win the match. There was no urgency. They did not play as they did against Kuwait and that is very disappointing,” he said.

ComplacencySome fans attributed Oman’s failure to the complacency of the entire team.

“The players got carried away by the attention they got after the victory over Kuwait. All those involved with the game — fans, players and everybody went overboard with the celebra-tions,” said one fan.

“I felt as if we have won our second Gulf Cup. That was the kind of hype created after the Kuwait match,” another sup-porter said sarcastically. Some supporters questioned the strat-egy of coach Paul Le Guen and

some went to the extent of asking for his scalp.

Substitute“Any coach will field his best in an important match like a semi-final. But we have a coach who preferred not start with a player who scored a hat-trick in the pre-vious match,” said another fan, Omar Nasir, referring to substi-tute Said Salim Al Ruzaiqi, who scored thrice in Oman’s 5-0 win over Kuwait.

“We were supposed to play the same way we played the last match with the same players. But unfortunately that was not the case. Said Salim was sent in with just 30 minutes left and by that time all was over for us,” he added.

He summed up the mood of fans saying: “The entire team and their performance was really dis-appointing. We are all sad.”

See also >C1

G U L F C U P

Earthquake hits KhasabTimes News Service

MUSCAT: A 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck 68km off Khasab coast in the governo-rate of Musandam in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday even-ing, the Seismological Centre at Sultan Qaboos University said, adding that the epicentre was 26.47N and 56.59E with a depth of 10 kilometres.

4 . 5 - M A G N I T U D E

A2 M O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

OMANThe ROP might think of exempting

motorists with limited traffic fines from

paying renewal fees of their vehicles

ROP official

No cancellation of traffic fines

FAHAD AL [email protected]

MUSCAT: On its Twitter ac-count, Royal Oman Police (ROP) has scotched the rumours about traffic fines being cancelled on the occasion of 44th National Day.

The rumours had begun doing the rounds earlier that the ROP would be cancelling all traffic fines recorded in the system on account of National Day.

However, an ROP official nipped all such rumours in the bud, stating that there were no reasons to cancel any traffic fines.

“The official explained that cancelling traffic fines of default-

ers would be unfair to those mo-torists who adhere to traffic laws and regulations,” said the source. Instead, a reward could be given in terms of some facilities to those with clean record, he added.

Reason behind rumour The reason behind the spread of the rumour was upgrade of the immigration system, due to which all electronic transactions had been stopped, according to the source.

“Individuals who visited the immigration department last week to process their transac-tions found that the system was down due to the upgrade,” said

the source, while adding that the ROP official revealed that all electronic transactions, includ-ing payment of traffic fines on-line, had been stopped until the system was upgraded.

“People were under the impres-sion that once the electronic pay system stopped, the ROP had de-cided to cancel traffic fines,” said the source.

“The ROP might think of ex-empting motorists with limited traffic fines from paying renewal fees of their vehicles,” the source said, but cautioned that even this was just a possibility and there was nothing definite.

The ROP has also advised the public to verify all information from them.

“People must not believe any-one and must instantly revert to the concerned authority,” said the official.

He added that in any such cases there will be a clear announce-ment from ROP through Oman TV, radio channels or at the ROP account on the social media.

The ROP has denied the rumours doing the

rounds that all traffic fines would be waived

off on National Day

CLARIFICATION: An official source said that cancelling traffic fines of defaulters would be unfair to

those motorists who adhere to the traffic laws and regulations.–File photo

A3

OMANM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

Share your world with us on Instagram

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY SHARE YOURPHOTOGRAPHS

DRIVE SLOWER LIVE LONGER

My wife is working with a private school as a foreign language teacher and she is out of country for the last four months. As she can-not fly back due to doctor’s advice, we fear her visa may get cancelled after 180 days of her departure. The school management is ready to give her NOC to change her visa to my company’s family visa. Is it possible to change the visa in her absence if we bring her passport and residence card here and get the new visa stamped and residence card changed, so that she can fly back to her home country later without any issues?

Since your wife is out of the country and if she exceeds her stay beyond the permit-ted 180 days, she will lose her resident status and will not be able to re-enter the country

on the same visa. Please note that even after the expiry of 180 days, her visa will remain valid in the official records (computer) and this needs to be cancelled and removed by the authorities. Please request your wife’s employer to ap-proach the Manpower and Immigration authorities to physically cancel the visa and resident permit from the records.

You may also surrender the resident card to the employer

for submission to the con-cerned authorities.

Once this procedure is done, you may apply for a family join-ing visa for your wife. There is no need for her to be in Oman to carry out these procedures. You can apply for family visa even without a no-objection letter from your wife’s em-ployer as NOC is mandatory only for change of employment visas and not for other type of visas (visit, family joining, investor etc.)

Working wife will lose resident status if she stays out of the country beyond 180 days

L E G A L C O L U M N

Times of Oman, in association with Khalifa Al Hinai Legal Consultants, will answer the legal queries of readers every Monday. Questions can be sent to [email protected]

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this column are for general guidance pur-poses only. They are based on facts pre-sented to us and are not substituted for expert legal advice. Readers are advised to seek legal assistance for specific legal issues. Times of Oman and Khalifa Al Hinai Advocates & Legal Consultancy do not assume any responsibility towards anyone on this matter.

MalayaleeChristians to hold functionTimes News Service

MUSCAT: It’s a special occa-sion for Malayalee Christian Congregation (MCC) as it’s celebrating its 45th anniver-sary on Wednesday, at the Prot-estant Church in Oman (PCO) Complex in Ruwi.

The congregation is one of the oldest Christian congregations functioning in Oman, which also serves as an inter-denom-inational organisation since its inception on July 3, 1970. From a small beginning with few members, the congregation has grown in strength over the last four-and-a-half decades with hundreds of members.

MCC extends financial help to various charitable organi-sations in India from time to time, besides striving to render financial help to needy Indi-ans in Oman and in India. The congregation has a team, which regularly visits hospitals to offer financial support and consola-tion to needy sick people.

Coinciding with the 30th an-niversary, MCC provided aid to build houses for five homeless families In India. A ‘Marriage Aid Scheme,’ which commenced in connection with the thirty-fifth anniversary, has provided financial support to 35 poor girls.

E X P A T A F F A I R S

Stars Cinema-Darsait flyover opens partiallySTAFF REPORTER

MUSCAT: Motorists in Ruwi got a boost yesterday morning after partial opening of the flyo-ver near Stars Cinema. “Those going to Darsait from Wadi Ka-bir can now use the flyover,” Jose Chacko, whose office is located near Stars Cinema, said.

However, the flyover for motor-ists coming from Darsait towards Wadi Kabir has not yet been opened. Due to the road expan-sion works, motorists heading to Darsait previously had to use the

narrow, congested road running alongside the flyover.

Now the motorists can go straight over, but if heading to-wards Ruwi, they have to take a U-turn, underneath the flyover, in front of Stars Cinema and then come again to Sheraton junction and take the right turn to Ruwi.

T R A F F I C F A C I L I T Y

STRAIGHT RUN: Those going to Darsait from Wadi Kabir can now

use this flyover. – Jun Estrada/TIMES OF OMAN


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

A4 M O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

OMAN 44 years of the Renaissance era

and the good news of His

Majesty’s good health will be

celebrated at Bait Al Zubair

Muscat Municipality suggests banning quad bikes on roadsTimes News Service

MUSCAT: At the 10th meeting of Muscat Municipality Council, the Municipality suggested a complete ban on those driving quad bikes in residential areas, roads and high-ways, and even proposed a fine on anyone violating such a ban.

The meeting was chaired by Mohsin bin Mohammed Al Sheikh, chairman of the Council, and was attended by members and officials from the Directorate General for Environment Affairs at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs.

The Council also decided on developing the Bausher sand area and banning the unlicensed shops

which rent out motorbikes ille-gally. The Council also discussed that there should be a specific place for the quad bikers for pur-suing the hobby. They also urged the Ministry of Housing to look into the issue.

Lack of safety measures Earlier this year, a large number of people had gathered in Bausher Sands to voice their concern over the lack of safety measures ob-served by quad bike rental shops in the area after a 16-year-old boy met with an accident while dune bashing with friends.

“Younger drivers must be ac-companied by an adult and must wear protective gear,” Sudipta

Kumar, an Indian expat in Baush-er, said. Residents also called for spreading awareness among peo-ple about the dangerous sport and flouting of safety rules by quad bike rental shops.

“I visited the Bausher dunes this weekend and noticed several teenagers risking their lives by riding without helmets. Although rental shops ask for age proof, but children below 16 years are al-lowed to ride the bikes if a guardi-an accepts to sign the declaration form for them. The ride should be better organised,” a road safety expert said.

He also said that wearing a hel-met decreases the risk of injuries by more than 70 per cent.

Statistics from the World Health Organisation state that people riding bicycles or motor-cycles who were killed in road accidents in Oman accounted for five per cent of the total number of accident fatalities.

In 2013, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) registered more than 300 bicycle and motorcycle accidents. In the past 10 years, between 2004 and 2013, there were 2,609 two-wheeler accidents which left 177 riders dead and 2,684 injured.

“In Oman, we don’t have too many bikes or motorcycles. So considering not too many people ride motorcycles or bikes here, the number is quite high,” the road safety expert added.

S A F E T Y I S S U E S

Omanis set to gete-visas for India

REJIMON K [email protected]

MUSCAT: In a step that will ease visa processing and help increase the inflow of tourists, the Indian government is all set to launch electronic visa (e-visa) facility on Thursday for about 40 countries, including Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, the USA and the UK, among others.

In October 2013, Oman was in-cluded in visa-on-arrival (VOA) list and according to the latest reports, countries which are cur-rently having VOA facility in India will also be covered under the new scheme. According to Indian me-dia reports quoting Indian tourism ministry officials, the e-visa facil-ity for 43 countries would be rolled out by Union Home Minister Ra-jnath Singh along with Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma.

Once implemented, the electronic

travel authorisation (ETA) will allow foreign travellers to apply for a visa and receive an online confirmation within three to five working days.

30-day periodThe ETA will be available for a 30-day period from the date of the tourist’s arrival in India. The gov-ernment plans to establish a sepa-rate website to extend the facility to foreigners intending to visit In-dia as tourists. To obtain the visa, they would need to apply through the designated website along with the required fees.

The e-visa scheme received the PMO’s nod in June and is expected to be implemented in time for the country’s tourist season.

The countries that are unlikely to be on the list include those on “prior reference’’ list which in-

clude Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Soma-lia, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Afghanistan.

This is the first time that elec-tronic visas will be implemented in the country. According to the Indian officials, plans were afoot to include all 109 countries in a phased manner.

International tourist inflow to India has been growing at about six to seven per cent annually.

The foreign tourist arrival in In-dia during 2013 was about seven million, with growth of 5.9 per cent as compared to the year 2012.

This year, till September 2014, there has been growth of 7.6 per cent in foreign tourist arrival.Between January and September 2014, 19,290 visas on arrival were issued, compared to 13,859 during the same time last year, reflecting an increase of 39.2 per cent.

Last year, Oman was

included on visa-on-

arrival list (VOA) and

countries which are

currently having VOA

facility in India will

also be covered under

the new scheme

DANGER AHEAD: Residents called for spreading awareness among

people about the dangerous sport and flouting of safety rules by

quad bike rental shops.–File photo

TRAVEL CONVENIENCE: Once implemented, the electronic travel

authorisation (ETA) will allow foreign travellers to apply for a visa

and receive an online confirmation.

NATIONAL MUSEUM’S SOFT OPENING IN MUSCATThe Ministry of Heritage and Culture yesterday unveiled the

soft opening of the National Museum, under the patronage

of His Highness Sayyid Haitham bin Tareq Al Said, Minister

of Heritage & Culture and chairman of the Board of Trustees

of the National Museum. The official opening of National

Museum is scheduled in the first half of 2015, said Jamal bin

Hassan Al Mosawi, director of the museum.—ONA

Bait Al Zubair to celebrateNational Day with poetryTimes News Service

MUSCAT: As part of the 44th National Day celebrations, Bait Al Zubair is organising an even-ing of poetry under the auspices of Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al Rawas, Advisor to His Majesty the Sultan for Cultural Affairs.

The event will be held at Bait Al Zubair Auditorium today.

Titled ‘A Tribute to Our Lead-er,’ the evening of poetry will be an occasion to pay tributes to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, for Oman’s achievements under his wise leadership and patron-age. The poets’ recitations will also convey their happiness with His Majesty’s recent speech to the citizens, and will reflect the poets’ reassurance about his good health. Many renowned Omani poets will participate in the even-ing, including Said Al Saqlawy, Hasan al Matrooshi, Mohammed Qaratas and Hisham al Saqri.

Commenting on his participa-tion, Said Al Saqlawy said, “It was my pleasure to receive the invi-tation from Bait Al Zubair to be part of this event. Patriotic events like this give us the opportunity to express our gratitude and love towards His Majesty and our be-loved country. Every citizen of our country shares the mutual feeling of love and appreciation for His Majesty.”

Mohammed Qaratas, on his

part, said, “I’m honoured to be one of the participants at this event that has gathered some of the most eminent Omani poets to express their thoughts through poetry. I would also take the op-portunity to thank Mohammed Al Zubair, Advisor to His Majesty the Sultan for Economic Plan-ning, for his support for various national, cultural social events like these.”

Commenting on the special evening of poetry being held as a tribute to His Majesty Sultan Qa-boos bin Said, Abdullah al Zubair of the Zubair Corporation said, “November 18 is the date that every citizen of Oman awaits with pride. It is a time to celebrate the

strides and achievements under the wise leadership of His Majes-ty, and an occasion to express love for our country and our beloved Sultan. This event is a tribute to our achievements during the 44 years of the Renaissance era and the good news of His Majesty’s good health.”

Abdullah Al Zubair added, “We named the event ‘A Tribute to Our Leader’ to express our deep grati-tude and warm feelings towards our wise leader His Majesty Sultan Qaboos. During the re-naissance period, Oman has wit-nessed progress in various fields, and it is our way of showing rever-ence to our leader and celebrating our achievements as a nation.”

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

EVENING OF POETRY: Many renowned Omani poets will

participate in the evening, including Said Al Saqlawy,

Hasan al Matrooshi, Mohammed Qaratas and Hisham al Saqri.

Survey on services under way

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Household survey of citizens which is under way in Oman would be collecting data researchers and policy makers for better governance.

The National Centre for Sta-tistics and Information’s (NCSI) survey, which ends on Decem-ber 15, comes as a part of NCSI’s strategy to collect accurate and reliable data.

The surveyors will be canvass-ing the opinion and assessment of the citizens regarding a number of

key issues related to the services provided by the government like health-care, education, security among others.

“Conducting this survey of Omani citizens is a part of NCSI’s efforts to provide decision mak-ers in Oman with reliable data covering the different aspects of Omani daily life, including the various services provided by dif-ferent government institutions,” said Hisham bin Mohammed Al Hashmi, acting director of De-partment of Measuring Public Opinion at NCSI.

“The survey will take place over the phone whereby subjects will receive calls from NCSI rep-resentatives. The NCSI call cen-tre is fully equipped to conduct such surveys and it is an effective and time saving way to collect valuable data and feedback from citizens in Sultanate. NCSI rep-resentatives are trained to inter-view the survey participants, re-view the data and ensure quality record keeping. The survey sam-ple covers some 1,200 Omanis all over the country who are above 18 years of age,” he added.

P U B L I C A F F A I R S



A6

OMANM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

I think many of those companies

which have received visas did not

avail these for contracting.

Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce and Industry

HM receives thanks

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received a cable of thanks from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Re-public of Turkey in reply to His Majesty’s congratulatory cable on the occasion of his country’s 91st Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic.

In his cable, President Erdog-an expressed his thanks for His

Majesty the Sultan’s generous congratulations.

He affirmed to His Majesty his complete confidence that the mutual cooperation and the bi-lateral relations between the two friendly countries are in continu-ous progress, wishing His Majesty good health and wellbeing and the Omani people further progress and welfare. -ONA

T U R K E Y Misuse of ‘contracting firm’ tag to be curbed

ELHAM [email protected]

MUSCAT: Major initiatives are under way to curb the mis-use of the label of ‘contracting firm’ to easily obtain visas for foreign workers.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is set to implement a recent ministerial decision to reclassify professions in the con-tracting sector, a move aimed at curbing an unhealthy practice that has been prevailing in the country for decades.

Minister of Commerce and In-dustry Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy said on Sunday that the new regu-lations introduced for the con-tracting sector in Oman will help identify ‘true’ contractors from those misusing this title.

Al Sunaidy made the remarks on the sidelines of a conference held to brief the contracting com-panies on the new ministerial decision, under which contract-ing companies have one year to register with the Oman Society of Contractors (OSC) after receiv-ing their commercial registra-tion. The decision includes other articles as well.

Speaking to the reporters, the minister said that the contract-

ing sector is an important sector which has fuelled the economy for many years but the lack of strict regulations has led to a situation where many people only pretend to be into ‘contracting.’

Al Sunaidy said, “I think many of those companies which have received visas did not avail these for contracting but because they thought that we give leverage for contracting and they can use it to bring in as many employees as they want in the name of not stop-ping our development plans.

“They have misused that and I (would) say they have misused that greatly. Now, that is affect-ing the actual contractors because when the actual contractors come to recruit (workers) they always have to listen to a ‘No’ because we do not want to inflate the numbers in that sector.”

Job reclassificationHe said that the ministerial deci-sion, which will be implemented in cooperation with the OSC, will help regulate the market through reclassification of the jobs within the sector.

“In terms of Omanisation, I think it is unfair that there are around 700,000 non-Om-

anis in the sector and there are about 50,000 Omanis,” the minister said.

“This is why we now would like to work very closely with the society … to put a clear explana-tion about this and if you clearly define it and say this is what con-tracting is, the movement of the labour would be only within the sector and not outside the sector,” Al Sunaidy added.

“Then you need to check how the jobs of those working in the sector are classified and see whether it is indeed true that we have 700,000 people contribut-ing to the well-being via con-tracting in Oman? I personally do not think so.”

Financial statementThe official added that there are also companies which called themselves contracting compa-nies but have never contracted and do not issue any financial statements at the end of the year.

“We will then start asking them for financial statements (and) their activities. If these people are not ‘true’ contracting people, then let’s not call them contracting people,” said the minister.

Those who have misused the ti-

tle of ‘contractor’ all these years need to be treated accordingly, he noted.

Commenting on small and me-dium enterprises, Al Sunaidy said that many businesses involved in contracting activities are not truly owned and managed by Omanis who can bring added value.

Also, he said, “If you look at what the contractors are doing today, they are doing far more than contracting.”

“Look at, for example, a con-tractor who also runs a catering company? Look at contractors who have delivery vans, who also run housing (services). These are things that are not really the core business of contractors. They could have dealt with SMEs to do that,” the minister said.

Hamed Hashim Al Dhahab, OSC’s chairman, said that the new ministerial decision will add value to the sector by introduc-ing classification and will help the companies, especially SMEs, to improve their standards.

He said that according to his interpretation of the decision, it is ‘mandatory’ for the contract-ing companies to register with the OSC one year after having ob-tained their commercial registra-tion and those who do not abide by the decision may face prob-lems when they want to renew their registration.

Simon Karam, a board member of the society, lamented the fact that the contracting sector has remained ‘chaotic’ and ‘unorgan-ised,’ noting that 60 per cent of the workforce in this sector com-prises those employed in grade 3 and 4 companies which are not supervised properly.

Karam also called for ‘practical’ Omanisation target to be intro-duced for this sector, saying that while it may be said that 30 per cent of the workforce in the con-tracting sector is Omani, in reality they may be only 10 per cent.

The new regulations

for the contracting

sector in Sultanate

would help identify

‘genuine’ contractors

from those misusing

this title

They (companies) have misused that and I (would) say they have misused that greatly

Ali bin Masoud Al SunaidyMinister of Commerce and Industry

PDO focuses on job creation, training avenues

Times News Service

MUSCAT: To learn more about the company’s approach for sup-porting the Omani economy and society, Minister of State and Governor of Muscat, Sayyid Saoud bin Hilal Al Busaidi visited the headquarters of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO)

The delegation also included Sayyid Said bin Ibrahim Al Busai-di, Deputy Governor, and the wa-lis of the Governorate’s wilayats of Muttrah, Bausher, Seeb, Quriyat and Amerat.

The group was received updates on PDO’s In-Country Value (ICV) programme and strategy, which focuses on retaining more of the industry’s wealth in the Sultanate by creating more jobs and provid-ing more training opportunities for nationals and encouraging the

growth of Omani businesses. In addition, the visitors had an

overview of the company’s Social Investment Programme which supports the community by un-dertaking different projects in health, education and infrastruc-

ture, funding vocational training and scholarships for those from low-income backgrounds and giving grants and donations to worthy causes.

The PDO’s External Affairs Director, Abdul-Amir bin Abdul-

Hussein Al Ajmi, said, “We were delighted to receive the Governor of Muscat and his colleagues.

“They were keen to learn more about how PDO, under the guid-ance of the Ministry of Oil and Gas, is making a real difference to thousands of lives through our targeted economic and social investment.”

Sayyid Saoud bin Hilal Al Busaidi said, “It is no secret what PDO has accomplished for Oman’s economy and the tre-mendous support it has given to the community.

“I am impressed with PDO’s Omanisation level and the efforts put into the Social Investment Programme. We look forward to future co-operation with PDO.”

The guests also heard about other key PDO priorities includ-ing health and safety etc.

D E L E G A T I O N ’ S V I S I T

UPDATES: Visitors had an overview of PDO’s Social Investment

Programme which supports the Omani community.

Royal Decree No. 64/2014 de-fines the prerogatives of the and approves its organisational structure. Article (1) states that the prerogatives of the Minis-try of Housing shall be defined in accordance with Annex (1) attached to the Decree. Article (2) approves the organisational structure of the Ministry of Housing in accordance with Annex (2) attached to the De-cree. Article (3) cancels all that contravenes or contradicts the provisions of this Decree.

Article (4) stipulates that the Decree shall be published in the gazette and that it shall be en-forced on the day following its date of publishing.

Royal Decree No. 65/2014 ap-pointing non-resident ambas-sador . Article (1) appoints Shai-kh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Zahir Al Hinai, Oman’s Ambas-sador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as the Sultanate’s non-resident ambassador to the Re-public of Latvia.

Article (2) states that the De-cree shall be published in the gazette and that it shall take ef-fect on its date of issue. Issued on November 23, 2014. -ONA

E N V O Y A P P O I N T E D

Housing Ministry

< FROM

A1

A7

REGIONM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

Tunisians vote for first directly elected president

TUNIS: Tunisians went to the polls on Sunday to vote for their first directly elected president, in the final step to be taken to full democracy after the 2011 pro-tests that ended the rule of former leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

More than three years since overturning Ben Ali’s one-party rule, Tunisia has become a model of transition for the region by adopting a new constitution, the politics of compromise and avoid-ing the turmoil facing its neigh-bours. “Another distinguished day in the history of Tunisia,” said Mouna Jeballi, voting in Soukra district in Tunis. “Now we are the only country in the Arab world who does not know who their president will be until after the vote is finished.”

Sunday’s vote follows the gen-eral election in October when the main secular Nidaa Tounes party won the most seats in the parlia-ment, beating the Ennahda party that had won the first free poll in 2011. After its protests Tuni-sia needs stability, with the new government facing the need to make the tough reforms in public spending demanded by interna-tional lenders to boost growth and

create jobs, while also managing a crackdown on militants.

Nearly 30 presidential candi-dates are running but the Nidaa Tounes leader, Beji Caid Essebsi, an 87-year-old former Ben Ali official, has emerged as a front-runner alongside the current president, Moncef Marzouki, who warns against the rise of one-par-ty era figures like Essebsi.

Turnout looked lighter than the legislative election at polling sta-tions around Tunis early on Sun-day. Election officials said around 12 per cent of the registered elec-torate had voted two hours after polling started.

Results will be released within 48 hours. But most analysts pre-dict neither Essebsi nor Mar-zouki will win enough votes to avoid a second round of voting in December. “Tunisians will have their say and I will accept their

choice to consolidate Tunisia’s transition,” Essebsi told reporters after voting.

Deal-making between secular and hardline rivals has been a feature of Tunisia’s political suc-cess, including hardliners taking a more flexible approach to allow-ing officials in the Ben Ali era to return to politics.

But the ascent of former min-isters and members of Ben Ali’s RCD party is worrying some crit-ics who say they fear their return will be a setback for the revolt against one-party rule and rife corruption.

Essebsi and other former offi-cials say they were not involved in the abuses of the former regime, presenting themselves instead as technocrats having the skills which the country now needs in government.

A new Nidaa Tounes-led gov-ernment will be formed after the presidential ballot. But the nar-row lead it holds over the hard-liners of Ennahda in parliament will mean tough post-election negotiations over the new ad-ministration. — Reuters

Nidaa Tounes leader

Beji Caid Essebsi

is the frontrunner

alongside the current

president Moncef

Marzouki

Sunday’s vote in Tunisia follows the general election

in October when the main secular Nidaa Tounes party

won the most seats in the parliament, beating the

Ennahda party that had won the first free poll in 2011

DISTINGUISHED DAY: Daughters of judge and presidential

candidate Kalthoum Kannou, Sarra, right and Mariam, raise

their ink-stained fingers after casting their votes at a polling

station in Tunis on Sunday. – Reuters


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

A8

INDIAM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

One thing I will promise. I have being given a task. I will see that my task of strengthening India, the position where where people should not dare see eye to eye with India...we don’t intend to be offensiveManohar Parrikar, Defence minister

Parrikar aims for zero error defence systems

GURGAON: Promising a “lot of things”, Defence Minister Mano-har Parrikar on Sunday outlined a multi-pronged approach of a non-offensive but strong India while making it clear that there will be “zero tolerance to error” in defence-related issues.

“One thing I will promise. I have being given a task. I will see that my task of strengthening India, the position where where people should not dare see eye to eye with India...we don’t intend to be of-fensive,” Parrikar said addressing

Navy personnel at the inaugura-tion of the Information Manage-ment and Analysis centre (IMAC) of Navy here.

He said India has not ruled any other country which he said was “probably unique to India and probably to some extent to China”.

“Even in Ramayana, when de-ity Rama went to Lanka he did not rule it. He gave it to Vibhishan to rule it. This nation does not have

the history of ruling other coun-tries,” he said, adding, the country cannot be weak.

Parrikar said the biggest defence is to be strong.

“I promise the task given to me, I will fulfil...You can expect lot of things,” he said.

Asked what was the specific task given to him by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Parrikar said, “de-fence is one field which requires a

lot of secrecy,” but added that the outcome of the task is to assure that the defence sector gets its due and becomes a cohesive strong force making India self- sufficient.

“Energy security and your own security cannot be dependent on others. You can’t depend on some foreign countries for all your pro-curements,” he said.

Parrikar noted that defence equipment are purchased for a pe-riod of 20-30 years.

“You can’t suddenly find your-self trapped in a condition that the party which has supplied you the material faces some blockade or some sanctions for supply to con-flict zone,” he said.

Parrikar praised the IMAC and said he appreciates the “quick and fast delivery” of system because he thinks it should ensure “99.99 per cent” against incidents like the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks by earlier detection.

He underlined that there should be “zero tolerance to error”. - PTI

Parrikar says energy

security and your

own security cannot

be dependent on

others. You can’t

depend on some

foreign countries for

all your procurements

Smriti turns down demands to make Sanskrit compulsoryNEW DELHI: Taking on her crit-ics, Human Resource Develop-ment (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani on Saturday dismissed charges that education was being saf-fronised even as she turned down demands that Sanskrit be made compulsory in the curriculum.

“Those who accuse me of being a RSS mascot or RSS representa-tive possibly want to deflect the attention from the good work that we have done... this agenda will be flagged and I will be whipped for as long as there is a need to keep attention diverted away from the good work. I am ready for it. I have no problem,” she told PTI journalists at the agency head-quarters here.

Answering questions on the controversial decision to re-place German with Sanskrit as the third language in some 500 Centrally-run Kendriya Vidya-layas, Irani said that teaching of German under an MoU signed in 2011 had been in violation of the Constitution.

An investigation has already been launched to find out how the MoU came to be signed.

Responding to demands that Sanskrit be made a compulsory language, the minister said that

the three language formula was very clear that any of the 23 In-dian languages listed in Sched-ule 8 of the Constitution could be opted for. But she reiterated that German will continue to be taught as a foreign language.

“...we are teaching French, we are teaching Mandarin, we teach German in the same way. For the life in me, I can’t understand why people are not understanding what I am saying,” she said.

Irani had earlier strongly de-fended the decision to replace German with Sanskrit as the third language, saying the exist-ing arrangement was in violation of the Constitution. - PTI

L A N G U A G E R O W

Special Vatican honour for two Syro Malabar Church pioneersVATICAN CITY: Pope Francis on Sunday declared Fr Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Sister Euphra-sia Eluventhinkal from India as Saints at Vatican.

With their Canonisation, as the finale of the long-drawn process is known in Catholic parlance, the centuries old Syro Malabar Cath-olic Church has three Saints, the first being Sister Alphonsa raised to the revered rank in 2008.

The two from southern Indian state Kerala were declared as Saints during a special mass at St Peter’s Square at Vatican, Syro Malabar Catholic Church sources said here.

According to church scholars, Syro Malabar Church, which

traces its origin to the visit of Apostle St Thomas to the Kerala coast in the first century AD, is one of the 22 Eastern Churches in Full Communion with Rome.

The Pope declared Chavara and Euphrasia as Saints during a special mass at St Peter’s Square at Vatican, a moment shared in elation and spiritual fervour by churches across Kerala where the faithful throng in large num-bers for thanks giving service and prayers.

A large number of devotees, two Cardinals, bishops and clergy and nuns from Kerala attended the ceremony at Vatican also.

Three places closely associ-ated to the lives of Chavara and

Euprhasia at Mannman in Kot-tayam, Koonammavu in Ernaku-lam and Ollur in Thrissur have already been in a jubilant mood for the last several days.

Founder of the congregation Carmalites of Mary Immaculate (CMI), F Kuriakose Elias Chavara (1805-1871) was more than a spiritual leader of Syro Malabar Catholic community.

Historians and church chroni-clers consider him as a social re-former who gave thrust to secular education of not only Catholics but also of children other commu-nities, especially the depressed classes. Incidentally, one of the first institutions he founded was a Sanskrit school. - PTI

C A N O N I S A T I O N

Smriti Irani

UPBEAT: Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar with minister of state for defence, Rao Inderjit Singh during the inauguration of the Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) of the Indian Navy in Gurgaon on Sunday. - PTI

HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com [email protected]

A9

INDIAM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

Love us on Facebook

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY LAUNCH FACEBOOK PAGE

Second-generation reforms promised

NEW DELHI: India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley promised on Sunday to unveil a whole series of “second-generation” reforms to try to kickstart the stuttering economy.

In an interview with the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency, Jaitley said the reforms that would be unveiled in the budget early next year would help the country cross the six per cent growth mark in 2015-16. “The country needs a larger opening out in more sec-tors... I think we have a lot of excit-ing times ahead of us and I do see investments coming into India,” he told the agency.

Second-generation reformsAsked about the broad contours of the budget, Jaitley said there was “a whole set of second-generation reforms”. The first generation in 1991 opened up India’s economy to foreign investment while intro-ducing major trade liberalisation and tax reforms.

The economy grew by 5.7 per cent in the first financial quarter, its best pace since early 2012, spurred by growing business confidence following the landslide election victory of Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

Although the right-wing gov-ernment has introduced some re-forms, it has so far steered clear of “big bang” initiatives that econo-mists say are needed to boost in-vestment and manufacturing.

Jaitley also hinted that the gov-ernment might reconsider its sub-sidy policy. A reduction of the scope of subsidies currently being provid-ed to well-off people appears to be on the anvil with the finance minis-ter questioning the justification of “unquantified” subsidy amounts to “unidentifiable” sections.

However, he maintained that some element of subsidy will have to remain for a large section who are entitled to it since the country has lot of poor people who need state support.

“Yesterday I had said why should people like you and me get an LPG subsidy and look at the kind of bur-den it is having on the budget. We have started living with the deficit budget. We just make sure that our

fiscal deficit is not beyond a par-ticular point,” he said at an inter-action with PTI journalists at the agency’s headquarters here.

Some element of subsidy, he said, would always be required be-cause there were lot of poor people who need support. “But then you cannot have such sections enjoy-ing the benefit who are not entitled to,” he added.

Under the current dispensation, the minister said the government targets a specific number for deficit and in turn borrows from the mar-ket to fund current expenditure.

“You cannot have a subsidy, an unquantified amount given to an unidentified section of people. So subsidy must be a quantified amount given to an identifiable section. It cannot be made for unidentifiable section of people,” he said, adding duplication of subsidy benefits results in losses to the exchequer to the tune of “thousands of crores”.

“We will leave the next gen-eration in debt so that they (next generation) levy higher taxes to pay back the loan of subsidis-ing me, when I am not entitled to the subsidy. So this kind of an economy will keep the country in a trap,” he said.

India’s subsidy bill increased fivefold under the previous left-leaning Congress government, which implemented policies to buy agricultural produce at guaranteed prices and distribute cheap grain to the poor. Modi’s government has held back from dismantling many populist schemes. But it did recently lift diesel price controls in a move to reduce India’s energy bill. - Agencies

The finance

minister said the

economic reforms

to be unveiled in

the budget early

next year would

help kickstart the

stuttering economy

MAKING HIS POINT: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during an interaction with PTI journalists in

New Delhi, on Sunday. - PTI


MoU signed to set up

Entertainment City

in Visakhapatnam

AFTAB H. KOLAOur Correspondent

HYDERABAD: Visakhapatnam, the largest city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, has yet an-other good news after being de-clared a Smart City.

The Andhra Pradesh govern-ment and Eros Investments Lim-ited (EIL) of the Isle of Man, the UK, has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up an Entertainment City with an investment of between Rs300 billion and Rs60,000 billion.

The Entertainment City will house hospitality clusters and attract a large number of tourists, bringing in revenue to the service sector in the State. It will consist of a media city, an amusement park, commercial and residen-tial spaces, hotels and leisure and healthcare facilities. The project proposal submitted by EIL would be taken forward by the state tourism department.

To generate employmentChief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said this will raise the tourism profile of the state and help generate employment. Spe-cial Chief Secretary (Tourism)

Chandana Khan signed the MoU on behalf of the Andhra Pradesh government while Subodh Agar-wal from the EIL signed the deal. The Chief Minister was present on this occasion.

The EIL, which co-produces, acquires and distributes In-dian language films in multiple formats worldwide, stated that it would create the EC in asso-ciation with Euromax Capital Limited, a boutique investment banking firm. It would also form strategic partnerships and col-laborations with leading ex-perts and organisations for the city’s development.

Eros Investment Limited is a subsidiary of Eros International PLC. The Entertainment City will comprise a media city, an amuse-ment park, commercial and resi-dential spaces, hotels and leisure and healthcare facilities. The in-tegrated media city will have pre-production, production and post-production facilities for film, TV and advertising industries.

The project would come up on 5,000 acres, most of which would be beachfront. Sources also said Naidu briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the project and sought the Centre’s help.

A M B I T I O U S P R O J E C T

Workers kill plantation owner

NEW DELHI: Angry workers have hacked to death the owner of a tea plantation in eastern In-dia over a payment dispute, police said on Sunday, underscoring fes-tering labour unrest in the region.

Rajesh Jhunjhunwala, 45, was dragged out in the middle of dis-cussions and attacked by the irate mob at the Sonali tea estate in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal state, a local police officer said.

“Our preliminary investiga-

tions have revealed that there was some issue of payments. It appears he was attacked by some sharp weapons,” P.T. Bhutia said.

Police were also searching the neighbouring villages as the cul-prits fled after the incident at the estate, which is spread over some 400 acres of land in the Dooars region, he added Tea workers are notoriously badly paid and often housed in poor accommodation in remote areas. - AFP

P A Y D I S P U T E

A11

PAKISTANM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

Tweet all about it

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY LAUNCH TWITTER PAGE

Government ‘not to challenge’ Pervez verdict

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided not to challenge Fri-day’s order of the special court trying former military ruler Gen-eral Pervez Musharraf on treason charges for subverting the Con-stitution by promulgating emer-gency rule on November 3, 2007, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The three-judge special court directed the government to in-clude the names of three former top civilian officials — then prime minister Shaukat Aziz, his law minister Zahid Hamid and ex-chief justice Abdul Hameed Dog-ar — in the charge sheet.

A source, however, said that Za-hid Hamid, who resigned as min-ister for science and technology in the incumbent cabinet after the court order, and Abdul Hameed Dogar will challenge the decision independently. There has been no reaction from Shaukat Aziz, who has been living in self-exile for the last six years.

“The court will take up this case on December 9. However, the gov-ernment has so far not given per-mission to the prosecution team to challenge Friday’s decision in the Supreme Court,” a member of the prosecution team said, adding that there was still enough time to take any decision.

He said that it was a difficult

decision to move the Supreme Court this time because in the past Musharraf’s petitions were not entertained against interim orders of the special court.

The prosecution team also ar-gued at different times that only the final order of the special court could be challenged in the apex court. “Yes, it is difficult for us to swallow our own argument at this juncture,” said another senior member of the prosecution team.

Despite his resignation from the cabinet slot, it is not yet clear whether Zahid Hamid will contin-ue his role as a member of different parliamentary panels and head of a key parliamentary committee on electoral reforms. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has not accepted his resignation thus far.

Zahid Hamid is recognised for his ability to deal with docu-ments. This quality has brought him closer to both Interior Min-ister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. According to insiders, the prime minister would take a decision after consulting these two key cabinet members.

According to a government minister, Zahid Hamid will argue before the apex court that the law ministry had merely played the role of post office while process-

ing summaries and orders re-lated to the 2007 emergency and that no formal comments had been sought from the ministry in this regard.

Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, while talking to The Express Trib-une, said that he was considering challenging the decision which, he said, was being reviewed by his friends. Dogar is currently living in Islamabad.

Despite Friday’s decision of the special court, Musahrraf’s legal team’s worries are not over as the former military ruler is still the prime accused in the case, a mem-ber of his defence team said. The judgment has also exonerated Musharraf’s military aiders.

Fresh investigation“We will convince the court to pass an order for fresh investiga-tion against all military officials, who were part and parcel in every decision of Musharraf,” he added.

He said the court has already found investigation in the case faulty and inaccurate. “The prime minister also did not constitute a commission to oversee the in-vestigation,” he added. When ap-proached, Musharraf’s lead coun-sel Dr Farogh Naseem refused to comment on this judgment. — Express Tribune

The court directed

the government to

include the names of

then prime minister

Shaukat Aziz, his

law minister Zahid

Hamid and ex-

chief justice Abdul

Hameed Dogar — in

the charge sheet

Despite Friday’s decision of the special court, Musahrraf’s legal team’s worries are not over as the former military ruler is still the prime accused in the case

Pervez Musharraf

Rashid accuses Imran of ‘misusing public money’ISLAMABAD: Information Min-ister Pervaiz Rashid has accused Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan of using pub-lic money to pursue his political campaigning.

Rashid, while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Sun-day, said the airplane used by Im-ran for his ongoing political cam-paign across the country belongs to JWD Sugar Mills.

“JDW is a public limited com-pany and the PTI secretary gener-al Jahangir Tareen only has 29.76 per cent shares in the company,” he said.

“The other 70.24 per cent shares are owned by other financial insti-tutions and shareholders.”

He added that using the aircraft for political motives is an illegal act as per company laws.

Company law“Company laws say any public company limited company can-not give donations to a political party and cannot contribute in monetary terms.”

Rashid further said the airplane was bought for company interests but was being used for politics.

“I haven’t heard if the majority of

shareholders decided to use their airplane for PTI’s political cam-paign,” he said.

Rashid said such misuse of funds was being carried out by a person who gives lectures the pub-lic on integrity and uprightness on a daily basis.

Tareen, while talking to Ex-press News, accused Rashid of blatantly lying.

“Whenever Imran Khan has travelled in the plane, I have paid all the expenses myself,” he said. “I have all the documents since the day he has started using the aircraft.” — Express Tribune

B L A M E G A M E

COMMEN ARYT I M E S O F O M A NM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

Founder: Essa bin Mohammed Al Zedjali Chairman and Editor-in-Chief: Mohamed Issa Al ZadjaliDeputy Editor-in-Chief: Anees bin Essa Al Zedjali Chief Executive Officer: Ahmed Essa Al Zedjali

Printed and published by: Muscat Press & Publishing HouseP.O. Box 770, Ruwi, Postal Code: 112, Sultanate of Oman.

Subscription: RO70 per year.

Editorial: 24726666, Fax: 24813153; E-mail: [email protected] Advertising: 24726666, Fax: 24812624Circulation: 24726600, Fax: 24818270; E-mail: [email protected]

ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company

T I M E S O F O M A NA12

There has been a tsunami of sneer-ing over the Band Aid record to raise money for the fight against Ebola in West Africa. The fund-raising effort, it is said, is “aid por-nography” filled with unremitting negative stereotypes. Everyone has

forgotten that the real story is Ebola.” Not quite every-one. Kevin Watkins is perhaps the UK’s most authori-tative analyst of global aid policy. Now director of the Overseas Development Institute, he is a former head of research at Oxfam and the United Nations Devel-opment Programme. “There still isn’t a recognition of how serious the threat is,” he said. “There are small bits of good news – the rate of increase has started to slow in Liberia and Guinea. But the situation in Si-erra Leone, where Ebola has got a grip in two urban centres, is really scary. Last week there was again an increase in new cases. This could still skyrocket.” It is not just Ebola. Medics on the ground report a big in-crease in measles and pneumonia, two of Africa’s big-gest killers. Vaccination systems are breaking down. More mothers are dying in childbirth because clinics have diverted to Ebola. Food prices have rocketed. Hunger is widespread. Child malnutrition is rising. Joblessness has doubled. All this threatens to reverse decades of progress.

Bob Geldof is not just a celebrity fundraiser. After three decades of work on Africa he has a nose for the politics and he has unerringly scented that Ebola is a political not just a medical problem. Ebola is about poverty. If Ebola killed rich people there would have been vaccines 10 years ago. But the affected coun-tries are at the bottom of the UN’s Human Develop-ment Index. More than 60 per cent of people are be-low the poverty line. Health budgets are a paltry $20 (£13) per person per year. There are just 187 doctors and 2,000 nurses in all Liberia and Sierra Leone – for a population of 10 million. That’s a 10th of what the World Health Organisation says is the absolute min-imum. Health services, which are appallingly over-stretched ordinarily, collapse under an epidemic on this scale. The politics is this: the region’s health services ought to have been strengthened – and Si-erra Leone’s totally rebuilt after its civil war ended 12 years ago. A massive aid deal was agreed by the G8 at Gleneagles after global anti-poverty campaigns including Make Poverty History and Live 8 in 2005. Great advances were made on debt and improved governance as a result. And Gleneagles put 40 mil-lion more children in school, gave life-saving drugs to six million people with HIV/Aids and halved ma-laria in eight countries.

But not all the promises were delivered. And West African health services were at the bottom of the list.

It is true, as Geldof’s critics declare, that seven of Af-rica’s economies are among the world’s fastest grow-ing. Ironically, few individuals have done more than Geldof to build up consortia of Western and African private equity investors in the continent. Yet though parts of Africa are booming, it still has the highest child mortality rate in the world. “If the promises made in 2005 had been kept, these healthcare sys-tems would’ve been more effective and might have been able to contain the disease as has been done in Nigeria and Uganda,” said Adrian Lovett, a leading campaigner with Jubilee 2000, Make Poverty His-tory, Save the Children and now with the global aid advocacy lobby, ONE, which has six million mem-bers around the world. “Geldof is putting those bro-ken promises back on the political agenda.”

You will not hear much of that in the UK, since Britain has honoured its Gleneagles pledges. But Geldof was in France on Friday and in Germany ear-lier in the week launching Band Aid records there. In Berlin he caused a huge stir by publicly lambasting Chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany has no right to think of itself as the leader of the G7 when it can-not fulfil its promises to the world’s poor; German spending on Ebola is less than half what it spent on one football stadium during the World Cup in 2006, Geldof blasted. “He was firing straight at the political target,” said Lovett.

No doubt it would have helped had Geldof dis-played a bit more cultural sensitivity with the tweaked lyrics of the Band Aid 30 record, and if he had included more African artists in the line-up. But, he countered yesterday: “It’s not about culture, it’s about politics. It’s not about being representative, or including artists I personally like, it’s about getting the biggest names to maximise sales which maxim-ises pressure on the politicians in each place.”

He is happy to endorse the dozen or more Ebola records by African artists with their various mes-sages to maintain good hygiene, change traditional funeral practices and trust doctors. “Each is aimed at their own market, which is right,” Geldof said, “as our record is aimed at ours.” Unlike most of his crit-ics, Geldof understands that market, which is why the single made £1m from downloads within five minutes of its release on prime-time UK television.

But it is not about money. Even the most success-ful record will raise only a tiny fraction of the sub-stantial amounts needed from the world’s govern-ments to control Ebola.

“But the record has a halo effect,” Lovett said. “It puts the issue of the chronic underfunding of these African health services in the news.” The music is incidental to Geldof. His real task is to hold the poli-ticians’ feet to the fire. -The Independent

Politics and pathology of the Ebola epidemic

As Bob Geldof is at pains to point out, the purpose of the Band Aid single is to maximise pressure on politicians

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 ([email protected])

HUMAN HEALTH

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz ( PML-N) government has missed most of the economic targets it had set for itself, mark-ing its first year in power with overstated numbers, rejoicing

on one-time investment inflows and celebrating multibillion-dollar deals with China. The Institute for Policy Reforms (IPR), an inde-pendent think tank established to support policymaking in Pakistan, has found that the PML-N fell short on most of its promises made in the election manifesto, adding that the outlook for the current year also remains uncertain. Dr Hafiz Pasha, the managing director at the IPR and a former finance minister, said that reduction in the budget deficit was the only target met by the government. While there was some improvement in certain areas, including the tax-to-GDP ratio, progress remained below the desired level. The fiscal deficit had been reduced substantially, but according to Dr Pasha, the “work of crea-tive accounting cannot be ruled out”. Additionally, there was a decline in economic growth, as well as persistent inflation, low recovery of electricity bills and high unemployment that shaped Pakistan’s eco-nomic performance. It is clear that the government has a short-term approach towards solving problems facing the economy: relying on loans, as well as grants from friendly countries, and a one-time inflow of investment through the spectrum auction.

When the PML-N came to power, armed with a reputation of be-ing business-friendly, much was expected. But very little has been de-livered. Foreign exchange reserves may have increased, but they are nowhere near the desired level. The government has even asked for a $400 million loan from the Asian Development Bank to finance layoffs after privatisation, reflecting the country’s willingness to add to its ex-ternal debt. It is true that the floods, the military operation and the sit-ins have come in the government’s way, but that still does not justify its inability to bring more people into the tax net. There has been little improvement in decreasing load-shedding. The decline in investment means there is an absence of a trigger that will drive growth. The IPR’s findings may have been critical, but they reflected the government’s inefficiency, which has a long way to go before it begins to solve the economic woes of the common man. -The Express Tribune

Missed economic targets

British by-elections sometimes become collector’s items – “earthquakes” that “break the mould” of politics. Is Roches-ter such a collectable? In some ways it was a less than classic

performance from Ukip. A 7 per cent lead is not something that Mark Reckless should feel entirely comfortable with. On the other hand, when the by-election was called David Cameron unwisely declared that he would stop Ukip in its tracks. Had he managed to do so, the coverage would have been far less positive for Nigel Farage. So the Ukip win in Rochester and Strood should be kept in perspective. One striking feature is the way that the vote share enjoyed by the three main parties collapsed in roughly the same degree; Labour down 12 percentage points, the Conservatives down 14, and the Liberal Demo-crats by 15. This is not a great place to be for any of the three main-stream parties; Ukip is a problem for all of them. That protest vote should sustain it between now and the election, the product of deep disillusionment with politics. But there were hints at the end of the campaign that Ukip has its own vulnerabilities. When Reckless ap-parently called for EU migrants to be deported it raised eyebrows even in Ukip, and a “clarification” was swiftly issued. It gave an obvious clue to what Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg should do about Ukip – attack it relentlessly on the, admittedly often non-existent, detail of its policies. How would it reduce the deficit? Fund the NHS? Cre-ate jobs? Counter religious extremism? What would a new free trade treaty with the EU look like?

Still, Ukip will probably garner 10 to 20 per cent of the popular vote next year. The Lib Dems, if they are lucky, will drag themselves back up to that sort of level – itself poor by the standards of the past 20 years or so. The Greens will grab a better result than many have predicted, and the SNP will continue to make inroads into Labour’s Scottish core. Meanwhile, the public will remain stubbornly out of love with Cameron and Miliband. The upshot is that next year a multi-hued House of Commons will be more fragmented than at any time since universal suffrage. Neither Tories nor Labour will find it easy to form a government, and, to use a much overused phrase, it will be-come obvious that the current electoral system is not “fit for purpose”. The British electorate, collectively, is telling its rulers that it doesn’t like the way politics has been played, and that it wants more choice. It ought to be allowed to exercise that choice through a rational system that is much more proportional. That would remove the random na-ture of the present system, and offer something new. The next parlia-ment has important work to do; not least reducing the deficit in a fair manner. It cannot work without reform. -The Independent

Rochester by-polls hint at rainbow parliament

PA U L VA L L E LY

Cruise passengers give a big boost to Oman tourismThis refers to the report, ‘Cruise industry booming as tourists flock to Oman’, published in Times of Oman. It was nice to know that Oman attracted more than 300,000 cruise passengers between October and June this year against just 3,500 in the year 2003. The fact that in the coming season alone it’s expect-ed to grow another 50 per cent on last year with up to 450,000 visitors predicted in Sultanate, made the news even sweeter. K. R. NayakRuwi

Negative thinking does no good to anyone Kudos to Times of Oman for publishing articles which reveal

the face behind the hidden mask. I refer to the unfortunate nega-tive mind-set of certain readers in Readers Forum towards the articles written by esteemed journalists which are very much true. If you cannot swallow the bitter pill then it is not anyone but yourself to blame for your shortsighted outlook. You will find the same in the Indian media but there are no such comments. Just the fact that some readers do not concur with their views does not make the journalists unworthy. Sayyed KadriRusayl

Timely reminder of the benefits of blood donationBesides being a clarion call, ‘Voluntary blood donations ris-

ing’ is a timely reminder in the direction of educating the people to turn to voluntary blood dona-tion periodically and bringing in much needed awareness among the general people, who, due to certain misconceptions, desist from it (Times of Oman Novem-ber 22). Oman is moving in the right direction in this regard and is certain to become one of the countries to meet WHO’s goal of meeting all their blood require-ments by 2020. Blood is a gift of life and is critical to the survival of patients and voluntary blood donation is an important part of health care. Besides, blood so far is not made artificially, though some synthetic blood products are on the anvil. Every minute and every day, someone some-where in the world is in dire need of blood that is preferably

contributed by voluntary donors, for a host of reasons. For nearly 16 years, I have been following this activity, through a will-ing Indian volunteer Chandika Ramadoss, who is leaving no stone unturned to see voluntary blood donors are encouraged to donate blood every year, us-ing the umbrella organisation Chirajeevi Mega Youth Force, which has organised blood and eye bank services in India. Ramadoss and the organisation’s yeoman service has been recog-nised by the Sultanate of Oman. He remains a guiding force in convincing the Indian expatri-ates to donate blood. I place on record my heartfelt gratitude to Ramadoss and his team for their great contribution.Usha Devi Rao SuddapalliRuwi

READERS’ FORUM

website: www.newindiaoman.com

NEW INDIA ASSURANCEProtect your properties/assets through New India’s FIRE INSURNCE POLICIES.

Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.ALDOUS HUXLEY

PERSPEC IVET I M E S O F O M A N M O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4T I M E S O F O M A N A13

As some sort of comparison, in the same way that my good old friend, column-

ist Ayaz Amir, bangs on and on (of course with no result) about the ubiquitous plastic ‘shoppers’ that, for far too long, have littered this country from end to end, clogging up sewers, drains and streets, this column tends to bang on about the political beings who, for far too

long, have littered the ‘system’, clogging up all available means of 21st century progress.

Circulating on the net is a list of eight beings, probably just the tip of the heap, who in their own way, are relics of what undeniably and universally acknowledged was the worst of the worst eras Pakistan has seen. From 1985 to 1988 — count, we are now in 2014 — whilst General Ziaul Haq was presi-dent and CMLA, Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s father, Makhdoom Sajjad Qureshi, was governor of Punjab; Nawaz Sharif was chief minister of that same province; Javed Hashmi was an honourable member of ZuH’s ‘shura’; minis-ter Khwaja Asif’s father, Khwaja Safdar, was speaker of the ‘shura’; Senator and PML-N chairman Raja Zafarul Haq was ZuH’s ‘open-ing batsman’ and his information minister; minister Khurram Das-tigir’s father, Dastigir Khan, was a minister; minister Iqbal Ahsan’s mother, Aapa Nisar Fatima, sat in

the ‘shura’; and Tahirul Qadri was khateeb of the Ittefaq mosque and Sharif family’s pir.

Most readers have probably seen this and laughed. The point is that like the plastic ‘shopper’, it is no cause for mirth; it is just an indication of how stagnant is poli-tics and how the stagnation grows from strength to strength, literally getting us nowhere. The PML-N and the PPP (Zardari dates back to 1988) are brothers-in-arms; they would be quite content to produce the same jaded faces over and over again and play their two-some game of musical chairs for as long as they remain standing.

Something has to give, there must be some way of breaking out, of clearing up the clogging. Mili-tary takeovers are not the answer as we have seen with Pervez Mush-arraf; they merely perpetuate the mess by turning to old politicos as a means of propping up and at-tempting to legitimise military rule. So what is needed? The most

popular solution now put forth by those who realise that the constant revival of old and failed ‘has-beens’ must be stemmed if the country is to move onwards is massive, all encompassing electoral reforms in the hope that they will usher in new, fresh, untainted blood.

Why are we where we are? Well, think back to the appoint-

ment of Justice Fakhruddin Ebra-him as chief election commission-er, and to that ludicrous caretaker government installed to oversee the 2013 elections. Who put them where they were and why? They were there simply because their capabilities and incapabilities were known and recognised. We knew the result of the elections long before they took place.

The crimes committed in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the name of democracy tempered with religiosity are multiple, divi-sive and destructive. For as long as the relics of the 1980s remain, so will it be. -The Express Tribune

http://192.168.100.63/newspress/backup/files/images/2014/11/24/4236.eps?tmp=1416785128

TODAY IN HISTORY

OPINION POLL

1542 The English defeat the Scots at the Battle of Solway Moss in England.

1859 Charles Darwin publishes The Origin

of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. The first printing of 1,250 copies sells out in a single day.

1949 The Iron and Steel Act nationalizes the

steel industry in Britain. 1961 The United Nations adopts bans on

nuclear arms over American protests. 1995 Ireland votes 50.28 per cent to 49.72

per cent to end its 70-year-old ban on divorce

OCCI HOLDS SEMINAR ON COMPUTER PRO-GRAMMESMUSCAT: A seminar on computer programmes was held at the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) under the chairmanship of Moham-med bin Ali Al Kiyumi. Mohammed Abdul Rahman Hijazi, from the Muscat Institute for Administra-tion and Science, gave a lecture in which he outlined the various uses of computer and its importance in performing deals and customer service efficiently. It also included typing, publication and diagrams and the modern methods to avoid any technical failure in various computers.

FROM OUR ARCHIVES

If Arab and Muslim nations recognise that they all face the same monsters and common existential threats, what prevents them from coming together and putting together a collective front?

In a tribute to the inimitable Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on his 10th death anniversary last week (November 11), veteran Palestinian journalist and ana-lyst Abdel Bari Atwan lamented the fact that the Palestinians today cannot claim a leader of his stature, charisma and vi-

sion, and above all, commitment to the cause. In his Gulf News piece, Atwan writes: “With

every passing year since we lost Yasser Arafat, the lack of a powerful, charismatic Palestinian leader stands in ever sharper relief and compounds the nation’s misfortune. Under Arafat’s watch, the Palestinian cause was constantly under the global media spotlight and we Palestinians were per-ceived by the rest of the world as wronged, proud and tough... He had only one real ambition in life: To liberate Palestine from Israeli occupation.”

Referring to the heightened tensions and recent attempts by the Zionist extremists to target Al Aqsa, Islam’s third holiest mosque, Atwan notes: “Unlike Abbas, Arafat would never have accepted last week’s storming of Al Aqsa Mosque by Israeli colonists, backed by police, without a fight.”

The observations by Atwan, reminded me of the words of Palestinian scholar, Dr Mahdi Abdul Hadi, who had complained with some bitterness some years ago that Palestinians have no leaders; only representatives! But then this is not a prob-lem exclusive to the Palestinians Indeed, this is the fate of the whole of Arab and Islamic world.

Even in the face of great adversity and threats to our collective existence, if you cannot speak in one voice, let alone join hands to confront the dangers staring us in the face, there’s something seriously wrong with us. Look at the Islamic world today. It presents the picture of a house hopelessly di-vided and broken into many parts. While the goal of glorious unity of the Ummah has long remained elusive, never in its history has it fought so many firestorms all at the same time.

As though long years of economic and political exploitation and machinations by world powers, coupled with the self-serving timidity and corrup-tion of our own, weren’t enough, in the casual sav-agery of groups like Daesh and Boko Haram and a million sectarian and tribal conflicts, we are now faced with a challenge never before seen in Islamic history. Not a day passes without some spine-chilling execution, suicide bombing or some such abomination, making all Muslims cringe in shame and withdraw into their collective shell. Our schol-ars of course dutifully condemn the violence, re-jecting it as ‘un-Islamic’ and “against the teachings of the faith.” But who cares? As far as the world is concerned, these denunciations are not worth the paper they are printed on. Meanwhile, the tenta-

cles of the empire continue to grow far and wide and deep into the heart of the Islamic world.

On the sidelines, Israel is busy expanding its own little evil empire. The battle for global con-trol and resources proceeds apace uninterrupted under one pretext or another. If our elites are alive to the deepening shadows and noise of sharpening knives, they are yet to show it.

The Arabs are pitted against fellow Arabs. The majority sect is ranged against the minority sect and extremist against secular militants and Ba-athists. Iran, Assad and Hezbollah seemingly belong in one camp. Turkey and Iran, on the one hand, and Turkey and Arabs on the other cannot see eye to eye on a host of issues, from the Muslim Brotherhood to Hamas. The Turks and Kurds are facing each other even as they all take on the ISIS. There are turf battles going on even within the Gulf Cooperation Council grouping. Next door, it is routine for Iran and Pakistan to exchange fire-works and casualties from time to time. Pakistan and Afghanistan accuse each other of conspira-cies and sponsoring terror. The so-called Ummah bleeds from a million wounds.

And it’s not just the ruling elites and political and military establishments that are engaged in these low-intensity, debilitating battles for geopolitical clout; their media, intellectuals, public figures are all expending all their energy battling it out in open. In the words of Naipaul, it is a million mutinies among the believers. And with so many wars to fight within and settle scores with your own brethren, who needs the services of external foes? No wonder Netanyahu cannot stop grinning. To an external observer, especially a non-Arab Muslim, all this is truly bewildering. In the last century, a sage asked: ‘Tum sabhi kuch ho, batao ke Musalman bhi hoe?’ (You boast myriad identities but are you Muslim too?) The question has never been more relevant. If Arab and Muslim nations recognise that they all face the same monsters and common existential threats, what prevents them from coming together and putting together a collective front? Instead of endlessly bickering and fighting among themselves, wouldn’t it make sense to save their energy and re-sources to confront the common enemy?

They say great necessities call forth great lead-ers. And, as Truman warned, in periods of great crises where there is no leadership, society stands still. Perhaps that explains our drifting and aim-lessness as a people. Where are our leaders when we need them the most?

The author is an award-winning journalist based in Dubai. All the views and opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of Times of Oman

Disunity and leadership vacuum in Islamic world

HISTORYNET.COM

Timeline of human flu-strain infections

GraphicsGraphic News /

The European avian flu outbreak is caused by a H5N8 subtype of the Influenza Type A virus. Subtypes are categorised by two proteins on the surface of the virus – haemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA)

GraphicsGraphic News /Source: CDC, ECDC, NIAID, News-Medical.Net

H1N1 1918-19: Spanish flupandemic kills 20-50 millionpeople worldwide

H2N21957-58: Asian flu originatesin China and spreadsglobally, killing 1.5 million people

H3N2 1968-69: Hong Kong flu pandemic of “variant”of H2N2 kills up to 750,000 people worldwide

H5N1 1997: First time an influenza virus isfound to be transmitted directly frombirds to people. 18 people infectedin Hong Kong – six fatalities

H9N2 1999: New bird flu strain appearsin humans – no fatalities

H7N2 2002: Infection found in one personin US following poultry outbreak

H7N3 2004: New strain detected in humans –two poultry workers in Canada

H10N7 2004: New bird flu strain detectedin humans – two infants in Egypt

H7N7 2003: New bird flu strain infects89 people in Netherlands – one fatality

H5N1 2007: 88 cases in Southeast Asia andNigeria, 59 fatalities reported

H1N1 2009: Swine flu spreads to more than 70 countries, killing 23,500 people, 12,500 in US

H7N9 2013: New avian flu crosses to humans. 443 cases in China, Hong Kong,Taiwan and Malaysia – unofficial death toll of 127

LAST POLL RESULTDo you think that a greater awareness about health benefits of blood donation could spur people to do it?

Do you think the fascination with social media is a fad that will pass sooner or later?

Visit timesofoman.com to cast your vote

Yes93.3%

Can't say6.7 %

A book, “The Christian Examiner,” warns that “ill-clad and destitute”

immigrants are “repulsive to our habits and our tastes.” A former mayor of New York City cautions that they bring disease, “wretchedness and want” to America.

And Harper’s Weekly de-spairs that these immigrants are “steeped in ignorance” and account for a disproportionate share of criminals. Boy, those foreigners were threatening - back in the mid-1800s when those statements were made about Irish immigrants.

Once again, the United States is split by vitriolic de-bates about how to handle im-migrants, following President Barack Obama’s executive action to shield millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation.

To me, the outrage seems driven by three myths: - Immi-grants threaten our way of life. Many Americans see foreign-ers moving into their towns, see signs in Spanish, and fret about changes to the tradition-al fabric of society.

That’s an echo of the anxi-ety Theodore Roosevelt felt in 1918 when, referring to German and other non-Anglo European immigrants, he de-clared, “Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn Eng-lish or leave the country.”

It’s true that undocumented immigrants may lower wages in some sectors, harming low-skilled native-born Americans who compete with them. One study suggests that a 10 per-cent increase in the size of a skill group lowers the wages of blacks in that group by 2.5 percent.

Yet just look around. Immi-gration has hugely enriched our country. For starters, un-less you are a full-blooded American Indian, we have you.

Immigrants today are dif-ferent because they’re illegals. They’re parasites. Look, peo-ple aren’t legal or illegal, be-haviours are. If an investment banker is convicted of insider trading, he doesn’t become an illegal. So let’s refer not to “il-legal immigrants” but to “un-documented immigrants.”

They have contributed $100 billion to Social Security over a decade without any inten-

tion of collecting benefits, thus shoring up the system, accord-ing to Stephen C. Goss, chief actuary for the Social Security Administration. At the state and local level, households headed by unauthorised im-migrants paid another $11 bil-lion in taxes in 2010 alone.

If these migrants are given work permits, they will con-tribute $45 billion over five years in payroll taxes, ac-cording to the Center for American Progress.

Parasites? No, they’re as-sets. Immigration reform is an unconstitutional power grab by a dictator. Sen. Ted Cruz compared Obama’s executive action to the Catiline con-spirators seeking to overthrow the Roman Republic. House Speaker John Boehner sug-gested that it was the action of an “emperor.” Look, I’ve re-ported in many dictatorships. And Obama is no dictator.

It’s difficult for me to judge the legality of Obama’s execu-tive action, because I’m not an expert on legal issues like prosecutorial discretion. But neither are critics furious at Obama. We have a broken, byzantine immigration system - anybody who deals with it is staggered by the chaos - be-cause politicians are too craven to reform it. At least Obama is attempting to modernize it.

Yes, it’s troubling that Obama previously argued he didn’t have this authority. Yes, his executive action is on a huge scale - but it is not entirely new. Obama’s action affects 45 percent of undocumented im-migrants, compared with the 40 percent affected by Presi-dent George H.W. Bush’s in 1990. Let’s leave the legal dis-pute for the experts to resolve.

I see a different hypocrisy in Obama’s action. He spoke eloquently Thursday even-ing about the need to treat migrants humanely - and yet this is the “deporter in chief ” who has deported more immigrants than any of his predecessors.

We as taxpayers have spent vast sums breaking up fami-lies and incarcerating hon-est men and women who just want to work.

We need empathy, and hu-mility. My father, a refugee from Eastern Europe, was pre-paring a fraudulent marriage to an American citizen as a route to this country when he was sponsored, making fraud unnecessary.

My wife’s grandfather bought papers from another Chinese villager to be able to come to the United States.

So remember: What most defines the 11 million un-documented immigrants in America is not illegality but undaunted courage and am-bition for a better life. What separates their families from most of ours is simply the pas-sage of time - and the lottery of birth.- New York Times News Service

US economy’s handsome gains from immigrants

The times they ain’t a’changing…

N I C H O L A S K R I S T O F

A M I N A J I L A N I

A I J A Z Z A K A S Y E D

A14

GLOBAL EYEM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

Share your world with us on Instagram

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY SHARE YOURPHOTOGRAPHS

FRENCH ALPS WINTER FEST: Skiiers stand on the slopes of the Val Thorens ski resort on the opening weekend of the skiing season on Saturday at Val Thorens, in the French Alps. — AFP

TABLA COMPETITION IN INDIA: Students play the tabla, an Indian percussion instrument, during the annual tabla competition held in a

park on the banks of the Sabarmati river in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on Sunday. At least 120 tabla players performed during

the competition which was organised by the Tabla Talim Sanstha, a Tabla training institute. — Reuters

ACCIDENT IN CHINA: A man looks at the bottom of a destroyed minivan after it collided with a truck and fell off a ramp on the side of a

street, in Nanning, China, on Saturday. Eight people in the minivan, including a two-month-old baby and three young children, were killed

in the accident on Saturday and a 14-year-old girl was injured and hospitalised, local media reported. — Reuters/Stringer

CALL FOR PRESS FREEDOM IN THE PHILIPPINES: Journalists

and relatives of victims take part in a candle-lighting ceremony

for journalists killed in Maguindanao province in 2009, at the

EDSA shrine in Mandaluyong city, Metro Manila on Sunday.

The journalists also protested against what they called growing

press restrictions in the Philippines. — Reuters

BELARUS: A woman holds a dressed cat during the exhibition

“Autumn-2014” in Minsk, Belarus, on Sunday. — Reuters

PICTURESQUE BERLIN: A Santa Claus puppet holding a Christmas

tree is pictured against the sun in Berlin, Germany. — Reuters



A15

WORLDM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

Netanyahu seeks powers to revoke Arabs’ residency

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: The Israeli government is to seek powers to strip Arabs of their res-idency and welfare rights if they or their relatives participate in unrest, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

His comments at the weekly cabinet meeting came as Interior Minister Gilad Erdan used ex-isting powers to revoke the resi-dency of a Palestinian who had already served 10 years in prison for his role in a 2001 bombing.

Netanyahu told ministers that the proposed change to the law would seek authority to revoke the rights of any Arab resident who took part in, or incited, vio-lence, even stone-throwing.

Policy of demolitionHe said the proposals would com-plement the policy of demolish-ing the family homes of those involved in attacks on Israelis which his government adopted in annexed Arab east Jerusalem ear-lier this month despite condem-nation by human rights watch-dogs. “It cannot be that those who attack Israeli citizens and call for the elimination of the State of Is-rael will enjoy rights such as Na-

tional Insurance—and their fam-ily members as well, who support them,” Netanyahu told ministers.

“This law is important in order to exact a price from those who engage in attacks and incitement, including the throwing of stones and firebombs,” his office quoted him as saying.

Annexed Arab east Jerusalem has been hit by months of unrest, which has spread across the occu-pied West Bank and to Arab com-munities inside Israel. Last Tues day, two Palestinians burst into a occupied Jerusalem synagogue with meat cleavers and a gun and killed four rabbis and a policeman who came to their aid, in the city’s deadliest violence in six years.

The following day, Israeli forc-

es demolished the annexed east Jerusalem home of a Palestinian who killed a young woman and a baby with his car last month be-fore being shot dead by police.

Punitive house demolitions have been used by Israel for years in the occupied West Bank but the policy was halted in 2005 after the army said they had no proven deterrent effect.

Their introduction in annexed Arab east Jerusalem this month drew condemnation from hu-man rights groups, which said the practice amounted to collective punishment as the victims were not the perpetrators of attacks but their families.

Palestinians in annexed east Jerusalem have residency rights but not Israeli citizenship. Their residency entitles them to free-dom of movement as well as so-cial benefits, such as national insurance or health insurance, and its revocation entails loss of those benefits. — AFP

The proposals would

complement the

policy of demolishing

the family homes

of those involved in

attacks, said the PM

Palestinians gather as Israeli military investigates

the attack on the Hamayel home, that was burnt by

suspected Jewish extremists using petrol bombs,

in the village of Abu Falah, northeast of occupied

Ramallah, on Sunday.

VICTIMS OF TERRORISM: Daughters, front and centre right, of

32-year-old Palestinian man Fadel Halawa, who medics said was

shot dead by Israeli forces, cry in Gaza City, on Sunday. – Reuters


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

A16

WORLDM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

Tablet lovers add us on Google +

dd +

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY ADD IN GOOGLE+

Diplomatic blitz to close big ‘gaps’ in Iran nuclear talksWASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama warns that “sig-nificant gaps” remain with Iran over its disputed nuclear pro-gramme, as a deadline for a deal looms large.

Iran and world powers, includ-ing Washington, engaged on Sun-day in a diplomatic blitz less than 36 hours before the cutoff time for an agreement, with officials on both sides insisting they were still pulling out all the stops in the Vienna talks.

Speaking to ABC News in com-ments broadcast Sunday, Obama said an interim deal with Tehran had been a success.

“Well, so, now the question is, can we get to a more permanent deal? And the gaps are still sig-nificant,” Obama said in the in-terview carried out Friday, before the talks intensified in Vienna.

Obama added that Tehran was isolated.

“The difference is I’ve got the entire international community

on my side, and they’re sort of on their own,” he said.

The P5+1 — permanent UN SC members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany — have been locked in talks with Iran since February to turn the interim Geneva accord

into a lasting agreement.Such a deal is aimed at easing

fears that Tehran could develop nuclear weapons under the guise of its civilian activities. It de-nies it wants to build an atomic bomb and insists its nuclear pro-gramme is entirely peaceful.

Far-reaching benefitObama said the nuclear talks, if successful, could ultimately have a far-reaching benefit.

“What a deal would do is take a big piece of business off the table and perhaps begin a long process in which the relationship not just between Iran and us but the re-lationship between Iran and the world, and the region begins to change,” he said.

Lot of sophistication“I think ultimately that would be good for the people of Iran.

“You know, it’s a big country with a lot of talent, a lot of sophis-tication.” — AFP

D E A D L I N E L O O M S

RED LINE: An Iranian student

holds a placard reading ‘The

Arak heavy water reactor is

our red line’ during a demon-

stration outside the Tehran

Research Reactor in the capital

Tehran on Sunday. — AFP

45 killed in Afghan bombing

GARDEZ (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber killed 45 peo-ple at a volleyball match in Af-ghanistan on Sunday, a provin-cial official said, as foreign troops withdraw from the country after more than a decade of fighting.

Mukhles Afghan, spokes-man for the governor of Paktika province, said at least 50 more were wounded in the attack in Yahya Khel district, where resi-dents had gathered to watch a tournament final.

He said most of the casualties were civilians.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack, in which provincial spokesman Afghan said the bomber walked into the crowd of spectators and detonated his explosive vest.

“Sadly we have 45 people killed and around 50 others wounded in this suicide attack,” the spokes-

man said. Casualties were high because the crowd was so dense, since many people had come from nearby districts to cheer on their team.

No other details were imme-diately available because of the remoteness of the location.

The Taliban and other extrem-ist militants have unleashed waves of suicide attacks and as-sassinations in Afghanistan this year, as foreign forces pull out after 13 years of war.

About 12,000 international troops will remain in Afghanistan next year to train and support Af-ghanistan’s security forces.

Paktika was the site of one of this year’s deadliest attacks on civilians in July, when 89 peo-ple were killed by a bomb in a crowded market.

The province has an active Af-ghan Taliban insurgent presence and lies along the porous border with Pakistan’s lawless North Waziristan region, used as a base by both the Haqqani militant net-work and the Pakistani branch of the Taliban.

Pakistani offensiveThe Pakistani army for months has been waging an offensive against militants in North Wa-ziristan, driving many refugees and militant fighters across the border into Afghanistan.

This year has been one of the bloodiest years of the war for Afghan civilians, according to the United Nations, which re-corded nearly 5,000 deaths and injuries of civilians in the first half of the year.

About three-quarters of those were blamed on the Taliban and its allies. - Reuters

A spokesman for the

governor of Paktika

province, said 50

more were wounded

in the attack in

Yahya Khel district,

where residents had

gathered to watch a

volleyball match

Putin weighs running

for new term in 2018

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin is considering running for a fourth Kremlin term in 2018, which would see him stay in power until 2024, the TASS news agency reported on Sunday.

“Yes, the possibility exists of my standing as a candidate again. Whether or not it will happen, I don’t know yet,” Putin said in an interview.

Inner feelingsHe said that although the con-stitution allows him to stand for another term, “that abso-lutely doesn’t mean that I will take such a decision. I will look at the general context, my inner feelings, my mood.”

“Is it really necessary to think about this now? 2014 isn’t yet

over and you’re talking about 2018,” Putin asked.

At the same time, he ruled out staying on as president forever. “No, that’s wrong for the country, it’s harmful, and I don’t need it,” Putin said.

Putin is allowed to hold office for a maximum of two consecu-tive terms under the Russian constitution.

Swapping rolesAfter completing his second con-secutive term in office in 2008, Putin got round the constitu-tional limit by swapping roles with Dmitry Medvedev and serving as prime minister for one term, before returning to the presidency.

Now aged 62, Putin would turn 72 in 2024. —AFP

P O S S I B L E C A N D I D A C Y

BMARKE

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

DIGEST VIDEO

S CA N T H I S Q R CO D E TO I N STA N T LY L AU N C H T H E V I D EO

Top stories in one minute with our new daily Digest

Opec divided on crude output cut before crucial meetingLONDON: Opec oil producers group will hold one of its toughest and most significant meetings in recent years as, faced with sliding prices, its members must contem-plate whether to cut output.

Ahead of Thursday’s meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) in Vienna, home to the group’s head-quarters, its dozen member coun-

tries are split on what direction to take after a 30 percent drop in crude prices since June has slashed revenues.

Opec’s poorer members, led by Venezuela and Ecuador, have called publicly for a cut in output, while Iran has hinted at a need to reduce production.

But the group’s Gulf members, led by kingpin Saudi Arabia, are

rejecting calls to pump out less oil unless they are guaranteed market share in the highly competitive arena, according to analysts.

Separately, Russia -- which is not a member of Opec but is nev-ertheless a major crude producer -- declared on Friday that it was considering cutting its oil produc-tion in a bid to revive falling prices.

Opec produces about one third

of global crude at more than 30 million barrels per day.

According to the Internation-al Energy Agency (IEA), which advises on energy policy, Opec pumped out 30.6 million barrels per day in October -- above its 30 million bpd target.

“The next meeting of the Or-ganisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries... should be the most in-

teresting since the change from in-dividual quotas to a group target in early 2012,” said Tom Pugh, an analyst at Capital Economics research group.

“The key driver (behind tum-bling prices) has been increasing supply, although other triggers for Brent’s slump from $115 in June have included weak demand, par-ticularly from Europe and China,

and the strength of the US dollar. The decline has probably also been compounded by panic selling by producers and investors.”

On Friday, the price of bench-mark Brent North crude oil traded at $79.56 a barrel.

Rather than cut its official output ceiling, Opec could de-cide to reduce the amount it is over-producing. - AFP

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

Bigger role for contracting firms urged

A E [email protected]

MUSCAT: Local contracting firms need to play a bigger role in project implementation in the country, said a senior official of Oman Society of Contractors (OSC), the apex body of contract-ing firms in the Sultanate.

“In Oman, only 27 per cent of contracting work is carried out by local companies. In other GCC countries, best one is about 65 per cent. The picture is not that good for the sector,” said Simon Karam, director at Sarooj Construction and an advisor of OSC, while ad-dressing the annual conference of OSC here on Sunday.

The event was organised un-der the patronage of Dr Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidi, Minister of Commerce and Industry. He said

the Oman Society of Contractors wants to make the contracting field in Oman world-class. “Par-ticularly, we want to give the Om-ani contractors a brand name.”

52,000 firms in OmanAround 52,000 companies in Oman have contracting as their core business activity. Of this, 20,000 companies never carried out a contracting work. Another 20,000 asked for labour clearance and got it, although they have no real project with them.

Another 10,000 have activities related to contracting and 1,500 companies have registered with the Tender Board, added Karam.

He added that contracting sec-tor employs 750,000 workers and if government policy on heath, safety and environment is imple-mented in the sector, 35,000 jobs can be created for Omani youths.

Karam said OSC is trying to introduce best practices and provide technical assistance to member firms.

Highlighting the achievements of OSC, he said the society has managed to reduce bond fee from two per cent to one per cent in government contracts.

Shortlisting contractorsHe also asked for ‘special care or preference’ for local companies while shortlisting contractors for major projects.

The construction sector is im-portant to the national economy in terms of investment and employ-ment capacity. It is the right time for the stakeholders to engage and create the right environment for the sector to grow and compete lo-cally and internationally.

The focus of the society next year will be to build OSC capac-ity in terms of executive team and members, engage with stakehold-ers, enhance benefits to members and address one or two of the key challenges. As many as 150 con-tractors attended the event to dis-cuss a decision issued by the Min-istry of Commerce and Industry to regulate the sector.

In Oman, only 27 per cent of contracting

work is carried out by local companies. In

other GCC countries, it is about 65 per cent.

The picture is not that good for the sector,

said a senior official


B2

MARKETM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

Aqar sells entire units of Rimal2 amid strong demand for housing

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Al Khonji Real Estate Development Co (Aqar), on Sun-day announced that it sold out the entire Rimal2 within two weeks of launching the project, which confirms the success of the project and the strong demand from all in-vestors from within and outside.

This was announced by Moham-med bin Abdullah Al Khonji, chair-man and CEO of Al Khonji Real Estate Development Co. He said that the success of Rimal2 project, located in Wilayat Bousher, is a natural reflection of the status of the project and its level of quality in terms of design and services it provided. “One of the important aspects that contributed to the

selling of the project, in addition to what we have said, is the economic and commercial status of the Sul-tanate and the blessings of security and stability enjoyed by the Sultan-ate in this prosperous era of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, may Allah protect him,” he added.

“By virtue of its long experience and expertise in this aspect, Aqar is keen to provide distinctive quality projects in the field of real estate to meet the needs of all investors and be available in an appropriate environment in terms of the pres-ence of commercial centers, cafes and various recreational facilities to make these projects an attrac-tive and stimulating environment for real estate investment on the one hand and a place for everyone

to spend a good time with their families on the other. These key factors that have contributed to the sale of the Rimal2 project in a record time,” he added.

Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Khonji noted that the demand from foreign investors, especially the citizens of the Gulf countries, was good both for Rimal1 and Ri-mal2 projects. The large number of buyers was young people search-ing for stability and having no financial ability for the construc-tion of housing in places close to their families and their businesses. This is one of the main objectives that Aqar tries to achieve from the implementation of this type of pro-jects. The social aspect of solving the housing problem is one of the

main interests in the Aqar, and the company will make sure of achiev-ing this goal in the coming real estate projects through the devel-opment of ideas and finding alter-natives that satisfy everyone. He stressed that Rimal1 and Rimal2 projects are considered as high profile projects for Aqar, which will be followed by other projects. “We will make sure to take ad-vantage of these two experiences in the next projects by benefiting from the views and ideas of all real estate clients.”

The project includes 148 luxury apartments designed on the lat-est Italian style, mixed with the traditional Omani architectural character, in addition to a shop-ping centre featuring the most

luxurious brands of restaurants and cafes. The project consists of one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments. The area of the largest apartment amounts to 210 square meters and some apartments contain small-sized swimming pools.

The project includes a three-story underground car parking area working with the electronic gate system. The first floor has been allocated to the commercial centre, while the other two floors have been allocated for the inhab-itants of the complex. The parking area and the commercial center of Rimal2 project will be integrated with Rimal1 project. The project contains also all the necessary facilities that meet the needs of

the residents and the residents of neighboring areas, in addition to the swimming pool for adults and children, games for children and a place for barbecues. He also point-ed out that the health club and oth-er services will be complementary to Rimal1 project.

Al Khonji Real Estate Develop-ment Company began its opera-tions in 1998 and became a limited liability company LLC. Some of its projects are Al Wadi complex, which is a complex of detached villas in Bousher, “Al Qurm Ter-race” project, which is a complex of detached villas and Al Qurm Hills project. In the year 2011 Ri-mal1 project has been floated, and is still under construction, and in December 2013, The Office project has been floated, which is an office complex, and was completely sold out within ten days of its launch and is located in Al Khuwair area near The Avenue and Grand Mall. The demand for these projects was well above expectations.

Al Khonji said that Aqar was able in a short period of time to construct many projects, which formed an added value, particu-larly in the sectors of housing, of-fices, business centers and tour-ism. Today, Aqar aspires to build an investment real estate project named Integrated City, which the company hopes will be achieved in the next few years.

Al Khonji extended his con-gratulations to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said on the occasion of the 44th National Day and the glo-rious appearance of His Majesty, by which he reassured his loyal people about his health, asking the Almighty to return His Majesty to his homeland in health and safety.

The success of

Rimal2 project,

located in Wilayat

Bousher, is a natural

reflection of the status

of the project and

its level of quality in

terms of design and

services it provided,

said the company’s

chairman and founderMohammed bin Abdullah Al

Khonji, chairman and CEO of Al

Khonji Real Estate Development

Company. — Supplied picture– Supplied picture

B3M O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

MARKETTaageer Finance board nominates new chairmanMUSCAT: The board of directors of Taageer Finance Company unani-mously nominated Eng. Ahmed Hamed Al Subhi as chairman of the com-pany. The decision was taken at a board meeting on November 20, the com-pany said in a statement posted on Muscat Securi-ties Market website.

StanChart announces senior appointments MUSCAT: Standard Chartered has announced the appointment of Raheel Ahmed as the new global head – strategic transfor-mation, retail clients. In his new role, Ahmed will focus on the re-alignment of the business to the refreshed strategy. In his previous role, Raheel was the regional head (retail clients) – MENAP, Europe and Islamic banking. Raheel has been with the bank since 2004 and has held various other international senior roles in credit risk, distribution, and country and regional leadership. Jaydeep Gupta, currently head of Retail Clients in the UAE, will replace Raheel Ahmed as regional head of retail clients – UAE, ME-NAP and Europe. He will continue to be the head of UAE retail clients and will be based in Dubai. In his new role, Jaydeep will lead the retail clients strategy across the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Europe. Jaydeep has over 20 years of experience working with Standard Chartered, holding senior roles within distribution and segments in India, Africa and the UAE.

Mobily suspends CEO after account errors RIYADH: Etihad Etisalat, the Saudi Arabian phone operator known as Mobily, suspended its chief execu-tive officer (CEO) after auditing errors prompted a stock market sell-off that erased about $5 billion of its market value. The sus-pension of Khalid Omar Al Kaf took effect from November 21 and will last until the audit commit-tee submits its report to the board. Deputy chief executive officer Serkan Okandan will take over as the committee seeks to identify responsibility for the mistakes in its finan-cial statement. Mobily, whose biggest shareholder is Abu Dhabi-based Emir-ates Telecommunications, said that an error in the timing of revenue recogni-tion from a promotional programme affected the financial statements. - Times

New Service/Bloomberg News

B R I E F S Octal signs 20 contracts to encourage small enterprises

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Octal, the world’s leading clear rigid food packaging material supplier, was recognised for signing the largest number of contracts with local businesses and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during its participation at the recently concluded Business Opportunities Forum.

Held under the auspices of Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, minister of heritage and culture, at Oman International Exhibitions Centre, Octal signed a total of 20 contracts with Omani businesses

and SMEs to supply various prod-ucts and services including raw materials and process chemicals, lab supplies, logistics services, ad-ministration and training, as well as information technology and of-fice provisions among others.

Eng. Ahmed Al Najjar, director of Government Affairs at Octal, said, “Each year, Octal procures nearly OMR500 million worth of materials and services and the

new agreements demonstrate the wide range of rewarding opportu-nities for SMEs in the Sultanate to thrive and grow into major players in the market. The contracts will allow Octal to reinforce its local supply chain support by sourcing goods and services that help busi-nesses expand and create new employment prospects.”

“The Business Opportuni-ties Forum is an ideal platform to

strengthen the cooperation be-tween large private sector compa-nies and SMEs in the Sultanate, and served as a melting pot for or-ganisations of all sizes to network and discover each other’s needs and capabilities,” he added.

Since inception, Octal has been instrumental in supporting the progress of businesses in Oman, prioritising the growth of sustain-able and locally-sourced goods and

services, including raw materials, packaging materials, spare parts and other fabrications.

New strategyAs a result of this prioritisation strategy, the company’s procure-ment from the local economy has increased between 2011 and 2014 by a staggering 1,000 per cent and constitutes a significant portion of Octal’s yearly spend. Moreover, Octal has become the number one exporter from the Port of Salalah, and this is creating new vistas for local companies to benefit at every stage of the supply chain.

The Business Opportunities Fo-rum, now in its second year, provid-ed a bridge between all segments of the private sector, allowing big companies to present available tenders and SMEs to showcase the wide-ranging possibilities for part-nership. More than 200 SMEs took part in this year’s Business Op-portunities Forum with contracts worth OMR44 million signed during the two day event.

Deals involve supply

of raw materials and

process chemicals,

lab supplies, logistics

services, training

and administration

to name a few


BOOST TO BUSINESSES: Since inception, Octal has been instrumental in supporting the progress of businesses in Oman, prioritising the growth of sustainable and locally-sourced goods and services, including raw materials, packaging materials, spare parts and other fabrications. – Supplied photo

B4

MARKETM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

Weak yen sapsSouth Korean export muscleSEOUL: As Japan slips into re-cession, South Korea is keeping an increasingly wary eye on its export rival’s free-falling cur-rency, which is honing a lasting competitive edge over South Korean products in a number of key markets.

The massive fiscal stimulus and flood of easy money un-leashed by ‘Abenomics’ has sent the Japanese yen plunging to multi-year lows against a basket of major currencies.

In the past two years, the yen has lost around 33 per cent of its value against the United States dollar and 35 per cent against the Korean won — a deprecia-tion that has triggered public expressions of concern in Seoul from industrialists, politicians and monetary policy-setters.

A weaker yen makes Japanese exports cheaper, which impacts countries such as South Korea that are direct competitors in a number of key sectors. Bank of Korea (BoK) governor Lee Ju-Yeol promised earlier this month that it would not “sit idle” despite the limited tools it can deploy to counter the falling yen.

At its monthly monetary meeting, the BoK kept its key interest rate unchanged at 2 per cent, but Lee underlined the “worrisome situation” regarding the Japanese currency. - AFP

E C O N O M Y

Oman stock market closes in green terrain

MUSCAT: Taking a cue from positive sentiment in the re-gional markets, the MSM 30 Index ended yesterday’s trading session at 7,138.97 points, up by 0.85 per cent. The MSM Shariah index also inched up by 0.26 per cent at 1,069.23 points.

Gulf Investment Services was the most active in terms of vol-ume, while Bank Muscat was the most active in terms of turn-over. The top gainer was Majan Glass, up by 7.69 per cent. Maha Ceramics, which declined by 1.29 per cent, lost the most.

Altogether 1,322 trades were executed in the day’s ses-sion generating a turnover of OMR6.5 million with more than 16.7 million shares changing hands. Out of 51 traded stocks, 35 advanced, 1 declined and 15 remained unchanged.

Omani investors remained net buyers to the tune of OMR537,000 worth of shares followed GCC & Arab inves-tors at OMR441,000. Foreign investors, who were net sell-ers, sold stocks amounting to OMR978,000.

The financial Index was the best performing sub-index and closed at 8,544.35 points, up by 1.41 per ent. Industrial Index showed strong gains and ended at 9,714.62 points. - United Securities

M U S C A T B O U R S E Oman Oil supports small businesses

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Oman Oil Company’s (OOC) subsidiaries and affiliates signed 35 contracts with local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) worth over OMR17 mil-lion at the recently concluded Business Opportunities Forum.

To provide new avenues for companies looking to establish a foothold in the oil, gas and energy sectors, the group presented over 142 additional contracts exceed-ing OMR500 million that are up for grabs in the coming year and highlighted the currently avail-

able business opportunities for SMEs within OOC and its group of companies’ portfolio of pro-jects and their relevant details.

“The Business Opportunities Forum not only led to signing contracts with SMEs in the oil, gas and energy sectors, but of-fered a platform that will enhance the participation of new local and international entrants into the industry. Whether it meant facilitating knowledge transfer, sharing experiences or offering guidance, the event presented an opportunity to empower these enterprises and enhance their capabilities and resources,” said Eng. Isam Al Zadjali, chief execu-tive officer of Oman Oil Company.

Organised by the Oman Cham-ber of Commerce and Indus-try (OCCI) in partnership with OOC and the Public Authority

for Small & Medium Enterprises Development (PASMED), the Oman Opportunities Forum wit-nessed the participation of more than 160 local and international companies. In line with Oman Oil Company’s strategy, the two-day event aimed to support the Sul-tanate’s In-Country-Value (ICV) programme and deliver long-term sustainable development by stimulating growth across various sectors.

“We, along with our group of companies, support all national efforts that lead to developing a successful ICV programme and we are confident that the proposi-tions we have introduced and ten-dered will boost the investment climate in Oman and increase the country’s competitiveness amongst developed countries,” Al Zadjali added.

Oman Oil Company’s

subsidiaries and

affiliates signed 35

contracts with local

small and medium

enterprises worth

over OMR17 million

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

E- IMESTECH STUFFTECH STUFF

BNOW WIRELESSLY TRANSFER PHOTOS FROM iPOD TO MACApple’s wireless file-transfer technology has some specific system requirements for moving content between OS X and iOS. You need a fifth-generation iPod Touch running at least iOS 7, and a Mac from 2012 (or later) running OS X 10.10 (Yosemite). You also need to have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth active on both the iPod and the computer. Apple has a full guide to using AirDrop between iOS devices and Macs at support.apple.com/en-us/HT6510. on.

M O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

MOLLY WOOD

Even with their high-tech gadgets and computer-ised machinery, most cars still do a pretty poor

job of providing helpful informa-tion about things like mechanical problems and fuel use — and of connecting to the devices we use the most, our phones.

Improvements are on the ho-rizon. Wireless connections are available in some new models, which could lead to more help-ful tools. But even for many older models, there is an easy way to get better information about your car, including fuel usage, diagnostics and data about your driving habits.

I tried out two new devices that can connect almost any car, back to the 1996 model year, to a smart-phone. Mojio, released in October, and Automatic, released last year, both use apps to offer a surprising, interesting and occasionally over-whelming look inside your car.

Neither offers entertainment, multimedia or navigation elements, but both can give you useful infor-mation about your car, especially if there are mechanical problems. Of the two devices, on the basis of cost and simplicity, Automatic is the one I’d recommend. The devices take advantage of a standard port that federal law has required every car since 1996 to have: the onboard di-agnostics, or OBD-II, port.

The port is most often used by

mechanics and dealers. It outputs a standardised set of information about a car, like codes that indicate mechanical problems. It also uses sensors throughout the vehicle to gather data on power, emissions, fuel use and more.

Many consumer devices already use this port, including some that offer driving tips to help save gas or that can block cellphone signals inside the car to make driving saf-er. And a growing number of them integrate with your smartphone in some way. Mojio has grand ambi-tions to become an app store for cars. The company’s $150 device, which plugs into the port and uses Bluetooth to connect with a smart-phone app, has both GPS and a 3G cellular connection, so it’s online practically everywhere. The de-vice includes a free year of service; after that, it’s $5 a month.

The service does basic monitor-ing out of the box, including trans-lating diagnostic codes and track-ing trip mileage and fuel efficiency. It can also remind you where you parked and can tell you whether the car has been towed or stolen.

And the app provides contextual information while you drive, like where you can find parking. When you approach to your destination, you’ll see a pop-up in the app offer-ing nearby gas stations or parking.

The app can also, with just a tap, send a text message to friends whose contact information you add to the app. The text lets them

know if you’re on your way, with updates on your route so you can avoid texting while driving.

For all of Mojio’s potential, though, it feels unfinished. Its app is available only for iOS, so An-droid, Windows Phone and Black-Berry users are out of luck.

It’s also bare-bones and often puts the burden on the user to fig-ure out what to do — even when installing the device. There are

no instructions on where to find your OBD-II port, for example — and how many people are familiar with that?

By contrast, Automatic’s app shows you a diagram of common locations of the port in vehicles, putting emphasis on the three like-liest options. And when my Mojio device failed to connect to my phone, there was no indication of how I might try to reconnect

or why it failed. The Mojio app interface is a little clunky, too. The app tries to organise every event on your calendar into a “trip,” even if it’s a birthday or something without a lo-cation. And for navigation, you must switch to the Google Maps app.

Worse, Mojio is downright distracting while you’re driving. The app requires you to look at it, to some extent, while you’re moving; otherwise you won’t see

things like pop-ups that direct you to parking. Moreover, the directions are tiny, the parking signs aren’t tappable and look-ing at them for any length of time could cause swerving or worse.

And although Mojio offers some neat features, paying $5 a month seems like a stretch, considering that other apps can do most of its tricks (other than telling me if my car is being towed). Google Now can tell me where I’m parked, Glympse can let people know I’m on my way home, and several apps can help me find parking nearby.

Sure, those apps are not organ-ised into one interface as they are with Mojio, but those apps are free, not $60 a year.

Automatic keeps it simpler: The device costs $99 and focuses pri-marily on improving things like fuel economy, tracking driving habits and providing car diagnos-tics — with no monthly fee. Setup is straightforward and took just a few seconds, and its app is avail-able for Android and iOS.

In terms of the data it provides, Automatic is a little like a wearable activity tracker. There’s informa-tion that’s interesting to look at, like how far a trip was and how much gas you used. But unless you drive for a living or are focused on minimising your fuel use, it’s not always obvious what to do with all that information.

You also get a driver score for good behaviour, like avoiding speeding, rapid acceleration and hard brak-ing. That sounds like a buzz kill for those who like to drive for sport, but it’s helpful if there’s a teenager in the house or if you’ve had a lot of speed-ing tickets. And both Mojio and Automatic would come in handy if you had a mechanical problem and needed a quick diagnosis.

— The New York Times News Service

Mojio, released in October, and Automatic,

released last year, both use apps to offer

a surprising, interesting and occasionally

overwhelming look inside your car

Helpful tools to pick your car’s computerised brain

G A D G E T W I S E

MILLIONS of Americans have some degree of hearing difficulty, but only a small percentage regu-larly wear hearing aids. People in the hearing sciences have long argued that technology is partly to blame.

Hearing aids are expensive — they often sell for more than a thousand dollars per ear, and they are not usually covered by health insurance. Also, unlike eyeglass-es, hearing aids have never been fashionable. Although some man-ufacturers are trying to change how hearing aids are perceived, they still carry a stigma of aging and infirmity, and many who have difficulty hearing would rather suffer than be seen with them.

The founders of a technology

start-up named Soundhawk are on a mission to change that. This month, the company began ship-ping its first product, the Smart Lis-tening System, a clever device and app meant to help improve sounds in certain noisy environments.

The Soundhawk Smart Listen-

ing System, which sells for $300, looks a bit like a Bluetooth head-set, but instead of letting you just make phone calls, it is packed with microphones and advanced audio decoding chips to amplify the sound around you.

Amplify soundIt connects to a smartphone app that lets users customise how the device works in different sound environments. For instance, when you hit the Dining button in the app, the Soundhawk head-set will cut down background noise and amplify sound from the person in front if you. In outdoor mode, it will reduce wind noise.

The Smart Listening System also comes with a wireless micro-

phone that can be positioned a few feet from the user. Clip it on the person across from you in a noisy restaurant, or position it next to the TV, and you will hear in your ear everything the mike picks up.

The company takes pains to note that the Smart Listening System is not a hearing aid and is not meant for people with im-paired hearing.

Instead, the device is classified by the Food and Drug Administra-tion as a “personal sound amplifi-cation product.”

There are already many of these on the market, but most of the devices are not very good; they’re the sort of devices adver-tised in late-night infomercials for under $50.

The Soundhawk Smart Lis-tening System, by contrast, was designed by audio scientists who have worked at some of the world’s best hearing-aid compa-nies. The company has also hired alums from Apple, Amazon and other tech hardware companies to make its device both stylish and easy to use.

Boost for your earsThe result is a new kind of hearing device, a boost for your ears even if, most of the time, you can hear well enough. “The market that we’re going after is people who usually have fine-performing hearing, but they find themselves with situ-ational needs, like noisy restau-rants, or they having trouble hear-

ing something over a distance,” said Michael Kisch, Soundhawk’s chief executive.

You can think of the Sound-hawk Smart Listening System as something like reading glasses for the ears. Unlike hearing aids, the Soundhawk does not need to be bought from and tuned by an au-diologist, which explains why it is much cheaper than hearing aids despite its high-end electronics.

“We’ve replaced the profes-sional component piece with an app, where people can select set-tings appropriate for themselves by subjectively evaluating the per-formance,” said Andrew Dundas, an audiologist who is Soundhawk’s chief scientific officer. — FARHAD MAN-

JOO/The New York Times News Service

Soundhawk smart listening system: A hearing helper

SECTION

RECRUIJ O B P O S T I N G S

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten. — B. F. Skinner

How managers can be smart about job reviews

THERE often is too much reli-ance on one-way communica-tion from the manager, who simply tells the employee about his or her performance. Managers often fail to estab-lish what we call ‘SMART’ goals — specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic or reasonable, and time-bound, or with a clear endpoint.

If done correctly, perfor-mance reviews can be of tre-mendous benefit to an or-ganisation. The session offers opportunities for employees to become aware of where they need to make changes or main-tain behaviour, helps them develop accurate self-images, can improve communication between managers and employ-ees, and can facilitate mutual problem-solving. It also rein-forces and supports a learning culture by allowing managers to communicate what is expected of employees and clarify any misunderstandings. There are some things you can do to en-sure you are effectively provid-ing feedback:

Plan ahead: Pick the right time and place to give feedback and prepare for the meeting. Avoid giving feedback if you are angry, busy or tired. Provide detailed, written feedback and check to ensure the validity of your statements.

Be specific: Limit your feed-back to specific skills the em-ployee can do something about. Focus on tasks and behaviours, not personalities, and use clear and recent examples. Describe what the person is doing and the effect the person is having. Fo-cus on giving specific, observ-able, job-related, behavioural feedback vs. feedback based on inferences or ‘personality.’ After asking for the employee’s views, review his or her strengths and areas of past performance, as well as weaknesses or areas of unsatisfactory performance. Discuss and set goals; have a time line for improvement and follow-up.

Make it a conversation: Start the meeting with some small talk and set an agenda. Make sure there is two-way communication and give the employee a voice by developing an atmosphere of trust in which he or she will perceive the feed-back as helpful. Ask questions and encourage the other person to ask questions. Do not rush or interrupt the employee. Listen to learn, not just to respond, and show empathy for what the em-ployee is saying. Make sure you are actively engaged — make eye contact, nod, reflect on what he or she is saying and paraphrase to show you understand. Avoid ‘yes, but’ statements, and use ‘I’ rather than ‘you’ when making a point. Establish rapport and try to identify what ‘energises’ the employee — identify his or her values. Ask for ideas and suggestions. Thank the person for taking the time to share the feedback with you.

Be tactful: Avoid ‘saving up’ criticisms to deliver all at once. Think about the feedback you are providing from the other person’s point of view, and make sure your comments are intend-ed to help. Don’t be threatening or judgmental, certainly don’t use sarcasm to prove your point and don’t be defensive. Take responsibility for shared prob-lems. Give feedback when the recipient is ready to accept it. The goal is to establish a mo-tivating climate and focus on maintaining and enhancing an employee’s self-esteem. Do this by always providing positive as well as negative feedback to mo-tivate the employee.

Be sensitive: Help the em-ployee understand the feedback you give, especially when the person is upset. Listen patiently to your employee’s needs. Use understandable language for giving directions or providing corrective feedback. Use non-verbal cues — smiles, nods, eye contact — as encouragement and speak directly and with feeling, based on trust. — Joyce E.A.

Russell/ The Washington Post

‘ S M A R T ’ G O A L S

Don’t let fear scare you out of a new jobTRUE, the economy is not at its high point, not even close; but that doesn’t mean it is all doom and gloom. It just means that perhaps it is time to dig in your heels and take a more realistic approach to your situation.

Job-seekers who take the statis-tics to heart and follow the jobless reports too closely set themselves up for psychological torment and a

sense of hopelessness. Whether you are unemployed

or want to change jobs, don’t let fear scare you away. After being turned down for job after job, re-jection can really take a toll on your self-esteem. Shut the TV off, stop watching the news about the unemployment numbers, and start promoting yourself.

Take steps to package yourself

as attractively as possible.If you are unemployed, think of

creative ways to use your time and give your résumé an extra punch. Let hiring managers know you haven’t been sitting at home lick-ing your wounds. If you are cur-rently employed, these job-search strategies can work for you as well:

Consider part-time volunteer activities that still allow enough

time to mount a strong career-search campaign.

Choose organisations that are relevant and can add value to your experience.

Participate in online courses or undertake a self-study programme if you can’t afford formal training.

Use some of the more proac-tive strategies to land a job. Don’t take the same approach as others

by simply applying online to post-ings. Most jobs are actually never posted on job boards or websites. Instead, decide what jobs you can realistically attain, and go after those. Even if they aren’t in your previous salary range, consider swallowing your pride and weigh-ing new alternatives, particularly if you have been unemployed for a while. — Debra Wheatman

C A R E E R C O A C H

RECRUITB7M O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

B8

ROUND-UPM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

Oman Air, Airbus brief OTC students on future of flying

MUSCAT: Oman Air and Airbus held ‘The Future by Airbus’ pres-entation at the Oman Tourism College (OTC) yesterday under the patronage of Mohsin Khamis Al Balushi, adviser to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Board Member of Oman Air.

The interactive presentation aimed to challenge students to think more innovatively for the fu-ture of aviation, says a press release.

Sharing insight into air traf-fic trends, energy harvesting and breakthrough technologies, Airbus inspired students with its vision of sustainable aviation in 2050. More than 200 students from the Oman Tourism College were captivated by Airbus’s predicted revolution of the aviation industry, taking away valuable information to transform the industry in the region.

Attendees also watched a spe-cial screening of Airbus’ Smarter

Skies movie, latest instalment in ‘The Future by Airbus’. Follow-ing the radical Concept Plane and Concept Cabin, Smarter Skies now looks beyond aircraft design, towards developing even more ef-ficient operations both in the air and on the ground.

Smarter Skies breaks conven-tional boundaries to look at dis-ruptive ideas that will enable Air-bus to shape future travel — saving passengers’ time, minimising de-lays and lowering emissions.

“At Oman Air, we recognise the region’s aviation industry is at a turning point, and its success rides

with our future talent. It’s impor-tant for us to invest in the next generation of aviation experts, as innovation flourishes with inspi-ration,” said Paul Gregorowitsch, CEO of Oman Air.

“The Future by Airbus has sparked a keen interest among the students today, and we look for-ward to seeing how they will drive the industry forward in the years to come,” he added.

Whilst some concepts remain an engineer’s dream, Airbus is al-ready working on the development and use of alternative fuels and supporting plans for more efficient

air traffic management. Airbus believes that, in the future, more people should be able to share the benefits of air travel, that a more connected world can also be a more sustainable world, and that the right combination of technol-ogy and talent — along with the right investment, support and co-operation — can make this happen.

“At Airbus, we create and sup-port initiatives to inspire young people from all backgrounds and profiles to develop the skills need-ed for the exciting opportunities available in the aviation industry,” said Fouad Attar, Managing Direc-

tor of Airbus Middle East. “Investing in Oman’s human

capital will create a more diversi-fied and stronger economy, allow-ing the market to continue thriv-ing,” he added.

Oman Air has had a long-stand-ing policy of supporting Omani tal-ent, enabling them to achieve their full potential, and this initiative aims to tangibly contribute to this objective. Partnering with Airbus, one of the leading manufacturers of aircraft in the world, demon-strates the airline’s commitment to innovation and sustainability in the aviation industry.

‘Future by Airbus’

initiative promises

sustainable aviation

and the development

of future talent

Walk into The Straits ... from heart of HormuzMUSCAT: As you walk into The Straits, the first impression is that of a spacious restaurant with an aesthetic business-hotel styled dé-cor having a beautiful view of the courtyard. This all-day dining out-let at the recently opened Hormuz Grand is becoming increasingly popular with a fresh concept of ‘a la carte buffet’ in Oman which isn’t a traditional buffet spread.

Central display is an entire stretch showcasing the fresh ex-otic vegetables, meat, chicken and fish, with live cooking stations. You can choose from Mediterrane-an, Arabic, Italian, Asian or Orien-tal cuisine, the offering is vast and varied ranging from pizzas (base of which is rolled out only once the order is placed), pastas, grilled meats, stir fry, kebabs and freshly baked bread from the tandoor oven. There is a wide selection of vegetarian and non-vegetarian (chicken, shrimp, lamb and veg-etable) pickles prepared in-house, says a press release.

The stir-fry station gives you the option to pick your choice of vegetables and meat and hand it over the counter; tell the chef your preference of sauce and condi-ments and it will be cooked right

in front of you. Whether it is stir fry or grill, you will get your dish beautifully plated within minutes. Apart from the live counter, other preparations are kept on the buffet in smaller quantities to keep the freshness of the ingredients intact.

Another aspect that has put The Straits in the limelight is the deli-cately prepared bite-sized sampler portions organised at the salad and dessert sections on either side of the live station. The miniature compound salads and desserts are masterpieces carefully pre-pared by chef. These are individu-

ally portioned, garnished and pre-sented in ramekins (small ceramic dishes)/shot glasses, it makes the display look amazing and you have more than 15 mouth-watering, col-ourful varieties to choose from!

In addition, there is ‘ice-cream teppanyaki’. As unique as the name might sound, it is a creative mix of ice cream with fruit, caramelised nuts, brownies/ cakes, sauces and syrups that is a burst of amazing textures and flavours.

All you need to do is to be crea-tive yourself and ‘make your own ice-cream’ with your choice of in-

gredients and you can be assured that it’s out of this world!

“The concept behind The Straits is to offer something innovative without compromising on quality or freshness of the food. We offer something new for each meal that allows us to showcase our culinary range for an unforgettable din-ing experience. The buffet incor-porates such a huge variety that it would be difficult to sample all that we have to offer in one go – tempting our customers to visit us again,” said Shafaque Ahsan, The Food & Beverage Director.

However, it is not just the cus-tomers but also the staff that the hotel that stays involved by doing things differently. The Hormuz team was invited 45 days before Christmas to join-in and celebrate the traditional ‘cake mixing cer-emony’, where 20kg of dried fruit, tutti-frutti and spices such as cin-namon, ginger and all-spice were mixed together and soaked for preparing Christmas puddings and plum cakes. The participating team enjoyed this out of the ordi-nary activity that presented them with a light moment to spend time with colleagues over some snacks and refreshments.

A L L - D A Y D I N I N G O U T L E T

al Mazyona fetes 15 lucky quarterly prize draw winnersMUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the flagship financial services pro-vider in the Sultanate, hosted al Mazyona quarterly prize draw as part of the 44th National Day cel-ebrations at the head office.

AbdulRazak Ali Issa, Chief Ex-ecutive, picked the 15 winners, including one asalah Priority Banking customer, who won priz-es totalling OMR750,000. al Ma-zyona customers maintaining a minimum balance of OMR1,000 for three months were eligible to participate in the prize draw for the quarter ending September, says a press release.

“Over the years, al Mazyona has succeeded in inculcating a strong savings culture in Oman. The objective of al Mazyona is to create a lifetime change for win-ners and allow them to invest the prize money in things that will make a lasting difference and the well-being of their families,” said AbdulRazak Ali Issa while con-gratulating the winners.

With over OMR8 million prize money in 2014, al Mazyona sav-ings scheme, offering more for everyone to share, is the biggest prize money in Oman and the region. Momentum has started building up for the grand year-end prizes totalling a whopping OMR1.9 million to be shared by 14 winners from the governo-rates and 1 winner from asalah Priority Banking.

N A T I O N A L D A Y C E L E B R A T I O N

RECRUIT

Sur Plaza Hotel offers attractive packageMUSCAT: Sur Plaza Hotel is gearing up to receive many local visitors to the picturesque city of Sur after the announcement of National Day holidays.

One highlighting attraction by Sur Plaza Hotel’s package is designed especially with fami-lies in mind. The inclusion of kids up to 12 years staying free with a maximum of two chil-dren per room will be the key highlights of this package, says a press release.

Sur is becoming one of the most sought after destinations during holidays and weekends. The prospect of witnessing one of the nature’s miracles of tur-tles laying eggs and its magnifi-cent beaches no doubt will at-tract many visitors to Sur.

Apart from turtle watching, one could visit many other at-tractions in and around Sur. Tiwi beach, Wadi Arbaeen, Wadi Shab, Wadi bani Khalid are some of the natures crea-tions that can be enjoyed during coming holidays. If all this does not excite enough, there are day tour trips to wadis and of course the dessert.

The latest additions to attrac-tions in Sur are dhow tours en-joyable in the morning or at the sunset, water sporting activities such as banana boating, snor-kelling, diving and kayaking.

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

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

SPOR SY O U R G A M E

SECTIONC M O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

KOHLI READY FOR THE AUSTRALIAN CHALLENGEIndian star Virat Kohli said Sunday he was ready for the in-your-face pressure in store for his Test captaincy debut against Australia in next month’s opening Gabba Test. >C2

Joy and tears for Federer as Swiss win Davis Cup

LILLE: Roger Federer gave Switzerland its first Davis Cup title on Sunday in Lille by pounding Richard Gasquet of France in straight sets in the first of the final’s reverse singles.

Federer romped to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win to hand the Swiss an un-beatable 3-1 lead after Stan Waw-rinka had won the opening singles of the match and the world num-ber two and four had teamed up to win the doubles on Saturday.

It was one of the greatest sport-ing triumphs for Switzerland, the 14th nation to win the Davis Cup, and a huge personal milestone for Federer to go with his 17 Grand Slam titles, six Masters titles and Olympic doubles gold.

It left him with just an Olym-pic singles gold to win in Rio in 2016 to become just the third man, after great rival Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi, to win all four Grand Slam titles, the Olympic title and the Davis Cup.

“It’s an an enormous pleas-ure for me, I’ve waited 15 years for this,” Federer said. “This has been a perfect weekend in a cra-zy atmosphere and all the Swiss fans helped us enormously.

But he refused to accept that finally winning the Davis Cup made him the greatest player of all-time.

“That’s of no importance to me, what matters is that I enjoy playing tennis,” he added.

Federer had expected to play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first of Sunday’s two rubbers, but the French number one, who lost to Wawrinka in four sets on Fri-day, was struggling with an arm injury and generally out of sorts.

In came Gasquet with the monumental task of defeating Federer and opening the door for the possibility of the in-form Gael Monfils defeating Wawrin-ka in the decider. -AFP

T E N N I S

Qatar stun Oman to enter final

RIYADH: Qatar staged a stunning comeback to down Oman in a 3-1 semifinal victory at the 22nd Gulf Cup Football Championship at the King Fahad Stadium on Sunday.

While the result boosted Qatar’s hopes for the third crown, it shat-tered the Omanis dream of achiev-ing their second title success at the regional football extravaganza.

Two second half goals by Ali Thaimin ended the Sultanate squad’s hopes, especially after the first half flourish saw Paul Le Guen’s Oman dominate the pro-ceedings in the first half.

Both the second half goals came after serious defensive lapses, once on part of Oman skipper and experienced custodian Ali Al Habsi.

After the first half, Oman and Qatar were on even terms though the Sultanate team went into the break ruing a the missed opportu-nity by Abdulaziz Al Maqbali just before their rivals equalised.

Oman went ahead in the 24th

minute when a powerful Raed Ibrahim Saleh’s right footer beat Qatar goalkeeper Qasem Burham hands down.

Raed latched on to a deft cross from the left flank and powered the ball into the net with a first time shot.

However, the Oman jubilance was short lived Ali Al Habsi rushed out to make a save and in the pro-

cess committing a foul on a Qatari striker in the 36th minute.

While Ali was punished with a yellow card, more punishment was in store for the team as Hasan Al Haydos, taking the resultant pen-alty, curled the ball into the net after sending Ali the wrong side to bring the score to parity.

Soon after the break Ali Tahimin capitalised on defensive blunders

to shoot in a brace, in the 59th and 67th minutes, to deny any chance of an Oman recovery.

Oman, the 2009 champions, will now play the third-place play off

on Tuesday.In his post-match comments,

Paul Le Guen lamented that Oman failed to capitalise on the opportu-nities that came their way.

“The team played a very good game, especially in the first half.

But unfortunately we were un-able to capitalise on the scoring opportunities we created,” he said.

“But I should say Qatar were de-

serving winners and they deserved to qualify for the final.

Their fitness was good and they were also physically superior to us.

And they took advantage of that aspect,” the Frenchman added.

“During the first half, the teams were evenly matched.

But in the second session indi-vidual errors crept in, which Qatar team were able to exploit,” he said.

The 2009 champions

Oman will now play

the third-place playoff

on Tuesday to restore

some pride before

returning home

JUBILANT: Ecstatic Qatar players celebrate after beating Oman and qualifying

for the final. – Times of Oman / Ismail Al Farsi

ONLY GOAL: Oman’s Raed Saleh celebrates after scoring Oman’s only goal

in the semifinals.

SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISITFULL ARTICLE, PHOTOS

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

C2

SPORTSM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

Stay ahead of the curve with

WhatsNews

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY INSTALL WHATSNEWS

Kohli ready for the Australian challengeADELAIDE: Indian star Virat Kohli said Sunday he was ready for the in-your-face pressure in store for his Test captaincy debut against Australia in next month’s opening Gabba Test.

Kohli will become India’s 32nd Test captain with regular skipper MS Dhoni missing the start of the four-Test series in Brisbane on De-cember 4 against the Australians because of a wrist injury.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India said Dhoni would return to the helm for the remaining three Tests of the series. Responding to Australian paceman Peter Siddle’s taunt that he might find the rowdy crowd and added responsibili-ties “a bit daunting”, Kohli went straight on the front foot.

“Well that’s for me to know and for me to experience,” Kohli told reporters on Sunday ahead of the tourists’ opening hit-out against a Cricket Australia XI in Adelaide on Monday. “I’ve played against him, he’s quite a competitive guy so I’m not surprised there’s already some banter starting from that end.

..(and) I don’t mind all that. “I love leading the side. I love

being captain. I don’t see any is-sues on why I can’t be up to the challenge.”

Kohli has filled in for Dhoni in the limited-overs format, but is yet

to do so in a Test.“I’m pretty confident of the abil-

ity the guys have.It’s up to me how I handle them, how I handle differ-ent situations,” he said.

“As long as the team backs me and puts in the performances we

want, I think I’m going to look good at the end of the day.”

Dhoni’s injury worries prompt-ed India’s selectors to include two other wicket-keepers, Wriddhi-man Saha and Naman Ojha, in the unusually large touring squad that

comprises eight specialist bats-men and five seamers.

Kohli was empathetic when asked about counterpart Michael Clarke’s injury-disrupted lead-up to the first Test.

“I’ve heard about Michael Clarke’s hamstring injury. I’m not in a position to comment on that because I don’t know how serious it is,” he said.

“It’s very unfortunate for a cricketer before a Test series to have that sort of an injury.”

The tour, which ends with the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in February and March, gives India a chance to improve their poor record overseas in recent years.

India have won just three and lost 14 of their 23 Tests away from the sub-continent in the last four years, enduring 4-0 routs in Eng-land and Australia in 2011 and a 3-1 drubbing in England earlier this year.

The series opener in Brisbane will be followed by Tests in Ad-elaide, Melbourne and Sydney. -AFP

T O U R D O W N U N D E R

I love leading the side. I love being captain. I don’t see any issues on why I can’t be up to the challenge

Virat KohliStand-in India captain

Anamul, Tamim set up easy win

CHITTAGONG: Opening bats-men Anamul Haque and Tamim Iqbal each struck a half-century to set up an easy 68-run win for Bangladesh in the second one-day international against Zimbabwe in Chittagong on Sunday.

Anamul and Tamim provided Bangladesh the foundation put-ting on 158 runs in what was the side’s second best opening stand after Mehrab Hossain and Sha-hirar Hossain’s 170 against the same opponents in 1999.

Skipper Mashrafe Mortaza took three wickets in his opening spell to rattle Zimbabwe and left the visitors struggling at 3-40 and the side could never recover from the damage. — AFP

Anamul made 80

off 110 balls while

Tamim cracked

76 off 98 balls

as Bangladesh

posted 251-7

before dismissing

Zimbabwe for 183

runs in 44.5 overs to

take 2-0 lead in the

five-match series

Pacquiao retains welterweight title

MACAU: Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao comprehen-sively dismantled American Chris Algieri to retain his World Boxing Organization welter-weight title at the Cotai Arena in Macau on Sunday. Pacquiao dropped Algieri to the canvas six times during the 12-round con-test in the southern Chinese city to win an overwhelming unani-mous decision, 119-103, 119-103, 120-102 on the judges’ cards.

Algieri, the unbeaten WBO light welterweight champion, was outclassed from the start, with the eight-division world champion Pacquiao knocking the Long Islander down in the second round, twice in both the sixth and ninth rounds, and fi-nally again in the 10th. Pacquiao was landing punches at will as the quick Algieri tried to run, slip and hide from the onslaught.

But the congressman from Sa-rangani province really turned it when he smashed Algieri to the canvas with a devastating straight left in the sixth. - AFP

B O X I N G

JUBILANT: Bangladesh cricketers celebrate after beating Zimba-

bwe at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong. – AFP

BangladeshTamim Iqbal run out 76Anamul Haque c Sibanda b Panyangara 80Shakib Al Hasan b Sibanda 0Mushfiqur Rahim lbw b Kamungozi 27S. Rahman c Kamungozi b Panyangara 0Mahmudullah c Panyangara b Kamungozi 12Mominul Haque not out 33Mashrafe Mortaza b Chatara 6Rubel Hossain not out 5Extras (lb-3, w-8, nb-1) 12Total (for seven wickets; 50 overs) 251Fall of wickets: 1-158 (Tamim) , 2-158 (Shakib), 3- 173( Anamul ), 4- 173 (Sabbir), 5-204( Mahmudullah), 6-204 ( Rahim ), 7-225 ( Mortaza)Bowling: Panyangara 10-1-51-2 (w1, nb-1), Chatara 10-0-58-1(w1), Kamungozi 10-0-38-2 (w1), Nyumbu 10-0-56-0 (w2), Sibanda 10-0-45-1(w3)ZimbabweH. Masakadza b Mortaza 0S. Raza c Mahmudullah b Mortaza 16V. Sibanda b Mortaza 21B. Taylor c Mahmudullah b Sunny 8

S. Mire c Sunny b Shakib 50R. Chakabva c Mortaza b Al-Amin 32E. Chigumbura run out 38T. Panyangara b Sunny 8J. Nyumbu b Sunny 0T. Chatara not out 1T. Kamungozi b Sunny 0Extras (lb-4, w-5) 9Total ( all out; 44.5 overs) 183Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Masakadza), 2-37 (Sibanda), 3-40 (Raza), 4- 50 (Taylor), 5-115 (Chakabva), 6-140 (Mire), 7-177 (Chigum-bura), 8-181 (Panyangara), 9-182 (Nyumbu), 10-183 (Kamungozi)Bowling: Mortaza 8-0-34-3 (w2), Al-Amin 8-0-44-1(w1), Rubel 6-1-28-0, Sunny 9.5-0-29-4 (w1), Shakib 8-2-18-1(w1), Mah-mudullah 2-0-12-0, Sabbir 3-0-14-0Result: Bangladesh won by 68 runs and lead the five-match series 2-0Toss: BangladeshUmpires: Chris Gaffaney (NZL) and Sharf-uddoula (BAN)TV Umpire: Anisur Rahman (BAN)Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)

S C O R E B O A R D

C3

SPORTSM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

Australia go top of ODI rankings

SYDNEY: James Faulkner hit the winning boundary with five balls to spare to give Australia a thrilling two-wicket victory over South Africa on Sunday and push them to the top of the ICC one-day rankings.

The Australians were cruising towards a rain-reduced victory target of 275 in Sydney but then lost four wickets for three runs to give the Proteas a late chance of victory.

But Faulkner (six not out) got Australia over the line with a sweep for four off spinner Robin Peterson, who had bowled the Proteas into contention with four wickets.

Australia secured a 4-1 series

win and nudged ahead of India to top the one-day rankings, less than three months before the start of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock was named man-of-the-match in a losing side for his 107 off 123 balls in South Africa’s innings after they had won the toss.

The Australians seemed in control of the run chase with Aaron Finch scoring 76 (67 balls), Shane Watson 82 (93 balls) and man of the series Steve Smith 67 (74 balls).

But some reckless batting cou-pled with Peterson’s mesmeris-ing spin brought South Africa back into contention after the

loss of Glenn Maxwell, Smith, skipper George Bailey, Matt Wade and Pat Cummins.

Faulkner got the Australians home in the final over.

“We made it a bit difficult for ourselves in the end and Jimmy (Faulkner) again got us home so it’s nice to win the series 4-1,” Smith said.

“We were a bit nervous sitting and watching and we were actually feeling a little bit sick, I don’t know what happened, and luckily Jimmy came out and rescued us again.”

The South Africans never gave in and coupled with Peterson’s bowling, Rilee Rossouw took four catches, including a sprawling ef-fort to dismiss Smith in the out-field at a pivotal time in the match.

De Kock hit the first one-day century by a South African at the Sydney Cricket Ground to help his team to 280 for six.

The wicketkeeper’s 107 off 123 balls with 14 fours was his sixth ODI hundred but first against Aus-tralia. In the absence of injured skipper AB de Villiers, de Kock stepped up to play a valuable in-nings for the Proteas, who were looking to avoid a fourth defeat in the five-game ODI series.

De Kock survived a close shave

on 98 as Smith’s throw narrowly missed the stumps when the bats-man was well out of hi ground.

He went on to reach his century before being caught off his glove going for a uppercut off paceman Pat Cummins in the 41st over.

De Kock put on 107 for the sec-ond wicket with Rossouw, who scored 51 off 71 balls as a replace-ment for de Villiers.

The skipper injured his ribs

while fielding in Friday’s fourth ODI in Melbourne.

Farhaan Behardien provided late fireworks in his best knock of the series with 63 off 41 balls, in-cluding seven fours and two sixes.

He looked set for a third six only to be athletically caught above his head by Smith on the boundary rope.

Cummins was the best Austral-ian bowler with three for 54. - AFP

Australia secured a

4-1 series win and

nudged ahead of

India to top the one-

day rankings, less

than three months

before the start of the

World Cup

SOUTH AFRICAQ. de Kock c Wade b Cummins 107H. Amla c Wade b Maxwell 18R. Rossouw c Bailey b Cummins 51F. du Plessis c Bailey b Cummins 2D. Miller c Cummins b Smith 5F. Behardien c Smith b Faulkner 63W. Parnell not out 18R. McLaren not out 1Extras (lb-5, w-9, nb-1) 15Total (6 wickets; 50 overs) 280Fall of wickets: 1-54 (Amla), 2-161 (Ros-souw), 3-164 (du Plessis), 4-187 (Miller), 5-206 (de Kock), 6-279 (Behardien)Did not bat: R. Peterson, M. Morkel, K. AbbottBowling: Hazlewood 9-1-52-0, Starc 10-1-60-0 (4w), Cummins 9-0-54-3 (4w), Faulkner 8-0-51-1 (1nb), Maxwell 8-0-30-1, Watson 1-0-11-0 (1w), Smith 5-1-17-1AUSTRALIAD. Warner c Peterson b Parnell 21A. Finch c Rossouw b Peterson 76S. Watson c Rossouw b Morkel 82S. Smith c Rossouw b Peterson 67

G. Maxwell C Behardien b Morkel 7G. Bailey c Rossouw b Abbott 4M. Wade b Peterson 3J. Faulkner not out 6P. Cummins b Peterson 0M. Starc not out 1Extras (w4, nb4) 8Total (8 wickets; 47.1 overs) 275Fall of wickets: 1-37 (Warner), 2-137 (Finch), 3-218 (Watson), 4-246 (Maxwell), 5-264 (Smith), 6-264 (Bailey), 7-267 (Wade), 8-267 (Cummins)Did not bat: J. HazlewoodBowling: Morkel 10-0-69-2 (1w), Abbott 10-0-59-1 (3nb, 1w), Parnell 9-0-54-1, McLaren 7-0-41-0 (1nb, 2w), Peterson 6.1-1-32-4, Behardien 5-0-20-0Result: Australia won by 2 wickets (D/L)Series: Australia 4-1Man of the match: Quinton de Kock (RSA)Toss: South AfricaUmpires: Nigel Llong (ENG), Mick Martell (AUS)Third umpire: Billy Bowden (NZL)Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)

S C O R E B O A R D

ALL SMILES: Victorious Australian team pose with the trophy after beating South Africa on Sunday. – AFP



Parvez targets World Cup selectionNEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir cricketer Parvez Ra-sool is targeting a spot in the Indian team which will play in the 2015 ICC World Cup in Aus-tralia and New Zealand. “The target now is selection for the World Cup. There are multi-day matches coming up and the aim is to do well in those. I have to do well as a team and individually as well. The target is to get back to the Indian team,” Rasool was quoted as saying by bcci.tv.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Nov 21 presented the 25-year-old with the Lala Amarnath Award for the best all-rounder in Ranji Trophy for the 2013-14 season. Rasool said the honour now in-creases his responsibility.

“Getting the Lala Amarnath award is a huge honour for any cricketer. Best all-rounder! My responsibility increases.

“This will be a morale boost-er for me as well as the team, that our performances are get-ting recognition which will lead to calls in India A, India, Indian Premier League (IPL),” said Rasool.

“The award is very important and especially for me because for the first time in the history a play-er from Jammu and Kashmir has received an award.” Rasool. - IANS

C R I C K E T

C4


Team Nika extend lead, Aqua in second at RC44 Oman Cup

MUSCAT: The ten competing teams at the RC44 Oman Cup, hosted by Oman Sail and spon-sored by Mercedes Benz Oman, enjoyed a great sailing day at The Wave, Muscat on the penultimate day of the 2014 Championship Tour on Saturday.

Racing commenced with young Optimists, members of Omantel’s Youth Programme, joining each RC44 boat as “ninth men” to share the thrill of sailing alongside a mixture of amateur and seasoned sailors. With fast and furious rac-ing building steadily throughout the day, this experience gave the youngsters a glimpse of what to expect as they carve their way to-wards professional sailing careers.

Starting with a seven-knot north-westerly breeze, Team Nika continued their great form, extending their lead in the over-all standings, adding another race win to their scoreline.

Team Aqua stayed second with

Charisma hanging onto third. Pen-insula Petroleum nailed the pin end of the line in the opening race of the day, stayed left and led at the first mark. Katusha made a safe start in the middle of the line, ducked Peninsula Petroleum coming into the top mark to round second, with Nika and Aqua just behind.

A big left shift made the run a one way track, but Team Aqua soaked down and snuck past Nika at the leeward gate. John Bassa-done’s team sailed a perfect race to take their second win.

With such tight racing, colli-sions are not unusual in the RC44 fleet. Coming into the offset mark at top of the course, Bronenesec didn’t give enough water for Arte-mis Racing and Gazprom Youth,

the result – a three boat colli-sion. Artemis had to replace their bow between races. Damage to Gazprom Youth’s transom took them out of racing for the rest of the day. Vladimir Liubomirov’s Bronenosec were penalised, with two penalty points for the incident.

Chris Bake’s Team Aqua had made it up to second overall on equal points with Katusha after seven races and were eager to get started again. Both teams were called over the line in race eight, having to re-start. Nika, Artemis and Peninsula Petroleum started at the pin end of the line and headed up the favoured left hand side of the course.

The trio rounded the windward mark ahead of the fleet. Nika and Artemis held their places until

the finish, Nico Poon’s Charisma pulling themselves up through the fleet to finish third, just ahead of Peninsula Petroleum.

The final race on Saturday gave some great sailing conditions as the wind increased to 14 knots. Aqua made a safe start in the mid-dle of the line, played the shifts and led Bronenosec by the smallest of margin at the top mark.

Peninsula Petroleum was up in the top three again. Team Aqua kept out of trouble and sailed away from the fleet to take the win, Bro-nenosec second, with Team Nika third, whose owner Vladimir Pros-ikhin described the race: “The best race I have ever sailed, it was a very good recovery, very hard work and we did everything perfect.”

The defending champions did not have to win in Oman to be crowned 2014 RC44 Champion-ship Tour winners, but as owner Chris Bake said, they will be trying: “Nika have had an unbelievable re-gatta, they have been very constant and very strong all week, they should be proud of what they have done. We have got our work cut out tomorrow to close the nine point gap, I am not sure if we can or not but we will give it our best shot.”

In the overall standings, Team Nika has a nine-point lead over second placed Team Aqua. Cha-risma team is four-points off Team Aqua, second to fifth split by just eight-points. With no discard and three races expected to be sailed, there are no guaranteed spots on the podium as yet.

RC44 Oman Cup overall ranking (after nine races): 1. Team Nika 3 1 2 6 2 4 4 1 3 – 26; 2. Team Aqua 4 3 7 2 8 1 3 6 1 – 35; 3. Charisma 1 5 5 9 1 2 6 3 7 – 39; 4. Artemis Racing 5 4 8 1 4 7 7 2 5 – 43; 5. Katusha 2 6 4 5 3 6 2 9 6 – 43; 6. Synergy Russian Sailing Team 9 2 3 4 7 3 5 5 9 – 47; 7. Peninsula Petroleum Sailing Team 10 9 1 10 6 8 1 4 4 – 53; 8. Gazprom Youth Sail-ing Challenge 7 8 6 8 5 9 8 5RDG 11DNS – 67; 9. Bronenosec Sailing Team 6 10 9 3 10 10 10 8 2 (2) – 70; 10. Aleph Racing 8 7 10 7 9 5 9 7 8 – 70.

2014 RC44 Championship Tour overall fleet race ranking (After four events with one discard): 1. Team Aqua – 6; 2. Peninsula Petroleum Sailing Team – 7; 3. Bronenosec Sailing Team – 9; 4. Cha-risma – 14; 5. Synergy Russian Sailing Team – 16; 6. Artemis Racing – 16; 7. Team Nika – 17; 8. Bombarda Racing - 21; 9. Gazprom Youth Sailing Challenge – 21; 10. Katusha – 24; 11. Aleph Racing – 25; 12. MAG Racing – 34; 13. Artemis Racing Youth – 36.

Team Nika continued

their great form,

extending their

lead in the overall

standings, adding

another race win to

their scoreline

ITPF’S PLANS TO DEVELOP TENT PEGGING Mohammed bin Issa Al Fairuz, the chairman of the International Tent Pegging Federa-

tion (ITPF), met the members of the various committees of the world body at Al Rahba

Farm on Sunday on the sidelines of tent pegging training programme being organised.

The meeting discussed the significance of the first training programme, which began on

November 19 and runs till November 26. The programme includes both theoretical and

practical sessions and are being organised under the supervision of Omani trainers. The

meeting also assessed the present tent pegging scenario and put forward suggestions

for a clear strategy to spread and develop the sport. The ITPF is set to also finalise 2015

programme of events, including the tournaments to be organised, during a meeting on

Thursday. — Supplied photo

Vivek, Kapil, Vatsal and Siddhant in semifinalsMUSCAT: The top four seeds, Vivek Kolluru, Kapil Mansingha-ni, J. Siddhant and Vatsal Mani-kandan, advanced to the semi-finals of the under-10 singles at the Falcon Insurance Company-sponsored annual tennis tour-nament organised by the Indian Social Club (ISC) Muscat.

Ibri-based Vivek Kolluru as-serted his supremacy with a flu-ent 6-0 blanking of H. Aniketh in the quarterfinal.

The top seed was joined in the last four by second seed Kapil Mansinghani who registered a confident 6-0 win over Adarsh Srinivasan.

Third seed J. Siddhant was also in his elements and routed Praneeth Raj 6-0 while fourth seed Vatsal Manikandan de-feated Zain Ashfaq 6-2 to enter the semifinals.

In the earlier round of the same event, H. Anieth strug-gled before overcoming Mikhail Sarit 6-4, Zain Ashfaque beat kshita AR 6-2, Praneeth Raj had advanced with a 6-3 win over Amritya Singh and Adarsh Srin-ivasan defeated J. Kavya 6-3.

Viswanathan scored a hard-fought 8-6 win to emerge into the second round of the men’s singles. So did Prasad who de-feated Venkatesa Babu 8-1.

Also moving into the second round of the men’s singles are Subash Pillai who won the bat-tle of hard-hitters with a 8-2 win over Ronnie Pereira while Percy Pereira outlasted Vivek Lad 8-1 and Yash Tanna routed Hemachandra Ail 8-0.

I S C T E N N I S

C5

SPORTSM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

Love us on Facebook

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY LAUNCH FACEBOOK PAGE

Barry clinches title at A’Saffa golf tourney

MUSCAT: Barry Furlong beat Nasser Al Touqi on the count back to emerge the champion at the A’Saffa Golf Tournament organ-ised at the Ghala Valley Golf Club here recently.

Organised by A’Saffa Foods, Oman’s largest fully integrated poultry project and producers of 100 percent natural and tasty healthy food range, attracted over 100 avid golfers.

After a fierce competition, Barry Furlong carded an impres-sive 68 nett score, same as Nasser Al Touqi but the former was de-clared the winner on count back.

Jeff Campbell bagged the best gross trophy with a gross score of 74. The ladies division was won by

Rachel Connor with a nett score of 73. Siddhant Dhawan, who fin-ished with a nett score of 75, won the junior division title.

‘Nearest to the Pin’ prize went to Nasser Al Touqi and ‘Longest Drive’ to Ali Hameed, a member of the Oman National Golf Team.

Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhy, Minister of Oil and Gas, presided over an impressive prize-giving ceremony and hand-ed over the trophies.

Saleh Mohammed Shanfari, Chairman at A’Saffa Foods, said: “As golfing facilities have rap-idly improved in recent years, the

number of golfers continues to grow as well.

“With the A’Saffa Golf Tourna-ment it has been our aim to do our bit towards increasing the scope of the game in Oman, along with using the event as a platform to showcase our range of healthy and tasty savories.”

“Apart from thanking those who participated and made this year’s event a success, I would also like to thank the Ghala Valley Golf Club for hosting the game at their world-class facility,” A’Saffa Foods’ CEO Dr. Nasser Al Mauly said.

“As the market leader, it is

our promise to provide consum-ers with food products that are wholesome and processed hy-gienically from natural, pure, ha-lal, healthy, premium ingredients and aromatic spices. Being pio-neers in fully integrated poultry production and farm manage-ment systems we have built our competence and expertise in food production, processed food technology, and innovative food recipes helping us to deliver new, flavorful choices that consumers can enjoy anytime,” Sidhartha Lenka, Head Marketing and Sales at A’Saffa Foods, said.

Barry Furlong carded

an impressive 68

nett score, same

as Nasser Al Touqi

but the former was

declared the winner

on count back

Oman LNG inaugurates football pitches in Sur, Tiwi

MUSCAT: The Sultanate’s aspi-rations to develop a cadre of pro-fessional footballers to compete in the local and regional tourna-ments, has received a boost, with the formal opening of football pitches in Sur and Tiwi in South Sharqiyah Governorate.

In what could serve as a tangi-ble and promising prototype of how private organisations can forge strong alliances to promote public initiatives, the new foot-ball pitches have been built on the back of a partnership between Oman LNG, one of the country’s

main revenue generators, and the Ministry of Sports Affairs.

The ceremony was under the patronage of Shaikh Saud bin Mo-hammed Al Hinai, Deputy Wali of Sur in Tiwi, and was attended by senior representatives from Ministry of Sports Affairs and Oman LNG, and a large turn-out of football enthusiasts.

The event included a football match between two local teams followed by traditional music.

With a three-train natural gas liquefaction facility in Sur that has converted over 1,700 cargoes

of the fuel to high foreign ex-change earnings for the country, Oman LNG has become widely respected at home and abroad as one of the country’s main benefactors, supporting a large basket of well-meaning welfare projects that have improved the quality of life for citizens and residents alike.

In 2010, the Council of Minis-ters for Social Affairs in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ad-judged the company to be the Best Company in Corporate Social Responsibility in Oman.

B O O S T F O R S O C C E R

KR PLAYS GOLF FOR A CAUSEThe KR Group once again supported the endeavours of

Dar Al Atta, this time participating in the Texas Scram-

ble Golf Tournament organised under the auspices of Dr.

Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhy, Minister of Oil and

Gas. “We applaud Dar Al Atta for their ceaseless efforts to

enrich lives and we thank them for yet another oppor-

tunity to show our support,” said Hritik Khimji, Director,

Khimji Ramdas. — Supplied photo

Azarenka and Ivanovic to play in Brisbane

SYDNEY: Victoria Azarenka and Ana Ivanovic will play in the Brisbane International join-ing Maria Sharapova in a strong field, organisers said on Sunday.

Dual Australian Open cham-pion Azarenka and 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic confirmed their entry alongside five-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova and Australia’s 2011 U.S. Open title-holder Sam Stosur.

Their entry takes the number of Grand Slam champions set to play in Brisbane in January to seven, with the four women’s champions to be joined by 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, two-time ma-jor winner Lleyton Hewitt and this year’s U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic.

Azarenka returns to Brisbane where she won her first-ever ca-reer singles title.

The Brisbane International will be held at Queensland Tennis Centre from January 4 to 11. - AFP

T E N N I S

New I-League team

PUNE: The Kalyani Group on Sunday launched their football club ‘Bharat FC’ with an aim of performing well in their maiden appearance in the I-league star-ing in January next year. Head-coach Stuart Watkiss said it was the Kalyani Group’s pur-suit of excellence that drew him towards the club. - IANS

F O O T B A L L

C6


Tweet all about it

SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY LAUNCH TWITTER PAGE

Ooredoo’s ‘Simply Do Wonders’ winners meet MessiDOHA: A group of 12 talented young people had the chance to meet sporting hero and Ooredoo brand ambassador Leo Messi in Barcelona this week, as Ooredoo’s successful “Simply Do Wonders” competition concluded.

The young sports fans won the competition after uploading vid-eos of themselves displaying their football skills to the dedicated web-site simplydowonders.com.

They were flown from coun-tries across Ooredoo’s footprint on an all-expenses-paid trip to meet and show their football skills to Leo Messi at training fa-cilities in Barcelona.

While visiting Barcelona, the children also saw Leo Messi play-ing football during an official match. The winners came from Tunisia, The Maldives, Qatar, Indonesia, Algeria, Kuwait, and Palestine. The company also ex-

tended two additional places for children from Gaza.

Leo Messi said: “This talented group of young people are an inspi-ration. Despite the challenges many of them face, they are passionate

about football and the life opportu-nities that sport can provide.

“The reason I began the Leo Messi Foundation and teamed with Ooredoo is to let children know if they work hard, they really can do

wonders. Ooredoo’s support for this contest and their on-going work to promote sport and healthy lifestyles is a great example of how leading companies can make a difference.”

Dr. Nasser Marafih, Group CEO, Ooredoo, said: “This competition has brought football fans around the world together and showcased the skills and aspirations of young people. Working with Leo Messi has enabled us to reach a whole new audience, and we hope togeth-er we can keep them engaged and supported through our initiatives for young people.”

Simply Do Wonders was Oore-doo’s first-ever global communica-tion campaign with Leo Messi and involved a television commercial as well as advertising across me-dia. During its run, over 11 million people viewed the advert online, making it the most-seen video ever from an Arab brand on YouTube.

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

Hamilton makes history

ABU DHABI: A tearful Lewis Hamilton joined the elite ranks of double Formula One world cham-pions on Sunday after a nerve-racking drive to victory in the floodlit season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

In a race overshadowed by the ever-present spectre of mechani-cal failure after the Briton’s Mer-cedes teammate Nico Rosberg suffered an early loss of power, Hamilton powered to his 11th win in 19 races.

The 29-year-old, who took his first title with McLaren in 2008, became Britain’s first multiple champion since Jackie Stewart in 1971 and only the country’s fourth.

“Lewis, thank you very much for not letting the British public down,” Britain’s Prince Harry told him over the radio from the pit wall as the chequered flag came down. “You are an absolute legend.”

Hamilton, crying on the podium as the anthem sounded and with his voice cracking in later inter-views, performed a slowing down lap with the British flag fluttering from the cockpit and the words

‘Hammer Time’ written on it.“World champion. Oh my God, I

can’t believe it, thanks everyone,” he had shouted over the radio be-fore parking up and embracing his father, pop star girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger and family.

The victory was a record 16th of the season for Mercedes, who had already collected the construc-tors’ crown, and for the first time the winner took 50 points in an

unprecedented and controversial double points finale.

“This has been just an incredible year. I can’t believe how amazing,” said Hamilton. “This is the great-est moment in my life. It feels very surreal. (Winning in) 2008 was special but the feeling I have now is above and beyond. It’s the great-est feeling I’ve ever had. Thanks so much everyone.”

Rosberg finished 14th after starting on pole position and 17 points adrift, the much-vaunted ‘duel in the desert’ becoming a nightmare after dark for the German son of Finland’s 1982 champion Keke.

He had suffered problems from the 25th of 55 laps, then com-plained about losing brakes as he fell down the order, still hoping against hope that a similar mis-fortune might befall Hamilton and revive his chances.

When the team asked him to pit and retire with only a handful of laps to go, Rosberg asked to stay out so he could at least end the season on track.

“Sorry it didn’t work out but you drove like a champion,” said Mer-cedes technical head Paddy Lowe. “We come back next year to have another go.”

Rosberg, who gallantly shook Hamilton’s hand afterwards, did not need to tell anyone that he was

disappointed but he said it anyway.“All in all, Lewis deserved to

win the championship. What hap-pened to me had no impact, it did not change anything so there is no point focusing on that,” he said.

“He did just a little bit better than me. The positive is I’ve been the better qualifier over the last two years and that gives me a good base. I came very close and it is a pity it did not work out.”

Brazilian Felipe Massa finished second for Williams in the race, after looking like he could win it, with Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas third.

“Not bad for an old man,” said a delighted Massa after his best result since 2012, when he was at Ferrari.

Behind them, Australian Dan-iel Ricciardo finished fourth for Red Bull with Hamilton’s former McLaren teammate Jenson But-ton fifth in what may have been his last race in Formula One.

Force India duo Nico Hulken-berg and Sergio Perez were sixth and seventh while outgoing four-times champion Sebastian Vettel was eighth in his last race for Red Bull before moving to Ferrari.

The man he will replace at the Italian team, double world cham-pion Fernando Alonso, was ninth and ahead of Finnish team mate Kimi Raikkonen. - Reuters

Hamilton powered

to his 11th win in

19 races to seal the

title and join the

elite ranks of double

Formula One world

champions

DOUBLE WORLD CHAMPION: Lewis Hamilton. – AFP

Carlsen beats Anand to retain world titleSOCHI: Magnus Carlsen assert-ed his supremacy over Viswana-than Anand for the second year in running as the Norwegian retained his World Chess Cham-pionship title after defeating the Indian Challenger in the 11th game, here on Sunday.

The Norwegian world cham-pion closed the 12-game match with a 6.5-4.5 scoreline, courtesy his win in the penultimate game.

While this may have been closely fought in the eyes of the experts, the fact remains that Anand lasted only one extra game compared to the 2013 match at Chennai when it was all over in the tenth game of the match itself.

For Anand, there were a lot of lessons to be learnt and it is clear that the five-time world cham-

pion will probably like to get an-other shy at the title during the next Candidates tournament.

Anand knew that a draw would keep him in the match but ex-pectedly the Indian ace was not hooked to the idea of staying on till the last game of the 12-game match, and tried to complicate when he got the first opportunity.

After the match Anand said in a battle of nerves Carlsen held up his own better. “I played much better. I got interesting positions to play which were not there in Chennai last year,” Anand said.

Speaking of his exchange sacri-fice in the 11th game, Anand said it was a bad gamble.

Anand categorically said he will not be quitting the game fol-lowing his defeat. - Agencies

C H E S S

Chennayin rout MumbaiMUMBAI: Chennaiyin FC pro-duced a clinical performance and pumped in goals in the sec-ond half to thrash Mumbai City FC 3-0 to consolidate their po-sition at the top of the table in Indian Super League (ISL) at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday.

After much prodding and probing, Bruno Pelissari gave his side the lead in the 71st minute when he slotted the ball home.

Pelissari made the stride after a blunder from Mumbai midfielder Jan Stohanzl, who gave away the ball from the edge of the box before Chennai’s Bal-want Singh failed to get a touch.

The Marco Materazzi-coached side extended the lead 10 minutes later when Dha-nachandra Singh’s shot found the back of the net after capital-ising on a error from Mumbai custodian Subrata Paul.

Chennai took an unsail-able 3-0 lead in the 89th minute when Cristian Hidalgo, who came in for Pelissari in the 73rd minute, smashed a brilliant freekick past to the right of a fly-ing Paul in the Mumbai goal.

Chennai consolidate their po-sition at the top with 19 points, while with 12 points Mumbai are in sixth place. - PTI

I S L

Palace downLiverpoolLONDON: Crystal Palace man-ager Neil Warnock saw a lot of himself in his players as they shrugged off rumours of dishar-mony in the camp to beat Liver-pool 3-1 at home in the Premier League on Sunday.

After a poor start to the sea-son with nine points from their opening 11 games, the pressure had been mounting on Warnock and his team before the visit of last season’s runners-up.

British media reports said the manager, who began his second spell in charge at Palace in Au-gust, was struggling to inspire a squad who finished an impres-sive 11th under former boss Tony Pulis last season.

That looked to be the case when Liverpool took the lead at Selhurst Park after two min-utes through a Rickie Lambert strike, but goals from Dwight Gayle, Joe Ledley and Mile Jedinak secured a third win of the season.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hot-spurs edged Hull City 2-1. — Reuters

E P L

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMSECTIONC M O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14LIFE & STYLE

Safety razor, the 150-year-old invention, is back

After 13 years of creating products to combat razor burn, bumps on the neck

and other shaving woes, the men’s grooming company Jack Black decided it was time to attack the problem at the source. And so last year, the company, instead of em-bracing new technology, began selling a nearly 150-year-old in-vention — the safety razor.

“You can be using all the right skin-care products, but if you’re not using the right razor, you’re not going to get the best results,” said Emily Dalton, a co-founder of Jack Black. “Shaving with multiblade cartridges is very irritating.”

The venerable safety razor — of-ten a double-edged razor (a single blade with two sharp sides) — is having a renaissance. Baxter of California, a nearly 50-year-old brand, began selling the razor in 2009; sales grew steadily by 40 to 60 percent a year, then tri-pled in the last year, according to company figures.

At the Art of Shaving, which has 155 stores nationwide, sales of safety razors have increased 1,000 per cent from 2009 to 2014, a com-pany spokesman said.

And when Mercer & James, a two-year-old company sell-ing classic razors, appears at the Brooklyn Flea, “people come over and start selling our products for us,” said Michael Schlotfeldt, a founder, who himself made the switch to a safety razor 10 years ago to stop his breakouts. “They start tell-ing everyone how much better shaving with a safety razor is.”

Part of the resurgence of Grand-pa’s razor is a post-recession focus on heritage brands and durable goods. Well-made safety razors last long enough to be handed down generations, said J.P. Mas-tey, a creative adviser to Baxter and the former chief executive.

But mostly it’s because a new demographic has discovered that low-tech is both cheaper in the long run (the initial investment is higher, but replacement blades cost pennies), less painful and ar-guably more satisfying, since it re-quires a bit more technique.

On Reddit, where the typical user is a 35-year-old man, a four-year-old wet shaving forum called the Wicked Edge offers recom-mendations, tutorials and discus-

sions of the merits of various han-dles and blades. It receives about 800,000 page views a month and 50 new subscribers a day, a Reddit spokeswoman said.

Shaving became big business during World War I, when the Gil-lette Safety Razor company, as it was then called, won a contract to supply safety razors to the en-tire United States armed forces — some 3.5 million razors and 32 million blades. (An oft-repeated story is that the razors were issued because men needed to be clean-shaven for gas masks to fit, but Richard Stewart, the army’s chief historian, said that’s unlikely be-cause the masks were canvas and beards weren’t prohibited until the 1950s. Promoting military bearing and avoiding lice were more likely reasons, he said.)

Since then, something of a re-search-and-development arms race has ensued, with companies vying to stack on the most blades for the closest shave.

Terrence Keaney, a dermatolo-gist in Washington D.C., said he frequently recommends that pa-tients “reverse time,” forgoing car-tridge styles for safety razors.

“These companies have done too good of a job of creating all these new devices,” said Keaney, the founder of W for Men, thought to be the country’s first cosmetic practice focused on men.

“We’re almost getting too close of a shave, and a lot of men can’t tolerate it.”

Too-close shaves start an un-forgiving cycle. The skin is not a smooth surface; it has peaks and valleys, like mountain ranges. With multiple blades so close to the skin, there are more tiny nicks (hence the burning sensation when alcohol is applied) and the skin becomes less smooth, thus more prone to being cut or injured.

Don’t safety razors, which lack pivoting heads and other innova-tions, also cause injury?

“Not if you take it slowly,” said Schlotfeldt, who speaks in yoga-inflected cadences about feeling the weight of the tool in one’s hand. “It starts your day off at the right pace and the right tone.”

Don’t let the term safety razor lull you into a false sense of secu-rity. It’s safer than the old blade-right-on-the-neck “cutthroat” straight razor — hence the word

“safety” - but less so than cartridge razors, which are designed to pro-tect you from yourself.

To avoid needing another tool from Grandpa’s shaving kit (the old styptic pencil), pay particular care at the jawline.

“If you’re used to a pivoting head, which is what most cartridges do, when you come down from the sideburn and then start to turn, you’re going to cut yourself,” said J.P. Mastey, a creative adviser to Baxter of California, who did ex-actly that on his own inaugural safety-razor shave. Instead, use very short, straight strokes.

Terrence Keaney, a dermatolo-gist, advised shaving in the direc-tion the hair grows, instead of against it, at least until you learn the technique. (If you’re prone to irritation, you should always shave with the angle of the hair, he said, because the shave isn’t as close.) On the neck, work top to bottom. And above all, take it slow.

“We’re used to whipping around with razors,” he said. “We forget that we’re taking a sharp object across our skin.” -Courtney Rubin/The

New York Times News Service

C8

EXTRAM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

Last week, I wrote about how hard it was going to be to fill the slate of Best Actress nomi-nees at the Academy

Awards, given how few movies this year gave women significant screen time and rich, complex parts. But two of the movies that have produced genuine contend-ers — David Fincher’s Gone Girl and Jean-Marc Vallée’s Wild — have one thing in common — Reese Witherspoon’s production company, Pacific Standard.

Witherspoon, who was part of the Hollywood Reporter’s annual actress roundtable, told the maga-zine that her success as both a pro-ducer and a potential Best Actress contender (she stars as memoirist Cheryl Strayed in Wild) were the result of a recent decision — to stop waiting for other people to start making movies about inter-esting female characters.

“I can’t speak for other peo-ple. I just recognise that about three years ago, I started seeing this complete lack of interesting female leads in film. First I got mad, really mad. And then I was like, “It’s nobody’s fault; if you’re not proactive about things.” I’d had a company before, but it was basically about trying to develop things that I would eventually be in,” Witherspoon explained. “So I just switched the idea — If I can develop anything for any other women, I don’t care who it is; I just want my daughter to grow up see-ing complex, interesting, nuanced women in film. So I started it with my own money — you know, the first thing people tell you is, “Don’t put your own money into any-thing” — so I was like, is this really dumb? But I got a great partner (Bruna Papandrea) and the first two things I sent her were Gone Girl and Wild. And those were the

first books that we optioned.”Gone Girl and Wild are tre-

mendously different books, but the women at the centre of both are undeniably different from al-most anything anyone else in Hol-lywood regularly escorts to the screen. Lead female characters in each book — Amy Elliot Dunne and Cheryl Strayed — have got-ten lost. Amy, the brilliant, amoral creation of novelist Gillian Flynn, finds herself in Missouri, exiled from New York by an economic downturn that eliminated both her job and that of her husband Nick, and Nick’s mother’s termi-nal illness, which drew him home. Cheryl, devastated by the death of her mother, wrecks her young marriage and loses herself in her-oin and a series of doomed affairs.

Gone Girl is the story of how Amy finds her way back to herself by framing first her husband for her murder. Wild is Cheryl Strayed’s

rather more sedate story of a restor-ative hike on the Pacific Coast Trail, a trek that re-centred Cheryl in her own body and mind. Amy is a mon-ster, while Cheryl is a literary book club heroine, but both books — and both movies — place their perspec-tives and opinions, uncomfortable and jarring as they may be, squarely at the centre. It is women’s experi-ences who matter here.

Witherspoon is hardly the first woman to make this hike, of course. Her potential awards-season dominance recalls that of Megan Ellison (daughter of bil-lionaire Larry Ellison), whose Annapurna Pictures production company has also turned out a reliable series of contenders and intelligent provocations. An-napurna Pictures movies tend to be less intrigued by the inner lives of women, and they are more likely than Pacific Standard films to have male main characters.

But the women in movies Elli-son makes never seem less than formidable and fascinating, even when they have to swipe the mov-ie from a male co-star or lead.

In Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bi-gelow’s exploration of the hunt for Osama bin Laden, Jessica Chastain turns in a similarly rigid, compel-ling performance as Maya, the lead analyst on the case. Maya is person-ally unpleasant and professionally excellent. At the end of the movie, it is impossible not to wonder what Maya will be without her quarry.

Even in less self-serious Annapurna-produced movies, women transcend stereotypes. The young hooligans of Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers have turned an over-marketed college experience into a kind of con-sumerist religion that they pursue with fundamental zeal. And as Sa-mantha, the artificial intelligence in Spike Jonze’s Her, Scarlett Johans-

son provides a beautiful example of what it means to come intellectu-ally alive, using only her voice.

That Ellison and Witherspoon’s companies have produced so many important movies so quickly says a great deal about the opportunities the rest of Hollywood is missing. And it is a sobering reminder of how little — and how much — it takes to make a quick and visible differ-ence in pop culture. An actress’s long-percolating revelation, or the daughter of a tech titan’s good finan-cial fortune end up being the differ-ence between a Hollywood that has few good roles for women and one that has almost none. These are slim reeds on which to hang crea-tive revolutions. If we want more good movies about female charac-ters, it seems we are going to need more women with access to money and serious directors to get those projects rolling themselves. -Alyssa RosenbergThe Washington Post

Reese Witherspoon and Megan Ellison are changing the movies

Witherspoon, who was part of the ‘Hollywood Reporter’s’ annual actress roundtable,

says her success was the result of a recent decision — to stop waiting for other people

to start making movies about interesting female characters

ALFRED North Whitehead, an English mathematician and philosopher who died in 1947, said, “It requires a very unusual mind to make an analysis of the obvious.”

If that is true, bridge players need unusual minds because sometimes the obvious is wrong and the unobvious is correct. And deals in which that is true are among the hardest to get right.

In this example, South is in three no-trump. West leads a fourth-highest heart six. What should declarer do after taking East’s 10 with his jack?

The auction is straightforward. Remember, responder does not show his five-card minor with game-going values and no singleton. It is so unlikely that five of the minor will make and three no-trump fail.

South starts with eight top tricks — three spades, one heart (the first trick), three diamonds and one club. It looks so obvious to bash out those top diamonds. Surely the jack will drop. And if it doesn’t, perhaps West has jack-fourth and can be given a trick, leaving the heart king safe from attack. Finally, if East has jack-fourth of diamonds, then maybe the club finesse will work. All very easy — but the contract fails here if East has the diamond jack. East will gain the lead in one of the minors and return his last heart.

Instead, declarer should be willing to guarantee four diamond tricks while making sure that East never gains the lead. At trick two, South should play a diamond to dummy’s ace, then he should lead a diamond to his 10. If the finesse loses, the contract is safe. If the finesse wins and West follows suit both times, declarer will rake in at least one overtrick.

— By Phillip Alder

C9

ENTERTAINMENT

Is it obvious to do the “obvious”?

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

C I N E M A S C H E D U L 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

M O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 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 [email protected]

HOORNovember 24

applaud27 Congeal29 Poke30 Banal31 “The Hitchhiker’s

Guide to the —”32 CD predecessors33 Batter’s ploy34 Architect

Buckminster —

35 Clean one’s desk36 Provides

temporarily38 Kinds41 Package sealer44 Mouse alert45 Cable network46 Bilko’s rank48 AR neighbour50 Cafe — lait

ACROSS

1 Coin-toss word6 Agressive vine11 Bookkeeper’s

book12 Travel pros14 Soprano’s piece15 Tell’s target17 Registered co.

symbol18 Compost19 007’s job20 Maude of TV21 Fat fiddle23 Vega rocket org.24 Botches25 Tumbler27 Grind, as teeth28 Understood29 Runway sight30 Domed residence33 Sinister37 Drowses off38 Periscope’s place39 Viking letter40 Hirt and Pacino41 Freight weight42 Hosp. staffer

43 Sodium, in chem.44 One-moon planet46 Moved with ease47 All but49 Cream cheese

partners51 Links52 Unconventional

DOWN

1 Lionhearted2 Reporter’s boss3 — Khan4 Atlantic Coast st.5 Mexican Mrs.6 Phi Beta --7 Like gargoyles8 Poor grade9 Fe galvaniser10 Says11 Insect stage13 Shatter16 Attention getter20 Halter22 Trademarks23 Absorb, as costs24 Gain admission26 Opposite of

BAHJA CINEMA

STARS CINEMA

Film Information - 24540856 / Advance Booking - 24540855Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

For More Information 24789032, 24786776 Website: www.isurf.co.om

Film information 24791641 / 24786776

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (Adv | Sci-Fi) Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth1.00, 3.15, 7.30, 9.45 & 11.55 pm; (PG12)Dumb and Dumber To (Comedy) Cast: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels5:30 pmCP No: 2338 (PG12)The Babadook (Horror )Cast: Essie Davis, Daniel Henshall, Tim Purcell6.00, 10.00 & 11.55 pm CP No: 2400 (15+) Catch Hell (Thriller)Cast: Ryan Phillippe, Tig Notaro, James DuMont2.00, 4.00, & 8.00 pmCP No: 2401 (12+)

Vellimoonga (Mal) (Drama/Com)Cast: Biju Menon and Asif Ali3:30, 6:15 & 9:30pm at Cinema Main Varsham (Mal) (Com/Drama)Cast: Mammootty, Asha Sarath3:00, 6:30 & 9:30 pm at Cinema 2Happy New Year (Act |Rom) (PG 12 )Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Deepika Padukone3:45 , 6:45 & 9:45pm at Cinema 3Vanmham (Tamil/Drama)Cast:Vijay Sethipathi & Sunaina3:45, 6:45 & 9:45pm at Cinema 4NEXT CHANGE: Itihasa(Mal)Kaaviya Thalavan (Tamil)

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2D) (Adventure | Sci Fi) (PG12) Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth2:15, 4:30, 6:45, 9:15, 11:45 pmThe Signal (2D) (Sci-Fi | Thr) (PG12) Cast: Brenton Thwaites, Beau Knapp3:00, 4:45, 11:45 pmThe Babadook (2D) (Drama| Horror) (15+) Cast: Essie Davis, Daniel Henshall2:45, 6:45, 11:30 pmHappy Ending (2D) (Com |Rom) (12+) Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Ileana, Kalki Koechlin8:45 pmWarda (2D) (Horror| Thri) (12+) Cast: Somaya El Alfy, Farouk Hashem, Samira Magroun8:30 pmPocket Listing (2D) (Act | Com) (15+) Cast: Rob Lowe, Burt Reynolds5:00, 10:00 pmDumb & Dumber to (2D) (Com) (PG12) Cast: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels6:45 pm

Gold Class: 11:30 am, 5:45 pm & 11:00 pmThe Signal (2D) (Sci-Fi/Thr) (PG12)Cast: Brenton Thwaites, Beau Knapp1:30 pm & 9:45 pmGold Class: 3:45 pm71 (2D) (Action/Thriller) (15+)Cast: Jack O’Connell, Sam Reid5:45 pmPocket Listing (2D) (Act/Com) (15+)Cast: Rob Lowe, Burt Reynolds11:30 am & 7:45 pmGold Class: 2:00 pmHappy Ending (Hindi) (2D)(Com/Rom) Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Ileana, Kalki Koechlin7:00 pmGold Class: 8:15 pmThe Babadook (2D)(Hor/Thr) (15+)Cast: Essie Davis, Daniel Henshall1:15 pm & 11:45 pmBig Hero 6 (3D) (Animation/Com) (PG)Cast: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit3:00 pm

Dumb And Dumber (2D) (Com) Cast: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels5:00 pm; (PG12)The Hunger Games-Mockingjay Part 1 (2D) (Adv/Sci-Fi) (PG12)Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth11:00 am, 3:30 pm, 9:30 pm & 11:45 pm

SCREEN 1

Happy Ending (Comedy) (12+ )Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Lieana, Kalki Koechlin3.30, 6.30, 9.30pm

SCREEN 2

Kil Dil (Act |Rom | Drama) (12+ )Cast: Ranbeer Singh, Govinda, Zafar Ali, Prineeti Chopra3.45, 6.45, 9.45 pm

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 – 2D(PG12) (Adv| Sci-Fi)Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemswort3:00, 5:15, 7:15, 9:30, 11:45 pmThe Signal – 2D (PG 12) (Sci-Fi )Cast: Brenton Thwaites, Olivia Cooke5:15, 8:00, 11:45 pmPocket Listing – 2D (15+) (Act | Com)Cast: Rob Lowe, Burt Reynolds, Noel Gugliemi3:30, 10:00, 11:30 pmHappy Ending – 2D (12+) (Com)Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Ileana, Kalki Koechlin7:30 pm71 – 2D (15+) (Act | Drama | Thriller)Cast: Jack O’Connell, Sam Reid3:45, 5:45, 9:45 pmWarda – 2D (12+) (Horror | Thriller)Cast: Somaya El Alfy, Farouk Hashem, Samira Magroun7:30 pmVanmam – 2D (T) (12+) (Action)Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Kreshna, Sunaina, Anjali Rao, Madhu Sudhan Rao9:00 pmThe Babadook – 2D (15+) ( Horror )Cast: Essie Davis, Daniel Henshall2:45, 6:15, 11:30 pm

71 (Action | Drama | Thriller) (15+)Cast: Jack O’Connell, Sam Reid3:00, 5:15, 8:00 pmThe Hunger Game: Mockingjay - Part 1 (Adventure | Sci-Fi) (PG12)Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth3:00, 4:45, 7:00, 9:30, 11:45 pmHappy Ending (Com | Rom) (12+)Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Ileana, Kalki Koechlin7:00, 9:15 pmBabadook (Drama | Horror) (15+)Cast: Essie Davis, Daniel Henshall3:00, 6:15, 10:00, 11:45 pmCatch Hell (Drama | Thriller) (12+)Cast: Ryan Phillippe, Tig Notaro, James DuMont4:30, 11:45 pm

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (Adventure | Sci-Fi) (PG12) Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth7:00, 09:15, 11:30 pm

The Signal (2D/PG12) (Sc-Fi) 1:00pm, 7:00pm, 11:45pmThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay –Part 1 (2D/12+)(Action/Sc-Fi) 2:45, 5:00, 9:00, 11:30pm ‘71 (2D/15+) (Act/Drama/Thriller) 12:30pm, 5:00pmCatch Hell (12+) (Drama/Thriller)Cast: Ryan Phillippe, Tig Notaro 12:30pmPocket Listing (2D/15+) (Act/Com)4:15pm, 10:00pmThe Babadook (2D/15+) (Dra/Horror)Cast: Essie Davis, Daniel Henshall, Noah Wisema2:30, 10:00, 11:45pmHappy Ending (2D/12+) (Com/Rom)Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Ileana, Kalki Koechlin2:30, 7:15pmWarda (2D/12+) (Horror/Thriller)Cast: Somaya El Alfy, Farouk Hashem, Samira Magroun6:00pmVanmam (2D/TBC) (Action)Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Kreshna7:30pm

The Babadook (Drama| Horror) (15+) Cast: Essie Davis, Daniel Henshall5:30, 9:15 pmHappy Ending (Hindi) (Com) (12+) Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Ileana, Kalki Koechlin11:00 pmCatch Hell (Drama | Thriller) (12+) Cast: Ryan Phillippe, Tig Notaro5:00 pm71 (Act | Drama | Thriller) (15+) Cast: Jack O’Connell, Sam Reid7:15 pm

SCREEN 3

Happy New Year ( Action |Romance | Drama) (PG 12 )Cast: Shahrukh Khan , Abhishek Bachchan, Deepika Padukone3.30, 6.45, 10.00 pm

Catch Hell – 2D (12+) (Drama)Cast: Ryan Phillippe, Tig Notaro, James DuMont4:30 pm

C10

FIND-IT-ALLM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

MONDAYFLT NO ARRIVALS FROM ETA WY682 RIYADH 0005WY406 CAIRO 0005WY676 JEDDAH 0005WY636 ABU DHABI 0010WY648 KUWAIT 0010WY816 BANGKOK 0015BG021 DACCA/CHITTAGONG 0100WY916 SALALAH 01054H583 DACCA 0115WY414 AMMAN 0125TK776 ISTANBUL/BAHRAIN 0300QR1132 DOHA 0345EK866 DUBAI 0355GF560 BAHRAIN 0405EY384 ABU DHABI 0405FZ041 DUBAI 0415WY142 MALPENSA 0630WY902 SALALAH 0630CLX732 LUXORE 0635WY638 ABU DHABI 0650WY658 BAHRAIN 0700WY686 RIYADH 0700WY412 AMMAN 0705WY668 DOHA 0710WY114 FRANKFURT 0715WY644 KUWAIT 0715WY122 MUNICH 0715WY154 ZURICH 0720WY692 DAMMAM 0725WY674 JEDDAH 0730WY132 PARIS 0800WY602 DUBAI 0805WY432 TEHRAN 0815WY202 BOMBAY 0815WY102 LONDON-HEATHROW 0820FZ043 DUBAI 0850G9114 SHARJAH 0915WY236 HYDERABAD 0920WY242 DELHI 0935EK862 DUBAI 0940WY252 MADRAS 0940QR1128 DOHA 1010EY382 ABU DHABI 10159W530 TRIVANDRUM 1035WY3302 MUKHAIZNA 1045WY272 JAIPUR 1100WY604 DUBAI 1110IX337 CALICUT 1155FZ037 DUBAI 1200WY314 CHITTAGONG 1210WY268 LUCKNOW 1210PA450 LAHORE 1215WY904 SALALAH 1215WY906 SALALAH 1325WY606 DUBAI 1330WY326 KARACHI 1355WY918 KHASAB 1440WY3304 MUKHAIZNA 1445WY812 BANGKOK 1525WY656 BAHRAIN 1530WY328 LAHORE 1550FZ045 DUBAI 1555WY632 ABU DHABI 1635WY204 BOMBAY 1710WY292 CALICUT 1720WY610 DUBAI 1730WY246 DELHI 1730WY232 HYDERABAD 1740WY216 TRIVANDRUM 1740WY664 DOHA 1745WY348 ISLAM ABBAD 1745QR1126 DOHA 1745EK864 DUBAI 1800GF564 BAHRAIN 1810WY284 BANGALORE 1810WY3306 MUKHAIZNA 1845G9116 SHARJAH 1915RG125 BATEEN AIRPORT OF AUH 1930FZ047 DUBAI 1945WY614 DUBAI 2030AI977 BANGALORE/HYDERABAD 2105WY386 MALE 2110KL441 AMSTERDAM/DOHA 2120AI973 DELHI 2125WY624 DUBAI 21256.00E+81 BOMBAY 2130WY914 SALALAH 2130WY224 COCHIN 21409W534 COCHIN 2140WY374 COLOMBO 2150WY254 MADRAS 2155WY814 BANGKOK 2200AI907 MADRAS 2200QR1134 DOHA 2210UL205 COLOMBO 2225WY338 KATHMANDU 2235GF566 BAHRAIN 2240EY388 ABU DHABI 2250BA073 LONDON-HEATHROW/ABU DHABI 2250WY908 SALALAH 2255SG061 AHMEDABAD 2300AI985 AHMEDABAD/BOMBAY 2310WY662 DOHA 2315LX242 ZURICH/DUBAI 23209W540 BOMBAY 2325WY654 BAHRAIN 2330LH618 FRANKFURT/ABU DHABI 2330WY612 DUBAI 2335WY636 ABU DHABI 2350WY696 DAMMAM 2350WY910 SALALAH 2355

TUESDAYFLT NO ARRIVALS FROM ETA

WY682 RIYADH 0005WY406 CAIRO 0005WY676 JEDDAH 0005WY648 KUWAIT 0010WY816 BANGKOK 0015WY824 KUALA LUMPUR 0055WY916 SALALAH 01054H583 DACCA 0115NL768 LAHORE 0130TK774 ISTANBUL 0215PK281 ISLAM ABBAD/SIALKOT 0225PK225 LAHORE 0230QR1132 DOHA 0345ET624 ADDIS ABABA 0350EK866 DUBAI 0355EY384 ABU DHABI 0405GF560 BAHRAIN 0405FZ041 DUBAI 0415WY902 SALALAH 0630WY638 ABU DHABI 0650WY658 BAHRAIN 0700WY686 RIYADH 0700WY668 DOHA 0710WY644 KUWAIT 0715WY692 DAMMAM 0725WY674 JEDDAH 0730WY602 DUBAI 0805WY202 BOMBAY 0815WY432 TEHRAN 0815WY102 LONDON-HEATHROW 0820WY342 LAHORE 0835FZ043 DUBAI 0850G9114 SHARJAH 0915WY236 HYDERABAD 0920WY226 COCHIN 0930WY242 DELHI 0935EK862 DUBAI 0940WY346 ISLAM ABBAD 0940WY252 MADRAS 0940QR8550 DOHA 1000QR1128 DOHA 1010EY382 ABU DHABI 10159W530 TRIVANDRUM 1035WY3922 DUQUM OMAN 1055WY904 DUBAI 1110WY822 KUALA LUMPUR 1115G9841 RAS AL KHAIMA 1120IX337 CALICUT 1155FZ037 DUBAI 1200WY314 CHITTAGONG 1210WY268 LUCKNOW 1210WY904 SALALAH 1215WY3302 MUKHAIZNA 1230PK191 GWADUR 1240BG023 CHITTAGONG 1245WY906 SALALAH 1325WY606 DUBAI 1330WY326 KARACHI 1355WY918 KHASAB 1440IX817 MANGALORE/ABU DHABI 1440KU677 KUWAIT 1525WY656 BAHRAIN 1530WY632 ABU DHABI 1535FZ045 DUBAI 1555WY3304 MUKHAIZNA 1630WY274 JAIPUR 1640WY216 TRIVANDRUM 1705WY204 BOMBAY 1710WY292 CALICUT 1720WY610 DUBAI 1730WY246 DELHI 1730WY284 BANGALORE 1740WY232 HYDERABAD 1740QR1126 DOHA 1745WY664 DOHA 1745EK864 DUBAI 1800GF564 BAHRAIN 1810SV534 RIYADH 1900G9116 SHARJAH 1915WY254 MADRAS 1920RG125 BATEEN AIRPORT OF AUH 1930WY144 MALPENSA 1930TG507 BANGKOK/KARACHI 1935FZ047 DUBAI 1945WY614 DUBAI 2030WY152 ZURICH 2110WY124 MUNICH 2115WY624 DUBAI 2125AI973 DELHI 2125WY134 PARIS 21306.00E+81 BOMBAY 2130WY914 SALALAH 2130WY414 AMMAN 21359W534 COCHIN 2140AI907 MADRAS 2200QR1134 DOHA 2210UL205 COLOMBO 2225BA073 LONDON-HEATHROW/ABU DHABI 2240GF566 BAHRAIN 2240EY388 ABU DHABI 2250WY908 SALALAH 2255AI985 AHMEDABAD/BOMBAY 2310WY662 DOHA 2315LX242 ZURICH/DUBAI 23209W540 BOMBAY 2325WY654 BAHRAIN 2330LH618 FRANKFURT/ABU DHABI 2330WY612 DUBAI 2335WY116 FRANKFURT 2345WY696 DAMMAM 2350WY928 SALALAH 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 0105WY251 MADRAS 0110WY201 BOMBAY 0120WY811 BANGKOK 0120WY235 HYDERABAD 0135WY601 DUBAI 0150WY241 DELHI 0155WY431 TEHRAN 0155WY643 KUWAIT 0200WY313 CHITTAGONG 0205WY637 ABU DHABI 0205WY657 BAHRAIN 0205WY667 DOHA 0220WY691 DAMMAM 02354H584 DACCA 0245BG022 CHITTAGONG/DACCA 0250WY271 JAIPUR 0350TK777 BAHRAIN/ISTANBUL 0350WY267 LUCKNOW 0355WY267 LUCKNOW 0355EK867 DUBAI 0455FZ042 DUBAI 0510QR1133 DOHA 0520EY385 ABU DHABI 0525WY3301 MUKHAIZNA 0715GF561 BAHRAIN 0745WY603 DUBAI 0800WY903 SALALAH 0800CLX732 HONG KONG 0805WY813 BANGKOK 0805WY325 KARACHI 0920WY327 LAHORE 0920WY905 SALALAH 0920WY215 TRIVANDRUM 0920WY291 CALICUT 0920WY823 KUALA LUMPUR 0930FZ044 DUBAI 0935WY385 MALE 0940WY231 HYDERABAD 0955WY245 DELHI 0955G9115 SHARJAH 1005WY283 BANGALORE 1010WY815 BANGKOK 1010WY373 COLOMBO 1020WY605 DUBAI 1030WY203 BOMBAY 1030WY347 ISLAM ABBAD 1040EK863 DUBAI 1055EY383 ABU DHABI 1105WY655 BAHRAIN 1110WY3303 MUKHAIZNA 1115QR1129 DOHA 11159W533 COCHIN 1135WY917 KHASAB 1140IX350 CALICUT 1255WY337 KATHMANDU 1310WY253 MADRAS 1315PA451 LAHORE 1315WY631 ABU DHABI 1325WY101 LONDON-HEATHROW 1325WY223 COCHIN 1325WY663 DOHA 1330FZ048 DUBAI 1415WY609 DUBAI 1420WY405 CAIRO 1430WY3305 MUKHAIZNA 1515WY675 JEDDAH 1630WY613 DUBAI 1700FZ046 DUBAI 1700WY913 SALALAH 1735WY623 DUBAI 1820WY907 SALALAH 1840QR1127 DOHA 1845WY681 RIYADH 1845GF565 BAHRAIN 1855WY661 DOHA 1900WY647 KUWAIT 1900WY695 DAMMAM 1910WY653 BAHRAIN 1910EK865 DUBAI 1915WY821 KUALA LUMPUR 1930WY909 SALALAH 1940G9117 SHARJAH 2005RG126 BATEEN AIRPORT OF AUH 2015WY611 DUBAI 2025WY635 ABU DHABI 2030FZ048 DUBAI 2040WY915 SALALAH 2050AI978 HYDERABAD/BANGALORE 2200KL442 DOHA/AMSTERDAM 22309W529 TRIVANDRUM 22406.00E+82 BOMBAY 2245AI908 MADRAS 2300AI974 DELHI 2310QR1135 DOHA 2320GF567 BAHRAIN 2325UL206 COLOMBO 2335WY673 JEDDAH 2350WY901 SALALAH 2350EY381 ABU DHABI 2350

FLT NO DEPARTURES TO ETD AI986 BOMBAY 0005LX243 DUBAI/ZURICH 0020BA072 ABU DHABI/LONDON- HEATHROW 00259W539 BOMBAY 0025SG062 AHMEDABAD 0030LH619 ABU DHABI/FRANKFURT 0050WY685 RIYADH 0105WY251 MADRAS 0110WY201 BOMBAY 0120WY225 COCHIN 0125WY235 HYDERABAD 0135WY341 LAHORE 0150WY345 ISLAM ABBAD 0150WY601 DUBAI 0150WY241 DELHI 0155WY431 TEHRAN 0155WY151 ZURICH 0155WY643 KUWAIT 0200WY637 ABU DHABI 0205WY313 CHITTAGONG 0205WY657 BAHRAIN 0205WY123 MUNICH 0210WY133 PARIS 0215WY115 FRANKFURT 0215WY667 DOHA 0220WY143 MALPENSA 0225NL769 LAHORE 0230WY691 DAMMAM 02354H584 DACCA 0245TK775 ISTANBUL 0310PK282 SIALKOT 0325PK230 LAHORE 0330ET625 ADDIS ABABA 0450EK867 DUBAI 0455FZ042 DUBAI 0510QR1133 DOHA 0520EY385 ABU DHABI 0525WY3921 DUQUM OMAN 0715GF561 BAHRAIN 0745WY903 SALALAH 0800WY3301 MUKHAIZNA 0800WY603 DUBAI 0800WY215 TRIVANDRUM 0845WY325 KARACHI 0920WY905 SALALAH 0920WY291 CALICUT 0920WY273 JAIPUR 0930FZ044 DUBAI 0935WY283 BANGALORE 0940WY245 DELHI 0955WY231 HYDERABAD 0955G9115 SHARJAH 1005WY815 BANGKOK 1010WY605 DUBAI 1030WY203 BOMBAY 1030WY253 MADRAS 1040WY717 ZANZIBAR/DARESSLAM 1045EK863 DUBAI 1055EY383 ABU DHABI 1105WY655 BAHRAIN 1110QR1129 DOHA 1115QR8551 DUBAI WORLD CENTRE/DOHA 11309W533 COCHIN 1135WY917 KHASAB 1140WY331 KATHMANDU 1205G9842 RAS AL KHAIMA 1210WY631 ABU DHABI 1225IX350 CALICUT 1255WY3303 MUKHAIZNA 1300WY101 LONDON-HEATHROW 1325PK192 GWADUR/TURBAT 1325WY663 DOHA 1330WY413 AMMAN 1330WY927 SALALAH 1415BG024 CHITTAGONG 1415FZ048 DUBAI 1415WY609 DUBAI 1420WY405 CAIRO 1430IX818 MANGALORE 1530KU678 ABU DHABI/KUWAIT 1625WY675 JEDDAH 1630FZ046 DUBAI 1700WY613 DUBAI 1700WY913 SALALAH 1735WY623 DUBAI 1820WY907 SALALAH 1840WY681 RIYADH 1845QR1127 DOHA 1845GF565 BAHRAIN 1855WY661 DOHA 1900WY647 KUWAIT 1900WY653 BAHRAIN 1910WY695 DAMMAM 1910EK865 DUBAI 1915WY909 SALALAH 1940SV535 RIYADH 2000G9117 SHARJAH 2005RG126 BATEEN AIRPORT OF AUH 2015WY611 DUBAI 2025WY635 ABU DHABI 2030TG508 KARACHI/BANGKOK 2040FZ048 DUBAI 2040WY915 SALALAH 2050WY825 KUALA LUMPUR 2110WY817 BANGKOK 22359W529 TRIVANDRUM 22406.00E+82 BOMBAY 2245AI908 MADRAS 2300AI974 DELHI 2310QR1135 DOHA 2320GF567 BAHRAIN 2325UL206 COLOMBO 2335WY673 JEDDAH 2350WY901 SALALAH 2350EY381 ABU DHABI 2350

A I R L I N E S

PHARMACIESRound the clockAl Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24783334; Appolo Medical Centre, Hamriya: 24782666; Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24702542, Salalah: 23291635; Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra: 24503585; Ruwi 24811715Muscat Region Apollo, 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., [email protected] 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 11.58am

Asr 3.04pm

Maghrib 5.25pm

Isha 6.39pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 5.08am

Sunset 5:20pm

Sunrise (Tomorrow) 6.27am

High tide 9:08am 10:42pm

Low tide 3:55pm 4:27am

OMAN

Max 30Min 21

Max 28Min 21

Max 29Min 22

Max 31Min 17

Max 28Min 21Max 29

Min 18

Max 30Min 19

Max 31 Min 22

Mainly clear skies over the Sultanate with chances of late night to early morning low level clouds or fog patches over the coastal areas of the southeastern coast.

EXPECTED WIND: The wind will blow southerly to southeasterly light to moderate along the coastal areas of Arabian Sea while it will be northerly to northeasterly light to moderate becoming variable light during night over rest of the Sultanate.SEA STATE: Slight over most of Oman coasts with 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: Mainly clear skies over most of the Sultanate with chance of cloud development over Al-Hajar mountains and chances of cloud development over the governorate of Musandam may give some rain. Clear to partly cloudy skies along the coastal area of Oman coasts with chances of late night to early morning fog formation along the southeastern coasts of the Sultanate. Moderate to rough sea state along the western coast governorate of Musandam with maximum wave height of 2.5 metres.

Max Min

GULFAbu Dhabi 31 22Doha 27 24Dubai 32 21Kuwait 23 17Manama 28 23Riyadh 24 12

WORLDAthens 14 9Baghdad 21 11Beijing 9 2Berlin 8 3Boston 17 9Cairo 20 13Colombo 30 23Frankfurt 11 2Hong Kong 26 21Istanbul 11 9Johannesburg 26 14Kuala Lumpur 32 24Lisbon 18 13Paris 11 10Perth 28 16Singapore 31 26Tokyo 17 10Toronto 11 1

WORLD

Max 19Min 9

Max 26Min 11

Max 8Min 3

Max 33Min 18

Max 26Min 13

Max 29Min 22

Max -2Min -6

Max 30Min 25

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

—www.met.gov.om

BORN today, you have been endowed with a great many seemingly contradictory traits, yet you are able to balance these quite well to promote your own agenda successfully and pursue the things you want with confidence and style. You are also an unusually lucky individual, and you may enjoy several major successes in life that you cannot explain in any other way than to say, “I was lucky.” You must take care, however, that you never brag about your good fortune; you must speak of it in a down-to-earth, though never self-deprecating, manner in order to keep others from becoming envious of what comes your way — or of you in general. No matter how good things may be for you, you must try to remain modest.

You aren’t likely to go unnoticed; indeed, you have what it takes to attract a great many admirers into your circle. Most of these may be people who hardly know you at all, yet they feel some kind of kinship with you that is, to you, perhaps quite a mystery.

Also born on this date are: Katherine Heigl, actress; Colin Hanks, actor; Stephen Merchant, screenwriter, actor, and comedian; William F. Buckley Jr., writer and publisher; Charles “Lucky” Luciano, Mafia boss; Scott Joplin, composer; Zachary Taylor, US president.

There’s very little room for guesswork. You must look at the facts, assess their import and formulate a solid hypothesis.

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’re likely to catch a great many lucky breaks, though a rival may enjoy the same kind of good fortune as well.

Once you get someone else’s attention, you can get the ball rolling very quickly. Decisions must be made on the spot.

The alternatives you have to consider are alike in one respect: Neither really has you anticipating an exciting result.

It may not take you any time at all to realise what you are up against. Once that is known, your course becomes clear.

The process is far more important to you than the result. Consider going back to take another try at something difficult.

You will discern some significant differences between you and someone who claims to be an ally — or even a friend.

There is helping, and then there is standing in the way. You may not be able to tell one from the other as easily as usual.

PISCES [Feb. 19-March 20]

You are interested in someone else’s affairs, but you are not the kind to intrude. Later, you may be asked to join in.

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]

What is different between what you are currently doing and what you want to be doing? Answer that, and you’ll be making real progress.

Things are likely to go your way throughout much of the day, but when they don’t, you may have reason to fear coming to a complete standstill.

You’re likely to be remembered for something you do that you may not even remember yourself — until you are reminded of it.

C11

EXTRAM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

Nearly 400 years ago the Pilgrims sat down with the Wampanoag to share the feast im-

mortalised as Thanksgiving. We don’t know the exact menu. Ac-cording to Kathleen Wall, food-ways culinarian at Plimoth Plan-tation, venison, fowl and corn were documented by attendees, but, beyond that, we can only speculate. I asked if we could speculate about chestnuts.

‘We can’t say for sure, but the odds are pretty good,’ she says. ‘They’re right in season. Both cul-tures knew them and used them.’

Susan Freinkel, in her excel-lent book American Chestnut: The Life, Death and Rebirth of a Perfect Tree, describes how, in the fall, when the nuts were sometimes inches deep on the ground, fami-lies used to gather them for their own use and to sell. Livestock was let loose to forage for them.

People who didn’t eat chestnuts often ate chestnut-fed venison or squirrel. Furniture, fence posts and utility poles were made of the long, straight, rot-resistant tim-ber. In some places, one in four forest trees was a chestnut, and the tallest stood 12 stories high.

Then a fungus killed almost all of them. The chestnut blight was first spotted in 1904 and is believed to have arrived here in Asian chestnut trees, which have

some resistance to it. American chestnuts have none, and all but a few hundred of the 3 to 4 bil-lion trees were wiped out in just a couple of decades.

Three to 4 billion. It’s hard to get your arms around a number that big, so let’s convert it to something useful — food. A mature tree can produce several hundred pounds of nuts (the record is more than 1,000 pounds); about 70 per cent of that weight is actual nutmeat. For the sake of being conservative and working with round numbers, let’s call it 100 pounds of nutmeat per tree, at about 1,000 calories per pound, or 100,000 calories per tree. So 10 trees would provide the million calories (give or take) one person eats in a year.

Here’s what that means — If we still had those 3 to 4 billion trees, they would meet 100 per cent of the caloric needs of today’s Amer-ican population of just over 300 million. They could feed every last one of us.

Of course, even without the blight, we’d have lost a good por-tion of the trees as development encroached on forests. And living exclusively on chestnuts would get old fast, anyhow, despite their versatility as a foodstuff — They can be roasted, fried, candied, steamed, grilled and even turned into flour.

Those numbers are just a way to imagine how significant a food

source American chestnut trees were, and could be again.

Over the past century, chest-nut blight wasn’t the only thing that distanced us from the source of our food. Farming technology improved, and feeding our popu-lation required fewer and fewer people working the land. After World War II, it took half of us to feed all of us. Today, only 1 to 2 per cent of Americans farm. Most of us seldom see our food in the ground or on the hoof, let alone grow it, hunt it or gather it.

My theory, based entirely on personal experience, is that spending time with the plants and animals you eat makes you inter-nalise the idea that what you’re eating is plants and animals, and then the stuff in the brightly col-oured boxes starts to look a lot less like food.

Thanks to a group of scientists at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, headed by Bill Powell and Chuck Maynard, it could happen. On November 4, they announced that they had bred a blight-resistant American chestnut by introducing a gene from wheat.

Blight kills trees by producing oxalic acid. Wheat has a natural defence against oxalic acid; the plant can break it down into be-nign components. It turns out that a single gene is responsible

for that function, and inserting that single gene into the Ameri-can chestnut genome made the tree resistant.

Unlike the controversy of ge-netically modified organisms (GMOs) in commerical food-stuff, the gene that might save the American chestnut wasn’t created for personal profit or for the ben-efit of corporations or farmers. It contributes to a wholesome, healthful diet.

There has been an effort — on-going in the 100 years since the blight — to create blight-resistant American chestnuts by cross-breeding with Chinese chest-nuts, and the American Chestnut Foundation has had some suc-cess on that front, but it hasn’t yet achieved its goal.

Powell said he’s glad others are taking a different approach, be-cause having the trees from both programs out there in the forest would increase the genetic diver-sity and the chance that American chestnuts will thrive. (Chinese chestnut trees can grow in some parts of the country, but they don’t have the cold-resistance for the American chestnut’s range).

Repopulating our woods — and even our yards, our commons and our courthouse lawns — with American chestnuts would put a versatile, nutritious, easily har-vested food source within reach - Tamar Haspel/The Washington Post.

The American chestnut lives on

British researchers find tooth enamel fast-track in humansRESEARCHERS in Britain have found a link between prenatal enamel growth rates in teeth and weaning in human babies. The incisor teeth grow quickly in the early stages of the second trimes-ter of a baby’s development, while molars grow at a slower rate in the third trimester.

Incisors are ready to erupt af-ter birth, at approximately six months of age, when a baby makes the transition from breast-feeding to weaning, showed the study.

Weaning in humans takes place relatively early compared to some primates, such as chimpanzees. So, there is less time available for human incisors to form, so

the enamel grows rapidly to com-pensate. Exactly when the early weaning in humans first began is a debatable issue among anthro-pologists. “Anthropologists will now be able to explore the start of weaning in an entirely new way because ‘milk teeth’ preserve a

record of prenatal enamel growth after they have erupted and for millennia after death,” said Pat-rick Mahoney from Human Oste-ology Research Lab in University of Kent, in Britain.

Enamel cells deposit new tis-sue at different times and rates, depending on the tooth type. The present dental approaches depend on finding fossil skulls with teeth that are still erupting — which is an extremely rare find.

“This research can increase our understanding of wean-ing in our fossil ancestors and could also help dentists as den-tal problems do not register in all teeth in the same way,” said Mahoney. —IANS

T E E T H G R O W T H

There has been an effort — ongoing in

the 100 years since the blight — to create

blight-resistant American chestnuts by

cross-breeding with Chinese chestnuts

bABY tEETHbABY tEETH

C12

EXTRAM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 14

Since making its

debut on November

1, 1974, the iconic

character produced

by Sanrio Co. has

been loved by

millions of people

all across the world,

regardless of gender

and age

HELLO KITTY HAS TURNED 40

Kitty, whose real name supposedly is Kitty White, is a girl who is five apples tall, weighs three apples

and has blood type A. She lives in the London suburbs with her par-ents and her twin sister Mimmy, according to Sanrio. Her favourite food is the apple pies her mother bakes, and she dreams of becom-ing a pianist or poet in the future.

To celebrate the occasion, “Ariga-to Everyone! Birthday Celebration” parades are being held at the Sanrio Puroland, an amusement park fea-turing Sanrio characters in Tokyo.

The 30-minute parades, sup-posed to be Kitty’s birthday party, feature 49 Sanrio characters and dancers, including Mimmy, her Dad and Mom, and boyfriend Daniel, as well as other represent-ative Sanrio characters such as My Melody and Little Twin Stars (Kiki and Lala).

When I visited the amusement park, many children and their mothers were waiting for the opening of the show around the Chie no Ki stage on the first floor.

One mother, Nao Yoshida, a

36-year-old homemaker from Tokyo, explained why Kitty capti-vated people so much.

“She looks round and gentle, and above all, she’s so cute. She is exactly the type of character that mesmerizes girls’ heart,” she said.

Hello Kitty designer Yuko Yama-guchi believes Kitty is a character that will continue to grow.

“Regarding the 40th birthday, my sincere feelings are just that long,” Yamaguchi said in an interview. “Looking around both at home and abroad, many characters have been loved for much longer.”

“There are so many things we haven’t done yet, and we don’t know what to do first. But I’m cer-tain she is a character that will continue to grow,” she added.

As the first step, the company plans to launch a Kitty-themed fashion brand for young men, to be called Hello Kitty Men, by the character’s 45th anniversary in 2019. The plan was announced in September.

“We’d like to start with such products as T-shirts, jerseys and hoodies, mainly targeting young men in their 20s,” she said.

She also is dreaming of develop-ing Kitty into an entertainer.

“One of my future dreams is to have her perform in NHK’s Red & White Year-end Song Festival,” Yamaguchi said. “I also would like to produce a film featuring Kitty as a lead actress who can sing and dance.”- Shoji Ichihara/The Washington Post

Self-regulation skills prepare children for school

EFFORTS TO utilise music and games to help pre-schoolers learn self-regu-lation skills could help prepare at-risk children for kindergarten education, a new study says. The intervention was most effective among children who are considered to be at the highest risk of struggling in school — those belonging to low-income backgrounds and learn-ing English as a second language. Self-regulation skills that help children pay

attention, follow directions, stay on task and persist through difficulty are critical to a child’s success in kindergarten and beyond. “Most children do just fine in the transition to kin-dergarten, but 20 to 25 percent of them experience difficulties — those difficulties have a lot to do with self-regulation,” said Megan McClelland from the Oregon State University in the US. “Any intervention you can develop to make that transition easier can be beneficial,” McClelland added. The study was published recently in Early Childhood Research Quarterly.

Sound training helps brain keep distractions at bayTHE ABILITY to sustain focus on a goal goes down with age but researchers, including of an Indian-origin, have discov-ered that with the help of a sound training, even the elderly can learn to ignore distractions. Distractibility, or the inability to sustain focus on a goal due to attention to irrelevant stimuli, can have a negative effect on basic daily activities and is a hall-mark of the ageing mind. It is possible to diminish distract-ibility by learning to distinguish a target sound from other dis-tractions, the findings showed. A similar strategy might also help children with attention deficits or individuals with other mental challenges. “We show that by learning to discriminate amidst progressively more challenging distractions, we can diminish distractibility in rat and human brains,” stressed lead author Jyoti Mishra from University of California, San Francisco. The study appeared in the journal Neuron.

Workers of locally-owned

firms show more loyalty

A RESEARCH reveals that employees who work at small, locally-owned businesses have the highest level of loyalty towards their employers. Such workers tend to stay commit-ted to their company even in the face of low job satisfaction. “When it comes to your job, it is usually not just one thing that affects your commitment. You may say ‘I like my boss’ or ‘I am satisfied with what I do’,” said lead author Katie Halbesleben, a doctoral student at the Baylor University in the US. “Our study re-affirms that working for a small and local company is also an important factor that contributes to a worker’s com-mitment,” Halbesleben added. Higher levels of commitment are associated with less absenteeism, lower turnover and less seeking of jobs outside the company. –IANS

S C I E N C E

HELLO KITTY creator Yuko Yamaguchi. ‘I’m certain she is a character that will continue to grow,’ she says of her creation. -The Yomiuri Shimbun photo

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

M O N D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

RENT D2

DAILY GUIDE Email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

For rent apartments: An apart-

ment in old Muscat at Oman Arab

Bank’s building. 3 bedrooms + 3

bathrooms, dining room, living room

and a kitchen. Air conditioned apart-

ments. 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

A Building for rent: for workmen

and companies at Al Wadi Al Kabir.

Contact 99388994

Flat for rent RO 80/-. Wattaya.

Contact 99542393

2 bedroom flat opposite Al Nahdha

Hospital, 1 bedroom & studio flat at

Wadi Kabir Sanaya.

Contact 93666944

Flat for rent Al Amerat Al Hajer,

2 bedrooms, 1 hall, 1 Majlis without

A/C. Contact 99425184

Double & single bedroom flat near

Wadi Kabir Lulu. Contact 99719471,

99639102

Flats 2 bedrooms hall in Mumtaz

Area. Contact 98003444

Single furnished room in Ruwi.

Contact 24833609

Two flats in Hamriya new bldg with

split A/C. contact 99639909

(2)- Room bathroom kitchen near

Kuwaiti Mosque, Wadi Kabir,

RO 200. Contact 95094028

Exclusive offer for family on Visit

Visa Fully furnished fully equipped

flat for Rent on Al Hail north Main

Road please contact 96609381 -

93199299.

Furnished single bed attached

bath for executive bachelors RO.

150/- pm near ISG- Ghobrah. Contact

- 95259322

Villa in Al Azaiba with area of

1200 m, contains from (2 halls +

2 living rooms +5 bedrooms with

bathrooms+maids room+7 car

parkings+garden) for RO 2300,

92161111

D2 M O N D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

FOR RENT

Contact:FIRST CHOICE LLC

GSM: 99388170 / 93878787

Apartments in Al Khuwair new

area each apartment contains (2

bedrooms + living room) for RO 365.

Contact 93181111

Building in Ghala for rent with

24 apartments near Bank Muscat,

93181111

Villa in Bousher contains (5 bed-

rooms + living room + hall) for RO

900, 93161111.

Stores in Industrial Ghala opposite

Al Ghobrah garage with 550 m, RO 4

for each meter, 93161111

Studio Apartment Madinat Qaboos

RO 200 including water & electric-

ity. 3 BHK part villa Al Khuwair RO

500. 1 & 2 BHK Wattaya. Contact

95178930

Villa in Al Azaiba contains (5 bed-

rooms + living room + hall)

for RO 900 located near Al Fair

Supermarket. 93161111

Room in Al Ghobrah. RO 120/-.

Contact 99370328

Luxury villa in al Azaiba inside a

compound each villa contains

(5 bedrooms living room dining

room car parking) each villa RO

1200, 93161111

2 bedroom flat for rent at Mumtaz

Area near Al Burj Hotel. Contact

99104418, 99345914, 99884924

7 Rooms villa at Al Azaiba, 18 No-

vember Road opposite Bank Muscat.

Contact 99224748, 99332297

2 BHK at Al Azaiba, Build-

ing No.5145 Way 4470. Contact

99224748, 99425665

Looking for building in (Al Ghobrah,

Al Khuwair, Al Azaiba, Bousher, Al

Qurum and MQ) for sale. New build-

ings in Al Ghobrah, Ghala, Wadi Al

Kabir, Al Mabela, Al Amerat for sale.

If you have any properties/

enquiries Contact us 91155779,

24507072.

Email: [email protected]

1 & 2 BR flats in Amerat (New Build-

ing). 2 BR flats in Mabela (New Build-

ing, Near Faisal Bin Timor Mosque).

1 BR flat in Al Khuwair (Near Mars

Hypermarket). Contact: - 96092332 /

99368876 /24480777. Email: - prop-

[email protected]

1 BHK Ruwi. Contact 99024730

Looking for commercial lands/res.

Lands/ in (Al Ghobrah/Al Khuwair/

Al Azaiba/Bousher/Al Qurum/MQ)

for sale. Looking for villas/lands for

sale in Ruwi Al Mumtaz Area. New

building in Al Ansab high quality,

yearly income more than 90,000/-

sale price only 75,000/-. More than

17,000 SQM commercial land in

Ghala, 275/ per SQM.

Contact 91155779, 24507072

Office space (125 SQM) located in

prime area at 18 November street,

Al Azaiba. Contact 99261522

Readymade office space for rent

(110 & 130SM) fully or separate, with

partition) in Bank Melli Iran Build-

ing, MBD area, Ruwi, Opposite center

point. Contact 99011352

One/two bedroom new flats at

Bausher from owner directly.

Contact 92158031

5 bedrooms villa with 2 halls,

4 bathrooms in Darsait behind

Khimjis Mart. Contact 24700120 /

92584715

New flat in a new building at a

prime location at Al Khuwair, 2

bedrooms and Majlis.

Contact 99109094

1 BHK with A/C, Mumtaz area, RO

250. Contact 92144045

2 BHK Al Ghobrah without A/C RO

300/-. Contact 92144045

Flats, Amerat Souk. Contact

98026234 / 99647903

1 & 2 BHK Al Khuwair. Contact 99024730

2 rooms Majlis and kitchen in Al

Khuwair 33. Price: RO 380/-.

Contact 96961306

Room with attached bath avail-

able for Filipino. Al Khuwair 33

opposite 2 Hour Al Maya Super-

market. Contact: 97607198

2 BHK flat, brand new building

Ghala, 100 SQM open space offices,

Ghala, 40 SQM shop in Ghala, full fur-

nished business Centre, small offices

available in Ghala, 20

SQM, 25 SQM, 2 BHK in Ruwi,

Mumtaz, Darsait, Wadi Al Kabir, Rex

Road. #93782735 / 99208033

DAILY GUIDEM O N D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4 D3

FOR RENT

BUYING/SELLING

Looking for purchase of a resi-

dential building with minimum 25

unoccupied flats in Ghala, Bousher,

Azaiba and Ghobrah. Kindly contact

99261522

Household & office furniture and

electronic items. Contact 99834373,

97102699

Looking for purchase of Used Portable Compressor (350 CFM,

7 Bar Pressure) powered with Diesel

run Generator.

Kindly Contact 99014686 or

[email protected]

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

Industrial Land 3,600 SQM with

all facilities near Khimji Workshop,

Ghala. Contact 99349311

Commercial land in Honda Road for

sale. Contact 91155779, 24507072

3 BHK flat Ghobrah close to ISG way

– 4041, building – 4390.

Contact 99319880

Show room on the main road Saham

center total area 450 m sq. Contact:

99366558 / 99334226

Flat near Oman House. Contact

92815855, 95181077

For rent two bedrooms hall kitchen,

three bathrooms balcony, complete

split units, brand new deluxe flats

near Seeb flyover main road side.

Contact 97755586

Spacious room, separate bathroom,

sharing kitchen at Wadi Kabir,

shell pump rent RO 90/- & E/W RO

120/- per month for Muslim family.

Contact 97887620

1 BHK near Medical Darsait.

RO 190/-. Contact 98748925

1,000 sq mtrs industrial land in

Misfah Industrial area near to Khan-

co. OMR 1,500 Monthly. Electricity

and Boundary wall will be provided.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

New flat, Ghala near Royal Hospital,

3 BHK, hall, split A/C, RO 425/-.

Contact 92479515

ACC. AVAILABLE

ACC. AVAILABLE

Semi-furnished spacious room

with separate entrance attached

washroom for non-cooking Indian

Executive Bachelor near ISG, Ghob-

rah. Contact 95146361, 92657598

Sharing flat with AC for Executive

Bachelor, Christian preferred in

Wadi Kabir. Contact 93182705

after 5 pm

Single bedroom with A/C and shar-

ing kitchen at Al Khuwair.

Contact 99636550

Bachelor Sharing Accommodation

available in villa, Rex Road Ruwi-

Contact- 94442157

Attached rooms at Al Khuwair opp

Rawasco behind Pizza Muscat.

Contact - 99361589

Furnished room with bathroom for

a non cooking executive bachelor at

Al Khuwair. Contact 95875735

Furnished room available for rent

in Darsait with separate bathroom

and parking. Contact 97883616

Sharing new flat, furnished sepa-

rate bedroom attached bathroom &

kitchen for small family / executive

bachelor, Honda Road near NBO

Bank. Contact 98582078

Furnished single room with bath-

room Al Khuwair. Contact 95765719

Sharing accommodation available

for a small veg. Family/bachelor

at Wadi Kabir. 99877845

1 BHK flat in Wadi Kabir. RO 180/-.

Contact 99376454

1+2+3 BHK, Darsait, near ISM.

Contact 99024730

2 BHK, Wadi Kabir. #99024730

2 BHK, Al Khuwair. # 99024730

2 BHK 7 flats in Mabela, Road

No.2 for rent. Contact 99420591,

94354545, 99354340

2 BHK 2 flats at Muscat Hill for rent.

#99420591, 94354545, 99354340

LABOUR CAMP Space for rent

at YETI. # 99221683/92830110

Flat/rooms for rent in Mumtaz Area.

Contact 92502241 / 92245110

Furnished / unfurnished apartments

available for rent on long term /short

term basis, near Vacha’s hypermar-

ket in Ghala. Contact 97677211

Flat, 3 BHK, hall, Al Khuwair near

Centre point, RO 425/-, family only.

Contact 92479515

Flat, Ghubrah, 2 BHK, hall, split AC,

RO 350, family only near Beiret Bank.

Contact 92479515

For rent flat and showroom, Al Azai-

ba, Ghala, Ghubrah, Al Khuwair-33

and Mabelah. Contact 93651633,

24485240, 24485241

Flats/villas owned by ROP pension

fund available for rent in Muscat.

Contact 99349526

Excellent flat for rent in Ruwi,

Mumtaz Area and Al-Hail South.

Contact 98051159

AVAILABLE

Established Restaurant for rent

with sponsorship. #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: [email protected]

A running Supermarket for sale in

Wadi Kabir. Contact 95113037

Running Business Marble, Granite &

Tiles cutting & polishing, carpentry &

Aluminium Workshop in

Wadi Kabir for immediate sale.

Contact 99105492

Two Bungalows plot area 1578

SQM, Bait Ras Beach Zanzibar, RO

91000, Bousher plot area 891 SQM,

residential RO 118000, Buraimi plot

area 600 SQM RO 18000. Contact

owner 99348943 or 92269749

Big showroom (two floors) for sale

opposite Oman house & Muttrah

Hotel. Total 600 square meter.

Contact 92827734 / 93206400

Running Engineering Consulting

Office on prime location for imme-

diate lease. Contact 99854384

For sale: shfandishs. Contact 99368907

Turkish MDF Classic door with

frame full quantity for sale by

discount price. Contact 92858025,

95643086, 99208798

SHOP FOR SALE AT HONDA RD.

CONTACT 99221683 / 92830110

Used containers for sale.

Contact 95539929

A very well established branded

lighting trading company having

business with hotels, buildings &

schools retail for sale in UAE Asking

price: $ 3 millions. Interested persons

may email with complete details to

[email protected]”

We sell ready mix concrete.

Contact 99054673

Coastal fishing vessel 15 meter

length manufactured in Greece

contains two motors and registered

in Ministry of Fishest and Ministry

of Transport. Contact 99878847,

97078884

New & Refurbished portable cabins,

Fabrication of car parks & all types

of fabric shade. Contact 94475705

Forklift with clamp for sale: Make-

Cater Pillar-4 ton Model-2007.

Contact 99352790

Porta cabin containers used

for sale. Contact 99199374 /

94252527

Industrial Kitchen for Lease/Sale:

Fully Equipped Industrial Catering

Kitchen with Restaurant space and

Outdoor sitting area on Lease/Sale

at Mawaleh near vegetable market.

Call- 9954 1671

6 Seater sofa set & dining table

with chairs, good condition.

Contact 99327247 / 99348012

23,886 Sq Mtrs Agriculture

land with water well in Al Salwa,

Barka. OMR 260 Thousand. Tel:

99333479 or 95215360

Leather sofa 3+1+1+1 with Centre

table. Contact 99349311

3 floor building in Muttrah behind

Police. Generating income of OMR

20 Thousand annually. Neat and

well maintained. Built on 197 sq

mtrs. 2 tailor shops on ground floor

and 6 flats total. OMR 269 Thou-

sand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

Industrial Area land in Rusayl 5000

SQM and building with 8 shops.

Contact 95490842, 99323957

Flats For Sale in Boushar: OMR 35

Thousand 1 bedroom. OMR 45 Thou-

sand 2 bedroom. Monthly income 1

bedroom OMR 270 and

2 bedroom OMR 350. Tel: 99333479

or 95215360

Furnished Single BHK available

near ISM, Darsait for immediate

takeover #99477514 / 94288397

Sharing for executive bachelor

or working lady near ROP Welfare

Shopping Wattaya.

Contact 95729931

Furnished unfurnished attached

bath & kitchen at Mumtaz Area.

Contact 93103337, 96916398

2 Rooms acc. with kitchen for rent

in Mumtaz Area. 95953700.

Ground floor bed, living, kitchen,

bathroom, dressing, Al Khuwair.

Contact 99743569, 97004265


in Qurum. Contact 93155369

Fully furnished accommodation

for executive bachelor near Lulu

Darsait. Contact 93513986


for Executive bachelor near to Mut-

trah hotel. Contact 98132389

1 BR accommodation available at

Rex Road, suitable for bachelors.

Contact 99889590

Spacious room, separate bathroom,

sharing kitchen at Wadi Kabir, Shell

Pump rent RO 90/- & E/W

RO 20/- per month for Muslim fam-

ily. Contact 97887620

Wanted transport near City Cen-

tre Seeb till Al Khuwair KFC drop

at 8 pm pick at 5.

Contact 98528062

WANTED

ACC. WANTED

Urgently required 3 BK flat or villa

at Wadi Al Kabir. # 99246503.

MATRIMONIAL

Keralite Hindu Ezhava – Upper

Middle Class family. Alappuzha

seeking alliance for their daughter,

24 years, 152 cm height, working

in Oman. Star-Chothi preference

for boys working in Oman. Contact

98687021

Kerala Nair boy, 31, B.Tech,

star Bharani, working in Oman,

98212058

Kerala RC boy, 29, 5.9. Contact

98917545

Hindu Ezhava, family settled in

Muscat looking for suitable groom

for their daughter, 24 yrs, MBA-HR

presently working (preferably

BE, B.Tech, MBA Professional).

Contact 95693133

Indian Doctor, Businessman look-

ing for working lady in Oman for

marriage, any nationality, Muslim

preference self. Contact 96290792

DAILY GUIDED4 M O N D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4

DOMESTIC HELP

DOMESTIC HELP

EDUCATION

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

BEAUTY

DRIVER

ARCHITECT

CATERING

MANAGER / SUPERVISOR

SKILLED / UN SKILLED

FOREMAN

HOSPITALITY

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT

MEDICAL

MEDICAL

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANT-ED

SIT. WANTED

Urgently required a cook for a

respectable Omani family. Contact

24566754/ 24566986

Kerala Housemaid required for

Keralite Family. Visa available,

who can get NOC please contact

99703788

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

SECRETARIAL

Indian Male: B.COM, 4 years experi-

ence in Accounts, in Manufactur-

ing Co Oman, Working Knowledge

With Tally ERP- With Oman valid

D/L,Presently working in Muscat

NOC Available Looking for Suitable

position in Reputed Company,

Contact; 95745287 and Email:

[email protected]

Required Sales Engineer having 1-2

year experience with Oman driving

license for an Oilfield trading com-

pany, please send CV to

[email protected]

Required senior Sales Executive with experience in stationery

business with driving license.

Forward your resume to

[email protected]

Sales & Marketing job with very

good commission, for expats only in

Muscat, Salalah & Sohar.

Contact - 92760281

Urgently required Marketing Executive, minimum 5 years experi-

ence with Omani Driving License.

Contact 24498508,


Exciting career opportunities for

accomplished Media & Advertising

Business Development Executives/Graphic Designers/Web Designers. [email protected]

REQUIRED: Marketing Executive. DL MUST. 91120552.

Marketing Executive required for

2 months corporate promotion cam-

paign with attractive benefits.


Urgently required Sales Execu-tives, Senior Sales Managers, Sales Promoters, 3D-AutoCAD Designer. Candidates with minimum 2 years

experience in Oman and Driving

License may only apply –

Contact: 94151791,

Email: sales @dewdropoman.com

Urgently required Sales Executive IT Company with 2 years experi-

ence, driving license preferred

[email protected]

Urgently required Sales & Mar-

keting Executive for an Engineer-

ing company, minimum 2 year

experienced, with good communica-

tion skill & driving license. Email :

[email protected]

Required Tailor. Contact 95204145

Required for leading company

– one foreman (Indian). Email :

[email protected]

Wanted experienced Indian Chef, age between 30-35, experience in

Indian & Continental food is must.

Good salary package.

Contact 99466062

Business Development cum Outlet

Manager required for reputed Asian

Franchise in Muscat. 5 to 7 years of

experience in restaurant/catering

business with 2 years in supervisory

position. Self-driven people with

pleasing personality and good

communication skills.

Call 93977533

Indian B.Sc. Maths+PGDCA - well ex-

perienced, seeks suitable placement

as Commercial/Logistic Executive

or Document Controller/Customer

Service Executive; expected on short

visit by Nov. 1st Week; #99702383.


Leading Construction Company requires – 1) Civil Maintenance Foreman with 3-5 years Gulf experience, 2) Accountant with 5

years experience for Oman/UAE. The

candidate should be able to manage

the Company’s A/C’s department

independently and capable to handle

/ co-ordinate independently with

internal and external auditors.

Email: [email protected] or

fax 24210016 or contact

99273774 / 99202278

Wanted – Accountant 8 years expe-

rience in construction, Surveyor 5

years experience in pipe line, drafts-

man 5 years experience to work at

Salalah. Email:

[email protected]

A reputed LLC in Muttrah urgently required an Accountant Assistant, 2 years experience. Those who

are interested please forward your

resume to silverworld2006@gmail.

com or contact 99364735, 91214849

MECHANICAL/ TECH

A/C duct man cum fabricator, A/C technician. Visa available.

Contact-95271668

Accountant BCom. 2yrs Oman

experience. NOC available. Joing

immediatley-93089367

Accountant, indian male, 31yrs,

M.com, 4 yrs experince in oman,

NOC available, Cont-93376130 ,

92398040

Excellent Grade Construction Company urgently requires. 1. Civil Draughtsman. & Civil Engineers (Min 5 years experience in build-

ings) 2. Sr. Planning Engineer & Sr Quantity Surveyor (Min 8 years

experience). 3. Accountant (Omani &

Expat) 4. PRO / Secretary / Admin Assistant (Omani). Candidates with

NOC experience preferable for im-

mediate joining. Mail CV to

[email protected]

Urgently required experienced young Boat Man. Language profi-

ciency in English is must. Please

contact 99466062

Need an Indian Beautician in a

Salon at Amerat. Contact 94082319

Sudanese, Bachelor of Computer

Science, 6 years experience in Ac-

counting and Marketing and Man-

agement in the field of Insurance

and Underwriting, valid vehicle

license. Contact 97269293

ACCOUNTANT, M com, TALLY & ERP,

10 yrs Gulf Exp , NOC available

PH 99035707

Indian Male, 15 years GCC experi-

ence in Accounts & Sales on visit

visa seeks suitable placement.

Contact 93897395

Part time Accountant services

available to handle all accounts

related work up to finalization.

Contact 94105477

7 years experience in Accounts

(Oman), Indian Male, B.Com, MBA

(Finance), holding valid Omani Driv-

ing License seeks suitable place-

ment in Accounts, Administration.

Contact 93683297

Quality Assurance officer, ISO

Quality system internal Auditor,

female 27, with 4 years experience,

seeks suitable placement.


Accounts Manager, Indian Male-

Hindu, 22 yrs experience (including

9 yrs in Gulf), B.Com, MBA, pursuing

CMA (US), Oman D/L, visa expires,

NOC available. Contact 97438194,


Indian Male, 24 yrs, M.Com, 2 years

exp in Accounts & Admin looking for

suitable placement.

Contact 96351341,


Accounts part time works and fina-

lization works. Contact 96247295

Accountant, B.Com 8 yrs experience

Dubai. Contact +971 559429220,

email: [email protected],

99899102

Part time Accountant with 19 yrs

exp in Accounting Management.

Contact 95857199

Indian Male, 26 yrs, MBA-Finance,

SAP certified, 2 years experience in

finance, accounting and banking,

well versed in SAP-FIECC 6.0, ERP

tally 9 and MS Office currently on

visit visa seeks suitable placement.

Contact Raju – 97469920

Female expat 22 ACCA - pursuing

final paper, 6 months experience

in tally, tax & audit in an audit firm

looking for suitable placements pref-

erably in audit firm. Ph: 98428098

Indian female, MBA in HR & Fi-

nance, 3 yrs experience in Accounts

& Administration seeking suitable

placement. Contact 93685717.

Email : [email protected]

Over 14 years of Gulf experience as

Administration/HR specialist fluent

in Arabic / English with driving

license, looking for suitable position.

Contact 95824598

Young Omani male have experience

10 years as P.R.O , CLERK, helper

supervisor, admin supervisor, H.R

Manager have diploma in H.S.E , IT ,

and P.D.O license looking for H.R po-

sition or P.R.O part time or full time.

Contact 95933288

Indian Male B.Com with 14+ yrs

experience in HR and Recruitment

looking for suitable opening, can join

immediately. Contact 97100419

Indian male age 48 yrs Hr. & Admin

Assistant 6 yrs experience in gulf

seeking employment for suitable

position. Release and NOC Available.

Contact: 95305425.

Indian 17 years Oman experience

with driving license in Administra-

tion / Accounts looking for suitable

placement. Contact 92926184

Required a junior Architect for a

Consultancy Office.


A School requested a qualified ex-

pert teaching English as a foreign

language, a Science Teacher with

a master degree. Maths teacher and a laboratory technician.

Contact - 96606121

English medium school in Sinaw,

Oman required experienced

Kindergarten / Primary teachers (English, Maths), attractive salary

+ accommodation. Send CV on

saminternationalschoolsinaw@

gmail.com .Contact 92815209

Staff wanted for hotel, Salalah, front office, marketing chefs (Arabic/Asian/Continental),

waiters and waitress, stewarding.

Send CV with picture to

[email protected]

Grade 1 Civil Construction Compa-ny urgently requires the following

personnel : - 1. Project Coordinator, 2.Construction Manager, 3. Project Manager, 4.Civil Engineer, 5. Civil Supervisor, 6.Building Materials Purchaser, 7.Accountant.

Interested candidates mail CV to az-

[email protected] or fax to 24422458

Senior Position for CA with 24

years of experience: Managing

Finance, Accounts, Audit, Bank

Loans, Budgeting, Business plan-

ning, Strategy, Purchase and Sale

management of group of companies.

SAOG Mobile 91799262

Chartered Accountant Indian

(Female) having valid Omani DL and

work experience of 1 year in a Big

4 Audit firm (India) seeks suitable

placement. GSM: 99484368

Seeking jobs in Accounts/Office

Staff Indian-completed B.Com, 6

years experience in UAE as Ac-

countant on visiting visa till Jan 1st.

Contact 97927167

Accountant, Indian B.Com, 1 year

experience in India seeking suitable

placement in Accounts, finance,

Audit. Contact 95518079

Pakistani MBA (Finance) male look-

ing for suitable position. Experienced

in accounts. Contact no: 96351655.

[email protected]

Sr. Accountant M.Com (Finance) 14

yrs exp (1 year in Oman) in finance &

accounts. NOC available, immedi-

ately joining. Contact – 92404608 /

[email protected]

20 yrs experienced Accountant

seeks employment, ACCA (UK),

CPA/MBA + Oracle Financials ERP,

Hyperion Planning, SAP & Advanced

Excel. Contact sanjeevcga@gmail.

com or 98934705

Part Time Accounting, Accounts Fi-

nalization, Audit Preparation, Internal

Audit, Onsite Tally Training, Onsite

Training for Accountants, Inventory

Management, Feasibility Study and

Project Reports. Contact: 96975454,

email: [email protected]

Male 27, 7+ years of experience in

Accounts and Administration, out of

4 years experience in Oman looking

for a suitable placement.

Contact 93531602

Indian Female, Senior Account-

ant with 10 years experience in

Accounts, Finance, Audit & Tax

Management. Contact 96263157

Chartered Accountant with 10 yrs

of Gulf & MNC experience, in depth

knowledge in Financial statements

including consolidation, treasury,

MIS, AR/AP, Insurance, Taxation,

Payroll etc looking for Senior posi-

tion in finance, NOC available.

Email : [email protected].

Contact : 96293649

Indian Female 29 Yrs, B-Com Gradu-

ate with Basic Computer Knowledge

and Tally, having 6 yrs experience in

accounting seeking for the placement

in Account Assistant, currently on

visit visa in Oman Contact: 95478149


Accountant 3.5yrs.noc available.

joingimmediatly.mba(hr).98772358

[email protected]

Chief Accountant, M.Com + CA

articles completed.Having 5 yrs of

experience in Oman.Excellent com-

mand in IAS and IFRS.seeks proper

placement. GSM # 94387066

ADMIN/HR

ADMIN/HR

Consultancy Office requires a Structural Engineer 3 years experi-

ence in Oman. Submit CV to

[email protected]

One sight Engineer & One Quantity

Surveyor required with 10 years of

Oman experience in civil for grade 1

Construction Company.


Required for Al Shirawi Equipment

Company LLC, Sales Engineer with

fabrication experience, 5 to 7 years

(1 No.), experience in Tipping Trailer,

Flat bed, low bed, water tanker,

tipper. Contact 94226924

ENGINEERS

Wanted MBBS Doctor with MOH li-

cense to work in a Polyclinic. Attrac-

tive salary with commission offered.

Contact 92788334 email:

[email protected]

A reputed Clinic in Mabela is look-ing for a GP circumcision license.

Email CV to [email protected]

Required female Nurse holding

license & resident card for locum

basis to work for Mabelah and April

2015 in a private Clinic in Ruwi.

Contact 99367223 /

92436896

Required orthodontist – full time in

Muscat. BDS, MDS and Morth quali-

fied or with MOH license and NOC.

Contact 99010755, email :

[email protected]

Required Nurse for a Clinic in

Al Buraimi S.Of.Oman.

Contact 00968 92737149. CV to

[email protected]

Wanted Ophthalmologists, Dentist and Nurses with MOH License for

Nizwa. Please contact

[email protected]

Immediate placement for Phar-macist and Asst.Pharmacist, 2 nos

each with MOH or prometric pass.

Contact: 99338219

Vacancy for staff nurse with MOH

License, capital area.

Contact 99013372

Wanted Doctor with MOH license for

a Polyclinic. Excellent salary with

accommodation and commission.

Contact 99752442,

email : [email protected]

MOH licensed female nurse required

for clinic in Muscat for immediate


Need a Salesman for marketing job

for printing Company. Indian nation-

ality who has the ability to work hard

and has experience of minimum 3

years with Omani Driving License.

We offer attractive package.

Contact 93645550,


SALES / MARKETING

Urgently required Omani Receptionist for a reputed Medical

Centre in capital area.

Contact 24613136, 92724345

Required Indian Driver hold-

ing Omani Driving License with 5

years experience. Please contact

99273774 / 99202278

Light duty driver Kerala for a Con-

struction company.

Contact 98294692

Required Indian house driver with

Oman / UAE experience.

Contact – 24631442

Need driver. Contact 91310107

Wanted driver for part. Contact

95112461

Telugu Driver Wanted-

Contact 95450157

Urgently driver wanted, Omani

(private light). Contact 99173812,

Star life Co.LLC

House Maid (full time)

required for Keralite family near

in Sohar. Contact: 97034674,

93558111

Looking for a professional Gardener to work in Madinat

Qaboos, good salary, visa & ac-

commodation will be provided.

Contact if you have NOC/Release

or visa. Contact 92447365

Company requires smart Philipino driver and Call Center operator (Indian) to work on shifts. Please

email CV to

[email protected].

Pharmacist and Assistant Pharma-cist with MOH license are required.

Interested candidates

contact 97091664 or

[email protected].

Good payment with incentives.

Young Indian male with British

graduation & post graduation with

relevant Muscat experience in

business admin & purchase seeks

placement. Posses NOC & Driving

License.Ph:94400671

Indian Female, 30 Years, B.Com,

3 years Oman experience in Bank-

ing and 5 Years India. Contact

96727030/96253400

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

Experience PRO Oman Male, 36

Yrs, 16 yrs experience in PRO/ HR

& Administration, Prefect English

language speaking & writing with

D/L, Seeks suitable placement,

Can join immediate. #91221773

Omani 14 years experienced candi-

date looking for HR Manager posi-

tion in Muscat. Contact 92817182

Omani female with 9 yrs exp look-

ing for PRO job with Oman D/L.

Contact 97917333

Indian Female, 25 yrs, B.Com Gradu-

ate, presently on visit visa having

6 yrs experience seeking good op-

portunity in HR Admin,

HR Recruiter or Office Secretary.

Contact 91762061

Indian male, B.Com, 5 years Office

Executive experience sector Agency

seeking job in office/Company for

administration. Email : aneesh-

[email protected], currently on

visit visa. Contact 99846801

Indian Male 32 yrs( MBA-HR) 9 yrs

of Exp (GCC,AFRICA) in EPC, Diversi-

fied industries, Seeking Suitable

placement in HR/Admin. Currently

on visit visa, NOC available,

join immediately. Contact 94535618

Email:[email protected]

HR & Admin Assistant, 26 yrs

Indian Male having 6Years of experi-

ence looking for suitable position.

Contact No: +968-93264616

Male, 27 years with MBA in HR/

MKT having 2 years exp in respec-

tive field looking for suitable place-

ment in leading organization.

Contact 91705051

DOMESTIC HELP


DAILY GUIDESITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

DRIVER

DRAUGHTSMAN

DESIGNER

EDUCATION

INFORMATION TECH

FOREMAN

HOSPITALITY

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

MEDICAL

MEDICAL

Indian male 28 completed

B.H.M.CT, 4 yrs exp in food & bever-

ages dept. looking for senior super-

visor position. Contact – 91018857 /

[email protected]

Indian Male, 26 yrs, graduate in

hospitality science, with New Zea-

land business diploma and previous

Oman experience in Customer

service seeks suitable placement in

hospitality/salesmarketing/ logis-

tics/ admin. Contact 91383167

Microbiologist & Quality Assurance

Executive, female 27, with 4 years

experience in food industry, looking

for a suitable placement. Contact


Having 7 years Europe experience

in the field of Hotel Management,

store keeper, Supervisor looking for

a challenging opportunity in Muscat.

Contact +96897376612, Email:

[email protected]

Male 22 Housekeeping front office

Hotel management degree course.

Contact 96732520

Tunisian interior and furniture

designer, 8 yrs exp in Oman looking

for suitable placement.

Local release available (NOC).

Contact 92038385

AutoCAD Draughtsman, Architecture,

Structure looking for suitable position.

Contact 94436180, 98147600

Piping Design and Drafting Diploma

with AutoCAD and Mechanical

Draughtsman in oil and gas sector.

Email id : [email protected]

GSM: 94515084

Part time or full time housemaid looking for job.preferably Kerala

family.phone number 94017485.

Indian SAP Developer Computer

expert on visit visa seeks job in Mus-

cat. Contact 93167119

Female Computer Science and En-

gineering Graduate With ASP .NET

Certification - Muscat 91706562

Desktop Support Technician, B.Sc

Computer Science, Indian Male, 25

yrs. Contact 94525218,

email: [email protected].

ERP Consultant with 23 years of

experience is available for taking

up any ERP implementation project.

Can handle RFP preparation, till

project sign off. Contact: 93200901,

[email protected] .

Indian M/26, 2yr exp, MCSA certi-

fied, looking IT Admin/Networking

jobs, on visit visa, can join soon,

GSM 94513655

Indian Male, 29, MCA Master of

Computer Applications, B.Sc having

6+ years experience in IT industry,

Software implementation and tech-

nical support seeks suitable place-

ment currently on visit visa.

Contact +968-94543668,


Indian Male, 4 years experience in

Computer Hardware Networking Pur-

chasing of MEP Materials seeking

suitable placement.

Contact 98682726,


Indian Female, Computer Engineer

with 14 Years of IT Experience. Dual

Expertise both in Business / System

Analyst and Project Management

role. Looking for any IT opportunity

pertaining to Business Analyst /

Project Manager / Software Quality

Assurance role.# 968 92661857


Young and energetic Indian holding

Oman driving license, having 6+

years experience in IT Industry

(4+ years in Oman) seeks placement.

Contact : 92687056, 92228414

Light driver for job, 2 years experi-

ence. Contact 93181200

Driver HD, Pakistani. Contact

93873120

Experienced driver with car is look-

ing for job. Contact 92481082

Bangladeshi Male having 6 months

experience till date at light vehicle

driving looking for job in any com-

pany any office. Contact 98596728,

96271222

Driver looking for job.

Contact 93051674

Bangladeshi male having 2 yrs exp

in Light Vehicle Driving.

Contact 98487511

Experienced Driver available.

Contact 95076476

Exp driver with own car seeks job.

Contact 91145856

Pakistani driver looking for job light

motor vehicle. Contact 96534239,

92117837

Bangladeshi male, 27 years looking

for driving job, 5 years Qatar and

2 years Oman experience.

Contact 96692774

15 years experienced driver Indian.

Contact 98993526

Want job as a Personal driver or de-

livery boy 2 yrs experience in Oman

as personal driver, NOC is ready is

fluent in English, Arabic and Hindi.

Contact 95842107

Experienced Indian light driver

looking for suitable placement.

Contact 99066408

Looking for job light driver, experi-

ence 15 years. Contact 94436276 /

93183817

I have experience, 8 years for Saudi

Arabia and Oman – 2 years. Contact

95382465 / 98939925

Bangladeshi driver looking for suit-

able job, KSA 12 years + Oman

3 years experience, 42 years.

Contact 95796030

Driver looking for job. #92715713

Driver looking for job. #96964634

Indian Female, Software tester, 5

years experience in Oracle India and

Wipro Technologies having knowl-

edge in SQL and Data Warehouse

concepts looking for suitable job

vacancies. Contact 98605362,


Indian driver looking for job, 2 yrs

exp. Contact 95151738

Sri Lankan driver looking for job.

Contact - 97387112

Light driver looking for job, 5 years

exp in Saudi Arabia + Oman 2 yrs.

Contact 96088707

MISCELLANEOUS

MECHANICAL /TECH-

DIETICIAN

Indian male B.Tech in EC with CCNA

MCSE certification, having 5yrs

experience seeking suitable place-

ments.mob:94575080/

[email protected]

Indian Male seeks job, 13 yrs expe-

rience (Store Keeper) with Omani

D/L visa expires Dec 25th 2014.

Contact 95355693

5 years surveyor for pipe line, 8

years Construction/Projects experi-

enced Accountant, 5 years Drafts-

man to work in Salalah. Mail CV to

[email protected]

Female postgraduate Searching

suitable Job Contact 97792820

Indian Female Dietician with an

experience of 3 yrs looking for suit-

able opportunity. Contact 94291727

or [email protected].

Presently in Muscat.

M.A B.ED well experienced indian

lady teacher of economics,social sci-

ence & English looking for suitable

job.Contact : 94365112

A Computer System Engineer, female 26 looking for teaching job in

a reputed Institute having teaching

experience, Subjects: Kindergarten,

IT, Mathematics and all 0’levels

subjects. Contact 91679220

MSc. Chemistry Teacher (5 y EXP.)

Pakistani female looking for

a job in School/college.

Contact 96580101

Telecom Engineer, Master Degree

in UK with seven years, UK, Gulf and

Sri Lanka experiences, Installation

Operations maintains and Project

Management. Presently on visit visa

looking for a telecom related role.

Contact 94626136,


Asst. Quantity Surveyor

(4 years experience in Oman)

looking job (NOC available)

Contact 96785025

Mechanical Engineer 21m Indian

fresher, seeking job, visit visa.

Contact: 99027468


Pakistani male age 30 years techni-

cal supervisor (3 yrs diploma Civil)

5 yrs exp in Oman seeking employ-

ment for suitable position. Release

and NOC Available

Contact 99765361

Indian Male, Diploma Instrumenta-

tion BBM, experience 5 years valid

Oman Driving License looking sales.

[email protected].

Contact 96695098 / 98280591

Civil Engineer, Palestinian, 5+ years

experience in various fields-Super-

vision, design, QS and Projects Man-

agement, has very good knowledge

of MS-Project, AutoCAD, SAP, STAD

with valid Omani Driving License.

NOC available. Contact 91761364,


B.E Civil, 8yrs Experience, Exper-

tise in Project Execution & Man-

agement, Proficient in MS Project,

Primavera P6, AutoCAD & MS Office.

Release available. GSM: 92167523

Mechanical Engineer B.E with

Oman experience in heavy construc-

tion equipments and vehicles, main-

tenance, services, hire, tower crane

etc. Contact: 97458641

Planning Engr. 6 yrs exp. P6, Valid

D/L seeks placement. 95196628 /

[email protected]

Mechanical Engineer,(BTech in

Mechanical) with Certified quality

controller - NDT level 2 qualified as

per ASNT - SNT-TC-I A, with

1 & half yr exp. as quality control

engineer, presnetly in India seeks

suitable placement Cont : 95405033

[email protected]

BE Biomedical Engineer + 2 years

experience in India seeking suitable

placement. Contact 93092484, Email:

[email protected]

Civil Engineer, Indian, 22 yrs

experience (12 yrs in Oman) seeking

suitable placement NOC available.

Contact 98314531

B.E. Civil Engineer having 9 years

of experience in the Constructions of

Building looking for a Sultanate job.

Contact 91078499

Electrical Engineer with ROP li-

cense, 4 years experience in Oman.

Contact 93513372

Pakistani Male, BS, Software Engi-

neering having 1 year experience in

Software house Pakistan, also IT and

Admin seeks suitable placement.

Contact [email protected],

[email protected].

Contact 92470174

Mechanical Engineer with Diploma

in Mechanical Engineering and

ASNT Level II (UT, RT, PT & MT), my

qualification includes 5 years expe-

rience in Projects. Contact 94619432

Telecom Engineer with 8 yrs exp

from India in IT Networking seeks

suitable opportunities now in Oman.

Contact 99002635 Emal :

[email protected]

Mechanical Engineer (B.Tech), Indi-

an Male, with Oil Engg & Quality Con-

trol Systems, NDT-Level 2 qualified

as per ASNT, one year experience as

Site Engineer. Presently on visit visa,

seeking suitable placement. Contact

# 91260427, 95147671,


Indian B.E Mechanical Engineer with level 2 certification in QA/QC

having experience in maintenance

engineering,piping,pipe line engi-

neering and welding inspection.

Looking for suitable job

Contact : 91360997/99257867


Indian Male Instrumentation / Auto-

mation Engineer with 4 yrs experi-

ence in Engg & Maintenance of PLC,

DCS, SCADA and field instruments

having valid PTW and Omani Driving

License looking for a suitable job. NOC

available. Contact - 92704787


Civil Engineer B.E, Indian, 6 years

experience in Building Construction

in Gulf holding driving license seek-

ing for suitable post (Release NOC

available). Contact 93616412

Mechanical Engineer, Indian Male,

30 yrs, 5 years exp (3 yrs in GCC)

seeking suitable placement in Oil

and Gas Sector. Have valid GCC driv-

ing License. Email: msfebco@gmail.

com, Contact: 91228398

Electrical Engineer with 5 years

Gulf Experience in HV and LV ,I/D

and O/D substation,U/G cable ,Over-

head line,valid Oman driving license.

Contact: 0096895054644,

00919488888464,


BSc Civil Engineer, over 19 years

experience in Construction field with

Project Management skills, seeks

suitable placement. NOC available &

can join immediately.

Kindly contact 92198264,


A Filipino National seeking for the

job Vacancy as Safety Officer, Fire

Engineer, Fire Inspector, Fire and

Safety Instructor. Well experienced

in Offshore and Petrochemical Plants

with an IOSH Certificate. Please con-

tact 91718309 or 26855037

Civil Engineer 12 years Gulf experi-

ence with driving license NOC avail-

able. Contact 91531213

Indian male B.Tech Civil Engineer

with 5 yrs exp in Gulf & India. Pres-

ently on visit visa looking for suit-

able placement at capital region in

Oman. Contact – 93453417 / Email –

[email protected]

Sudanese Female Communication

Engineer with experience 2 years.

Contact 91780953

Male Telecom Engineer experience

in Gulf 5 years. Contact 95219822

Project Electrical Engineer, 3 years

experience primary substation OHL

cables, driving license available

(NOC) available. Contact 94372096

Civil Engineer B.Tech more than 20

years experience in which 10 years

as Project Engineer in a reputed con-

sultancy seeks suitable placement

preferably in Consultancy.

Contact 91215799

Mechanical Engineer (B.E), 26

yrs, Indian Male with two years

experience as Production Engineer

in Manufacturing / Production pres-

ently on visit visa seeking suitable

placement, has good knowledge of

MS-Office, MS-Project and AutoCAD.

Contact 91685141 / 93101922, email:

[email protected]

Civil Engineer, diploma, Indian

Male, 8 years experience, Oman

Driving License with local release.

Contact 95320570,


Software Engineer looking for a

suitable job. 2+ years experience

in a Multi National Company, now

looking for suitable position in soft-

ware division of reputed organiza-

tions. Currently on Visit Visa. Please

contact: 97463452, 97080684

Indian male 25 B.Tech (IT) Engineer

2.5 yrs exp in hardware networking,

currently on visit visa looking for

suitable job. Contact - 94359564

Civil Engineer, 6+ years work

experience in Oman, valid Omani

D/L looking for suitable placement.

Contact 96936404

Male, Indian (now in Oman), fresher,

B.E. Civil Engineer.

Contact 98907359

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

Electrical Supervisor having ROP

license, 4 years experience in Oman.

Contact 96239342

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: [email protected]

Gsm: 93826090

20 years experience Division Man-

ager specialized in false ceiling &

partition in Oman. Contact 93513986

Indian Male 25 MBA in Sports

Management; Looking for job in

Sports administration/Sports

events/sports facility management

and Sports related Organisations.

Exp. as sports development of-

ficer in schools,Project Manager in

Syncotts international Bangalore

& part of World Hockey Series of

India-2012 as Production Runner.

Presently on Visit visa in Oman.

Contact; 96398569.


Indian Male, 25 years in Oman, FMCG business in Senior Manager

level looking for senior position.

Contact 99015946

Indian Male 40 yrs, Legal advisor

and coroprate in house lawyer

currently working with a reputed

legal firm in Muscat having 7

years gulf eperience looking for

Legal Manager post in companies.

Experience in drafting agreements,

contracts, negiotation and dispute

settlement. Good knowledge in

Oman Labour Law and other laws.

NOC available . GSM: 99137569

SECRETARIAL/OFFICE

Indian female with 8 years experi-

ence in Oman, seeking suitable

placement as Travel Coordinator /

Secretary / Admin position. Please

contact 92985246.

Indian male, 32yrs b.Com, 6.5 Yrs

exp in purchase asst and store

keeper seeking suitable placement.

Contact 95318192.

10 yrs experienced in Sales Service

Customer Care, Technical Support

Person (Laptop, Desktop, consumer

Electronics) seeking suitable job.

Contact 92315011

Filipino Female, 34 years Graduate

in Business Management, 5 years

experience as Sales Lady. Worked in

FM Mall Philippine looking for suit-

able placement. Contact 91344837,


SALES / MARKETING

Pakistani male age 40 years elec-

trical, plumbing & Civil foreman

16 years experience in Oman with

valid Omani driving license(light)

seeking employment for suitable

position Contact:-99051257.

Indian BSc Male nurse having

Oman MOH license, ACLS, BIS, 4.5

yrs experience in Emergency De-

partment in India presently in Oman

on visit visa, Praveen – 95790958

Indian Male, Pharmacist, 11 years

experience working in India. Contact

0091-9880583496, Email:

[email protected], 97312111

Lab Technician, Civil (8yrs Gulf ex-

perience) looking for a suitable job

(NOC available) Contact-93344378

Pharmacist with MOH license and

experience in Oman.

Contact 96535239

Female Pharmacist passed exam &

viva PH: 95848971

Indian Male 34, MSW, M.Phil in

social work (Medical and Psychia-

try), 5 years experience in the field

of social work, general and clinical

counseling, teaching and adminis-

tration seeking suitable placement.

Contact 92795472,


Indian Female Dentist, MOH

license holder, with an experience of

6 yrs, looking for a suitable opportu-

nity. Contact 94046651 or

[email protected]

Medical Laboratory Technologist,

4 years experience in UAE,

Master Degree holder.

Contact 97007930

Indian Male GP with MOH License

and NOC, having 10 years of excel-

lent hands on experience in Oman

with corporate culture.

Contact 98140024


Nursing caregiver, qualified Nurse/

Asst. Nurse (male/ female) medical

staff seeks placement for Hospital/

clinic. Contact 92989109 (Oman),

0091 – 9555427742 (India),

[email protected]

Female 21 yrs, Tally 1 year experi-

ence, looking for visa.

Contact 95330720

HOSPITALITY

Ayurvedic Doctor male total 5 yrs

exp, 2 yrs in Oman looking for suit-

able position. Contact - 97944535

Indian Male with 4 years experi-

ence in Optical Fiber Cable splicing

and related equipments, presently in

Oman on visit visa seeking suitable

placement. Contact- 94525460 /

93257581.


Welder 6G, 3G, TIG, ARC, Fabrica-

tion, Gulf Exp. Contact : 97103168

Indian female Senior Account-

ant with 10 years experience in

Accounts, Finance, Audit & Tax

Management. Contact 96263157

Indian male age 30 having 10 yrs

experience in Finance & Accounts

seeking suitable placement.

Contact 93675399

Pakistani Male, ACCA Fundamental

Level qualified, advanced Diploma

in Accounting and Business certified

accounting technician, 3 years experi-

ence as Accounts Officer. #99860453,


Civil Engineer have 6 years Site

experience in both structural and

finishing works in Oman. Email :

[email protected],

+968 95110820

Indian, M.Tech Electrical Engineer

(Female), fresher in family visa seek-

ing suitable placements in Oman.

Contact 94306164

Diploma in Electronics Engineering

with 5 years experience in Oman as

Customer Service Coordinator, Inven-

tory Control and Indoor Sales Execu-

tive seeks suitable job. Speaks Arabic,

English & Hindi. Contact 95681406.

Email [email protected]

Civil Engineer B.E., 5 years experi-

ence with valid Driving License,

consultancy job preference.

Contact 91693008

Project Engineer, 3 years experi-

ence in primary substation OHL oil &

gas, AutoCAD, driving license avail-

able. Contact 95120225, 99410588

Civil Engineer with 8 years experi-

ence and valid Omani D/L looking

for suitable placement. Ready to join

immediately. Contact 95326194 /

99525367

Instrumentation Engineer, Indian

male having 2 years experiences

in process instruments seeks

suitable placement. Contact 95954385

Electrical Engineer having 2

yrs of experience, substation/

maintenance seeking for suitable

placement. Contact 97698493 /

99253909

Electrical Engineer, Indian, 2.5

years experience at Thermal Plant,

(erection and commissioning). Now

in Oman on visit seeking suitable

job. Contact 95836714.

Email – [email protected]

BE Civil Engineer, fresh graduate,

male 24 yrs, Indian looking for a

suitable placement.

Contact 95117509

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624





EVERY FRIDAY 2.00PM ON INDIA’S KAIRALI PEOPLE TV

● Worldwide ● Air Ticket ● Car Rental ● Holiday Packages ● Hotel Reservations ● Travel InsuranceCall: 0096824790400, 0096898569830 Email: [email protected]

MISCELLANEOUS

CHANGE OF NAME

Indian Male, Post graduate with

experience as Document control-

ler on visit seeking a suitable job.

Please contact 97248144.

[email protected]

MBA in HR, 6+ years work experi-

ence in HR & Admin in MNC, Indian

Female, 26 Good communications

skills seeking suitable placement.

Contact 97914669

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,

Accountant, Indian male, 25 yrs,

BBM CA, Computer proficiency:

TALLY9, C+, 1 yrs Experience in

Oman, Seeks suitable placements.

mob: 97145531

Indian female looking for a part

time accounts job in capital area

only. Knows Tally. # 95482970.

MBA in HR, 6+ years work experi-

ence in HR & Admin in MNC, Indian

Female, 26, Good communications

skills seeking suitable placement.

Contact 97914669

Required Accountant job 4years

experience visa exp 3.dec.14 Hold-

ing D/L. Contact - 98283400

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,


Indian Male, 22 years, B.Tech

Mechanical (Fresher) from NIT

Calicut, Software skills –

ANSYS, PRO-E solid works. Contact

91294510 / 99437002. Email:

[email protected]

Diploma in civil Engineer, Male,

5 years experience in Oman as a

Site Engineer, worked at Hyundai

Engineering & Construction Com-

pany, JMB-1, 20 storied high rise

building, Industrial building, sub-

station, roads & highway at Indian

Railway Construction Company,

looking for suitable placement.

Contact 97140857

Male 30, 6 years Oman experience

in Sales, Currently working with

an UAE based Company operat-

ing in UAE and Oman Market with

valid UAE and Oman D/L looking

for suitable placement. # +968

91212407 (NOC not required)



Indian Female, BSC Nurse, on

visit having 4 years experience in

Medical Surgical with Prometric

Certificate looking for a suitable

placement. Contact: 98329941/


Indian Male, 23 yrs MBA Market-

ing & Finance, 6 months experi-

ence as a Sales and Operations

Officer looking for suitable

job. Contact 99106181, email :

[email protected]

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,


Manager-Organizational & Market-

ing Communication, Masters in

Journalism, Finance, strong English

writing skills, creative professional,

Oman exp in corporate Communica-

tion, Marketing, Business Develop-

ment, Media Relations, Ads etc. NOC

available. Contact 98179887

Indian Male, 22 years, B.Tech Me-

chanical (Fresher) from NIT Calicut,

Software skills – Ansys, Pro-E solid

works. Contact 91294510 / 99437002.


Merchandiser with Oman driving

license. Contact 93798442

Infosys experienced male with

engineering degree in Electronics

and communication from a reputed

University seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 95786295/

[email protected]

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 #94030909

Indian Female, M.Sc Software

Engineering having 2 yrs experience

in IT & Admin seeks suitable place-

ment. Contact 94391214,

[email protected]

Indian Male, 24 years old on visit

visa, 3 years Diploma in Civil Engi-

neering, 3 yrs experience.

Contact 98515106

Indian male-26 having 2 years ex-

perience in Oman as a store keeper

looking for the good placement, NOC

available by the current company.

Contact 96671102, email:

[email protected]

57 Yrs. Old healthy person seeking

an opportunity in any area of works

(Shop sales man, Painting, Store

asst, traffic controller, Foremen, Con-

troller) .Saudi experienced.

Contact-97239854-Asher

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

Cont: Sumesh: 92718716

[email protected]

B.Sc (Bio-Technology) & MBA hav-

ing 4 years experience in Marketing

and Sales currently on visit visa

seeking suitable placement in Oman.

Email: [email protected],

GSM: 94517678

Civil Engineer, Diploma, Male 25,

3 years experience in site, CAD, 3d,

MS Project, Seeking job in Oman.

Contact 92887561,

[email protected]

Presales Engineer - IT 4yrs exp. en-

gineering graduate (Indian female)

currently on family visa looking

for opportunities as Sales/Presales

engineer or any suitable positions.

Contact: 0096895829278,

[email protected]

Indian Male, 23 years MBA (Mar-

keting) (6 months experience as a

Sales and Operation Officer looking

for suitable job. Contact 99106181,


IT software professional looking for

a suitable position in Desktop/Web

application development. Visit www.

muhammedswafuvan.weebly.com

for more details. Reach me on

(+968) 98395032.

Part time accountant available.

Accounting experience up to finali-

zation and tally also. #96423671

MBA, Indian Male, 28 yrs, HR & Ad-

min, Marketing sales, 1 yr experience

in India. I have release looking for any

suitable job in Oman. #97484159

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

[email protected]

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 : [email protected]

10 yrs experience in Sales Service

Customer Care, Technical Support

Person (laptop, desktop, consumer

electronics) seeking suitable job.

Contact 92315011

Executive post, having 14 + years

experience in Multinational Groups

in Marketing & Management, MBA.

Contact 93190806

Indian Male, 32 years having 11 yrs

experience in car and FMCG Sales,

diploma in Mechanical Engineering

on visit visa till 30th November look-

ing for suitable post. #97696546.


Indian, Sales Representative on

visit visa seeks urgent job in Build-

ing Material Trading Company.

Contact 93167119

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 [email protected]

Indian Male, 27 yrs B.Com Gradu-

ate 3.5 yrs of experience, 1.5 yrs in

Oman having Oman Driving License

looking for a good suitable job in any

field. Contact- Email:

[email protected]

Indian male B. Com having experi-

ence in Sales & Accounts. Looking for

suitable placement.

Contact – 99069809 /

[email protected]

Indian male, 18 years experience

in Catering supervisor as Sales

Executive in Saudi holding valid

D/L. Email: [email protected].

Contact 96304501

Indian Male, B.Sc + MBA (Market-

ing) with 18 yrs experience including

Oman in Sales & Marketing having

driving license & NOC seeks suitable

placement. Contact 97351283,


Marketing Professional with 7 years

Oman experience in Business Devel-

opment and ATL advertising looking

for a suitable placement. Valid D/L

Oman. GSM 93466033.

Email - [email protected],

MBA Marketing Male, 27 having 8

years of experience including Oman

and UK experience having Omani

Driving License looking for a mar-

keting opportunity, NOC available.

Contact 98338592

Indian Male, 10 years experience in

Sales looking for job as Showroom

Salesman, warehouse in charges etc.

Contact 94551229

MBA Graduate with 2 years of

experience as working as Executive

assistant in Dubai is looking for a job

(full time) other than as an Executive

Assistant / Office Assistant.

Contact 91615322

Indian male, 25 years Graduate, 3

years experience in Sales in Delhi

(India) on visit seeking suitable


Indian Male, 28 yrs, having 5 years

experience in FMCG Sales in visit

visa, Looking for any suitable jobs in

Oman. # 98531486/ 98988824

Indian male, MBA (USA) having

5 years of International experience

in Sales and Marketing. #98853309.


Indian female having 8 years experi-

ence in Sales & Marketing in oil and

gas field as commercial manager,

looking for a suitable placement-NOC

available -Contact -Mob: 96311709

Email- [email protected]

SALES / MARKETING

Indian Female: Bachelor in Travel &

tourism.1 year experience in ticket-

ing and 6 month in cargo (CIAL).

Looking suitable placement.

Contact 95883404

TOURS & TRAVEL

M.V. FOR SALE

Pajero Model 2008, fully automatic

for sale. Contact 99325827

Honda Accord car – 2007 Model,

132000 KM well maintained. Very

good condition. Contact: 92948999

Daihatsu Terios for sale: Excellent

condition. ONLY 87,000 kms. Fully

Automatic – transmission, s. New

tires. New insurance and registra-

tion. V-KOOL window film. Car

model is 2006 but first registered in

2008. First owner. Good 4 digit num-

ber to go with the car. RO 3500/- or

nearest offer. CONTACT: 99759659

Honda Civic – 2010 model, 58000

km, expat owned well maintained,

very good condition.

Contact 92640942

2010 Toyota Yaris (automatic),

excellent condition. # 99737879

Jeep Grand Cherokee 2006

105000KM Expat Driven

Contact 95218553

Subaru Impreza 2.0 ltr 2000 model,

manual in super condition.

Contact: 99844601

PROTON GEN 2 FOR SALE: Manual

Gear.Good condition. Single owner.

Silver colour. 1st registered August

2009. Full insurance till August

2015. Price OMR 1,680

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

Lexus GS300, 2006.

Contact 93218349

2013 November model Pajero,

38000 kilometers for sale. Price

negotiable. Contact 96388496

Pajero 2013. Contact

9336093

Sales/ Marketing / customer

service release / NOC available UK

+ Oman experience valid Oman D/L,

excellent communication &

organizing skills, can join imme-

diately, Email : plavon_ctg@yahoo.

com, gsm 92342060 / 96761225

Business Development Manager, Iraqi, Experience 14 Years Inside and

outside Oman following activities:

tenders& real estate& construction &

marketing projects& investments&

transportation & Marine services&

companies management& develop

business. Contact :- 93240027

I, SADIQUE PEEDIKA KANDY (name exactly as in present passport) son

of ABOOBAKER N. presently residing at the following address in SHINAS

P.B No. 221 P.C No. 324 Sultanate Of Oman and having following perma-

nent address in India NEFSA A.K.G RODE , MADHAM MUZHAPPILANGAD,

KANNUR DT. KERALA (as per present passport) holder of passport No.

F 6263886 date of issue 15/04/2006 place of issue MUSCAT hereby

solemnly affirm and declare that AYSHA SADIK name of my wife ap-

pearing as my passport ) and the name of my wife AYISHA SADIQUE

appearing as per her Indian passport No H 7895790 are the same indi-

viduals and not two different indiviuals.

Any Objection towards Name Change of my wife my Please Be Com-

municated to Embassy of India, Muscat, Diplomatic Quarters, Al Khuwair,

P.Box .No.1727Postal Code 112, Ruwi Sultante of Oman

We, Vivekanand Mathapati (name of father as per the passport, holder of

Indian Passport No. H6685654) and Kavita Mathapati (name of mother

as per the passport, holder of Indian Passport No. F7038035) having

permanent address in Plot no.58, 3 Rd Cross, Manjunath Nagar, Haveri,

Karnataka-581110 (complete postal address in India) and presently resid-

ing at the following address in Muscat, P.B.No 1151, P.C.No 133, Sultanate

of Oman, hereby solemnly affirm and declare to change the name of our

child Miss Shindu Mathapati (name as per present passport), holder of

Indian Passport No. J5406456, date of issue 16/03/2011 issued at Mus-

cat. The name of our child will be henceforth known as Sindhu Mathapati

(new name) for all purposes. Any objection towards change of name of

our minor child may please be communicated to Embassy of India, Mus-

cat, Diplomatic Quarters, Al Khuwair, P.B.No 1727, Postal Code 112, Ruwi,

Sultanate of Oman.

Muhammad Javed has lost Pakistani Passport No. CB 8673322. Finder

please handover to ROP

Delos Santos Arnel has lost Filipino Passport No. EB 3519489. Finder

please hand over to ROP

LOST


DAILY GUIDESITUATION WANTEDCARGO

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with

Buffet, & Land Tours

Al- Ainain Marine Tours Contact-

98029602, 92808636

TOURS

RENT A CAR

BUSINESS

We assist in new business set up

local sponsorship, real estate ser-

vices, assist in company formation

services. Contact - 93166088

Coffee shop business partner

required in Muscat.

Contact; 94542865

Fully organized logistic (freight

forwarding) Company seeking for

an investor. Contact; 95088936 /

91404330

TRANSPORTATION

TRANSPORTATION

Pick & drop anytime in al Khuwair.

Contact 99764307

1500 Gallon Diesel Tanker, excava-

tors available for Hire or monthly

basis. Contact 95943787

Transportation. Contact 99515452

Transportation available-

Contact - 95570429

Transportation. Contact

96248040


98518979


97838217

Transport. Contact

99664703

Transportation available.

Contact: 95068976


96538078

MANPOWER

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

Hurry! RAMADHAN SAILING. Cargo for Zanzibar, Dar Es Salam

& Mombasa. Door to door to India,

Bangladesh & Pakistan. Maritime

Shipping Agency. Al Jiffin, Rusayl

on Fanja Road. Tel: 99323513 /

99118279.


Transportation. Contact:

97897833

Transportation Available

Contact: 97180655

NRI

Eight cents plot for sale in gated

villa project Sathamugal Thivu-

vankulam, Cochin. #94211426

Plot for sale: 8 cents, Block 7,

Kakkanad, 2 kms from Info park,

Cochin. Contact - 968 92124098

3 bedrooms flat for rent in Mather

building, Chembumukku junction,

Padivattom, Cochin.

Contact - 96892124098

Mantri Greens, behind Mantri

Mall, Malleswaram, Bangalore.

3 Bedrooms with servants room

on 8th Floor, car park, 2050 sqft,

for sell, Rs 2.5 Crore, First Owner.

Contact 91375741,

[email protected]

9 Cents of residential vacant land

in Valencia for immediate sale.

Contact [email protected].

om of 92034072

Villa for sale 2200 sq ft in 8 cent.

Kottayam. Contact: 92652534

For Astrological consultation,

Jathakam. Contact: 99860435 /

97102599

*Classified Advertisement space

booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space

availability

Learn Driving from professional

instructors. Contact 94022250

Learn driving automatic from

scratch. Contact 98599675

DRIVING

GOOD NEWS

Ayurvedic treatment for joint

pain, backache, paralysis, mas-

sage, steam bath, obesity, spondy

hills, ideal care Ayurvedic Clinic, 18

November Street, Azaiba. Contact

99639695 / 99117987

Ayurvedic treatment for backache,

paralysis, arthritis etc & massage,

All Season (Vaidyaratnam).

Contact 24475280 / 95371554 /

92504980 , www.siddhayur.com

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. 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

SERVICES

Window & split unit A/C servicing

& maintenance. Contact 96236476






SERVICES

WEBSITE

WEB, ERP and Business Intelli-

gence (BI) creation and man-

agement at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

COMPUTER

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

House Shifting. Contact 99708138

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing,

Contact 99314807/24792998

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your

marble. # 24793614/ 99314807

For all your maintenance needs

including, Painting, Plumbing,

Electricity, Laying of Interlock

Tiles, Marbles etc. Tel: 99383574

Mr Chandran

Maintenance – A/C maintenance

& servicing, fridge washing ma-

chine and dishwasher repairing,

painting & cleaning services,

electrical & plumbing. #99447257

/ 97014234 / 24504281

Pest Control Treatments, termites,

cockroaches, bedbugs. Ocean

Center LLC - Contact 99344723

Carpet and Sofa shampooing.

Ocean Center LLC – #99884591

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

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QA-

BAS- 99320217 /24788722

For All Your Maintenance Solutions,

A/c Servicing & Fixing, Painting,

Cleaning, Electric. Contact. 99002390

Civil Maintenance, Painting Elec-

tric, Plumbing, Decor, Tile Fixing,

Lecithin Copra Board flat stifling ,

Carpet Cleaning and A/C Servicing.

Contact 97897831 (Indian keralite)

Split & window A/C servicing &

maintenance. Contact 93769089

Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile pol-

ishing, pest control & anti-termite

treatment, general cleaning paint-

ing, Plumbing, Electrical, shifting.

Contact Mundhir Al-Rizaiqi trad-

ing. L.L.C. # 24810137, 99450130

Human, Resource, Management,

System & other Software we sup-

ply. sayeed@swiftsoftwareservices.

com, contact 99199374

Electrical Plumbing Painting

Contract and Maintenance.

Contact 98456535

Waterproofing, light weight Screed,

Antitermite and MS Fabrication.

Contact 92888337

We provide loading helper for

lounge term contract. #92817182

Catering services We do industrial

catering service, Canteen/ mess,

3 times packed meals,

and all types of catering events.

Contact 92188777/ 99249899

Painting Interlock plumbing

maintenance. Contact 92142319

For HT cable jointing and

termination works 33KV/11KV.

Contact 99056438 /


Water proofing ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

Contact: 91262820 / 96458007

Cargo Truck body fabrication. Please contact 92326955. Bridge

Gulfa llc, Misfah industrial area.

AutoCAD service available includ-

ing drawings for Civil, Architecture,

Structural, 3D Max, MEP Drawings,

Joinery and Gypsum Interior Draw-

ings. Contact 94069123

GULF INTERNATIONAL LLC

all kind of pest control. #92326955

Civil maintenance, Electrical &

Plumbing work. Contact 99557080 /

96236476

House shifting transport. Contact

99657644, 98518013

Gypsum partition work. Data/

voice cabling work, telephone sys-

tem, electrical work, security cam-

eras. Koroun Trading – 92620968

P.R.O services. Contact 99368907

Contract general cleaning for

offices. Ocean Center LLC -

Contact 99344723

Civil maintenance, electrical & plumb-

ing work. # 99557080, 96236476

Split & window unit AC servicing &

repairing. Contact 99557080

Window & split unit AC servicing &

maintaining. Contact 96236476

Pest Control and cleaning best

services – 1. Cockroach, ants, etc,

2. Tiles cleaning, marbles cleaning,

floor cleaning, and carpet cleaning.

Contact 92108447, 99666505

CLASSES

times of oman

Documents

tax expatriate remittances

budget decit

shura committee

taxing expat remittances

shura council

draft budget

defence budget

majlis al shura members