TEST OF DRIVING SKILLS: The event is the perfect opportunity

for motorsport lovers and drift fans to enjoy a hands-on experi-

ence. – Supplied photo

44192

THURSDAY, October 8, 2015 / 24 Dhul Hijja 1436 AH timesofoman.com wtimesofoman.com facebook.com/timesofoman twitter.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company

Speech via Oman TV26 November 1975

FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTYTHE SULTAN

Oman today is unlike yesterday, her face has changed, dirt dusted off and the door and windows have been opened for a new light. She announces direct contact with the world by reacting to its developments and is affected by its accomplishments.

‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’

His Majesty receives thanksMUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received a cable of thanks from President Ali Bongo Ondimba of the Re-public of Gabon, in reply to His Majesty’s greetings cable on the occasion of his country’s Na-tional Day.

In his cable, President Ondimba has expressed his ut-most thanks and appreciation for His Majesty the Sultan’s greetings and best wishes. He affirmed his keenness to pro-mote cooperation between the two countries, wishing His Maj-esty good health and happiness and the Omani people further progress and prosperity. -ONA

C A B L E

THE CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR > C7

Holiday on first day of MuharramMUSCAT: Sayyid Khalid bin Hilal bin Saud Al Busaidi, Min-ister of the Diwan of Royal Court, Chairman of the Civil Service Council on Wednes-day issued a decision on the holiday of the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) Hijra Anniversary and the advent of the New Hijri year, 1437 AH. >A6

N E W H I J R I Y E A R

Resident card for expats’ children from five

TARIQ AL HAREMI /REJIMON K tariqh@timesofoman.comreji@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Expatriate children in Oman, who are aged five or above, can now apply for a resi-dent card, a top police official said. “It is optional. We started issuing resident cards for expa-triate children, aged five years or above, two weeks ago,” a top offi-cial from the Royal Oman Police (ROP) told the Times of Oman.

According to the Expatriates Residency Law, it is mandatory for expatriates to get a residency card for their children once they turn 15 years old, but now parents can choose to get one earlier — accessing benefits such as using the E-gate system at the Muscat International Airport.

To get the resident card for the first time, the child must be phys-ically present as a picture has to be taken, the police official said.

“They will also have to follow the normal procedures where the parents have to fill in the ap-plication, attach a medical re-port, a letter from the parent and the passport.

“However, for renewal, the children need not accompany the

parent,” the official added.“Children will also be able to

use the card at the electronic gates at the airport,” the police of-ficial added.

According to Article 42, any Omani aged above 15 years has to submit an application seeking an identity card. This is manda-tory for males and optional for fe-males. Those aged below 15 years may obtain an Identity Card subject to the approval of their guardians. The same Article also states that every foreigner, who is a resident of Oman, shall obtain a residence card.

Bosky Dutia, an Indian expatri-ate, said allowing resident cards for children was a welcome move.

“Definitely, it will provide safety and security because cur-rently we don’t have IDs for chil-dren in case of accidents or in any other emergency. In addition to that, we will not have to stand in long queues at the airport while entering and exiting Oman,” Dutia added. >A6

Parents welcomed

the ‘optional’ move

by the Royal Oman

Police, which means

they can use E-gate

at Muscat airport

REJIMON K reji@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Mohammed Al Alawi, 26, a crew member on-board the MOD70 Musandam-Oman Sail, is missing in the waters of Croa-tia, according to Oman Sail.

“MOD70 Skipper Sidney Gavi-gnet has reported that Moham-med is missing,” Oman Sail said in a statement.

Alawi’s family has been noti-fied, the statement said, adding that Italian and Croatian authori-ties have initiated search and

rescue operations. Launched in 2009, the Multi One Design 70 is the cutting edge of the sport as the only high speed trimaran proven to withstand the rigours and per-ils of ocean racing.

Skipper Sidney Gavignet and his Oman Sail’s record-breaking crew aboard the MOD70 Musan-dam-Oman Sail are in Europe and are hoping to end their 2015 season with a flourish as they bid to claim line honours on their de-but in the 2015 Rolex Middle Sea Race, scheduled to begin in Val-letta, Malta on October 17. >A6

S E A R C H O N

OMANSayyid Fahd meeting

1His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister

for the Council of Ministers, received Dr Al Sadiq Al Hadi Abdul Rahman Al Mahdi, Minister of Human Resources Development in Sudan. >A2

OMANIndian ghazal show

2Jasvinder Singh is all set to enthral Omani audience on October 10. >A4

MARKETCommon GCC stocks

3GCC is proceeding with their plans to integrate stock markets. >B1

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

C1Le Guen’s Oman respect Iran ‘but not too much’

TRAGEDY: Mohammed Al Alawi was on-board the MOD70 Musandam-Oman Sail.

Oman gears up for

Red Bull car contest

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Oman gears up for the Red Bull Car Park Drift local qualifier for the sixth consecutive year this weekend, at the Oman Automobile Association on October 9.

The preliminary rounds will take place on October 8, where the best of Oman’s elite drivers will be selected to battle for the drifting title.

The participants’ skills will be put to test and candidates must enjoy exceptional car handling skills, at high speed and over winding narrow tracks. There will be several extraordinary

rounds of exhilarating shows to crown the ‘King of Drift’ and choose Oman’s representative for the Dubai finals. The event is the perfect opportunity for mo-torsport lovers and drift fans to enjoy a hands-on experience.

Red Bull Athlete and Rally Champion Abdo Feghali will de-sign the track, which will include several obstacles.

The drivers’ performance will be scored by a panel of judges, who can award participants with a maximum of 400 points. The judges will observe how well par-ticipants continuously drift, fol-low the track, and how great their cars smoke. >A6

‘ K I N G O F D R I F T ’

To get resident card for the first

time, child must be physically

present.– A R Rajkumar/Times of Oman

Lost at sea - prayers for Oman Sail’s missing crew member

Man arrested for alleged murder of ex-wife’s brotherStaff Reporter

MUSCAT: A man was allegedly murdered yesterday by his broth-er-in-law in Rusayl Industrial es-tate, off the Muscat Expressway, reportedly in reaction to a court ruling against him.

According to a reliable source, the suspect had divorced his wife and took the children away from her, not allowing them to see their mother for years.

Subsequently, the case was taken to court and the judge ruled in favour of the ex-wife and gave

the custody of children to their mother, and also ordered him to pay an amount for settlement.

In reaction to the ruling, the suspect had allegedly threatened to kill one of the brothers of his former wife. The accused trav-elled to the workplace of one of his brothers-in-law and allegedly killed him on the spot.

A Royal Oman Police offi-cial confirmed the killing say-ing, “The murder took place at 10am at the victim’s workplace. The suspect is currently under police custody.”

R U S A Y L

Mohammed Al Alawi, 26.

A2 T H U R S DAY, O CTO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

OMANSAYYID FAHD RECEIVES SUDANESE MINISTERHis Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers, yesterday received Dr Al Sadiq Al Hadi Abdul Rahman Al Mahdi, Minister of Human Resources Development in the Republic of Sudan. During the meeting, the Su-danese minister conveyed the greetings of President Filed Marshal Omar Hassan Ahmed Al Bashir of the Republic of Sudan to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, along with his best wishes of success to His Majesty in the march of the comprehensive development being witnessed by Oman, and the Omani people further progress and prosperity. -ONA

Food bank proposedTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Muscat Municipal Council is considering setting up a food bank that will be re-plenished from leftover or un-used food sourced from restau-rants and cafes in Muscat.

The Health, Social and En-vironmental Committee of the Council’s fourth meeting in three years was chaired by Ali bin Salem Al Mashari, chairman of the Committee and a member of the Council. The meeting discussed issues and proposals submitted by the members of the council and also addressed the suggestion made for the es-tablishment of the food bank.

The idea of the food bank is based on repackaging unused food and delivering it to the needy. The Committee also hosted the Dar Al Atta Associa-tion, which presented a visual map of the project. Besides, it discussed voluntary work and agreed to include subjects on voluntary work in school cur-riculum and teaching.

M U N I C I P A L C O U N C I L

82,981 live births were recorded in Oman in 2014, according to the latest figures issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information >A4

A4 T H U R S DAY, O CTO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

OMAN

More than 1,500 to take part in cultural eventMOBIN MATHEW BLESSONmobinmathew@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Indian School Mus-cat (ISM) is all set to host the mega event, “Jhankaar Spectrum 2015,” one of the biggest art and cultural competitions held in the Middle East.

The ninth edition of the compe-tition will be held on October 13. Indra Mani Pandey, the Ambassa-dor of India to the Sultanate, will inaugurate the event.

More than 1500 students from 19 Indian schools in Oman and three schools from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain are expected to showcase their tal-ent during 27 events simultane-ously, at 20 different venues dur-ing the mega event.

“We are giving a big platform for all the students to showcase their talents and co-curricular activi-ties,” said Srinivas K Naidu, Prin-cipal of ISM.

Various categoriesThe various events during “Jhankaar Spectrum 2015” are classified under categories, such as Literary, Theatrical, Music, Fine Arts, Dance and Snapshot. The event is open to all students irrespective of their age.

Winners of the first three po-sitions during every event will be awarded trophies and certifi-cates. The school that scores the highest number of points will lift the coveted Jhankaar Champion-ship Trophy.

Trophies will also be awarded to the winner, first runner-up and second runner-up.

Experts from various art and culture fields will judge the perfor-mance of the participants. “We are expecting more than 2000 people for the event, including 300 teach-ers, who will accompany the stu-dents,” said Biju Varghese, event manager at ISM.

According to Varghese, over the years this event has been instru-mental in providing a quality plat-form to the students. The Chief Guest at the valedictory function will be Wilson V. George, chair-man, Board of Directors, Indian Schools in the Sultanate of Oman.

The programme is a much antic-ipated annual event by all Indian schools across the Sultanate and is scaling greater heights every year.

I N D I A N S C H O O L M U S C A T E V E N T Jasvinder set to enthral with Jagjit’s ghazals

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Jasvinder Singh, a new-age ghazal singer from India, who has a mesmerising voice, is all set to enthral Omani audience on October 10. In a tribute to Jag-jit Singh, renowned singer Jas-vinder Singh will relive the leg-endary singer’s ghazals at the Sur Ballroom, Muscat Holiday Inn.

“In keeping with our tradition of entertaining the audience of Oman, event management com-pany Light and Shadow Enter-prises will showcase the very first “Minara Presents October Fes-tival,” with four different events showcasing a bouquet of colours and art for the people of Oman in a year when we are celebrating the 45th National Day of Oman and Jasvinder Singh’s performance will the start of October Festival,” one of the organisers said.

Multiple eventsThe other events that will be host-ed under the October Festival are: Tribute to Indian ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh by Jasvinder Singh on October 10; String Struck 2 – A Fusion Jazz Concert on October

17; Arabic Concert with Super-star Alaa Zalzali on October 24, and a tribute to legendary Kishore Kumar on his 86th birth anniver-sary by Amit and Sumeet Kumar on October 29. All the events will be held at the Sur Ballroom, Muscat Holiday Inn. Jasvinder Singh, the talented singer has been awarded the title of ‘The Young Ghazal Maestro’ by Indian Music Academy.

The title was presented by Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia in the presence of the former President of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. He is the son and student of legend-ary composer Kuldip Singh, com-poser of ghazals, such as ‘Tumko Dekha To Ye Khayal Aaya’ from the movie Saath-Saath and ‘Itni Shakti Hame De Na Daata’ from Ankush. Jasvinder is trained in classical singing by Dr. Sushila Pohankar and Pt Ajay Pohankar.

“Jasvinder Singh is a young ghazal maestro and without doubt the most promising and sensational ghazal singer of this generation,” the organisers said.

Saregama- HMV, one of the big-gest music archives in India, re-cently launched his music album called “Ishq Nahin Asaan.”

Earlier, he had released music albums called, “Yours Truly” and “Dilkash” on Tips Music and had proved himself as a successor to legendary ghazal singers, such as Pankaj Udhas and Jagjit Singh.

He was also chosen to sing for the play “Kaifi Aur Main,” an epis-

tolary-style play dealing with the life and times of noted lyricist and poet Kaifi Azmi.

Unique styleJaswinder Singh has his own unique style of performing and has mesmerized audiences at in-ternational concerts held in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai and Muscat.

“All these four events will showcase artists from various fields and languages/cultures as they take the stage in Oman and create an unforgettable experi-ence with every event.

These experiences of art and culture will transport guests into a world of tranquil, vibrant and energetic performances where the combination of these ele-ments will leave the audience spellbound,” said the organisers.

Some of the songs which the artist is likely to sing are “Chitthi Na Koi Sandesh, Tumko Dekha Tu Yeh Khayaal Aaaya, Pyaar Ka Pehla Khat Likhne Main, Baat Ni-kaleyge to Phir Door Talak Jaayegi, Hothon Sey Chu Lo Tum, Shaam Sey Aankhen Main Nami Si Hai, Hosh Waalon Ko Khabar Kya, Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe ho, Dil Ko Thaaman, Ranjish Hi Sahi”.

The sponsors for the event are: Jindal Shadeed Iron and Steel, Raha, Cloud Nine, Oman Phones and Huawei, the Oman UAE Ex-change and Nabil. For more de-tails, please contact 96182080.

Jaswinder Singh

has his own, unique

style of performing

and has mesmerised

audiences at

international

concerts held in the

US, Canada, the UK,

Australia, Malaysia,

Singapore, Dubai

and Muscat

Drug dealer arrested in Sohar; firearm, bullets, cash recoveredTimes News Service

MUSCAT: An Omani citizen was arrested in Sohar for possession, use and smuggling of narcotic substances.

The Directorate of Narcotics Control seized half a kilogram of hashish and 13 individual pieces of the drug ready for sale, cash earned from the trade, a firearm and bullets from him.

Drug users arrestedIn another case, 11 people were arrested for possession and use of drugs. Nine of those arrested are Omanis, while the other two were from a Gulf nation and Asia. They were arrested from Sohar areas.

In another success, the Di-rectorate of Narcotics Control

has arrested an Asian expatriate for trying to smuggle narcotics through the Muscat International Airport. An ROP source said that they seized 50 Clonazepam tablets from his suitcase.

Fraud, forgeryThe Department of Inquiries and Investigations at the Bausher po-lice department, in cooperation with the Directorate of Inquiries and Investigations, Muscat police, have arrested three people ac-cused of fraud and forgery, which helped them earn OMR585,000 by forging cheques and using cheques without a balance.

The crime had started when the suspects came into contact with an Arab man in one of the Gulf countries and struck a commercial

deal for buying a large shipment of foodstuff from his company.

To cement the deal, the sus-pects forged a contract under the name of a major oil company. Both parties met to complete the deal, where one received the supplies and the other, the cheques.

The Arab dealer was shocked when he tried to deposit the cheques and found out that half of them were forged, while the other half were for accounts that did not have any money. A call to the police was made immediately.

After investigations and inquir-ies, the Bausher ROP was able to identify the suspects and raided the hotel where they were report-edly staying. They arrested two of the suspects in the hotel while the third was arrested from elsewhere.

The ROP have also seized the tools used for the crime, includ-ing cheques, forged contracts and stamps. The case has been referred to the public prosecution in prepa-ration for the suspects’ appear-ance before the relevant court.

2 charged for theftTwo Omanis were arrested by the Department of Inquiries and In-vestigations, Liwa Royal Oman Police (ROP), for robbing houses and commercial stores.

An official source from the North Batinah Police said, “The accused has stolen money, mobile phones, phone recharge cards and silver jewellery.

After investigations, we were able to apprehend them and they have confessed to their crimes.

They were sent to the public prosecution.”

Expat arrested in SoharAn official source from Depart-ment of Inquiries and Investiga-tions in North Al Batinah said, “We received a call from the Sohar police on behalf of a citizen that an unknown person had robbed his vehicle after vandalising it. The suspect broke the driver’s side window and stole his wallet, money and ATM card. He used the card to buy products for him-self from public establishments and commercial shops.” After in-vestigations, police were able to identify the suspect as an Arab and completed his arrest. The suspect confessed to his crimes and was referred to public prosecution.

C R I M E

Jasvinder Singh Jagjit Singh

Sultanate records 4.5% rise in

number of live births in 2014

MUSCAT: A total 82,981 live births were recorded in Oman in 2014, according to the latest figures issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Infor-mation (NCSI).

Out of the roughly 83,000 ba-bies born in the Sultanate dur-ing that year, 76,690 were born to Omani parents and 6,291 to expatriates.

In all, male births numbered 42,419, exceeding female births by 1,857. There were 39,206 male births and 37,484 female births among the Omanis, while 3,213 expatriate newborns were boys and 3,078 were girls, NCSI said quoting Ministry of Health data.

There has been a 4.49 per cent

rise in the number of births (Om-ani and expatriates together) in 2014 compared to 2013. Male births increased by 4.58 per cent while female births went up by 4.39 per cent.

Male-female ratiosHowever, among expatriates, percentage increase in female births significantly exceeded male births with female and male births rising by 5.63 per cent and 2.65 per cent respectively last year compared to 2013. In contrast, growth in Omani male births was higher at 4.74 per cent compared to 4.29 per cent rise in female births.

At the governorate-level, the

Governorate of North Al Batinah registered the highest number of births at 17,108, followed by the Governorate of Muscat at 16,931 and the Governorate of Al Dakh-iliyah at 11,704.

Omani births followed the same pattern with the Governo-rate of North Al Batinah record-ing 16,565, the Governorate of Muscat recording 13,766 and the Governorate of Al Dakhiliya re-cording 11,543.

Births among expatriates were the highest in the Governorate of Muscat numbering 3,165, while the Governorate of Dhofar came in second recording 814 births followed by the Governorate of North al Batinah with 543. -ONA

N C S I D A T A

Drugs, arms and cash recovered

by the ROP. – Supplied photo

Voting at embassies in GCC to be held on October 18MUSCAT: Voting in the Sul-tanate’s embassies in other GCC countries and the Com-mercial Office of the Sultanate in Dubai, will be held on Sun-day, October 18, in addition to the working committees who will vote at the election centre in Muscat, Salim bin Humaid Al Hajri, Chairman of Preparation Committee for Majlis Al Shura 8th Term Elections, has said.

Voters from the governorates of Dhofar and Musandam pre-sent in the Governorate of Mus-cat will vote at the same centre, he added.

107 polling stationsIn a statement to the Oman News Agency on Wednesday, he said there are 107 polling stations in the Sultanate. These polling centres, where voters will cast their ballots in vari-ous wilayats of the Sultanate, are distributed in proportion to the population density in each wilayat. The polling centers have been chosen to ensure that the locations are easily reach-able. Noting the need to ensure the readiness of the ID card to vote in case of a defect in the electronic chip of the personal card, the statement asserted that the mobile e-units to in-stall the electronic system in the identity card will be pre-sent on voting day at the polling stations.

About the technologies used in the 8th term elections, Al Ha-jri explained that e-voting will be applied on October 18th for outside-the-Sultanate voting and the voting of the working committees, as well as in the election centre, as the ministry is seeking to mainstream e-vot-ing in the next election periods, in addition to using automated sorting system for voting forms, which has proven effective in getting accurate and credible results. -ONA

8 T H T E R M E L E C T I O N S

Srinivas K Naidu, Principal of

ISM. – AR Rajkumar

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

Voting in the Sultanate’s embassies in the other GCC countries and the Commercial

Office of the Sultanate in Dubai will be held on Sunday October 18, in addition

to the working committees who will vote in the election centre in Muscat

Salim bin Humaid Al Hajri, Chairman of Preparation Committee for Majlis Al Shura 8th Term Elections

A6

OMANT H U R S DAY, O CTO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

The Embassy presents many

cultural events and exhibitions

to showcase Japanese culture

George Hisaeda, Ambassador of Japan

Holiday on advent

of new Hijri year

M I N I S T E R O F M A N P O W E R

< FROM

A1Philippines to boost ties with Sultanate

MOBIN MATHEW BLESSONmobinmathew@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: The Philippines aims to broaden its ties with Oman be-yond the supplier of workers, said Narciso T Castaneda, the Philip-pines’ Ambassador to the Sultan-ate of Oman.

“The Philippines and Oman’s bilateral relations depend on cor-dial labour relations,” he said.

According to ambassador Cas-taneda, Oman currently has more than 33,000 Filipino workers.

The Embassy of the Philippines in Oman is celebrating the 117th anniversary of Independence of the country and the 35th anni-versary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Oman.

Ahmed bin Yusuf Al Harthy, Undersecretary for Diplomatic Af-

fairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was a special guest at the function to mark the anniversaries.

“We have held formal and in-formal bilateral consultations and look forward to the second Philippines-Oman Joint Bilateral Consultation Meeting to be held in the early part of 2016,” Cas-taneda said.

Through these consultations and possible ensuing frameworks agreements, the Philippines is looking to broaden the scope of its ties with Oman beyond labour deployment.

“For more than 25 years, Fili-pino manpower has been coming to Oman to support essential ser-vices and businesses in this coun-try,” the ambassador said.

“In our quiet way, the Philip-pines, through its people, have assisted the Sultanate’s drive to

transform itself into a prosperous and modern state that it is today,” the ambassador said.

He also acknowledged the im-portant work carried out by the former Honorary Consul General of the Philippines and the founder of Times of Oman, late Essa bin Mohammed Al Zedjali.

Mohamed Issa Al Zadjali, the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Times of Oman, also attended the celebration as a special guest of the embassy. Before the Philip-pines’ embassy opened in Muscat in 1992, Essa bin Mohammed Al Zedjali had attended to the consu-lar and labour concerns of Filipi-nos in Oman.

According to Ambassador Cas-taneda, the Philippines has been growing gradually in terms of trade, commerce, investments, business interaction, tourism and

air services. “We seek to also ex-pand our exchanges in the educa-tional and cultural fields,” he said.

He added that the Philippines has continued on its trajectory as a dynamic, emerging economy, having grown by nearly 7 per cent in 2013 and 2014 and was still being counted among the top re-gional performers during the first half of 2015.

Castaneda also extended his warmest wishes on behalf of the government of the Republic of the Philippines, to the good and wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and to the con-tinued prosperity of the people of Oman.

The reception was attended by officials of the Omani government and many of the ambassadors of other countries to the Sultanate of Oman.

The Philippines

Embassy is

celebrating the

117th anniversary

of Independence of

the country and the

35th anniversary of

the establishment of

diplomatic relations

between Manila

and Oman BILATERAL TIES: Ahmed bin Yusuf Al Harthy, Undersecretary for Diplomatic Affairs at the Ministry

of Foreign Affairs, was a special guest at the function to mark the anniversary. – O K Mohammed Ali

Bait Al Dalaleel exhibition showcases beauty of OmanTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Under the auspices of Her Highness Sayyida Hujaija bint Jaifar Al Said, Bait Al Zubair hosted a photography exhibition titled ‘The Beauty of Oman’ on the work of HH Muadh bin Dhiyab Al Said, at Bait Al Dalaleel.

The exhibition featuring 20 photographs, depict the beauty of the Sultanate of Oman. With a mix of natural picturesque land-scapes and fashion, the images are designed to reflect the beauty of Omani nature.

His Highness said, “I want, through this exhibition, to pre-sent diverse and aesthetic im-ages of the Sultanate, which will transport the viewer to different worlds from the various angles of my camera. I also felt that I can

add the beauty of Omani fashion, which is inspired by Omani na-ture, to my exhibition, as some-thing new and different.”

Bait Al Dalaleel at Bait Al

Zubair is an art space created for young Omanis to display their work to new audiences in a re-laxed and beautiful environment.

New creativityArtists and audiences alike can explore a wide variety of art books and magazines as well as discover some new creativity and talent in Oman.

Throughout the year, Bait al Dalaleel offers workshops and meetings for youth to ex-plore their work and develop their talent.

The photography exhibi-tion “The Beauty of Oman” will continue in Bait Al Dalaleel till the end of October and can be seen during working hours, 9:30am until 6pm, from Saturday until Thursday.

D I V E R S E A N D A E S T H E T I C I M A G E S

The exhibition features 20

photographs of the Sultanate.

The decision said: “On the occa-sion of the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) Hijra Anniversary and the new Hijri year 1437 AH, it was decided that the first day of Muharram, 1437 AH, will be an official holiday for the employees of the minis-tries, public authorities and other departments of the State’s admin-istrative apparatus, as Muharram moon sighting will be declared by the authority concerned.”

On this occasion, the Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court ex-tended his congratulations to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, praying to Allah the Almighty to protect His Majesty, grant him good health, happiness and a long life and for the return of this and similar occasions on His Majesty for many years to come and the Omani people and dear country with further progress and welfare under His Majesty’s wise leader-ship and all Muslims with bless-ings and welfare.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Bakri, Minister of Manpower, also issued a decision on the oc-casion of the new Hijri year 1437 AH, declaring that the first day of Muharram, 1437 AH will be an of-ficial holiday for employees at the private sector’s companies and es-tablishments, as Muharram moon sighting will be declared by the au-thority concerned.

The decision allowed employers and employees to agree on com-pensating this holiday if necessity arises. All employees in the private sector seize this blessed occasion to extend their heartfelt greetings and best wishes to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, praying to Allah the Almighty to protect His Majesty, grant him good health, happiness and a long life and for the return of this and similar oc-casions on His Majesty and the Omani people and Muslims all over the world with wellbeing and blessings.-ONA

After the report of Mohammed Al Alawi going missing, social media was abuzz with posts praying for his recovery.

TweetIan Walker, the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing Skipper, tweeted @ADOR-

Skipper that “Fingers crossed that they recover @OmanSail crew-member Mohammed Al Alawi Thinking of Sydney, his team and Mohammed’s family right now.”

Further updates on Alawi were not available from Oman Sail till the time of publishing this report.

Japanese musicians wow spectatorsTimes News Service

MUSCAT: A music concert was hosted by the Ambassador of Ja-pan, George Hisaeda, at his resi-dence in Muscat on October 6.

The guest of honour was Mo-hammed bin Al Zubair, Advisor for Economic Planning Affairs to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Other ambassadors and dignitaries were also present at the event.

The concert was performed by three acclaimed Japanese mu-sicians, who are visiting Oman from Japan.

The trio comprised Mai Mune-moto, a flautist, Kaoru Kiichi, a soprano, and Saori Jo, a pianist, who performed both European and Japanese classics.

This is the second time that the group have performed in Muscat.

They had taken part in a special classical concert entitled, “Gift of Music from Japan” in Oman in 2012, to celebrate the 40th an-niversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ja-pan and Oman.

In his opening remarks, Ambas-sador Hisaeda said, “The Embas-sy presents many cultural events

and exhibitions to showcase Japa-nese culture. However, I believe it is important to highlight Japanese individuals, who are exceptionally talented in traditionally Western fields, such as classical music.

Nowadays, it is not surprising to see many Japanese musicians in major symphony orchestras across Europe and the United States, such as Japanese violinist Daishin Kashimoto, who leads the

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra as its first concert master.”

Guests were also treated to hors d’oeuvres prepared by the ambassador’s award-winning Japanese chef.

G I F T O F M U S I C F R O M J A P A N

ACCLAIMED ARTISTS: The trio comprised Mai Munemoto, a flautist, Kaoru Kiichi, a soprano, and

Saori Jo, a pianist, who performed both European and Japanese classics.

Zagreb

GraphicsSource: Oman Sail

The depth in that area is around 47

metres

OMAN SAIL CREW MISSING IN THE ADRIATIC SEA

ITALY

CROAROATIACRRCCCCRRR

AdriaticSea

TyrrhenianSea

Rome

Venice

Florence

100 km

30m high is theOman Sail’sTrimaranMOD70

Mohammed Al Alawi fell from the trimaran, 17 km offthe Croatian island of Unije.

UnijeCres

ACCIDENT SITE

Missing crew member

O M A N S A I L

< FROM

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Drift performances

The judges will also look for an impressive exterior; and will de-duct points if participants drift the wrong way, spin their cars or hit any of the obstacles.

Qualifying rounds had com-menced at the start of the year in United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritius and Jordan. There are several dates still scheduled to display some of the most phenomenal drift perfor-mances in the region in Egypt and Qatar in anticipation of the Red Bull Car Park Drift Final in Dubai on November 20.

“We’re excited to partner again with Red Bull to bring the Red

Bull Car Park Drift Qualifier back to Oman this year,” said Kalyana Sivagnanam, vice president, Mar-keting, Sales and Service, Ford and Lincoln Middle East & Africa.

“This is a great platform for us to showcase the hot Ford Mustang.”

“Mustang’s unique combination of style, performance and afford-ability has established an entirely new class of sporty cars that has inspired numerous competitors. Mustang has come to evoke a va-riety of emotions in customers and fans – freedom, independence and being true to one’s self,” said Sivagnanam.

R E D B U L L C O N T E S T

< FROM

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Resident cards for children

Meanwhile, another expatriate parent, who has got the new ID card for her 12-year-old child, said having a resident card is quite helpful.

“I took a resident card for my daughter. I was under the pre-sumption that cards can be tak-en only when the child turns 15 years old. However, the officials at the civil status guided me and it was done in minutes,” Asha Rayner, an Indian expatriate, said. “Resident cards for chil-dren are quite helpful. Not only at airports, but also at places, such as hospitals and schools,” Rayner added.

Q U I T E H E L P F U L

< FROM

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

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REGIONT H U R S DAY, O C TO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

UP IN ARMS: Iraqi teachers and civil servants protest on

Wednesday in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. – AFP

Khamenei bans US ‘negotiations’

DUBAI: Iran’s Supreme Lead-er Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday banned any further negotiations between Iran and the United States, putting the brakes on moderates hoping to end Iran’s isolation after reaching a nuclear deal with world powers in July.

Khamenei, the highest author-ity in Iran, already said last month there would be no more talks with the United States after the nuclear deal, but has not previously de-clared an outright ban.

His statements directly con-tradict those of Iranian President

Hassan Rouhani, who says his government is ready to hold talks with the United States on how to resolve the conflict in Syria, where the two countries back oppos-

ing sides. “Negotiations with the United States open gates to their economic, cultural, political and security influence. Even during the nuclear negotiations they tried

to harm our national interests.,” Khamenei was quoted as saying on his website.

“Our negotiators were vigilant but the Americans took advantage

of a few chances,” he said.

No endorsementAlthough he supported the last 18 months of negotiations, Khamenei has not publicly endorsed the nu-clear agreement with the United States, Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia that settled a standoff of more than a decade.

The West feared Iran wanted to develop nuclear weapons, suspi-cions Tehran denies.

The agreement, which curbs Iran’s nuclear programme in ex-change for crippling sanctions be-ing lifted, was welcomed by Irani-ans who are keen to see their living standards improve and better rela-tions with the rest of the world.

Political victoryIt was also a great political victory for Rouhani and his faction in Iran ahead of some key elections next year and as such has deepened the divide in Iran’s complex power structure between moderates and hardliners.

In his address to Revolution-ary Guards Navy commanders,

Khamenei said talks with the United States brought only disad-vantages to Iran.

“Through negotiations Ameri-cans seek to influence Iran... but there are naive people in Iran who don’t understand this,” Khamenei was quoted as saying to the IRGC commanders.

Critical situation“We are in a critical situation now as the enemies are trying to change the mentality of our officials and our people on the revolution and our national interests,” Khamenei told the Guards.

His comments might invigorate the hardline lawmakers seeking the impeachment of Foreign Min-ister Mohammad Javad Zarif over shaking hands with US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

“On and off the record, it was an accident,” Zarif said in an inter-view with New Yorker on Tuesday.

“It has already cost me at home. But everything I do costs me at home, so this is not an aberra-tion.” — Reuters

The Iranian Supreme

Leader says the

US took advantage

of talks to harm

Tehran’s interests

Kurds go on strike to demand wagesARBIL: Kurds protested and went on strike in northern Iraq on Wednesday in a show of grow-ing discontent that threatens to further undermine stability at a time when their region is at war with IS militant group.

Teachers, hospital workers and other public sector employees have taken to the streets for near-ly a week demanding their wages from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which is three months in arrears.

The demonstrations are the most sustained unrest in the au-tonomous region of Kurdistan since the start of an economic crisis compounded by the conflict with IS and a drop in oil prices that has pushed the region to the verge of bankruptcy. “The Kurdistan regional government and officials are to blame,” said Ari Ahmed, a 50-year old secondary school headmaster in the city of Su-laimaniyah. “If this is not resolved, we will continue our protest”.

In the decade following the US-led invasion of Iraq, Kurdistan insulated itself against violence in the rest of the country and en-joyed an economic boom fuelled by rising Iraqi oil revenues, of which the region received a share.

The bubble began to deflate in early 2014 when Baghdad slashed funds to the region after it built its own oil pipeline to Turkey in pursuit of economic independ-ence. Then IS overran a third of Iraq and attacked Kurdistan,

scaring off foreign investors and displacing more than 3 million people of which nearly half have sought refuge in the region, fur-ther straining its resources.

“This has all accumulated into a dire situation,” said Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) spokesman Safeen Dizayee. “If this continues and the price of oil keeps dropping, it’s going to cre-ate more problems for us.”

The KRG needs roughly $1 billion per month to break even, of which $700 million is poured into a bloated public sector that employs 1.3 million people in the region of around 5 million.

The Kurds have sought to cover those costs by ramping up independent oil sales since early June, effectively annulling a deal with Baghdad whereby the region agreed to contribute 550,000 bar-rels of oil per day (bpd) to Iraqi exports in 2015 in exchange for the reinstatement of budget payments.

A record 620,478 bpd were ex-ported independently from the region in September, but many Kurds question how revenues are spent: “Oil money should be for the people, not for the mafias,” read a banner carried by pro-testers. “They (officials) talked about the economic independ-ence of Kurdistan, but now we realise we were better off before,” said teacher Nawshirwan Hama Gharib, who joined the protests in Sulaimaniyah. — Reuters

D E M O N S T R A T I O N

Negotiations with the United States open gates to their economic,

cultural, political and security influence. Even during the

nuclear negotiations they tried to harm our national interests

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader

WIDENING CHASM: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with President Hassan Rouhani in

Tehran in this photograph taken on June 16, 2013. – Reuters/Leader.ir/Handout files

A8

INDIAT H U R S DAY, O CTO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

Modi is not at all concerned with problems of farmers and labourers as

he remains surrounded by corporate honchos and bureaucrats in suit

boot and listens to these people as if only they are knowledgeable

Rahul Gandhi, Congress vice president

Modi pushes ‘obsolete’ made-in-India plane on air forceNEW DELHI: India’s government has turned down the military’s request to expand the acquisition of 36 fighter planes from Dassault Aviation SA to plug vital gaps, of-ficials said, nudging it to accept an indigenous combat plane 32 years in the making.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision, in line with his Make-in-India policy to encourage domestic industry, is a blow for not only the French manufacturer but also others circling over the Indian military aviation market worth billions of dollars.

The push for India’s struggling Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) also comes at a time when the air force is at its weakest opera-tional strength since the 1962 war against China, which is causing anxiety within military circles.

Overriding goalSince it took over last year, the Modi administration has repeat-edly said its overriding goal is to cut off the military’s addiction to foreign arms which has made it the world’s top importer.

The air force wanted the govern-ment to clear an additional 44 Ra-fale medium multirole aircraft on top of the 36 that Modi announced

during a visit to Paris this year that are to be bought off-the-shelf to meet its urgent requirements.

But a defence ministry official said that Defence Minister Mano-har Parrikar had told the air force that there weren’t enough funds to expand the Rafale acquisition and that it must induct an improved version of the indigenous Tejas-Mark 1A.

“The IAF (air force) needs to have a minimum number of air-craft at all times. The LCA is our best option at this stage, given our resource constraints,” the defence official said.

“The Rafale is our most expen-sive acquisition. The LCA is our cheapest in the combat category.”

India’s air force says its requires 45 fighter squadrons. But it only has 35 active fighter squadrons, parliament’s defence commit-tee said in a report in April citing a presentation by a top air force officer. With the drawdown MiG 21 planes under way, the air force would be down to 25 squadrons by 2022 at the current pace of acqui-sitions, it told the committee.

Cleared by the government in 1983, the LCA designed by the government’s Defence Research and Development Organisation

(DRDO) was meant to be the back-bone of the air force due for induc-tion in 1994. Instead, it suffered years of delay and chaos with sci-entists trying to build the world’s most modern light combat aircraft from scratch, including the engine.

Eventually they scrapped the engine, turning to GE Aviation and lowering their ambitions for a state-of-the-art fighter.

So far, only one aircraft has been produced and even that is awaiting final operational clearance, now

delayed to early 2016. “In Janu-ary this year, they had given one LCA... which had not completed its flight testing. They handed over the papers to us. We do not make a squadron with one aeroplane. That is where we are,” said an air force officer speaking on condition of anonymity.

Safety concernsAn independent investigation by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India into the LCA pro-

gramme identified 53 “shortfalls” in the plane.

In a report in May, the auditor said that the plane wasn’t as light as promised, the fuel capacity and speed were lower than required and there were concerns about safety. Retired Air Marshal M. Matheswaran, a former deputy chief of the Integrated Defence Staff, said the LCA was obsolete.

“It is a very short-range aircraft which has no relevance in today’s war fighting scenarios. If you are trying to justify this as a replace-ment for follow-on Rafales, you are comparing apples with oranges.”

He said the plane was at best a technology demonstrator on which Indian engineers could build the next series of aircraft, not some-thing the air force could win a war with.

“We would like to have the MMRCA (Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft) variety of air-craft. At least about six squadrons, to my mind,” the head of the air force, Arup Raha, said at the week-end, referring to the Rafale class of fighters.

But K. Tamilmani, the DRDO’s aerospace chief, said the modi-fied version of the Tejas addressed most of the air force concerns.

These included electronic war-fare system, flight computer, radar and maintenance problems.

Scope for improvement“Almost all the problems get solved with the 1A. There will always be scope for improvement, but there are no flight safety issues,” he said.

State-run Hindustan Aeronaut-ics Limited (HAL) would be able to ramp production to 16 a year by 2017 to meet the air force’s de-mands, he said.

“We Indians are extremely good at blaming each other — at blaming it all on Indian production.”

Dassault declined any comment on the government’s decision to cap the Rafale fleet.

A source close to Sweden’s Saab, which has been pushing its Gripen light fighter, said that it was re-spectful of India’s decision to try to develop its domestic military base.

“There’s still a huge gap that needs to be filled. We are mar-keting it (the Gripen) under the Make-in-India umbrella,” he said.

“Even if you add the seven squadrons of the Tejas, there is still a requirement (with MiGs re-tiring etc). It’s a question of timing. Can they build these for when they need them?” - Reuters

I N L I N E W I T H M A K E - I N - I N D I A P O L I C Y

INDIGENOUS: An Indian Air Force’s Tejas light combat aircraft

(LCA) parks on the tarmac during the ‘Aero India 2015’ air show at

Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru. - Reuters file photo

10 KILLED IN BUS-TRUCK COLLISION IN TELANGANAAt least 10 people were killed and 15 others were injured in a bus-truck collision in Telangana’s Nalgonda district on Wednes-

day, the police said. The incident occurred near Indirapalanagar in Ramannapet mandal of Nalgonda district, about 100km from

Hyderabad.- PTI

Police officer killed in militant attackSRINAGAR: Suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants on Wednesday gunned down Po-lice Sub-Inspector Altaf Ahmed, who was considered a key op-erational man and credited with smashing of many militant hide-outs and arrest and killing of ter-rorists on the basis of intelligence generated by him.

Ahmed was shot at in Bandipo-ra area, about 35km from here in Indian-administered-Kashmir, on Wednesday morning and he succumbed to his injuries later.

Preliminary probe indicated that he became a victim of a trap laid by LeT. In the morning, Al-taf, nicknamed as ‘24-hour duty cop’, reached his office as usual and soon after he got a “tip-off” about the presence of top LeT commander Abdul Rehman alias‘Qassim’ in a house nearby in Bandipora area.

Wasting no time, the officer boarded his official vehicle and moved towards the house.

According to the probe quot-

ing eyewitnesses, a pick up van started following him from some distance.

When the officer reached a se-cluded spot in Aragam area, the pick up van overtook his vehicle and militants sitting in it fired two bullets on the left side of his chest and one on the right side.

Critically injured, he was air-lifted to Army’s 92 Base Hospi-tal at Badamibagh cantonment where he succumbed to injuries, sources said.

He was credited with smashing of many of LeT hideouts,arrest of its cadres and generating intel-ligence leading to encounters in which cadres of the outfit were killed. As soon as the news about his death spread, a pall of gloom descended on police headquar-ters. Senior officials working with him said that he was always on duty and never said “no” to any operation. “He can be cred-ited with 50 per cent of opera-tions that have taken place since 2008,” the official said. - PTI

B A N D I P O R A

Modi more concerned about foreign visits, dresses: Rahul

BEGUSARAI (Bihar): Mounting a fresh offensive against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged he was more concerned about pres-entation of his foreign visits and his clothes and took a dig, saying he was seen in “16 dresses” during his recent US visit.

Reviving his “Suit boot ki Sarkar” barb against the Modi government, Rahul alleged that the prime minister was not both-ered about the plight of farmers or the poor in India.

“During his recent US visit, Modi was seen in 16 dresses on different occasions,” the Congress vice president said. Modi was in the US from September 24 to 28.

Taking a swipe at Modi’s dress-

es, he said the prime minister is always seen in clothes of different colours and surrounded by big-wigs unlike Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who wears white at all times and “comfortably min-gles with people of all hues.”

Rahul said that Modi is always going on world tours, but he had not seen him standing even once with a farmer or an unemployed youth in India.

“Has anyone among you seen photos of the prime minister min-gling with the farmers and labour-ers in torn clothes?” he asked, adding that Modi has never done it as he thinks that the poor people don’t have wisdom.

Rahulwas addressing a series

of election rallies in Begusarai and Sheikhpura districts in poll-bound Bihar.

He hit out at the prime minister for being surrounded by corporate bigwigs and bureaucrats in ‘suit boot’ and never been seen with farmers and labourers.

“Modi is not at all concerned with problems of farmers and la-bourers as he remains surrounded by corporate honchos and bu-reaucrats in suit boot and listens to these people as if only they are knowledgeable,” he said.

The Congress leader also at-tacked Modi on his promise to bring back black money stashed abroad and deposit Rs1.5 to Rs2.0 million in the bank accounts of

every individual. Rahul said that he was yet to meet a poor person who has received the promised money during 16 months of the NDA government.

“A year ago, Narendra Modiji won the elections and you all are aware of the promises he made.

He had made several prom-ises, including of bringing back black money and depositing Rs1.5 million in every Indian’s bank account,employment for youth hiking minimum support prices for the farmer’s produce.

“Please tell me, is there any one person out here who has Rs 1.5 million in his account?...he has not fulfilled even one promise,” Rahul said. - PTI

Reviving his ‘Suit

boot ki Sarkar’ barb

against the Modi

government, Rahul

said the prime

minister was not

bothered about the

plight of farmers or

the poor in India

National War Memorial to come up near India GateNEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday set the ball rolling for a Rs500 crore National War Memorial and National War Mu-seum near India Gate to be built in memory of over 22,500 soldiers who laid down their lives post-In-dependence with the cabinet ap-proving the long-pending proposal.

Described by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “perfect trib-ute” to the country’s brave soldiers, the memorial and the museum in Princess Park here is estimated to be completed in five years.

Post-Independence, more than 22,500 soldiers have made the supreme sacrifice in national in-terest and in defence of the sover-eignty and integrity of the country.

However, even after 69 years of Independence, no memorial to commemorate the martyrs has been constructed till date.

“The National War Memo-rial will be a perfect tribute to our brave soldiers who have given their lives for the nation,” Modi tweeted.

Long-pending demandWith this decision, a long-pending demand of the armed forces has been redressed, an official state-ment released after the Cabinet meeting said.

It has been decided that the project will be monitored by an empowered Steering Committee chaired by Defence Secretary and assisted by a dedicated project management team, to ensure that the project is completed within the scheduled time-frame. - PTI

C A B I N E T A P P R O V A L

WOOING VOTERS: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi is garlanded during an election rally in

Barbigha on Wednesday. - PTI

PATNA: RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday came under attack over his “Hindus too eat beef”remark as BJP president Amit Shah questioned Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Ku-mar and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s “silence” on it.

“Why are Nitish Kumar and Rahul Gandhi silent on Lalu Prasad’s comment that there is no difference between beef and goat meat... Silence will not do. They have to make public whether they agree with Prasad’s view or not,” Shah said addressing an election meeting.

In Patna, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi alleged it was not out of respect for cow that the RJD leader was rearing cattle, but to conceal the black money be made from the fodder scam. - PTI

BJP slams Lalu over beef remark

A9

INDIAT H U R S DAY, O C TO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

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We cannot allow core values to be wasted: Pranab

NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said the core values of diversity, toler-ance and plurality of Indian civi-lisation must be kept in mind and cannot be allowed to be wasted, in remarks that come against the backdrop of the Dadri lynching over rumours of beef eating.

“I firmly believe that we cannot allow the core values of our civili-zation to be wasted and the core values is what over the years the civilization celebrated diversity, promoted and advocated toler-ance, endurance and plurality.

“These core civilization values keep us together over the centu-ries. Many ancient civilizations have fallen. But that is right that aggression after aggression, long foreign rule, the Indian civiliza-tion has survived because of its core civilizational values and we must keep that in mind. And if we keep those core values in mind, nothing can prevent our democ-racy to move,” he said.

The president was handed over a coffee-table book on him at a function at the Rashtrapati Bha-wan here.

The book written by Prabhu Chawla, Editorial Director of New Indian Express, was released by Vice President Hamid Ansari.

Lauding the strength of democ-

racy in the country, the President said its electorate decisively de-cided to put an end to the era of coalition and gave a single party government.

“Despite their diversity and despite having a long period of absence of single party majority, the Indian electorate decisively decided to make an end of that.Many of us thought that perhaps an era of coalition has reached and that no single party would ever come (to power).

Indian democracy“In true sense, the marvel of Indian democracy has its own strength and we must celebrate that,” he said.

He said he has closely seen many important events in the country happen before him right from the first election when people wondered how an elec-tion covering 350 million people can take place smoothly, to the last one.

He also recalled his days when he entered Parliament as a mem-

ber of the Rajya Sabha during a “turbulent period” when Con-gress faced a major crisis over bank nationalisation and eventu-ally split.

The President also recalled his mother telling him to go to school walking 10km everyday and that impacted his mind to strive hard when there is “no option”.

He lauded the work of Prabhu Chawla, who along with his team put the book together, describing it as a “gift” from his friends and near and dear ones.

Ansari said the book is a small tribute to an eminent personality, who has a range of experience and depth of understanding issues.

Praising the book, Rajnath Sin-gh said to put Mukherjee’s life in a book is difficult to do so for such a personality who has not been in politics only to be in power and one who had strived successfully to bring about consensus in Par-liament on many issues.

“He played the most important role in bringing about consensus,” the home minister said. - PTI

The President’s

remarks come

against the backdrop

of the recent Dadri

lynching incident

TRIBUTE TO EMINENT PERSONALITY: President Pranab Mukher-

jee with Vice President Hamid Ansari and other dignitaries while

receiving the first copy of the coffee table book ‘The Nationalist

President Pranab Mukherjee’ edited by Prabhu Chawla (third left),

the Editorial Director of ‘The New Indian Express’, at Rashtrapati

Bhavan in New Delhi on Wednesday. - PTI

A10

PAKISTAN T H U R S DAY, O CTO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

Apex court upholds death sentence for Taseer’s killer

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s highest court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence for the killer of the governor of the country’s wealthi-est and most populous province after he had called for reform of the blasphemy law.

Since 1990, at least 65 people have been killed in cases linked to blasphemy, data collected by Reu-ters shows.

Wednesday’s ruling was seen as a victory for human rights activ-ists who say the blasphemy law, which mandates the death penal-ty, is often used in poor rural areas to settle personal scores.

In 2011, Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab, was shot dead by a bodyguard, Mumtaz Qadri, after he had sought a presidential pardon for Asia Bibi, a Christian woman accused of blasphemy.

Both the trial court and the high court of Islamabad, the capi-tal, sentenced Qadri to death. He appealed to the Supreme Court against the decision.

“The criminal appeal filed by

the convict is dismissed,” the Su-preme Court said in its ruling.

“The appeal filed by the state is allowed. The conviction and sentence by the trial court are re-stored.” Qadri’s lawyer could not be reached for comment immediately.

Blasphemy casesJudges in Pakistan are reluctant to hear blasphemy cases, as the presentation of evidence in court can itself be considered a new in-fringement of the law.

But while hearing Qadri’s ap-

peals, judges said criticising the blasphemy law did not amount to blasphemy.

Outspoken criticTaseer was an outspoken critic of the harsh law, saying it was being misused. Two months after Tase-er’s murder, Minister for Minori-ties Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian, was murdered by the Taliban for demanding changes to the blas-phemy law.

Last year, gunmen posing as clients shot dead a prominent

human rights lawyer defending a professor accused of blasphemy.

The judge who first convicted him was forced to flee the country after death threats.

Striking downAn anti-terrorism court handed down a double death sentence for murder and terrorism in late 2011. Qadri appealed, and in March, the Islamabad High Court up-held the murder sentence, while striking down the terrorism conviction. - Reuters

In 2011, Salman

Taseer, the governor

of Punjab, was

shot dead by a

bodyguard, Mumtaz

Qadri, after he had

sought a presidential

pardon for Asia Bibi,

a Christian

woman accused

of blasphemy

IN THE DOCK: In this photograph taken on Jnauary 4, 2011, arrested Pakistani police guard Mumtaz Qadri, right, sits in a police van at

the site of a fatal attack on Salman Taseer. — AFP

Salman Taseer

PIA pilots’ body announces unconditional end to strikeISLAMABAD: Pakistan Air-lines Pilot Association (Palpa) announced on Wednesday an unconditional end to their strike against Pakistan Interna-tional Airlines (PIA), Express News reported.

The decision came after Senate Standing committee accepted to become a guarantor in the negoti-ations between the pilots’ associ-ation and the management of PIA.

“Palpa has decided to put an end to their strike and its leaders will make a public announcement in this regard,” Senator Talha Mehmood, who chaired the com-mittee meeting told media men in Islamabad.

Adhering to the Senate Stand-

ing Committee’s requested to end the strike on an immediate basis, Palpa asked the committee to help resolve the ongoing crisis.

During the standing commit-tee’s cabinet secretariat meeting with Palpa leaders and PIA’s man-agement, both sides expressed their reservations and put for-ward their demands which were discussed at length.

Further, the committee was in-formed that at least two attempts were made to resolve the issue, however, nothing significant had come out.

On Monday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had decided to step in to help resolve the gruelling row between the pilots and the

management of PIA, which has badly affected the flight opera-tions of the national flag carrier. Nawaz Sharif ’s decision came hours after the PIA management had said that it would not ac-cept any ‘illegitimate’ demands of the Palpa, asking the pilots to pursue negotiations without any preconditions.

“The three demands by Palpa are unacceptable,” a PIA spokes-person had said. The demands in-clude the immediate replacement of director flight operations, with-drawal of show-cause notices and inquiries against pilots (while re-instating all grounded pilots), and for seniority to be determined by the pilots. — Express Tribune

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

Link with Central Asia is top priority, says SharifISLAMABAD: Prime Minis-ter Nawaz Sharif announced on Wednesday that linking Pakistan with Central Asian Republics (CARs) through a quality road network is the government’s top priority.

“Gwadar is being upgraded as a modern sea port to provide access to the landlocked CARs,” Sharif told Asian Infrastructure Invest-ment Bank (AIIB) president des-ignate Jin Liqun, during a meeting at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad.

Chinese help The prime minister claimed that the government has invested a lot of resources in energy and infra-structure projects with the help of the Chinese government.

Further, PM Nawaz highlighted the government’s economic poli-cies and informed the AIIB presi-dent that the country’s economists are committed and focused to providing a conducive economic environment to the private sector. “The economy of Pakistan is turn-ing around and we have good eco-nomic growth rate,” he added.

Pakistan supportLiqun thanked the prime minister for Pakistan’s support in establish-ing the AIIB.

“The bank is specifically estab-lished to assist the Asian countries and they are also among its major shareholders,” the AIIB president designate said.

“AIIB will assist Pakistan in in-frastructure projects and other economically productive projects in a cost efficient and effective man-ner,” Liqun added. — Express Tribune

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BANGLADESH TIGHTENS SECURITYBangladeshi security officials check a car as police increase the security presence in Dhaka on Wednesday. Following the kill-

ing of two foreign nationals in Bangladesh, police have strengthened security at workplaces and residences of foreign diplo-

mats and nationals. — AFP

Call for independent probe into US bombing of hospital

GENEVA/NEW YORK: Me-decins Sans Frontieres called on Wednesday for an independent international commission to in-vestigate the deadly US bomb-ing of its hospital in Kunduz in Afghanistan, which it deems a war crime.

The medical charity said that the inquiry would gather facts and evidence from the United States, NATO and Afghanistan, as well as testimony from MSF staff and patients who survived Saturday’s attack.

Only then would MSF consider whether to bring criminal charges for loss of life and partial destruc-tion of its trauma hospital, which has left tens of thousands of Af-ghans without access to health care, it said.

“If we let this go, as if was a non-event, we are basically giving a blank cheque to any countries who are at war,” MSF Interna-tional President Joanne Liu told a news briefing.

“If we don’t safeguard that med-ical space for us to do our activi-ties, then it is impossible to work in other contexts like Syria, South Sudan, like Yemen.”

Geneva conventionsIn New York, Jason Cone, ex-ecutive director of MSF in the United States, called for the In-ternational Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission to be acti-vated for the first time since its 1991 creation under the Geneva Conventions.

Cone urged US President

Barack Obama to consent to the commission. “Doing so will send a powerful signal of the US gov-ernment’s commitment to and respect for international humani-tarian law under rules of war,” Cone said at a news conference.

Liu spoke of the chaos as the bombs fell for an hour.

“Our patients burned in their beds, MSF doctors nurses, and other staff were killed as they worked. Our colleagues had to op-erate on each other,” she said.

The United States military took responsibility on Tuesday for the air strike that killed 22 people, including 12 MSF staff, calling it a mistake.

US Defence Secretary Ash Carter, speaking to reporters in Rome on Wednesday, said: “We

are conducting a full and trans-parent investigation and will make the findings of that inves-tigation known as they are found and will hold accountable any-one responsible for conduct that was improper.”

Human shieldThe Afghan Ministry of Defence said on Sunday Taliban fighters had attacked the hospital and were using the building “as a hu-man shield”, which the medical group denied, while pointing out it would be a war crime not to treat the wounded.

Liu said an impartial commis-sion, which can be set up at the request of a single state under the Geneva Conventions that estab-lish international standards for

conducting war, was needed due to “inconsistencies between the US and Afghan accounts”.

“We cannot rely on internal in-vestigations by US, NATO and Af-ghan forces,” she said.

The United Nations has con-demned the attack but said it would wait for the results of US, NATO and Afghan investigations before deciding whether to sup-port an independent probe.

Criminal justiceAsked to clarify whether MSF would seek criminal justice, MSF lead legal counsel Fran-coise Saulnier told Reuters: “We don’t know what will be the next step. We don’t want to eliminate any option.”

MSF said it sent a letter on Tuesday to the 76 countries who ratified the additional protocol of the Geneva Convention that set up the Swiss-based commission of 15 experts in 1991. It was in talks with Switzerland about maybe convening the commission.

Neither the United States nor Afghanistan are signatories to the commission, and the consent of the states involved is necessary to activate the unprecedented in-quiry, Saulnier said.

MSF’s hospital in Kunduz had treated nearly 400 people, in-cluding some Taliban, wounded in heavy fighting in the days be-fore the attack, MSF’s Bruno Jochum said.

Its GSP coordinates had been shared with all authorities.

“We had eight ICU (intensive care unit) beds with ventilators, this was high-tech medicine.

“This was not the little bush hospital. You could not miss it,” Liu said.

“Today we say enough, even war has rules.” - Reuters

Medecins Sans

Frontieres said that

the inquiry would

gather facts and

evidence from the

United States, NATO

and Afghanistan, as

well as testimony

from its staff

and patients

who survived

Saturday’s attack RULES OF WAR: Medical personnel treating wounded colleagues and patients in a hospital in Kunduz

on Saturday. — AFP

Nepal plans to air-lift fuel as Indian border stays shutKATHMANDU: Nepal is consid-ering air-lifting fuel, possibly from Bangladesh, as supply routes from India stay blocked by protesters opposing its new constitution, a short-term solution ahead of a key festival even as the government talks to China for help.

Thousands of trucks are strand-ed at the border with India, the main supply route into landlocked Nepal, leading to a critical short-age of fuel in the country that only months ago suffered its worst earthquakes in 75 years.

“Getting oil and petrol from a country other than India is a very difficult question to an-swer,” Deepak Baral, spokesman for the state-run Nepal Oil Corp, told Reuters.

BangladeshOther than its lowland border with India, Nepal’s other frontiers are mountainous with poor roads. Af-ter India, Bangladesh in the closest country with access to the sea.

“At the moment India is block-ing trucks carrying goods from third countries, so we cannot do this by land. We will work with what stock we have around the Dashain festival.

“For this we may look into lifting oil and petrol supplies by air from a third country.”

Nepal says the blockade is be-ing imposed by India to pressure political parties to address the de-mands of groups in the southern plains who are unhappy with the constitution passed last month. More than 40 people have died in protests related to the charter.

India denies any role in the blockade.

Dashain, the highlight of Nepal’s religious calendar, is due to begin in less than two weeks. — Reuters

S E E K I N G C H I N A H E L P

Malaysia royals seek quick action on 1MDB scandalKUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s royal rulers have called for a quick, transparent investigation into troubled state-fund 1MDB, in rare comments from the mon-archy that presents a new chal-lenge to Prime Minister Najib Razak as he fends off corruption allegations.

1Malaysia Development Ber-had (1MDB), whose advisory board is chaired by the prime minister, has amassed debt of more than $11 billion and is at the centre of a political storm after allegations of graft and mis-management. 1MDB has denied wrongdoing. Investigations be-ing conducted by Malaysia’s anti-graft agency and other organisa-tions have dragged on with no conclusion in sight.

In a statement issued late on Tuesday, the sultans of nine states and governors of the re-maining four said the govern-ment’s failure to give convincing answers on 1MDB may have re-sulted in a “crisis of confidence”.

“The findings of the investiga-

tion must be reported compre-hensively and in a transparent manner so that the people will be convinced of the sincerity of the government which shall not at all conceal facts and the truth,” the rulers said, according to a report in the Bernama news agency.

The comments, which come ahead of a two-day gathering of the Conference of Rulers start-ing on Wednesday, are unprec-edented as the sultans assume a non-political role in Malaysia and rarely speak on the function-ing of the state.

The remarks add to pressure on Najib, who is facing calls to step down over his alleged in-volvement in the 1MDB scan-dal from opposition parties and some establishment figures, in-cluding former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.

In July, the Wall Street Journal reported that investigators look-ing into 1MDB had identified a payment of nearly $700 million into a bank account under Najib’s name. — Reuters

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Charles Rangel, US Representative for New York’s 13th congressional district, once said: “Full participation in government and

society has been a basic right of the country sym-bolising the full citizenship and equal protection of all.” As our civilised world gets more advanced, we begin to realise that societies today have become an integral part of the nation building process. In-creasingly, countries everywhere — including the Arab world — are beginning to realise that sustain-able long-term results are best achieved collective-ly and through the efforts of a productive society.

Social consciousness and participation are key ingredients that boost the state’s economic build-up and help position any country on the global productivity map.

Nations in the developed world have experi-enced a radical shift in governance from one led by the government to one that engages with soci-ety and allows people to benchmark their personal progress against the wider national objectives of socio-economic development.

For example, China and France have both wit-nessed cultural revolutions that have strength-ened society to the overall benefit of the nations as a whole. The revolutions led to greater social and educational uplift across all income groups, and contributed to progress in the science, arts, culture and economic domains — today these fields define their national identities, and have also become benchmarks for other countries.

Academic and scientific institutions in both China and France mushroomed as a natural out-come of society’s keenness to move forward and achieve excellence. The most useful lesson from both revolutions is that the decision to achieve sustainable development cannot be implemented without the confidence and willingness of society.

These illustrations show us that a nation’s re-naissance is largely contingent upon the growth and empowerment of its people.

The question is — does the Arab world really need similar historic milestone developments to elevate society and reshape its culture and status on the global landscape? No doubt we currently live in rapidly changing times and can proactively get involved in the development process and as-sume our social responsibilities effectively with-out the need for any revolutions or coups.

The reverberations of the global financial cri-sis of 2008 are still felt in global markets today. The crisis led to stagnation and declining growth among the larger economies. In the interim such stagnation weakened the demand for oil, and led to a steep decline in oil prices, catching the OPEC na-tions unawares. Their failure to factor these global developments into their national budgets resulted in shaking the very foundations of their iden-tity. The volatility had immediate fallout. Several countries — both OPEC and otherwise — realised the merit of putting their money in many baskets or diversifying their economy to avoid similar eco-nomic repercussions.

The financial crisis demonstrated that econo-mies that rely on only one source of income and export their natural resources without passing through a manufacturing process are far more vulnerable at a time when national economies are increasingly getting aligned with the global econ-omy. We must remind ourselves that the Arab re-gion is blessed with a unique history.

Arab people possess deep cultural and historic roots and a unique identity that gives a real sense of belonging. Given the wealth of natural resources and capabilities we have been blessed with, we are certainly in prime position to move towards sus-tainable development.

Nevertheless, these factors alone will not help us advance to a more developed era unless we re-evaluate our culture, develop a greater apprecia-tion for our resources and use them well, refuting the idea that we are merely a bunch of consumers and importers. We need to, as a people, wholly be-lieve that we can change our current status in the global economic landscape.

We need to stop taking resources and opportu-nities for granted, get to work on developing our skills and strengths as a nation and build our hu-man and intellectual capital as we join forces and move towards an enlightened era of productiv-ity and innovation. The Arab region is at a crucial crossroads but with increased social engagement we can surely pave the way to a brighter, secure and more prosperous future.

The author is the Chairman of National Bank of Oman and an International Advisor to the Brookings Instituition. All the views and opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of Times of Oman.

Muscat is one of the safest cities in the worldThis refers to the news story, Muscat is third top city in MENA re-gion, says survey (October 7). It is heartening to know that Muscat has again been ranked as one of the best cities in the region to live in. As an Indian expatriate who has been living here for many years, I have always had the impression of Muscat as one of the safest and

most peaceful cities in the world. Muscat is already popular as one of the best cities in the region as its roads are clean and safe; the buildings are neat and tidy; and the traffic is controlled and disciplined, which is comparable with the best in the world. For this recognition, the credit goes to the government and the tolerant and compassionate nationals and the cosmopolitan communities living here. — P. A. Jacob, Muscat

Facebook indeed needs a ‘dislike’ button urgentlyThis refers to the news that Facebook is working on a ‘dislike’ button. This is a feature very much needed on the ever-popular social media platform, as unwanted advertisements and pages keep popping up in the newsfeed. It’s not surprising that this option does not exist yet as the advertising industry and Facebook’s own profits would get hit. However, I think that in the long run these companies would actually benefit

because users will be to find pages and ads streamlining more spe-cifically so that the hits on these would be far greater. — Sardar Shabbir Rao, Salalah

T I M E S O F O M A NT H U R S DAY, O CTO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5A12

Social consciousnesskey to national growth

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Seminar on managementMUSCAT: American Life Insurance Co. yesterday began a two-day management seminar for its sales managers from Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman at the Oman Sheraton Hotel yesterday. Sanjay Jain, agency director said: “American Life Insurance Company (Alico) incorporated in Willington, Dela-ware, is the largest international life insurance company in the world, with over $160 billion of life insurance in force.

1949 East Germany, the German Democratic Republic, is formed. 1976: Hua Guofeng, premier of the People’s Republic of China, suc-ceeds the late Mao Zedong as Communist Party of China chairman.

1993: The Great Flood of 1993 on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers ends, the worst US flood since 1927.

1996: Fox News Channel begins broadcasting.

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Angela Merkel has faced at least three issues this year which could

have serious consequences for the global order: Putin’s attack on Ukraine; refugee crisis stemming

from the Syrian war; and the Greek crisis, which threatened to undermine the euro area and EU

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Source:National Centre for Statistics & Information

STUDENTS IN PUBLICSCHOOLS IN OMAN

523,522

By governorate and gender

Muscat

Dhofar

Musandam

Al Buraimi

Ad Dakhiliyah

Al Batinah

Sharqiyah

Ad Dhahirah

Al Wusta

TOTAL

46,111

20,711

2,241

5,496

39,183

84,083

43,564

15,911

2,846

260,146

44,214

19,656

2,413

5,563

40,979

86,656

44,559

16,309

3,027

GovernorateFemale Male

263,376

NEW YORK: The long neck of modern-day giraffes evolved in several stages as one of the animal’s neck vertebrae stretched first towards the head and then towards the tail a few million years later, scientists have found. Scientists have long theorised that the long neck of modern-day giraffes evolved to enable them to find more vegetation or to develop a specialised method of fighting.

The new study of fossil cervical vertebrae shows the evolution likely occurred in several stages as one of the animal’s neck verte-brae stretched first toward the head and then toward the tail a few million years later. The study shows, for the first time, the specifics of the evolutionary transformation in extinct species within the giraffe family, researchers said.

“It’s interesting to note that that the lengthening was not consist-ent,” said Nikos Solounias, a giraffe anatomy expert and paleontolo-gist at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine. “First, only the front portion of the C3 vertebra length-ened in one group of species. The second stage was the elongation of the back portion of the C3 neck vertebra.

“The modern giraffe is the only species that underwent both stages, which is why it has a remarkably long neck,” Solounias said.

Solounias and Melinda Danowitz, a medical student in the Academic Medicine Scholars programme, studied 71 fossils of nine extinct and two living species in the giraffe family.

The bones, discovered in the late 1800s and early 1900s, were housed at museums around the world, including those in England, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Kenya, and Greece.

“We also found that the most primitive giraffe already started off with a slightly elongated neck,” said Danowitz.

“The lengthening started before the giraffe family was even cre-ated 16 million years ago,” she said.

The researchers analysed anatomical features of the various fos-sils and compared them to the evolutionary tree.

“That’s when we saw the stages playing out,” said Danowitz.Solounias and Danowitz found the cranial end of the vertebra

stretched initially around 7 million years ago in the species known as Samotherium, an extinct relative of today’s modern giraffe.

That was followed by a second stage of elongation on the back or caudal portion around one million years ago.

The C3 vertebra of today’s giraffe is nine times longer than its width — about as long as an adult human’s humerus bone, which stretches from the shoulder to the elbow.

As the modern day giraffe’s neck was getting longer, the neck of another member of the giraffe family was shortening.

The okapi, found in central Africa, is the only other living member of the giraffe family. Yet, rather than evolving a long neck, Danowitz said this species is one of four with a “secondarily shortened neck,” placing it on a different evolutionary pathway.

The study is published in Royal Society Open Science. — PTI

The new study of fossil cervical vertebrae

shows the evolution likely occurred in

several stages as one of the animal’s neck

vertebrae stretched first toward the head and

then toward the tail a few million years later

A13

SPECIALT H U R S DAY, O C TO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

NECK PUZZLE SOLVED

First, only the front portion of the C3 vertebra lengthened

in one group of species. The second stage was the

elongation of the back portion of the C3 neck vertebra.

The modern giraffe is the only species that underwent

both stages, which is why it has a remarkably long neck.

NIKOS SOLOUNIASA giraffe anatomy expert and paleontologist

at New York Institute of Technology

College of Osteopathic Medicine

A14

WORLDT H U R S DAY, O CTO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

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DNA research deployed in war on cancer scoops Nobel prize

S T O C K H O L M / L O N D O N : Three scientists from Sweden, the United States and Turkey won the 2015 Nobel Prize for Chemistry on Wednesday for working out how cells repair damaged DNA, provid-ing new ammunition in the war on cancer.

Detailed understanding of DNA damage has helped drive a revo-lution in cancer treatment as re-searchers develop new drugs that target specific molecular pathways used by tumour cells to proliferate.

Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar won the prize for “mechanistic studies of DNA repair”. Their work mapped how cells repair deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) to prevent damaging errors from appearing in genetic infor-mation. In many forms of cancer, one of more of these repair sys-

tems is broken.“Their work has provided funda-

mental knowledge of how a living cell functions and is, for instance, used for the development of new cancer treatments,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said. Thousands of alterations to a cell’s genome occur every day due to spontaneous changes and dam-age by radiation, free radicals and carcinogens — yet DNA remains astonishingly intact.

To keep genetic materials from disintegrating, a range of molecu-lar systems monitor and repair DNA, in processes that the three

award-winning scientists helped map out. “It’s important for cancer prevention and cancer treatment. That is what I received it for,” Sancar, who has US and Turkish citizenship and is a professor at the University of North Carolina, told Reuters by telephone from his home. Sancar said he had been in-undated by calls but his immediate plans were to shower, shave and go to his lab. Modrich, a researcher at the Howard Hughes Medical Insti-tute and Duke University School of Medicine in the United States, told Reuters he received the news while on vacation at his cabin in

New Hampshire and was com-pletely taken aback.

In fact, he did not get the word from Stockholm until around 8am ET, more than two hours after the initial announcement.

Key to life on earthModrich, whose work led to an un-derstanding and diagnostic tests for the most common form of he-reditary colon cancer, has previ-ously told how he was inspired by his biology teacher father, who said: “You should learn about this DNA stuff.”That was in 1963, the year after

the Nobel prize was awarded for the discovery of the structure of DNA. Lindahl, who works at Brit-ain’s Francis Crick Institute and Clare Hall Laboratory, said he was surprised by the news, although he knew he had been considered for a prize over the years, along with “hundreds of other people”. In the early 1970s, DNA was viewed as a stable molecule but Lindahl showed it actually decayed at a rate that ought make the develop-ment of life on Earth impossible, which in turn led him to uncover the counteracting repair process.

Sancar, meanwhile, worked out how cells repair ultra-violet dam-age and Modrich uncovered the mechanism for correcting errors during cell division.

“Without these mechanisms we would probably not exist and would certainly all die young,” said Mark Downs, chief executive of Britain’s Royal Society of Biology.

Over the years, the work of the Nobel trio had been important in pointing the way to better disease treatments, especially for cancer, Lindahl said.

“We have to understand the mechanisms, so we can selective-ly provide good therapy,” he told a news conference by telephone from London. “We can’t avoid DNA damage. We live in a world where we get exposed to DNA damaging agents all the time.”

The 8 million Swedish crowns ($969,000) chemistry prize is the third of this year’s Nobels. Previ-ous winners of the chemistry prize have included Ernest Rutherford, Marie Curie and Linus Pauling. The prize is named after dyna-mite inventor Alfred Nobel and has been awarded since 1901 for achievements in science, litera-ture and peace in accordance with his will. -Reuters

Tomas Lindahl, Paul

Modrich and Aziz

Sancar won the prize

for ‘mechanistic

studies of DNA repair’.

Their work mapped

how cells repair

deoxyribonucleic

acid (DNA) to prevent

damaging errors from

appearing in genetic

information

Russia backs Syrian forces in major assault on insurgentsBEIRUT: Russia and Syria car-ried out what appeared to be the first major coordinated assaults on Syrian insurgents on Wednes-day and Moscow said its warships fired 26 missiles at them from the Caspian Sea, a sign of its new mili-tary reach.

The combined assault hit towns close to the main north-south highway that runs through major cities in the mainly government-held west of Syria, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group which tracks the conflict via a network of sourc-es within the country.

Ground attacks by Syrian gov-ernment forces and their militia allies using heavy surface-to-sur-face missile bombardments hit at least four insurgent positions and there were heavy clashes, the head of the Observatory, Rami Abdul-rahman, said.

TargetedIS militants have seized much of Syria since civil war grew out of anti-government protests in 2011, but the areas targeted in Wednes-day’s combined assault are held by other rebels, some US-backed, fuelling allegations by Russia’s critics that its real aim is to help the government.

Moscow says it shares the West’s aim of preventing the spread of IS, and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Presi-dent Vladimir Putin during a tel-

evised meeting that four Russian warships in the Caspian Sea had launched 26 rockets at IS in Syria earlier in the day.

The air campaign in Syria has caught Washington and its allies on the back foot and alarmed Syr-ia’s northern neighbour Turkey, which says its airspace has been repeatedly violated by Russian jets. Ankara summoned Russia’s ambassador for the third time in four days over the reported viola-tions, which NATO has said ap-

peared to be deliberate and were “extremely dangerous”.

Turkey said Syria-based missile systems harassed its warplanes on Tuesday while eight F-16 jets were on a patrol flight along the Syria border. Syrian state media made no mention of the reported coor-dinated Russian-Syrian attacks in western areas, saying instead that Russian aircraft had targeted IS positions around Aleppo.

State television said govern-ment forces had targeted IS mili-

tants at the Sha’ar gas field and village of Qaryatain in Homs prov-ince, as well as Atshan, a town to the east of Russian air force bom-bardments in Hama province on Wednesday.

In conversation with Shoigu, Putin said it was too early to talk about the results of Russia’s opera-tions in Syria and ordered his min-ister to continue cooperation with the United States, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq on the crisis.

However, US Defence Secretary

Ash Carter said the United States would not cooperate militarily with Russia in Syria, although it was willing to hold basic, technical discussions to secure the safety of its own pilots bombing IS targets in Syria.

Strategy flawedCalling Moscow’s strategy “tragi-cally flawed”, he renewed accu-sations that the strikes were not focused on IS. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said only two of 57 Russian air strikes in Syria so far had hit IS, while the rest had been against the moderate opposition, the only forces fighting the hard-line insurgents in north-western Syria.

“If (the Syrian regime) weakens the opposition, it will strengthen IS,” he said, warning of the risk of a new flow of refugees, who have left Syria in their millions, over-whelming neighbouring countries and causing a crisis in the Euro-pean Union.

NATO said on Tuesday it had reports of a substantial Russian military build-up in Syria, includ-ing ground troops and ships in the eastern Mediterranean.

Abdulrahman said Russia ap-peared to have stuck to air sup-

port on Wednesday. The assault followed a report by Reuters last week that allies of Syrian Presi-dent Bashar Al Assad were prepar-ing to recapture territory lost by the government to rebels in rapid advances this year.

Air strikes“There is no information yet of any (government) advances on the ground, but the air strikes have hit vehicles and insurgent bases,” Ab-dulrahman said.

A regional source familiar with the military situation in Syria said forces were taking part in the ground attack against four rebel-held areas in western Syria.

The Observatory said Russia’s strikes targeted the towns of Kafr Zita, Kafr Nabudah, Al Sayyad and the village of Al Latamneh in Hama province and the towns of Khan Shaykhun and Alhbit in Idlib. Most of Idlib province is held by an alliance of Al Qaeda’s Syria wing Nusra Front and other hard-line groups.

Hezbollah-run Al Manar tel-evision said in a newsflash that “an operation by the Syrian army started in a number of villages and towns in the northern countryside of Hama province”. A video posted by the media office of an opposi-tion group in Hama province on YouTube purported to show heavy rocket strikes on Wednesday hit-ting an areas in the northern Hama countryside. - Reuters

W A R - T O R N

DEVASTATION: A general view shows damaged buildings in the town of Darat Azzah, west of the

northern Syrian city of Aleppo, following reported bombings by government forces on Wednesday. - AFP

ACHIEVEMENT: Professors Sara Snogerup Linse, Goran K. Hansson and Claes Gustafsson, members of

the Nobel Assembly, talk to the media at a news conference at the Royal Swedish Academy in Stock-

holm on Wednesday. Sweden’s Tomas Lindahl, the US-based Paul Modrich and Turkish-born Aziz

Sancar won the 2015 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for work on mapping how cells repair damaged DNA,

the award-giving body said on Wednesday. - Reuters

NASA tests umbrella-like heat shield for future Mars missions

WASHINGTON: Researchers at NASA have successfully test-ed an umbrella-like heat shield made of carbon fabric that could protect future Mars exploration vehicles from extreme heat when entering the red planet’s atmosphere.

As NASA missions to Mars progress with science and com-plex human exploration mis-sions, spacecrafts will require larger heat shields to protect against the extreme heat of en-tering a planet’s atmosphere and decelerating at a safe alti-tude in the thin Martian atmos-phere, the US space agency said.

Today’s rockets have limited space to accommodate space-craft and their heat shields.

However, engineers at NA-SA’s Ames Research Centre may have a solution — Adaptive Deployable Entry and Place-ment Technology (ADEPT).

ADEPT is a mechanically-deployable heat shield concept using carbon fabric — a flex-ible heat shield that expands to “open” like an umbrella.

Ames’ engineers have suc-cessfully completed heating simulation testing of an ADEPT model under conditions akin to entering the Martian atmos-phere. The test used a blast of hot air from a 21 inches diam-eter nozzle to simulate a bow shock wave in front of a 2 m wide ADEPT shield, which was attached to a water-cooled sup-port arm. During the tests, tem-peratures on the shield reached 1,700 degrees Celsius while blu-ish streaks streamed away as a special resin-infused protec-tive coating ablated from the stitching. - PTI

R E D P L A N E T

European Union to step up deportations of economic migrantsBRUSSELS: European Union states will step up efforts to repat-riate thousands of migrants fleeing poverty rather than war by speed-ing up deportations and exerting pressure on their home countries to take them back, an EU docu-ment says.

Faced with the biggest inflow of migrants in decades, EU countries have been discussing for months how to reduce numbers arriving from Africa, the Middle East and Asia, often via dangerous cross-ings of the Mediterranean Sea.

States are committed to shel-tering refugees escaping conflict and violence from countries like Syria and Eritrea , but they want to

tackle the flow of migrants who are escaping poverty from countries not at war.

In a new attempt to clamp down on economic migrants, ministers responsible for migration policies will meet on Thursday in Luxem-bourg to agree measures to dis-courage illegal migration.

“The EU and its member states must do more in terms of return. Increased return rates should act as a deterrent to irregular migra-tion,” say the draft conclusions of the meeting.

To date, EU countries deport less than 40 per cent of the mi-grants staying illegally in their territories, EU Commission data

shows. Hundreds of thousands whose asylum applications are re-jected remain in Europe every year or do not return home when their regular visas expire.

The draft, seen by Reuters, rec-ommends “detention as a legiti-mate measure of last resort” and urges states to reinforce their de-tention capacity to ensure illegal migrants do not disappear before being deported.

To ensure the cooperation of mi-grants’ home countries, ministers want to offer more aid to African or Asian states who take citizens back while threatening retaliation against those that don’t, possibly via a visa crackdown.

“A fine balance of incentives and pressure should be used,” the draft conclusions say.

“Translated, this means minis-ters will call to apply a principle of ‘more for more and less for less’,” a European diplomat said. The document reflects EU leaders’ rec-ommendations issued in June but includes more detailed measures.

An EU “laissez-passer” is sug-gested to aid procedures in home or transit countries and should become “the standard travel docu-ment for the expulsion of third-country nationals”.Ministers also want to enhance the role of EU border control agency Frontex in deporting migrants. - Reuters

E S C A P I N G C O N F L I C T A N D V I O L E N C E

REFUGEE INFLUX: Migrants queue in the compound outside the

Berlin Office of Health and Social Affairs (LAGESO) as they wait to

register in Berlin, Germany, on Wednesday. German authorities are

struggling to cope with the roughly 10,000 refugees arriving every

day, many fleeing conflict in the Middle East. - Reuters

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WORLDT H U R S DAY, O C TO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

EFFORTS TO END CONFLICT: Armed Yemeni tribesmen from

the Popular Resistance Committees, supporting forces loyal to

Yemen’s Saudi-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, hold

a position near the 312 Brigade military camp, located on the

outskirts of Sirwah, west of Marib city, on Tuesday. – AFP

An official source at the General People’s Congress reiterated

the party’s fast position on ending hostilities and raising the

blockade and on a peaceful solution to Yemen’s crisis.

General People’s Congress (GPC), party of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh

Iraq likely to seek Russian help in air strikes against IS group

BAGHDAD: Iraq may request Russian air strikes against IS militant group on its soil soon and wants Moscow to have a bigger role than the United States in the war against the militant group, the head of parliament’s defence and security committee said on Wednesday.

“In the upcoming few days or weeks, I think Iraq will be forced to ask Russia to launch air strikes, and that depends on their success in Syria,” Hakim Al Zamili, a lead-ing politician, told Reuters in an interview. The comments were the clearest signal yet that Baghdad in-tends to lean on Russia in the war on IS after US-led coalition air-

strikes produced limited results.Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al

Abadi has said he would welcome Russian air strikes on IS militants in Iraq and powerful militias hope for a partnership with Russia.

“We are seeking to see Russia have a bigger role in Iraq.... Yes, definitely a bigger role than the Americans,” Zamili said.

“The Russian intervention came

at the right time and right place and we think it will change all rules of the game not only in Syria but in Iraq also,” said Muen Al Kadhimi, an aide to Hadi Al Amiri, the most powerful militia leader.

“The government has been rely-ing heavily on an untrustworthy ally and this fault should be fixed.”

Russia’s drive for more clout in the Middle East includes a new

security and intelligence-sharing agreement with a command cen-tre in Baghdad. “We believe that this centre will develop in the near future to be a joint operation com-mand to lead the war against IS in Iraq,” said Zamili.

“The sort of support for us, or all other resistance groups for that matter, should be on the level of training, providing weapons

and also serious air support,” said Jaafar Hussaini, spokesman of the Kata’ib force. Abadi has threat-ened to march on Baghdad and wants to redraw the map of the Middle East. Military sources said army commanders complained in a letter sent to Abadi in early Sep-tember of inadequate support in the battle for Iraq’s biggest refinery near the town of Baiji, a focal point in the campaign to disolodge IS.

Abadi was incensed by tough ac-cusations by US officials that Iraqi government troops lacked the will to fight the militants, government sources said. Delayed delivery of arms was one of the factors that pushed Abadi to strike a security deal with Russia, the sources said.

“We are still losing lives and losing billions of dollars in oil rev-enues by purchasing arms from United States, but what we really got from them was only promises and dozens of delayed arms deals,

said Zamili. After a whole year, IS is still growing and thousands of fighters are still flowing to both Iraq and Syria and it is controlling more areas. That’s clear evidence the United States has no clear plan or a real strategy.”

Baghdad-based analyst and former army general Jasim Al Ba-hadli said tensions with the United States were one of the reasons why Abadi turned to Moscow for help. “Abadi, it seems, succeeded in send-ing a clear message to the American administration, which repeatedly blamed Abadi’s forces for recent setbacks, that there is another al-ternative for Iraq to resort to in the fight against IS if you are not willing to show real support,” he said.

“There’s a need to create a new coalition and force that is actually effective on the ground and per-forms the actual goal of fighting IS,” said Mohammed Naji, another aide to Amiri. — Reuters

Baghdad wants

Moscow to have a

bigger role in Iraq

than the US, said

Hakim Al Zamili, a

leading politician

Yemen’s Houthi rebels and former president’s party accept peace plan

SANAA: Yemen’s Houthi group and the party of the former president have accepted a peace plan brokered by the United Na-tions in talks, paving the way for resuming negotiations to end months of conflict in the country.

Both groups have said on Wednesday that they had offi-cially on Wednesday notified UN chief Ban Ki-moon that they were ready to join talks on a settlement based on a seven-point peace plan proposed by the UN in talks last month.

Aid agencies and the UN have raised alarm over the human cost of the war, both from fighting that has claimed over 5,000 lives and from a blockade by the Saudi-led coalition supporting Hadi that they say has brought Yemen close to famine.

Citing allegations of war crimes, the rights group Amnes-ty International on Wednesday called for states including the United States and United King-dom to stop arming the Saudi-led coalition, which has been bomb-ing Yemen for over six months.

Seven-point planIn his letter dated on October 3, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam confirmed that his group and others allied to it backed the seven-point plan.

“The Security Council sup-ports a political settlement for the Yemen crisis and the re-turn to the talks with no pre-conditions, and so do we,” the letter added.

Former president Ali Abdullah Saleh’s General People’s Con-gress (GPC) party also accepted the plan. “An official source at the General People’s Congress reiter-ated the party’s fast position on ending hostilities and raising the blockade and on a peaceful solu-tion to Yemen’s crisis,” it said in a statement.

The Saudi-led coalition and President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi view the Houthis as a spoil-er trying to undermine a political accord that allowed him to step down following months of pro-tests in 2011.

Hadi had previously refused a UN invitation to peace talks in the region, demanding that the Houthis publicly accept the UN Security Council resolution.

In its report, Amnesty said: “Damning evidence of war crimes by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, which is armed by states includ-ing the USA, highlights the urgent need for independent, effective investigation of violations and for the suspension of transfers of certain arms.”

It urged an end to the sale of warplanes, helicopters and bombs, especially internation-ally-banned cluster bombs. A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Arab Gulf-backed forces have in recent weeks pushed the Houthis and Saleh’s forces out of Yemen’s second city Aden and retaken swathes of the south. — Reuters

N A T I O N A T W A R

TIGHT SECURITY: Iraqi security forces guard as cars cross into the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq on

Monday. ‘In the upcoming few days or weeks, I think Iraq will be forced to ask Russia to launch air

strikes, and that depends on their success in Syria,’ Hakim Al Zamili, a leading politician, said in an

interview. – Reuters

MARKEWWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMT H U R S DAY, O CTO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5B

Muscat

5,860.47 + 28.85

+ 0.49%

Dubai

3,711.74+ 52.07

+ 1.42%

Abu Dhabi

4,588.76+ 34.08

+ 0.75%

Saudi Arabia

7,602.77+ 140.22

+ 1.88%

Kuwait

5,739.32+ 4.78

+ 0.08%

Bahrain

1,268.53 - 4.14

- 0.33%

Qatar

11,788.71+ 102.62

+ 0.88%

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

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

Euro ............................................2.28

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

Indian Rs ..............................169.41

Pak Rs ...................................266.88

Bangla Taka.......................199.40* Rates are as of Oct. 7Source: Bank Muscat

Indian Rs .................................. 168.50

Pakistan Rs .............................270.50

Sri Lanka Rs .......................... 363.50

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

Phil Peso .....................................119.75

* Rates as of Oct. 7 Source: Oman UAE Exchange

Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) ....... 14.75

Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) .......14.20

Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ............ 137.50

Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) ............. 130.75

* Rates as of Oct. 7

Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds

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

Oman Crude ............. (Spot) ........ $50.77

Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) ........ $50.72

Murban Crude ........ (Spot) ......... $51.76

Arabian Light ......... (Spot) .........$49.15

N.Sea Brent ............... (Spot) .........$52.77

West Texas Int ....... (Spot) ........$49.28

CRUDE OIL PRICE

DIGEST VIDEO

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

Top stories in one minute with our new daily Digest

Plan for common Gulf stock market gains momentum

A. E. JAMESbusinesseditor@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Gulf states are pro-ceeding with their plans to inte-grate stock markets in a move to at-tract foreign portfolio investments.

The ongoing plans include uni-formity in rules, regulation and practices in all GCC bourses. “It needs to be worked out,” Abdullah Salim Al Salmi, executive presi-dent of the Capital Market Au-thority, told Times of Oman.

The six-member GCC states are aiming for common listing of shares and common brokers for all markets, he added, on the side-

lines of a function to sign a memo-randum of understanding (MoU) with Kuwait stock exchange here on Wednesday. >B3

The plans include

uniformity in rules

and regulation in all

GCC bourses in move

to attract foreign

portfolio investments

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Oman’s OMR200 million worth sovereign sukuk issue will help develop a benchmark for such issues, besides enabling Islamic institutions to park their excess funds. Oman government’s maiden sukuk issue will open for subscription between October 8 and 22. It is an important issue for two reasons – one is that it will

help to have a benchmark for the market. Also, it will help to develop an yield curve for corporates to bench mark rate of returns,” said Abdullah Salim Al Salmi, executive president of the Capital Market Authority. It will also provide an alterna-tive investment avenue. “We need to diversify our market by introducing new financial instruments.” We hope to see frequent issues of sukuk and we expect a good response.”

Sukuk issue to diversify market, says CMA chief

B2

MARKETT H U R S DAY, O CTO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

MUBEEN KHAN

It was in February 2015 I wrote a series of three articles on my views on the

falling oil prices. I had picked up my pen when I saw a predic-tion by one of world’s financial services giants in January 2015 that oil will fall to $20 per barrel. I had strongly argued based on facts that $ 45 per barrel was the bottom. Luckily, market proved them wrong and oil hardly fell

below $45 per barrel level since then, except some temporary turbulence caused by the Ira-nian nuclear deal.

I saw one more $20 prediction by another financial services giant a few days ago, forcing me to jump up my ‘pen’ once again. I regret to state that some of them are the same people who still have 2008 financial crisis blood on their hands. It seems that oil speculation cult always wait for some relevant news to reap their crop of lies under the cover pro-vided by somewhat well timed predictions in the air.

Attempt to create panic?I understand from my discus-sion with many of the analysts in Oman and in the region that these predictions do not make any sense to most of them and some even wonder if this was an attempt to create panic in the oil dependent economies of the Arab world. I believe that this only might have caused recent rating down grade of most of the

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries including Oman. The fundamentals of Oman’s economy are solid backed by oil and gas wealth, fortified with the prudent fiscal policies of the government. This will be proved by the times to come.

Jump in oil pricesOil suddenly jumped up 5 per cent on Tuesday. What does it signal? World’s largest and sec-ond largest oil producer Saudi Arabia seems to have realised that they cannot fight someone else’s proxy war. There are sig-nals that Saudis have in principle agreed to engage with non-Opec (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) producers specially Russians to support oil prices. When Russia inches closer to Saudis for a common cause, its closest ally Iran will not be standing far away.

Daily world oil consumption is currently at an average 92-93 million bpd range out of which 50 million bpd is domestically

produced by respective consum-ing countries and an average 40 million bpd is traded interna-tionally. Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran (after sanctions are lifted) will produce 25 million barrels of oil per day which is 63 per cent of the oil imported/exported worldwide. All three of them have suffered the most for the last one year includ-ing Russia and China’s blue eyed Venezuela. Unfortunately smaller economies like Oman also suffered the collateral damage in this.

When Syrian problem sailed to European shores, a solution is clearly emerging. Syria which might have divided Saudis, Russians and Iranians, seems to have now united them The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Develop-ment (OECD) members, who are mandated by International Energy Agency (IEA) to keep at least 90 days consumption in reserves, countries are continu-ously filling their reserve tanks

oil inventory to 3 Billion barrels by the end of 2015. The United States commercial crude inven-tory is at 457 million, highest in the last 80 years, in addition to its packed Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) at approx. 700 million barrels.

Who will believe that OECD members including US could have filled their inventories to historically high level at current prices if oil was headed to $20 per barrel?

Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia which effectively sits on the steering wheel of the OPEC has already burnt away $70 billion out of foreign exchange reserves and may end up eroding $90 billion by the end of this year. The war in Yemen is digging deep in its pocket add-ing to its fiscal problems. The current scenario is not sustain-able for Saudis. They will have to change the course in their next Opec meeting. Other Opec members including Iran would

surely continue increasing the heat near the driving seat.

My personal belief is, that oil will never be sold at $20 per barrel because bare minimum production cost of the conven-tional oil fields in the GCC lies at $ 25-30 per barrel. This is not only unreasonable but squarely irresponsible to state that GCC producers will sell their black gold below their production cost?I continue to be bullish on oil. I don’t want to speculate but I confidently believe that a mini-mum of $ 70 per barrel is not far. We should see this level before the end of this year itself. God will always bless this beautiful country like Oman.

Mubeen Khan is a Muscat-based chartered accountant and an analyst. He is vice chairman of the Muscat Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and also sits on the board of Oman Chapter of the Institute of Inter-nal Auditors. The views expressed in this article are his own.

Is crude oil falling to $20 a barrel a possibility?C O M M E N T A R Y

Gulf governments maintain spending despite low crude prices, says S&P

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Governments in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are maintaining capital in-vestment spending to support eco-nomic activity, despite rising fiscal pressures from falling oil prices, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Ser-vices (S&P) said in a report titled: “Gulf governments protect invest-ment spending to support growth.”

“Even though we forecast GCC economic growth will slow and fis-cal deficits will emerge following the more than 50 per cent drop in oil prices since June 2014, we ex-pect governments will keep capi-tal investment relatively high as a share of total government spend-ing in an attempt to buoy econom-ic growth,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Trevor Cullinan.

Capital marketsHowever, should oil prices fall much below our current expecta-tions and government balances weaken further as a result, we expect GCC will increasingly cut back on investment expenditure.

“We believe GCC governments may also look to domestic and international capital markets to diversify their funding sources, support economic growth, build debt capital markets, and slow the depletion of their asset positions,” said Cullinan.

Non-government capital spend-ing is weakening, particularly that of oil and gas exploration compa-nies. The value of contracts in the Middle East has fallen to $83 bil-lion in the year to August 2015, a 16 per ent decline on the same period of 2014, the report says.

S U R V E Y Abu Dhabi exploring asset sales on dipping oil revenue

DUBAI: Abu Dhabi is reviewing its largest state-owned companies as the slump in crude oil pres-sures the UAE emirate’s finances, four people with knowledge of the matter said.

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company and International Pe-troleum Investment Company are in talks with banks on options including strategic partnerships, share sales and asset disposals, the people said, asking not to be iden-tified because talks are private.

Mubadala Development, an investment fund, is considering further divestments after sell-ing most of the assets in its joint venture with General Electric, ac-cording to the people.

Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Credit Suisse are among banks pitching for man-dates, while some government-related entities have already ap-pointed advisers, according to the people.

Mubadala, Abu Dhabi National Energy, known as Taqa, and IPIC

own about $150 billion of as-sets, according to calculations. The banks and companies either declined to comment or weren’t available to comment.

Abu Dhabi, an emirate of the United Arab Emirates and source of about 6 per cent of the world’s proven oil reserves, is seeking to counter the erosion of its finances after crude prices halved in the past year. The UAE is Organisa-tion of Petroleum

Exporting Countries’ (Opec) third- biggest oil producer and may post a fiscal budget deficit this year for the first time since 2009, according the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Economic growth will probably slow to 3

percent this year from an estimate of 3.6 per cent in January, the IMF said this month.

Diversification“It makes sense that Abu Dhabi’s GREs would review their asset portfolio, rationalise their spend-ing and as important, diversify further their source of funding away from public money,” said Philippe Dauba-Pantanacce, sen-ior Middle East, North Africa and Turkey economist at Standard Chartered in London.

“There is a re-assessment of public spending across the board in Abu Dhabi, amidst the current oil price levels.”

Mubadala is laying off people

and has shrunk assets at its joint venture with General Electric to about $1 billion, a company spokesman said last week. It’s also exploring the sale of UAE con-sumer finance firm Dunia, people with knowledge of the matter said. Taqa is exploring a potential sale of its car fleet manager Massar Solutions that could raise at least $500 million, people familiar with the matter said in September.

Abu Dhabi Investment holds 51 per cent in Massar, while Taqa holds the rest.

Abu Dhabi, in addition to the three state-owned companies, could also tap sovereign wealth fund the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) to help support

its finances. ADIA ranks second behind Norway as the largest in the world at $773 billion, accord-ing to the Sovereign Wealth Fund institute. ADIA itself doesn’t dis-close assets under management.

The fund has been investing the emirate’s oil wealth since 1976 and withdrawals “have occurred infrequently and usually during periods of extreme or prolonged weakness in commodity prices,” says annual report. - Bloomberg News

The emirate is

seeking to counter

the erosion of its

finances after crude

prices halved in the

past year

AirAsia to tap investors to take company private, says reportKUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia climbed the most in four weeks in Kuala Lumpur trading after Reuters reported that founders of Southeast Asia’s biggest low-cost carrier are sounding out investors about taking the company private.

AirAsia shares rose as much as 8 per cent, the biggest intraday gain since September 10. They climbed 7.2 per cent to 1.34 ring-git. The company “has no knowl-edge” of any plans to take it pri-vate, AirAsia said in a statement to the stock exchange.

Founders of AirAsia, includ-ing group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes, are sounding out investors to take the company private in a management-led buy-out and are working with banks to secure financing, after the shares fell to their lowest levels in seven years, Reuters said, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. AirAsia’s stock has dropped about 50 per cent this year, making it the second-worst performing airline in Asia.

“There’s speculation of a priva-tisation, so the shares are react-

ing,” Ang Kok Heng, chief invest-ment officer at Phillip Capital Management, which manages $630 million, said. .

Market value“I don’t think it’s easy. A lot of these shares are owned by for-eign funds. It needs a lot of mon-ey to take it private, unless they can pair up with some strategic investor who would take up a substantial block.”

Taking AirAsia private will cost 2.84 billion ringgit ($656 million) at current share prices, Mohshin Aziz, an analyst at Malayan Bank-ing, wrote in a note on Wednes-day. The company has a market value of 3.7 billion ringgit.

More than 64 million shares changed hands within the first three hours of trading, more than double the average volume of trading in the past six months through Tuesday. - Bloomberg News

A V I A T I O N

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

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS: Abu Dhabi National Energy Company and International Petroleum Investment Company are in talks with

banks on options, including strategic partnerships, share sales and asset disposals. – Bloomberg News

EXPENDITURE: Taking AirAsia private will cost 2.84 billion

ringgit ($656 million) at current share prices, Mohshin Aziz, an

analyst at Malayan Banking, said. – Bloomberg News

B3T H U R S DAY, O C TO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

MARKET

UAE’s central bank approval needed for Bank Muscat MUSCAT: Bank Muscat on Wednesday said that the bank requires an approval/licence from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates for its plans to set up a commercial branch in Dubai. The bank recently received an approval from Oman’s central bank to open a branch in Dubai. Bank Muscat has a representative office in the UAE.

United Finance’s net profit rises 7% for 9-month periodMUSCAT: United Finance on Wednesday said its net profit for the first nine months of 2015 rose 7 per cent to OMR3.76 million from OMR3.50 million for the same period last year. Total income of the company edged down by 1 per cent to OMR9.11 million, it said in a stock market filing.

Oman’s export agency to take part in Dubai forumMUSCAT: A trade credit and risk insurance forum will be held in Dubai from October 11 to 13. Ahmed bin Khalfan Al Balushi, head of Claims and Recoveries at Export Credit Guarantee Agency of Oman will attend and represent the agency at the forum. The forum will discuss interesting topics related to credit insurance, such as the current status of global trade, capital flows, trade pattern and industry growth, besides other topics related to the regional trade outlook in terms of assessing the changing structure of the trade and logistics market, and its influence on future trade flows.

Tesco profit slumps 55%LONDON: Britain’s big-gest supermarket Tesco on Wednesday posted a 55 per cent slump in first-half profit, showing the scale of the financial damage wrought by discount groups and raising questions over boss Dave Lewis’ turnaround plan. In line with recent market data, Tesco showed a steady improvement in trading in its home business and it reiter-ated its full-year outlook, however it said the market remained challenging. - Times News Service/Agency

B R I E F S

Indian companies discussjoint ventures in Sultanate

A. E. JAMESbusinesseditor@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: As many as five to six Indian firms, which are partici-pating in the Infra Oman exhibi-tion, are in a discussion with their Omani counterparts to form joint ventures in construction field in the Sultanate.

Rajesh Sharma, who leads an Indian delegation of 15 companies that participated in the Infra Oman 2015, said that the discussions are going on between the firms.

“We are also looking to get in-

frastructure projects in Oman. Within the next few years, Oman is going to be a big time player in infrastructure projects. So, In-dian companies can play a big role,” added Sharma, while talking to journalists at an inter-active meeting organised by the Indian embassy here on Tuesday.

Four dealsHe also said that Indian compa-nies have bagged four deals at the exhibition, mainly by compa-nies in automation, software and ceramic tiles.

Rajesh said that around 410 people visited the stalls of Indian firms at the exhibition in the first two days and the participants are expecting better business deals. The delegation was lead by Trade

Promotion Council of India. He said the Indian firms that par-ticipated last year in Infra Oman exhibition have bagged good busi-ness deals. As many as 15 Indian firms, representing various sec-

tors including building materials, construction equipment, wood machinery, software developers, interior furnishing and contract-ing firms, are showcasing their products in India Pavilion.

Indian delegation leader at the Infra Oman

2015 said that Indian companies have

bagged four deals at the exhibition, mainly in

automation, software, and ceramic tiles

BUSINESS TEAM: Around 410 people visited the stalls of the Indian companies at the exhibition in the first two days. – Supplied picture

Listed firms toldto inform about annual meetings 3 days in advance

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Oman’s market watch-dog Capital Market Authority (CMA) said that listed companies should post information about annual general meeting and extra ordinary general meeting on the MSM website at least three days prior to the meeting.

“In order to further enhance shareholder participation and rec-ognizing that the website of Mus-cat Securities Market is the pri-mary channel for disseminating official disclosures, all listed com-panies and registered investment funds are advised to arrange for uploading their notices for all gen-eral meetings on the MSM website after obtaining the approval from CMA, at least three days prior to the meeting,” said a circular from the the regulator.

N E W R E G U L A T I O N

Qatar to import aggregates from Oman and UAE

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Hyundai Glovis, the logistics unit of South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor Group, said that it has clinched a $500 million deal with a Qatari state-run re-sources company to ship construc-tion materials.

The deal signed with QPMC calls for Hyundai Glovis to ship 50 million tonnes of aggregates from the United Arab Emirates and Oman to a pier located in the southern part of Qatar, according to Yonhap News Agency .

The shipping contract will be effective from January next year to December, 2020. To carry out the long-term maritime shipping contract, Hyundai Glovis said that it plans to deploy around 20 Pan-amax bulk carrier ships that will carry aggregates consisting mostly of pebble and sand to Qatar.

C O N S T R U C T I O N

Uniformity in rules, regulations in GCCAl Salmi said that a meeting in Doha last month took several decisions and the countries have decided to meet within every six months to see the progress.

Oman and other Gulf states have signed a multilateral MoU to achieve uniformity in laws and regulations in GCC stock mar-kets last month. This will also help to enhance economic inte-gration among GCC countries.

GCC Securities Commissions have signed a multilateral memo-randum of understanding, which would act as regulatory frame-work in a move to enhance the re-lations among such bodies to fa-cilitate exchange of information.

“We hope at the end of the day, there will be a common GCC market, integrated and well con-nected,” Al Salmi said, adding; “Having small markets is not ap-pealing for foreign investors.”

MoU with KuwaitAl Salmi and Dr NayefFalalf Al

Hajraf, chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Capi-tal Market Authority of Kuwait, have signed a memorandum of understanding for exchange of information and mutual cooper-ation on Wednesday in the pres-ence of Ahmed Saleh Al Mar-hoon, director general of Muscat Securities Market, Abdullah Ahmed Al Nabhani, director general of Muscat Clearing and Depository Company and Ahmed Said Kashob, chairman of Oman

Securities Association. The aim of the MoU is to en-

hance cooperation between the two authorities to develop the legislative infrastructure of the securities markets and to ben-efit from the experiences of both countries on investment instru-ments, regulations and clearing and depository systems and the practices in the regulation of the companies operating in securi-ties and promotion of the broker-age profession.

The MoU includes a number of clauses on exchange of informa-tion to enhance investor protec-tion and the integrity of the stock markets by providing a frame-work for cooperation and upgrad-ing the mutual understanding based on exchange of information and professional expertise be-tween the two countries.

They agreed on exchange of information and mutual coop-eration, encouraging cooperation between capital market institu-tions including stock markets, clearing and depository institu-tions, financial services com-panies and dispute resolution according to the applicable laws and regulations.

The MoU included problem solving for investors, cooperation in enforcement of the laws and legislations pertaining to securi-ties and other investment instru-ments, and cooperation in super-vising the markets and clearing and depository systems.

S T O C K M A R K E T

Samsung’s quarterly profit beats estimatesSEOUL: Samsung Electronics surged the most in more than six years after posting quarterly prof-it that beat estimates on higher sales of chips and screens.

Shares jumped 8.7 per cent, the most since January 2009, to 1,251,000 won in Seoul.

Operating income jumped to 7.3 trillion won ($6.3 billion) in the quarter ended September, com-pared to the 6.7 trillion-won aver-age of analyst estimates.

Semiconductors and displays are becoming central to reviving Samsung’s fortunes as it refreshes its Galaxy smartphone lineup to compete with Apple’s iPhones and lower-end devices in China and India. The company sets prices for most components in United States dollars, gaining a benefit when those sales are translated back into the Korean won, which has dropped against the greenback.

“The time has come to reassess the value of the company’s com-ponent sectors,” said said Lee Jae Yun, an analyst at Yuanta Securi-ties Korea Company “The third-quarter results threw a good signal that the two-year-long earnings

downturn has finally ended.”The US dollar was about 12 per

cent higher against the won at the end of the quarter compared to a year earlier.

Sales rose 7.5 per cent to 51 tril-lion won in the quarter, the Su-won, South Korea-based company said in a filing on Wednesday. That compares to the 50.6 trillion won expected by analysts. Sam-sung didn’t provide net income or

details of division earnings with audited results scheduled for later this month.

Beating iPhonesOperating profit from mobile de-vices probably rose 24 per cent to 2.2 trillion won, the first year-on-year rise in seven quarters, ac-cording to the median estimate of six analysts. Sales are estimated to be 27 trillion won.

Samsung released the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and Note 5 in Au-gust, beating the new iPhones to market by about a month.

They debuted after lackluster sales of the premium Galaxy S6 prompted the company to cut prices and offer a $120 rebate to customers buying on installments or a leasing plan.

“The below-$200 devices largely contributed to the overall

smartphone shipment increase in the third quarter,” said Lee Seung Woo, an analyst at IBK Securi-ties in Seoul. “S6 shipments have dropped significantly.”

The average sales price is ex-pected to have dropped by 14 per cent to about $198 in the Septem-ber quarter, Lee said. Samsung shipped about 81 million phones in the third quarter, according to a survey of five analysts. The com-pany shipped 72 million units in the previous quarter.

Chip researchApple sold a record 13 million units of the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus during their debut weekend last month. The average selling price for an iPhone during the pre-vious quarter was $660, excluding carrier subsidies. Greater China accounted for 27 per cent of Ap-ple’s revenue in the June quarter.

Earnings from semiconduc-tors, a business that supplies Samsung’s own devices and rivals including Apple, probably rose 54 per cent to about 3.5 trillion won in the quarter. Sales are estimated to be 12 trillion won. - Bloomberg News

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PROFITABLE: Semiconductors and displays are becoming central to reviving Samsung’s fortunes as it refreshes its Galaxy smartphone lineup to compete with Apple’s iPhones and lower-end devices in China and India. – File picture

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MARKETT H U R S DAY, O CTO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

MUSCATSECURITIES MARKET

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7

REGULAR MARKET .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................OM0000001145 ............PORT SERVICES CORPORATION ....................... 239,686 ........... 36,935..................... 28 ............0.150 ........... 0.155 ...........0.150 ........... 0.154 ............. 0.141 .............0.013 ............. 9.220 ................0.155 .............. 0.155...................0.000 .................. 14,636,160 .........0.100

OM0000001087 ............OMAN UNITED INSURANCE ............................... 714,743 ...........177,702..................... 52 ........... 0.245 ........... 0.255 ...........0.245........... 0.249 .............0.237 ............0.012 ............. 5.063 ................0.255 ..............0.255...................0.259.................. 24,900,000 ........0.100

OM0000001962 ............AL MADINA INVESTMENT ................................... 177,470 ............. 11,061......................11 ........... 0.062 ........... 0.063 ...........0.061 ........... 0.062 .............0.060 ........... 0.002 ............. 3.333 ................0.061 .............. 0.061...................0.062 ..................12,843,386 .........0.100

OM0000002366 ...........AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING ...................... 122,512 .............11,962......................15 ........... 0.096 ........... 0.098 ...........0.096........... 0.098 .............0.095 ........... 0.003 ............. 3.158 ................0.098 ..............0.097...................0.099....................2,940,000 ..........0.100

OM0000002168 ............AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ............................... 200,500 ........... 69,363......................16 ........... 0.346 ...........0.346 ...........0.344 .......... 0.346 .............0.338 ........... 0.008 ............. 2.367 ................0.346..............0.332...................0.344 .................102,489,934........0.100

OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE .............. 1,241,333 ...... 217,894..................... 69 ............0.173 ........... 0.176 ...........0.173 ............0.176 ............. 0.172............ 0.004 ............. 2.326 ................0.176 .............. 0.176...................0.177 ...................35,200,000.........0.100

OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL ............................................. 939,000 ............82,172.....................40 ........... 0.087 ........... 0.088 ...........0.086........... 0.088 .............0.086 ........... 0.002 ............. 2.326 ................0.088 ..............0.087...................0.088...................15,400,000 .........0.100

OM0000001533 ............OMINVEST .................................................................... 5,014,580 .. 2,507,290........................5 ........... 0.500 ...........0.500 ...........0.500........... 0.500 .............0.490 ............0.010 ............. 2.041 ................0.500..............0.500...................0.506 .................276,430,821 ........0.100

OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 1,191,633 ........119,962..................... 55 ............0.102 ........... 0.102 ...........0.099............0.101 .............0.099 ........... 0.002 .............2.020 ................0.100 ..............0.099...................0.100...................29,288,044.........0.100

OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ..............32,464 ............... 8,758........................3 ........... 0.267 ........... 0.270 ...........0.267........... 0.270 .............0.265 ........... 0.005 ............. 1.887 ................0.270..............0.270...................0.274....................5,670,000 ..........0.100

OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES ..................................... 559,090 ............92,612..................... 22 ............0.167 ........... 0.167 ...........0.165 ............0.166 ............. 0.163............ 0.003 ............. 1.840 ................0.167 .............. 0.166...................0.167 ...................48,248,069.........0.100

OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR................................................................ 242,400........... 41,220......................17 ............0.169 ........... 0.172 ...........0.169 ........... 0.170 ............. 0.167............ 0.003 ............. 1.796.................0.170 .............. 0.166...................0.170 ................. 245,044,800 .......0.100

OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ........... 1,556,668 ....... 177,418..................... 80 ............0.112 ........... 0.115 ............ 0.112 ............0.114 ............. 0.112 ............ 0.002 ............. 1.786................. 0.114 .............. 0.114................... 0.115 ...................10,260,000 .........0.100

OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 3,328,739 ......635,939................... 170 ............0.190 ........... 0.193 ...........0.189 ............0.191 ............. 0.188............ 0.003 ............. 1.596 ................0.193 .............. 0.192...................0.193 ...................28,664,325 .........0.100

OM0000001509 ............DHOFAR INT.DEV.AND INV. HOLD. .......................6,000 .............. 2,400........................3 ........... 0.400 ...........0.400 ...........0.400 .......... 0.400 .............0.394 ........... 0.006 ............. 1.523 ................0.400............. 0.400...................0.420 ..................98,560,000.........0.100

OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING .............15,000 ...............1,520........................2 ............0.102 ........... 0.102 ...........0.100 ............0.101 .............0.100 ............0.001 ............. 1.000 ................0.100 ..............0.100...................0.102 ................... 12,309,375 .........0.100

OM0000002820 ...........GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES ......................... 623,073 ........... 63,390..................... 32 ............0.103 ........... 0.103 ...........0.101 ........... 0.102 ............. 0.101 .............0.001 ............. 0.990 ................0.101 .............. 0.101...................0.103 ....................6,002,008 ..........0.100

OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY ..................................................... 21,104 ...............8,784........................3 ............0.416 ...........0.420 ...........0.416 ............0.416 ............. 0.412............ 0.004 ............. 0.971 ................0.420..............0.420...................0.422 ..................25,168,000 .........0.100

OM0000004735 ...........SEMBCORP SALALAH ......................................................552 ...............1,490........................3 ........... 2.700 ........... 2.700 ...........2.700 ........... 2.700 .............2.680 ........... 0.020 ............. 0.746 ................2.700 ..............2.700...................2.800 .................257,734,427 ........1.000

OM0000001483 ............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN ................................. 151,575 ............ 45,369........................9 ........... 0.298 ...........0.300 ...........0.298........... 0.299 .............0.298 ............0.001 ............. 0.336 ................0.300 ............ 0.300...................0.316 ................. 400,872,365 .......0.100

OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ........................ 324,210 .........532,472..................... 45 ............1.635 ........... 1.650 ...........1.635 ........... 1.640 ............. 1.635 ............ 0.005 ............. 0.306 ................1.650 .............. 1.635...................1.650 ................1,230,000,000 ......0.100

OM0000001749 ............OMAN CEMENT ............................................................ 97,634 ............ 42,959........................3 ........... 0.440 ...........0.440 ...........0.440 .......... 0.440 .............0.440 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.440..............0.440...................0.500 .................145,583,992 ........0.100

OM0000002176 ............AL JAZEERA STEEL PRODUCTS ............................4,000 .................. 760........................2 ............0.190 ........... 0.190 ...........0.190 ............0.195 ............. 0.195............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.190 ..............0.190...................0.195 ...................24,355,102 .........0.100

OM0000002226 ...........AL JAZEERA SERVICES ........................................... 86,000 ............ 35,806......................14 ............0.416 ........... 0.418 ...........0.416 ............0.416 ............. 0.416............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.418 .............. 0.418...................0.420 ..................25,460,978 .........0.100

OM0000002549 ...........BANK DHOFAR ..............................................................58,523 ............. 13,753........................6 ........... 0.235 ........... 0.235 ...........0.235 ........... 0.235 .............0.235 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.235 ..............0.230...................0.235..................363,011,208 ........0.100

OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................. 44,092 .............23,810......................17 ........... 0.540 ...........0.540 ...........0.540........... 0.540 .............0.540 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.540..............0.540...................0.544 ...............1,237,584,202 ......0.100

OM0000003711 ............SOHAR POWER ............................................................ 2,017,780.......686,045........................4 ........... 0.340 ...........0.340 ...........0.340 .......... 0.340 .............0.340 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.340............. 0.340...................0.350...................75,143,400 .........0.100

OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO....................................................................... 198,895.......... 149,937..................... 20 ............0.752 ........... 0.760 ...........0.752 ........... 0.752 ............. 0.752............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.760 .............. 0.752...................0.760 ..................489,510,061 ........0.100

OM0000004248 ...........SMN POWER HOLDING ............................................53,000 ............ 39,644........................2 ............0.748 ........... 0.748 ...........0.748 ............0.748 ............. 0.748............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.748 .............. 0.748...................0.000 .................149,327,429 ........0.100

OM0000004669 ...........SHARQIYAH DESALINATION .................................. 7,000 .............31,885........................5 ............4.555 ........... 4.555 ...........4.555 ........... 4.555 .............4.555 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................4.555 ............. 0.000...................4.555...................44,548,884.........1.000

OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS .....................................................7,646 ............... 3,748........................7 ........... 0.492 ........... 0.492 ...........0.490........... 0.490 .............0.490 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.490..............0.490...................0.496...................25,725,000 .........0.100

OM0000001418 ............RAYSUT CEMENT ........................................................30,106 ............ 34,446........................5 ............1.150 ........... 1.150............ 1.130 ............1.145 ............. 1.150 ............-0.005 ........... -0.435 ...............1.130 .............. 1.130................... 1.140 ................. 229,000,000 .......0.100

OM0000001160 ............NATIONAL GAS ............................................................ 54,000 .............16,344......................12 ........... 0.308 ...........0.308 ...........0.302........... 0.302 .............0.304 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.658 ...............0.302..............0.302...................0.312 ...................15,100,000 .........0.100

OM0000003000 ...........ALMAHA PETROLEUM PRODUCTS MAR. ........11,921 ............ 23,365........................2 ............1.960 ........... 1.960 ...........1.960 ........... 1.960 ............. 1.980 ...........-0.020 ............-1.010 ................1.960 ..............1.960...................0.000 .................135,240,000 .......0.100

OM0000001319 ............NATIONAL ALUMINIUM PRODUCTS ............. 1,273,663 ......252,140......................11 ........... 0.205 ...........0.205 ...........0.195 ........... 0.198 .............0.208 ...........-0.010 ........... -4.808 ...............0.205............. 0.200...................0.205 ................... 6,647,147 ..........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 20,646,592 6,200,354...................790 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......35........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PARALLEL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000001301 ............DHOFAR CATTLE FEED ............................................... 7,317 ............... 1,537........................ 1 ............0.210 ........... 0.210 ...........0.210 ........... 0.210 .............0.202 ........... 0.008 ............. 3.960 ................0.210 ..............0.210...................0.220 .................. 16,170,000 .........0.100

OM0000001566 ............OMAN FISHERIES ........................................................57,481 ...............3,046........................5 ........... 0.053 ........... 0.053 ...........0.053 ........... 0.053 ............. 0.051............ 0.002 ............. 3.922 ................0.053 ..............0.052...................0.053....................6,625,000 ..........0.100

OM0000002564 ...........AL HASSAN ENGINEERING.................................. 316,004 ........... 29,259......................17 ........... 0.090 ........... 0.097 ...........0.090........... 0.093 .............0.090 ........... 0.003 ............. 3.333 ................0.092.............. 0.091...................0.092 ...................6,994,344 ..........0.100

OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 4,428,586...... 299,521................... 125 ........... 0.067 ........... 0.069 ...........0.067 ........... 0.068 .............0.066 ........... 0.002 ............. 3.030 ................0.069 ..............0.069...................0.070................. 102,000,000 .......0.100

OM0000001152 ............OMAN NATIONAL ENGINE. INVT. ........................ 4,762 ............... 1,143........................3 ........... 0.240 ...........0.240 ...........0.240 .......... 0.255 .............0.255 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.240 ............ 0.000...................0.240 ..................22,950,000 ........0.100

OM0000004511 ............ALIZZ ISLAMIC BANK................................................95,426 ............... 6,721........................9 ............0.071 ........... 0.071 ...........0.070........... 0.070 .............0.070 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.070..............0.070...................0.071 ...................70,000,000 ........0.100

OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 237,905 ........... 36,853.....................40 ............0.156 ........... 0.156 ...........0.154 ............0.155 ............. 0.156............-0.001 ........... -0.641 ...............0.155 .............. 0.155...................0.156 ..................226,703,226 .......0.100

OM0000001368 ............CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. .................. 168,070 ..............6,057..................... 10 ........... 0.037 ........... 0.037 ...........0.036........... 0.036 .............0.037 ...........-0.001 ........... -2.703 ...............0.036 ..............0.035...................0.036....................3,060,000 ..........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 5,315,551 ....... 384,138...................210 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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

BONDS MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000005971 ............B.MUSCAT COMPL. CONVR. B.B.3.5 ........................1,485 .................. 134........................ 1 ........... 0.090 ...........0.090 ...........0.090........... 0.095 .............0.095 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.090..............0.090...................0.190 ................... 30,795,353 .........0.100

.............................................SUM: .......................................................................................1,485 .................. 134........................ 1 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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

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

O M A N S T O C K S

INDICESIndex .................................................High .................Low ..................... Value ............... Prev . Value.......... Diff ...............Diff %MSM30 Index ....................................... 5,860.47 ............... 5,832.11 ................... 5,860.47 ....................5,831.61 ................. 28.86 ................... 0.49Financial Index ..................................... 7,095.51 ................7,018.61 ....................7,095.51 ................... 7,014.33 .................. 81.18 ................... 1.16Industrial Index ....................................7,385.29 ............... 7,363.76 ....................7,377.07 ....................7,355.12 ..................21.95 ...................0.30Services Index ...................................... 3,248.21 ...............3,237.56 ................... 3,248.21 ................... 3,237.56 ..................10.65 ................... 0.33MSM SHARIAH INDEX.......................908.60 .................. 906.13 ...................... 908.50 ...................... 906.14 ....................2.36 ...................0.26

Trading SummaryVolume ................ Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up ............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded25,963,628 ................. 6,584,625 ..................1,001 ...............14,663,960,095 ................25 ........................6 .................... 13 .........................44

MSM index ends higher

MUSCAT: Recovery continued on the Muscat bourse, with oil prices showing a steady rise. The MSM30 Index registered gains of 0.49 per cent to close at 5,860.47 points. The MSM Sharia Index closed at 908.50 points, up by 0.26 per cent.

Oman International Devel-opment Company (Ominvest) was the most active in terms of volume as well as turnover. Port Services was the top gainer, up by 9.22 per cent, while National Alu-minum, down by 4.81 per cent, was the top loser.

As many as 1,001 trades were executed during the trading ses-sion generating a turnover of OMR6.5 million with 25.9 mil-lion shares changing hands. Out of 44 traded securities, 25 ad-vanced, six declined and 13 re-mained unchanged.

Omani investors were net buy-ers to the tune of OMR2.2 million worth of shares, while GCC and Arab investors were net sellers at OMR2 million followed by for-eign investors, who sold shares amounting to OMR186,000.

Financial Index was the best performer, up by 1.16 per cent to close at 7,095.51 points. Oman

United Insurance, Al Madina In-vestments, Al Batinah Develop-ment, Bank Nizwa and Al Madina Takaful increased by 5.06 per cent, 3.33 per cent, 3.16 per cent, 3.03 per cent and 2.33 per cent, respectively.

Industrial Index gained by 0.30 per cent to close at 7,377.07 points. Dhofar Cattlefeed, Oman Fisheries, Al Hassan Engineer-ing, Al Anwar Ceramics and Gal-far Engineering increased by 3.96 per cent, 3.92 per cent, 3.33 per cent, 2.37 per cent and 2.02 per cent, respectively. National Alu-minium, Construction Materials and Raysut Cement declined by 4.81 per cent, 2.70 per cent and 0.43 per cent, respectively.

Services Index closed at 3,248.21points, up by 0.33 per cent. Port Services, OIFC, Re-naissance Services, Sembcorp Salalah and Oman Telecommu-nications Company gained by 9.22 per cent, 2.33 per cent, 1.84 per cent, 0.75 per cent and 0.31 per cent, respectively.

Al Maha Petroleum Company, National Gas and Phoenix Power declined by 1.01 per cent, 0.66 per cent and 0.64 per cent, respec-tively. - United Securities

Port Services was the top gainer, up by 9.22 per

cent, while National Aluminium, down by 4.81

per cent, was the top loser on Wednesday

Sensex surges; rupee appreciates

MUMBAI: Mining and energy stocks were among the major gain-ers on Wednesday, which pushed up Indian market for the sixth day on the trot, helping the bench-mark BSE Sensex to scale back 27,000-level as global cues firmed on recovery in crude oil prices.

The BSE barometer index jumped by 102.97 points to close at 27,035.85 — a level not seen since August 21. Besides, mining and energy stocks

surged after United States oil ap-proached $50 per barrel.

Hindalco was the top Sensex gainer with a rise of 9.64 per cent. Vedanta, Tata Steel and ONGC fol-lowed with rise of up to 5.83 per cent.

The broader NSE Nifty gained 24.50 points or 0.30 per cent to settle at 8,177.40 after shuttling between 8,188.90 and 8,132.90.

Auto segment stocks also at-tracted good buying interest on ex-

pectations that the festive season would boost sales.

Rupee at eight-week high The rupee on Wednesday recu-perated by 46 paise to close at an eight-week high of 64.95 against the United States dollar on fresh selling of the American currency by banks and exporters on persis-tent foreign capital inflows into domestic equities. - PTI

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

China’s foreign exchange reserves post record dropBEIJING: China’s foreign ex-change reserves fell by a record in the third quarter as the central bank sold dollars to support the yuan after a surprise August 11 devaluation sparked the curren-cy’s steepest slide in two decades.

The stockpile plunged by $180 billion in the three months through September to $3.51 tril-lion, according to Bloomberg cal-culations based on data released by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) on Wednesday. The hoard shrank $43.3 billion in Sep-tember, less than the $57 billion predicted in a survey, suggesting the pace of central bank interven-tion has eased.

The PBOC devalued the yuan and switched to a more market- oriented reference rate in August, prompting a 2.6 per cent decline in the currency that month and a record $141.66 billion of estimated capital outflows.

The monetary authority has been intervening in both the on-

shore and offshore markets to prop up its exchange rate, a strat-egy that drains the nation’s re-serves and weighs on the supply of money in the domestic market.

Converging rates“China has been trying to con-verge the rates in both the on-shore and offshore markets,” said Khoon Goh, a senior strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group in Singapore. “The pace of intervention should

slow as the dollar is weaker and the onshore and offshore rates are more or less converged.”

The offshore yuan, which last week traded stronger than the Shanghai spot price for the first time since July, posted the biggest monthly advance in four years in September. Its discount to the on-shore price exceeded 2 per cent a day after the devaluation on an-ticipation of further declines.

The currency in Hong Kong strengthened. - Bloomberg News

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Seminar to highlight OQF development at EduTraC

MUSCAT: Oman Academic Ac-creditation Authority (OAAA) as-pires to be an internationally rec-ognised authority for accreditation and for the promotion of quality in higher education in the Sultanate.

The OAAA has initiated an Oman Qualifications Framework (OQF) Development Project to revise and further develop the cur-rent academic OQF into a com-prehensive national qualifications framework for Oman which, when implemented, will address iden-tified needs across all education sectors in Oman and assist Oman in achieving national policy goals.

Fakhriya Al Habsi, director of the Oman Qualifications Frame-work Department at the OAAA and Dr Lee Sutherland, Quality Assur-ance consultant for the Qualifica-

tions Framework at the OAAA will present the Oman Qualifications Framework Development Project at EduTraC Oman 2015, says a press release.

The seminar will focus on the importance of National Qualifi-cations Frameworks (NQF) and the implications of a qualification framework for Oman. The pres-entation will be held at the semi-nar hall during the exhibition on October 13 from 10:45 - 11:30am and will provide an insight into how it will benefit the Sultanate. The seminar is open to all profes-sionals from the education sector in Oman, including deans, princi-pals, vice chancellors of the Omani HEIs as well as students from high school, colleges and universities.

“It will be an excellent occasion

to engage with the OQF develop-ment process, providing a key link to the key stakeholder bodies,” said Fakhriya Al Habsi.

Regulates quality educationOAAA was established by Royal Decree 54/2010 to regulate the quality of higher education in Oman in order to ensure the main-tenance of a level that meets inter-national standards and to encour-age higher education institutions to improve their internal quality. As well as being responsible for the accreditation of higher edu-cation institutions and their pro-grammes, the OAAA is mandated to develop and update the Oman Academic Qualifications Frame-work in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and other relevant authorities.

MandatoryThe scope of the OAAA mandate for developing and maintaining the current academic higher edu-cation qualifications framework was expanded to include all types of qualifications and levels from other education sectors, including schooling and vocational and tech-nical education and training based on a decision issued by the Educa-

tion Council (March 2014). Dr Hamed Hashim Al Dhahab,

Acting Chairman of OAAA Board said, “Through the establishment of the OAAA (formally known as the Oman Accreditation Coun-cil), Oman became one of the first Arab countries to have a national institution specialised in qual-ity assurance responsible for the accreditation of HEIs and their academic programmes. The OAAA has been active in cooperation with higher education quality as-surance authorities and networks locally, regionally and internation-ally. The OAAA has participated in many activities to spread a quality culture within higher education in Oman, for example through its continual support for the Oman Quality Network in Higher Edu-cation which was established in 2006. We are delighted to par-ticipate as the associate partner at EduTraC Oman 2015.”

EduTraC Oman is organised by Al Nimr International Exhibition Organisers – the Sultanate’s lead-ing organiser in the exhibitions and conferences industry. The expo will be open for visitors from October 12 – 14 at Oman Inter-national Exhibition Centre from 10am to 1pm and 4:30pm to 9pm.

The seminar will focus on the importance

of National Qualifications Frameworks

(NQF) and the implications of a qualification

framework for Oman

Salalah Indian Idol gets overwhelming response

SALALAH: The finals of the Salalah Indian Idol were held here recently at Hamdan Hotel’s Al Massa Hall attended by more than 200 people and the mega show Swar Sargam was held the next day at Ittin Municipal Stadium.

Among the 12 contestants three winners and three run-ners-up were shortlisted to the mega show. The contest was judged by U. K. Murali, music director from Chennai, Franco, playback singer from Kerala, Sajila Salim, Mapilla Pattu sing-er and Mylanji show judge in Asianet, says a press release.

Famous singers from India Srinivas, Renjini Jose, Franco, Sajila Salim and Navaz Kasar-god (Mylanji winner) enter-tained a full stadium crowd of around 4,500 people at the mega show event.

The show was compered by Ranjini Haridas.

Midway through the show re-sults of Salalah Indian Idol were announced in the presence of Manpreet Singh, chairman, In-dian Social Club Salalah, L. K. Joseph, project manager L&T In-dia Airport Project Salalah, Anil, MD Creative Consultancy, Isaac Thangachan MD, NDTC Con-struction and six members from Friends of Salalah, Anil Kumar, Eapen Panakal, Sunny Jacob, Sheik Meeran, Prajeesh Kumar

and Manoj Dcruz.The winners from three cat-

egories were:Group A (7-12 years) 1. Run-

ner-up - Harsha - award was pre-sented by Sejila Salim

2. Winner - Naseeb Nazir - award presented by Srinivas

Group B (13-18 years) 1. Run-ner Up - Salma Ria - award pre-sented by Franco

2. Winner - Salman Thangal - award presented by Srinivas

Group C (19 years & Above) 1. Runner Up - Hijzs Thangal - award presented by Renjini Jose

2. Winner - Beena Suresh- award presented by Srinivas

Swar Sargam began with a tribute to Oman and to the great leader of Oman His Majesty Sul-tan Qaboos bin Said followed by a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. All the viewers stood up for the tribute. A one minute silence prayer was held in memory of all the people who lost their lives during the Haj ceremony in Saudi Arabia recently.

Eapen Panakal gave the wel-come speech and introduced Ranjini Haridas and the show began. Singers entertained crowd with some wonderful songs from Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil also with some good Islamic songs. Anil Kumar pro-posed the vote of thanks.

S I N G I N G C O N T E S T

Suzuki announces 2nd promotion winner

MUSCAT: Suzuki announced the second winner of the most excit-ing offer in town i.e. the Suzuki Gold Rush offer. Mohammed Ab-dul Alim Gazi, who had purchased a Suzuki Swift 1.4L AT 2016 model for his business use, was the sec-ond lucky winner of 10 Tola gold bar, says a press release.

Mohammed said that he pur-chased the Suzuki Swift as he found it to be true value for mon-ey for its price and features, and moreover due to the opportunity to win 100 Tolas of gold in 10 draws of 10 Tola each. The third draw will be held today.

“Suzuki offers the opportunity to win 100 Tola gold in 10 draws of 10 Tola each. The excitement is even more if you buy early,” said Anil Sethi, general manager of Su-zuki, citing the reason “the early you buy, clearly more are your chances to win, so why wait.”

“There are 10 draws in total,

meaning a draw almost every two weeks, throughout the scheme period. Furthermore, you are as-sured of 1 Tola gold with every purchase, which proves an instant delight to our valued customers,” added Sethi.

Also on cards are ever attractive

prices on the entire Suzuki range, backed with cash gift promotion of up to OMR1,500, which also has been the key contributing factor for the huge success of the scheme.

So hurry! Make the most of the ‘Suzuki Gold Rush Offer’ to enjoy the benefits of Suzuki’s exciting

models, attractive prices, guaran-teed gift of gold, cash gift and am-ple chances to win 100 tolas of gold in 10 draws.

Moosa Abdul Rahman Hassan & Co is the sole distributors of Suzu-ki vehicles in Oman, with excellent network across major towns.

G O L D R U S H O F F E R

‘Al Shabiba’ designer to head layout

workshop at Dubai Infographic Fest

DUBAI: The latest technology is in high demand nowadays. But the truth is technology is nothing without great ideas and creative innovations behind it to capture the audience. Creativity is what wins in the end, with or without technology. So how to be crea-tive? How to tap that ingenuity within you? How to be more ar-tistic and innovative?

Get your creative juices flow-ing by participating in the next Middle East Creative Design and Dubai Infographic Fest. It will be organised by the Society for News Design with the support from the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated entity for culture and heritage, which will take place from October 23 to 25, 2015 in Dubai Knowledge Vil-lage, says a press release.

There will be a host of in-formative sessions on creative design and convergence to vari-ous channels. The conference will also discuss diverse trends and innovations in different plat-forms such as print, online and now UX design.

In Arabic layout workshop, de-signers will learn techniques and how to create a more dynamic and creative pages in Arabic lan-guage. This workshop will be presented by Osama Aljawish, who is an award winner designer in Al Shabiba and Times of Oman newspapers in Oman.

Art of contemporary Arabic calligraphy This workshop is designed for any artist or designer interested in Arabic calligraphy art (calligraph-ic). This workshop introduces the

aesthetic features of Arabic cal-ligraphy as a unique icon of Is-lamic art. It will be presented by Dr Salman Alhajri, an assistant professor of Art and Design, at the department of Art Education, at Sultan Qaboos University.

The National Geographic maga-zine infographic artist Fernando Baptista will be the keynote speak-er at this year’s conference. Bap-tista is one of the most talented in-fographic artists with worldwide recognition, his artistic obsession can be seen in his illustration and infographics for the National Geo-graphic magazine.

The conference will bring together leading media profes-sionals in the region and inter-nationally-recognised speakers to share their experiences and to showcase the best practices in design through innovation, crea-tivity and efficiency in producing content across print and digital platforms. The visual aspect of a product is crucial in adding value to its content, as good design at-tracts new readers and maintain readership loyalty.

Saeed Al Nabouda, acting di-rector general of the Dubai Cul-ture & Arts Authority, said: “We

are pleased to be part of a festival that encourages artistic creativity that brings the local and interna-tional community together.

“At Dubai Culture, we are committed to providing and supporting platforms for aspir-ing and professional artists, al-lowing them to highlight their innovative approaches that have the potential to redefine the cre-ative industry.

“With the media and design evolving tremendously, especially in today’s digital world, hosting this event in Dubai will also con-tribute to enriching the talents of young professionals and inspire them to push the boundaries.”

Together with the conference, a two-day three workshops on Infographics , Arabic Layout and The Art of contemporary Arabic calligraphy will be held on Octo-ber 23-24 (Thursday and Friday). The infographic workshop will be administered by Fernando Baptista from the National Geo-graphic in English language.

The conference and work-shop are open to all with creative minds in the region. It is neces-sary to register for the event in advance as the seats are limited.

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

Leminar opens new showroom in Oman

MUSCAT: Leminar Air Condi-tioning Company, one of UAE’s largest HVAC distributors, has opened its new office and show-room in Oman.

The office is located right oppo-site to Oman Avenues Mall, next to Al Hayat International Hospital in Ali Shaihani Tower 2 at Ghubra. This new facility has opened in line with Leminar’s vision of giving cus-tomers a service beyond their ex-pectation and is motivated by their increasing business in Oman and to accommodate the rapid growth, says a press release.

The brand new office offers Leminar’s full line of services in a state-of-the-art facility. It houses the office on the first floor and an entire ground floor for the showroom.

The facility has been designed to offer the best of support and service to the customers. Leminar also has a warehouse.

N E T W O R K E X P A N S I O N

B6 T H U R S DAY, O CTO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

ROUND-UPNew Iveco Daily comes to Oman

MUSCAT: International Equip-ment & Contracting Company, the exclusive dealer of Iveco Commer-cial vehicles in Oman, unveiled the much anticipated all-new Iveco Daily amidst media guests, inter-national and local partners and select customers.

The glittering ceremony was held at the Muscat Holiday Hotel, presided by Pierre Lahutte (Iveco Brand President), Luca Sra (head – Africa & Middle East), Ahmed Bahwan (chairman – Bahwan In-ternational Group Holding) and Divyendu Kumar (managing direc-tor – Bahwan International Group Holding), says a press release.

The completely re-engineered Iveco Daily is poised to become the new benchmark in the LCV seg-ment. This game-changing model will raise segment standards to new highs with its unmatched fea-tures like best in class load volume efficiency, car like comfort and driveability and optimised fuel consumption.

On this occasion Pierre Lahutte (Iveco Brand President) stated, “Oman represents a key country for our development in the Gulf, a growing market with important construction and infrastructure projects moving forward as the country economy grows year over year. This year Iveco more than doubled last year performances in HDT segment, thanks to the most complete line up in the market and a valuable partner, IECC. But in-deed our line-up ranges from light to heavy duty with the best per-forming offer at each level.

“Today we are delighted to in-troduce the New Daily to our cus-tomers in Oman. The New Daily, the third generation of Iveco’s light commercial vehicles, avail-able both in van and chassis cab versions, has been named the ‘In-ternational Van of the Year 2015’ for its contribution in setting new standards in terms of TCO, com-fort, driveability and efficiency. I am sure this model will be appreci-ated, as it has been in all the coun-tries it has been launched: from today our customers can count on the New Daily as a reliable and ef-ficient working partner.”

Across the globe this vehicle has already made great contributions to the standards of efficiency and the sustainability of transport of goods by road with respect to envi-ronment and safety of people. The New Daily is a major step forward in improving Total Cost of Owner-ship (TCO), comfort, driveability, productivity, and sustainability.

Ahmed Bahwan commented, “Today we offer among the larg-est range of commercial vehicles in Oman, catering to almost every customer segment. We are con-fident that with the launch of the New Daily, this position will get further consolidated and will ad-

vance the whole Iveco LCV seg-ment forward into the future. With higher levels of technology, the New Daily is not only positioned to appeal to existing customers in the region, but will also attract a new range of buyers looking for quality and enhanced performance.”

Divyendu Kumar added, “Iveco’s dominating position will be fur-ther consolidated with the intro-duction of All New Iveco Daily. The Iveco brand has earned im-mense loyalty over the years ow-ing to reliable and well-engineered commercial vehicles. Its supe-rior technology in terms of per-formance, comfort and safety fea-tures present exceptionally high standards for a vehicle in its class.”

The new Daily ever, is a perfect balance between cutting-edge in-novations and the continued evo-lution of the Daily’s strong herit-age. The Daily is a “global” vehicle: more than 2.6 million Daily vehi-cles have been sold to date in over 110 countries worldwide.

While 80 per cent of compo-nents have been redesigned, the New Daily has preserved its clas-sic ladder frame chassis struc-ture, which has long been a key part of its DNA and ensures its sturdiness, versatility and durabil-ity over time, including maximum bodybuilding flexibility for chassis cab versions.

Thanks to the new architec-ture, with longer wheelbases and reduced rear overhang, the New Daily guarantees excellent drive-ability without compromising its consolidated agility in confined spaces. The new front suspen-sion QUAD-LEAF, standard on 3.5 tonnes single wheels, constitutes the excellent blend between the two previous single- and twin-wheel versions, guaranteeing in-creased load carrying capacity of the first and ground clearance and maximum allowed payload on ax-les of the latter.

For the single-wheel models, the rear suspension has also been rede-signed, which has yielded two im-portant improvements: a decrease in the height of the load platform by approximately 55 millimetres to fa-cilitate vehicle loading and unload-ing, and a reduction of oversteer in load transfers when cornering. The combination of the new front and rear suspension systems, and the new longer wheelbases for the van produce a dynamic, category-lead-ing performance in terms of safety and stability.

Business requirementsThe third generation of the Daily is also focused on business re-quirements and offers a consider-able reduction in fuel consump-tion compared with the previous model, with a significant improve-ment in vehicle running costs, to-gether with the best performance in the category offering a wide range of engines, transmissions and axle ratios.

But that is not all: the comfort of the vehicle has also been greatly improved. The driver of the New Daily can benefit from a more comfortable and quieter interior compartment that guarantees the driving position and sensations typical of a premium automobile, as well as a multitude of closed and open storage compartments. The ergonomic design of the controls is at the top of its category, the sound insulation has been improved, the air conditioning system is more

efficient and driving comfort is excellent in all load conditions.

The tradition continuesThe ladder frame chassis is a vital element in the vehicle’s robust-ness and modularity: the load car-rying structure of the chassis with a C-profile, made from high-re-sistance steel, is guaranteed to be long-lasting and afford maximum bodybuilding flexibility. This solu-tion is the ideal support for every type of Daily configuration, allow-ing the vehicle to be more easily converted than the box- frame ver-sion, and makes it the only vehicle in its category capable of reaching a gross vehicle weight of up to 7 tonnes. The chassis confirms the excellent basic design of a top-of-the-range commercial vehicle.

The new architectureThe repositioning of the Daily in the single-wheel van segment is one of the most important objectives be-hind the vehicle’s design. The New Daily improves all performance areas of single-wheel vans. The load carrying efficiency has been optimised through the improved balance between the vehicle’s main dimensional elements: wheelbase, total length and useful length. The available wheelbases have been revised and now include 3,520 and 4,100mm, with the last two avail-able with both a short overhang and a long overhang.

With the new longer wheelbas-es, the New Daily can offer a new range of load carrying volumes. The new 18 and 19.6 m3 models are the best in their category in terms of available load space and the 10.8m3 version is the best in terms of load efficiency, an indicator that measures the ratio between the length of the load platform and the total length.

GVW of the van models range from 3.5 to 7 tonnes with vehicle load space volumes ranging from

9 to 19.6 m3. The van comes in heights of up to 2,100mm, so that even tall users can stand upright in the loading compartment. Exter-nal lengths range between 5,040 to 7,500 mm, while the load compart-ment starts from 2,600mm up to 5,100mm.

Vehicle of choiceThe New Daily van is the only ve-hicle with a GVW of up to 7 tonnes and load carrying capacity of up to 4,000kg that allows the same volumes to be transported with fewer trips, thus reducing costs and increasing productivity. All of these features make it the vehicle of choice for transport profession-als, both for distribution and for all applications that require large vol-umes, excellent performance and durability under pressure.

Chassis cab modelsThe range of chassis cab models is the largest on the market, with gross vehicle weights ranging from 3.5 to 7 tonnes, the wheelbase from 3,000 to 4,750mm and total vehicle lengths of up to 6,190mm. The new 4,100mm wheelbase and single-wheel version combines excellent drive ability and a 4,500mm body-building surface, whilst preserv-ing the distinctive qualities of the Daily and enhancing drive ability.

The New Daily chassis cab mod-el is the only vehicle in its class with a useful load carrying capac-ity of up to 4,700kg. Maximum load on front and rear axles is also at the top of the category. The 146 HP engine on twin-wheel versions is now also available with a 3 litre capacity and variable geometry turbocharger, improving payload capacity by more than 60kg, whilst offering enhanced fuel consump-tion and lower emissions.

Better handling and driveability:The new architecture with long

wheelbases and reduced rear over-hang has improved the balance and handling of the New Daily van without compromising its extraor-dinary agility in tight spaces. Its turning circle (10.5 m) is the best in its category.

A new front suspension system has been developed in order to ful-ly exploit the potential of the new vehicle. It improves comfort and driveability, and will be adopted as standard on both van and chassis cab versions.

The new QUAD LEAF front suspension is based on a double quadrilateral arrangement with traverse leaf springs that produces excellent results in terms of con-taining dimensions and masses.

The front suspension system has also been restyled with a dual quadrilateral arrangement and a torsion beam. The QUAD-TOR suspension system, standard on twin-wheel versions, has been adapted for heavy usage and can carry a maximum axle load of 2,500 kg (2,100 kg for versions up to 5 tonnes). This solution, which uses a torsion beam as a flexible element, is a unique fea-ture in the sector and has been one of the Daily’s strengths since it was first launched.

The rear suspension system on single-wheel versions has also been revised and its geometry has been recalibrated in order to minimise oversteer and increase the damping efficiency of the shock absorbers. A weight re-duction of 8kg in comparison to the previous model, along with a loading compartment lowered by 55mm make the New Daily a top level competitor in the rear wheel drive vehicle market.

Enhanced safety standardsSafety standards have also been enhanced with the New Daily. Aside from the optional Electronic Stability Program (ESP), the New

Daily introduces high-technolog-ical content, such as the Lane De-parture Warning System (LDWS), that emits an acoustic signal when the vehicle departs from the mark-er lines of a lane without activating the signal indicators. The system is extremely effective in prevent-ing accidents caused by distrac-tions or drowsiness.

The New Daily range of engines and performance:

New Daily is provided with 3 lit-er engine capacity, two fuel types - diesel 146 Hp or compressed natu-ral gas 136 Hp.

Profitability: the New Daily of-fers the best fuel economy ever

The New Daily features impor-tant technologies which aim to limit consumption: fuel savings equate to an average of 5.5%, de-pending on the different vehicle versions, and can reach up to 14% with EcoPack for urban missions.

Exterior design: New and functionalThe Iveco “family feeling” makes its debut on the New Daily. The ve-hicle design has been completely renewed and once again allows the Daily to stand out for its strong personality, distinctive style and attention to detail.

The front-end stems from the composition of different modules: the glazed surface of the wind-screen, framed by black pillars, continues seamlessly into the side windows and joins with the band created by the headlamps and the grille at the height of the mirrors. The bonnet stands out between the two modules like a floating expanse: it’s encom-passing shape and dimensions facilitate access to the engine compartment. Lower down, the bumpers stretch to the robust wheel arches and assist road hold-ing with their horizontal design.

The New Daily features a de-sign as sophisticated as any car, but it has its own, clear identity which it proudly displays because its shape is closely linked to its function. The headlamps are in a raised position and retracted to avoid damage in the case of mi-nor impacts. The continuous line between the headlamps and the front grille descends to highlight the energy and road-holding. The bands which encase all the sides protect the body and aesthetically separate the lower section with the mechanical parts from the up-per section which is dedicated to the cab and the load compartment. The larger glazed area makes the interior compartment feel bright-er and increases vertical visibility, and the new style improves vehicle aerodynamics.

Interior design: The new concept of comfort drivingThe cab interior has also been completely redesigned to make it an even more pleasant environ-ment for the driver and crew to be in, thanks to a space developed to increase visibility, ergonomics and sound insulation. The new dashboard, completely redesigned to enhance vehicle ergonomics, seat and steering wheel, allows the driver to adopt a similar driving position and have a similar experi-ence to that offered by a premium automobile.

The New Daily range includes vans, semi-window vans, chassis cabs, chassis crew cabs, chassis cowls and minibus versions.

The completely

re-engineered Iveco

Daily is poised to

become the new

benchmark in the

LCV segment

B7T H U R S DAY, O C TO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

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Ten-day treat for book lovers at Lulu Book Fair

MUSCAT: The third edition of the Lulu Book Fair was officially inau-gurated by Ali Muhammed, direc-tor of Human Resources, Ministry of Education, in the presence of the senior management of Lulu.

The 10-day event conducted in association with Al Bhaj Trading brings to Oman a range of books that will cater to the varied tastes of people. Aimed at raising aware-ness and inculcating the reading

habit to a generation more tech-nologically inclined, the Lulu Book Fair is aimed at focusing on read-ing for knowledge, fun, opportu-nities and inspiration especially for the younger generation, says a press release.

The fair will have quite an offer-ing which a book lover searches for — be it fiction, arts, philosophy or history, management, fictions, classics and lifestyle. Cookery too

has got prominence. Children too need not get disappointed as there is enough to keep them interested in the fair. In order to make the book purchase more enticing Lulu is giving back OMR2.5 with every purchase of books worth OMR10.

On the occasion, Ananth A. V., regional director of Lulu Hyper-markets, Oman said, “The Lulu Book Fair is a celebration of dis-covering books, discovering read-ing, discovering genre of storytell-ing. Our aim is to let people reach the books and feel the books with the impressive line-up that in-cludes multi-lingual titles. We have given sufficient focus on the trending titles and made an at-tempt to make the Lulu Book Fair as interactive as possible. The gain in popularity and its role in enrich-ing cultural understanding has

made it a platform for connecting, engaging and learning about sea-soned authors and uncovering new ones,” he added.

“The Lulu Book Fair is an at-tempt to inculcate the reading habits and develop their literacy skills within an enjoyable environ-ment, broaden their imagination, improve their talents, enhance their creative thinking skills, in-troduce positive behaviour and attitudes and enhance work skills. It will also offer a platform for the latest Arab and foreign publica-tions to showcase diverse cultures and literacy styles,” he added.

Now with over a decade and a half presence in Oman, Lulu ig-nited the retail revolution by in-tegrating all conceivable needs of the consumer under one roof and becoming a shopping destination.

In order to make the book purchase more

enticing Lulu is giving back OMR2.5 with

every purchase worth OMR10

INAUGURATION: The third edition of the Book Fair was officially inaugurated by Ali Muhammed, director of Human Resources, Ministry of

Education, in the presence of the senior management of Lulu. – Jun Estrada/ TIMES OF OMAN

Waljat organises faculty

development programme

MUSCAT: Waljat College of Applied Sciences organised a two-week Faculty Development Programme (FDP) on research methodology and innovative teaching methods for its faculty members, recently.

The programme was approved by Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE). The basic objective of the programme was to build and nurture a research culture among faculty members in the college. The programme comprised the-ory as well as practical sessions to provide a comprehensive ex-posure to the participants, says a press release. The resource per-sons for the programme included experts from other institutes and universities in Oman. Moreover, subject experts from within the college also delivered lectures on various topics of interest related to the theme of the programme.

The major focus of the FDP was on fundamentals of research methodology, different phases of research (including research design), addressing plagiarism related issues, research proposal development, data analysis, in-novative teaching methods, and educational assessment and evaluation. Practical sessions on Mendeley, SPSS 22.0, and MAT-LAB were conducted as a part of the FDP programme to provide hands on training on referencing and citation and data analysis. Fifty five faculty members from different departments of the col-

lege, viz.; Management, English, Mathematics, Computer Scienc-es, and Engineering participated in the programme.

The programme ended with a valedictory function. The chief guest for the function was Prof. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Naamany, Dean of MCBS. Prof. Ahmed shared a number of significant contributions of the Arab world in the context of sci-ence, engineering, architecture, technology, and many other dis-ciplines. However, the shift from Research & Development to mere application and use of appropri-ate technology, particularly in GCC and Mena region is indica-tive of a changing paradigm. Ac-cording to him, many innovation-based economies have witnessed significant growth and develop-ment all over the world. In this context, he expressed strong commitment to channelise stu-dents in Oman and make con-scious efforts in creating and nur-turing a strong research culture in the country.

According to Prof. S.L. Gupta, Dean, the college intends to or-ganise similar research-based programmes for students, faculty members of other colleges, and employees of different organisa-tions to usher scientific research philosophy and orientation in Oman. The college awarded cer-tificate of participation to all the participants who successfully completed the FDP programme.

I N N O V A T I V E T E A C H I N G M E T H O D S

Kerala Wing quiz contest tomorrowMUSCAT: Kerala Wing of the Indian Social Club Muscat is con-ducting Inter-School Quiz Com-petition titled as ‘Ente Keralam-Ente Malayalam’ at Indian School Darsait auditorium tomorrow.

Inter-School Quiz Competi-tion is being held by Kerala Wing for the past 12 years and focuses on the segments of art, literature, history, contemporary issues, lan-guage and sports. The programme will unveil the chronological but oblivion facts of the state and its journey through the various key fragment of data. Renowned nov-elist, playwright and Jnapeedam award winner M. T. Vasudevan Nair will deliver the felicitation through a audio address upon the opening ceremony, says a press release. Traditionally and for the current event the quiz masters will be the experts of their re-spective fields aligned with key segments. Quiz hostess for 2015 competition will be Parvathi Devi a well known journalist, writer and social activist from Kerala.

“Parvathi Devi has authored a number of articles related to wom-en’s issues and women’s self sus-tainment through social reforms. She is also the Principal Public Re-lations Officer for Kudumbasree — nodal agency for empowerment of women in rural areas; constituted for the eradication of absolute poverty through concerted com-munity action,” organisers said in a press statement.

Contestants of the quiz pro-gramme will be the students from 19 Indian Schools of Oman and it is estimated to be a whopping 800 of both junior as well as senior sections contesting for three posi-tions with the aid of audio visual flashes and rich multimedia.

“The programme will be open to public and will be a recall of faded knowledge quest through the historical past of the state,” organisers added.

I N T E R - S C H O O L C O N T E S T

Bank Sohar opens relocated Rustaq branchMUSCAT: Bank Sohar recently celebrated the official opening of its newly relocated branch in the Wilayat of Rustaq under the auspices of Sheikh Hilal bin Said Hamdan Al Hajri, Governor of South Batinah region.

The branch has been relocated to a prominent location just off the main road from Muscat on the way towards Wilayat Ibri, provid-ing greater visibility and easier ac-cessibility to the bank’s customers in the region.

The opening celebration wit-nessed the attendance of several of the bank’s VIP customers from the region. Representing the bank and welcoming the guests at the event were Rashad Ali Al Musafir, acting CEO, R. Narasimhan, GM -Retail Banking, Khamis Masoud Al Rahbi, Senior AGM of Branch-es, Mazin Mahmood Al Raisi, Senior AGM- Marketing and Cus-tomer Experience, Rashid Saif Al Maskry, Batinah district manager,

and Mohammed Abdullah Al Am-rani, senior branch manager of the Rustaq branch.

Commenting on the official opening of the relocated branch, Rashad Al Musafir said, “As one of the leading financial institu-tions in Oman, we are delighted to strengthen our presence in Wilay-at Rustaq with a larger and newer

facility. Bank Sohar has earned a reputation for deliver banking excellence and serving the com-munity. Not only is this event a matter of privilege to be able to provide our customers the utmost convenience and care when bank-ing with us in Rustaq, but is also perfectly in line with our bank-wide focus this year on enhancing

our customer service and improv-ing the overall banking experience across our branch network.”

The opening ceremony began with Al Hajri cutting a ribbon to signify the opening of the re-allocated branch in the presence of senior officials from Banks So-har together with a number of the bank’s VIP customers from the re-gion. Later, the chief guest, along with the attendees, were taken on a short tour of the branch, which houses a spacious design with clear demarcation of the ar-eas covering a range of customer friendly facilities. The attendees were also briefed on the various products and services offered by Bank Sohar, whether through the newly relocated Rustaq branch, or any of the other 25 branches spread across the Sultanate.

Commenting on this occasion, Narasimhan, said, “We consist-ently focus on offering customers better valued product and service

propositions with the utmost con-venience and care when banking with us. This new location is a full service branch that has an excel-lent design and interior furnishing backed by high end technological infrastructure that will continue to provide the bank’s regular port-folio of retail and corporate bank-ing products and services to our existing and prospect customers of this region. With ample parking facilities, a larger interior space, and easier accessibility from the main road, together with a 24-hour ATM and CDM facility, the new branch will better equip us to service the needs of our clients in the Rustaq region, and will no doubt offer a significant improve-ment to customer convenience in the area.”

Together with the reallocated Rustaq Branch, Bank Sohar pro-vides an extensive network of 26 conventional branches and 51 ATMs across the Sultanate.

P R O M I N E N T L O C A T I O N

Teacher’s Day celebration at PSM

MUSCAT: An array of activities designed to highlight the role and importance of a teacher marked the Teacher’s Day celebration at Pakistan School Muscat.

The school held the ceremony to highlight the value of teach-ers for the students, attended by Ataullah Niazi, senior principal, Khalid Jadoon, principal, Munaz-za Ghafoor, principal junior school and teachers, says a press release.

The ceremony started with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran. The PSM students en-thusiastically participated in the event and paid a hearty tribute to all the teachers. Ataullah Niazi, Khalid Jadoon and Munazza Ghafoor enlightened the students about the importance and role of teachers as nation builders.

“Teaching is a sacred profes-sion and is linked with the pro-fession of prophecy. Teachers not only enlighten a single per-son with knowledge but impart wisdom amongst society. It is students’ responsibility to fully prove that they respect their teachers in true spirit as success comes to those nations who re-

gard their teachers,” they said.“A teacher is the builder of the

nation who sets society to the right path. Teachers undoubted-ly are the treasure of society and Islam has taught us to respect our teachers,” they added.

Ataullah Niazi, Khalid Jadoon and Munazza Ghafoor expressed their best wishes to the teachers.

T R I B U T E T O T E A C H E R S

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Legendary poets promise a memorable Mushairah

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Legendary Indian poets are looking forward to participating in tomorrow’s Annual Mushairah being organised by Urdu Wing of the Indian Social Club Muscat at Al Bustan Palace Hotel.

Scheduled to start at 7.30pm on Friday, October 9, the 8th edition of the Annual Mushairah is ex-pected to draw a full house for the sheer quality of poetry it promises to offer. The presence of big-ticket poets like Nida Fazli, Munawwar Rana and Rais Ansari is certain to entertain the crowd and make

it another glorious chapter in the event’s history.

Urdu Wing’s Annual Mushairah is not only awaited by the Muscat audience but by those invited to participate in it too, who are keen to make it another memorable edition.

“We keep our calendars marked for this Mushairah and patronise this event as it promotes the language,” said renowned poet Nida Fazli in comments to Times of Oman.

Almost all the leading poets have participated in this mega an-nual event.

“We have always had great time

and wonderful experience at-tending the Annual Mushairah hosted by Urdu Wing, which is doing excellent work in promot-ing Urdu in Oman,” commented noted poet Rais Ansari while re-plying to a question.

The Muscat audience is known to appreciate quality in poetry and prose.

“There is no doubt that the audi-ence here is quite knowledgeable and has a flair for poetry, particu-larly ghazals, geet and nazm,” re-marked popular poet Munwwar Rana, who has been a regular to Mushairahs in Muscat.

Other poets specially invited to participate are Jauhar Kan-puri, Shabeena Adeeb, Nawaz Deobandi, Saleem Amrohvi and Suman Dubey.

The Mushairah will be conduct-ed by Rais Ansari, one of the best comperes of literary events.

Entry will be strictly through invitation cards which can be col-lected from Tufail (99474295), Asif (99105283) for Ghalah and Ghubrah, Khusro (98083202)

for Al Khuwair and Bausher, Shibu (99375369) for Ruwi, Faizi (99424847) for Muttrah, Salam (99427965) for Darsait and Ameenuddin (97047811) at ISC Counter, Wadi Kabir.

Urdu Wing, a non-profit literary and cultural organisation of Indian Social Club, has been organising literary events in Oman since their inception in 2006.

This year’s Mushairah is pre-sented by Al Omaniya Financial Services, which under its CEO Aftab Patel has been the main supporter of Urdu Wing’s annual mega event.

Bank of Beirut is the Power spon-sor of the Mushairah, which is also sponsored by Al Nahdha, Jindal Shadeed, Bank Muscat, Arabian Heights, Nuhas Oman, NBO, Areej Vegetable Oils, Badr Al Samaa, Al Aruba, Modern Exchange, Na-tional Paints, Renna Mobile, L&T, Mustafa Sultan Enterprises, Plati-num Development, Al Zehra Build-ing Material, Sinsila International, Muscat Pharmacy and Al Hashar Travel and Tourism.

Scheduled to start at 7.30pm on Friday,

October 9, the 8th edition of the Annual

Mushairah is expected to draw a full house for

the sheer quality of poetry it promises to offer

OER Finance Summit to be held on Oct. 20MUSCAT: OER Finance Sum-mit and Top 20 Awards, one of the eagerly awaited events in Oman’s corporate calendar, will be held at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Muscat on October 20, 2015.

Organised by Oman Economic Review (OER), one of the leading business magazines, the Finance Summit, will bring together CEOs, CFOs and financial lead-ers for an interactive discussion on ‘managing finance in an un-certain business environment,’ says a press release.

The summit will cover a range of topics that include managing business risk; negotiating finan-cial uncertainty and striking a balance between short term ob-jectives and long term sustain-ability against the backdrop of falling oil prices.

PartnersBank Muscat, the flagship finan-cial services provider in the Sul-tanate is the strategic partner, while Renault, which is exclu-sively imported and distributed in Oman by Suhail Bahwan Auto-mobiles, is the associate partner.

Times of Oman and Al Shabiba are the media partners.

OER Finance Summit will have international speakers sharing their expertise. Keynote speakers from London Econom-ics are also expected to attend. The summit will offer an oppor-tunity to engage in peer network-ing, share best practices, and to gain insights on ways to address challenges and opportunities faced by businesses every day.

Top 20 AwardsThe event will also feature the coveted OER Top 20 Awards for the year 2015. The OER Top 20 Awards is one of its kind event to honour companies, which have excelled across several catego-ries including revenues, profits and so forth. The OER Top 20 companies are the largest listed companies on the Muscat Secu-rities Market. The event will be attended by over 200 CEOs and senior executives from the top 50 listed companies on the Muscat Securities Market and business leaders from privately owned and joint stock companies.

C O R P O R A T E E V E N T

Bank Muscat lines up Open Day events to offer exclusive personal financeMUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the flag-ship financial services provider in the Sultanate, has lined up a series of Open Day events across the Sultanate offering a unique opportunity to avail one of the best offers on personal, home and auto finance with a range of add-on benefits.

The bank is committing 24-hour disbursement of finance along with free Lulu Bank Mus-cat credit card, Bank Muscat pre-paid card preloaded with OMR25 and free personal protection in-surance plan.

The offer is valid only at the Open Day venues and not at any Bank Muscat branches, says a press release.

The first of the series of Open Days will be held at the Oman Avenues Mall in Muscat on Octo-ber 13, 14 and 15 followed by the event at Lulu Nizwa on October 21 and 22.

The third event will be held at Lulu Sohar on October 28 and 29. The fourth event will be held in Sur at Makkah Hypermarket on November 4 and 5. The concluding event will be held at Lulu Salalah on November 11 and 12. The Open Day timing at all venues will be

from 10am to 10pm.To avail the exclusive offer,

customers are required to submit copy of national identity card or resident card, salary assignment letter, passport copy for expatri-ates, address proof, water or elec-tricity bill or rental agreement.

Said Al Badai, DGM – Branches, said: “Bank Muscat is proud to launch the exclusive Open Day events across the Sultanate offer-ing customers a range of exciting

finance offers. In step with respon-sible banking, the focus of Bank Muscat is clear — create a sustain-able financial platform for the na-tion and people and thereby con-tribute to the country’s progress and development.

“Committed to supporting eco-nomic growth and sustainable development, the bank seizes every opportunity to reiterate partnership in building the na-tion by creating opportunities

for individuals and businesses to grow and prosper.”

Doing more is the forte of Bank Muscat — more for the economy, more for the community and more for the individual.

The bank has incorporated sustainable best practices and is fully equipped to guide custom-ers through all stages of banking life, whether it be savings, invest-ments, financing or just reliable financial advice.

U N I Q U E O P P O R T U N I T Y

Ooredoo opens new store in RustaqMUSCAT: Ooredoo has opened a vibrant new franchise store in Rustaq, with its long-term part-ner and store operator Enhance, a WJ Towell company.

This new franchise, Ooredoo’s 11th concept store, was inaugu-rated by Sheikh Mahmood Ab-dullah Al Saidi, Deputy Wali of Al Rustaq, alongside members of Ooredoo’s management team, says a press release.

Concept store“The growth of our customer base in Al Batinah has inspired our recent launch of concept stores and serves as an integral part of our strategy to be within reach of all our customers across Oman.

Ooredoo cares for local commu-nities and aims to inspire human growth through technology; what better way to do this than being within easy reach,” said Feras Al Shaikh, director of Consumer Sales at Ooredoo.

Ooredoo’s expansion strategy is centred upon its brand values of ‘Caring’ and ‘Connecting’, with a focus on getting closer to local communities. The company fo-cuses on offering an unparalleled customer experience across all touch-points, but there has been a big focus this year on physically bringing their dynamic and now well-known brand to all regions of the Sultanate.

“Our long-awaited store in

Rustaq is our second in Al Bati-nah, and will bring to the area and surrounding communities a full range of Ooredoo products and services in a state-of-the-art en-vironment. Having inaugurated five stores in total since April 2015, we look forward to reaching out to more customers with our long-term partner,” said Ahmad Abbas, general manager of Retail Solutions at Enhance Oman.

Ooredoo’s focus on customer engagement has realised a grow-ing footprint across the Sultan-ate, with franchise stores estab-lished in Rustaq, Amerat and Al Musannah, Jalan Bani Bu Ali, Sinaw, Saham, Samail, Mussanah and Sa’dah.

E X P A N S I O N

In step with responsible banking, the focus of Bank Muscat is clear – create a sustainable financial platform for the nation and people and thereby contribute to the country’s progress and development

Said Al BadaiDGM – Branches

Maisarah opens new branchMUSCAT: Under the patron-age of Sheikh Ibrahim bin Yahya Al Rawahi, Wali of Seeb, Maisa-rah Islamic Banking Services celebrated the official launch of its fifth branch in Al Hail. The launch of Al Hail branch comes as part of the Islamic window’s growth strategy and to provide world-class Islamic banking products, services and banking solutions to customers in differ-ent locations across Oman.

The launch ceremony was at-tended by Abdul Hakeem Omar Al Ojaili, Acting Chief Executive Officer of BankDhofar, and Sohail Niazi, Chief Islamic Banking Of-ficer – Maisarah, as well as invit-ed guests, sheikhs and dignitaries from Wilayat of Seeb, and execu-tive management team members and staff from BankDhofar and Maisarah Islamic Banking Ser-

vices, says a press release.Jamsheed Hamza, head of Re-

tail Banking– Maisarah, said dur-ing the inauguration ceremony: “There has been an increasing de-mand on Sharia-compliant bank-ing products and financial solu-tions, and the launch of Maisarah’s services in Al Hail will definitely fulfil the market demand for Is-lamic products and services in Al Seeb and neighbouring areas.”

Manal Al Zadjali, Al Hail Branch Manager, said: “The new Maisarah branch in Al Hail is set up with a team of trained Islamic banking representative with a focus on serving the customers with the right product and ser-vice. The branch team is success-fully providing customers with the best banking experience, ful-filling their needs and meeting their requirements.”

A L H A I L

Time to cash in on Kia SorentoMUSCAT: Now owning a Kia Sorento is even easier, with a de-lightful cash gift. The cash gift amount can be used as part of Down Payment, making it even easier to own a Sorento!

In fact, customers can choose any one option. Either a cash gift of OMR900 or 18 months/30,000km service whichever is earlier, to-gether with 1 year insurance along with a cash gift of OMR300.

In addition to this, there also is an attractive offer on 14MY Soren-to which comprises a cash gift of OMR1,300 or, 5 years/100,000km service (whichever is earlier), 1 year insurance as well as cash gift of OMR300, says a press release.

Offer till October 18The offer that started on August 19 will last until October 18 2015.

This brings the coveted Soren-to within easy reach of custom-ers. Redesigned to be sleek, strong, and adaptive, the Kia Sorento has elegantly sculpted surfaces, more cabin space, and a wraparound dashboard for distinctive appeal. From finely crafted seating to intuitive ad-

vanced technologies, it’s the car to drive to seek out adventure.

The Sorento utilises Kia’s ad-vanced safety equipment and technologies to provide a high level of occupant protection for drivers and their families as measured by the US government. A compelling compact CUV, the Sorento has a 5-Star rating from NHTSA.

From a styling perspective, re-designed front and rear fasciae in-corporate new lighting elements, the 17-inch alloy wheels have been redesigned and a larger 19-inch alloy wheel is offered on the top model. The Sorento is on display at the showroom – for those who wish to have a closer look!

Reliable International Automo-tive (RIA), the distributor for Kia in Oman provides a rewarding owner-ship experience for customers.

P R O M O T I O N

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

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Red-hotLewandowski has Euro 2016 in his sights

Le Guen respects Iran but expects Oman to focus on their own game

A SESHAGIRI RAOraoas@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Reputations are to be respected. But they are to be put aside when it comes to a competition.

That’s the philosophy being ad-vocated by Oman coach Paul Le Guen as his wards gear up to take on formidable Iran in a crucial World Cup/Asian Cup qualifier on Thursday.

With both the hosts and the visitors on same seven points from three matches, the outcome of the Group D match, to be played at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex from 6.30pm, will decide who will be in pole position to seal a direct entry into the 2019 Asian Cup and a place in the final round of the 2018 World Cup.

Even as his counterpart Carlos Queiroz is speaking about the time to end a 14-year drought against Oman, Le Guen wants his boys to forget all the hype about their ri-vals’ reputation and ‘focus on their own game’ in the crucial clash.

Much has been spoken and writ-ten about the gulf between the two teams, their experience, the qual-ity of players and even the rank-ings — remember Oman are at 102

on FIFA ladder while Iran are far ahead of them at 39th place.

“We respect Iran. But not too much,” Le Guen said speaking during the match-eve press con-ference at City Seasons Hotel on Wednesday.

The Frenchman said: “We know the situation. And we also know the qual-ity of our opposition. Iran is an expe-rienced side. They are a big team. We respect them.”

However, indicating that Oman should be giving ‘not too much re-spect’, Le Guen added: “We have to be ourselves. Once we enter the field, we have to focus on our game. We will have to give our best.”

Terming the match as a ‘massive game’, Le Guen said: “It is going to be a difficult match. Considering the situation of the group and the quality of the opposition, it is great to be playing this kind of match. And that too in Muscat, in front of our home fans.”

“As I said we have to give our best on the field tomorrow in order to get good results,” he added.

Lack of firepowerLe Guen has for long been com-plaining about lack of firepower at his disposal and that has been

even more complicated by the ab-sence of star striker Abdulaziz Al Maqbali, who is away in South Ko-rea representing the Sultanate at the Military World Games.

That has left the Frenchman with one proven striker in the form veteran forward Imad Al Hosni.

And that for very reason, Le Guen may also rely more on young Saud Al Farsi.

When queried about the selec-tion of Saud and the possibility of fielding the Sur striker, Le Guen said: “Ideally I would like to have Abdulaziz (Al Maqbali) playing in the qualifier. Now we have just Imad’s (Al Hosni) experience. We don’t have many strikers. So why not Saud?”

“I have been trying to resolve this issue. But there are no miracle solutions in football. I will be ‘chat-ting’ with the strikers and prepare them for tomorrow’s difficult out-ing,” he added.

Le Guen, however, will be as-sured of solidity in the other de-partments, especially in the goal which will be manned by Omani captain Ali Al Habsi.

Then the experience of play-ers like Saad Suhail, Mohammed Sheiba, Jaber Al Owaisi, Ahmed

Mubarak ‘Kanu’, Ali Al Jabri, Eid Al Farsi, Raed Ibrahim Al Haikal and Qasim Said will come in handy if Oman hope to upset the Iranians.

Intense matchCarlos Queiroz, meanwhile, is ex-pecting an intense match in which his team will hope to achieve a ‘positive result’ for the first time in 14 years against Oman.

Iran’s victory over Oman, a 5-2 verdict, came way back in 2001 at LG Cup in Iran.

Though their Portuguese coach is talking about lack of a ‘positive result’ for 14 years, if one goes by the statistics available on the in-ternet, the teams met just three times in the intervening years — the last outing was a friendly encounter played in Muscat in 2013 which the hosts won by a 3-1 margin.

The other two ended in 2-2 draws in 2004 Asian Cup and 2010 WAFF Championship.

Queiroz is hoping his team will change that trend on Thursday.

“For the last 14 years, Iran was not able to produce a positive re-sult against Oman and it’s time to change that record,” he said.

The Portuguese, whose squad

trained in the UAE briefly be-fore arriving in Muscat, wants to see his team on top of their game against Oman.

“It is going to be an intense match as both teams will be look-ing for full points. Oman are a good team and they are being coached by a good coach. I know we are not going to have an easy outing.”

“Obviously we cannot under-estimate a team that has players like Abdulaziz (Al Maqbali) and other experienced players,” he said as if to indicate he knows Oman team well enough to chalk out a right strategy. Queiroz at the same time stressed that the Iranians are here to win full points.

“This match is important as both teams will be looking to grab all the points. Our primary objec-tive is to qualify for the next round. And we are here to make sure that we are on the right path to achieve that,” he said.

Omani forward Imad Al Hosni, meanwhile, hoped the fans will turn up in large numbers at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex and root for their team.

“It’s an important match in the group. We will be giving our best. I wish to see a full house and all the

Omanis rooting for us,” he said.Iran captain Andranic Tey-

mourian promised that his team will play very ‘logical and en-ergetic football’ to achieve the desired result.

Well prepared“We had good training in the UAE. We are well prepared and ready for Oman match,” he said.

“It’s difficult to predict the result of any football match. But we will surely be playing good ‘forward moving’ and energetic football. Hopefully, we will get good result,” he said. The Iranian captain and coach also paid tributes to former international forward Hadi No-rouzi, who passed at the age of 30 last week due to heart attack.

Both conveyed their condolenc-es to the family of the deceased.

The group winners and four best runners-up will advance to the 2019 Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The next best 24 teams from the pre-liminary stage of the joint quali-fiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining 12 slots in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup.

Even as his

counterpart Carlos

Queiroz is speaking

about the time to end

a 14-year drought

against Oman, Paul

Le Guen wants his

boys to forget all

the hype about their

rivals’ reputation

and ‘focus on their

own game’ in the

crucial clashSTAYING POSITIVE: ran coach Carlos Queiroz, right, speaks as cap-

tain Andranic Teymourian, centre, looks on. – JUN ESTRADA / Times of Oman

MAKING A POINT: Oman team coach Paul Le Guen, second right, speaks during a presss conference on

the eve of their World Cup/Asian Cup Group D qualifier against Iran. – JUN ESTRADA / Times of Oman

In Muscat, Japan not taking Syria lightly

MUSCAT: Head coach Vahid Hal-ilhodzic has warned Japan not to take Syria lightly when his side tackle the Group E leaders in the latest round FIFA World Cup 2018 and AFC Asian Cup 2019 Pre-liminary joint qualifiers on Thurs-day at the Seeb Sports Stadium in Muscat.

The Samurai Blue currently oc-cupy second spot with seven points from their three groups games, two less than the impressive Syrians who boast a perfect record thanks to wins over Afghanistan, Singa-pore and Cambodia.

With top spot up for grabs, Hal-ilhodzic is eager for Japan, who have never lost to Syria in eight previous meetings, to follow up

victories over Cambodia and Af-ghanistan with a win in Muscat, although the wily tactician is more than aware of the size of the task awaiting his charges.

“The match against Syria is go-ing to be most difficult and most important among the matches we had in this year,” he told reporters.

“They have a couple of good players and don’t need so many goal-scoring opportunities.

“I have watched about eight of the Syria matches, and I know each player’s strength and weak-ness and the way they play. “We need to get ready to win the bat-tle. We’ve got excellent quality and experience. We will come out with confidence and keep winning.”

India vs TurkmenistanMeanwhile at Ashgabat, after three consecutive defeats, India have a tough task ahead of them against hosts Turkmenistan when the two teams clash in the 2018 World Cup qualification match .

India lost to Oman, Guam and more recently to Iran to be placed at the bottom of Group D. Turk-menistan have lost against Oman and Guam and drawn against Iran to be placed just above India.

Placed 155th in the FIFA rank-ings, Turkmenistan have faced 167th-ranked India in five match-es earlier with both sides winning two each — one fixture was drawn.

Despite positive words cropping up from the Indian camp ahead

of Thursday’s game, it remains to be seen whether Stephen Con-stantine’s boys — led by forward Sunil Chhetri — will walk the talk against a team that is close to their rankings.

Ahead of the match, na-tional coach Stephen Con-stantine termed the clash as a “difficult task”.

“We are aware of the difficult task. Turkmenistan had a fantastic result against Iran. It speaks about the ability and determination of the team,” Constantine said.

“Iran is a super power in Asia and we always respect a team which managed to get a point from them. So we expect a very difficult game. The past may be hinting at

something different but Turkmen-istan are a much improved side in the last few years,” the coach said.

India captain Chhetri said the team is ready to face a talented opposition.

“We have watched some videos of Turkmenistan. They are very strong at Home. We played against Iran at home in our last match and stay aware of Iran’s might even when they play away. And Turkmenistan held Iran at home,” Chhetri said.

“We respect Turkmenistan. We have even watched the video of their match against Oman. They have some talented play-ers. But we are ready for that,” the captain said. — AFC, IANS

W O R L D C U P / A S I A N C U P Q U A L I F I E R S

WARMING UP: Japanese football players take part in a training session in Muscat. – AFP TRAINING SESSION: Syrian players training hard for their home game in Muscat. – AFP

Oman loseto SyriaMUSCAT: Oman squandered an early goal to lose against Syr-ia 1-2 in the West Asian Football Federation Under-23 Champi-onship in Doha on Wednesday.

Oman scored an early goal, thanks to a brilliant effort by Ahmed Siyabi. However,Syria pounced back in the second half with two back-to-back goals and deny Oman a chance to progress in the championship. Earlier, Oman had lost to UAE.

W A F F T O U R N E Y

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Berdych losesBEIJING: Second seed Tomas Berdych crashed out in the first round of the China Open on Wednesday after losing 6-4, 6-4 to Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas, two days after winning his first ATP title of the year in Shenzen.

Spaniard David Ferrer, fresh from winning his fourth title of the year in Malaysia on Sunday, advanced to the quarterfinals in Beijing with a 7-6(5), 6-2 win against Czech Lukas Rosol.

Ferrer’s countryman Rafa Na-dal also made his way through to the last eight with a 7-6(3), 6-4 win over Vasek Pospisil.

In the women’s draw, Pole Agnieszka Radwanska reached last eight when Madison Keys retired with a thigh injury after losing the first set 6-3. - Reuters

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Determined to make it 3-0, says Miller

KOLKATA: Bolstered by their back to back wins against India, South Africa batsman David Miller says his team is all pumped to make a clean sweep of the three-match T20 series here on Thursday.

“I think it is a massive point. We are 2-0 up and are determined to make it 3-0. As you say, mo-mentum and confidence is a big thing in international cricket. I think, our preparations have been really good. We’ve been trying to check all the boxes and hopefully we come out on top tomorrow,” said Miller on the eve of the third and final T20 International.

“To be honest, its a great feeling to be coming to Kolkata 2-0 up in the series. The series win is really big. We came here with a lot of ex-pectations to do well, we have put a lot of pressure on us to perform.

“India are an amazing T20 side with huge players. It gives us a lot of confidence moving forward com-ing close to the World Twenty20,” said the hard-hitting batsman.

“We are playing against Eng-land and at the end of the year in Australia. We just need to take as much confidence as we can mov-ing forward. It has been a huge confidence booster.”

South African key batsman AB de Villiers did not come for the practice on Wednesday and Miller said it was not much of an issue.

“It is an optional practice today. Some players have taken a day off. It has been a long week. We have had some intense games, a lot of practice and travelling. I hope AB does play. We will see tomorrow.

“As supposed to what is going to happen tomorrow, I am not very sure. Maybe resting a few guys but I have got no idea about

that as well.” The general pattern is to practice in the evening if the match is a night affair. Why morn-ing practice?

“To be honest, we have been giv-en that slot. I am not sure how the logistics work on practice sched-uling. I have been told to be ready at 9 am in the morning and I made sure I was not late for the bus.”

Dhoni was suggesting that home matches during this time of the year should start earlier to negate the dew factor but Miller said: “To be honest, I don’t know what to say. The games are given to us at 7pm. The dew factor is bit of an issue. But to fair, it has been the same to both teams. I think there isn’t too much of an issue.”

Miller further said their expo-sure in IPL has helped South Af-ricans players immensely.

“It makes a massive difference. We have come out on top against

India. I think the IPL has helped not only the foreign players but the younger guys from India as well. It’s an unbelievable tourna-ment, it has given opportunity to a lot of players. It also definitely helped South African getting used to the conditions in India. We are feeling a lot more at home,” he added.

Asked whether he prepared especially for the sub-continent conditions, he said: “Personally, I don’t really do anything more to prepare for sub-continental con-ditions. The only difference here is the bounce in the wickets.

“You have to get adjust to it as quickly as possible. The longer the format, the more the spin comes into play.

“The biggest thing for me is the mental side of it. Just to try and have the right mindset to play in the sub-continent.” - PTI

South African

key batsman

AB de Villiers

did not come for

the practice on

Wednesday and

David Miller said

it was not much

of an issue

India are an amazing T20 side with huge players. It

gives us a lot of confidence moving forward coming

close to the World Twenty20

David MillerSouth Africa

Why did you allow fans in stadium with bottles? BCCI questions OCANEW DELHI: Livid with the crowd trouble that marred the second Twenty20 International between India and South Africa in Cuttack, the BCCI on Wednesday sought a report from the Orissa Cricket Association asking the body to explain why spectators were allowed to carry bottles in-side the stadium.

The second T20, which South Africa won by six wickets, was stopped more than once after spectators started throwing bot-tles on the ground following In-dia’s poor performance.

The match was completed af-ter the trouble-making stands

were evacuated. “In the wake of unruly behaviour by the crowd at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack during the second T20I between India and South Africa on October 5, 2015, the BCCI President,

Report soughtMr. Shashank Manohar, has asked the Hon. Secretary of Orissa Cricket Association, Mr. Ashirwad Behera, to submit a report on the incident within two days,” the Board said in a statement.

“During the second innings of the match, the spectators at the Barabati Stadium disrupted the game by hurling plastic water

bottles on the field of play. As a result, the play had to be

stopped for several minutes before most of the spectators were evacu-ated from the stadium for play to resume.

“Mr. Manohar has asked the state association to explain why the spectators were allowed to car-ry the bottles inside the stadium, which is against the ICC Guide-lines,” it added.

The unruly behaviour of the fans drew unanimous condem-nation with former captains Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Ten-dulkar among those deploring the incident. - PTI

C R I C K E T

AustralianChris Rogers signs for SomersetLONDON: Australian batsman Chris Rogers, who retired from international cricket after this year’s Ashes series, has joined Somerset for the 2016 season, the English county announced on Wednesday.

The 38 year-old left hander played 25 Tests for Australia, scoring 2015 runs at an average of 42.87, with a top score of 173 at Lord’s this year.

Somerset will be his fifth English county after previously playing for Derbyshire, Leices-tershire, Northamptonshire and Middlesex. “I’m really pleased to be joining a club of the stature of Somerset,” Rogers said.

“I have always enjoyed play-ing cricket in England. There have been quite a few Austral-ian players who have done really well down at Taunton and hope-fully I can add my name to that list.” - Reuters

C R I C K E T

Lauda wary as Mercedes aim for title repeat in SochiSOCHI: Mercedes can celebrate their second successive Formula One constructors’ title in Russia on Sunday but Niki Lauda fears they could be forced to wait.

Mercedes chalked up a domi-nant one-two in Japan last month, with Lewis Hamilton leading home Nico Rosberg, af-ter being strangely eclipsed on the slow and twisty Singapore street circuit.

They need to score just three points more than Ferrari in Sochi to retain the title they won at the inaugural Russian race last year with a one-two flourish. But Lau-da, the retired triple world cham-pion who is now non-executive chairman of the Mercedes team, feared Sunday could be more like Singapore than Suzuka.

“We have to say thank God we came out of the Singapore trauma and we are back,” he said after the team’s normal performance re-turned in Japan.

“My worry is that the next race is Sochi which is a Singapore-type of asphalt, so it’s not done and not that easy.

“We have to work hard and stay competitive and then we are look-ing good. But you only look good when it’s done,” added the Austrian.

Mercedes have a lead of 169 points over Ferrari with five races remaining, and a maximum of 172 will be still up for grabs after Sunday.

Hamilton has a 48-point ad-

vantage over Rosberg in the driv-er’s championship, so nothing can be decided there yet.

He made his mark on Sochi last year by lapping fastest in all three practice sessions, taking pole po-sition and leading from lights to chequered flag.

That means the Briton is still the only driver to have led a lap at the circuit winding its way around some of the 2014 Winter Olympic venues.

“It was great to win the first race for Formula One in Russia and a fantastic moment for the team to take the title there last time out,” said Hamilton, winner of eight races so far this season.

“Fingers crossed we can add to those great memories again this weekend -- I’ll be pushing as hard as I can to make that happen.”

Rosberg has all the statistics against him, given that no driver has ever failed to take the title with such an advantage and so many wins as Hamilton, but he has vowed to push as hard as ever.

“I’m not backing down in my fight for the championship,” said the German. “We have five races to go and, although the champi-onship gap to Lewis is quite big, in my mind it’s definitely not over yet.”

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, the winner in Singapore, will be hop-ing to postpone Mercedes’ title celebrations but the local crowd will be hoping Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat can also put himself in the mix after finishing second in Hungary in July.

Red Bull have been making more headlines off the track than on it this season, thanks to increasing concern about their 2016 engine supply and fears the team could quit altogether, but Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo have both been on the podium.

“The atmosphere last year was fantastic, there were so many fans giving me support. It really feels awesome to be there,” said the Russian. “I’m happy to have the attention, it gives you a bit of a lift.” - Reuters

F O R M U L A O N E

Mercedes need to score

just three points more than

Ferrari in Sochi to retain

the constructors’ title

they won at the inaugural

Russian race last year with

a one-two flourish, but their

chairman fears that it can’t

be achieved with ease

C3

SPORTST H U R S DAY, O C TO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

It will be a poignant return to the legendary Eden Gardens Kolkata where

for the first time in decades the smiling face of Jagmohan Dalmiya will not be there to greet you. What Sourav Gan-guly was to Bengal Cricket on the field was what Jagmohan Dalmiya was off the field. Now Sourav will shortly take up the responsibility of filling up the late Mr. Dalmiya’s shoes on the administrative front and there is no doubt that he will in his own inimitable style carve out a special niche for Bengal Cricket. The late Mr. Dalmiya and of course the vast throng at the Eden would like nothing better than an Indian win but the Indians will have to show a lot more intent than they have in the first two matches. For some strange reason they have appeared flat in both the games so far. The credit for that should go mainly to the South Africans for the manner in which they have outplayed the Indians in all facets of the game.

At Cuttack on a pitch that was hard to read, Faf du Plessis opted to field first and then worked the bowling changes superbly to ensure that the Indians did not have a partnership at all. He bowled the speedy Rabada for his full quota of overs even as he ro-tated the others to see that the Indians were kept guessing what approach to have.

Two run-outs did not help the Indians and this is where the South African fielders showed why they are the best in the business. They have high standards to live up to coming from the land of Colin Bland and Jonty Rhodes and they have invariably tried to match them and therefore are so much better than the others. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are no slouches between the wickets but they were caught well short of the crease by the gather,

quick release and accuracy of the throws. That even in a 20 overs innings India wasted more than two overs is testimony to how the Proteas strangled them.

Though Ashwin once again bowled superbly captur-ing three wickets in his four overs and Harbhajan gave good support, the Indian total was hardly going to trouble the South Africans and with Duminy batting confidently again, the South Africans strolled to a series win.

With the series lost India could do well to look at some tweaks to their team giving Mishra and Rahane an outing. The Eden pitch in the IPL matches has helped spinners so it may not quite be what the South African pace unit is looking for. Still as they have shown at Cuttack, sheer ac-curacy and persistence backed by outstanding fielding will fetch rewards. — PMG

Team India must give Rahane, Mishra an outing

C O M M E N T A R Y

TRAINING SESSION: South African cricketers Farhaan

Behardien, David Miller and batting coach M Hussey during

training at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday. – PTI

The Eden pitch in the

IPL matches has helped

spinners so it may

not quite be what the

South African pace unit

is looking for. Still as

they have shown, sheer

persistence backed by

outstanding fielding

will fetch rewards

IT’S FOOTBALL TIME: India’s Virat Kohli, centre, kicks the ball as he and other teammates attend a practice session ahead of their

Twenty20 cricket match against South Africa in Kolkata. – Reuters

Team India’s chance to restore lost pride

KOLKATA: It may be a dead rub-ber, but for India it would be an opportunity to salvage lost pride as they take on South Africa in the third and final Twenty20 Interna-tional at the iconic Eden Gardens here on Thursday.

The visitors have gulped back to back matches and taken an un-assailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

In both games, the Indians have lacked the will to win.

In the first contest at Dharam-sala, the hosts were able to pile up a massive 199 on the board, but the somewhat inexperienced bowling line-up failed to keep the Proteas in check and J.P. Duminy — playing a valiant knock of 68 runs — took his side home with seven wickets in hand.

The second game at the Baraba-ti Stadium in Cuttack saw the In-dian batting crumble like cookies for a mere 92. South Africa chased the total down quite easily, losing only four wickets.

What contributed to the Indian batting fiasco were poor running between the wickets. Virat Kohli and opener Rohit Sharma were the victims of indecisive calling.

But as they approach the last contest of the T20 series, the Indi-ans would want to forget the Bara-bati debacle and focus on what is in store at Eden.

According to pitch curator Pra-bir Mukherjee and former India captain Saurav Ganguly, the Eden strip would be batting friendly. If the Indian batting clicks, one can expect a run deluge here from the likes of Rohit, Kohli and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

It will be the same for the tour-ists who have got the likes of AB de Villiers and Duminy in their ranks. If the pitch indeed favours the batsmen, it will turn into a ‘You miss, I hit’ contest.

But one has to keep in mind that Eden Gardens is no Dharamsala where the air is thin and the ball flies off the willow. Therefore, spinners might play a pivotal role.

For India, the only bright speck in the bowling department has been off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who has grabbed four wickets from the two outings. If

the Indians are to pull this one off, the others need to chip in as well.

The Indians might also take confidence from the fact that they have won six out of the 10 T20 In-ternationals against South Africa, but then again the momentum is with the visitors.

As it is an insignificant tie for the Proteas, a few players yet to play a part in this series might get a look in. The same cannot be said

for India who would be desperate for a win so as to boost the side’s confidence ahead of the five-game ODIs and four Test matches against the same opponents.

Squads:India: MS Dhoni (captain & wk), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Akshar Patel, Bhu-

vneshwar Kumar, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra and Sreenath Aravind.

South Africa: Faf du Plessis (captain), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quin-ton de Kock (wk), Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Eddie Leie, Da-vid Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Albie Morkel and Khaya Zondo. - IANS

According to pitch

curator Prabir

Mukherjee and

former India captain

Saurav Ganguly, the

Eden strip would be

batting friendly. If

the Indian batting

clicks, one can

expect a run deluge

here from the likes

of Rohit, Kohli and

skipper Mahendra

Singh Dhoni

KOLKATA: They might have lost the T20I cricket series to South Africa but Indian ace spinner Harbhajan Singh said it’s too early to write them off as the hosts are keen to turn around their fortunes in the last and final match here.

“We have lost the series but we still have a lot to play in the final game. Hopefully we will win tomorrow and from there onward it could be a different story,” Harbhajan told report-ers on the eve of the match.

“The ODIs are coming up and then the Tests. We want to play our best game tomorrow and we want to put up our best show. Once we start winning we will be a difficult side to beat.”

After the T20I series, India and South Africa play five ODIs followed by four Tests in a long 72-day Freedom Series.

Citing example of the recently-concluded Test series in Sri Lanka where India bounced back to win the series after losing the first match, Harbhajan said: “It was because of the belief that we had.

“Every game is a chal-lenge for us from here on. Yes we have lost the series and we didn’t play as well as we should have but Eden is always a very special ground for all of us.

“Obviously winning here will mean a lot to us. We will go out there and give it our best shot. If we win here, we will take that confidence into the ODI series,” he said.

India failed to defend 200 in the first T20I Dharamsala, while in the last match they were skittled out for their second lowest total of 92 to concede a decisive 0-2 lead to the visitors.

“I don’t think we need to worry too much about the losses in our last two games. We are hurt by those losses but going forward and talking about the World Twenty20,” he said.

Harbhajan, who’s India’s highest wicket-taking offspin-ner, said it’s about backing their spinners ahead of the next year’s World Twenty20.

“I think it is important to back the players who are probably the best players for the format. This has been the quality of this team; they have stuck to the players who they believe can win the game.

“That is what we need to do

as a team. We need to reunite ourselves and give our best performance.”

Looking ahead to the World Twenty20, Harbhajan said spinners would play a crucial role if they’re to regain the ti-tle that they had won in 2007.

“Spin has been India’s strength and obviously we will be playing the competition in India and lot of the tracks will be supporting the slower bowlers,” Harbhajan said.

“If you see the records in the IPL and other sort of T20 tournaments we have played, mostly spinners are the ones who take a lot of wickets and control the runs in the middle.

“T20 is all about taking wickets rather than just restricting the batsmen. I think spinners have a major role to play if India has to win the World T20. We have got four spinners in the team and all four have done well when they have got the opportunity. I am sure it is going to be a very ex-citing time to look forward to.”

Beside their incisive bowl-ing, South Africa also have made difference with their fielding accounting for four dismissals in four matches.

While Shikhar Dhawan and Ambati Rayudu were run out in Dharamsala, the dismissals of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in Cuttack had changed the complexion of the game.

“The last game was not a perfect game for us. We lost two wickets to run-outs

and they (South Africa) fielded brilliantly. We took our chances against their fielders but it didn’t go our way,” Harbhajan said.

Harbhajan said it was all about playing positive cricket as they had some good run-ners in the side.

“In this format you have to push the fielders and obvi-ously we have got some quick runners between the wickets.

We have the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni himself who are all brilliant runners between the wickets.

“In Dharamsala it was a different story; we had two runs for the taking most of the times. We wanted to challenge their fielders and that is what you call playing posi-tive cricket.”

Asked whether Ajinkya Rahane stands a chance to get a look-in, Harbhajan said: “Ra-hane is a quality player and there is no doubt about it.

“All depends on the team management as to what they feel will be the best team combination to win the game and going forward. Let’s see what they decide but as I said Rahane is a quality player; that is all I can say.

“I don’t know if there will be a change or not because I am not part of the decision mak-ing. One thing I can assure is, every player in the playing eleven will go for one motive and that is to win the game for India,” he said. - PTI

Harbhajan hopes for an Eden turnaround

Yes we have lost

the series and we

didn’t play as well

as we should have

but Eden is always

a very special

ground for all of us

Harbhajan SinghTeam India

C4

SPORTST H U R S DAY, O CTO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

Poland’s record-break-ing goal machine Rob-ert Lewandowski will be in the spotlight again on Thursday

when his country aim to secure a place at Euro 2016 by beating Scotland in Glasgow.

The Bayern Munich striker has been in brilliant form with 16 goals in 11 games in all competitions for the Bundesliga club this season. He has scored 10 in Poland’s eight qualifiers.

The Poles, who co-hosted Euro 2012 with Ukraine, are second in Group D on 17 points, two points behind Germany and six ahead of Scotland in fourth. Ireland are third with 15 points.

Poland must beat the Scots and hope Ireland slip up at home to

Germany to guarantee a place at next year’s finals in France. The Poles host the Irish in their last group game on Sunday.

Poland arrive in Glasgow with a fully-fit Lewandowski, who made headlines around the world by coming off the bench at halftime on his return from a muscle injury to score a record five goals in nine minutes against VfL Wolfsburg last month.

His haul included the fastest Bundesliga hat-trick, as he became the first Bundesliga substitute to score five, and was one short of the record set by Cologne’s Dieter Mu-eller in 1977.

“It’s inexplicable” he told Reu-ters in an interview when asked about his five goals. “In football you can’t sometimes explain things. It

happened so fast that it was im-possible to think about the result. This is the beauty of this sport.

“You can’t explain everything. Sometimes it’s a very unpredicta-ble sport and also painful but that’s why people love it so much. It’s the instinct and there’s no time for thinking. The ball flies towards you, it’s your body and you’re doing it.

Big screen“I heard there were a lot of posts on the internet, a few were even fun-ny, but most of all I remember the big screen and all my names under the score 5-1,” he added.

“I will have many memories from that evening till the end of my life but the scoreboard with my name on will bring the strongest flashback.

“I don’t read articles about my-self. I try to distance myself from it. Reading about yourself is nice but in the long run it doesn’t help. Concentration has to be in the right place”.

Poland’s captain is enjoying a great run with the national team, whose qualifying campaign in-cludes a win over Germany in Warsaw a year ago although he described the draw with Scotland that followed at the National Sta-dium as a disappointment.

Lewandowski, nicknamed “The

Body” due to his physique, is pre-pared for a tough contest in the re-turn with the Scots. “I see the me-dia speaking a lot about this battle on the pitch but I wouldn’t be sur-prised if it was different and both the Scots and us focus on football” said the 27-year-old.

Scotland centre-back Grant Hanley told reporters he would make his presence felt to Lewan-dowski “a wee bit” at the start of the match but the Poland striker remained unfazed.

“He’ll get a fast yellow card if he introduces himself like that and then we will play directly to-wards him.

“For sure I won’t hold back while tackling. You have to resist when someone’s playing tough. It’s nor-mal. You can switch yourself and play like the opposition” he said.

National heroDuring his five years in Germany, the ex-Lech Poznan player has become a national hero at home with world class performances of the like that had not seen since the days of former Poland internation-al Zbigniew Boniek at Juventus in the 1980s.

Lewandowski had already passed a few milestones like scor-ing a hat-trick for Borussia Dort-mund against Bayern in the 2012

German Cup final and his famous dismantling of Real Madrid with four goals in the Champions League semi-final two years ago.

They lost to Bayern in the Champions League final and after one more season in Dortmund he left to join the Munich club.

The Pole said each career high was different and it was easier for him to cope with his achievements now, including the attention in the aftermath of the Wolfsburg scor-ing spree.

“I knew what I had to change to calm some things in me, which I didn’t know how to do after (scor-ing four against) Real Madrid. I thought that euphoria would just go away alone,” he explained.

“Now I know that it is me who sets new heights for myself and it is me who has to cope with it.

“The next day was quite nor-mal but two days after Wolfsburg I started to think about another game. I knew that in the context of what I did, the next matches would also be very important for me”.

Asked if he would trade those goals for the one he missed against Germany that would have made it 2-2 before halftime in their 3-1 qualifying loss in Frankfurt last month, he said: “I wouldn’t change it, because I believe we will qualify anyway.” - Reuters

The Bayern Munich striker has been in

brilliant form with 16 goals in 11 games

in all competitions for the Bundesliga

club this season. He has scored 10

in Poland’s eight qualifiers

RED-HOT LEWANDOWSKI HAS EURO 2016 IN SIGHTS

I don’t read articles about myself. I try to distance myself from it. Reading about yourself is nice but in the long run it doesn’t help. Concentration has to be in the right place

Robert LewandowskiPoland

C5

SPORTST H U R S DAY, O C TO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

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Chung hits out at Blatter, brings up Prince William

LONDON: FIFA presidential hopeful Chung Mong-Joon, who says he is facing a 15-year ban from the game, said on Wednesday that if he was guilty of attempted vote-rigging, then Britain’s Prime Min-ister and Prince William should face charges with him.

Chung, who also said he would sue “hypocrite and liar” Sepp Blatter for embezzlement over his salary and expenses, denied he had behaved improperly during the awarding of World Cup hosting rights for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

Brushing aside claims he had at-

tempted to strike a deal with Eng-land during that process, which saw Russia and Qatar win hosting rights, Chung said the meeting in question had been attended by David Cameron, the British prince and then English FA representa-tive, Geoff Thompson.

“Then they should try all these people, Prince William and Prime Minister Cameron too,” he told the ‘Leaders in Sport Business’ event in London.

Chung said he was being charged with violating the FIFA ethics code on six counts. If found guilty, he would not be able to stand in the election to find a successor to Blat-ter. FIFA’s Ethics Committee has declined to comment on Chung’s allegations.

Turning his fire on the outgoing head of world soccer, Chung said he had called on Blatter to declare his salary and expenses during a FIFA meeting in 2002. The Swiss has never done so.

“For him to get paid without Exco (executive committee) ap-proval is embezzlement. This is why I am going to sue Mr Blatter,” Chung said.

“Mr Blatter, in short, is a hypo-crite and a liar,” Chung added, say-ing he would give back any amount he won in court to FIFA’s develop-ment programmes.

FIFA declined to comment on Chung’s speech referring in-quires to Blatter’s lawyer, who was not immediately available for comment. - Reuters

Chung, who said he

would sue “hypocrite

and liar” Sepp Blatter

for embezzlement

over his salary and

expenses, denied

he had behaved

improperly during

the awarding of World

Cup hosting rights

for the 2018 and

2022 tournaments

New tennis complex to put Kuwait firmly on world pro tennis mapKUWAIT CITY: The massive ex-pansion of 360 MALL, Kuwait’s iconic shopping destination, has commenced through the develop-ment of the new state-of-the-art Sheikh Jaber Al Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah International Tennis Complex, which will put Kuwait firmly on the world’s professional tennis map. The newly expanded mall with the tennis complex is ex-pected to open doors by 2019.

The expansion will build on the huge success and identity of the existing 360 MALL with an added offering which includes sports, en-tertainment, a hotel, and additional shopping. The mall is owned by a subsidiary of Tamdeen Shopping Centres Company, one of the Tam-deen Holding Group of Companies.

The announcement was made at a press conference held at Tam-deen Group headquarters in Ku-wait, addressed by Mohammed

Jassim Al Marzouq, Chairman, Tamdeen Group, Sheikh Ahmed Al Jaber Al Abdullah Al Sabah, Presi-dent of Kuwait Tennis Federation, President of Arab Tennis Federa-tion and Chairman of Asian Ten-nis Federation and Anil Khanna, President of Asian Tennis Federa-tion and Vice-President of Inter-national Tennis Federation.

Mohammad Al Marzouq said: “This will be the first time in the world that retail, sports and enter-tainment come together under one roof and on this scale. When the expansion work is complete, 360 MALL will be further enhanced and together with the tennis com-plex will become a landmark in Kuwait. We aim to promote the very best brands from around the world under one roof whilst simul-taneously encouraging a healthier and more active lifestyle for Ku-wait residents.”

Al Marzouq further added: “We believe that the synergy between the glorious game of tennis and 360 MALL, the premium life-style mall in Kuwait, creates an unparalleled experience. We are committed to Kuwait and to the development of tennis in Kuwait which we believe is a sport where the country excels. Through this project we will provide world class tennis facilities for the country.”

The expansion project will fea-ture several new to the market retail brands, a signature five star hotel, in addition to outstand-ing restaurants, a ballroom, and a health club. The upgraded retail experience will leave shoppers with a multitude of new brands to choose from, while the hospital-ity and F&B facilities will create a new luxury paradigm.

The extension to the retail mall

will increase the footfall by at least 30 percent to over 18 million dis-cerning visitors.

The tennis complex will have a combined stadium seating for over 7,600 people across two main are-nas, each with the capacity to hold 4,000 and 1,600 people respective-ly, eight indoor courts with over 500 seats and eight outdoor courts with 1,500 seats.

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Abdullah said: “The Sheikh Jaber Al Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah In-ternational Tennis Complex will become one of the world’s best tennis facilities in line with ITF and ATP* standards, thus putting Kuwait on the world’s tennis map. We are drawing the best of designs from similar tennis facilities glob-ally and will provide Kuwaitis with playing conditions that will match the world’s best.”

In order to enhance the “event

experience”, spectators will have direct access to the tennis arena from 360 MALL, the 2,000 car mul-ti-storey parking, and from the 6th Ring Road. There would be a seam-less relationship between the mall, the tennis facility and the hotel.

Al Marzouq added: “The main tennis arena when not being uti-lized for tournaments will serve as an entertainment anchor for 360 MALL and provide a venue for lei-sure and recreation with a yearlong calendar of events and activities.”

Sheikh Ahmad explained: “Ku-waitis have a long history of ten-nis and we produce some of the top players in the GCC. It is time we showcased to the world our sporting prowess and infrastruc-ture. Few facilities in the world offer such indoor tennis facilities adjacent to a fine range of outdoor courts. This is unprecedented ex-cept for the Grand Slam grounds.”

3 6 0 M A L L E X P A N S I O N

OOC facilitates partnership agreementbetween Zubair Corporation and OHA MUSCAT: As part of the Oman Olympic Committee (OOC) ini-tiative to develop partnership be-tween private sector and sports, the Sultanate’s Olympic body an-nounced signing of second agree-ment between Zubair Corporation and Oman Handball Association.

According to a press statement issued by the OOC on Wednesday, these agreements come in the con-text of Oman Olympic Committee’s initiative with the private sector aimed at consolidating relations between sports associations and private sector organisations and establishments and framing the ef-

fective partnership between them with a view to further promoting sports achievements and perfor-mance of national teams in various levels of sports competitions.

“The initiatives are also intend-ed to strengthen communication among various sports entities and other related organisations by ac-tivating partnership between the private sector and sports associa-tion,” the statement said.

“The initiatives constitute part of the objectives, visions and sci-entific approach adopted by OOC in the field of sports marketing in light of the keen interest the

private sector is taking in sup-porting sports sector represented by sports associations and com-mittees for further consolidation of relationship between the two sides and activating mechanism of cooperation.”

“Since its election, OOC board has been keen on putting in place a development mechanism for the sports sector represented by the various sports associations and committees. The board has adopted a clearly defined strategy based on the present sports reality and ex-isting relationship between sports and private sectors. To this end,

OOC has launched its theme “Sport for Development” in confirmation of its vision aimed at promoting the performance of sports organiza-tions in all aspects,” it added.

“This initiative was entirely based on the OOC’s theme “Sport for Development”, thus combin-ing two basic elements directed at making sports projects a success. The OOC’s Marketing Committee will complete its planned sched-ule in this direction as designated for signing a series of contracts between private sector’s establish-ments and sports associations and committees.”

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

Sajith-Iman duo win doubles titleMUSCAT: The father-and-son team of Sajith and Mohamed Iman clinched the family doubles title at the National Bank of Oman-spon-sored Annual Badminton Tourna-ment organised by the Indian So-cial Club (ISC) Muscat.

In the final, Sajith and Iman took an early lead but faced stiff resistance from the father-and-daughter team of Haridas P and Hareeshma. Sajith and Iman complemented each other and ensured that the title was theirs with a 30-24 triumph.

Top seeds Sanjay Venkat and Anirudh Hariharan will take on No. 3 seeds Jeswin Mathew and Mohamed Iman in the final of the junior doubles.

The top seeds emerged into the final after trouncing the all-girl team of Gayathri Krishna and Ashpruha Patnaik 21-13, 21-6 in the semifinal while Jeswin and Iman upset the No. 2 team of Milind Naithani and Adithya Hariharan whom they defeated in three games 21-12, 17-21, 21-8 in the second semifinal.

Leon D’Souza and Jay Desh-

pande will lock horns in the final of the boys under-18 singles.

Leon reached the final after coasting to a convincing 21-12, 21-7 win over Anirudh Hariharan while Jay earned his place in the final the hard way having to stave off stiff resistance before down-ing Sanjay Venkat 22-20, 21-17 in the second semifinal.

Both Leon and Jay had topped their respective groups in the round-robin league phase.

In the quarterfinals of the ISC men’s doubles event, the combo of Ronnie Pereira and Domnic Kennedy scored a thrilling 21-17,15-21, 21-18 victory to upset the No. 3 seeds Manoj Varghese and Mathew Thomas.

The fourth seeded duo of Errol D’Souza and Shebaz Nasar were also shown the exit by the in-form team of Cyril William and Sudheer who scored an identical 21-16, 21-16 scoreline. Second seeds Prabhu AR and Niyas Nirar breezed into the last four of the men’s doubles after recording a convincing 21-9, 21-13 win over Vinod Abraham and Vineesh Mathew.

I S C B A D M I N T O N

FAMILY DOUBLES FINAL: From right, Sajith, Iman, Hareeshma and Haridas. – Supplied photo

They should try all these people, Prince William and Prime Minister Cameron too

Chung Mong-JoonFIFA presidential hopeful

ZURICH: FIFA’s ethics committee has convened and could soon take ac-tion on Sepp Blatter, head of the world soccer body, or UEFA head Michel Platini amid a widen-ing corruption scandal, Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported on Wednesday.

The adjudicatory chamber can provisionally suspend officials for up to 90 days, as it did after police acting on U.S. war-rants arrested seven FIFA officials in Zurich in May.

The paper said the eth-ics panel’s chamber had gathered on Monday in Zurich, FIFA’s home town.

“Everything suggests that decisions on the future of football titans Blatter and Platini are imminent,” the Zurich-based paper said without citing a source.

A spokesman for the chamber declined to comment. - Reuters

‘Ethics panel may rule soon on Blatter and Platini’

Max Biaggi faces trial ROME: Former superbike world champion Max Biaggi will be tried over allegations that he evaded almost 18 million euros ($20.2 million) in taxes, a legal source said on Wednesday.

The trial will start next Septem-ber in Rome, the source said, citing a judge in Rome who ordered the

trial. Biaggi is accused of having used “fraudulent” foreign residen-cy in Monte Carlo to reduce his tax liabilities in Italy before 2012. Biaggi was cleared of a separate accusation of tax evasion in 2013.

The 44-year-old won four 250cc world titles and was superbike champion in 2010 and 2012. - Reuters

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Germany great Gerd

Mueller suffering from Alzheimers: Bayern

BERLIN: Former Germany and Bayern Munich striker Gerd Muel-ler, who is the Bundesliga’s all-time top scorer, is suffering from Alzhei-mers, his club said on Tuesday.

Nicknamed “Der Bomber” for his scoring prowess, Mueller, a 1974 World Cup and 1972 Euro-pean Championship winner, who also won three consecutive Euro-pean Cups with Bayern, has been suffering from the disease since early this year.

“For some time now Gerd Mu-eller has unfortunately been ill,” Bayern said in a statement ahead of Mueller’s 70th birthday next month. He is suffering from Alz-heimers. Since February 2015 Gerd Mueller has been treated professionally with strong sup-port from his family.”

Mueller, who won 13 titles at Bayern, played for the club from 1964 to 1979, scoring 533 goals in 585 games in all competitions — 365 in the Bundesliga.

He also scored 68 goals in 62 appearances for Germany, a mark

surpassed only recently by Miro-slav Klose.

Mueller also played for two years at the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the United States be-fore returning to Bayern to work as a youth coach.

“Bayern will always support Gerd Mueller and his family, whenever necessary,” said club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

“Gerd Mueller is one of the greats of world football. Without his goals Bayern and German football would not be what they are today. Gerd was the kind of striker you will most likely never see again.”

His turn and speed plus his abil-ity to score from every position made him the iconic figure of the 1970s Bayern and Germany teams but he was always more shy and re-served than his teammates Franz Beckenbauer and Uli Hoeness.

“We ask in this difficult situa-tion for him and his family for the necessary respect,” said Rum-menigge. - Reuters

F O O T B A L L

STRONG SUPPORT: A file photo dated June 15, 2010 shows Ger-

man football legend Gerd Mueller, left, and current team forward

Thomas Mueller pose with Adidas ball for the German first divi-

sion at the Velmore hotel in Erasmia near Pretoria. – AFP

10-man Atletico de Kolkata eke out 1-1 draw against FC GoaMARGAO: Ten-man Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) defended dourly to grind out a 1-1 draw against hosts FC Goa in an India Super League (ISL) match at the Jawaharlal Neh-ru Stadium here on Wednesday.

Title holders ATK led 1-0 at half time. They were reduced to 10 man when striker Baljit Singh Sahni was given marching orders in the 62nd minute.

Indian midfielder Arata Izumi scored for ATK while Keenan

Almeida equalised for the home team. Both teams now have four points from two matches.

ATK made three changes to the starting team that beat Chennai-yin FC in the tournament’s open-ing match on October 3. Izumi was named to replace injured marquee man Helder Postiga. Defenders Arnab Mondal and Rino Anto, away on international duty for In-dia, was replaced by Tiri and Den-zil Franco, respectively.

Goa, coached by Brazilian leg-end Zico, named an unchanged line-up that defeated Delhi Dynamos 2-0.

ATK took the lead early when Man-Of-The-Match Arata smartly side-volleyed a Javi Lara cross from the right flank in the 13th minute.

After conceding, Goa began to push men forward. They came up with several shots on goal, with Brazilian striker Reinaldo un-

leashing majority of them, but it didn’t quite serve their purpose.

Goa gradually began to take con-trol as tried to spread the ball on the flanks, hoping their nippy In-dian wingers Mandar Rao Dessai, on the left, and Romeo Franades, on the right, would create goal-scoring opportunities.

But their efforts lacked preci-sion. Goa’s urgency to equalise in-creased after the break.

They came tantalisingly close to

scoring in the 48th minute when towering Brazilian marquee de-fender Lucio rose above everyone to head a centre from the left. But his effort ricocheted off the post.

ATK’s were pushed on the de-fensive even further when a mo-ment of hot-headedness left them with a man short on the ground.

Striker Baljit fouled defender Gregory Arnolin and then after a brief altercation head-butted him to receive a red card.

The red card aided Goa, as their cause was helped by the numerical supremacy.

They poured forward boldly and were rewarded when defender Almeida smashed a strong shot into the net on 81 minutes after be-ing set up by Reinaldo.

Buoyed by the leveller, Goa went for the kill. They even got seven minutes as additional time to score the match-winning goal but couldn’t pull it off. - IANS

I S L

Klopp in the Kop: German coach expected to arrive in AnfieldLONDON: Former Borussia Dortmund manager Juergen Klopp is expected at Anfield on Thursday as the German edges closer to becoming Brendan Rodgers’ successor at Liverpool, while Carlo Ancelotti has ruled himself out of contention, British media reported.

Klopp is reportedly in advanced talks with Fenway Sports Group President Mike Gordon and Liv-erpool Chief Executive Ian Ayre and is planning to fly to England to complete negotiations ahead of his highly anticipated move, the reports said.

Former Real Madrid and Chel-sea manager Ancelotti, who was also linked with the job, has told reporters he would return to man-agement, but only next season.

“I enjoy my time now but, of course, I want to come back to manage -- to work -- because it is my passion,” the 56-year-old Ital-ian said at a press event in Lon-don. “I want to take my time to rest, but next season I am ready.”

The fiery Klopp, twice a Bun-desliga champion with Dort-mund, who he also steered to the Champions League final in 2013, has made no secret of his desire to work in England.

The charismatic German forged his reputation by turning 1997 Champions League winners Dortmund, who were relegation candidates under predecessor

Thomas Doll, into one of the most exciting brands in world football.

He left the Ruhr valley club in 2015 after seven years to take a break from football after finishing seventh in the Bundesliga.

Known for his wit and exu-berance as much as for his high pressing, quick counter-attacking and never-say-die brand of foot-ball, Klopp is reportedly willing to curtail his sabbatical to revive

Liverpool’s fortunes and is on the verge of committing to a three-year contract.

He has also asked to bring for-mer assistants Zeljko Buvac, called the ‘brains’ behind Dort-mund’s success, and Peter Krawi-etz in as part of his coaching staff.

Germany’s World Cup win-ning captain and manager Franz Beckenbauer called Klopp one of the “best coaches in the world”

and urged Liverpool to seal the deal quickly.

“He is fantastic. He’s one of the best coaches I know in the whole world...,” Beckenbauer said.

“Liverpool is also one of the biggest clubs in the world, so Liv-erpool and Juergen Klopp is defi-nitely a good combination.

“If Liverpool has the chance to sign Juergen Klopp, then they should do it,” he added. - Reuters

A D V A N C E D T A L K S

Germany’s World Cup winning captain and manager Franz Beckenbauer called Klopp one of the “best coaches in the world” and urged Liverpool to seal the deal quickly

Habana matches Lomu as Boks enter last eight

LONDON: South African winger Bryan Habana equalled Jonah Lomu’s record of 15 Rugby World Cup tries with a hat-trick in the Springboks’ 64-0 demolition of the United States on Wednesday to seal their place in the quarterfi-nals as pool winners.

The former world champions would not have expected to have so much riding on their final group match against the bottom team in Pool B, but their humiliating open-ing defeat to Japan had left them needing a win to shut the door on Scotland and the Japanese. After leading only 14-0 at halftime, ini-tially struggling with the slippery conditions, the South Africans ran in eight second-half tries, includ-ing Habana’s 20-minute hat-trick, to set up a quarterfinal against ei-ther Australia or Wales.

“We came to the game and knew we had something to prove, and

it’s exciting now to be going to the quarter-finals,” man-of-the-match Damian de Allende said.

Ten tries did not look on the cards in a scrappy first half at Lon-don’s Olympic Stadium, though centre De Allende gave a glimpse of what was to come when he ghosted through the Eagles’ inex-perienced defence to score his first international try.

The U.S., who made 12 changes from the team that led Scotland for 40 minutes before running out of steam, kept the margin in single digits for almost half an hour be-fore submitting to the Springbok scrum and conceding a penalty try.

They did briefly get U.S. fans on their feet when fullback Blaine Scully intercepted with the length of the field ahead of him, only to turn inside to be wrapped up by the South African defence.

It took exactly one minute of the second half for Habana to open his

account, racing on to a perfectly timed Fourie du Preez kick to swallow dive over the line.

South Africa’s pack, loaded with far too much power for the United States, took over and hooker Bis-marck du Plessis and flanker Fran-cois Louw barrelled across the line before Habana completed his hat-trick to a standing ovation.

The 1995 and 2007 winners, who had erred on the side of cau-tion by making only two changes from Saturday’s win over Scotland, were running riot by this time.

The widest margin of victory in the tournament so far was wrapped up with further tries from Jesse Kriel, Lwazi Mvovo and Louw, with Habana only a knock-on away from making the try-scoring record all his own.

England training bust-upMeanwhile, British newspapers re-ported on Wednesday that England

flyhalf Danny Cipriani and attack coach Mike Catt were involved in a heated training ground argument before the Rugby World Cup.

The incident happened after 27-year-old Cipriani was informed that he had not made the final 31-man squad for the tournament but before it was announced publicly five weeks ago.

Catt, 44, threatened Cipriani twice and told him he would “end his England career” before other players stepped in to separate the pair, the Daily Mail reported.

The Rugby Football Union played down the seriousness of the altercation.

“Danny and Mike were involved in a robust conversation on the training pitch following a misunder-standing around a training drill in-struction,” an RFU spokesman said on Wednesday. “Both shook hands afterwards and the incident played no bearing on selection.” - Reuters

South Africa would

not have expected

to have so much

riding on their final

group match against

the bottom team

in Pool B, but their

humiliating opening

defeat to Japan had

left them needing a

win to shut the door

on Scotland and

the JapaneseHAT-TRICK MAN: South Africa’s Bryan Habana scores a try during their Pool B match against the

United States at Olympic Stadium in London on Wednesday. – Reuters

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

CultureSECTIONC L I F E S T Y L E T H U R S DAY, O CTO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

M A H A A L L A M K I

t h e c r e a t i v e e n t r e p r e n e u r

People say wow when they enter homes designed by her, while

corporates keep faith in her event management and branding skills.

Meet Oman’s multi-talented artist and entrepreneur Maha Al Lamki

who overcame heavy odds to achieve bigger things in her life.

Story: T.A. Ameerudheen | Photos: Ismail Al Farsi & Courtesy of Mco

LIFESTYLEC8 T H U R S DAY, O CTO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

From a dyslexic child to a much-sought-after interior designer, event organiser, and corporate communication specialist, Maha Al Lamki has come a

long way and showed the world the importance of perseverance to achieve something bigger in life.

She was just nine years old when her parents identified Maha’s strug-gle to read and write. It was a time when schools in Oman paid little at-tention to the needs of dyslexic chil-dren. So they decided to shift Maha to the United Kingdom. Under the guidance of her aunt, she developed her artistic skills.

“I designed and stitched the dress for my 10th birthday in 1978. It gave me the confidence to chase my dream of becoming a fashion de-signer. After High School, I pursued advanced ‘A’ level in arts and design where I focused on textile printing and Islamic designs. Later, I joined Chelsea School of Art and Design. However, I didn’t complete the course as I came back to Oman after my marriage,” she took a trip down the memory lane.

Back home, Maha didn’t sit idle. She made clothes for friends and family members. And she got a big break when a dress that she de-signed for a Houston wedding be-came the talk of the town. “It was a traditional dress with a touch of mo-dernity. Even local newspapers in Houston wrote articles praising the unique design,” Maha reminisced.

Though she earned fame and re-pute as a fashion designer, Maha wanted to excel as an interior de-signer. She went back to London again to pursue a course in interior design at the American InterConti-nental University.

She came back to Oman a year lat-er, and registered her first company M-Events. “I registered my first company in 2006. I worked as a free-lancer. My aim was to earn experi-ence and learn about the market. I didn’t have an office at that time.”

The promising start gave the en-trepreneur in Maha the courage to set new goals. Two years later, she registered her second company, M-Décor. “Again, I worked as a free-lancer. I survived on word of mouth publicity. I waited for three more years to open my first office for M-Events. It was a dream come true.”

Maha’s creativity and adherence to best practices helped M-Events make a mark in Oman. Corporates entrusted her with organising prod-uct launches and other important functions. “We associated with Muscat Fashion Week, held as part of Muscat Festival. Besides, we or-ganised product launches for many top business houses,” Maha said.

She saved money earned from or-ganising events to open an office for M-Décor at Madinat Sultan Qaboos in 2012. Later, she hired two tal-ented Omani interior designers and expanded the project.

“As M-Events grew from strength

to strength, I realised the need to have a media company as I couldn’t find a media outlet that understood my vision and taste. It eventually led me to launch M-Media in 2013.”

M-Co, which stands for Maha’s group of companies, will soon add a fourth division with the launch of the Desert River Event Rentals Oman. “Desert River rents out high-end furniture and lighting for events. We are the sole Oman franchise of the reputed Dubai firm. We will rent out furniture for events organised by M-Events and by other companies.”

Though she manages four com-panies, M-Décor occupies a special place in Maha’s scheme of things. “Interior design is my favourite pas-sion and I love transforming space. We have earned a reputation in the market as all the projects we did so far have the wow factor and it makes M-Décor unique.”

Maha knows that winning con-fidence of her clients is not an easy task. “I offer my clients that M-Dé-cor will give them a home and not a house before undertaking residen-tial projects. I take note of the minu-tiae details while designing the in-teriors. I go into their personal likes and dislikes. I always work within their budget,” she reveals her secret.

Having established a firm foot-ing in the market, M-Events will foray into destination weddings this season. “We will host Indian weddings in Oman. It is a huge responsibility. Oman has become a sought after destination for wed-dings as it offers visitors utmost in luxury accommodation, world-class catering, and activities set to the backdrop of the country’s natural beauty. We are confident of doing it with the support of trusted partners,” she said. ameerudheen@timesofoman.com

MCo (Maha Group of Companies)M-Décor is an interior design company that spe-cialises in multi-unit resi-dential developments and commercial designs.

M-Events is Oman’s pre-mier event management company that provides services throughout the Sultanate with strong rela-tionships around the region.

M-Media was established after Maha couldn’t find a media outlet that under-stood her vision and taste.

Desert River Event Rentals Oman M-Co has been cho-sen as the Oman franchise of the Dubai company that rents out high-end furniture and lighting for events.

rom a dyslexic child to a much-MC (M h G

Contact M-Co

E-mail: info@mco-oman.com

Phone: +968-2469 2892

LIFESTYLEC9T H U R S DAY, O C TO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

SO TO SPEAK

SALEHAL-SHAIBANY

Can You Afford To Grow Old?Do you have enough

money for your old age? If you are wor-ried about it then you are not alone.

Sixty-five is never a long way off. If you think it is, just watch how fast your own children grow. There is no need to panic. If you do, then you leave yourself open to people who are trained to take money off you.

There are many typical exam-ples of people who think they are not earning enough to save for their old age. Work pensions are never enough. Many people look for private pension funds but pay-ing for it is a financial challenge. With mortgage to pay and family to support, extra money is always a problem. Private education costs a lot of money for your children. You may have a car repayment and a commercial loan, too. Not many people can boast now that they have enough savings to sup-plement their pensions. Besides, money in the bank is always hit with inflation if it stays too long there. Of course, he was wrong.

He is looking for another job now but doors are being slammed shut when he approaches company bosses. He is too old, he is told, although he is ten years younger from retirement. He has many friends in the airline business but they all have abandoned him.

“They don’t answer my calls,” he explains, “they know that I am looking for a job.”

Friendship, he now finds out, only works out well for you when you don’t have to ask for a favour. His relatives are also avoiding him since they fear he may start to borrow money from them. He also realises now that people who visited him frequently are not turning out anymore. He feels be-trayed just because his financial situation has nosedived.

We naturally assumed that if you are not working then you may become a financial burden. He is not the only one to find himself in that unfortunate situation. Many people are forced to stay home for various reasons. There are not many provisions in the Gulf countries to cover citizens who

lose their jobs. The Gulf’s civil servants are not covered by insur-ance nor a comprehensive social security system. Not many private companies insure their employ-ees either in case of critical illness or unexpected job redundancy. It is never too late and perhaps one day we may move towards the direction of having a system that looks after the welfare of people who have lost their jobs.

At the moment, you are left to fend for yourself or look for sup-port from family members and rel-

atives. However, there are many good Samaritans. For many peo-ple here in the Gulf, neighbourly love is something you can always rely on. Not too far from where I live, a local mosque Imam came to the rescue of a man who suddenly found himself home bound after suffering from a stroke. A quick neighbourhood council was gath-ered and a monthly relief fund was created for the disabled man.

No one is secure or guaranteed a lifetime of good fortune. It can happen anytime to anyone. Set-ting aside provisions is a privilege of the minority. All our glittering cars, villas and skyscrapers are just a façade hiding the grim reali-ties that exist in the background. People who start life making ends meet are lucky if they continue to do so for the rest of their lives.

We don’t look back with relief as we get older but worry about the prospects of retiring with dignity. Perhaps if we continue to keep an eye to our neighbours, they may remember to recipro-cate. Neighbours, I have observed, can be more caring than relatives.

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No one is secure or

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Victoria ‘inspired’ by husband David Beckham

Singer-turned-fashion de-signer Victoria Beckham is “constantly inspired” by her husband and former footballer David Beckham. The 41-year-old is par-ticularly amazed by her spouse’s achievements and charity work. She hopes both she and David have instilled good values in their four children, Brook-lyn, 16, Romeo, 13, Cruz, 10, and Harper, four, as well as an understanding of their “privileged” position. “My husband constantly in-spires me and guides me. He has done so much good work, I look up to him and have the utmost admiration for all that he has achieved,” Victoria told Grazia maga-zine. “David and I both have a strong work ethic and I believe that’s a good exam-ple to set for our children.”

Tom Hanks wants to officiate more weddings

Two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks says he will be ready to officiate more wed-dings “if people can afford the fee”. Hanks officiated actress Allison Williams’s secret wedding with her en-trepreneur boyfriend Ricky Van Veenand, last month. And he’s up for making it a regular occurrence, if the price is right. Asked if he’d be up for marrying another couple, he said: “If people can afford the fee!” Hanks had undertaken a course to be ordained for the ceremo-ny at the luxury Ranch in Saratoga, Wyoming, which means he’s now “available for weddings”.

F. Gary Gray may direct ‘Fast & Furious 8’

Straight Outta Compton helmer F. Gary Gray will reportedly direct Fast and Furious 8, starring actor Vin Diesel. Diesel posted a photograph of himself with Gray on his official Facebook page, sparking rumours that the director will handle Universal’s ac-tion franchise. On Monday, the studio narrowed down to four directors, including Gray. -IANS

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FIND-IT-ALLC10 T H U R S DAY, O CTO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

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13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri

13:00 Sohar 14:55 Daily

13:00 Ruwi 17:40 Daily

13:00 Sohar 19:20 Daily

17:00 Ruwi 22:15 Daily

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

07:00 Ruwi 10:25 Daily

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

06:00 Nizwa 08:40 Daily

06:00 Ruwi 11:00 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

15:40 Nizwa 17:55 Daily

15:40 Ruwi 20:20 Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55)

06:00 Ruwi 10:45 Daily

14:30 Ruwi 19:00 Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (ROUTE 62)

12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily

12:30 Ruwi 17:30 Daily

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (ROUTE 100)

07:00 Ruwi 19:50 Daily

10:00 Marmul 13:15 Daily

10:00 Ruwi 22:30 Daily

19:00 Ruwi 07:30 Daily

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)

06:00 Marmul 16:30 Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (ROUTE 102)

15:00 Salalah 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)

07:30 Sohar 10:50 Daily

07:30 Ruwi 13:40 Daily

13:00 Sohar 16:15 Thur-Fri

13:00 Ruwi 19:10 Thur-Fri

15:30 Sohar 18:45 Daily

15:30 Ruwi 21:35 Daily

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH/SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily

16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily

16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

CITY CINEMAContact (10 am to 6PM) 24567664 | 68. www.citycinemaoman.netfacebook.com/citycinemaoman

SHATTI

The Martian (3D) (Action, Sci-Fi) – PGCast : Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain12.30, 8.45, 11.30 PM The Martian (2D) (Action, Adventure) – PG6.00 PM Legend (Biography, Crime, Thriller) – 12+Cast Tom Hardy, Emily Browning,3.15, 9.00, 11.45 PMJazbaa (Action / Drama ) – 12+Cast : Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Irrfan Khan, 12.00, 9.15 PM Pan (3D) (Adventure, Family, Fantasy) – PGCast: Hugh Jackman, Levi Miller, Jimmy Vee12.15, 2.30, 4.15, 7.00 PM Black Mass (Biography, Crime, Drama) – 12+Cast: Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch 4.30 PM Sicario (Action Drama Crime) – 12+Cast : Emily Blunt, Jon Bernthal, Josh Brolin11.45 PM Hotel Transylvania 2 (3D) (Animation) – PGCast: Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Nick2.30 PM The Walk (3D) (Adventure, Drama) – PGCast: Charlotte Le Bon, Ben Kingsley6.30 PM

MUSCAT GRAND MALL

Pan : 3D (Adventure | Family | Fantasy ) (PG)Cast : Levi Miller, Garrett Hedlund, Rooney10:00AM,12:00PM & 04:15PMGold Class : 01:15PM & 06:15PMThe Martian : 3D (Action| Adventure) PGCast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain10:45AM, 01:30PM,09:15PM & 11:55PMGold Class : 03:30PM, 08:30PM & 11:15PMJazba : 2D (| Action |Drama ) 12+Cast : Aishwarya Rai, Irrfan Ali Khan9:15PMLegend : 2D (Biography| Crime | Thriller TBC

Cast : Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, Christopher6:30PM & 11:45PMThe Walk : 3D (Adventure | Biography) (PG)Cast : Joseph Gordon-Levitt,7:00PMSingh is Bling : 2D (| Action |Comedy ) ( )Cast : Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson2:00PMEtiquette for Mistresses : 2D (Tagalog) (TBC)Cast: Kris Aquino, Claudine Barretto4:45PM

AZAIBA

The Walk – 3D (PG) Adventure, Biography, Cast - Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Charlotte Le Bon, 1:00, 05:45 PMTalvar – 2D (PG12) Murder, Mystry, ThrillerCast - Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma3:15, 11:00 PM Puli – 2D (12+) Action, AdventureCast – Vijay, Sridevi, Shruti Haasan,4:30, 08:00 PMSingh Is Bling - 2D (PG12) Action, Comedy, RomanceCast – Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Kay

12:00, 03:00, 11:30 PMThe Martian – 3D (PG) Action, Adventure, Cast – Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, 12:15, 05:30, 08:00, 10:45 PMPan – 3D (PG) Adventure, Family, FantasyCast – Levi Miller, Hugh Jackman12:00, 02:30, 04:30, 07:15 PMJazbaa – 2D (12+) Drama, Action, Adventure Cast – Aishwarya Rai Bacchan, Irrfan Khan, Shabana Azmi 2:15, 06:30, 08:45, 11:00 PMJamna Payri – 2D (PG) Comedy Cast – Kunchacko Boban, Roja, Gayathri9:15 PM

RUWI

Screen 1Jazbaa (Action / Drama ) – 12+Cast : Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Irrfan Khan, Shabana Azmi, Chandan Roy SanyalTiming: 2.30, 5.30, 11.30 PMSingh is Bling (Action / Comedy ) PG12Cast: Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Lara Dutta 8.30 PMScreen 2Singh is Bling (Action / Comedy ) – PG12Timing: 3.30, 11.45 PM

Jawani Phir Nahi Aani (Comedy) – 12+Cast: Humayun Saeed, Javed Sheikh 6.30 PM Jazbaa (Action / Drama ) – 12+Cast : Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Irrfan Khan 9.15 PMScreen 3 Talvar (Mystery/Thriller) – PG12Cast: Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Tabu 3.30, 6.30, 9.00, 11.45 PM

SOHARBlack Mass - 2D (12+)Crime |DramaCast : Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch 11:30 PMSingh is Bling - 2D (PG12) Action |Comedy Cast : Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Kay4:30 , 10:45 PMTalvar - 2D (PG12) Murder |Mystry |Thriller Cast : Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma5:30 PMPuli - 2D (T) (PG12)Action |Adventure Cast : Vijay, Sridevi, Shruti Haasan8:00 PMThe Martian - 3D (PG) Action, Adventure, Cast : Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, KristenTimings : 02:00 , 06:35 , 09:10 ,11:45 PM

The Martian - 2D (PG) Action, Adventure, Cast : Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen4:45 PMPan - 3D (PG) Adventure, Family, Fantasy Cast : Levi Miller, Hugh Jackman, Garrett2:45 : 04:35 , 07:30 PMJazbaa - 2D (12+) Drama, Action & AdventureCast : Aishwarya Rai BachchanShabana Azmi2:15 , 07:00 , 09:30 PMLegend - 2D (12+) Biography| Crime | ThrillerCast : Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, TaronTimings : 03:00 , 11:45 PMJamna Pyari - 2D (M)(PG) ComedyCast : Kunchacko Boban, Roja, Gayathri, 9:15 PM

BURAIMIThe Martian– 3D (Action) (PG)Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen2:15, 6:45, 9:15, 11:45PMPan – 3D (Adventure, Family, Fantasy) (PG)Cast: Levi Miller, Hugh Jackman, Garrett2:30, 4:45, 7:15PMLegend – 2D (Biography, Crime, Thriller) (12+)Cast: Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, TaronTimings: 7:00, 11:30PMJazbaa – 2D (Drama, Action & Adventure)

(12+) 2:30, 5:00, 9:15PMJamna Pyari – 2D (Comedy) (PG)Cast: Kunchacko Boban, Roja, Gayathri, 4:45, 9:30PMSingh is Bling– 2D (Action/Comedy) (PG)11:45PM

SURPan (3D) (Adventure | Family | Fantasy) (PG) 12:00, 02:45, 04:30 PMMartin (3D) (Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi) (PG)12:15, 04:45, 06:30, 11:45 PMJazbaa (Hindi) (Action | Drama) (12+) CP#7:15, 09:30 PMSingh is Bling (Hindi) (Action) (PG12) 2:00, 11:15 PMJamna Pyari (Mal) (Comedy (PG) CP#Cast: Kunchako Boban, Roja, GaythriTiming: 09:00 PM

SALALAH

The Martian (3D) (PG) (Action, Sci-Fi)

11:00AM/03:45/09:00/11:30PM

The Martian (2D) (PG) (Action/Sci-Fi)

12:45PM

Pan (3D) (PG) (Adventure/Family/Fantasy)

Cast: Levi Miller, Hugh Jackman, Garrett

Timings: 10:30AM/01:45/02:45/06:45PM

The Stranger (2D) (12+) (Mystery/Horror)

Cast: Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, Aaron Burns

5:00PM

Cooties (2D)(15) (Horror/Comedy)

Cast: Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, Alison Pill

Timings: 03:15PM

Jazbaa (2D)(12+) (Drama/Action/Adventure)

Cast: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Irrfan Khan,

Timings: 12:30/04:30/ 08:45PM

Jamna Pyari (2D) (PG) (Mal)(Comedy)

Timings: 09:35 PM

Legend (2D) (12+) (Biography/Crime/Thriller)

Cast: Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, Taron

Timings: 06:30/11:50PM

Singh is Bling (2D) (PG12) (Action/Romance)

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Kay Kay

10:15AM/ 11:00PM Puli (2D) (PG12) (Tamil) (Action/Adventure) Cast: Vijay, Sridevi, Shruti Haasan,6:45PM

BAHJA CINEMAFilm information 24540856 / Advance Booking

24540855

Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

Black Mass ( Biography,/ Crime/ Drama)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota

Johnson

5.45 p.m

CP No: 2645 (12+)

Pan (Adventure/Family/Fantasy)

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Levi Miller, Jimmy Vee

3.45 p.m., 8.00 p.m. , 10.00 p.m. & 11.55 p.m.

CP No : 2759 ( PG )

The Stranger ( Drama/Horror/Mystery)

Cast: Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levi, Cristobal Tappia

Montt

2.00 p.m., 6.00 p.m., 10.00 p.m. & 11.55 p.m

CP No : 2758 (12+)

Cooties (Action /Comedy/Horror)

Cast: Elijah Wood, Allison Pill, Rain Wilson

2.00 p.m, 4.00 p.m. & 8.00 p.m.

CP No : 2760 ( 15+)

STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776

Website: www.isurf.co.om

Jamna Pyari (Mal) (Com/Rom)

Cast : Kunchako Boban,Roja, Gayatri & Anu Moi

3-00 & 10-00 Pm At Cinema Main \ 6-30 Pm

Cinema -2

Singh Is Bling (Hindi) (Act/Com)

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson & Lara Dutta

3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 Pm At Cinema-4

Pulli (Tamil) (Act)

Cast: Vijay & Shruthi Hassan

3-30 & 9-30 Pm Cinema-2 \ 6-30 P Cinema Main

Shivam (Telugu) (Rom/Act)

Cast: Ram, Rashi Khanna & Brahmanandam

3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 Pm At Cinema -3

From Friday : Rudramadevi ( Telugu) (Act/Thril)

Cast : Anushka Shetty, Allu Arun & Rana Dagubati

3-00, 6-30 & 10-00 Pm At Cinema Main

Programmes are subject to change

@MGM @RUWI

Legend : 2D (Biography| Crime | Thriller TBCCast : Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, Christopher6:30PM & 11:45PM

@SHATTI

Pan (3D) (Adventure, Family, Fantasy) – PGCast: Hugh Jackman, Levi Miller, Jimmy Vee12.15, 2.30, 4.15, 7.00 PM

@SOHAR

THE MARTIAN - 3D (PG) (Action, Sci-Fi)

Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain,

Kristen Wiig

Timings : 2:00, 6:35, 9:10, 11:45 PM

Jazbaa (Action / Drama ) – 12+Cast : Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Irrfan Khan, Shabana Azmi, Chandan Roy SanyalTiming: 2.30, 5.30, 11.30 PM

WEATHER

340

Maximum

280

Minimum

TEMPERATURE

60-90%RELATIVE HUMIDITY

Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 16 years) whose birthday you are celebrating, along with his/her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and parents’/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi or through e-mail to extra@timesofoman.com

ANGELINA CATHRIN PINTOOctober 8, 2014

ETHAN LOGANOctober 8, 2009

OMKAR R. LAKSHMANANOctober 9, 2007

SHARON VERONICA October 9, 2005

ATHIRA UNNIOctober 8, 2003

SHARON DEONA LOBO October 9, 2008

SYED MOHAMMAD SHAHOctober 9, 2008

WITH LOVE

WHATBurqa is a veil worn by women in Oman. The size

and shape of the mask differ from region to region

and it comes in different colours, such as yellow, red,

green, purple, and black. Girls begin to use Burqa at

the age of 14 or once they get engaged.

REGIONAL VARIATIONSIt is made of fabric known as Sheil. In Buraimi and

Musandam, women wear thin, gold coloured face

masks. Women in Sharqiyah and Wahiba Sands

desert use the same colour, but the masks are made

of thicker material. Another marked difference is that

the Burqa is not flat like the northern style, but forms

a kind of beak in the middle. In Al Wusta region,

women prefer Burqa made of thick fabric.

HOW MUCH Burqa is available in souqs across the Sultanate.

Earlier the cost used to be OMR1. Now, Burqas cost

OMR2.5 to OMR5 and the pricing depends on the

design and tailoring.

Have a favourite Omani product or shop?

Tell us about it: ameerudheen@timesofoman.com

LIFESTYLEC11T H U R S DAY, O C TO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

GHAWIBAZAAR

BUY LOCAL: OMANI BURQAOmani Burqa is the facial mask worn by women,

particularly from the Bedouin tribe. The mask covers

the lower part of the face— from mouth to chin — and

partially covers the forehead.

PHOT

OGR

APH

Y: O

.K. M

OHA

MM

ED A

LI

Have a favourite Omani product or shop? Tell us about it: ameerudheen@timesofoman.com

The actor has joined other celebrities to in-vite young students to use their superpower to help protect our planet

and achieve the global goals’ mis-sion to end poverty and inequality.

The World’s Largest Lesson aims to teach children in over 100 countries about the new Sustain-able Development Goals that will be adopted by the UN General As-sembly later this month.

The Krrish star has joined other international public figures such as PLAN global ambassador Frei-da Pinto, Dani Alves, Kolo Touré, Neymar Jr., and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai.

“The World’s Largest Lesson will do more than teach chil-dren about the global goals. It will engage them in the effort to achieve those goals — educating them about the challenges that are shaping their futures and en-couraging them to drive change in their own communities,” Unicef executive director Anthony Lake said in a statement.

“Young people can help achieve the global goals by holding their leaders accountable for the prom-ises they are making — and by holding themselves accountable for building a better future for everyone,” Lake added. The cam-paign is also supported by Indian NGOs the Akshaya Patra Founda-tion and Magic Bus.

Especially created lesson plans include an animated film by au-

thor and education expert Ken Robinson that introduces the Global Goals, and a downloadable comic book by Josh Elder and Karl Kesel.

Along with Hrithik, promi-nent public figures like Malala Yousafzai have recorded their own introduction to the World’s Largest Lesson as well.

The animated film invites stu-dents to consider the creative superpower they have and use it to help change the world for the better. Additional lesson plans and information are available for teachers to select based on the themes most relevant for their pupils. “The World’s Larg-est Lesson is a fantastic oppor-tunity to tell all children, every-

where what the Global Goals are and how they can play their part to make sure they are achieved,” said Richard Curtis, founder of the Global Goals campaign.

Hrithik is passionate about Goal 3 —Good Health & Well-being, and has always believed that it is with good access to healthcare and quality nutrition, that an individual can reach his or her full potential.

The father of two boys said: “As a father, I believe that all children should have access to good educa-tion and through this education they learn how to take care of their health. In order to achieve the best, they need to be fit and healthy. It enables children to push their extreme. These are

fundamental rights that every child deserves hence I champion Goal 3 Good Health.”

The World’s Largest Lesson provides an opportunity to fos-ter global citizenship in schools across the world.

It supports student learning across a range of subject areas such as science, geography, citi-zenship and technology and helps teachers explore important global issues such as human rights, pov-erty and climate change. — IANS

Hrithik Roshan to Teach ‘World’s Largest Lesson’

The World’s Largest

Lesson is a fantastic

opportunity to tell all

children, everywhere

what the Global Goals are

and how they can play

their part to make sure

they are achieved

Richard Curtisfounder of the Global

Goals campaign

‘Bang Bang’ star Hrithik Roshan has been announced as India ambassador

for Unicef and the Global Goals campaign’s World’s Largest Lesson

PHO

TO

: IA

NS/

DA

BB

OO

RA

TN

AN

I

LIFESTYLEC12 T H U R S DAY, O CTO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

PULI KALI (Tiger Dance) is a colourful recreational folk art from the state of Kerala. Artists perform the dance on the occasion of Onam, the annual harvest festival of Indian state of Kerala. On the fourth day of Onam celebrations, performers painted like tigers and hunters in bright yellow, red, and black dance to the beats of instruments. The performance revolves around the theme of tiger hunting.

Times of Oman lensman A. R. Rajkumar captured the Puli Kali during the Onam festivities in September, where hundreds of artists entertained thou-sands of spectators who assembled to watch the annual show.

T I G E R D A N C E

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

CONNECT H E D A I LY G U I D E

D

D4 VACANCY CARGO D8

T H U R S D AY, O C T O B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

RENT D2

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

One /two, B/R, Res / comm. flats

near Bank Muscat Bausher from

owner directly . Contact: 92158031

3 BHK, 2 BHK and 1 BHK flats with

split air conditioners are available

for rent in new building in Al Qurum,

near Rose Garden. Interested persons

may contact: 99244577

Brand new residential flats in Wadi

Kabir near Muscat football club,

have 2 bedroom family hall, 2 toilets,

Kitchen with spilt AC for 250/- R.O.

Contact: 95999904 / 98585889 /

92383886

Villa for rent four spacious bath at-

tached bed room private swimming

pool gymnasium (common) with

electrical equipment and free main-

tenance secured compound at Madi-

nat Al Allam. Contact: 98027975

Office for rent in CBD.

Contact : 92820734 / 95345909

2 bed, 1Majlis, 2 toilets, lobby small

kitchen in Hamriya rent R.O 170/-.

Contact: 99489548

Villa for rent in Wadi Kabeer.

Contact: 95562646 / 99059333

1,2,3 BHK Flats. Contact: 97799175

1BHK Mumtaz R.O 250/-.

Contact: 97799175

1BHK Commercial M.B.D R.O 280/-.

Contact: 97799175

2BHK Wadi Kabir RO 300/-

Contact: 97799175

1& 2 BHK Darsait. Contact:

97799175

2BHK Ghubra R.O 350/-.

Contact: 97799175

Single room bathroom attached

sharing kitchen available in Ghubra.

Contact: 99071817 / 92258623

2 BHK Commercial Al Khuwair

R.O 375/-. Contact : 97799175

1BHK Ghubra R.O 275/-.

Contact : 97799175

Newly built 3 bedroom villa avail-

able for rent near to Kuwaitee

mosque, Wadi kabir. Contact

99725331, 91318111.

Furnished flat for rent, 3 rooms with

attached bathroom, 1 dining room,

1 sitting room, 1 kitchen at Al Hail

South. Contact 99835995

1BHK flat available in MBD near

Khimji Supermarket with split AC &

curtain R.O 230/-. Contact: 97748721

/ 92393067

1& 2 BHK Ghala with A/C new build-

ing. Contact 99024730

Studio flat at Al Khuwair.

Contact: 99024730

For rent a full office building of

3100 sq mtrs opposite to Central

Bank in CBD (Ruwi) for R.O 4 per Sq

mtrs. Contact: 95330200

D2 T H U R S D AY, O C T O B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

New flats for rent At Darsait near to

Ministry of Sports, Mumtaz area the

flats includes1 living room,

2 bedrooms, Kitchen, 3 toilets, every

rooms with split A/C, high quality

finishing, rent RO 340 /-.

Contact: 00968 92225523

1 B.H.K Wadi Kabeer, RO 175/-.

Contact : 95094028

Recently refurbished ground floor

apartment near Indian school Wadi

Kabir, 2 Bedrooms and sitting,

2 baths, kitchen. Contact: 98011224

Villa at al Khuwair having six

bedrooms, six bathrooms, sitting,

dinning, hall, kitchen Etc. Contact-

24833972/24833974/99367448

Single BHK flat available in

Honda Road Ruwi. Contact -

24833972/24833974/99367448

Flat for rent, 2 bedrooms, 1 sitting

room, 3 toilets next to Al Hassan

Company in W/K. Contact: 99210008

Fully furnished 2 BHK apartments

available at Bareeq Al Shatti.

Contact 92888063

2BHK Qurum. Contact: 99024730

1BHK Azaiba. Contact: 99024730

2 flats with air-conditions in Al

Bustan each flat has 3 bedrooms,

3 bathrooms, family hall, kitchen,

store laundry. Contact: 98919037

Two floor villa, 5 toilets, kitchen,

and 2 sitting rooms in Mabela South.

Contact: 99357404

House for rent in Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 99379950 / 92925173

1 room, 2 rooms, 3 rooms with all

supplements including water elec-

tricity and sewage. Also we provide

the following services free 1plumber,

electrician for any failed center for

garbage on price call on Farahat

98020768 , Hilal 96541263

1& 2 BHK flats for rent at Wadi

Kabir, Wadi Adai, Hamriya, Al Khoud

and Mabela and shop at Al Khoud

land line. Contact : 24834644

GSM 93994401/ 02/ 03, 3 lines

FOR LADIES

Furnished room for rent at

Al Khuwair R.O 225/- for family only.

Contact: 99251975

2BHK flats & shops available for rent

at Honda road in a brand new build-

ing (dish & split A/C provided in

flats). Contact: 91165807 / 92976611

Flat for rent in Wadi Kabir near

Indian Primary School 2B and 1k.

Contact : 92222922

For rent : showroom / storage space

available (area 290 SQM, 6M height)

facing Al Mina street, Jibroo.

Contact: 99360631 / 96760819

600 SQT commercial flat for rent

opposite Oman flourmill Darsait

more details. Contact: 91214849/

99364735

1BHK flats available for rent in CBD

area. Contact: 98116480

Fully furnished luxury 2 bedroom

flat for rent at Ghala for short or long

term basis. Contact: 99886386/

99881653

Flats, shops for rent in Ruwi, MBD &

Mumtaz area. Contact 97293708

3BHK flat Darsait Near I.D card

Medical 450/- R.O.

Contact: 99358589 / 95570288

1, 2 BHK in Azaiba. Contact:

99385835 / 99428143

1bedroom attached, toilet & kitchen

in AL Khuwair R.O 140/-.

Contact: 95154331

3BHK , 3bathrooms , 2balconys

NRAL Hassan W/ Kabir R.O 320/-.

Contact: 99384640

AVAILABLE

Party & Wedding equipment rentals.

Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirt-

ing, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery,

Crockery, Glassware, Chafing Dishes,

Ice Sculptures, to Large Sound Sys-

tems and spectacular lighting. Call

Andrea 9606 2222 for Catering and

Croyden 9623 5555 for Sound & Light.

ww.tunesoman.com,

E-mail: info@tunesoman.com

GOOD OFFER for ladies: (Golden facial

Golden bleach, Haircut-10 RO. Only)

this offer started from

10th October to 10th November.

Contact 99619409,

Hattat Modern Parlour

1000 sq mtrs industrial land in Gha-

la suitable for ware house, work shop

etc. Contact : 24700120 / 92584715

200 sqm basement available for

rent in AL Khuwair near Rawasco.

Contact: 93782735 / 93329476

We have 1BHK in Mabela 7 new

buildings 175/- R.O. Contact:

93782735 / 93329476

We have 3BHK villa fully furnished

in Ghubra 18th November street

650/- R.O. Contact : 93782735 /

93329476

We have 2 BHK in Ghubra 18th No-

vember street 2 rooms, 3 bathrooms,

large sitting, hall& Kitchen 325/- O.R.

Contact : 93782735 / 93329476

We have shops for rent in Ghala

& Ghubra. Contact : 93782735 /

93329476

We have 100 sqm for rent in Ghala

new building 350/- R.O. Contact

93782735 / 93329476

We have 3BHK flats in Ghala

new building flat with 3 rooms,

4 bathrooms, large sitting hall&

kitchen 425/-. Contact: 93782735 /

93329476

We have 3BHK villa near Grand

Mosque villa with 3 rooms, sitting

hall, majlis & car parking 700/- O.R.

Contact : 93782735 / 93329476

We have 2 BHK flat in Al Khuwair

new Rawasco brand new building

325/- O.R. Contact : 93782735 /

93329476

We have small building for rent in

Bousher, 4 studio & 1 shop building

commercial & residence can be used

for family, bachelors or store 750/-

O.R. contact : 93782735 / 93329476

2 bed room flat at Al Khoudh

Commercial Street Souq.

Contact: 99224748 / 99332297

Twin villa 6BR hall, kitchen at

Al Ansab-2. Contact: 99747560 /

99444786

1 & 2 bedroom flats available for

rent in wadi-kabir (opp: pencil bldg),

ideal for company staff / families -

bulk corporate deal possible.

Contact: 97677170

Workers’ campus, shops, work-

shops, stores in a building in

Al Misfah, Wilayat Bausher.

Contact 98918090

1BHK flat with A/C Al Khuwair

250/- R.O. Contact: 99358589 /

95570288

DAILY GUIDET H U R S D AY, O C T O B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5 D3

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

ACC. AVAILABLE

SITUATION WANT-M.V. FOR SALE

For sale BMW 730 Li, 2008 model,

3000cc, maroon colour with beige

interiors, 14500KMS, serviced

at dealer, single Owner driven,

R.O 5500. Contact: 95731861

/92265958

NRI

WANTED

CHANGE OF NAME

Architect designed 5000 Square

feet exquisite Villa in 16 cents of

land at a scenic location on Aak-

kulam Road, Ulloor, Trivandrum for

sale. Contact +968 95372011

10 cents of house plot at kallattu-

mukku Trivandrum next to Oxford

school 3km from railway station

Contact +919495255111

Land for sale with ample water,

Adjacent to National Highway, 15

Km from Mangalore Port (Selected

for Smart City) 6 Km from NITK,

Suitable for warehouses, automobile

service center, Highway Dhaba/Res-

taurant, hospital, Building Material

showroom etc. Call 99468991-Oman

9902543956-India.

NRI

MATRIMONIAL

RC, Keralite male. 30yers. shop

manager in Muscat looking for

suitable alliance. GSM:98529885,

00919496155815

Pakistani male 34 years staying

with parents in Oman for 27 yrs us-

ing hearing aid looking for suitable

alliance.#: 99353096 / 95544612

NAIR GIRL, B.Tech (Civil) 23/163,

Pooram from Alappuzha (district)

working as a Civil Engineer with

Kerala Govt: on adhoc basis looking

suitable alliance from professionals.

Contact :95230285

RC Girl (Trissur) 28, 152 cm slim

(middle class) MBA, working in

Muscat seeking suitable alliance.

Contact: 93867447

Seeking alliance for our son from

Muslim families. Interested families

Contact: 99889590

Independent rooms in Qurum /

Al Hail. Contact 95529970

Room for Rent Alkhuwair - Behind

Al Aktham Restaurant. 120 RO.

With elec. and water.For executive

bachelors only. Contact : 98803261

Flat for rent available in CBD near

Costa Coffee. Mobile no.92820734

Furnished room available in Ruwi.

Contact 92435784

Furnished Executive bachelor ac-

commodation in Ghubra North villa.

Contact 92595830 / 24495667

Private room with toilet near Qurum

park incl. W& E, monthly RO 220/-.

Contact Hassan 99349990

Accommodation available for indian

executive bachelor’s (no kitchen).

RO:125 including water and electricity

Contact no. .. 98145825, 98949724

Required land for purchase in

location Muscat (1200 SQM).

Contact: 96725682

An Amazing excellent residential

land for sale in Barka at Al Muraysi

attached to road open from 3 sides

and surrounded by houses & shops.

Ready for construction to build twin

villa good investment in Barka 677

SQM, price RO 21000/-.

Contact: 91010668

5 Seater sofa with cushions Center

table and 2 side tables in excellent

condition for immediate sale.

Contact: 96027403

Ice Cream & juices shop Ruwi good

location for sale suitable for beauty

parlor also. Contact: 92150455

Sale or lease machining lathe mill-

ing workshop in Mabella Sanayya

for sale/ Lease with four Employees

Contact 92166887

Fast food style well furnished coffee

shop for sale in new Salalah.

Contact: 91121215 / 97484825

Ready coffee shop for sale or

rent available in Al Khuwair near

Rawasco Golden chance. Contact:

93782735 /93329476

Port cabin and Wooden pallets new,

used and renovated porta cabin

Wooden & steel sandwich panel

Wooden pallets and packing for

marble packing available.

Contact no. + 968 99318152

Tel. +968 24458759

Email: ahastco@gmail.com

Comm. & Res land in the heart of

Ruwi 2400 sq mtr for sale.

Contact : 91155779

Comm. & Res land in Darsait, opp.

Pakistani School, 900 sq mtr for sale.

Contact: 91155779

Comm. & res. land for investment for

25 years in Ghala heights.

Contact: 91155779

Workshop for sale / lease fabrica-

tion / carpentry, (1800 sq m.), close

to main road, at Barka Industrial area

with or without labour & camp facili-

ties for about 20 staff.

Contact: 95120404

Email: elmechoman@gmail.com

GOOD NEWS

Genuine Ayurvedic treatments &

massage, Ayurvedic clinic at

Al Khuwair. Contact: 24478618 /

97263637 / 93309131

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to know

more about Islam, please call:

99425598, 99250777, 99353988,

99253818, 99341395, and

99379133. For ladies: 99415818,

99321360, 99730723

Orvisit:www.islamfact.com

Ayurvedic Treatment for joint pain,

backache, paralysis, massage, steam

bath, obesity, spondylitis , IDEAL

CARE Ayurvedic Clinic,

18 November Street, Azaiba

Contact: 99639695 / 98342990

Ayurvedic treatment for backache,

paralysis, arthritis etc & massage,

All Season (Vaidyaratnam).

Contact 24475280 / 95371664 /

92504980 www.siddhayur.com

I, Shivani Amrit Lal Lad (holder of

Indian Passport No. M 3936722)

daughter of Amaratlal Harilal Lad

having permanent residence in

7/333, Jalaram Krupa, Nana Parsi-

wad, Valsad, Gujarat (complete postal

address in India) and presently

residing in C/O Khimji Ramdas LLC,

Commodity Division, P.O Box No. 19,

PC No. 100, Sultanate of Oman (com-

plete postal address in Oman), intend

to change my name from Shivani

Amrit Lal Lad (old name) to Shivani

Amaratlal Lad (new name) for all

practical purposes. Any objection to-

wards my name change may please

be communicated to Embassy of

India, Muscat, Diplomatic Quarters,

Al Khuwair, P. Box No. 1727, PC 112,

Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman.

Shop for sale or rent at Ruwi City.

Contact: 99103077

Comm. & Res land in Ghala heights

400 sq mtr for sale.

Contact: 91155779

Restaurant for sale excellent

location six visa opposite Mars Wadi

Kabir. Contact: 93334685

Porta cabins for sale in good

working condition, currently being

used Porta Cabins are available for

sale. Interested parties can come

& inspect the Porta Cabins during

working hours from 7.30 am to 5

pm. Submit quotation on or before

12.10.2015 in a sealed envelope to

General Manager, Oman Mechanical

Services Co Ltd LLC., P.O Box 1199,

Ruwi , PC 112. Contact: 24502820

Extn. 14

Fish and shrimps sale retail and

whole sale. Contact: 96725079

A well established medical clinic

with new equipment for sale.

Contact 91262334 / 99206610.

E-mail. Mohamedsfarah@hotmail.

com

Villa in Barka Al Waha project

4 BHK plus Maids room with car

park and compound.

Contact: 99347089

Beauty Salon for sale in Azaiba

prime location behind Al fardan

building. With sponsor and 1 staff

and 1 ready visa clearance.

Contact: 95318629

Used Fabrication machinery for

sale : Fabrication machinery and

tools in excellent condition for

immediate sale.

Contact 94652485/ 99273774/

99202278

For sale land in Amerat 3000 Sq.mt

with petrol pump permission.

Contact 99323957 /

92702891

Brand new 2 BHK furnished apart-

ment (1225 sq feet) at Indiranagar

(Kodihalli),Bangalore for sale.

Please contact: 00968 95210474

38 cents land with 2BHK house by

the river side in Thrissur Dist

Irinjalakuda, Kerala.

Contact: 99347089

DAILY GUIDED4 T H U R S D AY, O C T O B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

DOMESTIC HELP

DOMESTIC HELP

EDUCATION

CATERING

SKILLED LABOUR

ENGINEER/TECH/MECH

ACCOUNTANT

DRIVER

MEDICAL

SEC/OFFICE

MANAGER/SUP

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANT-ED

SIT. WANTED

SITUATION WANT-ED

SIT. WANTED

SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING DRIVER

DESIGNER

Required Indian driver with Omani

driving license and experience to

work in house. Contact : 96255558

Wanted Heavy Duty Truck Driver (3 nos.) having 2 yrs experience at

PDO. Contact 92891888

Urgently required heavy driver

for trailer. Contact: 92131483

Driver required for personal, salary

250/- O.R .Contact: 96725079

Driver with Oman driving licence

needed. Visa available.

Contact 94288863

House maid looking full time or port

time job, 5 yrs experience care taker,

cleaning, cooking.

Contact: 97882204 / 98562066

Sir Lankan Secretary with experi-

ence in recruitment field.

Contact: 92809528

Indian Mechanical Engineer, 30, having 8yrs of UAE Sales/Busi-

ness Development. experience in

Electromechanical and Irrigation

sectors. Contact no- +971558763220

email id-sangowri@outlook.com

Urgent required Supervisor for

Interior decoration with Oman expe-

rience. Contact : 95766844

A 10 yrs successful steel workshop with 25 staff members, looking for an experienced Manager who has

to lead successfully, control overall

expenditures & deliver more oppor-

tunities to the Workshop. Successful

candidate will be paid as percent-

age of monthly workshop revenue.

Contact: 97080700

ADMIN

DRIVER

Required Nurse for a clinic in

Al Buraimi S.O. Oman. Contact:

00968 92737149 CV to

drpkabbas@yahoo.co.in

Physiatrist with 3+ years experi-

ence in rehabilitation medicine

required for a reputed rehabilitation

center in Dubai. Send CV to :

hr2015.oman@gmail.com

Medical care center, Multispecialty

clinic, Seeb requires General Practitioner, medical lab techni-cian & pharmacist. Mail CV to -

sarita_h23@yahoo.com

or Call - 97884856

Wanted a female Nurse for a dental

clinic in capital area.

Contact:-99855050

Urgent placement B Pharm Phar-macist with OR without MOH Oman,

2 nos. Contact 92548672, 99516236

Urgently required for Medical Centre in Muscat and Salalah GP doctor (Male/ Female) Gynecology Nurses ( male / female) with or

Without MOH license, salary

negotiable. Please send your CV

moc.hrd2015@gmail.com or

Contact: 92681842

10 years Gulf & 4 years Oman ex-

perience in HR / Admin & logistics

fluent in Arabic / English with D/L

looking for suitable position.

Contact: 95824598

Indian, male having 8 years in pur-

chase and admin furnishing / metal

scrap on visit visa, available to join

Immediately if selected – Contact

00968- 96675184 ,97704828

Indian 17 yrs experience in Admin

and have knowledge in Accounting

seeks job. Have driving license and

release. Contact : 99573353

Sudanese, Bombay university

graduate. 22 years of experience in

different fields i.e. procurement and

logistics management, construction

management, training and general

administration of which 13 years in

Oman. GSM (99601004).

Indian Female MBA, 3 years expe-

rience in Admin MIS, family Visa.

Contact 98234427,

jkjsmith01@gmail.com

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

Post Graduate researcher required. Contact 99229700

We are looking for a Salesman with a minimum experience of three

years with driving license.

Please contact 98000266.

Email info@marahland.com

A leading trading Group is looking for Outdoor Sales Coordinator with

driving license & release / NOC.

Email CV to alhajoil@omantel.net.

om or fax: 24701683

SALES MANAGER : To build and

manage a team of sales executives in

GCC countries. Must have minimum

12 years’ experience in sales and

minimum. 5 years in interiors and

joinery Sales in GCC. Attractive re-

muneration package available for the

right person. All CVs will be sent to

this E-mail : career@gobdoman.com

A reputed rent a car requires Sales Executive. Apply to

reservation@johnyinternational.com

Contact: 94146486

Reputed electrical contracting company requires an Oman experi-

enced, capable “Electrical Contracts Manager”. Ideal candidates should

have relevant market experience &

connections.

Contact: 94400671/ 91272871

Urgently required a Indian Diploma

Civil Engineer with 1-2 years of expe-

rience and should valid G.C.C driving

license. Email: smtcoman@gmail.com

ARCHITECT

Senior Architect, Indian male 15yrs

exp. having DL& NOC, Looking for

suitable position. Contact: 97239313

Email: abdul_muq2000@yahoo.co.uk

DRAUGHTSMAN

Male 15 years exp FMCG in Oman

with D/L and know all part of Oman

looking for management post.

Contact: 00968 96147152

Draftsman , Autocad , exp in

Architecture, Interior drawings,

Ph 93837973

Indian male 28 yrs, Master degree

in Computer Application and CCNA

certified, 2 years exp in Oman look-

ing for suitable placement.

Contact: 93295112 Email:

syedsadathali.mca@gmail.com

Indian male looking for job in Auto-

CAD and 3DMX Draughtsman

4 years with experience, 25, avail-

able for immediate placement.

Contact: 98665963 / 92529312

Sr. Accountant M.Com (finance) 15

years experience (2 years in Oman)

with a reputed firm, NOC available.

Contact: 92404608

Email: jin_75@rediffmail.com

Finance Manager, 15 yrs Gulf experi-

ence in trading & contracting compa-

nies in Oman looking for placement.

Contact 96947652

Indian male, 8 yrs experience

in Oman looking for any suitable

vacancy Accountant / Asst. Account-

ant / Office Admin local release

available. Contact: 98492752 Email:

atiquehazique@rediffmail.com

25 years female looking for suitable

opportunity, Qualification MBA (Bank-

ing & finance) near banking experi-

ence ready to work in accounts, HR &

Admin and any other suitable fields,

presently on family visa in Muscat.

Contact: 00968- 96987078

Finance Manager, 12 years experi-

ence in leading Construction and

manufacturing companies (9 years

in Oman) have strategic vision and

proven leadership ability. B.Com,

CPA- USA & modern accounting

certificate from “AUC”. “NOC” in hand.

Contact: 97220505

Indian male, 25, MBA Finance, with

3 years’ experience seeks suitable

position. Contact - 99299471 /

96589605

Accounting up to finalization on

periodic basis by CA. Contact also

for Project Finance Report, taxation

and internal audit. 91720465

Urgent: Accountant, Indian female on

visit visa, B.Com exp Tally ERP- 9. 4

finalization of Accounts, Tax account-

ing, stock maintenance, pay roll etc.

Contact: mk.jothipriya@gmail.com

20 yrs exp in non Banking finance

co in Oman as Branch Manager, credit

analyst, risk, Debt Collect, BR- opera-

tions, documentation, etc with valid

D/L now on visit. Contact: 99055123

Filipino, 29 yrs, male, BS Commerce,

5years experience Payables/Re-

ceivables/Payroll/Document Control.

Excellent Communication/MS Office

skills. Contact: 95057206 Email:

patrick110486@yahoo.com

ACCOUNTANT, Indian male 28

years, 6 plus years of GCC experi-

ence, presently working in Oman

as an Accountant, seeking for a

suitable job position, NOC avail-

able, Contact: 95089869 E-Mail:

anuchunda@gmail.com

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT, Indian

male having 7 years experience as

functional finance head, presently

working in Muscat as Asst. Finance

Manager seeking for a suitable posi-

tion. NOC available, # 9178 9950 /

Email: igneshmlazar@gmail.com

Indian male highly resulted oriented

and self driven CA Inter qualified

Accountant with over more than

14 years of experience in auditing,

finance and accounts including

industrial exposure in construc-

tion industry in Mumbai and Qatar

available in Oman seeks placement.

Contact: 93405047

Part time accounting works up to

finalization on monthly basis.

Contact: 96247295

Indian male 23 yrs BBM Graduate

with computer knowledge having

2 yrs experience in accounts

looking for accounts, admin, sales or

stores currently on visit visa.

Contact: 95356512

Indian male, Graduate with 7 yrs

experience in financial, logistics &

Data reporting and analysis, experi-

ence working with international cli-

ents, site testing. Currently on visit

visa seeking suitable placement in

Oman. Contact: 92689823,

Id: jiby.john28@gmail.com

Young Indian, B. Com, Diploma in

Accounting, 2 years experience as

Assistant Accountant on visit seeks

suitable placement:

Contact: 94399509

Indian male 13 years Accounts &

finance experience in Oman having

Omani D/L looking for suitable posi-

tion release available.

Contact 95885092

Email: nitin_dhotre2@rediffmail.com

Pakistani male 28 years old

recently worked as Administration

Manager MBA finance from Maju

Karachi. Contact: 99685330

Email: hussain_ca87@yahoo.com

Omani female exp in Accounts &

Shipping & Secretary & PRO job

knowledge in computer with Oman

D/L. Content: 91161736

Light driver for job 5 yrs exp.

Contact: 92171166

Light driver for job 1yr exp.

Contact: 95582571

Bangladeshi male driver, 48 yrs,

exp 14 years, 9 years need job & visa,

got release letter.

Contact: 99165961

Pakistani driver seeks for job, hold-

ing license of Oman exp in driving in

Oman 6 years.

Contact : 92604918

Indian male light vehicle driver,

10 yrs GCC exp looking for job.

Contact : 93060050

Indian driver 13 yrs exp. looking for

fulltime or part time jobs.

Contact: 91103909

REQUIRED URGENTLY

CONTACT: 93613422, 95062514

EMAIL- vacancynshifamc@gmail.com

FOR MEDICAL COMPLEX AT SALALAH

GENERAL PRACTITIONER RECEPTIONIST

PATIENT RELATION EXCUTIVE

Required 2 Tailors who can make

readymade curtains.

Contact 92891888

An Omani construction co. located

at Muscat looking for an expert

Accountant with minimum five yrs.

experience with wide knowledge of

using tally and other software and

GCC driving license. Send C.V to

kwk585@gmail.com

Required ACCOUNTS OFFICER to ensure accurate processing of

revenue data into ERP systems and

invoicing module. Posting of invoices

to customer SAP portal and delivery

to customer offices and interface

with Country Manager / Reporting

to Regional CFO. Qualifications : BSc

Accounting. Relevant experience

and knowledge on Online Account-

ing Systems especially the customer

SAP system. SUBMIT CV to :

me-job@interwell.com

Wanted Pharmacist with MOH

license for Pharmacy in Seeb.

Contact - 24423342

Accountant with 8 years experi-

ence in Oman with D/L & NOC ,

seeking suitable placement.

Contact: 92994825. Email:

sanuchithranjali@gmail.com

10+ yrs UAE experience

Fin. Controller looking for job

change. Contact: 98006226

Indian female 28 years M.Com,

Accountant having 6 years experi-

ence in Accounts, finalization, Tally

currently on visit visa.

Contact : 95595083 Email:

merlinfernandes16@yahoo.in

Part time accountant, senior ac-

countant, doing all type of ac-

counting works, up to finalization.

contact.95254864

Chief Accountant, 12 years Oman

experience looking for suitable

position. Contact: 99513082

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Young Electrical Engineer looking

for suitable placement. Having spe-

cialization in electronics.

Contact 99227861

Btech computer science graduate

2015 passout.. Android application

marketing.. Having good communi-

cation skills and mindset to work in

a team. Contact 91024385

Indian BE (MECH) aviation BE

degree diploma in material quality

management 17 years Navy aviation

13 years construction purchase

stores professional on visit.

Contact: 90205082 /98796982

Indian chemical Engineer with

1year experience in Business

Development; & valid Oman D/L,

seeks suitable opportunity.

Contact: 96141612 or

E-mail: anjana.nanda@outlook.com

BE Electrical Engineer 8 years

experience 4 years in Oman with

Oman driving license.

Contact 96942032

Civil Engineer (Diploma) seeking

for placement. Contact: 95200650

Electrical Eng. Degree (MEP) need

suitable job of construction 12 yrs exp.

Email: mohd.ateeq.khan@gmail.com

C-SWIP 3.1 ASNT level 2 QC Mech.

Engr 5+ yrs exp Indian male 26

seeks placement.

Contact : 91823331

Email: kannasekhar46@gmail.com

SUPERVISOR: Indian male site

supervisor (AIR CONDITIONING)

25 years of experience with valid

Oman Driving lic

Contact: 97498809, 93391910

Email: hilariankj@gmail.com

Engineer with 3 yrs experience in

Indian in MEP, HVAC& mechanical

maintained field on visit visa looking

for suitable job.

Contact 99191535

Email: fareed029@gmail.com

Indian male BE Mechanical currently on 2 yrs free visa with NOC

& local release. Looking for suitable

job in Muscat. Contact – 90296975 /

ali.syedausaf@gmail.com

Chinese/ Arab/ Continental Cook & helper wanted. Contact 95529970

URGENTLY REQUIRED

STAFF NURSE MOH license OR Prometric

Send CV to :

93655425

SALES LADY 1. Two years experience in sales.

Email:vacancy299@gmail.com

Looking for an Mangalorean Konkani speaking Housemaid for

Mangalorean family to look after

baby at Wadi Kabir.

Contact 96449951 / 95147107

Interior designer with 6 years

exp 3D design MEP architectural

with sound knowledge in AutoCAD

Sketch up with VRAY, 3D Max look-

ing for suitable position.

Contact: 96789770

Email: sachinratnan@gmail.com

Urgent required Sales Manager for

Advertising company with Oman

experience & driving license.

Contact: 95766844

Accomplished Advertising Sales & Business Development Executives

for leading Media Enterprise.

Enthusiastic Fresher also welcome.

jobs@interacoman.com

Required experienced Sales & Marketing Executive for sports club.

Preference will be given who has

experience in Oman and valid driv-

ing license. Please send your CV to

dasanthas1@gmail.com or

saud7kh7@gmail.com

Required experienced Sales / Marketing Executives having light

license. Send your CV

ocean@omantel.net.om

Part time Accountant, up to fina-

lization, looking for job after 5 pm

(location prefer – MSQ to AL Hail).

Contact: 95694737

ACCA finalist, Recent B.Com Gradu-

ate, Indian female, looking for full

time employment in Accounting

and Audit. +968 96964379,

sangeethaumesh5@gmail.com

Wanted driving job. Contact 97690766

12 years experience light duty

driver with car. Contact: 96467373

Pakistani light vehicle driver

having 2 yrs exp.

Contact: 96105925

Land Cruiser with Driver.

Contact: 99725003

Driver looking for job.

Contact 92303744

Driver. Contact: 95084826

Pakistani male light vehicle driver

looking for job. Contact: 96474528 Driver with car. Contact :91452930

HOSPITALITY

DAILY GUIDET H U R S D AY, O C T O B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5 D5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

EDUCATION

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

MEDICAL

IT

IT

MISCELLANEOUS

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE

MISCELLANEOUS

PROJECTS

SALES / MARKETING

Indian male as building care taker,

8 yrs exp looking for job.

Contact: 99716008

Indian male 25 years, M.Sc Chemis-

try, 1 yr. experience in Quality Con-

trol and assurances done HACCP

level 3 certificated course seeking

job in suitable placement.

Contact: 99185354

Email: alexbabu199@yahoo.com

Indian male 22 BBA Graduate with

Iosh Nebosh Certification having

valid Omani driving license seeking

suitable placement.

Contact: 96357787

1 years experience Managing

Supervising qualification bachelors

degree, Master diploma.

Contact : 93736515

Email: namshad404@gmail.com

Indian female Diploma in Indian &

foreign Accounting having 1 year

experience in Oman seeking suit-

able placement. Contact: 95714285

Egyptian legal adviser experience

and experience in arbitration and

contracts and labor law, look-

ing for work a company. Contact:

99664890

BBA Graduate looking for a suitable

job valid Oman D/L.

Contact : 99172212

Highly skilled Transport Manager

Experienced in Oman & UAE, re-

quired for Reputed Mining Company

Located at Sultanate of Oman.

Contact: workatoman@gmail.com

Indian male, BSc Physics Manager

Communication & marketing, profes-

sional in Graphic Design software’s

presently in visit visa.

Contact: 93508947

Senior Manager Indian, 30 years in

FMCG Business in Oman looking for

better opportunity at management

level. Contact 99231513

Dynamic result oriented hospitality

professional with 20 years of inter-

national exp. MBA in Hotel Manage-

ment, specializing in Hotel/Restau-

rant start ups, concepts & Franchise

development with proven records.

Seeking for Challenging positions

in reputed groups as GM/COO/CEO/

Business Head. (NOC available)

Contact : 96059470

Indian male more than 10 years

gulf experience in Office / Sales

Coordinator, Admin, Secretarial and

purchase with good computer skills.

Having Driving license and NOC

available, looking for suitable place-

ment. Contact 95149624

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

Electrical Engineer with BS & MS

Degree having 5 years of Experi-

ence in Electrical Utility/Water

sector seeks a suitable job. Contact:

95731852 snaveelh@gmail.com

Chartered Accountant, looking out

for an opportunity in Oman in Audit

OR Finance field. Available in Muscat

from 10th – 16th Oct. Call : 91258435

26, Male, Indian, BBA (Finance),

MBA(HR), Looking for suitable Job.

Contact immediately. Contact

98176105, nruknaddin@outlook.com

Indian lady looking for accounts

Job, two years experience one year

worked in Oman B.Com Graduate ,

Tally ERP9. GSM : 91123561

The Business Development Man-

ager, Iraqi, Experience 14 Years

Inside and outside Oman following

activities: tenders& real estate&

construction & marketing projects&

investments& transportation & Ma-

rine services& companies manage-

ment& develop business.

Contact 93240027

33 year male Indian Keralite looking

for Senior Accountant or Assistant

Accounts manager having 10 years

of working experience in Oman and

Qatar with valid GCC license willing

to work any GCC country, please

contact : 97433387

27,male,ACCA finalist, have profes-

sional experience up to finalization

of accounts, statutory and internal

audit, expertise in using tally and fo-

cus & oracle software, have 3.5 years

experience in accounts till finaliza-

tion ,seeking for permanent replace-

ment ,GSM-97654769,email id-

abdullah.nooralam@yahoo.com

Indian looking for a part time ac-

counting or Internal Auditing job,

contact 99196621.

26, Male, Indian, BBA (Finance),

MBA(HR), Looking for suitable Job.

Contact immediately #98176105,

nruknaddin@outlook.com

Senior Management Professional,

MBA, 12 years+ exp. in Business

Development/Sales Management

, Sales Training, Content Develop-

ment & Six sigma GSM:97428090

Part Time Accounting Job Complete

Data Entry, Upto Finalization. Any

Time Available. Location Al Hail,

AL Khoud. #- +968-92049215

Email:- aiafe.oman@gmail.com

ACCA finalist, Recent B.Com Gradu-

ate, Indian Female, looking for full

time employment in Accounting and

Audit.+96896964379,

sangeethaumesh5@gmail.com

Indian Chartered Accountant, Male

25 years, 5 years of relevant experi-

ence, On Visit visa, Staying with

Parents. Also holds BCOM (Computer

Applications). Contact 98164467,

24492638 shyamal008@gmail.com

Arab Lady seeking for House-

manager/Personal Assistant job.

Highly experienced. Arabic, English

&French. Contacttel : +961 71339568

email : famurr@hotmail.com

26, Male, Indian, BBA (Finance),

MBA(HR), Looking for suitable Job.

Contact immediately #98176105,

Email: nruknaddin@outlook.com

FABRICATION & ERECTION-DUCT

MAN Candidate seeking suitable op-

portunities & presently in Oman with

NOC Mob:97239854,

Mail:asherlalitha@yahoo.com

25yrs Indian Female with Bsc Nurs-

ing, MHA (master of hospital adminis-

tration) Graduate looking for suitable

placement. Contact:- 99513267

Email:-alinaelshaddai@gmail.com

Indian Male 25 yrs, B.E(Civil

Engg)1 yr exp in India(Residential

project(G +4),Autocad 2015.

Looking for suitable job.

E mail-gugan4u@gmail.com,

GSM-96767323

Indian female,28 years, B.Tech-

Electronics Engineering, M.tech-Em-

bedded systems,4+ years experience

as Assistant professor (Engineering

college, India) seeking suitable job in

Oman. Contact: 96965719

Pakistani DAE civil with experience

in Oman 2 years also holding license

of Oman seeks for job in Oman exp

in SAMAQADA & STFA. Contact :

93542055 / 99053438

B. Tech, Engineer Civil exp total 12

yrs, Gulf exp 6 yrs, PDO exp 3yrs D/L

Oman. Contact: 96242773

Diploma Civil Engineer 11 yrs expe-

rience (9 yrs building construction

+ 2 yrs O&G) with valid Oman D/L

seeking suitable placement. Contact

: 97669006 / 99142744 Email:

shafiqueam@gmail.com

B.Tech Software Engineer nearly

2 yrs Engineer nearly 2 yrs experi-

ence seeking job in Oman, currently

on visit visa. Contact: 95184451

Pakistani male 28 Masters Telecom

Engineering from Sweden 5 years

experience 2 years technical sales /

business development experience in

Oman market. NOC available looking

for suitable placement.

Contact: 96559823

Email: khawaarnaeem@gmail.com

Pakistani male 28 yrs Electronics

Engineer having 3 yrs experience,

D/L (Oman) looking for a suitable

position in Muscat. NOC available

can join immediately.

Contact: 92055789

Email: zeeshnrahim89@gmail.com

M.E (Civil) Structural Engineer

3 years experience and AutoCAD

release or NOC available seeking

for suitable job. Contact: 92589557

Email: kmrcvl@gmail.com

Bangladeshi female Project Engi-

neer Civil having 5 years experience

or construction site currently or

visit visa looking a suitable position.

Contact 91207329

Email: dipabangladesh@yahoo.com

Male Project Engineer (Civil) 12

years experience Dubai + SA in con-

struction & water supply field with

valid UAE D/L Currently on visit visa

looking suitable position.

Contact: 91206763

Email: delwar.civil.97@gmail.com

Young Indian male 23 yrs, BE - Elec-

trical Engineer 1.4 years experience

in India, on visit visa looking for suit-

able job. Contact: 93924395 Email:

thomaspallathn19@gmail.com

Indian male, 26 yrs, 4 years experi-

ence diploma in Civil Engineering

field on visit visa looking for suitable

job. Contact: 95585564

Email: safvanullal6644@gmail.com

Indian BE (Mech) Engineer having

P.G diploma in oil & gas piping and

level two NDT seeks immediate

placement in any industry at present

on visit vis. Contact : 92013757 /

99774956

B.Tech Mechanical, 5 years ex-

perience NOC available seeking

placement. Contact: 98557463 /

99470124

Indian male 28 yrs, Engg Nebosh &

IOSH certified 5+ years experience

in Saudi Arabia at Aramco & Sabic

projects as a HSE head HSE Supervi-

sor. Contact 94059935

Indian male, 23 Yrs, B-Tech – Elec-

trical & Electronics, having 1 year of

Work experience – looking for suit-

able placement. Currently in Oman

on Visit; Contact 95830305.

Aeronautical Engineer Indian

female 22 yrs, currently on family

visa looking for suitable position in

any air line / Engineering Industry.

Contact: 91705598

Email: nikhimnoushad@gmail.com

Civil Engineer B.Sc -6 years experi-

ence with constructions companies

- 1 years in Oman - qualified as Site

Engineer & Planning Engineer.

Contact+968-94682217

Bachelor degree with 5 yrs working

placement in Oman.

Email :

Indian female B. Sc Chemistry B.Ed

having 6 years experience in teach-

ing looking for suitable jobs.

Contact: 94196493

Indian female MA English literature

B.Ed having 6 years experience in

teaching looking for suitable jobs.

Contact: 96701049

Welder, 6G,3G, ARC, Gas , Fabrica-

tion well gulf experinced

Ph : 95068064

Civil diploma Engr, exp in

supervision, designing, QA/QC

Ph : 92741929

Automobile Engineer from India-

6 yrs exp-looking for opportunities

purchase / procurement/ supply

chain / project management-added

experience in automobile service &

customer care-presently in Oman on

visit visa. Contact 00968 91306841

email: shanyphilip23@gmail.com;

Degree Civil Engg total 9 yrs experi-

ence, 7 yrs in Oman Construction

Company with valid Oman driving

license. Contact: 99721926

Email: tamircivil@gmail.com

Civil Engineer, Indian male 29,

having 7 years exp in construction

field& Auto Cad in Oman. Having

valid driving license. Fluent in Eng-

lish & Arabic. Looking for suitable

job in reputed firm.

Contact - 99650569

Civil Engineer, Indian M 29 5yrs exp.

having DL & NOC Looking for suitable

position. Contact: 94576233

Email: suhailmullah@gmail.com

Professional Civil Engineer 25 yrs

experience with N.O.C Management

and Supervision with D/L.

Contact: 97290338

Civil Engineer degree, diploma,

Staad pro, Auto CAD 18 months In-

dian exp seeks suitable opportunity.

Contact: 93682529

Engineer with 4 years Telecom

experience in Oman, having Oman

driving license looking for a suitable

opportunity. Interested in marketing,

NOC available.

Contact : 98513495

29 yrs, Indian male B.E with more

than 5 yrs experience in facilities

management / Real Estate in Oman

having valid D/L.

Contact: 96652145

Diploma in civil Engineer, total 4

years experience, 1.5 years experi-

ence in Oman seeking suitable

placement. Contact : 96535084

Dynamic young Engineer (Electri-

cal & Electronics) on visit, seeking

suitable placement.

Contact: 94742764

Mechatronics (Electrical, Mechani-

cal) Engineer, 3 years of experi-

ence. Contact: 91234024 Email:

ammar.r.elerris@gmail.com

Civil Engineer Pakistani 12+2 years

Oman experience D/L required

placement. Contact: 94392616

Electrical and Electronics Engi-neer with one year experience and

GCC licence holder seeking a job

mail – shyjalpk@gmail.com

Electrical Engineer Indian male 29

years, having 5 years of experience

in industrial automation and utility

maintenance in India (MRF Tyres),

seeking suitable placement.

Contact: 92789995 Email:

akhilabrahamlktr@gmail.com

Mechanical Engineer having 1 year

exp in Mechanical Supervising look-

ing for suitable job.

Contact 92835957

Network professional, with 6 years

experience, CCNP and Bachelors

degree on visit seeking suitable

position. Contact: 96760618 /

varghese.manthara@gmail.com

MCA Indian female experience in

PHP / Java/ Web design / Photo-

shop and corel draw, with 2 years

Teaching experience in Bangalore

as lecturer and 4 years in call center.

Contact: 95140130

Email: nozah123@gmail.com

ME Electronics Engineer , 4 yr exp

in hardware and software currently

in Oman for visiting visa,

Contact: 95508754, 97049791

Civil Engineer, Indian male, 25

years, B.Tech, have 3 years experi-

ence in building construction seeks

suitable positions. 92609893,

alenalexander123@gmail.com

BBA Keralite, male, 23 yrs, experi-

enced in Automotive Sales & Admin

on visit. Contact 94742679,

Email: jafarj4@gmail.com

Indian female 2+ years of experi-

ence in marketing / Sales business

development in Oman with D/L

seeks suitable position.

Contact: 98989784,

Email: alamelusara@hotmail.com

Indian female Graduate holder valid

driving license knowledge about all

kinds of cosmetic products seeks

suitable placement.

Contact 98697656

Indian worked as Sales Supervi-

sor 7 years MNC now working as

Marketing Manager from 8 yrs with

visa D/L. Contact : 90205082

Indian female holding Omani driv-

ing license M.B.A in Marketing and

finance from Birla Institute, Muscat,

1 yr. working experience in India.

Contact: 91746962

Email: aarathiajith@gmail.com

Indian male 28 B.Com M.Com, MBA

experience 2 years Ventex Global

UAE Marketing Executive, experi-

ence 1 year Al Majeed Group Market-

ing Executive with valid UAE D/L.

Contact : +968 92871946

Indian male Graduate more than

16 years of experience in customer

relations and marketing in Pharma

and surgical field seeking suitable

opportune. Contact: 95570460 /

92812020

Marketing or Purchase Executive,

1.5 yrs in Oman Indian male 27 yrs,

MBA with valid Oman D/L available

for immediate placement.

Contact: 96300958 / 24796010

Email: ashwanihegde@gmail.com

Filipino lady looking for Reception-

ist Sales girl having good experience

in Muscat. NOC will be available

ready to join immediately. Contact:

92664896 / 91107941. After October

1st week. Contact: + 639759460269

Indian male more than 8 years

experience in UAE in Office , Sales

Marketing with good computer

skills having driving license look-

ing for suitable placement.

Contact : 99369081

Email: shazulashraf60@gmail.com

Indian male having 10 years work

experience ( Customer Service/ Back

end sales/stores)and 1 year work

experience in Oman NOC in hand,

looking for Suitable Position

Contact no: 96526228 /

sravan.kumaraj@gmail.com

Indian male, 15 yrs. experienced

Marketing/Admin/Business Devel-

opment Personnel in Construction

Industry available with NOC and

valid Oman D/L seeks better open-

ings. Contact 99852404 or

mailtowelling@gmail.com.

Indian male Sr. Sales Executive, 15 years exp in retail sector looking

for vacancies. Contact: 96768382

Indian male more than 8 years

experience in outdoor sales in G.C.C

with transferable visa & valid

driving license Graduate.

Contact: 91234320

Indian male having 10 yrs experi-

ence 4 yrs in Oman in purchase,

stores & logistics areas, having valid

Omani driving license and N.O.C in

Hand, looking for suitable position

any where in Oman

Contact no:94087866

SENIOR SALES ENGINEER (B.E.

Mechanical, MBA-Mktg) - 6yrs ex-

perience in Industrial Products and

Services with NOC and GCC Driving

License looking for the challenging

opportunities. Join immediately.

GSM: 94596639

E-mail:dhvlnayak@yahoo.co.in

Sales and marketing - male 27 yrs,

2 years experience seeking suitable

placement with Oman D/L.

Contact: 95642740 Email:

shaijichakkara@gmail.com

3+ years of experience (Oman) in

marketing, business development,

sales & customer services, BBA

Marketing with valid GCC driving

license. Contact: 94374115

Indian male, U.K Post Graduate M.A,

MBA, 3 years Experience, looking

position within Marketing, Branding,

Business Development & PR.

Contact: greetings111@hotmail.com

Indian male 25 yrs BBM Graduate

3 yrs of experience Sales /

Marketing in Oman looking in

suitable placement.

Contact : 93185316

Email: karsh794@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING

Indian diploma Civil Eng, 2 yrs

Infrastructure Projects (4G, Towers,

substation) landscaping & Auto

CAD. Contact: 94756183

Email: indianexpat1@gmail.com

Electrical Engineer (B.E) with 5

years experience (3 yrs in Gulf) NOC

available. Contact: 92119851 Email:

mayurdevadiga@gmail.com

Resident Engineer B.E civil 25 years

exp 12 yrs in Architecture consul-

tancy having Oman Dubai D/L NOC

available. Contact: 95732453

Email: milindj951@gmail.com

Indian male, 25 yrs. B. Tech Civil

Engineer with 2 years experience in

India looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 96081437

Email: vibijvenugopal90@gmail.com

Civil Engineer, Female, 3 yrs experi-

ence in structural design &

estimation; Contact: 99195433

Indian male 28 yrs, Master degree

in Computer Application and CCNA

certified, 2 years exp in Oman look-

ing for suitable placement.

Contact: 93295112 Email:

syedsadathali.mca@gmail.com

Indian male B. Eng in IT CCNA,

MCITP, RHCE 2 yrs + exp in IT sup-

port, Networking and Server Support

seeking suitable placement in IT /

Network / server support.

Contact: 93311963

Email: sajal035@gmail.com

Computer Engineer, Iraqi fresh

graduate excellent grade - Caledo-

nian college , experience in program-

ming, networking, database and

web designing. valid Omani driving

license, residence in Oman –

Contact 98763390

Network Engineer looking for job

have CCNA and CCNP (suitable) driv-

ing license NOC

and 4 years experience.

Contact: +968 91703807

Email: ekrema.zia@gmail.com

Computer Teacher with IELTS, expe-

rience in Oman IGCSE, CBSE, higher

Grades looking for suitable vacancy.

Contact: 98048946

Oracle ADF Developer, Msc (IT), 2

yrs of Experience in Software Devel-

opment (Oracle ADF, sql, pl/sql), Ora-

cle OCA & SQL Expert, Currently on

visit visa. Contact +968 93755858 /

92141644 Email :

shiralkarmuzammil@yahoo.com

IT Engineer, MBA, PMP trained, hav-

ing Omani driving license,

18+ years of experience in software

industry, looking for a suitable

position. Contact: 91244967

Software Engineer, 6 yrs exp in

software projects & development

(Java,PL/SQL Unix) on visit visa.

Contact: 99487493

Indian male IT professional with

8 yrs experience including GCC in

windows server, computer hardware,

networking & office administration

seeks a suitable placement.

Contact: 95994227

B.Tech IT, 2 years experience, seek-

ing job as IT Support / Customer

and Technical Support, any suitable

jobs in Oman currently on visit visa.

Contact : 98960932

Email: jittojacob@hotmail.com

Net working Technical with driv-

ing license NOC having 2 years

experience in data and telephone

structured cabling epabx and CCTV

installing looking for suitable.

Contact: 96027516

Indian male 25 years MCA, CCNA

Certified MCSE2012 having

16 months experience in network

and system administration

looking for suitable placement.

Contact 97703253 /

92365310

Email: albinmperakkattu@gmail.com

CCNA MCITP Network support/

Network technician with 2 yrs

experience Indian male having

bachelors degree on visit visa.

Contact 93080871,

email :sean.f.peters@outlook.com

Indian female MDS Endodontics,

9.5 yrs experience recently cleared

Oman prometric 84% looking

for suitable placement. Contact:

95624156 / 97233074

Indian female Bsc nurse with 3year

experience prometric passed seeks

suitable placement

Contact 95782544

Male Nurse, B.Sc, prometric exam

oman cleared exp.

Contact : 93837973

MSc Nurse specialized in OBG, 3

years experience-certified ACLS,BLS,

on visit visa, seeking suitable oppor-

tunities Contact:90125347

Indian male Nurse, prometric

passed seeks suitable placement.

Contact 97284508I

.

Experience MBA (Hospital Manage-

ment) looking for a suitable posi-

tion. Contact: 95958597

Email: vipinpthomas28@gmail.com

Marketing and Sales candidate

with 8 years experience in GCC

looking for suitable position. Having

NOC and valid Oman diving license.

Contact: 96669152

Indian male 34 yrs MBA, Marketing

& finance with 11 years of experi-

ence in Managerial roles in Sales

Marketing in different industry look-

ing for suitable placement presently

on visit visa. Contact : 97325393

Email: achus82@gmail.com

*Classified Advertisement space booking with text, should be done

till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication.

* Subject to space availability

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

D6 T H U R S D AY, O C T O B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

RENT A CAR

RENT A CAR

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise

with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain

Marine Tours Contact- 98029602,

92808636

TOURS

SITUATION WANTEDCARGO

SITUATION WANT-CARGO

FOR HIRE

Trailor with driver for hire.

Contact: 92303774

Bobcat Grader and roller for rent.

Contact: 94584688

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation available Ruwi to

Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Azaiba.

Contact: 91103909

Transportation available.

Contact: 99867456

Pick & drop any time. Contact: 93598436 / 96743215

Pick & drop any time. Contact:

92218001/ 96502406

Transportation. Contact98505294

Transportation in Muscat.

Contact: 95530908

Transportation for saloon car&

delivery van.

Contact : 95530908

Transportation available. Contact -955 70 429

DAILY GUIDET H U R S D AY, O C T O B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5 D7

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

Split & widow unit A.C servicing &

repairing. Contact: 99557080

Split & window unit A.C servicing &

maintenance. Contact: 96236476

Window & split unit A.C servicing &

maintenance.# 93769089 / 95323517

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet

& sofa shampooing, Contact

99314807/24792998

A/C Technician installation

services. Contact : 92279370

House shifting & packing. Contact: 99657644 /98518013

General cleaning &

Shampooing. Ocean Center LLC.

Contact: 99344723/99357908

Used house & office furniture & elec-

tronic items.# 99834373 / 96642500

House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your

marble. #24793614/ 99314807

Air condition maintenance instal-

lation window AC, split a/c, ducted

AC and package type units.

Contact: 98667326

Window & split unit A.C ser-

vicing & maintenance. Contact

93769089 / 95323517

Pest Control Gulfa Intl .LLC. Contact: 92326955

Water proofing ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

Pest Control Treatments, Cockroaches, Ants, Rodents &

Termites, Ocean Center LLC.

Contact: 99344723/ 99357908

Supply fixing Wallpapers,

all carpets. #99834373 / 6642500

One stop shop business services : Public Relation (PRO) formation new

companies, LLC companies, Investor

visa, business setup, prepare busi-

nesses & companies accounts, legal

services, representing you and your

company. Contact Saleh: 96723485

WEBSITE

WEB, ERP and Business Intel-

ligence (BI) creation and manage-

ment at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

SIT.WANTED

SIT-WANTED

SIT-WANTED

Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile

polishing, pest control & anti-

termite treatment, general clean-

ing painting, Plumbing, Electrical,

shifting. Contact Mundhir Al-Rizaiqi

trading. L.L.C. # 24810137, 99450130

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QABAS-

99320217 /24788722

CLASSES

DRIVING

COMPUTER

Well experienced management

finance specialist having 18 years

experience available for placement.

Contact.95602518

23, Male, ACCA Affiliate, OBU Bsc,

2.5 years of experience in audit and

finance in Big 6 Firms, Looking for

permanent placement in similar

field. Release NOC available. Contact:

#95140445, a.saran891@gmail.com

22, Male, Indian, BBA (Marketing),1

year experience in India, Looking

for suitable placement in Sales and

Marketing. #91897046,

azzamsiddique1@gmail.com

Indian Male,27,ACCA Part

Qualified,B.COM with 7+ yrs exp in

receivables and credit control in

Oman looking for suitable place-

ments. NOC available.

Contact 9657 4343.

Indian Female, Science Graduate,

3 years Experience in Teaching back

home. Looking for a suitable job op-

portunity as a teacher, in Schools in

Muscat Region. Contact : 96431456

/ 95704814

Looking for a suitable job as Jr.

Accountant/ Jr. Administration in

a reputed company. NOC Available.

GSM # 93004738.

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, 8 years ex-

perience ,Oman driving licence,Noc

available. Seek Suitable opportunity.

GSM- 98184170

ACCOUNTANT, Male, 8 years expe-

rience, presently working in Oman

as a Senior Accountant with oman

Driving license. NOC available, seek

suitable opportunity.

GSM: 97705854

Chemical Engineer Indian 2 years

of experience in production field

Contact: 91247222

Email:sahadpoonchola@gmail.com

Syrian male 3yrs. exp in IT support,

Networking, Security systems, Serv-

er support, IT sales and marketing.

Valid Omani D/L seeking suitable

placement. Contact 91033395

Indian female, MBA, 25yrs Having

4yrears of experience in MNC, hands

of experiences in recruitment and

administration, flexible for any suit-

able job placements currently in

visting visa. Contact Tel : 98864639

Email : neethuvijayan06@gmail.com

MANPOWER

Leading manpower agency to hire Recruiter from India housemaids. Contact: 99226093,

Email: fesalwardi48@gmail.com

SITUATION WANT-ED

BUSINESS

Looking for investor and Partner, well

running company monthly profit.

14,000 RO. Contact: 96725079

Indian male Accountant with 10

years experience in Oman available

for immediate joining with Oman

driving license NOC available. Con-

tact : 99881355 / 99720602

HSE Advisor (Indian) 30 years

Nebosh, 10SH & Diploma in fire &

Safety 9 years Gulf experience in

construction, oil & gas.

Contact 95568731

Email: sathishdream@gmail.com

SR. Land Surveyor Indian 7 years

GCC exp, 2 years IND. Exp, expe-

rienced in building construction

(Oman driving license).

Contact 97437307

HSE Officer (Indian) 26 years Ne-

bosh, diploma in fire & safety council,

3 years experience (including 1 years

GCC) in construction. # 97058358

Email: arun.insane@gamil.com

Indian male, 29 years B.Tech

(E.C.E) and M.B.A with 1.2 years of

experience in Oman as Electronic

Engineer seeking for a suitable job

currently on visit visa.

Contact 92085082

Email: suhailece.61@gmail.com

50 years Indian male 15yrs experience

as Manager in Steel and paper Plant

seeking suitable placement. Kindly

contact me on +91 9840943638

Chartered Accountant, Indian male,

25, two years experience, on visit

visa. Staying with parents. Also has

B.com+computer Application.

Contact: 24492638/98164467.

shyamal008@gmail.com

Diploma in Civil Engineer. I have 6

year experience in Oman seeking for

suitable position Oman.

Contact 97415597,

email: Nasir.muscat@gmail.com

8+ years experienced senior ac-

countant looking for a better place-

ment. Contact No. +968 92935684.

Email - shabeerkkm@gmail.com.

NOC available.

Indian Male, 38 years, BE and MBA

in Marketing from UK seeks suitable

placement in the IT industry.

Call 91200413.

CCNP Network Professional with 6

years experience having Bachelors

degree on visit visa looking for

suitable job. GSM: 96760618 Email:

varghese.manthara@gmail.com

Indian Female, MBA-HR having 8+

experience in Administration/HR,

Customer Support, Office Coordina-

tor with good Computer skill, now

on Visit Visa ,looking for suitable

position. Contact: 90196235

26, Male, Indian, BBA (Finance),

MBA(HR), Looking for suitable place-

ment in Finance/HR/Marketing. Con-

tact immediately. Contact 98176105,

nruknaddin@outlook.com

29 years Indian female (MBA-

Finance) with 4 yrs experience in

Accounts, seeking suitable place-

ment in Accounts/Admin/HR. NOC

available. Contact:96141283

ACCOUNTANT: Indian male 25 hav-

ing 4years experience in accounting

& having well knowledge in tally.

Contact:968 094535881,

0091 9037622048.

Email: vishnuraj889@gmail.com

31 year Indian male PG in HR , with

5 yrs Professional experience in

HR in Construction Oil & Gas Oman

seeking for a suitable placement.

Contact me on 93488914, email-

Kaarthickshankar@gmail.com

INDIAN MALE , MBA. Having 10+

years experience as Automotives

Sales Manager .Worked with M/s

TALWAR AUTO GARAGES PVT LTD

India’s Largest Selling Dealer for

VOLVO EICHER commercial vehicles

.Seeking for suitable Job in Oman.

Contact no: 98045482

Email: dmstalwar@gmail.com

ACCA finalist, Recent B.Com Gradu-

ate, Indian Female, looking for full

time employment in Accounting and

Audit. Contact +96896964379,

sangeethaumesh5@gmail.com

Admin, having 10+ years experience

in Admin/HR/Logistics/Time Keeper,

in reputed companies. Presently work-

ing in Muscat. Contact- 94369965 ,

mail - satya1528@gmail.com

Indian male . 14 yrs experience in

maintenance & Supervisor in hotel

field ( Electrical . Ac Mechanical &

Plumber ) N O C available

mob : 95 25 36 40 . email =

hareeshma24@yahoo.com

ACCA Affiliate, Indian Male, Fresher,

looking for full time employment

in Tax and Audit.+968 91291520,

shahidazeez5@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS

Indian male B.Eng. in

IT,CCNA,MCSA,MCSE, 2.5 yrs + exp.

in IT support, networking and server

support valid Omani D/L seeking

suitable placement in IT/Network/

Server support. Contact 92607532

Indian Male, 24 years old recently

completed M.Tech in Offshore Struc-

tures from NIT Calicut, looking for

suitable position.#: +919833248568,

Email: shihabpatel91@gmail.com

Indian male with 18 years of

Indian and Overseas experience in

hospitality industry, with excellent

cooking, operational, managerial

and communication skills seeking

a suitable job from reputed groups

and organizations. On a visit visa.

Contact: 95363751

Indian Male, 25, Chartered Account-

ant, working with ICICI Bank India.

On a Visit Visa in Oman. Staying

with parents at Azaiba.

Ph: 24492638.

Email: shyamal008@gmail.com

Indian Male, 26 Yrs, Business

Management, 6 years in Oman.

Knowledge of MS Office and Arabic

Language. Seeks suitable position.

Contact 93931935

Indian Mechanical Engineer, 30, having 8yrs of UAE Sales/Busi-

ness Development. experience in

Electromechanical and Irrigation

sectors. Contact no- +971558763220

email id-sangowri@outlook.com

Indian male, with finance and Law

degree, having more than 25 years

of experience in Finance/ Accounts /

Audit (5 years of Oman experience)

seeks suitable placement. NOC avail-

able. Contact: 98421619.

E-mail: talemadhamu@yahoo.com.

Indian male Executive Secretary

having vast experience in admin,

logistics & procurement well versed

with computer seeks suitable place-

ment. Contact : 99514286

Pakistan Male: 24 years,M.Com

Finance having 2.5 year experience

as a accountant & marketing execu-

tive looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 97670816,

E.mail: naeem.ahsan68@gmail.com

Indian female with MBA in finance

seeking immediate placement.

Contact: 968-93316493

ACCOUNTANT: Indian male 25 hav-

ing 4 years experience in accounting

& having well knowledge in tally.

Contact:968094535881,

0091 9037622048,

Email: vishnuraj889@gmail.com

31 year Indian male PG in HR ,with 5

yrs Professional experience in HR in

Construction Oil & Gas Oman seek-

ing for a suitable placement. Kindly

contact me on 93488914, email-

Kaarthickshankar@gmail.com

Sudanese/26/Bsc Computer Sci-

ence /3 years exp/skills Excellent

knowledge in operating systems

and maintaining computers Java

Programmer Web Developer Linux

SMS solutions Android developer/

email khalid.omx@gmail.com/

contact no 944958080 and

99758186.

Civil Autocad Draughtsman part

time work for job mob :96023726

Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

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