Times of Oman - July 1, 2015

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RAMADAN PRAYER TIMINGSDhuhr 12.16pm

Asr 3.34pm

Maghrib 7.03pm

Isha 8.25pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 3.56am

IFTAR

7.03PM

FAJR

3.56AM

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OMAN DRAWS UP NEW PLAN TO TACKLE DRUGS

1,180 medicines set to become cheaperTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Beginning from to-day, the price of 1,180 new pre-scription drugs will be reduced at private pharmacies as part of the second stage of the drug price review conducted by the Directo-rate General of Pharmaceutical Aff airs and Drug Control at the Ministry of Health.

The fi rst phase of the project began in October 2014, with a re-duction in prices of 1,400 drugs.

The D-G has reviewed and ordered to lower the prices of 1,180 drugs, including antibiot-ics, respiratory medication, psy-chological medications, eye and ENT medications, in addition to medicines for cancer and blood-related disorders.

The Directorate will continue to monitor the prices in all phar-

macies in the Sultanate through regular inspections in associa-tion with the Directorate General of Health Services.

Price displayThe ministry has stated that the prices must be displayed by the offi cial agent on all regis-tered drugs.

In case of cut in prices, the agent must initiate a change in the prices at all pharmacies. The ministry updates the price list on its website regularly and when-ever the need arises.

The Ministry of Health has urged locals and residents to re-fer to the website (www.moh.gov.om) to know more about the new price, and if they have com-plaints about the diff erence in price or unfair conduct, they can call 24441999.

F R O M T O D A Y

REGIONKuwait detains 60 for alleged terror links

2Kuwait has detained 60 people and closed a local charity for alleged

violations in raising funds for Syrians, local media said on Tuesday, as part of a crackdown on suspected militant links after the Gulf state’s worst ever suicide bombing. >A7

MARKETOman’s oil trading firm eyes expansion

3Oman, the largest oil producer in the Middle East outside of Opec,

plans to buy, lease or build fuel-storage tanks in East Africa to boost sales on the continent and open a US offi ce to trade refi ned products and Latin American crude. >B1

OMANAuto institute to open job avenues

1Thousands of Omani youths will be able to fi nd jobs in the automotive industry with the launch of the National Automotive Higher Institute (NAHI), Oman’s fi rst specialised automotive institute, which opens its

fi rst semester from September 2015. The institute is dedicated to teaching, training, graduating and employing Omani youths in the automotive industry in both the private and public sectors. The institute will provide hands-on training. >A2

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

MUSCAT: The Sultanate has condemned the terrorist attack on Hisham Barkat, the Egyptian top public prosecutor, which claimed his life.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that ‘this terrorist act calls for the collaboration of international community to combat terrorism and eradicate its sources. The Sultanate also expressed its solidarity with the government of the Arab Repub-lic of Egypt. -ONA

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

‘Pay public sector staff salary by July 14’

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Salaries for pub-lic sector employees for the month of July will be paid earlier than usual due to Eid Al Fitr, Dr Darwish Al Balushi, Minister Responsi-ble for Finance, announced in a circular.

Process salariesThe notice stated that due to holiday the government bod-ies should process salaries for July earlier so employees could receive their salaries by July 14. >A6

M I N I S T R Y C I R C U L A R

ELHAM [email protected]

MUSCAT: As the number of drug addicts in Oman in-creases, a national strategic plan is being prepared to tackle the scourge of drug abuse, says an offi cial.

The draft of the plan is ‘ready’ and needs to be re-vised and approved, said Dr Mahmoud Zaher Al Abri, secretary of the National Commission on Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Aff airs. Speaking to the Times of Oman, Al Abri said that the plan is being drawn up in a joint eff ort by a num-ber of authorities and is ex-pected to be fi nalised in the coming months.

Multi-factorial issueThe issue of drug addiction is a ‘multi-factorial’ issue which requires a ‘multi-sectoral’ approach, he said,

adding that the co-operation of all the sectors is required.

The national strategic plan is aimed at addressing a wide range of issues re-lated to drug abuse in Oman, including prevention, de-mand reduction, treat-ment and rehabilitation as well as research and study, added Al Abri.

Increasing numbersAccording to him, the to-tal number of drug addicts registered by the end of 2013 was 4,079 and the fi g-ure reached around 5,000 in 2014. However, the ac-tual fi gure could be higher, he added.

Al Abri said that the num-ber of addicts is increasing and the average age of those aff ected is coming down.

Average ageThe offi cial explained that 25 is the average age of ad-dicts admitted to hospitals when their situation de-teriorates, which suggests that the starting age could be lower.

Heroin and morphine are the ‘most problematic’ sub-stances but are not neces-sarily the most widely used drugs, Al Abri said, adding that other substances such as hashish may be used more. >A6

Source: National Commission on Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Affairs Graphics

Number of addicts registeredUntil

endof 2005

2006-2007

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

4,079Total

Alcohol Injection Others

31% 67% 2%

Type of substances

963

550

281 326 365 423 478

693

A strategy to tackle drug addiction is needed as the number of cases is on the rise

Sultanate condemns Egypt attack

WEDNESDAY, July 1, 2015 / 14 Ramadan 1436 AH timesofoman.com wtimesofoman.com facebook.com/timesofoman twitter.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com ISO 9001:2008 Certifi ed Company

A2 W E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

OMANFor household water supply 21 per cent of the population depend on wells. This includes 11 per cent who own private wells and 10 per cent who use wells outside the house.

Wells provide water to 21% people in Oman >A5

Auto institute to open job avenues

TARIQ AL [email protected]

MUSCAT: Thousands of Omani youths will be able to fi nd jobs in the automotive industry with the launching of the National Auto-motive Higher Institute (NAHI), Oman’s fi rst specialised automo-tive institute, which opens its fi rst semester from September, 2015.

The institute will provide hands-on training and academic input on multiple automotive specialisations to Omani stu-dents to meet the demand and create job opportunities in the au-tomotive sector.

“The number of employees cur-rently in the automotive sector is more than 50,000 spread over all the companies and their enti-ties across varying designations. However, Omanis cover less than 30 per cent of that total number,” said Maqbool Ali Sultan, chair-man of NAHI, during its launch on Tuesday morning.

According to Maqbool, analys-ing the research results from eco-nomic indicators and feasibility studies, confi rmed the pressing need to empower 1,500 citizens annually as specialised techni-cians in the automotive industry.

“The demand (for specialised

technicians) in the automotive industry is growing with an ap-proximate 10 per cent annual growth rate in licenced vehicles,” said Maqbool.

Partnership with GUtechNAHI also cemented a partner-ship with GUtech during the signing ceremony at the launch. The partnership with GUtech will assist in designing NAHI’s curriculum, programme evalua-tions and assisting in recruiting trainees. Students will also have the opportunity to complete their higher education at GUtech on graduating from NAHI.

When asked how GUtech would partner with the automotive in-dustry, Dr Michael Modigell, GUtech rector, said, “We have the faculty and department for engi-neering science and from it we ed-ucate mechanical engineers. One of the major subjects of mechani-cal engineering is automobiles. From the point of view of higher education, GUtech has a natural connection to automobile technol-ogy, and for sure we are interested in transferring this experience and knowledge to the lower level.”

NAHI is accredited by the In-stitute for Motor Industries and City and Guilds which off ers ad-vanced diploma programmes, competency based training and short courses. The institute will admit 390 students in the fi rst batch of its graduating class by September of 2015 and are look-ing to continue admitting over 390 students every semester.

NAHI’s founding members are Royal Court Aff airs, Bahwan In-ternational Group Holding, Zubair Automotive Group, and Mohsin Haider Darwish, apart from Saud Bahwan Automotive, Towell Auto Center, Zawawi Trading Com-pany, and Moosa Abdul Rahman Hassan and Company.

Unique initiativeMohammad Saud Bahwan, chair-man of Bahwan Group said, “NAHI is a unique joint initiative by the founding members to de-velop professional training based on international practices. The graduates will be met with excel-lent job opportunities and career prospects in the automotive sec-tor upon successfully completing their training.”

The National

Automotive Higher

Institute will

provide hands-

on training and

academic input on

multiple automotive

specialisations

Donation portal collects OMR39,549 during RamadanTimes News Service

MUSCAT: With the spirit of char-ity and giving in the air, the latest statistics from the donation por-tal www.donate.om recorded col-lection of more than OMR39,549 from 1,205 donors since the begin-ning of the Holy Month.

Out of the 13 organisations and associations in the portal, the one

that raised the highest amount was the Oman Charitable Organisa-tion (OCO) followed by Al Rahma Charity Team — Seeb, Dar Al Atta Charity and Omani Bahjah Or-phan Society.

The ITA started its promotional campaign for the portal at the on-set of the Homy Month of Rama-dan encouraging more people to log on to the website or use the

mobile app available in Android or IOs. The portal 'www.donate.om' as an alternative is secure, trans-parent and easy to use.

The portal serves 13 organisa-tions, including Dar Al Atta, Oman Association for Disabled, Environ-ment Society of Oman, and The Association of the Welfare of the Handicapped, in addition to Al Noor Association for the Blind,

Association of Early Intervention for Children with Special Needs, Oman Cancer Association, and Oman Hereditary Blood Disorder Association. The others are Al Rah-ma Charity Team, House of Funds and Zakah, Omani Association for Elderly Friends, and Oman Diabe-tes Association, apart from Omani Bahjah Orphan Society, and the Oman Charitable Organisation.

When donors visit the portal, they can choose to donate either by cause or by charitable organi-sation. There are up to 30 diff er-ent causes one can choose from such as Pay your Zakah, Zakat Al Fitr, Fasting Fidyah Expiation, and Ramadan Iftar Meal, in addi-tion to Donation for Eid Clothes, Sadaqa, Syria Help Campaign, and Orphans Care.

C H A R I T Y D R I V E

The demand (for

specialised technicians)

in the automotive

industry is growing with

an approximate 10 per

cent annual growth rate

Maqbool Ali SultanChairman of NAHI

Bait Al Zubair set for 'Hubta'

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Bait Al Zubair would be holding the second round of Hubta during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

The word ‘Hubta’ itself means a traditional market which is held before Eid in a number of wilayats of the Sul-tanate. People off er a range of products and materials for sale in preparation for Eid. ‘Hubta’ is a large gathering where peo-ple off er the fi nest products for others to buy for Eid.

The ‘Hubtat Al Afk ar’ is in-spired by the traditional Omani market in which the produce of the market is turned into an ar-tistic project for young people to showcase their talents, abilities and ideas. Anyone who is inter-ested can participate to develop a cultural and artistic view of the Sultanate.

The fi rst ‘Hubatat Al Afk ar’ was held on the February 23 at Bait Al Zubair, where fi ve of the participants displayed their talent. To participate in this project, people can submit a request through [email protected] and an application will be sent that must be fi lled out and returned to them.

For more information about Bait Al Zubair events and ac-tivities join them on Facebook www.facebook.com /bait.al-zubair and Twitter and Insta-gram on: @Bait_Al Zubair.

R A M A D A N P R O J E C T

The ITA started its promotional

campaign for the portal at the

onset of the Holy Month.

A3W E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

A4 W E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

TODAY’S DUAA ‘Our Lord! Bestow on us wives and offspring

who will be the comfort of our eyes, and make us leaders of the Muttaqun (the righteous).’

It is the crowning glory of this season of worship, writes AFTAB H. KOLA

The Night of Power

Hadith of the daySALMAN IBN AMIR Dhabi related that the Prophet said: Break your fast with dates, or else with water, for it is pure (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi). 11 Aisha related that Rasulullah was asked whether one should fast when on a journey, and he replied: Fast if you like, or postpone it if you like.(Bukhari, Muslim).

We are approaching the last ashra of Ramadan and it is time to augment our prayers and good deeds as we prepare to encounter the Lailat Al Qadr, or the Night of Decree, or the

Night of Power.Lailat Al Qadr marks the night in which the Holy

Quran was fi rst revealed to the Prophet Moham-med (peace be upon him) by Allah.

Muslims regard this as the most important event in history, and the Holy Quran says that this night is better than a thousand months (97:3), and that on this night the angels descend to earth.

Allah the Almighty declares: “Verily, We have sent it (Holy Quran) down in the night of Al Qadr (Decree). And what will make you know what the night of Al Qadr is? The night of Al Qadr is better than a thousand months (i.e. worshipping Allah in that night is better than worshipping Him a thou-sand months, i.e. 83 years and 4 months). Therein descend the angels including Angel Gabriel by Al-lah’s permission with all Decrees. (All that night), there is peace (and Goodness from Allah to His believing slaves) until the appearance of dawn.” (Holy Quran).

The Night of Power is the crowning glory of this season of worship. It is most likely to take place in the last 10 days of the month when a Muslim’s devotion reaches its zenith. As mentioned in our earlier article, one way of doing this is to stay in a mosque for Itikaaf, following the Sunnah of Proph-et Muhammad (peace be upon him).

It was on this night that the Holy Quran was fi rst revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by Allah. That was a defi ning event because it meant that Al-lah chose to show man the way to his happiness in this present life and the life hereafter, providing him with a constitution to implement. Little won-der that this beautiful night is regarded by Mus-

lims as the most important event in history.It is a night that every living Muslim craves to

stand/sit before the Creator, supplicate Him, and seek for better days ahead. Since Allah decrees whatever is ahead of his servants on that night, it is therefore apparent that whoever is fortunate to be alive on that night and be in prayers, crying to Allah in submissiveness with sincere heart, and being repentant as well as remorseful of his sins, Allah would surely listen to him and decree better life for him.

Tradition says that whoever establishes the prayers on the night of Al Qadr out of sincere faith hoping to attain Allah’s rewards (not to show off ), then all his past sins will be forgiven. Ibrahim Ya-haya, a senior English lecturer at British Academ-ic Centre in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, writes, “Because of the special nature and importance of this night, Allah has intentionally hidden the exact day from Muslims. This is because Allah in His inestimable wisdom wants people to strive in achieving something better in life.

“He has concealed the exact day of the Qadr night so that we may double our eff orts in the whole month of Ramadan or at least in the last 10 days. The true believer will search for the night of Qadr at late night and in the early hours until he or she attains it, regardless of the hardship.”

Some people, however, take Ramadan 27 as a traditional date to observe this night. But we stress that the Prophet (PBUH) did not mention any such day of Ramadan as the Night of Power.

There are some scholars who believe Lailatul Qadr falls on the fi rst two ashras of Ramadan but there is an overwhelming consensus that the night falls on the last 10 days of Ramadan, specifi cally on the odd-numbered nights. This is supported by Bukhari Hadith which says, “The Messenger of Al-lah, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: ‘Seek it (the

Qadr Night) on the odd nights of the last 10 days of Ramadan’.” Aishah reports: “When it was the (last) third of the month (of Ramadan), the Proph-et (PBUH) used to strengthen his resolve, spend the nights in worship and wake up his household.” (Related by Bukhari). It is on this night that des-tinies of individuals are decided. The Holy Quran says, “Therein [that night] is decreed every matter of ordainment.”

Eminent Islamic scholar Adil Salahi writes, “The Prophet (PBUH) who has taught us all good things has shown us the way to make the best ben-efi t of this night and to ensure that we receive its blessings. “He has indicated that spending the night, or most of it, in worship ensures the forgive-ness of all of one’s past sins. One may alternate be-tween diff erent types of worship: prayer, reciting the Holy Quran, glorifi cation of God and supplica-tion. It extends from the time when the obligatory prayer of Isha has been off ered to the time when Fajr prayer is due at dawn.

“What is important is the sincerity that must be characteristic of one’s action. It should be in com-plete devotion to God and seeking His acceptance.”

Muslims are encouraged to seek this night and spend it diligently in devotion, including perform-ing Salah, reciting the Holy Quran, supplicating and making Dhikr. If such a mighty opportunity is coming our way to earn rewards, then should we neglect this event? The Prophet (PBUH) has taught us an easy and enjoyable way to commemo-rate that night, so that our souls may always be in close communion with it and with the universal event which took place in it. He has urged us to spend this night of each year in devotion. He said, “Seek the Night of Power in the last ten nights of Ramadan.” He who spends the night of Power in worship, with a pure motive of faith and devotion, will have all his past sins forgiven.”

A5

OMANW E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

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Oman Air, Mercedes in partnership for new luxury service

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Oman Air will be of-fering its premium passengers in Muscat, who are fl ying in First Class, an even greater comfort and convenience.

First Class passengers will now be able to make use of the brand new, chauff eur-driven Mercedes-Benz S400 L AMG limousines between Oman Air’s First Class lounge at Muscat International Airport and their aircraft.

In addition, upon landing at Muscat, First Class customers will also be met with the limou-sines at the aircraft and whisked away to the arrivals in style and elegance.

The service is the result of a new partnership between Oman Air and Mercedes-Benz Oman. The service was launched at an offi cial handover ceremony at the Oman Air Headquarters recently.

The ceremony was attended by Paul Gregorowitsch, Oman Air’s chief executive offi cer, and Clive Hammond, Mercedes-Benz Oman’s chief executive offi cer Automotive.

Gregorowitsch welcomed the new service, saying, “This part-

nership refl ects the very high quality that Oman Air is commit-ted to off ering all our customers. It also reinforces the powerful brand image of our national airline.

“Our First Class passengers deserve only the best and they can now enjoy the luxury of an exclusive transportation service using Mercedes-Benz limousines between the First Class lounge and the aircraft,” he said.

“We look forward to a last-ing and productive partnership with Mercedes-Benz Oman, and to exceeding the expectations of our invaluable customers,” added Gregorowitsch.

Hammond added, “I am de-lighted that Mercedes-Benz S400 L AMG limousines will now be part of the service for Oman Air’s premium customers at Muscat International Airport.”

“The S-Class embodies the ‘Essence of Luxury’ of Mercedes-Benz like no other model series, and it will complement Oman Air’s renowned high standards and award winning service. I look forward to a close working rela-tionship with Oman Air through this luxurious service to their customers,” he added.

A V I A T I O N P A C K A G E

Wells provide water to 21% people

MUSCAT: Increasing population has resulted in the rising demand for water supply services that in-clude drinking water equipment.

Household drinking water sourc-es have increased 24.3 per cent from 2003 to 2010, according to the study on ‘Drinking Water Sources and Household Water’ issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The public water network had been used by the highest percent-age of drinking water users in

urban areas, or about 41 per cent. The same applies to household water sources.

Public networkThe public network was the most used source of drinking water or household usage in the diff erent kinds of residential units and con-stituted an increase of 37.4 per cent and 54.7 per cent, respectively.

Roughly 51.4 per cent of Oma-nis and 55.7 per cent expatriates use the public water network as a

source of drinking water. The re-sults of the study showed that 53 per cent of the Sultanate’s popula-tion uses the government network as a source of household water, while 21 per cent of the popula-tion depend on wells. This includes 11 per cent who own private wells and 10 per cent who use wells out-side the house. Twenty per cent of people use public water outlets, the third source of household water.

About 37.4 per cent of the popu-lation in the governorates and

wilayats received drinking water in their homes from government water pipelines, and it was also their preferred source of water.

The study showed that bottled water came second at 24 per cent on the list of sources for drinking water in the Sultanate. Public wa-ter outlets came in third with 22.8 per cent of the population using it for drinking water.

People who used other sources of water such as wells outside the houses constituted 6.6 per cent of

the population and users of private wells touched 3.7 per cent.

Unclassifi ed sourcesAccording 2010 census data, fi ve per cent of the Sultanate’s popu-lation relies on unclassifi ed water sources. That increases to more than 6 per cent if other sources are added to it. This raises concerns because unknown sources of wa-ter could cause health problems, particularly if the water includes organic and chemical pollutants.

Roughly 24 per cent of the popu-lation prefers bottled water and it is the fi rst choice in the Muscat governorate with 39 per cent of the population opting for it. The use of bottled water has its economic and environmental eff ects on the communities. They constitute a burden for the budgets of fami-lies. In addition, disposal of plastic bottles, labels and ink poses great risks for the environment.

Afl aj systemDespite the spread of the Afl aj sys-tem that constitutes an important part of Omani communities, they are used by just 0.6 per cent of the population and only to provide household water.

The Sultanate has two main water sources that are conven-tional and non-conventional. Conventional water resources include surface and underground water, which constitute 84 per cent of water resources, while the non-conventional water includes desalination water and treated wastewater that constitute about 16 per cent of the resources. –ONA

Roughly 24 per cent

of the population

prefers bottled water

and it is the fi rst

choice in the

Muscat governorate WATER LIFELINE: An offi cial study showed that 53 per cent of the Sultanate’s population uses the government network as a source of

household water, while 21 per cent of the people depend on wells.–ONA

LUXURY ABOARD: First Class passengers will now be able to

make use of the chauff eur-driven Mercedes-Benz S400 L AMG

limousines between Oman Air’s First Class lounge at Muscat

International Airport and their aircraft.– Supplied photo

State Council okays report on transport, wastewater lawsMUSCAT: State Council on Tuesday approved the report of the Legal Committee on the Land Transport Law and the review of legislations on the wastewa-ter sector, under the chairman-ship of Dr Yahya bin Mahfoudh Al Mantheri, chairman, at the Council building.

The report of the Legal Com-mittee on Land Transport Law, was sent to the State Council by the Council of Ministers.

The chairman of the State Council opened the meeting with warmest congratulations and blessings to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said on the occasion of the Holy Month of Ramadan.

The Chairman of the State Council said the agenda of the meeting included the discus-

sion of the Land Transport Law, and on the proposal by the So-cial Committee on the review of the governing legislations of the wastewater sector.

The Council then discussed the report on the Land Transport Law and approved it, while the pro-posal to review the legislations of the wastewater sector was ap-proved after adding amendments and taking the remarks of mem-bers into consideration.

The Chairman of the State Council said that the Council will conclude on Wednesday by dis-cussing the proposal submitted by the Education Committee on the study of the learning status of persons with disabilities (blend-ed learning), and discuss the rest of the items on the agenda.–ONA

L E G I S L A T U R E

A6

OMANW E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

LuLu has over the past years become an integral part of Oman’s landscape and fi rmly established itself as one of the most preferred retail destinations for locals and the expatriate communities in Oman

Yusuff Ali M A, LuLu Group managing director

LuLu Group to open new Sohar store today

Times News Service

SOHAR: A new hypermarket of the LuLu Group is set to open in Sohar, the major industrial hub of the Sultanate, on July 1, 2015.

The new store in Sohar is the 117th hypermarket of the LuLu Group and is an initiative by the group to further expand its retail presence in the Sultanate.

The hypermarket will be inau-gurated by Eng Ahmed bin Has-san Al Dheeb, undersecretary, Ministry of Commerce and In-dustry, in the presence of LuLu Group managing director, Yusuff Ali M A, dignitaries and top offi -cials of the LuLu group.

Spread over an area of 200,000 square feet, the new store is specially designed to off er the

residents of Sohar an all-new standard shopping experience at aff ordable prices.

The hypermarket will cater to all the needs of the consumers, ranging from fresh vegetables and fruits to hot food, bakery and grocery, in addition to garments, electronics and home appliances. There are also special sections for dairy products, meat and fi sh.

The hypermarket also has a huge area dedicated for depart-ment store items like electron-ics, home appliances, furnishing and furniture.

It also off ers a range of high-quality products catering to all the needs of the entire family. The outlet also has the widest choice of world-class fashion brands and products for women, men and children under one roof.

The new outlet also features extensively laid out counters, attentive services and ample

parking spaces to add to a hassle-free shopping experience. The hypermarket is also equipped with play areas for children, food court, money exchange and bank counters for the convenience of customers.

Commenting on the latest pro-ject Yusuff Ali, said, “LuLu has over the past years become an in-tegral part of Oman’s landscape and fi rmly established itself as one of the most preferred retail destinations for locals and the ex-patriate communities in Oman.

“The new outlet in Sohar is yet another initiative by the group to provide residents a world-class shopping experience that also of-fers great value for money. We are very grateful to His Majesty Sul-tan Qaboos bin Said and the gov-ernment for its vision and poli-cies that encourage and provide a conducive environment for us to continue our endeavours in this

country and contribute to the eco-nomic growth of the Sultanate.”

“We are committed to further boosting our presence in Oman in the coming years. Guided by its core values and principles, the LuLu group aims to set a new benchmark for retail that every-one else can follow. The support from customers has always re-mained a driving force for us to strive and do better. The success-ful integration of several Omani nationals into our workforce has been helpful in further strength-ening our presence in the region, and we will continue to ensure that there is adequate focus in this area,” said Yusuff Ali.

Symbol of qualityLuLu Hypermarkets have stood out as a symbol of quality and ser-vices in retailing.

The group aims to set interna-tional standards in all their out-lets to off er customers a shopping experience like never before.

With each new project, LuLu strives for excellence by providing customers a pleasant and novel shopping ambience by integrating all conceivable needs.

A genuine symbol of quality re-tailing with over 116 stores, LuLu Hypermarkets have been known as an innovator of the retail indus-try in the region.

Today, their hypermarkets are immensely popular among the discerning shoppers across the Gulf region as a one-stop shop for all their needs, aptly justifying its tagline, “LuLu, where the world comes to shop”.

The new store in

Sohar is the 117th

hypermarket of the

LuLu Group and is

an initiative by the

group to further

expand its retail

presence in

the Sultanate

SHOPPING DELIGHT: The hypermarket will cater to all the needs of the consumers, ranging from fresh vegetables and fruits to hot food,

bakery and grocery, in addition to garments, electronics and home appliance. – Supplied photo

Health offi cials reappointed

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Dr Ahmed Mohammed Al Saidi, minister of health, reap-pointed a number of offi cials in the governorates, eff ective from Au-gust 2. Through several ministerial decisions, he re-appointed Ahmed Mohammed Al Washahi and Ahmed Mohammed Al Mahri as directors general of health services in Mussandam and Al Buraimi, re-spectively. Mohammed Khamis Al Farsi and Nasir Saif Al Sa’di were transferred to the Undersecretary’s Offi ce of Health Aff airs.

In addition, the minister issued two decisions regarding second-ment of Sultan Saif Al Sa’di and Khalifa Saif Al Ya’qoobi as direc-tors general of health services in South Al Sharqiah and in Al Wusta governorates, respectively.

Moreover, Dr Al Saidi reap-pointed Dr Ali Abd Al Husain Al Lawati as an advisor in Engineer-ing Aff airs at the minister’s offi ce. This decision comes into force from the date of issue.

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

Drug abuseAsked about the challenges facing the eff orts to combat drug abuse in Oman, he not-ed that one of them is the fact that the actual number of ad-dicts is not known.

ChallengeThe other challenge is that it is diffi cult to specify the reasons behind drug abuse in Oman, which requires the collaboration of diff erent au-thorities, he added.

Al Abri also noted that another problematic factor is the high relapse rate for drug-addict patients, which is over 50 per cent and some-times reaches to as high as 70 or even 80 per cent.

In addition, more edu-cational campaigns are re-quired to raise awareness among the youth and their families about the issue of drug abuse, concluded the offi cial.

C H A L L E N G E S

July salary

The circular also states that the dead-line for registering salaries in the gov-ernment system is July 8 as the IT de-partment in each organisation has to register the daily and monthly updates in the system as well. The circular states that all the government organisations should review the daily and monthly up-dates of their audit departments.

It gave July 12 the deadline for ap-proving salaries by each government body. The circular also stressed that each government body should transfer the salaries by July 14.

G O V E R N M E N T C I R C U L A R

< FROM

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Work on to restore Ruwi power supplyTimes News Service

MUSCAT: A large part of Ruwi area was reeling under power crisis on Tuesday since 2am as a cable was damaged during a civil construction work in the area .

When contacted at 6 pm, the Muscat Electricity Distribution Company (MEDC) call centre said that there has been a power cut in Ruwi since 1:59 am and engineers are working to restore the supply. An offi cial at MEDC said despite all the precautions taken by the department, civil contractors continue to violate the norms.

Power cut“We are hoping that power will be restored some time during the af-ternoon in the day,” he said.

“The company was not careful, and unfortunately, this is not the fi rst time that such a thing has happened,” said the offi cial.

“We have assembled our emer-

gency teams and repairmen, and they have been working on re-storing power since the break-down was reported. They have not given us an exact time on when the power will be restored, but we are expecting the repairs to be completed by the after-noon,” he explained.

D A M A G E D C A B L E

A cable was damaged during

a civil construction work in

Ruwi area.

SOUTH AFRICAN ENVOY HOSTS IFTARSouth Africa’s ambassador to Oman, Maj. Gen. Chris Pepani, in association with Grand

Hyatt, hosted an Iftar for members of the diplomatic community and Ministry of Foreign

Aff airs. - Photo: AR Rajkumar

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REGIONW E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

Eight women among 28 killed in attack on Houthis claimed by IS

SANAA: An attack on Houthi rebel leaders in Yemen’s capital claimed by the IS militant group has killed at least 28 people, medics said on Tuesday, in the latest anti-rebel as-sault by the extremists.

Yemen was previously the pre-serve of IS’s militant rival Al Qae-da, which controls swathes of the south and east, but since March the group has claimed a string of high-profi le attacks.

The car bomb late on Monday targeted two brothers, both re-bel chiefs, during a gathering to mourn the death of a relative, a se-curity source said.

Eight women were among the dead. The explosion blew a cra-ter in the road, took chunks out of nearby walls and left debris strewn across the street.

Online statementIS said in an online statement it had organised the attack on what it called a “nest”.

The group has repeatedly tar-geted Houthis in Yemen.

IS claimed a car bombing that killed two people outside a mosque in Sanaa on June 20 and a series of attacks in the capital four days ear-lier that killed 31.

The group launched its Yemen

campaign in March with a series of bombings of mosques that killed 142 people. The attacks have over-shadowed the operations of rival Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula which overran Mukalla, capital of Hadramawt province in southeast Yemen, in March.

Washington still regards AQAP as the network’s most dangerous branch by Washington, and has kept up a drone war against its leaders inside Yemen.

But analysts say IS is now clear-ly in the ascendant.

IS is “in the process of supplant-ing AQAP, which is becoming just one of a number of forces in the tribal camp in southern Yemen,” said Mathieu Guidere, professor at France’s University of Toulouse.

The Houthi rebels have seized vast swathes of the country since launching an off ensive last July, forcing President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to fl ee to Saudi

Arabia. Neither peace talks in Geneva nor a Saudi-led air cam-paign begun in March have driven them from power and they remain locked in battle with pro-gov-ernment fi ghters, tribesmen and southern separatists.

Yemen’s offi cial Saba news agency, controlled by the Houthis, reported early Tuesday that the re-bels had fi red a Scud missile at Al Salil military base in Riyadh prov-ince, deep inside Saudi Arabia.

“This is another message to the forces of oppression,” a military spokesman was quoted as saying, promising “new surprises in the coming days”.

Saudi Arabia denied a Scud had hit its territory.

“We’re not aware of anything. Not a square metre (yard) was damaged in Saudi Arabia,” an of-fi cial in Riyadh said, adding there had been no radar contact and no missile intercepted.

A Scud intercepted in early June was the heaviest weapon fi red by the Houthis, whose bombard-ments and skirmishes along the border have killed at least 45 Saudi troops and civilians, including a soldier hit by rebel fi re on Monday.

In the battleground southern port of Aden, Yemen’s second city, fi ghting raged on Tuesday between the rebels and their opponents.

A pregnant woman and two children were among 13 peo-ple killed over the past 48 hours, medics said. Another 216 people were wounded.

Oil tanks at the city’s refi nery were still ablaze after being hit by rebel fi re on Saturday.

Saudi-led aircraft carried out 20 strikes in support of loyalists, a lo-cal offi cial said.

On Monday, UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for an investigation after Saudi-led air strikes hit the UN Development Programme compound in the city, wounding a guard and causing serious damage.

And a local offi cial accused the rebels of fi ring on a Qatari aid ship preventing it from docking in the city, which is in desperate need of relief supplies. — AFP

Late on Monday, a

car bomb targeted

two brothers, both

rebel chiefs, during a

gathering to mourn

the death of a relative

Kuwait in ‘state of war’ with militantsKUWAIT: Kuwait’s interior min-ister said on Tuesday the Gulf country was at war with hardline militants and would strike out at cells believed to be on its soil.

The ultra-radical IS group claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on Friday on a mosque in Kuwait City which killed 27 people, the worst attack of its kind in the country.

Kuwaiti authorities have de-tained 60 people in connection with the bombing and closed a charity for alleged militant ties in raising funds for Syrians, local newspapers said on Tuesday.

“We are in a state of war. It’s a war that had been decided with this cell. But there are other cells, and we will not wait for them to

try their luck with us,” Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al Khaled Al Sabah told parliament.

The Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qa-bas reported on Tuesday that fi ve people arrested for suspected in-volvement in the attack had been referred to the public prosecutor. The fi ve, it said, had confessed to receiving fi nancial transfers from abroad to carry out attacks target-ing houses of worship.

The cell had considered two other possible targets before de-ciding on the Al Imam Al Sadeq mosque, Al Sabah said. Kuwait has stepped up security after the bomber, a Saudi citizen named Fahd Suliman Abdul Muhsen Al Qabaa, fl ew in from the kingdom hours before detonating himself.

In a posthumous audio message stamped with IS’s logo and posted online, Al Qabaa called “enemies of Almighty everywhere, especial-ly in Kuwait”.

Kuwaiti offi cials said the attack was aimed at stirring up sectarian strife in the country. Since the sui-cide bombing, plainclothes offi cers have carried out arrest raids on the homes of fi ve people for possession of illegal weapons. Al Qabas news-paper quoted security sources as saying that 60 people, including Kuwaiti citizens and nationals of other Gulf countries, in all were being held for investigation.

Some had been found to have been in contact with militants while others were suspected of belonging to “extremist” groups,

Al Qabas reported, without elabo-rating. The newspaper did not name them but Kuwait’s interior ministry has said it had detained the driver of the vehicle that took Qabaa to the mosque, the owner of the car and the owner of the house where the driver went to hide af-ter the attack. Kuwaiti authorities were not immediately available for comment on the Al Qabas report.

Al Rai, another Arabic-language newspaper, said the Ministry of Labour and Social Aff airs perma-nently closed down the Fahd Al Ahmed charity due to “repeated vi-olations despite the warnings” that funds be collected through offi cial channels. Charity representatives were not immediately available for comment. — Reuters

M O S Q U E B O M B I N G

Sisi vows tougher laws after prosecutor’s assassinationCAIRO: A visibly angry Egyp-tian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi pledged tougher laws against militants and suggested fast track executions at the funeral on Tues-day of the state prosecutor assas-sinated in a car bombing.

Hisham Barakat died in hospital after a car bomb tore through his convoy in Cairo on Monday morn-ing, the most senior offi cial killed by hardline insurgents who have bedevilled the country. The attack, as Barakat was en route to his of-fi ce, was a blow to former army chief Sisi, who won elections after ousting former president Moham-ed Morsi on July 3, 2013. Barakat’s funeral coincided with the second anniversary of mass protests that preceded Morsi’s overthrow. “The arm of justice is chained by the law. We’re not going to wait for this. We’re going to amend the law to allow us to implement justice as soon as possible,” Sisi said in a televised speech surrounded by Barakat’s mourning relatives.

“Do courts in these circum-stances work? Do these laws work? They work with normal people,” said Sisi, shaking a clenched fi st for emphasis. Hundreds of police-men and soldiers have been killed since Morsi’s ouster by militants based in the sparsely populated Sinai Peninsula. The IS militant group’s affi liate there has claimed responsibility for the deadliest at-tacks. At least 1,400 people, most of them Morsi supporters, have

been killed in a police crackdown on protests.

Meanwhile, thousands of peo-ple, mostly hardliners but also including dissidents, have been jailed and hundreds sentenced to death. Morsi himself has been sentenced to death. Seven have been executed. Most of those sentenced to death are appealing the verdicts, a lengthy and convo-luted process, but Sisi suggested it

would be fast tracked. “If there is a death sentence, a death sentence will be implemented,” Sisi said. “The law! The law!

“We’re not going to wait fi ve or 10 years to try the people killing us,” Sisi said. Outside the mosque where the funeral was held, a crowd of 50 protesters chanted: “The people demand the execu-tion of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Inside, Justice Minister Ahmed Al Zind, a recently ap-pointed hardliner, told judges to avenge Barakat’s killing. “The ball is now in the judges’ court. Take your revenge using the law. Eff ec-tive, swift law that doesn’t take fi ve years.” — AFP

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ARTICLE, PHOTOS


We are in a state of war. It’s a war that had been decided with this cell. But there are other cells, and we will not wait for them to try their luck with us.

Sheikh Mohammad Al Khaled Al Sabah, Kuwait’s Interior Minister

DESTROYED: Police offi cers inspect the site of a car bomb attack in Yemen’s capital Sanaa late on Monday. A car bomb claimed by IS mili-

tant group exploded in the Yemeni capital Sanaa overnight, medics said, wounding at least 28 people gathered to mourn another attack

earlier this month. – Reuters

SOLEMN VOW: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, centre,

and ministers attend public prosecutor Hisham Barakat’s funeral

service in Cairo, on Tuesday. – Reuters/The Egyptian Presidency/Handout

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INDIAW E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

The prime minister reiterated his vision of governance based on trust and simplifi cation of processes, and exhorted Indian Industry to work towards technological self-reliance

PMO statement

Jaya scores landslide victory in by-election

CHENNAI/BHOPAL: All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhag-am (AIADMK) chief and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jay-alalithaa scored a landslide victory today winning by a record margin of over 150,000 votes, as ruling parties won all the six seats where by-elections were held in fi ve states which also included south Indian state Kerala and central In-dian state Madhya Pradesh.

With her victory a foregone conclusion, Jayalalithaa won the R K Nagar seat in Chennai by a margin of 150,722 votes trounc-ing her nearest Communist Party of India (CPI) rival C. Mahendran who forfeited his deposit like other contestants.

Historic winExpressing joy and thanking the electorate for giving her a huge victory, Jayalalithaa said “it is a historic win, I assure that I will tirelessly work to fulfi l the voters’ expectations, and needs.”

Out of the total votes polled in the city constituency, a massive 88.43 per cent of the electorate had voted “for me which is historic,” she said.

Jayalalithaa had to fulfi l the con-stitutional requirement of getting elected as MLA within six months

of becoming Chief Minister.AIADMK’s P Vetrivel had vacat-

ed the seat to enable her to seek re-election. She returned to the top post on May 23 after being acquit-ted in a disproportionate assets case by the Karnataka High Court.

Relief for UDF in KeralaIn a shot in the arm for the United Democratic Front (UDF) govern-ment in Kerala ahead of assembly polls next year, K. S. Sabarinadhan of Congress won from Aruvikkara in Thiruvananthapuram by a mar-gin of 10,128 votes defeating his nearest Communist Party of In-dia (Marxist) (CPI-M) rival M Vi-jayakumar of the Left Democratic Front (LDF).

Sabarinadhan, son of former speaker G Karthikeyan, whose death in February necessitated the bypoll, polled 56,448 votes, while Vijayakumar, a former speaker and ex-state minister, bagged 46,320 votes and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate and former Union Minister O Rajagopal got 34,145 votes in the fi erce triangular con-test. The poll outcome in Kerala is a big relief for the four-year-old

UDF government as the opposi-tion had used every opportunity to corner the government on the solar and bar bribery scams.

Attacking the CPI(M), a beam-ing Chief Minister Oomen Chandy said the party had insulted the electorate by alleging that the UDF had earned the victory by splurg-ing money earned through corrupt deals and liquor.

BJP retains Garoth seatBJP retained Garoth Assembly seat in MP’s Mandsaur district al-beit with a reduced margin than in the 2013 Assembly polls.

Chander Singh Sisodia defeated Congress’ Subhash Kumar Sojatia with a margin of 12,945 votes, an election offi cer said. The BJP had earlier won by a margin of 25,755 votes. The Congress, however, termed BJP’s win with a lower margin than earlier as a “moral de-feat” for the ruling party.

CPI(M) victorious in TripuraCPI(M) won both the Pratapgarh (SC) and Surma (SC) assembly seats by a huge margin in Tripura.

Ramu Das defeated his nearest BJP rival Mousami Das by a margin of 17,326 votes in Pratapgarh constituency while Anjan Das beat his nearest BJP rival Asish Das in Surma by a margin of 15,309 votes. Signifi cantly, BJP dislodged the Congress from the second position in both the seats.

Congress wins in ChokpotIn Meghalaya, Congress won the Chokpot seat by a margin of 2,550 votes with its candidate Blubell R. Sangma defeating her nearest rival Philipole Marak of National Peo-ple’s Party. While Blubell R Sang-ma secured 8,042 votes, Philipole Marak secured 5,492 votes, state election offi ce said. - PTI

Expressing joy

and thanking the

electorate for giving

her a huge victory,

Tamil Nadu Chief

Minister Jayalalithaa

said ‘it is a historic

win, I assure that I

will tirelessly work

to fulfi l the voters’

expectations,

and needs’

JUBILANT: AIADMK supporters celebrate the party chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jay-

alalithaa’s victory in RK Nagar bypolls, at her Poes Garden Residence in Chennai on Tuesday. -PTI


ARTICLE, PHOTOS


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

RSS affi liate slams NDA’s Land BillNEW DELHI: Yet another RSS-affi liate Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) on Tuesday slammed the Land Acquisition Bill brought by the National Democratic Alli-ance (NDA) government, saying it contains “several detestable and unacceptable sections”.

Appearing before the Joint Committee of Parliament which is examining the controversial legis-lation, SJM delegation led by its national convenor Ashwani Ma-hajan criticised the doing away of consent clause and social impact assessment provisions in the bill.

The four-member delega-tion said the consent of farmers should be ensured before land acquisition of any kind and it should also have a comprehen-sive assessment about need, so-cial and environmental impact of the land acquisition before land acquisition, sources said.

The SJM said the NDA gov-ernment brought the Ordinance to replace the 2013 Land Act in “undue hurry” and that the bill contains “several detestable and unacceptable sections”.

SJM joins other RSS affi liates like Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, Bhar-tiya Mazdoor Sangh and Akhil Bhartiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram which have already opposed the bill. The panel has so far recorded the personal appearance of 52 in-dividuals and organizations out of 510 representations it received.

Sources said the panel will be-gin examining provisions of the bill clause wise in next few days.

Consent clauseWith SJM, almost all Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh affi lliates have expressed their opposition to removal of consent clause and social impact assessment provi-sions in the new bill.

“Re-promulgated Land Acqui-sition, Rehabilitation and Res-settlement (Amendment) Or-dinance issued on April 3, 2015 contains several detestable and unacceptable sections, even after incorporation of several amend-ments that have been included in 2015 ordinance under intense public pressure,” the Manch told the panel.

In its eight-point representa-tion, it stressed that agricultural and forest land should not be al-lowed to be acquired for any oth-er purpose in the interest of food security of the nation and that the

“government should not own the responsibility of acquiring land for the neeeds of the private in-dustries.” The SJM said the land use change must not be allowed from the purpose for which it was acquired and in case the benefi -ciary of the land acquisition fails to use the land within specifi ed period, land should be returned to the original owners without applying any conditions.

It demanded that the govern-ment should issue a white pa-per on status of land acquisition since 1947 and asked it to come out with a comprehensive land use policy instead of looking at the issue of land acquisition in pieces.

Batting for the 2013 land law passed by UPA, the Manch said in its written representation, “Original Act of 2013 provided for return of land to the original owners, after expiry of fi ve years.

The clause has also been dilut-ed in the Ordinance, by substitut-ing in section 101, for the words ‘a period of fi ve years’, the words “a period specifi ed for setting up of any projects or fi ve years, which-ever is later’.

“This amendment needs to be deleted or suitably amended to ensure return of land if the pro-ject for which land is acquired, does not initiate as per the sched-uled time,” it said. - PTI

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

PM hears industry’s woes; asks them to innovate, make in IndiaNEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday met business leaders to hear their grievances on issues ranging from high capital cost to ease of doing business to certainty on taxation matters, as he interacted for the fi rst time with the Indian indus-try chambers since taking charge over a year ago.

Modi held separate meetings with the delegations of the two apex industry bodies — Confed-eration of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Cham-bers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The industry leaders told Prime Minister about invest-ment not picking up due to high cost of capital, poor credit growth and diffi culties faced by small and medium enterprises in doing business, top FICCI sources said.

A statement from the Prime Minister’s Offi ce said the delega-tions “appreciated” the work done over past one year and steps taken to improve ease of doing business.

The prime minister has met any Indian industry chamber delegation for the fi rst time since taking charge on May 26, 2014 and follows concerns having been raised in some quarters that not much has moved on ground in the past one year despite good inten-tions and their grievances were not being heard.

Technological self-relianceIn his meeting with the CII del-egation, Modi asked the industry to cut the import reliance in oil, electronics and defence sectors and said his attention has been on speeding up the projects. He also called on the industry to innovate and make in India to create jobs.

“The prime minister reiterated his vision of governance based on trust and simplifi cation of

processes, and exhorted Indian Industry to work towards tech-nological self-reliance,” the PMO statement said.

Modi also asked industry to be more proactive towards the cause of sanitation, as part of their cor-porate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

In his meeting with the FICCI delegation, Modi urged the in-dustry “to work towards growth in key sectors such as agro-prod-ucts, textiles and defence related manufacturing”.

He also asked the industry leaders to take advantage of the various initiatives being taken by the Union Government for the infrastructure sector, includ-ing railways.

Reliable sources in FICCI told PTI that they raised issue of busi-ness environment for small and medium industry not being con-ducive where something like set-tling of commercial contract is becoming diffi cult and called for better coordination between state and local bodies.

“We also raised the issue of

competitiveness. We pointed out that unless cost of fi nance comes down we won’t see domestic in-vestment picking up and creation of demand. We also raised poor competitiveness vis-a-vis low tariff s on FTAs.

“We raised the issue of fi nan-cial markets where capital mar-kets are performing well but credit market is not doing good. We mentioned that the regula-tory environment in India is good but regulators should also be fa-cilitators to promote industry and growth,” the source said.

The delegation also expressed hope that GST would be intro-duced soon and the tax rate would be reasonable.

“The prime minister was ex-tremely happy to hear our views,” the source said adding the land ac-quisition issue was not discussed at the meeting. The 11-member FICCI delegation was led by its President Jyotsna Suri.

“The meeting was a construc-tive one. We all came away feeling very positive,” CII President Su-mit Mazumder said. - PTI

B U S I N E S S L E A D E R S M E E T

SJM demanded that

the government

should issue a white

paper on status of

land acquisition since

1947 and asked it

to come out with a

comprehensive land

use policy instead of

looking at the issue

of land acquisition

in pieces

AIRING GRIEVANCES : Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets a del-

egation of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and

Industry in New Delhi on Tuesday. - PTI

A9

INDIAW E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

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Claims, counter-claims over Dholpur palace controversy

NEW DELHI/JAIPUR: The Dholpur Palace row escalated on Tuesday with the Congress rais-ing the pitch for the sacking of Ra-jasthan Chief Minister Vasund-hara Raje, saying there was a “criminal nexus” between her family and former Indian Premier League (IPL) boss Lalit Modi, a charge rubbished by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

On a day of claims and counter claims, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh told reporters in Delhi, “There has been a criminal nex-

us between Lalit Modi and the Vasundhara Raje family.”

Illegal occupationDeclaring that Congress will not stop disclosures in the till a “clo-sure” is done by the BJP by re-moving Raje, Ramesh released some fresh documents including one of 1949 which showed that the Dholpur Palace was owned by the Rajasthan Government.

For the second consecutive day, Ramesh accused Raje and her family of “forcible, illegal occupa-

tion” of the Dholpur Palace along with Lalit Modi through a private company. In Jaipur, BJP Rajas-than president Ashok Parnami showed documents, saying a court document of November 22, 1958 clearly proved that the Dholpur Palace was handed over to Dushy-ant Singh, son of Raje.

The press meet saw heated ex-changes between the media and the BJP leaders with one news channel correspondent repeat-edly pressing Parnami to respond to questions from his boss over

telephone. Asked by reporters to give copies of the documents he was fl agging, Parnami said they could fi le an RTI and verify the documents presented by them and the Congress.

Parnami accused Ramesh of trying to create “confusion” over the Dholpur Palace issue.

The BJP state president said following the court direction and the compromise Dushyant reached with Hemant Singh, his father and estranged husband of Raje, “physical possession” of the Dholpur Palace was taken by Du-shyant. Parnami contended that in at least fi ve places in the court document, it has been clearly specifi ed that Dushyant had the ownership rights of Dholpur Pal-ace and had the full rights” to sell or lease out the movable and im-movable properties in question.

Ramesh said that the party has also not forgotten the case of External Aff airs Minister Sushma Swaraj who had helped Lalit Modi with travel documents. “We have not forgotten about the Videsh Mantri. Closure and disclosure in her case is yet to come”, he said.

Taking a dig at Swaraj, he said, “ Lalit Modi was helped on “hu-manitarian grounds, grounds like hanging out with Naomi Camp-bell” Insisting that the compro-mise between Hemant Singh and Dushyant was only for mov-able property, Ramesh claimed

that despite much evidence pro-duced by him, the BJP is trying to justify ownership of the prop-erty with Dushyant with “lame duck” arguments.

Insisting that the compromise between Hemant Singh, estranged husband of Raje and son Dushyant Singh was only for movable prop-erty, he claimed that despite much evidence produced by him, the BJP is trying to justify ownership of the property with Dushyant with “lame duck” arguments.

He said that the compromise was brought about in 2007 by the additional district Judge of Bharatpur in a case titled ‘Dushy-ant vs. Hemant Singh’. He alleged that despite the palace and the land surrounding belonging to Rajasthan government, Dushy-ant Singh received a compensa-tion of nearly Rs20 million from the NHAI for a 500 metre piece of land due to “nexus” between him and the Land Acquisition offi cer.

“He (Dushyant Singh ) got a compensation of Rs.20 million and that is a scam which needs to be investigated”, he demanded.

Ramesh said that government and BJP are making in vain at-tempts to disprove the “unholy nexus” between Raje and Lalit Modi, their co-ownership of Ni-yant Heritage Hotel Pvt Ltd and “ patent illegal usurpation” of a gov-ernment property for construc-tion of a high end luxury hotel. - PTI

On a day of claims

and counter claims,

Congress leader

Jairam Ramesh told

reporters in Delhi,

‘There has been

a criminal nexus

between Lalit Modi

and the Vasundhara

Raje family’CITING DOCUMENTS: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh

shows Dholpur Palace issue documents during a press conference

in New Delhi on Tuesday. -PTI

Plea to declare Indira murder a suicide rejected after 29 years

AHMEDABAD: Pending for nearly 29 years, a petition seeking declaring Indira Gandhi’s assassi-nation a “suicide through arranged murder” to facilitate Rajiv Gan-dhi’s elevation as prime minister was dismissed at its fi rst hearing by the Gujarat High Court after nobody pressed the case.

Filed in 1986, two years after the assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, the peti-tion came up for hearing for the fi rst time on Monday by a division bench headed by acting Chief Jus-tice V. M. Sahai, who took no time in dismissing it.

“The prayer of the petitioner is to declare that Indira Gandhi com-mitted suicide, which cannot be granted. The petition is according-ly dismissed,” Justice Sahai said, throwing out the petition.

“No one has put in appear-ance to press this petition,” the court noted.

The plea alleged that the coun-try’s fi rst and only woman prime minister had “committed sui-cide through arranged murder to give power to her son Rajiv Gan-dhi as hereditary successor and the elections of 1984 were based on national sacrifi ce made by Indira Gandhi.”

The petition fi led by Navnitlal Shah was dismissed at the stage of admission after about 29 years.

Shah never turned up to press the case even once. - PTI

P E T I T I O N D I S M I S S E D

Fadnavis government in Maharashtra in trouble over contractsMUMBAI: Troubles mounted for the Fadnavis government in west Indian state Maharashtra on Tuesday with a second minister coming under a cloud over award of a Rs19.1 billion contract without inviting tenders.

The allegations against Educa-tion Minister Vinod Tawde came within days of Women and Child Development Minister Pankaja Munde facing similar accusations in awarding contracts for various purchases worth Rs20.6 billion on a single day in February without following the mandatory e-tender-ing process.

The matter relates to the Educa-

tion department issuing a Govern-ment Resolution authorising the offi ce of the Education Director (Primary) to enter into a contract for supply of 62,105 fi re extin-guishers for Zilla Parishad schools across the state on February 11 without inviting tenders.

The contract, cleared by Tawde, has, however, been put on hold after the Finance Department ob-jected to it and sought a probe, of-fi cial sources said.

The fi rst-ever BJP-led govern-ment in Maharashtra has made e-tendering of contracts mandatory for all purchases above Rs300,000.

Tawde, a key minister in the

Devendra Fadnavis government, however, claimed no irregularity was committed as contractors had not been paid.

“Not a single rupee has been paid to contractors. We stopped the order immediately after the Finance Department raised ob-jections,” Tawde told reporters on Tuesday. Top BJP ministers in the Fadnavis government were quick to jump to his defence. At a hur-riedly convened press conference yesterday, Finance Minister Su-dhir Mungantiwar said, “The Op-position is making a mountain out of molehill”.

Flanked by Mungantiwar and

Cooperatives Minister Chandra-kant Patil, Tawde said he had only complied with a Supreme Court order on providing fi re-fi ghting equipment to schools.

About Rs60 million worth equipment was delivered but no payment has been made, Tawde said.

Though BJP ministers came to the defence of a beleagured Tawde, faultlines were visible, yet again, in the party’s ties with Shiv Sena, a junior partner in the Fadnavis government.

Sena MP Arvind Sawant said both Tawde and Munde should step down and face a probe. - PTI

A L L E G A T I O N S

ALL FOR PROBITY: Aam Aadmi Party workers hold placards and

shout slogans during their protest against Maharashtra Rural

Development Minister Pankaja Munde demanding her immediate

resignation in Nagpur on Friday. - PTI

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Bring Malala’s attackers to justice, appeal US senators

WASHINGTON: US lawmak-ers have asked Pakistan to bring Malala Yousafzai’s attackers to justice, weeks after reports re-vealed eight of the 10 militants jailed for life over the attack on her have been freed.

“We urge the government of Pa-kistan to re-double its eff orts in a transparent and public manner to bring those responsible for this brutal attack to justice,” Senators Marco Rubio and Barbara Boxer said in a letter to Pakistan Ambas-sador to the US Jalil Abbas Jilani, according to the Economic Times.

Rubio and Boxer are respec-tively the chairman and ranking member of Senate Foreign Rela-tions Committee’s Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Trans-national Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights and Global Women’s Issues.

In the letter dated June 29, the senators said, “This past April, Pakistani offi cials announced that

after a secret trial, all 10 suspects were found guilty for their roles in the attack against Malala and re-ceived 25 year prison sentences.”

“Although we have serious concerns about the trial’s lack of transparency and general absence of information regarding the

cases against these 10 individu-als, we were encouraged to hear that the Pakistani judicial system was actively working to hold re-sponsible for this heinous act,” the senators added.

“That is why we are particu-larly alarmed by recent media

reports that eight of the 10 con-victed were actually acquitted of these charges against them,” the senators wrote, adding that these reports raise signifi cant concerns about the transparency and the accountability of the country’s ju-dicial system.

Further, the senators said, “As such, we respectfully request that the Pakistani judicial system provide an honest and transpar-ent accounting of the events sur-rounding the cases against these 10 individuals and continue its important work to bring all those responsible for the brutal attack against an innocent teenage girl to justice

However, earlier this month, security offi cials denied claims that Malala’s attackers were re-leased as part of a deal and upheld the court cleared eight of the at-tackers and only two sent down

for their part in the bid to silence education campaigner Malala, who last year became the young-est ever Nobel Peace Prize winner.

“It was the court’s decision to frame charges against two of the 10 accused and release eight oth-ers,” security offi cials had said.

Malala Yousafzai, a student and education activist, was shot and critically injured in a Taliban-or-chestrated attack in October 2012.

The teenager was on her way back home from school when gunmen apprehended the bus and boarded it before calling her out by name and opening fi re. — Express Tribune

We urge the

government of

Pakistan to re-

double its eff orts

in a transparent

and public manner

to bring those

responsible for

this brutal attack

to justice, Senators

Marco Rubio and

Barbara Boxer said

in a letter to Pakistan

Ambassador to the

US Jalil Abbas Jilani,

according to the

‘Economic Times’ JUSTICE DENIED: Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai, centre, addresses on November 20, 2013 the European Parliament assembly

after receiving the EU’s prestigious Sakharov Human Rights Prize in recognition of her fi ght for the right of all children, girls and boys,

to an education. Malala, 16, became the 25th winner of the Sakharov prize at the ceremony signifi cantly held on World Children’s Day,

with 21 of the former winners present. — AFP

This past April, Pakistani officials announced that

after a secret trial, all 10 suspects were found guilty

for their roles in the attack against Malala Yousufzai

and received 25 year prison sentences, said US

Senators Marco Rubio and Barbara Boxer

in a letter dated June 29


Ex-minister’s son Mustafa indicted

LAHORE: A special anti-terror-ism court on Tuesday indicted former federal minister Siddique Kanju’s son Mustafa Kanju for killing a teenager and injuring an-other, Express News reported.

Holding Mustafa Kanju and four others responsible, the court issued notices to the witnesses of prosecution for July 7. Others ac-cused include Asif, Sadiq, Sadullah and Akram.

On April 1, Mustafa opened fi re on a vehicle near Lahore’s Cav-alry Ground area, killing 16-year-old Zain and leaving a pedestrian injured.

“I did shoot but did not intend to kill anyone,” he had said adding, Mustafa said he had fi red shots, during the clash, to scare his op-ponents. However, after initial de-nials, he admitted to ‘accidentally’ killing Rauf.

Zain was laid to rest after fu-neral prayers in Cavalry Ground, where a large number of people from diff erent walks of life turned up. Around 50 of his classmates, cousins and friends protested, car-rying placards and banners, shout-ing slogans against the suspects and the government.

Innocent sonAt the funeral, Zain’s mother Ghazala Rauf cried incessantly. She had lost her husband Abdul Rauf last year following his unsuc-cessful surgery in England.

“I request the chief minister to hang these people who are behind the murder of my innocent son,” she said with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Zain’s uncle, Muhammad Sal-eem, told The Express Tribune the family had been receiving threat-ening calls since Wednesday night, pressuring them to accept “blood money”. — Express Tribune

K I L L I N G O F T E E N

Mustafa Kanju

‘Want Burka Avenger fi lm to be as good as Pixar fi lm’KARACHI: It has barely been over a month since 3 Bahadur — Pakistan’s fi rst ever animated fi lm — was released but the staggering success it achieved has propelled a new wave in Pakistani fi lmmak-ing and animation.

The next off ering is likely to come from Unicorn Black stu-dios, the geniuses behind eve-ryone’s favourite veiled super heroine, Burka Avenger. Head of the studio, Haroon Rashid has announced plans of taking the animated series he created to the big screen.

Released back in 2013, Burka Avenger tells the story of a fe-male vigilante of the fi ctional town of Halwapur, fi ghting crimi-nals from behind a burka so as to conceal her true identity. Us-ing the special martial arts form of ‘Takht Kabaddi,’ Jiya throws books and pens at all those who attempt to harm her hometown and guards her people from vari-ous villains, like the evil magician Baba Bandook and corrupt politi-cian Vadero Pajero.

According to Haroon, the tran-sition process from television to movie has already begun. “I have written a few drafts, rough out-lines and potential ideas for the fi lm version,” he said in an inter-view. “It will most likely be a stan-dalone fi lm depicting the original story of the lead character and how she came to be the Burka Avenger.” Having worked on the original series extensively, Ha-roon is fully aware of the amount of eff ort that a full-length feature fi lm will require.

“I want it to be like an animated fi lm by DreamWorks or Pixar and for that, we require time,” he said. “Even Pixar takes close to three years to make one movie!”

The Unicorn team is looking at “at least one year” to completion but with 52 episodes and four sea-sons worth of experience under their belt, Haroon is confi dent of their command over the anima-tion craft.

“We always wanted to make a movie, even after the very fi rst season. But the show became so successful that a second season was commissioned and we start-ed working on that,” he added.

Silver screenRegarding who would be helming this project, Haroon revealed that he would be continuing his job as the director on the silver screen as well. Having overseen the fi rst three seasons, Haroon felt that he had developed a strong grip over the craft and it was only natural that he directed the movie as well.

The news of the Burka Avenger

movie coincides with the release of the series’ third season which has already garnered much ap-preciation for the social issues it highlights in every episode.

Haroon shared that some of the topics include traffi c obedi-ence, gang culture and even the internet, as seen through the eyes of the two main antagonists. “This season is bigger and better than the previous ones in every sense, be it production [value], animation or the storyline,” said Haroon. “Even some of the fi ght sequences you will see this time around are brilliant.”

He is particularly proud of a ro-bot crow that his animators and modellers have managed to de-sign this time. The Post-produc-tion on the fourth season has also been completed will be aired soon as the third one completes its run. — Express Tribune

A M B I T I O N

SUPERHERO: Aaron Haroon Rashid, a Pakistani pop star, right,

poses with his team at the press presentation of cartoon show

Burka Avenger in Rawalpindi on August 4, 2013. — AFP

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E D I T O R I A L

A D V E R T I S I N G

C I R C U L A T I O N

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

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#TRENDING

By Clive Crook

People in Western democracies are unsure about a lot of things but not about whether one person, one vote is a good way of choos-

ing governments. That’s an article of faith. Any suggestion to the contrary is shocking.

Daniel A. Bell, in his new book “The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of De-mocracy,” dares to argue that a perfected version of Chinese authoritarianism is not merely a viable alternative to the Western norm but in fact might be better -- and maybe not just for China.

I’m unpersuaded, but impressed by a book that made me think. Bell, a professor of political philos-ophy at Tsinghua University in Beijing, has written a fascinating study. Open-minded readers will fi nd it equips them with a more intelligent understand-ing of Chinese politics and, no less valuable, forces them to examine their devotion to democracy.

Bell begins by refl ecting on Winston Church-ill’s observation, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the other forms that have been tried from time to time.” In the West, the drawbacks of actually existing democracy are recognized, almost celebrated -- yet the idea that anything else might be better is dismissed as un-thinkable. For Bell, that’s the puzzle.

What makes it especially puzzling, in his view, is the stunning economic success that some non-democratic countries -- Singapore and China, most notably -- have achieved in recent decades. Bell recalls Amartya Sen’s much-quoted nostrum that famines don’t happen in democracies. China, he points out, has not only eradicated famine, it has a much better record on malnutrition than demo-cratic India. Surely, he says, a more open-minded appraisal of the rival systems is warranted.

That’s what he aims to provide. He compares, in an even- handed way, the strengths and weak-nesses of Western democracy and Chinese one-party rule. The book concentrates on one main is-sue: how the systems choose their political leaders. It asks, in eff ect, which would you expect to work better -- rigorous selection on merit, or ballots cast by voters who don’t know what they’re doing?

Bell favours meritocracy. He explains China’s elaborate system for selecting and promoting of-fi cials, locates it in the long tradition of political Confucianism, argues for its legitimacy, and attrib-utes the economy’s astonishing success in large part to this method.

He’s candid about the defects -- political meri-

tocracy is prone to corruption and complacency, and China has had plenty of both. He discusses at length what China should do to improve its sys-tem. But the principle of political meritocracy isn’t wrong, he concludes: It’s a more appropriate model for China than Western electoral politics would be, and there’s much the West could learn from under-standing how it operates.

I agree with that last point. Government can be good or bad, with or without one person, one vote. To work well, democracy needs more than a universal franchise: It also needs divided pow-ers and a constitutional apparatus that puts able people in power at diff erent levels of government and regulates their performance. Democracies, in other words, also need to be suffi ciently merito-cratic. Western contempt for China’s system is not just counter-productive (because it infl ames anti-Western chauvinism), it’s also lazy. The systems have challenges in common. Look and learn.

On other points, absorbing as the book’s analy-sis may be, it’s unconvincing. Bell discusses the diffi culties of selecting for merit, but understates the problem. At the lowest levels China is looking for the brightest young people; as they move up and acquire experience in government, they face diff erent and more demanding tests. In this fi nely tuned system, Bell notes (quoting a venture capi-talist from Shanghai), a person with as little expe-rience of government as Barack Obama “would not even be the manager of a small county.”

Maybe that commends the Chinese system to some Americans. But the list of leaders who wouldn’t have made it on to the fi rst rung of the meritocratic ladder is long. Churchill couldn’t do math. Franklin D. Roosevelt was no academic star. Abraham Lincoln barely went to school. When it comes to recognisng the ability to lead, voters aren’t always clueless. Related to this is the ques-tion of what government is for - - in other words, “merit” to what end? — Bloomberg View

Clive Crook is a Bloomberg View columnist

Source: National Centre for Statistics & Information

ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION IN OMAN

Musandam

14.9

Al Batinah &Al Dhahirah

883.6

Muscat

368.0

Al Sharqiyah

224.5

Al Dakhiliyah

60.1

Al Wusta

16.9

Dhofar

186.3

The gross electricity production during the month of February was 1,754.5 GWh (gigawatt hours), being the top consumers, the regions of Al Batinah & Al Dhahirah

1,754.5Total

GrossProduction

of 2014

28,755.8

Treat accidents due to mobiles as murder or suicide This refers to the online story, Road accidents claim two lives in Oman (June 29). Such incidents happen simply because of drivers’ impatience and use mobile phone. Nothing else leads to such accidents. I think the top religious offi cials should declare that accidents due to use of mobiles are to be considered as murder or suicide. — Khalid Farid , Muscat

Omani pilots are good at their workThis refers to the online story, Oman Air recruits more pilots (June 28). I have been working in the Omani Air Force for 10 years in aircraft maintenance and 95 per cent of the pilots are Omani and all of them do their work well.— Mubarak Al Farsi , Muscat

Regional, international airlines employ Omani pilotsThis refers to the online story, Oman Air recruits more pilots (June 28). As other regional and international airlines are more than happy to recruit Omanis so shouldn’t Oman Air also do you the same?— Labiq Ayyub A’Raee, Muscat

Fail to see any issue behind Oman Air hiring locals This refers to the online story, Oman Air recruits more pilots (June 28). I fail to see the issue behind this report as a multitude of Omani pilots have been working for years with numerous airlines. — Aziza Al Busaidy, Dubai, UAE

T I M E S O F O M A NW E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5A12

Lessons from China for Western democracy

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Majlis offi ce holds sixth regular meetThe Majlis Al Shura offi ce held its sixth regular meeting of the year yesterday under the chairmanship of Sheikh Abdul-lah bin Ali Al Qatabi, president of the Majlis. Qatabi began the meeting by congratulating the members on the occasion of Al Mawlid Al Nabawi Al Sharif. The meeting discussed the pro-cedures taken in the implementation of the decisions of the past meeting.

1857: Charles Dickens reads from ‘A Christmas Carol’ at St. Martin’s Hall in London–his fi rst public reading. 1859 : Jean Francois Gravelet aka Emile Blondin, a French daredev-il, becomes the fi rst man to walk across Niagra Falls on a tightrope

1936: Margaret Mitchell’s novel, ‘Gone With the Wind’, is published 1971: Three Soviet cosmonauts die when their spacecreaft depres-surises during reentry

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Rhetoric about nuclear weapons is heating up between Washington and Moscow, but

there is no need to reinstate the foolish and wasteful arms race that dominated the Cold

War period. For one reason, the security challenges have changed

bit.ly/newarmsrace

WALTER PINCUS

The enormous loss of life in Karachi in particular, and Sindh

in general, is deeply tragic. Yet, this is not the fi rst time,

within the tenure of the present government that we have seen a

complete lack of awareness about the gravity of the situation

bit.ly/pakistangovernance

MUHAMMAD HAMID ZAMAN

The increasing sophistication of the tourist industry is turning

the world into a product. Going places today is less of an

adventure now than it was years ago. That’s convenient, because

the population of wealthier countries, from where come most

of the leisure travellers, is agingbit.ly/tourismindustry

LEONID BERSHIDSKY

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

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

A fi re which broke out in Owhi industrial area in So-har on Sunday was doused by fi refi ghters. Five fi re engine were used to control the blaze.

JUNE 1999

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2 116 feared dead in Indonesia military plane crash bit.ly/indonesiaplanecrash

3 Several areas in Muscat hit by power outagebit.ly/muscatpoweroutage

4 One Nation’s Iftar unites people of all faithsbit.ly/onenationiftar

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@m7mdalawadhiLovely rock!! A granitic sill cut through a schist rock found in Mirbat, Oman. This intermediate… https://instagram.com/p/4jkVaYQVHQ/

Welcome to the new look #Trending page of the Times of Oman, our revamped home for views and opinion. Plus daily we‘ll be rounding up the stories making waves online, on social media, in pictures and on video. All the content can be found at our mobile, tablet and desktop-friendly website timesofoman.com. For instant access scan any of the QR codes via your smart phone as a qrcode in the story

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WORLDW E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

Enjoying every moment of this fl ight. Getting to this point has been challenging

André Borschberg, Swiss pilot

116 feared dead in Indonesianmilitary plane crash: Officials

MEDAN (Indonesia): At least 116 people are feared dead after an In-donesian air force transport plane crashed on Tuesday into a major city shortly after take-off and ex-ploded in a fi reball, offi cials said.

Buildings were left in ruins and cars reduced to fl aming wrecks when the Hercules C-130 came down in a residential area of Med-an, a city of two million on the is-land of Sumatra.

Air force chief Agus Supriatna said the manifest showed there were 113 people on board the plane —12 crew and 101 passen-gers — when it crashed, and he did not believe any had survived.

“No, no. No survivors, I have just returned from the site,” he said in answer to a question.

So far, 49 bodies had been re-covered and taken to hospital, he said. Many passengers were likely to be family members of servicemen and women, said a spokesman for Medan airbase, where the plane took off . At least one child has so far been con-fi rmed killed.

The local search and rescue

agency also said that three people were killed on the ground when the 51-year-old plane went down near a newly built residential area, hitting a massage parlour and a small hotel.

Rescue operationA rescue operation swung into action, with ambulances ferrying bodies from the site, and crowds of anxious residents gathering around a police cordon to view the smouldering wreckage. Residents of Medan described the terrifying

moment just after midday when the plane came down.“It was very scary,” said Novi, an employee of an international school who goes by one name, describing how she heard the plane and saw it fl ying very low before the crash.

Another local resident Janu-ary, 26, said the aircraft appeared to be in trouble just before the accident.

“I saw the plane from the di-rection of the airport and it was tilting already, then I saw smoke billowing.”

Medan’s police chief described the bodies as “crushed by debris of the buildings and the fuselage”.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo expressed sorrow at the accident, tweeting: “May the families be given patience and

strength... May we remain pro-tected from disaster.”

The plane took off at 12:08pm (0508 GMT) from the airbase and crashed in the city about two min-utes later, about fi ve kilometres (three miles) from the base, ac-cording to the military.

Shortly after take-off , the pilot had asked to return to base, Supri-atna said, adding the aircraft might have suff ered engine trouble.

But he added the plane was in “very good condition” and had made several stops before arriving in Medan. It was the second time in a decade that Medan had suf-fered a fatal plane accident.

A Mandala Airlines domestic fl ight crashed shortly after take-off in 2005 into a densely popu-lated suburb, killing at least 150

including passengers, crew and people on the ground. Medan is the biggest Indonesian city out-side the main island of Java and is a major economic centre.

The Indonesian air force has suff ered accidents before.

At least 11 people were killed when a Fokker-27 military jet crashed into a housing complex in the capital Jakarta in June 2012.

In April an F-16 fi ghter jet caught fi re as it was about to take off from an airbase in Jakarta, prompting the pilot to jump to safety as fl ames and thick smoke engulfed the plane.

The pilot escaped with minor injuries from the jet, which had been due to provide security at a summit of Asian and African lead-ers in Indonesia. - AFP

Air force chief Agus

Supriatna said the

manifest showed

there were 113 people

on board the plane

— 12 crew and 101

passengers — when

it crashed, and he

did not believe

any had survived

SMOULDERING: Firemen and security forces try to extinguish the fi re surrounding the wreckage of an Indonesian military transport

plane after it crashed in the North Sumatra city of Medan, Indonesia. - Reuters

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Suicide blasts hit Afghanistan, three killed in Taliban off ensiveKABUL: Suicide attackers on Tuesday targeted NATO troops in Kabul and a police headquarters in restive southern Afghanistan, killing three people and wound-ing at least 60 as the Taliban’s bloody summer off ensive showed no signs of letting up.

A powerful blast echoed around the Afghan capital as a suicide car bomber hit a NATO military convoy on the main road to the airport, around 500 metres from the US embassy, killing at least one Afghan civilian and wound-ing around 20.

Hours earlier at least two civil-ians were killed when a suicide truck bomb detonated at the gate of the police headquarters in Lashkar Gah, the capital of vola-tile Helmand province.

Afghan troops and police are battling the Taliban alone in the fi rst “fi ghting season” since NATO ended its combat mission and left local forces to take charge of security.

Tuesday’s violence came less than two days after 11 soldiers were killed in a Taliban ambush in the normally relatively peace-ful western province of Herat.

“It was a suicide car bomber targeting a convoy of foreign

forces in Kabul,” interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said.

“In the aftermath of today’s ter-rorist attack in Kabul, one was killed and 22 more injured, all ci-vilians,” he said.

Convoy attackedA spokeswoman for the NATO mission in Afghanistan, Captain Susan Harrington, confi rmed a convoy had been attacked and said two coalition personnel had been wounded.

The Taliban claimed respon-sibility for the attack in Kabul on their offi cial Twitter account.

In Helmand, provincial police spokesman Farid Ahmad Obaid said the police headquarters at-tack left at least two civilians dead and 40 wounded.

Provincial police chief Nabi Jan Mullahkhil told reporters three attackers were involved.

“Two attackers were killed in the explosion while the third one was injured and as he tried to es-

cape the police shot him,” he said.Provincial spokesman Omar

Zhwak said most of the wounded were hit inside their homes by fl y-ing glass.

A doctor at the emergency hos-pital in Lashkar Gah said 40 civil-ians were brought to the hospital.

After the Helmand attack a small blast hit a military vehicle in Kabul, police said, though there were no casualties.

“A small sticky bomb attached to a military vehicle detonated in western Kabul this morning. Only the car was damaged,” Kabul po-lice spokesman Ebadullah Karimi Kabul said.

NATO’s combat mission for-mally ended in December after 13 years, but a small follow-up for-eign force named Resolute Sup-port has stayed on to train and support local security forces.

Stretched on multiple fronts and facing record casualties, Af-ghan forces are struggling to rein in the militants even as the gov-ernment makes repeated eff orts to jump-start peace negotiations.

The Taliban’s annual summer off ensive has sent civilian and military casualties soaring and threatened major cities for the fi rst time in a decade. - AFP

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

WRECKAGE: NATO soldiers and Afghan security forces inspect the scene of a suicide car bomb at-

tack that targeted foreign military vehicles in Kabul on Tuesday. - AFP


ARTICLE, PHOTOS


Solar Impulse 2 quarter of way to Hawaii

TOKYO: A solar-powered aircraft on a round-the-world fl ight was high above the Pacifi c Ocean on Tuesday, over a quarter of the way to Hawaii after leaving Japan, the mission website showed.

Solar Impulse 2 had travelled 26 per cent of the way to the tropi-cal US state by 0500 GMT, hav-ing fl own 2,204 kilometres (1,377 miles) with 6,136 kilometres more to go, according to the project.

That put the plane and its vet-eran pilot more than 36 hours into the toughest leg of the bid to cir-cumnavigate the planet using only the power of the sun.

“Enjoying every moment of this fl ight. Getting to this point has been challenging,” veteran Swiss pilot André Borschberg tweeted.

“This fl ight will only be a suc-cess if we really partner, the air-plane and myself,” he said.

Experimental aircraftThe experimental solar-powered aircraft left Japan around 1800 GMT on Sunday — the small hours of Monday local time — after spending a month in the central city of Nagoya.

The propeller-driven plane was originally scheduled to fl y directly from Nanjing in China to Hawaii. But bad weather along the way forced a diversion to Japan that extended for almost the whole of June as forecasters waited for bet-ter conditions.

A live video feed showed the pi-lot wearing a thick fl ight jacket and breathing apparatus. The tempera-ture in the unpressurised cockpit at one point fell to minus 6 degrees Celsius, or 21.2 degree Fahrenheit, as Borschberg ascended to 28,000 feet (8,500 metres) above the water.

The journey to Hawaii was ex-pected to take at least fi ve days. - AFP

J A P A N - U S F L I G H T

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A14


Iran nuclear negotiations deadline extended to July 7

VIENNA: Iran and six major powers on Tuesday gave them-selves until July 7 to clinch a his-toric nuclear deal as a midnight deadline approached in mara-thon talks with no breakthrough in sight.

Russian Foreign Minister Ser-gei Lavrov, who joined the talks in Vienna earlier on Tuesday, said however he believes that, after almost two years of trying, a deal ending the 13-year standoff is “within reach”.

The talks are “progressing in a positive direction. There remain questions, mostly regarding pro-cedural issues rather than techni-cal,” Lavrov told Russian televi-sion after meeting US Secretary of State John Kerry.

“We have all reason to believe that results are within reach,” Lavrov said.

Earlier on Tuesday Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif re-turned to Vienna following con-

sultations in Tehran, a visit that had raised hopes he may be bring-ing instructions that would yield a breakthrough.

But after Kerry met with Za-rif for almost two hours after his return, the US State Department said the P5+1 group of global powers had agreed to extend the terms of an interim agreement until July 7.

A State Department offi cial said however that this did “not neces-sarily mean they will go until the 7th or end on the 7th.”

Kerry had also made no plans for when he might leave the Aus-trian capital.

A member of the Iranian del-egation said that “the negotiations will continue beyond June 30 without any precise fi xed date.”

After one-on-one talks, the top American diplomat and Zarif were joined by their teams for a broader meeting, including with nuclear experts US Energy Secre-

tary Ernest Moniz and Iran’s nu-clear chief Ali Akbar Salehi.

The two Massachusetts Insti-tute of Technology alumni played a key role in brokering the outlines of a breakthrough accord in April in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared to give Zarif his blessing, tweeting in English Tuesday: “I recognise our nego-tiators as trustworthy, committed, brave and faithful.”

Under the Lausanne frame-work, Iran agreed to substantially scale down its nuclear activities in order to make any attempt to develop nuclear weapons -- an aim denied by Tehran -- virtually impossible.

In return, painful sanctions that have suff ocated the Iranian economy by choking its lifeblood oil exports and its ability to earn foreign currency will be progres-sively lifted.

But turning the 505-word joint

statement drawn up in a Swiss lakeside hotel into a fully-fl edged, highly technical document of sev-eral dozen pages and around fi ve annexes has proved hard work.

Key sticking points include the pace and timing of sanctions relief, the mechanism for their “snapback” and Iran’s future development of newer, faster centrifuges.

Thorny topicAnother thorny topic is the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) watchdog, whose chief Yukiya Amano met Kerry on Monday and who has been closely involved in the talks.

Under the mooted deal, it will be up to the IAEA, which already keeps close tabs on Iran’s de-clared nuclear sites with between four and 10 inspectors on the ground on any given day, to verify that Iran really does reduce its capacities.

But the P5+1 powers -- the Unit-ed States, Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany -- also want the IAEA to have wider inspection rights to verify any suspicious ac-tivity that might indicate work in secret on a nuclear bomb.

This could include the IAEA visiting military bases, something that Khamenei last week rejected as a “red line”.

A probe into allegations of such activity, before 2003 and possibly since, is stalled but clearing up these claims is a key condition of the six powers for a deal.

“It is important to get all the de-tails right so that there are no am-biguities or weaknesses that can be exploited by critics of an agree-ment on both sides,” said Arms Control Association expert Kelsey Davenport.

“This is an historic moment -- both sides have come too far to walk away without a good deal,” she said. — AFP

Russian Foreign

Minister Sergei

Lavrov, who joined

the talks in Vienna

earlier on Tuesday,

said however he

believes that, after

almost two years of

trying, a deal ending

the 13-year standoff

is ‘within reach’ NO BREAKTHROUGH: US Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and US Under Secretary for Political Aff airs Wendy Sherman, second left,

meet Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, second right, at a hotel in Vienna, Austria on Tuesday. — Reuters

UN accuses South Sudan of burning women alive

JUBA: The United Nations ac-cused South Sudan’s government forces and its allies on Tuesday of abusing women and girls and reportedly burning some alive in their homes during recent fi ghting in the confl ict-torn nation.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan, or UNMISS, said the fi ndings came from a report based on interviews with 115 vic-tims from districts in oil-rich Uni-ty State, where the government’s SPLA forces launched an off en-sive against rebels in late April. South Sudan, the world’s newest nation and one of its poorest, has been mired in a confl ict since De-cember 2013 that pits President Salva Kiir’s SPLA against those loyal to rebel leader Riek Machar, a former deputy president.

“The survivors of these attacks reported that SPLA and allied mi-litias from Mayom County carried out a campaign against the local population that killed civilians, looted and destroyed villages and displaced over 100,000 people,” UNMISS said.

In a statement outlining fi nd-ings from its report, UNMISS said its rights offi cers had focused on the abduction and abuse of women and girls, “some of whom were reportedly burnt alive in their dwellings”.

New brutality“This recent upsurge (in fi ghting) has not only been marked by alle-gations of killing, rape, abduction, looting, arson and displacement, but by a new brutality and inten-sity,” it said.

The report added that the “level of cruelty” refl ected more than po-litical diff erences.

The fi ghting has increasingly turned along ethnic lines, with Kiir’s Dinka ethnic group battling Machar’s Nuers. — Reuters

A B U S E A L L E G E D

Scientists discover billion-year-old fossil of peculiar ‘monster’WASHINGTON: More than half a billion years ago, a peculiar lit-tle creature with rows of spikes on its back and delicate, feather-like front limbs to strain bits of food from the water thrived in the primordial seas of what is now China.

Scientists on Monday an-nounced the discovery in Yunnan Province of beautifully preserved fossils of one of the stranger ani-mals ever to call Earth home.

The creature, Collinsium cilio-sum, lived during the Cambrian Period, a time of remarkable evo-lutionary experimentation when many unusual animals appeared and vanished.

“Collinsium is defi nitely an odd-looking animal, and if one were to bump into one of these during a snorkeling or diving trip nowadays

it would be quite shocking,” said University of Cambridge paleo-biologist Javier Ortega-Hernán-dez, whose research appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Despite its startling appear-ance, some people “may like it and

regard it as a ‘handsome beast,’” added paleontologist Xi-Guang Zhang of Yunnan University in Kunming, China.

Its name means “hairy Collins monster,” recognising its bizarre appearance and the coat of hair-like structures on the front of the

animal while honouring Canadian paleontologist Desmond Collins, who decades ago conceptualised a similar creature.

Ortega-Hernández said Col-linsium, which lived about 515-518 million years ago, is a dis-tant ancestor of today’s velvet

worms, a group resembling leg-ged worms residing in the world’s tropical forests.

Collinsium, reaching up to 4 inches (10cm) long, boasted 72 sharp spikes on its back to ward off predators. It was one of the earliest soft-bodied animals with armour.

It had a sausage-shaped body, six pairs of feather-like front legs, nine pairs of rear legs with claws, a bulbous head and downward-facing mouth.

It got its dinner by extending its feathery front legs to form feeding basket to capture food particles.

Collinsium was a close cousin of another spiky Cambrian creature called Hallucigenia. University of Cambridge paleontologist Mar-tin Smith, whose study off ering the most detailed account ever of

Hallucigenia was published last week in the journal Nature, said even oddballs like Hallucigenia and Collinsium would have plenty of competition in a “Cambrian weirdest creature contest.”

“Their compatriots included such beasts as Wiwaxia, a slug covered in leaf-like scales and towering spines; Anomalocaris, resembling a cross between a lob-ster and a can-opener; Nectocaris, a boggle-eyed two-armed squid, and Opabinia, which looks like a shrimp that swallowed a vacuum cleaner,” Smith said. — Reuters

S C I E N T I F I C F I N D I N G

University of Cambridge paleobiologist Javier Ortega-

Hernández said Collinsium, which lived about 515-518

million years ago, is a distant ancestor of today’s velvet

worms, a group resembling legged worms residing in the

world’s tropical forests


Tunisia probing Libyan link to beach resort attacker; British dead count 21TUNIS/LONDON: The Tunisian gunman who attacked a resort hotel on Friday killing 39 people, mostly British holiday-makers, likely spent time in a training camp in Libya and had been in contact with militants over the border, a security source said on Tuesday.

Tunisia’s health ministry said on Tuesday it had so far identi-fi ed 27 bodies from Friday’s gun attack, including 19 British, three Irish, one Belgian, two German, a Russian citizen and a Portu-guese national.

In London, the number of Brit-ons confi rmed killed by the gun-man has risen to 21 from 18, a spokeswoman for British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday.

The spokeswoman said the gov-ernment was trying to confi rm the identities of a further nine people killed in the attacks who it thought were British nationals.

The attack on the Imperial Marhaba beach hotel in the popu-lar resort town of Sousse came just months after militants attacked the Bardo museum in Tunis, kill-ing 21 people and delivering a blow

to the vital tourism industry.Investigators were verifying

whether the gunman, student Saif Rezgui, had received militant training in a militant camp across in Libya.

Authorities have also arrested three others for helping to plan the attack, a security source said.

“Investigations show Saif Rezgui was in contact with terror-ists in Libya and he likely trained in a Libyan camp,” an offi cial source said.

Multi-sided battleLibya, caught in a multi-sided bat-tle between two rival governments

and their armed factions, has be-come a target for IS militant group supporters and other militant groups who have taken advantage of the security chaos.

Training in LibyaThe two gunmen who carried out the March attack on the Bardo had also clandestinely crossed into Libya for training late last year, investigators said. Rezgui had taken out his passport last year, but there were no exit stamps in it, offi cials said.

The Sousse attacker, who had shown little sign of radicalisation by fundamentalist recruiters, was shot dead by police outside the hotel. The massacre was the worst of its kind in Tunisia, one of the Arab world’s most secular coun-tries, which has been praised for its transition to democracy after a 2011 protests. — Agencies

T E R R O R C R I S I S

VIGILANT: Police offi cers patrol the beach near the Imperial

Marhaba, which was attacked by a gunman in Sousse, Tunisia, on

Tuesday. - Reuters

SCAN THIS TO VISIT

PHOTO GALLERYVIDEO,


Man sets himself afi re in bullet train, woman killed tooTOKYO: A man set himself ablaze on board a moving bul-let train in Japan on Tuesday, killing himself and a woman, in an unprecedented incident on a network with an enviable safety record.

Several other passengers were hurt after the man doused himself in fl ammable liquid and sparked a cigarette lighter at the front of the train as it hurtled through the countryside around 70 kilometres southwest of To-kyo. Reports said a blast was heard from a toilet stall, fi lling the front carriage with choking white smoke, and bringing the train to an emergency stop as passen-gers rushed through carriages to get away.

Media reported that the driver of the train, which had more than 800 passengers on board, found the still-burning body of the man. The train’s top speed is 300 kilo-metres per hour but it was un-clear how fast it was travelling at the time.

“We have been informed that

there was a passenger in a car on the train who covered him or her-self with oil and set it on fi re,” a spokesman for operator JR Cen-tral told AFP.

The train involved in Tues-day’s incident -- a super-fast No-zomi bullet train -- was travelling from Tokyo towards Osaka when the blaze erupted near Odawara, southwest of the capital.

Footage from inside the train after the fi re showed passengers blinking and coughing as they crawled along the aisle to evacu-ate. Several had soot-blackened faces and some seemed confused and upset.

“In the very front of the fi rst car, he emptied and sprinkled (liquid) from a plastic container... then he poured it on his body and set it alight,” one man said. — AFP

B I Z A R R E S C E N E S



A man plays frisbee in a park during a heatwave in Brussels, Belgium, on Tuesday. Temperatures in Belgium are expected to reach 36 degrees Celsius, according to weather forecaster from the Belgian Royal Institute of Meteorology. — Reuters



A15


Emirati man jailed for ‘insulting’ Twitter posts

DUBAI: A man in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was sen-tenced to three years in jail on Monday for Twitter posts alleg-edly insulting the Gulf country’s Supreme Court, a local newspa-per reported.

Nasser Al Faresi, 27, allegedly called the proceedings of a 2012 sedition trial a “judicial farce” and insulted the UAE’s presi-dent and Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, according to The Na-tional. The court found he had “spread rumours and informa-tion that harmed the country”, the paper said. Faresi’s lawyer had argued his client’s account was hacked and submitted po-ems by the defendant praising the country’s rulers, it added.

In the largest such case, 94 Emiratis including lawyers, doctors and academics were tried for belonging to the “se-cret organisation” and 69 were sentenced to between seven and fi fteen years behind bars.

The UAE, was rattled by the rise of hardliners in the aftermath of the protests that rocked the Arab region from 2011. It launched a series of trials against suspected sym-pathisers of the Muslim Broth-erhood. — Reuters

S P R E A D I N G R U M O U R S

Israel deports Tunisian ex-president after halting fl otillaOCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Isra-el deported Tunisian ex-president Moncef Marzouki and European parliament member Ana Miranda on Tuesday after they took part in a fl otilla seeking to defy its Gaza blockade, an offi cial said.

“The (former) president of Tu-nisia and the Spanish lawmaker fl ew this morning. There are an-other 14 who have begun the ex-

pulsion process,” a spokeswoman for Israel’s immigration authority said. Israel had on Monday com-mandeered the Swedish-fl agged Marianne of Gothenburg, part of the so-called Freedom Flotilla III, and accompanied it to the port of Ashdod. Sixteen foreign nationals were on board along with two Is-raelis, Arab lawmaker Basel Ghat-tas and a television reporter. The

two Israelis have been released, though Ghattas could face a par-liamentary hearing on whether he should face sanctions.

The Marianne was part of a four-boat fl otilla of pro-Palestini-an activists who had been seeking to reach the Gaza Strip to highlight the Israeli blockade of the terri-tory that they called “inhumane and illegal”. Speaking after being

released from brief police cus-tody Monday night, Ghattas con-demned Israel’s “illegal” comman-deering of the ship, which took place in international waters. “In the end, we see the Freedom Flo-tilla III achieved its main goal — to draw local and global attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which is a result of Israel’s siege of the Strip,” he said. — AFP

S E E K I N G T O D E F Y G A Z A B L O C K A D E

In the end, we see the Freedom Flotilla III achieved its main goal — to draw local and global attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which is a result of Israel’s siege of the Strip

Basel Ghattas, Arab lawmaker

MARKEWWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMW E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5B

Muscat

6,424.60- 6.77

- 0.11%

Dubai

4,086.83+ 44.80

+ 1.11%

Abu Dhabi

4,723.23+ 43.27

+ 0.92%

Saudi Arabia

9,086.89+ 26.96

+ 0.30%

Kuwait

6,202.95+ 7.28

+ 0.12%

Bahrain

1,367.83+ 0.48

+ 0.04%

Qatar

12,201.02+ 187.49

+ 1.56%

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

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

Euro ............................................2.29

Pound ...........................................1.64

Indian Rs .............................165.52

Pak Rs ....................................260.01

Bangla Taka.......................199.52* Rates are as of June 30

Source: Bank Muscat

Indian Rs .................................. 165.20

Pakistan Rs ............................ 263.50

Sri Lanka Rs ...........................347.20

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

Phil Peso ....................................116.60

* Rates as of June 30 Source: Oman UAE Exchange

Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) ........15.01

Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) .......14.05

Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ........... 142.00

Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) ............. 134.75

* Rates as of June 30

Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds

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

Oman Crude ............. (Spot) ..........$61.31

Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) .........$60.91

Murban Crude ........ (Spot) ........$63.24

Arabian Light ......... (Spot) .........$60.51

N.Sea Brent ............... (Spot) ........ $62.70

West Texas Int ....... (Spot) ........$58.67

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

Regulator clamps penalty on Oman InsuranceTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Insurance regulator Capital Market Authority (CMA) on Tuesday said it clamped a pen-alty fi ne of OMR1,500 on Oman In-surance for a delay in submitting their audited fi nancial statement.

This is part of a disciplinary

action in line with the executive regulation of the Insurance Com-panies Law.

Detailed statement“The company shall submit to Capital Market Authority detailed statement on its obligations for life insurance and latest general

insurance operations, including the value of retained amounts and the provisions for meeting such obligations at their book value or market value whichever is lesser one month prior to the general meeting of the company if a na-tional company or not later than February if a branch of a foreign

company,” said a CMA statement. Also, Royal Nawras Insurance Brokers was warned for infringing the provisions of the regulation.

Royal Nawras InsuranceCMA’s Decision No. 2/2015 warned Royal Nawras Insurance Brokers to adjust their status ac-

cording to the provisions of In-surance Brokers’ Regulation No. 53/2013 in three months from the date of the decision. Capital Mar-ket Authority emphasised on the importance of compliance with the laws and regulations for sound performance and protecting the rights of the participants.

C A P I T A L M A R K E T A U T H O R I T Y

Al Omaniya submits bid; NBO withdraws from merger

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Al Omaniya Finan-cial Services has submitted a bid to fully acquire United Fi-nance Company, while National Bank of Oman (NBO) walked away from its merger talks.

With the withdrawal of NBO from the fray, Al Omaniya re-mained the only fi nancial in-stitution proceeding with its merger plan.

“We are pleased to inform that we have submitted a non-binding indicative off er for 100 per cent acquisition of United Finance Company as requested by them,” Al Omaniya said in a fi ling to Muscat bourse

In May, three fi nancial insti-tutions — Bank Nizwa, NBO and Al Omaniya Financial Ser-vices — had evinced interest in acquiring United Finance. Subsequently, Bank Nizwa said it was withdrawing its merger proposal.

“After careful consideration, NBO now wishes to confirm that it will not be pursuing this transaction further and would like to express their re-gret,” NBO said in a separate disclosure statement on the MSM website.

The matter is receiving board’s attention and further announcement in this regard will be made in due course, United Finance said in a disclo-sure statement.

However, United Finance shares fell by 2.676 per cent to 146 baisas amid 327,200 shares changing hand on the Muscat Securities Market. Al Omaniya Financial was looking at con-solidating their leadership po-sition by acquiring United Fi-nance, which could be one way to achieve inorganic growth.

U N I T E D F I N A N C E M E R G E R

Oman’s oil trading firm eyes expansion

DUBAI: Oman, the largest oil producer in the Middle East out-side of Opec, plans to buy, lease or build fuel-storage tanks in East Africa to boost sales on the continent and open a US offi ce to trade refi ned products and Latin American crude.

Oman Trading International Ltd. intends to invest less than $50 million in facilities to store fuel in Mozambique or Tanza-nia to help supply markets in Africa’s landlocked interior, the company’s chief executive offi cer Talal Al Awfi said in an interview

on Sunday at his offi ce in Dubai. He declined to specify the target markets. His company, a joint venture with Vitol Group, the world’s largest independent en-ergy trader, plans to open a US of-fi ce in the fi rst half of 2016.

A physical presenceInfrastructure investments in Africa and a physical presence in the United States are vital for the company to extend its reach beyond traditional markets in Asia, Al Awfi further added in the interview on Sunday. > B4

Oman Trading International plans fuel-

storage tanks in East Africa and an offi ce

in the United States

B2

MARKETW E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

EU to scrap mobile phoneroaming charges from 2017LONDON: Telecommunications companies in the European Union would be banned from charging premiums for roaming services starting in June, 2017 following an overhaul of rules for the sec-tor next year, under a compromise reached on Tuesday.

When travelling in the EU, mobile-phone users will pay the same price as at home, with no extra charges, according to the agreement on proposed legisla-tion reached by negotiators from the European Parliament, the EU governments and the European Commission, the Brussels-based commission said in a statement on Tuesday. The agreement needs formal approval by the Parliament

and the bloc’s 28 governments.The accord is a “crucial agree-

ment to fi nally end roaming charges,” Guenther Oettinger, the EU’s commissioner for the Digital Economy, said the statement.

Phone companies have argued the plan to eliminate roaming charges would deprive them of profi table businesses in a market already overcrowded with with more than 100 carriers, intense price wars and weak economies in several European countries.

In addition, the EU agreed to enshrine the principle of so- called net neutrality into law, banning the blocking and slowing of Inter-net content, the commission said. Vodafone shares fell.– Bloomberg News

T E L E C O M Duqm authority signs pact for one-stop shop

Times News Service

MUSCAT: A memorandum of un-derstanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation between Special Economic Zone Duqm (Sezad) and the Oman Chamber of Com-merce and Industry (OCCI) was signed by the two agencies here on Tuesday.

The MoU will allow the Duqm authority to provide best services to investors through a one-stop shop in Duqm, said a press release. This was stipulated in the Royal Decree 119/2011 establishing Sezad and Royal Decree 79/2013 issuing Sezad System.

The agreement was signed by Yahiya bin Said bin Abdullah Al Jabri, chairman of Sezad and Said bin Saleh Al Kiyumi, chairman of the Oman chamber.

Royal Decree 119/2011 stipu-lates the establishment of a single investment window to provide all the necessary services for the establishment of investment projects within the zone, while Royal Decree 79/2013 stipulates that all the necessary services for

the projects should be provided through the one-stop shop. Article 12 of the latter Decree obligates Sezad to create an online portal to provide all information about the zone, while Article 24 of the Spe-cial Economic Zone System states that OCCI shall issue and approve certifi cates of origin and source for projects within the zone.

Registration and renewalAccording to the agreement, OCCI will register and renew reg-istration of projects that are sub-ject to the OCCI law.

It will also ratify sale bills after review, grant and approve cer-tifi cates of origin and the source, validate commercial guarantees and ability of fi nancial guarantors, certify the validity of documents it issues and the signatures of stakeholders on them.

OCCI will also ratify the other commercial and industrial cer-tifi cates necessary for commer-cial and industrial business, state registered members and their businesses and grades, and regis-ter commercial arbitration docu-

ments submitted to it by appoint-ed arbitrators or related parties.

OCCI will also carry out the tasks of commercial or industrial nature, including commodity in-spection, audit of disputed ser-vices, ratifi cation of reports and certifi cates prepared by experts and trade representatives, and pro-vision of information on the prices of commodities traded on certain dates in local commercial markets.

OCCI will provide these servic-es through a one-stop shop in the zone through its applicable pro-grammes and regulations. It will send one or more of its employees to the one-stop shop in Sezad.

Promotion of zoneThe MoU also stipulates the or-ganisation of cooperation be-tween the two sides in a number of other aspects, notably promo-tion of the zone within and out-side the Sultanate by organising lectures, seminars, workshops and economic conferences and exhibitions in Oman and partici-pating in the events abroad.

OCCI is also cooperating with

Sezad to settle the disputes that may arise in the zone and en-trusted to it by means of amicable reconciliation or arbitration, tak-ing into account the legislation in force in the Sultanate and regulat-ing this aspect.

Duqm authority will provide an appropriate work environ-ment for the OCCI staff at the one-stop shop in Sezad, including computers, offi ce tools and neces-sary technical settings to connect these devices to OCCI systems and programmes in coordination between the two IT departments on both sides. As far as coopera-tion between the two sides in the fi eld of transfer of expertise is concerned, OCCI will provide the necessary support for the training of Duqm authority staff to perform the tasks and responsibilities en-trusted to them.

Royal Decree

stipulates the

establishment of a

single investment

window to provide

all the necessary

services for the

establishment of

industrial projects

within the zone

UK economy gains momentumLONDON: Britain’s economy had more momentum than previously estimated in the fi rst quarter.

Gross domestic product rose 0.4 per cent, the Offi ce for Nation-al Statistics said in London on Tuesday, revising its previous fi g-ure of 0.3 per cent. A separate re-port showed the current account defi cit narrowed to £26.5 billion pounds, or 5.8 per cent of GDP.

The economy has grown for

nine straight quarters, helped largely by domestic demand, though the recovery remains un-even with net trade continuing to act as a drag. As Greece’s debt crisis casting a pall over Europe, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said on Tues-day that the potential impact of a Greek exit from the euro area shouldn’t be underestimated.

The Bank of England has pre-

viously issued a warning about the current-account gap, saying in April that it could, “in adverse circumstances, trigger a deterio-ration in market sentiment.”

The current account defi cit amounted to 5.9 per cent of GDP last year, the most since records began in 1948.

Consumer spending rose 0.9 per cent in the three months through March. - Bloomberg news

Q U A R T E R L Y G R O W T H

SEALING THE DEAL: The memorandum of understanding was signed by Yahiya bin Said bin

Abdullah Al Jabri, chairman of Sezad, and Said bin Saleh Al Kiyumi, chairman of Oman Chamber

of Commerce and Industry. - Supplied picture


B3W E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

MARKET

Turkey gears up to lure global investors into real estateISTANBUL: Turkey is seeking to boost international investment in its property market by allowing the creation of funds that can in-vest in development.

Funds that exclusively market Turkish property abroad will be al-lowed to fi nance real estate devel-opment if the companies that op-erate them accept new standards for risk management and capital reserves proposed by the Ankara-based Capital Markets Board, the regulator said by e-mail.

“We aim to tap into areas that are the focus of global investors’ demand, particularly from Gulf countries, and develop a strong and institutional model that can withstand risks,” the Capital Mar-kets Board said on June 24.

The proposed fund regulations are part of a government eff ort to increase transparency in fi nancial markets and allow performance comparisons of all funds sold in Turkey. Regulators are seeking to boost increase investment from abroad as nation’s economy slows. Companies focused on selling Turkish real estate overseas have been largely unregulated by the capital markets board until now.

“This will bring transparency and safeguards to the real estate market,” Alaeddin Babaoglu, chair-man of Amplio Real Estate Invest-ment in Istanbul, said by phone on Thursday.”It’s hard for real estate investors to compare prices in the current non-transparent condi-tions that bloated property prices.”

Surplus homesUnder the current rules, only real estate investment trusts can in-vest in development. Real estate funds that market properties to domestic investors will still be un-able to invest in development un-der the new regulations.

Turkey has 700,000 to 800,000 surplus homes, mainly in Istanbul, according to Kerem Tezcan direc-tor of research at BGC Partners. Prices in Istanbul rose 28.6 per cent in April from a year ago, cen-tral bank data shows. Currently, property projects are usually fi -nanced with bank loans and pre-sales. The new rules would allow funds to invest in so-called green-fi eld projects on undeveloped land.

“Greenfi eld projects may off er

more opportunities with added value, which investors lacked be-fore with fi nished projects,” Murat Gulkan, managing director of Is-tanbul-based Unlu Portfolio Man-agement, said by e-mail. “However they also carry more risks.”

Fund management companies that want to invest in development will be required to hold at least 20 million Turkish liras ($7.5 million) in initial capital and equity capital, according to the Capital Markets Board. A draft of the new regulations will be circulated for comments and amendments until July 15. It will go into force when the regulator pub-lishes it in the offi cial gazette.

“Property investments will be un-der the Capital Markets Boards’ guar-antee,” Babaoglu said. – Bloomberg News

P R O P E R T Y M A R K E T

Sony planning to raise $3.6b from sale of shares, bonds

TOKYO: Sony plans to raise about ¥440 billion ($3.6 billion) in a sale of shares and convertible bonds to help fi nance an increase in pro-duction of image sensors used in smartphones. The shares plunged.

The sale, Sony’s fi rst since 1989, will be to the public in Japan and overseas, the company said on Tuesday in a statement. Shares will make up ¥321.5 billion of the transaction and convertible bonds will account for ¥120 billion.

Image sensors, games and en-tertainment underpin the push to revive growth at Sony, which projects its fi rst annual profi t in three years. The company has said it’s quadrupling its investment in semiconductors to ¥290 billion this year to tap surging demand for the sensors that power Apple and Samsung. smartphones.

Mismatch“The amount they are raising doesn’t correspond to the kind of growth we see in image sensors,” said Yasuaki Kogure, chief invest-ment offi cer at SBI Asset Manage-ment. “This is pretty negative, and the share selloff shows a mismatch with market expectations.”

Sony’s net cash, or cash minus debt, stood at ¥1.4 trillion as of March 31, compared with ¥826 billion in the previous quarter and ¥500 billion a year earlier. Sony expects sales in the image censor business to climb as much as 62 per cent to ¥1.5 trillion in the next three years.

Sony dropped 8.3 per cent, the most since September 8, to ¥3,461.5. The shares have jumped 40 per cent this year, compared to a 16 per cent gain in the Nikkei 225 Stock Average.

The share and convertible bond sales amount to about 10 percent of the company’s current market value of about 4.1 trillion yen, ac-cording to data. Advisers for the sale are JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Nomura. – Bloomberg News

C O R P O R A T E Greece teeters on brink of default as debt row lingers

ATHENS: Greece was teetering on the brink of a default that could see it crash out of the euro hours before a key debt deadline was due to expire on Tuesday, as the country’s prime minister warned Athens’ coff ers were empty.

Thousands took to Greece’s streets on Monday night to sup-port their government’s opposi-tion to the latest debt deal after a clash with the country’s creditors forced a shutdown of its banks and brought the country close to fi nancial collapse.

Talks between Greece’s left-wing government and its credi-tors — the ‘troika’ of the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund — fell apart last week after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said any deal would be put to a referendum.

Tsipras sought to calm nerves on Monday by leaving the door open to talks, saying the July 5 plebiscite on creditors’ latest cash-for-reform plans would leave the country “better armed” in the fi ght for a debt deal.

But the premier also made clear Greece would be unable to make the €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) pay-ment due to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday, the

same day its international bailout programme expires. “(How) is it possible the creditors are waiting for the IMF payment while our banks are being suff ocated?” he

said in a late-evening interview on ERT television.

EU leaders including Ger-many’s Angela Merkel, France’s Francois Hollande and Italy’s

Matteo Renzi, wrong-footed by Tspiras’s shock announcement of the vote over the weekend, warned it would eff ectively be a vote on Greece’s place in the euro.

On Monday, an emotional Eu-ropean Commission head Jean Claude Juncker bitterly criticised Tsipras, saying he felt “betrayed” by the leftist Syriza government’s behaviour and adding it was time to tell voters “the truth”.

“A ‘No’ would mean, regard-less of the question posed, that Greece had said no to Europe,” said Juncker, previously Tsipras’s closest — and sometimes only — ally in fi ve months of debt talks. But Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis hit back, telling British newspaper The Daily Telegraph Athens could seek legal action to stop the country being forced out of the eurozone.

Sudden death Tsipras has called for Greeks to vote against the proposals and staked his own career on the out-come of the vote, saying he was not a prime minister who would stay in place “in all weathers”.

In Greece, shocked locals formed huge queues at ATMs af-ter banks were shut down, some waiting for hours to withdrawn the €60 ($66) they are allowed per day. “I feel like I’m voting for sudden death or slow death,” said 38-year-old offi ce manager Ma-ria in Athens, who wants Greece to stay in the EU. “It feels like it’s game over.”

But many Greeks backed the government’s defi ant stance against the country’s creditors, who they blame for forcing the country into years of painful re-cession by demanding swingeing austerity cuts. More than 17,000 people took to the streets in Ath-ens and the country’s second city of Thessaloniki to protest against the latest bailout proposals. - AFP

Talks between

Greece and its

creditors fell apart

last week after Prime

Minister Alexis

Tsipras said any deal

would be put to a

referendum

WASHINGTON: Nobody in the halls of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington has any illusion: Greece is going to default on Tuesday, delivering a new blow to the global crisis bank’s credibility.

Just weeks ago, the Fund refused to accept the idea that Athens, which has received some €32 billion from the IMF to rescue its economy since 2010, would be unable to make the €1.5-billion ($1.7 billion) payment.

At the beginning of June, IMF managing director Chris-tine Lagarde insisted she had the assurance of Greek leader

Alexis Tsipras. “The prime minister said ‘do not worry,’” she said confi dently. A Fund spokesman reiterated that confi dence again last week.

But Tsipras’s announce-ment of a referendum on an adjusted bailout plan — which he urged his people to reject — made clear that the country is not going to reach a deal with offi cial creditors in time to fi nance any new debt payment. How “is it possible the credi-tors are waiting for the IMF payment while our banks are being suff ocated?”

Tsipras asked. Greece will be the fi rst country to default on the IMF since Zimbabwe in

2001, and in terms of stand-ards of living, the wealthiest.

The IMF will undoubtedly wait to the fi nal minute before declaring Athens “in arrears,” but then the country will be immediately cut off from further IMF aid, including disbursements planned on the existing bailout programme.

The IMF has less at stake than Greece in that event, but still stands to lose, experts said. It is not the fi rst time that the International Monetary Fund, called on by economi-cally troubled governments to help when they run short of liquidity, faces the breakdown of a bailout programme. - AFP

New challenge to IMF credibility


NEW RULES: Turkey’s regulators are seeking to boost overseas

investment as economy slows. Companies focused on selling real

estate overseas have been largely unregulated. – Bloomberg News

B4

MARKETW E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

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MUSCATSECURITIES MARKET

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR TUESDAY, JUNE 30

REGULAR MARKET .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

OM0000004248 ...........SMN POWER HOLDING .......................................... 214,560 ......... 150,876........................9 ........... 0.692 ........... 0.704 ...........0.692 ........... 0.704 .............0.684 ........... 0.020 ............. 2.924 ................0.704 ..............0.696...................0.752 ..................140,543,462........0.100OM0000001087 ............OMAN UNITED INSURANCE ................................ 62,500 .............18,035........................9 ........... 0.284 ...........0.290 ...........0.284 .......... 0.289 .............0.284 ........... 0.005 ..............1.761 .................0.290............. 0.260...................0.290 ..................28,900,000 ........0.100OM0000002614 ............ONIC. HOLDING ........................................................... 92,202 ............ 44,177..................... 10 ........... 0.472 ...........0.480 ...........0.472 ........... 0.480 .............0.472 ........... 0.008 ............. 1.695 ................0.480..............0.480...................0.518 ...................83,243,160 .........0.100OM0000001483 ............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN ................................. 150,000 ........... 50,400........................2 ........... 0.336 ........... 0.336 ...........0.336 ........... 0.336 .............0.332 ........... 0.004 ............. 1.205 ................0.336 ..............0.332...................0.334 .................450,478,644 .......0.100OM0000002200 ...........AHLI BANK .................................................................... 202,031 ........... 43,408........................8 ............0.212 ........... 0.215 ...........0.212 ............0.215 ............. 0.214 ............0.001 ............. 0.467 ................0.215 ..............0.212...................0.215 ..................306,382,771 ........0.100OM0000001145 ............PORT SERVICES CORPORATION ............................1,038 ...................211........................2 ........... 0.206 ...........0.206 ...........0.200 ...........0.215 ............. 0.215............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.200 .............0.201...................0.205 ..................20,433,600 .........0.100OM0000001533 ............OMINVEST ........................................................................4,600 .............. 2,208........................ 1 ........... 0.480 ...........0.480 ...........0.480........... 0.480 .............0.480 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.480..............0.480...................0.488..................177,800,304 ........0.100OM0000001707 ............OMAN CABLES INDUSTRY ........................................ 1,000 .............. 2,280........................2 ........... 2.280 ...........2.280 ...........2.280 .......... 2.270 .............2.270 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................2.280 ............ 2.240...................2.280 .................203,619,000........0.100OM0000001889 ............SALALAH MILLS ................................................................ 407 .................. 608........................ 1 ............1.495 ........... 1.495 ...........1.495 ............1.495 ............. 1.495 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................1.495 .............. 1.435...................0.000 .................. 72,003,781 .........0.100OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ...............17,700 ...............4,073........................3 ............0.231 ........... 0.231 ...........0.230........... 0.230 .............0.230 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.230..............0.230...................0.232 ...................4,830,000 ..........0.100OM0000002168 ............AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ................................. 99,721 ............42,800........................5 ........... 0.430 ........... 0.430 ...........0.426........... 0.430 .............0.430 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.426..............0.424...................0.426 ................. 127,371,883 ........0.100OM0000002226 ...........AL JAZEERA SERVICES ............................................ 61,098 ............ 22,599......................11 ........... 0.370 ........... 0.370 ...........0.368........... 0.370 .............0.370 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.370 ..............0.368...................0.374 ...................22,645,581 .........0.100OM0000002275 ...........SHELL OMAN MARKETING ......................................3,813 ............... 7,626........................ 1 ........... 2.000 ...........2.000 ...........2.000 .......... 2.000 .............2.000 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................2.000 ............ 2.000...................2.090 ................ 190,000,000 .......0.100OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 310,750 ...........170,913......................18 ........... 0.550 ........... 0.550 ...........0.550 ........... 0.550 .............0.550 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.550 ..............0.548...................0.552................1,260,502,428 ......0.100OM0000002820 ...........GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES ......................... 805,140 ......... 109,792......................12 ............0.137 ........... 0.137 ...........0.135 ............0.136 ............. 0.136............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.137 .............. 0.135...................0.137 ....................8,002,678 ..........0.100OM0000003281 ............TAAGEER FINANCE .........................................................210 .....................32........................ 1 ............0.150 ........... 0.150 ...........0.150 ........... 0.148 ............. 0.148............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.150 .............. 0.148...................0.157 ................... 37,531,320 .........0.100OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR................................................................ 125,000 ............23,101........................4 ............0.184 ........... 0.185 ...........0.184 ............0.185 ............. 0.185............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.185 ..............0.182...................0.184 ................. 266,666,400 .......0.100OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY ..................................................... 30,772 .............13,232........................8 ........... 0.430 ........... 0.430 ...........0.430........... 0.430 .............0.430 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.430..............0.430...................0.448 ..................26,015,000 .........0.100OM0000004735 ...........SEMBCORP SALALAH ..................................................... 400 ...............1,020........................ 1 ........... 2.550 ........... 2.550 ...........2.550........... 2.580 .............2.580 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................2.550 ..............2.550...................2.580 .................246,279,563........1.000OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL ............................................. 110,614 ............... 9,742......................15 ........... 0.088 ........... 0.089 ...........0.087 ........... 0.088 .............0.088 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.089 ..............0.088...................0.089...................15,400,000 .........0.100OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ........................ 151,486 .......... 262,861..................... 42 ............1.735 ........... 1.740............1.730 ............1.735 ............. 1.740 ............-0.005 ........... -0.287 ...............1.730 .............. 1.730................... 1.735 ................1,301,250,000 ......0.100OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS ...................................................86,611 .............48,313..................... 20 ............0.558 ........... 0.558 ...........0.556 ........... 0.558 .............0.560 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.357 ...............0.556 ..............0.550...................0.556 ...................29,295,000 .........0.100OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 185,535 ............ 22,720..................... 23 ............0.121 ........... 0.123 ........... 0.121 ........... 0.122 ............. 0.123............-0.001 ........... -0.813................ 0.121 .............. 0.121...................0.122 ................... 35,377,638 .........0.100OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 859,835 ......... 171,802................... 101 ........... 0.203 ...........0.204 ...........0.198 ........... 0.200 .............0.202 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.990 ...............0.201 .............. 0.199...................0.201 ...................30,015,000 .........0.100OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER ..................................................14,030 ............... 2,778........................6 ............0.198 ........... 0.198 ...........0.198 ........... 0.198 .............0.200 ...........-0.002 ........... -1.000 ...............0.198 ..............0.190...................0.198 ...................133,627,711 ........0.100OM0000004933 ...........AL SUWADI POWER ...................................................... 9,030 ............... 1,788........................6 ............0.198 ........... 0.198 ...........0.198 ........... 0.198 .............0.200 ...........-0.002 ........... -1.000 ...............0.198 ..............0.194...................0.198 ..................141,452,455 ........0.100OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO....................................................................... 424,000..........327,612..................... 29 ............0.776 ........... 0.776 ...........0.768 ........... 0.772 ............. 0.780 ...........-0.008 ........... -1.026 ...............0.772 .............. 0.772...................0.776 ................. 502,528,946 .......0.100OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE .............. 743,010.......... 175,404..................... 96 ........... 0.240 ...........0.240 ...........0.235 ........... 0.236 .............0.239 ...........-0.003 ............-1.255................0.236 ..............0.235...................0.236...................47,200,000.........0.100OM0000001962 ............AL MADINA INVESTMENT ..................................... 71,672 ...............5,072........................5 ............0.071 ........... 0.072 ...........0.070............0.071 .............0.072 ...........-0.001 ........... -1.389................0.070..............0.070...................0.072................... 14,707,748 .........0.100OM0000001160 ............NATIONAL GAS .............................................................74,900 .............26,514......................16 ........... 0.362 ........... 0.362 ...........0.350........... 0.354 .............0.360 ...........-0.006 ............-1.667................0.350 ..............0.346...................0.350................... 17,700,000 .........0.100OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING ........... 572,310 ........... 66,253..................... 29 ............0.116 ........... 0.118............ 0.114 ............0.116 ............. 0.118 ............-0.002 ............-1.695 ................ 0.117 ...............0.117................... 0.118 ................... 14,137,500 .........0.100OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES .......................................24,575 ............... 6,881........................5 ........... 0.280 ...........0.280 ...........0.280 .......... 0.280 .............0.285 ...........-0.005 ............-1.754 ................0.280............. 0.280...................0.285...................78,986,447 .........0.100OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ........... 153,569 ............. 18,518......................21 ............0.120 ........... 0.122 ...........0.120 ............0.121 ............. 0.124 ...........-0.003 ........... -2.419 ...............0.122 ..............0.122...................0.124 ...................10,890,000 .........0.100OM0000002366 ...........AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING ........................ 59,100 ............... 7,092........................9 ............0.120 ........... 0.120 ...........0.120 ........... 0.120 ............. 0.123............-0.003 ........... -2.439 ...............0.120 ..............0.120...................0.124 ....................3,600,000 ..........0.100OM0000001509 ............DHOFAR INT.DEV.AND INV. HOLD. .....................37,000 .............17,464........................4 ........... 0.472 ........... 0.472 ...........0.472 ........... 0.472 .............0.484 ...........-0.012 ........... -2.479 ...............0.472 ............. 0.000...................0.472..................116,300,800 ........0.100OM0000002374............UNITED FINANCE ..................................................... 327,200 ............ 47,771..................... 10 ............0.146 ........... 0.146 ...........0.146 ........... 0.146 ............. 0.150............-0.004 ........... -2.667 ...............0.146 .............. 0.146...................0.148 ................... 45,371,681 .........0.100.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 6,087,419 .......1,925,976 ................545 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ TRADED SEC. ......36........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PARALLEL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000001152 ............OMAN NATIONAL ENGINE. INVT. ............................184 .....................46........................ 1 ........... 0.250 ...........0.250 ...........0.250........... 0.260 .............0.260 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.250..............0.250...................0.278...................23,400,000 ........0.100OM0000001301 ............DHOFAR CATTLE FEED ................................................. 800 .................. 140........................ 1 ............0.175 ........... 0.175............0.175 ............0.181 ............. 0.181 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.175 .............. 0.175................... 0.181 ................... 13,937,000 .........0.100OM0000001368 ............CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. .................. 130,000 ..............5,070........................5 ........... 0.039 ........... 0.039 ...........0.039........... 0.039 .............0.039 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.039 ..............0.039...................0.041 .................... 3,315,000 ..........0.100OM0000001590 ............MUSCAT FINANCE ........................................................ 3,360 .................. 487........................ 1 ............0.145 ........... 0.145 ...........0.145 ........... 0.144 ............. 0.144 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.145 .............. 0.145...................0.150 ...................36,233,060 .........0.100OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 102,379 .............. 7,576........................7 ........... 0.074 ........... 0.074 ...........0.074 ........... 0.074 .............0.074 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.074 ..............0.073...................0.074..................111,000,000 ........0.100OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 10,613,352 .1,582,998...................720 ............0.149 ........... 0.150 ...........0.148 ........... 0.149 ............. 0.149............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.150 .............. 0.149...................0.150 .................. 217,927,618 ........0.100OM0000001475 ............SWEETS OF OMAN ..................................................... 30,000 ............40,200........................ 1 ............1.340 ........... 1.340 ...........1.340 ........... 1.340 ............. 1.345............-0.005 ........... -0.372 ...............1.340 ............. 0.000...................1.345 ....................9,380,000 ..........0.100OM0000001566 ............OMAN FISHERIES ..................................................... 142,014 ................7,739......................11 ............0.055 ........... 0.055 ...........0.054........... 0.054 .............0.055 ...........-0.001 ............-1.818 ................0.054..............0.053...................0.055.................... 6,750,000 ..........0.100OM0000002564 ...........AL HASSAN ENGINEERING.................................. 101,975 .............10,016......................11 ........... 0.099 ........... 0.099 ...........0.098........... 0.098 .............0.102 ...........-0.004 ........... -3.922 ...............0.098 ..............0.098...................0.099.................... 7,370,384 ..........0.100OM0000001855 ............MAJAN GLASS .................................................................6,000 ...............1,320........................4 ........... 0.220 ...........0.220 ...........0.220 .......... 0.220 .............0.237 ...........-0.017 ............-7.173 ................0.220 ............ 0.000...................0.230 ................... 9,245,126 ..........0.100.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 11,130,064 .....1,655,591 ................762 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ TRADED SEC. ......10........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BONDS MARKET ........................................................................................................................................................................................ OM0000005955 ............AL OMANIYA FIN. CONV. BONDS 6 .................... 105,025 ............10,503........................2 ........... 0.100 ........... 0.100 ...........0.100 ........... 0.100 .............0.100 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.100 ............. 0.000...................0.000 ................... 1,837,430 ..........0.100OM0000005971 ............B.MUSCAT COMPL. CONVR. B.B.3.5 ................... 1,665,545 ...... 164,889........................8 ........... 0.099 ........... 0.099 ...........0.099........... 0.099 .............0.099 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.099 ..............0.099...................0.100...................32,092,000 ........0.100.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 1,770,570 .......175,391..................... 10 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ TRADED SEC. ........ 2........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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

O M A N S T O C K S

INDICESIndex .................................................High .................Low ..................... Value ............... Prev . Value.......... Diff ...............Diff %MSM30 Index ........................................ 6,437.01 ...............6,423.81 ...................6,424.60 ................... 6,431.37 .................. -6.77 ...................-0.11Financial Index ..................................... 7,743.54 ............... 7,728.47 ....................7,740.25 ................... 7,734.47 .................... 5.78 ................... 0.07Industrial Index ................................... 8,338.57 .............. 8,329.02 ................... 8,329.73 ...................8,340.05 ................-10.32 .................. -0.12Services Index .......................................3,475.48 .............. 3,464.54 ...................3,468.00 ....................3,471.71 ...................-3.71 ...................-0.11MSM SHARIAH INDEX.......................994.33 ..................992.57 ...................... 992.57 ......................994.26 ...................-1.69 .................. -0.17

Trading SummaryVolume ................ Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up ............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded18,988,053 ..................3,756,958 ..................1,317 ...............15,027,882,302 .................. 5 ..................... 20 .................... 23 .........................48

Index fall continues

MUSCAT: Oman’s general index — MSM30 Index — closed lower at 6,424.60 points, down by 0.11 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index declined 0.17 per cent to close at 992.57 points. Phoenix Power re-mained the most active in terms of volume as well as turnover. Tues-day’s top gainer was SMN Power, up by 2.92 per cent, while Majan Glass, down by 7.17 per cent, was the day’s top loser.

As many as 1,317 trades were executed during the day’s trad-ing session generating turnover of OMR3.75 million with over 18.9 million shares changing hands. Out of 48 traded securi-ties, fi ve advanced, 20 declined and 23 remained unchanged. Omani Investors were net buy-ers for OMR449,000 while for-eign investors were net sellers for OMR229,000 followed by GCC and Arab investors for OMR220,000 worth of shares.

Financial Index rose 0.07 per cent and closed at 7,740.25 points.

Oman United Insurance, ONIC, NBO and Ahli Bank rose 1.76 per cent, 1.69 per cent, 1.20 per cent and 0.47 per cent, respectively. United Finance, Al Batinah Devel-opment, Al Sharqia Investments and Oman & Emirates Holding declined by 2.67 per cent, 2.48 per cent, 2.44 per cent, 2.42 per cent and 1.69 per cent, respectively.

Industrial Index declined by 0.12 per cent to fi nish at 8,329.73 points. Majan Glass, Al Hassan En-gineering, Oman Fisheries, Galfar Engineering and Sweets of Oman declined 7.17 per cent, 3.92 per cent, 1.82 per cent, 0.81 per cent and 0.37 per cent, respectively.

Services Sector Index closed the trading session at 3,468.00 points, down by 0.11 per cent. SMN Power, up by 2.92 per cent, was the only sector gainer. Renaissance Ser-vices, National Gas, OIFC, Oore-doo and Al Suwadi Power fell by 1.75 per cent, 1.67 per cent, 1.26 per cent, 1.03 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively. – United Securities

Tuesday’s top gainer was SMN Power, up by

2.92 per cent, while Majan Glass, down by 7.17

per cent, was the day’s top loser

Muscat Securities Market. – Times fi le picture

Oman’s oil trading company plans to open offi ce in US

Oman sells most of its oil to Chi-na, where Middle Eastern crude producers face growing competi-tion from suppliers outside the Organisation of Petroleum Ex-porting Countries (Opec).

Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia to become China’s top supplier in May, according to data from the Beijing-based General Adminis-tration of Customs.

“We’ve seen fundamental changes in the market,” Al Awfi said in the interview. “Asia as a market is now enjoying a period where there are options with all the growth in oil production,” he further added.

Brent for August settlement slid 0.1 per cent to $61.93 a barrel

on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange at 12:04pm Sin-gapore time on Tuesday.

US offi ceAn offi ce in the US will give Oman Trading a base to buy and sell Latin American crude, he said. Exports from Colombia and Ven-ezuela, among other regional suppliers, have been pushed out of the United States market by increased local production, and many of those barrels are now fl owing to Asia, where Middle Eastern crudes were traditionally dominant, he said.

In Singapore, the company hired Nick Kay, a former trader at Phibro, to expand its crude oil

business, Al Awfi said. Kay will be the company’s fi rst crude trader based in the Singapore offi ce, which has so far dealt in petro-chemical products.

Oman pumped 944,000 barrels of oil a day in 2014, according to the country’s central bank. Oman Trading, based in Dubai in the UAE, handles about 160,000bpd of crude and about 40,000 barrels a day of refi ned products, accord-ing to its website.

Oman Trading is seeking stor-age capacity in Africa for up to 100 million cubic meters (26 bil-lion gallons) of refi ned products, and it plans to complete a trans-action before the end of the year, Al Awfi said. – Bloomberg News

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

< FROM

B1Sensex advances, mainly led by gains in Coal IndiaMUMBAI: Indian stocks ad-vanced to pare the benchmark gauge’s biggest quarterly decline in two years.

Coal India jumped to a record high, while consumer companies and drugmakers rallied.

Coal India, the world’s top pro-ducer of the fuel, surged to a re-cord. ITC, India’s largest cigarette maker, climbed to a four-week high. Hindustan Unilever, the big-gest household-products maker, climbed to a two-month high. Lu-pin increased 2.9 per cent to pace advances by drugmakers.

The S&P BSE Sensex added 0.5 per cent to 27,780.83 at the close in Mumbai, after changing direc-tion at least 15 times.

Local stocks rose in the last 90 minutes of trading and the euro pared losses after E. Kathimerini said in a Twitter post that Greece is reconsidering a proposal from European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker last night.

“The market seems to have bounced back on the hope Greece will agree to a bailout package,” Aneesh Srivastava, who man-ages $722 million as chief invest-ment offi cer at IDBI Federal Life Insurance Co., said by phone on Tuesday.”Market volatility will continue until we see a closure on the Greece issue.”

The CNX Nifty index climbed 0.6 per cent on Tuesday. The In-

dia VIX Index, a gauge of equity option costs, dropped 2.1 per cent, the most in a week. The Sensex fell 0.6 per cent this quarter, the biggest drop since the three months to March 2013.

UncertaintiesMarkets will be looking to the European Central Bank for measures to contain the crisis, Mohamed El-Erian, chief eco-nomic adviser at Allianz SE and a Bloomberg View columnist, said in an interview from New York.

“We have entered a period of uncertainties,” Hemant Kanawa-la, head of equities at Kotak Mahi-

ndra Old Mutual Life Insurance, which has $2 billion in assets, told Bloomberg TV India.”The most important near-term event is related to Greece.”

Hindustan Unilever rose 1.8 per cent, while ITC gained 1.7 per cent. Sun Pharmaceutical surged three per cent to its highest level since June 1 and Lupin extended this year’s gain to 32 per cent. Coal India soared 3.3 per cent to an all-time high. The stock has risen 16 per cent this quarter.

The Sensex trades at 15.5 times its projected 12-month earnings, compared with a fi ve-year aver-age of 14.4. - Bloomberg News

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

UPBEAT: S&P BSE Sensex added 0.5 per cent to 27,780.83 at the

close in Mumbai. — Bloomberg fi le picture

B5W E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

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Perfect time to gift your loved ones a lovely Fiat

MUSCAT: An expression of style and character, the Fiat 500 is an all-Italian invention created to satisfy anyone who loves to have fun and go anywhere behind the wheel of an exciting car full of charm. And what better time to gift yourself or a loved one this delightful car than that of the holy month of Ramadan, that is packed with special off ers and gifts galore.

Aimed at a whole new genera-tion of drivers in Oman who want their vehicle to be as engaging, in-dividualised, ecologically respon-sible and technologically savvy as they are; the Fiat 500 off ers safety, fuel economy, quality and advanced technology perfectly balanced with iconic Italian style,

says a press release.Its city-friendly four-passen-

ger A-segment size, engaging driving dynamics, all-new fuel-effi cient 1.4-litre Fiat MultiAir engine, standard state-of-the-art Blue&Me Handsfree Communi-cation technology, seven standard air bags and six-speed automatic transmission combine to deliver a driving and ownership experience.

“With customers becoming more and more selective, individu-alisation has become imperative for the automotive industry,” said a spokesperson from Dhofar Au-tomotive. “Today’s discerning cus-tomers choose a vehicle that has a unique and emotional connec-tion to them in the endeavour that

their own distinctive personality is complimented by their car.

"With the arrival of the Fiat 500, the discerning young, fun loving, trendy and individualistic cus-tomer now has a vehicle that can do just that. Since seeing is believ-ing, we invite customers to visit our showroom this Ramadan and experience the car and its amazing features for themselves.”

The Fiat 500 has many acco-lades to its credit internationally, as it introduces many ‘Firsts’ by off ering a host of innovations in its segment. It was the fi rst to off er seven airbags as standard; the fi rst car off ering a range of over 1 mil-lion possible customisations; the fi rst car only 3.55 metres long to win the prestigious ‘5 EuroNCAP stars’; the fi rst car to off er the ad-vanced ESP on all engines; the fi rst car to off er 100 original specially designed accessories; and the fi rst Fiat Group car to carry the revo-lutionary two-cylinder Twin Air engine family to its début.

To fi nd out more about the Fiat range of automobiles from Dhofar Automotive in Oman visit their showroom from Saturday to Thurs-day between 9am and 1.30pm or 8pm and 12am during Ramadan.

Aimed at a whole

new generation of

drivers in Oman who

want their vehicle

to be as engaging,

individualised,

ecologically

responsible and

technologically savvy

as they are; the Fiat

500 off ers safety, fuel

economy, quality and

advanced technology

perfectly balanced

with iconic

Italian style

AHLIBANK RAMADAN CAMPAIGNAmir Al Habib, head of Corporate Communication at

ahlibank, presents a cheque to an offi cial (left) from

Oman Cancer Association as part of the bank’s annual

Ramadan campaign. — Supplied picture

Golden Tulip Seeb off ers Iftar buff et

MUSCAT: Golden Tulip Seeb is arranging a wide range of daily Iftar buff et which will be served at Le Jardin Restaurant.

Based on successful Rama-dan Iftar arranged during previ-ous years and the excellent de-mand from the clients, a variety

of Omani, Arabic and Lebanese items will be changed on a daily basis including diff erent kinds of juices, soups, and traditional If-tar food. The hotel is also ready to cater for private Iftar in the ball-room or to be served outside the hotel, says a press release.

F E S T I V E S E A S O N

Malabar Gold organises IftarMUSCAT: The holy month of Ramadan has entered the sec-ond week and millions of peo-ple around the world honour the month with acts of service and prayers.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the leading jewellery retailer, has strengthened its CSR activities in GCC and Far East this Ramadan, embracing the spirit of giving.

In Oman, they will distribute 10,000 Iftar kits at diff erent areas such as Ruwi, Muttrah and Salalah throughout Ramadan. As a part of this, an Iftar event was organised

in Muttrah on Monday in associa-tion with KMCC Muttrah and over 2,250 people benefi tted from the same, says a press release.

Many dignitaries namely, Na-jeeb K, regional head, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Muhasin P, branch head, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Nawaz Muttrah and Shoukath Muttrah made the event more blissful by their active participation. Speaking on the occasion, Najeeb said: “As in pre-vious years, Malabar Gold & Dia-monds will be organising various Iftar events which are an integral

component of our CSR especially during the holy month of Rama-dan. Our support team will be pro-viding all the assistance needed to ensure the provision of refresh-ments for all the visitors. Malabar Group undertakes several CSR activities during Ramadan in asso-ciation with like-minded organisa-tions to ease the life of residents in the respective country.”

The jewellery group hosts Iftar events in various parts of GCC and Far East, by organising month-long activities, in association with like-minded organisations.

C S R A C T I V I T Y

Indian Embassy celebrates International Day of YogaMUSCAT: The United Nation’s fi rst-ever International Day of Yoga, an event initiated by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was celebrated on June 21 the world over.

The health-friendly people of Muscat too joined in the celebra-tions with a special yoga session held at the Indian Embassy on June 21, in line with the common protocol on yoga set up by the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India. Under the initiative of J. S. Mukul, Ambassador of India to the Sultanate of Oman, the em-bassy organised four sessions in which over 400 yoga enthusiasts took part over three weeks. Prior to the fi nal event, three practice sessions were held for the par-ticipants to feel at ease during the event, says a press release.

Govind Negi, the moderator for the practice sessions as well as the main event held on June 21 at the embassy as part of this drive, stressed the benefi ts of yoga; how it embodies the unity of body and mind, and how it gives one in-ner peace. He also reminded the participants of the importance of regular practice of yoga for healthy body and mind.

Mukul took the lead in partici-

pation in the sessions conducted at the embassy. In his address to the participants on the Interna-tional Yoga Day, he thanked the participants, including promi-nent personalities and yoga en-thusiasts, and advised the gather-ing to continue what has been a great beginning.

Immense benefi tHe said there were many free yoga sessions being conducted by experts in the town, from where people could benefit im-mensely. He also thanked In-dian Social Club, yoga teachers, enthusiasts, practitioners and volunteers for their contribu-tion in spreading the knowledge

of yoga in the country.He expressed his sincere grati-

tude to Govind Negi, who has been an experienced yoga prac-titioner and has been taking free yoga classes at Wadi Kabir Park for past 16 years, for his initia-tive and eff orts in bringing peo-ple together in this drive for good health. Mukul predicted a bright future for yoga in Oman.

The ambassador's address was followed by the screening of the message from the Indian prime minister. After an hour of stretch-ing, breathing exercise and medi-tation, the participants left the hall re-energised and rejuve-nated, with a vow to continue the practice of yoga.

H E A L T H Y L I F E

‘Yogatherapy4all’ brings awareness on benefi ts of yoga

Times News Service

MUSCAT: First International Day of Yoga was celebrated in a big way by ‘Yogatherapy4all’, a group from Muscat. Its founder, Prema Nagesh, a certifi ed yoga therapist, was nominated by the Indian Em-bassy in Oman as Oman’s delegate to attend the International Day of Yoga seminar, conducted in New Delhi on June 21, in recognition of her dedication in teaching yoga in Muscat for decades.

Delegates from all around the world congregated in New Delhi

to attend a two-day international seminar, as it was India which had moved a resolution in UN General Assembly in last September to de-clare June 21 as the International Day of Yoga, which was supported by 177 countries.

Speaking to Times of Oman, Prema Nagesh, said that her senior students, under the banner of Yoga-therapy4all, conducted free basic yoga asanas and right breathing technique sessions in Muscat, In-dia (Chennai and Coimbatore) and in USA, to bring about awareness of yoga and its therapeutic benefi ts.

The free basic yoga asanas and right breathing technique session in Muscat were conducted by her senior students A. V. Babu, Sri-kanth Mani, Ranjana Joshi and Vinod Nair at the Cultural Hall at Saud Bahwan Complex, at Wadi Kabir on June 21.

There was enthusiastic re-sponse to the free yoga session as nearly 100 persons of all ages attended the session and learnt basic yoga postures and breathing techniques.

Lakshmi Krishnamurthy, a stu-dent from Yogatherapy4all, Mus-

cat, now settled in Coimbatore in Southern India, taught basic yoga asanas and breathing technique to nearly 50 persons in Coimbatore. The persons who attended were from a wide section of the society like children, middle aged women and senior citizens.

It was a diff erent experience for Gayatri Narasimhan, who also learnt yoga from Prema Nagesh when she was in Muscat. She conducted a yoga session for nearly 200 school children, who had speech and hearing impair-ment, and also for the staff of their

school in the south Indian city of Chennai. She now proposes to continue free yoga teaching to these children and the staff of the school for another three months so that yoga becomes a part of the school curriculum.

Nayna Pania from Muscat, who is also a student from Yoga-therapy4all, on a visit to United States of America, conducted a yoga session at her daughter’s residence at Virginia. Nearly 20 people attended the yoga session to learn basic yoga postures and breathing techniques.

The session concluded with laughter yoga which was liked by everyone. The people gathered there commended the initiative of Nayna in creating yoga aware-ness even while on holiday and urged her to continue the yoga sessions every weekend till her presence in Virginia, which she readily accepted.

The yoga asanas taught dur-ing the session were aimed at ad-dressing modern day lifestyle ail-ments like back pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, high blood pres-sure, diabetes and much more.

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2016 Chevrolet Cruze comes to Oman

MUSCAT: The latest model of Chevrolet’s popular global car Cru-ze was launched in Oman recently. The new 2016 Chevrolet Cruze is currently available across Chevro-let showrooms in the Sultanate.

The 2016 Cruze has dynamic and sophisticated new exterior styling. Inside, it comes with a luxurious new colour. It maintains the same high level of safety that the nameplate has enjoyed since its domestic market debut in 2011, says a press release.

The main focus during the de-sign process was to make the mod-el more sophisticated, with a more refi ned and mature look. The 2016 Cruze is targeted at customers who have a focused, goal-oriented lifestyle that matches the design intentions of the model.

The 2016 Cruze has a wide and low stance. It comes with a new

fascia and new grille design, which off er a hint of Chevrolet’s next-generation design identity. The car has balanced proportions, details, and a stylish yet stable and confi -dent presence.

Style and technology come to-gether in the 2016 Cruze. Thanks to the keyless start feature, Cruze can be started by simply pushing a button. With Chevrolet MyLink, all the favourite requirements are in one place, conveniently display-ing on the 7-inch diagonal colour touch-screen. Compatible smart-phone can be connected just via Bluetooth wireless technology or USB port. Using voice or steering wheel controls, the touch-screen features such as hands-free calling and texting, as well as playing mu-sic can be accessed.

With the Bringgo smartphone app that delivers plenty of easy-

to-use functions, one can also instantly access the navigation features. With an iPhone, an array of hands-free tasks can also be ac-cessed using SIRI Eyes Free - one can text, make calls, ask for direc-tions and even send emails.

A new level of entertainment can also be experienced on the go with access to over 70,000 radio stations from around the world by connecting the free Tunein app on the smartphone to the available Chevrolet MyLink system.

LED daytime running light (DRL) positioning lamps, projec-tion fog lamps and dual square-type taillamps strengthen the Chevrolet character while provid-ing value to the customer. Sophis-ticated design accents include chrome details on the front grille and garnishes, and boomerang-shaped chrome bezels.

The new rear fascia has a more balanced taillamp design that en-hances the sculptural lines of the Cruze. Gently restrained lines ex-tend from the rear bumper to the trunk. A wide chrome bar on the upper rear bumper gives the back end a more sophisticated and luxu-rious look.

The trendy new Saddle Up inte-rior colour and a choice of newly designed 16-inch and 17-inch alloy wheels add to the refi ned character. The Cruze, which surpassed world-wide sales of 3 million units since its introduction, has collected 39 product awards around the globe.

The Cruze is equipped with an array of technically advanced safety systems, including Sensi-tive Electronic Stability Control (SESC), Tyre pressure monitoring system and Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA), which alerts the driver if a

vehicle is in the left- or right-side blind spot.

The Cruze received a fi rst-class rating with a perfect score in full-frontal and side crash tests car-ried out by the Korean New Car Assessment Program (KNCAP). It received the highest crashworthi-ness score of 97.7 points among 13 vehicles tested in 2014.

Chevrolet Cruze is off ered with competitive service pricing and cost transparency, booking service with same-day delivery, quality service by certifi ed technicians, regional 24x7 roadside assistance and a regional three-year/100,000-km warranty. Chevrolet’s scheduled maintenance interval is once every 10,000km ver-sus once every 5,000km for most of its competitors.

Chevrolet, one of the world’s largest automotive brands, has a strong heritage in the Middle East,

stretching back around eight dec-ades and has been a trusted part-ner in the region. Today Chevrolet brings the most comprehensive range of value and performance-oriented vehicles to customers in the small, compact, mid-size and large sedan and SUV segments, off ering superlative excitement, strong personality, value for mon-ey, safety and security. Chevro-let range of passenger vehicles in Oman include: Spark, Aveo, Sonic, Cruze, Malibu, Impala sedans, Camaro and Corvette performance sedans, Captiva, Traverse, Tahoe, Suburban and Silverado SUVs.

OTE Group is the exclusive dealer for Chevrolet in Oman with showrooms spread across the Sul-tanate and off ering excellent after-sales service support at par with global standards, with a nation-wide service network.

The 2016 Cruze is

targeted at customers

who have a focused,

goal-oriented lifestyle

that matches the

design intentions of

the model

Chevrolet Cruze is offered with competitive service

pricing and cost transparency, booking service

with same-day delivery, quality service by certified

technicians, regional 24x7 roadside assistance and a

regional three-year/100,000-km warranty. Chevrolet’s

scheduled maintenance interval is once every 10,000km

versus once every 5,000km for most of its competitors

Shop and get up to 4% cash back with BankDhofar credit cards

MUSCAT: Adding to the great of-fers and promotions unveiled dur-ing the holy month of Ramadan, BankDhofar recently announced a new credit card promotion where customers can get up to 4% cash back when they use credit cards for shopping. The credit card pro-motion period, which has already started, is valid through August 30.

Elaborating on the off ers, Salim Al Kalbani - Acting Head of Retail Products, Business & Segments Department at BankDhofar, said: “BankDhofar credit card facilities are specially designed to allow our customers to enjoy the great off ers and promotions available to credit card users. All they need to do is to use their BankDhofar credit card

during the promotion period, and with more shopping comes more cash back.”

According to the off er, custom-ers who use BankDhofar credit card for shopping get 1% cash back when the spend OMR201 – 1,000, while those who spend OMR 1,001 – 2,000 are eligible to get 2% cash back on all their credit card shop-ping value. Meanwhile, customers who spend more than OMR2,000 get 3% cash back. Moreover, Bank-Dhofar customers can enjoy ad-ditional 1% cash back on all inter-national credit card transactions during the promotion period, says a press release.

Earlier, the bank announced attractive off ers to further add

to customers’ lifestyle and to en-rich their experience, giving all BankDhofar cardholders access to exclusive discounts and other benefi ts. A wide array of products and services is available to Bank-Dhofar customers in the Sultan-ate and the United Arab Emirates, ranging from hotel services, health and wellness outlets, dining, bou-tiques, travel, leisure and enter-tainment. These special off ers include exclusive discounts that range between 10% and 50% when using BankDhofar cards.

P R O M O T I O N

‘Donate your Book’ supports Oman Cancer Association

MUSCAT: The yearly event of ‘Donate your Book’ organised by Bareeq Al Shatti mall, where a mega sale for used books is held, is supporting Oman Cancer Associa-tion (OCA) this year.

The event is being held for the fourth year. They collect books from diff erent places in Oman and sell them in Bareeq Al Shatti, and whatever money is collected is do-nated, says a press release.

Last year they donated to The Down’s Syndrome Parents Support Group (a part of the Association of Early Intervention for Children with Special needs) OMR3,028.

Drop boxesIf you have piles of books you can drop at book drop boxes placed at outlets of Just Grilled, Bareeq Al Shatti and Gallery Muscat malls, or you can call them or send them a mail, their volunteers will be glad to collect it from your place.

A huge collection of English and Arabic books of novels, edu-cation, kids books are on display. Your contribution will be highly appreciated. The more you buy the more they donate. Timing of sale is from 5pm to 11.30pm at Bareeq Al Shatti mall. The sales of book will be there for next three months.

Further information can be had at 99860545, 98082113 and 97202295, e-mail: [email protected].

C H A R I T Y

Meethaq hosts a series

of seminars, workshops

MUSCAT: Meethaq, the pio-neer of Islamic banking in Oman from Bank Muscat, hosted recently a series of semi-nars and workshops across the Sultanate. The seminars were held with the aim of enhancing awareness among the society on a number of humanitarian and cultural aspects, and were con-ducted by renowned professors and lecturers.

The fi rst seminar was held in Sultan Qaboos Mosque, Salalah titled: ‘Charitable Spending’ and was delivered by Sheikh Musallam Al Masahli, who talked about the importance of Zakat and Saddaqa, and their positive and humanitarian role in the society. He urged eve-ryone to pay the Zakat and ex-plained how to invest Zakat funds, and endowments. The lecture was well received by the attendance as Sheikh Musallam answered their queries, says a press release.

Meethaq, Islamic banking hosted another lecture on June 29 titled: ‘Charitable Culture’ and was delivered by Dr. Abdul Karim Bakkar, General supervi-sor of ‘Bina’a Al Fikr’ Academy, and a prominent author in the fi eld of education.

He talked about several top-ics relating to promoting the culture of charity in our society and its importance.

Sulaiman Al Harthy, group general manager, Meethaq Is-lamic Banking, said: “We would like to extend our warmest wishes on the occasion of the holy month, and we take this opportunity to thank all the par-ticipating lecturers as well as the government authorities and pri-vate parties that have partnered with us to make this programme possible. Meethaq is commit-ted to take part in all activities that help in creating awareness among the public on certain im-portant cultural matters.”

E N H A N C I N G A W A R E N E S S

BankDhofar credit card

facilities are specially

designed to allow our

customers to enjoy the

great offers and

promotions available to

credit card users

Salim Al KalbaniActing Head of Retail Products

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I hire people brighter than me and I get out of their way. — Lee Iacocca

MUSCAT: Ooredoo has appointed Amaal Hussain Al Lawati as its chief customer experience offi cer (CXO). Leading the company’s customer engagement strategy, Al Lawati’s role will focus on contin-uing the growth of the Sultanate’s ‘Best Call Centre Service’, in addi-tion to allocating the right skill sets to drive the evolution of its inspir-ing ‘customer experience’, says a press release.

Part of the Ooredoo family for over a decade, Al Lawati today rep-resents one of the company’s most senior offi cers, as well the most senior female Omani employee. Her previous experience includes managing over 300 staff and now as chief customer care offi cer, she will lead staff from a range of de-

partments. Her rise within the company off ers credence to Oore-doo’s dedication to developing family members, both personally and professionally.

“Amaal’s appointment as CXO reaffi rms our passion for nurtur-ing and inspiring human growth. Amaal’s strong contribution to the company has been witnessed across various departments and we welcome her with sincere con-gratulations on this well-deserved position,” said Greg Young, Oore-doo CEO.

Customer excellence“Empowering local talent across all elements of our operation is im-portant as we diversify and refi ne our off ering to customers. We are confi dent of Amaal’s capabilities and look forward to seeing her do many great things in her new role as she leads us towards the future of customer excellence,” he added.

As a community focused brand, Ooredoo is committed to ini-tiatives that drive the growth of Oman’s national workforce, us-ing a variety of training activi-ties, workshops, update sessions, and personal development pro-grammes to harness and develop employees’ skills.

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Amaal Al Lawati is Ooredoo’s new CXOPart of the Ooredoo

family for over

a decade, Amaal

Hussain Al Lawati

today represents one

of the company’s

most senior offi cers,

as well the most

senior female Omani

employee

Her previous

experience includes

managing over 300

staff and now as chief

customer care officer,

she will lead staff from

a range of departments

Toyota picks fi rst promotion winnerMUSCAT: As an exciting week goes by, more and more people try their luck in Toyota’s ‘Extra Large Benefi ts! Extra Large Happiness!’ campaign. Toyota Oman has an-nounced the fi rst lucky winner Mohammed Sulaiman Al Amri from Sinaw, says a press release.

A loyal Toyota user over the last fi ve years, Mohammed pre-viously owned a Hilux S/C 2011YM model. He was so hap-py with its performance that he went in for a new Hilux S/C 2.7 SR LTD. His faith in Toyota was rewarded when he won a new 2016 Toyota Camry during the ‘Extra Large Benefi ts! Extra Large Happiness!’ campaign.

Naturally, his joy knows no bounds. “I am very happy!,” he re-marked, as he complimented the scheme and underlined the fact that not merely his own family, but his friends too were eager to make the best of the Toyota off er.

Toyota’s ‘Extra Large benefi ts! Extra Large happiness!’ off er has been greeted by a wholehearted customer response.

“What that means for you as a customer,” says the spokesper-

son, “is that the biggest excite-ment has returned with Toyota models now being available with a host of exciting model-specific benefi ts.”

These include insurance for a year (Oman only), a ser-vice package for up to three years/30,000km service (which-ever is earlier; covering three services at 10,000km. Service intervals for petrol models based on normal operating conditions and six services at 5,000km. Ser-vice interval for diesel models),

fi rst year of registration and 1,000 litres of fuel.

In lieu of the above, customers can choose to avail of a cash gift up to OMR1,000.

And that’s not all. Every Toyota customer gets a gift voucher and a chance to take part in an amaz-ing raffl e which has nine units of 16YM Camry GL Executive as a part of the campaign, to be won.

This exciting campaign will run until August 5. Benefi ts are applicable for all purchases ex-cept those made by government organisations and ministries.

Weekly raffl e draws started from June 14 and will be held until August 9, on all Sundays, except July 19. Customers will be eligible for raffl e only upon taking delivery of the vehicle during the campaign period after complet-ing necessary formalities and not against booking.

In Oman, Toyota’s outstanding product quality is supported by the nationwide parts and service network of Saud Bahwan Au-tomotive. No wonder then that today, Toyota is one of the most trusted and well-known brands.

R A F F L E D R A W

Bank Sohar’s Facebook contest to off er cash prize of OMR1,000MUSCAT: In celebration of the holy month of Ramadan, Bank Sohar invites everyone to par-ticipate in its Ramadan Facebook competition off ering cash prizes worth OMR1,000.

Participants are invited to an-swer questions posted on Bank Sohar’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/excel.banksohar till July 9. The questions will be posted on the bank’s Facebook page every day from Sunday to Thursday in a multiple choice for-mat based on the various attrac-tive touristic locations within the Sultanate, says a press release.

In order to compete, partici-pants need to log into their Fa-cebook accounts and visit Bank Sohar’s Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/excel.banksohar). Once the page has been ‘Fol-lowed’, they then need to look for the question of the day and simply answer it. The fi rst correct entry from each user per question will be entered into a computerised

draw to be conducted after the competition ends, where 10 lucky winners will each receive a cash prize of OMR100.

People-centric contestCommenting on the launch of the contest, Munira Abdulnabi Macki, the DGM Human Re-source and Corporate Support at Bank Sohar said, “For this Face-book competition, we wanted to develop a people-centric contest; one that allowed us to celebrate the beauty and wonder of Oman with our valued friends and fol-lowers on our Facebook page. Through this competition we can enhance our interaction with them and create a spirit of friend-ly competition whilst spread awareness on some of the most stunning and intriguing locations of our beautiful country.”

In the past year, Bank Sohar’s social media identities have wit-nessed a tremendous growth, in addition to a high level of engage-

ment from fans through ques-tions, comments and responses. The Bank has also conducted two previous highly successful competitions on its social media platforms this year – the #bank-sohar8 Instagram competition, launched in commemoration of the Bank’s eighth anniversary; and, more recently, the Customer Service Competition #here4u on Twitter. Having started the of-fi cial Twitter account and Face-book page in June 2013, followed by Instagram page thereafter, Bank Sohar has come a long way in getting closer to its customers and interacting with them.

“The Internet and social media have proved time and again to be a fantastic platform through which we can be as close as possible to our customers and fans. Because of this, we consider our digital and social media platforms as a core aspect of our strategy and we are keen to innovate in this direc-tion,” added Munira.

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SAYYID KHALID TO ATTEND GULF CUP MEETINGSayyid Khalid bin Hamad Al Busaidi, chairman of the Oman Football Association (OFA), will head a delegation to Kuwait to take part in an extraordinary meeting of the heads of the football federations who take part in the biennial Gulf Cup. >C5

Federer, Nadal race through

LONDON: Seven-time champion Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the 2008 and 2010 winner, raced into the Wimbledon second round Tuesday as the tournament swel-tered in near record-breaking heat.

Second seeded Federer, bidding to become the fi rst man to win eight Wimbledon titles and take his majors tally to 18, enjoyed a 67-minute 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 win over Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia, the world number 88 he beat at the French Open this year.

Federer will face Sam Querrey of the United States for a place in the last 32. “I was happy I played aggressive. I was always going to miss playing that way a little bit but also he hung around,” said the 33-year-old Swiss.

Nadal, defeated in the second, fi rst and fourth rounds in the last three years, reached the second

round with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over Thomaz Bellucci, his fi fth win in fi ve meetings against the 42nd-ranked Brazilian. Tenth-seeded Nadal, his lowest ranking for a decade, faces Germany’s Dustin Brown for a place in the last 32.

Defending women’s champion Petra Kvitova, the second seed, took just 35 minutes to reach the second round, cruising to a 6-1, 6-0 win over Kiki Bertens, the world number 108 from the Netherlands.

Kvitova, also the 2011 champi-on, dropped just one point on serve and next meets Kurumi Nara of Ja-pan for a place in the last 32.

“It’s great to be back on Cen-tre Court and unbelievable to see all the people clapping,” said the Czech, who had been laid low by illness in the week before the tour-nament. Kvitova’s only dropped point on serve came on a double

fault in the fi nal game of the match.The powerful 25-year-old left-

hander would have been relieved to have enjoyed a brief fi rst round outing as temperatures rocketed to around 30 degrees Celsius.

Wednesday is expected to see a Wimbledon record high of around 35 degrees which would require the heat index, where matches are briefl y suspended, to be consulted.

However, the rule which has been adopted by Wimbledon after lobbying from the WTA, does not apply to men even though they have to slug it out over the best of fi ve sets. The highest-ever temper-ature recorded at Wimbledon was 34C in 1976.

Nadal, who lives in sun-kissed Mallorca, said he would be happy to see the sun keep shining. “In Australia it can be much, much worse so it’s no comparison but ac-tually it’s beautiful,” said the Span-iard. When you have this weather here in Wimbledon it’s probably one of the best places in the world.”

French 13th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was probably wishing for a few clouds after he spent more than four hours to see off Luxem-burg’s Gilles Muller 7-6 (10/8), 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

Joining Kvitova in the second round was 10th seeded German Angelique Kerber who handed compatriot Carina Witthoeft a 6-0, 6-0 drubbing. Kerber, a semi-

fi nalist in 2012 and who won the Birmingham tournament on grass in the run-up to Wimbledon, took just 45 minutes to clinch victory, fi ring 21 winners past the world number 53. It was the third so-called “double bagel” result of the women’s fi rst round.

Andy Murray defi ed sweltering temperatures to kick off his bid for a second Wimbledon title with a comfortable 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 victory over Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin. The 28-year-old Scot has been in sublime form over the last few months, winning his fi rst ever clay-court titles in Madrid and Munich, then following a run to the French Open semi-fi nals by claiming a record-equalling fourth crown at Queen’s Club.

That success at the Wimble-don warm-up event prompted the world number three to claim he was playing even better than dur-ing his historic 2013 triumph at the grass-court Grand Slam.

“It was a tough match. I made it hard for myself at the end of the second set,” Murray said. “There’s still work to be done for me, but I felt my opponent played very well. He made it very uncomfortable for me, so credit to him. I was glad to get it done in three sets because it was very hot out there.”

Bouchard, Halep oustedEugenie Bouchard, who reached

the Wimbledon fi nal last year, was dumped out in the fi rst round on Tuesday by China’s Duan Ying-Ying, the world number 117.

The 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 defeat against the qualifi er was 12th seeded Bouchard’s 12th loss in her last 14 matches and will see her drop out of the world top 20.

The 21-year-old Canadian was one of the show-stealers at Wim-bledon in 2014 where she delight-ed fans and media with her fond-ness for pop star Justin Bieber and TV show The Big Bang Theory.

But she has been in a slump since mid-March, falling in the fi rst round of the French Open and picking up a tournament-ending abdominal injury in the East-bourne grass-court event.

On Tuesday, she committed 10 double faults and 23 unforced er-rors against Duan, who had never previously beaten a player inside the world top 75. Third-seeded Romanian Simona Halep was knocked out of Wimbledon, losing in the fi rst round 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to Jana Cepelova of Slovakia. Halep reached the semifi nals 12 months ago, just a month after fi nishing runner-up at the French Open.

The 22-year-old Cepelova, ranked 106 in the world, had won only one match on the tour all year before Tuesday. She goes on to face another Romanian, Monica Niculescu, for a place in the last 32. - Agencies

Defending women’s champion Petra Kvitova,

the second seed, took just 35 minutes to reach

the second round, cruising to a 6-1, 6-0 win

over Kiki Bertens, while third seed Simona

Haleo an Eugenie Bouchard crashes out

OVER EXCITED: A combination image shows, left to right, Spain’s Rafael Nadal reacting after winning his men’s singles fi rst round match against Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci on day two of the 2015 Wimbledon

Championships at The All England Tennis Club. – AFP

GOOD BEGINNING: Roger Federer

sailed past Damir Szumhur. – AFP

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Australia’s Watson hits back at Mark Wood’s bouncer taunt

COLCHESTER: Australia’s Shane Watson shrugged off bounc-er taunts from England fast bowler Mark Wood and retaliated by issu-ing his own Ashes warning to the Durham quick on Monday.

With just over a week until the fi rst Test starts in Cardiff , Wood, in a BBC radio interview broadcast Sunday, recalled how he was in-structed to bowl bouncers at Wat-son by the all-rounder’s then Aus-tralia team-mate Michael Hussey during a net session on the 2009 tour of England.

The Durham paceman, who took nine wickets in the recent two-Test series against New Zealand after making his debut at Lord’s, said Watson had dismissively la-belled him a “net hero” and said he “would love to have a go at me”.

Wood, set to feature in England’s side at Cardiff ’s Sophia Gardens when the fi rst Test gets underway on July 8, added: “Well, he’s got his chance now. Let’s hope he remem-bers because he is going to get a few more bumpers.”

For the 34-year-old Watson it was all ancient history.

“Up until this morning I couldn’t remember it all,” Watson said. “It was quite some time ago and I’ve had quite a few net sessions since then. So it’s not something that re-ally stands out.

“I’ve seen what he (Wood) has been able to do against New Zea-land and how he bowls. If I manage to score a few runs in this next tour match with Essex, he might have the chance to have another go at me in the Tests. “It will be interesting to see how he bats because we have a couple of guys who bowl at decent pace as well who bowl fast bouncers!

“He’s obviously got a lot of con-fi dence and is sure about himself. If he’s talking about all this stuff

it means he is certainly up for the challenge. He hasn’t been involved in an Ashes series before so he will be tested like we all are.”

Watson was just as bullish about Australia’s bid to end a 14-year wait to win an Ashes series in Brit-ain, having thrashed arch-rivals England 5-0 ‘Down Under’ as re-cently as 2013/14.

“We are confi dent we can ex-pose this England team as we did in Australia,” he said.

Burning ambition“We’ve not won a series here since 2001 and it’s a burning ambition to put that record straight. It’s too long for Australians because I

guess we get used to winning the big ones.

“Seeing England raising the urn at the Oval on the last two occa-sions certainly burns very deeply in me and the other guys.”

However, Watson must earn the right to face England in Cardiff . He proved his form with the bat in the warm-up 255-run win over Kent in Canterbury but did not bowl be-cause of soreness and so allowed Mitchell Marsh to steal a march on him in the battle for the posi-tion within the Test side of seam-bowling all-rounder.

Watson has moved down the or-der since opening the batting regu-larly on the last Ashes tour of Eng-

land, which saw Australia beaten 3-0 in 2013. Although he made his debut in 2005, the fact that Watson has appeared in 58 Tests is a testa-ment to the way in which injuries have repeatedly blighted his career.

Watson, though, does expect to bowl in Australia’s fi nal warm-up match before the fi rst Test, a four-day fi xture against Essex in Chelmsford starting on Wednesday.

“I aim to bowl a good 12 or 15-over stint against Essex,” he said. “Having a rest from bowling in the fi rst game allowed my body to regenerate but I know how impor-tant my bowling is to give myself the best chance of being picked for Cardiff .” - AFP

With just over a

week until the fi rst

Test starts in Cardiff ,

Wood, in a BBC radio

interview broadcast

Sunday, recalled how

he was instructed

to bowl bouncers

at Watson by the

all-rounder’s then

Australia team-mate

Michael Hussey

during a net session

on the 2009

tour of England

GEARING UP FOR ASHES: Australia’s Shane Watson doing some stretching exercise during practice session at Essex. – Reuters

Tendulkar wishes Ajinkya best for Zimbabwe sojourn

NEW DELHI: Legendary In-dian batsman Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday extended his greet-ings to new captain Ajinkya Ra-hane, hoping the youngster will do a good job during the upcom-ing Zimbabwe tour.

Rahane, 27, is fi rst cricketer from Mumbai in 15 years to be handed the reins of the team since Tendulkar led the team in 2000.

The selectors announced a second-string team for the tour, resting most of the senior play-ers such as Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli.

“I feel very happy for Ajinkya. He is a sincere and hard work-ing cricketer. I have always been impressed with his com-mitment and dedication. I am sure he will give his best and give us a reason to be proud of him. I wish him all the best,” Tendulkar said.

Rahane’s elevation has come days after he was dropped from the playing XI for the last two One-dayers in the recent Bangaldesh ODI series.

Regular skipper Dhoni had justifi ed Rahane’s exclusion, saying he struggles to rotate strike on slow pitches.

India are scheduled to play three ODIs in Harare (July 10, 12 and 14) followed by a couple of Twenty20 Internationals (July 17 and 19). - PTI

C R I C K E T

Uncertainty irks BangladeshDHAKA: Bangladesh has criti-cised the current scheduling system in international cricket as a new tri-series in Zimbabwe threatens their qualifi cation for the 2017 Champions Trophy.

Bangladesh stunned India 2-1 last week and were celebrating their qualifi cation for the eight-team tournament in England af-ter their maiden ODI series victo-ry over their mighty neighbours.

The victory meant Bangladesh, who blanked Pakistan 3-0 in the previous home series, rose to sev-enth place in the latest ODI rank-ings with 93 points, ahead of West Indies (88) and Pakistan (87).

Top seven sides and hosts Eng-land will compete in the tour-nament with a Sept. 30 cut-off date to determine the rankings of the teams.

Bangladesh’s celebrations, however, proved a bit premature when West Indies, previously not scheduled to play ODIs be-fore the cut-off date, on Saturday announced the Zimbabwe tri-series, also involving Pakistan, in August-September.

Pakistan also get a chance to

improve their ODI rankings in the fi ve-match series against hosts Sri Lanka from July 11.

“The whole system has gone wrong ever since the ICC stopped following the FTP and let the boards deal bilaterally,” Dhaka Tribune quoted Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director Jalal Yunus as saying.

“This has created loopholes I believe. I don’t support this. This is not healthy competition,”

added Jalal. Bangladesh will now have to win at least one of the three ODIs in the home series against South Africa next month to secure their Champions Tro-phy place and Jalal was confi dent the Tigers can do it.

“I believe we still have the chance to keep our place intact in the Champions Trophy. We just need to perform in the ODI series against South Africa,” he added. - Reuters

C H A M P I O N S T R O P H Y

Bangladesh’s celebrations, however, proved a

bit premature when West Indies, previously not

scheduled to play ODIs before the cut-off date, on

Saturday announced the Zimbabwe tri-series, also

involving Pakistan, in August-September. Pakistan

also get a chance to improve their ODI rankings in the

five-match series against hosts Sri Lanka from July 11

Cardiff to host 2017 Champions League fi nal

NYON: The Millennium Stadi-um in Cardiff will host the 2017 Champions League fi nal, Uefa general secretary Gianni Infan-tino said on Tuesday.

The Friends Arena in Stock-holm will be the venue for the 2017 Europa League fi nal.

It will be the fi rst fi nal of Ue-fa’s fl agship competition to be held in Wales, but the 12th time it will be staged in the British Isles, with seven previous fi nals at Wembley, three in Glasgow and one in Manchester.

The Millennium Stadium, which is owned by the Welsh Rugby Union, opened in 1999 and staged the English FA Cup fi nals from 2001 un-til 2006 while Wembley was being rebuilt.

It has a capacity of 74,500 and staged soccer matches during the Olympic Games in 2012.

It will be the second major Uefa showpiece staged in the Welsh capital after the Car-diff City Stadium provided the venue for the European Super-cup match between Real Ma-drid and Sevilla at the start of last season.

The Friends Arena in Stock-holm opened in 2012 and the Europa League fi nal will be the fi rst Uefa club competition fi nal to be staged in Sweden, which hosted the 1992 European Championship.

Uefa also announced that the 2017 Supercup match, the European club season curtain-raiser between the winners of the Champions League and Europa League will be staged in Skopje in Macedonia. — Reuters

F O O T B A L L

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Australia & New Zealand to play first day-night tie in Test history

SYDNEY: Australia and New Zea-land will play the fi rst day-night match in Test cricket’s 138-year history, cricket chiefs announced Tuesday, in a bid to drive up dwin-dling spectator numbers for the fi ve-day game.

Despite misgivings among play-ers, offi cials from both countries decided to proceed this year with the experimental format — played under lights and with a pink ball — which they hope will drive up attendance and television ratings.

“To be brutally honest, if you look at Test cricket around the world, it is challenged,” Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive James Sutherland said.

“We believe this is an opportu-nity that can breathe new life into Test cricket.”

He said the Test day-nighter, to be staged at the Adelaide Oval from November 27-December 1, would allow fans to watch or at-tend the game after work.

CA, backed by broadcaster Channel Nine, has promoted the idea for years and trialled day-night fi rst-class cricket during the past two Sheffi eld Shield seasons.

The historic fi rst international in Adelaide will be the third and fi nal Test in a series between the trans-Tasman rivals. Australia coach Darren Lehmann said it was

a way to boost the popularity of Test cricket, which is seen by pur-ists as the pinnacle of the game but has been overshadowed by limit-ed-overs formats in recent years.

“Only time will tell if it’s right or wrong,” he said. “At the end of the day we’ve got to give it a crack and I think it’s important for the game.” New Zealand Cricket chief David

White said the day-night format would not take over from regular Test cricket, describing it as part of the game’s evolution.

“Since the fi rst Test in 1877, there have been numerous chang-es to the laws and rules in an eff ort to ensure the game remains rele-vant — and this is another,” he said.

The pink match ball has been developed by manufacturer Kook-aburra to be more visible to players under lights than the traditional red one.

‘Uncharted territory’Despite administrators’ enthusi-asm, many players fear for batsmen trying to play the ball under lights and are concerned the game’s tra-ditions are being trampled

A survey of New Zealand’s top players last month found most senior Black Caps were sceptical about taking part in an experiment they feared could “devalue” the Test. But the pay-off for the Black Caps’ involvement is guaranteed matches against Australia for the next seven years.

“It’s uncharted territory and because of that there will be un-certainty and apprehension,” New Zealand Players’ Association chief Heath Mills said.

“However, whilst the players have reservations about playing Test cricket at night, they see the bigger picture in the new agreement.”

Lehmann said he viewed the match as a chance to participate in a piece of Test history. “It adds some-thing special to it,” he said. “I’m real-ly looking forward to seeing what it brings, seeing how both teams per-form under lights, a massive crowd, it’ll be exceptional for everyone.”

Australia will play three Tests against New Zealand in the south-ern summer — Brisbane (Nov 5-9), Perth (Nov 13-17) and the Adelaide day-nighter (Nov 27-Dec 1).

They will then host the West In-dies in another three-Test series — Hobart (Dec 10-14), Melbourne (Dec 26-30) and Sydney (Jan 3-7). - AFP

Despite misgivings

among players,

offi cials from both

countries decided

to proceed this year

with the experimental

format — played

under lights and with

a pink ball — which

they hope will drive

up attendance and

television ratings

NEW EXPERIMENT: Australia and New Zealand are all set to test out a Test match under lights with a pink ball in Adelaide.

SYDNEY: The economies of Australia and New Zealand benefi ted from A$1.1 billion ($843.59 million) in direct spending as a result of co-hosting the cricket World Cup earlier this year, according to a report released on Tuesday.

The report, prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers, said the tournament created the equivalent of 8,320 full time jobs across the two economies and attracted 145,000 unique visitors to the host countries, mostly from Asia.

“This was the biggest event

in Australia since the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and it has changed cricket in New Zea-land forever,” tournament chief executive John Harnden said in a news release. “The cricket World Cup generated two million bed nights across the two countries and around $855 million in visitor spending, which is great for the tourism industries of both countries.”

The February 14-March 29 tournament attracted more than a million spectators to the 49 matches played in 14 cities, of which 20, not all involving

the host nations, were sell-outs.The fi nal, in which Australia

beat New Zealand, attracted a crowd of 93,013 to the Mel-bourne Cricket Ground, while a dedicated television audience of over 1.56 billion watched the tournament around the world.

The report pointed out the benefits to the host nations of the funding model, under which the International Cricket Council (ICC) and its sponsorship partners “contribute significant foreign in-vestment” towards the delivery of the event. “This is a point of dif-ference when compared to other

international sporting events, such as the Olympic Games, rugby World Cup and the Asian Cup, where host nations must self-fund a signifi cant portion of their events,” it read.

“This allowed Australia and New Zealand to benefi t from capital infl ows and lowered the level of upfront investment that would otherwise be required.”

Australian Sports Minister Sussan Ley said the tournament had been an “outstanding success across all measures”. England and Wales will host the next 50-overs World Cup in 2019. - Reuters

Australia and New Zealand reap $843m World Cup dividend

Johnson relishing Ashes confrontation with StokesLONDON: Mitchell Johnson is relishing the prospect of a few heated exchanges with England fi rebrand Ben Stokes, but he hopes the home supporters will keep it clean off the pitch.

The Australian fast bowler is chomping at the bit to get stuck into the old cricketing enemy with the opening Ashes Test in Cardiff next week.

Johnson, 33, insists it could be his last Test battles with England and that retaining the urn would mean the world to him.

All-rounder Stokes is one Eng-land player who he expects will prove a tough opponent during the fi ve-Test campaign starting on July 8. Stokes has built a reputa-tion for having a short fuse and a volatile temper.

A recent clash with West Indi-an Marlon Samuels, who rebuked and ribbed his young English rival in the Caribbean, proved Stokes is very much up for an argument.

“Stokes is just playing the game and he’s fi ery. We like that. We like someone who has got a bit of guts and determination,” he said on Monday. “We spoke about him throughout the last series. He was the only guy who really fought from the England team.

“He also stirred up a few of the

West Indians out there recently.“We weren’t sure why he wasn’t

picked in the World Cup squad. It’s always nice to play against real competitors.

“Virat Kohli is the same. He’s very competitive on the fi eld and they are nice guys off it. People want to see a bit of fi re in Test match cricket.” Johnson is brac-ing himself for plenty of hostility from the English crowds.

Bad situationOthers such a Ricky Ponting and Jason Gillespie have been singled out in the past, and Johnson says: “Do I like being cast as the pan-tomime villain? Who likes being sledged every day!

“It’s been part of the game and they always seem to target par-ticular players. It’s been the his-tory of the Ashes and cricket in general. I’ve been targeted all over the world.

“The England fans didn’t give up in the last series back home. I remember we won in Perth and even Sydney where they were say-ing things.

“It was a bad situation for them and they were just trying to enjoy themselves. They pay their money and they want to enjoy it.

“All I notice is there is a bit more

appreciation when you do do well. For once I’m not copping it when I’m just walking down the street, which is always nice.

“I remember in 2010 in Austral-ia I was walking down the street with my wife and copping abuse from about ten English blokes. In my own country! That was disap-

pointing because I was with my wife and it was disrespectful.

“It was pretty full on and hurt at the time but I’ve been able to grow from that and those things don’t aff ect me now. It’s just words and I know where I am as a person. If it was a little bit of banter I would have laughed but it went too far and it was crossing the line.”

With Ryan Harris fi t and back swinging the ball, Johnson knows he is fi ghting for his place.

He bowled fast and took wick-ets against Kent in the warm-up win but now has to see if he will get the nod. He admits: “There are a couple of places available and there is healthy competition go-ing on. If ever there was a cloud or question mark over me I just wanted to show I am bowling well and up for it.

“I’ve given myself every oppor-tunity to play in the opening Test. If I’m not picked I’ll be disap-pointed but I will make sure I will be ready for the next match and then the next. “I’m determined to be involved because this is proba-bly my last Ashes series. “It would mean a lot to perform to my best and for the team to do the same and win the Ashes here. Winning the World Cup was one major goal and now this is another.” - AFP

C R I C K E T

READY FOR THE BATTLE:

Mitchell Johnson.

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Consistent Contador continues to build legacy despite the ban

PARIS: But for a two-year dop-ing ban for taking clenbuterol, Al-berto Contador would surely have already cemented his name in the annals of cycling’s greats.

Had it not been for that ban, which was back-dated to cover 18 months during which he contin-ued to race as various appeals and counter-appeals were heard, Con-tador would already be a three-time winner of all three of cycling’s Grand Tours.

Yet he was stripped of his 2010 Tour de France victory and his 2011 Giro d’Italia success.

With or without those wins he has only once fi nished outside the top fi ve in Grand Tours that he fi nished.

In fact, his current statistics say that of the 10 Grand Tours he started, he won seven of them, was fourth at the 2013 Tour and crashed out of the 2014 edition, with a 31st place fi nish at the 2005 Grand Boucle, his fi rst ever three-week race, his only fi nish outside the top fi ve.

It means that when Contador lines up on a Grand Tour start line, he should automatically be con-sidered the favourite, as he usually wins. His status as a giant of the three-week races is unquestioned but there is a black mark over the fi rst half of his career.

Suspected of involvement, al-beit unproved, in the Operation Puerto doping scandal in 2006 and then eventually receiving a back-dated ban in 2012, Contador will struggle to ever really shed the burden of doping suspicion from his shoulders. Yet even now in an era considered far cleaner than the one into which he launched his professional career, Contador has continued to win consistently -- one can hardly argue he is not one of the best of his generation.

No suspicionsWhereas his early Grand Tour victories saw him beat riders who would later be disgraced — Levi

Leipheimer was third at the 2007 Tour and second in the Vuelta a year later, while Riccardo Ricco was second at the 2008 Giro d’Italia — Contador has still won and beaten top class opposition in recent years when doping was con-sidered far less prevalent.

There are certainly no suspi-cions over his Vuelta wins in 2012 and last year, nor his Giro suc-cess in May this year. He ramins a talented climber and he has im-

pressed these last couple of years with his sheer determination. Contador won the Vuelta last year on will alone, digging in grimly to hang onto Cris Froome’s attacks in the mountains, before using his faster fi nishing skills to snatch time in the fi nal kilometre.

He had likewise clung to Froome’s back wheel with great determination in the pre-Tour warm-up the Criterium du Dau-phine last year.

Limiting his losses to Froome in the timetrials and then distanc-ing the Kenyan-born Briton with a better uphill sprint on summit fi n-ishes seemed his tactic of choice 12 months ago.

But the task will be more com-plicated this time around as reign-ing Tour champion Vincenzo Ni-bali and Colombian climber Nairo Quintana will also pose consider-able threats. Contador’s advantage perhaps is that only Nibali can

match him for descending and tac-tical nous, while he is able to battle both Froome and Quintana when the road goes up.

He is a more complete rider than Froome or Quintana and a better climber than Nibali.

What will most likely work against him, though, is his attempt at a Giro-Tour double.

He rode a gruelling three-week race in May while his overall rivals were specifi cally preparing for the

Tour. The last time he attempted such a trick, in 2011, he could fi n-ish only fi fth at the Tour after win-ning the Giro — although he was stripped of both results.

It’s a tough ask, even for one as talented as Contador and crunch-time will come in the fi nal week of the Tour with four back-to-back mountain stages. Yet if anyone could do it, the consistently com-petitive Contador must surely be that man. - AFP

Had it not been for

that ban, which was

back-dated to cover

18 months during

which he continued

to race as various

appeals and counter-

appeals were heard,

Contador would

already be a three-

time winner of all

three of cycling’s

Grand Tours

IN FOCUS: Alberto Contador’s status as a giant of the three-week races is unquestioned but there is a black mark over the fi rst half of his career. – File photo

PARIS: Chris Froome strug-gled for form, then crashed but the Briton looks ready just in time to compete for a second Tour de France title although micro managers Team Sky will struggle to control the race like they usually do.

Froome, who claimed the 2013 Tour having won almost every race he entered in the build-up to the three-week extravaganza, took a rockier road this year be-fore taking overall victory in the Criterium du Dauphine, the pres-tigious warm-up for the Tour.

A couple of trademark late at-tacks in the fi nal climbs helped him beat American Tejay van Garderen while defending Tour champion Vincenzo Nibali was still struggling for fi tness.

Before he got there, Froome was forced to skip the Tirreno-Adriatico week-long race in March because of illness and looked lost in the Tour of Cata-lunya later that month before crashing in the Fleche Wallonne

classic in April. “I defi nitely feel as if I had a slower build up to the Tour this year, I don’t neces-sarily think it’s a bad thing. I’m exactly where I need to be,” said Froome, who achieved the Dau-phine/Tour double in 2013.

He picked himself up in the Tour de Romandie, fi nishing third overall, and looked closer to his awe-inspiring best onthe Dauphine.

“There are still one or two lit-tle things to touch on but things are looking good,” he said.

To help Froome win the Dauphine, Team Sky rode hard to contain attacks and provide their leader with the perfect launching pad for his late ac-celerations.

It may be not possible on the Tour, though, where a unique set of aggressive riders will as-semble at the start in Utrecht.

He will face old rival Alberto Contador, who will use every opportunity to wear down the Sky machine, but also Colom-

bian Nairo Quintana, France’s Thibaut Pinot and Nibali -- all off ensive riders who have never been at their best all together at the start of the Tour, which should be the case this year.

Froome, who abandoned the race when he crashed in the fi fth stage last year, was exposed on the Dauphine once when Nibali’s attacking fl air meant he and Van Garderen missed the winning move in a rain-hit mountain stage.

When Sky are taken out of their comfort zone -- which does not happen very often -- they look more vulnerable and their rivals’ attitude should be key to Froome’s chances.

One thing he cannnot rely on, however, is a private motorhome, which team mate Richie Porte benefi ted from on the Giro d’Italia, to avoid dodgy hotels as the International Cy-cling Union (UCI) has banned its use “to reaffi rm absolute fair-ness between all riders.” - Reuters

Froome buckled up for rocky Tour de France challenge

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Sayyid Khalid to attend 23rd Gulf Cup meeting

MUSCAT: Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad Al Busaidi, chairman of the Oman Football Association (OFA), will head a delegation to Kuwait to take part in an extraor-dinary meeting of the heads of the football federations who take part in the biennial Gulf Cup.

Sayyid Khalid will be accompa-nied by OFA general secretary Sul-tan bin Amin Al Zadjali.

The meeting will centre upon all details of organising the Gulf Cup tournament, which Kuwait will host. It was in February this year Kuwait was given the right to host the 2016 edition, though earlier Iraq was supposed to host.

It is worth mentioning that the head of Kuwait Football Associa-tion Sheikh Talal Al Fahad Al Sa-bah had announced that the time of the Kuwaiti Union Administra-

tion has received the approval of His Highness the Emir of Kuwait to host the Gulf Cup.

Earlier, the Football Associa-tions’ General Secretaries decided in their meeting in Kuwait on May 21 to hold the 23rd version of Gulf Cup Tournament in Kuwait pro-vided that maintenance of stadi-ums will be done as per the time

table. The tournament will be held from December 25 to January 7, 2016 at Jaber International Sta-dium and Ali Sabah Al Salem Sta-dium, Al Nasr Sports Club.

The draw will be held on Sep-tember 25 in Kuwait.

The Gulf Cup is held every two years rotating the host city every edition. The last edition was held

in Saudi Arabia last year and was won by the Qatar.

Noteworthy, the fi rst Gulf Cup tournament took place in 1970, and was won by the Kuwaiti team.

Kuwait is the record ten-time champions and has previously held the event three times, since the tournament’s inception, in 1974,1990 and 2003.

The region’s

prestigious

tournament — 23rd

Gulf Cup — will be

held from December

25, 2015 to January

7, 2016, while the

draw is scheduled

on September 25

Oman Football

Association

chairman

Sayyid

Khalid Al

Busaidi will be

accompanied

by OFA general

secretary

Sultan bin Amin

Al Zadjali for

the meeting

in Kuwait, the

hosts of the

next Gulf Cup

United Enterprises, Asad XI in quarters MUSCAT: United Enterprises and Asad XI entered the quar-terfi nals of the Pakistan Social Club organised Omantel Rama-dan Cricket Tournament 2015 at the Pakistan School ground on Monday night.

In the fi rst match of the night, United Enterprises thrashed Ab-hiya XI by 56 runs. Batting fi rst United Enterprises made the highest score of the tournament so far by amassing 137 runs in 8 overs and losing only four wick-ets. Waseem top scored with 67 of 19 balls, who was later declared the man of the match.

In reply Abhiya could manage only 82 for 5. Rana contributed with 45 runs, while Luck and Atif claimed two wickets each.

In the other match, Asad XI

beat Master XI by 60 runs. Bat-ting fi rst Asad XI made 123 for 5 in 8 overs. Contributors to the score were, Nadeem (31), Shami 24 and Ishtiaq 21 runs.

In reply, Master XI could man-age only 63 for 9. Man of the match Sherbaz claimed four wickets, while Rauf too pocketed three wickets.

Brief scores: United Enter-prises 137 for 4 in 8 overss (Wa-seem 67, Tahir 18) beat Abhiya XI 82 for 5 in 8 overs (Rana 45, Luck 2/26 , Atif 2/34) by 56 runs. Man of the match: Waseem

Asad XI 123 for 5 in 8 overs (Nadeem 31, Shami 24, Ishtiaq 21) beat Master XI 63 for 9 in 8 overs (Sherbaz 4 for 7, Rauf 3 for 12) by 60 runs. Man of the match: Sherbaz.

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

Hiddink quits Dutch coaching post

THE HAGUE: Under-pressure Netherlands coach Guus Hid-dink, whose side have struggled in qualifying for Euro 2016, has stepped down, the Dutch football federation (KNVB) an-nounced on Monday.

“Guus Hiddink and the KNVB decided on Monday to end the manager’s contract from July 1,” a federation statement con-fi rmed. “I regret this decision,” said KNVB director of football Bert van Oostveen.

“Unfortunately the rewards of Guus’s work weren’t imme-diately visible to everyone, we thank Guus for his commit-ment,” he added.

Hiddink, whose contract was due to run until after Euro 2016, described it as “an honour” to occupy the Dutch hotseat for a second time, the former PSV Eindhoven player and boss add-ing: “I fi nd it a pity that it ended like this” and sending best wish-es to his successor.” — AFP

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Chile need best of Alexis Sanchez in Copa America final, says coach

SANTIAGO: Chile need Alexis Sanchez to recover his best form as they try to end an almost century-long wait for a fi rst Copa America, according to coach Jorge Sampaoli.

Sampaoli’s team reached the fi nal with a 2-1 win over Peru on Monday and will meet the winners of Tuesday’s semifi nal between fa-vourites Argentina and Paraguay at the national stadium on Saturday.

“When Alexis is not in the full-ness (of form) that he has us used to, Chile feel it,” Sampaoli said.

“If he is feeling good, he’s the most decisive player in this team. We must recover him well because he’s vital to us,” added the Argentine.

Sanchez has shown fl ashes of his class in the tournament but contributed only one of Chile’s 13 goals in fi ve matches. Sampaoli suggested the pressure from home fans to reach the fi nal as hosts and win the 99-year-old tournament for the fi rst time aff ected the team.

Chile were not at their best try-ing to break down a Peru side re-duced to 10 men for 70 minutes

after a red card for defender Car-los Zambrano, he said. “This was the match in which we most lost our shape Defensively the team struggled a lot to get their shape to recover the ball, we usually get it back much quicker than today (Monday),” Sampaoli said.

“Our anxiety played against us,” Sampaoli told reporters.

Defender Mauricio Isla, scorer of the goal that gave Chile a 1-0 win over 2011 champions Uru-guay in their quarterfi nal, echoed that sentiment.

“It wasn’t our best match, we had been showing good touch,

great fi nishing and today we got tired,” he said. “Peru complicated us quite a bit, even with a man less. I think the pressure got to us.”

The Peruvians were not given much of a chance before the tour-nament but Sampaoli believes they can carry their much im-proved form into the 2018 World Cup qualifi ers starting in October.

“(Peru) grew throughout the tournament and their big names became stronger and are in great form,” said Sampaoli of the work of their coach Ricardo Gareca in the short time he has been in charge.

“From midfi eld towards the

front they have nothing to envy any national team in the Americas.”

Peru had a poor 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign and are still looking to reach the fi nals for the fi rst time since 1982.

Dream come trueLeading Chile to the Copa America fi nal was a dream come true for coach Jorge Sampaoli, who felt relief after the hosts overcame nerves to secure victory over 10-man Peru on Monday. “It was our obligation to get Chile to the fi nal, we knew it from the fi rst moment,” Sampaoli told reporters.

“It’s an incredible dream and even more so as hosts.”

Sampaoli said nerves had made the win more diffi cult than needed, even with Chile one man up for most of the match.

“Confusion complicated us in a game that we should have secured much earlier,” he added.

“Of all our Copa games this was the most diffi cult because we didn’t know how to defi ne.”

Peru coach Ricardo Gareca praised the hosts, saying Chile were “a fi rm candidate (to win the Copa), it was from the beginning and continues to be.” - Reuters

Sampaoli’s team

reached the fi nal

with a 2-1 win over

Peru on Monday

and will meet the

winners of Tuesday’s

semifi nal between

favourites Argentina

and Paraguay at the

national stadium

on Saturday

CRUCIAL MAN: Alexis Sanchez has shown fl ashes of his class but contributed only one of Chile’s 13 goals in fi ve matches. – AFP

SANTIAGO: Chile goal hero Eduardo Vargas re-vealed he had been prac-ticing long-range shots after scoring a 30-yard screamer to fi re ‘La Roja’ into the Copa America fi nal here on Monday.

Vargas uncorked a contender for goal of the tournament in the 64th minute, surging forward from midfi eld and letting fl y to send an unstoppa-ble shot ripping past Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.

“I’ve been practicing shooting from long range in training and doing quite well with them, so when I found myself in that posi-tion I had the confi dence to shoot,” Vargas, who also scored Chile’s controver-sial opening goal.

Vargas’s opener was lucky to stand; replays showed the striker had scored after being in an off side position when Alexis Sanchez played a teasing cross into the Peruvian box.- AFP

Practice makes perfect for Chile hero Vargas

ECSTATIC: Eduardo Var-

gas reacts after Chile’s

victory over Peru. – Reuters

Peru pushed us all the way, says Chile’s defender IslaSANTIAGO: Peru gave Chile a real run for their money in Mon-day’s Copa America semifi nal de-spite playing most of the match with 10 men, Chile defender Mau-ricio Isla acknowledged.

“We said it in the changing room afterwards. It wasn’t the best match we’ve ever played. Peru made things really diffi cult for us, even with one man fewer,” Isla said. “I think the pressure got to us. We were a little bit tired and Peru made things quite diffi cult.”

Peru had Carlos Zambrano sent off in the 20th minute for a chal-lenge on Charles Aranguiz and Chile took a 1-0 lead just before the break.

But the Peruvians never gave up and equalised through a Gary Medel own goal before Chilean striker Eduardo Vargas scored his second of the night to seal his side’s 2-1 victory.

Chile, in the fi nal for the fi rst time in 28 years, will face the winner of Tuesday’s second semi-fi nal between Argentina or Paraguay. “Everyone wants a fi -nal against Argentina but look out for Paraguay, they’re a very strong team,” Isla said.

Peru’s veteran striker Claudio Pizarro lamented Zambrano’s dis-missal but praised his team mates for their attitude.

“With 11 against 11 it might have been a diff erent story but that’s the way it is,” he said. “We had to play with 10 men from the start and despite that I think the team played really well, fi ghting until the end.”

Peru will now face the losers of Tuesday’s match for third place.

“We have to get our concentra-tion back and recover because we still have an important game left,” Pizarro said. - Reuters

C O P A A M E R I C A

MY BALL: Chile’s Mauricio Isla, left, and Peru’s Andre Carrillo

jump to head the ball during their Copa America 2015 semifi nal

soccer match at the National Stadium in Santiago. – Reuters

I think the pressure got to

us. We were a little bit tired

and Peru made things quite

difficult. Everyone wants a

final against Argentina but

look out for Paraguay

Mauricio IslaChile

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

LeisureSECTIONC L I F E STY L E W E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

Kazakhstan’s capital city is a Central Asian boomtown that has grown from a post-Soviet city of fewer than 300,000 people to a futuristic, ambitious city

of over 835,000 that aims to make its mark in the world.By Sarah MacDonald

ASPIRING ASTANA

Astana is a capital city brimming with op-timism and energy, expanding and eager to catch the world’s attention. The capi-tal of Kazakhstan, the largest Central Asian country and a former Soviet

Republic, Astana is a young city that is home to a fascinating array of international and modern architectural styles and an equally fascinating, multi-cultural population.

Astana hasn’t always been the capital of Kazakh-stan; prior to 1997 the capital was Almaty, a city in the southeast, but in 1994, just three years after the coun-try gained independence from the Soviet Union, the government decided to relocate the capital. The city of

Akmola, set in a picturesque location in the northern part of the country with a river running through it, sur-rounded by farmland and big open skies, was chosen. On December 10, 1997 Akmola became the capital; six months later, in June 1998, it was renamed Astana, the Kazakh word meaning “The Capital.”

In the years since, Astana has grown and fl ourished as a modern, planned capital, refl ecting the optimistic vision of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has been in power since 1989. The population has more than tripled from around 270,000 in Akmola in 1996 to over 835,000 now. The accelerated pace of develop-ment has resulted in numerous eye-catching buildings and monuments. >>

LIFESTYLEC8 W E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

ASTANA is peppered with many landmark buildings and vast green spaces. During the summer months, lush grass, trees, and fl owers line almost every street. The build-ings feature an eclectic mix of architectural styles, from fortress-like Russian architec-ture, to cutting edge glass creations, along with buildings and monuments that emu-late international landmarks, such as the Arc de Triomphe, glass pyramid, and the Presidential Palace, which appears to be a more opulent version of the White House in Washington, DC.

Across the river from the Presidential Palace sits the 62 metre high glass pyramid, home to the Palace of Peace and Reconcili-ation. It was built on the orders of President Nursultan Nazarbayev for the tri-annual Congress of the Leaders of World and Tra-ditional Religions, the fi rst of which was held in 2003, and the most recent this June. It has prayer rooms for all the world’s major religions, a cultural museum, a library and a research centre.

Across the street there are a few other impressive structures, including the beau-tiful Khazret Sultan Mosque; the 91 metre high Kazakh Eli Monument, built to cel-ebrate the capital’s 10th anniversary; the Independence Palace, which is a modern convention centre; and the Kazakhstan History Museum, where the country’s rich history of nomadic culture on the Silk Road is on display. Across the river, Astana’s downtown, reminiscent of cities like Dubai and Hong Kong, is home to many futuristic build-ings. An unusual landmark, Khan Shatyr, is a shopping mall that doubles as the world’s largest tent, and there are inter-national offi ces, glass towers that curve and shine in the sunlight, standing tall and visible from afar, that suggest Astana is a boomtown where the resource rich Kazakh economy is attracting many foreign investors along with local busi-nessmen who see the city as a place full of opportunity. The centrepiece, the modern capital is Baiterek Tower, a 97 metre high observation tower, styled to look vaguely like a white tree trunk hold-ing a round, golden globe, alluding to a Kazakh myth about a Samruk bird which laid a golden egg.

Astana is home to several important cul-tural venues, including the elegant Greco-Ro-man styled opera house, which is the biggest

in the region, and the Kazakhstan Central Concert Hall, another impressive example of the city’s love of modern designs. The con-cert hall was designed to take the shape of a dombra, a type of Kazakh lute. There are also several universities, a 30,000-seat sports sta-dium, and cycling and skating centres.

Though now many of the buildings in the older neighbourhoods of Astana are rundown, these parts of the city are worth exploring as the Soviet-style rectangular, effi cient, and industrial buildings show just how far the rest of the city has come. Here you will also fi nd a stunning gold-domed, whitewashed Assumption Cathe-dral, an orthodox cathedral that was built in 2010, along with the city’s only syna-gogue, Beit Rachel, built in 2004.

From an architectural perspective, Astana is truly fascinating. It’s an unex-pected blend of styles that somehow come together to create a city that both pays tribute to its origins on the vast, open Ka-zakh Steppes, while keeping a focused on the future.

The wheels of progress are apparent in the plethora of cranes hovering over construction sites, as Astana prepares to

play host to Expo 2017, building the expo venues and new facilities and hotels to accommodate visitors and participants.

As interesting and eclectic as the sky-line, Astana’s residents are another re-fl ection of the diversity and changing landscape of the country. According to the 2014 census, approximately 65% of the inhabitants are ethnic Kazakhs, 24% are Russians, 3% are Ukrainian, 2% are Tartars, 2% are Germans and other eth-nic groups, including Poles, Belarusians, Uzbeks and Koreans. This mosaic of peo-ple off ers some of the greatest possible people-watching, and over the years, as people are intermarried, there are ever

more interesting faces. In Astana, it is a pleasure to sit in a cafe

or wander through one of the city’s shop-ping centres and simply watching the menagerie of residents going about their lives. If you are able to attend a cultural event in the city, you’ll have the oppor-tunity to see the local people dressed in their respective traditional costumes.

Every year more and more of the coun-try’s citizens migrate to Astana in search of jobs and business opportunities, and there are increasingly more migrants from neighbouring countries, along with inves-tors from overseas, further adding to the city’s cultural meiliu. A visit to the capital of

Kazakhstan off ers a wonderful opportunity to experience both ancient and modern culture, in a part of the world a bit off the beaten tourist track. As the city contin-ues to grow and evolve, it is an especially exciting time to explore.

As President Nursultan Nazarbayev has said, “Today Astana is the centre of a modern history of Kazakhstan. On the example of Astana it is possible to judge development of all our state. Through Astana we have opened new Kazakhstan to the global world. But, fi rst of all, in a new fashion we have opened this city for ourselves, for the Fatherland.” [email protected]

Where to StayAstana Marriott Hotel from $200 US per night.Close to the opera house and shopping centresmarriott.com

Rixos President Hotel Astanafrom $336 US per night.Luxury 5-star hotel, centrally locatedpresidentastana.rixos.com

Where to EatFarhiAff oradable Kazakh food with excellent service.facebook.com/farhi.astana

SattiAuthentic, high-end Kazakh restaurant that serves traditional dishes. In the evenings Satti has a traditional dance show. arka.kz

What to Order A must-try dish is Beshbarmak (“fi ve fi ngers”), boiled mutton or horse meat that is served with potatoes, noodles, onions, and a broth. Traditionally it is eaten by hand, with fi ve fi ngers, but in restaurants cutlery is provided.

What to See:Baiterek TowerAddress: Vodno-Zelyony Blvd, 1 | Turkestana and Dostyk Streets Corner, Astana, KazakhstanPhone: +7 (7172) 241688

National Museum of KazakhstanAddress: Astana 010000, KazakhstanPhone: +7 (7172) 919035

Khan Shatyr MallAddress: 37 Turan Ave, Astana, KazakhstanPhone: +7 (7172) 734768

Palace of Peace and ReconciliationAddress: Manasa Av., 57, Astana, KazakhstanPhone: +7 (7172) 744744

State Theatre of Opera and Ballet (Astana Opera House)Address: Dinmukhamed Qonayev St, Astana,KazakhstanPhone: +7 (7172) 709594

Getting thereThe easiest routes from Muscat are through Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airways, or through Istanbul on Turkish Airlines or Air Astana.

Getting aroundThere is a bus system, but many people in Astana drive. There are also taxis but they can be slow. Astana has a hop-on-hop-off tour bus that has 30 stops around the city and tickets are valid for 24 hours, which is a great way to get oriented.

SouvenirsKazakhstan is known for its silver jewellery, often made with local semi-precious stones, as well as beautiful silk scarves and leather products.

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LIFESTYLEC9W E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

Why do you love it?As a little girl I always loved hors-es. That childhood fascination or love grew as I began to spend more time with them. It’s the connec-tion you make with the horse. You learn that each one has a character or a distinct personality. Some are like children and you start getting attached to them.

How did you get into it?It’s been 13 years since I started riding. During my morning walks on the beach I used to come across horsemen riding and taking les-sons from their coach. I was in-terested, but was a bit shy to ask them if I could join some classes. I fi nally worked up the courage to approach the coach, Anwar Al Rashid. I conveyed my interest and got a positive response from him. I was a bit scared when I fi rst went to the stables and it took some time to get over that.

How can I get into it?You just need to visit the equestri-an riding schools and stables. You can approach and speak to a coach to arrange for classes and guided rides through parks and beaches. Then you can move on to learning diff erent things, like show jumping or dressage, and challenge your-self by going for long rides on the beach to test your endurance. It’s not as easy as people might think, it is a very good workout. Try dif-ferent things to learn what aspects you like most. Then, if you want to take it a step further, you can even participate in competitions.

What’s your pro-tip?Once you start, continue riding at least twice a week. Don’t stop be-cause your muscles ache, as new riders will all experience that. Apparently horse riding is one of the very few sports that gets all your muscles working. Also if you fall, get back on the horse straight away, don’t let it scare you. The quicker you get back in the sad-dle, the quicker you will get over your fear and improve. Most im-portantly treat horses well, like a friend. If you care for them, they will take care of you on your rides.

Contact Info/resources for the hobbyMy coach’s name is Anwar Al Rashid and the stable I go to is Arabian Stables right next to Fun Zone in Qurum. You can reach Anwar at 9938 6978.

No One Writes to the ColonelBy Salim Joseph

“Nothing for the colonel”, he (the postmaster) said. The colonel felt ashamed. “I wasn’t expecting anything,” he lied. He turned to the doctor with an entirely childish look. “No one writes to me.”

This aged and impoverished colonel initially didn’t fascinate me like the ‘magical’ characters in Marquez’s other short stories or novels, like Colonel Aureliano Buendia in One Hundred Years of Solitude. But few characters have haunted me like this nameless man, ever since I read the book some 25 years back. Santiago in Hemingway’s The Old Man and

The Sea is the one other character that comes close.

We seem the colonel ‘sitting…with an attitude of confi dent and innocent expectation…’ in the very fi rst few pages, before realising that he is in fact waiting for his pension cheque for his participa-tion in La Violencia, a civil war be-tween liberals and conservatives in Colombia. “It was supposed to come today for sure,” the colonel tells postmaster, and he continu-ally waves off his wife’s anxious queries with bitter humour. “The only thing that comes for sure is death, colonel,” she replies.

The colonel and his wife, who

lost their son to political repres-sion, live in sheer poverty, and in an interesting subplot, they see their a fi ghting rooster their son left behind as their last hope. The colonel struggles between selling the cock to stave off hunger and waiting for 44 days to enter it into the cockfi ghts. Without a cent to bet on his own rooster, he can ex-pect only a 20 per cent owner’s en-titlement if the cock wins.

“But if he loses…?” his wife asks. “He’s the one rooster that can’t

lose,” the colonel replies. The conclusion of this tortured

story comes in the form of a single word, a word that somehow cap-

tures the unavoidable realities of this starving elderly couple. Only Marquez, I think, could have written this tale in such a digni-fi ed way, and ended it with such powerful simplicity.

THE HOBBYIST

Shatha Al Zadjali Horseback

Riding

Y O U R F A V O U R I T E B O O K

ARE YOU A PROLIFIC READER? Which is your favourite book? Pick one and send in your thoughts on it.

Contact [email protected]

A short novel by Nobel Prize in Literature winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Tall in the SaddleIf you fall, get back on the horse straight away, don’t let it scare you. The quicker you

get back in the saddle, the quicker you will get over your fear and improve.

By Salim Joseph

Photo: Peter Sanders

What‘s your favourite hobby? Want to tell us about it? Contact [email protected]

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Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 16 years) whose birthday you are celebrating, along with his/her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and parents’/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi or through e-mail to [email protected]

RYAN GHOSH July 1, 2006

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CITY CINEMAContact (10 am to 6pm) 24567664 | 68 . www.citycinemaoman.net facebook.com/citycinemaoman

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Love & Mercy (Biography, Drama) (12+)Cast: John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks9:30 pm Jurassic World (Action, Adventure) (3D) (PG12)Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins 9:15, 11:30 pm Guardian (Action, Thriller) (15+)Cast: Sarah Carter, Tio Pakusodewo, Nino Fernandez11:45 pm ABCD 2 (Dance, Musical) (PG)Cast: Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor, 9:45 pm

MUSCAT GRAND MALL

Jurassic World (3D) (Action/Adventure) (PG12)Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard9:15, 11:45 pmGold Class: 9:00 pm ABCD 2 (2D) (Dance/Romance) Cast: Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor, Prabhudheva, Raghav, Dharmesh9:00 pm

Guardian (2D) (Action / Thriller) (15+)Cast: Sarah Carter, Tio Pakusodewo, Nino FernandezGold Class: 11:15 pm

Just The Way You Are (2D) (Dance/Ro-mance) (12+) (Language - Tagalog)Cast: Enrique Gil, Liza Soberano, Yves Flores11:45 pm

RUWI

SCREEN 1

ABCD 2 (Dance/Musical) Cast: Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor, Prabhudeva, Raghav and Dharmesh9.45 pm (PG)

SCREEN 2

Hamari Adhori Kahani (Romance/Drama) – PGCast: Emraan Hashmi, Vidya Balan and Rajkummar Rao9.45 pm

SCREEN 3

Dil Dhadakne Do (Romance/Drama/Comedy ) – PG12Cast: Anil Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Shefali Shetty, Anushka Sharma, Priyanka Chopra 9.45 pm

SOHAR

Jurassic World (3D) (PG12) (Action |Adventure | Sci-Fi) Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins9:15, 11:45 pm Premam (2D) (M) (PG) (Comedy | Romance)Cast: Nivin Pauly, Anupama Parameshwaran, Jude Anthany Joseph9:00 pm Guardian (15+ ) (Action, Thriller)Cast: Sarah Carter, Tio Pakusodewo, Nino Fernandez 11:45 pm

ABCD 2 (2D) (TBC) Dance | MusicalCast: Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor, Prabhudheva,Raghav, Dharmesh 9:00 pm Love & Mercy (12+) DramaCast: John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks 9:15 pm

Forbidden Empire (12+) Adventure Cast: Jason Flemyng, Andrey Smolyakov, Aleksey Chadov; 11:30 pm

BURAIMI

Jurassic World - 3D (Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi) (PG12)Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins9:15 pm

Premam – 2D (Comedy, Romance) (PG)Cast: Nivin Pauly, Anupama Parameshwaran, Jude Anthany Joseph9:00 pm

Guardian 2D (Action/Thriller) (15+)Cast: Sarah Carter, Tio Pakusodewo, Nino Fernandez11:30pmForbidden Empire 2D (Action/Fantasy/Mystery) (12+)Cast: Jason Flemyng, Andrey Smolyakov, Aleksey Chadov 11:55pm

SUR

Jurassic World (3D) (Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi) (PG12) Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas9:00, 11:15pm

Guardian ( Action ) (15+) Cast: Sarah Carter, Tio Pakusodewo, Nino Fernandez9:15pm

Premam (Mal) (Comedy | Romance) (TBC) Cast: Nivin Pauly, Anupama Parameshwaran, Jude Anthany Joseph11:00 pm

SALALAH

Jurassic World (3D) (PG12) (Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi ) Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins9:15, 11:30 pm

BAHJA CINEMAJurassic World (Action / Adventure)

Cast: Chris Pratt, Judy Greer, Ty Simkins

9.30 pm

CP No: 1495 (PG12)

Guardian (Action, Thriller) (15+)

Cast: Sarah Carter, Tio Pakusodewo, Nino

Fernandez

9.30, 11:45 pm

CP No: 1613 ( 15+)

Forbidden Empire (Action/Fantasy/

Mystery) (12+)

Cast: Jason Flemyng, Andrey Smolyakov,

Aleksey Chadov

11:45pm

CP No: 1614 (12+)

STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776

Premam (Mal) (Comedy)

Cast: Nivin Pauly, Anupama Parameshwaran

and Sai Pallavi

10:00 pm at Cinema Main

Eli (Tamil) (Action/Comedy)

Cast: Vadivelu and Sadha

9:30 pm at Cinema -2

Kakka Muttai (Tamil) (Drama/Comedy)

Cast: Ramesh and Silam Barasan

9:45 pm at Cinema-3

Chandrettan Evideeya (Mal ) (Romance/

Comedy)

Cast: Dileep, Namitha and Annu Sree

9:45 pm at Cinema -4

(Programmes are subject to change)

TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

Dept Destination Arrival Operatingtime time days

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (ROUTE 36)

05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily

05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily

05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)



13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri





TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)


TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)



TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)



TO SUR (ROUTE 55)



TO YIBAL - FAHUD (ROUTE 62)

12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily


TO SALALAH -MARMUL (ROUTE 100)





TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)


DUBAI TO SALALAH (ROUTE 102)


TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)



13:00 Sohar 16:15 Thur-Fri

13:00 Ruwi 19:10 Thur-Fri



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

Gold Class: 11:15 pm 9:15, 11:30 pm 9:45 pm 11:00 pm 11:45 pm

@MGM @SHATTI @RUWI @SUR @SALALAH

GUARDIAN

(Act, Adv) (2D) (15+), Cast: Sarah Carter, Tio Pakusodewo

JURASSIC WORLD

(Act, Adv) (3D) (PG12), Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard

ABCD 2

(Hindi, Musical) Cast: Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor, Prabhudeva

PREMAM

(Mal) (Com) Cast: Nivin Pauly, Anupama Parameshwaran

OUT OF THE DARK (2D)

(Horror) Cast: Frank Cuervo, Pixie Davies, Alejandro Furth

WEATHER

410

Maximum

300

Minimum

C10 W E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

TEMPERATURE

15-60%RELATIVE HUMIDITY

Premam (2D) (PG) (Romance, Comedy) Cast: Nivin Pauly, Anupama Parameshwaran, Jude Anthany Joseph9:00 pm

ABCD 2 (2D) (PG) (Dance, Musical) Cast: Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor, Prabhudheva,Raghav, Dharmesh9:00 pm

Guardian (2D) (15+) (Action, Thriller) Cast: Sarah Carter, Tio Pakusodewo, Nino Fernandez11:55 pm

Out of the Dark (2D) (15+) (Horror) Cast: Frank Cuervo, Pixie Davies, Alejandro Furth11:45 pm

Greetings from Shaat

Location: Shaat cliff , Salalah, Oman; Lat: 17° 04’ 17” N ; Long: 54° 57’ 22” E

DUBLIN: Ireland is on course to attract more tourists this year than ever before, the country’s tourism minister said, as the European Un-ion’s fastest-growing economy reaps the benefi t of a weakening euro. Old-er industries like tourism and agri-culture have become an increasing focus for the government since the collapse of the country’s property bubble in 2008 led to a bailout by the European Union and the Interna-tional Monetary Fund. Tourist trips, mainly from Britain and the United States, were up 12 per cent in the fi rst fi ve months of the year on an annual basis, the central statistics offi ce said recently. Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, Paschal Donohoe said the numbers indicated 2015 was set to be a “record year” for the industry. The near 20 per cent fall in the euro against the US dollar since the start of 2014 was “the big factor” behind the increased visitor numbers, said Alan McQuaid, chief economist at Merrion Stockbro-kers. The industry is far more la-bour intensive than the technology and pharmaceutical industries that also drive the economy, employ-ing around 200,000 people out of a workforce of 1.9 million, he said. The country’s tourism board said that last year overseas visitors ac-counted for around 4.1 billion euros ($4.59 billion) of revenue, boosted by cuts to value-added tax on tour-ism- related services and scrapped air travel taxes. -Reuters

Irish tourism set for record year, propelled by weak euro

Rescheduled practice timings for Ramadan

With the Holy Month of Ramadan underway, the OGC (Oman Golf Com-mittee) has altered the timings of practice session for its senior, junior and ladies squads. The players are now training in the evening, instead of their customary morning and late-afternoon sessions. The OGC’s senior players are undergoing hour-long training sessions at Almouj Golf in The Wave, Muscat starting at 5pm, and the junior and ladies teams are going through the paces at Ghala Golf Club starting at 8pm on a routine basis. PGA Pro Marcus Casey is coaching the senior players. The juniors and ladies are taking evening lessons from PGA Pro Milo Breitenwischer. -OGC

BR I E FS

LIFESTYLEC11W E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

Have you been able to capture the beauty

of an off -the-beaten-path destination in Oman?

Send your pictures with a caption & geo-locator to:

[email protected]

LIFESTYLEC12 W E D N E S DAY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

03 PHONE AND BATTERY PACKI doubt I can even function without it.

Antara Boseis a writer, model, and emcee based in Muscat. She is best known for her OmanTel

advertisement (Your World Your Oman). She is also known for being part of various

animal rights and anti-cruelty campaigns which she says are close to her heart.

FIVE THINGS I CAN’T TRAVEL WITHOUT

05 KEYS, CARDS AND CASHI would be immobile without the car, have no ability to pay and

basically be quite helpless and hopeless once the gate closes be-hind me; not to mention, I’d probably have to leap over the closed

gate to retrieve these precious essentials.

04 EXTRA SET OF CLOTHESLast minute event calls are inevita-ble and schedules can be tight. I’ve mastered the art of getting ready in

the car (which is my 2nd home).

02 VICTORIA’S SECRET MISTI think I’ve gotten my friends addicted to the fragrance too.

01 Nail Polish I carry it, but strangely never managed to use it when needed.

PHO

TO

GR

APH

Y: S

HU

TT

ERST

OC

K; S

UPP

LIED

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

CONNECT H E D A I LY G U I D E

D

D4 VACANCY CARGO D7

W E D N E S D AY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

RENT D2

Email: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

Furnished room for rent at

Al Khuwair R.O 225/- for family only.

Contact: 99251975

Villa AL Ghobrah, 6 bedroom 1200/-

R.O. Contact: 99340055/97557555

New building in Wadi Kabir, 2 bed-

room fl ats. Contact: 99313274

Workshop for rent Ground fl oor 126

SQM. Workshop fi rst fl oor 108 SQM

furnished offi ce with storage

accommodation for 50 Labors.

Contact: 92410691

Flat for rent in Wadi Al Kabir 1 bed

and 3 bed near to Mars Hypermar-

ket for info Contact: 98983353 /

99700887

Six bed room twin villa Al Athaiba.

Contact: 99207840

4 bed room fl at at Al Hail South.

Contact: 99207840

Three new three bedrooms fl ats

with servants rooms Al Khuwair 39.

Contact: 99207840

Store space available opp.

Fatima Shopping Ruwi.

Contact: Mr. Sharath 98168577

1 Villa & 3 big Flats of 2/3 BHK with

hall, Kitchen & ACs Al Khoudh 6,

Close to express way, from owner.

Tel 97600322 [email protected]

1 BHK fl at in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181

1 BHK fl at in Honda Road (Ruwi).

Contact 99792181

100 sqr mtrs offi ce space in

Al Khuwair. Contact 99792181

1.2.3 BHK fl ats. Contact: 92144045

1BHK with A/C Mumtaz. R.O 250/-.

Contact 9779175

2BHK for commercial M.B.D R.O

300/-. Contact: 92144045

2BHK with A.C Darsait R.O 300/-.

Contact: 92144045

2BHK Wadi Kabeer R.O 300/-.

Contact: 92144045

2BHK without A.C Ghobrah R.O

325/- Contact: 92144045

Fabulous AC fl at at Al Khoud 3 bed-

rooms, hall and kitchen RO 270/- for

rent. Contact: 99334699

Flat for rent in Walja Ruwi, 2

bedrooms, 2 toilets and kitchen for

further enquiry. Contact: 95464607

2BHK near Oman house behind

Khimji, H.O. Contact: 95865686

Room for rent, street 18Nov. Azaiba.

Contact: 99785561

For rent in Qantab European style 4

bedrooms, 4 baths, Guest toilet, fully

equipped modern kitchen, covered

car park for two cars, approximately

150 meters from the beach. For

enquiries, please Contact: Yasser at

92606005

Spacious well maintained 2BHK at

Rex Road. Contact: 92227165

Flat for rent 1BHK Rex Road Ruwi

R.O 215/-. Contact: 92833408

Deluxe 3 BHK Penthouse with

Seaview, ideal for offi ce / residence

at Qurum near PDO.

Contact: 9772 1313 / 9507 0421

2BHK / I BHK newly renovated fl ats

at Wattaya R/O – Near the Mosque

for Families. Preferably for one

company. Contact : 96457757 -

9 am to 7 Pm.

Shop /Comn /Resi building 1 & 2

bed fl at available in Wadi Kabir

(near Lulu). Contact: 99451168

One bed rooms fl at RO 200/-

Wadi Al Kabir. Contact: 99451168

Flats shops and store for rent in

Ruwi, MBD Honda road.

Contact 97293708 / 92433127

D2 W E D N E S D AY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

Misfa land for rent 1000 SQM.

Contact: 99451168

1 BHK fl at in Al Khuwair, 2 months

only. Contact 99792181

3 BHK Flat in Azaiba.

Contact 99792181

Labour Camp for Rent in Wadi Kabir.

Contact 99792181

AL Khuwair 2 rooms, toilet & Kitch-

en sharing prefer Indian couples or

execute lades rent 200/- R.O include

Elect & water. Contact: 99546410

House in North Al Mawaleh close of

Al Bahja Center consists of 3 rooms, 1

council, sitting room, 3 bathrooms, 1

computer room, kitchen, and parking.

Contact: 93214010 / 92602050

Flats for rent near Indian School in

Wadi Kabir. Contact 99777122

2 BHK Flat in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181

4 BHK single villa in Al Khuwair.

Contact: 97616158

4 & 5 BHK villa in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181

Luxurious villa in Mumtaz area,

Ruwi with 3BR, 2 Lounges, Dining,

car park, kitchen. Contact: 99430943

Villa for rent in Al Khuwair 33,

8 bedrooms & 5 bathrooms with

parking area near Taimur Mosque.

Contact: 99366624

Deluxe 3&4 bedroom, hall, kitchen

spacious living area with split AC,

at Ghobrah. Contact: 95282986

506sqm space with mezzanine

available for rent in AL Wadi Al

Kabir, Suitable for carpentry / Auto

workshop and / or electrical shop

interested parties may.

Contact: 24703981

2 BHK Flats for rent Muttrah

near Oman house.

Contact: 97009734/92629232

New fl ats for rent in Wadi Kabir.

Contact : 92130703 / 96045478

Flat in South Al Hail, 2 bedrooms,

Majlis, 2 bathrooms, kitchen RO

250/-. Contact 93221474

Flat in Ruwi Mumtaz 2 BHK

RO 300 or 1 BHK 250 RO.

Contact 98588240

For rent in Darsait new fl ats.

Contact: 99777351

Luxury 3 BHK fl at in Al Wattaya

with split A/C & private parking.

RO.500/- Contact – 93191111

Villa of 5 BHK in Al Ansab with split

A/C. RO.650/- Contact – 93191111

2 BHK fl at in Al Ansab with

split A/C. RO.250/-

Contact – 93191111

Bath attached room

for rent Al Khuwair.

Contact 99743569

Apartment in Al Khuwair 33/1,

4 bedroom 550/-R.O. Contact :

99340055 / 97557555

3000 sq mtrs Industrial landß,

in Barka Sanaiya, with electricity

400KW, shed, staff accommodation

and offi ce. Ready to start any kind

of factory. Contact 99384255. FOR SALE

BUYING/SELLING

1BHK, 2BHK, 3BHK new fl at avail-

able at Mabela in front of Modern

English School Contact: 96239126

Deluxe 1, 2 BHK fl ats in Darsait,

AL Khuwair 1deal for offi ce &

residence. Contact 99369081

/99142314

1.5 Acre full or as plots available for

sale at Mulanthuruthy 18 Km from

Ernakulam Asphalt road frontage.

Contact : 99235701

Email: [email protected]

New two story house (1550 sq. ft)

and 7.25 cents land with comp. Wall

near Kandassan Kadavu Church,

just behind Convent high school.

Interested parties may Contact:

Prakasan 91008235 / 99445159

Turkish MDF door with frame for

sale, size 210 x 100 Price: RO 75/-.

Contact: 95899296 / 92141514

Telecom and net work accessories

shop for sale Ruwi.

Contact: 99481931

6 bedroom, 6 bath rooms, sitting &

dining villa at Qurum.

Contact: 99342733

Grade IT company with 5 clearanc-

es & oil Gas activity for sale serious

buyers. Contact: 99329216

Car polishing shop for sale or lease.

Contact: 98903073

Fully decorated & Equipped kitchen

cabinet and marble showroom for

sale at Mabela industrial area road

no – 10 only serious buyers can.

Contact: 99337670/97763560

Commercial land for sale 3000 m

in quriyat road main high way can

use as a petrol station license

available asking price 350,000

For more information please call on

99070701 with out name

Training center with license.

Contact: 91121277

Small old house for rent Al Ghobrah.

Contact 95112461

2 BHK commercial /

residential fl at at Honda Road.

Contact: 99342733/99795241

DAILY GUIDE

For rent if require fl ats for rent in

Wadi Kabir please send me mes-

sages through Whatsapp.

Contact: 99376454

Flat for rent in Mabela 7, 2BHK + 3

bathroom 220/-R.O.

Contact: 92712996

Double bedroom near

Lulu Wadi Kabeer. Contact:

92022816/99468133/99719471

FOR RENTBuilding In Rusail Industrial

comprising a store divisible area 266 sq. meters.

The building includes Studios

residence.Preferably to be leased to

one company.

Mob + 968 96177505

Flat at Darsait. Contact 99326879

Flat for rent Ruwi near Badr al

Sama, 2 bed rooms, attach toilet in

rooms big hall big kitchen.

Contact: 99345137

Flat for rent in AL Wadi AL Kabir

next to Kuwaiti Mosque 2 bedrooms,

2 bathrooms, kitchen, balcony & 1

living room 220/-R.O

Contact: 99425958

Brand new warehouse 3500SQM

(2800SQM built up area) at Rusayl

industrial area adjacent to Amiantit

Oman with ceiling fans, light fi ttings,

extract fans &provision for ACs.

Contact: 94652485

/99273774/99202278

Apartments for rent near

Indian school Ghobrah & AL

Maha international hotel (2BHK

with 5 split AC units) Contact:

94652485/99273774/99202278

Apartments for rent near Al Nahdha

Towers/ Vachas hypermarket Azaiba

Ghala (1& 2 BHK with split AC units)

Contact: 94652485/ 99273774/

99202278

2BHK with split AC near PDO Gate

no -2 at Qurum. Contact: 94057023

2BHK with split AC at Al Khuwair

33. Contact: 94057023

Offi ce / shop near Oman house

Muttrah. Contact: 99233116

Commercial 3 BHK fl at in Al Ghobra

18 Nov Street. RO 700/-

Contact 93191111

2 BHK fl at in Al Azaiba near sea,

with split A/C. RO.340/-

Contact 93191111

For rent 3 industrial land.

Contact 92702891/ 95490842

Flat for rent in Mabellah 8th.

Contact: 97147240

For rent in Darsait, new fl ats.

Contact: 99311525

Flats/villas owned by ROP

pension fund available for rent in

Muscat. Contact 99349526

All type of car scanner available

easy car diagnostic for professional

and self use Authorize LAUNCH

and Autel dealer

www.omancartools.com

92393972

DAILY GUIDEW E D N E S D AY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5 D3

MOTOR VEHICLE FOR SALE

Chevrolet Epica 2008 very good

condition. Contact 92802299

2014 Grand Cherokee 5.7 liter full

option, low mileage, under warranty,

agency maintained expat driven.

Call 92502684. Immediate sale.

Prado ,2012. Contact : 99336093

Sportage, 2013. Contact:

99336093

Peugeot 206-2007 Model, expat

driven. Contact 99209285

Expatriate driven Yaris 2008 model

100,000 kms & land rover 2005

model 93000 Kms, excellent condi-

tions. Contact : 97094797

Suzuki Vitara 2007, 95000km,

single owner, for sale.

Contact 92183619

Land Cruiser 2012. # 99336093

Toyota Corolla 2012 exclusive

model, Expat driven done 27,000

kms excellent condition.

Contact: 97717152

2 Prime Movers Man 2008 with 40

ton petrol tank each working at the

moment in Al Maha. Price OMR 35

Thousand each. Contact 97000155

or 92688692

ACC. AVAILABLE

ACC. AVAILABLE

ACC. AVAILABLE

NRI

ACC. WANTED

LOST

ANNOUNCEMENT

Required a room or studio fl at in

Darsait / WadiKabir /Ruwi area.

Contact : 95405033

Furnished room attached bath room

& kitchen for Executive bachelor /

family, Honda road near NBO bank

Ruwi. Contact: 98582078

Executive bachelor bed space avail-

able at Mumtaz area.

Contact: Mr. Sharath 98168577

Fully furnished room for a decent

expatriate. independent kitchen,

bathroom in Wadi Adai.

Contact 96243086 at 5p.m.

Excellent room with a/c, attached

toilet for Indian Executive bachelor

in Rex road. Contact 93993212

Single room rear Oman house

Muttrah. Contact: 97477670

Spacious bedroom, T& K in Wadi

Kabir. Contact: 96098443

Furnished single /sharing room

for Exe. bachelor at Rex road near

Kamat with WIFI available.

Contact 92873832

Bed space available for

ex- bachelors at Al Khuwair.

Contact: 94143636

Furnished bedroom with Sep –

bathroom, sharing, and kitchen for

ex- bachelors at AL Khuwair.

Contact: 99636550

Fully furnished 1BHK with all house-

hold items in Darsait near Lulu on

monthly Basis. Contact : 99378397

*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text,

should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

2.5 BHK Flat for sale having 1260

sq ft and Vehicle Parking space of

144 Sq ft. At Bhrama Avenue, NIBM

Road, Pune. Contact 93068804 /

99263581AVAILABLE

Party & Wedding equipment rentals.

Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirting,

Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery, Crock-

ery, Glassware, Chafi ng Dishes, Ice

Sculptures, to Large Sound Systems

and spectacular lighting. Call Andrea

9606 2222 for Catering and Croyden

9623 5555 for Sound & Light.

www.tunesoman.com,

E-mail: [email protected]

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation. Contact

99508282

Pick & drop any time. Contact:

98522914 / 99512270

Transportation. Contact:

98178135


98505294


98244078


95190627

Pick & Drop any time. Contact:

97014786

Med Jlale has lost Bangladeshi

Passport No. E 0166190. Finder

please handover to ROP.

One room for rent (A/C +bed +bath)

at Al Khuwair. Contact: 99382008

Excellent room, with A/C kitchen

available for bachelor / family near

ONTC bus station (Ruwi).

Contact: 95885736

Furnished room with attached bath-

room in W/K. Contact: 97167857

Spacious room with bathroom and

kitchen. Contact: 91214537

Sharing for non cooking executive

bachelor in CBD area WIFI free, Ad-

vance deposit. Contact: 95094504

Furnished room attached bath for

lady in Wadikabir (Mars Hypermar-

ket) – 95941515

Independent rooms in Qurum /

Al Hail. Contact 95529970

SITUATION WANT-MATRIMONIAL

Christian CSI Syrian boy, 31/178,

fair, working as Business Develop-

ment Offi cer in a reputed company

Muscat. Suitable proposals solicited.


Contact: 98582078,

M4 - Marry - 4083713

Indian Kerala male 31 years Hindu

Ezhava working in Muscat

looking for life partner.

Contact: 99893119

Kerala Hindu Ezhava girl (28 yrs,

164 cm), Staff Nurse (MOH), seeks

suitable alliance from Graduates /

professionally qualifi ed boys.

Contact: 91 9746343275 /

+91 9747801255

Ropel Haseen has lost Bangladeshi

Passport No. AE 4239211. Finder

please handover to ROP

Dilo Basak Sunil has lost Bang-

ladeshi Passport No. B 0032083.

Finder please handover to ROP.

Qasim & Saeed Sons of Mubarak Al Abdulsalam trade Partnership

which had been registered at the

commercial register at the Secre-

tariat of the commercial register, in

the ministry of Commerce and In-

dustry, registered with No. 3104150,

announces that it will change its

commercial name from Qasim &

Saeed Sons Mubarak & Al Abdul-

salam & Partner to Qasim Mubarak

Rashed Al Abdulsalam & Partner

Trade partnership. We announce

to any interested party about this

modifi cation.

DAILY GUIDED4 W E D N E S D AY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT

Email: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

CATERING

DOMESTIC HELPER

ADMIN ENGINEER SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING

TOURS

DESIGNER

AUTO CAD/DRAUGHTS-

Offi ce boy , exp. in Dubai, present in

India. Contact 96693290

Housemaid wanted for an Indian

family in Al Hail. Must be able to

cook and take care of baby. Full-time

position. 96532872

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE

Required Offi ce Assistant

160+25+Acc, Contact 99454425

ACCOUNTANT

Indian male, B.Com 1 year experi-

ence in Accounts, on visit visa.

Contact 98295101

Indian male, 30 years, CMA

(Inter),M.com.4 out of 7 years

experience in Oman in Auditing/

Accounts/ Finance. Having NOC and

valid Oman D/L. Contact: 96746420

, Email: [email protected]

Part Time Accounting, Accounts

Finalization, Audit Preparation,

Internal Audit, Onsite Tally

Training, Inventory Management

Contact : 96975454,

email : [email protected]

Dynamic, Young Accountant

Professional with CPA and ACCA (in

progress) 2/3 years experience up

to fi nalization of accounts. currently

in Oman on visit. Contact: 94704330

/ 99094531

Diploma in Computer 10 years expe-

rience as an Accountant, female now

in visit visa. Contact: 95453643

Accountant Indian male, 9 years

experience in Oman can do up to

fi nalization. NOC available can be

joined immediately.

Contact: 94134085


Chartered Accountant with ICWA

Inter having 5 years experience in

Finance, Accounts, Costing, Budget-

ing, Insurance, Treasury & Banking

operations - NOC Available + Oman

Driving License Contact : 97881548

Email-fi [email protected]

Indian female 25 MBA looking for

a suitable opening in Accounts,

Admin/Hr. Contact 97013375

Indian male, well experienced in

accounts and admin looking for a

suitable vacancy. NOC available.

Contact: 98717938

Accountant 8 yrs experience look-

ing part time job. Contact 99867456

Young, energetic 24, ACCA fi nalist,

Advanced diploma in Accounting

and business, seeking suitable

placement in accounts, fi nance or

audit. Contact: 92430152


Indian male, 32 years, M. Com.

7 out of 9 years experience in Oman

in Accounts/fi nance. Having NOC and

valid Oman D/L. Contact 98277143,


Senior Document Controller MCA

Indian male 9+ year’s total experi-

ence 5+ years experience in Gulf in

oil & gas sector and construction

fi eld on visit visa in Oman.

Contact: 95388197


Indian male 22 yrs B. Com Graduate

1 year exp in Accounts, currently on

visit visa. Looking for suitable job.

Contact 94341848 /

Email – [email protected]

Indian male with total 5 year experi-

ence (2 years experience in Account-

ant cum sales co ordinator in a FMCG

Company in Oman) in accounts fi eld

and NOC available. Looking for suit-

able job Contact 92130188

Motivated and energetic male 25

having 4 years of experience in

fi nance with Master’s degree in Eco-

nomics and CAT Certifi ed seeking

opportunity in Accounts/fi nance/

audit in a reputable organization.

Cell no: 00968-94626209 E-Mail:

[email protected]

Cook for hotel with Omani & Arabic

food experience. Contact: 92808067

Requires experience Cook for an Om-

ani family 1Nos. Contact: 99228046


Chinese / Arab / Continental cook & helper wanted. Contact 95529970

Family in Muscat seeking to hire an experienced butler. Hotel experi-

ence is preferred. Candidate must

hold a valid driver’s license.

Please send CV’s on

[email protected]

Urgently required femaleaccountant with an experience

minimum 3years Email CV on

[email protected]

Urgently required Junior Account-ant. Please send CV:

[email protected]

MEDICAL

SKILLED

IT

Urgent! Omani healthcare com-

pany looking for a smart proactive marketing executive cum product

specialist with strong English com-

munication skills, healthcare back-

ground and marketing experience

in medical/pharmacy/microbiology/

biotechnology fi eld. Omani driving

license is a must. Mail your CV to:

[email protected]

Specialist physiotherapy is

required from the Philippines prefer-

ably has a license to practice.

Contact :91257624


Required for a reputed Medical

Center in Al Khuwair. General Practi-tioner Doctor, X- Ray technician. Please send CV: absmc2013@gmail.

com Fax: 24488660

Driver available with car and with-

out car Education, B. A exp. 5 years,

language Hindi, Arabic, English.

Contact: 98522914

Driver needed, preferably female.

Must hold valid driving license.

Contact 95591068

Required Omani Driver light / heavy duty & Marketing Executive. Contact: 24816774 /

99020458

DRIVER

Urgently required a silk Screen printer with good knowledge and

release letter or NOC. Contact:

93280288 or send CV to

[email protected]

Interior Designer: Indian male 31,

8 years exp. in GCC, NOC available.

95217586

Architect designer experience in

Architecture design in 2D, 3D visit-

ing to site : 2 years experience (in

Oman), fl uent Hindi & English.


Contact: 94253074

20 Years exp Auto Cad 3DS Max

available for teaching part time.

Contact - 94412557

Electrical draftsman AutoCAD

switch gear & MEP control panel

7 years experience Qatar. Contact:

92546203/96228100

ADMINACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

SITUATION WANTEDSIT. WANTED

SITUATION WANT-

EDSIT. WANTED

Vacancy for Omani PRO Email:

[email protected] Mob 94192526

Urgently Required: Administra-tion with an experience minimum

in 3 years in building construc-

tion, required immediately join

and MUST have NOC. Apply, fax

00968–24605955, emails

[email protected],

[email protected].

Urgently Required: Administra-tion with an experience minimum

in 3 years in building construc-

tion, required immediately join

and MUST have NOC.Apply, fax

00968–24605955,

emails [email protected],

[email protected].

Sudanese Accountant seeking

job in Nizwa state experience 10

years 3 years in Saudi Arabia, 7

yrs in Sudan. Contact : 97796394 /

94003247

MBA Graduate with 6 yrs exp in

fi nance/accounts/ auditing. Special-

ized in accounts payable dept, Ora-

cle app user, profi cient in Sap (fi co)

end user & tally 9.0. lean &six sigma

certifi ed trainer on visit visa.

Contact – 91967213 / 99064780

Finance Manager, CPA, with more

than 15 yrs. of experience in GCC.

Fully knowledgeable in Finance,

General & Management Accounting

. NOC available. Contact 96209331

Indian Accountant: Male, M com,

7 Yrs experience in Accounts up to

fi nalization, having knowledge

of ERP, Tally, seeks suitable plac-

ment.Contact 93950138 Email:

[email protected]

MANAGER

A leading marketing company is

looking for outdoor Sales Executives on part time or full

time basis in Salalah.

Contact – 92760281 / 96436719

Urgent required Salesman with

good experience and can speak

English. Contact -99468070 from

9am to 2pm

Required 1 male 1 female experi-

ence minimum 2 years, preferable

experience in travel tourism, good

work ethic, driving license, and

knows English & Arabic. Forward

your resume or CV to:

[email protected]

Required Sales Executive with

minimum 2 years experience in Rice

/ FMCG sales. Email:

[email protected]

A reputed shipping and forwarding company urgently require Opera-tions Executive valid Omani D/L is

must. Experienced hands in ship-

ping fi eld are preferred. Send your

CV to [email protected]

Minimum 2 years of experience

with valid gulf light driving license

interested candidates please

Contact: 99222086 /98585851

Urgently required Sales and Marketing Executive for

Graphic designing company.

Contact: 96727631

mail: [email protected]

Light driver. Contact: 95779594

Light Driver experience 4 yrs.

Contact: 98779907

15 years experience driver in Oman

can speak Arabic, English & Hindi.

Contact: 96656270

Looking for driving job. Contact: 98219182

Driver looking for job.

Contact: 99507039

Light driver. Contact: 96313100

Pakistani, male light vehicle driver

looking for job. Contact 97943750

DRIVERWell established company in

selling chocolate, Arabian sweets

and fresh fl owers, opening ITS fi rst

branch in Muscat seeking:

1- sweets and chocolates Sales man 2- fl ower arranger (Asian/ Filipino Nationality)

Contact: 94490011


A company from UAE require 2 merchandisers in retail food

supply, store keeper with English

and invoicing experience. Email:

[email protected]

MISCELLANEOUS

Urgently Required: Male – handles overall store operations of the Su-

permarket, Prior Experience a MUST,

knowledgeable in MSOffi ce. Send CV

to [email protected] or

fax to 244-92718.

Mason, C.C.T.V, Technician, Electrician cum Plumber.Contact - 99383044

Omani hard working have 6 years

experience as PRO and 4 years

as Admin offi cer and transport in

change with 6 years as safety offi ce

on driving good English and PDO /

DL seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 92959251

A Lady with 5 years experience in

HR/Admin is looking for suitable job

and can join immediately.

Contact : 94465835

Indian male, MBA, HR seeking

immediate placement, on visit

visa. Contact 92624333. Email :

[email protected]

Indian Female MBA 3 Year Experi-

ence in Admin MIS, Family Visa.

Contact - 98234427,

[email protected]

System administrator with 3 years

experience hold a degree, MCITP,

CCNA , CCTV biometric , seeking job

in a company.

Contact: 99630084/98129845

Indian male 2+yrs oman exp in HR.

joing immediatly. release available.

Contact :93671437

Indian female 29 MBA (HR) BSc,

4 yrs exp in HR& Admin looking

suitable placement.

Contact : 95619537

Indian female with 10 yrs of experi-

ence in HR/Banking/Operations

seeks a suitable placement.

Can be contacted on 98919015 or

[email protected]

Over 14 years of gulf experience

in Admin /HR /Logistics, fl uent in

Arabic & English with D/L looking

for suitable position.

Contact: 95824598

Required Sales & Marketing execu-tive with valid D/L and NOC with 2

years Oman experience for Foodstuff

Trading Company. Interested may

send their CV to

[email protected]

A reputed media company required female Marketing Executives with

minimum 3 years experiences in

Public relations, publishing &

advertising (with driving license).

Contact: 93946622 or FW: CV

[email protected]

Required male or female candidate with 5 years experience in renting

of properties. Interested candidates

may please mail to

[email protected]

Required Sales man - 1 Person

Qualifi cation. Gulf Experienced

- Minimum 5 Years with Oman

Driving Licence Language - English

Education:- Any Degree Further Con-

tact :Mr. Abdul Hameed

Nashabat - Mobile No: 97414307 and

-92807399 [email protected]

Looking for Outdoor Salesman for

heavy equipment spare parts.

Contact - 93292015,


*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. *

Subject to space availability

Required 2 male 2 female experi-ence minimum 2 years, preferable

experience in Travel tourism, good

work ethic, fl uent English, French,

German (Dutch), Italian. Forward

your resume or CV to:

[email protected]

Urgent requirement Civil Engineers Nos for Supervi-sion 8 yrs experience. Contact:

99244481/24551029 Email:

[email protected]

Required Civil Engineer (build-

ings) Oman experience 5+ years,

BOQ+ Tendering + site supervision.

Contact: 95218004


Construction Company in Oman

urgently requires following candi-

dates: BE Civil Engineer, minimum

3-5 years gulf experience & Civil site foreman, minimum 5 years gulf

experience, diploma not required.


Leading Construction Company requires Project Engineer, Degree

holder with minimum 5 to 6 years

experience in building construction

line. (NOC require) Send your CV to –

[email protected]

Leading Construction company requires HSE Offi cer with minimum

4 to 5 years experience in building

construction line. Send your CV :

[email protected]

(NOC require).

Required Civil Engineer (BE/ B.

Tech) with minimum 2 years GCC

experience and valid Oman driving

license. Email:

[email protected]

Construction Company in Oman

urgently requires the following:

B.Sc Civil Engineer, minimum 3-5

yrs Gulf experience. Civil Site Fore-man, minimum 5 yrs experience with

operating knowledge of Tally. Please

Email CV ; [email protected]

IND male WEB developer 5 yrs exp

B.Tech (comp science) PHP, HTML

MYSQL Java script CSS.

Contact: 95990529



SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE

BE ,Electrical Engineer with 5 Years

Gulf Experience in Underground

cable & Overhead line in HT and LT,

Distribution Substation, MEP. Oman

D/L available. NOC available.

Contact: 95054644,

00918807888109,

[email protected]

DEEE - Electrical Supervisor

10 years Oman experience. Ready for

NOC, visa transfer and valued Oman

red board light driving license.

Contact: 968 95298437

Indian Civil Engineer (buildings)

available immediately as supply

contract. Contact: 93263834

Looking for purchase /contract post

(full time) more than 12 yrs exp in

purchase, contract, import, negotia-

tion, ERP etc with engineering plus

MBA background. NOC is available.

Contact 98009274,

sanjeetniff [email protected]

Civil Engineer, 8 years experience

BOQ establishing, 5 years experience

in Oman Building and S.T.P experi-

ence, good knowledge of computer,

MS Excel, AutoCAD .

Contact: 99471944

Indian male Civil (B.E) with 2 yrs

well known E tabs staad, safe look-

ing for structural position. Contact:

98768045 / 96698342 Email:

[email protected]

MEDICAL

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

IT

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

Indian male, B.E ( computer science

engineer), MBA (fi nance), OCA certi-

fi ed, having 5 years of experience in

oracle Dba/ oracle apps Dba, seeks

a suitable position in the fi eld of IT.

Contact: 96212062

email: [email protected]

Well experienced MOH Licensed

Indian GP Doctor looking for locum /

permanent position in the

Capital area. Contact 98140024

email:[email protected]

Indian male, with 8 yrs exp. in

Oman (BA- Graduate) working as

a project Sales Coordinator, with

Oman D/L, looking for suitable job,

ready to join immediately with NOC.

Contact 95245057

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

SALES / MARKETING

Indian female (MTECH) having Gulf

experience in family visa seeking

suitable placement in Oman.

Contact : 94306164 / 91001194

Indian male MBA 7 years experience

in Hospitality industry, operation,

sales & marketing looking for suitable

vacancy. Contact 92115860

Email [email protected]

Indian male looking for Sales

Executive job 2 years experience

in Indian completed B.B.A (visiting

visa). Contact : 95462921

Pakistani male 34 yrs Intermedi-

ate 2 yrs exp in sales & marketing

in Oman. Looking for suitable job.

Contact - 92146864

Indian male. 27, Post Graduate, 5+

yrs exp in Oman in Sales & Credit

Control, with valid Oman driving

License, NOC available, looking for

suitable placements. Ph: 9199 3376

EDUCATION

DRIVER

MBA, B.Com Indian female having

two yrs exp as lecturer seeks place-

ment in teaching fi led. Presently on

family visit visa. Contact – 96259171/


Indian female MCA, Three years

experience in teaching fi eld, seeks

placement currently on visit visa.

Contact: 93431567

Email: fi [email protected]

Indian male present in Oman can

join immediately. Diploma civil

with CAD & 3d. Contact: 92875345

/92887561


MCA Indian male 6 month experi-

ence India seeking suitable place-

ment. Contact 00918547068891


B.E computer science, female,

2 years experience in IT/ HR/Admin-

istration with GCC driving license,

looking job suitable vacancy in IT/

HR/ Administration fi led.

Contact: 97738624

Filipino Male looking for a job &

have experience in sales, waiter,

barista, technical support / customer

service with good communication

skills. Contact 91789465

Indian material controller/ store

keeper seeking job in Oman NOC /

Release available. Contact: 91946174

Indian Female with over 9 yrs ex-

perience with good communication

skills seeks jobs in customer service

or sales fi eld. Contact : 96108289,

[email protected]

Part- Time Accountant, well experi-

ence senior accountant ,doing all

type of accounting works, Finaliza-

tion, Budgeting available.

Contact :98803439

MCA, BCA with 2 yrs relevant expe-

rience seeking suitable opportunity.

Contact: 96377039

MISCELLANEOUS

M.Sc 3+ years exp from France &

India in IT Support Engineer / Hard-

ware & Networking / Server support

/ scientifi c system support looking

for suitable position. Indian, male

on visit visa, contact 98898781/

[email protected]

Indian female BCA, MCA SAP ABAP

certifi cation, ASP. Net certifi cation, 2

years of experience looking for a job.

Contact: 99109121

Business development manager IT & Non – IT, 7 years experience

Oman driving license seeks position

good prospects. Contact: 99329216

CERTIFIED (CCNA) NETWORK AD-

MINISTRATOR 4 years experienced

looking for Suitable placement.

Contact: 99002390

Indian male 25 yrs exp in Adminis-

tration, Telecom, Optical Fiber Com-

munication, Networking, MS Offi ce.

Seeks any job. On visit visa.

Contact – 91385373 /

[email protected]

Computer Networking/Facility

Mgmt 5 Yrs of Exp Holds B.E(ECE),

CCNA Looking for Good Opportunity,

Indian - Visit Visa. Contact 91911792/

[email protected]

Network system Engineer B.E / ECE

+ CCNA & Ms certifi ed with 4+ yrs exp

looking for a job. Currently in Oman

on visit visa. Contact: 92589502


Indian female Dentist MOH Oman

passed seeking a suitable place-

ment in capital region.

Contact– 91377681

[email protected]

Indian male Radiographer 3+ years

of experience Diploma in Radiologi-

cal technology, looking for suitable

post. Contact: 98843139

M.Sc Nursing in Obstetrics and

Gynecology 3 yrs exp in teaching &

2 yrs at bed side looking for suitable

position, Indian female on visit visa.

Contact: 96220839

Male BSC Nurse parametric passed

ACLS BLS holder now in visit visa

seeking for suitable post.

Contact: 96516406

Lab Technician, Civil (8yrs Gulf

experience) looking for a suitable

job (NOC available)

Contact-93344378

TOURS & TRAVELS

25 Indian female B.S.C. Fashion

Technology. 5 years experience in

textile industry as a merchandiser

and good in fashion marketing.

Currently available on visit visa,

seeking for a suitable job.

Contact 96990368.


BE. Biomedical Engineer, 5 years

experience in the same fi eld (Hos-

pital/company)looking for suitable

placement. Contact:92084807

Email:[email protected]

ELECTRICAL ENGINEER – Indian

male seeking Electrical Engineer job

with 2 years’ experience.

Contact: 94263445, E mail –

[email protected]

ACCOUNTANT: Indian male 25 hav-

ing 4years experience in accounting

& having well knowledge in tally.

Contact:968094535881,

0091 9037622048


Indian male, MBA with 20 years of

experience in back offi ce operation,

risk and operational management,

fi nancial management for Finance

and Trading companies. Presently

available on visit visa.

Contact: 91276221

32 years, Filipina with experience

in Teleperformance, Manila call

centre, now working as Waitress in

Qatar seeking suitable post.

Contact 99022484

Indian Female MA. B.Ed. with One

year three months Teaching experi-

ence. Subject: EnglishSeeking for a

Better placement. Now working in

Oman#93961142, 92184408,


Sudanese/ 26 years/ master of

clinical pharmacy(1st class)/ 1 year

experience/live in India/excellent

communication in English(IELTS

Certifi cate) and arabic/

pharmacist license/

[email protected]

00919600413966-96387227

ACCA Affi liate, 2.5years experience

in Audit/Finance in Global Big6

Firms and Oil company in Oman,

Looking for suitable permanent

placement. Release NOC Available.

Contact: #95140445,

[email protected]

Indian Male Web developer with

5 year experience. Indian, Male, 27

years, B Tech(Computer science),

professional in php, html, mysql,

javascript, css. Contact:95990529


An experienced person who can

handle complete offi ce activities and

purchases looking for suitable place-

ment. Contact: 92360524

26 years Oman experienced person

in automobiles, showroom & work-

shop areas seeks suitable replace-

ment. currently working as General

Manager in a local company.

Contact no: +968-92009700

CARPENTER-15 years gulf exp. In-

dian male looking for suitable post.

Present working in Crown Plaza.

NOC available. Please contact Jacob

96940120. [email protected]

B.Tech mechanical Engineer, Indian

1 years experience HVAC (MEP)

available in Muscat on visit visa

seeking suitable job.

Contact 93670280


Indian male , diploma in electrical

Engineering with 10 years of suc-

cessful experience , presently avail-

able on visit visa seeking suitable

positions in projects and mainte-

nance electrical fi elds.

Contact: 91270686

Email: ajithgopa@rediff mail.com

Iraqi male B.ch civil Engineering, 17

yrs experience in Oman experience

in project management with valid

Oman D/L NOC available and can

join immediately looking suitable

position in Muscat area. #93809093


Chemical Engineer with 04 years

experience in petrochemical refi nery

sector seeking for & suitable position

in petrochemical oil & gas, refi nery

EPC Companies. #00968 91748400

Indian male B.Tech (ECE), MBA (HR)

2 years of experience in CCNA, CCNP

and hands on practice in Linux and

MCSE, looking for suitable job.

Contact: 93487225

Controls & automation Engineer with 7 years experience in ( RO BOT

/PLC/CNC programming , LV panel

building , Installation & commission-

ing service & support of machines)

mostly overseas experience for com-

plete execution of Machine projects

in China, USA, Thailand ETC.

Contact : +97430847848,


Electrical Eng. Degree (MEP) need

suitable job of construction 12 yrs exp.


B.Tech mechanical Engineer 16 yrs

experience 3 yrs exp in Oman now

production manager in Galvanizing

and steel fabrication area looking for

suitable placement NOC available.

Contact: 93714500/91395765

Indian female, B.Tech biotechnology with strong computer

skills and 2 years experience as

associate research analyst (Media

Monitoring) in Nasdaq Oman seek-

ing growth oriented jobs. Contact

92044603 /918056169148 or

[email protected].

Indian Male, IT Support Engineer,

2 yrs in Oman & 5 yrs Indian experi-

ence. Contact 97311847

Iraqi Engineer specialized in

telecommunication net working &

PC experience in nuking network

and security systems. Contact:

92898329 / 99249124

Btech computer science graduate

2015 passout.. Android application

marketing.. Having good communi-

cation skills and mindset to work in

a team. Contact 91024385

Engineer with 3 yrs experience in

Indian in MEP, HVAC& mechanical

maintained fi eld on visit visa looking

for suitable job. Contact 99191535


MISCELLANEOUS

13 Years UAE experienced in MNC &

reputed fi rms logistics distribution

looking for a suitable placement, on

visit visa contact 99838743,

[email protected]

Male Indian BBM Graduate 8 years

experience in logistics and ware

housing in a reputed company valid

driving license NOC available look-

ing for suitable position. Contact :

96311786 Email: [email protected]

Pakistani driving available.

Contact : 96913836

SALES / MARKETING

Indian Male, B.Com Graduate,

23, with experience in Sales looking

for suitable placements. .

Contact 98371144

Indian male 45+ yrs , 20 yrs exp as

sales supervisor in India looking for

indoor sales /stores /cashier or any

suitable placement can speak Hindi

, English, Malayalam, Tamil, kannada

can join immediately on visit visa.

Contact 93086105/33016546

Indian female B.com Graduate hav-

ing 8 years experience in Indian & 2

years experience in Oman as sales

coordinator, secretary, customer

service seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 95433987

Manager, Young Indian Male, MBA,

BBA. Having excellent manage-

rial experience (around 5 years) in

leading Multi-National-Company.

Looking for suitable positions.

Contact: 92700670,

[email protected]

24 Years, indian male 2.5 Years ex-

perience in admin & accounts, dubai.

Currently on visit visa. Seeking suit-

able placement in admin & accounts.

M: 93016252 EMAIL:

[email protected]

Electrical Engineer, 29, Indian Male,

having 7+ years exp. in reputed com-

panies. Seeking suitable placement

in any Oman. Contact - 97693456.

Mail ID : [email protected]

CCNA MCITP network support /net-

work technician with 2 years experi-

ence indian male having bachelors

degree on visit visa.

Contact : 93080871

[email protected]

Video Editor 29 years Indian male

with 8 years experience on visit visa

looking for a suitable placement

contact: 91275969

[email protected]

Omani male , BBA ,with 6 year

experience in HR &Admin looking for

opportunity in HR & Admin in Mus-

cat. Joint date after one month notice

period . Mobile 92223279

24 years, Indian Chartered Account-

ant male with 3 yrs of experience

is seeking suitable placement in

Muscat, currently on visit visa &

ready to join immediately. Kindly

contact him on 98201476 or email at

[email protected]

Indian male 25 years B.tech com-

puters (Having 3 years of experience

in customer service/Admin/IT Sup-

port) looking for suitable position.

Visa Transfer/NOC Available im-

mediate to join. Contact: 98402389,

Mail: [email protected]

Having 9+ years exp. in Admin,

Purchase, Stores & Warehouse in re-

puted companies. Presently working

in Muscat and seeking for suitable

placement. Contact +968 97693456.

email : [email protected]

Innovative Indian Male 29, B.E &

M.Tech Web designer / developer

with over 5.5 years of work experi-

ence in HTML 5, CSS 3, SEO, Digital

marketing (DFP & DCM), Magento,

CMS, Photoshop and Dreamweaver.

Can join ASAP. # 00968 9630 3055

/ email: [email protected]

10 YEAR Experienced PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER.

Currently working at Kerala, India.

Seeks placement.

Contact: 95872030 ,

email: - [email protected]

Indian male 48yrs with driving

license looking for a job to work as

driver / salesman. Residing at Al

Khoudh. Contact: 99551310

Tunisian women looking for a job,

khnows english,frensh, italian and

arabic. Contact: 91171838

Young Indian Chartered Accountant,

female, Having 6 years experience

in Oman and India. Accounts and

Finance Manager, Auditor. Urgently

seeking suitable positions.

Contact-92530131,

[email protected]

Indian female Nurse with 5 yrs of

experience, presently working in

Oman, seeking for suitable place-

ment. NOC available can join imme-

diately. Contact: 98329941


Looking for part time jobs in Mus-

cat, Auto cad Draughtsman (Civil).

contact:-+968-99070584


Indian female MA. B.Ed. with one

year three months teaching experi-

ence. Subject: English Seeking for a

Better placement. Now working in

Oman Contact: 93961142,

92184408


B.Sc. Mechanical Engineer Suda-

nese 3 yrs of exp. In industrial fi eld

available in Muscat on visit visa

seeking suitable job .

Contact: 95868922, Email:

[email protected]

Indian Male MBA with two year

experience in H.R as a H.R Assis-

tant, Now in India, Seeking for an

urgent suitable position. Con-

tact:-98620260 / 93895992 , Email:-

[email protected]

Indian male auto cad draughts-

man (civil) 8 years experience,

seeking for part time job mobile no:

0096899070584


8 years successful experience.

Senior Accountant, Indian male,

29 years, presently working in oman

as a senior accountant with oman

driving license. NOC available. seek

suitable opportunity.

gsm: 97705854

Indian Male 34 years Mechani-

cal Engineer 3 years of Experience

seeking suitable placement imme-

diately Contact: 91991435, 93310821

Indian female with MBA (Finance)

on visit visa, seeks immediate place-

ment. Phone: 968-98430089

Indian female B.ED & BCA looking

for a suitable placement in school

or admin offi ce, having 5 yrs exp in

same fi eld. Contact – 97384206 /

[email protected]

CCNP Network Professional with 6

years experience having Bachelors

degree on visit visa looking for

suitable job. Contact: 96 76 06 18

Indian male, total experience is 5

years in Retail industry. Currently

supervisor in Sun and sand sports

Muscat City centre.

Contact : 96994345.

Email : [email protected]

Male, 30 years Accountant, 1 year

Oman experience in accountants,

fi nance. Seeking suitable position in

Muscat .Can join immediately, NOC

available. Email: lalitbls1@gmail.

com Call: 97903175

Indian male, 28 years, 7 years

experience in transporting & heavy

equipment renting company. Having

Omani driving license seeks suitable

positions. Contact 94410485

Indian male, post graduate,

currently in Oman on visit visa.

Seeks suitable placement.

Contact 92388346

Sudanese male, 31 year old, have 3

year Diploma in electrical engineer,

5 year experience in diff erent activi-

ties. Contact; +96894549609

More than Ten years of experience

in Sales & Marketing, Advertisement

and Credit Control and Logistics&

Administration.

Contact; 91076608 / 99322748

MCA IT Professional Indian Female

seek placement in Teaching/ Non

Teaching fi eld. Presently on visit

visa. Contact 9588 7051,

Email: ashwininakod@gmail

Indian female BA graduate. My total

experience is 4 and half year in Call

Center looking for jobs in admin and

HR. Contact : 96089143,

Email: sharanjit_kaur2009@yahoo.

com

Key Account Executive, Indian

male, currently working with a

reputed FMCG company Oman is

looking for a placement asap, NOC

will be given. Valid Omani driving

license. Total experience in Oman is

12yrs and particularly in Sales is 8

1/2 years. Contact 95589765 Email :

[email protected]

25 Indian female, B.Sc fashion tech-

nologist, 5 years exp in merchandis-

ing, familiar with fashion marketing

& designing. Currently available on

visit visa, seeking for a visual mer-

chandising job. Contact : 96990368,

email [email protected]

Indian male, MBA marketing &

fi nance with B com & diploma in

IFRS seeks job. Contact 99469726 /

99469729

Sudanese male BSC Telecommuni-

cations Engineer , 4 years experi-

ence in telecom fi eld

Contact 97783092,


Working as Senior Accountant,4 yrs.exp.in oman, relevant com-

puter skills, Audit, Accounting upto

fi nalization, valid oman driving

license, languages known Arabic,

Hindi. NOC available can join im-

mediately. Tel: (+968) 96339599,

E-mail-(ahmedmohdkhan@gmail.

com)

Indian male 60 years old have 30

years Muscat experience in all offi ce

works with Omani driving license.

Contact: 99024055

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624


D6 W E D N E S D AY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5



Omani Mechanical Engineer, has

3 years experience ,has HSE, H2S,

Riggers/Banks men Permit, Drawing

/ cad, SCBA, Safety Leadership and

Initial Fire Response Courses. good

with computer and English language

looking for suitable job.

Contact 99224319-98454500

Indian male 22 Mechanical Diploma

holder Engg with HVAC certifi ed,

having 1 year exp. seeking suitable

position. Currently available on visit

visa. Contact - 92835952

Tanzanian male, 25 yrs Accountant

successful experience in Tanzania

looking for suitable placement in any

fi eld. Contact : 96710154

Tunisian lady has Professorship in

social and economical sciences and

accounting, diploma in Experimen-

tal Sciences degree in English for

media. Contact 95391050,

[email protected]

Indian male Diploma, Civil engineer

4.3 year experience at building

construction and consulting

company with Oman driving licence

and N.O.C available seeking

suitable placement

Contact 95989500

email [email protected]

Content Executive, freshers with

good communication skills and will-

ingness to learn may apply on

[email protected]

MISCELLANEOUS

Business development Manager/Executive. Preferably minimum of

2 years experience. Valid driving

licence can apply on

[email protected]

Filipino Male looking for a job &

have experience in sales, waiter,

barista, technical support / customer

service with good communication

skills. # 91789465

PART TIME ACCOUNTANT, Indian

male, M. Com, 35 years, 12 Years exp.

in Accounts, 8 years in Oman. Knowl-

edge upto fi nalization. Having valid

D/L, seeks suitable Placement.GSM:

96249124

Egyptian Civil Engineer, total expe-

rience 7 years - 2 years experience

in Oman. I am looking for Project

Engineer, I have good experience in

site & offi ce works.

Contact number:91148708

Indian Male 24 years, Looking for a

Suitable Job in Telecom / Network-

ing. 1 year sales experience. MSc.

Communications Engineering &

Valid Driving license.

Ph: 91280121.

Email: [email protected].

ACCOUNTING – Indian male seeking

accounting job with 2 years

experience in accounting.

Contact: 94263445, E mail –

contactantonyxavieranand@gmail.

com

Sudanese male: 27 yrs, 2 years ex-

perience in accounting, other experi-

ence (purchasing – HR - Coordinat-

ing and Offi ce Management), looking

for a job Omani Driving License,

NOC. Contact: 94174403

24 year Indian Chartered Account-

ant male with 3yrs of experience is

seeking suitable placement in Mus-

cat, currently on visit visa & ready

to join immediately. Contact him on

98201476 or email at

[email protected]

Sudanese male (B.Sc, computer sci-

ence) (diploma computer engineer-

ing), 6 yrs. experience DBA oracle

PL-SQL, MS SQL - Server, MS visual

studio vba, network.

Contact 91415886

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 91055584

PRODUCTION OPERATOR – Indian

male seeking production operator or

related jobs with 4 years of experi-

ence in oil & gas fi eld. #94263445.


Indian Keralite Male 35 looking for

Scaff olding supervisor post having 5

years of Supervisor and HSE experi-

ence in GCC Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Fluent in English Arabic and Hindi .

Contact 96155921, or mail

[email protected]

Indian Male 28 yrs, having 7 years

Gulf + Indian experience in

HR and Admin fi eld, looking for

suitable placement.

Contact: 97914340,


Indian Male 28 years MSM, B. Com

having 6years experience in Gulf

and India as a HR and Admin looking

for suitable placement.# :97914340.


B.Sc. Mechanical Engineer Suda-

nese 3 yrs of exp. In industrial fi eld

available in muscat on vist visa

seeking suitable job .

Contact: 95868922, Email:

[email protected]

IT system and Printer engineer ME,

5Years bank IT Management exp in

India looking for full time job visit

visa contact 94462150







[email protected]

MCA IT Professional Indian Female

seek placement in Teaching/ Non

Teaching fi eld. Presently on visit

visa. 9588 7051,

[email protected]

ACCA Affi liate, Indian, 2.5Years

experience in Audit/ Finance in Big

6 Audit Firm and Oil Accounting in

PDO, For Permanent Placement for

Finance or Accounts or Audit. Re-

lease NOC Available on hand.

Contact #95140445,

[email protected]

Finance ACCA Affi liate, Worked as

an Auditor with 2.5 Years Experience

in reputed fi rm, Handled independ-

ent audit/fi nance assignments,

Looking for permanent placement,

NOC available. #95140445.

[email protected]

Piping Design Engineer, Indian

male 27, looking for suitable place-

ment in Piping Design & Engineer-

ing. Having 7 years of experience in

AutoCAD. Also familiar with PDMS

(11.6 Version),CAESAR ll. Contact :

97351786 / 96143708, E-mail :

[email protected]

Sudanese male (B.Sc Computer sci-

ence) (diploma computer engineer-

ing) 6 yrs. experience DBA Oracle pl-

sql, MS sql-server ,ms visual studio

vba, network. Contact :91415886

Indian male with 8 yrs experience

in FMCG in Oman as Sales Supervi-

sor looking for suitable placement.

NOC available. Gsm: 96495206

Indian Male, Graduate, 11 years

Sales experience in Lighting /

Industrial products, ready to join

immediately. GSM: 9710 5356

Indian heavy duty driver with 8

years experience in oman available

with NOC. GSM : 93601943

GSM : 94496457

Over 15 years experience in Gulf.

Interior Architect, Lebanese Nation-

ality, on visit visa seeking a suitable

Placement. 96268005.

Indian male, 28 yrs MBA (HR/M) 2

years experience in Indian Oman in

HR & admin seeks suitable place-

ments. NOC available. # 97484159


M.Sc 3+ years exp from France &

India in IT Support Engineer / Hard-

ware & Networking / Server support

/ scientifi c system support looking

for suitable positions. Indian, male

on visit visa, contact 98898781/

[email protected]

Looking for managerial post (full

time ), More than Ten years of

experience in Team Development

,Training, planning, Administration,

Sales & Marketing, Advertisement

and Credit Control and Logistics.

#91076608 / 99322748. Release &

noc available

Indian male, 34years having 10

years of experience in Sales, Sales

Coordination and Administration.

Experienced in SAP and

MS Offi ce. NOC available.

Contact # 94686594

Indian Male MBA Marketing/HRM

3 year experience with Omani D/L,

seeking suitable jobs.

Contact: 97424188


Indian, Male, 23 years, BE Electri-

cal, having 2 years experience in

Electrical Works-H.T. cabling etc,

& Construction, looking for a suit-

able placement. # +968 96927880

(Oman), +91 9765376109 (India),


Indian Female M.Com with Com-

puter Skills and Four Month Experi-

ence as Accountant ,Currently On

Family Visa Looking for a Suitable

Placement, Available Immediately.

Contact : 95846642,


ACCA Affi liate, Experience in audit/

fi nance of 2.5 years in Big 6 Firm

and Oil industry, looking for suitable

permanent placement, Release NOC

available. Contact: #95140445

[email protected]

B.Tech Computer Engineer Wanted

job to work on(IT/Banking/Admin-

istrator/Technical/Offi ce works)

having NOC with the limited time

from (04/06/2015 to 13/06/2015).

Mobile:98402389

email:[email protected]

British Beauty Therapist looking

for suitable position. please contact

:97175240

Highly Qualifi ed & Experienced

Finance Manager Pakistani with

USA , UK & Canadian Degrees , CPA

,ACCA-UK . MBA-USA ,IFA- Finan-

cial Consultants Canada , Corporate

Analyst USA Professional of Bank-

ing , Audits ,ERPs & Profi t Maximi-

zations ( NOC available ) call 94

504505 – 94403270

27 year Indian female who has 4

years of experience with logistics

function in distribution of spares

for both heavy machinery & wind

turbine parts. Kindly contact me on

+91 9790769104

E-mail: [email protected]

Indian male Executive Secretary

having vast experience in admin,

logistics & procurement well versed

with computer .seek suitable place-

ment. Contact : 99514286

Indian male MBA (U.K), 10 Years

of experience in Admin, Sales, HR,

stores and logistics seeks suitable

placement. Contact 99271903.

Indian Female MCA, 4 plus Years

of experience in Web designing, Ad-

min, P.A, seeks suitable placement.

Contact 99486374

8 Years successful experience,

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, Indian

male,29 years. Presently working in

Oman as a Senior Accountant

with oman Driving license seeks suit-

able opportunity. GSM: 97705854

7 and half years experience working

accounts / inventory manager look-

ing suitable job. Contact: 96991782


Indian female , MCA BCA, certifi ca-

tion PL SQL , 6months training PHP,

date warehouse looking for suitable

placement. #95694330 Email:

[email protected]

B.Com with more than 5 yrs exp.

looking for an accounts part tome

job work. know with tally.

[email protected]

Part- time accountant, well experi-

ence senior accountant , doing all

type of accounting works, fi naliza-

tion, budgeting available.

Contact : 98803439

Indian male, looking for a part time

accounting job. Having additional

knowledge & experience in

HR admin & purchase.

Contact 99196621

HSE Advisor, NEBOSH IGC, Indian

male, 4 years experience in con-

struction and oil fi elds, seeking suit-

able jobs. Gsm: 97458900,

Mail: [email protected]

Highly Experienced Finance

Manager, CPA ,ACCA-UK . MBA-USA

, Professional of Banking, Audits ,

ERPs Sap , Management as Team

Leader and Problem Solver call 94

504505 / 94403270

Indian male MBA Finance presently

OMAN IN visit visa, 26 years, look-

ing for an accountant job.

Contact 95240641, email Id

mohammadabdulazharuddin@

gmail.com

Admin Executive, 31, Indian Male,

having 9+ years exp. in reputed

companies. Seeking suitable place-

ment in any gulf region. Contact

+968 99276601 & 97693456. email :

[email protected]

Indian Female, 24yrs, M.COM (Ac-

counts) having 3yrs experience

in Accounts, HR, Administration,

Customer Service. Good Computer

Profi ciency. Seeking Suitable Posi-

tion. Visa Transfer/NOC Available.

Contact: 99654913

MEP Quantity Surveyor-Estima-

tion-Project, 10 Years Experience

(3 years in Oman). Having NOC &

Oman D/L, looking for suitable job,

Contact - 98291626

Indian house maid looking full time

job. Contact : 98254909

B.E. Civil Engineer age 27, total 3

years of experience in Mumbai look-

ing for placement asap in oman now

on visit visa of 1 month ph 9571 3441

Email. [email protected]

Indian Male, 29 years, CCNP, MCITP

having Bachelor degree and 6 years

of experience in Networking looking

for job. 96760618 /

[email protected]

Sudanese male, 31 year old, have 3

year Diploma in electrical engineer,

5 years experience in diff erent activ-

ities . Mobile No ; +96894549609

ACCA affi liate, with 2.5 years

experience in Big6 audit fi rm and

Oil industry, looking for permanent

placement in Accounts/Audit.

Release available Contact :95140445

[email protected]

Indian Female, Commerce Gradu-

ate, Total 9 yrs of experience in

India. worked as Accounts Assistant

and Business executive seeking for

suitable placement.

Tel : 96173533/24222457


Indian Male, 29 years, CCNP, MCITP

having Bachelor degree and 6 years

of experience in Networking looking

for job. 96760618 /

[email protected]

Female Executive Assistant/Execu-

tive Secretary with 27+ experience,

worked with top management/Board

in fi nancial services with shorthand

skills & Omani driving license,

seeks suitable placement.

call 95941515

B.E. Civil Engineer from India with

3 years of experience looking for

suitable vacancy in oman now on

visit visa. Contact 9571 3441,

Email . [email protected]

Indian male 21 IT Eng. networking &

computer hardware diploma, 1 year

experience, currently on visit visa

looking for a suitable job.# 96036273


8 yrs exp Site supervisor cum 2d,

3d Draughtsman (holding Omani

driving license) seeking job.

Contact : 93790601

Indian, 32 years, completed M.A.

English, M.Sc. Psychology and B.Ed

in English. Searching for suitable job

in the fi eld of teaching. To

Contact: 00968 99869535


Indian Male 24 years, Looking for a

Suitable Job in Telecom / Network-

ing. 1 year sales experience. MSc.

Communications Engineering &

Valid Driving license.

Ph: 91280121.


26 years Indian male with MBA &

PGDFM, Total 3.8 years experience

in Administration, seeking suit-

able placement in any gulf region.

Holding Oman valid driving license.

Contact :94501423







[email protected]

Finance ACCA Affi liate, 2.5 years

experience in audit/fi nance and oil

company in reputed fi rms. Look-

ing for suitable permanent place-

ment. Release available. Contact

95140445, [email protected]

B.E Biomedical Engineer, having 5

years of experience in Diagnostics

division seeking suitable position.

94151658

Electronics and instrumentation

Engineer 28 year Indian male, elec-

trical, electronic, industrial, building

& automation exp of 4+ yrs in India.

Contact - 93154156

CCNP Network Professional with 6 years experience having

Bachelors degree on visit visa looking

for suitable job. #96760618 email:

[email protected]


SITUATION WANTEDCARGO

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise

with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain

Marine Tours Contact- 98029602,

92808636

RENT A CAR

RENT A CAR

TOURS

GOOD NEWS

Ayurvedic treatment for joint pain,

backache, paralysis massage, steam

bath, obesity, spondylitis IDEAL ,

CARE Ayurvedic Clinic 18 November

street, Azaiba. Contact 99639695 /

99117987

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT IS-LAM. If you would like to know more

about Islam, please call: 99425598,

96050000, 99353988, 99253818,

99341395, and 99379133.

For ladies: 99415818, 99321360,

99730723

Orvisit: www.islamfact.com

Ayurvedic treatment for backache,

paralysis, arthritis etc & massage,

All Season (Vaidyaratnam).

Contact 24475280 / 95371554 /

92504980 www.siddhayur.com

Genuine Ayurvedic treatments &

massage, Ayurvedic clinic at

Al Khuwair. Contact 24478618 /

97263637 /93309131

Butter cup rent a car presents fantastic off ers all vehicles are model 2016.

Contact : 97249449

*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication.

* Subject to space availability

DRIVING

Learn driving with professional

only automatic. Contact 94022250

RENT A CAR

SITUATION WANT-MANPOWER

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624


D8 W E D N E S D AY, J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of

your marble. Contact 24793614/

99314807

House shifting. Contact 99708138

Carpet, curtain, sofa, fl oor,

cleaning, shampooing, marble &

mosaic tiles grinding, polishing

and painting. Contact : 93630133 /

95821193

House shifting packing.

99657644 / 98518013

Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile

polishing, pest control & anti-ter-

mite treatment, general cleaning

painting, Plumbing, Electrical,

shifting. Contact Mundhir

Al-Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C.

# 24810137, 99450130

WEBSITE

WEB, ERP and Business Intelli-

gence (BI) creation and man-

agement at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

CLASSES

CLASSES

COMPUTER

ACCOUNTANTS AND CONSULTANTS

WE ARE PROVIDINGACCOUNTING/ AUDITING

TAX/ CONSULTINGCONTACT: 24 567 251 / 95 498 033

Admission Open: CAMBRIDGE /

BILINGUAL CURRICULUM

admission started in Al Burj Private

School, Azaiba for KG and Grade I to

IV. Please register soonest.

Contact: 93211417 / 92887809.

Split & window A.C servic-

ing & maintenance. Contact

93769089/95323517

Air condition maintenance split

and window services AC specialist

ducted and package type unites.

Contact: 98667326

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet

& sofa shampooing, Contact

99314807/24792998

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. Contact : 93769089 /

95323517

Water proofi ng ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance.Contact ABU QABAS-

99320217 /24788722

Carpet, Sofa Shampooing. Ocean

Center LLC. Contact: 99884591

AC servicing maintenance fi xing.

Contact: 99540621

BUSINESS

Required investor for new

company. Contact: 96996938

General Investors. Contact

99674870

Learn Cup cakes, exotic cakes, Ic-

ing decorations, handicrafts.

Contact 95941515

SITUATION WANT-

EDSIT. WANTED

Pest control Treatments, termites,

cockroaches, bedbugs Ocean Center

LLC. Contact: 99344723

Civil Engineer, Diploma, Male 25, 3

years experience in site, CAD, 3d, MS

Project, Seeking job in Oman.

Contact 92875345,

[email protected]

Indian male, Engineer, BE Mechani-

cal, having with 21 years of experi-

ence in India and 13 years in Oman,

In production, project management,

quality control and assurance and

MR for ISO and API Standards look-

ing out for a suitable placement

in Oman. GSM: 00968 97311616.

E-MAIL: [email protected]

Times of Oman - July 1, 2015

Documents

Transcript of Times of Oman - July 1, 2015