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MONDAY, May 18, 2015 / 29 Rajab 1436 AH timesofoman.com wtimesofoman.com facebook.com/timesofoman twitter.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com ISO 9001:2008 Certifi ed Company

Nine a day become illegal immigrants

SALEH AL SHAIBANYREJIMON K saleh@timesofoman.com reji@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Nine expat workers run away from their employers every day on average in Oman, according to statistics from the Ministry of Manpower.

The fi gures have reignited calls for investigation and debate on the causes, as the Sultanate off ers an immigration amnesty to illegal expatriates to turn themselves in without penalty. According to the ministry, the construction sector tops the list of absconders.

Labourers, carpenters, electri-cians and plumbers in the con-struction make up 70 per cent of absconders with salesmen and workers in showrooms in the re-tail sector making up the second largest number of absconders. The domestic workers sector ranks third.

“The numbers of expatriate ab-sconders in the country is rising all the time. It is not getting any

better. I think it is time the gov-ernment conducts a proper study why it is happening. We need to document this problem and cre-ate a database so we can learn from it. This is the only way we can solve this problem. We have to stop assuming that it is the fault of absconders and blame them. Em-ployers need to take the responsi-bility as well,” Hareb Al Harmi, an independent manpower expert, told Times of Oman.

A Ministry of Manpower of-fi cial told Times of Oman that a

study has been proposed to find the reasons for workers fleeing away from employers so that the ministry can take correc-tive measures.

Labour lawWhile commenting on the ab-sconding workers issue, an em-bassy offi cial said that workers should follow the labour law and avoid landing in trouble by going into hiding.

Rough estimates from four main embassies state that around

50,000 migrant workers are eligi-ble to make use of the amnesty.

However, the numbers of over-staying, absconding and illegal workers who have registered with the ministry up until last week was only around 3,200.

Rabiul Islam, labour counsellor at Bangladesh embassy in Oman, said, “When a dispute arises, the worker should approach his embassy, the Sultanate’s labour department and the court to re-solve the issues other than going into hiding.” >A6

Statistics showing

the rate at which

workers abscond

have prompted calls

for a debate on the

reasons why

Opening of Intercontinental hotel set to add more jobsTimes News Service

MUSCAT: With Oman’s tour-ism sector witnessing strong growth, a new fi ve star Intercon-tinental Hotel Golf Resort and Spa is set to open its doors in September 2018, a venture that is likely to create 300 to 350 jobs in Oman.

Speaking to the Times of Oman, CEO and Chairman of Muscat Hills, His Highness Sayyid Al Rawy Kais Al Said, said this is for the fi rst time that a fi ve star hotel will open on a non-beach front area.

“The hotel will have 250 keys and will create around 300 to 350 jobs, maintaining the Om-anisation standards,” he said.

The engineering, procure-ment and construction (EPC) contract will be awarded in the last quarter of this year while the construction work for the hotel will be completed in 24 months. All investors have signed the shareholder’s agreement on May 14, 2015.

Muscat Golf Course Project LLC, the major shareholder, signed the pact with all other shareholders namely Oman In-vestment Fund, National Bank of Oman and PACRIM.

“The signing of the sharehold-ers pact signifi es a long standing

relationship that will provide valuable input and oversight for the project,” a spokesperson of Muscat Hills said.

The concept to develop a ho-tel within a prestige 18-holes golf resort located in the “new downtown” area of Muscat was at the forefront of the original planning. The signing with the operating partner, the Intercon-tinental Hotels Group (IHG), took place in April 2012.

The initial focus on a busi-ness hotel concept was changed, slowing down the planning phase, and shifting the target market catering to both business and tourism, which saw positive growth over the last four years.

NBO CEO HH Sayyid Wasfi Jamshid Al Said commented, “The NBO is thrilled to be a part of this exciting project which will prove to be a landmark ho-tel in the heart of the most pres-tigious locations in Muscat. We very much look forward to working together with a fantas-tic group of shareholders and board members to make this project a resounding success for all stakeholders.”

The pristine location of the hotel project — being on the golf course alongside the high end residential villas and apart-ments — has positively impact-ed the decision making of the shareholders. >A6

O M A N I S A T I O N P R I O R I T Y

MEHDI AL LAWATI

MUSCAT: While a two-year visa ban has been imposed on expa-triates, no measures have been introduced to regulate Omani employees leading to a debate on whether there should be new rules to protect companies which invest in training citizens.

Speaking to Times of Oman’s sister publication Al Shabiba, Tawfi q Al Lawati, member of Majlis Al Shura, said, “Eff orts to train nationals goes in vain when a larger fi rm poaches employees. There needs to be a protection plan for organisations which sig-nifi cantly invest in training Oma-

nis, otherwise their growth will be hurt.”

He also criticised larger fi rms for ‘luring’ employees, asking, “Why do they have to poach, when they can train fresh gradu-ates? An agreement is needed to tackle this problem.”

P.V. Venkatesh, principal con-sultant and business head at MPower HR, said that rules and regulations are ‘defi nitely’ re-quired to encourage training of locals, as fi rms are concerned about their continued employ-ment, and “a no-poaching pact should be considered for employ-ees with less than three years of experience,” he added. >A4

Call for steps to curb poaching of Omanis

T R A I N F R E S H G R A D U A T E S

A15IS rebels on verge of capturing Iraqi city

OMANTop executives pay packets on the rise

2Tier-one executives in Oman are paid between OMR12,702

and OMR14,585 per month across all sectors, a market research survey has revealed. With the GCC’s growth again on the upswing, pay packets are rebounding to former levels. >A6

MARKETOman’s crude exports up 10%

3Oman’s crude oil exports surged ahead by 10.2 per cent to 78.39 million

barrels in the fi rst quarter of 2015, compared to the same period last year. However, the average price of Oman crude in the international market dipped by 41.5 per cent. >B1

OMANCancel visa, residency before leaving Oman

1There are instances of people getting denied residence in some Gulf Cooperation Council countries since they already have a residence in another GCC country. Therefore, it is always better

to cancel your existing Omani visa and residence permit while you are exiting Oman. >A4

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

LANDMARK PROJECT: The construction work of Intercontinental

Hotel Golf Resort will be completed in 24 months.

RISING NUMBERS: Labourers, carpenters, electricians and plumbers in the construction sector

make up 70 per cent of absconders with salesmen and workers in showrooms in the retail sector

making up the second largest group. - Photo: Times of Oman

Insurance Supplementinside

A2 M O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

OMAN

TIMES QUIZ TROPHIES PRESENTEDIndian School Wadi Kabir, whose teams won the jun-

ior and senior categories of the Times of Oman Inter

School Quiz Contest (TOOISQC), were presented with the

Essa bin Mohammed Al Zedjali Rolling Trophy for their

respective categories with the school’s name engraved

on them. Times of Oman offi cials handed over the tro-

phies to the students. Indian School Wadi Kabir’s Rahul

Rathnakar and Chethan Sethu lifted the juniors title of

the Omantel Times of Oman Inter School Quiz Contest

held at the City Amphitheatre recently. Indian School

Wadi Kabir’s Ashwin Titus and Vishaal Udandarao lifted

the senior title. -AR Rajkumar

Minor quake in Sea of Oman

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Seismographs at the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) earthquake monitoring centre have recorded an earthquake of 5.0 magnitude that hit the Sea of Oman, yesterday.

The earthquake struck at the depth of 16 kilometres, east of Makran and 242 kilometres off the shores of Muscat, the Oman

News Agency (ONA) reported.The earthquake will not aff ect

the population or utilities, it said in the report. Oman meteorolog-ical department also reassured the public that the tremor will not trigger a tsunami.

An earlier report based on the United States Geological Sur-vey recordings put the magni-tude of the earthquake at 5.1 on the Richter scale.

TEMBLOR

A4 M O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

OMAN

This mail is written on behalf of the newly appointed lectur-ers and technicians working at a college in Oman. Some of us joined in December 2014 and until now we have not received a single rial as salary or furniture allowance. While enquiring about the same, our colleges reply that process-ing is very slow from the concerned authorities’ side so we have to wait. However, people in other colleges of technology receive furniture allowance and salary in one month’s time. We have left our families and country to work in Oman for a better living. But we have not got a single rial until now. We are

fi nding it diffi cult to buy our food. We are staying in the college guest house since we arrived here. What can be done in this regard? We are afraid to reveal our names or lodge a complaint.

There is no point in hesitat-ing to lodge a complaint with the concerned authorities if you have genuine grievances to settle. What is the other route available to you for solving this issue? You can call the attention of senior offi cials at your work place citing your plight and seek their imme-diate intervention in the matter.

I am working in Oman with residence/employment visa

on my old passport (can-celled). Recently I got mar-ried and changed my passport to include my wife’s name in the new one. I have got an of-fer from a Dubai company and I want to move to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Can I go to the UAE without cancel-ling my Oman residence/em-ployment visa, which is on the old passport as I have already got my employment visa for the Dubai company a few days back, on the basis of details of new passport? Will I be able to get a UAE residence?

There are instances of people getting denied residence in some GCC countries since they already

have a residence in another GCC country. Therefore, it is always better to cancel your existing Omani visa and residence while you are exiting Oman. Residence may be granted to you in the United Arab Emirates since your visa is issued on the basis of particulars of the new passport provided by you.

Expat leaving for another country should cancel Omani visa, residencyL E G A L C O L U M N

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this col-umn are for general guidance purposes only. They are based on facts presented to us and are not substituted for expert legal advice. Readers are advised to seek legal assistance for specifi c legal issues. Times of Oman and Khalifa Al Hinai Advocates & Legal Con-sultancy do not assume any responsibility towards anyone on this matter.

‘It is in the interest of companies to retain staff ’

Venkatesh further said the agree-ment would help stabilise work forces at their respective fi rms and retain the investment made in their training, “While poaching can never be fully prevented, such measures would, to a great extent, reduce its intensity.”

However, poaching is ‘a fact of life’, says Tonia Gray, Gen-eral Manager of Competence HR said, “People want to develop and move upwards in their careers. It is not a good idea to restrict their development; they would even-tually move to gain the desired experience. It’s in the interest of the fi rm to develop its employees, with the aim that they remain.” She stressed that smaller organi-sations, which are particularly af-fected, are responsible for retain-ing their employees.

Gray, however, suggests a ‘Claw back agreement’ to protect fi rms, “This kind of agreement is fre-quently used in the west. It allows the organisation to reclaim costs if an employee doesn’t remain for a fi xed period after fi nalising a training programme.”

For example, she said, “A fi rm invests in a programme that costs OMR2,500. If an individual leaves within one year after complet-ing the programme, he signs an agreement to repay this money. If it is within 18 months, maybe 50 per cent is to be repaid.”

She also notes, “The period during which the investment is

repaid should vary depending upon the amount of money and duration of the training program undertaken by the individual. It would be unreasonable, for in-stance, to invest OMR100 and ex-pect an employee to pay that back 18 months later. Each agreement would have to be considered on a case by case basis.”

Omani businessman Pankaj Khimji, director, Khimji Ramdas said, “We at KR are very people driven and employ nearly 2,000 nationals. KR does not support any sort of restrictions on move-ment of employees from compa-ny to company irrespective of na-tionality. We never have and don’t intend to in the future either.”

He suggested “incentives by ex-tending tax rebates should be an ideal way to encourage employing and retaining nationals”.

Pankaj believes “training and up-skilling is part of a large organ-isations culture. However smaller

companies fi nd it diffi cult to in-vest in HRD and become a target of larger established organisa-tions when it comes to poaching talented and skilled employees.”

He feels, “hence it’s necessary to enforce a minimum time pe-riod in the employment contract at the time of hiring talent. This should be legally enforceable.”

Pankaj feels restrictive prac-tices like the two year ban does not refl ect well on Oman’s im-age as a respected developing nation. “The IT and the oil and gas industry is well known to hire short term and rotate tal-ent on a ongoing basis. That’s the norm! The ban simply puts a dampener on Oman’s ability to attract the right talent in these sectors,” he says.

Pankaj says, “Certain sectors should be allowed to hire and re-lieve personnel irrespective of na-tionality, according the duration of contracts the company has.”

P O A C H I N G O F E M P L O Y E E S

< FROM

A1

However, smaller companies find it difficult to invest

in human resource development and become a target

of larger established organisations when it comes to

poaching talented and skilled employees

Egyptian troupe in a colourful dance show

SARAH MACDONALDsarah@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Many performances at the Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM), such as the operas and symphonies, date back over 200 years but still feel fresh and new. Sadly, the dance show by Egypt’s Mahmoud Reda Performance Troupe, though upbeat and col-ourful, felt stale, outdated and trapped in the past.

To be fair, the Mahmoud Reda Performance Troupe has an in-teresting history as an innova-tive folkloric dance company

that emerged in 1959 and was a leader in Egypt for a couple of decades. At the time Mahmoud Reda’s choreography was prob-ably some new and diff erent, though inspired by his homeland with dances referring to cities like Luxor and Alexandria or cultures

like the Nubians. Yet 50 years later it feels like

nothing about the company has changed. The dances that may once have been impressive no longer cut it. From the fi rst dance number, which featured dances skipping and waving their arms

while lip syncing to an upbeat Egyptian song, there was a sense that little ensemble had done much to modernise over the years. The choreography was quite dull and worn out.

The use of lip syncing to re-corded music was quite shocking to see at the ROHM. The origi-nal group had live musicians and knowing the richness of the music scene in Egypt, it’s a shame this hasn’t been maintained. There was one singer who was featured a few times, and he had a lovely voice, but he would have shone brighter with live musicians sup-porting him.

There were a few numbers that were interesting, including one featuring belly dancers in soft pink, green, yellow and orange outfi ts. Though traditional, the dancing was well performed and quite captivating. A Nubian-in-spired dance that featured men in white costumes and turbans and women in colourful dress covered by sheer black was also more engaging and reminiscent of Bedouin culture. The tradition-al “stick-dancing” also brought some fun energy to the stage.

The ROHM should be applaud-ed for bringing a variety of artists and ensembles to Oman, and in the past a number of Egyptian stars, including Omar Khairat, Ammar El Sherei and Sherine, have truly impressed its audi-ences. Considering the number of people who left at the inter-mission and lacklustre applause, the Mahmoud Reda Performance Troupe missed the high stand-ards one has come to expect at the ROHM.

The Mahmoud Reda

Performance Troupe

has an interesting

history as an

innovative folkloric

dance company that

emerged in 1959

and was a leader in

Egypt for a couple of

decades

UPBEAT: Though traditional, the dancing was well performed and

was quite captivating. – Khalid Al Busaidi/ROHM

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People want to develop and move upwards in their careers. It is not a good idea to restrict their development; they would eventually move to gain the desired experience. It’s in the interest of the fi rm to develop its employees, with the aim that they remain

Tonia Gray, General Manager of Competence HR

A5

OMANM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

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about it

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Frameworks, partnerships for GCC census discussedTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Frameworks for regis-ter-based censuses, and building successful partnerships among the institutions concerned with administrative records and na-tional statistical authorities, were discussed by experts on the fi rst day of a workshop organised by Gulf Cooperation Council Sta-tistical Centre (GCC-STAT) here on Sunday.

The workshop on “Country practices in censuses based on administrative records” was held as part of preparations for Har-

monised 2020 Population Census of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The workshop being held over three days, saw the participation of GCC-STAT experts, in addi-tion to experts from Denmark, Poland, and a number of offi cials of the authorities dealing with statistics in GCC countries.

On its fi rst day, the workshop showcased two main themes. The fi rst theme discussed the frame-works and preconditions for register-based censuses, which deal with the common concepts and defi nitions, reference condi-tions and maintaining quality at

all stages of the register-based census process. The second theme reviewed building successful partnerships among institutions concerned with administrative records and national statistical authorities.

The workshop will continue on Monday and the two main themes will be discussed. First will be the requirements of building adminis-trative records systems while the second will be statistical methods of collecting administrative data through discussing preparation of data collection and methods for refi ning and processing.

H A R M O N I S E D 2 0 2 0 G C C P O P U L A T I O N C E N S U S

Registration for

Oman Summer

of Code begins

Times News Service

MUSCAT: To sharpen the application developers skills of Omanis, the Information Technology Authority (ITA) announced the beginning of registration for Oman Sum-mer of Code programme last Thursday.

Registrations will remain open until May 21. It is a na-tional youth programme in the fi elds of application de-velopment and IT solutions, launched by ITA in 2013, to give developers an opportunity to work on various projects using ‘Free and Open Source’ soft-ware to create applications that can be adopted in diff erent work environments over a three-month period.

In addition to gaining ex-posure to real-world software development scenarios, the participants will walk through an intensive training and ori-entation programme.

H O N I N G S K I L L S

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OMANM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Through your interest in Japanese language and culture, I consider you all ambassadors of Japan

George Hisaeda, Ambassador of Japan to Oman

Japanese language students learn country’s culture

SARAH MACDONALDsarah@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: George Hisaeda, Am-bassador of Japan to Oman, wel-comed female Japanese language students to his home on Thursday evening to let them explore Japa-nese culture as a way to comple-ment their language studies.

‘Ikebana’The students, who study Japanese at Sultan Qaboos University and through the Oman-Japan Friend-ship Association, had opportunity to learn about “Ikebana,” the Japa-nese art of fl ower arranging, try

on Japanese “Yukata,” which are traditional summer dresses, and learn about sushi with a speech by the ambassador accompanied by a demonstration by his chef.

Hisaeda said he held the event to help the students with their lan-guage studies since understanding culture is an integral part of ac-quiring a language. He said it also

marked an important develop-ment in education in Oman.

“This event is being held fi rst to celebrate the opening of the Japa-nese language course at Sultan

Qaboos University. It is a dream come true for me and one of my highlights as ambassador of Japan in Oman. We also celebrate the on-going success of the Oman-Japan Friendship Association’s Japa-nese language course,” Hisaeda told his guests.

Diplomatic tiesJapan and Oman have had diplo-matic ties for the past four dec-ades but it is only in the past year that Japanese classes have been regularly available in Oman. Hi-saeda said he hoped the students would make use of their new-found language skills in the fu-ture by pursuing careers or busi-ness opportunities that further unite the two counties.

“Through your interest in Japa-nese language and culture, I con-sider you all ambassadors of Ja-pan,” Hisaeda added.

For the students the occasion was a welcome one. Arwa Al Mamari, who has been study-ing Japanese for the past two months through the Oman-Ja-pan Friendship Association, said she wanted to experience the cul-ture fi rst-hand.

Language interestWhen she was a student at Sul-tan Qaboos University she took at one-week course about Japan which sparked an interest in the language and culture.

She noted that this was her second time tasting sushi and her fi rst time drinking cold green tea, which she loved.

“I want to see the Japanese lifestyle, the people, how they eat and dress. They are so diff erent and that’s why I want to discover them. They are very respected and friendly people,” she said.

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

LEARNING NEW SKILLS: The students got an opportunity to learn about ‘Ikebana’, the art of fl ower ar-

ranging, ‘Yukata’, the traditional summer dresses, and the way to cook sushi. - Photos: Sarah MacDonald

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Salary increases showcase GCC’s growth upswing

Times News Service

DUBAI: Tier-one executives in Oman are paid between OMR12,702 ($33,027) and OMR14,585 ($37,921) per month across all sectors, a market re-search survey has revealed.

With the Gulf Cooperation Council’s economic growth once again on the upswing, pay packag-es are now rebounding to former levels, after a fall in 2014.

According to market research, average incomes across the re-gion and across diff erent sectors have registered a 7 per cent surge in 2015.

Meanwhile, top-tier execu-tive salaries have seen a whop-ping 39 per cent hike in some sectors in the GCC. CEOs in the construction sector – inciden-tally, the highest-paying sector for senior management execu-tives in the region – now get up to OMR461,940 ($1.2 million per annum) as basic pay.

“The construction and real es-

tate sectors have experienced ex-ponential growth last year. Top-level executives in these sectors are now in a position to reap the benefi ts of the momentum.

“Companies too stand to ben-efi t with the value these talented executives are capable of add-ing to in leading organisational development and augmenting income,” said Mohamad El Turk, Partner at Rasd.

The pioneering regional ex-ecutive search fi rm boasts of 25 years of market experience in the GCC and specialises in connect-ing quality leadership talent with enterprises serious on building organisational capability in high growth markets.

Confi rming this, an owner of a construction company, Rashid Khalfan, said that salaries in the construction sector in Oman have risen, as they have experienced exponential growth over the last few years.

“You have to pay more to get the best talent on board,” he said.

Lagging slightly behind the construction sector in top-level executive pay scales are the com-mercial banking sector’s CEOs, who earn basic incomes of any-where between OMR230,879.99 ($600,000) and OMR384,950 ($1 million.)

Meanwhile, executives within the real estate, consumer goods retail and automotive sectors are now drawing anywhere be-tween OMR134,680 ($350,000) and OMR211,639.99 ($550,000) per annum.

“Another trend we’re noticing is the need for candidates who have a profound understand-ing of local market dynamics. A trend that is driving companies, that are particular about their re-quirements, to invest in attracting talented indigenous executives who understand the corporate and cultural challenges and, as a result,are able to capitalise on the promising economic outlook in the region,” added El Turk.

Once again, this year Saudi Arabia and Qatar remain the highest paying countries within the GCC, especially for profes-sionals in CEO-level roles.

Nadim El Said, Managing Part-ner at Rasd, explained: “The cul-tural component plays a big role when hiring in GCC countries. Multinationals are willing to pay signifi cant amounts, especially for highly skilled leaders who also exhibit cultural-compatibil-ity. This trend is even more pro-nounced with local groups and conglomerates, who seek leaders possessing a deep understanding of the region and who can com-municate eff ectively with native stakeholders.”

Pay packages

rebounding to former

levels, after a fall

in 2014, as average

incomes across the

region register a 7%

Banking

Realestate

Yearly basic incomes (OMR thousands)Top executive salaries

Source: Times News Service Graphics

230 384

211134

Sector Range

0 100 200 300 400

(from lower to higher)

Average

Average

307

173

‘Migrant workers ruin their lives by going into hiding’

“By taking a decision on their own and by going into absconding, they will land in more and more trouble,” he said.

An Indian social worker ex-pressed the same view.

“Absconding is not at all a so-lution. The workers will be ruin-ing their life by going into hiding. Hardships they have to face as an absconder will be beyond imagi-nation,” Shaji Sebastin, a Muscat-based social worker, said while add-ing that the low number of workers seeking amnesty at the embassies is disappointing.

However, a migrant rights activ-ist said the reasons behind why a worker goes into hiding should also be studied in detail.

“Majority of the migrant worker go into hiding after they land in a hostile situation following a dis-pute with the employer. But run-ning away from the employer is not a solution. The disputes should be resolved legally. The moment they worker develops a dispute with the employer, they should seek their embassy help and resolve it,” Bheem Reddy, a migrant rights ac-tivist and a legal advisor in India,

said. Under the current amnesty, the government has asked all ab-sconders and illegal workers to come forward so they can return home without punishment.

In 2005, more than 40,000 went home voluntarily and about 60,000 returned in 2007.

Labour inspectors, in collabora-tion with the police, rounded up more than 4,000 illegal workers last year, 10 per cent more than in 2013. This year so far, more than 900 have been arrested and deported. The amnesty, which began on May 3, will continue until July 31.

A M N E S T Y S C H E M E

ITC golf resort project“The Oman Convention Centre’s fast paced construction has also added to the mood to take up and add the last element of the fi rst ITC golf resort project which is the only one of its kind in the Sul-tanate of Oman. The design team is confi dent that the project will reach the ground breaking stage by the middle of the fourth quarter of 2015,” the spokesperson added.

The hotel will feature about 250 guest rooms, leisure facilities with swimming pools and spa facilities with “hammam, gymnasium and treatment rooms, and restaurants, a ballroom and fully equipped meeting facilities and enhanced business services.

N E W H O T E L

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FIVE STAR HOTEL: The hotel will feature about 250 guest rooms,

leisure facilities with swimming pools, and spa facilities.

A7

REGIONM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Nearly 300 people have been killed in four days of fi ghting since IS launched an assault on the Syrian desert oasis city of Palmyra on Wednesday

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group

UN envoy urges truce extension

SANAA: A UN envoy called for an extension of a fi ve-day hu-manitarian ceasefi re in Yemen due to expire on Sunday as the Houthi rebels boycotted political talks in Riyadh.

The appeal followed clashes

between rebels and pro-govern-ment forces across south Yemen on Saturday despite the truce, which has largely held since it began at 11:00pm (2000GMT) on Tuesday. “I call on all parties to renew their commitment to

this truce for fi ve more days at least,” UN envoy to Yemen Is-mail Ould Sheikh Ahmed said in the Saudi capital.

“This humanitarian truce should turn into a permanent ceasefi re,” the Mauritanian diplo-mat added.

Yemeni political parties began talks on Sunday in the Saudi capi-tal aimed at fi nding a solution to the crisis. But the Houthis stayed away from the meeting of about 400 delegates including President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who has taken refuge in Riyadh. — AFP

Yemeni political parties begin talks in

Riyadh to fi nd a solution to the crisis

IS pushed back from PalmyraDAMASCUS: Syrian troops pushed IS group militants back from the ancient city of Palmyra on Sunday, easing fears over the world heritage site, after fi ghting that left hundreds dead.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said nearly 300 people have been killed in four days of fi ghting since IS launched an assault on the de-

sert oasis city on Wednesday. The toll comprised 123 sol-

diers and loyalist militiamen, 115 IS fighters as well as 57 civil-ians, dozens of whom were ex-ecuted by the militants, the Ob-servatory said, quoting sources on the ground.

On Saturday the militants pressed their off ensive and seized the northern part of the modern

town of Palmyra, known as Tad-mur in Arabic, but were driven out by regime forces.

“IS’s attack was foiled,”said provincial governor Talal Barazi.

He said the army was “still combing the streets for bombs” after recapturing the northern districts. “The situation in the city and its outskirts is good,” he said. — AFP

WAR -TORN

Egypt hangs six for killing army officers

CAIRO: Egyptian authorities on Sunday hanged six men con-victed of killing soldiers, police said, ignoring appeals to spare them amid allegations two of them had been in custody at the time of their alleged crimes.

A military court upheld the death sentences last March, following a trial in which the six were convicted of carrying out the attacks in the months after the army’s overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

Prosecutors said they were members of the Sinai Peninsu-lar-based Ansar Beit Al Maqdis militant group, which late last year pledged allegiance to the IS organisation.

The sentence was carried out by hanging in a Cairo jail, ac-cording to offi cials.

Some of the men had been ar-rested when police and soldiers raided their safe house north of Cairo in March 2014. — AFP

VERD I CT

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INDIAM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Six killed as heavy rain lashes KeralaTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Heavy rains lashing Kerala since Saturday have claimed at least six lives, including that of fi ve persons from Tamil Nadu, who

drowned in Pozhiyoor estuary.Police recovered the bodies of

34-year-old woman, Thayuba, her daughter Sabura (13) and 3 other children-- Salahudeen (14),

Fathima (12) and Marhaba (14), all relatives, on Sunday.

They were washed away in the rough seas in the sea off Pozhi-yoor on Saturday. - PTI

W E A T H E R

India, Mongolia boost ties for ‘strategic partnership’

ULAN BATOR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said ties between India and Mongo-lia are not driven by competition against others but it is a relation-ship of immeasurable positive energy that comes from their spir-itual links and shared ideals.

Modi, while speaking at the banquet hosted in his honour by Mongolian Prime Minister Chimed Saikhanbileg, said the “ancient relationship” between the two countries has got new strength and momentum with his visit, the fi rst by an Indian Pre-mier to the country.

“This is a memorable day for In-dia, for my delegation and me. In less than 24 hours, we have expe-rienced true friendship. We have seen rare grace and generosity of a great people. We have expe-rienced the beauty of your land,” Modi said at the dinner.

“We have nurtured our spir-itual links. The visit to the Gan-

den monastery will be a source of joy forever. We have soaked in the richness of your culture at the mi-ni-Naadam festival,” he said.

After talks between the two Premiers, it was announced that India has extended a $1 billion credit line to Mongolia for infrastructure development as they upgraded their ties to “Strategic Partnership”.

“Ours is a relationship that is not measured on the scale of com-merce or driven by competition against others. It is a relationship of immeasurable positive energy that comes from our spiritual links and shared ideals,” Modi said.

“It is the energy that seeks the well being of our two nations and the common good of the world.This is a form of energy that has enormous power to be the force of peace, progress and prosperity

in the world,” he said. Mongolian Premier Saikhanbileg, who wore a bandhgala at the banquet, said, “We Mongolians take im-mense pride in our long historic and cultural bonds with the people of India.”

“The importance of a journey is not measured by the distance covered, but by the destination reached. The visit may be short. But, the outcomes are substantive and signifi cant. In the course of one day, we have imparted our an-cient relations new strength and momentum,” Modi said.

He highlighted that the two countries’ political understanding and commitment have become stronger, economic cooperation has scaled new heights and secu-rity cooperation has expanded.

“So, as we celebrate 25 years of democracy in Mongolia and 60

years of our diplomatic relations, we know that the best for relation-ship lies ahead of us,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday gifted Mongolia a Bhabhatron, the indigenous machine developed by Indian scientists for cancer treatment, in the first demonstration of bi-lateral cooperation in the civil nuclear sector.

Modi, on a two-day visit to Mongolia, the fi rst-ever by an In-dian Premier, drove down to the National Cancer Centre here and gifted the centre the equipment to boost cancer care.

“It is state-of-art nuclear medi-cine cancer therapy machine, developed and manufactured in India,” he said about the machine developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.

Earlier on Sunday, while ad-

dressing the country’s Parlia-ment, Modi said the Bhabhatron equipment “can help treat cancer in Mongolia. This will be the fi rst demonstration of our cooperation in the civil nuclear sector”.

An MoU was earlier signed between India’s Tata Memorial Centre and Mongolia’s National Cancer Centre for gifting of Bhab-hatron-II Tele-therapy Unit along with a Radiotherapy Simulator.

Mongolian Prime Minister Chimed Saikhanbile thanked In-dia for its support for the develop-ment of peaceful use of nuclear energy in Mongolia, and appreci-ated the gesture of providing the Bhabhatron and the simulator to the centre. On the second leg of his three-nation tour, Modi is on a two-day visit to Mongolia and will leave for South Korea on Monday-from here. - PTI

Modi, while speaking

at the banquet hosted

in his honour by

Mongolian Prime

Minister Chimed

Saikhanbileg, said the

‘ancient relationship’

between the two

countries has got

new strength and

momentum with

his visit

Ours is a relationship

that is not measured on

the scale of commerce

or driven by competition

against others. It

is a relationship of

immeasurable positive

energy that comes from

our spiritual links and

shared ideals

Narendra ModiPrime MinisterWARM GREETINGS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and Mongolian Prime Minister Chimed

Saikhanbileg shake hands during a signing ceremony in Ulan Bator on Sunday. - AFP

We Mongolians take immense pride in our long historic and cultural bonds with the people of India

Chimed Saikhanbileg, Mongolian prime minister

Three police personnel, two ultras killed in gun battle

RAIPUR: Three police personnel and two Maoists were killed in a gun-battle between security per-sonnel and ultras in dense forests of Chhattisgarh state’s Bijapur dis-trict on Sunday, police said.

The skirmish between the troopers and guerrillas took place near Jappemarka village under Mirtur police station limits on Sunday morning, Bijapur ASP In-dira Kalyan Elesela said.

The incident occurred when a joint team of Special Task Force (STF) and district police was on an anti-naxal operation in Gangaloor and Mirtur areas, around 450km away from the state capital, when it was ambushed.

When the squad reached Jappe-marka forests, a group of armed rebels opened indiscriminate fi re at the forces who returned the fi re, the offi cer said.

The gunfi ght lasted for around two hours, after which the naxals fl ed into the core forests.

“An STF jawan and another ( jawan) from district police force died in the incident while another constable-rank jawan succumbed to his injuries while being evacu-ated. Besides, two Naxals were also killed in the incident,” he said.

The ASP said reinforcements were rushed to the spot after the incident, and bodies of the police-men and Naxals are being evacuat-ed and brought to Bijapur district headquarters.

Keeping in view the sensitive nature of the region, the forces are extra-cautious while carrying out the casualty evacuation opera-tion, Elesela said, adding combing operations are underway to trace the ultras. The deceased personnel were identifi ed as Sitaram Kunjam, the STF constable, Moti Ram (28), assistant police constable with district reserve group, and Payku Ram Poyam (26), a constable, the ASP added. A cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from the spot, he said. - PTI

C H H A T T I S G A R H

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INDIAM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

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‘Bihar Assembly elections possible in September-October’NEW DELHI: Assembly elec-tions in Bihar, where BJP is set for a battle against a united Ja-nata Parivar, are likely to be held sometime in September-October when extensive central forces and a reworked expenditure monitor-ing system will be deployed to curb money and muscle power.

The electoral rolls will be ready on July 31, Chief Election Com-missioner Nasim Zaidi said, term-ing the polls in Bihar as “mother of all elections”.

Going by precedents, the elec-tion timings would be somewhere in September or October, he said, adding they are yet to begin the

process on fi nalising a schedule.He said the EC will have to take

into account weather conditions, festivals, exams, holidays, heavy monsoon, heavy rains and fl oods before arriving at exact schedule.

Zaidi also refused to go into the number of phases in which the as-sembly polls will be held.

“Abuse of money is a big problem in Bihar. Therefore, this time we are going in for more systematic eff orts. Certain legal amendments are yet to come from the Law Min-istry. But within our powers, we have launched expenditure moni-toring,” Zaidi said in an interview.

He said the EC has undertaken

mapping of all constituencies of Bihar into three categories.

Where EC fi nds maximum sen-sitivity, it plans to deploy central police forces “well in time.”

“...we will identify this time per-sons who serve as a channel for distributing bribe or for distribu-tion of liquor, distribution of gifts.

This assessment is still going on and we hope to come up with a re-strategised expenditure moni-toring which we will roll out at an appropriate time,” he said.

The Commission would be us-ing voter-verifi ed paper audit trail (VVPAT) in 36 of the 243 assem-bly constituencies. The CEC said

the number of such constituencies could increase. VVPAT is a meth-od of providing feedback to voters using a ballotless voting system.

An EVM will have a small at-tachment to it which after pressing the button for a desired candidate, will print that name on a paper.

It will be stored inside the ma-chine and can be used in case of any controversy over the fi nal result. Considering left-wing extremism that aff ects parts of the state, he said an assessment of central para-military forces is also going on.

“Because this is a stand alone election, I hope suffi cient, ad-equate paramilitary forces will be

made available. We will come out with a strategy on this.”

Asked if he could specify the number of personnel in terms of companies, Zaidi said at an appro-priate time the EC will come out with a number.

“The only thing I could say that there would be a very very eff ec-tive use of CPMF, because this is a stand alone assembly election.

“There would be suffi cient num-ber of forces available. Asked about the challenges in conduct of elec-tions in India, he said this year the EC is faced with Bihar.

“It is said to be the mother of all elections, if I can say so,” he said,

adding that some states like Bi-har face three-four areas of major challenges.

“...we must ensure extremely higher participation of voters and this is coupled with the fact that in some of these challenging states, the elections have to be free...means our voters in some pockets should not be intimidated, threat-ened, not to be victimised by...

“The muscle power has more or less disappeared. So that is one major challenge that we will face...in Bihar also where there is a traditionally low turn out. In last elections, it was only 52 per cent,” Zaidi said. - PTI

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

Air India pilot

‘found drunk’

before fl ying at

Sharjah airport

NEW DELHI: The commander of a Delhi-bound Air India fl ight from Sharjah via Kochi was found to be allegedly drunk by airport security just prior to fl ying, forcing the carrier to re-place the senior crew member at the last minute,sources said.

Air India said it is conduct-ing an inquiry into the incident, which took place on Saturday, and based on the fi ndings action would be taken against the pilot.

“With reference to the Shar-jah fl ight, the inquiry is being conducted and necessary action would be taken accordingly,” said an Air India spokesperson.

The spokesperson, how-ever, did not comment when asked whether the airline had de-rostered the pilot pending the inquiry.

Sources said that the pilot was found drunk when he was going through a security check point. They added that the se-curity offi cials informed the airline staff , after which he was taken off duty. - PTI

S E C U R I T Y S C A R E

Rs1m reward

for bride who

preferred toilet

to jewellery

MUMBAI: A Maharashtra bride who got a “toilet” as her wedding gift from her kin as she preferred it over jewellery will now be given a cash reward of Rs1 million by a sanitation NGO for taking a stand on the issue.

Inspired by ‘Swachch Bharat’ campaign, the woman from Akola district insisted on a toilet in her in-laws’ house, placing ba-sic sanitation needs much ahead of other wedding presents.

Lauding the inspiring step by Chaitali Galakhe of Andura vil-lage in Balapur tehsil of Akola district, Sulabh International on Sunday announced Rs1 mil-lion cash award for her.

While making the announce-ment, noted sanitation expert and mentor of Sulabh Inter-national Bindeshwar Pathak termed Chaitali as a great inspir-er and messenger of sanitation.

Chaitali got married to De-vendra Makode from a village in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal dis-trict. Those who attended her marriage on May 15 at Andura village in Akola were surprised to see a new item on display, along with other usual house-hold articles which form part of the articles given by parents/ relatives of the bride to her dur-ing the wedding.

Standing tall along with other items was a toilet.

The pre-fabricated toilet with a water closet, a wash-basin and mirror standing around one foot above the ground, was the cyno-sure of all eyes at the event.

“Five days after my marriage was fi xed, I came to know that there is no toilet at my in-laws’ house,” Chaitali said.

“I told my father and uncle to provide a toilet. They fulfi lled my request. I think it is more useful than some of the other items normally given during marriage,” she said.

Her father fi nally accepted her demand and got a pre-fab-ricated toilet for her to be in-stalled at in-laws’ place. - PTI

W E D D I N G G I F T

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PAKISTANM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

When rescue services arrived, all six children, three boys and three girls, were found dead

Mohammad Basharat, Police offi cial

Bannu girl Sadia aims to bring back squash glory to countryPESHAWAR: She did not think of playing with dolls and plastic utensils as a child, what occupied her mind instead was a sport that is seldom an aspiration for girls.

At the tender age of 10 when Sadia Gul played squash for the fi rst time, her vague dreams took a shape and from that point on-wards she started investing all her eff orts and energy in the tour-naments she played nationally and internationally.

Since she was so driven by sports, her father often took her to Qayyum Sports Stadium to let her see how sportspeople end up playing a perfect game after put-ting in hours of eff ort.

On one such evening, 10-year-old Sadia went to the stadium with her father who was going to visit his friend and a squash leg-end of Pakistan, Qamar Zaman. Seeing Sadia’s passion for the sport, Zaman told her father to let her play. She was given a racquet and left to deal with the ball, and she took up the challenge as it was a chance for her to move from the spectators’ stand to the court. She has not looked back since.

The stadium she once went to as a visitor has become a second home for Sadia who frequents the place for regular practice.

When asked why she chose squash to satisfy the sportswom-an in her, she says she wants to re-vive the game that has faded into near oblivion after legends like Jehangir Khan and Jansher Khan left the courts.

“They ruled the world of squash for nearly four decades and now that they are no longer playing, no one has come forward to keep the game alive in the country,” she said.

Eyes gleamHer eyes gleam as she expresses how she wants to bring squash back into the mainstream, and do so by becoming the fi rst ever woman legend in the world of squash from Pakistan.

Today, 19-year-old Sadia does not only play the game within the country, but in the past few years her hard work has taken her to

places around the globe. She has been named one of the 50 most powerful women in Pakistan in a recent poll held by a local news-paper, her father Sher Khitab said with pride.

Importance of educationHowever, the passion for squash has not resulted in her brushing aside the importance of education.

Presently, Sadia is studying and to keep herself connected with the academic side of the sport, she has opted for courses such as health and physical studies and home economics.

Sadia was born in Bannu — a place where a woman wander-ing outside the premises of the house is a sight seldom seen— but her family later moved to Pesha-war when she was four years old. The stringent rules in her native town never aff ected her career as

a sportsperson as her parents and brothers did not let that happen.

Her parents, she says, sup-ported her dream ever since she told them about it and her brothers too never disapproved of her choice of spending hours practising in the court instead of staying at home and learning household chores.

“My brother drove me here (to the stadium), they always encour-age me,” says Sadia.

However, she fi nds the govern-ment’s disinterest in sports pro-motion disappointing. “I wish the government supports me more so I make a name for the country yet again in squash.”

Nevertheless, she adds, the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited has supported her by sponsoring her tours abroad and within the country for various tournaments she is usually occupied with. — Express Tribune

A M B I T I O N

Fire kills six siblings in Lahore fi re

LAHORE: A fi re caused by an electrical short circuit killed six siblings as they slept in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Sun-day, police said.

The fi re broke out in the early morning at a two-storey house in the Shad Bagh area of Lahore while the family was asleep, local police station offi cial Mohammad Basharat told AFP.

“When rescue services ar-rived, all six children, three boys and three girls, were found dead,” Basharat said.

The mother was rescued alive but wounded and has been hospi-talised, he said, adding that the fa-ther was not at home when the fi re broke out.

The siblings included three boys and three girls namely: Zain, Azan, Aizan, Minahil, Dua, and Umnia. Amongst the six Azan and Aizan were twins, both being one and a half year old.

Lahore’s senior administration offi cial Mohammad Usman con-fi rmed the incident and said that the victims were between seven and 16 years old.

Three of the children suff ocated, he said, while the other three died of their burns.

Funeral prayersPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the incident, and sought a report from the authori-ties in this regard.

The funeral prayers for the deceased were held yesterday afternoon.

Lahore is the second largest city of Pakistan and capital of the politically infl uential wheat bowl province of Punjab.

In December last year a fi re erupted in a busy market in Lahore that killed 13 people. — Agencies

T R A G E D Y

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

Parents of slain Peshawar pupils issue ultimatum

PESHAWAR: Over fi ve months have passed since Peshawar’s Army Public School was stormed by armed militants who ruthless-ly murdered as many as 151 stu-dents and school staff ers. Since then, constitutional amend-ments have been inked and the country has meandered through diff erent courses of action in or-der to put an end to the existing threat of militancy.

Back home in Peshawar, fami-lies who lost their loved ones to the carnage are yet to overcome the sense of helplessness that still encompasses their lives.

Killers unnamedAt the same time, they have to struggle with the reality that their children’s killers remain unnamed – a demand they have made time and time again.

Bereaved parents have once again berated the government

for its “all talk and no action”. Ad-dressing a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Saturday, members of the Shuhada Ghazi Forum said if justice is not served, they will be forced to launch protests in the federal capital in front of the National Assembly. “We were promised that those who were behind the murder of our children will be brought to justice and given exemplary pun-ishments,” said Ajun Khan, the forum’s general secretary.

Heads will roll“We were assured heads will roll following the unforgivable secu-rity lapse and that investigation fi ndings will be made public,” he said, adding their children are no more but they formed the platform to ensure no child ever goes through what their off spring did. “Every parent in the country should join us in our struggle.”

The forum’s general secretary added they have yet to understand what threat defenceless school-

children posed to the militants. “We will head to Islamabad in mid-June,” he added.

Father of victim Sher Ali and the forum’s coordinator Tufail Khattak urged the government to form a judicial commission to conduct an enquiry. Khattak jux-taposed the federal government’s double standards in dealing with law and order in diff erent parts of the country. “If joint investi-gation teams can be formed to investigate target killing in Kara-chi, then why not investigate the biggest terror attack in our his-tory?” he questioned.

“Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan assured us that he will pursue our case and ensure it is adequately inves-tigated but he is yet to fulfi l his promises,” another bereaved par-ent Nasir Khan said.

Nasir said the school attack opened the fl oodgates against militancy and the government was forced to formulate the Na-tional Action Plan. — Express Tribune

Members of the

Shuhada Ghazi

Forum on Saturday

said that if justice

is not served, they

will be forced to

launch protests in

Islamabad in front

of the National

Assembly

FURIOUS: Pakistani parents leave the Army Public School with

their children after it was reopened following an attack there by

Taliban militants in Peshawar on January 12, 2015. — AFP fi le photo

‘Germany’s spy agency helped US fi nd Osama’BERLIN: Germany’s foreign in-telligence agency helped the CIA track down Osama bin Laden in Pakistan where US special forces killed the Al Qaeda leader, ac-cording to a German news report published Sunday.

The BND spy service provided a tip-off that bin Laden was hid-ing in Pakistan, with the knowl-edge of Pakistani security ser-vices, according to the Bild am Sonntag report, which was pub-lished as the agency is battling heavy criticism in a spy scandal.

The information came from a BND informant within Paki-stan’s Inter-Services Intelli-gence agency and confi rmed CIA suspicions, said the newspaper report which cited unnamed US intelligence sources.

The American source was quoted as saying the German tip-off was of “fundamental importance” in the hunt for the architect of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Pakistan has denied that it knew bin Laden was living within its borders or that it had advance knowledge of the 2011 US special forces operation which killed him in a walled compound in the city of Abbottabad.

The German newspaper said that ultimately US services tracked down bin Laden’s exact location by following one of his couriers, as Washington has said.

Listening postThe report also said the BND used its Bad Aibling listening post in Germany’s southern Bavaria state to monitor tel-ephone and email traffic in northern Pakistan to ensure the secrecy of the planned US Navy SEALS’ operation.

News portal Spiegel Online pointed out that the newspaper report about the German spy agency’s “apparent act of hero-

ism” was published “right in the middle of the BND aff air” and asked “is it plausible?”

The BND has been accused of helping the US National Security Agency (NSA) spy not just on ex-tremists and criminals but also on political and business targets, including the French govern-ment, European Commission and Airbus Group.

The claims -- and questions of how much the offi ce of Chancel-lor Angela Merkel knew about the reported joint snooping -- have occupied German politics and media for weeks, and are subject to two parliamentary inquests.

Merkel has pledged to testify before the panels if asked, while her Social Democratic Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel has heaped pressure on her, demand-ing her offi ce reveal the search terms for electronic surveillance which the NSA gave to the BND over the years.

On Sunday Gabriel demand-ed Merkel’s government show “backbone” and release the classifi ed list of search terms even if Washington objects to their publication. — AFP

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

The BND spy service

provided a tip-off

that bin Laden was

hiding in Pakistan,

with the knowledge

of Pakistani security

services, according to

the ‘Bild am Sonntag’

Nineteen-year-old Sadia Gul does not only play the game

within the country, but in the past few years her hard

work has taken her to places around the globe. She has

been named one of the 50 most powerful women in

Pakistan in a recent poll held by a local newspaper, her

father Sher Khitab said with pride

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T I M E S O F O M A NA12

This year is a critical one for educa-tion worldwide. Despite a com-mitment by the international community to guarantee univer-sal primary schooling, some 58 million of the world’s most mar-ginalised children remain out

of the classroom. And, as we seek to expand the international community’s commitment, so that by 2030 every child has the opportunity to attend secondary school, we must work hard to provide the necessary funding.

This is why the upcoming four-day World Educa-tion Forum in South Korea, the homeland of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, is so im-portant. According to most estimates, providing universal secondary education will cost interna-tional donors an additional $22-50 billion a year, even after developing countries ramp up their commitments. If we fail to raise that money, the hopes and ambitions of millions of children are certain to be crushed.

The Forum will focus on how to bridge the fund-ing gap. Later, on July 7, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Foreign Minister Børge Brende will convene a summit in Oslo with the aim of rais-ing education’s profi le among global priorities, re-versing negative trends in fi nancing, and identifying ways to support students more eff ectively. Other conferences, including the Addis Ababa Interna-tional Conference on Financing for Development, the Education International World Congress, an #UpForSchool Town Hall during the UN General Assembly, and the 28th Session of the General Con-ference of UNESCO, will provide forums for action and discussion.

It is fi tting that the fi rst of these events is taking place in South Korea and that Ban will be one of the key speakers. Ban’s personal story illustrates the dif-ference education can make in transforming a life.

Raised in war-torn Korea in the 1950s, Ban’s el-ementary schooling – made possible by help from UNICEF – took place under a tree. UNESCO pro-vided the books, which bore an inscription that read, “Children should work hard, and by doing so they will repay their debt to the United Nations.” No one could have imagined that one of those students would repay his debt by becoming Secretary-Gen-eral and using that position to lead a campaign, the Global Education First Initiative, to provide others with the opportunity he received.

Education is central to achieving all of the other Sustainable Development Goals; it unlocks gains in health, women’s empowerment, employment, and overall quality of life. The trouble is that providing

for a proper education system requires at least 5 per cent of a country’s GDP and usually about 20 per cent of public spending. Few developing countries have undertaken spending on this scale.

For the time being, outside help will be essential. There are clear limits to poor countries’ ability to mobilise the domestic resources needed to provide secondary education for all. The international com-munity must help make up the diff erence by looking to private foundations, businesses, charitable or-ganisations, and global and national funding.

The cause of education still lacks a major philan-thropist like Bill Gates. And, although the Global Partnership for Education raised more than $2 bil-lion in its replenishment eff ort, health programs have more funders, refl ected in, for example, the $12 billion Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Only recently has Norway assumed a vanguard role in making education of all children worldwide a national priority.

Currently, education accounts for only 1 per cent of humanitarian aid in emergencies, despite the fact that millions of children are refugees in need of help, not just for days or weeks, but often for years. Nearly half of the out-of-school population – some 28 mil-lion children – now reside in confl ict countries, with millions trapped in refugee camps or tent cities.

Among the proposals being discussed at this year’s meetings is the establishment of a fund for education during emergencies and a coordination platform to help channel resources to places like Syria, where the confl ict has left nearly three mil-lion children out of school.

Likewise, in Nepal, 25,000 classrooms are in ur-gent need of reconstruction or retrofi tting to with-stand earthquakes.

The eff ort to provide humanitarian aid in emer-gencies is just one part of the agenda for global education. Just as the International Finance Facil-ity for Immunisation provides front-loaded fund-ing mechanisms for health, we now must consider innovative fi nancing instruments, like social impact bonds, that promise not only to increase enrollment, but also to improve student retention and learning.

Today, the richest countries in the world spend about $100,000 educating a child to the age of 16. In Sub-Saharan Africa, by contrast, an average child from a poor family will receive less than four years of education, at a cost of $150 per year – only $12 of which originates in the richest countries.

Our long-term aim must be to ensure that citizens of the world’s poorest countries have not only the same educational opportunities, but also the same educational attainment rates as their counterparts in richer countries. — Project Syndicate

Worldwide funding for education lagging

Today, the US and Education is central to achieving all of the other Sustainable Development Goals; it unlocks gains in health, women’s empowerment, employment, and overall quality of life. The trouble is that providing for a proper education system requires at least 5 per cent of a country’s GDP and usually about 20 per cent of public spending

Letters, containing not more than 200 words with full name, address and telephone number, may be sent by mail (Times of Oman, P.O. Box 770, P.C. 112, Ruwi), by fax (24813153) or by e-mail (times@omantel.net.om)

COMMENTARY

The Rohingya people of northern Myanmar have been defi ned in the last year by UN agencies as the most persecuted people in the world. Despite having lived in Myanmar for generations,

the Myanmar government defi nes them as illegal Bangladeshi mi-grants, and actively discriminates against them. Unwilling to go back to Bangladesh which does not want them either, they have now resort-ed to fl eeing by sea, with sometimes disastrous consequences. In the last week, there have been heart-breaking scenes of emaciated men, women and children reaching up to catch bottles of water thrown by journalists who had found them in the open seas off Indonesia, Thai-land and Malaysia. None of these countries want the Rohingya either, with Thai naval personnel boarding one boat full of Rohingya and Bangladeshis, repairing its broken engine, leaving water and food and then forcing the craft and its human cargo out of Thai waters, bound for who-knows-where.

The Rohingya are part of a vast human traffi cking crisis that affl icts the countries of Southeast Asia. It demands an integrated and coor-dinated response if a human tragedy on a vast scale is not to unfold. As with the similar crisis in the Mediterranean region and in the Eu-ropean Union countries — that is just not happening and there seems little likelihood that it will. Myanmar is threatening to boycott an up-coming regional summit, much to the outrage of the UN and human rights groups in the US and around the world. Human Rights Watch has termed the situation “a deadly game of human ping-pong”. It is not wrong. There are seismic shifts in human population movement globally, with millions fl eeing war, persecution and poverty. Economic migrants mingle with the refugees from confl ict, and the resources of destination countries are stretched, their internal political problems exacerbated by the migrant infl ux.

People smugglers continue to make a profi t and we are days away from the creation of yet another maritime graveyard. The Rohingya lose again. —Express Tribune

The plight of Rohingyas

The riots that erupted in the American city of Baltimore last month were reminiscent of those that consumed cities all over the country during the 1960s. This rage and unrest was thor-

oughly explained fi ve decades ago by President Lyndon Johnson’s National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, also known as the Kerner Commission. The commission’s report was released in 1968 - the year that the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. touched off riots in 125 cities - and contains the most can-did indictment of racism and segregation seen in such a document, before or since.

The commission told white Americans what black citizens already knew: That the country was “moving toward two societies, one black, one white - separate and unequal.” It linked the devastating riots that consumed Detroit and Newark, New Jersey, in 1967 to residential segregation that had been sustained and made worse by federal poli-cies that concentrated poor black citizens in ghettos. It also said that discrimination and segregation had become a threat to “the future of every American.”

As part of the remedy, the commission called on the government to outlaw housing discrimination in both the sale and rental markets and to “reorient” federal policy so that housing for low- and mod-erate-income families would be built in integrated, mixed-income neighbourhoods, where residents would have better access to jobs and decent schools.

Soon after the King assassination, Congress passed the Fair Hous-ing Act, which banned housing discrimination and required states and local governments that receive federal housing money to try to overcome historic patterns of segregation and to “affi rmatively fur-ther” federal fair housing goals. But the eff ort was hampered from the beginning by local offi cials who ignored or opposed the goal of deseg-regation and by federal offi cials, including presidents, who simply de-clined to enforce it.

A growing body of evidence suggests that America would be a dif-ferent country today had the government taken its responsibility seri-ously. For example, a Harvard study released earlier this month found that young children whose families had been given housing vouchers that allowed them to move to better neighborhoods were more likely to attend college - and to attend better colleges - than those whose families had not received the vouchers. The voucher group also had signifi cantly higher incomes as adults. But little of the promise of pro-gressive-sounding laws was truly realised. The government’s failure to enforce the fair housing law can be seen throughout much of the country; metropolitan areas with large black populations have, in fact, remained highly segregated. — The New York Times

Housing apartheid, American style

G O R D O N B R O W N

Patients are unsure of the quality of treatmentThis refers to the news story, Oman health: Shortage of hospitals putting severe strain on patient care (May 18). In think Oman not only needs more hospitals but also more skilful doctors. At present, the patients are unsure about the quality of treatment at hospitals.Rosy Bawa Muscat

Need to relax recruitment rules in the health sectorThis refers to the news story, Oman health: Shortage of hospitals putting severe strain on patient care (May 18). Oman needs more experts, such as doctors, phar-macists, nurses and others in the healthcare industry. However, for this to happen, the laws pertaining

to recruitment need to be relaxed in the country.Kiran KalyanSalalah

Healthier lifestyles need to be promoted by the mediaThis refers to the news story, Oman health: Shortage of hospitals putting severe strain on patient care (May 18).I feel that there should be more focus on educa-tion for a healthier lifestyle so that fewer people require treatment at hospitals. The media has an important role to play in this. In my opinion, the media should consider leading the way by cutting down promotion of diff erent types of junk food. I am sure such an action would be helpful.Helen SayersMuscat

Part-time jobs will help children to value moneyThis refers to the news story, Omani students can now take up part-time jobs (May 17). I think expatriate children should be al-lowed to work part-time in order to help fund education. Such opportunities help them to get a reality check with regard to money. My two sons had grown up here and Dubai but when my youngest returned to my home country he had no clue about money’s value.Spencer VanderpalDubai, UAE

If expats get part-time jobs, Omanis will suff erThis refers to the news story, Omani students can now take up part-time jobs (May 17). I do not agree that expatriates should be

allowed to work part-time as they hold the major chunk of jobs in the private sector. If this is allowed then Omanis will remain unem-ployed for a long time. My question is, will the Indian government em-ploy Omanis if they are qualifi ed? The government should not make the mistake of allowing expat stu-dents to get part-time jobs.Khader Nawaz KhanSalalah

No need to pay expatriate children for part-time jobsThis refers to the news story, Omani students can now take up part-time jobs (May 17). I think expatriate children should be allowed to hold such jobs but with-out any remuneration. Vaneesh SaxenaAl Khuwair

READERS’ FORUM

It is impossible to love and be wise FRANCIS BACON

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The decision to abandon relative peace and pros-perity for brutal war and

instability may seem irrational. But young people, born and raised in democratic societies, have in-creasingly been yielding to the appeal of death-dealing groups like the IS, leaving their homes and families to kill in faraway places. Why has democracy lost the allegiance of these restless spirits, and how can it recapture the hearts and minds of others who would follow suit?

The philosopher Friedrich Ni-etzsche once wrote that humans would rather will nothingness than not will anything at all. The leaden despair of lifelessness, impotence, and hopelessness is vastly less appealing than in-tensity – even if that intensity is found in violence, death, and destruction.

In short, it is a matter of mean-ingfulness, the presence of which motivates us, connects us to one another, and orders our lives. If it is missing – if, say, democratic ideals and institutions are fail-ing to provide a palpable enough sense of community and purpose – people seek a sense of meaning

elsewhere, which in some cases leads them to malevolent causes.

This is the cultural challenge facing democracy today, and those who wish to maintain the freedom and promise of demo-cratic societies ignore it at their peril. It is a challenge that should be recognized not only for what it says about living conditions in advanced demo-cratic countries worldwide, but also because any crisis is also an opportunity – in this case, to recapture the meaning that lies at the heart of democracy.

The appeal of groups like the IS to young people reared in demo-cratic countries highlights these societies’ growing disparities in educational and economic op-portunity, which are breeding cynicism, resignation, and anger among those who fi nd themselves locked out of the social elite. Feel-ings of hopelessness and despair at the centre incite extremism at the fringes.

Elites in the advanced democ-racies – say, the top 1 per cent of income earners – can hardly take comfort from such conditions. Even the most insular globetrot-ter, fl itting from one market or

cultural playground to another, must consider their children. What culture will they absorb? From where will they derive their sense of hope for the future?

Defenders of democracy must now determine not only how to create jobs and ensure mate-rial prosperity for today’s young people, but also how to feed their souls on the way. If they fail, as we have seen, others will fi ll the void.

To win this high-stakes con-test, democratic societies must look beyond battlefi eld victory and focus on winning hearts and minds through the power of ideas and the promise of meaningful-ness – just as the IS has done. The notion that democracies can fend off such forces, with their well-resourced and media-savvy ideo-logical apparatuses, with guns alone is a sure loser.

The eff ort should begin with a publicly commissioned gather-ing of a broad cross-section of po-litical scientists, anthropologists, theologians, philosophers, and artists, among others, from across the political spectrum, convened from universities and similar in-stitutions around the world. — Project Syndicate

The Venezuela we live in today calls itself a democracy, but this is a facade. Under the heavy hand of President Nicolás Maduro, our country is in a profound economic, social and political crisis

It has been almost a year and a half since the people of Venezuela took to the streets de-manding change, and my country’s crisis

has only gotten worse. Venezuelans of all back-grounds denounced our failed state and marched for a constitutional change of the current regime. It was because we spoke out publicly against the government’s corruption and ineffi ciency that I and so many others are in prison. Last year, the United Nations found that I am being held in vio-lation of international law, and I will not relent until the people’s demand is met: Democracy must be restored to Venezuela. To achieve this critical goal, we need an end to state repression, the release of all political prisoners and free and fair elections.

The Venezuela we live in today calls itself a democracy, but this is a facade. Under the heavy hand of President Nicolás Maduro, our country is in a profound economic, social and political crisis. We have a government that fears its peo-ple. Rather than listening to what its citizens have to say, it seeks to silence us. Forbidden from speaking out, from exercising our constitutional rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly, we are persecuted; we are im-prisoned; we are killed. Our media are silenced. And now the president has even authorised the use of deadly force against protesters. At a time in our country’s history when we have the poten-tial to be one of the world’s largest oil producers, our children have less food to eat, our sick can’t fi nd medicine, our infl ation rate is the highest in the world, our murder rate is the second highest and we have one of the most corrupt govern-ments on Earth. All we seek are the rights guar-anteed by our constitution.

Change can start with an end to the state-sponsored persecution of those who think dif-ferently from the Maduro regime. This repres-sion delegitimises the ruling government and makes a functioning democracy impossible. We also demand the release of all political prison-ers. The more than 70 in Venezuela are merely a symptom of the overall poor state of democracy in the country. Our liberation, however, cannot be an isolated event but must be part of a process in which we restore a functioning democracy to our people. Those committing or complicit in se-rious human rights abuses must resign. And the judiciary and electoral commission must be free from the infl uence of the executive branch.

Maduro claims that those of us demanding change want to carry out a coup against the government. That is false. Let me be clear: The only transition of power I would ever accept is that prescribed in our constitution: Maduro’s resignation, a recall referendum, a constitu-tional assembly to review and propose amend-ments to our constitution or a change through the ballot box.

Venezuela is supposed to have parliamenta-ry elections this year, but already we see wor-rying signs of electoral corruption. It is almost halfway through the year, and no date has been set for the vote. Should there actually be elec-tions, we must have experienced, independent, international observers in the country, not just on election day, but in the months leading up to it. For us to have full faith in these elections, we need to know that those monitoring it will be impartial — a basic right that has become a luxury in today’s Venezuela.

To restore our democracy, we will need the support of the international community. Al-ready, more and more countries are recognising the human rights violations in Venezuela. Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Spain, the United States and others have called for the respect of democ-racy in Venezuela and for the release of its politi-cal prisoners. I would like to thank these govern-ments, especially the governments of the region, for their vocal support, but this rhetoric must be followed by action.

This month, Uruguayan diplomat Luis Alma-gro will become the new secretary general of the Organisation of American States, and he has the chance to demonstrate that the OAS still has rel-evance. Almagro has promised to return the or-ganization to the principles of “democracy, liber-ty and human rights.” The OAS cannot say that it is a community built upon these values and then ignore the suff ering of the Venezuelan people. We must bring an end to this double standard for the sake of the millions of citizens dreaming of a peaceful democratic transition in Venezuela. We need change now. — The Washington Post

López was mayor of the Chacao district of Cara-cas from 2000 to 2008 and is the leader of Ven-ezuelan opposition party Popular Will. He has been jailed since February 2014 and is being held in the Ramo Verde military prison outside of Caracas.

Venezuela needs world’s help to fi ght oppression

Twenty years ago, kids in preschool, kin-dergarten and even

fi rst and second grade spent much of their time playing: Building with blocks, draw-ing or creating imaginary worlds, in their own heads or with classmates. But in-creasingly, these activities are being abandoned for the teacher-led, didactic instruc-tion typically used in higher grades. In many schools, formal education now starts at age four or fi ve. Without this early start, the thinking goes, kids risk falling behind in crucial subjects such as reading and math, and may never catch up.

The idea seems obvi-ous: Starting sooner means learning more; the early bird catches the worm.

But a growing group of sci-entists, education research-ers and educators say there is little evidence that this ap-proach improves long-term achievement; in fact, it may have the opposite eff ect, po-tentially slowing emotional and cognitive development, causing unnecessary stress and perhaps even souring kids’ desire to learn.

One expert I talked to recently, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, a professor emerita of education at Lesley Uni-versity in Cambridge, Mas-sachusetts, describes this trend as a “profound misun-derstanding of how children learn.” She regularly tours schools and sees younger students fl oundering to com-prehend instruction: “I’ve seen it many, many times in many, many classrooms - kids being told to sit at a table and just copy letters. They don’t know what they’re do-ing. It’s heartbreaking.”

The stakes in this debate are considerable. As the skeptics of teacher-led early learning see it, that kind of education will fail to produce people who can discover and innovate and will merely produce people who are likely to be passive consum-ers of information, followers rather than inventors. Which kind of citizen do we want for the 21st century?

In the US, more academic early education has spread rapidly in the past decade. Programmes like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top have contributed to more testing and more teacher-directed instruction.

Another reason: The Com-mon Core State Standards, a detailed set of educational guidelines meant to ensure that students reach certain benchmarks between kin-dergarten and 12th grade. Currently, 43 states and the District of Columbia have adopted both the math and language standards.

The shift toward didactic approaches is an attempt to

solve two pressing problems.By many measures, US ed-

ucational achievement lags behind that of other coun-tries; at the same time, mil-lions of American students, many of them poor and from minority backgrounds, remain far below national norms. Advocates say that starting formal education earlier will help close these dual gaps.

But these moves, while well intentioned, are mis-guided. Several countries, in-cluding Finland and Estonia, don’t start compulsory edu-cation until the age of 7. In the most recent comparison of national educational lev-els, the Program for Interna-tional Student Assessment, both countries ranked signif-icantly higher than the US on math, science and reading.

Of course, these countries are smaller, less unequal and less diverse than the US. In such circumstances, education poses fewer chal-lenges. It’s unlikely that starting school at seven would work here: Too many young kids, disadvantaged or otherwise, would probably end up watching hours of TV a day, not an activity that promotes future educational achievement.

But the complexities of the task in this country don’t erase a fundamental fact that overly structured class-rooms do not benefi t many young children.

Some research indicates that early instruction in read-ing and other areas may help some students, but these boosts appear to be temporary. A 2009 study by Sebastian P. Suggate, an education re-searcher at Alanus University in Germany, looked at about 400,000 15-year-olds in more than 50 countries and found that early school entry pro-vided no advantage. Over the past 20 years, scientists have come to understand much more about how children learn. Jay Giedd, a neurosci-entist at the University of Cal-ifornia, San Diego, has spent his career studying how the human brain develops from birth through adolescence; he says most kids younger than seven or eight are better suited for active exploration than didactic explanation. “The trouble with over-structuring is that it discour-ages exploration,” he says.

Reading, in particular, can’t be rushed. It has been around for only about 6,000 years, so the ability to trans-form marks on paper into complex meaning is not pre-wired into the brain. It doesn’t develop “naturally,” as do other complex skills such as walking; it can be fostered, but not forced. Too often that’s what schools are trying to do now.

We must hope that those who make education policy will start paying attention to this science. — The New York Times

Learning by means of play

Inequality in democracies creates havoc

D AV I D K O H N

R I C H A R D K . S H E R W I N

L E O P O L D O L Ó P E Z

TOURISM ARRANGEMENT WITH INDIAMUSCAT: Mohsin bin Khamis Al Balushi, undersecretary at the Ministry of Com-merce and Industry, said that the Sultanate has made an arrangement with India on a new mechanism for marketing and promoting tourism to the Sultanate in India. He also said that the mechanism was determined at the meetings with the representatives of tourism and travel companies of Bombay on the sidelines of the Omani Evening held there recently. The mechanism included promotion and advertising tourism potentials in the Sultanate. He added that an agreement also made to establish an offi ce to promote Sultanate in India which will remain as reference for tourists and Indian companies which they require more details on Sultanate’s tourism.

FROM OUR ARCHIVES

TODAY IN HISTORY1540 Afghan chief Sher Khan defeats

Mongul Emperor Humayun at Kanauj.

1756 Britain declares war on France. 1814 Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden. 1795 Thousands of rioters enter jails in

Lyons, France, and massacre 99 Jacobin prisoners.

1814 Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium

and begins the invasion of France

HISTORYNET.COM

EquatorEquator

EquatorEquator

Asia:Wetand

warm

SouthAmerica:

Dry

Walker Circulation: Tropicalairflow in lower atmosphere

AUSTRALIAAUSTRALIA

Warm seaWarm seaTradewindsTradewinds

Cold seaCold sea

Warm seaWarm seaCold seaCold sea

Asia:Dry

SouthAmerica:Wet and

warm

Warm water Humboldt Current: Cold water rises

Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

TradewindsTradewinds

2015 set to be harsh El Niño year

GraphicsGraphic News /Source: NOAA, wire agencies

Weather experts are warning of a “super El Niño” this year that could wreak havoc with normal weather conditions around the world

Normal conditions: Trade winds push warm surface water west

El Niño: Trade winds reverse and push warm surface water east

Water circulation

Water circulation

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WORLDM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

I can confi rm that a British security contractor is among those killed in the attack. His family has been informed and my thoughts are with them at this incredibly diffi cult time

Philip Hammond, British Foreign Secretary

Briton among 3 killed in Kabul attackKABUL: A British security con-tractor and two teenage girls were killed on Sunday when a Taliban insurgent rammed an explosives-laden car into a EU police vehicle in Kabul, the latest attack of Af-ghanistan’s fi ghting season.

At least 18 people were wounded in the assault, which comes three days after 14 people — mostly for-eigners — were killed in a Taliban attack on a Kabul guest house that trapped dozens attending a concert.

The suicide bomber targeted the foreign convoy, which includ-ed at least two vehicles of the Eu-

ropean Union Police Mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL), during the Sunday morning rush hour near Kabul airport.

“A suicide bomber detonated his Toyota sedan targeting a foreign forces convoy near Kabul airport today at 9am,” Kabul police spokes-man Ebadullah Karimi said.

“The target of the attacker was the foreign forces convoy. Two girls have died, 18 others are wounded, all of them civilians,” he said, adding that three children were among those wounded.

The two girls, who the Afghan

health ministry said were teenag-ers, are believed to have been pas-sers-by at the time of the attack.

EUPOL in a statement con-fi rmed that one of the mission’s vehicles was hit by the explosion near Kabul airport resulting in the death of one personnel, with two other mission members suff ering minor wounds.

In London, British Foreign Sec-retary Philip Hammond “strongly condemned (the Taliban’s) cow-ardly actions”.

“I can confi rm that a British se-curity contractor is among those

killed in the attack,” Hammond said in a statement. “His family has been informed and my thoughts are with them at this incredibly diffi cult time.”

An AFP photographer at the scene saw troops hauling away the body of a person in military-style uniform, pulled out from the twist-ed wreck of a badly damaged se-dan. Taliban insurgents, who have stepped up attacks on foreign tar-gets after launching their spring off ensive late last month, claimed responsibility for the car bombing.

“A suicide attack was carried out

on foreign forces near the gate of Kabul airport,” spokesman Zabi-hullah Mujahid said on Twitter.

On Friday the militant group justifi ed its targeting of foreigners, saying that people from “invading countries” do not count as civilians.

“Every foreigner from an invad-ing country especially NATO is considered an invader. We don’t classify any of them as civilian,” Mujahid said on Twitter.

Afghan forces are facing their fi rst fi ghting season against the Taliban without the full support of US-led foreign combat troops. - AFP

A suicide bomber

detonated his sedan

targeting a convoy

of foreign forces

near Kabul airport

killing three people

A15

WORLDM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

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Iraq’s Ramadi on brink of falling to IS group rebels

BAGHDAD: IS militants overran one of the last remaining districts held by government forces in the Iraqi city of Ramadi on Sunday and besieged a key army base on the edge of the western provincial capital, security sources said.

The militants seized most of Ramadi on Friday, planting their black fl ag on the local government headquarters in the centre of the city, but a contingent of Iraqi spe-cial forces was holding out in the Malaab neighbourhood.

RetreatThose forces retreated on Sunday to an area east of the city after suf-fering heavy casualties, security sources said, bringing Ramadi to the brink of falling to IS.

It would be the fi rst major urban centre to be seized by the insur-

gents in Iraq since security forces and paramilitary groups began pushing them back last year.

Anbar provincial council mem-ber Athal Fahdawi described the situation in Ramadi as “total col-lapse” and said local offi cials had voted in favour of the deployment

of paramilitaries to the Iraq’s heartland.

Paramilitaries have played a leading role in reversing IS gains elsewhere in Iraq, but have so far been kept on the sidelines in An-bar due to concerns about infl am-ing sectarian violence.

The insurgents were closing in on the Anbar Operations Com-mand to the west and a mili-tary officer inside the army base said it was too late to send reinforcements, pleading for help from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi.

“We are now surrounded inside the Operations Command by IS, and mortars are raining down,” said the offi cer.

“IS fi ghters are in almost every street. It’s a chaotic situation and things are sliding out of control. Ramadi is falling into the hands of IS,” the offi cer said.

IS, which emerged as an off -shoot of Al Qaeda, controls large parts of Iraq and Syria in a self-proclaimed caliphate where it has massacred members of religious minorities and slaughtered West-ern and Arab hostages.

United States and its allies have been pounding the militants for months with air strikes in both countries. Washington said on Saturday its special forces had killed a senior IS fi gure in a raid into Syria.

Over a period of 24 hours up to 0500GMT on Sunday, the US-led coalition carried out seven air strikes near Ramadi, according to a statement -- the highest number on any single location in Iraq and Syria. Ramadi is the capital of An-bar, Iraq’s largest province, and one of just a few towns and cities to have remained under govern-ment control in the vast desert terrain, which borders Saudi Ara-bia, Syria and Jordan. — Reuters

Iraqi special forces

retreat with heavy

losses as militants

besiege army base

Thousands protest against Macedonian premier over wire-tap scandalSKOPJE: Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Macedonia’s capital on Sunday, waving Macedonian and Albanian fl ags in a dramatic display of eth-nic unity against a government on the ropes after months of damag-ing wire-tap revelations.

Crowds packed the central av-enue in front of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski’s government offi ce, angry over a fl ood of dis-

closures that the West says have cast serious doubt on the state of democracy in the former Yugo-slav republic. Police in camou-fl age uniform were in the base-ment of the building.

The crisis rocking Gruevski’s nine-year conservative rule is the worst since Western diplomacy dragged the country from the brink of all-out civil war during an eth-nic Albanian insurgency in 2001,

promising it a path to European Union and NATO membership.

NationalismA dispute with neighbouring Greece over Macedonia’s name has halted its Western integration, and in that time critics say Gruevs-ki has tilted to the right, stoking nationalism and monopolising power in coalition with a party of ethnic Albanian former guerrillas.

Since February, he has faced a wave of embarrassing revelations against him and his ministers, con-tained in taped conversations that appear to expose tight government control over journalists, judges and the conduct of elections.

Opposition Social Democrat leader Zoran Zaev says the tapes, which he has dubbed “bombs”, were made illegally by the govern-ment, part of a mass surveillance

operation targeting 20,000 allies and opponents alike, and leaked to him by a whistleblower. “I locked my shop, packed my things and came to Skopje,” said 45-year-old demonstrator Andrej Poposki, who had travelled by bus from the town of Prilep, 130km (80 miles) to the south.

“We have to take a stand and confront the criminals. They be-long in jail, not in government.”

Protesters carried pictures por-traying Gruevski behind bars.

Gruevski has not disputed that the voices on the tapes are genu-ine but says that he did not order the recordings and that the audio has been doctored. Zaev has been charged with violence against the state. Zaev says several thou-sand demonstrators plan to camp out in the streets until the prime minister quits. — Reuters

E M B A R R A S S I N G R E V E L A T I O N S

Nepal quakes deadliest tohit country

KATHMANDU: The number of people killed in Nepal by two major earthquakes has surpassed 8,500, making the disaster the deadli-est to hit the Himalayan country on record, as rescuers on Sunday searched for dozens of people still missing in remote villages.

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on April 25, killing thou-sands and demolishing more than half a million homes, most of them in rural areas cut off from emer-gency medical care.

A second major quake struck on Tuesday 76 kilometres (47 miles) east of the capital Kathmandu, just as Nepalis were beginning to recover from the previous earth-quake. The death toll from the two quakes now stands at 8,583, the home ministry said on Sunday.

The previous deadliest earth-quake to strike the country - in 1934 - killed at least 8,519 in Ne-pal, as well as thousands more in neighbouring India. In Dolakha district east of Kathmandu, which was hit hardest by the second quake, dozens of landslides have blocked access to remote villages.

In Singati village, devastated by a landslide, dozens are still miss-ing and rescue workers are yet to remove debris from all of the vil-lage to recover bodies, district of-fi cials said. — Reuters

D O Z E N S M I S S I N G

RUNNING FOR SAFETY: Iraqi security forces stand guard as residents from the city of Ramadi, who

fl ed their homes on Saturday, wait to cross Bzeibez bridge, on the southwestern frontier of Baghdad

with Anbar province. – AFP

BMARKE

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Oman’s crude exports up 10%; China remains top importer

A E JAMESbusinesseditor@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Oman’s crude oil ex-ports surged ahead by 10.2 per cent to 78.39 million barrels in the fi rst quarter of 2015, compared to the same period last year.

However, the average price of Oman Crude in the international market dipped by 41.5 per cent to $61.99 per barrel in the fi rst three

months of this year, from as high as $105.96 per barrel for the same pe-riod of 2014, according to the latest statistical bulletin released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI). However, the crude oil market is now witnessing a recovery, with the price reaching $66.20 per barrel last weekend.

Oman’s ability to increase spending by 4.5 per cent this year would largely depend upon growth

in crude oil prices. In its 2015 budget plan, revenues were pro-jected at OMR11.6 billion, leaving a budget defi cit of OMR2.5 billion - Oman’s largest fi scal gap since at least 1990.

Meanwhile, the country’s total crude oil and condensate produc-tion grew marginally by 1.8 per cent to 86.86 million barrels (or

965,000 barrels per day) in the fi rst quarter of this year. Oil production for the same period in 2014 was 85.36 million barrels (or 948,400 barrels per day).

China retains lead positionChina retained the top position, in terms of Oman Crude imports, by importing as much as 58.18 mil-lion barrels in the fi rst quarter, an increase of 16.6 per cent over 49.88 million barrels imported in the fi rst quarter of 2014. In 2014, Chi-na was the top importer of Oman Crude, with imports of 210.47 mil-lion barrels, out of the Sultanate’s total export of 292.16 million bar-rels. Taiwan (9.76 million barrels), Thailand (3.32 million barrels), Japan (2.40 million barrels) and South Korea (1.98 million bar-rels) followed China in imports of Oman Crude.

India and Singapore were also importing Oman Crude in the fi rst quarter.

Average price of Oman Crude in the

international market dipped by 41.5 per cent

to $61.99 per barrel in the fi rst three months

of this year, from as high as $105.96 per

barrel for the same period of 2014

– Times fi le picture

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QNB Group holds annual strategy meet in OmanTimes News Service

MUSCAT: QNB Group held its annual strategy conference in Muscat. The meeting, took place on May 15 and May 16, was hosted by group chief executive offi cer, Ali Ahmed Al Kuwari.

The theme of the two-day con-ference was built around QNB

Group’s stated vision of being a “MEA Icon” by 2017, and focussed on highlighting best practices to develop the Group’s strategy both domestically and internationally.

Attending the conference were members representing the group’s executive management team in Qatar, and general managers, and executive management repre-

sentatives from the QNB Interna-tional network that now spans 27 countries. Al Kuwari said, “This is the fi rst time that this impor-tant Group Strategy Conference is being held in the Sultanate of Oman. It is particularly signifi -cant given that QNB opened its fi rst GCC branch here in 2007 and today, we are proudly oper-

ating through 6 branches located across the Sultanate.”

“I am especially pleased to wel-come representatives from our new Vietnam Representative Of-fi ce, recently opened in Ho Chi Min City to our gathering. Viet-nam is another signifi cant step in our international expansion strategy and the strong and resil-

ient emerging market of Asia is strategically important to us mov-ing forward. The increasing fl ow of “East-West” trade between Qatar and Asia is very much part of our future plans and QNB is keen to develop opportunities that present themselves to us as our reputation and presence in South-East Asia grows.” “Our Strategy Conference

is the perfect setting to allow us the opportunity to discuss, share and refl ect upon our progress and business plans but importantly it also provides the ideal forum to project our aspirations as a Group” he added. QNB Group’s presence through its subsidiaries and asso-ciate companies extends to more than 27 countries.

T W O - D A Y F O R U M

NAMA TO PRESENT PAPERS IN POWER AND WATER FORUMNama Group, formerly known as Electricity Holding

Group, will present several papers highlighting its key

achievements and plans in the Oman Energy and Water

Exhibition and Conference on Tuesday. These presen-

tations will highlight its commitment in providing safe

and sustainable electricity solutions to its customers.

The exhibition and conference will be held between

May 19 and 21 at the Oman International Exhibition

Centre. — Supplied picture

India set to provide Mongolia $1b creditULAN BATOR, (Mongolia): India will provide Mongolia with a $1 billion line of credit to help fund railway, power and other infrastructure projects, a much-needed boost for the north Asian country struggling to right its slowing economy.

“We will take our economic partnership to a new level,” Indian Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi said on Sunday at a joint press conference with his Mongolian counterpart, Sai-khanbileg Chimed.

Mongolia is looking for ways to fi nance and expand a network of road and rail corridors to help in-crease mineral exports to China and beyond. It’s also developing new coal fi red power plants and wind farms to reduce energy reli-ance on neighbouring Russia.

Low commodity pricesMongolia has seen its economic growth slow from a world-beat-ing 17.3 per cent in 2011 to 7.8 per cent last year amid a fl ight of foreign investment and low com-modity prices. Modi on Sunday mentioned mining as a sector for joint cooperation, without providing details.

While trade between the two countries is almost negligible, just $16 million last year, Mon-golia looks to India for a spiritual connection as the majority of its citizens follow Buddhism, found-ed in India 2,500 years ago.

Modi, the fi rst Indian premier to pay a working visit to Mon-golia, began his visit on Sunday at Gandan Monastery where he presented a sapling of the Bodhi tree. — Bloomberg News

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

STRATEGIC DEAL: Prime Minster Narendra Modi with his Mon-

golian counterpart Chimed Saikhanbileg signing an agreement

at State Palace in Ulan Bator, Mongolia on Sunday. — PTI

B3M O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

MARKET

www.facebook.com/timesofoman

SEND US YOUR VIEWS AND COMMENTSBrokerage firms back

Phoenix Power’s IPO

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Brokerage houses in Oman have backed Phoenix Pow-er initial public off ering by pro-jecting a fabulous gain on listing.

Phoenix Power Co. has fl oated a OMR56.3 million-initial pub-lic off ering on May 10, which will close subscription on June 8.

“We hold a positive view on the initial public off ering of Phoe-nix Power Company owing to defensive business model of the company and its steady operat-ing cash fl ows supporting con-sistent dividend payments,” said

a research note from Al Maha Finance Services.

“We value Phoenix Power at OMR0.144 per share and recom-mend investors to ‘subscribe’ to the off er with an upside potential of 30.5 per cent from the issue price of OMR0.110, in view of the expected listing gains and attrac-tive dividend yields,” added the research note.

Al Maha note also said that power fi rms in Oman are known for off ering compelling listing gains in their initial public of-ferings. Besides the listing gains, these companies also have a prov-en track record of value creation, off ering returns in the form of capital appreciation over a period of time.

“The preceding fi ve listed pow-er companies made a value crea-tion of around OMR260 million to the investors. Successful list-ing of the power fi rms is likely to

attract and encourage investors to participate in upcoming IPO for listing gains as well as for long term returns.”

The defensive business model and steady cash fl ows have helped the Omani power companies to pay regular cash dividends to in-vestors, off ering a superior divi-dend yield as compared to the market. Phoenix Power Company has projected consistent dividend payments, off ering an attractive average dividend yield of above 7 per cent at the issue price of OMR0.110 per share.

“We estimate a fair value of 129 baisas for Phoenix Power, based on a two-stage discounted cash fl ow valuation model that assumes a higher discount rate for the company post PPA termi-nation. Using dividend yield as a yardstick, the stock can reach a target of 140 baisas per share on listing,” added the Financial

Corporation (FinCorp).The initial public off ering

promises investors an attrac-tive annual dividend yield of 7.3 per cent between 2015 and 2019 and given the interest rate en-vironment, it is very attractive. This compares with an average dividend yield of 5.9 per cent for other power companies listed on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM). The fi rst dividend will be paid in July, 2015, and twice yearly thereafter.

The share off er is available for both Omanis and foreign resi-dents. The primary issue is di-vided into two categories, on the basis of size of subscription.

As many as 65 per cent is re-served for the fi rst category, who apply for shares between 1,000 and 600,000, while the second category is institutions and high-net worth individuals who apply for shares between 600,100 and 51,191,000.

As the largest power plant in Oman, the contracted plant’s power capacity of 2,000 megawatt represents 27.8 per cent of the main interconnected system.

The company has entered into a 15-year power purchase agree-ment with Oman Power and Wa-ter Procurement Company, which will expire in 2029.

Phoenix Power is off ering 511,910,511 shares, representing 35 per cent of the issued share capital of Phoenix Power. The shares will be priced at 110 bai-sas per share, inferring a total of-fer size of OMR56.3 million and a market capitalisation on listing of OMR161 million.

Al Maha Financial

holds a positive

view on Phoenix

Power IPO owing

to defensive

business model

of the company

and its steady

operating cash

fl ows supporting

consistent dividend

payments

Japan’s trade with GCC fallsTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Japan’s bilateral trade with the Gulf countries fell 3.82 per cent in 2014 to $164.76 bil-lion, compared to $171.31 billion in 2013.

This decline was mainly attrib-uted to an estimated 4.28 per cent average fall in the price of crude oils that Japan imported from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in 2014. The average price of crude oil fell to $104.76 per barrel in 2014, from $109.44 per barrel in 2013.

The eff ect of the deprecia-tion in the value of Japanese yen against the US dollar, estimated to be slightly more than eight per cent in average, during 2014, has also refl ected in the reduced value of bilateral trade. Though Japan’s trade defi cit with the GCC coun-tries is huge, the decline in crude oil price is gradually bringing down the defi cit. In 2014, the defi -cit was brought down by 9.14 per cent to $114.9 billion, compared to $126.5 billion in 2013.

Japan’s world trade during the year 2014 slipped marginally by

2.83 per cent to $1,503.7 billion compared to $1,547.5 billion in the previous year. Exports declined by 3.3 per cent to $690.9 billion from $714.9 billion, and imports by 2.39 per cent to $812.8 billion from $832.6 billion. As a result of higher decline in exports com-pared to imports, Japan’s overall trade defi cit increased by 3.48 per cent to $121.9 billion in 2014 from $117.8 billion in 2013.

Japan’s exports to the GCC countries showed a strong re-covery in 2014 supported by in-creased demand for machinery and equipment, and iron and steel products. The export value of general machinery surged 24 per cent to $3.45 billion and that of electrical machinery 23.7 per cent to $1.2 billion in 2014.

Export of self-propelled dozers witnessed an increase of 46.5 per cent in value to $564.4 million in 2014 from $385.3 million in the previous year. Similarly, export of air pumps rose by 47.6 per cent to $270.7 million and steam turbines by 110.7 per cent to $198.1 million.

Export of machinery for tem-perature changing and steam gen-

erating machinery jumped fi ve to six times in 2014, compared to the previous year. Export of iron and steel products, such as tubes and pipes, surged by 32.2 per cent to $1.58 billion. Export of beverag-es, including mineral and aerat-ed waters registered a consider-able increase of 35.6 per cent to $45.1 million in 2014 from $33.3 million in 2013.

Motor vehicle exports, cover-ing almost 60 per cent of Japan’s total exports to the GCC, in-creased by 8.77 per cent to $14.79 billion, of which, passenger motor cars above 3000cc engine capac-ity rose the most, by 10.7 per cent, to $7.6 billion. GCC countries remained to be one of the top ex-port markets for motor vehicles from Japan. There had been no-table increases in the export of foodstuff from Japan to the GCC in 2014, especially to the United Arab Emirates. Though the value was small compared to major other commodities, foodstuff export to the GCC rose by nearly 17 per cent to $83.04 million in 2014, compared to $71.08 million in 2013.

B I L A T E R A L T R A D E

We estimate a fair value of 129 baisas for Phoenix

Power, based on a two-stage discounted cash flow

valuation model that assumes a higher discount rate

for the company post PPA termination

AnalystFinancial Corporation

B4

FEATUREM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

More than four years have passed since an over-whelming majority of the membership of the International Monetary

Fund (IMF) agreed to a package of reforms that would double the organisation’s resources and re-organise its governing structure in favour of developing countries. But adopting the reforms requires approval by the IMF’s member countries; and, though the United States was among those that voted in favour of the measure, President Barack Obama has been unable to secure Congressional approval. The time has come to consider al-ternative methods for moving the reforms forward.

The delay by the US represents a huge setback for the IMF. It stands in the way of a restructuring of its decision-making process that would better refl ect developing countries’ growing importance and dynamism. Furthermore, with the reforms in limbo, the IMF has been forced to depend largely on loans from its members, rather than the permanent resources called for by the new measures. These loans, meant as a temporary bridge before the reforms entered into eff ect, need to be reaffi rmed every six months.

In our view, the best way forward would be to decouple the part of the reforms that requires ratifi ca-tion by the US Congress from the rest of the package. Only one major element — the decision to move toward an all-elected Executive Board — requires an amendment to the IMF’s Articles of Agreement and thus congressional approval.

REFORM

HOW TO

NOW

THE

The other major element of the reform package is an increase and rebalancing of the quotas that determine each country’s vot-ing power and fi nancial obliga-tion. This change would double the IMF’s resources and provide greater voting power to develop-ing countries. Congress would still need to ratify the measure before the US’s own quota increased, but its approval would not be required for this part of the reform package to take eff ect for other countries.

The connection between the two parts of the reforms has al-ways been unnecessary; the meas-ures are independent, require dif-ferent approval processes, and can be delivered separately. Removing the link between them would re-quire the support of the US ad-ministration, but not ratifi cation by Congress.

This separation could be imple-mented smoothly. A simple major-ity of the IMF’s Executive Board would recommend it to the Board of Governors, where a resolution separating the reforms into two parts would require 85 per cent of the votes. In 2010, the reform package passed with more than 95 per cent of the votes.

The changes to the quotas could then quickly become eff ec-tive. The quotas for each member country have already been agreed, so there would be no need for fur-ther complex and time-consum-ing negotiations. Countries that are willing and able to pay their quota increases would be allowed to do so, increasing the IMF’s re-sources and boosting their rela-tive voting power.

The key obstacle to this pro-posal is the requirement of con-gressional approval to increase America’s quota share. This opens the possibility that the US’s vot-ing power could temporarily fall below the 15 per cent threshold needed to veto decisions that re-quire the support of 85 per cent of IMF members’ votes.

In order to secure US support, the Board of Governors could commit not to consider any draft decision requiring 85 per cent backing without America’s con-sent. This guarantee could be in-cluded in the resolution dividing the reform package into two parts. It would remain valid until the US was in a position to increase its quota and recover its voting share. The Executive Board could ap-

prove an analogous commitment and request the IMF’s managing director to refrain from submit-ting any draft decision requiring an 85 per cent majority without fi rst obtaining US support.

The US administration might face criticism from Congress for accepting a measure that would temporarily cut the country’s voting share and for relying on a political agreement to preserve its veto power. But the agreement could also act as an incentive for ratifying the reforms. The power to reinstate the US’s formal veto power would lie entirely in the hands of Congress — making it unlikely that another four years would pass before the matter is fi nally resolved. — Paulo Nogueira Batista

& Hector R. Torres/Project Syndicate

Paulo Nogueira Batista, Jr.is an executive director at the IMF.

Hector R. Torres, is a former executive director at the IMF and a former Chairof the G-24 Bureauin Washington, D.C.

The delay by the US represents a huge setback for the IMF. It stands

in the way of a restructuring of its decision-making process that would

better reflect developing countries’ growing importance and dynamism

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMSECTION

E- IMESTECH STUFFTECH STUFF

BCHECK OUT YOUR FACEBOOK’S ‘ON THIS DAY’ FEATURETo do the time travel select On This Day bookmark in the Apps area of your News Feed page or in the menu area of the Facebook mobile app. When logged into your account, you can also visit the past at facebook.com/onthisday. If you like the On This Day feature, you can set up notifi cations and share particularly memorable moments to your Timeline again. Likewise, if you would like to tinker with your past posts, you can edit, delete or change the audience to limit or expand the group of people who can see the previously shared information.

M O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

S M A R T P H O N E A P P S

Apps for cyclists off er everything but the fl at-tyre kit

SLOW DOWNENJOY THE RIDE

NEW GADGETS TO EASE THE SUMMER ROAD TRIP

The annual road trip is a summertime tradition for many families, but being cooped up in a car for days on end can

test your patience. Here are some notable gadgets to help make the trip smoother.

Garmin NuviCam LMTHDNavigation apps for smartphones are a great convenience, but they can also be battery hogs. A portable navigation device like the NuviCam LMTHD from Garmin is a smarter option. Garmin makes some of the best dashboard navigators on the market, off ering features like an easy-to-read interface, high-reso-lution graphics and a handy point-of-interest search.

With the new NuviCam LMTHD, Garmin packs in more function-ality, including a forward-facing dash cam that continuously re-cords the road ahead. If an impact occurs, the device automatically saves the event on a microSD card. Other driver-assisted safe-ty features include voice-activated navigation and warnings if the driver is too close to the car ahead or drifting off the road.

Mophie SpacestationA tablet loaded with movies, televi-

sion and music can be a better way to pass the time in a car than, say, playing the license plate game. But tablets are limited by their memory and battery life. You can increase both with the Mophie Spacestation, a combination backup battery and external hard drive.

The Spacestation provides up to 128 gigabytes of extra storage and can triple the battery life of an

iPhone 6, Mophie says. Files can be transferred to the Spacestation wirelessly or via USB cable, freeing up space on your device.

Those fi les are managed with Mophie’s redesigned mobile app Space, which organizes any fi le downloaded to a smartphone or tablet, including photos and docu-ments, making media easier to lo-cate. Space is free and available for

iOS and Android devices.

Netgear Around TownA reliable Wi-Fi network can be hard to fi nd when you’re out on the road. Netgear has a simple solution with the Around Town, a mobile In-ternet device that creates a 4G LTE hot spot using the Sprint network

The compact, lightweight device provides a secure wireless con-

nection for up to 10 devices, and Netgear says the battery will last up to 10 hours on a full charge. The fi rst gigabyte of data is free; refi lls are $25 for each additional gigabyte. The data does not expire and there’s no contract or com-mitment, which is not the case for similar devices on the market. Because you don’t have to pay for a monthly data plan, you can tuck the Around Town away between trips.

Polk Hinge WirelessAvoid a tussle over the car radio with Polk Hinge Wireless head-phones, which allow you to listen to music in peace without disturbing the driver. Polk uses 40-millimeter drivers in a design it calls Polk Op-timised Electro-acoustic Tuning to provide a deep, rich sound, with an emphasis on the bass.

The headphones’ rechargeable battery provides 12 hours of play time, according to Polk, and an au-dio cable is provided for a wired connection in case the battery dies. The fl exible headband and padded ear cushions provide a comfortable fi t, and the two-tone, faux-leather exterior gives the headphones a vin-tage look (Polk says it was inspired by the interior of classic luxury cars). A single dial behind the right ear cup controls the headphones’ functions with a fl ick up or down or a push inward.

As an added benefi t, the hinged design makes the headphones com-pact and easy to store in a glove compartment or seat pocket.

TiVo Roamio ProThese days, cable networks off er some of the best programming in the summer. But don’t fret about missing something while on the road. With TiVo Roamio Pro, you can manage your recordings and even stream recorded shows on a

mobile device, even if you are hun-dreds of miles from home.

The TiVo app is easy to sync to a Roamio and simple to use, and it was recently tailored for Android devices, too. TiVo’s OnePass man-agement system creates an easy way to organize programs available through your cable operator as well as streaming services like Netfl ix and Amazon Prime. Catering to binge-watchers, OnePass can off er a variety of options for watching entire seasons of shows.

The Roamio Pro, which off ers up to 3,000 hours of recording capacity, costs $600; for those looking for a less expensive option, the Roamio Plus off ers 1,000 hours for $200 less. A one-year commitment to the TiVo service is $15 a month.

Dropcam ProYou want to make sure your home is secure while you’re away, and a home surveillance camera can of-fer peace of mind. Dropcam, which was acquired by Google’s Nest Labs last year, makes some of the best cameras on the market. Its latest product, the Dropcam Pro, off ers high-defi nition video that is two times as sharp as that from the previous model and a 130-degree fi eld of view.

Setup takes only a few minutes, but you need a Wi-Fi network. Once the camera is connected to your network, fi nd a good place for it and it’s ready to go. The Drop-cam Pro’s zoom feature can en-hance a corner of the room up to eight times, and a built-in micro-phone and speaker allow for two-way communication. Live viewing is free, and Dropcam off ers video re-cording services for as low as $10 a month (or $99 for one year). So keep on driving, knowing that your pets and plants are safe. — GREGORY SCHMIDT /

The New York Times News Service

Here are some notable

gadgets to help make

the trip smoother.

Smartphone navigation

apps are of great help

CYCLISTS have been saying it for ages: Two wheels are better than four, for the health of the rider and the environment alike. And with cycling’s popularity on the rise, numerous apps have appeared to support the activity.

Strava is perhaps the best known of these — and for good reason, as it is a good all-around app for track-ing and analysing your bike rides. Its excellence begins with its well-designed, minimalist interface, whose readable displays and clear menus make it easy to use.

At its core is a “record” page where, with the touch of a few buttons, you can use GPS to keep track of every bicycle ride you take. Strava shows basic data like dis-tance travelled, average speed and location. That information can be reached with just a few taps and swipes on the screen, perfect if you like to mount your phone on your bike or strap it to your arm.

Strava also has a strong social

element, so you can share your performance or time over a cer-tain route with friends using the app and join in with mass social cycling challenges like “ride 100 kilometres in May.” You can even search among the app’s shared routes to see if there are any near where you are planning to ride. As part of a recent update, Strava even gained some simple Apple Watch interactions like displaying your current ride time, distance and speed. With a paid upgrade, you can get in-ride updates comparing your segment times over certain routes with other users’, and gain access to other features, like be-ing able to enter your own progress goals. These extras cost $6 a month or $60 for a year; the basic app is free for both iOS and Android de-vices.

If you like the idea of Strava but are looking for a simpler ride log-ger, Road Bike, by Runtastic, is an excellent option. Free for iOS and

Android devices, Road Bike does many of the things Strava does, in-cluding GPS-based performance tracking, interfacing with some third-party heart rate monitors

and providing some real-time and postride analytics about perfor-mance. It also has social sharing services, including asking your friends for “cheers” to enhance

your motivation as you show them how far and fast you’ve gone.

Road Bike’s interface is more cluttered, since it tries to show more information at once. Wheth-er this is a good thing will depend on how you like to use your phone during a ride, and you can confi g-ure some aspects of Road Bike’s display to suit your needs. It, too, off ers a pro version, which for $5 gives access to a fuller range of features including live tracking of your progress.

Runtastic has a partner app called Mountain Bike for those who prefer trails to streets. Bik-ers can, for example, search for off -road routes. Like Road Bike, it syncs with your Runtastic ac-count, so all your two-wheeled exercise on- and off -road can be logged in one place. More casual cyclists may prefer MapMyRide, an early cycling app that has been signifi cantly updated over the years to compete with its better-

known rivals. True to its name, MapMyRide shows your real-time cycling progress on a map with some basic speed and distance sta-tistics. This at-a-glance “Where am I?” and “How far have I gone?” style is visually appealing.

After your ride, you can view more detailed information, like calories burned and data on your performance. There’s also support for wireless heart rate sensors and social sharing of your results and overall riding progress. The main part of the app is free for iOS and Android, though if you pay $6 for the upgrade, you can avoid the ads found in the free version and gain extra features including personal-ised training plans and analysis of your heart rate. Lastly, weather is always a critical part of any cycle ride. So riders will certainly ben-efi t from checking the hyperlo-cal forecasts off ered as part of the Dark Sky app before setting off . - KIT

EATON/The New York Times News Service

B6 M O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

ROUND-UP

Mars all set to open outlet in Salalah todaySALALAH: Mars International, one of the leading retail giants of Sultanate, is all set to unveil its 13th outlet in 23 July street, Sala-lah today at 5.30pm.

Sheikh Salim bin Aufi t Abdul-lah Al Shanfari, chairman of Dho-far Municipality, will offi cially inaugurate and dedicate the mart to the populace of the region. It is their second outlet in Salalah and the biggest one in the region, says a press release.

The hypermarket will showcase the best quality products available in the Sultanate with a wide vari-ety of sections comprising FMCG products, electronics, IT products, stationery etc. The products ar-ranged in three fl oors ensure the customers are getting a much delightful shopping experience. Moreover a ‘Vegetable Garden’ has been set to provide fresh fruits and vegetables. There is ample

parking facility and conveniently placed checkout counters makes shopping more easy.

It’s been the vision of V. T. Vi-nod, managing director of Mars

International, to provide world class quality products through ex-treme service quality for the na-tives of Sultanate. His hardwork and dedication for the past two

decades has made him successful in embalming his name and brand ‘Mars’ among the business frater-nity of Oman.

“We have crafted an entirely new layout for the Salalah hyper-market which will enable a per-fect shopping environment to the customers. The outlet has been blended with passion, knowledge and excitement with outstanding quality, value and variety to off er a one of a kind shopping experience to our customers,” said Vinod.

“The quality products brought in by our exalted vendors has ag-gravated the pace of our growth. In fact, I would say you created the brand ‘Mars’ rather saying we created it,” said Naveej Vi-nod, executive director, Mars In-ternational Group.

With the opening of the second outlet in Salalah, Mars ensures their dominance in Dhofar region.

Unique initiative to welcome His Majesty creates new world record

MUSCAT: The private schools of Muscat, under the auspices of His Highness Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq Al Said, Adviser to His Majesty, came together for a special event to celebrate and mark the return of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said creating the world’s largest mosaic made up of greeting cards.

The initiative exhibits a great deal of cooperation among private schools of Muscat that came to-gether to deliver their own unique message to welcome His Majesty home. The event was organised under the supervision of the Direc-torate of Private Schools, Ministry of Education, says a press release.

The private schools created a mosaic of the national fl ag of Oman, measuring 18m by 11m (aligned with the National Day of Oman, November 18). This ulti-mately gave an area of 198 square metres, signifi cantly breaking the previous world record established on November 23, 2014 in Hong Kong covering an area of 150.04 square metres.

A giant slope of 18m by 11m was fabricated at Al Seeb International School in Al Khoud, on which the mosaic was created. Seven thou-sand fi ve hundred greeting cards were distributed to 182 private schools in Muscat, and after mes-sages were written by students and teachers these were pasted onto the mosaic by a team of art teachers and students.

The eff orts culminated in a grand event held on the evening of May 13. The chief guest His High-ness Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq Al Said was invited to place the fi nal card onto the mosaic, and received the authenticity certifi cate for the world record from the Guinness World Record representative. The event was attended by the mem-bers of Royal family, ministers,

VIP’s, and representatives from private schools.

Fatma Noorani, Director-Gen-eral of Private Schools, stated she was delighted to see so many schools cooperate and come to-gether to create the mosaic for the world record to pay a truly special and memorable tribute to nation’s great and beloved His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

The private schools created a mosaic of the

national fl ag of Oman, measuring 18m by 11m.

This ultimately gave an area of 198 square

metres, signifi cantly breaking the previous

world record established on November 23,

2014 in Hong Kong covering an area of

150.04 square metres

E X P A N S I O N

Splash to honour ‘unsung

heroes’ in Ramadan

‘Heart of Gold’ promotion

MUSCAT: The holy month of Ramadan is a time when you stop, take a moment, refl ect and be thankful for what you have been blessed with and be giv-ing to the needy. Keeping in sync with the spirit of Ramadan and the emotion of gratitude, Splash has launched a ‘Heart of Gold’, campaign which will honour 30 unsung heroes over the 30 days of Ramadan, says a press release.

This initiative has been in-stituted as a tribute to unsung heroes who devote their time, money and eff ort selfl essly to the cause of humanity. These are people from every walk of life, who espouse the cause of human-

ity in their own unique way with-out expecting anything in return and whom you may have seen, known or heard of; people who strive to improve the lives of oth-ers around them, without expect-ing anything in return.

“To become part of the online process you need to send in your entries on www.splashfashions.com/heartofgold with support-ing pictures of why you think a particular person has done a commendable act of kindness and he or she will enter the ‘Heart of Gold’ recognition initiative. The award will be a pure gold Splash Heart,” said a company offi cial.

C A M P A I G N

Nabil awards iPhone 6 to nine lucky winners

MUSCAT: National Biscuit In-dustries Ltd, makers of the brand ‘Nabil’ range of biscuits and snacks has announced the names of nine winners of the iPhone 6.

The Scratch ‘n’ Win promotion on multipacks of Nabil Cookies (pack of 8 pcs), Nabil Cream, Na-bil Digestive, Nabil Crackers and Nabil Sweet n Salt biscuits started on April 1 and will end on May 20, says a press release.

There are a total of 25 iPhone 6 to be won. A few of the lucky win-ners were Afzal Abdul Latheef, Said Darwish Al Farsi, Khader Mul Eslam and Naseem.

With 16 more iPhones to be won in only 6 more days, the mul-tipacks of delicious Nabil Cook-ies, Nabil Digestive are in great demand apart from the Crackers,

Creams and Sweet n Salt biscuits that the brand is well known for.

“Most Omani consumers have grown up eating Nabil biscuits and this is a homegrown and much loved brand. Nabil is proud to give back the love and patronage it continues to enjoy. We are very happy for the nine lucky winners and urge the Omani consumers to take this opportunity and win the rest of the 16 prizes,” said Unnit Mankodi, head of Sales and Mar-keting at National Biscuits.

National Biscuit Industries Ltd., which is an ISO 22000:2005 ac-credited company, has, for the past three decades, been producing a wide range of biscuits and with the support of Omani consumers, has always maintained the number one position in the biscuits segment.

S C R A T C H ‘ N ’ W I N

Al Hashar delivers fi rst Doosan demolition machine in GCC

MUSCAT: Al Hashar has re-cently delivered the fi rst Doosan demolition machine to Deebaj National Enterprises. This was the fi rst such machine to be sup-plied to the GCC and Mena region by Doosan.

In recognition of this achieve-ment, Doosan conferred a spe-cial award — ‘Frontier of Demo-lition machine’ — on Al Hashar at a colourful ceremony held in Dubai. The award was presented by Dooson Lee, vice president, Doosan Infracore, in the pres-ence of an international audi-ence consisting of distributors’ representatives from Middle East and Africa region.

“Doosan is one of our most strategic business partners. It is a proud moment for Al Hashar that we have been recognised for being the fi rst to supply such a machine in the entire GCC and Mena re-gion. This is a robust and depend-able high-performance machine built to carry out demolition work under demanding conditions that also off ers low running costs,” said M. Bheemshankar, group general manager, Al Hashar Group.

This Doosan demolition ma-chine can reach up to a height of 21 metres and is ideal for both primary demolition work and

secondary concrete reduction. It is eminently suitable for break-ing the concrete loose from fi xed structures, pulverising concrete, separating diff erent materials for recycling and cutting reinforcing steel rods speedily.

Doosan demolition rotating crushers are the ideal attach-ments for the toughest demoli-tion jobs. They have a special de-sign that provides strength and durability needed for the toughest of tasks.

Optimised to demolish at great heights and in tight spaces, the Demolition machine with rotat-ing crusher and 3-piece front is the best solution to tear down structures.

The machine is equipped with a cabin-tilting system. The cabin can be tilted up to nearly 30 de-grees by a hydraulic cylinder enabling the operator to easily observe and control the attach-ments accurately.

Doosan is aiming to be one of the global top 3 in construction equipment by 2020. In order to supply the highest-quality prod-ucts that can maximise value to the customers in global markets, Doosan is continuously reinforc-ing its capabilities to analyse the needs of markets and customers,

developing innovative technolo-gies, securing fundamental qual-ity-competitiveness and improv-ing productivity.

In Oman, Doosan has come to represent proven performance. Doosan in Oman represents to-day an unbeatable combination of performance, effi ciency, durabil-ity and operator comfort.

Doosan’s current lineup con-sists of Crawler Excavators -18 ton to 70 tonne and Mini / Midi Excavators - 1 tonne to 14 tonne, Wheel Excavators - 5 tonne to 21 tonne, Wheel Loaders - 1.8 to 5 m3 bucket capacity and Articu-lated Dump Trucks - 30 tonne and 40 tonne.

A C H I E V E M E N T

Ford fi nds place in ‘World’s Most Ethical Companies’ listMUSCAT: Ford Motor Company, one of the world’s leading automo-tive manufacturing companies, is known for making some of the fi n-est automobiles the world over.

No doubt achieving a feat like that requires high levels of dedi-cation, passion and ethics. At levels that are not just noticed but awarded too. Recently Ford Motor Company was named to Ethisphere Institute’s 2015 list of World’s Most Ethical Companies, says a press release.

The honour came at a time in which the way a company conducts its business is viewed as every bit as important as the products and services it provides, new research shows. Ethics and corporate citi-zenship are important factors that aff ect a company’s reputation and success, and Ford is the only au-tomaker to have received this hon-our for six consecutive years.

The World’s Most Ethical

Company assessment is based on a framework developed by the Ethisphere Institute to assess an organisation’s performance in an objective, consistent and stand-ardised manner. The honour is given based on top ratings in fi ve categories — ethics and compli-ance; corporate citizenship and responsibility; culture of ethics, governance and leadership; inno-vation; and reputation.

“The World’s Most Ethical Companies embrace the corre-lation between ethical business practice and improved company performance,” said Timothy Er-blich, Ethisphere Chief Executive Offi cer. “Earning this recognition involves the collective action of a global work force from the top down. We congratulate every-one at Ford for this extraordinary achievement.”

The honour correlates with re-search showing a reputation for

ethics and trust plays a role in con-sumers’ purchase decisions. Last year, according to the 2015 Harris Poll Reputation Quotient, 53 per cent of the US public learned more about a company before doing busi-ness with the organisation. More than one third of the respondents decided not to do business with a company based on the perception of a negative reputation.

Ford sees this trend shaping consumers of all ages – especially younger customers. Generation Z members born after 1993 are 54 per cent more likely than their millennial counterparts to say they want to have an impact on the world, and these consumers do business with companies that share their values, according to a study from research fi rm Sparks & Honey.

In Oman, Ford vehicles are brought to you by Arabian Car Marketing Co. LLC.

R E C O G N I T I O N

This Doosan demolition

machine can reach up

to a height of 21 metres

and is ideal for both

primary demolition

work and secondary

concrete reduction. It

is eminently suitable

for breaking the

concrete loose from

fixed structures,

pulverising concrete,

separating different

materials for recycling

and cutting reinforcing

steel rods speedily

SECTION

RECRUIJ O B P O S T I N G S

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere. — Agnes Repplier

QUOTES

We only become what

we are by the radical

and deep-seated

refusal of that which

others have made of us.

— Jean-Paul Sartre

In learning to know

other things, and other

minds, we become

more intimately

acquainted with

ourselves, and are to

ourselves better worth

knowing.

— Philip Gilbert

Hamilton

editor@timesofoman.comwebeditor@timesofoman.com

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Tips for excelling at work place

MOST of us want to be good em-ployees — and most of us want to excel at our jobs. To be a success-ful employee and excel at work, though, is not simply a matter of being good at what you do.

Being a successful employee also involves issues such as pro-fessionalism, attitude, and team-work — all of which is the thrust of this article.

1. Learn how to perform your job well. There’s a big dif-ference between just doing your job and doing your job well — and with pride. Making the extra eff ort, ratcheting up your game a notch or two, and taking steps to fi ll any voids in your work will all help you shine in your job.

2. Work hard. It used to be that just showing up for work was enough to get by in some compa-nies, but those days are long gone. Today, you not only have to show up and be at your job the full day (arriving on time and not leaving early), but also put in a full day of work. Keep personal calls, e-mails, texts, and the like to a minimum.

3. Act professionally. No mat-ter what your job, it’s important to be serious and focused on what you do — and act professionally in all situations. There’s a time and place for fooling around, and it is not the workplace. Professionals follow the rules and are courteous, friendly, and tactful. Acting pro-fessionally also means dressing appropriately for your job.

4. Express positive attitude. You don’t have to be “Cheerful Sal-ly” — in fact, don’t be or you might not be taken seriously — but hav-ing a positive and go-get’em dis-position is important. People like working with — and helping — co-workers with a positive attitude. People with negative attitudes — “Debbie Downer” — drag everyone around them down.

5. Take initiative. You may be very good at your job — and that is important — but do you ever try to push the limits of your work? In other words, do you ever con-sider better ways you could do your job — or better ways your de-partment could work — and make suggestions to your boss? Just do not confuse taking initiative with knowing it all.

6. Be a good team player. To be successful in most jobs today, workers must also be good team players. Review how well you work in teams, examining key issues such as communications, working relationships, team successes (and failures). For a reality check, you

might consider asking a few team-mates for some honest feedback.

7. Know your boss. You don’t have to be best friends with your boss; in fact, you don’t even need to like your boss. You should, however, know your boss. In other words, the better you understand how your boss thinks, acts, and manages, the better you perform your job to his/her expectations and demands.

8. Understand your employ-er. Some people work at their jobs for years without really knowing or understanding their employer. Taking the time to understand the organisation’s mission, goals, strategies, and products/services will help you better understand your role within it — and the value of the job you provide.

9. Take (constructive) criti-cism gracefully. One of the hard-est things for all of us to learn is how to handle constructive criticism — and how to use these critiques to improve our perfor-mance on the job. Yes, some bosses are truly nit-pickers, wanting eve-

rything done their way or not at all, but most bosses are simply provid-ing feedback so you can perform your job better.

10. Cultivate relationships. Having workplace friendships with some of the folks who work with or near you is usually a posi-tive element in job satisfaction — which should result in greater mo-tivation to perform your job to the best of your abilities. Just be sure you make friends with positive people who, like you, are focused on excelling at their work.

11. Take opportunities to learn new skills, jobs. The longer we work at one job, the more likely we’ll get bored with it — perhaps just going through the motions — until we are no longer excelling in our jobs. One way around this problem is taking opportunities for additional educational and training when your employer off ers them.

12. Be part of the solution. Don’t be the worker everyone hates — the one who is always quick to point out the problems... while of-

fering no solutions. Instead, when possible, strive to be a problem-solver. Problem-solvers are a valua-ble commodity in every workplace.

13. Avoid gossip. It should go without saying — but we’re saying it anyway — that it’s always best to turn a deaf ear to gossip and rumours. No matter how good a worker you may be, getting caught in the web of gossip will quickly downgrade your standing with your boss and employer.

14. Volunteer for new pro-jects. Whether to seek a little va-riety with your job or to try to score some points with the boss, volun-teering to take on additional work and responsibilities can lead to greater job satisfaction, better work performance, and perhaps even a new direction for your career.

15. Mentor new employees and younger workers. Helping the new worker learn the ropes will provide you great personal satisfaction — and will also put you in good standing with the boss. — Randall S. Hansen/www.quintcareers.com

Being a successful

employee involves

issues such as

professionalism,

attitude, and

teamwork — all of

which is the thrust of

this article

B8

ROUND-UPM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

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Bank Muscat launches new app for Priority banking customers

MUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the fl ag-ship fi nancial services provider in the Sultanate, as part of its commit-ment to providing value added ser-vices and exclusive lifestyle privi-leges, complementing a world class banking experience, has launched a unique mobile app for asalah Prior-ity Banking customers.

The asalah Entertainer app features amazing deals, off ering exclusive savings on family off ers, fi ne dining, travel, leisure, enter-

tainment, beauty and more. The asalah Entertainer app contains numerous ‘buy one get one free’ off ers / e-vouchers plus new and monthly off ers throughout the year covering hundreds of world class brands in over 15 countries, says a press release.

asalah Priority Banking cus-tomers can download the asalah Entertainer app from App Store, Android Market, Google Play or Windows Store. On registration,

customers can redeem the ‘buy one get one free’ off ers on their smartphone. Notably, the asalah Entertainer app is programmed to locate country-specifi c discount off ers through the ‘Near Me’ fea-ture thereby ensuring that cus-

tomers never miss an off er with the mobile app.

The facility provides a wide range of exclusive discount off ers across the world to asalah Priority Banking customers.

“Bank Muscat is proud to re-ward asalah Priority Banking customers with the unique En-tertainer app, which ensures that they never miss out on any exclu-sive off ers. With a focus on rec-ognition, rewards and solutions, asalah Priority Banking has set a benchmark for personal and rela-tionship based banking in Oman. As the leading fi nancial services provider, Bank Muscat is com-mitted to reciprocating the trust and confi dence reposed by asalah customers in the bank. The prior-ity banking products and services are in step with smarter strategies aimed at providing a distinct bank-ing experience,” stated Ali Said Ali, DGM – Priority Banking.

The asalah Priority Banking has succeeded in taking personal and relationship banking to a new level. asalah customers are served by qualifi ed Relationship Manag-ers (RM) at exclusive asalah Pri-ority Banking centres in select branches across the Sultanate. Leveraging its unmatched nation-wide branch presence, Bank Mus-cat off ers asalah Priority Banking services across all regions through a network of asalah Centres.

The asalah relationship plat-form draws its strength from prox-imity to customers, commitment to delivering outstanding service and dedication of Relationship Managers trained to deliver the right solutions. The bank has placed its Relationship Manager talent pool at the very heart of asalah strategy.

The asalah membership comes with Bank Muscat’s commitment to delivering value. Personalised

premium products and upgraded services come with preferential pricing, thereby multiplying the value of asalah membership and reducing the cost of transactions.

Benefi ts include exclusive asalah Platinum debit card, un-limited and complementary in-ternational airport lounge access, personal accident insurance, air-port transfer in Muscat, prefer-ential rates, competitive foreign exchange rates, fee waivers and discounts on a range of transac-tions like remittances, standing instructions, pay orders etc.

Bank Muscat off ers Oman’s fi rst and exclusive premium Visa Signature credit card for asalah Priority Banking customers. Most importantly, asalah customers can participate in exclusive asalah prize draws on al Mazyona savings account, including the exclusive monthly prize of OMR10,000 and OMR100,000 year-end prize.

The asalah Entertainer app features

amazing deals, off ering exclusive savings

on family off ers, fi ne dining, travel, leisure,

entertainment, beauty and more

Woman Conclave sees meeting of true minds

MUSCAT: How can women under-stand their potential capabilities better? What are the opportunities available to young entrepreneurs? How can women juggle the work-place and family eff ectively?

The fi rst-ever Woman Conclave will answer all these pertinent questions and more. To be held to-morrow at InterContinental Mus-cat, the event will see a gathering of hardworking, successful and accomplished women and men engaging in insightful discussions in an attempt to bring to the fore women’s concerns, share their ex-periences and most importantly, encourage women in Oman to be ‘the change they wish to see in this world’, says a press release.

There are stories — both well-known and slowly emerging — of generations of educated and ac-complished women forging new

directions that are waiting to be told. These stories will come to life at the Woman Conclave through presentations and engaging panel discussions, brought to you by The Woman, leading English magazine for women. Through the event, the women in Oman will have an opportunity to listen, understand and be motivated to do the same.

SponsorsThe Woman Conclave is proud to have on board BMW and Mouawad as strategic partners, Khafeef as health partner, Muscat Pharmacy as support partner and Oman Oil Marketing Company as inspira-tional partner, who are champions of women’s empowerment in their own right. Times of Oman and Al Shabiba are the media partners for the event.

With the participation of sev-

eral noteworthy women spanning diff erent fi elds of expertise, there’s a lot of excitement regarding what topics will be addressed and dis-cussed at the Conclave.

The presentations and panel discussions will serve to inspire and empower women to overcome every hurdle, break every barrier and to make her dreams come true on her own terms.

But it’s not all work and no play! The Conclave will also involve soft-skill development sessions, interactive team building exercises, and enjoyable stress-relieving ac-tivities that will keep the audience engaged, the atmosphere lively and the experience enriching.

“Make your concerns known, let your voice be heard and seek solu-tions. At the Woman Conclave, you are sure to fi nd inspiration,” said a magazine offi cial.

I N S I G H T F U L D I S C U S S I O N

ISACA Muscat Chapter

receives coveted K.

Wayne Snipes Award

MUSCAT: ISACA, Muscat Chapter has recently won the coveted K. Wayne Snipes Award for the year 2014 as the best me-dium chapter in Asia for its out-standing performance, says a press release.

ISACA, head quartered in Chi-cago, USA, is a 45-year old non-profi t independent professional body with 208 chapters world-wide with more than 115000 members in 180 countries across the world. ISACA off ers 4 certifi -cations (CISA, CISM, CRISC and CGEIT) besides the latest “Cyber Security Fundamentals Certifi -cation Program”.

ISACA helps business and IT leaders in maximising value and manage risks related to Informa-tion & Technology. ISACA Mus-cat Chapter is very active and op-erates under the sponsorship of College of Banking and Financial Studies (CBFS).

Speaking on achieving the award, Venugopal Hari, presi-dent of ISACA Muscat Chapter, stated that Muscat Chapter has over 300 members representing government, banking, fi nancial, trading, service and corporate sectors. He said the Chapter has won many global awards in the earlier years as well.

ISACA Muscat Chapter elect-ed its new Board for the year 2015

in the recently held AGM of the chapter members. The Board Members that got elected for the year 2015 include: Venugo-pal Hari (president), Aji Bhaskar (vice president), Chetan Jamna-das Shah, (secretary), Biju Jo-seph Padanilam (treasurer), Sub-barao V. Bollapalli (programmes director), Srinagesh Jayaraman (membership director), Vijen-dra Mohnot (communication director), Syeda Nooreen Nayyar (CISA director), Sesha Prakash Sreenivasa Kusuma (CISM director), Mohamed Nayaz (CGEIT/CRISC director), Has-san Sabahudheen (marketing director), Prof. Munawar Ha-meed (education director), Prof. Mani P. Joseph (research direc-tor), Dilip Uttamrao Warkad (additional director - programs), Manoj Balakrishnan Nair (ad-ditional director – membership), Kamlesh Kumar Chandar Tur-shani (additional CISA director), Eishwar Kodan Das (additional CISA director), Hilal Nasser Al Habsy (additional CISM direc-tor) and Subudhi Badri Narayan (immediate past president).

The Muscat Chapter holds ed-ucational events for its members and assists government and regu-latory authorities and corporate sectors in the fi elds of IT govern-ance, controls and security.

A C C O L A D E

Omantel unveils exciting ‘Spend & Win’ promotionMUSCAT: In line with its eff orts to enrich its customers life, Om-antel announced the launch of ‘Spend and Win’ promotion for Hayyak prepaid customers.

The new off er entitles them to enter the daily draws to win OMR500 every day when they use 700 Baisas and more in one day. The excitement does not stop here as they will also be eligible to enter the grand draw for OMR10,000 at the end of the promotion period, says a press release.

The daily spend will be based on points calculated after the customer reach more than 700 Baisas. Customers can increase the earned points without any

limits once qualifi ed to take part in the draw.

Best off ersCommenting on the off er, Shadli Al Abdulsalam, Senior Manager Product Development at Oman-tel Consumer Business Unit said, “Omantel focus in providing its customers with the best off ers that enrich their experience. The new off er ‘Spend and Win’ is very unique and designed especially for our Hayyak customers to of-fer 31 lucky customers a chance to win the draw that started on May 13, 2015.”

Qualifi cation“Moreover, this off er comes to

reward the fi rst prepaid service customers in Oman that has now more than 2.6 million customers.

“All Hayyak customers are qualifi ed to take part of this competition once they reached a daily spend of 700 Baisas; also customers have more than one chance of winning this compe-tition; the more you spend, the more your chances to win,” Ab-dulsalam added.

It is worth mentioning that Hayyak pre-paid is one of the pre-ferred prepaid service for major-ity of the prepaid customers in Oman. The service comes with many value added services that aim at introducing more benefi ts to Omantel subscribers.

V A L U E D E A L

KIMS joins health seminar at Indian School Muscat

MUSCAT: As part of its Corpo-rate Social Responsibility and continued eff orts to spread health education, KIMS Oman Hospital (KOH), equipped with excellence in healthcare delivery, has partici-pated in a seminar that has been organised by the Indian School Muscat (ISM), for parents of the primary school students under the

topic ‘Physiological Development and Nutrition’.

With a big number of attendees, KIMS Oman Hospital’s profession-als, Dr. Sreekumar S., paediatric specialist and Jishy Seb, diet con-sultant, steered the seminar which aimed to educate parents, care giv-ers and teachers on the essential aspects to raise a healthy and happy

generation, focusing on the diff er-ent ages and stages of the child’s development, says a press release.

Dr. Sreekumar focused on the physiological development for children aged 7 to 12 years old, ad-dressing the diff erent health con-cerns that care givers should pay more attention to. He also shed the light on the importance of the

regular exercise for children.While Jishy Seb stressed on

the essential need of following a healthy food plan as well as she clarifi ed the food pyramid and the important role of each of its cat-egories. She concluded the session with nourishment facts and tips, and off ered guidelines for healthi-er eating habits.

A W A R E N E S S C A M P A I G N

Powerful Mitsubishi Pajero delivers great performance at aff ordable priceMUSCAT: With the Mitsubi-shi Pajero, General Automotive Company, the offi cial distributor of Mitsubishi vehicles in Oman, off ers the perfect choice for driv-ers who demand a vehicle that can tackle the toughest and most in-hospitable of terrains yet delivers a thoroughly composed road drive; whilst off ering the renowned reli-ability of a vehicle adorned with the triple-diamond badge, says a press release.

Commenting on the Mitsubi-shi ASX, Rajesh Sharma, national marketing manager of General Automotive Company, said: “The Pajero is a vehicle that delivers a unique blend of on and off -road capability, generous equipment levels as standard, comfort, space and luxury at highly competitive pricing. As a result it has become an icon in the automobile indus-try; with equal resonance here in the Sultanate.”

With each successive genera-tion, the Pajero has added greater power, torque and better fuel econ-omy. With the introduction of the 2015 model year Pajero last year, it brought with it a revised front grille and an aggressively shaped bumper with integrated LED day-time running lamps. The new look is a perfect complement to the Pa-jero’s unique blend of on-road and off -road capability combined with signifi cantly improved levels of passenger comfort.

In its latest iteration, the Pajero

is packed with features that make it a pleasure to drive both on the road and off . From the power of its 3.5 or 3.8 litre MIVEC engine through to a comprehensive suite of safety fea-tures, the Pajero was designed from the ground-up to cope with any kind of driving condition. Whether highway cruising, urban driving or more challenging off -road adven-tures in the wadis and dunes of the Sultanate, the Pajero has proved its mettle time and again.

The roomy interior of the Pajero accommodates seven people and is equipped with a manual Dual AC, CD player with 4 speakers, Overhead Console with Sunglass

storage, Map Lamp and Trip Com-puter with an Information Cen-tre. Also available, is Mitsubishi’s Multi Communication System (MMCS) with Voice Command via steering wheel controls, an 850-watt Rockford Acoustic Design 12-Speaker Premium Audio Sys-tem and electro-chromatic rear-view mirror. As a result of its mul-ti-role characteristics, the Pajero is extremely popular with families, businesses and individuals across the Sultanate.

In addition to its technology, power and four-wheel-drive capa-bilities, the Pajero also off ers fi rst-class occupant and driver safety

with RISE body protection, ABS braking system with EBD, elec-tronic stability control and driver and passenger SRS airbags along with Super Select II which off ers the driver a range of fl exible on and off -road driving modes.

The new Pajerois a part of GAC’s limited time ‘Summer Knockout Deals’ promotion, which ends on May 21, which includes free insur-ance for one year, a free 2-year/ 30,000km service package and special cash gift off ers of up to OMR500 per vehicle. The Pajero also comes as standard with six-year unlimited mileage warranty and 6-year roadside assistance.

P E R F E C T C H O I C E

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

SPOR SY O U R G A M E

SECTIONC M O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

AUSTRALIA’S HADDIN QUITS ONE-DAY GAMEAustralian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has announced his retirement from One-day Internationals, Cricket Australia said on Sunday. Haddin made the announcement ahead of his departure for Australia’s Test tours of the West Indies and the United Kingdom. >C3

COM1 5

N Eaddin

m One-ralia e rture est >C3

Bangalore through to play-off s

BANGALORE: Royal Challeng-ers Bangalore on Sunday entered the play-off s of the Indian Premier League season eight after their last league match against Delhi Dare-devils was called off due to heavy rains.

In a rain-interrupted game, an-other round of heavy downpour stopped the proceedings in the second over of RCB’s run-chase when they were two for no loss

while chasing 188 for victory here at the Chinnaswamy stadium.

Finally the penultimate round robin league encounter of the IPL cricket tournament was called off at 7:35 pm, handing the Bangalore outfi t a place in the play-off s with 16 points.

Earlier, put in to bat, Quinton de Kock’s early blitzkrieg and solid batting from captain JP Duminy propelled Delhi Daredevils to a competitive 187 for fi ve.

When DD batted, De Kock hit nine fours and three sixes during his 39-ball-69 while Duminy deco-rated his 43-ball unbeaten innings of 67 with four boundaries and three huge hits over the fence.

De Kock and Duminy’s exhila-rating strokeplay enthralled the spectators to their delight. If De

Kock’s innings was all about splen-did batsmanship, Duminy’s was elegance personifi ed.

While De Kock blazed to his half-century in 30 balls, Duminy paced his innings splendidly and completed his half-century in 35 deliveries.

A decent opening stand of 55 earlier was provided by openers De Kock and Shreyas Iyer (20 off 18 balls). Iyer was guilty of not getting to a big score after getting his eye in.

After the departure of Iyer, De Kock and Duminy combined forc-es to take the total to 110 in 11.2 balls at the packed Chinnaswamy stadium. RCB skipper Virat Kohli made right bowling changes and reaped rewards.

Harshal Patel snapped up the

wickets of Iyer and Kedar Jadhav (0) while giving away 30 runs in four overs, while the other two wickets were claimed by leggie Yu-zuvendra Chahal, who claimed the wickets of De Kock and an out-of-form Yuvraj Singh (11).

Initially, left-handed De Kock was the more aggressive of the two openers as he blazed through lifting the ball with great force on the leg side and cutting and driv-ing in front of the wickets for ex-quisite boundaries.

The diminutive South African batsman struck David Weise for a six and two boundaries off suc-cessive balls in ninth over of the innings. Later in the 11th over, De Kock got couple of more sixes and a four in one from Ashoke Dinda. - PTI

Royal Challengers

Bangalore on Sunday

entered the play-off s

of the Indian Premier

League season eight

after their last league

match against Delhi

Daredevils was called

off due to heavy rains

Teams M W L T N/R Pts Net RRQ. Chennai Super Kings 14 9 5 0 0 18 +0.709Q. Mumbai Indians 14 8 6 0 0 16 -0.043Q. Royal Challengers Bangalore 14 7 5 0 2 16 +1.037Q. Rajasthan Royals 14 7 5 0 2 16 +0.062Kolkata Knight Riders 14 7 6 0 1 15 +0.253Sunrisers Hyderabad 14 7 7 0 0 14 -0.239Delhi Daredevils 14 5 8 0 1 11 -0.049Kings XI Punjab 14 3 11 0 0 6 -1.436

F I N A L I P L S T A N D I N G S

DELHI DAREDEVILSQuinton de Kock c Kohli b Chahal 70Shreyas Iyer c Gayle b Patel 20JP Duminy not out 67Yuvraj Singh c Starc b Chahal 11Kedar Jadhav c Karthik b Patel 0Angelo Mathews run out Chahal 1Saurabh Tiwary not out 13Extras (lb-3, w-3) 6Total (for 5 wickets in 20 overs) 187Fall of wickets: 1-55; 2-110; 3-137; 4-139; 5-141Bowling: Mitchell Starc 4-0-35-0; Ashoke Dinda 3-0-39-0; Harshal Patel 4-0-30-2; David Wiese 4-0-39-0; Chris Gayle 2-0-15-0; Yuzvendra Chahal 3-0-26-2ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALOREVirat Kohli not out 1Chris Gayle not out 1Total (for no loss, 1.1 overs) 2Bowling: Jayant Yadav 1-0-2-0; Zaheer Khan 0.1-0-0-0Result: Match called-off after rain stops play. Both teams share one point each.

S C O R E B O A R D

STARS BEFORE THE RAIN POURED: Quinton de Kock of Delhi Dare-

devils and captain Jean-Paul Duminy run between the wickets. – BCCI

Grandmasters dominate opening day of Asian zonal chess tourneyTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Four Grandmas-ters, three in the men’s category and one in the women’s section, dominated the inaugural day as the Asian Zonal Chess Champi-onship (Zone 3.1) 2015, which serves as the qualifying event for the Fide Chess World Cup, opened at the City Seasons Hotel here on Sunday.

A total of 14 players in the men’s event and ten in the women’s competition are vying for the lone qualifying spot in their respective categories.

In men’s section, Grandmas-ters Ehsan Ghaem Maghamim, Pouya Idani and Pouria Darini — all from Iran — began their cam-paign with fi rst round victories.

Ehsan, who has a Fide rating of 2558, accounted for Lebanon’s Ibrahim Chahrour (2269), Idani Pouya (2526) defeated Bahrain’s Maher Ayyad (2123) and Pouria Darini (2485) defeated Tamara Attallah (2080).

In the women’s category, Qatari Grandmaster Chen Zhu (2414) eased to a victory over Palestine’s Yara Faqeeh.

Amin loses marathonFour Omani players, two men and two women, are also in the fray.

In the women’s competition, both Omani girls Wafi a Al Gha-gri and Mariya Al Balushi were pitted against each other in the fi rst round, which the former won after a keen battle with her compatriot.

In men’s competition, Amin Al Ansi played a marathon match against Syrian International Master Basher Iyti (2298) but made a mistake at the crucial juncture to lose the match.

“It was a fi ve-hour epic battle between two players. But Amin lost out due to a blunder he made towards the end,” Ismael Karim,

a Muscat-based International Master, said in his comments to Times Sport.

“Till then the players were on level terms and the game was in good balance,” Ismael, who is also the in-charge of International Chess Academy of Oman, added.

“After fi ve hours of playing, Amin was visibly tired and was un-der pressure. And that led to him making a costly mistake,” he said.

Amin’s compatriot Moham-med Salim Al Mamari had earlier lost to Iraq’s Ahmad Abdulsattar Abdulwahab.

In other fi rst round games, Yemen International Master Basheer Al Qudaimi (2405) de-feated Kuwait’s Candidates Mas-ters Hashem Khaled while Qa-tar’s International Master Husein Aziz Nezad defeated Saud Ara-bia’s Abdulrahman Al Masrhi.

On the distaff side, Ira-nian Women’s Grandmaster Atousa Pourkashiyan defeated her countrywomen Mitra He-jazipour, Iraq’s Afamia Mir Mahmoud defeated Kuwait’s Saud Al Kanderi and UAE’s Abeer

Ali defeated Iman Hasan Moham-med Al Rugaye of Iraq.

Ceremonial openingEarleir, Sheikh Saad bin Mo-hammed bin Said Al Mardhouf Al Saadi, the Minister of Sports Aff airs, inaugurated the champi-onship in the presence of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, chief of world chess federation Fide, and Oman Chess Committee chairperson Laila Ahmed Al Najjar.

In her welcome speech, Laila said: “Since the formation of the Oman Chess Committee in Feb-ruary 2014, we have been striv-ing for the development of chess across the Sultanate.”

She also informed the committee is conducting an arbitators course from May 20 to 20 under the aus-pices of Asian Chess Federation.

Around 25 aspiring arbitrators, including 10 Omanis, will be at-tending the course.

Laila also thanked the Ministry of Sports Aff airs for their support in organising the Asian event.

The Asian competition will conclude on May 25.

C H E S S

Mumbai snatch second spotHYDERABAD: Mumbai Indi-ans produced a clinical bowling display to brush aside the might of Sunrisers Hyderabad, winning by nine wickets in a group stage match to advance to the play-off stage of the Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Sunday.

Mumbai clinched the second spot in the standings with 16 points after the group stage with a superior run-rate, joining leaders Chennai Super Kings (18 from 14 matches), ahead of third-placed Royal Challengers Bangalore (16) and four-positioned Rajasthan Royals (16).

Mumbai made their task easier at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in a virtual knockout match when they bowled out Sunrisers for a mere 113 runs.

And then they had no problems in chasing down the small total, with their openers making short work of the task.

West Indian Lendl Simmons (48) and Parthiv Patel (51 not out) showed commendable un-derstanding, mixing caution

with aggression, to put together a solid 106-run opening stand that snuff ed out any hopes Hyderabad might have harboured to make a match out of it after getting shot out at 113.

Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner chose to bat. But their plans of capital-ising on a pitch that was full of

runs boomeranged spectacularly as they ran into trouble from the very fi rst over of their innings.

Credit must be given to the en-tire Mumbai bowling line-up who delivered in unison, keeping up the pressure on SRH batsmen.

Mumbai’s opening pacers Ma-linga (4/17) and McClenaghan (3/16) were spectacular. — IANS

I N D I A N P R E M I E R L E A G U E

SUNRISERS HYDERABADD. Warner c Pollard b McClenaghan 6S. Dhawan b Malinga 1M. Henriques st Patel b Suchith 11E. Morgan c Simmons b McClenaghan 9L. Rahul b Harbhajan 25N. Ojha c Rohit b Suchith 0K. Sharma c Suchith b Malinga 15A. Reddy c Vinay b Pollard 17B. Kumar c Pandya b McClenaghan 0P. Kumar run out 4D. Steyn not out 19Extras (w-4, lb-2) 6Total (for 10 wickets, 20 overs) 113Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-7, 3-23, 4-51, 5-51, 6-61, 7-84, 8-86, 9-91, 10-113

Bowling: Lasith Malinga 4-0-17-2; Mitch-ell McClenaghan 4-0-16-3; Vinay Kumar 3-0-21-0; Jagadeesha Suchith 3-0-14-2; Hardik Pandya 1-0-11-0; Harbhajan Singh 3-0-18-1; Kieron Pollard 2-0-14-1MUMBAI INDIANSL. Simmons c Dhawan b Sharma 48P. Patel not out 51R. Sharma not out 7Extras (b-1, w-5, lb-2) 8Total (for 13.5 overs, 1 wicket) 114Fall of wickets: 1-106Bowling: Dale Steyn 3-0-27-0; Bhu-vneshwar Kumar 3-0-16-0; Praveen Kumar 2-0-13-0; Moises Henriques 3-0-17-0; Karn Sharma 2.5-0-38-1

S C O R E B O A R D

CEREMONIAL START: Minister of Sports Aff airs Sheikh Saad bin Mohammed bin Said Al Mardhouf

Al Saadi and Fide chief Kirsan Ilyumzhinov playing a game to ceremonially kick-start the Asian

Zonal Chess Championship.

MIND GAME: Iran’s Ehsan Ghaem Maghamim, right, played well

to account for Ibrahim Chahrour in an opening game.

C2

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Dravid’s humility a lesson for all youngsters, says Shane Watson

MUMBAI: Rajasthan Royals’ all-rounder Shane Watson, who scored a classic century on Sat-urday to take his team to the IPL playoff s, has heaped praise on team mentor Rahul Dravid, saying the batting legend’s humility is some-thing which all young cricketers need to observe and learn from.

The 33-year-old Australian also lauded Royals’ teammates, Indian star batsman Ajinkya Rahane and the young Sanju Samson.

“Rahul is an incredible man. The humility that he shows is a great thing for all young cricket-ers to be able to see and learn from someone who has been in absolute peak of his game. Obviously being in a cricket loving country, and still able to hold oneself with such hu-mility is a great example for every young cricketer to be able to learn,” Watson said.

“From his coaching perspective, he is more trying to make sure we are not putting an added pressure

on ourselves. Just go about there and express ourselves to the best of our ability and try and do that every single time.”

Watson applauded in-form batsman Rahane for continuing to grow as a cricketer and person as well. Rahane is currently in the form of his life scoring runs both in India and abroad in all formats of the game. He is now the second top run getter in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

“It is great to see Ajinkya con-

tinue to grow as a cricketer and a person as well. When he came to Royals we exactly knew the poten-tial he had in him,” he said.

“The year he had with India in all formats of the game, also in the World Cup and now continuing it with Rajasthan Royals here as well, is just incredible. It has been a pleasure to see someone playing at the top of the game. I think he will continue to score more for a long time as he is hungry for runs,” Watson said.

Speaking about Sanju Samson, Watson rated the 20-year-old as the most talented young batsman he has ever come across.

“Sanju is the most talented young batsman that I have ever come across. I fi rst saw him when he was 18. It’s great to see how much control he has got in his bat-ting skills. He eff ortlessly hits the ball so far and under pressure how clear his mind is, that is something I have never seen in someone at such a young age, he said.

“He is a very very special tal-ent. There is no doubt that at some stage he will show his skills on the international stage as well, as with such incredible gifts the world needs to see it.”

Watson, who is the second play-er after Ricky Ponting to have won back-to back Allan Border Medals in 2010 and 2011, has been with the Royals since the inaugural sea-son way back in 2008.

Speaking about the eight-year journey, he said: “It’s incredibly

comfortable for me to be with the Royals every year. The owners and management have been incredibly good to me.

“All the diff erent players who have come and gone these years and who are here now in Royals, the friendships that I have been able to build and the impact they have had in my life is just incredible.”

The Australian led the Royals in the early stage of the 2015 IPL season but midway handed over his captaincy to teammate Steve Smith in order to concentrate en-tirely on his batting and bowling.

“Look, it has been an absolute privilege to lead the Royals for the couple of games. It’s an incredible tournament to be a part off , I love coming and playing here.

“I have learned a lot myself as a leader and also as a person outside of cricket. Like I ended up stepping down as Royals skipper as I want-ed to concentrate on my bowling and my batting which is the most important thing to me as an all-rounder,” a confi dent Watson said.

Watson, along with his Roy-als teammate Steve Smith, James Faulkner, was part of the victorious Australian World Cup winning squad earlier in the year. The trio helped their national side clinch cricket’s biggest prize for the fi fth time.

About the splendid memories he had after winning the World Cup, Watson said the greatest memories I have is after we won the World Cup, and then walk-ing around the fully packed Mel-bourne Cricket Ground with fans celebrating. We wish we could have paused that moment in time and sort of be in that forever. - IANS

Rahul Dravid, the

team mentor of the

Rajasthan Royals,

is a role model for

many youngsters in

the ranks of the 2008

champions

PRAISE FOR MENTOR: Rajasthan Royals mentor Rahul Dravid and Shane Watson inspecting the pitch before a match. – BCCI

Right attitude, desire to raise bar is powering Chennai: FlemingMOHALI: Having registered a convincing seven-wicket win over bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab to fi nish at the top of the IPL table, Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming feels that his team needs to maintain the same “attitude” in the play-off s as well. The clinical win came on the back of a disciplined all-round show and Fleming, when asked if there was any area which CSK would like to work on going into the playoff s, said, “just atti-tude, we have to try and keep rais-ing the bar.”

“We have been here before, which is great, but we also like to win, hopefully. I mean to do that you have to keep getting better and the teams (other sides) I think, have been very even this year and whoever gets through to play us, its going to be a tough game.

“And we talked about it earlier how fi ne line it is between being last in the competition and the fi rst. When you get down to two or three games in the fi nals, little things can count, so its just atti-tude really and we were awful in the last game but the attitude to-day was great, so try and replicate that in the next game will be the focus for us,” he added.

Asked about the game, the for-mer New Zealand captain, said, “we played well, I think we got the conditions just right. We always wanted to bowl fi rst, we were vary about the power of Kings XI and we found chasing against them is a good tactic.

“We were not surprised, but we thought that the pitch was dry and we knew using our spinners was going to be possible advan-tage. And they bowled very well both (Pawan) Negi and (Ravi-chandran) Ashwin in particular bowled very well and backed up by very good fi elding.”

“We were playing for one or two spot in the IPL fi nals...so we are happy with the way we went about it,” he added.

On the loss of CSK openers early in the chase, Fleming said, “being 10 for two at one stage is a little bit on edge, but good part-nership helped...all in all a very professional performance which we are pleased to have put in and also gives us confi dence going into the fi nals.”

Remind Fleming of the no-fear attitude of KXIP that the coach had talked about in the pre-match presser and he was relieved that it did not come to the fore.

“Thankfully not. Its good play-ers we took care of, good to get rid of Maxwell, Bailey and an excel-lent catch to get rid of Miller, so three overseas players who play well and then we put pressure on the local players.

“When you take wickets regu-larly, teams are never able to get out of pressure and play with that no fear attitude, so we were right on the button from ball one today. Thankfully, we did not allow any of their big players to get into the game which was one of our key targets.” — PTI

I N D I A N P R E M I E R L E A G U E

SATISFIED: Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming. – BCCI

LONDON: Andrew Strauss wants England to learn from rugby union giants New Zea-land as he seeks to build a united cricket side capable of beating the world’s best teams.

The All Blacks, the reign-ing world champions, have long been the pre-eminent team in their sport and Strauss believes it is New Zealand’s “unbelievable pride” which has helped them achieve so much success.

Strauss has faced a testing fi rst week in his new role as Eng-land’s director of cricket, sacking coach Peter Moores and then, far more controversially, insisting Kevin Pietersen’s ongoing exile from the international set-up would continue for at least this home season. A former Eng-land captain, Strauss — in com-ments reported by several British newspapers on Sunday — said a “philosophy” of pride was key to a team doing well.

Strauss said he was keen to learn from other sports and cited the examples of the All Blacks and Manchester United under manager Alex Ferguson as well-

run teams. “One that stands out is the All Blacks,” Strauss said.

“There are a number of other examples of strong sporting cultures — Manchester United under Alex Ferguson, everyone knew what that stood for, what was expected, what was allow-able and what wasn’t allowable.

“I think part of my job is to look at other sports and work out what we can take from them, in terms of bringing together a four-year plan, how they develop their young sports people”

Meanwhile, following Eng-land’s humiliating fi rst-round exit from the World Cup, where they failed to beat a single major nation, Strauss said it was time to “think radically” regarding lim-ited overs cricket.

This could mean a revamp of the fi xture schedule and aban-doning early season home Tests in order to let leading players take part in the Twenty20 Indian Pre-mier League. “In an ideal situa-tion, our players won’t be missing any cricket - but will still have the opportunity to play in the IPL,” said Strauss. - AFP

C R I C K E T

Strauss wants England to follow All Blacks’ example

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SPORTSM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

SYDNEY: Australian wicket-keeper Brad Haddin has an-nounced his retirement from one-day internationals, Cricket Australia said on Sunday.

Haddin made the announce-ment ahead of his departure for Australia’s Test tours of the West Indies and the United Kingdom on Monday.

Haddin, 37, has played in 126-match one-day internation-als in a career that began against Zimbabwe at Hobart in January 2001 and ended in Australia’s ICC Cricket World Cup fi nal vic-tory over New Zealand in Mel-bourne in March this year.

Throughout his one-day inter-national career Haddin claimed 170 catches and 11 stumpings,

leaving him with the third most dismissals for a wicketkeeper in Australia behind Adam Gilchrist and Ian Healy. Haddin scored 3,122 runs at an average of 31.53 with a top score of 110.

“I have had a privileged one-day career and I have been for-tunate enough to be involved in three Cricket World Cups and now is the right time to walk away,” Haddin said.

“Not many players get to write a script like mine at the end of their careers and I have been lucky enough to do just that after winning a World Cup on home soil.

“I leave the team with Aus-tralia ranked number one in the world and I am proud of every-

thing we have achieved.”Cricket Australia chief ex-

ecutive James Sutherland said: “Australian cricket congratu-lates Brad on a fi ne one-day in-ternational career.

“Throughout the years he well and truly maintained Australia’s proud tradition of outstanding wicketkeeper-batsmen in lim-ited overs cricket.

“He leaves big shoes to fi ll as a talented player and important senior fi gure within the team.

“We thank him for his won-derful contribution to one-day cricket and look forward to his continued performances at Test level as the team works hard to retain the Frank Worrell Trophy and the Ashes.” - AFP

Australia’s Haddin quits one-day game

Zimbabwe’s Pakistan tour is on: Whatmore

CAPE TOWN: Zimbabwe will fl y to Pakistan on Sunday for a limited-overs tour, their coach Dav Whatmore told Reuters.

The tour, the fi rst in six years by a Test-playing nation to Paki-stan, was throw in doubt last week when a terror attack on a bus killed 47 people in Karachi.

“The tour is going ahead and we leave tonight,” Whatmore said via telephone from Harare before reconfi rming his belief the tour would be successful and that secu-rity measures put in place by Paki-stan will be adequate.

Zimbabwe will play two Twen-ty20 internationals, starting on May 22, and a three-match one-day series that begins four days lat-er. All the matches are in Lahore.

Zimbabwe Cricket released a statement on Thursday saying a decision had been reached not to tour on the advice of the country’s

supreme sports regulatory au-thority, the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC). The SRC cit-ed concerns over the safety of the squad. However, just minutes later the statement was withdrawn and Zimbabwe Cricket spokesman Lovemore Banda said discussions were still ongoing.

It is understood that concerns also emanated from the players themselves, some of who were reluctant to travel but have now

been persuaded to tour after addi-tional security measures were an-nounced by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Those were still deemed not good enough for the International Cricket Council, though, which released a statement on Sunday saying they would not be sending match offi cials for the series.

They cited a report by a se-curity consultant who advised against sending a team of offi cials

to the country.The ICC said the PCB would

have to appoint its own offi cials, but that this would not aff ect the status of the games which would remain as full internationals.

Zimbabwe are the fi rst test-playing nation to tour Pakistan since a 2009 gun attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore left six Pakistani policemen and a van driver dead. Some players and a lo-cal umpire were injured. - Reuters

The tour, the fi rst in

six years by a Test-

playing nation to

Pakistan, was throw

in doubt last week

when a terror attack

on a bus killed 47

people in Karachi

CAPE TOWN: The Interna-tional Cricket Council (ICC) will not be sending match offi -cials to Pakistan for the tour of Zimbabwe should the limited overs series go ahead, the gov-erning body said on Sunday.

The ICC said a security consultant had advised against sending offi cials to Pakistan, who will instead use their own umpires for the matches if Zimbabwe decide to tour the trouble-torn nation.

The appointment of local match offi cials will not aff ect the offi cial status of the games, the ICC said in a statement.

“The ICC today advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) that it will not be appointing its match offi cials for the upcom-

ing series between Pakistan and Zimbabwe,” the statement read.

“The ICC Board, during its April meeting, had decided that the playing conditions relating to the appointment of match offi cials could be waived to allow the PCB to appoint local match offi cials for this series should the ICC decide not to send its umpires and referee due to the current security situation in Pakistan.

“If this was to occur, the matches would still be consid-ered ‘offi cial cricket’, even though they will not be played strictly in accordance with the ICC stand-ard playing conditions.”

Although the PCB claimed on Friday they had received an assurance from ZC that the tour was on, Zimbabwe con-

tinue to say only that discus-sions are ongoing.

A ZC delegation which vis-ited Lahore, the venue for all matches on the tour, approved security measures put in place by local authorities last week.

But the terror attack on a bus in Karachi that killed at least 45 people this week led Zimbabwe’s supreme sports regulatory authority, the Sports and Recreation Com-mission, to advise that the tour be cancelled.

Zimbabwe were due to be the fi rst test-playing nation to tour Pakistan since a 2009 attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore left six Pakistani policemen and a van driver dead. Some players and a local umpire were injured. — Reuters

ICC not to send match offi cials to Pakistan

England will be weaker without Kevin Pietersen, says ClarkeSYDNEY: Australia captain Mi-chael Clarke has absolutely no doubt England will be a weaker side without batsman Kevin Pi-etersen when the Ashes rivalry resumes in Cardiff on July 8.

Pietersen was sacked by Eng-land last year following the 2013-14 trip to Australia during which he was accused of being disen-gaged from the team as the tour-ists crashed to a 5-0 defeat.

Despite being England’s most prolifi c batsman in all forms of the game and going back to score runs in county cricket, the 34-year-old was told last week he would not be part of the side for the Ashes this year.

Clarke, speaking on Sunday be-fore his departure for a two-test tour of the West Indies that pre-cedes the Ashes, said he had sym-pathy for Pietersen but that his absence would make Australia’s task easier.

“There’s two sides for me —there’s the personal side where I feel for ‘KP’ because I get on well with him and I’d love to see him back playing cricket for Eng-land,” he told reporters at Sydney Airport.

“His form has been outstand-ing, he’s still a great player, I know he wants to play for England so I feel for him on that side.

“On the other side, we go there soon to play against England. Any team without Kevin Pietersen won’t be as strong, I think his statis-

tics speak for themselves. He’s been a wonderful play for a long time and he’s still in career best form.”

Clarke said it was important that Australia’s players were not distracted by the circus sur-rounding Pietersen’s exclusion, which has enjoyed widespread coverage Down Under.

“I’ve tried to stay quiet and keep out of it. The last thing we want to do as a team is get caught up in what’s happening in Eng-land or West Indies or anywhere else,” he added.

“We need to stay focused and make sure we’re as well prepared as possible.

“England will be tough. When we get there, no matter what 11 players they put on the fi eld, they will be tough, they know their conditions really well.”

Clarke said it was also vital that the team focused on per-forming well in the two tests in Dominica and Jamaica next month and did not dwell too much on the prospect of winning the Ashes in England for the fi rst time since 2001.

“It’s been a long time but ... we’re being really focused on do-ing all the right things so we can perform at our best,” he said.

“We’ll be really dedicated and disciplined with this trip to West Indies. Hopefully individuals will get some form behind them for England, and we’ll worry about that when we get there.” - Reuters

CR I CKET

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SPORTSM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Aston Martin rope in Omani ace Al Harthy as brand ambassador

MUSCAT: Oman’s most success-ful motor racing export, Blancpain Endurance Series and Avon Tyres British GT Championship com-petitor Ahmad Al Harthy, has been appointed as brand ambassador for Aston Martin Middle East and North Africa.

Not only underlining the 33-year-old Oman’s status and his strong links with the hugely successful global automotive brand, the high-profi le partnership also highlights Aston Martin’s support of the Ah-mad’s endurance racing career.

Additionally, the new appoint-ment acknowledges the role Ah-mad and the Oman Racing Team – with whom he competes across mainland Europe and in the UK – play in helping to promote Aston Martin at home and abroad.

“We are absolutely delighted to confi rm Ahmad’s appointment as brand ambassador,” said Neil Slade, General Manager of Aston Martin Middle East and North Africa.

“He is a major sporting role model in Oman and the Middle East, ( just last week awarded Oman sportsman of the year) and his association with Aston Mar-tin over the past couple of years through his motor racing makes this partnership the perfect fi t.

“We have many plans for a va-riety of activations in the region, in which Ahmad will be centrally involved, and we will, of course, be closely following Ahmad’s season in the Blancpain Endurance Series and British GT Championship. We’re looking forward to a mutu-ally rewarding partnership.”

Alongside regular promotional work with Aston Martin in the Mid-dle East and North Africa, Ahmad will also help to fl y the fl ag for the brand on a day-to-day basis on the roads of Oman behind the wheel of brand new Aston Martin Vanquish.

One of the Omani’s sponsors for the second year now is Al Hashar Group. The pioneering Al Hashar Group represents Aston Martin in Oman and has over 40 years expe-rience in the automotive business. The group’s Chairman Sheikh Al

Muhannad Al Hashar says Ah-mad’s new role as brand ambas-sador with the manufacturer is a major source of pride for Oman and the region.

“We are extremely proud of our association with, and support of,

Ahmad this year and his increased involvement with Aston Martin is very important”, he said.

“The additional promotion for Aston Martin which his brand am-bassador role will bring to the Mid-dle East will be very welcome. We wish Ahmad every success in his new role.”

For Ahmad himself, the new sta-tus is something he is extremely proud of and the international racer says the acknowledgement aff orded him by Aston Martin is one of the proudest moments of his sporting career to date.

“We’ve been involved with As-ton Martin for a couple of years now in the Blancpain Endurance Series and British GT, but to have been invited to be brand ambassa-dor for such a prestigious and glob-ally renowned manufacturer is something unbelievably special”, he commented.

“I am incredibly proud to have reached a stage in my racing career where I have been given such won-derful recognition. I intend to fulfi l the role of brand ambassador for the Middle East and North Africa to the best of my ability, at all times helping to promote Aston Martin and Oman locally, regionally and internationally.”

The appointment acknowledges the role

Ahmad Al Harthy and the Oman Racing

Team play in helping to promote Aston

Martin at home and abroad

Shounak faces Sai Prem for U-14 title, Subash and Sai Saran in U-16 fi nal

MUSCAT: Two fi nals this evening will signal the conclusion of the ISC Junior Table Tennis League sponsored by New Makha Enter-prises and organised by the Indian Social Club Muscat.

The boys under-16 singles fi nal between Subash Pillai and P. Sai Saran promises to be a well-con-tested fi nal.

The league stage ended in a three way tie between Subash Pil-lai, Sai Saran and Yash Tanna who all had two victories from three matches.

But Subash and Yash prevailed over Yash by virtue of a better win-loss diff erence.

In the second fi nal to be played on Monday, fancied Shounak Kelkar will take on Sai Prem for the boys under-14 title.

Crucial matchesIn the last and crucial league ac-tion, Sai Saran prevailed over Sub-ash Pillai with a 11-3, 11-7, 6-11, 11-8 verdict to record his second victory while Subash defeated Ro-nan Machado 11-7, 11-4, 11-8 and Yash Tanna dropped a game before overcoming Ronan for a 8-11, 11-7,

11-7, 11-9 victory.Lefthander Shounak Kelkar

qualifi ed for the fi nal of the boys under-14 singles after remain-ing unbeaten in the round-robin

league. Shounak won all his fi ve league matches and was followed in second place by Sai Prem who had won four out of his fi ve league matches having lost to Shounak.

I S C T A B L E T E N N I S

Jahangir Khan unveils Pakistan ‘rescue’ missionHULL: Pakistan’s Jahangir Khan often described as the greatest squash player of all time, has out-lined a new plan which he hopes will spark a revival of the sport in his homeland.

It involves transforming a situa-tion in which Pakistan, once by far squash’s most successful nation, has had no British Open winner since 1997, nor a world top ten play-er since 1997. Currently there are no Pakistani players able to qualify for the British Open main draw.

“We have to do much more to turn that around,” said Jahangir, speaking on Sunday’s fi nals day at the British Open — a tournament he won a record 10 times — in Hull, northern England. “It involves

funding and good organisation, and now we have a plan which has a chance of starting a recovery.”

Part of Jahangir’s bid to arrest the decline of Pakistani squash involves the creation of a junior academy which will use the fa-cilities of his own squash centre, the Roshan Khan/Jahangir Khan Complex in Karachi, recruiting, coaching and developing talent, and providing resources for travel to overseas tournaments.

The academy will provide ac-commodation, food, equipment, and funds for boys to participate in national and international events, including an upcoming tourna-ment in Penang, Malaysia.

In some cases, squash will also

be used as a way of creating a transformation of the lives of less fortunate youngsters. All this has been made possible by the spon-sorship of Kazim Anwar, a busi-nessman and philanthropist who runs a trust.

‘Still have talent’ There is plenty of tradition on which to build and inspire budding Pakistani squash champions.

During the 20th century Paki-stan produced seven British Open champions -- in years when it was usually regarded as the world’s top tournament -- and these play-ers held the title for their country for 30 of the 78 years in which the men’s event has been held.

“I believe we still have the talent to make great squash players,” asserted Jahangir, 51. “It’s a question of get-ting the resources and the organisa-tion together to make use of it.”

The project intended to do this is called CHIPS, signifying the Champion Hunt Initiative Pro-gramme, which will provide train-ing for boys in fi ve age group cate-gories as well as full-time coaches.

Jahangir himself will help with the coaching, and also working on the project are Saeed Khan, the director of the programme, and Rashid Ahmed, the co-ordinator.

The task, however, is formidable. First Pakistan’s squash hopes were hit by a growth of funding in other countries, enabling them to take

advantage of vastly superior and rapidly developing sports science.

Then the country’s always nar-row playing base made it far hard-er in the modern era to develop tal-ent in an increasingly competitive world and eventually the whole country was hit by political insta-bility which has prevented Paki-stan from holding a major event for nearly a decade. No PSA World Tour tournaments were held at all in Pakistan in 2009.

Jahangir was at pains to empha-sise that the new project was not intended to compete with the work of the Pakistan Squash Federation, the governing body of the sport in his country. “We only want to help and we know what we have to do,”

he said. “It’s a question of proper organisation.

“Basically Egypt’s styles and Pakistan’s are the same,” Jahagir added, referring to the Middle East nation which in 15 years has trans-formed itself into by far the most successful in squash, with mod-ern-day leading players such as Amr Shabana and Ramy Ashour.

“I was there (in Egypt) two weeks ago. They have the organi-sation. There everyone knows about squash, and about their great players. We can provide help to our young talent to do well again. But squash is a full-time job now and you need a very professional atti-tude. That’s what we really need to develop.” - AFP

S Q U A S H

ISC U-14 FINALISTS: Shounak Kelkar, left, and Sai Prem. – Supplied photo

Lorenzo leads Yamaha one-twoLE MANS: Spain’s Jorge Lor-enzo celebrated his second suc-cessive MotoGP win after beat-ing teammate and championship leader Valentino Rossi in a Yama-ha one-two at Sunday’s French Grand Prix.

Italian Andrea Dovizioso was third for Ducati, with world champion Marc Marquez fi nish-ing only fourth for Honda after starting on pole position but los-ing out in the battle off the line.

The result left Rossi on 102 points while Lorenzo, who won the previous race in Spain and is the fi rst rider to triumph twice in a row this year, has 87 after fi ve rounds. Dovizioso is on 83 and Marquez 69.

Marquez’s teammate and fel-low-Spaniard Dani Pedrosa failed to score on his comeback, having missing the last three races due to arm surgery, after crashing on the second lap. He rejoined in last place and fi nished 16th.

Lorenzo started in third place, following Dovizioso past Mar-quez before taking the lead on the opening lap, while Rossi had to fi ght through from seventh.

Marquez momentarily re-gained the lead but then ran wide

almost immediately, dropping down as low as sixth before re-gaining fourth.

Lorenzo said his aggressive start had been the key to the race but Rossi, who moved into sec-

ond place with 16 laps to go and smashed the circuit lap record, had pushed him hard later on.

“I saw Valentino in second place, he really was very quick so I had to push even at the maxi-mum...but changing a little bit my riding style I could survive and fi nish the race with another vic-tory,” he told reporters. “It’s very important for the championship so I am very satisfi ed.”

Rossi, who shook hands with his teammate after they got off the bikes, was happy to have kept his overall lead after taking a gamble with the set-up following diffi cul-ties in practice and qualifying.

“We suff ered a lot during the practice because I wasn’t able to ride the bike at the limit,” he said. “It also happened in Jerez. But this time we risked more and for the race did something very dif-ferent,” said the 36-year-old.

“I needed two or three laps to understand but after I had the good pace...had a great battle with the two Ducatis. When I arrived behind Jorge, I tried but today he was too fast. But anyway this is a great result for the championship.

“Solid race, solid ride, I enjoyed it, 20 points. Good job.” - Reuters

M O T O G P

TWO IN A ROW: Jorge Lorenzo

celebrates on the podium after

winning the French MotoGP in

Le Mans on Sunday. – AFP

C5

SPORTSM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Passage to India, Assarain in final

MUSCAT: Passage to India (PTI) registered an easy seven-wicket win against A Turki NMC to earn a place in the fi nal of the Khimji Ramdas-sponsored T20 Premier Cup knockout tournament.

Opting to bat fi rst, Al Turki NMC lost wickets at regular inter-vals and were bowled out for 121 runs at the end of their quota of 20 overs with a top score of 20 from Jay Odedra.

Bilal Khan, Mohammed Bilal and skipper Syed Aamir Kaleem

took two wickets apiece.PTI in their turn lost three wick-

ets for 53 runs in nine overs but recovered through an unbeaten 70-run fourth-wicket partnership be-tween Khurram Khan (48 not out) and Asif Khan (34 not out) to reach

123 for three wickets in 18.2 overs.Brief scores: Al Turki NMC 121

in 20 overs (Jay Odedra 20; Bilal Khan 2/20, Mohammed Bilal 2/30, Syed Aamir Kaleem 2/31) lost to PTI 123 for 3 in 18.2 overs (Khurram Khan 48 n.o., Asif Khan 34 n.o).

In the fi nal, Passage to India will square off against Assarain A, who defeated Raha by 12 runs in the second semifi nal.

Electing to bat fi rst, Assarain A were well placed at 104 for one wicket at the end of the 13th over

thanks to a 74-run second-wicket partnership between opening batsman Arun Poulose (52) and skipper Arif Hussain (37). With the exit of the duo in quick suc-cession wickets tumbled and As-sarain A managed to reach 149 for the loss of seven wickets.

Waseem Ahmed, Muhammed Adnan and skipper Khalid Rasheed claimed two wickets apiece.

In reply, Raha CT were bowled out for 137 in 20 overs. Major contributions came from Sultan Ahmed (34) and opening batsman Mohammed Nadeem (26).

Ahmed Raza claimed four wick-ets in four overs while V.S. Shiju and Mohammed Nadeem bagged two each.

Brief scores: Assarain A 149 for 7 in 20 overs (Arun Poulose 52, Arif Hussain 37; Waseem Ahmed 2/19, Mo-hammed Adnan 2/25, Khalid Rasheed 2/33) bt Raha CT 137 in 20 overs (Sul-tan Ahmed 34, Mohammed Nadeem 26; Ahmed Raza 4/21, V.S. Shiju 2/16, Mohammed Nadeem 2/21).

The fi nal is scheduled to be played at the MOS Turf Grounds in Al Amerat from 7.30 a.m. on May 22. Maqbool Moosa Al Lawa-ti, Oman Cricket board member, preside over the prize-giving cer-emony and handover the trophies.

In the semifi nals,

Passage to India

eased to an easy

seven-wicket victory

over Al Turki NMC

and Assarain A

defeated Raha by

12 runs

AL AROUBA CROWNED OMANTEL PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSAl Arouba, who assured themselves of Omantel Professional League (OPL) title with two matchdays left in the season on May 12, were crowned the champions

during the penultimate week action of the 2014-15 season at the Sur Sports Complex on Saturday. Al Arouba sealed the title when they drew 1-1 against Dhofar in

Salalah on May 12. But on Saturday Al Arouba were handed a 3-2 defeat by Sur before being crowned the champions with Oman Football Association (OFA) vice-

chairman Saleh Al Farsi handing over the coveted trophy. The season concludes on May 25 when champions Al Arouba take on Shabab. — ISMAIL AL FARSI/Times of Oman

ASSARAIN A STARS: Arun Poulose and Ahmed Raza. – Supplied photo

EPL on alert as

Ayew confi rms

Marseille exit

PARIS: Ghana international forward Andre Ayew moved a step closer to a dream move to the English Premier League after announcing he would be ending a 10 year stay at French giants Marseille.

The 25-year-old winger — a member of the Ghana side that lost to Ivory Coast 9-8 on penal-ties in this year’s Africa Cup of Nations fi nal — said despite Mar-seille still being in contention for a Champions League place next term it wasn’t enough for him.

Ayew, whose younger brother Jordan was also at Marseille before leaving for Lorient at the beginning of the season, has at-tracted interest from several English clubs including relega-tion-threatened Newcastle, a regular raider of Ligue 1 for play-ers, Spurs, Arsenal and the club he idolised as a boy Liverpool.

“The president (Vincent Labrune) has spoken thus eve-rything has been brought out into the open more or less,” said Ayew, who scored 10 goals in 27 appearances this season as Marseille enjoyed a superb fi rst-half of the campaign and top the table before a series of poor results saw them fall off the pace. I am going to leave the club and it is a page turned.

“There are lots of thing be-hind the decision. We tried to fi nd a solution which would en-able me to stay but for both par-ties it was complicated, wheth-er it be for sporting or fi nancial reasons. I was expecting more, I wished that the club would have a more competitive team for next year that could be title con-tenders and that is not certain.

“Also the club cannot off er me the same salary that I’m on at the moment,” added Ayew, son of former Ghana and Marseille legend Abedi Pele.

Labrune said that the club simply could not off er the wages an English club could to Ayew, who came through the youth system at the club and became a key player for them in the past fi ve years after returning from a loan spell with Arles-Avignon.

“We cannot keep Ayew,” La-brune had told Wednesday’s edition of English daily news-paper The Independent.

“He is a very important player for Marseille but we cannot of-fer him the sums that the Eng-lish clubs can.

“Unfortunately, he is going to leave the club and we hope he enjoys the great career he deserves in England or else-where.” - AFP

F O O T B A L L

Andre Ayew

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Fraser-Pryce fl ops in ShanghaiSHANGHAI: World and Olym-pic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce fi nished just fi fth in the Shanghai Diamond League 100m on Sunday in a setback to her bid for a third straight world title.

In the season’s second Diamond League meeting, David Oliver stormed to victory in the 110m hurdles, and Almaz Ayana won the women’s 5,000m in a world-lead-ing 14 minutes and 14.32 seconds.

Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim leapt 2.38m to win his high jump battle with Bohdan Bondarenko, and Olympic title-holder Kirani James took out the 400m in a clear statement ahead of the August world championships in Beijing.

But Fraser-Pryce suff ered a big loss in her fi rst 100m of the season, behind Nigerian winner Blessing Okagbare and Jamaican team-mate Veronica Campbell-Brown, who was fourth.

“The feeling is OK,” said 28-year-old Fraser-Pryce, who now has three months to fi nd form before the world championships. “I am looking forward to my next race. What comes, comes.”

Okagbare, who won the 200m and the long jump at last year’s meet in Shanghai, was ecstatic at her victory.

“It is not easy to compete with the best in the world but I won,” she said. “Shanghai loves me and the track loves me.”

Watched by recently retired Chi-nese great Liu Xiang, America’s David Oliver clattered four barriers in the 110m hurdles but still man-aged to beat a top-class fi eld.

The powerful world champion clocked 13.17 to fi nish two-hun-dredths ahead of Cuba’s Orlando Ortega with Aries Merritt, the Olympic champion and world re-cord-holder, third.

“Although it is a season’s best, I think I can run faster,” America’s Oliver said. “My main goal is to win Beijing but also to win the

Diamond race.”In the 5,000m, Ethiopia’s Ayana

ran a stunning race to clock the third best time in history, threat-ening compatriot Tirunesh Diba-ba’s 2008 world record of 14:11.15.

“I didn’t know I was so close to the world record,” she said.

“During the race, I went faster and faster. I was surprised that my body could do that.”

Ayana, who led after fi ve laps in Shanghai and broke away not long after the half-way point, said she would make an attempt at the re-cord at the world championships.

In the men’s 400m, James pow-ered across the fi nishing line on 44.66 secs, well ahead of Ameri-cans Tony McQuay in second and world champion LaShawn Mer-ritt in third.

It provided a psychological boost for James as he looks ahead to Beijing, where he will try to re-claim the world title from Merritt, the current holder.

“It is always a great atmosphere and a great fi eld,” he said, following his second successive victory at the Shanghai meet.

“It was very tough but I am very happy,” the Grenadian added. - AFP

D I A M O N D L E A G U E

Man City into Champions League group stage, Arsenal edge closer

LONDON: Manchester City as-sured themselves of direct entry into next season’s Champions League group stage on Sunday as Arsenal stayed on course for a top-three fi nish as well.

City won 4-2 away to Swansea before third-placed Arsenal moved two points clear of Manchester United after coming from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at Old Traff ord.

Ander Herrera’s volley gave United, fourth in the table, the lead on the half-hour mark.

But the Gunners equalised eight minutes from time when Theo Walcott’s cross diverted off de-fender Tyler Blackett and, with David de Gea off injured, past wrong-footed substitute goalkeep-

er Victor Valdes, who was making his United debut.

Only the top three sides in Eng-land at the end of the season — which include already crowned champions Chelsea and City -- are guaranteed a place in the group stage of European football’s elite club competition, with the Pre-mier League’s fourth-placed team having to enter a qualifying round

instead United now have it all to do to overtake Arsenal.

The Gunners, who have a supe-rior goal diff erence, can take six points from their remaining two matches, at home to Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday and Sunday respec-tively, while only three are avail-able to United when they travel to Hull on the fi nal day of the season

next weekend. Earlier, three goals came before half-time at the Lib-erty Stadium.

Yaya Toure, assisted by an error from Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianksi, and James Milner put Manchester City 2-0 up before Gylfi Sigurdsson pulled a goal back for Swansea on the stroke of half-time.

French striker Bafetimbi Gomis equalised for the Swans midway

through the second half before Toure, with Fabianksi out of posi-tion, made it 3-2 to City with a low shot from the edge of the box.

Former Swansea forward Wil-fried Bony completed the scor-ing in stoppage time with only his second goal since he moved in the mid-season transfer window.

Before Bony put the result be-yond doubt City, last season’s Pre-

mier League title winners, were in-debted to a couple of superb saves from goalkeeper Joe Hart.

“We don’t answer to anyone apart from each other, the fans and the management,” England inter-national Hart told Sky Sports.

“After the (Manchester) United defeat we made second our aim, we’ve won fi ve on the spin and we’ll try to win the last one against Southampton.”

Pellegrini’s faith in Toure Toure’s future at City — fuelled by some provocative comments from his agent — has been the subject of intense speculation, with many ob-servers feeling he hasn’t hit the same heights as he did when the club won the English title last season.

But City manager Manuel Pel-legrini said he had never lost faith in the 32-year-old Ivory Coast midfi elder.

“I didn’t have any doubt about Yaya,” the manager insisted. “May-be the media started with him after his birthday. After that he went to the Africa Cup (of Nations) and we couldn’t win (the Premier League).

“Maybe an important player has more criticism, but I never had doubts.”

Despite this defeat, Swansea will fi nish the season in an impressive eighth position and manager Gar-ry Monk said: “I am disappointed with the result but once again the players’ character and commit-ment was there to see. I thought we could have got something out of the game but it wasn’t to be.” - AFP

City won 4-2 away

to Swansea before

third-placed Arsenal

moved two points

clear of Manchester

United after coming

from behind to earn

a 1-1 draw at Old

Traff ord

BREAKING THE DEFENCE: Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero weaves his way through the Swansea defence during their English Premier

League match at The Liberty Stadium in Swansea, Wales, on Sunday. – AFP

SHANGHAI: China’s great-est track and fi eld athlete Liu Xiang said goodbye to his adoring fans in his hometown of Shanghai on Sunday in a tearful ceremony after the Diamond League meeting.

“I have been moved by your concern for me, your under-standing and your encour-agement,” said Liu, the 110m hurdles champion at the 2004 Olympics, a month after he an-nounced his retirement.

“I am grateful and very hon-oured,” added the 31-year-old, his eyes glazing as he struggled to contain his emotions.

Many fans at Shanghai Stadium stood motionless with their hands over their mouths, while others wiped tears as Liu spoke from the trackside.

Liu’s retirement last month sparked an outpouring of emo-tion for an athlete who was loved for his achievements and also won wide sympathy for his heart-breaking setbacks.

After claiming China’s fi rst men’s track and fi eld gold at Athens, Liu was hotly tipped to claim victory at the 2008

Olympic Games in Beijing, but limped out of the fi rst heat, stunning home fans at the Bird’s Nest stadium.

Despite appearing to hit form leading up to London 2012, Liu clattered into the fi rst hurdle in his opening heat and after being helped up, he hopped the length of the track before sym-bolically kissing the last barrier and exiting the arena. He has not run competitively since.

“I am very happy that today I have an opportunity to say goodbye,” Liu said, before

giving his backing to a new generation of Chinese athletes.

“I am convinced that from today we will have even more athletes, who are even more outstanding,” he said.

China is an emerging power in athletics, with promising 110 hurdler Xie Wenjun and long jump hope Li Jinzhe among those tipped for success.

While neither managed a win in Shanghai Sunday, wom-en’s shot-putter Gong Lijiao and javelin-thrower Lu Huihui both claimed victory. - AFP

Tearful send-off for Chinese star Liu

Djokovic, Sharapovaclinch Rome titles ROME: Top seed Novak Djoko-vic warmed up for the French Open with a comprehensive 6-4, 6-3 victory over Roger Federer to claim his fourth Italian Open title on Sunday.

In the absence of seven-time champion Rafael Nadal, ousted in the quarterfi nals, the Serbian produced a near fl awless perfor-mance on centre court to defend his title and hand Federer his fourth fi nal defeat in Rome.

With Roland Garros a little more than a week away, Djokovic could emerge as the favourite to claim what is an elusive title in the French capital, especially in light of Nadal’s current woes on clay.

The Spaniard has won only one title on the surface this year, at Bue-nos Aires, and been beaten by Ital-ian Fabio Fognini, Andy Murray, Djokovic and Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka in recent tournaments. Djokovic, meanwhile, has brought his game to boiling point this week to claim his fi fth title of the season and take his head-to-head record over the Swiss ace to 21-18.

On this performance, Djokovic

will be hard to beat at the French Open, where Nadal’s bid for a 10th title could be compounded by a lack of top seeding.

Earlier, Russia’s Maria Shara-pova warmed up for the defence of her French Open title by secur-ing her third Italian Open crown with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Spain’s Carla Suarez.

Suarez, bidding for only the second title of her career but fi rst from the Masters 1000 series, made a stunning start at the Foro Italico where the players faced sweltering conditions.

The Spanish 10th seed broke the world number three midway through the opening set and had Sharapova on the ropes in a tight second before Sharapova found the breakthrough. Sharapova broke the Spaniard in the eighth game of the second set for a 5-3 lead and af-ter going on to hand her opponent three break points in the next game she recovered to level the match.

Sharapova handed Suarez a break point in the opening game of the third set but managed to seal the victory. - AFP

T E N N I S

Novak Djokovic Maria Sharapova

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMSECTIONC M O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Three years ago, Doud-na, a biochemist at the University of California, Berkeley, helped make one of

the most monumental discoveries in biology: a relatively easy way to alter any organism’s DNA, just as a computer user can edit a word in a document.

The discovery has turned Doud-na (the fi rst syllable rhymes with loud) into a celebrity of sorts, the recipient of numerous accolades and prizes. The so-called CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technique is already widely used in laboratory studies, and scientists hope it may one day help rewrite fl awed genes in people, opening tremendous new possibilities for treating, even curing, diseases.

But now Doudna, 51, is battling on two fronts to control what she helped create.

While everyone welcomes CRISPR-Cas9 as a strategy to treat disease, many scientists are worried that it could also be used to alter genes in human embryos, sperm or eggs in ways that can be passed from generation to genera-tion. The prospect raises fears of a dystopian future in which sci-entists create an elite population of designer babies with enhanced intelligence, beauty or other traits.

Scientists in China reported last month that they had already used the technique in an attempt to change genes in human embryos, though on defective embryos and without real success.

Doudna has been organising the scientifi c community to pre-vent this ethical line from being crossed. “The idea that you would aff ect evolution is a very profound thing,” she said.

She is also fi ghting for control of what could be hugely lucra-tive intellectual property rights to the genome editing technique. To the surprise of many, the fi rst sweeping patents for the technol-ogy were granted not to her, but to Feng Zhang, a scientist at the Broad Institute and MIT.

The University of California is challenging the decision, and the nasty skirmish has cast a bit of a pall over the fi eld.

“I really want to see this technol-ogy used to help people,” Doudna

said. “It would be a shame if the I.P. situation would block that.”

A ‘dumbstruck’ momentDoudna was 7 when she moved to Hilo, where her father taught lit-erature at the University of Hawaii campus there, and her mother lec-tured on history at a community college. Their daughter loved exploring the rain forests and was fascinated by how things worked. She found her calling in high school after hearing a lecture by a scientist about her research into how normal cells became cancerous.

“I was just dumbstruck,” Doud-na recalled. “I wanted to be her.”

After studying biochemistry at Pomona College in California, she went to Harvard for graduate school. There her adviser, the fu-ture Nobel laureate Jack Szostak, was doing research on RNA. Some scientists believe that RNA, not DNA, was the basis of early life, since the molecule can both store genetic information and catalyse chemical reactions.

Doudna earned her doctoral degree by engineering a catalytic RNA that could self-replicate, add-ing evidence to that theory. But her

inability to visualise this catalytic RNA hindered her work.

So as a postdoctoral researcher in Colorado, she decided to try to determine the three-dimensional atomic structure of RNA using X-ray diff raction - and succeeded, though she had had no formal training in the technique. Struc-tural and biochemical studies of RNA in action have been her forte ever since.

In 2000, while on the faculty at Yale, she won the Alan T. Water-man Award, given each year by the National Science Foundation to an exceptional young scientist. She

moved to Berkeley in 2002.In 2005, Doudna was ap-

proached by Jillian Banfi eld, an environmental researcher at Berkeley who had been sequencing the DNA of unusual microbes that lived in a highly acidic abandoned mine. In the genomes of many of these microbes were unusual re-peating sequences called “clus-tered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats,” or CRISPR.

No one was quite sure what they did, though over the next few years scientists elsewhere estab-lished that these sequences were part of a bacterial immune system.

Between the repeated sequences were stretches of DNA taken from viruses that had previously in-fected the bacteria - genetic most-wanted posters, so to speak.

If the same virus invaded again, these stretches of DNA would per-mit the bacteria to recognise it and destroy it by slicing up its genetic material. Doudna was trying to fi g-ure out exactly how this happened.

“I remember thinking this is probably the most obscure thing I ever worked on,” she said.

It would prove to have wide use. At a conference in early 2011, she met Emmanuelle Charpentier, a French microbiologist at Umea Uni-versity in Sweden, who had already made some fundamental discover-ies about the relatively simple Cris-pr system in one bacterial species.

The bacterial expert and the structural biologist decided to work together.

“It was very enjoyable, because we were complementary,” said Charpentier, who recalled sitting in her offi ce near the North Pole while Doudna regaled her with stories about Hawaii.

Along with postdoctoral re-searchers Martin Jinek and Kr-zysztof Chylinski, the two scien-tists eventually fi gured out how two pieces of RNA join up with a protein made by the bacteria called Cas9 to cut DNA at a specifi c spot. The researchers also found that the two RNA pieces could be com-bined into one and still function.

In a eureka moment, the scien-tists realised that this cellular de-fence system might be used to edit genomes, not just kill viruses.

A specifi c sequence of guide RNA could be made to attach to a spot virtually anywhere on the ge-nome, and the Cas9 protein would cleave the DNA at that spot. Then pieces of the DNA could be deleted or added, just as a fi lm editor might cut a fi lm and splice in new frames.

The researchers demonstrated this using DNA in a test tube. While there were other genome editing techniques, they found that CRISPR-Cas9 was much simpler.

The paper describing the tech-nique, published by the journal Science in June 2012, set off a race to see if it would work in human, plant and animal cells.-Andrew Pollack/

The New York Times News Service

LIFE & STYLE

Doudna is fi ghting

for control of

what could be

hugely lucrative

intellectual

property rights to

the genome editing

technique JENNIFER DOUDNA

WHOSIMPLIFIED

THE PIONEER

GENOME EDITING

C8

EXTRAM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

‘LE MANS’: THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR THE KING OF COOL

Steve McQueen was at his absolute high as a movie star when he began work on his passionate project ‘Le Mans’ (1971). A new fi lm features remarkable unseen footage and outtakes

Thanks to a string of successes like Bul-litt and The Thomas Crown Aff air, he was one of the most pow-

erful fi gures in Hollywood, able to choose his own projects and set his own terms. Fans revered him as the coolest, most charismatic ac-tor of his generation.

In theory, Le Mans had all the ingredients to be a huge hit. Mc-Queen himself starred in a role tailor-made for him as Michael Delaney, the driver in the Porsche in the 24-hour race in Le Mans. However, as a new feature docu-mentary, Steve McQueen: The Man and Le Mans reveals, the project very nearly destroyed him.

The fi lm itself wasn’t a success. Its original director, John Sturges (who had also worked with Mc-Queen on The Great Escape), abandoned the project. His mar-riage came under severe strain – and so did the fi nances of his production company. His paranoia was mounting. The Sharon Tate murders had happened in LA a few months before fi lming began. During the course of shooting, Mc-Queen, who had discovered he was on Charles Manson’s death list, re-quested that a gun be sent over for his protection.

“I’ve always wanted to shoot a motor-racing picture because it has always been something close to my heart. I sometimes thought maybe I shouldn’t do it,” McQueen is heard saying in the trailer for the documentary, which had its world premiere in Cannes. “When something is close to you, you have a tendency to become too much of a perfectionist with it.” That per-fectionism was going to cost Mc-Queen dear. The new documentary is directed by Gabriel Clarke and John McKenna. What has been causing huge excitement among motor racing and fi lm fans alike is the wealth of unseen footage that the fi lm-makers have turned up of McQueen’s folie de grandeur.

Film-maker and journalist Clarke, well-known to British viewers for his football reporting on ITV, has revealed the extraordi-nary eff orts he and McKenna made to track down the missing footage. It had been claimed that well over a million feet of fi lm were shot by McQueen and his team during the making of Le Mans. There were is-sues with the storyline and script during production, and as they waited for these to be resolved, the fi lm-makers kept shooting and shooting. They were fi lming dur-ing the actual Le Mans race with multiple cameras – and seemingly with little thought as to how their hours and hours of footage were actually going to be incorporated into the movie.

The out-takes had long since gone missing, presumed lost. Some had speculated that the fi lm-mak-ers themselves may have destroyed the material when the project went sour on them. Even McQueen’s own son, Chad McQueen, feared that the footage was lost.

“Some of our footage came from private family collections,” Clarke says, talking about the various sources they drew from for the fi lm. “Other footage had been recorded at the time. There was an on-set ‘mak-ing of’ documentary made by one of our contributors, John Klawitter...”

They also unearthed a Swiss documentary, The Song of Le Mans, made during the shooting of Le

Mans but never released. (This turned up in a Paris fi lm vault.) They also came across several hours of super 8mm home-movie footage shot by one of the drivers, Paul Blancpain, during the race.

Klawitter himself discovered fi lm reels stored away in his own garage. “They had been there for more than 40 years – and thanks to the kindness of California’s cli-mate, they had survived the rav-ages of time.”

“We spoke to family, to people who had worked on this project. As far as they were concerned, this fi lm didn’t exist,” Clarke recalls. There was “a vague lead” to a disused ware-house in New Jersey. Some contacts suggested that the rushes might be in private collections in South America. (McQueen memorabilia remains highly sought after there.)

Clarke and McKenna just hap-pened to make a late night call to an editor in Los Angeles. An email came back saying that “hidden be-neath a sound stage and covered in dust, we found between 400 and 600 boxes of fi lm.” Miraculously, the rushes had survived intact. The fi rst box the fi lm-makers looked at contained material from the cam-era car. “It was just inspiring to look at,” Clarke says. “McQueen wanted a camera car – a car that was racing in Le Mans and from which they could use the foot-age to put across the authenticity of the driver during the race.” Le Mans was intended by McQueen to be the ultimate racing movie. He wanted viewers to feel they were behind the wheel, experiencing the event at fi rst hand. “Once we knew the rushes existed, we could really put this across.”

Some of the Hollywood star’s re-lentless perfectionism was clearly shared by Clarke and McKenna. The rushes came without sound, but the fi lm-makers made sure during post-production that every last growl of an engine was au-thentic. Whether it was McQueen in a Porsche 917 or another driver in a Ferrari 512, the sound the car makes is exactly as it should be.

The motor-racing community appreciated Le Mans, and the fi lm has been called “essential viewing for anyone with gasoline in their veins.” However, box-offi ce re-turns were disappointing and Mc-Queen himself never quite recap-tured the lustre he had once held.

The metaphor that many use to describe McQueen’s involvement in such an epic and ill-fated project is of Icarus fl ying too close to the sun.

“The story itself is so much more than just Steve McQueen, the motor-racing fanatic. The sto-ry is this obsession that McQueen had to make the ultimate racing fi lm,” says Clarke.

“Everyone around him was con-vinced that he was untouchable and that this was going to be the ul-timate fi lm, not just a racing fi lm… with Steve McQueen in a racing car, what could possibly go wrong? Of course, things did go wrong.”

“Part of the reason we feel that this is an inspirational story is that you do go into dark places with Steve – and you do realise that his was a fl awed character. He was a genius of a man. One of the things we hope to put across is that he was a visionary.”

Now, more than 40 years after the fi lm went so wrong, audiences in Cannes will be given at least a glimpse of the fi lm that might have been. -Geoff rey Mcnab/The Independent

Laurence J. Peter, a Canadian educator who developed

the Peter Principle, said, “Real, constructive mental power lies in the creative thought that shapes your destiny, and your hour-by-hour mental conduct produces power for change in your life.”

That applies to bridge players, whose minute-by-minute mental conduct produces the power to solve a problem correctly. This week we are looking at deals in which working out hand shapes will shape the results.

In today’s deal, South is in three no-trump. West

leads the diamond two. How should East plan the defence?

The bidding had a few interesting aspects. First, when North responded one spade, South, with a singleton spade, correctly rebid two clubs, not three clubs. Then North decided to support hearts, knowing that two honours doubleton would be as good as three low cards. But he was tempted to rebid two spades, given his six-card suit. Then South, when he continued with two no-trump, showed some 16 or 17 high-card points, enough to think about game even though

North was limited to nine points. North, with a near maximum, raised to game.

East has to think about declarer’s hand shape. South showed fi ve hearts and four clubs in the bidding, and West’s diamond-two lead, indicating a four-card suit, tells East that South started with three diamonds. So declarer’s distribution must be 1-5-3-4.

East’s best chance is to win with his diamond ace and immediately shift to the spade four. Bingo! Four spade tricks later, the defenders will be happy.

— By Phillip Alder

C9

ENTERTAINMENT

Use declarer’s shape to shape the defence

B I G N A T E

B O R N L O S E R

M A R M A D U K E

A C E S O N B R I D G E

K I D S P O T H E A L T H C A P S U L EC R O S S W O R D

Answer to previous puzzle

WITH LOVE

M O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 16 years) whose birthday you are

celebrating, along with his/her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number

and parents’/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi

or through e-mail to extra@timesofoman.com

ZAINAB JAMEEL SHAKEELMay 18, 2009

SHILPA S. NAIRMay 18, 2005

ACROSS

1 Tavern 4 Lady’s honorifi c 8 Sidekick12 Mouths, in zoology13 In that case (2 wds.)14 Long-handled tool15 Interstellar17 Mellowed, as

whiskey18 Not so new19 Bias21 Sinbad’s transport23 Burro alternative27 Kachina doll maker30 Teacup edges33 Pledge34 Singer — Brickell

35 Western tribesman36 Go to ground37 Caviar, actually38 Much loved39 — St. Laurent40 Law and —42 Smidgen44 Meg — of fi lms47 Stand of trees51 Jet route54 Type of retriever56 A Baldwin57 North-forty unit58 Down with the fl u59 Lose some60 Gin-fi zz fl avour61 Riviera summer

DOWN 1 Kelly’s possum 2 Europe-Asia range 3 Like Kojak 4 Very small 5 Near the stern 6 Defects and all (2

wds.) 7 — turtle soup 8 Rush-hour pace 9 Crone10 Luau strummer11 Avg. size16 Condor’s abode20 Metro RRs22 Sherlock’s need24 Tel —25 Way26 Amazes

27 Adventurer, often28 Dumpster output29 Spotted, as a horse31 Give — — whirl32 Sassy36 Nine-headed

monster38 Dehydrated41 Build43 Tally45 Woe is me!46 Table salt48 Fat cat’s victim49 Battery word50 — Stanley Gardner51 Boy52 Mr. Baba53 Born as55 Sib for a sis

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MAD MAX:FURY ROAD : (Action) : Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas HoultShow Time : 3.15 p.m., 7.30 p.m., 9.45 p.m & 11.55 p.m.Censor Permit No: 1273 ( 12+ )PITCH PERFECT 2 : ( Comedy ) : Anna Kedrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee SteinfeldShow Time : 1.15 p.m. & 5.30 p.m.Censor Permit No: 1272( 12+ )BOMBAY VELVET : ( Hindi) (Crime/Drama/History ) : Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan JoharShow Time: 1.15 p.m., 6.00 p.m. & 9.00 p.m.Censor Permit No: 1275 ( 12+ )GOOD KILL : (Thriller ) : Ethan Hawke, January Jones, Zoe Kravitz, Bruce Green WoodShowtime : 4.00 p.m. & 11.55 p.m.Censor Permit No: 1274 ( 12+ )

Oru Vadakkan Selfi e (Mal) (Rom)Cast: Navin Pauly, Manjima, Aju 3:30, 6:30, 9:30 pm at Cinema MainBombay Velvet (Hindi) (Com/Rom)Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma3:45, 9:45pm at Cinema 3 Chirakodinja Kinavukal (Mal)Cast: Kunchako Boban, Rima Kalingal & Sreenivasan3:45 & 9:45 pm at Cinema 4Purampokku (Tamil) (Rom)Cast: Aarya, Vijay Sethupathi3:30, 6:30, 9:30 pm Cinema 2O Kadhal Kanmani (Tamil/Rom)Cast:Dulqar Salman & Nitya Menon6:45 pm at Cinema 4Piku (Drama / Comedy) – PGCast: Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone. 6:45pm Cinema 3Next Change: BHASKAR THE RASCAL (Mal); 36 VAYATHINILLE (Tamil); LION (Telugu)

MAD MAX FURY ROAD (Action, Adventure)(2D) 12+Cast : Tom Hardy, Charlize TheronTimings : 04:20 pmMAD MAX FURY ROAD (Action, Adventure)(3D) 12+Cast : Tom Hardy, Charlize TheronTimings : 06:45 pm /09:15 pm /11:45 pmGood Kill (Drama, Thriller) (12+)Cast: Ethan Hawke, January Jones, Zoë KravitzTimings: 02:15 pm /09:45 pm /11:30 pmFAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (Drama)(12+)Cast : Carey Mulligan, Michael SheenTimings : 04:00 pmBOMBAY VELVET (Crime, Drama)(12+)Cast : Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka SharmaTimings : 08:30 pmPITCH PERFECT 2 (Comedy)(12+)Cast : Anna Kendrick, Rebel WilsonTimings : 06:15 pmCAPTAIN MASR (Sports, Comedy)(PG)Cast : Mohamed Emam, EdwardTimings : 02:00 pm /07:50 pmAVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON (3D) (Action, Adventure) (PG12)Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris EvansTimings: 02:45 pm /11:45 pm PIKU (Comedy, Drama)(PG)Cast : Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Irrfan Khan Timings: 05:30 pm

Cast : Tom Hardy, Charlize TheronTimings :09:30 PM & 11:45 PMGold Class: 03:45 PM & 11:15 PMPITCH PERFECT (2D) 12+Timings :10:15 & 02:45 PMGold Class: 06:00 PMGOOD KILL (2D) 12+Cast : Ethan Hawke, January Jones,Timings : 05:00 PM & 09:45 PM.CAPTAIN MASR (2D) PGTimings :10:30 AM & 05:15 PMGold Class: 11:45 AMFAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (2D) 12+Timings :03:00 PMGold Class: 01:30 PMBOMBAY VELVET (HINDI) (2D) 12+Cast : Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka SharmaTimings :07:00 PMGold Class: 08:30 PMPIKU (HINDI) (2D) 12+Cast : Amitabh Bachchan, Irfan KhanTimings :12:30 PMCAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR (2D) 15+Cast : Isabel Lucas, Dermot MulroneyTimings :11:45 PM

AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON (3D)PG12Cast : Robert Downey Jr., Chris EvansTimings :06:55 PMMAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2D) 12+Cast : Tom Hardy, Charlize TheronTimings :12:30 PMMAD MAX: FURY ROAD (3D) 12+

SCREEN 1BOMBAY VELVET (Action/Drama ) – 12+Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka harmaTiming: 3.30 PMPIKU (Drama / Comedy) – PGCast: Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika PadukoneTiming: 6.45 PMGABBAR - Hindi (Action/Drama ) – PGCast: Akshay Kumar, Kareena KapoorTiming: 9.30 PM SCREEN 2PIKU (Drama / Comedy) – PGCast: Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika PadukoneTiming: 3.45, 9.45 PMGABBAR - Hindi (Action/Drama ) – PGCast: Akshay Kumar, Shruti K. Haasan, Kareena Kapoor; Timing: 6.45 PM

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON -3D (PG12)Cast : Robert Downey Jr., Chris EvansTimings : 02:15, 11:40 pmACCIDENTAL LOVE - 2D (12+) ComedyCast : Jessica Biel, Raymond L. Brown Jr.Timings : 03:15 pmGOOD KILL – 2D (12+) Drama | ThrillerCast : Ethan Hawke, January JonesTimings : 04:50, 09:30, 11:30 pmCAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR - 2D (15+) ThrillerCast : Isabel Lucas, Dermot MulroneyTimings : 07:00 pmFAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD - 2D (12+) Drama; Timings : 06:00 pmMAD MAX: FURY ROAD - 3D (12+) Action, Adventure, Thriller Cast : Tom Hardy, Charlize TheronTimings : 06:50, 09:15, 11:45 pmCAPTAIN MASR - 2D (ARB) (PG) Sports, Cast : Mohamed Emam, EdwardTimings : 02:00, 05:15 pmPITCH PERFECT 2 - 2D (12+) ComedyTimings : 04:50 pmBOMBAY VELVET - 2D (12+) CrimeCast : Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka SharmaTimings : 08:50, 11:15 pmPURAMPOKKU - 2D (T) (PG) Action Cast : Vijay Sethupathi, AryaTimings : 08:20 pmCHIRAKODINJA KINAVUKAL - 2D (M) (PG) Comedy, SpoofCast : Kunchacko Boban, Rima KallingalTimings : 07:10 pm

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD – 3D (12+) Cast: Tom Hardy, Charlize TheronTiming: 02:45, 05:20, 09:30, 11:45 PMGOOD KILL – 2D (12+) Drama, ThrillerCast: Ethan Hawke, January JonesTiming: 02:30, 05:00, 11:45 PMCAPTAIN MASR – 2D (PG) SportsTimings: 04:20, 07:30 PMPURAMPOKKU ENGIRA PODHUVUDAMAI- 2D (PG) ActionCast: Vijay Sethupathi, AryaTiming: 06:05 PMBOMBAY VELVET - 2D (12+) CrimeCast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka SharmaTiming: 09:00, 11:30 PM36 VAYADHINILE - 2D (PG) DramaCast: Jyothika, Rahman, AbhiramiTiming: 03:15 PMCHIRAKODINJA KINAVUKAL – 2D (PG)Comedy, SpoofCast: Kunchacko Boban, Rima KallingalTiming: 09:15 PMAVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON - 3D (PG12) Action, Adventure, Sci-FiCast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris EvansTiming: 07:00 PM

GOOD KILL (Drama | Thriller) (12+) CP#Cast: Ethan Hawke, Zoë KravitzTiming: 05:00, 07:30 PMAVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (3D) (Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi) (PG12) CP#Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris EvansTiming: 05:00 PM

AVENGERS :AGE OF ULTRON (3D)(PG12)( Action, Adventure,Sci-Fi) Timing: 10:00AM/6:30PMGOOD KILL (2D)(12+)( Drama/Thriller) Timings: 12:45/11:45PMCAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR (2D)(15+) Timings: 12:15/7:15PM MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2D) (12+) (Action/Adventure/Thriller ) Timings: 2:45PMMAD MAX: FURY ROAD (3D) (12+) (Action/Adventure/Thriller ) Timings: 10:00AM/9:15/11:30PMCAPTAIN MASR (2D) (PG) (Arabic)( Sports/Comedy/Drama) Timings: 12:30/4:30PM BOMBAY VELVET (2D)(12+) (Crime) Timings: 9:00/11:45PMPURAMPOKKU ENGIRPODHUVUDAMAI(2D)(PG)(Action/Thriller/Drama) Timings: 8:45PM36 VAYADHINILE (2D)(PG)( Drama) Timings: 4:15PMCHIRAKODINJA KINAVUKAL (2D)(PG)Timings: 6:15PMPIKU (2D)(PG)( Comedy, Drama) Timings: 2:00PMPITCH PERFECT 2 (2D)(12+)( Comedy,)Timings: 10:15AM/2:15PM

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (3D) (Action | Adventure | Thriller) (12+) CP#Cast: Tom Hardy, Charlize TheronTiming: 09:20, 11:30 PMCAPTAIN MASR (Arabic) (Sports |Comedy | Drama) (PG) CP#Timing: 07:00 PMBOMBAY VELVET (Hindi) (Crime | Drama | History) (12+) CP#Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka SharmaTiming: 11:00 PMCHIRAKODINJA KINAVUKAL (Mal) (Comedy | Spoof ) (PG) CP#Timing: 08:45 PM

SCREEN 3Gabbar - Hindi (Action/Drama ) – PGCast: Akshay Kumar, Kareena KapoorTiming: 3.45 PMPURAMPOKKU – Tamil (Drama ) – PGCast: Arya, Shaam, Vijay SethupathiTiming: 6.45 PMBOMBAY VELVET (Action) – 12+Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka SharmaTiming: 9.45 PM

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD - 2D (12+)Cast : Tom Hardy, Charlize TheronTimings : 02:30 pmPIKU - 2D (PG)Cast : Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Irrfan Khan Timings : 03:45 pm

C10

FIND-IT-ALLM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

MONDAY

FLT NO ARRIVALS FROM ETA WY672 MEDINA  0005WY648 KUWAIT  0005WY406 CAIRO  0005WY676 JEDDAH  0005WY682 RIYADH  0010WY914 SALALAH  0020WY916 SALALAH  0120TK774 ISTANBUL  01354H583 DACCA  0200PK229 LAHORE  0215GF560 BAHRAIN  0325QR1132 DOHA  0345ET624 ADDIS ABABA  0350EK866 DUBAI  0350EY384 ABU DHABI  0400FZ041 DUBAI  0415WY114 FRANKFURT  0515WY658 BAHRAIN  0635WY638 ABU DHABI  0640WY902 SALALAH  0645WY644 KUWAIT  0650WY154 ZURICH  0700WY144 MALPENSA  0705WY668 DOHA  0715WY674 JEDDAH  0735WY102 LONDON HEATHROW  0740FZ043 DUBAI  0800WY422 BEIRUT  0805WY602 DUBAI  0805WY346 ISLAM ABBAD  0815WY342 LAHORE  0825WY272 JAIPUR  0830WY202 BOMBAY  0835WY236 HYDERABAD  0900G9114 SHARJAH  0905WY226 COCHIN  0920EK862 DUBAI  0930WY210 GOA  0935WY242 DELHI  0935WY212 TRIVANDRUM  0950WY252 MADRAS  0955QR1128 DOHA  1000EY382 ABU DHABI  1010WY844 MANILA  10209W530 TRIVANDRUM  1045WY604 DUBAI  1115WY918 KHASAB  1115WY3302 MUKHAIZNA  1120GF562 BAHRAIN  1130FZ037 DUBAI  1140WY372 COLOMBO  1140IX337 CALICUT  1155PA450 LAHORE  1215WY705 DARESSLAM-ZANZIBAR  1215WY822 KUALA LUMPUR-SINGAPORE  1215WY634 ABU DHABI  1220WY818 BANGKOK  1220WY904 SALALAH  1230WY670 DOHA  1250WY324 KARACHI  1300WY332 KATHMANDU  1305WY632 ABU DHABI  1335WY606 DUBAI  1340WY920 KHASAB  1445FZ045 DUBAI  1535WY3304 MUKHAIZNA  1550WY656 BAHRAIN  1635QR1126 DOHA  1650WY204 BOMBAY  1655WY292 CALICUT  1710WY264 LUCKNOW  1740WY664 DOHA  1745EK864 DUBAI  1745WY232 HYDERABAD  1750WY246 DELHI  1750WY254 MADRAS  1750WY284 BANGALORE  1750WY3922 DUQUM OMAN  1755WY610 DUBAI  1800GF564 BAHRAIN  1810G9116 SHARJAH  1905WY684 RIYADH  1915WY646 KUWAIT  1920FZ047 DUBAI  1940WY614 DUBAI  2025WY848 JAKARTA  2035WY338 KATHMANDU  2040WY434 TEHRAN  2055FZ049 DUBAI  2100KL441 AMSTERDAM-DOHA  2105AI977 BANGALORE-HYDERABAD  2105WY124 MUNICH  21054H561 DACCA  21159W534 COCHIN  2115AI973 DELHI  21256.00E+81 BOMBAY  2130BA073 LONDON HEATHROW-ABU DHABI  2140WY624 DUBAI  2150WY906 SALALAH  2155AI907 MADRAS  2200WY312 CHITTAGONG  2210QR1134 DOHA  2225LX242 ZURICH-DUBAI  2225GF566 BAHRAIN  2240LH616 FRANKFURT-DOHA  2245WY717 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM  2250SG061 AHMEDABAD  2300EY388 ABU DHABI  2300WY910 SALALAH  23109W540 BOMBAY  2315WY908 SALALAH  2320AI985 BOMBAY  2325WY662 DOHA  2335WY654 BAHRAIN  2340WY636 ABU DHABI  2340WY928 SALALAH  2345WY816 BANGKOK  2350WY612 DUBAI  2355WY696 DAMMAM  2355

TUESDAY

FLT NO ARRIVALS FROM ETA

WY406 CAIRO  0005WY648 KUWAIT  0005WY676 JEDDAH  0005WY682 RIYADH  0010WY914 SALALAH  0020BG021 DACCA  0100WY916 SALALAH  0120NL768 LAHORE  0130TK774 ISTANBUL  01354H583 DACCA  0200PK281 ISLAM ABBAD-SIALKOT  0300GF560 BAHRAIN  0325QR1132 DOHA  0345EK866 DUBAI  0350ET624 ADDIS ABABA  0350EY384 ABU DHABI  0400FZ041 DUBAI  0415WY114 FRANKFURT  0515WY412 AMMAN  0515WY658 BAHRAIN  0635WY638 ABU DHABI  06404H562 JEDDAH  0645WY902 SALALAH  0645WY644 KUWAIT  0650WY326 KARACHI  0650WY686 RIYADH  0655WY154 ZURICH  0700WY144 MALPENSA  0705WY678 MEDINA  0710WY668 DOHA  0715WY132 PARIS  0735WY674 JEDDAH  0735WY102 LONDON HEATHROW  0740FZ043 DUBAI  0800WY432 TEHRAN  0805WY602 DUBAI  0805WY346 ISLAM ABBAD  0815WY342 LAHORE  0825WY272 JAIPUR  0830WY202 BOMBAY  0835G9841 RAS AL KHAIMA  0855WY236 HYDERABAD  0900G9114 SHARJAH  0905WY282 BANGALORE  0910EK862 DUBAI  0930WY242 DELHI  0935WY252 MADRAS  0955QR1128 DOHA  1000IX817 MANGALORE  1010EY382 ABU DHABI  10109W530 TRIVANDRUM  1045WY3302 MUKHAIZNA  1050WY604 DUBAI  1115WY918 KHASAB  1115WY652 BAHRAIN  1125GF562 BAHRAIN  1130FZ037 DUBAI  1140WY372 COLOMBO  1140IX337 CALICUT  1155WY384 MALE  1210WY822 KUALA LUMPUR-SINGAPORE  1215WY705 DARESSLAM-ZANZIBAR  1215WY904 SALALAH  1220WY634 ABU DHABI  1220WY818 BANGKOK  1220BG023 DACCA-CHITTAGONG  1230WY670 DOHA  1250WY324 KARACHI  1300WY332 KATHMANDU  1305PA950 SIALKOT  1310PK191 GWADUR  1320WY606 DUBAI  1340WY906 SALALAH  1440WY920 KHASAB  1445FZ045 DUBAI  1535WY632 ABU DHABI  1605WY656 BAHRAIN  1610QR1126 DOHA  1650WY3304 MUKHAIZNA  1650WY204 BOMBAY  1655WY292 CALICUT  1710WY264 LUCKNOW  1740WY664 DOHA  1745WY216 TRIVANDRUM  1745EK864 DUBAI  1745WY232 HYDERABAD  1750WY246 DELHI  1750WY610 DUBAI  1800WY694 DAMMAM  1805GF564 BAHRAIN  1810TG507 BANGKOK-KARACHI  1900SV534 RIYADH  1900G9116 SHARJAH  1905WY374 COLOMBO  1915WY646 KUWAIT  1920FZ047 DUBAI  1940WY908 SALALAH  2000RG125 ABU DHABI  2005WY386 MALE  2020WY224 COCHIN  2025WY614 DUBAI  2025WY338 KATHMANDU  2040FZ049 DUBAI  2100WY124 MUNICH  21059W534 COCHIN  2115AI973 DELHI  21256.00E+81 BOMBAY  2130WY254 MADRAS  2135BA073 LONDON HEATHROW-ABU DHABI  2140WY624 DUBAI  2150UL205 COLOMBO  2155AI907 MADRAS  2200WY312 CHITTAGONG  2210LX242 ZURICH-DUBAI  2225QR1134 DOHA  2225GF566 BAHRAIN  2240LH616 FRANKFURT-DOHA  2245EY388 ABU DHABI  2300WY910 SALALAH  23109W540 BOMBAY  2315AI985 BOMBAY  2325WY662 DOHA  2335WY654 BAHRAIN  2340WY636 ABU DHABI  2340WY928 SALALAH  2345WY816 BANGKOK  2350WY696 DAMMAM  2355WY612 DUBAI  2355

FLT NO DEPARTURES TO ETD AI986 BOMBAY  00209W539 BOMBAY  0020WY657 BAHRAIN  0055WY225 COCHIN  0105WY637 ABU DHABI  0105WY211 TRIVANDRUM  0110WY235 HYDERABAD  0110WY201 BOMBAY  0115WY643 KUWAIT  0120WY345 ISLAM ABBAD  0125WY271 JAIPUR  0135WY341 LAHORE  0145WY601 DUBAI  0145WY371 COLOMBO  0155WY123 MUNICH  0200WY901 SALALAH  0215WY847 JAKARTA  0215WY241 DELHI  0215WY667 DOHA  0225TK775 ISTANBUL  0230WY209 GOA  02554H584 DACCA  0300PK226 KARACHI  0315WY331 KATHMANDU  0350EK867 DUBAI  0450ET625 ADDIS ABABA  0450EY385 ABU DHABI  0500FZ042 DUBAI  0510QR1133 DOHA  0515GF561 BAHRAIN  0715WY603 DUBAI  0750WY903 SALALAH  0750WY3301 MUKHAIZNA  0800WY917 KHASAB  0815WY323 KARACHI  0835WY669 DOHA  0835FZ044 DUBAI  0845WY633 ABU DHABI  0900WY815 BANGKOK  0905WY253 MADRAS  0915WY291 CALICUT  0915WY263 LUCKNOW  0940WY717 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM  0940WY821 SINGAPORE-KUALA LUMPUR  0945G9115 SHARJAH  0955WY231 HYDERABAD  1000WY283 BANGALORE  1000WY631 ABU DHABI  1015WY605 DUBAI  1020WY203 BOMBAY  1025WY245 DELHI  1040EK863 DUBAI  1045WY337 KATHMANDU  1050QR1129 DOHA  1100EY383 ABU DHABI  1105WY311 CHITTAGONG  11409W533 COCHIN  1145WY919 KHASAB  1145GF563 BAHRAIN  1215WY655 BAHRAIN  1215FZ038 DUBAI  1225WY3303 MUKHAIZNA  1230IX350 CALICUT  1255PA451 LAHORE  1315WY113 FRANKFURT  1320WY663 DOHA  1330WY683 RIYADH  1335WY131 PARIS  1345WY645 KUWAIT  1350WY143 MALPENSA  1350WY101 LONDON HEATHROW  1400WY153 ZURICH  1420WY927 SALALAH  1430WY405 CAIRO  1440WY609 DUBAI  1445WY433 TEHRAN  1445WY3921 DUQUM OMAN  1455WY675 JEDDAH  1615FZ046 DUBAI  1620WY613 DUBAI  1710WY905 SALALAH  1735QR1127 DOHA  1750WY681 RIYADH  1840WY623 DUBAI  1840WY647 KUWAIT  1845WY909 SALALAH  1850GF565 BAHRAIN  1855WY907 SALALAH  1900EK865 DUBAI  1910WY695 DAMMAM  1915WY661 DOHA  1920WY653 BAHRAIN  1920G9117 SHARJAH  1955WY913 SALALAH  2000WY635 ABU DHABI  2015FZ048 DUBAI  2025WY611 DUBAI  2035WY411 AMMAN  2100WY915 SALALAH  2100FZ050 DUBAI  2145AI978 HYDERABAD-BANGALORE  22004H561 JEDDAH  2215KL442 DOHA-AMSTERDAM  2220WY817 BANGKOK  22259W529 TRIVANDRUM  22306.00E+82 BOMBAY  2245AI908 MADRAS  2300WY677 MEDINA  2310WY705 DARESSLAM-ZANZIBAR  2310AI974 DELHI  2310GF567 BAHRAIN  2325LX243 DUBAI-ZURICH  2325BA072 ABU DHABI-LONDON HEATHROW  2330QR1135 DOHA  2330WY673 JEDDAH  2350LH617 DOHA-FRANKFURT  2355EY381 ABU DHABI  2355

FLT NO DEPARTURES TO ETD AI986 BOMBAY  00209W539 BOMBAY  0020SG062 AHMEDABAD  0030WY657 BAHRAIN  0055WY637 ABU DHABI  0105WY235 HYDERABAD  0110WY281 BANGALORE  0110WY685 RIYADH  0115WY201 BOMBAY  0115WY643 KUWAIT  0120WY251 MADRAS  0120WY345 ISLAM ABBAD  0125WY271 JAIPUR  0135WY601 DUBAI  0145WY341 LAHORE  0145WY431 TEHRAN  0155WY371 COLOMBO  0155WY123 MUNICH  0200WY325 KARACHI  0210WY901 SALALAH  0215WY241 DELHI  0215WY667 DOHA  0225WY383 MALE  0230BG022 CHITTAGONG-DACCA  0230NL769 LAHORE  0230TK775 ISTANBUL  02304H584 DACCA  0300WY331 KATHMANDU  0350PK282 SIALKOT  0400EK867 DUBAI  0450ET625 ADDIS ABABA  0450EY385 ABU DHABI  0500FZ042 DUBAI  0510QR1133 DOHA  0515GF561 BAHRAIN  0715WY651 BAHRAIN  0730WY3301 MUKHAIZNA  0730WY903 SALALAH  07404H562 DACCA  0745WY603 DUBAI  0750WY917 KHASAB  0815WY323 KARACHI  0835WY669 DOHA  0835FZ044 DUBAI  0845WY633 ABU DHABI  0900WY373 COLOMBO  0900WY215 TRIVANDRUM  0900WY815 BANGKOK  0905WY291 CALICUT  0915WY263 LUCKNOW  0940WY385 MALE  0945G9842 RAS AL KHAIMA  0945WY821 SINGAPORE-KUALA LUMPUR  0945G9115 SHARJAH  0955WY231 HYDERABAD  1000WY905 SALALAH  1020WY605 DUBAI  1020WY203 BOMBAY  1025WY245 DELHI  1040EK863 DUBAI  1045WY337 KATHMANDU  1050IX818 MANGALORE  1100QR1129 DOHA  1100EY383 ABU DHABI  1105WY311 CHITTAGONG  1140WY919 KHASAB  11459W533 COCHIN  1145GF563 BAHRAIN  1215WY223 COCHIN  1215WY655 BAHRAIN  1215FZ038 DUBAI  1225WY631 ABU DHABI  1240IX350 CALICUT  1255WY253 MADRAS  1255WY113 FRANKFURT  1320WY693 DAMMAM  1330WY3303 MUKHAIZNA  1330WY663 DOHA  1330WY131 PARIS  1345WY143 MALPENSA  1350WY645 KUWAIT  1350WY101 LONDON HEATHROW  1400BG024 DACCA  1400PK192 GWADUR-TURBAT  1405PA951 SIALKOT  1430WY927 SALALAH  1430WY405 CAIRO  1440WY609 DUBAI  1445WY907 SALALAH  1540WY675 JEDDAH  1615FZ046 DUBAI  1620WY671 MEDINA  1705WY613 DUBAI  1710QR1127 DOHA  1750WY623 DUBAI  1840WY681 RIYADH  1840WY647 KUWAIT  1845WY909 SALALAH  1850GF565 BAHRAIN  1855EK865 DUBAI  1910WY695 DAMMAM  1915WY661 DOHA  1920WY653 BAHRAIN  1920G9117 SHARJAH  1955SV535 RIYADH  2000WY913 SALALAH  2000TG508 KARACHI-BANGKOK  2005WY635 ABU DHABI  2015FZ048 DUBAI  2025WY611 DUBAI  2035RG126 ABU DHABI  2045WY915 SALALAH  2100FZ050 DUBAI  2145WY411 AMMAN  2205WY421 BEIRUT  2215WY817 BANGKOK  22259W529 TRIVANDRUM  22306.00E+82 BOMBAY  2245AI908 MADRAS  2300UL206 COLOMBO  2305AI974 DELHI  2310GF567 BAHRAIN  2325LX243 DUBAI-ZURICH  2325BA072 ABU DHABI-LONDON HEATHROW  2330QR1135 DOHA  2330WY673 JEDDAH  2350LH617 DOHA-FRANKFURT  2355EY381 ABU DHABI  2355

A I R L I N E S

PHARMACIESRound the clockAl Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24783334; Appolo Medical Centre, Hamriya: 24782666; Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24702542, Salalah: 23291635; Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra: 24503585; Ruwi 24811715Muscat Region Apollo, Al Hamriya. Tel: 24787766Muscat, A Seeb Market. Tel: 24421691Muscat, Al Khuwair. Tel: 24485740Muscat, Al Hail South. Tel: 24537080Dhofar RegionMuscat, Al Nahdha Road, Salalah. Tel: 23291635

HOSPITALSAl Amal Medical & Health Care Centre: 24485052Atlas Hospital: Ruwi: 24811743/ Ghubra: 24504000Al Musafi r Specialised Medical Clinic: 24706453Hatat Polyclinic LLC,Ruwi: 24563641, Azaiba: 24499269, Sohar: 2683006Al Raff ah Hospital: 24618900/1/2Al Massaraat Clinic & Laboratory: 24566435Al Makook Medical Coordinance Centre: 24499434Apollo Medical Centre, Hamriya: 24787766, 24787780Capital Polyclinic: 24707549Badr Al Samaa Polyclinic, Ruwi: 24799760/1/2Capital Clinic, Seeb: 24420740Ceregem National Raak: 24485633Dr Harub’s Clinic: 24563217Elixir Health Centre: 24565802Emirates Medical Centre: 246045401st Chiropractic Centre: 24472274Hamdan Hospital: 23212340International Medical Centre LLC: 24794501/2/3/4/5Kims Oman Hospital: 24760100

24 Hrs Emergency: 24760123Lama Polyclinic, Sohar: 26751128, MBD: 24799077, Al Khuwair: 24478818Magrabi Eye and Ear Hospital: 24568870Muscat Private Hospital: 24583600Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, Al Khuwair: 24477666Al-Hayat Polyclinc LLC: 22004000

ROYAL OMAN POLICEEmergencies and inquiries: 9999General Directorate of Passport and Residence: 24569603Directorate General of Customs: 24521109Traffi c violations inquiries: 24510228Public Relations Admin: 24560099

ACCOMMODATIONAl Bahjah Hotel: 24424400Al Bustan Palace: 24764000 Al Khuwair Hotel Apartments: 24478171Al Madina Holiday Inn: 24596400Al Maha International Hotel: 24494949Al Fanar Hotel: 24712385Al Falaj Hotel: 24702311Al Qurum Resort: 24605945Azaiba Hotel Apartments: 24490979Beach Hotel: 24696601Bowshar Hotel: 24491105Coral Hotel Muscat: 24692121Crowne Plaza Muscat: 24660660Crystal Suites: 24826100Golden Tulip Seeb: 24510300Grand Hyatt Muscat: 24641234Haff a House Hotel: 24707207Hotel Muscat Holiday: 24487123InterContinental Muscat: 24680000Majan Continental Hotel: 24592900Marina Hotel: 24711711Midan Hotel Suites: 24499565Mina Hotel: 24711828Muttrah Hotel: 24798401

Nuzha Hotel Apartments: 24789199Oman Dive Centre: 24824240Park Inn: 24507888Qurum Beach House Hotel: 24564070Radisson Blu Hotel: 24487777Ramee Dream Resort Seeb: 24453399Ramee Guestline Hotel: 24564443Ruwi Hotel: 24704244Safeer Hotel Suites: 24691200Sheraton Oman Hotel: 24772772Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa: 24776666The Chedi Muscat: 24524400The Treasurebox Muscat Hotel: 24502570

AIRLINE OFFICESMuscat Airport Flight information (24 hours): 24519456/24519223Aerofl ot: 24704455, Air Arabia: 24700828, Air France: 24562153, Air India: 24799801, Air New Zealand: 24700732, Biman Bangladesh Airlines: 24701128, British Airways: 24568777, Cathay Pacifi c: 24789818, Egypt Air: 24794113, Emirates Air: 24404400, Ethiopian Airlines: 24660313, Gulf Air: 80072424, Indian: 24791914, Iran Air: 24787423, Japan Airlines: 24704455, Jazeera Airways: 23294848, Jet Airways: 24787248, Kenya Airways: 24660300, KML Royal Dutch Airlines: 24566737, Kuwait Airways: 24701262, LOT Polish Airlines: 24796387, Lufthansa: 24796692, Malaysian Airlines: 24560796, Middle East Airlines: 24796680, Oman Air: 24531111, Pakistan International Airlines: 24792471, Qatar Airways: 24771900, Qantas: 24559941, Royal Jordanian: 24796693, Saudi Arabian Airlines: 24789485, Singapore Airlines: 24791233, Shaheen Air: 24816565, SriLankan Airlines:

24784545, Swiss International Airlines: 24796692, Thai Airways: 24705934, Turkish Airlines: 24703033

MUSEUMSBait Al Baranda: Corniche (seafront opp fi sh market), Open from Saturday to Thursday 9am to 1pm and 4 to 6pmNatural History Museum: Al Khuwair, Tel: 24604957, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm; Thursday: 9am to 1pmMuseum of Omani Heritage: (former Omani Museum), Madinat Al Alam, Sat-Wed 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday - 9am to 1pm, Tel: 24600946Armed Forces Museum: Bait Al Falaj, Tel: 24312651, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm; Thurs 9-12pm and 3-6pm; Fri 9-11am and 3-6pm. Al Hoota Caves 24498258; Turtle Beach 96550606/96550707Children’s Science Museum: Shatti Al Qurum, Tel: 24605368, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pmOman-French Museum: near Muscat Police Station, Tel: 24736613, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm, Thurs: 9am to 1pmBait Al Zubair, Muscat: Tel: 24736688, Al Saidiya St., Muscatmuseum@baitalzubairmuseum.comOpen from Sat to Thurs: 9:30am to 6pm.National Museum Ruwi: Tel: 24701289, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pmSohar Fort Museum: Tel: 26844758, Open from Saturday to Wed: 8 to 1:30pm Thurs: 9am to 1pmMuscat Gate Museum: at Al Bahri Road, Muscat open from Sat to Wed 8am to 2pm

PRAYER TIMINGS

W E A T H E R

Dhuhr 12.08pm

Asr 3.31pm

Maghrib 6.48pm

Isha 8.06pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 4.00am

Sunset 6:42pm

Sunrise (Tomorrow) 5.24am

High tide 8:27pm 10:00am

Low tide 2:57pm 3:16am

OMAN

Max 41Min 28

Max 43Min 29

Max 41Min 30

Max 43Min 24

Max 43Min 32Max 43

Min 28

Max 45Min 27

Max 33 Min 28

Mainly clear skies over most of the Sultanate with chance of dust rising wind over the desert and open areas. Chance of early morning low level clouds or fog patches along the coastal areas of

Arabian Sea and over Governorates of South al Sharqiyah and al Wusta.EXPECTED WINDS: Along the coastal areas of Oman Sea wind will be northeasterly light to moderate during day becoming southwesterly light during night and southwesterly moderate to fresh along the coastal areas of Arabian Sea coasts, and northerly to northwesterly light to moderate over the rest of the Sultanate. SEA STATE: Moderate to rough along the Arabian Sea coastal areas

and the western coast of Musandam governorate with maximum wave height of 2.5 metres, and slight to moderate along Oman Sea coasts with maximum wave height of 1.5 metres.HORIZONTAL VISIBILITY: Good over most of the Sultanate becoming poor during fog and dust rising.THE NEXT 48 HOURS OUTLOOK: Mainly clear skies over most of the Sultanate. Chance of early morning low level clouds or fog patches along the coastal areas and over Governorates of South al Sharqiyah and al Wusta.

Max Min

GULFAbu Dhabi 39 27Doha 38 27Dubai 36 25Kuwait 41 29Manama 36 29Riyadh 38 24

WORLDAthens 28 19Baghdad 40 24Beijing 29 17Berlin 20 9Boston 16 11Cairo 37 18Colombo 31 26Frankfurt 24 11Hong Kong 30 26Istanbul 24 16Johannesburg 24 9Kuala Lumpur 33 26Lisbon 27 16Paris 22 8Perth 19 9Singapore 32 29Tokyo 27 17Toronto 22 14

WORLD

Max 19Min 14

Max 41Min 28

Max 16Min 7

Max 35Min 26

Max 19Min 12

Max 21Min 12

Max 14Min 7

Max 36Min 26

LONG DISTANCE BUS TIMINGS (OMAN NATIONAL TRANSPORT COMPANY SAOC) *SUBJECT TO CHANGE

QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (Route 36)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 15:00 Quriyat 16:30 Daily15:00 Sur 18:00 Daily15:00 Jaalan 19:30 Daily

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (Route 36)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41)06:30 Sohar 08:50 Daily06:30 Buraimi 11:00 Daily08:00 Buraimi 14:30 Daily via Ibri13:00 Sohar 15:45 Daily13:00 Buraimi 17:40 Daily16.00 Sohar 18.35 Daily16.00 Buraimi 20:20 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41)07:00 Sohar 08:55 Daily07:00 Ruwi 11:40 Daily13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri13:00 Sohar 14:55 Daily13:00 Ruwi 17:40 Daily13:00 Sohar 19:20 Daily17:00 Ruwi 22:15 Daily

TO SINAW (Route 52)17:30 Sinaw 20:50 Daily

TO SINAW (Route 52)07:00 Ruwi 10:25 Daily

To Yanqul (Route 54)14:30 Nizwa 16:50 Daily14:30 Yanqul 19:30 Daily

To Yanqul (Route 54)06:00 Nizwa 08:40 Daily06:00 Ruwi 11:00 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54)08:00 Nizwa 10:20 Daily08:00 Al Araqi 12:30 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54)15:40 Nizwa 17:55 Daily15:40 Ruwi 20:20 Daily

TO SUR (Route 55)07:30 Sur 12:00 Daily14:30 Sur 18:45 Daily

TO SUR (Route 55)06:00 Ruwi 10:45 Daily14:30 Ruwi 19:00 Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (Route 62)06:30 Fahud 10:30 Daily06:30 Yibal 11:15 Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (Route 62)12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily12:30 Ruwi 17:30 Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201)06:00 Sohar 08:30 Daily06:00 Dubai 11:30 Daily13:00 Sohar 15:30 Wed,Thur13:00 Dubai 18:30 Wed,Thur15:00 Sohar 17:35 Daily15:00 Dubai 20:55 Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201)07:30 Sohar 10:50 Daily07:30 Ruwi 13:40 Daily13:00 Sohar 16:15 Thur-Fri13:00 Ruwi 19:10 Thur-Fri15:30 Sohar 18:45 Daily15:30 Ruwi 21:35 Daily

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (Route 100)07:00 Salalah 20:00 Daily10:00 Marmul 20:30 Daily10:00 Salalah 23:30 Daily19:00 Salalah 07:40 Daily

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (Route 100)07:00 Ruwi 19:50 Daily10:00 Marmul 13:15 Daily10:00 Ruwi 22:30 Daily19:00 Ruwi 07:30 Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101)06:00 Marmul 16:50 Daily

SALALAH TO DUBAI (Route 102)15:00 Dubai 07:00 Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101)06:00 Marmul 16:30 Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (Route 102)15:00 Salalah 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI) TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

LISTINGS

—www.met.gov.om

BORN today, you are able to eff ect change wherever you go, shaping the world according to your bright and positive vision. You can alter the dynamic of a room simply by walking into it; you don’t even have to speak for your presence to be felt, for you will surely be noticed the moment you set foot in the door. You have a dynamic personality, and you have a great deal of generosity and vision that you are able to put to good use again and again. Though you can surely do good work entirely on your own — and do, at times, prefer solitude while you work out a particularly stubborn problem — the truth is that you prefer working with others, enjoying the social benefi ts and camaraderie that group eff orts aff ord you.

You may go through one or two periods in your life when you are unable to address the diffi culties around you with the same aplomb as you usually do. This is because you will have fallen out of sync with the world and those in it in some key way. Fortunately, you can recover quickly and get back on the right track.

Also born on this date are: George Strait, singer; Tina Fey, actress, writer and comedian; Pope John Paul II; Jack Johnson, singer; Reggie Jackson, baseball player; Perry Como, singer and actor; Pernell Roberts, actor; Chow Yun-Fat, actor; Bertrand Russell, author and philosopher; Margot Fonteyn, dancer; Frank Capra, fi lmmaker; Robert Morse, actor; Czar Nicholas II of Russia; Meredith Willson, playwright and songwriter; Bill Macy, actor.

You’ll want to stay the course, despite warnings received from someone who has been helpful to you in the past. Take a risk.

VIRGO [AUG. 23-SEPT. 22]

LIBRA [SEPT. 23-OCT. 22] LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL[S[[[S[S[S[[S[SS[SSSS[S[[[[SSSSSSSSSS

SCORPIO [OCT. 23-NOV. 21] S[

SAGITTARIUS [NOV. 22-DEC. 21] S[[[[[[[[[[[[[[

AQUARIUS [JAN. 20-FEB. 18]

You’ll be the purveyor of some undisputed truths. Others are sure to rally around you when they recognise your certain authority.

You may have to step in and fi nish a job for someone who is unexpectedly called away. This may not be a temporary thing.

Carelessness can cost you much. Those who are looking out for you may be frustrated by your unwillingness to listen to reason.

That which you thought impossible is likely to happen very easily — and you’ll benefi t more than you might expect.

You’re eager to get moving, but the signs may indicate danger ahead. Proceed cautiously at fi rst, until you can pick up speed.

What you are expecting or eagerly anticipating may not come to you on time. Still, better late than never, right?

A certain sassiness can serve you well, but take care that you don’t let your disappointment in someone reveal itself too strongly.

PISCES [Feb. 19-March 20]

What you do must have meaning and import; you don’t want to spend your time doing anything trivial or forgettable.

GEMINI [MAY 21-JUNE 20]

CANCER [JUNE 21-JULY 22]

LEO [JULY 23-AUG. 22]

CAPRICORN [DEC. 22-JAN 19]

Y O U R B I R T H D A Y

ARIES [March 21-APRIL 19]

TAURUS [APRIL 20-MAY 20]

Someone may try to limit you in a way that you simply cannot abide. You must put your foot down as soon as you feel challenged.

It’s time for you to be moving on — but you’ll have a very good reason to spend just a little more time with you-know-who.

A lighthearted approach can serve you quite well. Avoid coming down too hard on one who is simply trying to explore his own limits.

C11

EXTRAM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Omega-3 can curb children’s anti-social behaviourA DIET rich in omega-3 fatty acids commonly found in fi sh oil helps reduce anti-social and aggressive behaviour problems in children, shows a promising research. “As a protective factor for reducing behav-iour problems in children, nutrition is a promising option; it is relatively inexpensive and can be easy to man-age,” said Jianghong Liu, associate professor at University of Pennsyl-vania School of Nursing in the US.

Cold water oily fi sh such as salm-on, herring, mackerel and sardines are rich in omega 3 fatty acids.

During the study, 100 children aged eight to 16 received a drink containing a gram of omega-3 once a day for six months. The con-trol group also consisted of 100 children who received the same drink without the supplement.

The researchers had parents assess their children on “external-ising” aggressive and anti-social behaviour such as getting into fi ghts or lying, as well as “internalising” behaviour such as depres-sion, anxiety and withdrawal.

“Both groups showed improvement in both the externalising and internalising behaviour problems after six months,” said Adrian Raine from University of Pennsylvania.

But what was particularly interesting was what was happening at 12 months, Raine said. “The control group returned to the base-line while the omega-3 group continued to go down. In the end, we saw a 42 per cent reduction in scores on externalising behaviour and 62 per cent reduction in internalising behaviour,” Raine said.

The study was published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

Many probiotics could actually be harmful: StudyIF YOU believe that probiotics are good for your health, there is a piece of news for you. A new study fi nds that more than half of popular probiotics contain traces of gluten.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley, and patients with celiac disease need to elimi-nate it from their diet or face pain, bowel symptoms and an increased risk of cancer.

Tests on 22 top-selling probi-otics done by investigators at the Columbia University Medical Centre (CUMC) revealed that 12 of them (or 55 per cent) had detectable gluten.

Probiotics are commonly taken by patients for their reported eff ect in promoting gut health. “Many patients with celiac disease take dietary supplements and probiotics are particularly popular,” said Samantha Nazareth, gastroenterologist at CUMC and the fi rst author of the study. We have previously reported that celiac patients who use dietary supplements have more symptoms than non-users, so we decided to test the probiotics for gluten contami-nation, Nazareth said. Most of the probiotics that tested positive for gluten contained less than 20 parts per million of the protein, and would be considered gluten-free by Food and Drug Adminis-tration (FDA) standards.

Two probiotics that did not meet FDA standards carried the la-bel. “It appears that labels claiming a product is gluten-free are not to be trusted, at least when it comes to probiotics,” said study co-author Peter Green. “This is a potential hazard for our patients and we are concerned,” he added. - IANS

BR I E FS

This article is dedi-cated to all of the children out there who think the or-ange juice they drink

at breakfast, the cookies they eat after lunch, the candy they trade at school and the Gatorade they chug after practice are no big deal. In other words, all children in America. And also to their parents who believe the same thing: that daily intake of sugar is harmless and just a function of childhood.

This is also for my children, who know from my endless preaching that sugar is not good for them, yet never seem to re-member any of the reasons why.

What is sugar?Sugar is a sweet substance that comes from plants, mostly sugar cane and sugar beets. It is one big carbohydrate called sucrose made up of two smaller carbo-hydrates called fructose and glucose. Sugar has absolutely no nutritional value — no protein, vitamins, minerals or fi bre.

Why do I like it so much?Sugar has been shown to have an eff ect similar to an addictive drug, triggering you to want and need more, and making it hard to give up.

Sugar was brought to Europe in the 1100s as a precious drug, known for its “tremendous ad-dictive potential,” and was called “crack” during that time in France, says psychotherapist Ju-lia Ross in her book Mood Cure. Quickly removing refi ned sugar from a diet can cause withdrawal symptoms like those with a drug: fatigue, depression, headaches and achy limbs.

Studies have also shown that overconsumption of sugar can alter your taste buds so you be-gin craving sweeter and sweeter foods, leaving the more natu-ral sweetness of fruits or whole foods less fl avourful.

What actually happens to my body when I eat sugar?When you consume sugar, it en-

ters your blood rapidly because there aren’t any nutrients or fi -bre to slow it down. This causes the sugar or glucose levels in your blood rise. Your body then hustles to process this sugar because it knows you could be in grave dan-ger from too much blood sugar.

To process the sugar, your pan-creas releases a hormone called insulin. Insulin allows the glu-cose to leave your blood and enter your cells, providing a rush of en-ergy. As the cells absorb the glu-cose from your blood, your blood sugar levels drop.

If you eat a lot of sugar, the in-sulin works overtime to force the glucose out and your blood sugar down, dropping it too low, which makes the brain react. This reaction causes you to feel tired and grumpy or agitated and anxious, and leaves you craving more sugar.

What short-term health ef-fects does it have?Sugar provides a burst of energy that might be fun for a minute but usually doesn’t last too long. This burst of energy can make you feel hyper and unable to focus.

When the insulin does its job and lowers the blood sugar levels, you might be left feeling cranky, irritable and moody, and less able to concentrate and learn. Sugar can even give you a headache or make you feel sick.

Sugar has also been shown to suppress our immune system by lowering the ability of our white blood cells to engulf bacteria, which can lead to more colds, fl us and other sicknesses.

You will feel far better and have more consistent energy without an overload of sugar in your diet.

What long-term eff ects does it have?Eating too much sugar can make you feel full so you don’t eat enough healthful foods. Then your body ends up missing im-portant nutrients such as pro-tein, vitamins and minerals.

How does sugar make me fat?If you eat more sugar than your

body can use in a day, it stores the sugar it doesn’t need in the liver or converts it to fat. When you do this regularly, you damage your liver and build up fat.

Will a little sugar hurt me?No. Make it a sometimes food. (Unless you have diabetes or an issue with your blood sugar in which case see a doctor.)

The American Heart Associa-tion recommends no more than 3 teaspoons (12 grams) of added sugar per day for kids, yet get ac-cording to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Sur-vey, the average consumption is 23 teaspoons for boys and 18 for girls. The recommended daily al-lowance can be easily exceeded with just one bowl of cereal! A child who drinks a 20-ounce original Gatorade will have con-sumed three times his or her sug-ar allowance for the day.

“Added sugar” refers to the sugar and high-fructose corn syrup added to foods during processing. The sugar in fruits, vegetables and other whole foods are not added sugars; they are natural sugars.

What foods have sugar?Added sugar is in 74 per cent of packaged foods, according to a study published in 2012 by the Academy of Nutrition and Die-tetics. Those include foods that many of us think of as health-

ful: yoghurt, energy bars, pasta sauce, breads, salad dressing and ketchup.

The FDA maintains a list of more than 3,000 food additives that are put into our processed foods. Sugar is the second most common behind salt, which means it is in a lot of the things we eat. Low-fat foods often have extra sugar to help bolster the taste. Brightly coloured foods with dyes usually have added sugar. Read your labels.

Doesn’t fruit have sugar?Unless you have diabetes, it is dif-fi cult to absorb too much sugar from eating whole fruit because whole fruit has fi bre. Fibre slows down the digestive process by re-leasing sugar into the bloodstream at a slow and steady rate. Unlike whole fruit, fruit juice lacks fi bre, quickly releasing sugar into the bloodstream causing a burst of en-ergy followed by a sugar crash. One cup of apple juice has 24 grams of sugar. Some juice has almost as much sugar as soda.

Does sugar really cause cavities?Yes. Tooth decay begins with bacteria that naturally live in the mouth. These bacteria burn sugar in order to thrive, and dur-ing this process convert sugar into acid. The acid then eats away at a tooth’s enamel, which causes cavities. Sticky foods like Skittles and Starburst and long-lasting candies such as lollipops and Jolly Ranchers are the worst for teeth because they allow the sugar to dawdle in the mouth for a prolonged period.

Now that I know this, what can I do?I recommend that parents and their kids (age 10 and older) watch the fi lm Fed Up together and join the fi lmmakers’ chal-lenge to give up sugar for 10 days and see how they feel. My 10- and 12-year-olds found it fascinating. And if you want to have a sizable impact on your lifelong health, reduce your sugar consumption all year long!-Casey Seidenberg/The

Washington Post

HOW NOT TO SUGAR YOURSELF

Studies have shown that overconsumption of sugar can alter your

taste buds so you begin craving for sweeter and sweeter foods, leaving

the more natural sweetness of fruits or whole foods less fl avourful

REFINED SUGAR HAS BEEN LINKED TO THE FOLLOWING DISEASES AND HEALTH COMPLICATIONS

• Obesity and Type 2 diabetes• Heart disease and high blood pressure• Cancer• Depression• Allergies• ADD/ADHD• Asthma• Arthritis

C12

EXTRAM O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Handmade from wood, they have simple bod-ies and enlarged heads with a few painted

lines to depict faces. Kokeshi dolls painted in red, blue and white and made by Takatoshi Hayashi in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, smile gently at visitors.

When the third World Confer-ence on Disaster Risk Reduc-tion was held in Sendai in March, kokeshi dolls served to welcome representatives of the participat-ing countries.

About 200 dolls with the faces of world leaders, such as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Barack Obama, were on display at a commercial facil-ity in the city.

Four illustrators who come from or live in the city made them to entertain the conference par-ticipants with the traditional craftwork of the region.

A newcomer in crafting koke-shi dolls, Hayashi, 41, opened Tree Tree Ishinomaki, an atelier for manufacturing and selling kokeshi, last month in front of JR Ishinoma-ki Station. One of his works won an award at the national kokeshi com-petition held on May 3, although it was his fi rst time to enter.

Hayashi is a third-generation operator of a kimono store. In spring of 2012, when he was con-sidering starting a new business, he happened to see a kokeshi that had a mushroomlike head at a craft exhibition. He was im-pressed by its striking shape and decided to make interesting koke-shi of his own. He visited several ateliers in the prefecture, each manufacturing a diff erent type of kokeshi, to learn how to make them from craftspeople. Last summer, he started manufactur-ing kokeshi as a profession.

The refreshing three colours used for his kokeshi are meant to represent the port city. Their

heads bear fi sh motifs. They are about six (about 2.3 inches) to 15 centimetres tall, and sell for ¥1,080 (about $9) to ¥1,680. As he receives many orders, it takes three weeks from receiving an or-der until delivering a fi nished doll.

The city was hit severely by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. Hayashi dreams of having his Ishinomaki kokeshi included in the list of traditional types of kokeshi, each of which has a long history. “I’ll put my heart and soul into the work. I also want to let people in other places know Ishi-nomaki is regaining its vitality,” Hayashi said. - The Yomiuri Shimbun (The

Washington Post)

When the third World Conference on Disaster Risk

Reduction was held in Sendai in March, kokeshi dolls

served to welcome representatives of the participating

countries. About 200 dolls with the faces of world

leaders, such as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US

President Barack Obama, were on display

at a commercial facility in the city

CHARMING, HEART-WARMING DOLLS HANDMADE FROM WOOD

Himesh excited about toned look in new show

MUSICIAN-ACTOR Himesh Resham-miya, who will play a coach in the forth-coming The Voice India, will be seen in a whole new lean avatar in the singing-based reality show. “I’ve hit the gym full on since 18 months and I am very happy with the re-sults. My diet is very healthy yet controlled and I don’t eat from 8.30pm to 8.30am,”

Himesh, who has lost weight for his upcoming love story Heeriye, said in a statement. “I am getting a fantastic feedback for my new tattoo look and toned physique, and I am very ex-cited to reveal this look in The Voice,” he added. Apart from Himesh, the Indian version of the internationally acclaimed singing reality show The Voice will also see popular musi-cians like Mika Singh, Shaan and Sunidhi Chauhan playing the coaches.

Busy Deepika fi nds time to go back home

FRESH OFF the success of Piku, actress Deepika Padukone has managed to take some time out from her busy schedule to visit her home Bengaluru. The 29-year-old couldn’t manage to go home due to her gru-elling schedule of promoting her new fi lm Piku and simultaneously shooting for her upcoming fi lm Bajirao Mastani. As soon

as Deepika got to know that the shoot of Bajirao Mastani, in which she shares screen space with her rumoured boyfriend Ranveer Singh, got cancelled on Saturday, she booked the fi rst fl ight back home. “Yes, Deepika has gone back home to Banga-lore for a day. She has been wanting to meet her parents. She will be back in the city on Monday,” Deepika’s spokesperson said in a statement. Bajirao Mastani will reunite Deepika and Ranveer with fi lmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The trio pre-viously worked together in 2013 fi lm Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela.

Aishwarya, Salma Hayek discuss gender equality

BOLLYWOOD ACTRESS Aishwarya Rai Bachchan along with Hollywood star Sal-ma Hayek attended a UN women’s panel discussion on gender equality at the 68th Cannes International Film Festival here.Hosted by Variety magazine in association with UN Women on Saturday, the two stars were on the panel that also included cel-

ebrated individuals like actress Parker Posey and producers Elizabeth Karlsen and Christine Vachon, read a statement.Keeping with the tone of the event, Aishwarya, Indian ambas-sador of L’Oreal Paris, was dressed in a sober yet classic fl o-ral Sabyasachi Mukherjee creation. Wearing her signature winged eye liner look, Aishwarya gave fi nishing touches to her look with a red lip colour and accessorised with a Marsala coloured clutch.

‘Sun Sathiya’ a challenging song for Shraddha

ACTRESS Shraddha Kapoor, who is be-ing appreciated for her dance number Sun Sathiya from ABCD 2, says it was a chal-lenging song for her. “I don’t know what to say... the kind words that are coming from people is encouraging. This is one of my fa-vourite songs from the fi lm and it’s a beau-tiful song. It has romantic feel to it. It was

very challenging song for me,” Shraddha said. Shraddha, who is looking lean in the song from the Remo D’Souza directorial, says she had to physically look like a dancer and she ended up losing weight. “Whether I wanted to or I didn’t want to, when you dance a lot you end up losing weight and also Remo want-ed me and Varun (Dhawan) to look like dancers.” -IANS

BR I E FS

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

CONNECT H E D A I LY G U I D E

D

D4 VACANCY CARGO D7

M O N D AY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

RENT D2

DAILY GUIDEEmail: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifi eds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

2 BHK with split A/C in Grand

mall. Contact 96708000

1BHK with split A/C in Azaiba 16

Nov Street. Contact 96708000

Showroom for rent 200 m in

Al Misfah, Bousher facing the main

road. Contact 95202430

New building, residential apart-

ments and offi ces, in Al Khoud

Souq. Contact 95202340

Deluxe 1, 2 BHK fl ats in Darsait,

AL Khuwair 1deal for offi ce & resi-

dence.# 99369081 /99142314

Room for rent two bedrooms, one

toilet and sharing, kitchen at Ruwi

Mumtaz area R.O 180/- per month

including electricity and water.

Contact: 98917915

Independent rooms in Qurum /

AL Hail. Contact 95529970

2 BHK Flat in Azaiba.

Contact 99792181

2 BHK Flat in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181

2bedrooms fl at with hall, 2 bath-

rooms in Ruwi near boys school.

Contact : 92584715 / 24700120

Flats 2 bedrooms, hall in Mumtaz

way no 3352 building no 3774

/3668. Contact 99341138 /

98003444

506 sqm 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

One BHK fl at near Wadi Adai R/W

Hillat As’ssad. Contact 98772585

Al Khuwair 17, a room, hall,

kitchen, toilet ground fl oor with

A/c, owner. Contact 99385553

1BHK fl at in Wattaya with split

units A/C. Contact: 98802343

4 bedroom villa at Al Ansab area.

Contact: 96788070

D2 M O N D AY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

10 BHK Villa in Al Khuwair

25 for Executive bachelors.

Contact 99792181

7 BHK Flat in Azaiba for Executive

Bachelors. Contact 99792181

1 Villa & 4 big apartments of 3

BHK with big hall & Kitchen

Al Khoudh 6. Tel 97600322

alnehang@gmail.com

Mezzanine fl oor offi ce space

for rent area 200 sq. Contact

97175979 / 99001341

Flat with 2 rooms, toilet & kitchen

in second fl oor in Souk Al Khoud

behind bank Al Ahli 200/- R.O .

Contact : 99738881

2 & 3 BHK in Qurum, with split AC, Near PDO Gate 2.

Contact 94057023

Villa for rent in Khuwair 33, 8 bed-

rooms, 5 Bathrooms with parking

area near Taimur Mosque.

Contact 99366624

2BHK fl ats in Al Khuwair-33 with

split AC. Contact: 94057023

1,2,3 BHK apartments for rent. ,

4,5 BHK villas for rent.

Contact 95178930

Independent villa in Darsait (OPP .

KIMS hospital, behind Khimji mart)

for rent 4 bedrooms, big hall and 1

kitchen + 1 pantry. Please call Ms

Hiba Shaikh. Contact 98048210/

Mr Anil Kumar 99261773

Villa for rent in Azaiba near

well roundabout & Umm AL

Qura Mosque, 5 bedrooms, two

hall , kitchen. Contact : Mr Sunil

92887809/ Mr Habib 98048207

1st fl oor fl at in Amerat Phase 5, 4

rooms, bathrooms (3), kitchen with

A/C for family. Contact 95522405

Flats for rent in Wadi Kabeer.

Contact : 92800007

Full storey at Al Khuwair, 3BHK

525/- R.O. Contact: 94232344

Villa for rent with 4 bedroom at

Al Khodh, Rent 600/-RO.#92888115

Flat at Darsait. Contact 99326879

New 3 bedroom fl ats split AC,

attached toilets available behind

Kims Oman hospital.

Contact 95225662

1 Villa & 4 big apartments of

3 BHK with big hall & Kitchen

Al Khoudh 6. Tel 97600322

alnehang@gmail.com

Offi ce premises available in Ruwi

and double bed room fl ats avail-

able in Mabellah for rent.

Contact tel nos 24833972/

24833974/24450361

gsm 99367448

3 fl ats for rent 3 bedrooms in-

clude A/C, near the highway (Bow-

shar Amerat). Contact 97777911 /

95533777

Mabella residential area fl at 3

bedroom, toilet 33 inside of the

compound wall ground level, chil-

dren playground excellent area.

Contact 99879872

For rent fl at 2 BHK 350/- R.O in

North Al Ghubrah. #97004127

Flat 1 BHK for rent near

Al Tajaweed furniture way no. 5917

Hamriya, Rent 160/- PM.

Contact 99350946

2 & 3 BHK fl at in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181

2BHK at Al Azaiba, 2bedrooms,

1 hall & dinning , 3 bathrooms.

Contact : 99224748 / 99425665

Ground + Mezzanine fl oor, suit-

able for A grade Restaurant next to

Pizza hut, MBD. Contact 24714625

/ 94460790

Flats shops and store for rent in

Ruwi, MBD Honda road.

Contact 97293708 / 92433127

3 bedroom fl at for rent in Al Hamria

Contact: 99341112

2 BHK (with split AC) residential

fl at at Honda road.

Contact 98087644 / 99795241 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.

New one B/R directly from owner.

Bausher. Contact – 92158031

3 Offi ce space available between

120-142 sqm, with data cable,

pantry, cassette AC, parking, @ RO.

5/- per/sqm. At Jibroo Muttrah. 2

BHK fl at at Azaiba, behind Al Meera

Hypermarket. RO. 330/-.Contact:

93221054, 99229263, 95215289

DAILY GUIDEM O N D AY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 D3

2 Bed room Villa, available at Honda

road, Rent 225/-RO. (For Indain fam-

ily) Contact: 91218273

ACC. AVAILABLE

ACC. WANTED

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

FOR RENT

AVAILABLE

Party & Wedding equipment rentals.

Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirt-

ing, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery,

Crockery, Glassware, Chafi ng Dishes,

Ice Sculptures, to Large Sound Sys-

tems and spectacular lighting. Call

Andrea 9606 2222 for Catering and

Croyden 9623 5555 for Sound & Light.

www.tunesoman.com,

E-mail: info@tunesoman.com

BUYING / SELLING

Used household & offi ce furniture

and electronic items.

Contact 99834373, 97102699

Sharing accommodation avail-

able opposite Mars at Al Ghubra for

Executive bachelor or small family

sharing, kitchen. Contact 94474351 /

96237050

For family room available near

Al Khamis Shoes Hamriya.

Contact 99793785

Executive bachelor room with

attached toilet near Al Nahda

Hospital, Hamriya. Contact 9647313

Single furnished room in Ruwi.

Contact: 24833609

Single room for Executive bach-

elor near Al Falaj hotel. Contact

99643845

Al Khuwair one villa room with toi-

let. Indians only. Contact 99382008

Room for rent Ex- bachelor / work-

ing lady in Ruwi. Contact : 99777496

room, with A/C kitchen available

near ONTC Bus station (Ruwi).

Contact 95569740

Sharing for non-cooking Executive

bachelor in CBD area wi fi free,

advance deposit. Contact 95934642

Accommodation available for South

Indian family, one bedroom with

attached toilet, kitchen, hall in a villa,

Al Ghubrah. Contact 99209160

M.V. FOR SALE

Toyota Camry Expat driven fully

automatic KM 107000. Contact :

93892126

Nissan Sunny 2010. Contact : 98602323

Chevrolet Lumina 2004, automatic

good condition. Contact 98571309

Toyota Yaris 2007, fully automatic,

expat lady driven.

Contact 99045803

A well equipped running dental

clinic in Ruwi for sale.

Contact 93769963

Coff ee shop equipment and furni-

ture for sale call 95207741 .

3 tents used for six months, PVC

type, 850 GSM, water proof and fi re

resistant (one tent size 11x30meter,

two tents size 15x25 meters).

For clarifi cation call 99507508

Prime location in Shatti Qurum for

sale. Ideal for restaurant / coff ee

shop / fast food.

Contact: 97890657 / 96426312

Email: tess29.cayman29@gmail.com

Coff ee shop for sale in

North Al Ghubra. Contact 95256009

Restaurant for sale in Wadi Kabir.

Contact : 99425461

Pajero 2010, GCC, 230000 km white

6200/- R.O. Contact 92857111

Land Cruiser 2012. Contact

99336093

Peugeot 206-2007 Model, expat

driven. Contact 99209285

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

I BHK Wanted In MBD Or CBD area

(R0. 200 or 230) Contact : 93262152

Looking for 2 BHK fl at in Ruwi,

Darsait or surrounding areas.

Contact 96027403

2,560 sq mtrs industrial land Wadi

Kabir Main Road, First line on

way to Al Bustan hotel. Possible to

make petrol station or hotel. OMR

990 Thousand Tel: 99333479 or

95215360

558 Sq mtrs residential land in

Barka (Al Jenainah) near Lulu and

near to school. OMR 32 Thousand.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

We have fl ats for sale in south

Al Mabella stage -8 along the

highway. Contact 95121222

Used Furniture of Ready made

showroom for Sale.contact

24704370, 99798452 (Ashwin)

Port cabin new & refurbished –

porta cabin for sale & rent.

Contact 96723468 / 97775501 /

97775502

Shfandish & tables for sale.

Contact 99368907

Well established coff ee shop &

BBQ with open parking along with

5 clearance located in Wadi Kabir.

Contact 97161811

Residential land for sale 21000

sqm, best for housing complex

at Al Harm – Barka, opp to Khimji

logistic. Contact 99438397

For running beauty saloon for sale.

Contact 97786792 / 96914627

3 fl oor commercial building in

Muttrah behind Police. Generating

income of OMR 18 Thousand annu-

ally. Neat and well maintained. Built

on 197 sq mtrs land. 2 tailor shops

on ground fl oor and 6 fl ats. OMR

207 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or

95215360

2 & 3 BHK , A/C Qurum.

Contact 99024730

2& 3 BHK , Madinat Sultan Qaboos.

Contact: 99024730

For rent fl at 3BHK 390/-R.O in North

Al Ghubrah. Contact 97004127

One BHK fl at for rent in Ghobra

with attach and common bathroom.

For Indian family.

Contact - 92322096

New fl at at Al Qurum, 2 BHK 450/-

R.O . Contact: 94232344

1BHK R.O 250/-, Bldg # 1690 way

# 6926 near to ISWK

Kindergarten Wadi Kabir.

Contact : 99476728

1 & 2BHK at Honda road, 2 bed-

rooms, 1 hall, 2 bath rooms.

Contact 99224748 / 99332297

Labour Camp for Rent in Wadi

Kabir. Contact 99792181

2 BHK fl at in Rex Road.

Contact 99792181

1 BHK fl at in Honda Road (Ruwi).

Contact 99792181

Studio & 1BHK fl at in Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 99376454

2 bedroom apartment in Ruwi for

rent or sale for information.

Contact: 99360303

We have fl ats for rent in South

Al Mabella stage -8 along the high-

way. Contact 95121222

2 BHK in Muttrah, 2 bedrooms,

1 hall, 1 bathroom & 1 kitchen.

Contact 99342790

Room main road, Al Khuwair

R.O 110/-. Contact 97799175

2BHK Muttrah behind Oman

house. Contact 95915154

1BHK A.C Mumtaz. Contact 97799175

2 BHK with A.C, M.B.D, R.O 325/-.

Contact: 92144045

1/3 BHK Flat Ghubrah, close to

ISG Way 4041, building 4390.

Contact 99319880

WANTED

Room for rent in Wattaya for execu-

tive Bachelor. Contact 99036715

Required used portacabin 12’ x 40’

without partition 2 Nos,

used ablution unit 12 ‘x 30’ -1 no re-

quired at Misfah. Contact: 99340205

2 BHK with A.C Ghubra R.O 350/-.

Contact: 92144045

2BHK without A.C Mumtaz

R.O 275/-. Contact 92144045

1BHK Ghubra R.O 350/-.

Contact 92144045

2BHK fl at with very big balcony for

rent at MBD, rent R.O 400/-Month.

Contact 94273529

Furnished fl ats for rent in

Al Buraimi, daily, weekly, monthly.

Contact 97819981 / 93593336

1& 2BHK for rent at Wadi Kabir,

Hilal Al Sad and Al Khoud areas .

Contact Offi ce: 24834644

Mobile: 93994401/02/03

Flat for rent, 2 BK near Kuwaiti

Mosque, Wadi Kabir. Contact

97007934 / 92629232

Flat for rent 2 BK near Oman

House Muttrah. Contact 97007934

/ 92629232

200 Sqr mtrs offi ce space in CBD.

Contact 99792181

If require fl ats for rent in Wadi

Kabir please send me mes-

sages through whatsapp or call

99376454

Spacious 2 BHK fl ats in Ruwi MBD

area only on 350/- OMR.

Contact – 95122188 / 96441499

1 BHK new bldg with A/C, curtains

near Khimji Mart MBD.

Contact: 99061408 / 99024039

1BHK, 2 toilets at South Ghubra

include E/W and AC split with fully

furnished OMR 350/-.

Contact 92811110

Studio fl at Wadi Kabeer 160/-O.R.

Contact - 99358589 / 97079146/

95570288

1BHK fl at near star cinema with

split A/C 230/- O.R.

Contact - 99358589/

97079146/95570288

Bath attached room for rent

Al Khuwair. Contact 99743569

Labour camp for Rent in Wadi

Kabir. Contact 99797422

2 BHK & studio fl at at Darsait 1SM.

Contact 99024730

Room with attached bathroom

Al Khuwair 33 area.

Contact 96059431

Big fl at in Al Khuwair 33, 3 bed-

rooms, 3 bathrooms, sitting, dining,

family lounge, kitchen, store with

A/C, rent 550/- OMR.

Contact 97278169

Apartments for rent Ghubra : near

Indian School Ghubra & Al Maha

International Hotel (2BHK with 5

split A/C units).Contact 99273774 /

99202278 /94652485

Villa in Al Khuwair and Seeb.

Contact 95250300/ 99119699 /

92125648

1,000 sq mtrs industrial land in

Misfah Industrial area near to

Khanco. OMR 1,500 Monthly. Elec-

tricity and boundary wall will be pro-

vided. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

Industrial land for rent in Wadi

Kabir 7000 Sq mtrs.

Contact 99354340

1 Bedroom fl at in Azaiba.

Contact 99385835/99428143

Flat for rent 1 & 2 bedroom avail-

able behind Zaker Mall Al Khuwair.

Contact - 99530405

Ghubra near Al Maha hotel &

Indian school (2BHK with 5 split

ac units). Contact 94652485/

99273774 / 99202278

For rent 3 industrial land.

Contact 92702891/ 95490842

Flats/villas owned by ROP pension

fund available for rent in Muscat.

Contact 99349526

60,000 Sq Mtrs Agriculture Land in

Misfah, can be changed to Industrial

Land. OMR 27 Per Square Meter.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

Shopping center for sale at Bousher

by good price 400 m2 with all equip-

ment. Reason for selling

part-time. Contact 92916490

5 Flats of 1 bedroom for Sale in

Bousher: OMR 35 Thousand each.

Monthly income OMR 270

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

2 residential Lands together, one

610 and the other 600 sq mtrs, in

Al Haram on way to Barka. OMR 49

Thousand both. Tel: 99333479 or

95215360

23,886 Sq Mtrs Agriculture land

with water well in Al Salwa, Barka.

OMR 260 Thousand. Tel: 99333479

or 95215360

Restaurant for sale well running

with open area and good parking

area. 3 new clearance also in Wadi

Kabeer near Mars hyper market.

Contact 99656863 Contd on pg 6

DAILY GUIDED4 M O N D AY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT

MEDICAL

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifi eds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

CATERING

DRAFTSMAN

DOMESTIC HELPER

DRIVER

DESIGNER

SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Shawarma /Arabic/Chinese/ cook & helpers. Contact 95529970

Wanted cook for Omani family

at Muttrah. Contact 24712088 /

99022790

A fast food restaurant in Muscat re-

quired : 1) Cashier cum order taker with experience, speak fl uent in

Arabic and English, 2) Social Media Services. Forward CV :

oman.job2win@gmail.com

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

Medical CARE Centre, Al Seeb,

requires Gynecologist, General Practitioners and Medical Lab Technicians. Mail CV-

sarita_h23@yahoo.com

or call 97884856

Wanted a Staff Nurse to work in a

private clinic in IBRI preference will

be given to candidates who have

cleared their prometric exam.

Contact: 99502851

Position for a full time home Health Nurse seeking for a

dedicated and reliable Staff Nurse

or Assistant Nurse to provide total

care for an elderly sick patient

for immediate interview.

Contact : 99331369

We are looking for a Staff Nurse, who is having 60% or above in pro-

metric exam. Contact : 99235643

/99463609 Email:

abuahamedclinic@gmail.com

Clinical Dietician for Weight

Management Center, utilizing the

“Eurodiet” method. Experienced in

individual counseling along with

excellent communication skills.

Arabic speaking would be an

advantage. Tel. 9749 7777,

thanae@eurodiet.com

Urgently required (All female only) Radiographer, Physiotherapist, Echo Technician, EEG technician & Nurses. Contact: 99374223, 22081700

email: hr@gshoman.com

Urgently required Staff Nurse, Pharmacist and endodontist Fe-male Staff nurse, Pharmacist and endodntist with MOH License/

Prometric exam passed

with 60% and above.

Contact 24780088, 97374459

Email : karamadental@gmail.com

Immediate placement ( with or

without MOH) A. Pharmacist - 3 nos B. Asst.pharmacist - 2 nos

Contact Tel.99338219 , 93240949

Company GM requires a capable house keeper (preferably Philipina)

to keep the house spotless and a gar-

dener cum cleaner on full/ part time

basis. Handsome salary & fl exible

timings. Contact 98458542

Urgently Required Full time House-maid for a respectable Omani Fam-

ily. Contact: 99845838 / 99357273,

Email: ijaz.beaver@gmail.com

Wanted an Indian family in

Al Ghubra requires a full time living housemaid. Contact 97084023

Indian male 22 yrs B. Com Graduate

1 year exp in Accounts, currently on

visit visa. Looking for suitable job.

Contact 94341848 /

Email – mohdhaji7272@gmail.com

Chief Accountant Indian male 36

yrs, M.Com, 14 yrs experience at

Senior position in leading MEP com-

panies, 9 years in Oman. Available

Noc, D/L & ready to join.

Contact 98407501

Senior Accountant 10 years experi-

ence in accounts 4 years GCC experi-

ence now working trading & project

based concern holding Oman driving

license ability handling all type of

accounts software’s and up to fi nali-

zation. Contact: 94079432

Indian male 22 years B.Com Gradu-

ate having the knowledge of Tally

ERP9 and Peachtree and with a valid

Oman driving license looking for a

suitable job. Contact 98504698

Indian male, 30 yrs, MBA having 5

years GCC experience holding valid

Oman driving license looking for

a suitable job. Contact : 94547511

Email: pnvineeth01@gmail.com

Accountant B.Com, MBA (pursu-

ing) Indian male 25 years, 2 years

experience in India, seeking better

placement on visit visa.

Contact: 97709327

Indian male 23 yrs B.Com 1yr expe-

rience in Accounts and sales looking

for suitable placement on visit visa.

Contact: 96068174 / 98912870

Indian Female 25 MBA looking

for a suitable opening in Accounts,

Admin/Hr. Contact 97013375

Accounting professional having

B.com, ILM with 11 years of Gulf ex-

perience includes Islamic Banking/

Trading etc looking for Chief/Senior

Accountant . Contact:95312688

Male 26, MBA in Accounts and

Finance. 2 years Experience in

Management, and Accounts Fields,

and One year experience in Sales

and Operation in Oman, looking for a

suitable job. Contact 94374745

Indian male, B.Com experience in

Accounts, looking for Accountant job

or in Sales on visit visa. # 98295101

Indian male 25 yrs B.Com PGDBM

currently on visit visa, looking for

suitable opening in accounts, store

and Admin. Contact: 96986349

Email: gafoordawre@gmail.com

7 years experience (2 yrs in Oman)

MBA (Fin), B.Com, C.A (Found.) cur-

rently looking for suitable place-

ment. Contact +968 - 97736404

Email: adnantahir1990@gmail.com

ENGI./ELECT./TECH..

ENGI./ELECT./TECH..

Urgently required Mainte-nance Supervisor (Civil) with

valid Oman D/L. Send your CV to

cv.hrcharity@gmail.com

Required Graduate Electrical Engineer experience in HT & LT

works. Contact 99760596,

Email : info@npgoman.com

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE

Required Offi ce Assistant

160+25+Acc, Contact 99454425

AUTO CAD

AUTOCAD D MAN, Gulf Exp In

Major Projects, knows ARCH,

Structural, MEP, Noc available

PH: 98225740

Draughtsman-Civil: Diploma in

Architecture with 3 years experi-

ence. Profi cient in AutoCAD, Google

Sketchup, Photoshop and MS Offi ce.

Email: dilshadmayas@gmail.com

Mob: +91 9645124241, 93004426

ADMIN/HR

EDUCATION

TOURS & TRAVELS

Urgently required female Accountant, should have 3 -5 years

experience. Send CV with passport

size Photo and expected salary on

cv.hrcharity@gmail.com

ACCOUNTANT

Situations vacant at a reputed com-

pany in Oman for their TLB(Tires,

Lubes & Battery) division. 1. Sales Executives. 2. Showroom Ex-ecutives. 3. Sales Co-ordinators. 4. Store Keepers. Minimum 3-5 yrs

experience in the same fi eld or from

the Automotive industry with mar-

ket exposure, holding valid Omani

driving license or GCC. Rush your

CV’s to careers@diamondwealth.org

Sales Executive (Male) with D/L

for a reputed company in Oman,with

3 yrs experience . Please send CV

with photo to;

saheer@paramountmuscat.com /

saheer.pto@gmail.com

Sales Coordinator (Male) required

for a reputed company in Oman with

D/L, and with good knowledge of MS

Offi ce , Please send CV with photo

to; saheer@paramountmuscat.com /

saheer.pto@gmail.com

Sales Engineer for lab items, Ser-

vice Engineer for lab equipments.

Email: info@atslaboman.com

Fax: 24613659

Required experienced Sales / Mar-keting having light license. Send

your CV - ocean@omantel.net.om

A leading Tissue paper & food stuff s company require sales & marketing person with minimum

5 yrs exp. in Oman with good com-

munication skills & valid Oman

D/L. candidate with interior market

knowledge & experience preferable.

Send CV : allub@alhosnigroup.com,

fax : 24451430

A leading UPVC window manufac-

turing company require

Sales Executive (Graduate) 3 years

minimum experience and Omani

D/L. Required candidates with

local release only apply. Contact:

99100738 / 94247257. Send CV to

info@perfectwindowllc.com

Looking for outdoor Salesman for

heavy equipment spare parts.

Contact- 93292003.

E mail: mail.om@gulfcenter.co

Indian Female MBA, 3 Years experi-

ence in Admin MIS, Family Visa.

Contact 98234427,

jkjsmith01@gmail.com

Indian female, 28 yrs experience

in Admin / sales coordination /ac-

countant and secretarial. Knowledge

in accountant software, with Oman

D/L, looking for a suitable place-

ment. Contact: 96751993

Indian male 2+yrs oman exp in HR.

joing immediatly. release available.

Contact :93671437

Indian female, 29 yrs, MBA (HR)

4 yrs exp. India & Oman in HR & Ad-

min, seeks suitable placement.

Contact 96759820

Omani national fl uent in English

looking for suitable placement.

Contact 91908052

Indian female Post Graduate with

5 years experience in HR & Admin

looking for good opportunity.

Contact 94692244

Indian female with 10 yrs of experi-

ence in HR/Banking/Operations

seeks a suitable placement. Can be

contacted on 98919015 or

sherianne.coelho@gmail.com

Female 26, 3 yrs exp in HR &

Admin, with Oman D/L, looking for a

suitable opening. Contact 98236033

Over 15 years of gulf experience in

Admin /HR /Logistics, fl uent in Ara-

bic & English with D/L looking for

suitable position. Contact 95824598

Wanted Graduate in Electronics / Mechatronics for teaching position

for school students. Send CV to

info@iiriss.com

A school requires teachers for

English, Science, Math, IT and

Science Laboratory technician

minimum requirements masters

degree IELTS (band6).

Contact send CV to: 96606121.

Email: fred-cate2@yahoo.com

Physics, Chemistry Edexcel ‘A’ level board teacher urgently required to teach a student

of 12th standard.

Teacher’s experience preferred.

Contact: 99349076.

Wanted tipper drivers for Road works.

Contact 95565039 / 98878989

Sales Executives for Media

Enterprise. Oman D/L. Contact:

essential. jobs@interacoman.com

Reputed building materials com-pany looking for Outdoor Sales Ex-ecutive having valid Omani driving

license with more than 2 years local

sales experience tiles / sanitary

ware. Fax your CV to 24798709

Email: united@omantel.net.om

Salesman experienced 5 yrs in

Oman, in the fi eld of industrial &

oilfi eld service, garage equipment

tools & spares, safety wears & rescue

equipments. Please forward your CV

to almaadhi.trd@gmail.com

Required Sales man - 1 Person

Qualifi cation. Gulf Experienced

- Minimum 5 Years with Oman

Driving Licence Language - English

Education:- Any Degree Further

Contact :Mr. Abdul Hameed Na-

shabat - Mobile No: 97414307 and

-92807399 amn@yaqeeneng.com

Urgently required Sales Execu-tive for leading building material

company holding license.

Contact 98650936 / 95928480

A Leading FMCG Company require Sales Executives (Graduates) & Merchandisers, with Omani D/L.

Candidates with local release only

apply. Send CV to FAX: 24501542 or

e-mail: fmcgsaleshr@gmail.com

Looking for Electrical Salesman with diploma certifi cate.

Contact 97616265

email: brightsilverllc@gmail.com,

Finance Manager (M.Com. MBA)

with start-up skill & group consoli-

dation, Baking,corporate funding, re-

structuring of fi nance and accounts

with new system and procedure.-

amritaa.m2002@gmail.com

3 yrs experience, Indian female, 26

years, Masters in Financial Manage-

ment, B.com, Seeking suitable place-

ment. Contact: 99345132

Email: Sandhya1735@gmail.com

Egyptian Accountant using ERP

system on visit visa 1year experi-

ence. Contact: 96019233

MBA (international business) from

London, 4 years of UK experience

in banking operational, looking for

suitable position. Contact 91710075

Tanzanian male, 25 yrs Accountant

3 month successful experience in

Tanzania looking for suitable place-

ment in any fi eld. Contact : 96710154

Sri Lankan male qualifi ed CIMA

(UK) Accountant & bachelor degree

in accountancy with over 10 years

experience in various industries

looking for job position as Senior

Accountant / Finance Manager cur-

rently in Muscat available on visit

visa. Contact 97299017

Email: mnm_ruzan79@yahoo.com

Indian male, B.Com Graduate hav-

ing 10 years exp 6 years in Oman

looking for an Accountant job.

Contact : 93830171

Email: nidbivtl@yahoo.com

Indian male M.Com, 5 years experi-

ence in fi nance /HR and Purchase

department in Oman companies hav-

ing valid D/L available to join imme-

diately with NOC. Contact 98363897

Email: prince9496@hotmail.com

Finance Manager, 16 + years Gulf

exp. in accounts , MIS, budgets, stra-

tegic planning, cost control, working

capital management, seeks job pls

call 95379211

e mail :- vijay.564@hotmail.com

DESIGNER

MANAGER

MISCELLANEOUS

One of the leading business groups in Oman is looking for a Manager for their transport division. Candi-

dates with 7-10 years experience in

transport industry may forward their

CV to kumar@muscatsteel.com

Counter staff male/female experi-

ence 2 years of travel agency experi-

ence. Interested candidate shall send

his / her CV to

offi cer1_ajyad@yahoo.com

Cast Aluminium & Windows Company looking for the skilled and

experienced personnel for the follow-

ing categories: Sales Executive with D/L, professional Accountant, Alu-minium fabricator, Cast Aluminium Site worker. Contact: 99654863 /

99197060 or Email your CV/Resume

to tdnewgates@gmail.com

Required salesman, Tailor and Barber. Contact 96964767

Required 3 D Designer for interior

design with relevant experience,

full time or part time.

Contact 95766844

Finance / Accounts Manager 12

years experience at senior position in

leading companies 9 years in Oman

CPA – USA& modern accounting cer-

tifi cate from AUC. Contact 99139926

Part – time accountant qualifi ed

experience accountant available.

Contact 96759385

Indian male 27 M.Com, MBA, 4.5

years experience in fi nance &

accounts, Tally & SAP currently on

visit visa. Contact: 93484048

Indian female 32 yrs MCA having,

3 years experience in Muscat and

having driving license seeks suit-

able placement. Contact: 96124929

Finance Manager, CPA,

with more than 15 yrs. of experi-

ence in GCC. Fully knowledgeable

in Finance, General & Management

Accounting . NOC available.

Contact 96209331

Indian male with total 5 year

experience (2 years experience in

Accountant cum sales co ordinator

in a FMCG Company in Oman) in

accounts fi eld and NOC available

Looking for suitable job

Contact 92130188

Part time Accountant with 15 years

experience in accounts, fi nance

tax, audit management.

Contact 95857199

India Accountant: Male, M com,

7 Yrs experience in Accounts up to

fi nalization, having knowledge of

ERP, Tally, seeks suitable placment.

contact 93950138 Email:

lijinrajan123@gmail.com

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,

Email: anzarks@gmail.com

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

*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00

noon for next day’s publication.

* Subject to space availability

Leading Construction company requires MEP Draftsman and Civil Draftsman with 5 to 7 years gulf

experience with NOC available. Send

your CV to

recruitment1947@gmail.com

Urgently required experienced LED TV Technician. Send CV to

ali@blueoceanmea.com

Quantity Surveyor 1 No Civil Engineer – 1No. with seven years

minimum Gulf construction

experience.

Email: omaniantrad@gmail.com

Expert in all types of 3D modeling,

building layout, walk through &

Broucher designing. 3 yrs exp. in

Oman & 6 yrs exp. in India seek-

ing for better opportunity. Contact

91282841

DAILY GUIDEM O N D AY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 D5

DAILY GUIDESITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

HOSPITALITY

Indian male/30years with hotel man-

agement degree, 02 years experience

in F&B service at 5 star hotel in Dubai

and 05 years in American

6 star cruseliner as butler. #911 35371.

MANAGER/ SUPERVISORIndian male, Mechanical Engineer,

2 years experience in fabrication

& erection of heavy structures as

Project Engineer in India, now on

visiting visa seek suitable place-

ment. Contact: 91251818 Email:

krishnakumarkk9@gmail.com

Electrical Engineer, 5 years

experience in E& I commission-

ing, construction and maintenance

wastewater with Oman D/L.

Contact : 97753382

BE in Textile, MS in Environmental

Sciences (Fresh graduate) , Safety

offi cer (02 years of experience)

Waste Water Treatment/Industrial-

solid Waste management (intern).

waste management and disposal.

Environment sustainability Projects/

NGO. on visit visa available on im-

mediate bases till 10 of June. Ahmed

uzair khawar, 97042404, email:

ahmeduzair1803@outlook.com

Indian male specialised in business

analysis and project management,

29, B-Tech, MBA is looking for suit-

able position. Contact Tel 98661709

and 99330419

20 years Experience in Mechanical

Process industry as Maintenance

Engineer for SPM’s like Cold Roll-

ing Mills, Heat Treatment Furnace,

Punching, Edge- Grinding and Pack-

aging Machines seeking suitable

position with reputed fi rm. E-mail:

sanjeevareddy138@gmail.com,

Contact no: 93912928

Indian male mechanical technician

with 22 yrs exp (06 yrs in Oman)

as millright fi tter & fabrication &

maintenance work, currently having

family status seeks suitable

placement NOC available.

Contact: 95922696

Auto Electrician with car a/c with

medical. Contact 95175192

Electrician, Plumber, exp in India

Gulf (overseas) job.

Contact 99531802

Indian male Civil Engineer

B.E Civil Engineer, 2 years experi-

ence in India seeking for suitable po-

sition in building construction fi eld.

Contact India 0091-9659340446

Email: senthilmmx@gamail.com

Indian male, 27 yrs B. Tech

(Aeronautics) with MBA in airport

management /international man-

agement, having 2yrs of experience

in aerospace fi eld, looking for

suitable job, currently on visit visa

valid up to 25 June 2015.

Contact - 98107797

email - njnikhiljoy@gmail.com

Iraqi Civil Engineer with more than

25 years experience in (Iraq ,U.A.E.

and Oman) looking for a job, (N.O.C.)

is available. Contact No. 94043735,

amin.sarim007@gmail.com

Indian male 26, B. Tech Electronics

Engineer having 4 years experience

(2 year in Oman) seeking suitable

position. Contact 93171420 Email:

manujk2015@gmail.com

Indian male 29 years Diploma in

Petrochemical 06 yrs, experience

in EPS company and piping of oil &

gas and maintenance valid D/L also

available. Contact 93330817

Email: shahidk8448@yahoo.com

Indian male B.Tech Mechanical

three years varietal experience in

piping Engineering & management

of retail mobile phone shops seeking

sales engineering job with Oman

D/L. Contact 94401234

MISCELLANEOUS

MEDICAL

Well experienced MOH Licensed

Indian GP Doctor looking for

locum / permanent position in the

Capital area. Contact 98140024

email:drgpoman@yahoo.com

Male Nurse on visit visa looking for

a suitable position. Mob#96071526

Lab Technician, Civil (8yrs Gulf ex-

perience) looking for a suitable job

(NOC available) Contact-93344378

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: zubairkhan11@gmail.com

Sudanese male BSC electronic

Engineer 2 years experience in GSM,

10 years experience in oil industry

(Drilling & Measurements).

Contact 91198104

Email: husseintalat@hotmail.com

Sudanese BSC industrial Engineer

experience 4 yrs in QA /QC and 8 yrs

in production. Contact 94041960

Email: mekkimedani@hotmail.com /

mekkimedani78@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING

SKILLED LABOUR

TOURS & TRAVELS

Indian male 10 years experience in

Welding Supervisor NDT Techni-

cian, MIG Welding specialist seeking

suitable job. Contact 96771841

Egyptian male 11 years in fi ve

stars international hotels manage-

ment sales marketing D/L available

residency visa. Contact 93577497

Email: elkomy82@hotmail.com

Indian male 30- holding Oman D/L-

exp in sales/marketing, seeks suit-

able placement-Release available.

Contact: 95863373

Indian male Graduate in business

management having work experi-

ence of 12 years looking for a suit-

able position. Contact : 93431567

Sales / Marketing Executive

24 years, Indian male having Oman

valid license, seeking suitable posi-

tion, working as a Supervisor of the

leading hypermarket in Oman,

NOC available.

Contact : 98060984 / 93089757

Email: rishadkeethadath@gmail.com

B.Com Graduate having 10 years

experience of sales and marketing

in bank specialist in car fi nancing

looking for a job also having experi-

ence to run the team and manage

the accounts. Contact: 93131681

Indian male looking job in sales or

marketing having 2 years experi-

ence. Contact 96660936

Indian male, Graduate, with 12yrs

solid exp in construction & build-

ing materials purchase / logistics/

warehouse seeks suitable place-

ment. NOC available.

Contact: 94657319

Warehouse In charge or store keeper

26 yrs. Gulf exp 4 yrs in Oman. NOC

available. Contact 97657823 /

Email:rusaikmzm_2009@yahoo.com

Hotel fi eld diploma in Computer

B.Com, Indian, Diploma in Hotel

Management MBA in hospital

management at pursuant operation

manager in a resort India. Contact

97864635 / 91815776074

Projects/ contracts Manager 31

yrs (26 yrs Oman) experience in

management & coordination of

multi-million R.O projects of govern-

ment & private sector, Post Graduate

Structural Engineer with structural

& QS Background looking for senior

position. Contact +00968-91400599

Experience Restaurant Manager with valid driving license and NOC

for immediate placement.

Contact: 92953199

MISCELLANEOUS

Indian male 60 years old have 30

years Muscat experience in all offi ce

works with Omani driving license.

Contact: 99024055

Indian male, MBA marketing &

fi nance with B com & diploma in

IFRS seeks job. Contact 99469726 /

99469729

Indian female, B.Com. knowledge of

MS Offi ce & Tally, 4yrs experience

in Accounts &admin dept. looking

for good placement in any fi eld.

Contact.98928220

Indian male, total experience is 5

years in Retail industry. Currently

supervisor in Sun and sand sports

Muscat City centre.

Contact : 96994345.

Email : jsp.jsr85@gmail.com

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 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: fahazasa@yahoo.com

SECRETARIAL/OFFICE

Indian male more than 10 years

Gulf experience in Offi ce / Sales

Coordinator, Admin (employees visa

processes), Secretarial and purchase

coordination with good computer

skills. Having Driving license and

NOC available. Looking for suitable

placement. Contact 99709336

25 Indian female B.S.C. Fashion

Technology. 5 years experience in

textile industry as a merchandiser

and good in fashion marketing. Cur-

rently available on visit visa, seek-

ing for a suitable job. # 96990368.

Email: simmy.missy@gmail.com

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

IT

IT

Gulf experienced Software Develop-

er & certifi ed professional in English

looking from a Job with vast experi-

ence in sales and Management + d/l.

Contact 00968 96701312

Email: farhanaslam586@yahoo.com

IT Support Engineer Indian male

with 6 years experience in system

Admin IT support seeks suitable

opportunities. Contact 94549589 /

99817516.

Email: dhaneeh87@gmail.com

Indian male, 25 yrs, M.Tech (Com-

puter Science) 3 yrs exp. in network-

ing (MCSE-CCNA) certifi ed currently

on visit visa looking for suitable job.

Contact 91006851

Indian 25 yrs male diploma Com-

puter Engineer 5yrs experience in

hardware and networking, looking for

another jobs in oman. #91082046,

renston34@gmail.com

Indian male B.Sc, IT Graduate,

MCSE, CCNA, RHCE, Certifi ed seek-

ing job at good company.

Contact 96974352 Email:

niyas.mohammed1@gmail.com

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

Email: careersjegan@gmail.com

Indian female MCA seeks suitable

position as IT Administrator.

Contact: 94133849 / 95215272

Indian male looking for job as

driver. Have 08 years experience in

Oman. Contact 95256489

Light driver with 10 yrs experience

with car or without car, Pakistani

National. Contact 91038352

House driver /(overseas) looking

job with valid GCC D/l.

Contact 99531802

Heavy & light duty driver valid GCC

(overseas) job. Contact 95175192

Light driver looking for job.

Contact : 94208089 (Adman)

Pakistani male having Oman driv-

ing license looking for driving jobs,

having 2 years experience in vehicle

driving presently staying in Oman.

Contact 96549406

Heavy Duty Driver looking job &

visa. 3 years experience. Release

Available. 96238930/92744341

Light duty driver with car looking

for job. Contact: 99365092

Malayalee driver, 8 yrs exp.

in Oman seeking job. Contact

93526254 / 94615610

Looking for job, driving 8 yrs ex-

perience languages Hindi, Arabic &

English & civil construction

foreman. Contact 96288587

Driver need job. Contact 98056148

Driver with car looking for part &

full time job. Contact 96692774

Bangladeshi male looking for driv-

ing job, knows speaking English,

Arabic & Hindi. Contact 93098895

Light Vehicle Driver requires job

in any transportation / private co.

Contact 96015617

Need job LTV exp driver Pakistani.

Contact 94436276

Driver looking for job.

Contact 92137431

Light duty driver looking job experi-

ence 4years Oman. Contact 96088707

DRIVER

BE. Mechanical Engg in search of job

primavera P6 and AutoCAD 2 year’s

experience. Contact 99288785. Email:

gvnvictor@gmail.com

Chemical Engineer, 5 years In-

dustrial experience looking for job.

Contact: 91380787

Indian male 27 yrs, Instrumenta-

tion / Automation Engineer having 5

years exp in Oil & Gas and wastewa-

ter with valid Omani D/L, looking for

a suitable job NOC available.

Contact : 96082604

Civil Engineer Female, 3 yrs experi-

ence in structural design, on visit

visa seeking suitable placement.

Contact: 99195433

Electrical Engineer : Indian male 29

years , having 5 years of experience

in industrial automation and utility

maintenance in India (MRF Tyres)

seeking suitable placement.

Contact 92789995,

Email: akhilabrahamlktr@gmail.com

Sr. Instrumentation Engineer: 8+ years Exp. (Oman 6+ Yrs) OIL & GAS,

Sales & Marketing in Automation, In-

strumentation, Calibration, BMS & FOC

- Project Planning, Erection, Commis-

sioning, O & M. NOC Available Oman

D/L G: +968 97296534

M: jaganmohan_ks@yahoo.com

Indian male with ITI certifi cation

in Mechanical Drafting with good

Experience Looking for good

opportunity contact 9194 9181

BE Mechanical Engineer -NDT level

2, Quality Control (Oil & Gas) . 1 year

exp ph: 95908293

Electrical Engineer B.Tech with

4 yrs exp. looking for suitable

vacancies. Contact – 96752080

Electronics Engineer with 4 years

experience in embedded product

development seeking for suitable job

in Oman now in visit visa.

Contact: 95218030

Sudanese Civil Engineer, 2 yrs

experience. Contact 96077482,

Email : ebraheemann@gmail.com

Civil Engineer (B.E) having 5 yrs

experience in building construction

looking for a suitable placement.

D/L available. Contact 91253392

Electronics & Communication Engg.

(37) 14+ yrs (10 yrs Oman) experi-

ence in sales/marketing product

development, project execution

within information & communication

technology industry.

Contact 99771815

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 / 96216397,

Email : jeganscareer@gmail.com

Indian M, 25yrs, B.E Mechanical 3

yr exp in Oil & Gas now on visit visa

seeking jobs in project, sales and

marketing. Contact: 96487013

Email: riarun.007@gmail.com

Indian male 29 yrs, on visit visa, Di-

ploma Mechanical Engineering and

1 ADC Rig Pass looking for a job in oil

fi eld drilling department experience,

4 years in India. Contact: 91926005

Email: ossubeesh83@gmail.com

Young Energetic Indian male, 7 years Oman experience in retail

wholesale, sales including electron-

ics, building materials with Oman

D/L. Contact: 98465550

B.Tech Mechanical Engineer on

visit visa looking for job, two years

experience as QC Engineer,

NDT level-2 certifi ed.

Contact: 98386074

Email: jayeshthilakan@gmail.com

Indian male fresher BCA young and

energetic, seeking good opportu-

nites.email: jlaxmimenon@gmail.

com, Contact 00919567722270

Sudanese Petroleum Engineer, 4 yrs experience looking for job, MC

offi ce, C, Exlips. Contact 96039290

Graduate Civil Engineer, Indian,

Total 16+ Yrs exp., 7+ GCC seeking

suitable Senior/Mid level Job in

PMC/Contracting, NOC Available &

Valid GCC Driving License.

Contact : GSM: 94363574;

E-mail : Crashu_78@yahoo.com

Indian Male, IT Support Engineer,

2 yrs in Oman & 5 yrs Indian experi-

ence. Contact 97311847

Male 26, B.Tech in Electronics &

Communication Engineering hav-

ing 4.8 years experience (including

experience in Japan) seeks suitable

placement & can join immediately.

Contact: 91902646

Email: ajumalmajeed@gmail.com

Procurement Offi cer 7 years experi-

ence in Oman construction civil &

structural steel NOC, ITI & driving

license in Oman. Contact: 92023761

QA/QC inspector 5 yrs exp in O&G

Industry with diploma mechani-

cal & NDT level 2 on visit. Contact :

91231007 sf.aseem@gmail.com

Electrical Engineer (B.E) : 5 years of

experience (4 years in Oman) with

valid Omani D/L. NOC available.

GSM: 92260391

Mechanical Engineer (B.E) : Four

years of experience (3 years in

Oman). NOC available.

Contact :92530471

Indian male, 24 yrs B.Tech (MECH)

on visit 1 year experience as PPC

Engineer looking for suitable place-

ment. Has, HVAC, AutoCAD and

CATIA designing skills.

Contact 98925685

Indian male Instrumentation Engi-

neer having 2 years experience in

process instruments, seeks suitable

placement. Contact 95954385Civil Engineer (DCE) Indian male

with 20 years experience, 10 years

in Oman worked with reputed con-

sultancy and contracting companies

as RE, PE, PM and did projects for

MOD and PDO with D/L Seeks suit-

able position. Contact 93251720

Bachelor degree B.SC (Honours)

Telecommunication Engineering

CCNA , CISCO, Certifi ed network

associate experience installation

operation maintenance, ATMS & Elec-

tronics, Surveillance Security systems

Nationality Sudanese age 25.

Contact: 92617282

Indian male 29, Mechanical Engineer

CSWIP3.1 certifi ed having

5.5 years experience in steel struc-

tural construction projects

seeking suitable position.

Contact: 91078780

Email: nikhilhai@gmail.com

Indian male I.T.I diesel mechanic

experience 4 yrs Qatar (11 yrs in In-

dia) seeking for suitable placement

carpentry on visiting visa.

Contact 91969224

Email: anilk6102@gmail.com

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

angeline.babithac@gmail.com.

Electrical and Electronics Engineer

(BE) 1+ year of experience now on

visit visa seeking suitable opportu-

nities Email: djnitheesh@gmail.com

Contact 99254469

Diploma in electronics & Telecom,

Engineering with 5 years experience

in Engineering & sales, marketing.

Contact 95932219

Electrical Eng. Degree (MEP) need

suitable job of construction 12 yrs exp.

Email: mohd.ateeq.khan@gmail.com

Graduate 1 yr experience in India,

Clerk now in Oman on visit visa.

Contact 92933431,

princemathew2813@gmail.com

Indian male & female (couple)

looking for job in hospital /

caretaker. Contact 91299288

Indian male 24 years, Mechanical

Engineer,pdms.1 yr experience in

pipeline,16years in oman seeking

immediate placement

Contact 95775742

B.E (Mechanical), Indian male 8

years experience (HVAC – 4 years,

operation / production / mainte-

nance, 4 years) looking suitable

position. Contact 96696190

Email: faisalmnz@gmail.com

Mechanical Design Engineer, 7 years of experience in Pip-

ing Design & Development, with

good sound knowledge of Au-

toCAD, AUTOPLANT 3D,CATIA/

V5,SOLIDWORKS,etc Looking for a

suitable position. NOC available.

Contact :+968-94549776,

ashrafvpt@yahoo.co.in

Indian male B.Tech Mechanical having 4 years experience with

QA/ QC & CWSIP looking for suit-

able position. Contact 99447106 /

24483297

Male MBA (General) from Cardiff

Metropolitan University London)

looking for a suitable placement.

Contact 92819301

Email: adicbhat@outlook.com

MBA Marketing professional with

05 years experience in sales and

distribution looking for job in Oman

currently on visit visa.

Contact: 97006353

Email: ashhadhm@hotmail.com

Indian male Sales Manager looking

for suitable position,

9 years experience in Oman.

Contact: 97986445

MBA supply chain professional

with 03 years experience in freight

forwarding and distribution looking

for job in Oman currently on visit

visa. Contact: 97089944

Email: ali_shayan340@hotmail.com

Indian male 3 years experience

Media Hospitality Sales Marketing

looking for suitable job valid driving

license car, NOC available.

Contact 96054202

Indian male 31 years, MBA, 7yrs

experience in sales & marketing

with valid driving license seeking

suitable placement.

Contact 98719219.

EMAIL: recruitme1984@gmail.com

Stores In Charge / Purchase coordi-

nator with 6 years oman experi-

ence seeking placement. Contact

95439645 or storeoman@gmail.com

Release / NOC available.

Indian male 24 years, MBA in Mar-

keting looking for suitable place-

ment currently in Muscat on visit

visa. Contact: 93507063

Email: zamer_124@yahoo.com

Indian 23 years B.Com Graduate, 2

years experience in sales knowledge

of tally E.R.P & MS Offi ce.

Contact 93134643

Pakistani male 34 yrs Intermedi-

ate 2 yrs exp in sales & marketing

in Oman. Looking for suitable job.

Contact - 92146864

Indian male MBA 7 years experience

in Hospitality industry, operation,

sales & marketing looking for suitable

vacancy. Contact 92115860

Email vibin.py@gmail.com

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

IT Network and Security Engineer

with a master degree, CISCO and

Linux red hat certifi ed seeking a

suitable job in a good company.

Contact 99818601

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

D6 M O N D AY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

BUSINESS

Software development based on

requirements such as: Web devel-

opment & cloud computing, SAP

implementation & services. Android

App development networking.

Contact 97423932

We have some companies for rent

with the following activities: press

publishing & advertising, infor-

mation consultancy, organizing

event management & conference,

real estate, landscaping, mainte-

nance etc. Contact 93946622 /

91408005

Required business Researcher.

contact 99229700

Email: kjaaraimi@hotmail.com

Business Consultant, feasibility

study. Contact 99229700

ACC. AVAILABLE

Family room available for rent at

Muttrah Souk. Contact 24712088 /

99022790

Single room & AC attached bath at

Mumtaz area. Contact 95212017 &

93103337

Sharing acc. Available in Muttrah

behind Oman house.

Contact 99354340

Sharing family accommodation in

Wadi Kabir. Contact 99335057

Indian Male 34 years Mechanical

Engineer 3 years of Experience seek-

ing suitable placement immediately

Contact: 91991435, 93310821

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 :

agnelfrancis@yahoo.co.in

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 jumshi@gmail.com

Sudanese male BSC Telecommuni-

cations Engineer , 4 years experi-

ence in telecom fi eld # 97783092,

Email: Alrsheed88@hotmail.com

Working as Senior Accountant,4 yrs.exp.in oman, relevant computer

skills, Audit, Accounting upto fi na-

lization, valid oman driving license,

languages known Arabic, Hindi.

NOC available can join immediately.

Tel: (+968) 96339599, E-mail-

(ahmedmohdkhan@gmail.com)

Mechanical Engineer, Indian, (B.E.)

on visit visa, seeking suitable post.

Contact :99534733

Email: rajesh92prince@gmail.com

Indian male, post graduate, cur-

rently in Oman on visit visa. Seeks

suitable placement.# 92388346

Male, 19 years of experience in

Finance and Administration cur-

rently on visit visa seeks suitable

placement. Contact: 99720132/

abidrafi 33@hotmail.com

Sudanese male BSC

Telecommunications Engineer,

4 years experience in telecom fi eld.

Contact : 97783092,

Email: alrsheed88@hotmail.com

Civil autocad draughtsman part

time work for job mob :96023726

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 :

mohammednazeer07@gmail.com

Indian female, B.Com. knowledge

of MS Offi ce &Tally, 4yrs experience

in Accounts &admin dept. looking

for good placement in any fi eld.

Contact.98928220

Indian female MBA Finance cur-

rently on visit visa. Seeks immediate

placement. Phone: 968-98430089

Key Account Executive , currently working with a reputed

FMCG company Oman is looking for

a placement asap, NOC available,

valid Omani driving license.

Total experience in Oman is 12yrs

and particularly in Sales is 8 1/2

years. Contact 95589765

Email : agnelfrancis@yahoo.co.in

Senior IT Professional, Indian Male,

more than 17 yrs. of experience in

software development(PB, Oracle,

SAP ABAP) and IT Support with

valid Oman DL and NOC available

Contact : 92193867,

Email : cp.prasad@gmail.com

23,Male, ACCA with 2.5 years ex-

perience in Big6 audit fi rm and Oil/

Gas,looking for permanent place-

ment in Accounts/Audit. Contact

#95140445 a.saran891@gmail.com

Indian female MBA Finance

currently on visit visa,

seeks immediate placement.

Phone- 98430089

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s

publication. * Subject to space availability

SITUATION WANT-

EDSIT. WANTED

Female British Beauty Therapist looking for suitable situation.

Contact 97175240

Indian Male 34 years Mechanical

Engineer 3 years of Experience seek-

ing suitable placement immediately

contact: 91991435, 93310821

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

Civil supervisor-8 year’s experi-

ence in commercial and residential

building, including portable cabin,

natural and artifi cial play ground’s,

and Oxy petroleum fi eld, at sultan-

ate of Oman. GSM :91249005. Mail

:sandeep88joseph@gmail.com

Indian Male 28yr age having 6year

gulf+ Indian experience in HR fi eld.

Looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 97914340,

Email: rajkv3086@gmail.com

Indian male, 28 years, 7 years

experience in transporting & heavy

equipment renting company. Having

Omani driving license seeks suitable

positions. Contact 94410485

Indian male 27, looking for suitable

placement in Piping Design & Engi-

neering. Having 7 years of experi-

ence in AutoCAD. Also familiar with

PDMS (11.6 Version),CAESAR ll. Con-

tact : 97351786 / 96143708, E-mail :

mohammednazeer07@gmail.com

ACCA affi liate & Bsc (Oxford Brookes

University), 2.5 years experience

in oilfi eld & audit/fi nance in Big6

fi rm, seeking permanent placement.

Release available. #95140445,

a.saran891@gmail.com

Civil Autocad draughtsman looking

for part time job. Mobile: 95218737

Indian male 21 Diploma in Mechani-

cal Eng with HVAC certifi ed having 6

yrsexp and seeking job in HVAC fi eld

as a supervisor. Currently on visit

visa. Contact 92835952/ 92734863

Indian Female: MCA, 3 Years Exp. as

Asst. Professor, Specialization in C #

(sharp).net, Data Comm.& Network-

ing, Knowledge about Web Develop-

ment, ASP.Net, Oracle, SQL,VB.net.

Seek Immediate Placement. Now on

Visit Visa.9588 7051

ashwininakod@gmail.com

Indian female, B.Com. Knowledge

of MS Offi ce &Tally, 4yrs experience

in accounting & admin dept. looking

for good placement in any fi eld.

Contact.98928220

Sudanese / 29 years old / Bsc

English language and Translation / 3

years experience in Oman teaching

& translation / have driving license.

94211377. hosam.karar.1@gmail.com

Indian Male 27, Piping Design

Engineer looking for suitable place-

ment in Piping Design & Engineer-

ing. Also familiar with PDMS (11.6

Version),CAESAR ll, AutoCAD. Con-

tact : 97351786 / 96143708, E-mail :

mohammednazeer07@gmail.com

Mechanical Engineer B.E fresher

(QA, QC , Piping & NDT + 1 month

practical training in production & oil

fi eld) seeking immediate placement

currently on visit visa. Contact –

0096896107833, Email -

albinalbin.thomas@gmail.com

Indian Male 58yrs, Oman experi-

ence 31yrs in Multifunctional Man-

agement, Administration, Business

Development, Purchase & Opera-

tions, seeking suitable Manager/

Supervisory Position. Visa transfer/

NOC Available. GSM: 95036410

23 yrs old Pakistani bachelor in

accounts and marketing 3.5 yrsexp

2 yrsexp in Oman, looking for a job.

Contact- 99374062

Indian Male 33 looking for Scaf-

folding Supervisor vacancy in Oil &

Gas fi eld in Oman. Having 5 years

experience in CCC Qatar and 3 years

in Saudi” Contact 96155921

fysal.nellaya@gmail.com or

Sudanese/Bsc IT/26/2 years expe-

rience/excellent Eng-Arb speaking/

Omani driving license/96387227/

henrykarrar@gmail.com

Indian male, 34 yrs, ca inter pass,

with 14 yrs experience, is seeking

suitable placement, currently on

visit visa & ready to join immediate-

ly. Contact: 95585069 or 95630747

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 :93359371

ACCA affi liate,male,2.5 years expe-

rience in an audit fi rm in Finance &

Audit, looking for suitable immedi-

ate placement. Release available. #

95140445, a.saran891@gmail.com

Indian male 21 IT Engineer

Networking & Computer hardware

course 01 yr experience currently

on visit visa looking for suitable job.

Contact 96036273, E mail

faizanfarooqui23@gmail.com

Sales/ Marketing Executive : 35

years old Indian male, MBA, having

experiences in UAE and India in

sales and marketing fi eld, presently

on visit visa, looking for a suitable

job in Salalah or in Oman.

Contact 91233648

Well experienced hair dresser/

beautician required, visa available.

Contact – 96524717

Indian male, 14 yrs Experience in

Maintenance & Supervisor in hotel

fi eld ( Electrical . Ac Mechanical &

Plumber ) N O C available mob :

95 25 36 40 . email =

hareeshma24@yahoo.com

Indian female 25 yrs MBA fi nance

currently on visit visa seeks imme-

diate placement. # 9843 0089

FOR LADIES

Beauty package for vacation for

ladies 10/-R.O, 15/-R.O, 20/-R.O.

Contact : 99410160

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation. Contact 99077348

Pick & drop anytime.

Contact 96692774

Transportation Contact 99159277

Transportation. Contact:98505294

Transportation. Contact 99508282

Transport to ISWK. Contact

93172589

House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

Pick & Drop any time. Contact

97014786

DAILY GUIDEM O N D AY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 D7

DAILY GUIDESITUATION WANTEDCARGO

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise

with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain

Marine Tours Contact- 98029602,

92808636

RENT A CAR

TOURS

GOOD NEWS

Ayurvedic treatment for backache,

paralysis, arthritis etc & massage,

All Season (Vaidyaratnam).

Contact 24475280 / 95371554 /

92504980

www.siddhayur.com

Ayurvedic treatment for joint pain,

backache, paralysis massage, steam

bath, obesity, spondylitis IDEAL ,

CARE Ayurvedic Clinic 18 November

street, Azaiba. Contact 99639695 /

99117987

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

Taimour Ayurvedic Clinic, Ruwi

off ers genuine & eff ective treatment

for back pain, paralysis, cervical and

lumbar spondylitis, osteoarthritis,

joint pains, sinusitis, migraine, aller-

gic problems, varicose vein and all

other health related problems. Kerala

massage and rejuvenation package

available. For details please

Contact 92197920/ 24799689

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

D8 M O N D AY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

SITUATION WANT-SERVICES

A/C maintenance & servicing.

Fridge, washing machine & dish

washer repairing. Painting & clean-

ing services & electrical & plumb-

ing. Contact 99447257/97014234/

24504281

We do building maintenance all

kind of works. Contact 99247663

P.R.O services.

Contact 99368907

Electric, Plumbing, painting & all

kinds of building maintenance.

Contact 93896787 / 97924862

Sewage remove tanker sewage

tank cleaning & block remove all

maintenance sewage tanks. Con-

tact 97412505 / 98852238

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance.#ABU QABAS-

99320217 /24788722

House shifting packing. Contact 99657644/ 98518013

Water proofi ng ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

Carpet & sofa shampooing. Ocean

Centre LLC. Contact 99884591 /

92682970

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

A/C maintenance split A/C servic-

ing. RO. 10 only. Contact 94217681/

99210141

House shifting. Contact 99708138

Pest Control Treatments, Termites, Cockroaches, Bedbugs.

Contact Ocean Centre LLC.

Contact 99344723

WEB, ERP and Business Intelli-

gence (BI) creation and man-

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MATRIMONIAL

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I Mahendra Rajaram Dhotre, holder

of Passport No. F4636243 son of

Dhotre Rajaram Ganpat having per-

manent residence in Block No. 9/C,

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ently residing in Al Khuwair, intend

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Mahendra Rajaram Dhotre to

Mahendra Rayanand Dhotre for all

practical purpose. Any objection to-

wards my name change may please

be communicated to Embassy of

India, Muscat, Diplomatic Quarters,

Al Khuwair, P.O. Box 1727, Postal code

112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman.

Munir Ahmad has lost Pakistani

Passport No. AH 1161252. Finder

please handover to ROP

INSURANCE OMANS P E C I A L S U P P L E M E N T

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Oman’s government has been seeking to enhance the performance of the insurance sector by implementing new laws and regulations and introducing best global practices in the local market, with an aim to increase the sector’s contribution to the economy. In 2004, the responsi-bilities of the insurance sector were transferred to the Capital Market Authority (CMA) from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in order to develop and restructure the legislative and regulatory environment of this important sector.

Regulations Since then, the authority has is-sued a number of circulars, char-ters, laws and regulations deemed to best suit the requirements and specifi cities of the local market.

According to the directorate gen-eral in charge of supervising the insurance sector at CMA, total insurance premium in 2014 grew by 10 per cent (or OMR36.37 mil-lion) to touch OMR400.4 million, from OMR364 million in the pre-vious year.

At the regional level, Gulf Coop-eration Council (GCC) insurance industry almost tripled in value between 2006 and 2013, with insurance premiums increasing from $6.4 billion to $18.4 billion.

New requirements In order to strengthen the Omani insurance sector, Oman’s govern-ment has asked national insur-ance fi rms to fl oat shares on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) within three years, besides raising the minimum capital of insurance fi rms to OMR10 million from OMR5 million. Moody’s Investors Service has welcomed the initia-

tive, saying the new requirements will improve insurance compa-nies’ access to capital markets, enhance transparency and stabi-lise the insurance market overall.

Re-insurance The milestones in the insur-ance sector in Oman achieved by

the CMA include the establish-ment of the fi rst Omani company for reinsurance.

In 2009, the ‘Oman Reinsur-ance’ was established as the fi rst Omani company engaged in rein-surance with the aim of directing insurance services and increas-ing the proportion of insurance

premiums retained in the local economy.

In addition, the authority, in cooperation with international experts, prepared a draft law of Takaful insurance and its applica-tion mechanism in the Sultanate. The draft law was discussed with the Board of Directors, >2

Sultanate eyes boomin insurance sectorCourtesy new laws and regulations coupled

with best practices, Oman’s insurance sector

is set for growth with national insurance

fi rms on way to fl oat shares within three

years on the Muscat Securities Market

MEDICALINSURANCE GAININGCURRENCY

HEALTHCARE

Times News Service

Medical insurance, which is fast becoming a top priority for lo-cal insurance fi rms, showed a robust growth among diff erent types of insurance portfolios in Oman last year.

That is not only because the government has plans to make health insurance mandatory for the private sector, but also be-cause mounting health-care ex-penses are increasingly forcing them to ensure the well-being of their employees.

The tendency of companies to make arrangements with desig-nated clinics for providing health-care facilities is becoming a thing of the past, and a group medical coverage is now the norm, rather than the exception.

Employee medical insurance is a cashless scheme wherein the insurance company, which ties up with a network of hospitals/poly-clinics, gets volume business and the employees get access to cash-less healthcare facilities. Once the company pays its group medical premium, there is no administra-tive work for the company and all worries related to employee healthcare would rest with the insurance company and the con-cerned hospital.

Health insurance showed a ro-bust growth of 34 per cent with gross direct premium touching OMR78.1 million in 2014, com-pared to OMR58.2 million in the previous year. The national com-panies retained OMR69.4 million of the direct premiums compared to OMR8.6 million in the case of foreign fi rms.

It is not far to seek the reasons for a robust growth. Several cor-porate entities in Oman tend to provide health insurance for its employees, as well as off er group health insurance among workers for small and medium enterprises.

The direct premium collected by the insurers in the Sultan-ate grew by 10 per cent to hit OMR396.5 million in 2014 com-pared to OMR359.9 million in

2013. The retention rate in health insurance remained constant at 40 per cent in 2013, while vehicle insurance showed the highest re-tention rate at 87 per cent.

Retention rates in property, transport and engineering insur-ances are the lowest compared to other insurances with 7 per cent, 22 per cent and 23 per cent, re-spectively, in 2013 due to reinsur-ing the main portion of these risk with reinsurance fi rms.

As far as employee insurance is concerned, the tendency of companies to make arrange-ments with designated clinics for providing healthcare facili-ties is becoming a story of the past, and a group medical cover-age is now the norm, rather than the exception. > 3

Health insurance

for employees is

picking up steam

with several

corporate entities

in the Sultanate

providing health

insurance for

their employees,

as well as offer

group health

insurance for

workers in small

and medium

enterprises.

M O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

3

4

Medicalinsurancegainingcurrency

Bank Muscat and AIG partnership redefi nes bancassurance in Oman

which in turn sent the Takaful project to the Council of Min-isters for consideration and ap-proval.

In February 2015, it was an-nounced that the State Council had approved the draft Takaful Insurance Law to meet the de-mands of the nationals who want the insurance fund to be regulat-ed according to Islamic law and concepts.

Rising insurance ratesTackling the rising insurance rates of commercial vehicles (taxis, rental and driving school cars and gas distribution and water tankers) has also been one of the priorities of the CMA. The authority has amended some provisions of the unifi ed vehicle insurance in order to raise the level of controls and provisions governing the limits of the re-lationship between the insurer and the insured.

Another development in the insurance sector in Oman is the fact that the authority prepared regulations for insurance bro-kers, which were issued in June 2013.

As parts of its eff orts to further regulate the market, the CMA held discussions with parties involved about prices of replace-ment parts and vehicles’ repair-ing services as well as protecting policyholders.

Protecting policyholdersThe authority, through the de-partment of policyholders’ pro-tection, receives complaints from policyholders against in-surance companies and brokers operating in the Sultanate, and then studies and analyses these complaints.

Development of national workforce in the sector has been high on the agenda of the authority which holds training programmes in association with renowned institutes to enhance the skills and knowledge of local employees.

E-link Another noteworthy achieve-ment has been the creation of an electronic link between in-surance companies and Royal Oman Police (ROP) in line with the eff orts regarding transition

to e-governance. The system creates a joint

electronic database between the ROP and the insurance compa-nies on the traffi c history of each vehicle owner, through which in-surance companies will be able to retrieve accurate data on vehi-cle owners.

The system allows for deter-mination of fair premiums for prudent drivers which would encourage self- regulation and compliance with traffi c rules. It would bring benefi ts to prudent drivers and reduce the losses that insurance companies suff er.

Social Insurance LawThe insurance industry in Oman has a long history. The Social Insurance Law and its amend-ments came into eff ect on July 1,

CONT INUAT I ON

< FROM

1 Sultanate eyes boo

Aiming to be among the most preferred insur-ers in Oman, Falcon Insurance Company intends to strengthen

its presence across the country by opening a few more offi ces. Estab-lished in 2005, Falcon Insurance Company today is one of the lead-ing insurance fi rms in Oman. Ear-lier a part of AI Ittihad Al Watani Insurance Company, they are now a subsidiary of Al Anwar Holding Company, which is the single larg-est shareholder with about 51 per cent share. The fi rm has the backing of a number of A-rated reinsurers and has developed a growing port-folio of local and international risks. This was stated by A R Srinivasan, general manager, Falcon Insurance Company in an interview. With its headquarters in Qurum, Falcon In-surance has branches in Seeb, Sohar and Nizwa. A branch in Salalah is also expected to begin operations.

Their staff strength is around 80 with 60 per cent Omanisation. The need to reach 65 per cent Omanisa-tion by the end of this year and they are well on target since talks are un-derway with local educational insti-tutions to recruit fresh talent. Excerpts from the interview:

Insurance policies on off erFalcon’s motor insurance policy broadly covers the loss or damage sustained by the insured vehicles,

their accessories and spare parts which are an integral part of the ve-hicle in case of an accident or any other kind of damages. Corporate entities with a number of vehicles prefer to insure them as a fl eet. One groups them together because one gets various benefi ts. As an indi-vidual car owner, that rating would be based on the whole market. How-ever, when you have your own big group, you can get better advantage with respect to the terms and condi-tions, premium rates etc. Falcon has a strong presence in the commercial vehicle insurance sphere and more than half of our motor business comprises corporate fl eets and cor-porate customers.

In terms of individual cars, we do a fair bit of individual business - both on comprehensive and third-party liability. These covers can be taken with additional covers as well. That being said, we are open to all kinds of covers based on the mini-mum market requirements.

Workman’sCompensation LawIn terms of employees, there’s a Workman’s Compensation Law which stipulates the minimum com-pensation in terms of work-related injuries and sickness. Nowhere does it clearly state that there should be a minimum insurance. However, by and large, all corporate entities do take out some sort of minimum in-

surance. So that is where you start the minimum Workman’s Com-pensation Law. This comprises 36 months’ salary, for death or disabil-ity. The minimum compensation covers only work-related injuries, but going by the market, most em-ployees get this policy extended to cover other kind of accidents even if it is not work-related. And there are an increasing number of employers who extend the insurance to group life policies which cover natural death as well.

Market competition Since 2004 and up to 2010, every year has seen the launch of at least one (if not two) insurance fi rms. And that has led to an increase in the competition. It is not as if there have been no losses in Oman. In June 2007, there was a cyclone, which was the ideal time for the market

to start charging better premium. Unfortunately, we had more compa-nies coming in. So the cycle levelled out instead of peaking. It went down further in the next few years, until 2010, when we had Phet. That trig-gered a new growth cycle, but since there were many new companies that had just opened and they were applying the same premium rates as was prevalent in their home mar-kets, that again stopped the growth cycle.

Slowly the market also began los-ing re-insurance support. The year 2012 saw some levelling of rates. Along with all this and the global economic meltdown that started in 2008, the investment income has also substantially reduced and it has aff ected businesses. Apart from the competition, a particular law also changed, wherein one did not need a police report for a claim in a motor

accident unless somebody was in-jured. That coupled with high infl a-tion in the last four years, which im-plies an increase in the cost of spare parts and repairs, has resulted in added pressures on the bottom line.

So, the time has come for com-panies to introspect and fi nd the best ways to run their businesses. The CMA has also been working on certain benefi cial policies for the common man. The unifi ed policy has been changed again. All this will come at a cost and the insurance companies will have to check their own fi gures and premium rates will surely go up.

Falcon’s USPIn this market, because of the in-tense competition on the one side and the off -take of insurance prod-ucts being very low on the other side, most of the insurance compa-

nies are barely exceeding anything than the minimum requirement. Having said that, we are still a small company and we take our customers very seriously.

Our USP is that we have a per-sonalised service which is at the same time, highly professional. If at any time, a customer is faced with a loss, he should be back in business within the shortest time possible. That is the kind of commitment we strive for.

Future plans? From a vision point of view, what we are working on is to be the pre-ferred insurer. We do not want to be the number one in size, but we want to be the number one in choice. In terms of distribution channels, we are planning to open a few more of-fi ces to cater to the other parts of the Sultanate.

Falcon Insurance Company aims to be insurer of choiceFalcon’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

is their personalised service which is at the

same time, highly professional, because

it endeavours to put a customer back in

business within the shortest possible time, a

commitment they have striven for since they

began operations in 2005

M O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 52

HIGHLIGHTS Falcon has the

backing of numerous A-rated reinsurers and has developed a growing portfolio of local and international risks

Falcon does not want to be the number one in size, but wants to be the number one in terms of choice

Falcon has a strong presence in commercial vehicle insurance and more than half of their motor business comprises corporate fl eets

Falcon’s motor insurance policy

broadly covers the loss or

damage sustained by the insured

vehicles, their accessories and

spare parts which are an integral

part of the vehicle in case of an

accident or any other kind of

damages. Corporate entities with

a number of vehicles prefer to

insure them as a fleet.

HIGHLIGHTS Capital Market Authority running insurance sector

since 2004

Total insurance premium OMR400.4 million in 2014

GCC insurance industry grows three times its size in 2006

Insurance premium rises to $18.4 billion.

National insurance fi rms to fl oat shares on MSM within 3 years

Oman Reinsurance, established in 2009, directing insurance services

State Council approved draft Takaful Insurance Law

Insurance fi rms and ROP share common database

INSURANCE OMAN

A R SrinivasanGeneral manager

CONT INUAT I ON

< FROM

1

m in insurance sector

Medical insurance gaining currency

M O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 3

The Sultanate has been consid-ering the introduction of compul-sory medical insurance for expa-triate workers for the past three to four years, like Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. However, no deci-sion has been taken so far.

If it happens, insurance com-panies in the Sultanate would get a huge additional business. For instance, the premium income of Saudi Arabia’s medical insurance market is worth SAR700 million to SAR1 billion, thanks to its gov-ernment’s decision on compul-sory insurance.

Within the next two years, al-most 90 per cent of companies in Oman are expected to go in for group medical insurance for their employees. The market is grow-ing, especially after expatriates moved out of government hos-pitals to private health centres. This is one of the growth areas for insurance companies.

More than 10 local companies, including outfi ts of multinational fi rms, are currently off ering em-ployee group medical insurance to the Sultanate’s corporate cli-ents. The employer is not too sure whether the bills are reasonable and justifi ed. By taking a group medical scheme, the company is outsourcing this work. Compa-nies across the world prefer to go for a group medical plan than do it its own. Further, the insurance companies or the third party ad-ministrators (TPAs) are in a bet-ter position to negotiate with hos-pitals or polyclinics for bringing down medical expenses in view of volume business.

Another advantage of group medical insurance is that employ-ees with group insurance cover will have the option to choose from sev-eral hospitals/polyclinics spread across the country. If the arrange-ment is with only one clinic, those living in far off places would have to travel a lot to visit the company ap-pointed clinic.

However, a group medical insur-ance scheme has its limitations as well. The company which takes a group medical policy has to pay the

lump sum premium in advance, which aff ects liquidity.

Moreover, insurance companies stipulate several conditions at the time of entering into an arrange-ment with companies, in an ap-parent move to reduce medical ex-penses. The tendency of insurance fi rms to undercut premium and get quotations from several clinics for inpatient treatment aff ects the quality of treatment.

Insurance companies generally take into account the number of employees and the total medical expense of companies in the previ-ous year, to determine the group premium for the fi rst time.

Unlike insurance cover for ac-cident or fi re, the frequency of claims is high in medical schemes and the general tendency is a growth in medical expenses in every passing year.

HIGHLIGHTS Companies having tie-ups with designated clinics for

providing health-care facilities is becoming a thing of the past

Gross direct premium in health insurance touched OMR78.1 million in 2014, compared to OMR58.2 million in the previous year

The market is growing, especially after expatriates moved out of government hospitals to private health centres

In the next two years, almost 90 per cent of companies are expected to go in for group medical insurance for employees.

Tendency of insurance fi rms to undercut premium and get quotations from several clinics for inpatient treatment aff ects quality of treatment.

1992. One of its articles stipulat-ed that a public authority shall be formed under the name of ‘Public Authority for Social Insurance’ to implement this law. The law aims at providing social protec-tion and ensuring peace of mind and social stability for the in-sured and his or her dependents.

Oman InsuranceAssociationAdditionally, Oman Insurance Association (OIA) was estab-lished in 2010 based on a deci-sion by the Ministry of Social Development. The OIA is a trade body consisting of insurance companies, insurance brokers and loss adjusters and others li-censed by the CMA. The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) recently announced that during the fi rst

quarter of 2015, the expendi-ture on social benefi ts such as pension, health insurance and education was not aff ected by the drop in global oil prices.

Digital solutions To facilitate access to insurance-related services, companies in Oman have been working on new initiatives to bring the services closer to clients by using digital solutions. For instance, Al Ma-dina Takaful recently launched an advanced mobile application, mInsurance.

The new app, which is the fi rst-of-its-kind in Oman, promises to be a benchmark in the industry and will enable the company to stay closer to customers, com-municate with them, serve them and also educate them on new

Takaful products, company offi -cials have said.

The mobile app is packed with many features that enable buying and renewal of policies, eff ort-less claim processing, generating quotes, identifying locations of branches, garages and hospitals and much more.

Self-service kiosksThe company has also intro-duced self-service kiosks that will be set up at key locations in Oman to help consumers avail services quickly, easily and round-the-clock, ably supported by a dedicated call-centre facil-ity. These achievements are all part of collective eff orts in the country to make the insurance sector, which is a growth driver, more competitive.

INSURANCE OMAN

Bankmuscat, the fl ag-ship fi nancial services provider in the Sultan-ate, as part of its com-mitment to providing

bespoke bancassurance products, has a 10-year strategic agreement with American International Group (AIG), under which AIG is the exclusive provider of non-life insurance products to Bank Mus-cat customers in Oman.

The bancassurance collabora-tion with AIG has helped Bank Muscat to enhance the value proposition to customers through this dynamic channel. The part-nership serves as an excellent

opportunity to provide a superior experience to the bank’s customer base, with a focus to meeting their evolving insurance requirements over the long term.

AIG, one of the world’s largest insurers, is a major bancassur-ance provider with key relation-ships with leading banks around the globe. AIG’s strong commit-ment and investment in the part-nership with Bank Muscat has benefi ted customers with world-class insurance coverage and ser-vice through innovative distribu-tion channels.

The value-added AIG bancas-surance products for Bank Mus-

cat’s individual and family cus-tomers include motor insurance, accident and health products. The series of premium bancassurance products are targeted at family protection, home contents pro-tection and coverage for critical illness.

Critical Illness PlanThe Critical Illness Plan provides comprehensive coverage against eventualities, including cancer, stroke or heart attack, ensuring fi nancial peace of mind during rehabilitation. A cash lump sum is paid to help cope through the re-covery phase.

Family Protection PlanThe Family Protection Plan is aimed at helping deal with ca-tastrophe by easing the fi nancial hardship on family in the most diffi cult situations. Customers re-ceive a cash lump sum to pay for whatever they need the most dur-ing catastrophes.

Home ContentsInsurance PlanFurnishing and fi lling your home with treasured possessions can take a lifetime. But accidents can happen when you least expect them, including fl oods and other natural disasters. Whether you

are a homeowner or a tenant, the Home Contents Insurance Plan means total peace of mind.

Motor InsuranceMotor Insurance gives peace of mind, knowing your daily life will not get disrupted, should you be

unfortunate to have an incident with your vehicle. The best-in-class car insurance service from the global experts guarantees that you are never left stranded.

The Oman insurance market which recorded 15 per cent aver-age growth in the last fi ve years is projected to grow at a rate of 18 per cent in the next fi ve years. With global insurance partners like AIG, Bank Muscat is in a po-sition to off er unique insurance products catering to all customer needs. The bank’s largest distri-bution footprint and the global knowhow of AIG add signifi cant value for the partnership.

Bank Muscat and AIG partnership redefi nes bancassurance in Oman

M O N DAY, M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 54

The value-added AIG bancassurance products

for Bank Muscat’s individual and family

customers include motor insurance, accident and

health products.

Free vehicle AC check for Mitsubishi, Fuso owners

With the hot summer months just around the corner, General Au-tomotive Company, the offi cial distributors of Mitsubishi vehi-cles in Oman, recently launched a two-month free air-conditioning check-up campaign for all Mit-subishi and Fuso vehicle owners in Oman. The complimentary service campaign will continue till July 4.

Commenting on the importance of maintaining the vehicle AC in good working order, Rajesh Shar-ma, national marketing manager of General Automotive Company, said: “In a country like Oman and with summer nearing its hottest period, the AC in your vehicle is just as important as the AC at home. After all, what some may not realise is that the AC system in a vehicle car does not simply blow cold air in; it is actually de-signed to also remove hot air from within the vehicle cabin and dis-pel it to atmosphere outside. As a result it is a very complex system that relies on a number of compo-nents to operate effi ciently. Like all mechanical parts, these items are prone to wear and regular system servicing helps to protect them. While AC repairs can range from simple cleaning to a more complex mechanical procedure, it is vital to take care of any minor concerns as early as possible to avoid any seri-ous problems and an expensive fi x in the future. With our free AC check we can detect these prob-lems early and free of charge while the discounts on off er makes fi xing them all the more aff ordable.”

The complimentary AC check-up includes diagnostics and gen-eral health checks and will also suggest remedial measures, if required, to achieve optimum performance and comfort tem-perature.

The service centre is also of-fering discounts of up to 45% on all AC related parts and 35% on labour during the campaign. Mit-

subishi owners are invited to get their vehicles checked and can pre-book the service by phone or by visiting their local Mitsubishi service centre.

“At GAC, we have always fol-lowed the customer-fi rst approach and in keeping with that philoso-phy, we like to go that extra mile to ensure our service matches and exceeds all expectations. Such campaigns perfectly complement the capabilities of our factory ap-proved service centres and well-trained staff ; thereby off ering our customers the best possible value in terms of a total ownership ex-perienceas well as showcasing the complete ‘peace of mind servic-ing’ capabilities available at our Mitsubishi and Fuso service net-work throughout the Sultanate,” added Rajesh.

The annual free AC check is just one of the many benefi ts that Mitsubishi vehicle owners enjoy.For more information on the service campaign or to book your car in for a check-up, call 24 500 500 or visit your nearest Mit-subishi Showroom. Customers can also visit Mitsubishi’s local website at www.mitsubishioman.com or follow the brand on its ‘Mitsubishi Oman’ facebook page or twitter @mitsubishioman.

E X C I T I N G O F F E R

GAC is offering

discounts of up

to 45% on all AC

related parts and

35% on labour as

well till July 4

INSURANCE OMAN