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International tourist inflow to Oman set to rise 14%

ELHAM [email protected]

SAINT MALO (FRANCE): A healthy 14 per cent rise in the number of foreign tourists visit-ing Oman this year is expected, a senior official of the Ministry of Tourism has said.

“Last year, we had about 2.2 million tourists visiting Oman, and the number has remained healthy so far this year. We are looking to an average of a 14 per

cent increase compared to last year,” Maitha Al Mahrouqi, under-secretary of the Ministry of Tour-ism, told the Times of Oman.

Big contributor to GDPAccording to Al Mahrouqi, the di-rect contribution of tourism to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) was 2.6 per cent through the end of 2013, and indirect con-tribution was 6.4 per cent.

“It is our mission to increase it,” she said.

Al Mahrouqi also stated that the ministry will increase the num-ber of its representative offices in other countries.

These offices now cover many countries, including France, Brit-ain, Germany, Holland and Swit-

zerland, she noted. She made her comments following a ceremony in Saint Malo, in which Oman’s national flag was handed over to Sidney Gavignet, the French skipper of Musandam-Oman Sail boat, who is participating in the Route du Rhum race.

Stopover visa soonThe initiative to issue 72-hour visas to passengers transiting through Oman is in its final stages and will hopefully be announced

soon, she said. “The objective of the Ministry of Tourism is to promote Oman as a destination through such initiatives,” said Al Mahrouqi.

Significant cooperationShe further said that there has been significant cooperation, in terms of developing the stopover programme in Oman between all stakeholders, including Oman Air, hotels, tour operators and the im-migration authority. >A2

S T E A D Y G R O W T H

His Majesty sends greetingsMUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of greetings to President Juan Carlos Varela of Panama on the occasion of his country’s National Day.

In his cable, His Majesty the Sul-tan expressed his sincere greetings and best wishes to President Varela and his country’s friendly people.

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has also sent a cable of con-gratulations to Sir Rodney Errey Lawrence Williams, Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda on the occasion of his country’s Independence Anniversary.

In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan expressed his sincere con-gratulations and best wishes to Sir Rodney Williams and his coun-try’s friendly people. -ONA

C A B L E S

A6Mega wave hit coast 4,500 years ago

OMANMother cannot be sponsor of children

2The rules in Oman (as they exist today) do not allow sponsorship of

children by mothers. Similarly, wife is not allowed to sponsor husband on joining visa while the vice versa is allowed. >A3

OMANWomen want more management slots

3Both men and women agree that a quota for management positions

in the work place would be fair, though their opinions are divided on how to enforce the quotas. >A5

OMANAirlines roll out their lean season offers

1Airlines operating in Muscat including Oman Air have slashed return fares

to several destinations across Europe, Asia and the Middle East to woo travellers during the lean season. >A2

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

SPREADING SAIL: The Ministry of Tourism plans to increase the number of its representative of-

fices in other countries. – Supplied photo

‘Oman has a lot to gain from GCC-wide visa’

REJIMON [email protected]

MUSCAT: A unified tourist visa in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will be a boon for Oman’s tourism sector, repre-sentatives of tourism and hospi-tality sector in the Sultanate said.

Recently, the GCC interior ministers at their meeting in Ku-wait discussed plans to introduce a Schengen-style unified visa for tourists and businessmen from 35 Arab and other countries.

Abdullah Al Saddi from the Ministry of Tourism told the Times of Oman that Oman will benefit from the unified GCC visa initiative as it is close to Dubai, a hub that attracts many tourists.

Al Saddi added it will also help ease the visa process for tourists.

Travels agents, too, feel the tourism sector in Oman will see

a boom if such a visa regime is introduced.

Renny Johnson, executive di-rector at Mezoon Travels, said, “If a unified GCC tourism visa is introduced, Oman will ben-efit the most, compared to other GCC countries. The Sultanate’s untouched natural beauty will at-tract more and more tourists. Its serene climate and friendly peo-ple provide just the right mix for a relaxed holiday. More visitors means more business and more money. Oman’s tourism sector will see a boom when the unified tourist visa is introduced.”

Recently, Samira Al Gharib, as-sistant undersecretary for tour-ism at the Kuwaiti Ministry of Trade, told a Kuwaiti local daily that plans for a “unified tourism visa” are being considered by GCC interior ministries, which will be responsible for visa-relat-ed formalities.

According to the Kuwaiti of-ficial, the unified visa targets fre-quent visitors to the GCC. How-ever, the official said that there are many hurdles to overcome ahead of the new proposal.

“A unified tourism visa will definitely stimulate traffic and tourism activities in the region. When people will be able to en-joy the facility to cross the border without much hassle and enjoy its diversity, the economy will boom,” Raji Demonte, general manager at Universal Travel and Tourism, said.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) 2014 report, the travel and tour-ism’s direct contribution to GDP was OMR982.8m (3.0 per cent of total GDP) in 2013, and is forecast to rise by 10.2 per cent in 2014, and 5.4 per cent per an-num between 2014 and 2024, to OMR1,834.2m (3.9 per cent of to-tal GDP) in 2024. >A2

GCC interior ministers recently discussed

a Schengen-style unified visa for tourists

from 35 Arab and other countries

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No increase in visa fee as yet, says ROP

FAHAD AL [email protected]

MUSCAT: No hike is being ef-fected in the visa issuance and visa renewal fees for expatriates in Oman as of now, a Royal Oman Police official has clarified.

An official at the ROP told the Times of Oman that the ROP had just put forward a proposal about such a fee hike before the con-cerned authorities. “It is only the Ministry of Legal Affairs which has the right to approve the hike in visa fee,” the official said, but gave no further details.

As of now, a student visa, fam-ily joining visa and a visit visa costs OMR20 and the investor fee is collected by the Ministry of Manpower, according to the ROP’s website. >A3

P R O P O S A L M A D E

Source: Ministry of Tourism Graphics

Number of foreign tourists

2014First six months

2013

47,000

26,000

French tourists

2.2million

Touristsvisiting Omanduring 2013

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OMANAirlines come out with lean season offers to lure touristsTimes News Network

MUSCAT: Airlines operating in Muscat have slashed return fares to several destinations across Eu-rope, Asia and the Middle East to woo travellers during the lean travel season.

National carrier Oman Air is offering 25 per cent discounts on economy class and business class tickets to more than 25 destina-tions worldwide, not including taxes, surcharges, and service fees.

25 per cent discount“This 25 per cent discount is ap-plicable on select routes and select booking classes. Only limited seats are available on promotional fares on ticket sales from October 27 to

November 2, and the validity of the travel is from October 27 to March 20,” a leading city travel agent said.

The airline has announced a No-vember discounted offer in which customers can fly to Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur for OMR299. The package includes return Oman Air flight from Muscat, three nights in a twin share room in a 4-star hotel, buffet breakfasts, airport transfers and all taxes. Oman Air also intro-duced Manila holidays package at OMR359 per person and Jakarta holidays packages from OMR310. The package includes return di-rect flights on Oman Air, three nights accommodation in twin share rooms in 4-star hotels, daily buffet breakfasts and airport taxes and surcharges.

Meanwhile, Doha based Qatar Airways is also offering a 25 per cent discount on select destina-tions across Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas. “The promotions, which started on Oc-tober 28, will run until November 3,” said Qatar Airways Country Manager Oman, Joegendra Raja-durai. All travel has to be complet-ed before December 10.

Earlier this week, Qatar Airways was offering customers a “fabu-lous double-the-luxury offer.” Passengers booking one business class ticket were receiving a sec-ond business class ticket for free.

“This was in celebration of the first anniversary of joining One World Global Alliance, Qatar Air-ways,” he added.

The offer ended on October 31. Commenting on the offers, Qatar Airways Senior Vice-President Commercial – Qatar, Ehab Amin, said: “It is our constant endeavour to provide our customers with en-ticing and exciting incentives.”

Advantage of the offerQatar Airways’ customers can take advantage of this offer by visiting any Qatar Airways sales office, travel partners or online at qata-rairways.com.

This offer also allows Qatar Air-ways’ Frequent Flyer Programme – Privilege Club members the op-portunity to earn a 50 per cent bonus of Qmiles on their travel by simply registering at least 24 hours before their journey begins.

B O N A N Z A

Oman welcomes hosting of Iran nuclear dialogue

MUSCAT: Oman has “wel-comed” the hosting of talks be-tween US Secretary of State John Kerry, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in Oman on November 9 and 10 to discuss the Iranian nuclear issue, the Sul-tanate’s Ministry for Foreign Af-fairs has said.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs statement said, “The Sultanate of Oman welcomes

hosting the prospective meeting between John Kerry, US Sec-retary of State and Mohammed Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Catharine Ashton, Special Advi-sor of the Negotiations with Iran in the EU scheduled to take pace in Muscat on November 9.”

The meeting is part of the 5+1 group and Islamic Republic of Iran talks about the Iranian nuclear issue.

“While the Sultanate welcomes

the organisation of this meeting, it looks forward that this meeting will be an additional step forward towards ending the dispute about the Iranian nuclear file to save the region and the world crisis and conflicts’ risks,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement added.

Iranian official hails OmanAli Akbar Vilayati, chairman of the Strategic Studies Centre at The Expediency Discernment Coun-cil of the System at the Islamic Republic of Iran, hailed the role played by the Sultanate in settling outstanding issues and disputes in the region and the world.

At a press conference in Teh-ran, he said “Oman has been and is still playing a positive role towards Iran.

“This role was much felt through the mediation between Iran and America on one hand and Iran and other countries on the other hand to solve outstand-ing issues and disputes.

“Oman spares no effort to as-sist Iran, thus we believe that the Sultanate of Oman enjoys a spe-cial status in Iran, that is totally different from the status of other countries with Iran.” -ONA

While the Sultanate of Oman welcomes

the hosting of this meeting, it looks

forward to this meeting becoming a step

forward towards ending the dispute on

the Iranian nuclear issue, and to save

the region and world from crisis and

conflicts, the Foreign Ministry said

French tourists

“So, hopefully this will start as a good platform and will be re-viewed on a regular basis to have more countries participating, ac-cording to how many countries Oman Air has direct flights to,” the official said, adding that the initiative is in its final stages.

Commenting on the ministry’s efforts to promote Oman’s tour-ism in France as a major market, she said that 47,000 French citi-zens visited the Sultanate last year, and that figure is expected to be higher this year.

“In the first six months of 2014, around 26,000 French citizens visited Oman, and we are expecting that number to increase in the third and fourth quarter of this year,” she added.

Asked if any ‘visa on arrival’ initiative will be introduced for Omanis visiting France, Al Mah-rouqi said that it is linked to the nation’s foreign affairs and au-thorities are looking into it.

However, she said that the process for Omani visitors to France is quite simple and peo-ple are not facing visa problems.

T O U R I S M

< FROM

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A1 Unified visa move hailedMeanwhile, representatives of the hospitality sector also wel-comed the move. “It is a very posi-tive move. A unified visa will defi-nitely promote regional tourism. For example, people from different GCC countries come to Salalah, a unique tourism place in the entire GCC, during the winter season. If a unified tourist visa is introduced, we can expect more tourists,” Ma-

nuel Levonian, general manager at Crowne Plaza in Salalah, said.

Recent statistics show that the total number of guests staying at four and five star hotels in the Sultanate witnessed a significant increase, 20.7 per cent, in the first half of 2014, registering a total of 368,764 guests, compared with 305,573 guests during the same pe-riod in 2013. The total revenue for

four and five star hotels also grew by 8.7 per cent during the same pe-riod, rising to OMR86.337 million, compared with OMR79.459 mil-lion at the end of June 2013.

Occupancy rates also regis-tered an increase of 5.3 per cent, rising to 64.6 per cent by the end of June 2014, compared with a 61.3 per cent occupancy recorded during the same period in 2013.

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

Oman has been and is still playing a positive role towards Iran. This role was much

felt through the mediation between Iran and America on one hand and Iran and

other countries on the other hand to solve outstanding issues and disputes

Ali Akbar Vilayati, Iranian official

A3

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Oman varsity plan in top gearTimes News Service

MUSCAT: The project office of Oman University has decided to involve the society with the initial plans for the academic structure and the proposed scientific programmes for the upcoming varsity.

A seminar was held to high-light the community’s contribu-

tion in the initial planning of the university. The seminar was held under the auspices of Dr Rawya bint Saud Al Busaidi, Minister of Higher Education in presence of Dr. Sheikh Khattab bin Ghalib Al Hinai, a member of the State Council and the main academic advisor of Oman University pro-ject besides members of the com-mittees of Oman University.

The seminar offered a chance to exchange experiences with specialists, experts and associ-ates to obtain suggestions and opinions as well as to expand the community’s participation in line with the future of local and regional needs of the Sultanate and achieve the lofty vision of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos to create Oman University.

A C A D E M I C P L A N S

Visa fee hike

Ahmed Al Hoti from the Oman Chamber for Commerce and Industry (OCCI) told the Times of Oman that a slight increase in the investors’ visas will not affect the investment atmos-phere in the Sultanate.

Al Hoti added that inves-tors have the same visa fees in all grades of the institutions and the fee is same as in other GCC countries.

Mohammed Mustafa, Egyp-tian resident, said that he can-not afford to pay more for visa fees. “My wife and three of my children study in Oman. My sal-ary barely covers our expendi-tures and I hope that the visa fee hike is not too much,” he said.

Ahmed Al Hatmi, a business-man, felt that it is better not to raise the visa fees because it affects small and medium busi-nesses. “In case of the visa fee is raised, we will have to pay more towards our workers’ families visas and will have to cut down workers’ numbers as well to avoid losses,” Ahmed said.

I N V E S T O R S I S S U E

< FROM

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The investors have the same fees in all grades and it is same in all GCC countries

I am an Indian woman working in Oman for the last eight months. My six-year-old son is in India staying with my parents. Since my parents are aged they are finding it difficult to take care of him. My husband is out of station most of the time so he too cannot pay attention to him. My question is, as a mother, can I sponsor my son? My company is not willing to help. I am in-terested in furthering my career as well as bringing up my son here. Please offer me guidance in this regard.

The rules in Oman (as they exist today) do not allow sponsorship of children by mothers. For sponsoring children, both parents shall be resident in Oman and only the father is allowed to sponsor the children (below 21 years). You may note that the visa itself is named “family joining” and not “guardian joining”. Simi-larly, wife is not allowed to sponsor husband on joining

visa while the vice versa is allowed, subject to specific terms and conditions. Nev-ertheless, the Royal Oman Police authorities have the right to grant exemption to any rule provided you are able to convince the ROP of your peculiar circumstances.

Mother cannot sponsor child L E G A L C O L U M N

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

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this column are for general guid-ance 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 specific legal issues. Times of Oman and Khalifa Al Hi-nai Advocates & Legal Consultancy do not assume any responsibility towards anyone on this matter.

Women to train for emergencies

MUSCAT: The Ministry of Health is all set to train women to treat home injuries and deal with emergencies.

“Training women is very es-sential to the community since they often encounter emergency health situations. The training workshop will teach them ways to handle cases promptly and ap-propriately,” a release from the Ministry of Health said.

The workshop organised by the Directorate General of Health Service, Governorate of Muscat will be held on November 4 and practical training session will be held from November 9 to 12.

“This course provides a frame-work for learning basic skills that may save a life or prevent further injury. It will acquaint the train-ees with the immediate care to be given to victim before advanced medical care providers take over. First aid may help victim recover soon or more quickly and is often the difference between life and death. Most of the time, one is able to provides first aid for minor illnesses or injuries and may also provide first aid for more serious illnesses or injuries, such as a heart attack or major bleeding,” said the press statement.

The objective of the workshop is to spread knowledge about first aid among members of the community, integrate the com-munity with the medical staff and enhance its ability to address and communicate, convey the idea of dealing with cases of child health and increase public awareness about some of the health risks and ways to deal with these.

It will also provide health edu-cation to the community. The im-pact of the course will be meas-ured by conducting researches and a statistical follow up about

cases of morbidity and mortal-ity throughout the year referred by the health institutions. Also, it will help end malpractices that have become more common in community.

Women from all segments of society including business own-ers, school teachers and house wives can attend, said the release.

Women will be trained to treat medical emergencies that require immediate action like breathing problems, choking in case of an adult, allergic reactions, heart attack, fainting, diabetes and low blood sugar, stroke, seizure and shock .

They will trained to treat vis-ible bleeding, wounds, invisible bleeding, head, neck, and spine in-juries, broken bones and sprains, burns and electrical injuries.

Bits and stings, heat–related, cold–related and poison emer-gencies will be dealt with.

Also among the techniques to be taught will be ways to admin-ister cardiopulmonary resuscita-tion and automated external de-fibrillator for adults and children as well as ways to help a choking child and infant.

The Ministry of

Health will host

workshop to train

women to be able to

treat home injuries

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OMAN 1,000 health experts are expected to participate in the World Innovation Summit for Health in Qatar next year

National Business Centre to hold Entrepreneurs Boot CampTimes News Service

MUSCAT: In order to provide an opportunity to Omani entrepre-neurs, employees and students, the National Business Centre (NBC) has announced the first-ev-er Entrepreneurs’ Boot Camp to be conducted at the Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) from November 16 to 20. The National Business Center was established in 2012 as an initiative of the Public Industri-al Estates (PEIE) to support start ups. The NBC started its opera-tions in 2013 as a mixed incubator and hosts over 16 start up compa-nies in ICT, Design, consultancy and social entrepreneurship.

To instil best practices, the NBC has partnered with Oasis 500 in Jordan to run the first joint boot camp in Oman.

The objective behind this first

joint boot camp in Oman is to pro-mote entrepreneurship by select-ing the best ideas from a group of 60 entrepreneurs. The deadline for submitting the ideas is November 9. It also hopes to expose Omani entrepreneurs to a wider range of tools as well as networks to grow their business within the region.

Since commencing its opera-tions in September 2010 in Jor-dan, Oasis500 has invested in 74 technology companies, an initia-tive unmatched by any other in-vestment fund in the region.

Many of those companies se-cured additional follow up on in-vestments of more than $18 mil-lion with the help of Oasis500, which has trained more than 1,500 people (selected from more than 4,700 applicants) in 19 boot camps.

Oasis500 has a proven model that covers and integrates all com-

ponents of the investment/ac-celeration supply chain. This has been further augmented by Oa-sis500 expansion strategy in the Middle East and North Africa, cur-rently in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, with plans that include Palestine, Morocco and Tunisia.

Business aspectsThe NBC and Oasis500 training boot camp will cover all main busi-ness aspects, including business modelling, financials, pitching, facilitation and marketing, among others. It is designed to prepare entrepreneurs for the upcoming stages in their journey to create a successful start up.

A key focus of the boot camp is investments and finance. Many entrepreneurs lack the necessary knowledge as it relates to financing their ideas. The boot camp tackles

finance issues such as financial terminology, equity shares, in-vestment, income statements and key financial concepts, as well as sources of capital and funding.

Additionally, the boot camp helps entrepreneurs in under-standing the role that marketing plays in achieving the full poten-tial of their start ups. This includes marketing strategy, techniques, ef-fective tools, practical experiences, branding, innovation and creative thinking. Of course, business mod-elling is also covered and includes examples from real-life business models of world-renowned compa-nies. Entrepreneurs are required to make the investment pitch for their start ups several times. To that end, the boot camp focuses on how to pitch for investors effectively. En-trepreneurs will get the chance to practice their pitches and receive

helpful feedback. Throughout the training, the boot camp hosts a number of guest entrepreneurs to share their experiences, skills, tips and advice.

Entrepreneurs will have the chance to network with some great entrepreneurs who have made it in the real world and learn from their experiences first-hand. The boot camp is a five day event that will be held at the NBC headquarters in KOM. “We welcome all private entities, targeting to support small and medium enterprises (SME) to be a part of this great initiative,” organisers said.

Applications can be filed online at www.nbcoasis500.com

Doors are open to all Omanis who would like to participate with their creative ideas and those who want to learn more about entre-preneurship. This initiative was

designed to achieve maximum benefits from outstanding entre-preneurs around the globe. The NBC aims to incubate creativity and innovation and transform that into a tangible reality, and to also encourage young entrepreneurs to improve their skills and explore their potential.

It will add to their knowledge in order to be able to establish suc-cessful and sustainable businesses that will have a positive impact on the community as a whole, and will play an essential role in contribut-ing to the national economy.The NBC-organised Oasis500 boot camp has been made pos-sible by the generous support of sponsors from within Oman, in-cluding BP Oman, ITA, Jusoor, Orpic, Oman Oil, Omran, Omantel, PASMID, Sohar Aluminium and Zeenah Group.

E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P

Route du Rhum sails offELHAM [email protected]

SAINT MALO (France): The tenth edition of the legendary Route du Rhum sailing race got under way in Saint Malo, France, on Sunday with the participation of the flagship boat of the Sultan-ate, Musandam-Oman Sail.

The theoretical course from Saint Malo to Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, is 3,542 miles and the record is 7 days 17 hours 19 minutes. The Omani boat is being skippered by well-known French sailor, Sidney Gavignet, and will line up against 10 other giant

multi-hulls in the ‘Ultime Class.’ Speaking to the Times of Oman, David Graham, chief executive officer of Oman Sail, said that the event is very important in pro-moting Oman in France as many visitors come to watch the event every four years.

France is a target for Oman and Oman Air has direct flights between Muscat and Paris, so the race is ‘strategic’ to the Ministry

of Tourism, he said. Comment-ing on the potential of Omanis in sailing, Graham said that they are doing well as the Omani culture and history has a lot to do with the seaside and the Omanis have a nice affinity with the ocean. In addition, he said that one of the main achievements of Oman Sail since its establishment has been reaching 81 percent Omanisation rate. “We have about 60 per cent Omanis in the middle manage-ment as well.”

Graham noted that Oman Sail is going in the right direction and has so far achieved the goals it had set for itself.

M U S A N D A M - O M A N S A I L

SEA ACTION: The theoretical course from Saint Malo to Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, is 3,542 miles and the record is 7 days 17 hours 19 minutes.–Supplied photo

Qatar meet set to tackle vital issues

RAHUL [email protected]

DOHA: Oman’s Health Minister Dr Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Saidi will be invited for the sec-ond World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), scheduled to take place at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) in Doha, in February 2015.

Speaking to the Times of Oman, Saad Al Muhannadi, President of Qatar Foundation, said, “We will be delighted to have Oman’s health minister at the second World Innovation Summit for Health where we will be discuss-ing a large number of health relat-ed issues relevant to several GCC countries, including Oman.”

More than 1,000 health experts and policy makers from close to 70 countries are expected to par-ticipate in the conference.

“Last year, we had a very good presence from Oman includ-ing the Minister of Health. We expect a similarly enthusiastic

response this year also,” he said. Several forums have been estab-lished for WISH 2015. Some of these are communicating com-plex health messages, delivering affordable cancer care, dealing with dementia, diabetes, patient safety, mental health and well-being of children and universal healthcare coverage.

Each will be chaired and led by a recognised expert in the area, and will lead a working group of experts drawn from government, academia and industry. Prior to the summit, each forum will pub-lish a report, aimed at policy mak-ers and healthcare innovators.

The World Innovation Summit for Health, a global initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Devel-opment (QF), held an exclusive preview of research and findings ahead of the 2015 Summit under the guidance of its forum chairs today at Doha.

In addition to the new research

forums, WISH announced a spe-cial panel on “Healthcare and Ethics” in partnership with the Research Centre for Islamic Leg-islation and Ethics (CILE), a cen-tre of the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) in Hamad Bin Khalifa University, falling within the Education City at Doha.

The panel, which will be a part of the 2015 Summit, will focus on the development and implemen-tation of “Genomic Medicine” and the innovation and ethical challenges behind this revolu-tionary new medicine.

Although Genomic Medicine raises complex ethical and reli-gious issues, the potential it holds for future healthcare is immense. This is why “Genomic Medicine” is currently one of Qatar’s nation-al priorities and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chair-person of Qatar Foundation and Founder of WISH, announced the ‘Qatar Genome Project’ at the in-augural Summit in 2013.

Several forums

have been

established for

WISH 2015 to

cover cancer care,

dementia, diabetes,

patient safety etc

We will be discussing a large number of health related issues relevant to several GCC countries

Saad Al MuhannadiPresident of Qatar Foundation


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Women demand more slots in top positions

SALEH AL SHAIBANYsaleh @timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: One-third of the work-ing force in Oman are women, and yet female workers struggle to reach coveted management posi-tions and many women feel they are ignored for promotions, as the opportunities go to their male col-leagues. But both men and women agree that a quota for management positions in the work place would be fair,as a quota would provide women a chance to reach senior management positions,though

their opinions are divided on which method might be used in enforcing quotas. Also, some wom-en are cautious and do not whole-heartedly support quotas.

“Yes, I support the quota, but that assumes we keep it to a high standard of professionalism. This will encourage women to work hard and aim higher. However, I would say that quotas may be open to abuses and it will defeat the pur-pose of having them,” Shaima Al Aufi, Performance Team Leader and Women Leadership Chairper-son of ORPIC, told Times of Oman.

Other women professionals

were fully supportive and had no reservations.

“I personally believe there should be a quota based on merit and high performance, especially in sectors that clearly don’t sup-port women to reach their full potentials,” Aisha Al Kharusi, ad-vocate for the Omani Professional Women Society, said.

But not all women would like to see quotas imposed in work places to guarantee women a percentage of management positions.

“Actually, I think positions should be given to all employees according to their performances, regardless of their gender,” Lamya Juma Al Sinani, Teacher’s Trainer in the Ministry of Education, told Times of Oman.

Hierarchy ladderBut what do men think about women’s quota guaranteeing them executive chairs in the top rungs of the office hierarchy ladder?

“We have to be careful about reserving quotas for women. We may end up giving management positions to those who don’t deserve to occupy these posts. Some companies would appoint women to a management job just to comply with the regulations, not because the person fits the job description,” Dr Ahmed Al Naam-ani, Dean of Modern College of Business and Science, told Times of Oman.

Currently, two women are serv-ing in ministerial positions, while few are on the board of directors of major companies. Less than three percent of women in the work force occupy senior man-agement positions.

Would quota for

women in the work

place be fair? It would

provide women a

chance to reach

senior management

positions, but could

also be misusedEQUAL PARTNERS: Less than three per cent of women in the work force occupy top management positions.–File photo for illustration purpose only

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

SQU delegation to attend US meeting on Omani womenTimes News Service

MUSCAT: A delegation from the Sultan Qaboos University, headed by its Vice Chancellor, Dr. Ali Saud Al Bimani, will attend the international conference on ‘Women of Oman: Chang-ing Roles and Transnational Influence.’

The conference slated for No-vember 7 is being organised by the Kennesaw State University, US, and sponsored by the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Centre, Oman.

The conference, to be held at the Kennesaw State University, will engage with how increased participation of women in public life has led to a cultural change in Oman as well as the entire Ara-bian Peninsula.

Major issues The issues to be discussed will deal with the role of women in the family, the workforce, and in popular culture.

Kennesaw State University is celebrating the Arabian Penin-sula during the 2014-2015 aca-demic year.

The university will be host-ing a series of events, lectures, conferences, and other activities throughout the year, designed to

promote a deeper appreciation for and understanding of the Ara-bian Peninsula.

DelegationThe SQU Vice Chancellor will be accompanied during his US visit by Sayyidah Mona bint Fahad Al Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor for International Cooperation, Salah Al Din Al Sadi, Acting Di-rector of International Relations Office, and Dr. Hilal Al Sabti, Senior Consultant and Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the SQU Hospital.

During the US visit, the delega-tion will meet the ‘Year of Arabi-an Peninsula Learning Commu-nity’ and student leaders at the Kennesaw State University.

The delegation will also visit the Kennestone Hospital in addi-tion to meeting Dr. Lance Askild-son, Vice-Provost for Global Affairs and Chief International Officer and the deans of various colleges at the Kennesaw State University.

G L O B A L T I E S

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

Sulphur springs of Ain Al Manzaf provide solace, health WADI AL MA’AWIL: Known for the sulphur water it has, Ain Al Manzaf is thronged by residents in large numbers.

Some tourists treat skin diseas-es such as pimples and allergies while others bathe and wash in the small pools found there. The water from these pools eventually trick-les down into the valley.

Ain Al Manzaf, in the Wilayat of Wadi Al Ma’awil in the Gover-norate of South Al Batinah is one of the sulphur springs scattered at the bottom of the Western Al Hajar Mountains in the South Al Batinah.

The existing water resources in the Sultanate are considered both tourist attractions and medical destinations, in addition to their use in agriculture, industry and construction, among others.

Water resources in the Sultan-ate are distributed between Aflaj, wells, springs and dams apart from valleys, seas and others. Some of these flow throughout the year while others are seasonal. The other springs are Falaj Al

Sabkha in Al Lajal village the Wilayat of Wadi Al Ma’awil, Ain Al Thawarah and Ain Al Sokhna in Al Abyadh Valley in the Wilay-at of Nakhal and Ain Al Huwait

in Wadi Bani Ouf in the Wilayat of A’Rustaq.

Ain Al Manzaf is characterised by its proximity and is easily ac-cessible by small cars or on foot

from the centre of the wilayat. It is located in Gihefat valley,

west of the Wilayat of Wadi Al Ma’awil. It is also named Ain Al Shili and Ain Al Safalah by some

people because it is close to vil-lages of the same names.

The water at Ain Al Manzaf dwindles in the summer due to the lack of rain and the rising tem-

peratures. However, come winter rains, the water can almost reach the main road. There is also an old mosque east of Ain Al Manzaf, and the farms are spread out at the foot of the valley.

Old heritage Sheikh Saleh bin Saud Al Ma’awali says, “Ain Al Manzaf is very old, and we have heard about it be-ing the way it is from our ances-tors. The farms are still spread out at the foot of the valley and palm trees, fodder and citrus are grown there.” Sheikh Hamad bin Khalid Al Ma’awali, member of the State Council said that Ain Al Manzaf is one of the tourist attractions in the wilayat. Their grandparents divided the water by an accurate system to irrigate crops and the western side of Gihefat valley still bears witness to it.

Agriculture is still active on the eastern side of the valley and the rest of the wilayat as a result of other Aflaj and wells in the wilayat.–ONA

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

WATER RESOURCES: Ain Al Manzaf, in the Wilayat of Wadi Al Ma’awil in the Governorate of South Al Batinah, is one of the sulphur springs scattered at the bottom of the Western Al Hajar Mountains in the South Al Batinah.– ONA

A6

OMANM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 3, 2 0 14

Mumbai flight will add a new chapter to

a rich story of trade, tourism and cultural

exchange between the two nations.

Sudhir Sreedharan, Senior Vice President, flydubai

OMR1.5m support for Khoula HospitalTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Following through on its agreement with the Ministry of Health to support the health services sector in the Sultanate, Oman LNG yesterday installed critical equipment at the Khoula Hospital.

The drive to raise the quality of health services and cater to more patients moved a step ahead as Khoula Hospital received essen-tial supplies such as medical beds and laparoscopy.

Khoula Hospital is the Sultan-ate’s premier hospital dealing with emergency and accident cas-es, and Oman LNG has invested OMR570,000 in it.

The support will ultimately assist the hospital in catering to more patients and this would re-flect on the services provided to the patients.

The delivery of equipment

comes as part of nine compre-hensive agreements inked in 2012 between Oman LNG and the Ministry of Health to pro-vide some cutting-edge medical

technologies and infrastructure for numerous hospitals around the country for OMR1,522,000 ($4 million).

“The delivery of the project

demonstrates Oman LNG’s ef-forts in contributing to the coun-try’s development, especially in the push to provide people with quality health care through our partnership with the Ministry of Health. Supporting the health sector has been always our top priority, and this will eventu-ally make the medical centres and hospitals ready to support the country’s growth and aspira-tions,” said Khalid Al Massan, Oman LNG’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer.

Darwish bin Saif Al Muharbi, Undersecretary of Finance and Administrative Affairs, inaugu-rated the equipment installation function.

With its involvement in the na-tion’s social development Oman LNG has successfully created a thriving template for modelling public-private sector partner-ships that deliver many gains.

H E A L T H I S S U E S

HEALTH FIRST: Oman LNG is providing cutting-edge medical

technologies and infrastructure to numerous hospitals around the

country.– Supplied photo

Mumbai becomes flydubai’s new linkTimes News Service

MUSCAT: flydubai celebrated the arrival of its inaugural ser-vice to Mumbai recently. Muscat passengers can avail this service by flying from Muscat via Dubai to Mumbai.

The route will further strength-en the relationship between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), while offering passengers greater choice and flexibility. This flight brings the number of cities the airline serves in India to seven and the number of weekly flights to the country to 25.

The airline will operate direct flights five times a week between

Dubai International’s Termi-nal 2 and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

Since flydubai commenced flights to India in 2010, there was a strong demand for enhanced connectivity. Four years later the demand remains with passenger numbers from January to June this year up 12.3% on the same pe-riod in 2013 and this trend is set to continue. Within India, in ad-dition to Mumbai, flydubai oper-ates services to Ahmedabad, Del-hi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Lucknow and Trivandrum. Business class is available on flights to Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai and Trivandrum.

Commenting on the launch of the inaugural flight, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said: “The launch of our Mumbai route is a clear indica-tion of the enduring relationship between India and the UAE. To-day’s announcement is a reflec-tion of this and in tandem with the decision to increase seat capacity we can now offer enhanced op-tions for passengers connecting to Dubai and other destinations.”

Commenting on board the inaugural flight to Mumbai, Su-dhir Sreedharan, Senior Vice President, Commercial (GCC, Subcontinent, Africa) at flydubai added, “Mumbai launch will add

a new chapter to a rich story of trade, tourism and cultural ex-change between the two nations. flydubai remains committed to delivering affordable and reliable travel options.”

Fly dubai currently operates four flights a day from Muscat to Dubai and to cater more pas-sengers demand, it increases its frequency to 6 flights from 15th November.

In Oman, the carrier also oper-ates from Salalah; 3 times a week.

flydubai has a fleet of 41 new Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft and operates more than 1,100 flights a week across the globe.

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

SARAH [email protected]

MUSCAT: Geologists from GUtech, in cooperation with ar-cheologists from the Ministry of Heritage and Culture, have dug up evidence of a tsunami or severe storm that hit Ras Al Hadd about 4,500 years ago.

Speaking to the Times of Oman about the new research, Dr Goes-ta Hoffman, Associate Professor from the Applied Geosciences Department at GUtech, said there is evidence of major flooding at an archeological site in Ras Al Hadd, a village on the coast of Oman about 240km southeast of Muscat.

Dr Hoffmann and other re-searchers from GUtech and its affiliated university in Germany have done extensive studies on the impact of tsunamis, storm and earthquakes on the coasts of Oman. They focused on studying the rocks and soil, but they realised they could learn more by working with archeologists who are study-

ing the remains of human settle-ments in Ras Al Hadd. The arche-ologists had identified signs that a flood took place approximately 4,500 years ago.

“We thought it would be quite good to collaborate with the arche-ologists. They introduced us to the site and when we came there we realised they already knew there were two settlement phases,” Hoffmann explained.

The fact that there were two set-tlement phases, the first of which was marked by buildings made of sand brick, and the second by mud brick, suggests the village was de-stroyed at one point and rebuilt.

The remains date back to be-tween 3,100 and 2,700 BC, and the evidence suggests they were built one after the other, meaning the

people didn’t leave the area despite having their homes heavily dam-aged by cyclone or tsunami.

The geologists looked at the land around the settlement where they also found evidence of flooding. There was charcoal in one of the layers of sediment, and shells with both halves still joined, untouched by humans.

“The wave must have washed over the village and there were open fire pits so the water carried this very floatable material and distributed the charcoal, together with sand,” Hoffmann explained.

The presence of the shells with both halves still joined suggests they hadn’t been eaten or used for any other purposed. Instead, they had been washed onto the shore by a wave and died on land.

Extreme eventThe evidence isn’t strong enough to determine whether the flooding in Ras Al Hadd 4,500 years back was from a tsunami or cyclone, like Gonu or Phet which hit Oman in recent years, or Nilofar, which came close to the coast last week, but there is no doubt the event was extreme.

To find out more precisely what kind of event it was, Dr Hoffmann says international collaboration with Pakistan and India would be required, since a tsunami that hit Oman would also have hit their coasts, leaving evidence there, too.

“We are now fostering the co-operation with Indian colleagues to see if they have similar inunda-tion events at the same time on the

coast of India. Then the conclu-sion could be derived,” Dr Hoffman explained. Regardless of whether it was a tsunami, cyclone or severe storm, Dr Hoffmann says the peo-ple must have been quite resilient, since they didn’t move to a differ-ent location further inland. Simi-lar parallels can made to modern day situations, in which communi-ties rebuild in the same places fol-lowing cyclones and tsunamis.

“In Oman they learned not to

settle in wadis that got affected by Gonu, so things are improving, but there’s a certain reason why people choose a certain area to live in, and basically this is the access to re-sources. The benefit is more than the negative side of it,” he said.

In the case of Ras Al Hadd, the benefit is the proximity to fish, seafood and other edible marine creatures, such as turtles. People moved from the interior of Oman to the coastal areas due to climate

changes that occurred about 6,000 years ago, Dr Hoffmann noted.

“When the climate got a bit worse in the interior and there was not that much rain, people gath-ered from all around and came to the coastline of Oman because this is a very nutrient-rich coast,” he explained.

Despite the risk of flooding along the coast, the people chose to stay there because of the food.

Rare events “The extreme events are rare. They don’t occur very often here. Prob-ably, if at all, you would experience it once in a lifetime so it gets for-gotten,” said Dr Hoffmann.

More than half of Oman’s popu-lation lives along the coast, so both the people and the infrastructure are vulnerable to flooding. The geo-archeological research along Oman’s coast is important for pre-dicting the effects of future events.

Prior to 1970 very little is docu-mented in Oman so geological and archeological studies of the coast are of utmost importance. The research can reveal how of-ten weather events with extreme waves occur, and how high the waves can be.

“We try to extend a record into the past to get a base for statistical analysis,” Hoffmann said.

A paper about the findings, written by Hoffmann and his col-leagues Christoph Grutzner, Klaus Reicherter and Frank Preusser, has been published in a prestigious science journal, the Quarternary Science Reviews.

The remains at Ras Al Hadd date back

to between 3,100 and 2,700 BC, and the

evidence suggests that the people didn’t

leave the area despite having their homes

heavily damaged by cyclone or tsunami

We thought it would be good to collaborate with the archeologists. They introduced us to the site and when we came there we realised they already knewthere were two settlement phases

Dr Goesta Hoffman Associate Professor, GUtech


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

ANTIQUITY EXPLORED: Studies on the impact of tsunamis and earthquakes on the coasts of Oman have identified signs of flood that took place in Ras Al Hadd about 4,500 years ago.–Photos courtesy of Dr Goesta Hoffmann

Mega wave hit coast 4,500 years ago

A7

REGIONM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 3, 2 0 1 4

TAKING CONTROL: Houthi rebels in police uniform search vehicles at one of the entrances to the

headquarters of a meeting during a gathering organised by the Houthi movement on Friday. – Reuters

The UN Security Council in February authorised sanctions

against anyone in Yemen who obstructs the country’s

political transition or commits human rights violations,

but stopped short of blacklisting any specific individuals

IS militants carry out mass killings in Iraq

BAGHDAD: The IS group has carried out a fresh wave of mass killings, officials said on Sunday, executing more than 200 mem-bers of an Iraqi tribe which took up arms against the militants.

Women and children were said to be among the scores of members of the Albu Nimr tribe executed over the past 10 days in western Iraq’s Anbar province.

Reports of the killings came with Iraq on edge as hundreds of thousands prepare to travel to the city of Karbala this week.

IS group that has seized large parts of Iraq and Syria, is expect-ed to target pilgrims, as 10 people died in an attack on Sunday.

The executions in Anbar came after members of the Albu Nimr tribe took up arms against IS in the province, large parts of which have been overrun by the group.

Accounts varied as to the num-ber of people killed and timings of the executions, but all sources spoke of more than 200 executed in recent days. Police Colonel Shaaban Al Obaidi said that more than 200 people were killed, while Faleh Al Essawi, the deputy head of Anbar provincial council, put the death toll at 258.

The killings are likely aimed at discouraging resistance from powerful local tribes in Anbar.

SetbacksPro-government forces have suf-fered a string of setbacks in Anbar in recent weeks.

That has prompted warnings that the province, which stretch-es from the borders with Jordan and Saudi Arabia to the western

approach to Baghdad, could fall entirely. Iraqi security forces, who wilted in the face of an IS of-fensive earlier this year, are fight-ing to take back territory seized by the militants in the country’s heartland.

IS has declared a “caliphate” in the territory under its control, imposed its harsh interpreta-tion of law and committed wide-spread atrocities. Like other extremist groups, IS posing a major threat to the religious commemorations, which peak on Tuesday. A car bomb blast in Baghdad killed at least 10 people on Sunday, security and medi-cal officials said, in the latest in string of deadly attacks.

The pilgrimage is a major test

for a new government headed by Prime Minister Haidar Al Abadi and for Iraq’s security forces.

On the Syria-Turkey border, some 150 Iraqi peshmerga fight-ers were meanwhile preparing to join fellow Kurds in the battle against IS for the town of Kobane, after crossing the frontier late on Friday. Syrian Kurdish militia have been holding off an IS offen-sive on Kobane for more than six weeks and the town has become a crucial symbol in the fight against the militants.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said clashes were taking place in the south of the town and Kurdish fighters were shelling IS positions to its east. — AFP

Women and

children among 200

members of Albu

Nimr tribe executed

by insurgents

US asks UN to blacklist Saleh, two Houthi leadersUNITED NATIONS: The Unit-ed States has asked for targeted UN sanctions to be imposed on Yemen’s former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and two Houthi rebel leaders for threatening the peace and stability of Yemen and obstructing the political process.

Washington submitted a for-mal request on Friday for the United Nations Security Council Yemen sanctions committee to subject the men to a global travel ban and asset freeze. The com-mittee is due to discuss the re-quest on Tuesday, diplomats said.

Yemen is trying to end political unrest that began with mass pro-tests against Saleh, president for 33 years until he stepped down in 2012. “As of fall 2012 Ali Abdullah Saleh had reportedly become one of the primary supporters of the Houthi rebellion. Saleh was be-hind the attempts to cause chaos throughout Yemen,” the United States said in its ‘statement of case’ obtained by Reuters.

“More recently, as of Septem-ber 2014, Saleh is reportedly

inciting instability in Yemen by using the Houthi dissident group to not only delegitimise the cen-tral government, but also cre-ate enough instability to stage a coup,” it said.

The United States has also re-quested that two Houthi rebel leader be blacklisted—Houthi leader Abd Al Khaliq Al Houthi and the group’s second-in-com-mand Abdullah Yahya Al Hakim.

FightingFighting has flared in different parts of Yemen since the Hou-this rose to dominance in recent months, threatening the fragile stability of a country bordering on Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter.

Houthi forces took over the capital, Sanaa, in September and fanned out into central and west-ern Yemen. That antagonized Sunni tribesmen and Al Qaeda militants, who regard the Hou-this as heretics. “In late Septem-ber 2014, an unknown number of unidentified Houthi movement

fighters allegedly were prepared to attack the US Embassy in Sana’a, Yemen, upon receiving orders from Houthi military com-mander of Sana’a, Abd Al Khaliq Al Houthi,” said the United States in its ‘statement of case’.

It said the role of the group’s second-in-command, Al Hakim, was to organise military op-erations “to be able to topple the Yemeni government” and that he was responsible for securing and controlling all routes in and out of Sanaa. “He commanded a Houthi unit of about 300 persons paid to fight the Yemeni government,” the US ‘statement of case’ said.

The UN Security Council in February authorised sanctions against anyone in Yemen who obstructs the country’s politi-cal transition or commits human rights violations, but stopped short of blacklisting any specific individuals. All 15 members of the Security Council’s sanctions committee would need to agree for Saleh and the Houthi leaders to be blacklisted. — Reuters

I N S T A B I L I T Y

British-Iranian woman gets jail for trying to watch matchTEHRAN: A Tehran court has jailed for one year a British-Irani-an woman who was arrested after trying to attend a volleyball match, in a decision condemned on Sun-day as an outrage.

The case of Ghoncheh Ghavami, a 25-year-old law graduate from London, has drawn considerable attention because of her dual na-tionality and lengthy time in pris-on before trial. Britain said it was concerned after hearing reports of her jail sentence.

Ghavami was detained on June 20 at Azadi (“Freedom” in Farsi) Stadium where Iran’s national vol-leyball team was to play Italy, after female fans and even women jour-nalists were told they would not be allowed to watch, leading to a brief demonstration.

BannedWomen are also banned from foot-ball matches in Iran, with officials saying this is to protect them from lewd behaviour among male fans. Ghavami was originally released after a few hours but was re-arrest-ed days later at a police station she had visited to reclaim items con-fiscated from her near the stadium. Having been in custody since—at least 41 days of which was spent in solitary confinement, according to her family—Ghavami went on trial behind closed doors last month.

“According to the verdict she was sentenced to one year in jail,” her lawyer Alizadeh Tabatabaie was quoted in Iranian media as saying on Sunday.

No reason was given for the con-viction though Ghavami had been accused of spreading propaganda against the regime, a broad charge often used by Iran’s judiciary.

Asked if the sentence could be reduced, Tabatabaie, who has not been allowed to visit his client, said: “Considering that Ghoncheh Ghavami has no criminal record, the court can alleviate the verdict.”

Britain’s Foreign Office said it was concerned over the ruling and questioned the “grounds for this

prosecution, due process during the trial and Miss Ghavami’s treat-ment while in custody”.

‘Appalling’Amnesty International dubbed the jail sentence “appalling”.

“It’s an outrage that a young woman is being locked up sim-ply for peacefully having her say about how women are discrimi-nated against in Iran,” said Kate Allen, the rights group’s director for Britain.

“Ghoncheh is a prisoner of con-science and the Iranian authori-ties should quash the sentence and release her immediately and unconditionally.” — AFP

O U T R A G E

WAR RAVAGED: (Top) Tribal fighters carry their weapons as they

take part in an intensive security deployment against IS militants

in the town of Amriyat Al Falluja, in Anbar province, on Friday.

Below, Iraqis security officers inspect the damage caused by

explosives-rigged vehicle on Baghdad’s Palestine Street near a

tent serving refreshments to pilgrims on Sunday. – Reuters/AFP

It’s an outrage that a young woman is being locked up simply for peacefully having her say about how women are discriminated against in Iran

Kate AllenDirector, Amnesty International for Britain

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INDIAM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 3, 2 0 14

The NDA Government has had an exemplary

record in this matter... It will continue to support

the SIT fully and unequivocally in search of truth

Arun Jaitley, Finance minister

Modi vows to bring back black money

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday prom-ised to get back every penny of the black money stashed abroad, days after his government was accused of making a U-turn on the issue.

He said the efforts to bring back black money stashed abroad are on the “right track” even as he acknowledged that there was no correct estimate about how much money is kept illegally in foreign countries.

In an address to the nation over radio, he said that bringing back black money from outside the country is an “article of faith” for him and nothing will be lacking

in his efforts to do so. The Prime Minister’s commitment to bring back black money stashed abroad comes against the backdrop of the stand it first took in the Supreme Court last week about the inabil-ity to disclose the names of the ac-count holders in foreign banks be-cause of the confidentially clause in treaties with other countries.

It had maintained that disclo-sure of details of account hold-ers would hamper efforts to bring

back black money. The govern-ment beat a hasty retreat after the Supreme Court ordered it to dis-close the names of account holders in HSBC Geneva which amounted to 627 in number. The government also came under attack from op-position parties that it was going back on its election promise to un-earth and bring back black money stashed abroad.

Modi said there may be differ-ences in approach on getting this

money back but he was committed to doing it and the nation should have faith in him.

“As far as black money is con-cerned. You should have faith on this ‘pradhan sevak’. For me, it is an article of faith. Every penny of the money of poor people in this country, which has gone out, should return. This is my commit-ment,” Modi said.

Approach “There may be differences over the approach and procedures, which is natural in a democracy. But as far as my understanding goes and on the basis of information I have, I can say we are on the right track,” he said.

On the actual estimate about amount in illegal bank accounts in foreign countries, Modi said, “Nobody knows, nor do I know, nor does the government know, nor do you know, how much money is stashed abroad. Even the previous government had no estimate.

“Everybody is making own as-sessment of figures. I do not want to get involved in those figures. It is my commitment that whatever amount, Rs2, Rs5, crore of rupees or whatever, this money belongs to the poor people of this country and should come back. And I can as-sure you that nothing will be lack-ing in my efforts. I only want your blessings to continue.” He asserted that whatever has to be done, will be done at the earliest. - PTI

The prime minister

said that bringing

back black money

from outside the

country was an

‘article of faith’ for

him and that he

would make all

efforts to do so

There may be differences over the approach and procedures, which is natural in a democracy. But as far as my understanding goes and on the basis of information I have, I can say we are on the right trackNarendra ModiPrime Minister

Andhra chief minister set to visit Singapore, JapanAFTAB H. KHOLAOur Correspondent

HYDERABAD: In a determined bid to attract Singaporean and Japanese companies which are looking at India as their overseas anchor, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will be visiting Singapore on No-vember 12, 13 and 14 and Japan on November 24, 25 and 26.

Naidu said that Andhra Pradesh has become one of the preferred destinations for Japanese and Singaporean investments. At a re-cent meeting between Naidu and the Japanese envoy in India, Ja-

pan had shown interest in areas like infrastructure, electronics, agriculture, processing and tour-ism sectors and assured to or-ganise interaction with business delegations from his country. Japan is eager to develop various projects in AP, including the state capital in Vijayawada-Guntur region, as a smart city and three power plants.

The Singapore trip’s itinerary will cover a visit to the Centre for Livable Cities, a walk through Singapore City Gallery, meeting with the Port of Singapore Au-thority, briefings on Green Build-ing Technologies, Land Transport

Plans and Policies, Singapore’s integrated public transport sys-tems and integration of land use planning and transport planning.

On November 14, Naidu will deliver the keynote address at the 9th International Conference on The States of South Asia.

Japan schedule comprises an address to the India IT Forum in Kyoto, meeting with Japa-nese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, meetings with Ministers of Econ-omy, Trade and Industry, Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and an interaction with the top brass of Japan Interna-tional Cooperation Agency.

W O O I N G I N V E S T O R S

NEW DELHI: Lashing out at those, including the Congress party, who want the govern-ment to make names of black money holders public, Fi-nance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said unauthorised disclosure of such names can sabotage investigation and benefit the guilty.

“An unauthorised disclo-sure of information is fraught with both investigation and economic consequences. They can sabotage the in-vestigation. They can attract sanctions in the form of with-holding taxes,” he said in a Facebook post on a day when Prime Minister asserted that all efforts would be made to bring back black money.

Questioning those demand-ing disclosure of names in vio-lation of tax treaties, Jaitley said: “The Congress Party’s stand is understandable. It does not want evidence to be forthcoming in support of the names available with SIT. Are some others ill informed, just indulging in bravado or are

they Trojan horses?” The minister exuded

confidence that the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has been entrusted by the Supreme Court with the investigation, will succeed in bringing out the truth and the NDA government made available all the names in its possession to the SIT.

Exemplary record“The NDA Government has had an exemplary record in this matter... It will continue to support the SIT fully and unequivocally in search of truth,” Jaitley said. The choice before the government was between unauthorised disclosure and disclosure as per treaties, he said, adding that the latter is both a fair and beneficial proposition.

“It will help in collection of evidence and exposure of a wrong doing in accordance with law and fair procedure. A disclosure without evidence would ensure that evidence is never available,” he added. - PTI

Unauthorised disclosure on black money can sabotage probe: Jaitley

BSF recovers 22kg heroin in Punjab; three arrested

AMRITSAR: Border Security Force (BSF) troopers Sunday arrested three smugglers and recovered 22 kg of heroin along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, officials said.

Earlier reports quoted BSF sources as saying that one smuggler was shot dead and two others were arrested, and 22 kg of heroin was seized from the Dera Baba Nanak sector.

A BSF spokesman later said all the three arrested smug-glers are Indian nationals. One pistol, ammunition, and Paki-stani SIM cards were recovered from them.

ValueThe heroin seized is valued at Rs11 billion in the international markets, the official said.

The seizure was made in the border out-post of Boharwadala area of Gurdaspur sector.

The BSF has seized over 305 kg of heroin this year in Punjab.

Punjab shares a 553-km-long international border with Pakistan. - IANS

S M U G G L I N G

DRUG HAUL: BSF officers

show drugs and weapons

seized near Indo-Pak border

outpost at Boharwadala

in Amritsar. - PTI

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BJP hits out at Vadra over spat with media

NEW DELHI: Congress presi-dent Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra on Sunday found himself at the centre of a contro-versy over his spat with a reporter asking questions about his land deals with the party coming out in his defence and BJP attacking him for “inappropriate behaviour”.

The Congress, which in the past said Vadra was a private citizen, defended him, saying “repeated hounding” of an individual is not appropriate and advised the me-dia to avoid “unpleasantness” of shooting questions at private func-tions, like what happened to him.

“Indian Constitution and our established ethos guarantee Right of Privacy, personal space and liberty to all individuals, more so, when a person is neither in public life nor holds any public office.

“It is clear that entire episode is being propagated as a political agenda for obvious reasons which cannot be considered either fair

or proper,” party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said.

He said repetitive hounding of an individual on an issue that has been “conclusively rejected both by a bonstitutional body like Elec-tion Commission of India as also High Courts and finally the Su-preme Court is not appropriate”.

Congress also reminded BJP of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “shoddy treatment” of two jour-nalists whey they questioned him on Gujarat riots when he was the state’s chief minister.

“I want to remind leaders of BJP and friends of the media as

to how none less than the current prime minister (the then chief minister) Narendra Modi had re-moved the mike and walked out of a pre-fixed interview with lead-ing journalist Karan Thapar who questioned him about Gujarat ri-ots,” he said.

Vadra on Saturday lost his cool and pushed aside the micro-phone of a reporter at a five-star hotel gym when he was quizzed about his controversial land deals in Haryana.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said it was Vadra’s “sheer frustration” that caused this in-

appropriate behaviour. “Vadra was the one who had called India a Banana Republic and we Indi-ans as mango people but it is time that we make him realise that In-dia is no more a Banana Republic which was ruled by the first fam-ily of the Congress,” Patra said.

Rubbishing the Congress’ defence of Vadra, senior BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain as-serted that Vadra is not a private citizen, a term Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh used to shield him and chide media for paying so much attention on a “non-event”. - PTI

Congress

spokesperson

Randeep Singh

Surjewala said it

is clear that entire

episode is being

propagated as a

political agenda for

obvious reasons

which cannot be

considered either

fair or proper

CHANDIGARH: On a day when media reported that Robert Vadra got a Rs 44-crore windfall gain in Haryana land deal, Chief Min-ister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said law will take its own course in the matter.

“Law will take its own course,” he said when asked by reporters here to comment on the land deals involving the company of Congress Presi-dent Sonia Gandhi’s business-man son-in-law.

Asked about other alleged land scams during the previ-ous Congress government in the state, Khattar maintained that the law will take its own course.

CAG reportA draft CAG report is believed to have found that Vadra had reaped nearly Rs 44 crore in windfall gains in land deals in Haryana during the Bhupin-der Singh Hooda regime.

The report also said the Haryana government did not insist on recovering over Rs 40 crore of the profit he made by selling the land to DLF Uni-versal. Khattar was speaking to reporters after his Minister, Bikram Singh Yadav, assumed charge at the Haryana Civil Secretariat here.

Asked to comment on

Vadra reportedly losing his cool and pushing the micro-phone of a reporter in Delhi when questioned about land deals involving his company, Haryana’s Health Minister Anil Vij told reporters in Ambala that “one only reacts in such a manner and shows anger when one has some-thing to hide”. - PTI

‘Law will take its course on Vadra land deal’

ELATED: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar L. Khattar induct-ing Minister of State for Cooperation Department Vikram Singh Yadav at Haryana Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh on Sunday. - PTI

FOUNDATION DAY CEREMONYArtists perform dance drama ‘Meghdootam’ on the occasion of 59th Foundation day programme of Madhya Pradesh, in Bhopal on Saturday. Madhya Pradesh is the second largest state in the country by area. - PTI

A record 30 Indian-Americans vying for office in US electionsWASHINGTON: A record 30 Indian-Americans are contesting Tuesday’s US elections that will determine the course of power politics in the last two years of President Barack Obama’s term in office.

Nearly three million people of Indian descent with an ever grow-ing number of officials in high places,are better educated, earn more than other Americans, but haven’t had much of an impact on national politics though they have two state governors and a law-maker in the House.

No Indian-American is run-ning for any of the 36 seats, in-cluding three special elections, up for ballot in the 100 member Sen-ate where Obama’s Democratic Party is facing the prospect of losing its 53-45 majority with two Independents in the mix. But four of them are vying for a two-year term in the House where all 435 seats are up for election.

In a divided US Congress, Op-position Republicans currently control the House with a 233-199 lead. Poll pundits expect the Re-publicans to keep their lead if not increase it.

Prominent contestantsProminent among Desi contest-ants to the House are Democrat Amerish ‘Ami’ Bera, who two years ago became only the third Indian-American lawmaker in US history — after Dalip Singh Saund and Bobby Jindal — and a former Obama administration of-ficial Rohit ‘Ro’ Khanna.

Bera, whose parents immigrat-ed from Rajkot, Gujarat, received a big boost in his tight re-election race against Republican busi-nessman Doug Ose in California’s 7th district with former Presi-dent Bill Clinton coming to stump for him last week

In the battle for Silicon Valley, Khanna, former deputy assistant

secretary in Commerce depart-ment, is giving a run for his money to veteran fellow Democrat Mike Honda. Khanna, who has won the backing of Yahoo’s Marissa May-er and Facebook’s Sheryl Sand-berg in this home of tech titans, in a recent interview called it “the best pick up opportunity for an Indian American in the country.”

In Pennsylvania, Democrat Iraq war veteran physician Manan Trivedi is making his third try to enter the House, while Arvin Vohra of the Libertarian Party is running from Maryland.

In California governor’s race, fellow Republican Neel Kashkari, faces an uphill task against Dem-ocratic Governor Jerry Brown.

A score other Indian-Amer-icans — nine Republicans, 10 Democrats and one Independent — are eyeing legislative seats in 15 states in a bid to win a rightful place in the political arena for the community. - IANS

O P P O R T U N I T Y

Device to track statusof heart developedLAUSANNE: An Indian research-er here has developed a wearable device that he claims can help one track the status of heart, both in medical and emotional terms.

“The Inner You (INYU) is a wearable device that helps the user to track and manage his or her physical as well as emotional health,” Srinivasan Murali, co-founder and CEO of the Switzer-land-based SmartCardia said.

The SmartCardia technology is based on several years of research from the Embedded Systems Lab-oratory at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) here, Murali said.

“I hope the device will be highly beneficial for India. It can be used to track Electrocardiogram (ECG), breathing and key vital signs of users, so that they can get timely feedback from the doctor,” he said.

“The user can see the signals immediately on his or her mo-bile phone. It can also be used for managing a healthy lifestyle, as it tracks the emotional and physical health aspects, such as the stress level, body fat and physical activ-ity,” Murali said.

The developer of the device in-tends to price it around Rs9,000, so that tracking one’s complete health becomes affordable. - PTI

R E S E A R C H

A10

PAKISTAN M O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 3, 2 0 14

Report claims nearly 50% decline in violence in BalochistanISLAMABAD: Despite the latest upsurge in militant attacks in Ba-lochistan, official statistics of the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) reveal that violence in the insur-gency-hit province has dramati-cally fallen by nearly 50 per cent this year.

In a report which the provin-cial home department and para-military forces submitted to Chief Minister Dr Malik Baloch last week, the LEAs claimed that they have dismantled more than 50 camps of Baloch insurgents, forc-ing some of them to hide in caves in the mountainous regions of the province.

50-page reportAround 213 civilians were killed and 522 injured in terror incidents in Balochistan by September this year, while 530 people were killed and 1,162 injured last year, accord-ing to a 50-page report – a copy of which is available with The Ex-press Tribune.

It revealed that 73 people were

killed and 74 injured in attacks motivated by sectarian hatred this year while 258 people were killed and 478 injured in 2013.

In 2014, 11 settlers (people from other parts of Pakistan) were killed and 23 injured while 42 set-tlers were killed and 26 injured last year. Fifty-two police/Levies personnel were killed and 59 in-jured this year while 93 were killed and 220 injured in 2013.

This year, 30 paramilitary Fron-tier Corps (FC) troops were killed and 123 injured while 52 were killed and 156 injured last year. The statistics revealed that more than 2,118 people were killed and 3, 871 injured in 1,836 incidents from 2009 to 2014. Some 715, or one-third of the total victims, died in sectarian killings.

This year, insurgents targeted installations of Pakistan Rail-ways, Sui Gas and Quetta Electric Supply Company 143 times while there were 368 such attacks last year. However, apparently there has been no let-up in the incidents

of dumping mutilated bodies as 124 bodies were recovered in nine months of this year as compared to 168 of last year.

Balochistan’s Additional Home

Secretary Tariq Zehri said good coordination among all paramili-tary forces led the government to perform better as compared to last year. “We rightly targeted insur-

gents. It remains the prime cause of our success,” he said.

“The Pakistan Protection Act has given more powers to the LEAs to take action against militants,”

he said, adding that the govern-ment has also worked on capacity building of the police, levies and prison officials through Pakistan Army. The United States also has trained prison officials of Balo-chistan, he added.

Spending“Normalcy has returned to major urban centres of the province as the new political government has equipped the paramilitary forces with latest weapons and training,” he said, adding that Rs1 billion has been allocated for the forces.

The provincial government is also spending Rs27.1 million monthly on 32 platoons deployed in Quetta, Mastung, Kachhi, Sibi, Kalat, Awaran, Killa Abdullah and Pir Ismail Ziarat for maintaining peace, the report further revealed.

“The Internal Security Policy is under review at the moment and the premier counterterror-ism body, NACTA, is assisting the province to curb violence,” it add-ed. - Express Tribune

I N S U R G E N C Y - H I T P R O V I N C E

The provincial government is also spending Rs27.1 million monthly on 32 platoons deployed in Quetta, Mastung, Kachhi, Sibi, Kalat, Awaran, Killa Abdullah and Pir Ismail Ziarat for maintaining peace

NORMALCY RETURNS: People walk around in a market in Quetta. Nor-

malcy has returned to major urban centres of the province as the new

political government has equipped the paramilitary forces with latest

weapons and training. – Express Tribune file photo

Suicide blast kills 45 near Wagah border

LAHORE: A suicide bomber killed at least 45 people Sunday at the main Pakistan-India border crossing, the blast tearing through crowds of spectators leaving after the colourful daily ceremony to close the frontier.

The blast came at Wagah border gate near the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore after the “flag-lowering” ceremony, a display of military pageantry that attracts thousands of spectators every day and is pop-ular with foreign tourists.

The attack is a rare strike in

Punjab, Pakistan’s richest and most populous province and pow-erbase of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, which has been spared the worst of the bloody wave of vio-lence that has assailed the country in recent years.

“It appears to have been a sui-cide attack. At least 45 people have been killed, women and chil-dren were also killed,” Mushtaq Sukhera, the Punjab provincial police chief, said. At least 60 were

wounded in the blast. Lahore po-lice chief Amin Wains confirmed it was a suicide attack.

Parade“People were returning after watching the parade at Wagah bor-der when the blast took place. Ball bearings were found at the scene,” he said.

Huge crowds gather on both sides at Wagah each sunset to see the display of military pageantry

that accompanies the formal clos-ing of the border post. It appears the blast took place some distance from the border itself.

Tahir Javed, Punjab provin-cial commander of the Rangers paramilitary force that guards the post, said three of his men had been killed.

“The suicide bomber failed to cross the security barrier and blew himself up outside when people were coming out,” he said. - AFP

The blast came at

Wagah border gate

near city of Lahore

after the ‘flag-

lowering’ ceremony,

a display of military

pageantry that

attracts thousands of

spectators every day

‘Government plan fails to meet standards in dealing with Ebola’ISLAMABAD: Pakistan needs to think out-of-the-box while plan-ning to deal with Ebola-affected persons as the current strategy chalked out by the federal govern-ment does not meet the necessary standards for the disease.

“The government should not follow the same guidelines for tackling Ebola which it is using to control other infectious dis-ease like dengue fever and Congo fever, among others. It is because Ebola is highly contagious when compared to other diseases,” said an infectious disease control ex-pert at the National Institute of Health (NIH) on the condition of anonymity.

Talking to The Express Trib-une, the expert suggested that the government should avoid estab-lishing Ebola patient isolation wards within the main buildings of hospitals, where there is mass movement of visitors, patients and medical staff.

Risk factors“There is a need to understand the severity of the disease, risk factors involved in its spread and treatment. The government should establish two-three bed dedicated units for its patients far from the general wards”, he said.

The expert further expressed reservations over the screening procedure for early detection at airports.

“A passenger who has taken

fever-reducing medication a few hours before landing at the air-port would not be suspected of having the disease while being screened,” said the expert.

In response to the possibil-ity of Ebola entering the country, the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordi-nation (NHSRC) has held consul-tations with provincial govern-ments had identified hospitals in which Ebola isolation wards would be set up.

These hospitals include Jin-nah Hospital in Karachi, Services Hospital in Lahore, Fatima Jin-nah Chest and General Hospital in Quetta, Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) Hospital in Pe-shawar, District Headquarter Hospital in Gilgit, Abbas Insti-tute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) in Muzaffarabad, and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad.

Advisories issuedAdvisories have been issued by the Ministry of NHSRC and NIH regarding the measures to mitigate the threat of the virus to all the provincial and state chief secretaries and authorities concerned.

Information made available on the NIH website states that the body has the requisite expertise on sample collection, packing and transportation of any suspect-ed specimen of Ebola to World Health Organisation (WHO) global laboratories. The WHO is providing free sample shipment services to its global laboratories.

Arrangements are being made so that immigration staff shares information with health officials on any passengers arriving from Ebola-effected countries.

The drop in temperature in the twin cities has also seen a signifi-cant decrease in the number of dengue patients arriving at hospi-tals. - Express Tribune

V I R U S

DISTRAUGHT: A resident reacts after the killing of a relative in a suicide bomb attack near Wagah

border, on Sunday. - AFP

There is a need to understand the severity of the disease, risk factors involved in its spread and treatment. The government should establish two-three bed dedicated units for its patients far from the general wardsInfectious disease expert

Second round of Inqilab after Muharram: Qadri

LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leader Tahirul Qadri said on Saturday a second round of his Inqilab rallies would start after Muharram.

“The negative propaganda against the PAT will fail and those favouring the status quo will gain nothing,” a press release quoted Qadri as telling delega-tions of overseas Pakistanis that called on him in Canada.

The PAT chief said overseas Pakistanis were delighted at the party’s revival.

“With the support of overseas Pakistanis, the people of Pakistan will make the PAT the largest po-litical party in the country. The platform will enable citizens to play their role for the country’s development.”

Qadri said overseas Paki-stanis had called for strict action against those responsible for the killing of 14 people during the June 17 violence in Model Town.

“We will keep raising our voice until they are punished,” he said. The PAT leader said people hated a justice system that was dis-criminatory. Qadri said overseas Pakistanis wanted to play their role in the country’s develop-ment. “Fair application of law is the basis of a civilised society… discrimination in the enforce-ment of law amounts to might is right,” he said.

Qadri said he would start reor-ganising the PAT in United States

America from November 7. He said he would visit Dallas, New York and Houston and address conventions organised by the Pa-kistani community.

Meanwhile, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar claimed on Saturday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) 78 day long sit-in in Islamabad will eventually end through negotiations, just as Pa-kistan Awami Tehreek’s did.

“We continued bilateral talks with Qadri which eventually re-sulted in peaceful diffusion of protesters from Islamabad and we expect same from the PTI sit-in,” Sarwar said while speaking to media in Sahiwal.

He was hopeful that PTI will also negotiate with the govern-ment. - Express Tribune

R A L L I E S

ADAMANT: Tahirul Qadri said

he would start reorganising

the PAT in the US from Novem-

ber 7. - PTI/AP file photo

The negative propaganda against the

PAT will fail and those favouring the

status quo will gain nothing

Tahirul Qadri, Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief

A11

WORLDM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 3, 2 0 1 4

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VETERAN CAR RUNDoug Hill and his passengers in their 1903 Daimler tonneau, left, look across at a Ferrari

sports car overtaking them on Westminster Bridge in front of the Houses of Parliament in Lon-

don as they take part in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, on Sunday. The first Brighton

Run was held in 1896 to celebrate the Locomotives on the Highway Act. Today generally only

cars built before January 1, 1905 are eligible to take part in the annual run that sees hundreds

of participants drive from London to Brighton at an average speed of around 20mph. — AFP


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

Bats prime suspects in spreading Ebola virus

LONDON: Bats are living up to their frightening reputation in the world’s worst Ebola outbreak as prime suspects for spread-ing the deadly virus to humans, but scientists believe they may also shed valuable light on fight-ing infection.

Bats can carry more than 100 different viruses, including Ebo-la, rabies and severe acute respir-atory syndrome (SARS), without becoming sick themselves.

Reservoir of diseaseWhile that makes them a fear-some reservoir of disease, es-pecially in the forests of Africa where they migrate vast distanc-es, it also opens the intriguing possibility that scientists might learn their trick in keeping killers like Ebola at bay.

“If we can understand how they do it then that could lead to better ways to treat infections that are highly lethal in people and other mammals,” said Olivier Restif, a

researcher at the University of Cambridge in Britain.

Clues are starting to emerge fol-lowing gene analysis, which sug-gest bats’ capacity to evade Ebola could be linked with their other stand-out ability—the power of flight. Flying requires the bat me-tabolism to run at a very high rate, causing stress and potential cell damage, and experts think bats may have developed a mechanism to limit this damage by having parts of their immune system per-manently switched on.

The threat to humans from bats comes en route to the dinner plate. Bushmeat—from bats to antelopes, squirrels, porcupines and monkeys—has long held pride of place on menus in West and Central Africa. The danger of contracting Ebola lies in expo-sure to infected blood in the kill-ing and preparation of animals.

Scientists studying Ebola since its discovery in 1976 in Democratic Republic of Congo, then Zaire, have long suspected fruit bats as being the natural hosts, though the link to humans is sometimes indirect as fruit dropped by infected bats can eas-ily be picked up by other species, spreading the virus to animals such as monkeys.

This nexus of infection in wildlife leads to sporadic Ebola outbreaks following human con-tact with blood or other infected animal fluids. This no doubt hap-pened in the current outbreak, al-though the scale of the crisis now gripping Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, which has killed around 5,000 people, reflects subsequent public health failures. — Reuters

The immune system

of bats may offer

clues about fighting

the disease as

scientists examine

how bats can stay

healthy with virus

Bangladesh leader sentenced to deathDHAKA: A media tycoon who is a key figure in Bangladesh’s largest hardline party was sentenced to death on Sunday for war crimes, just days after its leader was or-dered to hang for similar offences.

A war crimes court found wealthy businessman Mir Quasem Ali, an official of the Jamaate Is-lami party, guilty of 10 charges including murder and abduction during 1971 war.

Ali, 63, stood up and loudly protested the verdict as the head judge announced the sentence in a packed courtroom. “It’s a motivat-ed judgement,” he said, accusing

the court of acting on instructions from the secular government.

Ali, who owns a television sta-tion and newspaper aligned with Jamaat, was convicted of running a torture cell that carried out kill-ings. “The country and the affected people have finally got justice. Mir Quasem Ali has been sentenced to death for the murder of a teenage freedom fighter, Jashim,” prosecu-tor Ziad Al Malum told reporters.

“The young boy was abducted and his body was thrown in the Karnaphuli river,” he said.

Jamaat’s top leader Motiur Rah-man Nizami was on Wednesday

sentenced to death for heading a militia in 1971, a decision that sparked protests by supporters.

Jamaat called a nationwide strike following Nizami’s verdict. The stoppage was still in effect on Sunday, with many schools and businesses closed and traffic thin. The party announced another strike for Thursday in protest at Ali’s death sentence.

Ali, also a shipping and real es-tate tycoon, became the eight hard-liners sentenced to death by the controversial war crimes court, set up by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government in 2010. — AFP

W A R C R I M E S

SENTENCED: Jamaate Islami

party official Mir Quasem Ali in

Dhaka on Sunday. – AFP

COMMEN ARYT I M E S O F O M A NM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 3, 2 0 14

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T I M E S O F O M A NA12

The United Nations Security Coun-cil’s membership will be reconsti-tuted in 2015, but it will not look very different from its predeces-sors. World War II’s victors — the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China — will

continue to hold the box seats, which come with veto power. Five new non-permanent members — New Zealand, Spain, Angola, Malaysia, and Venezuela — will rotate in for a two-year term, replacing Austra-lia, Luxembourg, Rwanda, South Korea, and Argen-tina, respectively. The remaining five bleacher seats will be occupied for another year by Chad, Chile, Jor-dan, Lithuania, and Nigeria.

Aside from Nigeria, none of the 21st century’s other major players — including Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, and South Africa — will have a ticket. All efforts to reform the Security Council’s structure — even an end to prohibiting immediate re-election of non-permanent members, which would enable continuous engagement, if not formal permanent membership — have ground to a halt.

Reconstructing the Security Council to ensure that the most influential powers always have a seat at the table is not the most urgent reform, but it re-mains one of the most important.

The Council’s institutional legitimacy as the world’s foremost decision-maker on issues of peace and security cannot be taken for granted. If the Council continues to look the way it does, it is only a matter of time — maybe another 15 years at best — before its credibility and authority for most of the world diminish to dangerous levels.

The immediate task is to find other ways to boost the Security Council’s global standing. The challeng-es that the Council faces today are as acute as they have ever been. More crises have been erupting in more places, more breaches of international human-itarian and human rights law have been occurring, and more people have been displaced by conflict than has been the case for decades.

In responding to these challenges, the Security Council’s record has not been all bad. It did well to force Syria to give up its chemical weapons, and to authorise humanitarian access without the regime’s consent. It has authorised more peacekeepers in the field, with more robust civilian-protection man-dates, than ever before. It has also maintained some effective sanctions regimes, and referred some cases to the International Criminal Court.

It stopped an imminent massacre in Libya in 2011 by agreeing (at least at the outset) that the internation-ally agreed “responsibility to protect” justified military

action. It responded decisively to the Ebola crisis, and has passed some important counter-terrorism resolu-tions. And it has been getting better at consulting more widely and debating issues more openly.

And yet, human security issues are overwhelming large swaths of Africa and western Asia. Too often the Security Council goes missing on the world’s most serious security and human rights problems, constrained by Realpolitik, out-of-date thinking, timidity, institutional limitations, or inadequate resources. In the most alarming recent crises — Ukraine, Gaza, Syria, and Iraq — it has been almost totally paralysed.

To restore and enhance the Security Council’s credibility, the focus for now should be on changes that require no amendment of the UN Charter. A good starting point would be to apply existing best practice more often, making exceptional cases the norm. The Council can deliver results, as it showed with Syria’s chemical arsenal, when it establishes clear benchmarks, explicit timelines, active moni-toring mechanisms, regular reporting processes, and consequences for non-compliance.

The Council needs to devote less rhetoric and more formal process to conflict and crisis preven-tion, with improved early-warning and briefing mechanisms. It needs to acknowledge that antici-pating and responding to major human-rights viola-tions are part of its core business. It should encour-age the UN’s secretary-general to be less nervous about using his formidable authority under Article 99 of the Charter to bring matters to the Council’s at-tention on his own.

There is a desperate need to re-establish consen-sus on how to address atrocity crimes so extreme that they may require a military response. Efforts must be made to overcome the bitterness still felt toward the US, the UK, and France – which explains much of the paralysis over Syria — for their perceived expansion, without going back to the Security Council, of a nar-row civilian-protection mandate in Libya to include full-scale regime change. The solution seems to lie in some variation on the “Responsibility while Protect-ing” idea first proposed by Brazil (with China and Russia privately showing some sympathy), which would require some form of ongoing monitoring and review of military mandates.

France has proposed a truly transformative change: The Security Council’s permanent members would forswear using their veto in cases of mass-atrocity crimes. If they do not raise their game, the Council’s global authority will wane, and it will face the real possibility of sliding back to the marginal-ized impotence of the Cold War years. — Project Syndicate

Credibility test for Security Council

If the Seucrity Council continues to look the way it does, it is only a matter of time — maybe another 15 years at best — before its credibility and authority for most of the world diminish to dangerous levels

High-speed railway is the need of the hour in OmanIt was quite interesting to read a story on high-speed trains in Oman. Omani people need such trains for their journey to interior places and neighbouring Gulf Cooperation Council countries. However, the government has to do a lot of ground work for the project, which includes educating the public, and creating a pool of trained people to manage such railway systems.Mathew K. P.Muttrah

Availability of Ali Al Habsi a boost for Oman’s footballOman’s international goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi’s participation in the Gulf Cup was in doubt and it had kept the national team and coach

Paul Le Guen guessing for long. Having underperformed in the friendly matches recently, Oman national team faced criticism and the latest news — Ali Al Habsi available for Gulf Cup, November 2 — has lent strength to Oman’s preparation. We hope they per-form well in the forthcoming Gulf Cup to be held in Riyadh from November 14 and return home with laurels. All the best to Oman football team.Ridha Al FarsiAl Khoud

Hefty fines for traffic violators is welcomeThe recent announcement by the Royal Oman Police (ROP) to in-troduce higher fines on motorists violating their driving privileges is most welcome. The rules laid

down should deter unruly drivers and bring discipline to the bad etiquettes of drivers. Well, that is the intention. What the drivers fail to understand is that this has been done so for their own benefit and safety and for the other motorists on road as well. Have a thought you motorists on road, you endanger everyone around because of your phone and texting habits. We see women and men of all nationali-ties indulging in the phone culture, which is something that needs to be discouraged by co-passengers to make it more effective. Paul V. RangaswamyAl Hail

Misbah and his men are giving Aussies hard timeThe way Pakistan captain Mis-bahul Haq slammed the fastest

century ever in Test cricket history and piled on agony on the already struggling Australians, was a classic case of tigers being tamed rather ruthlessly. Not too long ago the Australians seemed to have recovered their winning habits and the way they beat the Englishmen to pulps in the recent Ashes series it looked for sure that their era of dominance was far from over. However, that was not to be as Michael Clarke and his boys have been left thoroughly exposed. What’s more, they seem to be lacking the basic etiquettes of Test cricket — they do not seem to be longing to stay on the ground for long. But that is precisely what Test cricket is all about. You have to spend time and not just hit out and hit out. Ramesh YadavRuwi

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

Hate the sin, love the sinner

MAHATMA GANDHI

MEMBERSHIP RECONSTITUTION

The Oxford English Dictionary defines anarchy as “a state of disorder due to the absence or non-recognition of authority or other controlling systems” — which adequately describes the

financial affairs of the Higher Education Commission (HEC). The audit report for 2013-14 has revealed a smorgasbord of irregu-

larities. They range from the payment of membership fees for a former chairman of the HEC to the exclusive Islamabad Club, to the deposit-ing of monies in private accounts that should have gone into the public purse, the appointment of 70 staffers in Lahore to unsanctioned posts, the appointment of the sitting executive director, which did not have the sanction of the prime minister as required and an opaque laptop distribution scheme.

The catalogue of irregularities also includes the HEC incurring an expenditure of Rs426 million to the National Research Programme for Universities (NRPU) despite there being no internal policy for the making of awards for projects under the NRPU.

It is not possible to say that all of the irregularities uncovered in the audit were the direct result of corruption; and it is entirely possible that some of them are simply the outcome of incompetence or corner-cutting by the responsible individuals and institutions.

The necessary checks and balances that always have to be linked to public expenditures are absent or ignored when it suits, rules bent and blind eyes turned. Although the audit is only relevant to the year 2012-13, it is reasonable to assume that there is a culture of fiscal anarchy within the HEC. These irregularities did not spring up like mush-rooms overnight and look in some instances to be institutionalised — as in custom and practice within the HEC.

The auditors have done their job and for that, we must be grateful. Draining the fiscal cesspool that is the HEC is quite another matter. It is likely to be highly resistant to any changes in its internal workings and will attempt to justify or refute the findings of the auditors, but if it is to retain any credibility, it needs to wash its fiscal face — and what is more, be seen to be doing so. - The Express Tribune

Fiscal anarchy

More than six months have passed since the Boko Haram ex-tremist group seized the world’s attention by kidnapping 276 schoolgirls in Nigeria. After a ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ campaign

went viral on social media, the United States, France, Britain and Israel joined an international effort to locate the girls. That effort has been fruit-less. Fifty-seven of the girls have escaped, but 219 remain captive. In re-cent months, Boko Haram has stepped up its efforts, kidnapping young women and teenagers from the places where they should be safest: their homes and schools. On October 18, the day after the Nigerian military an-nounced that it had reached a ceasefire agreement with the group, Boko Haram went on a house-to-house search for young women in two Nigeri-an towns, taking 60. Last weekend, Boko Haram kidnapped 30 teenagers, including girls as young as 11 years old.

A horrible fate awaits the abducted, as documented by Human Rights Watch in a report published this week. Boko Haram singles out mostly Christians, threatening them with death if they do not convert, and forcing teenagers into ‘marriages’ with Boko Haram fighters. The captives are treated as slaves, and they are raped, beaten and tortured.

More than 7,000 Nigerians have died since Boko Haram began its insurgency in 2009. In the first six months of this year, the group killed 2,053 civilians. Nigeria’s minister of foreign affairs, Aminu Wali, claimed on Monday that negotiations between his government and Boko Haram were continuing and that a deal would be reached soon. Nigerians have heard such promises before.

The government and army are part of the problem. The government has failed in its fundamental duty to protect some of the country’s most vulnerable citizens and help the victims who have escaped Boko Haram recover from their trauma. The army — corrupt, ill-equipped and understaffed — has proved to be no match for the extremist group and has itself committed grave human-rights abuses. The Nigerian government must ensure that perpetrators of abuse on both sides are called to account.

President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to announce soon that he will run for re-election in February. Securing the captives’ release would obviously give Mr Jonathan’s candidacy a boost. But to break Boko Haram’s murderous sway over one of Nigeria’s poorest regions — nearly 70 per cent of the people in northeastern Nigeria live below the poverty line — Mr Jonathan must figure out ways to distribute the nation’s oil wealth more fairly and provide the jobs, education and vi-tal services many Nigerians lack. These are long-term tasks, but even signs of a genuine effort to address inequality and reform the army would help. —The New York Times

Boko Haram and its continuing rampage

G A R E T H E VA N S

READERS’ FORUM

website: www.newindiaoman.com

NEW INDIA ASSURANCENew India offers a wide range of HEALTH INSURANCE COVERS to you/family/employee.

PERSPEC IVET I M E S O F O M A N M O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 3, 2 0 1 4T I M E S O F O M A N A13

Sometimes I wish that I could clone myself. I could have one Rebecca to go to work

to give my poor colleagues a break from an editor who ricochets in, messes up their plans, and then rushes off. Another could be with Nick all day, everyday, holding

his hand, reassuring him, getting involved with all of his therapy session and drying his tears of ter-ror and frustration. I’d wish into existence a domestic self, one who could get on with everything that’s crumbling at home. She’d conquer malfunctioning burglar alarms, grouting, sorting out the boxes of belongings that teeter around my bed, dealing with bills and paper-work. I’d have one for pleasure, to go on walks, meditate and catch up with friends and family, and then I’d have an avenging version of me who could take on the fury-inducing litany of things to do with Nick’s future care.

The Armstrong army would surge into action whenever any-one said “You need to...” This phrase, and its variants, have be-come something I dread. To give you an idea of the “you-niverse” in which I now live, here are some examples of how it sounds.

Have you got in touch with a brain-injury support group? Have you called up that woman with the disabled son? If you’re lonely, why don’t you go to an exercise class? You need to get that signed by someone at the hospital. Can you come back with a medical certificate later?

You need to ring each time you want to make an appointment to have medical documents scanned. No, you can’t set up a direct debit to pay Nick’s bill. You need to call us each month. You need to make sure you’re looking after yourself. Have you read this article about the beneficial effects of (insert ho-key natural remedy here)?

Why can’t you visit me every day? You should get a second opinion. Are you able to come in during the middle of the working week at noon? You need to get a formal prognosis, then you have to contact all of Nick’s credit-card

companies. You have to apply for a special bond to become Nick’s deputy. It will cost you £100. Have you read that book I told you about? The depressing one about someone’s life after a coma? Have you got any iden-tification to prove that you’re Nick’s wife? You need to fill in these documents again. Can you give me an update about Nick?

You have to contact HMRC if you want us to look into Nick’s tax return. Why don’t you have a few days off visiting? I’m sure you can organise some other people to go and see Nick.

If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride. If my dreams were answered, then Nick would be better. I wish that there was more than one Rebecca to take on all the things I’m told that “you” she, I, must do. But there’s just me. And I’m doing my best. — The Independent

TODAY IN HISTORY

OPINION POLL

1570 A tidal wave in the North Sea destroys the sea walls from Holland to Jutland. More than 1,000 people are killed.

.1789 The property of the church in France is

taken away by the state 1841 The second Afghan War begins 1880 James A. Garfield is elected the 20th

president of the United States 1903 London’s Daily Mirror newspaper is

first published 1914 Russia declares war with Turkey.. 1920 The first radio broadcast in the United

States is made from Pittsburgh

WORKSHOP ON CONTROLLING AND MONITORING FISHING GROUNDS MUSCAT: – Dr Ahmed bin Khalfan Al Rowahi, minister of agriculture and fisheries, opened a regional workshop on control and monitoring of fishing grounds in the Indian Ocean Rim countries at Sheraton Oman Hotel yesterday. The event is one of several workshops held by the Food and Agricul-ture Organisation (FAO) during the past 15 years. Al Rowahi said the Sultanate accorded special care for the fisheries’ appropriate management system, and embarked on reorganisation.

FROM OUR ARCHIVES

Having suffered the unprecedented devastation and savagery of the Two Great Wars, the most catastrophic wars in the history of civilisation in every sense, the West learnt its lessons

War is not nice, said Barbara Bush, in what should be the understatement of the cen-tury. The wife and mother of the two US

presidents should know what she is talking about. Her hosannas to peace did not prevent the two Gulf wars though. As Einstein said, you cannot simultane-ously prevent and prepare for war.

You do not need Einstein’s brains or his crown of snow-white hair to know that ‘war is not nice’. Having suffered the unprecedented devastation and savagery of the Two Great Wars, the most catastrophic wars in the history of civilisation in every sense, the West learnt its lessons. Never again, it vowed. And since the end of the World War II, Europe has managed to avoid the long, internecine regional military conflicts and wars that plagued it for centuries.

The butchering of the Balkan Muslims in the 1990s when the West stood and stared long and hard be-fore reluctantly stepping forward to put out the blaze had been an exception and so has been the conflict in Ukraine. But they are nothing compared to the end-less nightmare that had been the two world wars and which the West has successfully managed to avoid over the past seven decades or so.

Peace, prosperity and the good life that comes with it are palpable for everyone to see when you travel through the Western hemisphere. Life is beautiful. Life is a breeze as you glide through Europe without the hassle of borders and immigration checks, from one country into another. No wonder everyone in the wretched Third World is dying to move to the First World.

However, someone has to pay to keep the voracious juggernaut of the Western military industrial com-plex going. If peace reigns everywhere, what would become of international arms industry that feeds western economies?

So while peace is desirable, war is unavoidable and must go on forever — not on European or West-ern soil, God, no, not again — but somewhere — any-where but here. After the devastation of the Far East for long decades — from Korea to Vietnam and from Cambodia to the Philippines — the Near East and the heart of the Islamic world has been the ideal theatre for the forever war.

Look at the history of the past four decades and more. The Middle East and Muslim world has been perpetually simmering with one conflict or another, from Palestine to Maghreb to Yemen and from Iraq-Iran war to the latter Gulf wars to the destruction of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

And now with the sudden and dramatic rise of the ISIS, out of nowhere, the whole of Islamic world has been turned into an endless battlefield, from the edge of the Gulf to the whole of Levant and as far as Turkey. And this war on an elusive enemy, whose identity and origins remains as ominously mysterious as its back-ers, now threatens to draw and consume every single Arab and Muslim country into its all-enveloping and all-engorging vortex.

The US and Western alliance has not just enthu-

siastically thrown itself into yet another war in the Middle East and forced all regional players to sign on the campaign and for the first time pitch in mili-tarily; it is pushing a distant, marginal and totally unconnected nation such as Albania in Europe to throw its lot behind this unprecedented war.

Albania has not just been helping with huge supplies of arms and ammunition, it is sending its troops to ap-parently fight the ISIS. This week, foreign minister Ditmir Bushati lost his cool when CNN’s Becky Ander-son wondered why a ‘Sunni Muslim country’ like Alba-nia is sending arms and men to fight the ‘Sunni Muslim militants’ of ISIS in the distant Middle East. “We are not a Muslim country but a secular European nation and member of Nato,” Bushati shot back.

Recently, there was an interesting piece in the New York Times tantalisingly titled, Pakistan’s Lessons For Turkey. The writers, Michael M. Tanchum and Halil M. Karaveli, the first one an Israeli academic, talked of the dangerous dilemma Turkey faces in responding or not responding to the ISIS challenge.

Rightly drawing parallels from the devastating consequences that Pakistan has suffered, and con-tinues to, for its decision to support the Afghan jihad (and US proxy war) against Soviet occupation and latter act as a launching pad for the US invasion of Afghanistan, the writers argue that Turkey faces the same Hobson’s choice as Pakistan did three decades ago with attending consequences.

Strangely, though, they make an opposite case suggesting if Turkey does not act against the ISIS, and by implication, join the latest Western war, the Turkish society faces the danger of being radicalised as has been the case with Pakistan:

“Turkey’s dilemma is far more grave than its leaders realise. Indeed, Turkey’s current situation resembles the early years of Pakistan’s sponsorship of the Tale-ban. The IS is recruiting rebels in Turkey. And failure to clean its own house now could lead Turkey down the path of Pakistanisation, whereby a resident jihadist in-frastructure causes majority sect extremism to ingrain itself deeply within the fabric of society.”

“The writers go on to argue that Turkey’s interven-tion in the Syrian civil war parallels Pakistan’s support of the Taleban to affect the course of the Afghan civil war: “But the jihadism abetted by Pakistan did not re-main across the Afghan border. Turkey may now be witnessing the beginnings of a similar blowback.”

Regardless of the thrust and intent of the clever, strategic ‘New York Times’ piece, it is impossible to argue with its conclusion that Turkey, the leader of the Islamic world for centuries, an economic power-house and above all a NATO member state with the largest military force in the alliance, faces a curious existential dilemma.

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

The forever war and the Muslim world’s dilemma

HISTORYORB.COM

New species of frog found in New York

GraphicsGraphic News /Source: Rutgers University, wire agencies

Scientists have confirmed that a frog found living in wetlands in New York City is a new species, the first found in the region for 30 years

Jacksonville

Washington D.C.

Philadelphia

Boston

New YorkCity

100km

NorthCarolina

Virginia

Pennsylvania

Massachusetts

Connecticut

RhodeIsland

New York

NewJersey

Delaware

Maryland

Leopard Frog Habitat

Rana kauffeldi (new)

Rana sphenocephala

Rana pipiens

Undetermined

New species of leopard frog,Rana kauffeldi (male pictured)

Jeremy Feinberg, ofRutgers University, first reported discovery in 2012 when he heardodd, short and repetitive croak on Staten Island

LAST POLL RESULT

Should the Omani society do more to integrate people with disabilities?

Will super fast trains improve Oman’s transport system?

Visit timesofoman.com to cast your vote

Yes100%

At a time when the coun-try seeks hard work and productivity for

various reasons, including the ongoing and forthcoming de-velopmental projects as well as global changes, what we see is the exact opposite, with citizens adopting a culture of complacency. This may have something to do with the ex-tended leave (beyond what is stipulated in the relevant laws and regulations).

Even employees are hit by fi-nancial strain caused by travel expenses. The fact is that an employee who wants a long leave can very well avail him-self of his annual leave. There-fore, we should reconsider this issue and ponder over how to make citizens more responsi-ble and committed in the first place. The losses incurred by economy because of long holi-days just can’t be ignored.

The number and nature of holidays are clearly specified by the government’s Labour Department in its relevant acts. Extension of leaves re-flects the misguided concept on holidays held by some sec-tions of the society. This is rooted in laziness, idleness and lack of productivity. The State surely doesn’t want its citizens to subscribe to such unaccep-table views. Some employees plan these extended leaves well in advance, as if they — rather unfortunately — have prior knowledge of the leave tenure. When employees get used to this sort of work culture they assume they are compensated for long leaves, rather than pro-ductivity!

The State needs to define clearly the concept of pro-ductivity for the benefit of employees. The government’s development vision requires revision of a lot of concepts and attitudes held by citizens. A spirit of commitment needs to be cultivated and efforts should be made to ensure that employees get used to a work ethic of seriousness and responsibility, not just in words and slogans, but in ac-tion as well.

If we carefully examine the issue of long holidays, we find it causes huge losses to the economy. For example, the loss during the leave days to the pri-vate sector is around OMR17 million considering the num-ber of workers (citizens and residents) is 1.7 million and the wage per day is OMR10. How can the sector bear this loss? How can we expect the pri-vate sector to be competitive?

This is at the level of wages, not to mention rents, costs of equipment etc.

The losses also hit the public sector, and those who are self-employed. Everybody loses as a result of these leaves. It is in everyone’s interest to keep public holidays within rea-sonable limits as is the case in many countries including the rich neighbouring states where the Eid Al Adha holidays were for only two days this year. If we calculate the number of leaves a citizen takes a year, we would find that his actual working pe-riod is only six months, while the other six months are holi-days! The weekly leave adds up to 104 days a year, assuming 52 weeks in a year, with two days off every week. The employee’s annual leave is 30 days, which is the minimum under relevant regulations. The leave days on the occasion of Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha are five days each, totalling 10 days. The National Day holidays are two days, while Al Nahda (Renaissance), Israa and Miraj, as well as the anniversary of Prophet Mu-hammad’s (PBUH) birthday are one day off each.

Added to these are the ma-ternity and emergency leaves including death cases, mar-riages and others, totalling, say, 10 days in a year. So we find that the total leave days come to 159, at least — approximate-ly five months and nine days. If we divide by months, namely the 210 working days when the employee works for eight hours a day, we find that the to-tal number of days an employ-ee works is approximately 26 days. This, when the employee does not waste time in those eight hours!

The key question is how to avert this loss and wastage? This situation is not helpful; it does not look to the future. Why don’t we think of reduc-ing the number of leaves to the bare minimum, and prepare the society for the next stage of development by nurturing the spirit of committed work-ers and maximum productiv-ity and sharing of challenges by employers and employees? Each party will thus be liable to bear its responsibility as is the case with many countries, especially those similar to us in terms of not having enough re-sources for the future. We have to plan now to take the country to where it should be.

Certainly, there have been several positive efforts such as boosting the free work initia-tives, but this free work needs to be protected from undue leaves. There is a huge differ-ence between an employee who works less and one who works day and night to meet his obligations.

We hope the State would re-structure its leave system and reduce it to the minimum, so that everybody fulfils their re-sponsibility to nation building. The future would definitely prove this point.

The author is a member of Oman Journalist Association and a senior writer for Arabic newspapers.

Time to reconsider our long holidays

Only one me in this annoying ‘you-niverse’

A L I A L M ATA N I

R E B E C C A A R M S T R O N G

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

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GLOBAL EYEM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 3, 2 0 14



CALIFORNIA: Jockey Florent Geroux atop Work All Work, left, leads the pack en route to winning the 2014 Xpressbet Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, on Saturday. – AFP

CAMBODIA: Rowers compete with each other at a trial match for a boat rowing competition for the Water Festival at the Tonle Sap river

in Phnom Penh on Sunday. Cambodians will celebrate the Water Festival from November 5 to 7. – Reuters

TEXAS: Basketball star Tony Parker from the San Antonio Spurs, centre, teaches Infiniti Red Bull drivers Daniel Ricciardo of Australia,

left, and Sebastian Vettel of Germany, right, before the United States Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin,

Texas, on Saturday.– AFP

THAILAND: A woman takes a ‘selfie’ at a sunflower field in Lopburi province, north of Bangkok on

Sunday. – Reuters

COSTA RICA: A farmer shows a tent to protect his crops covered with ash in San Gerardo de Irazu,

some 70km northeast of San Jose, Costa Rica, on Saturday, after the Turrialba volcano spewed ash

and volcanic rocks. – AFP

IOWA: Former president Bill Clinton holds up an Iowa State Univer-

sity onesie, a gift for his new granddaughter from US Senate Demo-

cratic candidate Rep. Bruce Braley, during a campaign fundraiser at

the Electric Park Ballroom, in Waterloo, Iowa on Saturday. – AFP

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US spaceship probe could take a year

MOJAVE (CALIFORNIA): Au-thorities who on Saturday carried out their first full day of investi-gation into a US spacecraft crash that killed one pilot and seriously injured another said probing the incident could take a year.

National Transportation Safety Board acting chairman Chris-topher Hart told reporters that

debris from the Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocket crash was strewn over an area five miles (eight kilometres) long, indicating a likely in-flight breakup.

The on-site investigation work would last up to a week, he said, but the full probe piecing togeth-er the facts and analysis “will be probably 12 months or so”.

British tycoon and Virgin chief Richard Branson meanwhile in-sisted earlier in the day that he was undeterred and that his dream of commercial space travel was still alive. The doomed Virgin flight—the 35th by SpaceShipTwo, which is meant to carry tourists on short but expensive trips to space—marked the first time the space-ship had flown on a new kind of plastic-based rocket fuel mixture.

Hart earlier told reporters that investigators were entering un-known territory since it was “the first time we have been in the lead of a space launch that involved per-sons on board.” However, he noted that the test flight “was heavily

documented in ways we don’t usu-ally see with normal accidents.” That included six cameras on the vehicle and three on WhiteKnight-Two—the bigger aircraft that had carried the spaceship.

There was also extensive telem-etry data and a long-range camera at nearby Edwards Air Force Base, among other sources of input, he said. Friday’s accident dealt a dev-astating setback to commercial space tourism. It was the second disaster to rock the private space industry in the space of a few days, after an Antares rocket carry-ing supplies to the International Space Station exploded after take-off in Virginia on Tuesday. - AFP

Virgin chief Branson asserts his dream of

commercial space travel is very much alive

UNDETERRED: Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson, second from

left, helps a reporter with his camera after the reporter fell to the

ground following a press conference at the Mojave Air and Space

Port in Mojave, California on Saturday. – AFP

Debris from the Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo

rocket crash was strewn over an area five miles (eight

kilometres) long, indicating a likely in-flight breakup

Christopher Hart, National Transportation

Safety Board acting chairman

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Pro-Russian rebels vote in Donetsk

DONETSK (UKRAINE): Pro-Russian rebels voted in an election to set up a separatist leadership in eastern Ukraine on Sunday, tak-ing the war-torn region closer to Russia and defying Kiev and the West, as shelling continued across the territory.

The United States and Euro-

pean Union have denounced the vote as illegitimate, which is sure to stoke tensions further between the West and Russia.

The separatists’ election of a leader and People’s Council is the latest twist in a face-off between Russia and the West that started with Ukraine’s ouster of a Mos-

cow-backed president in February and the installation of a pro-Euro-pean leadership.

In Donetsk, eastern Ukraine’s former industrial capital and the separatists’ political and military stronghold, Soviet music blared out of speakers in front of a central voting station carrying the separa-tist’s red black and blue flag.

Long queuesAcross the region suffering from years of neglect and months of war between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels, people stood in freezing temperatures to cast their vote in some places near the remains of shrapnel from mortar bombings.

“We are citizens of Donetsk, and we don’t want to live under the Kiev government that has turned its back on us,” said Sergei Kova-lenko, 58, a private security guard who came to vote with his wife at a polling station set up at an elemen-tary school. People brought truck loads of carrots, potatoes and cab-bages to polling stations where they were sold off for pennies to those waiting in line.

Some of the heaviest artillery shelling of the past few weeks could be heard in the predomi-nantly Russian-speaking area hours before voting was to begin. Rebels said more artillery was heard in a northern district of Donetsk during the vote. — Reuters

While West and Russia are at odds over the

legitimacy of the ballot, Ukraine government

says elections violate the core agreement

Abu Sayyaf militants kill six soldiers

Bangladesh launches inquiry into power outage

MANILA: Abu Sayyaf in-surgents killed six soldiers in the southern Philippines on Sunday despite a new army offensive against the Al Qaeda-linked group, a military spokes-woman said.

The soldiers were patrol-ling in the strife-torn island of Basilan when they were at-tacked by about 20 heavily-armed fighters.

Regional military spokes-woman Captain Rowena Muy-uela said there were also “most likely... undetermined casual-ties on the Abu Sayyaf side”.

The incident came despite a military offensive that was launched over the weekend against the Abu Sayyaf in the is-land of Jolo, 129 kilometres (80 miles) from Basilan.

On Saturday troops battled about 60 Abu Sayyaf fighters in Jolo and used helicopter gun-ships to blast their positions, the military said.

Troops were still pursuing the extremists in Jolo, Muyuela said. She said soldiers on the ground in both Basilan and Jolo had reported casualties among the Abu Sayyaf but could give no exact figures.

President Benigno Aquino’s spokesman Herminio Coloma said in Manila that the military had launched their offensive on Aquino’s orders. “We launched this operation so we can put a halt to the actions of this bandit group that has been sowing fear and bloodshed among our peo-ple,” he said. — AFP

DHAKA: An inquiry was un-der way on Sunday into Bang-ladesh’s nationwide blackout, which plunged homes, busi-nesses and even the prime min-ister’s office into darkness.

Power was restored across the country by Sunday morning, a government minister said. “There is no power shortfall an-ywhere in the country. The sup-ply is now fully normal across the country,” junior power min-ister Nasrul Hamid told report-ers after the outage which hit just before midday on Saturday.

“We’ve set up a probe com-mittee to investigate. The com-mittee has already started work and will submit its findings in three days.” Loud cheers could be heard in Dhaka late Satur-day as the lights came back on in phases, after residents spent hours outdoors or on their roofs.

Dhaka, with a population of 15 million, had resembled a ghost town as dusk descended, with homes, businesses and government offices plunged into darkness, and hospitals and the international airport forced to use backup generators.

Water supplies were hit as most of the pumps which sup-ply groundwater could not func-tion. Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Chowdhury Alamgir Hossain, a director of state-run Power Grid Company of Bang-ladesh, blamed the failure of a transmission line from India for the blackout. — AFP

P H I L I P P I N E S

P H I L I P P I N E S

CONTROVERSIAL VOTE: Alexander Zakharchenko, Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic and presidential candidate, casts his ballot during the vote at a polling station in Donetsk on Sunday. – AFP

BMARKE

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AQAR UNVEILS RIMAL2 PROJECT IN BAUSHERAqar, the leading property developer in the Sultanate of Oman, on Sunday, officially inaugurated its latest high-end integrated residential complex Rimal2, attended by high rank officials, real estate developer, and stake holders. >B2

Contracts for Liwa Plastics set to be floated in January

A E [email protected]

MUSCAT: Four engineering, pro-curement and construction (EPC) contracts for building the $3.6 billion Liwa Plastics project are expected to be floated in January next year, said a top-level official of Liwa Plastics project.

Henk Pauw, general manager of Liwa Plastics Project, said that the EPC contracts will be awarded by the fourth quarter of 2015.

Presenting a paper on the pro-gress of Liwa Plastics project at Oman Projects Forum 2014 here last week, Pauw said that commis-sioning of the project would start in the first quarter of 2018, which

will lead to full commission by the end of the same year.

Mega projectLiwa Plastics chief also noted that different teams working on the mega project is located in nine different cities. These include the main project team is in So-har, NGLE project team in Mus-cat, LPP main front-end engine design (FEED) office in Hague, FEED for polymers team in Brno and project management consultancy and FEED team in New Delhi.

Elaborating on the progress of the project, he said project man-agement consultancy was awarded in February 2014, while awarding of front end engine design was in April 2014. Also, the detailed fea-sibility study was completed in August 2012.

Pauw also noted that the first ma-

jor industrial gas allocation from the Ministry of Oil and Gas in al-most a decade was for Liwa project.

The project has different com-ponents in three different loca-tions, which include steam crack-er and associated units and 300 km-long pipeline. “The extrac-tion of gas will be in Fahud. We will build a pipeline next to the existing pipeline.”

The complex will also add value to products from Orpic’s refinery in Sohar and its associated petro-chemicals plants.

New plantWith the commissioning of Liwa Plastics project, development of a downstream plastics industry be-comes a possibility. The new plant will require 350 operators and 150 technicians, while indirect jobs of contractors and subcontractors are estimated at 1,200. Also, 10,000

workers will be employed during the construction phase.

With the completion of ex-pansion projects, the employee strength of Oman Oil Refineries and Petrochemical Industries (Orpic) will go up to 3,000 from 1,600 now. The other major ex-pansion programmes of Orpic include Sohar Refinery improve-ment project and Muscat-Sohar pipeline project.

The new project in Sohar will be the country’s first steam cracker, allowing it to produce a range of products and providing several opportunities for down-stream industries.

The EPC contracts will be awarded by the

fourth quarter of 2015. Commissioning of the

project will start in the first quarter of 2018,

which will lead to full commission by the end

of the same year, said a company official

Electricity Holding Group opens knowledge sharing meetTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Electricity Holding Group (EHG) inaugurated the Knowledge Sharing Conference 2014 under the patronage of Yahya bin Said Al Jabri, chairman of Spe-cial Economic Zone of Duqm and in the presence of Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Mahrouqi, chairman of the Public Authority for Elec-tricity and Water and chairman of the Electricity Holding Company,

and Sheikh Dr Abdul Malik bin Abdullah Al Hinai, Adviser at the Ministry of Finance and Deputy Chairman of Electricity Holding Company, and a number of board members and chief executives of the group at Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort - Muscat.

The new identity of the Electricity Holding Group is launched as well in the opening ceremony by student team called the White Shadow from Sultan

Qaboos University through a unique lighting show.

Enhancing communicationThe Knowledge Sharing Confer-ence aims to support a range of Electricity Holding Group com-mitment to reach and achieve certain standards in terms of quality, and improvement the customer service, and enhancing communication.

The Knowledge Sharing Con-

ference is sponsored locally and internationally by: Voltump, Lucy Electric, Siemens, Global Chemi-cal & Maintenance, Rukun AL Yaqeen International (RAY), Oman Cable, United Engineering Company, GDF Suez, ACWA Pow-er, Al Habib & Co., Energoproject Entel LLC and OIFC.

The Electricity Holding Group is a group of ten joint stock com-panies registered in the Sultanate of Oman.

K N O W L E D G E S H A R I N G C O N F E R E N C E

Yahya bin Said Al Jabri. — Supplied picture

Apple Pay to fuel chatter, product announcements at Las Vegas expo

NEW YORK: They can’t stop talking about Apple Pay.

The mobile-payment service announced by Apple last month will probably drive discussions and new-product announce-ments at tech-industry confer-ence Money20/20, which kicks off in Las Vegas, said Richard Crone, chief executive officer at researcher Crone Consulting.

“They might as well call it Apple Pay20/20,” Crone said in an interview. “It will domi-nate the conversation and have an honorable mention in every presentation.” Representatives of technology companies, re-tailers, banks and payment net-works attend the four-day con-ference. A crowd of about 7,500 is expected, including more than 750 CEOs, according to the event’s website.

The conference will be ground zero for competing mobile-payment firms, many of them rolling out new products and features. CU Wallet, operator of a mobile-payments platform for credit unions, will announce that its service due out next year can work the same way Apple Pay does — with consumers tap-ping a phone on an in-store ter-minal, CEO Paul Fiore said.

Apple Pay’s debut on October 20 has made more consumers aware of the technology and could speed up the adoption of mobile wallets that work in a similar manner, Thad Peter-son, an analyst at Aite Group, said in an interview. “It’s bro-ken mobile payments wide open,” Peterson said.

The value of such transac-tions made via mobile devices worldwide could jump by al-most 40 per cent this year to $507 billion, according to Ju-niper Research. Mobile devices will account for about 26 per cent of Americans’ spending online in 2014, according to the research firm Mercator Adviso-ry Group; by 2025 it’ll be 61 per cent. — Bloomberg News

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

Tim Cook, chief executive

officer of Apple, unveils

Apple Pay. — Bloomberg News

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Aqar launches new integrated residential complex in Bausher

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Aqar, the leading prop-erty developer in the Sultanate of Oman, on Sunday inaugurated offi-cially its latest high end integrated residential complex Rimal2, at the Crown Plaza Hotel, with the at-tendance of high rank officials, en-trepreneurs, real estate developer, contractors and stake holders.

At his speech at the inaugura-tion ceremony, Mohamed bin Ab-dullah Al Khonji, chairman and CEO of Aqar, asserted that Aqar is thoroughly committed to continue developing real estate projects that are built on the latest modern specification supported by a whole set of technologies and latest appli-ances to provide the owners with the standard living environment, in terms of strategic locations of these residential complexes, and the quality of construction.

Pointing out that Rimal2 is one of the leading real estate projects

in Oman that has a contribution to the development of prosperity sec-tor in the Sultanate.

He said that the inauguration of Rimal2 is on time; thanks to the big recovery experienced at prop-erties due to the incentive policies followed by the government and the banking facilitations.

World class featuresA 3D presentation showcased technical specifications and fea-tures of Rimal 2; the 148 resi-dential units of varied spaces; an integrated-service modern project matching modern life style, with high-end design and decoration and strategic site at Bausher; the heart of the capital city.

AC tube units, internal design supports power consumption re-duction and walls — internal and outside — built from special ma-terials to reduce temperature to least degree; new appliances, fea-tures and technologies introduced

to the kitchen and bathroom. Aqar brought all these for building bet-ter relations with its customers.

Marketing strategyAl Khonji said that Aqar signed a contract with Better Homes to carry out marketing and promot-ing works for Rimal2. “All works are in progress according to an ac-curate time table and pre-drafted plans; the project hosts a variety of benefits and advantages; to name but a few, a 400- vehicle three level underground parking where the first level is for the Mall and the second and third ones are for resi-dents, an exclusive 27m-lenghth swimming pool, world class mall, and Other facilities include a chil-dren’s playing area, spaces for bar-beques, a gym for men and women, as well as prayer rooms. When the project was floated, 70 per cent of the apartments has been sold, in a wave of success for Aqar,” Al Khonji explained.

Rimal Galleria Announcing that another com-plementary project will be dis-closed in the near future, Al Khinji said that Rimal Gallleria Mall is a 10,000 square metres retail space that will bring some of the world’s leading names and local favour-ites, all within walking distance of the residence.

Organised along a glass-faced promenade, which will feature a range of cafes, eateries and bou-tiques, Rimal Galleria is set to be one of Muscat’s most popular fam-ily-focused retails centres.

A terraced restaurant area will offer a range of cuisines and al fres-co dining options to suit all tastes

Real estate boom Al Khonji pointed that the Sul-tanate has experienced a big boom and continued develop-ments in regard with real estate and property market.

“When we inaugurated Rimal, the majority of that area was sand, and only sand; today, many big buildings and construction projects are in progress or al-ready have been completed. It is a new life vibrant there,” Al Khonji further added.

Journey of excellence Aqar was created in 2010 as the new name and identity of one of Muscat’s longest established real estate companies, Al Khonji Real Estate & Development. Aqar is a subsidiary of Al Khonji Holding and operates as a specialised real estate developer committed to the crea-tion of exciting and highly innova-tive residential and commercial developments which are designed to meet the modern lifestyle of to-day — especially amongst younger families and home owners.

The name and visual identity of Aqar have been created to give

the new company a simple, mem-orable and single minded brand identity and feel. Its creation has brought together a very talented team of professionals, with many years of experience and expertise in property development, and the implementation of other projects within the Omani market.

The talented team is led by Mo-hamed Al Khonji, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aqar. Mohamed and his brother Qaboos Al Khonji have a long and well established history in the Muscat market and set up their business together 22 years ago.

Rimal 2 has 148

residential units of

varying sizes and

is an integrated

project matching

modern life style,

quality construction,

high-end design and

decoration located

in a strategic site at

Bausher, the heart of

the capital city Mohamed bin Abdullah Al Khonji — Supplied picture

BASIC FACTS Completion is

expected by early 2018

Highest engineering and construction standards applied

148- unit integrated residential complex with amazing facilities and services

Standard environment for living based on latest technologies and ideas

Aqar signed a contract with Better Homes to carry out marketing and promotion works

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Plastic takes 1,000 years or more to break downWHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW. DON’T WASTE A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY LIKE OMAN.

The Agency appoints a new head Times News Service

MUSCAT: Embarking on ag-gressive business development initiatives, The Agency, for-merly known as Sabco Art, has announced the appointment of Morad Rashid Awad as the new Agency Head.

His principal focus will be on strategic growth and busi-ness development across the fast growing advertising and communications market in Oman. His goal is to leverage the considerable experience and resources of The Agency to initiate highly creative product delivery and a major upgrade in its integrated offering.

Awad started his advertising career at TBWA, Egypt in 2000. Seven years later he moved to Ri-yadh to establish TBWA, Saudi Arabia’s flagship office in the Saudi capital, going on to build a strong agency with a multi mil-lion dollars revenue base.

Over the last 4 years he had played a key role as part of the TBWA, Raad Middle East management team, responsible for managing the operation in Egypt in 2012-2013, post the political unrest in this key mar-ket, as well as managing and ex-panding the Riyadh office.

This notable change in The Agency management represents a major step in its plans to widen its scope of services – by tap-ping into the fast growing digital communication space and up-grading its basic creative, brand-ing and events management services to cater to the rising de-mands of the Oman market.

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WhatsNews


MUSCAT: The MSM30 Index crossed the 7,000-mark and end-ed on a strong note at 7,027.78 points, up by 0.76 per cent. The MSM Sharia index increased by 0.44 per cent to close at 1,043.30 points. Al Anwar Holding was the most active in terms of vol-ume as well as turnover. Oman & Emirates Holding, up by 6.29 per cent, was the top gainer of the

day, while Gulf Investment Ser-vices Preference shares, down by 8.43 per cent was the top loser of the day.

As many as 2,110 trades were executed yesterday generating turnover of OMR10 million with more than 35.5 million shares changing hands. Out of 59 traded stocks, 33 advanced, four declined and 22 remained unchanged. GCC

and Arab investors remained net buyers for OMR326,000 while Omani investors were net sellers followed by foreign investors. The financial Index was the best per-forming index for the session and closed at 8,582.69 points, up by 1.21 per cent. Oman & Emirates Holding, Industrial Index closed with gains at 9,595.04 points, up by 0.66 per cent. — United Securities

Oman & Emirates

Holding, up by

6.29%, was the

top gainer of the

day, while Gulf

Investment Services

Preference shares,

down by 8.43 per

cent, was the top

loser of the day

ECB not to change interest rate policy BRUSSELS: The European Central Bank (ECB) is likely to hold fire on new policy moves on Thursday and leave a series of radical recent measures to take their course, despite pressure over a weak economic recovery, analysts say.

Unlike moves by the US Federal Reserve to end its stimulus spree and a surprise monetary easing plan by the Bank of Japan, ECB policymakers are expected to sit tight at their monthly meeting.

The week looks set to be par-ticularly busy for the ECB, which on Tuesday takes on its role as Europe’s banking watchdog in a historic shake-up to help ward off another financial crisis.

Howard Archer, of IHS Global Insight, said no new ECB deci-sions were likely for the time be-ing, adding that “the bank will very probably remain in ‘wait and see’ mode into the New Year”.

Interest rates are currently at their all-time lows anyway — 0.05 per cent for its main “refinanc-ing” rate — and a rate hike seems unlikely at a time when the ECB is seeking to boost inflation from its stubborn lows.

Inflation in the 18-nation eu-rozone edged up to 0.4 per cent in October, official data showed on Friday, far below the 2.0 per cent

target set by the Frankfurt-based ECB, which has a core mission of ensuring price stability.

“If survey-based inflation ex-pectations fall further, the pres-sure for additional ECB monetary easing will increase,” Commer-zbank’s chief economist Joerg Kraemer said, however.

Current low inflation levels have stoked fears of deflation — when prices actually fall — which, if it takes hold, can trigger a vicious spiral where businesses and households delay purchases, throttling demand and causing companies to lay off workers.

In addition to cutting inter-est rates, deflationary fears have prompted the ECB to pull out other tools, such as a series of liquidity programmes to inject cash into the economy.

The ECB is launching pur-chases of asset-backed securities (ABS), or bundles of individual loans such as mortgages, car loans and credit-card debt sold on to investors, to allow banks to share the risk of default and free up funds to offer more lending. But the central bank’s target of boost-ing the size of its balance sheet by one trillion euros ($1.25 trillion) has made little headway through the first TLTRO or the initial covered bonds purchases. — AFP

E U R O P E A N C E N T R A L B A N K

Muscat shares top 7,000-mark

MUSCAT: Muscat Securi-ties Market (MSM) will start listing Al Maha Ceramics shares on Monday at 10 am.

Ahmed bin Saleh Al Marhoon, director general of MSM, has recently issued a decision in respect to listing Al Maha Ceramics in the sec-ondary market with a capital of OMR5 million divided into 50 million shares with initial price of 397 baisas per share. Al Maha Ceramics sold 35 per cent of the promoters’ shares through public offer-

ing between September 16 and October 15, 2014.

The subscription was al-most 20 times of the shares offered. The company allot-ted 200 shares for each small shareholder, three per cent of additional shares, and 4 per cent for second category subscribers, represented by major investors. The value of the subscription applications amounted to about OMR155 although the value of the of-fered share was only OMR7.9 million. — ONA

Al Maha share listing on Monday

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

E- IMESTECH STUFFTECH STUFF

BNEW OS ADDS A LOT OF FEATURES FOR MAC USERSApple’s new OS X Yosemite operating system adds a lot of features for Mac users, and for those with privacy concerns, the Safari browser can now be set to use the DuckDuckGo search engine by default. (Unlike other sites, which may collect bits of your data like search history and location to better serve you advertising, DuckDuckGo does not collect or share your personal information).

M O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 3, 2 0 14

FARHAD MANJOO

Amazon introduces new gadgets the way a guer-rilla army prepares for attack: unsteadily at first, and then with un-

expected ferocity.The company usually begins by

putting out feelers to test the mar-ket. In 2007, it started selling its first e-reader, the Kindle, a device that went for $399 and was as ugly as a naked mole rat. But Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s chief executive, is known for patience and a willingness to experiment. At some point, because Amazon’s data showed that Kin-dle owners purchased more Kindle books than they did print books, the company began selling the e-readers at cost, expecting to make a profit on e-book sales. That set in motion a path to domination. Today, with its latest high-end reader, the

Voyage, offering a display that looks just as good as a hardcover, Amazon has vanquished just about every competing e-reader, and the Kindle has become the most triumphant and menacing brand in publishing.

Amazon now looks to be prepar-ing a full-scale ground invasion of the rest of the gadget landscape. In addition to a new Kindle reader, this year the company entered two new device categories, and it expanded the rest of its hardware lineup.

Yet its strategy appears puzzling, with a lineup of tablets and other de-vices that sound fantastic in theory, but often fall short of greatness in real-world use.

Amazon now makes four kinds of devices. There are dedicated e-read-ers, multipurpose tablets and, start-ing this year, a TV streaming device and a smartphone, the Fire Phone. Just this week, Amazon introduced another streaming machine, the

Fire Stick TV, a $39 gadget that is the size of a USB stick and promises to turn your television into an Am-azon-powered video service. When you count each variation of each de-vice, you find that Amazon, the os-tensible retailer, makes more hard-ware products than Google does, and almost as much stuff as Apple.

Spending time with its devices, as I did recently, offers a peek into Amazon’s otherwise opaque soul. The hardware shows off Amazon’s strengths in the continuing tech war between it and Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft. Among these strengths: Like a true retailer, Amazon appreciates the attractive-ness of clever pricing strategies, and of giving customers devices that feel expensive but aren’t. Amazon, more than most rivals, also understands the value of packaging customer service with its hardware. Its high-end tablets include Mayday, a sys-

tem that instantly summons a live video call with an agent who can an-swer most of your how-to questions — which is one of the best features on any device by any company.

But Amazon’s devices also high-light its deep weaknesses. The com-pany seems congenitally blind to the charms of hardware and software design, and it has not yet managed to attract enough partners, including app developers, to expand the utility of its devices. It was the lack of apps, among other flaws, that doomed the Fire Phone, the device Amazon began selling with tremendous fanfare in July. Amazon disclosed last week that it was sitting on $83 million in unsold Fire Phones and would be taking a $170 million write-down on that program.

These shortcomings strain the case for Amazon’s devices. If you are mostly interested in entertainment, and if you are looking for a good deal,

it could be a good idea to take a chance on Amazon’s ecosystem, especially its tablets. As I wrote in February, Ama-zon remains the best place online to buy books, movies, music and other media, because content from Amazon works seamlessly across different kinds of devices. Amazon’s tablets are also attractive if you are in the market for low-priced devices for your children.

But if you are looking for more — more flexibility and utility in your gadgets, better design and primar-ily assurance that your device will work with whatever great new hard-ware or software that comes along next — look elsewhere.

Consider the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9, the svelte machine that sits at the head of Amazon’s tablet lineup. The HDX has three main strengths: It’s very thin, it’s 2 ounces lighter than Apple’s new iPad Air 2 and it has a brilliant screen. This year

Amazon blessed the HDX 8.9 with a faster processor than was available in last year’s model, better graphics capabilities and a surround-sound system made by Dolby. At $379, the HDX is also $120 cheaper than Apple’s latest large-screen iPad. Amazon also makes a 7-inch HDX that it sells for $179, but that de-vice remains unchanged from last year’s model.

On paper, the HDX 8.9 sounds like a great deal. But using it is kind of meh. The HDX sure is thin and light, but because it is made out of a plasticky magnesium alloy — rather than the brushed alumin-ium of the iPad — it feels a bit rub-bery and cheap. More than that, it’s undistinguished, a generic black slab. It looks more like a tab-let designed by a minimalist robot than one thought up by a human.

But the biggest problem is what to do with this device. As they be-come squeezed in our lives between bigger phones and better laptops, tablets have lately been suffering an identity crisis; there doesn’t seem to be much to do on a high-powered tablet that you couldn’t do better on a phone or computer. That problem plagues Apple’s new iPads, but it’s even more pronounced on a tablet like the HDX, which does not have a great bank of the latest apps to give it extra utility.

As a result I mostly found myself watching Amazon’s streaming mov-ies and surfing the Web. In this way, the HDX 8.9 compares unfavour-ably with last year’s Apple iPad Air, which is now on sale for $399 — $20 more than the HDX.

— The New York Times News Service

When you count

each variation of

each device, you find

that Amazon, the

ostensible retailer,

makes more hardware

products than Google

does, and almost as

much stuff as Apple

Looking for the real design behind Amazon’s devices

G R E A T E R C O N N E C T I V I T Y

For years, Bluetooth was practically synonymous with irritation.

Connecting a phone to a Bluetooth device or car — a process called pair-ing — was often clunky, annoying and mysterious. (“Pairing failed,” the de-vice too often said. But why? That’s for you to figure out.)

Even in a car, where Bluetooth can enable hands-free talking, frustration can ensue. Try talking to Siri over Bluetooth and road rage is likely to follow.

Still, Bluetooth is becoming the default system for connecting our devices wirelessly. It is now re-sponsible for connecting phones with wearable devices like fitness trackers, door locks and even tooth-brushes and light bulbs. The rea-son: Bluetooth has quietly evolved into a much smarter technology.

Bluetooth is a short-range wire-less radio technology that was re-leased to the public in 1999. The product is controlled by the non-profit Bluetooth Special Interest Group, which has 24,000 member companies, and any company can use Bluetooth in its product as long as it agrees to certain specifications.

That group, and the small col-lection of people who determine what goes into the Bluetooth speci-fication, decided a few years ago to create a version of the system that could connect not just wireless headsets and hands-free calling, but also wearable devices, smart home locks, toothbrushes and ad-vertising beacons.

This updated version of Blue-tooth goes by a variety of names: Bluetooth Smart, Bluetooth 4.0 and Bluetooth Low Energy. It is a much-lower-power version of Bluetooth that sends far less information than the versions now called Blue-tooth Classic. (The Bluetooth name is said to derive from King Harald Bluetooth, Danish royalty in the 10th century.)

“The role of Bluetooth has changed,” said Suke Jawanda, a spokesman for the Bluetooth Spe-cial Interest Group. “The world is just starting to see now, Bluetooth is everywhere. All these things are being brought into the connected world, and it’s all using this Blue-tooth Smart.”

This new version of Bluetooth is meant to be used for superfast,

supershort bursts of information sent over relatively short distanc-es — like how many steps you’re taking or a code that activates an app on your phone. Jawanda called it the “killer enabler” of connected devices.

Although Bluetooth Smart was introduced in 2010, it’s just

starting to make its way into more devices. And while the new standard uses less power, saving precious battery life, perhaps the most noticeable change is how it pairs with other devices.

For example, you can now pair devices using an app instead of using the phone’s settings. Take the Moto

360 smartwatch. When you turn on the watch, it asks you to download an app to your Android phone.

When you download the app, it does the work of searching for and finding the watch by name (and not displaying other Bluetooth devices like cars or speakers that might be nearby) and generates a code to verify the pairing.

Some developers say that ease of use combined with longer battery life are reasons Bluetooth will ac-tually be able to power the so-called Internet of Things, or the concept of a world of connected devices that can communicate with each other for our benefit.

“To me, it is the Internet of Things,” said Joaquin Prendes, a start-up founder from Fort Lauderd-ale, Florida. Prendes’ company, Jay-ster, uses Bluetooth Smart to con-nect a user’s phone to a key chain, and he is raising money to connect it eventually to a wallet. The bat-tery in the company’s key chain and wallet, he said, should be able to last up to two years or longer, and pairing with a phone is easy.

Prendes said he was working for Motorola as an engineer when the

lower-energy Bluetooth standard emerged and he realised its potential.

“It’s the perfect technology to make everything smart that wasn’t smart before,” he said. There are clear drawbacks, though. The big-gest downside of any Bluetooth is range. If you have connected your phone to your home thermostat through Bluetooth, you will also have to connect the thermostat to Wi-Fi to control it from outside the house. If you are controlling the thermostat with just Bluetooth and you have a large home, you could even go out of range while inside.

Bluetooth can cover 50 to 150 feet and extend as far as 300 feet if the two devices have a direct line of sight. Of course, that signal is dependent on walls and other ob-stacles and interference from other devices. (Bluetooth Smart is better than the past version at handling interference.) Another potential downside is security. Some re-searchers have reported they were able to bypass the encryption built into Bluetooth Smart, although Jawanda maintains that Bluetooth offers plenty of security. — MOLLY

WOOD/The New York Times News Service

Bluetooth improvements show in more devices

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How to take off after you launch!

AFTER months of planning, some pain, some stress and some exuberant joy, your startup finally launched and made a big splash. But what happens now?

While you passed what tends to be the most difficult part of starting up, you must maintain momentum and challenge your-self by setting new goals for your-self and your company. Holding yourself and your businesses to higher standards and continuing to charge ahead becomes critical, as competitors can enter the mar-ket without warning, and you can’t

always rely on your resident indus-try pundits to accurately forecast the future.

Sustaining momentum follow-ing a strong start takes effort, but it remains one of, if not the most, important steps in the future and prosperity of your company. Con-sider the following tactics to attain and uphold post-launch success:

Set goals: Aim high, but stay real-istic, and hold your company to it. Marking monumental moments can help you and the rest of the company stay positive and upbeat,

but it can also help avoid disasters like getting too big too soon or los-ing sight of the company’s values.

The most important step is to keep yourself and the company ac-countable for progress. Go beyond the traditional sales or growth metrics and contemplate achiev-ing feats like capturing some tar-get clients or earning a feature in a big publication.

Listen closely to your custom-ers: These absolutely essential fans of your business often serve as brand champions, too, so con-sidering and implementing their feedback whenever possible can

attach a positive sentiment to your brand and push you to the fore-front of their minds.

They want you to succeed, and they look forward to new develop-ments in your company and prod-uct, so reaching out every now and then to let them know you hear them can only help. Go beyond responding to customer support e-mails and create social media accounts (where it makes sense) both for yourself and your compa-ny, and engage with your followers whenever possible.

Monitor the market: You found success through studying the land-scape, so continue to survey the scene to stay innovative and rel-evant in the competitive scheme. Consider the ways you can partici-pate or grow to adapt to changing needs and trends, too — after all, your knack of spotting gaps in the market got you to this point.

Unexpected rivals may enter the market, but understanding your product’s unique features and val-ue proposition will help you keep your edge especially as you con-

tinue to innovate and incorporate customer feedback as it suits your business mission and goals.

Empower your employees: Cre-ating a strong company culture and work environment only makes your internal network stronger. When developing this atmosphere, allow openness and employee dia-logue; some of the greatest ideas come from those who know your company best, so allow your em-ployees to speak freely about areas they feel can improve or what they see in the company’s future. An open environment also strength-ens their loyalty to the organisa-tion, so welcome and build on their feedback on a regular basis.

Involve the entire community: Expanding your network — both internally and externally — hap-pens through proactive outreach activities. You may find out more about the resources available for your company, employees, and cus-tomers by interacting with your company’s community, and it helps make a name for yourself in the

area. Host events for professionals to connect at your office or simply encourage your employees to get involved through volunteerism and charity work. This helps strength-en your company’s brand and also shines a light on the positive impact it makes in the community.

Lead the way: Your company’s progress starts and ends with you. Employees, partners, vendors, and even your customers look to you for guidance and inspiration. Invest time in yourself to discover your strengths and weaknesses. Consid-er networking events, conferences, and even interesting hobbies to feel more enthused and motivated about your role as a leader.

The positive vibes following a successful launch can place a com-pany pretty high on a pedestal, but carrying on through the natural ups and downs in entrepreneur-ship and small business life re-quires sustained effort. Preparing for and staying conscientious of this fact can help a startup find - and preserve - the fortune it fore-casted. — Pete Kazanjy/The Washington Post

While you passed what tends to be the

most difficult part of starting up, you must

maintain momentum and challenge yourself

by setting new goals for yourself and

your company

B8

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Meethaq launches Oman Islamic finance report

MUSCAT: Meethaq, the pio-neer of Islamic banking in Oman from Bank Muscat, in a strategic partnership with Thomson Reu-ters, the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) of the Islamic Development Bank, and the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), launched the Oman Islamic Finance Report 2015 dur-ing the 10th World Islamic Eco-nomic Forum in Dubai.

The report is the latest in the series of Islamic Finance Country Reports designed to provide key insights on the development of Islamic finance in markets where the industry is new and emerging,

says a press release. Based on a combination of pri-

mary and secondary research, including an exclusive retail con-sumer survey and exclusive inter-views with leading stakeholders, the report highlights that Islamic banking assets in Oman have grown to $2.8 billion in June 2014, or 4.4 per cent of total banking as-sets, since the launch of Islamic finance less than two years ago in January 2013. This growth is expected to continue and Islamic banking assets are projected to grow to between $5 billion to $7 billion by 2018.

The growth is driven by a com-bination of the enabling environ-ment being fostered by regulators and a young, Shari’a-sensitive population. The consumer survey highlighted the demand from the retail segment for banking solu-tions that are truly ‘Islamic’, with 74 per cent of respondents stating adherence to Islamic rules as the most important factor for dealing with Islamic banks.

Hamoud bin Sangour Al Zadjali, executive president of the Central

Bank of Oman, in an exclusive in-terview in the report said: “Islamic banking providers are actively working to reach out to the market more and more in a bid to increase market share by capitalising on market enthusiasm. They are also leveraging on existing conven-tional banking connections and tapping into the unbanked popu-lation. We believe the capacity building and market response to be quite positive.”

There has to be continued gov-ernment support to facilitate effective operations of Islamic banks, the report notes, including the provision of solutions for li-quidity management. Oman’s do-mestic Islamic banking sector will also benefit from greater cross-border harmonisation of Islamic finance standards and practices.

Sulaiman Al Harthy, Group General Manager, Meethaq Is-lamic Banking, said: “Apart from Islamic liquidity management, the challenge is in tackling long-term funding requirements, as our flag-ship product is home finance with long-term maturities. Subject to

regulatory approvals, Meethaq is considering issuing a sukuk, which will be the first sukuk by any Is-lamic bank in Oman to address the long-term funding requirements.”

Professor Dr Mohamad Azmi Omar, director-general of IRTI, said: “With strong economic growth projections, significant government expenditure on in-frastructure projects and a young, Shari’a-sensitive population, Oman has all the ingredients re-quired for a successful Islamic finance sector.”

This emphasises the need to implement consumer awareness and education campaigns to bet-ter explain Islamic finance to the consumer segment. The report highlights how banks in Oman could gain control over this issue through marketing communica-tions to better position themselves in the eyes of the public. Improv-ing the level of Islamic finance awareness would help to promote Islamic banks in Oman. Banks in Oman must focus on the main val-ue proposition of Islamic finance when advertising and marketing their services, the report noted.

In addition, the report under-lined the need to develop local Islamic finance professionals to carry the industry forward, in line with the broader government strategy of reducing dependence on foreign expertise.

The report also explores unique opportunities in Oman, such as the growth potential for general takaful (via bancatakaful tool) and opportunities in broader Islamic economic sectors such as tourism and pharmaceuticals.

The report is the

latest in the series

of Islamic Finance

Country Reports

designed to provide

key insights on the

development of

Islamic finance in

markets where the

industry is new and

emerging

Conference on water, waste treatment inaugurated at CCEMUSCAT: The 12th Special-ised Conference on Small Water and Wastewater Systems and 4th Specialised Conference on Resources Oriented Sanitation started yesterday at the Al Hail Campus of Caledonian College of Engineering. The event will continue today and tomorrow at Hormuz Grand Hotel, says a press release.

The conference was inaugu-rated yesterday by the patron and chief guest, Dr Ali bin Masoud bin Ali Al Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce and Industry. Cal-edonian College of Engineering and National Institute for Agri-cultural Research – Laboratory for Environmental Biotechnol-ogy, France are jointly hosting the events with a focus on waste wa-ter systems and sanitation.

During the inauguration, P Mohamed Ali, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Caledonian College of Engineering, wel-comed the chief guest, Dr Ali Al Sunaidi, Prof Kuruvilla Mathew of IWA and Michael Torrijos of

INRA, together with conference speakers, guests, delegates and members of the press.

Mohamed Ali paid tribute to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said in his welcoming address and expressed admiration for the achievements of Oman’s cel-ebrated renaissance under the vi-sionary leadership of His Majesty the Sultan.

Mohamed Ali said that the Sultanate had given particular emphasis over the past decade or more on developing and manag-ing water resources to overcome the problem of water scarcity.

“Water and wastewater treat-ment plants play an important role in the management of water quality in local areas and are the subject of global attention. This IWA conference, held for the first time in this region, will address issues and technological develop-ment concerning the provision of safe drinking water and reli-able wastewater collection and treatment for small community application,” he added.

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

Oman LNG supports Khoula HospitalMUSCAT: Following through on its agreement with Ministry of Health to support the health services sector in the Sultanate, Oman LNG celebrated yesterday the delivery of critical pieces of equipment at Khoula Hospital, says a press release.

The drive to raise the quality of health services offered and to cater for more patients in the Sul-tanate moved a step further with the provision of essential pieces of medical beds and laparoscopies to Khoula Hospital, the Sultanate’s premier emergency and accidents hospital, where Oman LNG had in-vested OMR570,000. The support will ultimately assist the hospital on catering for more patients and this would reflect on the services given to the patients.

The delivery of equipment comes as part of nine comprehen-sive agreements inked in 2012 between Oman LNG and the Min-istry of Health to provide some cutting-edge medical technologies and infrastructures for numerous

hospitals around the country for OMR1,522,000.

“The delivery of the project demonstrates Oman LNG’s rest-less efforts of contributing to the country’s development especially in the push to provide people

with quality health care through our partnership with Ministry of Health. Supporting the health sector has been always on our top priorities, so that will eventually make the medical centres and hos-pitals ready to support the coun-try’s growth and aspirations,” said Khalid Al Massan, Oman LNG’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer.

Darwish bin Saif Al Muharbi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health for Finance and Admin-istrative Affairs inaugurated the equipment at Khoula Hospital.

With its involvement in the na-tion’s social development in many spheres of life within the country, Oman LNG has successfully cre-ated a thriving template for model-ling public-private sector partner-ship that delivers many gains.

B E T T E R H E A L T H S E R V I C E S

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

SPOR SY O U R G A M E

SECTIONC M O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 3, 2 0 14

‘DEVASTATED AS CAPTAIN, I WANTED TO QUIT’ WRITES TENDULKARIn his autobiography Playing it My Way to be released worldwide on November 6, Sachin Tendulkar reveals about the dark days he survived in a career which spanned over two decades. >C2

Ibri pulls out

of OFA second

division leagueFAHAD AL [email protected]

MUSCAT: Ibri club have shocked the Sultanate’s foot-ball fraternity by pulling out of the Oman Football Association (OFA) second division league over what they termed as ‘dearth of talented players and lack of funds’.

According to Sultan Al Abri, Majlis Al Shura member repre-senting Ibri, the club have con-firmed their withdrawal from the league.

“I spoke to the club chairman and surprisingly he confirmed the news,” said Al Abri.

“They said they were forced to take the decision to pullout vow-ing to lack of players and finan-cial crisis.”

“Ibri Club’s decision came as shock to everyone involved with Omani sports in general and foot-ball in particular,” he added.

“That the club is unable to find the players is an unacceptable reason. In Ibri there are around 54 small teams from where the club could have picked any num-ber of players,” Al Abri said.

He also informed the expendi-ture of the club has gone up to OMR 60,000.

“I tried hard to convince the club to make investments in property in Muscat so that they can raise funds for financing the club activities,” he said.

Al Abri, a former player who also served as the vice-president

of the club, admitted that there are some problems, including those with the support staff.

“It’s not the lack of players but the lack of communication which led to this result,” said Al Abri while adding ‘ the decision was supposed to have been taken af-ter the general assembly’.

He also added: “The club’s board of directors have no in-tention to resign but will wait till the next elections which are scheduled to take place in five months time.”

Ibri have lost the first three matches of the season and placed in the bottom of the table in the league standings.

H A P L E S S C L U B

Rahane, Dhawan strike tons in India’s dominating triumph over Sri Lanka

CUTTACK: Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan smashed comfortable centuries in a huge 231-run opening stand as India spanked Sri Lanka by 169 runs in the first One-dayer to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series on Sunday. Put into bat, Rahane struck 111 from 108 balls en route to his second ODI century while Dhawan returned to form with a 107-ball 113 as India posted an im-posing 363 for five.

It was Dhawan’s first hundred since his 119 against West Indies in Kanpur in November last year and sixth overall as the two Indian openers capitalising on their re-spective dropped chances by vet-eran wicketkeeper Kumar Sang-akkara. In their huge partnership, Rahane and Dhawan plundered 32 boundaries, including five sixes, between them.

Suresh Raina, appearing in his 200th ODI, also did his bit by strik-ing a quick-fire 52 off 34 balls as it was one-way traffic for India.

India continued to dominate the proceedings as bowlers took the baton from the batsmen. They called the shots, bundling out the ‘under-prepared’ visitors for a mere 194 in 39.1 overs. The pac-ers, led gangly Ishant Sharma, and spinners bowled with authority, never allowing the Sri Lankans to build partnerships or score freely.

Delhi lad Ishant made an im-pressive comeback to the One-day side after a gap of one year as he ac-counted for four batsmen and con-

ceded just 34 runs in his 8 overs. He had both Kumar Sangak-

kara (13) and Ashan Priyanjan (12) caught behind and later added two lower-order batsmen to his kitty.

Seasoned campaigner Mahela Jaywardene put up some resist-ance with a fiery 43 off 36 balls for the Lankans but other bats-men failed to put up fight. Skipper Angelo Mathews (23) tried to dig in but half of his side was back in pavilion by the half-way mark in their chase at a score of 126 and he too could not survive for long. India received an injury scare as paceman Varun Aaron left the field grimacing in pain after bowling the first ball of the 13th over. Skip-per Virat Kohli completed the over.

Aaron, who clocked 152kph in the first over, chatted with Kohli as physio was called before the pacer was taken off. — PTI

O D I S E R I E S

MAKING MERRY: Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane greet each other during 1st

ODI match against Sri Lanka. – PTI

INDIAA. Rahane c Jayawardene b Randiv 111Shikhar Dhawan b Priyanjan 113Suresh Raina lbw b Randiv 52Virat Kohli c Perera b Randiv 22Ambati Rayudu c Perera b Gamage 27Wriddhiman Saha not out 10Axar Patel not out 14Extras (lb-5, w-7, nb-2) 14Total (five wickets in 50 overs) 363Fall of wickets: 1-231 (Dhawan, 34.6 overs), 2-247 (Rahane, 37.5), 3-299 (Raina, 43.3), 4-314 (Kohli, 45.6), 5-344 (Rayudu, 48.5)Bowling: Dhammika Prasad 9-0-60-0, Lahiru Gamage 9-1-59-1, Angelo Mathews 4-0-33-0, Thisara Perera 7-0-51-0, Suraj Randiv 10-0-78-3, Seekkuge Prasanna 6-0-47-0, Tillakaratne Dilshan 3-0-19-0, Anshan Priyanjan 2-0-11-1SRI LANKAUpul Tharanga c Dhawan b Ashwin 28Tillakaratne Dilshan c Saha b Yadav 18Kumar Sangakkara c Saha b Sharma 13Mahela Jayawardene c Kohli b Patel 43Seekkuge Prasanna c Rahane b Patel 5Angelow Mathews c Patel b Raina 23Anshan Priyanjan c Saha b Sharma 12Thisara Perera c Sharma b Yadav 29Suraj Randiv b Sharma 5Dhammika Prasad c Saha b Sharma 0Lahiru Gamage not out 0Extras (lb-4, w-13, nb-1) 18Total (all out in 39.2 overs) 194Fall of wickets: 1-31 (Dilshan, 8.5 overs), 2-61 (Sangakkara, 13.2), 3-84 (Tharanga, 16.2), 4-109 (Prasanna, 21.1), 5-130 (Jaya-wardene, 25.1), 6-144 (Mathews, 30.1), 7-167 (Priyanjan, 33.2), 8-175 (Randiv, 35.2), 9-175 (Prasad, 35.6), 10-194 (Perera, 39.2)Bowling: Umesh Yadav 6.2-2-24-2, Varun Aaron 4.1-0-26-0, Ishant Sharma 8-1-34-4, Virat Kohli 0.5-0-6-0, Ravichandran Ash-win 9-0-52-1, Axar Patel 6-0-24-2, Suresh Raina 5-0-24-1

S C O R E B O A R D

According to Sultan Al Abri, Majlis Al Shura member representing Ibri, the club have confirmed their withdrawal from the league. A former player who also served as the vice-president of the club, admitted that there are some problems, including those with support staff

Orrin wins NBO Golf Classic

MUSCAT: Max Orrin produced one of the stories of the Europe-an Challenge Tour season as the young Englishman completed a stunning victory at the season’s penultimate event, the National Bank of Oman Golf Classic, held at the spectacular Almouj Golf, The Wave, to move into contention for European Tour graduation.

The 20-year-old clinched a two shot victory over friend and com-patriot Jason Palmer after a nerve-less one under par final round 71 which belied his years, battling strong winds and overcoming the severest of pressure to soar to a

career-changing triumph.As a result, Orrin climbed 51

places in the Challenge Tour Rank-ings, from 68th to 17th, to secure his place in next week’s season-ending Dubai Festival City Chal-lenge Tour Grand Final hosted by Al Badia Golf Club.

The former Walker Cup player is now just one big result away from earning his place among the world’s elite on The European Tour, having started the season with no category and just seven Challenge Tour invites.

Orrin was visibly shaking af-ter his round and admitted that despite producing a rock solid back nine which comprised nine pars, he was extremely nervous throughout and was delighted with how he dealt with the pressure cooker situation.

“I’m speechless,” said the Kent player. “All day I was trying to stay away from thinking about it. Even on the last hole I never thought, ‘I’ve got this for the win.’

“It was difficult to comprehend that it was me that was actually going to win an event. I was just a wreck down the last to be honest. I spoke to my coach last night and he said, ‘commit to every shot, it doesn’t matter where it goes, just commit to it.’

“Although I was nervous I tried to commit and make sure I got it as straight as I could. I’ve got so many emotions. I wish my family were here but I know they’re watch-ing back home. It’s a great thrill to be a champion.

“I played solid. I was three under through seven and cruising really. I didn’t do a lot wrong but then I hit

a bad iron shot into the water on eight. Then all of sudden you’re not so comfortable.

“I hit one left into the bunker for my second shot on nine but man-aged to make the up and down, which I think was big for me – it calmed me down. I told myself that par was good. I knew the boys would make up some shots but then if I carried on making pars I knew I’d have a chance.”

Orrin, who only turned profes-sional last year after a stellar ama-teur career which culminated in se-lection for the amateur game’s most prestigious team event, the Walker Cup, said it was difficult to compre-hend how his goals have changed now that he is within touching dis-tance of European Tour status.

“It’s crazy really,” he said. “I was 71st (on the Rankings) before the last event in China and I was just trying to get through and make my Challenge Tour card for next year.

“All of a sudden to get a win, it puts you up to a level you weren’t even dreaming of. Now I’ve got to go to Dubai next week, let it all go, and try again.

“This win will give me a lot of confidence and I’ll be confident going into next week but this week will have gone and I’ll have had a few days to get over it then go again next week to try and get my Euro-pean Tour card.”

Palmer, meanwhile, secured his European Tour status after a four under par final round 68 moved him to outright second place on five under par.

That result elevated him to

seventh place in the Rankings on €105,886 - enough to secure grad-uation to The 2015 Race to Dubai before a ball is even hit in anger at next week’s Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final host-ed by Al Badia Golf Club.

It was a profitable week for many of the Englishmen, including Orrin’s fellow Kent native, Jason Barnes, whose four under 68 and tied third place finish moved him

to within the top 15 in the Rank-ings heading into the season finale. Robert Coles was the only other player aside from Orrin to climb into the top 45 and seal a spot in the crucial season-ending event next week, after the three-time Challenge Tour winner finished with a two under 70 to claim a tied ninth finish which edged him from 47th to 41st in the Rankings.

See also > C6

Orrin climbed

51 places in the

Challenge Tour

Rankings, from 68th

to 17th, to secure his

place in next week’s

season-ending

Dubai Festival City

Challenge Tour Grand

Final hosted by Al

Badia Golf Club

It was difficult to comprehend that it was me that was actually going to win

Max Orrin

MUSCAT: Bahrain’s Hamad Mubarak emerged the leading amateur at the NBO Golf Classic which concluded at Almouj Golf on Sunday.

The NBO honoured Mubarak with the Hassan Shabaan, Head of Govern-ment Banking at NBO, presenting the trophy.

Mubarak qualified to play here after through winning the GCC Men’s Champion-ship at Dirab Golf Club in Riyadh earlier this year. Mubarak shot 7-over par 75-76 in the first two rounds of the NBO Golf Classic, missing the cut by just three strokes. Yacoob Saleh was the next best amateur, shooting 15-over par 76-83.

Mubarak is leading amateur

TOP AMATEUR: Hassan

Shabaan, Head of Gov-

ernment Banking, NBO,

presents the trophy to Bah-

rain’s Hamad Mubarak.



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WhatsNews


‘Devastated as captain, I wanted to quit’

NEW DELHI: He might be re-vered as the ‘God of Cricket’ but there was a phase in Sachin Ten-dulkar’s awe-inspiring career when the batting maestro felt so “scarred” and “devastated” by the Indian team’s ineptitude under his captaincy that he wanted to com-pletely move away from the sport.

The 41-year-old former bats-man, who claimed almost every record that is there to be taken in international cricket before call-ing it quits last year, has finally opened up about the dark days he survived in a career which spanned over two decades.

In his autobiography Play-ing it My Way, to be released worldwide on November 6, the much-admired but reticent bat-ting legend has dwelled on the frustrations he faced during his reign as captain — a phase which is considered the biggest debacle of his otherwise enduring love af-fair with cricket.

“I hated losing and as captain of the team I felt responsible for the string of miserable performances. More worryingly, I did not know how I could turn it around, as I was already trying my absolute best,” recalls Tendulkar in the book, the first exclusive excerpts of which are with PTI.

“I confided in (wife) Anjali that I feared there was nothing more that I could do to stem the tide of defeats. Losing a string of very close matches had left me badly scarred. I had given it everything and was not sure that I could give even 0.1 per cent more.

“...It was hurting me badly and it took me a long time to come to terms with these failures. I even contemplated moving away from the sport completely, as it seemed nothing was going my way,” re-veals the diminutive right-hander in the much-awaited book co-au-thored by noted sports journalist and historian Boria Majumdar.

This period of disillusionment dates back to 1997 when the In-dian team was touring the West Indies. After drawing the open-ing two Tests, the Indians seemed to be heading for a victory in the third, chasing a mere 120. But in an inexplicable disaster, the tour-ists were bowled out for 81 with only VVS Laxman managing a double-digit score.

“Monday 31 March 1997 was a dark day in the history of Indian cricket and definitely the worst of my captaincy career. And yet it had promised so much. In fact, over dinner at a restaurant in St Lawrence Gap in Barbados the night before, I remember having a joke with the waiter, who was pre-dicting a West Indian win. He was confident that Ambrose would bounce India out the next morn-ing,” Tendulkar writes.

“Now, in the first innings of this

match, Franklyn Rose had bowled me a bouncer and I had pulled him into the stands for six. So I remind-ed the waiter of the shot and jok-ingly said to him that if Ambrose tried to bowl me a bouncer, I would hit him all the way to Antigua.

“I was so confident of our chances that I pointed to the fridge and said he should immedi-ately chill a bottle of champagne and I would come and open it the next day and pour him a glass to celebrate winning the match,” Tendulkar says in the book.

“Instead, we collapsed for a miserable 81 all out, handing the West Indies a 38-run victory. Frankly, there can be no excuses for such a poor batting effort, even though it was a difficult track. I certainly don’t want to point fin-gers at anyone for the defeat, as that’s not my way. In any case, I was part of that team and as cap-tain it was my responsibility to steer us to victory. I did not get the feeling that we were over-con-fident, yet none of the batsmen apart from Laxman even reached double figures in the second in-nings and it was one of the worst batting displays I have been part of,” he adds.

In fact, for Tendulkar, who re-tired with a mammoth 15,921 from 200 Tests and 18,426 runs from 463 ODIs, the defeat was so pain-ful that it still rankles whenever he travels down memory lane.

“I myself got out for just four. In my anxiety to get a feel for the ball I got a tentative edge. I should either have left the ball alone or tried to counter-attack. The de-feat left me totally devastated and I shut myself in my room for two whole days trying to come to terms with the loss. I still feel the pangs of that defeat when I look back at the series,” he says.

Dwelling further on the Carib-bean catastrophe, Tendulkar said the ODI series which followed the five-day games added to his misery as the team lost 1-4, leav-ing him in a state of fury, which he just could not control in a dress-

ing room meeting.“After eventually losing the

five-Test series 0-1, we went on to lose the ODI series as well. The good start to the tour had given way to a complete lack of applica-tion and that proved catastrophic in the end. The best example of this ineptitude was the third one-day game, at St Vincent, where we needed 47 runs to win off the last ten overs with six wickets in hand. Rahul and Sourav had set up the platform and we should have strolled to victory,” Ten-dulkar recalls.

“Again and again I instructed the batsmen not to go for big shots and to play along the ground, say-ing there was no need for any risk-taking with the asking rate under five runs an over. However, all our middle- and lower-order batsmen kept playing the ball in the air. The loss of a few wickets resulted in panic, which in turn led to a num-ber of suicidal run-outs. It was in-furiating to see the team lose from a winning situation,” he said.

“At the end of the match I called a team meeting and lost my cool with the boys in the dress-ing room. I spoke from my heart and said the performance was unacceptable. I said that losing matches in which the opposition play better cricket is one thing — I had no problem with such defeats - but losing a match that we had completely under control sug-gested there was something seri-ously wrong with the team.”

It took some combined words of encouragement from the legend-ary bowling duo of leg-spinner Anil Kumble and medium-pacer Javagal Srinath to calm a devas-tated and disillusioned Tendulkar.

Ultimately it was Anjali, who helped Tendulkar deal with the debacles during his reign as cap-tain and carry on. “Anjali, as usual, managed to put things in perspec-tive and assured me that things would surely get better in the months to come. Looking back, it was just frustration getting the better of me,” he said. — PTI

In his autobiography

Playing it My Way

to be released soon,

Tendulkar reveals

about the dark days

he survived during

his illustrious

two-decade careerThe much-admired but reticent batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has dwelled on the frustrations he faced during his reign as captain — a phase which is considered the biggest debacle of his otherwise enduring love affair with cricket

Bangladesh eye rare series winDHAKA: Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim warned of a backlash from Zimbabwe in the second Test in Khulna from Mon-day as his side hunted for only their third series win in Test cricket.

The hosts have the lead in the three-match series following a tense three-wicket win in the open-ing Test in Dhaka when they strug-gled to surpass a modest target of 101 on the spin-friendly wicket.

It was only the fifth win in 86 matches for Bangladesh since earning Test status in 2000 and the second on home soil after the 226-run win against the same op-ponents in Chittagong in 2005.

Bangladesh’s two series victo-ries so far were the 1-0 win against Zimbabwe at home in 2005 and

a 2-0 success over a boycott-hit West Indies in the Caribbean in 2009. Rahim said his team could not afford to take victory for grant-ed despite playing on what is ex-pected to be another slow pitch.

“The last Test ended in three days, but if we expect the same to happen here it will be a mistake,” the captain said.

“I think they (Zimbabwe) are better prepared. In the last Test, they had only 101 runs to defend and yet gave us a good fight.”

Rahim sought an improved bat-ting display to gain the upper hand in the contest between the two lowest-ranked teams in Test crick-et—Zimbabwe at number nine and Bangladesh at 10.

“In a Test match, one usually

sees only a couple of soft dismiss-als, but in our case there were about five or six in Dhaka which is alarming,” he said.

“We need to concentrate bet-ter and focus on our batting in a way that if someone gets a 50, he should go on to make another 50. The team benefits when a batsman gets a 100.”

Bangladesh have included bats-man Anamul Haque in their squad to replace seamer Al-Amin Hos-sain, who opted out of the game to write his university exams.

Zimbabwe are sweating over the fitness of experienced batsman Craig Ervine, who was hurt on the right hand by a rising ball from team-mate Tendai Chatara during training on Saturday. — AFP

T E S T S E R I E S

Sevilla blow chance to move top MADRID: Sevilla passed up the chance to move top of La Liga as they were beaten 1-0 away to Athletic Bilbao thanks to Aritz Aduriz’s stunning early strike.

Barcelona’s shock defeat at home to Celta Vigo on Saturday had paved the way for Unai Em-ery’s men to take top spot, but they were behind after just 12 minutes when Aduriz smacked home Markel Susaeta’s cross.

Only a fine save from Sevilla goalkeeper Beto prevented Susaeta doubling Athletic’s lead before half-time.

The Basques held firm in the second-half to record their sec-ond consecutive win and move up to 11th in the table. Defeat leaves Sevilla in fourth, level on points with Barca and two adrift of leaders Real Madrid.

A run of seven wins in eight games had mounted hopes that Sevilla could provide an unlike-ly title challenge to Barca, Real and Atletico Madrid. However, they were made to pay for a slow start as Aduriz connected per-fectly with Susaeta’s cross for his seventh goal of the season.

The hosts continued to en-joy the better of the first-half as Aymeric Laporte sent a free-kick just wide and Iker Muniain couldn’t stretch to turn home Aduriz’s cross. - AFP

L A L I G A F O O T B A L L

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Misbah’s blitz

ABU DHABI: Pakistan were on the verge of their first series win over Australia in 20 years and vic-tory in the second Test after skip-per Misbah-ul Haq rewrote the recod books with his belligerent batting in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.Misbah smashed a 56-ball hun-dred, equalling West Indian leg-end Viv Richards’s record made against England at Antigua in 1986, minutes after breaking the mark for the fastest fifty which he made off just 21 balls at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

Misbah’s stunning blitz set up Pakistan to declare their second innings at 293-3, setting a daunt-ing 603-run target for Australia who suffered another batting collapse before reaching 143-4 at stumps on the fourth day.

Steven Smith (38) and Mitchell Marsh (26) were at the crease as Australia still need another 460 runs for an unlikely win or bat out three sessions on the final day to avoid a 2-0 whitewash, their first series defeat against the Pakistanis since a 1-0 loss in Pakistan in 1994.

Australia’s woes with the bat continued as left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar (3-65) struck reg-ular blows by dismissing Chris Rogers (two), Glenn Maxwell (four) and Michael Clarke (five) in 19 balls to leave Australia tot-tering at 43-3.

Clarke was beaten by a beauti-ful turner as the Australian cap-

tain pushed on the backfoot only to see his stumps disturbed.

That summed up Clarke’s mis-erable series with only 57 runs.

David Warner had held on end intact, reaching his 13th half-century before miscuing a drive off Mohammad Hafeez and was caught for 58. Earlier Misbah, notorious for his slow batting in one-day internationals, removed all doubts about his credentials.

In all he hit 11 boundaries and five sixes off 57 balls during his two centuries in the match, a blitz which overshadowed Azhar Ali’s feat of 100 not out, making this only the second occasion in Test cricket’s history when two bats-men scored a century in each in-nings in the same match.

Australian brothers Ian and Greg Chappell scored centuries in each innings against New Zea-land at Wellington in 1973.

Misbah beat the previous re-cord of the fastest half-century held by South Africa’s Jacques Kallis scored against Zimbabwe at Cape Town in 2004.

Misbah hit two boundaries off paceman Mitchell Starc to reach his hundred, punched the air in delight and waved his bat to team-mates. This is also the second fastest hundred in terms of time, behind Australia’s Jack Gregory who reached a hundred in 70 min-utes against South Africa at Jo-hannesburg in 1921. Misbah took

74 minutes to reach the mark. Misbah cut loose after Younis Khan fell for 46, hitting three six-es and a four off one Steven Smith over and then hit the spinner for his fourth six an over later.

In all he hit four boundaries and as many sixes in his fifty. Misbah pushed Starc for three to complete the fastest Test fifty ever which took only 24 minutes.

The previous fastest Test half-century by a Pakistani batsman was by Shahid Afridi who took 26 balls to reach the mark, against India at Bangalore in 2005. — AFP

Misbah smashed a 56-ball hundred,

equalling West Indian legend Viv Richards’s

record made against England at Antigua in

1986, minutes after breaking the mark for

the fastest fifty which he made off just 21

balls at Sheikh Zayed Stadium

101*runs from 57 balls11 fours,5 sixes

MISBAH-UL HAQ

Pakistan 1st innings: 570-6 declAustralia 1st innings: 261 Pakistan 2nd innings:Ahmed Shehzad b Johnson 14 Mohammad Hafeez c Starc b Johnson 3 Azhar Ali not out 100 Younis Khan lbw b Smith 46 Misbah-ul Haq not out 101 Extras: (b-23, lb-4, nb-1, w-1) 29 Total: (for 3 wkts; 60.4 overs dec) 293 Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Shehzad), 2-21 (Hafeez), 3-152 (Younis) Bowling: Johnson 7-1-45-2, Lyon 18-3-48-0, Starc 11.4-2-56-0 (1w), Siddle 14-4-48-0, Smith 6-0-54-1, Marsh 4-1-15-0 Australia 2nd innings C. Rogers c Shafiq b Babar 2 D. Warner c Shah b Hafeez 58 G. Maxwell lbw b Babar 4 M. Clarke b Babar 5 S. Smith not out 38 M. Marsh not out 26 Extras: (b-4, nb-1, pen-5) 10 Total: (for four wkts; 48 overs) 143 Fall of wickets: 1-19 (Rogers), 2-31 (Maxwell), 3-43 (Clarke), 4-101 (Warner) Bowling: Rahat 5-4-1-0, Khan 5-1-13-0, Hafeez 12-1-33-1, Babar 17-1-65-3, Shah 8-0-21-0 (1nb), Ali 1-0-1-0 Note: Pakistan were penalised five runs after the ball hit the helmet placed behind the wicket-keeper Toss: Pakistan Umpires: Richard Kettleborough (ENG) and Nigel Llong (ENG) TV umpire: Marais Erasmus (RSA) Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)

S C O R E B O A R D

From ‘tuk, tuk’ to world recordABU DHABI: Pakistan skip-per Misbah-ul Haq broke the test record for the fastest fifty and equalled the quickest century feat barely three weeks after with-drawing from the one-day side for poor form and slow batting.

The 40-year-old smashed a 21-ball fifty and a 56-ball hundred on the fourth day of the second Test, which put his team in sight of a 2-0 series win, their first series win in 20 years against Australia.

Misbah’s 57-ball 101 lifted Pa-kistan to 293-3 declared in the second innings, setting a huge 603-run target for Australia who finished the day on a shaky 143-4.

It proved to be a Super on Sun-day for Misbah, often castigated by experts and fans alike for his “tuk,

tuk (Urdu word for the sound com-ing from the bat when a defensive stroke is played) style of batting.

Misbah said it was a great hon-our for being bracketted with West Indian legend Viv Richards who hit a 56-ball hundred against Eng-land at Antigua in 1986.

“I think it’s the biggest honor for me,” said Misbah.

“I am nowhere near to him but scoring a hundred in a simi-lar number of deliveries is really something that I will remember the whole of my life.”

Misbah broke South African Jacques Kalli’s record of the fast-est test fifty, which he made off 24 balls against Zimbabwe at Cape Town in 2004.

Misbah said he didn’t know

about the record until a team-mate told him. “Somebody ran to me when I was on 80 informing me that I was just ten balls away from making a record.

“But in either case I was trying to hit every ball and that really couldn’t make any difference. But it is always good to have these sort of records ... as it gives you some sort of satisfaction and scoring 100 is always special for a bats-man in a Test and nothing is better than that.”

Misbah said ups and downs are common in a sportsman’s life.

“It happened a lot in my life even as it happens with every sports-man,” said Misbah of his with-drawal from the third One-day match in Abu Dhabi. — AFP

A C H I E V E M E N T

Cricket Australia XI beat S. AfricaSYDNEY: Cricket Australia (CA) XI defeated South Africa by 22 runs in a Twenty20 tour match at the North Sydney Oval here on Sunday. After being sent in to bat, CA XI put on 189/5 from their 20 overs which South Africa failed to chase down, fin-ishing at 167 all out.

CA XI captain Ashton Turner anchored his side’s innings with an impressive knock of 73 which included seven fours and three sixes. Seb Gotch hit a quick-fire 40 from 25 while Alexander Keath (30) and James Peirson (24) also contributed at the top of the order. Kyle Abbott was the pick of the South African bowl-ers, finishing with 2/22.

Brief scores: Cricket Aus-tralia XI 189/5 in 20 overs (Ashton Turner 73, Seb Gotch 40; Kyle Abbot 2/22) defeated South Africa 167 all out in 18.5 overs (Rilee Rossouw 47, Wayne Parnell 35; Ben Ashkenazi 3/21, James Muirhead 3/25). — IANS

C R I C K E T

Central stun South by nine runsNEW DELHI: Central Zone staged a dramatic comeback to stun South Zone by nine runs to clinch the Duleep Trophy crown at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Sunday.

South lost nine wickets, add-ing just 107 runs to their over-night score of 184/1 as Central bowlers Pankaj Singh and the spin trio of Piyush Chawla, Ali Murtaza and Jalaj Saxena built up pressure to plot the downfall of their opposition on the fifth and concluding day of the tour-nament final.

Medium-pacer Pankaj trig-gered the collapse with a double strike early in the morning, re-moving opener Lokesh Rahul, batting with an overnight score of 121, and Dinesh Karthik.

Rahul, though, started the day with two smooth straight drives in the second over of the morn-ing bowled by Ishwar Pandey.

However, his stay was cut short by a Pankaj delivery that darted in after pitching on the off stump and Rahul played it across to miss the ball and was given leg before wicket. But his 130-run knock already put South in al-most complete command.

Brief scores: Central Zone 276 and 403 beat South Zone 379 and 291 in 88.4 overs (Lokesh Rahul 130, Baba Aparajith 56; Ali Murtaza 3/59, Pi-yush Chawla 3/83, Jalaj Saxena 2/44, Pankaj Singh 2/44) by 9 runs. — IANS

D U L E E P T R O P H Y

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Three-member OFA team attends Fifa-AFC conferenceMUSCAT: A three-member del-egation from the Oman Football Association (OFA) took part in a conference jointly organised by the world soccer body Fifa and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur from October 29 to 31.

According to information re-ceived from the OFA on Sunday, the conference was organised to discuss the technical and admin-istrative pros and cons at the Fifa World Cup in Brazil in comparison with the 2010 World Cup.

The Omani delegation included Oman Football Association Tech-nical Director Jim Selby, Director of Development and Education Department Harun Al Bartamani

and the experienced Omani coach Hamad Al Azzani.

A number of issues were ad-dressed during the conference including the role of the technical support, the German strategy in winning the World Cup and the model of New Zealand foootball federation development.

During the conference, Fifa ex-perts made a presentation on the world soccer governing body’s the technical and financial support as well as the grants being allocated for the development of the conti-nental federations.

The conference was attended by all the managers and coaches of the technical staff of Asian teams and Fifa lecturers.

Appeal to fansMeanwhile, the OFA informed that all the technical and admin-istrative preparations have been complete for Oman national team’s friendly against Yemen.

The match, being played as part of Frenchman Paul le Guen-coached Oman team’s prepara-tions for the forthcoming Gulf Cup in Saudi Arbia, will be played at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher on November 7.

The OFA also informed the Omani fans to turn up in large numbers as in the recent matches against Costa Rica and Uruguay to support the national team and boost their morale ahead of their participation in the Gulf Cup.

F O O T B A L L

AT THE CONFERENCE: OFA Technical Director Jim Selby, centre, Director of Development and Educa-

tion Department Harun Al Bartamani, right, and the experienced Omani coach Hamad Al Azzani pose

for a photo in Kuala Lumpur. – Supplied photo

Sharan-Karan duo sink top seeds to enter final

MUSCAT: The teenage duo of P. Sai Sharan and Karan Negi have taken the men’s doubles event by storm at the Villeroy & Boch + Hansgrohe Open Table Tennis Tournament organised by the In-dian Social Club Muscat.

Sai Sharan, a student of Indian School Muscat, and Karan Negi, one of the top junior players at the ISC until two years back and now studying in Mumbai, settled down into such a formidable combina-tion that has seen the unseeded pair advanced to the final of the men’s doubles event. Sharan and Karan first sent out warning sig-

nals when they overcame the strong Omani outfit of Ismail Al Suleimani and Fahad Al Abri in the second round to line-up a quarter-final meeting with top seeds Suhail Khan and Srinivas Iyer.

Not overawed by the fact of playing the top seeds, Sharan and Karan adopted an all-offensive

ploy and hit the jackpot. Karan was ruthless with his forehand drives and Sharan complemented him by finishing off the weak returns.

After being swept off their feet in the first game, Suhail and Srinivas regrouped before losing the second game narrowly. The top seeds settled down to win the

third game. Sharan and Karan held on to the early 5-1 lead in the fourth game and continued to at-tack on all cylinders to win the game and score a brilliant upset victory over the top seeded dou-bles team with final scores of 11-6, 12-10, 6-11, 11-6.

Playing back to back match-es, Sharan and Karan took on seasoned campaigners Go-palakrishnan and Omani singles finalist Anwar Al Balushi in the semifinals.

Gopalakrishnan and Anwar won the first two games and pros-pects looked grim for Sharan and Karan who got their act together and pulled back the third game in the best of seven games semifinal.

The teenagers continued to dominate the rallies and won the next game for two-games all. In a thrilling finish, they won the next two games for a brilliant 5-11, 6-11, 111-9, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 victory and entry into the final against the second seeded team of Mohamed Al Naggar and Kenneth Vaz.

Mohamed Al Naggar and Ken-neth Vaz advanced to the summit clash after emerging winners over the Omani pair of Said Al Qarni and Said Al Kharusi 11-8, 111-8, 11-8, 11-4. Al Qarni and Al Kharu-si had earlier got the better of Ah-man Al Farsi and Nooh Al Zadjali 11-2, 11-6, 10-12, 11-7.

Sai Sharan and Karan

Negi settled down

into a formidable

combination that has

seen the unseeded

pair advance to the

final of the men’s

doubles event

TEEN TALENTS: Sai Sharan, left, and Karan Negi. – Supplied photo

Djokovic downs Raonic to keep title

PARIS: Novak Djokovic boosted his chances of finishing the season as world No. 1 when he became the first player to retain his Paris Masters title with a 6-2, 6-3 win over big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic in the final on Sunday.

The top seeded Serb, who did not drop a set in Bercy to clinch his third title here, perfectly read the seventh-seeded Raonic’s serve to prevail in a one-sided encounter. His 600th career win extended Djokovic’s unbeaten in-doors run to 27 and gave him his 20th Masters title while Raonic, who will have to do more than serve big if to climb up the ladder, lost his second final at Masters level in as many attempts.

Both players will be taking part in the ATP World Tour Finals from November 9 to 16 in London, where Djokovic will be favourite to secure the world No. 1 spot for 2014 after he more than doubled his lead over second-ranked Rog-er Federer.

If he plays at the O2 like he has been playing in Paris, he will fin-ish the year on top of the world rankings for the third time.

Djokovic stole his opponent’s first service game as he raced to a 3-0 lead, benefiting from Raonic’s early nerves. The Canadian, who lost in the Montreal Masters final last year, saved three more break points in the sixth game, two of them with aces.

In the following game, Djokovic fell 0-40 down on his serve but Raonic lacked accuracy to con-vert the break points.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion called for a trainer to massage his right leg at change of ends but the problem did not seem to bother him as he returned to

the court to wrap the opening set on Raonic’s serve after two awful unforced errors by the Canadian.

Things got from bad to worse for Raonic, who was limited to nine aces after bombing down 21 against Federer in the quarter-finals, as he produced a double fault to go 2-0 down against the top seed.

The Serb comfortably held serve and set up two match points in the eighth game, only for Raon-ic to save them with a service win-ner and a forehand passing shot.

Djokovic, however, bagged his sixth title of the season with a forehand down the line winner on his third match point in the fol-lowing game.

Bryan brothers triumphEarlier, twin brothers Mike and Bob Bryan won their fourth dou-bles’ title and 32nd Masters trophy as they defeated Poland’s Marcin Matkowski and Austrian Juergen Melzer 7-6 (7/5), 5-7, 10-6.

The victory for the 36-year-old American brothers followed their triumph at the U.S. Open and was their 102nd tour-level title. - Agencies

P A R I S M A S T E R S

600TH WIN: Novak Djokovic

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SPORTSM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 3, 2 0 1 4

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Muneer in U-12 final, Younis in U-18 semis

MUSCAT: Muneer Al Rawahi stormed into the final of the boys under-12 competition at the ongo-ing Oman Arab Bank (OAB) Open Tennis Championship at the Sul-tan Qaboos Sports Complex.

Rising Omani talent subdued a battling Ayaan Malhotra for a 9-3 victory and a place in the ti-tle match, where he will come up against another talented boy Avig-yan Battacharya.

Younis Al Rawahi reached the

semifinals of the boys under-18 category. He defeated compatriot Ahmed Al Barwani 6-3, 6-1 for a place in the last four.

Subash Pillai and Zakariya Al Suleimani made it to the quarterfi-nals of the same event.

Subash defeated Vedanth Ram by a 6-2, 6-0 scoreline while Za-kariya emerged a 6-2, 6-3 winner against Amaan Kazi.

Praneeth is ‘mini’ championMeanwhile, Praneeth Raj clinched the title in the 7-8 years mini ten-nis event. Praneeth defeated Ahmed Faris 10-2, 10-5 in his final match of the round robin competi-tion to lift the crown.

Abdulrahman Al Balushi took the second place after defeating Ayman Al Busaidy 10-2, 2-10, 10-8.

In the men’s pro singles, Neil

Fernandez blanked Vasu M 6-0, 6-0 for a place in the quarterfinals.

Nashat Helal and Daniel D reached the quarterfinals of the men’s doubles after overcoming Abdullah Al Yahyaei and Khalid Ikram in 6-2, 4-6, 10-6 victory.

Samar Al Bakry and Tinny G moved into the last eight stage of the mixed doubles after routing Ayse K and Nikhil Sampat 6-0, 6-0.

In the veterans singles, Mustafa Burham advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Suresh Sampanna. Also reach-ing the last eight stage are Imran Khan, Rohin Kleinbeldt, Moham-med Al Yawer and S Hemanth.

Imran defeated Angus Mackay 6-1, 6-1. Robin recorded a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Nasser Rabie, Mo-hammed beat Leif Olsgaard 6-3, 6-0 and Hemanth outplayed Bong Doria for a 6-0, 6-0 win.

The annual championship, one of the biggest events to be organ-ized by Oman Tennis Association with participation of 260 players in various categories, runs till No-vember 26 and is supported by one of country’s leading banks, Oman Arab Bank, as the title sponsored and co-sponsored by Omantel and Pocari Sweat.

Muneer Al Rawahi

subdued Ayaan

Malhotra for a place

in the title match,

where he will come

up against another

talented boy Avigyan

Battacharya

SUMMIT CLASH: Muneer Al Rawahi in anticipation of a return during his under-12 match against Ayaan Malhotra at the Oman Arab Bank

Open Tennis Championships at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.

IN LAST FOUR: Younis Al Rawahi celebrates after his victory over

Ahmed Al Barwani at the OAB Open. – FAISAL AL BALUSHI/OTA

Oman Cricket to organise Level ‘0’ coaching course

MUSCAT: Oman Cricket (OC) is also set to organise a basic Level ‘0’ course for aspiring coaches from November 20 to 22 at the Jabel Qamar Meeting Hall in Al Falaj Hotel.

The course, to be conducted by Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Level 2 Coaches Hemal Mehta and Sandesh Dhuri, will take place from 6.00 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. on November 20 and 21.

On November 22, the sessions will be held at the MCCC Nets (Muscat Club) Al Wadi Al Kabir

from 2.00 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. Reg-istration is open to both men and women who wish to pursue with cricket coaching in Oman.

Registration forms can be col-lected from the Oman Cricket of-fice at Ruwi during office hours. The last date for registration is November 12.

All participants will be pre-sented with a certificate of par-ticipation at the end of the course and will be eligible to attend the Level ‘1’ course to be conducted later by Asian Cricket Council.

B A S I C C O U R S E

COURSE INSTRUCTORS: Sandesh Dhuri, left, and Hemal Mehta

India’s Batra elected to FIH executive board

MARRAKESH: Newly-elected Hockey India (HI) President Narinder Batra was elected to the executive board of Interna-tional Hockey Federation (FIH) at its two-day Ordinary Congress, which was titled ‘Hockey Revo-lution Congress’ and concluded here on Sunday.

The 44th Congress welcomed five new national associations from three continents. From Af-rica — Burundi, Cameroon and Sierra Leone all became sole gov-erning member national associa-tions. Vietnam joined from Asia and Haïti joined from Pan-Amer-ica. FIH now has 132 national as-sociations.

Voting for ordinary members of the FIH executive board also took place for the positions of two female members, one male member and two open positions. Of the two open positions, one is for the duration of two years only, to replace Prince Abdullah Shah following his appointment as the

president of the Asian Hockey Federation. He thereby automat-ically has a position on the board.

The voting for the new execu-tive board members began with the female vote. Maureen Craig-Rousseau from Trinidad and To-bago was elected and Pamela Stu-per from the US was re-elected to the board. The male place went to Batra. The two open positions saw the re-election of Marc Co-udron from Belgium and Qasim Zia from Pakistan.

“I am delighted that we have welcomed new national associa-tions to the FIH family. The ad-dition of new members from all over the world, supports our new ambition, goals and strategy and ultimately, will help to raise the global status and popularity of hockey,” said FIH president Le-andro Negre.

“I am looking forward to the next two years of my tenure as FIH President, as we create a Hockey Revolution.” — IANS

H O C K E Y

Hamilton to change agent AUSTIN: Formula One world championship leader Lewis Hamilton confirmed on Sunday he will be changing agents fol-lowing the end of his current deal with music mogul Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment.

The 29-year-old Briton — world champion in 2008 — said he will do something different.

Hamilton confirmed his break with Fuller late on Sat-urday. Fuller’s agency oversaw Hamilton’s surprise move from McLaren to Mercedes two years ago for a reported $100 million dollar three-year contract that ends next year.

Hamilton became a Fuller client after splitting from his father Anthony’s management company in 2010.

“There’s not really much to say, I haven’t made any plans at the moment,” said Hamilton.

“Just the contract expired and I’m going to be doing something different. I’m not really sure what yet, but I’ll decide at the end of the year.” - AFP

F O R M U L A O N E

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NBO Classic proclaimed a resounding successMUSCAT: The National Bank of Oman (NBO) Golf Classic contin-ued to build its reputation as one of the most popular events on the European Challenge Tour sched-ule as golf ’s future stars as well as some experienced champions, praised the second edition of the season’s penultimate event.

The Greg Norman-designed Almouj Golf at The Wave, Muscat once again came in for huge praise in the tournament’s second year, with many players earmarking it as the best course of the year after strong winds gave the Challenge Tour stars a true links test mixed with perfect hot conditions.

Added to the superb staging of the event and the increased at-tendance — especially among local Omani nationals — the tournament was proclaimed a re-sounding success. “This is a fabu-lous tournament on a great golf course in a beautiful setting,” said Dane Lasse Jensen. “It’s a won-derful event that all the players look forward to playing.”

Young Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick agreed, saying: “This is a great event. Greg Norman’s lay-out is outstanding and the organi-zation of the whole tournament couldn’t be better. We’re all very well looked after and the hospital-ity is second to none.”

Three-time European Tour winner Johan Edfors made his first appearance at the National Bank of Oman Golf Classic and, the Swede was hugely impressed by the tournament.

“It’s one of the best courses we’ve played all year,” he said. “With the wind, it plays really tough, the front nine is OK but the last five holes are seriously tough.

“I thought both courses in Chi-na were good and this one is fan-tastic, so it’s a really good finish to the season.”

Spain’s Pedro Oriol also heaped praise on the tournament, saying: “I love it here. The views are spec-

tacular, the design is great and I just love it, I feel really good here.

“The temperatures have been really nice, not as hot as last year, so you come to the sea and see the nice views and it makes you feel really good.”

G O L F

MUSCAT: The National Bank of Oman (NBO) Golf Classic, which concluded at the stunning Almouj Golf at The Wave, Muscat on Sunday, was a resounding success thanks in no small part to the support the tour-nament has received from its sponsors.

Among them is present-ing sponsor Oman Air and during a visit to Almouj Golf, Senior Manager Corporate Communications and Media Usama Al Haremi was full of praise for the role the tournament has played in growing the game of golf in the Sultanate.

“As presenting sponsor of the National Bank of Oman Golf Classic it has been an honour and a pleasure to be part of this excellent world-class event,” he said.

“Last year’s inaugural tournament certainly put Oman on the global golf map, and the promotion publicity and awareness of the Sultan-

ate the event generated was an enormous boost to busi-ness and tourism. Anything that can be done to increase worldwide awareness of what Oman has to offer international business and tourism has to be a bonus.”

The National Bank of Oman Golf Classic receives excellent support from both the private and public sec-tors, including the Minis-tries of Sports Affairs, Infor-mation, Tourism and Health, the Royal Oman Police and the Muscat Municipality.

As well as Oman Air, the event has Premium Spon-sorships from Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa, Al Jenaibi International Automobiles BMW and The Wave, Muscat while local, regional and inter-national partners include Y&R, WSP Global, Zeehan events,Talentz, Gloria Jeans coffee, Tanuf Water, Pocari Sweat, See Muscat and the stunning venue, Almouj Golf.

Oman Air flies high at Classic

City defeat ten-man United

LONDON: Manchester United’s belated resistance proved in vain when they were beaten 1-0 away to English Premier League champi-ons Manchester City in Louis van Gaal’s first derby as manager.

The clubs’ 151st league meeting was decided by a goal from Argen-tina’s Sergio Aguero in the 63rd minute after United centre half Chris Smalling had been sent off in the first half for two yellow cards.

With Rafael Da Silva missing the game and Marcos Rojo forced off in the second half, a makeshift United defence comprising Antonio Valen-cia, Michael Carrick and teenag-ers Paddy McNair and Luke Shaw

came under increasing pressure. The surprise was that City were

pushed back and suddenly looked edgy once they had scored.

In the end, City were pleased to hang on for a fourth successive league win over the neighbours — the first time that has happened since 1970.

The other depressing historical note for Van Gaal was that he has now presided over United’s worst start to a season since 1986, when Ron Atkinson was sacked and Alex Ferguson appointed.

The result left United in ninth

place, with 13 points from 10 games and no away wins.

City, meanwhile, returned to within six points of leaders Chel-sea, two behind second-placed Southampton.

Having lost Aleksandar Kolarov to injury in the warm-up — Gael Clichy deputising — City were slow to settle until midway through the first half when United’s David De Gea had to make two fine saves in quick succession.

He thwarted Jesus Navas from barely six metres out and then saved from Aguero, both men

needing treatment after their sub-sequent collision.

Smalling picked up his foolish first yellow card for raising his foot in attempting to block a clearance by City goalkeeper Joe Hart and seven minutes before halftime he clearly fouled James Milner and was dismissed.

United, who brought on Carrick for his first appearance of the sea-son after a long injury, could have conceded two penalties in the last few minutes before the interval but referee Michael Oliver gave them the benefit of the doubt as

City appealed for apparent fouls against Aguero by Marouane Fel-laini and Yaya Toure by Rojo.

The visitors were then forced into another change, Rojo suffer-ing a shoulder injury and having to be replaced by 19 year-old North-ern Irish centre back McNair.

Ten minutes later Toure’s pass sent Clichy to the byline and he cut the ball back for Aguero to hook in his 10th league goal of the season.

Forced to push forward, United fi-nally threatened for almost the first time. After 70 minutes, Joe Hart had to save at the near post from Robin van Persie and shortly afterwards he denied Angel Di Maria.

That followed a driving run by Wayne Rooney, back in the side af-ter missing three matches through suspension, who had been adopt-ing a deep-lying role even before the sending off.

Fellaini was then guilty of a bad miss, heading wide from close range in Manchester United’s best spell of the game.

Sending on Edin Dzeko and Sami Nasri for Stevan Jovetic and Milner failed to give City any fresh impetus, although Navas did hit the outside of a post.

City were relieved to hear the fi-nal whistle as captain Vincent Kom-pany admitted in telling Sky Sports: “You miss a couple of chances and seem to lose a little control. They played well towards the end. But we stayed strong for a clean sheet and a good derby win.” - Reuters

The 151st league

meeting between the

clubs was decided by

a goal from Aguero in

the 63rd minute after

United’s Smalling

had been sent off

in the first half for

two yellow cards CRUCIAL STRIKE: Manchester City’s Argentinian striker Sergio Aguero, right, celebrates after scor-

ing a goal as Manchester United’s Argentinian midfielder Angel Di Maria reacts during their English

Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Sunday. – AFP

Anelka helps Mumbai edge KeralaMUMBAI: A stunning goal from Nicolas Anelka helped Mumbai City FC to pip Kerala Blasters 1-0 in their Indian Su-per League (ISL) match at the D.Y. Patil stadium on Sunday.

A foul from Ishfaq Ahmed on Jan Stohanzl earned the hosts a free-kick in the 44th minute and Anelka was quick to capitalise.

The former Chelsea star’s strike curled over the defensive wall to the left post with goal-keeper Sandip Nandy’s desper-ate diving attempt going in vain.

Anelka, who had missed the first three matches due to sus-pension, showed his class and also earned the much needed three points for his side.

The hosts looked like a new side in the second half, reju-venated by their one goal lead. They attacked well, seemed eager to add a few more goals to their tally and came close to achieving it a few times.

Mumbai had the chance to double the lead in the 58th minute but Stohanzl frittered away a golden opportunity.

Subash Singh was also guilty of missing a sitter in the 74th minute. Anelka did everything right to beat the three defenders and feed the ball to Singh who shot it over the cross bar. - PTI

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WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMSECTIONC M O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 3, 2 0 14

ndrea Seifert, the marketing manager of Gatehouse Pub-lishing, travels a lot from Singapore through different time zones on business. She

has found a lifesaver in something that used to belong pretty exclusively to the men’s club: a watch with complications, those mechanisms that increase a watch’s accuracy or capabilities.

Seifert’s watch is a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Duo, a flip-over watch with back-to-back dials that can show the time in two zones. She can set one to show the time back home in the office and the other to show the time at her destination. She not only relies on the functional-ity of the watch but also appreciates its technical aspect.

“What’s unusual is that the two dials are controlled by the same movement,” she said.

Women’s tastes and needs in watches are changing, and watchmakers are in-creasingly acknowledging the change, in models with complications designed with women in mind.

“With less emphasis on specific roles within the home and work, this also trans-lates into horology,” said Roanne Orlebar, fine-watch buyer for Harrods in London.

“We have certainly seen a trend in ladies interested in complications, with brands

reacting to this demand by launching ladies’ complications.”

Marina Lunkina, who works in public relations in Moscow, is a case in point.

“Today’s world made women as active as men in business, social and many oth-er life spheres,” she said. “It’s obviously affected our style.”

Lunkina owns a man’s SevenFriday, a Swiss-designed watch built around a Japanese mechanical movement, and a Maurice Lacroix moon-phase watch that she uses to keep track of hair ap-pointments - but for reasons that, like the watch, are complex.

“Hair will grow faster if you cut them on a growing moon,” she wrote in an email, while a waning moon is better “if you would like to keep the hair style unchanged.”

Moon-phase watches seem to have a particularly strong appeal for women, and not just those who frequent beauty salons.

“Ladies appreciate the moon-phase,” said Pascal Raffy, who in 2001 bought the Swiss luxury watch brand Bovet Fleurier, which has been making time-pieces since 1822. One of his first initia-tives was to introduce a moon-phase be-cause, he said, “it’s a complication women need, it’s an animation of the movement, it’s emotional.”

A moon-phase captured the attention

and heart of Eva Malmstrom Shivdasani, the creative director of Soneva Resorts, Residences and Spas, based in Bang-kok. She doesn’t wear a watch often, but when she does, it’s an Audemars Piguet moon-phase that she bought at auction ten years ago.

“I love the look of it, and the movement of the moon,” she said. “It’s a stunning watch, so beautiful. I don’t use it for the function, I just like the beauty of it.”

Watchmakers are aiming to satisfy women who are intrigued by complica-tions as much as those attracted by ap-pearance. A wave of new models combines function with fashion.

Franck Muller, the self-titled “Master of Complications”, offers a Lady Tourbillon with a heart-shaped tourbillon “designed specifically with women in mind,” said the brand’s director, Nicolas Rudaz. “Women buying complicated watches is certainly a trend we see here,” Rudaz added.

Chanel has seen the same trend. “The of-fer of complications for women has grown very much,” said Nicolas Beau, Chanel’s international watch director. But where “men buy for the mechanism, women buy for the beauty of the mechanism,” he said. As a result, Chanel designed the tourbil-lon as a stylised camellia in the Première Flying Tourbillon Camellia, making the mechanism a decorative element.

Complex watches prettified with hearts, flowers — and lots of diamonds — are a far cry from the offerings of a few years back.

“Remember those old Casio watches with all the buttons?” said Karen Giber-son, president of the Accessories Council in New York, recalling Casio’s early digi-tal models with stopwatches and alarms. “They weren’t pretty. Today women are looking for something more fashionable.”

Béatrice Rouhier, Chaumet’s watch

manager in Paris, says women are looking for poetry. “For women, the point is, yes, it is a technical watch — but it is a watch that tells a story,” she said.

In Chaumet’s “Catch me ... if you love me” watch, the hands are replaced by a spider and a bee, spinning in a web that re-places the hour markers. The symbolism is “its creativity, it is poetry, it is joyful,” Rouhier said.

Van Cleef & Arpels believes in the pow-er of poetry so much that it has trade-marked “Poetry of Time” and “Poetic Complications” to describe a collec-tion of jewelled watches with compli-cations (including one that features fluttering butterflies).

Raffy, the Bovet Fleurier owner, said, “Women are now interested in how a timepiece works.” In Asia, he said, wom-en “are passionate about mechanical timepieces.”

Daniel Chang, managing director of Jaeger-LeCoultre in China, says his brand holds master classes in China, at which a watchmaker shows a small group how to take apart and reassemble a mechanical movement. “We see female customers coming to the events,” he said.

Giberson said: “We’re more comfortable now with technology. Things that used to seem geeky or intimidating are now com-mon.” - Kathleen Beckett/The New York Times Nes Service

WO

MEN AND WATCH

ES

IT ’S COMPLICATED

LIFE & STYLE

Women’s tastes and needs in watches are fast changing and watchmakers are increasingly

acknowledging the change, with models being designed with women in mind

The offer of complications for women has grown very much, men buy for the mechanism, women buy for the beauty of the mechanism

Nicolas BeauChanel’s international watch director

C8

EXTRAM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 3, 2 0 14

The world is likely to suffer a major cyber attack causing “widespread harm to a

nation’s security and capacity to defend itself” before 2025, according to a survey of

more than 1,600 experts carried out by the Pew Research Centre. Sixty-one per cent

of respondents - which included policymakers, researchers, analysts and engineers –

said that they thought a major attack was likely while 39 per cent said “no”. Those

that thought an attack was likely said that internet-connected systems had become

too invited, with critical infrastructure such as energy or finance tied into what is a

very vulnerable system.

“Current threats include economic transactions, power grid, and air traffic control,” said Mark Nall, a program manager for Nasa. “This will expand to include

others such as self-driving cars, unmanned aerial vehicles, and building infrastructure.”

Some experts also thought it was fair to say that “major” cyber attacks had already

happened, citing examples such as the Stuxnet worm which is widely thought to have

been engineered as a joint US and Israeli program and that set back Iran’s nuclear

program by years.

We are already witnessing the theft of trade secrets, with impact well worth tens of billions of dollars,” said Christian Huitema, a senior engineer at Microsoft. “We are

also seeing active development of cyber weapons by many world powers. Historically,

such new weapons are always used at least once or twice before nations realise it is

too dangerous and start relying on diplomacy.” Other experts noted that individuals

with privileged access to certain systems could end up being as much a threat as

nation states, citing figures like Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning as well as

those responsible for financial disasters such as Steven A. Cohen and Bernie Madoff.

Respondents that thought an attack was unlikely said that the hype outweighed

the actual danger, and that distributed structure of the internet and infrastructure

(much of which is not connected to the internet in any conventional sense) would stop

hackers causing too much damage. “Nations and others who hold necessarily secure

information are getting better and better about protecting their essential assets,” said

Paul Jones, a professor at the University of North Carolina. “Yes, a bunch of credit card numbers and some personal information will leak. Yes, you may not be able to place

an order for a few hours. But it’s less and less likely that say all pacemakers in a major

city will stop at once or that cyber attacks will cause travel fatalities.” Looking to

the future, respondents also predicted that the dynamics of cyber warfare could mimic that of the Cold War, with nations developing ever more dangerous attack capabilities

that keep competing powers form becoming too aggressive.

“Mutually-assured destruction worked then, works now, and will work in cyberspace,”

said Garland McCoy, president and founder of the Technology Education Institute.

Significant examples of cyber warfare in the past decade included not only the Stuxnet

worm but the suspected hacking of official Georgian websites during the country’s

invasion by Russia in 2008 and the indictment of five Chinese military officials in

May for hacking US energy industries.

}

}

end.

{

i f I n t e r n e t _ V i r u s _ C o n f i g _ L o a d e d = t r u e

t h e n {

_ T h r e a t = “ E M I N E N T M A J O R C Y B E R A T T A C K C A U S I N G W I D E S P R E A D H A R M B E F O R E 2 0 2 5 ” }

e l s e {

d i s p l a y = J a m e s V i n c e n t / T h e I n d e p e n d e n t

T H E _ M A J O R I T Y _ O F _ E X P E R T S _ T H O U G H T _ T H A T _ A _ S I G N I F I C A N T

A T T A C K _ W A S _ L I K E L Y _ I N _ T H E _ N E X T _ 1 1 _ Y E A R S , _ B U T _ O T H E R S _

S A I D _ T H A T _ T H E _ T H R E A T _ O F _ C Y B E R _ W A R F A R E _ W A S _ M O S T L Y _ H Y P E

MARK Twain wrote, “His money is twice tainted: ‘taint yours and ‘taint mine.”

‘Taint that just the case!It is great to get twice the money

for one piece of work. At the bridge table, as we saw yesterday, that is sometimes possible in the bidding. I pointed out that a jump-shift response by a passed hand is fit-showing: length in that suit and partner’s suit.

That was in an uncontested auction. When the opponents sail in, I like to use fit-jumps even by an unpassed hand. I jump as high as I am willing to drive the auction.

In this deal, after South opens one diamond and West overcalls one heart, North jumps to two spades, showing a limited hand with five spades and four-plus diamonds. (With a stronger hand, North could jump to three spades.) The auction then proceeds to five diamonds by South.

West leads the heart ace and shifts to his trump. East wins and plays a club. How should South continue after guessing well to win with his club ace?

Declarer needs three dummy entries: one to take the spade finesse, one to ruff out East’s spade king, and one to reach the established spade winners. Those entries are a heart ruff, the diamond queen and the diamond six -- did you see the necessity for South not to play his diamond five at trick two? Then you can bring home the contract with four spades, five diamonds, one club and the heart ruff.

Note that if North initially responds one spade, East would jump to four hearts and leave both North and South wondering what to do.

— By Phillip Alder

C9

ENTERTAINMENT

A fit-showing jump is a two-in-one bid

B I G N A T E

B O R N L O S E R

M A R M A D U K E

A C E S O N B R I D G E

C I N E M A S C H E D U L E

K I D S P O T H E A L T H C A P S U L EC R O S S W O R D

Ans

wer

to p

revi

ous

puzz

le

WITH LOVE

Previous puzzle Solution

HOW TO PLAY Fill the empty cells with the numbers 1 to 9, so that each number appears once in each row, column and area. — Seven Galaxies

S U D O K U

M O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 3, 2 0 1 4

Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 16 years) whose birthday you are celebrating, along with his/her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and parents’/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi or through e-mail to [email protected]

31 Not evenly divisible 232 Ignoble 36 Krishna

devotee 38 Hamilton’s bill41 As of 43 Singers Hall and

— 45 “Fish Magic” artist

46 Date part 48 Bank dep. 49 Paraphernalia50 Spot 51 Like cool cats52 Clean water

org. 53 Claim the gold

medal 55 Dam-building grp.

ACROSS 1 Bogus Bach4 Cyrus’ realm, today8 Approached12 Raid the fridge13 Verne’s skipper14 Pentathlon event15 Slight cold17 Bard’s tragic

king 18 Narrow down19 Lick an envelope21 Shoe width23 Rigs, as dice27 Fix, as lipstick30 Chenille item33 — Lanka 34 Burma neighbour35 Mont. neighbour36 Recover 37 Little rascal38 Smidgens39 Othello’s foe40 Not au courant42 Long time44 Deep black47 Aphorism51 Chopped down54 Green heads56 Hero’s tale57 Roof

overhang 58 Gown go-with59 Square of glass60 Historical periods61 Strive

DOWN 1 Gnat or mouse2 Wynter or

Andrews 3 Handy swab

(hyph.)4 Prefix for “below”5 Aunt or bro.6 Iowa town7 Rocket part8 Orchestral

instrument9 Fossey friend10 Drop — — line11 Poet’s always16 Tours de force20 Ginger — 22 Libretto feature24 Riding the waves25 Boring person26 Farm building27 Brief upturn28 Sand mandala

builder29 Klutz’s cry

BAHJA CINEMA

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Ouija (Horror)Cast: Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto1.15 pm, 8.00 pm & 11.55 pmCP No: 2220 (15+) Wolves (Action / Horror) Cast: Jason Momoa, Merritt Patterson4.00 pm & 10.00 pmCP No: 2219 (PG 12)Captain Harlock (Animation ) Cast: Yu Aoi, Jessica Boone2.00 pm & 6.00 pmCP No: 2167 (15+)Fury (Action / War) Cast: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf3.00 pm & 11.55 pmCP No: 2167 (15+)Happy New Year (Act / Com) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan5.30 pm & 8.45 pm CP No: 2165 (PG 12 )

Poojai (Tamil) (Act/Com)Cast: Vishal Krishna, Shruti Hassan 3:30 pm at Cinema Main, 6:45 & 9:45pm at Cinema 3Money Rathnam (Mal) (Com/Drama)Cast: Fahadh Fasil & Niveda Thomas3:45, 6:45, 9:45 at Cinema 4Kaththi (Tamil) (Action)Cast: Vijay Chandrasekhar, Samantha3:45pm at Cinema 3; 6:30pm at Cinema 2, 9:30pm Cinema MainHappy New Year (Action / Comedy) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone6:15pm at Cinema Main, 3:30pm & 9:30 pm at Cinema 2 Next Change: Vellimoonga (Mal)Oru Oorula Rendu Raja (Tamil)

John Wick (2D) (Act | Thriller) (15+) Cast: Keanu Reeves, Alfie Allen4:15, 9:45, 11:45 pmOuija (2D) (Horror) (15+) Cast: Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto2:15, 11:30 pmHappy New year (2D) (Act ) (PG12) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone6:15, 8:15pmSpace Pirate Captain Harlock (2D) (Animation | Adventure) (PG12) Cast: Yû Aoi, Ayano Fukuda2:00, 04:15 pmWolves (2D) (Act | Horror) (PG12) Cast: Jason Momoa, Lucas Till6:30 pmReaper (2D) (Cri | Horror) (12+) Cast: Danny Trejo, Vinnie Jones, Jake Busey4:00, 11:45 pmAl Jazeera 2 (2D) (Thriller ) (TBC) Cast: Ahmad ALsaqa, Arwa Gouda5:45, 8:45 pmFury (2D) (Action | Drama) (15+) Cast: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman1:30 pm

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist11:00 am, 4:30, 8:45 & 11:45 pmGold Class: 12:00 pm, 9:00 & 11:15 PMQuija (2D) (Horror) (15+)Cast: Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto, Daren Kagasoff1:00 pm & 6:30 pmReaper (2D) (Crime/Horror) (12+)Cast: Danny Trejo, Vinnie Jones2:45 pm & 11:45 pmSpace Pirate Captain Harlock (2D) (Animation/Aduventure) (PG12)Cast: Yû Aoi, Ayano Fukuda10:30 am & 12:45 pmThe Trial (2D)(Crime/Drama) (15+)Cast: John Lloyd Cruz, Gretchen Barretto, Sylvia Sanchez6:15 pm

Happy New Year (Hindi) (2D) (Action/Comedy/Drama) (PG12)Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan3:00 pm & 8:15 pmGold Class:2:00 & 05:00 pmJohn Wick (2D)(Act/Thriller) (15+)

SCREEN 1

Happy New Year (Action |Romance | Drama) (PG 12 )Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Deepika Padukone10.00 pm

SCREEN 2

Super Nani ( Drama/ Family (TBC )Cast: Sharman Joshi, Rekha 9.45 pm

SCREEN 3

Kaththi – 2D (T)(PG12) (Action)Cast: Vijay Chandrasekar, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Neil Nitin Mukesh5.15 pmHappy New Year – 2D (PG12) (Action | Comedy | Drama)Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan6.15 , 8.15 pmFury – 2D (15+) (Act | Drama | War)Cast: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf 11.30 pmReaper – 2D (12+) (Crime | Horror | Sci-Fi)Cast: Danny Trejo, Vinnie Jones2.30, 11.45 pmJohn Wick – 2D (15+)( Act | Thriller)Cast: Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist2:45, 4.15, 6.15, 9.45 , 11.45 pmQuija – 2D (15+) (Horror)Cast: Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto3.30 , 11.45 pmSpace Pirate Captain Harlock – 2D (PG12) (Animation | Adv | Sci-Fi)Voice Overs: Yû Aoi, Ayano Fukuda4.30, 6.30 pmThe Trial – 2D (15+) (Crime/Drama Family)Cast: John Lloyd Cruz, Sylvia Sanchez4.00 pmPoojai – 2D (T) (PG12) (Act | Drama)Cast: Vishal, Shruti K. Haasan8:45 pm

Wolves (Action | Horror) (PG12)Cast: Jason Momoa, Lucas Till,3:00, 6:30, 8:15, 11:30 pmOuija (Horror) (15+)Cast: Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto2:45, 4:45, 10:15, 11:45 pmHappy New Year (Act | Com) (PG 12)8:15, 11:15 pmKaththi (Action) (PG 12)3:15 pmCast: Vijay Chandrasekar, SamanthaSpace Pirate Captain Harlock (Animation | Adv | Sci-Fi) (PG12)Cast: Yû Aoi, Ayano Fukuda4:30, 6:15 pmMoney Ratnam (Com | Thriller) (15+)9:00 pmCast: Fahadh Faasil, Ranji Panikkar, Niveda ThomasFury (Act | Drama | War) (15+)Cast: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman6:30 pm

Happy New Year (Drama) (PG12) 8:30 pmKaththi (Tamil) (Action) (PG12) 5:45 pmFury (Action | Drama | War) (15+) 2:30 pm

Reaper (2D/PG) (Crime/Sci-Fi 12:15 am, 2:00pm, 8:00pmJohn Wick (2D/15+) (Act/Thriller) 12:30pm, 9:45pm, 11:45pmFury (2D/15+) (Action/Drama/War)Cast: Brad Pitt; 2:00pmOuija (2D/15+) (Horror)4:30pm, 11:45pmWicked Blood (PG12) (Act/Adventure)6:15pmSpace Pirate Captain Harlock (2D/PG12) (Animation/Adv/Sci-Fi)10:00am, 12:00pmHappy New Year (2D/PG12) (Act)7:45pm, 11:00pmRoar (2D/PG12) (Act/Adv/Thriller)10:00am, 5:30, 8:45pmKaththi (2D/PG12) (Action)2:30pmMoney Ratnam (2D/TBC) (Com)Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Ranji Panikkar10:15, 6:30pmPoojai (2D/PG12) (Action/Drama)3:30pm

Space Pirate: Captain Harlock (Animation | Adv| Sci-Fi) (TBC) 3:30 pmWolves (Action | Horror) (PG12) 5:00, 11:45 pmOuija (Horror) (15+) Cast: Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto,6:45, 8:45 pmMoney Rathnam (Mal) (Thril) (TBC) 10:30 pm

Roar (Action | Adventure) (TBC )Cast: Abhinav Shukla, Achint Kaur, Subrat Dutta9.45 pm

Money Ratnam – 2D (M) (15+) (Comedy | Thriller)Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Ranji Panikkar, Niveda Thomas9.15 pm

NIYA J. THONTTUNGALNovember 3, 2008

TRISHNA C SUDHANNovember 3, 2005

NAYANA NANDANNovember 3

SHRUTI KISHOR KAWLENovember 3, 2006

ZENAIDA D’COSTANovember 3, 2009

C10

FIND-IT-ALLM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 3, 2 0 14

MONDAYFLT NO ARRIVALS FROM ETA WY682 RIYADH 0005WY406 CAIRO 0005WY676 JEDDAH 0005WY636 ABU DHABI 0010WY648 KUWAIT 0010WY816 BANGKOK 0015BG021 DACCA/CHITTAGONG 0100WY916 SALALAH 01054H583 DACCA 0115WY414 AMMAN 0125TK776 ISTANBUL/BAHRAIN 0300QR1132 DOHA 0345EK866 DUBAI 0355GF560 BAHRAIN 0405EY384 ABU DHABI 0405FZ041 DUBAI 0415WY142 MALPENSA 0630WY902 SALALAH 0630CLX732 LUXORE 0635WY638 ABU DHABI 0650WY658 BAHRAIN 0700WY686 RIYADH 0700WY412 AMMAN 0705WY668 DOHA 0710WY114 FRANKFURT 0715WY644 KUWAIT 0715WY122 MUNICH 0715WY154 ZURICH 0720WY692 DAMMAM 0725WY674 JEDDAH 0730WY132 PARIS 0800WY602 DUBAI 0805WY432 TEHRAN 0815WY202 BOMBAY 0815WY102 LONDON-HEATHROW 0820FZ043 DUBAI 0850G9114 SHARJAH 0915WY236 HYDERABAD 0920WY242 DELHI 0935EK862 DUBAI 0940WY252 MADRAS 0940QR1128 DOHA 1010EY382 ABU DHABI 10159W530 TRIVANDRUM 1035WY3302 MUKHAIZNA 1045WY272 JAIPUR 1100WY604 DUBAI 1110IX337 CALICUT 1155FZ037 DUBAI 1200WY314 CHITTAGONG 1210WY268 LUCKNOW 1210PA450 LAHORE 1215WY904 SALALAH 1215WY906 SALALAH 1325WY606 DUBAI 1330WY326 KARACHI 1355WY918 KHASAB 1440WY3304 MUKHAIZNA 1445WY812 BANGKOK 1525WY656 BAHRAIN 1530WY328 LAHORE 1550FZ045 DUBAI 1555WY632 ABU DHABI 1635WY204 BOMBAY 1710WY292 CALICUT 1720WY610 DUBAI 1730WY246 DELHI 1730WY232 HYDERABAD 1740WY216 TRIVANDRUM 1740WY664 DOHA 1745WY348 ISLAM ABBAD 1745QR1126 DOHA 1745EK864 DUBAI 1800GF564 BAHRAIN 1810WY284 BANGALORE 1810WY3306 MUKHAIZNA 1845G9116 SHARJAH 1915RG125 BATEEN AIRPORT OF AUH 1930FZ047 DUBAI 1945WY614 DUBAI 2030AI977 BANGALORE/HYDERABAD 2105WY386 MALE 2110KL441 AMSTERDAM/DOHA 2120AI973 DELHI 2125WY624 DUBAI 21256.00E+81 BOMBAY 2130WY914 SALALAH 2130WY224 COCHIN 21409W534 COCHIN 2140WY374 COLOMBO 2150WY254 MADRAS 2155WY814 BANGKOK 2200AI907 MADRAS 2200QR1134 DOHA 2210UL205 COLOMBO 2225WY338 KATHMANDU 2235GF566 BAHRAIN 2240EY388 ABU DHABI 2250BA073 LONDON-HEATHROW/ABU DHABI 2250WY908 SALALAH 2255SG061 AHMEDABAD 2300AI985 AHMEDABAD/BOMBAY 2310WY662 DOHA 2315LX242 ZURICH/DUBAI 23209W540 BOMBAY 2325WY654 BAHRAIN 2330LH618 FRANKFURT/ABU DHABI 2330WY612 DUBAI 2335WY636 ABU DHABI 2350WY696 DAMMAM 2350WY910 SALALAH 2355

TUESDAYFLT NO ARRIVALS FROM ETA

WY682 RIYADH 0005WY406 CAIRO 0005WY676 JEDDAH 0005WY648 KUWAIT 0010WY816 BANGKOK 0015WY824 KUALA LUMPUR 0055WY916 SALALAH 01054H583 DACCA 0115NL768 LAHORE 0130TK774 ISTANBUL 0215PK281 ISLAM ABBAD/SIALKOT 0225PK225 LAHORE 0230QR1132 DOHA 0345ET624 ADDIS ABABA 0350EK866 DUBAI 0355EY384 ABU DHABI 0405GF560 BAHRAIN 0405FZ041 DUBAI 0415WY902 SALALAH 0630WY638 ABU DHABI 0650WY658 BAHRAIN 0700WY686 RIYADH 0700WY668 DOHA 0710WY644 KUWAIT 0715WY692 DAMMAM 0725WY674 JEDDAH 0730WY602 DUBAI 0805WY202 BOMBAY 0815WY432 TEHRAN 0815WY102 LONDON-HEATHROW 0820WY342 LAHORE 0835FZ043 DUBAI 0850G9114 SHARJAH 0915WY236 HYDERABAD 0920WY226 COCHIN 0930WY242 DELHI 0935EK862 DUBAI 0940WY346 ISLAM ABBAD 0940WY252 MADRAS 0940QR8550 DOHA 1000QR1128 DOHA 1010EY382 ABU DHABI 10159W530 TRIVANDRUM 1035WY3922 DUQUM OMAN 1055WY904 DUBAI 1110WY822 KUALA LUMPUR 1115G9841 RAS AL KHAIMA 1120IX337 CALICUT 1155FZ037 DUBAI 1200WY314 CHITTAGONG 1210WY268 LUCKNOW 1210WY904 SALALAH 1215WY3302 MUKHAIZNA 1230PK191 GWADUR 1240BG023 CHITTAGONG 1245WY906 SALALAH 1325WY606 DUBAI 1330WY326 KARACHI 1355WY918 KHASAB 1440IX817 MANGALORE/ABU DHABI 1440KU677 KUWAIT 1525WY656 BAHRAIN 1530WY632 ABU DHABI 1535FZ045 DUBAI 1555WY3304 MUKHAIZNA 1630WY274 JAIPUR 1640WY216 TRIVANDRUM 1705WY204 BOMBAY 1710WY292 CALICUT 1720WY610 DUBAI 1730WY246 DELHI 1730WY284 BANGALORE 1740WY232 HYDERABAD 1740QR1126 DOHA 1745WY664 DOHA 1745EK864 DUBAI 1800GF564 BAHRAIN 1810SV534 RIYADH 1900G9116 SHARJAH 1915WY254 MADRAS 1920RG125 BATEEN AIRPORT OF AUH 1930WY144 MALPENSA 1930TG507 BANGKOK/KARACHI 1935FZ047 DUBAI 1945WY614 DUBAI 2030WY152 ZURICH 2110WY124 MUNICH 2115WY624 DUBAI 2125AI973 DELHI 2125WY134 PARIS 21306.00E+81 BOMBAY 2130WY914 SALALAH 2130WY414 AMMAN 21359W534 COCHIN 2140AI907 MADRAS 2200QR1134 DOHA 2210UL205 COLOMBO 2225BA073 LONDON-HEATHROW/ABU DHABI 2240GF566 BAHRAIN 2240EY388 ABU DHABI 2250WY908 SALALAH 2255AI985 AHMEDABAD/BOMBAY 2310WY662 DOHA 2315LX242 ZURICH/DUBAI 23209W540 BOMBAY 2325WY654 BAHRAIN 2330LH618 FRANKFURT/ABU DHABI 2330WY612 DUBAI 2335WY116 FRANKFURT 2345WY696 DAMMAM 2350WY928 SALALAH 2350WY636 ABU DHABI 2350WY717 ZANZIBAR/DARESSLAM 2355WY910 SALALAH 2355

FLT NO DEPARTURES TO ETD AI986 BOMBAY 0005LX243 DUBAI/ZURICH 0020BA072 ABU DHABI/LONDON- HEATHROW 00259W539 BOMBAY 0025LH619 ABU DHABI/FRANKFURT 0050WY685 RIYADH 0105WY251 MADRAS 0110WY201 BOMBAY 0120WY811 BANGKOK 0120WY235 HYDERABAD 0135WY601 DUBAI 0150WY241 DELHI 0155WY431 TEHRAN 0155WY643 KUWAIT 0200WY313 CHITTAGONG 0205WY637 ABU DHABI 0205WY657 BAHRAIN 0205WY667 DOHA 0220WY691 DAMMAM 02354H584 DACCA 0245BG022 CHITTAGONG/DACCA 0250WY271 JAIPUR 0350TK777 BAHRAIN/ISTANBUL 0350WY267 LUCKNOW 0355WY267 LUCKNOW 0355EK867 DUBAI 0455FZ042 DUBAI 0510QR1133 DOHA 0520EY385 ABU DHABI 0525WY3301 MUKHAIZNA 0715GF561 BAHRAIN 0745WY603 DUBAI 0800WY903 SALALAH 0800CLX732 HONG KONG 0805WY813 BANGKOK 0805WY325 KARACHI 0920WY327 LAHORE 0920WY905 SALALAH 0920WY215 TRIVANDRUM 0920WY291 CALICUT 0920WY823 KUALA LUMPUR 0930FZ044 DUBAI 0935WY385 MALE 0940WY231 HYDERABAD 0955WY245 DELHI 0955G9115 SHARJAH 1005WY283 BANGALORE 1010WY815 BANGKOK 1010WY373 COLOMBO 1020WY605 DUBAI 1030WY203 BOMBAY 1030WY347 ISLAM ABBAD 1040EK863 DUBAI 1055EY383 ABU DHABI 1105WY655 BAHRAIN 1110WY3303 MUKHAIZNA 1115QR1129 DOHA 11159W533 COCHIN 1135WY917 KHASAB 1140IX350 CALICUT 1255WY337 KATHMANDU 1310WY253 MADRAS 1315PA451 LAHORE 1315WY631 ABU DHABI 1325WY101 LONDON-HEATHROW 1325WY223 COCHIN 1325WY663 DOHA 1330FZ048 DUBAI 1415WY609 DUBAI 1420WY405 CAIRO 1430WY3305 MUKHAIZNA 1515WY675 JEDDAH 1630WY613 DUBAI 1700FZ046 DUBAI 1700WY913 SALALAH 1735WY623 DUBAI 1820WY907 SALALAH 1840QR1127 DOHA 1845WY681 RIYADH 1845GF565 BAHRAIN 1855WY661 DOHA 1900WY647 KUWAIT 1900WY695 DAMMAM 1910WY653 BAHRAIN 1910EK865 DUBAI 1915WY821 KUALA LUMPUR 1930WY909 SALALAH 1940G9117 SHARJAH 2005RG126 BATEEN AIRPORT OF AUH 2015WY611 DUBAI 2025WY635 ABU DHABI 2030FZ048 DUBAI 2040WY915 SALALAH 2050AI978 HYDERABAD/BANGALORE 2200KL442 DOHA/AMSTERDAM 22309W529 TRIVANDRUM 22406.00E+82 BOMBAY 2245AI908 MADRAS 2300AI974 DELHI 2310QR1135 DOHA 2320GF567 BAHRAIN 2325UL206 COLOMBO 2335WY673 JEDDAH 2350WY901 SALALAH 2350EY381 ABU DHABI 2350

FLT NO DEPARTURES TO ETD AI986 BOMBAY 0005LX243 DUBAI/ZURICH 0020BA072 ABU DHABI/LONDON- HEATHROW 00259W539 BOMBAY 0025SG062 AHMEDABAD 0030LH619 ABU DHABI/FRANKFURT 0050WY685 RIYADH 0105WY251 MADRAS 0110WY201 BOMBAY 0120WY225 COCHIN 0125WY235 HYDERABAD 0135WY341 LAHORE 0150WY345 ISLAM ABBAD 0150WY601 DUBAI 0150WY241 DELHI 0155WY431 TEHRAN 0155WY151 ZURICH 0155WY643 KUWAIT 0200WY637 ABU DHABI 0205WY313 CHITTAGONG 0205WY657 BAHRAIN 0205WY123 MUNICH 0210WY133 PARIS 0215WY115 FRANKFURT 0215WY667 DOHA 0220WY143 MALPENSA 0225NL769 LAHORE 0230WY691 DAMMAM 02354H584 DACCA 0245TK775 ISTANBUL 0310PK282 SIALKOT 0325PK230 LAHORE 0330ET625 ADDIS ABABA 0450EK867 DUBAI 0455FZ042 DUBAI 0510QR1133 DOHA 0520EY385 ABU DHABI 0525WY3921 DUQUM OMAN 0715GF561 BAHRAIN 0745WY903 SALALAH 0800WY3301 MUKHAIZNA 0800WY603 DUBAI 0800WY215 TRIVANDRUM 0845WY325 KARACHI 0920WY905 SALALAH 0920WY291 CALICUT 0920WY273 JAIPUR 0930FZ044 DUBAI 0935WY283 BANGALORE 0940WY245 DELHI 0955WY231 HYDERABAD 0955G9115 SHARJAH 1005WY815 BANGKOK 1010WY605 DUBAI 1030WY203 BOMBAY 1030WY253 MADRAS 1040WY717 ZANZIBAR/DARESSLAM 1045EK863 DUBAI 1055EY383 ABU DHABI 1105WY655 BAHRAIN 1110QR1129 DOHA 1115QR8551 DUBAI WORLD CENTRE/DOHA 11309W533 COCHIN 1135WY917 KHASAB 1140WY331 KATHMANDU 1205G9842 RAS AL KHAIMA 1210WY631 ABU DHABI 1225IX350 CALICUT 1255WY3303 MUKHAIZNA 1300WY101 LONDON-HEATHROW 1325PK192 GWADUR/TURBAT 1325WY663 DOHA 1330WY413 AMMAN 1330WY927 SALALAH 1415BG024 CHITTAGONG 1415FZ048 DUBAI 1415WY609 DUBAI 1420WY405 CAIRO 1430IX818 MANGALORE 1530KU678 ABU DHABI/KUWAIT 1625WY675 JEDDAH 1630FZ046 DUBAI 1700WY613 DUBAI 1700WY913 SALALAH 1735WY623 DUBAI 1820WY907 SALALAH 1840WY681 RIYADH 1845QR1127 DOHA 1845GF565 BAHRAIN 1855WY661 DOHA 1900WY647 KUWAIT 1900WY653 BAHRAIN 1910WY695 DAMMAM 1910EK865 DUBAI 1915WY909 SALALAH 1940SV535 RIYADH 2000G9117 SHARJAH 2005RG126 BATEEN AIRPORT OF AUH 2015WY611 DUBAI 2025WY635 ABU DHABI 2030TG508 KARACHI/BANGKOK 2040FZ048 DUBAI 2040WY915 SALALAH 2050WY825 KUALA LUMPUR 2110WY817 BANGKOK 22359W529 TRIVANDRUM 22406.00E+82 BOMBAY 2245AI908 MADRAS 2300AI974 DELHI 2310QR1135 DOHA 2320GF567 BAHRAIN 2325UL206 COLOMBO 2335WY673 JEDDAH 2350WY901 SALALAH 2350EY381 ABU DHABI 2350

A I R L I N E S

PHARMACIESRound the clockAl Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24783334; Appolo Medical Centre, Hamriya: 24782666; Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24702542, Salalah: 23291635; Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra: 24503585; Ruwi 24811715Muscat Region Apollo, Al Hamriya. Tel: 24787766Muscat, A Seeb Market. Tel: 24421691Muscat, Al Khuwair. Tel: 24485740Muscat, Al Hail South. Tel: 24537080Dhofar RegionMuscat, Al Nahdha Road, Salalah. Tel: 23291635

HOSPITALSAl Amal Medical & Health Care Centre: 24485052Atlas Hospital: Ruwi: 24811743/ Ghubra: 24504000Al Musafir Specialised Medical Clinic: 24706453Hatat Polyclinic LLC,Ruwi: 24563641, Azaiba: 24499269, Sohar: 2683006Al Raffah Hospital: 24618900/1/2Al Massaraat Clinic & Laboratory: 24566435Al Makook Medical Coordinance Centre: 24499434Apollo Medical Centre, Hamriya: 24787766, 24787780Capital Polyclinic: 24707549Badr Al Samaa Polyclinic, Ruwi: 24799760/1/2Capital Clinic, Seeb: 24420740Ceregem National Raak: 24485633Dr Harub’s Clinic: 24563217Elixir Health Centre: 24565802Emirates Medical Centre: 246045401st Chiropractic Centre: 24472274Hamdan Hospital: 23212340International Medical Centre LLC: 24794501/2/3/4/5Kims Oman Hospital: 24760100

24 Hrs Emergency: 24760123Lama Polyclinic, Sohar: 26751128, MBD: 24799077, Al Khuwair: 24478818Magrabi Eye and Ear Hospital: 24568870Muscat Private Hospital: 24583600Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, Al Khuwair: 24477666Al-Hayat Polyclinc LLC: 22004000

ROYAL OMAN POLICEEmergencies and inquiries: 9999General Directorate of Passport and Residence: 24569603Directorate General of Customs: 24521109Traffic violations inquiries: 24510228Public Relations Admin: 24560099

ACCOMMODATIONAl Bahjah Hotel: 24424400Al Bustan Palace: 24764000 Al Khuwair Hotel Apartments: 24478171Al Madina Holiday Inn: 24596400Al Maha International Hotel: 24494949Al Fanar Hotel: 24712385Al Falaj Hotel: 24702311Al Qurum Resort: 24605945Azaiba Hotel Apartments: 24490979Beach Hotel: 24696601Bowshar Hotel: 24491105Coral Hotel Muscat: 24692121Crowne Plaza Muscat: 24660660Crystal Suites: 24826100Golden Tulip Seeb: 24510300Grand Hyatt Muscat: 24641234Haffa House Hotel: 24707207Hotel Muscat Holiday: 24487123InterContinental Muscat: 24680000Majan Continental Hotel: 24592900Marina Hotel: 24711711Midan Hotel Suites: 24499565Mina Hotel: 24711828Muttrah Hotel: 24798401

Nuzha Hotel Apartments: 24789199Oman Dive Centre: 24824240Park Inn: 24507888Qurum Beach House Hotel: 24564070Radisson Blu Hotel: 24487777Ramee Dream Resort Seeb: 24453399Ramee Guestline Hotel: 24564443Ruwi Hotel: 24704244Safeer Hotel Suites: 24691200Sheraton Oman Hotel: 24772772Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa: 24776666The Chedi Muscat: 24524400The Treasurebox Muscat Hotel: 24502570

AIRLINE OFFICESMuscat Airport Flight information (24 hours): 24519456/24519223Aeroflot: 24704455, Air Arabia: 24700828, Air France: 24562153, Air India: 24799801, Air New Zealand: 24700732, Biman Bangladesh Airlines: 24701128, British Airways: 24568777, Cathay Pacific: 24789818, Egypt Air: 24794113, Emirates Air: 24404400, Ethiopian Airlines: 24660313, Gulf Air: 80072424, Indian: 24791914, Iran Air: 24787423, Japan Airlines: 24704455, Jazeera Airways: 23294848, Jet Airways: 24787248, Kenya Airways: 24660300, KML Royal Dutch Airlines: 24566737, Kuwait Airways: 24701262, LOT Polish Airlines: 24796387, Lufthansa: 24796692, Malaysian Airlines: 24560796, Middle East Airlines: 24796680, Oman Air: 24531111, Pakistan International Airlines: 24792471, Qatar Airways: 24771900, Qantas: 24559941, Royal Jordanian: 24796693, Saudi Arabian Airlines: 24789485, Singapore Airlines: 24791233, Shaheen Air: 24816565, SriLankan Airlines:

24784545, Swiss International Airlines: 24796692, Thai Airways: 24705934, Turkish Airlines: 24703033

MUSEUMSBait Al Baranda: Corniche (seafront opp fish market), Open from Saturday to Thursday 9am to 1pm and 4 to 6pmNatural History Museum: Al Khuwair, Tel: 24604957, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm; Thursday: 9am to 1pmMuseum of Omani Heritage: (former Omani Museum), Madinat Al Alam, Sat-Wed 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday - 9am to 1pm, Tel: 24600946Armed Forces Museum: Bait Al Falaj, Tel: 24312651, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm; Thurs 9-12pm and 3-6pm; Fri 9-11am and 3-6pm. Al Hoota Caves 24498258; Turtle Beach 96550606/96550707Children’s Science Museum: Shatti Al Qurum, Tel: 24605368, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pmOman-French Museum: near Muscat Police Station, Tel: 24736613, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm, Thurs: 9am to 1pmBait Al Zubair, Muscat: Tel: 24736688, Al Saidiya St., [email protected] from Sat to Thurs: 9:30am to 6pm.National Museum Ruwi: Tel: 24701289, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pmSohar Fort Museum: Tel: 26844758, Open from Saturday to Wed: 8 to 1:30pm Thurs: 9am to 1pmMuscat Gate Museum: at Al Bahri Road, Muscat open from Sat to Wed 8am to 2pm

PRAYER TIMINGS

W E A T H E R

Dhuhr 11.55amAsr 3.08pmMaghrib 5.32pmIsha 6.44pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 4.57am

Sunset 5:28pmSunrise (Tomorrow) 6.14am

High tide 5:46pm 5:59amLow tide 11:38pm 12:43pm

OMAN

Max 34Min 26

Max 32Min 23

Max 33Min 25

Max 37Min 26

Max 30Min 23Max 32

Min 19

Max 33Min 23

Max 31 Min 25

Partly cloudy skies over governorate of Musandam with chance of isolated rain. Mainly clear skies over rest of the Sultanate with chances of convective clouds development and rain with occasional thundershower associated

with fresh downdraft wind and hail over Al-Hajar mountains & adjoining areas towards afternoon that may extend to the coastal areas of Oman Sea. Chances of late night to early morning low level clouds or shallow fog patches along the southeastern coast.EXPECTED WIND: Along the coastal areas of Oman Sea wind will be northeasterly to easterly light to moderate during day becoming variable light at night, while over rest of the Sultanate wind will be southeasterly to southerly light to moderate becoming northwest light to moderate.

SEA STATE: Sea state will be slight to moderate along of Oman Sea coast and the southeastern coast of Oman with maximum wave height of 2.0 metres. While it will be moderate along western coast of Musandam governorate towards tomorrow morning with maximum wave height of 2.25 metres.HORIZONTAL VISIBILITY: Good over most of the Sultanate becoming poor during thundershower and fog patchesTHE NEXT 48 HOURS OUTLOOK: Chances of convective clouds development with isolated rain over Al-Hajar mountains and adjoining areas towards afternoon. Chance of low level clouds along the coastal areas from late night to early morning along the coastal areas. Rough sea state along the western coast of Musandam governorate with maximum wave height of 2.75 metres.

Max Min

GULFAbu Dhabi 32 26Doha 32 23Dubai 32 25Kuwait 32 19Manama 29 25Riyadh 33 21

WORLDAthens 18 11Baghdad 27 13Beijing 18 2Berlin 17 11Boston 9 1Cairo 26 17Colombo 29 24Frankfurt 13 11Hong Kong 26 21Istanbul 12 6Johannesburg 27 14Kuala Lumpur 32 23Lisbon 18 12Paris 14 10Perth 22 12Singapore 31 27Tokyo 21 12Toronto 12 7

WORLD

Max 13Min 7

Max 30Min 19

Max 12Min 7

Max 30Min 23

Max 24Min 12

Max 19Min 14

Max 1Min -1

Max 32Min 24

LONG DISTANCE BUS TIMINGS (OMAN NATIONAL TRANSPORT COMPANY SAOC) *SUBJECT TO CHANGE

QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (Route 36)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 15:00 Quriyat 16:30 Daily15:00 Sur 18:00 Daily15:00 Jaalan 19:30 Daily

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (Route 36)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41)06:30 Sohar 08:50 Daily06:30 Buraimi 11:00 Daily08:00 Buraimi 14:30 Daily via Ibri13:00 Sohar 15:45 Daily13:00 Buraimi 17:40 Daily 16.00 Sohar 18.35 Daily 16.00 Buraimi 20:20 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41)07:00 Sohar 08:55 Daily07:00 Ruwi 11:40 Daily13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri13:00 Sohar 14:55 Daily13:00 Ruwi 17:40 Daily 13:00 Sohar 19:20 Daily 17:00 Ruwi 22:15 Daily

TO SINAW (Route 52)17:30 Sinaw 20:50 Daily

TO SINAW (Route 52)07:00 Ruwi 10:25 Daily

To Yanqul (Route 54)14:30 Nizwa 16:50 Daily14:30 Yanqul 19:30 Daily

To Yanqul (Route 54)06:00 Nizwa 08:40 Daily06:00 Ruwi 11:00 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54)08:00 Nizwa 10:20 Daily08:00 Al Araqi 12:30 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54)15:40 Nizwa 17:55 Daily15:40 Ruwi 20:20 Daily

TO SUR (Route 55)07:30 Sur 12:00 Daily14:30 Sur 18:45 Daily

TO SUR (Route 55)06:00 Ruwi 10:45 Daily14:30 Ruwi 19:00 Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (Route 62)06:30 Fahud 10:30 Daily06:30 Yibal 11:15 Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (Route 62)12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily12:30 Ruwi 17:30 Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201)06:00 Sohar 08:30 Daily06:00 Dubai 11:30 Daily13:00 Sohar 15:30 Wed,Thur13:00 Dubai 18:30 Wed,Thur15:00 Sohar 17:35 Daily15:00 Dubai 20:55 Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201)07:30 Sohar 10:50 Daily07:30 Ruwi 13:40 Daily13:00 Sohar 16:15 Thur-Fri13:00 Ruwi 19:10 Thur-Fri15:30 Sohar 18:45 Daily15:30 Ruwi 21:35 Daily

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (Route 100)07:00 Salalah 20:00 Daily10:00 Marmul 20:30 Daily10:00 Salalah 23:30 Daily19:00 Salalah 07:40 Daily

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (Route 100)07:00 Ruwi 19:50 Daily10:00 Marmul 13:15 Daily10:00 Ruwi 22:30 Daily19:00 Ruwi 07:30 Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101)06:00 Marmul 16:50 Daily

SALALAH TO DUBAI (Route 102)15:00 Dubai 07:00 Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101)06:00 Marmul 16:30 Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (Route 102)15:00 Salalah 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily 07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily 07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily 16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI) TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

LISTINGS

—www.met.gov.om

BORN today, you are not always what you seem to be, and, like many Scorpio natives, you will learn to take advantage of this fact as you make your way in life. Even as a youngster, you will claim an advantage over others around you as a result. You have a knack for getting close to others, for making them feel comfortable around you, and for fitting in — even though you may not genuinely feel a kinship with them. Some might say this is merely opportunistic and duplicitous — and there is something deceptive about it, to be sure. However, what makes the difference is what you do once you are “in” with the “in crowd.” The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.

You know how to remain in the background, unseen and unnoticed until the time comes for you to announce yourself. You do not always feel the need to position yourself front-and-centre, and you can often reap the best possible results when you blend in — something you can, in fact, do quite well.

Also born on this date are: Kate Capshaw, actress; Roseanne Barr, actress and comedian; Dennis Miller, comedian and actor; Charles Bronson, actor; Larry Holmes, boxer; Adam Ant, singer; Dolph Lundgren, actor; Jake Shimabukuro, musician and composer.

Weigh your options with great care. What seems to be simple may prove quite complex, and vice versa. Give someone a second chance.

VIRGO [AUG. 23-SEPT. 22]

LIBRA [SEPT. 23-OCT. 22] LLLLLLLLLLLLLLL[S[S[S[S[[[S[[S[S[S[[S[S[SSS[SS[SSSS

SCORPIO [OCT. 23-NOV. 21] S[

SAGITTARIUS [NOV. 22-DEC. 21] S[[[[[[[[[[[[[

AQUARIUS [JAN. 20-FEB. 18]

You may not think you can be seen or heard when engaging in questionable activity, but someone surely has his or her eye on you.

You may want to take things apart in order to put them back together and make them better than they were before. You have the knowledge.

You may have to endure some punitive correction as a result of an error that has far-reaching ramifications. Don’t repeat this incident!

What begins as a quick and easy adjustment is likely to turn into something that takes much more time and effort.

You’re not sitting in the prime position at this time, and you’ll have to give way to someone who is above you as a matter of course.

Fast is slow, and slow is fast, and many other things are likely to take on what seems to be the opposite character. It’s an odd day!

You’re curious to learn how something started that you’re having trouble ending. Certain key information doesn’t add up.

PISCES [Feb. 19-March 20]

It’s a good time for you to show another just what you’re made of, but you don’t want to be too aggressive or intrusive.

GEMINI [MAY 21-JUNE 20]

CANCER [JUNE 21-JULY 22]

LEO [JULY 23-AUG. 22]

CAPRICORN [DEC. 22-JAN 19]

Y O U R B I R T H D A Y

ARIES [March 21-APRIL 19]

TAURUS [APRIL 20-MAY 20]

You may not be able to support your point of view in the way that you had hoped. Still, few are likely to challenge you directly.

The one you’re following may make a few key errors. It may be time for you to take on the mantle of leadership.

That which presents itself in a clear and concise order may actually prove to be quite complicated upon closer scrutiny.

C11

EXTRAM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 3, 2 0 1 4

Dysfunctional protein causes Alzheimer’s

DEBUNKING a prevalent theory of Alzhei-mer’s development, researchers have now found that it is not the amyloid-beta (A-beta) protein fragments but the tau tangle pro-teins which are the real culprits behind the disease. Plaque made of beta-amyloid pro-tein fragments and tangles formed from tau proteins are familiar hallmarks of disease in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Tau

protein spurs neuron death in disorders such as Alzheimer’s dis-ease, showed the findings that could explain why some people with plaque build-up in their brains do not have dementia. “The com-mon culprit is tau, so a drug that helps tau do its job may help pro-tect against progression of these diseases,” said Charbel Moussa, study investigator at the Georgetown University Medical Centre.

Cancer cell fingerprints could hasten diagnosis in childrenCANCERS in children will be diagnosed faster and more accu-rately in future as researchers have identified new cancer cell fin-gerprints in blood. “We hope that this early research could eventu-ally lead to the development of non-invasive tests which are faster, more accurate and gentler, transforming the way we make a can-cer diagnosis in the future,” said lead researcher Matthew Murray from University of Cambridge in Britain. Using a blood test instead of surgical removal of a tumour sample could improve diagnosis — such that results take a matter of hours rather than days or weeks, Murray added. The researchers found unique molecular finger-prints for 11 types of cancerous tumours found in children that could be used to develop tests to diagnose those cancers.

Recreational drug use linked to birth defectsBABIES born to mothers who used recreational drugs during preg-nancy are more likely to have birth defects in the brain, said a study. The study found no significant links between recreational drug use and any other type of birth defect. “Our findings suggest a link be-tween brain birth defects and recreational drug use in expectant mothers,” said the lead author of the study, Anna David from the University College London. The study included 213 women whose babies had a type of birth defect, 143 women whose babies had a birth defect with no previously reported links to drug use and 161 women whose babies were normally formed. —IANS

SC I ENCE

Drinking milk may not protect our bones from frac-tures — and could even increase a

person’s risk of dying from heart disease, according to a major new study in Sweden.

In surprising results, an investi-gation into dietary habits of more than 100,000 people found those who drank more milk were no less likely to break a bone. Among women, higher milk consumption was actually linked to an increased risk of hip fractures.

Even more strikingly, people who drank more than three glasses of milk — around 680ml — per day, were more likely to die over the course of the study, which tracked 60,000 women for 20 years, and 45,000 men for 11 years.

The effect was most pro-nounced among women, who were nearly twice as likely to die, with heart disease the condition with the strongest links to higher milk consumption.

Although potentially alarm-ing, the authors of the study from Uppsala University urged cau-tion and said their evidence was not strong enough for dietary recommendations to change.

Women who took part in the study were aged 39-74, and the men 45-79 when the research began, so it is not surprising that significant numbers died over the following two decades. The study was observational, matching people’s self-reported answers to dietary surveys with their medical records, and does not prove cause and effect.

Although the researchers took several confounding factors such as smoking rates, alcohol use and weight into account, commen-tators said their influence may have been understated.

However, experts from several countries agreed that the results merited further investigation.

“As milk consumption may rise globally with economic develop-ment and increasing consump-tion of animal source foods, the role of milk in mortality needs to be established definitively now,” said Professor Mary Schooling, of City University of New York’s school of public health.

The study is published in the British Medical Journal.

Current dietary guidelines recommend milk and other dairy products as good sources of pro-tein and calcium, which is es-

sential for healthy bones. There is no suggestion in the study that drinking one glass of milk a day is unhealthy. The researchers did not make a distinction be-tween full fat, semi-skimmed or skimmed milk.

Intriguingly, other dairy prod-ucts including yoghurt and cheese were linked with better bone health and lower mortality risk.

The authors have suggested that the cause of milk’s adverse effect may be galactose, a type of sugar, high levels of which

are present in non-fermented milk but not in fermented prod-ucts. Galactose has been shown to have harmful effects such as inflammation and chemical im-balances in animal studies, but evidence of their role in human health is scant.

Gaynor Bussell, a dietician and public health nutritionist said that the study was interesting but warned that food questionnaires were “not the gold standard” for understanding daily intake.

“We do know that increase in inflammation is associated with reduced bone density and so the effect of galactose certainly needs to be looked at in further studies,” she said.

“Calcium is required in the diet for bone health and we re-quire approximately the daily amount of calcium that’s in about a pint of milk. So milk is a very convenient source of calcium as well as many other vitamins and minerals. Some caution is required here in interpreting the results and so I would urge some more research in this area that can back or refute these findings. One such study is insufficient to base public health decisions on.” - Charlie Cooper/The Independent

Milk might not be as good for us as we thought, says studyThose who drank more milk were no less likely to break a bone, an investigation showed

The effect was most pronounced among women, who were nearly twice as likely to die, with heart disease

C12

EXTRAM O N DAY, N OV E M B E R 3, 2 0 14

It’s impossible to talk about Simone Rocha without mentioning her father. Be-cause unlike other London designers, her father isn’t

an engineer, a plumber or a cab driver: he’s John Rocha, a Lon-don fashion week fixture whose clothes reached a swathe of the population via lucrative licens-ing deals with Debenhams. Men-tion him, and Rocha doesn’t sigh, or curl her lip. But she does admit “I didn’t want to do fashion — be-cause everyone knew I was John Rocha’s daughter”. When Rocha shuttered his business this year, the implication was that he has passed the baton to Simone. That isn’t true — Rocha is her own woman, and her own designer, a much fêted one at that.

Nevertheless, her ‘daughter of’ upbringing has a lot to do with that, because fashion is nothing new, nor nothing special, for Si-mone Rocha. “Fashion was always there: it didn’t feel glamorous. It was just our life,” states Rocha Jr pragmatically. “I’ve been going to shows since I was zero. I started working on them when I was 11, I started assisting when I was 14, then I worked with dad until I was 17 when I went to college.”

Normal is the word that comes to mind, repeatedly, when you meet Simone Rocha. She’s reso-lutely, refreshingly normal – grin-ning and laughing naturally. She has a honking great laugh and an Irish accent straight out of Father Ted. She’s great fun, and never seems on show. Rocha is curvy — her clothes frequently are, too, cut to fit a variety of body shapes, cel-ebrating the female form as well as challenging it — and she rides to her studio on her bike every morning down east London’s Kingsland Road. Given the nature of this cool enclave, quite a few people probably know who she is. But that doesn’t go to her head. She always has her feet firmly planted on the ground, and even

when she wears something like an amoeba-shaped Comme des Gar-çons frock edged in piecrust ruf-fles, she manages to make it look natural. Not nondescript, mind, but not try-hard either.

That’s something Rocha brings to her own designs as well, when she manages to grab themes such as Tudor dress, or her grandmoth-er’s clothes by the scruff of their neck, shake them until the stuff-ing falls out, and make them feel fresh and modern. Those Tudor costumes are a great example, the basis, as they were, for Simone Rocha’s autumn/winter 2014 col-lection. “I saw a show at the Na-tional Portrait Gallery, Elizabeth I And Her People,” recalls Rocha. “I thought: wow, I really feel like I can translate this into something that I can relate to... I didn’t want it to feel costume, I wanted it to feel like you would want to wear it today. It’s young, but it has a strength to it.” Young and strong isn’t what everyone would think of when confronted with images of Good Queen Bess in pearl-em-broidered farthingale skirts, but Rocha synthesised the silhouettes into voluminous ruffles sketching fullness across the hips, deline-ated with resin beading. Velvet and brocades were replaced with Rocha’s favourite hyper-modern fabrics, like neoprene or embroi-dered PVC, but she says: “I was really getting quite deep into each garment, rather than do-ing something classic and just reworking it with a new innova-tive fabric”. She grins. “I was try-ing to put a lot in the pot.”

What Rocha cooks up each season is of great interest in the fashion world. Fashion East gave Rocha a two-season showcase straight out of college and an ‘in’ on to the packed London Fash-ion Week schedule. Then she decided to strike out on her own, for spring/summer 2012. She had none of the sponsorship usually awarded to young designers — al-

though she had created a capsule range with Topshop, based on her MA, that netted her enough mon-ey to stage the show. “I always call it my first collection — because it felt like my first collection,” she says of that show. “I’m going to do exactly what I want to.”

I remember attending, dragged off-schedule to a bombed-out, Robert Adam-designed town-house. Rocha showed latex and lace T-shirts, fluoro nylon tulle skirts and plastic rain-macs with crochet trapped inside. Rocha learnt to crochet herself one sea-son age 14, when her father’s socks had a line of the stuff running through them and the whole fam-ily was drafted in to help. Rocha has always been a bit of a family affair: for that spring 2012 show, her flatmate did the security in a suit she rented for him, while her brother Max provided the sound-track (he still does today). Her fa-ther John and mother Odette sat front-row, rightly proud, as their daughter presented one of the stand-out shows of the season.

Such was the clamour for that collection, Odette began to help Simone with her sales – when re-tailers such as Dover Street Mar-ket snapped her up for the first time, and have continued to order ever since. “She really believes in what I want to do,” says Rocha of her mother – the former commut-ing back to Ireland to oversee pro-duction and staying at her family home in Dublin.

Of course, with her business soaring, Rocha could stay any-where. A no-doubt lucrative ac-cessories line was added this year, alongside the already bestselling shoes, and a collaborative range with J Brand launches imminent-ly, following in the footsteps of names such as Christopher Kane and Proenza Schouler.

But for Rocha, home is where the heart is. And heart is what she always puts into her clothes.. – Alexander Fury/The Independent

Simone has stepped out of her father’s shadow to become

a much sought-after designer in her own right

Can fashion designer Simone Rocha match her father John’s success?

Get the cat eye look, celebrities styleHOLLYWOOD STARS like Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren and the new guard of starlets including Lupita Nyong’o and Gwen Stefani have made cat eye make-up iconic. Here’s how to get the perfect cat eye make-up, reported people.com. Step one: Prime your lids with pressed powder. This creates a smooth base for your liner to easily glide over. Step two: Start lining at the inner corner of your eye. Keep the line thin and as close to your lashes as possible. Practice on the back of your hand first to see exactly how much pressure you’ll need to distribute the per-fect amount of product. Step three: As you reach your iris, press a little harder on your liner pen or brush to make the line a bit thicker. Con-tinue lining until you reach the end of your eyelid. Step four: Starting where you just left off, angle the “flick” up-and-out towards the tail-end of your eyebrow. Step five: Now, trace over the top of your entire line,

from the tip of the “flick” all the way to your inner corner. This will smooth it all into one seamless, up-swept line. Step six: Repeat on the other eye. Once you’re all lined-up, step about two feet back from your mirror to check for symmetry.

Resveratrol could impede the benefits of exerciseCONTRARY TO popular belief, adding resveratrol (RSV) to your ex-ercise routine may not enhance the effects of physical activity, said a study. Resveratrol occurs naturally in the skin of red grapes and it is common to recommend RSV supplements to complement exercise and enhance performance. iT may actually impede the body’s response to training, the findings showed. “The data set we recorded during this study clearly demonstrates that RSV supplementation does not aug-ment training, but may impair the affect it has on the body,” said Bren-don Gurd, professor at Queen’s University in Canada. —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, N O V E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 4

RENT D2

*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

DAILY GUIDE Email: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

For rent apartments: An apartment

in old Muscat at Oman Arab Bank’s

building. 3 bedrooms + 3 bathrooms,

dining room, living room and a

kitchen. Air conditioned apartments.

2 bedrooms + 2 bathrooms, living

room, dining room area and kitchen

in an excellent location in

Al Khuwair opposite the court of fi rst

instance. For further information

call 97072976

Industrial land in Al Rusayl 1000 m

squared. For further information

call 97072976

2BHK Flat at Old Muscat. Contact: 91393005

Indian School Muscat, 3 minutes

by walk, very spacious 1 BHK fl at, 2

bathrooms, brand new well main-

tained building, ground fl oor OMR

275/- per month. Contact 99310180

2 BHK fl at for rent near Baladiyah

Offi ce and Indian School Darsait.

Contact 99552832

Flat for rent in Al Amerat.

Contact 99209264

Furnished fl at with room & toilet,

kitchen with A/C in Hilt Al Saad opp

Al Nahdha Hospital RO 180/- with

E/W. Contact 91114040

Flat and room for rent in Qurum near

park. Contact 99664703

Flat for rent 2 BHK Muttrah near

Oman House. Contact 97007934 /

92629232

Flats/villas owned by ROP pension

fund available for rent in Muscat.

Contact 99349526

Studio for rent of two rooms and two

bathrooms and a kitchen in South

Mabela with electricity and water.

Contact 94090550

Shop for rent in Ruwi near Bank

Sohar. Contact- 97452727 /

99358615

Fully furnished luxury 2 bedroom

fl at for rent at Ghala for long term or

short term basis.

Contact 91786526

2 bedrooms fl at for rent at Mumtaz

Area near Al Burj Hotel. Contact

99104418, 99345914, 99884924

Available for rent – Labor camp in

Barka for 300 workers along with

provisions : Catering, Dining Hall.

Also available open lands for

rental in same place.

Contact 24564460 / 61,

GSM: 99430943

Email : [email protected]

1 BHK for commercial MBD RO

280/-. Contact 92144045

2 BHK without A/C RO 300/-.

Contact 92144045

1 BHK Mumtaz Area RO 250/-.

Contact 92144045

2 BHK without A/C Wadi Kabir.

Contact 92144045

1 BHK without A/C Darsait.

Contact 92144045

1 BHK near ISD Darsait.

Contact 92144045

1,2,3 BHK fl ats & villas.

Contact 92144045

Flats, Amerat Souk. Contact

99647903 / 98026234

Small offi ce for rent in Azaiba

North. Contact 92294409

Villas / fl ats / store / labor /

accommodation. Contact 99776071

/ 99057348

Flat for rent 2 BHK fl at with 3 toilets

near Muscat Bakery, Wadi Kabir.

Contact 99885169, 99897223

D2 M O N D AY, N O V E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 4

Room for rent in Ruwi.

Contact 95372192

Beautiful villa for rent next to post

offi ce in Al Qurum, 5 bedrooms, hall

and kitchen. Contact 99311454

Warehouse for rent 200 SQM at

Ghala near Bridgestone, Ghala.

Contact 99349311

Industrial land for rent available at

November 2014, Ghala Area 3.500

SQM way #5251 next to Naseem

Workshop opposite Rimsigns Indus-

try LLC Ghala. Contact 99349311

2 BHK beautiful fl at with split AC

available for rent at Qurum near PDO

Gate No-2. Contact 94057023

Excellent fl at for rent in Ruwi,

Mumtaz Area and Al-Hail South.

Contact 98051159

1 BHK near Oman House, Muttrah.

Contact 99233116

2 BHK pent house R. 360, 2 BHK

RO.340, 1BHK RO.250/- Bldg #1619

way# 1322 adjacent to Indian

Nursary Darsait.

Contact – 99476728 / 99831047

Flats & shops for rent in Al Amerat.

Flats only for family 3 rooms,

3 attach bathrooms & 1 kitchen.

Flat RO.230/- & shop RO.150/-.

Contact – 98046005

BHK, 2 BHK fl at for rent near ISM

Darsait. Contact 95158570

Bachelor villa at Al Ansab.

Contact 98458542

For rent fl at and showroom,

Al Azaiba, Ghala, Ghubrah, al

Khuwair-33 and Mabelah. Contact

93651633, 24485240, 24485241

5 bedrooms villa, 2 halls, 4 bath-

rooms in Darsait, behind Khimjis

Mart. Contact 24700120 / 92584715

2 B/R Fully Furnished Executive

Apartment @Azaiba Near Zubair

Showroom. 2 B/ R Fully Furnished

Executive Apartment @ Al Khuwair

33 Near Zhaker Mall. 5 B/R Luxury

Fully Furnished villa at Azaiba with

servants quarter. Contact: Atlas Real

Estate & Rent A Car LLC : 99249069

/ 92888376/ 93201688,

Email: [email protected]

2 BHK, 2 Bath, Split A/C,

Wadikhabeer, Near Indian elementry

school. Way 6926, building 1733.

99441193, 93004802.

Commercial villa for rent in Sarooj

next to Thailand Embassy

Contact :96969824

5 Bedroom Villas at Al Ansab

(Near express highway).

Contact 99199365

Large fl at of 2 bedrooms, hall & 3

bathrooms with split A/C’s in Al

Ghobra North 18 Nov Street RO.360.

Contact - 93191111

Rooms available near Qurum Park

with separate bathroom for

family and bachelor.

Contact 99664703

1 BHK fl at in Wadi Kabir.

Contact 99277787

8 Rooms villa in Al Khuwair for rent

opp. Rawasco, way 4104, villa 341.

Contact - 99361589

1 BHK Flat in Ghobra.

Contact 99792181

For rent Flat 2 bedroom attach

bathroom opp Ruwi police station

Ruwi. Contact 99311209/ 99013580

1 BHK fl at near Star Cinema, Ruwi.

RO 240/-. Contact 97079146 /

95570288

Building with four fl ats near Pizza

Hut Mawaleh. Contact 99044164

5 Rooms, main living room + Wom-

en living room+2 halls, 6 toilets,

kitchen in Azaiba near Al Fair

800 RO. Contact 99888873

1,000 sq mtrs industrial land in Mis-

fah Industrial area near to Khanco.

OMR 1,500 Monthly. Electricity and

Boundary wall will be provided. Tel:

99333479 or 95215360

Land and Shops in Rusayl.

Contact 99323957, 95490842,

fax : 24452534

Flat for rent in Wadi Kabir.

Contact 99383569

Flat one bedroom in Wadi Kabir

with split AC. Contact 99313274

I BHK Flat Wadi Kabir. RO 180/-.

Contact 99376454

Flat for rent in Ruwi, Mumtaz Area

and Al-Hail South.

Contact 91409778

Villa for rent in Muscat 6 rooms.

Contact 96116767

Furnished / unfurnished apartments

available for rent on long term /short

term basis, near Vacha’s hypermar-

ket in Ghala. Contact : 97677211

1 BHK fl at in Wadi Kabir. RO 215/-.

Contact 99358589

Small house for rent at Ghubrah.

Contact 95032152

2 BHK with A/Cs Mutrah behind

Oman house. Contact 99896838

3 BHK Flat Ghubra close to ISG Way

4041, Building 4390.

Contact 99319880

3 rooms, 3 bath & Kitchen Oman

House Muttrah.

Contact 99319149

Flats, shops basements,

location, Ruwi MBD area, Honda

road, Qurum. Contact 96942749 /

97293708

FOR SALE

BUYING/SELLING

New 1 and 2 B/R near Bank Muscat,

Bausher directly from owner.

Contact 92158031

Café Shop for Rent at Ghubrah North.

Contact 99359755

Looking for purchase of Used Portable Compressor (350 CFM,

7 Bar Pressure) powered with Diesel

run Generator. Kindly contact :

99014686 or

[email protected]

3 BHK fl at available for rent in

Al Hail (North), rent RO 280/-.

Contact 97661432

NRI

Awesome investment opportu-

nity, ideal location for hotel/resort/

hypermarket/business/residen-

tial complex construction in the

outskirts of Munnar for immedi-

ate sale, (50+cents worth 10+c),

serious buyers please contact

0096891791419,

[email protected]

Looking for an experienced A/R

conditioner and deep freezer Tech-

nician to independently handle

a running refrigeration service

center in Kannur Kerala. Attractive

terms off ered. Please send CV to

vfi [email protected]

For Astrological consultation, Jathakam. Contact 99860435 /

97102599

2 rooms, 1 hall, 1 kitchen, 1 toilet fl at

available for rent in Al Khoudh, rent

RO 250/-. Contact 97661432

Big Villa at Bowshar 8 rooms,

8 bathrooms, kitchen, maid room &

Majlis. Contact 91183117

Showroom with Mezzanine, 310

meter square at Qurum Prime loca-

tion with excellent interior decora-

tion. Ideal for exotic jewellery etc.

Contact 24714625 / 94460790

New deluxe 2&3 BHK fl ats in

Mumtaz, Al Falaj Area, Darsait.

Contact 99142314, 99369081

Flat for rent in Mabela near express

road rent RO 300/-.

Contact 97695450

Lady Beauty saloon. Contact

97786792, 96644372

DAILY GUIDEM O N D AY, N O V E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 4 D3

Expat leaving household iem for

sale include sofa set, A/C, fridge, cot.

Contact 99552832

Treadmill, LED TV 42’.

Contact 98887511

Running Business Marble & Granite

cutting & polishing workshop in

Wadi Kabir for immediate sale.

Contact 99105492

Running studio for sale at Amerat

Souq. Contact 97621737

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

FOR SALE ACC. AVAILABLE

ACC. AVAILABLE

Restaurant in a running and excellent

condition, ample parking space with a

capacity of 55 seating and a party hall

for sale. Contact - 99343735

We are dealing with sale of all beauty

salon equipments, furnitures & cos-

metics. Contact 942 888 61 /

942 888 63

Executive Bachelor sharing fl at,

Ruwi, Mumtaz main Rd RO 85/-.

Contact 92230581 / 95084850

Furnished large room separate

entrance Wadi Kabir.

Contact 99336206

Sharing accommodation available

for veg family/bachelor.

Contact 99877845

Fully furnished room with separate

toilet, equipped kitchen and big

terrace available for executive

bachelor from Nov.1s tin N. Ghobrah.

Contact-- 95450250

Fully furnished room with sharing

toilet, equipped kitchen immediate-

ly available for executive bachelor

in MBD area. Contact-95450250

Fully furnished Villa at

Al Mawalah with 5 bedrooms asking

700 Tel: 95339258

Sharing accommodation for executive bachelor in Ruwi.

Contact: 95453473

Furnished single/sharing room

available for exe bachelor at Rex

Road. Contact 92873832

Sharing accommodation available

for family big room, hall & separate

toilet at Mumtaz, Ruwi.

Contact 97612335

Used restaurant furniture and

kitchen equipment for sale.

Contact 96500940

Running ladies beauty parlor for

sale at Amerat, on main road near

Al Mahaj R/A. Contact 96349635 /

95622129

6 Seater sofa set & dining table with

6 chairs, good condition. Contact

99327247

For Sale Well running Pharmacy at

primelocation. 93240949

New Villas in (Al Ghobra/

Al Khoudh / Al Mabella).

Contact 24505072/ 91155779

Fax 24507045

Building Material Shop for sale

in Mabela. Contact 95094141,

95099335

Parlor for sale in Ruwi near Honda

Road. Contact 97452727 / 99358615

Villa in Mawaleh for sale town

house style near Sahwa roundabout

taamer road. Contact :96969824

Running restaurant with all ameni-

ties for sale. For further information

contact: [email protected]

Shop for sale in Al Hail North main

road near Bank Muscat ATM. Serious

buyers only. Contact 96435935

2 BHK available in Darsait near

Lulu RO 250/-. Contact 92383882

Furnished room in Ruwi high street

for a non cooking ex bachelor.

Contact- 94412557

Furnished room near Manam

Apartments executive bachelor/

working lady RO 140/-. Wattaya.

Furnished room for small family or

executive bachelor one/two Indian,

Sri Lankan at Darsait.

Contact 99454129

1 BR accommodation available at

Rex Road, suitable for bachelors.

Contact 99889590

Furnished room available for

Executive bachelor in Ruwi area.

Contact 99054542

Furnished room for Indian Bachelor

in Al Falaj/Ruwi & for lady in Wadi

Kabir Al Maya-RO 130/-.

Contact 96202458

Big room with attached bath near

Mabela Souq for working lady or sin-

gle couple.R.O. 110 –call 95208305

Sharing accommodation for a fam-

ily in W/K. contact 97167857

Room available for Executive

bachelor in Ruwi near Honda Road.

Contact 92241735

23,886 Sq Mtrs Agriculture land

with water well in Al Salwa, Barka.

OMR 260 Thousand. Tel: 99333479

or 95215360

Electrical & Building Material Shop

in Muscat for sale.

Contact 95330905

Shop for sale in Seeb near Bank

Muscat. Contact 99828343

Vegetable shop for sale in Wadi

kabir, Cont : 92786449

Flats For Sale in Boushar: OMR 35

Thousand 1 bedroom. OMR 45 Thou-

sand 2 bedroom. Monthly income

1 bedroom OMR 270 and 2 bed-

room OMR 350. Tel: 99333479 or

95215360

If you have any properties /

Inquiries. Contact us

[email protected] .

Tel 24505072/ 91155779

Fax 24507045

Logistic Company with new equip-

ments, contracts sale. Contact

99438523 / 94252527

Independent rooms in Qurum /

Hail. Contact 95529970

Single room available for exclu-

sive bachelors in Azaiba villa

and complete ground fl oor with

Kitchen facility bedroom and

Hall in Darsait. Contact details –

98048207,99261773

Semi furnished room with Separate

T&B Split AC Wifi pref Filipino

or non cooking bachelor lady in

Boushar near Rehab Hotel RO.145/

mo incl W&E. Contact 99058225

Sharing one big room with AC and

bathroom, kitchen sharing for lady or

single person near OC Centre, Ruwi

RO 130 Rials. Contact 99410160

Executive bachleor accomoda-

tion available at north al hail. Near

wave. Contact : 91325959

1 room with attach toilet rent RO 120/-

at Al Hail North. Contact 97661432

Furnished single room with

bathroom, Al Khuwair area only for

ladies. Contact 96059431

AVAILABLE

Established Restaurant for rent

with sponsorship.

Contact 97628242

Party & Wedding equipment rent-

als. Full line, from Tables, Linen

& Skirting, Chairs & Chair covers,

Cutlery, Crockery, Glassware, Chaf-

ing Dishes, Ice Sculptures, to Large

Sound Systems and spectacular

lighting. Call Andrea 9606 2222 for

Catering and

Croyden 9623 5555 for Sound &

Light. www.tunesoman.com,

E-mail: [email protected]

DAILY GUIDED4 M O N D AY, N O V E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 4

DAILY GUIDE

DOMESTIC HELP

DOMESTIC HELP

DRIVER

EDUCATION

SKILLED / UN SKILLED

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT

MEDICAL

MEDICAL

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANT-

EDSIT. WANTED

Required a cook. Contact 99209264

Housemaid for Indian family in

Al-Khuwair. Off er Salary, Visa,

Accommodation, Food, ticket.

Call 99316937.

ADMIN/HR

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

DRAUGHTSMAN

DESIGNER

DRIVER

Email: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

ENGINEERS/TECH..

Light duty driver. Contact

92341826

Malayalee driver need job.

Contact 93729371

Driver is available for his personal

home, driver as a Company driver,

outhouse to go to UAE, please do not

hesitate to contact 96964343

Light driver, 3 years experience in

Oman. Contact 94453093

Indian L/D, driver, 2yrs exp.

Contact 98783139

Light driver seeking job.

Contact 95963682

Light driver looking for job in any

Company. Release available.

Contact 98368378

Light driver. Contact

98537756

Light driver looking for job.

Contact 93181200

Experienced Light Driver available.

Contact 95076476

Required Indian driver. Contact 99209264

Urgently required A Driver for a

reputed family in Muscat. Contact :

24810353 ( 8 AM - 5 PM).

Driver required for morning 7 to 9

am and 2 to 7 pm. call at 99101958

after 6 pm or SMS.

Cosmetic leading company is look-

ing for: qualifi ed experienced light driver. Please email CV to mary-

[email protected]

or call +968-99389888

Coordinator for Transport/ Heavy

Equipment Company and Light Driver salary RO 175 + Accommoda-

tion. Contact 99454425

Indian Male: B.COM, 4 years experi-

ence in Accounts, in Manufactur-

ing Co Oman, Working Knowledge

With Tally ERP- With Oman valid

D/L,Presently working in Muscat

NOC Available Looking for Suitable

position in Reputed Company,

Contact; 95745287 and Email:

raiforeveryone@rediff mail.com

Indian Male, 24 MBA Finance,

1+ years experiences in US Health

Care in Accounts looking for a

suitable job. Contact 92239445

Indian Male, 24 yrs, MBA in HR/

Finance, 2 yrs experience in Trade

fi nance (Standard Chartered Bank)

presently on visit visa. Contact

959124531

Sr. Accountant, M.Com (Finance),

14 yrs experience (1 year in Oman) in

Finance & Accounts. NOC available,

immediate joining.

Contact 92404608,

email: jin_75@rediff mail.com

Indian Male, 25 years, B.Com gradu-

ate having 4 years of experience

(2 years in Oman) in Accounts and

Admin fi eld seeking for suitable

placement, currently on visit visa

in Oman. Contact 93207867 /

98353078

Pakistani Male, ACCA Fundamental

Level qualifi ed, advanced Diploma

in Accounting and Business certifi ed

accounting technician, 3 years expe-

rience as Accounts Offi cer.

Contact 99860453,


Indian Male, 28, B.Com, 6 years exp

in East Africa seeking suitable job,

3 months visit visa.

Contact 94613626

M.Com, MBA having 7+ years of ex-

perience in Accounts seeking suitable

placement. NOC available.

Contact 91006072

MBA (Management, fi nance) from

UK with 5+ years of experience in

management and Accounts positions

seeks a suitable job.

Contact 95658916

Indian Female 29 Yrs, B-Com Gradu-

ate with Basic Computer Knowledge

and Tally, having 6 yrs experience in

accounting seeking for the placement

in Account Assistant, currently on

visit visa in Oman Contact: 95478149


Chartered Accountant Indian

(Female) having valid Omani DL and

work experience of 1 year in a Big

4 Audit fi rm (India) seeks suitable

placement. GSM: 99484368

Looking senior positions for a Char-

tered Accountant (CA) with 12 years

post qualifi cation experience, now

working as head of fi nance at a lead-

ing construction company in Muscat.

Contact:97916442

Indian male, 30 yrs MBA Finance, 5

yrs experience in Accounts, fi nance

and Insurance, well versed in ERP

Tally 9, MS Offi ce, valid Oman D/L.

NOC available. Contact 97366016

ACCA Member, currently working in

UAE as a Senior Accountant seeking a

job in Oman (Pakistani Male).

Contact for details CV 94066698

Female, Indian having 2 years

experience in Muscat, currently on

visit visa seeks suitable placement.

Qualifi cation : B.Com MBA (Finance).

Contact 95742787

Financial Manager, Egyptian, experi-

ence 10+ years. Contact 91676723

28 yrs, female, B. Com, 6.5 years ex-

perience in client servicing in Indian

markets for wealth management,

fi nancial products & Banking domain

knowledge. Excellent communication

skills, seeks immediate placement,

family visa. Contact : 91242128.

B.Com, 16 years experience in Stores,

accounts and procurement seeks

suitable position. Local release

available (NOC). Contact 98606546 /

91680124

Chartered Accountant with 10 yrs

of Gulf & MNC experience, in depth

knowledge in Financial statements

including consolidation, treasury,

MIS, AR/AP, Insurance, Taxation,

Payroll etc looking for Senior posi-

tion in fi nance, NOC available.

Email : [email protected].

Contact : 96293649

SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING

Wanted Marketing and Lawyer. Email : fmlawoffi [email protected]

Reputed building material company looking for outdoorSales executive having valid Omani

driving license with more than

2 years local sales experience in

tiles/ sanitary ware.

Please fax your CV to

24798709 /

Email – [email protected]

An established Construction Com-pany requires the following profes-

sional: 1-Graduate Civil Engineer, 5 years’ local exposers, 2-Civil Engineer (Diploma), 7 years’ local

exposers. Confi dent candidates with

relevant experience may forward the

CV’s through

Email: [email protected],

fax: 2200911, 99703972

Grade 1 Construction Company re-quired Civil Quantity Surveyor – 1

No with 10 years of local experience.


Wanted civil Engineer, Civil Fore-man, Blocks and Tile Masons, Shut-tering Carpenter, Email :

[email protected]

5 years experience with Diploma Civil required urgently for an

excellent grade company. Email :

[email protected]

MOH licensed GP doctors and dentist immediately required for

polyclinics at Sohar and Liwa:

Attractive package is off ered.

Contact: 93952123 / 98855602;

email: [email protected]

Required PAED Doctor, Gyn doctor, dentist -female G.P lab technician,

X.ray technician staff nurse for poly-

clinic for Saham.

Contact: 92406024/ Email:

[email protected]

Required for a reputed Medical

Center in Al Khuwair: 1-GP Doctor with MOH license, 2-Neurolab Technician, 3-X-Ray Technician. Please send CV to

[email protected]

Indian Male, 36 yrs available on

visit visa, 14 yrs experience seeking

suitable placement in games devel-

opment / graphics industry.

Contact 98454245

AUTOCAD DESINGER, 3D, 3DMAX,

REVIT, PHOTOSHOP PH : 93837973

B.Tech, AutoCAD, Indian Electri-

cal 4 yrs experience in designing,

drawing, testing commesioning of

transformers D.G. Sets HT Panels, LT

Panels, LT and HT, cable laying look-

ing immediate placements.

Contact- 94516624.


Required Tailor. Contact 95204145

HR Professional (Indian/Female)

with MBA from Symbiosis, having 6+

years of work experience in leading

organization in Muscat, with SAP

experience seeks suitable position.

NOC available. Contact: 97288278,

[email protected].

Indian Female MCA (Computer

Science) looking for placement in

Admin/Purchase/Sales Coordina-

tor/Offi ce, currently on family visa.

Contact 95462266.


HR & Admin Assistant, 26 yrs

Indian Male having 6Years of experi-

ence looking for suitable position.

Contact No: +968-93264616

Indian female MBA, HR 1 year

experience in India seeking suitable

opportunity. Contact 99889718

Indian male MBA 32 yrs having 10

yrs of exp seeking suitable place-

ment in Admin/ HR/ Operations/

Coordination/ Logistics etc. Holding

valid Oman D/L Contact - 99054786

Indian male, MBA 23 years having

1 year of exp seeking suitable place-

ment in Admin/ HR/ Marketing/

Coordinator/ Logistic etc.

Contact 97014369.


Male, 27 years with MBA in HR/

MKT having 2 years exp in respec-

tive fi eld looking for suitable

placement in leading organization.

Contact 91705051

Experience PRO Oman Male, 36

Yrs, 16 yrs experience in PRO/ HR &

Administration, Prefect English lan-

guage speaking & writing with D/L,

Seeks suitable placement, Can join

immediate. Contact 91221773

Omani female with 9 yrs exp look-

ing for PRO job with Oman D/L.

Contact 97917333

Required Teachers for English, Phys-

ics & Art. Only eligible candidate with

the required experience and qualifi ca-

tion may apply within a week’s time

at [email protected]

MISCELLANEOUS

Indian B.Sc. Maths+PGDCA - well

experienced, seeks suitable place-

ment as Commercial/Logistic

Executive or Document Control-

ler/Customer Service Executive;

expected on short visit by Nov. 1st

Week; Contact 99702383. Email:

[email protected]

Chief Accountant with 20 years

experience in reputed companies

looking for suitable placement.

Contact 97385562

MBA (UK) B.Sc (Hons), 24 yrs male

professional with ACCA background

and Masters in International Business

Management from UK is currently

seeking employment on immediate

basis. Contact - +968-97941288,

email : [email protected]

Accountant 10 years Oman exp,

M.Com, upto fi nalization available for

part time works, timing 2 pm to 6 pm.

Contact 96247295

Indian male, 44 yrs, Account Man-

ager, B.Com & MBA, 20 yrs above

experience, 9 yrs experience seek-

ing suitable position, NOC available,

currently visa expires.

Contact 97438194

AutoCAD Draughtsman looking for

suitable position. Contact 94436180

AUTOCAD D/MAN, STEEL STRUC-

TURE, 3 YRS DME, AUTOCAD,

TEKLA , EXP, PH : 93837973

Draughtsman, 2D & 3D (DCSE) with

2 years experience for any vacancy.

Contact 91781227

Autocad d man experienced (arch /

str) revit, 3dmax, Photoshop.

Contact : 93837973

Indian Housemaid from Mumbai

available for cooking, babysitting

from 7-12 noon. Contact 95896415

Sri Lankan housemaid looking for a

job. Contact 99529499

Indian male, 27 yrs, NOC available.

Offi ce boy, helper degree B.Com,

exp 1.8 months, Oman. Contact

93764069, room boy (watchman

building maintenance)

Looking for full time/part time job,

cleaning, cooking, personal care

taker, ladies and kids.

Contact 97882204 / 98562066

Dentist male & female with MOH

License for a polyclinic near Sohar.

Excellent salary, accommodation

and commission.

Contact 99006915,

email : [email protected]

IBH Multispeciality Medical Center-

Seeb, requires the following faculty:

1) General Practitioner. 2) Gynecol-ogist. 3) Dermatologist. 4) Nurse. 5) Pharmacist. E-mail CV : [email protected]

Contact: 97884856

Required General Physician, Gynecologist, Lab Technician, Pharmacist, Staff Nurses. Contact 96064925.


Urgently required Lab Techni-cian either Locum (3 months) or

permanent for a hospital in Muscat.

wanted the following : Gynecologist

(female), Embryologist (Muslim),

Nephrologists, Nursing Superintend-

ant (female), Nurse (female with

MOH license), Dialysis Nurses,

all other medical specialist /

consultants. Email CV :

[email protected]

Masters in Banking and Finance,

UK University, 6 months experience

as Account Analyst at UK

seeking suitable position in reputed

companies. Contact 99883502,

97422558

Senior Position for CA with 24 years

of experience: Managing Finance,

Accounts, Audit, Bank Loans, Budg-

eting, Business planning, Strategy,

Operations management of SAOG,

group of companies.

Mobile 91799262

MBA, Finance, Indian male, 2 yrs

experience in Accounting experience,

seeks suitable placement.

Contact 92045306

Indian male age 30 having

10 yrs experience in Finance &

Accounts seeking suitable place-

ment. mob.93675399

Indian Document Controller,

15 years, GCC experience, release

available. Contact 99324617

Accountant 8 years experience in

Oman seeking part time job.

Contact 99867456

Indian female Senior Accountant

with 10 years experience in Ac-

counts, Finance, Audit & Tax Man-

agement. Contact 96263157

Recruitment 1- Marketing Execu-tive. 2 - Chemical laboratory.3 – Designer. Experience in Marble,

Granite or ceramic industry with

minimum 3 years, experience

preferred. Send detailed CV with

expected salary - [email protected]

Wanted Accountant-Male/Female, Marketing executives-male/female with driving license, secretary/offi ce

admin staff -male/female.

Contact 92058868, email :

[email protected] /

[email protected]

HOSPITALITY

Manager/Caretaker wanted for

small Tourist Camp near Sur. Can-

didate must start soon. Couples also

welcome. Call 93356310

Urgently required marketing person with minimum 4-5 years ex-

perience with good communication

skills and driving license (optional)

to work part time.

Fax – 24564459,


Presales Engineer - IT 4yrs exp. en-

gineering graduate (Indian female)

currently on family visa looking

for opportunities as Sales/Presales

engineer or any suitable positions.

Contact: 0096895829278,

[email protected]

Experienced Salesman with 5 years

experience vehicle looking for job.

Contact 93079087

Indian male Commerce graduate

with 8 years experience in stores

and logistic, working knowledge in

SAP & ERP, fl uent English, currently

in Muscat on visit visa till 17th

November 2014, seeking for Suitable

placement Contact no 99849247

email - [email protected],

[email protected]

Diploma in civil engineering having

an experience 23 years (19 years

in Oman) experience in Estimator /

quantity surveyor looking for a

suitable placement,

willing to join immediately

Contact : 96328687.

26 years Indian male with MBA &

PGDFM, Total 3.2 years experience

in administration and accounts

.seeking suitable placement in

Muscat, having Oman valid driving

license. Contact :93359371.

MBA Finance, 5 Years’ experience in

Accounts, Finance & Administration

, with Valid UAE D/L

Contact 96970930

Indian male with over 19 years of

qualitative experience in Automobile

fi eld, expert in providing techni-

cal advice on repairs and servicing

seeks jobs in sales/ service in mane-

gerial capacity.

Contact 91-7736048460.

[email protected]

Indian male, 24 yrs, MBA in HR/

Marketing. More than 1 years experi-

enced in retail Banking (Axis Bank)

Presently in family visit in Oman

seeking for a suitable placement

Contact : 99892082 / 997 43 709

Indian female having ten years ex-

perience as cook. South Indian, Guja-

rathi special. Contact:: 94224512

A female with a B.Sc Business

Management Degree, specialized in

Human Resource Management cur-

rently living in Sri Lanka seeking for

a suitable position in Oman.

Contact:: 9801 1529

INDIAN, B.E. MECHANICAL ENGI-

NEER, 2 yrs job experience in Oman

in pipeline fi eld, fl uent in English,

Gujarati, Hindi and Marathi, with

valid oman driving license (light),

searching for a new job.

Contact no-+968 92745691

PDO Approved - Indian Male PMP,

CIPS, PGDBA, DME, Oil & Gas/Con-

struction with 18+ Yrs. in Contracts,

Procurement, Operations, Project

with valid Oman-PDO D/L seeking

job - Contact 92560287

Indian 34M with 14 years experi-

ence in Business development /

Sales / Marketing looking for

challenging role. Contact 9367 8885

Mail: [email protected]


DAILY GUIDESITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

DRIVER

MISCELLANEOUS

INFORMATION TECH

EDUCATION

HOSPITALITY

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

ENGG. / TECHNICAL MEDICAL

MEDICAL

PHARMACIST, D PHARM , EXP,

PROMETRIC OMAN EXAM PASS,

PH : 99506977

Indian female Dentist, MOH license

holder, with an experience of 6 yrs,

looking for a suitable opportunity.

Contact 94046651 or

[email protected]

Female dentist (BDS, P.G. certi-

fi ed) with MOH license and 5 years

experience (India + Oman) presently

in Oman seeking job as Dentist.

Contact 93471581

Senior Staff Nurse with MOH

license and more than 20 years of

experience presently on family visa

seeking suitable placement in

capital area. Contact 99630557

Indian female, 30 years, MBA in

Health Care Services (MBA HCS)

looking for suitable job in hospital.

Contact 92606341

Indian Male GP with MOH License

and NOC, having 10 years of excel-

lent hands on experience in Oman

with corporate culture.

Contact 98140024


Bangladeshi man wants good job,

can speak English, Arabic, Hindi.

Contact 93822195

Land Surveyor : Indian male, 1 year

experience in India, using total

station, Auto Level and AutoCAD

seeking suitable placement.

Contact 95140761, 99208290,


22 yrs female completed MBA

looking for job in any or-

ganization willing persons

can contact:92441525 OR

email:[email protected]

Indian male, senior Miller fl our

mills, 24 yrs exp. including erection

& QC, presently working in India.

Contact 0091 9744167051

27 Years Pakistani male in (Crimi-

nology having 4 years experience in

security and management seeking

suitable placement as security

offi cer. Contact 99191701


Indian male, 3 years experience in

Automobile Service Engineer seeks

suitable placement.

Contact 95936331

B.E (Civil) Engineer, male 6 years

experience as a project Engineer in

multinational ISO standard company

(Oman, Dubai & Qatar) high rise

building, substation, industrial

building, pipe line & Oil & Gas fi elds.

Knowledge Auto CAD, Ms Excel, MS

Project. Looking suitable place-

ment. Contact:- +97433854588,

+96896007635 E-mail-

mmosharoff [email protected]

Indian Male, Diploma holder in

Mechanical Engineering with 2

years experience as Site Supervisor

in leading company in India who is

presently at Muscat looking for good

opportunity. Contact 98856004

Sudanese Mechanical Engineer, 3

years experience (production, opera-

tion), driving license easy to transfer

immediately. Contact 91135140

Mechanical Engineer, Sudanese, 3

years experience in HVAC Site Engi-

neer, driving license easy to transfer

immediately. Contact 91135140

Civil Diploma Engineer, Indian

Male, 5 years experience in Oman

with valid Omani D/L.

Contact 98518370

Chemical Engineer with M.Tech

in Energy Engineering is looking

for process/chemical Engineer

post. Contact 95094101, email:

[email protected]

Indian Male, B.Tech in Mechani-

cal Engineering with Level II NDT,

Certifi cation & also an MBA Graduate

with 18 months experience as a QC

Engineer & 24 months experience in

an Automobile fi eld, now in Oman on

visit visa seeking suitable place-

ment. Email: [email protected]

BE Software Engineer, 2 years expe-

rience in JAVA on visit visa. Kindly

contact 93403948, 99426840

Consultancy professional experi-

enced civil manager with 18 yr in

Oman with experience in PDO and

other Government sector liking for

handle self-governing projects, inter-

ested consultancy fi rm may contact

on 99765165.

B.Tech Electronics, Indian Male with

2 years experience in Oman in offi ce

management, looking for suitable

job, NOC available.

Contact: 96539538.


Irrigation Engineer to work as mar-

keting and sales in charge. Min

5 years experience with Oman

driving license. Email CV to:

[email protected]

Indian M/25 Engineering, Software

developer, 2yrs Exp, ADO.Net, WPF,

ASP.net, SQL Server, Oracle. On visit

Visa. GSM.94513655

Mechanical Engineer (B.E), Indian

Male, 8+ years experience in Manu-

facturing/Production/Project Plan-

ning seeking placement. #98359944,


MSc. Chemistry Teacher (5 y EXP.)

Pakistani female looking for

a job in School/college.

Contact 96580101

Indian Male 25 MBA in Sports

Management; Looking for job in

Sports administration/Sports

events/sports facility management

and Sports related Organisations.

Exp. as sports development of-

fi cer in schools,Project Manager in

Syncotts international Bangalore

& part of World Hockey Series of

India-2012 as Production Runner.

Presently on Visit visa in Oman.

Contact; 96398569.


MANAGER/ SUPER

Indian male, 24 years experience

Senior Miller Flour Mills includ-

ing erection and QC, presently in

India. Contact 00919744167051,

98657006

Indian male 28 completed

B.H.M.CT, 4 yrs exp in food & bever-

ages dept. looking for senior super-

visor position. Contact – 91018857 /

[email protected]

Professionally qualifi ed Manager with Financial and Commercial

experience at a Group level with

diversifi ed operations across the

Middle East. Contact 98480428 ,

[email protected]

General Manager/working partner

20 years advertising agency experi-

ence. Contact 93031168

Indian Male, 29 years. BCA + ITI Electronics, 8 years

experience in service and

telecommunication networking,

Contact 98689568

Nanotechnology (M.Tech), Karunya

University 7.3 GPA, Project: Non-

Linear Energy Harvesting Electron-

ics and Communication (B.Tech)

Anna University 68%, Project: Wire-

less Remote Sensing Robot. Contact

98434781, 98373764,


Indian Male, Civil Engineer with

0.5 years of experience as a Site

Engineer looking for a job as a Site

Engineer / Site Supervisor. Please

contact: 98247618, 99775118

Female Software Engineer Contact -91706562

Licensed Electrical Engineer Gulf

experienced looking for suitable job.

Contact 98063081

Indian Female, 25 years, Electronics

& Communications Engineer from

Vishwarya Technological University

with 3 yrs experience in Technical

Support and Sales looking for suit-

able placement, currently on visit

visa. Contact 91713423

Indian male - 23 yrs-Mech Engi-

neer-on visit visa-1 year exp-

Contact: 99669889 -


Mechanical Engineer 2 years

experience in HVAC. Now in Oman

on visit. Seeking suitable placement.

GSM:91744764


Indian male B.E. Electronics & Com-

munication, from Anna University,

Chennai and also done a BSNL certi-

fi ed optical fi bre optic course on

visiting visa, looking for a suitable

job. Contact 91530768,


Electrical Engineer (24), female,

fresher looking for suitable jobs,

Falaj Al Qabail, Sohar.

Contact 94347258,


Diploma Civil Engineer looking for

suitable job. Contact 95659028

Instrumentation Engineer, Indian

male having 2 years experiences in

process instruments seeks suitable

placement. Contact 95954385

Sudanese Mechanical Engineer, male, 5 yrs experience

looking for job in Oman.

Contact 91762602

Indian female, Civil Engineer, 10 yrs

experience QS, valid Oman D/L look-

ing for better opportunities.

Contact 95719108

6 years experienced, NET WEB

DEVELOPER (Software Engineer)

available in Oman on visit visa &

looking for opportunity.

Contact 91125896

Civil Engineer, Indian male with 5

yrs experience in building looking

for immediate opportunity.

Contact 99126087

Indian male (23), Diploma in

Computer Engineering, 1.5 years

experience in IT Company in India.

IT skills including Web Design and

Development, Computer Hardware

Maintenance and BPO, looking for

a suitable placement, currently on

visit. Contact 92689778 / 92150123,


Indian Male, 26 yrs, graduate in

hospitality science, with New Zea-

land business diploma and previous

Oman experience in Customer

service seeks suitable placement in

hospitality/salesmarketing/ logis-

tics/ admin. Contact 91383167

Female 21 yrs, Tally 1 year experi-

ence, looking for visa. #95330720

Male 22 Housekeeping front offi ce

Hotel management degree course.

Contact 96732520

B.E (Chemical), 23, Indian male

with 1 year experience (production)

in Chemical Plant, on visiting visa

seeking for a suitable job.

Contact: 94525650,


Indian male 30 yrs seeking suit-

able placement to work as forklift

operator, having 5 yrs of exp. NOC

available. Contact – 94370085

Indian male 28, completed

B.H.MCT 4 yrs exp in food &bever-

ages department. Looking suitable

job for senior supervisor.

Contact – 9108857 /

[email protected]

Piping/Pipeline engineer, 3+ yrs

exp with B.E degree (Mech), familiar

with CAESAR-2, PDMS, AutoCAD,

stress analysis and piping of criti-

cal lines for hydrocarbon industry.

Contact: 95785479,


Civil Engineer 8 years Exp (2 in

Angola with DAR AL HANDASAH,

4 months in Oman) as a site engi-

neer. He holds a Diploma in project

management, fl uent in English &

Arabic. Contact: 99170315

SALES / MARKETING

SKILLED/UN SKILLED

MBA Graduate with 2 years of

experience as working as Executive

assistant in Dubai is looking for a job

(full time) other than as an Execu-

tive Assistant / Offi ce Assistant.

Contact 91615322

29 years, Indian Male with PGDM

and B.Com, experience 4.5 years in

administration, corporate sales and

marketing seeking suitable place-

ments, willing to join immediately.

Contact 99720370,


28 years Indian Male, 5 years

experience in Sales/FMCG-(B.Com),

holding UAE D/L, now in Oman on

visit visa, searching suitable posi-

tion. Contact 98211481

Urgent Indian 37, indoor, outdoor,

13 years Sales experience having

NOC with D/L. Contact 99646321

Indian Male, Sales and Admin expe-

rience in India, 4 yrs now in Muscat.

Contact 91344706,


Indian male, Graduate, 23 yrs on

visit visa looking for suitable posi-

tion in Sales and Marketing.

Contact 91757222,


Indian male, MBA, 6 years of experi-

ence looking for suitable placement

in Marketing and Sales. # 91780948

Indian Male, 26 yrs old having

3 years experience in Networking

and Sales in KSA, have valid GCC

driving license, CISCO Certifi ed and

BBA Graduate, visiting visa,

looking for a suitable placement.


Indian female having 8 years

experience in Sales & Marketing

in oil and gas fi eld as commercial

manager, looking for a suitable

placement-NOC available -Contact -

Email- [email protected]

Mob: 96311709

Indian Male 23yrs, BBM With 2.5

yrs of exp. in Sales & Marketing.

Looking for a suitable placement in

sales & Marketing/Counter sales,

Store keeper or Supervisor.

Contact 92092248

WELDER, TIG, ARC, 6G, GULF EXP

PH : 93837973

Welder cum fabricator tig, 3g 6g ,

gulf experienced, PH : 93837973

Looking for Sales/Marketing job : Indian male with 5 years experience

& GCC Driving License.

Contact +91 9916918977,


15 years experience in Sales / Mar-

keting FMCG and Building Materials,

Indian male seeking suitable posi-

tion with Oman D/L. NOC available.


10 years Oman experience in Sales

and Marketing with valid D/L and

NOC available from current sponsor.

Can join immediately. #96491505

Indian male, 24 years, Com-

pleted MBA(Marketing & HR)

with one year experience in sales,

Now in Oman on visit, seeking

for placement. GSM:94535493,

Email:[email protected]

5 years experience, valid Omani D/L,

4 years warehouse experience look-

ing for good placement. Release letter

available. Contact 98615731

Indian male, MBA (USA) having 5

years of International experience in

Sales and Marketing.

Contact 98853309.


Indian Male, 25 yrs in FMCG Busi-

ness looking for Senior position D/L

available. NOC available.

Contact 99015946

Indian female, 32 yrs, MBA (Market-

ing), holding Omani D/L seeks suit-

able placement. Contact 95041134.


MBA with 15+ years of experience

in Senior/Middle Level Mgt in India

and GCC with various MNC’s is on

family visit looking for a suitable

opening. Contact 97330734

Indian male, MBA (Marketing) hav-

ing more than 3 years experience in

Marketing & Sales, currently on visit

visa seeking suitable placement.

Contact 96301626.


Indian Male, MBA in Marketing and

Finance, 10 years’ Sales & Business

Development Experience with valid

D/L of Oman & UAE looking for a

suitable placement. NOC Available.

Contact: 93969961

e-mail [email protected]

Indian Male, 28 yrs, having 5

years experience in FMCG Sales in

visit visa, Looking for any suitable

jobs in Oman. Contact 98531486/

98988824

Sales/ Marketing / customer

service release / NOC available UK

+ Oman experience valid Oman D/L,

excellent communication & organ-

izing skills, can join immediately,

Email : [email protected],

gsm 92342060 / 96761225

SECRETARIAL

SALES / MARKETING

North Indian female, Commerce

Graduate with good communication

skills, looking for a job as Reception-

ist / Data Entry Operation / Offi ce

Staff at reputed companies.

Contact 91289686

Indian Female, University 1st rank

holder in M.Sc Computer Science

seeking for suitable placement

available in Muscat on a visit visa.

Contact 93778682 / 95378696

Telecom Engineer with 8 yrs exp

from India in IT Networking seeks

suitable opportunities now in Oman.

Contact 99002635 Emal :

[email protected]

B.Tech Mechanical Engineer with

Quality Controller certifi cate looking

for a job. Contact 94525819.


Male 26 yrs, B.Tech Engineer (EIE),

with 4 years experience looking for

a good position in oil and Gas fi eld,

automation fi eld, DCS fi eld. currently

on Visit Visa, willing to join immedi-

ately. Contact 92453908, Email I’d:

yousuf_Omair [email protected]

Indian male, Civil Engineer (B.Tech)

with 4 yrs & 6 months experience in

Gulf & India, presently on visit visa,

seeking suitable position at Capital

region in Oman.

Contact 93453417, Email :

[email protected]

Civil Engineer, with 4 year experi-

ence in Gulf as Site Engineer, seeks

suitable position.

Contact: 96305224

Email: [email protected].

Graduate Mechatronic Engineer with Diploma in product design and

analysis, seeking a job.

Contact – 98584349 /


Electrical Engineer having 2 yrs of

experience, substation/ maintenance

seeking for suitable placement. Con-

tact 97698493 / 99253909

Civil Engineer with 8 years experi-

ence and valid Omani D/L looking

for suitable placement. Ready to join

immediately. Contact 95326194 /

99525367

Sudanese Electrical Engineer, Bsc.

Degree with more than 8 Years Ex-

perience in Projects Field available

on Visit Visa 96160749`,


BSc Mechanical Engineer, 6 years experience Master of Project

Management (USA), energy gradu-

ated study. Contact 99487902. Email

[email protected]

Diploma in Electronics Engineer-

ing with 5 years experience in Oman

as Customer Service Coordinator,

Inventory Control and Indoor Sales

Executive seeks suitable job. Speaks

Arabic, English & Hindi.

Contact 95681406.

Email [email protected]

Mechanical Engineer,(BTech in

Mechanical) with Certifi ed quality

controller - NDT level 2 qualifi ed as

per ASNT - SNT-TC-I A, with

1 & half yr exp. as quality control

engineer, presnetly in India seeks

suitable placement

Cont : 95405033

[email protected]

Electrical Engineer, Indian, 2.5

years experience at Thermal Plant,

(erection and commissioning). Now

in Oman on visit seeking suitable

job. Contact 95836714.

Email – [email protected]

Srilankan B.Tech Quantity Surveyor

with 6 years exp (3 yrs GCC) looking

for a suitable placement with NOC.

Contact 98357512.


BE Civil Engineer, fresh graduate,

male 24 yrs, Indian looking for a suit-

able placement. Contact 95117509

Indian male Diploma in Mechani-

cal Fitter (Marine) having 3 years

experience seeking suitable place-

ment. Contact 93435399, 97858235.

Email : [email protected],

[email protected]

Bsc computer-science gradu-

ate, MCSE certifi ed & diploma in

.netframework, Java, SQL, UML,

ASP.NET with good experience as

computer technician, seeking for

suitable position in IT & sales.

Mob: 95853895


Indian Female (25), married, MSc

(Software Engg), 2+ years of experi-

ence in leading MNC, IT skill include

HTML, CSS with the design and de-

velopment of web based application

using struts frame work, J2EE and

oracle with excellent communication

skills looking for a suitable job open-

ing. Contact 95892587, 96265726

Computer Programmer 27F B.Tech

3yrExp (.net, php) seeking for suit-

able placement 98620611

Indian Female, BE, 1 year experience

in Mobile Application Development

IOS, Android currently in family visa

seeks suitable job.

Contact 97632721,


Indian Female, working as IT Pro-

fessor in India since 2009, M. Phil

& MBA (Dist edu) M.Sc IT, seeking

for suitable placement in data base

management systems.

Contact 91105949. Email:

[email protected]

MBA (Operations) with 13 years

experience in IT Infrastructure

enterprises, voice network, unifi ed

communication, MS Certifi ed Lync

Avaya Polycom is on visit visa

seeking a suitable placement.

Contact 94535700.


Indian male (34), IT System and

Network Manager, 8 years experi-

ence within Tunisia MS Exchange

SQL Backup Exec, trouble shooting

network on family visa.

Contact 97441102

IT support, 1 yr experience in Oman,

5 yrs in India looking for suitable job.

Contact 97311847

Microsoft Certifi ed Systems En-

gineer (Hardware)-5 years experi-

enced Systems Engineer (2 years in

UAE as plant IT operations) search-

ing for job in Oman -

Contact 92254218 / 99412003

Searching for job BSC Computer

Science. Contact – 97923444

[email protected]

Pakistani male having 2 yrs exp in

light vehicle driving, knows English

& Arabic also looking for job.

Contact 92399605 / 95168660


Contact 92014540

Bangladeshi male, Light Driver

experience 12 yrs looking for job in

any Company any Offi ce.

Contact 99165961


Contact 94216536

Driver require job with visa.

Contact 92073175 / 95803184

Bangladeshi male having 2 yrs exp

in Light Vehicle Driving.

Contact 98487511

Sri Lankan driver looking for job.

Contact - 97387112

Light driver looking for job, 5 years

exp in Saudi Arabia + Oman 2 yrs.

Contact 96088707

Candidate having 9 years of logis-

tics operation and marketing experi-

ence in Saudi Arabia and India with

valid Saudi Driving License,

looking for suitable placement .

Please contact 94525696

Indian B.Sc. Maths+PGDCA - well

experienced, seeks suitable place-

ment as Commercial/Logistic

Executive or Document Control-

ler/Customer Service Executive;

expected on short visit by Nov. 1st

Week; Contact 99702383. Email:

[email protected]

Nursing caregiver, qualifi ed Nurse/

Asst. Nurse (male/ female) medical

staff seeks placement for Hospital/

clinic. Contact 92989109 (Oman),

0091 – 9555427742 (India),

[email protected]

Indian Female: Bachelor in Travel &

tourism.1 year experience in ticket-

ing and 6 month in cargo (CIAL).

Looking suitable placement.

Contact 95883404

TOURS & TRVLS

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624





SITUATION WANTED

*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text,

should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication.

* Subject to space availability

Experience salesman with 5 years

experience and vehicle looking for a

job. Contact 93079087

Dynamic Indian Female, Chemi-

cal Engineer (fresher from NIIT),

holding Oman D/L seeks suitable

placement. Contact 97477127,


Indian Male, B.Sc, Fashion & Ap-

parel Design having 4+ yrs of expe-

rience (in retail sector as Designer-

Visual Merchandising & Marketing)


Contact 94535866,


Indian female 29 Graduate/Com-

puter diploma 5-year work experi-

ence as Manager Administration/

HR in Construction & Real Estate

seeking suitable placement .On fam-

ily Visa. Contact - 91191236

British Female with 4 years experi-

ence in Oman in Marketing and

Project Management.

Call 00974 3343 7619

Indian Male MBA & PGDFM 26

Yrs. having 3.2 yrs of exp. seeking

suitable placement in Admin/HR/

Accounts/Purchase co-ordinator

etc..Holding valid Oman driving

license. Contact No :93359371

Indian Female, B.Com, Secretarial

skills, MS offi ce, Oracle, 5 years

experience in Oman, as QA/QC As-

sistant, Administrator, Document

Controller, seeking placement.

Contact: 96465391 or

E-mail: [email protected]

Indian female MCA., M. Phil in

computer Science having 5 yrs of

experience in teaching(as Lecturer)

seeking for teaching position in

school or college. Can join im-

mediately. Contact :97765173.

Email:[email protected]

Indian male 23YRS, 4 Years expe-

rienced in Architectural Draughts-

man looking for a suitable Post

GSM:96023726, Email :

[email protected]

Indian Male having 10 years of

Experience in Oman having Valid

Omani Driving license working in

Purchase Dept looking for a suit-

able position. salary is negotiable.

[email protected]

Mob: 94304324/92654817

Female Candidate: Having

experience(ISRO) in Adminis-

tration (seeking suitable op-

portunities &presently in Oman

Mob:97239854,

Mail:[email protected]

Indian male 27 years B.com gradu-

ate 4 years experience as marketing

executive in IT fi eld looking for a

good job in any fi eld.

Contact 98765838

INDIAN female having ten years ex-

perience as cook. South Indian, Gu-

jarathi special. Contact:: 94224512

Homoeopathic Doctor, Indian

Female, with MOH License( to be re-

newed) (Nearly 2 years exp in Mus-

cat, Oman) seeks suitable place-

ment in Clinics/Hospitals in Muscat

area. Please Contact:92975815.

PDO Approved in Contracts, Pro-

curement, Operations, Project Indian

Male PMP, CIPS, PGDBA, DME, Oil &

Gas with Exp-18+ Yrs. & having valid

Oman & PDO D/L Seeking job -

Contact 92560287 /

[email protected]

Senior Accounts Professional, Indi-

an Male, 35 years, M.Com, MBA (Fin)

8 years in Oman, with valid Oman

DL and NOC available. Capable to

handle accounts up to fi nalization.

Contact 9602 3965.

Indian male, age 27, having 6 years

experience in fi nance & accounts,

seeking suitable jobs. Ph: 92902651


experience(ISRO) in Administration

(seeking suitable opportunities &

presently in Oman Mob:97239854,


Indian male, 24 years MA Sociol-

ogy (Social science) B-Ed. 2year

experience in teaching, currently

on visit seeking suitable placement.

Contact 91632006, 91397505

Email- [email protected]

Indian Male, MBA Finance, 1.5

years’ experience in Operations and

Customer Service. In Muscat on

Visit Visa till 14th Nov.

Contact: 93755852, Email:

[email protected]

Indian male having 10 years of

experience in Oman having Valid

Omani Driving license working in

Purchase Dept looking for a suit-

able position. Salary is negotiable.

[email protected]

Mob: 94304324/92654817

Indian Male, 24 years old on visit

visa, 3 years Diploma in Civil Engi-

neering, 3 yrs experience. #98515106

Indian Male, 24 years old on visit

visa, 3 years Diploma in Civil Engi-

neering, 3 yrs experience.

Contact 98515106

Post graduate in hospitality and

tourism, Indian ,male 26 , looking

suitable placement ,in Muscat on

visiting visa contact 98861272

Communication Manager, pleasing

personality, strong English skills,

highly qualifi ed, Oman experience in

Corporate, Organizational & Market-

ing Communication, Business Devel-

opment, Marketing Press Relations,

Ads, Campaigns, CSR Programs.

NOC. Contact 98179887

Senior Sales & Marketing special-

ist with 14 years of experience

and proven track record in Muscat

looking for a suitable placement in

a reputed Company. Indian Male,

38 years (Electronics Engineer)

preferred industry (Electronics /

Electrical / Electro Mechanical) hav-

ing good exposure in access Control

& Automation systems, Lighting &

Electrical accessories etc.

Contact 92208744.


NDT ASNT Level II (RT,UT,PT,MPT)

Technician having 3 & half yr experi-

ence, seeks suitable placement. Cur-

rently on visit visa. # 94514454,

[email protected]

Indian male 24: Looking for job in

admin /sale/offi ce/customer service/

maintenance etc. Currently on family

visit. Contact:94514201, email id:

[email protected]

28year Indian female (MBA-

Finance) with 3+yrs experience

(Oman) in Accounts is seeking suit-

able placement in Accounts/Admin.

Contact:96141283.

Indian Male, 24 yrs on visit visa,

3 yrs Diploma in civil Engineering,

3 yrs experience. Contact 98515106

23,male, ACCA fi nalist-last paper

left, 2 years of accounts, external &

internal audit and feasibility study

experience in Audit Firm, looking for

permanent replacement, #95140445

email address:[email protected]

M.Com Graduate seeking suitable

placement. Contact 99363721

Young male, 22 years, B. Arch. gradu-

ate with 7 months training experience,

seeks suitable entry-level position

in an architecture fi rm or architec-

ture and engineering consultancy.

Currently on visit visa, ready to join

immediately. Phone no. 91265929


Electronics Engineer, experience in

Siemens Scada PLC. On visit. Looking

for suitable job. Contact: 96271586

Indian Male, Purchase/Procurement

Offi cer with 16 years experience,

presently working in UAE,


Contact: 00 971 55 3390 467

Mail: [email protected]

Indian Female Lawyer 36 yrs hav-

ing 10 yrs experience presently in

Oman seeks suitable placement in

Legal fi eld/HR/Admin # 94436960


CIVIL ENGINEER (Diploma) Male

25, 3 years experience in site, CAD,

3d, MS Project, seeking job in

Oman.#92887561,

[email protected]

Diploma in Civil Engineering, site

engineer with Auto Cad (Civil & MEP),

Total Station, Theodolite, Dumpy

level, etc., having 4 years experience

in Oman with Omani LMV Driving

License, Seeking suitable chances.

Contact:- 0091 9744851943(India),

00968 99416057(Oman)

Female Dentist with MOH li-

cense, 4 years experience look-

ing for work as dentist in Muscat.

Contact 91268110/99884299 or

+639274302729

8 yrs exp 2d, 3d draughtsman

(HOLDING OMANI DRIVING LICENSE)

seeking job. Contact : 97449630

B.E(Civil), Indian male with 1 year

of experience, on visit visa seeking

for a suitable job. Contact 91231972,


Indian Male 25, Offi ce Administra-

tor/Assistant, 2 years experience in

Oman, Well versed with Computer

operation and basic knowledge

in Computer Software and Hard-

ware, seeks immediate change.

NOC available. Contact: 94024096

Eamil:[email protected]


experience (ISRO) in Administration

(seeking suitable opportunities &

presently in Oman Mob:97239854,


Female/29 yrs old/MSC Biotechnol-

ogy& pursuing Phd /4 yrs total exp/

Seeking for a suitable placement/

Contact No :- 95925881

Indian Female 23, BE Electronics

and Communication, First Class with

distinction, C,C++,VHDL. Currently

on family visa, looking for suitable

placement in electronics division or

associated areas.

Contact : 98952340

Indian Male, 39, graduate 17 years

experience in FMCG sales and mar-

keting Managerial and supervisor

level. With driving license also know

all over Oman include Mazira Island

and Casabu, looking for better Op-

portunities -Mob-92090949

Indian Male seeking a job in Sales

& Marketing, 11 years experience

proven experience as a dynamic

candidate with excellent Manage-

rial & Communication skills. Cur-

rently on visit Contact 99363159,

94093154 [email protected]

8 yrs exp 2d, 3d draughtsman cum

site supervisor (HOLDING OMANI

DRIVING LICENSE) seeking job.

Contact : 93790601

Finance Manager/Administrator,

Male 40, MBA-Finance & Marketing,

with over 20 years’ experience in

large multinational organizations.

Excellent project management skills.

Seeking to continue career at Senior

level. Contact: 97436065. Email:

[email protected]

Electronic Engineer, 23, looking

for suitable placement.Contact

96271586

Female staff nurse with Oman

Prometric passed, seeking suitable

placement, currently on visit visa.

Contact 97803046

MANPOWER

SIT.WANTED

Housemaid , driver/operator (heavy & light Gulf D/L), house boy, cleaner, all skilled and unskilled cat-

egories process, (embassy agreement

and immigration). Contact 95175192,

EMAIL. [email protected]

Filipino Female photographer/ graphic designer / receptionist

looking for suitable job in Muscat.

Contact: +971 563749414

Indian Female 30yrs, MCA, working

as Computer Teacher in India & Mal-

dives looking for Job in Oman now

on Visit Visa, CTC No. Mob 95083454,

[email protected].

Indian male Commerce Graduate

with 8 years experience in stores

and logistic, fl uent English currently

in Muscat on visit visa till November

17th 2014.seeking for suitable place-

ment. Contact 99849247.

E mail - [email protected],

[email protected]

Indian male graduate 17 years expe-

rience in fmcg sales distribution

with valid driving license seeking

suitable placement

Contact. 92090949

Young male, 22 years, B. Arch.

graduate with 7 months training

experience, seeks suitable entry-level

position in an architecture fi rm or

architecture and engineering consul-

tancy. Currently on visit visa,

ready to join immediately.

Contact:: 91265929



DAILY GUIDESITUATION WANTEDCARGO

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with

Buffet, & Land Tours

Al- Ainain Marine Tours Contact-

98029602, 92808636

TOURS

RENT A CAR

TRANSPORTATION

TRANSPORTATION

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation. Contact 91310107



Transportation available car with

driver. Contact 98475141

Transportation available driver

with car-Muscat. #97361454

Transportation available.

Contact 95068976


Transport. Contact 99664703

BUSINESS

Experienced Civil Engineers invite

Sponsors/Investors to start

contracting business set-up.

Contact 93299940

Running hotel in Marbella Muscat

required investor/partner for expan-

sion contact mr Zeeshan

97913980

We assist in new business set up

local sponsorship, real estate ser-

vices, assist in company formation

services. Contact - 93166088

Increase your income on

commission basis with our land-

scaping & gardening services

provided for big, small projects &

maintenance contracts.

Contact +968 99242207


GOOD NEWS

Pest control & tiles & toilets & Mar-

bles & carpet and tipples cleaning.

Contact 92108447/99666505

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,

steambath, obesity, spondylitis,

IDEAL CARE Ayuvedic Clinic,

18 November Street Azaiba.

Contact 99639695

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to know

more about Islam, please call:

99425598, 96050000, 99353988,

99253818, 99341395, and

99379133. For ladies: 99415818,

99321360, 99730723

Orvisit: www.islamfact.com

Genuine Ayurvedic treatments

& massage, ayurvedic clinic at

Al Khuwair. Contact 24478618 /

97263637/ 93309131

Transportation Available

Contact: 97180655


M.V. FOR SALE

Toyota Yaris auto 2009, 142 k,

RO 2,500. Contact 93289652

Pajero 2007, Camry 2006.

Contact 98887511

Expat driven single user Honda

CRV 2009 model. 100,000 km.

Contact 95392848

For sale – Camry 2011, Mazda 6

2006, Lancer 2010, Civic 1996.

Contact 96408433/ 93806625

Lexus GS300, 2006.

Contact 93218349

PROTON GEN 2 FOR SALE: Manual

Gear. Good condition. Single owner.

Silver colour. 1st registered August

2009. Full insurance till August

2015. Price OMR 1,680.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

M.V.WANTED

Required Nissan Tida / Toyota yaris

/ Suzuki swift / hyundai/Kia hatch-

back car in good condition.

Contact : 95405033

MATRIMONIAL

Hindu Ezhava, family settled in

Muscat looking for suitable groom

for their daughter, 24 yrs, MBA-HR

presently working (preferably BE,

B.Tech, MBA Professional). Contact

95693133

Indian Doctor, Businessman look-

ing for working lady in Oman for

marriage, any nationality, Muslim

preference self. Contact 96290792

Keralite Hindu Nair, Male 33 yrs

divorcee 6.1, working in Ministry

as Administrator seeks suitable

alliance. Please send details on

[email protected].

Contact 93139524

Mangalore Sunni Muslim, seek-

ing suitable bride (preferably from

Dakshina Kannada) for their son

working as Logistics Manager.

Contact 92198085

FOR HIRE

TRUCK FOR HIREIsuzu 10 ton cargo body truck

(2012 FVR) with UAE experienced driver

available for long term / short term rent.

Contact: 95346950

Cuplock System Scaff olding. Contact 99828343

We provide all heavy duty equip-

ment, tractor & trailers & all type

of trucks. Contact 97722507

Running truck wash for rent in

Ouhi Sunia Sohar. Serious people

can. Contact on 97864747

50 seater bus with PDO specifi ca-

tion for rent or lease. # 99839898

Transportation for women only

from Muscat area only.

Contact 97007934 / 92629232

Transportation. Contact98698909


Transportation. Contact: 97897833






CLASSES

WEBSITE

WEB, ERP and Business Intelli-

gence (BI) creation and man-

agement at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

COMPUTER

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

GULF INTERNATIONAL LLC

all kind of pest control.

Contact 92326955

Truck body making, Misfah

Industrial Area. Contact 92326955.

BRIDGE GULFA LLC

House Shifting. Contact 99708138

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing,

Contact 99314807/24792998

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your

marble. Contact 24793614/

99314807

All types of curtain ventation,

Roman, vertical (blinds), sofa

shampooing. Contact 99539521

Pest Control Treatments, termites,

cockroaches, bedbugs. Ocean

Center LLC - Contact 99344723

Carpet and Sofa shampooing.

Ocean Center LLC – Contact

99884591

Building construction & mainte-

nance. Contact 95659028

For All Your Maintenance Solutions,

A/c Servicing & Fixing, Painting,

Cleaning, Electric.

Contact No. 99002390

Civil Maintenance, Painting Elec-

tric, Plumbing, Decor, Tile Fixing,

Lecithin Copra Board fl at stifl ing ,

Carpet Cleaning and A/C Servicing.

Contact 97897831 (Indian keralite)

House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QA-

BAS- 99320217 /24788722

A.M Trading Pest control.Contact 99067923

Painting Interlock plumbing

maintenance. Contact 92142319

For HT cable jointing and

termination works 33KV/11KV.

Contact 99056438 /


Door to Door Computers repair

specialist laptop software Website

cartridges. Contact 99199376

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QA-

BAS- 99320217 /24788722

Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile pol-

ishing, pest control & anti-termite

treatment, general cleaning paint-

ing, Plumbing, Electrical, shifting.

Contact Mundhir Al-Rizaiqi trading.

L.L.C. # 24810137, 99450130

Water proofi ng ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

Window & split unit A/C servicing

& maintenance.

Contact 96236476

Split & window A/C servicing &

maintenance.

Contact 93769089

Learn Driving from professional

instructors. Contact 94022250

Learn driving automatic from

scratch. Contact 98599675

DRIVING

Civil maintenance, Electrical &

Plumbing work. Contact 99557080 /

96236476

Electrical Plumbing Painting

Contract and Maintenance.

Contact 98456535

Waterproofi ng, light weight Screed,

Antitermite and MS Fabrication.

Contact 92888337

Waterproofi ng, light weight Screed,

Antitermite and MS Fabrication.

Contact 92888337

Catering services We do industrial

catering service, Canteen/ mess,

3 times packed meals,

and all types of catering events.

Contact 92188777/ 99249899

*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon

for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

CHANGE OF NAME

I, Abdul Kayum (name exactly as

in present passport) son of Abdul

Jabbar Jindaran presently residing

at the following address in Muttrah

P.B.No 795, P.C.No 114, Sultanate

of Oman and having permanent

address in India Ward no.8 Mo-

halla Beopariyan, V&PO-Fatehpur

Shekhawati, dist-Sikar, Rajasthan

(as per present passport), holder of

Indian Passport No. H7771506 date

of issue 11.11.2009 place of issue

Muscat hereby solemnly affi rm and

declare that Sanaz (name of my wife

appearing as my passport) and the

name of my wife Shahnaz appear-

ing as per her Indian Passport No.

G8659905 are the same individuals

and not two diff erent individuals.

Any objection towards change of

name of my wife may please be

communicated to Embassy of India,

Muscat, Diplomatic Quarters,

Al Khuwair, P.B.No 1727, Postal Code

112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman.

I, Shahnaz (name exactly as in pre-

sent passport) daughter of Ibrahim

Khokar, presently residing at the

following address in Muttrah P.B.No

795, P.C.No 114, Sultanate of Oman

and having permanent address

in India Ward no.8, near Chogra

Mohalla, Beopariyan ka Mohalla,

Sikar-Rajasthan (as per present

passport), holder of Indian Pass-

port No. G-8659905 date of issue

16.07.2008 place of issue Muscat

hereby solemnly affi rm and declare

that Abdul Kayum Jabbar (name of

my husband appearing as my pass-

port) and the name of my husband

Abdul Kayum appearing as per her

Indian Passport No. H7771506 are

the same individuals and not two

diff erent individuals. Any objec-

tion towards change of name of my

husband may please be communi-

cated to Embassy of India, Muscat,

Diplomatic Quarters, Al Khuwair,

P.B.No 1727, Postal Code 112, Ruwi,

Sultanate of Oman.

M.V.WANTED

Required Nissan Tida / Toyota

yaris / Suzuki swift / hyundai/Kia

hatchback car in good condition.

Contact : 95405033

Times of Oman

Documents

times of oman

oman air

ing oman

oman sail boat

majesty sultan qaboos

ministry of tourism

cent increase

a2s t e