Times of Oman - November 15, 2014

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Plan to track, fine overloaded trucks

FAHAD AL [email protected]

MUSCAT: Potholes are the bane of motorists, and offi cials are try-ing to fi x the problem by introduc-ing a control system which will monitor overloaded trucks that have been causing these potholes.

The Muscat Municipality is planning to introduce a ‘control system’ which will penalise driv-ers with overloaded trucks on the capital’s streets.

“The system will track trucks travelling on Muscat’s roads and monitor their weight,” explained an offi cial at the Muscat Munici-pality. Car users have been com-plaining of losses due to roads damaged by overloaded trucks.

Saif Al Wishahi said that he had to spend OMR300 on repair-ing his car due to a pothole on the road caused by overloaded trucks.

“When overloaded trucks dam-age roads, these roads damage our vehicles too,” said Al Wishahi.

He felt that it was time for the authorities to take action and in-troduce the mobile truck weigh-ing system on all roads in Oman.

Currently, the Ministry of Transport and Communica-tions, in collaboration with the Directorate-General of Traffi c at Royal Oman Police (ROP) has implemented the system on the

Bid Bid/Sur road and Al Batinah Expressway.

An offi cial of the Muscat Mu-nicipality confi rmed that the civic body has to spend immense amount of money on road repairs.

“Though, we can’t say that an overloaded truck alone damages roads, it is defi nitely one of the major contributors. When we re-ceive complaints about damaged roads the municipality responds immediately and repairs them, especially the frequently used roads,” said the offi cial.

He added that once the mu-nicipality receives a complaint, it sends an inspection team to check the damage and undertake repair work. Meanwhile, some residents

believed that fi nes imposed on overloaded trucks are a pittance and should be drastically hiked.

Increased fi nes imposed on the drivers and loaders of vehicles would act as a deterrent, they be-lieved. “The fi ne should not be less than OMR500 as most of those committing such off ences run loading businesses,” said Huzeim Al Mani, working at the private sector. An ROP offi cial explained that the current fi ne for overload-ing of trucks is OMR35.

“Besides, trucks are also not seized in case of a violation,” clari-fi ed the offi cial.

“The decision to increase the fees can be taken only after dis-cussions,” said an ROP offi cial.

Al Mani also felt that an in-crease in fi nes would see a de-crease in the number of violations in the Sultanate.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications, in collabora-tion with the Directorate-General of Traffi c at Royal Oman Police

(ROP) has been monitoring over-loaded trucks on the main and secondary roads.

The objective behind introduc-ing the mobile truck weighing system was to prevent damage to roads, which will in turn reduce road maintenance costs.

According to the authorities, on the fi rst day of its implementa-tion, 40 violations were reported. Some trucks were found to be car-rying loads of up to 95 tonnes de-spite the fact that the maximum permitted load is less than half of it at 46 tonnes.

Meanwhile, an insurance com-pany offi cial said that for a car driver to get an insurance cover for vehicle damage caused by overloaded trucks depends on the insurance type he has opted for.

“The insurance covers repairs if the insurance is comprehensive. However, if it is third party then the owner of the vehicle has to pay for the repairs,” said the insur-ance offi cial.

As the municipality

is going to introduce

a control system to

track overloaded

trucks, residents also

want a hike in fi nes

to deter drivers and

stop damage to roads

MODERN TWIST TO CLASSIC BALLETS Swiss choreographer Martin Schlaepfer’s dances take elements of classical ballet and give them athletic, creative twists that brings charm, fun and unique

results to the stage. Photo— Khalid Al Busaidi, ROHM See also >A2

HM’s speech seen by more than 1 million viewersREJIMON [email protected]

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said’s address to the nation from Germany on Novem-ber 4 has been viewed by more than 1 million people on YouTube during the past 10 days.

The video, uploaded by Oman TV on November 4, had been viewed by 1,010,006 people as of Thursday.

In the video, aired live by Oman TV, His Majesty the Sultan thanked citizens for their heart-felt prayers and sincere senti-ments for His Majesty.

“Dear citizens, it is our pleas-ure to greet you while our dear homeland is, on these blessed days, about to celebrate the 44th Anniversary of its Triumphant Renaissance which is progressing in accordance with the fi rm foun-dations and pillars that we have

laid down, right from the fi rst day of the blessed march.

“The National Day has come at the time when I am outside my beloved country, for reasons you know about. The results have

been positive. I have to follow up a medical programme during the upcoming period,” His Majesty said in the speech.

His Majesty also expressed happiness and thanked the people of Oman for their good wishes.

Soon after the four-minute ad-dress was aired on national televi-sion, both nationals and expatri-ates in Muscat praised the speech.

Celebrations continued for days in Muscat, while many

schools and groups held loyalty marches in Oman. On the day of His Majesty’s speech, people from all walks of life, including women and children of all ages, were seen on roads singing, dancing, waving fl ags and holding HM’s picture.

Students in diff erent schools and colleges held mass prayers and rallies on the day, and hun-dreds of Omanis and expatriates gathered in front of Muscat Al Alam Palace that evening.

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

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 .

Have you seen the video of His Majesty? This link will take you to our story and video through our website.

Shops advised to issue documents in Arabic, EnglishFAHAD AL [email protected]

MUSCAT: For better control and monitoring of shops and sup-pliers, the Public Authority for Consumer Protection (PACP) has told them to issue all docu-ments in both Arabic and English to consumers.

Hussien Al Rahbi, who is work-ing in the private sector, wel-comed the PACP decision, saying it is necessary for consumers to understand what is written on documents.

“Sometimes I get bills which include warranty conditions that I just cannot understand,” said Al Rahbi. He said that once the documents are printed in both English and Arabic, everybody can understand the messages.

He added that the decision is another step towards PACP be-coming more consumer-friend-ly and working for upholding their rights.

On the other hand, Ajay Saha, an Indian working in the private

sector, said that the PACP deci-sion conveys the message that the authority takes equal care of each consumer, whether citizen or resident.

“Many of the documents we re-ceive from shops or suppliers are in Arabic,” said Ajay. He added that he sometimes asks one of his Arabic-knowing friends to trans-late those documents.

The public authority has urged people to bring such cases to their notice with all details without de-lay and remain vigilant whenever they go for shopping.

Meanwhile, PACP records show that about 1,000 cases were registered in the third quarter of the current year. Recently it warned against any increase in prices of commodities or services at any of the commercial centres without its consent.

A statement issued by the PACP said that decision number 2011/12, clearly prohibits any in-crease in prices of any commodi-ties and services without their prior permission.

P A C P D I R E C T I V E

TIME TO REFORM: Residents feel it is time for the authorities to take action and introduce the mobile

truck weighing system on all roads in Oman. – Supplied picture

HM gets thanks

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qa-boos bin Said has received a cable of thanks from President Joko Wido-do of Indonesia in reply to His Maj-esty’s the Sultan’s congratulatory cable on being elected as president. In his cable, he expressed thanks for His Majesty the Sultan’s con-gratulations and best wishes. He stressed his keenness to enhance cooperation between the countries, wishing His Majesty good health and well-being and Omani people progress and prosperity. -ONA

I N D O N E S I A

OMANMusannah records its highest rainfall

1Recently, Musannah in South Al Batinah governorate received rainfall what it gets in

fi ve to six months. >A3

REGIONIraqi forces retake oil town Baiji from rebels

2Iraqi forces recaptured the strategic oil town of Baiji in a signifi cant victory over the IS

group, as the UN accused the rebels of crimes against humanity. >A4

MARKETIndia to review gold import policy

3India will review bullion import rules after purchases in October

jumped to the highest level. >B4

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

A11

The value of annual trade between Oman and Hong Kong could increase signifi cantly from its current $154 million if the untapped potential for cooperation is taken advantage of, according to Hong Kong offi cials. >B1

‘GREAT POTENTIAL FOR OMAN-HONG KONG TRADE’

Oman, UAE share spoilsin Gulf Cup

A2 S AT U R DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 4

OMAN

Modern twist to classical ballets

SARAH [email protected]

MUSCAT: Swiss choreographer Martin Schlaepfer’s dances take elements of classical ballet and give them athletic, creative twists that brings charming, fun and unique results to the stage.

Two of his pieces were per-formed at the Royal Opera House Muscat on Wednesday and Thursday evenings by the Ballett am Rhein Dusseldorf Duisburg, a German dance company that he directs and is chief choreographer for. Since Schlaepfer took the lead at the company in 2009 both he and the company have won a number of awards and based on the performance in Muscat, it’s easy to see why.

The fi rst piece was set to Franz Schubert’s The Trout Quintet (Forellenquintett), and at the be-ginning the song Don’t Be Shy by the Libertines. As the dancers take the stage to the song, there’s an immediate energy and expressive-ness that suggests they won’t be the least bit shy. Rather, they seem to fuse acrobatics, gymnastics and miming with classical ballet, con-

torting their bodies in every which way as they move to the music, and saying volumes with their facial expressions.

It’s a piece of choreography that doesn’t have much plot but ex-plores many moments of life and emotions, including romance and fl irtation, fear and isolation, pos-session and domination, regret and forgiveness, curiosity and ad-venture. Using Schubert’s beauti-ful music for piano and strings as inspiration, Schlaepfer has created a dance that seems to explain what it means to be human.

The second piece was inspired by great classical ballets such as Swan Lake and Giselle. Schlaepfer has taken many elements of these ballets, such as the pas-de-deux

(dances for two), groups dancing in sync, and solos, but rather than stringing them together with a narrative and sets and costumes to help tell the tale, he has focused in-stead on the dancers and what they are physically capable of.

It’s set to Brahm’s dramatic Symphony No. 2, which gives a range of dynamics, speed and vol-ume to which movements can be set. The dancing, for the most part, is simply beautiful with a modern twist and makes one wish they had the talents and skills of these won-derful dancers.

The company itself is a lot of fun to watch, since the dancers repre-sent over a dozen nationalities and together bring diversity and their own individuality to the choreog-raphy. Their spirit and energy is truly uplifting.

Ballett am Rhein Dusseldorf Duisburg is really a fantastic mod-ern dance company, one which pa-trons at the ROHM should consid-er themselves lucky to have seen.

As the dancers of

Ballett am Rhein

Dusseldorf Duisburg

took to the ROHM

stage, there’s was an

immediate energy

and expressiveness

suggesting they won’t

be the least bit shy

DANCE TREAT: Ballett am Rhein Dusseldorf Duisburg is really a

fantastic modern dance company, one which patrons at the ROHM

should consider themselves lucky to have seen. – Photo courtesy Khalid Al

Busaidi/ ROHM

ROHM all set to host fl amenco art fi estaTimes News Service

MUSCAT: The exhilarating rhythms and fast footwork that are the main attractions of the art of fl amenco will be featured in the Royal Opera House Muscat’s (ROHM) upcoming Flamenco Days, which takes place from No-vember 19 to 24.

The special event will begin with the Flamenco Symposium. It will include an overview of the art of fl amenco, examining its origins and history, diff erent disciplines, and a debate about whether it is folklore or popular art. The discussion will be led by fl amenco scholar, Dr. Jaime Tran-coso, Ph.D., along with fl amenco legend, Paco Peña.

From November 20 to 24 there will be events featuring four di-verse aspects of fl amenco, includ-ing performances by the Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company, singer Estrella Morente, the Miguel Vargas Flamenco Dance Theatre, and guitarist Tomatito.

“Each of the ensembles and musicians is totally diff erent, but they’re extremely energetic, and creative. I encourage people to

come to all four events, as it will show diff erent infl uences on fl a-menco music, such as the Arab origins and gypsy infl uences,” said ROHM’s Director General, Christina Scheppelmann.

The Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company, which is sched-

uled to perform for two nights, has a programme entitled Quime-ras, which unites fl amenco with African music and dance from Senegal and Guinea. The rhythms and dances of each culture will be highlighted together and sepa-rately.

S O N G A N D D A N C E

MUSICAL VARIETY: The ROHM show will feature events featuring

four diverse aspects of fl amenco. – Supplied photo

‘Art Walk’ pitches for charity

Times News Service

MUSCAT: The AWG Mona Lisa Art Club opened their charity art exhibition, titled ‘Art Walk’, at Bareeq Al Shatti on Thursday. Among those attending the open-ing was Husam bin Mohammed Al Zubair, Vice Chairman, Zubair Automotive Group.

The exhibition is being held in collaboration with the students of the Scientifi c College of Design,

with the purpose of encouraging and supporting promising young Omani artists.

The three-day exhibition, which has the artwork of 40 fe-male artists on display, will be open until Sunday, 10am-10 pm, at Bareeq Al Shatti.

A percentage of all sales will be donated to the Down Syndrome Parents Support Group, affi liated with the Association for Early Intervention for Children with

Disability. “We, at the Mona Lisa Art Club, aim to provide a platform for women artists to ex-press themselves creatively and come together to paint for chari-table causes.

“This exhibition, in collabo-ration with the Association for Early Intervention for Children with Disability, gave us an op-portunity to do so,” said Shailja Kuthiala, President of the Mona Lisa Art Club.

E X H I B I T I O N

PAINTING FOR A CAUSE: The three-day exhibition, which has the work of 40 female artists on

display, will be open until Sunday.–Shabin E/TIMES OF OMAN

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ARTICLE, PHOTOS

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

We, at the Mona Lisa Art Club, aim to provide a platform for women artists to express themselves creatively and come together to paint for charitable causes.

Shailja Kuthiala, President of the Mona Lisa Art Club

A3

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SUR FISHERMEN MAKE EFFORT TO RESCUE WHALE TRAPPED IN FISHING NETA 10-metre sperm whale, locally known as ‘Al Shahout’ or ‘Yaram’ was trapped in a fi shing net in the Niyabat of Ras Al Hadd, in the Wilayat of Sur in South

Al Sharqiyah Governorate. Fishermen unsuccessfully attempted to return it to the sea.— ONA

Musannah sets rainfall record

RAHUL [email protected]

MUSCAT: In the recent spell of rains, during 24 hours Musannah in South Al Batinah governorate achieved what it generally does in fi ve to six months.

It recorded the maximum rain-fall of 44 millimetres (mm) on the last weekend, according to a senior offi cial of the Directorate General of Meteorology and Air Navigation at the Civil Aviation Aff airs in the Transport and Com-munications Ministry.

Musannah was closely fol-lowed by Seeb which recorded 42 mm of rainfall ever since the low pressure entered the Sultanate of Oman last weekend and caused damage running into thousands of rials. Muscat, however, re-ceived only 10 mm of rainfall.

According to a weather expert, 44 mm rainfall within 24 hours could be the highest ever re-corded in the recent years if you

keep the cyclones like Gonu and Phet aside.

“The yearly average rainfall in the Sultanate of Oman is around 117 mm,” said Dr Andy Yaw Kwarteng, director, Remote Sens-ing and GIS Centre, Sultan Qa-boos University.

SQU researchDr Andy, along with a group of researchers from the Remote Sensing and Geographical Infor-mation Centre in Sultan Qaboos University recently analysed the characteristics in rainfall data of the past 27 years in the country.

According to the SQU research, the highest daily maximum rain-fall of 431 mm was recorded in Masirah Island in 1977. “The 431 mm of rainfall on Masirah Island in 1977 represents three years of the regional average yearly rain-fall,” said the report.

The research also showed the

average yearly rainfall varies from a low of 76.9 mm in the inte-rior region to a high of 181.9 mm in the Dhofar Mountains, with an average of 117.4 mm for the whole country.

“In northern Oman, the main rainfall season occurs between December and April and that ac-counts for 57.8 – 82.9 per cent of the annual rainfall.

February and March recorded the highest rainfall account-ing for 35.3 to 42 per cent of the yearly rainfall.

The Dhofar Mountains and surrounding areas in southern Oman are dominated by the kha-reef season in July and August� which produces between 44.3 and 67.5 per cent of the rainfall in that area.

The number of days of light rainfall (100 mm rainfall per day) occurs approximately every 50 years, ” added the report.

The yearly average

rainfall in the

Sultanate of Oman

is around 117 mm.

The 44 mm rainfall

within 24 hours at

Musannah could

be the highest ever

recorded in the

recent years if you

keep cyclones like

Gonu and Phet aside

Source: Remote Sensing and GIS Centre, Sultan Qaboos University Graphics

24 HOURS OF RAINRainfall recorded in Oman in 24 hours during the recent rains. Figures in millimetres.

10 highestrainfall areas

10 lowestrainfall areas

Records andaverages

MusannahSeeb

SumailBarka

SuwaiqAmerat

IbraSohar

BausherQuriyat

NizwaAl Hamra

YankulIzki

MuscatSur

BidiyahNakhalBid Bid

Wadi Al Mawail

44

18

42

16

40

16

38

13

35

10

34

10

32

10

27

8

27

7

24

4

Masirah(highest daily

maximum, 1977)

Oman’s yearly average

431117.4

MuscatSohar

Yankul

MasirahIsland

Sur

S E A OF OMANrr

ulM

SSSSSSSS

Northern OmanThe rainfall mostly

occurs between December and April

of Oman’s annualrainfall

57.8–82.9%

Drive to protect coral reef launchedTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Omran recently launched an intensive Coral Reef Protection and Net Removal Course for employees of the Min-istry of Environment and Climate Aff airs (MECA). The course was amongst the fi rst of its kind to be conducted in the region.

The training is part of Omran’s campaign ‘Together We Protect Marine Life’ run in partnership with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Aff airs (MECA).

The ongoing Omran ‘Together We Protect Marine Life’ cam-paign aims at preserving marine life and raising the awareness on the matter among various seg-ments of society, and is the sec-ond to be conducted by Omran following the success of Omran’s fi rst coral reef cleanup campaign which took place in Khasab in April 2014.

The previous activity included workshops for youth and adults as well as a practical coral reef and beach clean-up sessions conduct-ed in Khasab.

The Coral Reef Protection

and Net Removal Course train-ing course was engineered and conducted by Five Oceans Envi-ronmental Services (5OES), who specialise in providing training in the fi eld of diving with ad-vanced programme specially de-signed to achieve the objectives of the session.

Prior to the practical course, the trainees underwent a theoret-ical course that took place at the Omran Head Offi ce in Al Khuwair.

The practical course started

in Dibba covered underwater search and recovery techniques, advanced buoyancy control, coral reef conservation, fi rst aid mod-ules as well as the proper disposal of recovered nets without aff ect-ing the environment.

Commenting on the training, Abdul Wahid Al Farsi said: “Oman has been blessed with a rich and abundant marine life, of which coral reefs play an integral part, and Musandam is such a popular tourist destination due to its rich

marine life. However the reefs are also extremely delicate and prone to damage, and any damage can have a signifi cant impact on the local marine life which is heavily dependent on the coral reefs eco-system for survival. Therefore, the regular cleanups carried out by MECA staff are extremely vital with the cooperation of Golden Tulip Dibba staff and the local community.”

“This is why the training pro-gramme is absolutely invaluable for MECA staff . It provides them with all required training in the use of specialised equipment and techniques that emphasise safety underwater, while eff ectively re-moving any entangled nets, more commonly called ‘ghost nets’, from reefs without further dam-aging corals, as well as keeping themselves and their diving part-ners safe at all times,” he added.

Abdulwahid bin Hasan Al-Kamzari, one of the coral reef cleanup trainees from MECA said: “It was a really useful train-ing, and it enhanced our skills in cleaning coral reefs through the use of modern diving equipment.”

O M R A N I N I T I A T I V E

MARINE WEALTH: The campaign aims at preserving marine life

and raising public awareness.–Supplied photo


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


REGION

WEDDING IN RABATPrince Moulay Rachid, third left, and his wife Oum Keltoum Boufares, 27, third right, posing with King Mohammed VI, left, Crown

Prince Hassan III, second left, Princess Lalla Khadija, right, and Princess Lalla Salma during their wedding, in Rabat, on Friday. — AFP



Iraqi soldiers retake Baiji from IS militants

KIRKUK (IRAQ): Iraqi forces recaptured the strategic oil town of Baiji on Friday in a signifi -cant victory over the IS group, as the UN accused the militants of crimes against humanity in neigh-bouring Syria.

Baiji is the largest town to be re-taken by government troops since IS-led militants overran much of Iraq’s heartland in June.

The northern town, which had been out of government control for months, is located near Iraq’s main oil refi nery on the main highway to the IS-held second city of Mosul.

Its recapture further isolates militants farther south in the city of Tikrit, hometown of fomer president Saddam Hussein, al-though IS still controls large parts of Iraq as well as swathes of Syria.

“Iraqi forces were able to re-gain complete control of the town of Baiji,” Ahmed Al Krayim, the head of the Salaheddin provincial council, said. Soldiers, police, mi-litiamen and tribesmen were all involved in the operation to retake Baiji, and are now pushing farther north, Krayim said. “Iraqi forces are on their way to the Baiji refi n-ery,” north of the town, where se-curity forces have held out against repeated militant attacks, he said.

Breaking through to the mas-sive refi nery would be another signifi cant win for the govern-ment in Baghdad.

On Friday, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria released its

fi rst report focused squarely on IS crimes, presenting a horrify-ing picture of what life is like in areas controlled by the extremist militants, including massacres, beheadings, torture, sexual en-slavement and forced pregnancy.

“The commanders of ISIS (IS) have acted wilfully, perpetrat-ing these war crimes and crimes against humanity with clear in-tent of attacking persons with awareness of their civilian or ‘hors de combat’ (non-combat) status,” the report said.

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron meanwhile outlined plans to seize the passports of British militants to stop them from returning after fi ghting overseas. Hundreds of citizens from various western countries have joined IS and other militant groups, raising fears that they may come home to carry out attacks.

The operation to retake Baiji began more than four weeks ago when security forces and pro-gov-ernment fi ghters started advanc-ing towards the town from the

south, slowed by bombs militants had planted on the way, and fi nally entered on October 31.

The nearby Baiji refi nery once produced some 300,000 barrels of refi ned petroleum products per day, meeting 50 per cent of the country’s needs, but it would take time before it could be brought back online. The town’s recapture was marred by a suicide bombing Friday that targeted a military command headquarters set up at Tikrit University, south of Baiji, killing at least four people, army offi cers said.

Iraqi troops initially struggled to regain ground from IS after the start of the militant off ensive.

But helped by US-led air strikes, support from militias and tribesmen, assistance from international advisers, and a sign-fi cant reshuffl ing of top offi cers, Baghdad’s forces have begun to make progress.

Washington has repeatedly said that it will not deploy “com-bat forces” to Iraq, though top US military offi cer General Mar-

tin Dempsey said Thursday that sending small teams of US troops into combat with local forces re-mained an option.

Sending armed soldiers to the front lines carries signifi cant risk of them being attacked or oth-erwise drawn directly into the fi ghting. The US has already an-nounced plans to send up to 3,100 military personnel to Iraq to ad-vise and train its forces and pro-tect American facilities.

Baghdadi’s audio messageIS released an audio message Thursday it said was from its chief Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi—rumoured to have been wounded or killed in air strikes—in which he vowed the group will continue to expand and draw its enemies into combat on the ground.

Dempsey also predicted that if the government in Baghdad fails to follow through on prom-ises to bring the country’s mi-norities back into the fold, “then the Iraqi security forces will not hold together”. — AFP

UN Commission of

Inquiry accused the

IS militant group

of crimes against

humanity in Syria

15 killed in YemenSANAA: At least 15 people, in-cluding fi ve women, have been killed in shelling by a Yemeni Houthi militia targeting a district, local offi cials and tribal sources said on Friday.

Heavy Houthi shelling of a northern district of the central town of Rada killed fi ve women late Thursday and displaced thou-sands, witness Jaber Al Zuba told AFP by telephone.

Government offi cials and tribal sources confi rmed that fi ve wom-en were among 15 members of tribes killed by the shelling, with at least 25 more people wounded.

The sources said 30 Hou-this were also killed in fi ghting around Rada.

AFP could not immediately ob-tain an independent toll, and the Houthis rarely provide casualty fi gures. — AFP

G R O W I N G I N S T A B I L I T Y

Iran to have‘smart filtering’ for Internet

TEHRAN: Iran will have “smart fi ltering” within six months to weed out Internet content the au-thorities deem off ensive or crimi-nal, the telecommunications min-ister said on Friday.

Tehran already blocks access to popular websites including Face-book, Twitter and YouTube to stop Iranians from surfi ng content seen as immoral or undermining the present regime. Mahmoud Vaezi’s remarks come just days after a body tasked with policing the Internet ordered his ministry to regular-ise the use of Instagram within two months or access to it would be blocked.

Last month, Iran prevented ac-cess to an Instagram page devoted to the lifestyle of Tehran’s young elite that stirred indignation in the sanctions-hit country.

Internet censorship is a bone of contention between hardliners and government members includ-ing President Hassan Rouhani who use social networks.

Vaezi said “the fi rst phase of smart online fi ltering will be ready within a month, a second phase within three months and a third within six months”, the ISNA news agency reported. In September, Fars quoted him as saying ministry engineers were working on ways to remove “criminal” content from so-cial networks. — AFP

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

BATTLEGROUND KOBANE: Smoke rises from an eastern Kobane neighbourhood damaged in fi ghting

between IS militants and Kurdish forces, on Friday. Baiji is the largest town to be retaken by govern-

ment troops since IS-led militants overran much of Iraq’s heartland in June. – Reuters

Heavy Houthi shelling of a northern district of the central town of Rada killed fi ve women late on Thursday and displaced thousands, witness Jaber Al Zuba said by telephone.

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Inflation hits five-year low, fans rate cut hopes

NEW DELHI: India’s wholesale infl ation cooled to a fresh fi ve-year low as fuel and food prices fell, fi ring hopes the hawkish central bank could fi nally start cutting interest rates and spur stumbling economic growth.

The Wholesale Price Index or WPI, India’s infl ation measure with the biggest goods basket, slipped to a better-than-expected 1.77 per cent in October from a year earlier. Wholesale infl ation is now at its weakest since Septem-ber 2009 as the fuel-import-reli-ant nation benefi ts from tumbling global oil prices.

The central bank “could begin to cut rates soon — perhaps even as early as December”, said Shilan Shah, analyst at macroeconomic research fi rm Capital Economics. The data swept the Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark index to a record high of 28,046.66 points.

DeclineWholesale infl ation, which was 2.4 per cent in September, has fallen from over six per cent in May.

The annual wholesale infl ation decline was also helped by boun-tiful harvests which pushed down food prices. The cost of onions, an Indian cooking pot staple, has fall-en nearly 60 per cent from a year ago. Business leaders and Finance

Minister Arun Jaitley, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new right-wing government, have been clamouring for a cut in bor-rowing costs which they say deter investment and consumer spend-ing. India has been mired in its longest stretch of sub-fi ve-per cent growth in a quarter-century.

The economy grew by 4.7 per cent last year and the central bank expects it to expand by 5.5 per cent this year — far below the near double-digits needed to generate jobs for tens of millions of new en-trants. The wholesale price data came days after fi gures showed the consumer infl ation index, com-prised of a widely tracked smaller goods basket, dropped to a far better-than-expected 5.52 per cent last month.

That fi gure was also below the

central bank’s six-per cent goal for January 2016, and down sharply from double-digit infl ation last year. But even with infl ation falling faster-than-expected, the central bank has resisted appeals to loosen monetary policy and boost growth.

Chronic problemIt says it’s determined to “break the back” of infl ation — a chronic problem that causes misery for India’s hundreds of millions of deeply poor citizens and a major restraint on growth in the emerg-ing-market nation.

Some economists say the cen-tral bank could cut rates at its next policy meeting slated for Decem-ber 2. But other economists worry infl ation will resurge when a low statistical base-eff ect, which has helped make price rises look weak-

er, wears off .They say any premature easing

of rates could stoke prices.“We still expect the Reserve

Bank of India to remain on hold as risks remain to the six-percent infl ation target for January 2016,” said Goldman Sachs economist Tushar Poddar. Economists who are sceptical the latest infl ation fall will be sustained suggest the central bank may hold its trend-setting lending rate at eight per cent until at least mid-2015.

Central bank governor Ra-ghuram Rajan, himself, has sig-nalled caution on rate-cut hopes.

“Base eff ects will temper in-fl ation in the next few months — only to reverse towards the end of the year,” Rajan said in a recent speech.”The Reserve Bank will look through base eff ects.” - AFP

Business leaders and

fi nance ministry have

been clamouring for

a cut in borrowing

rates which they say

deter investment and

consumer spending

EASING OFF: A vendor works at his vegetable stall at a wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Mum-

bai on Friday. Wholesale infl ation, which was 2.4 per cent in September, has fallen from over six per

cent in May. - Reuters

‘Will resign as

minister, MP if

proved guilty’

NEW DELHI: Under attack for allegedly forging his graduation marksheet, Union Minister of State for Human Resources De-velopment Ram Shankar Kath-eria on Friday off ered to resign if proved guilty even as Opposi-tion parties stepped up their ti-rade against him.

Congress and BSP attacked him over the controversy while BJP defended him saying he is a victim of “political vendetta”and the matter dates back to the BSP government in Uttar Pradesh.

“I can say if it is proved that there is any forgery in my mark-sheet, not only will I resign from the post of minister but also as an MP,” he said. A case was fi led in 2010 against Katheria in Al-lahabad High Court by his rival BSP candidate charging him with forging his marksheet.

The court has, however, re-ferred the matter to the sessions court in Agra, which will hear it on November 26.

Congress mocked at and tar-geted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the row involving the minister saying the “master” does not seem to be in control.

Party general secretary Digvi-jay Singh tweeted, “First Minis-ter HRD and now MOS HRD has given Fraud Mark Sheet! On top of it RSS wants to change the text books and Indian History”. - PTI

F O R G E D M A R K S H E E T

Politician accused in ponzi scheme attempts suicideS. MOITRA Our Correspondent

NEW DELHI: An Indian law-maker, Kunal Ghosh, previously accused in a chit fund fraud, at-tempted suicide in his prison cell in the early hours of Friday by allegedly consuming nearly 60 sleeping pills, according to offi cials.

Ghosh, a suspended Rajya Sabha MP of West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress Party, has since been admitted to a govern-ment hospital in the state capital Kolkata, where his “condition is stable, but critical”, said doctors treating him.

“His stomach has been washed and he is out of danger. But his condition still remains critical,” a doctor told the media.

Ghosh is currently awaiting trial in a case in which thousands of individuals lost their savings after the collapse of a depos-it-taking business run by the Saradha Group, though its law-yers deny that it was eff ectively a Ponzi scheme.

Ghosh, who was the head of Saradha’s media business, denies any involvement in the fraud.

The lawmaker, lodged in Kol-kata’s Presidency Jail in the east-ern state of West Bengal since his arrest in November 2013, threatened in court to take his own life on Monday if the “real culprits” behind the fraud were not arrested.

Jail staff suspended“The investigation is being in-fl uenced. It is not acceptable that I will rot in jail while those involved roam free. I am giving three days; if action is not taken I will commit suicide,” he had said.

Local TV channels reported that senior prison offi cials and doctors have since been suspend-ed by the state government, fol-

lowing the incident. The Saradha Group, established 13 years ago, which also has interests in real estate, media and exports, ran a company that collected small de-posits from investors.

Investigators say that, attract-ed by the promise of high returns, many ordinary people, particu-larly with low incomes, invested in these fi nancial schemes.

Later, thousands of households in West Bengal lost their saving-safter the Saradha Group col-lapsed in April.

A number of people, includ-ing Sudipto Sen, the owner of the group, havealsobeen arrested, and are currently being probes by the Central Bureau of Investi-gation, following an order by the country’sSupreme Court.

The CBI has so far charged Ghosh, Sen and another person in the fraud.

Meanwhile, Presidency Jail authorities on Friday fi led an FIR in a city police station against Saradha scam accused Kunal Ghosh for allegedly attempting to commit suicide.

S A R A D H A G R O U P S C A M

SUICIDE BID: Suspended

Trinamool Congress MP Kunal

Ghosh who has been admitted

at a hospital after an alleged

suicide attempt within Presi-

dency jail premises in Kolkata,

on Friday morning. - PTI fi le photo

A6

INDIAS AT U R DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 4

Whatever the Narendra Modi government is doing is good and nothing objectionable has been done by it so far. It will be assessed when more time passes, but indications are good

Lal Krishna Advani, BJP leader

‘No regrets over not getting post of PM’PATNA: Veteran BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani on Friday said he had no regret over not becoming the prime minister as the respect he got from all parties was more than enough and “overwhelmed” him.

“I have no regret over not be-coming the prime minister of the country. The place I got in the Par-liament and the respect I got from all political parties have been more than enough. The respect makes me feel overwhelmed. It is more than becoming a prime minister,” Advani told reporters.

The 87-year-old veteran leader was here to attend a function at a residential school run by former IPS offi cer JK Sinha for boys and girls of Musahar community, one of the most downtrodden among the Scheduled Castes in Bihar.

Advani had been in the race for PM post till June 2013 when the then Gujarat chief minister Nar-endra Modi was anointed as Prime Ministerial candidate at BJP na-tional executive meet held in Goa.

PerformanceAsked about the performance of Narendra Modi’s government,the former Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that it has spent just a little time in the offi ce hence as-sessing it would not be fair, but said it was doing good and there

was nothing “objectionable” about its work so far.

“Whatever the Narendra Modi government is doing is good and nothing objectionable has been done by it so far. It will be assessed when more time passes, but indi-cations are good,” the BJP patri-arch, who is part of ‘margdarshak mandal’(guiding group) along with Atal Behari Vajpayee and Murli Manohar Joshi, said.

Talking about Congress and its criticism of BJP-led governments at the Centre and the states, the veteran BJP leader said it was one party (Congress) which had done most to ensure resounding victory of the saff ron party in the Lok Sab-ha and Assembly elections held this year. - PTI

P O L I T I C S Relations with India top priority: Cameron

BRISBANE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held his fi rst meeting with British Premier David Cameron who described re-lations with India as top priority of the UK’s foreign policy and in-vited the Indian leader to Britain.

The bilateral meeting took place shortly after Modi arrived here on a fi ve-day visit to Aus-tralia to attend the G20 Summit beginning today.

At their meeting, Cameron told Modi that “relations with India are at the top of the priorities of the UK’s foreign policy.”

The British premier also invit-ed Modi to visit the UK to which the Indian Prime Minister said he would do so at the earliest, the Ministry of External Aff airs spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said.

Modi told Cameron that his vi-sion was “very inspiring” and the two countries can partner in any way they can.

The UK Premier was one of the fi rst world leaders to congratulate Modi following his victory in the general elections in May.

Strengthening tiesEarlier, Cameron’s spokesperson had said that the Brisbane meet-ing was set to strengthen the broad and deep relationship that UK and India have, building on a partnership of equals based on mutual respect.

The Indian community in the UK is keen to have a visit by Prime Minister Modi to inaugurate Ma-hatma Gandhi’s statue which is being raised outside the Palace of Westminster in London’s Par-

liament Square. The statue will stand amid monuments to other statesmen, including Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln.

After Yoga got a strong leg up on the world stage following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for observing an International Yoga Day, the European Union(EU) has backed the initiative.

“EU supports your initiative for a Yoga Day,” the EU Presi-dent Herman Von Rompuy told the Prime Minister during their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.

The European Commission (EC) is the executive body of the 28-nation EU responsible for pro-posing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the treaties and day-to-day management of the European Union.

Prime Minister Modi in his maiden address to the UN General Assembly in September had made a passionate plea for observing an International Yoga Day, describ-

ing the ancient science as “India’s gift to the world”.

Modi’s unexpected reference to Yoga came when he was talking about climate change and going back to basics.

Yoga is not just about fi tness or exercise, it is about changing one’s lifestyle, the Prime Minister had said, plugging for ancient practice that was introduced to the west by Modi’s spiritual inspiration, Swa-mi Vivekananda.

Draft resolutionAbout 130 countries, including the US, Canada and China, have have signed up for co-sponsorship of a draft resolution which In-dia’s UN mission is preparing for declaring June 21 as the Interna-tional Day of Yoga.

The resolution is expected to be submitted soon to the UN secretariat with the government looking to aggressively push for its adoption before the end of this year. Yoga has invariably found mention in Modi’s exchanges with

important world leaders, includ-ing US President Barack Obama.

He explained the benefi ts of Yoga to Obama over their White House dinner, which saw Modi sipping only warm water as he was fasting, as the US President expressed admiration for the Prime Minister’s “energy and vig-our”.

Modi had also gifted a book on Yoga to his Australian counter-part Tony Abbott.

Calling for a change in lifestyle and for creating consciousness, Modi in his UNGA speech had said Yoga could even help deal with climate change.

“Yoga is an invaluable gift of our ancient tradition. Yoga embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfi ll-ment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well being.

“It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature,” he had said. -PTI

Modi told Cameron

that his vision was

‘very inspiring’ and

the two countries

can partner in

any way they can

EXUDING WARMTH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with United Kingdom Prime Minis-

ter David Cameron during a meeting in Brisbane, Australia on Friday. - PTI

Drug makers arrested over sterilisation deathsBILASPUR: Indian police said on Friday they have arrested the head of a drug manufacturing company and his son on suspi-cion of destroying evidence in the case of 13 women who died after a mass sterilisation programme.

Police said they had taken the two men into custody on Thurs-day after a raid on their drugs fac-tory in central Chhattisgarh state, where dozens more women were still in hospital after undergoing the surgery.

The deaths have triggered wide-spread criticism of a government-run programme that off ers poor Indian women cash incentives to get sterilised, in what activists say are often horrible conditions.

Superintendent Om Prakash Pal said the two men, who ran a drug-making unit in the state cap-ital Raipur, would be questioned on “the quality of drugs they were making”.

Poor quality drugsTheir arrest came a day after po-lice detained the surgeon who performed the operations, R. K. Gupta, who has blamed poor-quality drugs for the deaths.

A local offi cial who spoke on condition of anonymity told AFP that evidence had been burned at

the arrested men’s factory.“We conducted a raid yesterday.

We found drugs had been burned in large quantities,” said the offi cial.

“Maybe they got scared and knew that we would come calling.”

Gupta operated on 83 women in just fi ve hours on Saturday -- spending an average of less than four minutes on each patient.

He has accused the govern-ment of making him a scapegoat for the controversial sterilisation scheme, which pays impover-

ished women Rs1,400 ($23) to go under the knife.

Although no cause of death has offi cially been given, authorities speculated that the women had died of septic shock.

The state has launched a judi-cial enquiry, and Chief Minister Raman Singh said the drugs the women took were being examined.The state government has banned fi ve drugs used at the camp pend-ing investigations, including an antibiotic and a pain killer.

The victims had suff ered vom-iting and a dramatic fall in blood pressure on Monday after under-going laparoscopic sterilisation, a process in which the fallopian tubes are tied.

The United Nations has called for all those responsible for the deaths to be held accountable and said that contraceptive choices should be made “without any forms of incentives”.

“Any laws, procedures or pro-tocols that might have allowed or contributed to the deaths and other human rights violations should be reformed or changed to prevent recurrences,” it said in a statement on Thursday.

Singh has sacked the surgeon who conducted the operations and the chief medical offi cer who supervised them.

The operations were carried out at a decommissioned hospi-tal on the outskirts of Bilaspur. The actual operating theatre was sealed off on Friday, guarded by about six police offi cers.

Sterilisation is one of the most popular methods of family plan-ning in India, and many state gov-ernments organise mass camps where mainly poor, rural women can undergo the usually straight-forward procedure. - AFP

B O T C H E D O P E R A T I O N S

DESTROYING EVIDENCE : Destroyed bottles of medicines, includ-

ing a bottle of lignocaine hydrochloride, centre, which is adminis-

tered as a local anaesthetic in minor surgeries, is pictured in the

backyard of the Name Chand Jain Mathura Wale Charity Trust

hospital, in Bilaspur, on Friday. - AFP

Lal Krishna Advani

SLOW DOWNENJOY THE RIDE

A7

PAKISTANS AT U R DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 14

Supreme Court reverses 2013 decision on appointmentsISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday reversed former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s judgment on the for-mation of a commission to ensure transparency in the appointment of heads of various statutory, au-tonomous and regulatory bodies.

On June 12, 2013, the former CJP had directed the newly elect-ed government to constitute a commission to ensure all future public appointments were given on the basis of merit.

The petition was fi led by PML-N’s Khawaja Asif, now the defence minister in Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ’s cabinet.“You have taken up a double-edged sword by chal-lenging the appointments made

by the caretakers. Mind it, the gov-ernment-in-waiting has to follow and maintain the highest stand-ards of transparency and merit for future appointments to avoid the interference of the apex court,” Chaudhary was quoted as saying then while reading out the ruling.

RulingAfter 17 months, the federal gov-ernment requested the top court to review its judgment in the Asif case. Last month, Attorney Gen-eral for Pakistan Salman Aslam Butt argued on behalf of the federal government before a three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk.

The bench, while issuing a 10-

page ruling on Friday, excluded the condition about the formation of the commission with regard to the appointment of heads of various statutory bodies, autonomous and regulatory bodies.

Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry observed it is the exclusive pre-serve of the federal government to appoint the heads of the said bodies, as well as to make appoint-ments based on merit under acts and ordinances wherein certain criteria has been laid down for such a purpose.

“Now that there are no impedi-ments in the process of appoint-ments to the offi ces in the statu-tory bodies and to public sector companies, they shall be fi lled up

without the loss of time by the end of December, 2014.

A preliminary report of the progress made towards the ap-pointment shall be submitted by the learned Attorney General for Pakistan for our perusal in cham-bers (SC) by the 10th of December, 2014,” the judgment said.

According to the list, there are 22 statutory bodies and 33 Pub-lic Sector Companies established under the Companies Ordinance, 1984, whose heads are yet to be appointed. The CJP noted that the court, in its June 12, 2013 ruling, had overlooked the provisions of Article 90 of the Constitution.

“The appointment of a com-mission and the power to make

recommendations for such ap-pointments is not in accordance with Article 90 of the Constitution where the power of the appoint-ment has been vested in the federal government,” the judgment said.

The bench, however, suggested that the government may con-sider the establishment of such a commission through legislation in order to ensure transparency — which would also enable the executive authority to make an in-formed decision while making ap-pointments.

The judgment further says it is also a settled law that the courts should ordinarily refrain from in-terfering in the policy-making do-main of the executive.

The judgment said the federal government has been expressly empowered by the legislature to make high-level appointments in accordance with the criteria specifi ed in the concerned acts or ordinances.

“It is also made clear that the court’s deference to the executive authority lasts for only as long as the executive makes a manifest and demonstrable eff ort to com-ply with and remain within the legal limits which circumscribes its power.

Even where appointments are to be made in exercise of discre-tionary powers, such powers are to be employed in a reasonable manner. – Express Tribune

P E T I T I O N

‘Pakistan’s anti-terror efforts commendable’

ISLAMABAD: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani lauded Pakistan’s eff orts to combat terrorism and the sacrifi ces made by the na-tion after visiting the General Headquarters (GHQ) on Friday afternoon, a press release from the Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) said.

The Afghan leader was accom-panied by Afghan Defence Minis-ter General Bismillah Muhamma-di, Afghan Chief of General Staff General Sher Muhammad Karimi and other senior Afghan security offi cials. Ghani said that Afghani-stan wants to strengthen security and defence ties with Pakistan, including cooperation in training and border management.

He also assured Afghanistan’s cooperation to jointly curb the menace of terrorism.

CooperationHe was received by army chief General Raheel Sharif and a con-tingent of the Pakistan Army pre-sented him with a guard of hon-our. Later, the Afghan delegation was also given a detailed briefi ng on the security situation of the Pakistan-Afghan border.

Afghan President Dr Ashraf Ghani arrived in Islamabad on Friday morning on his fi rst offi cial trip to Pakistan.

Ghani, who is due to meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Mamnoon Hussain, was welcomed by Prime Minis-ter’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Aff airs Sartaj Aziz, and other offi cials.

He is on a two-day offi cial visit for important talks on key securi-ty issues and to expand economic ties with Pakistan.

The Afghan president, who is accompanied by a high level del-egation of nearly 100 people, aims to seek Pakistan’s help in talks with the Taliban to avoid any in-stability in the post-Nato Afghan-istan. The Foreign Ministry in a statement said that discussions will be held on all dimensions of Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations during Ghani’s visit.

Other issues on the agenda in-clude trade and economic coop-eration, border security, connec-tivity, energy and people to people contacts.

Further, offi cials say that Ghani and Prime Minister Nawaz Sha-rif are expected to briefl y speak at a joint presser and to witness

a friendly Pakistan-Afghanistan cricket match in Islamabad.

“The visit comes at a historic juncture in Afghanistan, marked by the recent peaceful transfer of power and formation of the government of national unity,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said. “The recent developments in Afghanistan of-fer unique opportunity to trans-form the bilateral ties and to build a strong and forward looking rela-tionship,” she added.

Economic relations are also on top of the agenda after Afghan Fi-nance Minister Umer Zakhelwal visited Pakistan to explore ways to further boost bilateral trade.

Zakhelwal met his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar in Islama-bad on Thursday and both agreed to enhance bilateral trade from the existing $2.5 billion to $5 bil-lion by the next two to three years, the Finance Ministry said.

Pakistan has been providing transit facilities to the landlocked Afghanistan since the 1960s un-der a transit agreement.

Transit issues will also be dis-cussed during the talks.

Pakistan, Afghanistan agree to promote bilateral ties Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to promote bilateral cooperation in economic and trade relations to the benefi t of the two countries, Radio Pakistan reported.

The agreement came during a meeting between Ghani and Fi-nance Minister Ishaq Dar and Special Advisor on Foreign Af-fairs Sartaj Aziz. – In exclusive arrange-

ment with The Express Tribune

Afghan President

Ashraf Ghani said

that Afghanistan

wants to strengthen

security and

defence ties with

Pakistan, including

cooperation in

training and border

management

Court declares Imran, Qadri abscondersISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court(ATC) on Thursday declared Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehreek leader Tahirul Qadri as absconders, Express News re-ported on Friday.

Hearing a case pertaining to an attack on senior superintendent of police(SSP) Asmatullah Junejo during the PTI and PAT protests, Judge Kauser Abbas Zaidi de-clared Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri as wanted persons, while ordering for the immediate arrest of the two party leaders.

Case registeredJunejo was attacked and beaten with batons by protesters during the Islamabad protests when they were at their peak.

He sustained serious injuries.Subsequently, a case was regis-

tered against PAT and PTI work-ers under ATC clauses.

Earlier on Wednesday, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) had issued non-bailable arrest war-

rants against Imran Khan, PTI vice-chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Tahirul Qadri and others for attacking the Pakistan Televi-sion (PTV) building and Parlia-

ment House in August.ATC Judge Syed Kausar Ab-

bas Zaidi issued the warrants in response to two separate First Information Reports (FIRs) reg-istered by the Secretariat police against Imran Khan, Tahirul Qadri, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Awami Muslim League leader Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, Saifullah Niazi, Dr Raheeq Abbasi, Asad Umar and others.

The attacks took place on Au-gust 31 when PAT and PTI work-ers marched towards the Prime Minister House and the police were ordered to thwart their march. Subsequent clashes be-tween the protesters and law en-forcers resulted in the deaths of three PAT workers.

Hundreds others, including both demonstrators and police-men, were wounded. - Express Tribune

A T T A C K O N S S P

PROTEST: Supporters of Pakistani cricketer-turned politician Im-

ran Khan protest against the court arrest order for Imran Khan, in

Karachi on Thursday. – AFP

WELCOME: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, left, with Pakistani

Special Advisor on Foreign Aff airs Sartaj Aziz following Ghani’s

arrival at the Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi on Friday. - AFP

The visit comes at a historic juncture in Afghanistan, marked by the recent peaceful transfer of power and formation of the government of national unity

Tasnim Aslam, Foreign ministry spokesperson

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China – already the world’s larg-est exporter, manufacturer, and international-reserve-asset holder – is poised to overtake the United States as the world’s largest econ-omy (measured according to pur-chasing power parity) this year.

Now, it is using its growing clout to reshape global economic governance. Indeed, the country’s days of following Deng Xiaoping’s injunction to “hide brightness and cherish obscurity” are long gone.

After decades of actively participating in interna-tional economic institutions – including the G-20, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organisation – China has be-gun to resemble a revisionist power seeking to create a new world order.

Last month, China and 20 other Asian countries signed a memorandum of understanding to estab-lish a new multilateral development bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Viewed as the fi rst serious institutional challenge to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the AIIB was proposed by China.

In a sense, this shift should not be surprising, giv-en the widespread debate over the inherent weak-nesses of existing international institutions and governance structures – in particular, China’s dis-proportionately small role in them.

China accounts for a 3.8 per cent voting share of the IMF and a 5.5 per cent share of the ADB, com-pared to 16.8 per cent and 12.8 per cent , respectively, for the United States and 6.2 per cent and 12.8 per cent for Japan.

Moreover, the advanced economies have staked their claim to leadership in these institutions. Eu-ropeans have led the IMF and Americans have con-trolled the World Bank since their establishment after World War II. Likewise, the ADB has had Japa-nese presidents since its founding in 1966.

Meanwhile, emerging economies like China face signifi cant barriers to boosting their capital con-tributions to – and their status in – these institu-tions. And reforms, though widely discussed, have faced long delays.

For example, IMF quota and governance reform, on which G-20 leaders agreed in 2010, has yet to be implemented.

Frustrated, China fi nally decided to push for the establishment of the AIIB, in which it will be the largest shareholder, with a stake of up to 50 per cent. China will also provide the AIIB’s fi rst president, and

the bank’s headquarters will be in Beijing.China can leverage its considerable infl uence over

the AIIB to bolster its international image, particu-larly by strengthening its relationships with devel-oping countries. Many developing Asian countries, for example, have signifi cant unmet need for infra-structure investment to buttress their long-term economic growth.

The AIIB can not only channel more resources to-ward developing countries; it can do so in a way that is better suited to their needs, with fewer bureau-cratic barriers and more fl exibility than its more es-tablished counterparts.

The AIIB would complement China’s rapidly in-creasing bilateral development fi nancing, with the added benefi t of a multilateral structure that ensures better governance and higher operating standards.

What the AIIB may not be able to do is contribute to improved economic governance in Asia – not least because Japan, Australia, Indonesia, and South Ko-rea, whose total GDP is roughly equal to China’s, are not yet members.

Without these economies to counterweigh Chi-na’s infl uence or a resident board of directors, the AIIB could allow China to impose its will on mem-bers and benefi ciaries alike.

For example, as former Indian Minister of State for External Aff airs Shashi Tharoor has suggested, China may use the AIIB to help fi nance a new Silk Road, an overland and maritime route connecting East Asia with Europe.

While the project could have signifi cant regional benefi ts, stimulating economic development by pro-moting integration and connectivity, it would serve primarily China’s interests, expanding the country’s international infl uence and reducing the gap be-tween its eastern and western regions.

At the same time, it could exacerbate geopolitical tensions and territorial disputes between China and its neighbours.

To be sure, China has made an eff ort to ad-dress such concerns, emphasizing repeatedly that the AIIB aims to complement, not compete with, other institutions.

Following the AIIB’s launch, Chinese President Xi Jinping declared that it “needs to follow multilateral rules and procedures” and should learn from “exist-ing multilateral development institutions in their good practices and useful experience.”

But China must support such statements with an active commitment to fair and effi cient governance. — Project Syndicate

China seeks to create a new economic order

After decades of actively participating in international economic institutions – including the G-20, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organisation – China has begun to resemble a revisionist power seeking to create a new world order

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])

GLOBAL AMBITIONS

The Pakistani government scrapped the sale of 10 per cent of its stake in the Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), after investors subscribed to only 52 per cent of the total shares on

off er. This was a severe blow to the government’s ambitious privati-sation agenda, as well as the implementation of reforms that would have allowed Pakistan to keep its commitments made to the IMF. Fi-nance Minister Ishaq Dar said that, “under the circumstances, it was not appropriate and feasible to go ahead with the divestment plan”. The circumstances he was referring to included the stiff opposition to the offl oading of shares by the opposition parties. This clearly scared potential investors. Pakistan has committed to the IMF that it would steer the economy forward by “reforming public sector enterprises through restructuring or privatisation”, among various other steps that the ruling party promised to undertake.

In more than 14 months since this commitment was given, the gov-ernment has not made giant strides. The privatisation plan has hit snags on numerous occasions in courts, with certain quarters being of the opinion that as the OGDC is a common property of the federation and the provinces, the federal government alone cannot take the deci-sion to privatise it. The unpopularity of the decision to privatise has clearly unsettled investors, who were unwilling to risk huge amounts in even a profi table entity like the OGDC. Failing to conduct privati-sation smoothly goes to show how weak the ruling party is at the mo-ment. While the investment climate may have improved slightly, the government has had to tip-toe to take even the smallest of steps for-ward. It formed a Tax Reforms Commission, decreased PIA’s losses and even conducted the spectrum auction. But given the history as to how employees are treated after privatisation and the PML-N’s cur-rent popularity graph, it was easy to create an atmosphere that made the OGDC’s privatisation a contentious issue. — Express Tribune

Lack of interest in OGDC sale

China’s Xi Jinping and Japan’s Shinzo Abe were careful not to smile when they met in Beijing recently — the fi rst encounter between the leaders of Asia’s two biggest powers since either

took offi ce. Their 25-minute get-together nevertheless represented a welcome step toward easing tensions in East Asia. At the beginning of the year, the two nations were embroiled in a deepening confl ict over a string of tiny islands, exacerbated by the expansive foreign policy am-bitions of both leaders. While neither the dispute nor the confl icting agendas have been resolved, the dangerous downward spiral of Japa-nese-Chinese relations has at least been arrested.

For that, credit mostly goes to Abe, who played suitor to Xi in seek-ing a meeting at the Asian summit meeting in Beijing. The Japanese leader has rankled leaders and public opinion around the region with nationalist rhetoric and gestures such as a visit to a Tokyo shrine where war criminals are among those honoured. But Abe’s govern-ment has mostly been on the defensive in the dispute over the Senkaku (or Diaoyu) Islands, which have long been under Japan’s control but have been the target of increasingly assertive claims — and naval in-cursions — by China. Xi, who during his fi rst two years in power has overseen a disturbing series of aggressive acts toward other countries in the South China Sea, has played on easily roused public hostility to-ward Japan. While ostentatiously refusing to meet Abe, the Chinese president set a couple of tough conditions for reversing himself: That Japan acknowledge that the sovereignty of the islands was disputed and that Abe pledge not to return to the Yasukuni shrine. In the end both issues were fi nessed. Abe made no public promise but dispatched emissaries who privately assured Beijing he planned no future Ya-sukuni visits, and the two governments agreed on a statement saying they had “diff erent positions” on the islands.

The fragile accord is a help to President Barack Obama, who has been hoping to build closer ties to Xi even while supporting U.S. allies — including the Philippines as well as Japan — that are resisting Chi-na’s exaggerated territorial claims. Obama usefully made it clear this year that the United States would come to Japan’s defence in the event of an attack on its forces around the islands, but he also pressed Abe to avoid further nationalist gestures. Asian fears that China might be emboldened by Obama’s reluctance to use US hard power in Syria or Ukraine, voiced by numerous offi cial visitors to Washington, have not borne out. That leaves unanswered whether the Sino-Japanese sum-mit refl ects a stepping back by Xi from the aggressive foreign policy of his fi rst two years. With his power in Beijing apparently consolidated, and myriad domestic problems to address, that would be a logical tac-tical step for a ruler with eight years left in his prospective tenure. Xi’s scowl as he shook Abe’s hand did not seem to foreshadow detente, but Abe expressed optimism that Japan and China would “return to our basic focus of mutually benefi cial and strategic relations.” We hope China shares that goal. — The Washington Post

Can China and Japan

ease their tensions?

Need to take measures to curb underage drivingThis refers to calls for curb on child drivers. Defi nitely such an eff ort should be undertaken. Children should be prevented from driving cars before they are of the right age and have attained the needed level of maturity to drive. Even after having at-tained the age, they must get the required training before they are allowed to get behind the wheels of a car and on to the roads. Hav-ing said that, I would like to point out the fact that adults who drive while using their mobiles should also not be forgotten. Such indi-viduals are no less responsible for the accidents that take place on the roads of the Sultanate. Despite being mature in age, they put the lives of fellow drivers as well as pedestrians to risk. I do

not understand their need to talk while driving. Can they not pull aside and talk, if they must?Adeel IqbalMuscat

Reckless and underage drivers need to be curbedThis refers to calls to impose curbs on child drivers. I think such steps are very necessary as these youngsters drive recklessly. Indu Makhija Muscat

Car racing by underage drivers routine in SalalahThis refers to the report calling for curbs on child drivers. In Sala-lah we could see many youngsters — schoolboys — driving cars at ‘maximum speed’. I believe racing

behind the labour camps in San-aya in Salalah is a daily practice for some of the youth living in the area. Last year a number of people were hit, some of them badly. Police personnel do make regular rounds of the area but somehow the activity is not completely contained. It is all very sad. Manoj Menon Salalah

Parents responsible for underage driversThis refers to call for curbs on child drivers. The Royal Oman Police does have strict rules, and when they catch an errant driver, including underage ones, they do report them to the Public Prosecutor for further action. But the police can’t be everywhere at the same time waiting to catch the

lawbreakers. The society in gen-eral and the parents in particular must share the responsibility of ensuring that young people drive responsibly and those below the legal driving age do not get to drive cars.Miriam May Al Farsi Muscat

Why question nationality in case of accidentsThis refers to the report regard-ing a woman who fell to death from a multi-storey building in the Buraimi locality. Whenever something unfortunate like this happens, why everybody begins asking about the nationality of the person? Ayisha M. Nazar Muscat

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Barring Suu Kyi from polls ‘doesn’t make much sense’

YANGON: Standing next to My-anmar’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, US President Barack Obama said on Friday that the law barring her from becoming presi-dent “doesn’t make much sense”.

It was the clearest statement Obama has made on Suu Kyi’s po-litical future, but he stopped short of explicitly urging that changes be made to allow her to run for the presidency.

Washington has pressed for more change in Myanmar, where political and economic reforms launched two years ago seem to have stalled and taken the sheen

off what was seen as a rare foreign policy achievement for Obama.

WillingnessThe United States has signalled its willingness to let the transi-tion take shape and has avoided specifi c demands. Nevertheless, Obama has told President Thein Sein that the next election, due in 2015, needs to be fair, inclusive

and transparent. “I don’t under-stand a provision that would bar someone from being president be-cause of who their children are — that doesn’t make much sense to me,” Obama told reporters outside Suu Kyi’s lakeside home in Yan-gon without naming her.

Suu Kyi, like Obama a Nobel laureate, is barred from contest-ing for president in next year’s

election because her two sons are foreign nationals.

“From the point of view of democracy, it is not right to dis-criminate against one particular person,” she said of the law.

Many believe the law was writ-ten specifi cally with Suu Kyi in mind. She remains wildly popu-lar and her party - which swept a 1990 vote that was ignored by the

military - is expected to do well in next year’s election.

Suu Kyi denied that she had diff erences with the United States over the transition process in Myanmar.

“Our reform process is going through a bumpy patch,” she said. “But this bumpy patch is some-thing we can negotiate with com-mitment and the help and under-standing of our friends around the world.

Full democracy“When Burma becomes a fully functioning democracy in accord-ance with the will of the people, we will be able to say that among those friends who enabled us to get there, the United States was among the fi rst,” she said, using the old name for Myanmar.

Myanmar began its emergence from international pariah status in 2011 when military leaders launched reforms after nearly half a century in power and installed a quasi-civilian government.

But substantial power is still held by the military, and that needs to be dealt with as the coun-try makes the transition to a full democracy, Obama told a group of Myanmar lawmakers at a meeting earlier on Thursday. — Reuters

US President Barack

told Mayanmar

President Thein Sein

that the next election,

due in 2015, needs

to be fair, inclusive

and transparent

Stabbing in banking district shocks crowds in SingaporeSINGAPORE: A man was stabbed on Friday in a rare armed robbery in Singapore’s banking district, shocking a lunchtime crowd in one of the world’s safest cities.

National broadcaster Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported that the attacker stabbed the unsus-pecting victim before dashing off with his sling bag outside a metro station. Despite his injuries, the victim gave chase and got into a scuffl e with the attacker, CNA said on its website, quoting an eyewitness. Police said both men had been brought to Singapore General Hospital after the inci-dent near Raffl es Place.

“Upon police’s arrival, it was established that a case of armed robbery with hurt had occurred at the said location,” the Singapore Police Force said in a statement.

Arrested“One of the conveyed male sub-jects was subsequently arrested in relation to the case. Police in-vestigations are ongoing.”

Photographs of expatriates and Singaporeans attending to the

bleeding victim were widely cir-culated on social media.

The attacker was subdued by bystanders before police arrived to arrest him. An eyewitness told CNA the victim was bleed-ing from his ears, shoulders and abdomen. Both men appeared to be ethnic Chinese, like the major-ity of Singaporeans, although a

police spokeswoman declined to comment on the age or ethnicity of the men.

Many Singapore residents took to social media to express their shock at the incident.

“Stabbing at #raffl esplace, and my friend pulled them apart... Not in #Singapore, surely?!” wrote Harriet Jenkins on Twitter. — AFP

R A R E A R M E D R O B B E R Y

$19.6m in cash,37kg gold recovered from official’s home

BEIJING: China’s anti-graft watchdog has recovered 37kg (82 lbs) of gold, documents for 68 houses and $19.6 million (120 mil-lion yuan) in cash in the home of a Communist Party offi cial who is being investigated for corruption, state media said.

The amount seized in the home of Ma Chaoqun, the former man-ager of the Beidaihe Water Sup-ply Corporation, was so large that state news agency Xinhua called it “shocking”. The Central Commis-sion for Discipline Inspection in Hebei has accused Ma of bribery, embezzlement, misappropriation of public funds, according to the Beijing News newspaper.

Ma’s case was among several other similar corruption cases in Hebei that Xinhua has dubbed “Little offi cials, Giant corruption”. “The amount of money involved in these cases is huge and it happened among the people,” Xinhua said. “The social infl uence is bad and the masses have reacted strongly.”

Wang Ying, a senior offi cial with the central inspection team, said investigators were now planning to turn the spotlight onto state-owned companies after two years of checking on party members and provincial government depart-ments. — Reuters

C H I N A

Video of father singing to dying baby goes viralLOS ANGELES: A heartbreak-ing video of a man singing a Bea-tles song to his dying newborn baby, after the mother passed away during labour, has gone vi-ral online. Chris Picco took a gui-tar into the neo-natal ward to sing “Blackbird” to his son Lennon, born prematurely by emergency Caesarian section last weekend.

The boy was born at 24 weeks on November 8, but his mother Ashley died the same day.

The infant survived three days in the neo-natal ward at Loma Linda University Hospital out-

side Los Angeles and died on November 11.

A video of the baby’s father playing the song by his incuba-tor had been watched over half a million times Thursday with tens of thousands more views every few minutes.

“Our dear Ashley’s life was

tragically, devastatingly cut short this past weekend.

Her dear baby fl ickered briefl y for a few days after,” said a state-ment on a memorial website. A family spokesman, Brett Walls, said: “For the next few days, Chris is spending time with his family, his friends, and his community while he continues to grieve.

“He recognises the chord this is striking with people and would be interested in seeing how we could partner to bring healing to others who are suff ering,” he said in an email. — AFP

U N I T E D S T A T E S


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

CRIME SCENE: Police investigators work at the scene of a stab-

bing incident at Raffl es Place, in the central business district in

Singapore on Friday. – Reuters

CLEAR CUT: US President Barack Obama and Myanmar opposition politician Aung San Suu Kyi ad-

dress a press conference after their meeting at her residence in Yangon, on Friday. – Reuters

A10

WORLDS AT U R DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 4

Philae, a washing machine-sized robot lab, landed on the comet on Wednesday after a nail-biting seven-hour descent from its orbiting mothership Rosetta, which had travelled more than a decade and 6.5 billion kilometres (four billion miles) to get there

MONEY MOVERSonja Enz of the Stapferhaus, an event place for contemporary exhibitions, holds coins in her hands as she sits in a room fi lled

with four million Swiss fi ve cent coins during a media preview of the exhibition ‘Geld - Jenseits von Gut und Boese’ (Money -be-

yond good and evil) in the town of Lenzburg west of Zurich on Friday. The exhibition at the Stapferhaus is opened to the public

from November 15 to November 29, 2015. — Reuters



Verbal volleys greet Putin on arrival for G20 summit

C A N B E R R A / B R I S B A N E : Vladimir Putin faces an icy re-ception at the G20 summit with Britain’s David Cameron telling the Russian leader to stop bully-ing smaller states and Australia’s Tony Abbott accusing him of try-ing to relive the “lost glories of tsarism”.

The Russian president arrived in Brisbane late on Friday for the weekend summit of world pow-ers at a time of heightened ten-sion with host Australia, which has sent three ships to its north-ern coast after a fl otilla of Rus-sian navy vessels appeared there this week. Prime Minister Abbott said the appearance of the four Russian vessels, which include a heavily armed cruiser and de-stroyer, were “part of a regrettable pattern” of growing Russian mili-tary bullishness.

Russia in turn on Friday warned France of “serious” consequences unless Paris this month delivers a warship whose handover has been delayed by the Ukraine crisis—setting the stage for confrontation with French President Francois Hollande. The French presidency confi rmed that Hollande and Pu-tin would hold a bilateral meeting in Brisbane on Saturday evening. It declined to comment further on the warships controversy in light of Moscow’s latest intervention.

On Thursday, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said that conditions “have not been met” to deliver the ships to Russia.

Britain’s prime minister, speaking to the Australian par-liament, warned Russia it faces further sanctions if it does not commit to resolving the confl ict in Ukraine, calling Moscow’s actions “unacceptable”.

Consequences“It is a large state bullying a small-er state in Europe. We’ve seen the consequences of that in the past and we should learn the lessons of history and make sure we don’t let it happen again,” Cameron said.

Russia on Thursday dismissed the West’s claims that it has been sending fresh military hardware into eastern Ukraine, which could fuel a return to all-out confl ict in place of an uneasy ceasefi re.

The West’s relations with Mos-

cow have grown increasingly tense since the downing of a Malaysia Airlines jet over territory con-trolled by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in July, killing 298 passengers and crew includ-ing 38 Australian citizens and resi-dents. Kiev and the West claim the plane was blown out of the sky with a missile supplied by Russia, an al-legation Moscow denies.

‘Come clean and atone’Abbott told Putin to “come clean and atone” for the shooting down of Flight MH17.

“Russian action in Ukraine is unacceptable,” Cameron told re-porters in Canberra before head-ing to Brisbane.

“If Russia takes a positive ap-proach towards Ukraine’s freedom

and responsibility, we could see those sanctions removed. If Russia continues to make matters worse, we could see those sanctions in-crease. It’s as simple as that.”

The European Union, the United States and Australia are among those that have imposed sanctions on Russia for what they see as Moscow’s desire to redraw modern Europe’s borders.

Pro-Russian rebels have been fi ghting Ukrainian government forces since April in a war that has claimed more than 4,000 lives and driven hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.

The Australian navy said on Fri-day it had sent a third ship to help monitor the Russian fl eet that has appeared in international waters off its north coast, which also in-

cludes a tugboat and a refuelling vessel. Abbott said in a joint press conference with Cameron that Russia was “being much more as-sertive now than it has been for a very long time”.

“Whether it’s the bullying of Ukraine, whether it’s the increas-ing Russian military aircraft fl y-ing into the airspace of Japan, European countries, whether it’s the naval task group which is now in the south Pacifi c, Russia is be-ing much more assertive now than it has been for a very long time,” Abbott said. But, with oil prices at their lowest level in four years and the ruble tanking against the dollar, he stressed: “Interestingly, Russia’s economy is declining even as Russia’s assertiveness is increasing. — AFP

Australia and Britain

prime ministers tell

Russian president to

stop being bullying

smaller states

Philae to drill comet, results may not reach Earth: ScientistsPARIS/BERLIN: Europe’s robot lab Philae will attempt to drill into its host comet 510 million kilome-tres (320 million miles) from Earth, with just hours of onboard battery life left, a mission scientist said.

The European Space Agency (ESA) “has decided to go ahead with the drill,” astrophysicist Philippe Gaudon, who heads the Rosetta mission at French space agency CNES, said by telephone from Toulouse in the country’s south. But Philae may not have

enough power to send to Earth the results of drill into the surface of its host comet, mission scientists said.

“We are not sure there is enough energy so that we can transmit” the data, lander manager Stephan Ulamec said at a press conference webcast from European Space Agency (ESA) ground control in Darmstadt, Germany.

Philae, a washing machine-sized robot lab, landed on the comet on Wednesday after a nail-biting seven-hour descent from

its orbiting mothership Rosetta, which had travelled more than a decade and 6.5 billion kilometres (four billion miles) to get there.

The touchdown on the low-gravity comet did not go entirely according to plan, when Philae’s duo of anchoring harpoons failed to deploy and it bounced off twice.

Philae ended up in a mystery zone shadowed from sunlight. It is receiving only 1.5 hours of battery-recharging solar rays per day in-stead of the six or seven required.

The lab landed with only about 60 hours of onboard power before it needs to switch to solar panels to try and extend the mission dura-tion by as much as possible.

Limited sunlightScientists are still trying to work out how much power Philae may still get from the limited sunlight available to it. “The primary bat-tery enabling the core science goals of the lander may run out some time in the next 24 hours,”

said an ESA statement issued at on Friday. “As for the secondary battery, charged by solar panels on Philae, with only 1.5 hours of sun-light available to the lander each day, there is an impact on the en-ergy budget to conduct science for a longer period of time.”

A media conference scheduled for 1300 GMT is expected to give more details.

Gaudon said that if Philae’s on-board battery runs out and its solar batteries are not charged, which

could happen Friday night, Philae won’t be dead but “in hibernation”.

After its rough touchdown, it was not clear whether Philae would be able to use its drill, one of 10 onboard experiments, to take sub-surface comet samples for chemical testing. Some feared that trying to activate the drill with the 100-kilogramme (220-pound) lander balanced precariously on a steep slope on the comet—which has minimal gravity—could tip it over. — AFP

E U R O P E ’ S R O B O T L A B

Panic grips French as cops hunt for big cat

US spyingon mobile phones from the sky

PARIS: French authorities said on Friday that a large animal roaming around a town on the outskirts of Paris was likely not a tiger but a diff erent species of big cat.

“After an investigation carried out by the National Hunting and Wildlife Offi ce in conjunction with the Parc des Felins (a nearby wild-life park), we can exclude the pres-ence of an animal from the tiger species. The feline... is still being hunted,” said authorities.

PatrollingPolice and soldiers armed with tranquiliser guns patrolled a town on the outskirts of Paris, as the search for the animal on the loose gripped France and forced pan-icked residents to barricade them-selves at home. A dozen or so troops from a nearby army base joined the hunt for the fearsome beast which has nimbly eluded all attempts at capture since being spotted prowl-ing around a supermarket car park on Thursday morning.

Police guarded the entrance to local schools on Friday morning in case the tiger put in an unwelcome appearance and a helicopter with thermal imaging buzzed overhead the small town of Montevrain, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of Paris, right next to the popular Disneyland Paris theme park. — AFP

SAN FRANCISCO: US justice offi cials are scooping up mobile phone data from unwitting Ameri-cans as part of a sophisticated airborne surveillance programme designed to catch criminals, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Small aircraft deployed by the US Marshals Service from at least fi ve major airports have been taking to the skies with “dirtbox” equipment designed to mimic signals from cell towers, according to the Journal. That in turn tricks mobile phones into revealing unique identifying numbers and general locations, ac-cording to the report.

The name “dirtbox” was said to be derived from an acronym of Digital Recovery Technology Inc., the Boeing subsidiary that makes the device.

The range of aircraft in the pro-gramme covers most of the US population, the Journal reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the operation.

Details of fl ights were not given, but they were said to take place regularly with each outing poten-tially gathering data from tens of thousands of mobile phones.

No commentThe Journal reported that the US Justice Department declined to comment for the story other than to say that its agencies comply with the law when it comes to sur-veillance. Mobile phones are pro-grammed to connect with the clos-est signal tower, but trust signals from towers or imposters when it comes to making decisions, hack-ers have demonstrated.

Boxes in planes could automati-cally assure mobile phones they are the optimal signal tower, then accept identifying information from handsets seeking connec-tions. Fake cell towers could then pass connections onto real signal towers, remaining as a conduit with the ability to tune into or block digital transmissions. — AFP

O N L O O S E

R E P O R T

MEN IN BLACK : Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott, centre, gestures with his thumb as he introduces British Prime Minister David

Cameron, fourth right, to members of his cabinet in Australia’s House of Representatives chamber, after Cameron addressed a joint ses-

sion of the Australian Parliament in Canberra on Friday. – Reuters

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2014

SPOR S

Teenage spinner gives Bangladesh the edgeCHITTAGONG: Young leg-spin-ner Jubair Hossain grabbed a fi ve-wicket haul in only his third Test to hand Bangladesh the advantage in the third and fi nal Test against Zimbabwe in Chittagong on Friday.

The 19-year-old fi nished with 5-96 as Bangladesh, hoping to sweep the series 3-0, dismissed Zimbabwe for 374 runs on the third day to gain a 129-run lead.

The hosts extended the over-all lead to 152 runs after reach-ing 23-0 in their second knock by stumps. Elton Chigumbura (88),

Sikandar Raza (82), Hamilton Ma-sakadza (81) and Regis Chakabva (65) settled in for Zimbabwe, but all three failed to convert the starts into centuries.

Seamer Shafi ul Islam trapped Masakadza leg-before and, three overs later, Jubair put Zimbabwe on the back foot with the wickets of skipper Brendan Taylor and Raza in the space of three balls.

Jubair dismissed Chigumbura through a catch by Mohammad Mahmudullah in the slips and completed his fi ve-wicket haul. - AFP

T E S T S E R I E S

Clarke injured as Aussies win fi rst match against S. AfricaPERTH: Australian captain Mi-chael Clarke suff ered a worrying recurrence of a hamstring injury as his side beat South Africa in the opening one-day international at Perth’s WACA Ground on Friday.

After being sent in to bat in the opening encounter of the fi ve-match series, the home team posted 300 for eight from their 50 overs. In reply, South Africa threatened a record run chase at the venue when their skipper, AB de Villiers (80) and David Miller (65) put on 126 for the fi fth wicket, but ultimately fell 32 runs short and were dismissed for 268.

Recalled wicketkeeper Mat-thew Wade claimed fi ve catches in the South African innings, while man-of-the-match Nathan Coulter-Nile claimed 4-48.

The 33-year-old Clarke rein-jured his troublesome left ham-string as he made just 11 from 20 balls in the Australian innings and was immediately ruled out of taking any further part in the match. - AFP

O D I S E R I E S

Anand draws fi fth game with CarlsenSOCHI: Viswanathan Anand missed out on an opportunity to press for serious advantage and settled for a draw with defending champion Magnus Carlsen in the fi fth game of the world chess championship now underway here. The third draw in fi ve games restored the parity and the scores now stand at 2.5-2.5 with seven games still remaining in the mil-lion Euros match. When the world thought it could be a dangerous advantage in Anand’s favour, the Indian ace erred and took a safer path, allowing Carlsen to liquidate to a drawn rook and minor piece endgame. Opening with the Queen pawn, Anand faced a new open-ing for the third time in the match by Carlsen.

Djokovic seals top spot, makes semifi nalsLONDON: Novak Djoko-vic was at his imperious best as he sealed the year-end world number one spot and advanced to the semifi nals of the ATP Tour Finals with a 6-2, 6-2 thrashing of Tomas Berdych on Friday. Djokovic fi nishes on top of the rankings for the third time in four seasons and is only the seventh player to hold fi rst place at the end of the calender year on at least three occasions. The Serb’s third successive victory at the prestigious season-ending event at London’s O2 Arena ensured he won Group A and will face Japan’s Kei Nishikori in Saturday’s semifi nals.

Kolkata holdChennaiyin FCKOLKATA: Atletico de Kolkata and Chennaiyin FC played out a 0-0 draw at the Salt Lake Stadium, here on Friday even-ing. This was the fourth consecutive draw for both teams as they once again failed to pick full points. Luis Garcia came closest as his free-kick came off the crossbar around the hour mark while Balwant Siingh saw his goal being disallowed as the ball brushed his hand on the way in. The home side made two changes as they replaced Cavin Lobo and Kingshuk Debnath with Lester Fernandez and Jofre Mateuwho returned from suspension. — Agencies

B R I E F S

Oman, UAE share spoils

RIYADH: Oman was denied by a harsh decision early in the second half as the Reds spurred by their international goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi’s brilliance in front of the goal held on to share the spoils with the defending champions United Arab Emirates.

Qassim Said, who connected a Raed Saleh cross from the right soon after the break, found his suc-cessful header being disallowed by the referee, who called for a foul.

Qassim, while jumping to con-nect the cross, had pushed an UAE defender, which cost the Reds dear in the ultimate analysis.

The goalless match at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium on Friday was more evenly poised though at some moments the defending champions appeared to breach the Oman citadel.

For UAE, Esmail Al Hammadi looked threatening on many occa-sions but he found Ali Al Habsi too tough a nut to crack.

Similarly, Qassim Said looked easily the best player for Oman, but on most occasions things did not work in his favour.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, three-time winners Saudi Ara-bia scraped to a 1-1 draw with Qatar in the opening game of the Gulf Cup in a virtually deserted King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh,

according to a Reuters report.With seven of the eight sides also

qualifi ed for next year’s Asian Cup in Australia, the Saudis had an op-portunity to stamp their authority early on the regional tournament but wasted at least two golden op-portunities and were dominated by Qatar. Fahd Al Muwalid opened the scoring for the hosts in the 37th minute, capitalising on one of the few times they had the ball in the fi rst half.

Qatar, buoyed by Fifa’s earlier decision to keep them as hosts of the 2022 World Cup, gained con-trol after halftime with central defender Ibrahim Majid taking advantage of some sloppy defend-ing to head home a corner in the 53rd minute.

Despite the Qatari domination, the hosts’ substitute Karim Bou-diaf and Khoukhi Boualem wasted two golden opportunities to put the game beyond doubt. Saudi Arabia coach Juan Roman Lopez Caro, who took over from Frank Rijkaard last year after the Saudi team went out of the fi rst round in 2013 tournament in Bahrain, criti-cized his defense for the result.

“We trained a lot on the crosses, but again we paid the price for the same mistake,” Lopez Caro said

in a press conference. Yemen, the only side not qualifi ed for the Jan. 9-31 Asian Cup in Australia, re-ceived massive support from their fans at the ground to secure a 0-0 draw with Bahrain and give coach Miroslav Soukup a welcome 49th birthday present.

It was the Yemenis fi rst point in the competition since 2007, hav-ing lost their last 11 games in the tournament. They have not won a game in their six previous appear-ances. “The fans were fantastic, the player put in 100 percent (ef-fort) from the fi rst minute,” the Czech coach said.

“Before the game I asked them for the three points as my birth-day present, but I am also happy with one.”

Qassim Said, who

connected a Raed

Saleh fl oater from

the right soon after

the break, found his

successful header

being disallowed

by the referee

Bangladesh 1st innings: 503Zimbabwe 1st innings:S. Raza c Mahmudullah b Jubair 82B. Chari c Rahim b Rubel 0H. Masakadza lbw b Shafi ul 81B. Taylor c Taijul b Jubair 1R. Chakabva lbw b Shafi ul 65C. Ervine b Jubair 14E. Chigumbura c Imrul b Jubair 88M. Mutumbami lbw b Shakib 20S. Masakadza c Mahmudullah b Taijul 0T. Panyangara not out 6N. M’shangwe c Mahmudullah b Jubair 8

Extras: (b-6, lb-1, nb-2) 9Total (all out; 106 overs) 374Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-169, 3-172, 4-172, 5-209, 6-322, 7-356, 8-357, 9-360, 10-374Bowling: Shafi ul 18-5-50-2, Rubel 9-1-46-1, Taijul 30-2-100-1, Shakib 25-4-67-1, Jubair 20-1-96-5, Shuvagata 1-0-1-0, Mahmudullah 3-0-7-0Bangladesh 2nd innings:Tamim Iqbal not out 8Imrul Kayes not out 11Total (for no wicket, 9 overs) 23Bowling: S. Masakadza 2-0-4-0, Panyangara 2-1-5-0, Raza 3-0-10-0, M’shangwe 2-2-0-0

S C O R E B O A R D

FIVE STAR: Jubair Hossain. – AFP

South AfricaH. Amla c Wade b Johnson 8Q. de Kock c Wade b Johnson 2F. du Plessis c Marsh b Watson 31H. Behardien c Finch b Coulter-Nile 20A.B. de Villiers run out 80D. Miller c Marsh b Coulter-Nile 65R. McLaren c Wade b Coulter-Nile 0V. Philander c Wade b Hazlewood 1D. Steyn c Wade b Coulter-Nile 6M. Morkel not out 22I. Tahir c Warner b Maxwell 22Extras (b-1, lb-1, 9-w) 11Total (all out; 48.1 overs) 268Fall of wickets: 1-6 (de Kock), 2-18 (Amla), 3-53 (Behardien), 4-76 (du Plessis), 5-202 (Miller), 6-202 (McLaren), 7-207 (Philander), 8-215 (de Villiers), 9-222 (Steyn), 10-268 (Tahir).Bowling: M. Johnson 10-1-38-2 (5w), J. Hazlewood 10-0-50-1 (2w), N. Coulter-Nile 10-0-48-4, M. Marsh 7-0-50-0 (1w), S. Wat-son 6-0-48-1 (1w), G. Maxwell 5.1-0-32-1.AustraliaD. Warner c McLaren b Philander 46A. Finch c de Kock b Philander 35

S. Watson c Morkel b Tahir 13M. Clarke c de Kock b Steyn 11G. Bailey c du Plessis b Steyn 70M. Marsh b Philander 10M. Wade c Rossouw (sub) b Philander 35G. Maxwell c du Plessis b Morkel 29M. Johnson not out 13N. Coulter-Nile not out 9Extras (b-1, lb-14, w-13, nb-1) 29Total (eight wickets; 50 overs) 300Fall of wickets: 1-94 (Warner), 2-94 (Finch), 3-112 (Clarke), 4-130 (Watson), 5-144 (Marsh), 6-236 (Bailey), 7-256 (Wade), 8-276 (Maxwell).Bowling: D. Steyn 10-0-62-2 (2w), V. Philander 10-0-45-4 (1nb, 3w), M. Morkel 10-1-56-1 (2w), R McLaren 9-0-63-0 (6w), I. Tahir 10-0-54-1, F. Behardien 1-0-5-0.

Man of the match: Nathan Coulter-NileSeries: Australia leads series 1-0Toss: South AfricaUmpires: Simon Fry (AUS) and Nigel Llong (ENG)TV umpire: Brent Bowden (AUS)Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)

S C O R E B O A R D

MY BALL: United Arab Emirates’ Mohammed Gharib (23) tries to win the battled against Oman’s Ab-

dulaziz Al Maqbali during the Group B opener of the 22nd Gulf Cup in Riyadh. – Times of Oman/ISMAIL AL FARSI



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DON’T DROP DEAD DROP YOUR PHONE Al Harthy ready for the battleMANAMA: Oman’s Ahmad Al Harthy says he is ready for the challenge as the sixth season of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East gets underway with the opening round of the champi-onship taking place at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).

The most successful and pro-fessional racing series in the Middle East returns with an im-pressive international line-up of 15 drivers hailing from 10 diff er-ent nations across the world and region including emerging talent from Bahrain, United Arab Emir-ates, Kuwait, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Oman.

A gripping fi fth season was won by the narrowest of margins as Ashkanani snatched the title by a single point from rival and Al Harthy’s Al Nabooda Racing teammate Clemens Schmid, and expectations are once again high for the season ahead with both drivers back on the grid.

With Schmid’s current form and history of success in the com-petition the Al Nabooda duo are favourite’s to take the team cham-

pionship title which would make Al Harthy one of the most series’ most successful newcomers.

Speaking following qualifying in which he claimed a respect-able 5th position Al Harthy said: “Compared to testing the track is defi nitely more slippery. Some of the other cars competing over the weekend are using a diff er-ent tyre compound which leaves a diff erent type of residue so that is a consideration for the week-end in general. So far it’s just been great getting the extra time in the car, I’m really getting to know it much better and we’re fi ne tuning for this weekend. It’s also great to have Clemens here this weekend. His pace is fantastic and I want to

know where he’s getting these ex-tra seconds so hopefully, over the course of the season he can pass on his knowledge of the car and the tracks to help me develop and secure vital team points.”

If fi nal practice is anything to go by rivalries Season 6 of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Mid-dle East looks set to be the most competitive yet. A host of sea-soned professionals and upcom-ing talent from the region will be determined to secure their places on the podium with Oman’s Ah-mad Al Harthy, Saudi newcomer Mohammed Jawa and Season 5 Rooke of the Year Saeed Al Mehai-ri all looking to make their mark in the championship.

M O T O R S P O R T S

Indian cricket thrown into turmoil

NEW DELHI: Indian cricket was thrown into turmoil on Fri-day when the country’s highest court said four top offi cials, in-cluding the sport’s world chief Narayanaswami Srinivasan, may have been involved in corruption in the Indian Premier League.

The Supreme Court said Srini-vasan, his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, IPL chief executive Sundar Raman and Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra were among those who were investi-gated by a panel it had appointed to look into the scandal.

“We have seen the report and it did suggest some misdemeanour on part of certain individuals,” the Press Trust of India quoted a two-judge bench as saying, with-out elaborating. Certain fi ndings

recorded by the committee are understood to have indicted some individuals whose conduct has been investigated.”

The court ordered that copies of the report be handed to these four offi cials and asked their lawyers to

submit any objections within four days. It also said the identities of the remaining nine people under investigation, most of whom are believed to be cricketers, should not be disclosed. Their names were handed to the court in a sealed envelope in February.

A lawyer for the Board of Con-trol for Cricket in India (BCCI) told the court the body would delay its annual elections sched-uled for November 20, in which Srinivasan was expected to be re-elected as president for a three-year term. A guilty verdict against the offi cials could lead to a major shake-up in the glitzy Twenty20 tournament where rules state that a franchise should be banned if any offi cial is found to have brought the game to disrepute. — AFP

I P L P R O B E

NAMED BY COURT: N. Srinivasan

BMARKE

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMS AT U R DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 14

ALIBABA PLANS TO RAISE $8B IN BOND SALE IN USAlibaba Group is planning to raise as much as $8 billion as soon as next week in its fi rst US bond sale, just two months after the Chinese company completed the biggest public stock off ering ever, people with knowledge of the matter said. >B3

US-India pact to help implement WTO dealBRISBANE: The World Trade Organisation’s top offi cial said there’s a high chance the global body would soon implement its biggest-ever deal after the US and India broke an impasse on food stock holdings.

The 19-year-old organisation will “use this momentum that this breakthrough has created to re-store confi dence in the WTO and multilateral trading system,” Di-rector General Roberto Azevedo said in a briefi ng in Brisbane on Friday. He said he’ll consult with all WTO members to “collectively and fi nally resolve the impasse as quickly as possible.” The two countries agreed that India will extend the world’s biggest food subsidy programme until a perma-nent solution is reached, accord-ing to a US statement on Thursday. India in July blocked part of the WTO deal because it was unclear if the programme could continue beyond a 2017 deadline.

The WTO estimates the deal will stimulate the global economy by $1 trillion by removing delays at border crossings. The US-India

agreement was reached before the country’s leaders are expected to meet at the Group of 20 meetings in Australia that start on Satur-day. “Implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of the WTO will help a great deal,” Anupam Shah, chairman of In-dia’s Engineering Export Promo-tion Council, said in an e-mail yesterday. “The TFA will bring in uniform standards at customs and port clearance and help us achieve fast turnaround time.”

The India-US agreement will reduce the cost of trade by about 10 per cent for developed coun-tries and 14 per cent for developing countries, according to US Trade Representative Michael Froman.

Next steps“Now, we are looking forward to take the next steps on the imple-mentation of all the elements of the Bali package, notably the im-mediate adoption of the Trade Fa-cilitation Protocol due by July 31,” the European Union’s Trade Com-missioner Cecilia Malmstroem said in a statement on Thursday.

The Bali agreement would shield India’s stockpiles for food security from a legal challenge even if the programme distorts trade and exceeds India’s agreed subsidy limits, according to the WTO. India last year allocated Rs1.25 trillion ($20 billion) for its public food distribution system to help more than two-thirds of its 1.2 billion people who eat less than the minimum target set by the government.

India saw the language in the present text as vague, arguing that it doesn’t explicitly say an interim agreement on food stocks will continue beyond a 2017 deadline to reach a permanent solution.

“The Bali package can now be implemented since India and the US had contrasting positions and there is a convergence now,” said N.R. Bhanumurthy, an economist at the National Institute of Pub-lic Finance and Policy, a govern-ment-backed research institute in New Delhi. “Developed econo-mies are keen on increased trade as recovery in their economies is not strong.” - Bloomberg News

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

‘Great potential to boost Oman-Hong Kong trade’

ELHAM [email protected]

MUSCAT: The value of annual trade between Oman and Hong Kong could increase signifi cantly from its current $154 million if the untapped potential for coop-eration is taken advantage of, ac-cording to Hong Kong offi cials.

The volume of annual bilateral trade stood at $153.9 million in 2013, as Hong Kong’s exports to Oman reached $64 million, while Hong Kong imported $90 million worth of commodities from the Sultanate.

“In three to fi ve years we can easily increase it 10 times,” Stan-ley Lau, chairman of the Fed-eration of Hong Kong Industries (FHKI), told reporters on the

sidelines of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) seminar and business matching workshop in Muscat on Thursday.

The seminar and workshop took place in cooperation with the Public Authority for Investment Promotion and Export Develop-ment (PAIPED) and the Oman Chamber of Commerce and In-dustry (OCCI). Also in attendance was Redha Juma Mohammed Ali Al Saleh, OCCI’s vice-chairman.

The seminar focused on strate-gies to expand Oman’s global trade, as the workshop featured 60 busi-ness representatives from 30 Hong Kong companies specialising in general products. Also, more than 100 Omani companies were pre-sent at the seminar to meet busi-ness delegates from Hong Kong.

Gateway to ChinaLau said that Hong Kong is a gate-way to China and Omani compa-nies should see it as a bridge that would allow them to enter the ever-growing Chinese market.

Most importantly, Omani busi-nessmen should become familiar with business opportunities in Hong Kong, Lau said, adding that the OCCI could organise more business trips to Hong Kong and participate in more exhibitions there. He also noted that Hong Kong, which is one of the ‘most suitable’ places for business, will remain a ‘stable’ market for for-eign companies.

Important hubsMeanwhile, Raymond Yip, Assis-tant Executive Director at HK-

TDC, said that both Oman and Hong Kong are important hubs and their trade ties should expand.

In 2003, the value of annual trade between Oman and Hong Kong was $47 million, while today it has reached some $154 million, he said, noting that even this is a small amount compared to the $2.6 billion that Hong Kong trades every day.

However, Yip said that neither trade partners should be discour-aged by the current fi gure, as it indicates that there is great po-tential for further cooperation in various areas, including trade in automobiles, food and agricultur-al products.

He further said that telecom-munications equipment, comput-ers, textiles and jewellery topped

the list of Hong Kong’s exports to Oman, adding that Hong Kong considers Oman to be a hub for the redistribution of its products, especially electronics, to other Gulf countries.

InvestmentYip added that Hong Kong would be enthusiastic about investing in the Sultanate, such as in the tourism and port sectors, if it is convinced that this would be an appropriate place for investment.

“We never shy away from in-vestment. In a typical year, we in-vest over $80 billion outside Hong Kong.”

Currently, a Hong Kong com-pany is active in Sohar, and with the Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has a pres-ence in Oman, Yip noted, adding that more contacts are required.

Products at the workshop covered clothing apparel and ac-cessories, bags, wallets, jewel-lery and watches, cosmetics and body products, household prod-ucts, food and beverages, toys and games, consumer electron-ics, electronic, electrical compo-nents and accessories, sporting goods, packaging material, print-ed items, spectacles, stationery and offi ce equipment, auto parts, gifts and other products.

The seminar focused on strategies to expand

Oman’s global trade, as the workshop

featured 60 business representatives from

30 Hong Kong companies specialising in

general products

Google Glass future clouded as some early believers lose faithSAN FRANCISCO: After two years of popping up at high-profi le events sporting Google Glass, the gadget that transforms eyeglasses into spy-movie worthy technol-ogy, Google co-founder Sergey Brin sauntered bare-faced into a Silicon Valley red-carpet event on Sunday. He’d left his pair in the car, Brin told a reporter. The Googler, who heads up the top-secret lab which developed Glass, has hardly given up on the product -- he re-cently wore his pair to the beach.

But Brin’s timing is not propi-tious, coming as many developers and early Glass users are losing in-terest in the much-hyped, $1,500 test version of the product: a cam-era, processor and stamp-sized computer screen mounted to the edge of eyeglass frames. Google Inc itself has pushed back the Glass roll out to the mass market.

While Glass may fi nd some spe-cialised, even lucrative, uses in the workplace, its prospects of becom-ing a consumer hit in the near fu-ture are slim, many developers say.

Of 16 Glass app makers contact-ed by Reuters, nine said that they had stopped work on their pro-

jects or abandoned them, mostly because of the lack of customers or limitations of the device. Three more have switched to developing for business, leaving behind con-sumer projects.

Larger developersPlenty of larger developers remain with Glass. The nearly 100 apps on the offi cial web site include Fa-cebook and OpenTable, although one major player recently defect-ed: Twitter.

“If there was 200 million Goog-le Glasses sold, it would be a dif-ferent perspective. There’s no market at this point,” said Tom Frencel, the Chief Executive of Little Guy Games, which put de-velopment of a Glass game on hold this year and is looking at other platforms, including the Facebook Inc-owned virtual-reality goggles Oculus Rift.

Several key Google employees instrumental to developing Glass have left the company in the last six months, including lead devel-oper Babak Parviz, electrical en-gineering chief Adrian Wong, and Ossama Alami, director of devel-

oper relations. And a Glass fund-ing consortium created by Google Ventures and two of Silicon Val-ley’s biggest venture capitalists, Kleiner Perkins Caufi eld & Byers and Andreessen Horowitz, quietly deleted its website, routing users to the main Glass site.

Google insists it is committed to Glass, with hundreds of engineers and executives working on it, as well as new fashionista boss Ivy Ross, a former Calvin Klein execu-tive. Tens of thousands use Glass in the pilot consumer program.

“We are completely energized and as energised as ever about the opportunity that wearables and Glass in particular represent,” said Glass Head of Business Op-erations Chris O’Neill.

Glass was the fi rst project to emerge from Google’s X division, the secretive group tasked with developing “moonshot” products such as self-driving cars. Glass and wearable devices overall amount to a new technology, as smartphones once were, that will likely take time to evolve into a product that clicks with consum-ers.

“We are as committed as ever to a consumer launch. That is going to take time and we are not going to launch this product until it’s ab-solutely ready,” O’Neill said.

Brin had predicted a launch this year, but 2015 is now the most likely date, a person familiar with the matter said.

Stares, jokesAfter an initial burst of enthusi-asm, signs that consumers are giv-ing up on Glass have been build-ing.

Google dubbed the fi rst set of several thousand Glass users as “Explorers.” But as the Explorers hit the streets, they drew stares and jokes. Some people viewed the device, capable of surreptitious video recording, as an obnoxious privacy intrusion, deriding the once-proud Explorers as “Glass-holes.” - Reuters

T E C H N O L O G Y

International Energy Agencysays oil ‘price rout’ not over

PARIS: Oil prices are expected to keep sliding well into 2015, held down by weak demand and in-creased shale production, the In-ternational Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday, as it maintained its full-year forecast for slow global consumption growth.

Global crude futures slumped on Thursday to lows not seen since September 2010, with London’s Brent and US benchmark Texas crude for delivery in December diving well below the $80-per-barrel mark.

The IEA said while there had been speculation that the high cost of shale extraction “might set a new equilibrium for Brent prices in the $80 to $90 range, supply/demand balances suggest that the price rout has yet to run its course”.

“Our supply and demand fore-casts indicate that barring any new supply disruption, downward price pressures could build further in the fi rst half of 2015,” it added.

Dealers are speculating over whether the 12-nation Organi-sation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) group, which is meeting on November 27 in Vi-enna, would cut output quotas and thereby help to shore up prices.

Some observers believe that Opec might decide against turn-ing off the taps as it seeks to main-tain its foothold in the US market against the fl ood of oil being ex-tracted domestically from shale rock -- which had in part caused the global glut.

‘It’s purely business’ As pressure mounts on Opec to slash output, Ali Al-Naimi, oil minister of the group’s kingpin Saudi Arabia, said that “talk of a price war is a sign of misunder-standing -- deliberate or otherwise -- and has no basis in reality.”

“We do not seek to politicise oil, nor do we collude against anybody. For us, it is a question of supply and demand. It is purely business,” he said on Wednesday.

In a report to the G20 group of leading industrial powers ahead of a summit in Brisbane this week-end, the International Monetary Fund said the “recent appreciable fall in oil prices, if sustained, will boost growth”.

But the lower prices are hurting some crude exporters, including Venezuela, Iran and Russia.

The latter two are also strug-gling with the impact of Western sanctions.

Prices have slumped by over 30 per cent since June, when the Is-lamic State organisation’s off ensive in Iraq had pushed up costs. But they have since collapsed on the back of abundant supplies, tepid demand and the strong dollar. - AFP

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

Stanley Lau. — Times picture Raymond Yip. — Times picture

General Roberto Azevedo. — Bloomberg fi le picture

SLEEK: While Glass may fi nd some specialised, even lucrative,

uses in the workplace, its prospects of becoming a consumer hit in

the near future are slim, many developers say. — Bloomberg fi le picture

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

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FEATURES AT U R DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 4

Belt-tightening by big energy majors faced with plunging oil prices is battering the fi nances and share

prices of their suppliers, as inves-tors reassess the sector’s ability to keep gushing cash.

A growing list of delayed or cancelled projects, seen by some investors as a healthy move by ma-jors to rein in capital spend after a poor history of returns is working its way through corporate earn-ings; it has already pummelled the share price of some European sup-pliers seen as fi nancially fragile.

Fugro, once seen as a blue-chip on Amsterdam’s benchmark in-dex, has had more than 30 per cent of its stock-market value wiped out in a week since scrapping its dividend.

The worst of this volatility may yet be to come, analysts and fund managers warn, as the recent fall in oil prices — triggered by a sup-ply glut as well as worries over cooling demand — and the delayed eff ect of capital-expenditure cuts keeps up the pressure on compa-nies to plug balance-sheet gaps.

“Oil services fi rms are like euro zone banks a few years ago. There’s a lot of damage in the sector and it could get worse before it gets bet-ter,” said Arnaud Scarpaci, fund manager at Montaigne Capital.

And that in turn may tarnish the long-term appeal of an energy sector that has consistently been among the top dividend-paying industries since the fi nancial cri-sis, representing around $41.6 bil-lion in total payouts for the second quarter of 2014 alone, according to data from Henderson Global In-vestors.

According to analysts at Nomu-ra, Norwegian oil-drilling contrac-tor Seadrill is one example of a fi rm that could fi ll an expected funding gap in 2015 by cutting dividends. Seadrill declined to comment.

“Everybody’s concern is that we are in a deteriorating market (for suppliers),” said KBC analyst Dirk Verbiesen.

Oil slick Brent crude prices have tumbled nearly 30 per cent in the past fi ve months, to $82 a barrel — a level not seen in four years, with some expecting the supply-demand mismatch to get worse. A recent Reuters poll of economists and analysts shows that Brent is seen averaging $93.70 in 2015 and $96.00 in 2016.

This has caught oil majors, not just suppliers, off -guard — French group Total for example still uses $100 per barrel in its projections — and is starting to seriously dampen their plans to ramp up investment.

But oil majors by and large are

bigger and more diversifi ed than their suppliers, allowing them lee-way to protect payouts. BP even announced a dividend increase last month.

So while Fugro and peers like Petroleum Geo Services and CGG are facing these pressures with a net-debt-to-Ebitda ratio of be-tween 1.9 and 2.8, according to Reuters data, more diversifi ed oil majors like BP and Royal Dutch Shell are at between 0.5 and 0.8.

“The fall in oil prices is unlikely to incite oil companies to invest in the short term...This has dragged down the oil-services sector but it has also been made worse in certain cases, including Fugro, by stretched balance sheets,” said Alain Parent, an analyst at Natixis in Paris.

Reached for comment, Fugro said its business had “compelling long-term potential” but that it faced challenging mid-term mar-ket conditions as a result of spend-ing cutbacks. It did however say that it might benefi t from a new era of no-frills services by off ering more standardised products.

Recently, France’s CGG posted a brutal 24 per cent drop in quarter-ly revenue as the group scrambles to reduce the size of its seismic survey fl eet, while Norway’s Aker Solutions warned that oil com-panies could further delay major projects.

Seeing blood in the water, hedge fund short sellers have been cir-cling shares of oil services compa-nies, with CGG, Fugro and Seadrill featuring among the most shorted stocks in Europe, with between eight and 10 per cent of their shares out on loan, according to Markit data.

Hedge funds AQR Capital Man-agement, Marshall Wace, Black-Rock Investment Management, Citadel Advisors and Oxford Asset Management feature among the funds with the biggest short posi-tions on oil services shares, ac-cording to regulatory fi lings with European market regulators. Mar-shall Wace, Citadel and Oxford AM declined to comment, while offi cials for AQR and BlackRock were not immediately available.

Offi cials from Petroleum Geo-Services could not be reached im-mediately. A spokesman for CGG referred to comments made on Thursday by the company’s CEO Jean-Georges Malcor, who said

the group has already made a lot of adjustments and cost cuts to cope with order cancellations and an oil price around $80.

Montaigne Capital’s Scarpaci warned that sharp rebounds in prices like the ones seen on Thurs-day in a number of stocks could happen in the coming weeks, given the bearish consensus and the high level of short selling.

“The level of pessimism is reaching a high point on both crude oil prices and the sector’s shares, so there’s a risk of short-lived rebounds and short-cover-ing rallies.”

Also, some investors feel that the sector is in a state of overca-pacity and that fragile fi rms that eventually merge or drop out will allow stronger players to mop up market share.

But given the long road ahead for the sector’s clean-up, the like-lihood is that these stocks face big short-term price moves rather than a quick shift in long-term in-vestor sentiment. — Reuters

OIL PRICE DIPS DEAL SUPPLIERS A CASH SQUEEZEThe worst of this volatility may yet be to come, analysts and fund managers warn,

as the recent fall in oil prices — triggered by a supply glut as well as worries over

cooling demand — and the delayed eff ect of capital-expenditure cuts keeps up the

pressure on companies to plug balance-sheet gaps

in fi ve months, hit 2010 levels

Crudeprices sink

B3S AT U R DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 14

MARKET

Twitter assigned junk ratingNEW YORK: Twitter, which has been under pressure because of slowing user growth and manage-ment turnover, was given a specu-lative-grade credit by Standard & Poor’s (S&P).

The company and its $1.8 bil-lion of convertible notes were giv-en a rating of BB-, three levels be-low investment-grade, according to a statement on Thursday from

the credit-ranking company. S&P also said Twitter’s fi nancial risk was “signifi cant.” .

A stable outlookTwitter’s potential for growth re-mains strong and leads to a stable outlook, S&P said. S&P, which usually gets paid by borrowers to assign a rating, said this assess-ment was unsolicited.

“The company will need to make continual, sizable invest-ments in its products and services to ensure growth and innovation, as well as maintain its relevance with its users,” S&P analysts led by Andy Liu wrote in the note.

The company has been under pressure because of its slowing user growth and management turnover. - Bloomberg News

S T A N D A R D & P O O R ’ S

Alibaba plans to raise $8b in bond sale in US

NEW YORK: Alibaba Group Holding is planning to raise as much as $8 billion as soon as next week in its fi rst US bond sale, just two months after the Chinese company completed the biggest public stock off ering ever, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Asia’s largest Internet company will use the proceeds to refi nance its credit facilities, according to a statement on Thursday. The bonds will be rated A+, or the fi fth high-est investment-grade, by Standard & Poor’s and an equivalent A1 by Moody’s Investors Service.

The debentures would be on top of the $25 billion Alibaba collected in a September initial public off er-ing, which was the biggest share sale on record. The Hangzhou, China-based e- commerce group, with a market capitalisation of al-most $300 billion, has $11 billion in loans and credit lines, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Given that they just had their IPO, they don’t necessarily need to

come to market,” Nathan Barnard, a fi xed-income analyst at Portland, Oregon-based Leader Capital , said in a telephone interview. “They’re pretty fl ush with capital. It’s an-other example of companies being opportunistic and trying to take advantage of low rates while they can.”

Amazon, eBayShould Alibaba raise $8 billion, the bond sale would be the largest ever denominated in US dollars in Asia, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, surpassing Bank of China , which raised $6.5 billion last month selling additional Tier 1 securities.

The extra yield, or spread, in-vestors demand to hold company bonds worldwide instead of gov-ernment debt fell to 1.05 per cent on June 20, the lowest in seven years, according to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Corporate Index. Premiums have since risen to 1.19 per cent.

The average cost of borrowing for investment-grade e-commerce companies is 2.7 per cent, based on the yields of bonds sold by Ama-zon.com and EBay, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co. will market the debt to investors starting next week, according to a person with knowl-edge of the matter, who asked not to be identifi ed, citing lack of au-thorisation to speak publicly.

Hong Kong, SingaporeA fi ve-part bond sale is being considered, with four portions of fi xed-rate notes and one tranche of fl oating-rate debt, according to a preliminary off ering memoran-dum seen by Bloomberg.

Meetings will start in Hong Kong on November 17, continue in Singapore the following day and fi nish in the US on November 19, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

“The ratings refl ect Alibaba’s dominant position in China’s on-line shopping market,” according to Fitch Ratings, which also ranks the company at A+.

“The ratings also benefi t from Alibaba’s robust profi tability and strong cash generation,” the rat-ings agency further added. - Bloomb-

erg News

Asia’s largest

Internet company

will use the proceeds

to refi nance its credit

facilities, according

to a statement issued

by the company

Nokia boosts its profi tability goal STOCKHOLM: Nokia boosted its long-term profi tability tar-get, evidence that Chief Execu-tive Offi cer Rajeev Suri’s plan to rebuild the Finnish company around wireless-network equip-ment is progressing.

The adjusted operating profi t at the networks unit, which makes up about 90 per cent of Nokia’s revenue, is targeted at eight per cent to 11 per cent of sales, the Espoo, Finland-based company said on Friday. The pre-vious goal was fi ve per cent to 10 per cent. Still, the new target is below the “slightly” above 11 per cent Nokia has forecast for 2014.

Suri, who took over in May af-ter Nokia sold its mobile-phone unit to Microsoft for about $7.5 billion, started reviving profi t with job cuts in his previous role as head of the network unit. He’s also focused on more profi t-able contracts as Nokia competes with Ericsson and Huawei Tech-nologies to supply base stations, antennas and related services.

For next year, Nokia predicted the network division’s earnings will meet its new target.

Nokia shares gained about 25 per cent in the past six moths. They fell 2.2 per cent to 6.50 eu-ros at 10:13am in Helsinki, giving the company a market value of 24.2 billion euros ($30 billion).

Eliminating jobsRevenue at the networks division will expand next year, Nokia fore-cast on Friday. The company also projected rising sales for its maps and patents divisions for 2015.

Ericsson, the biggest maker of wireless networks, reported an operating margin of 6.7 per cent

for the latest quarter. The Stock-holm-based company said on Thursday it plans to cut nine bil-lion kronor ($1.2 billion) of costs with a programme that includes headcount reductions.

Network contractsSuri eliminated more than 25,000 jobs at the network unit to bring the business back from losses, while focusing on more lucrative network contracts.

Nokia said last month it won a $970 million order from China Mobile to provide fourth-gener-ation equipment, software and services through 2015. Sales last quarter got a boost in North America where Nokia benefi ted from Sprint building out a 4G network.

Nokia is also counting on its two other businesses to drive sales and lift margins. Its digital-map business provides data to Amazon.com , Microsoft, Yahoo! and four out of fi ve car-naviga-tion systems. — Bloomberg News

L O N G - T E R M T A R G E T

– Bloomberg fi le picture

They’re pretty flush with capital. It’s another example

of companies being opportunistic and trying to take

advantage of low rates while they can

Nathan BarnardFixed-income analyst at Portland, Oregon-based Leader Capital

– Bloomberg fi le picture


B4

MARKETS AT U R DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 4

Stay ahead of

the curve with

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SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY INSTALL WHATSNEWS

India to review gold import policy as October buying soarsNEW DELHI: India, the world’s biggest gold user after China, will review bullion import rules after purchases in October jumped to the highest level this fi scal year.

Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehri-shi and offi cials from the govern-ment and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) discussed the issue at a meet-ing on Friday and will hold more talks either on Saturday, a fi nance ministry offi cial told reporters in New Delhi, asking not to be identi-fi ed citing departmental rules.

Imports in October jumped to about 150 metric tonnes, the highest since the beginning of the fi scal year on April 1, from 24.5 tonnes a year earlier, people with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday, asking not to be identi-fi ed as the information isn’t public. Overseas purchases in the seven months through October surged 44 per cent to about 640 tonnes from 444 tonnes a year earlier, they said.

Demand in India surpassed Chi-na for the second straight quarter in the July-September period as buyers thronged jewellery stores ahead of the main gold buying fes-tival of Diwali last month, World

Gold Council (WGC) data showed on Thursday. Imports jumped to 204 tonnes in the third quarter from 91 tonnes a year earlier and total demand gained 39 per cent to 225.1 tonnes, the council said.

“In the meeting, they might look at plugging any loopholes or leak-

ages they fi nd in the current meas-ures,” Devendra Pant, chief econo-mist at India Ratings & Research, the local unit of Fitch Ratings, said by phone in Mumbai. “If after that the gold imports continue to remain high, then they may take some additional steps.”

Raising taxesD.S. Malik, a fi nance ministry spokesman, didn’t answer two calls to his mobile phone seeking comment on the gold data.

The government last year raised import taxes three times to 10 per cent and introduced a rule oblig-

ing shippers to supply 20 per cent of their cargo to jewelers for re-export. The curbs spurred smug-gling, prompting the government to allow more banks and traders this year to import bullion.

While the curbs helped nar-row the current-account defi cit to

$32.4 billion in the fi nancial year ended March 31 from a record $87.8b a year earlier, a 450 per cent jump in bullion imports in September more than doubled the country’s trade defi cit to $14.25 billion for the month from a year earlier, the Commerce Ministry said on October 14.

“The surge in gold imports has increased the risk of further gold restrictions. Given the recent seasonality, it would be advis-able to wait for another month or two of gold import data before re-imposing any restrictions,” Nomura economists Sonal Varma and Aman Mohunta said in a note on Thursday. “We see the recent spike in gold imports as largely a one-off , rather than the start of an uptrend.”

‘Little impact’Demand over the last fi ve years has been driven by higher rural in-comes, which are now starting to moderate and limit consumption, while lower infl ation and higher returns on other fi nancial assets may limit investment demand, they said. - Bloomberg News

E C O N O M Y

Exxon topped by Microsoft as second-biggest company

NEW YORK: Exxon Mobil ceded its title as the world’s second-largest company to Microsoft af-ter the fi ve-month oil rout cut $47 billion from its market value.

Exxon, based in Irving, Texas, slipped 0.8 per cent to $94.66 at 4pm in New York, dropping for the third time in four days and reducing its overall value to $400.8 billion. Microsoft, in Red-mond, Washington, climbed 1.7 per cent, extending an advance from its October bottom to 16 per cent, pushing its capitalisation to $408.9 billion.

The fl ip-fl op follows a 30 per

cent plunge in crude spurred by rising US supplies and a refusal by Organisation of Petroleum Ex-porting Countries (Opec) to re-duce output. Computer and soft-ware makers in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index have posted the third-largest gains among indus-tries this year besides health-care

and utilities, rising 17 per cent.“Nothing stays the same forever,

and the stronger dollar with weak-er oil prices has been the catalyst for this,” Quincy Krosby, a market strategist at Prudential Financial Inc. in Newark, New Jersey, said by phone. The fi rm oversees more than $1 trillion. “Larger-cap tech

stocks have become a place that investors are going to as a source for dividends and buybacks, and in some cases, safety.”

Apple sharesApple, the Cupertino, California-based iPhone maker, retains its rank as the world’s biggest com-pany. Its shares have rallied 41 per cent in 2014, the 33rd biggest gain in the S&P 500, as the company bought back shares and extended a streak of beating analyst earn-ings estimates to eight quarters.

It isn’t the fi rst time Exxon has been superseded by a technology company in the No. 2 slot. Google, operator of the world’s most popu-lar search engine, surpassed its market value for four days in Feb-ruary and two in March, rising as high as $410 billion. Its 0.8 per cent retreat in 2014 has pushed it down to about $373 billion as of Friday.

Microsoft has climbed 33 per cent this year, adding almost $100 billion to its equity value, as its new chief executive offi cer, Satya Nadella, began his eff ort to revive the company. The world’s largest software maker last month report-ed quarterly sales that topped ana-lysts’ estimates, driven by cloud-computing growth and recovering personal-computer sales.

Web servicesThe results bolstered Nadella’s view that Microsoft needs to focus on Web-based services and mo-bile devices. The CEO, who took over in February, is cutting 18,000 jobs and lowering costs as it seeks to streamline operations.

Exxon has fallen 6.5 per cent in 2014 amid a 4.1 per cent decline for energy companies in the S&P 500. Better-than- forecast earnings have been unable to stem the de-cline spurred by falling oil. Even af-ter beating analyst profi t estimates in the third quarter, the stock has fallen 2.1 per cent as investors questioned how long they can con-tinue to outrun falling oil prices.

“We’re seeing a precipitous slide in oil, and Exxon has suff ered,” Drew Wilson, an investment ana-lyst with Fenimore Asset Manage-ment in Cobleskill, New York, said in a phone interview. “At the same time Microsoft is gaining more credibility than it’s had in the past with a change at the top and some relative successes.” - Bloomberg News

Microsoft climbed 1.7

per cent, extending

an advance from its

October bottom to

16 per cent, pushing

its capitalisation to

$408.9 billion

India’s Sensex completes fourth week of gainsMUMBAI: Indian stocks climbed to a record, with the benchmark index completing a fourth week of gains, as metal-makers and energy companies rose amid foreign infl ows.

Hindalco Industries, the coun-try’s second-largest aluminium producer, jumped the most in two weeks, while Sesa Sterlite, the nation’s biggest copper producer, rose the most in 10 days.

Oil & Natural Gas Corp. climbed for the fi rst time in three days, while Coal India, the world’s big-gest miner of the fuel, was the sec-ond-best performer on the index.

The S&P BSE Sensex added 0.4 per cent to 28,046.66 at the close, taking the week’s gain to 0.6 per cent. The measure has risen as

global funds bought $1.1 billion of shares this month on optimism easing infl ation may prompt the central bank to cut interest rates.

The authority has maintained the key rate at eight per cent after increasing it thrice between Sep-tember 2013 and January. The next policy review is on December.

“I will be disappointed if the RBI doesn’t cut rates in Decem-ber as data supports such a move,” Nirmal Jain, chairman of IIFL Holdings , told Bloomberg TV In-dia in Mumbai on Friday.

Wholesale prices rose at the slowest pace since September 2009, data showed on Friday. Con-sumer-price gains slowed to 5.52 per cent in October, the least since the index was created in 2012,

while industrial output rose at the fastest pace in three months, reports showed on November 12. Hindalco jumped 3.6 per cent, the best performer on the Sensex. Sesa Sterlite rose two per cent, the most since November 3.

Oil & Natural Gas increased 1.9 per cent, while Gail India Ltd., the largest natural-gas supplier, jumped 2.8 per cent, the most since October 31. Coal India ral-lied 2.7 per cent, extending a two-day advance.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Lim-ited (BHEL) fell 0.8 per cent, ending two days of gains, after quarterly profi t dropped to Rs1.25 billion. That trailed the Rs3.99-billion median of estimates in a Bloomberg survey. - Bloomberg News

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

State Bank of India’s net income climbs by 31%

MUMBAI: State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender by assets, posted second-quarter profi t that missed analysts’ esti-mates as loan growth slowed and provisions for soured debt rose.

Net income climbed 31 per cent to Rs31 billion ($503 million), or Rs41.5 a share, for the three months ended on September 30, from Rs23.8 billion, or Rs34.7, a year earlier, the Mumbai-based lender said in an exchange fi ling on Friday. That missed the Rs32.4 billion median of 33 analyst esti-mates compiled by Bloomberg.

India’s economic growth cooled off to less than fi ve per cent in the past two fi scal years, underscoring challenges for Chairman Arund-hati Bhattacharya as she aims to boost lending and cut soured debt. The government’s forecast for the economy to strengthen may signal a brightening outlook for the lender.

“Slowing loan growth and higher provisions for bad loans weighed down on profi tability,” Vishal Nar-nolia, a Mumbai-based banking an-alyst at SMC Global Securities, said by telephone. “As the asset quality hasn’t deteriorated from the June quarter, we expect higher profi t growth from next quarter onwards.”

Shares of SBI climbed 1.8 per cent to Rs2,770 at 1:16pm in Mum-bai trading, extending this year’s advance to 57 per cent. The S&P BSE India Bankex Index, which tracks 12 lenders, gained 54 per cent in 2014.

The bank’s gross bad-loan ra-tio remained little changed from the end of June at 4.9 per cent, the fi lings showed. Provisions for non-performing assets doubled to Rs40.3 billion in the quarter, from Rs26.5 billion a year earlier.

The lender doesn’t expect bad debts to surge in coming quarters, Pradeep Kumar, a managing direc-tor who heads State Bank of India’s corporate banking operations, said on September 30. He leads a panel that tries to recover stressed loans of as much as Rs5 billion each, while Bhattacharya helms a panel for higher amounts.

The company is pushing large corporate borrowers that have defaulted or are under stress to make repayments to the bank by tapping equity markets and selling non-core assets, Kumar had said in September. - Bloomberg News

S E C O N D - Q U A R T E R

GOLDEN GLITTER: Imports in October jumped to about 150 metric tonnes, the highest since the

beginning of the fi scal year on April 1, from 24.5 tonnes a year earlier. — Bloomberg fi le picture

Microsoft Chief Executive Offi cer Satya Nadella. — Bloomberg fi le picture


MUMBAI: The Indian rupee continued to fall against the American currency to nearly one-month low by slipping another 17 paise to 61.72 per dollar on sustained dollar de-mand from banks and import-ers in view of strong dollar overseas.

The rupee resumed lower at 61.61 per dollar as against Thursday’s closing level of 61.55 at the Interbank

Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market.

Later, it slipped further to 61.83, before concluding the day at 61.72 per dollar, disclosing a loss of 17 paise or 0.28 per cent.

It had last ended at 61.83 per dollar on October 16, 2014. It moved in a range of 61.6000 per dollar and 61.8300 per dollar during the day. - PTI

Rupee close to one-month low

Demand in India surpassed

that of China for the second

straight quarter in the July-

September period as more

and Indian buyers thronged

jewellery stores across the

country ahead of the main

gold buying festival of

Diwali last month, World

Gold Council (WGC) data

showed on Thursday

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMSECTIONB LIFE & STYLE S AT U R DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 14

Sam Simon, who co-developed The Simpsons, has decided to give away his $100 million fortune to animal rights organisation PETA and a number of to other humanitarian

charities. The director, producer and writer joined Matt Groening and James L Brooks to create the popular animated cartoons in 1989.

He assembled and led the original team of writers, and has been described as the “un-sung hero” of the sitcom by former Simpsons director Brad Bird.

However, Simon was diagnosed with co-lon cancer two years ago and given just three months to live. “They showed me my scans,” he told NBC.

“They said these are the scans of a dead man. I said, ‘Is it curable?’ And they said, ‘We

don’t use that word.’ He said, ‘I can’t cure you, but my job is to keep you alive.’ And he’s done a remarkable job of it. I feel great, never been happier, so thank you doctor.”

He decided to use his fi ght with cancer to do more philanthropic work. He has been work-ing with PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk to help

raise money for the animal rights charity “plan-ning a series of animal liberations and actions”.

He is also a board member for Save The Chil-dren and runs his own animal charity the Sam Simon Foundation. “Cancer is a horrible dis-ease. It’s a journey; a fi ght, it’s tough,” he said. “But if you want publicity, if you want to pick up girls, cancer is the greatest thing in the world.

“A lot of it’s selfi sh, I get to watch these ani-mals, that have been in concrete bunkers their whole life, I get to watch them take their fi rst steps on grass.

“I feel it is my responsibility to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.”

He said that, while his battle hasn’t been easy, he can see the positive.

“Somehow, I ended up surrounded by peo-ple who love me and take care of me and will

do anything for me,” he said. “That is called happiness. I think I may have had a problem letting it in before.

“Cancer has been a fi ght, a journey, an ad-venture and the most amazing experience of my life.”

Critics have argued that the death of one of their long standing characters after months of speculation on The Simpsons was for a rea-son and points towards the illustrator’s close brush with death as the precursor to the char-acter’s demise.

Rumours had been rife that much loved en-tertainer Krusty the Clown was set to die, but instead, it was his father Hyman Krustofski who bid viewers farewell during the 26th sea-son premiere.

Fans did not have long to wait, as Krustofski died painlessly after just eight minutes while talking to Krusty. His son had been subjected to a celebrity roasting by guest stars Sarah Silver-man and Jeff Ross and quit after taking off ence at their jibes.

The episode opened with Bart Simpson writ-ing “Spoiler alert: unfortunately my dad doesn’t die” on the blackboard during the credits.

Al Jean, executive producer, said days before the premiere that the impending death “may have become overhyped”. “I wanted to make sure people knew what we were trying to do is an emotional episode,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. — Ella Alexander/The Independent

CALLS IT AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE

SAMSIMON

TERMINALLYILL

SIMPSONSCREATOR

The writer and producer

was given three months

to live two years ago

ENTERTAINMENTB6 S AT U R DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 4

CARLOS Castaneda, a Peruvian-American author with a doctorate in anthropology who died in 1998, said, “The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.”

For a bridge player, trick one is what often emphasizes whether he ends the deal miserable or happy. The amount of work is not the same, though, because the more eff ort put in before playing from the dummy at trick one, the more contracts that will be made.

This week, let’s look at some deals in which declarer’s play at trick one is either critical or lays the foundation for success. In today’s layout, what should South do after West leads a low spade against three no-trump?

South starts with eight top tricks: one spade (given the opening lead), three hearts, two diamonds and two clubs. The ninth winner can defi nitely come from clubs. But what is the risk?

If the club fi nesse loses, maybe the defenders can run the spade suit.

To stop that, declarer must follow the “honour from the shorter side fi rst” dictum. Since there are only two spades on the board, South must put up dummy’s king. Here, he wins the trick and can run the club jack to guarantee his contract. Even though that fi nesse loses, declarer’s remaining queen-low in spades is a stopper with West on lead.

Note, though, that if South takes the fi rst trick with his spade queen, when West gets in with his club queen, he cashes the spade ace to squash dummy’s king, then takes three more spade tricks to defeat the contract.

— By Phillip Alder

Truck one is the contract’s key

B I G N A T E

B O R N L O S E R

M A R M A D U K E

A C E S O N B R I D G E

K I D S P O T H E A L T H C A P S U L EC R O S S W O R D

Ans

wer

to p

revi

ous

puzz

le

WITH LOVE8 4 1 5 4 7 6

7 9 2 3 8 4

2 8 4 9 5 6 3 1

3 1 6 8 7

2 9 7 9 7 8 1 7 5

7 8 3 6 2 9 4 5 1 9 5 1 4 7 3 2 6 8 4 6 2 8 1 5 7 3 9

6 7 9 5 3 8 1 2 4 2 3 5 9 4 1 8 7 6 8 1 4 7 6 2 3 9 5

5 2 7 1 9 4 6 8 3 3 4 8 2 5 6 9 1 7 1 9 6 3 8 7 5 4 2

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

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]

27 PC key29 Dow Jones fi g.30 — and tonic31 Bleachers shout34 Sound sheepish37 Girders (hyph.)38 Trendy40 7-Up alternative41 Desert dweller43 Kind of cassette

45 Your Highness46 “White Wedding”

singer47 Fanatic’s feeling48 Hang fi re50 Brief message51 Humdrum52 Scandinavian city55 A fi fth of DX

ACROSS

1 Wt. units4 Outfi tted8 Wax-coated

cheese12 Fossil fuel13 Costa —14 Warrior princess15 Perfume bottle17 — spumante18 Accounting entry19 Emptied the

cookie jar21 Nanny’s charge23 Gathered dust24 Swindled28 Hero or

submarine32 Casper’s st.33 Dixie fi ghter35 Contend36 Tough fabric39 Pasta dish42 Jungle crusher44 Showery mo.45 Evaluated (2 wds.)49 Stallone role53 Bright thought54 Loudness measure56 Traipse about

57 Put one’s foot — —58 “Bien” opposite59 House wings60 Garfi eld’s

housemate61 Gloating cry

DOWN

1 Trucker’s haul2 Letter-carrier’s

hazard3 Unkempt one4 Movie reviewer5 Cleo player6 Top cards7 Repairs a tear8 Hobby knife

(hyph.)9 Kind of job10 — meridiem11 Hotel staff er16 Spillane’s —

Hammer20 Open-wide word22 “The,” to

Wolfgang24 ATV feature25 Wood ash product26 Immeasurable

time

MOHITHA RAGUNovember 14

AMEGHANovember 15, 2009

TANISHQA MISHRANovember 14, 2005

AKSHITA M. VIKASNovember 15, 2007

AISHA SAMRAHNovember 14, 2006

SRUJANA GADAGNovember 14, 2005

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FIND-IT-ALL

PHARMACIESRound the clockAl Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24783334; Appolo Medical Centre, Hamriya: 24782666; Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24702542, Salalah: 23291635; Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra: 24503585; Ruwi 24811715Muscat RegionApollo, Al Hamriya. Tel: 24787766Muscat, A Seeb Market. Tel: 24421691Muscat, Al Khuwair. Tel: 24485740Muscat, Al Hail South. Tel: 4537080Dhofar RegionMuscat, Al Nahdha Road, Salalah. Tel: 23291635

HOSPITALSAl Amal Medical & Health Care Centre: 24485052Atlas Hospital: Ruwi: 24811743/ Ghubra: 24504000Al Musafi r Specialised Medical Clinic: 24706453Hatat Polyclinic LLC,Ruwi: 24563641, Azaiba: 24499269, Sohar: 2683006Al Raff ah Hospital: 24618900/1/2Al Massaraat Clinic & Laboratory: 24566435Al Makook Medical Coordinance Centre: 24499434Apollo Medical Centre, Hamriya: 24787766, 24787780Capital Polyclinic: 24707549Badr Al Samaa Polyclinic, Ruwi: 24799760/1/2Capital Clinic, Seeb: 24420740Ceregem National Raak: 24485633Dr Harub’s Clinic: 24563217Elixir Health Centre: 24565802Emirates Medical Centre: 246045401st Chiropractic Centre: 24472274Hamdan Hospital: 23212340International Medical Centre LLC: 24794501/2/3/4/5Kims Oman Hospital: 24760100

24 Hrs Emergency: 24760123Lama Polyclinic, Sohar: 26751128, MBD: 24799077, Al Khuwair: 24478818Magrabi Eye and Ear Hospital: 24568870Muscat Private Hospital: 24583600Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, Al Khuwair: 24477666Al-Hayat Polyclinc LLC: 22004000

ROYAL OMAN POLICEEmergencies and inquiries: 9999General Directorate of Passport and Residence: 24569603Directorate General of Customs: 24521109Traffi c violations inquiries: 24510228Public Relations Admin: 24560099

ACCOMMODATIONAl Bahjah Hotel: 24424400Al Bustan Palace: 24764000 Al Khuwair Hotel Apartments: 24478171Al Madina Holiday Inn: 24596400Al Maha International Hotel: 24494949Al Fanar Hotel: 24712385Al Falaj Hotel: 24702311Al Qurum Resort: 24605945Azaiba Hotel Apartments: 24490979Beach Hotel: 24696601Bowshar Hotel: 24491105Coral Hotel Muscat: 24692121Crowne Plaza Muscat: 24660660Crystal Suites: 24826100Golden Tulip Seeb: 24510300Grand Hyatt Muscat: 24641234Haff a House Hotel: 24707207Hotel Muscat Holiday: 24487123InterContinental Muscat: 24680000Majan Continental Hotel: 24592900Marina Hotel: 24711711Midan Hotel Suites: 24499565Mina Hotel: 24711828Muttrah Hotel: 24798401

Nuzha Hotel Apartments: 24789199Oman Dive Centre: 24824240Park Inn: 24507888Qurum Beach House Hotel: 24564070Radisson Blu Hotel: 24487777Ramee Dream Resort Seeb: 24453399Ramee Guestline Hotel: 24564443Ruwi Hotel: 24704244Safeer Hotel Suites: 24691200Sheraton Oman Hotel: 24772772Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa: 24776666The Chedi Muscat: 24524400The Treasurebox Muscat Hotel: 24502570

AIRLINE OFFICESMuscat Airport Flight information (24 hours): 24519456/24519223Aerofl ot: 24704455, Air Arabia: 24700828, Air France: 24562153, Air India: 24799801, Air New Zealand: 24700732, Biman Bangladesh Airlines: 24701128, British Airways: 24568777, Cathay Pacifi c: 24789818, Egypt Air: 24794113, Emirates Air: 24404400, Ethiopian Airlines: 24660313, Gulf Air: 80072424, Indian: 24791914, Iran Air: 24787423, Japan Airlines: 24704455, Jazeera Airways: 23294848, Jet Airways: 24787248, Kenya Airways: 24660300, KML Royal Dutch Airlines: 24566737, Kuwait Airways: 24701262, LOT Polish Airlines: 24796387, Lufthansa: 24796692, Malaysian Airlines: 24560796, Middle East Airlines: 24796680, Oman Air: 24531111, Pakistan International Airlines: 24792471, Qatar Airways: 24771900, Qantas: 24559941, Royal Jordanian: 24796693, Saudi Arabian Airlines: 24789485, Singapore Airlines: 24791233, Shaheen Air: 24816565, SriLankan Airlines:

24784545, Swiss International Airlines: 24796692, Thai Airways: 24705934, Turkish Airlines: 24703033

MUSEUMSBait Al Baranda: Corniche (seafront opp fi sh market), Open from Saturday to Thursday 9am to 1pm and 4 to 6pmNatural History Museum: Al Khuwair, Tel: 24604957, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm; Thursday: 9am to 1pmMuseum of Omani Heritage: (former Omani Museum), Madinat Al Alam, Sat-Wed 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday - 9am to 1pm, Tel: 24600946Armed Forces Museum: Bait Al Falaj, Tel: 24312651, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm; Thurs 9-12pm and 3-6pm; Fri 9-11am and 3-6pm. Al Hoota Caves 24498258; Turtle Beach 96550606/96550707Children’s Science Museum: Shatti Al Qurum, Tel: 24605368, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pmOman-French Museum: near Muscat Police Station, Tel: 24736613, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm, Thurs: 9am to 1pmBait Al Zubair, Muscat: Tel: 24736688, Al Saidiya St., [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

Dhuhr 11.56pm

Asr 3.05pm

Maghrib 5.27pm

Isha 6.40pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 5.03am

Sunset 5:22pm

Sunrise (Tomorrow) 6.21am

High tide 2:46am 1.53pm

Low tide 7.29pm 9.22pm

PRAYER TIMINGS

B7S AT U R DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 14

W E A T H E R

OMAN

Max 30Min 20

Max 28Min 20

Max 28Min 20

Max 28Min 18

Max 28Min 19Max 27

Min 14

Max 28Min 14

Max 31 Min 21

Mainly clear skies over most of the Sultanate, chance of clouds advection along the coastal area of Arabian Sea with isolated rain and over Al Hajar mountains during

tomorrow afternoon chance of clouds development.EXPECTED WINDS: Along the coastal areas of Oman wind will be variable during night, becoming northeasterly light to moderate while it will be northerly to northeasterly light to moderate over the rest of the Sultanate.SEA STATE: Moderate along the western coasts of Musandam

governorate and eastern coast of governorate of Al-Sharqiyah South with maximum wave height of 2.0 metres and slight along the rest of Oman coasts with maximum wave height of 1.25 metres.HORIZONTAL VISIBILITY: Good over most of the Sultanate becoming poor during rain.THE NEXT 48 HOURS OUTLOOK: Mainly clear skies over most of the Sultanate. Chance of early morning low level clouds or fog patches along the coastal area of Arabian Sea.

Max Min

GULFAbu Dhabi 31 22Doha 28 21Dubai 31 16Kuwait 28 12Manama 27 22Riyadh 25 14

WORLDAthens 18 12Baghdad 27 13Beijing 10 2Berlin 12 9Boston 3 2Cairo 24 17Colombo 30 25Frankfurt 11 9Hong Kong 24 21Istanbul 14 11Johannesburg 24 7Kuala Lumpur 29 22Lisbon 17 10Paris 12 7Perth 25 13Singapore 29 24Tokyo 18 9Toronto 2 1

WORLD

Max 9Min 0

Max 28Min 12

Max 13Min 9

Max 33Min 17

Max 23Min 13

Max 30Min 16

Max 0Min -3

Max 29Min 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 Daily16.00 Sohar 18.35 Daily16.00 Buraimi 20:20 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41)07:00 Sohar 08:55 Daily07:00 Ruwi 11:40 Daily13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri13:00 Sohar 14:55 Daily13:00 Ruwi 17:40 Daily13:00 Sohar 19:20 Daily17:00 Ruwi 22:15 Daily

TO SINAW (Route 52)17:30 Sinaw 20:50 Daily

TO SINAW (Route 52)07:00 Ruwi 10:25 Daily

To Yanqul (Route 54)14:30 Nizwa 16:50 Daily14:30 Yanqul 19:30 Daily

To Yanqul (Route 54)06:00 Nizwa 08:40 Daily06:00 Ruwi 11:00 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54)08:00 Nizwa 10:20 Daily08:00 Al Araqi 12:30 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54)15:40 Nizwa 17:55 Daily15:40 Ruwi 20:20 Daily

TO SUR (Route 55)07:30 Sur 12:00 Daily14:30 Sur 18:45 Daily

TO SUR (Route 55)06:00 Ruwi 10:45 Daily14:30 Ruwi 19:00 Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (Route 62)06:30 Fahud 10:30 Daily06:30 Yibal 11:15 Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (Route 62)12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily12:30 Ruwi 17:30 Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201)06:00 Sohar 08:30 Daily06:00 Dubai 11:30 Daily13:00 Sohar 15:30 Wed,Thur13:00 Dubai 18:30 Wed,Thur15:00 Sohar 17:35 Daily15:00 Dubai 20:55 Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201)07:30 Sohar 10:50 Daily07:30 Ruwi 13:40 Daily13:00 Sohar 16:15 Thur-Fri13:00 Ruwi 19:10 Thur-Fri15:30 Sohar 18:45 Daily15:30 Ruwi 21:35 Daily

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (Route 100)07:00 Salalah 20:00 Daily10:00 Marmul 20:30 Daily10:00 Salalah 23:30 Daily19:00 Salalah 07:40 Daily

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (Route 100)07:00 Ruwi 19:50 Daily10:00 Marmul 13:15 Daily10:00 Ruwi 22:30 Daily19:00 Ruwi 07:30 Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101)06:00 Marmul 16:50 Daily

SALALAH TO DUBAI (Route 102)15:00 Dubai 07:00 Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101)06:00 Marmul 16:30 Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (Route 102)15:00 Salalah 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204)Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI) TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

LISTINGS

Source: www.met.gov.om

SATURDAY

FLT NO ARRIVALS FROM ETA WY676 JEDDAH 0005WY406 CAIRO 0005WY682 RIYADH 0005WY648 KUWAIT 0010WY816 BANGKOK 0015WY824 KUALA LUMPUR 0055WY916 SALALAH 01054H583 DACCA 0115PK225 KARACHI 0210TK774 ISTANBUL 0215QR1132 DOHA 0345ET624 ADDIS ABABA 0350EK866 DUBAI 0355GF560 BAHRAIN 0405EY384 ABU DHABI 0405FZ041 DUBAI 0415MS930 CAIRO 0430WY902 SALALAH 0630WY674 JEDDAH 0640WY638 ABU DHABI 0650WY658 BAHRAIN 0700WY686 RIYADH 0700WY324 KARACHI 0700WY668 DOHA 0710WY674 JEDDAH 0730WY602 DUBAI 0805WY202 BOMBAY 0815WY102 LONDON-HEATHROW 0820WY342 LAHORE 0835FZ043 DUBAI 0850G9114 SHARJAH 0915WY236 HYDERABAD 0920WY226 COCHIN 0930PK191 TURBAT 0930WY242 DELHI 0935EK862 DUBAI 0940WY346 ISLAM ABBAD 0940WY252 MADRAS 0940WY212 TRIVANDRUM 0940IX443 COCHIN 1010QR1128 DOHA 1010EY382 ABU DHABI 1015IX549 TRIVANDRUM 10209W530 TRIVANDRUM 1035WY3302 MUKHAIZNA 1045WY282 BANGALORE 1100WY3922 DUQUM OMAN 1105WY604 DUBAI 1110WY372 COLOMBO 1130IX337 CALICUT 1155FZ037 DUBAI 1200WY424 BEIRUT 1205WY904 SALALAH 1215PA450 LAHORE 1215BG023 CHITTAGONG 1245NL771 PESHAWAR 1300WY606 DUBAI 1330IX817 MANGALORE/ABU DHABI 1440WY918 KHASAB 1440WY906 SALALAH 1445WY3304 MUKHAIZNA 1445WY656 BAHRAIN 1530WY632 ABU DHABI 1535SV532 JEDDAH 1550FZ045 DUBAI 1555WY274 JAIPUR 1640MP95 AMSTERDAM 1645WY204 BOMBAY 1710WY292 CALICUT 1720WY610 DUBAI 1730WY246 DELHI 1730WY264 LUCKNOW 1735WY232 HYDERABAD 1740QR1126 DOHA 1745WY664 DOHA 1745EK864 DUBAI 1800GF564 BAHRAIN 1810WY3306 MUKHAIZNA 1845G9116 SHARJAH 1915WY254 MADRAS 1920RG125 BATEEN AIRPORT OF AUH 1930FZ047 DUBAI 1945WY914 SALALAH 1950WY434 TEHRAN 2000WY434 TEHRAN 2000WY152 MALPENSA/ZURICH 2100WY152 ZURICH 2110WY116 FRANKFURT 2115WY312 CHITTAGONG 2125WY624 DUBAI 2125AI973 DELHI 2125WY134 PARIS 21306.00E+81 BOMBAY 2130WY414 AMMAN 21359W534 COCHIN 2140AI907 MADRAS 2200QR1134 DOHA 2210UL205 COLOMBO 2225GF566 BAHRAIN 2240EY388 ABU DHABI 2250BA073 LONDON-HEATHROW/ABU DHABI 2255WY908 SALALAH 2255AI985 AHMEDABAD/BOMBAY 2310WY662 DOHA 2315LX242 ZURICH/DUBAI 23209W540 BOMBAY 2325WY654 BAHRAIN 2330LH618 FRANKFURT/ABU DHABI 2330WY612 DUBAI 2335WY636 ABU DHABI 2350WY696 DAMMAM 2350WY928 SALALAH 2350WY910 SALALAH 2355WY717 ZANZIBAR/DARESSLAM 2355

SUNDAY

FLT NO ARRIVALS FROM ETA

WY406 CAIRO 0005WY682 RIYADH 0005WY676 JEDDAH 0005WY648 KUWAIT 0010WY916 SALALAH 01054H585 DACCA 0115NL669 SIALKOT 0200TK776 ISTANBUL/BAHRAIN 0300QR1132 DOHA 0345ET624 ADDIS ABABA 0350EK866 DUBAI 0355EY384 ABU DHABI 0405GF560 BAHRAIN 0405FZ041 DUBAI 04154H586 DOHA 0600WY902 SALALAH 0630WY638 ABU DHABI 0650WY658 BAHRAIN 0700WY686 RIYADH 0700WY324 KARACHI 0700WY668 DOHA 0710WY674 JEDDAH 0730WY672 MEDINA 0745WY602 DUBAI 0805WY202 BOMBAY 0815WY102 LONDON-HEATHROW 0820WY422 BEIRUT 0830FZ043 DUBAI 0850NL768 LAHORE 0900G9114 SHARJAH 0915WY236 HYDERABAD 0920WY226 COCHIN 0930WY242 DELHI 0935WY252 MADRAS 0940EK862 DUBAI 0940WY212 TRIVANDRUM 0940QR1128 DOHA 1010EY382 ABU DHABI 1015IX549 TRIVANDRUM 10209W530 TRIVANDRUM 1035WY282 BANGALORE 1100WY342 LAHORE 1100WY272 JAIPUR 1100WY604 DUBAI 1110WY346 ISLAM ABBAD 1110G9841 RAS AL KHAIMA 1120PK223 PESHAWAR 1120WY372 COLOMBO 1140IX337 CALICUT 1155FZ037 DUBAI 1200WY384 MALE 1205WY332 KATHMANDU 1210WY904 SALALAH 1215WY3302 MUKHAIZNA 1230WY826 KUALA LUMPUR 1230WY818 BANGKOK 1235WY606 DUBAI 1330WY918 KHASAB 1440WY906 SALALAH 1445WY656 BAHRAIN 1530WY632 ABU DHABI 1535FZ045 DUBAI 1555WY664 DOHA 1625WY204 BOMBAY 1710WY292 CALICUT 1720WY3304 MUKHAIZNA 1730WY610 DUBAI 1730WY246 DELHI 1730WY264 LUCKNOW 1735WY232 HYDERABAD 1740QR1126 DOHA 1745EK864 DUBAI 1800GF564 BAHRAIN 1810WY646 KUWAIT 1900WY3922 DUQUM OMAN 1900G9116 SHARJAH 1915WY254 MADRAS 1920RG125 BATEEN AIRPORT OF AUH 1930TG507 BANGKOK/KARACHI 1935FZ047 DUBAI 1945WY914 SALALAH 1950WY434 TEHRAN 2000WY614 DUBAI 2030KL441 AMSTERDAM/DOHA 2120WY312 CHITTAGONG 2125AI973 DELHI 2125WY624 DUBAI 21256.00E+81 BOMBAY 21309W534 COCHIN 2140AI907 MADRAS 2200QR1134 DOHA 2210UL205 COLOMBO 2225WY338 KATHMANDU 2235GF566 BAHRAIN 2240EY388 ABU DHABI 2250BA073 LONDON-HEATHROW/ABU DHABI 2255AI985 AHMEDABAD/BOMBAY 2310WY662 DOHA 2315LX242 ZURICH/DUBAI 23209W540 BOMBAY 2325LH618 FRANKFURT/ABU DHABI 2330WY654 BAHRAIN 2330WY612 DUBAI 2335WY696 DAMMAM 2350WY910 SALALAH 2355WY717 ZANZIBAR/DARESSLAM 2355

FLT NO DEPARTURES TO ETD AI986 BOMBAY 0005LX243 DUBAI/ZURICH 0020BA072 ABU DHABI/LONDON- HEATHROW 00259W539 BOMBAY 0025SG062 AHMEDABAD 0030LH619 ABU DHABI/FRANKFURT 0050WY811 BANGKOK 0105WY685 RIYADH 0105WY211 TRIVANDRUM 0110WY251 MADRAS 0110WY201 BOMBAY 0120WY225 COCHIN 0125WY235 HYDERABAD 0135WY601 DUBAI 0150WY345 ISLAM ABBAD 0150WY341 LAHORE 0150WY151 ZURICH/MALPENSA 0155WY241 DELHI 0155WY423 BEIRUT 0200WY281 BANGALORE 0200WY657 BAHRAIN 0205WY637 ABU DHABI 0205WY371 COLOMBO 0210WY123 MUNICH 0210WY323 KARACHI 0210WY115 FRANKFURT 0215WY133 PARIS 0215WY667 DOHA 02204H584 DACCA 0245TK775 ISTANBUL 0310PK226 KARACHI 0310ET625 ADDIS ABABA 0450EK867 DUBAI 0455FZ042 DUBAI 0510QR1133 DOHA 0520EY385 ABU DHABI 0525MS931 CAIRO 0530WY3301 MUKHAIZNA 0715WY3921 DUQUM OMAN 0720GF561 BAHRAIN 0745WY903 SALALAH 0800WY603 DUBAI 0800WY291 CALICUT 0920WY263 LUCKNOW 0920WY273 JAIPUR 0930FZ044 DUBAI 0935WY231 HYDERABAD 0955WY245 DELHI 0955G9115 SHARJAH 1005PK192 TURBAT/GWADUR 1015WY605 DUBAI 1030WY905 SALALAH 1030WY203 BOMBAY 1030WY311 CHITTAGONG 1040WY253 MADRAS 1040WY717 ZANZIBAR/DARESSLAM 1045EK863 DUBAI 1055EY383 ABU DHABI 1105WY655 BAHRAIN 1110IX554 TRIVANDRUM 1110IX442 COCHIN 1115WY3303 MUKHAIZNA 1115QR1129 DOHA 11159W533 COCHIN 1135WY917 KHASAB 1140WY331 KATHMANDU 1205WY631 ABU DHABI 1225IX350 CALICUT 1255PA451 LAHORE 1315WY101 LONDON-HEATHROW 1325WY663 DOHA 1330WY413 AMMAN 1330WY433 TEHRAN 1340BG024 CHITTAGONG 1415FZ048 DUBAI 1415WY927 SALALAH 1415WY609 DUBAI 1420WY405 CAIRO 1430NL668 SIALKOT 1430WY3305 MUKHAIZNA 1515IX818 MANGALORE 1530WY913 SALALAH 1545WY675 JEDDAH 1630SV533 RIYADH/JEDDAH 1650FZ046 DUBAI 1700WY613 DUBAI 1700MP95 DUBAI WORLD CENTRE/ SINGAPORE 1815WY623 DUBAI 1820QR1127 DOHA 1845WY681 RIYADH 1845WY907 SALALAH 1850GF565 BAHRAIN 1855WY647 KUWAIT 1900WY661 DOHA 1900WY695 DAMMAM 1910WY653 BAHRAIN 1910EK865 DUBAI 1915G9117 SHARJAH 2005RG126 BATEEN AIRPORT OF AUH 2015WY611 DUBAI 2025WY635 ABU DHABI 2030FZ048 DUBAI 2040WY915 SALALAH 2050WY909 SALALAH 2215WY817 BANGKOK 22359W529 TRIVANDRUM 22406.00E+82 BOMBAY 2245AI908 MADRAS 2300AI974 DELHI 2310QR1135 DOHA 2320GF567 BAHRAIN 2325UL206 COLOMBO 2335WY673 JEDDAH 2350EY381 ABU DHABI 2350WY901 SALALAH 2350

FLT NO DEPARTURES TO ETD AI986 BOMBAY 0005LX243 DUBAI/ZURICH 0020BA072 ABU DHABI/LONDON- HEATHROW 00259W539 BOMBAY 0025LH619 ABU DHABI/FRANKFURT 0050WY671 MEDINA 0105WY685 RIYADH 0105WY211 TRIVANDRUM 0110WY251 MADRAS 0110WY201 BOMBAY 0120WY225 COCHIN 0125WY235 HYDERABAD 0135WY341 LAHORE 0150WY345 ISLAM ABBAD 0150WY601 DUBAI 0150WY241 DELHI 0155WY281 BANGALORE 0200WY657 BAHRAIN 0205WY637 ABU DHABI 0205WY371 COLOMBO 0210WY323 KARACHI 0210WY667 DOHA 0220WY383 MALE 02354H585 DOHA 0245NL772 PESHAWAR 0330WY271 JAIPUR 0350TK777 BAHRAIN/ISTANBUL 0350ET625 ADDIS ABABA 0450EK867 DUBAI 0455FZ042 DUBAI 0510QR1133 DOHA 0520EY385 ABU DHABI 05254H586 DACCA 0700GF561 BAHRAIN 0745WY903 SALALAH 0800WY603 DUBAI 0800WY3301 MUKHAIZNA 0800WY291 CALICUT 0920WY263 LUCKNOW 0920FZ044 DUBAI 0935WY231 HYDERABAD 0955WY245 DELHI 0955G9115 SHARJAH 1005WY815 BANGKOK 1010WY605 DUBAI 1030NL769 LAHORE 1030WY905 SALALAH 1030WY203 BOMBAY 1030WY253 MADRAS 1040WY311 CHITTAGONG 1040WY717 ZANZIBAR/DARESSLAM 1045EK863 DUBAI 1055EY383 ABU DHABI 1105IX554 TRIVANDRUM 1110WY655 BAHRAIN 1110QR1129 DOHA 11159W533 COCHIN 1135WY917 KHASAB 1140G9842 RAS AL KHAIMA 1210WY663 DOHA 1210PK224 PESHAWAR 1220WY631 ABU DHABI 1225IX350 CALICUT 1255WY337 KATHMANDU 1310WY101 LONDON-HEATHROW 1325WY3303 MUKHAIZNA 1330WY645 KUWAIT 1340WY433 TEHRAN 1340WY113 FRANKFURT 1345WY141 MALPENSA 1400WY153 ZURICH 1405WY121 MUNICH 1415FZ048 DUBAI 1415WY609 DUBAI 1420WY131 PARIS 1420WY405 CAIRO 1430WY3921 DUQUM OMAN 1515WY913 SALALAH 1545WY675 JEDDAH 1630WY613 DUBAI 1700FZ046 DUBAI 1700WY413 AMMAN 1725WY623 DUBAI 1820WY681 RIYADH 1845QR1127 DOHA 1845GF565 BAHRAIN 1855WY647 KUWAIT 1900WY661 DOHA 1900WY695 DAMMAM 1910WY653 BAHRAIN 1910EK865 DUBAI 1915WY909 SALALAH 1940G9117 SHARJAH 2005RG126 BATEEN AIRPORT OF AUH 2015WY611 DUBAI 2025FZ048 DUBAI 2040TG508 KARACHI/BANGKOK 2040WY915 SALALAH 2050WY635 ABU DHABI 2050KL442 DOHA/AMSTERDAM 2230WY421 BEIRUT 22309W529 TRIVANDRUM 22406.00E+82 BOMBAY 2245WY411 AMMAN 2250AI908 MADRAS 2300AI974 DELHI 2310QR1135 DOHA 2320GF567 BAHRAIN 2325UL206 COLOMBO 2335WY673 JEDDAH 2350EY381 ABU DHABI 2350WY901 SALALAH 2350

A I R L I N E S

BORN today, you are a creative dynamo, always coming up with one idea after another, but more than that, you are coming up with ways to put those ideas into motion and make them pay off for yourself and others over the long term. You are not looking for the kind of instant success that interests so many others these days; you much prefer the kind of long-term endeavour that begins paying off slowly, and then continues to pay off , in increasing increments, with the passage of time. This kind of success, to you, is truly worth pursuing, and you know how to pursue it in a way that almost guarantees that you will fi nd it.

You believe that inner strength is the source of everything good in life, and you will always strive to strengthen yourself from the inside out. You are always willing to ask the hard questions and do the work necessary to learn, evolve and develop. You know that such progress doesn’t happen overnight.

Also born on this date are: Jonny Lee Miller, actor; Georgia O’Keeff e, artist; Petula Clark, actress and singer; Sam Waterston, actor; Shailene Woodley, actress; Ed Asner, actor; Joseph Wapner, judge and television personality; Felix Frankfurter, Supreme Court justice.

Your eff orts will be aided by the memory of something you did some time ago. The lessons learned back then can be applied now.

VIRGO [AUG. 23-SEPT. 22]

LIBRA [SEPT. 23-OCT. 22] LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL[S[[[S[S[S[[S[SS[SSSS[S[[[[SSSSSSSSSS

SCORPIO [OCT. 23-NOV. 21] S[

SAGITTARIUS [NOV. 22-DEC. 21] S[[[[[[[[[[[[[[

AQUARIUS [JAN. 20-FEB. 18]

You may fi nd a way to do something on the sly that you wouldn’t normally receive permission to do from those in charge.

You are seeking greater calm in your personal and professional aff airs. This can result only from an adjustment in your overall approach.

You have the ability to look at some confusing issues in a clear and comprehensive manner. Others will come to you with questions.

You may have a little more trouble than usual getting from here to there. The usual methods may somehow leave you wanting.

What you are after may not be accessible to you unless you are willing to take the long way around an unexpected obstacle.

External forces are working against you. See if you can’t solicit help from those who have been in your shoes in the recent past.

Environmental forces may be stronger than usual. What goes on outside is sure to aff ect your eff orts even when you try to work in safety.

PISCES [Feb. 19-March 20]

You don’t want to be caught off guard, so prepare yourself for all eventualities. Some events, however, cannot be anticipated.

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]

A confl ict may be heating up that aff ects what you do, if only in a peripheral sense. You’ll surely want to be part of the solution.

You’ll receive an answer to your question in a timely manner, but what you learn may lead to more questions.

Someone you know well has plans that will involve you when you are ready. Let him or her know exactly what you are willing to do.

B8

EXTRAS AT U R DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 5, 2 0 1 4

Women’s ambassador tag for Farhan; thanks fans

FARHAN AKHTAR is the fi rst man to be appointed as UN Women’s South Asia Goodwill Ambassador and the actor-fi lmmaker, who has been vocal about crimes against women, gives credit to his fans for giving him the “en-ergy” to stay on this path. The versatile star has represented the voice of numerous con-cerned men on the important issue of gender equality and violence against women and

girls in India through his Men Against Rape and Discrimi-nation (MARD) campaign. After the announcement of his appointment, he was fl ooded with good wishes on Twitter. “Thank you to all sending their love re the @UN_Women an-nouncement. It is with your support that I’ve had the energy to stay on this path,” he tweeted on Friday. UN Women is the United Nations organisation dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment. Farhan will dedicate his eff orts as UN Women’s Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia towards the empowerment of women and girls, and will serve as an advocate for UN Women’s newly launched HeForShe initia-tive in advocating for gender equality and women’s empower-ment.

Caprese ropes in Alia Bhatt as brand ambassadorBOLLYWOOD ACTRESS Alia Bhatt has been roped in as the brand ambassador of ladies fashion accessories brand Caprese. Alia will pre-sent the new autumn-winter collection of Caprese fi lmed at an ancient styled piazza in Europe, said a statement. “What attracts me the most to the brand is the vibrant colours that the collection of-fers. It has an array of trendy pop and neon shades. The new autumn-winter collection is a perfect mix of high-fashion with chic appearance and quality. So come buy Caprese,” said Alia. Revealing the actress as its ambassador to the audience, the brand has also announced #WhosThatGirl? contest on social media platforms like Fa-cebook, Twitter and Instagram inviting young fashionistas to participate and win exiting Caprese goodies.

Stars to dazzle Hyderabad as Salman’s sister ties knotTOP BOLLYWOOD stars will descend on Hyderabad on November 18 as Salman Khan’s youngest sister Arpita ties the knot with her long-time fi ance and businessman Ayush Sharma at a gala ceremony. Preparations for the wedding are in full swing at Taj Falaknuma, the luxury heritage hotel of the Taj Group located in the old city. The actor’s family has booked the entire hotel for two days, November 18 and 19, to ensure that nobody gatecrashes the festivities. Salman and his father Salim Khan have invited leading politicians, sport-spersons and corporate honchos for the ceremony. About 300 guests are likely to attend the wedding. -IANS

BR I E FS

How to age gracefully with thehelp of diet

From increasing your antioxidants to eat-ing more fruits, one can keep a count of a few diet tips to stay

younger always. Erin McCann, nutritional consultant, shares some advice on getting the right nutrients from your diet to help you age gracefully and naturally too, reports femalefi rst.co.uk.

Increase your antioxidants: Antioxidants play an important role in reducing infl ammation, repairing damaged cells and restoring balance throughout the body. These actions aid in prevention of chronic disease such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. They also aid in reducing the signs of ageing by repairing damage to the skin from sun and pollutants and improving skin elasticity. Increase antioxi-dants by:

Eating more fruits, like berries and citrus fruits and vegetables like leafy greens and squashes.

Take a quality, natural supple-ment containing antioxidant rich plant extracts.

Maintain a balance between Omega 3 and Omega 6 Fatty Acids: The balance between Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids is important for reducing infl ammation in the body, sup-porting cognitive function and for maintaining cellular. This balance can be maintained by:

Reducing processed, refi ned foods and takeaways in your diet.

Eating fresh oily fi sh like wild salmon, mackerel, haddock and sardines 3 or more times a week.

Cooking with coconut oil as an alternative to butter, margarine

and other oils. Eat balanced meals

and snacks regularly: Research has found that excess insulin can speed the ageing pro-cess and create infl am-mation in your body. You can balance insulin and blood sugar levels by:

Eating meals with a combination of complex carbohydrates, quality vegetarian or lean animal proteins, and antioxidant rich vegetables.

Having quality snacks between meals, such as hummus with vegetables or oatcakes, to maintain energy and balance insulin levels.

Reduce stimulants like coff ee which can increase insulin production.

Exercise regularly: Exercise not only aids in weight management but it supports your body with improving energy production, immune function and bone density. Increase your exercise throughout the day by:

Taking a brisk 20 minute walk each day.

Opt to use the stairs or walking to destinations when you can.

Incorporate resistance training into your regime such as yoga, pilates or weights

Support immune function: As you age, your immune system may not work as effi ciently. A well-functioning immune system will aid your body’s natural defences against infection and chronic illness. The best ways to support immunity are:

Get adequate sleep and rest. -IANS

Your diet doesn’t only make you

healthy and fi t but also helps in play-

ing a big part in your ageing process

SEARCH for photos of Mark Zuckerberg and a shot from his family album leaps out of a sea of grey. The fi ve-year-old proto-bil-lionaire sits, grinning at the cam-era, wearing a brightly patterned short-sleeve shirt, trousers held up with braces and a broad pink tie. As the Facebook founder ages, however, the colour fades to a now familiar grey.

Zuckerberg has talked about his uniform of jeans and T-shirt before, praising the makers of The Social Network, the Oscar-winning fi lm about him, for their attention to at least this detail.

But after revealing that he had been hurt by other “made-up stuff ” in the fi lm, the 30-year-old has ex-plained for the fi rst time the think-ing behind his lazy wardrobe.

“You’ll be happy to know that there are multiples of the same shirt,” he said at a Q&A at Face-book HQ in California (in 2012, he said he kept about 20 of the T-shirts in a drawer).

“It’s a simple question but it

actually speaks to how we think about our duty to the community here… I’m in this really lucky posi-tion where I get to wake up every day and help serve more than one billion people, and I feel like I’m not doing my job if I spend any of my energy on things that are silly or frivolous about my life.”

Zuckerberg, whose estimated net worth of $33b (£20b) is more than double the global annual sales at Gap, where he may or may not buy his T-shirts, went on to say that making even small deci-sions about the little things – what we wear or have for breakfast – “makes you tired and consumes your energy.”

Turns out he’s right, and far from the only successful fi gure who saves valuable brain space by dismissing trivial decisions. For some, including Steve Jobs (polo neck), Bono (sunglasses), Tom Wolfe (white suit), and Homer Simpson (white T-shirt, blue trou-sers), sartorial monotony becomes part of a personal brand. For oth-

ers, including Zuckerberg, it’s a business plan.

Scientists have devoted a lot of decision-making time to the study of choice, and how it aff ects perfor-mance. Kathleen Vohs, an associate professor of marketing at the Uni-versity of Minnesota, asked shop-pers a series of questions about the decisions they had made that day. She found that the more time given to decision making, the worse they did in a simple maths test.

Barry Schwartz, a professor of psychology and the author of the 2004 book The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less has likened the brain to a muscle.

“The mere act of thinking about whether you prefer A or B tires you out,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “So if I give you something else that takes discipline, you can’t do it – you’ll quit faster. If I have lifted weights in a gym, later trying to lift a 30lb weight is impossible.”

President Barack Obama is of the Zuckerberg school, and cited some of the above research in a

2012 interview in Vanity Fair. “You’ll see I wear only grey or blue suits,” he explained. “I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.”

Albert Einstein is widely report-ed to have worn the same grey suit for similar reasons, although pho-tos of him in his dotage reveal his discovery of the grey sweatshirt.

If time is money, then dressing up rarely pays. Zadie Smith once said that Virginia Woolf had joked that “the amount of time women spent getting dressed... they could learn Greek”. Or lead Germany, perhaps. Angela Merkel is rarely seen wear-ing anything but the same trouser suit, albeit in a selection of colours.

In 2011, she presented a framed copy of a front page of the Frank-furter Allgemeine newspaper to the then US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.

A photo revealed a below-neck glimpse of the women alongside each other, wearing comparable

outfi ts, alongside the text, “Which one is Merkel and which one is Clinton?”

These giants of public life are concerned about decision fatigue, as it’s known. And it can be more than bad for business or the state of a nation. A study of more than 1,000 court cases in Israel con-ducted jointly by a university in the country and Stanford University in America showed that judges gave prisoners parole 70 per cent of the time early in the day, but only 10 per cent of the time later in the day (when tiredness subconsciously compelled them to take the easier route – to let the prisoner go).

Yet judges presumably spend very little time considering what they wear before they go to court. And while saving our brains for the big stuff can only help, will it lead us to riches or the White House? Would Zuckerberg be a dot-com dropout had he kept wearing that pink tie? It’s a question that nei-ther man could answer. — Simon Us-

borne /The Independent

FASH I ON

THE ART OF BEING SMART CASUAL

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

C

C4 VACANCY CARGO C7

S AT U R D AY, N O V E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 4

RENT C2

DAILY GUIDEEmail: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

For rent apartments: An apart-

ment in old Muscat at Oman Arab

Bank’s building. 3 bedrooms + 3

bathrooms, dining room, living room

and a kitchen. Air conditioned apart-

ments. 2 bedrooms + 2 bathrooms,

living room, dining room area and

kitchen in an excellent location in Al

Khuwair opposite the court of fi rst

instance. For further information

call 97072976

New deluxe 1&2 B/R, fully furnished

and unfurnished fl ats with free in-

ternet available Al Khuwair near KM

Hypermarket. Contact 99460330

ISM, Darsait, 3 minutes by walk,

very spacious 1 BHK fl at, 2 bath-

rooms, brand new well maintained

building, ground fl oor-RO 275/- per

month. Contact 94150798 (ZIA)

Apartments in Al Khuwair new

area each apartment contains (2

bedrooms + living room) for RO 365.

Contact 93181111

Building in Ghala for rent with

24 apartments near Bank Muscat,

93181111

Villa in Al Azaiba contains (5 bed-

rooms + living room + hall)

for RO 900 located near Al Fair

Supermarket. 93161111

Villa in Bousher contains (5 bed-

rooms + living room + hall) for RO

900, 93161111.

Stores in Industrial Ghala opposite

Al Ghobrah garage with 550 m, RO 4

for each meter, 93161111

Villa in Al Azaiba with area of

1200 m, contains from (2 halls +

2 living rooms +5 bedrooms with

bathrooms+maids room+7 car

parkings+garden) for RO 2300,

92161111

Villa in Qurum contains (7 bed-

rooms living room hall) for RO 1500,

93161111

4 villas in Southern Al Hail with (6

bedrooms living room hall), each

villa is RO 1200, 93121111

C2 S AT U R D AY, N O V E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 4

Luxury villa in al Azaiba inside a

compound each villa contains (5

bedrooms living room dining room

car parking) each villa RO 1200,

93161111

Open space offi ces with 4 bathrooms

kitchen for each meter RO 7, 93161111

Villa in Al Mawaleh contains

(4 rooms + hall) RO 480.

Contact 93121111

Villa in Al Khoudh 7 with (5 bed-

rooms, living room, hall) for RO 600,

93121111

Shops for rent near Al Khoudh Souq

rental prices starts with RO 400,

93121111

Residential / Commercial Apart-

ments in Al Khuwair located on the

main street rental prices starts with

RO 450, 93121111

Commercial land in Al Misfah and

Al Jafnen for rent for rent starts with

4000 meter, each meter is RO 1.200,

93121111

Apartments in Al Khuwair near

Al Khuwair Souq each apartment

contains (2 bedrooms + living room)

for RO 325, 93121111

Showroom in Al Khuwair located

on the main street, 900 m, and each

meter for RO 12, 93121111

1,2 BHK in Wadi Kabir. RO 235/-, RO

300/-. Contact 97799175

For rent 2 bedrooms + hall + kitchen.

Location: South Mawaleh.

Contact 99870020

2 BHK fl at for rent in Ruwi.

Contact - 99792181

2 BHK fl at in Ghobrah.

Contact - 99792181

3 BHK fl at Ghobrah close to ISG way

– 4041, building – 4390.

Contact – 99319880

Show room on the main road Saham

center total area 450 m sq. Contact:

99366558 / 99334226

5 BHK villa in MQ near Centre point

Al Khuwair (Rent or Sale), 1 BHK fl at in

Darsait near Kims. Contact 92883001

Ground + Mezzanine fl oor suitable

for A Grade Restaurant at prime loca-

tion, MBD south. Contact 24714625 /

94460790

Deluxe 3 BHK family fl at, 4 bed-

rooms bachelors villa at Al Ansab.

Contact 98458542

4 BHK for rent in Madinat Qaboos.

Contact - 99792181

1 BHK fl at in Wadi Kabir. RO 180/-.

Contact 99376454

3 rooms, kitchen, store Rex Road

Ruwi behind Fathima Market. Con-

tact 91290464, 95490049

Big room attached bathroom,

kitchen near Sana Bldg, Wadi Kabir.

RO 125/-. Contact 95094028

Room attached bathroom, kitchen

near Kuwaiti Mosque, Wadi Kabir.

RO 200/-. Contact 95094028

An industrial land at Al Wasit of

11550 SQM for RO 900K. Contact

95330200

A 2 bedroom direct Marine view

apartment at the Wave for RO 210 k.

Contact 95330200

2 bedroom apartments available

for rent at Ghubrah near Grand Mall,

close to Atlas Hospital next to Di-

wan’s Offi ce.#99833747, 24562526

For rent two bedrooms hall kitchen,

three bathrooms balcony, complete

split units, brand new deluxe fl ats

near Seeb fl yover main road side.

Contact 97755586

New fl at, Ghala near Royal Hospi-

tal, 3 BHK, hall, split A/C, RO 425/-.

Contact 92479515

Flat for rent in Mabela near express

road rent RO 300/-. #97695450

Offi ce space (125 SQM) located in

prime area at 18 November street,

Al Azaiba. Contact 99261522

Offi ce space with cassette type

A/C’s with free internet in Al Khu-

wair near KM Hypermarket. contact

99460330

Readymade offi ce space for rent

(110 & 130SM) fully or separate, with

partition) in Bank Melli Iran Build-

ing, MBD area, Ruwi, Opposite center

point. Contact 99011352

2 BHK fl at, brand new building

Ghala, 100 SQM open space offi ces,

Ghala, 40 SQM shop in Ghala, full

furnished business Centre, small

offi ces available in Ghala, 20

SQM, 25 SQM, 2 BHK in Ruwi,

Mumtaz, Darsait, Wadi Al Kabir, Rex

Road. #93782735 / 99208033

1 BHK, 2 BHK, brand new building

in Mabelah on main road, 450 SQM,

showroom available in Mabelah,

good price. Prime location good for

any business like showroom, restau-

rant, bank, supermarket, retail shop.

Contact 93782735 / 99208033

Café Shop for Rent at Ghubrah North.

Contact 99359755

DAILY GUIDES AT U R D AY, N O V E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 4 C3

FOR RENT

BUYING/SELLING

Household & offi ce furniture and

electronic items. Contact 99834373,

97102699

Looking for purchase of Used Portable Compressor (350 CFM,

7 Bar Pressure) powered with Diesel

run Generator.

Kindly Contact 99014686 or

[email protected]

ACC. WANTED

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

Independent rooms in Qurum / Hail.

Contact 95529970

A cold store (-26 degree C) with

offi ce and temperature controlled

area is available for rent. Contact

24497570 / 99313046

Semi furnished offi ce space of 200

SQM in Al Khuwair next to Al Meera

Hypermarket is available.

Call 99313046

BHK in Al Ghubrah North include

E/W and AC split RO 280. #95811110

House in Al Azaibah, 3 rooms, 2

halls, 4 bathrooms and kitchen, RO

480. Contact 95077881

Deluxe one, two, three bedrooms

fl ats Ruwi, Darsait, MBD, Wadi Kabir,

Wattayah.#24707340 / 99472457

LABOUR CAMP Space for rent at

YETI. Contact: 99221683/92830110

Furnished / unfurnished apart-

ments available for rent on long

term /short term basis, near Vacha’s

hypermarket in Ghala. # 97677211

1 BHK, 2 BHK new building in

Wadi Kabir. Contact 99313274

1 BHK for commercial, MBD.

Contact 97799175

1 BHK, ISD RO 225/-.

Contact 97799175

Big fl at Al Azaiba near 18 November

Street, fi rst fl oor, 5 BHK, hall, living

room, AC, family only, RO 500/-.

Contact 92479515

1, 2, 3 BHK fl ats & villas.

Contact 92144045

Flat, 3 BHK, hall, Al Khuwair near

Centre point, RO 425/-, family only.

Contact 92479515

Flat, Ghubrah, 2 BHK, hall, split AC,

RO 350, family only near Beiret

Bank. Contact 92479515

1 & 2 BHK Flat in Al Khuwair 33 near

technical college. Contact 99792181

100 + 140 +180 + 200 sqr mtrs

offi ce space in Alkhuwair. Contact

99792181

1,000 sq mtrs industrial land in

Misfah Industrial area near to Khan-

co. OMR 1,500 Monthly. Electricity

and Boundary wall will be provided.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

ACC. AVAILABLE

ACC. AVAILABLE

We are dealing with sale of all beauty

salon equipments, furnitures & cos-

metics. # 942 888 61 / 942 888 63

3 fl oor building in Muttrah behind

Police. Generating income of OMR 20

Thousand annually. Neat and well

maintained. Built on 197 sq mtrs. 2

tailor shops on ground fl oor and 6

fl ats total. OMR 269 Thousand.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

Jewellery Shop for sale in Seeb

Souq. Contact 93313312

Fully furnished accommodation

for executive bachelor near Lulu

Darsait. Contact 93513986

Fully furnished room with attached

bath & sharing kitchen available

for single working lady in North Al

Ghobrah. Contact 95593795

2 BHK available, Mumtaz area,

Ruwi. Contact 99269751

Available furnished single room

with attached bathroom with shar-

ing kitchen for executive bachelor.

Contact 94478424

Bachelor sharing accommodation

available in villa, Rex Road Ruwi-

Contact- 94442157

Sharing accommodation available

for Executive bachelor near to Mut-

trah hotel. Contact 98132389

Single bedroom with attached

bathroom for executive bachelor

next to Indian School Ghobrah.

Contact 95259322

Sharing villa, large room with

kitchen, bath, dressing, Al Khuwair.

Contact 99743569, 97004265

Room for Sri Lankan, ex bachelor,

Al Khuwair. Contact 96536307

Executive bachelor in Al Khuwair.

Contact 98689559, 92125115

2BHK Flat at Old Muscat. Contact:

91393005

Shop/ Offi ce near Oman House, Mut-

trah. Contact 99233116

2 BHK villa, Mumtaz, RO 300.

Contact 97799175

2 BHK, Ghobrah, RO 300. #97799175

1 BHK Darsait commercial, RO 250.

Contact 97799175

3 BHK fl ats in Ruwi near Masjid

Sultan Qaboos.contact 99421637,

98546002

1st fl oor fl at in Amerat 4 rooms,

3 bathrooms, family hall, kitchen

with A/C. Contact 95522405

Flat/rooms for rent in Mumtaz Area.

Contact 92502241 / 92245110

Room for rent in Ruwi.

Contact 95372192

Double bedroom fl at near Wadi Kabir

Lulu# 99719471, 99639102

Flats/villas owned by ROP pension

fund available for rent in Muscat.

Contact 99349526

Flat and room for rent in Qurum near

park. Contact 99664703

Excellent fl at for rent in Ruwi,

Mumtaz Area and Al-Hail South.

Contact 98051159

1 BHK fl at near Star Cinema, Ruwi.

RO 240/-.Contact 97079146 /

95570288

For rent fl at and showroom, Al Azai-

ba, 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

Building with four fl ats near Pizza

Hut Mawaleh. Contact 99044164

Flat for rent in Wadi Kabir.

Contact 99383569

1 BHK fl at in Wadi Kabir. RO 215/-.

Contact 99358589

Small house for rent at Ghubrah.

Contact 95032152

Wanted a two Bedroom Flat in and around Ruwi Area.

Gsm 99761216

Single room need in Ruwi.

Contact 91676434

Beauty Saloon for sale in Amerat 5

Tel. 95421739

Dental clinic, well equipped for sale

in Sohar please contact immediately

92625962 / 95904234 / 9547402

Apartment in Al Khoudh with 1 BHK

for RO 35000, 93121111

Used containers for sale.

Contact 95539929

Running studio for sale at Amerat

Souq. Contact 97621737

Sadolin paint mixing machine well

maintained, not much used with

tinters, location Mabela Sanaiya.

Contact – 96473187 / 95125790

Industrial Area land in Rusayl 5000

SQM and building with 8 shops.

Contact 95490842, 99323957

Well running coff ee shop for sale in

Bausher and Al Khuwair.

Contact 94514314

Optical shop for sale.

Contact 93560765

New & Refurbished portable cabins,

Fabrication of car parks & all types of

fabric shade. Contact 94475705

Shop for sale in Al Khuwair 33 with

offi ce equipment security.

Contact 96024655

Flats For Sale in Boushar: OMR

35 Thousand 1 bedroom. OMR 45

Thousand 2 bedroom. Monthly

income 1 bedroom OMR 270 and 2

bedroom OMR 350. Tel: 99333479 or

95215360

Machines for sale: Articulated

dump trucks make: Volvo A35D (16

cum) model: 2005 & 25 ton AWM

Truck mounted crane model: 2008.

Contact 99207592, 99882570,

fax: 24593333

M.V. FOR SALE

Nissan Sunny, 1.6, 2007, fully

automatic, lady driven. Contact

99045803

Toyota Innova, 2010 model, manual

gear. Contact 968 92187371

PROTON GEN 2 FOR SALE: Manual

Gear.Good condition. Single owner.

Silver colour. 1st registered August

2009. Full insurance till Au-

gust 2015. Price OMR 1,680 Tel:

99333479 or 95215360

Toyota Innova white 2007.

Interested call: 99365361

Mitsubishi Canter model 2013 3

ton. Contact 92104057

Lexus GS300, 2006.

Contact 93218349

Mitsubishi Outlander - model

2005, silver grey, fully automatic in

excellent condition for sale.

Contact: 95867021

2013 November model Pajero,

38000 kilometers for sale. Price

negotiable. Please contact

96388496

Subaru Impreza 2.0 ltr 2000 model,

manual in super condition.

Contact: 99844601

2010 Toyota Yaris (automatic),

excellent condition.

Contact 99737879

Pajero 2013. Contact 99336093

M.V.WANTED

Required Nissan Tida / Toyota yaris

/ Suzuki swift / hyundai/Kia hatch-

back car in good condition.

Contact : 95405033

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]

Plots available. Open land and plots

for yard and labor camps available

near Naseem Garden plot size 1000-

3000 SQM. Contact :

E mail- [email protected].

GSM 99849644

Brand new split unit AC on excellent

cash rate. Contact 98458542

SHOP FOR SALE AT HONDA RD. CON-

TACT 99221683 / 92830110

Industrial Area land in Rusayl 5000

SQM and building with 8 shops.

Contact 95490842, 99323957

2 BHK available in Darsait near

Lulu RO 250/-. Contact 92383882

1 BR accommodation available at

Rex Road, suitable for bachelors.

Contact 99889590

Spacious room, separate bathroom,

sharing kitchen at Wadi Kabir,

Shell Pump rent RO 90/- & E/W RO

20/- per month for Muslim family.

Contact 97887620

Furnished single room with

bathroom, Al Khuwair area only for

ladies. Contact 96059431

*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00

noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to

space availability

DAILY GUIDEC4 S AT U R D AY, N O V E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 4

DOMESTIC HELP

MICROBIOLOGIST

BEAUTY

DRIVER

ADMIN / HR

SKILLED / UN SKILLED

FOREMAN

HOSPITALITY

SECRETARIAL

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT

MEDICAL

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANT-

EDSIT. WANTED

Require house boy having fair com-

munication skills in English with

experience in house or hotels. Age

limit required between 21 to 25 yrs

Contact 24707088,

Email : [email protected]

ADMIN/HRACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Email: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

ENGINEERS

Required light driver cum Techni-cian. Contact 92341826

Telugu Driver Wanted-#95450157

Urgently driver wanted, Omani

(private light). Contact 99173812,

Star life Co.LLC

SALES / MARKETING

Required Sales Engineer having 1-2

year experience with Oman driving

license for an Oilfi eld trading com-

pany, please send CV to

[email protected]

Urgently required Sales Execu-tives, Senior Sales Managers, Sales Promoters, 3D-AutoCAD Designer. Candidates with minimum 2 years

experience in Oman and Driving

License may only apply –

Contact: 94151791,

Email: sales @dewdropoman.com

Urgently required Sales Executive IT Company with 2 years experi-

ence, driving license preferred

[email protected]

Need a Salesman for marketing job

for printing Company. Indian na-

tionality who has the ability to work

hard and has experience of mini-

mum 3 years with Omani Driving

License. We off er attractive package.

Contact 93645550,

email: [email protected]

Require an experienced Sales Exec-utive with NOC or GCC background

for Switchgear Company.

Contact 98005224/92105554.

Email [email protected]

Wanted males/females Omanis

& expats as freelancers to conduct

Corporate & Individual Surveys in

Muscat, Batinah, Dakhliya, Salalah,

Sharqiyah, Duqum, Ibri, Buraimi

& Musandam on project to project

basis. Graduate fl uent in English,

Driving license must.

Contact 24701430

We are looking for an experienced

Building Materials Sales Executive

having valid Omani Driving License

and NOC. Please send CV by email :

[email protected]

Urgently required Sales & Mar-

keting Executive for an Engineer-

ing company, minimum 2 year

experienced, with good communica-

tion skill & driving license. Email :

[email protected]

Tourism Company looking for

marketing person, salary RO 200/- &

commission, petrol & car free. (Also

for ladies part time RO 150/-).

Contact 91272676

Reputed Perfume Company requires promoters. Please contact 95663682.

Email: [email protected]

Required Tailor. Contact 95204145

Required for leading company

– one foreman (Indian). Email :

[email protected]

Business Development cum Outlet

Manager required for reputed Asian

Franchise in Muscat. 5 to 7 years of

experience in restaurant/catering

business with 2 years in supervisory

position. Self-driven people with

pleasing personality and good com-

munication skills. Call 93977533

Reputed trading company in Mus-

cat requires Female Receptionist

(Omani) and Sales Executive (any

Nationality). Interested candidates

please send CV’s to

[email protected]

Indian B.Sc. Maths+PGDCA - well ex-

perienced, seeks suitable placement

as Commercial/Logistic Executive

or Document Controller/Customer

Service Executive; expected on short

visit by Nov. 1st Week;

Contact 99702383.


A reputed LLC in Muttrah urgently required an Accountant Assistant, 2 years experience. Those who

are interested please forward your

resume to silverworld2006@gmail.

com or contact 99364735, 91214849

Nizwa Medical Complex, located at Nizwa is looking for Gynecologist, female GP, laboratory technician preferably with MOH license. Please

email your resume to nmc919@

hotmail.com or send to P.O.Box 1236,

Nizwa, Phone: 24512323 or call Mr.

Owen 99072287 between 10-12 am

and 6-8 pm

Urgently required Omani Account-ant: Minimum 2 years experience

in accounts must be able to handle

accounts. Good knowledge of MS

word, excel, Oracle based accounting

software or any other is must. Inter-

ested candidates may send in their

CVs to Fax # 24600217 or email to

[email protected]

One of the leading Business groups

in Oman is looking for an Accountant

with 5-8 years of experience prefer-

ably in industrial parts.

Contact 99428552

Lecturers for Admin & Accounts Graduate with 4 yrs. experience,

Lecturers for English graduate with

CELTA/TEFL/TESOL minimum 4 yrs.

experience, Lecturers for IT gradu-

ate with Experience in Network &

AutoCAD. (Preference will be given

to Philippine Nationals)Arabian

Institute – Willayat Suwaiq .

Mail CV to: [email protected] ,

[email protected]

Required for a leading company: 1.Qualifi ed Accountant, salary RO

300 + accommodation, 2.English

typist, salary RO 175-200 + accom-

modation, 3.Full time driver

(light vehicles only).


Electrical Engineer, 3 yrs Gulf exp

required & plumber & electrician,

3 yrs Gulf exp required for Dubai

based Company.


Required Civil Engineer minimum

3 to 5 years experience with GCC

Driving License may apply with

details to [email protected]

Required for Al Shirawi Equipment

Company LLC, Sales Engineer with

fabrication experience, 5 to 7 years

(1 No.), experience in Tipping Trailer,

Flat bed, low bed, water tanker,

tipper. Contact 94226924

MECHANICAL/ TECH

SALES / MARKETING

Chief Accountant with 20 years

experience in reputed companies

looking for suitable placement.

Contact 97385562

Accountant / Computer expert 2 yrs

in Muscat & 2 yrs in Mumbai, NOC

available. Contact 98584498

Sr. Accountant M.Com (Finance) 14

yrs exp (1 year in Oman) in fi nance

& accounts. NOC available, immedi-

ately joining. Contact – 92404608 /

jin_75@rediff mail.com

Part Time Accounting, Accounts

Finalization, Audit Preparation,

Internal Audit, Onsite Tally Train-

ing, Onsite Training for Accountants,

Inventory Management, Feasibility

Study and Project Reports.

Contact: 96975454,


Keralite M.Com lady having 4 years

exp looking for Assistant Accountant

job. Contact 91757086

B.Sc in applied Accounts, having 6

years of working experience in Gulf

and India seeking suitable place-

ment in Accounts, Finance or Audit

Department. Contact 94551480,


Accounting & Administration, Exp,

B com, Diploma in Mass Comn.

Ph : 97931505

Indian Male, 40- Senior Accountant

looking for a job.

Contact 98753366

Accountant Indian Female, MBA

(Finance), 1.5 years experience in

Oman looking for a suitable place-

ment. Contact 97349904, Email:

[email protected]

Indian male, 28 yrs, B.Com, 6 years

Accounts experience in East Africa

seeking suitable job. 3 months visit

visa. Contact 94613626

Indian male 26 yrs B. Com

(Accountant/Payroll Offi cer) 3 Yrs

experienced in Oman seeking for

a suitable position, release & NOC

available. Contact 97803996

M. Com, well experienced, working

knowledge with Tally n ERP, present-

ly working in Oman seeks suitable

placement. Release available

Ph: 99035707.

email:[email protected]

Vacancy for staff nurse with

MOH License, capital area. Contact

99013372

Urgently required a GP doctor with MOH license for a leading

medical clinic.Contact 92008272 /

96602188

Required paed doctor Gyn doctor, dentist - assistant pharmacist. lab technician , X.ray technician staff nurse for polyclinic for Saham .

Contact:92406024 Email:

[email protected]

Private Dental Clinic in Burimi

city need a dentist have practice

license in oman Mob : 98379121

Wanted Doctor with MOH license for

a Polyclinic. Excellent salary with

accommodation and commission.

Contact 99752442,

email : [email protected]

Urgently required GP Doctor with

MOH license for one month from

15.12.2014. Contact 93824902

Urgently required a Doctor for

leave vacancy, good payment with

commission. Contact 97091664

Urgently required Dentist [email protected]

or call - 96721709

MOH licensed female nurse

required for clinic in Muscat for im-

mediate placement.

Contact 93538672

Pharmacist and Assistant Pharma-cist with MOH license are required.

Interested candidates contact

97091664 or mmcmuscat@gmail.

com. Good payment with incentives.

Urgently required Omani Administration Manager. Gradu-

ate with minimum 5 years experi-

ence good command over English

and good experience in M.S Offi ce

and computers. Should be capable

of handling Administration depart-

ment, all type of correspondence &

routine offi ce works independent-

ly. Interested candidates may send

in their CVs to Fax # 24600217 or

email to [email protected]

A/C duct man cum fabricator, A/C technician. Visa available.

Contact-95271668

Urgently required air condition Mechanical Engineer (diploma

holder) Contact no; 96407775.

Urgently required, Heavy Duty Drivers with Oman or GCC License,

Diesel Mechanics and Civil Labo-

ratory Technicians for a reputed

group. Candidates with Gulf expe-

rience may please forward their

CV’S to salesjob112014@gmail.

com or Contact GSM-99274321

for personal Interview

within 10 days.

Required Marine Mechanic with

3-5 years experience in maintain-

ing/ repairing outboard Engines

and Generators of Boat.

Email- [email protected]

Contact-24696130.

Over 14 years of Gulf experience as

Administration/HR specialist fl uent

in Arabic / English with driving

license, looking for suitable position.

Contact 95824598

Indian Male 35 Document control-

ler/Admin Assistant seeking employ-

ment for suitable position. (Release/

NOC) Available. MOB:-96345187

MBA in Material Management, 20

years experience in Gulf worked in

Admin, Stores, Inventory, Procure-

ment in charge, bilingual translator,

Arabic, English hold Omani and UAE

driving license, and release avail-

able seeks employment.

Contact 97418315

Indian female (26), B.Tech (CS),

1.6 years experience Banking sector

(Axis Bank Ltd) seeking job in pvt

fi rms/ banks in Administration/HR

/ Secretarial positions.

Contact 94525956,


currently on visit visa.

Over 15 years Oman experienced

Indian female Manager / Accounts

and Admin / Secretary.

Contact 96025193

Indian male MBA 32 yrs having

10 yrs of exp seeking suitable place-

ment in Admin/ HR/ Operations/

Coordination/ Logistics etc. Holding

valid Oman D/L .Contact - 99054786

Experience PRO Oman Male, 36

Yrs, 16 yrs experience in PRO/ HR

& Administration, Prefect English

language speaking & writing with

D/L, Seeks suitable placement,

Can join immediate. #91221773

Indian male, B.Com, 5 years Offi ce

Executive experience sector Agency

seeking job in offi ce/Company for

administration. Email : aneesh-

[email protected], currently on

visit visa. Contact 99846801

Young Omani male have experience

10 years as P.R.O , CLERK, helper

supervisor, admin supervisor, H.R

Manager have diploma in H.S.E , IT ,

and P.D.O license looking for H.R po-

sition or P.R.O part time or full time.

Contact 95933288

Indian Female, 25 yrs, B.Com Gradu-

ate, presently on visit visa having 6

yrs experience seeking good oppor-

tunity in HR Admin, HR Recruiter or

Offi ce Secretary. Contact 91762061

Indian Male, MBA 2 years experi-

ence in Admin, Sales & Accounts

looking for suitable position.

Interested in Admin Sales Marketing

Accounts. Contact 94512430

Legal adviser and consultant in

International arbitration (Egyptian

resident) legal and administrative

expertise and the Omani Labor Law

and drafting contracts. Contact

99664890

Indian Male 32 yrs( MBA-HR) 9 yrs

of Exp (GCC,AFRICA) in EPC, Diversi-

fi ed industries, Seeking Suitable

placement in HR/Admin. Currently

on visit visa, NOC available,

join immediately.

Contact 94535618

Email:[email protected]

HR & Admin Assistant, 26 yrs

Indian Male having 6Years of experi-

ence looking for suitable position.

Contact No: +968-93264616

Urgent male Omani Microbi-ologist required for leading Com-

mercial Testing Lab in Muscat.

#93351031/92982665/ 93888576

A reputed Beauty salon requires hairdressers and receptionist. Please contact 92527238

Indian Female: Bachelor in Travel &

tourism.1 year experience in ticket-

ing and 6 month in cargo (CIAL).

Looking suitable placement.

Contact 95883404

TOURS & TRAVEL

Business Development Manager, Iraqi, Experience 14 Years Inside and

outside Oman following activities:

tenders& real estate& construction &

marketing projects& investments&

transportation & Marine services&

companies management& develop

business. Contact :- 93240027

Experienced FMCG Sales person

with 20+ years knowing Oman Mar-

ket as Business Development Man-

ager with D/L. Contact 98506377

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 91722610,

email : [email protected]

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

Required salesman and tailor.

Contact 96964767

SALES / MARKETING

Indian National working in Oman

since 6 years as Assistant Manager

HR & Operations. Will get NOC and

can join immediately.

Contact No. 97648333

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

Omani female with 9 yrs exp looking

for PRO job with Oman D/L.

Contact 97917333

10 years Oman experience in Sales

and Marketing with valid D/L and

NOC available from current sponsor.

Can join immediately.

Contact 96491505

Indian male, MBA (USA) having

5 years of International experience in

Sales and Marketing.

Contact 98853309.


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]

Sales/ Marketing / customer

service release / NOC available UK

+ Oman experience valid Oman D/L,

excellent communication &

organizing skills,

can join immediately,

Email : [email protected],

gsm 92342060 /

96761225

DOMESTIC HELP


DAILY GUIDESITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

DRAUGHTSMAN

DESIGNER

DRIVER

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

EDUCATION

INFORMATION TECH

HOSPITALITY

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

MEDICAL

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

Female Pharmacist B Pharm MOH

license seeking suitable position.

Contact 91391547 / 99538357

I have 7 years experience in Nurs-

ing Field (GNM) and I have Oman

Prometric also seeking suitable job

in Hospital or Clinic or Polyclinic.

Contact 98992469, 98036216

Male Pharmacist, 4+ yrs exp with

B. Pharm degree and MOH license.

Presently on visit visa, seeking suit-

able position. #91678103, 96522803

Lab Technician, Civil (8yrs Gulf ex-

perience) looking for a suitable job

(NOC available) Contact-93344378

25 yrs Indian female M. Sc Microbi-

ology MS Offi ce 2 yrs exp seek-

ing suitable placement. Contact:

99032236 / 98049057

Indian female, 29 yrs , SENIOR

EXECUTIVE CLINICAL RESEARCH,

MSC Biotechnology & pursuing

Phd/ 4 Yrs total work experience/

on a visit visa/seeking for a suitable

placement/Contact # 95925881/


Indian lady needs placement, MSc,

pure Chemistry. Contact 96749374

Medical Laboratory Technologist,

4 years experience in UAE, Master

Degree holder. Contact 97007930

Indian Male GP with MOH License

and NOC, having 10 years of excel-

lent hands on experience in Oman

with corporate culture. #98140024


Nursing caregiver, qualifi ed Nurse/

Asst. Nurse (male/ female) medical

staff seeks placement for Hospital/

clinic. Contact 92989109 (Oman),

0091 – 9555427742 (India),

[email protected]

Telecom Engineer, Master Degree

in UK with seven years, UK, Gulf and

Sri Lanka experiences, Installation

Operations maintains and Project

Management. Presently on visit visa

looking for a telecom related role.

Contact 94626136,

Email: fi [email protected]

Mechanical Engineer with India’s

largest Construction Company,

planning, supply chain manage-

ment, operations. #99503895

Mechanical Engineer 21m Indian

fresher, seeking job, visit visa.

Contact: 99027468


Mechanical Engineer (B.E), 26

yrs, Indian Male with two years

experience as Production Engineer

in Manufacturing / Production pres-

ently on visit visa seeking suitable

placement, has good knowledge of

MS-Offi ce, MS-Project and AutoCAD.

Contact 91685141 / 93101922, email:

siddiqui.taufi [email protected]

Civil Engineer, diploma, Indian

Male, 8 years experience, Oman

Driving License with local release.

Contact 95320570,


Land Surveyor 8 years experience

5.5 in Oman known all survey instru-

ments and handle AutoCAD for call

96531364&98904134).

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

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]

Female 21 yrs, Tally 1 year experi-

ence, looking for visa. #95330720

Male 22 Housekeeping front offi ce

Hotel management degree course.

Contact 96732520

Indian Male, 36 yrs available on

visit visa, 14 yrs experience seeking

suitable placement in games devel-

opment / graphics industry.

Contact 98454245

Tunisian interior and furniture

designer, 8 yrs exp in Oman looking

for suitable placement. Local release

available (NOC). Contact 92038385

Graphic Designer for Sign Industry

(Preferably Omani National). Contact

[email protected],

fax: 24812377

Piping Design and Drafting Diploma

with AutoCAD and Mechanical

Draughtsman in oil and gas sector.

Email id : [email protected]

GSM: 94515084

Housemaid looking for job in Qurum

area. Contact No. 93623629

Civil Engineer have 6 years Site

experience in both structural and

fi nishing works in Oman. Email :

[email protected],

+968 95110820

Sudanese male, MEP Engineer, B.Sc,

3 yrs experience in Oman having

Omani Driving License looking for

job in any company.

Contact +968 99141958

Mechanical Engineer, 1.5 yrs experi-

ence with India’s largest Construc-

tion company, operations & supply

chain management, water pipeline

project. Contact 94627096

Mechanical Engineer (B.Tech),

Indian Male, with Oil Engg & Quality

Control Systems, NDT-Level 2 quali-

fi ed as per ASNT, one year experi-

ence as Site Engineer. Presently on

visit visa, seeking suitable place-

ment. # 94616033, 95147671,


Indian male, B.E Mechanical with

4.5 years Quality Control, Sales &

Marketing. Email : sherjith@yahoo.

com. Contact 94620659

Indian, M.Tech Electrical Engineer

(Female), fresher in family visa seek-

ing suitable placements in Oman.

Contact 94306164

33 years Indian female B.E Com-

puter Science currently teaching in

Secondary School seeks suitable

opportunity in school or offi ce.

Contact [email protected]

BE Civil Engineer having 9 years of

experience in construction of build-

ings & roads in Oman looking for a

suitable job. Contact 91078499

BE (Civil), Indian male, 22 years

experience (12 years in Oman) in es-

timation, planning & execution seek-

ing suitable placement. #98314531

Young man looking for a job Com-

puter maintenance software, 10

years experience, Chemical Engineer

looking for job, experience fertilizers,

water treatment and quality control.

Contact 91114624

HSE and NDT Engineer, M.Sc in

radiation protection with more than

6 yrs experience in oil and gas fi elds

“OSHA-NDTLII” 95481430

Civil Engineer with 5 years experi-

ence in various fi elds supervision,

design and geotechnical with Omani

license. Contact 97261086

Indian Female, 30 Years, B.Com, 3

years Oman experience in Bank-

ing and 5 Years India. Contact

96727030/96253400

Mechanical Engineer (B.E) - 4yrs

exp in manufacturing / production

seeking placement, on visit visa.

Contact: 93694953;


Electrical Engineer, 9 yrs experience

in Electrical Projects with Oman D/L,

NOC available, can join immediately.


Civil Engineer B.E., 5 years experi-

ence with valid Driving License,

consultancy job preference.

Contact 91693008

Project Engineer, 3 years experience

in primary substation OHL oil & gas,

AutoCAD, driving license available.

Contact 95120225, 99410588

Civil Engineer, 6+ years work

experience in Oman, valid Omani

D/L looking for suitable placement.

Contact 96936404

Sudanese Mechanical Engineer, 3

years experience (production, opera-

tion), driving license easy to transfer

immediately. Contact 91135140

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]

Indian Female, Software tester, 5 years experience in Oracle India

and Wipro Technologies having

knowledge in SQL and Data Ware-

house concepts looking for suitable

job vacancies. Contact 98605362,


Indian Female, Computer Engineer

with 14 Years of IT Experience. Dual

Expertise both in Business / System

Analyst and Project Management

role. Looking for any IT opportunity

pertaining to Business Analyst /

Project Manager / Software Quality

Assurance role.# 968 92661857


Young and energetic Indian holding

Oman driving license, having 6+

years experience in IT Industry

(4+ years in Oman) seeks placement.

Contact : 92687056, 92228414

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 communica-

tion skills looking for a suitable job

opening.# 95892587, 96265726

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.


Bangladeshi driver looking for suit-

able job, KSA 12 years + Oman

3 years experience, 42 years.

Contact 95796030

Driver looking for job.

Contact 92715713

Driver looking for job.

Contact 96964634

Indian Female, Software tester, 5

years experience in Oracle India and

Wipro Technologies having knowl-

edge in SQL and Data Warehouse

concepts looking for suitable job

vacancies. Contact 98605362,


Indian Executive L/D. Driver,

2 years exp. Contact 93078481

Indian driver looking for job, 2 yrs

exp. Contact 95151738

Bangladeshi man wants job.

Contact 97293149

Heavy driver, experience, 5 years,

nationality Pakistan.

Contact 92073175

Light motor vehicle looking for job,

3 years experience in Oman.

Contact 92117837

7 Years exp driver (Keralite).

Contact 93412587

Pakistani light driver cum sales-

man, experience, 6 yrs in Dubai.

Contact 96955798,

Email : ighaff [email protected]

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. Contact 98537756

Light driver, 3 years experience in

Oman. Contact 94453093

Sri Lankan driver looking for job.

Contact - 97387112

Light driver looking for job, 5 years

exp in Saudi Arabia + Oman 2 yrs.

Contact 96088707

SALES / MARKETING

Indian male, 32yrs b.Com, 6.5 Yrs

exp in purchase asst and store

keeper seeking suitable placement.

Contact 95318192.

Indian Male seeking Sales and

Executive Driver job have valid

Oman and UAE license. #91183634

A Graduate male looking for Mobile

Marketing job having 4 years expe-

rience in Oman & UAE with vehicle.

Interested persons please contact

94164657

Marketing Professional with 7

years Oman experience in Business

Development and ATL advertising

looking for a suitable placement.

Valid D/L Oman. GSM 93466033.

Email - [email protected],

MBA Graduate with 2 years of

experience as working as Executive

assistant in Dubai is looking for a job

(full time) other than as an Executive

Assistant / Offi ce Assistant.

Contact 91615322

Indian male, 25 years Graduate, 3

years experience in Sales in Delhi

(India) on visit seeking suitable

placement. Contact 98914220

Indian Male, 28 yrs, having 5

years experience in FMCG Sales in

visit visa, Looking for any suitable

jobs in Oman. Contact: 98531486/

98988824

Indian male, Graduate, 23 yrs on

visit visa looking for suitable posi-

tion in Sales and Marketing.

Contact 91757222,


Indian Male, Sales and Admin expe-

rience in India, 4 yrs now in Muscat.

Contact 91344706,


MISCELLANEOUS

DIETICIAN

Female postgraduate Searching

suitable Job Contact 97792820

26 years Gulf experience plumb-

ing fi re fi ghting Supervisor having

UAE D/L looking for job. Contact

97357960 / 91306037

5 years surveyor for pipe line, 8

years Construction/Projects experi-

enced Accountant, 5 years Drafts-

man to work in Salalah. Mail CV to

[email protected]

Indian male, experienced executive

secretary / Document Controller /

Admin Executive, looking for suit-

able job. Contract No. 91091963 /

99707262”

Indian male, 24 years experience

Senior Miller Flour Mills including

erection and QC, presently in India. #

00919744167051, 98657006

Sr. Procurement and logistics Ex-

ecutive with 8 years experience (in

middle east), in Oil and gas as well

as Industrial projects and an overall

16 years of total job experience

together in India and Qatar is on the

lookout for a suitable placement.

Valid GCC driving license.

Contact: 91750084.

20 years experience Division

Manager specialized in false ceil-

ing & partition in Oman. Contact

93513986

Senior Position for CA with 24

years of experience: Managing Fi-

nance, Accounts, Audit, Bank Loans,

Budgeting, Business planning, Strat-

egy, Purchase and Sale management

of group of companies. SAOG

Mobile 91799262

Indian Female Dietician with an

experience of 3 yrs looking for suit-

able opportunity. Contact 94291727

or [email protected].

Presently in Muscat.

Physical Science/Mathematics

female teacher with 6 years Indian

experience, seeking a position in a

reputed school/Institution. QUALI-

FICATION: B.Sc (Mathematics, Elec-

tronics & computer science), B.Ed

(Mathematics & English) Contact:

Kamaal. GSM: 94300026, email:

[email protected]

MSc. Chemistry Teacher (5 y EXP.)

Pakistani female looking for

a job in School/college.

Contact 96580101

Indian Male 40 yrs, Legal advisor

and coroprate in house lawyer

currently working with a reputed

legal fi rm in Muscat having 7

years gulf eperience looking for

Legal Manager post in companies.

Experience in drafting agreements,

contracts, negiotation and dispute

settlement. Good knowledge in

Oman Labour Law and other laws.

NOC available . GSM: 99137569

Indian/ male / age 43 yrs, B.Tech

(ECE) Over 20 years of hardcore

sales & marketing experience in

the services / networking industry

in both direct and channel seg-

ments presently on visit visa.

Pls. contact 94248775

Accountant BCom. 2yrs Oman

experience. NOC available. Joing

immediatley-93089367

Accountant, indian male, 31yrs,

M.com, 4 yrs experince in oman,

NOC available, Cont-93376130 ,

92398040

Accountant 3.5yrs.noc available.

joingimmediatly.mba(hr).98772358

[email protected]

Chief Accountant, M.Com + CA

articles completed.Having 5 yrs of

experience in Oman.Excellent com-

mand in IAS and IFRS.seeks proper

placement. GSM # 94387066

Welder Tig, 6g, Steel Fbrcn Gulf

Exp Ph : 93837973

MECHANICAL/ TECH

Full or part time Indian male,

Accountant, 4 years experience in

Oman, NOC available. #96799714

Indian female, MBA in HR & Fi-

nance, 3 yrs experience in Accounts

& Administration seeking suitable

placement. Contact 93685717.


Indian Female, Senior Account-

ant with 10 years experience in

Accounts, Finance, Audit & Tax Man-

agement. Contact 96263157

Part time Accountant with 19 yrs

exp in Accounting Management.

Contact 95857199

Indian Female Accountant with

1 year experience in Accounts.

Contact 98672945

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


Indian female Senior Account-

ant with 10 years experience in

Accounts, Finance, Audit & Tax

Management. Contact 96263157

Indian male 30 MBA Graduate 8

Years of Experience in Accounts &

Finance Looking for Part time Ac-

counts job like Daily 2 Hrs or in week

end holidays. Contact 97181244

Accounts part time works and fi na-

lization works. Contact 96247295

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,


Sr. Accountant up to fi nalization

looking for part time job after 5 pm

(location prefer – Qurum to

Al Khoudh). Contact 92917574

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

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

Indian male age 30 having 10 yrs

experience in Finance & Accounts

seeking suitable placement.

Contact 93675399

Indian Male, 24, B.Tech Electrical

and Electronics Engineering, 2+

years experience in Electrical fi eld,

panel board designing, electrical

AutoCAD drawings and manage-

rial skills. Contact 92181106, email :

[email protected]

Civil Engineer with exp 5 years in

construction and roads. NOC avail-

able. Contact 97646908

BS Electronic engineer, Pakistani

Male, 23, specialize in Industrial

Automation (Siemens PLC, HMI),

embedded system design & instru-

mentation looking for suitable place-

ment in Oman. Contact 96271586

Male, Indian (now in Oman),

fresher, B.E. Civil Engineer.

Contact 98907359

Mechanical Engineer, Sudanese,

3 years experience in HVAC Site En-

gineer, driving license easy to trans-

fer immediately. Contact 91135140

A Filipino National seeking for the

job Vacancy as Safety Offi cer, Fire

Engineer, Fire Inspector, Fire and

Safety Instructor. Well experienced

in Off shore and Petrochemical Plants

with an IOSH Certifi cate. Please

contact 91718309 or 26855037

Sudanese Mechanical Engineer, male, 5 yrs experience looking for

job in Oman. Contact 91762602

Civil Engineer with 8 years experi-

ence and valid Omani D/L looking

for suitable placement. Ready to join

immediately. Contact 95326194 /

99525367

Indian Male, 29 years. BCA + ITI

Electronics, 8 years experience in

Electronic service and telecommuni-

cation networking, # 98689568

Instrumentation Engineer, Indian

male having 2 years experiences

in process instruments seeks

suitable placement.

Contact 95954385

Electrical Engineer having 2 yrs

of experience, substation/ mainte-

nance seeking for suitable place-

ment. # 97698493 / 99253909

Diploma in Electronics Engineering

with 5 years experience in Oman

as Customer Service Coordinator,

Inventory Control and Indoor Sales

Executive seeks suitable job. Speaks

Arabic, English & Hindi. #95681406.

Email [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]

BE Civil Engineer, fresh graduate,

male 24 yrs, Indian looking for a

suitable placement. # 95117509

Logistics Offi cer, Gulf Experienced,

knows MS offi ce Ph : 99505934

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.


Indian Male, 25 years in Oman, FMCG business in Senior Manager

level looking for senior position.

Contact 99015946

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624





SERVICES

CLASSES

WEBSITE

WEB, ERP and Business Intelli-

gence (BI) creation and man-

agement at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

COMPUTER

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

SITUATION WANT-SERVICES

GULF INTERNATIONAL LLC

all kind of pest control. #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. # 24793614/ 99314807

For all your maintenance needs

including, Painting, Plumbing,

Electricity, Laying of Interlock

Tiles, Marbles etc. Tel: 99383574

Mr Chandran

Maintenance – A/C mainte-

nance & servicing, fridge wash-

ing machine and dishwasher

repairing, painting & cleaning

services, electrical & plumbing.

Contact 99447257 / 97014234 /

24504281

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 – #99884591

For All Your Maintenance Solutions,

A/c Servicing & Fixing, Painting,

Cleaning, Electric. Contact. 99002390

Civil Maintenance, Painting Elec-

tric, Plumbing, Decor, Tile Fixing,

Lecithin Copra Board 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

Door to Door Computers repair

specialist laptop software Website

cartridges. Contact 99199376

A.M Trading Pest control.Contact 99067923

Bus service available with experi-

enced driver on monthly basis for

2 yrs. Contract for companies only.

Contact 98605556, 92577588

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QA-

BAS- 99320217 /24788722

Split & window A/C servicing &

maintenance. Contact 93769089

Civil maintenance, Electrical &

Plumbing work. Contact 99557080 /

96236476

Part time services available for

Arabic/Quran classes or transport in

the evening. Contact 92567848

Electrical Plumbing Painting

Contract and Maintenance.

Contact 98456535

Waterproofi ng, light weight Screed,

Antitermite and MS Fabrication.

Contact 92888337

Part time services available for

Arabic / Quran classes or transport

in the evening. Contact 92567848

Contract general cleaning for of-

fi ces. Ocean Center LLC - 99344723

Split & window unit AC servicing &

repairing. Contact 99557080

Window & split unit AC servicing &

maintaining. Contact 96236476

Civil maintenance, electrical &

plumbing work. Contact 99557080,

96236476

Pest Control and cleaning best

services – 1. Cockroach, ants, etc, 2.

Tiles cleaning, marbles cleaning,

fl oor cleaning, and carpet cleaning.

Contact 92108447, 99666505

Pest control service, bed bugs,

cockroach, termite, snake

RA+Rodent and all insects. Contact

95084939, 97914212

Key locked in Car or lost your house

keys. Help available anywhere

anytime. Save this number!! -

99414506

Catering services We do industrial

catering service, Canteen/ mess,

3 times packed meals,

and all types of catering events.

Contact 92188777/ 99249899

Painting Interlock plumbing

maintenance. Contact 92142319

For HT cable jointing and

termination works 33KV/11KV.

Contact 99056438 /


Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile pol-

ishing, pest control & anti-termite

treatment, general cleaning paint-

ing, Plumbing, Electrical, shifting.

Contact Mundhir Al-Rizaiqi trad-

ing. L.L.C. # 24810137, 99450130

Water proofi ng ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

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

We provide all heavy duty

equipment, 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.

Contact 99839898

Window & split unit A/C servicing

& maintenance.

Contact 96236476

*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00

noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to

space availability


DAILY GUIDESITUATION WANTEDCARGO

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with

Buffet, & Land Tours

Al- Ainain Marine Tours Contact-

98029602, 92808636

TOURS

RENT A CAR BUSINESS

Coff ee shop business partner

required in Muscat. Contact

94542865

Increase your income on

commission basis with our land-

scaping & gardening services

provided for big, small projects &

maintenance contracts.

Contact +968 99242207

Email: bestgardens.om@gmail.

com

We assist in new business set up

local sponsorship, real estate ser-

vices, assist in company formation

services. Contact - 93166088

NRI

Learn Driving from professional

instructors. Contact 94022250

Driving School, automatic.

Contact 92245110

Learn driving automatic from

scratch. Contact 98599675

DRIVING

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation. Contact 98621075





Transportation available car with

driver. Contact 98475141

Transport. Contact 99664703

Transportation for women only from

Muscat area only.

Contact 97007934 / 92629232

Transportation available. #95068976

Transportation available driver with

car-Muscat. Contact 97361454



Transportation. Contact: 97897833

Transportation Available #97180655

MANPOWER

Housemaid , driver/operator (heavy & light Gulf D/L), house boy, cleaner, all skilled and un-

skilled categories process, (embassy

agreement and immigration).

Contact 95175192, EMAIL.

[email protected]

GOOD NEWS

Ayurvedic treatment for joint

pain, backache, paralysis, mas-

sage, steam bath, obesity, spondy

hills, ideal care Ayurvedic Clinic, 18

November Street, Azaiba. Contact

99639695 / 99117987

Ayurvedic treatment for backache,

paralysis, arthritis etc & massage,

All Season (Vaidyaratnam).

Contact 24475280 / 95371554 /

92504980 , www.siddhayur.com

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to know

more about Islam, please call:

99425598, 96050000, 99353988,

99253818, 99341395, and

99379133. For ladies: 99415818,

99321360, 99730723

Orvisit: www.islamfact.com

MATRIMONIAL

Kerala Nair girl, 28 years M.Tech

seeks suitable alliance.

Contact 91790746

A north Indian Muslim family

seeks alliance for their son, 26 yrs

old, MBA, a Businessman.

Contact 96176446

Mumbai based Keralite (Dheevara),

40 yrs male working in Oman since

3 yrs looking for suitable alliance.

Contact 93627279

38 years undergraduate Graphic

Designer, own business, alliance from

girls of any Christian denomination.

Contact 91296049 after 5.30 pm

Keralite Male, 178 cm, 26 years old,

Christian Marthomite working is

workshop foreman in Al Khoud look-

ing for suitable alliance.

Contact 92118245

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

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

Indian Doctor, Businessman look-

ing for working lady in Oman for

marriage, any nationality, Muslim

preference self. Contact 96290792

Hindu, Brahmin – Iyengar boy, 36

yrs working as Service advisor in a

reputed company looking for Brah-

min Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Iyer /

Iyengar girls. Language no problem.

Contact 99786274 – Brother

NRI

9 Cents of residential vacant land in

Valencia for immediate sale.

Contact [email protected] of

92034072

1750 SQ FT. Newly built house in 8

cent plot for sale Near Vadakkencher-

ry, Alathur, Palakkad District, Kerala.

Contact: [email protected]

14 cents land with 2 HK house for

sale near Kakkanade Collectorate at

Cochin. Contact 968 92682970

For Astrological consultation, Jathakam. Contact: 99860435 /

97102599

2 BHK fl at for sale in Bangalore,

Hebbal. Contact 96263157

Villa for sale 2200 sq ft in 8 cent.

Kottayam. Contact: 92652534

Party booking & sugges�ons 99320065, 99341643

Indian, Arabic, Chinese dishes, Buffet Lunch

(On Friday)Indoor & Outdoor, Catering, Party hall

availableTake Away & Home Delivery






Times of Oman - November 15, 2014

Documents

damaged roads

rop offi cial

secondary roads

damages roads

muscats roads

used roads

overloaded trucks

control system