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Oman state power firm to take over Dhofar Power

July 28, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

July 27 (Reuters) – Oman’s state-owned Electricity Holding Co., majority shareholder of Dhofar Power Co. DHP.OM, will offer a 25-percent premium to buy the remaining stake in the firm, Dhofar said on Tuesday.

Electricity Holding, which has a 69.42 percent stake in the company, plans to buy the outstanding shares in the third quarter for 2 rials per share, valuing the stake at 5.52 million Omani rials ($14.34 million).

Dhofar Power shares closed at 1.6 rials on Monday.

The deal will be completed by the end of September, Dhofar said in a statement to the Muscat bourse.

Dhofar planned to kick off a 200 million rial, five-year expansion plan this year, centered on its transmission and distribution operations. [ID:nLG341013]

The power company said in November it was looking to its majority shareholder to help fund the expansion and warned income would be hit by higher borrowing costs related to the plan.

Dohar Power had a first-quarter net profit of 650,000 rials, down from 940,000 rials in the same period in 2009.

(Reporting by Saleh al Shaibany; Editing by Jason Neely)

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Pak man with batteries, electrical circuit hidden in shoes arrested at Karachi airport

May 10, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Karachi, May 10 (ANI): A suspected bomber was arrested at the Jinnah International Airport here after batteries and electrical circuits were found concealed in his shoes after a thorough check-up following a scanner alarm.

The man identified as Faiz Mohammad, 30, was scheduled to board a Thai International Airlines flight, No TG-507 for Muscat, The Nation reports.

Confirming the arrest, an airport security force official said Mohammed, who holds a diploma in civil engineering, was apprehended while he was being scanned at the airport before boarding the flight. The scanner sounded an alarm following which a suspicious object was detected hidden in his shoes.

During physical frisking, a device, fixed to his shoes, was recovered, which included four live batteries and a circuit with a switch, the official said.

Initial investigations have revealed that Mohammed hails from Manshera region of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and was employed in a construction company in Muscat.

He had returned to Pakistan to get his visa renewed. (ANI)

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Four Nepali women being sent to Muscat detained at Gorakhpur

September 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Gorakhpur, Sept 19 (ANI): Volunteers of a social service organisation and the personnel of the Anti-Human Trafficking Cell of Uttar Pradesh Police at Gorakhpur detained four Nepalese women.

Reportedly, as per the statement of the women who were taken into custody at the Gorakhpur Railway Station, they were intending to go to Muscat.

These women had entered India through the Sanauli border post.

Although all the four women had their respective passports with them, only two of them could show their endorsed visas for Muscat.

“Our team visited the railway station along with a Nepali counsellor. When she saw these women and spoke to them, they gave some wrong information, which in turn sounded fishy and made us to suspect something was amiss. When we asked them where they were heading, initially they said Oman and again changed their statement saying, New Delhi. When our counsellor asked them for their passports, some said they had it while others said they didn’t. So, we found them suspicious,” said Gyan Kumar, co-ordinator, Maanava Sewa Sansthan, Gorakhpur.

Amidst such confusing utterances by the women, the police believe that one of the women named Dilmaya was trying to send the other three to Muscat by bringing them from Nepal.

She claimed that they were going to Muscat because they had their relatives residing and working there.

“These people held us for interrogation. We asked them either to let us go to Nepal or else allow us to go to Muscat. We have our relatives there,” said Dilmaya.

A couple of months ago, police officials of Gorakhpur had detained five women who were allegedly being trafficked to Gulf countries for flesh trade.

Reportedly, a pimp was escorting these women to Mumbai from where they were to be sent to certain destinations in the Middle East. (ANI)

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Jet Airways, Kerala Tourism announce the launch of ‘Jet2Kerala’

May 13, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kochi, May 13 (ANI): As part of its ongoing effort to boost tourism within India, Jet Airways and Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, have announced the launch of ‘Jet2Kerala’, a new domestic travel initiative at the Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai.

Jet Airways and Kerala Tourism, two super brands, will leverage their respective brand equities to boost tourist traffic into ‘God’s Own Country’.

With its stunning natural beauty and rich cultural heritage, be it the sandy beaches of Kovalam, blue Lagoons at Veli, hill stations at Munnar, backwaters of Kollam and Alappuzha, spice plantations in the high ranges of Wayanad, wildlife, high mountain peaks, picturesque valleys, magnificent forts and intricately decorated temples, Kerala has emerged as arguably the leading travel destination in India.”

The package offers travelers unmatched pan-India connectivity from all major parts of the country to three key cities in Kerala – Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode.

Travelers can enjoy a range of accommodation options to suit every budget- from luxury properties to budget hotels and houseboats.

According to Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, said, “Jet Airways has always sought to promote tourism both internationally, as well as within India, by leveraging its unmatched pan-India and growing international network.

We are delighted to partner with Kerala Tourism to launch our new ‘Jet2Kerala’ initiative, as part of our ongoing efforts to boost domestic travel and tourism. We are confident that the compelling value proposition on offer will spur more travelers to visit Kerala this year.”

Dr. V Venu, Secretary (Tourism), Government of Kerala, said, “Kerala has been positioned as an upmarket and high quality international destination. Despite the challenges posed by the global economic downturn, the international tourist arrivals continue to be impressive, with a 16.11 per cent increase in visitors in 2008.

The new Kerala packages will further complement the range of exciting domestic and international JetEscapes holiday packages already on offer by the airline.

International travelers to and from Kerala may connect onto Jet Airways’ daily, direct services to Kuwait, Doha and Muscat in the Gulf, as well as to several destinations in North America, Europe, Asia and the Gulf via the airline’s three international gateway cities in India – Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.

Kerala Tourism has won several prestigious international and domestic awards for its outstanding work in promoting tourism in Kerala. It is acclaimed as ‘one of the ten paradises in the world’ by the National Geographic Traveler. By Juhan Samuel (ANI)

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Pakistan to resist shifting of Davis Cup tie to Manila

March 13, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Mar 13 (ANI): Pakistan has vowed to resist any attempt to shift their Davis Cup tennis home tie against Philippines to a neutral venue or Manila over security concerns.

The Philippine Lawn Tennis Association reportedly made the request in a letter to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) citing the March 3 militant attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, as reason for shifting the venue.

Philippines is scheduled to play Pakistan in Asia Oceania Group II on July 10-12 in Lahore, The News reported.

Pakistan Tennis Federation president Dilawar Abbas said any attempt to shift the tie would be refused.

“We are writing a letter to ITF in which we would demand that the tie should be played in Lahore, Pakistan because the venue would also have accommodation for the players and there would be no risks involved,” Abbas told a foreign news agency.

“Cricket and tennis has lots of difference, the spectators are in hundreds as compared to thousands in cricket, and since it’s an indoor sport security would be easier and complete,” Abbas added.

An international squash event, due to be staged next month in Pakistan, was cancelled while New Zealand hinted it would not send its cricket team to Pakistan for the November-December series this year.

Last month Pakistan was forced to relocate their home Davis Cup tie against Oman to Muscat after their rivals raised security concerns. (ANI)

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Philippines wants Davis Cup tie to be moved to Manila from Pakistan

March 13, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Manila, Mar 13 (ANI): The Philippine Lawn Tennis Association has asked Davis Cup organizers to move the July regional playoff against Pakistan from Lahore to Manila due to fears of its players being attacked.

PLTA vice president Randy Villanueva cited the March 3 attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore, which killed six police officers and a driver and injured several players, as evidence of the risk for sports team visiting Pakistan.

“We asked them to be moved here to the Philippines because of the safety of our players and because of recent events in Pakistan, especially the cricket team of Sri Lanka getting attacked,” The News quoted Villanueva, as saying.

The association was awaiting a response from the International Tennis Federation, which shifted last week’s Pakistan-Oman tie to Muscat from its original venue in Lahore. (ANI)

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Fog disturbs normal operations at the Indira Gandhi airport

January 19, 2009 By Rajesh Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Jan 19 (ANI): Six flights were delayed and thirty cancelled at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday owing to zero visibility conditions and dense fog.

An Air India flight from Delhi to Muscat was diverted to Jaipur around 3:15 a.m. when the general visibility was zero and the Runway visual range (RVR) was 100 metres.

The runway visual range was 75 metres for new runway (29/11) and 100 metres for the main runway (28/10), around midnight when the visibility became minimal.

The visibility became better after 6 a.m. increasing to 100 metres and RVR to 500 metres.

However, the visibility dipped back to ‘zero’ at 7:30 a.m. while the RVR kept constant at 275 metres. Some flights even operated on the expensive CAT3 B conditions.

Earlier on Sunday, fifteen flights were cancelled. Over 50 were delayed, while 23 other flights were diverted.

Due to the fog, a startling 900 flights have been delayed and 150 cancelled since December 29 at the IGI airport. (ANI)

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PM to leave for Oman, Qatar on three-day visit today

November 8, 2008 By Rajesh Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Nov 8 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is leaving for a three-day visit to Oman and Qatar on Saturday afternoon.

The Prime Minister will be accompanied by a high level delegation. On the first leg of his visit Dr. Singh will hold talks with the Sultan of Oman, Qaboos Bin Al-Sayed, and other leaders on various issues.

This is the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Qatar.

Energy security and welfare of Indian citizens in the Gulf region will be high on the agenda of talks between Dr. Singh and leaders of Oman and Qatar.

During the visit, expansion of economic partnership, cooperation in the transport sector and joint ventures will figure prominently in the discussions.

Some memorandums of understanding (MoU) are also expected to be signed relating to cultural exchanges between the two countries besides standardizing the commerce guidelines.

In the second leg of his visit, Dr. Singh will meet the Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, and other representatives on Sunday and the day after. They will discuss strengthening the mutually beneficial cooperative frame work to realize the special vision for the bilateral relationship.

On the eve of his departure to Muscat, Dr. Singh suggested that India can leverage vast surplus funds in the Gulf region for its development needs in the back drop of current global financial crisis.

Dr. Singh in a statement said he will be discussing issues related to the safety and welfare of Indian citizens working in Oman and Qatar with the leadership there.

He also said that he will have detailed discussions on the bilateral relations with the leadership of Oman.

While talking of his visit to Qatar, Dr. Singh said New Delhi attaches great importance to its ties with it and Doha is one of the largest and most reliable suppliers of India”s energy needs from the region. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Amir of Qatar, cooperation in the transport sector, economic partnership, Indian citizens in the Gulf region, Indian Prime Minister, Muscat, New Delhi, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani