BlackBerry fate in Kuwait uncertain

Ever since the BlackBerry technology took the world by storm back in 2002, talk has been going on about its advantages and disadvantages in terms of human social communication and interaction.

With advocates of the device considering it "groundbreaking," other more conventional audiences envisage it as yet another nail in the coffin of tangible human contact. Meanwhile, here in the Middle East region and especially the Arabian Gulf area nowadays, BlackBerry is such a controversial issue, chiefly due to the area's innate traditions and lack of adequate regulation on use of the device, from the point of view of the authorities.

In Kuwait, the Ministry of Interior is eyeing the option of stopping the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service, and a decision to this effect might be issued in the near future, according to a number of local media reports.

These reports said the ministry is considering the ban due to the fact that the service cannot be controlled by the Ministry of Communications or security authorities and hence, users of BlackBerry sets were taking advantage of the situation to spread rumors and call for strikes.

The three telecommunications companies in Kuwait, meanwhile, said they had not received any official request from the Interior Ministry so far relating to the service.

A fresh user of the service, Musaed Al-Mathkour did not think that BBM would be banned, arguing the decision is "too difficult" to implement.

Al-Mathkour told KUNA that in the era of globalization, banning certain services because of public abuse would not solve the problem, as there are, and will be, other alternatives that might have even greater risk for society should they be sought for the wrong reasons.

"It is a double-edged sword; you can use it for good or bad, just like any other device or object. Some BBM users are 'addicted' to it, but with time, all withdrawal symptoms would go away, should the ban take place," he said with a smile.

Au contraire, Wadha Al-Deewli, a veteran user of the service, said she cannot imagine life without "my" BBM, as she told KUNA that the first thing she does after waking up in the morning is to check her Blackberry for any fresh news or even rumors.

Should the ban be imposed, Al-Deewli said that she would be compelled to channel her BBM addiction either back to the regular internet or to other similar technologies.

As of April 9, 2010, the Kingdom of Bahrain imposed a ban on BlackBerry sharing of local news, saying that users needed an official license. The Culture and Information Ministry there said in a statement that the decision was taken to avoid "confusion and chaos." Meanwhile, in the stricter and larger Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has ruled out banning the conflict-ridden messenger service, arguing that there was no reason to do so if only a minority had abused the facility.

In Pakistan, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has also banned the use of all BlackBerry services "until further notice." In addition, some 450 sites including Twitter and other social networks have been banned by the PTA. This is all on the backdrop of the massive Facebook ban due to the 'Everybody Draw Mohammad Day' that caused serious uproar in the Muslim country.

The BlackBerry is a line of mobile e-mail and smart-phone devices developed by Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM). While including typical smart-phone applications, the BlackBerry is primarily known for its ability to send and receive e-mails wherever it can access a mobile network of certain cellular phone carriers. It commands a 20.8-percent share of worldwide smart-phone sales.

Source: http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20100528102719/BlackBerry%2520fate%2520in%2520Kuwait%2520uncertain,%2520authorities&ei=Fs8ATJH6I6He6AO279mSCQ&ct=np&whp=3547

Ph.D. in Dream is now a reality

If a well-known Saudi dream interpreter gets his wish, you'll soon be able to get a Ph.D. in your sleep. Yusuf al-Harthy, with the help of an unnamed Arab university, plans to start up an institute offering degrees in explaining dreams and visions. "Dream interpretation is by nature a way of counseling a person," said Harthy

Source: http://slashdot.org/palm/28/10/05/03/1650222_1.shtml

Gulf sisters get short end of business stick

Gulf sisters get short end of business stick: "

In some Gulf countries women aren’t allowed to work in specific government jobs or hold senior ranks in public office. In other, more liberal, countries they have become chief executive officers of privately owned businesses and a force to be reckoned with. However, one area where the rights of girls in the business world can be compromised is with regards to inheritance in family businesses.

In the past decade or so many of the Gulf family businesses founders have passed away, and some companies have adapted better than others to the change. Some firms have even prepared for it in advance knowing that the patriarch was in ill health. In too few times did the patriarch lay foundations for his departure and even less have stepped down in their life time to “manage the shift”. In the worst-case scenario, brothers, some of whom can be from different mothers can be bogged down for years on end in court trying to sort out inheritance maters. In other times the male siblings are close and a smooth transition to the second generation of ownership is seen.

However, one side that is almost never highlighted is the issue of female inheritance. While it is very rare for girls to be left out of the inheritance equation altogether, and do receive a share in the vast majority of amicable settlements, sometimes they are not given a choice to inherit equity in the family business and are expected to be settle for an equivalent amount in cash. In other cases a woman’s shares are valued at a specific amount and she is given an asset such as a building or villas of equivalent value and compensated for the difference in value.

It is not uncommon for women to work in the family business, with the exception of those who are self-employed, engaged in other work, or choose to be housewives. Sadly, in some cases, even if woman is qualified she may not be allowed to work in a family business while her less qualified brothers are given that opportunity. The logic behind this seems to be that should a girl inherit shares in a company and legally becomes a shareholder, if she is married to someone from outside 'the family' then the shares would go down to the offspring of that couple, who are not seen to be from the 'original' family business.

This may go back to a question of what defines a family. Are one’s nephews from a bother closer to one's nephews from a sister? Does a woman still have 'loyalty' to her family if she is married? These assumptions may seem trivial but they do play a part in the minds of family businesses across the Gulf. In fact, in the next five to ten years it is expected that $500 billion in inheritance will be passed from one generation to the next as the founders pass on. This large amount of money will certainly be a cause to either bring people together or set them apart. And in some cases, the women won’t have a say.

But what can be done to safeguard the inheritance rights of women in the Gulf?

To avoid a situation where the potential male dominance in a family business negatively affects the daughter’s equity, a father can write the shares in his daughters' names during his lifetime. He must make sure that it is done in accordance with the law and have the papers authenticated by the courts. Preferably, the father can employ a lawyer to make sure that his daughter’s rights are safeguarded in case of his departure.

As in the case of young boys, a guardian can be assigned to protect a young girl's inheritance until she has reached adulthood. This guardian will have the right to sign on her behalf but must not be given the right to sell her shares or use them as collateral or sign this authority away to someone else. The father can also create a trust that is based offshore or in one of the more advanced financial free zones in the Gulf such as Dubai, Bahrain or Qatar. Unfortunately, not all Gulf States recognise trusts yet, while some assets can only be owned by a locally registered firm or even in an individual’s name.

The truth is that the mentality of not allowing females to own family business shares is not exclusive to the Gulf. Other regions in the developing world and some in the developed world, also find ways to discriminate against female inheritance. This should not be seen as a matter of gender rights; it is, in reality, a basic human right.

*This article first appeared in Gulf Business magazine, December 2009 issue

"

Man flies from Saudi Arabia to India hiding in plane toilet

Man flies from Saudi Arabia to India hiding in plane toilet: ": An Indian national who wanted to return to his native village from Saudi Arabia found an easy and cheap way to travel home. He locked himself up in the toilet of an Air India plane. Habib Hussein, 26, from Moradabad district in the northern state of"

Maid Charged with Adding Menstrual Blood to Food

In a bizarre attempt to improve her relationship with her employer, an Indonesian maid has appeared in a Hong Kong court accused of adding menstrual blood to her employer’s food. Things are not, however, as they seem for Indra Ningsih, aged 26.

Indra mixed menstrual blood into a pot of vegetables as a sort of guaranteed panacea for improving relations between herself and her employer.

It makes a little more sense if one considers that in some Asian cultures, menstrual blood is thought to have special powers.

Whether true or no, she has been charged with one count of “administering poison destructive or noxious substances with intent to injure” according to the media. She has not yet entered a plea.

The noxious action was discovered completely by chance. Her female employer whose surname is Mok happened to enter the kitchen to her home and noticed the maid acting rather strangely. She caught her throwing something into the trash bin, which turned out to be a used sanitary napkin. When she looked into the pot of vegetables, she noticed something “suspicious” floating around mixed with the vegetables and water. Indra had no excuse except to say that things had been bad between her employer and herself, and she hoped to improve things. Well, Indra, not likely.



Reference Link for the article http://adjix.com/cuh9

For Everyone's Boss- Valid till Recession

Beside the hilarious illustration, an Omani Acting Sub/Lieutenant Saud bin Ali Al Tamtami of the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO), has honorary been awarded the Queen Award and the British Navy Award. Al Tamtami has also bagged more prizes an awards during his studies including Navigation Award and Award of the French Academy for Navigation and Marine Arts.


About cybercrimes, The Police Central e-crime Unit raided addresses in London suspected to be part of an European cybercrime operation.


Re-Twitter @kishorcariappa: Oman sets rules for pet walking. http://tinyurl.com/dhr3gp, which I found it odd and illogical for walking pats between 10AM and 3PM in such hot climate. Is it a way or a sign for discourage people especially expatriates to own dogs, People are talking about it too in Omanforum, a local forum under the 'Dog Walking in Oman'.


Another Re-Twitter @kishorcariappa: How bloggers are making money. http://is.gd/s7e4.

Clean up day

Monday, was a day for me to clear up my inbox (email) from all the junk mails & forwarding from friends and co-workers.

I managed to delete nearly 1000 mails, which weren't relevant to work and some of them I sent it to my personal email in order to post it at my beloved journal to share it with you.

At some point I wanted to keep some of the religious mails but I felt its been there for over a year and I won't read it.


I attended an advanced related course from Tuesday to Thursday, which was good for me, had brainstorm of some ideas related to work.


Friday, as a day I went to have lunch at my Auntie's place and had a good time with my cousins, I joined them later in the evening for coffee at the The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Al Bahja mall, the first outlet in Oman.

Most of the people used to go to Al Bahja mall because of the movie cinema and kids play section, but since last year when Costa Coffee opened it's outlet, more people started going. Now many people are expected to go, they need more proper restaurants, i mean beside fast food franchises.


After coming back from the mall, the movie 'Freedom Writers' on DVD. It's a good movie, which inspired me too, they fought their battle and changed their lives by writing and how a teacher helped them to get it over with it and supporting them to reach their dreams.

Their dreams became reality via 'The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them' , and I will go and look for the book if it's available in the local bookstore or in the neighborhood country or I'll order it online.

The movie has inspired me to read and write. I'm trying to write more positive way.


Few months ago, I came across wonderful online journal known as Hegab Rehab, which the author mostly post about the styles of Hegabs /Hejabs and accessories for Muslims women wear it and known part of Muslim woman dress code. Another journal 'Chasing Jannah', which is written by a Muslim woman.


The Omani community has been promised for the past few months that one of the most popular fast food franchise, known as Burger King will be back to operate in Oman. Up to now, the reserved space is empty and no signs of it's going to exists. Read more about it here were trying to figure out why it was closed at the first place.


The 'dark side of Dubai' brought you by UAE community blog.

Yes, I made a mistake

Two incidents happend to me yesterday, I learnt something from it, I learnt to accept my mistakes & admit it as well as confrunt & apologise to whom it consurned. I also learned who really genuine & who is not.

The Aunty Zahra called me in the morning, told me that I didn't inform her I was picking up Salma despite she doesn't have any objection to for Salma to be with me, I apologized to her and admited for my irrisponsible action and asured her it won't happen again, she justified her reasons for telling me that and I agreed with her, I respect her more then ever that she didn't waste the time and called me within less then one hour since I picked up Salma, I aknowledge her careness.


Another incedint happend in the evening of the samr day while I went to visit one of my relatives. I walked in the room and greeted two people (thier grade are as my parents) out of three and I didn't reaise I didn't greet the third person (whose like my sister) and walked out of the room.

It seems the 1st & the 3rd persons commented about my action towards the third person. So the 2nd person told them that she will talk to me when she sees me, they refused but she insisted.

The 2nd person called me later at night and told me about my action, I told her I didn't realise that and apologised as I didn't mean to ignore or disrespect the 3rd person and she understood and accepted my version of the story as saw how I looked while greeting her. I was shocked that no one had alart me at the same moment or tell me what I did was wrong by confronting me at the same time.

The above incidents made me realised how simple action can be positively or negatively been translated by people.


Note: Names are not real, it has been changed to protect people's privacy.


From Global news, today, people globally celebrating 'Earth Hour', it's an ECO friendly hour, the world switch off their lights, i.e. no using electrisity for one hour, which means no light polution for one hour. Correct me if I am wrong, from 8:30 PM to 9:30PM and some not all cities are perticipated in this Eco event.

On 21 of March

A day or a date can be an ordinary day for some people but others are can be special as an event or birthday or anniversary, etc.

Today, 21 March 2009, is a momerable day or a milestone for National Day Bank of Oman, as it unveiled it's new logo, thanks to Kishor Cariappa, has posted an article about it under the title 'National Bank of Oman gets new logo'.

Arround 6:45 pm Oman Timing, their website was revealed with the new logo. Most of their branches are/been renovated for embracing the new corporate identity.

Beside that, today is Mother's day.

What do you think about it?

Lazy to write

I want to share with you'll allot of things, but too lazy to type. I'll push my self to write what been happening arround me since last Feb 2009.

Ok, let me start about one of my weekends dated back to the midnight of 20th Feb, my phone alarm rang, I woke up (jumbed out of my skin) and picked up the phone, a reminder showed up 'Baba's birthday' I vividly smiled and read Surat Alfatihah for his soul and went back to sleep. At the evening, my sister and I were driving down town and we started recalling my late dad's gesture and his unforgettable sentences. God bless his Soul.


On 24th of Feb, the next weekend, I went with my sister, cousin and her niece who is one and half years of age, to one of international Pizza franchise, the girl who was trying to imitate her Aunt my eating with fork but couldn't pick up the salads with it, ends up removing the napkin from arround her nack, stating rebalient against aticate (she is a kid), but she made my day with her smile.


My last weekend was on 5th of March, my cousin got married, as the Aqd or religious marriage ceremony was at the Masjid been held by the men. I cried when I got the message from her brother that its over she became offically 'Mrs' and ended the lifecylce of 'Miss'. I called and wished her then met her at the saloon with the rest of the female members.

Wedding reception took place in the evening and everyone looked outstanding specially my sister and I. The brideamaids looks good too and managed well despite one day rehearsals or in the correct words few hours only.


I was planning to get the BB Bold, but the it was out of stock in all the stores of my mobile operator. I've changed my plans to get one until the 2nd half of the year, as I need to spend my money on something more importent.


One day, I drove to an offsite ATM machine, my sister got down and when she came back, she was laughing, she said "Also the mutawa flirt with Nasheed," it turned out a religious man who had long beard was flirting in a religious way.


Friendi Mobile will soon be on air in Oman, now the booking for numbers for free is available via friendimobile.om and various locations since 09-Mar-09, but the site booking has been a problem for too many visitors. I tried several times since 09-Mar-09 to book for one, but no luck, too many technical problems.

However, the CEO of Friendi Mobile been communicating with people via the local forums, such as English Sabla and Omanforum, I thank Muscati and arun for informing me about it via Twitter.


UAE may follow to ban YouTube after Pakistan in February 2008 and Bangladesh 1st week of March 2009.


The world Celebrating Birth of the Prophet Muhammad (ASW), which occurs in Rabi' al-awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar, and defer from one country to another depending on the visibility of moon and when the new Islamic calander started.


That's all for now.

I'll try to keep updating you'll as soon as I am free to type.

Lost with movies

I have some bits and bytes to share it with you'll thanks to different sources I refer too.

Movies watched in theatres January - February 2009

• Asif Ala Alezaaj (Arabic)
• The Tale of Despereaux (English)
• Seven Pounds (English)
• Slumdog Millionaire (English)
• Billu (Indian)

I lost interest in watching movies as I get board quickly or the events are too slow. It’s not catchy despite the script and performance is good/ outstanding. I feel I could do more things then sitting for 1hr 30mins to 3hrs 30min in front of the screen.

New Drugs
Drug addicts in Iran fiund a new drug, which is less costly comparing to opium, heroin and hashish, the new drug are Toads.

Why Toads are cheep? They say, they can raise them at home and most of the addicts are jobless.


Teddy Stoddard
Today, I found an email been dropped off by my friend titled 'Nice Story', its about Teddy Stoddard who was a troubled boy and the teacher who turned his life around and became DR. Theodore F. Stoddard, M.D.

It turned out, Teddy Stoddard or DR. Theodore F. Stoddard, M.D. is fictional character, but the story is wide-spread in different languages thanks to the internet revolution.


Train Ride
Three year old kid dorve the train for half an hour in NewYork and passed 7 stations before he was stopped.


Who's Birthday today?
Times of Oman, an Omani English newspaper celebrates its 34th birthday, the other side, UAE national blogger Osama celebrates his 5th year of bloggering his Osama.ae.


'SmartRoamer'
Qatar Telecom launches 'SmartRoamer' for Nawras customers as well as other Qtel Group customers. The 1st phase within the five AGCC states (excluding Bahrain) single rate to call back home and discounts in other services.


New blogs
I came acroess several Arabic and English blogs, from Oman and arround the world. I will post some of them when I get time.

Bits any Bytes

I like to share with you'll illustration video about the Credit Crises in short and simple @ crisisofcredit.com, share it with others.

News from Middle East, Dubai is in Credit Crises and loosing it's status by refusal to issue an entry visa for Israel's Shahar Pe'er and they are been fined USD 300K, USD 44K will go to Pe'er.

News from South Asia, Indian infant is married to a dog.

News from central North America, based on researchers from the University of Minnesota, Coffee may prevent heart disease in Women. 9-year-old love guru author reveals secrets of picking up girls through “How to Talk to Girls”.

News from North Africa, Egyption women accept jobs as ladyguards (bodyguards) to protect celebrities and business personalities.

From round the world

• If you are "overweight” air hostesses, get ready to be sacked. That what happened to Air India's air hostesses.
• My old college, Christ College at Bangalore - Karnataka state of India, affiliated to Bangalore University, became on July 22, 2008 Christ University. As I recall, they have been working maybe from 1997 or before that to become a university. The lecturers were sent to USA for training and attachments to prepare for the transaction.
• I just found out that a first private Omani TV channel to be known as Majan TV, which will be live on 1st Feb 2009, and the website will be Majan-TV.com, which means new jobs, new pulse, and above all freedom of speech. Did I say that? I am kidding.
• My luck with Eseries mobiles, I have changed from Nokia E65 to E61i, both are gifts.

Hot Dog Toaster/ Palestinian Holocaust Museum

While, I as watching TV, I’ve heard the word ‘Hot Dog’ and decided to search for information about it.

So I started to wikipeding, while doing that I found out that there is an invention so called ‘Hot Dog Toaster’.

I never knew that such invention/ appliance exists as I never seen it in UAE nor Oman stores.

But now, with the click of a button, you can purchase it via Amazon.com.

At Amazon.com, you can find hot dog cooker and hot dog roller.


On Second Life
Guess who has entered the virtual world of Second Life, its the 'Palestinian Holocaust Museum' supported by IslamOnline.net. Be honoured and visit the 3D Museum, before that, you must download and install the SL software.

Oman Air gets silky with Technology

The year 2009, Oman Air is giving a multiple gifts to its loyal and prospective clients, as soon Oman Air makes travel hassle-free via web check-in and mobile check-in.

Its clients now will able to check-in via four ways:

• using mobile phone,
• using Internet,
• using airport kiosks, and
• at the airport where customer service agents are equipped with mobile check-in technology.

The facility will start later this month January 2009. The four new and innovative check-in options at will be at Muscat and other key airports.

Above all, Oman Air will first in the Middle East region to offer such multi-facility.

Bits and Bytes

• Today, January 5, Royal Oman Police (ROP) celebrates Police Day.
• Oman3D started the year by changing it's name to “Republic of Code”, and started a 'Republic of Code Logo Competition'.
• Dr. Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz the new CEO of Bank Sohar.
• I have heard rumours that hundreds of expatriates in Oman been laid off in major local companies and more soon to follow, is it true?

Hi5 Iraq is trying his best

Bahrain just scored its 2nd goal by Said Adnan (care anyone update me about him), and Iraq scored 1 by Younes Mohammed after the 2nd halftime. Beside the Iraqi goalkeeper received a penalty ‘Red Card’.

Oh my gosh, I just found out that the English website of The Gulf 19 scores are not updated live comparing to the Arabic website. They need to be notified.

Now everyone’s attention will be driven away from Gaza for a while. Perfect timing, the Israelis done their calculations, Arabs will be busy with the Gulf Cup and Americans with Obama. Gaza will cry like a baby.

Khaliji 19 fever

As the 19th Gulf Cup series (Khaliji 19) have started, and the fever has hit the AGCC population, specially Oman, as it’s the host.

As for this national event, I've subscribed to Koorah+, to get updated despite I am not a fan of football. Oman got even with Kuwait with no score as 0-0, while Bahrain lead Iraq by 1-0 at halftime, which was scored by Abdullah Ismael (God knows who he is) in the 28th minute, and the match is continuing.

Fever
About 'fever', I have been suffering from fever since 29th of December 2008. What a bad ending and starting a year with a sickness, couldn't attend a friend's wedding, and my cousin had his first newborn son.

Care to Vote

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During AGCC 2008 summit

News from Times of Oman:

ROP puts curbs on parking of vehicles during AGCC summit
Saturday, December 27, 2008 12:29:35 AM Oman Time

MUSCAT — The Directorate of Public Relations, Royal Oman Police, has prohibited parking of vehicles on the service roads parallel to the following roads on account of the AGCC summit, which will be held here on December 29 and 30.

The prohibition will be effective from 8pm tomorrow (Sunday) to 11pm on Tuesday.

l Sultan Qaboos Road from Assahwa Tower Roundabout to Al Bustan Palace Hotel Roundabout through Muttrah Corniche, Muscat town and Sidab.

l Sultan Qaboos Road from Assahwa Tower Roundabout to Al Bustan Palace Hotel Roundabout through Al Qurum-Darsait-Al Wadi Al Kabir.

l The road will be closed as scheduled below to traffic on both sides from Assahwa Tower Roundabout to Al Bustan Palace Hotel Roundabout via Al Qurum-Darsait-Al Wadi Al Kabir. Instead, the traffic will be directed to alternative routes.

a. Monday (December 29) from 10am to 3pm

b. Tuesday (December 30) from 3pm to 8 pm.

l Heavy vehicles and trucks will not be allowed on Sultan Qaboos Road from Assahwa Tower Roundabout to Al Bustan Palace Hotel Roundabout. They will be directed to alternative routes as from 8am to 5pm on Monday (December 29) and from 12 noon to 11pm on Tuesday (December 30).

All motorists are requested to comply with the above and cooperate with the Royal Oman Police personnel.

News from Alwatan:

أثناء انعقاد مؤتمر قمة دول مجلس التعاون
شرطة عمان السلطانية تحدد الطرق البديلة للقادمين إلى مسقط
كتب ـ وليد محمود :حددت شرطة عمان السلطانية الطرق البديلة التي يجب على القادمين إلى محافظة مسقط ارتيادها بديلا عن شارع السلطان قابوس والذي سيكون مشغولا باستقبال قادة دول مجلس التعاون حيث سيتم إغلاق شارع السلطان قابوس بداية من دوار برج الصحوة حتى دوار فندق قصر البستان مرورا بجسر القرم دارسيت والوادي الكبير كما أوضحت شرطة عمان السلطانية أنه سيتم تحويل السير كليا قبل وصول ومغادرة أصحاب الجلالة والسمو قادة دول مجلس التعاون من دوار برج الصحوة إلى دوار فندق قصر البستان مرورا بجسر القرم ـ دارسيت والوادي الكبير والعكس إلى مسارات بديلة وذلك يوم الإثنين 29/12/2008م بداية من الساعة العاشرة صباحا وحتى الساعة الثالثة مساء ويوم الثلاثاء الموافق 30/12/2008م بداية من الساعة الثالثة مساء وحتى الساعة الثامنة مساء حيث يمكن للقادمين من منطقة الباطنة والمتجهين إلى محافظة مسقط والعكس سلوك شارع 18 نوفمبر بداية من جسر الموالح مرورا بالعذيبة الشمالية والغبرة الشمالية والخوير الشمالية .
أما بالنسبة للقادمين من الشرقية والداخلية إلى محافظة مسقط والعكس عليهم سلوك طريق مرتفعات المطار بداية من معسكر المرتفعة حتى دوار المستشفى السلطاني ومجمع السلطان قابوس الرياضي والخوير الجنوبية حتى مدينة الإعلام أو مرورا بطريق الأنصب شارع الأنصب ـ الجفنين ـ والرسيل إلى دوار مستشفى القوات المسلحة.
من ناحية أخرى سيتم تحويل سير الشاحنات الكبيرة كليا من شارع السلطان قابوس بداية من دوار فندق قصر البستان والعكس إلى مسارات أخرى وذلك بين الساعة الثامنة صباحا وحتى الساعة الخامسة مساء يوم الإثنين الموافق 29/12/2008م ومن الساعة 12 ظهرا حتى الساعة 11 مساء يوم الثلاثاء الموافق 30 ديسمبر .
كما تنوه شرطة عمان السلطانية إلى أنه سوف يمنع وقوف المركبات على جانبي شارع السلطان قابوس ـ جسر القرم ـ حتى فندق قصر البستان وشارع السلطان قابوس من دوار برج الصحوة حتى دوار فندق قصر البستان مرورا بالشارع البحري ـ دارسيت فمطرح فسداب .

Monopoly of insurance companies

Ahmed Al Falahi wrote an article on 23 Dec 2008 at the Oman Daily, an Arabic newspaper, about how insurance companies in different Welayats (regions) rip off the Omani citizens because of no supervision from higher authorities.

He gave a four wheel drive with 4300 cc with third party insurance, as an example may cost OMR 300 at one company and same specification and facility it will cost OMR 70 in other company.

He said as per my understanding, the lack of competition in the regions comparing to Muscat region and neighbouring regions, which has high competitions and multi options suits everyone‘s needs. The greedy insurance companies at other regions manipulate and set the fees as they please.

Can the regulatory authority do anything about it? Or do we encourage the new Intilaaqah participants to go towards setting up new insurance companies, which lacks competitions to kill monopoly and blood suckers?

Bits and Bytes

• No immigration visa to USA for Khat consumers in Yemen. Must have three years minimum of free of Khat out of the body system, with periodic medical test as a proof.

George W Bush's farewell party

A simple gesture for George W. Bush’s farewell via shoes turned into a laughingstock. Enjoy.

1

No comment.

2
Locked

3
Memories

4
Now it’s the property of….

5
No comment.

6
The memory

7

The farewell kiss.

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