Rains coming, and HSBC.co.om got defaced

HSBC Oman's website got defaced today, by some nefarious Moroccan "hackers" and it appears some users on Nawras still can't get access at the time of blogging today. Here is the actual direct link for people trying to get onto HSBC but can't : http://www.hsbc.co.om/1/2/personal (it's working fine for people on Omantel connections)

The "hacking" (technically a defacement) has been recorded on the archive for such things, Zone-H, but it's not yet been verified as a "genuine" defacement - presumably because the admins are asleep...

Another poke in the eye for HSBC on the back of growing rumours of customer dissatisfaction after the recent merger with OIB.

Interestingly, English Sabla has been down for a similar reason for a number of days as well, apparently some Iraqi hackers have been enjoying themselves a bit too much. Oman Forum remains up, though :)

Also, it's been threatening to rain for days, and according to Accuweather it will rain on Tuesday and Wednesday. Weather Underground is predicting more or less the same, but also saying there's a 40% chance of rain today as well..... so hold off on the car washing until next week!

More later!

le fin.

Water shortages in Seeb

So the drought continues up in Seeb and beyond, with little to no water pressure available to most people living there. The desalination plants in Barka are running, so I don't think it is a problem with the supply, and so must be a case of the upgrading works that are being installed at the moment which has caused the shortage.

People are struggling to even get water trucks as they're busy fulfilling their existing Contracts and there isn't much spare capacity to cater to such a large area with people calling for a tank fill up.

Does anyone have any more information on this? If a Contractor is upgrading pumps / pipes, why has no temporary over-pumping (pumps laid on the ground to transfer the water) been put in place?

le fin.

Earthquake felt in Oman

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Iran, near the border with Pakistan, at 14:44 Oman time on Tuesday at a depth of 73 miles, reported by the US Geological Survey office (USGS).

The exact location was:

28.056°N 62.080°E depth=15.2km (9.4mi)

some nearby cities:

1. 86km (53mi) ESE of Khash, Iran
2. 167km (104mi) NE of Iranshahr, Iran
3. 199km (124mi) SE of Zahedan, Iran
4. 237km (147mi) SSW of Rudbar, Afghanistan
5. 603km (375mi) NE of Muscat, Oman

In interesting instant reports from people around town, it appears it was felt most by people in Ghubra / Azaiba end of town, people in Qurum / Shatti didn't appear to feel the tremors much at all. 

Did you feel the tremor?

 

le fin.

Justin Bieber in Oman is cancelled and show is moved to Dubai instead

The rumours have been floating around for weeks, but it's finally been confirmed: JB in Oman is cancelled has been moved to Dubai. Instead, the local promoters, Alive Events, have sold the rights for a second date in Dubai to the event organizers there, done events.

Done announced today that a second show is being put on at the 7s on the 5th May (following their already sold out gig on the 4th). Tickets are available now on http://www.justinbieberdubai.com and start at Dhs 350 a ticket.

I contacted Alive Events and asked what happens to peoples tickets here in Oman, and I've not yet received a response - but I imagine everyone will be refunded in full as the tickets are insured. Alive Events have stated: "All tickets will either have a full refund or they will be able to swap their Oman tickets for the Dubai show on May 5th so it is up to individuals what they want to do! If they would like a refund, they can go to Mackenzies cafe & deli between 9am and 6pm Sat to Wed to get one. If they want to exchange we are organizing tickets to come to Muscat so they can exchange for a valid ticket to the event in Dubai at the 7evens".

Given the mounting furore on various Arabic language blogs and forums against the Biebers visit to Oman, this seems like the best move for Alive Events given the less than stellar demand for tickets when they (finally) went on sale earlier this month. Apparently members of the Arabic blogosphere and forums felt that Biber would corrupt their women if he came here and various threats had been issued - so its probably for the best.

le fin.

Omani weekend to change to Friday-Saturday from May 1st 2013

Well it appears that while I was in a meeting this afternoon, His Majesty has announced that effective from May 1st (thats a Wednesday by the way) the Omani weekend will no longer be Thursday and Friday, but Friday and Saturday.

As if that wasn't enough, interestingly in the Arabic announcement, it was also stated that all future holidays will be announced jointly, meaning that the Public and Private sectors will get the same holidays.

No word yet if Thursday 2nd May will be given as a holiday or not.

Well, thats a pretty big announcement, now excuse me while I go and change my Eid vacation flights!

le fin.

16 Year old boy missing from Lulu's in Wadi Kabir

This is a story that I picked up from Muscat Daily yesterday, in a nut shell he is called Noel Abraham, 16 years old, and stayed in his parents car studying while they shopped at Lulu's. Some time around 10:30 on Friday night it looks like he was pulled out of the car based on the debris on the ground around the car.

ROP came to the scene but no happy ending yet, the kid is still missing.

It's sometimes easy to forget that crime does happen here, albeit no where near as much as takes place in other countries, but, it's still an ugly reality.

I hope the kid is found safe. Edit: Apparently he was found last night with his hands tied behind LuLu's in Wadi Kabir.... no word yet on who actually did it though. He has been admitted to hospital.

le fin.

PIA aircraft disabled on MCT runway

Thanks to @MuminKhaifi for the picture

Breaking news, a PIA (Pakistan International Airlines) aircraft landed earlier today on one of the 2 main runways at Muscat International Airport (MCT). Upon landing, one of the landing gears collapsed on the plane which has disabled it on the runway, effectively shutting that runway.

A quick look on the MCT website shows that many incoming and departing flights are delayed. There is a second runway at MCT but I don't know how long it is, and if it's long enough for the bigger planes to land and take off.

So if you have to take a flight today, check well before you leave for the airport, it's likely going to be delayed!

le fin.

Minimum Wage for Omanis to be RO 325/month from July 1st

Earlier today, some announcements were made by the Council of Ministers after their latest meeting. There are some quite significant changes announced, the news statement is here on ONA, but I'm duplicating it here for the record, I've bolded the really juicy parts:

Council of Ministers / Statement

 

Muscat, Feb 2 (ONA)--- During its meeting that was held today, the Council of Ministers studied a number important economic and social topics and came out with a number of decisions that serve the needs of this stage namely:- 

    

At the beginning, the Council of Ministers hailed the fruitful and constructive outcomes of the Royal meet-the-people-tour of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said in Saih Al Shamikhat in the Wilayat of Bahla in the Governorate of A'Dakhiliyah and His Majesty's meeting with sheikhs and dignitaries of the Governorates of Al Wusta and A'Dakhiliyah at the Royal Camp, as well as the wise decisions taken to enhance the comprehensive development being witnessed by the Sultanate, which achieves aspirations of the Omani youths towards a better future. 

     

The Council of Ministers affirmed that the environment has become conducive and encouraging for the promising Omani youths to effectively take part in building their nation through entrepreneurship and utilization of the available investment opportunities. The Council of Ministers also stressed the importance of cooperation by all respective departments in the State to simplify and facilitate the transactions and measures related to implementing the approved decisions, so that they are properly implemented. 

     

As for the increase in the number of expatriate manpower, the Council took executive decisions that embody the Royal Directives in relation to striking a balance between expatriate manpower and the gross population in the Sultanate, so that it does not exceed (33%) in the specified term for this. In this regard, the Council of Ministers identified a number of mechanisms, the most important of which are as follows:

- Revising the Foreign Investment Law to bridge the gaps that are being exploited to attract expatriates.

- Considering the expatriate clearances granted to recruit foreign manpower at all specialties to evaluate and regularize the labour market.

- Revising the measures taken to grant commercial registrations.

- Approving new mechanisms to limit the concealed trade phenomenon. 

- Delegating the Supreme Council for Planning with the task of preparing a clear plan on the existing and future job-generating projects for the citizens and defining the time-frame for the same.

- Other procedures that may achieve the prospective objective.

     

Due to the importance of limiting the negative effects of this issue on the State's economic, social and security policies, the Council of Ministers decided to constitute a work team. This work team comprises the Supreme Council for Planning, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Manpower, the Ministry of Civil Service, the Secretariat General of the Council of Ministers, the Royal Oman Police (ROP), the Tender Board, Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI). The team will raise regular reports on the progress of implementation of the mechanisms that serve this trend. 

     

As for the existing cooperation between the government and the private sector, the Council of Ministers reviewed the outcomes of the joint action team - comprised of the two sides - regarding the proposed mechanisms for a number of aspects that have been highlighted during the meeting that was held at the end of December 2012. The meeting gathered a number of senior businessmen and a number of ministers and officials, as well as OCCI Chairman as these mechanisms have priority in implementation. The outcomes covered employment, social insurance, closing the gap in holidays, matching between outputs of education and training from one hand and the labour market's needs on the other hand, in addition to revising the Labour Law and improving the environment for business and attracting investments.  

     

Guided by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said's Royal Speech at the Council of Oman on enhancing the contribution of the private sector in the march of comprehensive development and encouraging the Omani youths to work at its establishments and stability in its jobs, which specifically requires amending the salary system of this sector especially for junior and middle level's jobs, considering the fact that this is a national duty, the joint work team has discussed increasing the minimum salaries for Omanis working in the private sector. The joint team came with a proposal in this regard. Having discussed the issue, the Council of Ministers decided to approve the proposal that raises the minimum gross salary for an Omani working at the private sector to (RO 325).  This applies with effect from July 1st, 2013. The Ministry of Manpower will issue the decision implementing this.

--- Ends

So, in a nutshell:

1. It's going to be harder to be an expatriate working here in Oman, because the clearances will be harder to get.

2. Omani's are getting a bump in their minimum wage from 200 to 325 rials a month.

There are rumours around town that the Government are preparing to withdraw/reduce the subsidy on fuel and electricity... we shall see what happens. Presumably there will be an announcement for people working in the Government sector as well as their pay will probably be increased too.

Exciting times if your an Omani worker. Not so if you are a business owner or an expat.

le fin.  

Spate of robberies lately

It seems that there has been a spate of robberies recently. I blogged a few weeks ago about a bike that was nicked in MQ (and it was subsequently found, a cheeky chap was trying to flog it at the Bowsher dunes).

On Friday night, another motor-cross bike was nicked in Ghubra, and also a Jetski was half-inched in Azaiba Atheiba Udhaiba (it sounds like a German word now!) in the same night. A few weeks ago a KTM branded motor cross bike was nicked from Qurum 29 as well, reportedly the only KTM bike in the country.

So make sure you have securely chained up, and consider putting GPS trackers on them too.

le fin.

Get your fantasy cake made at Cake Gallery

The people at the Cake Gallery are running a fun competition until the end of the year:

Simply:

1. Draw the cake of your dreams
2. Send it to Promotions@cakegalleryoman.com

And thats it.... all the submissions will be reviewed and the best design received will actually be made, and then every design received will be displayed in a cake party (sounds interesting!) in January, along with a free gift for every participant. I think this is a great idea for kids, and for parents who may be traditionally a little cash strapped in January, this might be a great fun and economical activity to do!

le fin.

It's 12-12-12 Habana's 1st birthday & red light cameras

Well here we are, on 12-12-12, and only a little over a week until we all die. Have you figured out what you want to do before the end of the world? Personally, being a sleep deprived new father, I think I'd just like to get an uninterrupted nights sleep. Well, we can dream.

Moving on, the absolute best place to be tonight, if alcoholic intoxication is your thing, is the 1st birthday of the Habana Sports bar under the Safari Pub at the Hyatt...

A year ago, the General Manager at the Hyatt decided to have a pet project, and totally revamped the Habana (previously the Havana bar, a little attended taxi bar) and has successfully turned it into a busy sports bar with attractive pricing. Personally, I hope when he departs for a different hotel in January, his successor continues the legacy. Anyway, thats next year, right now it's time to party, especially because we're all going to die next week.

They we will be giving away a ton of complimentary drinks including bottled beers and glasses of bubbly, along with the free 'Hot Sandwich Counter' which will be set up serving hot turkey and beef butties as well as a delicious birthday cake for everyone! 

So, to recap. Free beer and food. And cake. What more could you want? It's open till 3am. Congratulations Christoph and John!

And finally for today....

Photo Credit: @mmoods

Have you noticed the sneaky red light cameras popping up? The first one I saw was about a month ago at the Al Ilam traffic lights over near the white elephant opera house, but now it appears that the ROP / Muscat Municipality have pulled the trigger - these red light cameras have been going very quickly, yesterday saw Ghubra get at least 2 separate intersections with them in the space of an afternoon.

Expect more and more of these to pop up all over town. Great to see some action on this. I've no idea if the cameras are active, and have no desire to find out!

Have a great weekend everyone.

le fin.

The Khuwair road pipe burst

Photo source: Abdulla Al Rashdi

So old news already, is that a water main in the Southern Relief Road which links the Sultan Qaboos Sports stadium with MSQ/Khuwair and the last part of the Muscat Express way that goes down to Qurum (formerly death valley road) burst and took out the road yesterday early morning.

There has not really been much in the way of updates on this situation yet and so I thought I'd make a few observations here....

The break, is right by the old Hi FM building fly over - where you go to get to the ABA school and the Muscat Rugby Club grounds.

Already there are people living in Al Khuwair, Ruwi and Muttrah who are saying they do not have any water. I find it hard to believe that the only water main supply to Ruwi/Muttrah is via this artery, but perhaps it is. So far, as best as I know, no date for restoration of services has been given, neither have residents in the affected areas been given a number to call for a free water bowser supply to their homes.

I wonder how long it will take to fix it, and whether or not it will be fixed properly, or the usual, fill the hole with sand, roll it a bit and then put tarmac over it procedure that seems to be increasingly common around here. Apparently a PAEW spokesperson last night stated that the water pipe will be repaired within 20 hours and that water bowsers will be on standby for those without water. The statement is only about the pipe, not the road.

Perhaps the reasons why you don't just automatically go for the lowest bidder are starting to show through the cracks?

It's just a guess but I'm assuming that these repair works will probably take quite some time to complete fully - the entire area will have to be excavated, then the heavy mass concrete surround will need to be poured and cured, and then the road will need to be repaired over top.... that's going to take, in this town... weeks I'd say. Lets hope I'm wrong!

le fin.

Book sale this Thursday

Tomorrow between 9:30 and 12:30 at the CCC building in Qurum (opposite Nandos) is a book sale - 2 paper backs for a rial, or 1 hard back for a rial.

All proceeds go towards Dar Al Atta projects around the country to promote school libraires and a roaming library.

le fin.

Just a quickie: Read Muscat Daily today

Hot on the tail of yesterdays fine example of journalism from the Oman Tribune, today's edition of the Muscat Daily actually features some real local news, and a specific issue that is often talked about in hushed tones but never before (that I know of) covered publicly by a local paper.

The growing drug problem in Oman.

It's worth a read if you see it today. Bravo.

le fin.

Oman Tribune falls victim to cut and paste journalism

A rather amusing mistake spotted by a reader of ze blog and emailed to me (thanks Jameel) this afternoon. Page 16 of todays Oman Tribune (The Edge of Knowledge they'll have you know) covers the story from the UK about Andrew Mitchell, who resigned yesterday following an outburst at the Plod standing guard outside of Downing Street a few weeks ago.

Click to make it bigger

Anyway, the esteemed journo's at the local Edge of Knowledge, in their apparent rush to share this highly important news, apparently neglected to read the approximately 350 word article which had the following words printed twice for good measure: "Pleb" "Moron" and the best "fucking" and no, they were not linking to the small village in Austria.

Woops!

le fin.

Someone dies on the roads in Oman every 8 hours

I saw this video yesterday and think that it's a really well made video that may finally get some people to wear their seatbelts while driving here, which is a step in the right direction towards a better attitude to driving and road safety in general.


Or you can click on this link to watch it on You Tube (it's only a few minutes, it's in Arabic but there are English subtitles).

The latest stats that I've seen in the papers lately show:

Between January and September 2012, there have been 5,759 reported road accidents, which has killed 814 people and injured another 8,278 people. An average of 640 accidents, 90 deaths and 920 people injured every month this year.

In 2010 (entire year), there were 7,556 accidents, with 1,051 people killed and 10,046 people injured. An average of 630 accidents, 88 deaths and 837 people injured every month for 2010.

In 2011, there were 7,719 accidents and 1,056 people died and 11,342 people injured. An average of 643 accidents, 88 deaths and 945 people injured every month for 2010. (source)

So, to sum up: More people are dying and getting injured in accidents this year than in the last 2 years, and to put it another way, someone has died on the roads of Oman, on average, every 8 hours of every day this year so far.

If I meet one more person who brags about the number of speeding tickets they have (I recently met someone who proudly claimed he had over RO 4,000 in speeding fines) I will consider slashing their tires to keep them off the road.

I've blogged about this before and we've said it many times before: ROP need to do a better job at enforcing the rules of the road. Who here has seen an ROP officer talking on their mobile phones while driving a police car? Or how about speeding without their lights / sirens on? Or how about pulling people over on the side of the highway without their lights on to warn oncoming traffic? Or how about having driven past a police car, breaking the speed limit in the process, and not been pulled over by the cops?

It's really simple boys and girls: Speed kills. So does being a lazy idiot and irresponsible vehicle owner, but lets start with one issue first hey?

le fin.

Just a quickie: Road Closure expected

Just a little update this afternoon - apparently the Tanzanian president is visiting today, and the roads are expected to be closed at some point this afternoon.

Schools are closing at 1.00pm today, and the latest rumours are saying to expect a road closure somewhere between 2 and 3pm. But, as always, who knows?!

You can follow @muscattraffic on twitter for more updates.

le fin.

Thief targeting women at Al Fair in MQ

Just a small update for the weekend.

It appears that a man or men are identifying women who are shopping at the Al Fair in MQ as easy targets for robbery. Some are followed from the ATM's at Bank Muscat/ HSBC, some appear to just be targets of oppurtunity.

The robberies usually happen once the women have gotten into their cars - the theif simply walks up to the car, opens it, snatches the bag and then legs it. The theif is not wearing a dishdasha and looks like he is in his mid to late twenties and is apparently a fast little bugger. The ROP are aware and investigating. The management at Al Fair have no external cameras, and have decided not to put up a sign warning others of this threat as it might deter shoppers from visiting there.

Back to ABC's people - get in your car and lock your doors, problem solved.

Enjoy the weekend.

le fin.

Update on Passage to India

Everyone has their opinions on the various curry houses around town, typically my favourite three are Mumtaz Mahal, Passage to India and the Grill House in MQ. I've recently been to Woodlands a few times and I really quite like it there too, but it's in Ruwi, and I'm allergic to Ruwi, it makes me break out in swear words at the drivers.

Recently, I found myself at Hatat House on another matter, and noticed that the front door to the Passage to India was open. I was intrigued to see the status of Mrs Sythe's favourite ruby murray shop in town and so poked my head in.

As you can see from the pictures I have shared above, it appears that after their little fire the Management have decided a total gut and re-vamp is in order. Which to be fair is probably a good thing, although I never really minded too much when there before, but that might have been due to the deadly combo of cheap Heineken and dim lighting!

I chatted with a guy who looked like he was the boss and he said they plan to be open in October, but judging by the progress of works above, I think before the end of the year is a better bet. I hope so, I miss the Aloo Methi Tiki and the Chettinand Chetnandu!

Passage to India has a facebook page here.

More soon, last few hours to get your name in the hat to win free tickets to Edward Maya!

le fin.

The "Protests" here in Muscat

 
Well there was quite the pa-lava over the weekend with the US Embassy sending out a warning, and then the UK Embassy getting on board and sending one out as well on Friday morning. Not really a lot happened in the end. On Thursday night, the ROP moved in and shut down the Embassy road with a roadblock at either end of it, thus preventing people to actually get to the US Embassy and then start their protest.

Friday morning saw a much larger presence of the ROP along with a bunch of trucks that were ones I've not seen before: heavy duty dark blue SUV's with all the windows covered in metal mesh grills as well as the hoods (bonnets) of the trucks as well.

But the angry mob never materialized, just a peaceful group of men holding signs written in Arabic. No idea what they said but they were not blocking any roads, were not chanting or throwing anything, they were just pissed off and making their displeasure known peacefully.

It seems the chaps down in Salalah were a little more prepared to march, and Dhofari Gucci shared a picture of the protest down there on her blog.

It's good to see that Omani's are not as ready to start throwing stones and rioting as, say, those in Egypt, Yemen or any of the rest of the countries in which violence is going on as a result of "that film". Perhaps that's a nod towards the Imams in the mosques here, who may have helped people realise that this entire thing is stupid. I don't know, it might have just been too hot.

7 people have lost their lives over these protests so far, 7. That is quite simply ridiculous. It's a stupid film made by a guy who clearly had an agenda and has managed to evoke this much of a reaction in people. People insult people every day, it doesnt mean you have to go and start burning flags and generally start breaking stuff. I'll also note it seems to be predominantly (in the news films from around the middle east) young men who are the most incensed. Quite why they are holding the US Embassies around the world accountable, I'm not really sure. I didn't see a mass outpouring of thanks and flowers and chocolates and what not when the latest 2 Fast 2 Furious movie was released (also made in America) and played to packed houses across the region for weeks and weeks - so why the flag burning and general need to throw stuff at the American Embassies now then?

Ridiculous, I hope it all ends soon and no one else gets hurt, let alone killed. The British Embassy has advised that again today it may be that a protest may start from 3pm on Embassy road - if it was anything like yesterday, I say let them: they were not harming anyone or causing any nuisance.

le fin.