- Weather
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Max |
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40°C |
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Min |
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30°C |
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Sunrise |
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05 : 30 AM |
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Sunset |
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06 : 30 PM |
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Humidity |
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50 to 80 per cent |
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- Prayer Time
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Fajar |
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04:02 am |
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Dhuhr |
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12:08 pm |
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Asar |
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03:31 pm |
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Magrib |
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06:46 pm |
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Isha |
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08:04 pm |
- Oil Price
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- Gold Price
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Price in RO
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24ct / gm |
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17.99 |
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22ct / gm |
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17.55 |
- Currency Rates
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Forex Rates vs R01
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US Dollar |
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2.59 |
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Euro |
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2.02 |
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Pound |
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1.71 |
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Indian Rs. |
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142.40 |
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Pak Rs. |
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255.91 |
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Bangla Taka |
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201.79 |
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Saleh Al Shaibany
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I rushed to beat the deadline of the Valentine's Day and nearly broke my neck while doing so. My wife accused me last year for forgetting the 'stupid' day and I was determined not to get caught twice two years in a row.
But when I reached the shopping mall, the variety of gifts in front of me totally confused me. The young salesgirl sensed my predicament and gave me a reassuring smile. She walked to me and said, "Something for your wife?"
It was tempting to tell her, "No, for someone else my wife would file a divorce for" but I kept my cool and said, "Yes" but did not add that the gift was to a woman who has been my 'bonding second half' for many years.
Would my wife like perfumes or body creams? I smiled but for the second time in just less than a minute, I suppressed a wicked thought. So instead of saying, "she would prefer a diamond the size of the Hajar Mountains," I told her, "perfume will do."
I bought her favourite brand because it was easy to decide but I spent the next couple of minutes choosing the colour of the gift wrap. I paid, walked out of the shop and walked right in less than ten seconds later. The salesgirl raised her eyebrows to inquire.
"I need a pretty ribbon to tie around the gift," I told her. She smiled understandably and picked one for me. I said "no" to green then chose red but half way to the task, I asked her to change it to pink. She raised her eyebrows so high this time that they nearly pierced her eyes and the smile on her face was gone too. She cut off the green ribbon and in doing so; she made it clear that I was wasting her time with the quick movements of her hands.
When it was over, as I was rushing to the car, I thought something was missing. Yes, flowers. I took a U-turn and nearly bumped into an old woman all the way to the casualty ward. A single red rose, perhaps a pink one, or a combination of carnations and tulips? The flower girl had the perfect answer but it was an expensive one. She convinced me to buy a bouquet that had some species of flowers that I could not recognise. It was big enough to remind me of our wedding day. I walked out with a bunch of flowers in one hand and a bottle of perfume in the other. But before I could make it to the car I remembered ... chocolates. I took a trolley and five minutes of rummaging on the shelves in the supermarket paid good dividend. I put in the 'shortlisted' three boxes of her favourites. No wonder she had gained some weight in the last few years and I have to take some blame for it. I decided on one and dropped it inside the trolley.
After I got it wrapped with of course a pink ribbon, I truly made my way to the car park only to find out some fools had blocked my exit. Perhaps it was another man who was going through the same mad rush of the day that most of us would rather see it vanishing from the calendar for good.
Only it was a woman and she had no words of apologies for me but rolled her eyes as if to say, "don't you have gifts to buy for your wife today instead of standing there doing nothing?"
At last I was home, after the three hours ordeal. All I got was a quick peck on the cheek for my trouble.
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