times of oman - april 16, 2016
DESCRIPTION
Times of Oman - April 16, 2016TRANSCRIPT
Founded 1975 . Volume 41 No. | Pages . Baisas 200 . Subscription OMR63 | ISO 9001:2008 Certifi ed Company | Chairman/Editor-in-Chief: Mohamed Issa Al Zadjali | Printed & Published by Muscat Media Group
085010 1200106April 16, 2016 8 Rajab 1437 AH
SATURDAY
46 28
On the occasion of His First Arrival in Muscat after Assuming the Reins of Power, 1970
FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTYTHE SULTAN
We also hope that every one of you will do his duty in helping us to build the thriving and happy future that we seek for this country, because, as you know, unless there is co-operation between the government and the people we will not be able to build our country with the speed required to free her from the backwardness she has endured for so long.
‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’
Rescued explorers realise folly of ignoring warnings
FAHAD A [email protected]
MUSCAT: “We could have waited for one more day before deciding to start our journey, which could have killed one of us, or may be all of us,” said one of the four people, who were trapped in an area in Tewi in Al Sharqiyah last Sunday, and were later rescued after a har-rowing ordeal.
They had gone to see the natu-ral landscape when they were en-trapped in the gushing waters.
Yaser Al Ghilani and three of his close friends, Abdulghani Al Bal-ushi, Mohammed Al Majali and Nasir Al Ghilani, went missing in a wadi (valley) for a day and were fi nally rescued by citizens and the Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACDA) staff last Monday.
Al Ghilani, speaking exclusively to the Times of Oman about the incident, which led them to spend one night in the dark and walk for long hours to survive, con-ceded, “Our trip started last Sun-day when we decided to explore a village called Niban near Tewi though it was expected to rain that day too.”
It started as a lovely, bright day for them as they reached the area, parked their vehicle on the side and started walking towards the mountains where they could see a waterfall and other beautiful scenery.
“We were fascinated by the place and started taking pictures and walking to the interiors to fi nd
more enchanting scenery,” said Al Ghilani.
They were walking together in groups of two. As they were walk-ing back they suddenly heard a sound, which seemed like a night-mare coming true, and “impossi-ble to believe.”
“It was the sound of water fl ow-ing. At fi rst we didn’t want to be-lieve it, but we were soon trapped between mountains. Finally we saw the strong fl ow of water com-ing towards us.
“While I and Abdulghani man-aged to climb the mountain, it was diffi cult for the other friends to do so as they were right in the middle of the wadi,” recalled Al Ghilani.
Al Ghilani saw his other friends
being swept away in the wadi, said Al Ghilani. “I thought they were about to die. Scary thoughts were haunting my mind. I was thinking of the answers I would have to give to their relatives, especially their parents. It was such a diffi cult situation,” said Al Ghilani.
Inviting troubleHowever, he admitted that the incident was of their making and that they had simply invited the trouble upon themselves.
“Abdulghani and I decided to climb the mountain top to survive because we didn’t know if the wa-ter level was going to rise further up. The sky was getting darker as we climbed the mountain. Finally,
we reached the top and there was nothing there but darkness.”
After a lot of deliberation, they decided to spend the night at the top of the mountain thinking this was the only way they could sur-vive. “We couldn’t think of a so-lution as we were thinking of the fate of our other friends. Are they still alive?” The two waited for sunrise so that they could fi gure out where they were.
“Once the (morning) sunlight dawned upon us, we started to walk. I remember it was 5am. We walked for almost seven hours trying to reach an inhabited area,” recalled Al Ghilani, adding that they were very thirsty and tired, but they had to keep moving ahead to keep themselves alive.
“The happiest moment wasn’t when we reached a village, but when we heard that our friends were alive too and that they had been rescued,” said Al Ghilani.
The four people were saved af-ter learning a lesson the hard way.
“After all of this, I asked myself and my friends a question: Is tak-ing pictures and exploring new places worth taking such huge risks? What if we had met with a more serious end?
“After all, we could have waited for one more day and then com-menced our journey. I believe the biggest mistake we made was to not care about the messages is-sued by the Met offi ce and other concerned authorities, warning people about adverse weather conditions,” conceded Al Ghilani.
Not caring for the
authorities’ warning
was their biggest
mistake, concede the
travellers who had
gone to explore Tewi
area in Al Sharqiyah
RISKY VENTURE: Travellers were fascinated by a waterfall and other beautiful scenery in the region.
Times News Service
MUSCAT: Citizens and residents can now activate their Resident or ID card at one of the Civil Sta-tus service centres of the Royal Oman Police (ROP) and benefi t from electronic government ser-vices, said Colonel Ali bin Saif Al Marbu’i, director of Civil Sta-tus at ROP.
The system, called ‘Tam,’ is an electronic certifi cation service provided by the National Digital Certifi cation Centre at the Infor-mation Technology Authority.
Tam allows people to securely go through government proce-dures to protect personal infor-mation. Tam ratifi es and encrypts documents electronically and makes documents accessible to the person himself.
Al Marbu’i said the system also counters misuse of per-sonal information, like decep-
tion, counterfeiting and secretly copying someone else’s personal information.
“It will fully protect your per-sonal documents and recognise your identity electronically, with-out having to travel to a service centre. It will save you time, eff ort and money,” he said.
He also said documents signed through the electronic sys-tem have the same legal status as physical signed documents, which makes it possible to settle government procedures anytime, anywhere, avoiding the need to travel to government offi ces.
Al Marbu’i said that ROP en-courages people to benefi t from electronic ratifi cation without the need to head to government service centres.
“It will enable you to electroni-cally sign any offi cial document,” he stated. “In the end, it is just like signing a document as you
were used to.” People can start using Tam either by activating their ID or Resident Card at one of the booths in the ROP Civil Status service centres, or by ac-tivating the SIM card of their mobile phone.
Al Marbu’i said the aim is to build an electronic verifi cation infrastructure as part of a nation-al strategy to support electronic services in Oman, which are ben-efi cial for the Omani economy.
He added that it would become the main process for issuing and managing electronic documents in Oman. Tam is part of the eff orts of the government to introduce e-government services to improve effi ciency of the government and to make procedures easier for citizens, as well as residents.
More information on resident card activation is available at: https://omanportal.gov.om/tam/home.htm
T A M
A2A master of his craft
OMANAl Mantheri takes part in OIC summit
1Dr. Yahya bin Mahfoudh Al Mantheri took part in 13th summit of the OIC. >A3
OMANOman Air to expand its fleet: CEO
2Oman Air is likely to add more planes to its fl eet, said CEO. >A3
T O P T H R E E I N S I D E S T O R I E S
Innovative way to de-stress employeesBABA [email protected]
MUSCAT: Companies in the Sul-tanate have been urged to stay committed to employees’ mental health as experts said longer work-ing hours and a hot weather could lead to feelings of frustration aris-ing among workers.
“Daily hassles and obstacles, such as having family or fi nancial problems or getting stuck in traffi c can cause stress. Sometimes stress is even expressed through aggres-sive acts, such as road rage.
“At other times, it is internal-ised, which can cause health problems,” noted Omani psychia-trist Dr Hamed Al Sinawi told the Times of Oman (TOO).
Some workers try diff erent means to de-stress, he said, “but others easily fall prey to health problems like anxiety, diabetes and high blood pressure after hav-ing internalised tension.”
Expats or locals, who are away from their relatives and face work
overload get easily stressed out, mental health experts assert, add-ing, “Long working hours and hot weather causes frustration, which makes it important for people to know the signs of stress and ways to deal with it.”
“Having a supportive social net-work, such as friends and family is
very important in order to avoid stress, we often ventilate or dis-cuss problems from work with our family and sometime all what we need is to be heard and acknowl-edged,” Al Sinawi said.
Living with constant stress could increase a person’s risk of dementia. Many studies show a link between work-related stress and Alzheimer’s.
There is no exact data available on the number of Alzheimer’s pa-tients in Oman. Al Sinawi believes that an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 people are living with Alzheimer’s in the country.
In-house clinicsA tense worker can take a toll on the overall eff orts of a company he or she is working with.
That is why many companies TOO spoke to said they have meas-ures in place to address the diffi -culties faced among staff ers.
At W J Towell—a company of 10,000 employees, including la-bourers and non-labourers, who
toil in real estate, FMCG, automo-tive, construction, engineering, industry and services sectors—stress management forms one of the core aspects of running a busi-ness smoothly.
“For the labour category, we are taking care of their small needs, which makes a big diff erence to them. For example, we have a team that takes care of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). They ac-tually visit worker’s homes and off er maintenance services. We have rebuilt some homes, which motivates our workers to be more loyal,” Ali Shabaan, general man-ager, System and Resource Man-agement of the group, told TOO.
W J Towell, he claimed, has re-built all its labour camps in the last fi ve years.
“They are like four-star mo-tels. Also, we used to outsource our catering. Now we do it on our own. We have invested in our own people. There is special food for Muslims and non-Muslims in the camps,” he stated. >A3
B O O S T I N G M O R A L E
PICNICKERS’ DESTINATIONSifah beach is one of the most beauti-
ful beaches in Oman, about 45 minutes
drive from Muscat. Blessed with beauti-
ful sand and sea, this place is ideal for
swimming and picnickers. -Ahmed Al Jaabri
Firms have measures in place
to address the diffi culties faced
among staff ers.
HM sends greetings to Denmark
Omani students
in Japan safe,
says embassy
MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of greetings to Queen Margrethe II, of Denmark on her birthday.
In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere greetings and wishes of good health and happiness to the Queen and her country’s people further progress and prosper-ity.—ONA
TOKYO: The Sultanate’s em-bassy in Tokyo reassured citi-zens, yesterday, on the safety of Omani students living in various areas aff ected by the 6.4 magnitude earthquake which had hit Kyosho, Southwest of Japan, on Thursday.
The embassy said in a state-ment that the earthquake’s most powerful impact was at Kum-amoto, which led to the death of nine persons and injury to 864 others, destruction of hous-es and fi res, according to the latest statistics.
The embassy offi cials urged students and citizens to con-tact the embassy in case of emergency.
The Omani embassy also urged Omanis residing or visit-ing Japan to register their de-tails with the embassy. —ONA
C A B L E
E A R T H Q U A K E
MARKETOil exporters head to Doha to cut output
3Top exporters are eyeing to reach a deal to cut oil production. >B1
Get resident cards activated at ROP civil service centres
A2 S AT U R DAY, A P R I L 1 6, 2 0 1 6
OMAN
MASTER OF HIS CRAFT
In the hands of this fl at bread maker a very
mundane and drab activity
becomes a fi ne art. Photos by
Jun Estrada
A3
OMANS AT U R DAY, A P R I L 1 6, 2 0 1 6
Share your
world with us
on Instagram
SCAN THIS TO INSTANTLY SHARE YOURPHOTOGRAPHS
Muscat Malayalees launch website, hold musical event
Free health check-up for staff
Times News Service
MUSCAT: Muscat Malayalees Facebook collaborative forum celebrated its fi fth year by hold-ing a musical event named “Dh-wayam 2016.”
The event was held at the Ra-mees Dream Resort in Seeb on April 8. The programme started at 6.00 pm and was inaugurated by Indra Mani Pandey, India’s am-bassador to Oman, who lit a lamp, which was followed by songs of famous playback singer duos of Indian cinema.
Talent showcasedLeading playback singers of the Malayalam fi lm industry: Ravis-hankar and Preetha led the show. The event also showcased the tal-ents of four local singers in Oman.
A website: MuscatMalayalees.com was also launched by Neelu Rohra, Second Secretary, Press, Information, Culture and Com-munity Welfare.
The Muscat Malayalees also honoured three other people:
Shaji Sebastian for his selfl ess social service, Sensai Simson, who received the Hall of Honour award from the United States, the fi rst in the Gulf Cooperation Council and the second in India to get this award, and M.K. Prasad.
An impressive performance by Muscat Panchavadya Sangham, incorporating various art forms of Kerala, along with the drums
was enthralling, and a feast for the eyes and ears. The show winded up with the announcement of the raffl e draw winner by Cochin Gold.
The programme was organised by claps events and presented by Global Source Trading. Those who wish to join this Facebook group can do so by clicking on the below link. www.facebook.com/groups/muscatmalayalees/
For non-labour staff ers, the com-pany organises and sponsors par-ties and out-of-Muscat tours.
“We also organise the Towell health week every year where we off er free health check-ups to our staff ers and their families. This year, for example, we held a competition for those who have quickly reduced weight. When we started this event, some of the staff ers were not even aware that they suff ered from hypertension, high blood pressure and high cho-lesterol,” he added.
To de-stress staff ers, Shabaan said the company off ers promo-tions, bonuses that could include an additional salary for one month.
Respect at workMental health experts, such as Al Sinawi suggest that workers who do not feel respected at work are at an increased risk of heart disease, which is why having a “clear job description” allows the person to feel more in control of their time so that they can plan their day with little interruptions.
“This way they can avoid stress by achieving their objectives on time,” he stated.
The Swiss Arabian Perfumes Group (SAPG), one of the pioneer-ing perfume manufacturers in the Middle East, tries to pull out its staff ers from work-related strain by taking them out for lunch on Saturdays.
“The staff ers shared the ups and downs accumulated over a week. We try to increase commu-nication between them and that helps,” Yusuf Radhanpurwala, country manager, Swiss Arabian Perfumes told TOO.
The SAPG offi cial said the bo-nuses and incentives are part of the work and staff ers are also tak-en out twice a year for long tours.
“We also encourage sports ac-tivities among the staff ers. Sports and food are the best ways to de-stress,” he added.
Salary on time could be another way of not upsetting the workers.
“We have realised it,” a manger of a cleaning company told TOO. He wished to remain anonymous because he wasn’t authorised to speak with media.
“We make sure the workers get salary on time. If we release sala-ries a day behind the schedule, they [workers] get upset,” he said.
“We off er bonuses to best work-ers. It’s always small, but it helps others identify their skills and perform well. We also take them out every Friday evening to Mut-trah Corniche. It gives our staff -ers the opportunity to understand each other and lower stress lev-els caused from six days of hard work,” he revealed.
In bigger and multicultural or-ganisations, such as Oman Air, stress and its management de-pends on the nature of work.
From pilots to ground staff , workload meeting strict deadlines could result in unnecessary strain that involves fatigue, exhaustion or a break down.
“We have various courses and stress relief/management exercis-es, especially for pilots and cabin crew on how to manage their time, remain calm and keep a patient at-titude with regards to their daily duties,” Khalid Masoud Al Jadidi, senior offi cer in the airline’s Media and Communications Department told TOO.
Special programmesOman Air offi cials said there are “special programmes” for other staff ers who work in fi nance, air-port operations, administration and in-fl ight services that help them cope with stress.
“It involves outdoor activities, half-day outings for lunch or even-ing dinners, team building work-shops and exercises, fun fi lled family gatherings, etc. In addition, there is a special in-house clinic that off ers professional psycho-logical consultation and provides stress relief care whenever need-ed,” Al Jadidi said.
Some of the staff ers at Oman Air or any other airline are required to work long hours, sometimes be-yond their daily schedules, while some are called from their given days off to report for duty. This can create a lot of uneasiness.
D H W A Y A M 2 0 1 6
S T R E S S
< FROM
A1
CULTURAL PROGRAMME: The programme was inaugurated by
Indra Mani Pandey, India’s ambassador to Oman. -Supplied photo
Oman Air to expand its fleet: Gregorowitsch
REJIMON K [email protected]
MUSCAT: Oman Air is likely to add more aircraft to its fl eet, its Chief Executive Offi cer (CEO) Paul Gregorowitsch has said, adding that talks are on with Boeing Co. and Airbus Group SE for an order for the latest generation of wide-body jets to replace 12 older A330 planes, media reports revealed.
The carrier will open negotia-tions in the coming weeks, with a focus on Airbus’s A350-900 model and the 787-9 or -10 from its U.S. rival, Oman Air’s CEO said
at a briefi ng in London. Accord-ing to Gregorowitsch, the A350 might hold an edge while fl ying on the longest routes to destinations, such as South Africa.
Meanwhile, a top offi cial from the carrier’s headquarters in Mus-cat wrote in an email to the Times of Oman (TOO) that the airline could not reveal further details at this stage.
“At this stage, we are not in position to give further details, the same will be available after we fi nalise the negotiations with
manufacturers,” Abdulrazaq J. Al Raisi, the executive vice president of Corporate Services and Busi-ness Development at Oman Air, said in the email to TOO.
Oman Air has already sourced two 787-8s from Kenya Airways on three-year lease terms as part of a deal to purchase land-ing slots at London’s Heathrow airport from the African carrier and Air France, adding to the two Dreamliner aircraft already in its fl eet.
Quoting Gregorowitsch, the
media reported that Oman Air is aiming to make a profi t at an oper-ating level by the end of 2017, with its state owner’s funding contri-bution due to drop to OMR34 mil-lion ($88 million) this year from OMR64 million in 2015.
The company is currently ne-gotiating with two carriers in Eu-rope and one in Asia as it seeks a joint venture partner with which to operate fl ights as an alterna-tive to joining a global airline al-liance, the report added, quoting Gregorowitsch.
Oman Air will open
negotiations in the
coming weeks, with
a focus on Airbus’s
A350-900 model and
the 787-9 or -10 from
its US rival, Oman
Air’s CEO said at a
briefi ng in London
EXPANSION PLANS: Oman Air has already sourced two 787-8s from Kenya Airways on three-year
lease terms as part of a deal to purchase landing slots at London’s Heathrow airport.
Omani photographer, painter impress art lovers at showERIK PRINS [email protected]
MUSCAT: Art lovers were im-pressed by the combined artwork of Omani painter Abdulmajeed Karooh and Omani photogra-pher Hassan Ali Jawad dur-ing the opening of their shared exhibition at Bait Al Zubair on Monday night.
Held under the patronage of Sheikh Ahmed Bin Suwaidan Al Balushi, Bait Al Zubair opened the exhibition showcasing the iconic collection called “Light and Brush” by the two artists.
The exhibition contains art-works that merge Jawad’s pho-tographs with Karooh’s brush strokes to create a new form of art. The paintings and photo-graphs mostly refl ected scenes of life in Muttrah, where both artists come from.
Karooh, who was infl uenced by local Omani folklore, in addition to his childhood memories of liv-ing in Muttrah, explained to the Times of Oman that they chose to combine the two concepts because they wanted to create something entirely new.
“We choose a location, Hassan takes the picture and I fi ll it in,” he said.
Karooh is a member of the Om-
ani Society for Fine Art and the Youth Studio. He has participated in many local and international art exhibitions in Oman, Egypt, Dubai and New Delhi; he has won distinctive awards for his unique creative vision.
Jawad, whose pictures tend to focus on human character, as well as the picturesque nature, said he and Abdulmajeed have an at-titude in common. “We are both very fl exible. Usually artists have a mind of their own, but the two of us work together. I’m quite satis-fi ed and happy, because the turn-out today is very good.” he stated.
The exhibition is the fi rst at-tempt to display his pictures, which have accumulated over a
long period of time. He aspires for his photos to speak for them-selves, without illumination.
The artwork has proved im-pressive for the crowd of art lov-ers present at Bait Al Zubair. Visi-tors expressed their amazement on how the artists have managed to combine photographs with paintings, as it proved sometimes diffi cult to distinguish between the picture and the painting in the artwork.
Sheikh Ahmed Bin Suwaidan Al Balushi, the guest of honour at the event and a photography lover, praised the exhibition.
“This exhibition is very beau-tiful and gives an impression of Omani heritage and history, both before and after 1970. The visi-tors are surprised by these out-standing paintings and beautiful pictures,” he stated.
Visitor Heather Ford said, “This is the fi rst time I have seen Abdulmajeed combining his art-istry with a photographer. I love the way the artists have come to-gether to create something quite unique. It’s very diffi cult to dis-cern which is the photograph and which is the painting,” she said.
Visitor Georgia said, “They complement each other very well. What I really like is the shimmer-ing eff ect they have created.”
B A I T A L Z U B A I R
Iconic collection called “Light
and Brush”.
Al Mantheri takes part in OIC summitISTANBUL: Assigned by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Dr. Yahya bin Mahfoudh Al Man-theri, Chairman of the State Coun-cil took part in 13th summit of the Organisation of Islamic Coopera-tion (OIC), which started in Istan-bul, Turkey on Thursday under the slogan of “Unity and Solidarity for Justice and Peace .”
The meeting concluded yester-day with the issuance of Istanbul Declaration. The communiqué reaffi rmed that the Palestinian cause was the core for the Muslim nations. The participants called for holding an international peace conference to set mechanisms for the protection of the Palestinians and to put an end to the occupa-tion of the Palestinian territories as well as to the Lebanese lands.
The declaration also stressed the withdrawal of Israel from the oc-cupied territories.
The participants also welcomed the dialogue among the political sides in Lebanon and appreciated the eff orts of Lebanon, Egypt, Jor-dan, Iraq and Turkey on welcom-ing the Syrian refugees.
MeetingAl Mantheri met Dr. Hassan Rou-hani, President of the Islamic Re-public of Iran, on the sidelines of the 13th Summit of the Organisa-tion of Islamic Cooperation.
The two leaders discussed bi-lateral relations between the two countries, matters of mutual in-terest and ways of strengthening cooperation between them in vari-ous fi elds. -ONA
I S T A N B U L
13TH SUMMIT: The two-day Summit discussed the humanitarian
situation in the Islamic world. – ONA
A4 S AT U R DAY, A P R I L 1 6, 2 0 1 6
REGIONThe recapture of Houta, regional capital of southern Lahj province which has been held by the militants since last summer, is one of the Yemeni government’s most important inroads yet
Egyptians protest against hand over of two islands
CAIRO: Thousands of Egyptians angered by President Abdel Fat-tah Al Sisi’s decision to hand over two islands to Saudi Arabia called on Friday for the government to fall, chanting a slogan from the 2011 protests.
Egyptian security forces de-tained about 50 protesters, ac-cording to two security offi cials. Police surrounded crowds at the press syndicate, site of the biggest demonstration.
Sisi’s government prompted an outcry in Egyptian newspapers and on social media last week when it announced a maritime demarcation accord that put the uninhabited Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafi r in Saudi waters.
“The people want the downfall of the regime!” protesters cried outside the Cairo press syndicate, using the signature chant of the 2011 revolt against then presi-dent Hosni Mubarak, who later stepped down.
In other parts of Cairo, police fi red tear gas at protesters, secu-rity sources said.
Saudi and Egyptian offi cials say the islands belong to the kingdom across the Red Sea and were only under Egyptian control because Riyadh had asked Cairo in 1950 to protect them.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states showered Egypt with billions of dollars in aid and grants
after Sisi toppled freely elected president Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013 after mass protests against him.
But a sharp drop in oil prices and diff erences with Cairo over regional issues such as the war in Yemen have raised questions over whether strong support is sustainable.
Egyptians are eager for an eco-nomic revival after years of politi-cal upheaval, but the islands issue seems to have hurt their national pride, and prompted thousands to return to the streets to challenge their leader.
Critics say the government has mishandled a series of crises from an investigation into the killing
of Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni, 28, in Cairo to a bomb that brought down a Russian airliner in the Sinai Peninsula last Octo-ber. Torture marks on Regini’s body prompted human rights groups to conclude he died at the hands of security forces, which Egypt denies.
Sisi has made fi ghting corrup-tion a top priority. But he drew fi re last month after sacking Hesham Geneina, Egypt’s top auditor, who had stirred controversy by pub-licly concluding that state corrup-tion had cost the country billions of dollars.
In a tweet, Geneina described the protests as the “purest, brav-est and most noble demonstra-
tion of Egyptians” in decades. Many Egyptians, eager for an end to the turmoil triggered by the 2011 protests, enthusiastically welcomed Sisi when he took over. They turned a blind eye as hard-liners and other opponents were rounded up.
But a growing number are now losing patience over corruption, poverty and unemployment, the same issues that led to Mubarak’s downfall. “We want the downfall of the regime,” said Abdelrahman Abdellatif, 29, an air condition-ing engineer, at the Cairo protest. “The youth of the revolution are still here... We are experienc-ing unprecedented fascism and dictatorship.”
There were also Sisi support-ers, including a woman wearing a shirt with an image of the former military intelligence chief.
In Alexandria, around 500 people gathered near a railway station. Meanwhile, 300 Sisi sup-porters holding up photographs of him protested outside a mosque in the port city.
Calls for protests have gathered thousands of supporters on Face-book, including from the outlawed Brotherhood, which accused Sisi of staging a coup when it was oust-ed and rolling back freedoms won after hundreds of thousands of Egyptians protested fi ve years ago in Cairo’s Tahrir Square against Mubarak. — Reuters
Thousands of people
called for the Egypt
government to fall
as security forces
detained about
50 protesters
Yemeni forces seize city of Houta fromAl Qaeda
ADEN: Yemeni forces backed by Apache helicopters from a Saudi-led coalition wrested the city of Houta from Al Qaeda fi ghters after a gun battle on Friday morning, a local military offi cial said.
Hours later, a car bomb detonat-ed outside the foreign ministry in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, causing no casualties, another lo-cal offi cial said. IS militant group claimed responsibility in a post-ing on its Al Amaq news agency website. The recapture of Houta, regional capital of southern Lahj province which has been held by the militants since last summer, is one of the embattled Yemeni gov-ernment’s most important inroads yet against Al Qaeda forces who have taken advantage of more than a year of war to seize territory.
Government troops began their attack at daybreak and succeeded after several hours of air strikes and heavy combat, the military of-fi cial told Reuters. “The campaign to control Houta has been com-pleted and it has been cleansed of Al Qaeda and extremist elements,” he said. Several people were killed and injured on both sides and 48 militants were captured, he added.
Saudi Arabia and its mostly Arab allies entered Yemen’s civil war on March 26 last year in sup-port of Yemen’s internationally recognised government after it had been pushed into exile by the Houthi group.
Amid impoverished Yemen’s se-curity chaos, Al Qaeda in the Ara-bian Peninsula (AQAP) seized the port city of Mukalla and extended its area of control and infl uence about 600km (370 miles) along Yemen’s southern coast toward the government seat at Aden.
Forces loyal to President Ab-durabbo Mansour Hadi have been repeatedly attacked by Al Qaeda and IS militants as the embattled administration struggles to secure Aden and the southern provinces where the fi ghters thrive. — Reuters
N A T I O N A T W A R
Iran calls on US, EU to help it access global fi nancial systemWASHINGTON: Iran on Friday called on the United States and the European Union to help it access the global fi nancial system, includ-ing assets that Tehran says were supposed to be unfrozen following its historic nuclear deal with ma-jor international powers.
“They need to do whatever is needed to honour their com-mitments,” Iranian central bank Governor Valiollah Seif said at an event on the sidelines of the In-
ternational Monetary Fund and World Bank (IMF) spring meet-ings in Washington.
“Otherwise the JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal) breaks up under its own terms,” he said.
MeetingSeif met with US Treasury Sec-retary Jack Lew on Thursday and said they discussed Iran’s expecta-tions under the July 2015 nuclear agreement. Under that deal, Iran
agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for improved access to the global economy, including the dropping of certain economic sanctions.
Lew told Seif at that meeting that the United States would keep meeting “its sanctions-related commitments in good faith” as long as Iran continues to uphold its end of the bargain, a Treasury offi cial said in a statement.
Iran is increasingly exacerbat-
ed that few trade deals are going through as foreign banks shy away from processing transactions with the country even after the nuclear-related sanctions were lifted.
Frozen funds“In general we are not able to use our frozen funds abroad,” Seif said.
Iranian hopes of rapidly ending the country’s economic isolation are fading as European banks in particular, some of which have al-
ready been hit by hit huge US fi nes for sanctions busting, fear falling afoul of the many other restric-tions imposed by Washington that remain in force.
“We want both sides of this agreement, especially the US, to take the required measures to re-move the obstacles,” Seif said.
He urged Iran’s partners in the deal to hold more “face-to-face contacts” with international bank-ers to assure them they won’t be
penalised for working with Teh-ran. He said the United States needed to make changes to its laws and regulations to give Iran access to the US fi nancial system.
US banks are still forbidden to do business with Iran. While lend-ers based elsewhere are not cov-ered by this ban, major problems remain, mainly rules prohibiting transactions in dollars from being processed through the US fi nan-cial system. — Reuters
J U L Y 2 0 1 5 N U C L E A R A G R E E M E N T
‘EU willing to deploy security personnel to help stabilise Libya if request is made’BRUSSELS: The European Un-ion is signalling that it will consid-er moving security personnel into Libya to help stabilise the chaotic country if requested by a new UN-backed Libyan government, ac-cording to a draft statement seen by Reuters.
Impetus for the move comes in part from fears of an uncontrolled new tide of migrants into Italy from Libya unless law and order can be rebuilt soon in the North African state. EU foreign and de-fence ministers will hold a special dinner on Monday in Luxembourg where they are expected to agree to look into police and border train-ing missions for Libya, initially in Tripoli, where the new govern-ment is trying to establish itself.
“The EU stands ready to of-fer security sector support in response to possible (UN) Gov-ernment of National Accord re-quests,” ministers are expected to say, according to a draft statement prepared by diplomats that is still under discussion.
“A possible civilian... mission could support Libyan eff orts... through advice and capacity building in the fi elds of police and criminal justice,” said the draft, referring to counter-terrorism, border management and tackling the smuggling of migrants across the Mediterranean to Europe.
An EU security presence in Lib-ya, which would not involve sol-
diers, would be Europe’s biggest step in the oil-producing nation since a NATO-backed mission led to the fall of Libya’s long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Diplomats said there had yet to be a detailed discussion with the new UN-brokered Libyan gov-ernment in defi ning what kind of assistance they wanted from the EU, and that it keen to avoid the impression of moving into the country uninvited. “It is a delicate balance,” said one senior EU of-fi cial involved in the plans. “We need to prepare to help Libya, but we cannot jump the gun.”
Libyan offi cials with the new unity government were not im-
mediately available for comment on the specifi c document. But they have said any international security cooperation must be Libyan-led and so far have made no detailed request for aid. But in-viting in foreign military trainers remains a sensitive subject for the new government, who opponents accuse of being a foreign-imposed body with no legitimacy.
Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Seraj will speak to ministers by video conference at the dinner on Monday.
Talks on a possible EU se-curity mission could give mo-mentum to discussions among Italian, French, British and US
military planners on whether to send troops to Libya to help pro-tect key installations, government buildings, ports and the airport.
The United States is eager to see Europe, not Washington, take the lead in a region on the con-tinent’s doorstep. The separate mission, which includes France, Italy, Britain and the United States and is known as the Libya International Assistance Mission, has already briefed EU diplomats about how it could have a military role in stabilising Libya. It may set up a secretariat based in Rome.
Also under consideration is how the EU’s so-called “Sophia” naval mission operating in international waters near Libya could move into Libyan waters to destroy boats used by people smugglers, catch the traffi ckers and head off an ex-pected surge in migrants trying to reach Europe by sea from Libya. While the naval mission has been operating since mid-2015 and has saved more than 8,000 lives, it is unable to move into Libyan waters without a request from the Libyan government and a UN Security Council resolution.
The problem has been fi nding an eff ective governing authority in Libya to deal with. Libya has been in anarchy for years, with two competing governments based in Tripoli and the far east and a plethora of militias domi-nating various regions. — Reuters
C H A O T I C C O U N T R Y
UP IN ARMS: Egyptian protesters take part in a demonstration against a controversial deal to hand two islands in the Red Sea to Saudi
Arabia on Friday outside the Journalists’ Syndicate in central Cairo. – AFP
STRICT VIGIL: A member of the force assigned to protect Libya’s
unity government stands at the entrance to where the govern-
ment has their offi ces, in Tripoli, Libya on Thursday. – Reuters
A5
INDIAS AT U R DAY, A P R I L 1 6, 2 0 1 6
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One more youth dies in police fi ring as Valley remains on boilSRINAGAR: Jammu and Kash-mir continued to be on the boil on Saturday with one more youth getting killed and three others be-ing injured in fi ring by security forces in Kupwara district to dis-perse stone-pelting mobs who at-tacked an army camp.
Protests rocked many places in Kupwara and its adjoining areas to mark the fourth day of death of three persons who were killed in fi ring by security forces in Hand-wara town of Indian-adminis-tered-Kashmir on Tuesday fol-lowing allegations of molestation of a girl. A police offi cial said, four persons were injured when secu-rity forces opened fi re on a mob which was pelting stones on an army camp at Kupwara’s Nathnu-sa area, about 100km from here.
Among the injured, a youth, Arif Ahmad, was hurt critically and succumbed to his wounds later, sources said. With the latest casualty, the death toll has risen to fi ve in the unrest that began on
Tuesday, following allegations of molestation of a girl in Handwara.
An Army offi cial said, the forces opened fi re only after the mobs tried to storm the camp.
“A group of protesters was pelt-ing stones at the (Army) camp but the soldiers exercised restraint. However, the situation started go-ing out of hand as a large number of them tried to storm the camp
from all directions,” the offi cial said. The situation in the north Kashmir district has worsened following fresh casualties as more people are taking to streets against the killings. Reports of protests were also received from parts of south Kashmir and the state capital of Srinagar but there were no casualties in these inci-dents, the offi cial said. - PTI
P R O T E S T
‘Operational synergy among forces helps achieve victory’
WELLINGTON (Tamil Nadu): President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday stressed on “jointness” among the three armed forces to ensure ultimate victory in con-fl icts and eff ectively uphold the sovereignty of the country.
Addressing the convocation of the 71st Staff Course at the pres-tigious Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) at Wellington in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, he said such a synergy en-sured victory in the 1971 war for India as a result of which Bangla-desh was liberated.
“Army, Navy and Air Force are the military instruments of state
power. The history of warfare bears testimony that the ultimate victory in war will be achieved through jointness among the three services.”
“The foremost example, in contemporary history, of excel-lent synergy and jointmanship exhibited in military history was during the 1971 war. No strategic military victory has ever been so precedented by any armed force in the world,such as the liberation of Bangladesh which culminated with the birth of a nation, in ter-mination of the war,” he said.
Mukherjee said, DSSC’s cur-riculum was institutionalised to empower jointness among the armed forces.
Apart from offi cers of the three defence services and paramilitary forces, 35 offi cers from 25 friendly countries also graduated from the portals of the college on Friday.
The president gave away medals and parchments to them. He asked the graduating offi cers to be well versed about the history of vari-ous confl icts and latest technology available in the modern world for successful military operations.
“It is now upon you to ensure that you use this understand-ing with utmost maturity and prudence to eff ectively leverage the combat power of your forces when the country requires you as custodians of peace and security to preserve the sovereignty, terri-torial integrity conforming to our national interests.”
“As your Supreme Commander, I implore you to do this with total loyalty, distinction, steadfastness and patriotic fervour,” he said.
Mukherjee said the degree ob-tained by the offi cers at the end
of the 45-week command course should act as a “catalyst” in their implacable pursuit of knowledge.
“You should always remain well informed with the latest in mili-tary technology advancements as well as aware of scientifi c devel-opments for their appropriate ap-plication in the armed forces.”
“Study the numerous percep-tions of various confl icts that have chronicled and conscientiously study the evolution of potential fl ashpoints and their evaluated outcomes. It is only when you seek knowledge that you gain wisdom in life to take coherent and timely military decisions which directly aff ects the lives of the forces un-der your command,” he said.
He asked the future command-ers to articulate their views “with clarity and conviction in accord-ance with military rules and regu-lations to obviate ambiguity and ambivalence”.
He also heaped praise on DSSC, calling it “one of the fi nest” pre-mier establishments that ac-centuates well orchestrated and synergised employment and in-tegrated functioning of the three services in a multi-spectrum con-fl ict environment.
The president expressed hope that offi cers from friendly foreign countries who graduated on Fri-day will have “everlasting ties of brotherhood” with India as they forged deep bonds of friendship, spirit of cooperation and camara-derie with offi cers from the coun-try during their stay here. - PTI
President Pranab
Mukherjee asked the
graduating offi cers to
be well versed about
the history of various
confl icts and latest
technology available
in the modern
world for successful
military operations
GRADUATION CEREMONY: President Pranab Mukhrjee at the graduation ceremony of 71st Staff
Course at Defence Services Staff College at Wellington in Nilgiris on Friday. - PTI
Second phase of odd-even begins in Delhi, roads see fewer carsNEW DELHI: Fewer private cars were seen on roads as the second phase of the odd-even scheme was rolled out in Indian capital Delhi on Friday to combat spiralling air pollution with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealing to peo-ple to join hands to make the ini-tiative a success.
Thousands of policemen and civil defence volunteers were de-ployed in various areas of the city to enforce the restriction which will run for 15 days, till April 30.
The actual impact of the scheme will be known only on Monday, the
fi rst full working day after the sec-ond phase roll out.
“Odd even starts today. Let’s all join hands and resolve to make it a success,” Kejriwal tweeted.
The Delhi government, which has projected the second phase of the road-rationing policy as the “decisive” one, said that 2,000 traf-fi c personnel, 580 enforcement of-fi cials and over 5,000 civil defence volunteers are being deployed by it for smooth implementation of the scheme.
Violators will be fi ned Rs2,000 in accordance with relevant sec-
tion of the Motor Vehicles Act and the scheme will not be implement-ed on Sundays.
Under the scheme, odd-num-bered cars are allowed to run on odd dates while even-numbered cars are allowed on even dates. The fi rst phase of the policy, that was in force between January 1 and 15, did not have its intended aff ect as it could not lower pollution “as much as expected” but it signifi cantly helped reduce traffi c congestion in the city, Kejriwal has said.
However, Kejriwal has also stated that his government is se-
riously considering to enforce the measure for a period of fi fteen days every month. Sources said any de-cision in this regard will be taken after analysing impact of the sec-ond phase of the odd-even scheme in reducing pollution.
The only change in the blueprint of the policy’s implementation from its fi rst phase is the exemp-tion given to cars carrying children in school uniform apart from those being driven by women, VIPs ex-cept ministers in the Aam Aadmi Party government and CNG vehi-cles with mandatory stickers. -PTI
C U R B P O L L U T I O N
RATIONING ROAD USE: Traffi c police men slap a challan to a com-
muter for riding with number plate ending with an even digit in
New Delhi on Friday on the fi rst day of the second phase of Delhi
government’s odd-even road rationing scheme. - PTI
India, US to collaborate on tackling off shore tax evasion
WASHINGTON: India and the US have agreed to enhance col-laboration on tackling off shore tax evasion and increase cooperation in sharing of cross-border tax in-formation.
“We are committed to contin-ued collaboration and sharing of experience in tackling off shore tax evasion and avoidance, including joint tax audits and tax examina-tion abroad,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a joint statement on Thursday.
The statement was issued after Jaitley and Lew co-chaired the 6th US-India Economic and Fi-nancial Partnership (EFP) here on the sidelines of the annual Spring Meeting of the International Mon-etary Fund and the World Bank.
“We look forward to the Compe-tent Authorities of the two coun-tries engaging in bilateral dialogue to move forward cooperation in these areas,” it said, adding the two nations “resolved” a signifi cant portion of bilateral tax disputes.
Jaitley and Lew were joined by other senior offi cials from both sides including Federal Re-serve Chair Janet Yellen and Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan.
During the meeting, Lew is be-lieved to have appreciated Jaitley’s eff ort to successfully resolve more than half of the concerns related to tax disputes. - PTI
J O I N T S T A T E M E N T
PATROLLING: Police in action against the members of Tehreek-e-
Hurriyat who were taking out a protest march against the killing
of four persons in Handwara, in Srinagar on Friday. - PTI
A6
INDIAS AT U R DAY, A P R I L 1 6, 2 0 1 6
Campaigning for second phase of West Bengal polls endsKOLKATA: The high-voltage campaign for Sunday’s crucial sec-ond phase of polls in 56 Assembly constituencies in the east Indian state of West Bengal came to an end on Friday evening.
Altogether, 383 candidates, in-cluding 33 women, are fi ghting for the 56 seats which are spread over seven districts — Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Uttar Dina-jpur, Dakshin Dinajpur, Malda and Birbhum. An electorate of over 10.2 million is eligible to exercise their franchise in the crucial phase.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and a host of Union Minis-ters campaigned for Bharatiya Ja-nata Party (BJP) candidates in this phase, while the star campaigner for the Congress was Sonia Gan-dhi. Chief Minister and Trina-mool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee spearheaded her party’s campaign throughout the state.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) state secre-tary Surjyakanta Mishra was the most visible face of the Left who led their campaign. CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury also canvassed for votes in this phase.
Corruption, Narada sting opera-tion, Saradha chit fund scam and alleged muzzling of democracy under the present administration were the principal issues high-lighted by the opposition parties during their electioneering.
The prime minister, in his poll speeches, attacked Mamata, ac-cusing her of making an “adjust-ment” with corruption and mis-leading people with the slogan for change (parivartan) in West Ben-gal. He also attacked the Congress-
Left alliance in the state, pointing out the “inevitable discrepancy in the unlikely tie-up”.
Development workChief Minister Mamata Banerjee largely concentrated on the de-velopment work undertaken by her government. Sonia Gandhi launched a frontal attack on the TMC chief, alleging she did not fulfi l her poll promises and likened Mamata and Modi with the two sides of the same coin. Poll ana-lysts will be keenly watching the Siliguri constituency in north Ben-gal where during the municipal elections last year, the Congress-Left experiment had fi rst started.
The high-profi le candidates who will try their luck in this phase include Siliguri Mayor and former minister Ashok Bhattacharya, for-mer captain of the Indian football team Bhaichung Bhutia, Soumi-tra Ray, singer of popular Bengali band ‘Bhoomi’, actor Locket Chat-
terjee and Joy Banerjee.State ministers Gautam Deb,
Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury and Sabitri Mitra are also in the poll fray in this phase of election.
Mamata faced the ire of the Election Commission (EC) which slapped a show-cause notice on her for allegedly violating the model code of conduct by making certain remarks during a rally.
TMC’S Birbhum district presi-dent Anubrata Mandal has been courting a number of controver-sies, including allegations that he has been openly intimidating voters. Taking cognizance, the EC said it had started the process of taking urgent legal action against him after a censure failed to con-trol him. In the face of opposition’s allegations, the EC had removed Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar and the Birbhum Superintendent of Police (SP), besides transferring a number of lower level police offi cers. - PTI
C R U C I A L P H A S E
WOOING VOTERS: Women supporters of Trinamool Congress during an elections campaign rally for
the upcoming Assembly polls at Balurghat in South Dinajpur district of West Bengal on Friday. - PTI
Passport of grounded airlines’ promoter Mallya suspended
NEW DELHI: Trouble for be-leaguered beverages baron Vijay Mallya, facing charges of misap-ropriation of bank funds amount-ing to Rs90 billion, mounted on Friday after the government sus-pended his diplomatic passport for four weeks.
Warrant soughtIn a related development, the En-forcement Directorate (ED) in Mumbai asked the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) special court for a non-bailable warrant against Mallya.
The ED plea for non-bailable warrant against Mallya is likely to
come up for hearing on Saturday, sources said. The suspension of his passport would make Mallya’s overseas stay diffi cult, sources said. Mallya is in Britain since over a month now.
Bank loansMallya, who is wanted by the ED on charges of misappropriation of Rs90 billion, he received in bank loans, left India on March 2.
On March 11, the business ty-coon tweeted that he is not an ab-sconder. Announcing suspension of Mallya’s diplomatic passport, the Ministry of External Aff airs
spokesperson said in a statement here: “On the advise of the En-forcement Directorate, the pass-port issuing authority in the Min-istry of External Aff airs has today suspended the validity of Vijay Mallya’s diplomatic passport with immediate eff ect.”
Mallya has been asked to re-spond within one week as to why his passport should not be im-pounded or revoked under Sec-tion 10(3)(c) of the Passports Act, 1967. “If he fails to respond within the stipulated time, it will be as-sumed that he has no response to off er and the MEA will go ahead
with the revocation,” the state-ment said.
Plea for revocationOn April 13, the Enforcement Directorate sought revocation of Mallya’s diplomatic passport af-ter he failed to appear before the probe agency. Mallya is alleged by the ED of having skipped as many as three summons issued by the agency for questioning.
Earlier this month, Mallya had informed ED investigators that he will be unable to depose person-ally as he also had legal proceed-ings in the Supreme Court over
settlement of a loans case. On March 30, Mallya’s counsel told the Supreme Court that he has off ered to pay Rs40 billion to set-tle outstanding dues against the grounded Kingfi sher Airlines on account of loans extended by a consortium of 13 banks headed by the State Bank of India.
The Supreme Court on April 7 directed Mallya to disclose all his assets — movable and immovable and tangible and intangible — and other shareholding and benefi -cial interests in India and abroad by April 21.
An apex court bench of Justice Kurien Joseph and Justice Rohin-ton Fali Nariman asked Mallya to disclose all the assets held by his wife and children also and indi-cate the date when he can appear before it in person.
Industry watchers say trouble for the sitting, independent Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, known for his lavish lifestyle, had begun shortly after he launched Kingfi sher Airlines in 2005 as the aviation industry slowly started dwindling. Mallya fi rst took loans from IDBI bank in 2006 and again in 2009 got loans from a consorti-um of banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) for airline.
By 2007, he also had spent a huge amount to take over low-cost carrier Air Deccan. But by 2010, the business tycoon had run into rough weather and tentatively had a debt of over Rs.70 billion — which only increased with the passage of time. - IANS
Vijay Mallya,
who is wanted by
the Enforcement
Directorate
on charges of
misappropriation
of Rs90 billion, he
received in bank
loans, left India
on March 2
Industry watchers say
trouble for the sitting,
independent Rajya
Sabha member from
Karnataka, known for
his lavish lifestyle, had
begun shortly after he
launched Kingfisher
Airlines in 2005 as the
aviation industry slowly
started dwindlingVijay Mallya
Temperatures soar across the country, mercury reaches 40NEW DELHI: Mercury contin-ued to soar across the country on Friday, mostly in central and pen-insular states where several pock-ets recorded high temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius.
Heatwave has claimed 35 lives in the south Indian state of Tel-angana, where the government has advanced summer holidays for schools to April 16 from April 24, keeping in view the rising temperatures. The highest maxi-mum temperature of 44 degrees Celsius in the state was recorded in Nizamabad district. In the east Indian state of Odisha too, more than 30 people have died due to heat stroke.
Maximum temperature in capi-tal New Delhi settled at 42.2 de-grees Celsius, four notches above normal, a MeT offi cial said. In-dia Meteorological Department (IMD) said, its weather stations at 25 places across the coun-try recorded mercury at over 40 degree Celsius.
HeatwaveHeatwave conditions prevailed in west and east Madhya Pradesh, Vidharbha region of Maharash-tra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, east and west Rajasthan, Telangana, Rayal-seema region of Andhra Pradesh,
Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, it said. Mercury at several places, majority of them in the south In-dian states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, settled between 40 and 45 degrees Cel-sius. Heatwave conditions are also expected in Marathwada and cen-tral parts of the west Indian state of Maharashtra, IMD said.
Highest temperatureWardha in Vidarbha region re-corded the highest temperature of 45 degrees Celsius, followed by Chandrapur at 44.6 degrees. In Od-isha, the MeT offi ce said, Sonepur recorded the highest temperature of 45.8 degrees Celsius. State capi-
tal Bhubaneswar recorded maxi-mum of 40.2 degress Celsius.
In the north Indian state of Ra-jasthan, mercury hovered above 40 degrees at most places, with Kota recording the highest of 43.4 degrees Celsius.
Churu, Sriganganagar, Jaisalm-er and Jaipur recorded day tem-peratures of 43.3, 42.3, 42.2 and 41 degree Celsius respectively, the lo-cal MeT offi ce said. - PTI
S C O R C H I N G S U M M E R
‘Facing camera more diffi cult than playing cricket’
MUMBAI: Sachin Tendulkar says facing the camera for his soon-to-be-released biopic has been more challenging than standing up to the fastest bowlers in the world and scoring runs. The teaser of the fi lm, Sachin: A Billion Dreams, was released on Thursday.
“For so many years, I did what-ever I wanted to do and the cam-era captured that. Suddenly I was asked to do particular things and then the camera captured that, so it was a bit diff erent for me. Believe me, the fi rst option was better,” said Tendulkar.
“Acting is not something that I dreamt of. Without any doubt, acting was more challenging than playing cricket. I enjoyed play-ing more,” added Tendulkar, who played 200 Test matches before retiring in November, 2013.
Tendulkar, 42, is making his act-ing debut with the biopic directed by award-winning British director James Erskine. - PTI
A C T I N G D E B U T
Sachin Tendulkar
HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com [email protected]
WEATHER BLUES : An elephant splashes mud to get respite from
the heat on the banks of Yamuna river in New Delhi on Friday. - PTI
A7
PAKISTANS AT U R DAY, A P R I L 1 6, 2 0 1 6
All Pakistanis named in Panama Papers face probe
ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to investigate all Pa-kistanis named in the Panama Papers through a judicial com-mission headed by a retired judge, rebuffi ng the opposition’s de-mand for a probe into the scandal through a serving judge.
On Thursday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar after a marathon huddle with senior leaders of the ruling party fi nalised the government’s strategy with three major compo-nents: legal, political and adminis-trative measures, to deal with the mounting pressure.
The government has been un-der tremendous pressure since the Panama Papers revealed the names of around 220 Pakistanis, including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ’s immediate family mem-bers, keeping off shore accounts in international tax havens.
While the premier has already ordered an inquiry led by a retired judge of the Supreme Court, the Imran Khan-led PTI has threat-
ened to stage a sit-in outside the Sharif family house in Raiwind if the government does not order an impartial investigation by the country’s top judge.
IllegalityThe government went ahead with its stance while fi nalising the terms of reference (ToRs) for the judicial inquiry through a former judge to establish if any of those named in the Panama leaks com-mitted any illegality in fi nancial transactions.
“Since the Supreme Court chief justice has already expressed his intent through his remarks, we would go for a retired judge-led
commission,” a minister told The Express Tribune.
The commission will be set up under the inquiry commission act and notifi ed in the next few days. It will have the power to summon any individual or institution and hire the services of any agency to help it investigate the matter.
Some retired judges of the apex court have already declined the government’s off er to head the new commission. Prominent among those are former SC chief justices Nasirul Mulk and Tas-sadiq Hussian Jilani.
Unconfi rmed reports claim the government has also approached Justice (retd) Sarmad Jalal Usm-
ani. A participant at the meeting held at the Prime Minister House said the main objective of the commission is to determine who amongst the accused infringed laws and committed illegal acts. “The commission will examine the case of every Pakistani na-tional, whose name has come up in Panama Papers. This will not be only limited to the Sharif family alone.”
The government would share the ToRs of its proposed commis-sion with other political parties for which it has allocated separate teams. Parallel to the legal course of action, the meeting also chalked out the government’s strategy to
deal with the issue politically. Dar would form separate teams to tar-get diff erent political parties with each team tasked to accost a po-litical group to woo them into ac-cepting the proposed ToRs.
The administrative task of tackling the protesting parties has been left to Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
The government team later sent its detailed plan to prime minister, who is in London for a medical checkup.
A statement issued by the Prime Minister House after the meeting said the PML-N leader-ship has vowed not to be deterred by the “conspiracies and the spate of ridiculous allegations against the prime minister,” and to con-tinue with the national develop-ment agenda.
ConspiraciesDar said the prime minister, had asked the party leaders not to pay any heed to the conspiracies be-ing hatched against the progres-sive and development agenda of his government and focus on early completion of the mega-develop-ment schemes.
The meeting was attended by the Punjab chief minister, Infor-mation Minister Pervaiz Rashid, Safron Minister Abdul Qadir Ba-loch, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Law Minister Zahid Hamid, Railways Minister Saad Rafi que, Senator Mushahidullah Khan and Maryam Nawaz. Former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan and the At-torney General of Pakistan also participated. — Express Tribune
The government
has been under
tremendous pressure
since the Panama
Papers revealed the
names of around
220 Pakistanis
US promises $100m fund to propel SMEs
ISLAMABAD: United States has announced that it will provide a fund of over $100 million for in-vestment in small and medium en-terprises (SMEs), which provide a large number of jobs and make a signifi cant contribution to the economy, through the Pakistan Private Investment Initiative.
Speaking at the launching cer-emony of the Pakistan Private In-vestment Initiative on Thursday, US Ambassador David Hale re-vealed that the investment would be made in partnership with the Abraaj Group, Indus Basin Hold-ing and JS Private Equity Man-agement. The initiative comprises three professionally managed investment funds that will pro-vide equity capital for Pakistan’s dynamic and fast growing small and medium businesses. The US Agency for International Develop-ment (USAID) has given $24 mil-lion for each fund and the Abraaj Group, Indus Basin Holding and JS Private Equity Management will each match or provide more than USAID’s contribution.
“Our hope is that by improv-ing access to credit for fi rst-time borrowers, we will break down barriers for creators and innova-tors who will fi nd solutions to the development challenges facing Pakistan and the world,” the envoy pointed out, believing that invest-ment in entrepreneurs would pay dividends for the decades to come.
He described the private sec-tor as good for boosting Pakistan’s economy. “Pakistan is making progress in economy and investor confi dence is increasing for invest-ment,” he said and called private sector investment essential for the national economy. — Express Tribune
I N V E S T M E N T
Japanese visitor becomes beacon of light for womenGILGIT: Women empowerment was not on Tokunaga Tadako’s mind when she visited Gilgit-Baltistan in 1974 for the fi rst time. Engrossed and completely capti-vated by the beauty of the region, Tadako explored the area and mingled with locals.
“Soon, the plight of women in Gilgit-Baltistan overshadowed my ecstasy and I became con-vinced that I had to work here for their welfare,” the 72-year-old Japanese woman who speaks fl u-ent Urdu, said.
Over the past 15 years, over 10,000 women have learnt the art of sewing and stitching from voca-tional training centres that Tadako established in Gilgit. Many mar-ginalised women have been able to earn a living and support their families because of the skills they were taught. In early 1980s, Taka-do married Samiul Haq, a resident of Gilgit-Baltistan and settled in Gilgit. She also converted to Islam,
changing her name to Laila. “It was after my marriage, that I truly realised how helpless women in the area were. They lacked health, education and civic amenities.”
She said she knew something had to be done about it. Nearly two decades after her marriage, her husband passed away and she moved back to Japan, but her rela-tionship with the region continued to blossom. “My desire to work for women increased especially af-ter the death of my husband,” she said. In 1999, she contacted her relatives in Gilgit and set up a vo-cational training centre – Nipa Welfare Association (NWA) – for women with their assistance.
The centre not only provided women basic education but also taught them skills such as sew-ing and stitching to help them be-come fi nancially independent.
In 2004, the NWA purchased three kanals of land and formally shifted the vocational centre into
a building in 2008. It has over 10 rooms, apart from two training halls, and is supervised by Saiqa Nazir, a relative of her late hus-band. “Without Nazir’s help, I would not have been able to do all of this,” she said. Apart from the original NWA venue which she set up herself, the 72-year-old manages fi ve other centres in various parts of Gilgit. At present over 100 women are receiving training at six centres in Gilgit. During special classes, they are also taught about how to maintain health care of newborn babies.
Tadako visits the centre in Gilgit-Baltistan twice a year and has been impressed and over-whelmed by the impact of her work and the warm reception shown by people. “I feel an inner peace whenever I help women whose circumstances are not al-ways promising,” she said and vowed to continue her work till her death. — Express Tribune
G I L G I T - B A L T I S T A N
TOUGH STAND: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. A statement issued by the Prime Minister House after
the meeting said the PML-N leadership has vowed not to be deterred by the “conspiracies and the
spate of ridiculous allegations against the prime minister. – Reuters fi le photograph
Soon, the plight of women in Gilgit-Baltistan overshadowed my ecstasy and I became convinced that I had to work here for their welfare
Tokunaga Tadako, Japanese woman
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What next for refugees from Syria in Lebanon?Mireille Girard
The Syrian confl ict, entering its sixth year, has caused an unprecedented crisis, gen-erating 4.8 million refugees throughout the
region and directly aff ecting 13.5 million people within Syria. The war next door has had a pro-found impact on Lebanon, with ramifi cations for the country’s security, economy and society.
The Lebanese people and institutions have gen-erously opened their doors to more than one mil-lion Syrian refugees, while responding to their needs and those of the host communities. It is truly a challenge, striving to off er quality public services like education or primary health care for both the Lebanese – especially the most impoverished – and the Syrians whom they host. But Lebanon has done this, with humanity and political courage.
Against this backdrop, and after years in exile, the situation for Syrian refugees in Lebanon is now deteriorating rapidly. With their savings depleted, they have entered a vicious circle of extreme pov-erty, leaving them barely enough for daily survival.
More than 70 per cent now live below the na-tional poverty line of less than $4 a day, and most have racked up debts of up to $950 per family, just to aff ord the most basic items, such as food, medi-cine and rent. The Lebanese, too, have been seri-ously aff ected by the Syrian confl ict, with their economy depressed and unemployment rising, especially among the young.
The support from the international community has been unwavering; since 2013, more than $3.4 billion has been allocated to Lebanon, and 35,000 refugees have been resettled from Lebanon to other countries. Despite this, the assistance un-fortunately remains insuffi cient when set against stretched resources and growing needs. The Leba-nese government and its humanitarian partners have requested $2.48 billion in the 2016 Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP), the main appeal for funding from the international community.
While the cessation of hostilities in Syria -- which is mostly holding since 27 February -- and the tortuous path to the negotiating table provide glimmers of hope, only a political settlement will bring peace and security. This will answer the con-cerns of the Lebanese people, and those of every Syrian refugee. The refugees have just one wish: to go back, safely, to the homeland from which they were torn. This is what I am told every day by the
refugees that I meet: they are fully aware that their stay in Lebanon is temporary – just for the time they need to be protected.
In the meantime, Syrian refugees need to sur-vive in exile and those hosting them must be sup-ported, be they Lebanese families aiding Syrians, or the institutions that are providing the much-needed basic services. Humanitarian assistance is never suffi cient, stabilisation support is also re-quired. The Supporting Syria and the Region Con-ference, held in London in February, showed that the international community and host countries in the region are mobilizing to tackle the crisis to-gether with additional resources and initiatives.
This off ers a rare opportunity, and it should be seized. Support for Lebanon’s economy and infra-structure would help to generate employment for those most in need in impoverished areas, includ-ing Syrians in sectors where they have tradition-ally fi lled demand and do not compete with Leba-nese workers. This would help them meet their basic survival needs and pay their bills. Maintain-ing their legal residency status in Lebanon is a ma-jor concern of refugees. At the moment, many are unable to renew their residency because of the cost and the documents required. They just wish to stay afl oat and keep their papers in order.
Beyond immediate survival, what comes next for the refugees? Resettlement to a third country is one solution, and it is ongoing. Last year, countries doubled the number of places available for Syrian refugees to leave Lebanon. Resettlement is a safety net for the most vulnerable, including those who have survived torture or trauma, female heads of households or people with a serious illness that cannot be treated locally. UNHCR is asking the international community to multiply the number of opportunities for refugees outside the region, including through scholarships, work permits and other temporary humanitarian admission schemes. Everyone -- not least the refugees them-selves -- agrees that the main solution for refugees will be to return home when conditions allow.
Mireille Girard is United Nations High Commis-sioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representative in Lebanon - Special to Times of Oman
No phone while drivingYesterday while waiting at a traffi c signal, looking at the signs put up by ROP ‘No phone while driving’, my eight year old daughter asked me “Pappa are we to follow that”. Yes 100 per cent I told her. Then
why is that uncle not following, see that aunty is also using the phone. I had no answer. This shows that the message has still not reached the hard-core phone users. What can be done? Naming and shaming will be a good idea, as fi ne and jail terms have not had any aff ect. Sill trying to fi nd an answer for my daughter’s question. ‘If they can use why can’t we?’— Venu Seshan, Muscat
IPL soft target after BCCI was told to shift matches out of MaharashtraAfter the Bombay High Court’s order to move Indian Premier League matches out of drought-hit Maharashtra, there has been a call from many quarters not to mix cricket with such a serious issue. Without any long term solution being found how could one think that water will start fl owing to
drought-hit areas. Cricket being a religion in India, IPL has become a soft target just to showcase the plight of the drought-hit people and the need to save them. — Mahesh Dadlani, Al Amerat
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Photographic exhibition on human life in OmanMUSCAT: A 15-day long photographic exhibition highlighting the signifi cance of human life in Oman will be opened here tomorrow. The exhibition will be held at Sultan Qaboos University from April 15 to 19 followed by a four-day exhibition at the Hotel Inter-Continental Mus-cat from April 21 to 24 and a six-day display at the Omani Women’s Association from May 5 to 10. The exhibition will display nearly 65 photographs by Khamis Ali Al Moharbi selected from about 10,000 slides and photographs. Similar exhibitions will be held in Nizwa, So-har, Salalah, Sur and Bidbid.
1945: American troops enter Nuremberg, Germany.
1947: A lens which provides zoom eff ects is demonstrated in New York City.
1968: The Pentagon announces the “Vietnamisation” of the war.
1972: Two giants pandas arrive in the US from China.
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What do the recently released Panama papers, ExxonMobil,
and a Canadian mining company operating in Guatemala have in common? They are all cases in
which powerful individuals and organisations tried to obfuscate, deceive, or hide behind a front. And they are all cases in which
that eff ort didn’t work.
LUCY P. MARCUS
In Islamabad, the talk around CPEC is loaded with promises of a “game-changing initiative”. Here, ambiguities still surround many
issues such as the preference for the western route. Projects such as the Orange Line or coal-based power plants continue to draw fl ak and
controversy.
IMTIAZ GUL
Europe is gearing up for a summer of discontent. There’s the UK
referendum on European Union membership, a simmering refugee
crisis and an increasingly desperate European Central Bank. Taken together, this list gives reason
enough to be fearful about the health of the European project in the
coming months.
MARK GILBERT
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T O D A Y I N H I S T O R Y
Vietnam’s young tech talent is successfully drawing foreign funds to the country’s booming startup scene.
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Aftershocks rattle Japan as earthquake claims 9 lives
TOKYO: Aftershocks rattled southwestern Japan on Friday af-ter a strong quake the night before killed nine people, injured at least 1,000 and cut power and water across the region, forcing the tem-porary shutdown of several auto and electronics factories.
By afternoon, more than 130 af-tershocks had hit the area around the city of Kumamoto in the wake of the initial 6.4 magnitude quake the night before. Offi cials said the frequency was tapering off but the risk of further strong aftershocks will remain for about a week.
While the magnitude of Thurs-day’s quake was much lower than that of the 9.0 March 11, 2011 quake that touched off a massive tsunami and nuclear meltdowns at Fukushima, the intensity was similar because it struck on land and at a much shallower depth.
“We managed to huddle into a space, that’s why we were saved,” one man told NHK national television after he and his fam-ily were rescued from their col-lapsed house two hours after the quake hit. “We’re all safe, that’s what counts.”
More than 44,000 people ini-tially fl ed to schools and commu-nity centres, some spending the night outside after the fi rst quake hit around 9:30pm.
Roads cracked, houses crum-bled, and tiles cascaded from the roof of the 400-year-old Ku-mamoto Castle in the centre of the city.
Among those pulled from the wreckage was an eight-month-old baby girl, wrapped in a blanket and passed hand to hand by fi re-fi ghters. Several hospitals had to evacuate patients.
Japanese stocks ended down 0.4 per cent, with the impact of the quake limited primarily to
regional shares that could experi-ence some direct impact. Regional utility Saibu Gas Co Ltd fi nished 2.7 per cent lower.
Several companies, including Honda Motor Corp, suspended operations at plants in the area.
More than 3,000 troops, police and fi remen were dispatched to the area from around Japan, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said more would be sent if needed.
“We will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of local residents,” Abe told a parliamen-tary committee.
Most of the dead came from Mashiki, a town of around 34,000 people near the epicentre of the quake, where fi refi ghters battled a blaze late on Thursday. Day-
light showed splintered houses under tiled roofs and an apart-ment building whose ground fl oor was pulverized, where two people died.
“I want to go home, but we couldn’t do anything there,” one boy at an evacuation centre told TBS television as he bounced a baby in his arms.
Though the intensity of Thurs-day’s quake on the Japanese scale matched that of the March 2011 quake that left nearly 20,000 dead, the absence of a tsunami helped keep the death toll down.
Service on the Shinkansen su-perfast train in Kyushu was halted after one train derailed, and high-ways were closed after some sec-tions collapsed.
About 12,200 households were without electricity as of 12pm (0500 GMT), according to Ky-ushu Electric Power Co Inc, while some 58,000 lacked water.
The Nuclear Regulation Au-thority said there were no irregu-larities at three nuclear plants on the southern major island of Ky-ushu and nearby Shikoku.
Sony Corp, Mitsubishi Electric Corp and tire maker Bridgestone Corp also suspended operations at factories in the area.
The 2011 quake temporarily crippled part of Japan’s auto sup-ply chain, but some companies have since adjusted the industry’s “Just in Time” production philos-ophy in a bid to limit any repeat of the costly disruption. — Reuters
More than 130
aftershocks had hit
the area around the
city of Kumamoto in
the wake of the initial
6.4 magnitude quake
on Thursday night
North Korea accused of ‘sabre-rattling’ after failed missile launch SEOUL: North Korea attempted and failed to launch what experts believe was an intermediate-range ballistic missile on Friday in defi -ance of UN sanctions and in an embarrassing setback for leader Kim Jong Un, drawing criticism from major ally China.
The failed launch, as the reclu-sive country celebrates the “Day of the Sun” on the birthday of Kim’s grandfather, follows the North’s fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch in Feb-ruary, which led to new UN sanc-tions. But the North has neverthe-less pushed ahead with its missile programme, supervised by Kim, in breach of UN Security Council resolutions.
The US-based 38 North website, which specialises in North Korea,
said there has been activity at the country’s nuclear site based on satellite imagery and on Wednes-day said the possibility of a fi fth nuclear test “could not be ruled out”. A US government source told Reuters on Friday the missile never got off the launch pad, in-stead bursting into fl ames on the ground. It was not yet clear what caused the failure but further tests are expected, said the source, who asked not to be named.
AngeredChina, North Korea’s most im-portant economic and diplo-matic backer, has been angered by Pyongyang’s nuclear tests and rocket launches in the face of UN sanctions that China also has backed.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the UN Security Council was clear on North Korean rocket launches.
“At present, the situation on the peninsula is complex and sensi-tive,” he told reporters. “We hope all parties can strictly respect the decisions of the Security Council and avoid taking any steps that could further worsen tensions.”
Chinese state media was more direct. “The fi ring of a mid-range ballistic missile on Friday by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), though failed, marks the latest in a string of sabre-rattling that, if unchecked, will lead the country to nowhere,” China’s offi cial Xinhua news agency said in an English language commentary.
“... Nuclear weapons will not make Pyongyang safer. On the con-trary, its costly military endeav-ours will keep on suff ocating its economy.”
Friday is the anniversary of North Korean founding president Kim Il Sung’s birthday, which is widely celebrated. In 2012, it was marked by a long-range rocket launch attempt that also failed.
The US Defence Department said in a statement the launch at 0533 Korea time (2033 GMT Thursday) was detected and tracked by the US Strategic Com-mand, which also assessed it had failed.
“We call again on North Korea to refrain from actions and rhetoric that further raise tensions in the region and focus instead on taking
concrete steps toward fulfi lling its international commitments and obligations,” a US State Depart-ment offi cial said.
MusudanThe missile likely was a Musudan, South Korea’s Yonhap news agen-cy said, an intermediate-range bal-listic missile with a design range of more than 3,000km (1,800 miles) that can be fi red from a road mo-bile launcher but which has never been fl ight-tested.
The United States, which has 28,000 troops stationed in South Korea, said on Thursday it was aware of reports that North Korea was preparing to test intermedi-ate-range missiles and was closely monitoring the Korean peninsula.
“Timing wise, today’s missile
was a cannon salute on the Day of the Sun, leading up to the party congress, but now that it has failed, it is an embarrassment,” said Chang Gwang-il, a retired South Korean army general.
The North is scheduled to hold its ruling party congress in early May, the fi rst such meeting in 36 years.
The North could not completely ignore the sanctions, but consid-ered it the right time to attempt a missile launch to send a message to the world “we don’t surrender to sanctions,” Chang said.
Some experts had said North Korea may choose to test-fi re the Musudan as it tries to build an in-tercontinental ballistic missile de-signed to put the mainland United States within range. — Reuters
I N D E F I A N C E O F U N S A N C T I O N S
Militants setdeadline to execute foreigners
MANILA: Militants in the Philip-pines on Friday announced a new deadline of April 25 for the execu-tion of three foreign captives and a Filipino, but scaled back their ran-som demand in a video posted on social media.
The captives - two Canadian men, a Norwegian man and a Fili-pino woman - were kidnapped from a beach resort on a southern island last September.
They are believed to be held in the jungle on Jolo island, a strong-hold of the Abu Sayyaf group, which is known for bombs, be-headings and kidnappings. In the video, the captives, with machetes held to their necks, asked their families and governments to pay a ransom of $6.51 million (300 mil-lion pesos) each, down from the fi gure of a billion pesos each that the militants demanded last year.
“This is already an ultimatum,” the masked militant leader said. “We will certainly behead one of these four,” he added, setting the execution for 3pm on April 25.
There was no explanation why the ransom was reduced or a new deadline set. A spokesman for the Philippine military declined to comment, saying he had not seen the video.
In the nearly two-minute clip posted on Youtube, the foreign-ers appealed for the militants’ demands to be met. “I am told to tell you that my ransom is 300 mil-lion,” said one man, who identifi ed himself as Robert Hall.
“My specifi c appeal is to the Ca-nadian government, who, I know, have the capacity to get us out of here. I’m wondering what they’re waiting for.” The other Canadian and the Norwegian also made ap-peals, but the Filipino woman was not allowed to speak. The video was the fourth such appeal released by the militants. In their third clip last month, they set an April 8 deadline but no ransom was specifi ed. — Reuters
P H I L I P P I N E S
DESTROYED: A woman stands in front of her damaged house in Mashiki, Kumamoto prefecture on Friday, after a 6.5-magnitude quake
struck the southwestern island of Kyushu on Thursday. – AFP
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So from April 17 to May 1, some 150 countries will engage in a synchronised switch to a bivalent, or two-strain, vaccine that contains no type 2 virus but targets types 1 and 3.
Sanders delivers left hook after Brooklyn brawl
NEW YORK: Democratic presi-dential hopeful Bernie Sanders built on a combative US presi-dential debate, pressuring front-runner Hillary Clinton on Friday over her high speaking fees and minimum-wage stance before Tuesday’s crucial New York nom-inating contest.
Sanders and Clinton challenged each other’s judgment and expe-rience in New York’s Brooklyn borough on Thursday night in their most bellicose of nine de-bates, laying bare the mounting pressures on them both without seeming to change the dynamics of the race. The Sanders campaign released a television ad on Friday that skewered Clinton, without naming her, as accepting more than $200,000 from Wall Street for a speech while not embracing raising the minimum wage from the current $7.25 to $15.
While far short of the brawls that have characterized Repub-
lican debates, the tone refl ected a contentious turn in the Demo-cratic contest before Tuesday’s presidential primary in New York. Clinton and Sanders out-shouted each other while a split crowd roared its approval.
‘Screaming at each other’“If you’re both screaming at each other, the viewers won’t be able to hear either of you,” moderator Wolf Blitzer of CNN warned dur-ing the debate, the latest ahead of the November 8 presidential elec-tion.
When the two-hour debate end-ed, social media analyst Brand-watch said Sanders had more than 173,000 mentions on Twitter, 55 per cent of them positive, while Clinton had more than 191,000 mentions, 54 per cent of them
negative. Clinton mentions were more negative than positive in two out of the three previous debates.
A former US senator from New York, Clinton needs a win to stop a streak of seven victories in the last eight nominating contests by the Brooklyn-born Sanders, a US sen-ator from Vermont, and expand her commanding lead in pledged delegates to her party’s nominat-ing convention in July.
Republicans were gleeful watching the bitter Democratic debate. “Hillary Clinton was sup-posed to have the nomination locked up by the end of March, but she’s instead lost seven straight states and is having to throw the kitchen sink at a 74-year old Vermont socialist as her once 60-point lead dwindles,” said Re-ince Priebus, head of the Republi-
can National Committee.Sanders, 74, takes a quick break
from the campaign trail on Fri-day to fl y to the Vatican to give a brief speech at a conference on the world economy and social jus-tice. Sanders, who will be back in New York to campaign on Sunday, has said the trip is not a political appeal for the Catholic vote but a testament to his admiration for Pope Francis.
At the debate, Clinton said she would sign a bill raising the feder-al minimum wage to $15 if it came from Congress, but she added that her position would be to follow the upstate New York model of raising it gradually. She defended her ad-vocating for a $12 minimum wage by saying that was the fi rst step in ultimately getting it raised to $15.
Both Republican front-runner
Donald Trump and Clinton have big leads in state opinion polls heading into the New York con-test. Trump needs a win to fur-ther his drive toward the 1,237 delegates needed for the nomina-tion, and avoid a contested July convention that could sow Repub-lican chaos.
Clinton leads Sanders by 251 bound delegates to the July Dem-ocratic convention, where 2,383 delegates will be needed for the nomination. A democratic social-ist, Sanders has gained in sup-port as a champion of the working class vowing to erase economic inequality.
QuestionedSanders, who had questioned the former secretary of state’s qualifi -cations to be president, conceded during the debate she was quali-fi ed but said she had shown poor judgment by taking money from Wall Street for speeches, by voting as a US senator to back the 2003 Iraq invasion and by supporting free trade deals.
Clinton, 68, responded the charges were also an attack on President Barack Obama, who as a candidate raised money on Wall Street and utilised Super PACS, outside funding groups that can raise unlimited sums of money, but still fought for tough regula-tions on the fi nancial services in-dustry.
Pressed on what Clinton had done to show she was infl uenced by the money she had raised on Wall Street or her speaking fees, Sanders said she was too busy giv-ing speeches to Goldman Sachs to break up the big banks.
“He cannot come up with any example because there is no ex-ample,” Clinton replied. “I stood up to the behavior of the banks when I was a senator.”
Sanders responded sarcasti-cally: “Secretary Clinton called them out - oh, they must be really crushed by this.” — Reuters
Democratic
presidential hopeful
Bernie Sanders
and Hillary Clinton
challenged each
other’s judgment
and experience in
New York’s Brooklyn
borough on Thursday
night in their
most bellicose
of nine debates
Merkel under fi re for allowing prosecutionof comedian
BERLIN: Germany’s Angela Mer-kel agreed on Friday to allow pros-ecutors to pursue a case against a German comedian who read out a crude poem about Turkey’s Presi-dent Tayyip Erdogan, prompting criticism that the chancellor had failed to protect free speech.
Erdogan had demanded that Germany press charges against Jan Boehmermann after he mocked the Turkish leader in a show on German public broad-caster ZDF on March 31.
A section of the German crimi-nal code prohibits insults against foreign leaders but leaves it to the government to decide whether to authorise prosecutors to pursue such cases.
This put Merkel in an awkward position. She has been the driving force behind a controversial Eu-ropean Union deal with Turkey to stem the fl ow of refugees into Eu-rope and critics have already ac-cused her of ignoring violations of human rights and press freedoms in Turkey to secure its coopera-tion. The chancellor made clear in a statement that the decision to al-low prosecutors to investigate was not a verdict on the merits of the case itself.
But she came under sharp criti-cism from the Social Democrats (SPD), her centre-left coalition partner, which had wanted the Turkish request to be rejected.
“This was the wrong decision in my view,” said Thomas Opper-mann, leader of the SPD in parlia-ment. “Prosecution of satire due to ‘lese majeste’ does not fi t with modern democracy.” Anton Hof-reiter, parliamentary leader of the opposition Greens, said Merkel must now “live with the accusa-tion that the deal with Turkey is more important to her than de-fending freedom of the press”.
Sahra Wagenknecht of the far-left Linke accused Merkel of kow-towing to the “Turkish despot” Er-dogan. — Reuters
M O C K I N G E R D O G A N
Go easy on Mars Food pasta sauces, macaroni cheeseLONDON: Mars Food plans to tell customers to eat some of its Dolmio pasta sauces and maca-roni cheese only once a week to maintain a balanced diet because of the products’ high levels of salt, sugar or fat.
The scheme is part of a larger initiative by the privately owned US food company to encourage healthier eating at a time when large food multinationals, or Big Food, are coming under increas-ing pressure from public health advocates and regulators strug-gling to fi ght a growing obesity epidemic. The plan, however, does not extend to Mars’ chocolate or sweets businesses, whose brands include M&M’s, Snickers and Starburst. Products that are par-ticularly high in salt, sugar or fat, including Dolmio lasagne meal kits and lasagne sauces, will come with a label advising “occasional” consumption, meaning once a week. Products with lower levels of salt, sugar or fat will be consid-ered “everyday” products.
The company said most of its products in the UK would fall into the latter category. However, only
70 per cent of its tomato sauces sold in jars already meet that standard. It did not give details for other countries but plans to intro-duce the labelling in all markets where those products are sold.
Nearly all packaged food mak-ers are reformulating products as they try to keep up with changing tastes of increasingly health-con-scious consumers.
Mars Food, which also produc-es Uncle Ben’s rice, said it plans to post on its website within the next few months a list of “occasional” products, and “everyday” prod-ucts, including ones to be refor-mulated over the next fi ve years to reduce sodium, sugar or fat.
It has also set targets to reduce sodium across its global product range by an average of 20 per cent by 2021, and cut the amount of added sugar in a limited number of sauces and light meals by 2018.
It also plans to boost the use of whole grains and vegetables.
Some countries including Brit-ain, France and Mexico have an-nounced levies on sugar-sweet-ened drinks, while others are considering them. — Reuters
H I G H L E V E L S O F S A L T , S U G A R O R F A T
British royals
trek to mountain
monastery
PARO VALLERY (BHUTAN): Britain’s Duke and Duchess of Cambridge trekked on Friday to a Buddhist monastery on a moun-tainside in Bhutan, going one bet-ter than the duke’s father, Prince Charles, who on a 1998 trip broke off his hike to paint a watercolour.
Prince William and wife Kate dressed down for the three-hour expedition to the so-called Tiger’s Nest that is perched on a moun-tainside at 3,000 metres (10,000 feet). Kate’s outfi t featured knee-length boots, olive trousers and a leather waistcoat, while William wore an open-necked shirt and beige slacks. The couple stopped along the way to smile for the cam-eras before the backdrop of the 17th century Taktsang Palphug Monastery across the Paro valley.
“It was amazing,” William said after the climb. “Beautiful scenery as you saw and with the moun-tains like this, the temples at the top - it was just stunning to walk up there,” he added in a sentiment echoed by Kate. — Reuters
B H U T A N
Final push to wipe out polio begins with vast vaccine switchLONDON: In a huge immunisa-tion eff ort in 150 countries, health teams will on Sunday launch what they hope will be the fi nal push against polio.
Stopping transmission of the contagious viral disease that has infected millions is possible with-in a year, experts say. And full, of-fi cial, global eradication could be declared by the end of this decade.
First, however, the vaccine that has successfully fought polio for more than 30 years needs to be switched for one that targets the last few areas of risk.
It won’t be easy, or cheap, but the World Health Organization’s di-rector of polio eradication, Michel Zaff ran, says failure now - when there have only been 12 cases worldwide this year, in Pakistan and Afghanistan - means the virus could spread across borders again.
Success would make polio only the second human disease to be eradicated since smallpox was banished in 1980. “Taking our foot off the pedal now could mean po-lio will within a few years spread straight back into large parts of the world and create 100,000 or 200,000 cases,” Zaff ran told Reu-ters. “The job has not been done and will not be done until we have fully eradicated the virus.”
EndgameFor the endgame in polio to suc-ceed, a coordinated and complex vaccine switch is crucial. Until now, many countries have been using a shot that protects against the three types of wild polio vi-rus - type 1, type 2 and type 3 - but type 2 polio transmission has been stopped since 1999, meaning im-munising against it now makes no
sense. In rare cases it also poses a risk that the weakened type 2 virus in the vaccine can seep into circu-lation and cause “vaccine-derived” polio infections.
So from April 17 to May 1, some 150 countries will engage in a syn-chronised switch to a bivalent, or two-strain, vaccine that contains no type 2 virus but targets types 1 and 3. It’s a massive undertaking and a major step towards eradica-tion, says Zaff ran. “We’re entering into uncharted territory. This has never been done before. But there’s no going back now.”
That’s partly because polio vac-cine manufacturers - among them France’s Sanofi Pasteur - have moved production to the bivalent shot and would fi nd it tricky, cost-ly, and time-consuming to reverse that move. Anil Dutta, a vaccine expert at British drugmaker Glax-
oSmithKline, which also makes polio shots, is looking beyond eradication to 2019 or 2020, when all “live” oral polio vaccines need to be discontinued.
Then the world will switch again, to “inactivated” polio vac-cine, or IPV, to further reduce any risk of causing disease through immunisation. Scaling up IPV production to meet the needs of the entire world takes years, he warns, and work must start now to avoid potential supply concerns. But prediction has never been easy in the fi ght to wipe out polio, and health authorities have missed targets along the way. The Glob-al Polio Eradication Initiative, launched in 1988, originally aimed to end all transmission of the dis-ease by 2000.
And while there has been a 99 percent reduction in cases world-
wide since the GPEI launch, fi ght-ing the last 1 percent of polio has been far tougher than expected.
FundingIn 2013, the GPEI said the global fi ght against polio would require $5.5 billion in funding, and more will be needed beyond that to keep a lid on the disease. The virus, which invades the nervous system and can cause irreversible paraly-sis within hours, spreads rapidly among children, especially in un-sanitary conditions in war-torn regions, refugee camps and areas where healthcare is limited.
In Pakistan and Afghanistan, the last two countries where polio cur-rently remains endemic, confl ict and propaganda have hampered progress, and in the past posed risks to others. The campaign to eliminate polio in Pakistan is
fraught with risk, with militants attacking health teams they accuse of being Western spies. A polio worker was shot and wounded in February and in January a suicide bomber killed 15 people outside a polio eradication centre in the city of Quetta. In 2011, a polio virus from Pakistan re-infected China, which had been polio free for more than a decade. In 2013, the disease re-emerged in Syria after a 14-year absence, prompting the need for a vast and expensive regional emer-gency vaccination campaign.
And last year, cases of type 2 vaccine-derived polio posed new threats in Ukraine and Mali. Da-vid Salisbury, an immunisation specialist and associate fellow at Britain’s Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security, says the last 1 per cent is a “very long tail” on a stubborn epidemic. — Reuters
C O N T A G I O U S V I R A L D I S E A S E
HEATED DEBATE: Democratic Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders
debate during the CNN Democratic Presidential Primary Debate at the Duggal Greenhouse in the
Brooklyn Navy Yard on Thursday in New York City. – AFP
HEALTH ADVISORY: Dolmio pasta sauces are seen in a store in in London, Britain on Friday. Mars
Food, which also produces Uncle Ben’s rice, said it plans to post on its website within the next few
months a list of “occasional” products, and “everyday” products, including ones to be reformulated
over the next fi ve years to reduce sodium, sugar or fat. – Reuetrs
SPOR S
SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 2016
Bengaluru to host IPL final; Pune, Mumbai given options
NEW DELHI: Its schedule thrown haywire after the Bombay High Court ordered the shifting of 13 IPL matches out of drought-hit Maharashtra, the cash-rich league picked Bengaluru as the venue for its fi nale and off ered four alternate home options to the state’s aff ect-ed franchises.
In a meeting between IPL chair-man Rajeev Shukla and represent-atives of the Rising Pune Super-giants and Mumbai Indians, it was decided to allot IPL’s fi nal and the fi rst Qualifi er to Bengaluru.
The second Qualifi er and the Eliminator, on the other hand, have been proposed to be moved to Kol-kata to implement the Bombay high court’s order that asked the BCCI to shift all the IPL matches after April 30 from Maharashtra due to the acute water crisis in the state.
In Friday’s meeting, the two aff ected franchises were asked to pick from Raipur, Jaipur, Vi-sakhapatnam and Kanpur as their
alternate home base. While Pune opted for Visakhapatnam, Mum-bai Indians sought two days’ time to choose their new base. “We will propose before the Govern-ing Council that Final and Quali-fi er 1 be shifted to Bengaluru, while Qualifi er 2 and Eliminator to Kol-kata,” Shukla told reporters.
“After speaking to the franchis-es, we have given them four op-tions: Raipur, Jaipur, Kanpur and Visakhapatnam. Mumbai Indians have asked for time till day after to-morrow (to give their preference),”
he added. “Pune has given Vi-sakhapatnam as its preference. We will put the proposal of Pune team before the Governing Council.”
The logistical crisis was trig-gered despite the BCCI assurance to the high court that IPL franchis-es of Mumbai and Pune had agreed to contribute Rs fi ve crore each to CM’s drought relief fund.
“As far as giving Rs50 million is concerned, it will be as per the di-rective of the high court. They (the franchises) are supposed to get a written order on this,” Shukla said.
Shukla also stated that the BCCI will plead before the HC to allow the May 1 clash between Mumbai and Pune to go ahead in Pune as the home franchise will be playing a game in the city on April 29.
“We will request the Honour-able court to allow us to hold this match,” he said.
The Rajasthan Cricket Associa-tion has been banned by the BCCI for factionalism but Shukla said the venue will be available for IPL as the off er to host has come from the state government. - PTI
n a meeting between
IPL chairman
Rajeev Shukla and
representatives of
the Rising Pune
Supergiants and
Mumbai Indians,
it was decided to
allot IPL’s fi nal and
the fi rst Qualifi er
to Bengaluru
NEW DELHI: Leg-spinner Amit Mishra’s 4/11 proved crucial as Delhi Daredevils thrashed Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets in an Indian Premier League (IPL) contest at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Friday. After Delhi won the toss and opted to fi eld, Mishra, com-ing in to bowl in the seventh over, rocked Punjab’s boat.
When he started his spell, they were 37 for one in six overs, and at the end of his three-over haul, the visiting side was 59 for fi ve in 11 overs.
His victims included Shaun Marsh (13), David Miller (9), Glenn Maxwell (0) and Manan Vohra (32).Punjab batsmen showed lack of intent and discipline and fell one after an-other. Opening batsman Vohra was the only one who showed the will for a fi ght even as his team was restricted to 111/9 in 20 overs. In pursuit of the low total, Delhi were led by South African opener Quinton de
Kock (59 not out), who shared a 91-run stand for the second wicket with Sanju Samson (33) in 10.4 overs, as the hosts over-hauled the target with 6.3 overs and eight wickets to spare.
De Kock milked nine fours and a six of the 42 deliveries he faced. It was Delhi’s fi rst win in two matches, while Punjab suf-fered their second loss on the trot. n the match between the teams who have lost their fi rst
matches, Punjab failed to gather any momentum right from the start. In the second over bowled by left-arm spinner Pawan Negi, Zaheer Khan dropped Vohra’s catch at the point and as the ball neared towards the boundary, the openers decided to take three runs.
But Murali Vijay was found to be short of the crease as the relay throw between Zaheer and Karun Nair reached wicketkeeper de Kock in time for the stumps to be dislodged, leaving the team at eight for one in 1.3 overs.
Even though Zaheer seemed to be lethargic while dropping the catch, the veteran left-arm seamer maintained a tight line and length. The captain con-ceded only 14 runs in his four overs, taking a wicket.
Brief scores: Kings XI Punjab: 111 for 9
(Manan Vohra 32; Amit Mishra 4/11, Zaheer
Khan 1/14) lost to Delhi Daredevils: 113 for 2 in
13.3 overs (Quinton de Kock not out 59, Sanju
Samson 33; Sandeep Sharma 1/6). - IANS
Mishra steals show as Delhi win
Holders Sevilla to meet Shakhtar in Europa semis LONDON: Sevilla, win-ners of the Europa League for the past two years, will play Shakhtar Donetsk in this season’s semifi nal. In the other semifi nal Vil-lareal will be at home to Liverpool in the fi rst leg The fi rst legs are on April 28 with the return games on May 5. Basle stages the fi nal on May 18.
Federer knocked out by Tsonga in Monte CarloMONTE CARLO: Roger Federer was knocked out of the Monte Carlo Mas-ters when he slumped to a 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 defeat by lo-cal favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-fi nals on Friday.Earlier, there were glimpses of the formidable Rafa Nadal as the eight-times champi-ons swept aside French Open champion Stan Wawrinka 6-1, 6-4. World number two Andy Murray raced into last four with a 6-2, 6-0 demolition of Canadian Milos Raonic.
Raikkonen leads way as Ferrari dominateSHANGHAI: Kimi Raikkonen set the pace ahead of Sebastian Vettel in Friday practice for the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix as the Fer-rari pair dislodged the dominant Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. Finn Raikkonen, a former win-ner for Ferrari in China, jumped to the top of the order with a one minute 36.896 second lap in the second session, beating German team mate Vettel by 0.109 seconds.
Infantino to visit World Cup host Russia, QatarZURICH: Newly elected FIFA President Gianni Infantino will visit the next two hosts of the World Cup, Russia and Qatar, next week, the global soccer body said on Friday. He leaves on April 20 for Doha, where he will meet senior board members of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy and offi cials of the Qatari government, it added. Swiss authori-ties are probing whether bribery played a role in awarding the hosting rights for the World Cup to Russia and Qatar. Both have denied wrongdoing.
Griffi th, Hick Aussie coaches for ODI seriesMELBOURNE: West-ern Australia bowling coach Adam Griffi th and former England bats-man Graham Hick will join the Australian side temporarily for their one-day triangular series in the West Indies in June, Cricket Australia said on Friday. Justin Langer will take the side to the Carib-bean to give regular head coach Darren Lehmann a break before their tour of Sri Lanka in July and August. — Agencies
B R I E F S
India outplay Malaysia to enter Azlan Shah fi nal
IPOH: India produced an in-spiring performance to outplay hosts Malaysia 6-1 in a must-win match and secure their seventh appearance in the fi nal of the Sul-tan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tour-nament, here on Friday.
Needing a victory in their last round-robin league fi xture to qualify for Saturday’s title clash, fi ve-time winners India stamped their authority on the hosts to fi n-ish ahead of defending champions New Zealand in the standings.
India’s opponents in the title en-counter on Saturday will be reign-ing world champions Australia, who on Friday prevailed 3-0 over Canada to complete an all-win re-cord in the preliminary league.
Australia fi nished with the max-imum 18 points from six outings, followed by India on 12 points and
New Zealand on 11 points.Australia have won this title a
record eight times and were losing fi nalists to the Black Sticks last year, when India earned a bronze.
S.V. Sunil (2nd minute), Har-jeet Singh (7th), Ramandeep Singh (25th and 39th), Danish Mujtaba (27th) and Talwinder Singh (50th) scored for India, while Shahril Saabah (46th) scored a consolation goal for Malaysia.
India’s last appearance in the fi nal of the Azlan Shah Cup was in 2010, when they shared the ti-tle with South Korea after torren-tial showers fl ooded the ground.
Watching the India-Malaysia contest from the sidelines were New Zealand, who will now face hosts Malaysia for the bronze medal match on Saturday. — PTI
H O C K E Y
All-Madrid fi nal still possibleLONDON: A repeat of the 2014 Champions League fi nal between Real Madrid and Atletico Ma-drid is still possible after Friday’s semifi nal draw. Real, who won that game 4-1 after extra-time, will play fi rst-time semifi nalists Manches-ter City, with the fi rst leg in north-west England.
Atletico, who beat holders Bar-celona in the last eight, host Bay-ern Munich in their fi rst leg.
Bayern manager Pep Guardiola misses what would have been a dif-fi cult semifi nal for him personally against City, the Premier League side he will take charge of next season. “It’s a great tie against the team that has won the competition the most times,” Txiki Begiristain, Manchester City’s sporting direc-tor, told reporters.
“But we have got this far and we want to keep dreaming. “I think that Madrid are the favourites. They have been in the semifi nals 27 times, six in a row. But Paris (St Ger-main)were also a great team and we were able to knock them out.”
Real, record 10-times champi-ons, are unbeaten in their last eight games against English clubs. Their only previous tie against City came in 2012 when the Spanish side won 3-2 at home before drawing 1-1 in Manchester.
For Cristiano Ronaldo, who
scored a hat-trick to win the quar-terfi nal against Vfl Wolfsburg, it will be another return to Manches-ter, where he spent six years with United before moving to Spain in 2009. The Madrid manager at that time was Manuel Pellegrini, now in charge at City until Guardiola re-places him. The Chilean was sacked by Real after only one season.
Emilio Butragueno, Real’s head of public relations, said that in Ser-gio Aguero, David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne, City had players to win a game on their own. “It’s their fi rst semifi nal and they are anxious to do something big in Europe,” he added. “We’ll have to be at our best.
Last year also people said we were lucky when we got Juventus and we were knocked out. The two games are going to be very tight.”
The only time Atletico have met Bayern was in the 1974 fi nal, when the German side won 4-0 in a replay after a 1-1 draw. Jose Luis Caminero, Atletico’s sport-ing director and former player, described the tie as “complicated” but promised the Spanish side would “compete to our maximum as we always do”.
City will host Real on April 26 and Atletico face Bayern the fol-lowing evening. The fi nal is in Mi-lan on May 28. - Reuters
C H A M P I O N S L E A G U E
CUP DRAW: Uefa vice-president Angel Maria Villar Llona of Spain,
left, gives the trophy to Giuliano Pisapia Mayor of Milano and Carlo
Tavecchio Chairman of the Italian Football Association after the
draw of Champions League semifi nals in Nyon. – Reuters
MATCH HERO: Amit Mishra. – PTI
BMARKE
WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMS AT U R DAY, A P R I L 1 6, 2 0 1 6
MICROSOFT, APPLE’S FIGHT FOR DATA-PRIVACY TO LAST LONGIt’s a debate that is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon as Microsoft and Apple argue the very future of mobile and cloud computing is at stake if customers can’t trust that their data will remain private. >B3
Apple pursuing new search features for busy App StoreSAN FRANCISCO: Apple has set up a secret team to explore changes to the App Store, includ-ing a new strategy for charging developers to have their apps more prominently displayed, according to people familiar with the plans.
Among the ideas being pursued, Apple is considering paid search, a Google-like model in which com-panies would pay to have their app shown at the top of search results based on what a customer is seek-ing. For instance, a game developer could pay to have its programme shown when somebody looks for “football game,” “word puzzle” or “blackjack.”
Paid search, which Google turned into a multibillion-dollar business, would give Apple a new
way to make money from the App Store. The growing marketing budgets of app developers such as “Clash of Clans” maker Supercell Oy have proven to be lucrative sources of revenue for Internet companies, including Facebook and Twitter.
About 100 employees are work-ing on the project, including many engineers from Apple’s advertising group iAd that’s being scaled back, said the people, who asked not to be identifi ed because the plans are private. The eff ort is being spear-headed by Apple Vice President Todd Teresi, who led iAd.
If Apple goes through with the idea, “it’s going to be huge,” said Krishna Subramanian, the co-founder of Captiv8, which helps
brands market using social media. “Anything that you can do to
help drive more awareness to your app, to get organic downloads, is critical.”
In addition to paid search, the team is trying to improve the way customers browse in the App Store. The new search team hasn’t been working long and it’s unclear when any new changes will be intro-duced. Apple declined to comment.
Vital partThe App Store is a vital part of the Cupertino, California-based com-pany’s business. The more soft-ware that customers download, the more likely they are to keep buying Apple’s products rather than switch to a phone or tablet
made by another manufacturer. The store’s success was a key rea-son the iPhone and iPad became so popular with consumers and is central to Chief Executive Of-fi cer Tim Cook’s strategy of getting more sales from online services. Apple currently gets about 30 per cent of each app sale, which is part of the $20 billion in services rev-enue the fi rm generated last fi scal.
The attempt to improve search is a sign that Apple knows the App Store has become harder for customers to navigate. First intro-duced in 2008, the store now has more than 1.5 million apps, with customers downloading more than 100 billion since its debut. App developers have for years urged the iPhone maker to add
fresh discovery tools for users, ar-guing the crowded market makes it increasingly hard for people to discover new apps or build sus-tainable businesses.
Apple has taken steps to improve search in the past. In 2012, Apple acquired an app search-engine company named Chomp to help address the problem. In December, Cook changed the leadership of the App Store. He moved respon-sibility to Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, and away from Eddy Cue, the senior vice president for Internet, software and services, whose portfolio has expanded as Apple has built out new online ser-vices such as Apple Pay and Apple Music. — Bloomberg News
G O O G L E - L I K E M O D E L
– Bloomberg fi le picture
Producers head for Doha to reach deal on oil freeze
LONDON: World’s top oil export-ers are burning through their pet-rodollar assets at an accelerating pace, increasing the pressure to reach a deal to freeze production to bolster prices.
The 18 nations set to gather in Doha on Sunday to discuss a pro-duction freeze have spent $315 billion of their foreign-exchange reserves — about a fi fth of their total — since the oil slump started in November 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In the last three months of 2015, re-serves fell nearly $54 billion, the largest quarterly drop since the crisis started.
The petrodollar burn has con-
sequences beyond the oil na-tions, aff ecting international fund managers like Aberdeen Asset Management and global curren-cies markets. Oil nations have traditionally held their reserves in US Treasuries and other liquid securities. Nonetheless, the im-pact in credit markets has been muted as central banks continue to buy debt. “We expect 2016 to be yet another painful year for most of the oil states,” said Abhishek Deshpande, oil analyst at Natixis in London.
The gathering in Doha will com-prise both Opec and non-Opec states, though any deal to boost prices will probably be largely
cosmetic as countries are already pumping nearly at record levels.
In a letter inviting countries to the Doha meeting, Qatar Energy Minister Mohammed Al Sada said oil countries need to stabilise the market in “the interest of a health-ier world economy as the present low price is seen to be benefi ting no one.”
Burned throughSaudi Arabia accounts for nearly half of the decline in foreign-ex-change reserves among oil pro-ducers, with $138 billion — or 23 per cent of its total — followed by Russia, Algeria, Libya and Ni-geria. In the fi nal three months
of last year, Saudi Arabia burned through $38.1 billion, the biggest quarterly reduction in data going back to 1962.
The oil slump started in No-vember 2014 when the Opec, led by the Saudis, decided to fi ght for market share — and bury US pro-ducers — rather than cut produc-tion to support prices as it had done in the past. The policy sent Brent crude, the global oil bench-mark, down from an annual aver-age of $111 a barrel in 2013 to an average of just $35 so far this year. The plunge forced producers to tap their rainy day funds.
Fitch Ratings on Tuesday low-ered the credit rating of Saudi
Arabia to AA-, following similar steps already taken by Standard & Poor’s as well as Moody’s Inves-tors Service. Fitch said that Ri-yadh would face large fi scal defi -cits this year and a “large share of the government’s fi nancing needs will be funded by disposing of for-eign fi nancial assets.”
IMF forecastThe IMF forecast that Saudi Ara-bia’s current-account shortfall will equal 10.2 per cent of its gross domestic product this year, the most since 1998, when oil prices tumbled to $10 a barrel. Likewise, the United Arab Emirates is fac-ing a balance of payments defi cit this year for the fi rst time since reliable statistics start in 1980, ac-cording to the IMF.
The total drop in petrodollar assets isn’t possible to calculate as some Middle East countries, including Kuwait and the UAE, don’t disclose timely data about their sovereign wealth funds.
Brent crude futures, which sank to a 12-year low in January, have climbed 30 per cent since Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela reached a prelimi-nary agreement to freeze output in February. This week, Russia said it sees a deal to freeze oil output as possible when it meets other producers, regardless of whether Iran — which has said it plan to boost output — joins the deal. — Bloomberg News
The 18 nations set
to gather in Doha on
Sunday to discuss
a production freeze
have spent $315
billion of their
foreign-exchange
reserves — about
a fi fth of their total
— since the crude
oil slump started in
November 2014
Iran to boost crude supply only modestly
TEHRAN: Iran’s oil production will rise only modestly this year and next, but it will be enough to stop global crude supply and de-mand from rebalancing in 2016, according to a Reuters poll of oil analysts’ forecasts.
Even with an output deal, ris-ing supply from Iran, which is the third-largest producer within Opec, will prevent the market from rebalancing this year, the analysts said. “Without additional Ira-nian crude exports, the oil market would even have turned into a defi -cit by the end of 2016. That’s prob-ably not the case now,” Hannes Loacker of Raiff eisen Capital Management said.
Since the prospect of a freeze fi rst surfaced in February, oil prices have risen by 35 per cent to around $43 a barrel , having hit their lowest in over a decade in January. Many higher-cost pro-ducers, such as shale oil drillers in the United States, have been forced to cut output and over-all global supply is expected to fall further.
But this is against a backdrop of a deteriorating global economy. This week, the International Mon-etary Fund cut its global growth forecast for the fourth time in a year to just 3.2 per cent.
And the IEA said in its monthly report it does not expect the mar-ket to rebalance before 2017, and any deal on output would have a limited impact on overall supply, while Opec itself forecast a drop in global demand growth this year.
No rapid rise in exportsIranian exports, which until Janu-ary had been limited by interna-tional sanctions over Tehran’s nu-clear programme, are expected to rise at a modest pace.
The poll showed exports are ex-pected to reach 1.6 million bpd by the middle of this year, before edg-ing up to 1.7 million bpd by the end of 2016 and to 2 million bpd by the end of 2017.
“We believe that the amount of oil supplied by Iran would not be more than the supply cuts in the global market, mainly by the pro-duction disruptions in the high-cost producers,” Serkhan Sahin, analyst at Thomson Reuters’ Oil Research and Forecasts said.
The analysts polled all said Iran will not take part in any output deal until it recaptures its pre-sanc-tions market share and returns to a production target of about 4 mil-lion bpd, something Iranian oil of-fi cials have already made clear.
Iran has ruled out freezing its output at January levels, which sources have estimated to be around 2.93 million bpd.
Iran is likely to struggle to reach this 4 million bpd target because of a lack of investment and availabil-ity of technology to upgrade and develop its oil fi elds.
“Longer term, Iran has the underlying resource potential to achieve organic production growth... This would require sub-stantial increases in investment, including foreign investment, which is out of the question at any-thing close to current oil prices,” Raymond James analyst Luana Siegfried said. — Reuters
O I L S U P P L I E S
Qatar Energy Minister Mohammed Al Sada. — Bloomberg fi le picture
Leaders fret as storm clouds gather over world economy
WASHINGTON: World fi nan-cial leaders sounded a sour note on the global economy on Thurs-day, pointing to Britain’s possi-ble exit from the European Un-ion as a serious threat alongside China’s bumpy growth path and dissent over interest rates in the euro zone.
Concern that British voters are edging closer to leaving the EU in a June 23 referendum has spooked fi nance ministers, cen-tral bankers and other offi cials gathered here for the Interna-tional Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings.
IMF Managing Director Chris-tine Lagarde signalled policymak-ers’ heightened fears that a “Brex-it” could derail Europe’s shaky economic recovery and reverber-ate further afi eld.
“We have clearly elevated ‘Brex-it’ as one of the serious downside risks on the horizon of global growth,” Lagarde said in a press conference just two days after the IMF cut its 2016 global growth forecasts for the fourth time in less than a year.
Lagarde, who said it was her personal hope that Britain remain
in the EU, predicted a divorce would lead to years of fi nancial uncertainty.
EU Economic and Monetary Aff airs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici chimed in at a separate event, describing the political re-percussions of a British vote to leave the bloc as “very bad news.”
Their comments followed the Bank of England’s clearest warn-ing yet that Britain’s economy would likely suff er and its curren-cy slide if it bolted from the EU.
Moscovici added that the near-term European growth outlook was already worsening.
“Overall, we now expect GDP growth in the fi rst quarter of this year to have been positive but slower than we had expected,” Moscovici said in a speech at the Peterson Institute for Interna-tional Economics.
China’s shadowLagarde also said the IMF was “concerned” about China follow-ing through on the restructuring of its struggling state-owned en-terprises as the country shifts to slower, more sustainable growth driven by consumer spending.
China’s economic slowdown has slashed demand for commod-ities and components worldwide, causing spillovers to emerging markets and advanced economies alike. A shock devaluation of the yuan last August and further de-clines earlier this year sparked fi nancial market turmoil and wor-ries about further devaluations.
People’s Bank of China Deputy Governor Yi Gang off ered some reassuring words that China’s growth would be in line with IMF estimates.
“I’m pretty confi dent that we are going to have between 6.5 and 7 per cent growth this year,” Yi said at a Brookings Institution event in Washington.
He also said that China’s central bank did not want to see an “over-shoot” in its currency, without be-ing specifi c about the direction.
Earlier on Thursday, Lagarde unveiled the IMF’s policy agenda, which pledged to provide more resources to help the Fund’s 188 member countries boost growth and protect those vulnerable to a global slowdown and low com-modity prices.
The IMF also vowed to ensure it had adequate funds to back its lending programmes, and exam-ine reforms including strengthen-ing its lending toolkit and ties to regional lending institutions.
But diff erences over the Eu-ropean Central Bank’s negative interest rate policy continued as Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who chairs the group of European fi nance ministers, warned that the meas-ure was reaching its limits.
“Expansionary monetary policy ... supports the economy in the short run, but the limitations are
imminent and negative side-ef-fects are becoming stronger,” Di-jsselbloem said in a speech to the Peterson Institute.
Negotiations over Greece’s bail-out programme, offi cially on hold during the Washington meetings, also bubbled to the surface, with Lagarde promising the IMF would not walk away from the lending ‘troika’ that also includes the ECB and European Commission.
Lagarde has been pushing the idea of extending debt relief to Greece’s government in exchange for fi scal reductions.
Argentine Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay presented what may have been the one bright bit of news, saying the country’s impending debt issue, its fi rst in more than a decade, was seeing “awesome” demand from inves-tors. Argentina’s new right-of-centre government is pursuing a host of business-friendly econom-ic reforms as it attempts to attract investors and reestablish itself in international markets.
Prat-Gay added that the govern-ment is making the curbing of the country’s double-digit infl ation rate a top priority.— Bloomberg New
F I N A N C I A L P O L I C Y M A K E R S
Christine Lagarde. — Bloomberg News
The oil slump started
in November 2014
when the Opec decided
to fight for market
share — and bury US
producers — rather
than cut production to
support prices as it had
done in the past. The
policy sent Brent crude
to an average of just
$35 so far this year
HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com [email protected]
FOR G
B2
MARKETS AT U R DAY, A P R I L 1 6, 2 0 1 6
Chinese economic growth shows signals of ‘debt-fuelled recovery’
BEIJING: China posted its slow-est economic growth since 2009 but a surge of new debt appears to be fueling a recovery in factory ac-tivity, investment and household spending in the world’s second largest economy.
That’s good news in the near-term, economists say, but many worry it marks a return to the old playbook used during the fi nancial crisis, when Beijing hand-cranked its economy out of a slowdown through massive stimulus, rather than structural reform.
Offi cial data on Friday showed China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 6.7 per cent in the fi rst quarter of the
year, easing slightly from 6.8 per cent in the fourth quarter as ex-pected. However, other indicators released showed new loans, retail sales, industrial output and fi xed asset investment were all better than forecast.
While analysts say the data is evidence of a bottoming out in the economy’s slowdown, some warn that the fi rst quarter of 2015 got off to a similarly glowing start before a stock market crash later that year.
“What this shows is a stabilisa-tion of the old economy,” said Ray-mond Yeung of ANZ, pointing to recovery in industrial production and fi xed asset investment.
“I would still be a bit cautious
about headline growth... last year’s 6.9 per cent fi gure was under-pinned by a massive contribution from fi nancial services, and the strong loan and credit growth re-cently and the recent resumption of IPO activity suggests this could still be a big contribution.”
The National Bureau of Statis-tics said in a press conference in Beijing on Friday that while main economic indicators showed posi-tive changes, “downward pressure cannot be underestimated.”
It did not distribute quarterly GDP fi gures as it has in the past, saying it needed more time to cal-culate the fi gure.
Global fi nancial markets took
the data in stride, but domestic stocks fell slightly, as analysts said the strong data implied the likeli-hood of a slower pace of monetary easing.
The CSI300 index of the largest listed fi rms in Shanghai and Shen-zhen closed 0.1 per cent lower.
Forex markets were largely fl at with the off shore rate and the onshore rate trading around 6.5 per dollar.
Recovering demandBeijing hopes a recovery — even a credit-fuelled one — can be sus-tained to avoid the need for more aggressive stimulus that could re-infl ate asset bubbles and make it
more diffi cult to retrain Chinese fi rms to move up the value chain.
Chinese banks extended 1.37 trillion yuan ($211.23 billion) in net new yuan loans in March, nearly double the previous month’s lending of 726.6 billion yuan, suggesting renewed appetite for investment among wary Chi-nese corporates.
China’s retail sales growth quickened to 10.5 per cent in March from 10.2 per cent, slight-ly above forecasts, while fi xed-asset investment growth rose to 10.7 per cent year-on-year in the fi rst quarter from 10.2 per cent, beating market expectations of 10.3 per cent.
Industrial output growth leapt up to 6.8 per cent from 5.4 per cent, surprising analysts who ex-pected a rise of 5.9 per cent on an annual basis.
Low unemploymentThe NBS also noted that offi -cial unemployment remained low in March, around 5.2 per cent, despite moves to cut capac-ity in bloated industries like coal and steel.
Critics, however, point out that many laid-off workers from old-economy sectors have been shifted into lower-paying government jobs, cleaning up offi ces — good for political stability but bad for wage growth and consumer spending.
At the same time offi cial retail spending fi gures capture a lot of government purchases; else-where in the economy there are signs that ordinary consumption remains weak.
March export fi gures released earlier this week also staged an un-expected recovery, although some economists caution that seasonal eff ects from last year’s late Lunar New Year holiday could be a factor.
“Today’s released data ought not to distract from the fact that the structural issues facing China’s economy remain unresolved,” wrote Economist Intelligence Unit economist Tom Raff erty in a research note.
“It has taken considerable mon-etary and fi scal policy loosening to stabilise economic growth at this level and this eff ort has distracted from the reform agenda that is fun-damental to long-term economic sustainability.” — Reuters
But many worry it
marks a return to the
old playbook used
during the fi nancial
crisis, when Beijing
hand-cranked its
economy out of a
slowdown through
massive stimulus,
rather than
structural reform
Greek debt breakthrough this week unlikely: EU executiveWASHINGTON: There will be no breakthrough on unlocking new loans for Greece in Washing-ton this week, but euro zone min-isters will seek a deal next week in Amsterdam that could pave the way for debt relief talks, a top euro zone offi cial said on Thursday.
“In Amsterdam we will have more time, everyone around the table and try to really get some-where,” the chairman of euro zone fi nance ministers, Jeroen Dijs-selbloem, told reporters on the sidelines of International Mon-etary Fund and World Bank meet-ings in Washington.
He said euro zone lenders were adamant that the key to a deal was sticking to the assumption that Greece’s government had to reach a 3.5 per cent of GDP primary sur-plus in 2018.
“I don’t see any fl exibility on the 3.5 per cent in 2018 because it was one of the anchors of the agree-ment of last summer. So that’s going to take a huge eff ort on the part of Greece but I think it can be
done,” Dijsselbloem said.The IMF, one of the lenders to
Greece, believes that asking Ath-ens to maintain a surplus of that size for decades after 2018 — an assumption of the euro zone pro-gramme — is unrealistic.
The Fund believes the target for the surplus — the budget balance before debt servicing — should be lowered and that euro zone gov-
ernments, who are Greece’s main creditors, should off er the country deeper debt relief to compensate.
“I think the IMF is right, it (the surplus target) is courageous, so the question is how to deal with the uncertainty around that, what do we do ‘if ’,” Dijsselbloem said.
He noted that no-one knew ex-actly how quickly Greece’s econ-omy would grow in the coming years and what its rate of infl a-tion would be, yet those indicators were crucial to assess the ability to repay loans.
He said euro zone lenders and the IMF would eventually align their views on where Greece stood now, what fi scal eff ects would ma-terialise from reforms that Greece was implementing and what the most likely scenario was for the fu-ture. “We will try to close these dif-ferences and baseline assessments and then we will go to the political level, because in the end it is up to the ministers to decide if Greece has done enough,” Dijsselbloem further said. — Bloomberg News
E U R O Z O N E L E N D E R S
Steady oil prices off er hope to struggling EU economiesFRANKFURT: Is the spectre of defl ation fi nally being lifted from Europe’s economy, still struggling to get on its feet after the econom-ic crisis?
Consumer prices in the 19-member euro zone halted their slide in March, the EU’s statistics agency said on Thursday.
Add to that an emerging con-sensus that oil prices may have bottomed out and could even rise further — a prospect that would in turn help the European Cen-tral Bank (ECB) in its eff orts to push infl ation up to more nor-mal levels and kickstart recovery with negative interest rates and mass stimulus.
Even if oil prices simply hold steady at $44 a barrel, 60 per cent above a 12-year low near $27 level reached in January, that would gradually off set the dampening eff ect of energy on infl ation and by year-end gently lift the year-on-year fi gure.
Some euro zone central bank-ers hope the scale of recent ECB action and the promise of gradual economic improvement will re-lieve the ECB of any need to move again for at least several months, people familiar with the matter have said.
“The pendulum is swinging away from any need for further action,” said one source familiar with central bank thinking, noting any extra steps would only have a muted impact, after a 1.7-trillion-euro-plus money printing scheme and rock-bottom borrowing costs.
Oil producers are to discuss a plan to freeze output on Sunday in Doha. Despite doubts whether it is enough to tackle a supply glut, many oil trading executives think
prices have probably bottomed out and will rise.
Stubbornly low pricesSome of the ECB’s governors re-main worried nonetheless about stubbornly low prices because they fear that should the cost of, say, cars or fridges fall, it will depress spending as consum-ers hold off in the hope of bigger discounts.
The euro zone slipped into de-fl ation — defi ned as when prices fall for a protracted period — at the end of 2014 before making a limp recovery. Thursday’s tiny upward revision of March fi gures puts infl ation at zero, up from an earlier estimate of a 0.1 per cent decline. It nonetheless remains far off the ECB’s target of close to two per cent, a level last seen in early 2013.
Defl ation is one of the biggest worries of central banks because, should it take hold, the economy gets locked in a spiral of falling wages and spending that is hard to reverse.
The phenomenon risks taking hold in Spain, where prices have been falling since the middle of 2014, as well as Greece, where the slump has been most pronounced.
The price of energy makes up roughly one tenth of the infl ation calculation. When calculating future infl ation, the ECB has fac-tored in a price of just under $35 per barrel this year and roughly $41 in 2017.
If oil prices hold steady and rise, that will fi lter through to prices in the real economy and even start to push up headline an-nual infl ation once the price rises above its year-ago level.
“When we get the base eff ect from oil prices in the second half of the year the whole debate around the ECB may change,” said Anatoli Annenkov, an econo-mist at Societe Generale.
“It will become easier for the ECB... to argue its actions are having some eff ect.” Some econo-mists, however, believe that re-gardless of the outcome, the ECB is bound to do more. — Bloomberg News
E U R O P E A N U N I O N
DEMAND SLOWS: A worker carries a piece of steel at a construction site in Beijing on Friday. China’s economy grew 6.7 per cent in the
three months of 2016, its slowest quarterly expansion in seven years, the government said, but indicators for March improved. - AFP
Jeroen Dijsselbloem.
— Bloomberg fi le picture
MIXED SIGNALS: When calculating future infl ation, the ECB has
factored in a price of just under $35 per barrel this year and
roughly $41 in 2017. - Bloomberg fi le picture
B3S AT U R DAY, A P R I L 1 6, 2 0 1 6
MARKET
Microsoft and Apple’s fight for data-privacy to last long
SAN FRANCISCO: The tech-nology industry’s data-privacy battle with the US government started before the fi ght over a killer’s iPhone, and it’s going to last long after. Microsoft sued the Justice Department on Thursday to block authorities from taking customers’ e-mails and other data stored by Microsoft without ever having to let them know, an esca-lation of a two-year tussle with the government over privacy and cloud computing.
On Friday, Apple will continue its fi ght to keep the government out of another iPhone — this one seized from a drug dealer in a Brooklyn case, just weeks after the FBI dropped its eff ort to force Ap-ple to help it break into one used by a terrorist who with his wife killed 14 people last year in San Bernardino, California.
While these high-profi le legal cases have added momentum, the industry’s push against govern-ment intrusion into their custom-ers’ private information began at least two years ago, in the wake of Edward Snowden’s disclosures about covert data collection that put them all on the defensive. Meanwhile, some US lawmakers want to require companies to give investigators access to data even when it’s protected by encryption.
It’s a debate that is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon as Micro-soft and Apple argue the very fu-ture of mobile and cloud comput-ing is at stake if customers can’t trust that their data will remain private, while investigators seek digital tools to help them fi ght increasingly sophisticated crimi-nals and terrorists savvy at using
technology to communicate and hide their tracks.
“The companies are trying to fi nd a way forward in a world in which the law is not very good,” said Greg Nojeim, senior counsel at the Centre for Democracy & Technology. “It doesn’t provide in the digital world the same protec-tions it provides in the physical world. Securing those protections is good for both their users and their bottom line.”
In Brooklyn federal court on Friday, Apple is expected to make the case for preserving a favoura-ble ruling from a magistrate judge who refused the government’s request for an order forcing the company to extract data from a drug dealer’s phone. A decision on the matter could help establish who has the current law on their side in future courtroom battles over privacy and encryption.
Apple’s responseThe technology company is slated to fi le its response to the govern-ment’s appeal of the magistrate’s ruling. The Justice Department said this month that it would move forward with that proceed-ing, even though it had dropped its demand for the company to help unlock the shooter’s phone in Cal-
ifornia, after an unidentifi ed third party came forward with a meth-od to hack it. FBI Director James Comey has said that method only works on limited categories of phones, and Apple has said that its continuing technology improve-ments are likely to make any tool the government has for unlocking phones short-lived.
While the companies dig in against the government’s eff orts, US senators this week released draft legislation that would grant the courts greater power to de-mand companies let investigators access secure information. The proposal has been denounced by civil liberties advocates as a ban on encryption, which they argue is needed to protect data from the growing threat of hackers.
Microsoft’s lawsuit, which names the Justice Department and Attorney General Loretta Lynch as defendants, is the most aggressive step yet by Microsoft in its feud with the US over customer privacy and its ability to disclose what it’s been asked to turn over to investigators — issues that echo Apple’s fi ght to preserve the en-cryption built into its iPhones.
The software maker called part of the 1986 Electronic Communi-cations Privacy Act unconstitu-
tional, citing its own First Amend-ment free speech rights and its customers’ Fourth Amendment right to know if the government has searched or seized their prop-erty. The law essentially places the company under an unlimited gag order, according to the com-plaint in federal court in Seattle.
The road to the lawsuit started in December 2013. Roiled by dis-closures by Snowden, a former NSA contractor, about US gov-ernment surveillance — which implicated Microsoft and other technology companies for collab-orating — Microsoft issued a blog post pledging new privacy protec-tions for customers.
The company promised to ex-pand the use of encryption and said it would go to court to protect customer data privacy.
Specifi cally, Microsoft said it would notify enterprise custom-ers when the government request-ed their data and put up a legal fi ght against any gag orders that stood in the way. It also pledged to fi ght back when governments seek customer data stored in other countries that Microsoft doesn’t think they have the right to see.
Those two steps have put the company on a collision course with the US government, result-
ing in two public lawsuits — the one fi led on Thursday and another awaiting an appeals court ruling on whether the US government has the right to Microsoft custom-er data stored in Ireland.
Unfamiliar roleIt has also created a spectacle one isn’t accustomed to seeing — Microsoft and its President and Chief Legal Offi cer Brad Smith winning the admiration of privacy advocates and leading the charge of technology companies fi ghting back.
Bill Fitzpatrick, the district attorney in Onondaga County New York, endorsed legislation proposed in the Senate and ques-tioned whether Microsoft and Ap-ple truly understand what it takes to investigate a murder or prevent a terrorist attack Without the tools off ered only through secrecy, the country’s law enforcement would fail to prevent another do-mestic, mass casualty attack, he said.
“The government doesn’t want to be in your phone, it wants to be in the phones of people plotting against our communities,” he said. “There needs to be that under-standing and I don’t think these corporations are anywhere close to that.”
Microsoft, which vigorously supported Apple during its skir-mish over the San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone, said it expects broad support from other technol-ogy companies in its own eff orts. Already, cloud-fi le sharing service Box Inc. spoke out in favor of Mi-crosoft, a partner and rival.
“The concerns we are articu-lating are shared broadly in the tech sector,” Microsoft’s Smith said. “We felt that we had the right facts to bring the right case at the right time to address an issue that has been recurring and therefore needs to be resolved but I fully ex-pect we will hear from a number of other tech companies.”
Neither the proposed legisla-tion nor the companies’ legal tactics are aimed at fi nding a compromise to benefi t the Ameri-can public, said DJ Rosenthal, a former White House counterter-rorism and cybersecurity expert in the Obama administration. “These issues are both just further manifestation of the gulf that now exists between the two sides,” he said in an interview. — Bloomberg News
It’s a debate that
is unlikely to be
resolved anytime
soon as Microsoft
and Apple argue
the very future of
mobile and cloud
computing is at stake
Carrefour fi rst quarter sales reach $22b
PARIS: Carrefour, France’s larg-est retailer, reported stronger fi rst-quarter revenue, boosted by growth in southern Europe and Latin America, and improving sales in China.
Revenue reached 20.1 billion euros ($22.6 billion), Boulogne-Billancourt, France-based Carre-four said on Friday in a statement. Analysts expected 20 billion euros, according to the median of 13 es-timates compiled by Bloomberg. Growth was 3.1 per cent excluding calendar eff ects and gasoline sales.
With its shares trading at about the same level as seven years ago, Carrefour needs a boost. The com-pany is grappling with a shift to-wards convenience in China, while seeking to reduce losses at Dia dis-count stores in its largest market, France. Declines in those mar-kets are being off set by growth in countries such as Brazil, Italy and Spain. Sales were “reassuring,” said John Kershaw, an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, who has an outperform rating on the stock. “Expect a share that has been un-der some pressure to rally today.”
The stock rose 2.3 per cent to 25.74 euros as of 9am in Paris.
Quarterly growth was strongest in Latin America, where sales in Brazil rose 9.9 per cent on a like-for-like basis, beating estimates, as all formats expanded in the coun-try, Carrefour said. Spain and Italy, meanwhile, buoyed European sales, with both markets also ex-ceeding estimates. French hyper-market sales fell 0.6 per cent and China declined 8.4 per cent.
While China remains challeng-ing, the decline has halved since last year, Kershaw said. “Brazil continues to power ahead” and the strong performance in Italy and Spain also bodes well the analyst said, adding he expects French hypermarket sales to improve through 2016. — Bloomberg News
P E R F O R M A N C E
– Bloomberg fi le picture
James Comey, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). - Bloomberg fi le picture
IKEA’s senior executives fi nalising fi rm’s biggest overhaul in decadesDELFT (Netherlands): In two medieval Dutch cities, IKEA’s most senior executives are fi nal-ising the biggest overhaul at the Swedish-born furniture empire in over 30 years.
The aim is to help the world’s largest furniture seller better adapt to changing consumer tastes, manage its increasing size and avoid the fate of other domi-nant retailers overtaken by new market entrants.
However, some academics say the changes, which eff ectively involve breaking up the IKEA Group, could also disrupt the smooth running that makes IKEA so effi cient. The IKEA Group an-nounced the plan to transfer own-ership of some operating entities to a small Delft-based company which owns the IKEA brand last June. However, the 250-word statement attracted little atten-tion. The decision to rip up an or-ganisational blueprint drawn up by founder Ingvar Kamprad in the 1980s was taken at a secret meet-ing just outside Copenhagen in late 2014.
The meeting gathered the board of Inter IKEA, which is chaired by Kamprad’s youngest son Mathias and owned by a Liechtenstein foundation. The little known company currently plays a small operational role in the IKEA uni-verse, employing 1,500 people, compared to 160,000 at the IKEA Group, which is technically a Leiden-based company called IN-GKA Holding.
INGKA currently manages al-most everything that most cus-tomers see as IKEA — the stores, furniture design, manufacturing, procurement and logistics. But
Inter IKEA owns the rights to the IKEA brand, patents and business processes — collectively consid-ered to be the IKEA ‘concept’.
It is responsible for develop-ing the concept but its leaders acknowledge this hasn’t changed much in decades and former ex-ecutives said the unit’s main role was to reduce the overall IKEA tax bill by charging INGKA for the use of the IKEA brand.
At their 2014 meeting, the di-rectors of Inter IKEA unanimous-ly agreed to massively expand its role and take control of design, manufacturing, procurement and logistics from INGKA. Since it owned the rights to the IKEA concept, it could do this. The aim,
it says, is to protect IKEA for the future.
“It has been a pretty static con-cept,” said Torbjorn Loof, Chief Executive of Inter IKEA Systems B.V., the unit that will, in Septem-ber this year, take on the design and other functions.
“(There) is always also the risk that you keep that concept, you protect that and make it better and better and better, and things in the world around you happen, and suddenly you stand and say, you know what, this is maybe not relevant,” the Swedish-Italian ex-ecutive told Reuters as his boss, Inter IKEA Group CEO, Soren Hansen looked on, nodding.
The executives were speaking
at the IKEA “Concept Centre” in Delft which combines an offi ce wing housing Inter IKEA’S head-quarters, and an IKEA store, all clad in familiar blue and yellow corrugated metal sheeting. Inter IKEA uses the store, the only one its runs, to test new ideas such as the high-end bakery recently in-stalled at the exit.
But the IKEA concept needs to change more fundamentally if it is to satisfy the growing number of customers who are requesting IKEA stores in city centres and the ability to buy online and pick up from drop-off points. Loof says he can’t redesign the business concept without control over key functions like logistics. — Reuters
N E W S T R A T E G Y
EFFECTIVE SUPPLY MANAGEMENT: An interior view of the IKEA Concept Centre, a furniture store
and headquarters of the IKEA brand owner Inter IKEA, in Delft, the Netherlands. — Reuters
Infosys forecast of sales exceeds estimates after major deal winsBANGALORE: Infosys forecast better-than-expected sales growth this fi scal year, as India’s second largest software exporter captures new contracts for information technology services.
Sales will rise between 11.8 per cent and 13.8 per cent in US dol-lar terms for the 12 months end-ing March, the Bangalore-based company said on Friday. That compares with the 10.5 per cent to 12.5 per cent median growth estimate of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Infosys is the fi rst of India’s IT giants to report earnings and is seen as a bellweth-er for the industry.
New contractsSpending on artifi cial intelligence, adding new contracts and keeping hold of staff underpin Chief Ex-ecutive Offi cer Vishal Sikka’s drive to boost sales at the company. That strategy has been bolstered by acquisitions as Infosys seeks to deepen its relationship with cus-tomers at a time global IT spend-ing is fl attening.
“Their client interactions have increased and their ability to bring in deals in traditional service streams has also improved,” said Sudin Apte, Chief Executive and Research Director at Pune-based Off shore Insights. “It is too early to say the tide has turned but clearly they have made good progress.”
In constant currency terms, In-fosys forecast sales to rise 11.5 per cent to 13.5 per cent.
The company also reported
fourth-quarter earnings, with net income rising 16 per cent to Rs36 billion ($540 million) in the three months ended March, the com-pany said. That compares with the Rs35.2 billion average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Sales in the quarter climbed 23 per cent to Rs165.5 billion com-pared with analyst projections for Rs164.8 billion.
Global spending on IT has stalled, with Gartner last week cutting its forecast for this year to $3.49 trillion, which is 0.5 per cent below 2015. But Infosys touted several major contract wins in the current quarter, including a deal with food packaging company ConAgra Foods.
“The momentum of large deal wins continued this quarter and bookings were strong,” Chief Op-erating Offi cer U B Pravin Rao said. — Bloomberg News
F I S C A L Y E A R
Vishal Sikka. — Bloomberg fi le picture
B4
FEATURES AT U R DAY, A P R I L 1 6, 2 0 1 6
On Sunday, major oil-producing nations will meet in Qatar to discuss capping their output. Yet even if they decide to do that, the purpose of the meeting probably has little to do with balancing global supplies. Crude market fundamentals are set for many months to come; the oil producers are more interested in fi nding a way to manage fi nancial
markets' expectations, which have a greater eff ect on prices.And indeed, output levels are close to all-time records for the Organisation
of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) (above 33 million barrels a day) and near the historic high for Russia, a participant in the Doha meeting (above 11.2 million barrels a day).
Oil pricesBesides, some Opec members are increasing output ahead of the meeting. Iraq, for example, hit its production record — 4.55 million barrels a day — in March.
US producers are heading in the opposite direction. Their output is down to late 2014 levels:
Following the production decline, bloated US oil inventories appear to be starting to slide, too. Though they're still near all-time records, on April 6 the US government reported an almost 5 million barrel drop.
The surprising resilience of US oil production is by now a market meme. Yet there is nothing miraculous about the oil industry. Producers can rely on crutches like price hedges or technological advances, but at the end of the day, it is all about how much smelly dark liquid they can extract from the ground at the right cost. US frackers may have been better than anyone else at using these crutches, but now their impact is exhausted or receding. In the relatively free US market, profi t po-tential drives investment and output. And on both these fronts US producers are feeling the strain.
On the other hand, Gulf states and Russia need to pump oil at any price because that is how they fund their budgets, so when the price is low, they need to pump more. This is how it's going to be at least for the next few years: The traditional pro-ducers are going to win back some lost market share. The biggest problem they face has nothing to do with the physical demand-supply balance of oil.
They need to keep prices as high as possible, but low enough to prevent US invest-ment and output from rising again.
The only way to do that is to manage expectations. Domenico Favoino and Georg Zachmann of the Brussels think tank Bruegel recently estimated that 73 per cent of the oil price decrease in the last three years could be attributed to expectations about the physical demand-supply balance, not the balance itself. According to the researchers, the role expectations play in price setting has increased dramatically since 2008.
This is a world in which you have to convince traders that the balance is going to move this way or that, not to actually change it. That explains, at least in part, the mini-rally since the largely meaningless February agreement between two of the world's biggest producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia, as well as Qatar and Ven-ezuela, to freeze production at January levels. The price of Brent crude is up about $10 per barrel.
Everyone, including traders, understands that such deals are iff y, that the parties would not necessarily stick to them, and that freezing production at record levels may just signify an inability to pump much more oil in the near future. Yet it is still something to trade on. If the talks in Doha on April 17 end in an agreement, even a symbolic one, that will send the market a signal to drive up the price.
That signal, however, will not be credible or lasting enough to spur an increase in US oil investment. Investors and creditors are more cautious than traders. The former are scared off by high volatility; the latter are energised by it. In February, the implied volatility of the Brent crude price was the highest since 2009, at 70 per cent; now it's down to about 50 per cent — still a scary level for people looking at energy industry business plans.
The Saudis and the Russians, however, do not care about the volatility all that much: They're still going to keep production as high as they can, because their popu-lations' standards of living and their regimes' stability depend on it. So if they can send prices higher without signaling a real change of trend, that's the best they can do until they solidify their market share gains. Holding a meeting where production caps and cuts are discussed is one way of achieving that. News of the meeting can combine with shrinking US output to produce temporary price rises.
It's important to produce such news regularly. It's less important to be bound by any output-limiting agreements, as Opec has proven time and again by not sticking to its output targets. — Bloomberg News
A freeze at recent production levels will not
accelerate the rebalancing of the oil market,
Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a report
that argued the meeting would be more
likely to lead to a price drop than a hike.
WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM
FamilySECTIONB L I F E STY L E S AT U R DAY, A P R I L 1 6, 2 0 1 6
FIVE STEPS TO KEEP CHILDREN ACTIVE
FROM SCHOOL TO HOME
Nearly one in six of all children and adoles-cents in the US are obese, according to the US Centre for Disease Control. The situation is no diff erent in other parts of the world. And with some struggling schools forgoing traditional
physical education classes, health experts view this issue as a growing concern. The regular physical activity encouraged in PE classes not only helps build and maintain healthy bones and muscle, it has also been shown to improve students’ academic performance.
Research shows that school is one of the fi rst places where children establish health habits, says Jen Ohlson, co-founder of Interactive Health Technologies LLC (IHT), a company pioneering customised P.E. curricula through the use of heart rate monitoring. “As a solution, many health advocates are turning to physical education to positively impact ado-lescents’ overall health. With the right tools and resources available in school that can extend to home, teachers and parents alike can reach students on an individual level, help-ing them achieve their own fi tness goals.”
Ohlson off ers her top fi ve tips for teachers, parents and caregivers looking to help their kids get more active.
1 SET MEASURABLE SHORT TERM GOALSMotivation is all about goal setting. Teaching your children or students
to evaluate their habits and make changes that will improve their well being helps them learn the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. Setting goals can be a fun project that teach-ers, parents and students can work on collaboratively, just be sure the goals are measurable, timely, and realistically achievable.
4 BE A MODEL FOR ACTIVE BEHAVIOURSShow your children how important staying active is
by setting a good example. Younger children tend to follow the lead of their parents, so make sure you’re looking after your own health. Make the physical health of your entire family a priority.
5 GET INVOLVED IN GROUP ACTIVITIESChildren are more likely to be motivated when they receive support
from a group of peers. Whether it’s sports or dance team, running club or an active play date, encourage your kids to get out and be active with their friends.
While rising obesity rates and dwindling physical education classes continue to be a concern, the right approach and resources can help teachers and parents take matters into their own hands. Tools like the IHT Spirit System, a wrist based heart rate technology, are certainly a big step forward, and following these tips can also play a part in helping every child get their health on track. -BPT
2 USE TECHNOLOGY TO HELP THEM UNDERSTANDResearch shows children in the US are spending more than 7.5 hours a day
using technology. Alarming as it may sound, we see leveraging technology as an opportu-nity to help kids get and stay active, Ohlson says. “Having worked with Adidas to develop Adidas Zone for IHT Spirit, the fi rst wrist-based heart rate monitoring device built specifi cally for PE, we’re using wearable technology to motivate students to work out to their own individual potential. Harness-ing the power of heart rate zone training, these young athletes can reach their goals by running around, jumping, dancing, really any activity that raises their heart rate, no longer needing to race against their classmates or shoot a certain number of baskets.”
3 MAKE SURE THEY KNOW THE “WHY” AND “HOW”For students to excel athletically, they need to understand the “how,” “why”
and “feel” behind the skill in their activity. If a child gets involved in a sport simply because their parents pushed them to, they likely won’t be motivated to improve or continue playing. It’s important to help your children fi nd activities that boost their self-esteem.
FIND-IT-ALLB6 S AT U R DAY, A P R I L 1 6, 2 0 1 6
Dhuhr 12.12pm
Asr 3.39pm
Maghrib 6.33pm
Isha 7.46pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 4.27am
PRAYER TIMINGS
ROYAL OMAN POLICE
Emergencies and inquiries: 9999
General Directorate of
Passport and Residence 24569603
Directorate General
of Customs 24521109
Traffic violations inquiries 24510228
Public Relations Admin 24560099
EMBASSIES IN OMAN
Afghanistan 24698 791/4
Algeria 24605 593
Bahrain 24 605 074/133
Bangladesh 24 698 660
Brazil 24640100
Brunei 24 603533
China 24 696782
Cyprus 24 699815
Egypt 24 600 982/411
France 24681 800
Germany 24835000
India 24684500
Indonesia 2469 1050
Iran 24 696 944/7
Iraq 24603642
Italy 24693727
Japan 24 601 028
Jordan 24692760/1/3
Kazakhstan 24 692418
Kenya 24 697664
South Korea 24 691490
Kuwait 24 699628
Lebanon 24 693208
Libya 24603466
Malaysia 24698329/643
Morocco 24696152/3
Nepal 24696177
Netherlands 24603706
Pakistan 24603439
Palestine 24601312
Philippines 24605335
Qatar 24 691 153/2/4
Russia 24602894
Saudi Arabia 24601705
Senegal 24694139
Somalia 24697977
South Africa 24647300
Spain 24691101
Sri Lanka 24697841/2
Sudan 24697875
Switzerland 24603267
Syria 24697904
Tanzania 24601 174
Thailand 24 602684/5
Tunisia 24603486
Turkey 24697050/1/2
UAE 24400000
United Kingdom 24609000
United States 24643400
Yemen 24600815
PHARMACIES (ROUND THE CLOCK)
Al Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi 24783334
Apollo Medical Centre,
Hamriya 24782666
Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi 24702542
Salalah 23291635;
Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra 24503585
Muscat Region
Apollo, Al Hamriya 24787766
Muscat, A Seeb Market 24421691
Muscat, Al Khuwair 24485740
Muscat, Al Hail South 24537080
Dhofar Region
Muscat, Al Nahdha Road,
Salalah 23291635
HOSPITALS
Al Amal Medical & Health Care Centre
24485052
Atlas Hospital
Ruwi 24811743/
Ghubra 24504000
Al Musafir Specialised
Medical Clinic 24706453
Hatat Polyclinic LLC,
Ruwi 24563641
Azaiba 24499269
Sohar 2683006
Al Raffah Hospital 24618900/1/2
Al Massaraat Clinic &
Laboratory 24566435
Al Makook Medical
Coordinance Centre 24499434
Apollo Medical Centre,
Hamriya 24787766, 24787780
Capital Polyclinic 24707549
Badr Al Samaa Polyclinic,
Ruwi 24799760/1/2
Capital Clinic, Seeb 24420740
Ceregem National Raak 24485633
Dr Harub’s Clinic 24563217
Elixir Health Centre 24565802
Emirates Medical Centre 24604540
1st Chiropractic Centre 24472274
Lifeline Hospital Salalah 23212340
International Medical
Centre LLC 24794501/2/3/4/5
Kims Oman Hospital 24760100
24 Hrs Emergency 24760123
Lama Polyclinic, Sohar 26751128
MBD 24799077
Al Khuwair 24478818
Magrabi Eye and
Ear Hospital 24568870
Muscat Private Hospital 24583600
Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment
Centre, Al Khuwair 24477666
Al Hayat International Hospital, Al Ghubra
22004000, 94267068/97049520
Al Hayat Clinic, Al Hail 22009455
AIRLINE OFFICES
Muscat Airport Flight information
(24 hours) 24519456/24519223
Aeroflot 24704455
Air Arabia 24700828
Air France 24562153
Air India 24799801
Air New Zealand 24700732
Biman Bangladesh Airlines 24701128
British Airways 24568777
Cathay Pacific 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
LISTINGS
LONG DISTANCE BUS TIMINGS (OMAN NATIONAL TRANSPORT COMPANY SAOC) *SUBJECT TO CHANGE
FROM MUSCAT (RUWI)
Dept Destination Arrival Operatingtime time days
QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (ROUTE 36)
15:00 Quriyat 16:30 Daily
15:00 Sur 18:00 Daily
15:00 Jaalan 19:30 Daily
TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)
06:30 Sohar 08:50 Daily
06:30 Buraimi 11:00 Daily
08:00 Buraimi 14:30 Daily via Ibri
13:00 Sohar 15:45 Daily
13:00 Buraimi 17:40 Daily
16.00 Sohar 18.35 Daily
16.00 Buraimi 20:20 Daily
TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)
17:30 Sinaw 20:50 Daily
TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)
14:30 Nizwa 16:50 Daily
14:30 Yanqul 19:30 Daily
TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)
08:00 Nizwa 10:20 Daily
08:00 Al Araqi 12:30 Daily
TO SUR (ROUTE 55)
07:30 Sur 12:00 Daily
14:30 Sur 18:45 Daily
TO FAHUD - YIBAL (ROUTE 62)
06:30 Fahud 10:30 Daily
06:30 Yibal 11:15 Daily
TO MARMUL-SALALAH (ROUTE 100)
07:00 Salalah 20:00 Daily
10:00 Marmul 20:30 Daily
10:00 Salalah 23:30 Daily
19:00 Salalah 07:40 Daily
TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)
06:00 Marmul 16:50 Daily
SALALAH TO DUBAI (ROUTE 102)
15:00 Dubai 07:00 Daily
TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)
06:00 Sohar 08:30 Daily
06:00 Dubai 11:30 Daily
13:00 Sohar 15:30 Wed,Thur
13:00 Dubai 18:30 Wed,Thur
15:00 Sohar 17:35 Daily
15:00 Dubai 20:55 Daily
TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)
07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily
07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily
07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily
TO MUSCAT (RUWI)
Dept Destination Arrival Operatingtime time days
FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (ROUTE 36)
05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily
05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily
05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily
TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)
07:00 Sohar 08:55 Daily
07:00 Ruwi 11:40 Daily
13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri
13:00 Sohar 14:55 Daily
13:00 Ruwi 17:40 Daily
13:00 Sohar 19:20 Daily
17:00 Ruwi 22:15 Daily
TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)
07:00 Ruwi 10:25 Daily
TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)
06:00 Nizwa 08:40 Daily
06:00 Ruwi 11:00 Daily
TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)
15:40 Nizwa 17:55 Daily
15:40 Ruwi 20:20 Daily
TO SUR (ROUTE 55)
06:00 Ruwi 10:45 Daily
14:30 Ruwi 19:00 Daily
TO YIBAL - FAHUD (ROUTE 62)
12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily
12:30 Ruwi 17:30 Daily
TO SALALAH -MARMUL (ROUTE 100)
07:00 Ruwi 19:50 Daily
10:00 Marmul 13:15 Daily
10:00 Ruwi 22:30 Daily
19:00 Ruwi 07:30 Daily
TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)
06:00 Marmul 16:30 Daily
DUBAI TO SALALAH (ROUTE 102)
15:00 Salalah 07:00 Daily
TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)
07:30 Sohar 10:50 Daily
07:30 Ruwi 13:40 Daily
13:00 Sohar 16:15 Thur-Fri
13:00 Ruwi 19:10 Thur-Fri
15:30 Sohar 18:45 Daily
15:30 Ruwi 21:35 Daily
FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH/SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)
16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily
16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily
16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily
CITY CINEMAContact (10 am to 6PM) 24567664 | 68 www.citycinemaoman.netfacebook.com/citycinemaoman
SHATTIFan (Hindi| Thriller) (PG12)Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi2:30, 5:30, 8:30, 10:00 & 11:30PM
The Jungle Book - (3D) Adventure | Drama| Family) (PG)Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley3:15, 5:15 & 7:15PM
Criminal (Action|Crime | Drama) (15+)Cast: Kevin Costner, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot2:45, 7:45, 9:15 & 11:30PM
Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (3D) (Action, Adventure) (PG12)Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams5:00PM
MUSCAT GRAND MALLThe Jungle Book – 3D (PG) Adventure Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley12:15, 2:15, 4:15, 6:15 PMGold Class – 6:15 PM
Fan – 2D (PG12) Hindi| ThrillerCast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi3:30, 6:30, 8:15, 11:15 PMGold Class – 3:15, 8:15, 11:15 PM
Criminal – 2D (15+) Action|Crime | DramaCast: Kevin Costner, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot1:00, 9:30, 11:45 PM
PANORAMA MALLFan - (Hindi| Thriller) - VIP LOUNGE (PG12)Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi2:30, 5:30, 8:30 & 11:30PM
Fan (Hindi| Thriller) (PG12)Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi3:00, 4:30, 6:00, 7:30 & 10:30PM
The Jungle Book (MX4D) (Adventure | Drama| Family) (PG)Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley3:30, 5:30, 7:30 & 9:30PM
The Jungle Book - (3D) Adventure | Drama| Family) (PG)Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley2:45, 4:45 & 6:45PM
Criminal (Action|Crime | Drama) (15+)Cast: Kevin Costner, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot2:30, 8:45 & 11:15PM
Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (3D) (Action, Adventure) (PG12)Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams9:00 & 11:30PM
The Squad (2D) (Action, Drama) (15+)Cast: Jean Reno, Alban Lenoir, Caterina Murino11:45PM
AZAIBA Batman vs Superman:Dawn of Justice (3D) (Action |Adventure | Fantasy) (PG12)
Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams3:15, 11:45 PM
Fan (Hindi) (2D) (Thriller) (PG12) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi12:00, 2:45, 3:45, 5:40, 8.30, 10:00, 11:30 PM
Rocky Handsome (2D) (Action) (12+) Cast: John Abraham, Shruti Hassan11:45 PM
Darvinte Parinamam (Mal) (2D) (Action | Comedy) (PG12) Cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran9:00 PM
Sardar Gabbar Singh (2D) (Comedy|Action) (PG12) Cast: Pawan Kalyan, Kajal Agarwal6:10 PM
Theri (Tamil) (2D) (Comedy | Action) (12+) Cast: Vijay, Samantha Ruth Prabhu12:30, 7:00, 8:55 PMThe Jungle Book (3D) (Adventure) (PG) Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley12:45, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00 PM
RUWIScreen 1Fan (Thriller) –PG12Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi12.30, 3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PM
Screen 2Theri (Action) - Tamil –12+Cast: Vijay, Samantha, Amy Jackson, Prabhu12.45, 6.45, 9.45 PM
The Jungle Book (2D) (Adventure) –PGCast: Scarlett Johansson, Idris Elba3.45 PM
Screen 3The Jungle Book (2D) (Adventure) –PGCast: Scarlett Johansson, Idris Elba1.00, 6.45 PM
Theri (Action) - Tamil –12+Cast: Vijay, Samantha, Amy Jackson, Prabhu3.45 PM
Rocky Handsome (Action/ Thriller) –12+Cast: John Abraham, Shruti Haasan9.45 PM
SURFan (Hindi, Thriller)Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi, Mariola Jaworska12:15, 3:15, 8:15, 11:15 PM
The Jungle Book (3D)Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley.1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 6:15 PM
Theri (Tamil) (Action) (12+) Cast: Vijay, Samantha Ruth Prabhu7:00 PM
Criminal (Action | Crime | Drama) (15+) Cast: Kevin Costner, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot.9:55, 11:55 PM
SOHAR
Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice– 2D (Action, Adventure, Fantasy) (PG12)Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams3:15PM
Criminal– 2D (Action, Crime, Drama) (15+)Cast: Kevin Costner, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot3:00, 5:15, 9:30, 11:45 PM
The Dead Room – 2D (Horror, Thriller) (15+)Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Thomas Jane, Kate Bosworth10:00, 11:55 PM
The Squad – 2D (Fantasy, Horror, Thriller) (15+)Cast: Jean Reno, Alban Lenoir, Caterina Murino5:15, 11:45PM
The Jungle Book – 3D (Adventure, Drama, Family) (PG)Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley1:00, 3:15, 6:00, 7:30PM
Fan-2D (Crime, Drama, Thriller) (PG12)Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi, Mariola Jaworska12:00, 3:00, 6:00, 8:00, 11:00PM
Theri – 2D (Romance, Comedy) (12+)Cast: Vijay, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Amy
Jackson12:00, 7:00, 9:00PM
BURAIMIThe Squad Aka (ANTI GANG) -2D (Action)Cast: JeanReno, AlbanLenoir, Caterina Murino.5:00, 11:30PM
Fan (Hindi, Thriller)Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi, Mariola Jaworska2:30, 5:30, 8:20, 11:15PM
The Jungle Book (3D)Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley.3:30, 5:30, 7:30PM
CriminalCast: Kevin Costner, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot3:00, 6:45, 9:30, 11.45PM
Theri (Tamil) Cast: Vijay, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Amy Jackson8:45PM
SALALAH
The Jungle Book (3D) (PG) (Adventure | Drama| Family) Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley12:30, 2:30, 4:30, 6:30PM Fan (2D) (PG12) (Thriller) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi, Mariola Jaworska12:00, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00, 11:15PM Criminal (2D) (15+) (Action| Crime | Drama) Cast: Kevin Costner, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot12:15, 2:45, 6:50, 9:00, 11:30PM Anti-Squad (2D) (15+) (Action | Drama)Cast: Jean Reno, Alban Lenoir, Caterina Murino5:00, 11:55PM
Theri (2D) (12+) (Tamil) (Action)Cast: Vijay, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Amy Jackson8:30PM
CINEMA SCHEDULE CHILDREN BELOW THE AGE OF 3 YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE CINEMA | BOX-OFFICE COUNTER OPENS 30-MINUTES PRIOR TO THE SCREENING OF THE FIRST SHOW
@AZAIBA @ SHATTI
Theri (Tamil) (2D) (Comedy | Action) (12+) Cast: Vijay, Samantha Ruth, Prabhu12:30, 7:00, 8:55 PM
Fan (Hindi| Thriller) (PG12)Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi2:30, 5:30, 8:30, 10:00 & 11:30PM
BAHJA CINEMAFilm information 24540856 / Advance Booking 24540855Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com
Fan (Hindi, Thriller)Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi, Mariola Jaworska, Ileana D’Cruz, Vaani Kapoor1.00, 3.45, 6.30, 9.15 & 11.45 PMCP No : 1100 (PG12)
Criminal (Action / Crime / Drama)Cast: Kevin Costner, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot2.00, 4.00, 8.00, 10.00 & 11.55 PMCP No : 1101 (15+)
Mr. Right (Action / Comedy / Romance)Cast: Anna Kendrick, Sam Rockwell, Tim Roth6.00 PMCP No : 1094 (15+)
STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776
Website: www.isurf.co.om
Theri (Tamil) (Action & Drama) Cast: Vijay & Samantha 3:00, 6:30 & 10:00 PM Cinema Main Fan (Hindi) (Action\Thriller) Cast: Shahrukh Khan & Ileana D’Cruz 3:30, 6:30 & 9:30PM Cinema -2;9:45 PM Cinema -3
Darvinte Parinamam (Mal) (Comedy \ Drama) Cast: Privthviraj & Chandini Sreedharan 3:45 & 6:45 PM Cinema -3
Sardaar Gabbar Singh ( Telugu) ( Action) Cast: Pawan Kaltan & Kajal Aggarwal 3:45 PM Cinema -4
Maheshinte Prathikaram (Mal) (Comedy) Cast: Fahad Faasil & Anusree 6:45 & 9:45 PM Cinema -4 Next Change: Kali (Mal) Sarrainodo (Telugu)
Programmes are Subject to Change
@ MGM
The Jungle Book – 3D (PG) Adventure Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley12:15, 2:15, 4:15, 6:15 PMGold Class – 6:15 PM
WEATHER
360
Maximum
260
Minimum
TEMPERATURE
80-40%RELATIVE HUMIDITY
Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 17 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]
WITH LOVE
SHAHAMA IRFAN HUSSAINApril 16, 2012
CHRIS JOSHIApril 16, 2006
B7S AT U R DAY, A P R I L 1 6, 2 0 1 6
ACROSS1 Contended 5 First lady for Harry9 Harper Valley org.12 Treaty member 13 Travel far and wide14 Hold up 15 Batman, to the Joker17 Is a good dog 19 Gold Medal org. 20 Tiger’s game 21 Make changes to 24 Counts 27 Bean for sprouting 28 Escorted by 29 Louis XIV, e.g.30 Tenet 31 Outlaw Jesse — 32 Make tracks 33 Film director Spike — 34 Wide sts. 35 Classroom fixture36 Tried 38 Yields territory 39 Centres 40 Yes, in Kyoto 41 Heinlein’s genre (hyph.) 43 Frosted treat 47 “Star Wars” rogue 48 Curb 50 Peter Gunn’s girl 51 Joule fraction 52 Lectern’s place 53 Clammy
Crossword Puzzle
Q u e s t i o n s & A n s w e r s
CDUR
It’s better not to argue with...
Any one
If I had treasures I would
hide them...In the ocean
One thing that puts me off ...When I get a
shouting
One movie/book I can watch/
read over and over again...
Happy New Year
When I’m in doubt...I ask my cousin
Harsh
The scariest thing that I have done...Seeing horror fi lm
One person I would trade
places with (real or fi ctional)
My cousin Harsh
I go crazy when...My brother touches
my things
If I met an alien I would...
Ask about thegalaxy
The best way to my heart is...Behave properly with every one
If I win a lottery...I will donate to
the needy
If I have to describe myself
as a fl avour it would be...Chocolate
If I could go back in history, I would
like to meetSubhas Chandra
Bose
Send your contributions to [email protected]. A good quality photo is compulsory. Lifestyle reserves the right to
publish the contributions.
KARTIKEYA VARDHAN SINGH
DOWN1 Camper, maybe 2 Seine moorage 3 Dartboard wood 4 Tinting5 — -a-brac 6 Dawn deity 7 Peru’s cont. 8 Unrumples 9 Liked better 10 Stuffed animal 11 Tummy muscles, in the gym 16 Piece of turf
18 Quick lunch 20 Fence openings 21 Writer — Zola 22 Ruminates 23 Unpleasantly involving 24 Played charades 25 Shake awake 26 Goes to the bottom 28 Undulations 31 Brash songster 35 Cleared for
takeoff ? 37 — Wiedersehen 38 Salary limit 40 Rome wreckers 41 “Murder, — Wrote” 42 Wheels 43 Cato’s 102 44 Oklahoma town 45 Nieces and cousins 46 Startled cry 49 Per
AN
SWER
TO
PR
EVIO
US
PUZ
ZLE
One skill I would like to learn...
Medical science
LIFESTYLEFACT FILE
(Exploring History, Science, and Nature)
Fascinating World of AntsA nts can be found almost eve-rywhere and there are more than 12,000 known species of ant.
Scientists estimate that there are 10,000 to 20,000 more species yet to be discovered.
Abundantly found in warm climates, deserts, and tropical forests, these social insects build underground tunnels with special rooms for storing food and nesting.
Others make nests in mounds of earth or in the hollows of trees or plants. Some ants build homes made of leaves, and some do not construct permanent nests at all. Ants are related to bees and wasps, and like these cousins, they are so-cial insects that live in colonies.
The Life CycleAnts develop in four stages: Egg, larva, pupa, and adult. After mat-ing, the female seals the entrance to her nest and begins laying thou-sands of eggs.
Types of Ants
Leafcutter AntsFound on the edges of tropical for-ests, leafcutter ants build huge un-derground nests, some can be up to 29.5 feet (9m) deep and cover an entire acre. The nests are so deep that the ants must build ventila-tion shafts for fresh air.
Red Harvester AntsThis species can be found in many
places around the world. It prefers dry, desert like regions. Red har-vester ants will travel miles to col-lect seeds, which they grind into a kind of bread and store in their nests. Some horned lizards depend on harvester ants as a main food source.
Weaver AntsNesting in trees, these aggressive and territorial ants’ farm small insects as a honeydew source. To make a nest, a chain of ants joins together to bend leaves into a tent shape that is stitched together with secreted silk.
Fire AntsThere are more than 280 species of fi re ants. This invasive species originated in South America, but is now found in many countries. They are aggressive and nest in grassy areas.
Honeypot AntsThere are about 34 species of hon-ey pot ants. They tend to live in hot, dry regions. Honeypots store large amounts of nutritious liquid in the larger workers, called repletes. They are a good food source for many animals, even people.
Worker AntsThe smallest and most common ant found in any colony. These sterile females do most of the work, looking after the queen and
brood, building and maintaining the nest, and fi nding food. Workers can live for a few months or up to fi ve years.
Soldier AntsThey are only found among certain ant species. Larger and stronger than typical workers, these sterile females protect the colony and use their strength and large jaws, or mandibles, to cut and carry larger objects.
A Princess AntShe has wings, and when the weather is right, she will take to the skies to mate. Once mated, she quickly fi nds a nesting place for her eggs. She nips off her wings and often uses them to feed her babies.
Do You Know? • The study of ants is called myr-
mecology. • Ants have two stomachs; one is
for themselves, and the other is to store food for other ants.
• Ants follow scent trails laid by scout ants to gather food.
• Ants can carry objects 50 times their own body weight.
• Ants lived some 130 million years ago, similar to dinosaurs.
• Ants follow scent trails to gather food.
• The average life expectancy of an ant is 45-60 days.
B8
LIFESTYLES AT U R DAY, A P R I L 1 6, 2 0 1 6
All the words below appear in the puzzle - horizontally, vertically,
diagonally, even backward. Find them and circle their letters.
The leftover word spells the Teleword.
How to playFill empty cells with the numbers 1 to 9, so that each number appears once in each row, column and area.
Answer to previous puzzle
SOLUTION
J B R E M E N Y H T R A H A S A O B R E N N A N O S N A H S I D H Y L I M E L L E H C I M I Y A N C I F I T N E I C S A N C D M A A W S S W E E T S R O A I I S I S O O R N M N C G R M T S V Y N E H L I E I U O A I A D N A T O A S V R L A L H L M N S E D I S I E E N E O C L A I A G R I T R Y G O R H A E R M I A N O A N E L C U T Z M A N M G M D F L E F L B O R U S S R E D T A P E D F I O Y R E T S Y M G O T T L I E BG O O D M A N O S H P E S O J
TelewordSudoku
Adams, Addy, Angela, Billy, Body, Booth, Brennan, Bureau, Camille, Case, Conlin, David, Emily, Eric, Forensic,
Goodman, Gottlieb, Hanson, Hart, Hodgins, Holograms, Identity, Jeffersonian, John, Josephson, Maria,
Michelle, Mind, Missing, Motive, Mystery, Red Tape, Reichs, Russ, Scientific, Show, Solve, Sweets, Tamara,
Team, Thyne, Zacharoni, Zman. Answer: Remains
CLUE: ‘BONES’ (TV SERIES) SOLUTION: 7 LETTERS
Art for the Ages Children’s Poetry
Who is a teacher?
Abhijit Prasad NairGrade VIIIIndian School Wadi K abir
From an age of four,To the life of my core.They sculptured the life in me,And let my soul discover free.
They took my hands to the world of colours,To the aroma of letters and the numbers’ powers.They encrypted my soul to what being I am,Pouring never ending oil to my knowledge of lamp.
Each degree they twisted my ears,Each cross marks, the taste of cane,Is a pictured image as a souvenir,As they shouted to bring me up all near.
Is a teacher only my schoolteacher,Or some other creature?Is my teacher only the person who frames me to the texts,Or do all have hands, those who claim?
My teacher is all those souls that fi lled in me divine,And taught the values for the victory of mine.A teacher is a person who enlightens the knowledge in me,It is a soul that teaches me without any fee.
The walls taught me the golden silence,The sun taught me unity when equally it shines. The ants taught me to be hard working without any plea,The world taught me, a human to be.
Jeni Magdalene, Grade 6, ISS Sidharth Krishna, Grade 4, ISD
Amber Kabir Khan, Grade 6, ABA
Alfred Benoy, Grade 2, ISM
Arjun Satish, Grade 4, ISWK
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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
Ruwi: 24 792 792 Sohar: 2684 2420
All HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, SamsungCartridges also available.
GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!!
GOOD
PR
ICE!
!!GO
OD P
RIC
E!!!
GOOD
PR
ICE!
!!GO
OD P
RIC
E!!!
GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!!
Available on very GOOD prices
COMEX 2016 VISIT US AT STALL
N.O: 1629 Printers, Laptops & PC’s, CD’s, DVD’s & Flash Drives & Cartridges
S AT U R D AY, A P R I L 1 6 , 2 0 1 6
RENT C2
QUALITY OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT
F cF
Contact : 95399988, 24942600 Email - [email protected]
Showroom 2 Side Facing I CBD OPP. B.M.Showroom Space I CBD OPP. B.M.Office With Partition I CBD OPP. B.M.Flat 3 BHK I MBD Nr.SheratonFlat 2 BHK With Terrace I MBD Nr.SheratonFlat 1 BHK - 2 BHK I MBD Nr.SheratonSmall Offices With Partition I MBD Nr.SheratonVilla 4 BHK+M.Room+S.Pool I Qurum 29 Nr. MSQFlat 2 BHK I Khwair 33 Nr. Maya
New building - Maintenance company provided- Caretaker Cleaner - A.C.- Multiple Elevators- Central settelite system
Good Parking Space
FOR RENT
Tel: 24571962/63 Mob: 94289050/ 95495281Email: [email protected]
1. Qurum Top Finish New- Res-5 apartments- 2 bhk/maid room 550/450, 3 bhk- 550, 1 BHK-350
2. Al Kuwair New 3 bhk, posh. Kit.fur,s.pool-700, 3 bhk +maid,ind.villa-650/-3. Wadi Kabir 1/2 bhk-250/300/3504. Al Kodh Villa 5 Bhk- Compounded 550/-5. Qurum(Comm) Sama Center-Brand New 114/122/129 sq.mt6. Azaiba (Comm)
*Tourist visa arranged
Email: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461
FOR RENT
C2 S AT U R D AY, A P R I L 1 6 , 2 0 1 6
FOR RENT
For viewing please call 99466729, 99316410, 92841690, 91313271, 24694088 or email us on :[email protected]
Mtr. Facing main RoadHAR Complex MSQ : 2,3-BHK Flats and 2 & 3 BHK villas with
Qurum : 6 BHK villa with garden, split Acs, shaded car parks, servant rooms
Darsait : 1 & 2-BHK Flats with AC & Shop Ruwi : 2-BHK & 3-BHK Flats and shopsAl Amerat : 2 & 3-BHK Flat , 3 & 4-BHK Villa with A/C
DAILY GUIDE
3 Rooms, 2 Toilets Flat for Rent. 18
November Street. Near Mars Hyper-
market and The Chedi. Ghobrah -Good
for Commercial or Residential use.
OMR 295/- month. Call 94477222
Offi ce & 2B/R with 3 toilets directly
from owner, near Dolphin Complex
Bausher. Contact 92158031
Flat in Wadi Al Kabir 2 bedrooms, 1
living room, 1 family hall, kitchen & 3
bathrooms. Contact: 99277787
Room for rent in Al Khuwair near
Ibis hotel, very big. R.O 180/-. Con-
tact: 95724975
Flat for rent 2 BHK 2 split A/C, 2
toilets, Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti
Masjid. Contact – 97007934 /
92609232
Flat for rent in Wadi Kabeer near
India Primary School 2B & 1K.
Contact: 92222922
1BHK at Hamriya near Muscat
Pharmacy & 2 BHK at Mawaleh
near Mosque Sadiq Al Amin. Con-
tact: 99224748 / 99332297
1BHK Mumtaz. Contact: 92144045
1 BHK M.B.D R.O 250/-. Contact:
92144045
1BHK Ghubra R.O 275/-. #92144045
2 BHK Ghubra R.O 325/-. Contact:
92144045
1&2 BHK Darsait. #92144045
2& 3 BHK in Al Khuwair RO 375/-,
RO 400/-. Contact: 92144045
1BHK at Al Falaj R.O 190/-. Contact:
92144045
Single room for rent 50/RO water
& electricity near Khimji Mart Mut-
trah. Contact: 97477670
1 BHK in Azaiba. Contact:
99385835 / 99428143
2BHK fl at near Wadi Adai signal
R.O 280/- negotiable. #97645436
Flat for rent in Ruwi, Mumtaz area
2 bedrooms. Contact: 24291500 /
91409667
New fl at at Al Wadi Al Kabir. Con-
tact: 96130797 / 92130703
1000 sq mtrs industrial land for
rent in Ghala suitable for warehouse
workshop etc. Contact 24700120 /
92584715
2bed rooms fl at with hall, 2
bathrooms in Darsait near Muscat
Municipality. contact 92584715 /
24700120
Ware houses in Hay Aseem Barka,
11000 m2 near round about new
Beach road at Al Khoud location
open store with offi ce. #92959129
Warehouse for rent at Ghala Ind.
Area. 800 & 2500 approx sqms
Near Hotel Al-Madinah Holiday,
Ghala. Container can enter. Imme-
diate access to roads & highways.
Contact : 94583320
Offi ce space small in Azaiba. Con-
tact: 99428143
Flats in Qurum. Contact 94051789
/ 97201688
Flats in Darsait. Contact
94051789 / 97201688
Flats in Wadi Kabir. Contact
94051789 / 97201688
Fully Furnished apartments in
Boucher (35)#94051789 / 97201688
Flats in Muttrah. Contact
94051789 / 97201688
Flat for Rent 2 bed room Near ISM
muscat Indian Scoole Dar sate Tel :
00 968 95158570
Offi ces in Ghala. Contact
94051789 / 97201688
Brand new villas in Al Ansab. Con-
tact 94051789 / 97201688
Offi ces & Showrooms in Mutrah.
Contact 94051789 / 97201688
Duplex villa in QURUM 29. Con-
tact 94051789 / 97201688
Offi ces & Showrooms in Al Khoud.
Contact 94051789 / 97201688
2BHK with split / AC in W.K behind
Sana Fashion. Contact: 96635026
Villa for rent Ghubra 5 rooms, 5
bathroom, kitchen & hall. Contact:
91153933
Flat for rent Al Khoud room 3,
hall, kitchen & bathroom. contact
91153933
Villa for rent 6 rooms, hall, living
room, kitchen, 7 Bathroom in Al
Khoud. Contact: 91153933
One room, bathroom for rent
Bousher. Contact: 91153933
Furniture fl at for rent Bousher 1
room, 1 bath room, Kitchen & hall.
Contact: 91153933
Shops / fl ats available in Honda
Road, Ruwi & Mabellah Indus-
trial area. Contact 24833972/
24833974/ 99367448
Flat for rent Bousher, 2 rooms, 1
hall, dining hall, 2 bathrooms &
Kitchen. Contact: 91153933
Flat in Al Khuwair opp grand mall
4 room 3 toilet + hall kitchen in 3
fl oor 400. Contact 99420346
2 BR, 2 bath, a kitchen, a yard
, with AC, separate enterance,
AlKhuwair near Ibis hotel. PDC.
RO 250 .. Call 97056443
Readymade offi ce space for rent
(240sm) in Bank Melli Iran Build-
ing, MBD area, Ruwi, opposite
Center point. Contact: 99011352
2BHK Ghala, new bldg with A/C,
325/- R.O. Contact: 99024730
1+2+3 BHK Al Khuwair. Contact:
99024730
Available - fully furnished 2 bed-
room apartment ( 12 nos) & fully fur-
nished studio fl ats (10 nos) -location
near Sohar Port - Contact : 94532131
2BHK available Mumtaz area Ruwi.
Contact: 99269751
OFFICES FOR RENT AT AZAIBAPrime location on service road (previously occupied by A'Saffa Foods) near Al Turky and Mazda showroom.
- 2 BHK flat available directly from the owner, at Azaiba.
Contact: 99229263, 93221054, 95215289
FOR RENTStore space in Al
Wattayah.Contact
99382489 / 99263443
Available - Fully furnished labor
camp and executive accommodation
- ready for occupation-location near
Sohar Port - Contact 94532131
Flats, shops and store for rent in
Ruwi, MBD & Mumtaz. Contact:
97293708 / 92433127
2BHK fl at shops / ware house space
available for rent behind new ROP
building at Honda road. Contact:
91165807
2 BHK / 1BHK near Machi Market
Ruwi. R.O 200/- & 225/-. Contact:
99354771
2 BHK available in Ghubrah North
for rent. Contact: 92253080
Furnished offi ce (61M2) for sale
/ rent Al Khuwair near Zawawi
Mosque. Contact: 95611569
2BHK Wadi Kabir R.O 300/-. Con-
tact: 92144045
Flat for rent in South AlGhubrah
3 rooms, hall and 3 toilets, kitchen
rent 450/-. Contact: 99335580
FOR RENTIN RUWI
1 BHK – SPILT A/C,
BUILT IN WARDROBE
&CENTRALIZED GAS.
SPACIOUS 2 BHK.
Contact :990 49 722
DAILY GUIDES AT U R D AY, A P R I L 1 6 , 2 0 1 6 C3
FOR SALE
FOR SALEFOR RENT
2,200 sq mtr factory area & 800
sq mtr store with 8 accommoda-
tion rooms and 10 offi ce cabins
available for rent in Barka indus-
trial area. Contact 91398381 / 80 /
78, email - [email protected]
02 BHK residential fl at opposite
to Al Nahdha hospital.
Contact: 99342733 /99795241
Two bedrooms fl at in Al Ghobrah
near Oman Oil of 18 November Street.
OMR 330 Monthly.#99333479 or
95215360 or 97509955.
1 Bed room, sharing K& T, R.O 100,
2 bedrooms , sharing K& T R.O
200/- in AL Khuwair. #95154331
Flat for rent 2 BHK 2 split A/C, 2
toilets, Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti
Masjid. #97007934 / 92629232
Warehouse at Wadikabir - total
area 3500 sqm - covered ware-
house (500sqm), offi ce, ac-
commodation (1000sqm), open
area (2000sqm) please contact:
99273774 - 99202278
3BHK in Qurum P.D.O high 350/-
Monthly. Contact: 99342661
2BHK split A/C 200/- Monthly & 1BHK
spilt A/C 150/- monthly new building
good location Barka Market. contact
99342661
New building Wattayah main road,
showroom & offi ce space. contact
94300909
Four bedroom two fl oors luxurious
and spacious residential villa in Al
Hail North, near to the sea and Oman
oil. Each room has its own bath-
room. It has splits A/C’s and shaded
car park. OMR 750 monthly. Tel:
99333479 or 95215360 or 97509955
For rent and investment Land
industrial shops in Rusayl.
Contact: 99323957 / 95490842
2BHK Big Size Flat Behind Bank Mus-
cat, Wadi Kabir. Near ISWK. 97826454,
24815012.
New fl ats for rent at Darsait near
to Ministry of Sports, Mumtaz area
the fl ats includes, 1 living room, 2
bedroom, kitchen, 3 toilets, every
rooms with split A/C high quality
fi nishing rent per fl at is R.O 340/- .
Interested candidates please #00968
92225523
Restaurant for sale (Indian, Chinese,
Arabic food ). #91181765 / 95411354
Paver, ABG Titan - 4732, Bitelli tan-
dom roller, bitelli - PTR roller, Bomag
combination roller, shovel SDLG.
Contact: 92964673
Dental Clinic for sale in Seeb. Con-
tact: 96373097 / 92882209
ACC. AVAILABLE
ACC. AVAILABLE
Separate entrance furnished
bedroom with attached bath and
kitchen for Executive bachelor in
a villa opp. Star Cinema. Contact:
99314807
Single room B/K sharing Mumtaz
area. Contact: 95212017
Available single room in Wadi
Kabir. Contact: 92177850
Room + bathroom furnished for
Executives, Wadi Kabir. contact
99336206
Room with attached bathroom avail-
able in Ruwi for Executive bachelors.
Contact 95527969
DRIVINGMATRIMONIAL
Tamil Hindu Brahmin Iyer Boy.
Parents invite proposal for their
only son 25 yrs / 6.1 ht / B.Tech
(NIT), MBA (IIM), EX- ISM student,
employed MNC Bangalore Star
Uttirathdhi seeks suitable alliance
fom Iyer/Iyenger families. Parents
in Oman #98288925 / 92264915
30 yrs, Kottayam working in Saud
Bahwan Automotive L.L.C Oman.
Contact: 93049433 / 99613914
Malankara Catholic Male Nurse (28) from Thiruvalla working in
Nizwa Private Co. Alliance invites
parents/nurses working in Oman.
#968 98267338,
0091 9287215726
Indian male Roman Catholic 40yrs divorcee working in Muscat.
Seeks suitable alliance from widow/
divorcee/ single.contact
96059801.
Show room for sale in Ruwi main
rood big space around 200 sqm. Con-
tact: 93333951 / 93333957
An excellent condition portacabin 1 x
40’ for sale in Ghala. Rate negotiable
contact 99509460
Coff ee shop for sale in Al Khuwair 33.
Contact: 92994415
Villas in Al Khoud.#95056808 /
97201688
Luxury Apartments in Boucher (35).
Contact 95056808 / 97201688
Single colorful Bed and Sofa for Sale
at Al Khuwair.#92881849 /What`s up
No 97290565
Furniture and other treatment items
for Ayurvedic clinic. #97986525
Steel Scrap materials for immediate
sale # 99273774/ 99202278
Almost new beach/ garden lounge
chairs /bar stools/ counter. Photos
can be sent 95865457
A well running pharmacy for sale at
prime location. Contact- 99627621,
93240949
400 sq mtrs Commercial/Residential
land in Mabela Phase 5 Block 2. OMR
165 Thousand. CONTACT 99333479
or 95215360 or 97509955
Space for printing press available at
wadikabir with or without
machinery. Contact 99328430
Shop for sale near Oman House, Mut-
trah. Contact 99024362.
Urgent sale of steel scrap only
serious buyers kindly #+968
96725423 for viewing the items.
HD Scaff oldings, Shuttering Jacks,
Wooden Planks, Shuttering wood
assorted, Tower hoist (lift), Concrete
Mixer, Bending Machine, Steel Fabrica-
tion Machinery (Searing/Cutting, lathe
& Welding) including tools for immedi-
ate sale: contact 99273774/ 99202278
Single room non cooking bach-
elor, near Darsait round about.
Contact: 92120626
Sharing Accommodation avail-
able for working ladies opposite
Al Nadhah Hospital. Preferably
Indians. Room with seperate toilet
and sharing kitchen.RO.90. contact
96524717
Furnished apartment for rent,
two rooms, majlis, hall, kitchen.
Near Carrefour al-mawalah.
#99336776
Small old house for rent in Al
Ghoubra. Contact : 97165972
Sharing for Executive females at
Mumtaz area. Contact: 97094797
Room available for Executive
bachelor at Al Hail.#96234708
Room for rent with furniture.
Al Bustan village.#93687466
Furnished room attached bath
for Indian bachelor, Al-Falaj
Ruwi & lady Wadi Kabir near
Mars hypermarket. CONTACT
96202458/96761960
Furnish bedroom with attach
bathroom for executive bachelor.
Contact: 97704794
Room with attached bathroom for
a family in Wadi Kabir. #97167857
Room with attached bathroom and
sharing kitchen available for
Executive bachelor or small family
at wadikabir Contact 93049849
Room available in Mumtaz area
1 room, 1 Bathroom, Kitchen & 1
room, common bathroom. Interested
pleasecontact 92680041 Mr. Altaf
GOOD NEWS
Ayurvedic treatment for backache,
paralysis, arthritis etc & mas-
sage, All Season (Vaidyaratnam).
Contact:24475280 / 95371664 /
92504980 www.siddhayur.com
FREE INFORMATION ABOUT IS-LAM. If you would like to know more
about Islam, please call: 99425598,
99250777, 99353988, 99253818,
99341395, and 99379133. For ladies:
99415818, 99321360, 99730723
Orvisit:www.islamfact.com
NRI
2 Acres of land for sale in Tamil
Nadu, Tirunelveli District , Kon-
danagaram , near Suthamalli, 7 KM
from Tirunelveli Town , off Cher-
anmahadevi Road . Contact: 0091
7358518439
FOR HIRE
For rent Backhoe Loader Volvo BL71
long term. Contact: 99257975
Grader, roller, bobcat, JCB 3CX, JCB 4CX with breaker & water tanker
for rent. #93218705 / 24478450
LOST
Latif Atif Abdul Latif has lost
Pakistani Passport No. AM 8482822.
Finder please handover to ROP
Aamir Khan has lost Pakistani
Passport No. CX 100993. Finder
please handover to ROP
Mohammed Jolal has lost Pakistani
Passport No. AG 4509248. Finder
please handover to ROP
Dhar Minder Virdi has lost Indian
Passport No. K1186765. Finder
please handover to ROP
Quality concept trading LLC Crane
rental daily monthly cranes
available for rent at attractive prizes .
Contact: 92870992
DAILY GUIDEC4 S AT U R D AY, A P R I L 1 6 , 2 0 1 6
SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT SITUATION WANTEDSIT.WANTED
Email: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624
DRIVER
MEDICAL
DRIVER
ACCOUNT. & FINANCE
BEAUTICIAN
ACCOUNT. & FINANCE
Required urgently an experienced
Accountant having 2-3 years expe-
rience. Send your resume by e-mail :
Very urgently required a Gulf
experienced professional Hair
dresser cum beautician (lady) for
a reputed beauty salon. Immedi-
ate appointment visa available.
Contact: 99816262 /98557585
Fax: 24796211 Email: skin.hair.
Required driver for building &
electrical material Company in Ghala
with valid Oman driving license.
Contact 99345044 / 91480682
Wanted driver. Contact: 91025698
Urgently required female Staff
Nurse (two) with or without M.O.H
license, good package. Contact af-
ter 5:00 P.M on Mobile: 99253650
or send C.V on dr.kamalsaqib@
yahoo.com
Wanted B-Pharmacist (lady) for
Sohar. Contact 99767605
Required Gynecologist, Lab techni-
cian, X Ray technician. contact
99030773 Email: kunoozghala@
gmail.com
Required gynecologist GEN: practitioner lady lab Technician and pharmacologist immediately
for a clinic in Suwaiq. contact
95081010 Email: umchealthcare@
gmail.com
Wanted Staff Nurse for
a dermatology clinic in Muscat .
Must have MOH license and NOC.
Attractive salary off ered. Email:
GP doctor needed for reputed
clinic. Preferably with MOH license
or with Datafl ow & Paramatics
pass Contact: 95388934
Urgently required female Gy-
necologist D.G.O or M.C.P.S with
minimum 3 years of experience,
with or without M.O.H license, very
good package. Contact after 5.00
P.M on Mobile: 99253650 or Send
ENGINEER/MECHANIC.
MANAGER
Required Hydraulic Mechanic. Contact
95251213
Need job for Driving. Contract:
94375896
Light duty driver 4 years Oman
exp seeks placement. Contact:
98726383
Driver, exp 1.5 years, Language
English, Arabic & Urdu, license
light. Contact: 96011572 /
94484181
Experience driver looking for job.
Contact: 95113612
Light vehicle driver with 5 years
exp looking for job. Contact:
92171166
Driver want job. #95892363
Light driver Pakistani wanted job.
Contact: 94182695
8 years experience in Oman. Con-
tact: 95587206
Light duty driver, 3 yrs Oman ex-
perience seeks placement. Contact:
91362475
Light driver looking for job 4 yrs
Exp in Oman. Contact :92681457
Driver with Oman experience 11
yrs available. Contact: 92374955
Pakistani looking for driving job
with 3 yrs experience. Contact:
95776320
Light Duty Driver seeks job. Con-
tact: 94182497
Bangladeshi male light driver
exp 16 years need job. Contact:
99165961
Light Duty Driver with 2 yrs exp. in
Muscat seeks placement. Contact:
91659265
Driver 3/6 years experience, I
have 2 years experience out door
sales man in led light, Pakistani,
Oman experience 6 years. Contact:
94565993 / 92627855
Family driver available. contact
92943094
Indian male 25 yrs, Graduate in com-
merce, overall 5 yrs exp in accounts/
fi nance fi eld. On visit visa. Immedi-
ately available. CONTACT 92836216 /
28/male/MBA - fi nance/B.Com -
Accountant with 4 years of Dubai/
India experience looking for a
suitable placement.#90187483
Indian male, 24 yrs, Graduated with
specialization in Accounting 2 years
experienced C.A.CPT completed.
#94628086 / 97315091
Indian male 34 years MBA fi nance &
marketing 7 years experience in Indian
accounts / Administration currently
in Muscat on family visa. #98104991
Email: [email protected]
Indian male well experienced in Ac-
counts ERP, TALLY 9 & Admin NOC
available looking for a suitable job.
Contact: 92650835
Part-time Accounting up to fi naliza-
tion, Auditing, Taxation and Project
Finance assistance - 91044655
Male Accountant M.Com (fi nance &
accounts) having 3 years experience
in accounts looking for available job
on visit visa. Contact: 94648575
CMA & CIA qualifi ed fi nance profes-
sional with 13 years of me experience
in FMCG industries as well as various
other industries available for immediate
permanent job openings. #94543660
MISCELLANEOUS
Required candidates for following
posts: Accountant, Storekeeper, Foreman Building Maintenance, Van-salesman (water), Helpers. Candi-
dates with Omani driving license pre-
ferred. contact 99273774/99202278
ENGG. / TECH./MECH.
ENGG. / TECH./MECH.
Indian female 23 years Engineering
Electronics and communications,
well knowledge in C and JAVA, pres-
ently in Muscat seeking suitable
placement. Contact: 90320846
Email: kavyahiremath499@gmail.
com
Electrical Engineer having 8 years
experience in Gulf seeking suitable
placement can join immediately,
have knowledge all kind of MEP
project. Contact: 96535204
Indian male 22, Chemical Engineer
residing in Oman looking for suit-
able placement. Contact: 92379181
Civil Engineer, 6 yrs experience
with Omani driving license, local
release available. #91693008
An Iraqi civil with more than 30
years experience in (Iraq and G.C.C)
looking for a job, (N.O.C) available.
Contact: 96561306
Email: [email protected]
Indian male, Mechanical
Engineer having 1year experi-
ence, on visit visa looking for
suitable job. Contact:97416564,
Email:[email protected]
HSE offi cer, Indian male 27, 1.5
years exp call: 90649152,
98205818
Indian Mechanical Engineer
(B.tech)23. With qualifi cation in
Qa-QC,HVAC and Piping.1 year expe-
rience. Ready to join immediately.
Contact: 92365040
Civil Engineer 8 years experience
in Oman as a project engineer for
governmental & private projects.
Contact – 90164912
Building Site Supervisor since
2010 in Oman with Omani D/L
looking for suitable placement.
Contact: 91507828
Mechanical Engineer is looking for
a job vacancy Graduate of Malaysia,
7 years of work experience in oil &
Gas fl uent in both Arabic & English.
Contact: 95569430
Electrical Engineer 6 years ex-
perience in Oman experience in
MEDC / projects valid D/L. Contact:
91249329
B.Tech Mechanical Engineer, on
visit visa looking for job, who has
done certifi cation courses in quality
control, basic pipeline engineering,
ASNT NDT Level II, also good knowl-
edge in HVAC. Contact:94743373
email:[email protected]
B.E Mechanical Engineer, 24, one
year experience as Production Shift
Engineer, achieved training on HVAC
Engineering design and has good
hands on software like AutoCAD
and HAP, presently in Oman on visit
visa, looking for a suitable place-
ment. Contact:95065955 Email: mjs.
Mechanical Engineer (B Tech)
Indian male with 1 year experience
on visit visa looking for suitable job.
Contact : 90510800, Email : mu-
Electrical and Electronics Engineer
looking for a job & interested in any
available role Nationality Sudanese
have valid visa for 2 years. Contact
97304565
Graduation, tool and die engineer-
ing & tool designer, have two and half
years experience in pess tool and
moulding , I know CAD, CATIA , PRO-
E software’s now in Oman. Contact:
95287978
Electrical Engineer Indian male 30
years, having 5 years of experience
in industrial automation & utility
maintenance in Indian (MRF Tyres)
holding valid Oman D/L. Contact:
92789995 Email: akhilabrahamlktr@
gmail.com
Electrical Engineer (B.E) 8+ yrs
experience, NOC & release avail-
able with valid D/L. Contact 968
94374735
Mechanical Engineer with 15 yrs
Exp in steel fabrication, quality,
design, material estimation, sales en-
gineering. Contact: 97093241, Email:
Diploma in Civil Engineer having 8
years experience in Oman with driv-
ing license, internal release avail-
able urgently. Contact: 95387537 /
90524700
Civil Engineer (B.Tech) Indian male
24 yrs having 1+ year experience in
Industrial construction with good
communication skills and software
knowledge, looking for suitable posi-
tion available on visit visa. Contact:
968 - 99779538 / 98694939 Email:
Sudanese Civil Structure Engineer
3 years looking for job in reputable
company AutoCAD, Etabs, Staad Pro
Omani driving license available.
Contact: 97906770
Engineer with 4 years experience in
Oman in telecom operations looking
for a suitable opportunity have valid
driving license interested in market-
ing also. Contact: 98513495
Civil Engineer, bachelor degree driv-
ing license & experience in Oman.
Contact: 91102892
B.Tech Civil Engineer 7 yrs exp hav-
ing valid Oman driving license need
suitable replacement. #98052924
Email: [email protected]
25 yrs, male, B.Tech Electronic &
Communication Electrical design
Engineer, 2+ years in Multinational
company industrial automation
course + Electronic AutoCAD looking
for suitable placement. #99586317
Email: [email protected]
Electrical Engineer, Indian male 24
years, BE (Electrical & Electronics)
having 3 years of experience, seeking
for suitable placement. #91917369
Road Engineer 10 years experi-
ence in Oman. Contact: 91274706
Civil Engineer 14 years of experience
8 years at GCC at Dar Al Handasah
Consultant, Al Raghi Construction
building & infrastructure culverts,
bridges & road. #93068195 Email:
Civil Engineer diploma, 4 yrsexp
seeks suitable position ina reputed
company. NOC available. #96789711
Civil Engineer 8 years experience
Structural buildings marine. Avail-
able NOC release. Contact: 92451323.
Email: [email protected]
Accountant 8 Years experience with
D/L and NOC. Contact 97712084
ACCA fi nalist with 2 years of experi-
ence in a Construction Company as
an Accountant in United Kingdom
here on visit visa for 3 weeks from 12
April - 3 May. Contact: 99171627
Part time accountant, up to fi na-
lization, looking for job after 5 pm
(location prefer - MSQ to Al Hail).
#95694737
MBA fi nance from Pakistan with
4 years experience in Accounts &
fi nance department currently in
Muscat on family visit visa, 27 yrs.
Contact: 90590037 Email:
ACCA Qualifi ed, 26 female with 3
years work experience looking for
suitable position in Accounting /
fi nance. Contact: 91322423
Filipino Male, 24 Years Old..
looking for job, have experience
in Cargo & Logistics/ Rent a Car/
Real Estate/ Finance & Accounts/
customer service and as Travel
Agent. Hard working and with
good computer and communica-
tion skills having Omani driving
license. GSM: 95370052
Indian male 26 years B.Com, having
4 years experience in Accounts with
valid driving license & NOC available
on visit visa looking for suitable job in
Accounts. Contact 90311936
Indian male 25, 4 years experience
& Arabic speaking with D/L seeking
suitable opportunity interested in
Sales & Marketing also. Contact:
91266733 Email: safvank.k9@gmail.
com
MBA Finance Indian male, Fresher
seeking opportunity in fi nancial sec-
tor. Immediately available. Contact
93990638 [email protected]
Qualifi ed and experienced MBA post
graduate with proven work exposure
in Middle East & India, having more
than 5.5 years of rich experience in
accounts , project coordination and
administration in (3.5 years UAE ex-
perience) oil and gas projects is cur-
rently looking for suitable job. contact
93953613 , Email allen.mathew83@
gmail.com
SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, 5 yrs Oman,
12 Yrs UAE experience in Manufactur-
ing & construction companies Valid
D/L Immediately available. Email:
[email protected], Call:
95389018
22 years B.Com with 1 year exp in
accounting, auditing with good work-
ing knowledge in Tally ERP-9 looking
for a suitable placement now on visit
visa. Contact: 97189500
Male CA fi nalist B.Com having 5
years experience with big four
audit fi rms looking for suitable job
on visit. Contact: 92230543 Email:
Indian male: B.Com. with 4
years experience in Tally ERP
Accounts, Ready to join im-
mediately for Accounts, Store
& Sales. Contact: 94813962,
Email:[email protected]
Jordanian Senior Accountant 15
yrs experience in Oman fi nance &
accounts. Contact : 92881223
CA fi nalist Indian with 7 years
experience having D/L & NOC
looking for Senior Accountant /
Chief Accountant position. contact
98097009 Email: rameesnm@gmail.
com
ACCA member with 6 yrs of
experience in Oman looking for
a suitable job in fi nance. contact
99284193
Fresher 24, ACCA Affi liate, Ad-
vanced diploma in Accounting
and Business seeking suitable
placement in Accounts, Finance or
Audit with Oman driving license.
#- 92430152 Email - raju.rd619@
gmail.com
Indian, Executive with 5+ years
experience in HSBC etc, done
with MBA, M.Com, DMM, M. Phil
seeks a suitable position. Contact:
90369540 Email: abilashraji@gmail.
com
Indian male 34 Yrs, Dual MBA
Finance and marketing with IT
skills, 7+ yrs of experience,
Looking for suitable placement.
contact 94879615,Email-
Accountant available with NOC,
7 years experience in Oman.
Ready to join immediately. contact
98263394
DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN
EDUCATION/TRAINING
Female B. Ed English teacher, 7
yrs exp seeking suitable placement.
Contact : 99739415 / 92091528
SALES / MARKETING
Required experienced Estimation
Executives, Sales Engineers / Sales
Executives, with Local release for
Reputed Electrical Trading Company.
Interested please send detailed CV to:
Required marketing / PR manager
for a modern restaurant group in
Oman , profi cient in illustrator &
Photoshop charismatic , proac-
tive , creative & fl exible excellent
writing / Editing skills degree in
relevant area fl uent in English.
Send CV to marketingpr2016@
gmail.com
Salesman for a printing press.
Contact: 99498949
Required Salesman cum driver for
spare parts shop in Ghala. Contact:
99410172
A leading management consult-
ing fi rm in Muscat requires spe-
cialist in Qualitative & Quantita-
tive Market / Consumer research
to lead the division. Kindly send
your resumes to advance@omatel.
net.om or Fax us at
+968-24792175
Looking for Salesman with experi-
ence in vegetable and fruits sales,
good conduct, fl uent in English.
Should have driving license. Email
CV on: [email protected]
Contact - 96339339
Required indoor Salesman for
building material shop with 3 years.
Contact: 96374344 Email:
Urgently required Sales Execu-
tives, Operations Executive import
& export, for a reputed freight
forwarding company in Muscat
candidates with Oman D/L and
minimum 2 yrs experience in
similar fi eld preferred. Interested
candidates may send C.V to r
Indian, 20 years experience
in Oman as personal assistant /
offi ce manager / administrator
seeks change of job with release -
99168054, [email protected]
Indian male – MBA (HR) & Engi-
neering graduation with total 10
years of experience in HR & Admin
( 3 yrs of Oman Exp.) along with
hands on experience in technical
bid submission for all Government
& PDO tenders ready to join im-
mediately with NOC. # 91240251/
Email; [email protected]
Indian female with nearly 10 years
experience in administration & HR,
seeking for a suitable placement.
NOC available. Contact: 99242841
Jordanian Graduate with experi-
ence in Administrator jobs available
for immediate placement. Contact :
94662712 / 94770990
HR Manager (Indian Male – 41 Yrs)
PG in HR, working for MNC having
12 years of experience in Oman.
Handling SAP-HR, Talent Acqui-
sition, IR, Payroll, Visas & allied
administration. Holding Valid Omani
D/L & car. Seeks suitable placement.
Contact 96792103
Indian female (MBA/CIPD), having
more than 6 years of experience,
working in Oman as HR Manager
looking for job. Contact hrjoboman@
gmail.com 97288278.
UAE/UK/Oman Experienced Gradu-
ate Male33 seeking administration
Job. Diplomas in IT & Finance too.
Driving licenseTel:94496642
B.Com 3 years business process
outsourcing. Contact: 94657273
A young dynamic post gradu-
ate with 2 years work experience
in business operations looking
for suitable placement. Contact
98564880 or maccmuscat@gmail.
com
Indian male, 25, 4+ years of expe-
rience as an Offi ce Administrator
looking for a suitable placement.
Contact: 92600859
Email: [email protected]
Teacher female 27 yrs, MCA 5 yrs
experience in teaching in India cur-
rently on visit visa seeking for a suit-
able placement. Contact: 96709509
Email: [email protected]
Filipino HRD especialist / material
controller supervisor with 18 yrs
experience looking for suitable job
in Oman. Contact: (+968) 98037142
/ (+968) 92659817
Indian Female, MBA-HR having 8+
experience in Administration/HR,
Customer Support, Offi ce Coordina-
tor with good Computer skill, Now
on Visit Visa,looking for suitable
position. Contact: 90196235
Young Omani male have experi-
ence 12 years as P.R.O, CLERK
Helper Supervisor Admin Supervi-
sor, H.R Manager have diploma in
H.S.E, IT and P.D.O license, looking
for H.R position or P.R.O part time
or full time. Contact: 95933288
Indian male, MBA with 3 years GCC
experience seeks job in Muscat. Pos-
ses Valid Oman D/L. Currently under
visit visa and can join immediately.
E mail : [email protected] contact:
00968 98896847
Supervisor / Cad Draftsman with
Oman light driving license 10
years experience in carpentry
fi eld. Contact: 95962384
Piping designer with 14 years
experience working with PDO, OXY
for 10 years NOC available. Contact:
92582356
Revit autocad d/man , diploma cert
attsd. exp salary 200-acco.
ph: 9227 9784
Revit, Autocad D/man, expected
salary 200 OMR PH :92279784
REQUIRED ELECTRICAL ENGINEER
Having B.E. in Electrical Engineering
Min. 5 Years Experience in Oman
With Driving License and Valid C.E.P License
Contact : 95697401Send CV to: [email protected]
Required urgently, experienced
Supervisor, Graduate with oil &
gas experience as Site Supervisor
with valid D/L. Contact: 94027279
Email: [email protected]
ARCOP & Partners (Middle East)
Engineering Consultants LLC looking to hire minimum 3 years
experienced Omani Civil
Engineer, for upcoming building
projects in Ibri & Buraimi. The
candidate must be capable of
independently handling the
works, as a consultant. Resident
engineer stationed at site.
Interested candidates to forward their CV’s with all the details to [email protected]
or fax to 24493446.
SITUATION WANT-SIT.WANTED
ACCOUNT. & FINANCE
ADMIN
SKILLED LABOUR
Required A/C Technicians, Carpenters,
Electricians, Plumbers, Painters, Gen-
eral Helpers. #94147874 / 24504281.
Email : [email protected]
10 yrs of Oman experience capable
of handling large accounts, looking
for suitable placement in senior
sales / business development posi-
tion. Contact : 98987654
ARCHITECT
Architect exp.7 years, 4 years in
GCC Architectural design interior
sites 3D Max AutoCAD, Photoshop.
Contact: 93238813 Email:
DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN
Filipino Senior Revit/AutoCAD
Draftsman with 20 years profes-
sional experience is looking for
suitable job in Oman. Please
contact 96489798,
(+974) 66653780.
DAILY GUIDES AT U R D AY, A P R I L 1 6 , 2 0 1 6 C5
SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED
IT
Indian male, MCA (Post Graduate) fresher seeking
suitable placement
anywhere in Oman, now on
visit visa.
Contact 92319677, Email :
An experienced Chartered Accountant
with over 25 years in varied
industries, presently working
with a reputed group in Muscat,
looking out for a suitable change.
96491030
ENGG. / TECH./MECH.
SECRETARIAL & OFFICE
SKILLED/ UNSKILLED LABOUR
Indian Male more than 10 years
gulf experience in Offi ce / Sales
Coordinator, Admin, Secretarial and
purchase with good computer skills.
Holding Oman Driving license. Look-
ing for suitable placement. contact
99709336
Lady Secretary / Sales Co-coordi-
nator 12 years experience in Oman
in reputed companies, seek imme-
diate Employment. Call: 95244761
Sales & Marketing specialist with 16 yrs experience in Oman in
MNC retails telecom lubes
construction related industry
handled various projects, holding
valid Oman driving license,
release available.
Contact 96960991
HOSPITALITY
Indian male, 28 yrs B.Sc Hospital-
ity Science with 5 yrs experience
in Hospitality & banking Sectors
in Oman & India seeks suit-
able placement, NOC available.
#91383167
MISCELLANEOUS
MISCELLANEOUS
MISCELLANEOUS
MISCELLANEOUS
Electrician with plumber and A/C
tech, with D/L. Contact: 95600418
S.T.P Operator 20 years experience in
Oman. Contact: 93089468
Qualifi ed and experienced MBA
post graduate with proven work
exposure in Middle East & India,
having more than 5.5 years of rich
experience in accounts, project co-
ordination and administration in
(3.5 years UAE experience) oil and
gas projects is currently looking
for suitable job. Contact 93953613,
Email [email protected]
Indian male, 28, post graduate,
6+ yrs exp in Oman in sales (back
offi ce) & credit control with valid
Oman D/L looking for suitable
placements. NOC available. Con-
tact: 920 66 523
BS in Electrical Engineering, Experience: 5 years(Power Plants).
Contact: 92475206 Email:
MANAGER
Purchase/Planning & Logistics Man-
ager, MBA (Finance), 14yrs. Oman Exp.
with D/L, NOC available, looking for
suitable position. Contact : 93826090,
Egyptian male 36 years Warehouse
Manager, 7 years in Sultanate of
Oman, 1 year in UAE, and 3 years in
Egypt. Contact: +968 97200468 Email:
General/Divisional Manager MEP
& Civil, MBA Operation, BE Electri-
cal, 10 years experience in Oman &
10 years in India. Valid DL, release
available. GSM. 92447102
Tea boy looking for job Name: Man
Bahadar Contact No. 97859837
Indian Female on a visit visa hav-
ing master degree seeking suitable
placement in any fi eld, 1 ,5 year ex-
perience in HR .#+968 91467576.
9 yrs exp Site Engineer in Civil &
Shade Structure. 2d, 3d draughts-
man (HOLDING OMANI DRIVING
LICENSE) seeking job. #93790601
LAND SURVEYOR: Male, more than
12 years’ experience in land/pipe
line surveying in Oman and UAE.
Looking for suitable placement.
NOC available. #91215843
Marketing Communications Coordinator Indian, 25 years GCC
experience in Media, Advertising
& Marketing ATL + BTL brand-
ing. Contact: 93031168 Email:
Indian male physiotherapist with
3 years of experience, with (moh
license and NOC available. seek-
ing suitable placement. contact
99767528, 91317863
Civil Engineer (B.Tech), Indian
male 24 years with 1+years Indian
experience,(Certifi ed in Staad
Pro/ Quantity Survey/ Auto Cad).
Looking for a Suitable position.
Available In Sultanate of Oman
(Muscat) on Visit Visa. contact
92835952. E-mail:
Male QC inspector Mechanical,
NDT 20 years experience valid
Oman D/L , release available. conrt-
act 91001104
Indian male Electrical Engineer, having 6 years gulf experience in
designing, assembling, commis-
sioning execution etc having valid
GCC license too looking for a suit-
able. Contact: 00968-98052942
Email: [email protected]
HSE Engineer (B.E Mech+Diploma
Safety+NEBOSH+OSHA) over
10yrs. Exp, (Visa Release Letter
(NOC) available), seeking suit-
able placement, Mob:97061817,
Email:[email protected]
Indian female Quantity Sur-
veyor Civil 11 years experience,
local release available NOC.contact
95719108 Email: jishashibunair@
gmail.com
Engineer Civil & M. Arch (RED) Indian
(F) 25 yrs, B.Tech (Civil), now pursuing
M. Arch - RED (Real Estate Develop-
ment fi nal semester thesis) completing
by June 2016, now available till 15th of
April on visit visa seeks suitable place-
ment in Oman. Contact: 968- 92743004
Email: [email protected]
Structural Engineer, ME, with 2 yrs
exp profi cient in ETABS, STAD, SAFE
& Prokon, seeks job.
Contact: 050-9984535
NDT / QA / QC Supervisor / Radi-
ographer DAE Mechanical piping-
vessel LPG Bozer Storage tank
inspection experience 10 years.
#96954202 Email: nasirarain86@
yahoo.com
Site Supervisor, Diploma in Civil
Engg (cert attested) knows autocad
revit, salary exp: 250 ph : 9227 9784
BE Mechanical Engineer, 6 years ex-
perience in piping & structural work
release available. Contact: 96115463
Email: [email protected]
B. Sc Civil Engineer 27 yrs, Oman
experience as Project Manager,
Structural Engineer looking for suit-
able placement. NOC / local transfer
available. Contact : 99349578 Email:
Indian male B-tech 8 years experi-
ence as senior electrical project
engineer / QC engineer on visit
visa seeks suitable placement.
contact 94094543
Email: [email protected]
Indian female Project Engineer 15
yrs experience in Project Manage-
ment Quality database management
data analytics marketing business
development haying Omani driving
license seeks suitable placement
presently on family visa having Om-
ani experience. Contact : 95783792
Indian female (M. Tech, Power
system) having Gulf experience
seeking suitable placement in Oman
currently in family visa. Contact:
94306164 / 91001194
An Electrical engineer with 4+
yrs of experience in Electrical
network (MT, LT) with professional
computer skills seeking for work.
Contact: 99841736 / 93955381/
+149922698343 Email:
Civil Engineer 6 years experience.
Contact: 90183630
Pakistani male Diploma Civil En-
gineer 4yrs exp in Oman bulling &
mega projects, valid license Oman.
contact:98921022
Electrical & electronics Engr,
knows autocad & revit. PH:93837973
Sr. Electrical Engineer with17+ yrs
of exceptional exp in spear head-
ing strategic planning and project
management initiatives & execut-
ing various high rise residential
& commercial building as well as
roads and highway project with
profi ciency in installation, seeking
a challenging position in a dynamic
organization. contact 96570891
INDIAN FEMALE, 23 years, BSC-
CS Diploma in IAD graphics, well
knowledge in computer applica-
tions 6 months experience pres-
ently in Sohar seeking suitable
placement. Contact: 96670907.
Email: [email protected]
9 years of Software Test Consult-ing and business analysis experi-
ence in various CBS (Core Banking
Solutions) and other Banking related
solution implementations with deep
understanding of Islamic Banking.
Completed CDIF - CIMA Diploma in
Islamic Finance and ADIF - Advanced
Diploma in Islamic Finance conducted
by CIMA, UK. NOC available. Contact:
[email protected] GSM:
9393 8086
B.Tech (IT) experience in Network-
ing server & desktop management
in corporate environment looking for
suitable placement. Contact: 92954613
Indian male 25 yrs B.Sc Computers
Science, 3 yrs work experience in
Computer hardware & networking &
CCTV, security system looking for job
(NOC) available. Contact: 93243372
Indian male, B. Sc Computer Science,
CCNA, MCP, 8 years exp. in system &
networking now on visit visa, seeking
suitable position. Contact: 91751472,
Omani 26 (M) Seeks placement 6 yrs
experience IT specialist. #99025044
IT Support Engineer, Exp 3 years
in Oman 2 years in India. contact
94672759
Female 24 yrs, 3 years in IT pro-
grammer now in Oman looking for
suitable job. Contact: 96350234
SALES / MARKETING
35 years male, Lebanese hold-
ing British passport, 10 years of
experience in procurement, Omani
Government tenders, setup marketing
plans & strategies, importing, Organ-
izing events, management, have car,
NOC available. #94123939 Email:
Indian male (25) MBA / MMS
(Marketing) on visit visa valid UAE
driving license exp 2 yrs sales /
marketing. Contact: 98089262
Indian male, 29 years BSc, Gradu-
ate, with Omani driving license and
7 years of sales experience in home
appliances, IT products, mobile
and traffi c safety equipments cur-
rently working on employment visa,
NOC available seeking for suitable
placement immediately. Contact:
97890607 Email: ashrafambar@
gmail.com
BE (Mech) MBA (UK) 32 yrs male
having 7 yrs exp in Oil & Gas product
/ project Marketing looking for suit-
able placement in GCC. Contact: +
968 91104381
26 yrs Indian male MBA Market-
ing Sales / Marketing Executive,
3 yrs experience now available in
Muscat on visit visa seeking place-
ment for immediate joining. Contact:
95978874 Email: ansariafsar550@
gmail.com
Male 13 yrs exp in Sales & Market-
ing looking for a post of Senior Sales
Manager in Oman presently working
in UAE in consumer appliances com-
pany, having D/L GCC. Interested can
Contact: 00971 561096660 Email:
saairavi@rediff mail.com
Indian male 10 yrs experience in
Sales, marketing manager fi eld with
D/L seeks suitable placement. Con-
tact: 97205114
5 yrs experience in software and 2 yr
in administration/accountant, looking
for any part time or work from home
offi cial jobs contact no: 91711326
Indian male 37 years MBA graduate
in marketing with 9yrs of experience
in UAE in fi eld of brand promotions
& marketing with UAE D/L on a visit
seeking suitable position. conatct
95792820
Indian male, 25 yrs,
Accountant, 2.5 yrs in
Finance & Accounts, MBA
Finance & HR, exposure in
SAP, Tally, ERP 9 on visit visa.
Contact 96715420 / 91265020, Email : [email protected], [email protected]
MEDICAL
Female Indian MOH licensed den-
tist looking out for job opportuni-
ties in Nizwa. Has 14 yrs experi-
ence as dentist after graduation.
Can be contacted on 93329964
Indian female (MSC – Microbiolo-
gist) seeking suitable job. contact
96791162 / 90618567
Indian Bsc Female Nurse with 6.5
years exp, 4 years in KSA. Passed
Oman Pro Metric with 69%, complet-
ed data fl ow. Presently in Muscat
in visit visa looking for a suitable
placement. #94744900, 94742834,
Indian, 32 years, passed M.A.
English M.Sc Psychology, DHM &
B.Ed in English with 4 years experi-
ence seeking for part time or full
time job. Contact: 99869535 Email:
Indian male Kerala, B.com & B.PE.
Currently on visit visa, looking for
a suitable job in Accounts, Store
keeper etc. Ready to join as early as
possible. Contact:-93301023, email:-
Female Dentist with MOH license
and NOC, 7 years experience 2 yrs
out of them in Oman looking for a job.
Contact 97401243
27 years old Indian male looking
hospitality jobs in Hotel. Experi-
ence in customer service, front desk,
housekeeping supervisor, captain,
cashier,guest relation manager.
Contact. +968-90351742Email. sam-
27 yearsold Indianmale looking Jobs
in documents Collection executive.
Experience in collection executive.
Contact. +968-90358068Email
Indian male, 26 years old BA Gradu-
ate having 1 year experience in
accounts fi nance fi eld. Looking for
suitable Job On visit visa immedi-
ately available. Contact 9565 9415
Anishkhan991867@gmail. Com
ELECTRONICS ENGINEER In-
dian/male/24Yrs,Bsc.Electronics &
Communications,ITI,1.7 Years experi-
ence as Service Technician in India.
On visit Visa, Looking For a Suitable
Placement. Contact :92794176, E-
mail:[email protected]
B.Tech, MBA currently working in In-
dia in Bank. Contact: +918939857146
Email: [email protected]
Accountant cum cashier available.
Contact: 98002428
Pharmacist M. Pharm working in
Oman for 2 years with MOH license
Data fl ow completed. #98399415
Pakistani male 23 years old experi-
ence in travel agency - ticketing look-
ing for a suitable job, NOC available.
Contact: 93253759
Pakistani male having 7 years
experience in General Salesman
having valid D/L Looking for suitable
placement. Contact: 97216830 Email:
Indian with 3 years for experience
in sales and marketing fl uency in
English, Arabic, Hindi, Tamil and Ma-
layalam looking for suitable job. Also
hold valid Driving License, currently
in oman Mob : +968-93451439
HSE Engineer, Indian male, 4 Plus
years exp. in Oil & Gas, Working in
Shclumberger, NEBOSH, IOSH, & NDT
Certifi ed, M Tech in HSE. #krish.569@
gmail.com, Mobile- +91 9867016808
Indian male Physiotherapist with
MOH license and NOC looking for
suitable job. Contact: 92617235
Indian Male, 40 Years, B. Com, hav-
ing 10 years experience in Oman,
Tally &ERP- looking for suitable
placement ( Local release and
Oman driving license available.
Tel- 92469789
Indian Male 42 year’s, MBA, Sr.
Material controller having 12 years
experience in Oman with reputed
companies. Having Oman driving
License, Seeks suitable replace-
ment immediately. Available NOC.
Cont. 00968-92944026, Email –
ELECTRONICS TECHNICIAN Indian/male/24Yrs,Bsc.Electronics
& Comm,1.7 Years experience as
Service Engineer in India. On visit
Visa, Looking For a suitable place-
ment. Contact : 92794176
E-mail:[email protected]
Indian male Executive Secretary
having vast experience in admin,
logistics & procurement well
versed with computer seeks suit-
able placement. #99514286
ELECTRONICS ENGINEER Indian/
male/24Yrs,Bsc.Electronics &
Communications,ITI,1.7 Years
experience as Service Technician
in India, on visit Visa, looking For a
Suitable Placement. #:92794176 ,E-
mail: [email protected]
Electrical diploma Engineer Indian
male 22 years, 2 years experience
in control panel contact 93047707
IT System Administrator 6 yrs
experience, male, Filipino Desktop,
Laptop and printer Support, Backup
administrator, Router and switch
Network, Server Administrator.
+968 94134295
Female dentist with MOH license
and NOC ready to join 7 years
experience 2 of them in Oman.
Contact 97401243
Indian male 28 years B.com, MBA
4 yrs experience in accounts /
fi nance currently in Oman on visit
visa looking for suitable place-
ment. Contact: 93460277 Email:
Having 10 years exp. in Admin &
HR in reputed companies. Pres-
ently working in Muscat and seek-
ing for suitable placement. Contact
No.: 97693456. email :
Indian Male 42 year’s, MBA, Sr.
Material controller having 12 years
experience in Oman with reputed
companies. Having Oman driving
License, Seeks suitable replace-
ment immediately. Available NOC.
Cont. 00968-92944026, Email –
NOC available, Indian Male - MBA
(HR) and B.E (E.I.E) with total 9 years
of experience in HR & Admin and Busi-
ness Development (3 yrs of Gulf exp.)
can join immediately - 91240251 /
M. Sc Computer Science – 2 year
Experience – in India, looking suit-
able Placement. Email:-elvisgt6@
gmail.com, Mob:-+91 9497482305
(INDIA), Oman:-98291626.
Indian, 30 years, B. Com with 2
years Oman experience in Tally
ERP-9 available in Muscat seeking
suitable positions. # on 95186652
Indian male B.Tceh (ECE) MBA
(HR) 2 years experience CCNA,
CCNP, MCSE looking for suitable
job , presently on employment
visa release available. #95584814
Email: [email protected]
Indian civil Engineer BE, with 16
years of Industry experience in design
, Quantity surveying , billing looking
for suitable job. #90302823 Email:
ELECTRONICS TECHNICIAN Indian/male/24Yrs,Bsc.Electron-
ics & Comm, 1.7 Years experience
as Service Engineer in India, On
visit Visa, looking for a suitable
placement. Contact : 92794176, E-
mail:[email protected]
B-tech Civil with honours, Civil Engi-
neer (structures) Experience more than
six years. #91431483. Email
mohsinyousuf86@rediff mail.com
HSE Engineer,Indian male, 4
Plus years experience in Oil &
Gas .Working in Shclumberger
NEBOSH, IOSH, & NDT Certifi ed, M
Tech in HSE. CONTACT-krish.569@
gmail.com #+91 9867016808
Indian male Network cabling tech-
nician ( 19-years gulf experience)
seeking for suitable placement.
Contact : 0091-8089909265 (In-
dia), Email: [email protected]
14 years experienced light driver
with valid Oman license looking for
suitable job. Contact 99442481
Indian Pediatric consultant, md
with 20 years experience and wife
gynecologist md with 15 years plus
experience seeking opportunities
with reputed hospitals in Muscat.
PROCUREMENT OFFICER, Indian-
Male 34yrs,M.Com with 14 yrs
work Exp.(8 yrs in Oman) work-
ing in Construction Co LLC( for
ROAD,CIVIL,ELECTRO-MECHANICAL
& Others Projects ) and having valid
LT D/L, NOC available & ready to join
within a month-M:94064650,Email:
Indian male: 24 years, diploma in
computer science and B.E(CSE)
having experience in hardware and
networking seeking for the suitable
job. Contact: 91170912, Email id:
Indian male auto cad draughtsman
(civil) 8 years experience, seek-
ing for part time job. mobile no:
0096899070584. email:
Sudanese male, 5 years experi-
ence in warehouse management
and logistics services #90644186
Civil Engineer (roads and struc-
tures) Education B. Tech Civil
Engineering with honours
experience more than six years.
Contact no 91431483 ,Email
mohsinyousuf86@rediff mail.com
Indian male 6 years exp in diff er-
ent fi eld, with valid Oman driving
license. Languages known Hindi,
English, looking for any job(Driver
for executives). Contact
98696795
HSE Engineer,Indian male, 4
Plus years Experience in Oil &
Gas .Working in Shclumberger.
NEBOSH,IOSH, & NDT Certi-
fi ed, M Tech in HSE, contact
[email protected] Mobile- +91
9867016808
Experienced B.Com graduate +
IATA Diploma holder looking for
Accounts/Admin/Travels related
job. Mob. 91142997. NOC available
.
Indian male B.A degree & diploma
in hotel management with 16
years experience as restaurant &
catering manager in Oman & Saudi
with V/L Oman D/L seeks suitable
placement. Contact : 92100141
MBA Graduate (Indian male 26
years) having 2 years experience
in Qatar as admin assistant look-
ing for suitable placement. contact
93041141 Email: mahinmehboob@
gmail.com
Indian female, MBA with 9 yrs of
experience in fi nance & procure-
ment currently on family visa
looking for suitable position in
fi nance & supply chain. Contact
95622568
Draughtsman, 15 years’ experi-
ence, Indian male currently in
Oman looking for suitable position.
Gsm – 95358115, 96977289, Email
Indian Female living in Ghubra -
Muscat near Emirates Shopping
Center. 20 years of experience in
Teaching. Able to handle all sub-
jects till grade 6. Need suitable job.
Contact- 94406552
PART TIME ACCOUNTANT avail-
able, well experienced in account-
ing up to fi nalization. knowledge in
tally also. contact. 92643875
Chief Accountant 25 years
experienced looking for part/
full time accountant job. Contact:
95598477 / 98803439
Indian male,16 years Oil & Gas
experience ( Down Hole Tools ),
3 years in Oman, Dip. Mechanical
Engineer, Having D/L and NOC.
Email – [email protected], Mob :
965 956 18.
Bangladeshi Male, Univer-
sity MA, Working as Store
In-charge cum Logistic Manager
in Muscat; searching better job.
Phone:91997605. email:
mohamednazrulislam2@gmail.
com
8 plus years of experience in
Events /Marketing Communica-
tion /conferences / Trainings /
Media representation. Having UAE
D/L. seeking Suitable Placement:
Contact: 95792820. suheal.ma@
outlook.com
Indian Male,Kerala,B.COM & B.PE
having 13Years of Physical Educa-
tion Teacher experience. Currently
on visit visa Looking for a suitable
job. Contact:- 968 94106834.
email:[email protected].
14 years experience in 5 star hotel
as sales manager in UAE & INDIA
on tourist visa looking for suitable
opportunity please contact mobile
contact 91305978
Admin Assistant. Having 5 years
experience in admin department
in reputed companies, presently
working in Muscat (NOC Avail-
able). GSM. 00968-98404122,
Email - panduru.jeevankumar@
gmail.com
Indian Female on a visit visa hav-
ing master degree seeking suitable
placement in any fi eld, 1 and half
year experience in HR .Contact :
+968 91467576
.
Indian Female, 24 MA Eng. Litr
with 2 yrs experience in teach-
ing & 14 months in Administra-
tion cum Secretary, Currently
on visit visa, seeks suitable job.
Contact: 92613704/99260702,
Email:[email protected]
Indian male, 8.5 yrs experience,
B.Com Graduate with GCC exp &
valid driving license looking for
better job opening in Muscat.
Contact: 92609935 / 94771365
DAILY GUIDEC6 S AT U R D AY, A P R I L 1 6 , 2 0 1 6
Email: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624
SITUATION WANTEDEDUCATION/CLASSES/COMP./WEB.
Spoken Arabic class for Non Arabic Speakers & English
class for Malayalam Speakers in Azaiba and Ruwi
• Learn in two months• Satisfaction guaranteed
Tel: 95244310
Karate and self defense classes
at Azaiba 18 Nov Street. RO 10 per
month twice a week Monday and
Tuesday 6. 30 TO 7. 30. PM.
CONTACT 98294551
MANPOWER
WEB, ERP and Business Intel-
ligence (BI) creation and man-
agement at rock bottom price.
Contact:
http//webviewoman
MISCELLANEOUS
SITUATION WANTEDSIT.WANTED
SITUATION WANT-SIT.WANTED
CHANGE OF NAME
Al Ajmi Group, company for Petro-leum and Gas Services L.L.C- which
is registered at the Commerce and
Industry Directorate in South Al Shar-
qiyah Governorate under the number
1219341, the above mentioned com-
pany is intending to amend its trade
name to NUSOOR JABAL TIWI FOR TRADING L.L.C Therefore those who
have objection against this amend-
ment, can submit reasons for their
objection to the General Directorate of
Commerce and Industry in South Al
Sharqiyah Governorate
Zuhoor Al Buwaruq for Trad & Cont ASTD company which is
recorded under the commercial
register number 1089239 is going
to change its legally shape from
ASTD company to L.L.C company
And in accordance with Article
13 of the Commercial Companies
Law No. 4/74 . And change name to Astoorat Al Tamir Al wataneya
L.L.C Company. This is to inform
anybody who concerns about that to
2 months from the date publishing
this advertising
SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES
SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES
SERVICESWe Provide Cleaners,
Offi ce boys, Cleaning Contracts, General cleaning etc.
Al Mudakhir Nati onal Est. LLC Contact : 94277020
Window & split unit A.C servicing &
repairing. Contact: 99557080
Split & window unit A.C servicing &
maintenance. contact 96236476
Split & widow unit A.C servicing &
maintenance.#93769089 / 95323517
Split & window A/c servicing & main-
tenance. # 93769089 / 95323517
GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing,
Contact 99314807/24792998
A/C maintenance & servicing,
fridge, washing machine & dish
washer repairing, painting & clean-
ing services, electrical & plumbing.
#99447257 / 97014234 / 24504281
Water proofi ng ABUQABAS-
Contact 99320217/24788722
House shifting & transporting.
Contact 92490422
Pest control treatments, Ocean center LLC #99344723
House shifting. contact 99708138
CAD drawings Archi/ MEP CAD –
comply BIM. Contact: 91233975
MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your
marble. #24793614/ 99314807
Marble crystallization & grinding, cleaning & carpet shampooing.
Ocean center LLC.#99344723
Split A/C servicing R.O 10 only.
Contact: 94217681 /99210141
PEST CONTROLAL TABA SERVICE LLC
Ants, Rodent, & cleaning On monthly,
Harmless & Odourless
100% Professional A ordable Rate !!!
CALL - 91464586Pest control & Building cleaning
all kinds of pest control building. Cleaning ti les /
Marble polishing monthly/ Yearly contracts available.
Contact: 98814733 /98814740 Al Husn Cleaning L.L.C
Al farzdaq Al Fedi Trad and Cont
Maintenance services electric,
plumbing and A/C. Contact:
96524904 /94285064
Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles
polishing, carpet shampooing,
maintenance. Contact ABU QA-
BAS- 99320217 /24788722
All MEP & Civil shop drawings.
Contact : 93070771 Email :
Cleaning Services, Sofa, carpet
shampoo old house or new house.
Contact: 92179395
Split & window A/c installation &
maintenance specialist package &
ducted units. Contact 98667326
Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile
polishing, pest control & anti-ter-
mite treatment, general cleaning
painting,Plumbing, Electrical,
shifting. Contact Mundhir
Al-Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C.
Contact: 24810137, 99450130
Marble crystallization & grinding, Ocean center LLC contact
99344723
CATERING SERVICES We do industrial catering
service, Canteen / mess,
3 times packed meals and
all types of catering events.
Contact: 92188777 / 99249899
AVAILABLE
Party & Wedding equipment rentals.
Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirt-
ing, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery,
Crockery, Glassware, Chafi ng Dishes, Ice
Sculptures, to Large Sound Systems and
spectacular lighting. Call Andrea 9606
2222 for Catering and Croyden 9623
5555 for Sound & Light. ww.tunesoman.
com, E-mail: [email protected]
WANTED
IELTS Coaching (academic)
required nearby wadi Kabir
area. Please call on mobile or
msg on Whats up. Mobile no:
92927880/99012165
2 years experienced male seeking
job related to safety. M. Tech in HSE,
MSc in Environmental Science and
IOSH certifi ed. #94653264
Sri Lankan Male 34 BSc. (Physics)
5 years experience as a site man-
ager and administration supervi-
sor in Oman with valid D/L looking
for a suitable position. contact
99153061 or v.chandramohan@
yahoo.co.uk
Female Junior Architect Gradu-
ated from School of Planning & Ar-
chitecture, Vijayawada. Excellence
in Autocad, Sketching & Model-
ling. Internship - KHAM Designs,
Bangalore. Presently with Atulya
Architects & Associates. Email
#00968-94057427.
Mechanical Engineering 6 years
experience. contact
00968-998907110091 -
9841867534 Email:
Indian male 37 YEARS, BSC
COMPUTER SCIENCE having More
than 8yrs of experience with well
exposure in PDO, DALEEL & OXY
as IT SUPPORT / DESKTOP SUP-
PORT ENGINEER. Seeking suitable
placement. Contact rangaraj_vck@
yahoo.co.in / 968-99758320
B.Com Graduate with 4 year
experience as an Accountant in
Oman. Also have Oman Driving
License. Best fl uency in English,
Arabic, Hindi& Malayalam. Looking
for Job. Currently in Oman. contact
+968 93943448, murshid4u@
gmail.com
Indian Female Electronics System
Eng. UK Graduate. Programmer Mi-
cro Controller Robot, Eng. Analysis,
Instrumentation & Control, Eng.
Projects, Integrated Circuit Eng.,
Electrical and Fluid Drives, Ana-
logue Electronics, Wireless Sys-
tems. Seeking suitable post. Con-
tact: 97848075, s.dinesh1508@
gmail.com
Diploma(Electrical Engineering)
From Government polytechnic.
Age 27years, 6 years Experiance in
Maintenance, troubleshooting and
managing and Technical in substa-
tion as a Electrical Engineer.Seek
suitable placement. Contact GSM-
92995899,([email protected])
MBA Indian male 2 years experi-
ence in fi refi ghting & security sys-
tems sales & marketing. Seeking
suitable job. Contact – 90634050
Sr Material controller, having 13
years experience in material control-
ling in reputed companies. Presently
working in Muscat (NOC Available). #
00968-92944026, Email
Indian/male (25)/ MBA/2 years
experience in channel sales and
distribution management. on visit
visa. available for immediate join-
ing. Contact: 96914068, E mail:
32year Indian Male MSC,MBA-
HR having 8yrs Exp(HR / Payroll
/ Admin) with Oman valid DL.
Seeking suitable opening in
Human Resource, Payroll &
Admin/ backend jobs. Con-
tact:00968-99322978
6 YEARS EXPERIENCE HR/Fi-
nance Indian female[29Years]
MBA. On family visa, Seeking
suitable placement-93908191,
email:[email protected]
Indian, BE Mechanical Engi-
neering with 1 yr exp as service
Engineer, looking for suitable po-
sitions. Contact-90637918, E mail:
Senior Accountant, 5 yrs Oman, 10 yrs
UAE experience in manufacturing &
construction valid D/L immediately
available. Email: irfan_syed2000@
hotmail.com, call: 95389018
Indian male with 1 yr exp looking
for job in I.T as Web developer,
presently in Muscat on visit visa.
#92312978
Commercial or Operation Manager 18
yrs in Oman – fi nance, purchase, sales,
HR & Admin exp. contact 99044724.
E mail: [email protected]
Male ,MBA Finance & Marketing 28
yrs,6+ Exp, with oman D/L & NOC,
Hospital ,Pharma ,Herbal ,FMCG, F&B
Markeing ,construction A/c & sales ,
93379044
HSE Engineer, Indian male, 4
plus years experience in oil & gas,
working in shclumberger Nebosh,
ISOH & NDT certifi ed, M. Tech in
HSE. contact-krish.569@gmail.
com mobile- +91 9867016808
BE Mechanical Engineering with
one year experience now on visit
visa, looking for suitable positions.
#90637918 / 99335742,email:
Indian/male (25)/ MBA /2 years experi-
ence in channel sales and distribution
management. on visit visa. available for
immediate joining. #96914068, email:
DAILY GUIDES AT U R D AY, A P R I L 1 6 , 2 0 1 6 C7
TOURS
TOURS
RENT A CAR
RENT A CAR
25 - 50 seater bus with PDO & BP
specifi cation for monthly rent &
small car with driver. #99839898
SITUATION WANTEDCARGO
Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain Marine Tours contact 98029602, 92808636
We arrange tours & accommodation at all the beautiful places in Oman. Contact 99839898
Moon Travel L.L.CSaudi Arabian Government approved agent
Contact: Tariq Al Balushi - 99218069 Ahmed Maseehuddin - 99353611, O ce: 24790746/24706217
Umrah Package by Road & AirBus Departures- Apr 19, May 03, 17 & 31.2016
Ramadan Schedule - Jun 06, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26 & 30.2016
SITUATION WANTEDBUSINESS
RENT A CARBest Rates for Saloon
Contact: 97869042 / 95730550
Looking for a villa in Amerat area.
Contact : 95405033
ACC WANTED
Investment RequiredMinimum OMR 500,000 to transfer
5 Excavators big + 5 Tippers 2015
Astra, working on good profitable
Excavation projects. Assured
income 36 %.
98867530 / [email protected]
MV SALE
GMC Sierra 4-Door Pick-up 2010
Model, 177,000 Kms - RO.8,000/-.
Contact: 92564199
Toyota Corolla 1.6 cc automatic sell-
ing. Contact: 98504279
Hyundai Veracruz 2011 model for
sale, 4 WD color black 7 seater
with engine capacity 3775CC,
automatic – Steptronic with GPS.
Contact 97203784
Nissan Sunny, White, 1.6, Automatic
2010, 76,750 KM, excellent condi-
tion, regular service at Nissan
Service center for RO 2300 contact
– 96530052
TRANSPORTATION
Transportation available on rent
10 ton Hiap Trailers. #94207475 /
95649231/ 97982842
Transportation. #99508282
Transportation. contact 92015894
Transportation available Ruwi to
Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Azaiba.
Contact: 91103909
Transportation. contact
94087276
Transportation required from
Qurum to WadiKabir at afternoon
only 1 PM. Contact -
99012165
BUYING
Buying cars for cash.#90202090
Bobcat available for rent. contact
97623299
KTT&CO LLC Customs Clearance
thru Bayan System ( AIR & SEA
CARGO) Freight Forwarding (both
import & export) by giving best
freight rates to Customers. Road
Transportation, Delivery of all types
of goods (within Oman). Contact :
Tel : 24713288 & 24711071 ; GSM :
(99597129 (MR. KISHORE
C8 S AT U R D AY, A P R I L 1 6 , 2 0 1 6
DAILY GUIDEEmail: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624
SITUATION WANTEDDINING DELIGHTS
SITUATION WANTEDDINING DELIGHTS
*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text,
should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s
publication. * Subject to space availability