times of oman - april 18, 2016

Founded 1975 . Volume 41 No. | Pages . Baisas 200 . Subscription OMR63 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company | Chairman/Editor-in-Chief: Mohamed Issa Al Zadjali | Printed & Published by Muscat Media Group

April 18, 2016 10 Rajab 1437 AH

MONDAY

48 40

As far as domestic policy is concerned, our plan is to build our country and provide all its people with a prosperous life.

On the occasion of the 1st National Day,1971

FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTYTHE SULTAN

‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’

HM sends greetings

HM receives thanks cable

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of congratulations to President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe on the occasion of his country’s In-dependence Anniversary.

In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere congratulations and best wishes to President Mugabe and his country’s people. -ONA

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received a cable of thanks from President Macky Sall of Senegal in reply to His Majesty’s congratula-tory cable on the occasion of his country’s National Day.

In his cable, President Sall expressed his utmost thanks and appreciation for His Maj-esty’s congratulations, wishing His Majesty good health and success. He stressed his desire to continue strengthening re-lations between the two coun-tries. -ONA

Z I M B A B W E

S E N E G A L

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HASAN SHABAN AL [email protected]

MUSCAT: Restaurants, cosmetic shops and barber shops in nine Omani governorates will face heft-ier fines if found violating the new health and safety regulations.

To curb the rising number of health and safety violations in lo-cal restaurants and barber shops, 29 new kinds of violations were added to the list recently, with fines reaching up to OMR500.

According to an official at the Ministry of Regional Municipali-ties and Water Resources (MRM-WR), the health regulations and violations list had been amended very few times since 1999.

Hamad bin Saif Al Gharibi, deputy minister of MRMWR, an-nounced the new list of violations last week. Explaining the updated list of don’ts, Fadhila Al Bahri, di-rector of Preventive Health Man-agement at the ministry, said the punishments for various offences were not acting as an effective “de-terrent” and violators were getting away by paying fines on the spot.

“This was leading to repeated violations which ultimately result-ed in more health issues affecting

consumers,” she explained, add-ing coffee shops and restaurants flouting health regulations were leading to frequent cases of food poisoning.

Increased fines were being im-posed in Musandam, Al Wusta, Al Buraimi, North and South Al Batinah, Al Dhahirah, Al Dakhili-

yah and the North and South Al Sharqiyah governorates, which, all together, include 44 wilayats, which are all under jurisdiction of MRMWR.

However, Muscat, Dhofar and the wilayat of Sohar are not on the list. “Sanctions in Muscat are ob-viously higher than in other gover-norates, that’s why not all new reg-ulations apply to it,” she clarified.

The highest fine on the old list was OMR300, which was im-posed on an eatery for causing a case of food poisoning. In the new law, the fine has been increased to OMR500, and the restaurant must be closed until investiga-tions are over.

Lose permitThe law reads: “In case the viola-tion is repeated, the fine will be doubled and the owner will lose his permit for the next six months.”

The investigation is to be car-ried out by health inspectors who have to report any suspicious case to laboratories and take samples of the food for analysis.

Previously, working in an estab-lishment without permit used to attract a fine of OMR30, but now it has been raised to OMR50. >A8

U P D A T E D L I S T O F D O N ’ T S

Omani rials is the fine imposed on restaurants and barber shops for 29 new kinds of violations

added to the list recently

500

GROUNDEDA travel agency in Oman has reported a 20% drop in corporate bookings as companies ground their staff and halt business travel

As austerity tightens its grip on Oman, airlines and travel agents report corporate bookings have dropped

But could the dip be good news for general fliers?

REJIMON K [email protected]

MUSCAT: Companies across Oman are grounding their staff as corpo-rate travel from the Sultanate has its wings clipped by austerity. Airlines serving the Sultanate and travel agents have both reported a drop in bookings from business travel-lers, both in economy and premium class, another sign that low oil prices continue to impact the country’s economy. However, if the corporate bookings dip continues it may prove to be good for the general passenger, with airlines saying more offers would be one tactic to tempt back fliers. >A6

Heftier fines for shops violating new health, safety regulations

WORLDEcuador quake toll

2 The toll from Ecuador’s biggest earthquake in decades soared to at least

233 on Sunday. >A14

MARKETSPAR to open outlets

3 SPAR International — a Dutch multinational retail chain — plans to

open 24 outlets in Oman. >B1

OMANQuiz prelims end

1Preliminary rounds of the Times Quiz came to an end at Pakistan School Muscat

on Sunday. >A4

T O P T H R E E I N S I D E S T O R I E S

Staff Reporter

MUSCAT: Relatives of an aban-doned child have not been found, said the Royal Oman Police (ROP).

A two-year-old girl was found abandoned in a public park in Al Buraimi on Friday, the ROP had reported.

Photographs and news reports circulating on the social media claiming that the abandoned child’s relatives have been found are not true, the ROP tweeted on its official Twitter handle.

“The images and news being spread in the social media are un-true. Public should trust only of-ficial news agencies and the ROP,” the police tweet added.

In a fresh tweet, the ROP urged the child’s relatives and members of the public having any informa-tion about her, to immediately contact the Buraimi police station.

B U R A I M I I N C I D E N T

Omani portrays happiness, joy through pictures

MORNING MINUTE

ROP denies relatives of abandoned child located

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OMAN‘I want to show happiness and joy’

HASAN SHABAN AL [email protected]

MUSCAT: ‘Journey of life’, a solo exhibition by 23-year-old Omani photographer Anas Al Dheeb, will kick off today (Monday, 18 April) at Bait Al Zubair.

After two personal galleries in Dubai and Japan, Al Dheeb has fi-nally decided to showcase his art locally in his first personal exhibi-

tion in the Sultanate. The young photographer said the gallery will display images of people from Oman and other countries. A stu-dent of marketing at the Sultan Qa-boos University (SQU), Al Dheeb is known for travelling to exotic parts of the world to photograph people. In his latest charity trip to Chad, Al Dheeb clicked many portraits of refugees who, despite the hurdles, smiled for the camera.

Al Dheeb said sadness has be-come a common subject for photog-raphers nowadays. “I aim to show happiness and smiles. The world needs more smiles and moments of joyfulness, not tears of sadness,” he said. Notably, many limited edition photos of Al Dheeb were sold for OMR2,000 each in Dubai during his latest exhibition. Also, he was

recently honoured by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

“I put up this exhibition in order to let more people know about my art style,” the renowned photog-rapher said, adding that local pho-tographers are very talented and are capable of bagging the most competitive international awards.

Al Dheeb at this young age has already won more than 35 local and international photography awards, including a gold medal in the World Cup for U21 in Germany 2014. In the same year, he bagged the first prize in the GCC in a pho-tography contest, titled, ‘Story of light’ organised in the Middle East College. Furthermore, Al Dheeb won the top honour in the Youth Creativity Award in Dhofar.

After Japan and UAE, Omani photographer Anas

Al Dheeb will showcase his art at Bait Al Zubair

SOOTHING SCENE: The world needs more smiles and moments of

joyfulness, not tears of sadness, says Omani photographer Anas Al

Dheeb. – Supplied photo

TEDxMuscat Salon hosted

Times News Service

MUSCAT: As part of its mis-sion to support creative think-ing among the nation’s youths, the Modern College of Business and Science (MCBS) hosted the well-known TEDxMusact Sa-lon on April 7.

The event was held under the theme “Breaking Through”.

TEDxMuscat is part of TEDx—an international initia-tive to promote innovative and out-of-the-box thinking across communities and cultures, created in the spirit of TED’s mission of encouraging, “ideas worth spreading.”

Innovative ideasThe project encourages tal-ented and ambitious members of local communities to speak about innovative ideas, in a bid to motivate audiences and con-tribute to nation-building.

The half-day event hosted speakers exploring the theme “Breaking Through”.

M O D E R N C O L L E G E

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PHOTO GALLERYW W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M

I aim to show happiness and smiles. The

world needs more smiles and moments

of joyfulness, not tears of sadness

Anas Al Dheeb, Photographer

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OMANM O N DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

Share your world with us on Instagram

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UK cruise ships to visit Oman

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Coinciding with the 90th birthday celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II, Cunard Line’s flagship Queen Mary 2 and its sister ship, Queen Elizabeth, will visit Oman. Officials said that Queen Elizabeth is scheduled to arrive in Muscat on April 19 at 8 am and sail at 6 pm the same day.

This will be followed by the Queen Mary 2 calling at the port on April 20 at 8 am. The ocean liner will sail at 8 pm.

“These port calls in Muscat offer a great opportunity for Muscat’s residents and their children to watch these impressive ships from Muscat Corniche,” officials said.

Similarly, Queen Elizabeth will be calling at Salalah on April 20 at 7 am and will sail at 6 pm.

Queen Mary 2 is scheduled to arrive at Salalah on April 22 at 7 am and sail at 6 pm. “This is a unique year when both the ships are calling at both Muscat and Salalah, one after the other.”

M C Jose, chief executive offic-er of Khimji Ramdas, Projects and Logistics Group, said these port calls coincide with the 90th birth-day celebrations of Queen Eliza-beth II and they are delighted that the British Embassy in Muscat will be celebrating this event in Muscat with a party alongside the cruise ship Queen Elizabeth dur-ing her call at Port Sultan Qaboos.

The Queen Elizabeth, Cunard’s youngest ship, named in 2010 by the Queen, is the second largest Cunard ship.

She is currently on her 121 night world voyage, having left

Southampton, England on 11 January, 2016, returning on 10 May, 2016. She will have a stopo-ver in West Africa, East Africa, Australia, Far East, Middle East and Mediterranean Coasts before returning to Southampton.

Similarly, Queen Mary 2 is crossing the Atlantic to the USA and sailing to South America be-fore reaching Australia and New Zealand. She will go to Shanghai, Hong Kong and South East Asia before reaching the Middle East. The liner will sail pass West and East Mediterranean coasts before reaching Southampton.

Queen Mary 2’s 2016 World Voyage got underway on 10 January, 2016, and will return to Southampton on 10 May, 2016. They might have a chance to meet each other in UAE waters on 18 April, 2016. Khimji Ramdas Ship-ping, market leaders for cruise vessel handling in Oman, had a busy and successful year with ap-proximately 275,000 passengers visiting different ports in Oman via various cruise ships.

The cruise ships visited Mus-cat, Salalah and Khasab. The tour-ists were thoroughly impressed by the authentic Arab hospitality, Arab architecture and superior hygiene. The last vessel for the season would be CS Sea Princess, calling on 6 June, 2016 in Muscat, and Seabourn Sojourn calling on 10 May, 2016 in Salalah.

The port calls coincide with the 90th

birthday celebrations of Queen Elizabeth

II and the British Embassy in Muscat will

celebrate the event with a party alongside

the cruise ship Queen Elizabeth during

her call at Port Sultan Qaboos

IMPRESSIVE SHIPS: These port calls in Muscat offer a great opportunity for Muscat’s residents and

their children to watch these impressive ships from Muscat Corniche. – File photo

Oman Air offers motorsports holiday deals

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Oman Air Holidays is offering two packages for mo-torsports fans, who are invited to watch superstar Omani driv-er Ahmad Al Harthy race at two of Europe’s most iconic circuits.

With prices starting at OMR464, the packages have been designed to celebrate the Oman Racing Team’s eagerly-anticipated participation in the Blancpain GT Series Endur-ance Cup at Monza, Italy, and Silverstone in the UK.

Each package includes return flights from Muscat, return air-port transfers, accommodation for four nights on a twin share basis, daily buffet breakfasts, day return transfers from the hotel to the racing circuit and tickets to the race.

Motorsports fans who wish to attend the Monza race can choose from Business Class or Economy Class packages.

Business Class packages to Monza cost OMR1,175 per per-son, while Economy Class pack-ages are available at OMR 464 per person.

UK packagesThe UK packages include re-turn flights from Muscat to London on either of the airline’s two daily flights.

Accommodation for Business Class customers is offered at the Hilton, Park Lane in London, whilst Economy Class custom-ers will receive reservations at the four-star Hilton London Paddington.

Business Class packages to Silverstone are available at OMR1,695, while Economy Class packages cost OMR636.

A H M A D A L H A R T H Y R A C E S

T I M E S O F O M A NT I M E S O F O M A NM O N DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 M O N DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6T I M E S O F O M A NT I M E S O F O M A N A5A4

OMAN

PAKISTAN SCHOOL MUSCAT | JUNIORS Team Name Participant 1 Participant 2

BOYZZ 187 OBAID KHAN M.BASIT

PIKAA PIKAA PIKAA CHUU HASSAN NAWAZ ABDULLAH ABRAR

ANONYMOUS X TAHA ZAHEER HUNZALA SHAHID

QUIZ MAFIA SHUJA KHALIQ HANJRA ABDUL HANNAN RAND

SUPER FIRE MOHAMMED ALAMIN ALI HAIDER

BOY’S 187 HUZAIFA JUH ABUBAKAR

XLR 8 EMMAD UDDIN MUGHAL FALAH ADEEL

THE CHAMPIONS MUJTABA ABBAS ABDULLAH AMIR

ENXY V.2 USMAN NAWAZ KHALID AKRA

QUIZ WARRIOS AHMED ALI SHAH M.NAZMA WASEEM

QUIZ CHALLENGER S.ARSALAN AKHTAR ABDUL REHMAN

GHOST RIDERS SUFYAN RAZA SALAH JAWAD

PAKISTAN SCHOOL MUSCAT | SENIORS Team Name Participant 1 Participant 2

PHSYCO’S FADI RAMI HASAN MASOOD

THE LEGENDS AZMEER AHMED MUHAMMAD FAIQ FAKHAR

CLG MUNAWAR AHMED SHAWN FERNADES

BRO QUIZZERS SALMAN TAHIR ZAFEER-BIN-MUNAWAR

NOOVITA BOMBS NOOR FATIMA KAVITA

THE ANONYMOUS HAMMAD MAHMOOD M.AHMED AFTAB

THE SPY SQUAD AIMAN ZAHRA ROMAISHA SHAHBAZ

GLADIATORS MOHAMMAD BUTT ALI YOUSUF

ANGEL BEATS TASNEEM GAMAL SARA KADEM

#BROTHTA SQUAD TAIMUR AHMED FAHAD AKRA

THE INCREDIBLES AZMAT FATIMA XENEB SULEMANI

BLOOD WEAVERS EHSAN SHAHID MUHAMMAD

SOME 300 PSM STUDENTS TAKE PART IN TIMES QUIZ

STAFF REPORTER

MUSCAT: Preliminary rounds of the Times of Oman Inter School Quiz Contest (TOOISQC) came to an end at Pakistan School Muscat on Sunday.

Some 300 students in two categories – Junior and Senior – participated in the final quali-fier, seeking to be promoted to the next round of the Times inter school quiz.

Students rose to the challenge, answering the right mix of audio, visual and direct questions from quiz master Lloyd Saldanha.

The qualifier was easy for Hun-zala Shahid and his teammate Taha Zaheer, who participated in the junior category for the sec-ond time.

“Questions were compara-tively easier than last year, and I think our team will easily qualify to the next round,” Shahid said.

According to Ataullah Ni-azi, Senior Principal of Paki-stan Schools in Oman, Times of Oman’s quiz is an important event for students.

“Times of Oman provides the perfect exposure for students, and this will help them to update their knowledge in all aspects,”

he said. “It is not easy to qualify to the next round. Participants should have a good knowledge of current affairs, and also should have good observations about the entire world,” he added.

“This makes Times of Oman’s interschool quiz special, and this is a rich learning experience for our children,” he added.

According to Niazi, quizzes create inquisitive minds, and Times of Oman is helping stu-dents to become more inquisitive. “TOOISQC also helps schools to take students from their normal curricular activities and venture into a more knowledgeable area,” he said.

He further said that students are very enthusiastic about the TOOISQC and each year many students choose to compete.

In the senior category, partici-pants noted that questions were challenging. “Questions were not that tough, but challenging, even though we are confident that we can easily move into the Mega prelims,” said Asjad and Farhan, class 9 students.

Students grew louder with joy when the quiz master announced answers to the questions.

According to the quizmas-ter, students at Pakistan School Muscat deserve full credit for their efforts. “They were a very enthusiastic crowd and made the entire preliminary round com-pletely enjoyable for me,” Lloyd Saldanha said.

Mega prelims will be held on 19th of April at the Indian School Ghubra. Teams from 20 schools are participating in the quiz con-test, while the top 12 schools will clash in the final on April 21 at City Amphitheatre.

The winning school in the Times of Oman interschool quiz will lift the Essa bin Mohammed Al Zedjali Rolling Trophy for their school.

Questions were

comparatively easier

than last year, and

I think our team

will easily qualify

to the next round,

said a contestant

Photos by O.K. Mohammed Ali and Purushothaman K. /TIMES OF OMAN

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We need to make education easy for the teachers,

as well as for parents and school administration

Ali Al Ghadani, Head of IT Development

at the Ministry of Education

SMARTEN UPDRIVE SAFE

A TIMES OF OMAN HANDS-FREE DRIVING INITIATIVE

Apps to help studentslearn maths, english

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Two new apps were launched by the Ministry of Edu-cation for the benefit of students in government schools at COMEX 2016 Exhibition last Thursday.

The “Easy ways” app aims to make it easier for students to learn basic mathematics by help-ing them learn how to multiply and memorise multiplication ta-bles by heart, using their fingers.

The app offers the student in-

teractive ways to reach his de-sired result. The app also features games that encourage students to experiment and train in an attrac-tive and interactive environment which uses several means, includ-ing text, voice and movement.

The app was produced by the Electronic Education department of the General Directorate of De-velopment of Curricula.

Another app, the “English Lan-guage Book,” features English books that have been optimised with interactive features. It is de-signed to enable students opting for self-study by giving feedback and acquiring knowledge and skills. This app was produced by the Electronic Content Depart-

ment of the General Directorate of Education in South Al Batinah.

The new apps were launched in the context of the Ministry’s Educational Portal, an electronic portal that gives students, parents and schools insight into the edu-cational processes.

Exchange of informationAli Al Ghadani, Head of IT Devel-opment at the Ministry of Educa-tion, told the Times of Oman that the Ministry has developed apps for both schools and parents to en-sure that exchange of information between the two becomes easier.

With the app “Wali Al Amr” [parent], a parent can even get an overview of the results of his

children at school even when the children are enrolled in differ-ent schools.

“When you have three children who are in three different schools, there is no need to go to each school every time. Just go to the application and you will see all the details,” he said.

The app “Madrasati” [my school] enables teachers to share the student’s grades with the par-ents. Another app enables schools to organise their finances and communicate directly with the Ministry without involving physi-cal documents. Al Ghadani said this also improves financial over-sight of the Ministry over schools.

“We need to make education easy for the teachers, as well as for the parents and the school admin-istration,” he said.

According to Al Ghadani, the apps will not replace physical meetings between parents and teachers. “If there is a problem with your children or you want to make something clear, you’ll have to be there,” he said.

Sulaiman Al Kindi, Director General of IT at the Ministry of Education, told the Times of Oman that the Ministry is communicat-ing electronically with all govern-ment schools and with seventy per cent of the private schools.

The ‘Easy ways’

app aims to make it

easier for students

to learn basic

mathematics by

helping them learn

how to multiply

and memorise

multiplication tables

INTERACTIVE APP: The new apps gives students, parents and

schools insight into the educational processes. -Supplied photo

Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah to host chef Igor

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Michelin-starred chef Igor Macchia will be hosted by Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa from April 21 to 23, where he will serve an exclusive Michelin dining experience at the resort’s Italian restaurant, Capri Court.

Igor Macchia has worked in many restaurants in Italy and

throughout Europe. Among the restaurants Igor has been associ-ated with is La Credenza, which he calls his second home. After many years experimenting and creating his personal style, both as a chef and pastry chef, he entered into a co-ownership with the res-taurant in 2005 and was awarded with One Michelin Star the fol-lowing year.

Chef Macchia is always eager to experiment, research and redis-cover. He notes that what he loves most is the passion found in the historic food culture.

Diners have been invited to join Igor at Capri Court – the resort’s Italian restaurant located in Al Bandar hotel – from April 20 to 23, where a la carte menu will be featured, including dishes such as

pumpkin risotto, beef tartar and grapefruit gelatine. Celebrating the Michelin dining experience, Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort is offering Omanis and residents of Oman an opportunity to stay and enjoy Chef Igor’s signature delights for two people, starting at OMR 210 per room per night, in-clusive of buffet breakfast and din-ner at Capri Court.

C U L I N A R Y J O U R N E Y

Companies in Sultanate are

trimming travel requirements

A top official from Oman Air, the national carrier of Oman, said many companies are trimming their travel requirements to cope with the falling oil prices lead-ing to the fall in the corporate bookings.

“Many companies are trim-ming their travel requirement to cope with the falling oil prices. This has impacted Oman Air as well since there has been a dip in the corporate bookings, which constitute an important sale seg-ment for any airline. Our sales and marketing expert teams are always monitoring the market and work on offering a suitable solution, be it with the General Sales Agents or corporate ac-counts directly.” Says Jamal Al Azki, country manager, Oman, Oman Air.

An official from the UAE-based airline serving Oman said that low oil prices are acting as ‘a dou-ble-edged sword’.

Double-edged sword“Just like the rest of the industry, they are now saving lots of money on fuel. But low oil prices are act-ing as “a double-edged sword,” said Tim Clark, president of Emirates, now the world’s largest airlines in terms of international traffic.

“Bookings from companies involved in the energy sector—Emirates’ most important corpo-rate customers—virtually disap-peared with the collapse in crude oil prices,” he added.

Rajan Jayaraman, District Sales Manager-Oman, Kuwait Airways, also noted that corpo-rate bookings were down.

“If the situation continues, we may be forced to slash prices and announce offers to maintain the budget which will be hit by dip in corporate bookings.

“After June or July the picture will be clear. We may come up with attractive prices and other packages to woo customers. Our business has to run.”

And Sami Muctar, Country Manager - Oman, Ethiopian Air-lines, said that a large number of airlines will be forced to come out

with special offers as the business is suffering. Jet Airways in Oman confirmed it is witnessing a fall too, saying that they are watching the situation cautiously to adopt plans to cushion the effect.

Dip in bookings“We have dip in corporate book-ings. We are waiting to see how serious it will be. Bringing down the fares won’t help. Aviation in-dustry earnings is a small pie now all over the world, especially in Oman. So, taking steps to grab it from a small pie won’t help,” Ri-yaz Kuttery, general manager at Jet Airways in Oman, said.

However, Riyaz added that they may come up with offers in the fu-ture if the situation worsens.

Another travel agent in Muscat, who declined to be named, said that the airlines may increase the price to compensate the decline in corporate sales revenue.

“More than coming up with of-fers to lure customers, they will increase the price,” the travel agent added.

The oil price dip has helped the airlines to save money, however, budget tightening initiated by the governments and companies in the region have put them in a fix.

ForecastIn December 2015, the Interna-tional Air Transport Association (IATA), had forecast an average net profit margin of 5.1 per cent being generated with total net profits of $36.3 billion and also a revision to its airline industry outlook for 2015 upwards to a net profit of $33 billion (4.6% net profit margin) from $29.3 billion forecast in June.

According to IATA, the strengthening of industry per-formance in 2015 was driven by a combination of factors, mainly lower oil prices, robust demand for passenger travel, stronger eco-nomic performance in some key economies and efficiency gains by airlines

While airline officials eye cor-porate bookings, travel agents say that both cooperate bookings and cash sales are going down.

Raji Demonte, general manager at Universal Travel and Tourism in Oman, has witnessed a 20 per cent dip in corporate bookings as all over Oman everyone are adopting austerity measures.

Cash sales“We can see dip in corporate bookings and also in cash sales. Many who used to travel annually are not doing so. Cash sales have come down in many of our out-lets,” Raji said.

“However, I don’t see that air-lines will bring down the prices to compensate for the loss due to dip in corporate bookings,” Raji added.

“More than coming up with of-fers to lure customers, they will increase the price,” the travel agent addedMeanwhile, Jose Chacko, a finan-cial advisor in Oman, said that cutting costs on premium class travel for their employees is one of the steps which companies can take to save money during this tough time.

“We know that many compa-nies are adopting steps to avoid the number of travel, including in premium class, for their em-ployees, if it can be,” Jose said, adding that many mid-level ex-patriate workers are pushing off their travel plans even to their home country.

Mohammed Khaldi, an oil com-pany employee in Oman, said that companies don’t encourage pro-viding premium travel facilities for their employees.

“It was happening in the past, but it has gone up more now,” Mo-hammed added.

Oman’s 2016 budget focuses heavily on austerity measures and it projects OMR3.3 billion in deficit spending for 2016. Oman posted a budget deficit of 4.5 bil-lion riyals in 2015 as revenues de-clined by more than 50 per cent.

F A L L I N G O I L P R I C E S

< FROM

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Investment in education discussed

RIYADH: The Sultanate, rep-resented by the Ministry of Higher Education, is taking part in the preparatory meeting for the 18th GCC Higher Education and Scientific Research Min-sters Committee, being held in Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

The Sultanate’s delegation is being led by Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Sarmi, Under-secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education.

The two-day meeting dis-cusses topics of enhancing the GCC joint work and the joint in-vestment in education. -ONA

GCC

A8


Penalties have increased Some fines were doubled and some were increased six fold. For example, working without a valid health card used to attract a fine of OMR5 per worker. Now, it has been increased to OMR30 per worker.

Interestingly, barbers who used “unsuitable” towels or tools were slapped with a fine of OMR5 only; now the fine has been increased to OMR50 in ad-dition to a provison that such un-fit tools be destroyed. The same punishment now goes for using unsterilized tools.

“We updated the list to ensure

high safety and health stand-ards for consumers in Oman,” said Al Bahri.

Moreover, slaughtering cattle and chicken in traditional kitch-ens and unauthorised places will cost the violator OMR100, while earlier, it was only OMR30.

The MRMWR issued 34,290 permits for food-related activi-ties in 2015 in Musandam, Al Wusta, Al Buraimi, North and South Al Batinah, Al Dhahirah, Al Dakhiliyah and the North and South Al Sharqiyah governorates.

The permits include 3,767 factories, 22,143 grocery stores,

2,442 restaurants and 5,938 cof-fee shops.

Of the above mentioned ar-eas, North Al Batinah received the highest number of permits at 7,563, including 616 for facto-ries, 5,850 for shops and grocery stores, 401 for restaurants and 725 for coffee shops.

In 2015, the rate of violations to the number of permits stood at 12.35 per cent.

Officials at the MRMWR said they were optimistic that the rate will come down next year after proper implementation of the new regulations.

V I O L A T I O N S

Minister opens meeting on humanities research

MUSCAT: Conference on the study of humanities in the Arab world was opened at Sultan Qa-boos University (SQU) by Dr. Abdul Mon’em bin Mansour Al Hassani, Minister of Information, yesterday.

The conference, entitled ‘Hu-manities Research Centres in the Arab World: Challenges, Opportu-nities and Prospects for Coopera-tion”, will continue over two days and is being sponsored by the Hu-manities Research Centre at SQU.

In his statement, the Minister of Information said the confer-

ence is being organised at the level of Arab countries because of the importnace of humanitarian sciences in general after the pe-riod of importnace of productive sciences.

Therefore scientific studies around the world and in the Arab

world are giving priority to the hu-man and social system along with the productive applied sciences, he added.

The conference seeks to dis-cuss the current situation in hu-manities research in the Arab world and highlight the work

performed at the research centres having regional and international orientations. The conference is also meant to bring humanities research centres together and rec-ognise important developments in humanities research, to exchange knowledge and expertise.

Additionally, the conference will enable researchers, academ-ics and other professionals to ben-efit from the experiences in their respected research areas.

Scientific researchThose at the conference will dis-cuss the roles and functions of humanities research centers in the Arab world, and seek to de-velop policies to raise the level of Arab scientific research in humanities. The conference will also address global and regional trends in the fields of humanities research, and discuss challenges facing the scientific research in the field of humanities and seek strategies to overcome them.

The conference will further build bridges of cooperation with the most famous research cent-ers in humanities and social sci-ences in the Arab world to create a base for future research collab-oration. -ONA

The conference

seeks to discuss the

current situation in

humanities research

in the Arab world and

highlight the work at

the research centres

HUMANITARIAN SCIENCES: Dr. Abdul Mon’em bin Mansour Al

Hassani, Minister of Information, said the conference is being

organised at the level of Arab countries because of the importnace

of humanitarian sciences in general. – ONA

< FROM

A1

Indian prime minister inspires Omani poet

REJIMON K [email protected]

MUSCAT: Impressed with In-dian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat (Clean India) campaign and other ini-tiatives, a young Omani poet has shot a four-minute ‘visual poem’, which will be part of a movie to be released soon.

“Indian Prime Minister Modi is a merciful person. He always puts the interests of other humans

before his own interests,” Sultan Ahmed Al Mahmodi, the 27-year-old Omani poet, said.

“We would like him to visit Oman, as he visited other coun-tries in the region,” Sultan added.

The poem is part of a movie pro-duced by Vijesh Mani, an Indian expatriate in Muscat.

“The movie is inspired by ‘Mann Ki Baat’, a radio pro-gramme in which Modi addresses his country’s people,” SN Gopaku-mar, who coordinates the movie

project in Oman, said.Meanwhile, Vijesh Mani, the

director of the movie, said it will be dubbed in 18 Indian languages.

“We have shot the movie in dif-ferent locations in India.

“The movie is meant to inspire the younger generation,” the di-rector said.

Sultan’s visual poem will be re-leased at the Indian embassy in Oman officially tomorrow (Tues-day) by Indra Mani Pandey, the Indian ambassador in Oman.

C L E A N I N D I A C A M P A I G N

Sultan Ahmed Al Mahmodi’s

visual poem will be released at

the Indian embassy in Oman of-

ficially on Tuesday. – Supplied photo

ICT survey of households, individuals in Oman startsTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Second survey on the ccess and Use of Information and Communications Technol-ogy (ICT) by households and indi-viduals has been launched by the Information Technology Author-ity (ITA), in cooperation with the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), Oman.

This survey is being conducted to gauge the access to Informa-tion and Communication Tech-nologies in Oman and measure the extent to which it has been put to use by households and indi-viduals in Oman.

The survey targets 6,100 ran-domly selected households in the 11 governorates, in an attempt to ensure a diversity of data through reaching out to both urban and rural Omani households. The survey data will be collected until September 2016.

Speaking about the importance of this survey, Dr. Salim bin Sul-tan Al Ruzaiqi, CEO of ITA, said that “the 1st edition of this survey, conducted in 2013, provided a val-uable set of ICT indicators which made significant contributions in the planning and execution of ICT related policies and projects.

These comprehensive results have been shared with several public and private organisations in order to bring about scientific evidence of the needs of families and individuals and the develop-ment of electronic services.”

“The ICT indicators obtained from these surveys are shared with international organisations, such as United Nations and Inter-national Telecommunication Un-ion, which has helped to highlight efforts and progress made in the field of ICT in Sultanate, and im-prove its ranking in ICT-related global reports” he added.

Data collectionDr. Ruzaiqi further requests all citizens and residents to cooper-ate with the surveyors by provid-ing accurate information during the survey. Measuring such data through a nationwide research assists key decision makers and

strategic planners to formu-late initiatives related to ICT in households and individuals and measure the extent to which the digital divide in the Sultanate has been addressed effectively.

“The ICT survey reflects the rapid changes and advancement in ICT adoption, as the survey measures a number of indicators about use and access to the Inter-net, computers and smart phones, the prevalence and usage of social media, the measurements and ac-tions taken to protect children from Cyber risks, the level of in-teraction and uptake of available e-services, and the extent of reli-ance on ecommerce in Oman”, noted Shariffa bint Mohammed Al Maskary, Director of International Relations and Information at ITA.

The surveyors will be using smart devices, such as PDAs, tab-lets and laptop computers to col-lect the information that will be stored and processed in a secured environment.

ITA and NCSI assures partici-pants of this survey that it follows the National Statistical Law and that collected information will be treated as strictly confidential and only be used for the purpose of the study.

C O L L E C T I O N O F D A T A

34,290 was the number of permits issued for food-related activities in 2015 in

Musandam, Al Wusta, Al Buraimi, North and South Al Batinah, Al Dhahirah,

Al Dakhiliyah and the North and South Al Sharqiyah governorates.

MUSCAT: Dr. Jumana Saleh from the Department of Biochemistry in the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at Sultan Qa-boos University (SQU) won the International Society of Antioxi-dants (ISA) Award during the 16th World Antioxidants Congress held in Dubai. Dr. Jumana said that the conference addressed a range of issues relating to the latest devel-opments in the field of antioxidant

and dietary supplements, in addi-tion to stimulating the oxidation factors in the human body and its relationship to cancer, obesity and other chronic diseases.

Leading scientists from France, Britain, Sweden, Italy, Australia, the United States and some Mid-dle East countries, including Oman and the United Arab Emir-ates took part in the last session of the conference. -ONA

W O R L D A N T I O X I D A N T S C O N G R E S S

HONOUR: Dr. Jumana Saleh from the Department of Biochemistry

in the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at Sultan Qaboos

University won the award in Dubai. – Supplied photo

SQU academician awarded in Dubai

INDIAN ART EXHIBITIONThe Indian Contemporary Art Exhibition themed “Be-

yond the Realm of Beauty” was opened at the Omani So-

ciety for Fine Arts of the Sultan Qaboos Higher Centre for

Culture and Science under the patronage of Indra Mani

Pandey, Indian Ambassador to the Sultanate. -ONA

A9

REGIONM O N DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

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Yemen talks begin today in Kuwait

KUWAIT: Yemen’s warring par-ties are sending conciliatory sig-nals ahead of UN-backed talks starting on Monday, in a rare sign of mutual willingness to end a year-old conflict that has caused one of the world’s worst humani-tarian crises.

A deal may help defuse ten-sions. Air strikes and heavy com-bat persist in many parts of the country, while armed forces who could yet play a spoiling role loom

throughout Yemen’s tangled po-litical scene.

Police said they foiled two car bomb attacks in the southern port of Aden on Sunday. In one case a policeman died when a car ex-ploded after police opened fire on it rushing at a checkpoint at high speed. But the recent rhetoric of the main combatants has been unusually mild.

Political transition“We are ready for a political tran-sition which excludes no one... The world now looks to the Ku-wait consultations as a landmark of peace for Yemenis, and we will give everything we can to allevi-ate the suffering of the people,” Foreign Minister Abdel Malek Al Mekhlafi, from the Saudi-backed government now based in Aden, told state news agency Saba.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, spokesman for the Houthi move-

ment which controls the capital Sanaa, appeared conciliatory in an interview with Kuwaiti news-paper Al Rai on Saturday. “There should be a consensus author-ity during a definite transitional phase to decide every political dispute,” he was quoted as saying.

UN talks in June and Decem-ber failed to end the war that has killed about 6,200 people, about half of them civilians. The war has allowed Al Qaeda fighters to seize territory and opened a path for IS militants to gain a foothold.

An unprecedented calm achieved between the two main antagonists beginning in March suggests that exhaustion over costs and casualties may be mounting. The Houthis agreed with Saudi Arabia to reduce at-tacks on the kingdom in exchange for a halt to Saudi-led air strikes on Sanaa, and the two sides carried out a prisoner exchange. — Reuters

Yemen’s government,

Houthi officials

signal optimism for

talks to end conflict

Iraqis rally in support of cleric SadrBAGHDAD: Hundreds rallied in central Baghdad in support of powerful cleric Moqtada Al Sadr who has threatened to call mass protests if the prime min-ister fails to name a new cabinet to fight corruption by Tuesday.

People in Tahrir Square on Sunday said many more would join them if Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi did not select a government mainly made up of technical experts to tackle what they see as widespread graft and mismanagement.

“Yes, yes to Iraq; no, no to cor-ruption,” they chanted, carrying Iraqi flags. — Reuters

C A B I N E T C H A N G E

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INDIA M O N DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

Police always work to establish peace. The gathering was

peaceful initially. However, the situation deteriorated only after

some persons resorted to violence and damaged property

P. P. Pandey, DGP of Gujarat

India to boost investment in Iranian oil and gas sectors

TEHRAN: India and Iran on Sun-day decided to significantly ex-pand engagement in their overall ties, particularly in boosting Indi-an investment in joint ventures in oil and gas sectors in the oil-rich nation where foreign investors from major economic powers are rushing in to get early footholds after lifting of nuclear sanctions.

In talks between External Af-fairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Iranian counterpart Moham-mad Javad Zarif, the two sides agreed that pending agreements such as Preferential Trade Agree-ment, Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement and Bilateral Invest-ment Treaty should be concluded on a priority basis to spur trade and investment.

Enhancing energy cooperation and development of the Chabahar port were the centrepiece of talks which was mostly dominated by economic issues.

“The talks were very success-ful and would give new energy to our centuries old ties with Iran. In particular, the economic partner-

ship will get considerable fillip as a result of today’s forward looking talks,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

Sources said the issue of Kulbhushan Jadhav was not at all raised by the Iranian side.

Jadhav was reportedly arrested in Balochistan after he entered from Iran and was accused by Pa-kistan of planning “subversive ac-tivities” in the country.

Chabahar projectBoth sides discussed the pro-gress on the Chabahar project and agreed that the commercial contract on Chabahar as well as the modalities for extending $150 million credit for Chabahar Port should be signed in the “very near future”.

Decisions on this line of credit, as well as $400 million credit line for supply of steel rails from India have already been taken by India.Swarup said both sides discussed

the energy partnership and Iran invited greater Indian participa-tion in its oil and gas sector.

“Iran said it would be happy to participate in the refinery sector in India.”

On Farzad-B oil field project, both sides took note of the con-structive discussions held during the recent visit to Iran of Oil Min-ister Dharmendra Pradhan.

“The Indian side welcomed the Iranian decision to keep the Farzad-B field outside the auction basket. The concerned companies have been directed to complete their contractual negotiations in a time bound manner. Iranian side had earlier communicated their gas pricing formula and expressed their desire for Indian investment in the Chabahar SEZ,” he said.

“In terms of connectivity, Iran said it supported India’s desire to join the Ashgabat Agreement. The two ministers reviewed the pro-gress made in the International

North South Transport Corridor.IRCON from India would be

visiting Iran for discussions on the Chabahar-Zahedan Railway link,” said the spokesperson.

On Trade and Investment, the two sides agreed that with the lift-ing of sanctions, the potential for expanding these ties was immense.

“They agreed that pending agreements such as Preferen-tial Trade Agreement, Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement and Bilateral Investment Treaty should be concluded on a priority basis,” said Swarup.

India is keen to enhance its in-vestment in Iran as there has been impressive prospect of the coun-try’s economic growth. The size of Iran’s economy is around $400 billion, the second largest in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia, and the country is being seen as one of the world’s hottest invest-ment destination as it has opened various critical sectors including

oil and gas for joint ventures and foreign capital.

Countries like Japan, China, the US and a number of European nations are scrambling to take advantage of opportunities in the oil-rich nation after the sanctions were lifted in January.

India has been eying deeper en-ergy ties with Iran and has already lined up U$20 billion as invest-ment in oil and gas as well as in petrochemical and fertiliser sec-tors there.

Counter-terrorismIndia is also keen to increase oil imports from Iran from current 350,000 barrels a day. Both sides decided to enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism and maritime security as they agreed that con-certed global effort was required to combat the menace.

They reviewed bilateral rela-tions, in particular the progress in implementing the decisions taken at the last Joint Commis-sion Meeting held in New Delhi in December 2015.

“Both sides took note of the good cooperation between the Na-tional Security Council structures of the two countries and agreed to intensify this engagement,” said Swarup.

In terms of cultural coopera-tion, both sides agreed to promote and strengthen the existing cul-tural exchanges, inter-alia, by ob-serving “Weeks of Iran and India” in each other’s country, publica-tion of manuscripts, organizing conferences and events related to language, literature and religion.

They also agreed on the es-tablishment of a Hindi Chair in Tehran University sponsored by ICCR and to renew the Cultural Exchange Programme.

Both leaders expressed satis-faction at the recent exchange of visits and called for more high lev-el exchanges to give fresh impetus to India-Iran relations.

The two ministers also re-viewed global and regional issues, in particular the situation in Af-ghanistan. - PTI

The two sides

agreed that pending

agreements such as

Preferential Trade

Agreement, Double

Taxation Avoidance

Agreement and

Bilateral Investment

Treaty should be

concluded on a

priority basis to spur

trade and investment

WARM GREETINGS: Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj being greeted by her Iranian

counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran on Sunday. - PTI

Army chief in J&K, reviews security situationJAMMU: With tension still pre-vailing in parts of the Valley, Army Chief General Dalbir Singh on Sunday arrived in the state to take stock of the security situation.

The army chief, who is on a one-day visit to Indian-administered-Kashmir, arrived at the headquar-ters of Udhampur-based Northern Command, where he was received by the northern army Command-er Lt Gen D. S. Hooda, a defence spokesman said.

Lt Gen Hooda briefed the Army chief about the overall security situation in the Command theatre, he said.

The army chief interacted with the Corps Commanders and took firsthand assessment of the pre-vailing internal security situation especially in view of the recent in-cidents at Handwara and Nutnusa in the Kashmir Valley.

Meanwhile, life in most parts of Jammu and Kashmir started limp-ing back to normalcy after remain-ing paralysed for five days due to strikes and protests, but restric-tions continued as a precautionary measure in Handwara and Kup-wara towns where five persons have been killed since Tuesday.

While Internet services re-mained snapped across the valley, train services between Baramulla in Kashmir and Banihal, across the Pir Panjal mountain range, resumed on Sunday morning af-ter remaining off the tracks for four days. - PTI

P R O T E S T S

Curfew clamped in Mehsana as Patel agitation turns violentMEHSANA: Curfew was on Sun-day clamped in Mehsana town in west Indian state of Gujarat and mobile Internet service banned as a massive rally of the Patel com-munity demanding reservation and immediate release of their jailed leaders turned violent with two buildings being set ablaze and some police vehicles damaged.

“We have imposed a curfew in Mehsana town till tomorrow morning. Mobile Internet service has been suspended during this period. The violent mob set ablaze two government properties....a sub-divisional magistrate and a mamlatdar (revenue officer) were injured in the stone-pelting,” said Lochan Sehra, Collector of Meh-

sana, 73km from Ahmedabad.A godown of Food Corporation

of India and a district office were set on fire, police said, adding 15 persons have been detained in this connection.

Five policemen and two officials sustained injuries in the incidents, police said while agitators claimed that 25 of their supporters were in-jured in police action.

In Surat, police detained 435 Patel agitators who hit the streets after learning about incidents in Mehsana. Surat police commis-sioner Ashish Bhatia said the situ-ation was under control.

Mobile Internet services were banned also in Surat and Rajkot as a precautionary measure, dis-

trict authorities said.In Mehsana, police used lathich-

arge and fired teargas shells on the agitators who allegedly engaged in stone- pelting.

Patel protesters had gathered at Modhera crossroad as part of the `Jail Bharo’ agitation announced by the Sardar Patel Group (SPG), one of the prominent groups seeking OBC quota for the Patel community. SPG chief Lalji Patel received head injury during the face-off with the police.

A blame game erupted with po-lice claiming they resorted to ba-ton charge only after some started hurling stones at them while Patel alleged that agitators were target-ed without any provocation.

“Our protest was peaceful as an-nounced earlier. However, police suddenly hit me and some of our members when we were walking ahead of the procession. I was hit on head. You can see the blood on my face. We were beaten up with-out any provocation,” said Patel, who along with some other agita-tors were detained by the police.

In-charge DGP of Gujarat P. P. Pandey claimed the situation de-teriorated only after some people resorted to violence.

“Police always work to establish peace. The gathering was peaceful initially. However, the situation deteriorated only after some per-sons resorted to violence and dam-aged property,” Pandey said. - PTI

‘ J A I L B H A R O A N D O L A N ’

Scorching weather continues; Odisha’s Titlagarh hottestNEW DELHI: Several parts of the country continued to reel under scorching heat on Sunday as mercury hit a high of 46.3 de-grees Celsius in east Indian state Odisha’s Titlagarh while pre-monsoon showers accompanied by squall and hailstorm created havoc in north east Indian state of Mizoram destroying hundreds of houses.

Delhiites experienced another hot day with the maximum tem-perature, recorded at 4.30pm, settling at 40.1 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal, and the minimum registering 29.8 de-grees Celsius, eight notches above average. The maximum tempera-ture had on Saturday shot up to 44 degrees Celsius, making it the hottest April day in the national capital in the past six years, an MeT official said.

The heat wave sweeping across Odisha intensified in ten western districts as Titlagarh turned out to be the hottest place in the state recording 46.3 degrees Celsius while temperature fell marginally

in the coastal belt.The entire western region of

the state continued to boil under blistering temperature, while the heat wave also prevailed in parts of interior Odisha.

While Titlagarh recorded the highest temperature of 46.3 de-grees Celsius, it was followed by 45.8 in Sonepur, 45.5 in Jharsug-uda and Taleher and 45 degrees Celsius in Sundargarh, IMD said in a bulletin.

The maximum temperature

touched 44.6 degrees Celsius in Hirakud, while it stood at 44.5 in both Bhawanipatna and Angul and 44 degrees Celsius in Bol-angir, it said. The state capital of Bhubaneswar recorded a maxi-mum temperature of 41.2 degrees Celsius as against 39.7 on Satur-day, the MeT office said.

Meanwhile, 38 persons are sus-pected to have died of sunstroke even as the state government claimed that no one had died due to heat related incidents. - PTI

H E A T W A V E

AGITATION: Members of Patidar community pelting stones at

Police during their ‘Jail Bharo Andolan’ for demanding release of

Hardik Patel in Surat. - PTI

HOT DAY: College goers cover their face to protect from heat in

Bankura district in West Bengal on Saturday. - PTI

TAKING STOCK: Indian Army

Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag ar-

rives at Headquarters of North-

ern Command during his official

visit in Udhampur on Sunday. - PTI

A11

INDIAM O N DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

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Congress backs Nitish’s call for RSS-free India

NEW DELHI: Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar’s call for an Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-free India, on Sunday re-ceived support from Congress which said the saffron fountain-head was “posing a threat to the country’s unity and democracy” as BJP jumped to the defence of its mentor, saying its critics should attend its ‘shakha’ for a day to clear their “misconceptions”.

The BJP said it was unfazed by Kumar’s efforts to form a united front to counter it and that such attempts to stop the Modi gov-ernment “from working for the development of the country and for the poor will not succeed”.

Maintaining that everyone was aware of the newly-elected Janata Dal(United) chief’s na-tional ambitions, BJP spokesman Shrikant Sharma took a dig at the Congress, asking party president Sonia Gandhi to make it clear if Rahul Gandhi will lead such a front or will he be just part of it.

Congress backed Nitish Ku-mar’s view that the country should be made ‘Sangh-mukt’ (RSS-free) as it is “posing a threat to democracy and unity” but did not appear inclined to be a part of a broad-based alliance of secular parties to take on BJP, saying for any national-level alliance ahead of 2019 polls, parties should have

a “national existence”.Asked if Nitish Kumar can be

projected as the leader of a na-tional-level alliance he has moot-ed, party general secretary Sha-keel Ahmed said he is “a popular chief minister” who is doing good work in Bihar.

“There is no talk of leadership (led by Nitish)...You are trying to create an imaginary alliance. I told you first, an alliance at the national level...all parties are state specific parties. The understand-ing is with such parties in states. By the time 2019 elections come, the public themselves will oust the Modi government and there will be no need for any alliance,” Ahmed said, replying to queries about the possibility of forging a Nitish-led national alliance.

Addressing an event in Patna on Saturday, Kumar had mounted a counteroffensive against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’ slogan, saying, “Sangh-mukt Bharat ba-nane ke liye sabhi gair BJP par-ties ko ek hona hoga (to usher in a Sangh-free India all non-BJP parties will have to come togeth-er).” “Uniting against BJP and its divisive ideology is the only way to save democracy,” said Kumar, who has already talked about “largest possible unity” among secular parties. - PTI

C O U N T E R O F F E N S I V E

Over Rs600m cash seized in poll-bound five statesNEW DELHI: Illegal cash of over Rs600 million has been confis-cated from the five states facing Assembly polls, with south Indian state of Tamil Nadu leading the list with seizures of Rs245.5 million.

Even as polls have concluded in north-east Indian state of Assam and the second phase of voting is being held in east Indian state of West Bengal on Sunday, the Elec-tion Commission (EC)-appointed surveillance teams are taking ac-tion. The north-eastern state is still ranking second in the tally with Rs123.3 million having been seized there.

In West Bengal, the figure stands at about IRs121.4 million, while Rs104.1 million has been seized in south Indian state of Kerala.

Puducherry has seen seizures of about Rs6.88 million, the latest EC data said.

The cash seizures were made by EC-appointed special flying squads and surveillance teams and by officials drawn from the Income Tax Department. “The total pro-gressive figure of seizures made till now is about Rs 600.3 million.Some cash has been released after seizures in West Bengal and the figures have been compiled after excluding that. Polls in Assam are over now,” a senior official said.

The Model Code of Conduct for these polls came into force on March 4 after EC announced the schedule for the Assembly polls in five states. The first phase of poll-ing was held on April 4 in Assam and West Bengal while the second part of that phase was conducted on April 11. Three more phases of polls are due in West Bengal. Elec-tions in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will be held in a single phase on May 16. EC, as part of its measures to curb the use of black money in the polls, has deployed expenditure observers drawn from central revenue services like Income Tax and the Customs and Excise departments. -PTI

E L E C T I O N C O M M I S S I O N Nearly 80% voter turnout in phase 2 of West Bengal polls

KOLKATA: In a heavy turnout amid reports of sporadic violence, close to 80 per cent of the elector-ate cast their votes till 5pm in the election to 56 West Bengal As-sembly constituencies in the sec-ond phase.

Overall, 79.70 per cent voters exercised their franchise in six districts of north Bengal and Birb-hum of south Bengal till 5pm.

In Alipurduar, 82.07 per cent voting were recorded, in Jalpaig-uri 77.69 per cent, Darjeeling 74, North Dinajpur 78.90, South Dinajpur 82.72, Malda 79.60 per cent and Birbhum 82.89.

In seven constituencies of Birb-hum, affected by left-wing ex-tremism, polling concluded early at 4pm as a precautionary meas-ure. Voting went on till 6pm in the remaining seats.

After compilation and scru-tiny, final voting percentage fig-ures will be available on Sunday, sources said. Controversial Tri-namool Congress leader Anubrata Mandal, who has been put under round-the-clock surveillance by the Election Commission, faced the ire of the poll panel for not fol-lowing their instructions.

Two FIRs — one for going out of his constituency despite warning and another one for going to cast vote sporting party symbol on his kurta - are being lodged against him. Besides sporadic cases of

violence, poll boycott call over lo-cal developmental issues was also given at a handful of booths in Malda and Birbhum.

“But they were persuaded to vote after which normal polling proceeded,” West Bengal’s chief electoral officer Sunil Gupta said.

In the second phase, over 12 million electorate will decide the fate of 383 candidates, including 33 women. ADG (law and order) Anuj Sharma said during the day 14 arrests were made in specific cases and another 18 arrests were made under preventive sections.

Out of 13,645 polling stations during the phase, 5090 had been identified as critical ones by the EC. Altogether 16,315 voters were found to be vulnerable vot-ers based on their complaints of being intimidated. Around 3,827 trouble makers, responsible for is-suing threats, were “bound down” by the authorities.

High-profile electoral battle in this phase was at Siliguri where its mayor and former CPI-M minister Ashok Bhattacharya is contesting against former Indian football captain and TMC candi-date Bhaichung Bhutia.

State ministers Gautam Deb, Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury and Sabitri Mitra are also in the poll fray in this phase of election.

Fewer incidentsSoumitra Ray, singer of popular Bengali band Bhoomi, actors Joy Banerjee and Locket Chatterjee and singer Suman Banerjee are also trying their luck in the elec-toral arena. CEO Gupta said there were fewer incidents in this phase

because additional central secu-rity forces were despatched to the state. “The visibility (of secu-rity personnel) was very high this time. It was a conscious effort. Mobile units were also mobilised in a bigger way and so was area domination,” he said.

About 800 companies of central forces are spread over different parts of the state for the polls.

In Malda, a clash between CPI(M) and TMC supporters took place in front of a booth in the Eng-lishbazar Assembly seat, in which two persons, including a TMC poll-ing agent, were injured, police said.

Trouble began when the TMC polling agent protested against al-leged booth jamming by CPI(M). The two sides clashed with lathis outside the booth with the central forces finding it difficult to control them, polling officials said.

TMC polling agent Anup Sarkar was injured and admitted to the

Malda Medical College and Hos-pital. TMC polling agent Asraful Hossain was beaten up at a booth in Chanchal constituency of Mal-da district allegedly by ex-prad-han Maqbul Hossain of Congress, polling officials said.

As a result, polling was tempo-rarily stalled. Hossain has since been arrested, the police said.

Earlier in the morning, a clash between BJP and TMC workers left eight persons injured in Dum-rut village of Birbhum at around 6am before polling began, an EC report said. Three persons were later arrested by the police.

TMC candidate from Siliguri Assembly constituency Bhai-chung Bhutia complained of bo-gus votes being cast at Sriguru Vidyapith booth and a complaint has been registered with EC.

The first phase of polling in West Bengal was held in two parts on April 4 and 11. - PTI

In the second phase,

over 12 million

electorate will decide

the fate of 383

candidates, including

33 women

EXERCISING FRANCHISE: Voters stand in queue while waiting to cast their votes at a polling station in South Dinajpur on Sunday. - PTI


ARTICLE, PHOTOSW W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M

FELICITATION: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar presents me-mento to classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj during the inauguration of ‘Panchtatva’ programme in Patna on Saturday. - PTI

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Western stooge Serraj clings to power in LibyaRichard J. C. Galustian

Libya’s new designate prime minister Fayez Serraj is the Wizard of Oz of the Maghreb. Great and powerful in the eyes of Western

powers, but behind the facade, weak and helpless before the power of Tripoli’s militias.

On Monday 18th April this Wizard act will reach perfection when he addresses the powerful for-eign and defence ministers of the European Union gathered at a dinner in Luxembourg, his words coming to them by video link rather than in person, as he pleads for their help.

But strip away the curtain, and you have a man so lacking in confidence that he has sent his wife and children to live in Britain, far from Libya’s chaos.

Consider: Serraj arrived with his, rather the UN’s, self-proclaimed, absurdly named, Presi-dential Council passing off as the Government of National Accord by Libyan warship in the capital a fortnight ago, because militias had threatened to shoot down his plane. But this arrival was a sham. He was taken most of the way from exile in Tunis by Italian warship, then transferred to a barely sea worthy Libyan patrol boat for the last leg of the journey to preserve the illusion that this was a Libyan operation.

Even before he left Tunis, two of his nine-strong presidency quit, accusing him of sidestepping the elected parliament in Tobruk, who’s authority is required to make his position legal. As for his cabi-net of 30 ministers and 60 deputy ministers, they are nowhere to be seen, most content to stay be-hind in Tunis.

No matter. For Britain and America, his chief backers, both eyeing fat oil contracts if things work out, Serraj is Libya’s saviour. They have plucked an obscure Tripoli businessman to bring peace to Lib-ya, ending the war between the Islamist National Salvation government in Tripoli and the elected parliament (HOR) in Tobruk. The plan then is for Serraj to head a united Libyan army crushing both IS and the migrant-smuggling gangs, the West’s twin Libya headaches. As if.

To preserve this illusion, western dignitaries are arriving in staged visits to the Libyan capital, a vir-tual Potemkin Village show in which they pretend their new guy is in control.

They arrive amid tight security at the city cen-tre Mitega airport, guarded by the few militias who

have taken Serraj’s side, and his promise of fat pay rises. From there it is a nervy two mile dash in ar-moured cars down the coastal highway to the naval base. Once the dignitaries are inside, they stay long enough for the all-important photographs showing handshakes and meetings among the potted plants before scurrying away again.

On Saturday, the French and German foreign ministers completed this sham just in time: Soon after their planes flew away, a militia blew up the home of a politician who had dared object to the new government. Hours later, another mili-tia attacked the home of deputy designate prime minister, Ahmed Maiteeg from Misrata. Neither man was home, wisely staying well clear of this militia-infested city, but the second attack saw rival militias bring tanks onto the streets in fight-ing that spluttered for five hours. Of Serraj there was no sign. He has spent most of the last fortnight abroad, in Cairo, Istanbul, London and Tunis, any-where but Libya.

America’s Libya envoy Jonathan Winer tried to play down Saturday’s fighting, tweeting: “Shots fired, clash unintended & over quickly.” That might convince those in Western capitals. It does not convince those Tripolitanians who spent Saturday night cowering in their basements.

None of this will be mentioned in Monday night’s Luxembourg gala dinner. EU leaders will maintain the facade, and in fact enhance it, prom-ising troops, aid workers and diplomats to be sent to Tripoli, with scant regard for the safety of these personel in Libya’s equivalent of Dodge City.

The fallout from this mess will be felt hard in Malta. IS will remain dug in on the coast a cou-ple of hundred miles south, ready to carry out its threat to launch attacks on Europe. And the mili-tias, making hundreds of millions of dollars from the operation, will continue sending tens of thou-sands of migrants on their precarious journey north to Europe.

And Malta’s own initiative to stop Libya’s war has been cut from under it. A few months ago, To-bruk parliament’s leader Agila Saleh and his rival in Tripoli Nuri Abu Sahmain were invited for their first face-to-face meeting in Malta, to try and sort out their differences. — Exclusive to Times of Oman

Experts should not generalise digestion processes This refers to the story, Benefits of being an early riser (April 15). Latest scientific studies show that this adage does not work for everybody. Some people are unable to perform during the day after

rising early. Also there are many body types which cause people to fall sick after eating a heavy breakfast. It is important for doctors and nutritionists to take this into consid-eration before giving medical advice. Some individuals get acidity even from small pieces of bread while others are able digest a large amount of food. This shows medical experts should not generalise cause and effects and look at biochemical processes of each person as unique. — Rachel Bloom, Muscat

Rousseff destroying Brazil by clinging onto power This refers to the story, Rousseff scrambles for votes to avert impeachment (April 16). It is a pity to see the Brazil’s leader clinging to power and destroying the country. It might be true her predecessor Lula had greatly

developed the country, however, instead of accepting her dismal per-forming and accepting popular resentment she is needlessly being egoistic. — Tom Kane, Seeb

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Council of State Office meetsMUSCAT: The Council of State Office yesterday held its ninth meet-ing of the year under the chairmanship of Sheikh Hamoud bin Abdul-lah Al Harthy, president of the council. After approving minutes of the past ordinary meeting, the office reviewed list of procedures taken to implement the decisions of its last meeting. The office then made a comprehensive assessment for the deliberations of the second ordi-nary session of the first year for the second term of the council, which concluded its deliberations in March 28.

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Real estate giants call for government policy encouraging expats to buy property in Oman.

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PAKISTANM O N DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

Peshawar school attack woke us up as a nation, says Hina

ISLAMABAD: Former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar said Pakistan had missed out on the benefits of the region it found it-self in. “In time, we have become part of the problems in this re-gion,” she said.

Speaking at a session titled ‘Softening the Hard Country’, she said the global theatre of war having shifted to Libya and Syria had “moved the lens away from Afghanistan and Pakistan”, giving Pakistan room to recalibrate its approach. She also said Pakistan had finally begun facing internal challenges such as extremism and insurgency.

“[The attack on (Peshawar’s) Army Public School woke us up as a nation,” she said.

Asked how Pakistan could repo-sition itself in a rapidly changing,

multi-powered world, Khar said Pakistan becoming involved in any war outside its territory would be a “repeat of old mistakes”.

She said the country needed to “gain ground within” while build-ing better relationships with its neighbours.

She also commented on how Pakistan’s foreign policy goals were never truly established, saying that Pakistan always had a “seat on the table, but for the wrong reasons”.

“The single most important thing to me is that Pakistan has survived,” said author and edu-cator Anatol Lieven, much to the audience’s amusement. Lieven is author of “Pakistan: A Hard Country”, after which the session was named.

He said that at a time when

many were discussing the col-lapse of the Pakistani state, four Middle-Eastern countries had in reality collapsed.

He cautiously opined that “If CPEC projects come through, and if they can be used effectively, the investment will transform Paki-stan’s economy,” but added that “These were two big ifs.”

Contrary to Khar, Lieven was not as optimistic about the East-West corridors, stating that while Iran offered much economic po-tential, its success would require

the end of the Afghan civil war.Asked if China’s economic in-

vestments will bring stability to the region, Khar said the issue was a live topic, determined largely by geography and history.

US provocationLieven stressed that diplomats in South Asia must ensure that old rivalries do not poison economic stability.

He said he was relieved when India refused to take part in po-tentially provocative US naval

exercise in the South China Sea. “Pakistan suffered much under the old Cold War, I hope it does not suffer under a new one,” he explained.

Regarding trade with Afghani-stan, he said Pakistan needed to address the issue of massive smuggling across the Afghani-stan-Pakistan border.

Interrelated fears“If the Pak-Afghan relationship improves, it can lead to improved Pak-Indian relations,” he said, explaining that the fears of both countries are interrelated.

He also said the military’s role in policymaking needed to be de-fined and was surprised that Pa-kistan lacked a full-time foreign minister given the challenges before her.

To a question by The Express Tribune, Lieven said the kinship and feudal structures mentioned in his book had kept Pakistan intact during volatility while also being the country’s great re-tarding forces. As a professor at Georgetown University in Doha, he said he recognised the impor-tance of kinship structures, but said an intensive cultural and economic process was needed to transcend them for Pakistan to truly progress. — Express Tribune

The former foreign minister said the global

theatre of war having shifted to Libya

and Syria had ‘moved the lens away from

Afghanistan and Pakistan’, giving Pakistan

room to recalibrate its approach

Referring to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as a North-South connection, Hina said equally important was an East-West connection, that is a link between India and Central Asia through AfghanistanHina Rabbani Khar

US warns citizens to avoid Islamabad’s Marriott hotelISLAMABAD: The United States has advised its citizens to avoid the area around Islamabad’s Marriott hotel in the wake of an imminent terror threat.

“The embassy is aware of a gen-eral but uncorroborated threat against the Marriott hotel in Is-lamabad. US citizens are advised to avoid the area for the next sever-

al days to allow time to assess the situation,” said an advisory posted on the website of the US embassy in Islamabad on Saturday.

The embassy reminded US citizens there was an active travel warning for Pakistan issued on April 7, 2016 and a worldwide travel alert issued on November 23, 2015.

“US citizens are urged to defer all non-essential travel to Paki-stan. US citizens in Pakistan are strongly urged to avoid hotels that do not apply stringent security measures,” the statement said.

“The Mission reminds those US citizens considering travel to or remaining in Pakistan de-spite this warning to enroll in the

Smart Traveler Enrolment Pro-gram (STEP), keep a trusted friend informed of your movements in country, maintain vigilant situ-ational awareness, avoid large crowds, keep a low profile, and avoid visiting locations frequented by Westerners,” it added.

The message pointed out that official US Mission personnel and

visitors were not allowed to use public transportation and were not authorised to stay overnight in hotels in Pakistan. “US citizens should exercise caution when traveling in the country, keeping in mind the high security threat level,” the mission’s advisory said.

US travellers were also asked to vary their times and routes when

traveling anywhere in Pakistan, and to avoid travel patterns to any such locations that might allow other persons to predict when and where they will be. “US citi-zens are further advised to verify that travel documents, visas, and residency documents remain valid and accessible at all times,” the embassy said. — Express Tribune

A C T I V E T R A V E L W A R N I N G

PTI allowed to hold rally on April 24ISLAMABAD: Interior Minis-ter Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has cleared the decks for a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf rally at Islama-bad’s F-9 Park in commemora-tion of the party’s foundation day on April 24.

“No hurdles should be created in [PTI’s] April 24 rally,” Nisar instructed the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration as he asked it to settle all matters with the local PTI leadership.

There was a caveat though. The interior minister insists that PTI supporters peacefully disperse at the given time. Furthermore, he also directed the ICT administra-tion to ensure that routine life of the citizens remains unaffected by the rally, said an interior ministry statement.

Media reports suggest that PTI chief Imran Khan persuaded the interior minister to allow the rally when the two men were travel-ling on a London-bound flight last week.

Imran had given the government until April 24 to constitute a judi-cial commission under the incum-bent chief justice of the top court to probe Panama Papers leaks. Panama Papers revealed earlier this month that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ’s three children had stashed away their money in off-shore companies. — Express Tribune

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Earthquake kills 233 in Ecuador

MANTA (ECUADOR): The death toll from Ecuador’s biggest earthquake in decades soared to at least 233 on Sunday as rescu-ers using tractors and bare hands hunted desperately for survivors in shattered coastal towns.

The 7.8 magnitude quake struck off the Pacific coast on Saturday and was felt around the Andean nation of 16 million people, caus-ing panic as far away as the high-land capital Quito and collapsing buildings and roads in a swathe of western towns.

President Rafael Correa, who was rushing home from a trip to Italy, said the confirmed number of fatalities rose on Sunday to 233. “The immediate priority is to res-cue people in the rubble,” he said via Tiwtter.

More than 1,500 people were in-jured, authorities said.

Coastal areas nearest the quake were worst affected, especially Pedernales, a rustic tourist spot with beaches and palm trees. In-formation was scant from there due to poor communications and transport chaos.

“There are people trapped in various places and we are starting rescue operations,” Vice President Jorge Glas said on Sunday morn-ing before boarding a plane to the area. A state of emergency was de-clared in six provinces.

“There are villages totally dev-astated,” Pedernales’ mayor Gabri-el Alcivar told local radio, adding that “dozens and dozens” had died in the rustic zone.

“What happened here in Peder-nales is catastrophic.”

AftershocksAuthorities said there were 135 af-tershocks in the Pedernales area.

One photo on social media pur-porting to be the entrance to Ped-ernales showed a torn up road with a crushed car in the middle and people standing behind. Local TV station Televicentro broadcast images from Pedernales showing

locals using a small tractor to re-move rubble and also search with their hands for people buried un-derneath. Women cried after a corpse was pulled out.

Locals said children were trapped. One man begged for help: “Pedernales is destroyed.”

TerrifyingIn Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, rubble lay in the streets and a bridge fell on top of a car.

“It was terrifying, we were all scared and we’re still out in the streets because we’re worried about aftershocks,” said Guayaquil security guard Fernando Garcia.

About 13,500 security force personnel were mobilised to keep order around Ecuador, and $600 million in credit from multilateral lenders was immediately activated for the emergency, the government said. Ramon Solorzano, 46, a car parts merchant in the coastal city of Manta, said he was leaving with his family. Photos from Manta

showed Red Cross workers arriv-ing, police hunting through debris, a smashed sculpture and badly-damaged buildings.

“Most people are out in the streets with backpacks on, heading for higher ground,” Solorzano said, speaking in a trembling voice on a WhatsApp phone call. “The streets are cracked. The power is out and phones are down.”

Parts of the highland capital Quito were without power or phone service for several hours but the city government said those ser-vices had been restored and there were no reports of casualties in the city. The government called it the worst quake in the country since 1979. In that disaster, 600 people were killed and 20,000 injured, ac-cording to the United States Geo-logical Survey. Among interna-tional aid, Venezuela and Mexico were sending personnel and sup-plies, the Correa government said.

A tsunami warning was lifted on Saturday night but coastal resi-

dents were urged to seek higher ground in case tides rise.

“At first it was light, but it lasted a long time and got stronger,” said Maria Jaramillo, 36, a resident of Guayaquil, describing windows breaking and pieces falling off roofs. “I was on the seventh floor and the light went off in the whole sector, and we evacuated. People were very anxious in the street ... We left barefoot.”

The OPEC member said oil production was not affected, but closed its main refinery of Esmer-aldas, located near the epicenter, as a precautionary measure.

The Ecuadorean quake followed two large and deadly quakes that struck Japan since Thursday. Both countries are located on the seis-mically active “Ring of Fire” that circles the Pacific, but according to the US Geological Survey large quakes separated by such long distances would probably not be related. “Even the earth’s rocky crust is not rigid enough to trans-fer stress efficiently over thou-sands of miles,” it said on its web site. Quakes can cause other big quakes within a range of hundreds of miles, but can cause only small, brief quakes at a distance of thou-sands of miles, it said. — Reuters

The 7.8 magnitude

quake struck off

the Pacific coast on

Saturday, causing

panic as far away as

the highland capital

Quito and collapsing

buildings and roads

in a swathe of

western towns

Rescuers search rubble for survivors, Toyota suspends production

TOKYO: Japanese rescue teams on Sunday scoured the splintered remains of buildings destroyed by a series of deadly earthquakes in southern Japan as time ran out for finding survivors and as major Japanese manufacturers face pro-duction losses from supply chain disruptions.

A 7.3 magnitude tremor struck early on Saturday, killing at least 32 people, injuring about a thousand and causing widespread damage to houses, roads and bridges, with at least one mountain highway severed in two, concrete tumbling into the valley below. In the village of Minamiaso, 11 people were “out of contact”, said public broadcaster NHK. Rescuers pulled 10 students out of a collapsed university apart-ment in the same settlement on Saturday. “In Minamiaso, where the damage is concentrated, there may still be people trapped under collapsed buildings, so we are fo-cusing our attention and rescue and search efforts in this area,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters.

It was the second major quake to hit Kumamoto province on the island of Kyushu in just over 24 hours. The first, late on Thursday, killed nine people. Of more than 470 quakes hitting Kyushu since Thursday, 78 have been at least a four on Japan’s intensity scale, strong enough to shake buildings.

Quakes are common in Japan, part of the seismically active “Ring of Fire” which sweeps from the South Pacific islands, up through Indonesia, Japan, across to Alaska

and down the west coast of the United States and Central and South America.

At the other end of the ring this weekend, Ecuador’s biggest earth-quake in decades killed at least 77 people, caused devastation in coastal towns and left an un-known number trapped in ruins. A 6.1 magnitude quake also struck southeast of the Pacific island na-tion of Tonga, with no immediate

reports of damage. Three nuclear plants in the southern Japanese region were unaffected by the sec-ond quake, but the Nuclear Regu-lation Authority said it will hold an extraordinary meeting on Monday to discuss the disaster.

A massive 9 magnitude quake and tsunami in northern Japan in March 2011 caused the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986, shutting down the nuclear

industry for safety checks and sending radiation spewing across the countryside. The first reactor to restart was Kyushu Electric’s Sendai No. 1, which is at one of the plants in the region hit on Satur-day. Nearly 20,000 people were killed in the 2011 tsunami.

The Kumamoto region is an im-portant manufacturing hub.

Toyota Motor Corp said it would suspend production at plants

across Japan after the quakes dis-rupted its supply chain.

Electronics giant Sony Corp said its Kumamoto image sensors plant would remain suspended. One of the company’s major cus-tomers for the sensors is Apple. Meanwhile, Honda Motor Co. said production at its motorcycle plant in southern Japan would remain suspended through Friday.

Suga said the government may seek a supplementary budget to cover the cost of the quakes. “We will do all that we can,” Kyodo News quoted Suga as telling a press briefing.

All commercial flights to the damaged Kumamoto airport were cancelled and Japan’s bullet train to the region suspended. Express-ways are closed in wide areas be-cause of landslides and cracks in road surfaces, hindering efforts to get supplies of water and food to survivors. Overnight, rescuers dig-ging with their bare hands dragged some elderly survivors, still in their pyjamas, out of the rubble and onto makeshift stretchers made of tatami mats.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would boost the number of troops helping to 25,000 and had accepted a US offer of help with air transportation. Heavy rains fuelled worries of more landslides and with hundreds of aftershocks and fears of more quakes, thousands spent the night in evacuation cen-tres. “It’s full in there. There’s not a inch to sleep or even walk about in there. It’s impossible in there,” a resident of Mashiki town said out-

side an evacuation centre.Firefighters handed out tarpau-

lins to residents so they could cover damaged roofs, but many homes were simply deserted. Around 62,700 households were without electricity, water supplies had been disrupted to more than 300,000 homes and some areas had lost their gas supply, said NHK. More than 110,000 people have been evacuated from the Kumamoto area, said Kyodo. Troops set up tents for evacuees and water trucks were being sent to the area while television footage showed people stranded after the fall of a bridge being rescued by helicopters.

Police said 32 people had been confirmed dead in Saturday’s quake. The government said about 190 of the injured were in a seri-ous condition. The epicentre of Saturday’s quake was near the city of Kumamoto and measured at a shallow depth of 10 km (six miles), the United States Geological Sur-vey (USGS) said. The shallower a quake, the more likely it is to cause damage.

The city’s 400-year-old Kum-amoto Castle was badly damaged, with its walls breached after hav-ing withstood bombardment and fire in its four centuries of exist-ence. The USGS, a science organi-sation that provides information on ecosystems and the environ-ment, estimated there was a 72 per cent likelihood of economic dam-age exceeding $10 billion, adding that it was too early to be specific. Major insurers are yet to release estimates. — Reuters

J A P A N

DESTROYED: View of a fallen building after a 7.8-magnitude quake in Portoviejo, Ecuador on Sunday. – AFP


VIDEOW W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M


PHOTOSW W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M

OUTSIDE FOR SAFETY: People take some rest outside a hospital in

Guayaquil on Sunday. – AFP

RESCUE OPERATIONS: Japan Ground Self-Defence Force soldiers conduct search and rescue opera-

tion at a collapsed house at a landslide site caused by an earthquake in Minamiaso town, Kumamoto

prefecture, southern Japan, on Sunday. – Reuters/Kyodo

A15

WORLDM O N DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

Doha oil output freeze talks fail

DOHA: A deal to freeze oil output by OPEC and non-OPEC produc-ers fell apart on Sunday after Sau-di Arabia demanded that Iran join in despite calls on Riyadh to save the agreement and help prop up crude prices.

The development will revive oil industry fears that major produc-ers are embarking again on a battle for market share, especially after Riyadh threatened to raise out-put steeply if no freeze deal were reached.

Some 18 countries, including non-OPEC Russia, gathered in the Qatari capital of Doha for what was expected to be the rubber-stamping of a deal - in the making since February - to stabilise output at January levels until October 2016. But OPEC’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia told participants it wanted all OPEC members to take

part in the freeze, including Iran, which was absent from talks.

Tehran had refused to stabilise production, seeking to regain mar-ket share after the lifting of West-ern sanctions against it in January.

After five hours of fierce debate about the wording of a commu-nique - including between Saudi Arabia and Russia - delegates and

ministers announced no deal had been reached. “We need more time to reach an agreement among all OPEC members and main produc-ers to freeze production, which can be by June,” one OPEC source said.

The failure to reach a global deal could halt a recent recovery in oil prices. “With no deal today, mar-kets’ confidence in OPEC’s abil-

ity to achieve any sensible supply balancing act is likely to diminish and this is surely bearish for the oil markets where prices had rallied partly on expectations of a deal,” said Natixis oil analyst Abhishek Deshpande.

“Without a deal, the likelihood of markets balancing are now pushed back to mid-2017. We will

see a lot of speculators getting out next week,” he added.

“The Doha meeting was an op-portunity for OPEC to polish its tarnished image,” Miswin Mahesh, an analyst at Barclays Plc in Lon-don, said on April 15. “After the fail-ure of OPEC’s December meeting, the market was uneasy about its co-hesion and Doha was a chance for the group to reassert its relevance and build a circle of trust.”

Brent oil has risen to nearly $45 a barrel, up 60 per cent from Janu-ary lows, on optimism that a deal would help ease the supply glut that has seen prices sink from lev-els as high as $115 hit in mid-2014.

Saudi Arabia has taken a tough stance on Iran, the only major OPEC producer to refuse to par-ticipate in the freeze.

Deputy Crown Prince Moham-med bin Salman told Bloomberg that the kingdom could quickly raise production and would re-strain its output only if Iran agreed to a freeze. Iran’s oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Saturday OPEC and non-OPEC should simply ac-cept the reality of Iran’s return to the oil market: “If Iran freezes its oil production... it cannot benefit from the lifting of sanctions.” — Agencies

The development

will revive oil

industry fears that

major producers are

embarking again on

a battle for market

share, especially after

Riyadh threatened

to raise output

steeply if no freeze

deal were reached

Iran displays Russian S-300 defence systemDUBAI: Iran showed off parts of its new Russian S-300 missile defence system during National Army Day on Sunday, where Pres-ident Hassan Rouhani said the country’s armed forces were no threat to neighbouring countries.

Every year, Iran’s armed forces hold parades across the country to mark Army Day. In a ceremo-ny in Tehran, broadcast live on state television, trucks carrying the missiles drove past a podium where Rouhani and military commanders were standing. Sol-diers also marched passed the po-dium and fighter jets and bomb-ers took part in an air display.

“The power of our armed forces is not aimed at any of our neighbours... Its purpose is to de-fend Iran and act as an active de-terrent,” Rouhani was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA, in a speech at the Army Day ceremony.

Russia delivered the first part of the S-300 missile defence system to Iran last week, one of the most advanced systems of its kind that can engage multi-ple aircraft and ballistic missiles

around 150km (90 miles) away.Russia has said it cancelled a

contract to deliver S-300s to Iran in 2010 under pressure from the West. President Vladimir Putin lifted the ban in April 2015, after an interim agreement that paved the way for July’s full nuclear deal with Iran that ended inter-national sanctions.

Since then, Iran has upset the United States by carrying out four ballistic missile tests, which the United States and its Euro-pean allies said were in defiance of the United Nations resolution adopted in July. Rouhani said on Sunday that during the nuclear talks Iranian negotiators also aimed to maintain and boost the country’s military capabilities.

Iran has two armies, a regular one which operates as a national defensive force, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that was created after the Revolution to protect the country against both internal and external adver-saries. The army has the biggest ground force in Iran and IRGC is in control of growing arsenal of ballistic missiles. — Reuters

A R M Y D A Y P A R A D E

Heavy rain in Chile affect millionsSANTIAGO: Heavy rains bat-tering central Chile have left an estimated 4 million people without drinking water as land-slides wreaked havoc and rivers breached their banks, leaving at least one person dead and closing the world’s largest copper mine.

A woman was killed by a land-slide in the San Jose de Maipo valley, a mountainous region just southeast of capital city Santiago, while a special police force is searching for another four peo-ple in the same area, said Ricardo Toro, the head of Chile’s Onemi emergency office.

Television images showed streets in Providencia, an upscale neighborhood of Santiago, overrun by flood waters after the Mapocho River breached its banks.

Codelco, the world’s top cop-per producer, said the rains forced the Chilean state-owned miner to suspend production at its century-old underground El Teniente mine, likely leading to the loss of 5,000 tonnes of copper. Global miner Anglo American Plc suspended mining activities at its flagship Los Bronces copper mine and the smaller El Soldado depos-it for security reasons. — Reuters

C O P P E R O U T P U T H I T

SHOW OF STRENGTH: An Iranian military truck carries parts of

the S300 missile system during the Army Day parade in Tehran

on Sunday. – AFP

Television images showed streets in

Providencia, an upscale neighborhood of

Santiago, overrun by flood waters after

the Mapocho River breached its banks.

TALKS: Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhy, Oman’s Minister of Oil and Gas, arrives to a meeting be-

tween OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers, in Doha, Qatar on Sunday. – Reuters

OIL PRODUCERS SIGN UPFOR DOHA MEETING

Source: U.S. EIA GraphicsReuters /

As many as 15 oil-producing countries have officially confirmed their attendance for the meeting in Doha, talking on a deal to freeze output at January levels to support the global oil market

Attendingcountries

RussiaSaudi Arabia

IraqIranUAE

MexicoKuwait

VenezuelaAngolaNigeriaAlgeriaOman

IndonesiaQatar

EcuadorBahrain

Not Attendingcountries

USChina

CanadaBrazil

ColombiaLibya

50

46

Daily oil production(million barrels)


MARKEWWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMM O N DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6B

DIGEST VIDEO

S CA N T H I S Q R CO D E TO I N STA N T LY L AU N C H T H E V I D EO

Top stories in one minute with our new daily Digest

Kuwait crude output drops as workers strike over pay DUBAI: Kuwait’s crude pro-duction tumbled by 60 per cent and its refineries scaled back operations as the state oil com-pany took emergency measures to cope with the first day of an open-ended labour strike.

The Opec member’s produc-tion dropped to 1.1 million barrels a day, Saad Al Azmi, deputy chief executive for finance and spokes-man at Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC), said in posts on Instagram and Twitter on Sunday when workers walked off the job. Kuwait Petroleum Corp., the parent company for KOC and other operating units, will continue providing fuel to the local market and can meet de-mand from international custom-ers for exports, it said on Twitter.

Cutting spendingKuwait is among Middle East-ern oil producers that are cut-ting spending and benefits to plug holes that the oil-price drop of nearly 30 per cent in the past year has punched in gov-ernment budgets.

Prices have fallen as rising output from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Coun-tries (Opec) and other suppliers

has created a global glut. Kuwait produced 2.81 million barrels a day last month, making it Opec’s fourth-largest member, while worldwide supply exceeded de-mand by 1.6 million in the first quarter, according to the Interna-tional Energy Agency (IEA).

‘Shocking’ declineThe plunge in Kuwait’s output “is just shocking,” Edward Bell, a commodities analyst at Dubai-based bank Emirates NBD PJSC, said Sunday by phone. “That would take care of the surplus right there. There could be quite a bit of upside in oil tomorrow.”

Oil ministers from producing countries such as Saudi Arabia, Opec’s largest member, and Rus-sia are meeting in Doha on Sun-day to discuss a proposal to freeze oil output to help prop up prices. Brent crude closed at $43.10 a barrel Friday, posting gains of about 25 per cent since the freeze was proposed in mid-February. News of a possible deal from that meeting could be overshadowed by the impact of Kuwait’s reduced production, Bell said.

Kuwait’s oil and gas refiner-ies are processing 520,000 bar-

rels a day of crude, said Khaled Al Asousi, spokesman for Kuwait National Petroleum Co.

The state-owned refinery unit reduced processing rates at the country’s three oil plants, which have a combined capacity of about 900,000 barrels a day, due to emergency measures and be-cause less supply is available from KOC, he said.

Members of the 13,000-strong Oil & Petrochemical Industries Workers Confederation are pro-testing cuts in their wages and benefits, Saif Al Qahtani, the union’s leader, said by phone Thursday. About 6,000 work-ers walked off the job when the strike began Sunday, CNBC Ara-biya cited him as saying. Union officials couldn’t be reached for comment on Sunday.

Natural gas production stood at 620 million standard cubic feet a day, Al Azmi said. Kuwait’s refineries process crude into re-fined products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for domestic use and export.

Negotiations with the strikers were continuing, Mohammed Al Shatti, Kuwait’s representative to Opec, said in Doha. — Bloomberg News

N A T I O N A L O I L C O M P A N Y

IMF’s COMMUNIQUEIn its communique, International Monetary Fund asked member countries to refrain from competitive devaluations and all forms of protectionism as it underlined the need for global cooperation in combating corruption. — PTI

SPAR plans to open 24 outlets across the Sultanate by 2017

BABA [email protected]

MUSCAT: Vowing to tap the largely unexploited retail outlet market in the Sultanate, SPAR International — a Dutch multi-national retail chain — plans to

open 24 outlets in Oman by 2017, a top-level company executive told Times of Oman.

“This year, we plan to open 14 stores. By the end of 2017, we will have 24 outlets across Oman,” Tobias Wasmuht, managing di-rector, SPAR International, told

TOO in an exclusive interview. He said: “I think there is consider-able opportunity for multi-format retailing in Oman — which today is very much historically driven by hypermarkets. The future will show that there is not only oppor-tunity but demand for greater vari-

ety of formats.” The company has united with Khimji Ramdas — the licenced SPAR Partner for Oman — operational since 1870 and one of the leading business conglomer-ates in the Sultanate.

“Our operations are local and all of the profit in the business is reinvested back into this country. We are not an international con-glomerate that is taking value out. We are bringing value into Oman,” he said.

Wasmuht said his company looks forward to exploit what he said is the “fragmented” market in entire GCC.

“If you look at the current mar-ket in GCC, the most concentrat-ed market is UAE where the top three retail players have 27 per cent share of the market. In Saudi Arabia the top three players have only 12 per cent of share. In GCC, the market is pretty fragmented and our role is using our multi for-mat retail strategy, large extensive

store network in coming years to get a major share of that market,” the SPAR official said.

Unlike other major players like Lulu and Carrefour, SPAR official said that their strength lies in offering multi-format (small, medium and big) retail outlets to diversified population at various locations.

“Which means we get penetra-tion. Our strength is our multi-for-mat stores,” he said, adding “They [Lulu and Carrefour] are predomi-nantly large format stores. If we look at Oman within the GCC in terms of food retail, about seven per cent of food retail comes from Oman. Oman for SPAR will be of greater significance and impor-tance. Oman punches above its weight and we believe we have a strong partner,” he said. Wasmuht became the Managing Director of SPAR International, assuming responsibility for the worldwide development and co-ordination

of the SPAR organisation. He says he is focused on the development of SPAR as a global retail brand through international brand com-munication combined with retail and supply chain development.

“In terms of how we differ from other players, we’ve diversified formats in hyper, super, conveni-ent stores, neighborhood stores and all that. We offer retail formats from 100 square metres to 12000 square metres in over 42 countries which means Khimji Ramdas can immediately access things, tried and tested across these countries and bring them into this market. So that’s the key. Our core value is also freshness,” he added.

The company official said their Ominisation engagement is over 50 per cent. “Our long term we want to see ourselves at the top of the market. We have potential to lead the market. We are extremely bullish and excited at what we have achieved so far,” he said.

This year, we plan

to open 14 stores. By

the end of 2017, we

will have 24 outlets

across Oman, a

senior executive of

the company said BRINGING IN VALUE FOR MONEY: Tobias Wasmuht, managing

director, SPAR International. — Supplied picture

LABOUR STRIKE: Kuwaiti oil sector employees sit in a shaded area on the first day of an official

strike called by the Oil and Petrochemical Industries Workers’ Union over public sector pay reforms,

in Ahmadi, Kuwait, on Sunday. - Reuters

B2

MARKETM O N DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

Regulator clears changes in rule on insurance agents

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Oman’s insurance regulator Capital Market Author-ity (CMA) has approved the new amendments to the Insurance Agents’ Regulation.

Sheikh Abullah Salim Al Sal-mi, executive president of Capi-tal Market Authority has con-firmed that the new amendment to the Insurance Agents’ Regu-lation focuses on Omanisaton of the profession to achieve added

value to the national economy and the partnership with the private sectors.

The insurance sector grew by 14.8 per cent in the past seven years with the turnover touching OMR446 million.

The statement was made in con-

junctions with the issuance of De-cision No. 28/2016 which was pub-lished in the Official Gazette which granted the agents six months to adjust their situation except the provision for Omanisation which is required in three years.

Supporting SMEsHe explained that the amendment was made after assessment of the situation in light of the former version of the regulation which provides for a number of the re-quirements for obtaining the li-cence. The key changes included Omanisation of the profession and the support of the investment ini-tiatives in establishing small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

He point out that the insurance agent plays an important role in marketing the insurance products over a large geographical area.

The insurance sector has wit-nessed legislative and regulatory developments this year such as the amendments to the Moto Vehicle Insurance Law, the Unified Motor Insurance Policy and the Insur-ance brokers regulation.

The new regulation

allows agents

to adjust their

situation within six

months, except for

Omanisation

Sheikh Abullah Salim Al Salmi, executive president of Capital

Market Authority. - File picture

Over 5,000 visitors flock to Omani products’ exhibitionTimes News Service

MUSCAT: More than 5,000 visitors representing various seg-ments of the Ethiopian business society got acquainted with Om-ani products, majority of whom hailed the excellent quality of the displayed Omani products at the Opex 2016 in the Ethiopian capi-tal Addis Ababa.

At the recently concluded Om-ani Products Exhibition, visitors interacted with the participating companies which exceeded 100 Omani firms representing differ-ent sectors in addition to govern-ment bodies and small and me-dium enterprises (SMEs).

Ayman Abdullah Al Hasani, vice-chairman for economic and branches affairs at Oman Cham-ber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), and chairman of Opex Organising Committee noted that initial data confirms the success of

Opex event in Addis Ababa, where Omani firms were able to sign agreements, agency contracts, and import and export contracts.

“Going beyond the borders of the GCC area serves in gaining a new experience for the compa-nies and choosing Addis Ababa as a destination for Opex 2016 was the right decision. The exhibition shall boost trade relations be-tween the Sultanate and Ethiopia in addition to the other African countries,” Al Hasani said.

Ayman Abdullah Al Hasani, vice-chairman for economic and branches affairs at Oman Cham-ber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), and chairman of Opex Organising Committee said that the Ethiopian market is a promis-ing one and has significant oppor-tunities for the Omani products.

During his visit to Opex 2016, Solomon Afework, president of Ethiopian Chamber of Com-

merce and Sectoral Associations (ECCSA) affirmed that efforts are being made to advance the trade relations between Oman and Ethiopia. “The great interest from both sides to have bilateral business contracts is based on the competitive quality of the Omani products,” Afework said.

A field visit for the Omani firms was organised on the sidelines of the exhibition to a number of Ethiopian industrial estates to get acquainted with their expe-rience in terms of the facilities offered by the government, chal-lenges, and shipping, import and export mechanisms.

Omani datesThe outstanding packaging and quality of Omani dates impressed the visitors to Opex 2016 plat-form. Abdullah Al Mardi, gen-eral manager of National United Dates Company.

O P E X 2 0 1 6

EXHIBITION: At the recently concluded Omani Products Exhibition in Ethiopia, visitors interacted

with the participating companies. More than 100 Omani firms from different sectors, government

agencies and small and medium enterprises participated in the exhibition. - Supplied picture

B3M O N DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

MARKETTwo Omanis find place in the latest list of region’s richest

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Oman’s Sheikh Suhail Bahwan and Mohammed Saud Bahwan are among the five new billionaires from the region in-cluded in the Forbes Middle East list. Altogether, the Sultanate has three billionaires, whose worth is valued at $6.2 billion.

Sheikh Suhail Bahwan started out as a trader before diversifying into several industries, whereas Mohammed Saud Bahwan’s late father became Toyota’s dealer in Oman in 1975 and built it into

a market leader, according to a statement from Forbes.

Other three billionaires added to the list include Hussain Sa-jwani of the UAE, ranked 8, with net worth of $3.2 billion; Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thaniof Qa-tar, ranked 18, with a net worth $2 billion; and Abdul Wahid Al Rostamaniof the UAE, ranked 28, with net worth $1.3 billion.

Prince Alwaleed of Saudi Ara-bia remains the No.1 Arab billion-aire, even though his net worth fell by more than 20 per cent from a year ago. The net worth of the

wealthiest Arab in the list is $17.3 billion. Last year, Arab billionaires saw their net worth drop by 23.8 per cent from a year ago.

‘Forbes Middle East’ is the Middle Eastern arm of the world renowned ‘Forbes’ magazine. Its audience includebillionaires, powerful Arabs and expats, entre-preneurs, senior corporate man-agers and government officials united by a belief in free enter-prise and entrepreneurial values.

At 7, Lebanon has the most bil-lionaires, making it also one the countries with the highest num-ber of billionaires per capita in the world. Saudi billionaires are the richest with a combined net worth of $34.6 billion.

The second richest are from the UAE with a combined net worth of $19.7 billion.

Among the families, Saudi Ara-bia again tops the rich list, with 12 of the 15 richest families. Nine out of the 15 families made a fortune

owning licensing rights to foreign brands, mostly American.

By country, Saudi Arabia has 6 billionaires worth $34.6 billion; the UAE has 6 billionaires worth $19.7 billion; Egypt has 6 billion-aires, worth $14.2 billion; Leba-non has 7 billionaires worth $12.5 billion; Morocco has 2 billionaires with a new worth of $3.2 billion; Algeria has 1 billionaire worth $3.1 billion; Qatar also has1 bil-lionaire worth $2 billion.

The 69-year-old Olayan Group of Saudi Arabia remains one of the largest family-owned holdings in the Middle East. It has partner-ships with Kimberly Clark, Coca-Cola and General Foods, among other companies.

Sheikh Suhail Bahwan and Mohammed Saud

Bahwan are among the five new billionaires

added to ‘Forbes Middle East’ list

MUSCATSECURITIES MARKET

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR SUNDAY, APRIL 17

REGULAR MARKET .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................OM0000001160 ............NATIONAL GAS ........................................................... 261,820 ............85,391..................... 67 ........... 0.324 ........... 0.330 ...........0.320........... 0.326 .............0.300 ........... 0.026 ............. 8.667 ................0.326..............0.326...................0.328 ..................17,930,000 .........0.100

OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES ..................................... 503,859 ..........117,205..................... 36 ........... 0.220 ...........0.240 ...........0.220 .......... 0.233 .............0.222 ............0.011 ............. 4.955 ................0.230............. 0.224...................0.230 .................. 67,721,688 .........0.100

OM0000002176 ............AL JAZEERA STEEL PRODUCTS ........................ 561,099 ........... 95,937......................51 ............0.181 ........... 0.181............0.169 ............0.171 ............. 0.166............ 0.005 ............. 3.012 ................0.169 .............. 0.161...................0.169 ................... 21,357,551 .........0.100

OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ........... 2,196,077 ..... 262,202...................124 ............0.118 ........... 0.123 ........... 0.117 ............0.119 ............. 0.116 ............ 0.003 ............. 2.586 ................ 0.117 .............. 0.116................... 0.117 ................... 10,710,000 .........0.100

OM0000001087 ............OMAN UNITED INSURANCE ............................... 532,000 ......... 144,281......................31 ........... 0.275 ........... 0.275 ...........0.262............0.271 .............0.268 ........... 0.003 ..............1.119 .................0.262..............0.262...................0.265...................27,100,000 .........0.100

OM0000001707 ............OMAN CABLES INDUSTRY ......................................28,098 .............47,955........................4 ............1.710 ............1.710 ............1.680 ............1.705 ............. 1.695 .............0.010 ............. 0.590 ................1.680 ............. 0.000...................1.680 ..................152,938,500........0.100

OM0000001418 ............RAYSUT CEMENT ........................................................ 13,001 ............. 13,916........................7 ............1.070 ........... 1.100 ...........1.065 ........... 1.070 ............. 1.065............ 0.005 ............. 0.469 ................1.065 .............. 1.065................... 1.100 ................. 214,000,000 .......0.100

OM0000001483 ............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN .....................................2,000 .................. 540........................ 1 ........... 0.270 ........... 0.270 ...........0.270............0.271 ............. 0.271............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.270..............0.250...................0.269 .................399,665,726 ........0.100

OM0000001517 ............HSBC BANK OMAN .................................................... 435,000 ........... 44,370......................16 ............0.102 ........... 0.102 ...........0.102 ........... 0.102 .............0.102 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.102 ..............0.102...................0.105 ..................204,031,905 .......0.100

OM0000001749 ............OMAN CEMENT .............................................................. 1,800 ...................881........................2 ........... 0.490 ...........0.490 ...........0.488 ........... 0.480 .............0.480 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.488 ..............0.486...................0.488.................. 158,818,901 ........0.100

OM0000002168 ............AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ............................... 333,000 ............93,573........................9 ............0.281 ........... 0.281 ...........0.281 ........... 0.281 ............. 0.281............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.281 ..............0.266...................0.280 ..................83,236,045 .........0.100

OM0000002200 ...........AHLI BANK .................................................................... 466,908 ........... 84,977........................4 ............0.182 ........... 0.182 ...........0.182 ........... 0.182 ............. 0.182............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.182 .............. 0.170...................0.182 ..................259,356,578 ........0.100

OM0000002366 ...........AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING ........................90,700 ................7,781........................6 ........... 0.086 ........... 0.086 ...........0.085 ........... 0.086 .............0.086 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.085 ..............0.085...................0.086....................2,580,000 ..........0.100

OM0000002549 ...........BANK DHOFAR ............................................................ 124,000 ............31,620........................4 ........... 0.255 ........... 0.255 ...........0.255 ........... 0.255 .............0.255 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.255 ..............0.255...................0.256..................433,296,357........0.100

OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 788,377 ..........313,776......................51 ........... 0.400 ...........0.400 ...........0.398........... 0.398 .............0.398 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.398 ..............0.394...................0.398..................993,507,603 ........0.100

OM0000003125 ............GLOBAL FINANCIAL INVESTMENT ....................4,000 .................. 496........................ 1 ............0.124 ........... 0.124 ...........0.124 ............0.131 ............. 0.131 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.124 ..............0.120...................0.124 .................. 26,200,000 ........0.100

OM0000003711 ............SOHAR POWER ...................................................................... 50 ..................... 17........................ 1 ........... 0.330 ........... 0.330 ...........0.330........... 0.352 .............0.352 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.330.............. 0.318...................0.330 .................. 77,795,520 .........0.100

OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO....................................................................... 328,600 ......... 243,136..................... 43 ............0.740 ........... 0.740 ...........0.736 ........... 0.740 ............. 0.740 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.736 .............. 0.736...................0.792 ..................481,698,730 ........0.100

OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL ...............................................19,000 ............... 1,412........................3 ............0.075 ........... 0.075 ...........0.074 ........... 0.074 .............0.074 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.074 ..............0.073...................0.074...................12,950,000 .........0.100

OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS ....................................................2,050 ..................820........................2 ........... 0.400 ...........0.400 ...........0.400 .......... 0.404 .............0.404 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.400............. 0.400...................0.404 ..................21,210,000 .........0.100

OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ............ 373,657 ......... 100,863......................61 ........... 0.274 ........... 0.274 ...........0.268........... 0.270 ............. 0.271............-0.001 ........... -0.369 ...............0.268..............0.268...................0.270 ...................5,670,000 ..........0.100

OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ........................ 149,889.......... 236,917..................... 25 ............1.590 ........... 1.590 ...........1.550 ........... 1.580 ............. 1.590............-0.010 ........... -0.629 ...............1.550 .............. 1.550...................1.580 ................1,185,000,000 ......0.100

OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 625,792 ..........136,471..................... 67 ............0.217 ...........0.220 ...........0.217 ........... 0.218 .............0.220 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.909 ...............0.217 .............. 0.217...................0.219 ................... 32,716,350 .........0.100

OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE .............. 242,500 ............51,045........................8 ............0.213 ........... 0.213 ...........0.210 ........... 0.210 ............. 0.213............-0.003 ........... -1.408 ...............0.210 ............. 0.202...................0.210 .................. 42,000,000 ........0.100

OM0000001533 ............OMINVEST .................................................................... 400,000........ 200,000........................5 ........... 0.500 ...........0.500 ...........0.500........... 0.500 .............0.508 ...........-0.008 ............-1.575 ................0.500..............0.486...................0.500 .................317,895,444 ........0.100

OM0000002226 ...........AL JAZEERA SERVICES ............................................ 21,470 ...............5,689........................3 ........... 0.268 ........... 0.268 ...........0.258........... 0.265 ............. 0.271............-0.006 ........... -2.214 ...............0.258 ............. 0.244...................0.257................... 16,219,132 .........0.100

OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR................................................................ 2,334,906 .....369,397..................... 30 ............0.158 ........... 0.161 ............0.157 ............0.158 ............. 0.163............-0.005 ........... -3.067 ...............0.158 .............. 0.158...................0.160 ................. 250,522,272 .......0.100

OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 3,964,967......366,867................... 168 ........... 0.097 ........... 0.097 ...........0.090........... 0.093 .............0.096 ...........-0.003 ............-3.125................0.091 ..............0.090...................0.092 ..................26,968,199 .........0.100

OM0000001145 ............PORT SERVICES CORPORATION ....................... 306,000 ........... 69,265..................... 30 ........... 0.230 ...........0.230 ...........0.221 ........... 0.226 .............0.234 ...........-0.008 ............-3.419................0.222............. 0.222...................0.224 ..................21,479,040 .........0.100

OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING ........... 446,500 ........... 55,289......................19 ............0.125 ........... 0.127 ...........0.120 ........... 0.124 ............. 0.130............-0.006 ........... -4.615................0.120 ...............0.117...................0.120 ................... 15,112,500 .........0.100

OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY .....................................................10,000 .............. 4,200........................5 ........... 0.420 ...........0.420 ...........0.420........... 0.420 .............0.442 ...........-0.022 ........... -4.977 ...............0.420............. 0.400...................0.420 ..................25,410,000 .........0.100

OM0000001962 ............AL MADINA INVESTMENT ................................... 616,022 ............38,051..................... 37 ............0.061 ........... 0.063 ...........0.061 ........... 0.062 .............0.066 ...........-0.004 ........... -6.061................0.062.............. 0.061...................0.062 ..................12,843,386 .........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 16,183,142 3,224,338................... 921 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......32........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PARALLEL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000001566 ............OMAN FISHERIES ..................................................... 3,735,327 ...... 279,671................... 193 ............0.075 ........... 0.077 ...........0.073 ........... 0.075 .............0.073 ........... 0.002 ............. 2.740 ................0.074 ..............0.073...................0.074.................... 9,375,000 ..........0.100

OM0000004776 ...........TAKAFUL OMAN INSURANCE ............................. 23,000 ...............2,839........................6 ............0.123 ........... 0.125 ...........0.123 ............0.123 .............0.120 ........... 0.003 .............2.500 ................0.125 ...............0.115...................0.128 ...................12,300,000 .........0.100

OM0000001046............PACKAGING CO. LTD ........................................................668 .................. 349........................ 1 ........... 0.522 ........... 0.522 ...........0.522........... 0.522 .............0.522 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.522..............0.470...................0.000 ................... 1,566,000 ..........1.000

OM0000001053 ............OMAN TEXTILE HOLDING ....................................... 4,021 ............... 1,287........................2 ........... 0.320 ...........0.320 ...........0.320........... 0.320 .............0.320 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.320..............0.320...................0.352....................1,920,000 ..........1.000

OM0000001368 ............CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. .................. 140,000 ............. 4,880..................... 10 ........... 0.035 ........... 0.035 ...........0.034........... 0.035 .............0.035 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.034..............0.034...................0.035....................2,975,000 ..........0.100

OM0000001590 ............MUSCAT FINANCE .................................................... 128,950 ............15,180......................16 ............0.118 ........... 0.118............ 0.116 ............0.118 ............. 0.118 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................ 0.118 ...............0.117................... 0.118 ...................31,472,438 .........0.100

OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 413,935............62,090......................14 ............0.150 ........... 0.150 ...........0.150 ........... 0.150 ............. 0.150............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.150 .............. 0.150...................0.152 ..................219,390,219 ........0.100

OM0000004511 ............ALIZZ ISLAMIC BANK.............................................. 1,194,800 ......... 71,618......................17 ........... 0.060 ........... 0.061 ...........0.059 ........... 0.060 .............0.062 ...........-0.002 ........... -3.226 ...............0.060..............0.059...................0.060 ..................60,000,000 ........0.100

OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 1,403,761 ....... 105,392..................... 67 ........... 0.077 ........... 0.077 ...........0.073 ........... 0.075 .............0.078 ...........-0.003 ........... -3.846 ...............0.074 ..............0.074...................0.075 ..................112,500,000 ........0.100

OM0000002564 ...........AL HASSAN ENGINEERING....................................77,000 ................6,111......................11 ........... 0.080 ...........0.080 ...........0.077 ........... 0.079 .............0.084 ...........-0.005 ........... -5.952 ...............0.077 ..............0.076...................0.077.................... 5,941,432 ..........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 7,121,462 ....... 549,417...................337 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......10........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

ISIN ......................................SECURITY NAME .................................................................. VOLUME ..... TURNOVER ............TRADES ......OPEN PRICE ......HIGH ............. LOW ........ CLOSE PR. ...PREV. CLOSE...DIFF (RO).........DIFF % ............. LAST PR .....LAST BID .............LAST OFFER ........MARKET CAP .PAR VALUE

O M A N S T O C K S

INDICESIndex .................................................High .................Low ..................... Value ............... Prev . Value.......... Diff ...............Diff %MSM30 Index ........................................5,760.25 ............... 5,735.15 .................... 5,735.15 ................... 5,760.48 ................-25.33 .................. -0.44Financial Index .....................................7,395.82 ............... 7,326.31 ....................7,326.31 ................... 7,388.21 ................-61.90 .................. -0.84Industrial Index ....................................7,003.43 .............. 6,953.04 ................... 6,953.04 ...................6,978.88 ................-25.84 .................. -0.37Services Index ....................................... 3,199.76 ...............3,189.60 ....................3,195.54 ................... 3,186.32 ....................9.22 ...................0.29MSM SHARIAH INDEX.......................865.68 ..................863.39 .......................863.39 ...................... 866.89 .................. -3.50 .................. -0.40

Trading SummaryVolume ................ Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up ............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded23,304,604 .................3,773,754 ..................1,258 ................16,746,194,018 .................. 9 ......................15 .................... 18 .........................42


THE WEALTHIEST: Prince Al-

waleed of Saudi Arabia remains

the No.1 Arab billionaire in the

Forbes Middle East list. – Bloomberg

BankDhofar profit growsto OMR13.6mTimes News Service

MUSCAT: BankDhofar has achieved a 15.12 per cent growth in net profit at OMR13.56 million for the first quarter of this year, over the same period of 2015.

The bank’s net loans and ad-vances to customers for the three-month surged ahead by 17.39 per cent to OMR2.81 billion from OMR2.39 billion. Deposits from customers moved up by 6.19 per cent to OMR2.81 billion from OMR2.64 billion in the first quar-ter period under review, according to a disclosure statement posted on MSM website.

BankDhofar said its operating income surged ahead by 25.98 per cent to OMR33.76 million, while op-erating expenses showed a 14.36 per cent growth at OMR13.65 million.

Total assets of bank also soared by 14.25 per cent to OMR3.76 bil-lion by March-end. The results are unaudited and are yet to get ap-proval from the board of directors.

F I R S T Q U A R T E R

Muscat stocks fall on profit-bookingMUSCAT: Profit taking and thin trading volumes weighed on the MSM 30 Index which closed at 5,735.15 points, down by 0.44 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index also declined 0.40 per cent to close at 863.39 points.

Galfar Engineering was the most active in terms of volume while Bank Sohar led in terms of turnover. National Gas was the day’s top gainer, up 8.67 per cent, while Al Madina Investment re-mained the top loser, with loss of 6.06 per cent,

As many as 1,258 trades were executed on Sunday, generating a turnover of OMR3.77 million with 23.3 million shares changing hands. Out of 42 traded securi-ties, 9 advanced, 15 declined and 18 remained unchanged. Arab and GCC investors were net buyers to the tune of OMR171,000 worth of shres, followed by Omani inves-tors at OMR144,000. Foreign in-vestors, who were net sellers, sold shares amounting to OMR315,000.

Financial Index retreated 0.84 per cent to close at 7,326.31 points. Al Sharqia Investments, Takaful Oman and Oman United Insur-ance gained 2.59 per cent, 2.50 per cent and 1.12 per cent respectively. Al Madina Investment, Oman & Emirates Holding, Bank Nizwa, Al Izz Bank and Bank Sohar declined 6.06 per cent, 4.62 per cent, 3.85 per cent, 3.23 per cent and 3.07 per cent respectively.

Industrial Index ended nega-tively at 6,953.04 points, down 0.37 per cent. Al Jazeera Steel, Oman Fisheries, Oman Cables and Ray-sut Cement increased 3.01 per cent, 2.74 per cent, 0.59 per cent and 0.47 per cent respectively. Al Hassan Engineering, Voltamp En-ergy, Galfar Engineering and Gulf International Chemicals slid 5.95 per cent, 4.98 per cent, 3.13 per cent and 0.37 per cent respectively.

Services Index gained 0.29 per cent to close at 3,195.54 points. Na-tional Gas and Renaissance Ser-vices gained 8.67 per cent and 4.95 per cent respectively. Port Servic-es, Al Jazeera Steel, OIFC and Om-antel declined 3.42 per cent, 2.21 per cent, 1.41 per cent and 0.63 per cent respectively.

Saudi stocks declineSaudi Arabian stocks led declines across most Gulf Arab equity mar-kets as investors await the out-come of a gathering of major oil

producing nations in Doha.The Tadawul All Share Index

dropped 1.1 per cent to 6,439.85. Dubai’s DFM General Index lost 0.7 per cent as the Bloomberg GCC 200 Index, which tracks the larg-est and most liquid shares across the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, retreated 0.6 per cent. Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index extended gains a seventh day, add-ing 0.5 per cent.

At least 16 nations representing about half the world’s oil output, including Saudi Arabia and Rus-sia, are gathering on Sunday in the Qatari capital to discuss limiting production in a bid to shore up prices. Equities in the GCC are tied closely to the price of oil, which generates the bulk of government revenue in the region.

“Investors are apprehensive about taking new positions before the results of the meeting,” said Nabil Farhat, an Abu Dhabi-based partner at Al Fajr Securities. “We might see a spike in prices in either direction depending on the results of the meeting.”

Brent crude, a benchmark for half the world’s oil, has dropped three days in the lead up to the meeting, and closed last week at $43.10 per barrel.

Saudi stocks were led lower by Saudi Basic Industries Corpora-tion, one of the world’s biggest petrochemicals manufacturers, which fell 1.4 per cent after a fire at a plant owned by one of its units. The blaze killed 12 and injured 11, ‘Al Sharq’ newspaper reported, cit-ing unidentified people.

Banque Saudi Fransi declined 2.2 per cent, even after the bank reported a 2.7 per cent increase in first-quarter profit, beating ana-lysts’ estimates. National Bank of Abu Dhabi’s brokerage unit cut the lender to hold from accumulate.

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical jumped 4.2 per cent, the most in a month, after reporting a narrow-er than expected loss in the first quarter. About 48 million shares traded, or more than twice the three-month full daily average.

About 275 million shares traded in the Kingdom, 11 per cent above the 20-day intraday average. The retreat came even as Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Saudi Arabia will this month announce its comprehen-sive plan to prepare for the post-oil era. - United Securities/Bloomberg news

O M A N S T O C K S

Saudi’s post-oil plan on April 25RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will an-nounce a comprehensive plan to prepare the kingdom for the post-oil era on April 25, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said.

The ‘Vision for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’ will encompass several developmental, econom-ic, social and other programmes, Prince Mohammed said.

One component of the plan is the National Transforma-tion Programme, which will be launched a month or 45 days after this month’s announcement, said

the prince. The plan to transform Saudi Aramco from an oil com-pany into an energy and indus-trial conglomerate, as well as the future of the Public Investment Fund, will also be part of the comprehensive vision, he said.

Saudi Arabia is seeking to over-haul the economy to reduce the kingdom’s reliance on oil after the plunge in crude prices. Prince Mohammed said in an interview late last month that the plan in-volves raising non-oil revenue by $100 billion by 2020 as well as

turning the PIF into the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund for the kingdom’s most prized assets.

Saudi authorities are weighing measures that include more steps to restructure subsidies, impos-ing a value-added tax, and a levy on energy and sugary drinks as well as luxury items.

The National Transformation Programme will also focus on ways to boost economic growth, create jobs, attract investors and hold government offices more accountable. - Bloomberg News

C R U D E O I L I M P A C T

W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O MSECTION

E- IMESTECH STUFF

BEU TO SPEED UP GOOGLE’S ANDROID PROBEEuropean Union accelerated its antitrust probe into Google’s Android mobile-phone operating system, seen as a sign that they are set to send out a formal complaint within days. EU has given Google’s critics deadlines of 24 hours to remove business secrets from evidence that could be used in the case — an indication that a statement of objections is on its way, according to three people, who asked not to be named. - Bloomberg News

M O N DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

SLOW DOWNENJOY THE RIDE

T E C H U P D A T E S

YouTube funds programme to develop musical talent

Apple shares decline on iPhone output cut report

TSMC forecasts sales below analyst’s estimate

Google’s YouTube is developing new musical talent as part of an initia-tive called Foundry, as the company aims to improve strained relations with the music industry and bring more exclusive program-ming to the world’s most popular video site. You-Tube said it has already hosted workshops with more than two dozen artists at its pro-duction facilities in Los Angeles and London to teach them how to better use the site, and will hold another in New York later this month with five artists, including hip-hop artist BJ the Chicago Kid and R&B singer Gemaine. Videos of live sessions recorded during those workshops will first appear on YouTube next week. YouTube executives have also been reaching out to peers in the music industry and have scheduled meetings over the coming weeks to discuss a deeper collaboration, according to people fa-miliar with the talks who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. In meetings so far, YouTube has outlined ways to better promote artists and bring more exclusive videos to the service, the people said. — Bloomberg News

Apple shares fell after it was reported that the company would extend an estimated 30 per cent cut in iPhone production for another three months. S l owe r - t h a n - e x p e c t e d sales of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus have prompted Ap-ple to reduce its orders, the Nikkei Asian Review re-ported, citing unidentified suppliers. The shares dropped as much as 2.1 per cent and had declined 1.7 per cent to $110.22 on Friday in New York. Apple introduced a smaller, cheaper handset dubbed the iPhone SE last month in an effort to plump up sales ahead of rolling out a new flagship model later this year. Taiwan Semicon-ductor Manufacturing Co., one of the biggest suppliers of chips to Apple, on Thursday forecast revenue below analysts’ estimates for the second quarter, saying that demand for smartphones that cost more than $500 is waning. “Ahead of the iPhone 7 people are holding onto their phones a little longer,” said Walter Piecyk, a New York-based analyst at BTIG who recommends buying Apple shares. “But if this is as a result of lengthening product cycles then it could be a structural change for the industry.” In January, Apple said sales would decline for the first time in more than a decade. Global smartphone sales will rise by less than 10 per cent this year, the smallest increase since the market’s inception, researcher Gartner Inc predicted last month. Nikkei reported that Apple cut iPhone production by an estimated 30 per cent in the January to March quarter and that the reduction is being extended for the subsequent three months. — Bloomberg News

Taiwan Semiconduc-tor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) forecast second-quarter sales below analyst estimates as decelerating smartphone demand and sliding personal computer shipments hit revenue. Sales will be between NT$215 billion ($6.6 billion) and NT$218 billion in the second quarter, the world’s largest contract maker of microchips said on Thursday. That compares with analysts’ projections for NT$225 billion. TSMC, which competes with Samsung Electronics to make processors for Apple Inc., is dealing with the dual impact of slowing demand and fallout from a Febru-ary earthquake that held up production. Earnings have fallen for three straight quarters as profit margins have been crimped. The company also reported first-quarter results on Thursday, with net income slumping 18 percent to NT$64.8 billion. The Febru-ary temblor in southern Taiwan had prompted the company to cut margin forecasts that month. Gross margin was 44.9 per cent in the first quarter, down 4.4 percentage points and trailing the 46.8 per cent average of estimates. It blamed the quake for about half that drop. “February sales missed our expectation due to earth-quake damage,” Ethan Chen, an analyst with Sinopac Financial Holdings, wrote before earnings were released. — Bloomberg News

TECH EXPERTS: Programmers at Reactive Philip Irri, core engineer, (from left), David Malkin, data scientist, Philippe Remy, research engineer,

and Joseph Bullard, core engineer, pose for a photograph at Tenoha Lab share office in Tokyo, Japan. The four programmers at the 18-month-

old startup in Tokyo came up with an application that recognises scrawled-out Japanese with 98.66 per cent accuracy. — Bloomberg News

Artificial intelligence to be ‘more accessible’

PAVEL ALPEYEV

Real-world artificial-intelligence (AI) ap-plications are popping up in unexpected plac-es—and much sooner

than you might think.While winning a game of Go

might be impressive, machine in-telligence is also evolving to the point where it can be used by more people to do more things. That’s how four engineers with almost zero knowledge of Japanese were able to create software, in just a few months, that can decipher hand-writing in the language.

The programmers at Reactive Inc. came up with an application that recognises scrawled-out Japa-nese with 98.66 per cent accuracy. The 18-month-old start-up in To-kyo is part of a growing global com-munity of coders and investors who are harnessing the power of neural networks to put AI to far more prac-tical purposes than answering trivia or winning board games. “Just a few years ago, you had to be a genius to do this,” said David Malkin, who has a Ph.D. in machine learning but can barely string two Japanese sentenc-es together. “Now you can be a rea-

sonably smart guy and make useful stuff. Going forward, it will be more about using imagination to apply this to real business situations.”

Artificial intelligence was once the exclusive playground of Google, Facebook and other tech leaders. Now, any deep-learning start-up can access cloud-based platforms, with Microsoft, Nvidia and Amazon.com selling AI like a utility.

Reactive’s technology shows how even small teams can devise complex applications with little expertise in a given field. The hard part may be figuring out how to make money. To that end, Reactive intends to help Japanese schools grade papers—a prosaic exercise that may change the game in a coun-try where tests are still handwritten.

Malkin and his colleagues, Joe Bullard, Philippe Remy and Philip Irri, who between them have two Master’s degrees and a PhD, are making rapid progress. Bullard showed the group’s programme to AI enthusiasts during a social gathering at Google’s Japan head-quarters earlier this year, and it per-formed impeccably—until his own linguistic limitations got in the way. “Just so you know I’m not cheating,

what’s your favorite character?” he asked the room. Someone called out “ba,” a phonetic character. Knowing laughter erupted as Bullard strug-gled to write the symbol.

While handwriting recognition might be considered deep-learning 101, Japanese is a whole other ball-game. That’s because the language includes symbolic characters such as kanji, which is composed of ele-ments that can be read indepen-dently, making it difficult to know where one ends and another begins. There are also more than 2,000 common pictograms made up of dozens of strokes. The trick is to tackle one squiggle at a time. Reac-tive’s algorithm queries the neural network for a match, adds another stroke and repeats, all the while re-fining the probability of an accurate hit. The start-up trained its model on about 1.8 million characters.

“The fact that this technology can side-step domain expertise gives it a big advantage in speed and scalabil-ity when it comes to business appli-cations,” said Seishi Okamoto, a pro-ject director at Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd., which is developing software to read Chinese. “Deep learning for

handwritten Chinese character rec-ognition is already catching up to human capabilities and will prob-ably eclipse them.” While Reactive’s technology has been shown publicly at events such as that held at Google, the data hasn’t been independently verified or peer-reviewed.

Unlike a typical programme built around rigid rules, deep-learning AI is modeled on how humans process information. Given enough data as inputs and a set of desired outputs, neural networks figure out what goes in the middle. This allows them to find solutions that have bedeviled traditional approaches, like inter-preting speech or tagging images.

“There are several factors at play: high-performance computing be-coming essentially a commodity, availability of massive datasets and improvements in basic science,” said Yoshua Bengio, a computer-science professor at the Univer-sity of Montreal who co-authored some of the field’s founding papers. “Democratization of tools is also making it easier for second-level users to develop new applications and products.” All of this is likely to speed up the evolution of artificial-intelligence technology. Invest-ments in AI startups tackling eve-rything from education to retail and agriculture reached $310 million in 2015, almost a seven-fold increase in five years, according to research firm CB Insights. And once built, a neural network doesn’t have to be limited to language applications. In their spare time, the four Re-active engineers showed the pro-gram 5,000 dresses downloaded from Google Images, then gave it a picture of a woman in a reveal-ing outfit. “Revealing clothes,” the software responded. — Bloomberg News

The 18-month-old start-up in Tokyo is part

of a growing global community of coders

and investors who are harnessing the power

of neural networks to put AI to far more

practical purposes than answering trivia

B5M O N DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

GHEDEX 2016Love us on Facebook


Top universities set to participate in Global Higher Education Exhibition

MUSCAT: Renowned global uni-versities will set up their stalls at the 17th edition of Global Higher Education Exhibition (Ghedex), scheduled to be held from April 19 – 21 at the Oman International Exhibition Centre.

It’s an annual event which is held under the patronage of Minis-try of Higher Education (MoHE).

Last edition of Ghedex broke

sixteen years record by attract-ing over 25,000 visitors as over 200 top-notch universities and colleges from over 23 countries participated with 170 educational bodies and institutions account-ing for international participation and 30 for local participation, says a press release.

“We have already received par-ticipation for Ghedex 2016 from

a number of leading universities from UK including University of Stirling, University of Hull, Uni-versity Of Liverpool, University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), University of Salford, University of Greenwich (London), University of Exeter, University of Portsmouth

and University of Derby. Other universities of note that

have confirmed their presence at Ghedex include California State University, Fresno from USA; Aga Khan University from Pakistan; the Student Campus from Malta; and Oman Medical College & IDP

Education PtY Ltd from Oman. Ghedex will also receive support from DAAD German Academic Exchange Service as silver spon-sor and Majan College (University College) as lead sponsor,” said Ashit Barnes, Exhibition director- OITE Trade Fairs.

Omani and expatriate students seeking quality education and opportunities for evolvement through internships and related career planning programmes will find Ghedex to be a lucrative op-portunity to pursue their higher education goals.

Omani and expatriate students seeking

quality education and opportunities will

find Ghedex to be a lucrative opportunity to

pursue their higher education goals

Amideast to highlight career development programmes

MUSCAT: America-Mideast Ed-ucation and Training Services, Inc. (Amideast) has been participating in Ghedex since 2008, and looks forward to doing so again in 2016.

“Ghedex provides an excellent opportunity for students and pro-fessionals to learn about the ways Amideast can prepare them for university or help them build their careers,” said Paul Steele, director of Training at Amideast/Oman. “We specialise in work readiness programmes and education advis-ing, and serve as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for young people seeking higher education opportunities or need-ing new skills to compete in the labour market.”

As the premium international education and training organisa-

tion focused exclusively on the Middle East and North Africa, Amideast offers English language and professional training, in-cluding employability skills de-

velopment; entrepreneurship workshops and coaching; test administration and support; Edu-cation USA advising services; administration of scholarship and exchange programmes for individuals and institutions; and instruction in Arabic as a Foreign Language (AFL).

Visitors to Amideast’s booth at Ghedex will be able to learn about ‘English for the Workplace’ cours-es as well as its skill-based classes ‘Basic Conversation’ and ‘Presen-tation Skills.’ They can also gather information about tests such as the TOEFL, SAT and GRE, as well as test preparation courses. Young people seeking to improve their prospects for finding a suitable job will get information about its new

‘Skills for Success’ programme that offers instruction in English language, IT, professional skills and job search strategies. Dur-ing Ghedex, Amideast would an-nounce its weekend and summer camps, which will provide English language instruction in a fun, ac-tivity-based environment.

“My colleagues and I enjoy talk-ing with visitors to our booth at Ghedex because it gives us an op-portunity to demonstrate Amid-east’s welcoming and professional environment,” said Munira Al Kindy, Operations and Testing manager at Amideast/Oman. “Our participation in Ghedex highlights the many ways we can assist young people in Oman in achieving their higher education and career goals.”

T R A I N I N G S E R V I C E S

Bayan College to exhibit at Ghedex MUSCAT: Bayan College oper-ates under the supervision of the Ministry of Higher Educa-tion and is affiliated with Pur-due University – Calumet, USA. It is the first private college in Oman offering diploma/bach-elor’s degree in Media Studies and English Studies.

Its professional, multi-culture faculty, affiliation with well-reputed American University and advanced academic pro-grammes provide students with an excellent learning opportuni-ty and enable them to learn and earn skills necessary to enter the labour market.

Bayan College will be looking for Omani and expatriate stu-dents seeking for higher educa-tion opportunities available in Oman and overseas colleges and universities. In Ghedex, it is look-ing forward to hosting two major academic departments: Depart-ment of Media Studies & Depart-ment of English Studies. Depart-ment of Media Studies offers bachelor’s degree and diploma in: Journalism, Broadcasting, Public Relation and Advertising. The Department of English Studies offers bachelor’s and diploma in: English literature and English professional writing.

M E D I A S T U D I E S

Aga Khan University comes to

Ghedex with a variety of options

MUSCAT: Founded by Aga Khan in 1983, Aga Khan University’s (AKU) objective is ‘to be on the frontiers of scientific and humanistic knowl-edge’ while inspiring students to be independent learners and research-ers imbued with a spirit of service and respect for others.

At Ghedex, AKU would be tar-geting high school students who want to apply for their undergrad-uate programme and those who have 16 years of qualification after high school are eligible to apply for their graduate programme.

Since its founding, the Aga Khan University’s major focus has been in the fields of health sciences and education. AKU has programmes in eight countries on three con-tinents. Currently, the university consists of a Medical College, a School of Nursing and Midwifery and the Institute for Educational Development in Karachi, Pakistan; and the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations in the United Kingdom.

In East Africa, the Advanced

Nursing Studies diploma and bachelor’s degree programmes are offered in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania; the Institute for Educa-tional Development offers a Mas-ter of Education degree from the University’s Dar-es-Salaam, Tan-zania campus and the University’s Medical College in East Africa of-fers a Master of Medicine degree in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar-es-Sa-laam, Tanzania.

For the decades ahead the uni-versity plans to step beyond suc-cess in these areas and become a more diversified university, both geographically and scholastically through its offerings planned at its Faculty of Arts and Sciences in East Africa and Pakistan.

They offer variety of courses as below:

School of nursing and midwifery:

in Nursing

in Midwifery

Medical college:

Sciences)-

icy and Management)-

ogy and Biostatistics)

Education-

elor of Surgery

Institute for educational devel-opment:

-tion)

-tion)

Institute for the Study of Mus-lim Civilisations – UK Campus:

-tures)

For AKU, the objective to par-ticipate in Ghedex is to attract the talented students and provide in-formation about its university and programmes offered.

U N I V E R S I T Y I N P A K I S T A N

Oman Tourism College sets sights on school graduates MUSCAT: Oman Tourism Col-lege (OTC) was established in 2001 and is located in the heart of Oman’s capital, Muscat, opposite the Seeb International Airport.

The college offers specialised programmes and courses aimed at developing human resources for the growing tourism, hospital-ity, events and related sectors.

At Ghedex, OTC will be target-ing school graduates and students who like to study the future in-dustry of the country and seeking for a degree with secure career prospects to make themselves more employable.

Students can study for their undergraduate degrees in the fields of tourism and hospitality management, event management and tourism marketing which are delivered using state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, many of which are unique to the OTC. A range of professional devel-opment and vocational courses which can be tailored to meet the particular needs of clients are

also included in OTC’s portfolio.Students of OTC can enjoy an

international learning environ-ment. Staff from 18 different na-tionalities, moderate study fees, part-time and full-time study options or language modules in French or German are just some of the advantages of OTC.

All undergraduate programmes are validated and awarded by Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), Ireland.

Currently nearly 700 students are studying at OTC to strengthen the Sultanate’s tourism industry with an enthusiastic and forward-looking workforce.

According to the new tourism strategy of the Ministry of Tour-ism, the tourism sector in Oman will create 500,000 jobs by 2040.

The development of the tour-ism industry ranks amongst the top national priorities as Oman plans for economic diversifica-tion into non-oil sectors. Plenty of opportunities will come up in dif-ferent fields related to tourism like transportation, leisure & recrea-tion, airports, hotels, airlines, tour operators, cruise ship companies, event management or exhibitions.

OTC is part of Ghedex as they think it’s an important career and educational exhibition in Oman.

S P E C I A L I S E D P R O G R A M M E S

23 American varsities coming to town MUSCAT: Twenty-three Ameri-can universities will be participat-ing in the annual Global Higher Education Exhibition (Ghedex) at the Oman International Exhibi-tion Centre from April 19-21.

Thousands of Omani students are expected to participate and learn first-hand about opportuni-ties available for study in the United States. A broad range of US univer-sity representatives — from New York to California — will be avail-able to help Omani students pursue their higher education goals.

Visitors to Ghedex will also ben-efit from the participation of Edu-cationUSA, which is a network of advising centres in 170 countries, where millions of international students each year find free, accu-rate, comprehensive, and current information about how to apply to accredited US colleges and uni-versities. During Ghedex, Hania Bekdash, EducationUSA adviser, will conduct a special workshop on

‘Studying in the USA: Options and Applications’, providing prospec-tive students with an overview of how to choose a university and prepare a successful application for US study. She will also be avail-able at the EducationUSA booth throughout the exhibition to an-swer questions about US degree programmes, the university ad-

missions process, financial aid and scholarships, English language study, and test requirements.

Ghedex presents an outstanding opportunity to network with US university representatives and to learn firsthand about higher edu-cation in the United States and the many fields of study open to Oma-ni students.

“We are keen to have more Oma-nis study in the US and take advan-tage of the outstanding opportuni-ties for scholarship and research across a wide range of fields.

“US degree granting pro-grammes and English language study will further prepare Omani students for the global market-place in support of the Sultanate’s goals of ‘education for employ-ment'," said Hania Bekdash.

The EducationUSA Centre in Oman, which is located at the Amideast office in Airport Heights, offers a variety of infor-mation sessions and individual counselling, in addition to a library with computers and numerous books and catalogues about higher education in the US. The centre also provides pre-departure ori-entations, conducts outreach to schools and universities in Oman, and facilitates visits and webinars by US university representatives throughout the year.

H I G H E R E D U C A T I O N G O A L S

We are keen to have more Omanis study in the US and take advantage of the outstanding opportunities for scholarship and research across a wide range of fields

Hania BekdashEducationUSA adviser

Coventry University has

a world of opportunities

MUSCAT: Coventry University can be the first step towards your future career as a global gradu-ate. With over 8,000 interna-tional students from 130 coun-tries, you can discover a world of opportunities at Coventry Uni-versity, the UK’s No. 15 univer-sity and winner of the coveted Times Higher Education Award: University of the Year.

With an emphasis on high quality teaching, state-of-the-art facilities, strong links with in-dustry and an innovative and dy-namic approach to learning, we ensure that graduates leave Cov-entry University with the skills and experience required to take the next steps in their lives.

At Ghedex, Coventry University will be targeting undergraduate and post graduate students. It of-fers courses in different fields like

engineering, business, law, hu-manities, health and life sciences.

Its courses are full of real-life projects, external competitions, client briefs and industry/busi-ness scenarios, so that one’s knowledge and skills are quickly applied and deepened. The uni-versity makes sure the lectur-ers and professors bring some of the excitement and leading-edge knowledge from its research, or case studies from its profes-sional practice, into teaching to increase its relevance.

Its commitment to the future employability of its students has contributed to 95% of all Coven-try University graduates gaining employment or continuing on to further study after graduating. It works hard to deliver a great experience during your time at Coventry University.

U N I V E R S I T Y I N U K

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ROUND-UPGreat offers mark opening of 10th Malabar Gold showroom in Oman

MUSCAT: Fabulous inaugural of-fers were announced as Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor Khan launched 146th outlet of Malabar Gold & Diamonds which is the 10th in Oman at Ruwi High Street, Muscat recently.

The outlet was opened in the presence of Khamis Thani Al Mandhri, director - Oman, Ma-labar Gold & Diamond; M. P. Ahammed, chairman, Malabar Group, Shamlal Ahamed, manag-ing director - International Opera-tions, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, K. P. Abdul Salam, group executive director, Malabar Group, Asher O., managing director - India Opera-tions, Malabar Gold & Diamonds; S. M. Basheer; Najeeb K., regional head, Malabar Gold & Diamonds other well-wishers, invited media and guests, says a press release.

This elegant showroom con-veniently located at Ruwi High Street, opposite to Ruwi Police Station, will be its third showroom at Ruwi, 10th in Oman and 63rd in the Middle East.

Like all other Malabar Gold & Diamonds outlets, this showroom will also display a significantly large collection of traditional as well as contemporary jewellery in gold, certified diamonds, platinum and precious stone jewellery from across the world that can hold you spell-bound with their awe-inspir-ing beauty for the jewellery lovers in Oman.

To celebrate this occasion, the

group introduced fabulous in-augural offers for its customers. With every purchase of diamond jewellery worth OMR500, the customers will get a 1gm gold coin absolutely free and the customers can also avail a free gold coin with every purchase of gold jewellery worth OMR300. These offers are valid at their newly opened outlet in Ruwi until April 26.

A huge gathering of over 40,000 residents of Muscat thronged the venue to witness the inauguration and to see their favourite celebrity.

Partners Malabar Gold & Diamonds part-nered with Majan Events, Oman and security consultants Gentur Security to ensure the event was

well organised, comfortable and convenient for the spectators and the celebrity.

The group is also planning to expand its presence in Oman by opening two more showrooms in Barka, Lulu and Muscat City Cen-tre by July 2016.

The most important factors driving the group’s success are in-novation in its strategies, designs, promotions and the trust Malabar Gold & Diamonds evokes. With a rich mix of traditional and trendy jewellery in gold, diamond and platinum, Malabar Gold & Dia-monds is one of the most preferred destinations for quality jewellery. The combination of purest jewel-lery and cutting edge designs com-bining unmatched grace and style

makes its jewellery unique.The branded jewellery segment

of Malabar Gold & Diamonds is renowned globally for its flawless craftsmanship and the impeccable style. The exclusive brands avail-able at Malabar Gold & Diamonds includes Ethnix - handcrafted de-signer jewellery, Era - uncut dia-mond jewellery, Mine - diamonds unlimited, Divine - Indian herit-age jewellery, Precia - precious gem jewellery, Solitaire One – An exclusive solitaire brand, NV – Trendy 18K gold jewellery, Ago Bay – pearl jewellery and Starlet - kids jewellery.

In Oman, Malabar Gold & Dia-monds operates showrooms at Darsait, Bausher, Ruwi, Seeb, Salalah and Sohar.

Bollywood Actress

Kareena Kapoor

Khan inaugurated the

showroom at Ruwi

High Street in front of

a big crowd

Arabesque International set to present its fifth concertMUSCAT: Arabesque Interna-tional is presenting its fifth con-cert from the second season of Muscat Chamber Music Series on April 26.

The event will be held under the patronage of Hans-Christian Frei-herr von Reibnitz, German ambas-sador to the Sultanate of Oman, at ABA-An IB World School in Al Khuwair at 7.30pm.

This special concert will bring to the stage, the concert pianist Ahmed Abouzahra, general man-ager of Arabesque International, together with his wife, the pianist, Nora Emödy and their two daugh-ters, Amira and Mariam, talented violin players, says a press release.

Ahmed and Nora have been playing together as a duo (Horus Piano Duo) for 19 years and this will be a reunion to celebrate mu-sic and their return to the stage not as a duo but as a family.

The Horus Piano Duo will be performing in Muscat for the first time since their last appearance in 2012 performances at the Royal Opera House Muscat.

This unique duo is an amalga-mation of two different cultures. Ahmed Abou-Zahra was born in Egypt while Nora Emödy was born in Hungary.

They met during their studies in Freiburg School of Music in Germany, in the early nineties and since then, they have been per-forming as a duo. Their versatility resulted in innovative interpreta-tions around the world, delighting audiences with a repertoire that ranges from Baroque to today’s contemporary composers.

The two pianists naturally had an influence in their daughter’s musical journey. Amira and Mari-am are both violinists’ players with inspiring performances around the world. Amira has been play-ing the violin since she was four, winning several competitions and performing with renowned orchestras. Mariam, the youngest musician in the family, followed the steps of her sister Amira, in her third year, when she firstly

attempted to play the violin. She has garnered several awards and her performances were much ap-praised in different concert halls. In February 2014, Amira made her debut at the Royal Opera House, where the performances were highly received from both the au-dience and the media alike. In the same week, Amira and Mariam gave five more concerts in various schools in Muscat.

This musical talent combined with passion will be delivered in a unique performance which prom-ises to delight the audience.

The surprise in this concert will be the performance of a choir with 100 children from six differ-ent schools in Muscat. Arabesque International has taken the lead and invited the children from these schools to create the choir and train them under the guidance of Lisa Morgan, the choir music teacher at ABA.

This performance has a spe-cial message to the world we live, promoting peace and harmony in times of tumult and conflict. The children will sing songs in Eng-lish and in Arabic. These songs

reflect the concert’s commitment to peace and since children are the future generation of our soci-ety, they need to have a stable and peaceful environment in order to live and develop.

But before the concert, you can attend the performance of Mari-am, at the Royal Opera House on April 20. This will be an excellent prelude to the concert that will fol-low on the next week.

The German ambassador in Oman has expressed his inter-est and unconditional support to such events.

“I cannot believe that we are in the second season already. Ara-besque has added so much value to musical awareness of children in Oman with the series and the ac-companying workshops.”

“The Horus Piano Duo is of outstanding quality. But having Amira and Mariam, who both have recently been awarded with first prizes of the renowned German “Jugendmusiziert” award per-forming with the young singers of Muscat Schools in ABA is un-doubtedly one of the highlights of the season.”

M U S C A T C H A M B E R M U S I C S E R I E S

seaPearls launches factory sale on diamond collectionMUSCAT: seaPearls Gold and Diamond Jewellery, Oman has launched yet another exciting fac-tory sale on its diamond collection.

Exclusive offer Customers visiting the seaPearls stores till July 10 can avail special discounts on diamond jewellery products that include an entire range of rings, earrings, pendants, bangles and lightweight necklac-es across all its stores within the Sultanate.

Customers can buy diamond or gold jewellery from seaPearls with Bank Muscat credit cards and get 12 months instalment scheme at 0 per cent interest.

seaPearls Gold and Diamond Jewellery, Oman caters to the modern woman of today and is best known for the combination of precious and innovative materials and distinctive designs, for glam-orous and exciting styles that fuses

classic and contemporary. The collections of diamond and

gold jewellery range from daily wear - such as light weight neck-lace sets, chains, rings, pendants, bracelets, earrings and bangles - to more occasion-specific and ex-clusive designs. It houses an array of signature jewellery collections, namely Ishana, You n Me, Fella, Sol, Nava Graha, Mayoomi, Yal-maa and some unique bestsellers among others.

P. A. Riyas, general manager of seaPearls Gold and Diamond Jewellery, said: “We always have special plans for our patrons, we understand that buying a dia-mond ring or a gold necklace is an emotional choice and to encour-age people to choose jewellery we now have over 40 designs at af-fordable price range.”

Riyas concluded saying, “Showcasing jewellery, exem-plifying fine craftsmanship and

exquisite designs, seaPearls Gold and Diamond Jewellery with over 10 years of experience offer complete customer centric shop-ping experience.”

Customer service At seaPearls, passion and dis-tinctive style is found in each of its designs as its in-house de-signers and craftsmen collabo-rate to create some of the most unique jewellery.

“When it comes to providing good service, we believe in build-ing strong relationships with our customers. High quality customer service helps to create customer loyalty. Customers today are not only interested in the product they are being offered, but also all the additional elements of service that they receive starting from the greeting when they enter our stores,” a key spokesperson from seaPearls opined.

A T T R A C T I V E O F F E R S

Maisarah opens new branchMUSCAT: Under the patronage of Sheikh Dr Yahya Sulaiman Al Nadabi, Wali of Amerat, Maisa-rah Islamic Banking Services expanded its presence with the official inauguration of its new Greater Muttrah branch.

The launch of the new branch comes within the Islamic win-dow’s strategy to expand its branch network across the Sul-tanate and to provide world-class Islamic banking products and services to customers nation-wide, says a press release.

The event was attended by Ab-dul Hakeem Omar Al Ojaili, act-ing CEO of BankDhofar, Faisal Hamad Al Wahaibi, chief retail banking officer, Ismail Jama Bait Isihaq, Financial Control-ler of Maisarah Islamic Banking Services, as well as members of BankDhofar and Maisarah’s ex-ecutive management, staff, guests

and senior government officials.Jamsheed Hamza, head of Re-

tail commented on the Islamic banking service provider’s com-mitment to extend its branch net-work in order to cater to more cus-tomers in different parts of Oman. “We aspire to fulfil the market demand for Islamic products and services for both retail and busi-ness banking customers. Since the establishment of Maisarah in 2013 there has been an increas-ing demand on Sharia-compliant

banking products and financial solutions. The wide range of op-tions available to our customers is tailor-made to suit their require-ments, fulfil their needs and meet their aspirations.”

Zahra Said Al Amry, branch manager of Greater Muttrah add-ed, “The branch is strategically located to serve the entire south Muscat region and is easily reach-able for customers anywhere from Ruwi, Darsait, Wattaya, Wadi Ka-bir, Muttrah and MBD area.”

E X P A N S I O N

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RECRUIT

QUOTES

What we want is to see

the child in pursuit of

knowledge, and not

knowledge in pursuit

of the child. — George

Bernard Shaw

One part of knowledge

consists in being

ignorant of such things

as are not worthy to be

known. — Crates

QUOTES

No man will be found in whose mind airy notions do

not sometimes tyrannise, and force him to hope or fear

beyond the limits of sober probability.

— Samuel Johnson

Illusions commend themselves to us because they

save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We

must therefore accept it without complaint when they

sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they

are dashed to pieces.

— Sigmund Freud

Truth, as any dictionary will tell you, is a property of

certain of our ideas. It means their “agreement,” as

falsity means their disagreement, with “reality.”

— William James

An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied

propagation, nor does truth become error because

nobody sees it.

— Mahatma Gandhi

Bank Muscat redefines Premier banking with benefits, rewards

MUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the flag-ship financial services provider in the Sultanate, has redefined Pre-mier banking service with global banking solutions, exclusive ben-efits and rewards.

Providing personalised service catering to the complex financial needs of clients, the Premier bank-ing segmentation reflects the cus-tomer-centric vision of the bank, says a press release.

Abdulnasir Al Raisi, DGM – Premier banking, said: “Marking a long-standing and strong rela-tionship with clients, the Premier banking strategy is a step into the

future banking in Oman, reflecting the bank’s commitment to expand innovative services to clients and remain the nation’s bank of first choice. With global financial exper-tise, the bank has adopted smarter strategies to stay ahead in business and provide a distinct experience for Premier banking clients.”

Al Raisi added: “Aimed at el-evating Premier banking service to unparalleled heights, the bank serves all Premier customers of the bank - Private, asalah Priority and al Jawhar Privilege banking – through one department. Commit-ted to further enhancing banking services to the premier segment, the bank’s strategy focuses on cus-tomer service and benefits with dedicated relationship manag-ers, exclusive centres and online services. The differentiated and specialised banking experience distinguishes Premier banking cli-ents from competitors.”

He said: “Bank Muscat Premier banking pays much attention to customer service excellence with world class products and services. The bank will continue to focus on providing customers across Oman with special banking facilities and services that meet their personal-ised needs, aspirations and goals.”

Bank Muscat, through Private Banking, is one of the few banks in the Sultanate catering to the needs of high net-worth individual / ultra high net-worth individual segment,

offering exclusive banking and investment services. As the HNI segment is becoming more sophis-ticated and global in its require-ments, the Private Banking team constantly endeavours to remain a cut above the regional banks and match up to its global peers.

Along with the best of banking services, including exclusive debit card, credit card, cheque book, which are unmatched in the Sul-tanate, private banking provides an exceptional breadth and depth of wealth management solutions. The investment offerings provide exposure to most global markets and asset classes, through a robust execution platform and adminis-tered through experienced dedi-cated relationship managers.

Besides addressing the regular investment needs of clients, the segment addresses wealth protec-tion, which is another important aspect of private banking, by of-

fering exclusive insurance prod-ucts covering property, jewellery, artefacts and household items. Ensuring complete client confi-dentiality at all times, the wealth management solutions are offered to clients as per their risk appetite and comfort.

asalah priority banking provides a differentiated and specialised banking experience characterised by a profound understanding of clients’ preferences. Forming a strong franchise that distinguish-es it from competitors, asalah priority banking meets the re-quirements of the rapidly growing customer segment with focus on recognition, rewards and solutions which have set a benchmark for personal and relationship based banking in Oman.

The asalah membership comes with Bank Muscat’s commitment to delivering value. Personalised premium products and upgraded services come with preferential pricing, thereby multiplying the value of asalah membership and reducing the cost of transactions.

In the vibrant world of privilege banking, the distinctive identity says it all as al Jawhar Privilege Banking was introduced recently to serve the bank’s core customer segment. Designed around the unique lifestyle and banking re-quirements of the largest cus-tomer segment, al Jawhar is the first-of-its-kind privilege banking

service in Oman.The value proposition of recog-

nition places al Jawhar customers in a league of their own. Notably, al Jawhar Platinum debit card is the key to a world of exclusive services. Adding value, al Jawhar credit card benefits include airport lounge ac-cess and free travel insurance.

Premier banking maintains close relations and reaches out to clients with a monthly newsletter covering the latest global, regional and local economy updates in ad-dition to all important develop-ments in the bank.

Bank Muscat has lined up exclu-sive high value al Mazyona month-ly, quarterly and year-end prizes for the Premier banking segment. The private banking clients are eligible for all al Mazyona prize draws. The exclusive prizes ear-marked for asalah priority banking customers include two monthly prizes of OMR50,000 each, two quarterly prizes of OMR250,000 each and the year-end jackpot prize of OMR500,000 for one cus-tomer. The bank also offers spe-cial prizes to Al Jawhar Privilege Banking customers, including two monthly prizes of OMR25,000 each and two quarterly prizes of OMR50,000 each. Premier bank-ing customers can participate in all other al Mazyona weekly, monthly, quarterly and special prize draws offering a total prize money of OMR10 million.

Providing

personalised service

catering to the

complex financial

needs of clients, the

Premier banking

segmentation reflects

the customer-centric

vision of the bank

Ooredoo Musafir Business offers a choice of roaming bundles

MUSCAT: Ooredoo has intro-duced Musafir Business facili-tating affordable and convenient voice and data roaming bundles for Oman’s business travellers.

Available from April 11, Musa-fir Business offers a choice of roaming bundles covering the top 42 countries visited by Oman’s business population with added attention given to those travelling to the UAE be-ing the top most visited business destination, says a press release.

Starting at OMR2 for the daily bundle and reaching up to only OMR15 for the weekly bundles, Musafir Business bundles can be conveniently activated by the user either before or upon arrival at their destination.

“Recognising that today’s en-terprises have no borders, we have designed this value-packed voice and data roaming bundle so Oman’s business community can be more productive even while they are out of Oman, be it to check their e-mail, do some online research, share some quick information via What-sApp or a simple call to the office. An added advantage of Musafir Business is that it’s a fixed price plan, removing all worries about unexpected charges and avoid-ing any bill shock for roaming charges at the end of the month,” said Said Al Shanfari, director of Business Marketing at Ooredoo.

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Stage set for Oman Sports Conference and Exhibition

Sports Reporter

MUSCAT: The Ministry of Sports Affairs is all set to host the annual Oman Sports Conference and Ex-hibition, an event that brings to-gether most of the stakeholders of the Sultanate’s sports, starting with the daylong conference at Grand Hyatt on Monday.

The fourth edition of the confer-ence, where as many as five Omani stars including football legend Ali Al Habsi will be under focus, is scheduled to be inaugurated by Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Ham-oud Al Busaidi, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the presence of the Minister of Sports Affairs Sheikh Saad

bin Mohammed Al Mardhouf Al Saadi, at 9am.

Oman Air and Oman LNG De-velopment Foundation are the main sponsors of the event.

The 2016 event includes the sec-ond edition of exhibition, which will be organised at the Oman International Exhibition Centre from Tuesday to Thursday.

Fahd Al Raisi, Director Gen-eral of Sports Development and Welfare at the Ministry of Sports Affairs, had earlier revealed that goalkeeping hero Ali Al Habsi and

four other Omani stars will be un-der focus as international experts present their views and share their experiences at the conference.

The list of Omani stars who will be under the focus includes foot-ball star Imad Al Hosni, popular motor racer Ahmad Al Harthy, ten-nis sensation Fatma Al Nabhani and star athlete Barakat Al Harthi.

The conference will comprise four sessions.

The key speakers during the first session — titled ‘Sports Man-agement’ — include Khalid Al

Hachani, Advisor for Sports Plan-ning at the Ministry of Sports Af-fairs, Professor Emmanuel Bayle from Institute of Sports Science at Lausanne University, and Dr Atef Abdullah Al Ruwaidan, Director of Jordan’s Al Hussain Youth City.

Jirayr Habibian, Sports Law-yer and CAS Arbitrator, Profes-sor Waldimir Andreff of Univer-sity of Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, Joaquin Martinez of University of Barcelona and Abduallah Taman Al Maashani, Chairman of Board of Directors of Bank Muscat, will be

presenting their papers in the sec-ond session on ‘Sports Funding’.

During the third session — ‘Dis-play of Successful Youth in Sports’, where the focus will be on five Om-ani stars, Humaid Al Balushi, pro-ducer and presenter of Al Kas Qatar Sports, will be the session director.

The fourth session, titled ‘The importance of youth sector as a foundation for sports system’, will see Humaid Al Balushi as well as Qatar Aspire Academy’s Director General Ivan Bravo, Tim March, Regional FutbolNet manager at Fundacio FC Barcelona, and Oman Sail’s CEO David Graham delivering their lectures.

At the exhibition, which will be inaugurated by Minister of Sports Affairs Sheikh Saad Al Saadi at the Oman International Exhibition Centre, there will be a total of 35 exhibits, including those from the sports associations, committees and clubs who will be presenting their ideas and activities.

There will also be 30 sports companies and private sector or-ganisations who will be present-ing their concepts and promoting their products.

The prominent clubs who will be putting up stalls at the exhibi-tion are Al Shabab, Sur, Sohar, Sa-ham, Ibri, Oman, Seeb and Salam. This time there will also be two cricket stalls — one by governing body Oman Cricket and Al Hail Cricket Team.

Oman Women’s Sports Commit-tee, Oman Photography Society, Royal Omani Amateur Radio Soci-ety and Omani Society of Fine Arts will also be among the exhibitors.

The fourth edition

of the conference,

where as many as

five Omani stars

including Ali Al Habsi

will be under focus,

is scheduled to

be inaugurated

by Sayyid Badr

Al Busaidi

ALL SET: Fahd Al Raisi, Director General of Sports Development and Welfare at the Ministry of Sports

Affairs, had earlier revealed the details the Oman Sports Conference and Exhibition.

Oman team win bronze at ITPF World Cup in CairoMUSCAT: Oman team settled for a bronze in the team event be-hind India and Egypt at the ITPF Tent Pegging World Cup in Cairo on Sunday.

According to information re-ceived here, Oman squad, com-prising Hilal Al Balushi, Safwan Al Mamamri, Hamad Al Riyami and Ali Al Balushi won the bronze medal with 98 points.

Indian team took the gold with 103 points while hosts Egypt won the silver with 102 points.

In the lance pair event, South

Africa (23.5 points, 6.72 seconds) won the gold followed by Australia (23.5 points, 7.07 seconds) and Su-dan (22 points, 5.59 seconds) in that order.

In the over all standings Egypt finished on top with 560 points. South Africa (559.5) and Iraq (506.5) finished in second and third places respectively.

They were followed by Oman (503), Sudan (488.5), India (486.5), Yemen (485), Jordan (459), Aus-tralia (423), UAE (403) and Great Britain (331) in that order.

T E N T P E G G I N G

Nadal sees off Monfils MONTE CARLO: Rafa Nadal ended his four-year wait for a ninth Monte Carlo Masters ti-tle by defeating Gael Monfils 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 on Sunday in his 100th career final.

Nadal won eight consecutive titles before losing the 2013 fi-nal to Novak Djokovic and, after struggling for fitness in recent years, he demonstrated his re-turn to form by overwhelming the home favourite in the third set to win his 28th Masters title.

“Monte Carlo has been one of the most special places in my ca-reer,” Nadal said. “It was a pleas-ure to play here again.” - Reuters

T E N N I S

Al Khabourah, Saham in HM’s Cup title showdown

MUSCAT: Al Khabourah and Saham overcame Salalah and Al Nasr respectively to set up a final showdown in this year’s His Majesty’s Cup Football Championship on Sunday.

In their second match of the double leg semifinal, played at Sohar Sports Complex, Al Khabourah edged Salalah 1-0 to book their place in the final.

The teams played out a goal-less draw in the first leg match played on April 6.

Saham and Al Nasr too en-tered their second leg match at Salalah Sports Complex on Sunday after sharing points af-ter their first leg match. Saham, however, managed to edge the four-time champions Al Nasr in their own for a 1-0 victory.

The date of the final is yet to be announced by the Oman Football Association.

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Maxwell, openers spur Punjab to first win

MOHALI: Glenn Maxwell played a scintillating cameo hitting an un-beaten 32 off 14 balls under pres-sure to power Kings XI Punjab to a six-wicket win over Rising Pune

Supergiants to notch up their first victory in the ninth edition of the IPL cricket tournament here on Sunday. Chasing a target of 153, Kings XI Punjab were put in a spot of bother as they slumped to 119 for 4 in the 17th over after a flu-ent opening stand of 97 between Manan Vohra (51) and Murali Vi-jay (53).But it was Maxwell who helped the team romp home in 18.4 overs as they won their first match in their third encounter.

Pune Supergiants have now lost two consecutive matches af-ter having won their first game in Mumbai. Just when it looked that KXIP were trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, Maxwell brought his big-hitting prowess to the fore as he belted three fours and two sixes in quick time to win

a match that the home team ought to have won easily.

The fifth wicket stand between Maxwell and Wriddhiman Saha yielded 34 runs in only 2.2 overs in which India’s Test wicketkeeper

contributed only four runs.Once KXIP skipper David Miller

(7) was gone, there were ominous signs but Maxwell hit a six and four each off successive overs from the two Ashwins — leg-spinner Mu-

rugan (3/36 in 4 overs) and off-spinner Ravichandran (0/27 in 4 overs) to settle the issue.

He finished the match with an imperious cover drive off This-ara Perera. However, the Kings XI coach Sanjay Bangar should be unhappy that there were tense moments especially after the start that they got.

The elegant Murali Vijay hit 53 off 49 balls with five fours and two huge sixes — an inside out lofted cover drive off Ishant Sharma and a pull off Murugan.

His partner Vohra got 51 off 33 balls with seven delectable bound-aries that also earned him the Man of the Match award.

It looked as if it would be walk in the park before Vohra was trapped leg before trying to sweep left-arm

spinner Ankit Sharma. Shaun Marsh (4) was accounted by Mu-rugan with a delivery that went straight and breached his defences.

Vijay got his first 50 of the tour-nament but then lost his concen-tration trying to play a cut shot off Murugan. Miller became Mu-rugan’s third victim trying to hit a six but in came Maxwell and did a telling damage hitting him for a six and a boundary.

The senior Ashwin was also spanked in the next over and what-ever chances of a comeback that Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team harboured went up in smoke.

Brief scores: Kings XI Punjab 153 for 4 (Vijay 53, Vohra 51, Maxwell 32 not out, M Ashwin 3-36) beat Rising Pune Supergiants 152 for 7 (Faf du Plessis 67, Smith 38, Mohit 3-23) by six wickets. - PTI

Pune Supergiants

have now lost two

consecutive matches

after having won

their first game

in MumbaiMAN OF THE MATCH: Opener Manan Vohra of Kings XI Punjab clebrates his fifty in Mohali. – PTI

De Kock heroics spur Delhi BENGALURU: Riding on opener Quinton De Kock’s heroics, Delhi Daredevils (DD) on Sunday de-feated the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the group stage match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Chinnaswami Stadium here.

Leading the run chase for the visitors, De Kock hit a superbly-crafted century (108 of 51 balls), first century in IPL 9, with 15 fours and three sixes to guide his team to win the match by seven wickets in 19.1 overs. The South African southpaw was a beauty to watch and a virtuoso in action with his boundaries zooming all over the ground, especially his masterclass off-side shots. From an asking rate of 87 runs in 48 balls after 12 overs,

the going got so easy that DD only needed 21 runs in 26 balls by the 17th over and just one run off the final six balls. Karun Nair, unbeat-en at 54 off 42 balls with six fours and one six, stood by De Kock to see the victory in the 20th over.

Though DD started off their

chase of 192 runs shakily, losing Shreyas Iyer (0) and Sanju Sam-son (9) early, the win was compre-hensive and facile. Nair reached his half century in the 17th over off 37 balls with six fours and a sixer.

Earlier, Virat Kohli, with a fighting 79 off 48 balls, was the chief architect of RCB’s 191 for 5 in 20 overs. Steadying the ship after losing swashbuckling Chris Gayle for a duck, Kohli was joined by mercurial A.B. De Villiers to build the innings.

Brief scores: Delhi Daredevils 192 for 2 (Quinton De Cock 108, Karun Nair 54; Shane Watson 2/25, Sreenath Aravind 1/32) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 191 for 5 (Virat Kohli 79, A.B. De Vil-liers 55; Mohammed Shami 2/34, Carlos Brathwaite 1/18). - IANS

I N D I A N P R E M I E R L E A G U E

FINE KNOCK: Delhi Daredev-ils batsman Quinton De Kock raises his bat after scoring a century as teammate Karun Nair looks on. – AFP

C3


Herath retires from short formatsCOLOMBO: Sri Lanka spin-ner Rangana Herath has retired from 50-over and Twenty20 internationals in order to carry on playing Test matches, the country’s cricket board said on Sunday. The 38-year-old took 74 wickets in 71 one-day inter-nationals and another 18 in 17 T20 matches for the island na-tion, shouldered the burden of the slow bowling attack follow-ing the retirement of spin great Muttiah Muralitharan in 2011.

“Every cricketer has to stop at the right time, I feel it’s time to make room for fresh talent to be groomed with the 2019 World Cup in view,” Herath was quoted as saying in a statement.

Arguably the left-arm spin-ner’s best effort came at the 2014 World Twenty20, where he took five wickets for just three runs as Sri Lanka successfully defended a 120-run target in a must-win match against New Zealand en route to the title. — Reuters

C R I C K E T

Rosberg extends winning streakSHANGHAI: Nico Rosberg claimed a dominant win in an action-packed Formula One Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday to extend his championship lead over Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton, who battled up to sev-enth with some feisty driving af-ter starting last.

Rosberg crossed the line a mammoth 37.7 seconds ahead of German compatriot Sebastian Vettel, who recovered after col-liding with his Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen at the first cor-ner, to claim his third win from three races this season. The Ger-man now leads Hamilton by 36 points in the standings and is firmly in control of the champi-onship with 18 rounds of a record 21-race season remaining.

He certainly has history on his side with the winner of the first three races of the season having gone on to win the title each time.

“Well, it’s too early to make any summaries,” Rosberg told re-porters. “It’s three races now and they’ve gone really well for me but it’s the longest season in F1 history with 21 races.

“Of course I’m happy with the way it’s gone and I’m feeling good and the car’s there but I don’t want to say more than that.”

Daniil Kvyat finished third to score Red Bull their first podium finish since September’s Singa-pore Grand Prix but the Russian had to defend himself after the race when an angry Vettel blamed him for the collision between the Ferraris.

Hamilton, who had started from dead last after failing to set a time in Saturday’s qualifying session due to an engine problem, finished seventh, running into further trouble at the start when he lost his front wing in a first-corner collision. — Reuters

F O R M U L A O N E

DOMINANT FORCE: Mercedes Formula One driver Nico Rosberg

of Germany holds his trophy after the Chinese Grand Prix. – Reuters

Arnav, Shams, Faris, Fahad & Victor shine

MUSCAT: Arnav Dixit, Shams Al Noumani, Faris Al Busaidi, Fahad Al Adawi and Victor Nordberg stole the show at the inaugural OGC Junior Open golf champi-onship organised by Oman Golf Committee (OGC) at Almouj Golf course on Friday.

The OGC organised the day-long championship in association with Oman LNG, which has been supporting Oman’s junior devel-opment programme over the past few years, and event partner Trow-ers & Hamlins.

Thanks to a roaring response from the country’s ever enthusias-

tic young golfing community, the organisers expanded the event ac-cepting 58 entries, four more than originally planned.

The field was open to both Om-ani citizens as well as expatriates, and they played in five categories: above-10 years (long tee), above-10 years (medium tee), under-9 years (long tee), under-9 years (medium tee), under-9 years (short tee).

Arnav produced a score of 36, with Cameron Henderson fin-ishing runner-up with 39 in the above-10 long tee category.

Arnav was elated with his win and he said: “It feels nice to win this trophy. The competition was good. The conditions out there were also quite good today. I have been playing golf for a few years, and I like playing the sport. It’s been a nice experience for me.”

In the above-10 medium tee cat-egory, Shams Al Noumani scored 57, same as Ayman Al Muhrouqi but the former took the top hon-ours on countback.

Shams who has been training

only for last eight weeks in Ras Al Hamra Golf Club was not expect-ing to win.

“I am surprised. This my first ever golf competition in life. I was little nervous when going out but eventually started playing well. I was playing 5 or 6 holes, first time I played a 9 hole game. In the last 3 holes I did well and won.”

In the under-9 long tee event, Faris Al Busaidi scored 16 to emerge the winner ahead of run-ner-up Adam Al Barwani (18).

In the under-9 medium tee category, Fahad Al Adawi won on countback with a score of 20, ahead of runner-up Jake Sander-son (20). In the under-9 short tee event, Victor Nordberg won with a score of 19, ahead of runner-up Riley Dunn (22).

Golfing opportunitiesOGC Chairman Al Barwani said: “I must thank all the parents first for coming forward and pushing their kids to take part in this event and to turn it into a big success. It has

been a lovely sight, to see so many youngsters taking to the course and contesting hard. We hope to produce more such competitive golfing opportunities for young-sters in Oman.”

Guests of honour Rashid Abdul-lah Al Nasri, Executive Vice-Pres-ident of Oman LNG Development Foundation, OGC Chairman Mun-dhir Al Barwani, Vice-Chairman Ahmed Al Jahdhmy, board mem-ber and representative of Trowers & Hamlins Majid Al Toky graced the prize-distribution ceremony.

Later, Oman LNG’s Rashid Al Nasri said: “This is a great occa-sion and we are charmed by the wonderful response from the chil-dren and their parents. The suc-cess of today’s event and the play-ers’ enthusiasm quite clearly show the huge potential that is there for continued golf development in the Sultanate. I wish everyone more success in the future.”

Jachym Sedek, playing in the under-9 long tee category, won the hole-in-one contest and was given a special prize for the rare feat.

Congratulating the winners, Al Toky said: “An event like this is a very important occasion for golf development in Oman. All over the world where golf is a successful sport, it all began at the grassroots level. Here too, these age-groups of 9-10 years are the foundation for building the sport in Oman.”

Individual winners: Above-10 years (long tee): Arnav Dixit; Above-10 years (medium tee): Shams Al Noumani; Un-der-9 years (long tee): Faris Al Busaidi; Under-9 years (medium tee): Fahad Al Adawi; Under-9 years (short tee): Victor Nordberg, Hole-in-one: Jachym Sedek.

The OGC organised

the day-long

championship

in association

with Oman LNG,

which has been

supporting Oman’s

junior development

programme over the

past few years, and

event partner

Trowers & Hamlins

WINNERS ALL: Winners in various categories pose for a group

photo along with Oman Golf Committee chief Mundhir Al Barwani.

C4


Coach Talib picks six new players after Sohar tourney

MUSCAT: Oman national beach soccer team coach Talib Hilal has picked six new players for a training camp after the Sohar leg of the ongoing Oman Oil Beach Soccer Cup.

According to information pro-vided by the Oman Football Asso-ciation (OFA), Shat Al Arab team team won the top honours at the Sohar leg of the beach football tournament.

The tournament was held at the beach near the Sohar cor-niche and attracted a lot of atten-tion from beach goers as people gathered around to see the players stake their claim to the beach soc-cer national team, an OFA state-ment said.

Coach Talib Hilal is on a mis-sion to spot new talents to be called up for the national team training camp to be held ahead of

their participation in the Asian Beach Games later this year.

Talib Hilal had already picked four players at the end of the first leg organised in Sur.

The next leg of the Oman Oil Beach Soccer Cup will be held in Salalah on April 23.

The fifth edition of Asian Beach Games are scheduled to be organ-ised in Vietnam from September 24 to October 3.

O M A N O I L B E A C H S O C C E R

OTA successfully organises first inter-club junior tennis in ManahMUSCAT: Oman Tennis Asso-ciation (OTA) successfully or-ganised the 1st Inter-club Junior Tennis Championships in the Wilayat of Manah.

The two-day tournament, which began on April 15 and 16, took place at the Manah Recrea-tion Centre.

In the individual category, Al Bashaer Club’s Al Abdili Moham-med Abdili won the under-10 boys title after defeating Nizwa Club’s Fayad Mahamood Al Khrousi 10-5 in a well-contested final.

In the under-12 boys final, Ahmed Ismael Al Tobi, also of Al Bashaer Club, defeated Nizwa’s Saif Ahmed Al Khrousi 10-8.

Al Tobi’s teammate Nubras Mo-hammed Al Abdili surved some anxious moments before defeat-ing Nizwa Club’s Yahya Abdullah Al Rajhi 11-9 to take the under-14

boys title. In the team champion-ships, Majees Club team com-prising Abdulrahman Al Balushi, Ahmed Al Farsi, Khamis Al Jabri, emerged the champions in the un-der-10 boys competition. Nizwa Club, consisting of Mohammed Al Hashmi, Fayad Al Khrousi, Ahmed Al Hashmi, took the second place while Al Bashaer Club (Al Abdili Al Abdili) settled for the third place.

In the boys under-12 competi-tion, Nizwa (Yassen Al Khrousi, Taha Al Khrousi and Saif Al Khrou-si) won the title ahead of Al Bashaer (Ahmed Al Tobi and Al Abdili Mo-hammed Al Abdili). Majees Club (Abdulrahman Al Balushi, Moham-med Al Barmani and Moaadh Al Zadjali) won the third place.

In the boys under-14, Ni-zwa Club, represented by Yahya

Al Rajhi, Qusai Al Hadidi, Saif Al Khrousi and Yaseen Yahya, emerged the champions.

Quriyat Club (Qusai Al Busafi, Nasser Al Soti, Muayed Al Battashi and Hussein Al Battashi) won the second place, while Bashaer (Nibras Al Abdali, Yaqub Al Tobi, Faisal Al Masrouri and Abdullah Al Hadrami) took the third place.

T E N N I S

OMAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN RECEIVES SAUDI ARABIAN AMBASSADOROman Olympic Committee (OOC) chief Sheikh Khalid

bin Mohammed Al Zubair received at his office on

Sunday Eid bin Mohammed Al Thaqafi, Saudi Arabian

Ambassador to the Sultanate, in the presence of Taha

bin Suleiman Al Kishry, General Secretary of the OOC.

The meeting discussed a number of issues concern-

ing the sports and Olympic movement in the two

countries besides the ways to further enhance the

sports co-operation.

Leicester and Arsenal held

LONDON: Leaders Leicester City salvaged a point with a penalty from the last kick of the game to draw 2-2 with West Ham United on Sunday and open up an eight-point gap over Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the Premier League.

Although Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri praised his team’s “fantastic” performance built on “blood, heart and soul”, the match proved costly for the side bidding for their first English top-flight title.

Goalscorer Jamie Vardy was sent off early in the second half and he will be suspended for the next match against Swansea City.

Leicester lead the standings with 73 points from 34 matches, followed by Spurs who have 65 from 33 and play their game in hand at Stoke City on Monday.

Arsenal, who drew 1-1 with Crys-tal Palace on Sunday, remained fourth on 60 points, behind Man-chester City on goal difference.

Victory over West Ham and de-feat for Spurs on Monday would have left Leicester 10 points clear with four games to play. Two minutes into the game, however,

Leicester were lucky not to be be-hind when a West Ham attempt hit both posts before being cleared.

Leicester took the lead through Vardy after 18 minutes with the striker grabbing his 22nd goal of the season to join Harry Kane of Spurs as the league’s leading scorer.

But Vardy was red-carded for a second yellow early in the second half by referee Jon Moss and al-though Leicester’s 10 men coped well with constant West Ham pressure, they wilted in the 84th minute when Wes Morgan fouled Winston Reid and Andy Carroll equalised from the spot.

Two minutes later West Ham were ahead thanks to a fierce shot from the edge of the penalty area from Aaron Cresswell, before Car-roll fouled Jeffrey Schlupp and Moss awarded Leicester a penalty which Leonardo Ulloa converted.

“The sending off changed our match,” Ranieri said. “But I never speak about the referee.

“Our performance was fantas-tic, this is our soul, we play every match with this, blood, heart and soul, it was magnificent. This point is very important psychologically.”

West Ham remained sixth on 53 points, three behind Manchester United. Arsenal’s lingering title hopes appeared to end after they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Crystal Palace.

Liverpool, showing 10 changes from the side that beat Borussia Dortmund 4-3 to reach the Eu-ropa League semifinals, won 2-1 at Bournemouth with their goals coming at the end of the first half from Roberto Firmino and Daniel Sturridge.

Josh King scored a late consola-tion for the hosts. - Reuters

Leicester lead the

standings with

73 points from 34

matches, followed by

Spurs who have 65

from 33 matches

At the recent launch of the Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone: the Galaxy S7 (Flat and Edge), there were some cool doodads as well, catching the eyeballs,

other than the flashy phones. As the phone wars intensify, it is no longer limited to just “What’s in the smartphone?” What’s with the smartphone equally matters too: The accessories.

With the S7, Samsung came up with many; from a whole ar-ray of exciting cases (as many as eight different variants) offering not just a different look, but func-tionalities as well ranging from keyboard cover, to lens cover, to leather, wallet, and LED cov-ers – to interchangeable lenses, smartphone backpack, and wire-less charging dock.

However, what really caught our fancy is the Gear VR, Sam-sung’s first virtual reality headset for everyday consumers; the re-ally stylish Level U wireless ear-phones, and last but not the least, the really slim and yet powerful 5200mAh battery pack.

The Gear VR delivers amaz-ing visual experience with 360-degree movie watching and playing super immersive games. Being able to actually

look around for things not in the scene feels a lot more inter-active than just scrolling with a joystick on a normal screen.

It’s comfortable to wear for hours at a time, even if you wear glasses, and the controls are in-tuitive and easy to understand. Although the video quality is not as good as the current rivals; the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and the Sony PS VR, and the controls are also not as powerful as the rest. But then the Gear VR is priced under OMR50, while the other three are well above OMR100. The idea is to give the consumers a good introduction to the world

of virtual reality, and it succeeds hugely at that.

Another advantage the Gear VR has over its rivals is mobil-ity. While the rival three need to be tethered to their source, limiting the movement while in use, the Gear VR is completely cord free, allowing the user to go anywhere, anytime (although I seriously doubt if this feature is at all of any help. With the VR on your eyes, you are seeing an-other world, while your body is in another, making you blind for any movement.) The Gear VR is only compatible with the S6, S7 series, and Note 5.

The Level U Bluetooth head-phones are another cool accesso-ry from Samsung that we came to really like. Connecting wirelessly to your smartphone or tablet, the chic earphones are a delight for the ears.

Delivering clear high qual-ity sound (specially the bass) with large 12mm speaker units, the earphones are top choice for music on the move. Designed for long term wear, the headphones feature a flexible urethane joint to wear around the neck and sta-bilising wing ear gels for in-ear comfort. Dual-microphone noise reduction and echo cancellation reduce outside sound interfer-ence and feedback during calls.

The control buttons are also very well placed. A voice prompt also informs about the active/in-active and pairing status. Battery life is pretty good with 10 hours of music playback. A very nice feature is that the back of the neckband vibrates to alert you of incoming calls.

The slim design 5200mAh Bat-tery Pack is remarkably light-weight at less than 145g, and ultra-thin at just 9.8mm.

Sleek and slim, carrying this battery pack is fuss-free. While most of the other battery packs are a menace with their rather

bulgy dimensions, the Samsung battery pack is perfectly port-able in every situation, easily slidable into your pants’ pocket. With the same sophisticated metal looks and dimensions as that of the Galaxy S6, it is just like carrying another smart-phone in your pocket.

The big 5200mAh capacity provides you with more power on the go, and the battery pack also features ‘Fast Charge’, meaning it charges the devices and gets charged real fast. What’s more with the earphones and battery pack is that they are universal, and can work with non-Samsung devices as well.

Although I might feel com-pelled to say that Samsung is in-spired by the competition more often rather than coming up with something actually new on its own. If the Gear VR appears to be the middle path between Google Cardboard an Oculus Rift, the earphones are quite similar to LG Tone headphones, and the LED case very much seems di-rectly taken from HTC.

What Samsung has really done is gather all the goods from around and present one happy package to the smarty buffs. Nice job.— [email protected]

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

GearSECTIONC L I F E S T Y L E M O N DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

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S T O R Y F A I S A L M O H A M M E D N A I M

P H O T O S S U P P L I E D

B R A N C H I N G O U T B E Y O N DT R E N D S E T T I N GS M A R T P H O N E S ,S A M S U N G H A SL A U N C H E DA K I L L E R N E W L I N E O F M O D I S H U N I V E R S A LA C C E S S O R I E S

A V A I L A B L E ATSARCO, EMAX, EXTRA, AND OTHER

LEADING ELECTRONIC STORES

FIND-IT-ALLC6 M O N DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

Dhuhr 12.11pmAsr 3.38pmMaghrib 6.34pmIsha 7.47pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 4.25am

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 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 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



TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)


SALALAH TO DUBAI (ROUTE 102)

15:00 Dubai 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)



13:00 Sohar 15:30 Wed,Thur

13:00 Dubai 18:30 Wed,Thur



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)



13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri





TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)


TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)



TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)



TO SUR (ROUTE 55)



TO YIBAL - FAHUD (ROUTE 62)

12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily


TO SALALAH -MARMUL (ROUTE 100)





TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)


DUBAI TO SALALAH (ROUTE 102)


TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)



13:00 Sohar 16:15 Thur-Fri

13:00 Ruwi 19:10 Thur-Fri



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 Aka (ANTI GANG) (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 Adams3:45, 11:45 PM

Fan (Hindi) (2D) (Thriller) (PG12) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi, Ileana D’Cruz 2:45, 5:40, 8.30, 10:00, 11:30 PM

Rocky Handsome (2D) (Action) (12+) Cast: John Abraham, Shruti Hassan3:45, 11:45 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 Prabhu

7:00, 8:55 PM

The Jungle Book (3D) (Adventure) (PG) Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley3:00, 5:00, 7:00 PM

RUWIScreen 1Fan (Thriller) –PG12Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi, Ileana D’Cruz 3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PM

Screen 2The Jungle Book (2D) (Adventure) –PGCast: Scarlett Johansson, Idris Elba3.45, 6.45, 9.00 PM

Screen 3Rocky Handsome (Action/ Thriller) –12+Cast: John Abraham, Shruti Haasan3.45 PM

Theri (Action) - Tamil –12+Cast: Vijay, Samantha, Amy Jackson, Prabhu6.45, 9.45 PM

SURFan (Hindi, Thriller) (PG12)Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi, Mariola Jaworska, Ileana D’Cruz 3:15, 8:15, 11:15 PM

The Jungle Book (3D) (Adventure | Drama| Family) (PG)Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley.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

SOHARBatman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice– 2D (Action, Adventure, Fantasy) (PG12)Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams3:00PM

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 Aka (ANTI GANG) – 2D (Fantasy, Horror, Thriller) (15+)Cast: Jean Reno, Alban Lenoir, Caterina Murino 5:15, 11:45PM

The Jungle Book – 3D (Adventure, Drama, Family) (PG)Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley3:15, 5:45, 7:30PM

Fan-2D (Crime, Drama, Thriller) (PG12)Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi, Mariola Jaworska2:45, 6:00, 8:00, 11:00PM

Theri – 2D (Romance, Comedy) (12+)

Cast: Vijay, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Amy Jackson7:00, 9:00PM

BURAIMIThe Squad Aka (ANTI GANG) -2D (Action, Drama)Cast: JeanReno, AlbanLenoir, Caterina Murino.11:45PM

Fan (Hindi, Thriller)Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi, Mariola Jaworska5:15, 8:15, 11:15PM

The Jungle Book (3D)Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley.4:30, 7:30PM

CriminalCast: Kevin Costner, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot5:15, 6:30, 9:30, 11:30PM

Their (Tamil) Cast: Vijay, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Amy Jackson8:45PM

SALALAHThe Jungle Book (3D) (PG) (Adventure | Drama| Family) Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley1:00, 4:30, 6:30PM Fan (2D) (PG12) (Thriller) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi3:00, 6:00, 9:00, 11:15PM Criminal (2D) (15+) (Action| Crime | Drama) Cast: Kevin Costner, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot2:15, 4:30, 6:45, 9:00, 11:30PM The Squad Aka (ANTI GANG) (2D) (15+) (Action | Drama)Cast: Jean Reno, Alban Lenoir, Caterina Murino2:45, 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

@PANORAMA MALL @ RUWI

Criminal (Action|Crime | Drama) (15+)Cast: Kevin Costner, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot2:30, 8:45 & 11:15PM

Fan (Hindi| Thriller) (PG12)Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi, Ileana D’Cruz 3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PM

BAHJA CINEMAFilm information 24540856 / Advance Booking

24540855

Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

Fan (Hindi) (Drama / Thriller)Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Waluscha De Souza, Shriya Pilgaonkar1.00, 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 PM. CP 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 & 9:30PM Cinema Main Fan (Hindi) (Action\Thriller) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan & Ileana D’Cruz 3:30, 6:30 & 9:30 PM Cinema -2

Darvinte Parinamam (Mal) (Comedy \ Drama) Cast: Privthviraj & Chandini Sreedharan 3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 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

330

Maximum

280

Minimum

TEMPERATURE

50-25%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

LIFESTYLEC7M O N DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

Your iPhone will expire in three years, says Apple US electronic giant Apple has said the iPhones and Apple Watch have a life expectancy of three years, while AppleTV devices expire in four years. In a recent update to its environmental policy, Apple specified iPhone’s productive life cycle will be up at the three-year mark, as will the Apple Watch while the OS X, a series of operating systems developed and marketed by Apple Inc., and AppleTV de-vices will get an extra twelve months to reach the four-year mark. “To model customer use, we measure the power consumed by a prod-uct while it is running in a simulated scenario,” Apple was quoted as saying. “Daily usage patterns are specific to each product and are a mixture of actual and modelled customer-use data. Years of use, which are based on first owners, are assumed to be four years for OS X and tvOS devices and three years for iOS and watchOS devices,” the company added. These numbers are in harmony with Apple’s strategy of rolling out operating system updates to older devices and the hardware offered to replace older units.

B R I E F S

DesignThe best looking HTC so far, the 10 makes a very bold statement. Like its predecessor, (the M9), the HTC 10 feels sturdy, crafted from a sin-gle block of aluminium, featuring a new angled bevel that shimmers in the light, appearing smooth or textured depending on the environ-ment.

Even though slightly wide for comfortable single thumb opera-tion, the 10 finds good balance be-tween the screen size and overall dimensions. The second speaker on the device has been moved from the front to the underside, accom-modating a front-facing fingerprint sensor in its place.

The Galaxy S7 looks exotic in its glass and metal construc-tion, but feels fragile. The seams and joints on the body also look to weaken in due course (we are sure you would have changed your phone by then anyway).

The typical camera bump (or hump) on the backside of the pre-vious Galaxy has been consider-ably reduced, but the protrusion still remains. Packing a bigger battery than its predecessor, the S6, the new S7 is IP68 waterproof up to 1 metre and one hour, and dustproof as well. S7: 10:

FeaturesBoth the contenders pack a punch. Each has the latest processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, along with 4GB RAM, 32GB of internal storage, 12MP rear cam-eras, 5MP front cameras, and a variety of value-added options. However, the HTC storage is ex-pandable up to a mammoth 2TB, while the Samsung can only go up till 200GB.

The S7 is waterproof with no visible external seals or gaskets, and can be charged wirelessly.

On the other hand, the HTC 10 has a USB Type-C port with USB 3.1 transfer speeds, which future proofs it for many years to come. The S7 still uses microUSB port with USB 2.0 transfer speeds, perhaps to maintain compatibil-ity with the Gear VR.

The S7 has the edge in terms of screen technology. While the 10 features the fifth generation Super LCD – one of the best LCDs cur-rently, the S7 comes with Super AMOLED: Better in terms of vi-brance, viewing angles, and bright-ness, especially outdoors.

Both devices have fingerprint scanners on the front, but here the HTC looks superior. The 10’s home button is more capacitive than physical, preventing future me-chanical problems, and the device can be unlocked without turning the screen on, the feature absent on the S7. The HTC’s fingerprint scanner also seems faster and more responsive.

On the power front, both devices are equipped with 3,000mAh non-removable battery, and feature al-most the same backup. S7: 10:

CameraHTC has long suffered in this seg-ment, and while this time it has improved its performance signifi-cantly, it still is not up to the leader in mobile camera technology yet.

Both the 10 and S7 sport 12MP rear camera, but the Galaxy S7 is able to focus, expose and shoot faster than the HTC 10, in any light condition and with very little compromise.

However, Samsung lags behind the HTC in picture originality as it manipulates images applying arti-ficial sharpening and noise reduc-tion to make photos look crisper on the mobile screen. The flaw is however clearly exposed on bigger screens like PC or laptop. The 10, though takes more time adjusting the exposure, captures more true to life images.

Both the phones feature pro-fessional modes, which allow for manual tweaking of shutter speed, focus, exposure and light sensitiv-ity. With a bit of tweaking, the HTC 10’s slightly larger pixels; 1.55 mi-crons compared to S7’s 1.4 – k pro-duce cleaner shots that are more easily editable post-production.

For the selfie camera, both are up

with 5MP camera, however, the 10 also features optical image stabi-lisation, a first in the industry for front cameras. S7: 10:

SoftwareBoth devices run on Android 6.0.1, but the HTC interface feels much better than Samsung. It always has: No overload of features and useless widgets, and still retains the more useful power user shortcuts, such as Motion Ges-tures and quick music stream-ing. Features like Personal Au-dio Profile, which optimises sound output for your specific headphones, are just awesome.

The ever overloaded Samsung has also tried to shed the unnec-essary load a bit in the S7, but still nowhere close to the 10. Though the service duplication is toned down, there is still too much mirroring – from own browser to app market.

HTC’s default theme also has some of the nicest icons on any Android device, and also HTC has struck deals with Facebook to pre-instal its core app plus Messenger and Instagram.S7: 10:

ConclusionIf Samsung has a somewhat bet-ter screen, and little better camera results, HTC has got much better hardware, and super-awesome design. If the S7 is water and dust proof (only to a little extent), the HTC 10 has solid construction. When it comes to premium all poi-sons are just great and it is all a mat-ter of degree and taste. None of the device is going to disappoint.

TOO Verdict: Just for the sake of it, we go with the HTC 10. No camera bump and real solid con-struction. We let the design take it home. —[email protected]

CLASH OF THE TITANS

Samsung Galaxy S7 HTC 10They are at it again. Samsung and HTC lock horns with their top end smartphones, each trying

to edge out the other. With almost the same specs, loaded with the latest technology,

and the biggest numbers, this duel is going to be a tough one. Finally, whoever be the

winner, we believe the other is no less. It’s all about brand preferences.

Story Faisal Mohammed Naim

Facebook to add news section to its mobile appSocial media website Facebook may soon add a news section to its Android and iOS smart-phone apps that may look like Facebook Paper, a standalone mobile app created only for iOS. Facebook confirmed that it is testing the new, sectioned news feed, in addition to the current format. Some screenshots surfaced on Twitter on Friday, showing a new layout of the app that highlighted multiple news sections, with topics such as world and US, sports and food. “People have told us they would like options to see more stories on Facebook around specific topics they are interested in, and in accordance we have been testing a few feeds for people to view more and different stories from people and pages based on topic areas,” a Facebook spokesperson was quoted as saying, adding the move would encourage users to get more news from Facebook rather than other sources like Twitter or Google News. -IANS

LIFESTYLEC8 M O N DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

W O R L D I N Y O U R P O C K E TFrom socialising to shopping to music and photo sharing, mobile phones in their smart avatar have

come a long way from being mere chatboxes. Computers in pockets, here is how the 21st century

tech savvy gen is putting the smartphone to use.

92%Text Messaging

59%Social

Networking

64%Gaming

54%Watching

Video

55%Navigating

76%Emailing

92%Taking Photos

84%Internet

Browsing

69%Downloading

Apps

12%Checking in

15%Tweeting

Source: Tatango.com

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

D

D4 VACANCY CARGO D7

Ruwi: 24 792 792 Sohar: 2684 2420

All HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, SamsungCartridges also available.

GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!!

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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

M O N D AY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

RENT D2

PROPERTIES FOR RENT

For enquires please contact : 24 702 666, Fax: 24-703666. Email: [email protected]

Contact : 95399988, 24942600 Email - [email protected] 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] [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

D2 M O N D AY, A P R I L 1 8 , 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

Office & 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

1 BHK in Azaiba. Contact:

99385835 / 99428143

2BHK flat near Wadi Adai signal

R.O 280/- negotiable. #97645436

Flat for rent in Ruwi, Mumtaz area

2 bedrooms. Contact: 24291500 /

91409667

Villa for rent Al Zahiya Muttrah, 5

rooms, 3 bathrooms, kitchen & big

compound. Contact: 91163611

1000 sqm Industrial space with

office and accommodation, near

Grand Mosque, Ghala. #99364938

2 B, 1Bathroom & 1K in Al

Azaiba (Behind Zubair Showroom).

RO340/- Call: 98989054

New flat 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 flat 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 office. #92959129

Office 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

Offices in Ghala. Contact

94051789 / 97201688

Brand new villas in Al Ansab. Con-

tact 94051789 / 97201688

Offices & Showrooms in Mutrah.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688

Duplex villa in QURUM 29. Con-

tact 94051789 / 97201688

Offices & Showrooms in Al Khoud.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688

Shops / flats available in Honda

Road, Ruwi & Mabellah Indus-

trial area. Contact 24833972/

24833974/ 99367448

Flat in Al Khuwair opp grand mall

4 room 3 toilet + hall kitchen in 3

floor 400. Contact 99420346

2BHK Ghala, new bldg with A/C,

325/- R.O. Contact: 99024730

1+2+3 BHK Al Khuwair. #99024730

Available - fully furnished 2 bed-

room apartment ( 12 nos) & fully fur-

nished studio flats (10 nos) -location

near Sohar Port - Contact : 94532131

2BHK available Mumtaz area Ruwi.

Contact: 99269751

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 flat shops / ware house space

available for rent behind new ROP

building at Honda road. #91165807

2 BHK / 1BHK near Machi Market

Ruwi. R.O 200/- & 225/-. Contact:

99354771

Furnished office (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

New Rent house in Mabela. Con-

tact: 99880841/96053220

1 BHK near Medical Darsait R.O

170/-. Contact: 95076261

2,200 sq mtr factory area & 800

sq mtr store with 8 accommoda-

tion rooms and 10 office cabins

available for rent in Barka indus-

trial area. Contact 91398381 / 80 /

78, email - [email protected]

02 BHK residential flat opposite

to Al Nahdha hospital.

Contact: 99342733 /99795241

Two bedrooms flat 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

New building Wattayah main road,

showroom & office space. #94300909

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), office, 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

For rent and investment Land

industrial shops in Rusayl.

Contact: 99323957 /

95490842

Four bedroom two floors 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

2BHK Big Size Flat Behind Bank

Muscat, Wadi Kabir. Near ISWK.

97826454, 24815012.

New flats for rent at Darsait near

to Ministry of Sports, Mumtaz area

the flats includes, 1 living room, 2

bedroom, kitchen,

3 toilets, every rooms with split

A/C high quality finishing rent

per flat is R.O 340/- . Interested

candidates please contact 00968

92225523

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

Quality Warehouses

for rent at Mizfa 550 sqm to 3400 sqm.

Contact 99332291 / 96046951

FOR RENTFully furnished office

space available for

rent at Wadi Kabir

1. First floor – 270 M2

2. Ground floor – 170 M2

Contact Jacob – 99880534

Dinu - 92881410

DAILY GUIDEM O N D AY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 D3

FOR SALERestaurant for sale (Indian,

Chinese, Arabic food ). contact

91181765 / 95411354

Pharmacy in prime location in

Muttrah Souq. Contact: 95803883

Paver, ABG Titan - 4732, Bitelli

tandom roller, bitelli - PTR roller,

Bomag combination roller, shovel

SDLG. Contact: 92964673

Dental Clinic for sale in Seeb. Con-

tact: 96373097 / 92882209

Coffee shop for sale in Al Khuwair

33. Contact: 92994415

Villas in Al Khoud.#95056808 /

97201688

Luxury Apartments in Boucher

(35). #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. contact

97986525

Steel Scrap materials for immedi-

ate 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/Residen-

tial land in Mabela Phase 5 Block 2.

OMR 165 Thousand. # 99333479 or

95215360 or 97509955

Space for printing press available

at wadikabir with or without

machinery. Contact 99328430

Shop for sale near Oman House,

Muttrah. Contact 99024362.

Urgent sale of steel scrap only

serious buyers kindly contact +968

96725423 for viewing the items.

HD Scaffoldings, Shuttering

Jacks, Wooden Planks, Shuttering

wood assorted, Tower hoist (lift),

Concrete Mixer, Bending Machine,

Steel Fabrication Machinery

(Searing/Cutting, lathe & Welding)

including tools for immediate sale:

contact 99273774/ 99202278

FOR SALEUsed cars – Saloon cars, SUV 4 WD, Mini bus, Water Tanker

and Pickups for sale on as-is-where- is basis. Further, used

port cabins (10 nos) and steel scrap also available for sales.

These can be inspected at NTS camp in Ghala.

Interested parties may contact on 99259157 / 93891398.

Sealed offers with vehicle- wise/ item number- wise quote

should be submitted on or before

25th April 2016 with security deposit.

MANPOWER

AVAILABLE

Party & Wedding equipment rentals.

Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirt-

ing, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery,

Crockery, Glassware, Chafing 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]

DRIVING

ACC. AVAILABLE

ACC. AVAILABLE

Sharing accommodation one

attached hall, small kitchen, A/C,

Internet R.O 140/- E& W at Al Khu-

wair. Contact: 99382008

Single room available near Darsait

Lulu. Contact: 92120626

Furnished flat near ABA American

School near Madinat Qaboos Rent

R.O 650/- P.M. Contact : 99335100

Furnished single room available

for Executive bachelor or small

family in Walja near Honda Road

Ruwi. Contact 99016546

Big room available with AC,

toilet, Kitchen at Al Hail Highway

roadside preferred south Indians.

Contact: 92968292

Furnish bedroom with attach

bathroom for executive bachelor.

Contact: 97704794

Separate entrance furnished

bedroom with attached bath and

kitchen for Executive bachelor in

a villa opp. Star Cinema. Contact:

99314807

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 Execu-

tive bachelor at Al Hail. contact

96234708

Room for rent with furniture.

Al Bustan village.contact

93687466

Furnished room attached bath

for Indian bachelor, Al-Falaj

Ruwi & lady Wadi Kabir near

Mars hypermarket. CONTACT

96202458/96761960

Room with attached bathroom for

a family in Wadi Kabir. contact

97167857

Room with attached bathroom and

sharing kitchen available for

Executive bachelor or small family

at wadikabir Contact 93049849

Single room B/K sharing Mumtaz

area. Contact: 95212017

Room available in Mumtaz area

1 room, 1 Bathroom, Kitchen & 1

room, common bathroom. Interested

pleasecontact 92680041 Mr. Altaf

FOR HIRE

For rent Backhoe Loader Volvo BL71

long term. Contact: 99257975

Quality concept trading LLC Crane

rental daily monthly cranes

available for rent at attractive prizes .

Contact: 92870992

DAILY GUIDED4 M O N D AY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT SITUATION WANTEDSIT.WANTED

SITUATION WANTEDSIT.WANTED

Email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

DRIVER

DOMESTIC HELP

DESIGNER

MEDICAL

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ADMIN

BEAUTICIAN

ACCOUNT. & FINANCERequired urgently an experienced

Accountant having 2-3 years expe-

rience. Send your resume by e-mail :

[email protected]

We are looking for Public Relations

Officer. Contact: 99855604

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.

[email protected]

Wanted driver. Contact: 91025698

Wanted female Muslim cook for fam-

ily at Qurum, visa available.

Looking for a female fashion de-

signer to work at Al Bawwab Tex-

tiles in Shatti Al Qurum. Contact :

94029940

Urgently required female Staff

Nurse (two) with or without M.O.H

license, good package. Contact

after 5:00 P.M on Mobile:

99253650 or send C.V on

[email protected]

Wanted B-Pharmacist (lady) for

Sohar. Contact 99767605

Required Gynecologist, Lab tech-

nician, 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: umchealth-

[email protected]

Wanted Staff Nurse for

a dermatology clinic in Muscat .

Must have MOH license and NOC.

Attractive salary offered. Email:

[email protected]

GP doctor needed for reputed

clinic. Preferably with MOH

license or with Dataflow & Para-

matics 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 C.V dr.kamalsaqib@yahoo.

com

ENGINEER/MECHANIC.

Engine cylinder head technician

required immediately for guide chang-

ing, seat changing, seat cutting & valve

lapping. call or whatsapp immediately

968-98898273

Required Civil Foreman, Carpen-

ter Foreman & Automobile foreman.

Contact: 99453617 Email: alsawarillc@

gmail.com

Required Hydraulic Mechanic. Contact

95251213

Indian male 25 yrs, Graduate in com-

merce, overall 5 yrs exp in accounts/

finance field. On visit visa. Immedi-

ately available. CONTACT 92836216 /

[email protected]

28/male/MBA - finance/B.Com -

Accountant with 4 years of Dubai/

India experience looking for a

suitable placement.#90187483

[email protected]

Indian male, 24 yrs, Graduated with

specialization in Accounting 2 years

experienced C.A.CPT completed.

#94628086 / 97315091

Indian male well experienced in Ac-

counts ERP, TALLY 9 & Admin NOC

available looking for a suitable job.

Contact: 92650835

A young CA (ACA & ACCA qualified)

with 4 years experience in one of top

audit firms in UK & KSA seeks suitable

placement in Oman. Contact: Kamran:

[email protected]. +44 7480

1196 74. +968 93595050.

Audit and accounts 5 years experi-

enced male/25 with SAP, Tally and

peachtree knowledge available for

suitable placement. 97190575.

ACCA Qualified, 26 female with 3

years work experience looking for

suitable position in Accounting /

finance. Contact: 91322423

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

B. Tech Mechanical Engineer having

3 years experience in maintenance &

commissioning experience in an en-

gineering services company on visit

visa looking for suitable. #91106765

Email: [email protected]

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 suitable

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


Indian male, Mechanical

Engineer having 1year experi-

ence, on visit visa looking for

suitable job. Contact:97416564,

Email:[email protected]

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

Electrical Engineer (B.E) 8+ yrs

experience, NOC & release available

with valid D/L. #968 94374735

Indian male, Technical Sales Man-

ager, B.E Mech, with 11 years exp in

Automotive Eng & Industrial Mainte-

nance with Oman D/L seeks suitable

job. On release to join immediately

– 92880593

An electrical & electronics engineer

awarded from Sunderland University

with an experience in access central

eyewear & rebranding of petard ela-

tions facilities have a valid visa up to

year & half. Contact: 91347567

Egyptian lady have BA in Electrical

power & machines & did some train-

ing looking for job in any company.

Contact: 95935181 / 91112193

Graduate Civil Engineer having 19

years Gulf experience seeks immedi-

ate employment in reputed firms

in Muscat NOC available. Contact:

99446786 / 93251306

Female Electrical Engineer, excel-

lent knowledge, Graduated with

distinction, can work under pressure.

Contact: 98133281

Mechanical Engineer (UK), 4 yrs

exp in technical, Sales Engineer

in Oman having valid GCC license

looking suitable placement. NOC

available. Contact: 97612297 Email:

[email protected]

Electrical Engineer having 8 years

experience with valid driving license

(NOC available) Ph#91293519 Email:

[email protected]

Indian female M.Tech in VLSI De-

sign B.Tech in electronics with valid

IELTS score 6.5 now in family visa

experience in teaching & and admin.

Contact: 90195131 Email: chinj.89@

gmail.com

Civil Engineer, bachelor degree

driving license & experience in

Oman. Contact: 91102892

Indian CA, Male, 34 yrs, having14+

Yrs exp. in A/Cs, finance, auditing,

consultancy and knows SAPB1,Tally

ERP. Valid Oman D/L .Currently work-

ing in Oman. NOC available. Contact:

94704800, Email: omanjobca@gmail.

com.

Male, 33 yrs, 14 yrs experience in

Marketing, finance & accounts finan-

cial services, transaction processing,

investment banking seeking suitable

openings. Contact: 94697386

Sudanese female Accountant excel-

lent knowledge, MS Office, can work

under pressure. Contact: 97200130

Young ACCA finalist with Hons.

degree in applied Accounting from

Oxford Brooks with three years

experience with valid Oman driving

license looking for immediate place-

men. Release NOC Available. Contact:

92851056

M.Com Accountant three years ex-

perience three star hotel Tamil Nadu

India, immediately available. Contact:

Contact 92831400/96051737

Indian male , 29 B.com ICWA ( pursu-

ing) 7 years experience in accountant

/ audit with valid Omani D/L seeking

for suitable placement, NOC available.

#94706954 Email: [email protected]

Part-time Accounting up to finaliza-

tion, Auditing, Taxation and Project

Finance assistance - 91044655

Male Accountant M.Com (finance &

accounts) having 3 years experience

in accounts looking for available job

on visit visa. Contact: 94648575

CMA & CIA qualified finance profes-

sional with 13 years of me experience

in FMCG industries as well as various

other industries available for immediate

permanent job openings. #94543660

Accountant 8 Years experience with

D/L and NOC. Contact 97712084

ACCA finalist 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 fina-

lization, looking for job after 5 pm

(location prefer - MSQ to Al Hail).

#95694737

MBA finance from Pakistan with

4 years experience in Accounts &

finance department currently in

Muscat on family visit visa, 27 yrs.

Contact: 90590037 Email:

[email protected],

[email protected]

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


Accountant available with NOC,

7 years experience in Oman.

Ready to join immediately. contact

98263394

EDUCATION/TRAINING

Female B. Ed English teacher, 7

yrs exp seeking suitable placement.

Contact : 99739415 / 92091528

SALES / MARKETING

Urgently Required: Construc-

tion Company Purchaser- with

experience in Oman and with

NOC for immediately join. In-

terested candidates may call us

to our office telephone: 00968-

24696584/24696585 or fax:

00968-24605955 or email us to

[email protected],

[email protected]

Need salesman with driving

license, having two years experi-

ence. Contact: 92891888

Required marketing / PR manager

for a modern restaurant group in

Oman , proficient in illustrator &

Photoshop charismatic , proac-

tive , creative & flexible excellent

writing / Editing skills degree in

relevant area fluent in English.

Send CV to marketingpr2016@

gmail.com

Salesman for a printing press.

Contact: 99498949

Looking for Salesman with experi-

ence in vegetable and fruits sales,

good conduct, fluent in English.

Should have driving license. Email

CV on: [email protected]

Contact - 96339339

Required indoor Salesman for

building material shop with 3 years.


[email protected]

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 field preferred. Interested

candidates may send C.V to r

[email protected]

Indian, 20 years experience

in Oman as personal assistant /

office 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, 26 yrs, MBA with

3 yrs experience in HR / Admin

marketing customer relations

currently in Muscat on visit

visa. Contact: 97205038 Email:

[email protected]

Indian Male 19 years (8 Years in

Oman) well experienced in HR /

Admin in Oil & Gas, Construction

fields with Oman D/L seeks suitable

position. Release / NOC available

call: 92854993.

Young Omani male have experience

12 years as P.R.O, CLERK Helper

Supervisor Admin Supervisor, H.R

Manager have diploma in H.S.E, IT

and P.D.O license, looking for H.R po-

sition or P.R.O part time or full time.

Contact: 95933288

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

UAE/UK/Oman Experienced Gradu-

ate Male33 seeking administration

Job. Diplomas in IT & Finance too.

Driving licenseTel:94496642

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]

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

ARCHITECT

Architect exp.7 years, 4 years in

GCC Architectural design interior

sites 3D Max AutoCAD, Photoshop.


[email protected]

Qualified 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 ad-

ministration in (3.5 years UAE experi-

ence) oil and gas projects is currently

looking for suitable job. #93953613 ,

Email [email protected]

Male CA finalist B.Com having 5

years experience with big four

audit firms looking for suitable job

on visit. Contact: 92230543 Email:

[email protected]

Jordanian Senior Accountant 15

yrs experience in Oman finance &

accounts. Contact : 92881223

CA finalist 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 finance. contact

99284193

Indian male 34 Yrs, Dual MBA

Finance and marketing with IT

skills, 7+ yrs of experience,

Looking for suitable placement.

contact 94879615,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

ADMIN

HR Manager (Indian Male – 41 Yrs)

PG in HR, working for MNC having

12 years of experience in Oman.

Handling SAP-HR, Talent Acquisi-

tion, IR, Payroll, Visas & allied ad-

ministration. Holding Valid Omani

D/L & car. Seeks suitable placement.

Contact 96792103

B.Com 3 years business process

outsourcing. Contact: 94657273

Indian male, 25, 4+ years of expe-

rience as an Office Administrator

looking for a suitable placement.

Contact: 92600859


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


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, Office Coordina-

tor with good Computer skill, Now

on Visit Visa,looking for suitable

position. Contact: 90196235

DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN

Free lance /part time autocad works

(ARCH/ MEP) 2D/3D PH: 97103168

Architectural Draftsmen diploma

in construction technology with 6

years experience in drafting and

detailing as per British standard

in Oman with valid Omani license

looking for suitable opportunity Noc

available. Call 94375897.

Supervisor / Cad Draftsman with

Oman light driving license 10

years experience in carpentry

field. Contact: 95962384

Piping designer with 14 years expe-

rience working with PDO, OXY for 10

years NOC available.#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

Filipino Senior Revit/AutoCAD

Draftsman with 20 years profes-

sional experience is looking for

suitable job in Oman. Please

#96489798, (+974) 66653780.

LOOKING FOR SALESMEN

- Required urgently young &

dynamic

- Junior Sales Persons with a

valid

- Oman Driving license for a

reputed printing and graphics

company.

Contact: 96260078 / 96532284


Looking for Accountant

for Cosmetics Industry

having experience in

retail and inventory.

Contact – 24704636

Email : [email protected]

CANADIAN CO.- FREE CONSULTANCYFOR LEGAL JOB

- For Hotel Staff, Construction Staff, Medical, Gas

& Oil Staff.

- Free recruitment - free tickets, accommodation,

work visa, contract for 2 (two) years.

Contact : 93392630 Send CV on

[email protected]

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

DRIVER

Young Bangladeshi driver with 3

years experience available. Con-

tact: 93143027

L/Driver, having 11 years experi-

ence in Oman looking for suitable

job. Contact 96373904

Light driver 9 years experience

looking for job. Contact: 95827886

Looking for a job as driver experi-

ence 9 years in Oman, Language

Arabic / Hindi / English. Contact:

92517532

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

DRIVER

Light duty driver, 3 yrs Oman

experience seeks placement. Con-

tact: 91362475

Light driver looking for job 4 yrs

Exp in Oman. Contact :92681457

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


SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

Indian male, MCA

(Post Graduate) fresher seeking

suitable placement

anywhere in Oman, now on

visit visa.

Contact 92319677, Email :

[email protected]

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

Indian Male more than 10 years

gulf experience in Office / 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

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 field, 1 ,5 year ex-

perience in HR .#+968 91467576.

Indian Female, M.Sc Computer Sci-

ence, Seeking suitable placement in

Muscat Area. Contact : 98660672

Indian male network cabling tech-

nician (19-years Gulf experience)

seeking for suitable placement.

Contact 0091-8089909265 (India),

E mail: [email protected]

Indian female, MBA, Diploma in

Aviation & Hospitality mgt (IATA),

having 4 yrs of exp, on family visa

seeks job in Oman. Contact-9910

4529, 95679557, e-mail-

[email protected]

Pakistani male having 7 years

experience in General Salesman

having valid D/L Looking for suitable

placement. Contact: 97216830 Email:

[email protected]

Mechanical Engineer M.Tech 2 yrs,

experience HAVC firefighting CAD.

Contact: 90150913 Email: mahman-

[email protected]

D.A.E (civil) Engineer + safety

course (OSHA & IOSH), 5 years expe-

rience in infrastructure work looking

for suitable placemen. #97658602

Engineer I have driving license of

Oman I need job of driving. Contact:

95980506

Mechanical Engineer is looking for

a job vacancy Graduate of Malaysia,

7 years of work experience in oil &

Gas fluent in both Arabic & English.

Contact: 95569430

Electrical Engineer 6 years ex-

perience in Oman experience in

MEDC / projects valid D/L. Contact:

91249329

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.

[email protected]

Mechanical Engineer (B Tech)

Indian male with 1 year experience

on visit visa looking for suitable job.

Contact : 90510800, Email : mu-

[email protected]

Electrical and Electronics Engi-

neer 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: akhilabraham-

[email protected]

Mechanical Engineer with 15 yrs

Exp in steel fabrication, quality,

design, material estimation, sales

engineering. Contact: 97093241,


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:

[email protected]

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

B.Tech Civil Engineer 7 yrs exp hav-

ing valid Oman driving license need

suitable replacement. #98052924


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


Road Engineer 10 years experi-

ence in Oman. Contact: 91274706

Civil Engineer diploma, 4 yrsexp

seeks suitable position ina reputed

company. NOC available. #96789711

Civil Engineer 8 years experience

Structural buildings marine. Availa-

ble NOC release. Contact: 92451323.


Pakistani male Diploma Civil En-

gineer 4yrs exp in Oman bulling &

mega projects, valid license Oman.

contact:98921022

SALES / MARKETING

35 years male, Lebanese holding Brit-

ish passport, 10 years of experience

in procurement, Omani Government

tenders, setup marketing plans & strat-

egies, importing, Organizing events,

management, have car, NOC available.

contact 94123939 Email: 002015r@

gmail.com

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 traffic safety equipments cur-

rently working on employment visa,

NOC available seeking for suitable

placement immediately. contact

97890607 Email: ashrafambar@

gmail.com

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]

Civil Engineer (B.Tech), Indian

male 24 years with 1+years Indian

experience,(Certified 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:

[email protected]

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


HSE Engineer (B.E Mech+Diploma

Safety+NEBOSH+OSHA) over

10yrs. Exp, (Visa Release Letter

(NOC) available), seeking suit-

able placement, Mob:97061817,


Engineer Civil & M. Arch (RED) Indian

(F) 25 yrs, B.Tech (Civil), now pursuing

M. Arch - RED (Real Estate Develop-

ment final semester thesis) completing

by June 2016, now available till 15th of

April on visit visa seeks suitable place-

ment in Oman. Contact: 968- 92743004


Structural Engineer, ME, with 2 yrs

exp proficient in ETABS, STAD, SAFE

& Prokon, seeks job. # 050-9984535

NDT / QA / QC Supervisor /

Radiographer DAE Mechanical pip-

ing- 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

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:

[email protected]

Indian male B-tech 8 years experi-

ence as senior electrical project

engineer / QC engineer on visit

visa seeks suitable placement.

contact 94094543


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

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:

[email protected]

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

proficiency in installation, seeking

a challenging position in a dynamic

organization. contact 96570891

IT

SKILLED/ UNSKILLED LABOUR

MISCELLANEOUS

Electrician with plumber and A/C

tech, with D/L. Contact: 95600418

S.T.P Operator 20 years experience in

Oman. Contact: 93089468

Qualified 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

office) & 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).


[email protected]

MANAGERFinance manager 22 years Oman

experience available with NO. Contact:

91335205/91302906

Purchase/Planning & Logistics Man-

ager, MBA (Finance), 14yrs. Oman Exp.

with D/L, NOC available, looking for

suitable position. Contact : 93826090,

[email protected]

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:

[email protected]

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.


Indian female M.Sc Computer Science

seeking suitable placement in Muscat

area. Contact: 98660672

B.Tech (IT) experience in Network-

ing server & desktop management

in corporate environment looking for

suitable placement. Contact: 92954613

Indian male, B. Sc Computer Science,

CCNA, MCP, 8 years exp. in system &

networking now on visit visa, seeking

suitable position. Contact: 91751472,

[email protected]

MEDICAL

Indian female staff nurse with

parametric passed 10 years experi-

ence looking job Muscat regain.

Contact: 95851590 / 91510137

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 flow. Presently in Muscat

in visit visa looking for a suitable

placement. contact 94744900,

94742834, jincyalphonese@gmail.

com

Indian female, M.Sc Computer Sci-

ence, Seeking suitable placement in

Muscat Area. GSM : 98660672

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:

[email protected]

Indian male physiotherapist with

3 years of experience, with (moh

license and NOC available. seek-

ing suitable placement. contact

99767528, 91317863

Indian, 32 years, passed M.A. Eng-

lish M.Sc Psychology, DHM & B.Ed

in English with 4 years experience

seeking for part time or full time

job. Contact: 99869535 Email:

[email protected] 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:-

[email protected]

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-

[email protected]

27 yearsold Indianmale looking

Jobs in documents Collection execu-

tive.Experience in collection execu-

tive. Contact. +968-90358068Email

[email protected]

Indian male, 26 years old BA Gradu-

ate having 1 year experience in

accounts finance field. 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


Pharmacist M. Pharm working in

Oman for 2 years with MOH license

Data flow completed. #98399415

Pakistani male 23 years old experi-

ence in travel agency - ticketing look-

ing for a suitable job, NOC available.

Contact: 93253759

Accountant cum cashier available.

Contact: 98002428

Indian with 3 years for experience

in sales and marketing fluency 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

Certified, 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,

having 10 years experience in

Oman, Tally &ERP- looking for suit-

able 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 –

[email protected]

Qualified Certified Management Accountant (CMA-USA) and cost and

management accountant (ACMA-

India) with over 25 years experience in

Sultanate of Oman in finance, banking

and administration is seeking a suitable

placement. NOC available.

Contact -95986767

Indian LawyerOman experienced BA, Arabic, LLB, MBA

Knows English, Arabic with over 9 yrs in

legal field, now working as a legal

advisor in Muscat, seeks suitable

placement. NOC available.

Contact 97351649, Email : [email protected]

9 years of Software Test Consulting and business analysis experience in

various CBS (Core Banking Solutions)

and other Banking related solution im-

plementations 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: manivannanbalaji@

gmail.com GSM: 9393 8086

Omani 26 (M) Seeks placement 6 yrs

experience IT specialist. #99025044

IT Support Engineer, Exp 3 years in

Oman 2 years in India.#94672759

Female 24 yrs, 3 years in IT program-

mer now in Oman looking for suitable

job. Contact: 96350234

IT SALES / MARKETING

Sales experience of 2 years driving

license diploma holding in wireless

networking. Interested in Marketing,

Accounts and Salesman. Contact:

98668151

Wants a suitable job as Salesman &

have driving license. Wants a job with

good salary & have 6 years of experi-

ence & can speak in English, Arabic

and Hindi. Contact: 94162434

24 years experience Sr. Manager NT

professional as Profit centre head.

Industry electrical trade looking for

a suitable position in Oman / UAE.

Contact: 91195418 Email: ab_9616@

gmail.com

Indian male 29, BHM, 3 yrs exp in

Oman in sales with D/L NOC. Contact:

92594055

Indian male 23 years BSc Computer

Science on visit visa seeking job

opportunities for suitable placement.

Contact: 92740543 Email: aneep93@

hotmail.com

Indian male B.com 10 years experi-

ence in Oman stores & warehouse,

immediate job with NOC. Contact:

95192733, email: sammathe2004@

yahoo.co.in

MBA (Marketing) Sales & Marketing

Executive with 4 years of experience

in Sales & Business Development

in FMCG sector is looking for best

opportunity in Muscat at present

available in Muscat on visit visa.

Mail: akbarshareef786@gmail.

com,GSM:95840153.

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

Indian male 37 years MBA graduate

in marketing with 9yrs of experience

in UAE in field of brand promotions

& marketing with UAE D/L on a visit

seeking suitable position. conatct

95792820

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 [email protected]

IT System Administrator 6 yrs

experience, male, Filipino Desk-

top, Laptop and printer Support,

Backup administrator, Router and

switch Network, Server Adminis-

trator. +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 /

finance currently in Oman on visit

visa looking for suitable place-

ment. Contact: 93460277 Email:

[email protected]

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 :

[email protected]

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 –

[email protected]

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 /

[email protected]

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

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

[email protected]

HSE Engineer,Indian male, 4

Plus years experience in Oil &

Gas .Working in Shclumberger

NEBOSH, IOSH, & NDT Certified, M

Tech in HSE. CONTACT-krish.569@

gmail.com contact

+91 9867016808

Indian male Network cabling tech-

nician ( 19-years gulf experience)


Contact : 0091-8089909265 (In-

dia), Email: [email protected]

Indian Pediatric consultant, md

with 20 years experience and wife

gynecologist md with 15 years plus

experience seeking opportunities

with reputed hospitals in Muscat.

[email protected]

PROCUREMENT OFFICER, Indian-Male 34yrs,M.Com with

14 yrs work Exp.(8 yrs in Oman)

working in Construction Co LLC(

for ROAD,CIVIL,ELECTRO-ME-

CHANICAL & Others Projects ) and

having valid LT D/L, NOC available

& ready to join within a month-

M:94064650,Email: nagauae@

gmail.com

DAILY GUIDED6 M O N D AY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

Email: [email protected] [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

earn in two monthstion 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

WEB, ERP and Business Intel-

ligence (BI) creation and man-

agement at rock bottom price.

Contact:

http//webviewoman

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS




WANTED

IELTS Coaching (academic)

required nearby wadi Kabir

area. Please call on mobile or

msg on Whats up. Mobile no:

92927880/99012165

MATRIMONIAL

Nair boy Alleppy dist, 25 Revathy

175 Cm, B.E Mech 3 yrs in Oman as

planning Engineer seeks alliance.

Contact: 94232342

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.

14 years experienced light driver

with valid Oman license looking

for suitable job. Contact 99442481

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: [email protected]

Indian male auto cad draughts-

man (civil) 8 years experience,

seeking for part time job. mobile

no: 0096899070584. email:

[email protected]

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

[email protected]

Indian male 6 years exp in differ-

ent field, 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-

fied, 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 finance & procure-

ment currently on family visa

looking for suitable position in

finance & supply chain. Contact

95622568

Draughtsman, 15 years’ experi-

ence, Indian male currently in

Oman looking for suitable position.

Gsm – 95358115, 96977289, Email

: [email protected]

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 finalization. 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

having master degree seeking

suitable placement in any field,

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,


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

2 years experienced male seeking

job related to safety. M. Tech in HSE,

MSc in Environmental Science and

IOSH certified. #94653264

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

[email protected]

#00968-94057427.

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

Mechanical Engineering 6 years

experience. contact

00968-998907110091 -

9841867534 Email:

[email protected]

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 fluency in English,

Arabic, Hindi& Malayalam. Looking

for Job. Currently in Oman. #+968

93943448, [email protected]

Indian Female Electronics Sys-

tem Eng. UK Graduate. Programmer

Micro Controller Robot, Eng. Analy-

sis, Instrumentation & Control, Eng.

Projects, Integrated Circuit Eng.,

Electrical and Fluid Drives, Analogue

Electronics, Wireless Systems. Seeking

suitable post. Contact: 97848075,

[email protected]

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 firefighting & security sys-

tems sales & marketing. Seeking

suitable job. Contact – 90634050

Indian male with 1 yr exp looking

for job in I.T as Web developer,

presently in Muscat on visit visa.

#92312978

Sr Material controller, having 13

years experience in material control-

ling in reputed companies. Presently

working in Muscat (NOC Available). #

00968-92944026, Email

[email protected]

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:

[email protected]

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:

[email protected]

Senior Accountant, 5 yrs Oman, 10

yrs UAE experience in manufacturing

& construction valid D/L immediately

available. Email: irfan_syed2000@

hotmail.com, call: 95389018

Commercial or Operation Manager 18

yrs in Oman – finance, 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 certified, 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:

[email protected]

Indian/male (25)/ MBA /2 years experi-

ence in channel sales and distribution

management. on visit visa. available for

immediate joining. #96914068, email:

[email protected]

Indian male network cabling tech-

nician (19 years Gulf experience),


Contact : 0091-8089909265 (In-

dia), Email: [email protected]

Indian male, Kerala B.Com & B.PE,

looking for suitable Job in Sales,

Accounts, Admin etc.#93301023

email:- [email protected]

Indian male at a Managerial position

having 12 yrs exp in sales & market-

ing, Property Management looking for

a suitable position, MBA qualified with

Oman driving license. NOC available.

#98125226

Indian male BE Mechanical En-

gineer having 6 yrs exp in piping

and structural construction work,

looking suitable position, release

available. contact 96115463-email:

[email protected]

SOFTWARE DEVELOPER, Indian

Male, 24 years, B.Tech in computer

science.3Years of experience in

technical support, software devel-

opment, troubleshooting and man-

aging, seek suitable placement. #

GSM- 98184170

Indian Male,B.Com & Diploma Logistics

& supply chain management 2years

experience looking for job in Accounts/

logistics field. Presently on Visit Visa.

Software knows MS office & Tally7.2

.#:93884951-Email:mehreenraiz@gmail.

com

Indian male 31 yrs with over 10 yrs

sales & marketing exp seeking suitable

placement NOC & Oman D/L available

in audition have proficiency in Arabic

language. Contact: 95760969

Looking for QHSE – Manager /

Asst. Manager job, Indian Male

– 39.Yrs, With 17.Yrs Experience

& NOC, NEBOSH – UK, MR – ISO

9001, 14001 & 18001, HSE Train-

ings, Audits, Pls Contact – haree.

[email protected]

B.A. in Accounting, Experience:

5years of Business/Accounts

tutoring and 2 years of Account-

ing License: 70914186. contact

96389047, Email: sharanizareen@

gmail.com

Export Manager/DM Indian Male

38 Yrs B.Sc /CIPET 13 Yrs Experi-

ence in Business Development

&Production with Oman D/L seeks

suitable placement.

Contact : 97221058 /

92058065, E-mail :

[email protected]

HSE Engineer: 3.8 years experi-

ence in Oil & Gas. NEBOSH,IOSH,

& NDT Certified, M Tech in

HSE,B Tech in Mechanical Engg.

[email protected],

Mobile- +91 9867016808

Electronics service Technician , 4

Years experience as Electronics ser-

vice engineer. Knowledge in all type of

Electronics items. Looking for suitable

placement. #99105043

B.Com Graduate with 4 year expe-

rience as an Accountant in Oman.

Also have Oman Driving License.

Best fluency in English, Arabic,

Hindi & Malayalam, looking for Job.

Currently in Oman. Cont:

+968 93943448, murshid4u@

gmail.com

INDIAN MALE, 26 years, BBA

graduate, seeks suitable position in

automotive spare parts, Have 3 year

experience. Phone

no:96026400, Bineeshpn@gmail.

com

Master’s in Petroleum Geology look-

ing for relevant job ready to join

ASAP, valid drivers license. Email :

[email protected]

Bangladeshi male, University MA,

Working as Store In-charge cum Lo-

gistic Manager in Muscat; searching

better job. contact

91997605, email:

[email protected]

25 years, male B.Com and

insurance Graduate with 6 year

experience looking for an opening

in accounts, finance or operations

related only. Driving license and

NOC available. contact lilommca@

gmail.com and 95236312.

Admin Assistant, Having 5 years

experience in admin department in

reputed companies, presently work-

ing in Muscat (NOC Available). GSM.

00968-98404122, Email - panduru.

[email protected]

IT/Telecom Manager, BE, MBA 13+

Years of experience, Valid Driving

License. Available immediately.

Phone: +91205211, Email: ghu-

[email protected]

Indian male network cabling techni-

cian (19-years gulf experience) Seek-

ing for suitable placement. Contact

- 0091-8089909265

(India) email: [email protected]

Indian Engineer, B. Tech (Mech),

MBA, MLM (Master of Labour

Management), 23 yrs experience,

5 years in Oman in the positions

of Operations Manager and Plant

Manager with Oman Driving

License seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 99744612. E-mail:

[email protected]


TOURS

TOURS

RENT A CAR

RENT A CAR25 - 50 seater bus with PDO & BP

specification 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

[email protected]

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

Nissan sunny, year 2000, km 190k,

expat lady driven in good condi-

tion, RO 700 negotiable. Suzuki

alto, year 2008, km 127k, expat

driven in good condition RO 600

negotiable. Call or whatsapp im-

mediately 968-98898273

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. #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

INDIAN RAILWAYS

Ticket Reservation

Hotel & Bus Tickets

Star Travel92820665 / 24711734

D8 M O N D AY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

DAILY GUIDE Email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

SERVICESWe Provide Cleaners,

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

We do building maintenance all

kind of works. Contact 99247663

A/C maintenance & servicing,

fridge, washing machine & dish

washer repairing, painting & clean-

ing services, electrical & plumbing.

#99447257 / 97014234 / 24504281

Water proofing ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

Pest control treatments, Ocean center LLC #99344723

House shifting. contact 99708138

PEST CONTROLAL TABA SERVICE LLC

Ants, Rodent, & cleaning On monthly,

Harmless & Odourless

100% Professional A ordable Rate !!!

CALL - 91464586

B

MY

CAD drawings Archi/ MEP CAD –

comply BIM. Contact: 91233975

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of

your marble. contact 24793614/

99314807

Marble crystallization & grinding, cleaning & carpet shampoo-

ing. Ocean center LLC.contact

99344723

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

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

CATERING SERVICES We do industrial catering

service, Canteen / mess,

3 times packed meals and

all types of catering events.

Contact: 92188777 / 99249899

Split A/C servicing R.O 10 only.

Contact: 94217681 /99210141

All MEP & Civil shop drawings.

Contact : 93070771 Email :

[email protected]

Cleaning Services, Sofa, carpet

shampoo old house or new house.

Contact: 92179395

Marble crystallization & grinding, Ocean center LLC #99344723

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS




Indian Male 47 years MBA-

Operations Management with total

25 Yrs exp inclusive of 9 yrs in

Oil & Gas sector in Oman, having

valid Omani D/L & NOC available

, seeks challenging position in

SCM/ Logistics/ Procurement in

any Sector. GSM-94236414. Mail

id – [email protected]

Structural Engineer Educa-

tion B-Tech in civil Engineering,

Work Experience More than 6 yrs

contact +968-91431483 E-mail:

[email protected]

Indian Female Accountant, now

in Oman on Visit Visa, looking for

suitable placement, #94250871

Indian Female MBA Finance, 6

years Oman experience as account

looking Full time/part time ac-

counting Jobs. #99044292

Indian Male B. Tech, 10+ years

of extensive work experience in

various aspects like Computer

Networking, Technical Support,

Management and Engineering

with good communications, inter-

personal and technical skills seeks

suitable opportunity. Now in Oman

on Visit Visa GSM : 9489 8009,

Email : [email protected]

BBA MBA.Male, Indian Human

Resource/ Administration/ Office

work1 Year Experience Knowledge

in MS-Office, Photoshop Searching

for suitable job E-mail:

[email protected].

Contact: +91 9655469680 +91

8754086178

Indian male, accountant 2 year

experience doing accounts in Tally

and Excel. Searching for suitable

job. Contact: subbayan_r@gmail.

com GSM: +918098637908

Indian male 26 years MBA

finance, seeks suitable placement.

#92715032 / [email protected]

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.

Indian male: 24 years, diploma in

computer science and B.E (CSE) hav-

ing experience in hardware and net-

working seeks suitable job. #91170912


Sudanese male. Five years

diploma in civil engineeringhave

five years experience in construc-

tion industry. Mobile: 96995670

Sri Lankan female looking for a

housemaid job. Please send details

to [email protected]

Contact: 94036979

Land surveyor Experience: 8 years. Contact: 99585265 Email:

[email protected]

Indian male executive secretary

having vast experience in admin,

logistics & procurement well

versed with computer .seek suit-

able placement. contact

99514286

Looking for a part time job

for drawings struc. BBS Q/S &

piping/pipeline auto cad work.

#92103713

25 year old male B.Com and

insurance graduate with 6 year

experience looking for an opening

in accounts, finance or operations.

Driving license and NOC available.

Contact-95236312.

[email protected]

A young CA (ACA & ACCA qualified)

with 4 years experience in one of

top audit firms in UK & KSA seeks

suitable placement in Oman. Contact:

Kamran ([email protected]),

+44 7480 1196 74. +968 93595050

BE Mechanical Engineering with

one year experience now on visit

visa, looking for suitable posi-

tions”#90637918 / 99335742,

email: [email protected] .

Job Wanted as a Music Teacher

Classical Vocal Music, Having 3

years India Exp.#90310876

MCA with 13+ yrs of teaching.

Worked as PGT (Comp Sc.) in CBSE

Board Schools, 2 yrs experience

in s/w development. Seek suitable

placement. Contact - 90477217

Bangladeshi Male, University

MA, Working as Store In-charge

cum Logistic Manager in Mus-

cat; searching better job. Phone:

91997605 email:

mohamednazrulislam2@gmail.

com

INDIAN-Male 34yrs, M.Com

with 14yrs Exp ( 8yrs in Oman &

6yrs in India)Presently working

as PROCUREMENT OFFICER for

ROAD,CIVIL,ELECTRO-MECHANICAL

& Others Projects in contg & Trdg co

LLC, Having Oman LT D/L, NOC avail-

able & willing to join immediately

within in a month - M:94064650,


Indian male AUTO CAD Draughts-

man (civil) 8 years experience,

seeking for part time job.

#99070584 /

email: [email protected]

times of oman - april 18, 2016

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