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

DEEBA HASAN deeba@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Oman’s Olympic hope, Barakat Al Harthi, says he is not afraid of contracting Zika vi-rus at the Olympic Games in Rio.

The games, to be held from Au-gust 5 this year, are just around the corner for the Sultanate’s sprinter, who is currently training

hard in Bulgaria.“I do not fear the virus. Every-

thing is in the hands of Allah the Almighty and I am focusing on my running at the moment, with Oman in my mind.”

Over 500,000 people are ex-pected to travel to Brazil from around the world, and experts are warning the games might create the perfect breeding ground for

Zika to be spread globally. The World Health Organisa-

tion (WHO) has noted that Brazil is one of almost 60 countries that have reported continuing trans-mission of Zika by mosquitoes.

However, they have also re-leased a statement saying that based on its current assessment, “cancelling or changing the loca-tion of the 2016 Olympics will not significantly alter the interna-tional spread of Zika virus.”

This came after a group of 150 doctors, scientists and bioethicists wrote a letter to the WHO calling for the Rio Olympics to be post-poned or moved because of con-cerns of the spread of the Zika virus.

Zika is a virus that is believed to cause babies to be born with abnormally small heads and may also cause a fatal neurological syndrome in adults.

“We will be vaccinated once we go to Cuba. Our coach is a little worried about it, but God willing all will be well, and we are going for Oman,” Al Harthi said.

Al Harthi broke into the greatest sports contest on earth by winning at the Military World Games in South Korea in October last year with a 10.16 in 100 metres.

Barakat recently broke his own record in the Bulgarian city of Silven. >A6

June 5, 2016 29 Sha’aban 1437 AH

SUNDAY

4089

FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTYTHE SULTAN

To Senior State Officials, 1978

We will accept no excuse from anyone who is remiss in carrying out the duties he is required to perform in the service of this country and its citizens, and he will be punished for his failings in whatever manner we see fit.

‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’

MORNING MINUTEMORNING MINUTE

HM sends greetingsMUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a ca-ble of greetings to Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark on her country’s National Day.

In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere greetings and wishes of good health and happiness to Queen Margrethe and her country’s people further progress and prosperity. —ONA

MUSCAT: An Asian woman has been arrested in Sohar on murder charges, according to ONA.

According to the report, the po-lice were alerted about the death of an Asian woman at a private hospital with marks of torture on her body.

“The police investigation re-vealed that the victim had entered Oman on a visit visa and was asked to work at a house. The accused had tortured the victim before kill-ing her,” the report alleged.

Another defendant was also ar-rested for allegedly assisting the killing and the two are being re-ferred for further legal action. -ONA

D E N M A R K

S O H A R

Sultanate plans to ‘restructure’

power tariff, boost revenues

BABA UMARbabaumar@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Oman has plans to cut subsidies in the electricity tariff in what officials say is a bid to help consumers reduce consumption.

“Yes there are plans. There are studies already done on how to restructure the electricity tariff to make the customers more incen-tivised to reduce their consump-tion,” Mohammad Bin Abdullah Al Mahrouqi, Chairman Public Au-thority for Electricity and Water told Times of Oman.

Asked what percentage of the subsidy could be slashed, he said, “It is the restructuring of the tariff rather than a percentage of reduc-tion on subsidies. It’s not decided yet when to implement it,” he said.

The Sultanate has adopted a range of restructuring on spend-ing and revenues after the fall in oil prices.

Last month officials of govern-ment-owned Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) said the demand for power in Oman is expected to grow by almost 10 per cent per year until 2019.

“We are forecasting that this year we will still continue to grow (the power demand) at 8 per cent. We are a little bit cautious... we have lowered the forecast, given that we have not seen changes

in the subsidy policy yet,” Eng. Ahmed bin Saleh Al Jahdhami, CEO of OPWP, told a conference on water and energy in Muscat.

In April Al Jahdhami also made a presentation on the govern-ment’s subsidy for electricity and water at Majlis Al Shura to acquaint members and staff of Shura of the services provided by

the government in the areas of electricity, water and the extent of its contribution to the national economy.

Observers like N Gurumurthy, a financial expert, says the subsidy cuts are timely and essential in-terventions that government has to take in order to “tide over” the “ballooning” fiscal deficit. >A7

C U T I N S U B S I D I E S

Zika threat doesn’t deter Barakat

R I O O L Y M P I C S

B1Duqm emerges as an ideal investment hub

OMANBuy local for the sake of Omani economy

3Oman needs to successfully implement its ICV policies to revitalise its economic

programme by re-positioning and better re-utilising its assets and natural resources. The government had envisioned a budget of $64b from the oil windfall to cover the period between 2013 and 2020. >A5

OMANUK singer Sami Yusuf amazed by Oman

2British singer and songwriter Sami Yusuf, who was touring the

Sultanate, has praised the people of Oman for their “gracious hospitality”. “A huge thanks to the beautiful people of Oman for the gracious hospitality afforded to me during my stay,” the musician said. >A4

OMANEarly check-in advice for air passengers

1Passengers travelling through Muscat Airport should arrive at least two

to three hours before departure of their flights now that the busy summer season has begun, airline officials said. An official of Oman Air agreed that it is better to check-in as early as possible. >A3

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

HASAN SHABAN AL LAWATIhassan@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Omanis suffering from mental health issues are putting their health on the line by visiting “unprofessional” healers who beat and burn their patients’ bodies, ac-cording to a mental health expert.

Some patients spend an average of three years jumping from one unqualified fraudster to another before seeking proper help, says Dr Munthir Al Maqbali, psychiatry resident at Al Masarrat Hospital.

The fear of being seen at a mental hospital forces Omani patients to seek riskier options, including witch doctors, according to Al Maqbali.

“Such a stigma is very painful. “I can say that around 90 per cent of patients who have psychotic dis-orders waste three years consult-ing people who claim to be healers using complementary and alter-native medicine.

“This delay can result in more complications as the patients, ul-timately, become more depressed about the illness.”

He said that such healers use witchcraft and other twisted ways to deceive their “customers” and charge them up to OMR400 per session.

A public prosecutor told the Times of Oman that such acts are illegal and come under the category of fraud crimes.

According to the Omani penal code, fraudsters who get paid for such acts will serve between three months and two years in jail, with a fine of up to OMR300.

However, the prosecutor said that such fraudsters can only be pun-ished if a victim reports a case or the accused is arrested during a raid by the Royal Oman Police (ROP).

Earlier this year, an African man was arrested for allegedly practicing ‘witchcraft and sorcery’ by the ROP.

According to an official ROP source, the officers arrested the ac-cused after raiding his house in the Al Seeb area and found a set of in-cantations and satanic spells.>A6

Fearing social stigma

while going to mental

hospitals, Omani

patients visit sorcerers

who exploit them and

worsen their health

WITCH DOCTORS TORTURE, RIP OFF OMANI PATIENTS

Expat arrested for murder

GROWING DEMAND: The demand for power in Oman is expected to

grow by almost 10 per cent per year until 2019.

A2 S U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

A3

OMANS U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

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Budget breaks rising as Omanis head east

RAHUL DASrahuldas@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Cost-conscious trav-ellers are turning to budget tour-ism this Eid, travel agents and senior airline officials have con-firmed to Times of Oman.

Joe Rajadurai, Qatar Airways country manager for Oman, said travellers from Oman were show-ing more interest in emerging des-tinations such as Tbilisi, Zagreb and Baku, while places like Co-lombo, Bangkok, Bali, Jakarta and Phuket had retained their popular-ity. “This clearly shows that people are cost-conscious while travel-ling,” he told Times of Oman.

“We’ve seen a huge rise in book-ings for Tbilisi and other eastern parts of Europe. That is one of the

reasons why we have increased our services to the Georgian capi-tal,” admitted Sudhir Sreedharan, Senior Vice President, Com-mercial (GCC, Subcontinent and Africa), for flydubai.

He also noted that they were witnessing cost-conscious trav-ellers moving from full-service airlines to budget airlines to cut down on their costs. “There are other options available whenever there is a crisis, but luckily, people don’t stop travelling. Only their patterns change,” he remarked.

Travel agents say people want to see something new every time they travel and seek out places where visas are either available on arrival or where the processing time is quick. “A direct flight and a streamlined visa process con-tribute greatly to the popularity of a destination. Eastern Europe

is popular among the locals, while the Asians expats are still opting for Asian destinations such as Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lan-ka,” a travel agent in Ruwi stated.

Then, there are people who are flying back home for the holidays.

Continuing to keep his annual Eid tradition alive, Mohammed Ali said he was going back home for a family reunion. “My desti-nation is Hyderabad---the same as every year. I am going there to spend some time with my family and enjoy some authentic and de-licious homemade food,” he told Times of Oman.

“Also, Eid is in July this year, and it gets very hot here, so I am glad that I will be escaping some of the summer heat,” he added.

While some residents choose to travel back to their home coun-tries during Eid, others find it

more convenient to spend the holiday with their loved ones here. “The holidays are declared very late, so even if we want to, we can’t plan anything major,” remarked Ratul, an Indian expat.

As Eid coincides with the sum-mer holidays again this year, travellers will likely combine the two. “Many people sent their families home as soon as schools closed before Eid. They will now join the rest of their family during this period.”

However, many travel agents in the Sultanate have suffered losses as a result. “It is not at all a busy season (this year), as the Eid holidays have coincided with the Indian school holidays, so a large chunk of people are al-ready out of the country,” stated a travel agent who has offices in Ruwi and Ghubrah.

An emerging budget

tourism market is

quickly growing,

as Omanis and

expatriates prepare

for Eid holidays,

which might fall

during the first week

of July

Early check-in advice for airline passengersTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Passengers travelling through Muscat International Airport should arrive at least two to three hours before departure of their flights now that the busy summer season has begun, air-line officials said on Thursday.

“We urge all passengers to check-in at least three hours be-fore departure, as almost all our flights are departing full,” said B P Kulkarni, country head, Air India, Muscat.

An official of Oman Air agreed that it is better to check-in as early as possible. “This will al-low you to have more time in the lounges and for shopping in duty free shops,” he said.

High passenger loads are ex-pected as the annual holiday exo-dus starts in Oman, creating long queues inside passenger termi-nals and traffic on roads near the airport, as most schools close for summer vacation.

B P Kulkarni also reminded the public about the weight of items purchased from duty-free shops. “Many passengers believe that the weight of items purchased from duty-free shops at the airport are excluded from their hand baggage weight. So, they exceed hand bag-gage weight limits and finally land in trouble when they are stopped at the gates. To avoid this, we ad-vise passengers that items pur-chased from duty-free shops are also included in the hand baggage weight,” Kulkarni said.

He added that passengers can carry 7 kg of weight on Air India Express flights and 8 kg of weight as hand baggage on Air India flights. “This definitely includes duty free items,” he noted.

He also advised people to check through their extra lug-gage. “There is not much space left in the overhead lockers when flights are full, so it is always ad-vised to check extra luggage at check-in counters,” he added.

S U M M E R R U S H

40 unlicenced bikes seized in Khasab raids

Times News Service

MUSCAT: An expat was ar-rested and 40 bikes were seized during a raid by police.

The directorate general of in-quiries and criminal investiga-tions at Khasab police carried out the raid in Khasab to confis-cate unlicensed bikes.

The raid resulted in the sei-zure of the 40 bikes for violating traffic laws. The police noted that most of the owners of the bikes are expatriates.

Al Batinah police, represent-ed by Sohar Police, also arrested an expat on theft charges.

The police reported that the accused stole OMR400 as well as credit cards worth OMR200. The accused was referred for further legal action.

C R I M E

HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com haveyoursay@timesofoman.com

Travellers from Oman were

showing more interest in

emerging destinations such

as Tbilisi, Zagreb and Baku,

while places like Colombo,

Bangkok, Bali, Jakarta and

Phuket had retained their

popularity

A4 S U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

OMAN

Oman is a perfect fit: Outward Bound

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Outward Bound Oman, the only branch of the organisa-tion anywhere in the Middle East, decided upon the Sultanate as its natural home in the region because of the diversity and beauty of the country’s natural environment.

At Outward Bound Oman, “pro-moting environmental awareness is a key component of all our cours-es,” explained General Manager Mark Evans.

“Our course mantra is ‘leave no trace’ and it’s one we take very seriously. As custodians of this wonderful natural resource for the next generation, it is our col-lective responsibility to look after it,” he added.

Despite running almost 100 courses each year in similar desert

and mountain locations week after week, Evans challenges anyone to find evidence of OBO’s presence.

According to Outward Bound Oman’s Training Manager, Moham-med Zadjali, at the start of every OBO course, students brainstorm ideas about how they can minimise their impact on the local environ-ment. Later, when setting off on their journey, students are taught about local flora and fauna and how to identify different species along the way.

FocusEvening discussions around the campfire often focus on the envi-ronment and how these issues are connected to tourism.

At the end of a course, students and instructors together ‘sweep’ the campsite for any items of litter that

may have escaped attention. According to Zadjali, the key

is for “the next OBO course to enjoy as clean a campsite as the group before.”

He explains that “through these simple measures and subtle in-structions, we hope that all stu-dents will think twice before they litter, and will go on to share their learning with others.”

“At Outward Bound Oman, we talk about the 3 P’s – People, Pro-cess and Place,” said Evans.

“The people are our highly trained instructors, the process is what we do with our groups when they are on the mountain, or in the desert, and place refers to the lo-cation where we run our courses. Our classrooms are some of the most beautiful and inspirational places in Oman.”

F O R A G O O D C A U S E

Oman’s hospitality amazes British singer Sami Yousuf

Staff Reporter

MUSCAT: British singer and songwriter Sami Yusuf, who was touring the Sultanate, has praised the people of Oman for their “gracious hospitality”.

“A huge thanks to the beautiful people of Oman for the gracious hospitality afforded to me during my stay,” the musician said on his Facebook page.

Yusuf arrived in Oman last Sunday, later posting pictures of major tourist attractions in Al Dakhiliya governorate.

On his twitter account, the British composer uploaded im-ages of himself at the top of Al Jabal Al Akhdar.

“This place is just surreal and I strongly recommend everyone

to visit. Absolutely beautiful,” he wrote, commenting on the image.

“Thank you, Alila Jabal Akh-dar, for the extraordinary expe-rience and amazing hospitality,” the 35-year-old added.

“Special thanks to the Minis-try of Tourism for allowing me to witness some of the most ce-lestial scenery I have ever seen! God bless and preserve Oman and her people. I cannot wait to come back soon! With love. _sy,” the musician posted.

In 2003, Sami released his first album, “Al-Mu`allim”, at the age of 23. Sami calls his genre of music “Spiritique”. His seventh album, “Barakah”, was released in February 2016.

Appointed by the United Na-tions as both the World’s Global Ambassador Against Hunger and the promoter of World Peace and Harmony, Sami’s largest concert was in Istanbul, where he performed before over 250,000 people.

He also composed and ar-ranged music for the film “1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Havthan”.

V I S I T O M A N Dip in remittance due to blue collar brigade

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Remittances to India from Oman have fallen due to de-mographic changes in Oman, in-cluding more blue collar workers settling in the country, money ex-change houses report.

Oman remitted $3.47 billlion to India in 2014.

Admitting there has been a grad-ual drop in remittances to India, Tonny George Alexander, director of the Oman UAE Exchange, said this is due to demographic changes in Oman.

“More and more people from other nationalities are settling in Oman, other than Indians. So we are seeing a little drop in remit-tances to India,” he told Times of Oman on Monday.

Increase in the numberThis is despite there having been an increase in the number of Indi-ans working in Oman.

According to National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) data, the number of In-dians working in Oman stood at 684,527 at the end of March 2016, while at the end of December 2015 it was 669,882.

In 2013, there were 599,473 In-

dians working in Oman.This is occurring even though

the Indian rupee is trading at rela-tively low levels against the US dol-lar, which means that Indian expats in the region could earn more.

Blue collar workers“There has been an increase in the number of Indian expats, but most of these are blue collar workers so, remittance wise, it has suffered a little,” a general manager of an-other prominent money exchange house in Ruwi said.

Further, P K Subhudhi, general manager of the Mustafa Sultan Money Exchange, said people tend to hold onto their money when rates are low. “But whenever the rate goes up, we see a lot of people remitting money,” he said.

Remittances to India from Gulf countries suffered because of low oil prices, a recent report revealed.

“Almost half of the total re-mittances which India receives come from the Middle East, espe-cially the UAE and Saudi Arabia, for which oil exports are a ma-jor source of revenues. With oil prices hammered and expected to fall even more, both the GDP growth and the budgets in these countries will be strained. This will have an adverse impact on employment conditions in these countries that, in turn, could ta-per remittances,” according to the report by Crisil, the Mumbai rat-ings and research company,which is part of S&P Global.

Remittances to India from the GCC declined by 2.2 per cent to $35.9 billion in the 12 months to March, compared to the same pe-riod one year earlier.

Its figures indicate that the UAE is the largest source of GCC remit-tances to India, followed by Saudi

Arabia and Kuwait.Earlier, Times of Oman report-

ed that Oman has been named one of the top remittance senders in the world, based on GDP percent-ages, according to the 2016 World Bank migration and remittances fact book.

OutflowsThe aggregate outflows represent 12.6 per cent of Oman’s gross do-mestic product (GDP).

Oman’s GDP – which is meas-ured by the monetary value of all finished goods and services - stood at RO27bn in 2015, accord-ing to statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

India is the largest recipient of remittances worldwide. Accord-ing to the World Bank, total re-mittances to India last year fell to $69bn from $70bn in 2014.

Despite a slight

rise in the number

of Indian workers

in Oman and a

weakening of the

country’s currency,

remittance is down

FALLING TREND: Remittances to India from the Gulf Cooperation Council declined by 2.2 per cent to

US$35.9 billion in the 12 months to March, compared to the same period one year earlier. – File

IMPRESSED: “This place is just surreal and I strongly recommend

everyone to visit. Absolutely Beautiful,” he said, commenting on

the image. -Supplied photo

ONE WITH NATURE: Despite running almost 100 courses each year in similar desert and mountain

locations week after week, Outward Bound Oman General Manager Mark Evans challenges anyone

to find evidence of OBO’s presence. – Supplied photo

‘Class sizes in Oman schools larger than the optimum’HASAN SHABAN AL LAWATIhassan@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Delays in opening new school buildings and a higher birth rate mean Oman’s school class sizes are growing fast.

A Shura member recently ex-pressed concern during a council session with the education minis-ter over the “high” number of stu-dents per classroom.

He further said that the minis-try should strive to have a maxi-mum of 30 students in each class.

The minister, Madiha Al Shai-bany, noted that the rise in Oman’s student population is due to “de-lays in some projects and the grow-ing birth rate in the Sultanate”.

Meanwhile, Omani teachers said the number of pupils per classroom throughout the coun-try must be reduced.

One teacher who works in a government school in Muscat said that 30 is a large number, es-pecially for classes below grade 9.

“Reducing the number will help improve the educational process,

as teachers can focus more on each individual,” she said.

Another teacher said that hav-ing 30 or more pupils in one class-room is a burden on a teacher, both inside and outside the class-room, as more students mean more paperwork and additional teaching efforts.

However, Mohammed Musta-fa, an Omani teacher who spent 30 years working in Oman, said that 30 is not a large number in

government schools, while urging that class sizes should not exceed that figure.

Khalid Al Farei, head of the ed-ucation committee in the Majlis Al Shura, said the larger number does not cause problems in the educational process, as many de-veloped countries also have the same, and even higher, number of pupils per classroom.

“Although we have to say that less is always better,” Al Farei noted.

E D U C A T I O N

A huge thanks to the beautiful people of Oman

for the gracious hospitality afforded to me

during my stay

Sami Yusuf, British singer and songwriter

A5

OMANS U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

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Oman needs to successfully implement its In-Country Value (ICV) policies

to revitalise its economic pro-gramme by re-positioning and better re-utilising its assets and natural resources.

The government had envi-sioned a budget of $64 billion from the oil windfall to cover the period between 2013 and 2020 to keep the wheel of the economy rolling. How-ever, with the international oil prices starting to collapse in late 2014, many of its develop-ment programmes have been put on hold.

Global practiceICV is practiced around the globe in different formats and it has been a catalyst for the redistribution of revenues in many countries.

In Oman, the state-owned oil and gas companies have al-ready put ICV in motion but the practice has not caught up with all industries. The reason the energy sector has been a pace-maker of ICV programme is the simple fact that the industry generates over 80 per cent of national income. But even in the energy sector, ICV has not yet embraced the entire pro-cess. It is mainly concentrated in training and the Omanisa-tion drive. But the stakehold-ers of the ICV programme are not just the workers and their development.

ICV must be measured in terms of monetary value as well. How much money is spent in the country and how much money is repatriated out of the country by foreign companies is one way to provide a yard-stick for ICV. The government is awarding a few billion rials worth of contracts every year and how much is retained in the country is an important part of it. In other words, moni-

toring the performance of the chain value generated by these contracts is essential.

Commercial benefitsFor example, there should be conditions set up by the gov-ernment to ensure recipients of contracts buy locally manufac-tured materials instead of leav-ing it open. This scheme will create commercial benefits, as well as social harmony, to boost economic growth and sus-tain development. It will also relieve the burden of foreign contractors of recruiting a large pool of Omanis because the subcontractors would share the responsibility. Locally based manufacturers of concrete materials, steel, aluminium or petroleum product would not struggle under ICV programme. The other advantage of creating a percentage of contracts to be spent at home will encourage local business people to estab-lish more manufacturing units in the Sultanate.

Balance of paymentsThis practice will also reduce Oman’s balance of payments by cutting down on import bills and keep its foreign currency reserves at a sustainable level. At the moment, Oman’s exports have reduced in value but the value of imports has increased due to lower oil prices. When the government established in-dustrial estates and Free Trade Zones (FTZs) in the early 1980s, Sohar and Salalah were envisioned as the leaders of Oman’s industrial revolution. The two cities did not really live up to their expectations, mainly because the ICV was not included in the blueprint.

Impact of slacknessThese cities did not provide broader opportunities for local business to set up manufac-turing units. Had ICV been a prerequisite three decades ago, Sohar and Salalah would have now been serious contributors to the economy.

Instead, most of the raw ma-terial for the industries there and other developments are imported. The government is either wholly owning indus-tries in Sohar and Salalah or has a stake in them. Moreover, because of the slackness of the ICV programme, Omanis liv-ing in those areas still flock to Muscat looking for jobs.

If ICV is seriously implanted across the board, the Oman Tender Board must come on board. Contractors, whether foreign or local, must have a quota of the awarding sum to be spent in the country. If they fail to adhere to the contrac-tual conditions, they should be banned from tendering for the next project.

A successful national campaign is needed to spread awareness that local outsourc-ing can be cost effective and build community ties. It makes a difference not only to the economy and employment but to the business environment. It is also ethical to demand goods that are supplied closer at home.

Buy local, for the sake of economyC O M M E N T A R Y

SALEH AL SHAIBANY

SUNDAYBEAT

H AV E YOU R SAY AT T W I T T E R.CO M /T I M ES O F O M A N O R S CA N T H E CO D E TO I N STA N T LY P O ST YOU R T H O U G H TS .

If In-Country Value is seriously implanted across the board, the Oman Tender Board must come on-board

SQU, Modern College win competitionTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Sultan Qaboos Uni-versity and Modern College of Business and Science (MCBS) were declared the winners of the Financial Analysis Chal-lenge competition.

The closing ceremony of the competition, which was joint-ly managed by Muscat Securi-ties Market (MSM) and Sul-tan Qaboos University, was held recently, 2016 at Grand Hyatt, Muscat.

The award ceremony was held under the patronage of Yahya bin Said Al Jabri, chair-man of Duqm Special Econom-ic Zone Authority (SEZAD) and chairman of Capital Market Authority.

After the presentation and final round of the competition, five teams were shortlisted and invited to attend the closing ceremony.

Team MCBS took third posi-tion in the competition, with the top two positions won by SQU. The winning team from MCBS was represented by four students: Miyyada Abdul Latif Rajab Al Balushi, Umaima Ali Hassan Al Balushi, Haifa Dar-wishFiriya Al Bulushi and Huda Jama Ahmed. They received a cash prize of OMR1000 and a memento for their participation.

Dr. Dharmendra Singh, Asst. Professor of Finance, mentored the team. The Modern College team entered the second round of the FAC selection process after winning the first round, along with seven other teams, in which participants were re-quired to analyse a listed com-pany on MSM and submit a written report to the MSM.

F I N A N C I A L A N A L Y S I S

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OMANS U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

The decision was taken based on these discussions for the

sake of the safety of the students, but it is only temporary

and if we get good news, we will reverse the call

Khadija Al Qurashi, deputy director, Qualification Equivalency

and Recognition Department at MoHE

Rise in temperature triggers diseases

Times News Service

MUSCAT: An increase in outdoor temperatures over the past few weeks has caused many residents to contract the flu or chicken pox.

Clinics and outpatient depart-ments in hospitals have reported treating patients for heat exhaus-tion, fever, colds, coughs, respira-tory distress and chicken pox.

The common trigger for these ail-ments has been the rise in Celsius, according to officials.

Chickenpox is a contagious disease caused by the Varicella/Herpes Zostervirus. It is general-ly spread between children, and sometimes to adults, by sneez-ing, coughing, contaminated clothing and direct contact with open blisters.

According to a Ministry of Health (MoH) report, 18,376 cases of chicken pox were registered in Oman in 2014, and 17,903 cases in

2013. But in 2012, Oman reported 36,455 cases of chicken pox.

Dr Pradeep Maheswari, a spe-cialist in internal medicine at Atlas Hospital, said that cases of heat exhaustion, viral flu, dehy-dration, as well as aching muscles and joints accompanied by head-ache and fever, have increased along with the outside tempera-ture. “We are advising people to drink plenty of water, fluids and not to be exposed to the sun for a long time,” he told Times of Oman on Thursday. Apart from pre-

scribing medicines, doctors are advising patients to focus on per-sonal hygiene to prevent the fur-ther spread of the virus to others in their families or workplaces.

Officials note that children have begun falling sick because of ris-ing outdoor temperatures, and a large number of children are suf-fering from chicken pox, where rashes mainly appear on their bodies and heads.

Dr Sanju Joy, a doctor at Badr Al Samaa, Nizwa, said children suffering from chicken pox should drink water and eat fruits and vegetables. “They should also be given regular baths and should not attend schools for seven to ten days, unless their conditions im-prove,” he said.

According to a medical special-ist, receiving a chicken pox vac-cine is the best way to prevent contracting the illness.

“All children below the age of 12 should be vaccinated against the disease. It is available at primary health centres for both Omanis and expatriates. It not only pro-tects a person, it also reduces the risk of exposure for persons una-ble to be vaccinated because of ill-ness or other conditions, includ-ing those who may be at greater risk,” the official said.

Clinics and

outpatient

departments in

hospitals have

reported treating

patients for heat

exhaustion, fever,

colds, coughs,

respiratory distress

and chicken pox

OUTBREAK OF AILMENT: According to a Ministry of Health report,

18,376 cases of chicken pox were registered in Oman in 2014, and

17,903 cases in 2013.

Omani students admitted to Irbid varsity advised to move to Amman for safetyDEEBA HASAN FAHAD AL GHADANI deeba@timesofoman.comfahadnews@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Around 1,100 Omani students in seven universities in the Irbid area of Jordan have been asked to move to Amman due to harassment and personal security issues, a senior official in the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) in Oman has said.

MoHE recently issued a deci-sion for Omani students to stop dealing with higher education institutions in Irbid, until fur-ther notice.

“The decision has been made after studying the situation in the area. The committee contacted the Omani Cultural Attache in Jordan and other authorities to have a better picture of the cur-rent status there.

“The decision was taken based on these discussions for the sake of the safety of the students, but it is only temporary and if we get good news, we will reverse the call,” Khadija Al Qurashi, deputy director, Qualification Equivalen-cy and Recognition Department at MoHE was quoted saying on the Ministry’s e-magazine.

“Some of our students have been harassed and attacked, but there have been no major cases,” Al Qurashi added.

The seven Universities in Ir-bid include Yarmouk University, Jordan University of Science and Technology, the University of Jidara, Irbid National University, the University of Jerash, Univer-sity of Al Albayt, and the Hash-emite University.

Speaking to the Times of Oman, Al Qurashi said that there are 1,500 Omani students in Jorda-nian universities and out of those,

1,100 are studying in Irbid be-cause of the large number of uni-versities in the area and the low cost of expenses.

Irbid top choice“Students prefer Irbid because of the low costs of living. A lot of times the Omani students study in Amman but live in Irbid be-cause of their friends and other Omanis who reside in the area.”

She added that considering the current scenario, the Ministry doesn’t want any Omani in Irbid.

“We don’t want any Omani in Irbid because of the issue, so we are asking these students to move out to study in universities in Am-man, as the Omani Cultural At-tache is there, it will be easy for them to monitor the situation of the students closely.”

According to Al Qurashi, the universities in Irbid are abso-lutely perfect to study in, and have nothing to do with the problem and that lot of other Omanis have graduated from there.

“These universities have no issues, we equate and recognise their certificates, and it’s just about the situation in the area which is a cause of concern. The number of refugees is very high and they sometimes engage in fights and arguments which are at times interrupted by passers-by, who are sometimes Omanis,” she added.

She said that the ministry has cautioned Omanis in Irbid to take some precautionary measures and stay out of trouble.

“We have advised the Omanis to not wear the national dress and not to walk about at night, especially in the areas where they can invite trouble. We have also asked them to not be part of any arguments there, but sometimes

they don’t adhere to the advice,” she said.

TOO also spoke to Ismail bin Abdullah Al Balushi, cultural at-taché of Oman’s Embassy in Jor-dan, who said that the cause of the decision is “the repeated number of harassment cases which hap-pened to Omani students in the area. There is a huge Omani stu-dent population there.”

“We are keeping in touch with the students, about any new cas-es. Some students went to courts as well.”

GraduationAccording to Al Balushi, out of the 1,100 Omani students in Ir-bid, 50 per cent are graduating in the next two semesters and by next year the number of Omanis in Irbid universities is expected to move down to 300. The at-taché is also providing students with some guidelines and pre-cautionary measures.

Ahmed Al Mazrooi, Vice Chairman of the Omani students club in Jordan and a student at the University of Jerash, said that the club was working to-gether with the Omanis in these universities to report any issues to the Omani Cultural Attache. There are 150 Omanis studying at Ahmed’s university.

“We have had some cases, with my friends, there have been thefts in apartments and ambushes on the streets, and it’s mainly be-cause of the refugees living in the area, but we are working together with the students so we can report issues to attaché.”

He added that the situation in Irbid is not good, but it is get-ting better because the attaché has helped and cooperated with the students.

“The situation is not safe. Some

buildings have good safety, but other places are dangerous, espe-cially the ones with refugees in them. During the last few days we have seen that the security situ-ation is getting better, thanks to the embassy’s efforts to protect Omani students.”

Right placeAhmed partly blamed the Omani students for the cases, saying that some of them have not chosen the right place to live in.

“Students are also responsible, because they walk in dangerous areas at night and become prone to such abuses. According to what I know, nobody has left and gone back to Oman.”

“Some unemployed refugees steal mobile phones and money from students. The last such case happened two months ago.”

Al Balushi recently told a Jor-danian newspaper that the de-cision was not taken based on the “security situation”, but was linked with numerous acts of har-assment suffered by the Omani students at the universities.

CooperationIn the newspaper report, Al Bal-ushi also praised the cooperation shown by the Jordanian authori-ties to protect the Omani students with all the problems they face, pointing that these are individual incidents and not related to any organisation and are done out-side the walls of the universities, stressing the excellent relations between the two countries.

For those wishing to attend school in Jordan in the future, Al Balushi said that their parents need to visit MoHE for the latest developments, and learn about in-stitutions which are good to enrol in along with other details.

S E C U R I T Y I S S U E

Conditions ripe for locusts to breedTimes News Service

MUSCAT: The Desert Locust situation in Yemen continues to deteriorate, as more groups have formed in the interior and along the Aden coast during May. Offi-cials note that insecurity and re-moteness are hampering current surveys and control efforts. Con-sequently, swarms are expected to form in the coming days.

If vegetation remains green, the swarms are expected to remain in the interior between Marib and Thamud, where they will mature, with the possibility of another generation of egg-laying by mid-July. On the other hand, if veg-etation dries out, then the swarms are likely to move south to the Gulf of Aden, where strong south-westerly monsoon winds would carry them through coastal areas of Oman and across the Arabian Sea to the Indo-Pakistan summer

breeding area. Their arrival would nearly coincide with that of the monsoon rains in Rajasthan and adjacent areas of Pakistan. How-ever, swarm movements from the Yemen interior to Saudi Arabia are not considered likely.

Authorities note that efforts are required to increase surveys and control the spread in Yemen, while remaining vigilant in other coun-tries. FAO will continue to moni-tor the developing situation close-ly and provide early warnings.

Elsewhere, the Desert Locust situation is generally calm. Con-trol operations continue against adult groups in the southern sec-tion of the Western Sahara in southern Morocco and adjacent areas of northern Mauritania. A limited number of groups are likely to reach the summer breed-ing areas in southern Mauritania and lay eggs with the onset of the seasonal rains.

Y E M E N

‘Muscat people seek professional help’

The man was also charged with committing a number of other fraud cases and the case has been sent to the public prosecutor.

Al Miqbali cited the case of a 17-year-old girl from North Al Batinah governorate who was suffering from bipolar disorder, a psychotic disorder marked by alternating periods of elation and depression.

“She had bruises, burns and severe injuries in many parts of her body as she was badly beaten by a healer who hit her using an iron bar, as he claimed to cure her from the clutches of ghosts,” Al Maqbali said, adding that she was admitted immediately to the department of surgery instead of psychiatry.

He said the girl left the hospital

very soon after being admitted and good condition with only a minimal dose of medicine.

Many of the patients are edu-cated and have high academic de-grees, according to Al Maqbali.

“Despite the fact that some patients are highly educated, many of them prefer to explain their cases as spiritual posses-sion or black eye effect, as it is the easiest and simplest expla-nation,” he added.

Al Maqbali is currently working on research to analyse the reasons behind seeking alternative medi-cine and to study the medicine used in such practices.

But he first needs to categorise the “healers”, as some call them-selves religious healers, while others claim to be witches or

herbal doctors.“Some fraudsters feed their pa-

tients mercury, which can harm the brain, heart, kidneys and lungs. It can also result in im-pairment of peripheral vision and disturbances in sensations,” the doctor explained, adding that mercury can be fatal if given to children.

Mercury“Fraudsters strongly believe that mercury is the strongest enemy for spirits, however, it is so for hu-mans too,” he said.

The medic said that in Sohar, an Asian national who worked as a farmer, claimed that he is gifted and has the ability to cure any disease. “He was singing weird melodies to his patients and make

them consume unknown sub-stances,” he said.

Physical violence is also a very common practice among “witch-es”. He added that fraudsters are working all over Oman, but people in Muscat seek professional med-ical treatment earlier than other governorates thanks to higher lev-els of education.

“I advocate all mental health patients to come to hospitals as all mental disorders are treatable, instead of paying fraudsters to get nothing but illness in return,” the medic concluded.

The police follow public reports and their investigation teams have arrested two Tanzanians , one Omani and one Sudanese.

“Most of them are expats from African countries,” the official said.

E D U C A T I O N

Al Harthi trains with

Bulgarian coach

He brought the record down to 10.14, at an open competition which included Bulgaria’s 100 metre champion. Al Harthi man-aged to outsprint everyone for the first position.

“I am very happy after this and looking forward to going to Rio 2016.” Al Harthi trained at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Oman, and for a large part of his career he trained alone, until he finally found a coach- Yanko from Bulgaria.

The 27-year-old Omani is being fully funded by the Omani gov-ernment for his training and his

participation in the Rio Olympics.

CubaAfter Bulgaria, Al Harthi will travel to Cuba for a couple weeks to acclimatize himself with Rio’s weather and humidity. “After this we will go to Cuba to practice in the same weather, and then go to Brazil.”

His training schedule has now become severe in the run up to the games as he wants to make his country proud.

“I practice hard every morn-ing and every evening,” added Al Harthi.

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OMANS U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

Stal village is gateway to valley of tourism

AL AWABI: Stal is one of the Wadi Bani Kharous villages that is a gateway to the valley that enjoys considerable tourist activities, and a destination for tourists from within and outside the Sultanate. It is loved by people due to attrac-tive tourism sites, including beau-tiful locations, wonderful weather and many historical landmarks.

Stal village is about 13km from the centre of the Wilayat of Al Awabi. It is characterised by its mild summers and cold winters.

The village is also famous for various types of agricultural crops, due to its fertile soil and an abundance of fresh water.

Among the most important crops are date palm trees of vari-ous kinds, as well as lemon, on-ion, garlic, sesame, barley, corn, wheat, quince, bitter orange and other crops that constitute sources of income for the villagers.

There are two Falaj “ancient irrigation systems” in the village, the first is “Mana’a’” and the oth-er is ‘’Stal’’, which is used by vil-lagers to irrigate their farms and for daily use.

Stal village gave birth to many imams, scholars and writers, as did the other villages of Wadi Bani Khruos. Among the most prominent imams who were born in the village is the fifth imam in

Oman, Imam A’Salt bin Malik Al Kharousi, Sheikh Al Faqih Man-sour bin Mohammed bin Nasser Al Kharousi, the poet Salim bin Bashir Al Kharousi, and the poet and writer Said bin Mohammed bin Rashid bin Bashir Al Ghashri Al Kharousi, known as “Al Stali”.

Historical monumentsThere are several important his-torical monuments left by the imams and scholars who were born in the village. Also, there are three mosques in A’Saloot neigh-bourhood, located in the far north of the village, which were built during the reign of Imam A’Salt bin Malik Al Kharousi.

Additionally, there are several old houses, such as “Al Gharraq,” which is located near Al Falaj. It is built of mud and stones and villag-ers believe it dates back more than 200 years, in addition to “Al Sabah House,” which is located at the en-trance of the old neighbourhood.

It was built of stones and mud and has two floors. Villagers think it is more than 150 years old.

Archaeological MajalisAs Al Sabla (Majlis) represents great importance in the social system in the Sultanate, there are many archaeological Majalis, such as Al Sahmah and Al Lath-bah, in addition to the recently built new Sabla.

These Majalis are still used by villagers in their daily lives and for different occasions.

Stal village, like other villages in various governorates of the Sultanate, enjoys many services and projects during the prosper-ous reign of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

These include Wadi Bani Kharous Hospital and the Branch of Al Awabi Municipality, which provides various municipal ser-vices to all the villages of Wadi Bani Khrous. -ONA

Stal village is also

famous for various

types of agricultural

crops, due to its fertile

soil and an abundance

of fresh water

TOURISTS HOTSPOTS: Stal village is about 13km from the centre of the Wilayat of Al Awabi. It is characterised by its mild summers and cold winters. -ONA

New realities“Despite increase in fuel price, the government will have to face larger fiscal deficit. To narrow that gap, they have to look at all options. It’s in line with all the options they have taken so far,” he told Times.

Gurumurthy said the move could push people to reduce con-sumption of energy. “They could respond in so many ways. Over

the time they will get adjusted to the cost-based pricing,” the ex-pert said. “At the moment people have been enjoying subsidized utilities. However, the era of sub-sidized utilities in Oman may be on the wane. That’s the direction the government will move in fu-ture. Citizens should learn to live with the new realities,” Guru-murthy added.

P O W E R S E C T O R

< FROM

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MUSCAT: As the rise of moon after the sunset today will be for a very small period, it will be diffcult to sight it, said the moon sighting main committee members.

The sighting of moon would be difficult today after the sunset in Muscat, Salalah, Wilayat of Ibri, Wilayat of Khasab, Wilayat of Al Buraimi, Wilayat of Nizwa, Wilay-at of Sohar, Wilayat of Al Rustaq, Wilayat of Sur, Wilayat of Ibra, Wilayat of Hima, Wilayat of Ma-sira, Wilayat of Marmul, Fahud, Wilayat of Dhalkout and Al Shu-waimiah, according to the astro-nomical calculations of the As-tronomical Affairs Department at the Ministry of Awqaf and Reli-gious Affairs.

The main committee for the moon sighting for the month of Ramadan 1437H, will meet, to-day, under the chairmanship of Sheikh Abdullah bin Moham-med Al Salmi, Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs along with His Eminence Sheikh Ahmed bin

Hamad Al Khalili, the Sultanate’s Grand Mufti; Sayyid Hareb bin Hamad Al Busaidi, undersecre-tary of the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, Khalid bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior; Dr. Abdullah bin Rashid Al Siyabi, Vice Presi-dent of the Supreme Court and Judge Ahmed Al Khatib from the Supreme Court in Salalah. —ONA

MUSCAT: Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs praised the bi-lateral relations between the Sul-tanate and Qatar. “The distinct relation between the two coun-tries stems from the keenness of the leaders of both the countries for the same,” Alawi said in a statement to ONA on the occa-sion of signing of a number of

Memorandums of Understand-ing and agreements, last Thurs-day, which covered a number of spheres and aimed at further en-hancing cooperation between the two countries. The Royal Direc-tives of His Majesty the Sultan aimed at further communication between the two countries for the interests of the people of both the countries he said. -ONA

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W I T H Q A T A R

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REGIONS U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

TUNISIAN AWARDED GOLD MEDALTunisian 3000m stee-

plechase competitor

Habiba Ghribi, who was

awarded the gold medal

for the World Cup 2011

and Olympics 2012 by

the vice president of the

International Olympic

Committee after Russian

athlete Yulia Zaripova

was disqualified for dop-

ing, poses for a picture

with Moroccan vice

president of CIO Nawal El

Moutawakel, right, dur-

ing an official ceremony

in Rades, near Tunis, on

Saturday. Ghribi won the

silver medal in the 2011

World Championships

and the 2012 London

Games behind Russia’s

Yuliya Zaripova who is

set to forfeit her 2011

world 3000m steeple-

chase after being found

guilty of doping. — AFP

UAE’s Sheikh Khalifa leaves country in rare tripRIYADH: The United Arab Emir-ates (UAE) President His High-ness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has left the country for a private trip abroad, state news agency WAM reported on Satur-day, a rare report on the leader’s movements since he suffered a stroke in 2014.

It did not give any details on where he was travelling or for what purpose. The moderniser and head of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, the largest of the fed-eration’s seven emirates, has been president since the death of his father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, in 2004. — Reuters

A I L I N G

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al

Nahyan

Syria army presses assault against IS rebels in Raqqa

AMMAN/MOSCOW: The Syr-ian army has crossed the bound-ary of Raqqa province, home to the de facto capital of IS, after a major Russian-backed offensive against the militants, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday.

The offensive is the third big assault on the self-proclaimed ca-liphate in recent days after Iraqi forces attempted to storm a city and a Syrian militia advanced with US support.

The three big offensives are some of the most aggressive cam-paigns against IS since it declared its aim to rule over all Muslims from parts of Iraq and Syria two years ago.

Heavy Russian air strikes hit IS-held territory in eastern areas of Syria’s Hama province, near the boundary of Raqqa province, on Friday when the army reached the edge of the province.

Raqqa city, further east, is IS’ de facto capital in Syria and, along with Mosul in Iraq, the ultimate target of those seeking to destroy the group.

The army was making its ad-vances from the Athriya area of eastern Hama province, close to the provincial border with Raqqa.

State media said on Friday the army had made territorial gains and inflicted heavy casualties on

the militants. Syrian army spokes-men were not immediately avail-able for comment.

State media has given no in-dication of how many troops are involved in the offensive, or what weaponry they might be using.

The Observatory also had no comment about numbers or weapons, but said at least 26 IS militants had been killed along with nine from the Syrian and allied forces.

The war monitor said the army advance meant it was now almost 40 km from an area in which US backed rebels were also waging an offensive to isolate the militants’

strongholds in northern Aleppo from their territories east of the Euphrates river, where Raqqa city is located. Should the army be able to reach the area where the rebels are also fighting IS, that would leave the ultrahardline group hemmed in here - albeit by forces highly unlikely to work together as they are on opposing sides in the multi-faceted conflict.

The influential pro-Damascus Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar said on Friday the army operation did not aim to reach Raqqa city within the coming weeks, but was to reach Tabqa city and Lake As-sad, which Taqba overlooks.

IS captured Tabqa in 2014 at the height of its rapid expansion in Syria and Iraq.

Tabqa, the location of an air base, is some 50 km (30 miles) west of Raqqa city. The town is on a key route that links Raqqa with areas the ultra hardline militants control in northern Aleppo.

Meanwhile, more than 2,000 militants have gathered in north-ern Aleppo, the Russian ceasefire-monitoring centre in Syria said on Saturday. “More than 2,000 militants from different terrorist organisations and groups of the so-called ‘moderate opposition’ are concentrated in the region of

Sheikh Maqsoud,” the centre said in a statement.

Furthermore, Russian news agencies cited the centre in syria as saying more than 40 people have been killed and around a hundred injured by Al Nusra mili-tants shelling in Aleppo,

“There was continuous bom-bardment by rocket launchers, canon artillery, mortars and anti-aircraft installations. The terror-ists shelled several areas of the city inhabited not only by govern-ment forces and Kurdish troops but also civilians,” TASS news agency quoted a monitoring cen-tre official as saying. — Reuters

Raqqa city is IS’

de facto capital in

Syria and, along

with Mosul in Iraq,

the ultimate target

of those seeking to

destroy the group

MAYHEM: Syrian emergency personnel and residents search for survivors amid the rubble of a destroyed building following reported

shelling by rebel fighters in the Hamdaniyeh district on the government-controlled side of Aleppo on Saturday. — AFP

Iraqi militia says it will storm Falluja when families leaveBAGHDAD: An Iraqi major-ity sect militia said on Saturday it planned to storm Falluja, IS’ stronghold near Baghdad, once ci-vilians left the city, backtracking on earlier statements that it would leave this task to the Iraqi army.

“We will not enter Falluja as long as there are families inside,” said Hadi Al Amiri, leader of the Badr Organisation, the largest component of the paramilitary coalition known as Hashid Shaabi, or Popular Mobilisation.

“Of course, we will go in and rid the city from the evil of this can-cerous gland, with nobody pre-venting us,” he said, when asked what would happen if civilians managed to flee the Sunni city that lies 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad.

Falluja is the first Iraqi city that IS captured, in January 2014, and the second largest still under its control after Mosul in the north.

FrontlinesAmiri was speaking to reporters while touring one of the frontlines near Falluja.

Last week he said the militias would take part in encirclement

operations but leave the army to storm the city.

Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi said on June 1 the offensive to dis-lodge the ultra-hardline militants had slowed down in order to pro-tect civilians.

About 50,000 are trapped in the city, with limited access to water, food and healthcare, according to the United Nations. — Reuters

F I G H T A G A I N S T E X T R E M I S T S

Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi said on June 1 the offensive to dislodge the ultra-hardline militants had slowed down in order to protect civilians

DESPERATE TO SURVIVE: Civilians who fled their homes due to clashes gather at Camp Tariq, south of

Falluja, Iraq, on Saturday. — Reuters

17 detainees escape from Bahrain jail

DUBAI: Seventeen detainees escaped from a prison in Bah-rain, police said on Saturday, and the government warned citizens against giving them shelter.

The official Bahrain News Agen-cy said 11 of those who escaped on Friday had since been recaptured, and six remained at large.

Five others who aided in the planning and execution of the escape had also been arrested, it quoted police as saying.

The news agency said Interior Minister Sheikh Rashed bin Ab-dullah Al Khalifa, chairing a secu-rity meeting to review the circum-stances of the escape from the Dry Dock Detention Center, warned Bahrainis against harbouring the fugitives.

The news agency did not say whether the escapees were prisoners jailed for anti-gov-ernment demonstrations or at-tacks, or inmates convicted of ordinary crimes.

Social media users posted at least one photo of a road where traffic was backed up for miles, and said it was caused by police closing roads to search for the prisoners on the run. — Reuters

S E A R C H O N

VIGILANT: Police inspect cars at

a checkpoint, during a manhunt

for prisoners that escaped from

Muharraq jail, in Manama,

Bahrain, on Saturday. — Reuters

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INDIAS U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

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Mathura violence mastermind among dead as toll rises to 27

MATHURA: Ram Vriksh Yadav, the chief of the violent encroach-ers in Jawahar Bagh, is among those killed in the clashes, po-lice said on Saturday as the toll mounted to 27 with three more persons succumbing to injuries.

Uttar Pradesh Director Gen-eral of Police (DGP) Javed Ahmed said on Twitter that the body of Yadav and some others have been identified by his associates and his family has been intimated for confirmation.

Sixty-year-old Yadav was the leader of Azad Bharat Vidhik Vai-charik Kranti Satyagrahi, an outfit claiming to owe allegiance to Ne-taji Subhash Chandra Bose whose members had encroached on Jawahar Bagh area for two years and clashed with police on Thurs-day when they tried to evict them.

IG (Law and Order) S. R. Shar-ma said Yadav was among the 11 charred to death in the fire that was caused by gas cylinder explo-sions set off by the encroachers.

The death toll has risen to 27 with three more among the in-

jured encroachers succumbing, IG (Agra) Durga Chandra Mishra said. Chief Medical Officer Vivek Mishra said several other bodies have not been identified as yet.

The bodies have to be kept for 72 hours in the mortuary,which will end on Sunday evening, and later post mortem will be done, he

said. Eighteen bodies are in Ma-thura district centre and seven in Agra, he said.

Tight security arrangements remained in place with police pre-venting BJP MP from Mathura Hema Malini, who led a protest by the party, from entering the violence-hit area, citing ongoing

probe and combing operation.Sharma said the situation

“is normal in Mathura and the ground has been cleared”.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav raised compensation to the next of kin of the two slain police offic-ers from Rs2 million to Rs5 mil-

lion even as opposition stepped up attack on him, questioning why he did not visit Mathura.

Mukul Dwivedi, Superinten-dent of Police and Santosh Yadav, Station House officer, Farah, were killed in the violence.

The chief minister also an-nounced extraordinary pen-sion to their families and job to one member.

BJP president Amit Shah de-manded resignation of Cabinet minister and the chief minister’s uncle Shivpal Yadav.

“If even a little bit of self-re-spect is left in netaji (SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav), he should get the resignation of minister Shivpal Yadav immediately,” Shah said. His attack came against the backdrop of BJP state chief Kes-hav Prasad Maurya alleging that the attackers were “goons of PWD minister Shivpal Singh Yadav”.

Congress spokesperson Ran-deep Singh Surjewala questioned why the chief minister did not visit Mathura.

BJP MP Hema Malini, who is facing flak for sharing pictures of her film shoot as violence erupted in her constituency, also sought to target the Akhilesh Yadav gov-ernment over the incident, saying it needs to look into the law and order situation.

Hema said police wanted to remove encroachments but were not getting orders from the state government to do so.

“They wanted to do it but they were not getting orders from the state government to remove this. This is state government’s issue.Why they are after me?,” she said.

City Magistrate Ram Araj Ya-dav said forensic experts were ex-amining the area and nobody has been allowed to enter there till the investigation is completed. Police said that so far 67 persons have been arrested in connection with the violence and 310 apprehended for breach of peace. - PTI

Uttar Pradesh DGP

Javed Ahmed said on

Twitter that the body

of Ram Vriksh Yadav

and some others

have been identified

by his associates

and his family has

been intimated for

confirmationPROTEST: BJP MP and Bollywood actress sitting along with Bharatiya Janata Party workers during

a protest against Samajwadi Party’s government regarding Jawahar Bagh clash issue in Mathura,

Uttar Pradesh on Saturday. - PTI

NEW DELHI: CPI(M) on Saturday demanded an inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court judge into the Mathura violence which claimed the lives of 27 people including two police officials.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M) said it wanted the probe to ascertain also if a “general atmosphere

of intolerance being spread under patronage of BJP-led central government” has any role in the growth of an outfit, allegedly involved in Thurs-day’s incident.

The Left party also alleged that the incident occurred due to a “very serious lapse” on the part of central and state intel-ligence agencies.

“The politburo of CPI(M) demands that a high powered judicial inquiry must be con-stituted immediately to probe into all these aspects, identify and punish the guilty. It would be preferable if a sitting judge of the Supreme Court be en-trusted this task with a defined timeframe,” the Left party said in a statement. -PTI

CPI(M) demands high level probe by SC judge

ACHIEVEMENT: Renowned sand

artist Sudarsan Pattnaik with

the gold medal he won in a

World Sand art championship in

Bulgaria. - PTI

Sudarsan wins gold medal in sand art contest in Bulgaria

NEW DELHI: Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has won gold medal in a world sand art championship in Bulgaria.

He has won people’s choice prize for his sand sculpture ‘Drugs kill Sports’.

“It is an awareness sand sculp-ture to uphold the sanctity, rich-ness and sports, as an ever cher-ished saga of entertainment source, in high esteem,” Pattnaik said.

The championship was held be-tween May 26 and June 3 in which 10 artists from across the world has participated.

“In my sculpture, I have created the two faces — one is of Lance Armstrong and another of Maria Sharapova, the two iconic players who were mired in the drug con-troversy, thus bringing bad name for themselves and the entire sports world.

“Through my sand art, I wanted to convey the message to the en-tire sports fraternity to uphold the sanctity, richness and inspiration-al stature of sports. Let the spirit of the game prevail,” said the Padma Shri awarded sand artist.

The theme of the competition was “Sport World and Olympic Symbols” and the height of the sculpture was two metre.

Sudarsan has got highest vote from visitors. - PTI

H O N O U R

Interstate firearm supplier arrested in DelhiNEW DELHI: A 23-year-old man, who was a part of an inter-state firearm supply gang, has been arrested here with a cache of 27 semi-automatic pistols which

he intended to supply in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, police said on Saturday. Salamuddin alias Salamu, a resident of Mathura in UP, was arrested near Sarai Kale

Khan Inter State Bus Terminus in south Delhi on Friday night when he went there to deliver the weap-ons, manufactured in Madhya Pradesh. - IANS

2 7 P I S T O L S R E C O V E R E D

A10

INDIA S U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

Modi also struck a chord with the Indian

workers when he said, “When someone from

your land, speaking your language comes, I am

sure that would make you very happy.”

Modi says will cooperate with Afghanistan despite all odds

HERAT: Unfazed by terror at-tacks on its missions and barriers of politics and geography, India will continue to extend coopera-tion in war-torn Afghanistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Saturday after dedi-cating a Rs17 billion dam in stra-tegically vital Herat province.

Modi said other countries may have a “sunset clause” but India’s ties with Afghanistan re-main “timeless”.

“Our resources may be modest, but our will is boundless. For oth-ers, their commitments may have a sunset clause, but our relation-ship is timeless. We face barriers of geography and politics, but we define our path from the clarity of our purpose,” he said in an address after inaugurating the Afghan-India Friendship Dam along with President Ashraf Ghani.

Modi hailed the people of Af-ghanistan for denouncing terror-ism and said division among them will only help those seeking to “dominate” the nation from outside.

“It was a war not of Afghan

making, but it was one that stole the future of an entire generation of Afghans,” the prime minister said, adding that the brave Afghan people are today sending a mes-sage that the forces of “destruc-tion and death, denial and domi-nation” shall not prevail.

TerrorismWhen Afghanistan succeeds in defeating terrorism, the world will be “safer and more beautiful”, he said. The dam, earlier known as Salma Dam, has been built by India at a cost of Rs17 billion on river Harirud in Chist-e- Sharif in western Herat neighbouring Iran.

It will irrigate 75,000 hectares of land and generate 42 MW of power. “This dam has not been built by bricks and mortar, but by the faith of our friendship and the valour of Afghans and Indians. And, at this moment of pride, we also stand in grief and gratitude for lives sacrificed so that Afghan

people will have a future they so richly deserve and so deeply de-sire,” Modi said.

Resolving to stand by Afghani-stan, the prime minister said India’s cooperation will extend to “every part” of the war-torn country and that the partnership will benefit every section of Af-ghan society.

“In your clear eyes, I saw the deep well of affection for India. In your smiles, I saw the joy of this relationship. In the firmness of your embrace, I felt the trust in our friendship,” Modi said.

In his around 25-minute-long speech, Modi touched upon the peace process in Afghanistan, the massive terrorist attack on Indian Consulate in Herat and recon-struction activities in that coun-try. “When our people are under attack, the brave Afghans guard us as their own. They put them-selves in the line of fire so that their Indian friends are safe. This

is the nobility of your heart and the strength of your friendship. I have seen this from the moment I assumed office as prime minister.

“For on that day, when terror-ists launched a massive attack on our Consulate in this city of Herat, the heroic efforts of Afghan sol-diers, and of our personnel, saved many lives and prevented a big tragedy,” he said, referring to the 2014 attack on the Indian mission here. In the past, Indian embassy in Kabul has been attacked twice and its mission in Jalalabad was targeted by a suicide bomber in March this year.

Modi further said Afghanistan’s success is a deeply-held hope and desire of every Indian.

“It comes from the love and admiration for Afghans in our hearts. We want to see your de-mocracy strike deep roots; your people unite; and, your economy prosper. We want to see your art, culture and poetry thrive. And,

we want to see your cricketers join the ranks of Test players and also seek glory in Indian Premier League.

“But, it also comes from the recognition that when Afghani-stan succeeds, the world will be safer and more beautiful. When the values that define Afghans prevail,terrorism and extrem-ism will be in retreat. Because we know that extremism and terror-ism cannot stop at your border or end at the boundaries of our region,” he said.

Trusted partnerIndia will remain a trusted part-ner of Afghanistan because of the time-tested “values that Afghans and Indians seek each other, not because they harbour designs against another”, Modi said.

The prime minister said there has been “resistance” and “suspi-cion” of others about India’s role in Afghanistan but its resolve was strong that will guide it forward in ensuring the country’s prosperity.

“I said then (during the last visit), and I will say it again, your friendship is our honour; your dreams are our duty. India’s ca-pacity may be limited, but our commitment is without limits.Without naming any country, Modi said India drew strength and confidence from Afghanistan’s deep commitment to “protect” the partnership from the “designs” of others. With resolve and pa-tience, courage and belief, we have together overcome distance and hurdles, threats and violence,” said the prime minister.

In his address at the inaugura-tion ceremony, Ghani welcomed Modi to his “second home”, Af-ghanistan, and said a “long stand-ing dream” of the country has been realised after 30 years with help from India.

“Today, we come together to make eternal India Afghan ties and friendship. This dam will chart a new course of cooperation and prosperity,” Ghani said. - PTI

Resolving to stand

by Afghanistan,

Prime Minister

Narendra Modi said

India’s cooperation

will extend to ‘every

part’ of the war-torn

country and that

the partnership will

benefit every section

of Afghan society

ELATED: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani inaugurating the India-

funded Salma Dam in Herat, Afghanistan on Saturday. The dam has been constructed at a cost of

about Rs17 billion. - PTI

MoU signed for hassle-free entry of Indians into US

WASHINGTON: India and the US have signed an MoU to facili-tate hassle-free entry of Indians into America at selected airports by providing speedy security clear-ances for pre-approved, low-risk travellers from the country.

India is only the ninth country with which the US has entered into this International Expedited Traveller Initiative (also known as the Global Entry Programme), reflective of the growing relation-ship between the two largest de-mocracies of the world.

The move would take a few months to implement and will pro-vide speedy security clearances for pre-approved, low-risk Indian travellers upon arrival in US at se-lected airports.

The Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) was signed be-tween Indian Ambassador to the US Arun K. Singh and Kevin K. McAleenan, Deputy Commis-sioner of US Customs and Border Protection.

“After joint scrutiny and clear-ance by both countries, the ap-proved Indian travellers will be extended the facility of expedit-ed entry into the United States through automatic kiosks at select airports,” a statement said, adding, the procedures are expected to be completed in the coming months.

“Expedited entry for the Indian travellers under this programme at the US airports will enable fur-ther easing of travel environment, and will have positive impact on all kinds of people-to-people ex-change between our two coun-tries,” Arun K Singh said at the MoU signing ceremony.

He said strengthening people-to-people ties between the two countries has been at the very core of prime minister’s vision of India’s bilateral relationship with the US.

Currently, Global Entry Pro-gramme is available at more than 40 US airports and 12 preclear-ance locations. - PTI

S E L E C T E D A I R P O R T S

Will take up problems faced by Indian workers in Qatar, says prime ministerDOHA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday assured Indian workers in Qatar that he will take up problems faced by them dur-ing his talks with leaders of this Gulf nation.

Addressing Indian workers at a medical camp in downtown Doha, the prime minister said he is aware of the issues being faced by Indian workers and the companies that bring them here.

“I am aware of the issues you are facing. I will talk about it when I meet the authorities,” he said.

Modi will hold detailed talks with Emir of Qatar His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Tha-ni on Sunday.

Modi noted that his first engage-ment during his two-day visit to Qatar on the second leg of his five-nation tour was a visit to the camp of Indian workers here.

“I came to Doha in the evening and the first programme on my schedule was to meet you all,” he said. Qatar is home to over 600,000 people of Indian origin.

Modi also interacted with work-ers after his brief address and shared refreshments with them.

He shook hands with several workers during his 30-minute stay at the camp.

The prime minister said he wants to congratulate doctor friends for the good work they are doing in Qatar.

“Happy to see regular health check ups being conducted here,” he said.

Modi also struck a chord with the Indian workers when he said, “When someone from your land, speaking your language comes, I am sure that would make you very happy.” “If you have some issues on changing some rules and regu-lations, I will work with you all to bring about these changes,” he told the audience.

Modi said he believed that the leadership in the Gulf has a lot of love and belief in the Indian com-munity in the region.

In this context, he spoke about the visit of Qatar’s Emir to India last year and referred to his praise

of the “unmatched contribution” of the Indian community to the de-velopment of his country.

Global goodwillModi also said India’s global image is not made by its prime minister or its ambassador but, “it’s all of you through your behaviour, who earn India a good name.”

“This global goodwill is the big-gest international reserve curren-cy,” he added.

Qatar is an important trading partner for India in the Gulf region with bilateral trade in 2014-15 ex-ceeding $15 billion.

Qatar is also one of India’s key sources of crude oil. At present, a number of Indian companies are involved in construction activities related to the FIFA World Cup be-ing hosted by Qatar in 2022.

The prime minister has been fo-cusing on improving ties with the Gulf region which is crucial for In-dia’s energy security.

He has already visited United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Qatar in the last eight years. The then prime min-ister Manmohan Singh had visited Doha in 2008.

“India’s historical and close re-lations with Qatar are marked by mutually beneficial commercial exchanges and extensive people-to-people contacts,” External Af-fairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup had said ahead of the visit.

There has been regular ex-change of high-level bilateral visits in the recent past.

The Emir of Qatar had visited India in March 2015. Previously, the then Emir of Qatar had visited India in 1999, 2005 and 2012.

From here, the prime minister will travel to Switzerland on way to the USA. - PTI

B O O S T I N G T I E S

WARM WELCOME: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Qatari counterpart Abdullah bin Nasser bin

Khalifa Al Thani during arrival at Doha airport on Saturday. - PTI

Two policemen shot

dead in Anantnag

SRINAGAR: Striking for a second time in less than 24 hours in Indi-an-administered-Kashmir, mili-tants on Saturday killed two police personnel in poll-bound Anantnag from where Chief Minister Meh-booba Mufti is contesting.

In a targeted action against se-curity personnel, suspected mili-tants opened fire at a police party in the main bus stand in Anant-nag at 11.20am injuring Assistant Sub- Inspector Bashir Ahmad and Constable Reyaz Ahmad who were rushed to a hospital where they succumbed.

The attack comes in less than 24 hours when militants of banned Hizbul Mujahideen am-bushed a BSF convoy at neigh-bouring Goriwan area at Bijbe-hara killing three of its personnel.

Attempt to scare votersSaturday’s attack in Anantnag, 52km from here, is seen as an at-tempt by the militants to scare the voters as Mehbooba is seek-ing her election to the state as-sembly from here.

The seat, where elections are now scheduled to be held on June 22, had fallen vacant after the death of former chief minister and her father Mufti Mohammed Sayeed on January 7. Mehbooba is among nine candidates in the fray. Police and Central Reserve Poilce Force have cordoned off the area and were carrying out

searches at various places to nab the culprits.

Opposition National Confer-ence hit out at PDP-BJP govern-ment and said “instead of making tall claims of improved ground situation on papers, the state government should do something concrete on ground and ensure safety and security of people”.

Party spokesperson Junaid Mattu said with elections round the corner in the assembly, ongo-ing tourist season and forthcom-ing Amarnath Yatra, “one expects that security should be at its best.But every now and then, loop-holes within the security estab-lishment stand exposed”.

State Congress Chief G. A. Mir questioned the PDP-BJP govern-ment credentials in tackling the law and order situation saying “fear is being created in the mind of the voters and it does not augur well for a healthy democracy”.

The attacks also come against the backdrop of a boycott call for elections given by hardline pro-Pakistan Hurriyat faction led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

Meanwhile, pictures have sur-faced online purportedly of the gun-wielding militants walking on a road after carrying out the at-tack that left two policemen dead. A police official said they were aware of the photographs and were trying to ascertain the iden-tity of the militants involved. -PTI

M I L I T A N C Y

GRIEF-STRICKEN: Relatives of a police officer Bashir Ahmad,

who was killed by militants in an attack along with another po-

liceman, wailing during his funeral, at Larkipora Ashmuqam in

Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. - PTI

A11

PAKISTANS U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

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Export-oriented sectors welcome zero-rated tax regime implementationKARACHI: In a bid to arrest the decline in exports and resolve the long-pending issue of tax refunds, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar an-nounced that the zero-rated tax regime would be implemented for five major export-oriented sectors including textile, carpet, leather, sports goods and surgical indus-tries from the next fiscal year.

The news was welcomed by tex-tile mills and other sectors who had been lobbying for the measure for years. “The resumption of the zero-rated regime will immensely help the textile industry,” Mian Kashif Ashfaq, CEO of ChenOne, a subsidiary of Chenab Group, told The Express Tribune.

Up until a few years ago, these sectors were protected from nu-merous taxes by a zero-rated tax regime. However, the regime was

called into question in a plea that argued that exporters had been selling their (tax protected) goods in the domestic market as well.

The somewhat convoluted so-lution was to start taxing these sectors, and to offer refunds upon verification of export receipts.

However, then another problem presented itself. These refunds would be blocked by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), at times for more than a year. This led to a chronic liquidity crunch that se-verely hampered the working capi-tal requirements of these sectors.

Keeping in mind the decline in exports, it was predicted that the zero-rated regime would be re-sumed. Their confidence was fur-ther bolstered when Prime Min-ister Nawaz Sharif, on February 13, committed to resuming the old

regime come fiscal year 2017.But there was uncertainty up

until a few days before the budget announcement because the FBR was opposing the proposal.

“But I do not think the zero-rat-ed regime will immediately help the textile industry. It may require time because refunds of billions of rupees are still stuck with the FBR.

There is huge electricity short-age and other problems in Paki-stan too that are creating problems for exports,” said Ashfaq.

While the situation of gas short-age has improved with the arrival of imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), the government needs to revive textile industries that have been closed down in recent months, he added. On the other hand, Fawad Anwar, managing director at Al Karam Textile Mills

– one of the leading textile export-ers from Karachi – said that he ex-pects 10-12 per cent increase in his company’s exports in the next 12 months.

“The impact of zero-rated re-gime will be seen on the country’s exports immediately because the FBR will now release refunds,” he added. Exporters say the regime will ease their problems that were compounded by the extreme li-quidity shortages. With over $13 billion exports, the textile sector dominates the five export-orient-ed sectors. The other four con-tribute close to $5 billion in export receipts. Meanwhile, Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) Chair-man Gulzar Feroz said the regime will take a few years to create a vis-ible impact in exports of the leath-er sector. - Express Tribune

B O O S T E X P O R T S

EKING OUT A LIVING: This photo taken on February 7, 2015 shows

a tailor making shirts at a factory in Karachi. With over $13 billion

exports, the textile sector dominates the five export-oriented

sectors. - AFP file photo

Government announces 10% hike in salaries, pensions

ISLAMABAD: The government has announced a 10 per cent in-crease in salaries and pensions of government employees for the 2016-17 fiscal while raising the minimum wage by Rs1,000 from the current figure of Rs13,000.

In another move to overcome the perception of not being gener-ous to government employees, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has decided to merge two ad-hoc allowances added to the pay scale of civil servants in 2013 and 2014.

But what would benefit hun-dreds of thousands of government servants more is the move to up-grade several lower cadres from

the upcoming fiscal year.More than half way through its

tenure, the PML-N could have faced political ramifications by not pacifying government em-ployees and the agriculture sector in the budget.

InflationWith the inflation rate below three per cent, the government is hoping for positive political dividends. An amount of Rs57 billion has been

reserved in the next year’s budget to meet the announced measures in pays and pensions.

In addition to these incen-tives, the minimum wage has been increased from Rs13,000 to Rs14,000 — a measure that needs strict implementation through la-bour laws. Disabled persons work-ing in federal government depart-ments would also be entitled to an additional conveyance allowance of Rs1,000 from the next financial

year. On Friday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced the 10 per cent ad-hoc relief allowance on running basic pay of all govern-ment employees from July 1 and to merge the two ad-hoc allowanc-es given by the last PPP regime.

While pensions of all retired government employees have been increased by 10 per cent, those above 85 years of age will enjoy a 25 per cent raise.

Ex-gratia pension allowed to

former East Pakistan employees will be raised from Rs2,000 to Rs6,000. If the person has died, his family will now get Rs4,500 against the earlier Rs1,000.

For pensioners and senior citi-zens, the upper limit of investment in National Savings Bahbood cer-tificates has been increased from Rs4 million to Rs5 million.

From the new fiscal, the grade of lower division clerks will be up-graded to BS-9 from BS-7.

Similarly, the grade of upper di-vision clerks has been raised from BS-9 to BS-11.

The post of assistants has been upgraded from BS-14 to BS-16 while the BS-15 assistant-in-charge will now enjoy the salary and perks of the BS-16 grade.

Khateebs working at govern-ment mosques in Islamabad will now enjoy the BS-15 grade up from the BS-12 in the outgoing year. Moazzins have been up-graded from the BS-5 to BS-7 pay scale. Rank of Khadims has been raised from BS-5 to BS-6.

The government has also de-cided to give compensatory allow-ance at a uniform rate of Rs300 per month to personnel of civil armed forces posted in border areas. They had been getting be-tween Rs50 to Rs210 depending on their cadre.

For the federal government employees posted in “unattrac-tive areas” like Chitral, Dir, Haz-ara division, Swat and Malakand, the compensatory allowance will be at par with what the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government pays to such employees. - Express Tribune

Finance Minister

Ishaq Dar announced

the 10 per cent ad-

hoc relief allowance

on running basic pay

of all government

employees from

July 1 and to merge

the two ad-hoc

allowances given by

the last PPP regime

INITIATIVE: Pensioners waiting outside the bank to receive their payments. Pensions of all retired

government employees have been increased by 10 per cent, those above 85 years of age will enjoy a

25 per cent raise.. -Express Tribune file photo

Investors to be driven away by budget measures, say stakeholdersKARACHI: Tax measures pro-posed in the federal budget for 2016-17 will reduce trading vol-umes and drive investors away from the stock market, according to capital market representatives.

In his speech on Friday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar proposed a number of budgetary measures that will have a direct impact on the participants of the capital markets. “This sector is expected to make its due contribution to the national exchequer,” Dar said while announcing yet another “ra-tionalisation” in the capital gains tax (CGT) rates.

Ironically, Dar announced a large number of incentives for the agriculture sector during his speech, although its share in fed-eral taxes is less than 1 per cent.

In contrast, total tax contri-bution of listed companies was Rs562.3 billion in 2014-15, which equalled 21.7 per cent of FBR’s tax collection of Rs2.6 trillion.

“This is an anti-stock market budget. Every stock investor is already fully documented and tax-compliant,” said Muhammad Yasin Lakhani, who serves as di-rector on the board of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

“They have not done away with capital value tax or the tax on bo-nus shares, which are totally un-justified. In addition, they have tinkered with CGT rates and hold-ing periods yet again,” he added.

Dar has proposed that the maxi-mum taxable holding period for capital gains on shares be extend-ed from four to five years.

This will force investors to hold on to their stocks for a longer peri-od of time to avoid excessive taxa-tion, thus drying up trade volumes from the bourse.

The CGT rates for non-filers should be 18 per cent, 16 per cent and 11 per cent for the holding pe-riod of up to one year, two years and five years, respectively, the budget document say.

Currently, the CGT rates are 15 per cent, 12.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent for the holding period of up to one year, two years and four years, respectively.

“Why is it so hard for the govern-ment to understand that changing tax rates every year drive investors away?” Lakhani said.

Similarly, Dar had imposed a “one-time” super tax last year on

individuals, association of per-sons and companies earning over Rs500 million for 2014-15 at the rate of 4 per cent for banking com-panies and 3 per cent for others.

However, the finance minister went back on his word on Friday and announced that the super tax will remain in effect for 2016-17 as well. The decision will take away any gains that the corporate sector would have made because of the reduction of 1 per cent in its income tax rate in the next fiscal year.

Dar also proposed doubling the withholding tax rate of 0.01 per cent on the commission of PSX members, arguing that it is “quite low”. His proposals entail that the rate of tax on dividends in the case of non-filers be increased from

17.5 per cent to 20 per cent. The tax withheld in excess of 12.5 per cent, however, will be adjusted in the case of return filing.

The proposed budget would also hurt the mutual funds industry.

It proposes higher tax rates of 15 per cent for non-filers receiving dividend from mutual funds.

But more importantly, it pro-poses that the upper limit of in-vestment for senior citizens in the Behbood scheme of National Sav-ings be increased from Rs4 million to Rs5 million. Many people invest in government-run National Sav-ings Schemes (NSS) in the name of family elders.

These schemes offer a higher rate than money market mutual funds operated mostly by private asset management companies.

As a result, growth in the asset base of the mutual funds industry has remained stunted in Pakistan.

The finance ministry utilises cheap funds generated through NSS mainly for debt financing, which is not a productive use of public money.

“The decision to enhance the maximum investment limit for NSS will not bode well for the mutual funds industry,” said Anum Aqeel Dhedhi, chief invest-ment officer at AKD Investment Management.

She also welcomed the decision to withdraw the Federal Excise Duty (FED), which was levied at 16 per cent on the providers of fi-nancial services, including stock brokers and asset management companies. - Express Tribune

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

Nighat Dad presented Atlantic Council awardKARACHI: Digital rights activist Nighat Dad has been awarded the prestigious Atlantic Council Digi-tal Freedom Award for 2016.

She was presented the award on Friday evening before a crowd of 450 delegates of the Global Forum in Wroclaw, Poland.

The awards recognise extraordi-nary individuals and organisations that defend and advance the cause of freedom.

“It (the award) is a good sign that more and more global organisa-tions are recognising digital civil liberties and the work done, voices raised by activists,” Dad told The Express Tribune via telephone from Wroclaw.

“(Global Forum) panels recog-nised that regulation by govern-ments of online space is increas-ing and it is significant that there is growing international concern about that.” Asked about the im-pact of this award will have back home where she has faced hostility from official quarters, Dad hoped that it will prompt the govern-ment to take note of issues she has raised. - Express Tribune

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Private investment for developmentNirj Deva

Successful economic development has hewed to a well-known pattern. Lifting a country out of poverty and placing it on a

path of sustainable growth requires hard work, the creation of a robust system of property rights, and – crucially – private investment.

This method is not specific to a particular re-gion or people. As Asia’s spectacular growth has demonstrated, it is transferable across cultures. So it is a shame that development economists and the world’s multilateral institutions are failing to apply it systematically in the developing world.

Billions of dollars of aid has been poured into developing countries, but it has not been enough, and the results have been disappointing. The World Bank estimates that one billion people still live on less than $1.25 a day, while more than 800 million do not have enough to eat. The Millen-nium Development Goals attempted to apply a comprehensive approach to reducing poverty, but the MDGs failed to address its underlying causes.

On paper, at least, the United Nation’s new Sustainable Development Goals, put in place last year, are an improvement. The trouble is that lofty ambitions come with a high price tag, and there remains a funding gap of around $2.5 tril-lion if all 17 goals are to be met. A chasm this big cannot be bridged by cash-strapped governments and taxpayers alone.

That is why a recent decision by the European Parliament to back my report calling for the mo-bilisation of private capital in the fight against global poverty is so important. For the first time in the parliament’s history, its members acknowl-edged the private sector as a key partner in wealth creation in the developing world. Given that the European Union is one of the biggest providers of development aid, the decision could be highly sig-nificant. To be sure, winning a vote, while never straightforward, is the easy part. The challenge will be translating words into action.

The early signs are heartening. Marianne Thys-sen, the EU’s employment and labour commis-sioner, wants work on implementing the report to begin immediately. She has promised that the European Commission will invest more than €2

billion ($2.27 billion) to support the private sec-tor in the developing world by 2020. She expects that €4.8 billion in EU grants would leverage at least €66 billion in investment in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America by financial in-stitutions and private firms.

If the EU’s entire development budget was sim-ilarly maximised, we could mobilize about €300 billion of capital, which, if spent on acquiring equipment, plant, and technology from Europe, could give an enormous boost to the current slug-gish growth of the European economies.

An important early task in achieving the de-sired impact will be to create an environment in which private initiatives can flourish. Currently, micro, small, and medium-size enterprises ac-count for some 60 per cent of the developing world’s employment. And yet 70 per cent of these businesses receive no help from financial institu-tions, even though investment would enable them to grow and create jobs.

We must begin to change this by providing the financial and technical assistance countries need to establish reliable banking systems and tax administrations. Adherence to international ac-counting standards should be encouraged. Trans-parency must be improved, and corruption must be rooted out. And in many countries, the system of land registration and property rights needs to be formalised, so that individuals and companies gain equity against which they can borrow to in-vest in their businesses.

The effect will be to increase the number of bankable projects in which both local businesses and international firms can invest. Potential for public-private partnerships exist in energy and telecommunications projects, in wells and irri-gation, in the construction sector, in infrastruc-ture such as roads, airports, and harbours, and in processing plants for agro industries, meat, fruit, and vegetables.

Helping developing countries grow will stimu-late investment opportunities for EU companies and open new markets for their goods. The re-sult will be a virtuous cycle of development that benefits everyone – and that moves the world sig-nificantly closer to achieving the ambitious goals that it has adopted. - Project SyndicateWhy no action was taken against Mathura encroachers?

This refers to the online article, Mathura violence toll climbs to 24 , more than 320 arrested (June 3). I find it surprising as to what was the district administration doing for all these years and why

no stringent action was not taken against these encroachers with strange demands. It seems that either the local administration was involved hand in gloves with them or they were quiet due some kind of political pressure.The Uttar Pardesh government cannot simply escape their responsibili-ties by accepting the failure of the local administration and at the same time the local lawmaker, Hema Malini’s sincerity towards her constituency too demands scanning. How come she did not knew about this illegal camping of 3,000 people in her constituency which was going on for more than two years. Hats off to the locals who approached the court and sincere thanks the High Court, which took serious note of it and ordered the eviction of these criminals who in the guise of Satyagrahees, have been occupying huge land of a park

in a prime locality of Mathura. I offer my sincere condolences to the families of two brave police officers who lost their lives during imple-menting the court order. - Mohammad Osama Rawat, Ruwi

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Pact for constructing housing units signedMUSCAT: Sheikh Suhail bin Mustahil Shimas, minister of hous-ing, electricity and water, signed an agreement worth RO403,896 to construct housing units, a mosque and a public hall in Ras Algifn, in the wilayat of Jalan Bani Bu Ali and in the niyabat of Al Ashkarah in the Sharqiyah region. The minister said in a state-ment to ONA that the agreement came within the framework of the government’s continued efforts to provide Omani citizens with all aspects of noble life. The signing ceremony was attended by Saif bin Mohammed Al Shabibi, ministry undersecretary, and a number of ministry officials.

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ASIAS U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

China says US should not take sides on South China Sea row

SINGAPORE: The United States stepped up pressure on China on Saturday to rein in its actions in the South China Sea, with top defence officials underlining Washington’s military superi-ority and vowing to remain the main guarantor of Asian security for decades to come.

Defence Secretary Ash Carter said the US approach to the Asia-Pacific remained “one of commit-ment, strength and inclusion”, but he also warned China against pro-vocative behaviour in the South China Sea.

Any action by China to reclaim land in the Scarborough Shoal, an outcrop in the disputed sea, would have consequences, Carter said.

“I hope that this development doesn’t occur, because it will re-sult in actions being taken by the both US and... by others in the re-gion which would have the effect of not only increasing tensions but isolating China,” Carter told the Shangri-La Dialogue, a region-al security forum in Singapore.

“The United States will remain the most powerful military and main underwriter of security in the region for decades to come — and there should be no doubt about that.”

The South China Sea has be-come a flashpoint between the United States, which increased its focus on the Asia-Pacific under

President Barack Obama’s “pivot”, and China, which is projecting ever greater economic, political and military power in the region.

Carter however said he would welcome China’s participation in a “principled security network” for Asia.

“Forward thinking statesmen and leaders must... come together to ensure a positive principled fu-ture,” he said, adding that the net-work he envisaged could also help protect against “Russia’s worrying actions” and the growing strategic impact of climate change.

CooperationThe deputy head of China’s dele-gation to the forum said the Unit-ed States should reduce its pro-vocative exercises and patrols in the region and said any attempts to isolate China would fail.

“This is a time of coopera-tion and common security,” Rear Admiral Guan Youfei told reporters.”The US action to take sides is not agreed by many coun-

tries. We hope the US will also lis-ten to the other countries.”

Other Asian leaders said the situation in the South China Sea was viewed with concern across the region.

“All countries in the region need to recognise that our shared prosperities and the enviable rate of growth that this region enjoys over past decades will be put at risk by aggressive behaviour or ac-tions by any one of us,” Indian De-fence Minister Manohar Parrikar told the forum. Japanese Defence Minister General Nakatani said his country would help Southeast Asian nations build their security capabilities to deal with what he called unilateral, dangerous and coercive actions in the South China Sea.

“In the South China Sea, we have been witnessing large-scale and rapid land reclamation, build-ing of outposts and utilisation of them for military purposes,” Na-katani said. “No country can be an outsider of this issue.”

A Chinese official responded by saying Japan should be care-ful “not to interfere and stir up problems” in the waterway, while China’s foreign ministry also weighed in regarding the US and Japanese comments.

“Counties outside the region should stick to their promises and not make thoughtless remarks about issues of territorial sov-ereignty,” the ministry said in a statement. Trillions of dollars of trade a year passes through the South China Sea, which is home to rich oil, gas and fishing resources.

Rising tensions Besides China, Vietnam, the Phil-ippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Tai-wan have claims in the area, and rising tensions have been fuelling increasing security spending in the region.

“The uncertainty of China’s future trajectory is arguably the main driving concern about pos-sible military competition now and in the future,” Malaysian

Defence Minister Hishammud-din Hussein said. Carter said that for decades some critics had been predicting an impending US withdrawal from the region, but this would not happen.

“That’s because this region, which is home to nearly half the world’s population and nearly half the global economy, remains the most consequential for America’s own security and prosperity.”

In an apparent counter to “America-first” policies expound-ed by prospective Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, including suggestions that US troops should be with-drawn from Asia, Carter stressed bipartisan support for continued engagement.

The Shangri-La Dialogue is be-ing held ahead of a significant rul-ing expected in coming weeks on a case filed by the Philippines in the International Court of Arbi-tration challenging China’s South China Sea claims, which Beijing has vowed to ignore. - Reuters

Defence Secretary

Ash Carter said the

US approach to the

Asia-Pacific remained

‘one of commitment,

strength and

inclusion’, but he

also warned China

against provocative

behaviour in the

South China Sea

SHANGRI-LA DIALOGUE: US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter meets with South Korea’s Minister of Defence Han Minkoo, right, and Japan’s Minister of Defence General Nakatani for a trilateral at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday. - Reuters

Diplomats urge Obama to maintain Afghanistan troop levelWASHINGTON: Thirteen retired US generals and senior diplomats urged President Barack Obama on Friday to maintain the current US troop level in Afghanistan, saying a reduction would undercut the mo-rale of Afghan government forces and bolster the Taliban.

The 13 men oversaw US military operations and policy in Afghani-stan during the administrations of Obama and former president George W. Bush. They included re-tired Army general and CIA direc-tor David Petraeus and four other former top commanders of US-led international forces there, as well as five former American ambassa-dors to Afghanistan.

In an open letter to Obama in The National Interest magazine, they said maintaining the current level of 9,800 US troops would “likely have helpful effects on ref-ugee flows, the confidence of the Taliban, the morale of the Afghan military and Afghan people, the state of the Afghan economy and perhaps even the strategic assess-ments of some in Pakistan.”

“Conversely, we are convinced that a reduction of our military and financial support over the coming months would negatively affect each of these,” they wrote.

The letter was published days before the current US military commander in Afghanistan, Army General John Nicholson, is ex-pected to submit a review of US military strategy in Afghanistan.

Under Obama’s current plan, the number of US military person-nel is due to drop to 5,500 by 2017.

But Taliban forces lately have made significant gains and rejected peace negotiations with Afghani-stan’s government, which has been weakened by internal differences. Obama has made extracting the US from its 15-year-long war in Afghanistan a top priority of his presidency, unsuccessfully pursu-ing efforts to bring the Taliban into peace talks. “Afghanistan is the place where Al Qaeda and affili-ates first planned the 9/11 attacks and a place where they continue to operate - and is thus important in the broader effort to defeat the global extremist movement today,” the retired generals and diplomats wrote. - Reuters

W A R - T O R N

Tsai champions local defence industryTAIWAN: Taiwan is determined to build a local defence industry, the island’s new president, Tsai Ing-wen, said on Saturday as she toured a naval base and took a ride on a homemade 600-ton warship.

Taiwan, isolated diplomatically and reliant on the United States as its only arms supplier, has strug-gled to maintain modern military wares in the face of China’s grow-ing might across the 180 km-wide Taiwan Strait to its west.

Taiwan’s military is looking to build its own submarines and next generation jet train-ers, and its navy has begun pro-grammes to build minesweep-ers, support ships, and small stealthy warships.

Constrained by budgets and approvals required in arms sales from the United States, the gov-ernment hopes that building a home-grown defence industry will increase technological know-

how, create jobs and boost eco-nomic growth.

Beijing distrusts Tsai and her ruling, independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, which overturned eight years of China-friendly Nationalists rule in landslide January elections.

“Let defence needs become the driving force of industrial upgrad-ing and transformation,” Tsai told a military audience at a naval base in northeastern Taiwan. - Reuters

T A I W A N

Under Obama’s current plan, the number of US military personnel is due to drop to 5,500 by 2017 in Afghanistan.

A14

GLOBAL EYES U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

JORDAN: Fireworks light up the sky above King Hussein bin Talal Mosque in Amman on Friday, as Jordanians celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the Great Arab Revolt. — AFP

MACEDONIA: Protestors wearing masks use water guns to spray coloured paint on The Alexander the Great Fountain during an anti-

government protest in Skopje on Friday, in a series of protests dubbed Colourful Revolution. Macedonia’s president revoked on May 27

the pardons he had granted to 22 politicians implicated in a wiretapping scandal, after the move sparked outrage inside and outside the

troubled Balkan country. — AFP

UNITED STATES: A little girl looks at the Priscilla the Parrot Fish exhibit from the Washed Ashore Project at the Smithsonian National Zoo

in Washington US on Friday. — Reuters

CHINA: Students hold and present 5 yuan banknotes as they pose

to camera with their teacher at a classroom ahead of China’s

annual national college entrance exam or “gaokao” in Hengshui,

Hebei Province, China, on Friday. — Reuters/Stringer

AUSTRALIA: A sign indicating a pedestrian and cycle path is partly

submerged by floodwaters in Brisbane, Australia, on Saturday.

— AAP/Dan Peled/Reuters

BELARUS: Pilots in Yak-52 plane perform during an airshow on the

outskirts of Minsk, Belarus on Saturday. — Reuters

FRANCE: The French three-master sailing vessel “Belem” is docked

at Saint-Nazaire’s harbour prior to a nautical parade from Saint-

Nazaire to Nantes to celebrate its 120th anniversary, on Saturday,

in Saint Nazaire, western France. — AFP

NIAMEY: Thirty soldiers from Niger and two from Nigeria were killed in a Boko Haram attack by “hundreds of assailants” on Fri-day on the southeastern town of Bosso close to the border with Nigeria, the Niger defence minis-try said on Saturday.

“The counter-offensive con-ducted early this morning helped to retake control of all the posi-tions in the city of Bosso.

MobilisationThe situation is under control”, the ministry added.”A sweep is ongo-ing in the area with the mobilisa-tion of all land and air means”.

Seven others from Niger and eight from Nigeria were injured in the attack, according to the

ministry, which reported “several deaths” among the assailants.

Bosso is part of the Diffa region, which is home to many refugees and internally displaced people who have sought to avoid Boko Haram violence elsewhere.

Numerous attacksThe region has been targeted nu-merous times in attacks blamed on the militants.

Six people were killed last month in the village of Yebi, 4 km (2.5 miles) from Bosso, in an attack thought to have been carried out by Boko Haram.

The group, headquartered across the border in northeastern Nigeria, wants to create an obscu-rantist state. — Reuters

PARIS: Floods that inundated parts of France this week, killing four and forcing thousands from their homes, could start easing as the Seine river stabilised af-ter reaching a peak on Saturday, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said.

The floods, the worst the French capital has seen since 1982, forced its famous Louvre and Orsay mu-seums to move scores of artworks and precious artefacts to safety.

It also disrupted traffic in several areas.

The Seine river rose to about 6.10 metres (20.0 ft) on Saturday morning and was now stable, au-thorities said. In 1982, the river rose to 6.18 metres.

“It looks like things are get-ting calmer,” Valls said, adding that a return to normal would take several days.

Valls said four people died in the floods and 24 others were wounded and about 20,000 people were evacuated from their homes.

“It will take at least a week for the Seine to return to its normal level,” said Bruno Jamet, a hy-drologist at Vigicrues, a state body that monitors flood levels.

He added that the Seine will stay above 6 metres for several hours on Saturday before reced-ing slightly over the weekend.

The worst affected areas lay just to the south of the capital.

In Villeneuve-Saint-Georges near Orly airport, soldiers and Red Cross volunteers helped stranded residents as flood waters rose above knee level.

In nearby Corbeil-Essonnes, lo-

cals kayaked along streets littered with abandoned cars.

In Paris, the rapid transit metro line RER C that runs close to the river was shut down as well as several metro stations and roads near the banks of the river.

Paris landmarks including the Louvre and Orsay museums, the Grand Palace, Discovery Palace and the National Library were closed due to the floods.

However, for several tourists visiting the French capital, the Seine bursting its banks was an attraction as many lined Paris bridges to take pictures.

“I find this rather spectacu-lar,” Asma, who is visiting from Lyon in the east of France, told Reuters television.

“I’m enjoying looking at the level of Seine river... it is an event to witness. It doesn’t prevent us from visiting Paris, and in any case, it gives Paris a special fla-vour,” she said. — Reuters

A15

WORLDS U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

French floods may ease as Seine river stabilisesThe floods, the worst

the French capital

has seen since 1982,

forced its famous

Louvre and Orsay

museums to move

scores of artworks

and precious

artefacts to safety

INUNDATED: French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, centre visits flooded areas in Crosne on Saturday

in a southern Paris’ suburb. — AFP

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said 4 people died in the floods and 24 others were wounded and about 20,000 people were evacuated from their homes

Boko Haram attack in Niger kills 32 soldiers

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

CONFLICT: Civil society organisations march to show solidarity

after soldiers from Niger and Nigeria were killed in a Boko Haram

attack, in Niamey, Niger, on Saturday. — Reuters

ZURICH: Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPO) is very likely to formally challenge the result of last month’s presidential election and is calling for postal ballots to be abolished, its leader said on Saturday.

Asked how likely it is the FPO will formally challenge the re-sult of the vote, which its can-didate Norbert Hofer narrowly lost, Heinz-Christian Strache said in an interview with radio station OE1: “It is very likely... over 50 per cent.”

Decision by WednesdayHe said the party would make its decision by Wednesday, the dead-line for challenges.

“If the irregularities are con-

firmed by legal experts... then we have a responsibility to democ-racy,” Strache said.

The FPO has said it is exam-ining several irregularities that have come to light in individual polling stations, ranging from postal ballots having been count-ed too early to the number of votes having been overstated.

“Postal ballots in their current form have to be abolished,” Stra-che said in the interview, adding that voting by mail did not meet constitutional requirements for a secret ballot.

Former Greens leader Alexan-der Van der Bellen won the presi-dential election on May 22 with a narrow lead of roughly 31,000 votes. — Reuters

A16

WORLDS U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

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Castros clearly ‘robust and long-lived’: Raul

HAVANA: The day after his 85th birthday, Cuba’s President Raul Castro quipped that the Castros were clearly “robust and long-lived” and he could easily manage several more five-year terms al-though he would stick to his prom-ise to step down in 2018.

Castro took the presidency over a decade ago from his older broth-er Fidel, who by then was already one of the world’s longest-serving leaders, having taken power in a 1959 uprising that ousted a US-backed dictator.

“The Castros are robust and long-lived.

“I turned 85 on Friday which proves this and could manage sev-eral more five-year terms,” Raul said in the opening speech of a summit of Caribbean countries in Havana, sparking laughter among attendees that included Venezuela’s embattled president, Nicolas Maduro.

“But as I have already said on different occasions...I will leave

the presidency on the 24th of February, 2018.”

Fidel, who claims he has sur-vived more than 600 attempts on his life mainly masterminded by the United States, will turn 90 this year and shocked some Cubans at the Communist Party Congress in April by musing about death.

“Soon I will be 90 years old,” he said.”Soon I will be like all the rest.

Everybody’s turn comes.”In view of the advanced age of

many of Cuba’s leaders, Raul pro-posed an age limit of 70 for top Communist Party officials ahead of the congress, raising expecta-tions veterans would begin to step aside.

Instead Raul and fellow octo-genarian Jose Ramon Machado Ventura were re-elected as first and second secretaries respective-ly for further five-year terms.

This means Raul will remain party chief even after he steps down as Cuba’s president, unless he resigns from that post. — Reuters

Castro took the

presidency over a

decade ago from his

older brother Fidel,

made the statement

a day after is 85th

birthday

YOUNG AT HEART: Cuban President Raul Castro, centre, raises his clenched fist in salutation during the official picture of the heads of state participating in the Association of Caribbean States’ summit on problems linked to climate, at Revolution Palace in Havana, on Saturday. — AFP

Former Cuban leader Fidel will turn 90 this year and shocked some Cubans at the Communist Party Congress in April by musing about death

Austria far-right party likely tochallenge result

P R E S I D E N T I A L E L E C T I O N

POLAND PROTESTERS MARCH Former Polish Presidents Bronislaw Komorowski, fourth left, and Aleksander Kwasniewski, third right, wave as they take part in an anti-government demonstration organised on the 27th anniversary of the first free non-communist elections, in Warsaw, Poland on Saturday. — Agencja Gazeta/Slawomir Kaminski/via Reuters

US warns IS rebels planning attacks in South AfricaJOHANNESBURG: The United States warned its citizens on Sat-urday of possible attacks by ex-tremist militants on US facilities or shopping malls in South Af-rica during the upcoming month of Ramadan, but the South Afri-can government said the country was safe.

It was the second such warn-ing in under a year from the em-bassy, which issued a similar alert in September in a country that has a significant expatriate and tourist population but has seldom been associated with ex-tremist militancy.

The US embassy said up-market shopping areas and malls in the commercial hub of Johannesburg and Cape Town, widely regarded as South Af-rica’s tourism capital, were the main target areas in the sus-pected planned attacks.

Terror attacks“This information comes against the backdrop of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s (IS) pub-lic call for its adherents to carry out terrorist attacks globally during the upcoming month of Ramadan,” it said in a statement posted on its website. http://1.usa.gov/1UkdY8R

Last month, a new message purporting to come from the spokesman of Iscalled on follow-ers to launch attacks on the West during the holy month of Rama-dan, which begins in early June.

South Africa’s foreign affairs department said the country’s security agencies were capable of ensuring the safety of its resi-dents, noting that no incident or attack had taken place after the previous warning by the US em-bassy last year.

Very much capable“The state security agency and other security agencies in this country are very much capable of keeping South Africa safe and everybody in this country, includ-ing Americans,” foreign affair’s ministry spokesman Clayson Monyela said.

“The last time they did this, towards the end of last year, noth-ing came out of that advisory,” he added. South African police were not available to comment.

Following a similar warn-ing in 2009, the US closed its embassy and consulates in Jo-hannesburg, Durban and Cape Town for several days.

Remain openOn Saturday, the embassy said it would remain open.

“This will not affect opera-tions at the US embassy Pretoria or our Consulates in Johannes-burg, Cape Town or Durban,” US embassy spokeswoman Cynthia Harvey said.

“We are cooperating with local authorities, as we do in any in-vestigation into terrorist threats around the world.” — Reuters

D U R I N G R A M A D A N

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Duqm emerges as an ideal investment hub

A E JAMESbusinesseditor@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: An agreement to build a large bus assembly unit with a capacity of 2,000 units per an-num between Oman and Qatar is expected to prop up the attractive-ness of Duqm as an ideal location for investment by regional and in-ternational investors.

The bus assembly unit, along with the recent agreement be-tween China and Oman for build-ing an industrial city in Duqm to

attract $10 billion investment, will enhance the status of the port city as an ideal centre for trans-shipment to the regional mar-kets, after the success in attract-ing almost $20 billion investment from transnational companies in Sohar.

Foreign investmentThese agreements give the much needed fillip to the Sultanate’s ef-forts in attracting foreign invest-ment in Duqm, which is all the more important in view of a fall in government revenue in the after-math of sluggish oil income.

The Special Economic Zone Authority in Duqm and Qatar’s Karwa Automobiles (part of the country’s national transport firm)

have signed an agreement for allo-cating one million square metres of land for building an automobile assembly/body building unit for small bus, school bus, trucks and other vehicles. A signing ceremo-ny was conducted when a high-level Qatari delegation visited Oman on Thursday.

The land lease agreement for the project, which will provide 400 to 500 direct and indirect jobs for locals, is for 25 years, subject to renewal. The project includes the construction of a number of ad-ministrative buildings, staff hous-ing, and a yard to conduct vehicle test, storage yard and display yard.

Almost two years ago, an agree-ment for establishing a bus as-sembly unit in Oman was signed

between Oman Investment Fund (OIF) and Mowasalat, national transport company of Qatar (Kar-wa is an affiliate of Mowasalat).

The facility, which will be the first such a large unit in the Sul-tanate, will have a capital expend-iture of $160 million.

Karwa and Oman Investment Fund will provide capital for the project in the ratio of 30 per cent by Oman and 70 per cent by Qatar.

Target marketsThe target markets are Oman, other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and North Afri-ca. Qatar is also investing in other projects in Oman, which include mining and tourism projects.

The Public Authority for Min-ing (PAM) and Qatar Primary Materials Company (QPMC) also signed a memorandum of understanding for two queries in Khatmat Milaha in the Wilayat of Shinas for getting necessary ap-provals to carry out its business in the quarries.

Another agreement was signed to construct a pier in the Wilayat of Shinas to export rocks to Qatar.

Both countries have also signed another major deal to get land for Ras Al Hadd tourism project.

The agreement was signed be-tween Qatari Diar and the Min-istry of Tourism and the project construction will start in January 2017. — With input from Oman News Agency

The bus assembly

unit, along with the

recent agreement

between China and

Oman for building

an industrial city in

Duqm to attract $10

billion investment,

will enhance the

status of the port city

as an ideal centre for

transshipment to the

regional markets,

Samsonite seeks to boost Gulf salesA E JAMESbusinesseditor@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Samsonite, the world’s biggest luggage maker, expects its sales in the Gulf region to cross 16 per cent this year, thanks to its multi-brand strategy to serve dif-ferent market segments.

The US-based luggage maker, which has Samsonite and Ameri-can Tourister brands, was able to achieve 15-16 per cent sales growth in the Gulf region last year, Subrata Dutta, president Asia Pa-cific, Samsonite Asia Limited, told Times of Oman in an exclusive in-terview. “This year, it will be little higher. We have been able to grow the business consistently by 8 to 10 per cent higher than the indus-try growth,” added Dutta, who was on a short visit to Oman.

Khimji Ramdas is the exclusive distributor of Samsonite, Ameri-can Tourister and High Sierra lug-gage brands in the Sultanate.

He said that the company’s mul-ti-brand strategy (Samsonite ca-ters for business travellers, while American Tourister caters to fam-ily travelers) helped to meet all kinds of customer requirements. Further, the company’s innovative products helped to enhance sales, which was unaffected by the slack-ness in oil prices in the region.

“The overall market for luggage must have slowed down. But our sales in the Gulf region were not impacted by a slump in oil prices,” he said, responding to the implica-tions of an economic slowdown on luggage market in the Gulf region.

Also, the company has intro-duced new laptop bags, bagpack bags and school bags, which are es-sential for day-to-day life.

He said the company’s two brands put together have a mar-ket share of 40 per cent in the Gulf market, which includes unbrand-ed products. The company gets its 7 per cent of sales revenue from the Gulf region.

Samsonite is available in four showrooms of Khimji Ramdas in Oman, while American Tourister is widely distributed in the Sul-tanate through a distribution net-work. Dutta also noted that Sam-sonite has introduced a new brand called Kamiliant four months ago in Oman.

“The idea is to cater to those price sensitive customers who are not buying branded luggage,” he added.

Samonite sells its products in more than 100 countries today, with an annual sales revenue of $2.7 billion.

M U L T I - B R A N D S T R A T E G Y

EMERGING HUB: These agreements give the much needed fillip to

the Sultanate’s efforts in attracting foreign investment in Duqm,

which is all the more important in view of a fall in government

revenue in the aftermath of sluggish oil income. - Times file picture

HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com haveyoursay@timesofoman.com

Subrata Dutta. — Supplied picture

SAUDI WEALTH FUNDSaudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund isn’t considering a loan and its investment in Uber Technologies Inc. wasn’t funded by a loan or any other form of borrowing, it said in a statement on Friday. - Bloomberg News

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MARKETS U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

Al Jazeera Steel to contest US anti-dumping dutyTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Al Jazeera Steel Prod-ucts on Thursday said that the United States Department of Commerce has decided a weighted average dumping duty of 7.86 per cent on the company’s products.

“The US Department of Com-merce preliminarily determined that circular welded carbon qual-

ity steel pipe from the Sultanate of Oman is being or is likely to be, sold in the US at less than fair val-ue,” said a disclosure statement is-sued by Al Jazeera Steel Products.

The company is strongly con-testing this preliminary dump-ing margin and believes that the determined margin will not have material impact on the company’s revenue and profit.

O M A N C O M P A N Y

Mobile bankingapp launched by Bank Sohar

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Bank Sohar has launched its new mobile banking app for conventional as well as Islamic banking — Sohar Islamic clients — at a press conference held on June 2, in order to provide its customers with increased con-venience and an enhanced bank-ing experience.

Bank Sohar mobile banking app is available on both — android and iOS devices and features the lat-est in mobile banking technology with advanced security capabili-ties and an innovative self-regis-tration system in order to use it.

The app also features modern and easy navigation in addition to a streamlined look — allowing cus-tomers to do banking in one minute and view account balances, trans-fer funds, pay utility bills, credit card payments and much more.

Representing Bank Sohar at the event were Sasi Kumar, Group GM Business; Munira Abdulnabi Macki, GM of Human Resources and Corporate Support; Khalfan Rashid Al Taley, DGM and head of

Central Operations; Mujahid Said Al Zadjali, DGM of IT and Alter-nate Channels; Salim Khamis Al Maskry, DGM and head of So-har Islamic; Mazin Mahmood Al Raisi, senior AGM of Marketing and Customer Experience; and Mustafa Mohammed Dhafaullah, head of Alternate Channels be-sides senior members of the bank.

Commenting on the launch of the mobile banking apps, Muja-hid Said Al Zadjali said, “With the market penetration of Mobile devices growing exponentially, we have witnessed increasing feedback and demand from our customers for a mobile banking application. However, we delved deeper into the feedback we re-ceived to create a truly unique application that offer everything one might expect of an app of this kind and much more; and it does so while offering a clean and sim-plified design, easy navigation, a convenient self-registration sys-tem, and the very latest in mobile banking security. As a result, I am confident our mobile banking app will no doubt become a mainstay of our digital banking platform.”

Monitoring transactionsOn downloading the mobile appli-cation from Google Play or Apple App Store, Bank Sohar custom-ers can self-register to start using the app. Via the mobile banking app, customers can easily moni-tor transactions in their accounts with real-time account balance and mini statements.

In addition, users will also be able to transfer funds between accounts within the Bank as well as within the country. The app also allows users to pay their util-ity bill payments and credit card payments. For added conveni-ence, the app also allows users to place requests for the bank’s oth-

er services such as requesting of cheque books and demand drafts. Furthermore, using the very lat-est in technology and security features, the app ensures users the highest levels of data privacy and security at all times.

Real time accessThe launch of mobile app per-fectly complements the bank’s comprehensive Al Mumayaz In-ternet Banking service, which of-fers customers real time access to their accounts through the In-ternet. Apart from providing real time account balances inquiry, the Bank Sohar online portal of-fers users a bouquet of services including Intra-Bank and local banks transfers, account state-ment downloads in multiple formats, instant transfers to a leading bank in India, online bill payment, requesting of cheque book and much more.

Furthermore, like the app, it is a simple yet secure way to bank, of-fering high level security system to ensure data privacy and secu-rity of all transactions. Outside of its online banking services, the bank also offers its customers its internationally benchmarked Al Mumayaz SMS Banking Service. Following a simple registration process, the SMS service provides the bank’s customers with auto-mated alerts of any transactions on the user’s account directly on their mobile phones.

The bank’s ATMs at Buraimi and Shinas border continue to op-erate with the ‘Dirhams Dispens-ing’ facility.

It allows customers

to do banking in one

minute and view

account balances,

transfer funds, pay

utility bills, credit

card payments and

much more

MSM-SQU financial analysis contest winners announcedTimes News Service

MUSCAT: The closing ceremony of ‘The Financial Analysis Chal-lenge’ competition, jointly man-aged by Muscat Securities Market (MSM) and Sultan Qaboos Uni-versity, recently, took place at ho-tel Grand Hyatt, Muscat.

The award function was held under the patronage of Yahya bin Said Al Jabri, chairman of Duqm Special Economic Zone Author-ity (Sezad) and chairman of Capi-tal Market Authority. After the presentation and final round of the competition, five teams were shortlisted and invited to attend the closing ceremony.

Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and Modern College of Business & Science (MCBS) were declared winners of the competi-tion. Team MCBS managed to get third position in the competition with top two positions to SQU.

The winning team of MCBS was represented by four students — Miyyada Abdul Latif Rajab Al Balushi, Umaima Ali Hassan Al Balushi, Haifa Darwish Firiya Al Bulushi and Huda Jama Ahmed. They received a cash prize of OMR1,000 and mementos for the participation.

Dr Dharmendra Singh (assis-tant professor of finance) men-tored the team.

Analysing a listed companyThe Modern College team entered the second round of the FAC se-lection process by winning the first round along with seven other teams, where participants were required to analyse a listed com-pany on MSM and submit a writ-ten report to the MSM.

FAC has been designed to give students a chance to apply their fi-

nancial analysis skills by perform-ing an analysis of a company listed on MSM. It also aims at developing team skills.

As many as 175 students from 11 universities and colleges par-ticipated in the competition which lasted for almost two months from the date of commencement.

The award function was at-tended by representatives from MSM, brokerage firms, industry and academicians from various colleges and universities in the Sultanate of Oman.

A W A R D C E R E M O N Y

ADVANCED SECURITY: Bank Sohar mobile banking app is available on both — android and iOS devices and features the latest in mobile banking technology with advanced security capabilities. - Supplied photo

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WELL DONE: As many as 175 students from 11 universities and col-leges participated in the competition which lasted for almost two months from the date of commencement. - Supplied photo

B3S U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

MARKETRegulator conductsinspection ofDhofar Insurance

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Dhofar Insurance said that the regulator, the Capi-tal Market Authority (CMA), has conducted an inspection on the works of the company within the context of its normal inspection under its supervision.

Further, the Capital Market Authority issued a report of the inspection findings which was studied and commented upon by the company.

As a result, the Capital Market Authority instructed the board of directors of the company to take several remedial measures and improvements. Thereafter, Dhofar Insurance board of directors im-plemented some of these and will consider and take the necessary decisions for the remaining issues.

Any new developments will be disclosed by the company as per the rules and regulations followed in this regard, the company said in a stock market filing.

R E G U L A R I N S P E C T I O N MSM-listed firms maintain OMR17b market cap mark

MUSCAT: Listing of securities, sukuk and rights issue of several companies helped the Muscat bourse maintain its market capi-talisation at OMR17.03 billion.

The market capitalisation for the securities and sukuk issues increased to OMR2 billion by the end of May due to listing of government development bonds worth OMR100 million. The mar-ket capitalisation of the closed joint stock companies increased

by OMR52 million to OMR6.12 billion. However, the regular mar-ket registered OMR153.70 million loss in market capitalisation and declined to OMR7.49 billion.

In May 2016, the Muscat Se-curities Market (MSM) was af-fected by a number of factors that pulled down the index and trading volumes. These factors include the fluctuation of oil prices which heightened fears for higher than expected deficit in the state budget.

The 30 per cent increase in the selling by non-Omani investors compared to only 12.3 per cent purchases affected the sentiment of local investors. The local invest-ment funds sought to absorb the excess supply but their purchases were not more than 59 per cent of the value of trading compared to 51 per cent sales.

Capital gainsThe market also witnessed capi-tal gains for a number of stocks whose prices increased in March and April 2016 which led to more downward movement.

By the end of May 2016, MSM 30 index lost its early gains when it crossed the May 9, 6,000-bar-rier to close at 6,019 point; the best closing since August 20, 2015. The index failed to go beyond this point and on the back of selling pressure for capital gains and the decline in a number of Gulf and world finan-

cial market, the Muscat Securities Market index witnessed continu-ous decline to close at 5,810 points ; a loss of 131 points after three months of upward movement.

The statistical bulletin issued on MSM pointed out that the big-gest loser was the financial sec-tor, which lost 4 per cent or 312 points. MSM index 30 declined by 2.2 per cent. While the industry sector index lost about 40 points, the Sharia market index lost about 8 points and the service sector in-dex managed to go up by 30 points.

The value of trading decreased to OMR104.20 million compared to OMR126 million in April. Om-invest received 11 per cent of the value of trading or OMR11.40 million followed by Bank Muscat with about OMR8.80 million and Galfar Engineering and Contract-ing OMR8.50 million.

While the price of 43 stocks de-creased, 23 stocks increased and

20 stocks maintained the same price level. The top gainer stock was Oman Hotels and Tourism which closed at 616 baisas, up by 155 per cent, thanks to the recom-mendations made by the board members to distribute 200 per cent cash dividend, that is, 200 baisas per share in addition to 27 per cent stock dividend.

While the price of National Gas Company’s stock increased by 47 per cent in May 2016 to hit 516 baisas, the price of Renais-sance Services Company’s stock increased by 18 per cent to close at 285 baisas.

The top loser was HSBC’s stock which closed at 103 baisas; a loss of about 17 per cent. Al Batinah Development and Investment Holding ‘ share declined by 12.1 per cent to close at 87 baisas and Oman Fisheries Company ‘ share declined from 67 baisas to 59 bai-sas; a decline by 12 per cent. — ONA

The market capitalisation for the securities

and sukuk issues increased to OMR2b by

the end of May due to listing of government

development bonds worth OMR100m

Shell Oman appoints new CEO and CFOTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Board of directors of Shell Oman Marketing has ap-pointed Mohammed Mahmood Al Balushi as chief executive of-ficer (CEO), and Scott McDonald as chief financial officer (CFO) with effect from June 1, says a statement posted on the Muscat Securities Market website.

Further, Ornuthai Na Chiang-mai, a senior manager in the Re-tail Business of the Royal Dutch Shell, will replace Mohammed Mahmood Al Balushi as a nomi-nee director of juristic share-holder Shell Gas.

Ornuthai Na Chiangmai is general manager of Shell’s Retail Commercial Fleet Business in

Asia Pacific & Middle East Region, based in Thailand, and has over 22 years of work experience in Shell both at regional and global level and in areas if customer opera-tions, sales, marketing and policy.

Also, Faisal Waheed, a sen-ior finance manager in the Royal Dutch Shell will replace Scott McDonald as a nominee director of juristic sharehold-er B.V. Dordtsche Petroleum Maatschappij.

Faisal Waheed joined Shell in 2013 and he has over 18 years of leadership roles in various com-panies. He is currently the chief financial officer and finance direc-tor at Shell Pakistan. Both Ornut-hai and Faisal shall be classified as non-independent directors.

N E W R O L E S

Sensex extends gains

MUMBAI: Sensex extended its gains for a second week in row by garnering 189.43 points to close at 26,843.03 after marking a seven-month high of 27,000-level, while the broader Nifty reclaimed the psychological 8,200-level to end at 8,220.80.

The weak trading pattern in-timidated by the United States non-farm pay roll data, which rule the policy action by the US Federal Reserve and fresh Chi-nese economic health worries generated after its lacklustre manufacturing PMIs.

The market overcame the lan-guishness following optimistic domestic GDP data for January-March quarter which surged by

7.9 per cent, an overall growth to a five-year highs of 7.6 per cent for the entire fiscal, rising produc-tion of eight core sectors by 8.5 per cent and above normal mon-soon forecast.

Though tricky situations pre-vailed due to slower but posi-tive manufacturing and service sectors PMI data release raising clamour for rate cut from Re-serve Bank of India, which also nagged the stock momentum during the week.

The BSE Sensex opened higher by 26,694.75 and hovered between a highs of 27,008.14 and a low 26,561.58 before ending the week at 26,843.03, showing a gain of 189 points, or 0.71 per cent. - PTI

W E E K L Y R E V I E W

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MARKETS U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

Banking credit grows by 9% in first quarter

MUSCAT: The value of credit of commercial banks in the Sultanate stood at OMR19.05 million at the end of the first quarter of 2016, com-pared to OMR17.41 million in 2015; showing growth of 9.46 per cent.

The quarterly statistical bul-letin issued by the Research and Statistics Administration at the

Central Bank of Oman (CBO) pointed out that the personal loans sector received OMR7.51 million, or 39.4 per cent of the total commercial banking credit during the first quarter of 2016.

Further, the construction sector received OMR2.13 million (11.2 per cent), followed by the industry sector at OMR1.55 million (8.1 per cent) and the service sector re-ceived OMR1.497 million (7.9 per cent) of total banking credit.

The bulletin added that the im-port sector was allocated OMR1.12

million (5.9 per cent) of the total credit availed by the commercial banks during the first quarter of 2016, while the transport and communications sector received OMR1.02 million (5.4 per cent).

Meanwhile, the mining sector (mines and quarries) received OMR998 million (5.2 per cent), financial institutions sector re-ceived OMR980 million (5.1 per cent), the electricity, gas and wa-ter sector received OMR843 mil-lion (4.4 per cent), the retail sec-tor received OMR604 million (3.2

per cent), the agriculture sector and associated activities received OMR59 million (0.3 per cent), the government sector received OMR18 million (0.1 per cent) and the export sector received OMR15 million (0.1 per cent).

The bulletin also pointed out that the value of commercial bank credit stood at OMR510 million (2.7 per cent). Further, the value of banking credit for expatri-ates stood at OMR192 million, amounting to one per cent of the total bank credit. — ONA

Statistical bulletin

issued by the Central

Bank of Oman

pointed out that the

personal loans sector

received OMR7.51

million, or 39.4 per

cent of the total

commercial banking

credit during the

first quarter of 2016.

ROBUST DEMAND: Personal loans sector received OMR7.51 million, or 39.4 per cent of the total

commercial banking credit during the first quarter of 2016. - Times file picture

Oman's fish catch increases 36.6% by February endMUSCAT: Traditional fish land-ings in Oman during the January-February period rose by 36.6 per cent to 50,094 tonnes compared to 36,661 tonnes during the same period last year.

This represents a 39.6 per cent growth in value which reached OMR43.58 million as against landings worth OMR31.23 million reported by the end of February last year, according to data available in the recent report published by the National Centre for Statistics & Infor- mation (NCSI).

In February alone, fish landings by traditional fishery stood at 25,862 tonnes valued at OMR19.1 million.

The Governorate of Al Wusta re-ceived the highest landings by tra-ditional fisheries at 12,146 tonnes marking a 17.0 per cent year on year increase during the first two months, followed by the Governo-rate of South Al Sharqiyah at 11,827 tonnes and the Governorate of Dhofar at 10,371 tonnes of landings.

Significantly, the Governorate of Muscat recorded a whopping 110 per cent increase in landings in the first two months by traditional fishing taking the figure to 3,756 tonnes compared to 1,788 tonnes

achieved last year. The Governo-rate of North Al Batinah saw land-ings rise by 65.4 per cent to 7,657 tonnes while the Governorate of Musandam posted a 35 tonnes growth at 4,337 tonnes.

Large Pelagic fish formed the major chunk of landings at 18,104 tonnes, which marked a 94 per cent increase over last year fig-ures. Small Pelagic fish came in at second with 17,061 tonnes land-ings, followed by Demersal fish at 12,060 tonnes.

The period recorded landings of 1,578 tonnes of Sharks and Rays species, and 454 tonnes of Crus-taceans and Molluscs. There had been a 415 per cent rise in land-ings of unidentified fish species at 837 tonnes.

However, landings by coastal fishing declined 37.3 per cent to 810 tonnes while landings by commercial fishing went down by 76.9 per cent to 45 tonnes in the first two months of the current year. — ONA

N C S I D A T A

GOOD CATCH: In February alone, fish landings by traditional fishery

stood at 25,862 tonnes valued at OMR19.1 million. - Times file picture

Over 70% of Khazan project completedMUSCAT: Over 70 per cent work to develop Khazan gas field res-ervoir and infrastructure project has been completed by the end of May, which confirms the compa-ny’s commitment to complete the plans for the project, said Yousef bin Mohammed Al Ojaili, chair-man of BP Oman.

He told ONA that “The first consignment of gas from the Khazan reservoir project will be delivered to the pipeline network of the Ministry of Oil and Gas in

November 2017, according to the plan implemented by the compa-ny for start of operation.”

He said that the investment in the first phase of the project has so far reached $13 billion.

The development of Khazan field, which began in 2014, is lo-cated in the concession area in block 61. Oman Oil Company Ex-ploration and Production owns 40 per cent of the project, and BP Oman owns 60 per cent. Khazan Field is one of the largest non-tra-

ditional narrow reservoir (tight gas) gas projects in the Middle East.

Al Ojaili said that BP Oman plans to start the drilling of the first exploratory Well of gas with-in the framework of the second phase development of the Khazan field before the end of the year 2016. Nearly 125 wells will be drilled in this phase and it is ex-pected to produce gas by 2020.

Preliminary figures of the Na-tional Centre for Statistics and

Information (NCSI) had indicat-ed that the domestic production and import of natural gas during the first four months of this year, has increased by 10 per cent com-pared to the same period in 2015. It amounted to 13.63 billion cubic metres, of which 2.38 billion cu-bic metres of associated gas and 11.29 billion cubic metres of non-associated gas and imports. The Sultanate’s production of natural gas and import last year was 39. 81 billion cubic metres. — ONA

K H A Z A N G A S F I E L D

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After grim payrolls data, investors' focus turns towards US economyNEW YORK: With a June Fed-eral Reserve interest rate hike likely off the table following Fri-day’s dismal jobs data, US equity investors may shift their focus again to whether the economy is losing too much steam to allow stocks to advance.

Investors will comb economic data over the next few weeks to see if the weak payrolls report reflected a wider trend in the US economy or was an outlier. A first hint of the central bank’s view of that could come on Monday with a speech on the economic outlook by Fed Chair Janet Yellen.

The fresh economic worries could help keep the market mired below record highs reached in May 2015, even though the Stand-ard & Poor’s 500 index notched a third straight months of gains this May and most sectors are up since the start of the year.

Broader question“The broader question is whether the economy is gaining the kind of momentum and traction that we need for a market that has been looking toward new highs,” said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in New-ark, New Jersey.

“No one is out to suggest the economy is doing a major turna-

round because of this number, but we now need to see a clutch of data that suggests that this is a one-off,” she said.

It may take a few weeks to get a better picture of the economic outlook, with the economic and the earnings calendars light for next week. The Fed meets the following week, which will also bring data on retail sales and producer prices.

Wall Street’s top banks now unanimously expect the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged this month, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.

While investors and company executives have worried that higher rates will dampen spend-ing, now a weak economy is con-sidered a bigger risk for the mar-ket. S&P 500 earnings, which fell 5 per cent in the first quarter from

a year ago in their third straight quarterly decline, are still expect-ed to pick up in the second half of the year.

“I’m starting to get worried that the third- and fourth-quarter numbers are not going to come to fruition, said Daniel Morgan, sen-ior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust Company in Atlanta. “How to do you substantiate the market where it is, based on current mul-tiples?” The S&P 500 is trading at 17.1 times forward earnings, ac-cording to Thomson Reuters data.

Speculation over the outcome of Britain’s pending vote on re-maining in the European Union could also rattle the resolve of stock investors.

The British electorate’s vote on the change, which many inves-tors say would be a negative for global markets, comes a week af-ter the Fed’s June policy meeting and adds to the likelihood the US central bank will leave rates un-changed in June.

While signs of slower growth are a negative overall for the market, defensive sectors, along with dividend-paying stocks, could continue to benefit from in-creased investor caution. Utilities and telecommunications both have double-digits gains for the year so far. — Reuters

U S S T O C K S

WHICH WAY: The S&P 500 is trading at 17.1 times forward earn-

ings, according to Thomson Reuters data. — Bloomberg News

Chief of Alphabet’s

Nest unit steps down

SAN FRANCISCO: Tony Fadell, a well-known Silicon Valley execu-tive who was once expected to play a central role in Alphabet’s hard-ware efforts, has stepped down as chief executive of the search gi-ant’s Nest unit, the company said.

Fadell will remain an adviser to Alphabet and Google co-founder Larry Page. He will be replaced at Nest, which makes smart thermo-stats and smoke detectors, by Mar-wan Fawaz, who had prior stints at Motorola Mobility and Charter Communications.

Google bought Nest in 2014 for $3.2 billion, one of the company’s largest acquisitions ever.

In a blog post announcing his departure, Fadell said Nest’s rev-enue is growing 50 per cent a year and boasted that “the connected home went mainstream because of Nest.”

“We’ve created a hardware + software + services ecosystem, which is still in the early growth stage and will continue to evolve to move further into the mainstream over the coming years,” Fadell wrote. Fadell started Nest in 2011 after a high-profile run at Apple, where he was an important player in the development of the iPod and the iPhone. Top-tier venture capital investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers and

Google Ventures backed Nest, which set out to build a smart ther-mostat and related products.

But Fadell and Nest have had a bumpy ride under Alphabet.

Nest had to recall a smoke de-tector in 2014 for a software defect that caused a safety risk, and crit-ics said it was slow to roll out new products.

The $555 million acquisition of webcam startup Dropcam did not go well, with Fadell openly criti-cizing the quality of the team in a news report earlier this year in the trade publication The Informa-tion. The story aired numerous complaints about Fadell’s alleg-edly abrasive leadership.

Dropcam co-founder Greg Duffy responded with a blistering blog post in which he accused Fadell of “blatant scapegoating” and said he regretted selling the company. Duffy also said there had been a huge exo-dus of employees from Nest.

Fadell said in his blog that he had been planning to leave since late last year. He did not say what he intended to do next, though he recently unveiled a new company, Actev Motors, that makes a smart go-cart for kids.

In a statement on Friday, Page called Fadell a “true visionary” and praised his accomplishments at Nest. — Reuters

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Attractive Ramadan offers on Nissan Sunny

MUSCAT: Confirming its com-mitment of offering customers an unmatched buying experience, Ni-ssan Oman, from the house of Su-hail Bahwan Automobiles (SBA), is offering a wide range of deals for the patrons of Nissan Sunny.

As a testimony to the brand’s pledge to its customer and as part of the ongoing ‘Season of Rewards’ offer, Nissan Oman has worked out deals that customers of Nissan Sunny are sure to find appealing.

Benefits on offer including attrac-tive cash gift, free periodic mainte-nance, service package, fuel card, free registration and extended mile-age warranty makes wanting to own a Nissan Sunny, known for its com-fort, functionality, styling, elegance

and sophistication, even more at-tractive, says a press release.

Assured cash giftUnder the ‘Season of Rewards’ of-fer, customers can avail an assured cash gift of OMR750 on buying Ni-ssan Sunny.

Scratch and win giftsCustomers will get a scratch and win card which will entitle them to two assured gifts comprising free periodic maintenance ser-vice upto lifetime of the car (min-imum assured 1 year/10,000km PMS; offer includes new service intervals of (10,000km) and free fuel up to OMR1,000 (minimum assured of OMR50).

Extra benefitsPatrons can enjoy extra benefits such as free registration, 6 years unlimited mileage, extended war-

ranty and loyalty card benefits among others. Loyal customers stand to enjoy additional benefits on purchase of a second Nissan vehicle in the family. To avail addi-tional benefits under the scheme, the second car can be purchased either in the name of existing Ni-ssan owner or his/her immediate family members.

Special EMI rateCustomers can avail a special EMI rate starting from OMR75 on Nis-san Sunny.

Suitable financing options SBA has designed some easy and convenient financing options to ease the convenience of owning a Nissan Sunny. Flexible EMIs can also be tailor-made for any indi-vidual requirement from in-house auto Finance team. Special inter-est rate of 2.99% is offered on all

Nissan Sunny variants during the above said campaign period.

Grand raffleNissan patrons have a chance to win two X-Trails 2.5S 7STR CVT 16 MY in the “grand SMS and win raffle draw” that will be held on June 20 and July 18 at Qurum showroom. Anybody can SMS to 90466 to enter the contest. SBA is largely committed to sup-porting Nissan’s growth in the Sultanate through major empha-sis on customer satisfaction and by providing world-class after-sales services in Oman. With a national network of more than 19 showrooms, 22 service centres and 35 parts outlets, Su-hail Bahwan Automobiles has fur-ther built upon its legacy of trust, excellent customer service and providing value for money to each of its customers.

As a testimony to

the brand’s pledge to

its customer and as

part of the ongoing

‘Season of Rewards’

offer, Nissan Oman

has worked out deals

that customers of

Nissan Sunny are

sure to find appealing

Al Hassan takes part

in Oman Energy and

Water Exhibition 2016

MUSCAT: Al Hassan Group par-ticipated in recently concluded Oman Energy & Water Exhibition 2016 held at Oman International Exhibition Centre in Muscat.

Al Hassan Group’s Hi-tech Services & Supplies Co., Al Has-san Switchgear Co. and Power, Transmission & Distribution di-vision together participated and demonstrated their synergised diverse capabilities for provid-ing portable water and waste water treatment solutions, power transmission & measurement so-lutions & customised switchgear manufacturing to deliver com-plete end to end solutions, says a press release.

Chief guest for the event Mo-hammed bin Salim Al Toobi, Min-ister of Environment and Climate Affairs, along with other dignitar-ies and VIPs visited Al Hassan ex-hibition stall and interacted with company representatives.

The stall demonstrated prod-ucts and solutions like booster water pump, large pumping sys-tem, ductile iron Pipe, HDPE pipe, manholes, 11KV switchgear, distribution boards and smart meters. Principals like AB Gevea, Iskraemeco, Efaflu Pumps, SPP, UGPM and Secure had also dis-played their products.

The stall generated heavy

footfall and received apprecia-tion from visitors for unique dis-play of water and power cycle in Oman showcasing various stages of water & power distribution, transmission & distribution, waste water treatment along with intake & outfall pipelines.

Ali Maqbool, director - Hi Tech Services & Supplies said: “We believe that Oman Energy & Water Exhibition is an impor-tant occasion to discuss solu-tions to various energy and waste water challenges and opportuni-ties in Oman.

“It will also enable to improve the collaboration among local companies in public and pri-vate sector to work together and create joint initiatives in order to achieve a sustainable devel-opment for the future. We are pleased to receive encouraging response from visitors and del-egates who visited our stall.

“This conference ensures a quality knowledge-sharing fo-rum along with an appropriate essence of business opportuni-ties to benefit the organisations today. This exhibition will be a significant platform for us to fur-ther strengthen our brand aware-ness in Oman and to emphasise our commitment to the develop-ment of the country.”

S I G N I F I C A N T P L A T F O R M

Ooredoo ranked in top 10 of Mena region’s most valuable brandsDOHA: Ooredoo has been ranked in the top 10 most valuable brands in the Mena region for the first time according to a new study, fol-lowing a successful year that has seen the company raise its profile around the world.

In securing its position, Oore-doo is one of three leading Qatari brands in the top 10, and among the strongest communications brands ranked in the rating, says a press release.

The ‘Brand Finance Middle East 50’ report is created by leading intangible asset valuation consul-tancy Brand Finance, which ranks the most valuable Middle Eastern brands every year.

According to the report, Oore-doo’s brand value has consistently increased since the company be-gan its global brand roll-out in February 2013. During these three years, Ooredoo has seen a 169% increase in its estimated brand value, which the report calculates

at $2.1 billion in 2016.The report also notes that, with

its AA+ brand rating, Ooredoo is the strongest telecoms brand in the region. The report states that the company is one of the most valuable communications brands in the Middle East today, and could rank higher in the future as

Ooredoo continues to build its cus-tomer base and reinforce its brand. Ooredoo’s global customer base reached 118 million by the end of March 2016.

Sheikh Saud bin Nasser Al Thani, Group CEO, Ooredoo, said: “Ooredoo has grown to become an internationally-recognised brand that was born in Qatar. This re-port underlines the strength of our brand as a key asset for our com-pany, and also demonstrates how far we have progressed in our am-bition to be a leading international communications company.”

Since Ooredoo began its brand launch in February 2013, the company has overseen a major modernisation process which has included network investment, customer service revamps and dig-ital content boosts across markets in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia.

Beginning with its home market Qatar, the Ooredoo brand rolled-

out across the company’s interna-tional operations in Kuwait, Oman, Algeria, Tunisia, the Maldives, Myanmar and Indonesia, in one of the most comprehensive and far-reaching transformation exercises ever undertaken by a leading com-munications company.

In recent years, Ooredoo has fo-cused heavily on its products and network, which are designed to enrich customers’ digital lifestyles and support business growth and development.

Highlights in recent years in-clude the introduction of the 4G+ and nationwide fibre networks in Qatar; the introduction of 4G services in Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Indonesia and Tunisia that made Ooredoo one of the region’s lead-ing 4G companies; the operational launch in Myanmar that brought mobile broadband to millions of people for the first time; and sur-passing the 100 million customer milestone in 2015.

‘ B R A N D F I N A N C E M I D D L E E A S T 5 0 ’ R E P O R T

TSC PICKS 5TH PROMO WINNERThe Sultan Center (TSC) announced the 5th winner in

its ‘Win Seven Cars in Seven Weeks’ campaign as part

of its 19th year anniversary celebration. Mohra Yousef,

was the fifth lucky winner to have won a 2016 Chevro-

let Cruze. This exciting promotional campaign will run

until June 8 in all TSC stores. — Supplied image

Bank Nizwa reflects on innovation in

Islamic finance at New Age Summit

MUSCAT: Asad Batla, assistant general manager - Retail at Bank Nizwa, joined leaders and experts from the banking industry as chairman, moderator and present-er at the GCC New Age Summit.

Organised under the auspices of His Highness Sayyid Taimur bin Asaad Al Said, the event discussed innovation in the digital landscape and its role in supporting growth of the banking and financial sec-tor in Oman and the region, says a press release.

The event featured a number of interactive panels, in-depth presentations and discussions delivered by an expert line-up of banking officials, stakeholders and policymakers. Guest-speakers in-cluded a number of global industry figures from the region, Asia and the Pacific including Hamood bin Sangour Al Zadjali, executive pres-ident of the Central Bank of Oman.

During his presentation, ‘Is-lamic Banking in the New Age’, Asad Batla underlined the grow-ing importance of technology in the Islamic finance sector and ways to fully harness its potential. He shared a detailed methodology

of how to use technology to en-hance customer experiences and engagement levels, as well as the need for Islamic banks to be more progressive in order to compete in marketplace.

He said, “With the exponential growth in new technology, we are seeing a complete shift in con-sumer behaviours and the overall banking system. Whether Islamic or conventional, banks need to adapt and embrace this evolving digital landscape to deliver cut-ting-edge products that can offer better customer experiences.”

With its proven track record in offering a multitude of Sharia-compliant digital solutions, Bank Nizwa recently won the Best On-

line Islamic Services Award at the Arab Banks Awards of Excel-lence 2016. The bank’s portfolio of digital services include online and mobile banking, as well as the Dial My Balance service among others, aimed at putting innovative finan-cial services at the fingertips of its growing customer base.

I N F O R M A T I O N E X C H A N G E

The event featured a

number of interactive

panels, in-depth

presentations and

discussions delivered

by an expert line-up

of banking officials,

stakeholders and

policymakers

Nawa International opens its

first showroom in Sultanate

MUSCAT: Nawa International UPVC windows & doors, in col-laboration with its partners, Alu-plast, from Karlsruhe, Germany, inaugurated its 1st high-end win-dows and doors showroom in the Sultanate of Oman.

The showroom, located near the BankMuscat branch at Oman Avenues Mall is the first-of-its-kind in the Middle East. The showroom will be displaying the latest windows & doors solutions from Aluplast and will be regu-larly upgraded to keep up with innovations and developments in Germany, says a press release.

Nawa International stated that it had been searching for the right location, for the pilot showroom, for over a year. Khaled Al Su-laimany, Nawa’s managing direc-tor, stated, “We wanted to position the showroom in a location which matches the quality standards of both Aluplast and ourselves. Oman Avenues Mall is a prestigious loca-tion, with an abundance of parking space as well as easy accessibility for all customers.”

The inauguration and subse-quent short seminar was attend-

ed by Patrick Seitz, managing director and partner - Aluplast who added, “While windows are a necessity in every home, we con-sider Aluplast window systems to be the equivalent of Porsche, BMW, Audi and the Mercedes of the UPVC windows industry. The environment and experience, of a customer, in purchasing our win-dows needs to be the right one. We are delighted to be walking side-by-side with Nawa International in raising the standards, and in-novation levels in Oman.”

Having recently sponsored two major exhibitions in Oman, The Big Show and Windorex, Nawa International has positioned it-self as the number 1 quality solu-

tion provider in the windows & doors industry. It has projects in every corner of the country, in-cluding Muscat, Sohar, Sur, Ni-zwa and Salalah.

Babak Golriz, director of Op-erations, Nawa International’s added, “With all due respect to other companies, windows are a lifetime solution, and it is our belief that to ensure the long-term integrity of our solutions, we must be importing all of the elements from Germany and this includes steel, hardware and even our screws. Our solutions are not cheap but we definitely provide our customers the most value for money for the product and ser-vice they’re purchasing.”

F I R S T O F I T S K I N D

GERMAN TECHNOLOGY: Nawa International opened its first

UPVC doors and windows outlet along with its strategic partner

Aluplast at Oman Avenues Mall. – O. K. Mohammed Ali/ TIMES OF OMAN

B6 S U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

ROUND-UP

Toyota offers exciting incentives on Corolla

MUSCAT: To the many enthusi-asts in the automotive industry, the 11th Generation of the world famous Toyota Corolla is no less than an icon.

Not only does it have a legendary reputation, it offers a truly impres-sive resale value, even after years of use. The Toyota Corolla with Multi Drive 7S transmission has become a favourite of customers within a short span of its introduction.

Until July 21, the coveted Toyota Corolla with Multi Drive 7S trans-mission will be available with the benefits of the ‘Biggest Excitement Ever’ campaign, says a press release.

During the campaign period, the 16YM Corolla will be available with a 0% interest on EMI for two years through select Finance com-panies for short term tenure (upto 24 months, for individual pur-chases only), Service Package for 2 years /20,000km (whichever is earlier) and an attractive assured cash gift. Additionally on every purchase, customers get a gift voucher for shopping at a promi-nent local mall and a chance to participate in a Grand Raffle with 4 Toyota Prius E Hybrids to be won. In lieu of the service benefit, cus-tomers may go in for a cashback of OMR60. (Conditions apply)

The Toyota Corolla with Multi

Drive 7S allows owners to ‘Drive Smooth and Save Smart.’ It does so by delivering a very smooth, yet powerful driving performance; topping it up with class leading fuel efficiency. “Now there will be more fun-filled driving trips and less visits to the gas station,” chuckled a proud new owner “It is really a smoother, silkier drive…one that lasts longer, goes farther on the same amount of fuel…yeah…I am living it and loving it!”

The new Multi Drive 7S con-tinuously variable transmission meticulously controls the speed and shifting pattern to realize ex-cellent power train performance while ensuring a powerful and lin-ear acceleration.

It also has a 7-speed sequential shiftmatic mode with manual gear shifting-like characteristics that give the driver complete control when required.

Making a strong design state-ment with its unique visual signa-ture, the 2016 Corolla Multi Drive 7S signifies Toyota’s brand evolu-tion. The Corolla’s design theme combines clean lines and balanced proportions to give it an immedi-ate visual impact. It tapers at the front and rear of the vehicle to help emphasize the wheel arches and wheels-to-the-corner stance.

The squared-off corners and elongated three-box profile are typically Corolla, but it has a dy-namic front end – the bars of the

grille extend into the oversized LED-adorned trapezoidal head-lamp clusters to give the sedan a broad, thrusting nose. The flanks sport character lines that empha-sise the Corolla’s rear arches and the kicked-up leading edge of the side glass. At the back, protrud-ing wraparound tail-lamp clusters and a chrome bar contribute to a wedge-like rear three-quarter pro-file. Adding to the style quotient is a trendy rear spoiler.

The design lends itself to a spa-cious cabin that offers refined comfort and class-leading legroom with abundant storage space. Also, the interior looks upmarket thanks to the piano-black finish to the in-fotainment system, a soft-touch dashboard and sophisticated dark grey accents.

Under the bonnet lies, a 2.0 li-tre engine mated with the new Multi Drive 7S transmission that ensures smooth shifting and high fuel efficiency of up to 16.6 Kmpl. Apart from this, the Corolla is available with a 1.6 litre engine that offers excellent fuel efficiency of up to 17.8 Kmpl.

This particular model comes with all the safety, comfort and convenience specifications that add to customers’ delight - includ-ing ABS with EBD and brake as-sist, six airbags, leather upholstery, cruise control, steering wheel-mounted audio controls and a 6.1 display audio system that can play

CDs, DVDs, USB devices and a Bluetooth connection.

Engineered to provide high ac-tive and passive safety standards, the Corolla also offers enhanced pedestrian impact protection. The adoption of numerous en-ergy absorbing components offer significantly improved pedes-trian protection in the event of a frontal impact.

For occupant protection, im-pact-absorbing structures have been adopted for the interior part of the pillar areas to ensure cabin safety. To help reduce the impact of a collision on occupants, the 2016 Corolla Multi Drive 7S is equipped with SRS airbags for the driver and front passenger.

In addition to the above, the 2016 Corolla Multi Drive 7S also features other class-leading fea-tures such as LED projector head-lamps with integrated-type day-light running lights, smart entry system + start/stop button, new audio system with USB+AUX, 3.5’’ TFT multi-information display, retractable outer mirrors with turn signals, audio + mid controls on steering wheel, cruise control and moonroof, amongst others.

In fact, the name ‘Corolla’ rep-resents the peak of Toyota’s re-nowned quality engineering, design evolution and value-for-money focus. This is unmatched in its class. That said, customers are to be thanked for their faith in Toy-ota and for making it a best-seller in the region.

The 2016 Corolla Multi Drive 7S invites you to any Toyota show-room to take a closer look.

All specifications listed above are standard Toyota equipment. Safety kit (fire extinguisher, warn-ing triangle, tyre pressure gauge & first aid kit) is a dealer installed non Toyota item provided on Toy-ota models as standard equipment.

In Oman, Toyota’s outstanding product quality is supported by the nationwide parts and service net-work of Saud Bahwan Automotive. No wonder then that today, Toyota is one of the most trusted and well-known brands.

Until July 21, the

coveted Toyota

Corolla with

Multi Drive 7S

transmission will

be available with

the benefits of the

‘Biggest Excitement

Ever’ campaign

Bank Sohar supports

Oman Association

for the Disabled

MUSCAT: Marking its third do-nation this year, and as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities for 2016, Bank Sohar has extended its support to the Sohar branch of the Oman Association for the Disabled for the 6th consecutive year.

This latest donation will con-tribute towards the purchase of essential equipment to be used by the association’s members. The donation cheque was handed over at Bank Sohar Branch in Sohar to Dawood Salman Al Shedi, Sohar Branch Supervisor of the Associa-tion by Mazin Mahmood Al Raisi, senior AGM and head of Market-ing and Customer Experience at Bank Sohar, says a press release.

Commenting on the bank’s contribution to the association, Munira Abdulnabi Macki, GM of HR and Corporate Support at Bank Sohar said, “We believe in promoting a healthy co-existence between businesses and the community, supporting and as-sisting the under privileged and especially those in most need of our help. We believe that as a locally operating corporate we need to do everything in our power to help them function as valued members of their respec-tive communities. This belief is reflected in our contributions to entities such as the Oman Asso-ciation for the Disabled; which falls within the framework of our

corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.”

Bank Sohar strives to ensure that its contributions are care-fully planned and evaluated in order to diversify and reach out to the maximum number of people especially those in most need of it, offering recipients positive support and making a meaningful change. In addition to supporting the Sohar branch of the Oman Association for the Disabled, Bank Sohar has also extended its support to Dar Al Atta’a Association and the Au-tism Centre of the Association for the Welfare of the Disabled Children earlier this year.

The bank has also, over the years, extended its supported a broad range of charitable or-ganisations across the Sultanate ranging from child care centres and charity organisations to as-sociation that offer support to the differently abled of our com-munity and those suffering from terminal illnesses.

Thanking Bank Sohar for its continuous support, Dawood said, “On behalf of the association and our members I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Bank Sohar for their continuous support. This support will greatly help our members and will most definitely bring about a positive change in the lives of both them and their families.”

C O R P O R A T E S O C I A L R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y

Leviton-USA, Al Burkan Engineering conduct technical symposiumMUSCAT: Leviton-USA, in part-nership with Al Burkan Engineer-ing, organised a technical sym-posium recently highlighting the latest Ethernet base lighting con-trol solutions, occupancy detec-tion technologies and Lumina RF wireless hotel room controls for the end clients, consultants and contractors at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, says a press release.

Leviton is the smart choice, providing the most comprehen-sive range of solutions to meet the needs of today’s residential, com-mercial and industrial buildings. Leveraging more than a century of experience, it helps customers create sustainable, intelligent en-vironments through its electrical wiring devices, network and data centre connectivity solutions, lighting energy management sys-tems, and security and automa-tion applications.

From switches and receptacles, and daylight harvesting controls to networking systems, intelligent safety controls, and equipment for charging electric vehicles, Leviton solutions help customers achieve savings in energy, time and cost, all

while enhancing safety.Through investment in research

and development, manufacturing, distribution, human capital and training, Leviton is well positioned to respond to the needs of a chang-ing marketplace. Leviton’s herit-

age provides a strong foundation for meeting and exceeding market expectations by bringing continu-ous innovation to the industry.

Builders, electrical contractors and other industry professionals rank Leviton wiring devices #1

in brand preference, has a portfo-lio of more than 25,000 products and 600 patents, employs more than 6,500 people and has sales in 80 countries.

Leviton has vast project refer-ences in Gulf region and in Oman.

It has entered into partnership with Al Burkan Engineering in Oman market for their lighting control systems.

Al Burkan Group of companies, led by visionary entrepreneurs with more than 40 years of expe-rience in business management of engineering and contracting, supply of products and solutions, and manufacturing industries in oil & gas, power, water, informa-tion communication technology and security sectors, enjoys great reputation in the Sultanate of Oman for creating values for all their stakeholders.

Al Burkan clientele includes Royal Court of Affairs, Royal Oman Police, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Health and has executed some major projects like Royal Cavalry of Oman, Special Task Force, police station com-plexes, shopping malls, etc.

I N F O R M A T I V E S E S S I O N

SMART CHOICE: The symposium highlighted the latest Ethernet base lighting control solutions, occupancy detection technologies and

Lumina RF wireless hotel room controls for the end clients, consultants and contractors at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Muscat. – O. K. Mohammed

Ali/TIMES OF OMAN

McDonald’s invites social media influencers in GCC

MUSCAT: For the first time ever, McDonald’s in the GCC invited six social media influencers to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to visit their chicken suppliers.

McDonald’s in the GCC shared halal and processing practices with an engaged group from Oman, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, says a press release.

The objective of the trip was to show the farm to tray journey of chicken used by McDonald’s in the GCC highlighting halal practices, food procedures and safety and hy-giene practices as part of its trans-parency initiative.

Ali K. Daud, president and de-velopment licensee of McDonald’s Oman commented: “Since the launch of the ‘Your Right to Know’ platform earlier last year, we have seen an extremely engaged audi-ence who want to find out more about our brand and food. One of the most frequently asked questions re-ceived since the launch is around

halal practices. We are proud to only provide halal meat across our restaurants in Oman, but wanted to go beyond just saying it.”

The three-day tour included a visit

to Huat Lai Primary Processing Plant to learn and see how meat is prepared according to strict Halal procedures, followed by a visit to Keystone Ma-laysia Processing Plant, to see how

Chicken McNuggets are prepared and ending the trip with an open door kitchen tour at McDonald’s Malaysia and lunch under the world renowned golden arches.

S H A R E S C H I C K E N P R O C E S S I N G P R A C T I C E S

IS Ghubra bags rolling trophy at

Inter-School Spelling Bee Contest

MUSCAT: Adveteeya Ganti and Madhumathi Govind from Indian School Al Ghubra (ISG) clinched the prestigious rolling trophy at the Inter-School Spell-ing Bee Competition 2016 organ-ised by Indian School Muscat. Adveteeya Ganti also lifted the individual trophy by winning the first position.

Students from different Indian schools of Oman participated in this brain sport which requires immense hard work and a great deal of knowledge to match wits

against the opponents, says a press release.

After a gruelling preliminary round the two students, Ad-veteeya and Madhumathi pro-gressed to the finals and emerged victorious. It had been a challeng-ing task for all the participants, an opportunity for students to show-case their skills on a platform which demands high competency and capability. The principal and the school congratulated the win-ners and appreciated their won-derful performance.

C O V E T E D

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Young Omani talents display an array of couture at Women’s Fashion Trend

MUSCAT: From elegant black to soothing whites, greens, pinks and blue, a wide range of colours on the ramp ruled the evening at Sur Ball-room of Holiday Muscat recently, in an event titled Omani Women’s Fashion Trend (OWFT) organised by Light & Shadow Enterprises.

The models walked in complete perfection with the flashlights fo-cusing on an array of haute couture creation by young talents domi-nating the Oman fashion trends. As the models wandered around in graceful choreographed moves, the camera swayed in swift moves to capture each ravishing creation, says a press release.

Young and dynamic fashion de-signers of Oman Hala Al Maamari, Huda Anwar Al Sabbagh and Sal-

ha Al Farsi created wonders that flowed on the ramp with praise and applause. The models boldly show-cased the unique Vivat Jewellery creations by Shruti Chowdhury and Devangee Ganatra which left everyone speechless.

The event was attended by Her Highness Sayyida Basma Al Said as the guest of honour who opened the event with words of encour-agement and support for the work that went into staging this event and mentioned, “One thing we have to keep in mind: today is the end result. There has been a lot of work behind all this. Maybe we don’t see it today but we have a lot of soldiers at the back right now working behind the scene.”

Basma said, “I don’t know if you guys know this. But tonight, the designers who are here are not paying [to showcase their work]. I think that is amazing because today, it is a great challenge for all these designers to do the clothes, get the models, train them and pay and credit must go to Light & Shadow for this initiative and sup-port to Omani talent.”

Sharing the success of the fash-ion show, Akshay Chowdhary, director of Light and Shadow, ex-claimed: “It was sheer hardwork, dedication and passion of the en-

tire team especially Shruti, who is the director of OWFT.”

Seaming on the traditional lines, the young talents of Oman dis-played an array of couture - from abbayas, jalebiyas to Arab-West-ern amalgamated designs.

“We wanted to tap and promote local talents. More than that, we want to give these designers the platform they need to succeed,” Akshay added.

The show was opened by Hala

Al Mamari and her designs were playful but the designer’s pen-chant for elegance was maintained all throughout her collection.

Hala’s forte is in hand-stitch-ing and embroidery and these were very evident in almost every clothes that walked the runway even from a good distance and was the perfect start to the evening.

Salha’s fashion transition seemed to be the ideal ramp walk.

A reputed fashion icon, Salha’s

creation focused rich taste of col-ours fabric and designs.

“I focus on both tradition Omani and Western styles because to be a designer it’s not only about a piece of fabric it’s indeed ideas, knowl-edge and science to be implement-ed,” said Salha, who is known to blend Omani tradition to modern western touch.

If Salha’s creation were stun-ning, Huda’s designs took abayas to the next level of traditional

designs. Complementing the gor-geous designs on the ramp was the unique jewellery collection range Vivaat which left the audience mesmerised. “Vivaat is a language every woman speaks. It is a style statement in its own way, it com-pliments every designs and every colour,” Shruti said.

The fashion enthusiast crowd present applauded the trendy cou-ture with a positive embracing the evolution of the Arab fashion trend.

“Light & Shadow was one of the first companies to create the platform for Omani women with fashion shows with the inaugu-ral OWFT in 2010 and have re launched the brand with a new ex-perience and flavour this year. We are proud to promote Omani talent and will be providing this platform to Omani designers,” said Akshay.

Choreography for this show was provided by Ghaniya Al Farsi.

This year the event was pre-sented by Mitsubishi Motors Oman. Lush, the fresh handmade cosmetics brand was the partner for the event.

The other partners included: Mobicell, Huawei, Tanuf, Effect, Nabil, Global Rent a Car, Hotel Muscat Holiday, Talentz Cen-tre, Oman Designer’s Forum and Times of Oman.

The event was

attended by Her

Highness Sayyida

Basma Al Said as the

guest of honour

FRiENDi dealers to ‘earn more’ MUSCAT: With dealers forming a crucial part of the distribution and sales to customers of SIM cards and recharge vouchers, FRiENDi mobile introduced a new oppor-tunity to help dealers earn more money in commissions.

Valuing its dealer relations and recognising it as an integral part of their success, FRiENDi mobile, the Sultanate’s third big-gest mobile service provider, has launched this new one-of-a-kind programme for all its registered sealers. The FRiENDi Dealer Commission Programme pro-vides a great commission and incentive scheme that works on new innovative technology that ensures that dealers are paid their commissions the next working day, says a press release.

To announce and introduce this exclusive programme and as part of FRiENDi mobile’s ongo-ing support to its dealers, a launch event was conducted at the Al Falaj Hotel in Muscat recently. FRiENDi mobile dealers from all across Muscat got a chance to in-teract with the FRiENDi mobile team and senior management to deepen their understanding of how the mechanics of this new dealer programme works.

The FRiENDi Dealer Com-mission programme is themed around the central idea the oppor-tunity to ‘Earn more and faster with FRiENDi mobile’. The pro-gramme ensures that dealers earn commission for every FRiENDi

transaction they perform. This is either the activation of SIM or the sale of recharge to support customers buying data or voice plans or bundles. The commis-sion earned is paid in recharge transferred to the dealers FRiEN-Di SIM and can be resold to cus-tomers as recharge, enabling dealers to turn their commission into cash. Every dealer can moni-tor their commissions instantly through the FRiENDi mobile dealer app, allowing dealers to track their earnings. FRiENDi mobile also has a dedicated dealer support team to answer any deal-er enquiry that might arise.

“Each sale of a SIM or recharge or activation of data or voice plan counts, so we want to make sure that we reward our valued deal-ers for every transaction and

provide a great new opportunity and incentive to earn more, paid almost instantly, direct to dealer. We are of course now delighted to announce our FRiENDi Dealer Commission Programme and provide this new level of dealer rewards,” said Alex Bennett, chief executive officer, FRiENDi mobile. “We of course recognise that a key part of our successful commercial operations is due to our distribution strategy and our FRiENDi dealers are a key com-ponent in this channel strategy. Their commitment, backing and loyalty to our brand has been core to the where are today. Our deal-ers are fundamental part of gen-erating sales and FRiENDi SIMs and recharge to maintain the right kind of contact and advice with our customers.”

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

EXCLUSIVE: To introduce Dealer Commission Programme, a

launch event was conducted at Al Falaj Hotel as part of FRiENDi

mobile’s ongoing support to its dealers. – Jun Estrada/TIMES OF OMAN

CIL hosts lecture on CBO’s role in Oman’s economy

MUSCAT: The Centre for In-ternational Learning (CIL), an institute that teaches Arabic to individuals from all over the world, organised its third lec-ture of the CIL Lecture Series.

Salim Al Jahwari, financial analyst at the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) and the found-ing president of the Columbia Alumni Association of Oman, delivered an interactive presen-tation on ‘The Role of the Cen-tral Bank in Oman’s Economy.’ The lecture was followed by a Q & A with the audience, says a press release.

“As an important regulator of Oman’s financial service indus-try, the CBO is responsible for the maintenance of the internal and external value of the nation-al currency,” he explained.

Swiss CIL student, Camilla Jacquemond, a Masters stu-dent of law at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, said “Al Jahwari gave us an overview of how the CBO contributes to create the right environment for the most efficient allocation of resources,” she said. “I ap-preciated his use of visual and everyday examples to clarify his explanations. CIL’s lectures are a really good opportunity for students that are unfamiliar with the dynamics of the Mid-dle East to understand it better.”

L E C T U R E S E R I E S

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LG Electronics paves way for green air conditioning solutions in Oman

MUSCAT: In response to the growing demand for eco-friendly and energy efficient air condition-ing solutions in the Sultanate, LG Electronics Gulf FZE in associa-tion with Oman Gulf Enterprises (OGE), its local distributor, en-gaged with industry stakeholders to discuss the impact and opportu-nity for sustainable solutions.

The seminar served as a platform for over 100 attendees, including leading consultants, property de-velopers, architects and interior designers to envision the future of Oman with environment-friendly technology, says a press release.

At the event, LG showcased the prowess of its inverter technology platform with green refrigerants, which is designed to facilitate con-tinuous optimum cooling in Gulf countries, and thereby contribut-ing toward a greener environment.

Speaking at the event, Yong Geun Choi, president of LG Elec-

tronics Gulf, said: “The Middle East region has established a strong understanding of the im-portance of using and developing environment friendly products. This has led to an influx in demand for LG’s Multi V refrigerant flow (VRF) product solutions that are energy efficient and eco-friendly. We are proud to showcase these solutions today in Muscatand are certain it will create a strong busi-

ness impact in the community.” “LG understands that when it

comes to air conditioners, regional customers are now looking for more than just good cooling capa-bilities. In addition to precise tem-perature control, our latest Sys-tem AC solutions deliver a host of functional benefits and significant energy savings.

With quiet inverter technology and high quality air purification and

sterilisation systems, the consumer can enjoy a healthier environment,” added Choi.

LG’s air conditioners are de-signed with high style and innova-tive technology to be the perfect solution for hot summer months. LG’s flagship Multi V VRF system has gained a top-of-mind position among key stakeholders like devel-opers, consultants and contractors because of its stand out features such as HiPOR, Active Refriger-ant Control, Auto Dust removal, Smartphone monitoring,and im-pressively high Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) values of up to 4.78.

LG has also currently launched a Single Inverter line-up, which is 25% more energy efficient and capable of 30% quicker cooling than conventional air conditioning products. With the rapid techno-logical developments within the HVAC industry, the latest solu-tions are embedded with features

making them highly energy effi-cient and eco-friendly, in line with government and consumer de-mands. Green technology embed-ded products are gaining fast trac-tion in response to the increased regulations for energy efficient products locally and globally.

“LG’s industry-leading vari-able refrigerant flow technol-ogy, minimises efficiency loss and provides sustainable energy savings, offering the lowest life cycle cost of any system on the market today. Through this semi-nar, we were able to effectively emphasise these strengths and connect with the Sultanate’s ro-bust developer community. LG’s innovative products and engag-ing marketing campaigns will be complimented with our tech-nical and service capability to serve the Sultanate’s ambitious green projects,” said Anil Dua, managing director, OTE Group.

The seminar held by

LG and OGE served

as a platform for

over 100 attendees,

including leading

consultants, property

developers, architects

and interior

designers to envision

the future of Oman

with environment-

friendly technology

Bank Muscat SME workshops organised in Muscat and Salalah evoke strong response

MUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the flag-ship financial services provider in the Sultanate, hosted two work-shops on ‘Basics of finance and cash flow management for SMEs’ in Muscat and Salalah, which evoked strong response from ex-isting and aspiring entrepreneurs.

The workshops addressed by expert trainers were organised by al Wathbah, Bank Muscat’s SME department, as part of activities aimed at expanding and strength-ening avenues for SME develop-ment in Oman, says a press release.

Fatma Al Maskiry, AGM – SME Credit and Marketing, said: “Over the years, Bank Muscat has launched several initiatives as

part of its commitment to SME development in Oman. Serving as building blocks for entrepreneurs, these initiatives assume impor-tance in the backdrop of the prior-ity accorded by the government to develop the SME sector in Oman. The bank regularly organises workshops and seminars to facili-tate unique learning opportunities to address the challenges faced by entrepreneurs and thereby cre-ate an environment favourable for SME success.”

Familiarising the participants with the basics of finance and cash flow management, the workshop topics included preparation and analysis of balance sheet, income

statement, cash flow statement, sources and use of cash for busi-nesses, main cash financial indica-tors and ratios.

The workshop helped the par-ticipants to evaluate whether their business is healthy from a cash perspective and how to take managerial decisions based on the basics of finance and cash flow management.

In step with the directives of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said to support the SME sector and strengthen its role in the economic development of Oman, Bank Mus-cat has taken the lead to develop the SME sector. Bank Muscat im-parts the required skills and guid-

ance for entrepreneurs drawn from diverse fields to embark on successful SME business ventures through workshops, advisory ser-vices and training at al Wathbah Academy centres in Muscat, Sohar and Salalah.

The bank offers the full suite of SME products and services and is continuously working to im-prove its offerings. The launch of al Wathbah SME non-collateral fi-nance by Bank Muscat has opened a new world of opportunity for entrepreneurs. The financing not requiring collaterals is a bold step affirming the bank’s commitment to encouraging an entrepreneurial culture in Oman.

B A S I C S O F F I N A N C E

NMWC’s Scratch &

Win campaign with

effect® offers instant

prizes to customers

MUSCAT: NMWC, the local exclusive distributor of effect® brand of energy drink from Ger-many, has launched a promo-tional campaign in association with Enhance Group of petrol station outlets (Ahlain and Noor shopping stores) all across Oman where each and every consumer is a confirmed winner once they drink a can of effect®.

For each can of effect® pur-chased from the Ahlain and Noor shopping outlets custom-ers will get a scratch card which will ensure they win prizes in-stantly. Not only are there in-stant prizes but also there are many iPhones to be won in the lucky draw as bumper prizes, says a press release.

“It has been a great start for the effect® brand in Oman which is

a high quality product from Ger-many and keeps you mentally en-ergised,” said Mahmud Raja, head of Sales & Marketing, NMWC.

The Scratch & Win promotion campaign will go on until June 15.

P R O M O T I O N

For each can of effect® purchased from the Ahlain and Noor shopping outlets customers will get a scratch card which will ensure they win prizes instantly

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

SPOR SY O U R G A M E

SECTIONC S U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

MUGURUZA OVERPOWERS SERENA TO WIN FRENCH OPEN TITLE

>C2

The Greatest... is no more

SCOTTSDALE: Former world heavyweight champion Muham-mad Ali, whose record-setting box-ing career, flair for showmanship and political stands made him one of the best-known figures of the 20th century, died on Friday aged 74.

Ali, who had long suffered from Parkinson’s syndrome which im-paired his speech and made the once-graceful athlete almost a prisoner in his own body, died a day after he was admitted to a Phoenix-area hospital with a res-piratory ailment.

Even so, Ali’s youthful procla-mation of himself as “the great-est” rang true until the end for the millions of people worldwide who admired him for his courage both inside and outside the ring.

Along with a fearsome repu-tation as a fighter, he spoke out against racism, war and religious intolerance, while projecting an unshakeable confidence and hu-mour that became a model for Af-rican-Americans at the height of the civil rights era.

“Muhammad Ali was one of the greatest human beings I have ever met,” said George Foreman, who lost to Ali in Zaire in a classic 1974 bout known as the “Rumble in Jungle.”

“No doubt he was one of the best people to have lived in this day and age. To put him as a boxer is an injustice.”

Ali enjoyed a popularity that transcended the world of sports, even though he rarely appeared in public in his later years.

“We lost an icon,” said Delson Dez, 28, a construction worker, who was holding up a poster of the fighter in Scottsdale, Arizona soon after Ali’s death was confirmed in a statement issued by his family late Friday evening.

“He talked trash but he backed it up,” Dez said.

Few could argue with his athletic

prowess at his peak in the 1960s. With his dancing feet and quick fists, he could — as he put it — float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.

He was the first person to win the heavyweight championship three times.

But Ali became much more than a colorful and interesting athlete. He spoke boldly against racism in the ‘60s, as well as the Vietnam War. During and after his championship

reign, Ali met scores of world lead-ers and for a time he was considered the most recognizable person on earth, known even in remote vil-lages far from the United States.

Ali’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s came about three years after he re-tired from boxing in 1981.

His influence extended far be-yond boxing.

He became the unofficial spokesman for millions of blacks

and oppressed people around the world because of his refusal to compromise his opinions and stand up to white authorities.

“We lost a giant today. Boxing benefited from Muhammad Ali’s talents but not nearly as much as mankind benefited from his hu-manity,” said Manny Pacquiao, a boxer and politician in the Philip-pines, where Ali fought arch ri-val Joe Frazier for a third time in

a brutal 1975 match dubbed the “Thrilla in Manila.”

In a realm where athletes often battle inarticulateness as well as their opponents, Ali was known as the Louisville Lip and loved to talk, especially about himself.

“Humble people, I’ve found, don’t get very far,” he once told a reporter.

His taunts could be brutal. “Joe Frazier is so ugly that when

he cries, the tears turn around and go down the back of his head,” he once said.

He also dubbed Frazier a ‘gorilla’ but later apologized and said it was all to promote the fight.

Once asked about his preferred legacy, Ali said: “I would like to be remembered as a man who won the heavyweight title three times, who was humorous and who treated everyone right.

“As a man who never looked down on those who looked up to him ... who stood up for his beliefs ... who tried to unite all humankind through faith and love.

“And if all that’s too much, then I guess I’d settle for being remem-bered only as a great boxer who be-came a leader and a champion of his people. And I wouldn’t even mind if folks forgot how pretty I was.”

Ali was born in Louisville, Ken-tucky, on January 17, 1942, as Cas-sius Marcellus Clay Jr., a name shared with a 19th century slavery abolitionist. He changed his name after his conversion to Islam.

Ali is survived by his wife, Lon-nie Williams, who knew him when she was a child in Louisville, along with his nine children. - Reuters

Ali’s influence

extended far beyond

boxing. He became

the unofficial

spokesman for

millions of blacks

and oppressed people

around the world

Rev. Al Sharpton, New York-based civil rights leader, on twitter: “Ali, he was and always will be the greatest. A true champion in and out of the ring.”

Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., civil rights leader, on twitter: “Let us pray for @MuhammadAli; good for America, world boxing champion, social transformer & anti-war hero. #TheGreatest.”

Roy Jones Jr., former box-ing champion, on twitter: “My heart is deeply saddened yet both appreciative and relieved that the greatest is now resting in the greatest place.”

George Foreman, Ali’s oppo-nent in the ‘Rumble in the Jun-gle’: “Muhammad Ali was one of the greatest human beings I have ever met. No doubt he was one of

the best people to have lived in this day and age. To put him as a boxer is an injustice.”

Floyd Mayweather Jr., five division world champion: “There will never be another Muhammad Ali. The black community all around the world, black people all around the world, needed him. He was the voice for us. He’s the voice for me to be where I’m at today.”

Dong King, boxing promot-er: “It’s a sad day for life, man. I loved Muhammad Ali, he was my friend. Ali will never die. Like Martin Luther King his spirit will live on, he stood for the world.”

Manny Pacquiao, Filippino boxer: “We lost a giant today. Boxing benefited from Muham-mad Ali’s talents but not nearly

as much as mankind benefit-ed from his humanity.”

Oscar de la Hoya, former world champion, on twitter: “A legend who transcended sport and was a true champion for all.”

Donald Trump, Republican U.S. presidential candidate: “Muhammad Ali is dead at 74! A truly great champion and a wonderful guy. He will be missed by all!”

Hillary Clinton, Democtatic U.S. presidential candidate, and her husband former U.S. presi-dent Bill Clinton in joint state-ment: “From the day he claimed the Olympic gold medal in 1960, boxing fans across the world knew they were seeing a blend of beauty and grace, speed and strength that may never be matched again.” - Reuters

Muhammad Ali remembered as true champion

Muhammad Ali, in his own wordsMuhammad Ali was not only a boxing champion, he was a championship talker. Following are some quotations from Ali:

“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”

“It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.”

“Boxing is a lot of white men watching two black men beat each other up.”

“At home I am a nice guy but I don’t want the world to know. Humble people, I’ve found, don’t get very far.”

“I’ve wrestled with al-ligators. I’ve tussled with a whale. I done handcuffed light-ning, and throw thunder in jail. You know I’m bad. Just last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalised a brick. I’m so mean, I make med-icine sick.”

“I’m not the greatest. I’m the double greatest. Not only do I knock ‘em out, I pick the round. I’m the boldest, the prettiest, the most superior, most scien-tific, most skillfullest fighter in the ring today.”

“I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin’ hell but as long as they ain’t free, I ain’t free.”

“I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong.”

“I may not talk perfect white talk-type English but I give you wisdom.”

“If Ali says a mosquito can pull a plow, don’t ask how. Hitch him up!”

“I’m the onliest person that can speak to everybody in the whole world. My name is known in Serbia, Pakistan, Morocco. These are countries that don’t follow the Kentucky Derby.”

“Sometimes I feel a lit-tle sad because I can see how some things I said could upset some people. But I did not de-liberately try to hurt anyone. The hype was part of my job, like skipping rope.”

“Now the things that once were so effortless — my strong voice and the quickness of my movements — are more dif-ficult. But I get up every day and try to live life to the fullest because each day is a gift from God.” - Reuters

C H A M P I O N T A L K E R

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SPORTSS U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

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Stamina key in Murray, Djokovic title showdownPARIS: The reputations of No-vak Djokovic and Andy Murray as the fittest men in tennis will be rigorously tested when they slug it out on Sunday for the French Open title, at the end of a tour-nament in which endurance has been a prime asset.

With both men hitting peak form in emphatic semifinal wins, mental strength looks likely to decide a final given added spice by an array of historic landmarks that will fall by the wayside irre-spective of who wins.

Over two weeks of often attri-tional tennis invariably played in damp, cold conditions and with heavy balls, Murray — bidding to become the first British man to win in Paris since 1935 — has put his body through close to 18 hours on court over 24 sets.

Djokovic, also seeking his first title in Paris to become the first man in almost 50 years to hold all four majors at once, has played five hours and five sets fewer.

But the rain delays that have ravaged the tournament meant the Serbian played four days in succession up to Friday and de-nied him the usual rest days as-sociated with grand slams.

“When I get on the court with (Murray) it’s going to be a very physical battle,” Djokovic said af-ter Friday’s three-set demolition of Austrian tyro Dominic Thiem. “That’s why the day off (on Satur-day) will definitely serve me well.”

If the pressure mounts on Sun-day, Djokovic may however want to resist reflecting on his three previous defeats in French Open

finals, including last year’s four-set reverse against Stan Wawrinka.

No player in the professional era has ever lost more finals at any one of the four Grand Slams and gone on to win that event.

And at 29, time is ticking for both of them. “Neither of us know how many more chances we’ll have to win here. It took ob-viously Roger (Federer) a long time to win this one (in 2009),” Murray said.

It is in the head that Djokovic believes he may have the advan-tage over his Scottish opponent, a man just seven days his senior who he has beaten in four out of six major finals, and whose game he has been trying to pick apart since the first time he recalls fac-ing him as an 11-year-old.

“It’s pretty nice that our rivalry has evolved over the years,” he said. “...I think mentally when we step on the court, sure, maybe to some extent, (I have) some small percentage (of advantage), but he’s playing in great form.”

Murray is hoping the condi-tions on the day may provide him with an edge. After 12 defeats in 13 matches against the Serbian, Murray turned the tables a week later in their most recent encoun-ter, a rain-affected Italian Open final in Rome.

“(Rome) was maybe a bit more similar to here, because it was rain-ing quite a lot when we played,” Murray said.

“I got off to a good start (Rome). Novak got off to a good start in Ma-drid. That helped both of us in re-spective matches.” - Reuters

P R E V I E WMuguruza stuns Serena to lift French Open title

PARIS: Garbine Muguruza achieved the rare feat of overpow-ering Serena Williams to claim her maiden Grand Slam title with a 7-5, 6-4 win over the world No. 1 and defending champion in the French Open final on Saturday.

The 22-year-old fourth seed, who lost to Williams in last year’s Wimbledon final, became the first Spaniard to lift the Suzanne Len-glen Cup since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in 1998.

“This is the big tournament in Spain and Rafa (Nadal) is our cham-pion,” she said courtside, referring to the nine-time men’s winner who pulled out injured last week.

“She won the first set by one point. That just goes to show you you really have to play the big points well and I think she played the big points really well,” world

No. 1 Serena Williams said.Although her hard-hitting game

seems more suited to faster surfac-es, Muguruza won 14 consecutive sets en route to the final after losing her opening set of the tournament.

An anxious player by her own admission, she managed her emo-tions on Court Philippe Chatrier, saving six of eight break points against Williams, who had only lost only four of her 26 previous major singles finals.

It was Muguruza’s first final on the slow surface and she relied on a powerful first serve and jaw-drop-ping winners down the line to sub-due the American in a battle of will.

Williams, who was gunning for a professional era record 22nd

major title, got off to a solid start, winning her first service game to love and putting pressure on her opponent’s serve.

In the fourth game, which lasted nine minutes, Muguruza saved a break point with an unreturnable forehand, then a second with an ace.

An ugly double fault, however, earned Muguruza the first break of the match, which she consolidated by holding serve in the sixth game with a flat forehand winner down the line to lead 4-2.

Williams, 34, stepped into the court and put Muguruza on the back foot, breaking back for 4-4 when Muguruza sent a backhand long.

An unreturnable crosscourt forehand gave Muguruza another

break. Serving for the set, she showed early nerves in the 12th game before converting her third opportunity with a sizzling back-hand winner.

A weak Williams backhand put Muguruza up a break in the sec-ond, only for the Spaniard to serve consecutive double faults as the American broke back for 1-1.

But she unleashed another fore-hand down the line to regain the advantage and held for 3-1.

Williams saved four match points to hold but on Muguruza’s fifth opportunity to seal the con-test in the following game she landed a lob on the base line and sank to her knees in apparent dis-belief at winning the title. - Reuters

The 22-year-old,

who lost to Williams

in 2015 Wimbledon

final, became the

first Spaniard to

lift the Suzanne

Lenglen Cup since

Arantxa Sanchez

Vicario in 1998

MAIDEN SLAM CROWN: Spain’s Garbine Muguruza, right, and Serena Williams of the U.S. pose with

their trophies after the women’s singles final of the French Open in Paris on Saturday. – Reuters

C3

SPORTSS U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

Edward and Irene emerge winners at fourth round of MRR Summer Series

MUSCAT: Edward Black and Irene Ng’eno emerge winners in the fourth round of the Muscat Road Runners Summer Series in Al Ansab recently.

The 5.4km race saw over 61 runs competing in tough conditions.

The organisers described the route as: “The ‘Two Dams’ route was probably the most varied in

terms of terrain, ranging from concrete dam walls to dusty paths and following tyre tracks through knee high shrub! The planned 5.4k route took us off road, up hill and down dale, twisting through the wadi and climbing up dam walls until we returned to the start point

and found that unfortunately some runners had run a bit further than others due to some unplanned de-tours along the way!”

After the completion of a gruel-ling race, Edward Black emerged the men’s as well as overall title winner completing the race in a

time of 21 minutes and 54 seconds. David Mulholland took the over-

all and men’s category second place in 25:34 while Karl D Street, who topped the men’s veterans race, settled for the third place in 25:36.

Mohammed Al Azri, in 25:45, was third in the men’s category.

Birgit Schultz, who finished first in the women’s veterans category, was the first woman and 6th over-all in a time of 26:06.

In the women’s section, Irene Ng’eno won the top honours in 26:36 followed by Sally Hart (26:53) and Jo Charters (31:33) in that or-

der. Meanwhile, in the 3km junior race James emerged the winner in a time of 17:58. Sankara finished in 19:10 and Kiki clinched third palce in 22:07.

The MRR Summer Series re-sumes after Ramadan and school holidays on August 31. For further details visit MRR website: www.muscatroadrunners.com or htt-ps://www.facebook.com/pages/Muscat-Road-Runners.

Results: Men’s open: 1. Edward Black - 21:54; 2. David Mulholland - 25:34; 3. Mohamed Al Azri - 25:45.

Women’s open: 1. Irene Ng’eno - 26:36; 2. Sally Hart - 26:53; 3. Jo Char-ters - 31:33.

Men’s veteran: 1. Karl D Street - 25:36; 2. Dave Salt - 26:06; 3. Sunil Deshpande - 26:26.

Women’s veteran: 1. Birgit Schulz - 25:43; 2. Fiona Vaughan - 38:58; 3. Amanda Greenwood - 39:41.

Super veteran: 1. Cesare Porta - 32:09; 2. Cor Huibers - 39:00; 3. Robert Borjal - 39:12.

While Edward Black

took top honours in

overall and men’s

categories, Irene

Ng’eno emeged the

women’s winner

‘Greatest to Greatest’, Ali’s tryst with IndiaNEW DELHI: Indians had an op-portunity to see legendary boxer Muhammad Ali in action in 1980 when he visited the country for exhibition bouts titled ‘Greatest to Greatest’, the reference being to him and to Indira Gandhi who had just returned to power after a hu-miliating defeat in the elections after the emergency.

Ali played exhibition bouts in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai when he visited the country at the invitation of London-based NRI industrialist Lord Swaraj Paul, who paid glowing tributes to the boxer on Saturday saying, “He was truly a legend. Crowds in India were thrilled to see him in action.”

Even more thrilled were the boxers who got a chance to inter-act and exchange a few blows with

the American, who was revered not just for his skills inside the ring but also his bold stand on is-sues related to civil rights.

One such boxer was Tamil Na-du’s Randolph Peters, who got a chance to trade punches with Ali.

Peters says he still cannot for-

get the surprise on Ali’s face when he asked him for a “bit of shadow boxing” after being among the “lucky few” who were formally introduced to the enigmatic great.

“I was the Railways feather-weight champion at that time. All of 25, I clearly remember, one

by one we shook hands with him. When my turn came, I requested him for a session of shadow box-ing,” recalled Peters.

“He was very surprised and said ‘you small man, you want to fight me? I will throw one left hook and you would go flying out of the sta-dium’. I could only smile at that and went back to my seat after the introductions. After the exhibi-tion bout (against former heavy weight champion Jimmy Ellis), he called out the local guys for some fun,” he said.

“He saw me and gestured me to come forward. I went up and we probably sparred for two min-utes. He had obliged me and I was thrilled. He later gifted me his left hand glove which I still have,” added the now 63-year-old. - PTI

B O X I N G

Damage was already done for Kyrgios: ChillerMELBOURNE: Australian No. 1 Nick Kyrgios was unlikely to have been selected for the Rio de Ja-neiro Games due to his behaviour even if he had wanted to play ten-nis for his country, according to Olympic team boss Kitty Chiller.

Chef de mission Chiller also criticised Tennis Australia for backing Kyrgios, saying she found it “difficult” to accept that the governing body could regard the hot-headed 21-year-old an “athlete of good standing”.

Kyrgios withdrew his name from consideration for Rio on Friday and blamed the Australian Olympic Committee for “unfair and unjust treatment” after a row with Chiller over his conduct.

Chiller rejected Kyrgios’s com-ments and said the AOC had reached out to the player, asking him to respond to a letter about their concerns.

“He was sent a letter, as were two other people, asking him to ba-sically please explain and he chose to respond in this way,” Chiller said of Kyrgios’s withdrawal in a TV interview on Saturday. “If Nick had have chosen to respond to this letter, that would then go to the full AOC executive to determine (his selection for Rio).

“My personal opinion, I think the damage was done.”

After being publicly upbraided about his behaviour by Chiller

last month, Kyrgios bowed out of the third round of the French Open with a string of code viola-tions, including one for yelling at a ball-boy.

Despite that, Tennis Australia has defended Kyrgios throughout the Olympic row and the governing body’s president Steve Healy said he had shown “growing maturity”.

“But we are very disappointed that he has been put in this posi-tion,” Healy said in a statement after Kyrgios’s withdrawal.

Chiller said her relationship with TA was “fine” but felt the governing body were wrong on Kyrgios. “I think they could have handled it a little bit better, also,” she told local broadcaster Chan-nel Seven. “I’m very surprised with the statement Tennis Aus-tralia put out yesterday support-ing Nick. For Tennis Australia to say he was an athlete of good standing, I find difficult.”

Tennis great Rod Laver urged critics to lay off Kyrgios.

“If we can encourage him and not criticise is probably the best thing that can happen right now,” the 77-year-old Australian said in comments published by News Ltd media.

“I think all this criticism, it’s like waving a red rag at a bull. The more he hears it, the more he’s going to be critical of everything — and nobody wins.” - Reuters

R I O G A M E S

C4

SPORTSS U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

Shounak and Prakhar win junior doubles,

Kenneth and Erica keep family crown

MUSCAT: The Vaz siblings, Ken-neth and Erica retained the family doubles title at the Annual Table Tennis Tournament organised by the Indian Social Club (ISC) and sponsored by Muscat Insurance Services LLC and Oman United Insurance Company and the team of Shounak Kelkar and Prakhar Pateria became the new junior doubles champions.

In the family doubles final, fa-vourites Kenneth and Erica re-ceived a setback when the father and son combination of Shrikant and Shounak Kelkar put in a bril-liant show of teamwork to win the first game.

Kenneth and Erica however, set-tled down and got their act together and won the next three games to retain the title with final scores of

11-13, 11-3, 11-6, 11-6. The duo of Shounak Kelkar and Prakhar Pa-teria became the new junior dou-bles champions of the ISC. In a thrilling final that went to the wire, Shounak and Prakhar had to fight tooth and nail against the dynamic duo of Sanskar Dubey and Allan Thiyagaseelan who kept up the fight till the last point before the former won with a 11-9, 11-7, 7-11,

13-11, 4-11, 5-11, 13-11 verdict. Earlier in the semifinals of the

junior doubles, Shounak and Pra-khar faced some resistance before overcoming the team of Siddhar-tha and Madhav Vinod 11-3, 11-7, 12-10 while the duo of Sanskar Dubey and Allan Thiyagaseelan rallied from a game down to defeat Vedant Bahirat and Shivam 6-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8.

I S C T A B L E T E N N I S

FAMILY DOUBLES FINALISTS: From left, Kenneth Vaz, Erica Vaz,

Shrikant and Shounak Kelkar. – Supplied photo

JUNIOR DOUBLES FINALISTS: From left, Sanskar Dubey, Allan

Thiyagaseelan, Shounak Kelkar and Prakhar Pateria. – Supplied photo

Marquez on pole for Catalunya MotoGP

BARCELONA: Honda’s Marc Marquez took pole position for his home Catalunya MotoGP race on Saturday on an all-Spanish front row a day after compatriot Luis Salom’s fatal accident in Moto2 practice.

The double world champion lapped Barcelona’s Circuit de

Catalunya in a best time of one minute and 43.589 seconds for his third pole of the season.

Reigning champion and overall leader Jorge Lorenzo was second fastest on a Yamaha, nearly half a second slower.

Marquez’s teammate Dani Pe-

drosa was third, taking his highest grid position this year on a sunny afternoon with temperatures of around 25 degrees Celsius. Hector Barbera was fourth on a Ducati.

Yamaha’s Italian Valentino Rossi will start fifth, the lone non-Spaniard in the top six. Lorenzo

leads Marquez by 10 points in the standings and is chasing his third win in a row on Sunday.

The circuit layout was short-ened after Salom’s accident, with riders now using the version used at the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix that misses out the high-speed turn 12 where Salom fell.

Salom’s death has cast a pall over the seventh race weekend of the season, with a sombre atmo-sphere as riders took to the track for an extended final practice and qualifying.

Ten MotoGP riders, including Marquez, attended a meeting of the sport’s safety commission on Fri-day and said they would not con-tinue without changes to the track.

“We could not continue exactly the same,” said Carmelo Ezpeleta, chief executive of MotoGP promot-ers Dorna. “If it happened once, it could happen again even if the pos-sibilities were small.” - Reuters

The double world

champion lapped

Barcelona’s Circuit de

Catalunya in a best

time of one minute

and 43.589 secondsTHIRD POLE OF SEASON: Honda Team’s Marc Marquez celebrates

after clinching the pole at Catalunya MotoGP on Saturday. – AFP

AL HASHAR’S KARAR WINS TITLE AT DONCASTER RACESKarar owned by Sheikh Nasser bin Mohammed Al Ha-

shar won the title at Royal Cavalry of Oman Premier race

in Doncaster on Friday. The horse race was organised

at Doncaster track in Britain with the participation of

ten Arabian horses. Karar covered the distance of 2600

metre in 4.03.17 minutes, followed by Maghazi owned

by Sheikh Mohammed bin Nasser Al Hashar. Two other

horses of Al Hashar will take part in Sheikh Zayed bin

Sultan Al Nahyan Cup races, as part of Sheikh Mansour

bin Zayed Al Nahyan International Festival for Arabian

Horses, in Stockholm on Monday. — Supplied photo

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

HealthSECTIONC L I F E S T Y L E S U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

Iron deficiency is the most com-mon nutrient deficiency in children. The World Health Or-ganisation estimates that iron deficiency anaemia affects one

quarter of the world’s population. The prevalence of anaemia in the Sultan-ate of Oman is around 30-40 per cent in children of various age groups.

In a normal term infant, total body iron does not change much during the first four months of life because the baby gets enough iron stores from the mother. But by four months of age, iron stores of the baby gets reduced by half and extra iron is required to maintain good haemoglobin concentration dur-ing the rapid phase of growth between 4 and 12 months. The average daily intake of iron required is 4.3mg/day (4 months to 6 months ) and 7.8mg/day (7 months to 12 months).

Iron deficiency may be caused by:An iron poor diet: This is the most

common cause. Early introduction of fresh cow’s milk as the major milk source at around 6 months of age is the most common reason for iron deficiency anaemia at 1 year of age. Toddler’s can have problems if they drink too much cow’s milk (more than 750ml/day) and eat fewer iron rich foods like red meat and green leafy vegetables. Cow’s milk is a poor source of iron and also makes it harder for the body to absorb iron if taken with other foods containing iron. Older children who are picky eaters and children on vegetarian diet also might not get enough iron because iron from meat sources is more easily absorbed than iron from plant sources. Teenage

boys sometimes develop iron deficien-cy during rapid growth of puberty. But teen girls have iron deficiency more often because their bodies can’t store as much iron and lose blood during menstruation.

Body not being able to absorb iron very well, even though we are taking enough iron.

Long term slow blood loss, usually through menstruation or bleeding in the digestive tract.

Rapid growth (in the first year of life and adolescence)

Symptoms include:Most common symptoms of anae-

mia appear when body cells can’t get enough oxygen. If your child has anae-mia, then you are likely to notice that your child seems more tired, weak or having low energy than normal. Feel-ing fatigued, sometimes make children irritable as well.

Pale skin, lips or nail beds.Feeling dizzy or light headed.Having headaches off and on.Having cold hands and feet.Rapid/irregular heartbeats.Low appetite.Increased chances of infections.Unusual craving for non nutritive

substances like ice, dirt, paper, and many more.

Iron deficiency can affect school per-formance. Low iron levels are an impor-tant cause of decreased attention span, reduced alertness, learning difficulties, in young children and adolescents. Di-agnosis of iron deficiency anaemia in children can be made by certain blood tests after arriving at a clinical conclu-sion by the paediatrician.

Treatment is mainly by iron supple-ments and foods rich in iron. Infants less than 1 year should drink only breast milk preferably or an infant formula which contains iron, if breast milk is not available. Exclusively breast fed infants should eat iron for-tified solid foods starting at about 6 months of age. Children under 2 years of age should not have more than 700ml of whole milk a day at the ex-pense of other solid foods that are iron rich. Eat foods that contain iron, such as, cereals, pasta, bread or other grains with iron added. Meat have the highest amount of iron. Chicken, turkey, lamb and fish also have good iron content. Eggs, especially the yolk, dark green leafy vegetables, beans and legumes like black eyed peas, chick peas, green peas, and baked beans. Some dried fruits like dried apricots and figs. Yel-low fruits and vegetables like bananas.

Serve the foods mentioned above alongside foods or drinks rich in vi-tamin C (tomatoes, broccoli, orange juice, and strawberries) because vita-min C enhances the body’s absorption of iron. Try cooking food in a cast iron pan which can help enrich the food with iron.

With proper treatment, the outcome is likely to be good. In most cases, the blood counts will return to normal in two months, but has to be main-tained under the supervision of your paediatrician. Iron supplementation improves learning, memory, and cog-nitive test performance in adolescents who have low levels of iron.Dr Sreekumar is paediatric specialist

at KIMS Oman Hospital

Anaemia is a condition in which the body does not have enough healthy

red blood cells in blood. Red blood cells have a protein inside them called

haemoglobin. This protein carries oxygen to different organs of our body.

For the production of haemoglobin, iron is needed. So if iron is deficient in our

diet, this leads to reduced haemoglobin production, thereby leading to iron

deficiency anaemia. Story Dr Sreekumar

RED ALERT Poor dietary intake could lead to iron deficiency anaemia in children

FIND-IT-ALLC6 S U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

Dhuhr 12.10pmAsr 3.29pmMaghrib 6.56pmIsha 8.18pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 3.53am

PRAYER TIMINGS

ROYAL OMAN POLICE

Emergencies and inquiries: 9999

General Directorate of

Passport and Residence 24569603

Directorate General

of Customs 24521109

Traffic violations inquiries 24510228

Public Relations Admin 24560099

EMBASSIES IN OMAN

Afghanistan 24698 791/4

Algeria 24605 593

Bahrain 24 605 074/133

Bangladesh 24 698 660

Brazil 24640100

Brunei 24 603533

China 24 696782

Cyprus 24 699815

Egypt 24 600 982/411

France 24681 800

Germany 24835000

India 24684500

Indonesia 2469 1050

Iran 24 696 944/7

Iraq 24603642

Italy 24693727

Japan 24 601 028

Jordan 24692760/1/3

Kazakhstan 24 692418

Kenya 24 697664

South Korea 24 691490

Kuwait 24 699628

Lebanon 24 693208

Libya 24603466

Malaysia 24698329/643

Morocco 24696152/3

Nepal 24696177

Netherlands 24603706

Pakistan 24603439

Palestine 24601312

Philippines 24605335

Qatar 24 691 153/2/4

Russia 24602894

Saudi Arabia 24601705

Senegal 24694139

Somalia 24697977

South Africa 24647300

Spain 24691101

Sri Lanka 24697841/2

Sudan 24697875

Switzerland 24603267

Syria 24697904

Tanzania 24601 174

Thailand 24 602684/5

Tunisia 24603486

Turkey 24697050/1/2

UAE 24400000

United Kingdom 24609000

United States 24643400

Yemen 24600815

PHARMACIES (ROUND THE CLOCK)

Al Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi 24783334

Apollo Medical Centre,

Hamriya 24782666

Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi 24702542

Salalah 23291635;

Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra 24503585

Muscat Region

Apollo, Al Hamriya 24787766

Muscat, A Seeb Market 24421691

Muscat, Al Khuwair 24485740

Muscat, Al Hail South 24537080

Dhofar Region

Muscat, Al Nahdha Road,

Salalah 23291635

HOSPITALS

Al Amal Medical & Health Care Centre

24485052

Atlas Hospital

Ruwi 24811743/

Ghubra 24504000

Al Musafir Specialised

Medical Clinic 24706453

Hatat Polyclinic LLC,

Ruwi 24563641

Azaiba 24499269

Sohar 2683006

Al Raffah Hospital 24618900/1/2

Al Massaraat Clinic &

Laboratory 24566435

Al Makook Medical

Coordinance Centre 24499434

Apollo Medical Centre,

Hamriya 24787766, 24787780

Capital Polyclinic 24707549

Badr Al Samaa Polyclinic,

Ruwi 24799760/1/2

Capital Clinic, Seeb 24420740

Ceregem National Raak 24485633

Dr Harub’s Clinic 24563217

Elixir Health Centre 24565802

Emirates Medical Centre 24604540

1st Chiropractic Centre 24472274

Lifeline Hospital Salalah 23212340

International Medical

Centre LLC 24794501/2/3/4/5

Kims Oman Hospital 24760100

24 Hrs Emergency 24760123

Lama Polyclinic, Sohar 26751128

MBD 24799077

Al Khuwair 24478818

Magrabi Eye and

Ear Hospital 24568870

Muscat Private Hospital 24583600

Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment

Centre, Al Khuwair 24477666

Al Hayat International Hospital, Al Ghubra

22004000, 94267068/97049520

Al Hayat Clinic, Al Hail 22009455

AIRLINE OFFICES

Muscat Airport Flight information

(24 hours) 24519456/24519223

Aeroflot 24704455

Air Arabia 24700828

Air France 24562153

Air India 24799801

Air New Zealand 24700732

Biman Bangladesh Airlines 24701128

British Airways 24568777

Cathay Pacific 24789818

Egypt Air 24794113

Emirates Air 24404400

Ethiopian Airlines 24660313

Gulf Air 80072424

Indian 24791914

Iran Air 24787423

Japan Airlines 24704455

Jazeera Airways 23294848

Jet Airways 24787248

Kenya Airways 24660300

KML Royal Dutch Airlines 24566737

Kuwait Airways 24701262

LOT Polish Airlines 24796387

Lufthansa 24796692

Malaysian Airlines 24560796

Middle East Airlines 24796680

Oman Air 24531111

Pakistan International

Airlines 24792471

Qatar Airways 24771900

Qantas 24559941

Royal Jordanian 24796693

Saudi Arabian Airlines 24789485

Singapore Airlines 24791233

Shaheen Air 24816565

SriLankan Airlines 24784545

Swiss International

Airlines 24796692

Thai Airways 24705934

LISTINGS

LONG DISTANCE BUS TIMINGS (OMAN NATIONAL TRANSPORT COMPANY SAOC) *SUBJECT TO CHANGE

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI)

Dept Destination Arrival Operatingtime time days

QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (ROUTE 36)

15:00 Quriyat 16:30 Daily

15:00 Sur 18:00 Daily

15:00 Jaalan 19:30 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

06:30 Sohar 08:50 Daily

06:30 Buraimi 11:00 Daily

08:00 Buraimi 14:30 Daily via Ibri

13:00 Sohar 15:45 Daily

13:00 Buraimi 17:40 Daily

16.00 Sohar 18.35 Daily

16.00 Buraimi 20:20 Daily

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

17:30 Sinaw 20:50 Daily

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

14:30 Nizwa 16:50 Daily

14:30 Yanqul 19:30 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

08:00 Nizwa 10:20 Daily

08:00 Al Araqi 12:30 Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55)

07:30 Sur 12:00 Daily

14:30 Sur 18:45 Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (ROUTE 62)

06:30 Fahud 10:30 Daily

06:30 Yibal 11:15 Daily

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (ROUTE 100)

07:00 Salalah 20:00 Daily

10:00 Marmul 20:30 Daily

10:00 Salalah 23:30 Daily

19:00 Salalah 07:40 Daily

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)

06:00 Marmul 16:50 Daily

SALALAH TO DUBAI (ROUTE 102)

15:00 Dubai 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)

06:00 Sohar 08:30 Daily

06:00 Dubai 11:30 Daily

13:00 Sohar 15:30 Wed,Thur

13:00 Dubai 18:30 Wed,Thur

15:00 Sohar 17:35 Daily

15:00 Dubai 20:55 Daily

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily

07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily

07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

Dept Destination Arrival Operatingtime time days

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (ROUTE 36)

05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily

05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily

05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

07:00 Sohar 08:55 Daily

07:00 Ruwi 11:40 Daily

13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri

13:00 Sohar 14:55 Daily

13:00 Ruwi 17:40 Daily

13:00 Sohar 19:20 Daily

17:00 Ruwi 22:15 Daily

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

07:00 Ruwi 10:25 Daily

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

06:00 Nizwa 08:40 Daily

06:00 Ruwi 11:00 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

15:40 Nizwa 17:55 Daily

15:40 Ruwi 20:20 Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55)

06:00 Ruwi 10:45 Daily

14:30 Ruwi 19:00 Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (ROUTE 62)

12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily

12:30 Ruwi 17:30 Daily

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (ROUTE 100)

07:00 Ruwi 19:50 Daily

10:00 Marmul 13:15 Daily

10:00 Ruwi 22:30 Daily

19:00 Ruwi 07:30 Daily

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)

06:00 Marmul 16:30 Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (ROUTE 102)

15:00 Salalah 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)

07:30 Sohar 10:50 Daily

07:30 Ruwi 13:40 Daily

13:00 Sohar 16:15 Thur-Fri

13:00 Ruwi 19:10 Thur-Fri

15:30 Sohar 18:45 Daily

15:30 Ruwi 21:35 Daily

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH/SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily

16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily

16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

CITY CINEMAContact (10 am to 6PM) 24567664 | 68 www.citycinemaoman.netfacebook.com/citycinemaoman

SHATTIMe Before You - (2D) (Drama ) (15+)Cast: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer3:30 & 7:30PMHigh Strung - (2D) (Drama | Music) (12+)Cast: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Jane Seymour5:30 & 9:45PMGo With Me - (2D) (Thriller) ((12+)Cast: Julia Stiles, Anthony Hopkins, Alexander Ludwig,3:30, 5:45, 9:45 & 11:30PMElly Ektasho Mato - (2D) (Arabic) (15+)Cast: Ghada Abdelrazek, Abeer Sabry7:30PMHousefull 3 - (2D) (Hindi | Romantic ) (PG12)Cast: Nargis Fakhri, Akshay Kumar, Jacqueline Fernandez, Ritesh Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan8:45 & 11:30PMWarcraft - (3D) (Action| Adventure) (PG12)Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster3:45, 6:15 & 11:45PM

MUSCAT GRAND MALLWarcraft – 3D (PG12) Action| Adventure Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster12:15, 9:15, 11:45 PMGold Class : 6:15 PMMoney Monster – 2D (12+) Crime | Drama | Cast: George Clooney, Julia Roberts4:30, 11:30 PMHousefull 3 – 2D (PG12) Hindi | RomanticCast: Nargis Fakhri, Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan9:00 PMGold Class : 3:30, 8:45, 11:30 PMX-Men: Apocalypse – 3D (PG12) Action | Adventure |FantasyCast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender2:15, 6:30 PMThe Angry Birds Movie – 3D (U) Animation |

Action |ComedyCast: Peter Dinklage, Tituss Burgess, Jason Sudeikis12:15, 2:30, 5:00, 7:00 PM

PANORAMA MALLMe Before You - (2D) (Drama ) (15+)Cast: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer5:30 & 9:45PMHigh Strung - (2D) (Drama | Music) (12+)Cast: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Jane Seymour3:45 & 7:45PMGo With Me - (2D) (Thriller) ((12+)Cast: Julia Stiles, Alexander Ludwig, Anthony Hopkins9:30 & 11:45PMHousefull 3 - (2D) (Hindi | Romantic |Comedy) (PG12) VIP LOUNGECast: Nargis Fakhri, Akshay Kumar8:45PMHousefull 3 - (2D) (Hindi | Romantic) (PG12)Cast: Akshay Kumar,Ritesh Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan3:30, 6:15, 9:00 & 11:15PMWarcraft - (3D) (Action| Adventure | Fantasy) (PG12) VIP LOUNGECast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster

3:45 & 11:30PMWarcraft - (4D) (Action| Adventure | Fantasy) (PG12) MX4DCast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster3:45, 6:30, 9:00 & 11:30PMWarcraft - (3D) (Action| Adventure) (PG12)Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster7:30 & 11:45PMThe Nice Guys - (2D) (Action | Comedy | Crime) (15+) VIP LOUNGECast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling6:15PMThe Nice Guys - (2D) (Action | Comedy) (15+)Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling3:30PMThe Jungle Book - (3D) Adventure) (PG)Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley5:45PM

AZAIBA X-Men: Apocalypse (3D) (Action |Adventure | Fantasy) (PG12) Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender3:30, 11:45 PMWarcraft (3D) (Action) (PG12) Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster3:45, 9:30, 11:45 PMThe Jungle Book (3D) (Family) (PG)

3:45, 5:45 PMKing Liar (Mal) (2D) (Comedy) (PG12) Cast: Dileep, Madonna Sebastian, Lal6:00 PMHouseful 3 (Hindi) (2D) (Comedy) (PG12) Cast: Akshay Kumar, Jacquline Fernandes3:30, 6:15, 8:50, 10:30, 11:30 PMIravi (Tamil) (2D) (Drama | Comedy) (TBC) Cast: Vijay Sethupati, S J Surya, Kamalinee Mukherjee8:45 PMA. Aa (Telugu) (2D) (Romance | Comedy) Cast: Nithin K Reddy, Samantha Ruth Prabhu6:00 PM (TBC)

RUWIScreen 1Housefull 3 (2D) (Comedy / Drama) –PG12Cast : Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PMScreen 2Baaghi (2D) (Action) –PGCast : Tiger Shroff, Shraddha Kapoor3.45 PMA. Aa (2D) (Telugu | Comedy | Romance) Cast : Nithin K Reddy, Samantha Ruth Prabhu6.45, 9.45 PM –TBCScreen 3

Warcraft (2D) (Action / Adventure) –PG12Cast : Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton3.45, 9.45 PMBaaghi (2D) (Action) –PG6.45 PM

SURWarcraft 3D ( Action | Fantasy ) ( PG12 )Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster5:30, 9:30 PMBorn to Dance (12+) Cast : Tia Maipi, Stan Walker7:45 PMGo With Me ( Thriller ) ( 12+ ) Cast : Julia Stiles, Alexander Ludwig3:30, 6:45, 11:45 PMHousefull 3 ( Hindi | Comedy ) (PG12) Cast : Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan3:45, 8:30, 11:15 PM

SOHARX-Men: Apocalypse PG12 (2D) (Action)Cast: James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence11:45PMX-Men: Apocalypse PG12 (3D) (Action)6:15PMWarcraft PG12 (Action| Adventure | Fantasy)Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster3:45, 6:00, 9:00, 11:30PM

Housefull 3 PG12(Hindi |Comedy)Cast: Nargis Fakhri, Akshay Kumar, Jacqueline Fernandez3:30, 7:15, 8:30, 11:15PMMe Before You (15+) (Drama)Cast: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer3:15, 7:15PMBorn to Dance (12+) (Action | Sport)Cast : Tia Maipi, Stan Walker, Kherington Payne5:15, 10:00PMA Aa (TBC) (Telugu | Comedy | Romance)Cast: Nithin K Reddy, Samantha Ruth Prabhu9:00PM Iravi TBC (Tamil | Comedy / Drama)Cast: Vijay Sethupati , S J Surya, Kamalinee Mukherjee7:00PM

BURAIMIIravi TBC (Tamil) (Comedy / Drama)Cast: Vijay Sethupati , S J Surya, Kamalinee7:00 PMHousefull 3 PG12 (Hindi) (Romantic)Cast: Nargis Fakhri, Akshay Kumar, Jacqueline3:30, 9:15 & 11:15 PMGo With Me 12+ (Thriller)Cast: Julia Stiles, Alexander Ludwig3:30, 10:00 & 11:45 PMWarcraft PG 12 (3D) (Action| Adventure)Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster.3:45, 6:30 & 8:45 PMRock the Kasbah 15+ (Comedy | Music)Cast: Bill Murray, Leem Lubany5:15, 7:15 & 11:45 PM

SALALAHRock the Kasbah (15+) (Comedy | Music) Cast: James Bill Murray, Leem Lubany3:45, 6:30PMGo With Me (12+) (Thriller) Cast: Julia Stiles, Alexander Ludwig2:15, 6:15, 10:00, 11:55PMWarcraft (3D)(PG12) (3D) (PG12) (Action) Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster1:00, 9:15, 11:45PMHigh Strung (2D) (12+) (Drama | Music) Cast: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine1:30, 4:15, 8:00PMHousefull 3 (2D) (PG12)( Hindi ) (Romantic) 3:45, 8:30, 11:15PMIravi (2D) (TBC) (Tamil) (Comedy| Drama)Cast: Vijay Sethupati , S J Surya, Kamalinee Mukherjee6:15PM

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

BAHJA CINEMAFilm information 24540856 / Advance Booking

24540855

Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

Go With Me (Thriller)Cast: Julia Stiles, Alexander Ludwig, Anthony Hopkins2.00, 6.00, 10.00 & 11.55p.m.CP No :1136 (12+)Rock the Kasbah (Comedy / Music)Cast: Bill Murray, Leem Lubany, Zooey Deschanel1.00, 3.00 & 5.00 p.m.CP No : 1137 (15+)Me Before You (Drama)Cast: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer4.00 & 8.00 p.m.CP No : 1138 (15+)Warcraft (Action / Adventure / Fantasy)Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster 7.00, 9.30 & 11.55 p.m.CP No : 1129 (PG12)

STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776

Website: www.isurf.co.om

Jacobinte Swargarajyam ( Mal) (Comedy) Cast: Nivin Pauly, Renji Panicker6-45pm Cinema -4; 9-30 pm Cinema Main Iraivi (Tamil) (Comedy\ Drama) Cast: Vijay Sethopathi & Anjali 3-30 & 9-30 Cinema- 2; 6-30 Cinema MainA.AA (Telugu) (Comedy\Drama) Cast: Nithin and Samantha 3-30 pm Cinema Main; 6-30 pm Cinema-2 Housefull-3 (Hindi) (Drama\Comedy ) Cast: Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Nargis Fakhri, Jacqueline Fernandez3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 pm Cinema -3 King Liar ( Mal) (Comedy) Cast : Dileep ,Siddique & Madonna Sebastian 3-45 & 9-45 pm Cinema-4

Next Change: Kammati Paadam ( Mal)

Programmes are subject to change

@SHATTI

High Strung - (2D) (Drama | Music) (12+)Cast: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Jane Seymour5:30 & 9:45PM

@RUWI

Housefull 3 (2D) (Comedy / Drama) –PG12Cast : Akshay Kumar, Ritesh DeshmukhNar-gis Fakhri, Jacqueline Fernandez, Abhishek Bachchan3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PM

@ SOHAR

Born to Dance (12+) (Action | Sport)Cast : Tia Maipi, Stan Walker, Kherington Payne5:15 & 10:00PM

@ PANORAMA MALL

Go With Me - (2D) (Thriller) ((12+)Cast: Julia Stiles, Alexander Ludwig, Anthony Hopkins9:30 & 11:45PM

WEATHER

360

Maximum

310

Minimum

TEMPERATURE

80-40%RELATIVE HUMIDITY

Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 17 years) whose birthday you are celebrating, along with his/her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and parents’/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi or through e-mail to extra@timesofoman.com

WITH LOVE

LIFESTYLEC7S U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

Did you know that you could be slowly get-ting sicker with artery blockage, even if you

are symptom free and not diag-nosed with heart disease?

Your gender, age and whether you have diabetes all affect the prevalence of certain kinds of pe-ripheral vascular disease, which is a condition that affects the blood vessels, according to a new study led by researchers at New York University ( NYU) Langone Medical Centre. This insight could help doctors have a better understanding of who is at risk for which diseases.

Younger women: Peripheral artery diseasePeripheral artery disease is a nar-rowing of the blood vessels to the limbs, especially the lower limbs, caused by an increase of fatty de-posits in the arterial walls. Most patients describe numbness or pain in the calf, hip, thigh or but-tock, but up to 40 per cent of peo-ple who are diagnosed do not feel any symptoms. Though often as-sociated with older age groups, the NYU study found a distinc-tion in younger age groups: The disease is actually more prevalent in younger women than younger men to a dramatic degree. Screen-

ing for peripheral artery disease can be as simple as comparing blood pressure in your ankle as your arm, known as an ankle bra-chial index.

Older men: Carotid artery stenosisA narrowing of the arteries that carries blood to the brain is known as carotid artery stenosis, usually caused by an increase of fatty deposits. Most commonly, symptoms are not apparent until the patient has a stroke. The NYU study found a more pronounced and higher prevalence of this blockage in older men than in old-er women. If a patient does opt for screening, a non-invasive method is recommended, which uses ul-trasound to visualise the arteries.

Men and women: Abdomi-nal aortic aneurysmsThe aorta is a major blood sup-ply line to your body, running from your heart to your abdomen. When an aneurysm occurs, an area in this vital artery become enlarged and could eventually grow and rupture. These ruptures are serious, as they are life threat-ening and difficult to operate on. Causes are not known, but re-searchers have found a correla-tion with tobacco use, a harden-

ing of the arteries and high blood pressure. Most people are una-ware of having this condition, but a major symptom is a feeling of pulsation from the navel. Accord-ing to the NYU study, prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysms was similar across all age groups. Annual screening can be done with a simple ultrasound.

Diabetes patients: Peripheral vascular disease Patients with diabetes are often

screened for heart disease, just because of the great risk factors present in these patients. But the NYU study results indicate that doctors might want to con-sider the onset of peripheral vas-cular disease in their diabetes patients as well. Patients with diabetes were at a very high risk of developing peripheral vascular disease in the lower ex-tremities or the carotid artery — even if they were not diagnosed with heart disease, according to the study.

Future study is needed to see if screening could lead to better health for diabetes patients, says senior investigator Dr Jeffrey S. Berger, an associate professor in the Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology at NYU Langone.

We know that if you have ca-rotid artery stenosis, you’re at an increased risk for stroke, and we know that if you have lower ex-tremity arterial disease, you’re at increased risk for significant impairment in your daily activi-ties like walking, and even am-putation, he says.

“What these studies show is the power of large data sets to provide insight into the preva-lence of risk factors for cardio-vascular disease.”-Courtesy of Artipot

Four Facts About Artery Health

A narrowing of the arteries that carries blood to the brain is known as carotid artery stenosis, usually caused by an increase of fatty deposits. Most commonly, symptoms are not apparent until the patient has a stroke.

New blood test to boost cancer treatment

RESEARCHERS have found a new test that can detect changes in the levels of metabo-lites in the blood and help identify whether a cancer drug is working as designed or not. According to researchers, cancer drugs af-fect the amount of metabolites — the build-ing blocks of fats and proteins — present in the blood of patients with the deadly disease.

“Our study is an important step in the development of new preci-sion cancer therapies and is the first to show that blood metabo-lites have real potential to monitor the effects of novel agents,” said Florence Raynaud from The Institute of Cancer Research in Britain. The study investigated the metabolic markers that could accurately assess how cancers were responding to the tar-geted drug pictilisib. Pictilisib is designed to specifically target a molecular pathway in cancer cells, called PI3 kinase, which has a key role in cell metabolism and is defective in a range of cancer types. For the study, published in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, the team measured the levels of 180 blood mark-ers in 41 patients with advanced cancers in a phase I clinical trial conducted both in preclinical mouse models and also in humans.

Diabetes drug may help beat breast cancerA DRUG commonly used as the front-line treatment for Type-2 diabetes improves survival for some breast cancer patients, says a study. For the study, the researchers examined clinical outcomes for 1,215 patients who were diagnosed and under-went surgical treatment for breast cancer between 1997 and 2013. Ninety-seven patients examined reported using met-formin before their diagnosis, and 97 reported use of the drug after diagnosis. Results of the study showed that patients who used metformin before being diagnosed with breast cancer were more than twice as likely to die than patients who never used the drug. On the other hand, patients who began using metformin after their cancer diagnosis were almost 50 per cent more likely to survive than non-users. -IANS

B R I E F S

Can Dietary Supplements Prevent Alzheimer’s?A DIETARY supplement contain-ing a blend of 30 vitamins and min-erals has the potential to slow the progress of catastrophic neurologi-cal diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, researchers say.

The supplement has shown re-markable anti-ageing properties that can prevent and even reverse massive brain cell loss, according to the study by Ontario’s McMaster University researchers.

“The findings are dramatic,” said lead author of the study Jennifer Lemon. “Our hope is that this sup-plement could offset some very serious illnesses and ultimately im-prove quality of life,” Lemon noted.

The formula contains common ingredients such as vitamins B, C and D, folic acid, green tea extract, cod

liver oil and other nutraceuticals.The mice used in this study had

widespread loss of more than half of their brain cells, severely impact-

ing multiple regions of the brain by one year of age, the human equiva-lent of severe Alzheimer’s disease.

The mice were fed the sup-

plement on small pieces of bagel each day over the course of several months.

Over time, researchers found that it completely eliminated the severe brain cell loss and abolished cognitive decline.

“The research suggests that there is tremendous potential with this supplement to help people who are suffering from some catastrophic neurological diseases,” Lemon noted. The findings were published online in the journal Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis.

The next step in the research is to test the supplement on humans, likely within the next two years, and target those who are dealing with neuro-degenerative diseases, the researchers said.-IANS

H E A L T H N O T E

LIFESTYLEC8 S U N DAY, J U N E 5, 2 0 1 6

To keep those hunger pangs at bay during ex-tensive work hours when we mindlessly munch on

to greasy chips or devour on a bar of chocolates. Keeping a small of box of almonds stashed in your of-fice desk or your bag is a far health-ier snack option.

Almonds work divinely as a post workout snack or breakfast snack, they are quick to eat and will give

you all the important nutrients.

Starting your day with a handful of almonds, mixed in your cereal as a breakfast snack does

wonders to kick-start your day on a healthier note.

Constipation is not a pretty sight, sometimes chemical laxatives fail to give us the required bowel movement. Soaked

almonds come to the rescue, dis-guised in a bottle in your kitchen shelf; these wonder goodies are the best way to combat your con-stipation problems, in a jiffy.

One never knew that al-monds may lower total and LDL cholesterol when included in a healthy diet and reduce levels of heart

damaging inflammation, this sounds perfect for those who suf-fer from a heart condition.

In this day to day hectic lifestyle we pursue, one easily gets devoid of ener-gy as the day comes to an

end. Not many food items convert their properties into energy, how-ever, almonds are a natural source of many essential nutrients, in-cluding protein and healthy fats, making them a nutrient-rich and energy giving snack that can help keep you going throughout the day.

Diabetes, is one of the major concerns not only amongst the old but it is very prevalent amongst

the youth these days, conversely almonds can help lower the blood sugar impact of carbohydrate foods that they are eaten with, which affects fasting insulin lev-els. Hence the consumption of al-monds can manage your diabetes at ease.

Cheat days are some-thing that a diet freak swears by, once a week is when most of us indulge

in heavenly greasy goodness. But, what if we told you that almonds can be served in quirky and yum-my ways, which you could gorge on to anytime? One can easily relish over a bowl of almond and chicken tikka salad.

Weight management can be a disheartening sight, with endless hours spent in the gym and when consuming so

called healthy processed foods fail to show any remarkable difference in your weight, one should look to almonds as energy giving food.

Try adding some almonds which are energy giving food to your salads to

give that extra crunch and punch to your meals, it can do wonders. -Courtesy of Artipot

We know it is a daunting task to find a wholesome snack, however, a hand-ful (23 approximately) of almonds could be a convenient snack that can be

eaten anywhere, any time of the day; whether at home, work or on the go. Here are 10 reasons why we should eat almonds.

Wearable artificial kidney could replace conventional dialysis

A WEARABLE ARTIFICIAL KIDNEY could be developed as a viable, new dialysis technology that allows patients to be mo-bile and untethered during treatment, results of a US Food and Drug Administration-authorised clinical trial suggest. The tech-nology may become an alternative to conventional hemodialysis for people with end-stage kidney disease. Present-day treatment generally requires three sessions a week on a stationary machine that restricts patients’ ability to walk around while it is attached and running. In contrast, a wearable device would allow patients to be mobile and untethered. It could also provide additional treatment benefits from longer sessions or more frequent days of dialysis. The trial of a prototype for such a device was performed with seven patients at University of Washington Medical Cen-tre in Seattle. Those leading the trial included the inventor of the device, Wearable Artificial Kidney prototype, Victor Gura of Cedar-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles. The findings were reported in the journal JCI Insights. The trial was conducted to determine the safety and efficacy of the device - its ability to take over some functions of failed kidneys. The researchers also wanted to ask the participants about their impressions of the experimental treatment, and to compare those with standard dialysis treatment. The patients were treated with the device for up to 24 hours. In the patients studied, the device was shown to effectively clear the blood of waste products, like urea, cre-atinine and phosphorus, while also removing excess water and salt. These are normally filtered out and removed by working kidneys. While the usual diet for patients on standard dialysis is highly limited, their blood fluid volume of those on the wearable device remained balanced during the test, even without any diet restrictions. Regulating the volume and composition of body flu-ids is another job of normal kidneys. -IANS

I N T H E N E W S

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

S U N D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 6

RENT D2

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

D2 S U N D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 6

DAILY GUIDE

*Tourist visa arranged

Spacious 4BHK with split A/C’S, 4

bathrooms & storeroom, near Church

roundabout, Mumtaz area.

Rent:R.O 575, Contact:99349672

Office for rent in Al Ansab near

bank Muscat. Contact: 99466173

3 Rooms, 2 Toilets Flat for Rent.

18 November Street. Near Mars

Hypermarket and The Chedi.

Ghobrah -Good for Commercial or

Residential use. OMR 295/- month.

Call 94477222

Villa flat for rent in Al Khu-

wair area. Contact: 97298967 /

97871056

Ground flat in Azaiba, 2 rooms, 2

bathrooms, kitchen with air condi-

tioner. Contact: 97788666

3BR villa Al Khoud with A/C 350

R.O. Contact: 99024730

2 & 3 BR Al Khuwair.

Contact: 99024730

1& 2 BR in C.B.D. Contact: 99024730

Athaiba 2 bed, 1 bath room,

sitting, kitchen with split AC

behind Zubair Showroom

rent 310 R.O. Contact: 99879939

Athaiba 2bed, 2 bathroom, sit-

ting, kitchen with Split a/c behind

Zubair show room rent 350/-R.O.

Contact: 99879939

Wadi Kabeer Industrial 80 sm

show rooms for rent 400/- R.O.

Contact: 99879939

Flat for rent in Al Qurum, 3 rooms &

hall. Contact: 91763660

Apartment 2 bed room + sitting

room with split A/C at Al Ansab

heights R.O 300 monthly.

Contact: 93993354

3 BHK, 1BHK with A.C new build-

ing behind Muscat Bakery Wadi

Al Kabir. Contact: 99338133 /

92103604

Deluxe 1 & 2 bedroom flats, ideal

for office or residence at Qurum

near PDO. Contact: 97721313 /

95070421

Flat for rent in Ruwi Al Mumtaz

area 300/-R.O 2BHK, sitting room,

hall, 2 bathrooms, kitchen with A/C

Contact: 99268676 / 93294878 /

93294877

2 BHK available Mumtaz area

Ruwi & Ghubra near Al Maha Hotel.

Contact: 99269751

Flat for rent in Al Wadi Kabir near

to the Kuwaiti Mosque 225 R.O,

1BHK, sitting room, bathrooms,

kitchen with A.C.

Contact : 93294878 / 93294877

Flat for rent in Al Wadi Kabir near

to the Kuwaiti Mosque 300 R.O,

2 BHK, sitting room, 2 bathrooms,

kitchen with A.C.

Contact: 93294878 / 93294877

Flat for rent in Al Wadi Kabir near

to the Kuwaiti Mosque 390/- R.O, 3

BHK , sitting room, three bath-

rooms, kitchen with A.C.

Contact: 93294878 / 93294877

For rent flat in Darsait & Ruwi,

Office CBD. Contact: 95345909 /

92820734

Flat for rent in Ruwi Al Walja near

to the Honda road RO 200/-, 1 BHK,

sitting room, bathrooms, kitchen

with A.C. Contact: 93294878 /

93294877

Villa in Seeb near Dreams Resort

and close to the sea. Contact:

24182000 / 95250300/ 99110600

House in North Al Hail with 3

rooms, living room, hall, 4 toilets

300 RO. Contact 99738881 /

99439568

Plot at Barka next to Germany Col-

lege & next to Aramex Company,

next to Bahwan Warehouse, next to

Omasco warehouse 37,074 SQM2

required 0.250 Baiza per SQM.

Contact: 99888390

Flat for rent in Darsait 1BHK.

Contact: 99357586 / 97500025 /

97500021

Flats in Al Khuwair, Al Ghubra,

Azaiba, Wadi Kabeer, Darsait,

Hamriya, Al Hail & Seeb.

Contact: 24182000 / 95250300 /

99110600

Shop for rent at Wadi Kabir Indus-

trial area. Contact: 99888390

Shop in Seeb market. Contact:

24182000 / 95250300/ 99110600

Flats for rent near Indian School

in Wadi Kabir. Contact 99777122

1BHK at Hamriya near Muscat

Pharmacy & 2 BHK at Mawaleh

near Mosque Sadiq Al Amin.

Contact: 99224748 / 99332297

3 Bedroom well maintained flat

(villa Type only 2 flats in villa)

in Al Khuwair, behind Al Akhtam

Restaurant villa No 1841,

Way No 3922--- block no 239.

Contact: 99462980

Flat for rent in Wadi Al Kabeer

including 3 rooms with ACs.

Contact: 99333639

Flat for rent 2 bedrooms in Ruwi

Mumtaz area. Contact: 91409667 /

24291500

Villa for rent in Al Ghubrah,

5 rooms, hall. Contact: 91763665

Flat for rent in Al Khoud, 2 rooms

& hall. Contact: 917633665

1BHK Flats for rent, behind Shera-

ton hotel in Ruwi, rent R.O 250/-

per month. Contact: 96051941

Flat for rent Al Hail North to the

Wave Muscat ground floor with

furniture the price RO 250/-.

Contact: 99353433

For rent New flats at Darsait

Al Sahail. Contact: 99777351

House in Darsait 3 rooms, kitchen,

1 bathroom with A/C.

Contact: 95522405

Flats in Wadi Kabir. Contact 94051789 / 97201688

Flat for rent in Al Khuwair 33.

Contact: 92277419

Fully Furnished apartments in

Boucher (35). Contact 94051789 /

97201688

Villa for rent in Al Khoud, 6 rooms,

hall. Contact: 91763665

3000 Sqr mtrs compound land in

Misfah. Contact 99792181

Flat for rent 2 BHK 2 split A/C,

2 toilets, Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti

Masjid. Contact: 97007934 /

92629232

5 BHK Villa in Al Khuwair, for Staff

Accommodation. Contact 99792181

2 & 3 BHK Flat in Al Khuwair &

Ghubra. Contact 99792181

Azaiba Service Road (Previously Onear Al Turky and Mazda showroom.

95215289, 99229263, 93221054

FURNISHED OFFICES FOR RENT

95215289, 99229263, 93221054

azaiba service road

Just 2 OMR / Sqm, Showroom /

store for rent Ground floor & base-

ment, area - 1100 Sqm, location

Seh Al Ahmer, 20 km to Rusayl.

Contact: 97714433 / 93437982

Villa for rent in South Mabellah,

3 bedrooms, sitting room, family

Lounge, kitchen, three Toilets Contact

92212212 between 10 AM to 5 PM.

Office 55SQ.Mtrs & 2B/R at Bausher

directly from owner.

Contact: 92158031

Ruwi office space for rent,

Saravana Bhava Building.

Contact: 95729549

Flats for rent at Just RO 160/- 2

Bed room, hall, kitchen , 2 toilets,

location Seh Al Ahmer, 20 KM to

Rusayl, including AC & roof Garden.

Contact: 97714433 / 93437982

DAILY GUIDES U N D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 6 D3

FOR SALE

FOR RENT

Flats, shops & store for rent in

MBD area Ruwi, Mumtaz area.

Contact: 97293708 / 92433127

Offices and Flats in Ghala.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688

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

bathroom. It has splits A/C’s and

shaded car park. OMR 750 month-

ly. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 or

97509955

Villa in Al Khoud consists of

6 bedrooms, 1 sitting & living room.

Contact: 91153933

1700 sqr mtrs open Land + small

store + garage for Rent in Ruwi.

Contact 99792181

2BHK split A/C 200/- Monthly

& 1BHK spilt A/C 150/- monthly

new building good location Barka

Market. contact 99342661

Shop for rent good location main

road behind wholesale hyper mar-

ket Amerat space 11 MT long, 4 MT

Width. Contact: 92877449

Two bedrooms flat in Al Ghobrah

near Oman Oil of 18 November

Street. OMR 330 Monthly.

Contact 99333479 or 95215360 or

97509955.

4 BHK Villa in Bowsher Heights.

Contact 99792181

Flat for Rent 2 bed room Near ISM

muscat Indian Scoole Dar sate

Tel : 00 968 95158570

Flats in Darsait. Contact

94051789 / 97201688

02 BHK residential flat opposite

to Al Nahdha hospital.

Contact: 99342733 /99795241

Brand new villas in Al Ansab.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688

Flats in Ghobrah. Contact

94051789 / 97201688

Warehouse at Wadikabir - total

area 3500 sqm - covered ware-

house (500sqm), office, ac-

commodation (1000sqm), open

area (2000sqm) please contact:

99273774 - 99202278

ACC. AVAILABLE

ACC. AVAILABLE

ACC. AVAILABLE

Running saloon for sale in Seeb

with two clearance. Contact

97199936

Shop for sale, Honda road build-

ing materials beside NBO, Ruwi.

Contact: 99018075

Company for sale service& main-

tenance LLC installation & main-

tenance of fire fighting systems

include ROP license.

Contact: 99433540

Running clinic for sale at Samail.

Contact saemomar@gmail.com /

95498105

Shop for sale at Ruwi high street.

Contact: 98787853

Used & Refurbished Porta

cabins, Toilets unit available for

sales. Contact: 99215560 Email:

omegaunitedoman@gmail.com

Working beauty parlor for sale

Al Ghubra. Contact: 98178135

Running pharmacy for sale on

main road in Barka with Pharma-

cist. Contact: 99452755

603 sq mtrs residential land in

Al Hail North Block 45 NE near

Radio station. OMR 95 Thousand.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 or

97509955

Ladies fashion boutique for sale

in Al Khuwair. Contact: 24702870

Villa for sale in Mabela 6 rooms,

living room & hall.

Contact: 91763665

Dental clinic for immediate sale

doctor going abroad. Contact:

92882209 / 96373097

2 Shops for sale at prime location

in Ghobra. Contact: 96381294

Bozlur

6 Villas of six bedrooms each un-

der construction in one compound

in Bausher near Muscat Private

hospital. Prices range from 165

thousand to 179 thousand for each

villa. Each villa has three floors

and 369 sq mtrs build up area.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 or

97509955

Shop for sale near Oman House,

Muttrah. Contact 99024362.

Sharing Accomodation avaiable

for a working lady near indian

school wadikabir.

Contact 99652740

Fully furnished room with access

to kitchen is ideal for a bachelor or

couple situated in Al Bustan vil-

lage, and is close to the beach and

the hotel.Plz contact 99378964 /

96607448

Room available for family / bach-

elor opposite to o.K. Center, Ruwi.

Gsm 942-888-63

Room for rent in Qurum attached

bathroom and kitchen.

Contact: 99664703

Furnished sharing accommoda-

tion available at Walja family / Ex

bachelor. Contact: 93223278

Bachelor sharing accommodation

available at Misfa.

Contact: 99215560

Furnished accommodation

available at Walja with bath &

sharing, kitchen for family.

Contact: 99725804

Fully furnished showroom space

available at Al Qurum near Sabco

Center. 100 sq. m ideal for travel

office, money exchange, jewellery,

foot wear, perfume shop, Computer

Shop etc. Contact: 96108593

Furnished single / sharing room

for Exec. bachelor at Rex Road

(Kannada, Telugu, Tamil).

Contact: 92873832

Accommodation for Ladies or cou-

ple in Ruwi. Contact: 91450718

Room with attached bathroom for

a family in Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 97167857

Executive lady room & Bathroom

in Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99336206

Room available for Executive

bachelor at Al Hail.

Contact 96234708

MV SALE

Room available with attached

bath & balcony for an Executive

bachelor near MBD area.

Contact: 95779616

Room, bathroom for Executives in

Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99336206

Furnish bedroom with attach

bathroom for executive bachelor.

Contact: 97704794

1 big room with attached bath-

room with sharing kitchen avail-

able for small Muslim Family, Near

Spar, Mumtaz area, Ruwi, Muscat.

Contact 99662698.

1 BHK appartment for rent in

Al Khoud Shabiya near mazoon

mosque for rent (next to alkhoud

medical center and squ)

MOB: 93913224

Small old house for rent in

Ghobra. Contact: 97165972

Room with attached bathroom

and sharing kitchen available for

Executive bachelor or

small family at wadikabir.

Contact 93049849

Furnished apartment for rent,

two rooms, majlis, hall, kitchen.

Near Carrefour al-mawalah.

Contact 99336776

Sharing accommodation

near ISD. Contact: 99657340

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 room attached bath for

Indian bachelor, Al-Falaj Ruwi &

lady Wadi Kabir near

Mars hypermarket.

CONTACT 96202458/96761960

Room available in Mumtaz area

1 room, 1 Bathroom, Kitchen & 1

room, common bathroom. Inter-

ested pleasecontact 92680041

Mr. Altaf

Mazda 2 Sedan, 2014 model, me-

tallic silver, automatic, expat lady

driven, 44,000 km RO 3,000, nego-

tiable, for sale. Contact: 94619163

Audi A3 2003 automatic gear

138,000 kms, Expat driven for

RO 600/-. Serious buyers can

Contact 96248179

Mitsubishi Pajero model 2006,

full option, 6 cylinders, 3800 CC in

a very good condition.

Contact 99376567

Scraps/ Material for sale:

1. Steel / G.I.

2. Copper / Trunking

3. Cables / Wire

Contact:

Drake &

Scull International LLC

GSM : 94030882

1 BHK and 2BHK Flats available

near Lulu Darsait (Main road, Opp. to

Min. of Defense). Contact : 93202733

Flats in Muttrah. Contact

94051789 / 97201688

Furnished office (61M2) for sale

/ rent Al Khuwair near Zawawi

Mosque. Contact: 95611569

1 Bed room, sharing K& T, R.O 100,

2 bedrooms , sharing K& T R.O

200/- in AL Khuwair.

Contact: 95154331

Flat in Al Khuwair opp grand mall

4 room 3 toilet + hall kitchen in

3 floor 400. Contact 99420346

Flat for rent in South AlGhubrah

3 rooms, hall and 3 toilets, kitchen

rent 450/-. Contact: 99335580

2 BHK flat at Ruwi Mumtaz area

RO 320/-. Contact: 99358589 /

97079146 / 95570288

Offices & Showrooms in Al Khood.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688

Villa in Bousher consists of 5

rooms, 1 hall & living room.

Contact: 91153933

Villa in Al Ghubra consists of

5 bedrooms, 1 hall and living room.

Contact: 91153933

Room with 9 bathrooms in Boush-

er for rent. Contact: 91153933

2 bed rooms flat with hall,

2 bathrooms in Darsait near

Muscat Municipality.

Contact: 92584715/ 24700120

2BHK Big Size Flat Behind Bank

Muscat, Wadi Kabir. Near ISWK.

97826454, 24815012.

Apartment in Al Khoudh consists

of 2 room & hall. Contact: 91153933

Flats In Qurum. Contact 94051789 / 97201688

2BHK split A/C for rent Muttrah

near Oman House.

Contact: 97007934 / 92629232

1BHK Studio flat near Star Cinema

RO 180/-. Contact: 99358589 /

97079146 / 95570288

FOR SALE

Dental chairs for sale sparingly

used dental units for sale.

Contact Mr. Ansari 92616343.

Kumar 99570284

2 Nos brand new sea water re-

verse osmosis plants 500m3/ day,

containerized in knock down con-

dition with American PD pumps &

process pumps for immediate sale.

Serious buyers may

Contact: 99445367

400 sq mtrs Commercial/Resi-

dential land in Mabela Phase 5

Block 2. OMR 165 Thousand.

Contact 99333479 or 95215360

or 97509955

Luxury Apartments in Boucher

(35). Contact 95056808 /

97201688

Double Shutter 80 sq mtrs corner

textile shop in Seeb Souq for sale.

Contact 99326339

1No brand new containerized

package type STP 100 m3/ day

with blower equipments (suitable

for camps). Serious Buyers may.

Contact: 99445367

Steel Scrap materials for im-

mediate sale. Contact 99273774/

99202278

Space for printing press available

at wadikabir with or without

machinery. Contact 99328430

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

Single colorful Bed and Sofa

for Sale at Al Khuwair. Con-

tact 92881849 /What`s up No

97290565

Urgent sale of steel scrap only

serious buyers kindly contact +968

96725423 for viewing the items.

Almost new beach/ garden

lounge chairs /bar stools/ counter.

Photos can be sent 95865457

DAILY GUIDED4 S U N D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 6

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANT-SIT. WANTED

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

DRIVER

TOURS & TRAVEL

MISCELLANEOUS

ENGINEER/MECHANIC.

ENGINEER/MECHANIC.

ACCOUNTS

CATERING

EDUCATION/TRAINING

SKILLED / UNSKILLED

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN

DOMESTIC HELPER

MEDICAL

MEDICAL

IT

DRAFTSMAN

Urgently required Offset Printer (5 years experience in the same

and well versed in any related

jobs. Contact: 93218176 /

Email: joboman88@gmail.com

Required Indian Mason – 5 nos., eligibility (minimum 5 yrs experi-

ence in road construction field).

Contact: 99882127

Email: georgymv@yahoo.com

Required Shop Sales man + Hard-ware Technician for IT Company

with minimum 2 years experience.

Contact: 98825806 / 98825806,

Email: info@rns-group.com

DRIVER

ADMIN

Wanted experienced Philipino Housemaid with visa release.

Contact: 99466062

House maid for Omani family.

Contact: 99773100

A full time living Housemaid required for an Indian family in

Ghobrah. Contact: 97335255

26 years Gulf experience Indian Fi-

nance Manager B.Com, MBA English,

Arabic speaking driving license, NOC

available. Contact: 99811679

5 Years experienced front office &

Banking, Indian male 28 yrs, hotel

management Graduate. Searching

for suitable position, English, Hindi,

Malayalam & Arabic fluent. NOC

available. Contact - 91383167

Indian (Male) having 17+years

Experience in Trading & Healthcare

seeking senior Position in Accounts

(11 years GCC Experience )

currently on Resident Visa (NOC

Available ) and has a valid Omani

Driving Licence. Contact: 91335026;

skumartp@gmail.com

Indian male age 26, Accountant one

year experience in accounts

looking for suitable job. Contact -

Email: Anishkhan991867@gmail.Com

Mobile: +968 9565 9415

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 administration in

(3.5 years UAE experience) oil and

gas projects is currently looking for

suitable job. Contact 93953613,

Email-allen.mathew83@gmail.com

The following vacancies are

urgently required for a printing

press in Wadi Kabir General Man-ager & Sales Representatives with

well knowledge and experience in

printing press, holding valid Omani

driving license. Please send your CV

to: aalamri24@gmail.com

Urgently required a Painter and a Denter for workshop (Garage).

Contact: 96042322

Required candidates for following

posts: Accountant, Storekeeper, Foreman Building Maintenance, Van-salesman (water), Helpers. Candidates with Omani driving

license preferred.

Contact 99273774/99202278

Wanted Steward / Deckhand for

Yacht in Muscat, Housekeeping

& Guest service duties. Contact:

Whatsapp 95887572

Email: alibadawy@gmail.com

Filipino Cabin steward / Linen

vallet is looking for suitable job in

Oman. Contact: +968 91065438 or

email: blonglive@gmail.com

CATERING

Wanted Indian light driver with visa

salary R.O 200/. Contact: 99215560

Email: bvcsmuscat@gmail.com

Driver required for a leading Cou-rier company. Send CV to

info@atsglobex.com Contact:

00968-97461515 Salary: Negotiable.

Required Omani Driver for a restau-

rant. Contact 95929911

Wanted a experience Driver for Capital and Interior work.

Gsm : 942-888-63

Wanted driver. Contact: 97165972

Air Conditioning Company re-quired experienced A/C Techni-cian Send CV to nationalhvac.

mep@gmail.com Fax: 24799442

Required female Office Assistant with good computer knowledge.

Send CV to Fax: 24799442 nationalhvac.mep@gmail.com

Wanted Indian Engineer & Mar-keting person for steel workshop

in Saham. Contact 91339401

Wanted Marine Engineer for yacht

in Muscat. Contact Whatsapp

95887572

Email: alibadawy@gmail.com

Civil Engineer, Masons, Helpers, Shuttering, Carpenters, Steel fixers with 5 yrs experience in Oman.

Contact: 97491117

Urgently Required: MEP Man-ager Engineer- minimum 10years

experience with NOC in Oman

for immediately join. Interested

candidates may call us to our of-

fice telephone: 00968- 24696584/

24696585 or fax: 00968-

24605955 or email us to

sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com,

sbeoman@yahoo.com

Required Electrical Engineer with minimum 5 years Gulf exp. &

Electrician with ITI - Industrial &

MEDC license. Contact: 99454425

Indian male 42 yrs M.Com PGDCA

Senior Finance Executive 15 years

experience in IT & telecom, BPO

companies, good experience up to

finalization, MIS reports budget-

ing, costing seeks suitable place-

ment from reputed organization.

Contact: 95392251

Indian female 28 yrs B.Com 4 yrs

experience in MNC’s currently in

Muscat seeking suitable place-

ment in Finance / Admin.

Contact: 94743790

Indian female, M.Com, DCA hav-

ing 10+ years experience as Senior

Accountant in leading Construc-

tion & Trading L.L.C in Muscat

seeking suitable job, Oman driving

license NOC available.

Contact : 91609799

Urgently required GP Doctor, Gynecologist, Female Nurses with MOH license & NOC for a

reputed specialized center based

in Muscat. Please forward your CV

to alqaimtrd@gmail.com

Urgently required Physiothera-pist & Pharmacist for a reputed

polyclinic. Send CV to

carecare003@gmail.com

or call 97706453

Urgently required Pharmacist & MOH licensed female Dentist

for a reputed polyclinic. Send CV :

manageribnalhaitham@yahoo.com

or call 96721709.

Care Medical Centre Al Seeb requires

Gynecologist and General Practition-er. Mail CV to:sarita_h23@yahoo.com

Wanted Staff Nurse for

a dermatology clinic in Muscat .

Must have MOH license and NOC.

Attractive salary offered. Email:

clinicvacancy2015@gmail.com

Require a qualified Nurse to take

care of an elderly female.

Contact: 99425200

Light driver with car. Contact: 99141481

Light Vehicle Driver exp 8 years

Omani driving license speak Eng-

lish, Arabic, Hindi, Education B.A.

Contact: 98522914

Driver light license looking for

job. Contact: 94035746

Looking for driving job.

Contact: 98219182

Looking for driving job 6 months

experience. Contact: 93782260

Looking for driving job with

Toyota Camry car, driver available

with car or without car.

Contact: 97224035

Looking for driving job.

Contact: 99518533

Bangladeshi male looking for

driving job. Contact: 98140379

Driver Pakistani exp 4 years, look-

ing for job. Contact: 94356465

Driver looking for job, 3 years

experience. Contact: 97468646

Bangladeshi driver looking for job.

Contact: 97418036

Looking for driving job light

2 years exp. Contact: 91625977

Looking for driving job with G.C.C

experience 6 years with car,

without car. Contact: 94085449

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE

Required gynecologist GEN: practitioner lady lab Technician and pharmacologist immediately for

a clinic in Suwaiq. Contact: 95081010

Email: umchealthcare@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING

Required female person to work

at the retail shop/Marketing.

Please send your CV on e mail:

zeyanaalharmaly@yahoo.com

Required smart, young, dynamic Sales & Marketing Executive hav-

ing 2-3 years sales experience for

a reputed manufacturing company

in Oman, having its Head Office in

Ruwi. Experience in building mate-

rials is an added advantage. Omani

Driving License and NOC is a must.

Attractive remuneration package.

Apply with photograph to

E-mail: salesjobds@gmail.com

Well reputed Kitchen fabrication company required the staff for

showrooms as follow.

(1) Sales Manager with valid driv-

ing license. (2) Sales Executive (Male) with valid driving license.

(3) Sales Executive (Female)

Philippine Secretary (Female) Send

the CV’s at “hrik711@gmail.com

Required marketing / PR manager

for a modern restaurant group in

Oman , proficient in illustrator &

Photoshop charismatic , proactive ,

creative & flexible excellent writing

/ Editing skills degree in relevant

area fluent in English. Send CV to

marketingpr2016@gmail.com

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

Indian, 20 years experience in

Oman as Personal Assistant / Of-

fice Manager / Executive Secretary

/ Senior Administrator / Busi-

ness Development Asst. seeks job

change. Release available.

Contact 99168054.

Indian female 27 yrs MBA / HR 3.6

yrs exp HR/ Marketing / Customer

Relation on visit visa.

Contact: 97205038

Email: chandpriya89@gmail.com

Filipino HRD especialist / material

controller supervisor with

18 yrs experience looking for

suitable job in Oman. Contact: (+968)

98037142 / (+968) 92659817

Young Omani male have experi-

ence 12 years as P.R.O, CLERK

Helper Supervisor Admin Supervi-

sor, H.R Manager have diploma in

H.S.E, IT and P.D.O license, looking

for H.R position or P.R.O part time

or full time. Contact: 95933288

R E Q U I R E DSales mechanical

executive For industrial trading

company With minimum

5 years’ experience.

Omani Driving licenseKindly forward your CV to

omancareers2016@gmail.com

Wanted Cooks urgently

for a Coffee shop, visa ready.

Email : souman7@yahoo.com,

GSM : 97158376

Part time Accountant Indian Sen-

ior Accountant up to finalization

Tally 9. Contact: 93064975

Fresher 24, ACCA Affiliate, Ad-

vanced diploma in Accounting and

Business seeking suitable place-

ment in Accounts, Finance or Audit

with Oman driving license.

Contact - 92430152

Email - raju.rd619@gmail.com

Chief Accountant well experi-

enced with reputed group.

Contact : 98803439 / 97413784.

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT/Ast.

Finance Manager-M. Com Finance-

Indian with 7 years experience in

Finance & Accounts up to Finaliza-

tion. Experienced in facilitations &

banking. Having D/L & NOC.

Mob: 94122464,

Email: cammk13@gmail.com

Accountant 2.5 years exp in

Oman, NOC available with valid

D/L. Contact: 98870112

Email: rashadmeethal@gmail.com

American Certified Manager (6 sigma, CPPM) with MBA, PMP

trained having 10 years, UAE cross

functional experience in procure-

ment, projects management, sup-

ply chain, facilities & Administra-

tion with UAE D/L seeking suitable

placement. Contact: 90772927

Email: callshebin@gmail.com

28/male/MBA - finance/B.Com -

Accountant with 4 years of Dubai/

India experience looking for a suit-

able placement.Contact 90187483

shobinkarikkan1987@gmail.com

Indian male 34 yrs, M.Com –

Finance with 5 yrs experience in

Accounts in India, presently in

visiting visa looking for a suitable

placement. Contact: 93671785

Email: jeyan903@gmail.com

Part Time Accountant, up to fina-

lization of accounts, looking for job

after 5 PM (location prefer MSQ to

Al Hail). Contact: 90935099

Accounts part time services,

available to handle all accounts up

to finalization on monthly basis.

Finalization and audit works.

Contact: 96247295

Accountant available with NOC,

7 years experience in Oman.

Ready to join immediately.

Contact 98263394

ACCA member with 6 yrs of experi-

ence 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-

sajan_chacko1981@yahoo.com

Sudanese Accountant, Alexandria

University Graduate bachelor of

commerce Diploma of Marketing

professional photographer worked

in PR and social media for 2 years

looking for a job in public relations

media, social media or marketing.

Contact: 96976240

Indian, Kerala Male B.COM & B.PE,

Currently on Visit Visa. Looking for a

suitable job in Accounts, Store Keep-

er, Sales etc. Ready to join as early

as possible. Contact: 96988923

email:- sajith3969@gmail.com

WANTED Female Gynaecologist,

Female GP- Two Female Staff Nurse

(From India or Pilipino)and One

Female Dental Assist and

Female Lab Technician. With MOH Licence and Data Flow for

Al Saadi Specilised Medical Centre, Musanna.

Contact # 92025033, Email : dr.srininvas76@gmail.com

Omani Female required as Asst. Accountant cum Secretary. Eng-

lish communication and writing,

typing skills required. Email CV to:

s.safar@celarwater.com, 24613371.

MEP CAD Draftsmen required, with

experience in Pipeline and Electrical

drawing for a reputed water treat-

ment company in UAE. Email CV to :

s.safar@celarwater.com, 24613371

Required Office Assistant with

driving license present in Oman.

Salary + food+ accommodation.

Contact: 99454425

A well known bilingual Private School requires English,

Mathematics, Science,

Kindergarten, ICT, Physics,

Chemistry and Biology Teachers. Contact: 96910649

Email: staffing.oman@gmail.com

Medical/Engineering Entrance coaching: Teachers for Chemistry,

Physics, Maths & Biology required

urgently call 91396893 or

email :medengca@gmail.com

WANTED

Interested Candidates send CV to below email-info@durat.om

Excellent Grade Construction Company

Requires the following. Site Manager,

Project Engineer,

Civil Site Engineer,

QS/QC Engineer, HSE Offi cer,

Civil Foreman

Urgently required Travel agent (1 position) with 5yrs experience

& command on Sabre and IATA.

Applicant must be professional

and have expertise in Hajj, Umra &

Tourism packages. Sound commu-

nication skills in English & Arabic

will be given preference. Send CVs

: hr.muscat2015@gmail.com

Indian Female, 3yrs exp. In Au-

toCAD draftsman with 3ds max &

rivet,. Looking for suitable place-

ment in Muscat now in visit visa

.Contact:95601266

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.

Revit, Autocad D/man, expected

salary 200 OMR PH :92279784

Autocad works freelance, MEP, Civil

works, Interior, 2d/3d, BOQ etc.

Contact 97103168

Filipino Senior Revit/AutoCAD

Draftsman with 20 years profes-

sional experience is looking for

suitable job in Oman. Please Con-

tact: 96489798, (+974) 66653780.

REQUIRED URGENTLY

HSE OFFICER & STP Supervisor

Immediately required for a well-known Company

In Oman, part of a reputed group.

Interested qualifi ed and experienced candidates

should email their updated cv to

hrforjobs2016@gmail.com

URGENTLY REQUIRED FOR A LEADING

DAIRY COMPANY In OMAN

Drivers - Omani National

Salesman - 2 years Oman experience in FMCG Dep.

Merchandiser - 2 years Oman experience in FMCG Dep.

Mail your application to : omansales@alrawabi.ae For More clarifi cation,

please contact: 24562372 /94742484/24561844

Please forward your resume onomanjobsdcg@gmail.com

REQUIRED

Real Estate Executive

With 5 years minimum

experience in

buying ,selling, renting

and maintenance.

Urgently required for Construc-tion in Muscat Civil Engineer & Architect with 5-10 years experi-

ence with bachelors degree or

diploma, good knowledge & a valid

Omani driving license. Send your

CV to aalamri24@gmail.com

GP doctor needed for reputed

clinic. Preferably with MOH license

or with Dataflow & Paramatics

pass Contact: 95388934

Urgently required looking to im-

mediately buy used Grit blasting

& airless spray equipment 1 No

each. Contact: 968 24810930

/ 93203772 / 93203773 /

93203778

Sales Representative needed for

a printing press. Contact What-

sapp only: 94756618

Urgently required Printing & Stationary Salesman (minimum

3 years experience in field.

Contact: 93218176 /

Email: joboman88@gmail.com

A company needs an experi-enced Staff (female or male) for food products marketing. Ap-

plicants must be fluent in English

& Arabic, Omani driving license is

required. Send your CV to:

abba201541@yahoo.com

Indian male 25 yrs, Graduate in

commerce, overall 5 yrs exp in ac-

counts/ finance field. On visit visa.

Immediately available.

Contact 92836216 /

muhammad.tausif623@gmail.com

Accountant 8Years Experience

with D/L and NOC.

Contact 97712084

DAILY GUIDES U N D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 6 D5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

ARCHITECT

EDUCATION/TRAINING

HOSPITALITY

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

Indian male 24 years dynamic &

professional B.Tech (Mech. Engg)

with 1 year experience working

on BPCL project in India seeks

opening for suitable post, currently

in Oman. Contac: 93672286 /

97772272

Civil Engineer, B.Tech, 6 yrs expe-

rience with Omani driving license,

local release available.#91693008

B.E Mechanical Engineer, age 24

with almost 1 year experience as

Production Shift Engineer, has

achieved training on HVAC En-

gineering design and has good

hands on software like AutoCAD

and HAP.Currently in Oman on a

visit visa, looking for a suitable

placement.Contact: 95065955

email: mjs.jazeb@gmail.com

Project Manager Electrical with 6

years experience with EHV & MV

substation projects. NOC available.

Contact 91398559

Mechanical Engineer 2 years

experience as HVAC design &

drafting, CAD, MEP Engg.

Contact: 90150913

Indian male Electrical and

Electronic Engineer (EEE) (1 year

exp) currently on visit visa looking

a suitable job skills - Electrical

& Construction works. Contact :

98180547 / 99287293

Civil Engineer with 6+ years in

Supervision designing & Q.C expert

in much civil softwares, NOC avail-

able. Contact: 90719263

Mechanical Engineer (Sudanese)

3 years experience : Fire fighting,

HSE, Design, Production.

Contact: 93642704

Email: mohamedfdl87@gmail.com

Aeronautical Engineer fluent in

English Nationality Indian, 24

yrs looking for job in Engineer-

ing, marketing Sales operations.

Contact : 98071407

Email: vishnumuraly@outlook.com

Mechanical Engineer experi-

ence maintenance of pumping

stations production line machin-

ery turbine for power plant good

communications skills, planning

follow up Engineer projects HSE

awareness trained multiple design

software looking for job. Contact

949064473 / 96654019

Senior Land Surveyor 23 yrs

Oman, UAE & Egypt GPS, T.S

Construction roads infrastructure

oil feed electric works OHL,

UGC grid , primary substation

processing data.

Contact: 95326927 / 92928981

Email: sdsda802@gmail.com

IT

Pakistan Civil Engineer Diploma

having 5 years experience, Auto-

CAD, Quantity Surveying Diploma

looking for job on visit visa.

Contact: 97814095

Civil Engineer fresh Graduate with

Omani driving license looking

for job in any company. Contact:

91745797 / 99190898

Email: alio_abdo@hotmail.com

Quantity Surveyor (QS)- Srilankan,

6 years of experience (4 years Oil &

Gas in Oman), Contact- 98142760

HSE Officer more than 10 yrs ex-

perience in Construction, oil & gas

looking for suitable job,

NOC available. Contact: 99626821

Instrumentation Engineer, Indian

male 25 years having over 2 years

experience in calibration, testing

and maintenance of field instru-

ments, looking for a suitable posi-

tion, available in Oman for visit.

Contact: 91228010

Mechanical Engineer (B.Tech)

Indian male with 1 year experience

looking for job, qualifications in

QA – QC, HVAC & Piping Engineer-

ing. Contact: 90510800 Email:

muhammedjaseem07@gmail.com

B Tech Electronics and communi-

cation,1.5 years experience in India

as site engineer in automation

system of Reliance, Looking for

a suitable job. Currently in India,

Contact:-95657292

Civil Engineer (Indian male)

5 years experience in Oman with

valid Omani driving license & NOC

looking for suitable opportunity.

Contact: 93101283

B.Tech Mechanical Engineer steel

fabrication & erection 6 years

experience with Oman D/L seeks

placement. Contact 97917250

B.Tech Civil Indian, 4 years expe-

rience in Oman with D/L.

Contact: 90902809,

Email: ackn1234@yahoo.com

Procurement Coordinator Indian

male 30 yrs B.Com (Computers)

4 years experience in Saudi Arabia

Construction Company looking for

any suitable position on visit visa

till 18 June 2016.

Contact: 0968 98590811 Email:

ibrahimhashmi220@gmail.com

Indian B.E Civil Engineer 1 year

Indian 5 months Oman experience

seeking Site Engineer position,

local release available.

Contact: 96411591

Indian Diploma Civil Engg 3 years

Indian exp 6 months Oman exp

seeking Site Engineer position,

local release available.

Contact 96411950

Indian male, Structural Engineer

looking for job in structural design

field. Having 6 years of experience

in design field. Residing in Muscat.

Contact: 91176187

syam036@gmail.com

Civil Engineer diploma, 4 yrsexp

seeks suitable position ina reputed

company. NOC available.

Contact 96789711

Civil Engineer 8 years experience

Structural buildings marine.

Available NOC release.

Contact: 92451323.

Email: zubairali134@yahoo.com

Indian male Electrical Engineer, having 6 years gulf experience in

designing, assembling, commission-

ing execution etc having valid GCC

license too looking for a suitable.

Contact: 00968-98052942 Email:

azamjeelani78@gmail.com

HSE Engineer (B.E Mech+Diploma

Safety+NEBOSH+OSHA) over

10yrs. Exp, (Visa Release Letter

(NOC) available), seeking suit-

able placement, Mob:97061817,

Email:jayanammu1977@gmail.com

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:

mohammedamair.bin@gmail.com

An Iraqi civil with more than

30 years experience in (Iraq and

G.C.C) looking for a job, (N.O.C)

available. Contact: 96561306

Email: iq.bgd.mnsr@gmail.com

Indian male, Mechanical

Engineer having 1year experi-

ence, on visit visa looking for

suitable job. Contact:97416564,

Email:jovinmathias@gmail.com

Civil Engineer 8 years experience

in Oman as a project engineer for

governmental & private projects.

Contact – 90164912

With over 25 years in varied

industries, presently working with a reputed group in Muscat,

looking out for a suitable change.

DRIVER

, CIPD HR With 13 years experience in GCC and Oman. Competent in Sales,

Interested employer please call 97728418

Indian female on family visa

having M. Ttech degree in Biotech

seeking suitable placement in any

field. Contact: 91287047

Computer Hardware Technician,

experienced Indian Male on visit

visa seeking for suitable place-

ment as hardware technician and

Store Incharge. Contact: 95711667

Civil Engineer, young Indian

having almost 2 years experience

looking for a challenging position

seeks suitable position in Oman/

GCC. Please contact 92718490,

Email ID: uvais.pk82@gmail.com

Electrical Engineer Indian male

30 years having 5 years of experi-

ence in industrial automation &

utility maintenance in India,

holding valid Oman D/L.

Contact: 92789995 mail:

akhilabrahamlktr@gmail.com

B.Tech Mechanical Engineer having 8 years exp having Oman

driving license seeking suitable

placement. Contact: 97841963

Electrical Engineer with 16 years

experience in switchgear / trans-

former / over head lines & trading,

looking for sales / procurement &

project planning & Execution with

NOC & D/L. Contact: 95994727

Email: qurm340@gmail.com

Pakistani male Diploma Civil

Engineer 4yrs exp in Oman bull-

ing & mega projects, valid license

Oman.Contact:98921022

B.E Mechanical Engineer, age

33 with 6+ years experience in

GCC in MEP building construc-

tion field (execution and design

of HVAC,firefighting,plumbing),

with D/L, NOC available

96978380;prajithks@gmail.com

Sr. Electrical Engineer with17+

yrs of exceptional exp in spear

heading strategic planning and

project management initiatives &

executing various high rise resi-

dential & commercial building as

well as roads and highway project

with proficiency in installation,

seeking a challenging position in

a dynamic organization.

Contact 96570891

Electrical & Electronics Engr,

knows autocad & revit.

PH: 93837973

Construction Machinery repairs

Engineer, 5 years, driving license,

Contact - 94001961

B.Sc Civil Engineer, MBA experience

5 years (15 months in Oman) English

& Arabic, driving license looking for a

suitable job. # 94162443

Indian 24 yrs exp SR civil Engg

with NOC, searching suitable job,

in any project Supervision.

Contact: 96602718

mishteyaqh@yahoo.co.in

Site Supervisor, Diploma in

Civil Engg (cert attested) knows

autocad revit, salary exp: 250

Ph : 92279784

Automobile Mechanic ITI 3 years

experience marine mechanical

fitter 2 yrs experience.

Contact: 93674847

Indian 14 yrs exp SR MEP – Elect

Engg with NOC, searching suitable

job, in field PMC, Fire consultants ,

Testing & com, project supervision.

Contact: 92437865

Email: maimran.mtech@live.com

Architect female 5 years experi-

ence seeking job.

Contact: 96146645

Email: anjuovil@gmail.com

Senior Architect or Designer

looking for suitable job, Nationality

Syrian. Contact: 94698508

Architect Engineer seeking for

suitable job, 8 years experience.

GSM : 96075000, Email :

haytham_201046@yahoo.com

Indian female diploma architect

6 years exp in Oman Engineering

consultancy, valid Oman driving

license. Contact: 96683293 /

97750870

Indian 25 years BCA Graduate with

3 years IT experience

(Desktop Support) seeking suitable

job. Contact: 94170892

4 years as Network Engineer (CCNA- MCTIP) very good in Arabic

& English, having valid license.

Contact: 99813988

Indian male 40 years BSc & diploma

in logistics, 16 yrs experience (6 yrs in

GCC) in logistics, storekeeping & spare

parts, seeking suitable placement.

NOC available.Contact: 98966849

Indian male 4 years experience in

IT as Programmer / Web Support /

CCNA/ Network on visit visa seek-

ing placement. Contact: 93069694

Email: mrabrar14@gmail.com

IT Support Engineer, Exp 3 years

in Oman 2 years in India.

Contact: 94672759

System IT Engineer with Linux &

UNIX System Administration skills

transferable visa. Contact: 99109332

Omani 26(m) seeks placement

6 yrs experience IT specialist.

Contact: 99025044

Indian female M.Sc Computer

Science seeking suitable place-

ment in Muscat area.

Contact: 98660672

Indian Male, MCA Graduate, 15 yrs

exp in ERP, CSM Certified, seeking

suitable role.NOC Available.

Contact : GSM : 90189284

Email: meetlibran@gmail.com

MANAGER

Workshop Manager having 30

years gulf and abroad experience

in plants & machineries, heavy

duty trucks, readymix batching

plants & crushers, water well drill

rigs, rock blasting machineries etc.

kindly contact @ 97145088.

Indian male Graduate 10 years

experience in Oman seeks mid

management position with trading

/ automobile organization.

Contact: 92133277

Email: bijuma73@yahoo.com

Operations Manager – Interior

designing, Indian male, 20 years

experience in Interior Decora-

tion, Joinery, Gypsum Works, MEP

Works, BOQ preparation, costing,

looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 97608867

Staff Nurse seeking job for nurse

with 2 years experience in India

with visit visa, passed with 51%

Oman prometric. Contact: 91451935

D- Pharm Pharmacist 17 years

experience Ayurvedic Panchakar-

ma Masseur’s 3 years experience.

Contact: 93672452

Indian female Dentist specialized

Endodontist looking for suitable

placement, prometric completed.

Contact: 96410448

MEDICAL

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

Indian B.Tech 37 years Project

Engineer , 12 + years experience in

construction, maintenance of STP,

Pumping stations, sewer lines,

drinking water distribution and

service reservoirs & pipe lines.

Contact: 99364007 /

+91-887422635

Email: mdzubair01@gmail.com

Indian male, 16 years experi-

ence in Telecom vas industry on

different Vas products, services &

Enterprise solutions, looking for

managerial position in relevant

field, visit visa on hand for three

months. Contact: 99744870 /

0091-9959171939,

Email: tsbabu@airhub.com

BS in Electrical Engineering, Experience: 5 years(Power Plants).

Contact: 92475206 Email:

zahaibzafar007@gmail.com

Indian male MBA Finance & Marketing 25 yrs

having 1.9 years of experience

Finance & Marketing

Contact: 95206140/ 96992013 Email:

bonnythomas007@gmail.com

With 2 years exp in Telecom sector, currently on visit visa, looking for suitable placement.

with 11 yrs. Experience in Gov/Private.

services management.

Female B. Ed English teacher, 7 yrs exp seeking suitable

placement. Contact : 99739415 /

92091528

Teacher available in Seeb,

Al-Mwalah, Al-Hail and Al-Khod

Areas. Contact: 93848364

Indian male, M.Tech Graduate in

Chemical Process Control Engineer-

ing looking for lecturing jobs, cur-

rently in Oman. Contact : 98352288

Experienced Indian female

Teacher, B.Sc (Botany) & B.Ed on

visit seeks suitable placement.

Cont: 98312255 / 94495305

Email: sajnasachu786@gmail.com

Indian male in English, M.Phill,

B.Ed with 5 years experience in

College teaching & good admin-

istrative skill is looking for a

suitable placement in Education

Institutions or offices. Contact:

98260529 / 97297939 Email:

samsundarlit@gmail.com

Diploma Engineering Instrumenta-

tion Technician, 2 years experience

skills calibration & installation etc.

Contact: 98963344 / 96946408

Email: anfeeranfu4@gmail.com

Indian Female, 25 Years - MSc

Biotechnology, 1yr exp. in Micro-

biology, Looking for suitable job.

Mobile: 92619048,

Email: anusreeg1991@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING

SKILLED LABOR

Plumber / Electrician 10 years

experienced, NOC available.

Contact: 91636185

20 years experience in Oman S.T.P

Operator. Contact: 93089468

Indian male good experience in

Sales, Marketing, Admin & Accounts

looking for suitable job. #96199690

35 years male, Lebanese holding

British passport, 10 years of experi-

ence in procurement, Omani Gov-

ernment tenders, setup marketing

plans & strategies, importing, Organ-

izing events, management, have car,

NOC available. Contact 94123939

Email: 002015r@gmail.com

Indian male 33 yrs Graduate 8 years

Sales & Marketing experience in

Oman looking for suitable placement,

D/L & NOC available, #99164461

Email: mskooliyil@gmail.com

Indian female BSc, B. Ed, MBA

(Marketing) seeks suitable place-

ment in marketing section.

Contact: 95041134

Email: divya.vini@gmail.com

Indian male more than 10 years

experience in Sales and Adminis-

tration with NOC & D/L seeks suit-

able placement. Contact: 97205114

Indian male 24 years B.com

2 years of experience in Sales

& Office Admin knowledge of

Tally ERP 9 & MS Office. Contact:

98613373 / 97359814, Email:

syedismailnoor@gmail.com

Indian Male, 26 M.Com with

4 yrs of Experience in Accounting

& Administration in a Financial

Company in India, seeks suitable

job, Currently in India.

Contact: India:-+918907212253

Akhil:-93626288, Email:

Sumeshpsmkr1989@gmail.com

Indian male Graduate with 18

years of Marketing experience

presently in Oman on family visit

visa, looking for best opportunity.

Contact: 96168687

Email: dhibupaul@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS

Indian male 31yrs old with hotel

management degree, 3 yrs experi-

ence in F&B services at 5 star hotel

Dubai, 05 yrs in American 06 star

cruiseliner has butler. Has Oman

driving license. Contact 99859150

3yrs exp. in warehouse operations

(including pharmaceutical). Well

knowledge in WMS & ERP, looking

for suitable job. Ph. 95576686,

E: sijofranz@gmail.com (UAE visa

holder, currently in Oman) Light driver looking for job Gulf exp.

Contact: 91929556

For light vehicles. Contact:

92789805

Light vehicle driver. Contact:

95891087

Young Indian, Engineering in

Bio-technology, Bio-chemical and

Chemical, looking for a challenging

placement in Oman.

Contact 97607000. Email:

sivasankarjayakumar@gmail.com

Indian male B-tech 8 years experi-

ence as senior electrical project

engineer / QC engineer on visit

visa seeks suitable placement.

Contact 94094543

Email: anwar425@gmail.com

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE

Lady Secretary / Sales Co-coordi-

nator 12 years experience in Oman

in reputed companies,

seek immediate Employment.

Call: 95244761

Looking for part time job Secre-tarial / Data Entry / Documenta-

tion available every day after 5:00

pm Friday / Saturday full day area

preferred Ruwi/ CBD/ MBD /

Al Khuwair. Contact: 90414827

Filipino Male, 28 years Old. Looking

for job, Have experience in Rent a Car/

Cargo & Logistics / Real Estate/ Cus-

tomer Care Executive / Sale Executive

& Marketing/ Shop In- Charge. Hard

working w/ good computer and com-

munication skill. GSM: 97761075

Nithin Issac (Indian male)

bachelor degree & MSW Medical

& Psychiatry Hospital experience

for 4 years in public relations and

one year experience as Psychiatric

Social Worker.

Contact 98937662 / 90188131

Email: nithsknur@gmail.com

Indian male, 28, post graduate,

6+ yrs exp in Oman in sales (back

office) & credit control with valid

Oman D/L looking for suitable

lacements. NOC available.

Contact: 92066 523

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

Indian Male, MBA marketing 5 yrs

exp. in sales & 4 yrs in FMCG sec-

tor, looking for best opportunity.

NOC available. Contact: 96001877

Regin Accountant male Indian, 2

years experience doing accounts in

tally and excel searching for suit-

able job. EMAIL – regin1690@gmail.

com, Mobile No : +91 7373387282

Indian Female Electronics System

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, on

Visiting Visa. Contact: 97848075,

s.dinesh1508@gmail.com

Indian male (B.E) Quality Control-

ler and Supervising. 3 year good

working experience. Better knowl-

edge in quality control technique.

Searching for suitable job. Mail:

muthujagadeeshjkm@gmail.com,

Contact: GSM : +91 9786418033 /

968 91894487

Indian male electrician (EEE),

2 years good working experi-

ence searching for suitable job.

Gmail id ; antonyajin15@gmail.

com, Contact; 918148336160 /

918300136160

Indian Male, 44 Years, Plumbing

Supervisor, holding Omani Driving

license, having 14 Years of experi-

ence in Oman and 8 years in India.

Looking for suitable placement.

Contact - 95154414

Email- pthariff@yahoo.com

Indian Male, Post graduate with

10yrs experience in Gulf & 4.6yrs in

Oil & Gas experience with SAP and

ERP exposure. Finalization, MIS, Au-

diting, Budgeting, AP &AR, Tax, etc.,

with Oman D/L seeking suitable

placement. NOC available.

Contact: 91743376

Skilled multilingual individual

with 33years of excellent experi-

ence in management and banking

at a nationalized bank; seeking

better job opportunities with chal-

lenging responsibilities. E-mail:

leena3857@yahoo.com, call :

97848075

DAILY GUIDED6 S U N D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 6

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

MISCELLANEOUS

Sri Lankan female, 27 years, quali-

fied English Language professional

with 6 years of lecturing, manage-

rial, marketing experience, seeking

suitable position in education

industry. Contact (+968) 93017330,

(+968) 98445287 Email:

wijayawardane.bhagya@gmail.com.

Indian Male, 24, B.Com Graduate

with 1 year experience in Oman

looking for a job in accounting.

Contact – 96619348

Indian male 24 ,B.E ( E.C.E ) gradu-

ate with 3 years of experience in the

fields of BMS ,Low current systems

and has good knowledge of HV and

LV, currently working in Oman, NOC

Available. Contact : 94737033, E-

mail : mohdmuhafez45@gmail.com

Pakistani Male, Land Surveyor

with work experience in Dubai

Seeks suitable job in Oman.

Contact: 94347288

Indian Male, Post graduate with

10yrs experience in gulf & 4.6yrs

in Oil & Gas experience with SAP

and ERP exposure. Finalisation,

MIS, Auditing, Budgeting, AP &AR,

Tax, etc., with Oman D/L seeking

suitable placement. NOC available.

Contact: 91743376

Indian male diploma in automo-

biles & MBA in insurance motor

claim surveyor and processor,

looking for a suitable placement

in Insurance company 15 years of

experience working in Middle East,

Dubai & Saudi Arabia.

Contact : 95467981

Indian Male, 23, BBA graduate,

fresher on visit visa, looking for

a job in sales. Contact: 94032041

Mail: azzamsiddique1@gmail.com

IT professional, B.E. in IT, CCNA,

MCSA, MCSE, 3yrs exp. in IT, valid

Omani D/L seeking suitable place-

ment in IT/Network/Server support/

Retail sales. Contact 91496939

Indian male, 25 yrs, more than

5 years experience in Dubai, Looking

for a suitable placement for jobs

related to sales, marketing, coordina-

tion and support. Contact: 95140445,

syedfaraz97681@gmail.com

Indian female, B.Tech Computer

Science, 5 years experience in

teaching in India currently on visit

visa seeking for a suitable position

in teaching, IT or administration.

E mail: rincy87@gmail.com

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/ Lo-

gistics/ Procurement in any Sector.

GSM-94236414.

Mail id – jayamurli@gmail.com

Accountant male Indian, 2 years

experience, doing accounts in tally

& excel seeks suitable job.

EMAIL – regin1690@gmail.com,

Contact +91 7373387282

B.E (Mechanical) 12 years indus-

trial sales, 1 year Muscat experi-

ence, presently in India , immedi-

ately ready to join.

Contact :917338899372 , email id :

ganesh2008sep@gmail.com

Indian female B.Com, 1 year

experience in Oman, experience in

wings account package and knowl-

edge of tally. Looking for Account-

ing job. Presently in Family visa.

Contact: 93491124 & 92054531

Indian male, M.Com, 7 years

Oman experience in the field of

accounts and valid oman driving

license & NOC. Good knowledge in

SAP, Tally, Oracle, MS office and

Excel seeks suitable placement.

Contact 92859733

ACCA affiliate, B.Sc Degree holder,

3 years experience in audit and

finance at Big 6, Male, Looking for

suitable placement. NOC release

available. Contact:95140445,

a.saran891@gmail.com

Indian Male, 23, BBA graduate with

approx. 2 years experience in India

and UAE is looking for job in sales /

marketing. Contact: 94032041; Mail:

azzamsiddique1@gmail.com

Indian male electrician(EEE ).

Two years good working experi-

ence searching for suitable job.

Gmail ; antonyajin15@gmail.

com. Antony Ajin.G, Contact: 91

8148336160 / 91 8300136160

Indian Male, 23, BBA graduate,

fresher, looking for a job in sales

(indoor). No driving license.

Contact: 94032041 Mail:

azzamsiddique1@gmail.com

Male Indian, 8 years of experience

doing desktop engineer, software

implementation, system admin,

searching for suitable job. Email:

thiruvazhimarban.ciet@gmail.

com, mobile: +919171447997 /

+919894357260

Filipino I.T. with 5 years experience

looking for suitable job in Oman.

Contact: +968 91183514 or email

delarama_ryan_t@yahoo.c om

Indian male 33 years, B.Com, hav-

ing 6 years experience in Oman.

Tally & ERP looking for suitable

placement. Mobile no :98492921

Looking for a part time accounting

job, additional experience in admin

& store - purchase. #99196621

Indian male with 5 year Oman

Sales Experience with valid

Oman D/L, looking for suit-

able position. Mobile:97221624,

Email:saileshpkhanna@gmail.com

B.E. (Mechanical) 12years indus-

trial sales one year Muscat experi-

ence, Presently in India,

Immediately ready to join.

Contact :917338899372 , email id :

ganesh2008sep@gmail.com

Male, Indian, 25, 5 years experi-

ence in Dubai; looking for perma-

nent placement in Oman for jobs

related to sales, coordination and

marketing. Contact: +971563664701

syed97681@gmail.com

Male, 23, with experience in UAE

& India, looking for job in sales /

marketing. Contact: 94032041

Sr. Accountant, WITH Oman D/L

& 8.5 yrs exp, 7.5 yrs Oman & 1 yr

India in manufacturing, trading

& contracting Cos, independently

handling all accounting, finance,

banking, L/C, import, export &

finalization seeks placement,

srjob12@gmail.com

Procurement/Tender & Contract

Procurement /logistics & freight

Specialist /Oil Field / petrochemi-

cal/Engineer /MBA /SAP certify

/ 15yrs Rich Experience/ Import

&export Specialist / Oil Field expe-

rience/ coordinator / World Wide

supplier network /Noc available

Looking for challenging Position

Contact: 97813849,

Email Id:vved76@gmail.com

Male, 23, with experience in UAE

& India, looking for job in sales /

marketing. Contact: 94032041

Indian Male Accountant. Com-

pleted MBA with 1 year experience,

good working knowledge in Tally

& Excel. Searching for suitable

job. Email : jovin8910@gmail.

com, Contact : 919715874548 ,

918015907437

Indian male electrician(EEE ).

Two years good working experi-

ence searching for suitable job.

Gmail antonyajin15@gmail.

com, : Contact; 918148336160 /

918300136160

Electrical & Electronics diploma

Engineer Indian male 23 years,

2 years experience in Electrical

field/good experience in Electron-

ics MCU projects currently in

visit visa please do not hesitate to

Contact; 93047707

Email: adilm89@gmail.com

Indian male 30 yrs, holding valid

driving license, having 5 years of

experience in sales, looking for

suitable position.

Contact # 90552942/94355626

Indian male Diploma in Electron-

ics, having 3 years of experience

in the hardware and networking

field, also worked in construction

company Mabela for 6 months

as supervisor, trying to get driving

license. Contact: - +96897017866.

Business Management Gradu-

ate with 12 years of experience

in Oman, Worked with catering,

medical, IT groups seeks suitable

placement in Finance/purchase/

insurance sector, NOC Available.

Email, saima.gangawali@gmail.

com, Mob 94258301

Indian male Network Cabling Tech-

nician (19-years gulf experience)

seeking for suitable placement. mo-

bile no: 0091-8089909265 (India),

email: mohithavp@gmail.com

Indian female (27 yrs) MBA(IT),

BCA,CCNA.2year experience in IT

operations in Oman. Graduated

from Oman with good analytical,

communicating & programming

skills, presented in international

conference, seeking suitable

positions.contact:93672143.e-mail

id:fathima.shoukath@gmail.com

SITUATION WANTEDBUSINESS

Omani investor has a real estate

company in Shatti Al Qurum, looking

for a financial investor to participate

in the real estate company. For more

details contact me by

00968 96225852

Email: aburashid94dd@gmail.com

INVESTOR PARTNER REQUIRED

Please contact – 95213273Email:

muscatcoff eeshop@gmail.com

For a successfully Catering Restaurant

Investor cum Partner is required.

Investor with fi xed returns also welcome.

ONE STOP SHOP BUSINESS

SERVICES

Public Relation Service (PRO)

Document Clearance,

Business setup,

Formation new Companies,

LLC Companies,

Investor Visa, Legal Services.

Contact Saleh:

96723485

WEB, ERP and Business Intel-

ligence (BI) creation and manage-

ment at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

Mechanical Engineer, Indian,

Male,5 years experience in GCC &

India, looking for permanent place-

ment in Oman. NOC Release Avail-

able. Contact: 00968-95140445;

noorullahanas@gmail.com

Part- Time Accountant, well experi-

enced senior accountant ,capable of

doing all type of accounting works

up to finalization, Budgeting, Bank fi-

nancing requirements, taxation work

etc available. Contact : : 98803439

Indian Female seeking a job in

Back Office and Accountancy,

8+ years proven experience as a

dynamic candidate with excellent

Excel & Communication skills.

Quick learner and Team player.

Currently on Family Visa.

Contact 94093154, 91746890,

Email: joyjohn_hhh@yahoo.com

Sri Lankan Male, 31 years. 6 years

experience as an Accounts Execu-

tive, (Languages can speak Urdu/

Arabic, English written & spoken) .

Contacts: 99782930/

lalindra1st@yahoo.com

HSE Engineer, Indian male, 5.5

Plus years experience in Oil & Gas.

Working in Shclumberger.NEBOSH,

IOSH, & NDT Certified, M Tech in

HSE. CONTACT-krish.569@gmail.

com Mobile- +91 9867016808

Sri Lankan Male, 31 years. 6 years

experience as an Accounts Execu-

tive, (Languages can speak Urdu/

Arabic, English written & spoken).

#99782930/ lalindra1st@yahoo.com

Indian male, M. Com with 3 yr

Oman Exp in Accounts with valid

NOC & D/L on Visit Visa, available to

join immediately . GSM :94744575

B.S.C in Electrical Engineering,

Experience: 5 Years (Power Plant).

Contact: 92475206

Email: zahaibzafar007@gmail.com

BS in Electrical engineering, expe-

rience : 6 years in electrical installa-

tion and maintenance #99817032,

Email : engmmg24@yahoo.com

Senior accountant ,NOC avail-

able, more than 5 years exp., born

& bought up in Oman, Account-

ing upto finalization, computer

skills tally9, Sage ERP accpac

500(6.0A), Vcams , Audit ,valid

Oman D/L, languages known

English ,Arabic, Hindi. can join

immediately. Tel: 96339599, mail-

ahmedmohdkhan@gmail.com

Indian male with 10+ years of

working experience (security solu-

tions, event management) on visit

visa seeks suitable placement.

#97945269, hkkrishna@gmail.com

Petrochemicals Specialist, Chemi-

cal, MBA 18 YEARS EXPERIENC IN

OIL FIELDS COM, RAW MATERIAL ,

polymer, SPACIALISED IN Procure-

ment /COMMECIAL/ PURCHASE

/ LOGISTICS / SCM/Planning &

sound knowledge of technical

requirement for any manufacture

plant Forecasting, Distribution,

Vendors Development, LC opening/

establishment coordination with

NOC available. Contact:97813849

SCM / LOGISTICS/ PROCURE-

MENT - 25 Yrs exp - Indian Male

- Oil & Gas, Manufacturing Sector

- Having valid Oman D/L & NOC

available. Seeks Challenging sen-

ior position. GSM-94236414,

Email ID - jayamurli@gmail.com

33 year old Filipina with experi-

ence in Tele performance, Manila

call centre, now working as Wait-

ress in Qatar seeking suitable post.

Local contact 99022484

Indian Male 28 years, Mechani-

cal Engineer (Diploma) with 2

years’ exp., Automobile ITI NCVT,

CSWIP-BGAS Painting QC Grade-2,

NDT Level-2, ISO Lead Auditor

QA (IRCA), Piping QC & Isometric

Drawings, WPS & WPQR, available

on Visit Visa, seeks suitable job.

Contact: 90653733,

libinthomaslt@gmail.com

Light Duty Driver, Fluent in

English, Arabic. Well knowledge of

Oman Areas looking for suitable

placement. Contact 97950869

IT Administrator with 6 yrs of GCC

experience, now in Dubai (visit

visa).seeking suitable placement in

UAE. Contact :00971-565598176,

email:aneeshngr@gmail.com

Indian Male, 24 yrs, looking for any

type of job, qualification is Diploma

in Electronics with 3 years of expe-

rience in the hardware an network-

ing field an also worked in construc-

tion company Mabelah for 6 months

as supervisor, having valid D/L.

Contact : - +96897017866.

Indian Male: 23yrs, MBA in Market-

ing from UK (United Kingdom), look-

ing for a job, currently in Muscat in

visit. No: 97210361 / 95357513,

Email: sharanshetty3@gmail.com

Highly experienced mechanical/

steel structural fabrication engi-

neer looking for suitable place-

ment. NOC available.

Contact 99860714,

hussain20173@gmail.com.

Architect Engineer seeking for

suitable job, 8 years experience.

GSM : 96075000, Email :

haytham_201046@yahoo.com

B.E(Mechanical) 12years in-

dustrial sales one year Muscat

experience ,Presently in India

,Immediately ready to join ,Mobile

no :917338899372 , email id :

ganesh2008sep@gmail.com

Electrical & Electronics diploma

engineer Indian male 22 years,

2 years experience currently in

visit visa. Contact 93047707

adilm89@gmail.com

Fresh B.Com Graduate in visit

visa looking for a job. Contact:

93518923 / 99075027.

email: sheikcok@yahoo.com

Planning Engineer, BE Mech Engg.

Indian Female having total 11 yrs

exp in oil & gas projects (8+ yrs in

Gulf) with valid Oman D/L, Seeks a

Suitable job. Contact: 92456003

Indian Male 48 Yrs with over 25

Years Oman experience in Sales &

Marketing with NOC & valid Oman

D/L Also Fluency in Arabic, seeks

suitable placement. Contact no.:

92210661/99224057

Indian male,B.Com + Dip. Logistic

2year experience looking for a job

in Accounts/Logistics Field. Pres-

ently on Visit Visa # 93884951,

Email:mehreenraiz@gmail.com

Admin Assistant. Having 5 years

experience in admin department in

reputed companies, presently work-

ing in Muscat (NOC Available).

GSM. 00968-98404122, mail -

panduru.jeevankumar@gmail.com

Looking for a part time accounting

& admin job. Contact 99196621.

Indian male, 24 yrs, B. Com Graduate

more than 1 year experienced in ac-

counts planning to come for a family

visit in oman seeking for a suitable

placement .#99339544 / 99743709

Indian male, 40 Years, B. Com,

having 10 years experience in

Oman, Tally & ERP- looking for

suitable placement ( NOC and

Oman driving license available)

Tel- +91 89 43 109897

Rajeev. 252002@gmail.com

Import & Export professional, Expe-

rienced as Asst. Commercial Man-

ager for 15 years, Proficient in MS

office, Male Indian, Seeks suitable

placement, on Visit, # 95484684

Indian male, 33 yrs, MBA-HR

generalist with 10 yrs including

training of Omani nationals.NOC

possible .Seeking a suitable job.

Contact :saiprasad_18@yahoo.com,

94179499

Indian male, 40 Years, B. Com,

having 10 years experience in

Oman, Tally & ERP- looking for

suitable placement ( NOC and

Oman driving license available.

Contact +91 89 43 109897

Rajeev. 252002@gmail.com

Safety officer, 3 years of experi-

ence in safety certifications: BE

(electrical and electronics engi-

neering), NEBOSH, IOSH, DHSE,

first aid. Contact +97474018995,

mail:midhunmich@gmail.com,

skype:midhunmike

Electronics Technician , 4 Years

experience as Electronics service

engineer. Knowledge in all type of

Electronics items. Looking for suit-

able placement. GSM- 99105043

IT professional, B.E. in IT, CCNA,

MCSA, MCSE, 3yrs exp. in IT, valid

Omani D/L seeking suitable place-

ment in IT/Network/Server sup-

port/Retail sales. # 91496939.

Assistant Accountant - B.Com

Graduate with excellent overall

skills. 2 Years of experience. Ready

for immediate joining.

Contact: sharonravi00@gmail.com,

968-92049215

Software Engineer with 5 + plus

years of experience in Infosys

ltd on visit visa seeking suit-

able vacancy in oman. Email :

steffyraphel@gmail.com mob:

96896246205 / 96897032284

Indian male 26 years, Graduate in

BBM & having Diploma in Logistics

with 3 years of experience in

Banking and Accounts looking for

suitable placement. Contact :

+ 968 97166820/ +91 9895102356

Email :afsalrahman1989@gmail.com

Indian male, network cabling tech-

nician (19 years Gulf experience)

seeking for suitable placement.

NOC available. Contact : 0091-

8089909265 (India),

E mail: mohithavp@gmail.com

Indian Female looking for a part

time opportunity (Graphic Design/

Teaching/Research Assistant/

Business Development/Admin-

istration) Contact: 95811820 or

sankarikm06@gmail.com

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT-M. Com

Finance-Indian with 7 years expe-

rience in Finance & Accounts up

to finalization. Having D/L & NOC.

Mob:94122464,

caammk13@gmail.com

Indian Female, M.Sc Computer

Science, Seeking suitable place-

ment in Muscat Area. #98660672

NRI

910 sq ft furnished flat at Qupem -

Goa. Contact: 97094797

NRI selling his properties : Bangalore (Sobha Garnet, 4 bed

room apartment), Hosur (25 cents)

Cochin (20 cents), Trivandrum (11

cents, opposite to KIMS Hospital),

Shertala (20 cents), Kanyakumari

(175 cents along National High-

way), Nagercoil (3 plots of 11 cents,

100 cents and 20 cents). Send

e mail to drkpraman@gmail.com or

call Pradeep 94194071

Two properties at Bangalore for

sale (1) 3 BHK Senior living apart-

ment with full fledged facilities &

services in Ozone Urbana Serene

project for the cost price of Irene

project. Handover by August 2016.

(2) 4 B/R villa (BUA 3600sq.ft,

4 floors, 3 Livings, 5 bathrooms,

maid’s room & car park) for sale at

JP Nagar. Contact Mrs. Mangala

Ph: 97903127, Email:

ravichandran.mangala@gmail.com

FOR LADIES

Offer!! Treading Gold Facial &

Pedicure just for 10 RO, Al Doom

Parlour Ruwi: Contact 99619409

(watsup) Home service available

SIT. WANTED

DAILY GUIDES U N D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 6 D7

TOURS

TOURS

RENT A CAR

25 - 50 seater bus with PDO &

BP specification for monthly rent

& small car with driver. Contact

99839898

Al Ibtisama rent & leasing. Contact: 91374879 / 96627562/

99382001/ 24751177/ 24751188

SITUATION WANTEDCARGO

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with

Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain

Marine Tours contact 98029602,

92808636

We arrange tours & accommoda-

tion at all the beautiful places in

Oman. Contact 99839898

RENT A CARBest Rates for Saloon

Contact: 97869042 / 95730550

sales@modernreem.com

DRIVING

TRANSPORTATION

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: info@tunesoman.com

GOOD NEWS

GOOD NEWS

Amazing news for those who are

looking for a brighter future and a

wider zone for innovation and cre-

ation in teaching. English teachers

of all nationalities are needed

for a private School (from KG-1

Till Grade 6), School is located in

Mabela South for further details

please contact us : 92329970 /

92100926

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. 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

Transportation available Ruwi to

Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Azaiba.

Contact: 91103909

Transportation available.

Contact: 99664703

Transportation available Al

Khuwair, Ghobrah, Azaiba, Al Hail

& Al Khoud. Drop & pick. Contact -

95250161

Transportation. Contact:96538078

Transportation. Contact:94510847

Transportation. Contact 9508282

Transportation. Contact 92015894

Transportation required from

Qurum to WadiKabir at afternoon

only 1 PM. Contact - 99012165

BUYING

Bobcat available for rent.

Contact 97623299

Used office house furniture

& electronic items.

Contact: 99834373 / 96642500

Buying cars for cash.

Contact: 90202090

WANTEDWANTED WANTED

Description - used 80 mm UNI in-

terlocking, Quantity 5000 Sq . Mtr.

Contact person Mr. Farook Shaikh .

Contact: 00968- 99899724

Email: fairdeal@omantel.net.om

MATRIMONIAL

Muscat based Ezhava girl, MCA

seeking alliance for Ezhava girl,

25 years working in MNC Muscat,

staying with family from parents

of professionals in Muscat / UAE.

(Preferably from Kannur Distt).

Contact: 99665200

Kerala Christian male 28, work-

ing as Admin & Support in MNC

Muscat. Contact: 95826707

Parents of 28 yrs, Indian Boy

from Mumbai, ACCA working as

a senior accountant in Muscat,

seeks alliance from an Indian

Sunni Muslim family. Contact

no.(parent): 96408642 email id:

khaledaoman@gmail.com

Indian male Roman Catholic 40yrs divorcee working in Muscat.

Seeks suitable alliance from

widow/ divorcee/ single.

Contact 96059801.

Parent of Thrissur based Hindu

Ezhava girl aged 20, Slim,Atham

star, Studying for B. Pharm seek-

ing alliance from well employed

Graduates, preferably in Engineer-

ing Contact :96425102

Malankara Catholic Male Nurse (28) from Thiruvalla working in

Nizwa Private Co. Alliance invites

parents/nurses working in Oman.

Contact 968 98267338,

0091 9287215726

Urgently required looking to

immediately buy used Grit blast-

ing & airless spray equipment 1

No each. Contact: 968 24810930

/ 93203772 / 93203773 /

93203778

Ayurvedic treatment for back-

ache, paralysis, arthritis etc

& massage, All Season (Vaid-

yaratnam). Contact:24475280 /

95371664 / 92504980

www.siddhayur.com

Ayurvedic treatment for joint

pain, backache, paralysis, mas-

sage, steambath, obesity, Spondy-

litis, Ideal Care Ayurvedic Clinic,

18 November Street, Azaiba.

Contact: 99639695 / 97397320

IELTS Coaching (academic)

required nearby wadi Kabir area.

Please call on mobile or msg on

Whats up. Mobile no: 92927880/

99012165

D8 S U N D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 6

DAILY GUIDE Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

MANPOWER

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

SERVICES

A/C Maintenance & Servicing,

Fridge, Washing machine & Dish

washer repairing, Painting & Clean-

ing services, Electrical & plumbing.

Contact 99447257 / 97014234 /

24504281

Regular container transportation

from Sohar sport to anywhere in

Muscat area OMR 100 per con-

tainer. Contact: 93731363

Marble crystallization & grinding, Ocean center LLC

Contact: 99344723

Y 0

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of

your marble. Contact 24793614/

99314807

Pest control treatments, Ocean center LLC

Contact 99344723

House shifting. Contact 99708138

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QABAS-

99320217 /24788722

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing,

Contact 99314807/24792998

House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

Split & window A/C servicing, re-

pairing, installation ducted, package

etc. Contact Abbas : 98667326

A/C servicing maintenance.

Contact: 92279370

Al farzdaq Al Fedi Trad and Cont

Maintenance services electric,

plumbing and A/C. Contact:

96524904 /94285064

Cleaning services, Sofa, carpet,

shampoo old house or new house.

Contact: 92179395

Window & split unit A.C servicing

& repairing. Contact: 99557080

Split unit A/C & window unit A.C

servicing & maintenance.

Contact: 96236476

Split unit & window unit A.C ser-

vicing & maintenance.

Contact: 93769089 / 95323517

CAD drawings Archi/ MEP

CAD – comply BIM.

Contact: 91233975

Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile

polishing, pest control &

anti-termite treatment, general

cleaning painting,Plumbing,

Electrical, shifting. Contact Mun-

dhir Al-Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C.

Contact: 24810137, 99450130

Marble crystallization & grinding, cleaning & carpet shampooing.

Ocean center LLC.

Contact 99344723

Water proofing ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

SITUATION WANTEDCOMPUTER/WEB./ EDUCATION/CLASSES

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

CHANGE OF NAME

I Salim Kunhimohamed (holder of Indian passport No. M 4814455)

Son of Kunhimohamed having permanent residence in Thacharupadik-

kal House, Cherur. P.O., Vengara Via., Malappuram Dt Kerala 676314 (com-

plete postal address in India) and presently residing in Muscat P.O Box

3129, P.C 112 Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman (complete postal address in Oman)

intend to change my name from Salim Kunhimohamed (old name) to

Mohammed Saleem (new name) for all practical purposes. Any objection

towards my name change may please be communicated to Embassy of

India, Muscat, Diplomatic Quarters, Al Khuwair, P. Box No. 1727 Postal

Code 112, Ruwi , Sultanate of Oman.

House Shifting Packing. Contact: 99657644 / 98518013