Download - Times of Oman - March 20, 2016
Founded 1975 . Volume 41 No. | Pages . Baisas 200 . Subscription OMR63 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company | Chairman/Editor-in-Chief: Mohamed Issa Al Zadjali | Printed & Published by Muscat Media Group
March 20, 2016 11 Jumada Al Thani 1437 AH
SUNDAY
23 40
On The occassion of the 19th National Day, 1989
FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTYTHE SULTAN
We believe that the future of our coming generations resides in their patriotic commitment to our Fatherland, our pride in the sacred work traditions established by our forefathers, and in 215 energetically utilising our country’s natural resources.
‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’
OMANAdventure film grabs global attention
2The ‘Valley of Giants,’ an adventure documentary featuring climbers scaling
giant rocks of a remote canyon high up in the Selma Plateau of the Eastern Hajar Mountains in Oman, is receiving accolades. >A5
BUSINESSLeasing firms raise capital to OMR25m
3A majority of leasing and hire purchase firms have reached the minimum capital requirement
stipulated by the Central Bank of Oman at OMR25 million, well ahead of its deadline by the year-end. A few other companies have structured their bond conversion plans also to touch this limit. >B1
OMANParents fume over school fee increase
1 Indian School Board’s green signal to raise fees for most of the schools has met with disapproval
from most parents who say they are already facing a cash crunch as the living costs continue to rise. Most parents said the latest increase is unfair and does not take into account the stress on finances. >A4
T O P T H R E E I N S I D E S T O R I E S
FLYDUBAI PLANE CRASHES IN RUSSIA, ALL 62 PEOPLE ON BOARD KILLEDAll 62 people aboard a passenger jet flying from Dubai to southern Russia were killed when their plane crashed on its second attempt to land at Rostov-on-Don airport on Saturday, Russian officials said. — Reuters See also >A8
Weight loss surgeries on the rise in Oman: Medics
DEEBA [email protected]
MUSCAT: A growing number of overweight people in Oman are choosing to go under the surgeon’s knife rather than diet and exercise, leading medics have revealed, cautioning such persons that this option is not a miracle cure.
Contrary to what many people believe, bariatric surgeries are not a miracle solution for weight loss,
said doctors and experts, who cau-tioned those looking for an instant solution for reducing their weight.
Dr. S. Papp, senior consultant Bariatric and General Surgeon at the Aster-Al Raffah Hospital, who performs bariatric surgeries on patients, said: “People should not consider bariatric surgeries as a miracle solution for weight loss, because once you are oper-ated upon, you will need a lifestyle change and can’t go back to the burgers and pizzas that you have
been accumulating in your body at least for a few years.”
On an average, Papp holds consultations with three to four patients every day, mostly be-tween the ages of 22 and 48, and performs about five to 10 surger-ies per month, sometimes higher
than that. “The demand for these surgeries has definitely increased, I started here in 2013 when we set a few things up for this depart-ment, 2014 saw an increase in the number of surgeries and 2015 saw a much higher demand. My high-est in Oman was when I did 22 operations in one month in 2015,” he revealed. A sedentary lifestyle, combined with a lack of exercise and the unwillingness to make effort to help ourselves, perhaps because of lack of time, odd eating hours, or not having a balanced diet can cause obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and other se-vere health conditions, which can result in a high BMI (body mass index), according to Nida Khan, a clinical dietician at Eurodiet.
Dr El Zaqui Ladha, head of General Surgery at the Muscat Private Hospital, who also per-forms Bariatric surgeries at the hospital, said there has been a def-
inite rise in the number of such surgeries in Oman. “We are offer-ing Bariatric surgeries at the hos-pital for the last eight years, that’s ever since I joined. The first year I only did two operations, and now it’s between 70 and 80 operations per year.”
As in Oman, there has been a surge in these operations in most parts of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the last few years. In May last year it was re-ported that annually 900 people in Qatar, mostly women, undergo these surgeries, and that the Unit-ed Arab Emirates saw a rise in post-weight loss, mainly cosmetic surgeries in 2014.Dr. K.R. Dharmendra, general and laparoscopic surgeon at the Al Hayat International Hospital said his hospital has been offer-ing weight loss surgeries for three years now and has seen a rise in demand over time. > A6
Doctors and experts have cautioned those
looking for an instant solution for reducing
their weight saying that this option is not a
miracle cure
Times News Service
MUSCAT: As Oman forges ahead with plans for economic diversi-fication, its master development and tourism company (Omran) leads the front in fuelling expan-sion of the country’s tourism and real estate infrastructure, devel-oping hotels, beach resorts, wa-terfronts and master planning communities.
In order to highlight key invest-ment opportunities for the local and international business com-munity, one of Omran’s initia-tives is the upcoming Oman Eco-nomic Forum to be held on March 23 and 24.
Entitled “Oman-A Bridge Be-tween Asia and the GCC,” the event is being organised by the Ministry of Commerce and In-dustry and the Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal Group, in cooperation with the State General Reserve Fund.
International investorsOmran will present to 500 re-gional and international inves-tors attending the event, in addi-tion to delegates from 100 global sovereign investment funds at the Co-Investment Roundtable of Sovereign and Pension Funds conference that coincides with the forum.
There will also be delegations from China, Japan, Iran, Turkey and other Asian countries. > A6
O M A N E C O N O M I C F O R U M
Times of Oman launches daily email newsletterTimes News Service
MUSCAT: It’s important to start your day the right way, so Times of Oman is launching its latest service to get you up to speed with our essential daily briefing, delivered fresh to your email inbox each morn-ing. Our newsletter features the biggest stories, the best videos and major headlines from Times of Oman, com-piled each day by our news team and delivered at 7am. Signing up couldn’t be easier. Simply give us your name and email address and we’ll make sure you’re ahead of the news each day. The e-newsletter is mobile and tablet-friendly and loves your PC and laptop, too. To sign up visit timeso-foman.com/newsletter-sub-scribe, scan the QR code or find the link on the homepage of timesofoman.com.
D A I L Y B R I E F I N G
HM sends condolencesMUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of condolences and sympathy to President of the Russian Fed-eration, Dr Vladimir Putin, on the victims of plane crash that occurred at the Russian city of Rostov-On-Don.
In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan expressed his heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the president, the bereaved families and the Russian people. — ONA > More cables on A6
P R E S I D E N T O F R U S S I A
MORNING MINUTE
Omran outlining $1b investment opportunities
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W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M
Earth hour celebrated in Oman, world A16
A2 S U N DAY, M A R C H 2 0, 2 0 1 6
OMAN While we are proud of selecting Oman to represent this geographical area, which includes more than 210 airports, and we realise, at the same time, the size of this responsibility. Sheikh Aiman bin Ahmed Al Hosni, CEO of Oman Airports Management Company
DON’T TEXT AND DRIVE ARRIVE ALIVE
Oman airports boss on global aviation panel
Times News Service
MUSCAT: Airports Council International (ACI) has select-ed Sheikh Aiman bin Ahmed Al Hosni, CEO of Oman Air-ports Management Company (OAMC) to be one of the repre-senting members for Asia and Pacific regions.
Airports Council Interna-tional (ACI) is the only global trade representative of the world’s airports.
The selection of Sheikh Aiman bin Ahmed Al Hosni as a member of the Asia and Pacific area for ACI reflects the leader-ship and achievements made by Al Hosni in developing the per-formance of the Oman Airports Management Company at the administrative, operational and financial levels.
Al Hosni was appointed CEO at OAMC in May 2015, after working for three years as Gen-eral Manager of Muscat Inter-national Airport.
During this period, he super-vised the development of the new airport and opening of its first phase, as a preparation for the official opening, after com-pleting the operational readi-ness phases.
Al Hosni also managed the opening of Salalah Airport in June 2015. The two new air-ports will contribute greatly in expanding local and inter-national air travel, while sup-porting the continued growth of visitor arrivals for the local tourism sector.
Commenting on his selection as a member of the Airports Council International, Sheikh Al Hosni noted, “While we are proud of selecting Oman to represent this geographical area, which includes more than 210 airports, and we realise, at the same time, the size of this responsibility. We have to ex-cel in our performance to meet global standards.”
SELECT I ON
A3
OMANS U N DAY, M A R C H 2 0, 2 0 1 6
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Indian school seat demand fallsRAHUL [email protected]
MUSCAT: Demand for admis-sions to schools this year has de-clined, statistics issued by Asian schools in Oman show.
Speaking to the Times of Oman, Wilson George, chairman, Indian schools in the Sultanate, said the number of new applicants has con-siderably reduced in Indian schools this year. “This year, the Board has received around 4,700 applications for admissions in various classes of schools, while last year it had re-ceived around 5,300 applications from students,” he said.
However, despite this, the results of the first draw for admissions to
six Indian schools in the Muscat capital area were announced on Thursday, with 1,600 students still placed on waiting list.
The number of seats available for the 2017 academic year stood around 2,446 this year for Indian Schools. “In the first draw we tried to fill up the existing vacancies. But we will try to accommodate everybody in the second draw, which will be held in the coming weeks,” George said.
“The drop in the number of chil-dren can be due to various reasons, including the financial crisis and then there is an embargo that you can’t bring in your family for the first six months and so on,” said a senior teacher at an Indian school.
The impact is not limited to the 19 Indian schools in the Sultanate. Pakistan schools and Bangladesh schools are also facing a similar situation. “We are expecting an about 20 per cent dip in new ad-missions this year. On the first day, around 75 students applied for new admissions. Last year, on the first day around 85 students had sought admissions,” said Moham-mad Adnan Shehzad, the chair-man of the Board of Directors of Pakistan Schools.
He also said that around 150 parents may opt for transfer cer-tificates this year because of the prevailing economic situation this year. “Though we haven’t got any transfer certificates this year,
we expect these transfer certifi-cates to pour in after the exams are over,” he stated.
A senior official at Bangladesh School Muscat, also admitted in an e-mailed response that “There are a few cases recorded where students took transfer certificates due to their family’s financial cri-sis,” adding that number of stu-dents in school is rising.
“The number of the students at the beginning of the session was 1,473, but now we are having 2,027 students in Bangladesh School Muscat,” the official said. School authorities said it’s very hard to determine how many students are opting for transfer certificates because of the prevailing financial
crisis. “Yes, many people (but also many are coming) are leaving, but the reasons are not given to our school,” said a senior teacher. In-dian schools have issued around 500 transfer certificates to parents this year at six schools in the capi-tal area. “The number is not alarm-ingly high,” George said.
Indian school authorities said that transfer certificates applica-tions start pouring in from first week of March and continue till June every year.
As of today, the total number of students at all Indian schools stood at a staggering 44,500, while the number of students in Pakistan School stood at 6,000 in the Sultanate.
This year, the Board
has received around
4,700 applications for
admissions in various
classes of schools,
while last year it
had received around
5,300 applications
from students
Royal Oman Police (ROP) kicked off a drug awareness campaign last week in a bid to
combat the rising abuse but lack of transparency and scar-city of rehabilitation centres are two factors that defeat the fight against addiction.
Transparency, of having a database of people addicted to drugs available to the public, is one of the most important factors in winning the battle against the menace. Treatment of drug users is another factor. According to the Ministry of Health, the success rate of treating addicts in Oman is only 20 per cent. This is due to lack of comprehensive reha-bilitation centres.
Al Massara Psychiatric Hos-pital is the only one in Oman that seriously treats drug addiction but the facility has only 245 beds. Sketchy figures from different hospitals show that about 3,500 people are addicted to drugs but nobody knows the true extent of the malaise. Drug use clearly can be connected to crimes. Yet in Oman, there are no statistics to show the percentage of how many offences in the country can be tied up with narcotics offenders.
Not the Burden of law enforcement aloneThe ROP from time to time spreads awareness in its effort to educate the public about the problem. Its current drive is focused on sticking messages on children trolleys in all malls to drive the message home to
parents who use drugs. But the burden of the campaign against drugs should not be confined to the law enforce-ment agency alone. Other government institutions must come onboard to help. Both, the ministries of education and higher education must start their own separate campaigns since a bigger percentage of abusers are young people.
All the evidences show that drug dealers target school children by giving free samples to them. They also hang around in the universities and colleges. The two areas of education are a soft target for drug sellers. The alarming thing is the fact that the dropout rate of both school as well as degree stu-dents is high. Once again, there are no statistics to breakdown how many of them stop their education in the middle due to drug offences. To combat drug infiltration in the education system is a matter of national interest and it must receive a high priority because these institutions produce future leaders and intellectuals.
The ministry of health also plays an important role in the drive to control drug use. Victims of drug abuse and violence always end up in hospitals. Yet, the ministry has only sketchy statistics, some thing which needed for the as-sessment of the problem in the first place. For example, there
are no records of domestic abuses, street brawls, road accidents and other violence that are committed by drug ad-dicts. Those who end up in Al Massara Psychiatric Hospital mostly do it on voluntary basis. Oman needs a map of drug addiction for the members of the public to know how to deal with it. To say only a few thousands who are hooked on drugs while tens of thousands may out there needing help is a catastrophe of a national level waiting to happen.
Since drug abuse does not distinguish people by age groups or income brackets, it is set to become widespread. In other countries which have solid statistics, the unemployed are more vulnerable to drug abuse compared to those who are working. The bad news is that Oman has both a bigger percentage of youth and the country has a fair share of unemployment, too. These two facts cannot be underestimat-ed. Statistics and transparency are also needed for those who fought off addiction successful-ly. They are the beacons of hope for those who are deep into it.
If there is to be any pros-pect that the “war on drugs” can be fought to a successful conclusion, vigilance on our borders must be increased too. Oman has the longest coastline among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. More than half of the narcotic sub-stances come in through the sea. ROP needs the right tools to patrol the long coastline and land borders. However, the bat-tle against drug addiction has many frontiers. An accurate database of drug users and openness that there is a serious problem is a good start.
Transparency, better rehabilitation will reduce drug addiction incidence
C 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 .
Rise in births in SultanateMUSCAT: Number of live births in 2015 in the Sultan-ate stood at 85,832, up by about 2,851 births, compared with the year 2014 the latest monthly bulletin issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Infor-mation (NCSI) has revealed.
The number includes 79,515 Omanis and 6,317 expats. The bulletin reported that the number of Omani male births of the total number reached 40,837 and 38,678 Omani fe-male births. The number of ex-pat male births were 3,235 and 3,082 female births.
The number of deaths in the Sultanate in 2015 amounted to 7,562 of whom 6,265 Oma-nis (including 3,774 males and 2,491 females) and 1,297 expats of whom 1,065 were males and 232 were females. The total number in 2014 amounted to 7,819 deaths.
The statistics pointed to a decline in mortality rate among Omanis during the year 2015 with 3.7 percent compared to 2014. -ONA
N C S I B U L L E T I N
Drug dealers target
school children by
giving free samples
to them. They also
hang around in the
universities and
colleges
A4 S U N DAY, M A R C H 2 0, 2 0 1 6
OMAN 44,500 is the number of students studying in India schools
Unplanned pregnancy top reason of depression in pregnant women
HASAN SHABAN AL [email protected]
MUSCAT: Unplanned pregnancy has been identified as the main reason behind depression among pregnant women in Oman, fol-
lowed by marital conflict, a first of its kind study by researchers from the Sultan Qaboos University Hos-pital (SQUH) has revealed.
More than four in 10 pregnant Omani women admitted their pregnancy was unplanned, the study found.
While pregnancy can be an ex-citing experience for most women,
a whopping 24 per cent of preg-nant Omani women find it hard to cope with it, resulting in possible antenatal depression, often as-sociated with considerable medi-cal and psychological morbidities which affect both, the mother and the baby.
For the baby, antenatal depres-sion is known to increase the
risk of slower foetal activity, low birth weight, subsequent admis-sion to a neonatal care unit and sudden death.
In addition, the infants of wom-en with antenatal depression may receive suboptimal physical and psychological care after birth and older children and/or spouses can also suffer from the secondary ef-
fects of maternal depression.Of the 959 pregnant women who
participated in the study, 47 per cent were between 25 to 30-year-old, while 27 per cent were below 24 and 26 per cent were above 30.
Interestingly, one out of four pregnant housewives was diag-nosed with possible depression, according to Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) ques-tionnaire with a cut-off score of
13 used in the study while em-ployed pregnant women showed lower rates of depression (22.9 per cent).
Misdiagnosed disorderDepression is a common although often misdiagnosed disorder that can affect women during the ante-natal period.
The study was carried at the FAMCO clinic of the SQUH and 12 other Local Health Centres of the Ministry of Health in Muscat, selected randomly.
It is worth mentioning that the rate of possible existence of an-tenatal depression among Omani women is higher than findings from other countries with similar cultural and socio-demographic characteristics, such as Jordan (19.0 per cent) and Morocco (19.2 per cent).
Additionally, the prevalence was higher than the results reported from Bangladesh, Turkey, Austral-ia and the UK, but lower than the rate observed in South Africa (39.0 per cent).
Psychological support“Considering the relatively high rate of antenatal depression ob-served in the current study, the revealed results could be taken forward to consider implement-ing routine screening for antena-tal depression as part of regular antenatal care services. Identify-ing women with such depression would enable healthcare profes-sionals to provide psychologi-cal support to those affected and hence potentially bring down this affliction and related com-plications in Oman,” said Dr Mohammed Hilal Al Azri [MD, FRCGP(INT), MMedSc(UK), PhD(UK)], Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, College of Med-icine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University.
Dr Mohammed Hilal Al Azri conducted the study with his team of Dr Iman Al Lawati, Dr Raya Al Kamyani, Dr Maisa Al Kiyumi, Dr Aysha Al Rawahi, Dr Robin David-son and Dr Abdullah Al Muniri.
Rate of possible
existence of antenatal
depression among
Omani women
is higher than
findings from other
countries with
similar cultural and
socio-demographic
characteristics like
Jordan and Morocco
Considering the relatively high rate of antenatal depression observed in the current study, the revealed results could be taken forward to consider implementing routine screening for antenatal depression as part of regular antenatal care services. Identifying women with such depression would enable healthcare professionals to provide psychological support to those affected and hence potentially bring down this affliction and related complications in Oman
Parents fume at fee hikeTimes News Service
MUSCAT: Parents expressed shock and anger when they learnt that tuition fees for most of the Indian schools will be raised from April.
The Indian School Board’s green signal to raise fees for most of the schools has met with disapproval from most parents, who said they are already facing a cash crunch as living costs continue to rise.
Most parents that Times of Oman (TOO) spoke to said the lat-est increase is unfair and does not take into account the stress on fi-nances. “It’s a big blow to us. When the government is in an austerity mode, we are being denied incre-ment, bonuses and many other perks. Everyone is running on a shoestring budget. At this time, hiking the fee is a big blow to us,” Manoj Balakrishnan Nair, whose child studies at ISM, said.
Parents will now have to pay OMR48 extra annually as per the new fee structure. Another par-ent said schools in Oman are run like businesses, and the main
agenda is profit, not education. “Can anyone tell me where will be the OMR36,000 go every month, which the ISM will earn from April,” asked Sushma, whose son studies in junior classes at ISM.
Another said the school keeps increasing the fees on some pre-text or the other every year. “The schools here need to have some kind of cap and their funds needs to be monitored,” said one of the parents. When contacted, Wil-son George, chairman, Indian schools in the Sultanate, said the financial management of the school is a challenge, which
is managed by the individual school management.
“The Board has a role in re-viewing and approving the budget (if no abnormalities are found). The Board always take a parent friendly approach, and does not announce any fee hike school wide, however, the Board allows a one rial/per month increase to take care of yearly increments in staff costs etc. Most of the com-munity schools this year have an-nounced an OMR1 increase, ex-cept the Indian school Seeb with OMR2 and Indian School Muscat with OMR4. The parents can get more details from the individual schools, if they wish, to under-stand the challenges in which this increases are made,” he told TOO.
A few said they have started on online petition campaign against the fee hike. During the last aca-demic year, the fee was increased by OMR1.5.
There are around 9,000 children studying from KG I until Class XII at ISM and the total number of students in all Indian schools stands at a staggering 44,500.
I N D I A N S C H O O L S
An online campaign launched by parents against the fee hike at Indian School Muscat (ISM).
City Centre malls’ campaign to pay tribute to mothersTimes News Service
MUSCAT: City Centre Muscat and City Centre Qurum, will pay tribute to all mothers this Moth-er’s Day with a heart-warming campaign, named “Dear Mom, I’ll always need you,” which will run on March 20 and 21.
To mark Mother’s Day, the City Centre Muscat and City Centre Qurum, Majid Al Futtaim’s two leading lifestyle destinations in the Sultanate, are offering shop-pers, who purchase a gift for their beloved mothers, a complimen-tary customised greeting card.
OpportunityParticipants will also get the op-portunity to write a heart-warm-ing message in the card, as well as get their picture taken, choosing from various options of colour-ful backgrounds for a personal touch. The customised greeting card will then be printed, promis-ing to touch all mothers’ hearts.
Mother’s Day is one of the larg-est card-sending holidays, and after Christmas, it is the second most popular holiday in which people give away gifts.
The tradition of giving printed greeting cards as a meaningful expression of personal affection for another person dates back to Europe in the 15th century, and
even earlier to the early Egyp-tians, who conveyed their greet-ings on papyrus scrolls.
Watfa Humaid Al Harthy, sen-ior mall manager at City Centre Qurum said “In line with Majid Al Futtaim’s vision to create great moments, we continuously explore opportunities to engage our visitors through captivating activities and what better occa-sion to celebrate the gift of giving than on Mother’s Day.
Chance to win“To celebrate the occasion, we encourage families to share their gratitude and admiration to-wards their mothers in a personal and meaningful way.”
In addition, three lucky shop-pers will have a chance to win OMR100 gift vouchers for the most liked post on social media using the hashtag #CCMothers-DayGreatmoments or CCMomI-WillAlwaysNeedYou and tag-ging City Centre Muscat or City Centre Qurum.
“We are thrilled to be mark-ing this important family occa-sion with a heartfelt and per-sonal touch. This activation is well-placed to create a great mo-ment for the mothers of our loyal shoppers,” said Husam Al Mand-hari, senior mall manager at City Centre Muscat.
M O T H E R ’ S D A Y
A5
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Oman adventure film grabs global attention
REJIMON K [email protected]
MUSCAT: The ‘Valley of Gi-ants,’ an adventure documentary featuring climbers scaling giant rocks of a remote canyon high up in the Selma Plateau of the East-ern Hajar Mountains in Oman, is receiving accolades.
The documentary, which cap-tured the breathtaking journey of Read Macadam, a 32-year-old Canadian climber, and Dan Bates, one of Macadam’s climb-ing partners, scaling new heights was released at an adventure film festival last November, prior to a public release online at the end of February this year, and has been screened in eight countries on
three continents so far.“Feedback from viewers has
been very good and it is a treat to receive so many inspired messag-es from all over the world and also from some very respected people in the adventure film industry,” Macadam told Times of Oman.
Miguell Willis, a professional cinematographer who often films in Oman, filmed the documentary.
The group set out to explore a re-mote wadi (valley) in the Selma Plateau and discovered a canyon called, ‘Valley of Giants,’ because after eons of flash floods only the most massive boulders now re-main. The crew took two separate five-day trips in January 2015.
Willis, who had also filmed the Empty Quarter crossing, used a Panasonic GH4 and Sony f5 and
GoPro cameras to shoot the foot-age, which took Macadam two months to edit.
According to him, a documen-tary production for a climbing trip is a bit different from a nor-mal movie. “You are not staging anything, but you are trying to capture each moment as it is happening,” Macadam said, add-ing that the experience was tre-mendous.
“It is a privilege to be able to spend so much time in such spe-cial locations. A large part of my inspiration for these adventures is to immerse myself into the wild landscape. The Valley of Giants epitomises this—climbing first ascents, the first people to ever set foot and hand on these boulders — amongst such a vast landscape. Incredible,” Macadam said.
Adventure storytellingInternationally the film has al-ready been screened in many countries, including Peru, Co-lombia, Tunisia, United Kingdom, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi, and it is go-ing to be screened at the mountain festivals in Slovenia and Italy this month. On making the documen-tary, Macadam said he have been living in Oman for eight years and, now as a professional climber, he wanted to showcase the amazing place he calls home.
“I have always loved adventure storytelling, though my writing, photography and filming, so it was the natural progression. It’s almost a means to solidify the ex-perience for myself and also an opportunity to share it with the community,” Macadam added.
The documentary
captures the
breathtaking journey
of Read Macadam
and Dan Bates
scaling new heights
and was released
at an adventure
film festival last
November
SPECIAL LOCATIONS: Miguell Willis, a professional cinematogra-
pher who often films in Oman, filmed the documentary. – Supplied photo
Persevere, and success will be yours, says ace photographer
DEEBA [email protected] MUSCAT: For people who give up their passion because of others telling them they cannot pursue their interests or because of vari-ous other reasons, His Highness Sayyid Muadh bin Dhiyab Al Said is a true inspiration.
Like many others, he was dis-couraged by many, but he did not bow down to anyone’s remarks, instead he continued pursuing what he loved the most, which is fashion photography.
HH Al Said was always into fashion and has been following some fashion designers from an early age, at the same time he has sketched outfits, but never showed them to anyone. “I liked sketch-ing outfits but I just never showed them to anyone, and then I ven-tured into nature photography. However, because I was into fash-ion from an early age, I thought why not try fashion photography.
“There are so many beautiful locations for nature photography in Oman, and that is known to everyone, but if you put someone wearing great clothes against that backdrop, the results will be amazing and this is exactly what I want to show the world,” he added.
When he started taking pic-tures, some people protested, saying that he shouldn’t be do-ing fashion photography, and so he went to his parents for advice. “When my late father and my mother came to know about it, they supported me and asked me to pursue my dreams, my siblings also supported me. For me family comes first, always, so when they gave me the nod, I went ahead and did what I had to do.”
First exhibitionHis first exhibition was held at the Bait al Muzna art gallery in 2013, where he was appreciated, and slowly people who thought he couldn’t do it, suddenly came for-ward to support him with some great comments.
“I like to think that everything will be okay, and I have been raised by my parents in a great way, so I am a positive person, and when I did my first exhibition, I felt that I was doing great.”
His second exhibition was a se-ries of photos, which were shot at the Nakhal fort and displayed at the Bait al Zubair gallery last year.
“I did this photo shoot in the form of a story, it was about a princess, who was locked up by the prince in her palace, and the model had to change five dresses.
It was very tiring by the end of it, I had to shoot there from 9 am to 6 pm, but it was a very interesting experience and now people want me to write a book about the sto-ry.” His photos were priced from OMR40 to OMR100, and all of them were sold out at the exhibi-tion, and the proceeds were given to charity.
HH Al Said also started “Pho-tography World,” an Instagram account, which showcases all his photography. Although fashion photography is not so common in Oman, HH Al Said said it is im-proving. “Without a doubt, I think we are improving in terms of fashion and fashion photography, there are young designers com-ing up and they are doing fashion shows for their collection and that is an amazing idea.”
When he is not taking pictures, HH Al Said is at home with his family, “I am a very family person, I like to spend time with them and I enjoy talking to them about my work. I also like to take breaks and tour around, I really want to go to India and take photos there because it’s beautiful.”
Among his several dreams, HH Al Said hopes to work with more foreign artists and create a unique name for himself, as an Arab fashion photographer.
F A S H I O N P H O T O G R A P H Y
BEAUTY SPOT: There are so many beautiful locations for nature photography in Oman, and that is
known to everyone, but if you put someone wearing great clothes against that backdrop, the results
will be amazing and this is exactly what I want to show the world. – Supplied photo
Sultanate gets first theme-book storeDEEBA [email protected]
MUSCAT: Muscat residents have another great book store to visit and buy from, as Oman’s first theme-book store opened its doors to customers last weekend in the Central Business District (CBD) area of Ruwi.
An initiative of Al Bhaj Trad-ing, the state-of the art book store has a great handpicked collection, which, according to the owners has been brought to-gether to suit the requirements of Muscat’s residents and citizens.
The book shop has separately themed sections, which are de-signed in a unique way to create a certain mood for customers as they enter a specific section.
Islamic books are kept in a mosque’s dome like structure with appropriate texts written all over the stand, while books on Omani history and kept in a fort like-structure, cookery and health-re-lated books are kept on a kitchen stand and children’s books are laid
out on a train like shelf.There are all sorts of books at
the store, which has a huge col-lection of 20,000 books, which in-clude pre-school to college books, guides, grammar and cookery books, fiction and non-fiction, history books and several others. Apart from this, school and office stationery, sports and other gift items are also available.
Large areaSpread over a large area of 5,200 square feet and divided into two floors, the store has kept its pric-es competitive. “It is a place where one can get all items required for education un-der one roof,” said P.M. Shouck-athali, managing director of Al Bhaj Trading.
There is a separate reading cor-ner, which has been designed to encourage customers to read the books before buying them. The store plans to add more chairs and a few bean bags to the section to give it a distinct look and make it more comfortable.
O P E N I N G
NEW CONCEPT: The book shop has separately themed sections,
designed to create a certain mood for customers. – OK Mohammed Ali
Deal to bring investment to SultanateMUSCAT: An agreement to attract foreign investment into the Sultanate was recently signed by three parties.
Seerabeece Group, the Or-ganising Committee of the Culture, Industry and Invest-ment Seminar in China and a number of Saudi businessmen signed the trilateral partner-ship agreement.
The partnership was signed on behalf of Seerabeece by its board chairman Sheikh Zaka-riya bin Said Al Ghassani.
It was signed by Dr Hosam Al Sayed Senior advisor for Arab and African Countries on be-half of the Organising Commit-tee of the Culture, Industry and Investment Seminar in China. On behalf of the Saudi business-men it was signed by Engineer Yaqoob Yuosef Al Hindi.
The partnership aimed to at-tract international investments to the Sultanate among other objectives. —ONA
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This forum will be a good platform to discuss the
Sultanate’s plan for economic diversification and
investment opportunities across various sectors.
Salah Al Ghazali, Chief investment officer, Omran
Staff appreciation event heldTimes News Service
MUSCAT: To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa hosted a staff appreciation event on March 16, 2016 at the resort’s Al Midan Amphitheatre.
The evening was attended by approximately 700 employ-ees of the resort as well as by several invited dignitaries, in-cluding Mohammad Al Zubair, Chairman of Zubair Holding,
Ahmed bin Nasser Al Mahrazi, Minister of Tourism, Mohamed Hamood Al Tobi, the former un-dersecretary of Tourism, and Rashad Al Zubair, Chairman, Zubair Corporation.
The evening commenced with a variety of performances presented by the employees, representing key milestones and events throughout the 10 years since the resort opened. These performances included representations from the time
of the first General Manager, Desmond Hatton right till the current General Manager, Mark Kirk, and events such as the Tom Jones, Ed Sheeran and Ste-reophonic concerts as well as Jimmy Choo’s fashion show and the breakthrough into the Indian wedding market.
After performances, 145 mem-bers of staff who have been work-ing at the resort since 2006 when it first opened were invited on the stage for special recognition.
K E Y M I L E S T O N E
Forum to discuss plan for economic diversification
Omran is set to identify specific investment opportunities within the $800 million investment it is making in its upcoming land-mark development–Madinat Al Irfan Urban City located next to the Muscat International Air-port. Investment opportunities offered will include commercial and office buildings, retail malls, district cooling plants, hotel plots, recreational and civic fa-cilities, along with residential and hotel developments.
The first phase of the mixed-use development will be held at the Oman Convention and Exhi-bition Centre that is scheduled to opening in fourth quarter of
2016. The rest of the Madinat Al Irfan project is being devel-oped following rigorous master planning by Omran to become a benchmark for future sustain-able urban developments across the Sultanate and generate sig-nificant inbound revenues and increase capital retention within the local economy.
Commenting on the forum’s significance within the context of economic diversification, Salah Al Ghazali, chief invest-ment officer, Omran, said, “This forum will be a good platform to discuss the Sultanate’s plan for economic diversification and investment opportunities across
various sectors. It is a key indica-tor of how Omran, in line with the government’s ninth Five-Year Plan and its national tour-ism strategy, is working closely with the private sector to devel-op unique tourist and real-estate destinations and innovative ur-ban communities.” The event is also expected to draw investor interest to Omran’s Muscat Wa-terfront, Mina Sultan Qaboos Waterfront project, which is de-scribed as an integrated mixed use waterfront destination benchmarked against renowned developments, such as the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town and the Palm Jumeira in Dubai.
O M A N E C O N O M I C F O R U M
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Youth parliament proposal made at Shura open debate
ERIK [email protected]
MUSCAT: A proposal to establish a youth parliament was recently put forward during an open debate about the aspirations of youth held at the Majlis Al Shura.
The meeting on Tuesday was attended by the National Youth Council (NYC), representatives of the youth campaign ‘Hillu Nughayyir’ (It’s nice to change)
and the Youth Committee of the Majlis Al Shura.
Zaid bin Abdullah Al Salmani, the head of ‘Hillu Nughayyir,’ told the Times of Oman (TOO) that they have called for a separate parliament “to connect the voice of youth to the government and to give youth the right to legislation in their fields of interest, to imple-ment their aspirations and have oversight on [government] organi-sations who work for youth.
The ‘Hillu Nughayyir’ cam-paign, established as part of the office of the Governorate of Mus-cat in March 2015, is a social youth campaign with more than 200 members, which aims, as Al Salmani explained, to “change wrong behaviour within society and encourage good behaviour, by organising activities, such as workshops, forums and awareness campaigns.” “In this way, there will be a place for them to truly partici-pate in society,” he stated.
“As a start, each governorate will be represented by one or two mem-bers, while later on every wilayat (region) can be represented in the parliament, so that the voices of youth from every part of the Sul-tanate will reach the government.”
He added that the number of members in the proposed parlia-ment will depend on what the gov-ernment proposes. How members will be selected, is something that
also needs further study. “It would be an advantage to the Sultanate of Oman if this parliament is be-ing established, a true advantage for supporting the youth, empow-ering the youth and letting them lead the nation.”
While a government-appointed entity pursuing youth interests already exists in the form of the NYC, it has limited responsibili-ties and is not fully independent, Mohammed Al Busaidi, head of the Youth Committee at the Majlis Al Shura explained.
“If a youth parliament is ap-proved in the future, maybe it will replace the NYC. This time, they [the youth] want something more advanced,” he said.
Dr. Hamad bin Hamood Al Ghafiri, head of the NYC, told TOO that he had welcomed the idea.
“The presence of a youth parlia-ment is a positive idea,” he said. He said the proposal was put forward
earlier during discussions organ-ised by the NYC.
However, he said that currently, youth are well represented.
“More than half of the members of the Majlis Al Shura are young. The Majlis Al Shura has a Youth and Human Resources Commit-tee and within the NYC, there is a member representing the Majlis Al Shura,” he said.
He added that the NYC works as a connection between youth and the relevant organisations as de-fined by the Royal Decree that es-tablished it. He added that it is not an executive body. “What we need is an organisation, which unites all youth efforts, more than the cur-rent representation of youth in the parliament,” he said.
Al Busaidi added that the Shura Council had welcomed this idea “as a point of discussion,” which it will use to make recommenda-tions to the government.
Meeting was attended by the National Youth
Council, representatives of youth campaign
‘Hillu Nughayyir’ (It’s nice to change) and the
Youth Committee of the Majlis Al Shura
Parts of Oman receive rains leading to overflowing wadisSTAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT: Rain fell in different parts of South Batinah and Mus-cat on Saturday resulting in over-flowing of wadis and slowing traf-fic flow on the roads, a weather enthusiast citing residents said.
“Samail, Izki, Sur and Ibri re-ceived heavy rain. Residents in many other areas too reported rains,” Bader Ali Al Baddaei, an administrator of www.rthmc.net, a local Web-based forum that dis-cusses weather in Oman, said.
Meanwhile, according to me-teorological department’s report on Saturday, in the past 24 hours 11.2mm rain fell in Bidiyyah, 2.4 mm in Ibra, 10.8mm in Al Mud-haibi, 8.4mm in Izki and Qalhat and 4mm in Sur.
Forecast for SundayIn its forecast for Sunday, the meteorology department has pre-dicted, rain and thundershower over Al Hajar Mounties and adja-cent governorates and the coastal areas of Oman Sea. Chance of low level clouds or fog patches over governorates of Dhofar, Al Wusta, South and North Al Sharqiyah from late night to early morning has also been predicted.
Meanwhile, as dams have start-ed overflowing in Oman resulting from rainfall caused by the low depression over the Sultanate au-
thorities have warned public to be cautious.
In a tweet, ministry of regional municipalities and water re-sources have cautioned public to stay away from overflowing dams.
The National Multi Hazard Early Warning Centre at PACA, had predicted unstable weather from Wednesday till Friday.
During last week’s rain, the Public Authority of Civil Defence and Ambulance’s (PACDA’s) op-erations centre had received 332 rescue calls. PACDA data record-ed 255 water rescue operations, 37 land rescue operations, 29 fire extinguishing operations, eight ambulance-related calls, and four search operations
W E A T H E R U P D A T E
MORE RAIN PREDICTED: In its forecast for Sunday, the
meteorology department has predicted, rain and thundershower
over Al Hajar Mounties. — Picture by @RthathWeather
HM sends cable of condolencesMUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of condolences and sympathy to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Ab-dulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia on the death of Prince Bandar bin Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan expressed his heartfelt condolences and sympathy to King Salman, the bereaved family and the brotherly Saudi people, praying to Allah the Al-mighty to rest his soul in peace and grant his family patience to bear his loss. — ONA
S A U D I A R A B I A
HM sends cable of greetingsMUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has send a ca-ble of greetings to Beji Caid Es-sebsi, President of the Tunisian Republic on his country’s Inde-pendence Day anniversary.
In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan expressed his sincere greetings and wishes of good health, happiness and a long life to the president and his coun-try’s people further progress and prosperity. — ONA
P R E S I D E N T O F T U N I S I A
‘Bariatric surgery not a miracle’
“We started offering the sur-geries about three years ago, and have operated on 80 pa-tients so far. The demand has increased over the last couple of years and every year on an average we have 30 patients who get operated on.”
Although Bariatric surger-ies might sound like an easier alternative to exercising or controlling your diet, they can result in severe complications later, says Khan.
“You can’t expect to reduce all the weight from overeating for several years to just go all at once, it’s not some form of magic. If you have gained that weight over the years, it is only natural and sensible to un-derstand that it will also take some time to reduce, going to surgeries is not the best op-tion.” Khan added.
Currently Khan is treating five members from the same family, who underwent the lap-band surgery.
“I am treating five members from the same family, all of them opted for the lap-band surgery, and now they are suf-fering from several health prob-lems. It is sad to see their state and that they rushed through this process. I would recom-mend choosing this surgery as the last resort.”
According to Papp, bariat-ric surgeries only support the process of weight loss, but once the surgery is performed on a patient, they need to undergo a complete lifestyle change.
“We need to conduct some educational awareness pro-grammes for people and explain to them that this is surgery is not a miracle, losing weight is a hard job, because the process of gaining weight doesn’t hap-pen in a month, they think that in two months they will lose their desired amount. Plus they should change their complete lifestyle, eating, sleeping, going out, and doing sports etc.”
When it comes to weight loss surgeries, the Ministry of Health also exercises precau-tion in terms of allowing sur-geons to practice in the country. “For bariatric surgeries, doctors need to give us evidence that they have done these before and the hospitals where they have done them, because it is a dangerous surgery, we have to be careful about allowing doc-tors to perform them,” said Dr. Mazin al Khabouri, director general of Private Health Es-tablishments at the Ministry of Health (MoH).
E D U C A T I O N A L A W A R E N E S S
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OMANS U N DAY, M A R C H 2 0, 2 0 1 6
9 new fishing harbours being plannedMUSCAT: Oman’s fishing har-bour system will witness a radical change, Dr Khalid bin Mansour Al Zedjali, Director General of the Fishing Harbours at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, said.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is developing a system for the economic man-agement and operation of the fishing harbours using the best feasible investment practices, he told Oman News Agency (ONA)in a statement.
“We are working to have a na-tional integrated systems that comprise the economic fishing system, the tourism system and the security system,” he added.
Dr. Al Zedjali pointed out that the economic fishing systems will focus on providing fisher-men at the harbours with neces-sary facilities at the harbours at the landing sites to provide the conducive environment for the fish processing industry that can enhance in-country value (ICV) of the industry and maximise its contribution to the GDP and exports, in partnership with the private sector.
He said that the tourism sys-tem for the harbours focuses on making the harbours tourist at-tractions and create new industry that merge fishing with tourism, in coordination with the relevant organizations to create what is called the fishing tourism.
He explained that the security system includes providing in-tegrated security for the fishing harbour by the harbour security department at the Ministry of Ag-riculture and Fisheries and the coast guard at the Royal Oman Police (ROP).
“The Ministry plans to estab-lish 9 new harbours at the dif-ferent governorates. Work is un-derway to provide the detailed designs for the development of seven other harbors,” he said.
At present there are 21 har-bours that serve the needs of 45,000 fishermen who operate on the 3,165 km long Omani coast. The artisan and coastal fishing fleets in the Sultanate comprise 20,000 fishing vessels and boats. The production in 2014 stood at more than 211,315 tons worth of about OMR189 million at the first
sale point. The value of this quan-tity is more than OMR380 million if the associated activities of the sector is calculated.
He pointed out that work is un-derway to establish 151 landing sites that provide basic facilities at the fishing landing sites, such as mini markets, ice factories, shades, fishing stores, tools, equipment and administrative facilities.
“The first package of the fish-ing harbor in Barka and the ma-rine works have been recently completed and more than 25,000 square meters have been re-claimed to set up tourism projects at the harbour,” he continued.
“The value of the project when it was awarded was OMR10.9 mil-lion, but the Ministry of Agricul-ture and Fisheries followed the most advanced value engineering methods to reduce the real cost of the project. The project wit-nessed the first implementation of the floating docks made in the Sultanate under the supervision of the Ministry.
“The local factory used local materials to enhance ICV and impart the technology in the Sul-
tanate. Four floating docks were made in the Sultanate with the assistance of experts from the Netherlands after conducting 88 experiments for three-month period. Work is now underway to replicate the same at the under-way port projects,” he added.
“The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has completed the first package of Taqah Fishing Harbor using the same manage-ment model in Barka Fishing Harbor, which saved about RO1.6 million from the project’s budget. 26 per cent of Liwa and 30 per cent of Al Mesannah Fishing har-bors have been completed. The two harbors, which cost about OMR23 million, are expected to be completed in February and April 2017,” Dr. al-Zedjali added.
“The new fishing harbours re-quire sophisticated technology and long experience by the con-tractor as the protection works for the wave breakers should be com-pleted within eight months. The depths of the new ports are up to 26 meters, thus requiring high lev-el of professionalism by workers at these projects,” he concluded. -ONA
M I N I S T R Y O F A G R I C U L T U R E A N D F I S H E R I E S
Libya statute drafting panel meets in Oman
SALALAH: A consultative meet-ing of the Libyan Constitution Drafting Assembly, organised in the Sultanate under the ageis of the United Nations, began here yesterday.
Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs gave a speech in which he
welcomed the members of the Libyan Constitution Drafting As-sembly, conveyed to them greeting and wishes of success of His Maj-esty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
Alawi stressed the significance of this consultative meeting of the Libyan Constitution Drafting As-sembly. He said that the Libyan constitution will be welcomed by all Libyans. He also expressed his confidence that Libya would over-come the current conditions.
Dr. Al Jailani Abdulsalam Ar-houma President of the Libyan Constitution Drafting Assembly gave a speech in which the ex-pressed his thanks and apprecia-tions for the Sultanate’s hosting
the three-day consultative meet-ing of the Libyan Constitution Drafting Assembly.
He also pointed to the difficulty of drafting constitutions in gen-eral and the Libyan constitution in particular in a state that is yet to stabilise. He also pointed to that the Libyan Constitution Drafting Assembly has assigned its mem-bers with drafting the constitution which comprises 220 articles.
Martin Kobler Special Rep-resentative of the UN Secretary General said that the mission of the UN in Libya is not to intervene in the political issues but to sup-port by providing technical advice.
On the sidelines of the meetings
of the Libyan Constitution Draft-ing Assembly, Alawi met with Martin Kobler Special Represent-ative of the UN Secretary General. The meeting discussed the latest developments in the Libyan arena and the role of the UN and the sup-port group in bringing close to-gether the views aimed at reaching an agreement ion drafting the new constitution of Libya.
Alawi also met with Jordan’s Former Prime Minister Taher Al Masri expert of the meetings of the Libyan Constitution Drafting Assembly, where they exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues of common concern. —ONA
Yousuf bin Alawi bin
Abdullah, Minister
Responsible for
Foreign Affairs
welcomed the
members and
conveyed to them
the greeting and
wishes of success of
His Majesty Sultan
Qaboos bin Said
PACDA RESCUES 31 PEOPLERescue teams of the Public Authority for Civil Defence
and Ambulance (PACDA) rescued 31 persons including
women and children who were trapped in Wadi Daiqa
Dam in the wilayat of Quriyat. The operations centre of
the PACDA received a call about people being trapped
near the course of Wadi Daiqa Dam. The rescue operation
took four hours. —ONA
CRUCIAL CONSULTATIONS: Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs
stressed the importance of consultative meeting of the Libyan Constitution Drafting Assembly. – ONA
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REGIONS U N DAY, M A R C H 2 0, 2 0 1 6
We will have information about the circumstances of the incident and
the black box in the future, and an investigation is being conducted in
cooperation with the Russian authorities and we are waiting to see the results
Ghaith Al Ghaith, Flydubai’s CEO
MOSCOW/DUBAI: All 62 people aboard a passenger jet flying from Dubai to southern Russia were killed when their plane crashed on its second attempt to land at Ros-tov-on-Don airport on Saturday, Russian officials said.
Russia’s emergencies ministry said the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 operated by Dubai-based budget carrier flydubai, crashed at 0340 (0040 GMT). Most of those on board were Russian.
“The aircraft hit the ground and broke into pieces,” the Investigative Committee of Russia said in a state-ment on its website. “There were 55 passengers aboard and seven crew members. They all died.”
Both of the plane’s flight recorders have been recovered undamaged, the committee said in a statement.
According to the independent US-based Flight Safety Foun-dation, there was strong wind at the airport with a speed of 43 kilometres per hour, with gusts up to 69 kilometres, but visibility was reasonable.
“Different versions of what hap-pened are being looked into, in-cluding crew error, a technical fail-ure and bad weather conditions,” the committee said.
Flydubai’s CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith told a news conference in the Gulf Arab emirate that it was “too early” to determine the cause of the crash.
“We will have information about the circumstances of the incident and the black box in the future, and an investigation is being conduct-ed in cooperation with the Russian authorities and we are waiting to see the results,” Ghaith said.
Dubai officials said it was too early to comment on the causes of the crash, saying the investigation was underway.
Security officials in the Middle East are on heightened alert for militant threats to aviation follow-ing the IS claim of responsibility for downing a Russian passenger plane over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in late October, in which all 224 people on board died.
Sergei Melnichenko, head of Aviation Safety consultancy in Moscow, said so far little speaks for an act of terrorism.
“Nothing points to that,” Mel-nichenko said. “But nothing can be fully ruled out until a complete decryption of the flight recorders is done.”
Likely causesRussia’s Interfax news agency cited an unnamed source in the emergency services saying that terrorism is not considered as one of the likely causes for the crash.
Dubai’s civil aviation authority said it was sending an investiga-tive team to Russia, president Is-mail Al Hosani told reporters.
Under international aviation rules, the investigation will be led by Russia’s air crash safety
investigation agency with repre-sentatives from the United States, where the jet was made and the United Arab Emirates where the airline is based.
Boeing will be appointed as technical advisers to the US inves-tigation team. The plane was in a mid-air holding pattern for more than two hours, the Russian inves-tigative committee said. The crash occurred more than two hours af-ter the plane, flight number FZ981, was scheduled to land.
Diverted flightAccording to the flight tracker Flightradar24, an Aeroflot flight SU1166 from Moscow made three landing attempts in Rostov before being diverted. It landed at 2315 GMT in Russia’s Krasnodar.
The flydubai airline had a clean safety record before the accident. It started flying in June 2009, with a fleet of new Boeing 737s, one of the world’s most widely flown planes. It suffered an incident when one of its planes was shot at while landing at Baghdad airport on January 27, 2015. The aircraft that crashed was just over five years old. The flydubai plane came down inside the airport’s perime-ter, about 250 metres (yards) short of the start of the runway. — Reuters
Russia’s emergencies
ministry said the
aircraft, a Boeing
737-800 operated
by the Dubai-based
budget carrier,
crashed at 0340
(0040 GMT). There
were 55 passengers
aboard and seven
crew members. They
all died
REJIMON [email protected]
MUSCAT: Two Indians killed in Saturday’s flydubai crash at Rostov-on-Don airport in Russia are identified as Shyam Mohan, 27, and his wife Anju Aiyappan of Ernakulam, 26, from the south Indian state of Kerala.
“We have lost two Indian nationals Shyam Mohan and his wife Anju Aiyappan of Ernakulam in the crash of FlyDubai flight in Russia,” Sushma Swaraj, the Indian minister for external affairs, tweeted on her official Twitter handle. Meanwhile, family sources said Shyam and Anju were ayurveda therapists in Rostov.
Anju has been employed in Rostov for past four years. Shyam moved to Russia last year after he married Anju in November, 2014. The couple
had been in Kerala for last two months. They left for Russia on Thursday night from Kochi to Dubai, from where they boarded the ill-fated aircraft to Russia. Shyam had talked to his parents from Dubai on Fri-day and had promised to call on reaching Rostov. Sources said Shyam had been the lone bread winner of the family compris-ing father Mohan and mother
Sheeja. Mohan, a carpenter, is living in a small house erected on 10 cents of land in their vil-lage Vengola.
Although Shyam had moved to Russia soon after his mar-riage, he got the job of an ayur-veda therapist only recently.
Both were working at the same spa as therapists. Anju also hailed from Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district.
Two Indians killed in crash were from Kerala
TRAGIC END: Shyam Mohan and Anju Aiyappan. — Supplied photo
DISASTER: Emergencies Ministry members search the wreckage at the crash site of Flight number FZ981, a Boeing 737-800 operated by Dubai-based budget carrier flydubai, at the airport of Rostov-On-Don,
Russia, on Saturday. — Reuters/Stringer
SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT
PHOTO GALLERYW W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M
SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT
VIDEOW W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M
MEMORIAL: People place flowers, candles and toys in memory of
the victims of the crashed Boeing 737-800 flight FZ981 outside the
airport of Rostov-On-Don, Russia, on Saturday. — Reuters
IN SHOCK: All sixty-two people on board a flydubai Boeing 737
were killed in crash in Rostov-on-Don, in Southern Russia, on
Saturday morning, officials said. — AFP
Iran
Turkmenistan
KazakhstanRussia
Ukraine
Egypt
Iraq
UAE
Turkey
Black Sea
CaspianSea
MediterraneanSea
ArabicGulf
RedSea
Syria
SaudiArabia
Dubai flydubai FZ981 departs from Dubai.1
4 The plane tried to land but had a missaproach, then spend two hours flying in circles before it tried to land again. In the second approach the plane made an abrupt descent and crashed some metres before the landstrip of the Rostov-on-Don airport.
Started the descent after 3 hours and 38 minutes after the take off in Dubai.
Reaches an altitude of 36,000ft.2
3
Rostov-on-Don
The accident of the flydubai FZ981The flight between Dubai and Rostov-on-Don covers 2,807 kilometres in four hours but in case of the flydubai FZ981 took morethan six hours, from which, more than two hours were spend flying in circles.
GraphicsSource: Flightradar24.com
Two of the flights that were scheduled to land in Rostov-on-Don airport before the flydubai crash were diverted to Krasnodar because of weather
Czech AirlinesOK914from Prague
AeroflotSU1166from Moscow
Why flydubai wasn’tdiverted to Krasnodar?
flydubai FZ981 speed and altitude graph
Altitude(Feet)
Rostov-on-Don
Krasnodar
flydubaiwas flyingin circles for2 hours,then crashed
Speed(Knots)
0 0
20,000 400
15,000 300
10,000 200
5,000 100
Crash22 minutesbefore crash
62 killed as flydubai jet crashes in Russia, black boxes recovered
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All Congress MLAs voted with the government when the previous bill was passed in the Assembly and nobody had challenged the bill. Even the BJP accepts the voice voteGovind Singh Kunjwal, Assembly Speaker
Governor asks CM Rawat to prove majority by March 28
DEHRADUN/NEW DELHI: Uttarakhand Governor Krishna Kant Paul on Saturday asked Chief Minister Harish Rawat to prove his majority on the floor of the state Assembly by March 28 as the political crisis escalated with BJP, claiming the support of rebel Congress MLAs, stepped up efforts to form its government.
On his part, Rawat asserted that he was ready to prove his majority in the Assembly.
In a letter to the chief minis-ter, the governor has asked him to prove his majority in the state
Assembly by March 28, a top Raj Bhawan official said.
It was dispatched to the chief minister shortly before his ap-pointment with the governor on Saturday evening.
DirectiveThe governor’s directive is be-ing seen as a breather to Rawat with as many as nine party MLAs raising a banner of revolt against his government and BJP claim-ing that his government had been reduced to a minority in the state Assembly. While BJP claims the support of 35 MLAs including nine rebel Congress legislators, Rawat says he still enjoys a ma-
jority in the 70-member House as none of the so-called rebel MLAs has quit the party or the CLP.
He also said that five of the re-bels were in touch with him.
On a day of claims and counter-claims by BJP and the Congress, Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal said the “anti-defection law is in place and whoever is found guilty of violating it will have to be acted against”.
“All Congress MLAs voted with the government when the previ-ous bill was passed in the Assem-bly and nobody had challenged the bill. Even the BJP accepts the voice vote,” he said.
Asked about BJP’s no-confi-
dence notice against him, Kunjw-al said, “We will see when it comes in the Assembly. Members of the legislative Assembly will discuss and decide if the no-confidence notice is valid or not”. Hitting back at the BJP, Congress accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah of seek-ing to destabilise non-BJP gov-ernments through lure of money and political power.
Sinister conspiracy“The duo of Modi and Shah are infamous for forcible eviction of elected governments in this coun-try. Elected government are being destabilised by a sinister conspir-
acy. After Arunachal Pradesh, it is Uttarakhand,” Congress chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala told reporters in New Delhi.
Intensified effortsIn Dehradun, BJP intensified ef-forts to dislodge the Rawat gov-ernment, claiming it has major-ity in Uttarakhand Assembly and should be invited to form the government as the incumbent Congress dispensation has been reduced to a minority.
“The Harish Rawat government has lost majority. Today BJP has the numbers with the support of rebel Congress MLAs to form a new government in Uttarakhand,” Shyam Jaju, the state in-charge of BJP, said.
Jaju said the party is willing to present the MLAs whose support it enjoys before President Pranab Mukherjee and insisted that Ra-wat should immediately resign given the loss of majority.
Nine rebel Congress MLAs have reached Delhi and are in touch with BJP leaders, he said.
Accusing BJP of distorting facts, Rawat said, “Those who are saying they have support of 35 MLAs are misrepresenting facts.
I am confident that I still have a majority in the Assembly and can prove it on the floor of the House,” he told reporters after emerging from a meeting with the Assembly Speaker.
The rebel MLAs included, Con-gress has a strength of 36 MLAs in the 70-member Assembly. The ruling party also has the support of six members of the Progressive Democratic Front. The BJP has 28 MLAs. - PTI
BJP claims the
support of 35 MLAs
including nine rebel
Congress legislators,
Uttarakand Chief
Minister Harish
Rawat says he still
enjoys a majority
in the 70-member
House as none of the
so-called rebel MLAs
has quit the party or
the CLP
POLITICAL CRISIS: Leader of opposition Ajay Bhatt with rebel Congress MLAs, a BSP legislator and the representatives of BJP after meeting the governor of Uttarakhand KK Paul at his residence in Dehradun on Friday. - PTI
‘Operational readiness always top priority’ROORKEE: The ‘Make in India’ vision is a priority for defence pro-curement but “operational readi-ness” is the military’s primary task as “we don’t want people to look at us with big eyes”, Defence Minis-ter Manohar Parrikar has said.
“We need adequate equipment and that cannot change. Make in India is in its place, our military preparedness is paramount,” he said speaking at a panel discussion on Make in India initiative in the defence sector on the opening day of the three-day technical festival - Cognizance 2016 - of IIT Roorkee on Friday.
“I would like to make it clear...Make in India is our priority for defence procurement...but the first priority cannot be forgotten, the primary task of our military, which is operational readiness...in view of our neighbours...so that no one can look at us with big eyes,” he said. There have been calls for stepping up the country’s defence preparedness after the terror at-tack on the Pathankot Air base and in Gudsaspur. - PTI
‘ M A K E I N I N D I A ’ V I S I O N
Hinduja brothers top UK’s ‘Asian Rich List’ for fourth yearLONDON: The Hinduja brothers have emerged as the richest Asian-origin entrepreneurs in Britain for the fourth consecutive year with an estimated personal fortune of £16.5 billion. The India-born brothers G. P. Hinduja and S. P. Hinduja topped the ‘Asian Rich List 2016’ released hereon Friday night and the annu-al rankings showed that they had added one billion pounds to their personal fortune in a year to be worth an estimated £16.5 billion.
The ‘Asian Rich List’ assesses the total wealth of Britain’s top 101 richest Asians and is compiled by UK-based publishing house Asian Media and Market.
Steel tycoon Lakshmi N. Mit-
tal was ranked second in the list, released by the Indian High Com-missioner to the UK Navtej Sarna. The fortune of Mittal, however, has plummeted by £3.3 billion to finish with £6.4 billion.
Leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul is listed as 15th richest with fortune worth £500 million.
This year’s analysis showed that the UK’s richest Asians have their fortunes worth £55.54 billion up from £54.48 billion in 2015.
New entryThe highest riser and a new entry is Cyrus Vandrevala, with £2 bil-lion at number five.
He moved to London with his wife Priya, having made his money
in the US in the Internet business. He is now in private equity and real estate.
Sri Prakash Lohia, chairman of the Indorama Corporation, is list-ed third richest with fortune worth £3 billion.
The Arora brothers — Simon, Bobby and Robin —owners of discount retail chain are fourth richest with a fortune worth £2.1 billion. Within the Hinduja group — conglomerate with interests across automotive, real estate and oil — Gulf Oil, Ashok Leyland, In-dusInd Bank and Hinduja global Solutions appear to have done par-ticularly well.
According to the Asian Rich List, Gopi Hinduja, co-chairman of the
Hinduja group does not think that wealth should be measured only or even mainly by how much there is in someone’s bank account.
“If you consider one to be wealthy or rich only because of his money, you are totally wrong,” he said.
“I consider someone to be wealthy and rich if he has good friends, good contacts, good rela-tionships. If you want to calculate my wealth by counting my money then you are wrong,” he said.
“My father always told his chil-dren, ‘Act local but think global’ and be diversified in your busi-nesses. Don’t be in one sector, be in different sectors, and also be spread geographically don’t be in
just one country so that you are al-ways balanced. If one sector is not doing well, the other will.”
Gopi Hinduja said, “My mes-sage is very clear. Be diversified; be in different countries and you will never have shocks. I have not seen any adverse impact on our businesses because we are spread across 38 countries and reach a hundred countries.”
“Since the recession in 2008, the US has picked up. However, eve-ryone is now nervous about China where the GDP has fallen to be-tween 6 per cent and 6.5 per cent. But people forget the trillions of dollars China has its reserves.”
He said the country that offered the best investment potential is
India. “India is the best destina-tion. In India today your GDP is 7.3 per cent - plus a lot of reforms are going to come in. We have a god budget,” he said.
Good goalHe said, “Prime Minister Nar-endra Modi has a good goal but his problem is similar to that of Manmohan Singh — and that is implementation. So he has to have a team to implement what he is doing, but I think he is making im-provements. Maybe in the next six months we will see there will be a structure where things started getting implemented. If you are in private sector you have huge op-portunities.” - PTI
A S I A N M E D I A A N D M A R K E T
Cattle traders hanged to death, five held
NEW DELHI: Police have ar-rested five suspects in the hang-ing to death of two herding cat-tle in India, in an incident that led to violent protests sparked an outbreak of violence in Jharkhand amid reports the at-tackers were vigilantes.
The bodies of the two cat-tle traders were found hanging from a tree in Jharkhand’s Late-har district on Friday, stoking violence that injured six police-men, the Hindustan Times re-ported on Saturday.
Mazlum Ansari, 32, and Im-teyaz Khan, the 13-year-old son of another cattle trader, were residents of Balumath, 110 km from Ranchi, it said.
“Police have arrested five persons and are looking for oth-ers involved in the incident,” Latehar police chief Anoop Birtharay said by telephone.
“So far we have not found any affiliation of these persons with any Hindu radical group. We are still examining,” he said.
Opponents have accused Modi’s BJP of seeking to stoke religious tensions in order to polarise voters ahead of crucial state assembly elections in five states in next two months.
“This horrible incident is a result of the sustained commu-nal campaign conducted by the Hindutva outfits,” a statement issued by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said. - PTI
J H A R K H A N D
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Modi calls for raising income through crop diversification
NEW DELHI: With back-to-back droughts hitting the agriculture output hard, Prime Minister Nar-endra Modi on Saturday called for steps to conserve water and asked farmers to focus on crop diversifi-cation and go for allied activities like dairy, poultry and food pro-cessing to boost their income.
Inaugurating a 3-day ‘Krishi Unnati Mela’, the prime minister said since May 2014 when it came to power, his government has tak-en several initiatives for agricul-ture growth, including introduc-
tion of a new insurance scheme and giving soil health cards to farmers, with a view to doubling their income by 2022.
Government dataAs per the latest government data, the all-India average monthly income of agricultural households during the crop year July 2012-June 2013 was esti-mated at Rs 6,426.
He even gave a clarion call for second green revolution in east-
ern states, which have adequate water and fertile land, through adoption of modern technologies.
Putting a premium on water conservation to raise farm pro-ductivity and income, Modi said the government has identified 90 stuck irrigation projects which can irrigate 80 lakh hectares.
The government is spending Rs 20,000 crore to boost irrigation projects.
Attacking opposition parties for claiming that all projects and pro-
grammes started when they were in power, the prime minister said: “You would be surprised to know that as much as 90 projects which are full of water like dams have been built, but there is no way to provide water to farmers.”
He added: “Now, my govern-ment is working to provide wa-ter from these projects and once it is completed, around 80 lakh hectares will get water. And once water reaches there, you all can think how much that land will
give us back.”The prime minister spoke of
funds from Mahatma Gandhi Na-tional Rural Employment Guran-tee Act (MNREGA) programme to be utilised this summer for creation of assets such as ponds to conserve water.
“About MNREGA, many dis-cussions take place, but no asset has been created. This govern-ment is emphasising... during this summer in every village, one work should be done through MNREGA and that is desilting of ponds, deepening of ponds and creating new ones. In this Budget, the government is aiming at 5 lakh ponds,” Modi said.
For good part, the prime minis-ter emphasised on micro and drip irrigation as well as liquid ferti-liser to reduce cost of production and raise farmers’ income level.
“Water harvesting is of as much importance as water conserva-tion. We do not have the right to waste water. Per drop more crop is how we can do that,” Modi said.
The prime minister asked farm-ers to continue with their regular farming activity, but also told them to adopt animal husbandry, grow timber and go for value addi-tion and processing.
“Food processing is the best way to increase the farmers’ in-come,” he suggested. - PTI
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said
his government
has taken several
initiatives for
agriculture growth
with a view to
doubling farmers
income by 2022 HONOUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi giving away Krishi Karman Award to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh for outstanding performance in agriculture at Krishi Unnati Mela in New Delhi on Saturday. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh is also seen. - PTI
Give fair chance to Mallya, stop media trial: Mazumdar-ShawHYDERABAD: Noted entrepre-neur Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw says beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya should be given a fair op-portunity to settle the loan default issues with banks, and maintained media trial against him would not help matters.
Resolution of debt and finan-cial disputes take a long time in the country due to lack of a bank-ruptcy law, she said in an inter-view here and noted Mallya has himself clarified he is willing to settle the loan default case and hence he needs to be given a fair opportunity to do so.
She expressed confidence Mallya would return to India.
Pointing that the case was pend-
ing before the Debt Recovery Tri-bunal for some years, the Chair-person and MD of biotechnology major Biocon, said: “It (settlement) does not happen overnight” and said media exerting pressure on Mallya to settle the dues instantly does not make it easy.
“Today everybody is being tried by media...whether it’s banks re-covering their debts...whether it’s the debtors, whether it’s the gov-ernment...everybody is being tried by media...for instant recovery of all dues — each and every penny...which is unrealistic. So, media frenzy is getting in the way of fol-lowing due processes,” she said.
Interestingly, noted industrial-ist Rahul Bajaj had said, “Wher-
ever there are justifiable reasons (for non-payment of loans), ac-tions should not be taken. Howev-er, where there are cases of wilful default, where loans were diverted for other purposes, action should be taken. Catching thieves will not harm the country.”
Debt recoveryMazumdar-Shaw, however, said there are many companies which have large debts even though they have not been declared as default-ers. One has to focus on the bigger issues of debt recovery and dispute resolution and also on the mount-ing debt of public sector banks which is causing financial stress.
The proposed bankruptcy law,
when cleared by Parliament, would certainly expedite the pro-cess of resolving these enormous challenges (NPA issue), she said.
“There are many debts which have to be recovered. Fair oppor-tunity should be give to debtors to settle. But just being carried away by TV shows, nothing is go-ing to come.
“I think every defaulter should be given an opportunity to settle. If you constantly threaten the debtor that you will be arrested, you will be put behind bars... that’s not the way to recover the debts.”
“We never had bankruptcy law which is very important law to deal with all these things. I think we have to give an opportunity not
just to Vijay Mallya but all debtors and defaulters to try and settle with banks and banks to recover as much dues as they can,” Ma-zumdar-Shaw noted.
WorriedNoting that she and Mallya grew up together, she said “I have known him for a long time. And I know that he is sincerely trying to settle his debt. But now he is so worried about the way media has been going after him.”
On whether Mallya would re-turn to India, she said: “I am sure he will. Of course he is very wor-ried about what will happen when he comes back. He is very keen to settle.” - PTI
L O A N D E F A U L T
Manmohan speaks on intolerance; says youth want world free of itGANDHINAGAR: Amid the de-bate on intolerance and national-ism, former prime minister Man-mohan Singh on Saturday advised the students to collaborate with various “decision-makers” to make the world free of inequality and intolerance.
“The youth of today has a bright vision for the future. They want a world free of poverty, unemploy-ment, inequality and intolerance. The students should join hands with various decision-makers in public and private sectors in dis-covering and realising this beau-tiful dream,” Singh said.
“Students are integral part of societal fabric. They must un-derstand the importance of re-lationship between themselves as individuals and society....main occupation of students is study-ing. But this does not give them the liberty to isolate themselves from the happenings of the world surrounding them.”
He was speaking on ‘Creating Role of Students in Future of In-
dia’ at `Bapu Gujarat Knowledge Village’, educational institution run by senior Congress leader Shankersinh Vaghela in Gandhi-nagar district. The former PM’s statement comes at a time when there is ongoing national debate on intolerance and nationalism after the incidents at Jawaharlal Nehru University and Hyderabad Central University.
“A good education system must also promote the value system enshrined in our Constitution,” Singh said.
“From the history of this vast country, we have learnt about the major role played by students in our Independence movement.
“The experience and knowl-edge of our great leaders led by Mahatma Gandhi combined with the vigour and dynamism of our students brought us the desired result in the form of Independ-ence. Now the time has come to take up the mantle again in lead-ing our country to be a top eco-nomic force in the world,” Singh said. - PTI
S T A T E M E N T
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
EC takes up issue of hate speech with political parties
NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India on Saturday flagged the issue of “hate speeches” and plunging standards of politi-cal discourse during campaigning with the parties, in the backdrop of personal attacks by leaders in the recent assembly polls.
At the closed-door meeting, the political parties agreed that the issue had to be addressed.
But most of the six national par-ties and the 49 regional parties opposed the suggestion of the poll panel to hike security deposit for contesting candidates and seek-ing a ‘no dues’ certificate from parties operating from govern-ment accommodations.
Hike security depositAt present, a candidate has to de-posit a security of Rs10,000 for as-sembly polls and Rs25,000 for Lok Sabha polls which is forfeited in case the contestant gets less that one-sixth of the votes polled.
There were also divergent views on the use of ‘totaliser’, a machine with mixes votes from various polling stations and which EC feels would further protect voters’ identity during counting of votes.
At the closed-door meeting, the Commission also took up the issue of ‘indirect campaigning’ in areas which go to polls in a multi-phased election. - PTI
P O L L R E F O R M S
FUNCTION: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a programme at Bapu Gujarat Knowledge Village (GKV) campus in Gandhinagar on Saturday. - PTI
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Targets for global health investmentBjørn Lomborg
If the global media were your only source of in-formation, you could be forgiven for thinking that the world’s biggest health concern right
now is the Zika virus, or that last year it was Ebola – or SARS and the Avian Flu before that. Panic about these contagions has spread far more rapidly than the diseases.
In reality, the global death toll from all of them, combined, is tiny compared to that from major in-fectious diseases that we hear much less about: diarrhea, tuberculosis, AIDS, malaria, tetanus, or measles. The death toll from non-communicable diseases like strokes and heart attacks is higher still.
Global decision-makers such as governments and donors are faced with competing priorities, but often they do not explicitly or transparently choose among them.
Because the media’s attention is on Zika, Ebola, or SARS, more spending goes to them.
My think tank, the Copenhagen Consensus Cent-er, publishes research and findings on the costs and benefits of such choices, in order to provide policy-makers – and the public – with evidence to maxim-ise the effectiveness of their decision.
This approach is driven by the belief that every dollar should achieve the most good that it can.
When it comes to public health, the countries where the world’s poorest billion people live spend, on average, a measly $15 annually per person.
Each year, premature death – fatalities before the age of 70 – will claim around nine million lives in low-income countries like Cambodia, Ethiopia, and Haiti. Another 19 million people will die early in lower middle-income countries like India, Nigeria, and Guatemala. In total, these poorest countries ac-count for about half of the world’s population.
By 2030, increasing prosperity will reduce the total number of annual premature deaths from 28 million to 24 million, despite the addition of nearly a billion people. But we could do better if we could improve health-care delivery.
In a paper for the Copenhagen Consensus Cent-er, Canadian researchers found that it is possible to reduce child mortality by two-thirds from the 2010 level and cut the number of deaths of those aged 5-69 by one-third. Cumulatively, seven mil-lion lives would be saved annually in the poor half of the world by 2030. To achieve this, health spending needs to rise from 2 per cent to 5 per cent of GDP.
Of course, reducing mortality requires far more than just allocating money. Resources must be channeled into training for staff, more clinics, and medicines, and be employed as effectively as pos-sible in each area. But there have to be resources to channel. In April 2001, African leaders – represent-ing many of the poorest countries on earth – signed the Abuja Declaration pledging to allocate at least 15 per cent of their annual budgets to improve health. As of 2011, only Tanzania had achieved this goal, while 11 countries actually reduced their relative contributions, and the remaining nine signatories kept spending stagnant.
On current trends, it is expected that spending on public health in low-income countries will rise to $23 per person by 2030, because countries will be richer. Increasing this by another $34 would avoid an extra two million deaths each year. For lower middle-income countries, the average public health expenditure will be $85; increasing this by another $128 would save almost five million additional lives by 2030.How does this investment stack up? Total extra costs would run to almost $500 billion annu-ally by 2030. But, for every dollar spent, we would gain $4 of human benefits. For the poorest one bil-lion, each dollar spent improving health care across the board would do $13 worth of good, because there are many relatively easy things to improve.
But policymakers have other choices. For exam-ple, if they chose to address high-profile diseases like tuberculosis or malaria, each dollar they spent would achieve $43 or $36 worth of benefits, re-spectively. That would be more effective, because the returns are targeted. By contrast, when we try to improve an entire health system, we save fewer life years, because our resources also are devoted to harder-to-cure diseases with higher costs.
The Copenhagen Consensus research shows us that trying to improve health systems uniformly, across the board, shouldn’t be our absolutely top priority. But strengthening developing countries’ capacity to identify and manage known national and global health risks – the true global killers, like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS – is an excellent invest-ment. — Project Syndicate
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Traffic safety instructions if not followed are useless I noticed the signage Am I driving carefully? If not, please dial 0000-0000 on the rear of a heavy truck moving in front of me dur-ing a rainy weekend drive back home. The sticker made me think
of safety and the purpose of having this advice to those of the roads, whether fellow drivers or pedestrians. As I moved further I noticed the driver of the truck was talking over the phone and seemed to be in a hurry. Such safety initiatives become a waste of effort when motorists violate the very basic of safety norms while on the wheel. In cer-tain occasions, the emergency number ap-peared on the vehicle was that of the person who drives vehicle, and he too often ignores the very basic of safety. Once, when I dialled a number that appeared on another vehicle, no one responded!. The most sur-prising fact is that some drivers themselves are not informed of such safety initiatives on the vehicles they drive. Whenever I see such violations I think about the ethics in corporate culture; perhaps it is only to satisfy certain needs of certain customers.
It is quite appalling that signage of similar nature have no real value added to it when they do not get the required attention. Such hap-penings surely send a wrong signal. — Ramachandran Nair, Ruwi
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Unesco-aided projects reviewedMUSCAT: Saud bin Ibrahim Al Busaidi, minister of education, re-ceived here yesterday the Unesco director general. They discussed ways of strengthening existing joint cooperation between the Minis-try of Education and the Unesco and aspects of support provided by the Unesco to the member states. Minutes of the meeting which in-cluded most projects implemented in the Sultanate with the support of Unesco were signed. The two sides also reviewed future plans and projects that Sultanate intends to set up in cooperation with the Un-esco.
1792: In Paris, the Legislative Assembly approves the use of the guillotine.
1841: Edgar Allen Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue, considered the first detective story, is published.
1906: Army officers in Russia mutiny at Sevastopol.
1963: Patty Hearst is convicted of armed robbery.
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With General Raheel Sharif, Pakistan’s current army chief,
publicly declaring his intent to retire in November this year and not seek extension, Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif is poised to complete his term in relative peace and with no real
opposition in sight
KAMRAN REHMAT
Theoretically, Kasich and Cruz could coordinate their efforts to focus their strengths (Kasich’s strengths are theoretical). But
apparently neither of these would-be Trump stoppers plays any better
with others than does the man they’re chasing. Trump couldn’t have asked for a better opponent
JONATHAN BERNSTEIN
Hong Kong government is now entertaining proposals to upgrade
the port. But it’s too late. It can’t change the fact that China’s
economy has modernised well past the stage where it needs a gateway.
That aspect of Hong Kong’s identity, like so many others, will likely
have to accommodate itself to ever greater Chinese influence
ADAM MINTER
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Red Mosque cleric disappointed over decision to allow Musharraf to travelISLAMABAD: Red Mosque cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz expressed on Friday, disappointment over the government’s decision to allow former president General Pervez Musharraf to leave the country on the grounds of medical treatment.
“The government’s decision is an insult to all those who had in-stituted criminal cases against Musharraf,” Aziz’s spokesperson, Maulana Abdul Qadir quoted him as saying.
Further, while speaking to The Express Tribune, Qadir said that the government by allowing Musharraf to leave the country, has denied justice to hundreds of people.
On July 3, 2007, Musharraf had ordered a military operation against the mosque administra-tion for challenging the writ of the state. The spokesperson further added that Aziz while expressing disappointment in the country’s media for its ‘negative role’ on reli-gious matters, particularly the Red Mosque and Jamia Hafsa, decided to avoid journalists.
“Media has always distorted his statements and press interviews,” the spokesperson protested. “But we understand very well that press is not free in our country.”
In February, Aziz announced he was ready to forgive Mushar-raf and others in the Red Mosque case. “I will soon be able to per-suade some of my family members and will announce the forgiveness publicly,” Aziz told reporters, say-ing he did not make any deal with anyone regarding the case.
The cleric claimed that Mush-arraf would not have committed such a mistake had laws been en-forced in the country.
“Musharraf is my Muslim brother and I will pardon him after consultation with my family mem-bers,” he said.
Highlighting the importance of forgiveness in Islam, Aziz said that people do quarrel but then they forgive each other and reunite and we should also unite for Holy Quran and Sunnah.
However days after the an-nouncement, heirs of those killed
in the 2007 Red Mosque military operation accused Aziz of ‘dicta-torship’ by pardoning the former military ruler.
According to Qadir, the cleric still stands by his decision of par-doning Musharraf and that the case is still in the court as families of those killed in the operation are not willing to forgive Musharraf.
“It is a mockery of justice that a day before the government de-cided to allow the former military ruler to travel, a sessions court in Islamabad had maintained its earlier orders regarding issuance of non-bailable arrest warrant of Musharraf in the Abdul Rashid Ghazi murder case,” the spokes-person stated.
Ghazi, a younger brother of Aziz was also killed during the mili-tary operation. The murder case, against Musharraf was instituted by Haroon Rashid, the son of slain cleric through Advocate Tariq Asad in a sessions court.
During the hearing when the court re-issued arrest the arrest warrant, Asad argued that after the
recent ruling of the Supreme Court (SC), the government was likely to remove Musharraf’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL).
He contented if allowed to go abroad, the former president would not come back to face cases pending against him in different courts, including the Red Mosque cleric in the session court.
Musharraf’s counsel while op-posing the advocate’s arguments submitted an application seeking a day’s exemption for his client, stat-ing that the former president was admitted in the hospital and could not appear before the court due to his sickness.
The spokesperson also add-ed that a day after SC’s ruling, Musharraf was allowed to leave the country and upon arriving in Dubai for medical treatment, he summoned an important meeting of All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) at his residence. “Through Musharraf’s case, it has been proved that everyone is not equal before the law,” the spokes-person regretted. -Express Tribune
M E D I C A L G R O U N D S
CANDID: Red Mosque cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz expressed on
Friday disappointment over the government’s decision to allow
former president General Pervez Musharraf to leave the country on
of medical grounds. - Express Tribune file photo
ECC approves Rs22 billion bailout package for PIA
ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Friday approved a Rs22 billion bailout package for Pakistan International Air-lines (PIA).
The move comes just two days before a joint sitting of parliament which, among other legislation, is expected to take up a controver-sial bill to pave the way for the na-tional flag carrier’s privatisation.
The Economic Coordination
Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet approved the package that in-cludes Rs5 billion in fresh guar-antees for more borrowings and a roll-over of Rs17 billion debt that PIA incurred in the past, finance ministry officials said.
LiabilitiesThe net increase in liabilities of PIA will be Rs5 billion.
The ECC allowed an increase
in the limit of the federal govern-ment guarantees for PIA from Rs146 billion to Rs151 billion to help the national flag-carrier pay its liabilities, a finance ministry handout said.
It is the second time in the last four months that the government increased the limit of guarantees.
Earlier, in December, the ECC had jacked up the limit from Rs141 billion to Rs146 billion.
The finance ministry will also assist the Aviation Division nego-tiate a Rs12 billion loan roll-over with banks, said the officials.
In addition, it will also help roll over Rs5 billion loans that PIA borrowed on its balance sheet without support from the finance ministry. The government did not mention the Rs17 billion roll-over in the official handout.
Over Rs8 billion in loans are
maturing in the next three months that have to be serviced to avoid default. The PIA also needs money to pay to Pakistan State Oil.
DebtThe airline needs Rs3.8 billion per month just to pay back its past debt and interest against them.
The ECC also levied 15 per cent additional regulatory duties on import of finished iron and steel products, denying the housing and construction industry benefits of reduced steel prices in the inter-national markets.
Meanwhile, the National As-sembly on Friday approved a mo-tion to place the controversial Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (Conversion) Bill, 2016 on the agenda of the upcom-ing joint session of parliament on Monday. Minister of State for Par-liamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab moved the motion in the lower house a day after President Mam-noon Hussain summoned the joint sitting following an agree-ment between the government and opposition.
The two sides had agreed on Thursday to take up several pend-ing legislation, such as the Gas Theft Control and Recovery Bill, 2014, in the joint session.
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, however, had as-sured the opposition that the PIA bill would only be tabled after briefing the latter’s representa-tives in detail over the conten-tious legislation. - Express Tribune
The Economic
Coordination
Committee (ECC) of
the Cabinet approved
the package that
includes Rs5 billion
in fresh guarantees
for more borrowings
and a roll-over of
Rs17 billion debt that
PIA incurred in the
past, finance ministry
officials said DEBT-RIDDEN: Pakistan International Airlines needs Rs3.8 billion per month just to pay back its past
debt and interest against them. - Reuters file photo
Automobile policy offers tax incentives for new entrantISLAMABAD: In the hope of at-tracting a European carmaker, the government on Friday ap-proved a new automobile policy, which offers tax incentives to new entrants to help them establish manufacturing units and compete effectively with the three well-en-trenched assemblers.
After a hiatus of almost two and a half years, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet gave the go-ahead to the Automotive Development Policy 2016-21, according to an an-nouncement made by the Ministry of Finance.
However, the government did not change its policy for used car imports, leaving consumers with a narrow range of choice until new brands of good quality are pro-duced in the domestic market.
Used carsThe Federal Board of Revenue had proposed that import of up to five-year-old used cars should be allowed compared to the current three-year ceiling.
It also called for opening im-ports for commercial purposes.
The automotive policy will be formally launched on Monday.
Industries and Production Min-ister Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi did not attend the ECC meeting.
“The existing three car manu-
facturers will not be entitled to the benefits that are being offered to the new investors,” said Miftah Ismail, Chairman of the Board of Investment, while talking to The Express Tribune.
The policy was aimed at enhanc-ing consumer welfare and boost-
ing competition besides attracting new players, he added.
Ismail said greater localisation of auto parts had been ensured in the policy and in case the new en-trants were unable to achieve the targets, they would be penalised.
Contrary to the demand of Volk-
swagen, the definition of medium knocked-down unit has been re-moved from the policy.
The government desires that Fiat, Audi or Volkswagen should establish its plant in the country.
The definition of new investor has again been changed to deny
certain benefits to the existing auto players.
Greenfield is now defined as “in-stallation of new and independent automotive assembly and manu-facturing facilities by an investor for the production of vehicles of make not already being manufac-tured in Pakistan.”
The government has included the word ‘make’ and deleted the word ‘assembled’. It has defined ‘make’ as “any vehicle of what-ever variant produced by the same manufacturer.”
The government has allowed one-off duty-free import of plant and machinery for setting up an assembly and manufacturing fa-cility. It has also permitted im-port of 100 vehicles of the same variants in the form of completely built units (CBUs) at 50 per cent of the prevailing duty for test mar-keting after the groundbreaking of the project.
A major incentive for the new investors is the reduced 10 per cent customs duty on non-local-ised parts for five years against the prevailing 32.5 per cent.
For existing investors, the duty will be slashed by 2.5 per cent to 30 per cent from the new fiscal year 2016-17.
Similarly, localised parts can be imported by the new entrants at 25 per cent duty compared to the cur-
rent 50 per cent for five years.For existing players, the duty on
import of localised parts will be brought down to 45 per cent from the new fiscal year, beginning July.
In the CBU category, customs duty on cars up to 1,800cc engine capacity has been reduced by 10 per cent for two years – 2017-18 and 2018-19.
This will be applicable to the existing players as well and will encourage reduction in car prices.
A single duty rate will be applied to the localised and non-localised parts after five years of the new policy. The present duty structure will continue for seven years for the new investors.
The Board of Investment will provide a single point of contact for all new investors.
Sick unit revivalThey will be required to submit a detailed business plan and rel-evant documents to the Engineer-ing Development Board (EDB) for assessment.
The Ministry of Industries, on recommendation of the EDB, will approve the new investor under the relevant category.
The non-localised parts can be imported at 10 per cent and local-ised parts at 25 per cent duty for three years for the revival of a sick unit. - Express Tribune
E S T A B L I S H M A N U F A C T U R I N G U N I T S
BENEFITS DENIED: In the auto policy the existing three car assemblers will not be entitled to the tax
concessions. The policy will be formally launched on Monday. - Reuters file photo
Rahat to feature at UN to mark Pakistan DayISLAMABAD: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan will feature at the United Nations on March 23 to mark Pa-kistan’s national day.
The “Sufi Night: Music of Peace” concert will be organised at the UN General Assembly hall under the theme of global peace and harmo-ny, with the renowned singer pre-senting his world famous songs.
The event is expected to draw crowds in addition to diplomats, UN and Pakistani officials and representatives of civil society and media. It is being organised under the directions of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
“The concert is an effort to project Pakistan’s soft image and present its culture. Public diplo-macy is the most effective way to win hearts and minds and this [event] aims to do just that,” said Pakistan’s Ambassador to UN, Dr Maleeha Lodhi.
Rahat Fateh is regarded as one of the world’s leading exponents of Sufi music. -Express Tribune
C O N C E R T
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
ISTANBUL/ANKARA: Five peo-ple including a suicide bomber were killed and 36 wounded in an attack on a major shopping and tourist district in central Istanbul on Saturday, in the fourth suicide bombing to hit Turkey this year.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack on part of Istiklal Street, a long pedes-trian street lined with global shops and foreign consulates, a few hun-dred metres from an area where police buses are often parked.
Two Turkish officials told Reu-ters evidence suggested the attack-er was likely from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) or the IS militant group.
NATO member Turkey faces se-
curity threats from both the PKK in the mainly Kurdish southeast and has also been a target for ex-tremist militants. One of the offi-cial said the bomber had planned
to hit a more crowded spot.“The attacker detonated the
bomb before reaching the targeted point because they were scared of the police,” the official said, declin-
ing to be named because the inves-tigation is ongoing.
Armed police sealed off the shopping street where half a dozen ambulances had gathered. Foren-sic teams in white suits scoured the area for evidence. Police heli-copters buzzed overhead and pan-icked shoppers fled the area, duck-ing down narrow sidestreets.
“My local shopkeeper told me someone had blown himself up and I walked towards the end of the street,” one neighbourhood resident told Reuters.
“I saw a body on the street. No
one was treating him but then I saw someone who appeared to be a regular citizen trying to do something to the body. That was enough for me and I turned and went back.” Istiklal Street, usually thronged with shoppers on week-ends, was quieter than normal before the blast as more people are staying home after a series of deadly bombings.
Health Minister Mehmet Muez-zinoglu confirmed that 36 people had been wounded and seven of those were in serious condition. Twelve of the wounded were for-eigners, he said. Israel’s foreign ministry confirmed some of its citizens were among the wounded. Broadcaster NTV said six of the wounded were Israeli tourists and two others were from Iceland.
“We as a nation are unfortu-nately now face to face with a sit-uation of unlimited, immeasurable acts that are inhumane, defy hu-man values and are treacherous,” Muezzinoglu said.
A suicide car bombing in the capital Ankara killed 37 people this month. A similar bombing in Ankara last month killed 29 peo-ple. A Kurdish militant group has claimed responsibility for both of those bombings.
In January, a suicide bomber killed around 10 people, most of them German tourists, in Istan-bul’s historic heart, an attack the government blamed on IS.
France condemned the attack as “despicable and cowardly”. Ger-many, which this week shut its embassy, consulate and schools in Ankara and Istanbul over security fears, urged tourists in Istanbul to stay in their hotels.
Turkey’s Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), a Kurdish-rooted opposition party, condemned the bombing. “Just as in the Ankara attack, this is a terrorist act that directly targets civilians,” the HDP said in an e-mailed statement.
“Whoever carried out this attack, it is unacceptable and inexcusable.”
Turkey is fighting IS in neigh-bouring Syria and Iraq. It is also battling PKK militants in its southeast, where a 2-1/2-year ceasefire collapsed last July, trig-gering the worst violence since the 1990s.
In its armed campaign in Tur-key, the PKK has historically struck directly at the security forc-es and says that it does not target civilians. — Reuters
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5 killed in Istanbul suicide blastTwo Turkish officials
told Reuters evidence
suggested the
attacker was likely
from the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK) or the IS
militant group
CARNAGE: A man is helped by emergency services members following a suicide bombing in a major
shopping and tourist district in central Istanbul on Saturday. — Reuters
SOMALIA HIT BY DROUGHT Children carry empty jerry cans as they walk to the
Shabelle River bed, which is dry due to drought in
Somalia’s Shabelle region, on Saturday. — Reuters
More than 230,000 children displaced by Colombia war despite peace talksBOGOTA: More than 230,000 Colombian children have been forced to flee their homes since peace talks between the govern-ment and rebels began three years ago, and children will con-tinue to be at risk even if a deal is reached, the United Nations said on last Monday.
The government and rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are inching ever closer to signing a peace deal in Cuba, where talks began in late 2012. If a peace ac-cord is reached it would bring an end to more than half a century of war and Latin America’s longest-running insurgency.
“Even if the peace agreement were to be signed tomorrow, chil-dren will continue to be at risk of all kinds of violations includ-ing recruitment, landmines and sexual exploitation,” Roberto De Bernardi, Colombia representa-tive for the UN children’s agency (UNICEF), said in a statement.
“Unless these children receive the material and psychological assistance they need, the pros-pects of long-lasting peace will remain elusive,” he said.
Peace talks and a unilateral ceasefire declared by the FARC in July 2015 have led to a decline in the number of children displaced and injured or killed by land-mines, UNICEF said in its latest report. But despite peace efforts, an average of more than 6,000 children a month were uprooted from their homes between 2013 and 2015, the report said.
Children account for one in every three of Colombia’s 7.8 mil-lion officially registered war vic-tims. Government figures show
nearly 45,000 children have been killed and 8,000 disappeared since 1985.
Conflict areas“No child in Colombia today knows what it is like to live in a country at peace. It is time to turn the page,” said De Bernardi. Indigenous and Afro-Colombian children living in conflict areas, mainly concentrated in Colom-bia’s border areas and jungle provinces, have been particularly hard hit by the conflict over the decades, UNICEF said.
Children are also at risk of be-ing recruited, and 1,000 children were used or recruited by ille-gal armed groups, including the FARC, in the last three years, UNICEF said.
The government estimates there are 2,000 child soldiers in FARC ranks. Children are trained to fight, use grenades and to plant home-made landmines. — Reuters
L A T I N A M E R I C A ’ S L O N G E S T - R U N N I N G I N S U R G E N C Y
The government
and rebels from the
Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia are
inching ever closer to
signing a peace deal
in Cuba, where talks
began in late 2012
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LONDON: British Prime Min-ister David Cameron was forced into a hasty cabinet reshuffle on Saturday as the dramatic resignation of a senior minister threatened to widen divisions over Europe within the ruling Conservative party.
The rancorous departure of Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, a leading campaigner for Britain to quit the European Union, also deals a blow to the political ambitions of finance minister George Os-borne, commentators said.
Cameron and Osborne are both urging Britons to vote to remain in the EU in a June 23 referendum but many Conserv-ative lawmakers and activists favour a “Brexit”.
The issue has riven the party for decades.
Tax cuts for richIn his resignation letter on Friday, Duncan Smith, a former Conserv-ative party leader, cited cuts to disability benefits outlined in Os-borne’s annual budget last week, which also included tax cuts for richer households.
He complained about pressure from the Treasury to cut welfare payments in order to meet fiscal conditions set out by Osborne.
“I am unable to watch passively whilst certain policies are enact-ed in order to meet the fiscal self-
imposed restraints that I believe are more and more perceived as distinctly political rather than in the national economic interest,” he wrote.
By suggesting that cuts were hitting the poor harder than the rich, Duncan Smith also cast doubt on one of Cameron’s key
mantras, that austerity was being equally shared by all.
His letter concluded: “I hope as the government goes forward you can look again...at the balance of the cuts you have insisted upon and wonder if enough has been done to ensure ‘we are all in this together’.” — Reuters
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WORLD OBSERVES EARTH HOUR This combination of pictures created on Saturday shows
the city skyline before, top, and after, bottom, the lights
were switched off during the Earth Hour campaign
in Shanghai on Saturday. Millions of people from 178
countries and territories are expected to take part in
WWF’s Earth Hour this year, with monuments and buildings such as the Eiffel Tower,
Taipei 101 and the Empire State Building plunging into darkness for 60 minutes from
8:30pm local time. - AFP
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Paris attacks suspect charged, fights extradition
BRUSSELS: Salah Abdeslam, the prime surviving suspect in No-vember’s Paris attacks, answered questions from Belgian investiga-tors on Saturday a day after his arrest but will fight extradition to France, his lawyer said.
Belgian prosecutors said Ab-deslam and a second man arrest-ed with him on Friday had been charged with “participation in terrorist murder”.
Cooperating“He is cooperating with Belgian justice,” his lawyer Sven Mary told reporters outside the judicial po-
lice headquarters, adding that Abdeslam, bedridden after being shot in the leg during his cap-ture, admitted being in Paris on November 13.
His elder brother was among the suicide bombers involved in gun and bomb attacks that night that killed 130 people.
Mary added that the 26-year-old French national, who was born and raised in Brussels in a Mo-roccan immigrant family, would refuse the extradition demanded by French President Francois Hol-lande, who was in Brussels during Friday’s drama.
Legal experts said his challenge was unlikely to succeed, but it would buy him more time to pre-pare his eventual defence.
Legal proceedingsHaving spent his first night in cap-tivity in a Brussels hospital, he is expected to be moved to a high-security jail in the western city of Bruges while legal proceedings continue.
French and Belgian leaders have hailed his arrest, several days af-ter Brussels police stumbled on his fingerprints during a raid that turned violent, as a turning point in clarifying who planned and or-dered the Paris attacks, in which all the identified assailants were shot dead or blew themselves up.
It may also be an opportunity to disrupt other militant cells which Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said were cer-tainly “out there” and planning further violence.
“We’ve won a battle against the forces of ignorance but the strug-gle isn’t over,” Belgian Prime Min-ister Charles Michel said.
Interpol issued an advisory to ensure border guards were ready to seize fleeing accomplices.
A Belgian, 31-year-old Mo-hamed Abrini, is still on EU police agency Europol’s “Most Wanted” list after being caught on CCTV with Abdeslam in a car heading to the French capital two days before the attacks.
The arrest raises questions about the intelligence capabili-ties of the security services and the size of network Abdeslam could call on to conceal him for four months before he was found just a few hundred yards from his parents’ home in the down-at-heel, North African quarter of the borough of Molenbeek.
False papersA man using false papers in the names of Amine Choukri and Monir Ahmed Alaaj was also charged with terrorist murder.
As Choukri, he was documented by German police at Ulm in Oc-tober when he was stopped in a car with Abdeslam. A man in the house was charged with belonging to a terrorist organisation and he and a woman were charged with concealing criminals.
While it is unclear exactly where Abdeslam has been since he called two acquaintances in a panic in the hours after the attacks and asked them to drive to Paris and bring him home, it appears he was in the Belgian capital all or most of the time.
As Parisians, and families of the victims, voiced relief at the arrest, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said after an emer-gency cabinet meeting that a trial could answer questions for those who suffered in the attacks.
“Abdeslam will have to answer to French justice for his acts,” he said.”It is an important blow to the terrorist organisation Daesh (IS) in Europe.” — Reuters
Salah Abdeslam,
26-year-old French
national, who was
born and raised
in Brussels in a
Moroccan immigrant
family, would refuse
the extradition
demanded by French
President Francois
Hollande
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DEPARTURE: British Prime Minister David Cameron appointed a
new welfare minister on Saturday to replace former Conservative
Party leader Iain Duncan Smith. — AFP
‘Dilma knew about bribery scheme’
SAO PAULO: A senator accused of involvement in Brazil’s biggest corruption scandal said President Dilma Rousseff and her predeces-sor Lula were both aware of it and tried to block prosecutors from investigating, Veja magazine said on Saturday.
In an interview with Brazil’s best-selling weekly news maga-zine, Senator Delcidio do Amaral said Dilma’s successful presiden-tial campaigns in 2010 and 2014
were financed with money from the graft scheme.
Amaral was the leader of the ruling Workers’ Party (PT) in the Senate and a close Dilma ally until he was arrested in No-vember on charges of attempting to bribe a former executive of state-run oil company Petrobras in exchange for his silence in the investigation..
He left the party this week af-ter agreeing a plea bargain, one
of several such deals that pros-ecutors have used to advance their probe.
ImpeachmentAmaral’s comments may in-crease the pressure on Dilma, whose ratings have been hard hit by the worst recession in decades and who faces impeachment pro-ceedings in Congress over sepa-rate allegations of manipulating budget accounts. — Reuters
S E N A T O R T E L L S M A G A Z I N E
Cameron in hasty reshuffle after resignation of minister
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Leasing firms raise capital to OMR25m ahead of deadline
A. E. [email protected]
MUSCAT: A majority of leas-ing and hire purchase companies in the country have reached the minimum capital requirement stipulated by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) at OMR25 million, well ahead of its deadline by the year-end.
A few other companies have structured their bond conversion plans in such a way so as to touch the paid-up capital at OMR25 mil-
lion before the end of this year.The CBO, a few years ago, had
asked leasing and hire purchase companies to raise minimum capi-tal to OMR25 million by the end of 2016 from OMR20 million in 2012 in a phased manner — OMR1 mil-lion each year starting from 2012.
“Our present paid-up capital is OMR26.32 million. It was raised by way of issuing bonus shares from retained earnings and rights issue. We had a OMR7.5 million rights issue in 2012,” Robert Pan-cras, chief executive officer (CEO)
of the National Finance Company, told Times of Oman.
Bond issuesAftab Patel, chief executive officer of Al Omaniya Financial Services, said his company’s capital base would cross the stipulated figure of OMR25 million by the end of 2016.
Al Omaniya’s two compulsory con-vertible bond issues, which were issued earlier, are due for con-version into equity in March and April, respectively.
Al Omaniya has issued compul-sory convertible bonds in such a way that OMR2 million was con-verted into equity during the last
few years. The company also is-sued rights shares. Most of the fi-nance companies have enhanced their capital base by way of con-vertible bond issue, bonus shares or rights issue.
The reason for raising the mini-mum capital was to make leasing firms strong and stable, which will
ensure confidence in these compa-nies. Companies with large capital can withstand any market volatil-ity and achieve better growth.
“With a large capital base, the ability to lend money to a single client goes up. If you have a large capital, your capital adequacy ra-tio goes up,” noted Patel. However, leasing companies need to get a greater volume of business to ser-vice a higher capital.
Muscat Finance has a paid up cap-ital of OMR25.16 million, according to the MSM website. Also, United Finance and Taageer Finance have also crossed the minimum stipu-lated capital of OMR25 million, the MSM website pointed out.
The apex bank had directed leasing and hire
purchase firms to raise minimum capital to
OMR25m by 2016 from OMR20m
REGULATORY REQUIREMENT: The main objective of raising minimum capital was to make leasing
firms strong and stable. – Times file picture
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ZUCKERBERG IN CHINAFacebook’s co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg met China’s propaganda czar Liu Yunshan in Beijing on Saturday as part of a charm offensive in one of the few markets where the social network cannot be accessed. - Reuters
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300 firms to participate in Oil and Gas West Asia forumMUSCAT: Tenth edition of the Oil and Gas West Asia (OGWA 2016) exhibition and conference will start at the Oman International Exhibition Centre on Monday.
The three-day event is being organised by Oman Expo, in col-laboration with the Ministry of Oil and Gas. The exhibition will bring together a group of international oil and gas companies and suppli-ers of technology and services in the industry.
The Oil and Gas West Asia conference and exhibition seeks the participation of companies from the Gulf Cooperation Coun-cil (GCC), Arab countries, Asia, America, Europe and Africa, which represent a fertile market for the products and services of Omani
firms operating in the oil and gas sector and promote the production and marketing of their products.
The exhibition will include three events. The first is a ministe-rial panel discussion, and the sec-ond is an oil and gas conference, which will draw the participation of officials and those interested in the industry from official and pri-vate entities.
The conference will host more than 300 local and international companies.
Saleh bin Ali Al Anbori, director general of Petroleum Investment Management at the Ministry of Oil and Gas, informed that there will be a panel discussion regarding the developments in the interna-tional oil and gas markets and mat-
ters related to oil and gas industry. Chief executive officers of major international oil companies will discuss these topics and exchange views on the ongoing develop-ments and challenges faced by the two sectors.
He explained that the confer-ence will also present more infor-
mation in the oil and gas industry with support of from Oman’s Min-istry of Oil and Gas, which pro-vides a huge opportunity for the long relationship between various companies and businessmen, who contribute in this area, particularly with regards to the technology that is developing every year to work on
advanced scientific grounds.
Enhanced oil recoverySheikh Sultan bin Said Al Shithani, manager of Petroleum Engineer-ing at Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) said the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) conference is one of three conferences held under this theme.
He pointed out that the confer-ence has been constantly improv-ing as is reflected in the number of papers that have been submitted for participation in this confer-ence—431 papers from 64 compa-nies belonging to 40 countries. He added that papers were assessed and only 115 research papers were shortlisted from 49 companies representing 21 countries, in ad-
dition to the 20 panel discussions and seminars.
Salim bin Saif Al Salmi, manager of Studies at Oman Occidental said the conference specialises on EOR topics and it will be an opportunity to exchange expertise from within or outside the Sultanate in the field of steam enhanced oil recovery.
A wide range of government and private institutions from around the world will take part in the conference.
More than 300 local and inter-national companies represent-ing several countries, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, India, Iran, China, Austria, Italy, Bel-gium, Egypt, France, Germany and Indonesia will take part in the conference. - ONA
E N E R G Y C O N F E R E N C E
Oman can become gateway to African market: Expert
MOBIN MATHEW [email protected]
MUSCAT: Oman can become a gateway for many international companies to the African market due to its strong bilateral relation-ships with the African countries, said the executive director of Al Iktissad Wal Aamal, the organiser of Oman Economic Forum.
“Oman is a stable country with lots of infrastructure and resourc-es so that Oman can easily cater the Asian market,” Walid Abou Zaki, the executive director of Al Iktissad Wal Aamal said.
He pointed out that the Sultan-ate’s geographical location and its infrastructure, besides its histori-cal relationships with African na-tions make the country one of the best options to Asian countries to enter the African market.
“Our aim is to promote business and investment opportunities in Oman to the local and interna-
tional investors,” Walid Abou Zaki told Times of Oman.
To achieve the goal, he said Ik-tissad Wal Aamal will be organ-ising Oman Economic Forum (OEF) — a platform for business-men and investors to meet and share their ideas of business .
The fifth edition of the OEF will take place at the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa in Muscat on March 23.
The forum is expected to host around 500 investors from Oman and the Arab states. This include more than 100 global investment fund members from the Co-in-vestment Roundtable of Sovereign and Pension Funds (CROSAPF) whose meeting coincides with the
forum, as well as delegations from China, Japan, Iran, Turkey and other Asian countries.
Two-day eventThe two-day forum is being or-ganised by the Ministry of Com-merce and Industry and the Al Iktissad Wal Aamal Group in co-operation with the State General Reserve Fund, Duqm Special Eco-nomic Zone Authority (Sezad), Central Bank of Oman and Oman Chamber of Commerce & Indus-try. The theme for this year’s fo-rum is ‘Oman a bridge Between Asia & the GCC’.
On the other hand, the official pointed out that it won’t be easy to start a business in Iran after years
of approvals. Iranian regulation will need time to become friendly to foreign investors and the mar-ket will also need time to adapt with international business arena.
“So an Indian company or any (other) multinational company can operate from Oman to serve the Iranian market taking into consideration the facilities, regu-lations, free trade agreements, logistics and the advanced infra-structure of Oman,” Walid Abou Zaki said.
“The CEO-level officials from investment firms, banks and other companies who are looking to op-erate from Oman will be the par-ticipants,” he added.
Four Oman’s ministers along
with the other speakers will pre-sent the overview of Oman econ-omy at the event, he said.
“Ministers will share their thoughts about the ninth-five year plan, how Oman will overcome the low (oil) price period, diver-sification and Oman economic outlook to the participants of the forum,” he said.
Investment in IranMinisters from China, Iran and Japan will also attend and speak during the forum, besides a full session about investment oppor-tunities in Iran.
Other speakers will showcase what Oman can serve and what it has, he added.
He also stated that this forum also want to show the investment opportunities in different sectors in Oman such as mining, electric-ity, tourism and education.
According to him, it is the right time for private sector to invest and take over many projects from government.
“Right now, government does not enjoy the same amount of money as before, and it will focus on strategic projects and not on services. So we expect the gov-ernment to soften a lot of rules to partner with the private sector where more money to govern-ment and better service to peo-ple,” he said.
Oman Economic
Forum, scheduled to
take place on March
23, is expected to
host around 500
investors from Oman
and the Arab states
Nazar Al Lawatiappointed asSenior VP at GlassPoint Solar
Times News Service
MUSCAT: GlassPoint Solar, the leading supplier of solar to the oil and gas industry, has announced the appointment of energy finance expert Nazar Al Lawati as senior vice president of project develop-ment, International.
Al Lawati, who most recently served as chief financial officer of the state-owned Oman Oil Refiner-ies and Petroleum Industries Com-pany (Orpic), will lead GlassPoint’s growth in the Middle East region. His mandate includes fostering partnerships with strategic and in-ternational partners to develop and finance large-scale solar enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects.
“I am delighted to be part of an industry leader that is paving the way for solar deployment across the region,” stated Nazar Al Lawati.
“GlassPoint’s technology offers significant economic and environ-mental benefits to the local econo-mies where we operate. Using solar to produce steam for EOR can re-duce an oilfield’s gas requirements and corresponding carbon emis-sions by up to 80 per cent. Signifi-cant value can be extracted from the saved gas through export or by using it to fuel industrial projects .”
N E W R O L E
Oman is a stable country with lots of
infrastructure and resources so that
Oman can easily cater to the Asian
market. Our aim is to promote business
and investment opportunities in Oman to
the local and international investors
Walid Abou ZakiExecutive director, Al Iktissad Wal Aamal
HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com [email protected]
The Oil and Gas West Asia conference and exhibition
seeks the participation of companies from GCC states,
Arab countries, Asia, America, Europe and Africa, which
represent a fertile market for the products and services of
Omani companies operating in the oil and gas sector
B3S U N DAY, M A R C H 2 0, 2 0 1 6
MARKET
Hackers stalked
Bangladesh Bank
for two weeks
before $101m theft
DHAKA: Hackers who stole $101 million from Bangladesh’s central bank stalked its computer systems for almost two weeks beforehand, according to an interim investiga-tion report.
Prepared for Bangladesh Bank by cyber security firms FireEye and World Informatix, the assess-ment offers a tantalising glimpse into how cyber criminals can use banks’ own systems against them. The cyber companies say the thieves deployed malware on serv-ers housed at the central bank to make payments seem genuine.
The report cast the unidentified hackers as a sophisticated group who sought to cover their tracks by deleting computer logs as they went. Before making transfers they sneaked through the net-work, inserting software that would allow re-entry.
Nation-state hackersIt’s the sort of thorough operation often mounted by nation-state hackers, according to the report, but FireEye’s intelligence unit be-lieves the group, which it has been tracking for some time, is criminal. “These threat actors appear to be financially motivated, and well or-ganised,” the report said.
The heist, which saw payments processed through the bank’s ac-counts at the US Federal Reserve and money moved to the Philip-pines and Sri Lanka, was part of a bigger attempt to steal nearly $1 billion in total from the central bank. It exposed weaknesses in systems, sparked a dispute be-tween central bank and its Finance Ministry and cost the central bank governor his job. - Bloomberg News
F I N A N C I A L C R I M E Diversification in spotlight as Oman aims to avoid slowdown
MUSCAT: Oman’s economy is expected to remain vibrant and maintain the growth path owing to various factors such as gov-ernment’s continued focus on diversification, controlled infla-tion and the supportive demo-graphic profile.
In the current macro-economic situation with low crude oil prices, the government and the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) have been making efforts to avoid any slow-down in the growth of the economy.
Although the Sultanate wit-nessed an overall contraction in nominal growth domestic product (GDP) by 14.2 per cent from Jan-uary to September 2015 due to the decline in the petroleum sec-tor, the non-oil sector registered a growth of 4.7 per cent mainly due to services sector notably under transport and communi-cation, hotels and restaurants and real estate services.
Industrial sectors such as con-struction, electricity and water supply and mining and quarrying also registered growth.
Fiscal balanceOman’s fiscal balance also turned from surplus to deficit during the period as a result of the drop in crude prices.
Inflation continued its down-ward trend with the annual av-erage CPI for the Sultanate at 0.20 per cent in January 2016 as against the corresponding period in 2015. On the external front, the current account balance for the first three quarters in 2015 recorded a deficit. However, mon-etary aggregates in Oman contin-ued its growth pattern despite the decline in crude prices.
However, the pace of growth in banking aggregates is expected to show some decline. The total assets of conventional commer-cial banks increased by 10.7 per cent to OMR28.1 billion in Janu-ary 2016 from OMR25.3 billion a year ago. Of the total assets, credit disbursement accounted for 65.7 per cent and increased by 8.8 per cent as at end January 2016 to OMR18.4 billion.
Credit to the private sector in-creased by 10.7 per cent to touch OMR16.3 billion as at the end of January 2016. Of the total credit to the private sector, the share of the non-financial corporate sec-tor stood at 46.3 per cent, closely followed by the household sector (mainly under personal loans) at 45.6 per cent, financial corpora-
tions at 5.7 per cent and other sec-tors the remaining 2.4 per cent.
Commercial banks’ overall in-vestments in securities stood at OMR2.9 billion as at the end of January 2016 from OMR3 billion a year ago. Investment in Govern-ment Development Bonds (GDB) increased by 47 per cent over the year to OMR830.6 million at the end of January 2016. Banks also invested OMR541.3 million in government treasury bills as at the end of January 2016.
Commercial banks’ invest-ments in foreign securities stood at OMR744.6 million in January 2016, registering an increase of 1 per cent over the year. Aggregate deposits held with conventional banks registered an increase of 2.2 per cent to OMR17.8 billion in
January 2016 from OMR17.4 bil-lion a year ago.
Government deposits with conventional banks marginally declined by 6 per cent to RO4.7 bil-lion. Deposits of public enterprises increased 1.8 per cent to OMR0.9 billion during the same period.
Private sector depositsPrivate sector deposits, which constituted 67 per cent of to-tal deposits with conventional banks, increased by 5.6 per cent to OMR11.9 billion in January 2016 from OMR11.3 billion a year ago.
Sector-wise, the share of house-holds was 49.4 per cent of the total private sector deposit base, fol-lowed by non-financial corpora-tions at 28.7 per cent, financial corporations at 18.8 per cent and other sectors at 3.1 per cent.
Islamic banking entities pro-vided financing to the extent of OMR1.82 billion as at the end of January 2016 when compared to OMR1.1 billion a year ago. Total deposits held with Islamic banks and windows also registered a significant increase to OMR1.54 billion in January 2016 from OMR0.7 billion outstanding as at the end of January 2015.
Total assets of Islamic banks and windows combined, amount-ed to OMR2.3 billion as at the end of January 2016, which constitut-ed about 7.6 per cent of the bank-ing system assets.
The Sultanate
continues its focus
on diversification,
controlled inflation
and the supportive
demographic
profile to maintain
economic growth
HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com [email protected]
NON-OIL SECTOR GROWS: The non-oil sector in the Sultanate registered a growth of 4.7 per cent
mainly due to services sector notably under transport and communication, hotels and restaurants
and real estate services. - ONA file picture
Reforms facilitateCyprus overcome financial crisisTimes News Service
MUSCAT: Overcoming an un-precedented financial crisis, Cy-prus’ recovery has been impres-sive, following a three year period of reform, bank restructuring and fiscal consolidation, according to a government statement.
After the March 2013 decision to use the ‘bail-in’ instrument for the first time as a remedy in the Cyprus banking crisis, very few observers could have predicted that three years later Cyprus would see economic growth of 1.6 per cent, a nearly balanced budget with a primary surplus of some 2.5 per cent, steadily reduc-ing public debt, a well-capital-ised banking sector, and that the country would not be request-ing an extension of the current support programme, said Nikos Christodoulides, a Cyprus gov-ernment spokesman.
In fact, Cyprus is now referred to as a role model of economic reform and consolidation. Key to this success is that Cyprus managed to successfully turn the crisis into an opportunity to effectively address and correct long-term weaknesses, and to re-build a strong economy anchored on solid foundations.
This was done not by increas-ing taxes but, rather, by cutting public spending, freezing new hiring in the public sector and rationing welfare spending by reforming the welfare system. Further, a policy of privatisation and licensing was adopted by the
ports, along with the establish-ment of an integrated casino re-sort, building new marinas, along with restructuring the national lottery and the telecoms sector.
RestructuringThe banking sector has also been transformed through restruc-turing, resulting in a smaller, yet much healthier banking sector, which operates under stricter supervision and oversight. With strong recapitalisation, achieved mainly through significant for-eign investments, and with new management in most Cypriot banks, it is fair to say that the Cypriot banking system has over-come the recent crisis.
Equally significant, if not more so, is the strategic reorientation of the business and financial services sector, which no long-er relies on an oversized bank-ing sector, nor on notably high foreign deposits.
E C O N O M Y
Oman UAE Exchange reopens
its branch at Lulu in Sohar
Times News Service
MUSCAT: Sending money back home just became easier for the residents of Sohar. Oman UAE Exchange officially reopened its branch at the Lulu Hypermarket in Sohar.
The refurbished branch offers customers with financial services like instant bank transfer, over-seas cash payouts, foreign cur-
rency exchange among others.Speaking on the occasion,
Boban MP, chief executive officer of Oman UAE Exchange: “We are happy to announce the reo-pening of our branch in Sohar region. With better technologi-cal processes and improved ser-vice offerings, this move reflects our commitment to bring ‘con-venience’ a step closer to our valued customers.”
Oman UAE Exchange had re-cently tied up with three Indian banks — State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of India and Federal Bank — for Flash remit, a real-time account credit facility.
The instant bank transfer ser-vice enables Indian expatriates to transfer money directly to their beneficiary having account in any of the above banks anywhere in India.
M O N E Y E X C H A N G E
Nikos Christodoulides, a Cyprus
government spokesman.
– Supplied picture
Iran to discuss economic ties with Turkey
ISTANBUL: Iran wants to discuss greater economic cooperation with neighbouring Turkey in talks in Istanbul on Saturday, Tehran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Ja-vad Zarif, said in comments broad-cast by Iranian television.
Zarif arrived in Istanbul, where he is due to meet with President Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Tur-key’s foreign ministry has said the aim of talks will be “current regional and international devel-opments” as well as bilateral rela-tions between the two countries.
Zarif suggested that business would be high on the agenda. “We are seeking the best possible level of economic cooperation with Turkey after the nuclear deal,” he told reporters in Istanbul.
International sanctions aganisst Iran has been lifted this year follow-ing a deal with Western powers to curb its nuclear programme. - Reuters
B I L A T E R A L T R A D E
B4
FEATURES U N DAY, M A R C H 2 0, 2 0 1 6
A British exit (Brexit) from the European Union would be so dev-astating for the pound that 29 out of 34 econ-
omists in a Bloomberg survey see it sinking to $1.35 or below within a week of a vote to leave — levels last seen in 1985.
Twenty-three of the economists say sterling wouldn’t recover from that rate within three months of the June 23 referendum. Seven see the UK currency falling below $1.20 im-mediately after a “Brexit” vote. And just one sees it above $1.40, which is stronger than the almost seven-year low reached recently.
The pound sterling has already dropped more than two per cent versus each of its Group-of-10 peers in 2016 as an uneven economic re-covery and waning prospects of an interest-rate increase add to con-cern the nation will quit the world’s largest single market. The slide has accelerated since Prime Minister David Cameron announced the date of the vote, and everyone from poli-ticians to corporations are now set-ting out their views for and against
Britain quitting.“A vote for Brexit would hit ster-
ling hard,” said Nick Kounis, head of macro research at ABN Amro Bank in Amsterdam. He was one of the survey respondents and sees the pound falling to below $1.20 within a week of an exit vote. Sterling would be hurt by “the negative implications for growth and hence interest rates, but also because of capital outflows and concerns about the financing of the current-account deficit.”
Pound and politicsThe pound is already becoming a political football. Pro- Europeans cited Goldman Sachs Group’s warn-ing that the currency may fall 20 per cent on a Brexit in their campaign material. Sterling slumped the most since 2010 on Monday after London Mayor Boris Johnson, one of the na-tion’s best-known politicians, lent his support to the “Leave” campaign, putting him at odds with party col-league Cameron.
The prime minister was ques-tioned by lawmakers recently and asked whether the pound’s slide is a sign of the economic upheaval that
would follow an out vote. And Bank of England (BoE) Governor Mark Carney was drawn into the debate, acknowledging that the referendum campaign is weighing on sterling.
The BoE would respond to a vote to leave the EU by cutting interest rates from their record-low 0.5 per cent, said Enrique Diaz-Alvarez, chief risk officer at Ebury Partners, a London-based broker which topped Bloomberg’s rankings for forecast-ing euro-sterling in the second quar-ter of 2015. This could happen as soon as the day after the vote, he said. “The theme of the last few years has been currencies dominated by the relative stance of central banks, and clearly if Brexit does happen we’ll see an immediate response from the Bank of England,” said Diaz-Alvarez, who didn’t take part in the survey. Officials would “cut back to zero, re-moving all chances of a hike in the immediate future.”
Surpassing lowThe pound is already at the lowest level since March 2009, falling as far as $1.3965 on Wednesday. It’s ap-proaching the 14- month low of 78.98
pence per euro reached on February. 11, and is at its weakest on a trade-weighted basis since March 2014.
Reaching the lowest level versus the dollar since 1985 would mean surpassing 2009’s low of $1.3503 and see it tumble to levels unvis-ited since Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher crushed the unions in Brit-ain’s miners’ strike and London was aflame with race riots — and hosted the UK leg of the “Live Aid” concert.
The pound may tumble immedi-ately after a vote to quit the EU, but would probably recover some of its losses, said Peter Dixon, a London-based economist at Commerzbank. He sees sterling above $1.25 and up to $1.30 a week after a vote to leave, and between $1.35 and $1.40 three months afterward.
“I could certainly imagine an ini-tial pound collapse of up to 10 per cent, but I suspect this would not be sustained and we would see more of a rebound thereafter,” Dix-on said. “If the indications are that the UK is likely to vote for Brexit, it is likely that the bulk of the pound depreciation would take place be-fore polling day.” — Bloomberg News
BREXIT STRATEGYA BRITISH EXIT FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL EAT UP THE POUND’S VALUE
SCORE*The pound is already at the lowest level since March 2009
2009 LIVES
A vote for Brexit would hit sterling hard. Sterling
would be hurt by the negative implications for growth and hence
interest rates, but also because of capital
outflows and concerns about the financing
of the current-account deficit
Nick KounisHead of macro research at ABN
Amro Bank
B5S U N DAY, M A R C H 2 0, 2 0 1 6
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Toyota Prado now comes with ‘Summer Surprises’
MUSCAT: The Prado has been a favourite among the Toyota enthu-siasts for decades and continues to be so. Powerful, tough and stylish, Toyota’s Prado has lived up to its reputation of being legendary. No wonder its customer base has con-tinued to witness rising numbers year after year.
At present (and until April 30) the Toyota Prado is available with ‘Summer Surprises’ benefits that include an insurance package for one whole year for Oman on the 2015 YM, 2015 production models and 2016 YM models. This benefit is applicable to all purchases ex-cept those of government organi-
sations and ministries. Conditions apply, says a press release.
Born with the Toyota Land Cruiser DNA in its bloodline, the Prado is superior in performance, both on-road and off-road. An independent automotive writer notes that “The Toyota Land Cruiser Prado is an incredibly impressive vehicle that reflects its off-road heritage. A versatile interior and powerful four-wheel drive performance combine to make sure the Land Cruiser Prado is equipped to meet the needs of modern drivers.”
Prado’s thrilling power and per-formance are complemented by its class leading-features. These in-clude 7-inch display audio with 6 speakers, steering-mounted audio, bluetooth and MID controls, Opti-tron meter with TFT info display and Cruise control.
Its safety features include a rear view camera and driver, passenger, curtain, side (front) + knee (driver) airbags. Indeed, the Prado stands apart – and looks quite bold doing so! An imposing grille and bumper guard adorned with LED head-lamps and clearance lamps add to
its macho stance. Packed with a host of high-end
luxury features, the Prado features leather upholstery, woodgrain panelling, chrome-coloured side protection moulding; muffler-cut-ter; chrome rear-lamp garnish and impressive alloy wheels. Prado’s interior is not just refined but also has plenty of room and easily ac-commodate up to seven occupants.
Cushioned seats offer wonder-ful under-thigh support. Second-row seats fold in a 40:20:40 split, offer enhanced utility with a slide function and walk-in accessibil-ity for facilitating easy ingress and egress for the third-row seats.
The third-row seats, fold in a 50:50 split. The Prado also offers steering angle display, active head-rest, electric tilt and telescopic steering column, side step with il-lumination, smart entry and start / stop system, parking sensors and retractable outer mirrors (with turn signal).
A reassuring combination of active and passive safety systems ensures optimum protection for occupants in a Prado. DAC (Downhill Assist Control), HAC
(Hill-start Assist Control), Air-bags, VSC (Vehicle Stability Con-trol) and A-TRC (Active Traction Control) are some of its advanced protection systems.
Prado’s strong chassis offers excellent impact protection while the long wheelbase and wide wheel track give excellent han-dling and stability.
Prado’s unparalleled prowess is apparent on smooth as well as rough terrain. It has the power to hold its own and the performance to make its own path. In short, not much stands in the way of a Prado both on the road and off.
All specifications listed above are standard Toyota equipment. Safety kit (fire extinguisher, warn-ing triangle, tyre pressure gauge and first aid kit) is a dealer in-stalled non Toyota item provided on Toyota models as standard equipment. Vehicle specifications may change without prior notice.
Pictures and colours may dif-fer from actual specifications of the vehicles. For further details and to ascertain availability of the stocks, please visit the nearest Toyota showroom.
At present (and until
April 30) the Toyota
Prado is available
with ‘Summer
Surprises’ benefits
that include an
insurance package
for one whole year
for Oman on the 2015
YM, 2015 production
models and
2016 YM models
Staff development workshop
held at Pakistan School Muscat
MUSCAT: A staff development workshop was held at Pakistan School Muscat addressing the topic, ‘How sensory processing is-sues affect behaviour in students’.
This training session was sup-ported by Sai Group Oman which involved Lakshmi Sarkar and Subhasis Sarkar, occupational therapists as the speakers, Jai Ram, coordinator - Sai Group, a team of volunteers, principals of Pakistan School System and the teaching staff from Pakistan School Muscat, Pakistan School Seeb and Pakistan School Mus-sanah, says a press release.
Ata Ullah Niazi, senior prin-cipal, Pakistan School System, Khalid Jadoon, principal, Paki-stan School Muscat and Mun-naza Ghafoor, principal, Pakistan School Muscat Junior Branch, re-ceived the Sai Group team. Ataul-lah Niazi welcomed the team for-mally expressing his views about the pivotal role played by such workshops befitting the teach-ing-learning process. He said such training sessions lay down a substantial ground for the teach-ers to identify and connect the intellectual level of each student with the understanding to cata-lyse a dynamic learning.
The session started with a blind folded sensory exercise
which was an exciting as well as an eye opening activity to con-nect the teachers with the sen-sory issues of the students.
Lakshmi Sarkar spoke about the ways to identify the sensory impaired students. Subhasis Sarkar lectured on sensory inte-gration on processing test with a few recommended strategies to tackle the sensory discrepancies in the students.
Both speakers concluded their talks with a Q&A session. Sou-venirs and letters of thanks were presented to the speakers and the whole team.
The workshop was summed up by Munnaza Ghafoor with the words of gratitude for bringing in a fair-shake for the teachers to unveil another zone of students’ psychology.
T R A I N I N G S E S S I O N
Al Hashar Electronics launches portable power unit from WestinghouseMUSCAT: Al Hashar Electronics, the Sultanate’s leading distributor of consumer electronics products from international brands, has launched for the first time in Oman market an innovative and versatile portable power unit from Westing-house, says a press release.
The WJS001 unit comes as a package comprising auto jump-starter and mobile power unit, jumper cable, USB car charger and micro USB cable.
Launching the power unit, Ra-
jeev Sharma, general manager at Al Hashar Electronics, said: “Al Hashar Electronics is all about adding value to people’s lives by giving them innovative products from global brands that meet the various requirements of modern living. The portable Jump-starter unit from Westinghouse is a ver-satile power unit that saves you when you get stuck on the road with a dead car battery. It also de-livers power to mobile devices. It has a sleek design and is light-
weight, compact and easy to use. With Westinghouse jump-starter unit, Al Hashar Electronics’ es-teemed product portfolio has be-come all the more attractive.”
The unit can jump-start most petrol engines up to 6.8L (8 cylin-ders) and diesel engines up to 2.4L (4 cylinders) and also watercraft with 12 volt ignition system. It also has a 2A USB port for charg-ing tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices, and a 2.4A USB car charger port.
It has 10 levels of safety includ-ing protection from short-circuits, sparks, reverse polarity, voltage spike, low voltage, overheating, and overload. Further, the unit has an integrated three-mode (LED, flashing, strobe) flashlight to meet emergency lighting needs.
The portable power unit is cur-rently available in Muscat through Al Hashar Electronics outlets in Ruwi, Ruwi High Street and its flagship showroom at the Oman Avenues Mall, Bausher.
I N N O V A T I V E
Gastroenterology department at Aster
hospital crosses yet another milestone
MUSCAT: The Gastroenterol-ogy Department at Aster Al Raffah Hospital announced the success-ful completion of its 10th Adjust-able Gastric Balloon insertion, a recent feather in its cap.
The department has always been a forerunner in providing elite, state-of-the-art solutions to the gastroenterology and haepa-tology needs of the population of Oman. The department, led by Dr Ashik Sainu, senior consultant gastroenterologist and medical director of Aster Al Raffah Hospi-tal, has been growing in leaps and bounds over the last five years.
It offers the complete range of diagnostic and therapeutic treat-ments in the branch of gastroen-terology like endoscopy, colon-oscopy, foreign body removal, stricture dilations, stent inser-tions, capsule endoscopy etc. to just name a few.
Dr Hisham Al Dhahab, senior consultant gastroenterologist from Royal Hospital is a visiting consultant at the department. To-gether, Dr Ashik and Dr Hisham
envision greater development of the department and treatment of an even wider range of diseases.
“We started the endoscopic ul-trasound treatment for the first time in the private sector about 18 months ago and the response is fantastic. We are able to perform cutting edge therapeutic endos-copy using this technique and we can see beyond the stomach and liver and identify and treat dis-eases, which couldn’t be seen be-fore unless the patient underwent surgery. We are able to manage dis-eases of the liver, bile and pancre-atic system non-invasively now,” explained Dr Ashik.
“We also diagnose and stage cancers of the intestine and liver, as well as take biopsies non-inva-sively,” said Dr Hisham.
In addition to management of all ailments of the gastroenterology system the team at Aster Al Raf-fah competently handles the com-monly seen cases of Hepatitis B and C as well. They have also been providing 24-hour GI bleed man-agement and handles cases from
all over the Sultanate. The team also has the high-
est experience and success in the complicated ERCP procedure, which is done rarely in other pri-vate sector hospitals.
“We already have 24-hour PH impedence-metry and we are in the process of acquiring a state-of-the-art oesophageal manometry sys-tem,” said Dr Ashik enthusiastically.
With competent and dedi-cated doctors at the helm, the gastroenterology and haepatol-ogy department of Aster Al Raf-fah Hospital is adding more and more feathers to its cap while providing the best of care avail-able to the Omani populace.
M E D I C A L E X C E L L E N C E
We started the endoscopic ultrasound treatment for the first time in the private sector about 18 months ago and the response is fantastic
Ashik SainuSenior consultant gastroenterologist and medical director of Aster Al Raffah
Eint Automotive provides best auto care essentials from world-acclaimed brands
MUSCAT: Eint Automotive, a successful division of the WJ Towell Group, has earned a sig-nificant recognition in the market and established itself as an indus-try leader in the auto care after-market segment.
They attribute their growing success to the years of industry experience coupled with a strong commitment to meet the dy-namic needs of the market with utmost efficiency. Catering to the distribution, retailing and mar-keting of the most well-known in-ternational brands in the automo-tive aftermarket products sector, Eint Automotive has two main business verticals namely EINT Parts, Lubes & Batteries Division (PLB) and EINT Tyre Division, says a press release.
Stringent measures“With the nation, we have also grown. Our PLB and Tyres divi-sions have expanded to include and represent some of the best brands in the industry. Be it parts, lubes, batteries or tyres, all our brands are backed by years of strong-hold in the industry and follow stringent quality control measures along with extensive efforts towards constant research and develop-ment. We can therefore, ensure that all the products represented by Eint Automotive, offer the high-est reliability, quality, and ingenu-ity,” said Riyadh Ali Sultan, general manager, Towell Group.
“In addition, our expert team of dedicated service personnel possesses the required knowl-edge and experience to provide customers the right product and also advise them on the right maintenance practices for their products,” he added.
Whether fleet owners, commer-cial drivers or even private vehicle owners, the Eint PLB Division as well as the Eint Tyre division of-fers a reliable solution for the vary-ing needs of different customers. They offer high quality automotive products at an affordable price.
Uncompromising on quality, all the Eint brands are rigorously tested and verified by leading in-dustry experts. The products also meet all the specification stand-ards set by API, Directorate Gen-eral of Standards and Metrology Sultanate of Oman.
PartnershipsThe PLB division has partnered with trustworthy brands in lu-bricants like Phillips 66, which is the 6th largest energy company in the world and the 4th largest for-tune 500 companies in USA and has thereby introduced in Oman, one of the world’s best lubricant brand - Kendall with patented Liquid Titanium technology.
The PLB division also retails the world-renowned Primax bat-teries for which Eint Automotive received a token of appreciation from the suppliers of Primax Bat-teries for their keen efforts in mar-keting Primax Batteries in Oman.
Joining hands with well-known leaders in the competitive Indian market, PLB division also introduced the Emtrac batter-ies to Oman. Having an edge over others, the Emtrac high perfor-mance batteries with its patented SilvenX alloy additive confidently allows an extended warrantee pe-riod of 18 months to its users as opposed to the standard warran-tee of just 12 months.
PLB division also specialises in a wide range of automotive after-
market products at affordable prices. One of their unique line of products is represented by Vi-sion Alert, a pioneer in emergen-cy lighting and audible warning equipment. Made in UK for com-mercial and emergency vehicles, Vision Alert is a division of the well-known ECCO Group. Cater-ing to esteemed clients like the Royal Oman Police, Muscat Inter-national Airport, Muscat Munic-ipality, Ministry of Health and Hospital Ambulances, among other construction, mining and transportation companies, Eint Automotive as retailers of Vi-sion Alert, has lived up to its im-age of delivering superior qual-ity products through flawless service channels.
SCOPE, yet another leader in the lubricants sector, introduced to Oman by Eint Auto, is tested and approved by the American Petroleum Institute and reputed manufacturers.
With regard to the Eint Auto-motives Tyre division, the much preferred Primewell tyres, due to their extensive demand, are now available at all First Stop and Tyre care plus outlets.
Eint Auto also holds the deal-ership for the Nison and Sun-trac tyres. Manufactured by Sun Global, these durable tyres come at affordable rates without com-promising on quality. Suntrac, a well-known tyre brand which has earned its name especially for its OTR tyres, has found a high pref-erence in the Middle East market.
The Eint PLB Division and Auto Division today have an ever-ex-panding portfolio of clients from both the public and private sectors with many of them being the big-gest conglomerates in the region.
U N C O M P R O M I S I N G Q U A L I T Y
B6 S U N DAY, M A R C H 2 0, 2 0 1 6
ROUND-UPJotun’s Spring Summer 2016 collection brings vibrancy to homes this season
MUSCAT: The onset of spring is an indication of new things to come. Spring also blooms the global trend picture – from fash-ion, textiles and interiors adorned with the colours of nature’s beau-ty and vibrancy.
Jotun, the region’s leading paint manufacturer, goes bolder this season in the use of nature’s most beautiful, lively and bright colours to exude positive energy and the vibe of happiness with the launch of its Spring Summer 2016 collec-tion, says a press release.
This new collection is a tribute to spring season’s upbeat colours depicting combinations that exude the energies of brightness, hap-piness and optimism. The colour palette reflects the good feeling of spring in the air, the first warm rays of sunshine, buds bouncing and flowers in beautiful colour combinations; all of which triggers positivity in homes.
Announcing the launch of the Spring Summer 2016 collection, Lisbeth Larsen, Jotun’s Global Colour and Creative director said, “There is a tendency in the time that we want to bring nature into our homes. Green hues have been in the trend picture for a while, and now it’s the flowers that are of great inspiration — both in pattern designs or just bold colours.”
Jotun’s latest interior paint in-novation ‘Fenomastic My Home Rich Matt’ gives walls a spruced up personality. It offers the best colour experience, providing the most accurate colours; making strong colours look soft, deep col-ours look rich, underlining it as the perfect choice for creating beauti-ful homes and professional inte-rior design projects. The rich matt finish is a trend that is on the rise in terms of popularity, especially in the design industry.
“Jotun’s Spring Summer collec-tion 2016 embodies a ‘young’ char-acter which is reflective in its fresh approach of using these shades of the season. When combined with
colourful detail and floral fabrics, the uplifting mood underscores humour and playfulness. This will also appeal to those who believe ‘less is more’ when the shades are beautifully combined with white tones or black for a sophisticated impression,” added Larsen.
This vibrancy from nature is a collection of six colours, all of which are aptly titled by different elements of nature and will adorn the wall in different ways:
Jotun’s Spring Summer collection 2016
Jotun 2605 Happiness: Is a brand new energy mine from the pink spectrum of colours - spreading joy and energy. It is beautiful to combine with white or black, and furniture and inte-rior calm beige tones.
Jotun 2456 Roz: A fun, fresh and colourful pink shade, this col-our can be used in rooms designed for creativity or in spaces for fun.
It is lovely as for a dash of energy in a white kitchen, but it is rec-ommended to use it with a note of caution - one wall may be enough of this powerful colour.
Jotun 1369 Sun: Sun is a love-ly, warm and subdued yellow with a hint of red. It results in a fantas-tic impression of the room when partnered with Jurassic Grey or April Green. Paint some details with the colour Sun if you have a room in one of these colours. Sun is also a beautiful colour for chil-dren’s rooms.
Jotun 8109 April Green: Green is a colour of the time. This green hue is a sportier; more exit-ing, more summery and coloured hue than green colours we’ve seen lately. A great colour for the kitchen walls!
Jotun 8222 Jurassic Grey: A very elegant, but more mildly green hue. This is a safe colour choice for stylish, contemporary interiors or a room with rural elegance.
Jotun 1930 Lounge: A warm and elegant colour, Lounge is beautiful in combination with green tones. Adds a lot of charac-ter to a room, and may very well be painted on all the walls in a room.
Jotun’s Spring and Summer col-lection 2016 is available across all Jotun stores in the region.
This new collection
is a tribute to spring
season’s upbeat
colours depicting
combinations that
exude the energies of
brightness, happiness
and optimism
There is a tendency in the time that we want to bring
nature into our homes. Green hues have been in the
trend picture for a while, and now it’s the flowers that
are of great inspiration - both in pattern designs or just
bold colours
Lisbeth LarsenJotun’s Global Colour and Creative Director
Muriya, NHI empower Omani young women MUSCAT: In line with His Maj-esty Sultan Qaboos bin Said’s vi-sion to inspire Omani women to be more involved in the progres-sive development process of the Sultanate, Muriya collaborated with the National Hospitality In-stitute (NHI) to offer 13 young Omani women from Sifah village, a two-day taster course in hospi-tality and tourism.
The hands-on training included a series of capacity building ses-sions such as English language, customer service, front office operations, culinary and barista skills’ development. The partici-pants were nominated by the Omani Women’s Association in Muscat to provide them with an opportunity to gain the knowl-edge and potentially become suit-able candidates for jobs in these two up-and-coming sectors, says a press release.
Muriya’s Corporate Social Re-sponsibility (CSR) programme is designed to instil a positive im-pact on society and includes three main initiatives, ‘Maharati’, ‘Ma-hali’ and ‘Musharakati’. The first initiative ‘Maharati’ focuses on building local capacities through building capacity programmes, training and skills’ development in the hospitality, tourism and leisure sectors. The second initia-tive ‘Mahali’ is dedicated to max-imise local produce sales, opening new markets and promote unique local-made products. The third initiative ‘Musharakati’ priori-
tises community engagement in relation to social activities, envi-ronmental conservation and com-munity partnerships.
“Building capacity and empow-ering the community are deeply rooted in our ethos of corporate social responsibility. We strive to be part of initiatives that invest in people and their futures to re-alise more prosperity for Oman and its people,” said Issam Al Barwani, Muriya vice president of Government Affairs.
Al Barwani added: “Through-out our history, we have strived to serve the community aiming to instil a positive impact and our co-operation with NHI and the Oma-ni Women’s Association is in line with this strategy. We are confident that these young women’s dedica-
tion, hard work and commitment to advancing their careers will set a great example and inspire other members of the community to fol-low in their footsteps.”
The vocational training pro-grammes offered at NHI are deliv-ered by qualified trainers and con-ducted in commercial facilities that provide a realistic working environment. The institution’s philosophy is founded on provid-ing training requirements for the community, featuring renowned brands in a multitude of indus-tries including, Gulf Chef School, Food Safety Academy, Hotel Management School, Gulf Travel School and Beauty School.
Robert MacLean, principal at National Hospitality Institute, said “We are delighted to wel-
come these potential hospitality students from Sifah village.
“We hope to be able to give them a small taste of the training we de-liver to encourage them to either join full time training or source employment in the growing in-dustry in Oman. We are pleased to be collaborating with Muriya on this project.”
Noof Hassan Almuaini, head of Omani Women’s Association in Muscat said, “One of our main goals is to facilitate training op-portunities for Omani woman in various crafts and professions to improve the standard of living in our community.
‘Therefore, we would like to thank both Muriya and NHI for this fruitful collaboration and we hope to hear a string of success stories, one at a time, as the female students who joined this training course continue to progress with confidence and conviction to reach their full potential.”
Since inception in 2007, Muri-ya has been committed to em-powering local communities with unique economic and social op-portunities. The company’s dedi-cation is reflected in its support for Oman’s national workforce; creating close to 1,000 direct and indirect jobs across its projects. The conducted training sessions saw the participants receive completion certificates, which will offer them the opportunity to be part of more advanced level courses in the future.
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Yellow Chilli launches Mother’s Day campaign
MUSCAT: The Yellow Chilli Oman has launched a Mother’s Day cam-paign, continuing its recent efforts to firmly attach the Indian cuisine served in its two outlets at Almouj and Panorama Mall to special days in the Omani calendar.
Urging everyone to throw their mum parties at The Yellow Chilli, the campaign features Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s recipes from his cookbook, Cooking with Love which was inspired by his mother and mother-in-law’s reci-pes who are strict vegetarians, hence all the recipes in this book are vegetarian, says a press release.
Simple food, with no extra frills, but absolutely delicious and this will be reflected in the offering at The Yellow Chilli outlets in Mus-cat. According to Chef Sanjeev
Kapoor, “Most mothers are great cooks and I must give them all the credit for the cooking prowess.” He also mentioned in his book, “My mother and mother-in-law’s spe-cialities are many, but due to space constraints, I could not include all of them in this book.”
Tirthankar Basuof, business head of the parent company Mazaya Oman, said: “We are ex-cited to show off the great range of recipes from Chef Kapoor’s book as we have to spoil mums this Mother’s Day. There’s something for everyone, so we know we can make this family get together spe-cial with tasty food. We’ve done all the hard work so you don’t have to.”
The special campaign, primed by Mazaya Oman, starts on May 21 across all Yellow Chilli outlets.
Urging everyone to
throw their mum
parties at The Yellow
Chilli, the campaign
features Master Chef
Sanjeev Kapoor’s
recipes from his
cookbook, Cooking with Love
ISM organises annual sports meet for primary sectionMUSCAT: The Annual Athletic Meet and Drill Display of Grades III and IV of Indian School Mus-cat (ISM) was held at the school grounds recently.
Nabil Al Busaidi attended the occasion as chief guest. He was welcomed by Zion S. John and Aritro Mallick, young achiev-ers of the primary section, says a press release.
Nabil is an Arab adventurer who has successfully completed several adventures such as walk-
ing to the magnetic North Pole, a climb of Mount Vinson in Ant-arctica and a row across the At-lantic Ocean.
The chief guest declared the meet open and colourful balloons were released in the air.
The march past was one of the main events of the sports meet.
All the participating athletes took a solemn oath to exhibit true sportsmanship. On the whole the meet was a great success and it was well appreciated by all.
A T H L E T I C M E E T
Falken extends support to Pilot Yoshihide MuroyaMUSCAT: Falken Tyre, a Sumito-mo Rubber Industries (SRI) brand, announced it is extending its spon-sorship with Red Bull Air Race pilot Yoshihide Muroya this year.
Muroya has entered the Mas-ter Class of the 2016 Red Bull Air Race Championship. Under his partnership with the tyre brand, he will represent Team Falken for the second season in the world’s fastest form of motorsports, says a press release.
The Red Bull Air Race World Championship is a tournament in which world-class race pilots fly specialised high-speed, highly ma-noeuvrable race planes at speeds of up to 370km/h through an aerial race course, competing in terms of both speed and precision flying. This air race tournament is official-ly recognised by Fédération Aéro-nautique Internationale (FIA – the World Air Sports Federation).
Yoshihide Muroya is an out-standing pilot whose hard-won flying skills have taken him to various competitions around the world and earned him widespread recognition on the global stage. Holding the distinction of being
the only pilot from Asia to com-pete in the Master Class at inter-national air race competitions, Muroya was placed sixth overall in the last year’s Red Bull Air Race World Championship, achieving third-place finishes at two of the air races.
Meanwhile, Falken is a brand that has established a strong global reputation for high-perfor-
mance tyres, developed using the latest cutting-edge technologies, as well as active participation in motorsports.
Falken has a wide range of car, 4x4, SUV and truck tyres, and are available across Oman. OTE Group is the sole authorised dis-tributor for Falken tyres in Oman with dealer showrooms spread across the Sultanate.
R E D B U L L A I R R A C E W O R L D C H A M P I O N S H I P
Oman Qatar Insurance successfully completes training for frontline staffMUSCAT: OQIC Insured, the re-tail arm of Oman Qatar Insurance Company (OQIC) completed an extensive off-site customer train-ing module successfully for all its frontline staff.
The training, which took place over the course of two weekends, was held to support the recent launch of a complete new online platform which is a new way of offering personal insurance products to customers, says a press release.
Commenting on the ration-ale behind hosting the training, Ewen McRobbie, CEO of OQIC explained: “Being a customer-centric insurer, we know that the single most important fac-tor in retaining customers is to keep them happy and satisfied.
Our front-line customer service agents are key in delivering this experience and hence we consist-ently focus on developing their skills and motivation.”
Speaking on this initiative, Frederik Bisbjerg, executive vice president - Mena Retail, Qatar In-surance Company said: “It is im-portant to keep everybody ‘in the know’ as we can clearly see our colleagues take pride and interest in enhancing their soft skills from the training. Albeit our new on-line platform is a convenient me-dium for buying or managing in-surances, but the personal service and assistance will never fade away and it is the combination of online convenience and best-in-class personal service that is the reason for our current success.”
Bee Society orchestrated the training during the weekends with a focus on enhancing cus-tomer service to make sure par-ticipants sharpen their skills at handling customers in the best way, guaranteeing a highly satis-fying experience.
Hamad Al Musallami, manager Underwriting, OQIC Insured said: “When customers come to us af-ter an unfortunate accident, many are upset and still affected by the loss. As an insurer, it is our duty to make sure that we handle the valid claim in a smooth and hassle free manner. This is where our ser-vice is truly tested and where we can show how we manage every customer’s expectation and their claims experience as smoothly and efficiently as possible.”
H O N I N G S K I L L S
Venus International marks Earth Hour
MUSCAT: Venus International supported the Earth Hour yes-terday with ‘Save the Planet Earth’ as its slogan and theme for this year.
Venus took immense pride in participating in this global ini-tiative for the 5th year in a row. In keeping with the theme, Ve-nus switched off the lights in all its outlets between 8.30pm and 9.30pm to contribute their bit to the good of the Mother Earth and to reduce in any small way possible the burden that man-kind places on the environment, says a press release.
As an added effort from its end Venus strongly advocated the use of LED bulbs through a campaign as recognition of the Earth Hour. It distributed LED USB Sticks to the first 1,500 cus-tomers who visited them with their special leaflet in hand.
Venus is committed to pro-tecting the environment and through its participation in the Earth Hour it reinforced its alle-giance to climate change and its impact on future generations.
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Bank Muscat elects new BoD for three-year term
MUSCAT: Bank Muscat share-holders granted approval for the payout of 30 per cent dividend for 2015 and elected board of direc-tors for a three-year period from 2016-2019, subject to regulatory approvals, at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the bank’s head office.
The uncontested new board of directors met and elected Sheikh Khalid bin Mustahail Al Mashani as chairman, and Sulaiman bin Mohamed Al Yahyai as vice chair-man. The board of directors also
formed the board committees and nominated their chairpersons, says a press release.
Continuing the bank’s strong dividend payment track record, the shareholders approved 25 per cent cash dividend for the year 2015 which is consistent with the cash dividend paid in the last five years. In addition, 5 per cent dividend in the form of bonus shares was also approved. The bank has retained sufficient lev-el of profits to further strength-en the capital base and be better
positioned for possible future challenging market conditions.
Al Mashani who presided at the AGM said: “Amid the challeng-ing economic and financial situ-ation marked by low oil prices, the key business lines of the bank recorded healthy performance on expected lines.”
Bank Muscat shareholders would receive cash dividend of OMR0.025 per ordinary share of OMR0.100 each aggregating to OMR57.29 million on the bank’s existing share capital. In addition, they would receive bonus shares in the proportion of one share for every 20 ordinary shares ag-gregating to 114,591,130 shares of OMR0.100 each amounting to OMR11.46 million.
The bank posted a net profit of OMR175.45 million in 2015 com-pared to OMR163.23 million re-ported in 2014, an increase of 7.5 per cent. The basic earnings per share were OMR0.077 in 2015 as against OMR0.071 in 2014. The
banks’ capital adequacy ratio stood at 16.10 per cent as on De-cember 31, 2015 after appropria-tion for proposed dividend for the year 2015 against the minimum required level of 12.625 per cent as per Basel III regulations issued by the Central Bank of Oman.
Net loans and advances from conventional operation increased by 4.9 per cent to OMR6,695 mil-lion as against OMR6,386 million as at December 31, 2014. Customer deposits, including CDs from the conventional operations increased by 6.2 per cent to OMR6,738 mil-lion as against OMR6,345 million as at December 31, 2014.
Islamic financing receivables amounted to OMR635 million as of December 31 2015 compared to OMR400 million in the same period of 2014. Islamic banking customer deposits amounted to OMR625 million as of December 31, 2015 compared to OMR283 million reported on December 31, 2014.
At the Annual General Meeting Bank Muscat
shareholders approved dividend for 2015 and
the board of directors were elected for the
period from 2016-2019
OETC holds HSC campaign
MUSCAT: Oman Electric-ity Transmission Company’s (OETC) HSE campaign on the theme ‘Working together for zero accidents’ was celebrated recent-ly at the Muladah Grid Station as part of the project for the addi-tion of 3rd & 4th 125 MVA Power Transformers.
The campaign was organised by the Project Management Con-sultant – Hamed Engineering Services (HES) and the EPC con-tractor Bahwan Engineering Co. (BEC), says a press release.
Various training, demonstra-
tion, awareness programmes were conducted for the public and the working crew in joint venture with the Royal Oman Po-lice and Civil Defence.
The chief guest Bashir Hamdan Al Hattail, Hamed Al Shaaili (HSE Zonal in charge – OETC), Sreekanth S. Nair (pro-ject manager – HES), Mathai Varghese (HSE Engineer-HES), Shaji K. Sukumaran (project manager – BEC) and other representatives from OETC, BEC and Al Ansari par-ticipated in the celebration.
A W A R E N E S S P R O G R A M M E S
Hamdan Exchange opens new branch in Mabelah Industrial AreaMUSCAT: Hamdan Exchange opened its 20th branch in Mabelah Sanaya area at Road No. 10 recently.
Er. Awad Said Khawar Al Khathiri, technical adviser to chairman, Dhofar Municipality in-augurated the branch in the pres-ence of Dr Ali Al Ghafri, Ammar Ahmed Saif Al Ghafri, managing director, Hamdan Exchange, P Vidyashankar, general manager, Hamdan Exchange and T. K. Re-jith, regional manager, Hamdan Exchange and a large number of customers and well-wishers, says a press release.
“The management of Hamdan
Exchange is pleased to open its branch in Mabelah Industrial Area to serve the customers from the area. This is our second branch in Mabelah as we already have a branch in Road No. 2. We look forward to serving the customers from the area and as the industrial area is fast expanding we believe the branch will add value to the expats and Omanis living in the area,” said Ammar Al Ghafri, man-aging director, Hamdan Exchange.
“This is the second branch we opened this year and have plans to open more branches in the cur-rent year so as to reach to a wider
customer base very soon. We are also introducing new services for the convenience of our customers. We have already launched a new product called ‘Kotak Indi Wal-let’, a pre-loaded card issued by Kotak Mahindra Bank. Those who visit India no longer need to carry cash but instead purchase from our branches the pre-loaded cards which can be used for all kinds of payments in India. The card can also be used for withdrawing cash from any ATM in India subject to daily withdrawal limits. This will eliminate the risks of carrying not only large amount of cash but also
the fake currencies that inadvert-ently fall into the hands of the cus-tomers,” he said.
The new branch is located in a strategic location to offer better services to the expatriate commu-nity as well as Omani nationals in the area.
Hamdan Exchange has tied up with major banks in India, Paki-stan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Phil-ippines and Egypt. It has tied up with major remittance channels like Western Union, Xpress Mon-ey, EzRemit, Transfast and Instant Cash to ensure fast and secure re-mittance options to its customers.
E X P A N S I O N
Nissan launches attractive offers
MUSCAT: Nissan from the house of Suhail Bahwan Automobiles houses a range of ideal models for patrons looking to purchase vehi-cles for the very first time.
With Nissan’s year-round of-fers, low EMIs, guaranteed cash back, convenient finance options and friendly after sales support, the brand is the number one choice for the youth of today. Its exclusive vehicle promotions are enticing and one-of-a-kind promising un-
limited benefits to valued patrons, says a press release.
Auto enthusiasts can now avail exciting benefits on Nissan’s sedan range of vehicles like the Micra, Sunny, Sentra, Tiida, Altima and Maxima where offers include cash back, free registration, six years’ unlimited mileage extended war-ranty, easy financing options, a loan term up to eight years with Bank Muscat attractive interest rates and periodic maintenance ser-
vice only up to 2 years/20,000km whichever is earlier (offer includes only on the new service intervals of 10,000km). The offer is applicable on private registrations or personal vehicles only.
Suhail Bahwan Automobiles is largely committed to support-ing Nissan’s growth in the Sul-tanate through major emphasis on customer satisfaction and by providing world-class after-sales services in Oman.
L O W E M I O P T I O N S , C A S H B A C K O F F E R S
MEC conference on Big Data and Smart City concludesMUSCAT: The third MEC Inter-national Conference on Big Data and Smart City 2016 organised by Middle East College (MEC) con-cluded recently.
The conference was inaugurat-ed by Hilal bin Hamed Al Hasani, CEO of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE). Among the attendees were top of-ficials from ministries in the Sul-tanate, national and international researchers, IT experts, academi-cians and students. The confer-ence drew together researchers, academics and practitioners from across the globe to discuss, di-vulge and promote the latest ad-vances in the field of Big Data and Smart City, says a press release.
The conference saw seven emi-nent speakers from around the world presenting their keynote address on various topics related to big data and smart city.
Martin Curley, director of Intel Labs Europe at Intel Corporation presented the first keynote ses-sion on ‘Open Innovation 2.0 and Digital Technology’. Prof. Latif Ladid, the Chair of IEEE ComS-ocTCsub Internet of Things de-livered a session on ‘Impact of the New Internet Protocol version 6 on Big Data, IoT, SDN-NFV, 5G & Smart Cities’.
Another very interesting key-note address was by Gilles Betis, the chair of the IEEE Smart Cit-ies Initiative, and member of the French IEEE Section who talked on ‘The IEEE Smart Cities Ini-tiative - Creating value for Smart Citizens’. The final keynote ses-sion of the day was delivered by Prof. Thomas Andersson, chair-man of the Board, International
Organization of Knowledge Economy and Enterprise Devel-opment, Sweden. His talk was on ‘Fulfilling the potential of ICT: Smart Cities, Innovation and En-gaged Citizens in the GCC’
The second day keynote ses-sions started with Dr Ali Amur Al Shidhani, director of ICT Re-search, The Research Council, Sultanate of Oman where he talked about the ‘Initiatives on Smart City in Oman’. The next keynote session was delivered by Dr Manuel Sanromà, managing director, Open Administration of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spainwho presented a session on ‘Big Data and Smart City: towards the Im-provement of the Quality of Life of the Citizens’.
The final keynote session was a video presentation by prof. Mahmoud Daneshmand, vice chair of IEEE ComSocTCsub Big data on ‘The Big Data Stream An-alytics and Smart City’.
The conference received an overwhelming number of paper submissions, around 210 of them from 31 countries. 65 research pa-pers were selected from the total
submissions after blind peer re-view. The conference concluded with a panel discussion on ‘To-wards a research agenda on ‘Big Data and Smart City’.
“It was a great pleasure to be one of the organisers of the 3rd MEC International Conference which is technically co-sponsored by IEEE, IEEE Communication Society and IEEE Oman chapter. The keynote speakers explored the potential of ICT in the fields of Smart Cities, Digital Technol-ogy and New Internet Protocols which all aim to improve the citi-zens’ life,” Dr Nagesha B. K., head of Research and Innovation Cen-tre at MEC said.
Prof. Thomas Andersson, one of the keynote speakers said: “My presentation examined the devel-opment in the context of smart cities, which offer an important context of local adaptation and community-building. It con-cluded with recommendations on policies and the division of labour between different social spheres in this context, with particular observations on issues and op-portunities for the GCC.”
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OFA’S ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING DISCUSSES FINANCIAL REPORT AND PLANS FOR ELECTIONSThe Oman Football Association (OFA) held its Annual General Meeting at Hormuz Grand Hotel on Sunday. The meeting is the last AGM for the current board members led by chairman Sayyid Khalid Al
Busaidi. During the marathon nine-hour meeting, OFA chief Sayyid Khalid stressed the importance of the AGM ahead of next board elections which are scheduled for August this year. During the meeting,
the members discussed the financial report and also discussed the plans for the elections. The members also formed the election committee and the appeals committee. — JUN ESTRADA/Times of Oman
Playing IPL will help Pakistani players to improve: Afridi
NEW DELHI: Swashbuckling batsman Shahid Afridi believes that playing in the Indian Pre-mier League (IPL) will help young Pakistani players im-prove themselves and help their national team regain some of their past glory.
Afridi pointed out many play-ers who have done well in the in-augural edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) struggle to handle the pressure of repre-senting their country at the in-ternational level in front of huge crowds unlike some of their In-dian counterparts who have cut their teeth in the IPL.
“Of course. Or you raise the standard of domestic cricket to such a high level that they play. Many guys who are here (in the PSL) right now, top cricketers from Pakistan’s domestic crick-et, have struggled in a bigger crowd of players. They couldn’t perform,” Afridi said.
“If you take the India (IPL) example, a new kid comes, he plays in front of such big crowds, in a dressing room with such big names, he faces no pressure in international cricket,” he added.
Afridi asserted that the Paki-stan Cricket Board (PCB) need to adopt a modern approach and pay attention to developing tal-ent at the grassroots level. - IANS
C R I C K E T
Composed Kohli steers India to crucial win over Pakistan
KOLKATA: Virat Kohli helped India survive a top-order collapse and beat Pakistan by six wickets in a tight game on Saturday to revive their World Twenty20 campaign and maintain their impeccable World Cup record against the arch-rivals.
Kohli’s magnificent 55 not out was the difference between the sides in the rain-hit 18-overs-a-side match, coming under tremen-
dous pressure on a prodigiously turning track at Eden Gardens.
Chasing 119 to secure their first win of the tournament, India slumped to 23 for three in the fifth over before Kohli and Yuvraj Singh (24) shared a match-high 61-run partnership to virtually take the game away from Pakistan.
Home captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed a six to level the scores and took a single to seal vic-tory with 13 balls to spare as India bounced back from their shock
opening defeat by New Zealand.Pakistan, put into bat, found the
going difficult, especially against India’s slow bowlers as they scored 118 for five. Openers Sharjeel Khan (17) and Ahmed Shehzad (25) were subdued by the Indian bowlers and Shahid Afridi could not justify his promotion to number three.
Shoaib Malik (26) and Umar Ak-mal (22) added 41 runs in four overs to take Pakistan past the 100-mark to ensure their pace-heavy attack had something to defend. - Reuters
Kohli’s magnificent
55 not out was the
difference between
the sides in the rain-
hit 18-overs-a-side
match, coming under
tremendous pressure
on a prodigiously
turning track at Eden
Gardens
PAKISTANSharjeel c Pandya b Raina 17A. Shehzad c Jadeja b Bumrah 25Shahid Afridi c Kohli b Pandya 8Umar Akmal c Dhoni b Jadeja 22Shoaib Malik c Ashwin b Nehra 26Sarfraz Ahmed (not out) 8Mohammad Hafeez (not out) 5Extras (b-2, lb-3, w-1, nb-1) 7Total (5 wkts; 18 overs) 118Did not bat: Mohammed Sami, Wahab Riaz, Mohammed Amir, Mohammed Irfan Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-46, 3-60, 4-101, 5-105.Bowling: A. Nehra 4-0-20-1; R. Ashwin 3-0-12-0; J. Bumrah 4-0-32-1 (nb-1); R. Jadeja 4-0-20-1 (w-1); S. Raina 1-0-4-1; H. Pandya 2-0-25-1.
INDIAR. Sharma c S. Malik b M. Amir 10S. Dhawan b Mohammad Sami 6V Kohli (not out) 55S. Raina b Mohammad Sami 0Yuvraj Singh c M. Sami b Wahab Riaz 24M.S. Dhoni (not out) 13Extras (lb-3, w-7, nb-1) 11 Total (4 wkts, 15.5 overs) 119
Did not bat: H. Pandya, R. Jadeja, R. Ashwin, J. Bumrah, A. Nehra Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-23, 3-23, 4-84.Bowling: M. Amir 3-1-11-1 (w-1); M. Irfan 2.5-0-25-0 (w-1); M. Sami 2-0-17-2 (nb-1); S. Afridi 4-0-25-0 (w-2); Shoaib Malik 2-0-22-0 (w-2); Wahab Riaz 2-0-16-1.
FOCUSSED: India’s Virat Kohli plays a shot as Pakistan’s Sarfaraz
Ahmed looks on during their World T20 match at the Eden Gardens
in Kolkata on Saturday. – AFP
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Oman Air emerge winners at Extreme Sailing Series Act 1
MUSCAT: Oman Air opened their 2016 Extreme Sailing Series ac-count with a resounding win on home waters in Muscat after a fourth day of blistering performanc-es which thrilled the Omani crowds and left skipper Morgan Larson and his crew buoyed with confidence.
The final double points race at Almouj proved to be a nail-biter with Oman Air and Red Bull bat-tling all the way to the finish line and although the Austrians nailed
it by a whisker, Larson’s team had already claimed an overall victory by a decisive 33 points.
It had been a great week, said American skipper Larson, making his debut with Oman Sail’s GC32 Oman Air.
“I am ecstatic — every day here in Muscat, we sailed at our highest level and that is what you need to do in this fleet. We are really happy to do it at home.”
Throughout the four days, Lar-son and his team of Pete Green-halgh, Ed Smyth, Nasser Al Mashari and James Wierzbowski produced a stream of consistent top performances with a remark-able 16 podium places in 19 races including 10 outright wins.
They were hoping to post their 11th in the final race but some in-tense opposition from Red Bull was likely to be a healthy portent
for future battles, Larson added. “The guys worked hard and it
was so close, we couldn’t tell who had crossed the line first, but good on Red Bull — they pushed hard in the last couple of races to get back into second overall.
“We know the other teams made a few mistakes here and there but they will iron things out ahead of the next Act, so we will certainly have our work cut out to stay ahead.
“This win gives us a lot of confi-dence and we needed it because we hadn’t found our rhythm yet after two weeks of training so it is nice to get it right and know we can win.”
Winning at home was the icing on the cake for the Omani sailor and shore crew on the Oman Air team, added Nasser Al Mashari.
“We are so so proud with what we have achieved,” he said. “It is always good to win but very spe-cial to win in front of family and friends so we are really happy. Hopefully we can go to China and continue our success.”
Shifting from the Extreme 40 to the GC32 and working with a new team had proved a challenge, Al Mashari continued but the results in Muscat spoke for themselves.
“The Extreme 40s and GC32s are very different boats and The Wave, Muscat was a very differ-ent team from Oman Air but it has started really well and we are very excited about what we can achieve this season.”
Oman Air collect 10 points from the Muscat Act to sit at the top of the overall 2016 leaderboard and will set out to add another maximum to their tally on April 29 when the fleet reconvenes in Qingdao for another four days of spectacular stadium racing.
Throughout the
four days, Oman Air
produced a stream
of consistent top
performances with
a remarkable 16
podium places in 19
races including 10
outright wins
Leicester march onLONDON: Leicester City’s improbable march towards a first English Premier League title continued at Crystal Palace on Saturday as Riyad Mahrez scored a winner in a 1-0 verdict that put them eight points clear at the top.
Algerian Mahrez, one of the outstanding contenders for English football’s player of the year, latched on to Jamie Vardy’s 34th-minute cross to net his 16th league goal of the season.
Shinji Okazaki spurned a couple of chances early in the second half as the leaders at-tempted to ram home their ad-vantage and Leicester, under severe pressure near the end, almost paid the price when Da-mian Delaney hit the bar in the dying seconds.
West Ham’s charge towards a Champions League spot was halted by a late Cesc Fabregas penalty at Stamford Bridge on Saturday as Chelsea held on for a 2-2 draw.
Earlier, first-half goals by Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi earned Arsenal a 2-0 win, their first in four league games, to re-vive their title hopes at Goodi-son Park.
Meanwhile, Stoke City stayed in the hunt for a Europa League spot with a 2-1 victory against a lacklustre Watford. - Reuters
P R E M I E R L E A G U E
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Afghans face tough task against ProteasMUMBAI: Advancing into the Super 10 stage for the first time in three attempts, minnows Afghani-stan will face a formidable chal-lenge when they clash with South Africa in the ICC World Twenty 20 Championship at the Wankhede Stadium here on Sunday.
Afghanistan suffered a narrow defeat against defending cham-pions Sri Lanka in their opening Group 1 game at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens and they will have to get across South Africa to keep them-selves afloat.
The Proteas, on the other hand, suffered a stunning two-wicket loss against England last night despite scoring a record-high score of 229 for four and Faf du Plessis’ men would come hard at the Afghans, eager to notch up
their first win in the tournament to stay in contention for the last four berth.
The Afghans need to stand up to this assault, with both bat and ball from South Africa whose bowl-ers — barring Imran Tahir — were taken to the cleaners by the Joe Root-inspired England.
Amateur cricketersCan a bunch of amateur cricket-ers defeat a top outfit like South Africa, who will be coming at them at full tilt, and remain in contention for a semifinal spot, is the big question.
Jean-Paul Duminy, who played an important all-round part for South Africa by striking a brisk 28-ball 54 and then snapping one for 31, said that his team needs to
put the defeat behind and focus on the match against Afghanistan.
More pressure“Extras (26) let us down, we bowled too many wides (20) and so forth; that’s something we have to look at. There were positives, especially from batting point of view, but there’s need for im-provement from bowling point of view,” he said.
“We made errors and have to rectify them. We are under the pump. We have to pretty much win every game from now.
“We need to do something dif-ferently. From Sunday we have to make sure we execute plans well. By no means we’re out of the tour-nament. There’s lot more pres-sure but we have done it before.
“We have to move on to the next game. It’s a quick turnaround for us as the Afghanistan game is coming up on Sunday. We need to make sure we are prepared for it,” said Duminy.
The pace attack of the South African team, which leaked runs aplenty to allow Root and compa-ny stage a magnificent run chase, is unlikely to be as accommodat-ing to the Afghanistan led by As-ghar Stanikzai.
Stanikzai was the lone top-or-der batsman to come out with his reputation enhanced with a knock of 62 against Sri Lanka and he not only needs to fire big again, but would require good support from the likes of opener Mohammed Shahzad and middle-order bats-man Mohammed Nabi. - PTI
P R E V I E W
ICC suspends Bangladesh’s Taskin and Arafat Sunny
NEW DELHI: Bangladesh pace sensation Taskin Ahmed and left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny were on Saturday suspended for bowling with an illegal action by the ICC, dealing a massive blow to the team’s campaign in the ongoing World Twenty20.
“The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced that independent assessments have found the bowling actions of Bangladesh’s Arafat Sunny and Taskin Ahmed to be illegal and, as such, both the bowl-ers have been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect,” the ICC said in a statement.
Arafat’s analysis revealed that the elbow extension for majority of his deliveries had exceeded the 15 degrees’ level of tolerance permitted under the ICC Regulations, while not all of Taskin’s deliveries were legal.
“As a consequence of these suspensions, the Bangladesh cricket team is permitted to ap-ply to the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 Event Technical Committee for approval to re-place the two bowlers in the squad for the remainder of the event,” the ICC said.
The 20-year-old Taskin, the fastest bowler in Bangladesh right now, has 21 wickets in 14 ODIs and nine in 13 T20Is. Sun-ny, on the other hand, 24 scalps from 16 one-dayers and 12 from 10 T20Is.
In accordance with Article 6.1 of the ICC Regulations, Arafat’s and Taskin’s international sus-pensions will also be recognised and enforced by all the mem-bers for domestic cricket events played in their own jurisdiction.
However, with the consent of Bangladesh Cricket Board, the two bowlers may be able to play in domestic cricket events played in Bangladesh under its auspices. - PTI
I L L E G A L A C T I O NGayle storm alert as Windies square off against Sri Lanka
BENGALURU: High on confi-dence after their emphatic victory over England, the West Indies will once again look for an explosive in-nings from superstar Chris Gayle to inch closer to a semifinal berth when they take on defending cham-
pions Sri Lanka in a World Twen-ty20 Super 10 Group 1 match here on Sunday.
The West Indians showed omi-nous form in the triumph over England but the Lankans are ex-
pected to put up a stronger chal-lenge to them.
Gayle could, however, prove to be the trump card for the West Indi-ans after setting the tone with a 47-ball hundred against England — the
fastest ever in World Twenty20.Should his bat roars the way it
did against England, the Lankans will find it nearly impossible to stop him from steering West Indies.
Both the sides are not short on
experience with Angelo Mathews and Tillakaratne Dilshan being the Lankan mainstays.
As far as the batting of the West Indies is concerned it will revolve around the power-hitting Gayle who hammered 11 sixes against England.
Perfect foil for Gayle at the other end would be Marlon Samuels, who would be keen to continue the form which he hit against England in the previous match.
Samuels struck eight fours in his 37 before Gayle’s brutal strikes took West Indies home.
The West Indies also seem unaf-fected by the absence of all-round-er Kieron Pollard, opener Lendl Simmons and Darren Bravo.
Mystery spinner Sunil Narine is not there to trouble the rival batsmen with his unorthodox bowling, but the Caribbeans still have a decent spin trio of Sam-uel Badree, Sulieman Benn, and Marlon Samuels. - PTI
The West Indians
showed ominous
form in the triumph
over England but the
Lankans are expected
to put up a stronger
challenge
NEW DELHI: Leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay, who was dropped from Sri Lanka’s World Twenty20 squad barely 24 hours before they left for India, was called up as Lasith Malinga’s replacement on Saturday.
Pace spearhead Malinga, who is nursing a knee injury,
returned home without bowl-ing a ball for the Sri Lankan team defending their title in India. With spinners play-ing decisive roles in the early matches of the tournament so far, Sri Lanka have decided to bolster a slow bowling depart-ment which already includes left-arm spinner Rangana Her-
ath and off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake.
Vandersay, 26, has played three one-dayers and four Twenty20 Internationals.
The champions meet former winners West Indies in their next Super 10 Group One match in Bangalore on Sunday. - Reuters
Leg-spinner Vandersay replaces Malinga
CRUCIAL CLASH: Sri Lankan player pictured during a practice session ahead of ICC World T20 match against West Indies in Bengaluru on Saturday. West Indies’ Dwayne
Bravo, left, and Chris Gayle warm up during their practice session. – PTI
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Ranpura shines in Muscat CT’s victory over OCT Muscat AMUSCAT: Muscat CT eased to an eight-wicket victory over OCT Muscat A in a Muscat Pharmacy and Stores-sponsored Premier Division match at the Ministry of Sports Affairs ground during the morning session on Friday.
Batting first, OCT Muscat A were bowled out for 72 in 17 overs. For Muscat CT, Rajesh Ranpura was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets. Ganesh CN and Sandeep Goud claimed two wick-ets each for Muscat CT. In reply, Muscat CT raced to 77 for two in 10.1 overs with Swapnil Khade top scoring with an unbeaten 29.
Brief scores: OCT Muscat A 72 in 17 overs (Rajesh Ranpura 4/8) lost to Muscat CT 77 for 2 in 10.1 overs (Swapnil Khade 29 n.o). Points: Mus-cat CT – 3, OCT Muscat A – 0.
Fairtrade beat Uday Khimji In an Al Ansari Group of Compa-nies-sponsored B Division match, Fairtrade recorded a 44-run victo-ry over Uday Khimji International.
Batting first, Fairtrade put on
183 for the loss off eight wickets in 20 overs. Mohammed Rasaid and Aadil Mohammed top scored with 86 and 52 respectively. Rashid Mahmood was the most effec-tive Uday Khimji bowler claim-ing two wickets. In reply, Uday
Khimji scored 139 for eight in 20 overs with Aadil Abbas top scoring with 79. Ranjith Nair and Sufiyan Mahmood claimed two wickets each for Fairtrade.
Brief scores: Fairtrade 183 for 8 in 20 overs (Mohammed Rasaid 86;
Rashid Mahmood 2/20) bt Uday Kh-imji 139 for 8 in 20 overs (Mohammed Sufiyan 2/18). Points: Fairtrade — 3, Uday Khimji – 0.
Easy for BisyaIn another B Division match, Bisya
defeated Design Unit Engineering by six wickets. Batting first, Design Unit Engineering put on 161 for nine in 20 overs. Shebaz Nazar top scored with 52. Sohail Ayub was the most effective Bisya bowler claiming two wickets. In reply, Bisya scored 163
for four in 11.5 overs. M.D. Nadeem and Ihsan Ullah scored 65 and 61 not out respectively.
Brief scores: Design Unit Engi-neering 161 for 9 in 20 overs (Shebaz Nazar 52; Sohail Ayub 2/20) lost to Bisya 163 for 4 in 11.5 overs (M.D. Na-deem 65, Ihasan Ullah 61 n.o). Points: Design Unit Engineering – 0, Bisya– 3.
Newrest Wacasco winIn a Raha Poly Products-spon-sored C Division match, Newrest Wacasco won by 44 runs against L&T. Batting first, Newrest Wa-casco put on 190 for six in 20 overs. Deepak Ghakar top scored with 65. Laxman was the most effective L&T bowler claiming two wickets. In reply, L&T scored 146 for eight in 20 overs. Arun Mozhi top scored with 45. Shajeevan K. claimed two wickets for Newrest.
Brief scores: Newrest Wacasco 190 for 6 in 20 overs (Deepak Ghakar 65; Laxman 2/28) lost to L&T 146 for 8 in 20 overs (Arun Mozhi 45; Shajeevan K. 2/17). Points: L&T – 0, Newrest Wacasco – 3.
O M A N C R I C K E T
B DIVISION: Fairtrade after their victory over Uday Khimji International. – Supplied photoMUSCAT STAR: Rajesh Ranpura.
Hamilton on pole as new qualifying flops
MELBOURNE: World cham-pion Lewis Hamilton took pole for Mercedes at Formula One’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Saturday but condemna-tion for the revamped qualifying format was almost as quick as the Briton’s fastest lap.
The new system, based on pro-gressive elimination during the three sessions rather than at the end of them, was intended to in-stil more excitement but instead proved a monumental flop at Mel-bourne’s Albert Park circuit.
Rather than battle to the finish of each session, drivers posted early laps and then were content to return to their garages.
The last few minutes of both the second and final qualifying periods petered out with no driv-ers on track, sapping the entire process of suspense.
Hamilton, however, will be de-lighted by the work he did put in
that allowed him to celebrate his 50th pole after posting a lap of one minute and 25.351 seconds, with second-placed team mate Nico Rosberg nowhere near his time.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen are third and fourth on the grid, having con-fined themselves to the garage af-ter one flying lap apiece, not both-ering to even attempt to catch Hamilton’s time.
The top three qualifiers wasted little time in condemning the for-mat as a “wrong” decision and bad for fans. “We said at the beginning it wasn’t the right way,” three-time world champion Hamilton said.
Four-time world champion Vettel said: “We all knew what was going to happen. I didn’t think it was very exciting.
“And in the end for the people in the grandstands, I don’t feel it’s the right way to go.”
Status quo remainsIronically, the new format saw lit-tle change in Formula One’s sta-
tus quo, with no major surprises in the top eight positions.
Max Verstappen will line up fifth for Toro Rosso, with his team mate Carlos Sainz seventh behind Williams’s Felipe Massa.
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo will line up eighth on the grid as the first eliminated from Q3. His team mate Daniil Kvyat was among the first seven knocked out of Q1, however, along with both drivers from Manor Racing, Haas and Sauber.
Renault rookie Jolyon Palmer will start 14th behind McLaren drivers Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, the Briton sneak-ing into Q2 after the clock had run down on the initial session with a last flying lap that tipped Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson out.
Recriminations for the qualify-ing format, which was approved only two weeks before the season opener, continued to fly around the paddock well after the last chequered flag waved with no drivers on track. - Reuters
The new system,
based on progressive
elimination during
the three sessions
rather than at the
end of them, was
intended to instil
more excitement
but instead proved a
monumental flop
ON POLE: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton flashes the victory sign after
taking pole position in the qualifying session of the Australian
Grand Prix in Melbourne on Saturday. – AFP
‘Qualifying can be changed for Bahrain’
LONDON: Formula One needs to change its new qualifying format after it fell flat at Saturday’s Austral-ian season-opener and tweaks can be made before the next race in Bah-rain, according to the sport’s com-mercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
The new format, based on rac-ers being progressively eliminated during the sessions rather than at the end of each, was intended to add excitement but instead took away any suspense with no cars on track in the final minutes. Asked whether
the format should and could be changed before the second round of the championship in Bahrain on April 3, Ecclestone replied “Yes”.
“This idea was the (governing) FIA’s,” added the 85-year-old, who is not in Australia for the race. “If we can get them to agree to change and we agree to change, we can change it. Or if we get all the teams to agree with us, we can change it.”
The new qualifying format was agreed unanimously by the 11 teams and approved by FIA but Ecclestone
stressed it was not what he had proposed or wanted. “I had another idea. My idea was to leave the old qualifying alone and whoever won the previous race, or finished second or third down to 10th, would have time added to their qualifying time.”
“You just add the times on. Qual-ifying would stay as it was in the old days, which is what I’d like...and it would have changed the grid completely so at least for two thirds of the race you’d get a lot of racing.” - Reuters
F O R M U L A O N E
WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM
HealthSECTIONC L I F E S T Y L E S U N DAY, M A R C H 2 0, 2 0 1 6
Maryam and Omar (name changed) battled with their crisis for years. In their
picture perfect life what they missed was having a child and irrespective of all the necessary treatment that was needed to be blessed with a small bundle of joy, luck was not in their favour. While friends and family hounded them with their curious queries on their plans on having children, some were even insensitive to envy their carefree life sans children and called them DINKS (Double Income No Kids). Though they mastered the art of hiding their emotions and feelings from the world and carefully evaded the inquisitiveness of people, their hearts ached when people dis-cussed about children and they stood in involuntary si-lence because they had noth-ing to share … such and many more tales are galore in this
journey called infertility. A journey that no one chooses to take but it just happens.
Childlessness has always been a private sorrow, be it the physical trauma of going through the invasive tests and diagnose or the mental stress related to it. That’s how it has been all these years. Veiled by myths, inhibitions, and doubts, infertility has always been a sub-ject that has been pushed aside. But not any more. With the ad-vancement in the treatment op-tions and the growing medical centres in town, infertility is no more a problem to be suffered in silence. Dr Majida Al Irhayim, senior consultant gynaecologist and infertility head, Assisted Conception Unit at Muscat Pri-vate Hospital, brings rays of hope to help couples become better equipped with every aspect of what might be the greatest strug-gle of their lives so far.
“Infertility is when a couple fails
to achieve a pregnancy despite hav-ing regular unprotected conjugal relationship. Usually 80% will conceive within one year and an-other 10% will conceive within two years. It is advisable to visit a doctor if no conception achieved within one year,” she says.
Talking about the causes of in-fertility Dr Majida says, “infertility can be caused by different causes of which about one third is main-ly female factors. Another third mainly male factors and in about 20% of cases the cause cannot be identified and we refer to it as unexplained. The rest are usually combined factors”.
Ovulation disorder, polycystic ovary syndrome which character-ised by irregular cycles, thyroid disorder (untreated) whether hypo or hyper active disorders is related, premature ovarian fail-ures, that is when there is ovarian failure before the age of 40 years, pituitary gland disorder, uterine and fallopian tubes diseases, en-
dometriosis, uterine fibroids, or prolong use of certain drugs are some of the vital medical reasons of infertility found among women. “In men it is usually related to seminal fluid quality and other factors like testicular diseases, congenital defect, undescended testicles, vasectomy, ejaculato-ry disorder, and hypogonadism; when there is abnormally low level of the male sex hormone (testosterone) due to pituitary gland disorder or chromosomal abnormality. Long term use of anti inflammatory drugs, and excessive alcohol consumption could also lead to infertility,” says Dr Majida. Other lifestyle factors that affect fertility in both men and women are obesity, smoking, environmen-tal and occupational factors like exposure to radioactive materials, certain metals, and stress.
But with the recent advance-ment there is a lot of hope for couples struggling with infertil-ity. In Muscat, infertility treat-
ment in all modalities is avail-able. “Ovulation induction with and without intra uterine insemi-nation is widely available. Assisted reproduction in the form of in vitro fertilization (IVF) is available in few centres in Muscat since 2002. The success of the treatment usu-ally depends on many factors. The cause of infertility and the age mainly of the female is very signifi-cant. Other factors like obesity and other habits will negatively affect success rate, and of course the type of the treatment,” says Dr Majida.
There are also emotional set-back usually related to failed treat-ment more so after IVF treatment. “Treatment is not necessar-ily successful from the first at-tempt. Often repeated treatment is needed to achieve pregnancy. Couples should be advised to seek a treatment in a reputable place to get the facts right about the problem and the treatment required,” advises Dr [email protected]
WHERE TO GOMuscat Private Hospital+968 2458 3716
Advanced Fertility and Genetic Centre, Al Khuwair+968 2448 9647, +968 2447 8295
Al Bushra Medical Specialty Complex, Al Azaiba+968 2449 6419, +968 2449 7789
Al Hakeem Fertility Mother and Child Care Centre, Al Khuwair+968 2448 8300, +968 2448 8301
CURING INFERTILITY
Story Swati Dasgupta
FIND-IT-ALLC6 S U N DAY, M A R C H 2 0, 2 0 1 6
Dhuhr 12.19pmAsr 3.45pmMaghrib 6.23pmIsha 7.33pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 4.56am
PRAYER TIMINGS
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SHATTIKung Fu Panda 3 – 3D (Animation) PGCast: Jack Black, Bryan Dustin Hoffman3:30, 5:30 & 7:30PMThe Wave (Action | Drama | Thriller) PG12Cast: Kristoffer Joner, Thomas Bo Larsen7:00 & 9:45PMThe Witch (Horror | Mystery) 15+Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson11:45PMSolace (Crime | Drama | Mystery) 12+Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Xander Berkeley3:00, 9:30 & 11:30PM Eye In The Sky (Drama| Thriller | War) PG12Cast: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman5:30PM The Divergent Series: Allegiant (Action| Adcenture| Sci-Fi) PG12Cast: Shailene Woodley, Zoë Kravitz7:30PM Triple 9 (Action | Crime | Drama) 15+Cast: Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor3:15, 9:15 & 11:30PM London Has Fallen (Action| Crime) PG12Cast: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman5:00PM
MUSCAT GRAND MALLKung Fu Panda 3 – 3D (PG) Animation Cast: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman12:45, 5:30, 7:30 PMGold Class – 6:45 PMKapoor and Sons – 2D (PG12) Hindi | DramaCast: Alia Bhatt, Sidharth Kapoor, Fawad Khan9:00 PMSolace – 2D (12+) Crime | Drama | MysteryCast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Colin Farrell9:30, 11:30 PMGold Class – 3:30, 8:45, 11:00 PMThe Dressmaker – 2D (15+) DramaCast: Kate Winslet, Liam HemsworthTiming: 4:30 PMZootropolis – 3D (PG12) Animation |
Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman12:15, 2:15 PMThe Divergent Series: Allegiant – 2D (PG12) Action| Adcenture| Sci-FiCast: Shailene Woodley, Zoë Kravitz3:00 PMTriple 9 – 2D (15+) Action | Crime | DramaCast: Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor6:45, 11:45 PM
PANORAMA MALLLondon Has Fallen (Action) (2D)(PG12)Cast : Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman2:30, 5:00, 7:30, 10:30 pmTriple 9 (Action, Crime)(2D)(15+)Cast : Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor9:15, 11:30 pmTriple 9 (Action, Crime)(2D)(15+)-VIP LOUNGECast: Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor3:00 pmThe Divergent Series: Allegiant (Action, Adventure)(2D)(PG12)Cast : Shailene Woodley, Zoë Kravitz3:15, 7:00 pmKung Fu Panda 3 (Action)(MX4D)(PG)Cast : Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman4:30, 6:30, 8:30 pmKung Fu Panda 3 (Animation)(3D)(PG)Cast : Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman
5:30, 7:00 pmKung Fu Panda 3 (Animation, Action)(3D)(PG)-VIP LOUNGECast : Jack Black, Bryan Cranston7:15 pmSolace (Crime, Drama)(2D)(12+)Cast : Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Xander Berkeley3:00, 5:00, 9:30, 11:30 pmSolace (Crime, Drama)(2D)(12+)-VIP LOUNGECast : Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Colin Farrell5:15, 9:15, 11:15 pmKapoor and Sons (Drama)(2D)(PG12)Cast : Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt, Fawad Khan9:00 pmEye In The Sky (Drama, Thriller)(2D)(PG12)Cast : Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman2:45, 11:45 pm
AZAIBA Triple 9 (2D) (Action |Crime) (15+) Cast: Casey Affleck, Chiwetel EjioforTiming: 4:50, 9:30, 11:30 PMKung Fu Panda 3 (3D) (Animation) (PG) Cast: Jack Black, Bryan Cranston3:00, 5:00, 7:00 PMThe Divergent Series-Allegiant (2D) (Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi) (PG12) Cast: Shailene Woodley, Zoë Kravitz2:45, 11:45 PM
Jai Gangaajal (Hindi) (2D) (Action) (PG12) Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Rahul Bhat, Ayush, Mahesh Khedekar3:30 PMKapoor and Sons (Hindi) (2D) (PG12) Cast: Alia Bhattm Siddhart Malhotra2:30, 5:05, 7:40, 10:15, 11:30 PMMaheshinte Prathikaaram (Mal) (2D) (Drama | Comedy) (PG12) Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Soubin Shahir6:50, 9:15 PMPugazh (Tamil) (2D) (Action ) (PG) Cast: Jai, Surabhi Laxmi, RJ Balaji7:00, 9:00 PM
RUWIScreen 1Kapoor & Sons (Drama / Family) –PG12Cast : Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt, Rishi Kapoor3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PMScreen 2Kung Fu Panda 3 (2D) (Animation) –PGVoice Overs: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman3.30, 5.30, 7.30 PMJai Gangajal (Action) –PG12Cast : – Priyanka Chopra, Prakash Jha, Manav Kaul, Rahul Bhat 9.45 PM
Screen 3Neerja (Action / Biography) –PG12Cast : Sonam Kapoor, Shabana Azmi3.45, 9.45 PMMaheshinte Prathikaaram – Mal-(2D) (Comedy / Family) –PG12Cast : Fahadh Faasil, Anusree, Soubin6.45 PM
SURThe Wave ( Action | PG12) Cast : Kristoffer Joner, Thomas Bo Larsen4:15, 8:15 PMTriple 9 ( Action |Crime | Drama ) (15+) Cast: Casy Affleck, Kate Winslet6:15 PMEye in the Sky ( Drama ) (PG12) Cast: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman11:45 PMMaheshinte Parthikaaram (Malayalam) (PG12) Cast: Fahad Faasil, Soubin Shahir10:35 PMKung Fu Panda 3 (3D) (Animation) (PG) 4:30, 6:15 PMEmeli ( Thriller ) ( 12+)Cast : Sarah Bolger, Carly Adams, Carl Bailey10:15 PMKapoor And Sons ( Drama ) ( PG12) Cast : Alia Bhatt, Siddharth Malhotra8:00 PM
SOHARLondon Has Fallen – 2D (Action) (PG12)Cast: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman3:30PMSolace – 2D (Crime | Drama | Mystery) (12+)Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Xander Berkeley2:30, 9:45, 11:45PMThe Wave – 2D (Action | Drama ) (PG12)Cast: Kristoffer Joner, Thomas Bo Larsen5:00, 9:15PMKung Fu Panda 3 – 2D (Animation) (PG)4:45PMKung Fu Panda 3 – 3D (Animation) (PG)2:45, 6:45PMEmilie– 2D (Thriller) (12+)5:00, 11:45PMEye in the Sky -2D (Drama| Thriller ) (PG12)Cast: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman7:15, 11:30PMKapoor and Sons– 2D (Hindi) (PG12)9:00PMPugazh – 2D (Action| Thriller) (PG)7:15PMMaheshinte Prathikaaram– 2D (Drama)
Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Soubin Shahir8:45PM (PG12)
BURAIMIThe Witch (Horror | Mystery) (15+)Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson5.45, 11.45PMThe Wave (Action | Drama ( PG-12) 3.45, 9.30PMMaheshinte Prathikaaram(Mal) ( PG12 ) Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Soubin Shahir7.30PMKung Fu Panda 3 (Action|) (PG) Cast: Jack Black, Bryan Cranston3.15, 5.00, 7.00PMTriple 9 (Action | Crime | Drama) (15+) Cast : Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor5.15, 11.30PMKapoor & Sons (Hindi | Drama) (PG 12)Cast : Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt, Fawad Khan9.00PMFrankenstein (Horror | Thriller) 18+ 3.30, 9.45PMEye in the Sky (Dramar) PG12 7.30, 11.30 PM
SALALAHKung Fu Panda 3 (3D) (PG) (Animation) 3:00, 4:45PMThe Wave (2D) (PG12) (Action | Thriller) Cast: Kristopher Jonner, Thomas Bo Larsen3:30, 9:45PMFrankenstein (2D) (18+) (Horror | Thriller) Cast: Carrie-Anne Moss, Xavier Samuel5:30PMLondon Has Fallen (2D) (PG12) (Action) Cast: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman1:30PMTriple 9 (2D) (15+) (Action | Crime | Drama)1:15, 5:30, 11:30PMThe Witch (2D) (15+) (Horror | Mystery)Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson10:05PMSolace (2D) (12+) (Crime | Drama | Mystery) 3:30, 6:50, 11:45PMEye in the Sky (2D) (TBC) (Drama) 1:00, 11:55PMKapoor and Sons (2D) (PG12) (Hindi) 8:45PMMaheshinte Prathikaaram (2D) (PG12) (Mal) (Comedy / Drama)7:45PM Pugazh (2D) (PG12) (Action| Thriller) 7:15PM
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
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 Polyclinc LLC 22004000
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
@SHATTI @SUR
Kung Fu Panda 3 – 3D (Animation) PGVoice Overs: Jack Black, Bryan Dustin Hoffman3:30, 5:30 & 7:30PM
The Wave ( Action | PG12) Cast : Kristoffer Joner, Thomas Bo Larsen4:15, 8:15 PM
BAHJA CINEMAFilm information 24540856 / Advance Booking
24540855
Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com
The Wave (Action / Drama / Thriller)Cast: Kristoffer Joner, Thomas Bo Larsen4.00, 8.00, & 11.55 PM CP No: 371 (PG12)Frankenstein (Horror / Thriller)Cast: Carrie-Anne Moss, Xavier Samuel2.00, 6.00, & 10.00 PM CP No: 372 (18+)The Witch (Horror / Mystery)Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie1.00, 10.00, & 11.55 PM CP No: 373 (15+)Kapoor & Sons (Hindi / Comedy / Drama)Cast: Fawad Khan, Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt3.00 & 7.30 PM CP No: 374 (PG12)`London Has Fallen (Action / Crime / Thriller)Cast: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart 5.30 PM CP No: 351 (PG12)
STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776
Website: www.isurf.co.om
Maheshinte Prathikaram (Mal) (Comedy ) Cast : Fahad Faasil & Anusree 3-30, 6-30 & 9-30 PM Cinema Main Pugazh (Tamil) (Com) Cast : Jai , Surabhi & R . J. Balaji 3:30, 6:30 & 9:30 PM Cinema-2Action Hero Biju (Mal) (Act\ Comedy) Cast: Nivin Pauly & Anu Emmanuel 3:45 & 9:45 PM Cinema -3Puthiya Niyamam ( Mal) ( Thriller) Cast : Mammotty & Nayantara 6:45 PM Cinema- 3 Kapoor & Sons ( Hindi) (Drama\Rom) Cast : Sidharth Malhotra , Alia Bhatt & Rishi Kapoor 3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 PM Cinema -4
Next Change: Rocky Handsome ( Hindi );
Thozha (Tamil); Oopri (Telugu)
Programmes are subject to change
@RUWI
Kapoor & Sons (Drama / Family) –PG12Cast : Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt, Rishi Kapoor3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PM
WEATHER
330
Maximum
260
Minimum
TEMPERATURE
65-30%RELATIVE HUMIDITY
Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 16 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
TR SIVESH KANT March 20, 2010
SYEDA HIBA FATIMA March 19, 2005
AIZAH SHAIKMarch 20, 2014
M. MOHAMMED ZOHAIB March 20, 2013
WITH LOVE
LIFESTYLEC7S U N DAY, M A R C H 2 0, 2 0 1 6
Dizzy spells and feeling faint are common problems. Causes in-clude low blood sugar, drinking too much alcohol, or simply getting up too quickly. Feeling faint may also be due to emotional shock or panic, or may occur in pregnancy. An occasional episode is rarely a cause for concern, but sometimes the problem is due to an underly-ing condition or to certain drugs. Seek immediate medical help if you are dizzy or faint and have:
or legs, slurred speech, or blurred vision
What you can do yourselfThere are several things you can do to help yourself get over faint-ing or dizzy spell quickly.
knees or your feet raised and take deep breaths.
since you last ate, eat or drink a snack that contains sugar (not something containing artificial sweeteners).
all of these can make your symptoms worse.
machinery until you are com-pletely recovered.
fresh air if you feel steady on your feet.
Prevention-
ments. Have a window open, or
go out into fresh air from time to time.
-ing down or sitting.
water a day.
snacks, such as fruit, between meals to keep your blood sugar level steady.
since this can cause a drop in blood pressure and make you feel faint.
for long periods or lie flat on your back.
See your doctor if
medicine that may be causing the problem, such as drugs for high blood pressure or tranquillisers.
from an episode of dizziness or feeling faint.
of feeling faint or dizzy, or you develop any other symptoms.
Grittiness, burning, irri-tation, redness, itching, tearing — if these symp-toms sound familiar,
you could be one of the many who
Dry eye is a condition where tears lack sufficient moisture and lubrication, which are necessary to maintain good eye health and clear vision. Tears not only wash away dust, but also soothe the eyes, provide oxygen and nutrients to the cornea and help defend against eye infections by removing harm-ful bacteria. This condition has a multitude of causes, but generally stems from the following factors:
Age: As we age, eyes naturally become drier. Typically, people older than 65 experience some dry eye symptomsGender:to develop dry eye due to hormo-nal changes during pregnancy,
from using oral contraceptives and following menopauseMedications: Decongestants, an-tihistamines and antidepressants can reduce tear production and increase the likelihood for dry eye
Health is-sues associated with arthritis,
thyroid problems can lead to dry eye symptomsEnvironment: Dry climates and exposure to wind and smoke may trigger dry eyeEyewear/Surgery: Contact lenses may cause dry eye or make eyes less comfortable if they are dry, and some eye surgeries may lead to a temporary decrease in tear production
-gin is coated with heavy make-up, it can block the openings of the oily glands, which help lubri-cate the eye.
Nutrition plays a big role in health, including vision, and dry eye and are closely linked. Stud-ies have pointed to a simple and
— eating more of the right fish. Salmon, tuna, herring, mackerel, and other cold-water fish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and can help reduce inflammation, en-hance tear production, and sup-
increasing oil that flows from the glands at the end of the eyelids (called the meibomian glands).
nutritional supplements can also be incorporated into a diet to help ease the symptoms of dry eyes. Artificial tear drops, ointments, and capsules can also be used to help stimulate or maintain tear production and guard against fu-ture tear loss. —NewsUSA
Paracetamol ‘not clinically effective’ in treating joint pain
Paracetamol, a medication widely used to treat pain and fever, does not meet the mini-
-ducing pain or improving physical function in patients with knee and hip osteoarthritis, says a study. The findings, published in the journal The Lancet, are based on a large-scale
analysis of pain-relief medication for osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis that often results in joint pain and
-ment of patients with osteoarthritis, irrespective of dose, the findings showed. The researchers found that diclofenac 150mg/
-
-mol,” said one of the researchers Sven Trelle from University of
-ate pain management in osteoarthritis, but paracetamol is used more frequently in the long-term because of the cardiovascu-
about how best to manage pain in this population,” Trelle said.
A new device to monitor your pacemaker at homeBerlin-based cardio and endovascular technology maker
home monitoring technology for patients with implanted car-diac devices such as pacemakers, implantable defibrillators
-ers constantly connected to their physician, this “Home Moni-toring” technology enhances safety for cardiac device patients, an official statement released on Friday said. The device pro-vides fully automatic transmission of vital information from
-oMessenger Smart, the device is about the size of a smartphone and is highly robust, more convenient and remarkably portable as compared to previous versions of the device, the statement added. “CardioMessenger is the latest manifestation of how digital technology can benefit heart patients and help them live
-—IANS
H E A L T H N O T E S
H O M E R E M E D I E S
Dry eye is a condition where tears lack sufficient moisture and lubrication, which are necessary to maintain good eye health and clear vision.
Dry Eye: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment
Feeling Dizzy or Faint?
LIFESTYLEC8 S U N DAY, M A R C H 2 0, 2 0 1 6
It is said best things always come in small packages. Packed with healthy fats, protein, fibre, and lots of minerals and vitamins, these seeds have many health benefits.
Hemp SeedsPacked with protein, hemp seeds are good for the hair and skin. They are also rich in antioxidants, fibre, vari-ous minerals such as zinc, and many vitamins. They have all the essential omega-3 and 6 fatty acids needed by the hu-man body. You can add them to your smoothies, cereals, oatmeal, and salads. It can also be blended with water to make a nice milk substitute. It helps with muscle regenerations, reduces inflammation, wards off heart disease, and improves immune system function.
Chia SeedsHigh in iron, folate, calcium, and magnesium, chia seeds have loads of fibre too. It is said they have more iron than spinach, more potassium than bananas, and more antioxidant than blueberries.
They contain more calcium than milk too. Soak them in water or juice for about 10 to 15 minutes results in a gelatinous liquid. You can also add them to smoothies, or use as an egg or oil replacement in baked goods recipes. Good for joint pain and inflammation.
Sunflower SeedsAn excellent source of folate and vitamin E, sunflower seeds are a perfect snack and are a powerful antioxidant. They can be eaten raw or toasted, put on salads, or in breads. Sunflower-seed butter is also a great substitute for butter. It helps to keep one focused and alert.
Sesame SeedsHigh in antioxidants and rich in protein, sesame seeds are a great source of zinc. They are rich in calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc. Add them to stir fry, in sushi rolls, or on salads. Tahini, is made from sesame seeds.
Pumpkin SeedsA great source of iron, zinc, B vitamins, magnesium and protein, pumpkin seeds make a tasty snack too whether you roast them or toast them. If you prefer a salty snack, boil them in salty water before you dry them. You can also grind them and add to baked dishes. Add protein, iron, zinc, and espe-cially magnesium to your diet by having these seeds. It helps to stabilise blood pressure, as-sists in bone strength, and even reduces stress.
Flax SeedsA great source of soluble fibre, flax lowers cholesterol and makes you feel full longer. These seeds are also packed with omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial for brain health. As well, they are associated with boosting eye health, as they can lower the risk of age-related macular degeneration. Studies show flax seeds may help prevent certain cancers.
Super Seeds
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, M A R C H 2 0 , 2 0 1 6
RENT D2
QUALITY APARTMENTS FOR RENT
For Enquires Please Contact : 24 702 666Fax: 24-703666. Email: [email protected]
RENT RUWI
SPACIOUS -2 B H K
FLATS & 1 B H K
CBD: SHOWROOM &
OFFICE-Mezz.fl oor
Contact:24 70 30 60
FORRENT
One good flat of 2 BHK for res/comm purpose in Al-Khuwair plaza building, situated on the main road of Al-Khuwair.
Contact: 99 44 60 12
*Tourist visa arranged
Email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461
FOR RENT
D2 S U N D AY, M A R C H 2 0 , 2 0 1 6
DAILY GUIDE
Flat in Al Khuwair opp grand mall
4 room 3 toilet + hall kitchen in 3
floor 400. Contact 99420346
4 bedroom new villa Al Mawaleh
2 km to city center mall luxury
high end fit outs, split A/C, full
kitchen fitting all room with pri-
vate toilet. Contact: 99349990
2 bed rooms flat with Hall, 2bath-
rooms in Darsait, near Muscat
Municipality. Contact: 24700120 /
92584715
1000 sq mtrs industrial land in
Ghala suitable for warehouse
workshop etc. Contact :24700120 /
92584715
For rent 1BHK at Al-Hamriya,
B-2397, Way-5935 near Muscat
Pharmacy. Contact: 9922478 /
99332297
Single bed room flat behind Ger-
man Embassy near to Al-Nahdha
Hospital. Contact: 99203954
2 studio flat for rent in Al Am-
erat, opp. ROP police station rent
150/- and 130/- each. Contact:
99350946
2 BR, 2 bath, a kitchen, a yard
, with AC, separate enterance,
AlKhuwair near ibis hotel. PDC. RO
250 .. Call 97056443
Commercial/ residential flat for
rent in a new building. A ware-
house also available, location
Muttrah. For more details contact
– 99364735 / 95729711
Readymade office space for rent
(240sm) in Bank Melli Iran Build-
ing, MBD area, Ruwi, opposite
Center point. Contact: 99011352
Furnished 2BHK near Indian
School Wadikabir from 1st May RO
250 with sale of household items
total RO700. Contact:92622506
Flats in Al Khuwair, Al Ghobrah,
Al Hail & Seeb. Contact: 92125648
/ 95250300 / 24182000
Villa in Seeb near the beach and
Dreams Resort. Contact: 92125648
/ 95250300
Flats in Wadi Kabeer, MBD, Dar-
sait, Hamriya & Sidab. Contact:
92125648 / 95250300/ 24182000
Villa in Al Khuwair. Contact:
92125648 / 95250300
Flat for rent in South AlGhubrah
3 rooms, hall and 3 toilets, kitchen
rent 450/-. Contact: 99335580
Flats, shops and basement in
MBD area and Honda road.
Contact: 92433127/96291778/
92589235/97293708
1 & 2 BHK Flat in Al.Khuwair.
Contact - 99792181
2 BHK flat in Ghobrah.
Contact - 99792181
2 BHK flat in Ruwi.
Contact - 99792181
Office Space Available in Al Khu-
wair & CBD.Contact – 99792181
Double bed room flat CBD area.
Contact: 97608564
2 Bedrooms, kitchen, toilet, car
park R.O 200/- & 1 bedroom,
kitchen, toilet R.O 130 in Al Khu-
wair. Contact: 95154331
2 BHK flats /office & shops valu-
able in a new building at Honda
road .Contact: 91165807
2 BHK Flat in Wataya. #99792181
2 & 3 BHK Flat in Al Khuwair. Con-
tact 99792181
Staff Accommodation for Rent in
Al hail. Contact 99792181
3000 Sqr mtrs Store in Misfah.
Contact 99792181
Industrial land in misfah for near
Hal service & Al Awazi.950sq.M
with 3rooms,5 bathrooms,
boundary wall with 2 sides
road facing &large parking in
front.full or part area. Contact-
99364007/99454425
2 B/R Luxury Fully Furnished @
Al Khuwair 33 1 B/R Luxury Fully
Furnished @ Al Khuwair
5 B/R Fully Furnished villa @
Madinat Al Ilam 5 B/R Fully
Furnished villa @ Madinat Al
Ilam. For Daily, Weekly, monthly
or Yearly contract. Please Contact:
Atlas Real Estate & Rent a Car LLC
99249069 / 994617563/92888376
/ 24834888E mail: info@alshahiintl.
com
Open land + workshop + labour
camp in Ghala & Rusayl.
Contact – 99792181
Flat, 1 bedroom, kitchen, toilet in
AL Khuwair family bachelors
R.O 150/-. Contact: 95154331
1 Bed room, sharing K& T, R.O 100,
2 bedrooms , sharing K& T R.O
200/- in AL Khuwair. #95154331
Flat for rent 2 BHK 2 split A/C, 2
toilets, Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti
Masjid. #97007934 / 92609232
Room Al khuwair 120 R.O
Contact: 97799175
Studio type in Qurum.
Contact: 92230462 -98273470
2 BHK in Wadikabir RO250.
Contact: 97799175/92144045
2 BHK in Ghobrah RO310.
Contact: 97799175/92144045
1.2BHK in Darsait .Contact:
97799175/92144045
Flats 2 bedroom Majlis, 2 toilet,
kitchen balcony near Indian school
Darsait new building rent R.O
275/-Contact: 99243059
Two bedrooms flat in Al Ghob-
rah near Oman Oil of 18 Novem-
ber Street. OMR 330 Monthly.
Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 or
97509955.
4 BHK villa in Qurum.
Contact: 97799175/92144045
2 BR flats with 2Baths Kitchen
Al Amerat Aster Hospital .
Contact: 99366142
Flats in Darsait. 94051789
- 97201688
02 BHK residential flat opposite
to Al Nahdha hospital.
Contact: 99342733 /99795241
2BHK split A/C 200/- Monthly
& 1BHK spilt A/C 150/- monthly
new building good location Barka
Market. Contact: 99342661
Fully Furnished apartments in
Boucher (35). 94051789-97201688
Flats in Wadi Kabir. 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 monthly.
Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 or
97509955
New flats for rent at Al Ghobrah
near to atlas hospital the flats
includes 2 living room , 1hall ,
kitchen , toilets , air conditioned
room & high Quality finishing rent
per flat is R.O 375/-. Interested
candidates please
Contact: 00968- 97093283
Warehouse at Wadikabir - total
area 3500 sqm - covered ware-
house (500sqm), office,
accommodation (1000sqm), open
area (2000sqm) please
contact: 99273774 - 99202278
1BHK Flat with spilt A/C near
star cinema 210/-. Contact:
99358589/95570288 /97079146 Full furniture room for rent for
family monthly 200/- .
Contact: 99251975
Flat with two rooms with window
A/C, with toilets & car parking way
No: 1670 north Al Hail near Dosteen
restaurant 1KM Inside.
Contact: 99238334
3BHK in Qurum P.D.O high 350/-
Monthly. Contact: 99342661
Flats in Muttrah. Contact:
94051789-97201688
Offices in Ghala. Contact: 94051789-
97201688
Commercial flats of 3 & 2 BHK in Al
Ghobra North 18 Nov street RO.650/-
& 450/- Contact 91776665
WAREHOUSE AVAILABLE FOR RENT
IN BALADIA SANAYAH AMIRAT
(Floor area 600sqmtrs and mezzanine of 500sqmtrs)
1100sqmts fully cover warehouse
Please contact: G.S.M
99417229/92621039
3 Rooms, 2 Toilets Flat for Rent. 18
November Street. Near Mars Hyper-
market and The Chedi. Ghobrah -Good
for Commercial or Residential use.
OMR 295/- month. Call 94477222
Conditioned room with toilets in Al
Khuwair. #92620858 /92605500
Villa for rent in Al Hail South, con-
sist of 3 bed rooms for family only.
Contact: 99546777
2B/R with 3 toilets directly from
owner, near Dolphin Complex
Bausher. Contact 92158031
We have staff accommodation in
Bousher 30 to 40 people can stay.
Contact 93782735 / 99208033
We have 7BHK commercial villa
in Al Khuwair 33 for rent. Lift also
Available. Contact 93782735 /
99208033
We have 1BHK / 2BHK flats for rent
in Mabela7. #93782735 / 99208033
We have 2BHK flats for rent in
Ghubra, Ghala, Azaiba. Contact:
93782735 / 99208033
We have 5BHK villa in Qurum near
Mars Hypermarket for rent. Contact:
93782735 / 99208033
We have office for rent in Ghubra
150 sqm. prime location main road.
Contact: 93782735 / 99208033
Flats for rent in Ghubra at good loca-
tion. 93782735 / 99208033
2 BHK flat in Azaiba, near Sultan
Centre, 2 rooms, sitting hall, kitchen
& 3 bathrooms. Contact: 93782735 /
99208033
OFFICES FOR RENT AT AZAIBAPrime location on service road (previously
occupied by A'Saffa Foods) near Al Turky
and Mazda showroom.
- 2 BHK flat available directly from the
owner, at Azaiba.
Contact: 99229263, 93221054, 95215289
2 BHK fully furnished flat at Ruwi
MBD area. Contact – 93211557 /
24814853
OFFICE SPACES
FOR RENT230 SQ. Mtr each
Ready to move in two
offi ces for rent near Man
Truck Showroom, Ghala
Contact -
99269841 / 92429917
DAILY GUIDES U N D AY, M A R C H 2 0 , 2 0 1 6 D3
FOR RENT
FOR SALE
FOR SALE
1 BHK Flat with split ACs avail-
able near Lulu Darsait (Opp. to
Min. of Defence). #93202733
2 BHK Apartment for rent near
MSQ area. Contact 92888063
Offices & flat in CBD, Ruwi. Con-
tact 95345909 / 92820734
2 BHK – modern & spacious flats
with split ac for rent in Qurum
near PDO gate no. 2. #94057023
2 BHK flats with split Ac avail-
able for rent at Al Khuwair 33.
Contact 94057023
2 BHK, 3 toilet with split A/c
at Darsait near School. Contact
99024039 / 99061408
2 BHK fully furnished flat for
rent in Wadi Kabir.#92233322
Store with cold store in Wadi
kabir. Contact: 99374977
Furnished office for rent No. 503
at Business Center – Al Khuwair.
Contact: 24488833
Offices & Showrooms in Mut-
trah. 94051789-97201688
Duplex villa in Qurum 29.
94051789-97201688
Offices & Showrooms in
Al Khoud.94051789-97201688
Brand new villas in Al Ansab.
94051789-97201688
For rent and investment Land
industrial shops in Rusayl.
Contact: 99323957 / 95490842
Flats in Qurum. Contact
94051789-97201688
1B/R apartment executive fully
furnished at AL Khuwair 33 & 5
B/R villa unfurnished at Madinat
Al Ilam & 5 B/R villa fur-
nished at Madinat Al Ilam.
Contact: Atlas Real Estate &
rent a car LLC -24834888/
99249069/92888376/94617563
Email: [email protected]
Luxury villa of 5 BHK in Al Khu-
wair 33 RO.650/- #91776665
Brand new villas in Al Ansab.
Contact - 94051789-97201688
Flats in WadiKabir. Contact - 94051789-97201688
600 M2 showroom or office
in Bousher in front of Dolphin
complex. RO.3.5 per m2. Contact
91776665
Offices & Showrooms in Al Khoud. Contact 94051789-
97201688
Fully Furnished apartments in
Boucher (35) Contact- 94051789-
97201688
Brand new 4 BHK villa in Al Fai
compound Al Khoud. RO.475/-
Contact – 91776665
ACC. AVAILABLE
ACC. AVAILABLE
ACC.WANTED
ACC.WANTED
Warehouse at Ghala Indus-
trial area for rent with 16 acs &
heavy duty shelves/ warehouse
is in 2340 sqm land. Contact
92400008
600 sq mtrs residential land in
Maabela Phase 4 Block 4 OMR
65 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or
95215360 or 97509955
600 sq mtrs residential land in
Maabela Phase 4 Block 3 OMR
65 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or
95215360
Approx. 300 sqm, supermarket
available for sale. complete with
furniture & fixtures, security
Camera & internet connection
with 2 entrances. Call us for ap-
pointment/viewing at 93518390 /
99082534.
2 storey villa, 5 rooms with at-
tached bath,1 hall & kitchen at
Madinat Sultan Qaboos under
finishing. Contact 99778773
Wholesale Iranian best carpets
quality TOP per sqm 17.5 RO qual-
ity normal per sqm 13.5 RO for
Masjid per sqm 13.5RO in Oman
and all Gulf country’s delivery
in Muscat and Iranian Souve-
nirs paintings and gifts. Contact:
91213269 / 99234905
Good conditioned 5 ton forklift for
sale. #99885638 / 94052713
An excellent grade license with
various activities and ten clear-
ances (4 General Cooks, 4 waiters,
2 waitresses) is for sale. Serious
buyers send Email:
Well running 30 yrs old irrigation
and agricultural showroom in Al
Ghubra with materials. Contact:
99310450
Zanzibari coffee shop for rent or
sale in Barka Souq road, at Prime
location. Contact: 99814411
400 sq mtrs Commercial/Resi-
dential land in Mabela Phase 5
Block 2. OMR 165 Thousand.
Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 or
97509955
Required single room for an
executive lady (non cooking) in
Darsait, Ruwi, Wadi Kabir.
Contact - 98591132
220 M2 SHOWROOM
FOR SALE@ Sanaya/ Hospital
Road- Sohar
PLEASE CONTACT:
00968 - 9898 9532/
2471 [email protected]
Fully furnished 1BHK at Wadika-
bir near Al Hassan RO275/month
available for 4 months from
01/04/2016 to 31/07/16. Contact:
92577929
Furnished two rooms both
attached bath with common
kitchen in a new building with
compound in front & back side
for single bachelor or both rooms
for a family, Aint, Darsait.contact
99008069
1 BHK apartment for rent in
Al Khoud Shabiya near Ma-
zoon Mosque for rent. Contact :
93913224
Single room near Al Falaj Hotel.
Contact 99643845
Room with attached bathroom for
a family in Wadi Kabir. Contact
97167857
Room with kitchen available
at Ruwi. Contact 91214897 /
98049288
Spacious villa Al Ansab main
road, 8 rooms, 8 toilets & bath-
rooms, kitchen store. Con-
tact:96354553
Furnished bedroom with at-
tached bath and kitchen separate
entrance for bachelor for RO 150
per month all inclusive in a villa, opp. Star Cinema.#99314807
Room with toilet for working
lady. Contact: 91450718
Furnished room attached bath for
Indian bachelor, Al-Falaj Ruwi &
lady Wadi Kabir near Mars
hypermarket. Contact:
96202458/96761960
Furnish bedroom with attach
bathroom for executive bachelor.
Contact: 97704794
FOR RENTStore space in Al
Wattayah.
Contact 99382489 / 99263443
Villa of 3 BHK and sitting area in
Al Ghobra North. RO.525/-
Contact – 91776665
Luxury and brand new semi
furnished 2 BHK flat in Remalbow-
sher. RO.550/- Contact – 91776665
Mini Furnished Apartment in
Qurum. Contact 94051789-
97201688
Spacious 1 BHK flat in Al Wattaya
with all split A/C’s and parking.
RO.300/-Contact – 91776665
Offices & Showrooms in Muttrah.
#94051789-97201688
Flats in Darsait. Contact -
94051789-97201688
Offices in Qurum opposite City
Center. Contact 94051789-
97201688
Duplex villa in Qurum 29.
Contact - 94051789- 97201688
A well running pharmacy for sale
at prime location.
Contact- 99627621, 93240949
Well established coffee
shop / restaurant prime loca-
tion at AL Khoud. Contact:
92188777/98700760
Space for printing press available
at wadikabir with or without
machinery. Contact 99328430
Shop for sale near Oman House,
Muttrah. Contact 99024362.
Almost new beach/ garden lounge
chairs /bar stools/ counter. Photos
can be sent 95865457
Luxury Apartments in Bousher
(35). 95056808-97201688
Villas in Al Khoud. 95056808-
97201688
Steel Scrap materials for im-
mediate sale: contact 99273774/
99202278
Urgent sale of steel scrap only
serious buyers kindly contact
+968 96725423 for viewing the
items.
Single colorful Bed and Sofa
for Sale at Al Khuwair. Con-
tact 92881849 /What`s up No
97290565
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
Room with attached bathroom and
sharing kitchen available for
Executive bachelor or small family
at wadikabir Contact 93049849
Room available in Mumtaz area
1 room, 1 Bathroom, Kitchen & 1
room, common bathroom. Inter-
ested please#92680041 Mr. Altaf
Room for rent with furniture.
Al Bustan village.#93687466
Accommodation required with
food for 1 month, bachelor for
March month. Preferably Al Ghob-
rah area. Contact:
99335742
WANTED
IELTS Coaching (academic) required
nearby wadi Kabir area. Please call
on mobile or msg on Whats up. Mo-
bile no: 92927880/99012165
FOR HIRE
Grader, roller, bobcat, JCB 3CX, JCB 4CX with breaker & water tank-
er for rent. #93218705 / 24478450
AVAILABLE
Party & Wedding equipment rentals.
Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirt-
ing, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery,
Crockery, Glassware, Chafing Dishes,
Ice Sculptures, to Large Sound
Systems and spectacular lighting.
Call Andrea 9606 2222 for Catering
and Croyden 9623 5555 for Sound &
Light. ww.tunesoman.com,
E-mail: [email protected]
BUYING
Bobcat available for rent.
Contact 97623299
Buying cars for cash.
Contact: 90202090
DAILY GUIDED4 S U N D AY, M A R C H 2 0 , 2 0 1 6
SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT
SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED
SITUATION WANT-SIT. WANTED
Email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624
DRIVER
MEDICAL
SKILLED LABOUR
ADMIN
CATERING
ADMIN
ACCOUNT. & FINANCE
Required Cook 5 yrs exp in Oman
for family. Send CV fax: 24703854
or abuakram_omer69@hotmail.
com. Contact: 90140203
Wanted a male front Office As-
sistant minimum 3 yrs exp with
good communication skill. Visa
provided. Interested candidates
mention the expected salary and
send CV to [email protected]
Urgently required Omani recep-
tionist for a trading company in
Muscat. Kindly send CV to email:
Required urgently a Legal Consultant/ Lawyer for reputed
law firm in Sohar, Muscat. Can-
didates should have 5-7 years
experience as a Legal Consultant/
Lawyer with good knowledge of
Computer & should be fluent in
English both written & spoken.
Email C V to shejaanil66@gmail.
com or Contact 99153620
between 8am to 1pm & 2pm to
5.30 pm on Sunday to Thursday
Indian male good experienced in
Accounts, ERP Tally 9 & Admin in
India & Oman, presently on visit
visa, looking for suitable placement.
Contact 94834687
Indian male 25 yrs, Graduate in com-
merce, overall 5 yrs exp in accounts/
finance field. On visit visa. Immedi-
ately available. Contact
92836216 /
DOMESTIC HELP
ACCOUNT. & FINANCE
ACCOUNT. & FINANCE
Required Accounts Officer- en-
sure accurate processing of
revenue data into ERP systems
and invoicing module. Posting of
invoices to customer SAP portal
and delivery to customer offices
and interface with country man-
ager/ reporting to regional CEO.
Qualifications: BSc accounting.
Relevant experience & knowledge
on online accounting systems
especially the customer
SAP system. Submit CV to:
Accountant with gulf experience
in construction field preferred with
Oman driving license. Interested
candidates send CV to:
Email: [email protected]
Gsm: 95892831/95197615
Urgently required an Filipino
Housemaid, interested people
can forward your bio-data to
Housemaid required for full-
time for Indian family, Hindi/
English speaking CBD area
Ruwi.
Contact: 96183093
Looking for a part-time cook-cum-housemaid in Azaiba.
Call 92450197.
MISCELLANEOUS
Required for leading Com-
pany:- Qualified Accountant &
Marketing(male, female). Valuator
– real estate, English typist. Email :
Required candidates for following
posts: Accountant, Storekeeper, Foreman Building Maintenance, Van-salesman (water), Helpers. Candidates with Omani driv-
ing license preferred. Contact
99273774/99202278
Looking for driver with motorbike
licenses for resturant delivery ,
contact 95048797
A woman Driver required from
Muttrah to Darsait. Contact :
98090977
Looking for motor cycle license holders for FMCG merchandising
contact: 92312112
Required a expat driver with
Omani D/L. Contact –
91409668
Part or full time Driver Required
call us 91120552
ENGINEER/MECHANIC.
REQUIRED PROJECT MANAGER
For an Infra/ Bldg project in Duqm/Oman
Graduate Engineer with 20+ years experience preferably
in Oman/ GCC with valid D/L and transferable visa,
computer literate. Send CV to Email :
Wanted a Nurse for dental
clinic Seeb. Contact: 99722457 /
95706223
Urgently required female Gy-
necologist for a clinic at Samail.
Send CV: [email protected],
95498105
Wanted Nurse for a dental centre
in capital area. Interested may
contact – 93431024 or send CV to
Wanted Staff Nurse for
a dermatology clinic in Muscat .
Must have MOH license and NOC.
Attractive salary offered. Email:
Required female Nurse, with MOH
license for private dental clinic in
Bowshar area, Muscat.
Contact: 92189807
GP doctor needed for reputed clin-
ic. Preferably with MOH license or
with Dataflow & Paramatics pass
Contact: 95388934
Required gynecologist GEN: practitioner lady lab Technician and pharmacologist immediately
for a clinic in Suwaiq. contact
95081010 Email:
SALES / MARKETING
TECHNICIAN
28/male/MBA - finance/B.Com -
Accountant with 4 years of Dubai/
India experience looking for a
suitable placement. contact
90187483
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENTA famous Italian brand is seeking for female applications for the
position of “Counter Sales” which will be located in one of Muscat’s most popular malls.
Qualifi cation required:
Fluent English speaking, Arabic speaking is preferred,
good communication skills, basic knowledge with computers.
Experience required:Minimum of 1 years of professional experience in sales
Candidates are requested to send their CVs on [email protected]
EDUCATION/TRAINING
We, the storm shield in the talented candidates for the below
positions (Indian only): Maintenance Technician (male -1) should have knowledge of new
mobile devices & 3 years Oman
experience Contact: 94441111
Send CV to
email: [email protected]
Electrician cum Plumber, Maintenance Supervisor with
D/L, Building Material Sales-
man, C.C.T.V Technician. Contact:
9938304. E mail: helplinellc123@
yahoo.com
Screen printer in Ruwi. Contact
92831131 / 97752162
The Egyptian school requires chemistry Teacher for IG, English, Science & mathematics. Teacher’s
application should be submitted
by hand or by email –
24603930
Dynamic Indian Male Account-
ant with 9 Years Experience seeks
suitable placement. NOC available.
Contact: 96902860
MBA, Finance, 1 yr experience
in Accounting now on visit visa,
looking for suitable job. Contact
92901121, Email : lijojoy456@
gmail.com
Sr. Accountant: 37 Male, Indian,
13yrs Oman Exp. Finalisation/
Audit/Tax compliance/MIS/
Cash Flow/Budget/Payroll/AR –
99679247
Indian Male 30 yrs (M.Com) hav-
ing 9 yrs (5 yrs in Oman & 4 Yrs in
India) accountant exp looking for
suitable placement local release
available Contact 96425976
MBA Indian National 26 years
old Having (06) years experience
in FSM Industry Catering and
Restaurant, As An Accountant
and finalization of all accounts
related works, Available to join
immediately kindly contact on
98315449.
Male Accountant M.Com Accounts
& finance, 3 yrs exp in accounts
looking for suitable job on visit visa.
Contact: 95648575
Indian female MBA in financ
currently on visit visa seeking
suitable placement in Accounts /
HR/Admin Contact: 92896110. E
mail: [email protected]
Indian male, M. Com with
3 yr Oman Exp in Accounts
with valid oman D/L, on
visit Visa, seeking suit-
able placement. GSM:94744575.
Email:[email protected]
Indian CA finalist, 7 yrs exp
having driving license with visa
looking for finance / accounts
position Email: rameesnm@gmail.
com, 98097009
B.Com Graduate, Indian male 24
yrs, 3 yrs exp in Oman looking for
Accounting, Sales, suitable jobs.
NOC Available. Contact:90615814.
Mail : [email protected]
Fresher 24, ACCA Affiliate, Ad-
vanced diploma in Accounting
and Business seeking suitable
placement in Accounts, Finance or
Audit with Oman driving license.
Contact - 92430152
Email - [email protected]
ACCA member with 6 yrs of
experience in Oman looking for
a suitable job in finance. Contact
99284193
Indian female MBA in finance
currently on family visa seeking
suitable placement. #96471025
Female seeking suitable place-
ment in reputed Company, 5 yrs
experience in Oman. Skills : Tally,
EKP9, Sage ACC, PAC, ITIL, MS Of-
fice. Contact 95483804, sararow-
4 yrs experience in Oman han-
dling Accounts. NOC available,
strong communications. Contact
95187454, rowshan.rafiul@gmail.
com
Indian male B.Com Graduate,
6 yrs exp in auditing, accounts
and marketing 3 yrs exp in Oman
with DL looking for suitable
placement. Contact :96146287,
REQUIREDFull time
Housemaid For a reputed
Omani household.
Age group
between 30 to 35 years only.
Please call 99342737 between 9 am to 6 pm only.
CATERING
Cooks (Arabic Indian) gulf exp
looking job. Contact:
99531802
Indian male, rich working experi-
ence in oman as “ Personal Assis-
tant / Office Manager (Executive
Office) / senior administrator /
business development asst.” hold-
ing Omani driving license. Local
release available – 99168054 -
8 years of intensive Oman expe-
rience in procurement & supply
chain management looking for
suitable placement.#97755488
10 yrs experienced Omani PRO
looking for suitable position. Good
knowledge in HR Admin ROP, all
Ministries related affairs. Contact:
99588154 / 93387833
MBA professional with 5 yrs exp
in the field of HR , Administration,
Sales (Business Development)
and accounts, holding valid UAE
driving license on visit visa until
end of March. Contact: 91731542/
24 yrs, lady expat looking for
full time job with visa. Interested
fields are admin, back office,
front-office, reception. Contact:
96321431 or email: sharanya.
Indian female BS, 2 yrs exp look-
ing for suitable position in HR &
Administration. #94656009
Urgently required Document con-
troller / material controller /HR
job 15yrs exp. D/L available plz
contact; 96777019/92386043
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 male MBA 33yrs having
10 yrs of exp seeking full time
suitable placement in Administra-
tion/ HR/ Operations/ Coordina-
tion/ Logistics. Holding valid D/L.
Contact 99054786
Indian male MBA- UK 18 yrs Gulf
exp in Administration/ HR & Public
relationship. Fluent in Arabic/
English with D/L. Looking for suit-
able position. Contact - 99897280
Young Omani male have experi-
ence 12 years as P.R.O, CLERK
Helper Supervisor Admin Super-
visor, 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
Filipino male with 13 years HR and
Administration managerial experi-
ence. MBA & CIPD holder. Currently
looking for job in Oman. Interested
employer Contact - 97728418.
Indian, 26 yrs , female , 5 yrs exp
in HR/ Admin with valid Oman
D/L seeking suitable placement.
Contact: 98236033
Indian female, Masters in HR,
having 4 + years Oman experi-
ence in media management and
HR, looking for openings in HR,
Education, Admin, Corporate com-
munications. Contact
98252030
Urgently required a Marketing Executive with 2 years experience
and driving license (GCC) for a re-
puted building material & electrical
showroom in Al Khoud.
Please send CV to –
Contact - 94320909
Looking for a country Sales Execu-
tive with valid driving license and
good communication skills. Inter-
ested candidates please send in the
CV’s to [email protected]
Urgently required Sales Executives
(2 nos.) & Graphic Designer for sig-
nage / print media with minimum 1
to 2 yrs experience. Send CV at Email
: [email protected], 91275555
Require Salesman with D/L. E mail:
Required Sales staff 2 NOS Having
experience in Cosmetics Sales.
Send your updated CV to
GSM 92683688
Urgently Required Steel Fabri-cated Products Salesman with
an experience in steel fabrication,
MUST have Oman driving license,
and immediately join. Apply,
fax 00968–24605955, emails
An Omani construction company located at Muscat looking for
Marketing executive with
GCC driving license & NOC
send C.V to [email protected]
Required Sales Executive knowledge of building materials.
Full or part time. #99421513
Indian male, 32 yrs, B.Com having
8 yrs Accounts experience in Oman,
looking for suitable placement (local
release + Oman D/L available). Con-
tact 97494322 / 98093515
Accountant Indian male 25 yrs
BBA with Tally, having 3 years of
exp. plus Hardware, Networking
seeking for suitable placement:
98201244
Indian male 22 yrs B.Com with one
year exp in accounting auditing
with good working knowledge in
tally erp-9 looking for a suitable
placement now on visit visa
Contact: 97189500
Indian male 25 years of age,
Bachelor degree in B.Com, seek-
ing suitable place in Oman, on
visit visa. Contact – 91240544 /
98016928
Indian female MBA Accountant, 8
yrs exp in accounts seeking suit-
able placement. Contact: 96117303
Indian female Accountant 8yrs
exp in Oman. Contact:93726921
Part time accountant, up to fina-
lization of accounts looking for job
after 5 PM (location prefers – MSQ
– to AL Hail). Contact: 95694737
Jordanian, Senior accountant, 15 yrs experience in Oman finance
& accountant. Contact: 92881223
Indian male 28 yrs MBA finance/
marketing and graduate in com-
puter experience 3 yrs seeking
suitable job, now family visit visa.
Contact: 93195378
Email: [email protected]
SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, with
13yrs experience, 6 yrs Oman in
manufacturing, trading & con-
tracting Cos, capable of handling
all accounting, finance, banking,
L/C, import, export & finalization
seeks placement. NOC Available.
Call+968-98932752,
mail:[email protected]
SENIOR ACCOUNTANT-M. Com
Finance-Indian with 7 years experi-
ence in Finance & Accounts up to
finalization. Currently employed in
Oman. Having D/L & NOC. contact
94122464,
Email: [email protected]
Indian Male Accountant 10yrs
Exp. in OMAN Retail & Furniture Co.
(Release Available) contact
92564955
Indian male 34 Yrs, Dual MBA
Finance and marketing with IT
skills, 7+ yrs of experience,
Looking for suitable placement.
Contact : 94879615,Email-
Chief Accountant 25 years expe-
rienced looking for part/full time
accountant job.
Contact: 95598477/98803439
Indian male 25 B.Com (graduate)
2 years experience as accountant
in country club India with ERP
oracle r12, tally knowledge. On
visit visa immediately available.
Email: [email protected]
Contact- 9042-1161
Indian female 25 yrs, MBA HR &
Marketing, with one and half years
experience as accountant and
6 months experience in teaching,
now on a visit visa, seeking suit-
able position. Contact: 99624044,
mail: [email protected].
Required urgently experienced Civil Engineers having 2-3 years on
building construction jobs.
Contact: 99472795
A construction company requires
Civil Engineer (degree holder) is
having minimum 7 yrs exp who
can independently handle the
site. Oman experience will be
plus point. Apply with bio data
to fax no: 24489096 or email:
[email protected]. Contact:
99339661
Urgently required QA/QC Engi-
neer minimum exp 5yrs including
Gulf in fabrication tanks, vessels.
Certificate- CSWIP, NDT-L-2, ISO
Certificate – int. audit. Con-
tact:92746349. Email: mydeen@
mudest.com
Required Hydraulic Mechanical. Contact - 95251213
Civil Engineer with minimum 5/8
years experience with valid Oman
driving license. Contact Interested
candidates send CV to:
Email: [email protected]
Gsm: 95892831/95197615
Urgent Requirement
1. Landscaping Engineer -
1, with driving license.
2.Landscaping supervisor
- 1, with driving license.
Contact detail:Mobile: 98905495
Email: [email protected]
A leading regional co. in Muscat & Barka
specializing in heavy steel industries, Earthmoving
Equipments Spare Parts and material handling
solutions for Quarries, Crushers, Cement Plants and
Mining industry is looking for:
Qualified candidates, kindly send your CV's to [email protected]
A School in Oman is looking to recruit
teachers to teach Maths and Science for Grade 1
to Grade 5. Candidates must have a Degree in
Maths or Science with a B.Ed and minimum of
two years’ experience in teaching.
Interested candidates are requested to email a
copy of their CV with relevant teaching experience
certificates and qualification certificates to
DAILY GUIDES U N D AY, M A R C H 2 0 , 2 0 1 6 D5
SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED
DRIVER
DRIVER
EDUCATION/TRAINING
ENGG. / TECH./MECH.
ENGG. / TECH./MECH.
ENGG. / TECH./MECH.
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERIndian male 30 years, having 5 years
of experience in industrial automation and utility
maintenance in India (MRF Tyres), holding valid Oman D/L.
Contact - 92789995Email: [email protected]
IT
Electrical Engineer, Indian male,
6 years industrial experience on
visit-visa, seeking job- ready for
any roles. Contact: 98750295
Email:[email protected]
Building Site Supervisor working
in Oman since Mar 2010 with Oman
D/L looking for suitable placement
.contact:91507828
B.Tech electronics & Comm.Engg
with CCNA certified with 2yrs exp.
Contact-99490930.
email; [email protected]
An Iraqi civil with more than 30
years experience in (Iraq and G.C.C)
looking for a job, (N.O.C) available.
Contact: 96561306
Email: [email protected]
Civil Engineer 11 yrs exp in con-
struction field having Oman driving
license & NOC. Contact – 94194399 /
Indian male 22, Chemical Engineer
residing in Oman looking for suitable
placement. Contact: 92379181
Engineer has 10 years local &
international experience in ready
mix concrete also in Oil & Gas field
also in marketing & sales field , has
Omani driving license. #92534098
Indian male, Mechanical
Engineer having 1year experi-
ence, on visit visa looking for
suitable job. Contact:97416564,
Email:[email protected]
Civil Engineer diploma, 4 yrsexp
seeks suitable position ina reputed
company. NOC available. #96789711
Indian History graduate with diploma in Safety with
valid Oman Driving licence seeks suitable placement.
Contact-93361624, [email protected]
HOSPITALITY
MISCELLANEOUS
Indian male Graduate hotel man-
agement 12 yrs exp operations &
sales oriented GCC driving license
and release available. #94525463
Hospitality/Hotel/ Restaurants
Dynamic result oriented hospital-
ity professional with 20 years of
international exp. MBA in Hotel
Management, specializing in
Hotel/Restaurant start ups, con-
cepts & Franchise development
with proven records. Seeking for
Challenging positions in reputed
groups as GM/COO/CEO/Business
Head. (NOC available) contact
96059470
35 yrs vast experience in Sales,
Marketing, Advertisement & distri-
bution at Senior position in Oman.
NOC available. Contact 99868330
/ 99848831, rwahedi458@gmail.
com
EXPERT ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE F
HR& CRM, appraise IT system for
Contact: Tel - 96500729
12 yrs exp with store incharge
purchasing having valid Omani
driving license. Contact:
99004638
Civil Engineer 8 years experience
in Oman as a project engineer for
governmental & private projects.
Contact – 90164912
Procurement Engineer (27 years
single male with Oman Driving Li-
cense) having 7 years experience
(UAE 2, Oman 3) with expertise in
MEP, Water, Electromechanical,
Instrumentation seeking suitable
placements. Contact 95852033,
mail: [email protected]
Civil Engineer (B.Tech), Indian
male 24 years with 1+years Indian
experience,(Certified in Staad
Pro/ Quantity Survey/ Auto Cad).
Looking for a Suitable position.
Available In Sultanate of Oman
(Muscat) on Visit Visa.
Contact: 92835952. E-mail:
Indian male Electrical Engineer, having 6 years gulf experience in
designing, assembling, commis-
sioning execution etc having valid
GCC license too looking for a suit-
able. Contact: 00968-98052942
Email: [email protected]
Civil Engineer 8 years experience
Structural buildings marine. Availa-
ble NOC release. Contact: 92451323.
Email: [email protected]
HSE Engineer (B.E Mech+Diploma
Safety+NEBOSH+OSHA) over
10yrs. Exp, (Visa Release Letter
(NOC) available), seeking suit-
able placement, Mob:97061817,
Email:[email protected]
MANAGER
MEDICAL
Female B. Ed English teacher, 7 yrs
exp seeking suitable placement. Con-
tact : 99739415 / 92091528
Female Indian, M.Sc, Maths Teach-
ing experience College University
ready to join immediately. Contact
99835738
Indian female MSC,B.ED, MPHIL,
IELTS, currently on visit visa
seeks suitable placement. Contact:
96916534
Indian male 23 Mechanical Engi-
neer (B.E) residing in Oman looking
for suitable job. Contact: 98530806
/ 99362006
BE (Mechatronic & Robotics Engg)
CNC Operations, basic computer
knowledge, multilingual skills, 23
yrs looking for suitable place-
ment. Contact 92552789
Indian Male – MBA (HR) & En-
gineering graduation with total 9
years of experience in HR & Admin
( 3 yrs of Oman Exp.) along with
hands on experience in technical
bid submission for all Govern-
ment & PDO tenders ready to join
immediately with NOC. Contact
@ 91240251/Email; kvaradhan@
hotmail.com
Indian male, 25 yrs, fire & safety di-
ploma holder cum electrician look-
ing for a suitable job, presently on
visit visa. #94745056 / 98976252
Indian male, 27 yrs, Electronics
Engineer (B.Tech) & MBA, Project
Management with 5 years experi-
ence in electronic security system,
optical fiber, project planning instal-
lation. Contact 94819139,
B.Sc in Civil Engineer having 10
yrs experience in structural design-
er in RCC structure & steel struc-
ture in Dubai having Municipality
approval & Dubai driving license
looking for suitable position. Email :
BE Mechanical & Diploma with 4
yrs experience in India looking for
suitable job. Contact 90542737
DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN
AutoCAD Civil Draughtsman for
road, having 5 yrs experience work-
ing on X- Sec, L-Sec & alignment,
preparation of plan & profile & cross
sections, preparation of structural
drawings, quantity estimation as
per drawing. Contact 94034544,
Revit /Draughtsman experienced
expected salary 200. Contact :
92279784
AutoCAD Draughtsman seeking
job. Contact: 95516807
Indian Female, Bsc Fashion De-
signer with Oman driving Lisence,
looking for any good job.
Contact 98757582
Interior Designer Seeking suitable
job. On visit visa in Oman.
Contact - 92166130
Interior designer 3 years experi-
ence 1 year in Oman and 2 years
in Egypt, experience in interior
design, 3D max, AutoCAD,
Photoshop. Contact - 94762876
AutoCAD draftsman experience 2
years. Contact: 93738335 /95809393
Email: [email protected]
DOMESTIC HELP
Housemaid (overseas) Indian fam-
ily looking for job. contact
99531802
Indian Mechanical Engineer with
28 years of industry experience
in Sales & Marketing, Materials
Management seeks suitable open-
ing. Presently working with Indian
conglomerate in Oman. Possess
valid driving license and SUV.
CONTACT:+968 95901425
Male Dip.Civil Engineer, having 20
yrs exp (building & road) looking for
suitable job. Contact: 94720782
Pakistani Civil Foreman and PDO
civil permit holder looking for job
94768993
B Tech Mech, certificate attested,
exp in steel fabri. and autocad draft-
ing , salary -250 OMR. Contact :
96108187
B.Sc Civil Engineer 27 yrs Oman
exp as project manager, struc-
tural engineer looking for suitable
placement. NOC/local transfer
available. Contact: 99349578.
Email:[email protected]
BE Mechanical Engineer 6 yrs
exp, 1.5 yrs in Oman in piping and
structure construction work. Release
available. Contact: 96115463. Email:
Indian male 35yrs BE - Engg 15 yrs
exp in UAE Site Manager looking for
job. Email : [email protected]
Indian male, 29 yrs, B.Tech (EEE)
with 5+ yrs of experience from re-
puted firms in the field of Electrical
Site Execution & Project Coordi-
nation in HL, LT for various EPC
Projects, now on visit, seeks suitable
placement in related industries.
Contact 92310762, email :
Male, NDT, QA/QC Supervision
Mechanical 10 yrs experience
seeks suitable placement.
Contact 96954202, Email :
Civil Engineers exp 4 yrs of
Pakistan in building work. contact
95135608
Diploma in Civil Engineering 13
yrs exp with valid Oman D/L, NOC
available. Contact : 99612163
Sr. Electrical Engineer with17+ yrs
of exceptional exp in spear head-
ing strategic planning and project
management initiatives & execut-
ing various high rise residential
& commercial building as well as
roads and highway project with
proficiency in installation, seeking
a challenging position in a dynamic
organization. contact 96570891
Pakistani Civil Eng having 10
yrs exp in consulting and build-
ing field looking for suitable job in
good running company with valid
driving license. Contact: 97425973
Staff Nurse (female) with MOH
license. Looking for opportunity in
Muscat. NOC / release letter avail-
able. Contact - 99433415.
Pharmacist have license and ex-
perience, looking for job in Sohar or
Buraimi. Contact- 93878153
Indian Bsc Female Nurse with
6.5 years exp, 4 years in KSA.
Passed Oman Pro Metric with 69%,
completed data flow. Presently in
Muscat in visit visa looking for a
suitable placement.
Contact 94744900, 94742834,
Male GP Doctor with NOC 6 yrs
experience in Oman for perm/locum
job. Contact : 97746074
An experienced Sudanese female Dentist with MOH license look-
ing for job. Contact 96436517
/97396088
Omani male, 37 yrs, with 18 yrs
experience in heavy & medium
vehicles driving looking for driver
job for reputed higher officials
(PDO light vehicle license &
heavy vehicle license). Contact
99808035
Pakistani, 3 yrs experience in
Oman seeks driver job. Knows Hin-
di, Urdu, English & Arabic. Contact
92142648
Pakistani male light vehicle driver
looking for job. Contact: 99521033
Bangladeshi male light driver look-
ing for job 3 yrs. experience. Contact:
94077119
Light Driver looking for work in a
family. Release ready. #96693290
Experienced Indian Driver cum
Travel Coordinator, 20 yrs in Oman
looking for suitable job. Contact:
95113612 (NOC available).
Driver with car. Contact
95037759
Pakistani looking for job as
driver 4 yrs exp light duty. Con-
tact:97469730
Male 28 yrs looking for driver
job part time / full time. Contact :
97224035
Driver job wanted. Contact:
96393082
Light driver looking for job Oman
exp. Contact :95292621
Light driver with car 3 months exp.
Contact: 97118292
Light driver Indian 4yrs exp in
Oman having own car looking for
job, release available .
Contact: 93053917
Seeking driver job. Contact :
93499058
Pakistani driver with Elantra 2016
model car seeks job: 95873286
Pakistani light driver looking job
9 yrs exp in Oman.
Contact: 96048460
2 Years exp in driving, seeking
any job .Contact: 97460056
Seeking driver job with own car.
Contact: 98031620
Looking for job light duty driver
6 years experience NOC available.
Contact: 92381696
Indian Male, IT System Engineer
having 4 yrs of experience in sys-
tem administration.CCNA,MCSE,
Linux. Looking for suitable job.
Contact :91272867
Indian male, 3 yrs experience in
IT as Linux Administrator & 1 yr
experience in Amazon EC2 Cloud
at Wipro Technologies Bangalore
looking for a suitable placement.
Contact 92889678, Email : amal-
Indian female completed M.C.A
seeking for suitable jobs.
Contact: 91409481 /
97308719
ASP.NET WEB DEVELOPER ,
3 YR EXP, PH : 97947921
INDIAN male, pursued bachelor’s
of computer science having experi-
ence in desktop Engineer, looking
for IT job, on visit visa, seeking
suitable placement. Contact :
98784174 ,email : abdulmoyeed@
outlook.com
Indian female, 30 yrs, B.Tech &
MBA(I.T), 6 yrs work exp in India &
Oman exp in telecommunications,
configuration & installation of au-
tomated solution systems seeking
for suitable placement. Contact :
92689823, jobymees2014@gmail.
com
Indian female, B.Tech gradu-
ate, with one and half years
experience as ‘web developer’
interested in web development
and has experience working in
HTML,CSS,Bootstrap, JavaScript
and Photoshop. #9592 7075 e-mail
MSC (IT) male 32 age 4
yrs networking system ad-
ministrator. Seeking a suit-
able placement +918608247110.
email:[email protected]
Indian female, B.Tech graduate,
with one and half years experience
as ‘web developer’ interested in web
development and has experience
working in HTML, CSS, Bootstrap,
JavaScript and Photoshop.
Contact : 9592 7075, e-mail id:
10 yrs exp in procurement, ten-
ders, importing, marketing and
sales, organizing events. Have car
NOC available. Contact: 94123939
Purchase/Planning & Logistics Manager MBA (Finance), 14yrs.
Oman Exp. with D/L, NOC avail-
able, looking for suitable position.
Contact: 93826090
The Business Development Manager, Iraqi, Experience 15
Years Inside and outside Oman
following activities: tenders& real
estate& construction & marketing
projects& investments &
transportation & Marine
services& companies manage-
ment& develop business. Contact:
:- 92385033
General Manager MEP also man-
age civil, MBA, BE Electrical, 10
yrs exp in Oman valid D/L, release
available. Contact – 92447102
Indian male, with experience in
operations management, informa-
tion security, purchase & stores
mgmt, hold UAE driving license,
on visit visa, seeks suitable job.
#91904541
Email: [email protected]
Production Manager 9 years
experience in Oman manufacture
and development factories .GRB.
GRC. GRG rubber molds and false
ceilings, fiberglass and executive
at site emadadly2000@yahoo.
com96149081
The Business Development Man-
ager, Iraqi, Experience 15 Years
Inside and outside Oman follow-
ing activities: construction(Very
strong and qualified to bringing
business for civil work Or any
type of the construction work for
many million per year with a good
experience in pricing and collect
payment and cash management of
the company & marketing projects
& investments& tenders & real
estate. Contact 92385033
Indian male, MCA (Post Graduate)
fresher seeking
suitable placement
anywhere in Oman,
now on visit visa.
Contact 92319677, Email :
[email protected] male light driver
looking for job 3 exp.
Contact: 93254149
Indian light driver cum house
cleaner. Contact: 96255558
/99415443
Indian male,24 yrs, Electronics
& Telecom, Graduate, Mumbai
University (2015 batch) looking
for entry level job in Engg.com
having good knowledge at telecom,
networking ,fiber optic, Oraclellg-
SQL, PLSQL, now in Muscat on
3 months visit visa. Contact :
91868936 / 93101922. Email: sid-
Mechanical Engineer (B.Tech)
looking for job. Contact:90623220
Electrical Design Engineer (MEP)
Indian male having 1.8 years of
experience in India. Available
on visit visa looking for suitable
placements. Contact: 92658569,
Email:[email protected]
Indian female Project Engineer
15 yrs experience Project Manage-
ment quality data base management
data analytics marketing business
development having Omani driving
licenses seeks suitable placement
presently on family visa, having Om-
ani experience. contact 95783792
Network Engineer CCNA-MCSA
exp computer science with NOC.
Contact : 92346191
Indian Civil Engineer in UAE
seeking suitable placement in
Muscat-Contact 00968 99142171
Project Engineer 14 yrs exp of
project execution & operations,
all kinds Mech/civil and interior
decoration with license
Contact: 93260559
Sudanese Civil Engineer 4 years
experience –98093544
B.E Mechanical and diploma with
75%, age 28, 2yrs Hyundai Motor
and 3yrs in water treatment.
Contact - +91 9003612305.
Male 25 age M.B.A, HRM, BE
Automobile 3.4yrs exp production
engineering. # +91 9841873619/
Electrical Engineer with 18 years
exp in UAE. Contact: 98148034
Email: [email protected]
B.Tech Mechanical Engineer (In-
dian, 23yrs male) 1.5 yrs exp (IBM
India &Pvt Ltd & Zeuzer Engineers
(Pvt ltd) looking for suitable job.
Currently on visit visa
ready to join immediately
#93354092/990249660.
email:[email protected]
Pakistani male Diploma Civil En-
gineer 4yrs exp in Oman bulling &
mega projects, valid license Oman.
contact:98921022
Mechanical Engineer having
Omani driving license and 2yrs
exp seeks suitable placement.
Email:malvindevachan@gmail.
com, Contact: 97411523
Project Engineer B.Sc Civil, 7.5 yrs
in Oman, need suitable placement,
NOC release available. #91129192
Sudanese Electrical Engineer, granted with distinction, hard-work-
ing and can adapt to different work
conditions. Contact: 98133281
Electrical & Electronics Engineer with 3 years GCC exp in sales, GCC
driving license. Seeking suitable
placement. Contact - 90301410
26 yrs Indian Male – B.Tech
(IT) - 6 yrs exp -sales & admin
-seeks suitable placement -
91848460 / 98304080; Email:
Civil Engineer 6 yrs Exp in Oman
with license. Contact: 98975518
Sri Lankan Engineer (27 Years
old) – B.Sc Engineering (Hon)
Mining / Geotechnical Presently
in Muscat, 1.5 years experience.
Contact 91295802
Structural Engineer, 8 yrs expe-
rienced in flat slab, post tensioned
& slab-beam multi story building
design & supervision with driving
license. Contact: 98256860
Mechanical Engineer M.Tech
2 years experience HVAC design
& site Engg revit MEP Auto CAD.
Contact: 90150913 Email:
Sudanese Telecom Engineer, 5 years experience, 3 years in Oman
PMP certificate. contact 93391008
Email: momen.awadallam@gmail.
com
Indian female civil engineer
B.Tech having 3 years experience
sound knowledge of software,
REVIT STAD PRO structural
detailing currently on family visa
seeks suitable placement contact
95345591
Civil Engineer (BE) having total
5 years experience in building
construction looking for a suitable
placement. D/L available
Contact 94450270
Bachelor Civil Engineer 6 Years
in Oman experience Valid Driving
License seeks suitable placement
Phone 97619722
Email – [email protected]
Road and Construction Engineer with 5 years exp in Oman.
Contact: 97667113
Diploma in Mechanical Eng piping system in AutoCAD work,
21+ years experience with Driving
license. Contact: 95267113
Email: [email protected]
7 Yrs Exp. PM in Mech. Engg in
the field of Building Const. Oil &
Gas Seeking Job.94625598
Omani HSE supervisor. Email:
Mechanical Engineer with 3 Yrs
experience in international Oil &
Gas company looking for job Con-
tacts: Tel: 90164236 Email:
Indian female, 31 yrs, 7 yrs expe-
rienced as AutoCAD civil drafts-
man (2 yrs experience in Oman)
currently in Oman seeks suitable.
Contact 96789441
Email: [email protected]
Indian Electrical Engineer Btech,
female 24 seeking job, presently
in oman having 2 year experience
in design and estimation of Ht &Lt
projects. Contact 968 97436557,
Mail id : [email protected]
Indian Male 23 years B.Tech
Civil having 2 years experience in
quantity survey and site manage-
ment looking for suitable place-
ment. Contact:- 95042656
Omani 26(M) seeks placement,
6 yrs excellent experience
networking hardware software.
Contact: 95356166
DAILY GUIDED6 S U N D AY, M A R C H 2 0 , 2 0 1 6
Email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624
SITUATION WANTEDEDUCATION/CLASSES/COMPUTER/WEBSITE
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
Spoken Arabic class for Non
Arabic Speakers & English class for Malayalam Speakers
in Azaiba and Ruwi earn in two months
tion guaranteed
Tel: 95244310
Any time available transporta-
tion solution for house office
shifting, TV fixing, carpenter all
type of maintenance. Contact
Indian person : 95194801 /
96594592 Whatsapp
WEB, ERP and Business Intelli-
gence (BI) creation and man-
agement at rock bottom price.
Contact: http//webviewoman
SITUATION WANT-SIT. WANTED
SITUATION WANT-SIT. WANTED
MISCELLANEOUS
MISCELLANEOUS
MATRIMONIAL
MATRIMONIAL
Keralite, Kollam Marthoma male
(27) yrs diploma in Civil (Muscat)
seeking alliances form suitable
families. Contact: 95253640
Christian RC boy 30/160 cm fair,
working as an Accountant in a com-
pany Muscat, suitable proposals
solicited. Contact: 98788464
Ezhava girl 25yrs B. Tech working in
MNC Shudajathakam from Palakkad
looking suitable alliance Contact
99323085 / 99001726.
A Graduate Syrian Christian Pen-
tecostal boy, 27, working in Oman
as Store-in-Charge seeks propos-
als from parents of suitable girl,
preferably those working in Oman.
Contact 92411983
40 Years male divorced, working
in Muscat seeks suitable proposals,
Indian. Contact - 91346321
Malankara Catholic Male Nurse (28) from Thiruvalla working in
Nizwa Private Co. Alliance invites
parents/nurses working in Oman.
#968 98267338, 0091 9287215726
MISCELLANEOUSMISCELLANEOUS
BE Mechanical Engineering
with one year experience now
on visit visa, looking for suitable
positions. Contact-90637918 /
99335742,email: aquasharath@
gmail.com
Indian/male (25)/ MBA /2 years
experience in channel sales and
distribution management. on
visit visa. available for immediate
joining. Contact: 96914068, email:
Indian male, 8.5 yrs experience,
B.Com Graduate with GCC exp &
valid driving license looking for
better job opening in Muscat. Con-
tact: 92609935 / 94771365
Indian male with 1 yr exp looking
for job in I.T as Web developer,
presently in Muscat on visit visa.
Contact: 92312978
Indian male network cabling
technician (19 years Gulf experi-
ence), seeking for suitable place-
ment. Contact : 0091-8089909265
(India), Email: mohithavp@gmail.
com
B.Com Graduate with 4 year expe-
rience as an Accountant in Oman.
Also have Oman Driving License.
Best fluency in English, Arabic,
Hindi& Malayalam. Looking for
Job. Currently in Oman. Cont: +968
93943448, [email protected]
Indian male, Kerala B.Com & B.PE,
looking for suitable Job in Sales,
Accounts, Admin etc. Contact:-
93301023 email:- sajith3969@
gmail.com
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER, Indian
Male, 24 years, B.Tech in com-
puter science.3Years of experience
in technical support, software
development, troubleshooting and
managing, seek suitable place-
ment. Contact GSM- 98184170
Commercial or Operation Manager
18 yrs in Oman – finance, purchase,
sales, HR & Admin exp. Contact:
99044724. E mail: srjobsinoman@
yahoo.com
Indian male BE Mechanical
Engineer having 6 yrs exp in
piping and structural construc-
tion work, looking suitable posi-
tion, release available. Contact:
96115463-email: jijoraju085@
yahoo.com
Indian male at a Managerial posi-
tion having 12 yrs exp in sales &
marketing, Property Management
looking for a suitable position,
MBA qualified with Oman driving
license. NOC available. contact
98125226
Indian male 31 yrs with over 10
yrs sales & marketing exp seeking
suitable placement NOC & Oman
D/L available in audition have
proficiency in Arabic language.
Contact:95760969
Export Manager/DM Indian
Male 38 Yrs B.Sc /CIPET 13 Yrs
Experience in Business Develop-
ment &Production with Oman D/L
seeks suitable placement. Contact
: 97221058 / 92058065, E-mail :
Electronics service Technician ,
4 Years experience as Electron-
ics service engineer. Knowledge
in all type of Electronics items.
Looking for suitable placement.
#99105043
B.A. in Accounting, Experience:
5years of Business/Accounts
tutoring and 2 years of Account-
ing License: 70914186. Contact:
96389047, Email: sharanizareen@
gmail.com
SALES / MARKETING
SALES / MARKETING
Indian male 23 yeas BBM & Diplo-
ma in logistic. Looking for Indore/
Outdoor sales & marketing suitable
placement, currently in one month
visit visa. Contact: 93180270/
23 yrs, Indian male, B.Com, Gradu-
ate looking for suitable positions
as Assistant Accountant, Market-
ing Executive, Sales Executive or
in Administration, currently on
free visa with valid Oman driving
license. Contact 98093949
Sales & Marketing specialist with
16 yrs experience in Oman in MNC
retails telecom lubes construction
related industry handled vari-
ous projects, holding valid Oman
driving license, release available.
Contact 96960991
Indian male 26 years of experi-
ence of sales & marketing in
surgical and laboratory equipment,
looking for good placement. Con-
tact - 95774854
Indian M/39 confident Keralite,
Dubai Bank experience with Oman
driving license & NOC seeks suit-
able placement in sales & market-
ing / coordinator. #94742666
Indian male, B.Com worked in
Bahrain (4 years) and currently
working in Oman from last 4 years
in accounts and sales looking for
suitable placement. Valid Oman
license and NOC available. Contact
number : 9954 8543.
Indian male, B.Com with Valid
GCC Driving License 5-year
experience in Sales. Good Arabic/
English Mob-96970027
Having more than 5 yrs exp in
sales indoor & outdoor with driv-
ing license. Contact – 90126776
An experienced sales & market-
ing person having several years
experience in GCC with valid D/L.
Looking for a suitable position.
Contact – 92124669
SECRETARIAL & OFFICE
Executive Secretary/ assistant Indian female 9 years experience in
Oman, Diploma in Business
management. Valid D/L.
Contact: 96684705
Lady Secretary / Sales Co-coordi-
nator 12 years experience in Oman
in reputed companies, seek imme-
diate Employment. Call: 95244761
SKILLED / UNSKILLED
Mason, SH / carpenter, steel fitter
gulf & Indian exp looking job.
Contact: 95175192
Indian female BA IATA, 7 yrs exp
in travel industry knows SABRE
AMADEUS GALILEO on family
visa seeks opportunity in Oman.
Contact 93531170. E mail: claudia-
Indian 26 yrs looking for fresh
sales /coordinator /admin/logis-
tics & travel air fare, air audit expe-
rience 8 yrs in India on visit visa
looking for suitable post. Contact:
94894170 / 95618311
Filipinas lady having exp in
ticketing and preservation, call
center, secretarial and real estate
is now looking for job please
call.94054080
Five years in travel field B.Com.
IATA & pursuing MBA including
experience in the travel desk of
(ITC managed) five star hotel, look-
ing for suitable position. #
9470 5767, 9465 2485, 9536 4479
TOURS & TRAVEL
SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED
Wanted job as an office boy or cus-
tomer service. Contact: 94640906
Indian male 37 yrs X-Ray welder
7 yrs exp (ARC, TIG, ARGON,
Welding) seeking suitable job.
Contact: 91360190/98223683
B.Com Graduate with five and half
yrs exp in Oman as a purchaser. NOC
available. Valid driving license. Look-
ing for suitable placement
Contact: 96772166
Graduate, computer literate, experi-
enced in sales, credit control,
accounts, Omani D/L , seeks suitable
placement. Gsm 98805474
A lady entrepreneur with BF Tech
1st Class (Fashion Technology)
since 2006 in Kerala like to make
change for better. Specialized in
designing, Production Management,
Fashion Art, Grading, Surface orna-
mentation, Garment Construction.
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +919539397097.
Indian female on visit MBA
(International Business- Market-
ing & Logistics), BE (Computers &
Science Engg.) Trained in SAP-BI/
BW with 1 year experience
seeking for job Contact: 90228586
Email:[email protected]
Bangladeshi male, University
M.Com, Working as an Accountant
& Administrator in Oman; search-
ing better job. Phone: 94864966
Email: [email protected]
DRIVING
NRI
1650 Sq ft plot with gate for sale
Erettai Vaikkal, Vayalur Road, Trichy
95366777
5 cent land location Trissur town
Paravattani National Highway
Road side, opposite Skyland flat
building, best location for shops
& villa. Contact 968 95890957 /
99038328
2 Acres of land for sale in Tamil
Nadu, Tirunevelli District, Kon-
danagarm, near Suthamalli, 7 km
from Tirunelveli town, off Cher-
anmahadevi Road. Contact:0091
7358518439 / 92324126
Urgent sale semi furnished 2BHK
Kanakia properties opposite Cin-
emax Mira Road Mumbai contact
99009686
Flats villas land for sale in Pune
Contact: 95272138/918139098275
LOST
Mohammad Ajarul has lost Indian
Passport No. L8200303. Finder
please handover to ROP.
Hassine Ben Zineb has lost Tuni-
sian Passport No. F201603. Finder
please handover to ROP.
Sudanese B.Sc in business
administration, exp 8yrs in sales,
marketing & accounting. contact
96112453
Indian male with 6 yrs of GCC
exp in sales and service & 1 year
of exp in gym fitness instructor.
Seeking job presently in Mus-
cat in family visit visa. Con-
tact: 90694335/ 99438360 or
email:[email protected]
4 Years of experience in Sales
with driving license. #90615235
MBA graduate having 6 years exp
in Sales & Marketing, 4 years with
PEPSI, India, having international
driving license permit seeks suit-
able placement. #: 95308167,
Email : [email protected]
Indian Male 28 MBA Marketing
with 4 years of experience in sales
with good communication skills
now available in Muscat on visit
visa. GSM 95840153 /
Mail [email protected]
Indian sales marketing profes-
sional highly experienced in busi-
ness development in ME India and
Africa seeks suitable placement.
Contact: 97897611
B.Com male 2 yrs experience in
sales Computer knowledge,
seeking suitable placement.
Contact: 98371144
email: [email protected]
Indian male, MBA Marketing
having 2.5 years Sales experience
immediately looking for a suitable
position. Contact: 91415145,
Email: [email protected]
Male 38 yrs Graduate 07 years
experience indoor / outdoor
electronic field with D/License &
NOC available (as per new rule).
Contact: 92453375
Indian male Roman Catholic 40yrs divorcee working in Muscat.
Seeks suitable alliance from widow/
divorcee/ single. Contact: 96059801.
B.Com Graduate with 4 year expe-
rience as an Accountant in Oman.
Also have Oman Driving License.
Best fluency in English, Arabic,
Hindi & Malayalam, looking for
Job. Currently in Oman. Cont: +968
93943448, [email protected]
Indian Male,B.Com & Diploma
Logistics & supply chain man-
agement 2years experience
looking for job in Accounts/
logistics field. Presently on Visit
Visa. Software knows MS office
& Tally7.2 .MOBILE:93884951-
Email:[email protected]
HSE Engineer: 3.8 years experi-
ence in Oil & Gas. NEBOSH,IOSH,
& NDT Certified, M Tech in
HSE,B Tech in Mechanical Engg.
Mobile- +91 9867016808
Looking for QHSE – Manager /
Asst. Manager job, Indian Male
– 39.Yrs, With 17.Yrs Experience
& NOC, NEBOSH – UK, MR – ISO
9001, 14001 & 18001, HSE Train-
ings, Audits, Pls Contact – haree.
Manager with 12 yrs of exp in
sales & marketing & business
development, MBA Graduate with
valid driving license looking for a
suitable placement. NOC available.
Contact: 98125226
MBA Indian male 2 years experi-
ence in firefighting & security sys-
tems sales & marketing. Seeking
suitable job. Contact – 90634050
Diploma(Electrical Engineering)
From Government polytechnic.
Age 27years, 6 years Experiance in
Maintenance, troubleshooting and
managing and Technical in substa-
tion as a Electrical Engineer.Seek
suitable placement. Contact GSM-
92995899,([email protected])
INDIAN MALE, 26 years, BBA
graduate, seeks suitable position in
automotive spare parts, Have 3 year
experience. Phone no:96026400,
Mechanical Engineering 6 years
experience. Contact: 00968-
998907110091-9841867534
Email: sayed.fortuner88@gmail.
con
Bangladeshi male, University
MA, Working as Store In-charge
cum Logistic Manager in Mus-
cat; searching better job. Phone:
91997605, email: mohamednaz-
25 years, male B.Com and insur-
ance Graduate with 6 year experi-
ence looking for an opening in
accounts, finance or operations
related only. Driving license and
NOC available. Contact-
95236312.
Civil Draftsman seeking job.
Contact-95516807
Admin Assistant, Having 5 years
experience in admin department
in reputed companies, presently
working in Muscat (NOC Available).
GSM. 00968-98404122, Email -
Master’s in Petroleum Geology
looking for relevant job ready to
join ASAP, valid drivers license.
Email : mehdi.poorjahangiri@
gmail.com
IT/Telecom Manager, BE, MBA 13+
Years of experience, Valid Driving
License. Available immediately.
Phone: +91205211, Email: ghu-
Indian Engineer, B. Tech (Mech),
MBA, MLM (Master of Labour
Management), 23 yrs experience,
5 years in Oman in the positions
of Operations Manager and Plant
Manager with Oman Driving
License seeks suitable placement.
Contact: 99744612. E-mail:
Indian male network cabling tech-
nician (19-years gulf experience)
Seeking for suitable placement.
Contact - 0091-8089909265 (In-
dia) email: [email protected]
Indian Male 47 years MBA-
Operations Management with total
25 Yrs exp inclusive of 9 yrs in
Oil & Gas sector in Oman, having
valid Omani D/L & NOC available ,
seeks challenging position in SCM/
Logistics/ Procurement in any
Sector. GSM-94236414. Mail id –
DAILY GUIDES U N D AY, M A R C H 2 0 , 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
SITUATION WANTEDCARGO
TRANSPORTATION
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
SITUATION WANT-ED
BUSINESSSITUATION WANT-
EDBUSINESS
ONE STOP SHOP
BUSINESS SERVICES
Contact Saleh: 96723485
Public relation services (PRO), Formation new
companies, LLC companies, investor visa, business setup,
prepare business & companies accounts, legal
services, representing you and your company.
Office and private transport
available in Muscat area. Contact
94297820
Transportation. Contact
91703829
Ruwi, Muttrah, Al Khuwair,
Muscat, Qurum, seek transporta-
tion. Contact: 91132238
Transportation. Contact
99508282 /93113534
Transportation. Contact 99508282
Transportation. Contact 92015894
Transportation available Ruwi to
Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Azaiba.
Contact: 91103909
Driver available with car. Contact:
96728056GOOD NEWS
Ayurvedic treatment for joint
pain, backache, paralysis, mas-
sage, steambath, obesity, spondy-
litis. Ideal Care Ayurvedic Clinic,
18 November Street, Azaiba.
Contact: 99639695 / 97397320
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
Ayurvedic treatment for backache,
paralysis, arthritis etc & mas-
sage, All Season (Vaidyaratnam).
Contact:24475280 / 95371664 /
92504980 www.siddhayur.com
RENT A CARBest Rates for Saloon
Contact: 97869042 / 95730550
*Classified Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability
D8 S U N D AY, M A R C H 2 0 , 2 0 1 6
DAILY GUIDE Email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624
SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES
SERVICESWe Provide Cleaners,
General cleaning etc.
Contact : 94277020
Split & window A/c servicing & main-
tenance. #93769089 / 95323517
GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing,
Contact 99314807/24792998
Water proofing ABUQABAS-
Contact 99320217/24788722
House shifting & transporting.
Contact 92490422
House shifting. Contact: 99708138
Pest control treatments, Ocean center LLC #99344723
MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your
marble. #24793614/ 99314807
A/C maintenance & servicing,
fridge, washing machine & dish
washer repairing, painting &
cleaning services, electrical &
plumbing. Contact: 99447257 /
97014234 / 24504281
Marble crystallization & grinding, cleaning & carpet shampooing.
Ocean center LLC.#99344723
Split A/C servicing R.O 10 only.
Contact: 94217681 / 99210141
Building maintenance. Contact: 96173326
Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile
polishing, pest control & anti-ter-
mite treatment, general cleaning
painting,Plumbing, Electrical,
shifting. Contact Mundhir
Al-Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C.
Contact: 24810137, 99450130
House shifting packing.
Contact: 99657644 / 98518013
Villa cleaning, shifting, marble
crystallization, tiles polishing,
shampooing sofa & carpet. Modern
Eastern Arms. 92145560
Sahal Al Wadi White Trad. Specialist in repairing of cold
store, chiller, A/C & refrigera-
tor.
Contact – 94528546
Al farzdaq Al Fedi Trad and
Cont Maintenance services
electric, plumbing and A/C.
Contact: 96524904 /
94285064
Marble Restoration, Mosaic
tiles polishing, carpet sham-
pooing, maintenance.
Contact ABU QABAS-
99320217 /24788722
Marble crystallization & grinding, Ocean center LLC .
Contact:99344723
Pest control & Building cleaning all kinds of pest control
MY
Contact: 98814733 /98814740 Al Husn Cleaning L.L.C
WANTED
MANPOWER
URGENTLY REQUIRED
New/ Used Tower
Cranes
Contact - +968 92695608
Email – [email protected]
MV SALE
GMC Acadia No 1 SLT June
2014 Blue Metallic Color
95366777
Hyundai Electra saloon car
2010 with experience driver for
company and other for all Mus-
cat 24 hours available new car
with experience driver. Contact:
97376342
Toyota Yaris 2008 model, white, color, automatic trans-
mission, expat driven km
140500. Call: 99104124
Toyota Rav 4 2012 RO 5500.
Contact: 93835318
Nissan path finder model 2012
R.O 5500. Contact :
97692959
Nissan Qashqai 2013 low mile-
age 30.000kms comprehensive
insurance UAE Oman valid till
2016 . Contact: 96995430
Pickup for sale, model 2013,
diesel engine 4x4. contact
94194399