Times of Oman - May 14, 2016

SATURDAY May 14, 2016 7 Sha’aban 1437 AH

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STEP UP YOUR SUMMER BEAUTY REGIMEN

FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTY THE SULTAN

‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’ With regard to international relations, I am delighted to say that Oman today belongs to most international organisations and takes part in most international conferences, whether they are under the auspices of the United Nations or its specialised agencies, or under the auspices of Arab, Islamic or other international organisations.

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Founded 1975 . Volume 41 No. 70

To the People, 1975

| 28 Pages . Baisas 200 . Subscription OMR63 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company | Chairman/Editor-in-Chief: Mohamed Issa Al Zadjali | Printed & Published by Muscat Media Group

B AT S F O R C H E S S

C O N S U LTA N C Y O F F I C E S

HM issues Royal Decrees MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said issued two Royal Decrees as follows: Royal Decree No. 27/2016 promulgates Law on Regulating the Work of Engineering Consultancy Offices.

Article (1) stipulates that the provisions of the Law on Regulating the Work of Engineering Consultancy Offices attached to this Decree shall be implemented.

Article (2) says that this Decree shall be published in the Official Gazette.

Royal Decree No. 28/2016 issues the Institute of Public Administration’s Bylaw.

Article (1) states that the bylaw attached to this Decree shall be applied to the Institute of Public Administration. >A2

Motorists should take special care during summer as poor maintenance coupled with high temperatures can set cars ablaze

Chess legend Anand to continue fight for the top slot

DUPLICATE PARTS CAN CAUSE FIRE IN VEHICLES

Viswanathan Anand.

A. SESHAGIRI RAO

raoas@timesofoman.com

PAC D A

Body retrieved from Sur dam ROP has urged drivers to check coolants, FAHAD AL GHADANI

fahadnews@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Body of a man who drowned in Al Fulaij Dam in the wilayat of Sur was retrieved by the Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACDA), according to its official social media account.

The PACDA also managed to extinguish a fire that broke out in a passenger bus in Dhofar.

There was no causalities or injuries in the incident.

A blaze at a farm in Al Khoudh area of Muscat was also extinguished by PACDA.

tyres and batteries regularly to prevent fires

HASAN SHABAN AL LAWATI

hassan@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: With the temperatures soaring, counterfeit car parts, which include electric cables, can set one’s car on fire, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) has warned motorists, as hot weather makes vehicles vulnerable to fire.

“As temperature rises during summer months, loose cables, attached to the car’s headlights and

old wiring can cause sparks to burst,” said an ROP official.

Heat is the main reason behind fire in vehicles, which is the second most common cause for fire in the Sultanate, according to an official at the ROP. He further said that poor maintenance, negligence of safety instructions and delaying servicing can also cause major fires.

“To make a vehicle fire-proof, check tyres before going out for

a long drive,” the ROP said, clarifying that heat can be very hazardous when it comes to rubbermade materials.

“Driving a car for long hours without stopping may lead to overheating of engine and can cause a fire,” he said, cautioning people who drive from Muscat to interiors during weekends.

The ROP stressed that changing car-batteries periodically and keeping an eye on coolant leaks are a motorist’s responsibility.

“Drivers must take precautions regarding tyres, as soaring temperatures make blowouts more likely,” he said, adding that servicing a vehicle is the key to protecting it from fires.

ROP has also called upon motorists in Oman to make sure a

fire extinguisher is always available and kept within their reach in vehicles.

“When putting out fire using an extinguisher, the person should be at least eight feet away from the flame,” the officer said.

According to the Directorate General of Meteorology and Air Navigation (DGMAN) temperatures have already reached 46 degrees Celsius in some places in Sur. Summer is also said to be the deadliest season when it comes to traffic accidents. July claimed 71 lives, while 67 people perished in August road crashes in 2015.

Most accidents occurred last year in June, resulting in 345 injuries and 46 deaths, said the ROP.

MUSCAT: Chess legend Viswanathan Anand, who is in Muscat on an invitation from the International Chess Academy of Oman and Zawawi Establishment’s Al Alawi Enterprises, spoke to Times Sport about the chess and the need to do more to popularise the game globally.

The five-time world champion, known for his clear thinking and firm opinions, also spoke about the possibility of another Indian stepping into his shoes.

Reacting to some of the controversies, which were certainly not of his making, he also revealed the events that helped him develop from a child prodigy to the world champion and how he intends to keep fighting to be on top for the sake of his fans. Anand said: “It’s not right to compare the players of different generations. Chess is a game where one generation of players learn from their previous ones.”

See also >A12

NO STOPOVER

SEEKING SHADE TO ESCAPE HEAT Though called the ‘Ship of the Desert’, these camels are also searching for a shade to get some relief from the scorching heat. But as the trees are devoid of foliage, they have no option but to bear the heat. Photo— Renu Singh

British Airways to launch direct Muscat-London flight in October

Times News Service MUSCAT: For the first time in British Airways’ 43-year history of flying to Oman, the UK carrier will be offering direct services between the Muscat International Airport and London’s Heathrow Airport. From October 31, British Airways will start flights from the Omani capital to Terminal 5 at London’s Heathrow Airport, without any stop at Abu Dhabi . >A2 CHILDREN

SAFETY

Safety experts advise use of special car seats for children ERIK PRINS

erik@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Parents should think about the safety of their children and strap them in special car seats while transporting them, traffic safety campaigners have told the Times of Oman (TOO).

Shaima Al Lawati, vice chairperson, Oman Road Safety Association (ORSA), told TOO that a lot of parents underestimate the importance of child seats and more should be done to raise awareness among parents about the same.

She warned that mothers who hold their children while sitting in the front seat are risking the life of their child. “It’s very dangerous. God forbid, if a crash happens, the mother’s arms will open

and the child will be thrown out of the car. In that case, the child could die,” she said.

Awareness campaigns Al Lawati said even when people are given free car seats during awareness campaigns, they hesitate using them.

“When we give car seats, people tend to give them to other

families, because they underestimate their usefulness. They need to appreciate these seats and understand why they are using them and with a close follow-up, it’ll become a habit,” she said.

She explained that children below 11 years have to be seated in the back and those below six have to be strapped in a special seat designed for their age, adding that parents should not blame their children for not sitting in the back seat.

“It is our obligation as a parent to make them listen to us and put them in the back,” she said.

Daryle Hardie, chief executive officer (CEO) of Safety First, told TOO that although campaigns are helpful, fines are the only way people can be forced to use child seats. >A2

TOP THREE INSIDE STORIES

OMAN

Naming violators

1

The PACP said on Wednesday that naming companies does not fall under its jurisdiction. >A2

INDIA

Kerala poll campaign

2

With Kerala assembly poll slated for May 16, parties are sparing no effort to reach out to voters. >A6

MARKET

Global crude demand

3

Opec kept forecasts for global oil supply and demand unchanged in its last monthly assessment. >B1

Beating the heat

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SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2016

OMAN PA R A G UAY

His Majesty sends cable of greetings MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of greetings to Horacio Cartes, President of the Republic of Paraguay on his country’s National Day. In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere greetings and wishes to the president and his country’s people. —ONA ROP

Only the courts are authorised to publish cases related to consumer protection. Announcing the names of those convicted is only possible after the final conviction Nasra bint Sultan Al Habsiya, head of the Legal Department at PACP

DOMESTIC TOURISM

R O YA L O R D E R

‘Discover Oman’s Beauty’ drive launched A1 HM’s Decrees < FROM

Times News Service MUSCAT: Ministry of Tourism has launched the ‘Discover Oman’s Beauty’ summer campaign in the Sultanate, which is targeted at locals and residents, and aims to promote domestic tourism by offering exciting packages at competitive prices from leading local tour operators and hotels.

One of the aims of the tourism strategy is to establish Oman as a year-round tourist destination and, through this campaign, the Ministry wants to showcase the many tourism opportunities the country has to offer during the summer season, including mountain getaways, fun-filled water sports activities and an incredible array of cultural and heritage experiences.

The summer campaign packages include attractive offers for ad-

WOOING TOURISTS: The summer campaign packages also include attractive offers for adventure tourism. –Supplied picture

venture tourism, such as trekking, hiking, and camping, in addition to marine activities, such as dolphin and turtle watching, sailing, diving, and snorkelling.

The Ministry has launched a micro-site especially for the

campaign www.omansummer. com, which will run from May to September. Visitors and tourists can log on to the website to know more about the offers and details of the participating tour operators, in addition to the hashtags

on the Ministry’s pages on Facebook (TourismOman) and Twitter (@OmanTourism): #summerinOman The campaign will commence with a three-day exhibition held at the Muscat City Centre, Seeb, in May where participating hotels and tour operators will showcase their packages and summer offers.

This is the second edition of the summer campaign. The “Oman Summer 2015 campaign” in 2015 was highly successful and the Ministry aims to get an even better response in 2016, as this year’s campaign includes participation from tour operators, in addition to hotels.

Moreover, the campaign this year is targeted at both local and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) tourists, especially from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Article (2) instructs the Chairman of Board of Directors of the Institute of Public Administration to issue the regulations and decisions necessary for the enforcement of the bylaw attached to this Decree.

Till such a time, the laws and bylaws applied to units of the State’s Administrative Apparatus shall be enforced where no specific text in this bylaw applies and without prejudice to its provisions.

Article (3) states that Royal Decree No. 42/90—on the Law on Regulating the Work of Engineering Consultancy Offices—shall be cancelled, and so shall all that contradicts this Decree or its attached system or contravenes with their provisions. Article (4) says that this Decree shall be published in the Official Gazette and enforced on its date of issue. -ONA LESS TIME

New rule for renewal of expat family resident card

‘Naming violators not in PACP’s jurisdiction’

Staff Reporter MUSCAT: From Sunday onwards, families accompanying expatriates and those who are on a temporary work visa in the Sultanate of Oman should visit the Directorate General of Civil Status to renew their resident cards, Royal Oman Police (ROP) said in a notice uploaded on its official twitter handle.

As of now, there was no need for those on family joining visas to visit the Civil Status office in person to get their resident cards renewed.

In August 2015, ROP had said that they will receive applications from expatriates for the renewal of ID cards through the legally authorised persons.

Issuing rulings without permission from the courts is considered a violation of the law

Times News Service MUSCAT: Amidst a public campaign to name and shame companies responsible for supplying the market with spoiled food items, the Public Authority for Con-

sumer Protection (PACP) said in a statement posted on its Twitter account on Wednesday that naming companies does not fall under its jurisdiction.

After the PACP raided a company in Barka and seized 22 tonnes of rice deemed unfit for consumption, people on social media had called for naming companies found to be in violation of the rules.

Nasra bint Sultan Al Habsiya, head of the Legal Department at PACP, said this does not fall in the jurisdiction of the PACP. “Some may think that this naming them (violators) is within the authority of the PACP, which was criticised for not revealing the names of the violators. We stress that the PACP works under legal

regulations in a country guided by the law and that the Authority as an executive and monitoring party cannot work outside the domain of this legal system,” she said.

She further stated that Article 44 of the Consumer Protection Law rules that in case of a conviction, the court may publish a summary of the case in two

newspapers, one of which should be in Arabic.

“Only the courts are authorised to publish cases related to consumer protection. Announcing the names of those convicted is only possible after the final conviction,” she said.

Al Habsiya added that the publication of names in newspapers and magazines before the issuing of court rulings and without permission from the respective court to do so is considered a violation of the Press and Publication Law. “When such (information) is being published through social media, it is in violation of the anti-cybercrime law. The PACP adheres to applying the law while remaining in its jurisdiction,” she noted.

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Direct

A1 flight to London Travellers will be able to take advantage of direct flights on a Boeing 777 aircraft in four cabins of travel—first, club world (British Airways’ business cabin), World Traveller Plus and World Traveller (British Airways’ economy cabin).

Removing the Abu Dhabi stoppage from the service will reduce the journey time from nine hours and 45 minutes to seven hours and 15 minutes. British Airways is offering return fares from Muscat to London from OMR253, including all taxes and charges. “This is good move from British Airways as Oman Air recently introduced double daily non-stop flights to London,” said Abdullah Al Samsi, a regular traveller between Muscat and London. The new, direct Muscat to London flights are a far cry from the BOAC services, which debuted over four decades ago in November 1972.

QUA L I T Y S E AT S

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A1 ‘Raise awareness on child seats’ “Safety First has been carrying out a lot of campaigns, giving away child seats to families. Yet, they have minimal success, without a law in place to punish people who do not abide,” he said.

Hardie pointed to other countries where the use of child seats is compulsory by law. “As long as this is not the case in Oman, people cannot be punished for not using them. It only works if it hits people in their pockets,” he said. He also said that more needs to be done to encourage people to strap in their children while driving. “I do commend the ROP (Royal Oman Police) for its traffic safety efforts, but I’d like to see them make this issue a focal point,” he said.

An official from the ROP told TOO that it has been running campaigns to raise awareness about the issue, but that the problem lies with the law. “From time to time,

we run a campaign for the use of child seats. It was a strong campaign, but the problem is that the law does not specify this issue. The current Traffic Law does not make the use of child seats compulsory.

If they are not being used, it is not considered a violation,” he said.

He said that the law only considers it a violation if safety requirements are not applied during driving. “It does not explicitly define child seats. However, child seats have become a necessity,” he said.

According to the official, the campaigns by ROP have led to “many” people starting to use child seats. “But if they know that the police will not punish them for not using child seats, they will not abide by it,” he said.

He also said data on the number of injuries or deaths caused by children not being strapped in car seats is unavailable.

Dr. Mohammed Al Zadjali, head of the Legal Committee at the Majlis Al Shura, said the new Traffic Law, which will include fines for failing to use child car seats, has been forwarded from the Majlis Al Shura to the Majlis Al Dawla (State Council) and from there it will sent to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said for approval. “We are waiting for a Royal Decree. I expect that the law will be formulated shortly,” he said. Safety First CEO, Hardie said that despite the absence of fines, parents must install child seats in their car. “I would encourage people to buy good quality seats for their children. Then you’ll not have to worry about the safety of your children while driving. They will not be able to move around the car anymore and you can focus on driving. Oman cannot afford to have more deaths and injuries because of this problem,” he added.

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2016

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Beating the heat With summer having arrived in the Sultanate with all its fury. Man, bird and beast try to beat the heat in their own ways. Times of Oman photographers Jun Estrada and Shabin E went around the town clicking images. Here is a selection from what their cameras saw.

OMAN

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SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2016

REGION R A R E S P E C TA C L E

Female boxers punch through social taboos in Sudan KHARTOUM: Sweat drips from Arafat Abkar’s brow as she dodges blows in an open-air arena in Khartoum’s searing summer heat.

Wearing only shorts and a T-shirt, the 22-year-old draws crowds in a country where women’s boxing is a rare spectacle.

“When I train, more spectators watch because women’s boxing is new and unfamiliar in Sudan,” Abkar said proudly at the private Nile Club in the south of the city.

Sudan is ruled by laws which require women to dress modestly. So, when she’s in the street, Abkar follows the fashion by wearing loose, flowing garments and covering her hair. In the ring, however, her bare head and defined muscles mark her out for criticism and ridicule.

That is a price Abkar is willing to pay. “People mock women who box. They think it’s not feminine but they’re wrong... I don’t think this sport will stop me getting married. So far, we’ve faced no objections from anyone, governmental or otherwise,” she said.

Most families are not so sup-

portive and another girl at the club said she boxed in secret as her family would object to her taking part in what they see as a man’s sport.

Women’s boxing was unheard of in Sudan until four years ago, when Sahar Mohamed took up the sport and represented her country at the All Africa Games last year.

She was defeated on points in the Middleweight category by Yannick Azangue of Cameroon. Since then, the Sudan Amateur Boxing Federation has sought to encourage women to join the sport despite social challenges. “Four years ago, I was the first Sudanese girl to box and I faced big pressures from my family and people but I’ll continue as this is my life’s dream,” said Mohamed at a state-run youth centre in Khartoum, where she trains.

Nearby, two women were training alongside men, shouting as they jumped from foot to foot and punched each other with worn gloves. The equipment is worn and basic, but the centre is busy, the atmosphere buzzing with young people practicing every-

thing from martial arts to soccer.

“People watch satellite channels and look on the internet and that has changed the culture and given new courage to women in the past few years to pick up boxing gloves,” Mohamed Yousef, head of the Sudanese national boxing team, said.

“The Sudan Boxing Federation asked us put more emphasis on girls to encourage them to continue in the sport.” Ali Al Aqraa, 78, a retired Sudanese boxing champion and the first to begin training women said a lack of funds, not enthusiasm, was the biggest hurdle.

Abkar was Sudan’s weightlifting champion and represented her country abroad before taking up boxing last year. She is one of four women on the boxing team at the Nile Club, where she trains three times a week. “What pushed me to box was watching American champion Laila Ali,” she said, referring to the daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. “As I train night and day her image is in my mind. I hope to become a world champion like her.” — Reuters

TOUGH TRAINING: Arafat Abkar, 22, warms up during boxing practice at Nile Club in Khartoum. When I train, more spectators watch because women’s boxing is new and unfamiliar in Sudan, Abkar said proudly at the private Nile Club in the south of the city. – Reuters

Top Hezbollah commander killed in Damascus blast

US Treasury sanctions Libyan official WASHINGTON: The US Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned Aguila Saleh, the president of Libya’s internationally recognised parliament in Tobruk, over what US officials say is his blocking of the formation of a UN-backed government of national accord.

Saleh “is responsible for stalling political progress in Libya. Today’s action sends a clear message that the US Government will continue to target those who undermine the peace, security, and stability of Libya”, said John E. Smith, Acting OFAC Director.

The group said an investigation was underway into whether the explosion at the base was caused by an air strike, a missile attack or artillery bombardment

BEIRUT: Hezbollah’s top military commander Mustafa Badreddine has been killed in a blast at a base near Damascus airport, the Lebanese group said on Friday, one of the biggest blows to its leadership the organisation has ever sustained.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the killing and Hezbollah said it was still investigating the cause of the explosion. Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said the result of the investigation into Mustafa Badreddine’s killing would be announced no later than Saturday morning.

“We will announce in detail the cause of the explosion and the party responsible for it,” he said, adding that there were clear indications of who was behind the attack and the method used.

Speaking at Badreddine’s funeral, he also vowed that the group

‘ S TA L L I N G ’ P R O G R E S S

CONDOLENCES: Lebanese press report from outside where family members are receiving condolences for the death of top Hezbollah commander Mustafa Badreddine in a southern suburb of Beirut on Friday.. – AFP

would continue on the “path” of Badreddine. At least one Hezbollah figure blamed Israel, which has struck Hezbollah targets in Syria several times in the past since civil war started there in 2011. Israel declined to comment.

The US government believed Badreddine, 55, was in charge of Hezbollah’s military operations in Syria. He was a brother-in-law of Imad Moughniyah, Hezbollah’s long serving military commander, who was killed by a bomb planted in his car in Damascus in 2008 that Hezbollah blamed on Israel.

At least four prominent figures in Hezbollah have been killed

since January 2015. Hezbollah said an investigation was underway into whether the explosion at the base was caused by an air strike, a missile attack or artillery bombardment. It did not say when he was killed. “This is an open war and we should not preempt the investigation but certainly Israel is behind this,” said Nawar Al Saheli, a Hezbollah member of Lebanon’s parliament. “The resistance will carry out its duties at the appropriate time.”

When asked by an interviewer on Israel Radio about possible Israeli involvement, cabinet minister Zeev Elkin, a confidant of

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declined to comment.

Hezbollah, a political and military movement, is Lebanon’s most powerful group, having grown stronger since forcing Israel to end its 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000. The sides fought a 34-day war in 2006, their last major conflict.

“We don’t know if Israel is responsible for this,” Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser to Netanyahu, told Israel’s Army Radio.

Announcing his death, Hezbollah quoted Badreddine as saying he would return from Syria vic-

torious or as a martyr. A photo released by the group showed him before his death, smiling and wearing a camouflage baseball cap. His death sparked wide condemnation from Lebanese political allies.

“His martyrdom is a big loss for the Lebanese in their fight against Israeli aggression and terrorism,” Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil told Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV in reference to Israel and miliant groups. “His loss will leave a vacuum but the lesson is to continue on the path that he chose -- resistance until victory is achieved.” — Reuters

Blocked The Treasury Department’s action means that “all property and interests in property of Issa that are within the jurisdiction of the United States or in the control of US persons are blocked”. It added Americans were “generally prohibited” from carrying out transactions with him.

The statement said Saleh had repeatedly blocked votes by Libya’s House of Representatives to support the North African country’s political transition.

Libya has been in turmoil since the Western-backed uprising that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi five years ago.

Two competing governments, one in Tripoli and the one in Tobruk, backed by armed factions, have struggled for control of the OPEC state since 2014.

A UN-backed unity government, designed to replace the rival administrations, arrived in Tripoli earlier this year and is attempting to assert authority over the whole country. The Treasury Department move follows a similar taken by the European Union in April against Saleh. — Reuters

INSURGENCY

16 killed in northern Iraq attacks TIKRIT: Shooting and bomb attacks claimed by IS killed at least 16 people in northern Iraq on Friday, days after IS’s deadliest blasts so far this year in the capital stirred public criticism of government security measures.

Three gunmen opened fire with machine guns around midnight at a cafe in the town of Balad where young men had gathered to start the weekend, police and hospital sources. At least 12 were killed and 25 wounded.

The assailants fled and hours later one of them set off his explosive vest at a nearby vegetable market after police and militia members cornered him in a disused building and exchanged gunfire, security sources said. Four were killed and two critically wounded, medical sources added.

IS said in a statement distributed online by supporters that three suicide attackers targeting militiamen had detonated their explosives, though security sources said they had only identified one bomber. A Reuters witness saw the scorched body of a suspected assailant hanging upside down

THE SITE OF ATTACK: Fighters gather at a cafe after an attack in the town of Balad, Iraq, on Friday. – Reuters

from a post outside the cafe on Friday morning.

Residents said they had seized the man from a nearby house where he had fled following the attack. They said they had burned him alive after he confessed. An intelligence official confirmed this account. IS nearly overran Balad, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, in 2014 and maintains a frontline around 40 km away.

Friday’s attackers had passed three police checkpoints before reaching their target, said police sources who declined to be iden-

tified as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Security forces deployed throughout the town, fearing more attacks.

The intelligence official said fighters from the powerful Badr Organisation raided a nearby house and detained 13 members of a family. There were reports of gunfire in an adjacent orchard.

Iraqi authorities are facing scrutiny over security breaches that allowed suicide attackers to set off three bombs on Wednesday in Baghdad, killing at least 80 people. — Reuters

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TRIGGERING SHUTDOWN

Journalists shot dead in Bihar, Jharkhand SIWAN/CHATRA: A senior journalist in Bihar and a TV channel reporter in Jharkhand were shot dead by unidentified gunmen, sparking protests by mediapersons and triggering a shutdown in the areas.

Rajdeo Ranjan, Siwan district bureau chief of Hindi daily Hindustan, was fired at in Siwan district late on Friday evening when he was going on his motorcycle near the fruit market on Station Road under Town police station at around 7:45pm, Superintendent of Police Saurabh Kumar Sah said.

Ranjan, 45, died on the way to hospital, he added.

The SP said the motive behind the murder was yet to be ascertained. Ranjan has been writing for a long time against law-breakers of the area.

In Jharkhand, Akhilesh Pratap Singh (35), a journalist of a news channel, was gunned down by unidentified people at Dewaria in Chatra district, police said. Singh was attacked near panchayat secretariat of the village on Thursday night, a police official said.

A bandh was observed in Chatra town in protest against the killing.

Reacting to the murder of the scribe in Siwan, BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussaion said while Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is touring Varanasi, the fourth estate is “in danger” in his state.

“This is not jungle raj. This is maha jungle raj...sad to know about his killing, Rajdeo was a fearless journalist,” he tweeted. - PTI

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INDIA

SC upholds defamation law contested by Rahul, Kejriwal Upholding the constitutional validity of sections 499 and 500 of the IPC, dealing with criminal defamation and punishment for it which entails upto two years imprisonment or fine or both, the court held that the right to freedom of speech and expression is ‘absolutely sacrosanct’ but ‘is not absolute’

The Supreme Court rejected the pleas of Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Subramanian Swamy and others to decriminalise the colonial-era penal

penal provisions and they will now have to face criminal defamation cases lodged against them.

Upholding the constitutional validity of sections 499 and 500 of the IPC, dealing with criminal defamation and punishment for it which entails up to two years imprisonment or fine or both, the court held that the right to freedom of speech and expression is “absolutely sacrosanct” but “is not absolute.”

provisions and they will now have to face criminal defamation cases lodged against them

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Friday upheld the constitutional validity of the 156-year-old penal laws on defamation, saying “reputation of one cannot be allowed to be crucified at the altar of the other’s right of free speech”.

The apex court rejected the pleas of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and others to decriminalise the colonial-era

Freedom of speech The bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Prafulla C. Pant said the balance between the two rights — freedom of speech and right to reputation — needed to be struck and “reputation of one cannot be allowed to be crucified at the altar of the other’s right of free speech”.

The judgement, delivered on a batch of 27 pleas, including those filed by Rahul, Kejriwal and Swa-

my, said that they can now knock the doors of various High Courts to challenge the issuance of summons by magisterial courts within eight weeks during which the interim protection and stay of criminal proceedings against them would remain in force.

The top court, which analysed the two penal provisions and section 199 of the Code of Criminal Procedure dealing with prosecution for defamation, did not agree with the contentions that criminalising defamation attacks freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19 (2) of the Constitution and there cannot be reasonable restriction on free speech.

However, it clarified that since the offence of criminal defamation has its own gravity, the magistrates have to be extremely careful in issuing summons.

“As we declare the provisions to be constitutional, we observe that

it will be open to the petitioners to challenge the issue of summons before the High Court either under Article 226 of the Constitution of India or Section 482 CrPC, as advised and seek appropriate relief and for the said purpose, we grant eight weeks time to the petitioners,” the bench said.

It also made it clear that if any of them has already approached the high court and also become unsuccessful before this court, he shall face trial and put forth his defence in accordance with the law.

While Swamy is facing three criminal defamation cases in Tamil Nadu filed by the J. Jayalalithaa government for allegedly making certain comments against her, Rahul has a case in Bhiwandi in Maharashtra for allegedly blaming RSS for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

Kejriwal is facing a number of defamation cases out which

criminal proceedings are stayed in four. The cases against him have been filed by Union Ministers and BJP leaders Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari, Congress leader Kapil Sibal’s son Amit Sibal and by others.

Verdict After the pronouncement of the 268-page verdict in a packed court, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Congress Vice President, sought extension of the eight week stay on criminal proceedings till July 19 when the case will come up for hearing in the trial court.

After Sibal submitted that eight weeks period would not cover the protection for Gandhi, the bench said he can move the apex court in July and seek reliefs.

While dealing with the contentions, the bench held that the right to freedom of speech and expression is “absolutely sacrosanct” but “is not absolute” and “is subject to imposition of reasonable restrictions” and “it is difficult to come to a conclusion that the existence of criminal defamation is absolutely obnoxious to freedom of speech and expression.”

Holding that the legislature in its wisdom has not thought it appropriate to abolish criminality of defamation in the obtaining social climate, the bench brushed aside the contention that “the existence of defamation as a criminal offence has a chilling effect on the right to freedom of speech and expression.” - PTI

VICTORY IN FLOOR TEST

Rawat rules out possibility of snap polls in Uttarakhand

ELATED: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat, accompanied

by Cabinet colleagues, meeting with Congress President Sonia Gandhi at 10 Janpath in New Delhi on Thursday. - PTI

NEW DELHI: Buoyed by his victory in the floor test, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Friday ruled out possibility of snap polls saying his state cannot afford that, even as he asserted he would work with the Centre to initiate development while forgetting the past.

He also attacked Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for working with a “particular frame of mind of treating me like an accused” and said the agency’s credentials and impartiality are at stake in the case. He, however, said he would cooperate with the agency.

Rawat, who is in the capital since Thursday, met top Congress leaders including Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, and Ambika Soni, party general secretary and in-charge of party in Uttarakhand.

He met Sonia on Thursday along with some of his Cabinet colleagues. “I do not want to go in for fresh polls. Uttarakhand can’t afford that. In politics, it may be advisable to go for elections because right now there is a lot of sympathy. But sympathy is one thing, duty is another. The call of the duty is that I should focus on development to bring the state back on track. I will see the state’s interests first,” he told reporters.

Challenge “There is an enormous challenge now to build the state from here. I can’t afford to antagonise anyone.

We need the Centre’s support. I will again urge the Centre that let us forget on what has happened,” he said.

Rawat said he was keen to meet

P I O N E E R I N G L E G I S L AT I O N

Maharashtra passes law to ban village councils from ordering ‘social boycotts’ MUMBAI: Western Indian state of Maharashtra state has become the first in the country to ban village councils from imposing “social boycotts” that ostracise individuals or families for defying tradition.

Women and lower caste Dalits often bear the brunt of such judgments, passed as punishment for perceived misdeeds such as marrying between castes or dressing immodestly. The western Indian state last month passed the law against a decades-old practice of village panchayats, or councils, ordering social boycotts.

“The Act was required against the backdrop of atrocities inflict-

ed on people in the name of tradition, caste and community,” said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. “It is necessary to prohibit social boycotts as a matter of social reform in the interest of public welfare,” he said.

Under village council orders, individuals and families have been banished from the community, and denied access to temples, wells, markets and celebrations.

In some cases, panchayats have even branded women as witches, and ordered gang rapes or killings as punishment.

Maharashtra’s new law declares social boycotts a crime punishable by up to seven years in

prison, a fine of 500,000 ($7,500), or both. Human rights campaigners called for other Indian states to follow Maharashtra’s example.

“The law will help check caste crimes to some extent. It empowers lower-caste people and it empowers human rights organisations, as it gives us a tool with which to fight against village panchayats,” said Irfan Engineer, director of the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism in Mumbai. “We need a similar law in the rest of the country, particularly in states where (unelected) khap panchayats are strong,” he said.

Khap panchayats are unelected village councils comprising men

of a particular clan or caste.

While their power has diminished since 1992, when elected village councils were made mandatory, they remain powerful in socially conservative states including Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and parts of Uttar Pradesh.

India’s top court in 2011 described khap panchayats as “kangaroo courts” that are entirely illegal. Maharashtra, home to several social reformers like B.R. Ambedkar who fought against caste discrimination, in 2013 passed legislation criminalising practices related to black magic, human sacrifices, and other superstitious beliefs. -Thomson Reuters Foundation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and strengthen federalism, while seeking his support and cooperation for Uttarakhand’s development to send across the message that the prime minister also cares for the hill state.

“I wish to meet the prime minister around May 15/16. I am myself in a hurry. I am very keen. There are many pending issues. But right now we want that the message should go that prime minister cares about Uttarakhand also,” he said, seeking his cooperation in taking the state on path of development.

Questioning the Central Bureau of Investigation which is investigating a sting on him in winning support of Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) before the trust vote, he said he will cooperate with the investigating agency and his

party has also asked him to do so.

“CBI is a premier investigating agency constituted to deal with serious cases of corruption of national importance. I have respect for CBI and I will cooperate with it on the sting probe. There is an advice from my party that I should cooperate with CBI. “But CBI cannot work with that frame of mind of treating a lawabiding citizen as an accused. The credentials and impartiality of CBI are at stake,” he said.

On his ties with the Centre after it dismissed his government, Rawat said, “We are a part of Union of India in federal structure for strengthening federalism. To strengthen Indian democracy, Uttarakhand also wants to play its role. Allow us to play our own role,” he said. - PTI

A6

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2016 We will create history by returning to power. No government in the state’s history has achieved as much as we achieved in the last five years. We are united like never before Oommen Chandy, Kerala chief minister

INDIA

NIA gives clean chit to Pragya, others in Malegaon blast case Lokesh Sharma and Dhan Singh Choudhury are the other five accused against whom charges have been dropped besides Sadhvi.

The agency also said during investigation that it has been established that no offence is attracted in this case under the Maharashtra Control of Crimes Act (MCOCA), in which any statement given before a SP level officer is admissible as an evidence.

“In furtherance of same, the confessional statements recorded under provisions of MCOC Act by ATS Mumbai have not been relied up on by the NIA in submitting the present final report,” the agency said in its charge sheet.

Lt Col Purohit and nine others will now be tried for charges including murder and conspiracy under the provisions of anti-terror law UAPA, IPC, Arms Act and Explosives Substance Act.

During investigation, ‘sufficient evidences have not been found against’ Pragya Singh Thakur and five others, the NIA said, adding it has submitted in the charge sheet ‘that the prosecution against them is not maintainable’

MUMBAI: In a complete Uturn, the National Investigation Agency(NIA) on Friday dropped all charges against Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and five others in the 2008 Malegaon blast case while charges under the stringent MCOCA law have been given up against all the other 10 accused including Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit.

During investigation, “sufficient evidences have not been found against” Pragya Singh Thakur and five others, the NIA said, adding it has submitted in the charge sheet “that the prosecution against them is not maintainable”.

Development Friday’s development in the case, in which seven people were killed in twin blasts when people were coming out of prayers during Ramadan in September 29, 2008.

There have been a lot of twists and turns in the probe into the

RELIEF: Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur

before being produced in a court in connection with Sunil Joshi murder case, in Bhopal. - PTI file photo

Malegaon blast which was described as a handiwork of people associated with the right wing groups. The case was investigated initially by Joint Commissioner of Mumbai’s ATS Hemant Karkare who was killed during the 26/11 Mumbai attack.

Before the NIA took over the case in 2011, Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) had booked 16 people but filed charge sheets on Jan-

uary 20, 2009 and April 21, 2011 against 14 accused in a Mumbai court. Purohit and Pragya had moved several applications before Bombay High Court and Supreme Court challenging the charge sheet and applicability of stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the case.

Shiv Narayan Kalsangra, Shyam Bhavarlal Sahu, Praveen Takkalki,

Charge sheet Director General of NIA Sharad Kumar told reporters on Friday there was no dilution in the case.

Asked about the stand taken by the agency in the past when it had opposed the bail plea of Sadhvi and others even in the Supreme Court, he said “till our investigation was not complete, we had to go by the probe done by the ATS. Now that we have completed the investigations, we have submitted our final report (charge sheet)”.

The charge sheet was on Friday submitted by public prosecutor Geeta Godambe before Special Judge S. D. Tekale here.

Special Public Prosecutor in the case Avinash Rasal said he was not informed about the filing of the charge sheet (by the NIA).

“I am hurt and I may resign from the case”, Rasal said.

The Congress attacked the NIA decision to drop charges against Sadhvi Praygya and five others besides diluting the case against Lt Colonel and nine other accused.

Senior leader Digvijay Singh

said “as I had predicted BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have started the process of saving the Sangh activists involved in terror cases.”

“Was the DG of NIA given extension for this?” he asked.

Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju dismissed the allegation saying government does not interfere in the investigation by the agencies. “We allow agencies to work independently,” he said.

The NIA mentioned about the Court of Inquiry report of army against Purohit which claims that ATS officials had barged into his house and apparently “planted” RDX. However, the NIA has not come to its own conclusion about the claims made by the army in its inquiry report. The incident took place opposite ‘Shakeel Goods Transport Company’ between Anjuman Chowk and Bhiku Chowk in Malegaon.

The blast took place by an improvised explosive device fitted in a LML Freedom motorcycle and the probe was handed over to the Maharashtra ATS which first invoked UAPA on October 18, 2008 and stringent MCOCA, a month later in the same year.

The NIA said the investigations in the case were delayed till April 2015 as the accused persons had filed various petitions in higher courts, including the ones regarding applicability of MCOC Act. However, after the Supreme Court adjudicated on them, the NIA filed charge sheet against 10 people including Ramesh Shivaji Upadhyay, Sameer Sharad Kulkarni, Ajay Rahirkar, Rakesh Dhawde, Jagdish Chintaman Mahatre, Purohit, Sudhakar Dhar Dwevedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ramchandra Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange.

All of them have been booked under criminal conspiracy, murder and various provisions of Arms Act, UAPA and Explosives Substance Act. - PTI

M AY 1 6 E L E C T I O N

Parties reach out in last-leg campaigning for Kerala polls THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The heat is on in Kerala and the political parties are adding to it.

With the assembly election slated for May 16 (Monday) in the state, parties are sparing no effort to reach out to the voters in the last leg of campaigning.

Amid the election frenzy, the rival combinations of parties are claiming they will win the polls.

While the Left Democratic Front (LDF) believes history will repeat in the state and it will rout the ruling dispensation, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is certain it will overcome the anti-incumbency factor.

“There is disenchantment in the state against the UDF government, which is corrupt. We are confident that we will win over 100 seats in the 140-member assembly,” said opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.

The mood is equally upbeat in the Congress-led UDF camp.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said: “We will create history by returning to power. No government in the state’s history has achieved as much as we achieved in the last five years. We are united like never before.”

But as political observers here point out, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies could be the decisive factors in several assembly constituencies and make things difficult for both United Democratic Front and Left Democratic Front. The BJP has never won a seat in the state. But the saffron outfit is hopeful it will open its account this time. The party’s aspiration has been buoyed by its alliance with the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS).

In all, the BJP is contesting in 98 seats, the Congress in 87 seats and the CPI-M in 85 seats. There are 782 independent candidates. A total of 1,203 contestants, including 109 women, are in the fray. - IANS

RU R A L E L E C T R I F I C AT I O N

Modi’s reforms seep to villages, but many challenges remain RAMPARA KISANA (Uttar Pradesh): For farmer Sompal Singh, the light bulb that flickers outside his mud hut home is a symbol of progress: the first time electricity from the grid has reached his remote village since independence in 1947.

It is also a big deal for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has promised to provide electricity to every village before the end of 2018 and is trying to woo the huge rural population ahead of a key election in Uttar Pradesh state next year.

“The (electricity) supply is erratic but we are happy that there has been a start,” said Singh, a 37-year-old father of three, who employs a bullock to work the fields in Rampara Kisana, six hours’ drive east of New Delhi.

“We feel we have not been forgotten.” As Modi approaches the halfway point of his five-year tenure, the leader of the world’s biggest democracy has not had it easy.

Key economic reforms are stalled, his “Make in India” push to turn the country into a manufacturing powerhouse has floundered and sizeable minority groups blame him and his party for pushing a nationalist agenda at their expense.

Progress Yet his government has made progress elsewhere, most notably in the power sector where change is reaching distressed rural communities in Uttar Pradesh who will go a long way to deciding the outcome

of the 2017 ballot. It was the prospect of tangible change that voters chose in 2014, propelling Modi to a landslide election victory won on the bold promise that “the good days are coming” for 1.3 billion people and by tapping dreams of a more modern India. While many promises remain unrealised, power reforms and the creation of tens of millions of new bank accounts have helped Modi maintain his popularity.

In a February poll for India Today magazine, 40 per cent of respondents chose him as the best candidate to be next prime minister, more than any other politician.

Modi is personally stepping up pressure on ministers and bureaucrats to deliver results on everything from financial inclusion to infrastructure and electricity to jobs.

One senior government source said Modi warned individual ministers this month that he was personally monitoring the performance of each ministry to shake them into action, as his impatience with underperformance grows.

He is also expected to unveil a reshuffle of ministers within weeks, and underperformers could lose their jobs. Underlining the scale of his ambition, Modi has told power officials he wants to announce that every village has been electrified at his next federal budget in early 2017, 18 months ahead of the original target, a senior official said.

That would allow him to tell voters he had beaten his own tar-

GARNERING SUPPORT: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election rally at Thethakudi in Nagappatinam district in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. - PTI

get on a flagship policy. “This government’s job is to focus its energies on development, to take it (electricity) to every home, not like the erstwhile years where if the power reached ... a few homes in the village the government thought the work was over,” Power Minister Piyush Goyal said in a recent interview.

Modi, 65, has plenty to boast about; economic growth outstrips China’s, foreign direct investment grew by a quarter in the 2015 financial year over the previous year and inflation has nearly halved since 2013. Still, recent state election defeats punctured his aura

of invincibility, and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has seen ratings slip.

The India Today poll showed a BJP-led coalition would win 286 parliamentary seats if there had been an election in February from 336 in 2014. Key economic reforms on land and tax remain blocked in parliament, where the opposition controls the upper chamber, and two consecutive droughts hit rural India hard.

The government must also find employment for around a million people joining the workforce every month, another major preoccupation for Modi and his team.

At a cabinet meeting earlier this year, Modi assessed progress on some key infrastructure projects and asked ministers to focus on those that would sustain the most jobs, a close aide to Modi said. At the meeting, Modi gave the example of how kings would embark on large-scale construction projects to deal with drought and unemployment in times of crisis.

“Numerous new projects will have to be launched and creative ideas will have to be implemented, but we are yet to crack the code,” the aide said. The BJP has also been accused of undermining India’s traditions of religious tolerance by appealing to the majority community, a shift that worries the minority population estimated at around 170 million people.

“If growth doesn’t pick up, if job creation doesn’t pick up, that restlessness, that negative energy will manifest (itself) in social tensions,” said Ajit Ranade, chief economist at industrial giant Aditya Birla Group.

“The stakes are huge.”

Results in five regional elections, four of them opposition strongholds, are due on May 19. Of those, the BJP has set its sights on winning only the northeastern state of Assam. But it is Uttar Pradesh, India’s biggest electoral prize, that Modi must win in a state poll next year to sustain his hope of one day gaining full control of parliament and a second term in 2019.

That may explain why the rate of electrification is highest in the

state, home to 200 million people including farmer Singh. Under an $11.4 billion scheme, more than 7,000 villages across the country were electrified in the 2015/16 financial year, the most since 2011/12, data from state-run Rural Electrification Corp show.

That leaves 10,500 still unconnected, and is only a small percentage of India’s 600,000 villages. Nor does an electrified village mean everyone living there has power.

But reaching people in some of the poorest, most remote areas blunts criticism that Modi has put the rising middle class before rural communities.

A new website monitors site visits to every village to assess progress, and releases photographs of incomplete work with the names and phone numbers of the engineers in charge. Power reforms also aim to end blackouts that regularly affect even the biggest cities, and to that end India has boosted coal output and cut the peak power deficit to 1.7 per cent in March from 5.4 per cent in mid-2014.

Solar energy The government has also won pledges of billions of dollars in funding for a push into solar energy and agreed a financial restructuring package for indebted utilities. Still, almost one in four Indians lives without electricity, long outages remain the norm and access to power depends on people’s ability to afford it. - Reuters

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2016 A team of undergraduate engineering students from Pakistan Navy Engineering College, a constituent college of National University of Science and Technology, unveiled a formula electric racing car which is entirely designed and manufactured in-house.

PA NA M A L E A K S P R O B E

Request to form judicial commission declined ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Anwar Zaheer Jamali on Friday declined the federal government’s plea to form a judicial commission to probe the Panama Papers leaks.

Announcing the decision, CJP Jamali said in order for a commission to be formed, a legislation will first have to be passed by the parliament.

He further added that a judicial commission cannot be formed until the issue of terms of references (ToRs) is resolved.

“Formation of Commission of Inquiry under the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry Act 1956 (Act VI of 1956), looking to its limited scope, will result in the constitution of a toothless Commission, which will serve no useful purpose, except giving bad name to it,” CJP Jamali wrote in the letter.

The government in April wrote a letter to the top court to constitute a commission to probe the Panama Papers leaks.

But the nation had to wait for a month for the court’s response as Supreme Court’s (SC) senior judge Justice Mian Saqib Nisar – who took oath as the acting chief justice – said the decision on the federal government’s request will be taken

by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali after his return from Turkey.

After two days of brainstorming session, the opposition parties finally evolved with consensus on Tuesday the ToRs to probe into the foreign wealth of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s family and others in the backdrop of the Panama Papers leaks. — The Express Tribune

A7

PAKISTAN

No ransom paid for release of son: Ex-premier Gilani All people on social media are not our friends. There may be some other people on social media who do not like us, said former prime minister

LAHORE: Former prime minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday rejected reports circulating on social media regarding the release of his son Ali Haider Gilani after three years of detention by Taliban.

“All people on social media are not our friends. There may be some other people on social media who do not like us,” the former premier said in response to a question whether ransom money was paid for the release of his son.

Speaking to reporters outside his Lahore residence, Gilani said his son was recovered after a successful military operation which was carried out by the US and Afghan forces on Afghanistan’s soil.

“There has been a military operation on a foreign country’s soil, leaving several Al Qaeda terrorists dead. This resulted in the release

MAKING A POINT: Ali Haidar Gilani, centre, son of former Pakistani prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, left, speaks with media representatives outside his residence in Lahore on Thursday, after he was freed from a years-long kidnapping ordeal. – AFP

of Ali Haider from Afghanistan.”

The PPP leader once again lauded the efforts of US and Afghan forces for the safe recovery of his son. “The credit goes to the forces of United States and Afghanistan. I appreciate them.

“Further, Gilani said he received several phone calls, congratulating him over his son’s recovery.

“US ambassador [to Pakistan] felicitated me over the phone and said he would have personally welcomed him [Haider] if he had arrived in Islamabad,” he said.

“Democratic candidate for US presidency Hillary Clinton also called me and said ‘we are fighting the war on terror and we have a partnership with Pakistan. If I get elected as US president I will invite you to the White House.’”

Hollywood offer In response to a question regarding the recent Hollywood offer to Haider for making a film on his three-year captivity, Gilani said: “It is up to Ali Haider to take a decision whether he wants to sup-

port this idea or to write a book.”

Haider had arrived in Lahore on Wednesday after he was rescued during a counter-terror raid

by US and Afghan forces in eastern Afghanistan Tuesday. He was kidnapped by militants in the outskirts of Multan on May 9, 2013, just two days before a bitterly contested national election in which he was campaigning.

Media reports have suggested that Haider has been approached by ‘Jurassic World’ director Steven Spielberg for a film on his

three years in captivity. “I would like to make a film on the three years you spent in captivity and all that you experienced during that time,” Spielberg was quoted as telling Haider Gilani.

Earlier, addressing the media on Thursday, Haider had refused to share any details about his time in the custody of militants, and said it was a long story which he would tell some other time. He added he also did not have plans to write a book at least for now. — The Express Tribune

MAKING NEWS

Pakistan’s first formula electric car enters US competition KARACHI: Just a few days ago, National University of Science and Technology (NUST) made news as it was named among 150 best young universities in the world.

The varsity certainly deserves its place in the list with its students having built Pakistan’s first electric powered formula racing car.

In a smashing ceremony at Pearl Continental hotel, Karachi on

Thursday, a team of undergraduate engineering students from Pakistan Navy Engineering College, a constituent college of NUST, unveiled a formula electric racing car which is entirely designed and manufactured in-house.

Not only that, they have been selected as the only team from Asia to take part in the FSAE Electric competition in the electrical

category to be held in Lincoln, NE, USA this year from June 15 to June 18.

“It’s an amazing feeling and a great honour for all of us to be a part of the team and represent Pakistan at such a big stage,” Danial Thebo, who is part of the communications and management team, told The Express Tribune.

He added that the car was made

PORT QASIM IN KARACHI

Second LNG terminal contract to be awarded this month ISLAMABAD: Government will complete the process of awarding second LNG terminal contract to the successful bidder during the on-going month after the requisite go-ahead from the board of directors.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Pakistan LNG Terminals Limited’s (PLTL) board of directors was working on the second LNG terminal contract. “I hope the process of awarding contract to the successful bidder will be completed in May.” The government is to award contract to the successful bidder in 10 days after board’s approval.

PLTL board of directors, in a meeting held on May 6, approved the financial bid submitted by Pakistan GasPort Limited (consortium), which emerged as the lowest bidder for setting up the country’s second LNG import terminal at Port Qasim in Karachi.

Pakistan LNG Terminals

BIDDERS: Bids were submitted for the second LNG terminal contract by two parties, Pakistan GasPort Limited (consortium) and Akbar Associates (consortium), on February 26. – AFP

made the evaluation report public after a meeting of its board of directors. Bids were submitted by two parties, Pakistan GasPort Limited (consortium) and Akbar Associates (consortium), on February 26.

The former qualified in the technical evaluation round, while the latter stood technically disqualified.

The next step would be to sign an LNG Services Agreement (LSA). This agreement would be negotiated with the successful bidder. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) have already given clearance to PLTL to award the contract in accordance with the law. — The Express Tribune

in consideration with the rigorous standards laid out by SAE International and is set to compete with universities from all over the world.

The team is certainly geared up to put up a good show at the international event after spending 16 months planning, researching and manufacturing the car.

“Bank Alfalah is on board with

us now as part of their rising talent campaign and is sponsoring us to raise the green flag for the very first time in USA,” Thebo said.

Another team from the same university called NUST Formula Student Team has also been selected for an international design competition in Germany.

The competition named Formula Student Germany is part of

Formula SAE series and will be held from August 9-14, 2016.

“We are NUST FS Team, and we have been developing a combustion type race vehicle, every year for the past four years, and have been participating at FS UK earlier, and FS Germany later, as the only team from Pakistan,” Muhammad Umer, team manager, told The Express Tribune. — The Express Tribune

A8

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READERS’ FORUM Hope change in the Philippines will be for the better Now that Rodrigo Duterte has been elected as the president of the Philippines, it is expected that he keep his promise of fighting crime, corruption and drug abuse. That is fine so long as the fight does not degenerate into something like what happens in China. If Manila follows in the footsteps of Beijing, it will only worsen the human rights situation worldwide by giving a sort of acceptance to such practices.

— Zoe Gibbs, Qurum It’s advantage BCCI once again with Manohar elected ICC boss Scan this QR code Shashank Manohar came back to head the to send letters to the BCCI and played his part in silencing the Readers’ Forum, former boss Srinivasan, but has he served containing not more than 200 words with the cause of cleansing the Indian cricket full name, address board? Individuals sometimes become and telephone selfish and instead of serving the nation‘s number, may be sent cause or the game’s cause he has decided by e-mail (akhtar@ timesofoman.com). to move away cleverly to land the plum job.

It’s safe to be away with the Justice Lodha Committee creating trouble for BCCI functions and also scrutinising the conflict of interest issues. Manohar escaped from all these by resigning and opting for the big post, which still gives him the advantage of bossing over BCCI without being the boss. — Kumar Keshav, Al Khuwair

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ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Why renewables alone are not quite enough

TIMOTHY L. O’BRIEN

The presumptive Republican nominee for president has spent the last several days scrambling to clarify his self-contradictory statements on everything from tax reform and the minimum wage to interest rates and the national debt.

“I am allowed to change,” Donald Trump said responding to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos’ question

A

t the United Nations in New York on April 22, world leaders ratified the global climate agreement reached in Paris last December.

One hundred ninety-five countries, ranging from richest to poorest, have now agreed to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with the goal of not exceeding 1.5°C. They have also committed to “intended nationally determined contributions” (INDCs) to limit or reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030. This is a major achievement, but it is far from sufficient.

In fact, even if all INDC targets were achieved, the world would still be heading toward eventual warming of some 2.7-3.4°C above pre-industrial levels. To keep warming well below 2°C, emissions in 2030 must be more than 30 per cent below those envisaged in the INDCs. This will be an enormous challenge, given the need for major strides in economic development over the same period. Before this century is over, we should seek to enable all the world’s people – probably more than ten billion by then – to achieve the standards of living currently enjoyed only by the wealthiest 10 per cent. That will require a huge increase in energy consumption. The average African, for example, today uses about one-tenth of the energy used by the average European. But by 2050, we must reduce energy-related emissions by 70 per cent from 2010 levels, with further cuts needed to achieve net zero emissions by 2060.

Meeting those objectives will require both an improvement in energy productivity (the amount of income produced per unit of energy consumed) of at least 3 per cent per year and the rapid decarbonisation of energy supply, with the share of zero-carbon energy increasing by at least one percentage point each year. This implies a massive acceleration of national efforts. Over the last decade, energy productivity has grown by only 0.7 per cent annually, and the share of zero-carbon energy rose by only 0.1 percentage point per year.

Moreover, even if the INDCs were fully implemented, these annual growth rates would reach only 1.8 per cent and 0.4 percentage points, respectively. Impressive progress is already being made in one crucial area: electricity generation. Solar power costs have fallen 80 per cent since 2008. In some places, new supply contracts have set prices as low as $0.06 per kilowatt hour, making solar

power fully competitive with coal and natural gas.

Between now and 2030, the INDCs indicate that renewable-power capacity will grow four times faster than fossil-fuel capacity, with 70 per cent of this new renewables investment in emerging and developing economies.

That investment needs to be matched by accelerated progress in battery technology, or by other tools to match electricity demand to intermittent supply. But there is no doubt that, by mid-century, the world can build a cost-effective zero-carbon electricity system. And yet zero-carbon power, though hugely important, is insufficient, because electricity currently accounts for only 20 per cent of global energy consumption. Broader changes to the global energy system are needed.

Road transport and aviation, which currently rely almost entirely on liquid fossil fuels, account for 30 per cent of total energy consumption. Decarbonisation of these activities will require either electrification or the use of hydrogen or biofuels.

This is certainly feasible, but it will take time.

Heating buildings is another area where major changes are needed. Here, the more widespread use of zero-carbon electricity, instead of fossilfuel-based energy, could have a major impact. But there are also important opportunities to design and construct buildings and cities that are substantially more energy-efficient. With the world’s urban population expected to increase by 2.5 billion by 2050, it is vital that we grasp them.

Energy use by heavy industry energy, however, presents challenges that are often ignored. Metals, chemicals, cement, and plastics are vital building blocks of the modern economy, and involve processes that cannot be easily electrified. Decarbonisation may instead require the application of carbon capture and storage technologies, while newly designed building materials could reduce demand for carbon-intensive inputs. Given these challenges, fossil fuels will undoubtedly play a role in transport and heavy industry for some time to come, even as their role in electricity generation declines. And, even in electricity generation, emerging economies’ INDCs imply significant new investments in coal or gas capacity. - Project Syndicate

CLIPPINGS FROM OUR ARCHIVES MAY 2001 Khamis leaves for Iran MUSCAT: Dr Khamis bin Mubarak Al Alawi, minister of regional municipalities and environment, yesterday left on a four-day official visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Khamis is heading a delegation comprising environmental and wildlife affairs experts from the Ministry. The visit is at the invitation of the Iranian vice president and head of environment protection authority. The minister will discuss environmental coordination between the two countries, including protection of marine life which is of interest to both countries.

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CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (MISCELLANEOUS GOODS AND SERVICES)

December 2015

January 2016

February 2016

100.3 100 100.2

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Send us your article along with your picture to akhtar@timesofoman.com

1935: A plebiscite in the Philippines ratifies an independence agreement.

1940: Holland surrenders to Germany.

1961: A bus carrying black and white civil rights activists is bombed and burned in Alabama.

1973: The US space station Skylab is launched.

Source National Centre for Statistics & Information

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WORLD

Philippines policemen cheer new crime-buster president Rodrigo Duterte, who won this week’s presidential election has pledged to raise policing standards to the level of Davao, the once-lawless city in southern Mindanao

MANILA: Police force in Manila is so underfunded that officers say they have to buy their own bullets and it is not uncommon for funeral service cars to give policemen a lift along to murder scenes because they have no vehicles of their own.

Enter Rodrigo Duterte, who won this week’s presidential election in the Philippines on a single-issue campaign of crushing crime, corruption and drug abuse.

He has pledged to raise policing standards to the level of Davao, the once-lawless city in southern Mindanao, where he has been mayor for 22 years and the only one in the country that runs its own 911 emergency call service.

Duterte’s message, unpolished and peppered with profanities, tapped into popular alarm over a drug-fuelled jump in crime. In 2012 the United Nations said the Philippines had the highest rate of methamphetamine, or “shabu”, use in East Asia. The US State Department said 2.1 per cent of Flipinos aged 16 to 64 were using shabu, the main drug threat in the Philippines along with others.

Reported crimes in the PhilipLONGEST LIVING

HIGH HOPES: Members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) stand guard beside their mobile patrol along a main street of metro Ma-

nila in the Philippines on Thursday. – Reuetrs

pines more than doubled from 319,441 cases in 2010, when President Benigno Aquino took office, to 675,816 last year, according to national police data. Roughly half of those were serious crimes, and rape cases jumped 120 per cent over this period. Police officials say the figures overstate the problem because reporting of crimes has risen with the introduction of closed-circuit TV cameras in many urban areas and SMS messaging for filing complaints.

Still, Duterte says he intends to be a ‘dictator’ against forces of evil.

He told Reuters on the campaign trail five criminals should be killed a week and promised if he became president the fish in Manila Bay would grow fat on the bodies of all the “pushers, hold-up men and donothings” dumped there. Rights group say death squads have operated with impunity in Davao, kill-

ing some 1,500 people since 1998.

“Duterte Harry”, as he is known, denies ordering extrajudicial killings, but he doesn’t condemn them.

If the police station Reuters visited this week in the capital, Manila, is any measure, then Duterte has much to fix.

Captain Rommel Anicete, chief of the Manila police district’s homicide division, told Reuters he and his men have been buying their own bullets since the 1990s.

They split the cost of getting two air-conditioners serviced and, while they do share a couple of ageing computers, they are always short of paper for their printer and have no photocopier.

There aren’t enough police cars to go around and Anicete said one colleague uses a motorbike to do his policing duties, paying for fuel and repairs out of his own pocket.

The Philippines had one po-

A9

lice officer for every 651 people in 2012, according to official data. Its force is far more stretched across an archipelago than neighbouring Thailand with a 1:302 ratio and Malaysia with 1:267 in the same year. The government budgeted 88.1 billion pesos ($1.89 billion) for the police this year, up around 13 per cent from 2015. A senior police official said it was still too little for the force of about 160,000 officers. “We lack patrol cars and secure radios,” said the official, who declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

“We want to issue a gun for every police officer but those recruited after 2012 will have to wait a bit.”

Like other police officers questioned for this story, he declined to say who he had voted for, but added: “Of course we like what we

have heard so far from him.”

Duterte has promised to double police pay, which for some officers is as low as 18,000 Pesos ($390) a month. Asked on Wednesday how the government will fund this, Duterte spokesman Peter Lavina said: “We will find a way.”

He added that a new detachment to fight drug crime would be set up, and corrupt officers would be fired from the force. Duterte also wants to set up command centres for security cameras in cities around the country that are modelled on a state-of-the-art crime reporting hub in Davao City.

Roderick Tan, a sergeant in the Manila Police District’s theft and robbery division, said he welcomed Duterte’s assurances that he will shield the police from legal suits and the harassment of criminals or suspects complaining of injuries. — Reuters

ABUSE OF POWER

China charges ex-president Hu Jintao’s aide with graft BEIJING: China’s state prosecutor on Friday formally charged a former senior aide to retired president Hu Jintao with taking bribes, illegally obtaining state secrets and abuse of power.

The ruling Communist Party announced an investigation into Ling Jihua in December 2014. He had been demoted in September 2012 from a ministerial-level job months after his son was killed in a crash involving a luxury sports car.

The charges are the latest development in a case that the party has said did major damage to its image.

Ling used his many high-ranking positions in government as a way to solicit bribes, seek favours for friends and illegally obtain state secrets, the prosecutor said, without specifying the nature of the secrets.

The circumstances were “extremely serious”, the prosecutor added in a terse statement that was also read on state television.

Ling’s case was lodged at a court in the port city of Tianjin, not far from Beijing, meaning he will be tried there.

It has not been possible to reach Ling for comment.

The prosecutor said authorities had informed Ling about his rights in line with the law, questioned him and heard “opinions” from his lawyer. It was not clear who the lawyer is, or if he was appointed for Ling by the party.

Ling’s case presents a dilemma for the government, because of his close connection with former president Hu, President Xi Jinping’s predecessor.

A government spokesman denied last year that Hu was being implicated in the investigation and sources have told Reuters Hu approved of it.

The formal charges pave the way for a criminal trial, but because Ling is accused of stealing state secrets, the proceedings may be closed to the public. — Reuters

CYBER THEFT

Another bank attacked by malware: SWIFT PASSED AWAY: Susannah Mushatt Jones, centre. – Reuters File

World’s oldest person dies in New York City, aged 116 NEW YORK: World’s oldest living person, 116-year-old Susannah Mushatt Jones, died on Thursday in New York City, a research group said. Jones’ death makes Emma Morano-Martinuzzi, a 116-yearold woman in Italy, the oldest living person, according to the Gerontology Research Group.

Jones, who was born in the southern US state of Alabama in 1899, was the daughter of sharecroppers and granddaughter of slaves.

After graduating from high school she moved north in 1922 to New Jersey and then New York, where she worked as a housekeeper and childcare provider, according to Guinness World Records and the Vandalia Senior Center in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, where she lived. — Reuters

NEW YORK/DHAKA: Investigators probing the cyber heist of $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank connected it on Friday to the hack at Sony Corp’s film studio in 2014, while global financial network SWIFT disclosed a previously unreported attack on a commercial bank.

SWIFT did not say which commercial bank it was or whether it had lost money, but cyber-security firm BAE Systems said a Vietnamese bank, which it did not name, had been a target. It was not clear if they were referring to the same attack and there was no immediate comment from authorities in Hanoi. SWIFT, the linchpin of the global financial system, said forensic experts believed the second case showed that the Bangladesh heist was not a single occurrence, but part of a wider campaign targeting banks. In both cases, SWIFT said, insiders or cyber attackers had succeeded in penetrating the targeted banks’ systems, obtaining user credentials and submitting fraudulent SWIFT messages that correspond with transfers of money.

The cooperative has maintained that its core messaging service has not been compromised.

But confirmation of a second attack on a bank will likely increase scrutiny on the security of a network used by 11,000 financial institutions globally.

In Bangladesh, cyber-security

HACKED: The SWIFT logo is pictured in this photo illustration taken April 26, 2016. SWIFT did not say which commercial bank it was or whether it had lost money, but cyber-security firm BAE Systems said a Vietnamese bank, which it did not name, had been a target. – Reuters File

experts hired by the central bank said in a report that hackers were still inside the bank’s network, monitoring the investigation into one of the biggest cyber heists in the world. Reuters reviewed parts of the report, but the source who shared the document declined to provide access to its full contents, saying the release of some details could hamper a multinational effort to catch the criminals.

Asked about the report, a Bangladesh Bank spokesman said: “We have engaged forensic experts to investigate the whole thing, including this.” He did not elaborate.

Investigators have determined

that one team of hackers, dubbed Group Zero in the report, was responsible for the heist and remained inside the network. Group Zero may be seeking to monitor the ongoing cyber investigations or cause other damage, but is unlikely to be able to order fraudulent fund transfers, the investigators wrote. Two other groups are also inside the bank’s network, which is linked to the SWIFT international transaction system, the report found. One of the two is a “nation-state actor” engaged in stealing information in attacks that are stealthy but “not known to be destructive”, it said.

A spokeswoman for SWIFT said she was unable to comment. The report said investigators knew little about a third group of hackers found inside the network, referred to as Group Two, except that they were using mostly commodity, or off-the-shelf, hacking tools.

The report, which was submitted earlier this month, did not further identify any of the groups.

BAE Systems, Europe’s largest weapons maker, which also has a large cyber-security business, said it had uncovered evidence linking malicious software used in the Bangladesh heist to the high-profile attack on Sony’s Hol-

lywood studio in 2014 and other cases. “What initially looked to be an isolated incident at one Asian bank turned out to be part of a wider campaign,” BAE’s cybersecurity team said in a report it released on Friday.

BAE also said it uncovered malware that was recently used to target a Vietnamese commercial bank using fraudulent messages on the SWIFT money-transfer network. The malware operated “in a similar fashion” to the Bangladesh Bank hack, BAE said.

SWIFT also did not name the victim, and neither firm said whether any funds had been stolen. Reuters was not able to independently confirm the findings of BAE’s determination about similarities between the Bangladesh and Sony attacks. The US government has blamed North Korea for the attack on Sony’s film studio, a charge Pyongyang has rejected.

BAE’s head of threat intelligence, Adrian Nish, told Reuters that the company was only focused on the technical evidence that links the attacks, not determining who was behind them.

The report said the malware used against Bangladesh Bank exhibits “the same unique characteristics” as software used in “Operation Blockbuster”, a campaign documented by a coalition of security firms that dates back to at least 2009 and includes the Sony hack. — Reuters

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SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2016

WORLD SOUTHEAST

HUGE BLAZE BREAKS OUT AT SPANISH TYRE DUMP A fire rages at a tyre dump near a residential development in Sesena, south of Madrid, Spain, on Friday. Local media reports said the fire, near the town of Sesena, is said to have begun at 2am (00:00 GMT). By daylight, plumes of smoke some 20 metres high could be seen at the tyre dump, one of Europe’s largest at over 11 hectares. — Reuters

Eight soldiers, 22 militants killed in Turkey DIYARBAKIR /ISTANBUL: Eight Turkish soldiers and 22 Kurdish militants have been killed in clashes over the last two days, authorities said on Friday, as violence widened in the largely Kurdish southeast following two bombings.

Six soldiers were killed and eight were wounded in clashes with militants in the southeastern Hakkari province near the border with Iraq on Friday, the military said.

Two more were killed in a separate incident when a helicopter crashed in Hakkari due to a technical fault, the military said. Six PKK militants were also killed in an operation in that region.

In the nearby Siirt province, one militant was killed when security forces pursued vehicles attempting to flee a security check, the local governor’s office said. They found 200 kilogrammes of explosives in one of the vehicles.

On Thursday, 15 militants were killed in clashes in Sirnak province, the military said. The military has also carried out regular air strikes against PKK camps in mountainous northern Iraq. A total of 140 militants have been killed in such attacks between April 29 and May 10, broadcaster NTV said, citing the military. The widening violence follows two bombings on Thursday. — Reuters

OKLAHOMA

Solar Impulse two plane reaches Tulsa OKLAHOMA: An experimental airplane powered solely by energy from the sun has flown from Arizona to Oklahoma on the eleventh leg of an historic bid by its pilots and developers to fly around the globe without a drop of fuel.

The single-seat Solar Impulse 2 aircraft arrived at Tulsa International Airport in Oklahoma at 11:15 pm local time (0415GMT) on Thursday, 18 hours after leaving Phoenix Goodyear Airport, the project team said in a statement.

Swiss aviator Bertrand Piccard called the 1,000-mile (1,609 km) trip “a magical flight” on his Twitter account.

The long hours required for covering relatively short distances showed how slowly the plane flies compared with conventional aircraft. With a wingspan exceeding that of a Boeing 747 but an ultralight carbon-fibre skin and overall weight of a car, the Solar Impulse cruises at speeds ranging from 34 to 62 miles per hour (55 to 100 kmh). The four engines of the propeller-driven aircraft are powered exclusively by energy collected from more than 17,000 solar cells built into its wings. Excess energy is stored in four batteries during daylight hours to keep the plane flying after dark.

The plane can climb to 28,000 feet (8,500 meters) but generally flies at lower altitudes at night to conserve energy.

Piccard and Andre Borschberg have been taking turns piloting the plane on each leg of the journey, with Piccard at the controls for Thursday’s flight. Both men have trained to stay alert for long stretches of time by practicing meditation and hypnosis. — Reuters

Putin sees threat to Russia in Europe’s new missile shield This is not a defence system. This is part of US nuclear strategic potential brought onto a periphery, said Russian President Vladimir Putin

SOCHI: A ballistic missile defence shield which the United States has activated in Europe is a step to a new arms race, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, vowing to adjust budget spending to neutralise “emerging threats” to Russia.

The United States switched on the $800 million missile shield at a Soviet-era base in Romania on Thursday saying it was a defence against missiles from Iran and socalled rogue states.

Blunting But, speaking to top defence and military industry officials, Putin said the system was aimed at blunting Russia’s nuclear arsenal.

“This is not a defence system.

This is part of US nuclear strategic potential brought onto a periphery. In this case, Eastern Europe is such periphery,” Putin said. “Until now, those taking

BONE OF CONTENTION: A view shows the command centre for the newly opened ballistic missile defence site at Deveselu air base, Romania, on May 12, 2016. – Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea/via Reuters

such decisions have lived in calm, fairly well-off and in safety. Now, as these elements of ballistic missile defence are deployed, we are forced to think how to neutralise emerging threats to the Russian Federation,” he said.

Coupled with deployment in the Mediterranean of US ships carrying Aegis missiles and other missile shield elements in Poland, the site in Romania was “yet an-

other step to rock international security and start a new arms race”, he said.

Russia would not be drawn into this race. But it would continue re-arming its army and navy and spend the approved funds in a way that would “uphold the current strategic balance of forces”, he said. US Deputy Defence Secretary Robert Work said on Thursday that the shield would not be

used against any future Russian missile threat. Frank Rose, deputy US assistant secretary of state for arms control, warned at the time that Iran’s ballistic missiles could hit parts of Europe, including Romania. Putin said the prospect of a nuclear threat from Iran should no longer be taken seriously and was being used by Washington as an excuse to develop its missile shield in Europe.

The full defensive umbrella, when complete in 2018 after further development in Poland, will stretch from Greenland to the Azores. It relies on radars to detect a ballistic missile launch into space. Sensors then measure the rocket’s trajectory and destroy it in space before it re-enters the earth’s atmosphere. The interceptors can be fired from ships or ground sites. — Reuters

REVEALED

Personal data of Chinese elites purportedly leaked on Twitter BEIJING: The purported personal details of a number of Chinese business moguls and polticallyconnected elite have been posted to an anonymous Twitter account, an embarrassing leak for authorities that has raised concerns about the security of official records.

The data disclosure, including national identification numbers, birth dates and addresses, would be one of China’s highest profile such public leaks of sensitive data if accurate.

Among those whose personal data was exposed were China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, the chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, and Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of the Chinese tech giant, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, both of whom are known to be politically well-connected.

Reuters could not indepen-

dently confirm the accuracy of the data exposed in a series of Twitter posts this week, published under the handle @shenfenzheng, which means “identity card” in Chinese.

However, Sima Nan, a television pundit and vocal backer of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, told Reuters that his personal identification number was revealed before the Twitter account became inaccessible.

“I am unclear about other people’s (information), but mine is indeed the content registered on my public security household registration,” Sima said by telephone.

The New York Times said it had confirmed the information for Ma, and Wang, and Wang’s wife and son, whose details were published along with those of many other Chinese elites.

An image of the supposed iden-

Among those whose personal data was exposed were China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, the chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, and Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd

tity card for Fang Binxing, the head of a Chinese cyber security industry association, who is also known as the father of China’s internet censorship mechanism, the so-called Great Firewall, was also published.

China’s Public Security Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu

Kang, asked at a regular briefing if the data was genuine and who China thinks might be responsible, said: “I have also noticed this report but we really don’t understand the relevant situation.”

Dalian Wanda declined to comment, and Alibaba did not respond to a request for comment. Fang Binxing could not be reached.

Sima said he had not been con-

tacted by authorities and that he was unclear about the possible motive. “You can’t rule out that somebody merely wants to display that they have the capability to break into and steal internal information from the public security system,” Sima said.

In China, paying for or disseminating private information is a crime, though black market buying and selling of such data is considered to be widespread in a country where corporate records and personal connections can be opaque.

“Are you shocked by this information? I hope it can arouse thinking among fellow compatriots. Personal privacy in China is basically worthless,” @shenfenzheng said in one tweet, according to a cached version of the posts on the account.

Similar breaches of cyberse-

curity have become widespread in the West, with the US Office of Personnel Management having disclosed that millions of federal employees’ personal data was compromised in a cyber attacks.

Long accused by the United States of rampant cyber aggression against foreign interests, China has also been grappling with a sharp rise in the number of hacking cases at home. In February, hackers attempted to access more than 20 million accounts at Alibaba’s Taobao e-commerce website.

Twitter could not be reached for comment, though the company says posting private information, such as personal identification numbers, non-public phone numbers, addresses and contact information, can be a violation of its rules for which accounts can be locked or suspended. — Reuters

S AT U R DAY, M AY 14 , 2 0 1 6

S P O R

Stoinis, Vijay help Punjab ease past Mumbai Indians

Beleaguered Dhoni’s men look to derail KKR’s campaign

Skipper Murali Vijay, by far the struggling team’s best batsman in the ninth season of the cash-rich league, once again led from the front with an unbeaten 54 off 52 balls, while the improving Wriddhiman Saha compiled a brisk 56 off 40 deliveries

S

IPL

VISAKHAPATNAM: Kings XI Punjab put the brakes on their summer of discontent as they notched up a convincing sevenwicket win over defending champions Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Friday.

Medium pacer Marcus Stoinis led the way with four wickets as a disciplined Kings XI Punjab restricted Mumbai Indians to a modest 124 for nine in the stipulated 20 overs.

Stoinis returned brilliant figures of 4/15 in his full quota of four overs after Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma elected to bat.

In reply, Kings XI Punjab chased down the target of 125 with as many as three overs to spare.

Skipper Murali Vijay, by far the

CAPTAIN’S KNOCK: Kings XI Punjab team captain and batsman Murali Vijay plays a shot during the 2016 Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket match against Mumbai Indians. – AFP

struggling team’s best batsman in the ninth season of the cash-rich league, once again led from the front with an unbeaten 54 off 52 balls, while the improving Wriddhiman Saha compiled a brisk 56 off 40 deliveries.

Walking out to bat after the departure of Hashim Amla, Saha put on a match-winning partnership of 116 runs for the second wicket with Vijay to help KXIP register their fourth win in 11 outings. The duo consumed only 14.2 overs to stitch together the century stand.

Saha reached his half century off just 38 balls, lofting Jasprit Bumrah over cover for a boundary. Vi-

jay followed suit, as he too reached his fifty with a cut through the point region, an overthrow helping him to complete the second run and reach the landmark.

As Kings XI Punjab raced towards the victory target, Saha was bowled by Mitchell McClenaghan, which, however, did not matter in the end. Glenn Maxwell though failed to open his account.

Saha struck six boundaries and a six in his strokeful knock, while Vijay hit five fours and cleared the fence.

While MI stayed at the fifth position with 12 points, Kings XI Punjab moved a step up to be in seventh place with eight points.

Earlier, Mumbai Indians were off to a disastrous start, losing two wickets for just eight runs on the board within the third over of the innings.

Playing in place of Parthiv Patel, Unmukt Chand could not make the rare opportunity count as he got out to a terrible shot, giving an easy catch at mid-on off the bowling of Mohit Sharma while trying to whip a length ball into the leg side.

Brief scores: Mumbai Indians 124 for 9 (Stoinis 4-15, Sandeep 2-11, Mohit 2-26) beat Kings XI Punjab 127 for 3 (Saha 56, Vijay 54 not out, McClenaghan 2-24) by seven wickets. - PTI

KOLKATA: Out of contention for a play-off berth, a brazen Rising Pune Supergiants will stand in the way of Kolkata Knight Riders’ revival when they clash in an Indian Premier League T20 match here on Saturday. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side is the first team to make an exit in the ninth edition after they lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous match but left with three matches, the Supergiants will be keen to sign off on a high.

The Pune franchise is owned by a Kolkata businessman and they will make themselves feel at ‘home’ while a rejuvenated Knight Riders back after a fiveday break will be desperate to arrest their slide.

From occupying the pole position midway into the season, KKR’s slide begun after their loss to Gujarat Lions and they have slipped to fourth place and are now in the danger of slipping out of top four.

One of the big factors that’s eluding KKR is Sunil Narine’s X-factor something that has contributed to their triumphs in 2012 and 2014 with the offspinner claiming 74 wickets in four seasons.

Back after a remedial action, the ‘mystery’ spinner Narine has only managed six wickets from six outings at an economy of 7.34 as the batsmen are no more afraid to go for big hits against him.

Narine also missed KKR’s first two matches because of his father’s demise and was nursing a finger injury to miss their last two matches, against Bangalore and Gujarat. — PTI

PREVIEW

Royal Challengers take on Gujarat Lions in must-win IPL clash BENGALURU: Their backs against the wall, struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to outgun title-contenders, Gujarat Lions in a must-win IPL clash to keep alive their play-off hopes, here on Saturday. Currently lyF I FA C O N G R E S S

Samoura is Fifa secretary general MEXICO CITY: Senegal’s Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura, a United Nations veteran, became the first woman to be named as secretary general of soccer’s world governing body FIFA on Friday.

The 52-year-old, currently the U.N. Development Programme Resident Representative in Nigeria, will be responsible for the day-to-day running of FIFA which has been battered by corruption scandals over the past few years.

Her appointment was announced at FIFA’s Congress by president Gianni Infantino, elected in February to lead the soccer federation out of the worst graft scandal in its history.

“Fatma is a woman with international experience and vision who has worked on some of the most challenging issues of our time,” he said in a statement issued by FIFA. “Importantly for FIFA, she also understands that transparency and accountability are at the heart of any well-run and responsible organisation.

“It is essential for FIFA to incorporate fresh perspectives — from outside the traditional pool of football executives —as we continue to restore and rebuild our organisation,” he added. — Reuters

ing at a lowly sixth position in the points table, Bangalore needs to win their remaining four matches to possibly make the playoffs and Virat Kohli’s men will go full throttle to boost their confidence.

The Royal Challengers will like

to forget their last game against defending champions Mumbai Indians, who thumped them in their own backyard. A loss on Saturday, however, will shatter their dreams to make into the playoffs and as usual the onus will be on skipper

S PA N I S H G P

ICC POSTS

Rosberg back on top in practice BARCELONA: Formula One world championship leader Nico Rosberg set the practice pace on Friday for a Spanish Grand Prix that could see the Mercedes driver celebrate his eighth win in a row. The German, who would become only the third driver to win the first five races of a season after compatriot Michael Schumacher and Britain’s Nigel Mansell if he triumphs on Sunday, led the way with a fastest time of one minute 23.922 seconds.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel had been fastest in the morning session in 1:23.951 and was fourth in the second session. Both were well inside Rosberg’s 2015 pole position time of 1:24.681.

Vettel’s team mate Kimi Raikkonen was second fastest in both sessions, 0.254 adrift of Rosberg in the afternoon, with threetimes world champion Lewis Hamilton fourth in the morning but third after lunch.

Ferrari were the only ones using the quicker, soft tyres in the morning, having opted for more sets than their rivals as they feel their car is better suited to them.

Hamilton is 43 points behind Rosberg in the standings after suffering power unit failures in the last two race weekends that sent him to the back of the field in China and to 10th on the start-

Kohli, who has come out blazing so far, putting the rivals on the mat.

He is donning the orange cap for having scored 568 runs, which includes two tons and four half centuries. Besides the captain, RCB have also been relying heavily on

Nico Rosberg.

ing grid in Russia. Mercedes said they had changed the turbo and a part of the energy recovery system for Barcelona.

But limited time to change the design since the last race in Russia meant they had just one example available and getting it ready in time had taken a “superhuman” effort, the team said.

Dutch teenager Max Verstappen was sixth and eighth on his practice debut with Red Bull after leaving Toro Rosso in a swap with Russian Daniil Kvyat. Australian team mate Daniel Ricciardo was quicker in both.

Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz was ahead of both Red Bulls in the afternoon. Spain’s Fernando Alonso, twice the world champion, was 10th and seventh on another encouraging day for McLaren after last year’s struggles. — Reuters

Kumble stays head, Dravid made member DUBAI: After Shashank Manohar was elected as ICC Chairman unopposed, former India captain Anil Kumble was on Friday re-appointed ICC Cricket Committee chairman for a second term of three years while his one-time team-mate and batting great Rahul Dravid was named member of the Cricket Committee panel.

Kumble will now continue to head the panel until 2018.

Meanwhile, Mahela Jayawardene was also appointed to the ICC Cricket Committee.

Dravid and Jayawardene have played 1,161 international matches between them from 1996 to 2015, and each has been appointed for a three-year term.

They will attend their first meeting at Lord’s on May 31 and June 1, three weeks before the ICC Annual Conference takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland, the ICC said in a statement.

Tim May, has also been elected by the current Test captains as current player representative, replacing Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, who has completed his three-year term.

Richard Kettleborough, three-time ICC Umpire of the Year, has been appointed as umpires’ representative in the committee and replaces Steve Davis, who retired last year. - PTI

their star batsman AB de Villiers, who has amassed 409 runs in 10 matches so far in the tournament.

Meanwhile, IPL debutants Gujarat will be coming into the match after defeating the consistent Kolkata Knight Riders with an eye to

jump to number one position in the points-table, where Sunrisers Hyderabad are perched for now.

However, they will also be wary about their signs of wilting at the business end of the tournament, and will like to come out of it. - PTI

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SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2016

SPORTS Chess is ‘right candidate’ to invest in individuals and get returns: Anand he will have to compete against players like (Fabiano) Caruana, (Hikaru) Nakamura and Anis Giri to mention just a few names. But he will surely be a contender in the future.

Chess is one sport that has not been accorded the attention that it deserves, more so in Gulf countries like Oman. But in recent

Can these young stars, with their knowledge acquired through modern training methods, including use of computers, be compared with the legends of your time or past generations?

It’s not right to compare the players of different generations. Chess is a game where one generation of players learn from their previous ones. The next generation builds on the success of the present one.

But definitely nowadays we got to see more and more, young and dynamic players.

years attempts are being made, by both the governments and the individual organisations, to bring professionalism into the setup and raise the profile the game. A. Seshagiri Rao catches up with Indian legend Vishwanathan Anand, who is here on an invitation from International Chess Academy of Oman and Zawawi Establishment’s Al Alawi Enterprises, to play a simultaneous exhibition match with 20 local talents and to promote the game, to speak about the benefits of such attempts.

MUSCAT: The five-time world champion, known for his clear thinking (or clarity of thought!) and firm opinions, also spoke about the ‘need to do more’ to further popularise chess, on the possibility of another Indian reaching same heights as he has done.

While reluctantly reacting to some of the controversies, which were certainly not of his making, he also touched upon some of the events that helped him to develop from a child prodigy to the world champion and how he intends to keep fighting to be on top for the satisfaction his fans.

From Mayiladuthurai (Anand’s birthplace) to Madras (now Chennai) then via Manila (his early days as a player) to Madrid. Is there a connection, some magic with letter ‘M’?

I haven’t thought about it. But since you have mentioned it, it’s worth thinking about! (smiles).

But I should say the journey has been incredible. But let me also mention that I became a (India’s first) Grandmaster in Coimbatore!

Now you are in Muscat, another ‘M’. Is this your first visit to the Sultanate?

(Chuckles) Yes this is my first visit and I am delighted to be here.

It is here in Oman, Magnus Carlsen underwent a ‘secret’ training camp before the 2013 Chennai World Championship, which the Norwageian went on to win. Were you aware of this at that time?

No. Not really. But these practices are normal in chess. The training venues and training teams and partners, especially before

important championships, remain top secrets.

Your early playing days in Madras and Manila are well documented. But tell us about your association with Spanish couple Mauricio and Nieves Perea and how your stay in Spain helped you grow as a chess player?

(A deep pause).. to think about it now and it is very strange. I was playing in a tournament there (Linares) and Mauricio Perea was one of the officials at the event. That’s how I came in touch with Mauricio, who by then was retired, and his wife Nieves, both of whom took instant liking to me and my chess. We went on to become like one family. That’s how I came to stay in Spain. My stay there really helped me to develop as a player and as a personality.

To be based in Spain really helped me to train well and gave me the opportunity to take part in various tournaments.

CANDID: Chess legend Vishwanathan Anand.

ing, and you went on to win the Candidates tournament to win the right to challenge Carlsen in 2015.

It’s not that I have decided not to play the tournament. Though I should say Kramnik’s words came as a ‘final touch’ in my decision to compete in the Candidates tournament. Of course, there are some good friends and especially, off the board, I hit off well with Kramnik.

Your success, starting with 1983 Asian championship to five world titles, has inspired many Indians. There are many Indian Grandmasters now. But do you see anyone with the potential to be contenders for the world championship title?

At this moment, I can clearly think of one name: (Pentala) Harikrishna. He is just 30, keeps learning and improving. Of course,

Is the chess situation good, in general, all over the world.

Though the governments are doing their bit, how important it is to invest in an individual or individual sport compared with the team sports like cricket in India or football in Gulf countries like Oman?

Definitely governments are playing their role in development of chess. But it’s not right to talk about whether to invest in chess or in team sports be it cricket, football or any other discipline.

Each sport needs support. But when you talk about investment, we should talk about returns. And I think chess is the right candidate to invest in and get the returns as well.

Take the example of India, we won the bronze medal at the Olympiad (2014 in Norway) and the team championship at Asian championship (last month in Abu Dhabi).

To talk about Gulf countries, a lot of current and former players as well as coaches come here to work and share their knowledge. I think that is really helping chess in these countries. But there is always scope to do more.

Do you think FIDE is doing

Let’s talk more about 2013 World Championship. People like Garry Kasparov were very critical of you and your game, kind of playing mind games as if to favour Magnus Carlsen.

In fact, Kasparov did the same before in 2012 as well. Is it always been like that... with Kasparov and others?

I should say: yes. But it’s normal practice with some people. But I have not wasted too much time on that aspect.

But on the other hand there others, like Vladimir Kramnik who after that 2013 World Championship loss to Carlsen had advised you to keep play-

TAKING THEM ALL: Vishwanathan Anand playing against 20 qualifiers simultaneously in an exhibition session at the Oman Avenues Mall on Friday. – JUN ESTRADA / Times of Oman

2ND NATIONAL KARATE COMPETITION HELD Shotokan Karate Centre under the umbrella of Ahli-Sidab Club organised the 2nd National Karate Competition at the British School Muscat on recently. The competition involved the participation of both Omani and Non-Omani referees.

There were about 470 students who participated in the competition both male and female from different nationalities and different wilayats of Oman from 23 different clubs. The competition was based on two events which involves ‘Kata’ (demonstration of fighting) and ‘Kumite’ (free fighting). The competition involved both Kata and Kumite for both males and females of age groups starting from 4 years and above in different categories. Chief guest Juma Al Mukaini, the adviser of Oman National Committee for Education, Science and Culture, awarded the students with medals and shields for all the referees, coaches, sponsors and organizers and presented trophies for the the best clubs. Following, the chairman of Shotokan Karate Center Sensi Nawas Mokeri and the chief instructors Sensi Yousuf Al Siyabi and Sensi Hilal Al Abdali presented a shield as a token of appreciation to the chief guest. This competition was held under Oman Karate Committee headed by General Abdul Malik Ghassan Al Masrooei. — Supplied photo

enough to promote chess across the globe?

(Smiles) As I said we can always do more in chess. The situation is definitely better than in the past.

Don’t you think some revolutionary changes to scoring system and playing format or to make the matches more ‘spectator friendly’ will go a long way to attract more players and attention to chess?

Already several experiments have taken place in chess. But what is important is the way the game is projected. Take for example football. It is successful not just because some committees decided on how to play and how to organise the matches. I think it is because of TV broadcasting. And what chess needs is not just the media coverage but good commentary. It is definitely better than say ten years ago, I should say hundred times better. But we still need proper commentary, to be able to get even people with minimum interest get involved with the game.

Let’s talk about a couple of controversies. What went through your mind when the Indian government raised your nationality issue (Anand spends most of him time Spain) when Hyderabad University wanted to honour you with a doctorate?

Frankly I didn’t feel dejected. But what made me feel strange at that time was the enquiry came from the home ministry, who have all my passport details.

About the debate over Bharat Ratna (India’s highest civilian award) which for the first time was awarded to a sportsperson when government bestowed the honour on cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and how legends like you too deserve the same.

I have never campaigned for an award. Nor I will do now. I am not even thinking about the issue.

For the first time, in many years, you will not be competing for the world title. There is also talk of you ‘slowing down’, especially in the rapid format.

But your legions of fans are sure of you once again returning to the top of the world. Are you still motivated and determined to get there?

The slowing down factor can be attributed partially to age. But we also have to think of the kind of competition we have today. The players are getting better by the day and so is the competition. But in eight years, I have competed in six world championships. I am really proud of that and other achievements. Of course, the fans and their support really keep me motivated.

I will keep training and will keep fighting. — raoas@timesofoman.com

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WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM S ATU RDAY, MAY 14, 2016

MARKE

‘BRITISH EXIT FROM EU WILL LEAD TO RECESSION’ Bank of England (BoE) has said that Britain’s economy would slow sharply, and could even fall into recession, if the country voted to leave the European Union and said there were limits to what the bank could do about it. >B2

US retail sales rise most in a year during April Purchases climbed 1.3 per cent last month, the biggest gain since March 2015, after a 0.3 per cent March drop that was smaller than previously reported, Commerce Department figures showed on Friday in Washington

ROBUST DEMAND: Purchases climbed 1.3 per cent last month, the biggest gain since March 2015, after a 0.3 per cent March drop that was smaller than previously reported, Commerce Department figures showed on Friday. — Bloomberg file picture

WASHINGTON: Sales at retailers jumped in April by the most in a year, indicating consumer spending will help the US economy recover from an early-year slowdown.

Purchases climbed 1.3 per cent last month, the biggest gain since March 2015, after a 0.3 per cent March drop that was smaller than previously reported, Commerce Department figures showed on Friday in Washington. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.8 per cent gain.

Healthier household finances, reflecting reduced borrowing and increased savings, mean consumers have the wherewithal to boost spending even as gasoline prices rise and job growth moderates.

That can help shore up profits at retailers such as Macy’s Inc. after a disappointing start to 2016.

“This is all part and parcel of the consumption numbers coming more in line with the income numbers we’ve been seeing,” said

Jacob Oubina, senior US economist at RBC Capital Markets LLC in New York.

“The breadth of this report was extremely constructive.”

Sales estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from gains of 0.2 per cent to 1.5 per cent.

March’s reading was revised from a previously reported 0.4 per cent decrease.

Broad advance Eleven of 13 major retail categories showed increases last month, indicating the advance was broadbased. Demand at auto dealers climbed by the most in a year and sales at grocery stores and online merchants were the strongest in almost two years.

Core sales, the figures that are used to calculate gross domestic product and which exclude such categories as autos, gasoline stations and building materials, advanced 0.9 per cent last month, the most since March 2014, after a revised 0.2 per cent increase in

CONNECTING WITH EMPLOYEES

March that was larger than previously reported.

The report will probably prompt economists to boost forecasts for second-quarter consumer spending and economic growth after a disappointing start to the year.

The household spending that makes up about 70 per cent of the economy is projected to advance at a 2.6 per cent annualised pace in the three months ended in June after a 1.9 per cent gain in the first quarter, according to median forecast of economists surveyed

by Bloomberg before the retail sales data.

prior month, the April data bring sales more in line with the average over the past year that showed cheaper fuel and low interest rates were drawing more Americans especially to SUV and pickup truck purchases.

Retail sales excluding autos rose 0.8 per cent in April, also more than projected by economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

The strong rebound in sales last month does suggest that this year’s early Easter holiday made it difficult for the government to adjust the data for seasonal swings in demand.

Car sales Purchases at auto dealers increased 3.2 per cent, reversing February’s drop and the biggest gain since March 2015.

The auto figures are in line with industry data. Sales of cars and light trucks climbed to a 17.3 million annualised rate last month, according to Ward’s Automotive Group figures. After a drop the

Labour market Still, rising fuel costs and moderating improvement in the labour market probably will put a ceiling on consumer spending gains.

Gasoline prices have staged a rebound from a steady eight-month plunge. The average cost of a regular gallon of gas was at $2.20 as of May 11, compared with $1.70 in mid-February, according to data

from auto group AAA. Employers in April added the fewest workers to payrolls in seven months, while the unemployment rate held at 5 per cent.

At the same time, average hourly earnings climbed 0.3 per cent from the prior month after a 0.2 per cent advance. Worker pay rose 2.5 per cent over the 12 months ended in April after a 2.3 per cent gain a month earlier.

A bleaker outlook from Macy’s Inc. after the company reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter revenue this week renewed concerns about the retail industry’s prospects this year. Macy’s slashed its profit forecast for 2016, depressing stocks for other stores, including Wal-Mart Stores, Michael Kors Holdings and Ross Stores.

The dimmer projections from Macy’s are a lingering sign of weak mall traffic and increased competition from within and outside the department-store category. — Bloomberg News

CRUDE SUPPLIES

No change in Opec’s global crude demand, supply outlook LONDON: Opec kept forecasts for global oil supply and demand unchanged in its last monthly assessment before members meet to review the market.

The 13 nations of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) pumped 32.44 million barrels a day in April, slightly less than will be required in the third quarter. Production rose as gains in Iran and Iraq compensated for losses in Nigeria and Kuwait. Investment by the global oil industry through 2018 will slump to less than half the amount spent from 2012 to 2014 following the collapse in prices, Opec said.

Oil prices have rebounded more than 75 per cent from the lows reached in February as US shale production falters, signaling that Saudi Arabia’s strategy to re-balance oversupplied world markets is taking effect. Opec, which failed to complete an accord with nonmembers last month on capping output, has no current plans to revive supply limits when ministers meet on June 2, six delegates said on May 4.

“It is widely recognised that an adequate return on investment is needed to maintain production levels, as well as to allow for the growth,” the group’s Vienna-based research department said in the monthly report. “A return to balance is a shared interest among consumers and producers alike.”

Opec production increased by 188,200 barrels a day last month to 32.44 million, according to the report. While the group’s supply has typically exceeded the required amount in recent months, April output is about 380,000 barrels a day below the 32.8 million that Opec estimates will be needed in the third quarter. That potential shortfall is a further indication the organisation’s policy is working.

Global oil demand will increase by 1.2 million barrels a day, or 1.3 per cent, this year to 94.18 million a day, according to the report. — Bloomberg News

ECONOMY

Facebook at Work European Union’s economic growth launched in Dubai revised down slightly in first quarter based conglomerate DUBAI: A Dubai-based retail and hospitality conglomerate owned by an Indian-origin entrepreneur has started using Facebook at Work to connect its 10,000 employees across different departments in 11 countries.

Landmark Group’s move aims to encourage collaboration and greater cohesiveness at the work place through helping 10,000 employees communicate in realtime via the rich social media platform across 11 countries.

Facebook at Work allows employees to connect easily with each other across departments and geographies — both from their desktop computers and from mobile devices using best-in-class Android and iPhone apps.

“Facebook at Work is a simple way for colleagues to communicate and share across time zones and global offices. We’re excited for Landmark to realise the benefits of Facebook at Work — with increased productivity and collaboration across 10,000 employees in 11 countries,” said Julien Codorniou, Director, Facebook at Work.

“Facebook at work is based on five pillars — Newsfeed, groups, timeline or profile, work chat and search. On top of this, there is security and analytics which is exclusive to this service,” said Codorniou for whom the biggest USPs are the fact that anyone who uses Facebook can use Facebook at Work too, and that it is mobile first.

Vipen Sethi, CEO, Landmark Group, said social media is certainly the way forward in the corporate environment of tomorrow.

Julien Codorniou, Director, Facebook at Work.

- Bloomberg file picture

“For a large and diverse company like ours, Facebook at Work is an ideal tool to encourage employees to collaborate with one another more efficiently and lead to faster and more decisive resolutions to daily operational challenges. We are confident this solution will significantly improve our cohesiveness as a company and enhance productivity,” he said.

Facebook at Work was piloted in the organisation for over six months. During this time the Landmark team created and refined an administrative strategy to ensure that the platform serves the company’s end users and business goals. Employees’ personal and professional profiles on Facebook at Work are kept completely separate, with dedicated mobile apps for Work and Work Chat. The data shared on Facebook at Work is accessible only by eligible members of the Landmark community. — PTI

BRUSSELS: The euro-area economy grew slightly less than initially estimated in the first quarter, though momentum was still the fastest in a year.

Led by a better-than-forecast performance by Germany, its largest economy, the euro region expanded 0.5 per cent in the three months through March. That compares with an initial estimate of 0.6 per cent. From a year ago, it grew 1.5 per cent.

“The headline number was slightly weaker than the estimate, but it’s a good number nonetheless,” said Marco Valli, chief euro-area economist at UniCredit Bank in Milan. “My feeling is there were some temporary factors that supported growth in the quarter, but the underlying trend is slightly softer.”

Expansion in Germany accelerated to 0.7 per cent, the fastest pace in two years, beating the 0.6 GOOD SHOWING: Led by a better-than-forecast performance by Germany, its largest economy, the euro per cent estimate in a Bloomberg region expanded 0.5 per cent in the three months through March. — Bloomberg file picture survey of economists. Italy grew 0.3 per cent and the Dutch economy 0.5 per cent. The Greek economy con- Alexis Tsipras said the expected tailwind from euro depreciation in from January to March compared with the previous three months tracted 0.4 per cent for the same pe- conclusion of the latest bailout re- 2014,” he said in a note.

Incoming data backs the view and Slovakia’s expansion failed to riod. Germany has benefited from view will reduce uncertainty and record-low unemployment that help the country’s economy to start that the pace of growth may be match economists’ projections, has supported consumer demand, rebounding this year. The govern- slackening. Industrial production according to flash estimates rewhile European Central Bank ment expects more than 10 billion slumped in both Germany and the leased Friday by national statistics (ECB) stimulus is helping to drive a euros from bailout program tranch- euro zone in March, and business offices. Romania alone reported cyclical recovery in the euro area as es and European Union structural confidence in the country deterio- faster annual growth from January to March as fiscal easing in an rated last month. a whole. But the divergence across funds to be injected this year. election year buoyed consumption.

On the outlook for Germany, the bloc highlights the challenge for Economists see Czech growth data the policy makers to boost uneven Joerg Kraemer, an economist East EU’s growth growth and revive an inflation rate at Commerzbank in Frankfurt, Growth in the EUropean Un- due on May 17 showing a slowdown that’s fallen below zero again. ECB said growth may ease this quar- ion’s biggest eastern economies to 2.6 per cent. Currencies were President Mario Draghi has said ter, though he still raised his fore- slowed more last quarter than little changed. The fragile recovery the outlook for growth remains cast for 2016 to 1.5 per cent from economists expected, as house- in the EUro zone is forcing the easthold spending failed to offset ern EU nations to rely on domestic 1.3 per cent. “tilted to the downside.”

“Factors arguing against a signif- waning aid funds and weakening demand, rather than exports, to Among the euro-area data availfuel their economies and continue able so far, Greece’s performance icant rise in the underlying growth export demand.

The economies of Poland and catching up with their richer westputs it as the worst performer in trend are weak demand from the the first quarter. Prime Minister emerging countries and decreasing Hungary unexpectedly contracted ern peers. — Bloomberg News

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SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2016

MARKET ‘British exit from European Union will lead to recession’ Brexit would cost German economy up to $50 billion

In its starkest warning so far about the impact of an “Out” vote in the June 23 referendum, Bank of England said sterling could fall sharply and unemployment would probably rise Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England. - Bloomberg file picture

LONDON: Bank of England (BoE) has said that Britain’s economy would slow sharply, and could even fall into recession, if the country voted to leave the European Union and said there were limits to what the bank could do about it.

In its starkest warning so far about the impact of an “Out” vote in the June 23 referendum, the central bank said sterling could fall sharply and unemployment would probably rise.

“In that scenario we would expect a material slowing in growth, a notable rise in inflation, a challenging trade-off,” BoE Governor Mark Carney told a news conference. “Of course there’s a range of possible scenarios around those directions, which could possibly include a technical recession,” he said in response to questions from reporters.

Jitters about the referendum are already weighing on the economy and the central bank trimmed its growth forecast for this year to 2.0 per cent from February’s estimate of 2.2 per cent, even if Britain votes to stay in the EU.

Carney said there were limits to what the BoE could do in response to an “Out” vote. “Monetary policy cannot immediately offset all the effects of a shock,” he said.

Prime Minister David Cameron, who along with finance minister George Osborne, has tried to focus voters on what Brexit would mean for their incomes, said the central bank “couldn’t be more clear” that leaving the EU was a risk. Opinion polls suggest British voters have been relatively resistant so far to warnings about the economic costs of Brexit, with voting intentions in many polls roughly evenly split.

But Carney’s comments ahead of Scotland’s 2014 referendum on the costs of independence were viewed as swaying some voters.

He is due to make a high-profile speech at London’s Mansion House a week before the vote, alongside Osborne, giving them another platform to speak about the dangers of Brexit.

Supporters of Brexit argue Britain would benefit from less EU regulation and could strike better overseas trade deals on its own.

Some have accused Carney of over-stepping the central bank’s line of political neutrality.

Sterling rose to a six-day high against the dollar after the Bank’s policymakers voted unanimously to keep interest rates on hold, pouring cold water on talk that at least one policymaker might vote for a cut. Gilts were little changed after the announcement.

The BoE said half of sterling’s nine per cent slide over the past six months was probably due to the referendum and said it could “depreciate further, perhaps sharply” after an “Out” vote.

Britain’s government and international bodies have also warned against leaving the EU. The International Monetary Fund is expected to weigh in again on Friday.

“Unwise words” Former finance minister Norman Lamont, who served under Prime Minister John Major in the 1990s, said the BoE’s warnings of economic trouble after a vote to leave carried their own risks.

“The governor should be careful that he doesn’t cause a crisis,” he said. “If his unwise words become

BERLIN: If Britain were to leave the European Union (EU), it could cost Germany up to 45 billion euros ($50 billion) by the end of 2017 as exports from Europe’s largest economy would likely be hit, a study by DZ Bank showed on Thursday.

Britain is counting down to a referendum on its membership of the European Union on June 23, with opinion polls showing voters are roughly evenly split.

“There’s a lot at stake for the German economy because Great Britain is one of its most important trading partners,” DZ Bank economist Monika Boven said.

If Britons were to vote for leaving the EU, the German economy would start to feel the effects in the second half of this year, Boven said.

In that case, the German economy would grow by 1.4 per cent this year instead of DZ Bank’s current prediction of 1.8 per cent, and 0.5 per cent in 2017 versus 1.7 per

self-fulfilling, the responsibility will be ... the governor’s alone.”

Carney said it was the BoE’s duty to speak about the shortterm economic risks of leaving the bloc.

The Bank cut its forecasts for growth in the next three years due to lower productivity and more caution from households about spending. It sees growth at 2.3 per cent next year and in 2018, down from 2.4 per cent and 2.5

ECONOMY

cent, the study showed.

The German government expects the economy to grow by 1.7 per cent this year and 1.5 per cent next year. It has not released separate growth estimates in case of a Brexit.

Given that Germany’s annual economic output is at least 3 trillion euros, DZ Bank estimates of what postBrexit growth rates would look like would amount to economic output being around 45 billion euros lower by the end of 2017, the study showed.

“In our crisis scenario we’re even expecting a slight recession in Germany around the turn of the year,” Boven said.

Last year German shipments to the United Kingdom surged by almost 13 per cent to just under 90 billion euros — the largest amount it has ever exported there.

Germany only sold more goods to the United States and France. — Reuters

per cent in February. These forecasts worked on the assumption that Britain would vote to stay in the EU. The only concession made to the referendum was to assume that around half the slide in sterling over the past six months was temporary.

In two years’ time, inflation is forecast to reach a fraction over its two per cent target, essentially unchanged from the forecast in February. — Reuters

STOCK MARKET

Asian shares slip on Bank of Japan’s stimulus move TOKYO: Asian shares fell on Friday after a rocky performance on Wall Street, while the yen nursed losses as traders wagered the Bank of Japan will add to its massive stimulus before too long.

Major US stock indexes closed mixed on Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite down 0.49 per cent as Apple shares skidded to a twoyear low on concerns about iPhone demand.

MSCI’s broadest index of AsiaPacific shares outside Japan fell one per cent, and was track for a weekly drop of the same magnitude, its third straight week of declines. Hong Kong shares slipped 0.9 per cent, poised for a 1.9 per cent decline for the week.

Chinese shares started the day in positive territory but quickly retreated, with the CSI 300 down 0.2 per cent and the Shanghai Composite losing 0.1 per cent. They are on track to end the week lower, the former by 1.4 per cent and the latter by 2.7 per cent, after being hit earlier in the week by fears that Beijing may begin to taper its stimulus plans due to concerns about excessive debt.

Investors are looking to April Chinese bank lending data later in the day, and industrial output, investment and retail sales data on Saturday to give them more clues on whether the economy’s prolonged slump is bottoming out.

Japan’s Nikkei widened its slide to 1.1 per cent, after a brief spike at the open, but was still up 2.2 per cent for the week.

“Although investors remain cautious, they think Japanese stocks will eventually catch up with the strength in overseas stocks such as US shares,” said Isao Kubo, equity strategist at Nissay Asset Management. Shares of Nissan Motor Co rose 4.8 per cent, while Mitsubishi Motors Corp tumbled 4.7 per cent on Friday, after Nissan agreed to buy a 34 per cent stake in its smaller, scandal-hit rival on Thursday. — Reuters

EXPORTS WEAKEN

Malaysia’s economic German economy powers ahead on higher state and household spending growth eases further BERLIN: Germany more than doubled its economic growth rate in the first quarter as higher state and household spending more than offset a fall in exports, the Federal Statistics Office said on Friday. The economy grew by 0.7 per cent, the highest quarterly rate since an identical reading in the first quarter of 2014.

That beat the rate of 0.6 per cent registered across the euro zone, cementing Germany’s position as the bloc’s economic engine. A Reuters poll had forecast that figure for Germany alone.

Milder winter weather in Germany prompted a rise in investment on construction and capital goods, the statistics office said.

Private consumption has overtaken trade as the most important growth driver for the German economy, with record-low unemployment, low interest rates and higher wages pushing consumers to spend more. Also on Friday, Germany’s biggest trade union, IG Metall, said it agreed with employers on a two-stage wage increase of 4.8 per cent over 21 months.

The quarterly growth rate easily beat the 0.3 per cent posted in the final three months of 2015, though the unadjusted year on year figure of 1.3 per cent missed the Reuters consensus forecast of 1.5 per cent.

ROBUST DEMAND: The economy grew by 0.7 per cent, the highest quarterly rate since an identical reading in the first quarter of 2014. - Bloomberg file picture

‘Spend more’ The economy ministry said it expected German growth to slow, a view shared by economists, who said the impact of weaker exports would eventually be felt as demand from emerging markets slows.

“Trade remains the problem child because of weakness in emerging markets,” said Sal. Op-

penheim economist Ulrike Kastens. Holger Sandte of Nordea added: “Growth will not remain so strong, but strong enough so employment continues to rise.”

Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said the government should increase investment on education, infrastructure and innovation, echoing calls by the International

Monetary Fund (IMF).

“The German economy started 2016 on a good footing: industry posted an increase in production, employment is noticeably rising, and higher income of private households is leading to higher private spending,” Gabriel said.

“Our task is to use this momentum to invest in education, modern infrastructure and innovation.”

But ING economist Carsten Brzeski said the strong data would provide more ammunition for German politicians to resist calls by the IMF and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to reform the economy.

The IMF and OECD have urged Germany to boost investment, and reform its labour market and pension system, while as the OECD called for tax reductions.

“The strong growth performance also shows what currently is the biggest risk for the German economy: complacency,” Brzeski said. “With growth driven by construction and consumption and a government which is reluctant to follow up on international advice to implement structural reforms, the German economy has almost started to resemble peripheral (euro zone) characteristics.” — Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s economy grew at the slowest pace in more than six years as exports weakened and private investment eased, adding pressure on policy makers to boost growth amid an uneven global recovery.

Gross domestic product rose 4.2 per cent in the three months through March from a year earlier, after climbing 4.5 per cent in the previous quarter, the central bank said Friday. That compares with a 4 per cent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.

Rising costs are crimping business investment while government finances for the oil-exporting nation have been hurt by the decline in crude prices over the past two years. The International Monetary Fund last month lowered its forecast for global expansion this year and warned that a prolonged period of slow growth has raised stagnation risk. Malaysia’s central bank has kept its benchmark rate steady even as inflation accelerated.

“The balance of risks in 2016 is skewed towards growth disappointment and fiscal slippage, with inflation pressures of second-order concern,” said Weiwen Ng, an economist with Australia & New Zealand Banking Group in Singapore. “We see an overhanging risk of a policy rate cut if the

growth outlook deteriorates significantly.”

The ringgit fell 0.2 per cent to 4.0345 a dollar as of 2:55pm in Kuala Lumpur Friday. The Malaysian currency has declined about 3.3 per cent this quarter, the weakest performer in the Asia Pacific after outperforming all others in the first three months of 2016.

Growth is expected to improve in the second half of this year, helped by higher civil servant wages and improved commodities production from the diminishing effect of El-Nino, Bank Negara Malaysia said on Friday.

The economy is on track to expand 4 per cent to 4.5 per cent this year as projected by the government, Governor Muhammad Ibrahim said. Inflation is forecast by the government to rise between 2.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent in 2016. Muhammad succeeded Zeti Akhtar Aziz as central bank governor this month.

The central bank left interest rates unchanged for a 10th meeting in March as accelerating inflation reduced scope for a cut in borrowing costs. Earlier this year, Bank Negara Malaysia lowered the amount of cash that banks must set aside as reserves to boost funds in the financial system. — Bloomberg News

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2016

B3

MARKET DEBT REFINANCING

Ghosn eyes new salvage task with $2.2b Mitsubishi stake for the fraud investigation report and discuss the misconduct with other shareholders and take necessary measures, he said.

Mitsubishi said the deal is “forward looking,” while Mitsubishi UFJ said it views Nissan’s stake purchase “positively and expect this capital, business alliance to develop into something that solves the issues.”

Home to worldwide sales leader Toyota and other global players such as Honda Motor Co., Japan has twice as many automakers as car-loving Germany, which has three. In the far bigger US market, Ford Motor, General Motors and Tesla Motors are the only independent companies left.

– Bloomberg file picture

Nissan agreed to

Intel sells $2.75 billion of bonds to refinance 2016 debt

buy a 34 per cent stake in Mitsubishi Motors for $2.2b, the automakers said.

The capital infusion could prove a crucial

NEW YORK: Intel sold $2.75 billion of bonds on Thursday to refinance debt due this year and a portion of notes maturing in 2017.

The world’s biggest chipmaker issued debt three parts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The longest portion was $1.25 billion of 30-year notes yielding 1.55 percentage points above comparable government debt. That’s down from an initial offer of 1.7 percentage points, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase managed the sale.

Credisights analysts Erin Lyons and Peter Boozan maintained their equivalent of a hold recommendation on Intel’s debt in a client note reviewing the offering on Thursday. They recommended that investors looking for stable Arated core holdings buy the bonds.

“Intel is one of the best-run semiconductor companies, and we like that management has maintained a conservative financial profile,” they wrote. “We believe the bonds are priced fairly and we do not expect to see meaningful price appreciation.” S&P Global Ratings gave the bonds an A+ grade, according to a statement on Thursday.

Busy week Intel is the latest US blue-chip company to offer notes in what’s poised to be second-busiest week for issuance this year. In its last multibillion-dollar deal, Intel sold $7 billion of bonds in July to finance part of its $16.7 billion takeover of Altera Corp.

The company plans to repay its $1.5 billion of 1.95 per cent notes due in October and a portion of the $3 billion of 1.35 per cent bonds due next year. — Bloomberg News

lifeline to Mitsubishi, whose market value had fallen more than 40 per cent after saying it overstated the fuel economy of its minicars and had been improperly testing Japan models since 1991.

TOKYO: Carlos Ghosn, the man who helped pull Nissan Motor back from the brink 16 years ago, is taking on a new salvage job: Mitsubishi Motors.

Nissan agreed to buy a 34 per cent stake in Mitsubishi Motors for about 237.4 billion yen ($2.2 billion), the automakers said on Thursday. The capital infusion could prove a crucial lifeline to Mitsubishi Motors, whose market value had fallen more than 40 per cent after saying it overstated the fuel economy of its minicars and had been improperly testing Japan models since 1991.

The purchase will make Nissan the top shareholder in Japan’s smallest automaker at a discount.

Further collaboration between the two would deepen an existing partnership that already involves joint manufacturing and vehicle development — and represent another step toward a much-needed realignment of Japan’s crowded car industry.

R E O R G A N I S AT I O N P L A N

“It’s a bargain deal for Nissan, though of course there are risks,” Koji Endo, an analyst with Advanced Research Japan, said by phone. “This deal would create a win-win situation for all stakeholders including Mitsubishi group and the government, which wants to protect jobs.”

Dented reputation The deal comes as Mitsubishi Motors grapples with a serious hit to its reputation, declining sales and the potential for billions of dollars in costs from the scandal involving the fuel mileage performance of four minicar models, two of which are supplied to Nissan. After suspending deliveries of the affected models for the last two weeks of April, Nissan reported a 51 per cent plunge in its monthly minicar sales.

“We obviously care about the viability of the company,” Ghosn, Nissan’s chief executive officer, said in an interview. If Mitsubishi Motors isn’t healthy, “we have

a problem. Then, we have no kei cars for the Japanese market.”

Ghosn, 62, already has a track record for shaking up Japan’s auto industry. Taking over as Nissan’s president in 2000, he brought the then-struggling company company back from the brink by breaking up its so-called keiretsu network of suppliers, shutting plants and leveraging an alliance with Renault.

Extending aid In coming to Mitsubishi Motors’ aid, the challenges ahead for Ghosn extend beyond getting minicars back on the market.

The company has said nine more models may have been improperly tested in Japan, after initially disclosing that it had overstated the fuel economy of its minicars by as much as 10 per cent.

Japan’s jam-packed auto industry faces increasing outlays to compete in an era where electrification, autonomous-driving technology and ride-sharing upstarts

are on the rise. “Since the auto industry is getting more and more competitive and requires new technologies, we knew we could not survive alone and were aware of the need to look for the partner sooner or later,” Mitsubishi Motors Chairman Osamu Masuko said in an interview.

Masuko briefed the group companies on the partnership with Nissan, he said. “The Mitsubishi group is on the same page,” he said.

‘Right direction’ After the deal is completed, Nissan will wield veto power over major decisions at Mitsubishi Motors with its 34 per cent stake.

The combined shareholding of Mitsubishi Group companies — Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group — will fall to 22.4 per cent from 34 per cent.

The Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance is “a move in the right direction,” said Mitsubishi Heavy spokesman Genki Ono. The company will wait

R E I N V I G O R AT E C H I NA S A L E S

Symantec plans to slash 10% of staff WASHINGTON: Symantec Corp., the biggest maker of cybersecurity software, said it’s cutting about 10 per cent of its workforce as it reorganises its business.

The company also said profit excluding some costs in the fiscal first quarter will be 24 cents to 26 cents a share on sales of $865 million to $895 million, Symantec said in a statement on Thursday.

That was mostly in line with the average analyst projection of 24 cents a share in profit on $876.2 million in revenue, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Those predictions were reduced last month when Symantec cut fourth-quarter forecasts.

Mountain View, Californiabased Symantec is navigating a major transition as it tries to recapture momentum in the fastgrowing market for protecting against computer hackers.

The company is seeking a replacement for Michael Brown, who in a year and a half as chief executive officer oversaw a largescale reorganisation, led by his January sale of Symantec’s Veritas data-storage division for $7.4 billion to Carlyle Group LP. In addition to the employee cuts, Symantec said it expects to close some facilities and will incur costs of $230 million to $280 million related to the restructuring.

The company, which declined to disclose the number of jobs to be eliminated, has more than 11,000 employees, according to its website.

The moves should result in a total reduction in annual spending of about $400 million.

The company is now focused

STRATEGIC DEAL: Carlos Ghosn (left), Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, with Mitsubishi Motors Chairman and CEO Osamu Masuko at their joint news conference in Yokohama, Japan, on Thursday. - Reuters

Cracking Asean Buying part of Mitsubishi Motors boosts Nissan’s exposure to Southeast Asian markets seen as strong longer-term bets for growth. Paced by Thailand-built Triton pickups and Pajero SUVs, Mitsubishi Motors sold twice as many vehicles in the region than in Japan during the fiscal year ended March 30.

The Philippines would be among the countries where Nissan would benefit most, said Kazuaki Funahashi, an analyst with researcher Fourin. Home to more than 100 million people, its car market is expected to expand.

Mitsubishi Motors trails only Toyota Motor, while Nissan lags further behind.

Nissan’s purchase of the Mitsubishi Motors stake mirrors Toyota’s deal in January to acquire the remainder of its minicar-making affiliate Daihatsu Motor for about $3.2 billion in stock.

By 2020, Japan’s ranks of carmakers may shrink to no more than three company groups, driven by the rising costs of competing to make cars cleaner, safer and more connected, Takaki Nakanishi, an analyst at Jefferies Group LLC, said after Toyota and Daihatsu announced their deal.

“It’s difficult for small and midsized carmakers to do everything on their own,” Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, CEO of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., told reporters Thursday.

The maker of Subaru vehicles has jointly developed sports cars and hybrids with Toyota. “We would like to value and maintain that relationship,” he said. — Bloomberg News

– Bloomberg file picture

solely on cyber-security, an industry the company helped pioneer with its Norton antivirus product but where it has fallen behind nimbler rivals such as Palo Alto Networks and FireEye. Security experts have praised Symantec’s enormous reach — the company’s software protects more than 175 million computers around the world — and new technologies for detecting advanced threats. But the company’s challenge is convincing customers it has evolved beyond its antivirus roots. Gartner Inc. projects worldwide sales of cyber-security technologies will surpass $83.6 billion this year, an increase of 8 per cent over 2015.

In its April 28 reorganisation announcement, the company said it was creating a new Office of the President, and named Ajei Gopal to interim president during a search for a permanent CEO. Gopal is an operating partner at Silver Lake Management, which invested $500 million in Symantec in February, in what was widely seen as a move to boost shareholders’ confidence by bringing on a respected technology investment firm as an adviser, and giving it a seat on the board. — Bloomberg News

Apple invests $1 billion in Chinese ride-hailing service ‘Didi Chuxing’ BEIJING: Apple said on Thursday it has invested $1 billion in Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing, a move that Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said would help the company better understand the critical Chinese market.

The tech giant’s rare investment gives it a stake in two burgeoning waves of technology — the sharing economy and car technology — as the iPhone business that propelled it to record profitability shows signs of maturing.

Apple is trying to reinvigorate sales in China, where it has come under greater pressure from regulators, and Cook is traveling to the country this month.

The move aligns Apple with Uber Technologies Inc’s chief rival in China, as automakers and technology companies forge new alliances and make cross investments. General Motors, for example, recently bought autonomous driving technology company Cruise Automation and has also taken a stake in US ride-sharing company Lyft.

Cook said in an interview that he saw opportunities for Apple and Didi Chuxing to collaborate in the future.

“We are making the investment for a number of strategic reasons, including a chance to learn more about certain segments of the China market,” he said. “Of course, we believe it will deliver a strong return for our invested capital over time as well.” Didi Chuxing, formerly known as Didi Kuaidi, said in a statement that the funding from Apple was the single largest investment it has ever received.

The company, which previously raised several billion dollars, dominates the ride-sharing mar-

CRITICAL MARKET: Cook said Apple remained focused on the in-car experience with its CarPlay system, which links smartphones to vehicle infotainment systems. — Reuters

ket in China. The company said it completes more than 11 million rides a day, with more than 87 per cent of the market for private carhailing in China.

‘Confidence in China’ Analysts say the deal offers a glimpse of how Apple may diversify its business as sales of the iPhone level off. Apple has emphasised its burgeoning revenue from services such as Apple Music and mobile payment Apple Pay, a strategy that the ride-sharing investment appears to reinforce, said analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy.

“After all the hints about the service business and what they would like to do in the future, it’s all starting to fit together,” he said.

Investors are eagerly watching to see whether Apple will enter

the automotive business. Apple has hired a wide range of automotive experts, and the company is exploring building a self-driving car, sources have told Reuters.

Apple reaps much higher margins on the iPhone than most auto makers enjoy, but the investment suggests that the tech giant is contemplating transportation services that could prove more lucrative, said Bob O’Donnell, an analyst with TECHnalysis Research.

“This investment shows they are thinking not just about cars but business models around transportation, and that is a very encouraging and interesting sign,” he said.

Cook said Apple remained focused on the in-car experience with its CarPlay system, which links smartphones to vehicle info-

tainment systems. “That is what we do today in the car business, so we will have to see what the future holds,” he said. Although Apple’s sales in China have slumped amid slowing economic growth there, Cook stressed he remained confident in the market. “(The deal) reflects our excitement about their growing business ... and also our continued confidence in the long term in China’s economy,” Cook said.

Apple has enjoyed warmer relations with the Chinese government than some American tech companies, but regulators recently shut down its online book and film services, triggering concerns among investors. The true value of Apple’s investment in Didi might be in shoring up that relationship, said analyst Ben Bajarin of Creative Strategies. — Reuters

B4

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2016

FEATURE

MELTING SALES AFFECT MUSHROOMING RETAIL STORES Retailers are growing F their store base by

or decades, the rule of thumb in the retail industry was: If you build it, they will come. In other words, more stores tend to equal higher sales.

No longer.

Retailers are growing their store base by about two per cent each year, on average, but accompanying sales increases are not keeping up, according to new research from Morgan Stanley analyst Simeon Gutman. The combination of slower in-store sales growth, an increase in lessprofitable online sales, and steady spending on stores has made it harder for many retailers to maintain healthy profit margins. Stock prices are responding accordingly.

But closing stores isn't the answer — at least not yet. Despite the general consensus that the US is over-stored and recurring calls to shutter hundreds of stores across the country, Gutman argues retailers first need simply to stop opening new ones. It's an argument worth heeding.

The idea seems pretty obvious, but retailers are a slow-moving bunch. They remain addicted to the quick high new store openings provide, regardless of the long-term effects. Just look at the likes of Whole Foods, Macy's, and Walmart — all are struggling but still hope adding new stores will somehow be the magical antidote to their woes.

Plus, closing stores could mean permanently losing customers.

That's because shoppers are often more lazy than loyal: Faced with the closure of the nearest location

of a retail chain, only about half of consumers would venture to a different location, according to a Morgan Stanley survey of 600 consumers in late 2015. The other half would switch to a different nearby retailer or go online — and in many cases, that means a visit to Amazon.com, not the retailer's website.

So as long as a store isn't losing money, Gutman writes, it's probably best to keep it open for now.

Instead, retailers should pretty much just stop opening new stores. Just kick the habit.

Take supplement retailer GNC, whose stock has sunk by 41 per cent this year and this week floated the idea of putting itself up for sale. As GNC's square footage has grown by four per cent over the past four years, its sales per square foot (stripping out any sales increase from e-commerce) has sunk by four per cent, Gutman notes. On the other side of the equation, Home Depot's square footage has grown by only 0.2 per cent over the past four years, but its sales per square foot (excluding e-commerce) have increased by 4.5 per cent, according to Gutman.

One way for investors to figure out which companies are following Home Depot's example and keeping a lid on unproductive store growth is by watching a company's return on invested capital (ROIC), a metric Gutman figures has a 90 percent correlation with stock performance at the retailers he follows. The idea is that the better a retailer deploys its capital, the higher its stock price tends to go.

One notable company whose

about two per cent each year, on average, but accompanying sales increases are not keeping up, according to new research from Morgan Stanley analyst Simeon Gutman

ROIC is moving in the wrong direction is Walmart: While the world's biggest retailer has started to decrease its US square footage growth after a building boom, it continues to build hundreds of stores a year. Walmart's ROIC decreased to 12.5 per cent in 2015 from 14.3 per cent in 2013, according to Bloomberg data. Compare that to the 27 per cent ROIC Home Depot booked last year. Gutman predicts Walmart will add 10 million square feet this year, nearly as much as the other 23 retailers he covers combined. All on the heels of Walmart's first annual sales decline since it went public 45 years ago. Estimated store space Walmart will add in 2016 10 million square feet.

Declining ROIC is also worrisome for Dick's Sporting Goods, according to Gutman. He downgraded the company on Thursday to "underweight" from "equal weight," noting Dick's seven per cent increase in square footage from 2013 to 2015 and 1.5 per cent decline in sales per square foot (when excluding e-commerce sales) during that time. With Sport's Authority's bankruptcy and impending store closures, Dick's is eager to pick up some of its competitor's locations. That could help boost short-term sales, but comes with diminishing returns, as mounting competition squeezes specialty athletic gear retailers.

A better plan for Dick's and other struggling retailers might be to focus on how to make their existing stores better. — SHELLY BANJO

B

SECTION

LIFESTYLE

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2016

Family WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

Step Up Your Summer Beauty Regimen Maintaining a Healthy (Natural) Glow While tanning beds offer a quick-fix to achieving a golden glow, they also cause exposure to damaging UV radiation which can cause premature ageing as well as increase the risk of skin cancer. If you’d like a sun-kissed glow without the risk, consider using a sunless tanning product. Whether in the form of a lotion, spray or done as a professional service at a salon, sunless tanning offers a safe alternative to both tanning beds and sunbathing.

Ingrown Hairs Swimsuit season often means shaving more frequently, which can result in painful and unsightly ingrown hairs. These hairs grow out of the skin slightly and then curl back underneath the skin. To avoid ingrown hair, use a lubricating shave gel followed by a sharp, single-blade razor. Shave in the direction of hair growth and avoid pulling the skin taut.

Sunburn It’s easy to get lost in the fun of the summer sun.

Avoid sunburn by dressing in light layers and

using a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15. Remember, sunscreen generally stays at original strength for three years. If you do get sunburn, take a cool bath or apply a clean towel dampened with cool tap water. Then apply moisturiser, aloe vera lotion or gel or a lowdose hydrocortisone cream.

Bloat Ice cream, hot dogs, and fried goodies can leave you feeling bloated and sluggish. Fight bloat by eating fresh foods grown locally, such as carrots, tomatoes, melons and berries. Want a healthier cool treat? Try freezing grapes for a no-guilt sweet dessert.

Cracked Nails Pool chemicals, hot sun, gardening and building sand castles can all cause cracked nails. To protect nails, keep fingernails dry, clean and rub moisturiser into the nail beds and cuticles. Consider applying a nail hardener to add a protective layer against summer elements. If brittle nails persist, ask your doctor about biotin, a nutritional supplement that may help strengthen weak fingernails.

Healthy, Hydrated Skin Staying hydrated is a summer must, but skin hydration isn’t as simple as drinking water. Dehydrated skin feels rough and loses elasticity.

To maintain proper hydration, avoid prolonged exposure to dry air or chlorinated water. When bathing, use a gentle cleanser instead of soap and avoid using skin care products that contain alcohol. Moisturise immediately after cleansing. Also try incorporating antioxidant-rich foods into your diet such as spinach, blueberries or salmon.

Acne Sunshine and heat can cause the body to sweat.

This combo clogs pores and can lead to acne.

Some chemical treatments can leave the skin more sun-sensitive, so natural treatments such as tea tree oil, azelaic acid and even green tea extract are a smart choice in reducing inflammation. Another potential cause for acne can be outdated cosmetics. Make sure the products you use are kept clean to avoid bacterial buildup and avoid using them past their expiration date — six months is a good rule of thumb.

While magazines make summer beauty look simple, in reality it’s anything but. From bloat to breakouts, summer is wrought with beauty challenges.

Here are eight of the most common beauty and health concerns of summer.

Beautiful Legs Summer is the time most people prefer to wear shorts. This can be uncomfortable for some when faced with common leg woes such as spider veins and varicose veins. Several options are available to combat these issues which range from sclerotherapy and laser surgery, to more advanced techniques such as vein-stripping. To learn more, visit mayoclinic.org to find out what treatment is best for you. — BPT

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2016

B6

PRAYER TIMINGS

FIND-IT-ALL CINEMA SCHEDULE

SUR Captain America : Civil War (3D) (Action ) 8:45 PM ( PG12 ) The Angry Birds Movie - (3D) ( Animation) 3:30, 7:30 PM ( U ) Term Life (Crime | Drama ) ( 15+ ) Cast : Hailee Steinfeld, Jon favreau 5:15, 11:30 PM The Trust (Crime | Thriller ) ( 15+ ) Cast : Nicolas Cage, Elijah Wood, Sky Ferreira 3:45, 7:00, 11:45 PM Azhar ( Hindi | Sports | Drama ) (TBC) Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Nargis Fakhri 9:15 PM Jungle Book 3D ( Adventure ) ( PG ) 5:30 PM

@ RUWI

@SHATTI

CITY CINEMA Contact (10 am to 6PM) 24567664 | 68 www.citycinemaoman.net facebook.com/citycinemaoman SHATTI The Angry Birds Movie - (3D) (Comedy) (U) Voice Overs: Peter Dinklage, Tituss Burgess 3:45 & 7:45PM The Angry Birds Movie - (3D) (Animation | Action |Comedy) (U) ARABIC 5:45PM The Trust - (2D) (Crime |Thriller ) (15+) Cast: Nicolas Cage, Elijah Wood, Sky Ferreira 3:45, 9:45 & 11:45PM Term Life - (2D) (Crime | Drama) (15+) Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Jon Favreau 9:45 & 11:30PM All Roads Leads to Rome - (2D) (PG) Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Rosie Day 6:00PM Hepta: The Last Lecture - (2D) (Arabic| Drama | Romance) (PG12) Cast: Nelly Karim, Yasmin Raeis 7:45PM Captain America: Civil War – (PG) (3D) Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. 8:30 & 11:30PM The Jungle Book - (3D) Family) (PG) 6:30PM MUSCAT GRAND MALL The Angry Birds Movie – 3D (U) Animation 12:00, 3:00, 6:45 PM Gold Class : 6:30 PM Captain America: Civil War– 3D (PG12) Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. 2:00, 7:00, 8:45, 11:30 PM Gold Class : 3:30, 8:30, 11:15 PM Jungle Book – 3D (PG) Family Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley 1:00, 5:00 PM The Trust – 2D (15+) Crime | Thriller Cast: Nicolas Cage, Elijah Wood, Sky Ferreira 4:45, 11:45 PM Term Life – 2D (15+) Crime | Drama Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Jon Favreau 9:45 PM

The Angry Birds Movie – 3D (U) Animation Voice Overs: Peter Dinklage, Tituss Burgess 12:00, 3:00, 6:45 PM Gold Class : 6:30 PM

The Trust - (2D) (Crime |Thriller ) (15+) Cast: Nicolas Cage, Elijah Wood, Sky Ferreira 3:45, 9:45 & 11:45PM

Azhar (2D) (Drama / Sport) –TBC Cast : Emraan Hashmi, Prachi Desai 3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PM

PANORAMA MALL The Angry Birds Movie - (3D) (Comedy) (U) 3:15, 5:15, 7:15 & 9:15PM The Angry Birds Movie - (3D) (Animation | Action |Comedy) (U) VIP LOUNGE 6:45PM The Trust - (2D) (Crime |Thriller ) (15+) Cast: Nicolas Cage, Elijah Wood, Sky Ferreira 3:30, 9:45 & 11:30PM The Trust - (2D) (Crime |Thriller ) (15+) VIP LOUNGE Cast: Nicolas Cage, Elijah Wood, Sky Ferreira 3:45 & 11:30PM Term Life - (2D) (Crime | Drama) (15+) Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Jon Favreau 6:00 & 11:15PM The Perfect Match - (2D) (Comedy) (12+) Cast: Terrence Jenkins, Cassie Ventura 5:15PM Captain America: Civil War – (PG) (Action | Adventure| Sci-Fi) (3D) VIP LOUNGE Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. 8:45PM Captain America: Civil War – (PG) (Action) (4D) MX4D 3:00, 5:45, 8:30 & 11:15PM Captain America: Civil War – (PG) (Action) Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr.

3:15, 9:00 & 11:45PM The Man Who Knew Infinity - (2D) (PG) Cast: Dev Patel, Jeremy Irons 7:15PM The Jungle Book - (3D) Drama| Family) (PG) Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley 7:45PM

Baaghi (Hindi) (2D) (Sports) (TBC) Cast: Tiger Shroff, Shraddha Kapoor 3:00, 10:30 PM Azhar (Hindi) (2D) (Action) (PG) Cast: Nargis Fakhri, Emraan Hashmi 3:30, 6:15, 8:45, 11:15 PM RUWI Screen 1 Azhar (2D) (Drama / Sport) –TBC Cast : Emraan Hashmi, Prachi Desai 3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PM

AZAIBA The Trust (2D) (Crime |Thriller) (15+) CP# Cast: Nicolas Cage, Elijah Wood, Sky Ferreira 5:15, 11:45 PM Captain America: Civil War (3D) (Action ) Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr 3:15, 11:30 PM (PG) The Angry Bird Movie (3D) (Animation ) (U) 3:15, 7:00 PM Chakravyuh (Kannad) (2D) (Action) (PG) Cast: Puneeth Rajkumar, Rachita Ram 6:00 PM 24 (Tamil (2D) (Action) (PG12) Cast: Suriya Sivakumar , Nithya Menen 7:30 PM The Jungle Book (3D) (Family) (PG) 5:30 PM Jacobinte Swargarajyam (Mal) (2D) (Drama) (PG) Cast: Nivin Pauly, Renji Panicker 8:50 PM

Screen 2 Baaghi (2D) (Action) –PG Cast : Tiger Shroff, Shraddha Kapoor, Sudheer Babu, Paras Arora 3.45, 6.45, 9.45 PM Screen 3 Captain America: Civil War(2D) – PG12 Cast : Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr 3.45, 10.30 PM The Jungle Book(2D) (Drama/ Family) –PG Cast : Scarlett Johansson, Idris Elba, Bill Murray 6.30, 8.30 PM

SOHAR Jungle Book – 3D (Drama, Family) (PG) Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley 6:45PM Baaghi– 2D (Action) (PG) Cast: Shraddha Kapoor, Tiger Shroff 3:45PM Captain America: Civil War (Action)PG Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. 3:30, 8:45, 11:30PM 24 (Tamil) Action (PG12) Cast: Suriya Sivakumar, Nithya Menon 8:15PM Jacobinte Swargarajyam (Malyalam) PG Cast: Nivin Pauly, Renji Panicker 9:00 PM The Trust (Crime | Thriller) 15+ Cast: Nicolas Cage, Elijah Wood, Sky Ferreir 3:30, 9:30, 11:45PM Hepta: The Last Lecture (Arabic) PG12 Cast: Nelly Karim, Yasmin Raeis, Ahmed 7:00PM Azhar (Hindi| Sports | Drama) PG Cast: Nargis Fakhri, Emraan Hashmi 11:15PM All Roads Leads to Rome (Comedy) PG Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Rosie Day 5:15PM Term Life (15+) (Action) 15+ Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Vince Vaughn 6:15, 11:30PM BURAIMI Captain America: Civil War PG(3D) (Action) Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr

3:45, 8:45 & 11:30 PM Jungle Book PG (3D) (Adventure) 6:45 PM The Angry Birds Movie U (3D) (Animation) 3:30, 5:30 & 7:30 PM Term Life 15+ (Crime | Drama) Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn 5:45 & 9:30 PM Azhar PG (Hindi)( Sports | Drama) Cast : Nargis Fakhri, Emraan Hashmi 7:30 & 11:15 PM The Trust 15+ (Crime | Thriller) Cast: Nicolas Cage, Elijah Wood, Sky Ferreira 3:45, 10:00 & 11:45 PM

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08:40 11:00

Daily Daily

Daily Daily

15:40 15:40

Nizwa Ruwi

17:55 20:20

Daily Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55) 12:00 18:45

Daily Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (ROUTE 62) 06:30 06:30

Fahud Yibal

Salalah Marmul Salalah Salalah

20:00 20:30 23:30 07:40

Daily Daily

Marmul

Dubai

16:50

Daily

Sohar Dubai Sohar Dubai Sohar Dubai

Daily Daily

12:30 12:30

Fahud Ruwi

13:15 17:30

Daily Daily

07:00 10:00 10:00 19:00

Ruwi Marmul Ruwi Ruwi

19:50 13:15 22:30 07:30

06:00

Marmul

16:30

Daily

Daily

08:30 11:30 15:30 18:30 17:35 20:55

Daily Daily Wed,Thur Wed,Thur Daily Daily

15:00

Salalah

07:00

Daily

10:50 13:40 16:15 19:10 18:45 21:35

Daily Daily Thur-Fri Thur-Fri Daily Daily

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201) 07:30 07:30 13:00 13:00 15:30 15:30

Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH/SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

07:00 07:00 07:00

16:00 16.00 16.00

Fujairah Sharjah Dubai

11.45 13.30 14.00

Programmes are subject to change

D.N.BHUVANSEH SAMVEL May 14, 2011

RELATIVE HUMIDITY

55-25% Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 17 years) whose birthday you are celebrating, along with his/ her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and parents’/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi or through e-mail to extra@timesofoman.com

LISTINGS

Daily Daily Daily

Sharjah Fujairah Ruwi

16:30 18.15 23.00

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

Daily Daily Daily Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (ROUTE 102)

07:00

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201) 06:00 06:00 13:00 13:00 15:00 15:00

10:45 19:00

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)

SALALAH TO DUBAI (ROUTE 102) 15:00

Ruwi Ruwi

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (ROUTE 100) Daily Daily Daily Daily

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101) 06:00

06:00 14:30

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (ROUTE 62)

10:30 11:15

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (ROUTE 100) 07:00 10:00 10:00 19:00

Next Change : King Liar (Mal)

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

10:20 12:30

TO SUR (ROUTE 55) Sur Sur

Jacobinte Swargarajyam ( Mal) (Comedy) Cast : Nivin Pauly Renji Panicker & Lakshmi Ramakrishna 3-00, 6-30 & 10-00 pm Cinema Main 24 ( Tamil) (Action \ Thriller Cast: Suriya , Samantha & Nithhya Menon 3-30, 6-30 & 9-30 pm Cinema-2 Azhar ( Hindi) (Sports|Drama) Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Prachi Desai & Lara Dutta 3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 pm Cinema -3 Kali ( Mal)Comedy\ Drama) Cast : Dulquar Salmaan & Sai Pallavi 3-45 & 9-45 pm Cinema -4 Manithan (Tamil) ( Comedy) Cast : Udhayanidhi Stalin & Hansika Motwani 6-45pm Cinema-4

0

ROYAL OMAN POLICE 07:30 14:30

Film information 24791641 / 24786776 Website: www.isurf.co.om

Minimum

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54) 08:00 08:00

08:55 Daily 11:40 Daily 20:20 Daily via Ibri 14:55 Daily 17:40 Daily 19:20 Daily 22:15 Daily

STAR CINEMA

0

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54) 14:30 14:30

Sohar Ruwi Ruwi Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi

Daily Daily Daily

The Trust - (2D) (Crime |Thriller ) (15+) Cast: Nicolas Cage, Elijah Wood, Sky Ferreira 4.00, 8.00, 10.00 & 11.55 p.m.

CP No: 1119 Term Life 15+ (Crime | Drama) Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn 2.00, 6.00, 10.00 & 11.55 p.m.

CP No: 1120 The Perfect Match (2D) (12+) (Comedy) Cast: Terrence Jenkins, Cassie Ventura, Paula Patton 4.00 & 8.00 p.m.

CP No : 1121 All Roads Leads to Rome (Comedy) (PG) Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Rosie Day 2.00 & 6.00 p.m.

CP No: 1122

WEATHER

15:00 15:00 15:00

16:30 18:00 19:30

Film information 24540856 / Advance Booking 24540855 Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

WITH LOVE

QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (ROUTE 36) Quriyat Sur Jaalan

BAHJA CINEMA

SALALAH Captain America: Civil War (3D) (PG) Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. 1:00, 3:45, 8:30, 11:30PM Jungle Book (3D) (PG) (Adventure | Drama) Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley 2:45PM The Angry Birds Movie (3D) (U) (English) Voice Overs: Peter Dinklage, Tituss Burgess 12:45, 6:45PM The Angry Birds Movie (3D) (U) (Arabic) 4:45PM The Trust (2D) (15+) (Crime | Thriller) Cast: Nicolas Cage, Elijah Wood, Sky Ferreira 2:00, 6:45, 11:45PM Term Life (2D) (15+) (Crime | Drama) Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Jon Favreau, Jonathan Banks 3:45, 9:30PM The Perfect Match (2D) (12+) (Comedy | Romance) Cast: Terrence Jenkins, Cassie Ventura, Paula Patton 5:45PM Hepta: The Last Lecture (2D) (PG12) (Arabic) (Drama | Romance) Cast: Nelly Karim, Yasmin Raeis, Ahmed Malek 7:30PM Azhar (2D) (PG12) (Hindi) (Sports | Drama) Cast: Nargis Fakhri, Emraan Hashmi, Prachi Desai 11:15PM Jacobinte Swargarajyam (2D) (PG) (Malayalam) (Drama) Cast: Nivin Pauly, Renji Panicker 8:45PM

LONG DISTANCE BUS TIMINGS (OMAN NATIONAL TRANSPORT COMPANY SAOC) *SUBJECT TO CHANGE

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI) Destination

12.08pm 3.31pm 6.46pm 8.04pm 4.02am

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

@ MGM

Dept time

Dhuhr Asr Maghrib Isha Fajr (Tomorrow)

Daily Daily Daily

Afghanistan Algeria Bahrain Bangladesh Brazil Brunei China Cyprus Egypt France Germany India Indonesia Iran Iraq Italy Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya South Korea Kuwait

24698 791/4 24605 593 24 605 074/133 24 698 660 24640100 24 603533 24 696782 24 699815 24 600 982/411 24681 800 24835000 24684500 2469 1050 24 696 944/7 24603642 24693727 24 601 028 24692760/1/3 24 692418 24 697664 24 691490 24 699628

Lebanon Libya Malaysia Morocco Nepal Netherlands Pakistan Palestine Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Senegal Somalia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Switzerland Syria Tanzania Thailand Tunisia Turkey UAE United Kingdom United States Yemen

24 693208 24603466 24698329/643 24696152/3 24696177 24603706 24603439 24601312 24605335 24 691 153/2/4 24602894 24601705 24694139 24697977 24647300 24691101 24697841/2 24697875 24603267 24697904 24601 174 24 602684/5 24603486 24697050/1/2 24400000 24609000 24643400 24600815

PHARMACIES (ROUND THE CLOCK) Al Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi 24783334 Apollo Medical Centre,

Hamriya Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi Salalah Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra Muscat Region Apollo, Al Hamriya Muscat, A Seeb Market Muscat, Al Khuwair Muscat, Al Hail South Dhofar Region Muscat, Al Nahdha Road, Salalah

24782666 24702542 23291635; 24503585 24787766 24421691 24485740 24537080

23291635

HOSPITALS Al Amal Medical & Health Care Centre 24485052 Atlas Hospital Ruwi 24811743/ Ghubra 24504000 Al Musafir Specialised Medical Clinic 24706453 Hatat Polyclinic LLC, Ruwi 24563641 Azaiba 24499269 Sohar 2683006 Al Raffah Hospital 24618900/1/2 Al Massaraat Clinic & Laboratory 24566435 Al Makook Medical Coordinance Centre 24499434 Apollo Medical Centre, Hamriya 24787766, 24787780

Capital Polyclinic 24707549 Badr Al Samaa Polyclinic, Ruwi 24799760/1/2 Capital Clinic, Seeb 24420740 Ceregem National Raak 24485633 Dr Harub’s Clinic 24563217 Elixir Health Centre 24565802 Emirates Medical Centre 24604540 1st Chiropractic Centre 24472274 Lifeline Hospital Salalah 23212340 International Medical Centre LLC 24794501/2/3/4/5 Kims Oman Hospital 24760100 24 Hrs Emergency 24760123 Lama Polyclinic, Sohar 26751128 MBD 24799077 Al Khuwair 24478818 Magrabi Eye and Ear Hospital 24568870 Muscat Private Hospital 24583600 Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, Al Khuwair 24477666 Al Hayat International Hospital, Al Ghubra 22004000, 94267068/97049520 Al Hayat Clinic, Al Hail 22009455

AIRLINE OFFICES Muscat Airport Flight information (24 hours) 24519456/24519223 Aeroflot 24704455 Air Arabia 24700828 Air France 24562153 Air India 24799801

Air New Zealand 24700732 Biman Bangladesh Airlines 24701128 British Airways 24568777 Cathay Pacific 24789818 Egypt Air 24794113 Emirates Air 24404400 Ethiopian Airlines 24660313 Gulf Air 80072424 Indian 24791914 Iran Air 24787423 Japan Airlines 24704455 Jazeera Airways 23294848 Jet Airways 24787248 Kenya Airways 24660300 KML Royal Dutch Airlines 24566737 Kuwait Airways 24701262 LOT Polish Airlines 24796387 Lufthansa 24796692 Malaysian Airlines 24560796 Middle East Airlines 24796680 Oman Air 24531111 Pakistan International Airlines 24792471 Qatar Airways 24771900 Qantas 24559941 Royal Jordanian 24796693 Saudi Arabian Airlines 24789485 Singapore Airlines 24791233 Shaheen Air 24816565 SriLankan Airlines 24784545 Swiss International Airlines 24796692 Thai Airways 24705934

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2016

B7

LIFESTYLE

(Exploring History, Science, and Nature)

FACT FILE nions may bring a tear to your eye, but the humble onion has been food for deities and slaves alike. Valued for its flavour and medicinal qualities, this staple of the kitchen has a long and interesting history.

The word “onion” is from the Latin word “unio,” which means “single” or “one.” This is due to the fact the onion plant produces a single bulb, unlike garlic, which produces many small bulbs. Onions belong to the Allium genus and are closely related to garlic, leeks, chives, scallions and shallots. Onions and other Allium vegetables contain sulphuric compounds that give them a strong odour that sometimes irritates the eyes, causing tears.

One of the oldest foods known to people, onions probably originated in Asia, possibly in Pakistan. It is likely that people were eating wild onions in prehistoric times.

Onions were first cultivated about 5,000 years ago. Growing or gathering onions was easy to do, and the bulbs could be dried and eaten later. The four most common methods to cook onions are sautéed, caramelised, grilled and roasted.

There are many varieties of onion: red, yellow, white and green. Some taste very strong, while others are mildly sweet.

Growing Onions The early pilgrims brought and planted onions when they arrived in North America, but Native Americans had been using wild onions long before that. Today, US farmers plant about 125,000 acres of onions each year and produce

about 6.2 billion pounds annually.

More than 160 countries grow onions, and many grow enough for export. It is estimated that more than 9.2 million acres of onions are harvested globally every year. Leading onionproducing countries are China, India, the United States, Turkey, and Pakistan.

Medicinal Uses Onions have been valued for their medicinal qualities for thousands of years. They have been used to treat colds, breathing problems, and bacterial infections. Today, research shows that onions can have a positive effect on health, lowering cholesterol, and reducing some cancer risks.

Interesting Facts Onions can be eaten raw, cooked, fried, dried or roasted.

Red onions are sometimes called Spanish onions or salad onions.

The average American eats about 20 pounds (7.4 kg) of onions yearly.

Eating parsley or other herbs with high amounts of chlorophyll can help get rid of onion breath.

According to legend, the thickness of an onion skin can help predict winter weather. Thin skins mean a mild winter, while thick skins predict a harsh one.

To help avoid tears when cutting onions, chill them first and cut into the root end of the onion last. —lifestyle@ timesofoman.com

Likes and dislike

Questions & Answers

1

2

“Keyboard.”

“Box.”

3

4 “TV remote.”

One thing that puts me off...

My annoying sister

When I’m in doubt...

I ask my dad

The first thing i notice in a person...

His dressing The scariest thing that I have done...

Went out alone at 3:30 (at night)

One skill I would like to learn...

Swimming

!!

NO

If I win a lottery...

I would give half of to the poor and the other to my parents

“V l ” “Vacuum cleaner.”

One movie/book I can watch/ read over and over again...

The Ugly Truth (Wimpy Kid)

Winie Ariany

Crossword Puzzle ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE

It’s better not to argue with...

My parents

If I met an alien I would...

Learn their language

If I have to describe myself as a flavour it would be...

Lemon

If I could go back in history, I would like to meet The Lord

ZAFEER BIN MUNAWAR One person I would trade places with (real or fictional) Nobita

Questions for quirky questions 1. It’s better not to argue with…

2. When I’m in doubt…

3. I go crazy when…

4. One thing that puts me off…

5. If I meet an alien…

6. If I win a lottery…

The best way to my heart is...

To talk to me politely

7. One person I would trade places with…

8. If I had treasures I would hide them in…

9. One movie/ book / I can watch /read over and over again…

10. One skill I would learn…

If I had treasures I would hide them...

Under my bed

11. The best way to my heart is…

12. If I have to describe myself as a flavour it would be …

13. The scariest thing that I have done…

14. If I would go back to history I would like to meet …

Send your contributions to lifestyle@timesofoman.com. A good quality photo is compulsory. Lifestyle reserves the right to publish the contributions.

DOWN

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Roswell crasher Basinger or Novak Yale athlete Colonise You, in Acapulco Melancholy poem ER staffers Rain slicker Wine valley Had debts Docs prescribe them 16 Ariz. location

18 20 22 23 24 26 27 29 31 32 33 39 41 43

Need an aspirin Deep blue Without a mixer Love, in Baja Yucky Least Nanny’s vehicle Millay or Ferber Earth’s centre Attire for Cato Snakes do it Borodin prince Realm Punch server

45 Curly cabbage 46 Frothy brews 47 Dramatic intro (hyph.)

49 Small amt.

51 Atlas abbr.

52 — de cologne 54 Hawaii’s Mauna — 55 Drag race participant 56 Many mins.

59 Pitcher — Young

ACROSS 1 Luau strings 5 Time in office 9 — de plume 12 Grind down 13 Forearm bone 14 Floor 15 Does not include 17 Broke loose 19 Stick 21 Louts 22 Hammer target 25 River or mountain spirit 28 Moderated 30 Puts up 34 Swell (hyph.)

35 Prince Harry’s mom 36 Egyptian sun deity 37 Gasp of delight 38 Irksome 40 Become known 42 Liverpool lockups 44 Anthropologist Margaret — 45 Green Hornet’s valet 48 Perched on 50 Frightened 53 Nada 57 Went first 58 Greenish mineral 60 Jungle warning 61 Vega rocket org.

62 Chop — 63 Headphones, slangily

B8

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2016

LIFESTYLE

Children up to the age of 16 who would like to have their art considered for inclusion in “Art for the Ages” can e-mail their drawings or paintings (in jpeg or tiff format) to lifestyle@timesofoman.com

Art for the Ages

Children’s Poetry

The Rhythm of Life Abhijit Prasad Nair Grade VIII Indian School Al Wadi Kabir

Abhinand Sudheer, Grade 5, IS Sohar

Praise Chopde, Grade 4, ISG

Adithya Sainath, Grade 8, ISM

As to the beats of heart we play, We err the beats we may.

But to jingling back to rhythm is life, To the sharp criticisms like knife.

As we play seldom we may sigh, But in life there are bounds of shy.

As the beats may break our heart, But in life you must heap them apart.

To the grief of life we find a tune, A critical tune, a majestic queen.

Through the taal of music, there is a shimmer of light, For which to get in life, we must fight.

Do what you think is right, As you are the composer of your life, whatever you might.

See yourself in great height, As you fly your life kite.

Dhruv V. Maheta, Grade 4, ISM

Malavika P. Vinod, Grade 5, ISWK

Sudoku How to play Fill empty cells with the numbers 1 to 9, so that each number appears once in each row, column and area.

SOLUTION Answer to previous puzzle

Send your contributions for Children’s Poetry to lifestyle@timesofoman.com

Teleword All the words below appear in the puzzle - horizontally, vertically, diagonally, even backward. Find them and circle their letters.

The leftover word spells the Teleword.

R O S E S L E E H H G I H A N

E N Y K G N G S E I P M MM A A G C A U Z L I A N T E E S U

N E I C L A P Y T E H C R A O

I R T L B B P R E P P U H S I

CLUE: THE ICONIC JUNE CLEAVER

DM O C T O D O E H E E M T E A S S MH Y D U O T L D R R V MU A A L OM E L W N B E A L E C L A R T L I R B Y C E D I OM E MA T Y L I S T I R T U

I T K H E O L L E R A R K H N

S R A R O R I T W I N B E D S

U I C H A V T E L B A T R O P

I K C E E U G N I N E D R A G

T S P S Y E L S G N I L L I B

SOLUTION: 8 LETTERS

Archetypal, Barbara, Beaver, Billingsley, Blue, Bride, Cake, Class, Dinner, Era, Gardening, High Heels, Homemaker, Immaculate, Ladylike, Lectures, Lives, Magazines, Martha, Meetings, Monet, Moral, Mother, Nutritious, Pearl, Peggy, Portable TV, Prep, Roses, School, Sitcom, Skirt, Social, Stylish, Suit, Theodore, Twin Beds, Upper, Wally, Ward.

Answer: Suburban

C

W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M S AT U R DAY, M AY 1 4 , 2 0 1 6

SECTION

CONNEC T H E D A I LY G U I D E

RENT

C2

VACANCY

C4

CARGO

C7

INVESTOR PARTNER REQUIRED For a successfully Catering Restaurant Investor cum Partner is required.

Investor with fixed returns also welcome.

Please contact â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 95213273

Email: muscatcoffeeshop@gmail.com

C2

S AT U R D AY, M AY 1 4 , 2 0 1 6 Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

DAILY GUIDE FOR RENT

*Tourist visa arranged

FURNISHED OFFICES FOR RENT

COLD STORE ROOMS

Available at a prime location on Azaiba Service Road (Previously Occupied by A’Saffa Foods) near Al Turky and Mazda showroom.

Available at a prime location on azaiba service road (previously occupied by A’Saffa Foods) near Al Turky and Mazda showroom

Contact: 95215289, 99229263, 93221054

Contact: 95215289, 99229263, 93221054

FOR RENT

We have 2BHK flats for rent in Azaiba near Sultan Center new building 350/- OMR. Contact: 93782735 / 99208033

Two modern fully furnished & equipped offices available for rent at Jasmine Complex Al Khuwair:

FLAT FOR RENT Location: Acacia - AL MOUJ. Area: 100 m2; Consisting of One Master BR, Study Room, Sitting , Balcony & Fully furnished Kitchen.

Facilities: Swimming Pool & Car Parking.

Monthly Rent & Payment Method: Negotiable upon viewing the property.

1) 152 M2 with reception, 1 GM Office, 2 meeting rooms, 26 working stations, pantry, network connection.

2) 132 M2 with reception, 7 offices, 6 working stations, 1 conference room, network connection.

Contact - 99469698

FOR RENT

Commercial Space Commercial Space For Rent in Al Khuwair. Ideal for Coffee Shop / Restaurant / Office Space / Showroom 27sqm / 68sqm / 128sqm

Contact: 96775026

Call: 99 10 88 47 93 40 35 56

We have 1BHK, 2 BHK flats for rent in Ghala near Al Nahda towers. Contact: 93782735 / 99208033 We have 2BHK flats in Ghubra.

Contact : 93782735 / 99208033 We have 1BHK, 2 BHK flats for rent in Mabela 7 new building.

Contact: 93782735 / 99208033 3 Rooms, 2 Toilets Flat for Rent.

18 November Street. Near Mars Hypermarket and The Chedi.

Ghobrah -Good for Commercial or Residential use. OMR 295/- month.

Call 94477222 Deluxe 1 & 2 bedroom flats, ideal for office / residence at Qurum near PDO. Contact: 97721313 / 95070421 1BHK near Medical Darsait R.O 170/Contact: 95076261 2 BR flats, 2 toilets, 1 kitchen & 1 sitting hall in Darsait, near ISM School. Contact 99335689

Shops for rent in Ibra Main road opposite technical college. Contact: +968 93894290 / 99419496

1 BHK and 2BHK Flats available near Lulu Darsait (Main road, Opp. to Min. of Defense). Contact : 93202733 Flat for rent : flat available at Hamriya & Wadi Kabir. Contact: 97380548 / 99680499 2/3 B/R flat in Al Khuwair.

Contact: 99776071 / 99057348 Flat for rent 2 bedrooms in Ruwi Mumtaz area. Contact: 91409667 / 24291500 Flat in Al Bustan in Muscat, 3 rooms, 3 bathrooms, family hall, kitchen, store, laundry with spilt unit air condition 350/- O.R. Contact : 98919037

1+2 BHK Ruwi, C.B.D & Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 99024730

Flat in Al Bustan in Muscat, 4 rooms, 3 bathrooms, family hall, kitchen with spilt unit air conditioner 400/- O.R. Contact: 96228232 / 92776303

2+3 BHK Al Khuwair.

Contact: 99024730

Flats for rent, rooms in Al Khuwair. Contact: 93830111

Flats for rent in Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 99376454

2/3 BHK in Al Khuwair for rent.

Contact: 91155779

1000 sq mtrs industrial land for rent in Ghala suitable for warehouse workshop etc.

Contact 24700120 / 92584715

Flat for rent Al Hail North to the Wave Muscat ground floor with furniture the price RO 250/-.

Contact: 99353433

2 BHK flat in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181

Ware house in Ghala for rent (400/ 800/ 1200/ 3300 SQM).

Contact: 91155779 Hotel for investment.

Contact: 91155779 Office space for rent. Saravana Bhavan Building.

Contact 91120552.

2BHK available Mumtaz area Ruwi, Ghubra near Al Maha Hotel.

Contact: 99269751 New villa for rent Al Hail North next to Ramez 2 minutes to main road, 1 open sitting room, 3 family hall, 1 dining room, kitchen with store laundry, 4 bed rooms & 1 small room. Contact: 93387732 Flats, shops & store for rent in MBD area Ruwi, Mumtaz area.

Contact: 97293708 / 92433127 Fully Furnished apartments in Boucher (35). Contact 94051789 / 97201688

1 BHK flat in Ruwi MBD for 220/available. Contact: 96491825 3 BHK fully furnish Villa in Qurum heights. Contact 99792181 1BHK & Single Room Spacious Flat Near Jibro Round About On Main Road Tel:24815012 Mob:99373290 1BHK near Oman house behind Khimji HO. Contact: 95865686 2 bedrooms flat with hall, 2 bathrooms in Darsait near Muscat Municipality. Contact: 92584715/ 24700120 4 BHK Villa in Bowsher Heights.

Contact 99792181 2 BHK flat in Ghobra 18 November Street. Contact 99792181 Flat for rent 2 BHK 2 split A/C, 2 toilets, Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti Masjid. Contact – 97007934 / 92609232

150 + 180 + 200 Sqr mtrs office in Al Khuwair. Contact 99792181 2BHK spacious Flat Behind Bank Muscat Wadi Kabir Tel:24815012 Mob:99373290 Brand new villas in Al Ansab.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688 1BHK at Hamriya near Muscat Pharmacy & 2 BHK at Mawaleh near Mosque Sadiq Al Amin.

Contact: 99224748 / 99332297

Villa in Bousher consists of 5 rooms, 1 hall & living room.

Contact: 91153933 Villa in Al Khoud consists of 6 bedrooms, 1 sitting & living room.

Contact: 91153933 Villa in Al Ghubra consists of 5 bedrooms, 1 hall and living room.

Contact: 91153933 Room with 9 bathrooms in Bousher for rent. Contact: 91153933 Apartment in Al Khoudh consists of 2 room & hall.Contact: 91153933

Flats in Darsait. Contact 94051789 / 97201688

2 Bedroom centrally air conditioned flat in CBD prime location.

Contact: 24714625 / 94460790

Flats in Wadi Kabir. Contact 94051789 / 97201688

Flat for rent near Royal Hospital.

Contact: 99346793

Flats in Muttrah. Contact 94051789 / 97201688

01 Bedroom in Darsait, 1,2,3 Bedroom flats at Al Khuwair.

Contact: 24707340 / 95282986 / 99472457

Offices and Flats in Ghala.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688 2 BHK flat at Ruwi Mumtaz area RO 320/-. Contact: 99358589 / 97079146 / 95570288

2 bed rooms flat with hall, 2 bathrooms in Darsait near Muscat Municipality.

Contact: 92584715/ 24700120

S AT U R DAY, M AY 1 4 , 2 0 1 6

C3

DAILY GUIDE

FOR RENT New flat 3 bedrooms, 3 toilets and kitchen in South Al Mabella near New Indian School.

Contact : 99757672 Offices & Showrooms in Al Khood.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688 Flats In Qurum. Contact 94051789 / 97201688 2BHK split A/C 200/- Monthly & 1BHK spilt A/C 150/- monthly new building good location Barka Market. contact 99342661 2BHK Big Size Flat Behind Bank Muscat, Wadi Kabir. Near ISWK. 97826454, 24815012.

For rent and investment Land industrial shops in Rusayl.

Contact: 99323957 / 95490842 Two bedrooms flat in Al Ghobrah near Oman Oil of 18 November Street.

OMR 330 Monthly. Contact 99333479 or 95215360 or 97509955.

Flats in Ghobrah. Contact 94051789 / 97201688 Shops / flats available in Honda Road, Ruwi & Mabellah Industrial area. Contact 24833972/ 24833974/ 99367448 2BHK split A/C for rent Muttrah near Oman House.

Contact: 97007934 / 92629232 Flat for rent in Al Khuwair 33.

Contact: 92277419 1 BHK flat for rent R.O 180/Near Medical Darsait. # 24705742 2BHK split A/C for rent Muttrah near Oman House.

Contact: 97007934 / 92629232 1BHK Studio flat near Star Cinema RO 180/-. Contact: 99358589 / 97079146 / 95570288 3 Bedroom well maintained flat (villa TYPE only 2 flats in villa) in Al Khuwair, Behind Al Akhtam Restaurant Villa No 1841, Way No 3922 Block No 239. Contact: 99462980 Flat for rent in Ruwi, Mumtaz area 2 bedrooms. #24291500 / 91409667 Office for rent in Mabela.

Contact: 99355330 Flat for Rent 2 bed room Near ISM muscat Indian Scoole Dar sate Tel : 00 968 95158570 Flats, shops and store for rent in Ruwi, MBD & Mumtaz. Contact: 97293708 / 92433127 Flat for rent in South Mabela.

Contact: 95331177 / 95230355 Furnished office (61M2) for sale / rent Al Khuwair near Zawawi Mosque. Contact: 95611569 02 BHK residential flat opposite to Al Nahdha hospital.

Contact: 99342733 /99795241 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

REQUIRE 25 CBM/HR Batching plant on hire for 9 months.

Brand new double bed room flats with two and three toilets, split ac, elevators available at Al Khoudh next to Al koudh health center.

Contact 99022675 Warehouse at Wadikabir - total area 3500 sqm - covered warehouse (500sqm), office, accommodation (1000sqm), open area (2000sqm) please contact: 99273774 - 99202278

Contact:

95218665

Flat for rent 2 BHK 2 split A/C, 2 toilets, Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti Masjid. #97007934 / 92629232

ACC. AVAILABLE Room for rent with furniture.

Al Bustan village. #93687466

1 Bed room, sharing K& T, R.O 100, 2 bedrooms , sharing K& T R.O 200/- in AL Khuwair. #95154331

Room with attached bathroom for a family in Wadi Kabir.

Contact 97167857

Flat in Al Khuwair opp grand mall 4 room 3 toilet + hall kitchen in 3 floor 400. Contact 99420346

ACC. AVAILABLE Furnished sharing room for executive bachelor or small family near Mars Hypermarket Ghubrah.

Contact: 98851806

Flat for rent in South AlGhubrah 3 rooms, hall and 3 toilets, kitchen rent 450/-. Contact: 99335580

FOR HIRE Crane trailer, hiab. Contact: 99354909

FOR SALE Office with furniture in Darsait for sale, rent per month R.O 260/-.

Contact: 91391343 Building in Al Khuwair at prime location for sale.

Contact: 91155779 Commercial /R land in Al Khuwair for sale. Contact: 91155779 Ware house in W/K for Sale.

Contact: 91155779 Commercial /R land in Ghala (Industrial area) for sale.

Contact: 91155779 Villa in Al Qurum / Azaiba/ Mawaleh for sale.

Contact: 91155779 Sale of Hitachi 220 Excavator with breaker. Contact: 99207592 20 x40 containers.

Contact: 99354909 Coffee shop for sale in Al Khuwair 33. Contact: 92994415 10 Shops in ground floor of 8 floor building in Bausher near Muscat Private Hospital. Have income of about 2,700 monthly. OMR 268 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 or 97509955 6 Villas of six bedrooms each under construction in one compound in Bausher near Muscat Private hospital. Prices range from 165 thousand to 179 thousand for each villa. Each villa has three floors and 369 sq mtrs build up area.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 or 97509955 Working beauty parlour for sale at Al Ghubra. Contact: 98178135 400 sq mtrs Commercial/Residential land in Mabela Phase 5 Block 2. OMR 165 Thousand.

Contact 99333479 or 95215360 or 97509955

FOR SALE Shops for rent at Musanna.

3 shutter (280sq mtrs) and one shutter (40 sq mtrs) shops for rent at prime location at Musanna, main road side. Contact: +968 93797900, +968 96347070 Beach Flat in N. Cyprus, new, furnished, ocean view, 1 Bdrm + terrace http://abv-apt.weebly.com/ Contact 9208 9704 Laundry for sale Ruwi near Camelia. Contact: 92868123 / 92841089 Space for printing press available at wadikabir with or without machinery. Contact 99328430 A well running pharmacy for sale at prime location.

Contact 99627621, 93240949 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 Shop for sale near Oman House, Muttrah. Contact 99024362.

Single colorful Bed and Sofa for Sale at Al Khuwair. Contact 92881849 /What`s up No 97290565 Urgent sale of steel scrap only serious buyers kindly contact +968 96725423 for viewing the items.

Empty shop for sale in Ruwi near Camelia. Contact: 92841089 Car accessories, upholstery, oil & battery shop for sale in Seeb.

Contact: 92262284/96733523 Luxury Apartments in Boucher (35). Contact 95056808 / 97201688 Steel Scrap materials for immediate sale. Contact 99273774/ 99202278 Almost new beach/ garden lounge chairs /bar stools/ counter.

Photos can be sent 95865457

Sharing accommodation with attached bathroom available for family in villa in Mabela near Nesto hypermarket split A/C spacious rooms R.O 100/-.

Contact: 92689529 Well furnished sharing room for Executive bachelor at Rex Road.

Contact: 92873832 Single room for bachelor at Ruwi Opposite OC Center.

Contact: 99385287 1 BHK appartment for rent in Al Khoud Shabiya near mazoon mosque for rent (next to alkhoud medical center and squ) MOB: 93913224 Small old house for rent in Ghobra. Contact: 97165972 Room for rent near Hamriya roundabout for bachelor only.

Contact: 97443614 Single room sharing B/K at Mumtaz area. Contact: 95212017 Single room available near Darsait Lulu. Contact: 92120626 Room with attached bathroom for working ladies in a flat in M.B.D. Contact: 99764307 Furnish bedroom with attach bathroom for executive bachelor.

Contact: 97704794 Villa for rent in South Mabellah, 3 bedrooms, sitting room, family Lounge, kitchen, three Toilets Contact 92212212 between 10 AM to 5 PM. Sharing Accommodation available for working ladies opposite Al Nadhah Hospital. Preferably Indians. Room with seperate toilet and sharing kitchen.RO.90.

Contact 96524717 Furnished room attached bath for Indian bachelor, Al-Falaj Ruwi & lady Wadi Kabir near Mars hypermarket. CONTACT 96202458/96761960 Room available in Mumtaz area 1 room, 1 Bathroom, Kitchen & 1 room, common bathroom. Interested pleasecontact 92680041 Mr. Altaf

Furnished apartment for rent, two rooms, majlis, hall, kitchen.

Near Carrefour al-mawalah.

Contact 99336776 Sharing accommodation near ISD. Contact: 99657340 Room available for Executive bachelor at Al Hail.

Contact 96234708 Room with attached bathroom and sharing kitchen available for Executive bachelor or small family at wadikabir Contact 93049849

MV SALE Wanted Toyota Yaris 2010 or 2011, automatic white.

Contact: 99089441 Explorer 2010 with warranty, registered 2011 Expatriate driven, single owner no accidents excellent condition, R.O 6800/-.

Contact: 92689529 Expats selling Toyota Corolla Silver, 1.6 Automatic 2008 with new tyres and manual window excellent condition 2,09,000 km.

Contact: 99759162 Hyundai Elantra 1.8, 2001 fully A/T 270000 km, 600/-.

Contact: 92531535 Hyundai Accent 1.6, 2014 model, good condition. Contact : 95212017

BUYING Bobcat available for rent.

Contact 97623299 Buying cars for cash.

Contact: 90202090

AVAILABLE Op Manager- 9yrs exp Mech Engr Contact 94641927 Party & Wedding equipment rentals. Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirting, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery, Crockery, Glassware, Chafing Dishes, Ice Sculptures, to Large Sound Systems and spectacular lighting.

Call Andrea 9606 2222 for Catering and Croyden 9623 5555 for Sound & Light. ww.tunesoman. com, E-mail: info@tunesoman.com

NRI

INDIAN RAILWAYS Ticket Reservation Hotel & Bus Tickets

Star Travel 92820665 / 24711734 Lands sale in Trichur Kerala.

Contact 91637137 / 91 9746573948

GOOD NEWS Ayurvedic treatment for joint pain, backache, paralysis, massage, steambath, obesity, Spondylitis, Ideal Care Ayurvedic Clinic, 18 November Street, Azaiba.

Contact: 99639695 / 97397320 Ayurvedic treatment for backache, paralysis, arthritis etc & massage, All Season (Vaidyaratnam). Contact: 24475280 / 95371664 / 92504980 www.siddhayur.com 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

MATRIMONIAL Sunni Muslim family seeks proposal for their 24 year old daughter from well settled Urdu speaking Indian family. Pls call on 93521249 / 99374371 Invite alliance for Sunni Muslim Urdu girl B.E, M.B.A 25 years 5.1” fair, Tamil Nadu India.

Contact: 99502581 Parent of Thrissur based Hindu Ezhava girl aged 20, Slim,Atham star, Studying for B. Pharm seeking alliance from well employed Graduates, preferably in Engineering Contact :96425102 Indian male Roman Catholic 40yrs divorcee working in Muscat.

Seeks suitable alliance from widow/ divorcee/ single.

Contact 96059801.

Malankara Catholic Male Nurse (28) from Thiruvalla working in Nizwa Private Co. Alliance invites parents/nurses working in Oman.

Contact 968 98267338, 0091 9287215726

WANTED IELTS Coaching (academic) required nearby wadi Kabir area.

Please call on mobile or msg on Whats up. Mobile no: 92927880/ 99012165

LOST Lito Mulla has lost Bangladeshi passport No. AA 4493811. Finder please handover to ROP. Mohammed Abdul has lost Bangladeshi Passport No. AA 5794698.

Finder please handover to ROP

C4

S AT U R D AY, M AY 1 4 , 2 0 1 6 Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION SITUATION WANTED VACANT

CANADA - Free Consultancy For Legal Job For Hotel Staff, Construction Staff, Medical, Gas & Oil Staff Free recruitment - free tickets, accommodation, work visa, contract for 2 (two) years.

Contact Number: 93392630 Pls send CV on muslimatservices@gmail.com

REQUIRED Marketing manager/ Sales Executives Experience in Sales/Marketing of Building Materials(Sanitary wares & Kitchens). Not less than 5 yrs exp Sound customer Base Contact email-

rgeorge@omantd.com & atalibus@omantd.com

SITUATION WANTED

LOOKING FOR ELECTRICIAN Required urgently experienced Electricians with ITI Certificate.

Contact 99878180, narrowstreet@gmail.com

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE Indian male age 26, Accountant one year experience in accounts looking for suitable job. Contact Email: Anishkhan991867@gmail.Com Mobile: +968 9565 9415

Male Accountant M.Com (Accounts & finance) having 3 years experience in accounts looking for suitable job on visit visa. Contact: 94648575

Qualified and experienced MBA post graduate with proven work exposure in Middle East & India, having more than 5.5 years of rich experience in accounts , project coordination and administration in (3.5 years UAE experience) oil and gas projects is currently looking for suitable job.

Contact 93953613, Email-allen.mathew83@gmail.com

IND female 12 years exp in Banking, Insurance customer service Secretarial skills analysis communication, client handling, coordination, Team handling, qualification, M.COM looking for suitable position currently on visit visa. Contact: 95166496

Indian male good experience in Accounts, Admin and ERP Tally 9 looking for a suitable job. NOC available.

Contact: 94834687 Accountant / Marketing, BBA, Tally, Dip in logistics, can work on my current visa. Contact 98269281 Financial Controller 23 years Oman experience in financial management MOUs feasibility studies available.

Contact: 91302906

A Reputed Training Institute require a CELTA

qualified English trainer with 3 years of experience.

Send your CV and other details to prakash@profitoman.com

ACCOUNTS & FINANCE Required Candidate with Masters in Finance 3 Years experience in accounting. Person should be available in Oman for interview.

Preference will be given to the candidates having knowledge in Focus accounting software. Submit CV at jobws2000@gmail.com

URGENTLY REQUIRED Cook/Commis III (Experience in International & Asian Cuisine)

Accountant (Up to finalization)

Cleaner/ Gardener (Driving Lic. preferred)

BEAUTICIAN Require Employee for Saloon in Al Amerat, should have experience.

Contact: 90600688

DOMESTIC HELPER Urgently required Housemaid for small Indian doctor family in Al Khoud. Attractive Salary, Acc & Visa Provided. Cont No.9522 0350 Required Gardener for part time job at Al Rabiat Qurum.

Contact 95890531

ENGINEER/MECHANIC.

CCTV & BURGULAR ALARM – TECHNICIAN : Urgently looking for an Expatriate with minimum 5 years experience. Email your CV with recent Photograph to : joyr@alasalaintl.com

DRIVER

IT

Urgently required for a reputed Ready-mix Company, ‘Heavy Duty Drivers’ having valid Omani Licence, with local release. GCC licence holders also can apply, subject to local rules. Labour clearances are ready for immediate employment. Contact with passport details, copies of licence etc in person to Mr. Mohd Aqueel – 99338619, Mr Shamsuddin – 99274321

Required Shop Sales man + Hardware Technician for IT Company with minimum 2 years experience.

Contact: 98825806 / 98825806, Email: info@rns-group.com

Wanted driver. Contact: 97165972

DRAFTSMAN Urgently required: Civil Draftsman- with experience 5 years experience in building and with NOC for immediately join.

Interested candidates may call us to our office telephone: 00968-24696584/24696585 or fax: 00968-24605955 or email us to sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com, sbeoman@yahoo.com

ENGINEER/MECHANIC. A well established Ready-mix Concrete Company needs an experienced ‘Maintenance Engineer’ to look after its multifacility workshop and supervise / co-ordinate site wise operations.

Candidate must be a qualified Mechanical Engineer with relevant experience of handling a fleet of various brands and Concrete batching plants and Pumps. Forward your CV with relevant data to sndakshin@gmail.com / Contacts: 99256757

MEDICAL Required gynecologist GEN: practitioner lady lab Technician and pharmacologist immediately for a clinic in Suwaiq.

Contact: 95081010 Email: umchealthcare@gmail.com Urgently required Lab Tech, preferably Prometric cleared or with MOH license for a Medical Center in Ruwi. Contact 9522 0350, Email: bmdcsg@yahoo.com Urgent required Pharmacist with MOH LIC to work in a Pharmacy.

Salary negotiable, good package.

Contact: 94870029 immediate appointment.

Dot Muscat Company LLC is looking for Optometrist. Contact us on: dotmuscat@gmail.com Required Lab Technician, X- Ray Technician, Staff Nurses & Doctors.

Contact: 99681325 Email: pmsunilkumar@hotmail.com Require a qualified Nurse to take care of an elderly female.

Contact: 99425200 Urgently required General Practitioner (Indian/ Bangladeshi), Omani Receptionist (female) for a reputed Medical Centre, Salalah.

Email : hrmdimc2010@gmail.com

*Classified Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

Senior Accountant Indian male 10 years experience (8 yrs in Oman) with D/L & NOC, Accounts upto finalization. Contact: 99582979 / 97373853

Fresher 24, ACCA Affiliate, Advanced diploma in Accounting and Business seeking suitable placement in Accounts, Finance or Audit with Oman driving license.

Contact - 92430152 Email - raju.rd619@gmail.com

Indian male M.Com, PGDCA, 10 years of experience in Oman as Senior Finance Executive good experience in finance and accounts looking for suitable placement with reputed organizations.

Contact: 95392251

Accounts part time services, available to handle all accounts up to finalization on monthly basis.

Finalization and audit works.

Contact: 96247295

BBA finance 2 years experience as Accountant 6 months experience Assistant Marketing offer looking for jobs in accounts and marketing.

Contact: 90291297

Indian female B.Com 4 years experience in accounting experience in wings & knowledge of tally.

1 year experience in Oman seeking suitable placement for accountant, presently on family visa.

Contact: 92054531 / 93491124

BBA finance fresh Graduate knowledge of accounting balance sheet income statement, tally, advance, excel looking for jobs accountant. Contact: 93150918

28/male/MBA - finance/B.Com Accountant with 4 years of Dubai/ India experience looking for a suitable placement.Contact 90187483 shobinkarikkan1987@gmail.com

Required for a leading Engineering Consultancy firm experienced Office Secretary. Send CV to: mail@abdullamukadam.com Fax: 24614398

MEDICAL Required GP doctor for running clinic in Salalah. Contact 92732491 / 93129219, email : clinicrecruitment2015@gmail.com Wanted Dentist with MOH license for a clinic in Sur. Contact 95653810 GP doctor needed for reputed clinic. Preferably with MOH license or with Dataflow & Paramatics pass Contact: 95388934 Care Medical Centre Al Seeb requires Gynecologist and General Practitioner.

Mail CV to:sarita_h23@yahoo.com Wanted Staff Nurse for a dermatology clinic in Muscat .

Must have MOH license and NOC. Attractive salary offered. Email: clinicvacancy2015@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS Juice cum ice-cream maker.

Contact: 92841089 Required candidates for following posts: Accountant, Storekeeper, Foreman Building Maintenance, Van-salesman (water), Helpers.

Candidates with Omani driving license preferred.

Contact 99273774/99202278

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE Required male or female office assistance for a spare parts company, any national, experienced not a must . Good salary packages will offered for suitable candidates . Tel no +96824593148 , Email ID :-vacancyhr102@gmail.com

SKILLED / UNSKILLED Required Indian Mason – 5 nos., eligibility (minimum 5 yrs experience in road construction field).

Contact: 99882127 Email: georgymv@yahoo.com

SKILLED / UNSKILLED Wanted loading & unloading people. Visa ready apply Indians only. Contact:95451713

SALES / MARKETING Required Salesman and Tailor.

Contact: 96964767

Accountant Indian male with 7 years experience up to finalization in tally & accounts receivable SAP R/3, good knowledge of payroll having Oman D/L, NOC. Contact: 93733996 Email Id: thmsb182@gmail.com Indian female M.Com with Oman driving license having 10+ years experience in Accounts & Administration in Oman seeking suitable job, NOC available. Contact: 91609799

Urgently required a ‘Purchase Manager’ to handle all the procurements for a reputed Readymix concrete Company, having its branches all over Oman. The candidate should possess required experience, product knowledge and excellent communication skills. Interested candidates may send their CV to sndakshin@ gmail.com /Contact: 99256757

Indian, Kerala Male B.COM & B.PE, Currently on Visit Visa. Looking for a suitable job in Accounts, Store Keeper, Sales etc. Ready to join as early as possible.

Contact :- 96988923 email:- sajith3969@gmail.com

Dot Muscat Company LLC is looking for Sales/Marketing associate.

Contact : dotmuscat@gmail.com

Indian male 25 years ACCA finalist with B.SC (Hons.) in accounting with experience in Tally with Omani driving license looking for suitable placement, release available. Contact : 92851056

Wanted Staff with 3 years experience in Oman in real estate field.

Contact: +968 95910186 Email: aburashid94dd@gmail.com Required marketing / PR manager for a modern restaurant group in Oman , proficient in illustrator & Photoshop charismatic , proactive , creative & flexible excellent writing / Editing skills degree in relevant area fluent in English. Send CV to marketingpr2016@gmail.com Salesman required for electrical equipments with driving license & 5/7 years working experience.

Fax your C.V 24833043 (Jinan Enterprises)

SITUATION WANTSIT. WANTED Indian Female, 24 Years - MSc Biotechnology. Worked in International Crops Research Institute For The Semi Arid Tropics for project work as trainee. Looking for suitable job. Mobile: 92619048, Email: anusreeg1991@gmail.com

Sudanese Accountant, Alexandria University Graduate bachelor of commerce Diploma of Marketing professional photographer worked in PR and social media for 2 years looking for a job in public relations media, social media or marketing.

Contact: 96976240

Chief Accountant well experienced with reputed group available for immediate joining.

Contact : 98803439 / 97413784.

Indian male MBA (F) with 6 years of experience as an Accountant proficiency in various A/C software & SAPFI seeking for suitable placement. Contact: 95920740 Email: abdulhameed1527@gmail.com

Email: johnj@state.gov

Indian male 25 yrs, Graduate in commerce, overall 5 yrs exp in accounts/ finance field. On visit visa.

Immediately available.

Contact 92836216 / muhammad.tausif623@gmail.com

Accountant 8Years Experience with D/L and NOC. Contact 97712084

Accountant Indian male B.Com with 8 years experience in Oman knowledge in tally ERP, SAP AX, MIS up to finalization NOC available. Contact: 96989872 Email: radhakrishnank2007@rediffmail. com 36 years, male with M.Com Finance having 15 yrs of insurance & banking experience in India, on visit visa for 15 Days seeks suitable jobs. Contact 91159284 / 99429589 Indian male 34 Yrs, Dual MBA Finance and marketing with IT skills, 7+ yrs of experience, Looking for suitable placement. contact 94879615,Emailsajan_chacko1981@yahoo.com Accountant, Indian female, B.Com Graduate 1 & half year experience up to finalization in tally with reporting knowledge, pursuing ACCA, having valid GCC D/L. Contact: 95373751

Part time Sr. Accountant with 19 yrs experience in Accounts, finance, Audit Tax Management.

Contact: 95857199 Indian male , 29 B.com ICWA (pursuing) 7 years experience in accountant / audit with valid Omani D/L seeking for suitable placement, NOC available.

Contact: 94706954 Email: ajurn33@gmail.com Male B.Com Graduate Assist.

Accountant with 2 years experience in Accounting administration.

Contact: 94736742 Accountant available with NOC, 7 years experience in Oman.

Ready to join immediately.

Contact 98263394 ACCA member with 6 yrs of experience in Oman looking for a suitable job in finance. Contact: 99284193 Indian male qualification MBA Finance Marketing experience 2 years express visa seeking for placement, presently on express visa.

Contact: 93991882

ARCHITECT Architect female 5 years experience seeking job. Contact: 96146645, anjuovil@gmail.com

ADMIN Indian Female, MBA-HR having 8+ experience in Administration/ HR, Customer Support, Office Coordinator with good Computer skill, Now on Visit Visa,looking for suitable position.

Contact: 90196235 Indian looking for customer service, purchase front office Admin 5 years experience in UAE. Contact: 91744032 Lady Expat looking for full time job with visa. Interested fields are Admin, teaching, HR, back office.

Contact: 91739424 Email: jinsijobs@gmail.com Filipino HRD especialist / material controller supervisor with 18 yrs experience looking for suitable job in Oman. Contact: (+968) 98037142 / (+968) 92659817 Young Omani male have experience 12 years as P.R.O, CLERK Helper Supervisor Admin Supervisor, H.R Manager have diploma in H.S.E, IT and P.D.O license, looking for H.R position or P.R.O part time or full time. Contact: 95933288

S AT U R DAY, M AY 1 4 , 2 0 1 6

C5

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED Mechanical Engineer & Project Manager Sudanese 29 yrs, more than 3 yrs experience in Mining Company, Profession:Production & manufacturing, safety, fire fighting designing, Engineering Management, sales – Muscat, Oman.

Contact 968 93642704, Email : mohamedfdl87@gmail.com

MANAGER, CIPD HR With 13 years experience in GCC and Oman. Competent in Sales, Marketing, Business operation and administration.

Interested employer please call

97728418

INDIAN MALE, MARKETING & HR SPECIALIST, 25 yrs, Master degree with 2 yrs of experience both HR & Marketing, now on visiting visa.

Contact 96972939 / 96096723 Email : lijubn@gmail.com, jerrin007@gmail.com

Searching job for my P.S Driver.

Contact: 91068299 Looking for job light driver.

Contact: 94365229 / 95582571

ADMIN Indian male, 14+ yrs exp in MNC, seeks placement in Admin, HR Officer Coordination, reservations.

Contact: 91497410 / 95762646 With 15 years of Gulf experience in HR / Admin / logistics looking for suitable position. Fluent in Arabic / English with D/L. Contact: 95824598 Indian female Graduate over 6 years of experience in Admin, Sales, operation support looking for suitable job. Contact: 94231020 Indian male Post Graduate in HR 19 years (8 Years in Oman) well experienced in HR / Admin in Oil & Gas, Construction fields with Oman D/L seeks suitable position. Release / NOC available. Contact 92854993.

Indian male post Graduate with MBA health care management London 3 years administration experience seeking job.

Contact: 98232007, Email: ehsankappil7800@gmail.com

Driver with car. Contact: 93346085 Driver light vehicle from Bangladeshi 5 years experience in Oman 24 years Omani driving license looking for job.

Contact: 98591812 Indian light driver looking for job.

Contact: 99089441 Heavy duty driver, 4 yrs Oman exp seeks placement.

Contact: 93916645 GCC driver 10 yrs exp.

Contact: 93722881 Looking for light driving job 4 yrs exp. in Muscat speaking Hindi, Arabic & English.

Contact: 92965920 Driver with light duty license, 10 yrs experience. Contact: 92742722 Looking for a job as light driver, 4 years experience in Oman.

Contact: 97311715 Family driver. Contact: 97196448

Indian female with nearly 10 years of Oman experience in Administration and HR, seeking suitable placement. NOC available.

Contact: 99242841 25 Male BBA, 5 years experience Administration officer, accounts, purchaser, NOC. Contact 91329571 Indian male, 20 years experience in Oman as personal assistant / office manager / executive secretary / administrator / business development assistant looking for a change. holding Omani driving license. local release available.

Contact 99168054

CATERING South Indian, North Indian Cook having 13 yrs experience in cooking field, now on visiting visa seeking for suitable job. Contact: 94598934 / 94638875 Email: bindyaneesh4@gmail.com

EDUCATION/TRAINING Female B. Ed English teacher, 7 yrs exp seeking suitable placement. Contact : 99739415 / 92091528 Indian female Science Graduate MBA, HR Worked as home tutor Convent Educated currently on visit visa, staying with husband looking for school teaching job English, Science KG – VI Std full / part time. Contact: 97205038 Email: chandpriya89@gmail.com Indian female, MSc Physics, B.Ed, 5+ years experience in Oman seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 93992958 / 96203570 Teacher Female , Phd in Chemistry having 3.5 yrs of Experience in India. Staying here on Family Visa & seeking for a suitable placement.

Contact – 99675828, Email Anupam.tiwari67@gmail.com

DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN ENGG. / TECH./MECH. Autocad works, free lancer / part time, experienced, arch, MEP, structural. Contact : 97103168 Revit, Autocad D/man, expected salary 200 OMR PH :92279784 Structure Draughtsman for road & bridges with 10 years experience looking for suitable job in Oman.

Contact: 95914879 / 91023774 Email: omerkhayam68@yahoo. com Architectural Draftsmen diploma in construction technology with 6 years experience in drafting and detailing as per British standard in Oman with valid Omani license looking for suitable opportunity Noc available. Call 94375897.

Filipino Senior Revit/AutoCAD Draftsman with 20 years professional experience is looking for suitable job in Oman. Please Contact: 96489798, (+974) 66653780.

DRIVER Bangladeshi 5 year experience in Muscat, Oman all location, 3 years experience U.S.A Dubai, can speak Arabic, English & Hindi.

Contact: 99327665 Temporary light Driver. Contact: 94022005 Looking for driving job experience 4 years. Contact: 95776320 Experience driver looking for job.

Contact: 95113612 Light vehicle driver 6 years in Oman. Contact: 94260369 / 94035746

Telecommunication Engineer 35 years experience with Omantel company, Hindi , English & Arabic.

Contact: 91204243 / 94372096 / 99751612 Site Supervisor, Diploma in Civil Engg (cert attested) knows autocad revit, salary exp: 250 Ph : 92279784 Civil Engineer diploma 3 years 5 years experience in supply chain (warehouse logistics) procurement. Contact: 90644186 Electrical B.Sc Engineer Pakistani male 24 years looking for a job. Contact: 94049812 / 92958112 Mechanical Engineer (B.Tech) Indian male with 1 year experience looking for job, qualification in Qa-Qc, HVAC & piping engineering.

Contact 90510800, Email : muhammedjaseem07@gmail.com Indian male B-tech 8 years experience as senior electrical project engineer / QC engineer on visit visa seeks suitable placement.

Contact 94094543 Email: anwar425@gmail.com Sudanese Civil Structure Engineer 3 years looking for job in reputable company AutoCAD, Etabs, Staad Pro Omani driving license available.

Contact: 97906770 Indian male, Structural Engineer looking for job in structural design field. Having 6 years of experience in design field. Residing in Muscat.

Contact: 91176187 syam036@gmail.com

Indian male, Diploma Engineer with BBA & 16 yrs experience in Oman, worked with MNC in retail (Telecom/ Lubricant sales) and with construction industry handling various products & subcontract projects.

Holding valid Oman D/L, NOC available.

Contact 96960991, Email : sunap1968@gmail.com

Qualified Certified Management Accountant (CMA-USA) and cost and management accountant (ACMAIndia) with over 25 years experience in Sultanate of Oman in finance, banking and administration is seeking a suitable placement. NOC available.

Contact 95986767

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

DRIVER Looking for job, light driver.

Contact: 95141473

Sr. Sales & Marketing Specialist

Civil Engineer diploma, 4 yrsexp seeks suitable position ina reputed company. NOC available.

Contact 96789711 Civil Engineer 8 years experience Structural buildings marine.

Available NOC release.

Contact: 92451323.

Email: zubairali134@yahoo.com Indian male Electrical Engineer, having 6 years gulf experience in designing, assembling, commissioning execution etc having valid GCC license too looking for a suitable.

Contact: 00968-98052942 Email: azamjeelani78@gmail.com Mechanical Engineer (Indian male, 24 years) with three years experience looking for suitable job.

Currently on visit visa, ready to join immediately. Contact: 92175441 Email: ihabeeb24@gmail.com Civil Engineer, B.Tech, 6 yrs experience with Omani driving license, local release available. Contact: 91693008 B.E Mechanical Engineer, age 24 with almost 1 year experience as Production Shift Engineer, has achieved training on HVAC Engineering design and has good hands on software like AutoCAD and HAP.Currently in Oman on a visit visa, looking for a suitable placement.Contact: 95065955 email: mjs.jazeb@gmail.com Senior Graduate Civil Engineer having 12 years construction experience in Oman seeking suitable position in Civil contracting company. Sound technical knowledge & managerial skills, well versed in Oman construction standards excellent commutation skills.

Contact: 98852797 Mechanical Engineer 28 years, 3 years experience 1 year in Oman with NOC looking for suitable placement. Contact: 94887665 Email: mechatron_mt@yahoo.com Electrical & Electronics Engineer 1 year experience currently on visit visa, available immediately.

Contact: 90654844 / 90491353 Email: feyizmohamed@gmail.com Civil Engineer experience 5 years with Oman driving license.

Contact: 96319928 Indian male having 26 years experience as Civil Supervisor in buildings and road with 8 years experience in Oman seeking suitable placement NOC & driving license is available. Contact : 96108230 Email: jayaprakash2015@gmail.com Indian male BE 2 yrs Indian site experience and M.Tech 3 yrs Indian Structural design experience looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 98334396

HSE Engineer (B.E Mech+Diploma Safety+NEBOSH+OSHA) over 10yrs. Exp, (Visa Release Letter (NOC) available), seeking suitable placement, Mob:97061817, Email:jayanammu1977@gmail.com Civil Engineer (B.Tech), Indian male 24 years with 1+years Indian experience,(Certified in Staad Pro/ Quantity Survey/ Auto Cad).

Looking for a Suitable position.

Available In Sultanate of Oman (Muscat) on Visit Visa.

Contact 92835952. E-mail: mohammedamair.bin@gmail.com Indian male 26 B.Tech Civil Engineer 3 year’s 8 months Experience at building construction. In Oman 2 year’s experience N.O.C available seeking suitable placement Contact : 97396269 Email : usmanshaik42@gmail.com Electrical Engineer having 8 years experience with valid driving license. Contact 91293519, Email: nomee987@gmail.com B.Sc Civil Engineer, MBA experience 5 years (15 months in Oman) English & Arabic, driving license looking for a suitable job.

Contact: 94162443 Indian male BE Mechanical Engineering having 1 year experience seeks suitable position available in Oman on visit visa.

Contact: 96630091 Email: acv4111@gmail.com Female MCA qualified Software manual testing Engineer with 5 years experience looking for suitable position in Muscat on family joining visa. Contact: 0091 9884095301 / 00968 94231305, Email: devibala@yahoo.co.in Sr. Electrical Engineer with17+ yrs of exceptional exp in spear heading strategic planning and project management initiatives & executing 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 Electrical Engineer Indian male 30 years, having 5 years of experience in industrial automation & utility maintenance in Indian (MRF Tyres) holding valid Oman D/L. Contact: 92789995 Email: akhilabrahamlktr@gmail.com Electrical Engineer experience 9 years in Oman. Contact: 98148034 Construction Machinery repairs Engineer, 5 years, driving license, Contact - 94001961 Indian male civil Engineering Diploma holder, 31 years, 4 years experience in Oman, 2 years in road division looking for placement.

N.O.C available. Contact: 93298395

Mechanical Engineer 2 years experience as HVAC design and drafting MEP Engg.

Contact: 90150913

Electrical & Electronics Engr, knows autocad & revit.

PH: 93837973

18 years experienced Indian Civil Engineer (buildings) with NOC looking for suitable positions.

Contact: 92855910 Email: jk2_anu@yahoo.co.in

Architect Engineer bachelor Sudanese 7 years experience in building and construction and design (AutoCAD – Archicad) Contact: 95140464

AutoCAD Draughtsman Indian 12 years experience Civil Infrastructure, 9 years Gulf experience.

Contact: 93528255 Email: bijumudackamannil@gmail.com

Diploma in Civil Engineer with 5 yrs experience in Oman seeking a suitable job N.O.C available.

Contact: 93630296 / 93264828

Civil land surveyor with 6 years experience in construction industry (4 years in Oman) basic education BA + Civil Surveyor Diploma looking for suitable position. Contact: 96767070 Email: farman_ali587@yahoo.com Young Indian, Engineering in Bio-technology, Bio-chemical and Chemical, looking for a challenging placement in Oman.

Contact 97607000. Email: sivasankarjayakumar@gmail.com Pakistani male Diploma Civil Engineer 4yrs exp in Oman bulling & mega projects, valid license Oman.Contact:98921022 Indian female, BE Electrical, 2 yrs experienced. Contact 92051754, khushalithacker9@gmail.com

Indian 14 yrs exp SR MEP – Elect Engg with NOC, searching suitable job, in field PMC, Fire consultants , Testing & com, project supervision. Contact: 92437865 Email: maimran.mtech@live.com Indian 24 yrs exp SR civil Engg with NOC, searching suitable job, in any project Supervision.

Contact: 96602718 mishteyaqh@yahoo.co.in Indian female diploma Architecture having 5 years exp in Engineering consultancy in Oman seeking suitable placement.

Contact: 96683293 AutoCAD Draughtsman Indian male 8 years exp Civil, Interior, precasting, GCC driving license.

Contact: 95685028 Email: vimalg.kannur@gmail.com

An experienced Chartered Accountant With over 25 years in varied industries, presently working with a reputed group in Muscat, looking out for a suitable change.

Contact - 96491030

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE An Iraqi civil with more than 30 years experience in (Iraq and G.C.C) looking for a job, (N.O.C) available. Contact: 96561306 Email: iq.bgd.mnsr@gmail.com Indian male, Mechanical Engineer having 1year experience, on visit visa looking for suitable job. Contact:97416564, Email:jovinmathias@gmail.com Civil Engineer 8 years experience in Oman as a project engineer for governmental & private projects.

Contact – 90164912

IT 7+ years experience Multimedia & Software Developer currently working in Microsoft seeking suitable job. Contact: 968 93936878 Indian Male, MCA Graduate, 15 yrs exp in ERP, CSM Certified, seeking suitable role.NOC Available.

Contact : GSM : 90189284 Email: meetlibran@gmail.com Indian male, B.SC Comp Science, CCNA, MCP, 8 yrs of exp in System and Network Support on visit visa seeking suitable positions.

Contact: 91751472 IT PM available 10+ years experience six sigma black belt certified diverse background U.S Citizen.

Contact: + 968 94699818 Sudanese IT Developer with 2 years experience. Contact: 94360181 Indian female M.Sc Computer Science seeking suitable placement in Muscat area. Contact: 98660672 IT Support Engineer, Exp 3 years in Oman 2 years in India.

Contact: 94672759 IT support MCSA Network Virtualization 1 year exp.

Contact: 98207829 5 years of experience in the post of Networking Engineer holding (CCNA – MCITP) Very good in Arabic & English valid driving license.

Contact: 99813988 B.Tech (IT) experience in Networking server & desktop management in corporate environment looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 92954613

MANAGER Procurement / Commercial (Import & Export) activities, Experienced 17 yrs as Deputy Manager in SAP & MS-Office, Male Indian, seeks suitable placement on visit.

Contact: 94629788

MEDICAL Indian female Dentist specialized Endodontist looking for suitable placement, prometric completed.

Contact: 96410448 Lady General Dentist available for leave vacancy. Contact 92732491 / 93129219, email : clinicrecruitment2015@gmail.com Sudanese female Medical Laboratory specialist with M.S.C in hematology, 3 years experience seeking for suitable job.

Contact: 97996545

MISCELLANEOUS B. Tech Electronics with MBA in Marketing management, 27, Indian male, 3 years in oman, looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 90638539 BS in Electrical Engineering, Experience: 5 years(Power Plants).

Contact: 92475206 Email: zahaibzafar007@gmail.com Indian male, 28, post graduate, 6+ yrs exp in Oman in sales (back office) & credit control with valid Oman D/L looking for suitable placements. NOC available.

Contact: 92066 523

Wanted Office Assistant familiar with computer skill for an office at Hail North. Contact 98693693 sms only.

Secretary / Coordinator Indian male 42 yrs total 16+ yrs experience having valid Oman driving license, release available.

Contact: 98358897 Lady Secretary / Sales Co-coordinator 12 years experience in Oman in reputed companies, seek immediate Employment.

Call: 95244761 Filipino Female, having exp in Shipping, Forwarding and Logistics/Customer Support/Office and HR Administration with good Communication and Computer Skills. Looking for suitable position. Contact: 96542559 Indian Male more than 10 years gulf experience in Office / Sales Coordinator, Admin, Secretarial and purchase with good computer skills. Holding Oman Driving license. Looking for suitable placement. Contact 99709336 Looking for part time job Secretarial / Data Entry / Documentation available every day after 5:00 pm Friday / Saturday full day area preferred Ruwi/ CBD/ MBD / Al Khuwair. Contact: 90414827

SALES / MARKETING The Business Development Manager, Iraqi, exp. 15 Years Inside and outside Oman following 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 exp. in pricing and collect payment and cash flow & marketing projects & investments & tenders & real estate. Contact :- 92385033 10 years ICT Business development & project management exp in Oman looking for suitable senior position. Contact: 98987654 Required Sales Executive / Merchandiser for consumer products with minimum 3 years experience and with valid Omani driving license. Apply with full details to scorpion@alhosnigroup.com Fax : 24597945 Indian male MBA Marketing and PGDM HR seeking job.

Contact: 97127799 Email: vijinvijioo@gmail.com 4 years experience in computer hardware & Sales B.Com discontinued . Contact: 99859970 / 90996171 Building material purchaser.

Contact: 99053510 35 years male, Lebanese holding British passport, 10 years of experience in procurement, Omani Government tenders, setup marketing plans & strategies, importing, Organizing events, management, have car, NOC available.

Contact 94123939 Email: 002015r@gmail.com Indian male MBA Sales Marketing business development with 10 years of vast experience 5 years GCC 5 years India excellent communication skills presently in Oman on visit visa looking for best opportunity.

Contact: 97946069 Email: faizanahmad2308@yahoo. com Indian Male, 26 M.Com with 4 yrs of Experience in Accounting & Administration in a Financial Company in India, seeks suitable job, Currently in India.

Contact: India:-+918907212253 Akhil:-93626288, Email: Sumeshpsmkr1989@gmail.com Indian male 26 years having 4.5 years of experience in Oman as Sales & Marketing having Oman D/L visa, NOC / Release available seeking for suitable post.

Contact: 98843139 MBA Marketing, Executive Post, Omani Driving License available, 14 years Experience in Multinational Groups in Sales & Marketing.

Contact 91685048

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DAILY GUIDE

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

SITUATION WANTED

SALES / MARKETING 13 years experienced Salesman seeking job, holds valid Omani driving license. NOC also available, needs visa change urgently, experience in mobiles and electronics sale. Contact: 97900338 Male Indian 36 years marketing Sales 12 years experience M.A degree currently on visit visa ready to join. Contact: 00968 94068878 Email: sureshmailme79@yahoo.com 4 years experienced Automobile Marketing/Sales Manager of Indian origin, 25yrs age on visiting visa seeks suitable job in Oman.

Contact 95298876.

Pakistani male, Graduate over 9 years experience in Procurement, Warehouse & Logistics, looking for suitable placement currently on visit visa.

Contact: 968 91257663 , Email: waqasmehar1@gmail.com Indian male 37 years MBA graduate in marketing with 9yrs of experience in UAE in field of brand promotions & marketing with UAE D/L on a visit seeking suitable position. Conatct 95792820

MISCELLANEOUS 2 years Diploma Health and Safety IOSH managing safely OHS academy 48 hours Manager level HABC fire safety, bachelors in Commerce and Post Graduate Finance 3 years experience in Construction & General Industry.

Contact 93107730 SCM / LOGISTICS/ PROCUREMENT - 25 Yrs exp - Indian Male - Oil & Gas, Manufacturing Sector - Having valid Oman D/L & NOC available. Seeks Challenging senior position. GSM-94236414, Email ID - jayamurli@gmail.com Planning Engineer, BE Mech Engg. Indian Female having total 11 yrs exp in oil & gas projects (8+ yrs in Gulf) with valid Oman D/L, Seeks a Suitable job.

Contact: 92456003 Fresh B.Com Graduate in visit visa looking for a job. Contact: 93518923 / 99075027. email: sheikcok@yahoo.com Light Duty Driver, Fluent in English, Arabic. Well knowledge of Oman Areas looking for suitable placement. Contact 97950869

Part- Time Accountant, well experienced senior accountant ,capable of doing all type of accounting works up to finalization, Budgeting, Bank financing requirements, taxation work etc available. # : 98803439 Indian/male (25)/ MBA/2 years experience in channel sales and distribution management. on visit visa, available for immediate joining. Contact: 96914068, email: mailanasap@gmail.com Admin Assistant. Having 5 years experience in admin department in reputed companies, presently working in Muscat (NOC Available).

GSM. 00968-98404122, mail panduru.jeevankumar@gmail.com Import & Export professional, Experienced as Asst. Commercial Manager for 15 years, Proficient in MS office, Male Indian, Seeks suitable placement, on Visit, #95484684 Indian male, 33 yrs, MBA-HR generalist with 10 yrs including training of Omani nationals.NOC possible .Seeking a suitable job.

Contact :saiprasad_18@yahoo.com, 94179499

SITUATION WANTED EDUCATION/CLASSES/COMP./WEB.

Indian male, 40 Years, B. Com, having 10 years experience in Oman, Tally & ERP- looking for suitable placement ( NOC and Oman driving license available.

Contact +91 89 43 109897 Rajeev. 252002@gmail.com Safety officer, 3 years of experience in safety certifications: BE (electrical and electronics engineering), NEBOSH, IOSH, DHSE, first aid. Contact +97474018995, mail:midhunmich@gmail.com, skype:midhunmike Looking for a part time accounting & admin job. Contact 99196621.

Indian male, network cabling technician (19 years Gulf experience) seeking for suitable placement.

NOC available. Contact : 00918089909265 (India), E mail: mohithavp@gmail.com Indian male 26 years, Graduate in BBM & having Diploma in Logistics with 3 years of experience in Banking and Accounts looking for suitable placement. Contact : + 968 97166820/ +91 9895102356 Email :afsalrahman1989@gmail.com

Indian/male(25)/MBA /2 years experience in channel sales and distribution management. on visit visa. available for immediate joining. Contact: 96914068, email: mailanasap@gmail.com Indian male,B.Com + Dip. Logistic 2year experience looking for a job in Accounts/Logistics Field. Presently on Visit Visa # 93884951, Email:mehreenraiz@gmail.com Electronics Technician , 4 Years experience as Electronics service engineer. Knowledge in all type of Electronics items. Looking for suitable placement. GSM- 99105043 Indian male, 40 Years, B. Com, having 10 years experience in Oman, Tally & ERP- looking for suitable placement ( NOC and Oman driving license available) Tel- +91 89 43 109897 Rajeev. 252002@gmail.com Assistant Accountant - B.Com Graduate with excellent overall skills. 2 Years of experience. Ready for immediate joining.

Contact: sharonravi00@gmail.com, 968-92049215

HSE Engineer,Indian male, 5.5 Plus years Experience in Oil & Gas Working in Shclumberger NEBOSH,IOSH, & NDT Certified, M Tech in HSE. CONTACTkrish.569@gmail.com Mobile- +91 9867016808 Software Engineer with 5 + plus years of experience in Infosys ltd on visit visa seeking suitable vacancy in oman. Email : steffyraphel@gmail.com mob: 96896246205 / 96897032284 Indian male, 24 yrs, B. Com Graduate more than 1 year experienced in accounts planning to come for a family visit in oman seeking for a suitable placement .

Contact : 99339544 / 99743709 Electrical & Electronics diploma engineer Indian male 22 years, 2 years experience currently in visit visa. Contact 93047707 adilm89@gmail.com IT professional, B.E. in IT, CCNA, MCSA, MCSE, 3yrs exp. in IT, valid Omani D/L seeking suitable placement in IT/Network/Server support/Retail sales. # 91496939.

SITUATION WANTED SERVICES

Pest control & Building cleaning all kinds of pest control building. Cleaning tiles / Marble polishing monthly/ Yearly contracts available.

Contact: 98814733 /98814740 Al Husn Cleaning L.L.C

MANPOWER

SERVICES We Provide Cleaners, Office boys, Cleaning Contracts, General cleaning etc.

Al Mudakhir National Est. LLC Contact : 94277020

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing, Contact 99314807/24792998 Split & window A/c servicing & maintenance. Contact 93769089 / 95323517

Spoken Arabic class for Non Arabic Speakers & English class for Malayalam Speakers

in Azaiba and Ruwi

• Learn in two months • Satisfaction guaranteed

Tel: 95244310

A/C Maintenance & Servicing, Fridge, Washing machine & Dish washer repairing, Painting & Cleaning services, Electrical & plumbing.

Contact 99447257 / 97014234 / 24504281 Service & maintenance of split & window A/C. Contact: 95273713 We do building maintenance all kind of works. Contact 99247663

Wanted partner handover 20% to 30% running building Construction Company. Contact: 97491117

Water proofing ABUQABASContact 99320217/24788722

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

Al farzdaq Al Fedi Trad and Cont Maintenance services electric, plumbing and A/C. Contact: 96524904 /94285064

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your marble. contact 24793614/ 99314807 Pest control treatments, Ocean center LLC Contact 99344723 House shifting. Contact 99708138 Marble crystallization & grinding, cleaning & carpet shampooing.

Ocean center LLC. Contact 99344723 Marble crystallization & grinding, Ocean center LLC Contact: 99344723 Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile polishing, pest control & anti-termite treatment, general cleaning painting,Plumbing, Electrical, shifting. Contact Mundhir Al-Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C. Contact: 24810137, 99450130

Window & split unit A.C servicing & repairing. Contact: 99557080 House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

DRIVING

Split unit & window unit A.C servicing & maintenance.

Contact: 96236476 Split unit & widow unit A.C servicing & maintenance.

Contact: 95323517 / 93769089 CCTV, Computer Services at best price. Contact 91289330 Complete building maintenance Midawa Trading Est. Contact: 94614479 Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles polishing, carpet shampooing, maintenance. Contact ABU QABAS- 99320217 /24788722 CAD drawings Archi/ MEP CAD – comply BIM. Contact: 91233975 House Shifting Packing.

Contact: 99657644 / 98518013

*Classified Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

TRANSPORTATION Picking and drop Al Khuwair to Rusayl. Contact 91287470 / 98957524 Transportation available Ruwi to Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Azaiba.

Contact: 91103909 Transportation. Contact: 95190627 Transportation required from Qurum to WadiKabir at afternoon only 1 PM. Contact - 99012165 Transportation. Contact 9508282 Transportation. Contact 92015894

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DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED CARGO

TOURS

TOURS

Moon Travel L.L.C

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain Marine Tours contact 98029602, 92808636

Saudi Arabian Government approved agent

Umrah Package by Road & Air Bus Departures- Apr 19, May 03, 17 & 31.2016 Ramadan Schedule - Jun 06, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26 & 30.2016

We arrange tours & accommodation at all the beautiful places in Oman. Contact 99839898

Contact: Tariq Al Balushi - 99218069 Ahmed Maseehuddin - 99353611, Oĸce: 24790746/24706217

SITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANTBUSINESS ED

RENT A CAR

MISCELLANEOUS Indian Female looking for a part time opportunity (Graphic Design/ Teaching/Research Assistant/ Business Development/Administration) Contact: 95811820 or sankarikm06@gmail.com Indian female 10 years exp as cook in Oman. South Indian & Gujarati special looking for job, company or restaurant. #90559292 SENIOR ACCOUNTANT-M. Com Finance-Indian with 7 years experience in Finance & Accounts up to finalization. Having D/L & NOC. Mob:94122464, caammk13@gmail.com Tea boy looking for job Name: Man Bahadar Contact: 97859837 Indian Female, M.Sc Computer Science, Seeking suitable placement in Muscat Area.#98660672 Indian Female, 29 Yrs Age, M.Sc Microbiology, looking for Job any reputed organization / Hospitals, seeks suitable position.

Contact : 95218424 / 9610 6604.

On Family Residence Visa.

IT professional, B.E. in IT, CCNA, MCSA, MCSE, 3yrs exp. in IT, valid Omani D/L seeking suitable placement in IT/Network/Server support/Retail sales. #91496939.

Indian Male B-Com Graduate 1 year, experience in market survey, Valid Driving License, looking for any suitable post.

Contact: 92567020 / 96930392 Indian male, M. Com with 3 yr Oman Exp in Accounts with valid NOC & D/L on Visit Visa, available to join immediately . GSM :94744575

Indian Male 30 year GCC driving license and past experience as project coordinator looking for a suitable position. Project Coordination, Sales Executive, Marketing Executive or any other suitable post. Contact number -97070427 Indian B-Com Graduate 1 year Experience in market survey, Valid Driving License, looking for any suitable post. #92567020 / 96930392, shwayanad@gmail.com Indian male, M. Com, 11 years experience in the field of accountancy and Stores. Good knowledge in SAP, Tally, oracle, MS office and Excel seeks suitable placement.

Contact 92859733 Indian male, M.Com, 7 years Oman experience in the field of accounts and valid oman driving license & NOC . Good knowledge in SAP, Tally, oracle, MS office and Excel seeks suitable placement.

Contact 92859733 Indian male 42, BE-Civil 13 years experience in Road construction. looking for suitable placement. having valid Oman driving license.

Contact: 95225214, Email: Sudheerrokkala73@gmail.com Indian Female on a visit visa having master degree seeking suitable placement in any field, 1 ,5 year experience in HR .

Contact 91467576.

Bachelor in Hotel Management Having 13 years experience in Catering Industry in all aspects of Operations with D/L looking out for a suitable placement.

Contact 90654826 Email: mailingsaikiran@gmail.com

Required partner investor to build an apartment in Al Mobelah.

Contact: 99355330

RENT A CAR Best Rates for Saloon Contact: 97869042 / 95730550 sales@modernreem.com

WEB, ERP and Business Intelligence (BI) creation and management at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman Investment opportunity for lucrative building and decorative product. Contact: 99421513 Email: borderlineomn@gmail.com Tender board registered Construction Company for lease / run.

Contact: 92841089 Business Partner required for a running insurance company.

Contact: 92821312

25 - 50 seater bus with PDO & BP specification for monthly rent & small car with driver.

Contact: 99839898

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DAILY GUIDE

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classiямБeds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

SITUATION WANTED DINING DELIGHTS

SITUATION WANTED DINING DELIGHTS