Times of Oman - May 17, 2015

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People were seen spending quality time with their family members on Saturday evening, a day before the blessed anniversary of Al Isra’a Wal Miraj, in parks and beaches across the capital city. - Photo: O K Mohammed Ali See also >A2

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HM sends greetings MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of greetings to King Harald V of Norway on his country’s National Day. In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere greetings and wishes of good health and happiness to the King and his country’s people further progress and prosperity. —ONA TOP THREE INSIDE STORIES

OMAN

Shortage of hospitals impacts healthcare

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The increasing population, which is in direct contrast to the shortage of hospitals, is putting a severe strain on the health-care services in the Sultanate, with many patients waiting for months to receive specialised medical treatment. >A3

More Omani women are obese than men: Report However, they are still better off than women in all other Gulf countries, where almost half are clinically obese, according to World Health Organisation’s 2015 global report

RAHUL DAS rahuldas@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Oman has emerged from the World Health Organisation’s 2015 global report with a mixed picture on obesity.

The bad news is that 37.7 per cent of Oman’s female residents are obese — having a body mass index of 30 or above — compared to 27.2 per cent of men.

However, the good news is that they are still better off than the women in all other Gulf countries, where almost half are clinically obese.

Speaking to the Times of Oman, Rajeev C, specialist of internal medicine, Atlas Hospital, Al Ghubrah, said that obesity among women in Oman is a growing problem due to the lack of exercise or activity.

“However, they are much better off as they are more active than the women from other GCC countries,” he said.

World Health Statistics 2015 show that 49.7 per cent of women in Qatar over the age of 18 are clinically obese, followed by Kuwait with 45.9 per cent, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with 45.1 per cent, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) with 44.1 per cent, along with Bahrain at 42.8 per cent and Oman at 37.7 per cent.

Men in the region, however, are much better off, with Oman again the lowest at 27.2 per cent, followed by the KSA at 29.9 per cent, Bahrain at 30.5 per cent and the UAE at 33.8 per cent, followed by Kuwait at 35.5 per cent and Qatar at 40 per cent.

India, however, has only 6.7 per cent of women who are consid-

Obesity report

Percentage of adults aged more than 18 years who are obese (by country) Women

49.7% 45.9% 45.1% 44.1% 42.8% 37.7% 34.7% 6.7%

Men Qatar

World average 15%

Body mass index (BMI) Is a simple index of weight-forheight used to classify overweight and obesity in adults.

It is defined as a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of his height in meters (kg/m2)

Kuwait

World average 11%

UAE Saudi Arabia Bahrain Oman US India

40% 35.5 % 33.8% 29.9% 30.5% 27.2% 32.6% 3.2%

Greater than or equal to 30

OVERWEIGHT OBESITY

FOR EXAMPLE Weight: 85 kg Height: 1.68 m

BMI 30.11

Greater than or equal to 25

Source: WHO

ered to be obese. In the United Kingdom (UK), the figure is 29.2 per cent while in the United States (US), the percentage of obese women is 34.7 per cent.

In India, 3.2 per cent of men are considered to be obese, while

85/2.8224

OBESE Graphics

in the UK it is 26.9 per cent and in the US it is 32.6 per cent, said the report.

“Lack of exercise has expanded women’s waistlines in Oman, making them prone to a lifestyle that attracts diseases and health

M I N I S T R Y O F H E A LT H

problems. However, male counterparts are little better off because men tend to have a more active lifestyle. However, the percentages of 37.7 and 27.2 in Oman are still very high,” said Ravi Kumar, another doctor at a private hospital.

Complex causes There are various complex causes for the obesity rate and these range from genes to diet to socioeconomic status, according to doctors at some private hospitals.

“Unhealthy and sedentary lifestyles have led to more women in Oman putting on weight,” said A Seal, a fitness expert.

Then there are many complications that obese women face, in addition to the most common health risks of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes as they add weight in their body.

Doctors also said that the artery in the heart gets blocked from the age of 60.

“However, if you are overweight and obese this blockage will start early,” warned doctors.

In 2014, a report published in the medical journal by the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) stated that 30 per cent of the Omani population is overweight and 20 per cent is obese. >A3

WORLD

US commandos kill top IS commander

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US Army special forces killed an IS commander in a daring night raid, the White House said on Saturday.

US commandos have entered before, for example last year on a failed bid to rescue Western hostages, but this week’s operation appeared to mark a departure in missions targeting the militants. >A10

MARKET

Realty transactions surge 68% in Oman

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Real estate transactions in Oman in the first four months ending April 2015 surged ahead by 68 per cent to OMR1,638.9 million, over the same period last year, according to a bulletin released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI). >B1

D I G I TA L PA S S P O R T S D E A D L I N E

Call to register with elderly care system

Nepalese seek papers for early return to home

ELHAM POURMOHAMMADI elham@timesofoman.com

RAHUL DAS rahuldas@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Senior citizens in Oman have been asked by the Ministry of Health (MoH) to register with the national elderly care programme, which gives a wide range of services to them.

The programme has been developed for people aged more than 60 and is being implemented across the country, Mohamed Meshref, physiotherapist in the elderly programme at the MoH, Muscat Governorate, told the Times of Oman.

The programme has been implemented in co-operation with the Ministry of Social Development, he said, adding that registration gives the elderly access to medical check-ups, equipment such as medical bed, wheelchair and hearing aids, in addition to physiotherapy and other medical assistance.

The programme also includes home visits and instructions for those living with the elderly as to how to take care of them, espe-

Muscat: A large number of expatriates from Nepal are returning home to help families hit by backto-back earthquakes.

They are rushing to the Nepalese embassy in Muscat to obtain emergency travel documents.

“For those who want to rush back home, we are issuing urgent travel documents or temporary passports,” said Bharat Kumar Regmi, chargé d’affaires at the Nepalese embassy in Muscat.

Regmi said around 250 passports are lying with the foreign ministry in Nepal and 250 passports with the Nepalese embassy in Muscat for change to Machine Readable Format (MRP).

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has set a deadline of November 24, 2015 for globally phasing out all non-MRP. From November 25, 2015 onwards, foreign governments may deny visas or entry to any person

Mohamed Meshref, physiotherapist in the elderly programme.

cially those who are bed-ridden, said Meshref.

According to him, the Omani Association for the Elderly is also involved in these efforts and helps the aged to access social services and enjoy their rights.

The association gives them social and medical support and take those people, who do not have any relatives, for the Haj or different trips and events, he said. >A3

Court sentences Morsi to death

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travelling with a non-MRP passport. The embassy in Muscat has issued more than 5,000 MRPs, but there are around 13,000 to 14,000 Nepalese expatriates living in the country.

Earlier, the embassy had asked them to apply for digital passports

by May, 2015. For this, the embassy took help of social networking sites and the Nepalese community to reach out to everyone.

Even, the Nepali association in Muscat is working hard on this.

“We have already visited some companies and collected forms from the workers,” said D B Chettri, president of the Muscat chapter of Non Resident Nepali Association (NRNA).

With recent back-to-back earthquakes, everything has changed for the Nepalese expatriates.

“People are staying in the open out of fear. The scene is horrific,” said D B Chettri, adding, “Some of them cannot even charge their mobile phone batteries because of continuous power cuts.” >A3

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SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015

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Enjoying break from routine life Taking a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday city life, parents were seen spending quality time with their children in parks and beaches in Muscat on Saturday evening, a day before the blessed anniversary of Al Isra’aWalMiraj.

For most parents, it was time to enjoy nature and its beauty with their children as Times of Oman photographer OK Mohammed Ali found

ALI (23)

SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015

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OMAN C O M M E N TA RY

Shortage of hospitals putting severe strain on patient care SUNDAY BEAT

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was constructed here more than three decades ago when the population growth was 2 per cent per year. Thirty years later, the birth rate has nearly doubled to 3.7 per cent annually.

SALEH AL SHAIBANY

T

he increasing population, which is in direct contrast to the shortage of hospitals, is putting a severe strain on the healthcare services in the Sultanate, with many patients waiting for months to receive specialised medical treatment.

A shortage of beds has caused overcrowding and Omani medical institutions face an unparalleled crisis since they cannot meet the growing demand. The biggest crisis is felt in the capital Muscat. The last major hospital

Population growth Since the 1980s, villages have grown into towns and towns into cities, thanks to a rapid baby boom along with the growth in infrastructure. However, specialised medical care has not kept pace with this growth. Residents in small towns are referred to the city for all major diagnosis and surgeries because hospitals there do not have specialised equipment such as the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and many of them lack facilities like CT scans.

The shortage of beds and lack of manpower is another major

Perhaps a broader campaign must be launched for younger generations to start investing a part of their wages towards medical insurance. However, that should not take away from the fact that the government must find a way to build more hospitals in the near future headache. Existing hospitals cannot be expanded to accommodate new wards because they are located deep inside residential areas, while doctors are not recruited soon enough and nurses are also in short supply. Parking is a major problem and patients with appointments are often left fuming because most of the space is occupied by the staff.

But cars are not the only ones that are kept waiting when they arrive at the hospitals. Patients waiting to see consultants queue up for quite a long time. And this

queue is getting longer by the year. Specialists are overworked, as they try to squeeze in as many patients as they can in the time they have to reduce the numbers of those waiting.

Government dispensaries in local townships do a commendable job even though they are only equipped to treat minor ailments.

Most of them do not even have ENT specialists or orthopaedic services, which a lot of people in the country require. More often than not, local government dispensaries are unable to cope with

Indian artist captures culture shift in work

some of the cases and these land up at the already overstretched major hospitals.

As of now, these local hospitals, which essentially are a little bigger than clinics, are not open on weekends and are closed in the evenings. If a patient needs urgent medical care, he or she has no alternative but to rush to the major hospitals. As a result, emergency wings of the main medical institutions are turned into general out-patient departments (OPDs) — putting a further strain on them during the weekends.

Underfunding of our medical system is surely a question that arises with the growing demand.

With the state coffers currently hit hard by lower oil prices, funding for the construction of a few major hospitals may be unlikely unless the government tightens its belt elsewhere.

It can start by cutting down on the usual waste in other areas to channel the funds where it is urgently required.

The immediate causes of this crisis are growing illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension and heart ailments that need urgent care

with beds readily available. Here too, it is no secret that all hospitals are working to 100 per cent capacity and most patients are forced to leave quickly to make way for new cases before they receive the extensive care they have come for.

One way the government has chosen to cope with overstressed medical care problem is to send serious cases abroad. However, only a precious few with the right connections can avail themselves of this privilege.

Private hospitals For those arguing that it is time for patients to start visiting private hospitals, they may not be far from that truth. However, not everybody can afford it. Besides, many people would not expect anything else but free service.

Perhaps a broader campaign must be launched for younger generations to start investing a part of their wages towards medical insurance. However, that should not take away from the fact that the government must find a way to build more hospitals in the near future.

I TA I N I T I AT I V E

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Muscat-based artist

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Debjani Bhardwaj’s

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SHADOW OF THE TIMES: The changes Debjani Bhardwaj has documented in her work include the

transition from locally made toys like skipping ropes and kites to video games, rickshaws to cars or mass transportation and more. – Sarah MacDonald

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SARAH MACDONALD

sarah@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Tucked away in a small, dark room in Bait Muzna Gallery is an homage to India’s past and traditions that are quickly slipping away.

The paper, light and sound installation called “Shadow of the Wind” is by Muscat-based Indian artist Debjani Bhardwaj, whose work reflects her nostalgia for aspects of Indian life that are disappearing fast. “It could relate to any county, but it’s based on my experience. At the same time world over human engagement is deteriorating. People are more on their own,” Debjani says.

Two large black rectangles with

images of circus animals and performers, children playing with old-fashioned toys, hand-pulled rickshaws, and military musicians cut out of them hang from the ceiling.

Silhouettes The cutouts have been replaced with coloured tissue paper and strings of lights within the hollow rectangles light up the images.

On one wall the cutouts and other black silhouettes hang in horizontal rows, moving slightly and casting changing shadows on the wall.

In the background, sounds play evoking memories that accompany the paper work. Debjani spent time in India recording the sounds including the band at a wedding, a

circus, the sound of a skipping rope hitting the ground, the wheels of a rickshaw on a street.

The changes she has documented in her work include the transition from locally made toys like skipping ropes and kites to video games, rickshaws to cars or mass transportation, wedding bands to DJs, and circuses to cinemas. She says these have caused a loss of jobs and human interaction.

“When you’re going in a rickshaw you’d have the communication with them. It’s not that it’s gone but it’s disappearing.

It’s basically human engagement that I’m talking about,” Debjani explains.

Debjani says the changes to society aren’t necessary a bad thing,

but she laments the human and social interactions that are eroding due to technology. She wanted to capture the changes in a momentary way, which is why she used light and translucent paper, and cutouts that move and shift.

“All the elements are very ephemeral, lights and shadows.

Even memories are fleeting, fugitive, fragmentary. Even sound transports you back to a particular place but it’s not something physical,” she notes.

Debjani hopes people who visit the installation will take time to reflect on the changing society around them, and appreciate what used to be. “Shadow of the Wind” will be on display until June 17 at Bait Muzna Gallery in Old Muscat.

H E A LT H S E R V I C E S

N E PA L E A R T H QUA K E

< FROM

A1 Rebuilding tough task A1 More facilities for < FROM

He also said that they are cooperating fully with the workers, mainly those from the worst affected districts of Nepal, to help them go back home in this hour of grief. “Many of them have lost their friends and well wishers in the natural disaster while properties and houses of several others have been completely destroyed,” he said. “This is the worst earthquake people have seen in 100 years as tremors continue at regular intervals, forcing families to spend their nights outside as they fear aftershocks,” he added.

Expatriates from Butwal district, around 250 kilometres from Kathmandu, said the loss of cattle and crops has turned into a double jeopardy to the villagers and added to their misery after the collapse of their houses.

“Milk from cows and buffaloes would give the villagers their daily income,” he said. Rebuilding houses without a regular source of income will be a tough task for rural families. “Only a few rural families have income from remittances of people like us who work abroad,” they said.

WELLNESS

< FROM

A1 Food habits hold the key “Some 667,809 Omanis are believed to be overweight while 445,206 are said to be obese,” the report had said.

Claiming that a good diet can fight and keep at bay serious diseases, doctors have advised people to consult an expert to get clear guidelines on what food products to include in the diet of a family.

“Instead of making junk the main part of food intake, one should concentrate on consuming salads, fruits and protein-rich food like milk, pulses, fish and eggs. Fizzy drinks should be limited and they should be given fresh juice and milk. Red meat should be limited in one’s diet and more of fish and nuts should be included,” they added.

elderly required

According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information, there were 37,350 Omanis and 13,891 expatriates aged between 60 and 64 by mid-2013.

Also, there were 29,688 Omanis and 3,863 non-Omanis aged between 65 and 69; 25,786 Omanis and 1,213 expatriates aged between 70 and 74; 16,758 Omanis and 580 non-Omanis aged between 75 and 79; and 20,276 Omanis and 440 expatriates over the age of 80 living by mid-2013.

Registration “We need more people to register with the programme so that we can provide them with better services,” said Meshref. Registration is available at all primary health centres in all governorates, he noted, and encouraged the aged to join the programme.

The expert added that the facilities and specialists providing health-care to the elderly are good but the number of old people is increasing, which calls for further attention to the challenges they face. “Old people should

The number of elderly which accounted for 3 per cent of the population in 1993 is expected to reach 15.2 per cent by 2050 be given all forms of support as they are the ones who have built this country and whose advice we require,” added Meshref.

Rising trend According to a study conducted

by Dr Hamed Al Sinawi, an old age psychiatrist who won UK’s Royal College of Psychiatrists Awards in 2014, the fastest growing age group is the one from 60 years and above. The number of the elderly in Oman, which accounted for 3 per cent of the population in 1993, represented 3.5 per cent of the population in 2010 and the figure is expected to reach 15.2 per cent by 2050.

MUSCAT: Having incubated 19 small and medium enterprises, resulting in 65 job opportunities for Omanis, it was celebration time for the Sas Programme for Entrepreneurship recently.

The Information Technology Authority (ITA) celebrated the first anniversary of Sas Centre for Virtual Reality and the second anniversary of the Sas Programme for Entrepreneurship.

The Sas Centre for Virtual Reality was launched in April 2014 and the Sas Programme for Entrepreneurship was launched in March 2013.

Facilities and services The celebrations involved public, media figures, and representatives from government and private entities, who were invited to the centres and taken on a tour of the centres to experience the facilities, services and were briefed about the training. During the past two years, the Sas Programme for Entrepreneurship has incubated 19 SMEs, which has resulted in 65 job opportunities for Omanis.

The total revenue of these companies in the first year was

OMR250,000 and OMR524,000 in the second year.

The Sas Centre for Virtual Reality trained 320 Omanis in the past year, and of these 26 of them established their own companies after training. The centres provide facilities for trainees and incubated companies, including meeting and training rooms, Internet, and basic office set up.

The Sas VR centre provides a demo area to showcase virtual reality projects. Sas for Entrepreneurship provides 24/7 access to its facilities only for the incubated companies. On the other hand, both centres offer services to newcomers, such as specialised training, consulting services and access to the ITA extensive ‘network’ to provide them with business opportunities.

The training provided by the Sas Centre for Virtual Reality is related Autodesk, Adobe, augmented reality and virtual reality. On the other hand, the Sas for Entrepreneurship Centre provides training in specialised IT, Business Management and HR Management. ITA is a public authority created by a Royal Decree 52/2006 and it endeavours to consolidate and implement the Digital Oman strategy to transform the Sultanate into a knowledge-based economy for the achievement of social and economic benefits to Omani society. ITA’s vision is ‘Transforming Oman, Empowering You’.

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SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi got down to business on the final day of his trip to China, saying his country was open for investment as firms signed deals worth more than $22 billion India, China ink 21 pacts worth $22b >A5

REGION Court sentences Morsi, 100 others to death for jailbreak Gunmen kill two judges

The court will pronounce its final decision on June 2, since under

CAIRO: Gunmen killed two Egyptian judges and a prosecutor on Saturday in the Sinai Peninsula, where security forces are battling insurgency spearheaded by an IS group affiliate, officials said.

The shooting in North Sinai’s provincial capital El-Arish also killed the driver of the car the judicial officials were in and wounded another prosecutor, the health ministry said. -AFP

Egyptian law, death sentences are referred to the mufti, the government’s interpreter of Islamic law, who plays an advisory role RAISED THE FISTS DEFIANTLY: Egypt’s deposed president Mohamed Morsi raises his hands from

CAIRO: An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced deposed president Mohamed Morsi and more than 100 other people to death for their role in a mass jailbreak during the 2011 uprising.

Morsi, sitting in a caged dock in the blue uniform of convicts after already been sentenced to 20 years for inciting violence, raised his fists defiantly when the verdict was read.

Judge Shabaan El-Shamy handed down the same sentence to more than 100 other defendants including Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badei, already sentenced to death in another trial, and his deputy Khairat Al Shater.

behind the defendant’s cage as the judge reads out his verdict sentencing him and more than 100 others to death in Cairo on Saturday. -AFP

Many of those sentenced on Saturday were tried in absentia, including prominent Qatar-based Islamic cleric Yusuf Al Qaradawi.

The court will pronounce its final decision on June 2, since under Egyptian law, death sentences are referred to the mufti, the government’s interpreter of Islamic law, who plays an advisory role.

Defendants can still appeal even after the mufti’s recommendation. “If he (Morsi) decides that we appeal against the verdict, then we will. If he continues to not recognise this court, then we

won’t appeal,” said defence lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maksoud.

‘Deplorable justice system’ Amnesty International lashed out at verdict, saying it reflected “the deplorable state of the country’s criminal justice system”.

“The death penalty has become the favourite tool for the Egyptian authorities to purge the political opposition,” the London-based rights watchdog said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the death sentence, saying the country was

“turning back into ancient Egypt”, referring to Pharaonic rule that ended more than two millennia ago. Some of Morsi’s fellow defendants included rebels from Sinai, where militants often attack security forces.

Morsi, 64, has yet to be sentenced in the first of two trials that concluded on Saturday, in which the death penalty was given to 16 other defendants convicted of espionage.

They were all found guilty of colluding with foreign powers, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas

and Iran to destabilise Egypt.

Soccer fan clubs outlawed An Egyptian court outlawed popular soccer fan clubs known as “Ultras” which have played a role in political demonstrations and violence since Egypt’s 2011 uprising, the state news agency said.

The reasons for the ruling, which can be appealed, were not immediately clear. But the decision risks sparking an antigovernment backlash among the thousands of highly politicised young men nationwide. -AFP

WA R C R I M E S

Eight children killed in Libya shelling: UN TRIPOLI: Shelling of residential areas of Libya’s second city Benghazi killed at least eight children this week, the United Nations said, warning that such attacks may amount to war crimes.

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), in a statement posted on its website, did not specify exactly when or where the children were killed nor indicate who may have been behind the deadly attacks.

It condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the targeting of residential areas of Libyan cities that also included Gharyan, south of Tripoli, and Zawiya to the west of the capital.

Death condemned UN envoy “Bernardino Leon strongly deplores the death of at least eight children and the injury of four more, as a result of the shelling of residential areas of Benghazi on two occasions this week,” said the UNSMIL statement issued late on Friday.

“The artillery shelling of residential neighbourhoods in the cities of Gharyan and Zawiya are also a tragic reminder of the heavy toll borne by the Libyan people in this conflict.

“UNSMIL reminds all parties that attacks against civilians are prohibited under international humanitarian law and can constitute war crimes.”

“Armed groups across Libya are responsible for abductions of civilians, including minors, on account of their actual or perceived origin, opinion, family and political affiliation,” the UNSMIL said in a statement. -AFP

WA R -W R A C K E D C O U N T RY

Clashes kill 12 in Yemen as truce ends SANAA: Fierce clashes between rebels and pro-government forces killed dozens across south Yemen on Saturday, threatening to derail a humanitarian ceasefire drawn up to bring vital aid to the warwracked country.

The five-day truce initiated by a Saudi-led coalition that has bombarded the Iran-backed rebels for more than six weeks expires late on Sunday, and Riyadh has already warned it was “ready to act” against any ceasefire violations.

In the latest violence, at least 12 civilians were killed and 51 wounded when Houthi rebels shelled several neighbourhoods in Yemen’s third city of Taez, military and local sources said.

The clashes came after overnight fighting killed 26 Houthi rebels and militiamen loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh as well as 14 pro-government forces, military sources said.

The United Nations has expressed deep concern about the civilian death toll from the Saudi-led bombing as well as the humanitarian impact of an air and

spections, introduced under an arms embargo slapped on the Houthi rebels last month, were hampering aid deliveries.

VITAL AID: Emergency medical aid provided by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is unloaded at the international airport in Sanaa on Saturday. -AFP

sea blockade imposed by the coalition. It says more than 1,500 people have died in the conflict since late March.

Some aid has begun to trickle into Yemen since the pause in fighting, but residents of areas where clashes persist complain they remain without the most basic supplies.

The fighting in Taez overnight forced many to flee to the coun-

tryside. “Humanitarian aid hasn’t reached Taez, where we haven’t received fuel, food or medical equipment,” said a government official in the city.

The United Nations has called for the Saudi-led coalition to simplify import inspections after warning that supplies were still blocked.

UN coordinator Johannes van der Klaauw warned that the in-

Iran’s stand Iran will help oppressed people in the region, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday, days after Gulf Arab leaders met US President Barack Obama and expressed concern about Iranian expansionism.

Khamenei also denounced Saudi Arabia for its role leading a coalition of Arab states against Houthi rebels.

His speech to a meeting of Iranian leaders and diplomats from the Muslim world, reported by the state news agency IRNA, brought the issues of political and religious legitimacy squarely into the struggle between the two regional powers.

Iran denies playing a role in either country, but has consistently criticised the campaign in Yemen. The standoff has raised concerns for shipping in the Gulf, a transit route for millions of barrels of oil per day. -AFP

SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015

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INDIA REPORT

PROTEST AGAINST FUEL PRICE HIKE

Big hit in IPL match leaves a policeman blinded in Kolkata

Youth Congress members carry a scooter on a tri-cycle during a protest against the fuel price hike in New Delhi on Saturday.

Petrol price was on Friday hiked by Rs 3.13 a litre and diesel by Rs 2.71 per litre, the second straight steep increase in rates this month. State-owned fuel retailers IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) revise petrol and diesel prices on 1st and 16th of every month based on average imported cost and rupeedollar exchange rate in the previous fortnight. - PTI

NEW DELHI: A policeman has been left blind in one eye after being struck by six hit by South African David Miller in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match, local media reported on Saturday.

Aloke Aich, 53, was struck in the right eye in the game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab at Eden Gardens on May 9.

“I am still in a state of shock and deeply saddened to hear about the loss of Aich’s eye. A freak accident! My prayers are with u,” a shocked Miller tweeted on Friday. Aich’s son said Kolkata Police were paying the medical expenses but feared the accident might cost his father, the sole

earning member in the family, his job as well.

“I don’t know what will happen. With his right eye gone, I don’t think he would be able to sit behind the wheel again,” he told the Indian Express newspaper.

“Will they keep him in the job or will he be asked to take voluntary retirement? How will we survive if he loses his job? We are a lower middle-class family, dependent solely on his income,” he added.

Last month former Bengal Under-19 captain Ankit Keshri, who sustained the head injury in an on-field collision with a fellow fielder while taking a catch haddied. - Agencies

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Indian embassy trade

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counsellor Namgya election raised hopes for reform among investors.

Earlier during Modi’s visit Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed him in Xian, the capital of his ancestral home province Shaanxi, in what his host said was an unprecedented gesture.

Khanpa said the 21 agreements signed at the Shanghai event were ‘worth over $22 billion’, with another five exchanged

ENGROSSED: Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a meeting

with Chinese CEOs in Shanghai, China on Saturday. - PTI

earlier

SHANGHAI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi got down to business on the final day of his trip to China on Saturday, saying his country was open for investment as firms signed deals worth more than $22 billion.

“Let us work together in mutual interest and for progress and prosperity of our great countries,” Modi told executives from 200 Chinese and Indian companies at a business forum in the Chinese commercial hub Shanghai. “Now India is ready for business.”

Modi was on the final day of a three-day trip to his fellow Asian giant, as the two jockey for regional influence and India’s trade deficit with China balloons.

Despite his hardline reputation, Modi has moved to engage with Beijing since his election last year, and he was looking for an eco-

nomic boost from the visit, seeking to deliver on election promises for foreign investment.

China is India’s biggest trading partner with two-way commerce totalling $71 billion in 2014. But India’s trade deficit with China has soared from just $1 billion in 200102 to more than $38 billion last year, Indian figures show.

Agreements Indian embassy trade counsellor Namgya Khanpa said the 21 agreements signed at the Shanghai event were “worth over $22 billion”, with another five exchanged earlier.

Many of the contracts were for Chinese banks to finance Indian firms, and also included deals in the telecom, steel, solar energy and film sectors, she said.

They included an agreement for the China Development Bank to fund a power plant for India’s Adani Power, as well as a steel pro-

ject between Indian conglomerate Welspun and two Chinese firms, according to a list released by Indian officials. No individual deal values were given.

Modi welcomed potential Chinese investment in sectors including housing, renewable energy, high-speed rail, metro, ports and airports, adding that India was eager to draw on China’s expertise in mass manufacturing.

“We are very keen to develop the sectors where China is strong,” he told the business forum ahead of the signing ceremony. “We need your involvement.”

“I strongly believe that this century belongs to Asia,” he said as he sought to stress historical links between the two countries.

But they have followed significantly different economic paths in recent decades, with China rising to become the world’s secondlargest economy while India has lagged behind, although Modi’s

PROPOSAL

New income tax return forms to be far more simple, says Jaitley NEW DELHI: The controversial new income tax return forms, which had been put on hold, will be “far more simplified”, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday, but kept the suspense on if the requirement of disclosing all bank accounts and foreign travels will be retained.

He said after having public consultations, he has asked the income tax department to come up with the simplest form, which is available.

“They (CBDT) are coming out with a proposal. Now that I am free from Parliament, they will put up before me,” he said in an interview when asked whether the number of pages of the forms will be cut down from thirteen and a half.

Foreign travel queries Asked whether the queries on foreign travel and bank accounts, considered by many as intrusive, would be dropped in the revised form, the Minister said: “You wait, but I can only tell you it will be far more simplified”. He seemed to suggest that the questions about foreign travel and all bank accounts could be limited to a section of tax assessees. “... As far as 8 or 9 out of 10 tax payers are involved, their form has to be very simple...There are various kinds of details, which are to be filled up may be absolutely redundant for them,” Jaitley said

SPELLING OUT: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley interacts with PTI journalists in New Delhi on Saturday. - PTI

in reply to a question on the queries in the forms that triggered a controversy.

The simplified I-T return form is being brought after the earlier version was opposed by industry, MPs and assessees for its cumbersome disclosure norms.

“I am in favour of the easing.

This was twelve or twelve and a half page form, which has existed.

Three or four more questions were added...So it became thirteen and a half pages.

“I was in Washington when I came to know of this. I immediately called up and said stop it because to me whether it was twelve and a half or thirteen and a half, both seem a little excessive,” the

Following the controversy over the new ITR forms, which sought details of bank accounts and foreign visits, the revenue department announced putting them on hold

finance minister said. The salaried individuals and those persons who do not have business/ professional income are required to file income tax returns in either ITR-1 or ITR-2 by July 31.

Following the controversy over the new ITR forms, which sought details of bank accounts and foreign visits, the revenue department announced putting them on hold.

The ITR forms, which was notified last month by the CBDT for the current assessment year, had specific columns for banks accounts, IFSC Code, names of joint account holders and foreign visits, including the ones paid by the companies. - PTI

Border dispute Nonetheless relations between the world’s two most populous nations are soured by a long-running border dispute that saw them fight a brief war in 1962, and on Friday Modi told Premier Li Keqiang that China needs to “reconsider its approach” to their ties.

“Our relationship has been complex in recent decades,” Modi said in Beijing, adding there were issues that “trouble smooth development of our relations”.

His comments stood out from the usual public declarations by diplomatic visitors to the Chinese capital, who normally stick to uninterrupted pledges of friendship and good relations.

Both countries are members of the BRICS grouping of major emerging economies, but China has vowed to pour investment into Pakistan as it rolls out infrastructure development plans across Asia, much of which bypass India.

On Saturday, Modi also opened a centre for Indian and Gandhian studies — referring to the former Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi — at prestigious Fudan University. - AFP

I am being attacked for working tirelessly: Modi SHANGHAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday broke his silence on opposition criticism over his frequent foreign visits and took veiled digs at his critics back home, saying he was being attacked for “tireless” work and asserted that if it was a “crime” he would continue to do it.

Modi, who came under attack over his criticism of previous governments during his last trip to Germany, France and Canada, “People are asking why is Modi travelling to so many countries...If you work less, criticism is normal.

If you keep sleeping, criticism is normal. But it is my bad luck that I am being criticised for working more.”

He asserted that “If working more is a crime, I will keep doing it. My commitment is to the people.”

Performance Addressing Indian community here before winding up his three-day China tour, he said “times are changing” and the world is now looking at India differently because of the performance of his government during the last one year

which was a “matter of pride” for every citizen.

Modi, who recounted that it was on this day last year that results of the Lok Sabha elections came, said he had then made three commitments — “I will work tirelessly”, “I am inexperienced and will learn” and that “I will not do any wrong with bad intent”. He said he had fulfilled all the three commitments.

“For the last one year, I have not taken even one day’s leave. I have worked day and night. Did I go on any vacation? Do I take rest? Am I not implementing my promise,” he said.

His reference to “vacation” may be seen as a swipe at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who is facing questions over his 56-day mysterious sabbatical.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi had last week accused Modi of playing domestic politics on foreign soil by attacking his “distinguished” predecessor Manmohan Singh during his visit abroad last month and sinking to a “new low” by referring to the UPA in “despicable terms” in Canada. - PTI

A6

SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015

INDIA

I cannot but conclude that this is a thinly disguised attempt to reduce the democratically elected government ineffective and administer the National Capital Territory of Delhi directly Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi chief minister

Work ‘within constitution’, angry Kejriwal tells Jung The Delhi Lt Governor had on

The BJP through LG of Delhi has attempted a coup against the democratically elected government of Delhi with highest ever mandate in the history of the state Manish Sisodia

Friday appointed Shakuntala Gamlin as acting Chief Secretary despite strong opposition to her nomination by the AAP dispensation which alleged that

Deputy chief minister of Delhi

she had close links with BSES discoms

NEW DELHI: The confrontation over appointment of an acting Chief Secretary Saturday turned into a full blown war between AAP government and Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking him to work “within the confines” of Constitution and alleging that he was trying to take over the administration.

Violating norms Hours after senior bureaucrat Shakuntala Gamlin took charge as acting Chief Secretary despite being asked not to do so by the AAP

government, Kejriwal shot off a strongly-worded letter to Jung, accusing him of trying to render the elected government “ineffective” and violating laid down norms.

Arindam Majumdar, Principal Secretary in Services department who issued the appointment letter of Gamlin following instructions from Jung, was also removed from the post.

The Delhi Chief Minister said he has sought an appointment with the President to apprise him of the issue. Jung had on Friday appointed Gamlin to the post despite strong opposition to her nomination by Kejriwal dispensation which alleged that she had

close links with BSES discoms.

The 1984-batch officer has, however, denied the charges saying they were baseless. In his letter, Kejriwal mentioned about various rules and laid down procedures for governance.

“Despite such clear procedure, you have opted not to follow the law but have tried to take over government and get the order issued directly by the Principal Secretary (Services) who I believe was intimidated into acting in concert with you.

“I cannot but conclude that this is a thinly disguised attempt to reduce the democratically elected government ineffective and admin-

ister the National Capital Territory of Delhi directly,” Kejriwal said in his letter. The chief minister said, “I would strongly request you to remain within the confines of the Constitution and the laws relating to Government of NCT of Delhi.

“You are holding a Constitutional position. Whatever be the political pressure, you have a duty to uphold the Constitution.”

Chief Secretary K. K. Sharma has left for the US on a personal visit due to which the government had to appoint an acting Chief Secretary.

Gamlin has been serving as Power Secretary.

The AAP government hit out at BJP accusing it of attempting a “coup” through the LG. “The BJP through LG of Delhi has attempted a coup against the democratically elected government of Delhi with highest ever mandate in the history of the state.

Direct instruction “This is for the first time that LG is issuing direct instruction to officers, bypassing the chief ministers and council of ministers,” Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the charge of Services department, said.

In his letter to Lt Governor, Kejriwal said, “I am simply aghast by your questionable instructions issued directly to the Principal Secretary (Services) to post an officer of your choice as the acting Chief Secretary of Delhi. In doing so, you have bypassed the democratically elected government.”

Earlier in the day, Gamlin took charge as acting Chief Secretary

even though Kejriwal sent her a letter asking her not to do so as her appointment was “against” the rules.

Meanwhile, Parimal Rai, who was backed by Kejriwal for the post, declined to become acting Chief Secretary, noting that he respects the Lt Governor’s directions.

Gamlin was given the additional charge of Chief Secretary by the LG, hours after she wrote a scathing letter to Jung claiming that she was pressured by a senior bureaucrat in chief minister’s office to withdraw from the race.

“The Constitution, GNCT act of Delhi and Transaction of Business Rules clearly define what LG can do. In case of a dispute or difference of opinion between LG and council of ministers, LG could have called the minister concerned to discuss the matter,” Sisodia said.

Jung had on Thursday rebutted AAP government’s allegations saying under Article 239 AA of the Constitution of India, the the Lt Governor is the representative of State Authority in Delhi.

“Even after that if council of ministers disagreed, he could have referred the matter to the President and his advice could have been conveyed to council of ministers,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.

Calling LG’s move an act “against the Constitution”, Sisodia said, “I was not informed by LG and he does not have power to issue direct instructions to officers. He has clearly acted against the Constitution and laws relevant to Delhi.” - PTI

NAT U R A L C A L A M I T Y

One killed as mild quake hits Bihar PATNA: A man was killed in Bihar when a mild earthquake caused a wall to collapse in Bihar on Saturday evening.

The tremor created panic among the people, who rushed out of their houses, shops and offices, officials said.

The man died in Shikarpur in West Champaran district when a wall collapsed following the earthquake, a district official said.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asked officials to assess the damage if any and appealed to the people to ignore rumours and stay calm. Patna meteorological department official R.K. Giri said the earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale jolted many parts of Bihar. The epicentre was in Nepal, he said.

“People in Patna felt mild tremors,” he said.

According to officials of the state disaster management department, Patna, Darbhanga, Gaya, Purnea, Kishanganj, Madhubani, Jehanabad and Aurangabad, Raxaul, Motihari felt the tremors.

The quake made thousands of people across the state rush of their houses.

In Patna, hundreds of people rushed out of their houses and gathered in open spaces.

The tremors were also felt across north Bengal and Sikkim.

However there were no reports of any damage or casualty from anywhere in the region.

Last Tuesday, a massive earthquake rocked several parts of Bihar, in which 19 people were killed.

The epicentre of that earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale was in Kodari in Nepal. - IANS

S WA R A J S A M VA D P R O G R A M M E

‘We have left the shadow of AAP behind’ ALLAHABAD: Asserting that they have “left the shadow of Aam Aadmi Party behind”, its expelled founding leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, who have regrouped under the banner of ‘Swaraj Abhiyan’, on Saturday said that their “fight against corruption and policies which are leading to skewed employment generation and agrarian crisis” would continue.

Addressing a joint press conference after holding a ‘Swaraj Samvad’ here — a dialogue with common citizens with regard to the problems of everyday governance, Yadav, Bhushan and Anand Kumar did not rule out forming an alternative political outfit at a later stage “if the need arises”.

Future plans “We have left the shadow of Aam Aadmi Party behind. At present, we are not interested in forming a party. If the need arises we may float an outfit in future but in that case we would be moving cautiously, avoiding traps like high command culture and personality cult which the AAP has fallen into,” they said in reply to a query. “...Right now our emphasis is on channelling the deep resentment within the society which finds cheated by every successive government,” they said.

the country from witnessing plunder of public wealth like in Russia of 1990s,” he said.

Speaking at the same symposium, Yadav expressed great concern over the plight of primary education in Uttar Pradesh “which renders all talk of improving higher education meaningless”.

Quoting from a survey, Yadav alleged that most children studying in government schools across the villages of the state did not possess skills relating to reading and mathematics and that this had led to a sharp decline in the percentage of children in the rural areas who chose to study in staterun educational institutions.

CANDID: Expelled AAP leader Yogendra Yadav speaks at a Swaraj Samvad programme in Allahabad on Saturday. - PTI

Strongly criticising the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for having “captured power on the issue of corruption against the Congress regime, only to abandon it and divert all attention to unbridled liberalisation and privatisation”, the Swaraj Abhiyan leaders also came down heavily on the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh for “allowing graft and nepotism to flourish on a scale unprecedented in history”.

Earlier, speaking during the

Swaraj Samvad meeting, Bhushan launched a scathing attack on the Modi government and alleged that its policies “reminded one of Russia immediately after the fall of the Soviet Union where private enterprise and growth rate were touted as a panacea”.

“Given that our investigative agencies continue to be toothless and at the beck and call of governments at the Centre or in the states, only effective deterrents like a strong Lokpal can prevent

Concerned The Swaraj Abhiyan leaders also expressed concern over “a series of incidents of communal tensions across the country, especially in UP, which may have been engineered by mainstream political parties for electoral gains”.

“The Swaraj Abhiyan will also set up citizens’ groups which would be encouraged to diffuse any communal tension that may have arisen in their vicinity.

“This would prevent skirmishes from growing into full-blown riots and, in turn, may dissuade political parties from fomenting passions to gain votes,” they said. - PTI

APPOINTMENT

Teacher fails 4th grader’s maths test, faces action SRINAGAR: The Jammu & Kashmir High Court turned into an examination centre for some time when the judge, to test a teacher’s abilities, asked him to write an essay on cow and solve a 4th grader’s maths problem, adjudged him having failed, and ordered registration of an FIR against him.

The matter is related to Mohammed Imran Khan, who was appointed as Rehbar-e-Taleem (education guide) in a south Kashmir school. Khan’s appointment was challenged by the petitioner, who alleged his certificates issued

by Board of Higher Secondary Education Delhi and Global Open University, Nagaland were not recognised.

The marksheet issued to the respondent by the Board of Higher Secondary Education Delhi showed he had secured 74 per cent, 73 per cent and 66 per cent in Urdu, English and Maths respectively. Justice Muzaffar Hus-

sain Attar, who was hearing the petition on Friday, decided to test Khan’s proficiency and asked a senior counsel to give him a simple line for translation from English to Urdu and vice-versa.

With the shoe on the other foot, the teacher failed to impress the judge. He was then asked to write an essay on ‘cow’ in Urdu.

Khan sought permission to write the essay outside the confines of the court room, apparently to allow better flow of ideas.

The request was granted but he was declared failed again.

Khan, who claimed he had better grip over Mathematics, was then asked to solve a maths problem meant for 4th graders.

Alas! he was pronounced having failed, yet again.

An exasperated Justice Attar said, “In this situation, what would be the fate of the state has to be only visualised. The school going children....would pass out as blockheads.” He also took the

authorities to task for appointing such teachers, calling them “soulless” and pulling them up for overlooking and “criminally condoning Himalayan blunders”.

“The authorities, responsible to ensure that the stream of academics and education is not polluted in the state of J&K, however, in view of the facts, which have surfaced in this case, have acted as soulless bodies with ray-less eyes, as they have criminally condoned and over-looked the Himalayan blunders committed in procuring the academic degrees,” Justice Attar observed.

‘Tuck shops’ He went on to describe the study centres which provide certificates to unworthy candidates as “tuck shops”.

“The writ petition at hand throws up most startling and classical example of sale and purchase of academic degrees, for which many tuck shops are operating in

the state and responsible for relegating the student community to the dark cave of Plato,” he said.

The court also directed Commissioner and Secretary of the Education Department to constitute a panel which would ask the teachers who produce such degrees to appear for screening and ascertain if they had the required ability to teach students.

“The ReT teachers who fail in such a screening test, their certificates would require to be seized after affording opportunity of hearing to them. The authorities shall consider termination of their services after following principles of natural justice as same will be in the larger interest of the student community and society,” the court said.

The judge then asked the Director, School Education Department, to refer the instant case to the concerned police station for registration of a case and initiate action. - PTI

SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015 Out of target 103 million active SIMs, 75.5 million SIMs have been re-verified while 27.5 million active SIMs have been blocked Ministry of information

A7

PAKISTAN

Four militants shot dead in Karachi Rangers had launched a targeted operation against the proscribed Balochistan Liberation Army in the city’s Golimar neighbourhood TA C K L I N G M I L I TA N T S

27.5 million active SIMs blocked ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities on Saturday said they have authenticated 75.5 million SIM cards through biometric verification under a plan to stop their use in terrorist attacks triggered by mobile phones.

The Biometric Verification System (BVS) was introduced after several mobile phone connections issued to unknown persons were used in several terrorist attacks in the country, forcing authorities to go for mandatory verification in December following the Taliban attack that killed about 150 school students in Peshawar.

Last date for verification The ministry of information said in a statement that Fridaywas the last date for verification of SIM cards. “Out of target 103 million active SIMs, 75.5 million SIMs have been re-verified while 27.5 million active SIMs have been blocked,” it said.

As part of the implementation, the Ministry of Information Technology (MoIT) and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) undertook measures to make the process smooth and transparent and also to facilitate general public awareness.

Awareness campaigns Extensive awareness campaigns through SMS, electronic (TV and radio) and digital media were run.

In addition, an alternate verification process was deployed to facilitate the aged, disabled and overseas Pakistanis. Initially, MoIT and PTA were tasked to carry-out verification of all existing SIMs through BVS in January 2015 but later it was extended till April 12. The process was again extended for certain categories till May 15 and now has been finally completed.

Third party audit The government has also asked PTA to carry-out a third party audit of the whole exercise to verify its authenticity and the Expression of Interest (EoI) for hiring of a third party auditor has already been floated.

Officials believe that the reverification drive will check the use of SIM cards for militant activities. — PTI RISING MENACE

Two held for distributing IS leaflets PESHAWAR: Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) arrested two men on late Friday in Nothia Bazaar area of Peshawar for reportedly distributing IS pamphlets.

Ghulam Muhammad and Lal Muhammad were picked up in a raid from their hideout, a CTD official said.

The accused were shifted to an undisclosed location, police officials further said.

The duo was distributing pamphlets in Pushto and Persian, urging people to join extremist group.

The ultra-extremist terrorist group, IS, and its affiliate Jundullah claimed responsibility for last Tuesday’s bus attack in Karachi which claimed more the 40 lives. — Express Tribune

KARACHI: Pakistani paramilitary forces on Saturday killed at least four members of a Baloch insurgent group in the port city of Karachi, officials said.

The incident happened in the impoverished neighbourhood of old Golimar where paramilitary Rangers had launched a targeted operation against the proscribed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) on an intelligence tip-off.

“The criminals opened indiscrminate fire on the Rangers, prompting the force to fire back which killed four notorious BLA terrorists,” Rangers spokesman Major Sibtain Rizvi told AFP. He said six insurgents were

The rebels began their fifth insurgency against the state in 2004, with hundreds of soldiers and militants killed in the fighting

also arrested during the operation, adding they were all involved in anti-state activities and targeted killings.

The BLA mainly operates in

resource-rich Balochistan, the largest of Pakistan’s four provinces, but its roughly seven million inhabitants have long complained they do not receive a fair share of

its gas and mineral wealth.

Rebels began their fifth insurgency against the state in 2004, with hundreds of soldiers and militants killed in the fighting.

The incident came days after massacre of 44 members of minority Ismaili community in Karachi on Wednesday in the first attack officially claimed by IS in the country.

Suicide bombing Wednesday’s attack was the second-deadliest in Pakistan this year after 62 minority sect members were killed in a suicide bombing in late January.

Karachi, a city of 20 million people, is wracked by violence and targeted shootings are a near-daily occurrence, either for robbery or for religious, political or ethnic reasons.— AFP

A8

T IME S O F O MAN

SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015

COMMEN ARY ISO 9001:2008

Certified Company Founder: Essa bin Mohammed Al Zedjali Chairman and Editor-in-Chief: Mohamed Issa Al Zadjali Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Anees bin Essa Al Zedjali Chief Executive Officer: Ahmed Essa Al Zedjali Editorial: 24726666, Fax: 24813153; E-mail: editor@timesofoman.com Advertising: 24726666, Fax: 24812624 Circulation: 24726600, Fax: 24818270; E-mail: circulation@timesofoman.com Printed and published by: Muscat Media Group P.O. Box 770, Ruwi, Postal Code: 112, Sultanate of Oman.

Subscription: RO70 per year.

California drought calls for efficient water markets

C

alifornia’s worst-in-a-century drought is forcing the state to impose strict limits on water use and to consider increasingly elaborate and expensive proposals to move water from here to there. Those steps may be necessary, but they should be accompanied by something more rational and efficient.

That mechanism, of course, is the market. When it comes to California’s water, however -- especially the 80 per cent of it used in agriculture -- the market is woefully inefficient. And making it work is no easy process.

But the sooner California can work this out, the easier it will be for the state to adapt to a world of scarce supply. California can also show the way for other drought-endangered states in the Southwest to do the same.

Like many other places, California has traditionally insulated its water from market forces -- by preventing its sale outright or by imposing steep transaction costs and other barriers. Its underused water market operates without transparent pricing or simple and consistent rules.

This market could be made more efficient, though. That’s the lesson from Australia, which started using water markets in the 1980s and has since become a model for other countries. The system sets an annual cap on the amount of water that can be used without threatening future supply, then breaks that amount into entitlements for different users, which they can trade, temporarily or permanently.

When droughts hit, the volume of water that’s trading in Australia increases, as farmers who grow water-intensive crops such as rice or cotton sell their rights to farmers who grow crops that can’t be fallowed because they grow on vines or trees, such as grapes or almonds. Australia’s system aims to make those transfers as smooth as possible; you can view real- time prices or trade water rights online. What’s more, all the other data needed to set rational prices -- including up-to-the- minute water usage and records of water rights -- are publicly at hand.

The system has been a success: During droughts, water trading has helped agricultural production stay mostly constant and helped individual farmers survive financially. California, like most other US states, also lets farmers buy and sell their water rights, to each other or to cities.

Building efficient water markets takes time, and communities will still need to keep some control over their supplies.

But making it easier to buy and sell water is the best way to adapt to living with less of it. — Bloomberg News

COMMENTARY

Clandestine global corporate takeover JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ

Time for Pakistan to act

T

here is a sense that the operation in Karachi to clean up the city and take down the criminal and sectarian infrastructures — some of which lie within political organisations — was a job only half done. The appalling attack on the Ismaili community in Safoora Goth that killed at least 45 people may be the event that signals a taking off of the handbrake; and in the aftermath of a Sindh Apex Committee meeting on May 14, Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif has ordered an expansion of the operation. This in itself is an unspoken acknowledgement that not all criminal, terrorist or sectarian elements had been tackled, but would be henceforward.

Apex committees were formed to monitor the implementation of the National Action Plan that was formulated after the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar last December. Their efficacy has been far from uniform thus far, and in the instance of Sindh, there is just cause for complaint as the Rs3.4 billion package promised by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the Sindh police has not been delivered.

General Sharif has said that he will take up the matter with the prime minister, which is all very well, but the police and others can hardly be expected to take on heavily-armed elements with one hand tied behind their back and vulnerable soft-skin vehicles — when what they really need are armoured personnel carriers.

There is now to be enhanced surveillance at entry points to the city, apex committee meetings weekly rather than monthly, and increased coordination between intelligence agencies. This latter has long bedevilled effective counterterrorism interventions as the intelligence apparatus is notoriously poor at acting in concert with one another.

If all this fine resolve does indeed translate into actions which confront head on some of the political and religious ‘untouchables’, then we warmly welcome and support them.

If, however, it is yet another deployment of smoke and mirrors, looking busy doing nothing, then we reserve the right to be critical of all concerned. Fine words there are aplenty, but what Karachi needs now is steely resolve. — Express Tribune

Better not to allow expat pupils to work part-time This refers to the news report, Omani students can now take up part-time jobs, (May 16). In my opinion, expatriate students should not be allowed to work.

The expat students will not be able to concentrate on their studies if they work part-time.

Suresh Balakrishnan Oman

Part-time work draws higher remuneration This refers to the news report, Omani students can now take up part-time jobs, (May 16). In my view, part-time jobs for expatriates should be allowed because it will give them work experience.

Also, salaries for such jobs are higher than the full time ones,

as work hours are less. Also, if salaries for full-time jobs are low then expatriate workers can leave it anytime.

Yameen Rawat Muscat, Oman

Omani nationals alone should get part-time jobs This refers to the news report published in your newspaper, Omani students can now take up part-time jobs, (May 16). I don’t think expatriate students should be allowed to work part-time for two reasons. Firstly, it is the right of the Omani nationals to get part-time jobs as it’s their country. Secondly, such a step would lead to a high influx of Indian workers.

Sunny Baloch Oman

The real intent of these provisions is to impede health, environmental, safety, and, yes, even financial regulations meant to protect US’ own economy and citizens.

Companies can sue governments for full compensation for any reduction in their future expected profits resulting from regulatory changes

T

he United States and the world are engaged in a great debate about new trade agreements. Such pacts used to be called “free-trade agreements”; in fact, they were managed trade agreements, tailored to corporate interests, largely in the US and the European Union. Today, such deals are more often referred to as “partnerships,”as in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). But they are not partnerships of equals: the US effectively dictates the terms. Fortunately, America’s “partners” are becoming increasingly resistant.

It is not hard to see why. These agreements go well beyond trade, governing investment and intellectual property as well, imposing fundamental changes to countries’ legal, judicial, and regulatory frameworks, without input or accountability through democratic institutions.

Perhaps the most invidious – and most dishonest – part of such agreements concerns investor protection. Of course, investors have to be protected against the risk that rogue governments will seize their property. But that is not what these provisions are about. There have been very few expropriations in recent decades, and investors who want to protect themselves can buy insurance from the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, a World Bank affiliate (the US and other governments provide similar insurance). Nonetheless, the US is demanding such provisions in the TPP, even though many of its “partners” have property protections and judicial systems that are as good as its own.

The real intent of these provisions is to impede health, environmental, safety, and, yes, even financial regulations meant to protect America’s own economy and citizens. Companies can sue governments for full compensation for any reduction in their future expected profits resulting from regulatory changes.

This is not just a theoretical possibility. Philip Morris is suing Uruguay and Australia for requiring warning labels on cigarettes. Admittedly, both countries went a little further than the US, mandating the inclusion of graphic images showing the consequences of cigarette smoking.

The labeling is working. It is discouraging smoking. So now Philip Morris is demanding to be compensated for lost profits.

In the future, if we discover that some other product causes health problems (think of asbestos), rather than facing lawsuits for the costs imposed on us, the manufacturer could sue governments for restraining them from killing more people. The same thing could happen if our governments impose more stringent regulations to protect us from the impact

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Aim above morality. Be not simply good, be good for something HENRY DAVID THOREAU

of greenhouse-gas emissions. When I chaired President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers, anti-environmentalists tried to enact a similar provision, called “regulatory takings.” They knew that once enacted, regulations would be brought to a halt, simply because government could not afford to pay the compensation. Fortunately, we succeeded in beating back the initiative, both in the courts and in the US Congress.

But now the same groups are attempting an end run around democratic processes by inserting such provisions in trade bills, the contents of which are being kept largely secret from the public (but not from the corporations that are pushing for them). It is only from leaks, and from talking to government officials who seem more committed to democratic processes, that we know what is happening.

Fundamental to America’s system of government is an impartial public judiciary, with legal standards built up over the decades, based on principles of transparency, precedent, and the opportunity to appeal unfavorable decisions. All of this is being set aside, as the new agreements call for private, nontransparent, and very expensive arbitration. Moreover, this arrangement is often rife with conflicts of interest; for example, arbitrators may be a “judge” in one case and an advocate in a related case.

The proceedings are so expensive that Uruguay has had to turn to Michael Bloomberg and other wealthy Americans committed to health to defend itself against Philip Morris. And, though corporations can bring suit, others cannot. If there is a violation of other commitments – on labor and environmental standards, for example – citizens, unions, and civil-society groups have no recourse.

If there ever was a one-sided dispute-resolution mechanism that violates basic principles, this is it.

That is why I joined leading US legal experts, including from Harvard, Yale, and Berkeley, in writing a letter to President Barack Obama explaining how damaging to our system of justice these agreements are. American supporters of such agreements point out that the US has been sued only a few times so far, and has not lost a case. Corporations, however, are just learning how to use these agreements to their advantage.

Rules and regulations determine the kind of economy and society in which people live. They affect relative bargaining power, with important implications for inequality, a growing problem around the world. The question is whether we should allow rich corporations to use provisions hidden in so-called trade agreements to dictate how we will live in the twenty-first century.

I hope citizens in the US, Europe, and the Pacific answer with a resounding no. — Project Syndicate

Mining sector can provide lots of jobs to the Omanis This refers to the news report, Oman’s mining body to examine gold found in North Batinah, (May 16). There can be lots of job opportunities for Omani citizens if the government keeps the mining sector in its control.

Additionally, there is a need to set up steel plant along with cement companies.

Ajesh Thickalveettil Kannur, India

MGM announcement on new car park is welcome This refers to the news report, New parking lot at Muscat Grand Mall announced, (May 16). I welcome this step taken by the mall’s management, as a large number of people avoid it because of its

congested parking. In this regard, one should learn lessons from the City Centres’ parking layouts.

Jaison Mathai Muscat, Oman

Kevin Pietersen surely deserved better treatment The England cricket management have done a great blunder by heaping insult on the charismatic cricketer Kevin Pietersen.

The fact of the matter is that he is still young enough to have a few years of cricket left in him and he still can do wonders the way Brian Lara did in his mid-30s. What is surprising is that there is none who is of his calibre among the England batsmen by far.

Parwez Ahmad Muscat, Oman

Letters, containing not more than 200 words with full name, address and telephone number, may be sent by mail (Times of Oman, P.O. Box 770, P.C. 112, Ruwi), by fax (24813153) or by e-mail (times@omantel.net.om)

SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015 We had very little food, and we agreed that we would leave it for the women and children.

Then they started hitting us. They took the food. They pushed many of us overboard. They beat us and attacked us with knives. I was hit with a wooden plank on the head and on my legs, said Mahmud Rafiq, a 21-year-old Rohingya man who left Myanmar a month ago

A9

WORLD

Asian migrants and maritime crisis blazing sun. Some of the women were crying, and some passengers waved their arms and shouted.

The International Organisation for Migration has criticised Southeast Asian governments for playing “maritime ping-pong” with the migrants and endangering their lives.

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday urged Thailand to considering sheltering the homeless Rohingya and called on its neighbours not to send the migrants back out to sea.

The United Nations has called on countries around the Andaman Sea not to push back the thousands of desperate Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar now stranded in rickety boats, and to rescue them instead

KOH LIPE (THAILAND)/ LANGSA (INDONESIA): A boat crammed with migrants was towed out to sea by the Thai navy and then held up by Malaysian vessels on Saturday, the latest round of “maritime ping-pong” by Asian states determined not to let asylum seekers come ashore.

The United Nations has called on countries around the Andaman Sea not to push back the thousands of desperate Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar now stranded in rickety boats, and to rescue them instead.

“We’re not seeing any such moves from any governments in the region even though we’re calling on the international commu-

LUCKY TO BE ALIVE: An Indonesian aid volunteer hands water and food to Rohingya migrants from Myanmar in the new confinement area in the fishing town of Kuala Langsa in Aceh province on Saturday. — AFP

nity to take action because people are dying,” said Jeffrey Savage, who works with the UNHCR refugee agency in Indonesia, where some 1,400 migrants have landed over the past week.

Nearly 800 came ashore near Langsa in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Friday, many with stories of a gruelling voyage that included push-backs from the Malaysian and Indonesian coasts.

Mahmud Rafiq, a 21-year-old Rohingya man who left Myanmar a month ago, recounted how an Indonesian navy ship given

them food and medicine before towing their boat to Malaysian waters, where they were again stopped, given supplies and taken right back.

While adrift at sea, he said, the Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants had fought fiercely over dwindling supplies of food.

“We had very little food, and we agreed that we would leave it for the women and children,” said Rafiq. “Then they started hitting us. They took the food. They pushed many of us overboard.

They beat us and attacked us with

knives. I was hit with a wooden plank on the head and on my legs.”

An estimated 25,000 Bangladeshis and Rohingya boarded smugglers’ boats in the first three months of this year, twice as many as in the same period of 2014, the UNHCR has said.

A clampdown by Thailand’s military junta has made a well-trodden trafficking route into Malaysia - one of Southeast Asia’s wealthiest economies - too risky for criminals who prey on Rohingya fleeing persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar and on impoverished

Bangladeshis looking for work.

In response, many peoplesmugglers appear to have abandoned their boats in the Andaman Sea, leaving thousands thirsty, hungry and sick, and without fuel for their vessels’ engines.

One of those boats was towed away from the Thai coast by Thailand’s navy on Saturday, only to be intercepted off the Malaysian coast.

A Reuters journalist on a speedboat taken from southern Thailand’s coast said that the people aboard had little shelter from the

Not be burdened Responding to the pressure, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said his country already had 120,000 illegal migrants from Myanmar and the “humanitarian catastrophe” was a global issue to be resolved by the international community.

“We allow some of them to land and provide humanitarian aid to them but Malaysia must not be burdened with this problem as there are thousands more waiting to flee from their region,” Najib told the state news agency Bernama on Saturday.

The United Nations said this week that the deadly pattern of migration across the Bay of Bengal would continue unless Myanmar ended discrimination.

Most of Myanmar’s 1.1 million Rohingya’s are stateless and live in apartheid-like conditions. Almost 140,000 were displaced in clashes with ethnic Rakhine in 2012.

Myanmar terms the Rohingya “Bengalis”, a name most Rohingya reject because it implies they are immigrants from Bangladesh despite having lived in Myanmar for generations. Thailand is hosting talks on May 29 for 15 countries to discuss the crisis. — Reuters

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SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015 The operation represents another significant blow to IS, and it is a reminder that the United States will never waver in denying safe haven to terrorists who threaten our citizens, and those of our friends and allies Ash Carter, US Defence Secretary

WORLD

Senior IS commander killed as US forces carry out raid in Syria ‘Turkey has shot down Syria drone’

US President Barack Obama ordered the overnight operation that killed Abu Sayyaf, identified as an IS leader who helped manage the group’s black-market sales of oil and gas to raise funds, US officials said

WA S H I N G T O N/ B E I R U T : American special operations forces killed a senior IS leader in a raid in Syria, US officials said on Saturday, an operation that appeared to mark a departure from Washington’s strategy of relying mostly on a bombing campaign to target militant leaders there.

President Barack Obama ordered the overnight operation that killed Abu Sayyaf, identified as an IS commander who helped manage the group’s black-market sales of oil and gas to raise funds, US officials said. His wife, Umm Sayyaf, was captured and was being held in Iraq.

It was the first known US special forces operation inside Syria apart from a failed secret effort to rescue a number of US and other foreign hostages held by IS in northeastern Syria last year.

Ground forces Wary of the United States getting pulled deeper into Middle East conflicts, Obama has promised not to commit major ground forces in the fight against IS, which has seized swathes of Syria and Iraq.

He has left open the prospects of special forces raids, though it was not immediately clear if the latest one marked the start of a new chapter in Syria.

US special forces based in Iraq flew by helicopter on a mission aimed at capturing Abu Sayyaf in

AFTERMATH: Smoke rises after what activists said was due to clashes between Al Rahman corps and forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar Al Assad in Al Hajez garages, near the Damascus countryside governorate building on the southern entrance to Erbeen, in the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta on Saturday. The garages and the area around them is under the control of pro-Assad forces. — Reuters

Al Amr in eastern Syria, US officials said. One official said the elite Delta Force was used in the mission, and that UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft were involved.

“Abu Sayyaf was killed during the course of the operation when he engaged US forces,” Defence Secretary Ash Carter said.

About a dozen IS extremists were also killed in the raid, two US officials said. One official said enemy forces fired at the US aircraft and there was hand-to-hand combat during the raid.

No US forces were killed or wounded during the operation, Carter said.

“The operation represents another significant blow to IS, and it is a reminder that the United States will never waver in denying safe haven to terrorists who threaten our citizens, and those of our friends and allies,” Carter said.

INSURGENCY

The raid in Syria came at a time when IS has scored high-profile gains in Iraq and made advances in Syria.

“The president authorized this operation upon the unanimous recommendation of his national security team and as soon as we had developed sufficient intelligence and were confident the mission could be carried out successfully,” said White House National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan.

Syria not warned Bernadette said the operation was conducted “with the full consent of Iraqi authorities.” But she said the United States did not give any advance warning or coordinate with the government of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, who Washington strongly opposes.

Carter said that US special operations forces conducted the op-

eration targeting Abu Sayyaf and his wife.

Abu Sayyaf “had a senior role in overseeing IS’ illicit oil and gas operations - a key source of revenue that enables the terrorist organisation to carry out their brutal tactics and oppress thousands of innocent civilians,” Bernadette said.

Yazidi woman freed His wife was also suspected of playing “an important role in IS’ terrorist activities,” Bernadette said. She said US forces freed a young Yazidi woman “who appears to have been held as a slave by the couple.”

US and Arab forces have been carrying out almost daily air raids against hardline militant groups in Syria including IS since last September, and US-led forces are also targeting the group in Iraq.

Meanwhile, IS seized control on Saturday of the northern part

of Syria’s ancient desert city of Palmyra after fierce clashes with government forces, a monitoring group said.

“IS advanced and took control of most of northern Palmyra, and there are fierce clashes happening now,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

He said 13 extremist militants were killed in ongoing clashes near the Islamic citadel in the city’s west.

Abdel Rahman had no details on regime casualties.

Most of Palmyra’s renowned ruins, including colonnaded streets and elaborately decorated tombs, lie to the southwest of the city.

IS began its offensive on Palmyra on Wednesday and inched closer to the ancient metropolis on Thursday and Friday, executing at least 49 civilians according to the Observatory. — Agencies

ISTANBUL/BEIRUT: Syrian state media said a surveillance drone was shot down by Turkish military jets on Saturday, which Turkey said had violated its airspace.

NATO member Turkey, an outspoken critic of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, has a 900-km (560-mile) border with Syria and frequently scrambles jets to its frontier amid concerns aircraft have violated its air space.

A Turkish military official said two F-16 fighters flying out of Incirlik base in southern Turkey had opened fire on a target, but he was unable to give details about the target.

Syrian state TV said it was a small, remotely controlled surveillance drone.

Eyewitnesses in Turkey’s Hatay province, which borders Syria, reported seeing an aircraft fired upon by jets and break apart in the air. News channels said it landed in Syria.

The Turkish military has stepped up security in province at the border following the incident, security sources said.

Turkey has taken in more than 1.7 million Syrian refugees and has repeatedly called for Assad’s overthrow for his handling of the uprising against him and subsequent conflict.

Assad has said Turkish support was a key factor in helping insurgents seize the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib earlier this year. — Reuters

D I S P U T E OV E R L A N D R E C L A M AT I O N

Taliban kidnap 27 Beijing-Washington tensions mount at gunpoint on road over South China Sea islands row KHOST(AFGHANISTAN): Taliban insurgents abducted 27 people in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, setting up a road block and pulling them from their vehicles at gunpoint in the latest mass kidnapping in the war-torn country.

The incident took place in the Sayed Karam district of southeastern Paktia province, said provincial council member Mohammad Rahman Qadery. The hostages were taken to an unknown location, he said.

“We are not sure why they have abducted civilians, but we have deployed police reinforcement to free the passengers,” provincial police chief Zalmai Uryakhail told AFP. Negotiations Local elders were also involved in negotiations to free the abductees, he said.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on Twitter the group was holding the 27 people on suspicion of being government workers.

Mujahid said they had identified eight government employees while the remaining 19 were being “investigated”.

There has been an increase in kidnappings by militant groups in Afghanistan this year.

Prisoner swap Earlier this month, Kabul was able to secure the release of 19 out of 31 mostly members of a minority sect kidnapped by gunmen in the southern part of the country in early February in what was reported to be a prisoner swap.

The Taliban have also stepped up attacks on government and foreign targets since they announced their annual spring offensive late last month, vowing to “safeguard and protect the lives of civilians”.

We are not sure why they have abducted civilians, but we have deployed police reinforcement to free the passengers Zalmai Uryakhail

Paktia police chief

A Taliban raid on a guesthouse popular with international aid agency workers in a highly secured part of the Afghan capital on Wednesday killed 14 people, including four Indians, two Pakistanis, an American, an Italian and a British-Afghan dual national.

Stark reminder The attack sparked strong condemnation from Amnesty International, which said it was a “stark reminder of the Taliban’s contempt for human life” and reflected “a worrying new surge in the armed group’s targeting of civilians around the country”.

The Afghan insurgent group justified targeting foreigners, saying people from “invading countries” do not count as civilians. — AFP

BEIJING: China’s foreign minister told top US diplomat John Kerry on Saturday that Beijing was “unshakeable” in its defence of sovereignty, as tensions between the powers mount over Chinese island-building in strategic but disputed waters.

The United States is weighing sending warships and surveillance aircraft within 12 nautical miles — the normal territorial zone around natural land — of artificial islands that Beijing is building in the South China Sea. Such a move could lead to a standoff on the high seas in an area home to vital global shipping lanes and believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits.

Beijing regards almost the whole of the South China Sea as its own and after talks in the Chinese capital Foreign Minister Wang Yi said sternly: “The determination of the Chinese side to safeguard our own sovereignty and territorial integrity is as firm as a rock and it is unshakeable.”

Land reclamation Kerry was less assertive in public, saying at their joint press conference that Washington was “concerned about the pace and scope of China’s land reclamation” and urged it “to take actions that will join with everyone to reduce tensions”.

The region needed “smart diplomacy”, he said, rather than “outposts and military strips”.

Senior State Department officials had said ahead of the meeting that Kerry would take a tough line and “leave his Chinese interlocutors in absolutely no doubt that the United States remains committed to maintain freedom of navigation”.

and includes a runway said to be 3,100 metres (10,200 feet) long.

US government officials stress that under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, only natural land masses create a territorial claim, not artificial islands.

“You can’t build sovereignty,” an official said.

But the United States has never ratified the convention itself.

DIVERGENT AGENDAS: US Secretary of State John Kerry, left,

holds a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, China, on Saturday. — Reuters

“That’s a principle that we are determined to uphold,” the official added.

The world’s top two economies have significant commercial ties and Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to pay a state visit to the United States in September.

But China’s ambitions for a place on the world’s political stage commensurate with its economic role have seen it cross the United States in multiple fields, and the two have long-running disputes over issues ranging from trade to cyberspying to human rights.

Trading partner At the same time the United States is China’s second-biggest trading partner after the European Union, with two-way commerce worth $555 billion last year, according to Chinese figures.

Beijing is the heavily indebted US government’s biggest foreign creditor, figures from Washington showed on Friday, reclaiming top

spot from Japan with more than $1.26 trillion in Treasury bonds.

Kerry was due to meet senior political and military leaders later.

Beijing bases its territorial claims in the South China Sea on a segmented line dating back to Chinese maps of the 1940s.

Spratly Islands US officials increasingly believe Washington needs to send a clear signal about China’s activities around the Spratly Islands and other disputed territories, while avoiding triggering a crisis.

Pentagon officials last week revealed that Beijing is building artificial islands on top of South China Sea coral reefs at an unprecedented pace, in a land reclamation effort dubbed a “great wall of sand” by one American commander.

The rapid construction comes to 2,000 acres (800 hectares), with 75 per cent of the total created in the last five months alone,

Deep concerns Beijing’s increasing assertiveness has raised deep concerns across the region in recent years -- as well as its South China Sea claims, which overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, it is in dispute with Japan over islets in the East China Sea. Beijing defends the islandbuilding as taking place within its own territory and intended to enhance its ability to carry out international obligations such as search and rescue.

In a commentary Saturday, China’s official news agency Xinhua said the United States was guilty of “thinly veiled hypocrisy”.

“The United States is not a party in the South China Sea disputes, which are between China and other claimants and should be handled by those directly involved,” it said.

“Washington has no valid grounds whatsoever to point an accusing finger at Beijing over South China Sea. Instead, it needs to look at itself in the mirror,” it went on, accusing the United States of seeking “a pretext to maintain its hegemonic presence in the region”.

The United States is pursuing a foreign policy “pivot” towards Asia which has rattled China. — AFP

SU N DAY, M AY 1 7, 2015

S P O R S PREVIEW

SRH, MI in must-win situation HYDERABAD: Placed on an equal footing on the league table, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad face each other in a must-win Indian Premier League (IPL) match with a playoff berth at stake here on Sunday.

Both sides have 14 points each from 13 matches and a win in their last league match tomorrow at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at Uppal is a must for either team to qualify for the play-offs.

Sunrisers Hyderabad have been on a high after consecutive victories before they suffered a setback on Friday by losing to Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets in a rain-curtailed away match.

Sunrisers put up a challenging total of 135 in 11 overs after a rain-delayed start, but RCB achieved the revised target of 81 from six overs with a ball to spare under Duckworth/Lewis system with Chris Gayle (35) and captain Virat Kohli (44 not out) taking their side home.

Captain David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan have been doing a fine job at the top of order for Sunrisers and their middle-order batsmen like Moises Henriques, Eoin Morgan and Lokesh Rahul have also been making useful contributions to the team cause.

The performance of the middle order looked shaky early in the tournament but that is no longer the case now for the Sunrisers.

The Hyderabad side boasts of one of the best bowling attacks, with the presence of topranking bowlers like Dale Steyn, Trent Boult, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, all-rounder Moises Henriques and Karn Sharma.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has particularly been impressive with his death bowling as seen in the recent matches. - PTI

Super Kings crush Kings XI to go top SCOREBOARD

CSK finished their league engagements on top of the eightteam table with 18 points from 14 games

MOHALI: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) produced a clinical performance as they demolished wooden spooners Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by seven wickets to finish on top of the league table and qualify for the play-offs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament, here on Saturday.

After restricting Kings XI Punjab to a none too impressive 130 for seven in 20 overs, CSK pair of Faf du Plessis (55, 41 balls) and Suresh Raina (41 no, 34 balls) added 92 runs for the third wicket to lay the foundation of a victory that was achieved in 16.5 overs.

Du Plessis and Raina joined forces after CSK were put in a spot at 10 for twowith both Mike Hussey (1) and Brendon McCullum (6) being dismissed cheaply.

By virtue of this victory, CSK finished their league engagements on top of the eight-team table with 18 points from 14 games, which

CRUCIAL STRIKES: Chennai Superkings’ Pawan Negi, centre, celebrates with his teammates after dismissing Wriddhiman Saha of the Kings XI Punjab during their IPL match at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali on Saturday . – BCCI

can’t be surpassed by any other team in the tournament.

Finishing on top of the table ensures that CSK will be playing the first qualifier and even if they lose will get another shot at summit glory facing the winners of the ‘Eliminator’ between teams placed third and fourth.

For Kings XI Punjab, it was the end of a rather forgettable season, where nothing went right for them.

Last year’s champions finished their campaign with six points

from 14 encounters, losing a total of 11 matches. While Du Plessis hit five boundaries and a six in his 41ball knock, the normally attacking Raina decided to play the role of an anchor as he guided the team to a comfortable victory.

The left-hander’s innings was studded with four boundaries.

Despite not hitting too many sixes, the Du Plessis-Raina duo scored the runs at a fair clip in only 11.3 overs before the South African was cleaned up by Rishi Dhawan.

KINGS XI PUNJAB W. Saha c McCullum b Negi 15 M. Vohra c Nehra b Pandey 4 G. Bailey c Dhoni b Nehra 12 G. Maxwell b Jadeja 6 Gurkeerat st Dhoni b Ashwin 15 D. Miller c Jadeja b Negi 11 Axar Patel c Dhoni b Bravo 32 Rishi Dhawan not out 25 B. Hendricks not out 1 Extras (b-4, lb-2, w-3) 9 Total (7 wkts, 20 overs) 130 Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-31, 3-35, 4-53, 5-55, 6-78, 7-122.

Bowling: Pawan Negi 4-0-25-2; Ishwar Pandey 3-0-22-1; Ashish Nehra 3-0-17-1; R. Ashwin 4-0-14-1; R. Jadeja 3-0-18-1; S. Raina 1-0-8-0; D. Bravo 2-0-20-1.

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS M. Hussey c Saha b Sandeep 1 B. McCullum b Hendricks 6 Faf du Plessis b Dhawan 55 Suresh Raina not out 41 MS Dhoni not out 25 Extras (w-6) 6 Total (3 wkts, 16.5 overs) 134 Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-10, 3-102.

Bowling: Sandeep Sharma 2-0-9-1; Beuran Hendricks 3-0-25-1; Gurkeerat Singh 3-0-22-0; Rishi Dhawan 2-0-12-1; Glenn Maxwell 1-0-8-0; Axar Patel 3-0-280; Anureet Singh 2.5-0-30-0.

CSK by then nearly pocketed the match and it was left to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (25, 16 balls) to complete the formalities with some lusty hits. - PTI

PREVIEW

RCB face tricky outing against DD BENGALURU: After a gap of four seasons, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are poised to make the playoffs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) but they first have to clear a tricky hurdle in no-hopers Delhi Daredevils whom they host here on Sunday in the concluding league game.

Skipper Virat Kohli’s 19-ball 44 in Hyderabad on Friday gained RCB two vital points from the rain-truncated game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Thus, with 15 points from 13 matches, RCB are within striking distance of a playoff berth and a win against Daredevils will seal their spot in the top four.

The race for the playoffs is so tight going into this weekend, when two double-headers are scheduled, that RCB cannot afford to drop even one point. They will be hoping that the pre-monsoon showers that have been regular visitors to the city in the past fortnight, will stay away to facilitate a full game on Sunday.

In sharp contrast, the proceedings hold little value for Daredevils who are out of the competition and are placed a rung above Kings XI with 10 points after suffering four consecutive defeats before strolling to a six-wicket win over CSK in a low-scoring game at Raipur.

Thus, the Daredevils though out for the count, still have some fire burning in their collective bellies to trip any team. - IANS

CRUCIAL WIN

Royals defeat KRR to reach playoffs MUMBAI: Rajasthan Royals (RR) defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by nine runs in their Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the Brabourne Stadium here on Saturday.

The victory helped the Royals to to enter the play-offs.

Chasing a target 199 for six in 20 overs set by the Royals, the Knight Riders were restricted to 190 for nine in 20 overs.

Earlier, a blistering century by opener Shane Watson helped Rajasthan Royals reach a challenging 199 for six. Watson rose up to the occasion in the Royals’ mustwin match to remain unbeaten at 104 off 59 balls, plundering nine fours and five sixes.

For Kolkata, Andre Russell (three for 32) was the pick of the bowlers. Opting to bat first, Royals got off to a flying start with openers Ajinkya Rahane and

Watson striking the ball at ease to all parts of the park to score 66 in the first six overs.

The first over of the match set the momentum for the home side with bowler Azhar Mahmood leaking nine runs. Both openers meant business right from the start as KKR pacers or spinners all got the stick.

As Royals were merrily scoring runs, the sixth ball of the seventh over saw Rahane (37 off 22 balls) running himself out after a mix-up with his partner.

But the wicket didn’t put the brakes on the scoring for Rajasthan Royals who went on score 199 runs.

Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 199 for 6 in 20 overs (Shane Watson 104 n.o; Andre Russel 3/32) bt Kolkata Knight Riders 190 for 9 in 20 overs (Yousuf Pathan 44, Andre Russel 37; Chris Morris 4/23). - Agencies

MUSCAT CROWNED FIRST DIVISION CHAMPIONS

Muscat routed Ahli-Sidab to emerge the champions of Oman Football Association (OFA) First Division League on Friday. On the final day of the season, Muscat were competing with Salalah for the top spot but it was the capital side who emerged the champions scoring six unanswered goals against hapless Ahli-Sidab. Muscat completed their league engagements with 52 points and sealed their promotion to the Omantel Professional League (OPL).

Salalah, who finished second with 49 points after a 1-1 draw with Samayil, also booked their place in the OPL for 2015-16 season. Rustaq finished third with 41 points followed by Nizwa (40), Al Talee’a (34) and Al Mudhaibi (34) in that order. — JUN ESTRADA/Times of Oman

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SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015

SPORTS Villa, Leicester safe; Hull’s plight deepens Aston Villa, who were mauled by Southampton when Mane rewrote the record books with the fastest ever hattrick, joined Leicester City in celebrating their English Premier League survival

LONDON: Aston Villa, despite being on the receiving end of a 6-1 thrashing at Southampton with Sadio Mane scoring the quickest hattrick in the top flight, joined Leicester City in celebrating their Premier League survival on Saturday.

Leicester, who drew 0-0 at Sunderland, can look forward to another season among English soccer’s elite after Steve Bruce’s relegation-threatened Hull City lost 2-0 at Tottenham Hotspur.

Hull will now have to beat Manchester United in their final game to avoid the drop.

Northeastern rivals Sunderland and Newcastle United, who took the lead against relegated Queens Park Rangers before falling to a 2-1 defeat, also remain in danger.

FASTEST HAT-TRICK: Southampton’s Sadio Mane gets past Aston Villa’s Shay Given before scoring one of his three goals during their Premier League match in Southampton on Saturday. – Reuters

Hull are 18th with 34 points and must hope that Newcastle, two points ahead in 17th, fail to win at home to West Ham United.

Failing that, Hull will need Sunderland — with a game in hand — to lose both of their final two encounters at Arsenal on Wednesday and Chelsea next Sunday.

It was a day of mixed emotions for Tim Sherwood’s Villa who were mauled by Southampton in the day’s early fixture where Senegal forward Mane rewrote the record books with the fastest ever hat-trick in the English top-flight inside three minutes.

His treble was timed at two

minutes and 56 seconds, breaking Scotland striker Graham Leggat’s record of three minutes for Fulham in a club record 10-1 win over Ipswich Town in 1963.

Villa’s gloom, however, was lifted by Hull’s defeat at White Hart Lane, with Tottenham completing a comfortable victory with secondhalf goals from Nacer Chadli and Danny Rose.

That result was also enough to complete a remarkable act of escapology for Nigel Pearson’s Leicester, who were seven points adrift of safety at the beginning of April.

Both Leicester and Villa have 38 points, with one game to play.

Leicester’s 0-0 draw with Sunderland edged their opponents closer to safety, but there could still be a sting in the tail for Dick Advocaat’s team, who face daunting final fixtures and have a worse goal difference than Hull.

Newcastle’s brief celebrations were dampened at Loftus Road when Emmanuel Riviere’s first goal for the club was cancelled out by a second-half leveller for QPR from Matt Phillips and stunning winner from distance from Leroy Fer. Elsewhere, Everton came from behind to beat West Ham United 2-1 and Stoke City drew 0-0 with relegated Burnley. - Reuters

CRICKET

Pietersen laments lack of ‘clean slate’ LONDON: Kevin Pietersen again indicated he’d been misled about the possibility of an international comeback when he said on Saturday he had been offered a “clean slate” by incoming England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Colin Graves.

Andrew Strauss, the new ECB director of cricket and Pietersen’s successor as England captain, said on Tuesday that a “massive trust issue” prevented the South Africa-born batsman’s return, even though Pietersen is England’s all-time leading runscorer across all formats.

That appeared to contradict earlier comments from Graves that a return was possible if Pietersen, sent into international exile 15 months ago after England’s 5-0 Ashes thrashing, scored enough runs in county cricket.

Pietersen said two private conversations he had with Graves before the former Yorkshire chairman took up the equivalent ECB post reinforced that view.

The 34-year-old Pietersen’s anger intensified as he was told by Strauss he would not be considered by England for the upcoming home Tests against New Zealand and Australia this season shortly after scoring his maiden first-class triple century, during Surrey’s County Championship match against Leicestershire at The Oval.

Graves said on Friday he “didn’t make any promises” but appeared to be defending himself from a charge no one, including Pietersen, had made.

Pietersen’s argument was not that he’d been “promised” anything, but rather that if he met certain conditions he would at least be

I TA L I A N O P E N

OMAN CRICKET

Djokovic moves up a gear to reach final ROME: For the first time this week Novak Djokovic needed only two sets to triumph in Rome, beating Spain’s David Ferrer 6-4, 6-4 as he reached the final of Italian Open and closed in on a 24th Masters 1000 title.

The Serb world No. 1 will face either Roger Federer or Stanislas Wawrinka in Sunday’s final at the Foro Italico where he will be bidding for a fourth Rome title.

In the women’s tournament there was better fortune for a Spanish player with Carla Suarez Navarro beating Romania’s Simona Halep 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 to reach her ninth career final.

Djokovic’s winning streak now stands at 21, but he has been forced to earn them this week with closely fought victories over Nicolas Almagro, Thomaz Bellucci and Kei Nishikori.

He seemed to move up a level against Ferrer though with a clinical display. The top seed needed just two breaks of serve to clinch a ninth consecutive win over Ferrer.

“I played the best match of the week,” Djokovic told Sky Sports Italia. “I’m satisfied with the way I played and happy to be in another final in Rome.”

Djokovic’s only frustration was the state of the Centrale court, repeatedly complaining about the condition of the clay. “That’s the one thing I could have handled better. I should’ve been less nervous as there was nothing I could do about the court,” he said.

considered for England selection.

And on Saturday, in response to a comment on Twitter, Pietersen said: “Exactly - no one is guaranteed selection. I was told there was a CLEAN SLATE. I wanted to earn my place back.”

Strauss’s first week in his new role has seen him having to justify both his decision to sack former England coach Peter Moores and Pietersen’s ongoing omission.

Graves only took up his post on Friday and felt obliged to defend his reputation after Pietersen accused the ECB of being “incredibly deceitful”.

“I didn’t make any promises,” said Graves. “There were no guarantees that if he chose to exit his IPL (Indian Premier League) contract, play county cricket and score runs he would be selected for England — and I said he should make any decision on his future on that basis.”

In the midst of the Pietersen row, England also found themselves trying to explain the non-attendance of Stuart Broad at a press conference organised by sponsors Investec to promote the two-Test series against New Zealand, which starts at Lord’s on Thursday. Broad cited illness for his failure to turn up and it was left to England teammate Ian Bell to field questions about the continuing absence of Pietersen from the side.

However, a report in Britain’s Daily Mail suggested Broad’s absence from the press conference was down to his being on a late night drinking spree involving Andrew Flintoff and Matt Prior that meant the bowler didn’t return to his hotel until 7:00am (0600 GMT). - AFP

OMAN HOCKEY VETERANS FINISH SECOND IN EGYPT

The Oman veterans’ hockey team settled for second place at the four-nation veterans’ hockey tournament organised by the Egypt Veterans Hockey Association in Cairo recently to mark the opening of the Al Jazira Sports Centre. In a thrilling final, Egyptian veterans team defeated Oman via penalties. Sudan, who won the third place and Morocco are the other teams who took part in the tournament. Oman team was led by former international Mohammed Shambe. Oman’s Yusuf Darwesh Al Siyabi was declared the best player of tournament while Thani Saheem was named the best umpire-cum-player. Oman team’s air tickets and kit was sponsored by Oman Air. — Supplied photo

Novak Djokovic SWIMMING

Suarez Navarro is the form player on the WTA Tour this year with 31 wins but she was two points away from losing in the 10th game of the final set before turning snatching the win.

“It was such a tough match from a physical standpoint,” Suarez Navarro told SuperTennis TV. “The biggest improvement I’ve made this year is in my mind.”

She took advantage of Halep’s inconsistency on her forehand to get over the line on her third match point. - Reuters

Double disappointment for Phelps CHARLOTTE: Olympic legend Michael Phelps failed to make the 200m freestyle final and had to settle for third in the 100m butterfly at a Pro Swim Series meet on Friday.

The 18-time gold medallist clocked 52.59 seconds in the 100m butterfly, behind runner-up Ryan Lochte (52.52) and winner Tom Shields (52.12). Phelps, who has his sights set on competing

in a fifth Olympics in 2016 at Rio, holds the world record at 49.82.

The 29-year-old American missed out on the 200m final in Charlotte, after posting just the 14th fastest time in the preliminaries.

His 1:51.44 was more than eight seconds off his American record and Phelps had to console himself with a win in the 200m B final by clocking 1:49.12. Phelps an-

nounced on Thursday he was relocating to Tempe, Arizona to join his long-time coach Bob Bowman, who was recently hired as the swim coach at Arizona State University.

Phelps won a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and retired after the 2012 London Olympics with a career record 22 Olympic medals, only to make a comeback last year. - AFP

Assarain A record thrilling win against Enhance MUSCAT: Assarain A recorded a thrilling two-run win against Enhance in a low scoring Khimji Ramdas-sponsored T20 Premier Cup knockout tournament match.

Opting to bat first, reigning A Division League champions Assarain A made a solid start scoring a healthy 78 runs for the loss of two wickets in 11.2 overs.

But they slumped to 131 for the loss of nine wickets in their 20 stipulated overs.

Skipper Arif Hussain top scored with a well compiled 46 and none of the other batsmen made any noteworthy contribution. Khawar Ali with figures of three for 13 in two overs was the pick of the bowlers while Mazhar Alam, Nester Dhamba and Fayyaz Butt claimed two wickets apiece.

Enhance in reply were restricted to 129 for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs. Major contributions came from Mehran Khan (36), Vishnu P.M. (35 not out) and Ravi Baradkane (25).

Brief scores: Assarain A 131 for 9 in 20 overs (Arif Hussain 46; Khawar Ali 3/13, Mazhar Alam 2/18, Nester Dhamba 2/28, Fayyaz Butt 2/29) bt Enhance 129 for 6 in 20 overs (Mehran Khan 36, Vishnu P.M. 35 n.o., Ravi Baradkane 25).

TA B L E T E N N I S

Rhea and Rahul claim titles at ISC junior tournament

GIRLS FINALISTS: Rhea Bhatia, left, and Alina Desai. – Supplied photo

MUSCAT: Rhea Bhatia and Rahul Raj won the titles at the ISC Junior Table Tennis League sponsored by New Makha Enterprises and organised by the Indian Social Club (ISC) Muscat.

Fancied Rhea Bhatia bagged the girls singles title with a confident 11-6, 11-4, 11-3, 11-2 victory over Alina Desai in the final.

Earlier in the semifinals, Rhea had overcome Surabhi Salian 11-6, 11-3, 11-4 while Alina had earned her place in the final after scoring a fine 11-8, 11-8, 11-6 win over Sachi Sheldenkar.

Rahul Raj claimed the under-10 singles crown after a brilliant showing to win the best-of-sevengames final 11-2, 11-0 11-9, 11-9

against Neil Joseph. After being hammered in the first two games, Neil came back strongly and challenged Rahul before Rahul held on to gain victory.

Allan Thiyagaseelan and Sanskar Dubey advanced to the final of the boys under-12 singles competition.

In the semifinal, Allan shrugged off the loss the first game and settled down to win the next three games for a 8-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-5 passage into the final where he will clash against Sanskar Dubey.

Sanskar Dubey faced some anxious moments but held his nerves to score a fine 11-9, 11-8, 11-7 win over Niranjan Raman to advance to the final.

U-10 FINALISTS: Rahul Raj, right, and Neil Joseph. – Supplied photo

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WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015

MARKE

OMAN MAKES STRIDES IN FLOATING MAIDEN SUKUK

Oman government is making steady strides towards bridging the estimated OMR2.5 billion-deficit in 2015 budget by taking initiatives to issue a sovereign Sukuk. >B3

Real estate transactions surge 68% to hit OMR1.6b in Oman Fees collected for these transactions stood at OMR16.1 million, a growth of 12.6 per cent in comparison with last year. The value of sale contracts fell by 0.9 per cent to reach OMR391.7 million MUSCAT: Real estate transactions in Oman in the first four months ending April 2015 surged ahead by 68 per cent to OMR1,638.9 million, over the same period last year, according

ROBUST DEMAND: Total value of mortgage contracts also increased by 115 per cent to reach OMR1,241.1 million, compared to OMR577.3 million during the same period of 2014. — Times file picture

to a bulletin released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The fees collected for these transactions stood at OMR16.1 million, a growth of 12.6 per

cent in comparison with last year. The value of sale contracts fell by 0.9 per cent to reach OMR391.7 million The number of sale transactions witnessed a decline of 5.2

per cent to 28,543 contracts compared to 30,093 contracts during the same period last year The value of mortgage contracts also increased by 115 per cent to reach OMR1,241.1 mil-

lion, compared to OMR577.3 million during the same period of 2014. The number of those transactions rose by 7.6 per cent to reach 7,452 transactions, compared to 6,928 contracts in the

same period of 2014.

The value of swap contracts till the end of April 2015 was OMR6.1 million with a growth of 190.5 per cent in comparison with OMR2.1 million in the same period of 2014. The number of those contracts increased by 7.6 per cent to 469 contracts at the end of April 2015, compared to 436 contracts in 2014.

A total of 85,346 title deeds were issued till the end of April 2015 compared to 81,168 title deeds in 2014, witnessing a rise of 5.1 per cent in 2014. The number of title deeds issued to GCC nationals till the end of April 2015 fell by 27.2 per cent to 996 contracts compared to 1,369 title deeds issued during the same period in 2014. – ONA

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INFRASTRUCTURE

I N T E R NAT I O NA L E V E N T

Spotlight on power, water Oman floats tender for building projects at key conference new water distribution network MUSCAT: Details of several major power and water desalination projects initiated by Oman government will be discussed in the forthcoming Oman Energy and Water Exhibition Conference here on Tuesday.

These projects include construction of the biggest power plant in the Sultanate, the water treatment plant at Wadi Daiqah Dam, the independent power plant in Salalah, Quriyat water desalination plant, Barka water desalination plant and the development of Al Ghubra water desalination plant.

Oman Energy and Water Exhibition and Conference (OEWEC), organised by the Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) in collaboration with Oman Expo, will begin on Tuesday at Oman International Exhibition Centre.

The conference is an international event in the field of energy

– ONA

and water, such as power generation, renewable and alternative energy and transmission and distribution, and water-related industries. It is also an ideal platform for stakeholders to discuss real issues and solutions for energy and water challenges and

opportunities in Oman. The conference will focus on the ‘Future Strategy 2040,’ the aspect related to the Government plan to supply energy, water, and the size of the approved plans and programmes in the national plan.

Several local and international specialised energy and water companies will take part in this conference in a bid to enhance their presence in the region, share knowledge and review the latest services and technologies. Additionally, several international experts from the Sultanate and other countries will take part at the conference.

The conference will also discuss the national strategy for electricity with emphasis on energy efficiency, sustainability and the need to develop plans and programmes for renewable energy and sustainable development. – ONA

V E H I C L E - T O -V E H I C L E C O M M U N I C AT I O N

US pushes efforts to pedal on car-to-car communications NEW YORK: Engineers have known for some time that if cars could only “talk” to each other, they could avoid a lot of accidents.

Vehicles could be driven more safely with information about another car, obstacle or pedestrian around a blind curve, for example.

But the hurdles to implementing these systems are numerous: they require a legal framework and the allocation of wireless spectrum to enable vehicle-tovehicle (V2V) communications.

The US administration announced this month it was speeding up efforts to promote V2V in a push for better road safety and to help facilitate the self-driving cars which are on the horizon.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said during a visit to Silicon Valley that he hopes to have regulations for these technologies by the end of the year.

Accelerating timetable “We’re accelerating our timetable on a proposed rule that would require vehicle-to-vehicle — or V2V — technology that allows cars to ‘talk’ to one another,” Foxx said.

“And it is something that we believe can have a huge impact on preventing accidents from ever happening — and in helping us eventually produce a car that can drive itself better than a human can.”

The National Highway Traf-

the system. The Association of Global Automakers, which represents non-United States manufacturers including Honda, Nissan and Toyota, welcomed the effort by Washington to speed up the process.

Anthony Foxx. — Bloomberg file picture

fic Safety Administration, which has been testing vehicle-to-vehicle since 2012, said the technology can accomplish a number of things such as determining if a car can safely make a left turn across traffic by calculating the speed of oncoming vehicles, whether it is feasible to overtake another car and if it is safe to enter an intersection with limited visibility.

Researchers say systems which cost around $350 per car can avoid 592,000 accidents and save 1,083 lives per year, if the fleet of US cars is equipped with the technology.

But reaping benefits will take time: Even if the technology is mandated on new cars, it will take years until older vehicles are replaced and for infrastructure to be upgraded to be part of

Wireless spectrum “The faster we move toward deployment of V2V communications, the sooner consumers will receive the benefits of this lifesaving technology,” said John Bozzella, president and chief executive of the group.

One of the issues regulators face is setting aside part of the wireless spectrum, amid a crunch due to the surging use of smartphones and tablets.

Any system must be vetted through the Federal Communications Commission which allocates wireless spectrum to ensure communications go smoothly.

But aside from the technical issues, vehicle-to-vehicle communications could be held back by debate over issues of legal liability if something goes wrong and by privacy questions about the creation of a new database.

Randal O’Toole, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank, said it would appear to be positive if a broken-down vehicle sends out a signal that allows motorists to take a different route to avoid congestion. — AFP

Times News Service MUSCAT: Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) has floated a tender inviting bids from contracting firms for building wa-

ter distribution networks for Nakhal Awabi and Wadi Al Maawil wilayats in Al Batinah regions.

The last date for tender submission will be on July 13 and documents will be distributed to

potential companies until June 4, PAEW said.

Two companies – Larsen & Toubro and Infrastructure Projects - have already bought tender documents to participate in the tender.

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MARKET Private deposits with commercial banks in Oman rise to OMR11b These deposits by the end of February 2015 include the time deposits that stood at OMR3,217.8 million, said Central Bank of Oman

MUSCAT: Private deposits with commercial banks in the Sultanate for the first two months ending February 2015 rose by 9.47 per cent to OMR11,380.7 million compared to OMR10,396.4 million in the corresponding period in 2014, according to a monthly statistical bulletin published by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO).

The gross value for these deposits as of the end of February 2015 includes the time deposits that stood at OMR3,217.8 million, savings deposits of OMR4,156.5 million and demand deposits of

OMR3,792.3 million, the report further added.

Foreign currency deposits The bulletin pointed out that the total value for these deposits include OMR10,513.6 million and OMR867.1 million in foreign currencies.

As for the banking indicators for the commercial banks as at the end of February 2015, the bulletin said that the broad money and clearance to the deposits in Riyals was 16.8 per cent. The combined money and clearance to the gross

deposits was 14.9 per cent. The total percentage of loans to deposits was 97.5 per cent.

The rate of foreign currency deposits to the total deposits was 11.2 per cent. The rate of foreign assets to the total loans was 15.2 per cent.

The foreign liability to the total liabilities was 10.4 per cent.

The demand deposits to the total private deposits was 33 per cent.

The capital and reserves to the total deposits was 18.5 per cent. The rate of allocations and the retained interests to the total credit was 3.5 per cent. – ONA

GREEK PRIME MINISTER

BRIEFS

Greek government urges lenders to reach final deal ATHENS: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday vowed that his government would not back down from its red lines in negotiations with its foreign lenders but said a deal must be reached soon following months of talks.

Athens is fast running out of cash and talks with European Union and IMF lenders on more aid have been deadlocked over their demands for Greece to implement reforms, including pension cuts and labour market liberalisation.

Tsipras said the two sides had largely agreed on fiscal targets and VAT rates, but disagreed on labour issues and pension reform. He said a deal should include low primary budget surplus targets for 2015-16 and a debt restructuring.

“The deal must close there is

Central Bank of Oman. — Times file picture

no doubt about it,” Tsipras told a conference. “However, some cannot have in the back of their minds the idea that, as time goes by, the Greek side’s resilience will be tested and its red lines will fade out. “If some people have it in the back of their minds, they should forget it.”

Athens has depended on money from its 240 billion euro ($275 billion) EU/IMF bailout to keep paying its bills since 2012. It has not received any loan tranches since last August.

Earlier on Friday, the finance ministry said Greece had paid public sector wages due in midMay, confirming scheduled payments as the country struggles to stay solvent, although it may find it harder to meet wage and pension commitments later this month as well as debt payments due in June. — Reuters

Major forum on SMEs MUSCAT: An exhibition on small and medium enterprises will be held on Monday at the Oman International Exhibition Centre. The three-day exhibition, organised by the Trifold Exhibitions, is themed “Projects Finance and Insurance, Risks Management.” The exhibition aims at familiarising the insurance sector with the SMEs needs and direct communication with the concerned personnel and beneficiaries to promote the culture of entrepreneurship and risks management. This year’s exhibition will focus on projects’ finance and insurance, as well as risks management through several seminars, in cooperation with the Capital Market Authority (CMA).

National Mineral Water seeks nod to sell property MUSCAT: National Mineral Water Co is seeking shareholders’ permission to sell the residential/commercial land owned by the company. An extraordinary general meeting will be held on June 1 in Muscat to seek approval for the same, according to a disclosure statement posted on MSM website.

OIFC’s shareholding in Bank Sohar rises to 15.31% MUSCAT: Oman Investment and Finance Co (OIFC) said that its shareholding in Bank Sohar rose to 15.31 per cent from 15 per cent, after the company subscribed to additional shares in the bank’s rights issue. – ONA/Times News Service

Don’t litter a beautiful country like OMAN. Ensure proper disposal of garbage.

SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015

MARKET Oman making strides in floating first sukuk Sovereign sukuk will provide an investment tool for Islamic banking institutions and serve as a major alternative for the traditional financial tools – Times file picture

MUSCAT: Oman government is making steady strides towards bridging the estimated OMR2.5 billion-deficit in 2015 budget by maintaining coordination among the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) and Muscat Securities Market (MSM) to issue a sovereign sukuk.

The Ministry of Finance’s announcement last week regarding the issue of the first sovereign sukuk for the Sultanate is an important step that will ensure the

development of the sukuk sector in the Sultanate. Moreover, it will provide an investment tool for the Oman’s Islamic banking institutions and serve as alternative for the traditional financial tools.

Government panel The Sukuk Governmental Committee, which was formed by the Ministry of Finance for issuing sukuk, said that the subscription will be opened soon for the banking and financial institutions and

other high-net worth investors, subject to a minimum subscription of OMR500,000 .

The sukuk aims to meet the growing needs of the Islamic finance sector in the Sultanate.

The revenues of most of the government sukuk will be used in financing the development or infrastructure projects to bring benefits to the society and sukuk holders as well. They may also be used in bridging the deficit of the budget as an alternative for

the costly foreign borrowing, especially that the debt burden at the state budget will be on the expense of the consumer or capital expenditure of the state.

By the end of 2014, UAE topped the list of Islamic sukuk with 26 per cent or $27 billion, followed

by Qatar with 20 per cent, Indonesia 18 per cent, Turkey 17 per cent and Bahrain 14 per cent.

There is a growing demand for Sharia-compliant sovereign Islamic Sukuk by Islamic and nonIslamic governments to collect more national saving to meet the financing needs.

The sovereign sukuk play an important role in the economic development. The investments in the vital strategic projects are expected to add value to the national economy and help in addressing the unemployment issue.

The political stability, strong economy and social security of the Sultanate help in attracting potential sukuk and government bond investors.

The Sultanate also updates the legal and administrative system to facilitate access of foreign investments. Moreover, the Omani economy is witnessing a remarkable growth supported by the improved performance of the stock market. – ONA

M AY 17

Sultanate to mark world telecom day MUSCAT: Oman will mark the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD), along with other countries in the world, today. It falls on May 17, the anniversary of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the signing of the first Telegraph Convention in 1865.

The United Nations General Assembly responded to the call of the World Summit on the Information Society held in 2005 and May 17 of each year was declared as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day in order to avail information and communication technology for the service of communities.

US STOCKS

Fed, data in spotlight NEW YORK: Investors will watch for any change in the economic outlook from housing data and remarks by various Federal Reserve speakers next week, while retailers will take over on the earnings front as the firstquarter reporting season trickles to its end.

The highlight comes at the end of the week with Fed Chair Janet Yellen speaking on the economic outlook on Friday. Any hint of a downgrade to the economy could signal a delay in monetary policy tightening; central bank watchers now expect the Fed to begin raising interest rates in September.

Yellen will be preceded by Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, who will talk about policy

on Monday and Wednesday in Europe.

The San Francisco Fed’s John Williams takes his turn on Thursday, a day after minutes of the Fed’s April meeting are due.

Yellen signalled earlier this year that the Fed will likely start raising borrowing costs later this year, even before inflation and wages have returned to normal levels.

“From Yellen, markets want to know whether or not she continues with that direction,” said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.

“Any colour that you can give to the debate on expectations for liftoff will certainly be picked up by the market.” — Reuters

This year’s theme ITU adopts a theme each year in order to focus the efforts on a specific topic.

The theme of 2015 is ‘Telecommunications and Information Communication Technology: Drivers of Innovation.’

The government of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has paid,

since the dawn of the Renaissance, a great interest in this sector because of its vital role in the field of economic development.

The infrastructure launch for the telecommunications sector in the Sultanate began during the period between 1976 and 1980 and as it was approved by the Royal Decree No. (32/76). — ONA

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SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015

FEATURE

THE AVERAGE AGE OF FACEBOOK’S NEWS PARTNERS IS 107, AND IT WOULD SKEW MUCH OLDER IF NOT FOR THE LONE YOUNGSTER BUZZFEED, A WEBSITE FOUNDED IN 2006

D

eclan Moore, the chief media officer at National Geographic, talks about his magazine’s deal with Facebook as if it’s a venture into the wilderness. It’s true that the social media giant has been considered a predator of news organisations, but Moore is not afraid.

Facebook’s new Instant Articles feature, which hosts partners’ content within Facebook’s app, offers readers a faster and more natural experience of reading and

watching news on their phones.

Publishers can run their own ads on Facebook and keep all of the revenue, or let Facebook serve the ads and take a cut. For many Facebook partners—which also includes the Atlantic magazine, the Guardian, and the New York Times, each more than 150 years old—displaying content within the social network’s ecosystem is the next step in trying to stay relevant, just like making an application for the iPad in 2010 or a website in the 1990s.

That works well for Facebook,

which gains credibility by partnering with well-established and venerable organisations, instead of seeking out a class of new media mavens, such as Vox, Gawker and Mashable.

The average age of Facebook’s news partners is 107, and it would skew much older if not for the lone youngster BuzzFeed, a website founded in 2006.

By giving Facebook more control over how their content is displayed, the companies risk getting too close to an Internet giant

that could change the terms of the deal later, and put them in a bind.

That’s what Apple did when it started taking a 30 percent cut of subscriptions purchased through news apps. But media companies, perhaps more so than those in other industries, face pressure from shareholders to embrace technology, reinvent their business models, and increase their audiences.

It’s hard to ignore Facebook’s 1.4 billion potential readers.

So far, Facebook is playing nice.

Before the product launched, a vice

president at BuzzFeed sent Facebook a wish list for the product. A few months later, all of the changes had been made, according to Ashley McCollum, the company’s chief of staff. Old media is just as eager to participate, if not more so. According to Moore, National Geographic has a long history of being an early adopter—“history” being the key word. The publication was founded in 1888, and it was one of the first media organisations to embrace colour television. To survive, they have to go where the au-

dience is going, Moore says. “Just as we have scientists exploring the world, we need to have commercial folks being creative and exploring new models.”

No matter what happens, National Geographic could benefit from soaking up some of Silicon Valley’s culture, Moore says. “I’d love to have as many in the organisation as possible go experience the entrepreneurial, semievangelism that goes on,” he says.

“I find that somewhat refreshing.”

– Bloomberg News

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L IFE & S TYLE LIFE STYLE

SECTION

B.B. King, who died at 89, was one of the last in a pantheon of great electric blues players. So where does this brand of music go now?

The T Th he thrill tth hri rill ll is is gone. gone go ne. S So o is is B.B. B.B Bing, . King Kiing K nwho g died in Las Vegas on Thursday at the age of 89, was one of the last in a pantheon of great electric blues players. With the help of his famous guitar Lucille, he forged a sound that was admired as eagerly as it was copied.

It’s quaint to think of music as a nifty little torch that gets passed from hand to hand, generation to generation, but we should know by now that the transaction of influence is infinitely messier. Little embers eagerly jump off the torch’s flame.

New fires burn wild and loud.

And in America, the blues sparked an unprecedented kind of wildfire. It determined the way in which all rock ‘n’ rollers would handle their guitars. It helped steer the curve of vocalised vowels in Motown and every town. Electrified in Chicago, it presaged hip-hop as an idiom designed to express black urban hardship at high decibels.

But when the blues first arrived in America’s mass consciousness roughly half a century ago, largely via British blues players, it was seen as the primordial style upon which rock-and-roll was building tomorrow’s castles. Plenty of rock millionaires took pains to advertise this connection, occasionally collaborating with their heroes while basking in the glow of their credibility. In the second half of his career, King was happy to shine in his duets with Eric Clapton and U2.

Partnerships like these cemented the idea of the blues as human fingertips bending electric guitar strings into amplified wails. And in 2015, you can hear that sound inside countless nightclubs and just about every Guitar Centre showroom across the country. You can also hear it being made more urgently by a few professional young guns, including Gary Clark Jr., the most recent figure to make the electric blues sound alive, or at least alert. But if we think of the blues more broadly — as a confes-

K

sional purge, as a sonic act of unburdening — we can hear it all around us. It’s as if this music has been pulverised into tiny particles that we’ve been unwittingly breathing for decades.

Contemporary rap is where you’ll hear it most distinctly, a genre where the most commanding vocalists are currently using Auto-Tune to bend their semi-improvisational rhymes into bruised sobs and groans, not dissimilar to the sore notes King bent on Lucille’s fretboard.

(For those who still consider Auto-Tune to be a musical crutch — Was Lucille a crutch because she was electric? Musicians will always seek new ways to express big emotions through new technology.)

In many ways, the great Atlanta rapper Future, and his scores of imitators, feel like the information-age heirs to the original Delta bluesmen. Much like their forebears, these are young black artists expressing their individuality, and their anguish with expressive spontaneity. Don’t be unsettled by this inheritance. Influence spreads across genre lines as effortlessly as spores on the breeze. It’s out there. We can still find the blues inside the nightclubs, dive-bars and guitar shops, where’s it’s expected, but we might happen upon something more vital if we start listening for it everywhere else. That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to mourn here.

With King’s death, we lose our access to a pioneer who invented new ways to improvise the sound of his humanity on six strings. And while we may have called what he was doing “the blues,” it’s important to remember that we didn’t love King for his ability to carry a tradition into the 21st century. We were drawn to his music because it was a manifestation of his pain.

We can’t — and shouldn’t — expect the musicians of today, tomorrow or the day after to express anyone’s blues other than their own.

-Chris Richards/The Washington Post.

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM SUNDAY, SU N DAY, MAY 17, 2015 2015

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SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015

ENTERTAINMENT CINEMA SCHEDULE

BAHJA CINEMA MAD MAX FURY ROAD (Act)(2D) 12+ Cast : Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron 4:20 pm MAD MAX FURY ROAD (Act)(3D) 12+ Cast: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron 12:15 /06:45 pm /09:15 pm /11:45 pm Good Kill (Drama, Thriller) (12+) Cast: Ethan Hawke, January Jones, Zoë 12:15 /02:15 pm /09:45 pm /11:30 pm FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (Drama)(12+) Cast: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts; 04:00 pm BOMBAY VELVET (Crime, Drama)(12+) Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan Johar; 08:30 pm PITCH PERFECT 2 (Co, Musical)(12+) Cast: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld; 06:15 pm CAPTAIN MASR (Sports, Comedy)(PG) Cast: Mohamed Emam, Edward, Bayoumi Fouad and Hassan Hosny 12:10 /02:00 pm /07:50 pm AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON (3D) (Action, Adventure) (PG12) Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo; 02:45 pm /11:45 pm PIKU (Comedy, Drama)(PG) Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Irrfan Khan; 05:30 pm

AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON (3D) 06:55 PM PG12 MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2D) 12+ Cast: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult. 12:30 PM MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (3D) 12+ 09:30 PM & 11:45 PM Gold Class: 03:45 PM & 11:15 PM

PITCH PERFECT (2D) 12+ Cast : Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson.

10:15 & 02:45 PM Gold Class: 06:00 PM GOOD KILL (2D) 12+ Cast: Ethan Hawke, January Jones, Zoë 05:00 PM & 09:45 PM. CAPTAIN MASR (2D) PG Cast : Mohamed Emam, Edward, Bayoumi Fouad and Hassan Hosny 10:30 AM & 05:15 PM. Gold Class: 11:45 AM Far From The Madding Crowd (2D) 12+ Cast: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts 03:00 PM Gold Class: 01:30 PM Bombay Velvet (HINDI) (2D) 12+ Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, 7:00 PM; Gold Class: 08:30 PM Piku (HINDI) (2D) 12+ Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Irfan Khan; 12:30 PM Careful What You Wish For (2D) 15+ Cast: Isabel Lucas, Dermot Mulroney 11:45 PM

SCREEN 1 Piku (Drama / Comedy) – PG Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone 1.00, 6.45 PM Bombay Velvet (Act/Rom/Dra ) – 12+ Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma 3.30, 9.30 PM SCREEN 2 Bombay Velvet (Action) – 12+ 1.00, 6.45 PM Purampokku – Tamil (Drama ) – PG Cast: Arya, Shaam, Vijay Sethupathi 3.45 PM Piku (Drama / Comedy) – PG 9.45 PM SCREEN 3 Purampokku – Tamil (Drama ) – PG

Cast: Arya, Shaam, Vijay Sethupathi 1.00, 6.45 PM Piku (Drama / Comedy) – PG Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Irrfan Khan 4.00 PM Gabbar - Hindi (Action/Drama ) – PG Cast: Akshay Kumar, Shruti K. Haasan, Kareena Kapoor 9.45 PM

Avengers: Age of Ultron -3D (PG12) Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo; 02:15, 11:40 pm ACCIDENTAL LOVE - 2D (12+) Comedy, Romance Cast: Jessica Biel, Raymond L. Brown Jr., Jenny Gulley; 03:15 pm Good kill – 2D (12+) Drama | Thriller Cast: Ethan Hawke, January Jones, Zoë Kravitz; 04:50, 09:30, 11:30 pm Careful What You Wish For - 2D (15+) Cast : Isabel Lucas, Dermot Mulroney, Nick Jonas. 7:00 pm Far From The Madding Crowd - 2D (12+) Drama Cast: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts; 06:00 pm Mad Max: Fury Road - 3D (12+) Act 12:00 , 06:50 , 09:15 , 11:45 pm CAPTAIN MASR - 2D (ARB) (PG) (Sports, Comedy, Drama) Cast: Mohamed Emam, Edward, Bayoumi Fouad and Hassan Hosny 02:00, 05:15 pm PITCH PERFECT 2 - 2D (12+) Com Cast: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld 04:50 pm Bombay Velvet - 2D (12+) Cri, Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma 11:45 AM 08:50, 11:15PM PURAMPOKKU - 2D (T) (PG) Act Cast: Vijay Sethupathi; 12:15 , 08:20 pm Chirakodinja Kinavukal - 2D (M) (PG) Comedy

Cast: Kunchacko Boban, 11:45 AM , 07:10 PM Mad Max: Fury Road- 2D (12+) 02:30 pm PIKU - 2D (PG) Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Irrfan Khan. 03:45 pm

Mad Max: Fury Road – 3D (12+) Act, Cast: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron 12:15, 02:45, 05:20, 09:30, 11:45 PM Good Kill – 2D (12+) Drama, Thriller Cast: Ethan Hawke, January Jones, Zoë Kravitz. 02:30, 05:00, 11:45 PM Captain Masr – 2D (PG) Sports, Comedy, Drama Cast: Mohamed Emam, 04:20, 07:30 PM Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai2D (TBC)Action, thriller, Drama Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Arya, Karthika Nair, Shaam, Anjali. 12:15, 06:05 PM Bombay Velvet - 2D (TBC) Crime, Drama. 12:30, 09:00, 11:30 PM 36 Vayadhinile - 2D (TBC) Drama Cast: Jyothika, Rahman, 03:15 PM Chirakodinja Kinavukal – 2D (TBC) Comedy, Spoof Cast: Kunchacko Boban, Rima Kallingal, Sreenivasan. 09:15 PM Avengers: Age of Ultron - 3D (PG12) Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans 07:00 PM

Good Kill (Drama | Thriller) (12+) Cast: Ethan Hawke, January Jones, Zoë Kravitz. 12:00, 04:45, 11:45 PM Avengers: Age of Ultron (3D) (Act) Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans 06:45 PM Mad Max: Fury Road (3D) (Act ) (12+)

MAD MAX:FURY ROAD : (Action) Cast : Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult Timings : 3.15., 7.30, 9.45 & 11.55 pm.

CP NO : 1273 ( 12+ ) PITCH PERFECT 2 : ( Comedy ) Cast: Anna Kedrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld Timings : 1.15 & 5.30 pm CP NO: 1272( 12+ ) BOMBAY VELVET : ( Hindi) (Crime/Drama/History ) Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan Johar Timings : 1.15, 6.00 & 9.00 pm CP NO: 1275 ( 12+ ) GOOD KILL : (Thriller ) Cast: Ethan Hawke, January Jones, Zoe Kravitz, Bruce Green Wood Timings: 4.00 & 11.55 pm CP NO: 1274 ( 12+ )

Cast: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron 02:45, 09:15, 11:30 PM Captain Masr (Arabic) (Com) (PG) Cast: Mohamed Emam, Edward, Bayoumi Fouad. 05:05 PM Bombay Velvet (Hindi) (Crime) (12+) Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan Johar. 12:00, 02:00, 09:00 PM Chirakodinja Kinavukal (Mal) (Comedy | Spoof ) (PG) Cast: Kunchacko Boban, Rima Kallingal, 06:45 PM

Avengers :AgeOf Ultron (3D)(Sci-Fi) Cast: Robert Dwney Jr,Chris Evan, 10:00AM/6:30PM (PG12) Good Kill (2D)(12+)( Drama/Thriller) 12:45/11:45PM Careful What You Wish For (2D)(15+) (Thriller) Cast: Isabel Lucas, 12:15/7:15PM Mad Max: Fury Road (2D) (12+) (Act ) 2:45PM Mad Max: Fury Road (3D) (12+) (Act/A ) 10:00AM/9:15/11:30PM Captain Masr (2D) (PG) (Arabic)( Dr) 12:30/4:30PM Bombay Velvet (2D)(12+) (Cr/Drama) Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan Johar. 9:00/11:45PM Purampokku EngirPodhuvudamai(2D) (PG)(Action/Thriller/Drama) Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Arya, 8:45PM 36 Vayadhinile (2D)(PG)( Drama) Cast: Jyothika, Rahman, 4:15PM Chirakodinja Kinavukal (2D)(PG) (Comedy/Spoof ) Cast: Kunchacko Boban, 6:15PM Piku (2D)(PG)( Comedy, Drama) 2:00PM Pitch Perfect 2(2D)(12+)( Co, Music) Cast: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, 10:15AM/2:15PM

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

STARS CINEMA Film information 24791641 / 24786776 Oru Vadakkan Selfie (Mal) (Rom) Cast: Navin Pauly, Manjima, Aju 3:30, 6:30, 9:30 pm at Cinema Main Bombay Velvet (Hindi) (Com/Rom) Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma 3:45, 9:45pm at Cinema 3 Chirakodinja Kinavukal (Mal) Cast: Kunchako Boban, Rima Kalingal & Sreenivasan 3:45 & 9:45 pm at Cinema 4 Purampokku (Tamil) (Rom) Cast: Aarya, Vijay Sethupathi 3:30, 6:30, 9:30 pm Cinema 2 O Kadhal Kanmani (Tamil/Rom) Cast:Dulqar Salman & Nitya Menon 6:45 pm at Cinema 4 Piku (Drama / Comedy) – PG Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone. 6:45pm Cinema3 Next Change: BHASKAR THE RASCAL (Mal)36 VAYATHINILLE (Tamil) LION (Telugu)

For More Information 24789032, 24786776 Website: www.isurf.co.om

ACES ON BRIDGE

Counting the shape can be tough EDWARD R. Murrow, who died in 1965, said, “The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue.”

What would he think about communications today?

At the bridge table, most nonexperts do not work out the distributions of the unseen hands; and, to be honest, often it does not matter. Checking winners, losers and high-card points is more fruitful. But occasionally a deal comes along in which hand

distribution is important.

To test yourself, cover the South and West hands.

South is in four hearts.

West leads the club ace, under which East signals with the eight, starting a high-low (echo) with a doubleton. West cashes his club king and gives East a club ruff. What should East lead at trick four?

In the bidding, South rebid three hearts to show at least 5-5 in the majors.

North understandably went with the 5-3 heart fit. (Three no-trump fails if the defenders attack diamonds early.)

West was tempted to

lead a trump because he had such good spades, but that might not have worked well here. If South wins the trick, cashes the spade ace, ruffs a spade in the dummy, and draws trumps, West is squeezed in three suits.

Now back to East’s problem. He has seen declarer produce three clubs. So South’s initial hand distribution must have been 5-5-0-3.

East must resist the temptation to try to cash the diamond ace, which is fatal. Instead, he must exit with a trump. Then the contract cannot be made.

— By Phillip Alder MARMADUKE

CROSSWORD

B I G NAT E

Answer to previous puzzle

ACROSS 1 Pirate’s booty 5 Pixel 8 Takes vows 12Assns.

13 Rollover subj.

14Burn soother 15 Inca Empire, once 16 Trivial matter (hyph.)

18 Taste or smell 20 Swimming hazard 21 Antenna 24 Frat letter 27 Ernesto Guevara 28 Quid pro — 31 Jai — 32 Mae West

accessory 33 Slimy crud 34 Slalom gear 35 Path to satori 36 Makes of no effect 37 Six-footer?

39 Eagle’s claw 43 Olfactory stimulus 46 Stadium seating 49 Monsieur’s wines 51 Skewer 52 More than most 53 Is, in Avila 54 Swanky 55 Yr. parts 56 Promising DOWN 1 Chop off

2 Refinery shipments 3 People devourer 4 Tidal wave 5 Eatery 6 Galleon cargo 7 Bask in the sun 8 Clean up 9 “Frozen” character 10 Not cheerful 11 Play a kids’ game 17 Speck on a globe 19 Continent divider 22 Desktop pictures 23 Gleeful shout 24 Airline to Stockholm 25 Kind 26 Moo goo — pan

28 On the — vive 29 Bonn connector 30 Authorizes 32 Big — 33 Recovered (2 wds.)

35 Nonrust coating 36 Betamax, e.g.

38 Tarzan’s peers 39 Recipe meas.

40 Dog-food brand 41 Aloha tokens 42 Court ritual 44 Japanese soup 45 Hill builders 47 Hem and — 48 Caribou kin 50 Remark

BORN LOSER

WITH LOVE IZAAN KHAN

SHAMSUDEEN AYOOB

May 17

ANGEL JOMY May 17, 2005

May 17, 2012

MOHD MUSTAFA BETGERI May 17, 2002

ELISHA SAGAR May 14

FREYA BILIMORIA May 17, 2006

AARYA VIKASH May 13

Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 16 years) whose birthday you are celebrating, along with his/her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and parents’/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi or through e-mail to extra@timesofoman.com

KIDSPOT

H E A LT H C A P S U L E

SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015

PRAYER TIMINGS

Dhuhr Asr Maghrib Isha Fajr (Tomorrow)

Y O U R B I R T H D AY

BORN today, you are never a pretentious individual. Though you are quite talented and capable, you’re not the kind to show off needlessly. You will put your talents on display only in situations that require it, when the application of your unique skills is necessary to prevent failure or to ensure progress — for yourself or for others. Some Taurus natives may be rather self-centered, it is true, but you tend to think of others before yourself. You will go out of your way to ensure that those around you are doing well; if they are not, you will sometimes sacrifice your own contentment to make them happy.

Your personal skills are topnotch. You know how to speak to others one-on-one in a way that makes them feel important and valued — indeed, to you, all people are! You enjoy meeting new people and traveling to new parts of the world to see how others live and to share stories and customs.

Also born on this date are: Bob Saget, actor and comedian; Craig Ferguson, comedian and television host; Sugar Ray Leonard, boxer; Carlos Pena, baseball player; Enya, singer; Bill Paxton, actor; Dennis Hopper, actor and director; Derek Hough, dancer.

12.08pm 3.31pm 6.47pm 8.06pm 4.01am

Sunset Sunrise (Tomorrow)

6:42pm 5.24am

High tide Low tide

9:15am 2.32am

7:43pm 2.04pm

FIND-IT-ALL

W E AT H E R

AIRLINES

M

ainly clear skies over most of the Sultanate with chances of early morning low level clouds or fog patches along the coastal areas of Arabian Sea and over governorates of south Al-Sharqiya and Al-Wusta.

EXPECTED WIND: Along the coastal areas of Oman Sea wind will be northeasterly light to moderate during day becoming southwesterly light during night and southwesterly moderate to fresh along the coastal areas of Arabian Sea coasts, and southeasterly light to moderate over rest of the Sultanate.

SEA STATE: Moderate along the Arabian Sea coastal area with

a maximum wave height of 2.0 metres, and slight along the rest of Oman coasts with a maximum wave height of 1.25 metre.

HORIZONTAL VISIBILITY: Good over most of the Sultanate becoming poor during fog.

THE NEXT 48 HOURS OUTLOOK: Mainly clear skies over most of the Sultanate. Chances of cloud development over AlHajar mountains during afternoon. Chances of early morning low level clouds or fog patches along the coastal areas and over governorates of south Al-Sharqiya and Al-Wusta.

Max

OMAN

WORLD

Max 43 Min 28 Max 29 Min 18

Max 39 Min 28

Max 41 Min 33 Max 18 Min 9

Max 42 Min 34

Max 12 Min 9

Max 46 Min 29

Max 47 Min 28

Max 43 Min 27

Max 44 Min 31

TAURUS

Max 36 Min 28

[APRIL 20-MAY 20] Giving yourself the benefit of the doubt will be helpful, but take care that you don’t give yourself too much of a break. Be fair!

Max 33 Min 28

Max 20 Min 13

Max 37 Min 29 Max 21 Min 12

Source: www.met.gov.om

Min

GULF Abu Dhabi Doha Dubai Kuwait Manama Riyadh

39 37 38 39 34 37

28 29 28 29 29 24

WORLD Athens Baghdad Beijing Berlin Boston Cairo Colombo Frankfurt Hong Kong Istanbul Johannesburg Kuala Lumpur Lisbon Paris Perth Singapore Tokyo Toronto

28 38 32 16 23 34 31 20 30 25 25 33 30 19 18 32 29 18

18 23 17 6 11 18 25 7 27 16 9 28 19 8 13 27 15 12

L O N G D I S TA N C E B U S T I M I N G S ( O M A N N AT I O N A L T R A N S P O R T C O M PA N Y S A O C ) * S U B J E C T T O C H A N G E

GEMINI

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI)

TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

[MAY 21-JUNE 20] Your creative energies are running very high at this time, but you may not have an immediate outlet. It’s time to search for something big.

CANCER [JUNE 21-JULY 22] You may have to substitute something inferior for that which you cannot immediately lay your hands on. In the end, however, no one will notice.

LEO [JULY 23-AUG. 22] Your own perspective may be preventing you from doing or saying what you know must be done or said right away. Remember, it’s just business.

VIRGO [AUG. 23-SEPT. 22] You can look into the future and get an idea of where you will be heading very soon — and how quickly. Don’t be fooled by advertising.

LIBRA L [[SEPT. [S S 23-OCT. 22] Quality control may be an issue. There’s a fine line between overseeing a project and intruding on another’s work.

SCORPIO S [[OCT. 23-NOV. 21] The more quickly you can respond to someone’s request that you do something out of the ordinary, the sooner you’ll get over it!

SAGITTARIUS S [[NOV. 22-DEC. 21] You’ll have much to say, but not all of it need be in spoken form. Indeed, you can put much in writing.

QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (Route 36) Dept Destination Arrival Time Time 15:00 Quriyat 16:30 15:00 Sur 18:00 15:00 Jaalan 19:30 TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41) 06:30 Sohar 06:30 Buraimi 08:00 Buraimi 13:00 Sohar 13:00 Buraimi 16.00 Sohar 16.00 Buraimi TO SINAW (Route 52) 17:30 Sinaw

Operating Days Daily Daily Daily

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (Route 36) Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily 05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily 05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily

08:50 11:00 14:30 15:45 17:40 18.35 20:20

Daily Daily Daily via Ibri Daily Daily Daily Daily

20:50

Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (Route 41) 07:00 Sohar 07:00 Ruwi 13:30 Ruwi 13:00 Sohar 13:00 Ruwi 13:00 Sohar 17:00 Ruwi TO SINAW (Route 52) 07:00 Ruwi

To Yanqul (Route 54) 14:30 Nizwa 14:30 Yanqul

16:50 19:30

Daily Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54) 08:00 Nizwa 08:00 Al Araqi

10:20 12:30

TO SUR (Route 55) 07:30 Sur 14:30 Sur TO FAHUD - YIBAL (Route 62) 06:30 Fahud 06:30 Yibal

08:55 11:40 20:20 14:55 17:40 19:20 22:15

Daily Daily Daily via Ibri Daily Daily Daily Daily

10:25

Daily

To Yanqul (Route 54) 06:00 Nizwa 06:00 Ruwi

08:40 11:00

Daily Daily

Daily Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (Route 54) 15:40 Nizwa 15:40 Ruwi

17:55 20:20

Daily Daily

12:00 18:45

Daily Daily

TO SUR (Route 55) 06:00 Ruwi 14:30 Ruwi

10:45 19:00

Daily Daily

10:30 11:15

Daily Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (Route 62) 12:30 Fahud 12:30 Ruwi

13:15 17:30

Daily Daily

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (Route 100) 07:00 Salalah 20:00 10:00 Marmul 20:30 10:00 Salalah 23:30 19:00 Salalah 07:40

Daily Daily Daily Daily

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (Route 100) 07:00 Ruwi 19:50 10:00 Marmul 13:15 10:00 Ruwi 22:30 19:00 Ruwi 07:30

Daily Daily Daily Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101) 06:00 Marmul

Daily

TO MARMUL (Route 101) 06:00 Marmul

16:30

Daily

Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (Route 102) 15:00 Salalah 07:00

Daily

16:50

SALALAH TO DUBAI (Route 102) 15:00 Dubai 07:00 TO DUBAI (Route 201) 06:00 Sohar 06:00 Dubai 13:00 Sohar 13:00 Dubai 15:00 Sohar 15:00 Dubai

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

Daily Daily Wed,Thur Wed,Thur Daily Daily

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204) Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily 07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily 07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

TO DUBAI (Route 201) 07:30 Sohar 07:30 Ruwi 13:00 Sohar 13:00 Ruwi 15:30 Sohar 15:30 Ruwi

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

Daily Daily Thur-Fri Thur-Fri Daily Daily

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (Route 204) Dept Destination Arrival Operating Time Time Days 16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily 16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily 16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

LISTINGS

CAPRICORN [DEC. 22-JAN 19] A meeting of the minds results in newfound harmony at home. You and a loved one are likely to realise where you recently went wrong.

AQUARIUS [JAN. 20-FEB. 18] You can capitalise on your own errors, but take care that you don’t begin making them on purpose for this reason!

PISCES [Feb. 19-March 20] It won’t take very long for you to do what was neglected yesterday — unless, of course, you let the opportunity pass you by.

ARIES [March 21-APRIL 19] The companionship you seek is not of the normal kind, perhaps. While it may be rather difficult to acquire, it can be yours by day’s end.

B7

PHARMACIES Round the clock Al Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24783334; Appolo Medical Centre, Hamriya: 24782666; Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi: 24702542, Salalah: 23291635; Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra: 24503585; Ruwi 24811715 Muscat Region Apollo, Al Hamriya. Tel: 24787766 Muscat, A Seeb Market. Tel: 24421691 Muscat, Al Khuwair. Tel: 24485740 Muscat, Al Hail South. Tel: 4537080 Dhofar Region Muscat, Al Nahdha Road, Salalah.

Tel: 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 Hamdan Hospital: 23212340 International Medical Centre LLC: 24794501/2/3/4/5 Kims Oman Hospital: 24760100

24 Hrs Emergency: 24760123 Lama Polyclinic, Sohar: 26751128, MBD: 24799077, Al Khuwair: 24478818 Magrabi Eye and Ear Hospital: 24568870 Muscat Private Hospital: 24583600 Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, Al Khuwair: 24477666 Al-Hayat Polyclinc LLC: 22004000 ROYAL OMAN POLICE Emergencies and inquiries: 9999 General Directorate of Passport and Residence: 24569603 Directorate General of Customs: 24521109 Traffic violations inquiries: 24510228 Public Relations Admin: 24560099 ACCOMMODATION Al Bahjah Hotel: 24424400 Al Bustan Palace: 24764000 Al Khuwair Hotel Apartments: 24478171 Al Madina Holiday Inn: 24596400 Al Maha International Hotel: 24494949 Al Fanar Hotel: 24712385 Al Falaj Hotel: 24702311 Al Qurum Resort: 24605945 Azaiba Hotel Apartments: 24490979 Beach Hotel: 24696601 Bowshar Hotel: 24491105 Coral Hotel Muscat: 24692121 Crowne Plaza Muscat: 24660660 Crystal Suites: 24826100 Golden Tulip Seeb: 24510300 Grand Hyatt Muscat: 24641234 Haffa House Hotel: 24707207 Hotel Muscat Holiday: 24487123 InterContinental Muscat: 24680000 Majan Continental Hotel: 24592900 Marina Hotel: 24711711 Midan Hotel Suites: 24499565 Mina Hotel: 24711828 Muttrah Hotel: 24798401

Nuzha Hotel Apartments: 24789199 Oman Dive Centre: 24824240 Park Inn: 24507888 Qurum Beach House Hotel: 24564070 Radisson Blu Hotel: 24487777 Ramee Dream Resort Seeb: 24453399 Ramee Guestline Hotel: 24564443 Ruwi Hotel: 24704244 Safeer Hotel Suites: 24691200 Sheraton Oman Hotel: 24772772 Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa: 24776666 The Chedi Muscat: 24524400 The Treasurebox Muscat Hotel: 24502570 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, Turkish Airlines: 24703033 MUSEUMS Bait Al Baranda: Corniche (seafront opp fish market), Open from Saturday to Thursday 9am to 1pm and 4 to 6pm Natural History Museum: Al Khuwair, Tel: 24604957, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm; Thursday: 9am to 1pm Museum of Omani Heritage: (former Omani Museum), Madinat Al Alam, Sat-Wed 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday 9am to 1pm, Tel: 24600946 Armed Forces Museum: Bait Al Falaj, Tel: 24312651, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm; Thurs 9-12pm and 3-6pm; Fri 9-11am and 3-6pm. Al Hoota Caves 24498258; Turtle Beach 96550606/96550707 Children’s Science Museum: Shatti Al Qurum, Tel: 24605368, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pm Oman-French Museum: near Muscat Police Station, Tel: 24736613, Open from Sat to Wed: 8am to 1:30pm, Thurs: 9am to 1pm Bait Al Zubair, Muscat: Tel: 24736688, Al Saidiya St., Muscat museum@baitalzubairmuseum.com Open from Sat to Thurs: 9:30am to 6pm.

National Museum Ruwi: Tel: 24701289, Open from Saturday to Wednesday: 8am to 1:30pm, Thursday: 9am to 1pm Sohar Fort Museum: Tel: 26844758, Open from Saturday to Wed: 8 to 1:30pm Thurs: 9am to 1pm Muscat Gate Museum: at Al Bahri Road, Muscat open from Sat to Wed 8am to 2pm

SUNDAY FLT NO

ARRIVALS FROM

WY406 WY648 WY676 WY672 WY682 WY914 WY916 WY910 TK774 4H585 NL669 PK225 GF560 QR1132 ET624 EK866 EY384 FZ041 WY114 4H586 CV732 WY658 WY638 WY902 WY326 WY644 G9841 WY686 WY154 WY144 WY692 WY668 WY674 WY132 WY102 FZ043 WY602 NL768 WY272 WY202 WY3932 WY236 G9114 WY282 WY226 EK862 WY210 WY242 WY212 WY252 IX549 QR1128 IX817 EY382 IX443 9W530 WY3922 WY3302 WY604 WY918 GF562 FZ037 IX337 WY384 WY822 WY818 WY634 WY904 WY670 WY324 WY332 WY652 WY606 KU677 WY906 WY920 WY348 FZ045 WY3304 WY344 QR1126 WY204 WY632 WY292 WY264 WY664 EK864 WY246 WY232 WY610 GF564 WY656 TG507 G9116 WY374 WY646 FZ047 WY908 WY614 WY848 WY338 WY386 WY434 FZ049 WY124 9W534 AI973 6.00E+81 WY254 BA073 WY624 UL205 AI907 WY312 QR1134 LX242 GF566 LH616 EY388 WY414 WY910 9W540 AI985 WY662 WY654 WY636 WY928 WY816 WY696 WY612

MONDAY ETA

FLT NO

ARRIVALS FROM

CAIRO 0005 KUWAIT 0005 JEDDAH 0005 MEDINA 0005 RIYADH 0010 SALALAH 0020 SALALAH 0120 SALALAH 0130 ISTANBUL 0135 DACCA 0200 SIALKOT 0200 KARACHI 0210 BAHRAIN 0325 DOHA 0345 ADDIS ABABA 0350 DUBAI 0350 ABU DHABI 0400 DUBAI 0415 FRANKFURT 0515 DOHA 0600 LUXORE 0635 BAHRAIN 0635 ABU DHABI 0640 SALALAH 0645 KARACHI 0650 KUWAIT 0650 RAS AL KHAIMA 0655 RIYADH 0655 ZURICH 0700 MALPENSA 0705 DAMMAM 0715 DOHA 0715 JEDDAH 0735 PARIS 0735 LONDON HEATHROW 0740 DUBAI 0800 DUBAI 0805 LAHORE 0830 JAIPUR 0830 BOMBAY 0835 SOHAR 0840 HYDERABAD 0900 SHARJAH 0905 BANGALORE 0910 COCHIN 0920 DUBAI 0930 GOA 0935 DELHI 0935 TRIVANDRUM 0950 MADRAS 0955 TRIVANDRUM 0955 DOHA 1000 MANGALORE 1010 ABU DHABI 1010 COCHIN 1020 TRIVANDRUM 1045 DUQUM OMAN 1045 MUKHAIZNA 1110 DUBAI 1110 KHASAB 1115 BAHRAIN 1130 DUBAI 1140 CALICUT 1155 MALE 1210 KUALA LUMPUR-SINGAPORE 1215 BANGKOK 1220 ABU DHABI 1220 SALALAH 1230 DOHA 1250 KARACHI 1300 KATHMANDU 1305 BAHRAIN 1330 DUBAI 1340 KUWAIT 1405 SALALAH 1440 KHASAB 1445 ISLAM ABBAD 1515 DUBAI 1535 MUKHAIZNA 1550 LAHORE 1605 DOHA 1650 BOMBAY 1655 ABU DHABI 1710 CALICUT 1710 LUCKNOW 1740 DOHA 1745 DUBAI 1745 DELHI 1750 HYDERABAD 1750 DUBAI 1800 BAHRAIN 1810 BAHRAIN 1820 BANGKOK-KARACHI 1900 SHARJAH 1905 COLOMBO 1915 KUWAIT 1920 DUBAI 1940 SALALAH 2000 DUBAI 2025 JAKARTA 2035 KATHMANDU 2040 MALE 2045 TEHRAN 2055 DUBAI 2100 MUNICH 2105 COCHIN 2115 DELHI 2125 BOMBAY 2130 MADRAS 2135 LONDON HEATHROW-ABU DHABI 2140 DUBAI 2150 COLOMBO 2155 MADRAS 2200 CHITTAGONG 2210 DOHA 2225 ZURICH-DUBAI 2225 BAHRAIN 2240 FRANKFURT-DOHA 2245 ABU DHABI 2300 AMMAN 2300 SALALAH 2310 BOMBAY 2315 BOMBAY 2325 DOHA 2335 BAHRAIN 2340 ABU DHABI 2340 SALALAH 2345 BANGKOK 2350 DAMMAM 2355 DUBAI 2355

WY672 WY648 WY406 WY676 WY682 WY914 WY916 TK774 4H583 PK229 GF560 QR1132 ET624 EK866 EY384 FZ041 WY114 WY658 WY638 WY902 WY644 WY154 WY144 WY668 WY674 WY102 FZ043 WY422 WY602 WY346 WY342 WY272 WY202 WY236 G9114 WY226 EK862 WY210 WY242 WY212 WY252 QR1128 EY382 WY844 9W530 WY604 WY918 WY3302 GF562 FZ037 WY372 IX337 PA450 WY705 WY822 WY634 WY818 WY904 WY670 WY324 WY332 WY632 WY606 WY920 FZ045 WY3304 WY656 QR1126 WY204 WY292 WY264 WY664 EK864 WY232 WY246 WY254 WY284 WY3922 WY610 GF564 G9116 WY684 WY646 FZ047 WY614 WY848 WY338 WY434 FZ049 KL441 AI977 WY124 4H561 9W534 AI973 6.00E+81 BA073 WY624 WY906 AI907 WY312 QR1134 LX242 GF566 LH616 WY717 SG061 EY388 WY910 9W540 WY908 AI985 WY662 WY654 WY636 WY928 WY816 WY612 WY696

MEDINA 0005 KUWAIT 0005 CAIRO 0005 JEDDAH 0005 RIYADH 0010 SALALAH 0020 SALALAH 0120 ISTANBUL 0135 DACCA 0200 LAHORE 0215 BAHRAIN 0325 DOHA 0345 ADDIS ABABA 0350 DUBAI 0350 ABU DHABI 0400 DUBAI 0415 FRANKFURT 0515 BAHRAIN 0635 ABU DHABI 0640 SALALAH 0645 KUWAIT 0650 ZURICH 0700 MALPENSA 0705 DOHA 0715 JEDDAH 0735 LONDON HEATHROW 0740 DUBAI 0800 BEIRUT 0805 DUBAI 0805 ISLAM ABBAD 0815 LAHORE 0825 JAIPUR 0830 BOMBAY 0835 HYDERABAD 0900 SHARJAH 0905 COCHIN 0920 DUBAI 0930 GOA 0935 DELHI 0935 TRIVANDRUM 0950 MADRAS 0955 DOHA 1000 ABU DHABI 1010 MANILA 1020 TRIVANDRUM 1045 DUBAI 1115 KHASAB 1115 MUKHAIZNA 1120 BAHRAIN 1130 DUBAI 1140 COLOMBO 1140 CALICUT 1155 LAHORE 1215 DARESSLAM-ZANZIBAR 1215 KUALA LUMPUR-SINGAPORE 1215 ABU DHABI 1220 BANGKOK 1220 SALALAH 1230 DOHA 1250 KARACHI 1300 KATHMANDU 1305 ABU DHABI 1335 DUBAI 1340 KHASAB 1445 DUBAI 1535 MUKHAIZNA 1550 BAHRAIN 1635 DOHA 1650 BOMBAY 1655 CALICUT 1710 LUCKNOW 1740 DOHA 1745 DUBAI 1745 HYDERABAD 1750 DELHI 1750 MADRAS 1750 BANGALORE 1750 DUQUM OMAN 1755 DUBAI 1800 BAHRAIN 1810 SHARJAH 1905 RIYADH 1915 KUWAIT 1920 DUBAI 1940 DUBAI 2025 JAKARTA 2035 KATHMANDU 2040 TEHRAN 2055 DUBAI 2100 AMSTERDAM-DOHA 2105 BANGALORE-HYDERABAD 2105 MUNICH 2105 DACCA 2115 COCHIN 2115 DELHI 2125 BOMBAY 2130 LONDON HEATHROW-ABU DHABI 2140 DUBAI 2150 SALALAH 2155 MADRAS 2200 CHITTAGONG 2210 DOHA 2225 ZURICH-DUBAI 2225 BAHRAIN 2240 FRANKFURT-DOHA 2245 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM 2250 AHMEDABAD 2300 ABU DHABI 2300 SALALAH 2310 BOMBAY 2315 SALALAH 2320 BOMBAY 2325 DOHA 2335 BAHRAIN 2340 ABU DHABI 2340 SALALAH 2345 BANGKOK 2350 DUBAI 2355 DAMMAM 2355

FLT NO

DEPARTURES TO

FLT NO

DEPARTURES TO

AI986 9W539 WY657 WY225 WY637 WY235 WY281 WY211 WY685 WY201 WY643 WY251 WY271 WY601 WY123 WY325 WY847 WY241 WY901 WY691 WY667 WY383 TK775 WY209 4H585 PK260 NL772 WY331 ET625 EK867 EY385 FZ042 QR1133 WY3931 4H586 GF561 WY3921 G9842 WY903 WY603 WY3301 CV732 WY917 WY347 WY669 WY323 FZ044 WY373 WY815 WY291 WY343 NL769 WY651 WY263 WY821 WY843 G9115 WY231 WY605 WY905 WY203 WY385 WY245 EK863 IX554 WY337 QR1129 IX818 EY383 IX442 WY311 9W533 WY919 GF563 FZ038 WY3303 WY253 IX350 WY633 WY113 WY663 WY631 WY143 WY645 WY655 WY101 WY153 WY927 WY405 WY413 WY433 WY609 KU678 WY907 WY675 FZ046 WY671 WY613 QR1127 WY623 WY681 WY647 WY909 GF565 EK865 WY695 WY653 WY661 G9117 WY913 TG508 WY635 FZ048 WY611 WY915 FZ050 WY421 WY817 9W529 6.00E+82 AI908 UL206 AI974 WY705 GF567 LX243 QR1135 BA072 WY673 EY381 LH617

BOMBAY 0020 BOMBAY 0020 BAHRAIN 0055 COCHIN 0105 ABU DHABI 0105 HYDERABAD 0110 BANGALORE 0110 TRIVANDRUM 0110 RIYADH 0115 BOMBAY 0115 KUWAIT 0120 MADRAS 0120 JAIPUR 0135 DUBAI 0145 MUNICH 0200 KARACHI 0210 JAKARTA 0215 DELHI 0215 SALALAH 0215 DAMMAM 0225 DOHA 0225 MALE 0230 ISTANBUL 0230 GOA 0255 DOHA 0300 PESHAWAR 0310 PESHAWAR 0330 KATHMANDU 0350 ADDIS ABABA 0450 DUBAI 0450 ABU DHABI 0500 DUBAI 0510 DOHA 0515 SOHAR 0635 DACCA 0700 BAHRAIN 0715 DUQUM OMAN 0745 RAS AL KHAIMA 0745 SALALAH 0750 DUBAI 0750 MUKHAIZNA 0800 HONG KONG 0800 KHASAB 0815 ISLAM ABBAD 0830 DOHA 0835 KARACHI 0835 DUBAI 0845 COLOMBO 0900 BANGKOK 0905 CALICUT 0915 LAHORE 0915 LAHORE 0930 BAHRAIN 0935 LUCKNOW 0940 SINGAPORE-KUALA LUMPUR 0945 MANILA 0955 SHARJAH 0955 HYDERABAD 1000 DUBAI 1020 SALALAH 1020 BOMBAY 1025 MALE 1040 DELHI 1040 DUBAI 1045 TRIVANDRUM 1045 KATHMANDU 1050 DOHA 1100 MANGALORE 1100 ABU DHABI 1105 COCHIN 1120 CHITTAGONG 1140 COCHIN 1145 KHASAB 1145 BAHRAIN 1215 DUBAI 1225 MUKHAIZNA 1230 MADRAS 1255 CALICUT 1255 ABU DHABI 1300 FRANKFURT 1320 DOHA 1330 ABU DHABI 1345 MALPENSA 1350 KUWAIT 1350 BAHRAIN 1400 LONDON HEATHROW 1400 ZURICH 1420 SALALAH 1430 CAIRO 1440 AMMAN 1440 TEHRAN 1445 DUBAI 1445 ABU DHABI-KUWAIT 1505 SALALAH 1540 JEDDAH 1615 DUBAI 1620 MEDINA 1705 DUBAI 1710 DOHA 1750 DUBAI 1840 RIYADH 1840 KUWAIT 1845 SALALAH 1850 BAHRAIN 1855 DUBAI 1910 DAMMAM 1915 BAHRAIN 1920 DOHA 1920 SHARJAH 1955 SALALAH 2000 KARACHI-BANGKOK 2005 ABU DHABI 2015 DUBAI 2025 DUBAI 2035 SALALAH 2100 DUBAI 2145 BEIRUT 2215 BANGKOK 2225 TRIVANDRUM 2230 BOMBAY 2245 MADRAS 2300 COLOMBO 2305 DELHI 2310 DARESSLAM-ZANZIBAR 2310 BAHRAIN 2325 DUBAI-ZURICH 2325 DOHA 2330 ABU DHABI-LONDON HEATHROW 2330 JEDDAH 2350 ABU DHABI 2355 DOHA-FRANKFURT 2355

AI986 9W539 WY657 WY225 WY637 WY211 WY235 WY201 WY643 WY345 WY271 WY341 WY601 WY371 WY123 WY901 WY847 WY241 WY667 TK775 WY209 4H584 PK226 WY331 EK867 ET625 EY385 FZ042 QR1133 GF561 WY603 WY903 WY3301 WY917 WY323 WY669 FZ044 WY633 WY815 WY253 WY291 WY263 WY717 WY821 G9115 WY231 WY283 WY631 WY605 WY203 WY245 EK863 WY337 QR1129 EY383 WY311 9W533 WY919 GF563 WY655 FZ038 WY3303 IX350 PA451 WY113 WY663 WY683 WY131 WY645 WY143 WY101 WY153 WY927 WY405 WY609 WY433 WY3921 WY675 FZ046 WY613 WY905 QR1127 WY681 WY623 WY647 WY909 GF565 WY907 EK865 WY695 WY661 WY653 G9117 WY913 WY635 FZ048 WY611 WY411 WY915 FZ050 AI978 4H561 KL442 WY817 9W529 6.00E+82 AI908 WY677 WY705 AI974 GF567 LX243 BA072 QR1135 WY673 LH617 EY381

BOMBAY 0020 BOMBAY 0020 BAHRAIN 0055 COCHIN 0105 ABU DHABI 0105 TRIVANDRUM 0110 HYDERABAD 0110 BOMBAY 0115 KUWAIT 0120 ISLAM ABBAD 0125 JAIPUR 0135 LAHORE 0145 DUBAI 0145 COLOMBO 0155 MUNICH 0200 SALALAH 0215 JAKARTA 0215 DELHI 0215 DOHA 0225 ISTANBUL 0230 GOA 0255 DACCA 0300 KARACHI 0315 KATHMANDU 0350 DUBAI 0450 ADDIS ABABA 0450 ABU DHABI 0500 DUBAI 0510 DOHA 0515 BAHRAIN 0715 DUBAI 0750 SALALAH 0750 MUKHAIZNA 0800 KHASAB 0815 KARACHI 0835 DOHA 0835 DUBAI 0845 ABU DHABI 0900 BANGKOK 0905 MADRAS 0915 CALICUT 0915 LUCKNOW 0940 ZANZIBAR-DARESSLAM 0940 SINGAPORE-KUALA LUMPUR 0945 SHARJAH 0955 HYDERABAD 1000 BANGALORE 1000 ABU DHABI 1015 DUBAI 1020 BOMBAY 1025 DELHI 1040 DUBAI 1045 KATHMANDU 1050 DOHA 1100 ABU DHABI 1105 CHITTAGONG 1140 COCHIN 1145 KHASAB 1145 BAHRAIN 1215 BAHRAIN 1215 DUBAI 1225 MUKHAIZNA 1230 CALICUT 1255 LAHORE 1315 FRANKFURT 1320 DOHA 1330 RIYADH 1335 PARIS 1345 KUWAIT 1350 MALPENSA 1350 LONDON HEATHROW 1400 ZURICH 1420 SALALAH 1430 CAIRO 1440 DUBAI 1445 TEHRAN 1445 DUQUM OMAN 1455 JEDDAH 1615 DUBAI 1620 DUBAI 1710 SALALAH 1735 DOHA 1750 RIYADH 1840 DUBAI 1840 KUWAIT 1845 SALALAH 1850 BAHRAIN 1855 SALALAH 1900 DUBAI 1910 DAMMAM 1915 DOHA 1920 BAHRAIN 1920 SHARJAH 1955 SALALAH 2000 ABU DHABI 2015 DUBAI 2025 DUBAI 2035 AMMAN 2100 SALALAH 2100 DUBAI 2145 HYDERABAD-BANGALORE 2200 JEDDAH 2215 DOHA-AMSTERDAM 2220 BANGKOK 2225 TRIVANDRUM 2230 BOMBAY 2245 MADRAS 2300 MEDINA 2310 DARESSLAM-ZANZIBAR 2310 DELHI 2310 BAHRAIN 2325 DUBAI-ZURICH 2325 ABU DHABI-LONDON HEATHROW 2330 DOHA 2330 JEDDAH 2350 DOHA-FRANKFURT 2355 ABU DHABI 2355

ETD

ETA

ETD

B8

SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015

EXTRA B O L LY W O O D

I always look for a new challenge: Huma Qureshi ACTRESS Huma Qureshi, who made her acting debut with critically acclaimed crime drama “Gangs of Wasseypur”, believes that one should challenge oneself everyday and do something new. “I think today cinema is changing. I like doing interesting things. As an actor, I believe you should do things that challenge you. I always look for a new challenge,” she told IANS while unveiling a collection of diamond jewellery designed by SRS Jewells crafted with diamond brand Forevermark in Mumbai on Friday. “If I have to do the same thing every day then I would go to work in a bank and not be an actor. Being an actor means that every single day you go out there you do something interesting, and new,” she added.

The 28-year-old had started out with theatre and shared that “whatever little I know of acting is because of my roots in theatre,” but at the same time she “loves cinema.”

No Hindi remake of ‘Nirbaak’: Sushmita Sen SUSHMITA SEN who has returned on the big screen with her first Bengali film Nirbaak, says she does not want a Hindi remake of it.

The film has four love stories connected by one woman played by Sushmita Sen. “I don’t think Nirbaak can be remade in Hindi or any other language. The film’s essence is pretty Bengali. Moreover, it is not even needed to be presented in any other language because the film’s name is Nirbaak which means speechless,” the actress said during the premiere of the film for her Hindi film industry friends.

“There are very few dialogues in the film. So, anybody not only from the country but from the world can understand the film,” she added. Directed by Srijit Mukherji, the film was released in Kolkata on May 1 while it released in rest of the country on Friday.

DEEPIKA PADUKONE ON ‘PIKU’ SUCCESS

Sonakshi Sinha mouths Shatrughan’s dialogue BOLLYWOOD actress Sonakshi Sinha was spotted mouthing her father’s dialogue from the film Mere Apne. The actress took to video messaging application Dubsmash to lip sync the dialogue. Dubsmash is an application that allows users to choose an audio recording of well known quotes from a list and record a video of themselves in which they dub the quote. The “Tevar” actress shared the video on her photo-sharing website Instagram on Saturday to share the funny video with her fans and well wishers. The 27-year-old captioned the video: “Found one of dads dialogues this is too cool!!!!! A #dubsmash a day, keeps the boredom away... And you entertained ? #badass #shotgun #chhenu #dialoguebaazi #crazy #fun”.

Earlier actress Alia Bhatt was seen mouthing a famous TV advertisement with her friend Akansha.

Rahul Bhatt seen training Kunal Kohli in the gym FILMMAKER Kunal Kohli was spotted excising at the gym to tone up his muscles.The Hum Tum director took to micro-blogging website Twitter to share the photograph where actor Rahul Bhatt was seen smiling and sporting a black t-shirt while Kohli was wearing a black vest and shorts.”Rahul Bhatt smiling while killing me in the gym”, Kohli tweeted on Thursday.

Shruti Haasan roped in for third instalment of ‘Singam’ SHRUTI HAASAN has reportedly been roped in for the third instalment of the Singam franchise. The film, which will be helmed by Hari Gopalakrishnan, also features Suriya and Anushka Shetty in the lead roles. “Shruti is most likely to play the second lead. While she agreed to be part of the project, the paperwork is still pending.

She’s expected to sign on the dotted line soon,” a source from the film’s unit told IANS. Director Hari had planned to include Shruti in Singam 3 after he was impressed with her work in their last Tamil outing Poojai. The film is expected to go on the floors in September. -IANS

The actress says many people have expressed a desire to adopt her after watching the movie

H

er act as a selfless daughter, who spends more time listening to her father’s constipation tales than on her professional or marital pursuits in Piku, has garnered an “overwhelming” response for actress Deepika Padukone.

Directed by Shoojit Sircar, Piku is an endearing father-daughter tale, with megastar Amitabh Bachchan essaying the role of Deepika’s onscreen dad. Their chemistry is natural, relatable and pleasing despite being one full of arguments. What also stands out is Deepika’s subdued and subtle camaraderie with Irrfan Khan in the film.

Overwhelming response “The response has been overwhelming,” Deepika said in an interview post the film’s release.

Her character is independent and free-spirited.

“I think we had all thought that it’s a sweet film and that people will connect with it, but none of us had expected it to become this big.

It’s gone beyond our own control.

The biggest compliment for me has been — I know it may sound funny, but a lot of people want to

The success of Piku also shows how a movie can work even withmulti-city promoout extensive e tions, skin show, a lip-lock scene tions the song-and-dance formula. or th “It depends on the story and what the characters are trying to convey. Piku is a story of a daughconv ter aand her journey and how she tries to be perfect in every role.

She is i trying to do so many things and do them all perfectly. Piku is different and didn’t require all of diffe that,” she said. that, Considering that Deepika has Co had quite a winning streak with movies like Cocktail, Goliyon Ki mov Raasleela Ram-Leela, Chennai Raas Express and Happy New Year, Expr how does she choose her films?

“There is no formula — If I find a “T script and if I feel the director can scrip justify it, I go ahead and do it. I foljusti low m my heart and my gut feeling,” she said. s “The reaction that Piku has “T got, tthe kind of scripts that I am getting and with the kind of acgetti tors I am getting to work with, it’s a very exciting time for me right now,” added the actress, who will next be seen in films like Tamasha with Ranbir Kapoor and Bajirao Mastani with Ranveer Singh. -IANS Ranv

adopt me,” said the 29-year-old.

She he says it’s been the “biggest compliment”. pliment”.

“Multiple Multiple people have told me that they want to adopt me after watching ching Piku, and that’s very overwhelming,” rwhelming,” said Deepika, who in real life, is the daughter of former mer badminton ace Prakash Padukone. ukone. Deepika, who also features ures in a brand’s emotional advertisement ertisement about a daughter’s love towards her mother, says her biggest est critic is her family. But even n they were speechless after watching ching Piku.

“My My family is my biggest critic.

Theyy always watch my films, but theyy would always say ‘This could havee been a little better’. But, for the first time, after watching this film (Piku ((Piku), u), there was an absolute silence nce when w en they called me. wh “They They were so overwhelmed by whatt they had seen that they were just lost for words,” she added.

AT T H E C A N N E S

Video-game movies are now going upscale THERE WAS a time when a new video game adaptation was enough to make film critics gag, but the big money involved is starting to attract a new level of talent. Video game movies have an ignoble history in hollywood, dating back to the dark days of the early 1990s when clangers like Super Mario Bros, starring Bob Hoskins and Street Fighter with Jean-Claude Van Damme were stinking up the screen.

But the lure of tapping into the world’s estimated 1.8 billion

gamers has kept drawing filmmakers back for more.

Among the more promising projects is Splinter Cell, which has been gestating for some years but is thought to still have actor Tom Hardy attached, fresh from his hailed action turn in Mad Max: Fury Road. The project also has director Doug Liman, the man behind smart blockbusters The Bourne Identity and Edge of Tomorrow, signed on, though rumours suggest he may have since departed.

Perhaps the most surprising video game project in the pipeline is a movie version of the wildly popular Assassin’s Creed.

It has the crew from — of all things — the new Macbeth movie that is competing for the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival under way.

There has been a lot of buzz at the festival around an animated film of PlayStation series Ratchet and Clank, with Sylvester Stallone and John Goodman providing voices. -AFP

C

W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M S U N DAY, M AY 1 7, 2 0 1 5

SECTION

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Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

Flat at Darsait. Contact 99326879

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3000 sq mtrs Industrial landß, in Barka Sanaiya, with electricity 400KW, shed, staff accommodation and office. Ready to start any kind of factory. Contact 99384255.

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New one B/R directly from owner.

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Flats for rent in Wadi Kabeer.

Contact : 92800007 Full storey at Al Khuwair, 3BHK 525/- R.O. Contact: 94232344 Villa for rent in Khuwair 33, 8 bedrooms, 5 Bathrooms with parking area near Taimur Mosque.

Contact 99366624

3 bedroom flat for rent in Al Hamria Contact: 99341112 1 Villa & 4 big apartments of 3 BHK with big hall & Kitchen Al Khoudh 6. Tel 97600322 alnehang@gmail.com Office premises available in Ruwi and double bed room flats available in Mabellah for rent.

Contact tel nos 24833972/ 24833974/24450361 gsm 99367448 3 flats for rent 3 bedrooms include A/C, near the highway (Bowshar Amerat). Contact 97777911 / 95533777

New 3 bedroom flats split AC, attached toilets available behind Kims Oman hospital.

Contact 95225662

Mabella residential area flat 3 bedroom, toilet 33 inside of the compound wall ground level, children playground excellent area.

Contact 99879872

1st floor flat in Amerat Phase 5, 4 rooms, bathrooms (3), kitchen with A/C for family. Contact 95522405

For rent flat 2 BHK 350/- R.O in North Al Ghubrah.

Contact 97004127

3 Office space available between 120-142 sqm, with data cable, pantry, cassette AC, parking, @ RO. 5/- per/sqm. At Jibroo Muttrah. 2 BHK flat at Azaiba, behind Al Meera Hypermarket. RO. 330/-.Contact: 93221054, 99229263, 95215289 Flat 1 BHK for rent near Al Tajaweed furniture way no. 5917 Hamriya, Rent 160/- PM. Contact 99350946 2 & 3 BHK flat in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181 2BHK at Al Azaiba, 2bedrooms, 1 hall & dinning , 3 bathrooms.

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Contact 97293708 / 92433127 2 & 3 BHK , A/C Qurum.

Contact 99024730 2& 3 BHK , Madinat Sultan Qaboos.

Contact: 99024730 For rent flat 3BHK 390/-R.O in North Al Ghubrah. Contact 97004127

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Contact 99834373, 97102699

FOR RENT Furnished flats for rent in Al Buraimi, daily, weekly, monthly.

Contact 97819981 / 93593336 1& 2BHK for rent at Wadi Kabir, Hilal Al Sad and Al Khoud areas .

Contact Office: 24834644 Mobile: 93994401/02/03 Flat for rent, 2 BK near Kuwaiti Mosque, Wadi Kabir. Contact 97007934 / 92629232 Flat for rent 2 BK near Oman House Muttrah. Contact 97007934 / 92629232 200 Sqr mtrs office space in CBD. Contact 99792181 If require flats for rent in Wadi Kabir please send me messages through whatsapp or call 99376454

One BHK flat for rent in Ghobra with attach and common bathroom.

For Indian family.

Contact - 92322096 New flat at Al Qurum, 2 BHK 450/R.O . Contact: 94232344 1BHK R.O 250/-, Bldg # 1690 way # 6926 near to ISWK Kindergarten Wadi Kabir.

Contact : 99476728 1 & 2BHK at Honda road, 2 bedrooms, 1 hall, 2 bath rooms.

Contact 99224748 / 99332297

1 BHK new bldg with A/C, curtains near Khimji Mart MBD. Contact: 99061408 / 99024039

Bath attached room for rent Al Khuwair. Contact 99743569

1 BHK flat in Honda Road (Ruwi).

Contact 99792181

Labour camp for Rent in Wadi Kabir. Contact 99797422

Studio & 1BHK flat in Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 99376454

2 BHK & studio flat at Darsait 1SM. Contact 99024730

2 bedroom apartment in Ruwi for rent or sale for information.

Contact: 99360303

Room with attached bathroom Al Khuwair 33 area.

Contact 96059431

2BHK Muttrah behind Oman house. Contact 95915154 1BHK A.C Mumtaz.

Contact 97799175 2 BHK with A.C, M.B.D, R.O 325/-.

Contact: 92144045 2 BHK with A.C Ghubra R.O 350/-.

Contact: 92144045

Spacious 2 BHK flats in Ruwi MBD area only on 350/- OMR. Contact – 95122188 / 96441499

M.V. FOR SALE

FOR SALE

1/3 BHK Flat Ghubrah, close to ISG Way 4041, building 4390.

Contact 99319880

2 BHK flat in Rex Road.

Contact 99792181

Room main road, Al Khuwair R.O 110/-. Contact 97799175

Flats/villas owned by ROP pension fund available for rent in Muscat. Contact 99349526

Studio flat Wadi Kabeer 160/-O.R. Contact - 99358589 / 97079146/ 95570288

Labour Camp for Rent in Wadi Kabir. Contact 99792181

2 BHK in Muttrah, 2 bedrooms, 1 hall, 1 bathroom & 1 kitchen.

Contact 99342790

For rent 3 industrial land.

Contact 92702891/ 95490842

FOR SALE! 1 No. PLASTER MIXER PUMP (Make/Model: Putzmeister; DWϮϱͿ ŝŶ ǁŽƌŬŝŶŐ ĐŽŶĚŝƟŽŶ available for sale on AS IS WHERE IS basis (at our Ghala Store). Genuine buyers Contact Evan G. Amanna, Mbl. 99334126; R&N KHIMJI LLC - Tel.24502111; Email: rnk@rkhimjigroup.com

1BHK, 2 toilets at South Ghubra include E/W and AC split with fully furnished OMR 350/-.

Contact 92811110

1BHK flat near star cinema with split A/C 230/- O.R. Contact - 99358589/ 97079146/95570288

We have flats for rent in South Al Mabella stage -8 along the highway. Contact 95121222

Ghubra near Al Maha hotel & Indian school (2BHK with 5 split ac units). Contact 94652485/ 99273774 / 99202278

Big flat in Al Khuwair 33, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, sitting, dining, family lounge, kitchen, store with A/C, rent 550/- OMR. Contact 97278169 Apartments for rent Ghubra : near Indian School Ghubra & Al Maha International Hotel (2BHK with 5 split A/C units).Contact 99273774 / 99202278 /94652485 Villa in Al Khuwair and Seeb.

Contact 95250300/ 99119699 / 92125648 1,000 sq mtrs industrial land in Misfah Industrial area near to Khanco. OMR 1,500 Monthly. Electricity and boundary wall will be provided. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

Used Furniture of Ready made showroom for Sale.contact 24704370, 99798452 (Ashwin) Port cabin new & refurbished – porta cabin for sale & rent.

Contact 96723468 / 97775501 / 97775502 A well equipped running dental clinic in Ruwi for sale.

Contact 93769963 Coffee shop equipment and furniture for sale call 95207741 .

3 tents used for six months, PVC type, 850 GSM, water proof and fire resistant (one tent size 11x30meter, two tents size 15x25 meters).

For clarification call 99507508 Prime location in Shatti Qurum for sale. Ideal for restaurant / coffee shop / fast food.

Contact: 97890657 / 96426312 Email: tess29.cayman29@gmail.com Coffee shop for sale in North Al Ghubra. Contact 95256009 Restaurant for sale in Wadi Kabir.

Contact : 99425461 2,560 sq mtrs industrial land Wadi Kabir Main Road, First line on way to Al Bustan hotel. Possible to make petrol station or hotel. OMR 990 Thousand Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

2BHK without A.C Mumtaz R.O 275/-. Contact 92144045

Industrial land for rent in Wadi Kabir 7000 Sq mtrs.

Contact 99354340

1BHK Ghubra R.O 350/-.

Contact 92144045

1 Bedroom flat in Azaiba.

Contact 99385835/99428143

558 Sq mtrs residential land in Barka (Al Jenainah) near Lulu and near to school. OMR 32 Thousand.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

2BHK flat with very big balcony for rent at MBD, rent R.O 400/-Month. Contact 94273529

Flat for rent 1 & 2 bedroom available behind Zaker Mall Al Khuwair.

Contact - 99530405

We have flats for sale in south Al Mabella stage -8 along the highway. Contact 95121222

Shfandish & tables for sale.

Contact 99368907 Well established coffee shop & BBQ with open parking along with 5 clearance located in Wadi Kabir.

Contact 97161811 Residential land for sale 21000 sqm, best for housing complex at Al Harm – Barka, opp to Khimji logistic. Contact 99438397 For running beauty saloon for sale.

Contact 97786792 / 96914627 60,000 Sq Mtrs Agriculture Land in Misfah, can be changed to Industrial Land. OMR 27 Per Square Meter.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 Shopping center for sale at Bousher by good price 400 m2 with all equipment. Reason for selling part-time. Contact 92916490 5 Flats of 1 bedroom for Sale in Bousher: OMR 35 Thousand each.

Monthly income OMR 270 Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 3 floor commercial building in Muttrah behind Police. Generating income of OMR 18 Thousand annually. Neat and well maintained. Built on 197 sq mtrs land. 2 tailor shops on ground floor and 6 flats. OMR 207 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

Nissan Sunny 2010.

Contact : 98602323

Pajero 2010, GCC, 230000 km white 6200/- R.O. Contact 92857111

Chevrolet Lumina 2004, automatic good condition. Contact 98571309

Land Cruiser 2012. Contact 99336093

Peugeot 206-2007 Model, expat driven. Contact 99209285

2 Prime Movers Man 2008 with 40 ton petrol tank each working at the moment in Al Maha. Price OMR 35 Thousand each. Contact 97000155 or 92688692

Toyota Yaris 2007, fully automatic, expat lady driven. Contact 99045803

WANTED

ACC. WANTED

Required used portacabin 12’ x 40’ without partition 2 Nos, used ablution unit 12 ‘x 30’ -1 no required at Misfah. Contact: 99340205

I BHK Wanted In MBD Or CBD area (R0. 200 or 230) Contact : 93262152

AVAILABLE

Looking for 2 BHK flat in Ruwi, Darsait or surrounding areas.

Contact 96027403

ACC. AVAILABLE 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. www.tunesoman.com, E-mail: info@tunesoman.com

FOR SALE 2 residential Lands together, one 610 and the other 600 sq mtrs, in Al Haram on way to Barka. OMR 49 Thousand both. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 23,886 Sq Mtrs Agriculture land with water well in Al Salwa, Barka.

OMR 260 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 Restaurant for sale well running with open area and good parking area. 3 new clearance also in Wadi Kabeer near Mars hyper market.

Contact 99656863

2 Bed room Villa, available at Honda road, Rent 225/-RO. (For Indain family) Contact: 91218273 Room for rent in Wattaya for executive Bachelor. Contact 99036715 Sharing accommodation available opposite Mars at Al Ghubra for Executive bachelor or small family sharing, kitchen. Contact 94474351 / 96237050 For family room available near Al Khamis Shoes Hamriya.

Contact 99793785 Executive bachelor room with attached toilet near Al Nahda Hospital, Hamriya.

Contact 9647313 Contd on pg 6

LOST Abdur Rup has lost Bangladeshi Passport No. C 1698544. Finder please handover to ROP

C4

S U N DAY, M AY 1 7, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

SITUATION WANTED SIT. WANTED

SITUATION SITUATION WANTED VACANT

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE Indian male 22 yrs B. Com Graduate 1 year exp in Accounts, currently on visit visa. Looking for suitable job.

Contact 94341848 / Email – mohdhaji7272@gmail.com Indian male, 30 yrs, MBA having 5 years GCC experience holding valid Oman driving license looking for a suitable job. Contact : 94547511 Email: pnvineeth01@gmail.com Accountant B.Com, MBA (pursuing) Indian male 25 years, 2 years experience in India, seeking better placement on visit visa.

Contact: 97709327 Indian male 23 yrs B.Com 1yr experience in Accounts and sales looking for suitable placement on visit visa.

Contact: 96068174 / 98912870 Indian Female 25 MBA looking for a suitable opening in Accounts, Admin/Hr. Contact 97013375

ACCOUNTANT

MANAGER

SALES / MARKETING

Urgently required female Accountant, should have 3 -5 years experience. Send CV with passport size Photo and expected salary on cv.hrcharity@gmail.com

One of the leading business groups in Oman is looking for a Manager for their transport division. Candidates with 7-10 years experience in transport industry may forward their CV to kumar@muscatsteel.com

Salesman experienced 5 yrs in Oman, in the field of industrial & oilfield service, garage equipment tools & spares, safety wears & rescue equipments. Please forward your CV to almaadhi.trd@gmail.com

CATERING SALES / MARKETING Wanted cook for Omani family at Muttrah. Contact 24712088 / 99022790 A fast food restaurant in Muscat required : 1) Cashier cum order taker with experience, speak fluent in Arabic and English, 2) Social Media Services. Forward CV : oman.job2win@gmail.com

DRIVER Wanted tipper drivers for Road works.

Contact 95565039 / 98878989

DOMESTIC HELPER Company GM requires a capable house keeper (preferably Philipina) to keep the house spotless and a gardener cum cleaner on full/ part time basis. Handsome salary & flexible timings. Contact 98458542 Urgently Required Full time Housemaid for a respectable Omani Family. Contact: 99845838 / 99357273, Email: ijaz.beaver@gmail.com Wanted an Indian family in Al Ghubra requires a full time living housemaid. Contact 97084023

DRAFTSMAN Leading Construction company requires MEP Draftsman and Civil Draftsman with 5 to 7 years gulf experience with NOC available. Send your CV to recruitment1947@gmail.com

DESIGNER Required 3 D Designer for interior design with relevant experience, full time or part time.

Contact 95766844

EDUCATION Wanted Graduate in Electronics / Mechatronics for teaching position for school students. Send CV to info@iiriss.com A school requires teachers for English, Science, Math, IT and Science Laboratory technician minimum requirements masters degree IELTS (band6).

Contact send CV to: 96606121.

Email: fred-cate2@yahoo.com Physics, Chemistry Edexcel ‘A’ level board teacher urgently required to teach a student of 12th standard. Teacher’s experience preferred. Contact: 99349076.

ENGI./ELECT./TECH..

Urgently required experienced LED TV Technician. Send CV to ali@blueoceanmea.com Urgently required Maintenance Supervisor (Civil) with valid Oman D/L. Send your CV to cv.hrcharity@gmail.com Required Graduate Electrical Engineer experience in HT & LT works. Contact 99760596, Email : info@npgoman.com

ENGI./ELECT./TECH..

Quantity Surveyor 1 No Civil Engineer – 1No. with seven years minimum Gulf construction experience.

Email: omaniantrad@gmail.com

MEDICAL Medical CARE Centre, Al Seeb, requires Gynecologist, General Practitioners and Medical Lab Technicians. Mail CVsarita_h23@yahoo.com or call 97884856 Wanted a Staff Nurse to work in a private clinic in IBRI preference will be given to candidates who have cleared their prometric exam.

Contact: 99502851 Position for a full time home Health Nurse seeking for a dedicated and reliable Staff Nurse or Assistant Nurse to provide total care for an elderly sick patient for immediate interview.

Contact : 99331369 We are looking for a Staff Nurse, who is having 60% or above in prometric exam. Contact : 99235643 /99463609 Email: abuahamedclinic@gmail.com Clinical Dietician for Weight Management Center, utilizing the “Eurodiet” method. Experienced in individual counseling along with excellent communication skills.

Arabic speaking would be an advantage. Tel. 9749 7777, thanae@eurodiet.com Urgently required (All female only) Radiographer, Physiotherapist, Echo Technician, EEG technician & Nurses.

Contact: 99374223, 22081700 email: hr@gshoman.com Urgently required Staff Nurse, Pharmacist and endodontist Female Staff nurse, Pharmacist and endodntist with MOH License/ Prometric exam passed with 60% and above.

Contact 24780088, 97374459 Email : karamadental@gmail.com Immediate placement ( with or without MOH) A. Pharmacist 3 nos B. Asst.pharmacist - 2 nos Contact Tel.99338219 , 93240949

MISCELLANEOUS Cast Aluminium & Windows Company looking for the skilled and experienced personnel for the following categories: Sales Executive with D/L, professional Accountant, Aluminium fabricator, Cast Aluminium Site worker.

Contact: 99654863 / 99197060 or Email your CV/Resume to tdnewgates@gmail.com Required salesman, Tailor and Barber. Contact 96964767

Situations vacant at a reputed company in Oman for their TLB(Tires, Lubes & Battery) division. 1. Sales Executives. 2. Showroom Executives. 3. Sales Co-ordinators.

4. Store Keepers. Minimum 3-5 yrs experience in the same field or from the Automotive industry with market exposure, holding valid Omani driving license or GCC. Rush your CV’s to careers@diamondwealth.org A leading UPVC window manufacturing company require Sales Executive (Graduate) 3 years minimum experience and Omani D/L. Required candidates with local release only apply. Contact: 99100738 / 94247257. Send CV to info@perfectwindowllc.com Looking for outdoor Salesman for heavy equipment spare parts.

Contact- 93292003.

E mail: mail.om@gulfcenter.co Sales Executives for Media Enterprise. Oman D/L. Contact: essential. jobs@interacoman.com

Required Sales man - 1 Person Qualification. Gulf Experienced - Minimum 5 Years with Oman Driving Licence Language - English Education:- Any Degree Further Contact :Mr. Abdul Hameed Nashabat - Mobile No: 97414307 and -92807399 amn@yaqeeneng.com Urgently required Sales Executive for leading building material company holding license.

Contact 98650936 / 95928480 A Leading FMCG Company require Sales Executives (Graduates) & Merchandisers, with Omani D/L. Candidates with local release only apply. Send CV to FAX: 24501542 or e-mail: fmcgsaleshr@gmail.com Looking for Electrical Salesman with diploma certificate.

Contact 97616265 email: brightsilverllc@gmail.com,

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE Required Office Assistant 160+25+Acc, Contact 99454425

TOURS & TRAVELS Reputed building materials company looking for Outdoor Sales Executive having valid Omani driving license with more than 2 years local sales experience tiles / sanitary ware. Fax your CV to 24798709 Email: united@omantel.net.om

Counter staff male/female experience 2 years of travel agency experience. Interested candidate shall send his / her CV to officer1_ajyad@yahoo.com

SITUATION WANTED ADMIN/HR Indian Female MBA, 3 Years experience in Admin MIS, Family Visa.

Contact 98234427, jkjsmith01@gmail.com

Omani experience in the legal, administrative, public relations, education. Contact 97243393 Email: mwm3003@gmail.com

Indian female, 28 yrs experience in Admin / sales coordination /accountant and secretarial. Knowledge in accountant software, with Oman D/L, looking for a suitable placement.

Contact: 96751993

Over 15 years of gulf experience in Admin /HR /Logistics, fluent in Arabic & English with D/L looking for suitable position.

Contact 95824598

AUTO CAD Indian male 2+yrs oman exp in HR. joing immediatly. release available.

Contact :93671437 Indian female, 29 yrs, MBA (HR) 4 yrs exp. India & Oman in HR & Admin, seeks suitable placement.

Contact 96759820 Omani national fluent in English looking for suitable placement.

Contact 91908052 Indian female Post Graduate with 5 years experience in HR & Admin looking for good opportunity.

Contact 94692244

AUTOCAD D MAN, Gulf Exp In Major Projects, knows ARCH, Structural, MEP, Noc available PH: 98225740 Draughtsman-Civil: Diploma in Architecture with 3 years experience. Proficient in AutoCAD, Google Sketchup, Photoshop and MS Office.

Email: dilshadmayas@gmail.com Mob: +91 9645124241, 93004426

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Indian female with 10 yrs of experience in HR/Banking/Operations seeks a suitable placement.

Can be contacted on 98919015 or sherianne.coelho@gmail.com

Indian male, 32 years, M. Com. 7 out of 9 years experience in Oman in Accounts/finance. Having NOC and valid Oman D/L. Contact 98277143, Email: anzarks@gmail.com

Female 26, 3 yrs exp in HR & Admin, with Oman D/L, looking for a suitable opening.

Contact 98236033

MBA Graduate with 6 yrs exp in finance/accounts/ auditing. Specialized in accounts payable dept, Oracle app user, proficient in Sap (fico) end user & tally 9.0. lean &six sigma certified trainer on visit visa.

Contact – 91967213 / 99064780

Accounting professional having B.com, ILM with 11 years of Gulf experience includes Islamic Banking/ Trading etc looking for Chief/Senior Accountant . Contact:95312688 Male 26, MBA in Accounts and Finance. 2 years Experience in Management, and Accounts Fields, and One year experience in Sales and Operation in Oman, looking for a suitable job. Contact 94374745 Indian male, B.Com experience in Accounts, looking for Accountant job or in Sales on visit visa.

Contact- 98295101 Indian male 25 yrs B.Com PGDBM currently on visit visa, looking for suitable opening in accounts, store and Admin. Contact: 96986349 Email: gafoordawre@gmail.com 7 years experience (2 yrs in Oman) MBA (Fin), B.Com, C.A (Found.) currently looking for suitable placement. Contact +968 - 97736404 Email: adnantahir1990@gmail.com Finance Manager (M.Com. MBA) with start-up skill & group consolidation, Baking,corporate funding, restructuring of finance and accounts with new system and procedure.amritaa.m2002@gmail.com 3 yrs experience, Indian female, 26 years, Masters in Financial Management, B.com, Seeking suitable placement. Contact: 99345132 Email: Sandhya1735@gmail.com Egyptian Accountant using ERP system on visit visa 1year experience. Contact: 96019233 MBA (international business) from London, 4 years of UK experience in banking operational, looking for suitable position. Contact 91710075

Finance Manager, CPA, with more than 15 yrs. of experience in GCC. Fully knowledgeable in Finance, General & Management Accounting . NOC available.

Contact 96209331 Indian male with total 5 year experience (2 years experience in Accountant cum sales co ordinator in a FMCG Company in Oman) in accounts field and NOC available Looking for suitable job Contact 92130188 Part time Accountant with 15 years experience in accounts, finance tax, audit management.

Contact 95857199 India Accountant: Male, M com, 7 Yrs experience in Accounts up to finalization, having knowledge of ERP, Tally, seeks suitable placment. contact 93950138 Email: lijinrajan123@gmail.com

DRIVER Indian male looking for job as driver. Have 08 years experience in Oman. Contact 95256489 Light driver looking for job.

Contact : 94208089 (Adman) Pakistani male having Oman driving license looking for driving jobs, having 2 years experience in vehicle driving presently staying in Oman.

Contact 96549406 Heavy Duty Driver looking job & visa. 3 years experience. Release Available. 96238930/92744341 Light duty driver with car looking for job. Contact: 99365092 Malayalee driver, 8 yrs exp. in Oman seeking job. Contact 93526254 / 94615610 Looking for job, driving 8 yrs experience languages Hindi, Arabic & English & civil construction foreman. Contact 96288587 Driver need job. Contact 98056148 Driver with car looking for part & full time job. Contact 96692774 Bangladeshi male looking for driving job, knows speaking English, Arabic & Hindi. Contact 93098895 Light Vehicle Driver requires job in any transportation / private co.

Contact 96015617 Need job LTV exp driver Pakistani.

Contact 94436276 Driver looking for job.

Contact 92137431

Tanzanian male, 25 yrs Accountant 3 month successful experience in Tanzania looking for suitable placement in any field. Contact : 96710154

Light duty driver looking job experience 4years Oman.

Contact 96088707

Sri Lankan male qualified CIMA (UK) Accountant & bachelor degree in accountancy with over 10 years experience in various industries looking for job position as Senior Accountant / Finance Manager currently in Muscat available on visit visa. Contact 97299017 Email: mnm_ruzan79@yahoo.com

EDUCATION

Indian male, B.Com Graduate having 10 years exp 6 years in Oman looking for an Accountant job.

Contact : 93830171 Email: nidbivtl@yahoo.com Indian male M.Com, 5 years experience in finance /HR and Purchase department in Oman companies having valid D/L available to join immediately with NOC. Contact 98363897 Email: prince9496@hotmail.com Finance Manager, 16 + years Gulf exp. in accounts , MIS, budgets, strategic planning, cost control, working capital management, seeks job pls call 95379211 e mail :- vijay.564@hotmail.com Indian male 27 M.Com, MBA, 4.5 years experience in finance & accounts, Tally & SAP currently on visit visa. Contact: 93484048 Indian female 32 yrs MCA having, 3 years experience in Muscat and having driving license seeks suitable placement. Contact: 96124929

Sudanese male BSC electronic Engineer 2 years experience in GSM, 10 years experience in oil industry (Drilling & Measurements).

Contact 91198104 Email: husseintalat@hotmail.com Sudanese BSC industrial Engineer experience 4 yrs in QA /QC and 8 yrs in production.

Contact 94041960 Email: mekkimedani@hotmail.com / mekkimedani78@gmail.com

ENGG. / TECHNICAL Indian male I.T.I diesel mechanic experience 4 yrs Qatar (11 yrs in India) seeking for suitable placement carpentry on visiting visa.

Contact 91969224 Email: anilk6102@gmail.com Indian female, B.Tech biotechnology with strong computer skills and 2 years experience as associate research analyst (Media Monitoring) in Nasdaq Oman seeking growth oriented jobs. Contact 92044603 /918056169148 or angeline.babithac@gmail.com.

Electrical and Electronics Engineer (BE) 1+ year of experience now on visit visa seeking suitable opportunities Email: djnitheesh@gmail.com Contact 99254469

Finance / Accounts Manager 12 years experience at senior position in leading companies 9 years in Oman CPA – USA& modern accounting certificate from AUC. Contact 99139926

Diploma in electronics & Telecom, Engineering with 5 years experience in Engineering & sales, marketing.

Contact 95932219

Part – time accountant qualified experience accountant available.

Contact 96759385

Electrical Eng. Degree (MEP) need suitable job of construction 12 yrs exp.

Email: mohd.ateeq.khan@gmail.com

S U N DAY, M AY 1 7, 2 0 1 5

C5

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED ENGG. / TECHNICAL Indian male, B.E ( computer science engineer), MBA (finance), OCA certified, having 5 years of experience in oracle Dba/ oracle apps Dba, seeks a suitable position in the field of IT. Contact: 96212062 email: zubairkhan11@gmail.com Omani Mechanical Engineer, has 3 years experience ,has HSE, H2S, Riggers/Banks men Permit, Drawing / cad, SCBA, Safety Leadership and Initial Fire Response Courses. good with computer and English language looking for suitable job. Contact 99224319-98454500 Indian male 22 Mechanical Diploma holder Engg with HVAC certified, having 1 year exp. seeking suitable position. Currently available on visit visa. Contact - 92835952 Indian male, Mechanical Engineer, 2 years experience in fabrication & erection of heavy structures as Project Engineer in India, now on visiting visa seek suitable placement. Contact: 91251818 Email: krishnakumarkk9@gmail.com Electrical Engineer, 5 years experience in E& I commissioning, construction and maintenance wastewater with Oman D/L. Contact : 97753382 Indian male Civil Engineer B.E Civil Engineer, 2 years experience in India seeking for suitable position in building construction field.

Contact India 0091-9659340446 Email: senthilmmx@gamail.com Indian male, 27 yrs B. Tech (Aeronautics) with MBA in airport management /international management, having 2yrs of experience in aerospace field, looking for suitable job, currently on visit visa valid up to 25 June 2015.

Contact - 98107797 email - njnikhiljoy@gmail.com Iraqi Civil Engineer with more than 25 years experience in (Iraq ,U.A.E. and Oman) looking for a job, (N.O.C.) is available.

Contact No. 94043735, amin.sarim007@gmail.com Indian male 26, B. Tech Electronics Engineer having 4 years experience (2 year in Oman) seeking suitable position. Contact 93171420 Email: manujk2015@gmail.com BE. Mechanical Engg in search of job primavera P6 and AutoCAD 2 year’s experience. Contact 99288785.

Email: gvnvictor@gmail.com Chemical Engineer, 5 years Industrial experience looking for job.

Contact: 91380787 Indian male 27 yrs, Instrumentation / Automation Engineer having 5 years exp in Oil & Gas and wastewater with valid Omani D/L, looking for a suitable job NOC available.

Contact : 96082604 Civil Engineer Female, 3 yrs experience in structural design, on visit visa seeking suitable placement.

Contact: 99195433 Electrical Engineer : Indian male 29 years , having 5 years of experience in industrial automation and utility maintenance in India (MRF Tyres) seeking suitable placement.

Contact 92789995, Email: akhilabrahamlktr@gmail.com Sr. Instrumentation Engineer: 8+ years Exp. (Oman 6+ Yrs) OIL & GAS, Sales & Marketing in Automation, Instrumentation, Calibration, BMS & FOC - Project Planning, Erection, Commissioning, O & M. NOC Available Oman D/L G: +968 97296534 M: jaganmohan_ks@yahoo.com Indian male with ITI certification in Mechanical Drafting with good Experience Looking for good opportunity contact 9194 9181 BE Mechanical Engineer -NDT level 2, Quality Control (Oil & Gas) . 1 year exp ph: 95908293 Electrical Engineer B.Tech with 4 yrs exp. looking for suitable vacancies. Contact – 96752080 Electronics Engineer with 4 years experience in embedded product development seeking for suitable job in Oman now in visit visa.

Contact: 95218030 Sudanese Civil Engineer, 2 yrs experience. Contact 96077482, Email : ebraheemann@gmail.com Civil Engineer (B.E) having 5 yrs experience in building construction looking for a suitable placement.

D/L available.

Contact 91253392

ENGG. / TECHNICAL Mechanical Design Engineer, 7 years of experience in Piping Design & Development, with good sound knowledge of AutoCAD, AUTOPLANT 3D,CATIA/ V5,SOLIDWORKS,etc Looking for a suitable position. NOC available.

Contact :+968-94549776, ashrafvpt@yahoo.co.in Indian male B.Tech Mechanical having 4 years experience with QA/ QC & CWSIP looking for suitable position. Contact 99447106 / 24483297 Electronics & Communication Engg.

(37) 14+ yrs (10 yrs Oman) experience in sales/marketing product development, project execution within information & communication technology industry.

Contact 99771815 Sudanese Petroleum Engineer, 4 yrs experience looking for job, MC office, C, Exlips. Contact 96039290 Network / system Engineer B.E / ECE + CCNA & Ms certified with 4+ yrs exp looking for a job, currently in Oman on visit visa. Contact : 92589502 / 96216397, Email : jeganscareer@gmail.com Indian M, 25yrs, B.E Mechanical 3 yr exp in Oil & Gas now on visit visa seeking jobs in project, sales and marketing. Contact: 96487013 Email: riarun.007@gmail.com Indian male 29 yrs, on visit visa, Diploma Mechanical Engineering and 1 ADC Rig Pass looking for a job in oil field drilling department experience, 4 years in India. Contact: 91926005 Email: ossubeesh83@gmail.com Indian male 29 years Diploma in Petrochemical 06 yrs, experience in EPS company and piping of oil & gas and maintenance valid D/L also available. Contact 93330817 Email: shahidk8448@yahoo.com Indian male B.Tech Mechanical three years varietal experience in piping Engineering & management of retail mobile phone shops seeking sales engineering job with Oman D/L. Contact 94401234 Young Energetic Indian male, 7 years Oman experience in retail wholesale, sales including electronics, building materials with Oman D/L. Contact: 98465550 B.Tech Mechanical Engineer on visit visa looking for job, two years experience as QC Engineer, NDT level-2 certified.

Contact: 98386074 Email: jayeshthilakan@gmail.com Graduate Civil Engineer, Indian, Total 16+ Yrs exp., 7+ GCC seeking suitable Senior/Mid level Job in PMC/Contracting, NOC Available & Valid GCC Driving License.

Contact : GSM: 94363574; E-mail : Crashu_78@yahoo.com Indian Male, IT Support Engineer, 2 yrs in Oman & 5 yrs Indian experience. Contact 97311847 Male 26, B.Tech in Electronics & Communication Engineering having 4.8 years experience (including experience in Japan) seeks suitable placement & can join immediately.

Contact: 91902646 Email: ajumalmajeed@gmail.com Procurement Officer 7 years experience in Oman construction civil & structural steel NOC, ITI & driving license in Oman.

Contact: 92023761 QA/QC inspector 5 yrs exp in O&G Industry with diploma mechanical & NDT level 2 on visit. Contact : 91231007 sf.aseem@gmail.com Indian male 29, Mechanical Engineer CSWIP3.1 certified having 5.5 years experience in steel structural construction projects seeking suitable position. Contact: 91078780 Email: nikhilhai@gmail.com Electrical Engineer (B.E) : 5 years of experience (4 years in Oman) with valid Omani D/L. NOC available.

GSM: 92260391 Mechanical Engineer (B.E) : Four years of experience (3 years in Oman). NOC available.

Contact :92530471

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

Indian male 24 years, Mechanical Engineer,pdms.1 yr experience in pipeline,16years in oman seeking immediate placement Contact 95775742 B.E (Mechanical), Indian male 8 years experience (HVAC – 4 years, operation / production / maintenance, 4 years) looking suitable position. Contact 96696190 Email: faisalmnz@gmail.com Indian male, 24 yrs B.Tech (MECH) on visit 1 year experience as PPC Engineer looking for suitable placement. Has, HVAC, AutoCAD and CATIA designing skills.

Contact 98925685 Indian male Instrumentation Engineer having 2 years experience in process instruments, seeks suitable placement. Contact 95954385 Civil Engineer (DCE) Indian male with 20 years experience, 10 years in Oman worked with reputed consultancy and contracting companies as RE, PE, PM and did projects for MOD and PDO with D/L Seeks suitable position. Contact 93251720 Bachelor degree B.SC (Honours) Telecommunication Engineering CCNA , CISCO, Certified network associate experience installation operation maintenance, ATMS & Electronics, Surveillance Security systems Nationality Sudanese age 25.

Contact: 92617282

HOSPITALITY Indian male/30years with hotel management degree, 02 years experience in F&B service at 5 star hotel in Dubai and 05 years in American 6 star cruseliner as butler. #911 35371.

IT Indian male fresher BCA young and energetic, seeking good opportunites.email: jlaxmimenon@gmail. com, Contact 00919567722270 IT Support Engineer Indian male with 6 years experience in system Admin IT support seeks suitable opportunities. #94549589 / 99817516.

Email: dhaneeh87@gmail.com Indian male, 25 yrs, M.Tech (Computer Science) 3 yrs exp. in networking (MCSE-CCNA) certified currently on visit visa looking for suitable job.

Contact 91006851 Indian 25 yrs male diploma Computer Engineer 5yrs experience in hardware and networking, looking for another jobs in oman. #91082046, renston34@gmail.com Indian male B.Sc, IT Graduate, MCSE, CCNA, RHCE, Certified seeking job at good company.

Contact 96974352 Email: niyas.mohammed1@gmail.com Network system Engineer B.E / ECE + CCNA & Ms certified with 4+ yrs exp looking for a job. Currently in Oman on visit visa. Contact: 92589502 Email: careersjegan@gmail.com IT Network and Security Engineer with a master degree, CISCO and Linux red hat certified seeking a suitable job in a good company.

Contact 99818601 Indian female MCA seeks suitable position as IT Administrator.

Contact: 94133849 / 95215272

MEDICAL Well experienced MOH Licensed Indian GP Doctor looking for locum / permanent position in the Capital area. Contact 98140024 email:drgpoman@yahoo.com Male Nurse on visit visa looking for a suitable position. Mob#96071526 Lab Technician, Civil (8yrs Gulf experience) looking for a suitable job (NOC available) Contact-93344378

MISCELLANEOUS Graduate 1 yr experience in India, Clerk now in Oman on visit visa.

Contact 92933431, princemathew2813@gmail.com

Indian male, Graduate, with 12yrs solid exp in construction & building materials purchase / logistics/ warehouse seeks suitable placement. NOC available.

Contact: 94657319 Warehouse In charge or store keeper 26 yrs. Gulf exp 4 yrs in Oman. NOC available. Contact 97657823 / Email:rusaikmzm_2009@yahoo.com Hotel field diploma in Computer B.Com, Indian, Diploma in Hotel Management MBA in hospital management at pursuant operation manager in a resort India. Contact 97864635 / 91815776074 Projects/ contracts Manager 31 yrs (26 yrs Oman) experience in management & coordination of multi-million R.O projects of government & private sector, Post Graduate Structural Engineer with structural & QS Background looking for senior position. Contact +00968-91400599 Experience Restaurant Manager with valid driving license and NOC for immediate placement.

Contact: 92953199

SECRETARIAL/OFFICE Indian male more than 10 years Gulf experience in Office / Sales Coordinator, Admin (employees visa processes), Secretarial and purchase coordination with good computer skills. Having Driving license and NOC available. Looking for suitable placement. Contact 99709336

SALES / MARKETING Male MBA (General) from Cardiff Metropolitan University London) looking for a suitable placement.

Contact 92819301 Email: adicbhat@outlook.com MBA Marketing professional with 05 years experience in sales and distribution looking for job in Oman currently on visit visa.

Contact: 97006353 Email: ashhadhm@hotmail.com Indian male Sales Manager looking for suitable position, 9 years experience in Oman.

Contact: 97986445 MBA supply chain professional with 03 years experience in freight forwarding and distribution looking for job in Oman currently on visit visa. Contact: 97089944 Email: ali_shayan340@hotmail.com Indian male 3 years experience Media Hospitality Sales Marketing looking for suitable job valid driving license car, NOC available.

Contact 96054202 Indian male 31 years, MBA, 7yrs experience in sales & marketing with valid driving license seeking suitable placement.

Contact 98719219.

EMAIL: recruitme1984@gmail.com Stores In Charge / Purchase coordinator with 6 years oman experience seeking placement. Contact 95439645 or storeoman@gmail.com Release / NOC available.

Indian male 24 years, MBA in Marketing looking for suitable placement currently in Muscat on visit visa. Contact: 93507063 Email: zamer_124@yahoo.com Indian 23 years B.Com Graduate, 2 years experience in sales knowledge of tally E.R.P & MS Office.

Contact 93134643 Pakistani male 34 yrs Intermediate 2 yrs exp in sales & marketing in Oman. Looking for suitable job.

Contact - 92146864 Indian male MBA 7 years experience in Hospitality industry, operation, sales & marketing looking for suitable vacancy. Contact 92115860 Email vibin.py@gmail.com Indian male 45+ yrs , 20 yrs exp as sales supervisor in India looking for indoor sales /stores /cashier or any suitable placement can speak Hindi , English, Malayalam, Tamil, kannada can join immediately on visit visa.

Contact 93086105/33016546

SALES / MARKETING

MISCELLANEOUS

Indian male 10 years experience in Welding Supervisor NDT Technician, MIG Welding specialist seeking suitable job. Contact 96771841

Key Account Executive, Indian male, currently working with a reputed FMCG company Oman is looking for a placement asap, NOC will be given. Valid Omani driving license. Total experience in Oman is 12yrs and particularly in Sales is 8 1/2 years. Contact 95589765 Email : agnelfrancis@yahoo.co.in

Egyptian male 11 years in five stars international hotels management sales marketing D/L available residency visa. Contact 93577497 Email: elkomy82@hotmail.com Sales / Marketing Executive 24 years, Indian male having Oman valid license, seeking suitable position, working as a Supervisor of the leading hypermarket in Oman, NOC available.

Contact : 98060984 / 93089757 Email: rishadkeethadath@gmail.com B.Com Graduate having 10 years experience of sales and marketing in bank specialist in car financing looking for a job also having experience to run the team and manage the accounts. Contact: 93131681 Indian male looking job in sales or marketing having 2 years experience. Contact 96660936

SKILLED LABOUR Indian male & female (couple) looking for job in hospital / caretaker. Contact 91299288

TOURS & TRAVELS 25 Indian female B.S.C. Fashion Technology. 5 years experience in textile industry as a merchandiser and good in fashion marketing. Currently available on visit visa, seeking for a suitable job. # 96990368.

Email: simmy.missy@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS Indian male 60 years old have 30 years Muscat experience in all office works with Omani driving license.

Contact: 99024055 Indian male, MBA marketing & finance with B com & diploma in IFRS seeks job. Contact 99469726 / 99469729 Indian female, B.Com. knowledge of MS Office & Tally, 4yrs experience in Accounts &admin dept. looking for good placement in any field.

Contact.98928220 Indian male, total experience is 5 years in Retail industry. Currently supervisor in Sun and sand sports Muscat City centre.

Contact : 96994345.

Email : jsp.jsr85@gmail.com More than Ten years of experience in Sales & Marketing, Advertisement and Credit Control and Logistics& Administration. Contact 91076608 / 99322748 MCA IT Professional Indian Female seek placement in Teaching/ Non Teaching field. Presently on visit visa. Contact 9588 7051, Email: ashwininakod@gmail Indian male, Engineer, BE Mechanical, having with 21 years of experience in India and 13 years in Oman, In production, project management, quality control and assurance and MR for ISO and API Standards looking out for a suitable placement in Oman. GSM: 00968 97311616.

E-MAIL: fahazasa@yahoo.com Indian Male 34 years Mechanical Engineer 3 years of Experience seeking suitable placement immediately Contact: 91991435, 93310821

25 Indian female, B.Sc fashion technologist, 5 years exp in merchandising, familiar with fashion marketing & designing. Currently available on visit visa, seeking for a visual merchandising job. Contact : 96990368, email jumshi@gmail.com Sudanese male BSC Telecommunications Engineer , 4 years experience in telecom field Contact : 97783092, Email: Alrsheed88@hotmail.com Working as Senior Accountant, 4 yrs.exp.in oman, relevant computer skills, Audit, Accounting upto finalization, valid oman driving license, languages known Arabic, Hindi.

NOC available can join immediately.

Tel: (+968) 96339599, E-mail(ahmedmohdkhan@gmail.com) Mechanical Engineer, Indian, (B.E.) on visit visa, seeking suitable post.

Contact :99534733 Email: rajesh92prince@gmail.com Indian male, post graduate, currently in Oman on visit visa.

Seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 92388346 Male, 19 years of experience in Finance and Administration currently on visit visa seeks suitable placement. Contact: 99720132/ abidrafi33@hotmail.com Sudanese male BSC Telecommunications Engineer, 4 years experience in telecom field.

Contact : 97783092, Email: alrsheed88@hotmail.com Civil autocad draughtsman part time work for job mob :96023726 Piping Design Engineer, Indian male 27, looking for suitable placement in Piping Design & Engineering. Having 7 years of experience in AutoCAD. Also familiar with PDMS (11.6 Version),CAESAR ll. Contact : 97351786 / 96143708, E-mail : mohammednazeer07@gmail.com Indian female, B.Com. knowledge of MS Office &Tally, 4yrs experience in Accounts &admin dept. looking for good placement in any field.

Contact.98928220 Indian female MBA Finance currently on visit visa. Seeks immediate placement. Phone: 968-98430089 Key Account Executive , currently working with a reputed FMCG company Oman is looking for a placement asap, NOC available, valid Omani driving license.

Total experience in Oman is 12yrs and particularly in Sales is 8 1/2 years. Contact 95589765 Email : agnelfrancis@yahoo.co.in Senior IT Professional, Indian Male, more than 17 yrs. of experience in software development(PB, Oracle, SAP ABAP) and IT Support with valid Oman DL and NOC available Contact : 92193867, Email : cp.prasad@gmail.com 23,Male, ACCA with 2.5 years experience in Big6 audit firm and Oil/ Gas,looking for permanent placement in Accounts/Audit.

Contact #95140445 a.saran891@gmail.com

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DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED Indian female MBA Finance currently on visit visa, seeks immediate placement. Phone- 98430089 Female British Beauty Therapist looking for suitable situation.

Contact 97175240 Indian Male 34 years Mechanical Engineer 3 years of Experience seeking suitable placement immediately contact: 91991435, 93310821 Indian female BA graduate. My total experience is 4 and half year in Call Center looking for jobs in admin and HR. Contact : 96089143, Email: sharanjit_kaur2009@yahoo.com Civil supervisor-8 year’s experience in commercial and residential building, including portable cabin, natural and artificial play ground’s, and Oxy petroleum field, at sultanate of Oman. GSM :91249005. Mail :sandeep88joseph@gmail.com Indian Male 28yr age having 6year gulf+ Indian experience in HR field.

Looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 97914340, Email: rajkv3086@gmail.com Indian male, 28 years, 7 years experience in transporting & heavy equipment renting company. Having Omani driving license seeks suitable positions. Contact 94410485 Indian male 27, looking for suitable placement in Piping Design & Engineering. Having 7 years of experience in AutoCAD. Also familiar with PDMS (11.6 Version),CAESAR ll. Contact : 97351786 / 96143708, E-mail : mohammednazeer07@ gmail.com ACCA affiliate & Bsc (Oxford Brookes University), 2.5 years experience in oilfield & audit/finance in Big6 firm, seeking permanent placement. Release available. #95140445, a.saran891@gmail.com Civil Autocad draughtsman looking for part time job. Mobile: 95218737 Indian male 21 Diploma in Mechanical Eng with HVAC certified having 6 yrsexp and seeking job in HVAC field as a supervisor. Currently on visit visa. Contact 92835952/ 92734863 Indian Female: MCA, 3 Years Exp. as Asst. Professor, Specialization in C # (sharp).net, Data Comm.& Networking, Knowledge about Web Development, ASP.Net, Oracle, SQL,VB.net.

Seek Immediate Placement. Now on Visit Visa.9588 7051 ashwininakod@gmail.com Indian female, B.Com. Knowledge of MS Office &Tally, 4yrs experience in accounting & admin dept. looking for good placement in any field.

Contact.98928220 Sudanese / 29 years old / Bsc English language and Translation / 3 years experience in Oman teaching & translation / have driving license.

94211377. hosam.karar.1@gmail.com

Single furnished room in Ruwi.

Contact: 24833609

Sudanese/Bsc IT/26/2 years experience/excellent Eng-Arb speaking/ Omani driving license/96387227/ henrykarrar@gmail.com

Al Khuwair one villa room with toilet. Indians only.

Contact 99382008

Indian female B.Com graduate, 4years experience in accounts & administration department looking for suitable placement. #98928220 Indian male 27 years, MBA, having more than 5 yrs experience in sales and marketing, looking for suitable job. Contact no.99224057, +919824823734 Indian male, 34 yrs, ca inter pass, with 14 yrs experience, is seeking suitable placement, currently on visit visa & ready to join immediately. Contact: 95585069 or 95630747 26 years Indian male with MBA & PGDFM, Total 3.8 years experience in Administration, seeking suitable placement in any gulf region.

Holding Oman valid driving license.

Contact :93359371 ACCA affiliate,male,2.5 years experience in an audit firm in Finance & Audit, looking for suitable immediate placement. Release available. # 95140445, a.saran891@gmail.com 23 yrs old Pakistani bachelor in accounts and marketing 3.5 yrsexp 2 yrsexp in Oman, looking for a job.

Contact- 99374062 Indian male 21 IT Engineer Networking & Computer hardware course 01 yr experience currently on visit visa looking for suitable job.

Contact 96036273, E mail faizanfarooqui23@gmail.com Sales/ Marketing Executive : 35 years old Indian male, MBA, having experiences in UAE and India in sales and marketing field, presently on visit visa, looking for a suitable job in Salalah or in Oman.

Contact 91233648 Well experienced hair dresser/ beautician required, visa available.

Contact – 96524717 Indian male, 14 yrs Experience in Maintenance & Supervisor in hotel field ( Electrical . Ac Mechanical & Plumber ) N O C available mob : 95 25 36 40 . email = hareeshma24@yahoo.com Indian female 25 yrs MBA finance currently on visit visa seeks immediate placement. # 9843 0089

Indian Male 27, Piping Design Engineer looking for suitable placement in Piping Design & Engineering. Also familiar with PDMS (11.6 Version),CAESAR ll, AutoCAD. Contact : 97351786 / 96143708, E-mail : mohammednazeer07@gmail.com

Part- Time Accountant, well versed with all accounting, Finalization, Budgeting available.

Contact 98803439

Mechanical Engineer B.E fresher (QA, QC , Piping & NDT + 1 month practical training in production & oil field) seeking immediate placement currently on visit visa. Contact – 0096896107833, Email albinalbin.thomas@gmail.com

Indian female, B.Com graduate, 2 years experience in admin department looking for a suitable placement. Contact 92531929

Indian Male 58yrs, Oman experience 31yrs in Multifunctional Management, Administration, Business Development, Purchase & Operations, seeking suitable Manager/ Supervisory Position. Visa transfer/ NOC Available. GSM: 95036410

Light driver looking for job.

Contact 92791678

ACCA affiliate, male, 23, 2.5years of vast experience in finance & audit in audit firm,seeking suitable placement immediately. # 96895140445, a.saran891@gmail.com Indian Female looking for an Internship or Part time opportunity in any Interior Design, Architectural or Design Firm . Contact 95811820

Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

ACC. AVAILABLE

Indian Male 33 looking for Scaffolding Supervisor vacancy in Oil & Gas field in Oman. Having 5 years experience in CCC Qatar and 3 years in Saudi” Contact 96155921 fysal.nellaya@gmail.com or

30 years Indian male with hotel management degree, 02 years experience in F&B service at five star hotel in Dubai and 05 years in American 6 star cruiseliner as Butler . Currently in Muscat on visit visa.

Contact 91075704

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

Single room for Executive bachelor near Al Falaj hotel.

Contact 99643845

Room for rent Ex- bachelor / working lady in Ruwi.

Contact : 99777496 room, with A/C kitchen available near ONTC Bus station (Ruwi).

Contact 95569740 Sharing for non-cooking Executive bachelor in CBD area wi fi free, advance deposit.

Contact 95934642 Accommodation available for South Indian family, one bedroom with attached toilet, kitchen, hall in a villa, Al Ghubrah. Contact 99209160 Family room available for rent at Muttrah Souk. Contact 24712088 / 99022790 Single room & AC attached bath at Mumtaz area. Contact 95212017 & 93103337 Sharing acc. Available in Muttrah behind Oman house. # 99354340 Sharing family accommodation in Wadi Kabir. Contact 99335057

SITUATION WANTSIT. WANTED ED Male - B.E Mechanical Engineer fresher( QA, QC , Piping & NDT + 1 month practical training in production & oil field ) seeking immediate placement currently on visit visa.

Contact - 0096896107833 Email albinalbin.thomas@gmail.com

Senior Accounts Professional, Indian Male, 35 years, M.Com, MBA (Fin) 8 years in Oman, with valid Oman DL and NOC available. Capable to handle accounts up to finalization.

Contact 9602 3965.

Indian male, 14 yrs Experience in Maintenance & Supervisor in hotel field (Electrical, Ac Mechanical & Plumber) N O C available.# 95253640 Indian female,available on visit visa,knowledge in AutoCAD 2012,Revit 2012,Adobe photoshop C3, Google sketchup, seeking suitable position.

Email:dhiyana.mhmd@gmail.com.

BUSINESS

25yrs experienced indian marketing mangr seeking suitable position. .presently working as a General Manager one of the leading Hyper Market Group in Oman.valid omani driving licence. Release available . contact number.92205026. aparayath@Gmail.Com Indian male executive secretary having vast experience in admin, logistics & procurement well versed with computer seeks suitable placement. Contact : 99514286 Indian female MBA finance currently on visit visa seeks immediate placement.Contact (968) 9843 0089 Young male, 22 years, B. Arch.

Graduate with 12 months training experience, seeks suitable entry-level position in an architecture firm or architecture and engineering consultancy. Currently on visit visa, ready to join immediately. #92488990 Email: jay.kay.92@gmail.com Indian Male, B.Tech Mechanical Engg 29 Yrs old,4 year experience,2.5 year experience as Lifting Inspection Engineer in Qatar.

Looking for suitable placement.

NOC available. #.93269839, Email: saneersainu@gmail.com

Software development based on requirements such as: Web development & cloud computing, SAP implementation & services. Android App development networking.

Contact 97423932 We have some companies for rent with the following activities: press publishing & advertising, information consultancy, organizing event management & conference, real estate, landscaping, maintenance etc. Contact 93946622 / 91408005 Required business Researcher. contact 99229700 Email: kjaaraimi@hotmail.com Business Consultant, feasibility study. Contact 99229700

*Classified Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

S U N DAY, M AY 1 7, 2 0 1 5

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DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED CARGO

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain Marine Tours Contact- 98029602, 92808636

TOURS

RENT A CAR

GOOD NEWS Ayurvedic treatment for backache, paralysis, arthritis etc & massage, All Season (Vaidyaratnam).

Contact 24475280 / 95371554 / 92504980 www.siddhayur.com Ayurvedic treatment for joint pain, backache, paralysis massage, steam bath, obesity, spondylitis IDEAL , CARE Ayurvedic Clinic 18 November street, Azaiba. Contact 99639695 / 99117987 FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to know more about Islam, please call: 99425598, 96050000, 99353988, 99253818, 99341395, and 99379133.

For ladies: 99415818, 99321360, 99730723 Orvisit: www.islamfact.com Taimour Ayurvedic Clinic, Ruwi offers genuine & effective treatment for back pain, paralysis, cervical and lumbar spondylitis, osteoarthritis, joint pains, sinusitis, migraine, allergic problems, varicose vein and all other health related problems. Kerala massage and rejuvenation package available. For details please Contact 92197920/ 24799689

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S U N DAY, M AY 1 7, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

SITUATION WANTED SERVICES

WEBSITE

ACCOUNTANTS AND CONSULTANTS

WE ARE PROVIDING ACCOUNTING/ AUDITING TAX/ CONSULTING CONTACT: 24 567 251 / 95 498 033

WEB, ERP and Business Intelligence (BI) creation and management at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

CLASSES

MATRIMONIAL

NRI

Alliance invited for a Nair girl 24 yrs, 5ft, 1”, fair, slim, B.Tech graduate reputed family of Ernakulam dist. (Star Thiruvonam Sudhajathakam) financially sound, from parents of B.Tech nair boys from Trissur, Palakkad and Eranakulam dist. .

Contact :00919495924302 email: raveendrandr@yahoo.com Kerala nair boy working with reputed company in Muscat, Star Revathy (Sudhajathakam), age 28, 163 cm. seeking suitable alliance from nair girls. Contact no 92760901 Indian Muslim brother Muscat alliance for sister 20 yrs BSC, very fair, good looking ,boys respected families from hyderabad & A.P send biodata & pic, mdfazal.ksa@gmail.com, 91258586.

Hindu Ezhava family, settled in Muscat looking for suitable groom working within Oman for their daughter 25 yrs (MBA) working with a reputed company in Muscat.

Contact : 98689663 We are Muslim family seeking alliance for our son interested families. Contact 97664009

FOR LADIES Beauty package for vacation for ladies 10/-R.O, 15/-R.O, 20/-R.O. Contact : 99410160

COMPUTER

42 cents land at walkable distance from Kovalm Jn.,Trivandrum for sale in whole or plots. Res./ Comm. Plot on main road side(Bus route),suitable for villas,resorts etc.

Call 00968-95036240, 0091-9961034763 or email- cfhd1@ yahoo.com One B/R- Best Western Qupem Goa. Contact – 97094797 Chalo ab Laot Chalein Har koi ka yahi sapna Lucknow main ho ghar apna. Plots, flats, villas, duplex farm houses any where in Lucknow, Varanasi, Allahabad, Nainital, Aligarh.

Contact Qamruddin : 91273414 Residential land for sale in Chennai Kundrathur and Poonamaalee, we construct house in your budget.

Contact 98753366

TRANSPORTATION

Sunday - Thursday Timing 8 am To 5 Pm

We do building maintenance all kind of works. Contact 99247663

Pick & drop anytime. Contact 96692774 Transportation Contact 99159277

*Classified Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

A/C maintenance & servicing.

Fridge, washing machine & dish washer repairing. Painting & cleaning services & electrical & plumbing. Contact 99447257/97014234/ 24504281

DRIVING

Transportation. Contact: 98505294

Electric, Plumbing, painting & all kinds of building maintenance.

Contact 93896787 / 97924862

Transportation. Contact 99508282

Sewage remove tanker sewage tank cleaning & block remove all maintenance sewage tanks. Contact 97412505 / 98852238

Transport to ISWK. Contact 93172589 House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422 Pick & Drop any time. Contact 97014786

P.R.O services.

Contact 99368907

Learn driving with professional only automatic. Contact 94022250

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles polishing, carpet shampooing, maintenance.#ABU QABAS99320217 /24788722

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing, Contact 99314807/24792998

WINDOW & SPLIT unit A.C servicing & repairing.

Contact 99557080

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your marble. Contact 24793614/ 99314807

SPLIT & WINDOW A.C servicing & maintenance.

Contact 96236476

House shifting packing.

Contact 99657644/ 98518013 Water proofing ABUQABASContact 99320217/24788722 Carpet & sofa shampooing. Ocean Centre LLC. Contact 99884591 / 92682970 Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile polishing, pest control & anti-termite treatment, general cleaning painting, Plumbing, Electrical, shifting. Contact Mundhir Al-Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C. # 24810137, 99450130

SPLIT & WINDOW A.C servicing & maintenance. Contact 93769089 / 95323517 Split & window A.C servicing & maintenance. Contact 93769089 / 95323517 A/C maintenance split A/C servicing. RO. 10 only. Contact 94217681/ 99210141 House shifting. Contact 99708138 Pest Control Treatments, Termites, Cockroaches, Bedbugs.

Contact Ocean Centre LLC. Contact 99344723