Times of Oman - April 23, 2016

SATURDAY April 23, 2016 15 Rajab 1437 AH

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WILL RESIGN IF PROVEN GUILTY OF WRONGDOING, SAYS NAWAZ

FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTY THE SULTAN

‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’ Your strong determination and genuine drive for the advancement of your country is the incentive of our blessed march.

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Founded 1975 . Volume 41 No. 52

On the occasion of the 3rd National Day, 1973

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

CRACKDOWN

TIMES QUIZ WINNERS WITH PRIZES

More than 150 arrested for ‘immoral activities’

Champions of Times of Oman Inter School Quiz with Maryam bint Essa bin Mohammed Al Zedjali; Richard Pakenham, Chief Sales Officer Times of Oman and the Quiz Master Giri ‘Pickbrain’ Balasubramaniam. Chethan Sethu and Adithya B Nair from Indian School Wadi Kabir won the junior title while Krithivaas Vijay and Aliva Das from Indian School Muscat won the senior title. Photo — Shabin E

Times News Service MUSCAT: More than 150 men and women were arrested in Muscat for wearing indecent clothes and allegedly trying to indulge in immoral activities, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) reported.

Among the 155 arrested are 121 Thai women, one Thai man, 11 Filipinas, six Filipinos, 10 Tanzanian women, and four persons of other nationalities.

The ROP collected blood samples of the arrested accused for further medical tests.

All the arrested persons will be referred to the Public Prosecution for further action.

B R E AT H I N G P R O B L E M S MINISTRY’S ADVICE

Learners told to check credentials of institutes HASAN SHABAN AL LAWATI

hassan@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) has asked learners in Oman to check the credentials of institutes before applying for scholarships at some local academies or training centres, which provide certificates from foreign countries, as some are not approved by the ministry’s Department of Qualifications and Recognition.

An official from MoHE also said the ministry is planning to make equivalence certificates mandatory for expatriates too.

Currently, the curbs are for Omani nationals only.

“This move is to protect companies from people who provide fake certificates, and companies in Oman have shown positive response,” the ministry official told the Times of Oman.

He added that workers in the private and government sectors, who find employment using fake certificates, can cause serious problems for their companies and the public.

“Just imagine if the worker happened to be an engineer or a doctor,” he said, adding that such acts happen in many parts of the world and that the Sultanate is mulling whether it should enforce stricter rules to protect people from such scams.

8 hospitalised as fire breaks out in Muttrah REJIMON K

reji@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Eight people have been admitted to the hospital with breathing problems, including one with a fractured leg, after a fire broke out in a building near Muttrah Souq.

“Eight (people) are in the hospital. One was injured when he jumped through the window while trying to escape the blaze,” Rafeeek Kandathil, a resident of the building where the fire broke out, told the Times of Oman.

Personnel from the Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulances (PACDA) had to use ladders and cranes to evacuate people from the building.

Posting pictures of the rescue

operation, PACDA tweeted that the injured were rushed to the hospital in ambulances.

“It seems the fire broke out in the store room of the building’s ground floor, where bags and perfumes were stored,” Kandathil added.

“We noticed the fire and smoke only when we woke up for prayer early in the morning. However, timely action by the firemen averted a major tragedy,” Kandathil said, adding that the residents would only be able to assess the extent of loss after reaching their respective apartments.

“We are currently outside and staying with friends. We will only be able to see how much of a loss we have incurred after reaching our room,” Kandathil added.

Six new Indian schools to end double shifts The new schools are planned in the next five years in Muscat accommodating all the students in the morning shift

RAHUL DAS

rahuldas@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Indian schools will scrap the afternoon shift after the expansion plans that will include the opening of six more schools in Oman, school officials said.

Around 3,000 students attend afternoon shifts in various schools in Muscat.

Speaking exclusively to the Times of Oman, Wilson George, chairman, Board of Directors, Indian schools in the Sultanate of Oman, said these schools are being planned for Al Ansab, Amerat, Barka, Duqm, Saham and Sinaw.

“The construction work for the Al Ansab school will begin from the third quarter of this year as we

G O T PA R E N T S S U P P O R T

3,000 students are enrolled in various schools of the capital city in the afternoon shift due to space crunch

have already got then clearance from all authorities concerned,” he said. The school plans to admit around 2,000 children.

In Amerat and Barka, the Board has found an investor to support us with the construction and providing the school building on a rental basis and final negotiations are going on.

“And in areas like Barka, Duqm, Saham and Sinaw, the Board is conducting a feasibility study as

to where to start the schools,” said George, who has been re-elected as the chairman of the Indian School Board.

He said the feeder school in Ghubra has started operating from this academic year. “Around 240 children from the Indian School Muscat in kindergarten 1 (KG 1) have been admitted this year,” he added. With this, we have been able to offer admissions to all the students who had applied this year.

Wilson said all the six schools will start operating in the next five years, which will take the pressure off from the six schools in the capital. “This will also help us reduce the class size, which is touching 50 in some schools this year,” he added.

Talking about the feeder school in Ghubra, which was supposed to start classes KG1, KG2 and Class 1 in couple of years ago, George said, “We wanted to start it earlier, but could not get all the clearances in time. We are very happy that it is now running this year.”

“We impart education to 43,000 pupils at the moment,” he said, adding that the arrival of young Indian expatriates in the country had created an unprecedented rush for admissions in the lower classes from KG to Standard 1. >A2

TOP THREE INSIDE STORIES

Speed thrills Ahmed Al Harthy DEEBA HASAN

OMAN

Sayyid Fahd returns after GCC-US Summit

deeba@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Although he has been a racing enthusiast since the age of seven, like most other little boys of his age, it was not until much later that Ahmed Al Harthy, Oman’s popular racing driver actually got behind the wheel to do what he enjoyed the most—racing.

He is known for his racing skills and his lovely smile.

Now, at 34, Al Harthy has come a long way from his first car racing experience in 2006 at the Bahrainbased Thunder Arabia Championship, where he broke new ground as the first Omani driver to compete in formula racing.

He recently announced his participation in the Blancpain Endurance Cup this year with the rebranded Oman Racing Team, where Al Harthy will steer an Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 race car.Although he has been successful ever since he first started racing in 2006, Al Harthy had to face some initial struggle. “The sport wasn’t very familiar for the people here, I was the first Omani in this new sport and lot of people thought it was very dangerous.”

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His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, deputy prime minister for the Council of Ministers, took part in GCC-US Summit. >A2

OMAN However, Al Harthy spoke to his parents about the sport and how important it was for him, and managed to earn their support. “My parents understood and stood by my side and that was very important for me, both morally and financially.”

Made a choice This wasn’t the only issue for Al Harthy; he was also caught up between work and his passion for driving and had to make a choice.

“In 2006, I worked as an auditor at EY, and after six months into the sport, I sat with my parents and then I spoke to my manager at the company. He told me to take a year off and give my all to the sport, after which I could come back to work if I wanted.”

Oman takes part in climate agreement Ahmed Al Harthy, Oman’s popular racing driver.

However, as most of us know, he never went back to work again because he totally loved the sport and found that he could do much more with it if he gave a 100 per cent to it. After taking this significant decision, Al Harthy participated and succeeded in several tournaments that followed, including the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain.

Fast forward to 2016, he is all excited about his participation in the Blancpain Endurance Cup, which will take place this year. >A3

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Oman’s permanent representative to the UN participated in the signing ceremony of climate agreement on Climate Change, at the UN, yesterday. >A2

MARKET

Oman picks banks for global bond

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Five banks have been chosen by Oman to arrange the Sultanate’s first international bond issue in almost 20 years. >B1

It’s summer time in Muscat

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SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016

OMAN

Oman is considered as one of the best tourist destinations in the world and the latest statistics about airline traffic to Oman shows that there is a significant rise on a year-on-year basis Laurent A Voivenel, CEO of Hospitality Management Holdings

‘Training while studying boosts job prospects’

SAYYID FAHD TOOK PART IN GCC-US SUMMIT On behalf of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers, took part in the GCC-US Summit in Riyadh on Thursday under the chair of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. — ONA

JisserOman.com works as a bridge between graduates and companies offering training opportunities C O R A L M U S C AT H O T E L A N D A PA R T M E N T S

ERIK PRINS

JOB TRAINING: JisserOman.com, a platform for Omani stu-

erik@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Omani students should consider training opportunities during their study programmes to be better prepared when applying for their first job, Anfal Al Wahaibi, volunteer at JisserOman.com and an engineering student said.

JisserOman.com, a platform for Omani students and job-seekers, is present at the Omanisation Career Fair being held at the Oman International Exhibition Centre. The site works as a bridge (meaning Jisser in Arabic) between graduates and companies offering training opportunities.

Al Wahaibi said JisserOman was established three years ago through the initiative of students themselves. “Jisser is an electronic platform that connects graduates of higher education with training opportunities offered on the job market,” she stated.

“We are working to decrease unemployment levels in Oman. The aim is that students get training and job-seekers will be able to find the right work,” she stated.

Al Wahaibi told the Times of Oman (TOO) that such training will help Omani students become

dents, is present at the Omanisation Career Fair being held at the Oman International Exhibition Centre. – Erik Prins

better prepared after they graduate, as requirements of the job market have become increasingly competitive. “Most job-seekers who apply for their first job admit that they have no prior experience.

By undergoing training, they will have a better chance to gain experience,” she stated.

She further said that with a training period during their study programme, students can be even better prepared when they apply for their first job.

“If I study for a Bachelor’s for four years, I will have four chances to gain experience during this period and will then have experience even before I graduate,” she said.

She added that JisserOman. com was started because some students, like those in engineering, have to do training in the last part of their study programme. “Where are the companies where I can find these opportunities? This is where we come in,” she said.

Al Wahaibi further said they mostly offer training opportuni-

ties and not jobs, but a period of training might also lead to further employment opportunities at the same company.

“Training helps. I graduated and had to stay at home because I had not undergone any training in the field I had studied. In such a situation, one can lose hope. With training, I know how to use the things I have learned during my study programme,” she said.

According to Al Wahaibi, there are particular specialisations with a lot of graduates, such as in IT. In such a situation, training can help job seekers adapt to the market.

“IT is needed in the market, but now the sector is saturated. What will a job seeker do when he does not have any other option?”

Students and job-seekers interested in a training opportunity can register on the website of JisserOman.com and enter all the necessary information, so that companies can find their CV or cover letter to find out if there are candidates who meet the requirements.

Hospitality sector demand in Oman growing: Official MOBIN MATHEW BLESSON

mobinmathew@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Demand in the hospitality industry in Oman is witnessing a remarkable growth, said the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hospitality Management Holdings (HMH).

“Our research indicates that there has been an increase in demand in the hospitality industry in the Omani market,” CEO Laurent A Voivenel told the Times of Oman on the sidelines of the opening of their new 4-star hotel Coral Muscat Hotel and Apartments.

“Oman is considered as one of the best tourist destinations in the world and the latest statistics about airline traffic to Oman shows that there is a significant rise on a year-on-year basis,” Voivenel said.

“We are confident that the Coral Muscat Hotel and Apartments will add tremendous value to our growing presence in Oman while strengthening our international portfolio,” he added.

HMH is a fully integrated hotel management company founded in Dubai in 2003.

The Coral Muscat Hotel and Apartments were officially inaugurated under the patronage of His Highness Sayyid Tarik bin Shabib bin Taimur Al Said.

Speaking about the operation, C L I M AT E PAC T

Oman takes part NEW YORK: Lyutha bint Sultan Al Mughairy, Oman’s permanent representative to the UN participated in the signing ceremony of Paris agreement on Climate Change, held on the premises of the UN, yesterday. Sixty presidents and prime ministers and delegations from 165 countries took part in the event. —ONA

INAUGURATED: The Coral Muscat Hotel and Apartments were officially inaugurated under the patronage of His Highness Sayyid Tarik bin Shabib bin Taimur Al Said. – OK Mohammed Ali

Voivenel said, “We plan to cater to business travellers, corporate and the government sector for long and short stays.”

“We are also looking for leisure travellers as we are in the middle of the business district, as well as close to many tourist spot in Muscat,” he added.

According to him, the Coral Muscat Hotel and Apartments will be different from other competitors.

“We will be providing a high standard of services and facilities to the guests and we have the largest rooms in the city; so this will be one of our main attractions,” Voivenel said.

“Our hotel has an excellent location in the heart of Qurum, a mere 20 minutes drive from the international airport, which is also close

to the diplomatic and commercial city centre,” he added.

“We have a very professional team to take care of our guests and all this combines our strength,” Voivenel asserted.

Speaking about their future projects in Oman, the CEO of HMH said, “We have already signed a contract for the Corp Al Muzn hotel, which is expected to be opened in the first quarter of 2018.”

“We are proud to debut our brands in the country and we are eager to capitalise on the favourable market conditions in Oman,” Voivenel added.

According to him, Oman is a key development market for HMH in keeping with the group’s strategy to prioritise expansion in the Gulf Cooperation Council region.

NEW SCHOOL OPENING

A1 Parents happy < FROM

With almost 9,300 students, the Indian School Muscat in the Darsait area, one of the oldest institutes in the country, has started working on several aspects to cut down on the number because of the growing traffic in that area. “With these (new)

schools, we hope that the number at ISM will be cut down,” he said. Parents are, meanwhile, very happy.

“Nobody wanted the afternoon shift. It is a good decision to scrap it,” said Vimina, a parent.

SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016

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OMAN

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SUN, SEA AND SHADE

With the summer almost here, man, bird or beast, all seek respite from the searing heat, and these crows are no exception. While men have their airconditioned homes and offices to hide in, these birds have to make do with the shade offered by trees. Luckily for them, there no lack of these in Muscat. Photos: Jun Estrada

TA S T E O F AU S T R A L I A

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

OMANI DRIVER

Celebrity chef brings Australian dishes HASAN SHABAN AL LAWATI

hassan@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Celebrity chef Clayton Donovan is in Oman, bringing native Australian ingredients and indigenous dishes for the first time in the Sultanate.

Australia’s only hatted indigenous chef said he is all set to cook at the event ‘Taste of Australia’, on April 22 at The Grand Hyatt Muscat, hosted by the Australian Business Group Oman (ABGO).

Talking to the Times of Oman, Donovan said he is thrilled to be invited to cook in Oman and looks forward to introducing not only the known Australian pro-

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duce in Oman, but also to incorporate more culinary adventures ingredients too. The event is full packed and sold out already, according to organisers.

This evening is ABGO highlight event for the year, bringing together ABGO members, their guests, and their sponsors- Bank of Beirut, Victorian Government

Business Office, Qantas, Worley Parsons, Addleshaw Goddard.

The star of Wild Kitchen currently showing on ABC, is known for cooking at corporate functions and public and private events.

Donovan launched Janning Tree restaurant in Australia and is now focusing his attention on pop-up restaurants and travelling.

A1 ‘Racing is my profession’ < FROM

“The 2016 programme for the endurance race is very exciting, our team has a new look, we have new teammates, an improved squad, and it’s great to see that the Oman racing team will be representing the only Aston Martin out there, which is another very important thing for us. Our collaboration with Aston Martin UK is growing and very strong and very important for the team, we are the only Arab entrant, which is another very important role we have to play, but more than that, we are promoting our country.”

When asked about what keeps him going, Al Harthy said, “The motivation and hunger is there,

and I feel like I am at the fittest level now, I have improved a lot over the years. We as racing drivers always want more support, but we have to be realistic at times due to the tough economic situation.”

Not retiring The good news for all Al Harthy fans is that he is not thinking of retiring anytime soon, and will keep going until he is physically fit and enjoys his sport.

“Racing is not a hobby, it’s my profession now and so it’s very important to be realistic and keep going. As competitors we are racing against those who are in their

40s, I have another 10 years in me and hopefully more, but you never know, we have to be realistic and improve ourselves always.”

Working harder For Al Harthy, the only key to lowering pressure is to work harder, “I have pressure on me every day, this is a 24-hour sport and even when I am on a break, I am thinking of racing, in fact I think of it every few minutes, but I enjoy it, and about the pressure, you just have to convert them and make negatives into positives and reduce that pressure by working harder. Even now, I can’t wait to get back into the car, and make our country proud.”

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SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016

REGION

Fragile Syrian peace talks extended into next week De Mistura expects opposition to return to table as US is concerned by Russian military moves in Syria

BEIRUT/GENEVA: The United Nations (UN) special envoy for Syria has vowed to take fragile peace talks into next week despite a walkout by the main armed opposition, a breakdown in a truce and signs that both sides are gearing up to escalate the five-year-old civil war.

Staffan de Mistura, who dismissed the opposition’s departure as “diplomatic posturing”, expected the delegation to return to the negotiating table.

The opposition declared a “pause” this week because of a surge in fighting and too little movement from the government side on freeing detainees or allowing in aid.

Asked whether talks would carry on, de Mistura said on Thursday night: “We cannot let this drop. We have to renew the ceasefire, we have to accelerate humanitarian aid and we are going to ask the countries which are the co-sponsors to meet.”

The talks at UN headquarters in Geneva aim to halt a conflict that has allowed for the rise of the IS group, sucked in regional and major powers and created the world’s worst refugee crisis.

In an interview with Frenchlanguage Radio Television Suisse (RTS), de Mistura said 400,000 people had been killed in the war, far higher than the previous

OPTIMISTIC: UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, second right, is seen at the opening of a meeting with the Syrian government delegation during Syria peace talks at the United Nations Office, on Friday in Geneva, Switzerland. – Reuters

UN toll which has varied from 250,000 to 300,000.

The war was tilted in President Bashar Al Assad’s favour late last year by Russia’s intervention, supported by militias.

Concern The White House has expressed concern that Russia has repositioned artillery near the disputed city of Aleppo.

The Russian military moves have sharpened divisions in Washington over whether President Vladimir Putin genuinely backs the UN-led initiative to end the war or is using the talks to mask renewed military support for Assad. “The regime is so reliant on external support that it is inconceivable that its allies don’t have the leverage to change its approach,” Britain’s envoy to the Syria peace talks, Gareth Bayley, said on Friday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that the

decision by the opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) to quit Geneva was not a loss for anyone except the HNC itself.

“If they want to ensure their participation (in the peace talks) only by putting ultimatums, with which others must agree, it’s their problem,” Lavrov said, adding: “We shouldn’t be running after them, we must work with those who think not about their career, not about how to please their sponsors abroad, but with those who are ready to think about the destiny of their country.”

The head of the Syrian delegation, Bashar Ja’afari, confirmed he met de Mistura to discuss humanitarian issues on Friday and would be meeting with him again on Monday.

Moscow and Washington sponsored the fragile cessation of hostilities that went into effect on February 27 to allow talks to take place but has been left in tatters by increased fighting in the

past week. A warplane crashed southwest of Damascus on Friday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict with a network of sources on the ground. It said the causes of the crash and the fate of the pilot were not clear. The IS group earlier said a Syrian warplane had been shot down. Syrian government officials could not be reached for comment.

In Aleppo, government air strikes in different parts of the city killed at least 19 people and wounded dozens more on Friday, with the death toll expected to rise due to serious injuries, the Observatory said.

Further southwest in Hama province, warplanes targeted rebel-held areas in the strategic Ghab plain that borders Latakia province, Assad’s coastal heartland. Insurgents announced a new battle in Latakia earlier this week which they said was in response to ceasefire violations by the gov-

ernment side, launching fierce assaults there. Fighting raged in the area on Friday, said Observatory.

Endorsed by the UN Security Council, the Geneva peace talks marked the most serious effort yet to resolve the war, but failed to make progress on political issues, with no sign of compromise over the question of Assad’s future.

Government negotiators say Assad’s presidency is non-negotiable. Underlining confidence in Damascus, a top Assad aide reiterated its view that local truce agreements and “destroying terrorism” were the way towards a political solution.

The opposition wants a political transition without Assad, and says the government has failed to make goodwill measures such as releasing detainees and allowing enough aid into opposition-held areas besieged by the military.

The HNC, which is backed by Western nations and key Arab states, had this week urged more military support for rebels after declaring the truce was over and said talks would not re-start until the government stopped committing “massacres”.

All the main HNC members had left Geneva by Friday, leaving a handful of experts and a point of contact behind.

With violence escalating, peace talks might not resume for at least a year if they are abandoned, one senior Western diplomat said.

Syria is now a patchwork of areas controlled by the government, an array of rebel groups, IS, and the well-organised Kurdish YPG militia.

On Friday, rare clashes between YPG fighters and governmentallied forces and militiamen took place for nearly a third day, the Observatory said, in fighting which a Syrian Kurdish official said had killed 26 combatants.

Kurdish and government forces have mostly avoided confrontation in the past. — Reuters

DELIVERY IN WEEKS

US to buy heavy water from Iran’s nuclear programme WASHINGTON: The United States will buy heavy water from Iran’s nuclear programme, and expects it to be delivered within weeks, US officials said on Friday, a move that was quickly criticised

by Republican lawmakers.

The US Department of Energy will buy 32 metric tonnes of heavy water from Iran’s nuclear programme worth $8.6 million, a department spokeswoman said.

Heavy water is an important component in the development of nuclear weapons.

“The United States will not be Iran’s customer forever,” the spokeswoman said.

The department expects to resell the purchased heavy water to domestic commercial and research buyers, including a national lab.

Iran’s compliance with last year’s landmark nuclear agreement with the United States and other world powers meant that the heavy water had already been removed from Iran, ensuring that it would not be used to support the development of a nuclear weapon, State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

Critically important “Our purchase of the heavy water means that it will instead be used for critically important research and non-nuclear industrial requirements,” Kirby added.

The purchase, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, was slammed by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, a Republican.

He said in a statement it appeared to be part of the Democratic administration’s efforts to sweeten the nuclear deal with Iran and would “directly subsidise Iran’s nuclear programme.” House of Representatives Speaker said the purchase was “another unprecedented concession.” — Reuters

IRAQ

Mines laid by IS kill dozens of civilians returning to Ramadi BAGHDAD: Explosives planted

by IS have killed dozens of Iraqi civilians who returned to Ramadi despite warnings that much of the western city remains unsafe nearly four months after its recapture from the militants.

Also on Friday, a suicide bomb attack claimed by IS killed at least nine people following Friday prayers at a mosque in southwestern Baghdad, police and hospital sources said.

Tens of thousands of displaced residents have returned to the Anbar provincial capital in the past two months, mostly from camps east of the city where they took refuge prior to the army’s advance late last year. A shortage of experts trained in dismantling the explosives has slowed efforts to restore security, but that has not stopped

people from responding to calls from local religious and government leaders to go back home.

The Anbar governor’s office, which is overseeing much of the effort to restore Ramadi, declined requests for comment.

But the United Nations said it had learned from the authorities that 49 people have been killed and 79 others wounded in Ramadi since the beginning of February.

Those figures are “almost certainly an underestimation,” it said.

“The UN is deeply worried about the safety of returning families and the widespread infestation of many neighbourhoods with unexploded devices and booby traps,” Lise Grande, UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, told Reuters.

“The responsible thing is to clear these areas as quickly as pos-

ALL SET FOR BATTLE: Iraqi soldiers gather on the outskirts of Fallujah, west of Baghdad. – Reuters

sible using the most up-to-date, modern and professional methods.

Anything else just risks too much.”

Sources in Ramadi said another Western company was expected to help with de-mining efforts and

Iraqi companies are also now competing for potentially lucrative government contracts.

Still there is just not enough expertise to keep pace with the return of civilians, said Mohamed

Ali, a tribal fighter who helps dismantle explosives.

In addition to littering Ramadi’s streets with bombs, IS has also planted them in residences, hiding them under rugs and other fixtures or connecting them to the power grid so they detonate when residents attempt to restore electricity. “One house in Al Bakr neighbourhood exploded (on Monday), killing its owner,” said Ali. “The man returned after explosives had been removed from his house and he started clearing the rubble.

While he was moving the cooking gas canister, a bomb stashed under it exploded.”

A security officer stationed in northern Ramadi said he had forbidden civilians from walking around their neighbourhoods after several people were killed as they

inspected nearby destruction.

The influx of refugees is unlikely to slow, driven by the desperation of displaced people and political rivalries.

Two local government sources said political and religious figures had ignored warnings against rushing civilians’ return, accusing them of seeking financial gain by launching reconstruction projects before others.

Meanwhile, a second suicide attacker at the mosque in Al Radwaniya district was shot and killed by security forces before he could set off his explosives, the police sources said.

A separate bomb went off in the district of Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, killing two and wounding nine, security and medical sources said. — Reuters

U N - B AC K E D N E G O T I AT I O N S

Yemeni factions disagree on peace talks agenda in Kuwait KUWAIT: Yemen’s warring factions failed to agree on an agenda for UN-backed peace negotiations in Kuwait on Friday after their first direct meeting but the effort will continue, participants said.

The talks in Kuwait, which opened late on Thursday, bring together the Houthi movement and its General People’s Congress (GPC) party allies with the government of Yemeni President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi. The talks seek a solution to a conflict which has killed more than 6,200 people, triggered a humanitarian crisis and enabled militants linked to Al Qaeda and IS to consolidate their presence in the country. Sources present at the talks, delayed since Monday due to the late arrival of the Houthi delegation and its allies, said the two sides were divided on the priorities.

The government delegation wants Houthis and fighters loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to withdraw from cities and hand over weapons before dis-

PRESS BRIEFING: United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, right, and UN spokesman Charbel Raji attend a press conference at Kuwait’s information ministery in Kuwait City on Friday. – AFP

cussing a political solution, the sources said.

The Houthis and its allies want the formation of a new government representing all parties, which will then oversee disarmament. They also want to focus the discussion on security arrangements and detainees, the sources added.

UN special envoy Ould Cheikh Ahmed on Thursday outlined five

points as the basis for the talks, officially dubbed “consultations”.

These included withdrawal from cities seized by the Houthis since the crisis began in 2014, forming a more inclusive government and handing over heavy weapons to the new government in the country, which is currently divided between the Houthis and Hadi’s administration, based in the southern port of Aden. — Reuters

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LOAN FRAUD CASE

Options on deportation of Mallya being explored NEW DELHI: India’s External Affairs Ministry is consulting legal experts to explore the option of deportation of Vijay Mallya in connection with money laundering probe against the business tycoon in the Rs9 billion IDBI alleged loan fraud case after ED has approached it.

On revocation of the passport of Mallya, whose Kingfisher Airlines has allegedly defaulted on loans of over Rs94 billion, the ministry, which has “suspended” his passport, said it was examining the reply sent by him while declining to divulge its contents.

Noting that the ministry has been approached by the Enforcement Directorate which informed about the non-bailable arrest warrant issued against Mallya by a Sessions Court in Greater Mumbai, MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said a request has been made to initiate steps for the deportation of Mallya to ensure his presence before the lawful authorities to proceed with investigation against him. Now “we are consulting legal experts,” he said.

He said ED has approached MEA forboth revocation of Mallya’s passport and his deportation. “Those two actions are underway,” he said.

Parallelly, the ministry was also examining the response provided

by Mallya through his lawyer to the show-cause notice asking why his passport should not be impounded or revoked, he said.

Sources had already indicated that once the deportation proceedings are initiated, the government will seek assistance of the United Kingdom to interdict Mallya and fly him back to India. “The grounds for deportation are primarily two.

A non-bailable warrant issued by the Mumbai court and suspension of the passport of the businessman,” they said. Mallya is understood to be in the UK after he left India on March 2. — PTI

INDIA

Landslide kills 16 workers in Arunachal Pradesh The incident occurred when 19 labourers engaged in construction works were inside the camp at Phamla village, 6km away from Tawang town

ITANAGAR/NEW DELHI: At least 16 persons were killed when a massive landslide triggered by incessant rains hit a labour camp in Tawang district of northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh on Friday.

The incident occurred at 3am when 19 labourers engaged in construction works were inside the camp at Phamla village, 6km away from Tawang town, Superintendent of Police Anto Alphonse said.

“Altogether 16 bodies have been extricated from the debris, while one seriously injured has been shifted to Tezpur in neighbouring Assam,” the Alphonse said, adding two labourers were safe.

Incessant rains He said incessant rains for the past couple of days had triggered landslides in several places of the border district. All the bodies were recovered in the joint operation carried out by the Army, civil administration, police and villagers, he said. The PWD road between New Lebrang and government higher secondary school is also blocked due to landslide, while damage to residential buildings has been reported from the area.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

RESCUE OPERATIONS: Soldiers carry out rescue works after landslide at village Phamla in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh. Below: Relief work in progress on Friday. – PTI

has expressed grief over the loss of lives. In a message, the Prime Minister extended his condolences to the bereaved families.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi expressed distress and shock over the loss of lives in the landslide. She asked Congress MLAs, the PCC and the frontal organisations to volunteer in relief work.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the flood situation in Arunachal Pradesh.

Singh called up Chief Minister Kalikho Pul and took stock of the situation in the state following the landslide in border town Tawang and floods in Changlang and a few other districts. Singh has assured full central assistance to

Arunachal Pradesh to tackle the floods situation arising due to a swollen Noa Dehing river.

The home minister has asked Director General of National Disaster Response Force OP Singh to rush rescue teams to landslide-hit Famla village in Tawang, bordering China, official sources said.

Continuous rain in the last couple of days has triggered floods in several districts of Arunachal Pradesh, including capital Itanagar. Rain continues to wreak havoc in Namsai and Changlang districts with reports of rising water of the Noa Dehing and the Jengthu rivers inundating fresh areas besides damaging several flood protection embankments. — PTI

WTO RULING

‘Developed countries should encourage renewable energy programmes’ NEW YORK: India has said that developed nations should encourage renewable energy programmes and not “put a spoke into it” as it termed “unfortunate” a recent WTO ruling against its power purchase agreements with solar firms.

Country’s Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said he will use the occasion to raise the “unfortunate” case of the US going to the WTO on the issue.

“I will definitely raise (this issue) in my speech. This is unfortunate, not the ruling, even America going to WTO, that is unfortunate,” he told PTI. Javadekar added that India has launched the world’s largest renewable programme and reserved a “very small” part of it for Indian manufacturers.

Yet, if that is being “challenged without seeing the things in proper context and perspective” and on technical grounds, it is discouraging for the developing nations, he said. Such an action “discourages. This is not multilateralism. We must encourage” nations undertaking clean energy programmes. “India generating 175 GW of renewable energy is the biggest programme. One should not put a spoke into it. You are lecturing one thing and practicing the exact opposite,” he said.

He said while it is up to the

A5

MAKING A POINT: Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Enviroment Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar, second from left, speaking to NRIs at Indian Mission in New York. – PTI

Commerce Ministry to take a call on how to proceed with the matter, “such things should not happen.”

Ruling against India, WTO had recently said the government’s power purchase agreements with solar firms were “inconsistent” with international norms -- a matter in which the US had filed a complaint before the global trade body alleging discrimination against American firms.

The US had dragged India to WTO on this issue in 2014, alleging the clause relating to Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) in the country’s solar power mission were discriminatory in nature and “nullified” the benefits accruing to American solar power developers.

Javadekar will join heads of state, foreign ministers and other representatives from more than 165 countries who will sign the

historic climate change agreement reached in Paris last December at the signature ceremony hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The large number of countries will set a record for the most countries to sign an international agreement on one day, previously set in 1982, when 119 countries signed the Law of the Sea Convention.

Javadekar expressed hope that “collective wisdom” will ultimately prevail and both developed and developing nations will do their part to address the issue of climate change.

“India has come to New York for signing the Paris agreement with full confidence that ultimately the collective wisdom will prevail and all countries - developed and developing - will do their bit,” Javadekar said.

Noting that the issue of cli-

mate fund continues to remain a concern, he said developed countries have to mobilise $100 billion “sooner than later” and they must also take enhanced targets for 2016-2020, which is the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.

“Their actions should be declared immediately. That will give more confidence to the developing world that the developed world is also walking the talk,” he said.

Javadekar underscored that India is “leading by example” as he highlighted that the country has put a $6 cess per tonne on coal, besides already taking another 26 initiatives post the Paris pact to address climate change.

“The cess is the highest tax put on coal. It is a solid action taken against carbon emission,” he said, adding that nations have applauded India’s decision of taxing its coal.

“India has showcased its leadership and if developed world follows this example” and puts a similar cess on their coal production, “they will easily mobilise” the $100 billion required by 2020 for the climate fund, he said.

“We have led by example, taxed our coal. The developed nations should also do that. They have to show their commitment otherwise whole Paris agreement will fall apart,” he said. — PTI

A6

SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016

INDIA High Court order on President’s rule in Uttarakhand state stayed The Supreme Court clarified that it was keeping in abeyance the judgement of the High Court till the next date of hearing on April 27

NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court on Friday stayed till April 27 the judgement of the Uttarakhand High Court quashing the imposition of President’s rule, giving a new turn to the continuing political drama in the state by restoring the Central rule there.

Before passing a brief order, a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh recorded an undertaking given by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi that the “Union of India shall not revoke the Presidential proclamation till the next date of hearing”.

The apex court clarified that it

was keeping in abeyance the judgement of the High Court till the next date of hearing on April 27 as a measure of balance for both the parties as the copy of the verdict was not made available to the parties.

While listing the matter for hearing on April 27, the bench said that the High Court shall provide the judgement passed on Thursday to the parties by April 26 and on the same date the copy of the verdict shall also be placed before the apex court. The Supreme Court’s stay has the effect of undoing the revival of the Congress government led by Harish Rawat by the High Court judgement on Thursday.

Observation During the hearing, the bench also observed that as a matter of propriety the High Court should have signed the verdict so that it would be appropriate for it to go into the appeal.

The apex court issued notice to Harish Rawat and Chief Seceretary of the state on the petition by Centre challenging the quashing of Presidential proclamation under Article 356 of the Constitution in the state.

Appearing for the Centre, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi,

PRESS BRIEFING: Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi briefs the media after the hearing on President’s Rule in Uttarakhand by the Supreme Court, in New Delhi on Friday. – PTI

along with senior advocate Harish Salve, pressed for the stay of the HC judgement.

He said how one party can be put at advantage and assume the office of Chief Minister when the other party is pushed to disadvantage in the absence of the judgement.

Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal, appearing for Rawat and the Assembly Speaker, argued hard against the passing of any interim order saying “you are allowing the appeal

by giving the stay”.

Sibal was of the view that allowing stay of operation of the High Court verdict would be like enforcing the proclamation of the President rule. During the jam-packed hearing, the bench sought to pacify both the parties saying that it has to take a balanced view as this is a Constitutional court.

“We will take on record the copy of the judgement and go through it. This matter may go to Constitution bench,” the bench said.

The high-voltage hearing at 3.30 pm started with the Attorney General attacking Rawat assuming the office as Chief Minister and chairing a cabinet meeting when the copy of the judgement passed on Thursday was not made available to parties. “How can the judgement be implemented unless you have the copy of it. It can’t deny a party to file an appeal. I see on TV that the respondent (Rawat) says he has been resurrected as the Chief Minister and late in the night calls for cabinet meeting. How can you say that the government has been resurrected.

“In the absence of the copy of the judgement the other party cannot go to appeal. The idea is not that you steal a march,” Rohatgi said while seeking a stay of the high court judgement quashing the imposition of President’s rule in Uttarakhand and restoring the dismissed Congress government.

When the bench asked the Attorney General as to when the hearing on the appeal can take place, he said the judgement has to be signed as a signed judgement cannot be altered.

“Today we find that in the absence of the signed judgement, somebody is acting in his office which is not appropriate.”

“If the judgement is subject to appeal, it cannot be allowed to be implemented. It cannot be subjected to the advantage of some and disadvantage of others,” he submitted assailing the quashing of the March 27 notification on proclamation of President’s rule and the granting of status quo ante by the High Court. He said the Presidential proclamation was based on the Union Cabinet’s note which has considered the apex court’s S R Bommai judgement which has dealt in great length with the issue of Article 356 and the floor test.

Rohatgi referred to the March 18 incident when during the presentation and passing of the Appropriation Bill, the Rawat government was reduced to minority with nine Congress MLAs turning rebel and joining hands with 27 BJP MLAs in demanding vote by division which was not allowed by the Speaker and those 35 MLAs complained to the Governor.

“Something was brewing,” he said, adding that “if the voting by division was allowed to have taken place, the Rawat government would have fallen on March 18 itself. So, if the money bill falls, the government would have fallen and the majority government would have become minority.” — PTI

H U M A N G AT H E R I N G

WORLD EARTH DAY Girls with their faces painted green hold placards with messages on World Earth Day in Muradabad on Friday.. — PTI

Scores descend on Ujjain to take bath during Kumbh fair UJJAIN (MADHYA PRADESH): Braving scorching heat, a multitude of people took bath at Ramghat in Shipra river in Ujjain on the opening day of the month-long SimhasthaKumbh mela (fair).

People drawn from different parts of the country and abroad are taking part in the Kumbh mela, one of the largest congregations of humans in India.

“I am overwhelmed to be part of this awesome human gathering. I came here since yesterday (Thursday),” George Sauuahq, a Frenchman told PTI. He said that he has come to India with a group of 12 persons from Paris. “We made a point to stand witness to this mega event after coming to know about it,” he said as he scrambled to shoot photos of the seers in different hues and attires at Ramghat.

ELECTION COMMISSION

Notification issued for Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry Assembly polls CHENNAI/THIRUVANATHAPURAM: Process for May 16 Assembly elections in south Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry began on Friday with the issuing of notifications by the Election Commission.

Filing of nominations will now start for 234 constituencies in Tamil Nadu, 140 constituencies in Kerala and 30 seats in Puducherry.

The last date to submit nomination papers is April 29 and it would be scrutinised the next day. May 2 will be the last day for withdrawal.

Counting of votes is on May 19.

Around 5.6 crore people are eligible to cast their franchise in Ta-

mil Nadu where about 65,000 polling booths will be set up.

Tamil Nadu is witnessing a multi-cornered contest involving ruling AIADMK, DMK, PWF-DMDK-TMC combine and PMK and the BJP-led alliance.

Top leaders Among the top leaders who campaigned were AIADMK supremo and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, DMK President M Karunanidhi, his son M K Stalin, DMDK founder Vijayakant, MDMK’s Vaiko and PMK’s chief ministerial candidate Anbumani Ramadoss.

The Union Territory of Puduch-

erry has a total of 9,48,717 voters and 4,97,790 of them are women.

930 polling booths would be set up.

In Kerala, the total strength of voters is 2,56,27,620 and 1,33,01,435 of them are women.

Soon after the notification was issued, several candidates filed their nominations.

Nominations The filing of nominations began at 11am at district collectorates.

Former Kerala Finance Minister K M Mani, Forest Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, BJP state President Kummanam Rajasekharan and party’s former

state unit chief V Muraleedharan were among those who filed their nominations on the first day.

Eight-three-year-old Mani, leader of the Kerala Congress (M), a constituent of the ruling Congress-led UDF, who is contesting from Pala assembly constituency in Kottayam district, filed his nomination papers before the returning officer at Kottayam collectorate. Mani, who holds the record of longest serving member of the state Assembly, had to resign from the Oommen Chandy Cabinet in the wake of the corruption allegations against him in bar bribery scam. — PTI

Delighted Wheelchair-bound Tervani Devi (76) and her husband Durga Prasad (82) came to Shipra, that has been revived by pumping in the Narmada water, for the occasion, to take a dip, all the way from Hyderabad.

Tervani said that she was delighted after taking the bath.

Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh also took a bath at Gaughat on the opening day of the Simhastha.

At around 8.15am a stampede like situation was witnessed at Chhoti Pool area at the entrance of Ramghat when large number of seers in processions descended for the bath. However, the situation was brought under control by the authorities swiftly.

Bada Udasin Akhara Pontiff Raghu Muni Maharaj along with others squatted at Ramghat for a while and protested against the vehicular traffic in the fair area.

He said that the vehicular traffic was obstructing seers’ way to the ghat. However, he lifted his

PERFORMING RITUAL: A man takes a dip in the waters of the river Shipra during the Simhastha Kumbh Mela (fair) in Ujjain, on Friday. – Reuters

protest after government officials intervene.

Earlier, the Kumbh mela kicked off with Naga seers of Juna Akhara venturing into the river around 5am. Their head, Avdheshnandji Maharaj, who came in a huge procession took the bath amid tight security arrangements.

“As of now, all things are going on smoothly. Around 25,000 security personnel including central forces have been deployed to conduct the bath, Inspector General of Police, Ujjain, Madhu Kumar told PTI at Ramghat at noon.

Meanwhile, lakhs of people thronged the roads leading to the ghats of Shipra river and waiting in serpentine queues to take the bath during the fair which is being held after a gap of 12 years.

“Over 50 million pilgrims are expected to visit Ujjain and other places during the Kumbh, for which elaborate security and logistical arrangements have been made,” Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said last evening on the eve of the mela at Bhopal. — PTI

SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016

A7

PAKISTAN UN SANCTIONS LIST

Al Qaeda operative arrested in Karachi KARACHI: Police in the Pakistani city of Karachi have arrested an Al Qaeda operative who is on the United Nations sanctions list, a police official said on Friday.

Pakistan has been under pressure to crack down on extremist groups and launched a renewed operation against many of them in 2014, when Al Qaeda chief Ayman Al Zawahri announced the formation of a new wing, Al Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent.

Muqadas Haider, a senior police officer, said Abdul Rehman Sindhi was arrested in a joint operation between police and intelligence agencies on Thursday. “Abdul Rehman Sindhi is an old veteran of Al Qaeda. He had stayed in touch with Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al Zawahri and has worked with Harkat-ul Jihad Islami, Jaish-eMohammad and Al Akhtar Trust,” Haider said. Sindhi was put on a UNSC sanctions list in 2012 for providing “facilitation and financial services to Al Qaeda”. — Reuters

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Will resign if proven guilty of wrongdoing, says Nawaz Making Panama [Papers] leaks as

I challenge those accusing me of wrongdoing to prove that before the commission and if anything is proved, I will step down without any delay

the basis, some elements are hurling allegations at me, said while addressing the nation on Friday

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said he would resign if any wrongdoing is proved against him before the commission formed to investigate offshore wealth in the wake of Panama Papers revelations.

“I challenge those accusing me of wrongdoing to prove that before the commission and if anything is proved, I will step down without any delay,” Sharif said while addressing the nation on Friday.

A massive leak of 11.5 million tax documents on April 3 exposed

Nawaz Sharif Prime Minister

the secret offshore dealings of world leaders and celebrities, also naming three of the premier’s children for owning London real estate through offshore companies.

“Making Panama [Papers] leaks as the basis, some elements are hurling allegations at me,” the pre-

COURT HEARING

Musharraf’s medical report termed ‘fake’, arrest ordered ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) )in Rawalpindi has expressed indignation over the submission of a ‘fake’ medical report of General Pervez Musharraf and rejected the former military dictator’s request for temporary exemptions in judges’ detention case.

During the hearing of the case, Musharraf’s counsel Akhtar Shah submitted a medical report of the former military dictator and requested ATC judge Sohail Ikram to grant his client temporary exemption from appearing in court in judges’ detention case.

The judge, however, rejected the report saying Musharraf left the country in March but the medical report produced in the court is of April. The judge also upheld the non-bailable arrest warrants for the former military ruler and directed the inspectorgeneral police of Islamabad to produce the accused before the court on May 20 — the next hearing of the case.

Musharraf’s lawyer argued that

Pervez Musharraf

his client was ready to appear in the court provided his doctors allow him and the government provides him security.

The judge, however, remarked that the former dictator has not appeared before the court for the last two years.

Meanwhile, Islamabad police in its report told the court that it was not possible to execute the non-bailable arrest warrants against Musharraf who had left for Dubai in March.

Legal proceedings were initiated against the former military dictator for detaining over 60 judges, including former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary.

The judges were detained after proclamation of a state of emergency in the country.

Musharraf is facing terrorism charges in the case, which was based on a first information report (FIR) registered against him on August 11, 2009 by the Secretariat police for detaining over 60 judges, including Chaudhary.

Judges’ detention case In June 2013 the court indicted Musharraf in the judges’ detention case. According to the charge sheet, the military ruler had imposed a state of emergency and detained the judges. Fifteen lawyers had already recorded their statements as witnesses against Musharraf.

On June 11, 2013, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had granted pre-arrest bail to the former president. — Express Tribune

P O L I T I C A L B A N D WA G O N

PTI lawmaker joins MQM dissident Kamal’s party KARACHI: Following the footsteps of estranged Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leaders, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Syed Hafeezuddin joined on Friday Mustafa Kamal’s political bandwagon.

This is the first time a sitting lawmaker of a political party, other than the MQM, has joined the PSP. Announcing his resignation from the basic membership of PTI, as well as the Sindh Assembly, Hafeezuddin said Imran Khan was surrounded by short-sighted and incompetent people, causing

the votes of the party to fall.

“We tried to register our protest on this situation but to no avail,” he said, while addressing the media.

“We will prepare a policy on the country’s issues in general and Karachi’s in particular and will reach out to every nook and corner of this country.”

Karachi constituency Hafeezuddin was elected member of the provincial assembly from a Karachi constituency on PTI’s ticket in 2013 general elections.

“Mafias have their hold in Kara-

chi, in government departments, depriving the commoners of the basic facilities of life,” he said.

“I am confident that Mustafa Kamal is an expert in developing these fields, including education and providing basic necessities of life.”

The joining came as the PSP prepares for a show of power in MQM stronghold Jinnah Ground on Sunday. It is being seen as a major breakthrough for the fledgling party of the former Karachi mayor, which pulled three ministers of the Sindh Assembly within a week. — Express Tribune

mier said, saying he was ready for an accountability of himself and his family.

About forming a commission to investigate the allegations, the PM said he will approach the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

“I hereby announce to write to the chief justice, asking him

to lead the judicial commission, which will investigate revelations made in the Panama Papers,” he said.

Taking the nation into confidence once again within two weeks, he said, “I will accept the recommendations of this commission.”

However, he went on to say, if the allegations are not proved, those levelling them will have to apologise before the nation and will be held answerable.

Earlier, the Sharif family said none of the corporations mentioned in Panama Papers, were owned or run by Nawaz Sharif. It also highlighted the corporations owned by Hussain and Hassan Nawaz were legal, saying the leaks had actually alleged no wrongdoing against the family.

PM’s children Among those named were three of Nawaz’s three children — Maryam, who has been tipped to be his political successor; Hasan and Hussain, with the records showing they owned London real estate through offshore companies administrated by the firm.

The documents, from around 214,000 offshore entities, came from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm with offices in more than 35 countries.

In his address to the nation more than two weeks ago, the prime minister had said he was compelled to respond to the politically-motivated allegations against the Sharif family, making rounds on media. — Express Tribune

A8

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READERS’ FORUM Representing country in Olympics is a great honour This refers to the report, More athletes will get Rio ticket, hopes Olympic committee (April 20). It is heartening to note that more athletes will join Barakat Al Harthi to represent the Sultanate in the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil. Barakat’s qualification for the Olympic games has given a lot of motivation to the other Omanis nationals in athletics and other sports. Representing the nation in Olympics is a great honour in one’s life. Omani sports persons have already showed their skills and talent in the regional and other events. This event will definitely give them more confidence Scan this QR code to successfully take part in the glorious to send letters to the Olympic games. I wish all the nationals the Readers’ Forum, very best to reach the zenith of victory in containing not more than 200 words with the 2016 Olympics. — P A Jacob, Muscat

MARGARET CARLSON

Donald Trump only would need to get to that lower number of delegates to clinch the nomination.

That’s because once he reaches that threshold -- and he’s almost certain to do so -- there will be a stampede by unbound delegates to give him the remaining support he needs before the convention is gavelled to order in July

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Final frontier is not space but the earth’s core This refers to the report, Magnitude 6.2 earthquake hits Ecuador coast again(April 20). It is frustrating to observe that scientists have yet to find a method to prevent earthquakes from taking place. Mankind needs to look beneath the earth’s surface. To me, the final frontier is the planet’s core and not space. — Yasmeen Anis, Muscat

NEW INDIA ASSURANCE

“Insure with New India and be secure”

Tel: 24838800 | Fax: 24838899 | Email: niamct@omantel.net.om | Website: www.newindiaoman.com Let tears flow of their own accord: their flowing is not inconsistent with inward peace and harmony.

SENECA

Oman’s image of pacific grandeur T

heodore Roosevelt (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919) was the first American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906. His passing bell was tolled during his sixtieth winter only.

On his unseasonable demise, Rudyard Kipling (December 30, 1865 – January 18, 1936), the first-ever English writer to receive the Nobel Prize in literature in 1907, penned, “Oh, our world is none the safer/ Now Great-Heart hath died! Roosevelt and Rudyard have one unfortunate similarity. They both spent the same white winter of despair by losing their sons Quentin and John, respectively, in the First World War,” (June 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918) that cost more than fifteen million lives.

However, both Roosevelt and Rudyard also shared a ‘glad May morning in the same spring of hope’. Death ushered them to break away from a huger homicide of the Second World War (September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945) that cost sixty million lives – four times more than that of its first edition.

Passage to the heavenly abode took both of them to the woods! It helped them flee from those desolated lands! This was the moment man wanted to profess, on my heart deeply has sunk the lesson Thou hast given! This was the moment man wanted to promise, His paradise once lost would now be regained!

No, on the contrary, the clouds gave promise of rain but it never rained nor did it even shed fine drops! We had better detest before we detail! A branch of physics and engineering coated as electronics rather microelectronics reached us pretty ahead of our times.

Indebted to informatics we are well-informed today; we are yet to know whether and when we are well-off, though. Anyway, most factual information we proudly take into custody today are but the worst examples of heartlessness against ourselves. They rather cause discomfort to us.

They are those intentional but irrational irritations of ours.

Some theories ascertain that the unearthed fossils of Neanderthals were mostly the leftovers of what their ‘comrades in arms’ had in a banquet. This may be prehistoric anyway,

but our history says, the survivors of the Andes Mountains (South America) plane crash (1972) ate their dead companions.

Nevertheless, the mother planet of ours is still fertile enough to mother lives and is the sole living planet across the universe to the best of our knowledge to date.

Though none of us in the world today is out of the woods, knock wood (don’t just touch it!), Oman is always standing out more than ever to take our civilisation out of the troubled waters.

July 23 is a date to celebrate for the people in Asia as the Vietnamese cosmonaut Pham Tuan was the first Asian in space. July 23 is also a date to celebrate around the world on the occasion of the Renaissance in Oman; a nation was reborn with humanity heralded a decade earlier than Pham Tuan’s voyage to the outer space. His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said assumed power in 1970.

Oman had then only a handful of international relations. In spite of a down-to-earth foreign policy, Oman has always retained its specific image of pacific grandeur.

Despite having its own say in various matters Oman suffered no breakups with any of the members of the Arab League.

Thanks to Oman’s efforts, the Gulf Cooperation Council, composed of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and, UAE, was established in 1980.

The GCC is now a role model for cross-border cordiality, which tenders a factual framework amidst other belligerent neighbours.

Like the gradual slopes on the low hills around, Oman has also little by little ameliorated its amicability toward its neighbours and is thus ultimately neighbouring the world over.Since 1983, Oman has as a matter of course most actively backed up the regional peace initiatives.

In April 1994, Oman hosted the plenary session of the Water Working Group of the peace process. More significantly, it was the maiden region state to do so.

Oman has of late undertaken diplomatic first step in the Central Asian republics too; take Kazakhstan for instance. A joint oil pipeline there is in the pipeline now.

By extending a helping hand with the chores, Oman stays always a proverb for tranquillity and transparency. - Exclusive to Times of Oman

CLIPPINGS FROM OUR ARCHIVES APRIL 2001 Five-day training session on starting new projects MUSCAT: How to start a small project is the subject of a training session inaugurated by Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidi, undersecretary for commerce and industry, at Radisson SAS Hotel here yesterday. The five-day course is being organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consultancy (GOIC), the Youth Projects Development Fund (YPDF) and the Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA).

Dr Hamad bin Hashim Al Dhahab, director general of industry at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said in an address the course fit with the ministry’s existing qualifying and training programmes which invest in human resources development.

TODAY IN HISTORY INVITATION TO WRITERS We invite our readers to write articles on topics related to Oman. The articles should not exceed 800 words.

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

PICTOGRAPH GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTS NON-PETROLEUM ACTIVITIES: OTHER SERVICES Total end of September (Million rials) 2014

2015

2,126.4 2,201.9

3.6%

1500: Pedro Cabral claims Brazil for Portugal.

1895: Russia, France, and Germany force Japan to return the Liaodong peninsula to China.

1950: Chiang Kai-shek evacuates Hainan, leaving mainland China to Mao Zedong and the communists.

1971: The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 10.

0 Source National Centre for Statistics & Information

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WORLD

Merkel set to visit Turkey to ease rift over EU migrant deal Germany’s chancellor will pay a one-day visit with European Council President Donald Tusk to Gaziantep near the Syrian border on Saturday to visit a refugee camp and meet Turkey PM Ahmet Davutoglu

ANKARA/BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel will use a visit to Turkey this weekend to try to soothe tensions over a deal meant to stem the flow of migrants to Europe as questions about its effectiveness and longterm viability mount.

The pact, which came into force almost three weeks ago, aims to help end the chaotic arrival of migrants and refugees on the Greek islands, many fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa.

More than one million reached Europe last year.

The deal initially slowed the numbers of new arrivals to Greece sharply, but boats have been com-

DIRE STRAITS: Men stand on top of a temporary structure at a makeshift camp for migrants and refugees at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni, Greece, on Friday. — Reuters

ing again with about 150 people a day, indicating the “hermetic sealing” of the route appears to be over, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

Merkel will pay a one-day visit with European Council President Donald Tusk to Gaziantep near the Syrian border on Saturday, where the two leaders are expected to go to a refugee camp for Syrians and meet Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. There is much at stake for both sides.

Merkel lobbied sceptical European partners to back the deal, under which Turkey agreed to take back migrants who cross the Aegean Sea illegally, and is under political pressure at home to show progress.

Davutoglu sold the deal to the Turkish public partly on the basis that Turks would win quicker visa-free travel to Europe in return, a pledge that now could go unfulfilled, at least by the June deadline he had wanted.

Merkel’s also faces criticism at home for allowing a German comedian to be prosecuted for insulting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. “It is both sides that have a strong interest in making this work.

Turkey wants support in easing the refugee burden - both financial support and in terms of numbers.

And they want visa liberalisation. We have other interests,” a Merkel aide said.

“Ultimately it will depend on

SRI LANKA

Police chief vows to remain impartial in Rajapaksa probe COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s new police chief, reacting to public charges of bias, said on Friday he would ensure that a police investigation into alleged financial crimes by the family and friends of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa would be impartial.

The comments from Pujith Jayasundera, who took up his post on Friday, come amid a public outcry that some top police officials are politically-motivated in the probes against Rajapaksa’s allies, while refusing to look into complaints against influential politicians in the new government.

Step by step “Everything will be inquired and inquiries will continue step by step... There will be no interference,” Jayasundera told reporters in Colombo.

He asserted that nobody would be above the law, saying: “We will entertain any complaints against anybody.”

legations have been proven yet.

The new government has created a financial crime division within the police to probe into misappropriation of public funds during Rajapaksa’s nine years in office.

Mahinda Rajapaksa

Sri Lanka police has a bad reputation of politically meddling and backing governments in power.

Rajapaksa’s family members are facing probes for alleged financial misappropriation by the current administration of President Maithripala Sirisena who unseated Rajapaska in polls in January 2015 and has accused his predecessor of corruption. No al-

Murder of rugby player After months of investigation, police arrested one of its own officials on Wednesday for hiding evidence in the alleged murder of a star rugby player who died in mysterious circumstances in 2012.

The government last year said three members of the presidential security guard had tortured and killed Wasim Thajudeen, who played for the national rugby side captained by Rajapaksa’s second son, Yoshitha.

The former president has denied any wrong doing. Government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne has said the probe into Thajudeen’s alleged murder and some other corruption inquiries were “almost completed”. — Reuters

A9

both sides fulfilling the criteria they need to. If that doesn’t happen the deal won’t work.”

Rights groups have questioned the legality of the deal, which hinges on Turkey being a safe country of asylum.

Amnesty International says Turkey has illegally returned Syrians to their war-torn homeland, a charge Ankara denies.

“There is no photo-op that can obscure the deep flaws in the EUTurkey deal,” John Dalhuisen, Amnesty’s Director for Europe and Central Asia, said of Merkel’s visit. Under the deal, Ankara gets more EU funding for refugees living on its soil and the revival of long-stalled EU accession talks, as well as the quicker visa liberalisation, the main prize in the eyes of many Turks.

But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said this week that Turkey must meet all 72 conditions for visafree travel and the EU would not water down its criteria, rebuffing a warning from Davutoglu that Turkey would no longer need to honor the deal if the promises were not met. “Merkel is coming tomorrow to soothe both sides,” said Elif Ozmenek, a migration expert at the Ankara-based USAK think tank.

Erdogan has also put Merkel in a difficult position by demanding that Germany press charges against a comedian who recited a poem about him on a German public broadcaster last month.

Merkel’s decision to let prosecutors pursue a case against Jan Boehmermann angered many

Germans, who saw it as a sop to an authoritarian leader.

“As much as Davutoglu is trying to make this work, Erdogan seems to be going out of his way to test the limits of what he can get away with,” a senior German official said. “He is showing that he can do anything he wants, testing our reactions. That will be very difficult to handle.”

Disapproval A survey released on Friday showed that more than three in five Germans disapproved of Merkel’s decision to agree to Turkey’s demands over the comedian’s case. The poll was published by ZDF, the channel on which Boehmermann recited a poem.

Merkel has allowed prosecutors to pursue the case under a section of the German criminal code that prohibits insults against foreign leaders. The ZDF also poll found that 80 percent of respondents doubted Turkey is a reliable partner in the migrant crisis. Eight in 10 said Merkel respects Erdogan “too much”.

Compromising principles Rights groups and some European politicians had already accused the EU of compromising its principles by striking the deal with Turkey at a time when its record on freedom of expression appears to be deteriorating.

Tusk said on Friday that the EU could discuss money to secure Ankara’s help on migration but that the bloc’s values, including freedom of expression, were nonnegotiable. — Reuters

NORTH KOREA BORDER

China denies reports of massing soldiers BEIJING: China’s Defence Ministry on Friday denied reports that Chinese troops were massing on the North Korean border, ahead of a possible fifth North Korean nuclear test, saying its deployments there were normal.

The Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said earlier this week that China had sent 2,000 troops to the border, a story picked up by Russian and Iranian news outlets, among others. The decision was made ahead of the expected testing of North Korea’s fifth nuclear device, the report said, in violation of UN sanctions.

“The relevant report does not accord with the facts,” the Defence Ministry said in a short statement.”The Chinese military maintains normal combat readiness and training on the ChinaNorth Korea border.” It did not elaborate.

Unusual movements Reports periodically surface about unusual troops movements on the border, which are hard to verify independently and generally quickly denied by the Chinese government.

North Korea has vowed to conduct further nuclear tests, despite stepped up international sanctions.

Some experts expect North Korea to conduct a fifth nuclear test in the near future, possibly before a ruling party congress in early May, following a failure of a test of an intermediate-range missile earlier this month. — Reuters

A 10

SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016

WORLD BAN ON CITIZENS LIFTED

SOUTH KOREA TRAIN DERAILMENT Employees of Korea Railroad Corp examine the derailed Mugunghwa train in Yeosu, South Korea,on Friday. —

Hwang Hee-kyu/News1

via REUTERS

Cuba clears way for cruise ships from United States HAVANA: Cuba said on Friday it would lift a ban on Cuban-born citizens entering and leaving the Caribbean island by commercial vessels, opening the way for U.S. ruise operator Carnival Corp to set sail for the country from Miami next week.

The decision is a sign that steps to normalise relations between the two countries continue despite anti-US rhetoric from Cuba’s leaders seeking to reassure hardliners following US President Barack Obama’s historic visit to the island.

Carnival’s May 1 cruise, the first from the United States to the Communist-run country since the 1959 revolution, was thrown into doubt when the company triggered a backlash in Miami by refusing Cuban-Americans passage due to a Cold War-era law.

A statement carried by staterun media said starting April 26, Cuban citizens would be authorized “independently of their migratory status to enter and leave as passengers and crews of cruise ships.” “We are extremely pleased.

We want to extend our sincere

M Y S T E R I OU S D E AT H

Autopsy performed on music icon Prince NEW YORK: An autopsy on US music superstar Prince on Friday sought to determine why the innovative performer died, but authorities cautioned it could take weeks before the results are made public.

The intensely private musician, whose hits included “Purple Rain” and “When Doves Cry,” was found dead at his home in suburban Minneapolis on Thursday at the age of 57, shocking millions of fans around the world and prompting glowing tributes by fellow musicians.

The local Carver County Sheriff ’s Office is investigating the circumstances of his death, and Sheriff Jim Olson was due to hold a news conference at 3 p.m.(4 p.m.

ET, 2000 GMT).

Olson’s spokesman cautioned, however, that the investigation was ongoing and that the sheriff may be unable to answer the most pressing questions.

The influential star, born Prince Rogers Nelson, was found unresponsive in an elevator at the Paisley Park Studios complex where he lived in the suburb of Chanhassen, authorities said.

The local medical examiner’s office began carrying out a postmortem examination on Friday morning but said its results could be some time coming.

“As part of a complete exam, relevant information regarding Mr Nelson’s medical and social history will be gathered.

Anything which could be relevant to the investigation will be taken into consideration,” the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office said in a statement.

No information will be released until all results have been obtained, it added.”Gathering the results will take several days and the results of a full toxicology scan could likely take weeks,” the statement said.

The autopsy was being con-

seen as a frontrunner to succeed Cameron, said Obama’s advice was “incoherent, inconsistent and downright hypocritical”.

robust arguments will be music to the ears of Cameron and others in the ‘In’ camp, but those ducted by the office’s chief medical examiner, forensic pathologist A. Quinn Strobl.

Prince’s music blended styles including rock, jazz, funk, disco and R&B, and it won him seven Grammy Awards as well as an Oscar. He had been on a US tour as recently as last week. But he was briefly hospitalized a week ago after his plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, suffering from what his representative told celebrity news website TMZ was flu.

Nevertheless, the star hosted a party at Paisley Park last Saturday night at which one attendee said Prince played two tunes on a piano and then introduced fans to his doctor.

Most inventive forces Prince first found fame in the late 1970s before becoming one of the most inventive forces in American pop music.

As well as singing and songwriting, he played multiple instruments including guitar, keyboards and drums. He sold more than 100 million records and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Record producer L.A. Reid told NBC’s “Today” show on Friday that he was perplexed by the death of his friend. — Reuters

Castro, Obama detente The new rules follow measures four years ago to make it easier for Cubans to travel, perhaps the biggest political reform in the Communist-run country prior to the detente announced by President Raul Castro and Obama in 2014.

Obama has made it easier for US citizens to travel to Cuba, but has not totally lifted restrictions.

“These measures contrast with the prohibition on US citizens freely traveling to Cuba,” the Cuban statement said.

The looser rules will also make it possible for Cubans to work for cruise and cargo lines, opening new possible careers after years of restrictions on setting foot on boats without special permission.

In other measure aimed at easing hardship, the government lowered food prices in state-run stores from Friday. — Reuters

Obama cautions UK against exit from EU American president’s

Prince

appreciation to Cuba and to our team who worked so hard to help make this happen,” Carnival Chief Executive Arnold Donald said in a statement.

campaigning for an ‘Out’ vote have accused the US leader of meddling

LONDON: US President Barack Obama warned Britain on Friday that it would find itself “at the back of the queue” for a trade deal with the United States if it voted to leave the European Union in a referendum in June.

Obama told British voters that their country’s influence on the world stage was “magnified” by its membership of the 28-member bloc and that, as a close friend and ally, the United States felt a deep interest in the issue.

Speaking at a joint news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron during a visit to Britain, Obama said Britain’s EU membership enhanced the “special relationship” between Washington and London. “I think this makes you guys bigger players,” he said.

On trade, he said the United States would regard a deal with the European Union as a higher priority than a separate agree-

DISCUSSIONS: British Prime Minister David Cameron and U.S. President Barack Obama shake hands after holding a news conference following their meeting at 10 Downing Street in London, Britain on Friday. — Reuters

ment with a much smaller market such as a stand-alone Britain.

“It’s fair to say that maybe some point down the line there might be a UK-US trade agreement but that’s not going to happen anytime soon because our focus is negotiating with a big bloc, the European Union, to get a trade agreement done,” Obama said.

Back of queue “And the UK is going to be in the back of the queue not because we don’t have a special relationship but because given the heavy lift on any trade agreement, us having access to a big market with a lot of countries rather than trying to do piecemeal trade agreements is hugely efficient.” He said that in the event of a Brexit, a US-British trade deal might happen, but it would not be anytime soon.

Obama’s robust arguments will be music to the ears of Cameron and others in the “In” camp, but those campaigning for an “Out” vote have accused the US president of meddling.

Opinion polls suggest that “In”

is ahead, but the race is tight and the number of undecided voters is very high. The referendum takes place on June 23.

Obama’s comments at the news conference followed an opinion article in a British newspaper in which he invoked the interlinked history of the United States and Britain and the tens of thousands of Americans lying in European war graves.

“As your friend, I tell you that the EU makes Britain even greater,” the headline of Obama’s article read.

Equal basis His remarks, which led television news broadcasts in Britain, undercut one of the most passionate arguments of the opponents of EU membership: that Britain could prosper on an equal basis with global powers such as the United States.

The president’s comments drew scorn from the “Out” camp.

New York-born London Mayor Boris Johnson, a leader of the “Out” campaign who is widely

British Empire He said Obama was urging Britain to pool its sovereignty with other nations in a way that the United States itself would never countenance for itself.

He also referred to “the partKenyan President’s ancestral dislike of the British empire”, a comment that was widely criticised as demeaning the EU debate.

Obama said EU membership had helped Britain to spread its values in Europe and beyond, and Washington wanted it to remain in the club it joined in 1973.

This would bolster trade and strengthen the 28-member bloc, which Washington views as a pillar of stability in the post-World War II era, he said.

Many US banks and companies fear a Brexit would cause market turmoil, diminish the clout of Washington’s strongest European ally, hurt London’s global financial hub status, cripple the EU and weaken Western security.

“Now is a time for friends and allies to stick together,” Obama said.”Together, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have turned centuries of war in Europe into decades of peace, and worked as one to make this world a safer, better place.”

Before talks at Cameron’s Downing Street office, Obama and his wife Michelle congratulated Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday.

Prince Philip, Elizabeth’s 94-year-old husband, took the wheel of a Range Rover to drive the Obamas to lunch on the territory of Windsor Castle. — Reuters

GLOBAL EMISSIONS

China, US pledge to ratify Paris climate deal this year UNITED NATIONS: China and the United States, the world’s top producers of greenhouse gas emissions, pledged on Friday to formally adopt by the end of the year a Paris deal to slow global warming, raising the prospects of it being enforced much faster than anticipated.

The United Nations said some 174 states were set to take the first step of signing the deal on Friday, the biggest day one endorsement of a global agreement.

Of those, 16 states were also expected to formally notify the United Nations that they had ratified the deal.

Many countries still need a parliamentary vote to formally approve the agreement, which was reached in December.

The deal will enter into force only when ratified by at least 55 nations representing 55 per cent of man-made greenhouse gas emissions.

China and the United States together account for 38 per cent of global emissions.

“China will finalise domestic legal procedures on its accession before the G20 Hangzhou summit in September this year,” China’s Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli told the UN signing ceremony, attended by some 60 heads of state and government.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States “looks forward to formally joining this agreement this year.” President Barack Obama will formally adopt the agreement through execu-

tive authority. The deal commits countries to restraining the global rise in temperatures to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. But even if the pact is fully implemented, promised greenhouse gas cuts are insufficient to limit warming to an agreed maximum, the United Nations says.

The first three months of 2016 have broken temperature records and 2015 was the planet’s warmest year since records began in the 19th century, with heat waves, droughts and rising sea levels.

“The era of consumption without consequences is over,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday.

“We must intensify efforts to decarbonise our economies.

And we must support developing countries in making this transition.”

Many developing nations are pushing to ensure the climate deal comes into force this year, partly to lock in the United States if a Republican opponent of the pact is elected president in November.

Once the accord enters into force, a little-noted Article 28 of the agreement says any nation wanting to withdraw must wait four years.

The deal also requires rich nations to maintain a $100 billion a year funding pledge beyond 2020, providing greater financial security to developing nations to build their defences to extreme weather and wean themselves away from coal-fired power. — Reuters

LANDMARK DEAL: Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, delivers his opening remarks at the Paris Agreement signing ceremony on climate change at the United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan, New York, US, on Friday. — Reuters

SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016

S P O R S

Leicester success ‘would be greatest’ since Ipswich Leicester, who were stranded seven points from the safety zone 12 months ago, are five points clear with four games remaining and within touching distance of becoming the maiden champions since Nottingham Forest

LONDON: If Leicester City win the Premier League this season it will be the greatest upset in English football for more than half a century, according to Ray Crawford, whose goals helped long-shot Ipswich Town win their only top flight title in 1962.

Leicester, who were stranded seven points from the safety zone 12 months ago, are five points clear with four games remaining and within touching distance of becoming the first maiden champions since Nottingham Forest in 1978.

While taking nothing away from Forest, who went on to win the European Cup twice in the following two seasons, Crawford, now a sprightly 79, was full of praise for Leicester as he sees so many similarities between their campaign and Ipswich’s.

Before this season started Leicester were priced at 3-1 by

Ranieri comes clean: Leicester are going for the title LONDON: With just four matches remaining, Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri finally acknowledged the obvious on Friday and said his unsung side were fighting for the Premier League title and could win it.

Ever since the season started, the Italian has played it straight — talking of avoiding relegation, then achieving points targets and seeing where it might lead — while steering clear of championship discussions.

Despite having 22-goal top scorer Jamie Vardy suspended for Sunday’s home game against Swansea City, Ranieri took the opportunity to remind reporters of what his underdogs had already achieved.

“Hey man, we are in Champions League,” exclaimed the Italian. “Dilly ding, dilly dong.

Come on. You speak about blah, blah, blah but we are in Champions League. Come on man, fantastic. Terrific.

“It is a great achievement.

Unbelievable. And now we go straight away to try to win the title,” he exclaimed as reporters cheered the long-awaited recognition. “Only this remains.”

bookmakers to be relegated after last year’s narrow escape, while in August 1961 Ipswich, playing in the top flight for the first time, were widely dismissed as no-hopers and tipped to make an immedi-

FOCUS ON TITLE NOW: Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri

Leicester are five points clear of Tottenham Hotspur, whose recent form has been highly impressive, but Ranieri said he had told his players they had it in their hands.

“I talk to my players. Now is the right moment to push,” he said. “I believe. Always I believe. I am a positive man.

“If Tottenham go over (ahead of ) us, congratulations. But I prefer to stay five points up.”

Tottenham striker Harry Kane is the league’s top scorer and his side thrashed Stoke City 4-0 on Monday to cut the gap at the top from eight points. Ranieri said he had not watched that game, because he knew Tottenham would tri-

ate return to the Second Division.

“Leicester have defied the odds and so did we and so much of Leicester’s season reminds me of us,” Crawford told Reuters in a telephone interview from his home

Q ATA R W O R L D C U P

in Portsmouth. “And if they were to hang on and win it, it would be the greatest upset since we did it because our biggest incentive at the start of the season was not to get relegated. “At the start of the season all

Considerable force Back in the free-scoring days of the early 1960s, Crawford netted 33 goals and Phillips 28 in the then 42-match programme and, while they were the undoubted stars on the field, they also had a very considerable force in the dugout.

Alf Ramsey had taken over as manager when Ipswich were doing nothing in the old Third Division South in 1955, but two years later he took them into the Second Division as champions. In 1961 they won the Second Division title and in 1962 the First Division, a back-to-back feat no team has managed since.

Ramsey left the following year and led England to victory in the 1966 World Cup and Crawford sees echoes in Claudio Ranieri’s ability to handle expectations at Leicester with how Ramsey managed them at Ipswich.

“Alf never once spoke of the title,” he said. “Never. Even when we got close, Burnley could still have caught us, and I for one never thought we could win the league. He managed to make us play without fear, and that’s exactly what I see Ranieri has done with Leicester. - Reuters

FOOTBALL

FIFA sets up worker welfare body DOHA: The head of soccer’s world governing body FIFA urged Qatar to hasten improvements in safety and labour conditions for builders working on sites for the 2022 World Cup and declared: “we will not just sit and wait”.

Gianni Infantino, on a two-day visit to Qatar, announced plans for a special working group to monitor the situation and achnowledged there were still “many challenges”.

Amnesty International reported on abuses in Qatar’s preparations for the World Cup in a wide-ranging report three weeks ago based on the accounts of 132 workers at the sites. It found construction workers from Nepal and India had been charged recruitment fees and housed in squalid conditions.

Infantino said Qatar, the tournament’s first Arab host, supported the monitoring initiative.

“I acknowledge very much the efforts which are being done. I want to see these efforts now being put in practice,” Infantino, elected as president of the scandalplagued federation in February, told reporters. “Of course we will not just sit and wait.

“FIFA will step up its efforts in overseeing....in order to ensure the protection of the workers’ rights in the construction of the FIFA

umph and expected his rivals to win all their remaining games as well. “I think they win. But also we win. And then ... if we win the title, unbelievable.”

Vardy has appeared in every league game for Leicester this season but was sent off for diving against West Ham United last Sunday. England manager Roy Hodgson later defended the player, saying he did not think it was a dive or a penalty and that Vardy had gone down because he lost his balance at speed.

“I think it was the truth. He was going very fast and when you touch something you lose balance. And then maybe it’s not a penalty but sure it’s not a yellow card.” - Reuters

the national newspapers said we were hot favourites to go straight back down and that we could not survive because we didn’t have any class players,” he added.

“But what they did not take into consideration was that Ted Phillips and myself were goalscorers and if you have goalscorers in the team you’ve always got a chance.”

Fast forward to today and Leicester have exactly that — Jamie Vardy has scored 22 goals in 34 matches while Riyad Mahrez has hit 16 in 33. The rest of the squad have contributed 19 between them as Leicester achieved their own aim of avoiding the drop — and then some.

TO OVERSEE: FIFA’s newly elected president Gianni Infantino poses with the Qatar Workers Cup trophy in Doha. – Reuters

World Cup sites is fulfilled” The head of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, Hassan Al Thawadi, has said Doha is working to reduce abuses he described as occurring on construction sites all over the world.

Infantino faces pressure from human rights groups to press for reform of labour laws in Qatar including its “kafala” sponsorship system, whereby employers effectively control a worker’s freedom to leave the

country. Infantino said he had told Qatari Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani measures taken by Qatari authorities to ensure fair working conditions were going in the right direction.

“I, of course, discussed with the prime minister this morning about this topic, about the Kafala (sponsorship) legislation, about how it will be, or how it is going to change with regard to the workers,” he said.

Switzerland’s attorney-general

has launched a investigation into FIFA’s decision to award the event to Qatar, as well as the 2018 World Cup to Russia, at a vote in December 2010 in Zurich.

But Infantino said there was no question of the tournament being held elsewhere. In an earlier statement issued by FIFA, Infantino said the hosting of the World Cup was an opportunity to set a benchmark for fair conditions for all workers in Qatar. - Reuters

Ronaldo to miss first La Liga game of season MADRID: Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo was described as “untouchable” by his manager Zinedine Zidane who confirmed the Portuguese will miss his first La Liga match of the season at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.

The Spanish club’s all-time leading scorer, Ronaldo played all 34 league games and 10 Champions League matches in the campaign before straining a thigh muscle in the 3-0 win over Villarreal on Wednesday.

He sits out the Rayo game to ensure he will be fit for for Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg against Manchester City.

“Cristiano is untouchable because his numbers demonstrate that, he deserves to be untouchable,” Zidane told a news conference on Friday.” “You always have to speak to the players, and you think that at times a player needs to rest, but he rests when he doesn’t play and he plays really well,” the Frenchman added. “He wanted to play tomorrow but he knows he can’t. He felt something in the last game and now we have to bear in mind Tuesday’s game.”

Zidane said Ronaldo always wanted to play every game. “He doesn’t have to rest, although

Cristiano Ronaldo.

when he plays lots of games together he is more tired. Cristiano wants to play and that’s something I really value and respect.”

Gareth Bale missed the Villarreal match through injury but the Wales forward will face 16thplaced Rayo. Real are third in La Liga, one point behind Atletico Madrid and leaders Barcelona, after winning their last eight league games.

“It’s a difficult game on a small pitch against a team that knows how to play good football. They will put a lot of pressure on us, especially at the start,” Zidane said.

“We are focused and doing well, on a good run. Tomorrow three important points are available and we’re going to work for them.” — Reuters

A 12

SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016

SPORTS Determined Yuvi sets 2019 World Cup goal

IPL

The 34-year-old left-handed batsman MATCH WINNERS: Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat

Kohli, right, and man of the match AB de Villiers combined well to post a match-winning total. – BCCI

has seen it all in an

All-round Bangalore down Pune by 13 runs

that started as an

international career 18-year-old in the 50over ICC KnockOut Trophy in 2000

PUNE: Star batsmen A.B. de Villiers and Virat Kohli smashed quick-fire half-centuries followed by a disciplined bowling effort which guided Royal Challengers Bangalore to a comfortable 13-run victory over Rising Pune Supergiants in an Indian Premier League (IPL) contest here on Friday.

De Villiers (83 off 46 balls) and Virat Kohli (80 off 63 balls) helped Bangalore post a competitive total of 185/3 in 20 overs.

In reply, despite opener Ajinkya Rahane’s 60, the hosts lost wickets at regular intervals and could manage only 172/8 in 20 overs.

Kane Richardson (3-13) and Shane Watson (2-31) were the pick of the bowlers for Bangalore, while Harshal Patel and Tabraiz Shamsi claimed one wicket each.

Chasing a challenging target of 186, Pune got off to a disappointing start, losing opener Faf du Plessis (2) and Kevin Pietersen (0 retired hurt) inside two overs.

The hosts received yet another blow as the side lost Steve Smith (4), after Virat Kohli ran him out to put Pune in a spot of bother at 18/2 in 2.3 overs. But opener

Rahane along with new batsman and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (41) used their experience to best effect to hold on.

Rahane showed his class yet again with the bat to bring up his half-century in just 37 balls and help team stay in hunt for the run chase. Dhoni-Rahane combined to post 73 for 2 in 10 overs.

As Rahane was looking set after striking eight boundaries, debutant left-arm chinaman bowler Shamsi fooled the right-handed batsmen to get him stumped and put Bangalore back into the game.

But as Dhoni was aiming to take on the bowlers, he was dismissed in the 16th over to have the team in trouble. Thisara Perera hit Patel for 25 runs in the 18th over to put Pune back into the run chase.

But the 19th over saw Watson dismissing Perera to have match turned on in favour of the visitors.

Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore: 185/3 in 20 overs (AB de Villiers 83, Virat Kohli 80; Thisara Perera 3-34) beat Rising Pune Supergiants 172/8 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 60; Kane Richardson 3-13, Shane Watson 2-31) by 13 runs. — IANS

MUMBAI: Once a limited-overs giant, Yuvraj Singh has been in and out of the Indian team in recent years but the all-rounder believes he still has enough cricket in him to look forward to the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales.

The 34-year-old left-handed batsman has seen it all in an international career that started as an 18-year-old in the 50-over ICC KnockOut Trophy in 2000.

He was crucial for India during their 2007 World Twenty20 victory in South Africa and was also player-of-the-tournament in the team’s 50-over World Cup win on home soil in 2011.

But later in 2011 he was told he had a golf ball-sized non-malignant tumour in his lungs. It was later re-diagnosed as a cancerous condition called “mediastinal seminoma”.

That started a phase of comebacks for the hard-hitting middleorder batsman, once considered a certainty in the international limited-overs formats. “I think it’s the passion for the game,” Yuvraj

LOOKING AHEAD: Yuvraj Singh and Robin Singh at a promotional event at Khar in Mumbai. – PTI

told Reuters when asked what kept him going. “I don’t want to sit one day and think ‘Oh, I should have played a few more years’.

“I want to end where I feel this is it and this is how much I would have played. Given the opportunity, I still feel I have a few more years to excel.”

Comeback man One of the cleanest strikers of the ball, as England fast bowler Stuart Broad found out when he was bludgeoned for six sixes in an over during the 2007 World Twenty20, Yuvraj cut a sorry figure at the crease during his 21-ball 11 against Sri Lanka in the 2014 World T20 final.

Many blamed that knock for sapping India’s momentum and wrote off Yuvraj’s international ambitions in the wake of the defeat. But he again went back to the domestic circuit and scored

enough to earn a spot in the squad for the recent World T20.

He injured his ankle in India’s final Super 10 match against Australia and was ruled out of the semifinal against West Indies, which India lost. “It was pretty disappointing,” Yuvraj said on the sidelines of sportwear brand Puma’s launch of a new collection of shoes.

“You have an injury before the World Cup semi-final and I was preparing to play the World Cup for a while. “(The 50-over World Cup in) 2019 would be a goal for me to achieve,” added Yuvraj, who plays for the David Warner-led Hyderabad franchise in the Twenty20 Indian Premier League.

“But for that I need to work very hard and I would have to perform very outstandingly. I will try and look forward to do that. If I can reach 2019 it will be huge for me.”

Test break For the early part of his career it was virtually impossible for Yuvraj to break into a test-playing 11 boasting the likes of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman in their batting order.

But Yuvraj, who played the last of his 40 Tests in 2012, is not ruling out another run in the format with India slated to play about 12 matches in the next 12 months at home.

“Definitely, I am a big underachiever in test cricket,” Yuvraj said. “But I can’t really take out anything because I didn’t have many opportunities.

“We had lot of greats playing in the team. For seven years of my career I was mostly the 12th man for Test matches. When I actually had a spot, I got diagnosed with cancer.

So it’s been unfortunate but I’ve been lucky that I’ve been able to play again.” - Reuters

PREVIEW

All eyes on De Kock as in-form DD face giants from Mumbai NEW DELHI: On a roll after a poor start, Delhi Daredevils would look to complete a hattrick of victories with yet another impressive performance on home turf when they take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League encounter, here on Saturday.

After the loss to Kolkata Knight Riders by nine wickets in their tournament opener, the Daredevils bounced back strongly riding on the batting display to comfortably beat Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore in their next two games.

The Daredevils are presently third in the league standings with four points from three games, while the Mumbai Indians are placed fifth with two wins and three losses from five matches.

Mumbai Indians so far has had a mixed bag having won two games against Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore while losing three matches in a lousy fashion.

The Rohit Sharma-led side suffered defeats against Rising Pune Supergiants, Gujarat Lions ad After a flop show in their opening match, Daredevils batting came to party in the last game against RCB. In the first match against Kolkata Knight Riders, Daredevils were shot out for 98 and then went untested in the second game against Kings XI Punjab as the target was a meagre 112.

But in the last game RCB, the 9th season of IPL witnessed its maiden century when South Africa opener Quinton de Kock blazed his way to 108 off just 51 deliveries to guide Rahul Dravid’s men to a seven-

MAN IN FOCUS: Opener Quinton de Kock will be the man Delhi Daredevils will be depending on. – BCCI

wicket win over RCB while chasing an imposing 192-run target.

Besides, De Kock, young Karun Nair also played a pivotal role with an unbeaten 54 off 42 balls and come tomorrow the duo would hope to carry on their good form against the Mumbai Indians.

But what would worry Daredevils coach Dravid most is that besides De Kock and Nair, the team’s batting line-up is relatively untested.

Delhi’s fortune will also depend on the performances of JP Duminy and big buys like Pawan Negi and Carlos Brathwaite, who are capable enough to win matches for their team.

Brathwaite became the toast of the cricketing world after hitting England’s Ben Stokes for four

consecutive sixes to win the ICC World T20 final for the West Indies, would like to make a big impact in the tournament.

On the bowling front, Daredevils has experience with captain Zaheer Khan leading the pack and showing that there is still plenty left in his armoury. While Chris Morris has been economical upfront, Mohammad Shami leaked a few runs despite picking up two wickets in his comeback IPL game after a long lay-off.

Currently India’s best leg-spinner Amit Mishra has time and again risen upto the occasion and will be leading Daredevils spin department in company of Pawan Negi.

Misfiring Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, intially struggled to get their team combination

right but they did come good with a convincing chase of 170 plus score against Virat Kohli’s RCB. Two-time title winners, MI have slumped to defeats in both their home matches this season — to IPL debutants Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions — but they would be taking heart from the fact that their away campaign has so far been impressive.

Mumbai’s top-order batting has been miserable so far barring captain Rohit Sharma, who was instrumental in both their wins scoring superb half-centuries.

But in the other three games, the leading batsmen have failed to click as a unit. Martin Guptill, who replaced injured Lendl Simmons, failed to live upto the expectations in his first game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, prompting Mumbai team management to drop him against RCB in the last match.

Guptill was dropped against RCB and a fit-again Kieron Pollard made an immediate impact with a match-winning 19-ball-39 not out.

Englishman Jos Buttler and India discard Ambati Rayudu are getting starts but it is bighitting Pollard, who can make a difference.

While Hardik Pandya has been off-colour, his brother Krunal Pandya grabbed his opportunities with both hands by making an impact with both bat and ball.

In the absence of their ever-reliable Sri Lankan slinger Lasith Malinga, Mumbai Indians have depended upon the New Zealand duo of Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan to make early inroads and this combination is expected to continue against RCB. — PTI

Upbeat SRH face laggards KXIP HYDERABAD: Back to their winning ways after sucessive victories, a rejuvenated Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to continue their good run when they take on laggards Kings XI Punjab in an IPL T20 clash at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium here on Saturday.

After losing two games in a row, Hyderabad made a quick turnaround in their fortunes by scoring two stupendous wins in their last two matches - against Mumbai Indians (by 7 wickets) and Gujarat Lions (by 10 wickets) yesterday.

Despite injuries to its key players, including Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra and Kane Williamson, the Hyderabad side has been on a high with the team clicking collectively during the last two matches.

SRH captain and the swashbuckling Australian batsman David Warner has been in great form, having made unbeaten 74 in 48 balls against Gujarat yesterday and 90 not out in the contest against Mumbai.

One big relief for SRH would be the performance of its other opener Shikhar Dhawan who returned to form yesterday with an unbeaten 53 after a poor show in the previous three matches.

The other SRH batsmen,

including Moises Henriques, Eoin Morgan and wicketkeeper batsman Naman Ojha, have also been making useful contributions to the side in crucial situations.

Despite the absence of the seasoned Nehra, the SRH bowlers have made an impact to make it difficult for their rivals. Seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar broke the back of Gujarat innings with his fourwicket haul yesterday, including the all-important wicket of Gujarat opener Aaron Finch.

The other young bowlers, including Mustafizur Rahman, Barinder Sran, Deepak Hood and Bipul Sharma, have also been impressive and it’s not going to be an easy task for the visitors to tame the collective might of the Sunrisers on Saturday.

With two points from four matches, Kings XI Punjab, on the other hand, is at the bottom of the points table in the competitive tournament.

The KXIP batting has not been very consistent so far with only Manan Vohra putting up decent scores and others falling short of expectations. Needless to say, the Punjab side needs to pull up its socks and its batsmen, including captain David Miller, Glen Maxwell and Vohra, — PTI

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WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM S ATU RDAY, APRIL 23, 2016

MARKE

MICROSOFT’S REVENUE, PROFIT MISSES ESTIMATES Microsoft reported results that fell short of analysts’ expectations, showing its high-profile cloud business cannot quite make up for a slowing personalcomputer market. Shares fell five per cent in after hours trade to $52.92. >B3

Oman picks banks for its international bond

C H I NA’ S M E D I A R E G U L AT O R

The upcoming US dollar-denominated issue comes as Oman, like other Gulf SERVICE BANNED: This is not the first time an Apple service has been made unavailable in China. - Bloomberg file picture

Apple’s book and film services shut down in China BEIJING: Apple’s online book and film services have gone dark in China, after Beijing introduced regulations in March imposing strict curbs on online publishing, particularly for foreign firms.

Attempts by Reuters on Friday to access Apple’s iBooks Store and iTunes Movies services were met with a message in Chinese saying they were “unusable”.

China’s media regulator, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, demanded Apple halt the service, the New York Times reported, citing two unnamed people. The regulator did not respond to a faxed request from Reuters for comment. “We hope to make books and movies available again to our customers in China as soon as possible,” said a Beijing-based Apple spokeswoman, who declined to provide further comment.

Not the first time This is not the first time an Apple service has been made unavailable in China.

The company’s News app, launched last year, can be used in many countries by people who downloaded the app from the US, United Kingdom or Australia App Stores. But those people trying to access the service on the mainland are shown the message “News isn’t supported in your current region”.

The Apple spokeswoman in Beijing said News had only launched in the US, United Kingdom and Australia, but declined to com-

ment on how the app could still be used in places like South Korea and Hong Kong but was blocked in mainland China.

Apple’s second-largest market by revenue is Greater China, which includes Taiwan and Hong Kong, driven by the iPhone’s popularity in the world’s biggest smartphone market. But the company has at times met with official resistance from Beijing, with state media once branding the US tech behemoth’s iPhone a danger to national security.

In March, regulations came into effect that prohibit foreign ownership and joint ventures in online publishing and stipulate that all content be stored on servers in China. The move sparked fear of greater curbs on foreign businesses. In an effort to shape public opinion, President Xi Jinping’s government has implemented an unprecedented tightening of internet and media controls and sought to codify the policy within the law, a campaign that critics say ignores human rights and is a burden for business.

Earlier this month, the US labelled China’s Internet censorship a trade barrier in a report for the first time since 2013, saying worsening online restrictions are damaging the business of US companies. Officials say internet restrictions are needed to ensure security in the face of rising threats such as terrorism and foreign ideology that could destabilise China. — Reuters

OIL SUPPLIES

Crude prices set for third weekly gain LONDON: Oil is poised for a third weekly advance as declining US crude production provided more evidence that the market is rebalancing.

Futures gained 1.4 per cent in New York, bringing this week’s gains to 8.5 per cent. Production in Colombia fell last month, while output in the US dropped for a sixth week. The potential for more talks between Opec members and other producers about a production freeze re-emerged at a conference in Paris on Thursday, even after the failure to reach an agreement in Doha last Sunday.

“Investors are still looking at the output reductions in the high-cost world,” Axel Herlinghaus, senior commodities analyst at DZ Bank, said by e-mail. They will also look at the latest US rig-drilling figures, due to be published later on Friday, which could drop to 340 in the coming weeks from 351 reported

by Baker Hughes Inc. on April 15, he said. That’s down from 1,482 at the start of 2015.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) reiterated on Thursday it expects non-Opec output to decline by about 700,000 barrels a day this year, which would be the sharpest drop in a quarter century. Production in the US fell to 8.95 million barrels a day, the US Department of Energy said on Wednesday. Output in Colombia fell four per cent in March to

– Bloomberg file picture

916,000 barrels a day, according to the mines and energy ministry.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for June delivery rose as much as 80 cents to $43.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and traded at $43.78 by 8:59am local time. The contract fell $1 to close at $43.18 a barrel on Thursday. Total volume traded was about eight per cent below the 100-day average.

Output talks Brent crude for June settlement rose 1.1 per cent to $45.01 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, bringing its weekly gain to 4.5 per cent.

Prices fell 2.8 per cent to $44.53 on Thursday. The global benchmark traded at a $1.34 premium to WTI. — Bloomberg News

states, looks to tap international bond markets to shore up state finances pressured by low crude oil prices

DUBAI: Five banks have been chosen by the government of Oman to arrange the Sultanate’s first international bond issue in almost 20 years, sources aware of the matter said on Thursday.

The upcoming US dollar-denominated issue comes as Oman, like other Gulf states, looks to tap international bond markets to shore up state finances pressured by low oil prices.

Arrange the bond Oman has chosen Citi, JP Morgan, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, Natixis and National Bank of Abu Dhabi to arrange the bond, the sources said, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the information isn’t public.

The Finance Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

BOND ISSUE: Oman’s central bank executive president, Hamood Sangour Al Zadjali, said in February the government might issue bonds by the middle of this year as part of a plan to borrow up to $10 billion from abroad. - Times file picture

The sale will be structured to comply with Reg S/144a regulations, meaning the transaction can be sold to investors in the United States, and is targeted to happen in the second quarter, according to the sources.

Truncated time frame However, other bankers cautioned that given a truncated time frame in the second quarter, with the Holy Month of Ramadan commencing in early June, and the amount of work to be done to prepare an offer after such a long absence from international markets, a deal may not emerge until the third quarter.

Reuters reported in February that Oman was seeking to sell the bond in the second quarter and had invited a small group of

banks, most of which had participated in the Sultanate’s $1 billion sovereign loan earlier in the year, to pitch for arranger roles.

One notable absentee from the bond arrangers is Gulf International Bank, which was one of three banks — along with Citi and Natixis — to underwrite the loan before it was sold to other lenders.

Oman, rated A3 by Moody’s and BBB- by Standard & Poor’s, joins other Gulf sovereign issuers in tapping international bond markets in 2016: Abu Dhabi is currently meeting fixed income investors ahead of its first bond issue in seven years, while Bahrain and Sharjah have already sold a bond and a sukuk issue respectively this year.

Oil’s plunge since 2014 has hit Oman’s finances hard. Its state

budget swung to a deficit of 4.07 billion rials ($10.6 billion) in the first 11 months of 2015 from a surplus of OMR233.4 million a year earlier. To bridge the deficit, Oman has begun spending cuts, tax rises and fuel subsidy reforms.

Domestic borrowing The country has an extended domestic borrowing programme, including regular Treasury bill auctions. The borrowing is adding pressure to liquidity in the local banking system and forcing the government to raise money abroad. Oman’s central bank executive president, Hamood Sangour Al Zadjali, said in February the government might issue bonds by the middle of this year as part of a plan to borrow up to $10 billion from abroad. — Reuters

BANKING SYSTEM

Egyptian currency traders shrug off government’s black market crackdown CAIRO: Egypt’s war on black market currency traders is not going to plan. One month after a devaluation that was supposed to ease an acute dollar shortage in the banking system, clandestine business is booming in cafes, shops and flats.

The central bank, which hoped the 13 per cent devaluation would relieve downward pressure on the Egyptian pound, has cracked down on exchange bureaux trading far outside its set range.

And yet the gap between the official and black market rates, which briefly narrowed with the devaluation, is now wider than ever, with dealers buying and selling dollars for 20 per cent or more above the official rate of 8.78 pounds.

Traders say the crackdown has only exacerbated the crisis. People with dollars are shunning the official financial system, starving it of foreign currency. This is putting yet more pressure on the pound, with potentially dire consequences for inflation, investors’ confidence and economic growth.

Not enough “No one sells dollars to the banks any more. They all prefer to go to the black market which will pay them more,” said one banker who asked to remain anonymous. “The dollars don’t come into the banking system any more and the central bank’s dollar reserves are not enough to support the country’s import needs.”

Egypt has struggled to restore growth since the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak scared away tourists and foreign investors — vital sources of the foreign currency it needs to import everything from fuel to food.

Eradicating the black market is essential to restoring investors’ confidence, easing the risk that the pound’s volatility will erase their profits.

Already, foreign investors are struggling to repatriate earnings because the central bank’s reserves have more than halved

– Bloomberg file picture

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Central bank struggles to curb black market

With a little innovation, traders still thrive

Black market starves banks of dollars

Egyptian pound remains under heavy pressure

Effects on inflation, confidence, growth potentially dire

President has promised to rebuild economy

since 2011 to about $16.5 billion in March. This has made it hard for them to convert pound earnings into foreign currency through the banking system. Even before last month’s devaluation, which was accompanied by the launch of financial instruments aimed at attracting hard currency to the banks, the central bank had resorted to legal force. In February, it revoked the licences of four exchange companies with 27 offices.

Since then, the expected influx of dollars has failed to materialise and this month it referred 15 more exchange firms to public prosecu-

tors. Then on Wednesday the central bank said it had revoked the licences of nine more companies for manipulating prices of dollars in the parallel market.

Repeated offences “The decision ... comes after repeated offences by these companies which distorted the exchange market and has harmed the national economy,” said Gamal Negm, deputy central bank governor, in remarks published by the state news agency MENA. Negm added that the bank is working on a new law that could

raise the punishment for violators to a prison sentence.

Bankers say the clampdown has backfired because as it became riskier to deal on the black market, the dollar strengthened against the pound and people began hoarding foreign currency to speculate on the rate. This pushed the US currency yet higher, and the pound hit a record low of 11.50 to the dollar this week.

“Traders are speculating on the dollar and those who need dollars for imports can’t find the dollars and must buy them from traders and speculators, so the black market rate is putting the Egyptian economy in a tight spot,” said Ziad Waleed, an economist at Beltone Financial.

Any further official devaluation would threaten to fuel inflation, a politically explosive development in a country where millions live in poverty. That leaves the central bank with few weapons in its arsenal.

One trader described the situation as a standoff, saying that while the central bank is trying to punish black market dealers, it does not have the resources to fight them.

“We will secure ourselves and we will continue to work and we will do it carefully, as if we were dealing in drugs. We will hoard the dollars and we won’t sell. Where will the central bank get dollars from?” he said.

Just a few blocks away from one Cairo exchange bureau, a trader sipped coffee at a downtown cafe as he closed deals over the telephone away from the prying eyes of the authorities.

“Do you have riyals?” he asked another trader, quoting the black market rate for the Saudi currency. “I will take all of it.” This is one example of how easily traders are adapting to tighter oversight.

They quote official rates at the exchange bureaux, which are closely monitored, without making any deals. Business is then done at cafes or elsewhere at black market rates, dealers said. — Reuters

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SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016

MARKET In Asia, financial firms wake up to risks of Britain leaving the EU VITAL INFO Central banks of

HKEx carrying out Brexit impact assessment on LME, LME Clear

HK, Singapore regulators monitoring developments

Asian funds fear losing access to EU financial market

Some Asia firms based in London eye Frankfurt, Luxembourg

Hong Kong and Singapore told Reuters they were also closely monitoring developments around the June 23 vote

HONG KONG: Hong Kong exchange has begun a Brexit impact assessment, and some Asian asset managers are looking to set up new bases in mainland Europe amid growing concerns their operations could be disrupted if Britain votes to leave the European Union in a June referendum.

The central banks of Hong Kong and Singapore told Reuters they were also closely monitoring developments around the June 23 vote. A spokeswoman for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority warned of “significant uncertainties” in the event of an “Out” vote.

The contingency planning highlights concerns that Brexit, as Britain leaving the EU has been called, could have ripple effects in Asia-Pacific by cutting off the UK’s Asian finance investors from the EU financial market. Other

UNCERTAIN TIMES: Traders work on the trading floor of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, operated by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. Hong Kong Monetary Authority warned of “significant uncertainties” in the event of an “Out” vote. - Bloomberg file picture

regions are also making Brexit preparations. Opinion polls have pointed to a close vote, though the most recent polls show rising support for Britain staying in the EU. “A potential Brexit is an issue no organisation can afford to ignore,” said a spokesman for Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEx), which took over the London Metal Exchange (LME) and its clearing house in 2012.

“We are carrying out an impact assessment for both the LME and

LME Clear and are addressing the short-, medium- and long-term implications for both potential outcomes of the UK referendum.”

The bourse declined to elaborate on its impact assessment, though risk management experts said it would likely cover the legal, regulatory and operational implications of Brexit, as well as volatility scenarios and potential market disruptions.

Asian investors using Britain as their European base said they

BAILOUT LOANS

ECONOMY

Greece, EU/IMF lenders make progress but still no deal yet ATHENS: Greece and its international lenders have made progress in negotiations on economic reforms, a Greek government official said on Thursday, but a final accord needed to unlock badly needed bailout loans remained elusive.

Talks on pension reforms, tax hikes, privatisations and the management of bad loans resumed this week in Athens with the aim of reaching an agreement on the package before euro zone finance ministers meet in Amsterdam to assess the progress.

“There was significant convergence, more than in the past days,” a Greek government official said, adding that this concerned especially pension reforms and bad loans. The main sticking point in the talks, which have dragged on for months, concerns fiscal issues, as EU institutions and the International Monetary Fund differ on whether it can meet a primary surplus target equal to 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product in 2018. A

may establish operational bases in Frankfurt or Luxembourg, fearing an “Out” vote would disrupt their ability to offer services and products across the 28-nation EU. “There’s lots of uncertainty. If the vote is “Out” would London be a platform for accessing Europe?” asked Sammi Shen, executive director at Shanghai Nord Engine Asset Management Group, a $3 billion Chinese investment management company which set up a London office only last year.

“We would find a European partner or set up an office in Europe: that’s our back-up plan,” she said, listing Frankfurt and Luxembourg as the preferred locations.

Britain’s financial services industry has attracted 100 billion pounds ($143 billion) in foreign direct investment since 2007, or nearly a third of the total, according to financial services lobby group CityUK. London has also sold itself to Chinese banks as the biggest yuan currency clearing hub outside Asia.

Leaving the EU could risk unravelling financial services agreements that have helped turn Britain into Europe’s financial powerhouse, accounting for a quarter of all EU financial services income, according to the Bank of England.

For now, a financial services company with a licence or ‘passport’ to operate in Britain can

automatically offer its products and services throughout the EU, reducing compliance and operational costs. An “Out” vote could see Britain lose that critical access - a major concern for Chinese and Hong Kong firms, many of which have recently set up in London.

Asia-Pacific companies spent more than $1.7 billion on greenfield UK wholesale financial services investments in 2011-15, with China the largest average investor, according to FT data source fDi Markets, excluding M&A activity.

A senior executive of a major Chinese asset manager which uses Britain as its EU base said he was worried his firm may no longer be able to distribute funds across Europe.

“We’ll ensure we don’t have all our eggs in one basket and will establish a fund management entity and fund platforms outside the UK to hedge our bets,” said the executive, who didn’t want to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The executive and Nord Engine’s Shen said they would not abandon London as it would remain a major market and offers a deep talent pool.

More than two million people work in financial services in the UK and typically have the right under EU rules to work across the bloc without requiring work permits. Brexit could change that.

Michel Lowy, CEO of Hong Kong-headquartered fixed income specialist SC Lowy, which has operated in London since 2012, said an “Out” vote was a concern due to potential visa restrictions: “Will people need a working visa overnight?” — Reuters

Alexis Tsipras. — Bloomberg News

primary surplus excludes interest payments.

The IMF considers EU assumptions too optimistic and sees Athens achieving a 1.5 per cent primary surplus in 2018, unless it receives debt relief and takes additional austerity measures.

To reach a compromise, the lenders have suggested that Athens adopt measures proposed by

EU institutions now and agree to implement additional reforms, worth up to two per cent of GDP, if it misses its 2018 bailout targets.

“Greece ... does not need extra measures. What Greece needs, is an essential debt relief,” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told Euronews.

But the Commission announcement on Thursday may change little. “It is irrelevant because it had been fully discounted beforehand,” one senior euro zone official said.

Complicating things further, Greece’s court of auditors — an advisory body — said the planned pension reforms, which unify rules for public and private sector retirees and merges pension funds, were unconstitutional and not quantified. Greek Labour Minister George Katrougkalos said the decision was probably “a misunderstanding” and that actuarial studies would be sumbitted to parliament along with the bill this week. — Reuters

Bank of Japan considering negative rate on some loans TOKYO: Having adopted a negative interest rate on some excess reserves to penalise financial institutions for leaving money idle, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) may consider helping them lend by offering a negative rate on some loans, according to people familiar with talks at the BOJ. Such a discussion could happen in conjunction with any decision to make a deeper cut to the current negative rate on reserves, said the people, who asked not to be named as the matter is private. The BOJ’s Stimulating Bank Lending Facility, which now offers loans at zero per cent interest, would be the most likely vehicle for this option, they said.

The officials said that adding this to the central bank’s arsenal could have a positive impact on the economy, but would also raise questions about giving subsidies to commercial lenders. Financial institutions, who already feel penalised by the existing negative rate, could face demands from borrowers to cut their lending margins further, said the people.

Bank shares rallied on optimism the measure could be adopted, and the yen dropped.

Economists at BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse Group and Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities are among those who have anticipated the possibility of the BOJ adopting this kind of measure.

The BOJ had extended 24.4 trillion yen ($223 billion) of credit under the Stimulating Bank Lending Facility as of April 10.

This initiative is separate to the core of the BOJ’s monetary easing initiative, which targets an

Haruhiko Kuroda. — Bloomberg News

expansion in the monetary base, mainly through purchases of government bonds. It was initiated under former BOJ governor Masaaki Shirakawa in December 2012.

The BOJ board next meets to set policy April 27-28, and analysts have increasingly seen a likelihood of some sort of action to counter an appreciation in the yen and damage to expectations for inflation; 23 of 41 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg predict some step. Nineteen forecast increased purchases of exchangetraded funds, eight project a boost in bond buying and eight see a cut in the key rate, the survey shows.

Against the dollar, the yen slid one per cent to 110.58 as of 4:59pm in Tokyo, helping pare some of the currency’s appreciation since BOJ policy makers last gathered. Governor Haruhiko Kuroda flagged his concerns about a strengthening in the yen

in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week. That sentiment is shared by senior officials at the central bank, people familiar with the discussions said earlier this week. European policy makers also have taken a step toward providing subsidised funds for banks to lend to their customers. In a program set to start in June, the European Central Bank (ECB) is poised to offer zero-rate funding, which could retroactively be cut to the ECB’s deposit rate — currently minus 0.4 per cent — depending on how much the lender extends to companies and households. The facility is known as the TLTRO-II. Loan officer survey In Japan, where the sub-zero rate became effective in February, a survey of senior loan officers showed this week that banks’ profit margins from lending to highly rated companies dropped to the lowest level in almost a decade. The BOJ’s quarterly survey also showed that demand for credit from large, medium and small-sized firms all dropped.

“This wouldn’t address the underlying structural problem for the banks, which is not a loan supply issue but a demand issue,” Jefferies Group LLC analysts including Mac Salman wrote in a report.

Bank shares, which were hammered in the wake of the BOJ’s January unveiling of a negative rate on a portion of the cash they park at the central bank, jumped on Friday. The Topix Banks Index closed 4.8 per cent higher, outpacing the broader Topix index.

— Bloomberg News

SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016

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MARKET US MARKET SHARE

Google and Facebook lead digital ad industry NEW YORK: Google and Facebook claimed the largest share of the booming US digital advertising market in 2015, pulling away from smaller rivals, according to two industry reports on Thursday.

Online advertising revenue in the US reached a record of $59.6 billion last year, up 20 per cent from 2014, the Interactive Advertising Bureau said in its annual report on the business.

Smaller firms lose share Google, the leading Internet search provider, and Facebook, the biggest social network operator, claimed 64 per cent of that revenue, according to Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser. Google scooped up $30 billion and Facebook gathered $8 billion, while other smaller companies lost market share, the analyst noted.

“Smaller companies will continue to operate in the shadows of the industry’s two dominant players,” Wieser wrote in a note to investors.

April 27 Late on Thursday, Google parent Alphabet reported a 20 per cent jump in first-quarter revenue from its own websites, including Google.com and YouTube. Facebook is scheduled to report results on April 27.

The rest of the industry saw growth in the low double digits in 2015 after a relatively flat 2014, according to Wieser’s report, which cited IAB’s data along with his own analysis. The growth was driven by a niche players such as Pandora Media, LinkedIn and Twitter, offset by weaker older Web players like Yahoo!, the analyst said. — Bloomberg News

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

Microsoft’s revenue, profit misses analysts’ estimates Two of Microsoft’s three major businesses showed lower operating profits, led by what Microsoft calls its intelligent cloud division, which includes its Azure cloud-services business as well as traditional server software MAKING A POINT: Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp. - Bloomberg file picture

SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft reported results that fell short of analysts’ expectations, showing its high-profile cloud business cannot quite make up for a slowing personal-computer market.

Shares fell five per cent in after hours trade to $52.92.

Two of Microsoft’s three major businesses showed lower operating profits, led by what Microsoft calls its intelligent cloud division, which includes its Azure cloudservices business as well as traditional server software. Despite revenue at Azure more than doubling, revenue in the division grew just three per cent.

“We would have liked to have seen 7 to 9 per cent growth,” Dan Morgan, a portfolio manager at Synovus Trust who holds Microsoft shares, said of intelligent cloud revenue. “We’re trying to validate this story that Microsoft is truly becoming a cloud com-

FINANCIAL OUTLOOK

pany, and they’re not going to be relying on the desktop computer.”

Microsoft executives said that the shortfalls in the intelligent cloud business were due to pressure on products that were tangential to the main cloud push, such as server software, which mollified some investors.

“Microsoft’s cloud business is gaining sales and momentum in the marketplace, so I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this quarter’s missed external expectations,” said Matt McIlwain, a venture capitalist at Madrona Venture Group who watches Microsoft closely.

“But, the combined top line and bottom line miss will raise the stakes for their final quarter of the 2016 fiscal year.”

Revenue at the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant fell to $20.53 billion from $21.73 billion.

The company’s net income in

the third quarter ended March 31 fell to $3.76 billion, or 47 cents per share, from $4.99 billion, or 61 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company in part blamed a higher-than-expected tax rate for the lower net income.

Adjusted revenue of $22.08 billion was just shy of the $22.09 billion analysts had expected, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Excluding one-time items, Microsoft earned 62 cents per share.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 64 cents per share.

Operating profit at the productivity and business processes group, which includes its Office software, dropped seven per cent.

Revenue grew one per cent to $6.5 billion.

But operating profit at Microsoft’s biggest division, More Personal Computing, which includes its Windows operating system,

the Surface computer and its Xbox gaming system, rose 57 per cent from the prior-year quarter to $1.65 billion. Improved profit margins were driven by lower expenses in Microsoft’s phone business, which the company scaled back drastically last year, and sales of Surface portable devices.

Revenue in the group rose one per cent to $9.46 billion in the quarter. Worldwide PC shipments fell 11.5 per cent in the same period, according to research firm IDC. Revenue in Microsoft’s intelligent cloud business, which includes the Azure cloud infrastructure-and-services business as well as products such as noncloud-related server software, rose 3.3 per cent to $6.1 billion in the quarter.

Many investors gauge Microsoft’s cloud strength by looking at what it calls its commercial cloud,

Microsoft’s cloud business is gaining sales and momentum in the marketplace, so I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this quarter’s missed external expectations.

But, the combined top line and bottom line miss will raise the stakes for their final quarter of the 2016 fiscal year Matt McIlwain A venture capitalist at Madrona Venture Group

a separate measure that includes cloud businesses such as Azure and Office 365 software.

The commercial cloud is on track for over $10 billion in revenue for the year starting in March, it said, up from the $9.4 billion figure it gave last time.

Chief Executive Satya Nadella has focused on developing the company’s cloud business with his “mobile first, cloud first” strategy, since taking over in early 2014. — Reuters

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

Sony delays annual forecasts to assess earthquake fallout TOKYO: Sony will postpone its forecasts for the current fiscal year while it assesses the damage from an earthquake that shut its main plant for camera sensors.

The Japanese company said it won’t provide its usual financial outlook when it reports earnings on April 28 and will instead announce guidance in May. On Thursday, the company reported a preliminary profit for the last fiscal year that was more than nine per cent below its own forecast, in part because of slowing global demand for smartphones and the components that Sony supplies.

Operations at its Kumamoto facility remained suspended and there’s been damage to the building, clean rooms and equipment, Sony said in a statement. The facility is the primary manufacturing site for image sensors used in digital and security cameras as well as micro-display devices.

“There is some damage to upper floors, so we’re considering ways to carry out reinforcements,” said Haruka Kitagawa, a spokesman for Sony. “Some production lines on the upper floors are askew. We’re checking whether we can use them or not.”

The earthquake damage may have an adverse impact on operating results, particularly in its devices and imaging products group, according to the statement. It’s unclear when operations will resume. A month’s suspension could reduce Sony’s sales by 50 billion yen ($453 million), said Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Research Institute in Tokyo. “Sony can increase the production of CMOS in other factories but it’s not enough,” he said. “The impact on the supply chain is also big. It’s possible that this problem will affect the production of high-end smartphones such as the iPhone.”

The earthquake that hit the southern island of Kyushu this month killed 44 people, derailed a bullet train and forced factory closings at companies such as Toyota Motor. Sony’s Kumamoto plant, which started operating in 2001, makes CMOS sensor chips that turn light into digital signals — a key component in digital cameras and smartphones such as Apple’s iPhone. It accounts for more than 30 per cent of Sony’s CMOS-sensor production, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. — Bloomberg News

ADVERSE IMPACT: The earthquake damage may have adverse impact on operating results, particularly in its devices and imaging products group, according to the statement. - Bloomberg file picture

AD REVENUE RISES: Google’s advertising revenue increased 16.2 per cent to $18.02 billion, while the number of ads, or paid clicks, rose 29 per cent, the company said. - Bloomberg file picture

Google’s parent Alphabet results hit by rising traffic costs, strong dollar SAN FRANCISCO: Google’s parent Alphabet missed Wall Street targets for first-quarter profit and revenue on Thursday as it spent more money to build traffic for its mobile advertising services.

The results, which were also hit by the strong dollar, drove shares of the Web search company down six per cent in late trading on Thursday.

Alphabet’s consolidated revenue rose to $20.26 billion from $17.26 billion, slightly below the $20.37 billion analyst consensus, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Non-GAAP earnings per share of $7.50, excluding one-time items, missed analysts’ expectations of $7.97.

Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said on a conference call with investors that payments to other web sites, known as traffic acquisition costs (TAC), totalled $3.8 billion and accounted for 21 per cent of advertising revenues. The percentage of ad revenues spent on

TAC grew 13 per cent year-overyear. That reflects the ongoing shift to mobile advertising and the growing importance of programmatic advertising, in which ads are bought, sold and displayed by automated systems.

Investors should get used to seeing increased TAC as “the cost of doing business,” said Sameet Sinha, B. Riley & Co. analyst.

“If you’re getting mobile searches from Apple devices you have to pay Apple for traffic so that revenue can happen,” Sinha said. “The same thing on the programmatic side, when you end up representing more people and selling their ad space or buying their ad space, you have to pay somebody else.”

Porat said spending on traffic acquisition is expected to keep rising as the shift to mobile continues — pressuring the company’s traditionally robust margins on its advertising business.

“I think investors expecting stable margins are probably be-

ing overly optimistic. But that said you can have diminishing margins and still have a great business and an incredibly lucrative one,” said Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser.

Google’s advertising revenue increased 16.2 per cent to $18.02 billion, while the number of ads, or paid clicks, rose 29 per cent, the company said.

Other bets Losses increased at the company’s Other Bets business, which includes its broadband business Google Fiber, home automation products Nest, self-driving cars and X — the research division that works on “moon shot” ventures.

The loss widened to $802 million, up from $633 million a year earlier. Revenue rose to $166 million from $80 million.

Compared to Google’s overall business, Wieser said losses in other bets were “too small to matter” at the moment.

“If you’re an optimist you can look to [other bets] and say it can eventually support long term growth.”

Porat said foreign exchange rates factored heavily into the results, shaving $762 million from its revenue for the quarter or $593 million after the effects of a currency hedging program.

“Our total revenue grew 23 per cent year-over-year and declined four per cent sequentially, reflecting holiday seasonality,” she said on the conference call.

Martin Pyykkonen, an analyst at Rosenblatt Securities, said the effect of foreign currency was worse for Alphabet than expected.

“If there had been a little better foreign currency translation, it would have been better than the Street consensus,” he said.

Alphabet’s total net income rose to $4.21 billion, or $6.02 per Class A and B share and Class C capital stock, from $3.52 billion, or $5.10 per share. — Reuters

B4

SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016

FEATURE GERMANY’S HOUSING MARKET BOOM

W

hile Berlin hasn’t quite turned into London-onSpree, Germany’s residential property market is having a moment. Germans’ fondness for renting homes instead of buying them, fairly flat house-price growth plus rather dismal demographic trends all made the country’s property market look distinctly pedestrian for many years. But with mortgage rates plunging, foreign buyers looking for a safe haven and — more recently — more than one million refugees arriving in the country, that received wisdom has been turned on its head. The European Central Bank’s move to negative interest rates may fuel that trend even further.

With mortgage rates plunging, foreign buyers looking for a safe haven and — more recently — more than one million refugees arriving in the country, that received wisdom has been turned on its head. The European Central Bank’s move to negative interest rates may fuel that trend even further

CAN IT LAST?

House prices have increased 5.6 per cent a year over the past five years, according to UBS, which is double the average annual rate of increase since 1970. Some catch-up is overdue as in real terms German house prices didn’t rise over the past 40 years, according to Green Street Advisors.

Prices are rising particularly fast in urban areas, where young people increasingly want to live. A gauge of advertised apartment prices in seven major cities including Frankfurt and Berlin rose 14.5 per cent in 2015, the most since 2000, according to Empirica, a research institute.

So far the biggest beneficiaries have been Germany’s listed residential landlords.

Cheap debt has enabled them to snap up housing portfolios and smaller rivals, thereby achieving cost savings through scale (such as by providing services to tenants).

Last year some 23.3 €billion ($26 billion) in residential property portfolios and large residential complexes changed hands in Germany, almost three quarters more than in 2014, according to CBRE, a commercial real estate services and investment firm.

Combined with rising property values and rents, this wave of dealmaking has caused the market value of listed residential landlords to balloon. Vonovia, which owns or manages about 370,000 residential units, has become so large it has been admitted to Germany’s Dax index.

Yet, on any measure, Germany needs to do more to meet the housing needs created by the bump to its population. The country built around 270,000 new apartments in 2015. But because apartment construction was inadequate in the past, that figure needs to rise to about 430,000 a year until 2020 to meet the shift in demand, according to an estimate by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW).

Because they own large portfolios of lowcost housing, residential landlords stand to benefit from the arrival of refugees, according to Thomas Martin, analyst at HSBC. LEG Immobilien has already let about 1,300 apartments to refugees, for example, and it said this month that immigration had become “an important additional demand driver”. Deutsche Wohnen and ADO Properties could benefit most as they hold large amounts of property in Berlin where lots of asylum seekers have settled, UBS analysts argue. Trying to estimate how many refugees will ultimately stay in Germany, where they will choose to live and how many will bring their families to join them is a difficult task.

RISING LAND COSTS

Doing that won’t be easy. Building homes in urban areas makes the most sense because that’s where refugees stand the best chance of getting a job and thereby integrating. But land costs have been rising fast in major

cities and building regulations (eg those on energy efficiency) make building cheap housing difficult.

The German government is poised to increase funding for public housing as part of its 2017 budget plan. There is also talk of relaxing building rules but some of the government’s other policies aren’t exactly helping. In response to an outcry about rising rents, the German government introduced a cap last year limiting increases to 10 per cent above comparable local rates.

Although new apartments are exempted, interventions in the housing market unnerve investors and hardly promote more construction.

Could limited supply cause the market

to overheat? As more Germans discover the pitfalls of stashing cash in low-yielding savings accounts (rather than in equities or property), the lack of new buildings may run up against a pickup in demand for homes in some cities.

There is already plenty of frothiness.

The average asking price for an apartment in Berlin rose almost twice as much rents, according to CBRE. Around one fifth of the price increase for city properties since 2009 may be attributed to the fall in interest rates, the Bundesbank believes.

But with no sign that interest rates will rise, low unemployment and a short-term population boost, Germany’s property boom may yet have further to run. – Bloomberg News

B

SECTION

LIFESTYLE

SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016

Family 'WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

WHAT TELEVISION GETS WR NG The ‘real’ reality of weight loss is complex and unique to each individual.

And the truth is that safe and sustainable weight loss takes time. But weight loss on ‘reality’ television would lead you to believe that losing 50 or more pounds in just a few weeks is possible.

ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS W

e can watch television programmes, such as The Bachelor or The Real Housewives, and recognise that what we are seeing is a contrived “reality.” But with programmes like The Biggest Loser, Fit to Fat to Fit and Extreme Weight Loss, the lines become blurred.

The contestants are losing weight, so it must be real, right?

Eliza Kingsford, a licensed psychotherapist and certified personal trainer, says this skewed perception of what constitutes “successful” weight loss isn’t just wrong; it’s dangerous - especially to people desperate to lose weight.

I call it The Biggest Loser Effect, this idea that unless you’re losing enormous amounts of weight each week, you are failing, she says. “These programmes do a disservice to the public - and espe-

cially teens - because they don’t show the full story, and they foster a dangerous expectation.” Kingsford, who has worked with former weight loss reality show participants, says that behind the scenes contestants claim they sweat in saunas, exercise 6-8 hours per day and eat severely restricted diets. So while the quick and dramatic weight loss makes for entertaining television, these tactics cannot be sustained for long periods of time.

At Wellspring Camps, a leading provider of health and wellness camps for children, teens, young adults and families, the popularity of extreme weight loss television has required the staff to re-educate its campers and their parents about what healthy and realistic weight loss really looks like. Kingsford,

who serves as executive director, recommends keeping these three things in mind before starting a weight loss journey as a family: Set expectations early.

Gradual and steady weight loss, about two pounds per week, leads to greater success, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. While it’s natural for people to want to lose weight quickly, Kingsford says when you rush it, your efforts will backfire.

CONSISTENCY The true measure of success is consistently engaging in healthy behaviours over time. This includes a diet of nutrient dense whole foods and incorporating exercise, she says. “At the very beginning, adjust your thinking that success means sticking to your daily

goals for activity and behaviour, not a weight goal. Over time, with consistent behaviour change those numbers will add up, and you’ll have made long-term, sustainable changes.”

Don’t compare one person to another.

The biological differences in our bodies - from gender, age, height, genetics and metabolism - all play a significant role in how much weight a person will lose and the rate at which they’ll lose it.

That’s why Kingsford says weight loss shouldn’t be a competition, especially if you have children of the opposite sex trying to lose weight at the same time.

While some people enjoy a little healthy competition, when it comes to weight loss, men and women, and boys and girls, are not on a level playing field, she says. “It’s better to motivate one another

through encouragement and support, not by comparing numbers on a scale.”

Recognise it’s a process. Kingsford says the key to losing weight is sustainability - finding activities you enjoy that also fit into your life and making healthier eating a part of your everyday routine. That’s not to say there won’t be a few bumps in the road. Habits are hard to break and, sometimes, you reach for a cookie when you know an apple is a better choice, but that’s OK. Own your decisions, accept them and let them go, Kingsford says. “Make a commitment to yourself that your next decision will be in line with your goals. When you beat yourself up, it’s easy to throw in the towel and undo all the hard work you’ve already put in, plus it doesn’t get you any closer to your goals.” — BPT

SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016

B6

PRAYER TIMINGS

FIND-IT-ALL CINEMA SCHEDULE

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AZAIBA The Huntsman: Winter’s War (3D) (Action |Adventure | Drama) (PG12) Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Jessica Chastain 12:45, 3:15, 11:45 PM The Jungle Book (3D) (Adventure|Family) (PG) Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley 12:30, 3:15, 5:15, 7:15, 11:30 PM Fan (2D) (Thriller) (PG12) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi 2:30, 5:30, 8.30, 11:15 PM Laal Rang (2D) (Thriller) (PG12) Cast: Randeep Hooda, Piaa Bajpai 3:30, 9:00, 11:30 PM Kali (Mal) (2D) (Romance | Thriller) (12+) Cast: Dulquer Salmaan and Sai Pallavi 1:00, 6:15, 9:15 PM Theri (Tamil) (2D) (Comedy | Action) (12+)

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TO MUSCAT (RUWI) Arrival Operating time days

Dept time

Destination

Arrival Operating time days

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (ROUTE 36)

TEMPERATURE

15:00 15:00 15:00

05:30 05:30 05:30

Maximum

16:30 18:00 19:30

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06:45 08:30 10:00

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

06:30 06:30 08:00 13:00 13:00 16.00 16.00

07:00 07:00 13:30 13:00 13:00 13:00 17:00

Sohar Buraimi Buraimi Sohar Buraimi Sohar Buraimi

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

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52) 17:30

Sinaw

Nizwa Yanqul

20:50

Daily

Nizwa Al Araqi

07:00

Ruwi

10:25

16:50 19:30

Daily Daily

06:00 06:00

Nizwa Ruwi

Daily Daily

Fahud Yibal

12:00 18:45

Daily Daily

08:40 11:00

Salalah Marmul Salalah Salalah

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

Daily Daily

15:40 15:40

Nizwa Ruwi

17:55 20:20

Daily Daily

Marmul

Dubai

16:50

Daily

Sohar Dubai Sohar Dubai Sohar Dubai

10:45 19:00

Daily Daily

12:30 12:30

Fahud Ruwi

13:15 17:30

Daily Daily

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

Ruwi Marmul Ruwi Ruwi

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

06:00

Marmul

16:30

Daily

Daily

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

Daily Daily Wed,Thur Wed,Thur Daily Daily

15:00

Salalah

07:00

Daily

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

Daily Daily Thur-Fri Thur-Fri Daily Daily

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

Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH/SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

07:00 07:00 07:00

16:00 16.00 16.00

Fujairah Sharjah Dubai

11.45 13.30 14.00

Film information 24791641 / 24786776 Website: www.isurf.co.om Sarrainodo (Telugu) (Action & Drama) Cast: Allu Arjun & Rakul Preet Singh 3-00 Pm Cinema Main; 6-45 & 9-45 pm Cinema-3 Kali (Mal) (Comedy & Drama) Cast: Dulquar Salmaan & Sai Pallavi 6-30 & 10-00 pm Cinema Main; 3-45 Cinema-3 Vetrivel (Tamil) (Action\Comedy) Cast: M. Sasi kumar& Miya George 3:45, 6:45 & 9:45 PM Cinema -4 Theri (Tamil) (Action) Cast: Vijay & Samantha 3-30,6-30 & 9-30 pm cinema-2 Next Change: Manithan (Tamil) Programmes are subject to change

0

RELATIVE HUMIDITY NIHAL S. KUMAR April 23, 2008

65-15%

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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

LISTINGS

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Sharjah Fujairah Ruwi

16:30 18.15 23.00

Emergencies and inquiries: 9999 General Directorate of Passport and Residence 24569603 Directorate General of Customs 24521109 Traffic violations inquiries 24510228 Public Relations Admin 24560099 EMBASSIES IN OMAN

Daily Daily Daily Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (ROUTE 102)

07:00

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

Ruwi Ruwi

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)

SALALAH TO DUBAI (ROUTE 102) 15:00

06:00 14:30

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

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101) 06:00

STAR CINEMA

Minimum

Daily Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (ROUTE 62)

10:30 11:15

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

Fan (Hindi) (Drama / Thriller) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Waluscha De Souza 2.00, 6.30, & 9.15 PM CP No: 1100 (PG12)

Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55)

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

Demolition (Comedy / Drama) Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, Chris Cooper 2.00 & 6.00 PM CP No: 1107 (12+)

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

10:20 12:30

TO SUR (ROUTE 55) Sur Sur

Cabin Fever (Horror) Cast: Gage Golightly, Matthew Daddario 4.30 & 11.55 PM CP No: 1106 (18+)

NAMAN KRISHNA RITHIN April 23, 2009

ROYAL OMAN POLICE 07:30 14:30

The Huntsman: Winter’s War (Action) Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Jessica Chastain 4.00, 8.00, 10.00, & 11.55 PM CP No: 1105 (PG12)

SALALAH The Jungle Book (3D) (PG) (Adventure ) Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley 12:30, 2:30, 4:30, 6:30PM The Huntsman: Winter’s War (3D) (PG12) Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron 2:00, 6:00, 11:30PM Fan (2D) (PG12) (Thriller) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi 8:15, 11:15PM Demolition (2D) (12+) (Comedy Drama) Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts 5:00PM Precious Cargo (2D) (12+) (Action) Cast: Bruce Willis, Claire Forlani, John Brotherton 12:15, 3:15, 10:00, 11:55PM The Ones Below (2D) (15+) (Thriller) Cast: Clémence Poésy, David Morrissey, Stephen Campbell Moore 1:30, 4:15PM Sarrainodu (2D) (12+) (Telugu) (Action / Masala) Cast: Allu Arjun / Rakul Preet Singh 7:00PM Kali (2D) (12+) (Mal) (Romantic | Thriller) Cast: Dulquer Salmaan and Sai Pallavi 8:30PM

36 26

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

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

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

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

0

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

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

Sohar Ruwi Ruwi Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi

Daily Daily Daily

BAHJA CINEMA

WEATHER

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

BURAIMI Fan PG12 (Hindi, Thriller) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi 3:00, 8:30 PM The Jungle Book (3D) PG Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley 3:30, 5:30, 7:30PM Cabin Fever (18+) (Horror) Cast: Gage Golightly, Matthew Daddario, Samuel Davis 11:45PM The Huntsman: Winter’s War PG12 (Action) Cast : Chris Hemsworth, Jessica Chastain 4:30, 9:30, 11:30PM Precious Cargo (12+) (Action) Cast : Bruce Willis, Claire Forlani 2:45, 6:30, 11:30 PM The Ones Below (15 +) (Thriller) Cast: Clémence Poésy, David Morrissey 5:45, 9:45PM Kali (12+) (Malayalam) Romantic | Thriller Cast: Dulquer Salmaan and Sai Pallavi 7:30PM

WITH LOVE

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

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI) Destination

12.10pm 3.37pm 6.36pm 7.50pm 4.20am

CHILDREN BELOW THE AGE OF 3 YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE CINEMA | BOX-OFFICE COUNTER OPENS 30-MINUTES PRIOR TO THE SCREENING OF THE FIRST SHOW

@ BURAIMI

Dept time

Dhuhr Asr Maghrib Isha Fajr (Tomorrow)

Daily Daily Daily

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

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

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

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

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

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

24782666 24702542 23291635; 24503585 24787766 24421691 24485740 24537080

23291635

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

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

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

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

SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016

B7

LIFESTYLE FACT FILE (Exploring History, Science, and Nature)

Skunks D

espite a reputation for stinking up the neighbourhood, skunks are actually helpful creatures that spray their offensive perfume only under extreme circumstances.

Most skunks are nocturnal and feed at night. What they eat depends on what is available. They are omnivorous but feed mostly on insects and small rodents. Skunks have adapted to living near people and will eat garbage and food left out for pets. Few animals eat skunks, but the great horned owl likes to make a meal of them.

What’s In a Name?

Scholars think the name skunk is

derived from the Abenaki (Algonquin dialect) word “segonku,” which means “one who squirts.” Skunks are sometimes called polecats.

Making a Stink Foul-smelling skunk oil is produced in two glands near the anus. The white or yellowish oil is a mix of sulphur chemicals.

The oil can also sting the skin and temporarily blind a creature.

Skunks can shoot a fine spray or a steady stream, and they can fire from one or both nipples.

They can hit their enemies from a distance of up to 15 feet (4.6m), and even farther if the wind is right.

A skunk makes enough oil to

spray five or six times, after which the glands need about 10 days to make more.

Skunks spray only as a last resort. They will warn enemies by stomping their feet, posturing with a raised tail and walking upright on front paws.

Once sprayed, the odour is very difficult to get rid of. Clothes should probably be thrown away, but you can try washing them with a bleach solution.

Skunks rarely spray each other and will not spray in their own dens.

are born blind and furless. Their skin shows pink-and-black striped markings. Kits nurse until they are about 2 months old, then they leave the nest and learn to forage for food. Skunks can live up to 10 years, but in the wild the average life span is two years.

Growing Up A skunk litter consists of two to 10 babies called kits. Newborn skunks

Scientific Classification There are 11 species of skunks.

Some scientists classify the skunk

Home Sweet Home When it is cold, skunks live in communal underground dens. They do not hibernate, but they are inactive and eat very little. When it is warmer, they live solitary lives in burrows or hollows.

as a subfamily of the Mustelidae family of weasels, but genetic evidence suggests they may not be as closely related as once thought.

Eastern Spotted Skunk (Spilogale Putorius) Smaller than a striped skunk, the spotted skunk is 16 to 23 inches long (40 to 58cm) and weighs up to 3 pounds (1.4kg). It is an excellent climber with sharp claws. It does a strange sort of handstand to warn enemies before it sprays.

Striped Skunk and Hooded Skunk About the same size as a striped skunk, the hooded skunk has longer,

softer fur than its cousin.

Eastern Hog-Nosed Skunk (Conepatus Leuconotus) Hog-nosed skunks are named for their snouts. They are slow-moving and den in rocky crevices. They are the largest kind of skunk.

Sunda (Indonesian) Stink Badger (Mydaus Javanensis) The scientific community has debated whether stink badgers should be classified with the skunk or the badger family. Recent genetic information suggests they should be in the skunk family.

—lifestyle@timesofoman.com

Questions & Answers

One thing that puts me off...

When I get a shouting

When I’m in doubt...

I ask myself again

If I win a lottery...

I will buy a Ferrari The scariest thing that I have done...

Spoken to my friends about ghosts

One skill I would like to learn...

Kung-fu

I go crazy...

When I lose my cricket match

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

Spider-Man

CDUR

Crossword Puzzle ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE

It’s better not to argue with...

Mother

If I met an alien I would...

Dance with him

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

Chocolate

If I could go back in history, I would like to meet Michael Jackson

RISHAB GUPTA One person I would trade places with (real or fictional) Salman Khan

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

2. When I’m in doubt…

3. I go crazy when…

4. One thing that puts me off…

5. If I meet an alien…

6. If I win a lottery…

The best way to my heart is...

Dance

7. One person I would trade places with…

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

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

10. One skill I would learn…

If I had treasures I would hide them...

On an island

11. The best way to my heart is…

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

13. The scariest thing that I have done…

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

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

DOWN

1

Drink with hearty enjoyment 2 Not just 3 Executor’s concern 4 MIT grad, maybe 5 Short rests 6 Dull clang 7 Silver, in the lab 8 Prone opposite 9 Gofer’s task 10 Shorthand user 12 Sing with a

swing 13 It’s wild and blue 16 Mon. follower 22 Astronomer Carl — 24 Some geometric calculations 26 “Bien” opposite 28 Skipper’s OK 30 Orchard unit 32 Boarding-house client 33 Alpaca cousin

34 36 37 38 40 42 44 45 51 53

007’s alma mater Cheered Heifer’s sound Moved slowly St. Louis tourist attraction Sioux dwelling Now hear —!

— -do-well About 0.4 in.

Chinese poet — Po

ACROSS 1 Powerful chess piece 6 Military installations 11 Break open 13 Custard like dairy product 14 Rudder’s place 15 Mountain climber’s aid 17 Opposite of post18 Air-safety org.

19 Threw 20 John, in Glasgow 21 By — and starts 23 Mr. Danson of “Cheers” 24 Livy’s year 25 Paper quantity 27 Scorched 29 Talk and talk and talk 31 Grain crop 32 Insulation meas. (hyph.)

35 British peer 38 Small change 39 Depot (abbr.)

41 Chimney deposit 43 “Arabian Nights” bird 44 Sharp spine 46 Have debt 47 Australian bird 48 Therefore 49 Pointer 50 Eye cosmetic 52 Curtis of hair care 54 Monorails 55 Fingerprint part

B8

SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016

LIFESTYLE

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

Art for the Ages

Children’s Poetry

Pollution – A slow poison

Alex Roy Grade 10, Indian School Wadi Kabir It’s the ever-increasing problem we are facing, In a pollution midst world we are living.

I sense our end is just next door, To reduce it, we need to do a lot more.

Dakshin C.K. Bharathi, Grade 10, ISM

Praise Chopde, Grade 4, ISG

Nimshika Shinoj, Grade 3, ISAS

From the daily industrial effluent emissions, To dangerous nuclear explosions, We breathe air, full of toxic components, The whole world, with unheard diseases, laments.

Plastic bags we use in plenty, day to day, And papers we burn, until the air turns grey.

The result - levels of carbon dioxide rising, The obvious effect being global warming.

We don’t bother about the garbage we dump in rivers, Not realising, that we utilise the same waters.

Reflecting how non-eco-friendly, we are to nature; This slow poison has left no place on earth, yet to capture.

Dhruv V. Maheta, Grade 4, ISM

Srinidhi Rajesh, Grade 5, ISM

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

SOLUTION Answer to previous puzzle

So, just as nature helps us in every possible way, It’s our turn, to help and be on its side each day.

So, why not go green and find a better solution?

To put an end to this perilous pollution!

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

The leftover word spells the Teleword.

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

S S F A C T O R L A T I G I D

CLUE: BLU-RAY

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

O E F E D D A E R H T H O T S

C C D A R R R V T A D M O U E

I I O I C C Q G D E P R L R N

S L T H A U N H F A A T U E T

U M W V I E A L A L E R A N I I T E G M I A T M A T Y A S U

E D I N D I B U A E O U A L B

P T R W T L L T F T N V D P O

Y U A I E B E D I S C A I I R

B R O E V P R O D U C T B E O

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

SOLUTION: 8 LETTERS

Advance, Archive, Audio, Blue, Burn, Compatible, Create, Data, Date, Digital, Disc, Drive, Electronic, Enable, Factor, Feature, Games, Group, Hardware, High Definition, Increase, Internet, Laser, Length, License, Life Span, Load, Media, Motion, Movies, Music, News, Optical, Player, Product, Quality, Read, Robustness, Storage, Ultimate.

Answer: Software

W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M S AT U R DAY, A P R I L 2 3, 2 0 1 6

SECTION

CONNEC T H E D A I LY G U I D E

VACANCY

C2

CARGO

C7

AT STALL

N.O: 1629 Printers, Laptops & PC’s, CD’s, DVD’s & Flash Drives & Cartridges

All HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, Samsung Cartridges also available.

Ruwi: 24 792 792 Sohar: 2684 2420

GOOD PRICE!!!

COMEX 2016 VISIT US

GOOD PRICE!!!

C4

GOOD PRICE!!!

Available on very GOOD prices

GOOD PRICE!!!

GOOD PRICE!!!

GOOD PRICE!!!

RENT

GOOD PRICE!!!

C

GOOD PRICE!!!

*Classified Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

C2

S AT U R D AY, A P R I L 2 3 , 2 0 1 6 Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

DAILY GUIDE FOR RENT

1. Qurum 2. Al Kuwair 3. Wadi Kabir 4. Al Kodh Villa 5. Qurum(Comm) 6. Azaiba (Comm)

Top Finish New- Res-5 apartments- 2 bhk/maid room 550/450, 3 bhk- 550, 1 BHK-350 New 3 bhk, posh. Kit.fur,s.pool-700, 3 bhk +maid,ind.villa-650/1/2 bhk-250/300/350 5 Bhk- Compounded 550/Sama Center-Brand New 114/122/129 sq.mt 'h dĞĐŚ ďůĚŶŐͲ ͘ ͬ͘ŇŽŽƌŝŶŐͬĐĞŝůŝŶŐ

Tel: 24571962/63 Mob: 94289050/ 95495281 Email: samain009@yahoo.com

FOR RENT

DĂĚŝŶĂƚ ^ƵůƚĂŶ YĂƐ ͗^ŚŽǁƌŽŽŵͬKĸĐĞ Ăƚ 'ƌŽƵŶĚ &ůŽŽƌ͕ ϯϰϬ ^Ƌ Mtr. Facing main Road HAR Complex MSQ : 2,3-BHK Flats and 2 & 3 BHK villas with

ͬ ͕ĐĂƌ ƉĂƌŬŝŶŐ͕ ^ǁŝŵŵŝŶŐ WŽŽů ;'ĂƚĞĚ ŽŵƉůĞdžͿ Qurum : 6 BHK villa with garden, split Acs, shaded car parks, servant rooms DĂďĞůůĂ ͗ Ϯ ,< &ůĂƚƐ ǁŝƚŚ ;ďƌĂŶĚ ŶĞǁ ďƵŝůĚŝŶŐͿ Darsait : 1 & 2-BHK Flats with AC & Shop Ruwi : 2-BHK & 3-BHK Flats and shops Al Amerat : 2 & 3-BHK Flat , 3 & 4-BHK Villa with A/C

For viewing please call 99466729, 99316410, 92841690, 91313271, 24694088 or email us on :hartc@omantel.net.om

*Tourist visa arranged

FOR RENT

Quality Warehouses for rent at Mizfa 550 sqm to 3400 sqm.

IN RUWI 1 BHK – SPILT A/C, BUILT IN WARDROBE &CENTRALIZED GAS. SPACIOUS 2 BHK.

Contact : 990 49 722

Contact 99332291 / 96046951

3 Rooms, 2 Toilets Flat for Rent.

18 November Street. Near Mars Hypermarket and The Chedi.

Ghobrah -Good for Commercial or Residential use. OMR 295/- month.

Call 94477222

Two modern fully furnished & equipped offices available for rent at Jasmine Complex Al Khuwair: 1) 152 M2 with reception, 1 GM Office, 2 meeting rooms, 26 working stations, pantry, network connection.

2) 132 M2 with reception, 7 offices, 6 working stations, 1 conference room, network connection.

Villa for rent 8 big room, 7 toilets, big hall, Kitchen & store Al Khoud.

Contact: 91153933

Contact - 99469698

Villa for rent, 4 rooms, big hall, 6 toilets, big living room, kitchen & store Bousher 750/-OMR. Contact: 91153933 Room for rent big room, toilet, washing place including water & electricity Bowsher OMR 200/-.

Contact: 91153933 Villa for rent, big hall, 4 room, 5 toilets, kitchen, store living room in Ghubra OMR 650/-.

Contact: 91153933 Villa for rent room, toilet, hall, kitchen, store with furniture water & electricity included Bowsher OMR 300/-. Contact: 91153933 Warehouse for rent at Ghala Ind. Area. 800 & 2500 approx sqms Near Hotel Al-Madinah Holiday, Ghala. Container can enter. Immediate access to roads & highways.

Contact : 94583320

Flat in Wadi Al Kabir 2 bedrooms, 1 living room, 1 family hall, kitchen & 3 bathrooms. Contact: 99277787

Room for rent in Al Khuwair near Ibis hotel, very big. R.O 180/-.

Contact: 95724975

200 & 300 sqr mtrs office space in MBD (Ruwi). Contact 99792181

2BHK at Mawaleh near Sadiq Al Amin Mosque.

Contact: 99224748 / 99332297

Villa for rent in Al Mawaleh behind Al Tawfeer Super market nr Al Mawaleh facilities - 7 spacious bedrooms, 7 toilets, 1 big hall, 1 family hall, 1 kitchen & parking, rent 800/-negotiable.

Contact: 92885889 / 95031133 Office for rent. Contact: 99355330

2 BHK Office space in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181 Flat for rent in South Mabela.

Contact: 95331177 / 95230355 2BHK spacious flat with 3 toilets in Ruwi, Mumtaz area.

Contact: 95110215 / 92862290 7 rooms villa attach bath at Azaiba 18th November Road.

Contact: 99224748 / 99332297

1, 2. 3.BHK flat in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181

Flat for rent 2 BHK 2 split A/C, 2 toilets, Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti Masjid. Contact – 97007934 / 92609232

4 BHK villa in Azaiba.

Contact 99792181

Office space small in Azaiba.

Contact: 99428143

7 B/R en-suite villa for rent/lease with ac, 1100 OMR per month, location: al khuwair opp. safeer plaza hotel. Contact : 93389107 Brand new double bed room flats with two and three toilets, split ac, elevators available at Al Khoudh next to Al koudh health center.

Contact 99022675 Available for Rent one Room with Bathroom and Kitchen in Al Khuwair (near Sagar Polyclinic), suitable for Executive Bachelors or Couples. Contact 99225008 Flat for rent in Ruwi, Mumtaz area 2 bedrooms. Contact: 24291500 / 91409667

1000 sqmtrs industrial land for rent in Ghala suitable for warehouse workshop etc.

Contact 24700120 / 92584715 Flat for rent in Wadi Kabeer near India Primary School 2B & 1K. Contact: 92222922 1000 sqm Industrial space with office and accommodation, near Grand Mosque, Ghala.

Contact: 99364938

Luxury fully furnished 2 bedroom flat at Al Khuwair for short or long term lease contract. Contact Atlas Real Estate & Rent a Car LLC. Contact Atlas Real Estate & Rent a Car LLC. Contact 94617563 / 92888376, tel : 24833848 / 24834888 1BHK Ruwi & Qurum.

Contact : 99024730 2 Bedroom flat near Kuwait Masjid, Wadi Kabir. Contact: 98498823 / 97608564 1 BHK in Azaiba. Contact: 99385835 / 99428143 Flats in Qurum. Contact 94051789 / 97201688 Villa for rent Al Zahiya Muttrah, 5 rooms, 3 bathrooms, kitchen & big compound. Contact: 91163611 New flat at Al Wadi Al Kabir.

Contact: 96130797 / 92130703 Flats in Wadi Kabir. Contact 94051789 / 97201688 2 B, 1Bathroom & 1K in Al Azaiba (Behind Zubair Showroom).

RO340/- Call: 98989054 Ware houses in Hay Aseem Barka, 11000 m2 near round about new Beach road at Al Khoud location open store with office.

Contact 92959129 Flats in Darsait. Contact 94051789 / 97201688 Fully Furnished apartments in Boucher (35) Contact 94051789 / 97201688 Flats in Muttrah. Contact 94051789 / 97201688

2 bed rooms flat with hall, 2 bathrooms in Darsait near Muscat Municipality.

Contact: 92584715/ 24700120

Offices in Ghala. Contact 94051789 / 97201688

1BHK at Hamriya near Muscat Pharmacy & 2 BHK at Mawaleh near Mosque Sadiq Al Amin.

Contact: 99224748 / 99332297

Shops / flats available in Honda Road, Ruwi & Mabellah Industrial area. Contact 24833972/ 24833974/ 99367448

Flat for Rent 2 bed room Near ISM muscat Indian Scoole Dar sate Tel : 00 968 95158570 Brand new villas in Al Ansab.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688 Offices & Showrooms in Mutrah.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688 Duplex villa in QURUM 29.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688 Offices & Showrooms in Al Khoud.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688 Flat in Al Khuwair opp grand mall 4 room 3 toilet + hall kitchen in 3 floor 400. Contact 99420346 2BHK available Mumtaz area Ruwi. Contact: 99269751 Flats, shops and store for rent in Ruwi, MBD & Mumtaz. Contact: 97293708 / 92433127 New building Wattayah main road, showroom & office space.

Contact 94300909 2BHK flat shops / ware house space available for rent behind new ROP building at Honda road.

Contact 91165807 2 BHK / 1BHK near Machi Market Ruwi. R.O 200/- & 225/-.

Contact: 99354771 Furnished office (61M2) for sale / rent Al Khuwair near Zawawi Mosque. Contact: 95611569 2BHK Wadi Kabir R.O 300/-.

Contact: 92144045 Flat for rent in South AlGhubrah 3 rooms, hall and 3 toilets, kitchen rent 450/-. Contact: 99335580 2BHK split A/C 200/- Monthly & 1BHK spilt A/C 150/- monthly new building good location Barka Market. contact 99342661 2BHK Big Size Flat Behind Bank Muscat, Wadi Kabir. Near ISWK. 97826454, 24815012.

S AT U R DAY, A P R I L 2 3, 2 0 1 6

C3

DAILY GUIDE

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. ww.tunesoman.com, E-mail: info@tunesoman.com

FOR SALE

FOR RENT

ACC. AVAILABLE

New Rent house in Mabela.

Contact: 99880841/96053220

Shop for sale near Oman House, Muttrah. Contact 99024362.

ROOM for RENT for Filipino, spacious, new building in Al Khuwair near City Seasons. Water, Wifi, Electric Included. Call 97728418.

1 BHK near Medical Darsait R.O 170/-. Contact: 95076261

400 sq mtrs Commercial/Residential land in Mabela Phase 5 Block 2. OMR 165 Thousand.

Contact 99333479 or 95215360 or 97509955

Room for rent with furniture.

Al Bustan village.

Contact 93687466

2,200 sq mtr factory area & 800 sq mtr store with 8 accommodation rooms and 10 office cabins available for rent in Barka industrial area. Contact 91398381 / 80 / 78, email - agsan2005@gmail.com

FOR SALE ACC. AVAILABLE 1100.00 m2 com. & Res. plot at heart of Ruwi. Contact: 93666944

02 BHK residential flat opposite to Al Nahdha hospital.

Contact: 99342733 /99795241

Excavator Volvo 240 & Hydraulic Hammers. Contact: 99209427

Two bedrooms flat in Al Ghobrah near Oman Oil of 18 November Street. OMR 330 Monthly.

Contact 99333479 or 95215360 or 97509955.

Fork lift Caterpillar (tool carrier cat it 28 f) oxy / PDO certified with excellent condition for sale.

Contact details: gsm: 99332937, land ph: 24446535

Room for rent at Al Khuwair for bachelor 115 RO with A/C bed, Elect + water. Contact: 95190627 Studio type furnished room with small kitchen, bathroom and big balcony behind KIMS hospital Cont 95405033 Rooms available with Kitchen facility at Ruwi. Contact: 91214897

1 Bed room, sharing K& T, R.O 100, 2 bedrooms , sharing K& T R.O 200/in AL Khuwair. Contact 95154331

Shop for sale in Mabela Sanayya-3 suitable for any business.

Contact : 96653000

Sharing accommodation near ISD. Contact: 99657340

Flat for rent 2 BHK 2 split A/C, 2 toilets, Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti Masjid. Contact 97007934 / 92629232

2012 S350L AMG Mercedes special order 62500 KM asking 21800 Tel: 99423189

Sharing bachelors accommodation available in Rex Road, Ruwi.

Contact 94442157

Pharmacy in prime location in Muttrah Souq. Contact: 95803883

Sharing accommodation one attached hall, small kitchen, A/C, Internet R.O 140/- E& W at Al Khuwair. Contact: 99382008

Warehouse at Wadikabir - total area 3500 sqm - covered warehouse (500sqm), office, accommodation (1000sqm), open area (2000sqm) please contact: 99273774 - 99202278 3BHK in Qurum P.D.O high 350/Monthly. Contact: 99342661 Four bedroom two floors luxurious and spacious residential villa in Al Hail North, near to the sea and Oman oil. Each room has its own bathroom. It has splits A/C’s and shaded car park. OMR 750 monthly. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 or 97509955

Dental Clinic for sale in Seeb.

Contact: 96373097 / 92882209 Coffee shop for sale in Al Khuwair 33. Contact: 92994415 Villas in Al Khoud.#95056808 / 97201688 Luxury Apartments in Boucher (35). Contact 95056808 / 97201688 Furniture and other treatment items for Ayurvedic clinic.

Contact 97986525

For rent and investment Land industrial shops in Rusayl.

Contact: 99323957 / 95490842

Steel Scrap materials for immediate sale. Contact 99273774/ 99202278

New flats for rent at Darsait near to Ministry of Sports, Mumtaz area the flats includes, 1 living room, 2 bedroom, kitchen, 3 toilets, every rooms with split A/C high quality finishing rent per flat is R.O 340/- .

Interested candidates please Contact 00968 92225523

Almost new beach/ garden lounge chairs /bar stools/ counter. Photos can be sent 95865457

FOR SALE 20 x40 containers. Contact: 99354909 Dental chair, mobile dental X ray, instruments, 5 year old, sale for 1000 Rials only in Al Buraimi.

Contact: 92737149 Single colorful Bed and Sofa f or Sale at Al Khuwair.

Contact 92881849 /What`s up No 97290565

A well running pharmacy for sale at prime location. contact 99627621, 93240949 Space for printing press available at wadikabir with or without machinery. Contact 99328430 Urgent sale of steel scrap only serious buyers kindly contact +968 96725423 for viewing the items.

HD Scaffoldings, Shuttering Jacks, Wooden Planks, Shuttering wood assorted, Tower hoist (lift), Concrete Mixer, Bending Machine, Steel Fabrication Machinery (Searing/Cutting, lathe & Welding) including tools for immediate sale: Contact 99273774/ 99202278

Single room available near Darsait Lulu. Contact: 92120626 Furnished flat near ABA American School near Madinat Qaboos Rent R.O 650/- P.M. Contact : 99335100 Furnished single room available for Executive bachelor or small family in Walja near Honda Road Ruwi. Contact 99016546 Big room available with AC, toilet, Kitchen at Al Hail Highway roadside preferred south Indians.

Contact: 92968292 Furnish bedroom with attach bathroom for executive bachelor.

Contact: 97704794 Separate entrance furnished bedroom with attached bath and kitchen for Executive bachelor in a villa opp.

Star Cinema. Contact: 99314807 Sharing Accommodation available for working ladies opposite Al Nadhah Hospital. Preferably Indians. Room with seperate toilet and sharing kitchen.RO.90.

Contact 96524717 Furnished apartment for rent, two rooms, majlis, hall, kitchen.

Near Carrefour al-mawalah. #99336776 Small old house for rent in Al Ghoubra. Contact : 97165972 Single room B/K sharing Mumtaz area. Contact: 95212017

Room available for Executive bachelor at Al Hail.

Contact 96234708 Furnished room attached bath for Indian bachelor, Al-Falaj Ruwi & lady Wadi Kabir near Mars hypermarket. CONTACT 96202458/96761960 Room with attached bathroom for a family in Wadi Kabir.

Contact 97167857 Room with attached bathroom and sharing kitchen available for Executive bachelor or small family at wadikabir Contact 93049849 Room available in Mumtaz area 1 room, 1 Bathroom, Kitchen & 1 room, common bathroom. Interested pleasecontact 92680041 Mr. Altaf

ACC WANTED Wanted one room.

Contact 98026234 Looking for a villa in Amerat area.

Contact : 95405033

WANTED IELTS Coaching (academic) required nearby wadi Kabir area. Please call on mobile or msg on Whats up. Mobile no: 92927880/99012165

BUYING Buying cars for cash.

Contact 90202090 Bobcat available for rent.

Contact 97623299

FOR HIRE

MV SALE Skip loader Hino 1999 model.

Contact: 99441640 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 2012, expat owned, company maintained, 125000 KMS, warranty up to 2018, expected price E 8500.

Contact: 99330509 Honda CRV, 2015, white, expat lady driven, 9000 kms, No.2 expected price 10500.

Contact: 99330509

MATRIMONIAL Tamil Hindu Brahmin Iyer/boy, parents invite proposal for their only son 25 yrs / 6.1 ht / B.Tech (NIT), MBA (IIM), EX- ISM student, employed MNC Bangalore star Uttira Thdhi seeks suitable alliance fom Iyer/Iyebger families.

Parents in Oman Contact: 98288925 / 92264915

Nissan Pathfinder 2012 model.

Contact: 99467005 / 92552328

Nair boy working in Muscat, age 32 & H 165 cm, seeking alliance from Nair/Nambiar girls, especially from kannur & kasaragod, Manger visa with family status. Contact: 99855397

Forklift caterpillar 5 ton, 2006 model. Contact: 99467005 / 92552328

30 yrs, Kottayam working in Saud Bahwan Automotive L.L.C Oman.

Contact: 93049433 / 99613914

Hyundai Veracruz 2011 model for sale, 4 WD color black 7 seater with engine capacity 3775CC, automatic – Steptronic with GPS. Contact 97203784

Malankara Catholic Male Nurse (28) from Thiruvalla working in Nizwa Private Co. Alliance invites parents/nurses working in Oman.

Contact 968 98267338, 0091 9287215726

Nissan sunny, year 2000, km 190k, expat lady driven in good condition, RO 700 negotiable.

Suzuki alto, year 2008, km 127k, expat driven in good condition RO 600 negotiable. Call or whatsapp immediately 968-98898273

Indian male Roman Catholic 40yrs divorcee working in Muscat.

Seeks suitable alliance from widow/ divorcee/ single.

Contact 96059801.

NRI

Nair boy Alleppy dist, 25 Revathy 175 Cm, B.E Mech 3 yrs in Oman as planning Engineer seeks alliance.

Contact: 94232342

INDIAN RAILWAYS

DRIVING

Ticket Reservation Hotel & Bus Tickets

Star Travel 92820665 / 24711734 1 B/R - 890 S.FT fully furnished flat at Best Western Quepem.

Contact: 97094797

Crane trailer, hiab. Contact: 99354909

MANPOWER

FOR LADIES

FH Volvo 40 feet flat trailor available for rent. Contact: 95120774 For rent Backhoe Loader Volvo BL71 long term. Contact: 99257975 Quality concept trading LLC Crane rental daily monthly cranes available for rent at attractive prizes Contact: 92870992

Offer!! Treading Gold Facial & Pedicure just for 10 RO, Al Doom Parlour Ruwi: # 99619409

*Classified Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

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S AT U R D AY, A P R I L 2 3, 2 0 1 6 Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classiďŹ eds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION SITUATION WANTED VACANT ARCOP & Partners (Middle East)

Engineering Consultants LLC looking to hire minimum 3 years experienced Omani Civil Engineer, for upcoming building projects in Ibri & Buraimi. The candidate must be capable of independently handling the works, as a consultant. Resident engineer stationed at site.

Interested candidates to forward their CVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s with all the details to careers@arcop.co.om or fax to 24493446.

SITUATION WANTED

CANADIAN CO.- FREE CONSULTANCY FOR LEGAL JOB - For Hotel Staff, Construction Staff, Medical, Gas & Oil Staff.

- Free recruitment - free tickets, accommodation, work visa, contract for 2 (two) years.

Contact : 93392630 Send CV on muslimatservices@gmail.com

Looking for Accountant for Cosmetics Industry having experience in retail and inventory.

Contact â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 24704636 Email : saadest@omantel.net.om

ARCHITECT Required Architect Minimum 3 years experience for a reputed Engineering Consultancy in Muscat. Preference for Arabic speakers.

Contact: 92838840 OR email- abdul2390@gmail.com

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE Required Accountant with minimum 4 years experience.

Email: telljobs@gmail.com

Required Temporary

Instructor for summer camp Ä&#x201E;Ĺ&#x2022; Ä&#x201E;Ĺ&#x2022; Ä&#x201E;Ĺ&#x2022; Ä&#x201E;Ĺ&#x2022; Ĺ&#x2022;Ä&#x2026;Ĺ&#x2022; Ä&#x201E;Ĺ&#x2022; Ĺ&#x2022;

Ä&#x201E;Ĺ&#x2022;

For further details kindly contact Mr.babu 99380374 or fax 24593277

MEDICAL

LOOKING FOR SALESMEN - Required urgently young & dynamic - Junior Sales Persons with a valid - Oman Driving license for a reputed printing and graphics company.

Contact: 96260078 / 96532284 Email: info.alsaj@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING

ADMIN We are looking for Public Relations Officer. Contact: 99855604

CATERING Cook exp Australia Japanese, Indian, Arabic all kinds of foods Mediterranean foods & also seek job with visa. Contact: 96136615 / 91139936 Wanted Male/female Indian cook with experience in Omani & Indian food for Omani Family. Visa available. Contact : Antony 99889459

DRIVER Urgently requires Hiab Driver & JCB Operator with valid Omani / GCC driving license, Mason having 5 years experience.

Contact: 24594868/ Fax: 24593880 Mobile 93210740 Email: info@sajgloballlc.com Urgently required a Driver.

Contact: 99291154

Urgently required Gynecologist& and General Practitioner with MOH license for polyclinic in Saham.

Contact: 91311990 Urgently required Nurses for Al Hayat International Hospital : Omani Female Nursing Assistants, Female Nurses (Filipino preferred) with or without MOH license. Contact: 00968 94267068 / 97049520, Email: pradeep.ratnagiri@ alhayathospital.com Urgently placement for female Staff Nurse & Pharmacist clinic at Samail. Send CV : Email: saemomar@gmail.com, Contact 95498105 Required gynecologist GEN: practitioner lady lab Technician and pharmacologist immediately for a clinic in Suwaiq.

Contact 95081010 Email: umchealthcare@gmail.com

Looking for a female fashion designer to work at Al Bawwab Textiles in Shatti Al Qurum.

Contact : 94029940

DOMESTIC HELP Wanted female Muslim cook for family at Qurum, visa available.

93387962

EDUCATION A well known private school is in need of Laboratory Assistant, English, Maths, Science & Kindergarten teachers.

Contact: 96910649 Email: staffing.oman@gmail.com Parameters required in the following disciplines mathematics science neighborhoods physics.

Send CV at the following Email: aleithar@hotmail.com

ENGINEER/MECHANIC. Maintenance Foreman with D/L electrician cum plumber, CCTV technician building material salesman. Contact: 99383044 Engine cylinder head technician required immediately for guide changing, seat changing, seat cutting & valve lapping. call or whatsapp immediately 968-98898273 Required Hydraulic Mechanic.

Contact 95251213

Required marketing / PR manager for a modern restaurant group in Oman , proďŹ cient in illustrator & Photoshop charismatic , proactive , creative & ďŹ&#x201A;exible excellent writing / Editing skills degree in relevant area ďŹ&#x201A;uent in English. Send CV to marketingpr2016@gmail.com Urgently required Sales Executives, Operations Executive import & export, for a reputed freight forwarding company in Muscat candidates with Oman D/L and minimum 2 yrs experience in similar ďŹ eld preferred. Interested candidates may send C.V to recruitment.oman@yahoo.com

SITUATION WANTSIT.WANTED ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

Wanted Staff Nurse for a dermatology clinic in Muscat .

Must have MOH license and NOC. Attractive salary offered. Email: clinicvacancy2015@gmail.com

Wanted driver. Contact: 91025698

DESIGNER

Need salesman with driving license, having two years experience. Contact: 92891888

GP doctor needed for reputed clinic. Preferably with MOH license or with DataďŹ&#x201A;ow & Paramatics pass Contact: 95388934

MISCELLANEOUS Urgent required Outdoor sales 3-5 years of experience in spare part, Store Keeper 2 years experience, Accountant 2-3 years experience.

Tel: 24504726 Fax: 24504723 Email: Muscat.supply@gmail.com Required candidates for following posts: Accountant, Storekeeper, Foreman Building Maintenance, Van-salesman (water), Helpers.

Candidates with Omani driving license preferred. Contact 99273774/99202278

SALES / MARKETING Salesman required for electrical equipments with driving license & 5/7 years working experience.

Fax your C.V 24833043 (Jinan Enterprises) Urgently Required: Construction Company Purchaser- with experience in Oman and with NOC for immediately join. Interested candidates may call us to our office telephone: 0096824696584/24696585 or fax: 00968-24605955 or email us to sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com, sbeoman@yahoo.com Looking for Salesman with experience in vegetable and fruits sales, good conduct, ďŹ&#x201A;uent in English.

Should have driving license. Email CV on: info@eigllcoman.com Contact - 96339339 Salesman for a printing press.

Contact: 99498949

Indian male 25 yrs, Graduate in commerce, overall 5 yrs exp in accounts/ ďŹ nance ďŹ eld. On visit visa. Immediately available. Contact 92836216 / muhammad.tausif623@gmail.com 28/male/MBA - ďŹ nance/B.Com Accountant with 4 years of Dubai/ India experience looking for a suitable placement.#90187483 shobinkarikkan1987@gmail.com Part-time Accounting up to ďŹ nalization, Auditing, Taxation and Project Finance assistance - 91044655 QualiďŹ ed and experienced MBA post graduate with proven work exposure in Middle East & India, having more than 5.5 years of rich experience in accounts , project coordination and administration in (3.5 years UAE experience) oil and gas projects is currently looking for suitable job. #93953613 , Email allen.mathew83@gmail.com Senior Accountant-M. Com, Finance-Indian with 7 years experience in Finance & Accounts upto ďŹ nalization. Having D/L & NOC. Mob: 94122464, cammk13@gmail.com Indian male 24 yrs B.Com, TallyERP 9 with one year exp seeking for suitable placement. #93502127 Indian male 25yrs, 3+ years experience in tax & ďŹ nancial consultancy, Masters in International business, B.Sc (Hons.) in accountancy & ďŹ nance, looking for suitable placement in ďŹ nance / consultancy, posses driving license can join immediately. Contact: 95980549 Accountant Indian male with 7 years up to ďŹ nalization Tally & accounts receivable SAP R/3, good knowledge of payroll having Oman D/L, NOC. # 00968-93733996 Email: thmsb182@gmail.com Jordanian Senior Accountant 15 yrs experience in Oman ďŹ nance & accounts. Contact : 92881223

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE Accountant 8 Years experience with D/L and NOC. Contact 97712084 Chief Accountant well experienced with reputed group available for immediate joining. Contact : 98803439 / 97413784.

Accountant 8Years Experience with D/L and NOC. # 97712084 Indian female MBA in ďŹ nance currently on visit visa seeking suitable placement in Accounts.

Contact: 92896110 Email: anoopodiyan@gmail.com Indian male, 24 yrs, Graduated with specialization in Accounting 2 years experienced C.A.CPT completed. #94628086 / 97315091 Indian male well experienced in Accounts ERP, TALLY 9 & Admin NOC available looking for a suitable job. Contact: 92650835 A young CA (ACA & ACCA qualiďŹ ed) with 4 years experience in one of top audit ďŹ rms in UK & KSA seeks suitable placement in Oman.

Contact: Kamran: hkamran112@ gmail.com. +44 7480 1196 74. +968 93595050.

MBA ďŹ nance from Pakistan with 4 years experience in Accounts & ďŹ nance department currently in Muscat on family visit visa, 27 yrs.

Contact: 90590037 Email: numanaslamcfo@gmail.com, nouman_aslam2006@yahoo.com 10 yrs of Oman experience capable of handling large accounts, looking for suitable placement in senior sales / business development position. Contact : 98987654

ADMIN Indian male, 26 yrs experience (1.5 yr in Oman) in HR/Admin/ Office / Sales seeking suitable placement, local release available.

Contact 93112346 or sibyambadan70@gmail.com Indian, 20 years experience in Oman as personal assistant / office manager / administrator seeks change of job with release Contact: 99168054, mbkishore@hotmail.com

Audit and accounts 5 years experienced male/25 with SAP, Tally and peachtree knowledge available for suitable placement.

97190575.

Indian male â&#x20AC;&#x201C; MBA (HR) & Engineering graduation with total 10 years of experience in HR & Admin ( 3 yrs of Oman Exp.) along with hands on experience in technical bid submission for all Government & PDO tenders ready to join immediately with NOC. Contact: 91240251/ Email; kvaradhan@hotmail.com

Male, 33 yrs, 14 yrs experience in Marketing, ďŹ nance & accounts ďŹ nancial services, transaction processing, investment banking seeking suitable openings. # 94697386

Indian male, 28 MSW, 5 yrs exp Office Operations, Administration, Public relation & counseling on visit visa. Contact: 90652428 / smbinil@gmail.com

Sudanese female Accountant excellent knowledge, MS Office, can work under pressure. #97200130

Indian male 25 yrs, MBA HR,BBA. One Year Administrative/Accounts experience, looking for suitable placement, on visit visa Contact: 90653362

Young ACCA ďŹ nalist with Hons. degree in applied Accounting from Oxford Brooks with three years experience with valid Oman driving license looking for immediate placemen. Release NOC Available.

Contact: 92851056 M.Com Accountant three years experience three star hotel Tamil Nadu India, immediately available.

Contact: 92831400/96051737 Accountant available with NOC, 7 years experience in Oman.

Ready to join immediately.

Contact 98263394 Indian male , 29 B.com ICWA (pursuing) 7 years experience in accountant / audit with valid Omani D/L seeking for suitable placement, NOC available. #94706954 Email: ajurn33@gmail.com Indian CA, Male, 34 yrs, having14+ Yrs exp. in A/Cs, ďŹ nance, auditing, consultancy and knows SAPB1,Tally ERP. Valid Oman D/L .Currently working in Oman. NOC available.

Contact: 94704800, Email: omanjobca@gmail.com.

Indian / female, 26 yrs, MBA with 3 yrs experience in HR / Admin marketing customer relations currently in Muscat on visit visa.

Contact: 97205038 Email: chandpriya89@gmail.com Indian Male 19 years (8 Years in Oman) well experienced in HR / Admin in Oil & Gas, Construction ďŹ elds with Oman D/L seeks suitable position. Release / NOC available call: 92854993.

Young Omani male have experience 12 years as P.R.O, CLERK Helper Supervisor Admin Supervisor, H.R Manager have diploma in H.S.E, IT and P.D.O license, looking for H.R position or P.R.O part time or full time. Contact: 95933288 Indian female with nearly 10 years experience in administration & HR, seeking for a suitable placement.

NOC available. Contact: 99242841 B.Com 3 years business process outsourcing. Contact: 94657273

Male Accountant M.Com (ďŹ nance & accounts) having 3 years experience in accounts looking for available job on visit visa. #94648575

Teacher female 27 yrs, MCA 5 yrs experience in teaching in India currently on visit visa seeking for a suitable placement. # 96709509 Email: viyannifd@gmail.com

Male CA ďŹ nalist B.Com having 5 years experience with big four audit ďŹ rms looking for suitable job on visit. Contact: 92230543 Email: m.naveednaseer@gmail.com

Filipino HRD especialist / material controller supervisor with 18 yrs experience looking for suitable job in Oman. Contact: (+968) 98037142 / (+968) 92659817

CMA & CIA qualiďŹ ed ďŹ nance professional with 13 years of me experience in FMCG industries as well as various other industries available for immediate permanent job openings. #94543660

Indian Female, MBA-HR having 8+ experience in Administration/HR, Customer Support, Office Coordinator with good Computer skill, Now on Visit Visa,looking for suitable position. Contact: 90196235

ACCA ďŹ nalist with 2 years of experience in a Construction Company as an Accountant in United Kingdom here on visit visa for 3 weeks from 12 April - 3 May. # 99171627 Part time accountant, up to ďŹ nalization, looking for job after 5 pm (location prefer - MSQ to Al Hail).

Contact: 95694737 Filipino Male, 24 Years Old.. looking for job, have experience in Cargo & Logistics/ Rent a Car/ Real Estate/ Finance & Accounts/ customer service and as Travel Agent. Hard working and with good computer and communication skills having Omani driving license. GSM: 95370052 ACCA member with 6 yrs of experience in Oman looking for a suitable job in ďŹ nance. #99284193 Indian male 34 Yrs, Dual MBA Finance and marketing with IT skills, 7+ yrs of experience, Looking for suitable placement. contact 94879615,Emailsajan_chacko1981@yahoo.com

DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN Architect Interior designers 3d Visualizer, 8 yrs exp, Indian male, have Omani D/L available. NOC & local release. Contact: 92710047 Architectural Draftsmen diploma in construction technology with 6 years experience in drafting and detailing as per British standard in Oman with valid Omani license looking for suitable opportunity Noc available. Call 94375897.

Free lance /part time autocad works (ARCH/ MEP) 2D/3D PH: 97103168 Piping designer with 14 years experience working with PDO, OXY for 10 years NOC available.#92582356

DESIGNER/DRAUGHTS. Filipino Senior Revit/AutoCAD Draftsman with 20 years professional experience is looking for suitable job in Oman.

Please Contact: 96489798, (+974) 66653780.

DRIVER Pakistani male seeks job, have Oman driving license, 6 years experience in driving. Contact: 96915494 Light Duty Driver looking for job.

Contact: 96250185 Light Duty Driver looking for job.

Contact: 96780325 Light driver looking for job.

Contact: 96798075 Heavy driver available.

Contact: +968 96449233 Temporary light driver.

Contact: 99053510 Light Duty Driver, 3 years 6 months experience. Contact: 95768440 L/Driver, having 11 years experience in Oman looking for suitable job. Contact 96373904 Light driver 9 years experience looking for job. Contact: 95827886 Looking for a job as driver experience 9 years in Oman, Language Arabic / Hindi / English. #92517532 Need job for Driving. #94375896 Light duty driver 4 years Oman exp seeks placement.

Contact: 98726383 Driver, exp 1.5 years, Language English, Arabic & Urdu, license light. #: 96011572 / 94484181 Experience driver looking for job.

Contact: 95113612 Bangladeshi male light driver exp 16 years need job. #99165961 Driver 3/6 years experience, I have 2 years experience out door sales man in led light, Pakistani, Oman experience 6 years.

Contact: 94565993 / 92627855 Family driver available.

Contact 92943094

EDUCATION/TRAINING Female B. Ed English teacher, 7 yrs exp seeking suitable placement.

Contact : 99739415 / 92091528 Indian Lecturer M.Phil, M.Com, MBA DMM , 3+ years of exp in college & 2+ years exp in corporate seeks a suitable position.

Contact: 90369540 Email: abilashraji@gmail.com

ENGG. / TECH./MECH. B. Tech Mechanical Engineer having 3 years experience in maintenance & commissioning experience in an engineering services company on visit visa looking for suitable. Contact 91106765 Email: tamooraslam123@yahoo.com Indian male 22, Chemical Engineer residing in Oman looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 92379181 Engineer I have driving license of Oman I need job of driving.

Contact: 95980506 Indian male 26 B.Tech Civil Engineer 3 yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 8 months Experience at building construction. In Oman 2 yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience N.O.C available seeking suitable placement Contact : 97396269 Email : usmanshaik42@gmail.com D.A.E (civil) Engineer + safety course (OSHA & IOSH), 5 years experience in infrastructure work looking for suitable placemen.

Contact 97658602 B.Tech & Diploma in Mechanical having 3 years exp. in India looking for suitable job. Contact : 90542737 Electrical B.E.C Engineer Pakistani male 24 years looking for a job.

Contact: 94049812 / 92958112

Revit, Autocad D/man, expected salary 200 OMR PH :92279784

Civil Engineer having 7 years, 8 months experience with driving license immediately joining having NOC. Contact : 99294954

Supervisor / Cad Draftsman with Oman light driving license 10 years experience in carpentry ďŹ eld. Contact: 95962384

Purchaser (construction) with 4 years experience & driving license.

NOC available looking for similar job. Contact: 98956725

S AT U R DAY, A P R I L 2 3, 2 0 1 6

C5

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED Indian male, 25 yrs, Accountant, 2.5 yrs in Finance & Accounts, MBA Finance & HR, exposure in SAP, Tally, ERP 9 on visit visa.

Contact 96715420 / 91265020, Email : jijosrgo@gmail.com, simonjosephjc@gmail.com

Sales & Marketing specialist with 16 yrs experience in Oman in MNC retails telecom lubes construction related industry handled various projects, holding valid Oman driving license, release available.

Contact 96960991

An experienced Chartered Accountant with over 25 years in varied industries, presently working with a reputed group in Muscat, looking out for a suitable change.

Electrical Engineer having 5 years experience in the field of managing supervising testing & commissioning of electrical distribution, transmission & substation projects.

Contact 92322906 / 90377916 Email: mshameerbm@gmail.com Indian male 23 years, young dynamic looking for draughtsman in civil. Contact: 94553406 Email: choudharyibrahim93@gmail.com Indian female 23 years Mechanical Engineer with 1.5 years experience looking for suitable jobs.

Also interested in sale & and marketing. Contact : 94743992 E mail : selveena054@gmail.com Civil Engineer, 6 yrs experience with Omani driving license, local release available. #91693008 An Iraqi civil with more than 30 years experience in (Iraq and G.C.C) looking for a job, (N.O.C) available. Contact: 96561306 Email: iq.bgd.mnsr@gmail.com Indian male, Mechanical Engineer having 1year experience, on visit visa looking for suitable job. Contact:97416564, Email:jovinmathias@gmail.com Civil Engineer 8 years experience in Oman as a project engineer for governmental & private projects.

Contact – 90164912 Building Site Supervisor since 2010 in Oman with Omani D/L looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 91507828 Indian male, Technical Sales Manager, B.E Mech, with 11 years exp in Automotive Eng & Industrial Maintenance with Oman D/L seeks suitable job. On release to join immediately – 92880593 An electrical & electronics engineer awarded from Sunderland University with an experience in access central eyewear & rebranding of petard elations facilities have a valid visa up to year & half.

Contact: 91347567 Egyptian lady have BA in Electrical power & machines & did some training looking for job in any company. # 95935181 / 91112193 Graduate Civil Engineer having 19 years Gulf experience seeks immediate employment in reputed firms in Muscat NOC available.

Contact: 99446786 / 93251306 Female Electrical Engineer, excellent knowledge, Graduated with distinction, can work under pressure. Contact: 98133281 Mechanical Engineer (UK), 4 yrs exp in technical, Sales Engineer in Oman having valid GCC license looking suitable placement. NOC available. Contact: 97612297 Email: ymirzall@caledonian.ac.uk Electrical Engineer having 8years experience with valid driving license (NOC available) Ph#91293519 Email: nomee987@gmail.com Indian female M.Tech in VLSI Design B.Tech in electronics with valid IELTS score 6.5 now in family visa experience in teaching & and admin. Contact: 90195131 Email: chinj.89@gmail.com Mechanical Engineer M.Tech 2 yrs, experience HAVC firefighting CAD. Contact: 90150913 Email: mahmanmechengg@yahoo.in Mechanical Engineer is looking for a job vacancy Graduate of Malaysia, 7 years of work experience in oil & Gas fluent in both Arabic & English. Contact: 95569430 Electrical Engineer 6 years experience in Oman experience in MEDC / projects valid D/L. #91249329 Structural Engineer, ME, with 2 yrs exp proficient in ETABS, STAD, SAFE & Prokon, seeks job.

Contact:050-9984535 Site Supervisor, Diploma in Civil Engg (cert attested) knows autocad revit, salary exp: 250 Ph : 92279784

Sudanese Civil Structure Engineer 3 years looking for job in reputable company AutoCAD, Etabs, Staad Pro Omani driving license available. Contact: 97906770 B.E Mechanical Engineer, 24, one year experience as Production Shift Engineer, achieved training on HVAC Engineering design and has good hands on software like AutoCAD and HAP, presently in Oman on visit visa, looking for a suitable placement. Contact:95065955 Email: mjs.jazeb@gmail.com Civil Engineer (B.Tech), Indian male 24 years with 1+years Indian experience,(Certified in Staad Pro/ Quantity Survey/ Auto Cad).

Looking for a Suitable position.

Available In Sultanate of Oman (Muscat) on Visit Visa.

Contact 92835952. E-mail: mohammedamair.bin@gmail.com Mechanical Engineer (B Tech) Indian male with 1 year experience on visit visa looking for suitable job.

Contact : 90510800, Email : muhammedjaseem07@gmail.com Indian male Electrical Engineer, having 6 years gulf experience in designing, assembling, commissioning execution etc having valid GCC license too looking for a suitable. Contact: 00968-98052942 Email: azamjeelani78@gmail.com HSE Engineer (B.E Mech+Diploma Safety+NEBOSH+OSHA) over 10yrs. Exp, (Visa Release Letter (NOC) available), seeking suitable placement, Mob:97061817, Email:jayanammu1977@gmail.com Road Engineer 10 years experience in Oman. Contact: 91274706 Civil Engineer diploma, 4 yrsexp seeks suitable position ina reputed company. NOC available.#96789711 Civil Engineer 8 years experience Structural buildings marine. Available NOC release. Contact: 92451323.

Email: zubairali134@yahoo.com Sr. Electrical Engineer with17+ yrs of exceptional exp in spear heading strategic planning and project management initiatives & executing various high rise residential & commercial building as well as roads and highway project with proficiency in installation, seeking a challenging position in a dynamic organization. Contact 96570891 Civil Engineer (B.Tech) Indian male 24 yrs having 1+ year experience in Industrial construction with good communication skills and software knowledge, looking for suitable position available on visit visa. # 968 - 99779538 / 98694939 Email: arunsathyan92@gmail.com Engineer with 4 years experience in Oman in telecom operations looking for a suitable opportunity have valid driving license interested in marketing also. Contact: 98513495 Pakistani male Diploma Civil Engineer 4yrs exp in Oman bulling & mega projects, valid license Oman. contact:98921022 NDT / QA / QC Supervisor / Radiographer DAE Mechanical piping- vessel LPG Bozer Storage tank inspection experience 10 years.

Contact 96954202 Email: nasirarain86@yahoo.com Electrical Engineer Indian male 30 years, having 5 years of experience in industrial automation & utility maintenance in Indian (MRF Tyres) holding valid Oman D/L. Contact: 92789995 Email: akhilabrahamlktr@gmail.com Male QC inspector Mechanical, NDT 20 years experience valid Oman D/L , release available.

Contact: 91001104 B. Sc Civil Engineer 27 yrs, Oman experience as Project Manager, Structural Engineer looking for suitable placement. NOC / local transfer available. Contact : 99349578 Email: farooqatm@hotmail.com Indian male B-tech 8 years experience as senior electrical project engineer / QC engineer on visit visa seeks suitable placement.

Contact 94094543 Email: anwar425@gmail.com

Qualified Certified Management Accountant (CMA-USA) and cost and management accountant (ACMAIndia) with over 25 years experience in Sultanate of Oman in finance, banking and administration is seeking a suitable placement. NOC available.

Contact 97351649, advocatesharaf@gmail.com

Contact 95986767

PROJECTS

MISCELLANEOUS

An Electrical engineer with 4+ yrs of experience in Electrical network (MT, LT) with professional computer skills seeking for work.

Contact: 99841736 / 93955381/ +149922698343 Email: e.kmmh@hotmail.com

HSE OFFICER, having 9 years experience in construction.

GSM 97035591 Email - ajeeshvr.ajeesh@gmail.com

Indian female 27 yrs, Diploma in Aviation & Hospitality management, seeking suitable placement.

Curnetly in Oman, NOC Available.

Contact 94880684

Electrical & Electronics Engr, knows autocad & revit. PH:93837973

S.T.P Operator 20 years experience in Oman. Contact: 93089468

IT

SALES / MARKETING

96491030

ENGG. / TECH./MECH. Civil Engineer 8 years experience.

Contact: 90183630

Oman experienced Lawyer Indian male, BA, Arabic, LLB, MBA Knows English, Arabic with over 9 yrs in legal field, now working as a legal advisor in Muscat, seeks suitable placement. NOC available.

INDIAN FEMALE, 23 years, BSCCS Diploma in IAD graphics, well knowledge in computer applications 6 months experience presently in Sohar seeking suitable placement. Contact: 96670907.

Email: ammuch.4@gmail.com Indian female MCA & BSc Physics Graduate, holder of valid driving license, seeking suitable placement in IT or Administration.

Contact: 99466062 Indian female M.Sc Computer Science seeking suitable placement in Muscat area. Contact: 98660672 B.Tech (IT) experience in Networking server & desktop management in corporate environment looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 92954613 9 years of Software Test Consulting and business analysis experience in various CBS (Core Banking Solutions) and other Banking related solution implementations with deep understanding of Islamic Banking. Completed CDIF CIMA Diploma in Islamic Finance and ADIF - Advanced Diploma in Islamic Finance conducted by CIMA, UK. NOC available. Contact: manivannanbalaji@gmail.com GSM: 9393 8086 Omani 26 (M) Seeks placement 6 yrs experience IT specialist.

Contact 99025044 IT Support Engineer, Exp 3 years in Oman 2 years in India.

Contact 94672759 Female 24 yrs, 3 years in IT programmer now in Oman looking for suitable job. Contact: 96350234

MANAGER Finance manager 22 years Oman experience available with NO. Contact: 91335205/91302906 Purchase/Planning & Logistics Manager, MBA (Finance), 14yrs.

Oman Exp. with D/L, NOC available, looking for suitable position.

Contact : 93826090, jskanchan01@gmail.com Egyptian male 36 years Warehouse Manager, 7 years in Sultanate of Oman, 1 year in UAE, and 3 years in Egypt.

Contact: +968 97200468 Email: ayman_mano1979@yahoo.com

MEDICAL Indian female staff nurse with parametric passed 10 years experience looking job Muscat regain.

Contact: 95851590 / 91510137 Indian female (MSC – Microbiologist) seeking suitable job.

Contact 96791162 / 90618567 Indian Bsc Female Nurse with 6.5 years exp, 4 years in KSA. Passed Oman Pro Metric with 69%, completed data flow. Presently in Muscat in visit visa looking for a suitable placement. # 94744900, 94742834, jincyalphonese@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS Indian female master degree one year experience seeking suitable placement in any field. #97792820 Email: pnjli.1991@gmail.com Indian male, 28, post graduate, 6+ yrs exp in Oman in sales (back office) & credit control with valid Oman D/L looking for suitable placements. NOC available. # 920 66 523 BS in Electrical Engineering, Experience: 5 years(Power Plants).

Contact: 92475206 Email: zahaibzafar007@gmail.com

SKILLED/ UNSKILLED LABOUR

Indian male (25) MBA / MMS (Marketing) on visit visa valid UAE driving license exp 2 yrs sales / marketing. Contact: 98089262 Indian male, 29 years BSc, Graduate, with Omani driving license and 7 years of sales experience in home appliances, IT products, mobile and traffic safety equipments currently working on employment visa, NOC available seeking for suitable placement immediately.

Contact 97890607 Email: ashrafambar@gmail.com 35 years male, Lebanese holding British passport, 10 years of experience in procurement, Omani Government tenders, setup marketing plans & strategies, importing, Organizing events, management, have car, NOC available. #94123939 Email: 002015r@gmail.com Graduate Diploma, 5+ years in logistics operation and marketing / event management with driving license.

Contact: 92107006 Email: nasir_k4@yahoo.com Indian male 31, BBA Muscat born, fluent in English above average Arabic, experience in Sales, Marketing , customer service sectors ranging from FMCG to real estate, with NOC, seeks suitable placement. Contact: +968 93870938 Experience Sales Executive Muscat 13 years, KSA 9 years, with Oman driving license & KSA. Contact : 93508287 / 90701036 Sales experience of 2 years driving license diploma holding in wireless networking. Interested in Marketing, Accounts and Salesman. Contact: 98668151 Wants a suitable job as Salesman & have driving license. Wants a job with good salary & have 6 years of experience & can speak in English, Arabic and Hindi. #94162434 24 years experience Sr. Management professional as Profit centre head. Industry electrical trade looking for a suitable position in Oman / UAE. Contact: 91195418 Email: ab_9616@rediffmail.com Indian male 29, BHM, 3 yrs exp in Oman in sales with D/L NOC. Contact: 92594055 Indian male 23 years BSc Computer Science on visit visa seeking job opportunities for suitable placement. Contact: 92740543 Email: aneep93@hotmail.com Indian male B.com 10 years experience in Oman stores & warehouse, immediate job with NOC. Contact: 95192733, email: sammathew2004@yahoo.co.in 26 yrs Indian male MBA Marketing Sales / Marketing Executive, 3 yrs experience now available in Muscat on visit visa seeking placement for immediate joining.

Contact: 95978874 Email: ansariafsar550@gmail.com MBA (Marketing) Sales & Marketing Executive with 4 years of experience in Sales & Business Development in FMCG sector is looking for best opportunity in Muscat at present available in Muscat on visit visa. GSM:95840153.

Mail: akbarshareef786@gmail.com Indian male 37 years MBA graduate in marketing with 9yrs of experience in UAE in field of brand promotions & marketing with UAE D/L on a visit seeking suitable position. conatct 95792820

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE Lady Secretary / Sales Co-coordinator 12 years experience in Oman in reputed companies, seek immediate Employment. Call: 95244761

Indian Male 28 years, Mechanical Engineer (Diploma) with 2 years’ experience, Automobile ITI NCVT, CSWI-BGAS Painting QC Grade-2, NDT Level-2, ISO Lead Auditor QA (IRCA), Piping QC & Isometric Drawings, WPS & WPQR, available on Visit Visa, looking for a suitable job.

Contact: 90653733, libinthomaslt@gmail.com The Business Development Manager, Iraqi, Experience 15 Years Inside and outside Oman following activities: construction(Very strong and qualified to bringing business for civil work Or any type of the construction work for many million per year with a good experience in pricing and collect payment and cash flow & marketing projects & investments & tenders & real estate.

Contact :- 92385033 Bachelor in Hotel Management Having 13 years experience in Catering Industry in all aspects of Operations with D/L looking out for a suitable placement. #90654826 Email: mailingsaikiran@gmail.com Tea boy looking for job Name: Man Bahadar Contact No. 97859837 Indian Female on a visit visa having master degree seeking suitable placement in any field, 1 ,5 year experience in HR .#+968 91467576.

Indian Female, M.Sc Computer Science, Seeking suitable placement in Muscat Area.

Contact : 98660672 Indian male network cabling technician (19-years Gulf experience) seeking for suitable placement.

Contact 0091-8089909265 (India), E mail: mohithavp@gmail.com Indian female, MBA, Diploma in Aviation & Hospitality mgt (IATA), having 4 yrs of exp, on family visa seeks job in Oman.

Contact-9910 4529, 95679557, e-mail-jkramya91@gmail.com Pakistani male having 7 years experience in General Salesman having valid D/L Looking for suitable placement. Contact: 97216830 Email: asim-samb5@yahoo.com 9 yrs exp Site Engineer in Civil & Shade Structure. 2d, 3d draughtsman (HOLDING OMANI DRIVING LICENSE) seeking job.

Contact: 93790601 LAND SURVEYOR: Male, more than 12 years’ experience in land/pipe line surveying in Oman and UAE. Looking for suitable placement.

NOC available. #91215843 ELECTRONICS ENGINEER Indian/ male/24Yrs,Bsc.Electronics & Communications,ITI,1.7 Years experience as Service Technician in India, on visit Visa, looking For a Suitable Placement.

Contact :92794176 , E-mail: prathyushkp9@gmail.com Marketing Communications Coordinator Indian, 25 years GCC experience in Media, Advertising & Marketing ATL + BTL branding. Contact: 93031168 Email: arn14256@gmail.com Indian male physiotherapist with 3 years of experience, with (moh license and NOC available. seeking suitable placement.

Contact 99767528, 91317863 Indian, 32 years, passed M.A. English M.Sc Psychology, DHM & B.Ed in English with 4 years experience seeking for part time or full time job. Contact: 99869535 Email: sahadkeyi33@gmail.com 27 years old Indian male looking hospitality jobs in Hotel. Experience in customer service, front desk, housekeeping supervisor, captain, cashier,guest relation manager.

Contact. +968-90351742Email. samubaid6@gmail.com 27 yearsold Indianmale looking Jobs in documents Collection executive.Experience in collection executive. Contact. +968-90358068 Email wasimsaif04@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS Indian female, M.Sc Computer Science, Seeking suitable placement in Muscat Area. GSM : 98660672 Indian male, 26 years old BA Graduate having 1 year experience in accounts finance field. Looking for suitable Job On visit visa immediately available.

Contact 9565 9415 Anishkhan991867@gmail. Com ELECTRONICS ENGINEER Indian/ male/24Yrs,Bsc.Electronics & Communications,ITI,1.7 Years experience as Service Technician in India. On visit Visa, Looking For a Suitable Placement.

Contact :92794176, E-mail:prathyushkp9@gmail.com B.Tech, MBA currently working in India in Bank. Contact: +918939857146 Email: sebimathew87@gmail.com Pakistani male 23 years old experience in travel agency - ticketing looking for a suitable job, NOC available. Contact: 93253759 Accountant cum cashier available.

Contact: 98002428 Indian with 3 years for experience in sales and marketing fluency in English, Arabic, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam looking for suitable job.

Also hold valid Driving License, currently in oman Mob : 93451439 HSE Engineer, Indian male, 4 Plus years exp. in Oil & Gas, Working in Shclumberger, NEBOSH, IOSH, & NDT Certified, M Tech in HSE. #krish.569@gmail.com, Mobile- +91 9867016808 Indian male Physiotherapist with MOH license and NOC looking for suitable job. Contact: 92617235 Indian Male, 40 Years, B. Com, having 10 years experience in Oman, Tally &ERP- looking for suitable placement ( Local release and Oman driving license available.

Tel- 92469789 Indian Male 42 year’s, MBA, Sr. Material controller having 12 years experience in Oman with reputed companies. Having Oman driving License, Seeks suitable replacement immediately. Available NOC. Cont. 00968-92944026, Email – charanjeet35@yahoo.co.in ELECTRONICS TECHNICIAN Indian/male/24Yrs,Bsc.Electronics & Comm,1.7 Years experience as Service Engineer in India. On visit Visa, Looking For a suitable placement. Contact : 92794176 E-mail:prathyushkp9@gmail.com Indian male Executive Secretary having vast experience in admin, logistics & procurement well versed with computer seeks suitable placement. Contact 99514286 Indian male Kerala, B.com & B.PE. Currently on visit visa, looking for a suitable job in Accounts, Store keeper etc. Ready to join as early as possible. Contact:-93301023, email:- sajith3969@gmail.com Female Dentist with MOH license and NOC, 7 years experience 2 yrs out of them in Oman looking for a job. Contact 97401243 Electrical diploma Engineer Indian male 22 years, 2 years experience in control panel contact 93047707 adilm89@gmail.com IT System Administrator 6 yrs experience, male, Filipino Desktop, Laptop and printer Support, Backup administrator, Router and switch Network, Server Administrator. +968 94134295 Female dentist with MOH license and NOC ready to join 7 years experience 2 of them in Oman.

Contact 97401243 Indian male 28 years B.com, MBA 4 yrs experience in accounts / finance currently in Oman on visit visa looking for suitable placement. Contact: 93460277 Email: shineraj786@gmail.com Having 10 years exp. in Admin & HR in reputed companies. Presently working in Muscat and seeking for suitable placement.

Contact No.: 97693456. email : muralimahdav77@gmail.com Indian Male 42 year’s, MBA, Sr. Material controller having 12 years experience in Oman with reputed companies. Having Oman driving License, Seeks suitable replacement immediately. Available NOC. Cont. 00968-92944026, Email – charanjeet35@yahoo.co.in

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DAILY GUIDE

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

SITUATION WANTED EDUCATION/CLASSES/COMP./WEB.

SITUATION WANTED SERVICES Pharmacist M. Pharm working in Oman for 2 years with MOH license Data flow completed. #98399415 NOC available, Indian Male - MBA (HR) and B.E (E.I.E) with total 9 years of experience in HR & Admin and Business Development (3 yrs of Gulf exp.) can join immediately 91240251 / kvaradhan@hotmail.com M. Sc Computer Science – 2 year Experience – in India, looking suitable Placement. Email:-elvisgt6@ gmail.com, Mob:-+91 9497482305 (INDIA), Oman:-98291626.

Indian, 30 years, B. Com with 2 years Oman experience in Tally ERP-9 available in Muscat seeking suitable positions. # on 95186652 ELECTRONICS TECHNICIAN Indian/male/24Yrs,Bsc.Electronics & Comm, 1.7 Years experience as Service Engineer in India, On visit Visa, looking for a suitable placement. Contact : 92794176, E-mail:prathyushkp9@gmail.com B-tech Civil with honours, Civil Engineer (structures) Experience more than six years. #91431483. Email mohsinyousuf86@rediffmail.com HSE Engineer,Indian male, 4 Plus years experience in Oil & Gas .Working in Shclumberger NEBOSH, IOSH, & NDT Certified, M Tech in HSE. CONTACTkrish.569@gmail.com contact +91 9867016808 Indian male Network cabling technician ( 19-years gulf experience) seeking for suitable placement. Contact : 0091-8089909265 (India), Email: mohithavp@gmail. com

Indian female, MBA with 9 yrs of experience in finance & procurement currently on family visa looking for suitable position in finance & supply chain.

Contact 95622568

Indian Male,Kerala,B.COM & B.PE having 13Years of Physical Education Teacher experience. Currently on visit visa Looking for a suitable job. Contact:- 968 94106834. email:-akhilrajkj@gmail.com.

Draughtsman, 15 years’ experience, Indian male currently in Oman looking for suitable position.

Gsm – 95358115, 96977289, Email : pillairp41@gmail.com

14 years experience in 5 star hotel as sales manager in UAE & INDIA on tourist visa looking for suitable opportunity please contact 91305978

Indian Female living in Ghubra Muscat near Emirates Shopping Center. 20 years of experience in Teaching. Able to handle all subjects till grade 6. Need suitable job.

Contact- 94406552 Indian male,16 years Oil & Gas experience ( Down Hole Tools ), 3 years in Oman, Dip. Mechanical Engineer, Having D/L and NOC. Email – jajisuni@yahoo.com, Mob : 965 956 18.

Bangladeshi Male, University MA, Working as Store In-charge cum Logistic Manager in Muscat; searching better job.

Phone:91997605. email: mohamednazrulislam2@gmail.com 8 plus years of experience in Events /Marketing Communication /conferences / Trainings / Media representation. Having UAE D/L. seeking Suitable Placement: Contact: 95792820. suheal.ma@outlook.com Indian Female, 24 MA Eng. Litr with 2 yrs experience in teaching & 14 months in Administration cum Secretary, Currently on visit visa, seeks suitable job.

Contact: 92613704/99260702, Email:rohinis2010@gmail.com

PART TIME ACCOUNTANT available, well experienced in accounting up to finalization. knowledge in tally also. contact. 92643875

Indian male with 1 yr exp looking for job in I.T as Web developer, presently in Muscat on visit visa. #92312978 Admin Assistant. Having 5 years experience in admin department in reputed companies, presently working in Muscat (NOC Available).

GSM. 00968-98404122, Email panduru.jeevankumar@gmail.com

Spoken Arabic class for Non Arabic Speakers & English class for Malayalam Speakers

in Azaiba and Ruwi

• Learn in two months • Satisfaction guaranteed

Tel: 95244310

Indian Female on a visit visa having master degree seeking suitable placement in any field, 1 and half year experience in HR .

Contact : +968 91467576 .

Indian male, 8.5 yrs experience, B.Com Graduate with GCC exp & valid driving license looking for better job opening in Muscat.

Contact: 92609935 / 94771365 2 years experienced male seeking job related to safety. M. Tech in HSE, MSc in Environmental Science and IOSH certified. #94653264 Sri Lankan Male 34 BSc. (Physics) 5 years experience as a site manager and administration supervisor in Oman with valid D/L looking for a suitable position. contact 99153061 or v.chandramohan@yahoo.co.uk

Karate and self defense classes at Azaiba 18 Nov Street. RO 10 per month twice a week Monday and Tuesday 6. 30 TO 7. 30. PM. CONTACT 98294551 WEB, ERP and Business Intelligence (BI) creation and management at rock bottom price. Contact: http//webviewoman

SITUATION WANTED SERVICES

Chief Accountant 25 years experienced looking for part/full time accountant job.

Contact: 95598477 / 98803439

SITUATION WANTSERVICES

Indian Pediatric consultant, md with 20 years experience and wife gynecologist md with 15 years plus experience seeking opportunities with reputed hospitals in Muscat. deemaild@gmail.com

We do industrial catering service, Canteen / mess, 3 times packed meals and all types of catering events.

CATERING SERVICES

Contact: 92188777 / 99249899

PROCUREMENT OFFICER, IndianMale 34yrs,M.Com with 14 yrs work Exp.(8 yrs in Oman) working in Construction Co LLC( for ROAD,CIVIL,ELECTRO-MECHANICAL & Others Projects ) and having valid LT D/L, NOC available & ready to join within a month-M:94064650, Email: nagauae@gmail.com

Pest control & Building cleaning all kinds of pest control building. Cleaning tiles / Marble polishing monthly/ Yearly contracts available.

Contact: 98814733 /98814740 Al Husn Cleaning L.L.C

14 years experienced light driver with valid Oman license looking for suitable job. Contact 99442481 Indian male: 24 years, diploma in computer science and B.E(CSE) having experience in hardware and networking seeking for the suitable job. Contact: 91170912, Email id: sales2@witoman.com Indian male auto cad draughtsman (civil) 8 years experience, seeking for part time job. mobile no: 0096899070584. email: remluvp@gmail.com Sudanese male, 5 years experience in warehouse management and logistics services#90644186

SERVICES We Provide Cleaners, Office boys, Cleaning Contracts, General cleaning etc.

Al Mudakhir National Est. LLC Contact : 94277020

Split & window A/c installation & maintenance specialist package & ducted units. Contact 98667326 House Shifting Packing. Contact: 99657644 / 98518013

100% Professional Aīordable Rate !!!

Ants, Rodent, & cleaning On monthly, Harmless & Odourless

Indian male 6 years exp in different field, with valid Oman driving license. Languages known Hindi, English, looking for any job(Driver for executives). Contact 98696795

Split A/C servicing R.O 10 only.

Contact: 94217681 /99210141

CALL - 91464586 Split & window A/c servicing & maintenance. Contact 93769089 / 95323517

HSE Engineer,Indian male, 4 Plus years Experience in Oil & Gas .Working in Shclumberger.

NEBOSH,IOSH, & NDT Certified, M Tech in HSE, contact krish.569@gmail.com Mobile- +91 9867016808

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing, Contact 99314807/24792998 We do building maintenance all kind of works. Contact 99247663

Experienced B.Com graduate + IATA Diploma holder looking for Accounts/Admin/Travels related job. Mob. 91142997. NOC available .

Indian male B.A degree & diploma in hotel management with 16 years experience as restaurant & catering manager in Oman & Saudi with V/L Oman D/L seeks suitable placement. Contact : 92100141 MBA Graduate (Indian male 26 years) having 2 years experience in Qatar as admin assistant looking for suitable placement. contact 93041141 Email: mahinmehboob@gmail.com

Muscat Driving School established for over 15 years drive safe with MDS. Meet our professional friendly Instructor. Contact: 99773651 / 95840670 Sohar 26844412 Ruwi / Darsait 24781123 MGM 24399951 AL Khudh 24536348

PALEST CONTROL TABA SERVICE LLC

Civil Engineer (roads and structures) Education B. Tech Civil Engineering with honours experience more than six years.

Contact no 91431483 ,Email mohsinyousuf86@rediffmail.com

A/C maintenance & servicing, fridge, washing machine & dish washer repairing, painting & cleaning services, electrical & plumbing. #99447257 / 97014234 / 24504281 Water proofing ABUQABASContact 99320217/24788722

Window & split unit A.C servicing & repairing. Contact: 99557080 Split & window unit A.C servicing & maintenance.

Contact 96236476

Split & widow unit A.C servicing & maintenance. Contact 93769089 / 95323517 House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

Pest control treatments, Ocean center LLC Contact 99344723 House shifting. Contact 99708138 CAD drawings Archi/ MEP CAD – comply BIM. Contact: 91233975

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your marble. contact 24793614/ 99314807 Marble crystallization & grinding, cleaning & carpet shampooing.

Ocean center LLC. Contact 99344723 Al farzdaq Al Fedi Trad and Cont Maintenance services electric, plumbing and A/C. Contact: 96524904 /94285064

All MEP & Civil shop drawings.

Contact : 93070771 Email : designjob2014@gmail.com Cleaning Services, Sofa, carpet shampoo old house or new house.

Contact: 92179395 Marble crystallization & grinding, Ocean center LLC Contact: 99344723

GOOD NEWS

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles polishing, carpet shampooing, maintenance.

Contact ABU QABAS- 99320217 /24788722

Ayurvedic treatment for backache, paralysis, arthritis etc & massage, All Season (Vaidyaratnam).Contact:24475280 / 95371664 / 92504980 www.siddhayur.com

Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile polishing, pest control & anti-termite treatment, general cleaning painting,Plumbing, Electrical, shifting. Contact Mundhir Al-Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C. Contact: 24810137, 99450130

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to know more about Islam, please call: 99425598, 99250777, 99353988, 99253818, 99341395, and 99379133. For ladies: 99415818, 99321360, 99730723 Orvisit:www.islamfact.com

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DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED CARGO

TOURS Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain Marine Tours contact 98029602, 92808636 We arrange tours & accommodation at all the beautiful places in Oman. Contact 99839898

TOURS

Moon Travel L.L.C

Saudi Arabian Government approved agent

Umrah Package by Road & Air Bus Departures- Apr 19, May 03, 17 & 31.2016 Ramadan Schedule - Jun 06, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26 & 30.2016 Contact: Tariq Al Balushi - 99218069 Ahmed Maseehuddin - 99353611, Oĸce: 24790746/24706217

SITUATION WANTED BUSINESS Investment Required Minimum OMR 500,000 to transfer 5 Excavators big + 5 Tippers 2015 Astra, working on good profitable Excavation projects. Assured income 36 %.

98867530 / 99120532 engrfaheem@hotmail.com

A well developing, beautifully designed, villa project in Kerala needs an investor as partner. original land. clear documents. high returns guaranteed. please call 00919447433853/8086793717

SITUATION WANTSIT. WANTED Female Junior Architect Graduated from School of Planning & Architecture, Vijayawada. Excellence in Autocad, Sketching & Modelling. Internship - KHAM Designs, Bangalore. Presently with Atulya Architects & Associates. Email saatvika.frozenmusic@gmail.com #00968-94057427.

Indian male 37 YEARS, BSC COMPUTER SCIENCE having More than 8yrs of experience with well exposure in PDO, DALEEL & OXY as IT SUPPORT / DESKTOP SUPPORT ENGINEER. Seeking suitable placement.

Contact rangaraj_vck@yahoo.co.in / 968-99758320

RENT A CAR

Investment opportunity for lucrative building and decorative product. Contact: 99421513 Email: borderlineomn@gmail.com We are looking for training license training business to buy.

Contact: 97100419 Email: trainingsmuscat@gmail.com

SITUATION WANTSIT. WANTED B.Com Graduate with 4 year experience as an Accountant in Oman.

Also have Oman Driving License.

Best fluency in English, Arabic, Hindi& Malayalam. Looking for Job. Currently in Oman. #+968 93943448, murshid4u@gmail.com Diploma(Electrical Engineering) From Government polytechnic.Age 27years, 6 years Experiance in Maintenance, troubleshooting and managing and Technical in substation as a Electrical Engineer. Seek suitable placement. GSM- 92995899, (a.abbas31@gmail.com)

25 - 50 seater bus with PDO & BP specification for monthly rent & small car with driver.

Contact: 99839898

TRANSPORTATION Transportation available on rent 10 ton Hiap Trailers.

Contact 94207475 / 95649231/ 97982842 Transportation. Contact: 95190627 Transportation. Contact 99508282 Transportation. Contact 92015894 Transportation available Ruwi to Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Azaiba.

Contact: 91103909 Transportation. Contact 94087276 Transportation required from Qurum to WadiKabir at afternoon only 1 PM. Contact - 99012165

RENT A CAR Best Rates for Saloon Contact: 97869042 / 95730550 sales@modernreem.com

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DAILY GUIDE

*Classified Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

SITUATION WANTED DINING DELIGHTS

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624