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SATURDAY, September 19, 2015 / 5 Dhul Hijja 1436 AH timesofoman.com wtimesofoman.com facebook.com/timesofoman twitter.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com ISO 9001:2008 Certifi ed Company

His Majesty the Sultan sends greetings

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of congratulations to President Michelle Bachelet of Chile on the occasion of her country’s Inde-pendence Anniversary.

In his cable, His Majesty ex-pressed his sincere congratula-tions along with his best wishes to President Bachelet and the friend-ly people of Chile. -ONA

C H I L E T O U R

ART FROM HEART: The drawings were based on Arabic cal-

ligraphy and many other concepts of art.

Children express love and loyalty to HMTARIQ AL HAREMI tariqh@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: ‘Ashraqat Nooruha Qaboos’ event, which means ‘Shining its Light, Qaboos’, gives people a chance to express their love and loyalty to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Al Said, through art and calligraphy.

The event was held in the Muscat Governorate for the seventh time at the Oman So-ciety of Fine Arts as part of its tour through diff erent governo-rates of Oman.

“The seventh stop is specifi -cally meant for school children in the Muscat Governorate.

Their drawings were based on Arabic calligraphy and many other concepts of art,” said Khalid Al Rawahi, Media Ad-ministrator at the Oman Soci-ety of Fine Arts.

Participants were given 20x20 canvases to compose their artwork. Apart from ex-pressing their love and loyalty, the event involved major names in the society, such as their highnesses, excellencies, ath-letes, thinkers, novelists, media-men among others for support.

Earlier, the event had been held in Buraimi, Dhahira, North and South Batinah Governo-rates, to name a few.

OMR2.5b push to make Oman roads the best

TARIQ AL HAREMItariqh@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Roadways, currently under construction in Oman, will cost the government OMR 2.5 bil-lion and the Ministry of Trans-port and Communications is doing its best to ensure that qual-ity is maintained while building these networks.

The close attention that the government has paid to the qual-ity of work has resulted in Oman’s roads being ranked eighth glob-ally and second in the Gulf for the 2014-2015 period, by the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), released by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Speaking to the Times of Oman (TOO), an offi cial from the Minis-try of Transport and Communica-tions said, “As per the approved specifi cations for the road design manual, we have conducted nec-essary tests to ensure that con-struction is carried out as per the specifi cations. The Ministry is also working on increasing the competency and effi ciency of the

technical cadre working in the fi eld of road construction.”

“We are currently executing the implementation of quality management system in accord-ance with the standard speci-fi cations laid out by ISO,” the offi cial added.

Commenting on the high global ranking Oman has achieved, the offi cial said, “Achievements in the road sector refl ect the attention and care accorded by the govern-ment to the development of roads in Oman. The development of roads has contributed towards shortening travel distances and also facilitated movement of pas-sengers and goods across Oman and neighbouring countries.”

The Ministry’s personnel, who

are in-charge of the road projects, have paid a lot of attention to all the stages and steps to be followed while building a road network.

They have monitored each step from the stage of planning, con-struction, maintenance, rehabili-tation to following standard spec-ifi cations, pointed out the offi cial.

The main roadways, currently under construction, include; Du-alisation of the Bidbid /Sur Pro-ject ( stage 1 and 2), the Sinaw-Mahut-Duqm Road ( part 1 and 2), the dualisation of Taqa/Mir-bat Road, Al Batinah Expressway (packages 1-6), the dualisation of Adam-Thumrait Road Project (part 1 & 2), the dualisation of Jibrin-Ibri (phase 2), the dualisa-tion of the Barka/Nakhal Road, the dualisation of Ibri-Al Dariz-Maskan (part 1 Hijairat-Maskan) and the dualisation of Ibri/ Yan-qul Road (phase 2).

Road projects will be built as per the approved fi ve-year plan, said the offi cial adding, “This opens new horizons for economic and construction development in the Sultanate.”

The quality of Oman’s roads has been ranked second in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), followed by Bahrain’s road net-work being ranked 22nd, Saudi Arabia 26th, Qatar 34th and Ku-wait ranked 48th.

When the Times of Oman asked whether the Ministry plans to in-stall countdown timers at traffi c signals, the offi cial said, “We have coordinated with the ROP on the issue and the Ministry has pro-posed the installation of the same on a trial basis at one of the traffi c signals in the Muscat Governo-rate to evaluate its feasibility.”

Good world ranking

refl ects the attention

accorded by the

government for

building roads across

the Sultanate

Sayyid Khalid inaugurates Nizwa mosque

MUSCAT: Assigned by His Maj-esty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Sayyid Khalid bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court inaugurated the Sultan Qa-boos Mosque in the Wilayat of Ni-zwa on Friday.

Sayyid Khalid also performed prayers at the mosque along with a number of ministers, undersecre-taries and other offi cials.

Being the spiritual and religious capital of Oman, Nizwa is a fi tting location to be home to a major mosque second only to the Grand Mosque in Muscat. Simplicity of form and selective use of decora-tion are characteristics that dis-tinguish the new mosque from those in other regions.

The four minarets give the building a unique quality, reinforc-ing its position as a major land-mark for the community it serves.

The building’s colour and ma-terials refl ect what is traditionally used in the area. The planning is simple and functional, with a clear separation between the main spir-itual part of the mosque. -ONA

See also >A3

A S S I G N E D B Y H I S M A J E S T Y

B5Simple storage tips toprevent food waste

OMAN‘Oman needs professionals to drive growth’

1Oman needs science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals to drive the country’s innovation and competitiveness, suggest experts. >A2

OMANEvent to mark 30th ROSO anniversary

2The ROSO organised a function to mark the 30th anniversary. >A3

PAKISTANAir force base attack toll rises to 42

3The toll in an attack by Taliban on a Pakistani air force base rose to 42.>A7

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

Haj pilgrims should take extra steps to keep infections at bayTARIQ AL HAREMI tariqh@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Pilgrims from all over the world are arriving in the Holy City of Mecca to undertake Haj, which is one of the fi ve pillars of Islam.

However, health hazards pose a greater risk to pilgrims as they mix with over 2.8 million people from around the world and in such a scenario, infections are bound to be transmitted through air or con-taminated food and water.

In the wake of the recent Ebola and Coronavirus outbreaks, pil-grims are prone to various kinds of infections.

Dr. Ashraf Allam, Regional Vice President for Mundipharma Mid-dle East and Africa, gave some use-ful tips for protection against vari-ous diseases and viruses.

He advised pilgrims to eat healthy by consuming fresh food, such as yoghurt and fruit, as well as consuming small meals through-out the day.

“Consume small meals through-out the day to maintain blood sugar levels, to increase your me-tabolism rate, thus giving you bet-ter stamina during the journey. Foods, such as yoghurt, milk, and fruit juices provide vital nutrients,

which keep your diet well-bal-anced,” said Dr. Allam.

Staying hydrated is also ex-tremely important, considering the soaring temperatures pilgrims will face in Mecca, he stated. “It is important that you stay hydrated and drink eight to 10 glasses of water per day. Carry bottled water at all times and avoid carbonated drinks, where possible during the entire journey,” advised Dr. Allam.

Dr V.C.P. Mohammed, a special-ist Internal Medicine at Atlas Hos-pital Ruwi, said that infections and fever among Haj pilgrims are very common as the temperatures are high at this time of the year. “The most ideal thing to do is to take precautions,” he said.

He also pointed out that elderly and young are most vulnerable to such attacks. “The best thing to do this season is to practice good hy-giene and wash your hands often as a good hand wash will kill virus-es,” said Dr. Mohammed.

Advising people to cover their faces with masks to cut down on the risk of infection, Dr. Mo-hammed said, “People feeling sick should consult the doctor immediately.”

Dr Sanju Joy, a doctor at Badr Al Samaa, said people travelling for Haj should also consume healthy

and fresh foods. “They should also drink plenty of water, which will help reduce infections,” he said.

Reiterating the necessity of staying hydrated, Dr Allam said, “Pilgrims are also advised to pro-tect themselves from the sun by using light coloured umbrellas and avoiding direct contact with sun-light for long hours as it can pose the risk of a sun stroke.”

Some of the rituals performed during Haj require pilgrims to in-dulge in considerable walking, as well as running to and from the Safa and Mawra, which requires physical fi tness and stamina, and which the pilgrims are advised to develop prior to the journey.

Since the transmission of in-fections is a risk some pilgrims could potentially face by coughing

and physical interaction, Dr. Al-lam advised travellers to carry a handkerchief with them at all the times to cover their mouth and nose while coughing or sneezing, as well as washing their hands or using hand sanitising gels.

Getting vaccinated before travel is also an essential practice, “It is very important that before you commence your journey, you get

all the proper vaccinations re-quired to protect yourself from any infections,” said Dr. Allam.

Heart strokesThe elderly also run the risk of heart strokes while undergoing strenuous activities during the Haj, which is one the most com-mon health problems experienced by the elderly during Haj season.

“It is advisable that you visit your physician to check your heart’s condition and discuss what kind of activities you should re-frain from doing,” said the doctor.

Finally, carrying travel kits, with essentials for common colds, stomach fl u or small cuts and bruises is also a necessity, said Dr. Allam.

He also advised to reduce con-tact with sick animals. “The source of the MERS infection is said to have originated from animals. In the Middle East, the MERS Corona Virus has been found in camels. As a general precaution, anyone visiting farms, markets, barns, or other places where cam-els and other animals are present should practice general hygiene measures, including regular hand washing before and after touching animals, and should avoid contact with sick animals,” he warned.

S A F E T Y T I P S

MAKKAH AL MUKAR-RAMAH: Sheikh Issa bin Yousef Al Busaidi, Head of the Omani Haj Mission (OHM) visited camps for the Omani pilgrims at Mina and Arafat.

The visit was aimed at viewing arrangements, preparations and services that would help the pilgrims to perform the Haj rituals smoothly and easily.

The head of the mission

affi rmed that 90 per cent preparations for receiving the Omani pilgrims at the Mina Camp are complete. The pilgrims would be received on 5th of Dhul Hijjah at the Arafat Camp.

Mina and Arafat Camps have several utilities and ambulance centres that are provided with air condition-ing and other facilities. -ONA

See also >A4

Omani Haj mission chief visits Mina, Arafat camps in Saudi

Shura election to be held on October 25 Times News Service

MUSCAT: Sayyid Hamoud bin Faisal Al Busaidi, Minister of Interior announced the date for Majlis Al Shura election on Thursday.

Issuing a decision, the minister announced that on Sunday, Octo-ber 25, 2015 the elections for the 8th term of Majlis Al Shura would

be held. As per the decision, all voting centres in the Sultanate will be open from 7.00 am to 7.00 pm on October 25.

The Ministry of Interior af-fi rmed that it has taken all neces-sary steps to ensure the success of elections process and provide healthy environment to help voters in Oman cast their votes smoothly.

M I N I S T E R O F I N T E R I O R

US and Russian defence chiefs spoke on Friday, to discuss the crisis in Syria. In London, US Secretary of State John Kerry said US was looking to “fi nd a common ground” with Russia. >A4

Sixty-four secret fi les relating to India’s pre-Independence nationalist leader Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s disappearance--an enduring enigma for seven decades--were released on Friday. >A6

US, RUSSIA HOLD TALKS OVER SYRIA

INDIAN SECRET FILES RELEASED

iefs spoke isis in tary

S was ground”

OLD YRIA

ROAD CONDITIONS

GraphicsSource: Global Competitiveness Report World Economic Forum (WEF)

Extremely underdeveloped1 -Extensive and efficient7 -

0 7UAE

PortugalAustriaFrance

The NetherlandsSingapore

Hong KongOman

SwitzerlandJapanSpain

GermanyTaiwan

FinlandLuxembourg

United StatesCroatia

South KoreaMalaysia

SwedenDenmark

BahrainCanadaCyprusIreland

Saudi ArabiaBelgiumNamibia

Puerto RicoUnited Kingdom

6.66.36.36.26.16.16.06.06.05.95.95.95.95.9

5.75.75.65.65.65.55.45.45.35.35.35.35.35.35.25.2

A2 S AT U R DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

OMAN

Science, tech experts to spur growth plans

MOBIN MATHEW BLESSONmobinmathew@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Oman needs science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) profession-als to drive the country’s innova-tion and competitiveness, experts have suggested.

Ithraa’s fourth seminar in the Oman at Work series, dedicated to the topic ‘STEM: Jobs of the Fu-ture,’ and held at the Bank Muscat Head Offi ce, explored how sci-ence, technology, engineering and mathematics workers will drive Oman’s economic success by generating new ideas, companies, products and industries.

The panellists for the fi nal day were Dr Basel Dayyani from GUTECH, Dr Mohammed Al Mugheiry of Blue Ocean Consul-tancy, Dr Wael Al Harrasi from Petroleum Development Oman, Dr Sana Al Balushi from the Min-istry of Education, Salim Al Mah-rooqi from Technical Innovation Services, and Rayan Al Kalbani

of Mazoon Environmental and Technological Services.

The fi nal session of the series was moderated by Dr. Nadiya Al Saady, Executive Director, Oman Animal, Plant & Genetic Resourc-es Center. According to Al Saady, both traditional and emerging in-dustries will rely on science, tech-nology, engineering and mathe-matics -trained workers to ensure future economic success.

The discussion pointed out that changes in the global economy are increasing and stressed the need for science, technology, engi-neering and mathematics trained personnel.

Less women The discussion also touched on why the representation of women is less in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics workplace.

STEM is a natural priority in this region, said the panellists.

The Oman at Work seminar also discussed why there is a need for a shift in the approach to teaching and leveraging sci-ence, technology, engineering and mathematics.

According to Sana Al Balushi, the arts are a necessary adjunct to science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.

Private foundationsAlso, the speakers emphasised that private foundations should focus on developing Omani innovation.

“We must off er opportunities to Omanis and believe in their abilities. Omani skills are histori-cally known in various areas,” says Dr Wael Al Harrasi.

The infrastructure in Oman is ready to accept science, technol-ogy, engineering and mathemat-ics experts, and there are many opportunities in Oman, the panel-lists noted.

The four evenings of discussion

received positive feedback from participants.

United countryThe panellists agreed that the country must be united to equip Oman’s citizens with the modern science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills they need to compete.

The panellists also said that all sectors need to recognise that the demand for science, technology, engineering and mathematics-trained Omani talent is only going to increase in the years to come.

Following this discussion, the four part Oman at Work seminar series came to an end.

The series was designed by Ithraa, Oman’s inward invest-ment and export promotion agency, to help Oman’s public and private sector better under-stand the challenges and oppor-tunities of today’s evolving work environment.

Ithraa’s seminar in

the Oman at Work

series, dedicated

to the topic ‘STEM:

Jobs of the Future,’

explored how

technology, and

mathematics

professionals will

drive economic

success

TECHNOLOGY FIRST: The infrastructure in Oman is ready to accept science, technology, engineering

and mathematics experts, and there are many opportunities in Oman, the panellists noted.–File photo

We must off er opportunities to Omanis and believe in their abilities. Omani skills are historically known in various areas

Dr Wael Al Harrasi, Petroleum Development Oman

Oman’s state fund to retain Turkey container port stakeTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Oman’s State General Reserve Fund (SGRF), the main sovereign wealth fund of the Sul-tanate, plans to retain its 35 per cent stake in the Turkish contain-er port of Kumport.

SGRF confi rmed the decision in the context of the majority share-holder, FIBA Holding, announc-ing its decision to sell its 65 per cent stake to a consortium com-prised of China Merchants Hold-ings (International) Company Ltd. (CMHI), COSCO Pacifi c Ltd. (COSCO Pacifi c) and CIC Capital Corp. (CIC Capital).

Kumport is the third largest container terminal in Turkey and is located towards the north west of the Marmara Sea, on the Euro-pean side of Istanbul. It is an im-portant strategic location, placed at the junction of Europe and Asia. The terminal is located only 35 kilometres from the Bosphorus Strait, the sole gateway into the Black Sea region.

The container handling capacity of the terminal is pegged at 1.8 mil-lion twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) and could potentially be ex-panded to 3.5 million TEU. In 2014, Kumport handled a total container

throughput of 1.4 million TEU; ac-counting for 17 per cent of Turkey’s total, with the compound annual growth rate exceeding 30 per cent between 2009 and 2014.

SGRF has achieved signifi cant returns through this investment and the value of its business has more than doubled since its origi-nal investment in 2011. As a long-term investor, SGRF has a stra-tegic focus on ports and logistics as one of its key themes for direct investment, and the investment in Kumport is an important one in that context.

CMHI’s participation in the consortium represents the second collaboration between SGRF and CMHI after the announcement of their strategic partnership in the development of a port and special economic zone in Bagamoyo in Tanzania in October 2014.

Commenting on the develop-ment, Abdulsalam bin Mohammed Al Murshidi, Executive President of SGRF, stated: “Our partner-ship in this venture has been very positive and Kumport has become a very successful port in Turkey, which generates strong fi nancial returns. With FIBA now exiting, the company is entering into a new exciting phase.”

S O V E R E I G N W E A L T H

Competitors vie for app, web development honourHAMOOD AL BREIKI

MUSCAT: Some 20 designers, along with 15 participants experi-enced in marketing and 15 project managers, are participating in the second edition of the Sas48h competition, which began on Thursday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Sohar.

The competition will conclude on Saturday evening.

College students, job-seekers, professionals and all those in-terested in creating mobile apps and in web development are par-ticipating in the competition. The teams are divided to work over 48 hours continuously on a range of ideas in the fi eld of smart phones or web applications.

Each team will have one or two persons specialising in certain area and the entire team will work to make the idea a reality.

Commenting on the impor-tance of the event, Dr. Salim bin Sultan Al Ruzaiqi, the Chief Ex-ecutive Offi cer of Information Technology Authority (ITA) said, “The importance of this competi-tion lies in the message that we seek to spread, which is that Om-anis are capable of innovation and creativity in various fi elds and disciplines and particularly in the information and communication technology sector.

“They just need the right envi-ronment and conditions to help them unleash their potential and turn their ideas into successful projects, and therein lies the role of ITA in the competition and in other initiatives in which young Omanis can take advantage of their abilities and talent to devel-op the IT sector and explore en-trepreneurship in the Sultanate.”

Al Ruzaiqi added: “We are very proud of the Sas48h competi-tion’s fi rst edition achievements, during which some successful SMEs (small and medium enter-prises) were created in the fi eld of information and communication technology and were able to sign a number of agreements with large companies over the past year. We hope to see other successful pro-

jects formed during this year’s edition, which will contribute to building a digital Omani society and encourage e-governance.”

On choosing Sohar to host the second edition of Sas48h, Maha Mohammad Al Balushi, Director of the Sas Programme for En-trepreneurship, said: “We chose Sohar to host the second edition of this competition to prove that Omani talent is not confi ned to the capital city only. This year, we collaborated with the Sohar port and a number of companies work-ing in the industrial area in Sohar to determine the applications needed in this area, which can be utilized by those companies and therefore achieve our goal of en-couraging entrepreneurship and the establishment of small com-panies in this vital sector.”

Al Balushi added: “We will be working over 48 hours continu-ously and under the supervision

of a dedicated team from the Re-public of Estonia and the ITA, as well as some specialists from companies in Sohar. This year, we are also focusing on conducting a series of specialised workshops in the art of leadership and gov-ernance, as well as in the fi eld of design and development for soft-ware and applications.”

Sas48h winners’ are award-ed up to OMR21,000, of which OMR10,000 is given to the win-ner, OMR7,000 is awarded to the fi rst runner-up and OMR4,000 is given to the second runner-up. Half of the prize money is handed to the winners, while the remain-der is allocated to the develop-ment of their winning projects. Winners also get the chance to be incubated at the Sas Center for Entrepreneurship, where they are extended the necessary technical support and consulting services.

W E B A P P L I C A T I O N S

We chose Sohar to host the second edition

of this competition to prove that Omani talent

is not confined to the capital city only

Maha Mohammad Al BalushiDirector of the Sas Programme

SEALING THE DEAL: Kumport is the third largest container terminal

in Turkey and is located towards the north west of the Marmara

Sea, on the European side of Istanbul.–Supplied

A3

OMANS AT U R DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

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National symphony’s new landmark

MUSCAT: On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Roy-al Oman Symphony Orchestra (ROSO), a celebration was held on Thursday evening at the Royal Op-era House Muscat (ROHM).

To mark the event, ROSO pre-sented a number of its perfor-mances that have gained global recognition.

His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Minis-ters and Chairman of the Supreme Committee for the Royal Opera House, had earlier received a del-egation that included the ROHM Director General and the Troupes General Coordinator, the maestro for the event, symphony compos-ers and their representatives. The meeting was attended by ROHM Board members.

HH Sayyid Fahd hailed the par-ticipation of the ROSO in a num-

ber of local and foreign events and pointed out that it has received rec-ognition from numerous quarters due to its outstanding artistic style.

On the occasion, HH Sayyid Fahd also pointed out that the es-tablishment of the ROSO refl ected His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said’s continuous interest in en-hancing civil and cultural commu-

nication with diff erent countries across the world.

He added that arts and litera-ture had refl ected the cultural face of Omani heritage through-out history, praising ROSO for its artistic cooperation, as well as the achievements and continuous development of ROHM over the past years.

HH Sayyid Fahd also commend-ed the positive response of citizens to the artistic performances staged by ROSO. He later presented a me-mento at the ROSO headquarters.

The event was attended by a num-ber of senior state offi cials, heads of diplomatic missions accredited to the Sultanate, academicians and the avant-garde of ROHM.

The programme for the event included the symphonic ‘Suite Omaniya’ by Yousef Shawki, Egypt, Omani Symphonic Danc-es 1,2,3, by Aziz Al Shawan and Yousef Shawki, ‘Blessed Renais-sance’ by Hamdan Al Shuaily and Bird Redmann, Germany. ‘Sym-phonic Impressions of Oman,’ by famous Argentine composer Lalo

Shifrin and ‘The Pathway to Oman’ by Russian Shirvani Chalaev were also performed.

Omani drumsThe music mixed with the beats of Omani drums and instruments of the European Omani classical or-chestra, presented an impressive and harmonious combination, to the extent that the tunes extracted from traditional Omani beats add-ed new musical dimensions, and vowed all the listeners.

ROSO was founded in Septem-ber 1985 under a directive of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, whose interest in music and cul-ture propelled the whole project. Based on that, Omani youth, who nursed a passion for the new world of music, were recruited. The idea was unique and rare in the begin-ning and considered a courageous step, fi lled with confi dence and en-couragement.

Notable performancesROSO’s march has seen notable performances, including in Bel-gium, in Berlin, Germany and at Unesco in Paris and other coun-tries of the world. A lot of ROSO founding members, who started their musical career with practic-ing classical music for the fi rst time, are still performing with ROSO today. A promising future awaits these young Omanis. With eff ort and knowledge they have the potential to produce a generation of composers, orchestra conduc-tors, musicians, music teachers, who will contribute to the devel-opment of the Omani music in a classical manner.

The success of the ROSO, which includes young Omanis who de-serve praise for their commit-ment and dedication to their art, is attributed to the wise guidance of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, his wise vision and generous confi dence in the establishment of this orchestra and his extreme re-gard for it.–ONA

Royal Oman

Symphony Orchestra

(ROSO) was founded

in September 1985

under a directive of

His Majesty Sultan

Qaboos bin Said,

whose interest in

music and culture

propelled the project.

ROSO’s march

has seen notable

performances,

including in Belgium,

Berlin and at Unesco

in Paris

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

SAYYED KHALID, TOP OFFICIALS PARTICIPATE IN NIZWA’S SULTAN QABOOS MOSQUE INAUGURATIONSultan Qaboos Mosque in Nizwa was inaugurated on Friday by Sayyed Khalid bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court. Al Busaidi along with a number of ministers, undersecretaries

and other offi cials participated in the prayer. – ONA

A4 S AT U R DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

REGION

US, Russia defence chiefs seek Syria common ground

WASHINGTON/BEIRUT: US and Russian defence chiefs spoke for the fi rst time in over a year on Friday, breaking their silence to discuss the crisis in Syria as Mos-cow’s increasing military buildup there raised the prospect of coor-dination between the former Cold War foes.

The Pentagon said the call lasted about 50 minutes and in-cluded an agreement for further US-Russian talks about ways to keep their respective militaries out of each other’s way, some-thing known as “deconfl iction” in military parlance.

The United States fi ercely op-

poses Russia’s support for Syr-ian President Bashar Al Assad. The Pentagon last year cut off high-level military talks with Moscow after Russia’s annexa-tion of Crimea and intervention in Ukraine.

But Russia’s buildup at Syria’s Latakia airbase raises the pos-sibility of simultaneous US and Russian air combat missions in Syrian airspace.

Heavy Russian equipment such as tanks and helicopters, as well as naval infantry forces, have re-cently been moved to Latakia, an Assad stronghold, US offi cials say.

US Defence Secretary Ash

Carter has told Russian coun-terpart Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu that future conversations would run in parallel “with dip-lomatic talks that would ensure a political transition in Syria,” the Pentagon said.

Defeating IS“He noted that defeating (IS mili-tants) and ensuring a political transition are objectives that need to be pursued at the same time,” the Pentagon said.

The last time a US defence chief spoke with Shoigu was in August 2014, the Pentagon said.

Both Moscow and Washington

say their enemy is IS, whose fi ght-ers control large parts of Syria.

Washington believes that As-sad’s presence is fueling the Syr-ian crisis, but Russia continues to support its long-time ally.

End hardshipIn London, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States was looking to “fi nd a common ground” with Russia.

Kerry said it was important to forge a political agreement in Syria and end the hardship of Syrian people.

“Everybody is seized by the urgency. We have been all along

but the migration levels and con-tinued destruction, the danger of potential augmentation by any unilateral moves puts a high pre-mium on diplomacy at this mo-ment,” he said.

Car bombsMeanwhile, insurgents detonated at least fi ve car bombs and fi red 370 rockets at two minority sect villages in northwestern Syria on Friday, a monitor said, in a new assault on besieged government-held areas.

An alliance of insurgent groups, including Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front, attacked Al Foua and Kefraya in Idlib province, an area bordering Turkey that is mostly held by in-surgents after rebel advances this year, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Thousands of civilians have been living under siege in the two villages, which are still held by government forces.

Fierce clashes raged between the government forces and insur-gents of the “Army of Conquest”, a coalition of groups that includes Nusra Front and the powerful Ah-rar Al Sham, the Observatory said. The number of casualties was not immediately clear.

Warring sides agreed to a brief ceasefi re last month in the two vil-lages and in Zabadani, a rebel-held town near the Lebanese border under siege by government forces and by Hezbollah, a Damascus ally. But the two-day ceasefi re, the sec-ond that month, collapsed before wounded people could be evacu-ated from both areas. Government forces have since intensifi ed their assault on Zabadani and say they are on the verge of seizing the town, where insurgents are holed up in its centre. — Reuters

The Pentagon said

the call lasted

about 50 minutes

and included an

agreement for further

US-Russian talks

about ways to keep

their respective

militaries out of

each other’s way,

something known

as ‘deconfl iction’ in

military parlance UNENDING DESTRUCTION: A man rides a motorcycle near damaged buildings in Maarat Al Nouman,

south of Idlib, on Thursday. — Reuters

Palestinians clash with Israeli forcesOCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Palestinians clashed Friday with Israeli security forces in occupied Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank after Hamas called for a “day of rage” over tensions at the Al Aqsa mosque.

In occupied Jerusalem, three police were injured as a fi rebomb struck their van in the Jabal Muk-aber district and fi ve Palestinians were arrested, including at least three youths, police said.

Tensions were running high at nightfall in the area, where secu-rity forces were deployed in large numbers.

Police fi red tear gas and rubber bullets as protesters pelted them with stones in city neighbour-hoods around the Mount of Olives, including in Shuafat refugee camp.

But the situation was calm in the Old City and at the Al Aqsa mosque compound.

Offi cials said about 3,000 police had deployed after three days of violence this week.

In the West Bank, however, an AFP correspondent reported that skirmishes were more intense than normal for a Friday, which have become a day of protests fol-lowing weekly Muslim prayers.

At Kafr Kaddum near Nablus, Israeli fi re wounded three Pales-tinians in their arms and legs, said the Red Crescent.

Youths hurled projectiles at po-lice near Ofer prison, Qalandiya checkpoint and Jalazun refugee camp -- fl ashpoints in the long-running confl ict between Israel and the Palestinians.

The protesters adopted the same slogan everywhere.

“By our soul and our blood, we sacrifi ce ourselves for you Al-Aqsa,” chanted hundreds of them gathered in Nablus and the Gaza Strip.— AFP

D A Y O F R A G E

Pilgrims’ safety a priority: Saudi Crown PrinceMECCA: The safety of pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia is a pri-ority, the country’s crown prince said on Friday, assuring that a deadly crane accident will not af-fect this year’s Haj.

Prince Mohammed bin Nayef was referring to a tragedy a week ago, when a massive crane being used in work on an expansion of Mecca’s Grand Mosque toppled into a courtyard, killing 108 people. Another 402 people were injured.

Record timePrince Mohammed, quoted by the offi cial Saudi Press Agency, said the kingdom always “takes into consideration the safety of pil-grims as a priority”.

The incident has been dealt with “in record time with the directives issued by King Salman and... has no more eff ect whatsoever on the Haj plans for this year.”

The prince, who is also interior minister, on Thursday reviewed a parade and drill by security offi c-ers demonstrating their readiness

to protect the Haj from attacks or accidents.

Binladen Group sanctionedOn Tuesday, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud sanctioned the contractor, Saudi Binladin Group, after he reviewed an in-vestigative committee’s fi ndings that the fi rm was “in part respon-sible” for the crane collapse during severe winds.

He ordered prosecutors to pre-pare an indictment, excluded the company from new public projects and forbade its executives from leaving the country pending the completion of legal action.

Saudis, Iranians, Nigerians, Ma-laysians, Indonesians and Indians died in what was the worst Haj-related accident in years.

Nine of the dead have yet to be identifi ed, Health Minister Khaled Al Falih said Thursday, with an-other two bodies still thought to be under the remains of the crane. — AFP

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

OBEISANCE: Muslim pilgrims pray around the Ka’aba during their fi nal circling at the Grand Mosque

during the annual Haj pilgrimage in Mecca October 6, 2014. — Reuters

Push toward Yemen capital ‘slow but sure’, says Gulf allianceRIYADH: A Saudi-led coalition is making slow but steady progress fi ve days into a major off ensive towards the rebel-held capital of Yemen, a coalition source said on Friday.

Giving a rare update on the fi ghting in Marib province, east of Sanaa, the source told AFP “things are going slowly but surely.”

Coalition-supported forces

backing exiled President Abedrab-bo Mansour Hadi began their push Sunday against the Houthi rebels and allied troops loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Taking Marib, in central Yemen, would allow the coalition to move on Sanaa, which the Houthis seized last year.

“The battle will not enter its de-cisive phase yet,” because the coa-

lition seeks to minimise its casual-ties, the source said.

The bulk of coalition troops are massed about 50 kilometres (31 miles) from Marib city waiting for “zero hour,” when they will move on the provincial capital, he said.

In the meantime, the coalition is targeting rebel supply lines to Sanaa and the Houthi stronghold of Saada in the far north.

“Progress occurred this morn-ing north of Marib dam,” several kilometres from Marib city, where howitzers, fi ghter jets and heli-copters targeted resistance, the source said.

“The battle to restore Marib is a vital operation because it will be the beginning of a quick end” to the Houthis’ control, he added.

Months of coalition air strikes

have failed to dislodge the Hou-this from territory they had seized in Yemen.

Lose groundBut the insurgents began to lose ground in July when the coalition sent in armour, troops and Yemeni fi ghters trained in Saudi Arabia.

An analyst has estimated the coalition has more than 5,000

troops in Yemen, supporting local forces.

The Marib off ensive began after an early-September missile strike on a coalition base in the province killed 67 coalition soldiers, in-cluding 52 from the United Arab Emirates.

The United Nations says near-ly 4,900 people have been killed since late March in Yemen. — AFP

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

IS attack on Libya airport kills threeTRIPOLI: Militants attacked Tripoli’s airport on Friday and killed three security personnel, a Libyan offi cial said, in an as-sault claimed by the IS group.

“An armed group carried out an attack this morning on the prison located on the Mitiga air base, to try to free the de-tainees,” the airport security offi cial said.

“First there was an explo-sion... and then a clash with automatic weapons,” he said, adding that at least eight attack-ers died.

An AFP journalist who was at the airport heard a blast fol-lowed by gunfi re.

IS later claimed the attack on Twitter.

Four militants -- a Moroccan, a Tunisian and two Sudanese -- died in the attack after hav-ing killed or wounded several guards inside the prison, the group said. — AFP

T R I P L O ’ S M I T I G A

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INDIAS AT U R DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

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‘MOSQUITO TERMINATOR TRAIN’ TO TACKLE DENGUEA ‘Mosquito Terminator Train’ at work after it was fl agged off in New Delhi on Friday in a Northern Railway-Municipal Corpora-

tion of Delhi joint operation to check mosquito breeding in water bodies along the railway track. Dengue crisis in the national

capital showed no signs of abating with a 17-year old boy succumbing to the vector-borne disease on Friday allegedly due to

medical negligence, taking the death toll to 17 as private and government hospitals strained to grapple with the rising number

of patients. Facing criticism, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sought cooperation of the opposition to deal with the situation. - PTI

Sheena murder case handed over to CBIMUMBAI: Virtually washing its hands off the Sheena Bora murder case, the Maharashtra govern-ment on Friday yanked it from Mumbai police and handed over the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Making the surprise announcement, Ad-ditional Chief Secretary (Home) K.P. Bakshi said this was to en-sure “a fair and impartial probe” into the sensational murder case which broke on August 25.

“For the last few days, since the former Mumbai police com-missioner (Rakesh Maria) was replaced by Ahmad Javed, the media has sought to convey the impression that eff orts were on to deliberately try and dilly-dally and interfere with the (murder) inquiry,” Bakshi said.

However, when the transfers-cum-promotions took place, Bak-shi said he had taken great pains to clarify that there was no connec-tion between the administrative decisions and the murder case.

“I am compelled to say that because of this impression being created by certain sections of the media and based on the report of the DGP, we have decided to hand

over the case to the CBI,” Bak-shi said, referring to speculation whether Maria was promoted or ‘removed’. Director General of Police Sanjeev Dayal has sub-mitted a complete status report on the Sheena murder case and also off ered his comments on what should be done in future, he added. After lengthy discus-sions with Chief Minister Deven-dra Fadnavis and top police and civil offi cials on Friday, the state government decided that “not a single state offi cer should be in-volved or connected with the in-vestigations”. - IANS

M Y S T E R I O U S M U R D E R

Sheena Bora

Modi hits out at Congress for failing poor during its rule

VARANASI: Taking a swipe at the ‘garibi hatao (remove poverty)’ campaign of the Congress party, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said those who could not bring any real change in the lives of the poor or even open bank accounts for them during their fi ve-decade rule were now questioning his government.

The prime minister, on his fi rst trip to his Lok Sabha constituen-cy in over eight months, claimed poverty alleviation measures have lacked a proper direction and they

are spoken about during election time as a “tradition”.

He also took a dig at the critics of his “Jan Dhan Yojana”, saying had they helped the poor open bank accounts earlier they would have been spared the worry about operation of the recently opened accounts under the scheme.

“What these people could not do in 50 years, I will do in 50 months, I have come here to tell this,” Modi said. “We have been hearing about ‘garibi hatao’ for the last 40-50

years. In elections also, we have been hearing about poverty al-leviation programmes for poor. It has become a tradition in politics to talk about the poor and their welfare. There is need to come out of this tradition,” Modi said.

He said till now all experiments in this regard have not yielded the desired results and “we have not been able to bring the desired changes in the lives of the poor. I don’t want to blame any govern-ment, but want to focus on things

that the poor can come out of pov-erty,” Modi said.

The prime minister wondered why none of the educated ever questioned any politician in the past as to why bank accounts were not opened for the poor.

“Banks were nationalised in the country 25 years ago, but it did not help the poor to gain access to these fi nancial institutions.

“No educated person has ever asked any politician why bank accounts were not opened for the

poor. It was taken for granted,” he said, adding that under the PM’s Jan Dhan Yojana over 18 crore bank accounts were opened and the poor have deposited Rs 30,000 crore of their money in such ac-counts after his government was formed.

“Those who did not open any bank accounts for the poor are today seeking my accountabil-ity on the issue. They are worried whether the new bank accounts we opened are operational.

“It would have been much bet-ter had these people worked in last 40-50 years to open doors of banks to poverty stricken people.They would not have to asked me such questions today,” he said.

Skill developmentModi stressed on skill develop-ment and said if technology is allowed to enter the lives of the poorest of the poor, they can earn more and become self-reliant.

He earlier distributed 101 E-rickshaws and another 501 cycle-rickshaws to poor people who never owned a rickshaw in their lifetime.

Modi said this programme is not just to change the lives of a few people but a new beginning that will change the future of ‘Kashi’ and its poor.

“Due to these things, things will start moving fast and the town will get a new identity and the com-mon man’s lives will improve,” he said. - PTI

Prime Minister

Narendra Modi said

we have been hearing

about ‘garibi hatao’

slogan of Congress

party for the last

40-50 years. It has

become a tradition

in politics to talk

about the poor

and their welfare INITIATIVE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with a benefi ciary while giving away e-rick-

shaws and pedal rickshaws to help impoverished families access sustainable livelihood under the a

fi nancial inclusion programme, at a function in his constituency Varanasi on Friday. -PTI

Fisherman

killed in fi ring

off Gujarat coast

AHMEDABAD/ NEW DELHI: An Indian fi sherman was on Fri-day killed in fi ring from an uni-dentifi ed boat at his vessel off the Gujarat coast even as the local fi shermen association blamed the Pakistan Maritime Security Agen-cy (MSA) for the attack.

Indian fi sherman Iqbal, 40, suc-cumbed to his injuries after being hit by a bullet on right collar bone.

Giving details, the Coast Guard said its ship Vijit intercepted a VHF (very high frequency) call at 9:30am seeking assistance from an Indian fi shing boat which was being fi red upon by an “unidenti-fi ed boat 10 NM (18.56 km) across notional International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL)”.

Two ships Vijit and Meera Behn — which were on patrol duty, were immediately diverted towards the position of incident to investigate and render assistance.

A Dornier aircraft was also pressed into action to carry out aerial surveillance.

“Vijit eff ected rendezvous with the boat and ascertained that the fi ring incident had resulted in the death of a fi sherman. The remain-ing crew is safe,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.

The fi shing vessel is being brought back to Okha in Gujarat.

Probe underwayAsked about the alleged involve-ment of Pakistan’s Maritime Se-curity Agency, the offi cial said a probe is underway and it would be premature to draw any conclusion at this stage. - PTI

U N I D E N T I F I E D B O A T

NDA expected to win 140 seats in Bihar assembly polls: SurveyNEW DELHI: The BJP-led NDA will win at least 140 seats and the JD(U)-RJD-Congress alliance can be reduced to 70 seats in Bihar as-sembly polls, according to a survey done for Zee News.

The survey has forecast that the saff ron alliance will win over 50.8 per cent of votes, a rare feat in the state, while the Nitish Kumar-La-lu Prasad combine will have over 42.5 per cent vote share.

It also claims that over 41.2 per cent of Muslims are rooting for the NDA which also enjoys an edge over the grand alliance among Ya-dav voters. Muslims and Yadavs are seen as crucial support base of the ‘secular’ alliance.

The survey, according to a state-ment, says NDA and the grand alli-ance will win over 140 and 70 seats respectively and are locked in a “close fi ght” in 22 constituencies.

Meanwhile, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), an ally of the BJP, on Friday declared the names of 13 candidates for Bihar polls with majority of them going to big lead-ers of the fl edgling party and their family members. As per the seat sharing agreement of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies, the HAM would contest 20 seats.

Announcing the names of 13 candidates, HAM president Jitan

Ram Manjhi said he would contest from his old seat Makhdumpur (reserved) in Jehanabad district.

Manjhi’s son Santosh Kumar would be the party candidate from Kutumba (reserved seat) in Au-rangabad district. His other son Devendra Kumar was expected to contest from Masaurhi (reserved seat) in Patna district.

HAM Bihar president Shakuni Chaudhary has been made a candi-

date from Tarapur in Munger. His son Rakesh Kumar would be the HAM nominee from Khagaria.

Shakuni Chaudhary’s another son Rakesh Kumar alias Samrat Chaudhary, who was a minister in the Manjhi ministry, was a MLA from Parbatta in Khagaria district and was expected to get nomina-tion from there.

Elsewhere, the HAM has nomi-nated legislators who sided with

Manjhi in his fi ght against his men-tor Nitish Kumar. Former minister Brishen Patel would contest from his traditional seat Vaishali. Shahid Ali Khan has been made candidate from Sursand in Sitamarhi.

In Mahua in Vaishali district, HAM announced the name of Ravindra Rai, the sitting Janata Dal (United) MLA, whose mem-bership was terminated for going against party. -PTI

Z E E N E W S

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INDIAS AT U R DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

Today is a historic day. Our government has made all Netaji fi les public. People have a right to know about the brave son of India

Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal chief minister

64 Netaji secret files declassified

KOLKATA: Sixty-four secret fi les relating to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose that could help throw light on his mysterious disappearance — an enduring enigma for seven decades —were on Friday released by West Bengal government with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asking the Centre to follow suit.

Fulfi lling a long-standing de-mand, Mamata described as “his-toric” the declassifi cation of the closely guarded fi les on one of the country’s foremost national-ist leaders and said people should know the truth.

The Centre has 130 fi les. Hid-den in police and government lockers for years, the 64 fi les containing 12,744 pages were de-classifi ed here in the presence of Bose’s family members who have

been demanding that information on the leader of the Azad Hind Fauj(Indian National Army-INA) be made public.

The fi les displayed in glass cases in Kolkata Police Museum would be made accessible to the public from Monday, City Police Com-missioner Surajit Kar Purakayas-tha said. Of the 64 fi les, 55 were with Kolkata Police while another nine were with the state police.

Purakayastha handed over a DVD containing the fi les in digit-ised format to the family members of Netaji who welcomed its re-lease. “Today is a historic day. Our government has made all Netaji fi les public. People have a right to know about the brave son of India,” Mamata, who visited the police museum,tweeted.

Later, she said, “We made a be-ginning. The people should know the truth. Let the central govern-

ment also declassify the fi les (on Netaji). Let good sense prevail on all of us. You cannot suppress the truth. Let truth come out.

“In 70 years, the mystery has not been solved. We did not know what happened (to Netaji). It is unfortunate. How long you can keep it under secrecy. You read the fi les in details.”

Welcoming the declassifi ca-tion of the 64 fi les, Chandra Bose, Netaji’s grandnephew said, “It is a correct step. Now it is the duty of the central government to declas-sify 130 fi les it has with it.”

Chandra Bose said, “By keep-ing the fi les (on Netaji) under secrecy for 70 long years, some leaders have committed treachery towards the country. It is the duty of the central government to de-classify those fi les to expose those leaders.” He said that it is not possible to keep those fi les under

secrecy any longer. Another fam-ily member of Netaji and a former TMC MP Krishna Bose said that Mamata has taken a bold step by declassifying the fi les.

“So far there were gossips, now truth will come out. I am happy that the fi les have been made pub-lic”, she said, adding that the Cen-tre should also do so.

Centre’s standBose’s family members and re-searchers have repeatedly main-tained the secret fi les lying in Delhi are of signifi cance, as they contain the answer to the key questions on the disappearance of the fi rebrand leader and the subsequent years.

The Prime Minister’s Offi ce in August told the Central Informa-tion Commission it cannot declas-sify fi les related to Bose as it will adversely aff ect relations with for-eign countries. - PTI

Fulfi lling a long-

standing demand,

West Bengal Chief

Minister Mamata

Banerjee described

as ‘historic’ the

declassifi cation of

the closely guarded

fi les on one of the

country’s foremost

nationalist leaders

and said people

should know the truth

IN PUBLIC DOMAIN: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s family member Chandra Bose along with Kolkata

Police Commissioner Surajit Purakayastha releases a DVD of confi dential fi les on Netaji at Kolkata

Police Museum on Friday. - PTI

KOLKATA: Sixty-four secret fi les relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose that could help throw light on his mysterious disappearance -- an endur-ing enigma for seven decades -- were on Friday released by West Bengal government with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asking the Centre to follow suit.

Fulfi lling a long-standing demand, Mamata described as “historic” the declassifi ca-tion of the closely guarded fi les on one of the country’s foremost nationalist leaders and said people should know the truth.

The Centre has 130 fi les. Hidden in police and govern-ment lockers for years, the 64 fi les containing 12,744 pages were declassifi ed here in the presence of Bose’s family members who have been de-manding that information on the leader of the Azad Hind Fauj(Indian National Army-INA) be made public.

The fi les displayed in glass cascades in Kolkata Police Museum would be made accessible to the public from Monday, City Police Commis-sioner Surajit Kar Purakayas-tha said.

Of the 64 fi les, 55 were with Kolkata Police while another nine were with the state police.

Purakayastha handed over a DVD containing the fi les in

digitised format to the family members of Netaji who wel-comed its release.

“Today is a historic day. Our government has made all Netaji fi les public. People have a right to know about the brave son of India,” Mamata, who visited the police mu-seum, tweeted.

Later, she said, “We made a beginning. The people should know the truth.

“Let the central govern-ment also declassify the fi les (on Netaji). Let good sense prevail on all of us.

You cannot suppress the truth. Let truth come out.

“In 70 years, the mystery has not been solved. We did not know what happened (to Netaji). It is unfortunate. How long you can keep it under secrecy.

You read the fi les in details.”

Welcoming the declassifi -cation of the 64 fi les, Chandra Bose, Netaji’s grandnephew said, “It is a correct step. Now it is the duty of the central government to declassify 130 fi les it has with it.”

Chandra Bose said, “By keeping the fi les (on Netaji) under secrecy for 70 long years, some leaders have committed treachery towards the country. It is the duty of the central government to de-classify those fi les to expose those leaders.”

Union government serious on solving mystery: BJP

2.3 million apply for 368 low-level government jobsLUCKNOW: Overwhelmed In-dian offi cials are struggling to sift through applications after 2.3 mil-lion people applied for a few hun-dred low-level government jobs, a worrying sign that too many peo-ple are chasing too little work in Asia’s third-largest economy.

Prabhat Mittal, the hiring man-ager for the jobs in Uttar Pradesh, a northern state with a popula-tion bigger than Brazil’s, said he was stunned by the volume of applications. It would take more than three years to interview can-didates. The jobs pay Rs16,000 ($243) a month and will involve making tea and passing fi les be-tween government offi ces.

Requirements for the 368 jobs include having fi nished primary school and being able to ride a bike. The applicants included at least 255 people with doctorates and 150,000 graduates. “It is unbe-lievable,” Mittal said. “It is going to be very diffi cult for us to devise an appropriate entrance exam.”

Desperate scrambleThe desperate scramble for jobs poses a challenge for Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi, who swept to power last year with the larg-est victory in three decades with a mandate to provide jobs and economic growth. India is dis-proportionately young: half of the population is under the age of 25.

The country will add up to 300 million people — the equivalent of almost the entire population of the United States — to its work-

force over the next two decades.This so-called demographic

dividend is one reason that some economists predict India will en-joy higher levels of growth than rivals, such as China, as they cope with ageing populations.

However, unless jobs can be found for this vast workforce then this prized asset could turn into a crippling burden.

The number of applications for the government jobs is 16 times the level in 2006, the last time the UP government recruited for similar jobs. India’s vast bu-reaucracy is seen as an attractive place to work because it is diffi -cult to fi re employees. - Reuters

U T T A R P R A D E S H

India’s dream of borderless trade grinds to a halt at checkpoints on state bordersWALAYAR/NEW DELHI: At the Walayar checkpoint in south-ern India, lines of idle trucks stretch as far as the eye can see in both directions along the tree-lined interstate highway, waiting for clearance from tax inspectors that can take days to complete.

Delays are so bad that textile en-trepreneur D Bala Sundaram has stopped sending his trucks to the international container terminal at nearby Cochin, instead divert-ing them hundreds of kilometres to a smaller regional port and on-wards via Sri Lanka.

“Our containers would get stuck for four to fi ve days,” said Sundar-am, who runs a fi rm with an annual turnover of $150 million. “Offi cials at the checkpost are fi nicky.”

The rollout of a nationwide goods and services tax (GST) from April was supposed to sweep away hundreds of checkposts on India’s state borders, paving the way for the seamless movement of goods from the tropical south to the Him-alayas in the north.

Hopes fadingBut political opposition and the di-lution of some of the tax’s key ten-ets mean hopes are fading that the checkposts will be demolished any time soon, a major blow for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reform agenda — and for India’s economy.

The rollout of the long-delayed GST regularly tops the list of de-mands made by CEOs of Indian and foreign companies.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley calls the new sales tax a “game changer” that will subsume a slew of federal and state levies, making Asia’s third-largest economy one

of the world’s largest single mar-kets and bumping up economic growth. But opposition parties prevented a vote on the GST in the last session of parliament, making a rollout next April unlikely.

Even when the tax is eventually implemented, concessions made to win support from states mean many of the obstructions to a cus-toms union will stay.

For example, while the GST will be collected on goods and ser-vices in states where they are con-sumed, Jaitley allowed a 1 per cent additional levy on the cross-border transport of goods, to please states with large manufacturing bases.

Items such as alcohol, tobacco and petrol have been kept out of the new tax bill.

States have also been given the fl exibility to fi x their GST rates within a band, providing arbi-

trage in the inter-state movement of goods.

“Enforcement is defi nitely re-quired, we cannot do away with it at any point,” said a senior state government offi cial in Tamil Nadu. “We will need checkposts.”

Other provinces have similar plans to check tax evasion.

States such as Maharashtra, which includes commercial capi-tal Mumbai, are even erecting new checkpoints.

Logistical hasslesIndia has more than 650 interstate checkpoints, which studies say in-crease truck travel time by a quar-ter. Road traffi c accounts for about 60 per cent of all freight movement in India and such delays, McK-insey estimates, infl ate logistics costs to 13 percent of India’s gross domestic product.

Sundaram, whose KG Group is one of the biggest fi rms in west-ern Tamil Nadu, says sending his shipments from the industrial city of Coimbatore hundreds of kilo-metres in the wrong direction to Tuticorin port, on Tamil Nadu’s southern coast, has pushed up his freight costs by 20 per cent.

Unlike Cochin, the Tuticorin port is not a container terminal, so his cargo must go from there to Colombo, where it is loaded on to a container ship to be sent around the globe. But the additional cost is worth it for Sundaram, who says it means he can honour his commit-ments on time.

Ease of doing businessThese travails underscore the challenge for Modi, who has set an ambitious goal of improving India’s position on a World Bank “Doing Business” ranking from a woeful 142 of 189 to the top 50 by 2017.

Jaitley views the GST rollout as the biggest push in achieving that target.

He and his aides argue that, over time, higher tax collections and better compliance under the GST will encourage states to start dis-mantling the border checkposts.

“Once you start tracking sales online, there will be less need to have checkposts,” Rashmi Verma, a senior offi cial in the fi nance min-istry revenue department, told Reuters. “The cost of maintaining these checkposts will far outweigh the benefi ts.” Saloni Roy, senior di-rector at tax consultants Deloitte, agrees that the new tax will be a big improvement, but is not sure it will herald a borderless trade. -Reuters

G O O D S A N D S E R V I C E S T A X

Requirements for

the 368 jobs include

having finished

primary school and

being able to ride a

bike. The applicants

included at least 255

people with doctorates

and 150,000 graduates

LONG WAIT: Truck drivers and helpers wait for their turn to submit

their documents to get their loads cleared to cross a checkpoint at

the Commercial Taxes Department check post at Walayar in Palak-

kad district in southern Indian state of Kerala. -Reuters

A7

PAKISTANS AT U R DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

SELFIE TIME A woman takes a selfi e with cows at one of the main animal markets set up for the forthcoming Eid Al Adha festival in Karachi

late on Thursday. Eid Al Adha will be celebrated in the country on September 25. - AFP

42 killed in Taliban attack on air base in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: Taliban gunmen killed 29 people, including 16 praying in a mosque, when they stormed a Pakistani air force base on Friday, a military spokesman said, in the deadliest Taliban at-tack on a military installation in the country’s history.

The 13 gunmen were also killed in the attack on Badaber air base, close to the northwestern city of Peshawar.

The assault shows the Taliban retain the capability to mount devastating attacks despite a mili-tary campaign and a government crackdown against them follow-ing the massacre of more than 150 people, mostly children, at an army-run school last December.

Twenty-two of those killed in the attack were serving in the Pa-kistan air force, four were civil-ians and three were army soldiers responding to the attack, Major General Asim Bajwa told a news conference. Twenty-nine people were wounded, he said.

“The terrorist group used two gates. They came close to the gate and disembarked from their cars and then they used rocket launch-ers and grenades and fi red as they entered the gate,” said Bajwa, who said the attack has been master-minded in Afghanistan.

A reaction force arrived within 10 minutes and the attackers were contained close to the areas where they entered, he said.

But they were still able to enter the mosque and killed 16 of those inside, he said.

Mohammad Ikram of the Pa-kistani Air Force, who off ering his morning prayers at the time the attack began, said most of those inside the mosque were hit by gunfi re in the attack claimed by the Taliban. “We were off er-ing prayers when we fi rst heard the gunshots and then, within no time, they entered the mosque where they began indiscrimi-nately fi ring,” he said by telephone from a hospital bed where he was being treated for gunshot wounds.

Afghan links?“They killed and injured most of the worshippers. I fell on the ground. Then the gunmen went to other places in the base. After a long time, we were shifted to the hospital.” The attack may worsen

already chilly relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, after Bajwa said communication inter-cepts showed the attackers were receiving directions from Af-ghanistan, where many Pakistani Taliban have bases. “This opera-tion was planned in Afghanistan, and was executed from there. And it was being controlled from Af-ghanistan,” he said. “No one can say that the Afghan state has en-couraged this, but the fact is that it was launched from Afghanistan.”

Afghanistan and Pakistan have separate but allied Taliban in-surgencies. The two nations fre-quently accuse each other of not

doing enough to stamp out insur-gent havens on either side of their porous border.

Bajwa released pictures of some of the attackers’ bloodied bodies in the uniform of the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary, black tra-ditional Pakistani clothes.

The Taliban released a video about the attack featuring Umar Mansoor, the same commander who claimed responsibility for the Peshawar school massacre.

“We proudly claim responsibil-ity for the attack on Pakistani air base,” Taliban spokesman Mu-hammad Khorasani told Reuters. “This base is being used by fi ghter jets for bombing us.”

Attacks by the Taliban have fallen about 70 per cent this year, following a military off ensive against the militants’ bases along the Afghan border that began in June 2014 and the government’s

redoubled eff orts to combat them after the Peshawar school attack.

Despite the reduction in at-tacks, the militants still manage to strike high-value targets.

The home minister of Punjab province was among 16 killed in a suicide attack last month.

In a separate incident in north-west Pakistan, eight civilians were killed in a military strike in South Waziristan early on Friday, a survivor told Reuters.

“The house next to my house was completely destroyed,” said Naimat Ullah, whose son was in-jured by fl ying shrapnel.

Neighbours who excavated the bodies had told him three young girls, three men and two women died in the strike, he added.

The civilian deaths were con-fi rmed by a relative of Abdul Manan Khan, the man whose house was destroyed. - Reuters

The assault shows

the Taliban retain

the capability to

mount devastating

attacks despite a

military campaign

and a government

crackdown

against them

SITE OF ATTACK: Soldiers gather near the air force base which was attacked by militants in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Friday. -.Reuters

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CPEC projects

to be completed

on time: Iqbal

KARACHI: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is fast turning into an economic re-ality and is gradually dispelling all doubts that some people have had about its viability and secu-rity, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal said.

Iqbal visited the head offi ce of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FP-CCI) to speak on the proposed eco-nomic zones to Gwadar Kashgar Corridor.

For the fi rst time, Fitch Rat-ings has assigned Pakistan a long-term foreign and local currency issuer default rating of ‘B’ with a stable outlook.

In its report, it mentioned that the CPEC initiative could signifi -cantly strengthen Pakistan’s eco-nomic fundamentals.

However, it said that the rate of progress with the scheme and the cost of any debt fi nancing incurred by the Pakistani sovereign remains to be seen.

“Whatever little doubts that foreign rating agencies or media have about CPEC is because of the speculations of Pakistani media. I once again assure you all that the government of Pakistan is going to complete all CPEC projects on time,” he said while referring to Fitch report on Pakistan.

The business people and indus-trialists who attended the meet-ing urged the federal minister to ensure one-window operations for Gwadar port and its related projects.

Attract investment“Our government wants to run Gwadar port free from all bureau-cratic hurdles so that it attracts investments. And, I assure you all that the Chinese are already on board,” said Iqbal.

“There is no doubt that CPEC projects are going to improve in-frastructure in Pakistan, but the main focus of Pakistan should be to look for transfer of technology from Chinese fi rms so that in fu-ture it can complete big projects on its own,” said Amin.

Meanwhile, participants said the government should expedite work on major infrastructure projects for economic develop-ment. - Express Tribune

I M P R O V E I N F R A S T R U C T U R E

Parliamentary panel clears cybercrime billISLAMABAD: A parliamen-tary panel on Thursday cleared the controversial cybercrime bill amid complaints from many members that their reservations had been ignored.

The bill, if approved by the Na-tional Assembly, could restrict speech and liberties online.

National Assembly’s Stand-ing Committee on Information Technology approved the Cyber Crimes Bill 2015 for a second time after lightly amending some clauses.

“This (Cyber Crime)bill looks to curb freedom of speech—look at section 34 of this bill, it gives unfettered power to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) —we will oppose this legislation (on the assembly fl oor) if our recommendations not incorporated,” warned Paki-stan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA Shazia Marri during Thursday’s meeting. She was not alone in complaining.

“Why wasn’t a copy of this bill circulated among (committee’s) members?” Pakistan Tehreek-e-

Insaf’s Dawar Kundi asked.He criticised the government

for wanting to pass a critical piece of legislation in haste by limit-ing access of experts from NGOs, media, internet service providers and members of civil society.

However, Kundi said he had extended his support to the bill since he wanted to debate it on the fl oor of the assembly.

While members of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) largely ignored argu-ments from opposition mem-bers, they were stunned when PML-N’s Awais Leghari too com-plained that he had not received a copy of the bill.

The panel’s chairman Captain (retd) Safdar though convinced members to pass the bill so that it can be debated in the assembly, a larger platform.

“We welcome productive criti-cism, but it does not mean that we show leniency to help our armed forces fi ght the war against ter-ror,” observed Capt Safdar, before hinting at including an independ-ent agency in the fi nal draft of the bill. - Express Tribune

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The European migration crisis has brought out both the best and the worst in ‘civilised Europe’. Never before since the end of

the Second World War has Europe faced such a dilemma — refusing to accept refugees fl eeing their countries and yet being acutely conscious of repudiating the humanitarian norms and values that a ‘democratic Europe’ has espoused and championed for the last 200 years.

The migrant crisis has split Europe politically and on grounds of morality. The European Union’s (EU) Dublin Declaration clearly stated that the fi rst country of entry for people fl eeing persecution would be under an obligation to register and look after such displaced people until a more durable solution has been found. That is seldom practised. Instead, European countries have started hurling accusations and blaming one another, as helpless refugees wander from place to place in search of shelter. There are countries which are more focused on the humanitarian dimension of the tragedy-stricken people and have expressed their determination to extend help to the migrants. Germany heads the list of such countries. Then, there are those which simply refused entry or in case of refugees having illegally entered their territory, pass them on to other countries. Macedonia and Hungary fall in this category.

The travails and agony of people, who were forced to leave their countries, have shaken the world’s conscience. Thousands have drowned in the Mediterranean or on the small islands off the coasts of Greece, Italy and Turkey.

There are moving stories of how desperate people are, hanging on to anything in order to reach any destination, at any cost, as long as there is hope for fi nding an abode that does not endanger their lives.

The death by drowning of a Syrian toddler and his fi ve-year-old brother has caused widespread outrage. The tragedy has caused remorse, shame and bitterness against the inhumane attitude of many politicians and leaders of Europe. Their indiff erence, bordering on hostility — as if the induction of a few thousand displaced people in each country would wreak havoc on the institutions of these countries — has caused

consternation amongst rank and fi le Europeans.Europe has not been able to create, at a time

of such huge displacement, a unifi ed vision that takes care of the many displaced people — sick and starving men, women and children — in an organised and dignifi ed manner. It has failed to evolve mechanisms to distribute the fl eeing refugees among the various EU countries on the basis of an agreed formula that could incorporate such factors as the size of the hosting countries, their resources, the number of displaced persons already living in each country and so on. The continent has been overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenge and its institutions have not been able to respond to the problem in a manner that would be compatible with Europe’s values, norms, technology and the material progress it has made over the last many decades.

Also, the fact that the West bears a tremendous responsibility to the displaced people because of its military interventions in countries like Iraq and Libya has been completely overlooked. After all, the Iraq of Saddam Husain — admittedly a despotic ruler — had never seen such a spectacle of human misery and suff ering until such time the West attacked the country on the basis of fabricated allegations of Baghdad having weapons of mass destruction. It was the weapons of mass destruction deployed by the West that destroyed that nation. The March 2003 invasion of Iraq was a criminal act that was neither sanctioned by the UN nor by any yardstick of ethics and principles. Post-invasion Iraq created an environment for such barbaric outfi ts as the IS to emerge and fi ll the vacuum created by the destruction of Iraq’s army, police and other state institutions by the US military.

Libya, Afghanistan, Syria suff ered the same fate. Routing the systems and institutions — in whichever form they existed — was a cardinal sin that created a vast and bewildering vacuum that ended up being fi lled by gangs of criminals, thus destabilising the countries of the region and creating a deep sense of insecurity among the people, which in turn caused them to fl ee to safer destinations.

The West, including Europe, is thus clearly culpable in the gory dramas that are enacted on a daily basis in Syria, Iraq, Libya and other countries of the region.— Express Tribune

Critical thinking ability of students is fallingThis refers to the news story, ‘Has computer become an obstacle to learning’ (September 17). Yes, this is an important area that the world has to look at now. The critical thinking of the students has shrunk. Spellcheckers are available in all applications and English passages are always autocorrected and spellchecked. Students al-

ways come with an excuse ‘ I just fi nished my project, but system crashed’. Some-times, there are ill-trained teachers and they have to get trained in technology. Added to these, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube are accessed by students who are in Class 5 and they are losing their focus. However, if technology is used in the right way then the power of technology can be harnessed.— Radha Sivakumar, Muttrah

Valcke scandal has tarnished the world of football once again There seems to be no end to scandals gripping the world football, FIFA and their long-serving, powerful offi cials. The latest allegations of corruption linking FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke have further tarnished the image of the global football’s governing body. Valcke is accused of allowing the World Cup tickets to be sold at infl ated prices. But interestingly the allegations are made by an offi cial of a company which

had a deal with FIFA to sell 2014 World Cup tickets but subse-quently had their contract cancelled. — Sammy Fuad, Muscat

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European reaction to migrants: A mixed bag

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Medals conferred on RAFO staff MUSCAT: Air Vice Marshal Mohammed bin Mahfoudh Al Ardhi, commander of the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO), conferred the medals of long service and good conduct on sev-eral RAFO offi cers, non-commissioned offi cers and personnel in recognition of their loyalty and sincerity in performing their duties for their country under the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the supreme commander of the armed forces.

1793: George Washington lays the foundation stone for the U.S. Capitol. 1920: Russian Premier Piotr Stolypin dies four days after being shot at the Kiev opera house by socialist lawyer Dimitri Bogroff .

1934: The League of Nations admits the Soviet Union.

1980: Cosmonaut Arnoldo Tamayo, a Cuban, becomes the fi rst black to be sent on a mission in space.

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while still helping to develop the Afghan forces’ security

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MAC THORNBERRY

Jeremy Corbyn’s conservative critics will concentrate on his choice of “friends”, his foreign and security policies, and his

attitudes. In response, the left will rally even closer around their

new guide, dismissing criticism as malicious smears

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KRISTIAN NIEMIETZ

The underlying reality is that the congruence of strategic

interests that held the United States and China together in the late Cold War no longer

exists. And the desire of the US business community for trade

and investment in China has also been transformed

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Worker safety and negligence has been brought again to the spotlight after four workers were killed in an accident on last Sunday

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FLOWERS FOR ALL REASONSA woman looks at a display of lilies at the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show, in northern England, on Friday. The Harrogate Au-

tumn Flower Show runs from September 18 to 20, 2015. -AFP

Ignore Scotland’s voice and face result, Cameron told

LONDON: The United Kingdom is “living on borrowed time” if the government fails to listen to Scot-tish voters, Scottish nationalist leader Nicola Sturgeon said on Friday, the fi rst anniversary of an independence referendum. Sturgeon, who saw her Scot-tish National Party (SNP) take nearly all parliamentary seats in Scotland in May’s national elec-tion, told Prime Minister David Cameron to start taking Scotland seriously or risk losing 8 per cent of the population.

Scots voted by 55-45 per cent in September last year to reject in-dependence, but surging support for the SNP and the election of a pro-austerity Conservative gov-ernment in London has spurred

talk of a new referendum to end the more than 300-year-old union between England and Scotland.

Sturgeon said the SNP’s rise was being driven by the govern-ment’s failure to deliver on a promise of more powers for Scot-land as well as pushing ahead with austerity and renewing Britain’s nuclear weapons arsenal despite opposition in Scotland, where it is based. “What happens to support for independence in the months and years to come will depend as

much on what you do as it will on what we do,” Sturgeon warned Cameron in a speech.

“Right now, you are living on borrowed time. If you continue to ignore Scotland’s voice, if you con-tinue to disrespect the choice that people across this country made in May, more and more people will conclude that Westminster sim-ply cannot deliver for Scotland.”

A promised vote on Britain’s membership of the European Union has also fuelled passions

in Scotland, which is more EU friendly than England, adding to the number of policy diffi culties facing Cameron in his fi rst major-ity government.

Cameron has ruled out a second Scottish independence vote, say-ing all sides had agreed to respect last year’s result and it was “time to move on”.

Sturgeon, who is wary of push-ing for another vote until she is sure the nationalists can win, has said the SNP will include triggers for a second referendum in its manifesto for Scottish elections in May 2016.

If such triggers are met, the London-based government could fi nd it diffi cult to refuse another vote to break up the United King-dom, the world’s fi fth-largest economy.

Scotland’s voiceMany of those who backed her party in May do not support in-dependence but believed having SNP lawmakers in Westminster was the best way to make sure Scotland’s voice was heard.

“It would be wrong to propose another referendum without a fundamental change of circum-stances or a strong indication that a signifi cant number of those who voted ‘No’ last year had changed their minds,” Sturgeon said.

“But let me say this, it would also be wrong, in the face of a clear and material shift in circumstanc-es or in public opinion, for any one politician or party to rule out an-other referendum indefi nitely.”

She said if Scotland was taken out of the EU against its will in the referendum due by the end of 2017, then demand for a second independence vote could be “un-stoppable”.

The Scottish debate is being echoed in Spain, where a long po-litical struggle over Catalan inde-pendence is set to intensify with a regional poll on September. 27.

In an echo of a important issue during the Scottish independence campaign, the European Commis-sion said that if any part of a mem-ber state broke away, it must also exit the European Union.

Spain’s El Pais newspaper said the message was aimed at Cata-lonia, whose pro-independence leaders have said they would an-nounce a unilateral breakaway if they win the regional election.

But it could equally apply to Scotland.

Some in Britain’s opposition Labour Party, which has only one lawmaker left in Scotland, hope the election of Jeremy Cor-byn as their new leader could help give their party a second chance there. -Reuters

Sturgeon told PM

David Cameron to

start taking Scotland

seriously or risk

losing 8 per cent

of the population

Japan House to enact law for deployment of troops abroadTOKYO: Japan’s parliament drew near on Friday to enacting con-tentious defence legislation that could ease the constraints of the pacifi st constitution to let troops fi ght overseas for the fi rst time since World War Two, despite public protests and delaying tac-tics by the opposition.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the policy shift, which would mark the biggest change in defence pol-icy since the creation of Japan’s post-war military in 1954, is vital to meet new challenges such as from a rising China.

But the bills have sparked mas-sive protests from ordinary citi-zens and others who say they vio-late the pacifi st constitution and

could ensnare Japan in US-led confl icts after 70 years of post-war peace. Abe’s ratings have also taken a hit.

Japan’s ally the United States has welcomed the shift but China, where bitter memories of Japan’s wartime aggression run deep, has repeatedly expressed concern about the legislation.

“Recently we have noticed that voices in Japan opposing the bill have become louder by the day,” Chinese foreign ministry spokes-man Hong Lei told reporters on Friday.

“We demand that Japan ear-nestly listen to these just voices domestically and internationally, learn the lessons of history, uphold

the path of peaceful development, speak and act cautiously in secu-rity and military matters and take actual steps to maintain regional peace and stability.”

Parliament’s session runs un-til September 27, but ruling party lawmakers are keen to have the upper house approve the bills - the last step to enactment - before a fi ve-day holiday starts on Satur-day, when big street demonstra-tions could erupt.

Abe’s ruling bloc has an upper house majority, but major oppo-sition parties submitted censure motions in the chamber and a no confi dence motion in the lower house to block a vote.

One opposition member tried

to delay the vote on a censure motion against Abe by resorting to the “Ox Walk”, or advancing at an excruciatingly slow pace to the ballot box, but was ordered by the chamber’s president to speed up. He then took out prayer beads and mimicked a funeral rite to symbolise what he has called the “death” of Abe’s Liberal Demo-cratic Party.

The motion, as expected, was defeated. The bills, which include legal revisions to drop a long-standing ban on collective self-defence, or defending a friendly country under attack, were ap-proved on Thursday by an upper house panel in a chaotic, raucous session. -Reuters

D E F E N C E L E G I S L A T I O N

Indonesia to control forest fi re in 30 daysJAKARTA: Indonesia will take 30 days to bring smouldering forest fi res under control, the national disaster management agency said on Friday, as smog from the fi res pushes pollution in Southeast Asia to record highs.

The region has suff ered for years from annual bouts of smog caused by slash-and-burn prac-tices in Indonesia’s islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, but governments have failed to tackle the problem.

“We expect there will be a po-tential for haze because of the El Nino eff ect until the end of No-vember, but we are targeting to put out the majority of the fi res by mid-October,” agency spokes-man Sutopo Nugroho said.

Indonesia has faced criti-cism from neighbours and green groups for not doing enough to prevent the fi res, which cause millions of dollars worth of dam-age to health and the environ-ment every year.

This week, Indonesia said it

was investigating about 100 com-panies, including an unnamed Malaysian fi rm, in the latest crackdown to tackle smog wors-ened by a prolonged dry season. The rainy season usually begins in November.

Next week, authorities will name several companies likely to face sanctions for starting fi res, including possible withdrawal of licences, Indonesia’s environ-ment and forestry minister, Siti Nurbaya Bakar, told a news con-ference on Friday.

EvacuationMalaysia on Friday announced plans to evacuate 173 of its citi-zens “badly aff ected by the haze surrounding Riau province” from provincial capital Pekanbaru, us-ing two C-130 Hercules aircraft.

Plantation companies, some of which are listed in Singapore, and smallholder farmers often get blamed for using slash-and-burn practices to clear land for palm oil and agriculture. -Reuters

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

SURGING SUPPORT: Scotland’s First Minister and Scottish National

Party leader Nicola Sturgeon delivers a speech in Edinburgh, Scot-

land, on Friday. -Reuters

South Sudan tanker death mounts to 150

JUBA: At least 150 people died in South Sudan when a crashed oil tanker exploded as a crowd scooped up spilled fuel, reports said on Friday.

Senior local offi cial John Ezkia told South Sudan’s Eye Radio that the initial death toll of more than 85 in Wednesday’s explosion had risen to at least 150, after scores died of burns.

Other badly burned bodies have also been found around the wreck-age of the tanker.

The crash and subsequent blast took place on a road some 250 kilo-metres west of the capital Juba, close to the small town of Maridi.

However, the local government director of Maridi, John Saki, told South Sudan’s Gurtong news site the toll could be as high as 176.

Doctors have described how they are struggling to cope with limited supplies of medicines to treat severe burns, including a lack of painkillers.

Saki said about a thousand peo-ple crowded around the tanker to gather fuel after it crashed on the roadside, with many coming from a nearby school.

“Then an explosion occurred which led to the death of 55 peo-ple in the beginning, and has now risen to 176 people -- and many others are in critical condition at Maridi hospital,” Saki told South Sudan’s Gurtong news website. -AFP

M E D I C I N E S H O R T A G E

POLICY SHIFT: Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, centre, sits

with his cabinet members at the Lower House of the parliament in

Tokyo, on Friday. -Reuters

A10

WORLD S AT U R DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

At least 1,000 migrants cross into Hungary from Croatia

BEREMEND (HUNGARY): At least 1,000 migrants crossed by train and bus northward into Hungary from Croatia on Fri-day under the watch of Hun-garian security forces sworn to keep them out - a snapshot of the confusion and contradiction of a divided Europe.

Even as Hungary’s army rushed to erect a fence along parts of its frontier with Croatia, a fellow member of the European Union, Hungarian soldiers and police did not prevent the migrants from crossing the border, fi rst in their hundreds by bus and then more than 1,000 by train.

Their transfer came just hours after Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said that - with the infl ow into his country top-ping 13,000 in little more than two days - matters were out of control and that his government could no longer register or accommodate the new arrivals. They would be waved on, he said.

Austria borderA Hungarian police spokesman said the migrants were being taken to two Hungarian registra-tion points in Szentgotthard and Vamosszabadi -- both close to the Austrian border.

Hungary denied coordinating the move with Croatia, while Aus-tria denied coordinating it with Hungary, reinforcing the sense of

chaos prevailing in Europe as it grapples with the biggest migra-tion crisis in decades.

Only on Wednesday, Hungary had fi red volleys of tear gas and water cannon to keep out stone-throwing migrants on its border with Serbia, the second day of the crackdown.

Streaming into Croatia Thousands of migrants switched their route, streaming into Croa-tia, and then on Friday into Hun-gary and Slovenia in what critics say is becoming a desperate game of human ping-pong.

At the Hungarian border village of Beremend, police and soldiers at fi rst lined up, backed with two army Humvees mounted with guns, to block the path of more than 10 busloads of migrants ar-riving at the border from Croatia.

Then, they ushered them onto

Hungarian buses, saying they would be taken for registration. Later, a train packed with over 1,000 migrants crossed the bor-der and stopped at the Hungar-ian town of Magyarboly, where they were directed by police and soldiers onto another train on an adjacent platform.

“They will have to get off at Hegyeshalom anyway,” a police offi cer was overheard telling a col-league, in reference to a town on Hungary’s border with Austria. The offi cer denied any knowledge of the train’s destination when asked by a reporter.

A spokesman for Austria’s In-terior Ministry denied there had been any coordination with Hun-gary on the migrants’ eventual passage to Vienna.

Croatian Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic told reporters near the point where the migrants crossed that they were simply be-ing returned to Europe’s Schen-gen zone of border-free travel, most of them having fi rst entered in Greece but then leaving the EU to travel north through the Bal-kans. — Reuters

The transfer came

just hours after

Croatian Prime

Minister Zoran

Milanovic said that

matters were out of

control and that his

government could

no longer register or

accommodate the

new arrivals

BLEAK FUTURE: A migrant carries a child through a cornfi eld as they approach the Croatian border near the town of Sid, Serbia, on

Friday. Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said that - with the infl ow into his country topping 13,000 in little more than two days

- matters were out of control — Reuters

LUCKY TO BE ALIVE: A Libyan Red Crescent worker helps a mi-

grant get off a Libyan oil tanker in Tripoli port, which rescued the

migrants after their boat sank off the sea, in Libya on Friday. -Reuters

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More than 30,000 rally to protest benefi t cuts

HELSINKI: More than 30,000 people rallied in Helsinki on Fri-day to protest against government plans to cut workers’ benefi ts, with strikes also halting railroads, har-bours and paper mills around the country.

Outside the square where the demonstration - the biggest in Finland since 1991 - was held, the capital’s rainy streets were quiet, with offi ce workers opting to stay at home as much of the public transport system was shuttered due to the strike.

The centre-right government, facing an economy in stagnation, announced plans last week to cut workers’ overtime pay, holidays and sickness benefi ts - matters traditionally agreed by labour un-ions and the employer organisa-tions alone.

“The economy has not been well, but it will not recover by force, it requires cooperation,” Antti Rinne, leader of the opposi-tion Social Democrats and a for-mer union boss, said in a speech to the cheering crowd.

“You can be certain that rain, wind and thunderstorms will con-tinue if you keep up this line,” he said, addressing his message to the government.

About 300,000 workers went out on strike on Friday. The dem-onstrators, mostly union activists, said it was unfair make cuts in sec-tors where salaries were already low. They expressed anger that the government had unilaterally pushed through the changes.

“Back in the day, other sectors got wage increases while public sectors were given more holidays. Those holidays just can’t be taken away like this,” said a public day-care centre worker who gave her name as Maija.

Prime Minister Juha Sipila took matters into his own hands af-ter talks with unions failed twice since he took offi ce in May.

This week, he gave a rare speech to the nation, urging citizens to fi nd a “common spirit of reform” to save the welfare state and cre-ate more jobs rather than letting strikes impede an economy al-ready hit by vast staff cuts at for-mer national growth engine Nokia.

The Confederation of Finnish Industries estimated that Friday’s one-day strike cost the economy 100 million euros. — Reuters

F I N L A N D D E M O N S T R A T I O N

Chile residents clear away rubble after deadly tsunamiCOQUIMBO (CHILE): Resi-dents began rebuilding homes and businesses in Coquimbo on Friday, two days after tsunami waves trig-gered by a major earthquake bat-tered the Chilean port city’s water-front neighbourhoods.

Soldiers patrolled the streets to prevent looting after President Michelle Bachelet’s government declared an emergency in Co-quimbo following the 8.3-magni-tude quake, which killed 12 people.

At least one strong aftershock shook Chile’s Pacifi c seaboard on Friday as residents trying to sal-vage what they could from their properties urged the government to speed up the relief eff ort.

Removing mud, rubble“We’re just getting started with removing the mud and the rub-ble,” said Maria Gonzalez, whose fi sh and seafood restaurant in Coquimbo’s port was badly dam-aged. “They have to help us fi x our businesses and get back to the life we had.”

Waves of up to 4.5 meters (15

feet) slammed into Coquimbo’s shoreline, fl inging large fi shing boats and shipping containers onto the streets and sending fl ood-waters pouring into downtown.

The quake was the strongest recorded in the world this year, but the swift evacuation of coastal zones and strict building regula-tions appeared to help keep the death toll low.

Some Coquimbo residents said government aid was slow to ar-rive. A handful of protesters briefl y blocked the highway leading to and from the city on Friday morning before police arrived and disman-tled their roadblock.

“We haven’t eaten in three days!” one of the demonstrators shouted.

Luciano Robles, an offi cial with Coquimbo’s civil emergency offi ce,

said help was on the way.“We understand that people are

desperate and don’t know what to do,” he told Reuters around midday.

“The aid packages arrived this morning and are being distributed, starting now.”

The economic cost of the earth-quake, which followed fl oods in northern Chile and volcanic erup-tions in the south earlier this year, could be anywhere between $100 million and $1 billion, Fitch rating agency said.

Bachelet, who was widely criti-cized for her slow response to a monster quake in 2010 that killed more than 500 people, hugged victims as she toured the disaster zone on Thursday.

Hit by tsunamiThose hit by the tsunami lost prac-tically everything, said Askaan Wohlt of the Desafi o Levantemos Chile charity, which was estab-lished after the 2010 quake. “Our focus is going to be to help busi-nesses rebuild,” said Wohlt. — Reuters

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

AFTERMATH: Chilean soldiers clean the debris left by the tsunami following earthquake that left 12

people dead and another fi ve missing, in Coquimbo, 450 km north of Santiago, on Friday. — AFP

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SPOR S

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015

Russia starts 1,000-day countdown to 2018 World CupMOSCOW: Moscow’s Red Square was transformed on Friday into a football pitch as Russia launched its 1,000-day countdown to the 2018 FIFA World Cup it will host in 11 cities.

Attended by high-ranking offi cials and football stars, the celebrations come as world football’s governing body is embroiled in a corruption scandal, partly over the awarding of the 2018 tournament to Russia. On Thursday, FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke was abruptly re-lieved of his duties over his alleged involvement in a ticketing scam.

“Preparations for the World Cup in 11 cities of our country... are in full swing,” President Vladimir Pu-tin said by video link from Sochi, the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

“Everything will be done to suit-ably host the planet’s leading 32 national squads. We are always happy to see guests and promise to organise grand celebrations in Russia, which will make history in the world of sport and football.”

The Kremlin has said that the country honestly participated in the bidding process and that its status as host country should not

be called into question. The cul-mination of the ceremony came at 13:23 Moscow time (10:23 GMT) when former World Cup winners Lothar Matthaus of Germany and Italy’s Gianluca Zambrotta along with Spain’s former football great Fernando Hierro and Russia’s in-ternational keeper Igor Akinfeyev pressed the red button launching the countdown.

Russia’s fi rst deputy Prime Min-ister Igor Shuvalov, the country’s sports minister Vitaly Mutko, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin also took part in the ceremony.

“Only 1,000 days remain before the World Cup start and a plenty of work still awaits us,” Shuvalov said. “It doesn’t mean that we have not done anything before this moment.

“We all will do our best to make our president’s promises come true. To present the great football occasion to all the game lovers.”

Friendly matches among the un-der-16 national squads of Russia, It-aly, Germany and Spain were played on the pitch set up on Red Square near the walls of the Kremlin. The 2018 World Cup opening match will take place at Moscow’s Luzh-niki Stadium on June 14, 2018. - AFP

F O O T B A L L

IN FULL SWING: FIFA’s Director of Competitions Colin Smith, left, and General Director of the Russia 2018

Local Organising Committee Alexey Sorokin, second left, pose for a group photo along with government

offi cials and former international stars during a ceremony to launch the clock, counting down 1,000 days

to the beginning of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, in Manezhnaya Square in central Moscow on Friday. – Reuters

Valcke downfall is a new blow for Blatter and world football

ZURICH: FIFA’s suspension of Secretary-General Jerome Valcke left world football reeling again on Friday from scandal and further weakened its president Sepp Blatter.

Valcke was put on indefi nite leave on Thursday night over accu-sations that he agreed to let World Cup tickets be sold at a vastly in-fl ated price.

The Frenchman strongly denied the allegations. But FIFA’s chief of fi nance Markus Kattner took over “all duties” held by Valcke in the day-to-day running of football’s governing body, FIFA said.

With FIFA still overshadowed by US and Swiss corruption inves-tigations, it announced on Thurs-day night that Valcke “has been put on leave and released from his

duties eff ective immediately until further notice.”

FIFA said it had been “made aware of a series of allegations in-volving the secretary-general and has requested a formal investigation by the FIFA Ethics Committee.”

Valcke has been accused of in-volvement in a scam to sell World Cup tickets at infl ated prices and take a slice of the profi ts.

The claims were made by Benny Alon, an American-Israeli con-sultant at a company which had a deal with FIFA to sell 2014 World Cup tickets. The contract was sub-sequently cancelled.

In a strongly-worded statement issued by Valcke’s US-based attor-ney, the offi cial decried the allega-tions as false.

“Jerome Valcke unequivocally denies the fabricated and outra-

geous accusations by Benny Alon of alleged wrongdoing in connec-tion with the sale of World Cup tickets,” the statement from New York attorney Barry Berke said.

The statement said Valcke “nev-er received or agreed to accept any money or anything else of value from Mr Alon”. All dealings be-tween Valcke and Alon’s company had been cleared by FIFA’s legal department, the statement added.

Corruption scandal Alon said his company, JB Sports, sold World Cup tickets at up to three times their face value. Alon gave out copies of emails to back his allegations at a briefi ng for invited journalists in Zurich on Thursday.

Valcke has already been in trou-ble over football scandals.

US media named him in June as

the conduit for a $10 million pay-ment made by South Africa to a bank account controlled by former FIFA Vice-President Jack Warner.

Warner is one of 14 people ac-cused by US authorities of involve-ment in more than $150 million in bribes paid by sports executives to soccer offi cials.

Seven FIFA were arrested in Zurich on the eve of its Congress in May when Blatter was reelected to a fi fth term. Swiss police also launched an inquiry into the award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar.

Amid growing controversy, the 79-year-old Blatter announced just four days later that he would stand down. A new presidential election will be held on February 26.

Switzerland ruled on Thursday that former FIFA vice-president

Eugenio Figueredo, one of the sev-en arrested, should be extradited to the United States.

Figueredo, a Uruguayan, has been charged by the US justice de-partment with soliciting millions of dollars in bribes from sports marketing fi rms.

Another of those arrested, Jef-frey Webb of the Cayman Islands, agreed to extradition and was sent to the United States in July. Five are still challenging a transfer to American courts.

Valcke came under scrutiny in recent months over what he knew about a $10 million payment from the South African FA to an account controlled by Warner, then North and Central American (CON-CACAF) football chief, through FIFA in 2008. US investigators believe the money was a bribe in return for backing South Africa getting the 2010 World Cup.

FIFA has insisted it only acted as an intermediary between South Africa and Warner.

Valcke has been under scrutiny throughout his FIFA career.

In 2006 he was forced to step down as FIFA’s director of market-ing after a New York court judged he had lied when negotiating FIFA deals with Visa in breach of exist-ing contracts with Mastercard.

FIFA was later fi ned $60 million over the case, but Valcke, a loyal ally of Blatter, was installed as sec-retary general in June 2007.

Blatter’s action against Valcke could be “a very strong signal to US investigators” about his intentions following calls to cooperate and instigate reforms, a former senior FIFA offi cial said. - AFP

Valcke was put on

indefi nite leave on

Thursday night over

accusations that he

agreed to let World

Cup tickets be sold

at a vastly infl ated

price. The Frenchman

strongly denied

the allegations

MORE TROUBLE: FIFA President Joseph Blatter, right, and Secretary-General Jerome Valcke

UK Athletics happy with Farah’s training

LONDON: UK Athletics has cleared British athletes including double Olympic and world cham-pion Mo Farah to continue train-ing under Alberto Salazar and said there was “no reason to be concerned” about the American coach’s Oregon training project.

A BBC television programme had made allegations of dop-ing against Salazar, a consult-ant to UKA, although there was no suggestion that Farah was ever involved. After a full re-view by its Performance Over-sight Group of Salazar’s Oregon training project, the UKA has dismissed any concerns.

“In July we said that there was no evidence of any impropriety on the part of Mo Farah and no reason to lack confi dence in his training programme,” a state-ment from UKA said on Friday.

“The Oversight Group have re-stated that view today. They have also found no reason to be con-cerned about the engagement of other British athletes and coach-es with the Oregon Project.

“The review established that the vast majority of the endur-ance programme’s interaction with the Oregon Project is in fact focussed on Mo Farah, with very little other UK Athletics related activity. Coaching and support for Mo Farah will re-main the focus of our engage-ment with the Oregon Project.”

The statement added that UKA will continue to cooper-ate with the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s inquiry.

“Obviously since our review was set up USADA announced that it was conducting an inves-tigation into allegations made in respect of staff within the Or-egon Project.

“USADA is clearly the right body to look at anti-doping is-sues. They have asked us not to give any further details of our review until their work has con-cluded. We respect their request and are of course giving them our fullest support and co-oper-ation.” - Reuters

N O W R O N G D O I N G

Mo Farah

Nasir helps Bangladesh A level series against India ABENGALURU: All-rounder Na-sir Hossain cracked an unbeaten ton and picked up a fi ve-wicket haul to ensure a comfortable 65-run victory for Bangladesh A as the visitors levelled the three-match unoffi cial ODI series against India A at 1-1 here on Friday.

The Mominul Haque-led side picked up the pieces from its opening loss against the hosts to return with a complete perfor-mance at the M Chinnaswamy stadium. After posting 252 for eight while batting fi rst, Bangla-desh A shot India A out for 187 in 42.2 overs.

Put into bat, the visitors lost early wickets, but Hossain’s 96-ball 102 not out helped the side reach a respectable score in 50 overs. The 70-run sixth-wicket partnership between Nasir and Liton Das (45) turned things around for the visitors.

Soumya Sarkar (24), Anamul Haque (34) and Arafat Sunny (17) also contributed to the Bangla-desh A score. Medium-pacer Ri-shi Dhawan bagged three wickets, while leg-spinner Karn Sharma had two scalps.

The Unmukt Chand-led side were never in the chase after the top-order batsmen not only failed to convert starts but surrendered to Nasir’s off -spin and Rubel Hos-sian’s medium pace (four for 33).

Unmukt top-scored with 56 runs as Nasir (fi ve for 36) rattled the top-order with Litton gloving

fi ve catches behind the stumps.Looking for some batting

practice before the South Africa series, senior batsman Suresh Raina faltered for the second time around after being caught behind for 17 off Nasir — the left-hander had managed 16 in the fi rst game. The middle and lower-middle order could not cut much ice this time around as they fell like a pack of cards.

If Nasir troubled the batsmen then Rubel also never allowed them to breathe easy. India A also

saw two ducks in Sanju Samson and Rishi Dhawan, both of whom were major contributors for the hosts in the opening win.

The third and fi nal match will be played on Sunday at the same venue.

Brief scores: Bangladesh A 252/8 in 50 overs (Nasir Hossain 101 n.o., Liton Das 45; Rishi Dha-wan 3/44, Karn Sharma 2/40) bt India A 187 all out in 42.2 overs (Unmukt Chand 56, Manish Pan-dey 36; Nasir Hossain 5/36, Rubel Hossain 4/33). - PTI

C R I C K E T

ALL-ROUND SHOW: Nasir Hossain

A12

SPORTSS AT U R DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

Wozniacki backs Serena to beat Grand Slam recordSINGAPORE: Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki on Fri-day backed her close friend Ser-ena Williams to beat Steffi Graf’s record of 22 major titles despite her heartbreaking defeat at the US Open.

Williams was bidding for the fi rst calendar year Grand Slam since Graf in 1988, as well as a record-equalling 22nd major victory, when she was stunned by Roberta Vinci in the US Open semifi nals. But Wozniacki, speaking during a promotional visit for the Singapore Tourism Board, said it was only a matter of time before Williams makes the Grand Slam record her own.

“She’s won three Slams this year. I think that just proves it,” Den-mark’s Wozniacki, ranked sixth, said of the American world No. 1.

“It’s never easy (to surpass Steffi Graf ) but I defi nitely be-lieve that she can do it,” the 25-year-old added.

With Williams, who will turn 34 next week, and Swiss great Roger Federer, also 34, still at the top of the game, Wozniacki said players are fi nding ways to take better care of their bodies.

“I think if you look at tennis nowadays, people play longer and I think they’ve found better ways to take care of their body... and everything has helped players to play longer and I think that’s great,” said Wozniacki.

For herself, Wozniacki stressed that staying healthy is her priority after a season aff ect-ed by injury.

“I spend a lot of time in the gym to keep myself fi t and healthy, it’s very important now and it’s prob-ably more important than hitting balls in the court,” said Wozni-acki, who mixes gym work, box-ing and swimming into her train-ing regime.

The 25-year-old said she’ll be looking to pick up points in Japan and China in the coming weeks to make sure she qualifi es for the year-ending WTA Finals in Singapore, featuring the top eight players.

“I am going to try and do my best to qualify, I’ve had a few good weeks and it should be all good.” - AFP

T E N N I S

SUPPORTING A FRIEND: Dan-

ish star Caroline Wozniacki

smiles during a media session

in Singapore on Friday. – AFP

Jordan down Oman in AFC U-16 qualifi ersMUSCAT: Oman conceded two late goals to as they went to down to Jordan in the AFC U-16 Cham-pionship qualifi ers in Kyrgyzstan on Friday.

In a closely contested Group B match played in Kyrgyzstan capital of Bishek, neither Oman nor Jor-dan opened managed to open their account in the fi rst 80 minutes.

However, Jordan struck two goals in quick success to earn full points. Khaled Radi Kaourdi opened the score in the 82nd minute before Muannad Moham-med doubled the lead in the very next minute. In the second match of the day, Nepal defeated hosts Kyrgyzstan by a 4-2 margin to oc-cupy the top stop in the group.

Yacoub Al Sabahi coached Oma-

nis, who started their campaign with a 2-0 win over Kyrgyzstan, now have three points from two outings, same as Jordan.

Nepal had beaten Jordan 2-1 in their opening match.

In the fi nal day’s action on Sun-day, Oman takes on Nepal while Jordan play Kyrgyzstan.

Ten group winners and four best second-placed teams will join North Korea, who topped the already concluded Group H, and India in next year’s fi nals, with the tournament hosts receiving an au-tomatic qualifi cation.

Should India fi nish top of their qualifying group or among the four best second-placed teams, the fi fth best second-placed nation will qualify for the fi nal competition.

F O O T B A L L

FIRST DEFEAT: Oman under-16 team

Red Bull, Ferrari take the fight to Hamilton

SINGAPORE: Lewis Hamilton arrived in Singapore on a mission to match his idol Ayrton Senna’s 41 career race wins but the Briton ap-peared to have a fi ght on his hands to reach that milestone after Fri-day practice.

The Mercedes driver has a

53-point lead with seven rounds remaining but hopes of dominat-ing his rivals at the Marina Bay Street Circuit were dampened by the resurgent Red Bulls and com-petitive Ferraris.

While Hamilton’s teammate and closest rival Nico Rosberg led a Mercedes one-two in the fi rst

session, both men were outpaced in the second as Russia’s Daniil Kvyat put Red Bull on top for the fi rst time this season.

Kvyat lapped the 23-turn fl ood-lit circuit in one minute, 46.142 to edge out Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari by just 0.039 seconds.

Red Bull’s Australian Daniel

Ricciardo was third fastest after lapping in 1:46.256.

Hamilton was fourth, 0.337 sec-onds off the pace, while Rosberg languished in seventh place be-hind Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez’s Force India.

Hamilton, however, endured an erratic evening. He went off the track three times as he pushed his Mercedes to the limit at the start of his quest to emulate boyhood hero Senna’s haul of race wins in the same number of starts (161).

American rookie Alexander Ros-si crashed as he prepared for his fi rst weekend as a race driver for tailenders Manor Marussia after fl ying in at short notice to replace Spaniard Roberto Merhi for fi ve of the remaining seven grands prix.

He completed 18 laps at the back of the fi eld before losing control and slamming into the barriers after Turn 18, his broken Manor stranded and unable to continue as the session was halted. - Reuters

While Rosberg led a

Mercedes one-two in

the fi rst session, both

men were outpaced

in the second as

Russia’s Daniil Kvyat

put Red Bull on top

PACE SETTER: Red Bull Racing’s Russian driver Daniil Kvyat is

seen in the garage after the practice session of the Singapore For-

mula One Grand Prix in Singapore on Friday. – AFP

BMARKE

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMS AT U R DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

‘US, GLOBAL GROWTH WOES BEHIND FED RATE MOVE’Reserve Bank of India Governor Rahguram Rajan on Saturday said that the US Federal Reserve was impelled to hold near-zero rates again due to the emerging threat to the global economy as well as its concern over health of the American economy. >B2

Hacking worries for the brave new world of digital carsFRANKFURT: The connected car may be catching everyone’s imagination at this year’s IAA auto show. But the new technology also brings with it new dangers, such as hacking.

Carmakers at the Frankfurt Mo-tor Show, which opens its doors to the general public on Saturday, are keen to show off their brave new world of intelligent, digitised cars.

But an incident in the US earlier this year when computer hackers remotely took control of a Jeep Grand Cherokee while it was driv-ing on a motorway and brought it to a standstill highlighted dangers that such innovations can bring.

And the industry must fi nd ways of convincing consumers that these new super-computers on wheels are safe and secure.

One Jeep owner, Michael Frosch, is taking an extra close look at diff erent models on display at the IAA. “I have the same navi-gation system as in the Jeep that was hacked,” he says.

“But I guess I’m not important enough for someone to want to send me crashing into a tree.”

Jeep was forced to recall 1.4 mil-

lion vehicles in the US in the wake of the hacking incident, which was a real wake-up call to the potential dangers, says Ricardo Reyes, vice president of US startup Tesla, a maker of upscale electric cars.

“We were mobilised before” the incident with the Jeep, but “aware-ness is much stronger” now, says

Brigitte Courtehoux, director of PSA Peugeot Citroen’s connected services business unit.

German auto giant Volkswa-gen has promised to turn “all of our models into smartphones on wheels” by 2020.

But as was the case with com-puters and mobile phones before

them, that will make cars potential targets for hackers.

Around 150 million connected cars will be on the road worldwide in 2020, according to estimates by consultancy fi rm Gartner.

For the time being, “there is no clear economic model for hack-ing cars. But once your car stores

sensitive data, that will start at-tracting criminals,” said Egil Ju-liussen, analyst at IHS. And those criminals always keep pace with any technological advance.

“A connected car is only secure for a short time” until a chink in the armour can be found, said An-drey Nikishin, director of futures technologies projects at the cyber-security consultants Kaspersky.

‘No big challenge’ At the moment, “it’s not really easy to hack just any car on the road. But for a professional hacker with lots of time on their hands, it is no big challenge,” Nikishin said.

In London, for example, around 6,000 cars were stolen in 2014 without being broken into, but simply by hacking their electronic locks, according to the city’s po-lice. But theft or accidents are not the biggest threats, Nikishin said.

Protecting personal data “is the most pressing problem because it’s a lot easier to steal the data,” the expert said. For example, such a risk could arise if connected cars are synchronised with drivers’ smartphones containing personal

credit card or bank account details.And while “hackers” currently

tend to be well-intentioned re-searchers, the weak points can quickly fall into criminal hands, said Juliussen.

At the IAA, the European Auto-mobile Manufacturers’ Associa-tion ACEA outlined its “principles of data protection in relation to connected vehicles and services.”

“Data protection is an issue au-tomakers take very seriously, as we are committed to providing our customers with a high level of protection and maintaining their trust,” said ACEA chief, Carlos Ghosn, who heads French carmak-er Renault.

German automaker Daimler and its chief executive Dieter Zetsche, for example, boast that data col-lected by the group is stored on its own secure servers, rather than those of third parties, contrary to some of its rivals.

PSA Peugeot Citroen is collabo-rating with IT giants such as Cisco on an electronic architecture for its cars, as well as “some play-ers from the military sector,” says Courtehoux. — AFP

I A A A U T O S H O W

China is oil’s best defence against ‘price meltdown’

LONDON: Even after China’s slowing economy dragged crude to a six-year low, oil’s second-big-gest consumer remains the main safeguard against a further price meltdown. While China’s sur-prise currency devaluation helped trigger Brent crude’s slump to about $42 a barrel last month, the nation’s stockpiling of oil can staunch further losses.

In the fi rst seven months of the year, China purchased about half a million barrels of crude in excess of its daily needs, the most for the period since 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. As the country gathers bargain bar-rels for its strategic petroleum reserve, the demand is cushion-ing an oversupplied market from a further crash, according to Co-lumbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. “It throws

a lifeline to the market” that safe-guards against the risk of crude touching $20 a barrel, Jeff Cur-rie, head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs Group in New York, said by phone. “That lifeline lasts through late 2016.”

Other countries have emergen-cy oil-supply buff ers, and while the US Strategic Petroleum Re-serve has been stable at about 700 million barrels for years, China is expanding its stockpiles rapidly.

The Asian nation has accumu-lated about 200 million barrels of crude in its reserve so far and aims to have 500 million by the end of the decade, according to the Inter-national Energy Agency. It’s cur-rently fi lling a 19-million-barrel facility at Huangdao and will add oil at six sites with a combined ca-pacity of about 132 million barrels over the next 18 months, the Par-

is- based adviser on energy policy estimates. “The fact that China is stockpiling crude for public strategic storage certainly off sets the weaker sentiment on China’s oil-product demand,” said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commod-ity markets strategy at BNP Pari-bas in London.

China’s demand growth is set to slow to an annual rate of 2.3 per cent by the fourth quarter com-pared with 5.6 per cent in the sec-ond quarter, a refl ection of “weak car sales data, declines in indus-

trial activity, plummeting prop-erty prices and fragile electricity output,” the IEA said in a report on September 11.

Price fl oorBrent for November settlement fell 1.3 per cent to $48.44 a barrel at 1:34pm on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The international benchmark has fallen about 50 per cent in the past year. When amassing inventories, China’s import demand can swing by as much as one million barrels

a day, or about 15 per cent above monthly average levels, said Colin Fenton, a fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University in New York. Because the country buys when prices dip, it helps shield crude against extreme losses and eff ectively makes $30 a fl oor for Brent, he said by e-mail.

“It’s going to be really, really hard to stay there or push lower because that price has already been demonstrated by the Chi-nese to be one where you should expect hundreds of thousands of barrels per day of import demand to appear,” said Fenton, who was global head of commodities re-search at JP Morgan Chase from 2010 to 2015. “China is the only country that can do it.”

These discretionary purchas-es, while tempering oil’s recent slump, still need to be considered against the long-term slowdown in China’s energy consumption and the size of the current over-supply of crude, according to Barclays. — Bloomberg News

While China’s surprise currency devaluation

helped trigger Brent’s fall to about $42 a

barrel last month, it’s stockpiling of crude oil

can staunch further losses

Deutsche Bank closes Russia securities unit

MOSCOW: Deutsche Bank will close its Russian banking and se-curities businesses as co-Chief Ex-ecutive Offi cer John Cryan presses ahead with a plan to exit some countries and the lender grapples with an alleged money laundering probe of its Moscow offi ce.

Deutsche Bank is planning to cut about 200 jobs as part of the closure, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identifi ed be-cause the information is private. About 200 people will remain in transaction banking and 900 in IT functions, one person said. A spokesman in Moscow declined to comment on job cuts.

Cryan, 54, is seeking to reduce expenses to boost returns and is considering cutting the global workforce by nearly 25 per cent, people familiar with the plans said earlier this week. Deutsche Bank is the biggest foreign securities fi rm in Russia so far to announce it will exit the country as industry profi ts slump amid the fi rst reces-sion since 2009. The bank is also being probed for alleged money-laundering in Russia, according to people familiar with the matter.

The lender’s Russian corporate fi nance and markets businesses will now operate from interna-tional hubs, according to the state-ment. — Bloomberg News

B A N K I N G & F I N A N C E

Japan set to digest US rate decision over long weekendTOKYO: Tokyo investors will be cautiously watching global stock markets for cues next week to gauge the impact of the US cen-tral bank’s decision not to raise rates, analysts said.

Dealers will have three extra days to digest the news, which saw Tokyo shares defy a rally across Asia to end the fi nal day of the week lower, as markets will be closed until Wednesday.

“After the US Federal Reserve’s decision to stay pat on monetary policy, investors will watch move-ment in foreign markets, as well as a series of data including Chi-na’s manufacturing PMI,” said Hiroaki Hiwata, strategist at Toyo Securities.

China’s manufacturing pur-chasing managers index is due on Wednesday and Japanese consumer price data for August on Friday, while a series of US data will be closely watched next week. “If foreign markets move into positive territory, Japanese stocks will likely pick up too,” Hi-wata said.

On Friday, Tokyo shares re-treated almost two percent, defy-ing a broad regional rally, as the yen strengthened against the dol-lar after the US Federal Reserve held fi re on raising interest rates.

The Nikkei 225 index at the To-kyo Stock Exchange dropped 1.96 per cent, or 362.06 points, to close at 18,070.21. Over the week, the index slipped 1.06 per cent. The broader Topix index of all fi rst-section shares was down 1.98 per cent, or 29.53 points, at 1,462.38. It lost 1.21 per cent over fi ve sessions.

After a highly anticipated two-day meeting the Fed on Thursday said it would leave its borrowing rates at zero, with governor Janet Yellen citing concerns about the world economy and particularly China’s sharp slowdown. The Fed’s decision followed wide-spread warnings about the dire impact a rate increase could have, with the World Bank predicting this week it would cause a “per-fect storm” in fi nancial markets.

“A lot of our focus has been on risks around China, but not just

China, emerging markets more generally and how they may spill over to the United States,” Yellen said at a news conference follow-ing the rate announcement.

No more cheap yen While many had expected the Fed to back off a fi rst hike in nine years, the tone of Yellen’s com-ments took some by surprise.

“It seems logical the (US) cen-tral bank would have raised rates if it weren’t for recent interna-tional developments, but they tried desperately to buy them-selves fl exibility,” Chris Weston, chief market analyst at IG, said in an email to clients. The decision not to raise rates hit the dollar, which was trading at 119.78 yen in Tokyo, against 120.01 yen in New York and well off the 120.90 yen in Asia earlier Thursday.

The strengthening yen pushed Japanese shares in negative terri-tory. Analysts say traders see the currency as a safe haven, which means it strengthens in times of turmoil and uncertainty. — AFP

E C O N O M Y

NEW FRONTIERS: Carmakers at the Frankfurt Motor Show, which opens its doors to the general public

on Saturday, are keen to show off their brave new world of intelligent, digitised models. - Bloomberg fi le picture

VITAL RESOURCE: China has accumulated about 200 million bar-

rels of crude in its reserve so far and aims to have 500 million by

the end of the decade, according to the IEA. — Bloomberg fi le picture

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

B2

MARKETS AT U R DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

US, global growth concerns behind Fed rate move: RajanMUMBAI: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Rahguram Rajan on Saturday said that the US Fed-eral Reserve was impelled to hold near-zero rates again due to the emerging threat to the global econ-omy as well as its concern over health of the American economy.

“If we look around the world to-day, it doesn’t present a pretty pic-ture. Industrial countries are still struggling, with a few exceptions, to grow and the uncertainty about growth in the US as well the world is probably what impelled the Fed to stay on hold yesterday,” Rajan said here.

The Governor was making his opening remarks before delivering the CK Prahalad memorial lecture here this morning.

Global credit crisisIn what could be termed as the most-awaited Fed meeting since the 2008 global credit crisis, the world’s most powerful central bank again postponed its intended decision to increase the rates from 0.00-.025 per cent till the end of the year, giving a big relief to India and other developing countries.

“To support continued progress toward maximum employment

and price stability, the Fed com-mittee on Friday reaffi rmed its view that the current 0 to 1/4 per cent target range for the federal funds rate remains appropriate,” Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said after a two-day meeting in Washington.

In New Delhi, Economic Af-fairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said the US Fed decision gives more room to emerging markets for policy adjustment. “The Fed has given a clear signal that any increase would be calibrated,” Das said in fi rst offi cial response to the Fed decision.

The market anticipates that Ra-jan will cut rates at the September 29 meeting. It can be noted that the world’s second largest economy China has been in perils since be-ginning of the year, which pulled down global commodity prices to near record lows.

The Fed said it anticipates that it will be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate when it has seen some further improvement in the labour market and is reasonably confi dent that infl ation will move back to its two per cent objective over the medi-um-term. — PTI

E C O N O M Y

Raghuram Rajan, governor of the Reserve of India. - Bloomberg fi le picture

Bank of Japan brainstorms massive stimulus overhaul

TOKYO: Sources say the Bank of Japan (BOJ) has been quietly brainstorming the idea of over-hauling its massive monetary stimulus programme over time, casting doubt on offi cials’ confi -dent assertions that it can keep buying up government bonds for several more years.

Sources familiar with the BOJ’s thinking say stepping up its 80 trillion yen ($665 billion) per year asset buying remains its go-to option if defl ationary pressures persist, given a limited arsenal

of obvious policy alternatives. But they say the central bank isn’t ruling out breaking with the money-printing programme over the longer term, as it has had lit-tle success in accelerating infl a-tion toward its two per cent target since it began in April 2013.

Senior BOJ offi cials have been involved in preliminary talks dis-cussing the longer-term options, the sources said.

“If the medicine isn’t working, you wonder whether it makes sense to keep prescribing more,”

one of them said on condition of anonymity.

QQE programmeAnother source quoted a senior BOJ offi cial as saying that if the so-called quantitative and quali-tative easing (QQE) programme fails to accelerate infl ation for too long, a revamp of the framework may become an option.

“QQE is not a programme in-tended to last another fi ve, 10 years,” said a former BOJ policy-maker with knowledge of current monetary policy deliberations.

The BOJ has pumped 180 tril-lion yen into the economy since adopting QQE and each month gobbles up government bonds equivalent to about one per cent of Japan’s GDP.

While the stimulus has boosted exporters’ profi ts by weakening the yen, its broader impact has been weak as fi rms remain wary of increasing wages and investment.

Infl ation has ground to a halt on falling oil costs and soft consump-tion, rekindling market expecta-

tions the BOJ might step up eas-ing as early as next month.

But with borrowing costs near zero, some BOJ offi cials doubt whether expanding QQE would help the economy much and some worry they might eventu-ally run out of sellers if they ac-celerate the programme.

The BOJ already holds about a quarter of Japanese government bonds (JGB) in the market, and that would rise to nearly 40 per-cent by the end of 2016 at the cur-rent pace of buying.

BOJ technocrats say they can keep buying as long as they off er high prices, but BOJ board mem-ber Takehiro Sato, a former bond analyst, has argued that there are limits because fi nancial institu-tions need a certain level of JGBs for collateral.

The International Monetary Fund agrees.

“Given the pace of the BOJ’s purchases under the QQE pro-gramme that is under way ... you could run out of willing sellers of JGBs by the end of 2017,” said

Kalpana Kochhar, the IMF’s mis-sion chief for Japan.

That would not just make the bond market dysfunctional, it would also prevent the bank from hitting its monetary base target.

Revert to rate target?For now, there is no consensus within the BOJ on what any over-haul to the programme might look like. Many policymakers still cling to hope that infl ation will rise enough to allow them to consider phasing out QQE around 2017.

But with a sales tax hike loom-ing that year, many analysts doubt the BOJ can withdraw stimulus so soon.

If the BOJ bumps into trouble buying JGBs, some analysts say it could abandon the 0.1 per cent interest the central bank pays on reserves the fi nancial institu-tions park in BOJ accounts, or even charge a fee for them. That might particularly hurt regional banks, which are already strug-gling with thin margins on bond investments. — Reuters

Sources familiar with the BOJ’s thinking say

stepping up its $665b per year asset buying

remains its go-to option if defl ationary

pressures persist, given a limited arsenal

of obvious policy alternatives.

Italy’s Renzi gambles on EU backing for budget

ROME: Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was on Friday putting the fi nal touches to a budget which could inject 27 billion euros into Italy’s sickly economy next year — if he can get it past Brussels.

The plan for an ambitious pro-gramme of tax cuts and investment fi nanced partly through an in-creased defi cit represents Renzi’s biggest challenge yet to the way in which the European Commission applies the eurozone’s supposedly strict budget rules.

Economists are sceptical that Renzi will be granted all the lee-way he wants, which he says could potentially free up some 17 billion euros for measures to promote jobs and growth.

“Brussels will allow some fi scal slippage, but not 17 billion euros,” Holger Schmieding, chief econo-mist at Berenberg Bank, told AFP.

But the centre-left premier bull-ishly insists that his plans are both within the rules and vital to secure the growth Italy needs to put its public fi nances in order.

“We cannot cut the defi cit pure-ly by cutting spending, that is fool-ish,” he said earlier this week.

On top of the funds released by the EU rules being applied fl ex-ibly, Renzi is counting on higher growth to fi nance his plans.

The budget due to be approved by Renzi’s cabinet on Friday even-ing includes revised GDP growth predictions of 0.9 per cent for this year and around 1.6 per cent for 2016. Pierre Moscovici, the Euro-pean Commissioner in charge of overseeing the fi nances of euro-zone commissioners, was in Rome on Friday to begin the haggling over the detail of the Italian tax and spending plans.

There is concern in Brussels that Renzi’s widely-trailed plans will slow the pace at which Rome reduces its 2.2-trillion-euro debt mountain — equivalent to more than 130 per cent of the country’s entire annual economic output.

Moscovici diplomatically re-jected suggestions that Renzi was regarded as the naughtiest boy in the euro class.

“I would not defi ne Italy as being under special surveillance,” the former French fi nance minister told Corriere della Sera. — AFP

E U R O P E A N U N I O N

Chinese fi rms sign key deal for high-speed rail link in USBEIJING: A unit of China’s CRRC Corp., the world’s big-gest train maker by revenue, on Thursday joined a group of its domestic peers in agreeing a deal to help build a high-speed link from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, underlining the rail giant’s lofty overseas ambitions.

Announced in a joint state-ment by the Chinese fi rms and US partner XpressWest at a gov-ernment forum in Beijing, the deal is the latest in a series of deeper Sino-American business ties to be unveiled before Presi-dent Xi Jinping visits the United States next week. Computer maker Dell said it will invest $125 billion in China, and new bilateral investment treaty off ers have been exchanged.

CRRC, formed from a state-driven merger of China’s two largest train makers, is among a large group of the country’s rail fi rms that has inked an accord for the project with XpressWest, a venture set up by Las Vegas-based hotel and casino developer Marnell Companies. Investment terms weren’t disclosed.

Gary Wong, a Hong Kong-based analyst at brokerage Guo-tai Junan, estimated that the project could be worth $5 billion. He said that although it would likely off er the many Chinese fi rms involved little fi nancial

benefi t, it was signifi cant for their long-term goals.

“If this opens up the US mar-ket for them, opportunities for future expansion will increase. And if (their technology) is used in the United States, it will be easier for them to sell to other countries,” he said.

CRRC is leading China’s ag-gressive pursuit of overseas high-speed rail deals in compe-tition with traditional suppliers such as Germany’s Siemens AG and France’s Alstom SA . Bei-jing recently clinched contracts in Russia, although it has faced hurdles in Mexico and Indonesia due to bureaucratic fl ip-fl ops in those countries.

US potentialThe United States is a key target for China’s rail industry, even though policymakers have been split over the need for high-speed rail and some have taken a dim view of Chinese involve-ment in potentially strategic deals. Most of a dozen or so US projects lined up have strug-gled to gain traction, leaving the country far behind Europe and Asia in this area.

XpressWest won the green light for the 230-mile high-speed line linking Los Angeles to Las Vegas in 2011 and applied for a federal loan in 2010, according

to the company’s website. It did not say whether its loan applica-tion had been successful. The US company didn’t respond to calls or emails seeking comment on the project after the partnership deal with the Chinese fi rms — grouped in a Nevada-based ven-ture called China Railway Inter-national USA- was announced.

XpressWestXpressWest and the Chinese fi rms said in their statement that the accord would help accelerate the project without disclosing details of how it would achieve that. Additional regulatory ap-provals will be required before the construction begins, expect-ed early as September 2016.

“The United States market is huge because the fact is that their railway tracks and facilities are ageing and need upgrading,” Cao Gangcai, CRRC’s vice chief economist, told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday, before the XpressWest deal was an-nounced.

The company plans to grow its share of revenue from work overseas to 30 per cent within the next fi ve years, he said. Hav-ing completed its merger in May, it booked fi rst-half revenue of 91.8 billion yuan ($14.42 billion), only 12 per cent of which was booked overseas. — Reuters

B I L A T E R A L T R A D E

Lufthansa set to start premium economy fl ights from MumbaiNEW DELHI: German carrier Lufthansa on Friday announced rolling out of premium economy class on its fl ights to Frankfurt and Munich from Mumbai, start-ing next week and off ered special promotional fares for the new cabin class for a limited period.

Mumbai is the third city to have such an off ering from Lufthansa, after Delhi and Bengaluru.

The new cabin class on the Mumbai-Frankfurt-Mumbai route is being introduced from September 23 while the same for Mumbai-Munich-Mumbai sector would be launched from Septem-ber 25, Lufthansa said.

It also said that passengers can avail an upgrade to higher class by paying an additional fee. The pre-mium economy passengers can

also access business class lounge facilities at a nominal cost.

The new product rolled out for the fl iers from Mumbai comes with on-board as well as on-ground features including 50 per cent extra legroom as compared to the economy class, it said. “Mumbai is India’s fi nancial and corporate hub and a very impor-tant market for Lufthansa. — PTI

A V I A T I O N

Matteo Renzi. — Bloomberg News

B3S AT U R DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

MARKET

Apple wins key ruling in US to force Samsung to change phones, tablets

WASHINGTON: Apple won a court ruling that may force Sam-sung Electronics to stop using some features in its older-model Galaxy smartphones and tablets and gives the iPhone maker a leg up in the four-year-old dispute.

A US appeals court said Ap-ple was entitled to a narrow order that prevents the Korean device maker from using Apple’s slide-to-unlock, autocorrect and quicklinks features. Ruling otherwise would eliminate patent rights of inven-tors of certain features in multi-component devices, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington said in an opinion posted on its electronic docket.

The decision could have far-reaching consequences in how disputes are resolved when it comes to complex devices, and help patent owners limit copying

by rivals. The ability to block use of an invention is a powerful tool that increases the price tag when nego-tiating settlements.

Important precedent“It’s an important precedent for Apple and any company that seeks to protect product diff erentia-tion,” said Nick Rodelli, who heads CFRA Legal Edge, a New York-based forensic accounting and legal research fi rm. “This broad-ens their moat here in the US and makes it more diffi cult for new en-trants to come into the US market and rip off Apple’s features.”

Samsung said it would ask that the issue be considered by all ac-tive judges of the Federal Circuit, since it was a split decision. The court handles all patent appeals.

The iPhone maker gains addi-tional fi repower with its biggest

rival when it comes to resolving a fi ght that began in April 2011. A past Apple settlement with HTC included a “no cloning” provision that ensured HTC’s phones didn’t look too similar to the iPhone, and the ruling on Thursday helps do the same to other makers, like China’s Xiaomi, that want to en-ter the US market. For Samsung, the ruling applies to older models including the Galaxy S2 and Note 2 that have been superseded by current devices such as the S6. It is

thus unlikely to have a signifi cant impact on the company’s business, said Lee Jae Yun, an analyst at Yu-anta Securities Korea.

Samsung’s shares climbed 2.9 per cent to 1,190,000 million won in Seoul on Friday, while the benchmark Kospi index rose one per cent.

“The remaining litigation looks rather symbolic and I don’t expect the court rulings on older models would have a signifi cant impact on Samsung’s business,” said Jeong

Woo Sung, a patent lawyer at Lim & Jeong Patent Law Firm in Seoul.

Trial verdictApple won a $119.6 million jury verdict in May 2014 against Sam-sung, which was found to have infringed its patents for the slide-to-unlock, autocorrect and quick-links features. Even so, the trial judge declined to force Samsung to remove them from its mobile phones, saying monetary damages would be adequate.

Apple argued that, if it weren’t able to control use of its inven-tions, it may lose market share and its reputation as an innovator.

“The right to exclude competi-tors from using one’s property rights is important,” the Federal Circuit ruled in a 2-1 decision. “And the right to maintain exclu-sivity — a hallmark and crucial guarantee of patent rights deriving from the Constitution itself — is likewise important.”

Samsung backersGoogle, HTC, LG Electronics. and Rackspace Hosting were among companies backing Samsung in its arguments. They argued that a vic-tory for Apple could allow a patent owner “to unfairly leverage its pat-ent for competitive gain.”

The specifi c features had some

impact on customer decisions to buy products, and that should be considered when determining whether to block use of an inven-tion, the court said. In her dissent, Chief Judge Sharon Prost said Ap-ple must show that the features drove sales from Apple to Samsung before it could block a product.

Samsung told the appeals court in March that none of its current models use two of the patents, and only a single product still has the autolink feature, so it will undergo no hardship, the court ruled.

“We want to reassure our mil-lions of loyal customers that all of our fl agship smartphones, which are wanted and loved by American consumers, will remain for sale and available for customer ser-vice support in the US,” said Dan-ielle Meister Cohen, a Samsung spokeswoman. She said Samsung has its own history of innovation.

Apple can go back and argue to the trial judge that Samsung’s newer versions still infringe the patents, setting up yet more legal debates between the two.

“The public generally does not benefi t when that competition comes at the expense of a paten-tee’s investment- backed property right,” Circuit Judge Kimberly Moore wrote for the majority. —

Bloomberg News

A US appeals court said Apple was entitled

to a narrow order that prevents the Korean

device maker from using Apple’s slide-to-

unlock, autocorrect and quicklinks features

China automakers try new ways to counter slowing economy, fl at salesXI’AN, (China): As China’s economy loses pace and car sales fl atline, automakers are having to redouble their eff orts to squeeze every dollar from their dealer-ships — beefi ng up after-sales and fi nancing services that are a sta-ple in more developed markets.

New car sales still make up a “ridiculous” 70 per cent or more of dealer revenue in China, com-pared to as little as fi ve per cent in a market like Britain, where dealers make most of their money from car repairs, insurance and auto fi nance, said an executive at a chain of luxury dealerships in China. For years, Chinese car makers and their dealers had it easy. As China raced from being an undeveloped indigenous mar-ket to being the world’s biggest — and a main growth driver for glob-al manufacturers - new car sales sped along at double-digit growth. This year, sales may contract for the fi rst time in at least two dec-ades. That’s prompted global car makers such as BMW to intensify training programmes, teaching dealers how to maximise revenue from businesses beyond just sell-ing new cars.

In a classroom-cum-car repair service bay in Beijing last week, groups of BMW after-sales ser-vice managers huddled around tables, poring over spreadsheets

on repair revenues per model and productivity per service me-chanic.

Elsewhere, new recruits learn how to compose follow-up mobile messages to potential car buyers browsing the showrooms. That personal touch can later help drum up repeat after-sales busi-ness that might otherwise go to cheaper backstreet repair yards.

“We’re under conditions that make us sweat with urgency, so we need to participate more in these mind-expanding activities and cooperate with the manufac-turer to fi nd a way to survive,” said

Xu Dapeng, who manages after-sales services for a BMW dealer-ship in Beijing and attended last week’s training.

As car sales in China soared since the mid-2000s, few manu-facturers and dealers bothered to diversify their revenue streams. But around 60 per cent of all car dealerships now say they’re losing money on each new car sold, prompting manufacturers to build out other ways to make money.

At BMW, where deliveries to dealers in China have grown just one per cent so far this year, this

means putting recruits through sales ‘boot camp’ and turning ex-perienced staff into spreadsheet wonks.

The world’s top luxury car mak-er this month opened its largest Asia training centre in Xi’an in Shaanxi province. It is also roll-ing out online training phone apps and having in-house trainers at dealerships look after basic skills so training centres can focus on teaching more advanced skills.

Training classes have shifted to help dealers identify areas they can change for a quick improve-ment in results, said BMW’s Chi-na training chief Xiao Yi.

“They need to know which kind of customers support big margins and have high turnover,” said Ma Gang, a BMW training manager who oversees after-sales classes. That way dealers can target those customers in follow-up calls and increase the chance they’ll bring in their cars for repairs or a tune-up. BMW is not alone in beefi ng up its training eff ort as the market becomes more challenging. Lu Cheng, general manager of DZMC Training, who taught last week’s BMW class, said there’s more de-mand for such training sessions from all his clients, including Daimler and Porsche. His fi rm has increased its training staff by a fi fth since last year. — Reuters

A U T O M O T I V E

Alibaba’s investors in for diffi cult timesHONG KONG: Alibaba Group Holding looked like a sure thing a year ago when it pulled off the larg-est initial public off ering ever. It had a lock on China e-commerce as the economy was surging and consumer spending was steadily rising. Shares soared 76 per cent from the IPO price in just two months.

Then it all crumbled. Alibaba came under fi re from a China gov-ernment agency, it cut deals that baffl ed investors and it replaced its chief executive as growth slowed. Most important, China’s economy turned wobbly, jeopardising the rise in consumer spending Alibaba needed. Its stock slid down, down, down to the IPO price and then below. The sure thing was no such thing.

What now? Investors who watched $128 billion in market value disappear shouldn’t expect a reprieve any time soon. Atlantic Equities LLP’s James Cordwell, the top-ranked analyst covering the stock, predicts the slowing Chinese economy will undercut e-commerce transaction growth until at least 2016. The many deals Alibaba has negotiated will take time to pay off too.

“All the operating metrics seem to be pointing in the wrong direc-tion,” said London-based Cord-well, who topped Bloomberg Absolute Return rankings for his

calls on Alibaba and also recom-mendations across the portfolio he covers.

“Until investors feel some com-fort in that slowdown bottoming out, it will be hard for the stock,” he added.

Jack Ma, Alibaba’s chairman and co-founder, isn’t known for coddling investors. In a letter with the IPO fi ling, he said explicitly shareholders would be the third priority after customers and em-ployees. He and his partners didn’t want short-term market volatil-ity to distract from building a suc-cessful business for the long term.

Indeed, many of Alibaba’s trou-bles derive from a domestic econ-omy over which it has no control. While conceding some missteps in its fi rst year, Alibaba isn’t one for introspection. — Bloomberg News

$ 1 2 8 B M A R K E T V A L U E W I P E O U T

Jack Ma. — Bloomberg fi le picture

ROAD READY: In a classroom-cum-car repair service bay in Bei-

jing last week, groups of BMW after-sales service managers hud-

dled around tables, poring over spreadsheets on repair revenues

per model and productivity per service mechanic. - Bloomberg fi le picture

CRUCIAL VERDICT: For Samsung, the ruling applies to older models

including the Galaxy S2 and Note 2 that have been superseded by

current devices such as the S6. - Bloomberg fi le picture

B4

FEATURES AT U R DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

Adam Smith famously wrote of the “in-visible hand,” by which individuals’ pursuit of self-interest in free, com-petitive markets advances the interest of society as a whole. And Smith was right: Free markets have generated un-

precedented prosperity for individuals and so-cieties alike. But, because we can be manipulat-ed or deceived or even just passively tempted, free markets also persuade us to buy things that are good neither for us nor for society.

This observation represents an important codicil to Smith’s vision. And it is one that George Akerlof and I explore in our new book, Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manip-ulation and Deception.

Most of us have suff ered “phishing”: un-wanted emails and phone calls designed to defraud us. A “phool” is anyone who does not fully comprehend the ubiquity of phishing. A phool sees isolated examples of phishing, but does not appreciate the extent of profes-sionalism devoted to it, nor how deeply this professionalism aff ects lives. Sadly, a lot of us have been phools — including Akerlof and me, which is why we wrote this book.

Routine phishing can aff ect any market, but our most important observations concern fi -nancial markets — timely enough, given the massive boom in the equity and real-estate markets since 2009, and the turmoil in global asset markets since last month.

As too many optimists have learned to their detriment, asset prices are highly volatile, and a whole ocean of phishes is involved. Borrow-ers are lured into unsuitable mortgages; fi rms are stripped of their assets; accountants mis-lead investors; fi nancial advisers spin narra-tives of riches from nowhere; and the media promote extravagant claims.

But the losers in the downturns are not just those who have been duped. A chain of addi-

THEINVISIBLE

HANDtional losses occurs when the infl ated assets have been purchased with borrowed money. In that case, bankruptcies and fear of bank-ruptcy spawn an epidemic of further bank-ruptcies, reinforcing fear. Then credit dries up and the economy collapses. This vicious downward spiral for business confi dence typically features phishes — for example, the victims of Bernard Madoff ’s Ponzi scheme — discovered only after the period of irrational exuberance has ended.

Epidemics, in economics as much as in medicine, call for an immediate and drastic response. The response by the authorities to the Great Crash of 1929 was small and slow, and the world economy entered a “Dark Age” that lasted through the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Second World War. The 2007-2009 fi nancial crisis portended a simi-lar outcome, but this time the world’s govern-ments and central banks intervened prompt-ly, in a coordinated fashion, and with an appropriately high volume of stimulus. The recovery has been weak; but we are nowhere near a new Dark Age.

For that we should be grateful. Yet some now argue that the fi scal and monetary au-thorities should not have responded so quick-ly or strongly when the 2007-2009 crisis erupted. They believe that the primary cause

of the crisis was what economists call mor-al hazard: because risk-takers expected

that the authorities would intervene to protect them when their bets went awry, they took even greater risks.

By contrast, our view (supported by plenty of data) is that rapidly rising prices usually refl ect irrational exu-berance, aided and abetted by phishes.

The irrationally exuberant were not thinking of the returns they would garner

if the authorities intervened to maintain

the economy and the fl ow of credit (or, in ex-treme cases, moved to bail out their bank or enterprise). Such possibilities were a mar-ginal consideration in the euphoria preced-ing the 2007-2009 crisis: those selling at in-fl ated prices were making profi ts; and buyers “knew” they were doing the right thing — even when they weren’t.

The reluctance to acknowledge the need for immediate intervention in a fi nancial crisis is based on a school of economics that fails to account for the irrational exuberance that I have explored elsewhere, and that ignores the aggressive marketing and other realities of digital-age markets examined in Phishing for Phools. But adhering to an approach that over-looks these factors is akin to doing away with fi re departments, on the grounds that without them people would be more careful — and so there would then be no fi res.

We found out many years ago, to the world’s great regret, what happens when a fi nancial epidemic is allowed to run its course. Our analysis indicates that not only are there en-demic and natural forces that make the fi nan-cial system highly volatile; but also that swift, eff ective intervention is needed in the face of fi nancial collapse.

We need to give free rein to fi scal and mone-tary authorities to take aggressive steps when fi nancial turmoil turns into fi nancial crisis. One Dark Age is one too many. — Robert J. Shiller*/

Project Syndicate

*The author, a 2013 Nobel laureate in econom-ics, is Professor of Economics at Yale University and the co-creator of the Case-Shiller Index of US house prices. He is the author of Irrational Exu-berance, the third edition of which was published in January 2015, and, most recently, Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and De-ception, co-authored with George Akerlof.

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FamilySECTIONB L I F E STY L E S AT U R DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

SIMPLESTORAGETIPS TOPREVENTFOODWASTE F

ood waste is a major issue that aff ects the environment, economy and food security. In fact, according to the Natural Resources Defence Council in the US, American families throw out approximately 25 per cent of the food and beverages they buy – the equivalent of about $1,500 wasted each year. As for the major causes of this food waste, the NRDC points to improper or suboptimal storage, poor visibility in refrigerators, partially used ingredients and misjudged food needs.

While the issue continues to grow, there are ways for everyone to address these causes and reverse the negative eff ects food waste has on the environ-ment and the economy — and many people are already making small eff orts to do so. According to Glad Food Protection’s Fridge to Fork survey, 87 per cent of Americans say they are taking steps to preserve their grocery store purchases, or are fi nding ways to prepare them for later consumption, help-ing reduce food waste in their homes.

With warmer temperatures, fresh ingredients will be in ample supply and proper food preparation and protection will be essential to keep fresh foods on the plate and out of the bin. Help combat food waste and keep your food fresher longer with these tips for properly storing your food the day you buy it:

FruitWhole watermelon should be left at room temperature until ripe then stored whole and uncovered in the refrigerator. Once cut, store cut watermelon halves or slices in a zippered plastic bag and refrigerate. Do not wash berries before storing. Place in a single layer in a shallow bowl or into the bottom of a large food protection container lined with paper towels. Cover with plastic wrap or seal the container tightly.

MeatKeep ground beef in its original packaging until ready to use. If opening before using, wrap meat or beef patties securely in plastic wrap. Ground beef should be used within 1-2 days.

Wrap individual pieces of poultry in Cling Wrap, and place into a container or zipper bag. To prevent juices from leaking on other food, store poultry on the lowest refrigerator shelf. Poultry should be used within 1-2 days. Thoroughly remove excess moisture from fi sh with paper towels. Place fi llets in a container lined with paper tow-els. If necessary, stack fi llets between rows of paper towels. Cover with another paper towel and seal container. If possible, place storage container on a bed of crushed ice in-side a larger container. Fish should be used within 2 days. - Family Features

VeggiesStore whole heads of lettuce loosely wrapped in a zipper bag. Once cut, lettuce should be kept in a zipper bag or container. Add a lightly dampened paper towel to keep lettuce crisp. If still in the husk, refrigerate corn uncovered. Once the husk has been removed, wrap corn cobs tightly in plastic wrap before refrigerating. Raw or cooked kernels can be stored in containers. Place fresh whole broccoli heads in a large zipper bag, and poke several holes in the bag to allow ventilation. To store cut broccoli, remove the woody stems and cut the rest into fl orets. Soak in lightly salted water to remove dirt and grit, and dry thoroughly. Place into a storage container.

FIND-IT-ALLB6 S AT U R DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

ROYAL OMAN POLICE

Emergencies and inquiries: 9999

General Directorate of

Passport and Residence 24569603

Directorate General

of Customs 24521109

Traffic violations inquiries 24510228

Public Relations Admin 24560099

EMBASSIES IN OMAN

Afghanistan 24698 791/4

Algeria 24605 593

Bahrain 24 605 074/133

Bangladesh 24 698 660

Brazil 24640100

Brunei 24 603533

China 24 696782

Cyprus 24 699815

Egypt 24 600 982/411

France 24681 800

Germany 24835000

India 24684500

Indonesia 2469 1050

Iran 24 696 944/7

Iraq 24603642

Italy 24693727

Japan 24 601 028

Jordan 24692760/1/3

Kazakhstan 24 692418

Kenya 24 697664

South Korea 24 691490

Kuwait 24 699628

Lebanon 24 693208

Libya 24603466

Malaysia 24698329/643

Morocco 24696152/3

Nepal 24696177

Netherlands 24603706

Pakistan 24603439

Palestine 24601312

Philippines 24605335

Qatar 24 691 153/2/4

Russia 24602894

Saudi Arabia 24601705

Senegal 24694139

Somalia 24697977

South Africa 24647300

Spain 24691101

Sri Lanka 24697841/2

Sudan 24697875

Switzerland 24603267

Syria 24697904

Tanzania 24601 174

Thailand 24 602684/5

Tunisia 24603486

Turkey 24697050/1/2

UAE 24400000

United Kingdom 24609000

United States 24643400

Yemen 24600815

PHARMACIES

Round the clock

Al Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi 24783334

Apollo Medical Centre,

Hamriya 24782666

Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi 24702542

Salalah 23291635;

Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra 24503585

Muscat Region

Apollo, Al Hamriya 24787766

Muscat, A Seeb Market 24421691

Muscat, Al Khuwair 24485740

Muscat, Al Hail South 24537080

Dhofar Region

Muscat, Al Nahdha Road,

Salalah 23291635

HOSPITALS

Al Amal Medical & Health Care

Centre 24485052

Atlas Hospital

Ruwi 24811743/

Ghubra 24504000

Al Musafir Specialised

Medical Clinic 24706453

Hatat Polyclinic LLC,

Ruwi 24563641

Azaiba 24499269

Sohar 2683006

Al Raffah Hospital 24618900/1/2

Al Massaraat Clinic &

Laboratory 24566435

Al Makook Medical

Coordinance Centre 24499434

Apollo Medical Centre,

Hamriya 24787766, 24787780

Capital Polyclinic 24707549

Badr Al Samaa Polyclinic,

Ruwi 24799760/1/2

Capital Clinic, Seeb 24420740

Ceregem National Raak 24485633

Dr Harub’s Clinic 24563217

Elixir Health Centre 24565802

Emirates Medical Centre 24604540

1st Chiropractic Centre 24472274

Hamdan Hospital 23212340

International Medical

Centre LLC 24794501/2/3/4/5

Kims Oman Hospital 24760100

24 Hrs Emergency 24760123

Lama Polyclinic, Sohar 26751128

MBD 24799077

Al Khuwair 24478818

Magrabi Eye and

Ear Hospital 24568870

Muscat Private Hospital 24583600

Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment

Centre, Al Khuwair 24477666

Al-Hayat Polyclinc LLC 22004000

AIRLINE OFFICES

Muscat Airport Flight information

(24 hours) 24519456/24519223

Aeroflot 24704455

Air Arabia 24700828

Air France 24562153

Air India 24799801

Air New Zealand 24700732

Biman Bangladesh Airlines 24701128

British Airways 24568777

Cathay Pacific 24789818

Egypt Air 24794113

Emirates Air 24404400

Ethiopian Airlines 24660313

Gulf Air 80072424

Indian 24791914

Iran Air 24787423

Japan Airlines 24704455

Jazeera Airways 23294848

Jet Airways 24787248

Kenya Airways 24660300

KML Royal Dutch Airlines 24566737

Kuwait Airways 24701262

LOT Polish Airlines 24796387

Lufthansa 24796692

Malaysian Airlines 24560796

Middle East Airlines 24796680

Oman Air 24531111

Pakistan International

Airlines 24792471

Qatar Airways 24771900

Qantas 24559941

Royal Jordanian 24796693

Saudi Arabian Airlines 24789485

Singapore Airlines 24791233

Shaheen Air 24816565

SriLankan Airlines 24784545

Swiss International

Airlines 24796692

Thai Airways 24705934

LISTINGS

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

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI)

Dept Destination Arrival Operatingtime time days

QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (ROUTE 36)

15:00 Quriyat 16:30 Daily

15:00 Sur 18:00 Daily

15:00 Jaalan 19:30 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

06:30 Sohar 08:50 Daily

06:30 Buraimi 11:00 Daily

08:00 Buraimi 14:30 Daily via Ibri

13:00 Sohar 15:45 Daily

13:00 Buraimi 17:40 Daily

16.00 Sohar 18.35 Daily

16.00 Buraimi 20:20 Daily

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

17:30 Sinaw 20:50 Daily

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

14:30 Nizwa 16:50 Daily

14:30 Yanqul 19:30 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

08:00 Nizwa 10:20 Daily

08:00 Al Araqi 12:30 Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55)

07:30 Sur 12:00 Daily

14:30 Sur 18:45 Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (ROUTE 62)

06:30 Fahud 10:30 Daily

06:30 Yibal 11:15 Daily

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (ROUTE 100)

07:00 Salalah 20:00 Daily

10:00 Marmul 20:30 Daily

10:00 Salalah 23:30 Daily

19:00 Salalah 07:40 Daily

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)

06:00 Marmul 16:50 Daily

SALALAH TO DUBAI (ROUTE 102)

15:00 Dubai 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)

06:00 Sohar 08:30 Daily

06:00 Dubai 11:30 Daily

13:00 Sohar 15:30 Wed,Thur

13:00 Dubai 18:30 Wed,Thur

15:00 Sohar 17:35 Daily

15:00 Dubai 20:55 Daily

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily

07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily

07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

Dept Destination Arrival Operatingtime time days

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (ROUTE 36)

05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily

05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily

05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

07:00 Sohar 08:55 Daily

07:00 Ruwi 11:40 Daily

13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri

13:00 Sohar 14:55 Daily

13:00 Ruwi 17:40 Daily

13:00 Sohar 19:20 Daily

17:00 Ruwi 22:15 Daily

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

07:00 Ruwi 10:25 Daily

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

06:00 Nizwa 08:40 Daily

06:00 Ruwi 11:00 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

15:40 Nizwa 17:55 Daily

15:40 Ruwi 20:20 Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55)

06:00 Ruwi 10:45 Daily

14:30 Ruwi 19:00 Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (ROUTE 62)

12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily

12:30 Ruwi 17:30 Daily

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (ROUTE 100)

07:00 Ruwi 19:50 Daily

10:00 Marmul 13:15 Daily

10:00 Ruwi 22:30 Daily

19:00 Ruwi 07:30 Daily

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)

06:00 Marmul 16:30 Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (ROUTE 102)

15:00 Salalah 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)

07:30 Sohar 10:50 Daily

07:30 Ruwi 13:40 Daily

13:00 Sohar 16:15 Thur-Fri

13:00 Ruwi 19:10 Thur-Fri

15:30 Sohar 18:45 Daily

15:30 Ruwi 21:35 Daily

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH/SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily

16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily

16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

PRAYER TIMINGS

Dhuhr 12.06pm

Asr 3.32pm

Maghrib 6.13pm

Isha 7.23pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 4.39am

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

CITY CINEMAContact (10 am to 6PM) 24567664 | 68. www.citycinemaoman.netfacebook.com/citycinemaoman

SHATTITHE MAZE RUNNER: SCORCH TRIALS (Action, Sci fi) (PG12)(3D)Cast: Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario2:00, 9:15, 11:45 pmTHE MAZE RUNNER: SCORCH TRIALS (Action, Sci fi) (PG12)(2D)Cast: Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario6:45 pmAmerican Ultra (Action, Drama)(12+)Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart5:00, 9:30 pmThe Transporter Refueled (Action)(PG12)Cast: Ed Skrein, Loan Chabanol4:30, 11:30 pmMOOMOINS ON THE RIVIERA (Animation)2:00, 3:30 pm (PG)EDEN (Drama, Thriller)(12+)(2D)4:00, 5:45 pmCast: Jessica Lowndes, James RemarEVEREST (Adventure, Drama)(PG)(3D/IMAX)1:45, 9:30, 11:55 pmEVEREST (Adventure, Drama)(PG)(2D)Cast: Jason Clarke, Ang Phula Sherpa7:00 pmHARA MAZNOUKA (12+)(ARABIC)Cast: Ahmed Fathy, Ola Ghanem7:30 pm

MUSCAT GRAND MALLMaze Runner: The Scorch Trials: 3D (PG12)Timing: 10:00 AM, 9:30, 11:55 PMGold Class: 3:45, 8:45, 11:15 PMMaze Runner: The Scorch Trials: 2D (Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller) (PG12)4:45 PMAmerican Ultra: 2D (Action,Comedy) (12+)Cast: Jesse Eisenberg,, Kristen Stewart1:30, 7:15 PMEverest : 3D (Adventure, Drama, Thriller) (PG)Cast : Jason Clarke, Ang Phula Sherpa7:15, 11:45 PMGold Class: 1:15, 6:15 PMEverest : 2D (Adventure, Drama, Thriller) (PG)5:00 PM

Katti Batti(Hindi) : 2D (Romance) (TBC)Cast : Imran Khan, Kangana Ranaut9:15 PMThe Dead Lands : 2D (Action ) (15+)Cast : James Rolleston, Lawrence Makaore12:30 PMThe Transporter Refueled : 2D (PG12)Cast : Ed Skrein, Loan Chabano2:45 PMMoomins on the Riviera: 2D (Family) (PG)Cast : Maria Sid, Mats Langbacka10:15 AM, 12:00, 3:30 PM

AZAIBAMaze Runner: The Scorch Trials – 2D (PG12) Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller 5:30 PMMaze Runner: The Scorch Trials – 3D (PG12) Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller Cast: Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario12:45, 8:00, 10:30 PMUtopiayile Rajavu - 2D (PG) Family, Comedy Cast: Mammootty, Jewel Mary, K. P. A. C.2:45, 8:45 PMMoomins on the Riviera – 2D (PG) Cast: Maria Sid, Mats Långbacka12:45, 4:30 PMMaya – 2D (15+) Horror Cast: Nayanthara, Aari, Amzath Khan

6:00, 11:30 PMEverest – 3D (PG) Adventure, Drama, ThrillerCast: Jason Clarke, Ang Phula Sherpa12:30, 7:15, 11:15 PMEverest – 2D (PG) Adventure, Drama, ThrillerCast: Jason Clarke, Ang Phula Sherpa3:15 PMKatti Batti – 2D (TBC) Romance Cast: Imran Khan, Kangana Ranaut 2:00, 3:45, 6:15, 8:45 PMThe Transporter Refueled - 2D (PG12) 2:00, 11:55 PMAmerican Ultra – 2D (12+) Action, Comedy12:15, 5:30 PMHero – 2D (PG12) Action, Drama, Romance9:30 PM

RUWISCREEN 1Katti Batti (Romance) – PG12Cast:Kangana Ranaut, Imran Khan3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PMSCREEN 2Welcome Back (Comedy) – 12+1.00, 6.45 PM Everest (3D) (Adventure, Drama, Thriller) Cast: Elizabeth Debicki, Jake Gyllenhaal, Keira3.45, 9.45 PM (PG)

SCREEN 3Everest (2D) (Adventure, Drama) – PG1.00, 6.45 PM Welcome Back (Comedy) – 12+Cast: John Abraham, Shruti Hassan3.45 PMPhantom (Action) – PG9.45 PM SOHARThe Transporter Refueled - 2D (PG12) Cast: Ed Skrein, Loan Chabanol5:15, 10:10 PMAmerican Ultra - 2D (12+) Action, ComedyCast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart4:15, 11:30 PMHero - 2D (PG12) Action, Drama, RomanceCast: Sooraj Pancholi, Athiya Shetty6:00 PMEverest - 2D (PG) Adventure, Drama, Thriller Cast: Jason Clarke, Ang Phula Sherpa4:45 PMEverest - 3D (PG) Adventure, Drama, Thriller 12:30, 2:30, 7:00, 11:45 PMMaze Runner: The Scorch Trials - 3D 12:00, 7:00, 9:30, 11:55 PM (PG12)Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials - 2D (PG12) Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

2:45 PMKatti Batti - 2D (TBC) Romance12:00, 9:15 PMMoomins on the Riviera - 2D (PG) Cast: Maria Sid, Mats Långbacka3:00, 4:30 PMMaya - 2D (T) (15+) Horror Cast: Nayanthara, Aari, Amzath Khan6:00 PMUtopiayile Rajavu - 2D (M) (PG) FamilyCast: Mammootty, Jewel Mary, K. P. A. C. 12:15, 8:45 PMEden - 2D (12+) Drama, ThrillerCast: Jessica Lowndes, James Remar2:30, 11:55 PMHara Maznouka - 2D (Arb) (12+) ComedyCast: Ahmed Fathy, Ola Ghanem8:25 PM

BURAIMI

Maze Runner: The Scroch Trails - 3D (Action, Sci-FI, Thriller) (PG12)5:00, 9:30, 11:55PMEverest – 3D (Adventure, Drama ) (PG)5:15, 7:20, 11:45PMAmerican Ultra – 2D (Action, Comedy) (12+)3:30, 11:30PMThe Transporter Refueled– 2D (Action )

3:15, 5:30, 11:30PM (PG12)The Blood Lands – 2D (Horror) (12+)Cast: Pollyanna McIntosh, Lee Williams10:00PMKatti Batti – 2D (Romance/Comedy) (PG12)Cast: Imran Khan, Kangana Ranaut 3:00, 7:30PMMaaya – 2D (Horror) (15+)Cast: Nayantara, Aari, Amzath Khan7:15PM

SURMaze Runner : the Scorch Trails (3D) (Action | Sci - Fi ) (PG12)2:45, 9:15, 11:45 PMThe Dead Land (Action) (15+) CP#2:15, 9:30 PMUtopiayile Rajavu (Malayalam)(Family ) Cast: Mammooty, Jewel Mary, K. P. A. C. 12:00, 4:15 PM (PG)Katti Batti (Hindi) (Romance) (TBC) 7:00 PMAmerican Ultra (Action | Comedy) (12+)5:15PM Everest (3D) (Adventure | Drama) (PG) 12:00, 7:00, 11:30 PM

SALALAH

Tekken: Kazuya’s Revenge (2D) (15+) Cast: Kane Kosugi, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa10:15AM, 2:00, 10:15PMEverest (3D) (PG) (Adventure/Drama/Thriller) Cast: Jason Clarke, Ang Phula Sherpa10:15AM, 7:00, 11:55PMEverest (2D) (PG) (Adventure/Drama/Thriller) 2:15PMMoomins on the Riviera (2D) (PG) 10:00AM, 3:45PMThe Transporter Refueled (2D) (PG12) 2:30, 11:30 PMMaze Runner: The Scorch Trials (3D) 11:30AM, 9:15, 11:45PM (PG12) Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2D) (PG12) (Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller) 4:30PM Katti Batti (2D) (PG12) (Romance) 12:00, 7:45PMAmerican Ultra (2D) (12+) (Action) 12:30, 4:15PMUtopiayile Rajavu (2D) (PG) (Malayalam) 8:45PMMaaya (2D) (15+)(Tamil) (Horror) Cast: Nayanthara, Aari, Amzath Khan6:00PMHero (2D) (PG12) (Action/Drama/Romance) 5:15PM

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

Everest (Adventure/Thriller/Drama) Cast: Elizebeth Debicki, Jake Gyllenhal, Keira Knightly3.45, 7.30, 9.45 & 11.55 pmCP No: 2391 (PG)The Deadlands ( Action ) Cast: James Rolleston, Lawrence Makoare2.45, 10.00 & 11.55 pmCP No: 2392 ( 15+)Tekken 2 (Action) Cast: Kane Kosugi, Cary Heroiki Tagawa, Rade Serbedzija4.45 & 8.15 pmCP No: 2394 (15+)The Blood Lands (Horror/Mystery/Thriller) Cast: Pollynna Mc Intosh, Lee williams, Jonea Mitchel1.00 & 6.30 pmCP No: 2393 (12+)Zero Tolerance (Action) Cast: Dustin Nguyen, Scott Adkins, Sahajak Boonthanakit12.15 pmCP No: 2371 (12+)Moomins On The Riviera (Animation)Cast: Maria Sid, Mats Langbacka, Kristofer Gummerus2.00 & 6.00 pmCP No: 2395 (PG)

STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776Website: www.isurf.co.om

Utopiayile Rajavu (Mal) ( Com )Cast: Mammootty & Jewel Mary3-00 & 10-00 Pm Cinema Main; 6-45 Pm Cinema-3Thani Oruvan (Mal) ( Act/Drama ) Cast: Jayam Ravi, Nayanthara & Arvind Swamy 3-30, 6-30 & 9-30 Pm Cinema-2Maya (Tamil) ( Horror )Cast: Natanthara & Aari3-45 & 9-45 Pm At Cinema-3;6-30 Pm At Cinema MainLoham (Mal) (Drama/Act) Cast: Mohanlal, Andrea & Renji Paniker3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 Pm At Cinema – 4NEXT CHANGE:Trisha Illana Nayanthara (Tamil); Rajni Murugan (Tamil) Programmes are subject to change

@MGM @SHATTI @SOHAR @RUWI

THE MAZE RUNNER: SCORCH TRIALS (Action, Sci fi) (PG12)(3D)Cast : Dylan O’Brien, Kaya ScodelarioTimings :2:00, 9:15, 11:45 pm

EVEREST : 3D (Adventure, Drama, Thriller) (PG)Cast : Jason Clarke, Ang Phula SherpaTiming : 7:15, 11:45 PMGold Class: 1:15, 6:15 PM

MOOMINS ON THE RIVIERA - 2D (PG) Voice Overs : Maria Sid, Mats LångbackaTimings : 3:00, 4:30 PM

KATTI BATTI (ROMANCE) – PG12Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Imran KhanTiming: 3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PM

WEATHER

37Maximum

30Minimum

TEMPERATURE

60-95%RELATIVE HUMIDITY

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

WITH LOVE

LIFESTYLEB7S AT U R DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

ACROSS

1 Hot spring 4 Cotillion honorees 8 Type size 12 31-day mo. 13 In charge of 14 “I” problems 15 Tender pods (2 wds.) 17 Puts on a piece of clothing 18 Rip apart 19 Insert mark 20 Dumpster locales 23 Urge 24 “Misery” actor 25 Black leopard 29 Lose brightness 30 Fix to suit 32 Mex. neighbour 33 Studied at the last minute 35 Cough syrup meas.36 Be under the weather 37 Nitpicks 39 Cutlass 42 Paper source 43 Monsieur, in Bonn44 Made a bow 48 Fridge stick 49 Romance, to Pedro 50 Meadow plaint 51 Remove snow 52 O’Hara estate 53 L.A. zone

Crossword Puzzle

Q u e s t i o n s & A n s w e r s

It’s better not to argue with...

My father

If I had treasures I would

hide them...Never give a clue...

One thing that puts me off ...

When loads of home-work steals my play-

ing time

One movie/book I can watch/

read over and over again...

Laurel and Hardy movie

When I’m in doubt...

Will take elders help.

If I met an alien I would...

Love to visit his planet

One person I would trade

places with (real or fi citional)

Ben 10

I go crazy when...I watch cricket

The scariest thing that I have done...

Nothing

The best way to my heart is...

Be cool

If I win a lottery...I will contribute some

stake to the needy people

If I have to describe myself

as a fl avour it would be...

Mango

If I could go back in history,

I would like to meet...

My ancestors

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

publish the contributions.

K.S.TARA CHARITH

DOWN1 Airline to Stockholm2 Wordplay 3 Back when 4 Disney dwarf 5 Levels off 6 Form droplets 7 Almost-grads 8 Overly meticulous scholar9 Frankenstein’s gofer10 Volcano shape 11 Exec. aide 16 Brown songbird

19 Bronze coin 20 “Who Made Who” rockers 21 Place to hibernate 22 Dalai — 23 Puppy noise 25 Hippie’s digs 26 Centres 27 Latin I verb 28 Knocks sharply 30 Between 31 One of the 13 orig. Colonies 34 In most part

35 Cookbook amts. 37 Outburst of excitement38 Violet lead-in 39 Get groceries 40 In fine fettle 41 Sandwich cookie 42 Mountain lion 44 Ailurophobe’s dread45 Mischievous child46 Dawn deity 47 Decimal point

AN

SWER

TO

PR

EVIO

US

PUZ

ZLE

STORYTIME

By Swati Dasgupta

One skill I would like to learn...

Dhoni’s talent cricket

Tea time

Surprise by Cdur

Ali was busy talking to someone over the phone when he heard Aaliya’s voice. Aaliya, his elder sister, was

calling him for lunch. “Ali, what’s wrong with you?

When will you come?,” Aaliya said in a commanding tone. After repeat-ed reminders Ali fi nally came.

“What were you up to Ali?” Aal-iya asked while she served herself some steamed rice and curry from the bowl.

“I was talking to Jimmy about Ravi’s birthday,” Ali said.

Ravi and Ali were in the same class and it was Ravi’s birthday the following day. Ali was very excited about the day. Birthdays meant loads of fun and games and the chil-dren eagerly waited for the day. But there was something else that made all the eyes shine bright. They were the gifts. As expected Ali was also very excited about the gift he would give Ravi.

That evening he went shopping with his mom and spent some two long hours in deciding what to give.

“Mom, I want to give Invinci-ble Iron Man. It’s fabulous!,” Ali jumped in excitement. Ali knew about the new toy Iron Man from his friends in school. It was an ac-tion fi gure that was 12 inches tall and had snap-on weapons, jet pack and a removable helmet.

Ali’s mom was taken aback fi nd-ing her son being so well versed with the latest in toys. She aff ectionately looked at Ali and said: “I know Ali that you want to gift that toy to Ravi and I appreciate your love for your friend but at the moment I am afraid I wouldn’t be able to buy that for you as it’s beyond my budget. Also I think you should give something that is useful as a gift. Why not a midgame set or some story books?

No sooner did she fi nish saying this Ali gave a grumpy look at his mom. He didn’t like what she said.

Sounding quite defi ant he said: “Mom, everyone will bring expen-sive presents for Ravi. What will Ravi think? He will think we are poor and do not have money.”

Ali’s mom was stunned hearing her son. She didn’t expect this from Ali.

“I thought you wanted to give that toy because Ravi is your best friend. But it seems to me that you are more concerned about what others will think about your gift than what Ravi will like,” his moth-er said in a worried tone.

But Ali was in no mood to listen to his mother. He was persistent on giving Iron Man and no words of logic or explanation would make him change his mind.

After some time Ali’s mom real-ised that there was no point in ar-guing with her son and she gave in.

The Invincible Iron Man was neat-ly packed at the stores and brought home. The next day Ali spent the whole afternoon talking about the gift to his friends.

“Hey Jimmy! You know what I am giving Ravi for his birthday?” he said in excitement.

Jimmy was surprised to know that Ali had bought such an expen-sive toy. “Oh wow!” he exclaimed.

Ali boasted about his gift to all his friends.

In the evening dressed in his fa-vourite party wear he went to Ravi’s home to celebrate his birthday. The children sang the birthday song and Ravi cut a big Aliens and UFO cake. They burst balloons and eagerly participated in the games.

While most of the children were fully occupied in the games Ali was

dying to tell Ravi about the gift. But Ravi was busy talking to John. John was also a good friend of Ravi though he went to a diff erent school.

Ali waited for a while for Ravi to fi nish but soon he grew impatient and went to Ravi.

“Hey Ravi! You seem to be very busy today. No time for your friends,” Ali said.

Ravi smiled hearing Ali’s inno-cent complain and went on to intro-duce John to Ali.

“Ali this is John, one of my very good friend.”

But Ali heard nothing as his mind was focused on the great gift that he had bought for his Ravi.

“Forget all that Ravi. I just want-ed to tell you the gift that I have got for you. It’s an Invincible Iron Man and it’s very expensive,” he said in one breath.

He continued: “I don’t like giv-ing cheap story books or some low priced toys. You know I got so many of them for my birthday that I packed them and put them in the store room.”

Ravi grew uncomfortable hear-ing this, more so thinking about John. John stayed with his mom as his father had died and his mother worked very hard to run the family.

He tried to handle the situation and told Ali that the love behind the gift mattered than the price. But Ali went on. Ravi got angry at Ali for his

attitude and wanted him to under-stand the real meaning of gift.

He called for all his friends’ atten-tion and thanked them for coming for his birthday.

“Friends, thank you all for making my birthday so special. But I want to give a special thanks to someone who has given me the best gift so far.

Ali knew it would be none other than him. He was about to say some-thing when he heard Ravi uttering John’s name.

“It’s John who has made my day by giving me such a beautiful hand-made birthday card with such a lovely note,” he said.

While everyone got busy read-ing the card Ali walked out of the room. He was extremely hurt. As he reached the door he saw Ravi. “I thought you would love my expen-sive present,’ Ali said.

“It’s very nice of you to give me such an expensive thing but dear Ali, gifts are more about the love, not the price. John must have spent the whole day in making that card for me. Isn’t it more valuable than any other gift?” Ravi said in one breath.

Ali remained quiet. He fi nally understood what Ravi meant. True, gifts are about the love that one shows to the other. He said sorry to Ravi for his silly behaviour and went back home with a new learning — gifts are priceless.

– swati@timesofoman.com

Gifts are about love, not the price

B8

LIFESTYLES AT U R DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

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.

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

Answer to previous puzzle

SOLUTION

T D F P F S S E C C U S F R S N R R L A L S G O D D L O I U E H A A O R O S M T I O R N Y L O N N N R O Y E P T H I E G A N K Y S R I D D S C Q N U E T D S Y N F E D I H U O E H O A A W R S N O B A E M S S G R M Z O A I E U R N O S A O U G P U H M E L L F M W N T U A E A B S Z C I O O H E A N L L L Y A N G E L S O R N R A M U I J M I S I P M O C T I S E K M D F M F N C O M E D Y D N E S T U E I E S M L I F P A R T Y S E K O J P Y E L S O B R A D

TelewordSudoku

Angels, Bad Santa, Bernard, Bosley, Brad, Charlies, Chris, Comedian, Comedy, Cool, Films, Flip, Florida, Floyd,

Frank, Funny, George, Gift, Guess Who, Jasmine, Je’Niece, Jimmy, Jokes, Laugh, Life, Lopez, Luke, Mary, Mo

Money, Nash, Old Dogs, Parodies, Party, Rhonda, Roles, Roots, Shows, Sitcom, Smile, Soul Men, Success,

Talent, Tampa, Transformers, Unique, Zuba. Answer: Stand-up

CLUE: BERNIE MAC SOLUTION: 7 LETTERS

Children’s PoetryArt for the Ages

Ch

ild

ren

up

to

th

e a

ge

of

15 w

ho

wo

uld

lik

e t

o h

av

e t

he

ir a

rt c

on

sid

ere

d

for

inc

lusio

n i

n “A

rt f

or

the

Ag

es”

ca

n e

-ma

il t

he

ir d

raw

ing

s

or

pa

inti

ng

s (

in jp

eg

or

tiff

fo

rma

t) t

o l

ife

sty

le@

tim

eso

fom

an

.co

m

Atshaya Chokkalingam, Grade 2, ISAS Rishima Mathur, Grade 7, CBSEI

Pranav, Grade 3, Modern International School

Sneha Kannan, Grade 10, ISM

Alfred Benoy, Grade 2, ISM Dakshin Bharathi, Grade 10, ISM Jishnu P. M, Grade 7, ISWK

The Day She Was Gone

Sharikha JabeenGrade XIndian School Wadi Kabir

It’s been a while,Since she’s gone.They say she’s gone,To a place called heaven.

I was teary eyed And wet faced.She was my mother,The one who borne me.

Even now I look back to that dayWhen she was lying on the bedI looked at her pretty faceWhich was extremely pale.I thought I saw a smile,Or maybe it was her eye.

No matter whatIf she opened her eyes quite suddenlyI didn’t want her to seeThe tears that glistened In my big, brown eyes.

I turned awayAnd let the diamonds fall.And realised with a quick pang in my heartOh no! She’s never coming back.

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

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

CONNECT H E D A I LY G U I D E

C

C4 VACANCY CARGO C6

S AT U R D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

RENT C2

*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon

for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifi eds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

New 1/2 B/R RES/ Comm.

fl ats near Medical College Bausher

directly from owner.

Contact :92158031

02 BHK commercial / residential

(with split AC) fl at at Honda read /

02 BHK residential fl at opposite to

Al Nahda Hospital.

Contact: 99342733 / 99795241

1BHK near Oman house behind

Khimji H.O . Contact : 95865686

Twin villa for rent in Bowshar, near

Muscat Private Hospital.

Contact 92760281

Brand new 2 bedroom fl at for rent

in Mabela. Contact 92760281

Flat of 3 BHK in Al Ghobra North

with split A/C RO.380/-

Contact – 93191111

Commercial 10 BHK villa in

Al MawalahMazoon street RO.1500/-

Contact – 93191111

1 BHK fl at with split A/C in Wadi

Adai RO.200/-Contact – 93191111

3 BHK fl at with split A/C in Wadi

Adai RO.250/-Contact – 93191111

Brand new 6 BHK villa in Al Azaiba

with split A/C and lift RO.1200/-

Contact – 93191111

Brand new showroom of 595 SQM

in Bowsher RO.5/- each sqm.

Contact – 93191111

2BHK new fl ats in Al Khud rent

240/-. Contact: 97616158

Twin villa with basement for rent

AL Khuwair 25. Contact: 99359988

Villa for rent - Al Seeb/Al Mawelah

- Block 5 - 4 bedrooms with attached

bathrooms , Majlis, 2 halls, kitchen

and storeroom. split Ac and carpark -

contact 99564616 / 99498448

3 BHK, 3 bathrooms, 2 balconies

Nr Al Hassan, W/Kabir R.O 325/-.

Contact: 99384640

House for rent 4BR family hall,

fi tting room, dining room, kitchen,

store with A/C & satellite reception

at Mawaleh south , behind Sultan

discount center rent R.O 550/-.

Contact: 93653311

Flats in Ruwi, Muttrah, Mumtaz

area available. Contact: 24813822

1BHK Wadi Kabeer near Sana

RO 180/-. Contact : 95094028

Fully Furnished 2BHK Apartments

available at Bareeq Al Shatti.

Contact 92888063

2BHK with split AC near PDO Gate

No.2 Qurum available for immediate

renting. Contact : 94057023

2 BHK with split AC Al Khuwair -33

for residential & commercial use.

Contact : 94057023

C2 S AT U R D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

Two fl ats for rent 3 bedroom & 1

setting room all with split a/c at &

fl at 1badroom al Ghubrah North near

Indian school (hot Pargur Restau-

rant). Contact 99766103

2 BHK fl at in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181

1000 sq mtrs industrial land in Gha-

la suitable for warehouse workshop

etc. Contact 24700120 / 92584715

New 1 & 2 BHK fl at in Ruwi (near

Star Cinema). Contact 99792181

Flat Al Ghubrah near 18 Nov ST liv-

ing room, 3 bedrooms,3 bathrooms,

kitchen fi rst fl oor without AC family

only 380/-R.O. Contact : 92479515

Two shops in Muttrah Souq, for

rent more details please contact:

91214849 / 99364735

New fl ats for rent in Darsait

Al Sahal. Contact: 99777351

600 SQT commercial fl at for rent

opposite Oman fl ourmill Darsait

more details. Contact: 91214849/

99364735

Bachelor accommodation available

near ISD Darsait. Contact: 99346813

2 BHK near Medical Darsait

R.O 230/-. Contact : 98748925

VILLA IN AZAIBA – Four Bed Room

Villa, near Well Roundabout &

Umm Al Qura Mosque. Available

for sharing also. Call 92887809 /

98048207.

Furnished offi ce available at

Al Ghubrah. Contact 94110822

Flats, shops for rent in Ruwi, MBD &

Mumtaz area. Contact 97293708

3BHK well maintained fl at (villa

type) G. fl oor split A/C separate

entrance, parking, and compound

available in Al Khuwair behind

Sagar Polyclinic Way no. 3922,

Block 239, Villa No. 1839.

Contact: 99253125

1BHK Al Falaj R.O 200/-.

Contact: 97799175

2 BHK Ghubra R.O 300/-, RO 325/-.

Contact: 97799175

2BHK Darsait R.O 325/-.

Contact: 97799175

2BHK Mumtaz R.O 300/-.

Contact: 97799175

2BHK villa Mumtaz R.O 300/-.

Contact: 97799175

2BHK Azaiba R.O 325/-.

Contact: 97799175

Flats in Al Khuwair 33 with gym

free for tenants 2 BHK RO.425/-.

Contact 93161111

Two bedroom apartments available

for rent at South Ghubra close to

Atlas Hospital close to Grand mall &

Avenues mall next to Diwan’s Offi ce.

Contact: 99833747 / 24562526

3BHK fl at Darsait Near I.D card

Medical 450/- R.O. Contact:

99358589 / 95570288

Room with A.C at AL Khuwair

R.O 120/-. Contact: 97799175

2BHK pent house R.O 325/- , 1BHK

R.O 225 /- close to Indian

Nursery, Darsait. Contact: 99476728/

98484415

2BHK close to Indian school

kindergarten Wadi Kabir R.O 320/-,

1BHK R.O 250/-. Contact: 99476728

/ 98484415

1& 2 BHK fl ats for rent at Wadi

Kabir, Wadi Adai, Hamriya, Al Khoud

and Mabela and shop at Al Khoud

land line. Contact : 24834644

GSM 93994401/ 02/ 03, 3 lines

Twin villa 6BR hall, kitchen at

Al Ansab-2. Contact: 99747560 /

99444786

1BHK fl at with A/C AL Khuwair

250/- R.O. Contact: 99358589 /

95570288

2 BHK Flats for rent Muttrah near

Oman house. Contact: 97007934 /

92629232

New fl ats 1 room and living room

with accessories & 2 rooms and

living room with accessories in

Wadi Kabir. Contact: 92130703 /

96045478

New fl ats for rent in Darsait,

Al Sahal. Contact : 99311525

Two shops in Muttrah Souq, for rent

more details pleas.

Contact: 91214849 / 95729711

Flat and show room for rent

Al Khuwair 33, Al Ghubrah, Darsait

and Jibroo. Contact: 24485240 /

24485241 / 93651633 / 92109563

1BHK near Al Nahdha Ruwi.

Contact: 99617786

Flat for rent in Hamriya.

Contact: 99341112

Luxury fully furnished 2 bedrooms

fl at at Al Khuwair & luxury fully fur-

nished 5 bedroom villas at Madinat

Al Ilam. For short or long term lease

contract. Contact Atlas Real Estate &

Rent a Car LLC. Contact : 93201688

/ 92888376 Tel: 24833848 /

24834888

1BHK fl ats available for rent in CBD

area. Contact: 98116480

3 Bedroom fl at at Al Khuwair.

Contact: 99447257/97014234

4 bedroom villa with 3 maid room,

big compound & parking area. Ideal

for kindergarten or expat tenants

residency. Contact: 24566217 /

24564686

Offi ce & retail space available -

Alasfoor Plaza, Qurum.

Contact: 24566217 / 24564686

Single bedroom fl at near to

Indian School Al Ghubra.

Contact: 99203954

1 & 2 bedroom fl ats available for

rent in wadi-kabir (opp: pencil bldg),

ideal for company staff / families -

bulk corporate deal possible.

Contact: 97677170

Villa for rent in Al Khuwair 33, 8

bedrooms & 5 bathrooms with park-

ing area near Taimur Mosque.

Contact: 99366624

Furnished room for rent at

Al Khuwair R.O 225/- for family only.

Contact: 99251975

Building includes 16 fl ats in four

fl oors in good condition,

opposite to Mars Hypermarket at

Al Ghubra north. Contact: 99435882

/ 91266667 or 92590509

For rent house in old Muscat town

on the bab Muthaib Street consists of

5 bedrooms, living room and kitchen.

Contact: 99319829 / 99234155

New fl at for rent, 2 bedroom with

study in Al Amerat (Al Atkyah).

Contact: 99230461 / 93355301

2 rooms and Majlis in Al Ghubra.

Contact : 99242119

Flat for rent Ruwi, 2 bedrooms,

2 Bathrooms, 1 hall opposite Khimji

Mart. Contact: 97645671 / 99362206

1 & 2 BHK , M.B.D. area R.O 250/-,

RO 280/- & RO 300/-.

Contact: 97799175

Villa for rent in Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 95562646 / 99059333

3 & 4 BHK villa in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181

Rooms for rent in Al Khuwair near

Ibis Hotel with AC.

Contact: 95124975

AL Khuwair 17/1 room, hall, kitchen

and toilet with ACs ground fl oor

Owner private parking.

Contact: 99385553

Deluxe 1,2,3 bedroom fl ats in Wadi

Kabir , Ruwi, Mumtaz & Al Khu-

wair areas. Contact : 24707340 /

99472457 / 95282986

Deluxe villas at Al Hail.

Contact 95282986

Available furnished meeting hall for

seminars on a hourly, daily,

monthly, yearly basis.

please contact 93203773 :

Email: mbdeast@gmail.com

Villa for rent: 6 bed rooms, 1 sitting

room, 2 halls, 1 kitchen and 1 pantry.

Al Mawaleh South phase 3 close to

Al Sahwah roundabout, fi rst line

behind Amwag perfume factory.

Contact - 99360366

Showroom and offi ce space avail-

able on prime location. Main road

facing excellent location.

Contact: 92944717

Gorgeous villa 3BR + Maid room

directly on the beach in Shatti

Qurum. Huge garden best location in

Muscat OMR 2000/- Month call or

Whatspp 95887572

Brand new 2 B/R deluxe fully

furnished & unfurnished fl ats with

split ACs & free internet available at

Bausher 35 near Al Maha fuel pump.

Contact : 99460330

Offi ce space equipped with ACs ,

cabins with partition, furniture’s,

free in internet ready for use, at Al

Khuwair near Philips show room

2 B/R fl ats with slit AC’s a free in-

ternet available at Al Khuwair near

Philips Show room.

Contact: 99460330

DAILY GUIDES AT U R D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5 C3

Sofa (5 seater), Gas cooker (4 burner)

in excellent condition

for immediate sale. Contact 96027403

Shop for sale at Ruwi High street

inside. Contact 96023492

Sale of Radiator of Cummins

C 1100D5B Generator presently lying

at M/s Al Ansari Yard in Ghala. For

further information, please contact

Mr. Deshpande on 99415504 M/s

Muscat Surveyors LLC on 24816579

Printing press for sale /partner

full machineries including stamp

making in ready position at Salalah.

Contact:91656655,98559894

Beauty Parlor for sale or rent.

Contact 99131775 / 96700192

Automotive batteries for sale.

Contact : 24794657

For sale land in Amerat 3000 Sq.mt

with petrol pump permission.

Contact 99323957 / 92702891

Expatriate LLC Company license

(building materials 70 Ex : 30

Omani) for sale. Contact 94663824 /

94305499

Direct from the owner: for sale -

A 2 bedroom apartment with a full

and direct Marina view at Marsa 2 at

the Wave, area 138 sq. Mtrs, will be

ready next month for R.O. 255,000.

Contact : 95330200

Beauty Salon for sale in Good loca-

tion (Azaiba and Al Hail). Contact :

95318629

Restaurant for sale in Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 99425461

Beauty salon in Ghubrah for sale

Contact: 94689448

Aluminium workshop at Wadi Kabir

with all machineries and 3 skilled

workers. # 99536206 / 99605915

Used Fabrication machinery

for sale : Fabrication machinery

and tools in excellent condition for

immediate sale. Contact -94652485/

99273774/ 99202278

FOR SALE

Sharing accommodation for couples near Kims Darsait.

Contact: 94627458

Single room with ac and sharing

bathroom available for an executive

bachelor or a small family in Muttrah

Souq. Contact 99519664

Room for rent with sharing

bathroom & kitchen at Al Khuwair,

behind Golden Spoon Restaurant.

Contact 92994415

Semi furnished separate room for

non-cooking Asian bachelor, behind

Shell fi lling station, Ghubra round

about. Contact: 94263390

ACC. AVAILABLE

ACC. AVAILABLE

ACC. AVAILABLE

UNIVERSAL SCRAP BUYERS AT

AMAZING PRICESConvert ANY type of Scrap into Money by selling us the scrapGreat prices are guaranteed

for our clients!Call this number now for

urgent response - 96059470

*Kindly note that the scrap should be 50 tons onwards

AFFORDABLE QUALIFIED STAFF AVAILABLE:

Hurry and call this number now! 95967902

Our professionals give YOU:

CLASSY, CREATIVE AND AFFORDABLE INTERIOR DESIGN

Hurry now and call this number 91494149

2BHK fl at available near medical /

Darsait. Contact 24705742

SITUATION WANT-

ED

M.V. FOR SALE

Mercedes car – C 180, 2010 model

for sale, 160.000 KM, very good

condition, expecting around

R.O 6,000. Contact: 99751044

Tata bus model 2008 for sale.

Contact 93953237

Mitsubishi FUSO Double cabin

pickup model 2008 for sale.

Contact: 93953237

Lexus GX 460, 2013.

Contact : 99336093

Toyota Yaris 2009 Dec model,

manual, 150000km, 2500 OMR.

Contact 93895508

Kia Cerato 2014 Model for sale

1300 kms Under agency warrenty

and service. Contact: 99634841

AVAILABLE

Party & Wedding equipment rentals.

Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirt-

ing, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery,

Crockery, Glassware, Chafi ng Dishes,

Ice Sculptures, to Large Sound Sys-

tems and spectacular lighting. Call

Andrea 9606 2222 for Catering and

Croyden 9623 5555 for Sound & Light.

ww.tunesoman.com,

E-mail: info@tunesoman.com

Shops for ren in Wadi Kabeer.

Contact: 99888390

FOR HIRE

Bobcat Grader and roller for rent.

Contact: 94584688

Volvo 12 Ton Truck for monthly

rent. Contact: 98713900

FOR RENT

MATRIMONIAL

Suitable alliance invited for a

Marar (ambalavasi) girl 24yrs 170cm

from thrissur, star rohini, shuddha

jathakam, MTECH (e&c), from

parents of boys belong to marar/

podoval/nair or related communities.

GSM: 00968 93691316

Email- smgkutty2006@yahoo.co.in

Ezhava boy, B.Tech, MBA, 26/178,

Rohini working in Bangalore looking

alliance from parents of

professionals.Contact 24798043 /

94193031

Seeking alliance for our son from

Muslim families. Interested families

Contact: 99889590

GOOD NEWS

Ayurvedic Treatment for joint pain,

backache, paralysis, massage, steam

bath, obesity, spondylitis , IDEAL CARE

Ayurvedic Clinic, 18 November Street,

Azaiba # 99639695 / 98342990

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to know

more about Islam, please call:

99425598, 99250777, 99353988,

99253818, 99341395, and 99379133.

For ladies: 99415818, 99321360,

99730723 Orvisit:www.islamfact.com

Ayurvedic massage backache,

joint pain, neck pain etc.

Contact 98254909

Ayurvedic treatment for backache,

paralysis, arthritis etc & massage,

All Season (Vaidyaratnam). Contact

24475280 / 95371664 / 92504980

www.siddhayur.com

NRI

Commercial plot measuring 30 cents

for immediate sale having an old

house and a shop at the heart of

Kodakara Town – 17 kms from Trichur

City and 7 kms from Chalakkudy.

Direct access to NH 47 from one side

and old town road from other side of

the plot, near to Shanti Hospital .

Contact : Muscat: 00968- 91318999

India: 0091- 9446371706.

1BHK Ruwi & 3BHK Bosher. Contact: 99024730

2BHK new Amerat with AC 230/-R.O.

Contact: 99024730

Villa /room for rent Al Qurum

behind Mars. Contact: 95349530 /

99586517

2BHK, 2 Baths, Split A/C, Wadi ka-

beer towards Al bustan, Near Indian

Elementary School.

Contact 99441193, 93004802

Furnished room available in Ruwi.

Contact: 92435784

Separate room with A/c, Small

Fridge and Bed, for non-cooking

Asian bachelor, behind Shell fi lling

station, Ghoubra round about.

Contact: 94263390

Three 2 bedroom bachelor accom-

modation available in a building

near Kuwaiti Mosque at Wadi Kabir

till 14th February 2016.

Contact: 95332701

Fully furnished room with attached

bath for Executive bachelor behind

Al Meera Hypermarket, Azaiba

R.O 150/-. Contact: 99455735

An Excellent 3bedrooms Flat at

Al Hail, 3 bathrooms, sitting room,

living room, kitchen with store

92817777

Furnished room (for Ladies)with

attached bath separate entrance in

Mabela. Contact :99634841

Large room with separate bathroom

& sharing available in Al Khuwair.

Contact 95250161

A big room in available near Ham-

riya R/A for Muslim couple / small

family / Executive bachelor rent

150/- per month including W+ E.

Contact: 99495131

Flats in Al Khuwair 2 BHK RO.350/-

Contact – 93161111.

Furnished fl at in Bareeq Al Shatti

2 BHK RO.750/-. Contact 93161111

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

CATERING

DAILY GUIDEC4 S AT U R D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifi eds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

DOMESTIC HELPER

DRAFTSMAN

EDUCATION

EDUCATION

ENGINEER/TECH/MECH

ACCOUNTANT

A part time House maid required for a Keralite family near Darsait

temple. Contact: 99468827

Looking for full time Housemaid in

Ruwi. Contact - 96511169

Looking for a female who can teach

and play with two kids at their home

in Gubrah. Candidate must be caring

and fl uent in English.

Timing 2pm -6pm and salary RO120.

Contact: 93892656

Required housemaid for part time at

Ghubra.Contact:93267065

Required a housemaid in Ruwi.

Contact 96511169

Urgent need Purchaser / Imports, Accounts Assistant. Candidates with

bachelors degree and 3 to 5 years

relevant experience. Please email CV

to trend1993@yahoo.com

Urgently required for leading Com-pany : Accountant between 5 to 10

yrs experience, Accountant

(Petrol Station) between 3 to 5 yrs

experiences. Fax: 24478522,

Email : gh1.careers@gmail.com

DRIVER

MEDICAL

MEDICAL

SKILLED LABOR

TOUR

MANAGER

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANT-SIT. WANTED

IT

SALES / MARKETING

CATERING

Required Salesman for shop &

hardware Technician for IT Company

with minimum 2 yrs experience.

Contact 98825805 / 98825806.

Email : strns1@gmail.com

Urgently required Female Nurses with MOH license for a Polyclinic. At-

tractive Salary with accommodation.

Contact: 97091664 or 97327175.

Email: mmcmuscat@gmail.com

Required urgently General Physi-cian Gynecology, Pharmacist, LAB Technicians staff nurse. Contact: 95133572

Email: kunoozghala@gmail.com

Wanted Nurse for dental centre in Mawaleh South & Qurum.

Contact 93431024,

Email : drasyanaseem@gmail.com

Urgently needed female Dermatol-ogist with minimum 5 yrs experi-

ence. Send CV : elixirhealthcenter@

yahoo.com P.S. details of salary and

benefi ts will be sent after submitting

the CV

Wanted Pharmacist (B.Pharm), Staff Nurses (female) with or with-

out MOH license for a polyclinic near

Sohar. Excellent salary package.

Contact 99006915,

Email : alhinaee.clinic@yahoo.com

Require qualifi ed full time Caregiver (Sri Lankan or Philipino)

for an orderly Mother.

Contact : 99425200

Required for private clinic: Gynecologist Arabic Nationality, GP Arabic Nationality, Nurse. Contact 97304519 from 9 AM to 1 PM

Required Pharmacist with license.

Contact: 92245470

ADMIN

DRIVER

ARCHITECT

EDUCATIONA reputed Lebanese chain of Restau-rants requires Delivery Man in Mus-

cat. The person should have a two

wheeler driving license and must be

familiar with the Muscat city. Are you

interested to be a part of a reputed

group please call 92443104.

Driver with Oman driving licence

needed. Visa available.

Contact 94288863

Looking for an experienced house driver for an Omani family. Interested

candidates may Contact: 96203333

Since March 2010 in Oman build-

ing construction supervisor with

Omani D/L looking for suitable

placement. Contact 93061107

Bangladeshi male BSc Engg in civil

total 3 yrs experience 2 yrs in Oman

looking for job.Contact : 94038642,

Email: shaikhhasib.ce@gmail.com

Electronic & Communication

Engineer auto cad, 2 yrs Indian

experience in Instrumentation, cur-

rently on visit visa looking for

a suitable position.

Contact : 94493227,

Email: rijokokkadan@gmail.com

Reputed metal fabrication company

seeks fabrication supervisor, structural steel fabricator, Machine maintenance Technician and Electrician. Contact: 99102383

Email: hr@khancogroup.com

A Mechanical Engineer with sales-

manship experience of 5 years &

above preferable with Oman drivers

license and NOC. Please forward

your CV to almaadhi.trd@gmail.com

Required Marine Mechanic

with 3 to 5 years experience in

maintaining / repairing outboard

Engines and Generators of Boat.

Ph: 24696130;

Email: hrmedia123@gmail.com

Drafting (interior design),experienced, knows autocad,

3D, PH : 99506977

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

Experienced Denter, Spray painter, Mechanic, Outdoor sales person required. Contact 98045373

Fresher 24 years B.Com Gradu-

ate, Tally 7.2 & ERP9, looking for a

suitable placements in Accounts.

Contact: 97219505

Senior Finance Professional (CA, ICWA, CIMA), Indian, with more

than 25 years of varied experience

in fi nance and accounting, project

evaluations and business valuations

seeks suitable employment oppor-

tunities in Oman, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait

or Bahrain. Available for immediate

joining. Contact Gopal +971 50 508

2538, email – rajiraja@hotmail.com

Highly experienced & qualifi ed

Finance Controller / Manager seeks

suitable position. NOC available. Can

join immediately. Contact: 92817797

Indian female 26 yrs B.Com

CA Inter with 4 yrs experience

seek placement in accounts.

Contact : 94045427

Indian male 27 yrs, B. Com, MBA,

CA Inter ( pursuing fi nal) with 7+

yrs experience, seeks suitable

placement in accounts, holds valid

Saudi D/L. Contact : 95358659

Finance Manager (15+yrs experi-

ence) Ability to manage Group of

companies. Contact: 92701962

Accountant with 8 years U.A.E

experience, on visit visa, looking for

a job. Contact : 96166512

Senior Accountant 10 years experi-

ence, looking for accounts parttime

works and fi nalization works.

Contact: 96247295

Keralite Indian B.Com Graduate

lady, 2 years Oman experience in

Tally ERP 9 seeking suitable place-

ment. Contact : 95186652

Indian female (BSc MBA) having

6 yrs exp in Garment industries

seeking suitable offi ce oriented job.

Contact : 91317975

B.Com, CA Inter (Indian) with 5 years

experience (2 years GCC) in

Accounts & Audit fi eld. Contact:

95584531/razikthumbe@gmail.com

Accountant 35 years with 5 years

experience in Oman urgently seek-

ing suitable jobs accountant & Ass.

Admin& HR valid D/L N.O.C. Contact:

968 99176112 /968 91818124

Email: aamirjaved24@hotmail.com

Indian male 10 years experience, 6

years in Oman, with Oman driving

license, having NOC seeking suitable

job. Contact: 96012973

A Sri Lankan lady chartered

accountant with fi ve years experi-

ence (including article ship), on

family visa in Oman looking for a

suitable job. Contact: 91259845

Email: amashermila@gmail.com

Accountant Part time up to fi nali-

zation on monthly basis by Indian

CA. All reports, backlog account-

ing, bank loan help, tax & internal

Audit,aff ordable fee.92758370

Male B.Com Graduate having one

year exp in Accounts & Admin.

Contact: 94736742

25 yrs female Indian with B.Com

MBA looking out for a job in fi nance

/ marketing / HR fi eld with a work

experience of 1 year, 3 months at

Bank Muscat & 7 months at India.

Contact: 94657403 / 95537261

Indian male B.Com / PGDM 16 yrs

exp, 3 yrs prior Oman exp seeking

suitable placement in accounts/

fi nance/ admin/ logistics.

email : vikaso803@yahoo.com

Contact 95587905 on visit visa

Indian male B.Com Graduate 24

years looking for suitable place-

ment. Contact: 97219505

Jordanian Accountant (ACPA) with

more than 15 yrs experience in Oman

(Accounts, Purchase & fi nance.

Contact: 92881223

Email: kamal_sarhan@yahoo.com

Male Indian Accountant B.Com

7 years experience in Oman (ac-

counting, fi nance, costing auditing)

with NOC and valid driving license

looking for suitable position.

Contact 96722257

Email: mudassir.pal@gmail.com

Indian male, 27years, MCom,

having 2years experience in

Accounts looking for suitable position.

Presently on visit visa.

Contact 93455055|

gibingeorge88@gmail.com

Part time Accountant available.

Contact : 93438100

Indian male B.A with Diploma in

Hotel Mgt with 15 yrs experience in

hotels & catering, having Oman D/L

seek suitable placement.

Contact: 95451547

Email: lijosaju@yahoo.com

Wanted urgently need two Tailors who can make curtains.

Contact: 98962888

Urgently required for a private

bilingual school at Al Ansab for

immediate placement - Physics, Maths, Librarian, Nurse, Special Educators. Please email your CV :

employment22013@gmail.com

immediately.

Required Catering Supervisor, Chef, Asst. Cook & Chapathi makers for a catering Company in

interior area. Apply with NOC.

SMS : 99242984

Required Filipina female Waitress-es & male Housekeepers in Dolphin

Hotel – Muscat. Only residents /

contact number: 24488192

please send C.V :

dolphinhoteloman@hotmail.com

Urgently looking for an Expatriate House Boy with Cooking knowledge

and experience.

Contact Immediately: 99460564

Urgently required Sales Executives for construction materials with local experience, driving license and

NOC. Send the CV with photo to

grioman@gmail.com

Urgently need Project Sales Execu-tive - Modular Kitchens, candidates

with bachelor’s degree and 3 to 5

years relevant experience, please

email CV to trend1993@yahoo.com

Accomplished Advertising Sales & Business Development Execu-tives for leading Media Enterprise.

Enthusiastic Freshers also welcome.

jobs@interacoman.com

Required Salesman in Salalah very good commission.

Contact 92760281

Required experienced Sales / Marketing Executives having light

license. Send your CV

ocean@omantel.net.om

12 yrs Oman experienced Chief

Accountant looking for immediate

placement. Contact 99513082

Male 29 yrs, 5+ experience, 4 yrs in

HME (Offi ce Assistant) 1 yr experi-

ence in accounts & marketing seek-

ing for suitable position.

Contact 96505486

Indian female, MSC physics B.ED

having 5 years experience in

teaching looking for suitable jobs.

Contact: 97367389

Bangladeshi light driver (AG) 48)

expe, 14 years, need job & visa have

release paper transpire.

Contact: 99165961

Light Vehicle Driver with 4 yrs exp

looking for job. Contact: 94241385

20 years experience.

Contact : 94795033

Light duty driver looking for job

more than 4 years exp in Oman.

Contact: 92602182

Driver. Contact: 95084826

Wanted driving job.

Contact : 97690766

LMV Driver, 7 yrs exp. (Keralite).

Contact 97761606

Driver Pakistani available.

NOC available. Contact: 94356465

Pakistani male light vehicle driver

looking for job. Contact: 96474528

Driver with car. Contact :91452930

Wanted driver. Contact 95112461

Car with driver or without cat

specially Companies.

Contact 97943750 / 97408900

Driver job wanted. Contact: 99343782

Light duty driver 5 years exp in

Oman. Contact: 92602182

Driver available 24, HRS, car

without car. Contact: 98522914

Agyal Al Huda School requires Maths & Science Teachers in

Al Azaiba. Contact 91409998 /

24492548 / 99637238

Post Graduate researcher required. Contact 99229700

Sales man / interior designer

wanted for prestigious interior

design and offi ce furniture Supply

Company. Experience and drivers

license needed.

Excellent remuneration package.

Email: tony@materials-plus.com

Required Sales & marketing per-son for IT Company with minimum

2 yrs experience in Oman & with

valid Oman driving license.

Contact 98825805 / 98825806.

Email : strns1@gmail.com

AVON requires female Omani Nationals (bi-lingual) and Expatri-

ates to join their expanding local

Sales Team. Candidate must have

good communication skills, highly

organized with a commitment and

enthusiasm to be successful. Train-

ing will be provided. Valid Omani

D/L necessary. Send CV on

samiha-avon@mhd.co.om

Required Sales Executive for IT Sales, with valid Oman Driving

License. Kindly email CV to

careers@sactech.co.om

Required Sales Manager for a hotel

supply company with minimum

5 years experience.

Contact - 92035162

Senior Architect, Indian male

15yrs exp. having DL& NOC, Look-

ing for suitable position.

Contact: 97239313 Email:

abdul_muq2000@yahoo.co.uk

Looking for Indian Candidates : Prometric passed or MOH license

with NOC for polyclinic:- Radiolo-gist, Gynecologist, Radiographer, Lab Technicians and Pharmacists. Email: polyclinicomanhr@gmail.com

Required Dentist, Endodontist, Orthodontist with MOH license.

Contact 99010755 for dental Centre

in Muscat Khuwair

Email: akdmuscat@hotmail.com

Required Nurse with MOH license

for Dental Centre in Khuwair Muscat.

Contact: 99010755

Email: akdmuscat@hotmail.com

Filipino,29,Male, 5years experience:

Admin/Payroll/Finance/Document

Control. Excellent Communication/

MS Offi ce skills. Contact: 95057206

email: patrick110486@yahoo.com

Purchase Admin Indian male

15 years Gulf experience.

Contact: 95435370

Indian male 12+ years experience

in Admin and hospitality services,

seeks suitable placement.

Contact : 99318958 Email:

josephonline2007@gmail.com

Filipina, 10 yrs experience in

Fashion Retail, Shipment, Logistics,

Inventory, Warehouse Control and

Store Management is seeking

employment. Call +971565833126

or 97728418.

14 years of gulf experience in HR /

Admin & logistics fl uent in Arabic /

English with D/L looking for suitable

position. Contact: 95824598

Urgently required for a travel agency Male experience in Sabre

ticketing and reservation system,

visa available. Contact 95878812

HOSPITALITY

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

ENGG. / TECHNICAL

DAILY GUIDES AT U R D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5 C5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

MEDICAL

IT

IT

PROJECTS

MISCELLANEOUS

SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

TIG+ARC welder Indian with 16yrs

middle est. exp in copper nickel.

Diplex, inconel, S.S, CS Now on visit

visa seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 96502282.

Email manuangola88@gmail.com

Pakistani Qualifi ed 15 years experi-

ence in automobiles work shop

supervisor service advisor repair

estimator mechanical accidental

having UAE driving license on

express visa looking job please.

Contact : 96042322

Filipino (male) 37 yrs, having 8 yrs.

experience in Operations (Shipping

& Logistics) currently on visit visa

looking for a suitable job.

GSM: 97121525

SKILLED/ UNSKILLED

Welder / fabricator, Gulf exp, 3G, 6G

ARC, GAS PH : 95068064

Indian male, with 8 yrs exp. in

Oman (BA- Graduate) working as

a project Sales Coordinator, with

Oman D/L, looking for suitable job,

ready to join immediately with NOC,

open for Sales & Marketing also.

Contact 95245057

Sudanese procurement Manager three years experience in Oman.

Contact: 93391008

Individuals having good relation

with Ministry or desiring to start new

business (or running) like Electronic

security system or supply of medical

equipments. Contact 94742666

Senior Manager Indian, 30 years in

FMCG Business in Oman looking for

better opportunity at management

level. Contact 99231513

Fabrication Manager overall 07

years of experience in fabrication of

Structural steel industry with NOC &

driving license looking for an oppor-

tunity available up to 25th Septem-

ber 2015. Contact : 97004394 Email:

mohanmukund_mech@yahoo.co.in

22 years B.Com Graduate having

experience in trading of car accesso-

ries and also with valid GCC driving

license looking for a suitable job.

Contact 98504698

Female Civil Engineer with 3.5 years

experience looking for job in Muscat,

profi cient in site execution, tendering

procedures billing, Quantity take off ,

budgetary control have knowledge

in AutoCAD, SAP, Word, excel, power

point. Contact: 97207212

Email: ranjur20@gmail.com

Civil Engineer, Indian M 29 5yrs

exp. having DL & NOC Looking for

suitable position.

Contact: 94576233

Email: suhailmullah@gmail.com

Pakistani diploma civil (Eng) 24 year

1.5 years experience in Pak)

2 years in (Oman). Contact: 97138320

Since March 2010 in Oman as a

building Construction Site supervi-

sor with Oman D/L looking for

suitable placement or small Omani

Construction Co. Contact 93061107

D.A.E (Civil) Engineer 5 years expe-

rience Infrastructure work + safety

offi cer cause (OSHA & IOSH) looking

for suitable placement.

Contact: 97850996

Degree Engineer Civil, 6 years expe-

rience Oman D/L, N.O.C available for

a suitable position.

Contact: 93523507 / 95961336

A Senior Executive, Civil Engi-

neering professional is available

for multitask engagement, co-

ordination lead contract disposals in

consultancy or construction set ups.

Contact 99703972

Indian male Production Engineer

logistics supply chain seeks suit-

able placement, currently visit visa.

Contact : 97804481

Email: akshaygopi@hotmail.com

Indian male BE civil project Engi-

neer 15 years Oman experience in

building projects with valid D/L NOC

available. Contact: 92178471

B.Tech civil project coordinator

5 years experience of with diff erent

ministry projects NOC available.

Contact: 94194393

Indian male software Engineer 2

years experience knowledge of Java

.NET C# ASP.Net. Contact: 99210940

working in techno park Indian

Trivandrum

Sudanese Telecom Engineer fi ve years experience in Oman.

Contact: 93391008

Cisco certifi ed Network Engineer

with license NOC 4+ years

experience looking for job.

Contact: 91703807

Email: ekrema.zia@gmail.com

BE Electrical Engineer 8 years

experience 4 years in Oman with

Oman driving license.

Contact : 96942032

Civil Engineer (Diploma) seeking

for placement. Contact: 95200650

Diploma Associate Engineer Civil

Building construction on a visit visa

expiring 18.09.2015 looking for job.

Contact : 94006602 / 99446918.

Indian male 27 years BE Mechani-

cal, 2 years experience in Training

AutoCAD Revit MEP PDMS

Softwares. Contact: 94183625

Civil Engineer Pakistan 12 +2 years

experience Oman, D/L required

placement. Contact: 94392616

B.E Civil job, Project Eng exp 11 yrs.

Contact: 95690780 / 95694048

Email: sadiq.asrar81@gmail.com

MECH. ENGG Indian male having

1 year exp & AutoCAD knowledge

looking for suitable job. #92835957

Electrician 3 years experience in

Building lines in Oman and other

related experience also. NOC avail-

able. Stay till 29.09.2015. Contact:

94057129 / 95964419 Email:

raheemdadbaloch@hotmail.com

Civil Engineer (Diploma) 3.5 years

experience seeking for placement.

Contact: 96535084

Indian male 24, Diploma in Civil

Engineering 2 years experience as a

Site Engineer on visit visa.

Contact: 98023153

Civil QS / Project Engineer 8 yrs

exp having Oman D/L looking for

suitable position NOC and release

available. Contact: 92633261

Email: manikce@gmail.com

Hospitality/Hotel/ Restaurants - Dynamic result oriented hospital-

ity professional with 20 years of

international exp. MBA in Hotel

Management, specializing in Hotel/

Restaurant start ups, concepts &

Franchise development with proven

records. Seeking for Challenging

positions in reputed groups as GM/

COO/CEO/Business Head. (NOC

available) Contact : 96059470

B.Sc Indian male Nurse, 6.5 years in

emergency and OT, prometric 69%,

looking for suitable nursing job.

Contact- 90126959,

abybabykutty@gmail.com

Indian male Dental Surgeon, prometric passed with more than

3 years experience on visit visa.

Contact : 95154648

Indian female BSc Nurse with 4 years

experience with Oman prometric

64% looking for suitable placement in

capital area. Contact: 95847286

Indian male, MSc, MPhil, BEd Chem-

istry,2 Yrs Teaching experience and

having experience in lab analyst,

currently on visit visa, seeks suitable

post. Contact 90208673

ENT surgeon board degree & pro-

metric exam looking for a job in pri-

vate hospitals & medical complexes.

Contact: 91347226

OB/ Gynecologist board degree &

prometric exam looking for a job in

private hospitals & medical com-

plexes. Contact: 91347226

Indian male, MBA having 7 yrs of

exp. sales/marketing with Omani

D/L seeks suitable placement.

Contact. 96425549

Omani College girl looking for a job

in a management. Contact: 98298722

MBA Graduate having 23 yrs of

experience as Sales Manager in

building materials trading looking

for a suitable opportunity, release

available. Contact 92106768,

Email : suvimasri@gmail.com

Sales man and author job –

Dubai experience need job visa.

Contact: 91139936 / 96136615

NOC available with valid driving

license looking for suitable place-

ment diploma in Automobile Engg

experience in dealer service 10 years

and spare parts procurement 5 years

through with local Market.

Contact : 00968 95487946

25 yrs experienced building ma-

terials manager knowledge of Pur-

chase Marketing sales seeks suit-

able placement. Contact 94663824

/ 94305499

Indian male, with 5 yrs experience

of call centre in customer service &

sales looking for suitable position.

Contact 90198176

Indian female having more than 8

years of experience in oil and gas

sectors sales and marketing and 2

years as commercial manager look-

ing for a suitable post in Sohar area.

Now on visit visa. Contact 96311709,

Indian no 0091 9745541355,

Email Id:mvrajagd_d@yahoo.com

Business intelligence / Global Mar-

keting management specialist with

9 years of experience developing

brand value & managing overall pro-

jects to achieve business objectives

seeking suitable position on family

visit. Contact: 91902154

MBA 15 years experience in Sales &

Marketing in telecom, FMCG, pres-

ently in India C/O Saif Kazi.

Contact : 99625957

Email Id: a_kazi123@yahoo.co.in

Indian male 25 yrs BBM Graduate

3 yrs of experience Sales / Market-

ing in Oman looking in suitable

placement. Contact : 93185316

Email: karsh794@gmail.com

Sales and marketing - male 27 yrs,

2 years experience seeking suitable

placement with Oman D/L.

Contact: 95642740

Email: shaijichakkara@gmail.com

SECRETARIAL / OFFICE

Indian male more than 10 years

gulf experience in Offi ce / Sales

Coordinator, Admin, Secretarial and

purchase with good computer skills.

Having Driving license and NOC

available. Looking for suitable place-

ment. Contact 90135063

TOURS & TRAVELS

Five years experience in Travel

fi eld ,BCom., IATA & pursuing MBA,

Presently working in the Travel

Desk of (ITC managed) Five Star

Hotel in India, looking for a suitable

position in the Middleeast.

pls contact 9470 5767

Indian Mechanical Engineer, 30, having 8yrs of UAE Sales/Busi-

ness Development. experience in

Electromechanical and Irrigation

sectors. Contact no- +971558763220

email id-sangowri@outlook.com

Indian female MCA, 24 years

seeking suitable job.

Contact 93439467

Indian 24 years BCA MCITP having

2 years exp as System Administra-

tor looking suitable job.

Contact: 94170892

Diploma in civil engineering having

an experience 24years (20years

in Oman) experience in Estimator

/ quantity surveyor looking for a

suitable placement, willing to join

immediately Contact : 96328687

Indian male B.Eng. in IT,CCNA,

MCSA, MCSE, 2yrs + exp. in IT sup-

port, networking and server support

valid Omani D/L seeking suitable

placement in IT/Network/Server

support. Contact 92607532

Indian male, 14 yrs Experience in

Maintenance & Supervisor in hotel

fi eld ( Electrical . Ac Mechanical &

Plumber ) N O C available

mob : 95 25 36 40 .

email = hareeshma24@yahoo.com

ME Civil- structural Engineer, 8 Years Structural engineer ex-

perience, Looking for Structural

Designer, supervisor or site engineer

Position. Iranian male.

Contact: 93696929,

Email: mhsaz1359@gmail.com

Indian Male 26 years MCA, MCSE

2012 certifi ed, Microsoft Exchange

Server Administration, having 1 year

experience in IT/System Administra-

tion looking for suitable placement.

Contact Mob : 00968 92745708

Email: nabeelmmkty@gmail.com,

Light duty driver, Young and honest.

Can speak Arabic, Hindi and under-

stand English. Release available.

Ph.92854775 / 93487450

Indian female with MBA on visit

visa seeking immediate placement.

Contact - 968-93316493

27,male,ACCA fi nalist, have profes-

sional experience upto fi nalization

of accounts, statutory and internal

audit, expertise in using tally and

focus & oracle software, have 3.5

years experience in accounts till

fi nalization and statutory audit,

seeking for permanent replacement

,GSM-97654769,email id-

abdullah.nooralam@yahoo.com

Sudanese male, 31 years, have 3

year Diploma in electrical engineer

, 6 year experience in construction

and electrical production plant .

Mobile No ; +96894549609

Indian male, B.com, MBA, having

5 years experience (3 years in U.A.E)

is currently seeking suitable op-

portunities within fi nance/accounts/

admin dept.Contact:93953613,

allen.mathew83@gmail.com

B.Com graduate, 11 years experi-

ence in Accounts, 9 years Oman

experience , Oman valid driving

license, looking for suitable post.

Mob:92758404 NOC Available.

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, Indian

male,29 years.8 years experience

.Presently working in Oman as a

Senior Accountant with oman Driv-

ing license. NOC available. Seek suit-

able opportunity. GSM: 97705854

Two year experience in Oman,

experience in sales, purchase and

system admin, Having GCC license.

Contact number 97475860,

Yadhukrishnan08@gmail.com

Indian Male, 32 yrs, MBA-HR, Train-

er & Faculty worked on Omanisation

& nationals development activities

with 10 yrs of experience seeking

suitable job. Contact : 93891401

saiprasad_18@yahoo.com

Sudanese 29 male (Bsc computer

science,diploma computer engineer-

ing), 6 yrs. experience dba oracle

pl-sql , ms sql-server ,ms visual studio

vba,network Omani Driver licence lan-

guage English, ArabicTel: 91415886

Piping Design Engineer, Indian

male 27, looking for suitable place-

ment in Piping Design & Engineer-

ing. Having 7 years of experience in

AutoCAD. Also familiar with PDMS

(11.6 Version),CAESAR ll. Contact :

97351786 / 96143708/97357143

Civil Engg, B.Tech fresher Indian

male currently on visit visa seeks

suitable placement. #91702450

Email: tijoct2015@hotmail.com

Civil Engineer 7 years experience in

Oman. Contact: 92480604

Indian male, 23 yrs, B.E in Mechanical post Graduation Diploma

in piping Engineering, seeking job in

relevant fi eld. Contact : 94786570

Email: asim.hajwani6@gmail.com

Indian diploma Civil Eng, 2 yrs

exp. Infrastructures project (4G –

Towers, substation) landscaping &

Auto CAD. Contact: 94756183

Email: indianexpat1@gmail.com

Civil Engineer (diploma) 3.5 yrs

exp, seeking for placement.

Contact: 95200650

Electrical Eng. Degree (MEP) need

suitable job of construction 12 yrs exp.

Email: mohd.ateeq.khan@gmail.com

C-SWIP 3.1 ASNT level 2 QC Mech.

Engr 5+ yrs exp Indian male 26 seeks

placement. Contact : 91823331

Email: kannasekhar46@gmail.com

Electrical and Electronics Engineer with one year experience and GCC

licence holder seeking a job

mail – shyjalpk@gmail.com

SUPERVISOR: Indian male site

supervisor (AIR CONDITIONING)

25 years of experience with valid Oman

Driving license, seeking suitable place-

ment. Contact: 97498809, 93391910

Email: hilariankj@gmail.com

Mechanical and manufacturing Engi-

neer , age 26 yrs masters ( Singapore)

having 2 years Oman work experi-

ence with valid Oman driving license

on visit visa available immediately.

Contact: 95498953

Indian 22 years male, Mechanical

Engineer, B.Tech has done intern-

ships, born and brought up in Oman

with Omani driving license, seeking

suitable jobs. Contact 92791637

Email: ashwinsureshkotturethu@

gmail.com

Indian Mechanical Engineer 31 yrs, 8+ experience in sales & Bus.

Dev, having Oman driving license

& NOC. Contact: 97116858 Email:

menonamit1984@gmail.com

Indian BE (MECH) aviation BE

degree diploma in material quality

management 17 years Navy aviation

13 years construction purchase stores

professional on visit.

Contact: 90205082 /98796982

Engineer with 3 yrs experience in

Indian in MEP, HVAC& mechanical

maintained fi eld on visit visa looking

for suitable job. Contact 99191535

Email: fareed029@gmail.com

Indian male Civil Engineer with

Engineer with 2 years experience in

Building project is available currently

on visit visa. Contact: 92841583

Btech computer science graduate

2015 passout.. Android application

marketing.. Having good communi-

cation skills and mindset to work in

a team. Contact 91024385

Indian male BE Mechanical currently on 2 yrs free visa with NOC

& local release. Looking for suitable

job in Muscat. Contact – 90296975 /

ali.syedausaf@gmail.com

Senior Accountant. 8 Years experi-

ence. NOC available. Oman driving

license. Seek suitable opportunity.

GSM- 98184170

Chemical Engineer Indian 2 years

of experience in production fi eld

Contact: 91247222

Email:sahadpoonchola@gmail.com

B.E Mechanical Engineer with 2

years’ experience in HVAC fi eld on

visit visa looking for suitable job.

Contact: 93442296

Email Id: sal201091@gmail.com.

MBA (F) B.COM Indian female

having knowledge of accounts with

Tally looking for full or part time

job. Presently on family visit visa.

Contact: - 96259171. Email: -

bhumicapandya@gmail.com

Indian Male, MBA, Talented

management expert having 6 year

experience at U.A.E, India and Oman

in luxury goods and Retail. Seeking

suitable openings in related or same

fi eld. Contact:92700670

Email: jobcareer44@gmail.com

MBA Finance with more than fi ve

years of experience in Finance &

Accounts including GCC, looking for

a suitable opening. Having UAE driv-

ing license. Contact no..91391802

Indian 26M, B. Tech Computer Sci-

ence graduate, 3 years exp in India,

looking for suitable job in Muscat.

Contact : 93125669,

Email : amritrajGT18@gmail.com

Accountant 7 years experience with

D/L and NOC. Contact 97712084

ACCA Affi liate, OBU Degree, 2.5

years experience in audit and

fi nance in Big6 fi rm, Looking for

permanent placement. NOC release

available. Contact: #95140445,

a.saran891@gmail.com

Indian Male Nurse with Moh licence

& Noc seeking a job with Family

Status gsm:95817579.

E.mail:vasudevanv2005@gmail.com

Part- Time Accountant, well experi-

ence senior accountant ,doing all

type of accounting works,

Finalization, Budgeting available.

Contact 98803439

Sudanese/Bsc IT/26/2 years experi-

ence/excellent Eng-Arb speaking/

Omani driving license/96387227/

henrykarrar@gmail.com

MBA - (F), M.Com, B.COM. Indian fe-

male having knowledge of accounts

with Tally looking for part time or

full time job. Presently on family

visa. Contact :- 91892264.

Email:- yv.dixit@yahoo.com

Indian male Accountant, 12 years

experience, looking for a full time

or part time job, experience in tally

also. Contact 98983122

Pakistani, Male, Pak, Exp 14 Years in

IT Trainer / Computer Teacher, looking

for a better position in Oman, already

working in Prestigious Construction

Company. Contact 95983711.

Join.mtmali@gmail.com

Indian Male (Diploma in electronics

Engineering and CCNA.) having 9

years of experience in Networking, 5

years’ experience in Oman. Looking

for a suitable Placement. NOC avail-

able. GSM- 93787098,

Email –anishktr@gmail.com

Site Supervisor/ L Driver, Pakistani

Male 33 with valid D/L, 4 years ex-

perience in Muscat, fl uent in English,

Arabic looking for suitable place.

Contact: 97950869

Admin, having 10+ years experi-

ence in Admin/HR/Logistics/Time

Keeper, in reputed companies. Pres-

ently working in Muscat.

Contact- 968 94369965

mail - satya1528@gmail.com

Indian male B.Eng. in

IT,CCNA,MCSA,MCSE, 2.5 yrs + exp.

in IT support, Networking and Server

support with valid Omani D/L seeking

suitable placement in IT/Network/

Server support. Contact 92607532

Male looking for DTP operator /

Graphic Designer role in Oman

experience of 4 years in Excel, Corel

draw seeking suitable placement

presently in Oman in visit visa.

Contact : 94767757 / 98442179

Email: ronnynorona@gmail.com

SAP BW Analyst : Indian male, 26

yrs, B.Tech (CS & E) from ASET, New

Delhi, worked as a Business

Analyst in Software Industry.

Contact 98008127 / 92878708,

vaisakh.bhaskar@gmail.com

Indian female 25 years, 1 year

experience MSc – Computer Science

currently on family visa looking for a

suitable job in any fi eld. #97265504

Email: ancitasons@gmail.com

B.Tech Information Technology looking job in System work. MS

Offi ce, Data Entry, Networking expe-

rience, 2 years experience in Linux

Admin. Contact: 92472137

Email: vairavel.inbaa@gmail.com

CCNA MCITP Network support/ Net-

work technician with 2 yrs experi-

ence Indian male having bachelors

degree on visit visa. #93080871,

email :sean.f.peters@outlook.com

Indian male 34 yrs M.Tech Indus-

trial biotechnology having teaching

experience seeking for job.

M. Ramkumar. Contact : 96674521,

0091-9940586051

Email: rmkumar28@gmail.com

Network System Engineer switch-

es, Routers, Servers, load balancers,

CCTV 5 years of exp holds B.E (ECE)

CCNA looking for good opportunity

Indian visit visa. Contact 91911792

Email: arafakdnl@gamil.com

BE, ECE Mumbai university skills

in C, C++, windows, linux, controller

and processor RTOS, Electronics,

Networking, 6 months experience in

embedded software seeks place-

ment. Contact : 917774864736

Email: sadatbtisekar@gmail.com

Facility / Project Management 5 yrs of exp holds BE (ECE) MBA,

Indian on visit visa looking for suit-

able openings. Contact : 98580569

Email: arafacareer@gmail.com

Sales man (food stuff ), Gulf experi-

enced, knows Hindi, Arabic .

Contact 99506977

INDIAN MALE 24 YEARS,B. Tech

(Electrical & Electronic).Having 2

years experience as Electrical Site

Engineer in Constructions. Done

IOSH & NEBOSH- IGC certifi cations.

Seeking for suitable placement

in constructions or in any related

industries. Contact no: 98045482,

Email: shannu.hse@gmail.com

Indian male auto cad draughtsman

(civil) 8 years experience

seeking for part time job

mobile no: 0096899070584,

email: remluvp@gmail.com

Indian Male, 25, Chartered Ac-

countant, working with ICICI Bank

India. On a Visit Visa in Oman.

Staying with parents at Azaibah.

Ph:24492638.

Email: shyamal008@gmail.com

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

C6 S AT U R D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5

RENT A CAR

RENT A CAR

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise

with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain

Marine Tours Contact- 98029602,

92808636

TOURS

SITUATION WANTEDCARGO

SITUATION WANT-CARGO

SITUATION WANTEDCARGO

*Classifi ed Advertisement space

booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space

availability

DAILY GUIDES AT U R D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5 C7

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

Split & widow unit A.C servicing &

repairing. Contact: 99557080

Split & window unit A.C servicing

& maintenance.

Contact: 96236476

Window & split unit A.C servicing

& maintenance.

Contact: 93769089 / 95323517

Air condition maintenance instal-

lation window AC, split a/c, ducted

AC and package type units.

Contact: 98667326

Window & split unit A.C ser-

vicing & maintenance. Contact

93769089 / 95323517

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet

& sofa shampooing, Contact

99314807/24792998

Pest Control Treatments, Cockroaches, Ants, Rodents &

Termites, Ocean Center LLC.

Contact: 99344723/ 99357908

General cleaning &

Shampooing. Ocean Center LLC.

Contact: 99344723/99357908

House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your

marble. #24793614/ 99314807

Used house & offi ce furniture

& electronic items. Contact:

99834373 / 96642500

Supply fi xing Wallpapers,

all carpets. Contact: 99834373 /

96642500

One stop shop business services : Public Relation (PRO) formation new

companies, LLC companies, Investor

visa, business setup, prepare busi-

nesses & companies accounts, legal

services, representing you and your

company. Contact: Saleh : 96723485

House shifting & packing. Contact: 99657644 /98518013

Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile pol-

ishing, pest control & anti-termite

treatment, general cleaning paint-

ing, Plumbing, Electrical, shifting.

Contact Mundhir Al-Rizaiqi trading.

L.L.C. # 24810137, 99450130

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QABAS-

99320217 /24788722

WEBSITE

WEB, ERP and Business Intel-

ligence (BI) creation and man-

agement at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

COMPUTER

CLASSES

Water proofi ng ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

Spoken English IELTS & Computer classes.

Contact: 92088325 / 24799938

SIT.WANTED

MANPOWERSIT.WANTEDRequired investors for diff erent

projects. Contact: 99674870

We will register LLC trade license

for foreign investors and do all

actions. Contact: 92833566

SITUATION WANT-

ED

BUSINESS

DRIVING

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation in Muscat.

Contact: 95530908

Transportation for saloon car&

delivery van. Contact : 95530908

Transportation. Contact 99508282

Transportation. Contact 99664703

Transportation available. Contact: 99867456

Transportation available. Contact -955 70 429

Driver looking for job exp 2 yrs.

Contact: 98522914

Indian female, 24yrs, M.COM (Ac-

counts) having 3 yrs experience

in Accounts, HR, Administration,

Customer Service. Good Computer

Profi ciency seeking Suitable Posi-

tion. Visa Transfer/NOC Available.

Contact: 99654913

Indian male 27 years B.E & MS Me-

chanical Engineer working in Delhi for

last 4 years inJcb India pvt. ltd., seeks

placement in Oman. #93393768

Female MBA gold medalist, with

computer profi ciency, Oman driving

license looking for job opportunity

in event management companies in

Muscat. Ph : 99012949

Indian female B. Com MBA fi nance

,5 years experience in oman as an

account seeking suitable placement.

Contact 99044292

Indian male 23 years Graduate,

working as a sales coordinator cum

purchase & offi ce coordination 2 yrs

in oman Having oman license & NOC

looking for suitable job in Muscat

Email:yadhukrishnan08@gmail.com,

GSM:97475860

Indian Male 22 Years , Graduation

In Electronics Seeking Jobs In Su-

pervisory , Sales & Sales Co-ordina-

tion Fields , Good Communication

Skill Contact 96141317,

E-mail: akhilek5@gmail.com

DIPLOMA+B.E.(CIVIL ENGINEER),

Indian, 4 years of experience, cur-

rently on visit visa; Seeking Right

Position. GSM:91570703.

ME. Civil Engineer, Structural

Designer, 3 Years Structural Design,

6 Years Str. Engineer Experience,

Looking For Structural Designer Po-

sition. Iranian Male. #93696929,

Email: mhsaz1359@gmail.com

Male Graphic designer cum anima-

tion, non linear editing VFX, seeking

suitable position.

Contact: 97792661 / 96229406

B-tech Electrical Engineer with

more than 2 years of experience in

erection and designing of HT and LT

electrical systems. Seeking for

suitable job in Muscat. #98269366.

Email: sijincleetus@gmail.com

Indian Female Accountant, CA Final

(Group I cleared), 5+ year’s experi-

ence in the fi eld of Accounts, Audit

and Financial ERPs. Currently avail-

able in Muscat and seeking suitable

job opportunities.Ph:94704800

email id: vinithsavith@gmail.com

B.E (IT) 1 year exp complete school-

ing in Muscat needs job in software

/ net working / java/ WEB design or

marketing. #97136248 / 99313821

Data Entry operator cum Buyer,

Indian male,26years.BA, Computer

profi ciency :Operating system (Win-

dows 2000xp & Windows7) E plus

and Tally ERP9, 4 yrs Experience in

Oman seeks suitable placements.

Mob: 95360255

Indian Female BSC nurse with 8+

years of experience including 3

years of GCC exp. Oman Prometric

passed with 57 %. Currently in Oman.

Contact : 98034384

Senior Accounts Professional,

Indian Male, 36 years, M.Com, MBA

(Fin) 9 years in Oman, with valid

Oman DL and NOC available. Capable

to handle accounts up to fi nalization.

Contact 9602 3965.

Indian Male 24 years, Looking for a

Suitable Job in Telecom / Network-

ing, 1 year sales experience. M. Sc.

Communications Engineering &

Valid Driving license.

Ph: 91280121.

Email: jackrprasad@yahoo.com

Indian lady 30 years Graduate hav-

ing work experience in India and

Oman looking for Admin or any other

suitable job. Contact : 95676957

Indian male, 39 yrs, MSC Computer

Science 10 years experience IT sup-

port, FMS Engineer, bank experience

looking for suitable job. #94276449

DAILY GUIDE Tel. 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com

C8 S AT U R D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 5