Hundreds of young unemployed Omanis demonstrated on Monday in front of the ministry of manpower in Muscat to demand more job opportunities.
The crowd shouted “We want jobs” and “We are tired of waiting” as anti-riot police stood on guard in case the protest got out of control.
“We have been promised jobs for so long, but nothing has happened so far,” said 25-year-old Salim Al Hashar, who graduated with an Information Technology degree.
“I have been waiting for 14 months, since I graduated, and I have been rejected everywhere I have gone to apply.”
Nearly 60,000 university graduates were looking for jobs by the end of 2017, according to statistics released by the ministry.
In October, the government said it would create jobs for 25,000 Omanis starting from last month in an effort to reduce the unemployment rate.
But Business Administration graduate Adil Al Zaidi accused the government of not delivering on its plans.
"It is just empty promises but no action on the creation of these jobs,” he said, adding that he had been unemployed for 18 months.
"[It] is too long to wait. It is frustrating not to get a job for that long."
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Read more: Can Oman business loans save young people from unemployment line?
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The government said 60 per cent of the promised new jobs would be in the public sector, while private sector companies would be provided with incentives to hire citizens instead of expatriates. It did not elaborate on what these incentives would be.
“So far, we have not received any incentives from the government, and we will employ more Omanis if there were incentives. However, the government needs to make it clear,” said Hamed Al Hammadi, managing director of Capital Construction Company.
Mr Al Hammadi said the government had sent private companies the names of Omanis looking for work, asking them to employ them — a move he criticised.
“We cannot just absorb them like that. Every company has its own employment plan and cannot just take staff on demand,” he said.
Expats vastly outnumber Omanis in the private sector. The latest manpower ministry figures showed only 237,900 Omanis working in the private sector at the end of September last year compared with 1.87 million expats.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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On sale: Now
'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
Rating: 1/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
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- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
'Brazen'
Director: Monika Mitchell
Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler
Rating: 3/5
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
