Celebrations in the UAE of Oman’s 46th National Day highlighted the strength of relations between the two neighbouring countries. As The National reported, Yas Mall hosted celebratory events on Friday, featuring traditional Omani dancers and photographs of meetings between the UAE’s rulers and Sultan Qaboos over the past decades. Burj Khalifa was also illuminated with the colours of the Omani ...

Muscat: In addition to short-term contracts, salary cuts, freeze on increments, companies are also forcing their employees to move to cheaper rent apartments as part of the ongoing cost-cutting measures resulting from poor economic conditions.A senior official from an automobile company in Muscat, which employs hundreds of engineers and salesmen, said many mid-level employees are in a fix for the last ...

Muscat: The Royal Army of Oman (RAO) won both the team events while Bahraini athletes dominated the individual competitions in the Millennium Triathlon organised in Al Musannah on Friday. The Millennium Resort Musannah hosted the inaugural Millennium Triathlon in association with Muscat Triathlon Club and Tri.ME sporting events with participation of around 120 triathletes from around the world competing in ...

State-controlled Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), the country’s top oil and gas producer, aims to lift crude output by about 5 percent over the next four years, managing director Raoul Restucci said on Monday. “We aspire to reach 600,000 barrels per day by 2019,” he told reporters at an annual briefing on Oman’s energy industry, adding the company would then maintain ...

Oman’s ailing 74-year-old leader, who has ruled the country for more than four decades, returned Monday after several months of treatment in Germany. Oman’s state TV carried video of Sultan Qaboos bin Said walking down the stairs from his private jet and across a red carpet on the tarmac Monday. A royal court statement said he had returned after eight months ...

A seemingly innocent greeting between the Omani foreign minister and the EU foreign policy chief has created controversy on Twitter. Hosting crucial nuclear talks between Iran and the West, Oman welcomed an American, European and Iranian delegations on Sunday ahead of a deadline of November 24 set by the parties by which they must reach an agreement. A picture of ...

An advisory body to Oman’s government has suggested sweeping spending cuts and tax rises, including a levy on liquefied natural gas exports, to cope with the hit to state revenues from the plunge in oil prices. Oman has run a small budget surplus so far this year but the slide of the Brent crude oil price to around $80 a ...

Women’s Guild of Oman’s annual Crystal Ball has plans to raise an impressive OMR15,000 which it will donate to the Oman Cancer Association (OCA) to help fund Dar Al Hannan, a home for sick children from outside of Muscat and their families to use when they need medical treatment. The Crystal Ball, now in its 11th year, is the biggest ...

The prolonged absence of Oman’s Sultan Qaboos, who has not returned since travelling overseas for medical tests six months ago for suspected cancer, has stirred fears over stability in his Gulf country. The 74-year-old absolute ruler is not only sultan, but also prime minister, as well as holding the foreign affairs, finance, defence and interior portfolios. But without children, or ...

Announcement by the government to study the possible introduction of a tram service across Muscat is the first sign of a long awaited public transportation infrastructure plan, with the city’s real estate landscape directly expected to benefit in the long term, according to leading international real estate consultant, Cluttons. While the exact details of the proposed route are yet to ...