MUSCAT, Oman, July 16, 2024 (AFP) – Six people including four Pakistanis were killed and nearly 30 wounded in a shooting near a Shiite mosque in the Omani capital Muscat, officials said Tuesday, a rare attack in the otherwise stable Gulf sultanate. Monday’s mosque attack, which has yet to be claimed, came as Shiites this week mark Ashura, an annual day of mourning that commemorates the seventh-century death in battle of Imam Hussein, regarded by […]
Tag: oman
Iran, Sweden free prisoners in Oman-mediated swap
By Ramin KHANIZADEH, Payam DOOST MOHAMADI TEHRAN, June 15, 2024 (AFP) – Iran and Sweden announced on Saturday a prisoner exchange that saw a former Iranian official jailed in Sweden freed as Stockholm said Tehran had released a European Union diplomat and a second Swede. “Hamid Noury, who has been in illegal detention in Sweden since 2019, is free and will return to the country in a few hours,” Kazem Gharibabadi, head of Iran’s High […]
Oman floods kill 14 including schoolchildren
MUSCAT, April 15, 2024 (AFP) – Flooding in Oman has killed at least 14 people, many of the schoolchildren, authorities said following the discovery of the bodies of a woman and child on Monday. The Gulf sultanate’s official news agency initially reported on Sunday nine schoolchildren and three adults had “lost their lives after their vehicles got swept away in gushing wadi waters”. Five others individuals were reported missing in the floods that struck the […]
Iran seizes oil tanker off Oman in dispute with US
DUBAI, Jan 11, 2024 (AFP) – Iran’s navy seized a ship off Oman to retaliate for the “theft” of its oil from the same tanker last year by the United States, state media said Thursday. The United States condemned what it called an “unlawful seizure” and demanded Iran “immediately release the ship and its crew”. The announcement came hours after a British navy maritime security agency said armed men boarded the Greek-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged St […]
Climate change a double blow for oil-rich Mideast: experts
by Frank ZELLER Agence France-Presse PAPHOS, Cyprus (AFP) – The climate crisis threatens a double blow for the Middle East, experts say, by destroying its oil income as the world shifts to renewables and by raising temperatures to unliveable extremes. Little has been done to address the challenge in a region long plagued by civil strife, war and refugee flows, even as global warming looks likely to accelerate these trends, a conference heard last week. […]
DFA repatriates 345 Filipinos from Oman
(Eagle News) — Over 300 Filipinos were repatriated from Oman in the Department of Foreign Affairs first chartered flight from the country. In a statement, the DFA said 345 Filipinos had been stranded in Oman due to COVID-19 restrictions. The flight, which arrived on Tuesday, July 27, included 10 minors, the DFA said. Upon arrival, the repatriates underwent the medical protocols required by the Department of Health (DOH) and the Bureau of Quarantine. They are […]
PHL extends travel ban covering India, six other countries until July 31
(Eagle News) — The Philippines has extended its ban on inbound flights from India and other countries. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the ban, which also covers Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates and Oman, is now in effect until July 31. According to Roque, there has been a recommendation for Indonesia to be included in the list of countries covered by the travel restrictions but President Rodrigo Duterte has yet to decide […]
POEA: PHL to lift suspension of deployment of OFWs to Oman once country lifts travel ban covering PHL
(Eagle News) — The Philippines will lift the suspension on the deployment of overseas Filipinos to Oman as soon as the Omani government removes the Southeast Asian country from its list of countries covered by a travel ban. According to Philippine Overseas Employment Administration’s Bernard Olalia, this was the takeaway from the meeting between Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III and the Omani ambassador on Monday, June 21. Olalia noted that the Philippines’ move was only […]
PHL temporarily suspends deployment of OFWs to Oman
(Eagle News) — The Philippines is temporarily suspending the deployment of Overseas Filipino Workers to Oman. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in an interview this was after Oman included the Philippines in its list of countries covered by a travel ban. Bello said the temporary suspension was upon the recommendation of the Department of Foreign Affairs. Bello did not say when the suspension would be lifted. The Philippines has also included Oman in its […]
Travel ban on passengers from India, four other countries stays
Oman, UAE added to list of countries covered by travel ban until May 31 (Eagle News) — All passengers coming from or who have been to India 14 days preceding arrival in the Philippines shall still be banned from entering the country until May 31. According to the Bureau of Immigration, the ban also covers travelers from Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, , Sri Lanka and, additionally, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. The travel ban on […]
2 Navy ships depart Oman for PHL; to make stop in India to pick up donated PPEs
(Eagle News)–Two Philippine Navy ships that were used in repatriation efforts have departed Oman and are on their way back to the Philippines. The Philippine Navy said on Wednesday, April 21, BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS16) and BRP Davao del Sur (LD602), carrying the Naval Task Force 82, left Port Sultan in Qaboos on Tuesday and are expected to arrive by the third week of May. The Navy said the ships will make a brief stop […]
DFA chief meets with Oman foreign minister who noted positive contributions of Filipinos in country
(Eagle News) — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., visited Oman’s Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Allawi, at the Foreign Ministry in Muscat, in his first official visit to Oman. The DFA chief, who was warmly received by his Omani counterpart, conveyed President Rodrigo Duterte’s message of condolences on the demise of the late Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said, as well as the President’s congratulations to the new Sultan Haitham bin Tarik. During […]





