Staff ReportKAKAMIGAHARA: Pakistan thrashed Oman by 8-0 in a hockey mach of Asian Champions Trophy at Kakamigahara in Japan on Saturday.Pakistan will now take on Japan in their second match of the event tomorrow. The green shirts secured a 3-0 lead in the first half of the match followed by three other goals in the…

DUBAI: If Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's dream of reaching a deal with world powers on Tehran's nuclear program in six months comes true, Oman, an important intermediary in the dispute, could be a big winner.There have been too many false dawns in Iran's decade-old standoff with the West over Tehran's nuclear program to bank on…

MUSCAT: The government of Oman is suing the editor of a weekly tabloid, state news agency ONA said on Thursday, after suspending it from publication for running a story about gays in the Gulf Arab state.Homosexuality is punishable by law in a number of majority Muslim countries, including Oman. But activists say it is generally…

MUSCAT: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Oman on Tuesday for Raytheon Co's signing of an estimated $2.1 billion arms deal and to consult on Syria and Iran, U.S. officials said.Oman is expected to sign a letter of intent to purchase a ground-based air defence system that would help protect against cruise missile,…

SHANNON, Ireland: US Secretary of State John Kerry flies to Oman on Tuesday for Raytheon Co's signing of an estimated $2.1 billion arms deal and to consult on Syria and Iran, US officials said.Oman is expected to sign a letter of intent to purchase a ground-based air defense system that would help protect against cruise…

MUSCAT: An Iranian scientist held for more than a year in California on charges of violating US sanctions arrived in Muscat on Friday, after being freed in what the Omani foreign ministry said was a humanitarian gesture.Mojtaba Atarodi, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at Sharif University of Technology, had been detained for allegedly buying…

OMAN: Oman's Muscat International Airport has reopened after closing on Monday because a Pakistan International Airlines plane crash-landed on the runway, the airport said on Tuesday.The landing gear of the Boeing 737 collapsed on Monday as the plane landed. All 70 people on board the Islamabad-Muscat flight were unhurt, a statement from the airport said.A…

Staff Report KARACHI: As many as 500 Pakistanis deported from Oman are being allowed to go to their homes after interrogation by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), SAMAA reports Friday. Last night, the deported Pakistanis from Oman arrived at Ghass Bander, Kemari. Most of the deportees are from Mardan and various cities of Sindh and…

DUBAI: Bank Muscat, Oman's largest bank by assets, will set up a sharia-compliant banking arm, it said in a statement, becoming the latest financial institution to announce plans to operate in the sultanate's fledgling Islamic finance sector.Operating under the Meethaq brand name, the bank will function independently from the conventional arm and has appointed a…

Staff ReportRAWALPINDI: His Excellency Mr Mohamed Said Al-Lawati, Ambassador of Oman called on Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), General Khalid Shameem Wynne.According to an Inter Services, Public Relations press release, the dignitaries discussed the regional situation and matters related to the mutual cooperation between the two countries. SAMAA

MUSCAT: Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said has pardoned 234 protesters arrested during weeks of demonstrations in the Gulf Arab state, the official news agency said on Wednesday.Qaboos, a U.S. ally who has ruled Oman for 40 years, promised a $2.6 billion spending package on Sunday after nearly two months of demonstrations inspired by a wave…

MUSCAT: Oman deployed troops north of the capital Muscat and near the border with the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, following three straight days of anti-government protests, a government official said. Oman, ruled by a powerful family dynasty, is the latest Arab nation to be swept up in a wave of regional unrest that has…

MUSCAT: Clashes between police and protesters killed only one person in an industrial port town on Sunday, Oman's health minister told Reuters on Monday, disputing a report that six people had died. “It is only one,” Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Saidi said, adding that 20 people were wounded. He said police used rubber bullets, not live…

MUSCAT: Chief of the Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, met here today with the Chief of Staff of Sultan’s Armed Forces.He also had a meeting with US military leaders to discuss regional security issues and explore new ways to better coordinate military operations.The meeting was attended by US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of…

MUSCAT: Cyclone Phet killed a total of 16 people in Oman on Friday and wounded dozens more, state television and medical staff said on Saturday. State television reported 12 dead on Saturday and a hospital doctor in Muscat, who declined to be named, told Reuters a further two had been killed: 11 Omani nationals, two…

MUSCAT: Cyclone Phet, despite weakening to a Category 1 storm, pummeled Oman's coastline on Friday, killing two and halting the small oil-producing country's oil and gas production, officials and state media said. Phet's first confirmed casualties were an Omani man who died trying to cross a flooded area in Oman's northern al Dhahira region and…

Staff Report KARACHI: Tropical cyclone Phet strikes coast of Oman Today (Friday), reported SAMAA. According to the sources series of rains have started in the coastal areas of Oman, whereas the trade activities at port and air services at airports have been suspended. SAMAA

Staff Report KARACHI: Tropical cyclone Phet strikes coast of Oman Today (Friday). According to Metrological Department of Oman, gusty of wind are blowing with the speed of 133 miles per hour that have disrupted schedule of flights. Earlier, Cyclone Phet is getting furious as it gathers momentum. It is about 900 kilometers off Karachi coast….

Staff Report MUSCAT: General Tariq Majid, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) who is on an official visit to Sultanate of Oman for ‘Bilateral Defence Talks’ on the invitation of Chief of Staff Sultan’s Armed Forces (COSSAF), called on His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, Inter-Services Public Relations stated Saturday. Both the leaders exchanged…

By Kamil Arif KARACHI: The Federal investigation Agency arrested a woman who was deported from Oman for trying to sell her brother’s daughter. Yasmeen's niece Naseema alleged that her aunt was trying to sell her, but she managed to escape and reached the Pakistani embassy for help. The Pakistani authorities sent both women to Pakistan….

ISLAMABAD: Aisamul Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan carved out victories in contrasting manners to steer Pakistan to a 2-0 lead over Oman after opening day’s singles in their Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group II Tennis tie at Muscat, Oman, according to results available here Saturday. The doubles match of the Tie, being held at the hard…