The Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) hopes to achieve a monetary union, with a common currency, by 2010. Bloggers from the region, which groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, debate the merits of the union and more importantly what name they want for their new curren...

I can’t help but crib about my experience with Al Shatti Plaza which has been recently re-branded as City Cinema, Al Shatti. Knowing very well that we wouldn’t get seats at the last minute for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ yesterday, I stepped out after lunch at 2.30pm and purchased tickets for the ...

I’ve always wanted to watch the Oman soccer team playing –– live in the stadium. It didn’t happen during the recent Gulf Cup (thanks to my work schedule). Yesterday, when I got a pass for the Oman versus Indonesia AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, I jumped at it. Going by recent form, I did expect O...

You couldn't have asked for a better final: the hosts versus the best team in the region. Will it be third time lucky for Oman? Let's hope so! They don't deserve to lose again and this time they have home support to take them all the way. Yallah Oman!!! [ WIKI LINK ] UPDATE: My sis and dad are in th...

Omantel’s filter has a new bunny this week –– Google India. The main URL is blocked but various sub links under it are working fine. Reason for the block: the site falls under pornography category. Ditto with some popular Indian blogs (thanks to RSS feeds, life goes on anyways)....

"In my life I have a rule – I never say one bad word to anybody," Oman coach Claude Le Roy he said. "The Bahrain coach (Macala) says that I said, 'fuck you'. I never say that in my life. "Everything I say in the match is registered. I said these two words: 'play football'. (read full story) By the...

Soccer is flavour of the fortnight. Starting tomorrow, Oman will play host to the 19th edition of Gulf Cup, a prestigious tournament which is considered as the soccer World Cup in this part of the world. If you are in Muscat, you wouldn’t miss the football mania sweeping across the city from the l...

…I got my resident card today after two futile attempts. To be on the safer side, I managed to be in the Civil Status Center at 6.15am, only to be surprised to see a large number of expats who were waiting endlessly in front of the counter. Even today, I had my share of twists and turns when the c...

If you are a regular to Qantab beach, you wouldn’t miss young Omani kids approaching you with a “boat� offer. Their “boat� translates into a boat ride around the enchanting sea for a few rials with their small boats that are normally used for fishing. I happened to be in Qantab a couple of...

A report says: The new CEO of Oman Air has revealed his ambitious plans to transform the carrier into a "world-class airline". "It's going to be hard work, but definitely doable," said Peter Hill speaking to ATN exclusively at last month's World Travel Market. "We need to bring experts into the busi...