Oman
Violinist Antonio Hernandez plays for the relatives of COVID-19 victim Miryam Rodriguez, while they are gathered for prayer by the hearse that carries her remains to Serafin Cemetery, before cremation in Bogota, Colombia, Friday, June 18, 2021. Due to regulations to contain the new coronavirus, relatives cannot enter the cemetery. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
The Latest: Protests decry Brazil policies as toll tops 500K

By The Associated Press Jun. 19, 2021 05:46 AM EDT

In Oman, fungal infection detected in some COVID-19 patients

By Isabel Debre Jun. 15, 2021 07:57 AM EDT
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oman announced Tuesday that its doctors have detected a potentially fatal fungal infection afflicting some coronavirus...

With surge in virus, Oman faces shortage of hospital beds

By Isabel Debre Jun. 14, 2021 06:41 AM EDT
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Coronavirus infections are surging in the Gulf Arab state of Oman, where health officials warned Monday that hospitals now...

People walk near riot police cars in Sohar, Oman, Tuesday, May 25, 2021. On Tuesday, dozens of protesters angry over firings and the poor economy of Oman marched in Sohar, a city some 200 kilometers northwest of the capital, marking a third day of demonstrations in the typically subdued sultanate. (AP Photo)
Oman protests see police fire tear gas in flashpoint city

By Jon Gambrell May. 26, 2021 05:05 AM EDT

People and security forces talk under a bridge, in Sohar, Oman, Tuesday, May 25, 2021. On Tuesday, dozens of protesters angry over firings and the poor economy of Oman marched in Sohar, a city some 200 kilometers northwest of the capital, marking a third day of demonstrations in the typically subdued sultanate. (AP Photo)
Protests spread across once-quiet Oman as economy flounders

By Jon Gambrell May. 25, 2021 11:35 AM EDT

Map locates protests. Scattered protests in Oman over layoffs and poor economic conditions have drawn a massive police presence in at least one city in the sultanate.
Rare protests in Oman over jobs draw massive police response

By Jon Gambrell May. 24, 2021 08:39 AM EDT

Uffizi director Eike Schmidt poses on the occasion of the Uffizi Gallery museum reopening to the public, in Florence, Italy, Tuesday, May 4, 2021. The Uffizi Gallery reopened to visitors after a shutdown following COVID-19 containment measures. (Giuseppe Cabras/LaPresse via AP)
The Latest: Australia PM stands firm on India flight halt

By The Associated Press May. 04, 2021 03:58 AM EDT

FILE - In this Mar. 7, 2021 file photo, smoke rises after Saudi-led airstrikes on an army base in Sanaa, Yemen. Saudi Arabia announced a plan Monday, March 22, 2021, to offer Yemen's Houthi rebels a cease-fire in the country's yearslong war and allow a major airport to reopen in its capital, the kingdom's latest attempt to halt fighting that has sparked the world's worst humanitarian crisis in the Arab world's poorest nation. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File)
Saudi Arabia offers cease-fire plan to Yemen rebels

By Jon Gambrell And Isabel Debre Mar. 22, 2021 10:34 AM EDT

Saudi health worker, Wedad Modaifen collects a swab sample for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test at drive-through testing center, at King Abdulaziz University in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. In Saudi Arabia, where authorities already have banned travel to the kingdom from 20 countries including the U.S., officials ordered all weddings and parties suspended. It closed down all shopping malls, gyms and other locations for 10 days, as well as indoor dining. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Gulf Arab states launch new restrictions over virus fears

By Jon Gambrell Feb. 04, 2021 01:56 AM EST

First-place finisher Nathan Chen poses with his medal in the men's championship at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The Latest: Michigan has 11 positive tests from Jan. 23-29

By The Associated Press Jan. 29, 2021 08:08 AM EST

FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2020 file photo, Oman's ruler Sultan Haitham bin Tariq prepares for a meeting at al-Alam palace in the capital Muscat, Oman. The sultan announced Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, a shake-up of the country’s constitution with changes that include the appointment of a crown prince for the first time and steps to boost government transparency. The move, one year after the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said comes as the government faces growing economic pressures at home. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via AP, File)
Oman sultan creates crown prince post, changes constitution

By Isabel Debre Jan. 11, 2021 11:39 AM EST

Saudi journalists watch a large display screen in a media center, showing Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, at the 41st Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting, in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021. Qatar’s ruling emir arrived in Saudi Arabia to attend the high-level summit of Arab leaders, following an announcement that the kingdom would end its yearslong embargo on the tiny Gulf state. The Qatari emir's arrival in the kingdom’s ancient desert city of Al-Ula on Tuesday was broadcast live on Saudi TV. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Qatar ruler lands in Saudi Arabia for summit to end blockade

By Aya Batrawy, Isabel Debre And Amr Nabil Jan. 05, 2021 06:19 AM EST

A medical worker wearing protective gears takes sample at a coronavirus testing site in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 28, 2020. South Korea has confirmed its first cases of a more contagious variant of COVID-19 that was first identified in the United Kingdom. (Park Ju-sung/Newsis via AP)
The Latest: Japan's PM seeks to enforce virus measures

By The Associated Press Dec. 27, 2020 01:39 AM EST

Qatar to host 2030 Asian Games, Saudi Arabia in 2034

Dec. 16, 2020 07:40 AM EST
MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — The 2030 Asian Games were awarded to Doha on Wednesday and the 2034 event went to Riyadh after a deal was struck between the rival nations....

Oman to impose value-added tax amid pandemic fallout

Oct. 12, 2020 12:37 PM EDT
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oman issued a royal decree on Monday that sets the stage for the sultanate to start collecting value-added taxes beginning...

FILE - In this Dec. 5, 2017 file photo, a man looks at his mobile phone in front of the flag of the Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC, in Kuwait City. The GCC, a six-nation bloc of Gulf Arab nations torn apart by internal strife, unanimously endorsed on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, an extension of a United Nations arms embargo on Iran, just two months before it is set to expire. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell, File)
6 Gulf Arab countries back extending UN arms embargo on Iran

By Jon Gambrell Aug. 09, 2020 03:37 PM EDT

This undated photograph provided by the family of Jamshid Sharmahd shows the 65-year-old man from Glendora, California. Iran abducted Sharmahd, a leader of a California-based Iranian militant exile group, while he was in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and apparently smuggled him into Oman before bringing him to the Islamic Republic, his family told The Associated Press on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. Iran has only said they detained Sharmahd in what it describes as a "complex operation." (Sharmahd family via AP)
Family tells AP: Iran abducted California man while in Dubai

By Jon Gambrell Aug. 04, 2020 07:10 AM EDT

FILE - In this May 14, 2019 file photo, two people take in the sea breeze at the Corniche waterfront promenade in Doha, Qatar. The small, neighboring sheikhdoms of Bahrain and Qatar have the world’s highest per capita rates of coronavirus infections in the world. In the two Mideast countries, COVID-19 epidemics initially swept undetected through camps housing healthy and young foreign laborers. In Qatar, a new study found that nearly 60% of those testing positive showed no symptoms at all. In Bahrain, authorities put the number of asymptomatic spreaders of the virus even higher, at 68%. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)
2 Mideast countries have highest confirmed virus rates

By Jon Gambrell Jul. 23, 2020 02:01 AM EDT

In this April 19, 2020 photo, Vox Cinema employee Jackline Nansamba of Uganda stocks shelves at a Carrefour supermarket while wearing a face mask amid the coronavirus pandemic in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed just how vital foreigners are to the Gulf Arab countries where they work as medics, drivers, grocers and cleaners. Vox Cinemas and Carrefour are both owned in the United Arab Emirates by the major retail firm Majid Al Futtaim. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)
Foreigners on front lines of pandemic in Gulf Arab states

By Aya Batrawy May. 07, 2020 02:34 AM EDT

FILE - In this Saturday Sept. 21, 2019 file photo, Shiite Houthi tribesmen hold their weapons as they chant slogans during a tribal gathering showing support for the Houthi movement, in Sanaa, Yemen. On Wednesday, April 8, 2020, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen announced that its forces would begin a cease-fire starting at midnight, in what could pave the way for the first direct peace talks between the two sides that have been at war for more than five years. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
Yemen has 1st confirmed virus case, more than 10k in Israel

By Maggie Michael Apr. 10, 2020 02:23 AM EDT