Sunday 06 / July / 2025
As the country returned to work this past week after the Eid break, there were plenty of stories making headlines. Here are Times of Oman's top five news stories from the week, with our weekly News Rewind:
After a week-long Twitter poll by the government’s Implementation Support and Follow-Up Unit (ISFU), it was found that almost 60 per cent of the tens of thousands of residents who voted want the No Objection Certificate rule in Oman to stay.
However, Shashwar Al Balushi, who is also CEO of the Oman Society of Contractors — a government think tank on manpower — said that the No Objection Certificate system could be modified to ensure it works for everyone. "I think expats must understand the company has outsourced a certain job to them so they should be fair to the company by honouring the two-year contract. In this manner, the NOC is good and should stay and expats must honour their contract," said Shashwar.
A Royal Decree this week announced that a new, proposed rail project would connect Haima to Thumrait, according to Royal Decree, 24/2017, that details the implementation of the fourth part of the first package of a railway track.
An OMR170,000 Lamborghini supercar was destroyed in a fire at Shanfari Automotive's car workshop in Al Khuwair. No casualties or injuries were reported, said the Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACDA).
And finally, the Royal Oman Police warned citizens and residents in Oman to be cautious about being victims of fraud and extortion, avoiding deviant behaviour, and not sending private and personal images to strangers on the Internet and social media, after a woman in Al Buraimi was exploited for OMR6,000.
