3rd Street Donuts opens
U.S. Ambassador to Oman Marc J. Sievers visited 3rd Street Donuts to mark its official opening 
as part of the Discover America Festival in Oman and also to celebrate a success story of the US-Oman Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The café is owned and operated by Omani entrepreneur Mundhir Al Alawi, who explained how he fell in love with American donuts during his studies in Los Angeles, California. 3rd Street Donuts is a small business venture in collaboration with a local American donut bakery in Los Angeles, California. The café specialises in fresh and made-to-order donuts. The toppings and fillings in the donuts are unique to the Omani market. 3rd Street Donut is located in Seeb, behind Sultan School. The Café is open from 2pm to 10pm every day.
Inspirational lecture on resilience and challenge
Omani polar explorer Anisa Al Raisi – the first Omani to reach the Geographic North Pole, and Major Natalie Taylor, 
one of a team of six British Army soldiers who became the first female team to cross Antarctica using muscle power alone shared their experiences at an inspiring lecture titled ‘Two Women, Two Poles and Two Cultures’, at the Ministry of Defence Pension Fund, under the auspices of H.H. Dr Ahmed Al Saidi, Minister of Health. The duo shared their experiences of living in confined spaces, their mental and physical preparations, and the strategies they used for dealing with constantly changing and evolving challenges, describing themselves as ‘ordinary women doing extraordinary things’. Both women hope their historic achievements will encourage other women and girls to take on physical challenges and achieve things out of their comfort zone.