SUMMARY
International Front
Around $2.1 million raised by the Kuwaiti embassy in Washington will help build 60 schools and educate 20,000 people in Pakistan and Afghanistan, an activist has said. The amount, collected by the embassy at its annual gala "Journey for Peace" held last week in cooperation with the Kuwait-America Foundation will be used by the Central Asia Institute to build schools, mainly for girls, in the remote regions of the two countries, Kuwait News Agency said.
Kuwait has denied a media report claiming that it had instructed the interior ministry not to allow Iranian citizens to enter the country. "The report is untrue and lacks credibility," the interior ministry said, according to Kuwait news Agency. "There have never been verbal or written orders banning the issuance of entry or visit visas to Iranians."
In Bahrain, a society dedicated to resisting the normalisation of ties with Israel has urged the upper chamber of the bicameral parliament to endorse a draft law to criminalise contacts with Israelis.
Iran’s ambassador to Bahrain on Tuesday denied media reports that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was in involved in the money-laundering unveiled by Manama on Friday. “We strongly deny all claims about an alleged involvement of the Revolutionary Guards in the operations,” Hossein Amir Abdollahian said.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will arrive in Bahrain on Tuesday on a two-day working visit. According to reports, Vejjajiva said his mission in Bahrain was to improve economic ties and show harmony with the Islamic world, as Thailand struggles to handle a six-year separatist insurgency in its largely Muslim southern provinces.
In Qatar, Barwa & Qatari Diar Research Institute (BQDRI) and France-based Dubosc Associates have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on creating a “sustainable built environment” and “encourage the adoption and application” of Qatar-specific green building practices.
Some 25 percent of electricity generated by the Chubu Electric Power Company in Japan is fuelled by imported Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to Chubu Electric Power’s Doha Office General Manager. Keiichi Yoneyama said yesterday that 7 percent of Qatar’s total exports to Japan go to Chubu, noting “relationship between Qatar and Chubu is very important.” “We started importing LNG from Qatar in 1997 then totaling 2.5 million tons per year.
A cargo ship has been hijacked by Somali pirates off the coast of Oman, according to European Union Naval Force (EU Navfor) on Wednesday. "The Bermuda flagged British Virgin Islands owned cargo ship MV Talca has been hijacked," a spokesperson for the EU Navfor told Gulf News.
Political Front
In UAE, The agency charged with protecting Abu Dhabi's strategic assets such as oil rigs and power stations will expand its operations to cover the entire UAE, a senior official said yesterday.
The website of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, received 17,500 visitors on the 2010-2010 Education Strategy opinion poll page.
A Kuwaiti conservative MP is putting pressure on the government to ensure that the Open University would not tolerate mixed education. "I want to know about the measures and steps taken to segregate between boys and girls in the classrooms and the various facilities at the Open University," MP Jama'an Al Harbash said in a question he submitted to Dr Moodhi Al Humood, the education minister.
Hours before a crucial confidence vote by the Kuwaiti parliament in the information minister, Kuwaiti media speculated that most of the MPs would rally behind him. "I am confident that Shaikh Ahmad Al Abdullah will ride the confidence vote by getting 24 votes against 22 calling for his dismissal," MP Abdul Rahman Al Anjari said.
Conservative Kuwaiti MP Mohammad Al Hayef has requested the interior minister to "honour his pledge on the duties of policewomen", saying that there would be a quizzing on the matter. "We have read media reports about Kuwaiti policewomen and their role as combat women," Al Hayef said in a statement. "This new role clashes with the interior ministry's pledges on employing policewomen only in positions and places where they are really needed."
Stunned Bahrainis were on Friday seeking information and answers in the aftermath of the arrest of a sitting minister, the first since Bahrain became independent in 1971. Still reeling under the dramatic developments around Al Wefaq and the ire it drew from some MPs and media people for its perceived faux pas at its annual general assembly and the subsequent onslaught on the British ambassador to Bahrain for his alleged interference in Bahrain's domestic affairs, Bahrainis were not ready for the news that a minister who enjoyed the full trust of the leadership would be detained on charges of alleged money laundering. On the other side the minister has denied involvement in a money-laundering scheme, saying that reports of his arrest and interrogation were not true and lacked credibility. Addressing visitors to his weekly majlis (open house), Mansoor Bin Rajab, a state minister without portfolio, said that he had been summoned by the interior ministry to answer questions about his ministry staff.
Social Front
It looks a serious challenge for Arab countries. One-third of the educated, ambitious, creative and employed Arab youth, who form the bedrock of their countries' future prosperity, would like to leave their home countries permanently if they were given the opportunity. A recently released Gallup report says, "The findings suggest that a country's greatest assets … are its most mobile, underscoring the potential effects of brain drain in the region."
In Saudi Arabia, as part of expansion work on the Haram Mosque in Makkah, residential and commercial buildings and real estates on a total area of 1,500 sq. metres will be expropriated. This area, consisting of eight various sites, will be added to the southern courtyard of the holiest mosque in Islam, close to its main entrance of King Abdul Aziz Gate. On the other side, Prominent Saudi scholars slammed a recent call by another scholar to demolish the Al Haram Mosque and reconstruct it in a way that would prevent the mingling of men and women during circumambulation (Tawaf) and prayers. They agreed in unison that this was a ridiculous call by a scholar, who had no authority or jurisdiction to do so. While ridiculing the call, Shaikh Abdul Mohsen Al Obaikan, adviser to the Royal Court, said such individual opinions should not be taken into consideration and must be rejected outright.
It was a startling voice of protest at a startling venue. Covered head-to-toe in black, a Saudi woman lashed out at hard-line Muslim clerics' harsh religious edicts in verse on live TV at a popular Arabic version of "American Idol." Well, not quite "American Idol": Contestants compete not in singing but in traditional Arabic poetry.
About 38 per cent of Saudis using Facebook are women, according to a researcher working in the media field. Fawzia Al Shadadi said there are 231,000 Saudis using the social networking website as of December 2009. "More women are turning to social networking. There is a growing trend among Saudi young women to have a wide circle of friends to express their feelings without revealing their original name," she said.
In UAE, The membership of Dubai Press Club (DPC) has expanded to include media professionals from all platforms, including broadcast and online media instead of only print, as part of its new initiative.
British expats are sending their children back home for education after feeling "let down" by Dubai schools. They said the trend is growing, even though authorities have initiated checks on schools here to lift standards. Only four out of over 200 schools examined by The Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB) were rated ‘outstanding' in the first round.
The Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority fined three outlets and issued warnings to eight more during extensive inspections conducted at restaurants, cafeterias, fast food outlets and others in Al Ain to check if they were adhering to the rules governing the use of cooking oil.
The number of fines issued to Dubai Metro passengers has dropped to 121 in February compared to 183 in January, a sharp decline of 34 per cent.
Residents who have not obtained an ID card will not receive services from the Ministry of Interior (MoI) (apart from visa issuing and renewal) or licensing services of police departments in all emirates.
A move by four Kuwaiti women to open a diwaniya (open house) for men and women in Al Jahra has sparked negative reaction among Kuwaitis. In announcing the opening of the diwaniya on Sunday, the four women said that it would be used to discuss women's issues and rights in Al Jahra, an area located 30 kilometres north west of Kuwait City.
Human Rights Front
A recent survey showed that most of the people in the kingdom oppose Saudi women working as housemaids. The outcome of the survey, released on Monday, showed that nearly half of those interviewed for the survey are of the opinion that Saudi women should not be allowed to work as housemaids. "However, 35.5 per cent is of the view that they can work as maids under strict conditions. Only 12.3 per cent of those, who took part in the survey, are in favour of employing Saudi women as housemaids. The survey was conducted among some 3,000 Saudis and expatriates in the kingdom by the Saudi Center for Statistical Studies.
In Bahrain, Abdullah Al Durazi, the activist who resigned from his position as secretary general of a society following row with members over a press statement, is back at the helm of Bahrain's oldest human rights organisation. With the deadline for the Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) board elections ending on Saturday evening, and no candidate signing up his or her name to compete against Al Durazi, he is the de facto new secretary general for the new two-year term.
Turmoil and Terrorism Front
A Yemeni court on Tuesday sentenced a leading member of a southern separatist movement to 10 years in prison, a move that could further heighten tensions between secessionists and the government. Violence between Yemeni security forces and southern separatists protesting against the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh worsened this month. On the other side, Yemen risks a sustained separatist insurgency in the south, scene of increased tit-for-tat violence, unless it seriously addresses grievances of southerners who say their region is neglected by the state. President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who a week ago declared that Yemen's separate war with Shi'ite rebels in the north was over, has offered dialogue with opponents in the south. But there is little evidence so far of a rush to the negotiating table. "If the escalation continues it will be a big, big problem.
Saudi state media announced on Wednesday the arrest of over 100 members of Al Qaida cells that were plotting attacks on oil facilities in the kingdom. The arrests came just a day after the US had warned of Al Qaida plans to attack ships off Yemen's coast.
There is no evidence that Kuwaiti charity groups are involved in terrorist activities, the social affairs minister has said.
Environment
Sayyid Fahd Bin Mahmood Al Said, Oman’s Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers, has underlined the need for efforts to address challenges facing the water sector in GCC states. During his meeting with the participants of the 9th Gulf Water Conference on Monday evening, the senior Omani Minister said that Oman accorded top priority to water resources development, considering it as the cornerstone of sustainable development. He stressed the importance of co-operation among all in order to develop this vital resource.
Economic Front
Saudi shares rallied for the sixth week in a row, backed by strong gains of the petrochemical and banking sectors. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) gained 1.24 percent last week, to close at 6,756.98 points. In terms of sectors, the market on a weekly basis only saw negative sector closes in four separate sectors ranging from -0.13 percent by the Media and Publishing to -0.76 percent by the Agriculture & Food Industries sector. Otherwise, all other sectors closed the week with gains. Weekly sector gains ranged from 0.27 percent in the Multi-Investment to a gain of 3.03 percent in the Transport sector, the Jeddah-based Financial Transaction House (FTH) said in its weekly market commentary.
The industrial cities development projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia within the past two years alone have increased the total size of the industrial cities from 42.5 million square meters to 71 million square meters - a 67 percent increase on the total of the previous 40 years’ developments, Dr. Tawfig bin Fawzan Alrabiah, director general of Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon) said.
The United Arab Emirates, in a call made at the United Nations, has urged the international community to overcome political and financial obstacles that prevent full implementation of the 'Monterrey Consensus and Doha Declaration on Financing for Development'.
Dubai debt insurance costs rose yesterday as doubts surfaced about the emirate's ability to fund its share of a $ 9.5 billion plan to repay creditors of its struggling Dubai World conglomerate. On Thursday Dubai unveiled its proposals to repay lenders to Dubai World in five to eight years and fully repay two bonds issued by its property developer unit Nakheel. The $ 9.5 billion plan includes $ 5.7 billion previously lent by wealthy neighbour Abu Dhabi, with the remaining $ 3.8 billion coming from Dubai's own "internal resources".
Oil and Gas
Qatar does not plan to cut output in a bid to support global gas prices, Minister of State for Energy and Industry Affairs H E Mohammad Saleh Al Sada said. Major pipeline gas exporter Algeria plans to ask other big gas producers to stop flooding markets with extra spot natural gas deliveries when they meet next month.
Oman has made significant gains in cutting down on the flaring of natural gas, the World Bank has revealed in a recent report detailing global trends in gas flaring and venting. Natural gas volumes flared by the Sultanate declined from 2.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2005 to 2.2 bcm in 2006.
