Gulf markets plunge overstates Syria risk

Source: Gulf Times (Read full story)

Gulf economies are not as vulnerable to the effects of a widening of the conflict in Syria as steep falls in their stock markets this week suggest.  Rising tension over a potential US-led military attack against Damascus over a chemical weapons attack last week triggered a 7% plunge in Dubai’s stock market on Tuesday, its biggest one-day fall since the emirate’s corporate debt crisis of 2009; the market fell a further 1.3% on Wednesday.  Saudi Arabia’s share market, the Arab world’s biggest, is down 5.4% this week. Its drop on Tuesday was the largest since late 2011.  But it is not clear that any expansion of the Syrian conflict would have much impact on the six economies of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC). Gulf States have strengthened their finances and made contingency plans since a dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme flared up three years ago.

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Syria strike: MPs call for emergency session

Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)

Lawmakers are discussing the possibility of requesting an emergency session within a couple of weeks to discuss the situation in the region in light of developments in Syria and Egypt. According to sources, a number of MPs believe that a request to allocate a session for the topic after the parliament resumes sessions on Oct 29 means that the issue will not be discussed before mid-November; a relatively late date considering reports hint at a potential military strike against Syria over the next few days. The sources indicated that a number of MPs are currently discussing the idea before obtaining signatures of at least 33 lawmakers to hold an emergency session. If the petition comes through, the report will be sent to the parliament’s speaker to start negotiations with the Cabinet to release an Amiri decree to hold the session.

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KSA, Arab League seek decisive world stand on Syria

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

 Saudi Arabia on Tuesday urged the international community to take a “decisive and serious” stand against the regime of Bashar Assad for massacring Syrian people using chemical and other destructive weapons.
“The rejection of the Syrian regime of all serious and earnest Arab efforts and the horrible massacres he committed against his people … requires a decisive and serious stand by the international community to end the humanitarian tragedy of the Syrian people,” said Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal. Addressing a meeting of the Saudi-Moroccan Joint Commission in Jeddah, Prince Saud said Assad’s regime has lost its Arab identity and it no longer belongs to the Syrian civilization that has been held in high esteem in the Arab world.

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Arabs urged to boost Egypt’s security

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

The Saudi Council of Ministers on Monday urged Egyptian people as well as Arab and Islamic countries to work together toward reinforcing peace and stability in Egypt. The Cabinet, chaired by Prince Muqrin, second deputy premier, made this statement while commending a message given by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah last week, affirming Riyadh’s support for Egypt. “The message’s content stemmed from the values upheld by the king, who has always stood for the right cause without any vested interests,” the Cabinet said. It also praised the king’s keenness and support for Egyptian people to confront terrorism, misguidance and sedition. The Cabinet meeting expressed its condolences to King Abdullah, Crown Prince Salman, and Prince Muqrin on the death of Prince Musaed bin Abdul Aziz, who died last week.

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Desire for peace behind king’s stance on Egypt

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s firm support for Egypt at its hour of crisis reflects his desire to reinforce peace and stability in the Arab and Islamic world, said Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Ahmed Kattan on Sunday. Speaking to the heads of Egyptian associations abroad at the Saudi Embassy in Cairo, Kattan said there is nothing surprising about King Abdullah’s stance on Egypt. “Whatever the king does for the Arab and Islamic Ummah shows his love and affection for them,” the ambassador said, adding that the king’s noble stances were inspired by the teachings of Islam. The Egyptian groups abroad had previously sent messages of greetings and gratitude to the king in appreciation of his historic support for Cairo against terrorist designs.

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Bahrain opposition to hold pro-democracy protest

Source: The Peninsula Qatar (Read full story)

Bahrain’s main opposition will hold a day of pro-democracy protests today despite a crackdown last week in which police used teargas and birdshot to disperse anti-government demonstrations. A statement issued by Bahrain’s largest opposition group, the Islamist al Wefaq Society, said that protests would continue to be held until the Bahraini people’s demands were met. “The demonstrations are to insist on a right that is clear and legitimate for the Bahraini people to move towards democratic transformation,” the statement said on Thursday. A tiny island state that hosts the US Fifth Fleet as a bulwark for US-aligned Gulf monarchies against Iran, Bahrain has suffered bouts of unrest since February 2011 when a Shi’ite-led uprising demanded the Al Khalifa dynasty give up power.

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Yemen government apologizes for wars waged by ex-president

Source: The Saudi Gazette (Read full story)

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The statement said the apology was required under a deal brokered by Gulf states that paved the way for Saleh to step down in 2011 after months of unrest and hand the reins of power to his deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Fahmy Al-Saqaf, a leader in the southern secessionist Herak movement, said the apology, though long overdue, was an important step. “But what is more important is what comes after the apology, and what we fear is that the (reconciliation) dialogue ends without implementing southern demands,” Saqaf said. Herak representatives recently suspended their participation in the reconciliation talks, demanding that the government make good on promises to restore seized property and return sacked state employees to their jobs.

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Gulf bloc slams Hizbollah move to double fighters in Syria

Source: The National (Read full story)

Arabian Gulf countries yesterday criticised Hizbollah for interfering in Syrian affairs after the chief of the Lebanese militant group vowed to double the number of fighters he sends in support of Bashar Al Assad’s regime. The statement comes amid growing fears that the Syrian conflict could threaten the stability of Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan. “Nasrallah continues to boast about the participation of his militia in slaughtering children, women and innocent Syrians, and destroying their towns and property,” said Abdullatif Al Zayani, secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in a statement.

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