New-look Shoura to have 15 women
Source: Arab News (Read full story)
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According to informed sources, the new Shoura Council will have at least 15 women members or 10 percent of its total number of members. Prominent personalities have been nominated to take up the challenging position. They are Al-Jowhara Al-Anqari, Asiya Al-Asheikh, Maha Al-Muneef, Mee Al-Eissa, Fatma Jamjoom, Jowhara Bubsheet, Mahasin Flimban, Noura Al-Asqa, Elham Hasanain, Wafa Taiba, Baheeja Baha Ezzi and Nihad Al-Jashi. All of them hold doctorate degrees in various specializations and work as consultants at the Shoura.
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UAE militant cell linked to Yemen’s al Qaeda: Dubai police chief
Source: Reuters (Read full story)
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The Dubai police chief said he was concerned that AQAP members were making their way to the Gulf but said Saudi anti-terrorism efforts had reduced al Qaeda’s threat to the Gulf. The UAE has so far escaped attack by al Qaeda and other insurgent groups, but some of the seven emirates in the federation have seen a rise in Islamist sentiment in recent years. Security analysts say Dubai, a cosmopolitan business and tourism hub, could make an attractive target for militants.
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Power trade yet to pick up from GCC grid, says official
Source: The Peninsula (Read full story)
The power trading from the GCC integrated grid has not picked up as expected, a top official said here yesterday. Addressing a session at the ongoing Arab Union of Electricity Conference here yesterday, Ahmed Ali Al Ebraham, COO of GCC Interaction Authority (GCCIA), said the power trading between the member countries were taking place only on some emergency basis. The ‘unscheduled exchanges’ of power is yet to pick up, he said. There is still poor concept of trading of electricity between the member countries. We need to change this thinking and have to make power trading as part of daily market philosophy. High level of subsidies is another issue that is hitting the development of electricity market.
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MPs pass controversial Amiri electoral decree
Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)
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But the new Assembly has the right to either approve the decrees or reject them but it cannot introduce any amendments to them. MPs overwhelmingly approved three key decrees yesterday – the so-called single-vote decree, the national unity and anti-hatred decree and the anti-corruption and wealth disclosure decree. The single-vote decree was passed by 49 votes, opposed by two lawmakers, while three MPs abstained. MPs Saleh Ashour and Khaled Al-Adwah were the ones who rejected the decree. The decree issued by the Amir in October amended the electoral constituency law by reducing the number of candidates a voter can choose to just one from four in the previous law.
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VP launches new platform for Islamic economic solutions to augment Dubai’s Growth
Source: The Gulf Today (Read full story)
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Wednesday announced a group of initiatives to set up a comprehensive platform of Islamic economy products and services aimed at integrating Islamic economy as part of the overall Dubai economy. The platform includes Islamic finance instruments, Islamic insurance, Islamic contracts’ arbitration, Islamic food industry and trade standards (Halal food), and Islamic quality management standards.
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