Egyptians in Qatar concerned but divided over crackdown

Source: The Peninsula (Read full story)

Egyptian expatriates in Qatar, while obviously unhappy about what is happening back home, say they expect the situation to become clearer today as the Muslim Brotherhood has called for protests after Friday prayers all over the country. “We have to see how people react after Friday prayers today to Wednesday’s military action that saw hundreds of people killed and many others injured,” said an Egyptian, requesting anonymity. He said he didn’t anticipate further violence as both sides, the army and the Brotherhood, should now take defensive positions after Wednesday’s bloodbath.

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Member alleges vote-buying at JCCI

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

Wasif Kabli, deputy chairman of the Commercial Committee at the Saudi Council of Chambers of Commerce and member of its Food Committee, has alleged that some members of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry bought votes to be on its board. “Some members did not get onto the board fair and square,” Kabli claimed. He demanded that the Saudi Council of Chambers expel board members who have been absent at meetings for more than three times without an excuse. The same should apply, he added, to committee members who are not present at the committee’s meetings.

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 GCC adopts data centre to save on capital costs

Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)

Data centre services in the GCC have risen to the forefront of a general trend towards outsourcing and the need to control business costs. Organisations looking to cut down on capital expenditures involved in setting up information technology operations are increasingly turning to the expertise and infrastructure services of data centre service providers, thereby boosting market revenues. “Yes, this is in line with worldwide trends. As business grows rapidly, companies run out of capacity at their initial home-grown data centres, their IT systems become business critical, staffing needs magnify and costs rise significantly,” said Dilip Rahulan, executive chairman of Dubai-headquartered Pacific Controls.

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Expats with communicable diseases to be deported

Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)

The Ministry of Health announced that it will deport expatriates who contract infectious diseases as part of a new policy to follow strict procedures under a law where the state is required to take precautionary measures against the spread of communicable diseases. According to Al-Qabas daily, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Minister of Health Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah said that a foreigner diagnosed with a communicable disease will be deported. He also said that efforts are ongoing to ensure that all expatriates receive necessary vaccines for prevention. The minister ordered that children under the age of 15 should be tested at medical testing centers before being issued visas to make sure that they received the necessary vaccinations.

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Too little for too many in Oman’s insurance sector

Source: Times of Oman (Read full story)

Oman’s insurance sector continues to compare unfavourably with its peers in other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Twenty-one companies, including 10 local groups, are competing for total premiums that are still less than $700 million per annum, according to a research report on the Sultanate’s insurance industry conducted by Business Monitor International. As is the case in the rest of the region, none of the local companies have the benefits of economies of scale nor, with the clear exception of Al Ahlia which is an affiliate of global non-life major RSA Insurance, are any owned by major shareholders that have a clear competence in insurance.

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33 lorries of vital aid leave UAE for Syria

Source: The National (Read full story)

A convoy of lorries loaded with essential supplies for more than 100,000 people set off from Dubai yesterday on a two-week journey to Syria. The 33 vehicles, carrying Dh4.4 million of relief aid, left the United Nation’s Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warehouse in Dubai Humanitarian City on a route that will take them through Saudi Arabia and Jordan, eventually reaching Syria in about 14 days.“UNHCR is working inside Syria and in neighbouring countries to help people uprooted by the war,” said Amin Awad, regional refugee coordinator.

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