Iran: Together with KSA, we can achieve regional stability
Source: Arab News (Read full story)
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif appealed on Monday to Saudi Arabia to work together with his government toward achieving regional “stability,” as he pressed a tour seeking rapprochement with GCC states. … “I believe that our relations with Saudi Arabia should expand as we consider Saudi Arabia as an extremely important country in the region and the Islamic world,” Zarif told AFP. “We believe that Iran and Saudi Arabia should work together in order to promote peace and stability in the region.”
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Law penalizing criticism of Amir upheld by court
Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)
The constitutional court said yesterday that an article in the penal code which jails people who publicly criticize the Amir for up to five years is “in line with the constitution” and is necessary to protect the person of the head of the state. The court, whose rulings are final, rejected a number of challenges filed against article 25 of the penal code which considers criticizing the Amir in public, undermining his status and authorities or offending him as a “crime”. The article was used by Kuwaiti courts to send dozens of people, especially opposition former MPs, activists and tweeters to jail for allegedly offending the Amir. The challenges against the article were filed several months ago by lawyers defending some of the activists on trial, claiming that their clients should not be tried for expressing their views in public.
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World support for Palestine sought
Source: Arab News (Read full story)
Saudi Arabia on Monday reiterated its support for the Palestinian cause, stressing that the peace process should help the Palestinians claim all their legitimate rights, including the establishment of an independent state. The Council of Ministers, chaired by Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, made the comment on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people. The Cabinet was briefed on a report drafted by the 129th session of the GCC foreign ministers meeting in Kuwait in preparation for the 34th GCC summit to be hosted by Kuwait. It also commended the decisions taken by a meeting of the GCC interior ministers in Bahrain to boost security cooperation among member states.
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Gulf Monetary Council denies reports over single currency issue date
Source: Kuwait News Agency (Read full story)
The Gulf Monetary Council Monday brushed aside press reports that it has set a date to launch the single currency of the Arab Gulf countries. “The Monetary Council affirms that the reports by some newspapers and websites over the date of the issuing of the single Gulf currency are completely false, not based on accurate information nor reliable sources,” the council said in a statement. … The press reports suggested that four countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), with the exception of the UAE and Oman, will announce the single currency by end of this year. The GCC also includes Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar.
National banks’ assets hit new high
Source: Gulf Today (Read full story)
The assets of national banks listed on the financial markets accounted for 85 per cent of the assets of the banking sector in the UAE up to the end of the first nine months of this year. The financial results announced by the end of September 2013 indicated that the assets of 29 national banks listed on Abu Dhabi and Dubai markets exceeded Dhs1.615 trillion compared with Dhs1.907 trillion the assets of all the banks operating in the UAE, according to the UAE Central Bank. A comparison conducted by Al Khaleej between the quarterly results of the listed national banks and the indices of the UAE banking sector showed that these banks contributed 87 per cent of the total credit given in the local market over the first nine months of this year.
Iran ready to discuss island dispute with UAE
Source: Al-Monitor (Read full story)
At a press conference in Kuwait, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Iran is ready to discuss its dispute with the United Arab Emirates over Abu Musa island in the Persian Gulf. Abu Musa, along with the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, are part of a four-decade dispute between Iran and the UAE. According to Fars News and Asr-e Iran, a website with ties to the administration, Zarif made this comment in response to a reporter’s question. The statement prompted strong reactions both from hard-line media and Iranian social-media users. In response to Zarif’s comments that Iran was ready to engage in talks over Abu Musa island, hard-line Raja News wrote, “It is worth mentioning that the official and unchangeable position of the Islamic Republic in years past is the permanent and non-negotiable ownership of the three islands by Iran.”
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