Gulf in the News – January 2, 2014

It is forbidden to use phones while driving, says mufti

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

It is forbidden to use phones while driving because of the danger of causing accidents, the Eastern Province’s mufti said here recently.  Khalaf bin Mohammed Al-Mutlaq was speaking to the media here during the launch of a campaign entitled “Don’t Be Captive to Your Mobile.”  He also warned that young people are becoming addicted to the technology on their smart phones, distracting them from their school and religious duties.  “It is forbidden to drive and use your mobile because of the risks involved.”

Praying for a new invasion

Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)

I plead with anyone to invade Kuwait so that Sunni, Shiite, bedouin, and hadar citizens become united and are only known as ‘Kuwaitis’. The invasion showed Kuwaitis’ true worth, which was more pure and precious than gold. We want an invasion that can do what the previous one did when it guided our leaders and politicians to unite with themselves and their people. Today, those leaders returned back to their ivory towers, looking down on us with an eye filled with pride, and sneakily at each with an eye of suspicion.

Qaeda-linked fighters control parts of two Iraq cities

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

Militants linked to Al-Qaeda on Thursday controlled half of the Iraqi city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi, after days of violence that erupted as a protest camp was removed.  Clashes first broke out in the Ramadi area on Monday as security forces tore down the country’s main Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp near the city west of Baghdad, and continued for two days.  The violence also spread to nearby Fallujah, and security forces have since withdrawn from some areas of both Anbar province cities, which were once hubs of the insurgency that followed the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, giving the jihadists free rein.  “Half of Fallujah is in the hands of ISIL (the Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) group, and the other half is in the control of” armed tribesmen, an interior ministry official told AFP.

Oman’s economic growth seen at 5% this year: Minister

Source: Times of Oman (Read full story)

The Sultanate’s economy will continue to achieve a real growth of five per cent this year, which is same as that of 2013, said the country’s minister responsible for financial affairs Darwish bin Ismail Ali Al Balushi.  “It is expected that the national economy will continue to grow at high rates driven by several factors, such as the increase in oil production and stability in its prices, the government’s fiscal and monetary policies as well as growing local demand,” added the minister.  Addressing the media to announce the budget proposal for 2014 here on Thursday, Al Balushi said that the non-oil sector would grow at the rate of 7.3 per cent, against 5.6 per cent in 2013 and 5.4 per cent in 2012.

You better mind your tweets!

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

A judge has recently ruled that a twitterati be publicly lashed and jailed, because of a libel against Shams, the Kuwaiti singer.  The singer was “bold” enough to file a lawsuit against the person who defamed her at Twitter. The ruling by a Saudi judge is significant, as it puts an end to a controversial issue about the extent of personal expression and privacy on Twitter and other interactive social media platforms.  The ruling says that all people, including singers and entertainers, whose rights have been neglected by the judicial system, have equal rights before the law.