Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant a threat to Gulf water plans

Source: The Peninsula (Read full story)

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In the near-absence of natural water resources, the GCC states depend almost entirely for potable water on the shallow sea, whose water they desalinate at huge costs. In that sense, and also because the GCC’s oil and gas exports are shipped through the Gulf, this shallow body of water is the lifeline of these countries and their people. The GCC states, with their economies collectively worth a whopping $1.5tn, are mulling a joint water supply system that takes seawater for desalination from outside the Gulf, media reports say. The Arabian Gulf is a relatively small body of seawater, 249 square kilometres in area; the widest stretch being 338km while the narrowest, the Strait of Hormuz, is barely 56km wide. The Gulf waters are deeper towards the Iranian coast — the average depth being 90 to 100 metres.

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Authorities crack down on vote-buying, slush funds

Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)

The public prosecution yesterday detained a candidate running in the National Assembly elections and issued an arrest warrant for a second candidate on suspicion of vote-buying. The prosecutor also released 12 suspects on a KD 1,000 bail each after interrogating them on charges of buying votes for the first candidate. The actions came after security men arrested more than 50 people following raids on a number of houses in various constituencies. The first candidate is a well-known businessman who is running in the election for the first time and who turned himself in after reports that several of his aides were arrested on vote-buying suspicions. Detectives on Saturday night raided more houses after receiving information they were being used to buy votes.

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Kingdom delivers on its pledge to Egypt

Source: The Saudi Gazette (Read full story)

Egypt’s central bank has received $2 billion in Saudi funds in the form of a five-year interest-free loan, the bank’s governor Hisham Ramez said on Sunday. The funds deposited with the bank are part of a $5 billion aid package to Egypt that the Kingdom pledged earlier this month. The aid will also include $2 billion in energy products and $1 billion in cash. Ramez has also confirmed that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) transferred $3 billion it had pledged earlier in aid to Egypt, increasing Egypt’s total foreign currency reserve to $17.9 billion. Kuwait has also promised an urgent aid to the value of $4 billion, including a $1 billion grant, a $2 billion deposit with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and an additional $1 billion worth of oil.

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UAE stocks hit 5-year high

Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)

 The UAE stock indexes surged to five-year high on increasing optimism about better company earnings in the backdrop of an ongoing economic resilience.  The benchmark DFM General Index rose 1.8 per cent to 2,541.52 points, the strongest since November 2008, at the close in Dubai, as Dubai Investments jumped 6.1 per cent, taking its three-day advance to 16 per cent. Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index increased for an 11th day, its longest stretch of gains in two months, climbing 0.9 per cent to 3,857.52 points, the highest since September 2008. The latest report by Dubai Economic Council, or DEC, said the emirate’s gross domestic product, or GDP, is expected to sustain an upswing and touch a 4.7 per cent growth on remarkable growth on both the macro and micro levels.

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Battle for control of mosques in Yemen’s sectarian divide

Source: The National (Read full stories)

Sunnis and Shiite Zaidi rebels in Yemen are waging a battle for the control of mosques, in a spillover of the sectarian strife. The showdown was previously confined to the northern province of Saada, stronghold of Zaidi Ansarullah rebels who have since last year frequently clashed with supporters of the Sunni Islamist party Al Islah. Sanaa accuses Ansarullah of being backed by Iran. Since the beginning of Ramadan, frictions between the two sides have sharpened in the capital. Salafists have been trying to seize control of a mosque led by a Zaidi imam in Sanaa, in response to a similar move by Ansarullah supporters against another mosque led by a Sunni imam in the capital.

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Corporate transparency still elusive for investors in Oman

Source: Times of Oman (Read full story)

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Despite sound corporate governance laws and regulations being in place, there still exists a conflict of interest between the shareholders and the executives of the capital market firms.
Many feel that investor protection in Oman is still elusive. The supposedly blue chip shares being traded in the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) are still languishing at the bottom even as most of the global markets are recovering. Lack of transparency caused investors’ funds to take a severe knock out, wiping out thousands of rials from their original investment. It is easy to blame international turmoil and the European financial crisis but the long arm of corporate governance does not reach deep enough to plug the holes deliberately crafted by business leaders who control the listed companies.

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