Oman marks Renaissance Day
Source: Gulf News (Read full story)
It has been a long 43-year journey in which Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed has transformed Oman into a modern state. To mark the new beginning under Qaboos Omanis celebrate July 23 as Renaissance Day. When Qaboos, a graduate of the Sandhurst military academy, acceded to the throne on July 23, 1970, the country had only three schools, two hospitals and just about 10km of roads. He first changed the country’s name from the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman to the Sultanate of Oman and embarked on the task of ending the country’s isolation. Qaboos used the country’s oil revenues to modernise the nation while maintaining the country’s rich culture and heritage. Today the country has over 1,000 schools and every region has a health centre and hospitals in every major town.
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Court acquits 3 ex-MPs, 2 candidates arrested
Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)
The court of appeals yesterday scrapped three-year jail terms against three former opposition lawmakers and acquitted them of charges of insulting HH the Amir at a public rally last October. Former MPs Falah Al-Sawwagh, Bader Al-Dahoum and Khaled Al-Tahous were declared innocent by presiding judge Anwar Al-Enezi five months after the criminal court sentenced them to three years in prison for undermining the powers of the Amir in public. The appeals court had in February suspended the implementation of the jail sentence until it had reviewed the case but asked each of them to pay bail of KD 5,000. he three former lawmakers were among a host of speakers who addressed the public gathering on Oct 10 and had directed their addresses to the Amir, urging him not to amend the electoral law.
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GCC hospitality industry on the upswing
Source: The Saudi Gazette (Read full story)
The average occupancy rate for GCC is estimated to be 68 percent for the year 2012 and expected to reach an average occupancy of 73 percent by 2016, a recent report by Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) estimated room revenue in the GCC hotel sector for the year 2011 stands at $17.83 billion, and is expected to reach $24.92 billion by 2016 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.93 percent. The report analyses the hospitality industry’s supply-demand dynamics, estimates the current and potential market size, discusses the various investment opportunities while analyzing the major players involved. It also discusses the key drivers of growth, identifies existing and emerging trends and illustrates the challenges in hospitality industry.
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Gulf rights groups assail abuse of women activists
Source: The Peninsula (Read full story)
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A statement, signed by 50 Gulf rights groups and activists, said that women activists have been targeted in most of the six-nation GCC states, especially after the start of the Arab Spring uprisings. In Bahrain, female activists have been subjected to “sexual harassment and threatened with rape besides verbal and physical abuse” after they were held for participating in peaceful protests, the statement said. It cited the case of female activist Rehana Al Mussawi, who claimed that she was stripped naked during interrogation while in detention a few days ago. In the other five GCC states, the statement said female activists were arrested, mistreated or unfairly sentenced to heavy jail terms for expressing views peacefully. It condemned a 20-month jail term on Kuwaiti opposition activist Sara Al Darees for writing remarks on social network Twitter deemed offensive to the emir. The sentence was upheld last week by the appeals court.
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UAE, France sign space agreement
Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)
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The two sides issued a joint statement saying that the agreement comes as part of the strategic partnership framework discussed in January 2013 with the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, during an official visit by Francois Hollande, President of the French Republic. The agreement was signed on the UAE side by Major-General Essa Saif Al Mazrouei, Deputy Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces, and on the French side by Lt-General Antoine Noguier, Director of the Military Office of the French Minister for Defense, in the presence of Gen. Shaikh Mohammed. The joint statement said the initiative would extend the longstanding bilateral relationship between the two countries into a new and very promising area of strategic collaboration.
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