Obama battles to overcome G20 splits on Syria strike

Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)

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With pressure mounting on the G20 to make concrete progress towards ending the conflict, the United Nations announced that its special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi was on his way to attend the summit to push for peace talks. The UN’s desperate bid for peace talks came after Obama cleared the first hurdle in his race to win domestic congressional backing for punitive strikes over the alleged use of chemical weapons by President Bashar Al Assad’s regime. He is also seeking broader international support. On the eve of the summit, Russian President Putin bluntly warned the West that any military action without UN Security Council approval would be an “aggression” and once again demanded watertight proof of chemical weapons use

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Oman retains global ranking on competitiveness

Source: Times of Oman (Read full story)

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Compared to last year’s report, Oman is ranked one place higher in terms of infrastructure, four places higher in business institutions and quality of health and primary education, seven places higher in goods market efficiency and eight places higher in labour market efficiency. Furthermore, the financial market and business sophistication ranking has also risen by five places.  While competitiveness in Oman continues to improve, the report states Oman ranks low in market size and technological readiness. However, the government’s strategic approach to promoting Oman-made products and services and attracting inward investment will in turn increase the country’s market size and technological knowledge and expertise.  The report predicts that the traditional distinction between countries being ‘developed’ or ‘less developed’ will gradually disappear and will instead be referred to in terms of being ‘innovation rich’ verses ‘innovation poor.’…

King gives green light for key economic conference

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

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Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has granted permission to the Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) to host a conference on Middle East economies and the role of the private sector in Riyadh on Dec. 3, the organization announced on Wednesday. “The conference, considered the first and largest of its kind in the region, will be held under the patronage of Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf,” CSC President Abdullah Al-Mobty said. He added that the CSC would organize the conference in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and would oversee the participation of a range of local, regional and international economists who are specialized in regional and global economy. Al-Mobty said that with hosting such an event, the Kingdom reflects its vital role in the world economy. He noted that the role of the Kingdom was significant in the development of the global economy given its pivotal role on the global scene….

New rules to lift visa ban on 6 nationalities

Source: The Kuwait Times (Read full story)

A ban on visa issuance for citizens of six countries could be lifted next month after Kuwait announces new rules to regulate this process, a local daily reported yesterday, quoting a Migration General Department official. “Work is currently ongoing to put together the controls and mechanisms when allowing citizens of Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen to apply for an entrance or dependency visa”, said the source who spoke to Al-Rai on the condition of anonymity. The source did not provide details about the new mechanisms which are expected to be announced next October. “This is a humanitarian step from Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al- Khalid Al-Sabah given the large number of residents hoping to bring relatives to Kuwait”, he explained.…

Abu Dhabi ranked No4 in the world’s top cities

Source: The National (Read full story)

Abu Dhabi is the world’s fourth favourite city, ranked behind only New York, London and Paris. It is also the best city after New York to do business in, beating Hong Kong, Tokyo and London, a new survey suggests.  “Abu Dhabi does incredibly well when one considers its size compared to New York or London, and it’s relative newness compared to Paris,” said Ben Page, chief executive of Ipsos Mori, who polled 18,147 people aged 16-64 in 24 countries in February this year.  “It is punching above its weight against super-brand cities. “People who took part in the survey were asked to rate 48 world cities in five categories: favourite city, best city to live in, Europe’s top city, best city to do business and best city to visit. Dubai was not among the options and UAE residents were not polled. The survey found that the world’s least popular city was Karachi in Pakistan.…

Jordan Minister lauds Qatar’s support

Source: The Peninsula Qatar (Read full story)

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The Jordanian official reiterated his country’s firm stance regarding the resolution of the Syrian crisis, urging the stakeholders and Syrian political parties to sit down and start negotiations on how best to preserve the unity of Syria, its people and stop the ongoing bloodshed. He revealed that Jordan has taken all precautionary, preventive and necessary measures to protect its citizens from any danger or threatened by the Syrian situation. He confirmed that his country condemns the use of chemical weapons by the syrian regime, stressing no impunity for anyone who used the internationally prohibited weapons and those who do such horrible crime should be punished under international law and relevant international conventions.…