Cabinet resigns, new Assembly meets Aug 6

Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)

The Cabinet yesterday submitted its resignation to HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah following the National Assembly election as required under the Kuwaiti constitution. The announcement came after the Cabinet held an extraordinary session to assess the outcome of the polls. It also approved an Amiri decree setting Aug 6 as the date for the Assembly to convene for the first time. The Amir later in the day issued the decree.

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Rockets hit UAE’s mission to Libya

Source: The National (Read full story)

The UAE Embassy in Libya was hit by two rocket-propelled grenades in a terror attack yesterday. The Assistant Foreign Minister for Security and Military Affairs, Faris Al Mazrouei, confirmed the incident to the state news agency Wam, but stressed no one was injured in the 5am assault. “An attack happened this morning on the Emirati embassy. There are no casualties,” Libyan interior ministry spokesman Rami Kaal said yesterday.  Mr Al Mazrouei said the embassy was helping Libyan investigators try to identify the culprits. Libyan security sources were quoted by Al Arabiya television as saying the rockets were aimed at the residence of the ambassador, Brig Gen Mohammed Al Kaabi.

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West-GCC alliance Tested in Syria as Iran-Syria Alliance Proves Firm

Source: INEGMA (Read full story)

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The GCC has announced its full support to the Syrian revolution and some Gulf countries are providing funds and arms to the rebels. GCC assistance is what helped the rebels stay in the fight and not the empty promises from European capitals and Washington. Now the West speaks about the threat of Al-Qaeda and fundamentalist groups that infiltrated the Syrian rebels and caution about arms falling into the “wrong hands.” But they forget that the absence of genuine military aid from so-called allies to the rebels was what created the vacuum of support which the extremist groups where more than glad to fill in Syria.

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Congress, Obama at odds over new Iran sanctions

Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)

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Despite wide bilateral support in Congress for tougher sanctions, some Democrats and Republicans are embracing the administration’s cautious approach. In a letter last week to Obama, 18 GOP House members joined more than 100 of their Democratic colleagues in urging the president to “reinvigorate US efforts to secure a negotiated nuclear agreement” and give Rouhani a chance. Rouhani’s election clearly has bolstered hope of compromise. A former nuclear negotiator and relatively moderate cleric, Rouhani has suggested a more accommodating approach than his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. However, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has final say on nuclear issues.

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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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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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Moody’s downgrades subordinated debt ratings of 12 GCC banks

Source: The Peninsula (Read full story)

Moody’s Investors Service yesterday downgraded the subordinated debt ratings of 12 banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Qatar.The affected banks in Qatar are Commercial Bank of Qatar, Doha Bank QSC, Qatar National Bank and the UAE-based Mashreqbank PSC. The other GCC banks are Arab National Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC, Emirates NBD PJSC, First Gulf Bank, Burgan Bank SAK, Bank Muscat SAOG and BBK BSC. Moody’s  downgrading of the subordinated debt ratings of the banks (by one to three notches) reflect the heightened risk of the imposition of losses on these instruments.

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Arab League backs Kerry’s push to revive Mideast talks

Source: Gulf Times (Read full story)

The Arab League endorsed the drive to relaunch Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations led by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who said gaps between the sides had been greatly narrowed. The encouraging rhetoric after Kerry met an Arab League delegation and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan yesterday suggested that Kerry, on his sixth such peace mission to the Middle East in as many months, might have found a path to ending an almost three-year deadlock. The main sticking point has been Israel’s continued building of settlements on occupied land where Palestinians want to found a state. Israel approved new settlement yesterday.The 22-nation League also confirmed a recent compromise on its 11-year-old peace proposal to Israel; it said old borders could be redrawn.

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