Middle East Aggregator

The United Arab Emirates said on Thursday it is to name an ambassador to Iraq within days, in the first such move by a US ally in the Gulf since the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein. The announcement came during a landmark visit to Baghdad by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the first by such a high-ranking official from an Arab country in the Gulf since the US-led invasion. The foreign minister told reporters that the UAE would reopen its embassy and name an ambassador soon.

"Consultations are under way between the UAE and the Iraqi government about naming the ambassador to Iraq and reopening the Emirati Embassy in the next few days," he told a press conference in Baghdad.

Sheikh Abdullah said he hoped to see "an active and effective Emirati Embassy in Baghdad in the coming weeks."

"We view Iraq as an important partner in the region, and we aspire to [Baghdad] being an important partner of the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council]," the UAE's official WAM news agency him as saying. (AFP)

Labels: Iraq, U.A.E.

The UAE slammed Iran on Tuesday for terming as a "misunderstanding" their row over three Gulf islands, saying the islands were under Iranian occupation and were no less precious than Arab lands occupied by Israel. "It seems the Iranian side does not want to understand. There is no 'misunderstanding' between us but an actual occupation" of the islands controlled by Iran and claimed by the UAE, a Foreign Ministry official said.

"There is no occupied land more sacred than another occupied land. Occupation is occupation, whether it is by Israel, Iran or any other country," he said, requesting anonymity.

The official was responding to remarks by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini Sunday in which he rejected the UAE's quest for Russian mediation in the dispute.

"Iran-UAE ties are at their best level and if there is a misunderstanding it can be resolved via bilateral talks, and there is no need for others to intervene," Hosseini said. (AFP)

Labels: Iran, U.A.E.

Khadija Ahmad and her family are the only residents left in Dubai's old Bastakiya quarter, her house little changed since she arrived as a new bride more than 70 years ago.

Nestled among mushrooming skyscrapers and multi-lane highways, the rabbit warren of streets dating from the 1890s is one of the few reminders left of Dubai's past as a sleepy village where people earned money by diving for pearls.

In the 1990s, the government bought out most homeowners in Bastakiya to protect the run-down district from developers. Today, the area beside Dubai creek is home to galleries, cafes and restaurants, and to Ahmad and her family who declined the state's offer to buy them out.

"Fifteen years ago, they moved everyone out. Thank God, we were able to stay," said Ahmad, standing just inside her front door, out of sight of male passers-by.

In less than 60 years, the United Arab Emirates' hub has become a byword for ostentatious wealth, speckled with one jaw-dropping development after another, like a set of islands shaped like palm trees and the sail-shaped Burj al-Arab hotel. (Reuters)

Labels: Dubai, U.A.E.

Police in Dubai have arrested several men and women for cross-dressing in what they said was a campaign to preserve the social values of the cosmopolitan Gulf Arab trade and tourism hub, newspapers reported on Monday.

Dubai is part of the seven-member United Arab Emirates, a Muslim country where cross-dressing is frowned upon but whose population is dominated by migrants with diverse backgrounds and lifestyles.

"We have noted an emerging trend of men dressed as women and vice versa in the UAE markets and streets," the Khaleej Times daily quoted Dubai Police Chief Dhahi Khalfan as saying.

"Several men in women's dresses and make-up have already been arrested from shopping malls and residential buildings," he said.

The detainees were being referred to the public prosecutor as part of the one-week campaign called "Preserve Our Social Values", though it was not clear what charges would be brought.

Khalfan urged the Social Affairs Ministry to study the reasons behind the trend, which he said could be a consequence of mixed-sex schools.

Dubai is a city of sky-scrapers and mega-developments, which attracts foreign workers ranging from well-paid Western executives to low-wage Asian laborers. Tourists may wear bikinis and drink cocktails at hotel nightclubs but sex outside marriage is banned as is homosexual behavior. (Reuters)

Labels: Dubai, Free Speech, Gay Rights, U.A.E.

The 22 men in "trailer 10" work the morning shift at a construction site, then take turns shopping, cooking and cleaning. They pray together. When one returns to India on leave, he carries family presents and cash for the others.

"We all come from the Punjab" in northern India, said Pavinder Singh, a 42-year-old carpenter from the trailer in a camp that houses about 3,000 workers on the desert outskirts of Dubai. "But what makes us like a family is what we have to endure here together."

Dubai's astonishing building boom, which has made it one of the world's fastest growing cities, has been fueled by the labor of about 700,000 immigrants - almost all from poor villages in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Their meager wages still go far in their native lands. Two or three years in Dubai could mean building a house for their family, buying a plot of land or sending children to school. Yet many men escape poverty back home only to find themselves trapped in near-servitude here. (AP)

Labels: Dubai, Migrant Rights, U.A.E.

Representatives of seven Arab states are currently meeting to discuss how to enhance nuclear cooperation in order to set up peaceful atomic programs, according to news reports.

Experts from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen are participating in the meeting.

The delegates are discussing mechanisms for cooperation among various Arab countries for peaceful nuclear projects.

Several Arab countries have expressed their desire to set up nuclear programs with the stated aim of using nuclear energy for generating electricity, desalinating water and using the facilities for research.

However, there are concerns that these programs will be used for manufacturing nuclear weapons.

The specter of a nuclear Iran is a notion that does not sit well with Arab countries in the Middle East and it is most likely that fears of a nuclear-armed Iran are behind recent moves in these countries towards setting up nuclear programs of their own. (Media Line)

Labels: Iraq, Jordan, Nuclear Power, Saudi Arabia, Syria, U.A.E., Yemen

Iran has protested to Iraq over reports that Baghdad had backed the United Arab Emirates' claim to three islands in the Gulf, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. "The Iraqi ambassador was summoned and was notified of Iran's protest," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told the state broadcaster. "The Iraqi government was also asked to correct its position." The UAE's official WAM news agency reported on April 28 that in a memorandum sent to UAE Foreign Ministry, the Iraqi government asserted "its unconditional support to the sovereignty of UAE" over the three islands. Iran gained control of Abu Musa and the Greater and lesser Tunbs after British forces left the Gulf in 1971. Despite their differences over the islands, the two states have close ties, with Iran being the UAE's top trading partner. Iranians also form a sizable diaspora community in Dubai. (AFP)

Labels: Iran, Iraq, U.A.E.

ONE of the Middle East’s wealthiest ruling families has a new asset: The National, a newspaper that promises independence from its royal owners.

Martin Newland, editor of The National newspaper, addresses the newsroom. Abu Dhabi is promising a newspaper comparable to the Wall Street Journal when the emirate's new English-language daily hits the streets.

The paper, an English-language daily based in Abu Dhabi, published its first issue on April 17, under close scrutiny in the Middle East and abroad. With its pledge to emulate Western newspaper standards and to “help society evolve,” The National is an anomaly in the Middle East, where most media are tightly controlled by the government.

“We aim to produce an excellent newspaper out of the region” that will set a new standard for other publications to aspire to, said Hassan M. Fattah, the deputy editor, who was a correspondent for The New York Times in the Middle East before joining The National. “Being government-owned does not equal being government-run,” he said. “There are no ministers sitting in my office” telling the paper what to write. (NY Times)

Labels: Free Media, U.A.E.

The Pakistani crew members of a hijacked, Dubai-flagged ship said on Wednesday they were lucky to be alive after being tricked and captured by Somali pirates then rescued in a shootout at sea.

Alia Akbar, second-in-command of the Al-Khaleej, told Reuters seven pirates posing as thirsty fishermen in dire need of drinking water came alongside on Monday only to hijack the ship at gunpoint after being allowed on board.

"We let in three of them. Suddenly four others, who were armed, boarded the ship. They then ordered the captain to change course and took us between Mukalah (in Yemen) and Dubai. They held us there at sea all night," he said in Urdu.

On Tuesday, scores of security officers from the semi-autonomous Somali region of Puntland stormed the ship and engaged the pirates in a gun-battle that lasted for an hour, rescuing the 16 crew members and arresting the pirates. (Reuters)

Labels: Dubai, U.A.E.

Security forces in northern Somalia stormed a hijacked ship carrying food Tuesday, rescuing hostages and arresting seven pirates, officials said. The seizure was the latest in a spate of pirate attacks off the increasingly lawless Somali coast.

The Dubai-flagged ship, called the al-Khaleej, originated from the United Arab Emirates and was seized Monday, said Abdullahi Said Samatar, security affairs minister in Somalia's semiautonomous Puntland region.

It was not immediately clear how many people were on board. Puntland officials announced it had been seized only after the boat was rescued. (AP)

Labels: Dubai, U.A.E.

The United Arab Emirates will work closely with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog for its planned nuclear power programme to assure the world it remains peaceful, its foreign minister said on Sunday.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan said the close U.S. ally had discussed its plans with the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council among other countries.

The UAE lies across a short stretch of the Gulf from fellow oil exporter Iran, which is facing international pressure to halt its nuclear enrichment programme.

"The United Arab Emirates recognises the special circumstances and considerations that surround not only the deployment of nuclear reactors but also the simple evaluation of such possibility," Sheikh Abdullah said.

"The government of the UAE wishes to make clear its peaceful and unambiguous objectives in respect of its current evaluation of a peaceful nuclear energy programme, as well as the potential future deployment of actual nuclear power generation," he said. (Reuters)

Labels: IAEA, Nuclear Power, U.A.E., U.N.

More than 600 construction workers have been detained by police in the Gulf emirate of Sharjah after staging protests reportedly over poor wages.

The labourers were arrested on Wednesday after demonstrating near a construction site on the al-Nahda main road and rejecting calls to disperse, police officials in Sharjah said.

Police said the workers blocked the road for three hours before anti-riot police were called in from other cities of the United Arab Emirates.

They also said the workers threw stones and building materials at the security forces.

Four policemen and three workers were hospitalised after suffering minor injuries.
Local media said the protesters included Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Afghan labourers employed by a building firm called Tiger Contracting. (Al Jazeera)

Labels: U.A.E.

Ten thousand camels will be fluttering their long eyelashes in a unique international beauty pageant being held in the United Arab Emirates.

The contest in Abu Dhabi is one of the richest and biggest events of its kind, with more than $9m (£4.5m; 5.8m euros) and 100 cars in prizes up for grabs.

The contest will feature camels or "ships of the desert" from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Organisers hope it will remind Emiratis of traditional desert values.

The contest is part of the Mazayin Dhafra festival, which starts on Wednesday, and organisers say it is the biggest contest of its kind to be staged in the Arabian Gulf.

A panel of expert camel appreciators will choose the best animals for each age group.

Entry is open to anyone who can prove ownership of a pedigree camel, and the animals must be free from contagious diseases, and without any serious defects.

The ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, has sponsored the event. (BBC)

Labels: misc, U.A.E.

The oil-rich United Arab Emirates on Wednesday got its first woman judge, a job hitherto reserved for men in the conservative Gulf country. UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, acting in his capacity as ruler of Abu Dhabi, named Kholoud Ahmad Jouan al-Dhaheri as a judge in the emirate, the wealthiest and largest in the seven-member federation, the official WAM news agency reported. The move made the UAE the second Arab country in the Gulf after Bahrain to name a female judge.

The appointment reflects "the government's keenness to involve women in the development drive" and "boost their role in society," said Sultan Saaed al-Badi, a senior official of Abu Dhabi's judiciary.

"I will endeavor to perform my functions with utmost [competence] ... in order to provide a successful model of Emirati women," Dhaheri was quoted by WAM as saying.

The new judge graduated in law and sharia from UAE University and has been a practicing lawyer for eight years, the news agency said. (AFP)

Labels: U.A.E., Womens Rights

UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan has allocated 4.4 billion dollars for infrastructure projects in parts of the oil-rich seven-emirate federation, the official WAM news agency said on Saturday.

The funds will go towards setting up new towns and intercity highways as well as stormwater and sewage systems in the northern emirates, WAM said without identifying which emirates will benefit from the projects.

The United Arab Emirates comprise the wealthy emirate of Abu Dhabi, the country's capital, as well as the booming state of Dubai -- both of which are spending billions of dollars on their infrastructure.

Northern emirates, where the economy is growing at a much slower pace, include Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Qaiwain.

Sheikh Khalifa is the ruler of Abu Dhabi. (Link)

Labels: U.A.E.

Dubai-based airline Emirates has become the first commercial airline to allow passengers to make mobile phone calls during flights.

Emirates said the first permitted mobile phone call was made on a flight between Dubai and Casablanca.

The aircraft, an Airbus A340, is fitted with a system which stops mobiles from interfering with a plane's electronics.

Emirates plans to extend the system to more aircraft and later this year add BlackBerry and other data services.

According to the airline, the mobile service will only be activated when the aircraft is at cruising altitude and the cabin crew will be able to monitor and control the use of the system.

Passengers will be able to receive and send text messages, but the crew will be able to prevent voice calls at certain times, such as during night flights.

Passengers will also be requested to keep their phones on "silent" mode, said the airline. (Link)

Labels: U.A.E.

The Gulf city-state of Dubai is to join two dozen cities around the world next month in turning off the lights for one hour to raise awareness about global warmingLearning-to-Love-Global-Warming . "Dubai is the first Arab city to declare its support for Earth Hour" slated for March 29, said a statement Tuesday by sponsors of the move in Dubai, one of the seven members of the United Arab Emirates, which has the world's largest ecological footprint, meaning it consumes the most natural resources per capita, according to a 2004 report by the conservation group WWF that measures the environmental sustainability of a state. Dubai residents were urged to switch off all nonessential lights for one hour at 8:00 p.m. local time "to send a message around the world that we have the power to take action against global warming." The "Earth Hour" initiative, managed by WWF, started in Australia's biggest city Sydney last year when an estimated 2.2 million people flicked the switch. The initiative in Dubai, which has over 1.3 million residents, will be led by conglomerate Dubai Holding and the Dubai Water and Electricity Authority. (Link)

Labels: Dubai, U.A.E.

About 1,500 Egyptian workers striking over pay in the United Arab Emirates torched offices and vehicles on Tuesday, the official WAM news agency reported.

"They destroyed office documents, broke windows and torched the first floor of the management building and a number of the cars and buses that belonged to their company," WAM reported citing a police official at the emirate of Sharjah, one of seven members of the UAE federation.

The WAM agency did not give the name of the company.

WAM said the laborers had demanded a pay increase two weeks ago, but began protests before labor officials concluded talks. (Link)

Labels: Egypt, U.A.E.

The boss of one of the Middle East's best-known sovereign wealth funds has warned against any European Union (EU) moves to increase their regulation.

State-run investment vehicles, Chinese and Middle East sovereign wealth funds have recently bought stakes in a number of Western banks and other businesses.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairman of Dubai World, said such funds might choose not to invest in Europe.

He was responding to EU criticism that the funds are too "opaque".

The comments came earlier this week from EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia and EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy.

(Link)

Labels: European Union, U.A.E.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, vice-president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is in Syria a day after a visit to Iran, in what is perceived as a significant regional tour.

Al-Maktoum, also the country's prime minister and ruler of Dubai, arrived in Damascus late on Monday and met Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president.

On arrival at Damascus airport, he told journalists that his talks "fall within the framework of continued consultations between the leaderships of the two countries regarding bilateral relations and strengthening inter-Arab co-operation".

Media in the UAE are reporting that the high-level delegation aims at initiating major co-operation plans. (Link)

Labels: Iran, Syria, U.A.E.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has held talks with Iranian leaders in Tehran.
Mohammed is the most senior UAE official to make a bilateral visit to Tehran since the Islamic revolution in 1979.

"Iran and the UAE have historical and strong relations and with my trip ... bilateral relations will rise to new horizons," the state-run Mehr news agency quoted him as saying.

Despite US pressure on countries to weaken ties with Iran,the UAE, a US ally, remains Iran's largest trading partner. (Link)

Labels: Iran, U.A.E.

ABU DHABI: The number of women in the Cabinet of the UAE was doubled to four on Sunday, in a reshuffle in which new economy and labor ministers were appointed. Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed al-Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, brought in two women as ministers of state, the official WAM news agency reported.

They are Maitha al-Shamsi, assistant to the deputy head of UAE University for scientific research, and Reem al-Hashemi, who served as deputy ambassador to Washington and assistant to the foreign minister for economic affairs. Sheikha Lubna al-Qassemi, a US-educated businesswoman who became the first woman to join the Cabinet in November 2004, was moved from the economy portfolio to a newly created External Trade Ministry. The fourth woman, Mariam al-Rumi, stayed on as social affairs minister. (Link)

Labels: U.A.E.

Masdar City will cost $22bn (£11.3bn), take eight years to build and be home to 50,000 people and 1,500 businesses.

The city will be mostly powered by solar energy and residents will move in travel pods running on magnetic tracks.

Abu Dhabi has one of the world's biggest per capita carbon footprints and sceptics fear Masdar may be just a fig leaf for the oil-rich Gulf emirate.

Others fear Masdar City - on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi City - may become a luxury development for the rich.

The project is supported by global conservation charity, the WWF. (Link)

Labels: U.A.E.