Abu Dhabi Develops Tunnel Vision

by Linda Gradstein
Wednesday, December 05, 2012

New Tunnel Will to Ease Traffic Congestion

Anyone who has ever driven through Abu Dhabi at rush hour has wished that, like Batman, his car could sprout wings and fly over the traffic jam. That still hasn’t happened, but motorists now have the next best thing – a two-mile long tunnel, one of the longest in the Middle East.

“This is very good for Abu Dhabi,” Safar al-Mazrouei, a spokesman for the Abu Dhabi municipality told The Media Line. “We are very happy that the project is finally finished.”

The project cost $844 million and took more than five years to complete. It takes motorists from the entrance to the city to the cornice or the port in about 10 minutes.

“Before this tunnel the trip could take up to an hour during rush hour,” Dr. Theodore Karasik, director for research and development at The Institute for Near East Gulf  Military Analysis in Dubai told The Media Line. “This is going to make a tremendous difference.”

The tunnel has four lanes in each direction, and motorists can travel at 50 miles per hour. There is a video incident detection system that notifies a control room within 20 seconds if a car has stopped. An advanced system monitors changes in temperature in the tunnel.

If a fire increases the temperature suddenly, an alarm will sound. If the temperature continues to rise, an automatic system will spray mist until firefighters arrive. There are also nine generators in case of a power failure, and 99 fire hoses placed every 60 yards.

The tunnel is part of an extensive economic plan called Abu Dhabi 2030. “The government of Abu Dhabi published a long-term plan for the transformation of the Emirate’s economy, including a reduced reliance on the oil sector as a source of economic activity over time and a greater focus on knowledge-based industries in the future,” as described in the government’s website.

Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the second largest city after Dubai. There are an estimated 3.8 million foreign workers in the UAE, most of them in the oil industry. As the population of residents and workers has increased, the existing transportation infrastructure had grown increasingly strained.

Since Abu Dhabi is the capital of the Emirates, and the seat of government and business, many residents from outside Abu Dhabi enter each day. There is no public transportation system, and gasoline is subsidized. All of that adds up to heavy traffic.

Officials hope the new tunnel will give the new tunnel will give the UAE an economic boost as well.

“The story is more than the tunnel itself,” Karasik said. “It’s about Abu Dhabi growing as a major economic hub on the Arabian peninsula. The government is taking a series of security measures to make it a safe investment environment.”

Abu Dhabi holds nine percent of the world’s proven oil reserves and almost five percent of the world’s natural gas. In 2010 oil production was 2.3 million barrels per day. The average GDP per capita is almost $50,000, which makes it ninth in the world.

The country is also trying to develop its tourism sector, with plans for an expanded airport and a proposed rail link between Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

But for motorists, the most important thing is to avoid the crushing traffic. Majid Al Kthairy, the head of traffic services at the municipality, estimates that some 7,000 vehicles travel through the center of the city each day. Now many of them will go through the tunnel.

Copyright © 2012 The Media Line. All Rights Reserved.

Yemen Terminates Saleh-era Dubai Ports World Contract

Written by Ali Saeed
Thursday, August 30, 2012

[Sana’a] Yemenis rejoiced this week with word that the contract with Dubai Ports World (DPW) to operate the Port of Aden had been terminated. The contract was one of the remaining links to the thirty-plus-year reign of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and a reminder of how business was transacted during Saleh’s reign. Secretly signed by officials of the regime in 2008, the agreement to operate the Aden port was later attacked for depriving Yemen of significant financial resources by virtue of providing the UAE-based company with a 100-year lease on terms disadvantageous to the state that nevertheless went unfulfilled.

On Saturday, Transportation Minister Dr. Waed Batheeb ordered The Gulf of Aden Ports Corporation, a governmental agency under the aegis of the transportation ministry, to end the contract.

For Batheeb, who represents the Yemeni Socialist Party in the National Unity Government which was formed after Saleh was removed from office in 2011, it was the end of a long quest that began before the regime-change. Since last February, Batheeb survived three assassination attempts, the most recent of which came on the day the contract termination was announced.

According to officials of Yemen’s Ministry of Transportation, the actual cause for ending the contract that under DPW’s tenure, Aden’s terminals -- which the company was supposed to be developing -- deteriorated instead. An official at the ministry who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to comment to media told The Media Line that, “the port used to receive around 200,000 tankers every year, but since DPW took charge, this number decreased to 165,000 tankers."

He added that the transportation minister attempted to solve the problem cordially, traveling to Dubai last February to meet with DPW officials. But he reported that the company “showed no response.”

A report released in July by the parliament’s Transportation and Telecommunication Committee described the contract with DPW as being more political than economic. It accused the company of weakening the operations of Aden’s terminals and not abiding to the terms of the contract. One example cited was DPW’s failure to expand the dock at the port to a length of 100 meters and a depth of 18-meters as it had agreed to do.

Expressing the thoughts of most Yemenis, Mostfat Nasr, an economist, told The Media Line that, “Terminating the contract with DPW is a good step.” But he admonished that, “from now, it is the responsibility of the government to restore the port to its normal place."

That “place” figures prominently in the nation’s post-Saleh socio-economic realities. The new Yemeni government sees improving the economy as being a key to creating stability in the aftermath of the uprising that ultimately ended Saleh’s rule. With unemployment at more than forty-per cent, the new Yemeni government had hoped the port, properly managed, could produce 10,000 jobs for Yemeni workers.

The port of Aden has strong potential for producing revenue on a large scale according to Dr. Mohamed Jurban, professor of economics at the University of Sana’a. He told The Media Line that its strategic location, only miles from the Strait of Bab Al-Mandeb, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, makes it a key route for tankers and ships going to and from south Asia and Europe. The strait is a chokepoint between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, and a principle link between the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean.

“When tankers cross the Strait of Bab Al-Mandeb, and they are in need for gas charging or regular maintenance, it is better for them to do this service in Aden’s terminals than sailing thousands of kilometers to have this service performed in Dubai or Djibouti where the weather there is not good as Aden,” Prof. Jurban explained. But, he cautioned that, “There must be a good administration to be capable of attracting the tankers that pass through the strait.”

Yemeni officials believe improvement in the situation at the Aden port will also go a long way toward convincing the international community to extend financial assistance. Next month, a conference of donor nations including the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the Gulf States is scheduled to take place.

Popular support for the strategy was confirmed by 57-year old Ahmed Nasser, who predicted that, “We have our resources and we will not be in need for such donor conferences if our resources are managed efficiently with no corruption.”

It is still unclear whether the Yemeni government will take over operations at the Aden port or will seek a replacement for DPW. But either way, the process must reflect “competent management by the government “or tendering it in competition in a transparent way,” in the opinion of Nasr.

Copyright © 2012 The Media Line. All Rights Reserved.

Saudis protest police violence on women

Sat Sep 24, 2011

Saudi activists in the eastern city of Qatif have taken to the streets to rally against police harassing female protesters and in support for the ongoing Bahraini revolution, Press TV reported.

Scores of women had earlier on Saturday staged sit-in protests outside the local government office in the eastern province of Dammam, calling for the release of their relatives held in prison for years without any charge.

Protesters in Qatif had also rallied on Friday against the Al Saud regime's brutal military intervention in Bahrain with the aim of crushing the popular uprising in the small Persian Gulf kingdom.

Both demonstrations took place despite the government's strict ban on anti-regime rallies in the country.

Moreover, activists in Saudi Arabia say the country has jailed more than 30,000 political prisoners, most of them prisoners of conscious. Many were arrested merely for appearing suspicious and the majority of them are being held without trials or legitimate charges.

The families of political prisoners have repeatedly pleaded with the ruling monarch to at least give their loved ones a fair trial. However, the king has for years ignored their calls.

Over the past months, Saudi activists in the Eastern Province have staged several anti-government protests, demanding reforms and immediate release of political prisoners.

Their campaign for human rights reform, freedom of expression and political reforms ended with an unexpected outcome: the anti-terror law, which gives the ministry of interior superior powers to detain suspects incommunicado for up to 120 days amendable to indefinite extension.

The law also defines terror crimes as any action endangering national unity, an ambiguous definition which can even be extended to peaceful demonstrations.

Human Rights Watch says more than 160 dissidents have been arrested since February as part of the Saudi government's crackdown on anti-government protesters.

According to the Saudi-based Human Rights First Society (HRFS), the detainees have been subjected to torture both physically and mentally.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/201000.html.

Saudi king allows women to vote in local elections

By ABDULLAH AL-SHIHRI and MAAMOUN YOUSSEF - Associated Press
Sun, Sep 25, 2011

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi King Abdullah announced Sunday that the nation's women will gain the right to vote and run as candidates in local elections to be held in 2015 in a major advancement for the rights of women in the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom.

In an annual speech before his advisory assembly, or Shura Council, the Saudi monarch said he ordered the step after consulting with the nation's top religious clerics, whose advice carries great weight in the kingdom.

"We refuse to marginalize the role of women in Saudi society and in every aspect, within the rules of Sharia," Abdullah said, referring to the Islamic law that governs many aspects of life in the kingdom.

The right to vote is by far the biggest change introduced by Abdullah, considered a reformer, since he became the country's de facto ruler in 1995 during the illness of King Fahd. Abdullah formally ascended to the throne upon Fahd's death in August 2005.

The kingdom's great oil wealth and generous handouts to citizens have largely insulated it from the unrest sweeping the Arab world. But the king has taken steps to quiet rumblings of discontent that largely centered on the eastern oil-producing region populated by the country's Shiite Muslim minority.

Mindful of the unrest, which reached Saudi Arabia's doorstep with street protests and a deadly crackdown in neighboring Bahrain, King Abdullah pledged roughly $93 billion in financial support to boost jobs and services for Saudis in March.

Seizing on the season of protest in the Arab world, Saudi women's groups have also staged public defiance of the kingdom's ban on female driving. Saudi authorities went relatively easy on the women, who took to the roads earlier this year and gained worldwide attention through social media.

Abdullah said the changes announced Sunday would also allow women to be appointed to the Shura Council, the advisory body selected by the king that is currently all-male.

The council, established in 1993, offers opinions on general policies in the kingdom and debates economic and social development plans and agreements signed between the kingdom and other nations.

Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, follows deeply conservative social traditions and adheres closely to a strict version of Islam. Despite Abdullah's attempts to push through some social reforms, women still cannot drive and the sexes are segregated in public.

Saudi Arabia held its first-ever municipal elections in 2005.

The kingdom will hold its next municipal elections on Thursday, but women will not be able to vote or run in those contests.

In announcing the reforms, Abdullah sought to ground his decision in religion.

"Muslim women in our Islamic history have demonstrated positions that expressed correct opinions and advice," he said, citing examples from the era of Islam's Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century.

He said the members of Saudi Arabia's clerical council, or Ulema, praised and supported his decision.

He also acknowledged the yearning for greater social freedoms in the kingdom.

"Balanced modernization, which falls within our Islamic values, is an important demand in an era where there is no place for defeatist or hesitant people," he said.

In January, a group of female activists launched a campaign on social networking websites to push the kingdom to allow women to vote and run in the municipal elections.

___

Youssef reported from Cairo.

Mecca for the rich: Islam's holiest site 'turning into Vegas'

SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2011
JEROME TAYLOR

Historic and culturally important landmarks are being destroyed to make way for luxury hotels and malls, reports Jerome Taylor

Behind closed doors – in places where the religious police cannot listen in – residents of Mecca are beginning to refer to their city as Las Vegas and the moniker is not a compliment.

Over the past 10 years the holiest site in Islam has undergone a huge transformation, one that has divided opinion among Muslims all over the world.

Once a dusty desert town struggling to cope with the ever-increasing number of pilgrims arriving for the annual Hajj, the city now soars above its surroundings with a glittering array of skyscrapers, shopping malls and luxury hotels.

To the al-Saud monarchy, Mecca is their vision of the future – a steel and concrete metropolis built on the proceeds of enormous oil wealth that showcases their national pride.

Yet growing numbers of citizens, particularly those living in the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina, have looked on aghast as the nation's archaeological heritage is trampled under a construction mania backed by hardline clerics who preach against the preservation of their own heritage. Mecca, once a place where the Prophet Mohamed insisted all Muslims would be equal, has become a playground for the rich, critics say, where naked capitalism has usurped spirituality as the city's raison d'être.

Few are willing to discuss their fears openly because of the risks associated with criticizing official policy in the authoritarian kingdom. And, with the exceptions of Turkey and Iran, fellow Muslim nations have largely held their tongues for fear of diplomatic fallout and restrictions on their citizens' pilgrimage visas. Western archaeologists are silent out of fear that the few sites they are allowed access to will be closed to them.

But a number of prominent Saudi archaeologists and historians are speaking up in the belief that the opportunity to save Saudi Arabia's remaining historical sites is closing fast.

"No one has the balls to stand up and condemn this cultural vandalism," says Dr Irfan al-Alawi who, as executive director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, has fought in vain to protect his country's historical sites. "We have already lost 400-500 sites. I just hope it's not too late to turn things around."

Sami Angawi, a renowned Saudi expert on the region's Islamic architecture, is equally concerned. "This is an absolute contradiction to the nature of Mecca and the sacredness of the house of God," he told the Reuters news agency earlier this year. "Both [Mecca and Medina] are historically almost finished. You do not find anything except skyscrapers."

Dr Alawi's most pressing concern is the planned £690m expansion of the Grand Mosque, the most sacred site in Islam which contains the Kaaba – the black stone cube built by Ibrahim (Abraham) that Muslims face when they pray.

Construction officially began earlier this month with the country's Justice Minister, Mohammed al-Eissa, exclaiming that the project would respect "the sacredness and glory of the location, which calls for the highest care and attention of the servants or Islam and Muslims".

The 400,000 square meter development is being built to accommodate an extra 1.2 million pilgrims each year and will turn the Grand Mosque into the largest religious structure in the world. But the Islamic Heritage Foundation has compiled a list of key historical sites that they believe are now at risk from the ongoing development of Mecca, including the old Ottoman and Abbasi sections of the Grand Mosque, the house where the Prophet Mohamed was born and the house where his paternal uncle Hamza grew up.

There is little argument that Mecca and Medina desperately need infrastructure development. Twelve million pilgrims visit the cities every year with the numbers expected to increase to 17 million by 2025.

But critics fear that the desire to expand the pilgrimage sites has allowed the authorities to ride roughshod over the area's cultural heritage. The Washington-based Gulf Institute estimates that 95 per cent of Mecca's millennium-old buildings have been demolished in the past two decades alone.

The destruction has been aided by Wahabism, the austere interpretation of Islam that has served as the kingdom's official religion ever since the al-Sauds rose to power across the Arabian Peninsula in the 19th century.

In the eyes of Wahabis, historical sites and shrines encourage "shirq" – the sin of idolatry or polytheism – and should be destroyed. When the al-Saud tribes swept through Mecca in the 1920s, the first thing they did was lay waste to cemeteries holding many of Islam's important figures. They have been destroying the country's heritage ever since. Of the three sites the Saudis have allowed the UN to designate World Heritage Sites, none are related to Islam.

Those circling the Kaaba only need to look skywards to see the latest example of the Saudi monarchy's insatiable appetite for architectural bling. At 1,972ft, the Royal Mecca Clock Tower, opened earlier this year, soars over the surrounding Grand Mosque, part of an enormous development of skyscrapers that will house five-star hotels for the minority of pilgrims rich enough to afford them.

To build the skyscraper city, the authorities dynamited an entire mountain and the Ottoman era Ajyad Fortress that lay on top of it. At the other end of the Grand Mosque complex, the house of the Prophet's first wife Khadijah has been turned into a toilet block. The fate of the house he was born in is uncertain. Also planned for demolition are the Grand Mosque's Ottoman columns which dare to contain the names of the Prophet's companions, something hardline Wahabis detest.

For ordinary Meccans living in the mainly Ottoman-era town houses that make up much of what remains of the old city, development often means the loss of their family home.

Non-Muslims cannot visit Mecca and Medina, but The Independent was able to interview a number of citizens who expressed discontent over the way their town was changing. One young woman whose father recently had his house bulldozed described how her family was still waiting for compensation. "There was very little warning; they just came and told him that the house had to be bulldozed," she said.

Another Meccan added: "If a prince of a member of the royal family wants to extend his palace he just does it. No one talks about it in public though. There's such a climate of fear."

Dr Alawi hopes the international community will finally begin to wake up to what is happening in the cradle of Islam. "We would never allow someone to destroy the Pyramids, so why are we letting Islam's history disappear?"

Under Threat

Bayt al-Mawlid

When the Wahabis took Mecca in the 1920s they destroyed the dome on top of the house where the Prophet Mohammed was born. It was then used as a cattle market before being turned into a library after a campaign by Meccans. There are concerns that the expansion of the Grand Mosque will destroy it once more. The site has never been excavated by archaeologists.

Ottoman and Abasi columns of the Grand Mosque

Slated for demolition as part of the Grand Mosque expansion, these intricately carved columns date back to the 17th century and are the oldest surviving sections of Islam's holiest site. Much to the chagrin of Wahabis, they are inscribed with the names of the Prophet's companions. Ottomon Mecca is now rapidly disappearing

Al-Masjid al-Nawabi

For many years, hardline Wahabi clerics have had their sites set on the 15th century green dome that rests above the tomb holding the Prophet, Abu Bakr and Umar in Medina. The mosque is regarded as the second holiest site in Islam. Wahabis, however, believe marked graves are idolatrous. A pamphlet published in 2007 by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, endorsed by Abdulaziz Al Sheikh, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, stated that "the green dome shall be demolished and the three graves flattened in the Prophet's Masjid".

Jabal al-Nour

A mountain outside Mecca where Mohammed received his first Koranic revelations. The Prophet used to spend long spells in a cave called Hira. The cave is particularly popular among South Asian pilgrims who have carved steps up to its entrance and adorned the walls with graffiti. Religious hardliners are keen to dissuade pilgrims from congregating there and have mooted the idea of removing the steps and even destroying the mountain altogether.

Source: The Independent.
Link: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mecca-for-the-rich-islams-holiest-site-turning-into-vegas-2360114.html.

Saudis protest meddling in Bahrain

Fri Sep 23, 2011

Saudi protesters have once again poured into the streets to rally against the Al Saud regime's brutal military intervention in Bahrain, Press TV reported.

The protests in the eastern city of Qatif took place despite the government's strict ban on anti-regime rallies in the country.

Saudis have on various occasions voiced their anger with Riyadh's intervention meant to crush the popular uprising in the small Persian Gulf kingdom.

The protesters also slammed the high unemployment in the country and expressed frustration with the decades-long rule of the Al Saud dynasty which has a record of rights violation.

In mid-March, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates deployed their military forces in crisis-hit Bahrain to assist the Manama regime in its severe suppression of anti-government protesters.

Scores of Bahrainis have been killed ever since.

Saudi Arabia's eastern regions have been the scene of protests over the past months, and authorities have arrested scores of people including bloggers and writers for taking part in anti-government demonstrations.

According to Human Rights Watch, more than 160 dissidents have been arrested since February in Saudi crackdowns on anti-government protesters.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/200725.html.

Kuwait, Bahrain, and UN experts call for creation of Palestinian State

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- Kuwait and Bahrain on Thursday called for the creation of a Palestinian State and an end to Israeli occupation of Arab territories at the United Nations' (UN) General Assembly.

Prime Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Nasser Al Mohammad Al Ahmad Al Sabah in his speech to the Assembly's general debate in New York said the UN still stands incapable of finding a solution to the Palestinian Question after 60 years, and has been unable to put end to the Israeli occupation of Arab territories.

Meanwhile, the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa, told the Assembly that the creation of a Palestinian State would "end an era of bitter Arab-Israeli conflict, subject to Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories."

Both leaders agreed that the creation of a Palestinian State would resolve conflict in the Middle East, as Sheikh Nasser expressed that "what really evokes concern is that the international community stands as a spectator of all those Israeli practices and policies, without opposing or deterring them, despite their clear contravention and violation of the most simple rules of international law and the resolution of international legitimacy."

The Kuwaiti leader urged the international community to put pressure on Israel to withdrawal from Palestinian and other Arab territories so that Palestinians can achieve their right to self-determination and establish a State with Jerusalem as its capital.

"We wish to renew our full commitment and support to the bid of the Palestinian Authority and its endeavours to obtain membership of the United Nations as an independent and full Member State," he added.

On Wednesday, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, in his address to the general debate, hailed calls for political reform in the Middle East and North Africa, saying the regions "abounded in great expectations."

Sheikh Hamad underlined that Qatar has always had a clear policy on the rules governing Arab, regional and international relations, which he said was based on reconciliation and harmony among peoples and nations.

"On the other hand, we, as well as others, have been unable to turn a deaf ear or blind eye to the calls of the wounded seeking help from near and far, against an entrenched oppression," he said.

On Monday, the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a meeting that he intended to submit an application this Friday for Palestine to become a UN Member State.

Also on Thursday, Richard Falk, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, called on Member States to recognize "the reality of Palestinian statehood," and urged Israel to listen to the will of the millions of people who have suffered under its occupation.

Falk underlined the importance of the upcoming debate on Palestine's initiative at the UN, which provides a "momentous occasion for the international community to respond to a legacy of injustice."

"Palestine’s status as a State is not merely symbolic," said Falk. "It empowers Palestine with rights and duties under international law, such as full jurisdiction over its territory, legal standing to defend itself from other States, and the capacity to join international treaties – including human rights treaties."

In addition, Falk noted that for over 44 years, Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip have suffered under Israel's "oppressive occupation."

The UN expert continued by saying that Israel had steadily transferred its population into hundreds of settlements on Palestinian territory, while subjecting Palestinians to widespread and systematic violations of their basic human rights.

"I encourage Israel to heed calls throughout the region for governance based on the will of the people. The will of the Palestinian people must be respected too, starting this week at the United Nations and until Palestinians can enjoy the right they share with all other peoples of the world – the right to self-determination," Falk stated.

Friday, September 23rd, 2011

Source: WireUpdate.
Link: http://wireupdate.com/news/kuwait-bahrain-and-un-experts-call-for-creation-of-palestinian-state.html.

Jordan woos Gulf tourists

By ARIEH O’SULLIVAN / THE MEDIA LINE
09/20/2011

Europeans, Americans stay away amid unrest, prompting search for replacement; tourism from Gulf Cooperation Council grows.

A promotional campaign urging visitors from the Gulf to visit Jordan appears to be paying off for the Hashemite Kingdom, whose hotels and attractions have been struggling with a drop in tourism from Europe and America.

Although Jordan has been relatively quiet, unrest elsewhere in the Middle East has frightened travelers and caused tourist arrivals from Europe to the Hashemite Kingdom to drop by over 17% in the first eight months of this year to 400,000 from 483,000 in 2010. The number of visitors from North and South America declined by 13% to just 125,000.

But, according to data obtained by The Media Line, at least 26% more visitors from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes oil-rich countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait, states came to Jordan in the first eight months of 2011, compared with the same period last year.

With its economy rattled by unrest, a growing import bill and interruptions in the supply of natural gas imported from Egypt, Jordan needs tourism earnings more than ever. The International Monetary Fund cut its forecast on Tuesday for the country’s economic growth to 2.5% this year from a previous 3.3%.

Foreseeing that the tumult of the Arab Spring would likely deter Western visitors, Jordan’s Tourism Ministry moved to compensate by encouraging more Arabs to visit, especially from the GCC.

Jordan’s top attractions include the ruins of the ancient city of Petra and the Red Sea resort of Aqaba, which was named Arab Tourism Capital of 2011 by the Arab Tourism Ministers Council. The designation has helped it draw some of the tourism away from the volatile, shark-invested resorts in the Egyptian Sinai coast. It has fewer strictures on liquor and the intermingling of the sexes than many of the conservative Gulf kingdoms.

According to a report from the Jordanian Ministry of Tourism, some 827,132 tourists from the Gulf visited between January and August this year and spent more than one night in the country. In contrast, just 658,197 came in the same period last year. Nearly seven out of eight of the Gulf country visitors came from Saudi Arabia (718,000), which was almost twice as much as the previous year.

Just over half of the GCC visitors arriving in Jordan last year were “transit tourists,” who spent no more than a few hours in the country on their way to Syria or Lebanon. The Tourism Promotion Authority launched “vigorous efforts” to entice these kinds of travelers to stay for a real vacation. Jordan has been hoping to capitalize on its image of a relatively calm country amidst turbulent unrest to draw visitors.

The number of tourists from African countries also grew, with 17% more arriving in the first eight months over the 8,786 in the same period last year. The Tourism Ministry data also showed an 8% increase in tourists from Asia and the Pacific, with 189,327 arriving so far this year.

The report cited the decline from the West as “not significant under the circumstances” and could be adjusted quickly when stable conditions return to the region.

Anti-government protests have largely subsided in Jordan. Over the weekend, a million-man march was called in Amman to protest in front of the Israeli Embassy amid a rising tide of anti-Israeli demonstrations in the Middle East. While only 300 showed up, Israel chose to evacuate its embassy.

Weekly demonstrations demanding political reform erupted in Jordan earlier this year, but were milder that protest movements elsewhere in the Arab world. Key drivers of unrest have included unemployment, high living costs and corruption, but a consensus has emerged in demands for political reforms. King Abdullah, a key US ally in the region, has promised reforms and amendments to the constitution in a bid to snuff out protests.

Tourism to Jordan surged last year, according to official figures released in January, with overnight visits up to 4.55 million from 3.78 million in 2009 and visitors spending a 2.42 billion Jordanian dinars ($3.4 billion) in the process. But according to the United Nations’ World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Jordan saw a dramatic 27% drop in visitors in May preceded by a 20.5 % drop in April.

That stands in contrast to global trends: Worldwide international tourism rose 4.5% in the first half of this year to 440 million, 19 million more than the same period last year, according to the latest update of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Tourism to the Middle East was down 10.8%.

Alternatively, the recently released Maplecraft Terrorism Risk Index showed that travel to Jordan is not without its risks. But it noted that the protests have been “scattered and small in size.”

“Jordan is one of the top-10 most water scarce countries in the world. This condition is exacerbated by an increasing population and water intensive sectors such as agriculture and industry. Furthermore, climate change is expected to result in higher temperatures and less rainfall, making water scarcity an important issue to consider in the future,” the report said.

“It was clear that this was the tourism capital of Jordan. There were lots of Saudis and their families there,” Gary Bregman, a tourist from a Western country who had recently visited Aqaba, told The Media Line. “The cafes were packed. They had real liquor stores, nicer than any I’d seen in the rest of the world, and massage parlors. It was clear you could do things in Aqaba you couldn’t do in other cities in Jordan.

“There were lots of Arabs vacationing and there was no reason not to. It is nearby, easy to get to and there is something interesting for them to do,” he added.

Source: The Jerusalem Post.
Link: http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=238745.

Bahrain activists call for mass protest amid warning

Sep 21, 2011

Cairo - An opposition group has called for a mass protest on Wednesday in the centre of the capital Manama amid a stern warning from the authorities.

Activists of the February 14 Youth Coalition, named after a day when pro-democracy demonstrations started in the small Gulf kingdom, plan to bring the traffic in central Manama to a standstill by parking thousands of cars in major streets in the capital, according to broadcaster Al Jazeera.

The organizers said the protest was aimed at pressuring the government into halting what they described as daily oppression of demonstrations and reinstate employees reportedly sacked for joining in pro-democracy protests, according to the television report.

The protest comes days before partial parliamentary elections due to be held in Bahrain on September 24.

The Interior Ministry has warned it will not tolerate Wednesday's protest.
'The authorities will take legal measures against anyone found violating the traffic rules,' said the ministry in a statement. 'Violators risk penalties of jailing and fines.'

Sunni-ruled Bahrain has accused Shiite-led Iran of meddling in its internal affairs and inciting the unrest. Both the opposition and Iran have denied the accusation.

Source: Monsters and Critics.
Link: http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/news/article_1664173.php/Bahrain-activists-call-for-mass-protest-amid-warning.

Qatari royal appointed head of Al Jazeera

Wed Sep 21, 2011

Qatar appoints a member of the royal family to the head of the Al Jazeera television network following unexpected resignation by the Doha-based satellite broadcaster's former director general.

The replacement is named as Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, who is also an executive at Qatargas, the world's largest liquefied natural gas company, British newspaper The Guardian reported on Tuesday.

His predecessor Wadah Khanfar, a Palestinian-born journalist, who was credited with revolutionizing the Arab media landscape with daring news broadcasting, announced on Tuesday that he was stepping down after eight years in office.

In his resignation letter, he wrote his goal he had set himself was "to establish Al Jazeera as a global media leader" and that "this target has been met.”

It remained a mystery why he had resigned.

A diplomatic cable released last month by the whistleblower website the WikiLeaks had alleged that the US administration was once upset with the 'disturbing website content' published on Al Jazeera's website, obliging him to remove the material.

Despite the satellite network's being hailed as an outspoken one against many Arab regimes, some analysts say it has been mostly lenient, when it came to the ruling structures in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, and Qatar itself.

WikiLeaks has also exposed Doha's efforts to use Al Jazeera as a foreign policy tool.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/200287.html.

KSA jails holding 30K political prisoners

Mon Sep 19, 2011

Activists in Saudi Arabia say there are more than 30,000 political prisoners, mostly prisoners of conscious, in jails across the Kingdom, Press TV has learned.

According to the activists, most of the detained political thinkers are being held by the government without trials or legitimate charges and that they were arrested for merely appearing suspicious.

Some of the detainees are reported to be held without trial for more than 16 years.

Attempting to incite the public against the monarchy and allegiance to foreign entities are usually the ready-made charges leveled against political dissidents.

Families of political prisoners have repeatedly pleaded with the ruling monarch to at least give their loved ones a fair trial. However, the king has for years ignored their calls.

Over the past months, Saudi activists in the Eastern Province have staged several anti-government protests, demanding reforms and immediate release of political prisoners.

Their campaign for human rights reform, freedom of expression and political reforms ended with an unexpected outcome: the anti-terror law, which gives the ministry of interior superior powers to detain suspects incommunicado for up to 120 days amendable to indefinite extension.

The law also defines terror crimes as any action endangering national unity, an ambiguous definition which can be extended to peaceful demonstrations.

Human Rights Watch says more than 160 dissidents have been arrested since February as part of the Saudi government's crackdown on anti-government protesters.

According to the Saudi-based Human Rights First Society (HRFS), the detainees were subject to torture both physically and mentally.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/200079.html.

Saudis Split on Female Olympians, Athletic Hijabs

Written by Richard S. Willis
Thursday, August 02, 2012

Women otherwise involved in rights issues don’t necessarily support Olympic participation

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – In this bustling, overcrowded city on the Red Sea, the 2012 London Olympics hardly raises an eyebrow although seventeen men and two women are participating. But the debate over whether Saudi Arabia’s two female athletes – Sarah Attar and Wojdan Shaherkani – should compete, let alone abandon the hijab head covering to conform to the Olympic International Conference’s rules, is unsurprisingly divided along gender lines.

The debate has been reduced to name-calling with a number of Saudis describing Attar and Shaherkani the “prostitutes of the Olympics.” It has highlighted the ongoing issues regarding a woman’s place in Saudi society.

“There are not many Saudi fathers and brothers who want to see the women in their family compete on a pitch or in an arena with thousands of men staring at them,” Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, an unemployed car salesman told The Media Line. “What does that say about the woman who exposes herself in such a way?”

Attar, 19, who is attending Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, is competing in the women’s track 800 meters. Shaherkani, 16, is participating in the women’s judo event. Shaherkani garnered the most attention since the opening day of the Olympics when the International Judo Federation banned Shaherkani from competing because her hijab posed a safety risk. Following negotiations between Shaherkani’s father, the OIC and the federation, the federation ruled the girl may participate wearing “suitable headgear.”

Wearing the hijab was an issue taken out of Shaherkani’s hands. The Saudi government made it clear that women can compete only if they “wear suitable clothing that complies with Sharia (Islamic law), are accompanied by their guardian and they do not mix with men during the games.”

However, the hijab controversy, while seized by women’s rights activists as another infringement on Saudi female athletes, prompted little outcry among women in Saudi Arabia. Rather, the issue boils down to what is appropriate behavior.

Abeer Al-Hussaini received her bachelor’s degree from a Florida university. The 26-year old wears her hijab loosely and considers herself liberal on social issues. Yet, she says her advocacy for women in Saudi society has its limits. “I wish the girls in the Olympics well, but it’s not something I would do. And even if I did, my father would not even consider it. There is too much at stake. Even if my family supported my right to compete in sports, our relatives, our neighbors would condemn it. There is too much at stake. It just does not affect me but my entire family.”

Indeed social pressure is immense to toe the line. While societal pressure provides checks and balances to ensure conformity and stability, the burden usually falls on women.

A woman lecturer at Princess Nora Bint Abdulrahman University outside of Riyadh, told The Media Line that traditions and customs are so entrenched in Saudi society that few women have the strength to break the bonds that establish their roles in society.

“Forget about Islam,” said the academic who spoke on the condition that her name not be published. “The traditional roles of men and women are clearly defined with men providing the financial means for the family and women providing babies and a nice home. That’s changing with better educational opportunities for women and new jobs for them.”

However, she noted that women drawing attention to themselves is a “red line” that few Saudi women are willing to cross.

“It’s almost incomprehensible to the average Saudi to see a beloved daughter on television parading on the field for all to see,” she said. “It is too much for family members to see their daughters exerting themselves in some outfit even remotely form-fitting. It is a big shame for the family. As hard as it is to understand, it boils down to ‘what will the neighbors think’ ”

What the neighbors think is found on social media websites. In addition to labeling Saudi female athletes as prostitutes, one Twitter writer suggested that Attar would purposely fall down while running to show off her body.

Many Saudis, however, were quick to defend the athletes. @SkittlesFairy responded to a critic by writing, "You remind me of Europe in the Dark Ages, you insult this and slur people in the name of religion. This religion has nothing to do with you."

Saudi Rasha Al-Dowasi, tweeting as @Rsha_D, wrote, “Muslim athletes from Muslim countries have been participating in the Olympics for years. Sport only becomes prostitution when Saudi women practice it.”

Khalid Khalifa, who describes himself as a Saudi comedian on his Twitter profile as @KhalidKhalifa, wrote, “The person who made this Hashtag (“Prostitutes of the Olympics”) is a reminder: idiots still exist. He/She should be neutered. This gene cannot evolve.”

The Princess Nora University academic cautioned against taking Twitter flame wars as an accurate pulse of Saudis.

“Most Saudis have never left the GCC (the Gulf Cooperation Council countries of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates), or even Saudi Arabia,” the academic said. “They don’t read or watch the Western media; they don’t tweet, watch the Olympics or even think about the women’s rights in the same context as Westerners do. There is a right and wrong. And displaying your body immodestly is wrong.”

Summer Khoury, a Palestinian expatriate who works for a charity organization in Jeddah, told The Media Line that she wants to see more Arab women represented in the Olympics, but understands Saudis’ trepidation with women’s participation.

“Things here in Saudi Arabia are moving very fast,” Khoury said. “There is an explosion of women working in the shops and malls, and even mixing with men. It was unheard of just a few years ago. When society shifts so rapidly, you have people lash out crudely. But it’s just the process how a society evolves.”

Copyright © 2012 The Media Line. All Rights Reserved.

Gulf countries offering development aid for Morocco and Jordan

George Haddad
Thursday, 15 September 2011

Global Arab Network - Gulf Arab countries plan to fund a five-year development aid program for Morocco and Jordan, aspiring members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) political and economic bloc, and the amount will be set in December, the GCC's chief said on Sunday.

Oil-exporting Gulf monarchies are seeking closer ties with Arab counterparts outside the Gulf to help contain pro-democracy unrest that is buffeting autocratic ruling elites throughout the Arab world, analysts say.

The six members of the GCC -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain -- said in May they would consider a request by the two Arab monarchies to join, but as yet few practical steps have been taken.

"There is a call for creating an economic development program for the two brotherly countries Jordan and Morocco," GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif al-Zayani said after a Gulf foreign ministers meeting in Jeddah.

"A recommendation on the size (of the aid) will be made and a decision taken by the heads of states of the GCC at their next summit (in December)," Zayani said of the five-year program.

Within the bloc, the richer Gulf countries have offered $10 billion each in development funds to Bahrain and Oman, where protesters took to the streets this year demanding reforms.

Bahrain, where a Sunni Muslim royal family has long ruled over a Shi'ite majority, crushed weeks of street protests in March calling for greater political freedoms, a constitutional monarchy and an end to sectarian discrimination.

Source: Global Arab Network.
Link: http://www.english.globalarabnetwork.com/2011091512099/Economics/gulf-countries-offering-development-aid-for-morocco-and-jordan.html.

GCC single currency on track: Saudi central bank

Issac John / 16 September 2011

DUBAI — The launch of the Gulf single currency, which had been delayed following the withdrawal of the UAE and Oman, is on track, Saudi Arabia’s Central Bank Governor Muhammad Al Jasser said.
Al Jasser said on the sidelines of a meeting of Arab central bank governors in Doha that the economic conditions in the Gulf are “excellent” for forming a monetary union and that a plan to launch a Gulf single currency was on track.

“There was no postponement, and I have said from the beginning that there will not be a specific date [for the single currency launch]... the economic situation in our countries is excellent and nothing is delaying the currency,” he was quoted as saying. The UAE and Oman have withdrawn from the Gulf single currency plan. The UAE abandoned the plan in May 2009 withdrawing in protest against placing the forerunner of the future joint central bank in Riyadh.

The Institute of International Finance, or IIF, has pointed out that a monetary union between the other four countries of the GCC would be delayed due to a lack of progress in putting institutional arrangements in place, the IIF said.

Although most of the technical and policy convergence criteria have been achieved, a monetary policy framework and a common system of payments and settlements are yet to be put in place, said the Washington-based institute.

According to economists, it is unlikely that a GCC currency will be active within the next few years.

Economists argue that the Gulf monetary union needs to establish monetary independence for member countries, all of which are pegged to the US dollar, except Kuwait. Al Jasser said the kingdom had no plans to revalue the riyal at this time.

The UAE and Saudi Arabian central bank governors said on Thursday that they were happy with current interest rate levels in their countries.

Sultan bin Nasser Al Suweidi, the UAE Central Bank Governor, said on the sidelines of the meeting that the current interest rates were good and there was no need to change them.

Al Jasser also said he was happy about the rates. The Saudi central bank has been keeping its repo rate at two per cent since January 2009 and the reverse repo rate at 0.25 per cent since June 2009.

Saudi Arabia’s currency is pegged to the US dollar, which limits the central bank’s scope to combat inflation because it needs to keep interest rates closely aligned with US benchmarks to avoid excessive pressures on the riyal. Al Jasser said that “everyone” was concerned over the fragile state of the US economy and Europe’s ongoing sovereign debt crisis. His comments did not provide a vote of confidence for the United States, nor for the eurozone, as he also said Saudi Arabia would not consider purchasing eurozone debt.

With the US dollar under pressure since Standard & Poor’s unprecedented US debt downgrade, speculation has also grown over whether GCC countries might consider revaluing their currencies. While Al Jasser drew attention to the fact that Saudi Arabia is not interested in incurring risk by buying eurozone debt, he didn’t address any Middle East exposure to the eurozone debt crisis via other ties.

Outside market watchers, however, can point to possible risks for the area. Arab countries hit by unrest may need to turn to financial support from international institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as growth slows in the region, central bank governors said.

“They [Arab central bank governors] expressed their fears from an expected drop in growth rates this year,” they said after the meeting. The central bank governors also said they would offer support to each other. “The governors expressed their support to all central banks in Arab countries that are witnessing political developments and transformations,” they said.

Source: Khaleej Times.
Link: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/biz/inside.asp?xfile=/data/business/2011/September/business_September215.xml§ion=business.

Bahrain medics continue hunger strike

Wed Sep 14, 2011

More than a dozen Bahraini nurses and doctors have entered the second week of their hunger strike as the anti-regime protesters await trial in a martial court, a report says.

Irish-trained surgeons Ali al-Ekri and Bassin Dahif along with 11 other doctors, nurses and paramedics are on a hunger strike in a Bahraini prison, Prof. Damian McCormack, who heads an Irish delegation of doctors and human rights activists to Bahrain, wrote in a letter to the Irish Times.

Among the detained protesters, one is diabetic and seven have already collapsed and are in need of intravenous fluids while one has attempted suicide and been prescribed anti-psychotic medication; they all refuse to take their medication, according to the document.

McCormack, who is affiliated with the World College of Surgeons and the World College of Physicians, also referred to a chronic compartment syndrome in another detained surgeon, who is at risk of “deep clots and embolism.”

“All continue to suffer from the physical and psychological effects of prolonged detention and torture,” he stated, adding that one consultant ophthalmologist recently released had suffered a stroke in detention.

The Dublin-based pediatrician recalls a royal decree issued by Bahrain's embattled King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in late June, which orders all protester cases referred to civilian courts.

“However, international human rights organizations are shocked to learn that the trial of the 20 medics who are accused with felonies will continue in a military court,'” the letter reads.

It further censured the continued brutal suppression of peaceful protests in Bahrain and the August 31 killing of teenage boy, struck by a tear gas canister at close range, on Eid al-Fitr.

McCormack accused the Bahraini regime of employing international lobbyists such as Jo Trippi and PR companies such as Qorvis in Washington and Bell Pottinger in London to conceal its continued violations of human rights.

He noted how Lualua TV, a Bahraini pro- democracy station based in London, is actively jammed from Bahrain via a European satellite and all internal electronic communications in Bahrain are monitored by “spy gear” provided by western companies such as Nokia Siemens.

“Over 1,400 protesters have been detained, 180 civilians have been sentenced in military courts, 32 people have been killed, over 60 journalists have been targeted or ejected and at least 22 opposition websites are censored in a country which would call itself civilized and peaceful,” McCormack went on to say.

The doctor further called on the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland to seek return of the honorary fellowship they awarded to King Hamad in 2006.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/199195.html.

'Saudi armored vehicles enter Yemen'

Wed Sep 14, 2011

Saudi Arabia has reportedly dispatched a convoy of armored vehicles and military assistance to Yemen to help Sana'a crack down on the popular revolution.

Sources affiliated with the Yemeni opposition were cited by the independent pan-Arab daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi as saying, “A motorcade of Saudi armored vehicles and military aid entered the Yemeni soil to help the forces of the regime of [Yemen's] Ali Abdullah Saleh,” Mehr News Agency reported on Wednesday.

The sources said it was the second time Riyadh was sending such vehicles to Yemen since the start of the revolution, which has been demanding an end to corruption and unemployment as well as Saleh's ouster.

Riyadh has a history of aiding Sana'a in carrying out a deadly suppressive campaign against Yemen's north-based Shia population, known as the Houthis.

In March, the kingdom deployed forces to Bahrain to abet the Bahraini regime's crackdown against a similar anti-government popular uprising.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/199172.html.

Saudi prince charged with rape

Thu Sep 15, 2011

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a nephew of King Abdullah, has landed in hot waters as a Spanish court reopens a three-year-old rape case against him.

The court started a probe into allegations that the Saudi multibillionaire raped a model on a yacht in the Mediterranean Sea in August 2008, according to a ruling seen by AFP Wednesday.

The case concerns Prince Talal, who is being asked to respond to a complaint of sexual assault against him by a model who was 20 at the time.

The prince denied the allegations and said he only heard of them on Tuesday.

A May 24 ruling by a court in the Balearic Islands said the complainant, who was not named, believed a drug was added to her drink in a nightclub on the island after she met the Saudi prince.

A judge in the Balearic island of Ibiza in May 2010 had ordered the case closed for lack of evidence, but the provincial court of the Balearic Islands overturned that ruling on May 24 and a court in Ibiza on July 27 reopened the proceedings to formally request assistance from the Saudi authorities to take a statement from the accused.

The 56-year-old prince has holdings in Citibank and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Forbes magazine lists him as the 26th richest person in the world with assets of $19.6 billion.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/199217.html.

Saudi activists form political group

Tue Sep 13, 2011

Saudi activists have established a political group to launch a peaceful campaign for asserting the rights of citizens living in the eastern parts of the Persian Gulf kingdom.

The group, named “Change and Progress Society”, will be headed by Saudi prominent author Ahmad Mohammad al-Rebh from the eastern province of Qatif.

Rebh insisted that the group is part of the Saudi society and will conduct its activities based on that principle.

Saudi Arabia's east has been the scene of protests over the past months and authorities have arrested scores of people, including bloggers and writers for taking part in anti-government demonstrations.

According to Human Rights Watch, more than 160 dissidents have been arrested since February in Saudi crackdowns on anti-government protesters.

According to the Saudi-based Human Rights First Society (HRFS), detainees have been subject to both physical and mental torture.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/198910.html.

GCC plans five-year aid scheme for Jordan, Morocco

WAM & Reuters
September 11, 2011

UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed chairs Gulf bloc meeting

Jeddah: Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) met here Sunday under the chairmanship of UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss the latest developments in the regional, Arab and international arena.

Foreign ministers of Jordan and Morocco are attending the meeting for the first time.

Gulf Arab countries plan to fund a five-year development aid program for Morocco and Jordan, aspiring members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) political and economic bloc, and the amount will be set in December, the GCC's chief said on Sunday.

Oil-exporting Gulf monarchies are seeking closer ties with Arab counterparts outside the Gulf to help contain pro-democracy unrest that is buffeting autocratic ruling elites throughout the Arab world, analysts say.

The six members of the GCC -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain -- said in May they would consider a request by the two Arab monarchies to join, but as yet few practical steps have been taken.

"There is a call for creating an economic development program for the two brotherly countries Jordan and Morocco," GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif Al Zayani said after a Gulf foreign ministers meeting in Jeddah.

"A recommendation on the size (of the aid) will be made and a decision taken by the heads of states of the GCC at their next summit (in December)," Zayani said of the five-year program.

Within the bloc, the richer Gulf countries have offered $10 billion each in development funds to Bahrain and Oman, where protesters took to the streets this year demanding reforms.

Source: Gulf News.
Link: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/gcc-plans-five-year-aid-scheme-for-jordan-morocco-1.864684.

Gulf states condemn Syria 'killing machine'

11 Sep 2011

Gulf Co-operation Council calls for "serious reforms" and end to bloodshed as fresh violence and arrests are reported.

The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) has called for "an immediate end to the killing machine" in Syria, and reiterated its demand for government reforms.

Ending a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the six foreign ministers of the Gulf Arab states issued a statement calling for an end to the crackdown on anti-government protesters and urging "the immediate implementation of serious reforms that meet the aspirations of the Syrian" people.

Last month, the GCC called on the Syrian leadership to "resort to wisdom" and stop the bloodshed.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain recalled their envoys from Damascus to protest against President Bashar al-Assad's use of force in the uprising against his family's 41-year rule.

Qatar shut its embassy after it was attacked by Assad loyalists in July.

The United Nations estimated on August 22 that more than 2,200 people have been killed since protests began in March. Scores have been reported killed in the following weeks and Syrian activists now put the death toll closer to 3,000.

In the latest reports of bloodshed, activists said a woman was killed near the Iraqi border on Sunday.

"A 40-year-old woman was killed at noon on Sunday by a stray bullet as security forces were tracking wanted people in the town of Albu Kamal," the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights cited an activist in Deir al-Zor province as saying.

The Observatory also said a 17-year-old boy died of wounds sustained a day earlier when security forces fired at a funeral for Ghayath Matar, an activist who reportedly died from torture in prison.

Raids 'intensifying'

Protests were reported in several towns on Sunday and the Local Co-ordination Committees said security forces used gunfire to disperse demonstrations in Albu-Kamal and in Quseir and Talbiseh in the central Homs governorate.

Witnesses and activists also said Syrian forces had stepped up raids across the country to arrest activists.

In the town of Hirak in Deraa province, Ahmad al-Sayyed, a resident, told Reuters that troops had detained at least 250 people in the village of Jeeza, 40 in Museifra, 50 in Busra al-Harir and 30 in Naimeh in the last 48 hours.

"They shoot in the air before they begin raids. They then drag young men and use electric sticks to beat them up and haul them away to detention centers," he said.

Earlier on Sunday, France's foreign minister said the UN's failure to condemn the actions of Syrian security forces against protesters was a "scandal".

Alain Juppe also stepped up pressure on Russia to support a Security Council resolution saying it was too late for political reforms in Syria, as Russia has called for.

"We think the regime has lost its legitimacy, that it's too late to implement a program of reform," Juppe told reporters.

"Now we should adopt in New York the resolution condemning the violence and supporting the dialogue with the opposition," he said.

"It's a scandal not to have a clearer position of the UN on such a terrible crisis".

The developments come after Nabil el-Araby, the head of the Arab League, said he had reached an agreement on reforms with Assad during talks in Damascus on Saturday.

Russia, a UN member with veto power, has resisted international attempts to condemn the violence and refused to back Western calls for Assad to quit.

The Syrian authorities blame what they describe as terrorists for the bloodshed and say hundreds of members of the security forces are among the dead. Opposition activists also acknowledge the deaths of of about 500 security personnel.

Source: al-Jazeera.
Link: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/09/2011911192321627917.html.