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OSACEARLY BIRD
14 JUNE2011
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From Gulf News
Saudi Arabia urged to cut red tape to boost property market
GCC adopts policies to increase job opportunities for nationals
From The Washington Post
Militants linked to al-Qaeda emboldened in Yemen
From CNN
Clashes mar visit by Jordan's king, witnesses say
Violence, deaths continue in Libya
From The New York Times
‘Gay Girl in Damascus’ Blogger Admits to Writing Fiction Disguised as Fact
From Reuters
Yemen says makes arrests in attempt on Saleh's life
Lebanon gets Hezbollah-led cabinet after 5-month lag
From Trade Arabia
Adobe appoints Saudi distributor
Arabian Business
Mideast energy sector needs huge investment
Photo Provided By Bruce Kendall
Saudi Arabia urged to cut red tape to boost property market
Saudi Arabia must reduce red tape and help developers if it is to meet ambitious targets for new homes, according to the head of Dubai developer Emaar's Middle East unit.
Emaar Middle East chairman Ahmad Al Kulli told a property conference in Jeddah on Sunday that infrastructure and development projects are slow due to rules and regulations imposed by the Saudi government.
Al Kulli compared his company's 7.4 billion riyal Jeddah Gate project which will provide over 100,000 square metres of office space and 30,000 square metres of shops with the Burj Khalifa, which Emaar completed in Dubai in 2010.
"The two projects began in May 2005," he said. "Burj Khalifa was opened, while Jeddah Gate is still under construction."
TYPICALLY VERY SLOW
"Infrastructure and real estate projects in Saudi Arabia are typically very slow due to regulations that are very time consuming," he said.
His comments come on the same day that property consultancy Jones Lang Le Salle released a report on the Jeddah market, which claims that while a large number of housing projects are underway in Saudi Arabia's coastal hub, many are priced far beyond the means of young Saudi families.
"It is a problem," Soraka Al Khatib, Co-Head of Jones Lang LaSalle Saudi Arabia, told Gulf News. "When you look at the market the sweet spot is somewhere between 200,000 riyals and 500,000 riyals, but the products out there are way above that."
PRICE MISMATCHED WITH DEMAND
"The most affordable are priced around 1 million riyals, and this is a mismatch with demand."
Speaking of the delays cited by Emaar, he said that the financial crisis had certainly had a role in the slow movement of some projects.
"Most of these projects started right before the financial crisis when there was a big surplus of cash," he said.
Delays to mortgage law, which was recently approved by the country's Shura Council, as well as problems with project financing had an impact on new developments, he added.
GCC adopts policies to increase job opportunities for nationals
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is adopting policies towards increasing job opportunities for the national workforce as a constitutional obligation for all governments.
GCC nations will also adopt policies to facilitate the movement of GCC workforce between member nations.
This came during a statement made by Saqr Gobash, UAE Minister of Labour and Chairman of the 28th session of GCC Ministers of Labour, in a joint press conference with the Council of GCC Labour Ministers during the 100th International Labour Conference.
Gobash said that the GCC member countries will be implementing promising national strategies to integrate the national workforce into the job market through advanced training programs.
"On behalf of the GCC Ministers of Labor council, I would like to extend my appreciation for the efforts exerted by Juan Somavia, ILO's Director-General, on the Global Report on ‘Equality at work: the continuing challenge'," said Gobash.
Gobash stressed the importance of what was indicated in the report regarding organizations' commitment for equality.
He said that the commitment made by organizations must be strong enough to stand against changes taking place in economic and social conditions.
Militants linked to al-Qaeda emboldened in Yemen
Islamist extremists, many suspected of links to al-Qaeda, are engaged in an intensifying struggle against government forces for control of southern Yemen, taking advantage of a growing power vacuum to create a stronghold near vital oil-shipping lanes, said residents and Yemeni and U.S. officials.
Over the past few weeks, the militants have swiftly taken over two towns, including Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, and surrounding areas and appear to be pushing farther south, said Yemeni security officials and residents.
Increasingly, it appears as if al-Qaeda’s regional affiliate is seeking for the first time to grab and hold large swaths of territory, adding a dangerous dimension to Yemen’s crisis.
U.S. and Yemeni officials worry that a loss of government control in the south could further destabilize this strategic Middle Eastern nation, already gripped by political paralysis, violent conflicts and fears of collapse.
The government has not allowed journalists to visit Zinjibar. This article is based on more than a dozen interviews with provincial officials, government employees and tribal leaders from Abyan, as well as Yemeni and U.S. officials, and telephone interviews with residents of Zinjibar and surrounding areas.
They describe a ghost town where streets are a canvas of destruction, struck by daily shelling, air assaults and gunfire. There’s no electricity, water or other services.
Tens of thousands, mostly women and children, have fled the city. Men have stayed back only to protect their homes. The extremists man checkpoints, and any resemblance of authority or governance has vanished.
“They want to create an Islamic emirate,” said Mohammed al-Shuhairi, 50, a journalist in al-Kowd, near Zinjibar.
“I have lived through wars here in 1978, 1986 and 1994. But I have never seen anything as bad as this.”
The Islamist extremists are mostly from various Yemeni provinces but also include other Arabs and foreign fighters. They call themselves Ansar al-Sharia, or Supporters of Islamic Law, residents said.
In an April 18 interview on jihadist Web sites, Abu Zubayr Adel al-Abab, described as a sharia official with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, as the Yemen branch is called, said the militants identified themselves as Ansar al-Sharia.
“The name Ansar al-Shariah is what we use to introduce ourselves in areas where we work to tell people about our work and goals, and that we are on the path of Allah,” said Abab, according to a translation by the London-based International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence.
GROWING AGGRESSIVENESS
The takeover of Zinjibar underscores the growing aggressiveness and confidence of AQAP, which appears to be taking advantage of political turmoil triggered by the populist rebellion seeking to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The crisis has further deepened since Saleh was severely wounded in a June 3 assault on his presidential palace, forcing him to fly to neighboring Saudi Arabia for treatment and raising doubts about his ability to rule.
Long before the death of Osama bin Laden, American officials considered AQAP among the most significant threats to U.S. soil and worried that it could create a launchpad to target the United States and its allies.
The capture of Zinjibar and nearby towns gives the group access to the Red Sea and its vital oil shipping lanes. The militants are also well positioned to attack the port city of Aden, about 30 miles south.
U.S. State Department and intelligence officials have worried that AQAP will exploit the worsening security situation in Yemen, and American officials have closely tracked the fighting in Zinjibar as a possible early test of the group’s strength in the region.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said AQAP’s sizable presence puts the country on a different tier compared with other nations hit by political unrest.
“It’s the reason why we’ve had such an ongoing, robust counterterrorism cooperation,” Toner told reporters last week. “But as we’ve said many times, that cooperation isn’t hinged on one individual.”
Regardless of who leads Yemen, he said, “we’re going to continue to work with the [current] government” to keep the terrorist group from gaining a foothold.
The rise of the Islamist extremists also complicates a political landscape that is crowded with several groups seeking power,
including youth activists, the traditional political opposition, Saleh’s loyalists, powerful tribal leaders and defected military generals.
Although the extremists have not declared any national political aspirations, many fear that they could end up ruling portions of the south in the same way the Houthi rebels have done in the north, further dividing the country and eroding the authority of the central government.
“If they remain, they will have great impact on Yemen’s politics,” said Qassem al-Kasadi, a ruling party lawmaker from Abyan. “They could end up ruling over portions of the south. In the areas they have taken over, they are already manning checkpoints and ordering residents to follow sharia.”
COLLAPSE IN AUTHORITY
provided a hiding place for AQAP militants, who are shielded by sympathetic, anti-regime tribes and impenetrable mountains.
One of the group’s top leaders, radical Yemeni American cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi, whom the Obama administration has targeted for assassination, is thought to be in the south.
The New Mexico-born Aulaqi has been implicated in attacks on the United States, including the 2009 Fort Hood, Tex., shootings that killed 13, and the failed Christmas Day attempt that year to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner.
Last year, AQAP dispatched parcel bombs on cargo flights to the United States.
It’s unclear how many of the extremists are AQAP members. Thousands of Islamist militants,
including many former jihadists who fought in Afghanistan, Iraq and other Muslim nations, live in Yemen.
Many have past links to al-Qaeda and express sympathy for the group’s core philosophies. Others have tribal, social and inspirational ties to the terrorist network.
Clashes mar visit by Jordan's king, witnesses say
Clashes broke out between citizens and anti-riot police during a visit by King Abdullah to southern Jordan on Monday.
According to eyewitnesses, festivities welcoming the monarch in the southern city of Tafileh, 180 kilometers (111 miles) south of Amman, turned violent when pro-reform activists were denied access to a royal event to launch a development initiative.
Youths threw stones at security services who responded with force, according to eyewitnesses in the city, home to anti-government protests in recent weeks.
Taher Odwan, Jordanian minister of communications and government spokesman, downplayed the clashes, denying media reports that the king's motorcade came under attack.
"A group of citizens attempted to greet the king and started shoving security personnel who responded back. This is something you would find at any event," Odwan said.
The incident comes a day after King Abdullah's royal address to the nation announcing sweeping political reforms that political observers see as steps to place the country on the path to a constitutional monarchy.
In a speech designated to mark the anniversary of the Great Arab Revolt, the monarch announced a number of reforms, including relinquishing his power to form a government to the parliament, a greater separation of powers and further constitutional amendments.
King Abdullah's Monday visit came to announce $21.1 million worth of development projects in Tafileh, where protesters have recently called for the government's dismissal, the dissolution of parliament and greater efforts to combat corruption.
Unlike other Arab states witnessing popular uprisings, weekly demonstrations that have taken place in Jordan a moderate state and key U.S. ally have called for regime reform, not regime change.
Violence, deaths continue in Libya
Seven people died Sunday in fighting in the town of Dafniya, Libya, near the besieged city of Misrata, according to a hospital spokesman.
The deaths include a woman who died when a Grad rocket landed in her home, said Khaled Abu Falgha of Misrata's Hekma hospital.
Elsewhere, 15 rebels and about 100 Gadhafi forces were killed Sunday in fighting in Zawiya, according to Ahmed al-Hawary, rebel spokesman in Zawiya.
Dafniya was quiet Sunday evening, said Ibrahim Beit-elmal, a spokesman for the Misrata military committee. On the southern front of Abdul Rauf, the rebels were able to capture 10 Gadhafi forces and a few vehicles after an ambush was set for them, he said.
Also Sunday, rebels in Misrata released a document they claim is a battle plan confiscated last month from forces loyal to longtime Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
CNN obtained the 15-page document titled, in part: "Battle plan to cleanse the city of Misrata from militant gangs" from rebels in the city Sunday.
The words "top secret" is written at the top of every page. The name of Gadhafi's son, Khamis Moammar Gadhafi, appears on page 10 as commander of the theater.
CNN could not independently verify the authenticity of the document. The rebels said it was confiscated from a high-ranking official near Misrata between May 18 and May 20.
"This document was very useful but only for a short period of time because as soon as Gadhafi brigades found out that we confiscated them, they tried to change their plans," said Abdallah al-Kabeir, a rebel spokesman.
The documents says Misrata is to be "attacked from six different directions with 11,350 fighters, 4,000 of whom are organized troops, (the rest volunteers).
The six directions cover the east and the south."
The "mission" is stated as: "To destroy mercenary elements and deceive youth in Misrata using nine brigades."
Al-Kabeir called portions of the document "exaggerated."
"I think the number of troops and equipment mentioned in the document are definitely exaggerated because they wanted to lift their soldiers' low morale.
Also, our intelligence on the ground indicated that Gadhafi forces have a lot less people than what this document says."
The Libyan government has not acknowledged the document.
Government spokesman Musa Ibrahim told reporters Sunday that reports rebels were gaining control of some areas were incorrect, although he said "pockets of violence" remain.
About 130 miles (209 kilometers) east of Tripoli, Misrata has been the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting in Libya's civil war.
Since the conflict began in early February, the death toll is believed to be more than 1,000 people in Misrata, including hundreds of civilians, Dr. Khaled Abu Falgha, a spokesman at Misrata's Hekma hospital, said earlier this month.
In April, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Tim Hetherington and photojournalist Chris Hondros were killed in Misrata.
The town has been under siege for months from Gadhafi's forces, who have cut off all land acesss, leaving the sea as the only escape route.
On May 11, rebels said they seized the Misrata airport. Heavy shelling has been reported in Misrata in recent days as Gadhafi's forces wage a campaign to seize the town back.
Ibrahim said Sunday that bombardment from the sea and air were the only things preventing Gadhafi forces from declaring victory in Misrata.
NATO said in a statement Sunday that precision-guided weapons were used to strike "a technical vehicle, a tank, a multiple rocket launcher and an armored vehicle" in Misrata.
The organization said anti-Gadhafi sentiment "is increasing in Libya as a growing number of Libyans demand the right to choose their own future."
Citizens were openly challenging Gadhafi's legitimacy along the nation's northwest coast between Tripoli and the Tunisian border, it said. NATO said it was "monitoring the situation closely and is taking necessary action to protect civilians."
Earlier Sunday, east of Tripoli, an armored vehicle with anti-aircraft guns was struck "as it moved to threaten civilians," NATO said.
The United Arab Emirates on Sunday became the latest nation to recognize the Libyan Transitional National Council "as the sole representative of the LIbya people," the state-run WAM news agency said.
There have been numerous calls for Gadhafi to step down, but Ibrahim said Sunday, "No one has the right to ask any citizen, much less the honorable leader, to leave.
Libyans should ask the leader to leave. A foreign diplomat asking is immoral."
‘Gay Girl in Damascus’ Blogger Admits to Writing Fiction Disguised as Fact
Six days after a post on the blog A Gay Girl in Damascus triggered panic among its readers by suggesting that the blog’s author, who claimed to be a Syrian-American lesbian caught up in the protest movement,