The Security Council has approved unanimously a one-year extension of the mandate of the UN mission in Iraq. The mission has 1104 troops in the country. The previous mandate has just expired, the Gulfnews reports. The Security Council has announced that it will review the terms of the new agreement 12 months from now on or, if the Iraqi government requests s... Read more »

A new city in Qatar, Lusail, is being built. It will cover an area of 35 thousand square km, while the area of Beirut is only about 20 thousand square km. The city will be home to 455 thousand residents. It will be divided into 17 mixed-use districts, including a golf district, commercial districts, a business district, entertainment district, marina, resort islands, as well as residential areas with an international school. The first stage of construction is expected t... Read more »

The streets of Algiers are now quiet after the clashes that erupted this week between Algerians and the Chinese subsided. As local citizens report, the clashes rose from a confrontation between a Chinese driver and a local shop owner. As the result, 10 Chinese people were injured and 5 shops owned by Chinese immigrants were looted, the Alarabiya reports. The... Read more »

In UAE all students of both private and public schools will have to undergo vaccination against swine flu in September. The vaccination will be mandatory for all students over the age of 5 but free, the Arabian Business reports. Some 630 thousand students will be vaccinated, which will cost the government about 870 thousand... Read more »

Dubai house prices dipped in the second quarter of this year, a consultancy firm in UAE has reported. The global economic crisis has had a huge impact on the market. The firm, Colliers International, has announced that House Price Index in Dubai fell by almost 50% in the second quarter. The reasons are problems with financing, the insecurity of jobs, especially for expats, and lack of transparency as far as project delays are concerned. The average price for square mete... Read more »

The Middle East Online reports on the results of the recent presidential election in Mauritania. According to the preliminary results, more than 52 pro cent of votes were given to the general who initiated the military coup last August and toppled the country’s first elected leader. Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz vowed to fight the spread of disease, raise the level o... Read more »

The only film festival to be held in Saudi Arabia has been cancelled. It was supposed to be held in December, in the country where cinema has been banned for almost 30 years. As the Gulf Times reports citing the words of one of the organizers of the festival, the news came from the governor of Jeddah. It... Read more »

Oman has announced new targets of “omanisation” of jobs in the private sector. Omanisation is the Omani policy for securing more job places in the private sector for Omani nationals. Omanisation has become increasingly more important recently, the Gulfnews reports. Approximately 40 thousand Omanis seek job every year after graduation, most commonly in the priva... Read more »

Oil prices have fallen below 60 dollars on Monday - the lowest level since the end of May. According to some experts prices might fall even further to 50 dollars per barrel, Arabian Business reports. These concerns come amid speculations that the world economy might face another dip and the demand for fuel will be even lower. Althoug... Read more »

330 detainees have been recently tried in Saudi Arabia by special courts dealing with security issues. They were charged with participation in the terror attacks of 2003-2006 that took place in the country. The detainees received different sentences including house arrest and imprisonment, as well as a death penalty. Several defendants were found not guilty, Middle ... Read more »