US terror alert fails to deter tourists to the UAE

The US embassy in Abu Dhabi and the consulate in Dubai are among 19 diplomatic posts that will remain closed till Saturday in response to a possible Al Qaeda attack in the region.
The list includes 15 of the 22 that were already ordered closed on Sunday due to the security fears, as well as four additional posts.

But the global travel alert issued by the US State Department on Friday, warning of the dangers of travelling to the Middle East during August, seems to have done little to dampen the tourism sector in the UAE, as it gears up for a busy Eid.

Iran's Rohani appoints a reformist as top deputy

TEHERAN : Iranian state TV says the country's new president has appointed a prominent reformist as his top deputy.

The Monday report says Mr Hasan Rohani named Mr Eshaq Jahangiri, a former industry and mines minister, as First Vice President.

Bahrain Al Khalifa Regime Destroys Another Shiite Mosque

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Bahraini security forces have destroyed Sheikh Fadhel al-Asfari Mosque in Bilad al-Qadeem suburb of the capital Manama.

Saudi-backed security forces in Bahrain demolished the mosque in a wave of attacks on mosques and holy places in and around Manama.

Dozens convicted, jailed over coup plot in United Arab Emirates

ABU DHABI - A United Arab Emirates court on Tuesday jailed scores of Emiratis convicted of plotting a coup, after a trial that reflected the Gulf state's mistrust of Islamist groups following the Arab uprisings.

Among the 68 men convicted were academics and members of some prominent families in the UAE, including a cousin of the ruler of one of the seven emirates in the oil-rich federation.

Judge Falah al-Hajiri read out the names of 26 acquitted defendants, then announced jail terms for the remaining 68, eight of whom he sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison.

Wahhabi clerics call to boycott Iranian products

Calls to boycott Iranian products are gaining support in the region after a meeting of leading Sunni clerics in Cairo urged Muslims to declare a jihad against the Syrian regime supported by Iranian and Hezbollah fighters.

A declaration issued by the meeting also called for a boycott of ‘products, companies and interests’ of Iran. Several Kuwaiti supermarket chains have already begun boycotting Iranian goods.