Habib Toumi

High incomes and a taste for fast food and sugary drinks have pushed nationals of the United Arab Emirates into the obesity club, the World Health Organisation has said. Now, in a report written, Michael Reid endeavours to reveal how the UAE government is tackling a problem that has caused cases of diabetes to skyrocket.

A multicultural field gathered at 07:00 for the start of the recent Abu Dhabi half marathon. Runners from Australia, Canada, France, India, South Africa and the United Kingdom, to name but a few of the countries represented, took their marks. Yet of the 306 runners who made it back to the Golf and Equestrian Club, not one was from the United Arab Emirates.

Chris Collier, from the Abu Dhabi Striders Club, which organizes the annual event, puts the absence of local entrants down to the lack of an exercise culture in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “We’re definitely not just a club for expats,” Collier, an Englishman, explained. “We welcome all nationalities and in the past have given young Emiratis the chance to join us on our weekly runs, but we have had little response.” He adds: “There is no culture of running here in the UAE. Why would you get willingly hot and bothered in this sort of heat?” continue reading…

Ali Larijani

A Kuwaiti MP has blasted Iran’s parliament speaker Ali Larijani for his alleged threats to the Arabian Gulf states, saying that he had failed to respect his hosts and that he behaved like a master with his slaves. “His statement lacked the necessary respect for the host country and for its parliament. The problem is that his threat to strike the Gulf states in case of an attack on Iran was uttered inside the Kuwaiti parliament,” MP Faisal Al Mislim said.

During a visit to Kuwait earlier this month, Larijani said that “states in the region that house US military bases should know that these bases must not be used against Iran. The region should not become a launchpad for aggression against Iran.” The parliament speaker however said that Iran “does not want to inflict any harm on the GCC states,” and charged that the United States was scaring the Gulf from Iran to promote its presence in the region.

But for Al Mislim, Larjiani’s words were “full of threats and menaces.” “The language used by Larijani was similar to the one used by teachers with their students or rather by a master with his slaves,” he was quoted as saying by Kuwait daily Al Rai. Al Mislim said that Kuwait has always refused to allow the use of its lands to strike Iran and that this position was known to everybody. “Iran has voiced its stance long before Larijani arrived here and our official and popular position opposes US strikes against Iran. We have never been warmongers and we hope that the Iranians are not attacked by the Americans,” he said. continue reading…

Shaikh Khalid with Clinton in Washington - BNA

Bahrain’s foreign minister and a senior official have defended their country’s right to protect itself and insisted that Iran should not see the missile shield deployment as a measure to attack any country.

During a press conference with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington, Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa on Wednesday said that the protections measures have been in place for decades, but are now being improved, without seeking to threaten anyone.

“We’re not seeing anything new, nobody’s sabre-rattling here, nobody is being belligerent to anyone in the region. It’s just a purely defensive measure for the benefit of the whole world, for the region being so important to the whole world,” Shaikh Khalid said.

The US administration on Monday said that it boost the protection capabilities of its Gulf allies by upgrade defence possibilities in the region. Iran immediately poured scorn on the decision, and Ali Larijani, the parliament speaker, dismissed the American missile shield as an American “puppet show” and a new political ploy to pave the way to increase its military strength in the region.

However, Shaikh Khalid said that the deployment was not an antagonistic measure. continue reading…

Patriot missile being launched

Tension is heightening up dramatically in the Gulf amid plans by the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to reinvigorate their security agreements in anticipation of a military confrontation in the region and Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani criticised blasting the US deployment in the Gulf as a “puppet show” and a “political fraud.”

According to a Kuwaiti daily, the GCC countries are working on invigorating a security agreement in anticipation of any deterioration of the situation in the region in the wake of the recent Iran-US escalation.

“The heads of the security forces in the GCC are planning a meeting to coordinate their efforts to confront any emergency following the announcement that the US is deploying a missile shield in the Gulf and moving ships into the Gulf to protect allies against constant Iranian threats to undermine security in the region,” Al Jareeda reported on Tuesday, quoting unnamed “well-informed” sources. “It is obvious that any declaration from Washington or Tehran on the situation of the region is taken seriously.” continue reading…

Manama : They are both in charge of managing the broadcasting of television programmes in their respective countries.

However, while in Bahrain, Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al Khalifa, the culture and information minister, has won praise, in Kuwait, Shaikh Ahmad Al Abdullah, came under fire from MPs and thousands of disgruntled tribesmen. continue reading…

Manama: Five Kuwaitis, one Qatari and one Egyptian released by Iran have been handed over to Kuwaiti authorities, a Kuwaiti diplomat has said.

“The Iranians have been outstandingly cooperative, which resulted in the release of the Kuwaitis and their Egyptian and Qatari companions,” Majdi Al Dhafiri, Kuwait’s ambassador in Iran, said.
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