GCC interior ministers met in Abu Dhabi on Dec 7 and agreed to set up a joint police force. “Security chiefs of member countries will meet soon to complete studies on all aspects of the force,” a final communiqué said after the meeting. The ministers from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the UAE also agreed to set up a permanent security committee to oversee the safety of industries and other vital installations. “We should also renew the security agreem...

Haj and Umrah service providing companies have been given six months to Saudise all their managerial and supervisory positions, official sources at the Haj Ministry said Dec 6. The six months have already started on Dec. 1 and will end by May 2012. The Haj Ministry asked the companies to make immediate plans for the substitution of foreigners by Saudis, sources said. The ministry was certain there are many competent and qualified Saudis to take over these jobs. Other sources,...

Yemeni Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on Dec 7 issued a decree setting up a unity government headed by opposition leader Mohammed Basindwa. The decision comes as part of an agreement to ease President Ali Abdullah Saleh out of power after 33 years in office and end months of public protests that have paralysed the country and pushed it to the brink of civil war. Half of the new Cabinet ministers are from the opposition, while loyalists of Saleh make up the rest, a cond...

The Sacramento Valley office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV) on Dec 5 contacted the FBI and local police to seek the investigation of a possible bias motive for the stabbing of a Sikh man at Fresno Yosemite International Airport on Sunday (Dec 4) evening. CAIR-SV says the man was reportedly stabbed while waiting in a public area near the Transportation Security Administration terminal. The suspect, who was apprehended by police, is described as a 26-yea...