GCC to consider Jordan, Morocco member requests

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is considering requests from Morocco and Jordan to join the Gulf Arab political bloc, the secretary general said in a news conference on Tuesday in the Saudi capital Riyadh. (more…)

GCC ministers urged UN to end Iranian ‘interference’

Gulf Arab states have accused Iran of interfering in their regional affairs with the alleged aim of “sowing discord and destruction.” (more…)

Analysis: How will the Mideast dominoes fall now?

No one could have predicted that an enraged Tunisian fruit vendor who lit himself on fire in frustration against government policies would inspire millions to take to the streets in protest of government policies and economic duress.

Oman says it has reconciled with UAE over spy ring

Oman has reconciled with the United Arab Emirates after Kuwaiti mediation succeeded in resolving tensions over an alleged spy ring, a foreign ministry official said Friday. (more…)

Protesters and police resort to violence in Oman [Photos]

Protesters set a supermarket ablaze and gathered in several sites in a seaside town in Oman on Monday in a third consecutive day of unrest that has included deadly clashes in the strategic Gulf nation.

Police shot dead two demonstrators as the wave of protests sweeping the Arab world engulfed the normally placid sultanate of Oman. (more…)

Frankincense: Could it be a cure for cancer?

The gift given by the wise men to the baby Jesus probably came across the deserts from Oman. The BBC’s Jeremy Howell visits the country to ask whether a commodity that was once worth its weight in gold could be reborn as a treatment for cancer.
Oman’s Land of Frankincense is an 11-hour drive southwards from the capital, Muscat.
Warm winters and showery summers are the perfect conditions for the Boswellia sacra tree to produce the sap called frankincense. These trees grow wild in Dhofar.
“The records show that frankincense was produced here as far back as 7,000 BCE, said Mohammed Al-Shahri , a local tour guide. BBC

$60 Billion railway project to connect GCC

A $60 billion railway project to connect Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and eventually Oman will be on the agenda of the summit of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The heads of states will meeting in Kuwait on Dec. 14 . Construction of the project will begin in 2011 and is planned for completion by 2017. The summit will also discuss relations with Iran with special reference to the three occupied UAE islands. Source: Arab News

Kuwaiti parliament speaker urges enhanced coordination among GCC legislatures

Kuwaiti Parliament Speaker Jassem Al-Kharafi Saturday urged legislatures of member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to enhance coordination and cooperation, the official KUNA news agency reported.
Established in 1981, the GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and is a political and economic alliance in the region. Source: Xinhua