Stay true to the dreams of thy youth

Kuwait to test private power | Commentary | MEED

At the same time, Kuwait does not have sufficiently strong finances to continue to award engineering, procurement and construction contracts to meet its electricity needs. It has no choice, but to develop more power generation capacity using the private sector. The Al-Zour North project is the country’s first independent water and power project (IWPP) and shows Kuwait is starting to recognise this. The project is set to be followed by a series of similar schemes as the government has said that every new project over 500MW in capacity must be privately funded.

Who had the worst week in Washington? Newt Gingrich. - The Washington Post

“I was happy to see that Newt Gingrich has staked out a position on the war, a position, or two, or maybe three,” Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) joked at an annual congressional dinner on Wednesday. Zing! Newt Gingrich, for turning your rhetorical firepower on yourself, you had the worst week in Washington. Congrats, or something.

In Libya, CIA is gathering intelligence on rebels - The Washington Post

The Obama administration has sent teams of CIA operatives into Libya in a rush to gather intelligence on the identities and capabilities of rebel forces opposed to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, according to US officials. The information has become more crucial as the administration and its coalition partners move closer to providing direct military aid or guidance to the disorganized and beleaguered rebel army.

American Labor And A Workers’ Movement At Georgetown University | The New Republic

This year at Georgetown University, another such labor moment occurred—in a modest but still instructive fashion. After a campaign that began in the muck of July, the roughly 200 men and women who work either at the student cafeteria or at one of a handful of campus fast-food outlets (including a Starbucks) are close to winning recognition from Aramark, their employer, whose $12 billion annual revenue makes it one the largest service providers in the nation. The workers, most of whom are black or Latino, have become members of Unite Here, the leading union in the culinary trades.

Expat arrivals push UAE population to 8.26m in 2010 - Politics & Economics - ArabianBusiness.com

The population of the UAE reached 8.26 million people by the end of the first half of 2010, according to latest figures published by the UAE Statistics Bureau. Emirati nationals accounted for 11.5 percent of the population at the end of June, totalling 947,997 people, the data showed, while non-nationals numbered 7,316,073.

flydubai set to begin flights to Ethiopia on April 22 - Travel & Hospitality - ArabianBusiness.com

flydubai, Dubai's first low cost airline, has announced it is to begin flights to Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. Flights to the East African nation will begin on April 22 and operate three times a week on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, the carrier said in a statement. Ethiopia will be flydubai's destination in Africa, where it also serves Egypt, Sudan and Djibouti.

Saudi Arabia Camels Get No Relief as Ukraine Grain Curbs Boost Feed Prices - Bloomberg

Ukraine, once the world’s largest barley exporter, extended curbs on grain shipments, potentially driving prices higher and denying supply to consumers including the 1 million camels owned by Saudi Arabia’s Bedouin. Ukraine approved an extension of quotas on exports to July 1, Agriculture Minister Mykola Prysyazhnyuk said in Kiev today. The limits, imposed in October, were scheduled to end tomorrow. Saudi Arabia, the largest global barley importer, has turned instead to growers including Australia for supply, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Google making app that would identify people's faces - CNN.com

Google is working on a mobile application that would allow users to snap pictures of people's faces in order to access their personal information, a director for the project said this week. In order to be identified by the software, people would have to check a box agreeing to give Google permission to access their pictures and profile information, said Hartmut Neven, the Google engineering director for image-recognition development. Google's Profiles product includes a user's name, phone number and e-mail address. Google has not said what personal data might be displayed once a person is identified by its facial-recognition system.

Israel West Bank Annexations Considered

Israel is considering annexing major West Bank settlement blocs if the Palestinians unilaterally seek world recognition of a state, an Israeli official said Tuesday – moves that would deal a grave blow to prospects for negotiating a peace deal between the two sides. Israel has refrained from taking such a diplomatically explosive step for four decades. The fact that it is considering doing so reflects how seriously it is concerned by the Palestinian campaign to win international recognition of a state in the absence of peacemaking.

Saudi Arabia pledges to stamp out corruption - Politics & Economics - ArabianBusiness.com

A senior Saudi Arabia minister on Monday said the kingdom would leave no stone unturned in its fight against corruption. Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz, Saudi's second deputy prime minister and minister of interior, made the pledge as he met with the man put in charge of a new anti-corruption unit.

Abu Dhabi to pursue nuclear power, undeterred by Japan - Energy - ArabianBusiness.com

Abu Dhabi will build a nuclear power plant even after an earthquake and tsunami in Japan damaged generators there and released radioactive material, the head of the Gulf emirate’s utility said today. “It’s a technology we should bring to the region,” Abdullah Saif al-Nuaimi, director general of Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority said. Newer technology than that used in Japan’s damaged plants would make Abu Dhabi’s reactors safer, he said.

Kuwaiti student harnesses solar power in sprinkler system

A Kuwaiti high school student has managed to harness solar power and use it to run an irrigation system using sprinklers. The application aimed at reducing power consumption of irrigation systems and at best managing water resources, Saleh Mahdi Bu Salha told Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) on Monday. The innovation stores solar power into batteries which in turn run a sprinkler irrigation system's units strategically placed across a farm or field, he said.

Pressure mounts on Kuwaiti govt to resign

Political developments in Kuwait took a new turn yesterday with two Shiite MPs vowing to submit two grillings against the foreign and information ministers amid mounting pressure on the government to resign. MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan said he will file to grill Information Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah today while his fellow Shiite MP Saleh Ashour said he will file to grill Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Sabah "within the next 48 hours".

Syria lifting emergency law, official says - CNN.com

Syria's emergency law, which has been in place nearly 50 years, is in the process of being lifted, a source close to the Syrian government said Sunday. The decision comes as the country grapples with deadly violence surrounding anti-government protests. Earlier, Reem Haddad, spokeswoman for the Syrian Information Ministry, told CNN that "it will be lifted." However, she could not say when.

BBC News - Honduras drops arrest warrants for ousted Manuel Zelaya

A Supreme Court judge in Honduras has dismissed three arrest warrants for former President Manuel Zelaya. The move allows Mr Zelaya to return without detention to Honduras, where he was ousted in a coup in June 2009. Judge Oscar Chincilla said Mr Zelaya still faced corruption charges over his plan while president to hold a vote on changing the constitution. Mr Zelaya has said the charges are politically motivated and he wanted them dropped.

Did 'The Israel Lobby' Change Anything? - By Stephen M. Walt | Foreign Policy

Five years ago this week, John Mearsheimer and I published The Israel Lobby in the London Review of Books. Our goal in writing the article (and subsequent book) was to break the taboo on discussions of the lobby's impact on U.S. foreign policy and to transform it into a topic that people could talk about openly and calmly. Because we believed the "special relationship" that the lobby had promoted was harmful to the United States and Israel (not to mention the Palestinians), we hoped that a more open discourse on this topic would move U.S. Middle East policy in a direction that would be better for almost everyone.

Egypt tightens security for 'targeted' Al Baradei

Cairo: Egyptian authorities have assigned a security guard for pro-reform campaigner Mohammad Al Baradei following reports that he faces the threat of assassination over his role in a popular revolt that toppled long-standing president Hosni Mubarak, an independent newspaper said on Monday.

UAE cancels plans for Dubai, Abu Dhabi passenger rail link | Transport and Logistics | AMEinfo.com

Richard Bowker, chief executive of Etihad Rail, has said that plans for a dedicated passenger link between Abu Dhabi and Dubai have been cancelled, The National has reported. "We may come back to it," Bowker said. Right now "it's all about priorities, it's all about focus." The company, formerly called Union Railway, said it is set to award the first construction contract for a freight line in the UAE's Western Region in the next two months.

Shiite protesters rally in two Saudi villages

Riyadh: Shiite protesters have staged rallies in two villages near Qatif in the oil-rich eastern province of Saudi Arabia, renewing demands for the release of prisoners and the withdrawal of Saudi forces in Bahrain in spite of requests from senior clerics to halt protests. About 400 people marched in Al Rabiya after Friday prayers, while 600 took to the streets of Al Awwamiya after mid-afternoon prayers carrying Saudi and Bahraini flags, residents said. The marches lasted for about one hour and the protesters demanded the release of nine prisoners held without trial since 1996 for their alleged role in the bombing of a US army complex in Al Khobar, an end to discrimination against the minority and the withdrawal of Saudi troops from Bahrain, said Fouad Ali, a resident of Al Awwamiya.