news bites from middle east

World leaders gather at Non-Aligned Movement summit in Iran 

In all, 29 of the 120 nations in the NAM meeting were represented by heads of state or government. The other three-quarters were represented by senior officials: vice presidents, deputy prime ministers, foreign ministers and envoys.

Oman crash: Bright futures never to materialise

Al Ain: The dreams of the tragic Al Kaabi family have been shattered after the terrible Oman road crash tragedy.

The children all had bright futures ahead of them, with promising careers and weddings on the horizon.

Now those dreams have been left in tatters as loved ones attempt to come to terms with their loss.

Hamda was excited about her wedding, which was due to go head on October 4 this year.

Khalifa Port to open on Saturday

London: Abu Dhabi will launch the first phase of its new multibillion-dollar Khalifa Port on Saturday, as the capital pushes ahead with its principal infrastructure projects to diversify its economy away from oil.

Khalifa Port, located in Taweelah, between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, has been built alongside an industrial area known as the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi or Kizad. Together, the two have cost a total of $7.2billion (Dh26 billion) so far, with the government saying the project is still in its initial phases.

Abu Dhabi, alongside other Gulf capitals, has looked to upgrade its port facilities in a bid to generate more industrial business in a region where oil receipts still dominate government revenue. As it does so, it will have to compete with Dubai’s own, much larger Jebel Ali port and neighbouring Oman, which is developing Duqum, another mega-port.

Australian military suffers worst day since Vietnam

Sydney: Five Australian troops were killed in two separate incidents in Afghanistan in what Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Thursday described as the nation’s deadliest day in combat since the Vietnam War.

The deaths, which included three killings in an “insider attack” by an Afghan solider, brought to 38 the number of Australian lives lost in the conflict.

“This is a very big toll... this is our single worst day in Afghanistan,” said Gillard, who cut short a trip to the Pacific Islands Forum to return home and deal with the fallout.