UAE rules wife 'discipline' cannot leave marks - Middle East, World - The Independent

The UAE's highest judicial body says a man can beat his wife and young children as long as the beating leaves no physical marks.

The decision by the Federal Supreme Court shows the strong influence of Islamic law in the Emirates despite its international appeal in which foreign residents greatly outnumber the local population.

The court made the ruling earlier this month in the case of a man who left cuts and bruises on his wife and adult daughter after a beating.

It says the man was guilty of harming the women but noted that Islamic codes allow for "discipline" if no marks are left. It also says children who have reached "adulthood" — approximately puberty — cannot be struck.

The ruling was reported today in the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National.

FT.com:

The prospect of Iran marrying its arsenal of long-range ballistic missiles with unconventional warheads – perhaps, in time, nuclear warheads – is the possible threat they most fear.

Hence the United Arab Emirates wants to buy the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system, designed to guard against a missile attack. The country is also investing in weaponry produced by European companies: the UAE is due to buy up to 80 Rafale jet fighters, built by Dassault of France.

As well as dealing with any threat from Iran, the Gulf states are also trying to broaden their military capabilities. Saudi Arabia wants equipment designed for counter-insurgency, following its experience this year in trying to combat Houthi Shia rebels based in neighbouring Yemen.

...“The clear winner from the recent arms sales agreements is Boeing, which has been struggling to keep a toehold in the fighter market as the new generation of fighters are being built by Lockheed Martin,” he said. Raytheon also stands to gain from the investment in advanced missile defence technology, added Mr Sharp.

US and European defence companies have recognised the Middle East as a crucial source of future sales, especially as the UK plans to cut its defence budget by at least 10 per cent over the next five years and the US seeks to save $100bn in the same period.

Let's hope they don't use it on Western countries afterwards...

An online petition has been launched demanding that a British businessman jailed for a month in Dubai for kissing a friend be pardoned.

Ayman Najafi, 25, and Charlotte Adams, 26, an estate agent from Essex, were accused of indecency.

Ms Adams is serving her one-month sentence, while Mr Najafi, of Enfield, North London, is deciding whether to return to court after his first appeal was rejected. 

His passport was seized after his arrest and he cannot leave Dubai.

Mr Najafi’s MP David Burrowes has now launched a petition. 

He said: ‘It is calling for justice for Ayman, for a fair trial, or for the ruler of Dubai to pardon him.’

A 38-year-old woman told Dubai’s secret police she saw the couple kissing and touching in a restaurant on November 28 last year. 

The couple say they have witnesses to say that they were not kissing inappropriately but they were not called to court. 

Mr Burrowes’s petition is at www.ipetitions.com/petition/freeayman