The Telecommunication sector contributed 4.9 per cent to the UAE’s GDP in 2009, according to the first Annual Market Review released by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).

King Abdullah II Fund for Development KAFD in Jordan would launch an ICT fund in two months to seed start-ups in the country. Called Oasis 500, the fund aims to provide an initial capital of between $50,000 and $100,000 to 500 startups.

On 21-22 April, Kuala Lumpur hosted a gathering of 36 Consumers International members and partners for its first global meeting on Access to Knowledge. The meeting included the launches of CIi‘s 2010 IP Watchlist, which has since gained much media interest, and our runaway hit short film When Copyright Goes Bad, which has since accumulated almost 50 thousand page views in English and Spanish.

The CCI annual report for 2009 is now available to download as a PDF.

I have recently prepared a report on Jordan to Consumers International. The 2010 Consumers International IP Watch List report asks various questions to asses the copyright system available in the country to determine its level of openness to the idea of access to knowledge (A2K).

Oman has taken a key step forward in its drive to promote free software by signing collaboration agreements with three leading higher education institutions in the country.

The Consumers International Global Meeting on A2K 2010 is to be held at the Holiday Villa hotel in Subang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 21 and 22 April 2010.

Dubai Information technology spending in the UAE is expected to witness a 9.1 per cent growth this year to $15.91 billion (Dh58.39 billion) compared to last year’s $14.54 billion as focus shifts to broader IT services, said a top industry expert.

Next week ccAustralia and x|media|lab are co-hosting a lunchtime seminar in sydney as part of media 2010 on al jazeera’s creative commons repository.

The past year witnessed some major achievements for Creative Commons in the Arab world. Highlights included Al Jazeera