UAE: Plans to start conscription

The UAE plans to introduce compulsory military service for all males aged 18-30. The cabinet endorsed a draft federal law to that effect on 19 January and has submitted it to the National Federal Council (FNC); the length of service is to be set at two years for those who have not completed high school, and nine months for those who have. National service will be optional for women. The news came as a surprise, though it has been several years in the making. One source noted that, a couple of years ago, an official delegation went to visit army recruitment centres in Switzerland to look at how the Swiss ran their programme