Oman: Appoints first female minister

The Gulf state of Oman has appointed a woman minister for the first time.

Sheikha Aisha bint Khalfan bin Jameel al-Sayabiyah, aged 30, will be in charge of the National Authority for Industrial Craftsmanship. She is the first woman to have been appointed as a minister in any of the other five Gulf Co-operation Council states - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.