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Arabian Peninsula Focus: October 2012

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Tuesday, 23 October 2012. Can Qatar be friends with everyone? Qatar's Sheikh Hamad during his visit to Gaza. Reported on the Qatari Emir's controversial visit to the Gaza Strip. Qatar's leader, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, visited a number of sites in Gaza and used the visit to call for unity between the geographically and politically divided Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza. In some respects Qatar's bold step deserves credit. I have previously criticised certain countries from...

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Arabian Peninsula Focus: April 2012

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Monday, 30 April 2012. Today's 4.Meddlers, widows, retrials and sunshine. Yesterday, the BBC. In the absence of anything noteworthy to say on Oman, I thought I'd tell readers that the Muscat's weather forecast for tomorrow is dry and sunny with temperatures reaching 43 degrees Celsius. Come on Oman.give me something to write about.please. Saturday, 21 April 2012. A belt and braces execution in Riyadh. My question is simple: why did the guilty man have to be beheaded and. I think it's time the country's j...

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Arabian Peninsula Focus: January 2012

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Friday, 27 January 2012. JFK - TBC: Where next for Saleh? I have to admit, I'm finding it hard to keep up with Saleh's plans. When I posted on " Tribulations but no trials for Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh. News agencies were reporting that he would no longer be travelling to US for treatment for an injury sustained during a bomb attack on his compound. Yesterday France24. According to the Times of India. 8220;TBC” may soon be replaced by “MCT”, (MCT = Muscat, for those unfamiliar with the...Saudi Arabia: E...

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Arabian Peninsula Focus: Another year passes

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Wednesday, 13 February 2013. If I were to take my "old" line of argument I would say that continued protests are now a serious cause for concern to both the al-Khalifas and the House of Saud, and almost certainly due to Iran's masterful puppetry. Bahrain's King looks justifiably concerned. Yes, such a change in regime may cause a stir among Saudi's Shia ranks, but nothing that couldn't be controlled. I'd say that the real loser here is Bahrain's ruling al-Khalifa family who, as another year passes, have ...

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Arabian Peninsula Focus: December 2011

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Saturday, 31 December 2011. Bahrain: the giants' playground. On 30 December, Al-Jazeera International reported that 5 Bahraini police officers are to be tried for the alleged torture of an anti-government protestertor who later died in their custody. The Bahraini government has made a point of highlighting that the trial is part of their committment to a. Zero tolerance" approach towards abuse of political detainees. Bahrain with Saudi Arabia. I will watch the outcome of the two upcoming trials with inte...

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Arabian Peninsula Focus: November 2012

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Friday, 16 November 2012. Things have khat out of control in Yemen. Today I found a new source of blog inspiration: The Alaska Dispatch. A big thank you to Sarah Palin's local news service for running a Yemen story that doesn't feature al-Qaeda. Instead, the Alaska Dispatch article subject, and the subject of this blog post is Khat, aka Qat or Gat. The final negative impact of khat is discussed in the Alaska Dispatch. I recently read about a twitter campaign to wean Yemen off this leaf. A short summa...

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Arabian Peninsula Focus: January 2013

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Wednesday, 30 January 2013. The donor conference is underway. Just a short post today as I wrote a longer-than-usual post yesterday on the future of Bahrain. Some of you may have read a post earlier this month ( Kuwait leads action against Asad. About Kuwait hosting a donor conference to secure aid for Syrian refugees. Today I read a Financial Times article reporting on the conference which is now underway. Entitled Donors pledge more aid to Syria. Tuesday, 29 January 2013. A fresh perspective on Bahrain.

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Arabian Peninsula Focus: Oman: as perfect as the travel brochures suggest?

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Monday, 21 January 2013. Oman: as perfect as the travel brochures suggest? As some of you may know I often make light of the fact that Oman rarely appears on the pages and websites of the international press. I thought today was no exception. The first couple of headlines I read were about the lack of potential parking issues at a Muscat amphitheatre (fascinating - really). Then I came across a headline which read: Oman seeks to cut expat workforce. This made me stop and have a read. Http:/ www.ft&#4...

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Arabian Peninsula Focus: Where next for Yemen.

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Monday, 18 February 2013. Where next for Yemen. Today I came across a photo-feature in the the New York Times which tells a troubling story of Yemen. Entitled Where next for Yemen. The journalist expresses concern that over the last two years since Saleh was replaced by Hadi very little has changed. The capital Sana'a just about functions, but the areas outside the city are riddled with sectarianism from a plethora of different varied forces. Yemen is an historically complex tribal patchwork. When I ...