I’m always intrigued to read about foreigners getting into trouble in Dubai. It must be easy to think that the emirate is so “Western”. On the surface, it is. Go beneath it, it is not.

 This article about an unmarried couple having consensual sex in the UAE is shocking by Western standards. It is true. The UAE has strict laws. But it’s not nearly as cut and dry as this story might suggest.

 In the first instance, the couple did not have sex in Dubai; it was Sharjah, an adjoining emirate, which has adopted Saudi rules. There is no way anybody would have allowed any hanky panky there.

Perhaps an unintended consequence of the row between Qatar and Saudi Arabia (and its allies) is the impact on the animals. Sheep and camels owned by Qataris are grazing on Saudi land, an area known as the Empty Quarter. It is the largest contiguous stand desert in the world. Qatar officials estimate that 15,000 camels and 10,000 sheep have already crossed the border. Some animals are dying, getting stuck at the border between the two countries where there is insufficient food and drink, according to the UK’s The Telegraph.

The diplomatic row between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and its allies, such as the UAE, shows no signs of abating. The latest story to come out is that the UAE is accused of hacking Qatar state media, an accusation that the UAE obviously denies.

Having been a journalist in the region for 8.5 years, I am fully aware that neither country is known for its propensity to be kind to journalists, and governments of both countries are prepared to become involved in the editorial process.

It is likely that this diplomatic argument is not only about “terrorism”. All countries involved are accused of that. It could be about money too; who has the most and will it continue? The falling oil price is not helping; meanwhile liquified petroleum gas (LPG) prices upon which Qatar is reliant are remaining steady.

The falling price of oil is not good for GCC economies, but this can’t be any real surprise? The question now is how this problem is going to be resolved in a region where there has been little attempt to diversify the economies?

Dubai, which has never been an oil-producing emirate, started to diversify earlier than other countries in the region. In this respect, the emirate has been very successful. Logistics is now the driving force behind the Dubai economy; tourism is probably number two. However, the emirate is still dependent on Abu Dhabi for its oil revenue.

There’s a lot of talk at the moment about how media and PR impact on brand, particularly politicians. Even though this study doesn’t look at politicians, the study can be translated to other fields. A recent study shows how it might be.

Measuring the Impact of PR on Consumer Brand Perception

Journalism is about story telling, whether it is by words, by diagrams or by pictures, such as video. The latter is relatively new and many of us, like me, didn’t learn with video. This article that appeared on Mediashift explains how digital journalism has helped us.

What Educators Should Understand About Code and Journalism

Newsrooms are still far less digital than classrooms, a point that this article makes clear. Reading it, I found this finding that everyone ought to take a more collaborative approach one of the most interesting. “The collaborative approach is key and the various points of view lead to positive changes.” Live presentation skills are also more important than ever.

The Gulf crisis –that is Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain imposing a land, sea and air blockade against Qatar is likely to be ongoing. Kuwait and Oman are remaining neutral, which is typically the case. Saudi Arabia and its allies cut ties with Qatar on June 5 and have accused it of funding terrorism- an accusation that Qatar denies. They later issued a 13-point list of demands, among them being the closure of the news network Al Jazeera, that have been rejected by Qatar.

So many of us are trying to create our own personal brand, but are we successful? Are there particular steps we ought to be following?

 Here is an article by the Institute of Public Relations that outlines seven steps. Are you achieving them? What can you do differently?

I’m posting this article after attending a lecture tonight by Dr Mark J Miller, lecturer in immigration, refugees, trade policy among other things, at the University of Delaware. Of course, Donald Trump and his views towards immigration came up again and again, inevitably. Yes, we know they are extreme. Is it because he believes them, is playing to a certain audience, or is he just being reactionary? He’s probably taking on a a bit of all three. Or is it because his behaviour is abnormal.

Someone who clearly thinks this might be the case is Julia Gillard, former Australian Prime Minister. She is now chair of the mental health organisation, Beyondblue. Here is what she thinks.

We've recently become a member of AMEC, because we believe that measurement and evaluation of the media and PR is very important. Companies need to know a great deal more how effective their media and PR campaigns are. One of the areas we are specialising in is tourism. A different methodology will have to be used for hotels and hospitality than for restaurants and adventure activities for example.

Last week saw the reshuffle of the ruling family in Saudi Arabia, something that many observers expected to happen a couple of years ago. By Western standards, the hope, and expectation, is that the country will become more open and transparent, with a respect for human rights. For some in Saudi, there might be the same expectations, for others there may be not. The views across the Kingdom differ widely.

A couple of years ago when I was attending a conference in Riyadh (wearing the abbaya, but not the head gear) one presenter, who argued that Saudi Arabia should allow more women to join the work force, said “women are no less moral than men”.  It's a comment I have never forgotten.