Seniors, like most people, around the world are struggling with the current lock downs. What of their future? Lucia Dore looks at the economic implications of COVID-19 for seniors and what may happen in the future. The future economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on seniors varies between countries - from Europe and the Americas to Asia/Pacific....
Questions have been asked often about the quality of education in the Middle East. Is the education good enough? Does it meet quality standards? Will young people be employable? This article about education in the Middle East attempts to find some answers to those questions. Sam Brennan August 25, 2019 Article Summary By 2040, the Middle East and N...
Since I am interested in gender, age, and Arab issues I found this article enlightening. It's certainly time that women's issues in Arabia are not seen as being Arab or even Islamic, in the same way that women's issue in the West are not a result of Christianity alone. Here is what was written in The Atlantic. Arab Women Are Tired of Talking About ...
I've been wondering what it would be like being in the Middle East, given that I was in New Zealand for four years and I'm now living in Vietnam. I would probably find this mounting tension hard to deal with, although it happens all the time. While I was living in the UAE, I was used to it. With tension in the region increasing all the time, especi...
One of the issues that continues to recur is what Turkey will do about Syria. Will it invade or not? I've often thought about and I assume that it will, someday, especially stop the Kurds. That assumption may not be correct. I know Kurds who live in New Zealand, having escaped from Iran and Iraq, and I know Kurds from the Middle East. All they want...
I've been thinking a lot recently about religion and how it affects relationships and society. Just recently I've been made to feel inferior to a "religious" person even though I have paid for all of life's essentials- accommodation, food and transport. Clearly, however he is more superior because he is "religious". Is it not much the same in Iran?...
An increasing number of Gazans are entering into Israel each day to work, 2000 in fact. This number has just been improved by the Israeli government despite the fact that it is an election year and the right-wing is desperate to keep the fact that Hamas, seemingly, is being rewarded, quiet. Moving from Palestine to Israel is difficult - I've done i...
The gloss is coming off Dubai, finally. It might appear to be a progressive city and a city of modernity but the royal family, led by the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is innately conservative. The gloss started to come off last year when the ruler's daughter, Princess Latifa, was returned to Dubai after being captured at s...
I've never been a fan of Saudi Arabia, even when I lived in the Gulf. Under the auspices of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, I am even less keen on the country. Saudi Arabia, like the UAE, is not all it appears and although both countries criticize the West they are desperate for its approval, from the US in particular. So. it was with great pleas...
In the Middle East, there seems to be double standards in play when it comes to Israel. Israel seems to act with immunity while other Arab countries, and Iran as well, are expected to adhere to greater standards, being called liers and worse if they do not. The latest is Israel airstrikes on military sites in Syria (a street in Damascas Syria, pict...
Tensions are rising in the Middle East, especially between Iran and the US and the other Gulf countries. It's hard to know who to believe, what media to believe in particular, when you are not there to assess actions for yourself. I know that when I lived in the UAE a great deal of activity went on in the Strait of Hormuz that went unrecorded, or a...
The US-Bahrain conference that will be held at the June, at the behest of US President Trump, is another example of how the West thinks about the Middle East- or doesn't. Even though most Gulf states and Israel and Palestine have been invited most will not show up. As the author, Yossi Beilin, says, " there is hardly any connection between what the...
There's a feeling that a war between the US and Iran is inevitable. But is it? According to this analysis, it is not. Iraq, Oman and Germany this week all indicated they'd be willing to engage both sides. But Iraq has said it will side with Iran and that US economic sanctions are unnecessary. Iran vs. US: From Talk of War to Talk of Talk Iraq, Oman...
What will happen with the peace process between Israel and Palestine is anybody's guess. It seems like the two-state solution is dead. Will the Palestinian Authority (PA) survive? Who will take over the West Bank? These are only some of the questions that will have to be answered in coming weeks. Here's what one author, who writes for Al Monitor, t...
Even though I have lived in the Middle East for some years, and have visited both Israel and Palestine, I was in the dark about why the Palestinian Authority (PA) came into existence and what could happen next. This article from Yossin Beilin for Al Monitor gives some of the answers. Yossi Beilin May 6, 2019 Article Summary Instead of playing into ...
A lot of people I know celebrate Ramadan and, as a non-Muslim, I always have to check what the timings are. This year it starts on 6 May for one month. It is a time to celebrate, eat good food, and spend time with family and friends. At Khaleej Times we always broke fast with dates- the best ever. I understand this is normal. After living in the UA...
The Middle East geographically might be made up of a few countries- namely the Levant, Iraq, Iran and the Gulf Co-operation Countries- but the influence is much greater, particularly in Africa and South East Asia. Sudan is one of those countries. What will the ouster of Omar Al-Bashir, after 30 years mean for the Middle East? Below is how Al Monito...
Now that President Trump has more or less declared that a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine is unworkable will this impact the US's relationship with Israel? This is what Haaretz newspaper says about the issue. Two-state Solution: U.S. Jews Won't Budge. Will It Cost Them Their Relationship With Israel? Supporting two states was not al...
There are always various goings-on in the Middle East, one of the biggest being the peace negotiations, with the US as power broker. What will happen? And what is the intention of the US? One view is highlighted in this article in Al-Monitor's Daily Briefing. The US administration has been working on a Mideast peace plan since President Donald Trum...
Dubai and Saudi Arabia are at the forefront of bitcoin technology in the Middle East, according to a report by Accenture entitled: "How the Middle East can unleash blockchain's transformative potential". Financial services companies in areas such as payment, supply chain financing and trade, reporting, compliance and operations could gain the most ...