This article talks about the Strait of Hormuz, often forgotten in articles about Iran. It's the strait between Iran and Ras Al Khaimah, an emirate in the United Arab Emirates. There's always been a lot of action there, such as fishing boats moving to the wrong waters and getting fired on. Most activity has not hit the news. This time it has. It's e...
While I concentrate on the Middle East, it is Asia where the action is. India is targeting Pakistani militants, successfully, according to the news. Will we see a war between the countries? Although much of the political negotiation has been with Saudi Arabia and Iran, the spectre of losing an ally in the region in the shape of Benjamin Netanyahu i...
Egypt is preparing to open a new capital, yet unnamed, 49 kilometres east of Cairo. The president, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi is behind the move, which is reminiscent of what the pharaohs did centuries ago, when Thebes and Memphis were capitals. Perhaps he is wanting to be a pharaoh. (For more on this read The Economist of January 26). One would think so...
When I lived in Dubai from 2005- 2014, Egypt was a barometer of what could happen in the rest of the Middle East. It is frightening. And most of the GCC countries, the UAE and Saudi Arabia in particular, are supportive of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Here's what Al Monitor says. Shahira Amin February 14, 2019 Article Summary The rare voice...
MBC is a TV channel that is entertainment based. In Dubai, we were not only in the same building but also on the same floor. In Dubai Media City. Of course, I didn't know that a Saudi businessman was bankrolling MBC. Here is the latest news, c/o of Al Monitor. Launch of Saudi news channel sparks controversy among Iraqis READ IN: العربية Omar al-Jaf...
I read this story that was on Newshub New Zealand with shock and horror. ( https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2019/02/saudia-arabian-6yo-beheaded-in-front-of-mother-over-religious-beliefs.html ) It's a story that should have been covered more widely. Sadly, it wasn't. This is the true face of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian 6yo beheaded in front of m...
I was stunned when I read this article, but I was not surprised and certainly believed that what is outlined in the article could happen. Everything is politicised in the UAE, including sport. Although I wrote about finance, business and economics for many years in the UAE, it was important to know the relationship each family had to one another, b...
Iran is like a sword in the side of America. It won't go away. The US, or at least President Trump, has decided that Iran is developing nuclear weapons and may use them soon. US intelligence agencies disagree. When I was living in the UAE there was one occasion, in 2013, when Israel was firing at Iran's nuclear plant in the south of the country. We...
Until I read this article, I had not realized that Qatar had a problem with the money it grants to the Gaza Strip authorities. Each tranche has to be agreed and approved by Israel. The third tranche was frozen. Here is how Al Monitor explains the situation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his diplomacy-defense cabinet on Jan. 25, asking ...
There has always been a lot of discussion about the number of people who are caught drinking without a licence in the UAE and obviously the few murders that take place. Wow, in this case, both have happened together. This article from Khaleej Times, for which I once worked, explains what can happen. Drunk man stabs Dubai roommate over Dh100 after l...
News in the Middle East is usually dominated by Iran, Saudi Arabia and sometimes Qatar and the economic sanctions against it by the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). But Israel, often said to be the only democratic country in the Middle East, is also having its "issues" and maybe becoming less democratic. Here is why. Should Netanyahu be ...
This article intrigued me. It talks about freedoms and democracy. Of course, in the Middle East, this is nothing unusual. When I was in the UAE I was asked the same questions regarding my friends and family. It is scary. I chose to leave because it was too intrusive. So this article shows that Israel is going the same way. It is still the only demo...
There's been much talk about what the withdrawal of US troops in Syria means for the rest of the world and for the rest of the Middle East in particular. According to President Trump, Islamic State has been defeated In Syria. The fact that US troops were killed in Syria on Thursday is beside the point. This is what Al Monitor has to say on the matt...
With the partial government shutdown in the US over funding for the wall, the pulling out of US troops in Syria, the on-going Russian probe, and the many tweets from President Trump that determine foreign policy, it's easy to forget there might be other issues at play in the Middle East, especially concerning Iran. After living in the Middle East f...
I am often asked what will happen in the Middle East, politically that is, especially regarding Syria, Israel and the Gulf countries. I might have lived there, but I do not know the answers. All I know is that it is survival of the fittest. Agreeing with this philosophy is Bryant Harris writing for Al Monitor. Here is what he says on the issue. Isr...
There's been a lot of talk about the withdrawal of US troops from Syria and how this will affect the destruction of IS (if it has not been already) and the rest of the world. I doubt that IS has been destroyed in the Middle East, and is unlikely to be. Turkey is known for hating the Kurds, whom it sees as a terrorist group, and the planned US withd...
The Middle East certainly dominates the news nowadays, so this article I read about Turkey and "fake news" and Israel and Palestine were intriguing to read, especially because I learned something. The first article appeared on the BBC and talks about how Turkey manipulates the news. Turkey is the world's largest jailer of journalists, ranking 157 o...
Keeping an eye on what is happening with “disappeared” journalist Khashoggi, it would appear that a full-blown diplomatic incident is looming. This is not surprising. Journalists often “disappear” in Saudi and in the United Arab Emirates. This is how Al Monitor reports the incident.
Disappearance of Saudi journalist puts Erdogan in difficult situation
Semih Idiz October 9, 2018
Article Summary
I apologise for not having been around recently. I’ve travelled from the United Kingdom to New Zealand, arriving back on Wednesday evening, and now I’m getting back into things.
One of the items which appears to be on top of the news agenda is the alleged murder of the Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, (whom I’ve met) at the Saudi embassy in Turkey. I’m told by a Saudi source that murder is not typically the Saudi way. That it’s more likely that the Saudis will abduct someone and blackmail the family. Let’s see.
This is what the BBC wrote about the case.
Jamal Khashoggi: Turkey says journalist was murdered in Saudi consulate
7 October 2018Fears are growing over the missing Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, after Turkish officials said they believed he had been murdered.
One of the Qatari construction companies isn’t paying its workers. And workers just can’t up and leave, or move to another employers, according to the article below.
When I arrived in Dubai, in the UAE, the weekend was still only a day and a half (half of Friday and Saturday) although journalists seldom got Friday off (or I didn’t anyway). And if you wanted to leave an employer that was in Dubai proper- ie not in a free zone- you needed to ask the permission of your employer. Employers also retained employees’ passports.
This was the same in Qatar. A lot of people were not allowed to move to another employee. And I’ve heard of other people and companies not being paid. Therefore, I was not surprised to read this article in The Daily Mail.
Amnesty International says Qatar isn't paying World Cup stadium workers, with hundreds owed up to £4,000