‘Arab Spring’ Map: Not to be Taken too Seriously
DAVID ROBERTS: The author clearly has, how should we put it?, an incomplete knowledge of the region but it’s an amusing take on recent regional events.
What Is the Universal Symbol of Human Rights?
DAVID ROBERTS: Here’s a challenge. Close your eyes. Now think of the phrase ‘human rights’. Open your eyes and draw what you saw. Scan it and load it on a website. Easy.
UAE Footy Team’s Backheel Penalty – Tut Tut…
DAVID ROBERTS: To those that perhaps don’t understand football culture, this is a shoddy thing to do. And it’s far worse if you’re already 6-2 up.
The Dangerous Spiral in Kuwait Iraq Relations
DAVID ROBERTS: There seems to be little attention paid to the continuing worsening in relations between Kuwait and Iraq. That may change as we appear to be entering a downward spiral.
Saudi-Egyptian Causeway: A Bridge Too Far?
DAVID ROBERTS: The phrase ‘believe it when you see it’ applies with significant force to the Saudi-Egyptian causeway. Snow may be seen in Cairo or Jeddah before this particular project begins.
Egypt: Looking At It Like a ‘Crotchety, Old Man’
DAVID ROBERTS: It’s perhaps the cynicism of age but looking back at the early days of the Egyptian revolution there were quite a few of us who raised flags that all wouldn’t be ‘rosy in the garden’.
Emirati Voting Numbers: It’s How You Look At It…
DAVID ROBERTS: Around 129,000 or 14% of Emiratis will be eligible to vote, 1.6% of the entire population, but a lot more than the 7,000 eligible to vote in the last elections…
Kuwait Reaps the Sectarian Gulf Whirlwind
DAVID ROBERTS: Kuwait’s Parliament is undergoing another crisis. What are the key issues which so frequently flare-up and cause such anguish?
Advertising: No Subject for a Play on Words
DAVID ROBERTS: Other people’s suffering is not the obvious subject of a play on words in advertising – and sometimes a negative cannot and should not be turned into a positive.
Lesbian Syrian Bloggers & (Incorrect) Assumptions of Truth
DAVID ROBERTS: While blogging is good and all, it doen’t come remotely close to the rigour of a good newspaper…
Kuwait Concubines: What Century Are We in Again?
DAVID ROBERTS: ‘Concubines’ are the solution to protecting Kuwaiti men from “..adultery and corruption,” according to a female Kuwaiti political activist. Great idea, eh?
Life Isn’t Fair – But It’s Fairer in Some Countries…
DAVID ROBERTS: The lower the difference between the richest and poorest people in a country is a mark of a developed nation. Clearly China, India and Brazil have some way to go.
To Wear or Not To Wear the Hijab: An Experiment
DAVID ROBERTS: How does it feel when you forsake the hijab and go public for the first time in many years? One woman writes movingly about the experience.
World Cup 2022: Looking Increasingly Ominous for Qatar
DAVID ROBERTS: With each new leaked email and each new comment by the key protagonists it becomes increasingly worrying for the Qatar 2022 team.
Citigroup: ‘No Benefit to Qatar from World Cup’
DAVID ROBERTS: Not a good week for Qatar 2022. First, there are accusations of bribery in the bid process, now Citigroup tells us that Qataris will see now net economic benefit from hosting the world’s top prestige event.
Qatar and Libya: A Match Not Made in Heaven
DAVID ROBERTS: The feelings felt by Muammar Gaddaffi and his regime in Libya towards Qatar are rather less than brotherly. Has Doha taken the threat seriously enough?
Qatar Ministries to hire Qataris as Taxi Drivers
DAVID ROBERTS: The Qatari Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Art, Culture and Heritage will soon be hiring Qatari nationals as drivers. This really is news for Qatar.
Qatar to Sell Gas to Israel ‘Below Cost Price’?
DAVID ROBERTS: Why does Qatar seemingly so often seek Israeli support, particularly when it, at the very least, causes friction within the GCC and with Qatar and Iran?
Oh No… Doha enters Tallest Building Competition
DAVID ROBERTS: We’ve managed to avoid the worst of Dubai’s excesses – until now. Yes, Doha is set to enter the region’s competition to build the world’s tallest tower.
World’s Tallest Building – What Jeddah Really Needs..?
DAVID ROBERTS: Twice as high as the Burj Khalifa the recently announced Kingdom Tower in Jeddah seems an extremely unlikely proposition indeed.
