A Storm Brewing: Bahrain Sheikh Seeks Top AFC Job
JAMES M. DORSEY: Campaigning is under way for the presidency of the Asian Football Confederation. The position is never far from controversy.
Emirates ID Card: Some Good News…Perhaps
ALEXANDER MCNABB: The New Year has brought a welcome announcement from the UAE authorities – the ID Card procedure is to go online. Cautious optimism then.
No Oxymoron: Having Both Effective Defamation Laws and a Healthy Media
MATT J. DUFFY: Private parties should be allowed to settle differences via civil courts and truth should be set as the ultimate defence against defamation.
Slurs, Accusations, and the Courts in the Digital Age
ALEXANDER MCNABB: … It does leave you wondering what would happen if a truly complex case of Internet fraud or identity theft did come up for the Dubai courts to make judgment on…
Emirates Identity Card: A PR Horror Story
ALEXANDER MCNABB: So, three years later, we have a real deadline (“We’re serious this time, we’re telling you!”) with a fine to be imposed upon those not complying,
ENOC PR: What’s Behind the Curious Timing?
ALEXANDER MCNABB: Quite why the company has broken its silence now remains to be explained, but one is left with the feeling there’s something…
Voter Apathy Fails to Take Shine off UAE Elections
ALEXANDER MCNABB: Happiness follows the successful conclusion of the UAE’s dalliance with voting. Shame one UAE paper feels the need to gloss over the mildest of grievances.
UAE Gears Up for Elections – But Will the Voters Show Up?
ALEXANDER MCNABB: Gulf News’ editor Abdul Hamid Ahmad points out not all Dubai candidates have been active. “They do not have the motivation..”
’46 Degrees? Quick, Open the Car Window!’
ALEXANDER MCNABB: I’ve been here more than twenty years but there are still a few things to learn about how to survive a Dubai summer.
ENOC, PR & the Media: 5 Lessons to be Learned
ALEXANDER MCNABB: Here are the five rules of Public Relations that may help Enoc, and indeed any other company that has to break bad news, going forward…
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?
ENOC and Eppco: Where Not Just the Petrol Has Run Dry
ALEXANDER MCNABB: “Deliciously, Deena twists the knife: “Pressed for answers, he made casual comments on the weather to change the subject…”
ENOC/EPPCO Thrown Out of Sharjah
ALEXANDER MCNABB: The end of ENOC/EPPCO in Sharjah? Quite possibly. Could it have been avoided with public debate over the real issues..?
The Story behind the UAE’s Fuel Shortage Is..?
ALEXANDER MCNABB: It’s yet more bad publicity for the country (the oil producer that ran out of fuel – wait for the internationals to pick that one up).
GCC Clings to ‘Comfort Blanket’ Status Quo
ABDULKHALEQ ABDULLAH: The situation in Bahrain has seriously unnerved other Gulf states and has significantly undermined attempts to promote democracy throughout the region.
A Compelling Case for a UAE State of the Union Address
SULTAN AL QASSEMI: This year is an ideal time for the UAE, the only successful union in the Arab world, to institutionalise a State of the Federation address.
The Ongoing Saga of the Emirates ID Card
ALEXANDER MCNABB: The big news, however, is that the National ID card is ‘to be mandatory’, a card we were first told would be mandatory three years ago, back in 2008
Internet Privacy? No Chance – You’re Being Tracked…
ALEXANDER MCNABB: It would do as well to be aware that you’re now essentially a public figure. And you’re leaving footprints behind all the time…
For Real News Tweet All About It…
ALEXANDER MCNABB: Presumably GN felt it couldn’t use the word ‘Jewish’, but I do feel misled… Context and analysis? I’d rather trust Twitter…
GCC: Muslim Brotherhood Fears Over Arab Spring
SULTAN AL QASSEMI: UAE national observers commented in private that many names on the UAE petition calling for an elected parliament were UAE members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
