Qatar Makes Labour Rights Commitments, Yields to World Cup Pressure
JAMES M. DORSEY: Qatar has vowed to ensure that contractors involved in preparations for the 2022 World Cup will adhere to international labour laws
The Modern Way to Announce A Baby’s Arrival
MICH CAFE: Facebook and Twitter, it appears, have taken over from newspapers in a key area of life. The recent arrival of a Royal baby in Dubai underlines this fact.
Stop Blaming Women, Start Blaming ‘Perverted’ Males
SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMED: If you are a man from a society that isn’t Muslim, don’t look smug. There is plenty of oppression in all societies.
Tension Between the United States and Iran Escalates: Is Conflict Now Inevitable?
DAVID ROBERTS: It appears that both the United States and Iran’s domestic political requirements have spun the region into a dangerous spiral.
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.
‘All Praise to George W. Bush’: The Top Ten Myths of the Arab Spring
JUAN COLE: So much that is misinformed, over-hyped and simply plain wrong has been written about the Arab Spring. So let’s sort the wheat from the chaff.
The View from Over Here: Shifting Perceptions of the U.S. Post Arab Spring
SALIBA SARSAR: Surveying 3000 people in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and the UAE, the poll assessed attitudes toward US- MidEast relations.
Radio: UAE, Home of the World’s Worst Ads?
ALEXANDER MCNABB: It’s becoming a problem for my radio listening life: I turn the radio off as soon as the adverts come on, and then often forget to turn it back on again.
Wadi Wurayah Defaced: The Outrage is Overdue
ALEXANDER MCNABB: It’s a site of outstanding natural beauty which, with improved access via paving, has attracted spray paint wielding vandals.
Bahrain: 3 Cartoonists, Sum Bigger than Parts?
M.LYNX-QUALEY: Neufeld wasn’t in Bahrain during the protests, but he cartoons about it nevertheless through the lens of two cartoonists who were.
News Analysis: The UAE Five, A Closure?
NEWS ANALYSIS: “This has become a very dividing case in the U.A.E.,” said Abdulkhaleq Abdullah… He’s not wrong: On Twitter some Emiratis called for the death sentence to be applied to the five.
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.
News Analysis: The UAE’s new bankruptcy law
NEWS ANALYSIS: The UAE is in the early stages of implementing a new bankruptcy law that will allow companies the time they need to restructure their business…
‘Shock’: Crowds Line Up in Support Of An Arab Government
ALEXANDER MCNABB: We’re still over a week away from the UAE’s National Day but it’s clear that this year’s 40th anniversary is going to be a ‘big one’.
The Formula 1 Con Trick: There are Alternatives…
JAMES MULLAN: It’s F1 week in Abu Dhabi and don’t we know it. Everywhere you look the hype is louder than the F1 engines for the 3-day bore-fest.
Syrian Regime Looks to Soccer for Support
JAMES M. DORSEY: ‘Bread and circuses’ are what the Roman emperors offered the people. ‘Bullets and soccer’ are what the Syrian regime appear to be offering today.
The Pros and Cons of Being an Expat in Dubai
THE HEDONISTA: Written from an Australian perspective – Vegemite and Tim Tams feature – I think there’s enough here to give everyone a flavour of what they’ll gain and lose as an expat in Dubai.
The Unappealing Prospect of ‘Western Democracy’
ABU MOHAMMED: If there’s one thing calculated to get up the nose of just about every Arab it’s the supercilious lecture by a Westerner on the superiority of their democracy over all other forms of government. ‘Oh really?’
News Analysis: World’s Most Powerful People
NEWS ANALYSIS: So how does the Middle East do? Not great, but Saudi’s King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud is in the top 10, at number 7.
Collective Silence Greets Activist Trial Statement
MATT J. DUFFY: The people of the UAE deserve to know the context surrounding this trial. The press does them a disservice by ignoring crucial elements of the story.
