Bjørnar Tonhaugen According to prices in the market, and numerous market observers, the world is not producing enough oil to keep up with near-term demand. Are we facing the start of a major supply crunch in the upstream world of oil like for natural gas? As global demand recovers from the pandemic, could we be near exhaustion of short-term production capacity, which means that the drop in […]
By Suraj Tiwari The pandemic has shifted the travel process, and it’s brought the airport experience to the forefront. With travel restrictions easing globally, border control authorities are likely to spend more time scrutinising travellers’ records, given the added need to review health credentials and vaccination statuses. While biometric identity management systems have helped improve this situation to some extent by enabling officials at border gates to […]
By James M Dorsey Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has laid out an expanded Israeli strategy to confront Iran that appears to move beyond a potential military strike against the Islamic republic’s nuclear facilities. Bennett appeared to be guided not only by concern about the fallout of a unilateral Israeli action but also seemingly mounting fears in Tehran that economic hardship could spark a social explosion. “Bennett’s new approach […]
By James M. Dorsey Iran recently scored not one but two soccer successes. Fans celebrated after the country’s national team qualified for the third consecutive time for the World Cup after beating Iraq 1:0 last week. It wasn’t just men celebrating. It was men and women mingling freely in a Tehran square. That was after men and women, albeit segregated, egged on their team in Tehran’s Azadi or Freedom Stadium. Although […]
Arabian Post Staff The United Arab Emirates will introduce a corporate tax from mid-2023, the finance ministry said Monday, in a major change of course as the country seeks to diversify its income. Long known as a tax haven and the regional headquarters for a swathe of multinationals, the UAE will tax business profits over 375,000 AED ($102,000) at 9.0 percent from June next year, a statement […]
By James M Dorsey Russia’s intervention in Kazakhstan contains a cautionary message for Gulf foreign ministers visiting Beijing this week. The intervention to stabilize the government of Kazakh President Kassym-Johart Tokayev, following mass protests, cemented Russia’s primacy when it comes to security in Central Asia, a swathe of land that is as much Russia’s backyard as it is China’s. At least 164 people were killed in the protest, thousands […]
By James M Dorsey Like Qatar, after winning the right to host this year’s World Cup, Saudi Arabia is discovering the pitfalls of seeking soft power, whether through sports or religion, without coming to grips with skeletons in its closet. Last week, France spotlighted the pitfalls when it questioned security in the kingdom following a mysterious explosion in a support vehicle carrying six members of the Sodicars Racing team […]
By James M Dorsey Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have drawn praise for social reforms that have domestically reduced the role of religion in public life, enhanced women’s rights, and, in the case of the UAE, catered to non-Muslim lifestyles. Yet, Saudi and Emirati efforts to position their countries as the Muslim world’s beacons of an autocratic notion of moderate Islam have done little to […]
By James M Dorsey Qatar has begun to cleanse its schoolbooks of supremacist, racist or derogatory references as well as celebrations of violent jihad and martyrdom, according to a recently released study. The revision of textbooks in the final year leading up to Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup is designed to keep the Gulf state in the beauty pageant for the beacon of moderate Islam. Saudi Arabia, […]
By James M Dorsey Long banned, Christmas has finally, at least tacitly, arrived in Saudi Arabia; just don’t use the name in marketing or be ostentatious about your tree. Coffeeshops serving beverages in red cups with snowflakes on them are ok. So is the sale of soap bars named ‘Tis the Season and Vanilla Bean Noel. Christmas trees that sell at up to US$3,000 a piece are slightly […]
DUBAI, UAE – Media OutReach – 23 December 2021 – Vietnamese Film Week at EXPO 2020 Dubai is set to showcase Viet Nam’s unique culture and landscapes to international audiences in a not-to-be-missed, week-long event from Dec. 30, 2021, to Jan. 5, 2022. Vietnamese Film Week at EXPO 2020 Dubai will screen seven internationally acclaimed Vietnamese movies produced within the past five years Viet Nam’s first major […]
By Manish Rai Tablighi Jamaat (TIJ) is currently grabbing the headlines for getting banned by Saudi Arabia. Saudi government official statement called Jamaat a danger to society and one of the gates of terrorism. In a tweet on December 6, the country’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs said Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr. Abdullatif Al Alsheikh has directed the mosque preachers and the mosques that held Friday prayer […]
By James M Dorsey Footballers with diametrically opposed views on homosexuality and alcohol consumption have sparked heated controversy about Islamic mores and human and workers’ rights in Qatar’s final stretch in the run-up for next year’s FIFA World Cup. Two things stand out in the controversy beyond the specific arguments put forward by opposing camps. First, some fault lines cut across community lines rather than pit one […]
Arabian Post Staff The four-and-a-half day working week is another twist in the UAE’s drive to attract business and investment in the Gulf Cooporation Council (GCC). according to a GlobalData analysis. It points out how the weekend switch is the latest in a string of measures that have enhanced the competitiveness of Abu Dhabi and Dubai as regional centers, as it puts them on the same working […]
Arabian Post Staff The GCC leaders affirmed today the importance of completing pillars of the GCC common economic, defence and security integration and unity and coordinating stances in order to enhance solidarity and stability among GCC member states, serve their interests, avert them regional and international conflicts, fulfill aspirations of their people and strengthen their regional and international role through unified political positions and new partnerships regionally […]
