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 […]
By James M Dorsey Increasingly, compliance with US sanctions against Iran could emerge as a litmus test of the United Arab Emirates’ close ties to the United States. At the sharp edge of a potential rift between the allies is a reportedly recently concluded agreement by a private UAE company to build gas-fired thermal, solar, and wind power plants with a total capacity of 300 megawatts in Iran’s hydrocarbon-rich […]
By James Dorsey A cursory look at Saudi Arabia and Iran suggests that emphasizing human rights in US foreign policy may complicate relations but has little impact on regional stability or the willingness of protagonists to reduce tension and manage conflicts when it is in their interest. A post 9/11 US emphasis on human rights was not what inspired homegrown popular Arab revolts over the past decade […]
By James M Dorsey The United States has signalled in advance of next week’s Summit for Democracy that it is unlikely to translate lip service to adherence to human rights and democratic values in the Middle East into a policy that demonstrates seriousness and commitment. In a statement, the State Department said the December 9-10 summit would “set forth an affirmative agenda for democratic renewal and to tackle […]
By James M Dorsey Russia hopes to blow new life into a proposal for a multilateral security architecture in the Gulf, with the tacit approval of the Biden administration. If successful, the initiative would help stabilise the region, cement regional efforts to reduce tensions, and potentially prevent war-wracked Yemen from emerging as an Afghanistan on the southern border of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf of Aden and at the […]
By Matein Khalid Brent crude is now down 11% to 73 and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is now down a shocking 13% at 68. President Biden may wish to remember the old Persian proverb “do not wish for anything too badly. You may just get it”. Biden had green lighted a release from the American Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) last week but oil traders actually bid up […]
By James M Dorsey It has been a good week for United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed. Headline-grabbing, fast-paced moves reinforce the UAE’s position as a regional power. They highlight the UAE’s willingness to chart a course that increasingly competes with Saudi Arabia, the Gulf’s regional behemoth; is at times at odds with US policy; and scoffs at assertions of human rights abuse by activists […]
By Matein Khalid Von Neumann’s Game Theory can model strategic behaviour in the global oil market, as once Admiral Yamamoto used it to model the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour and the IDF used it to model Israel’s pre-emptive strike against Nasser’s Egypt in June 1967. So the US strategic reserves release signals the Biden White House’s displeasure with petro-inflation. Biden’s move was priced into the oil […]
By Matein Khalid I remember a time when Lebanon was called “le rêve d’orient” by its Francophile elite. This was definitely the case in the affluent enclaves of Ashrafieh, Beit Mary and Rue Munot where the jeunesse dorée partied with Galic abandon in the mid 1990’s. This was a time of hope for a country still haunted by the nightmare of a civil war that had witnessed […]
Life insurer acquires stake in Merchantrade Asia Sdn Bhd, fortifies collaboration PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 22 November 2021 – MCIS Insurance Berhad (MCIS Life) has taken up a 4.99% stake in Merchantrade Asia Sdn Bhd, the leading e-money player and the country’s largest Money Services Business operator, through the acquisition of new ordinary shares of an undisclosed amount. The two companies kicked-off a marketing distribution arrangement in 2019 where […]
Arabian Post Staff Passenger traffic at Dubai International (DXB) has grown by almost 20% in the last four weeks to reach 20.7 million in the year to date to October. This is the result of the changes in travel restrictions in key global markets in recent months which is generating renewed confidence in the prospects of international travel. The world’s busiest international airport is expecting this surge […]
By James M Dorsey Former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki AlFaisal Al Saud must have gotten his tenses mixed up when he asserted in a recently published memoir that no one should underestimate the political importance of Muslims’ commitment to helping other Muslims. Prince Turki’s memoir is focused on Afghanistan, a major preoccupation during his tenure as head of the General Intelligence Department (GID), the kingdom’s foreign intelligence […]
Arabian Post Staff Dubai Airshow 2021, set to be the biggest Airshow held in the UAE to date, will welcome members of the general public, families and children to witness the daily flying display from the purpose-built Skyview Grandstand, at Dubai World Central, Al Maktoum International Airport, the home of the Airshow, taking place from 14-18 November. The flying teams include Al Fursan, the United Arab Emirates […]
Erdogan Becoming a Liability for Turkey By Manish Rai Last month Turkey made it into the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog headquartered in Paris. Turkey now joins its close ally Pakistan in FATF’s crosshairs. Surprisingly Turkey becomes the largest economy to be included in this list. The FATF listing for Ankara comes on the back of […]
Arabian Post Staff Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE National Rail Network, announced the completion of 50% of the construction works of the marine rail bridge in the UAE, as part of Package B of Stage Two of the UAE National Rail Network. The marine rail bridge extends over one kilometre, connecting Khalifa Port with the UAE National Rail Network. The bridge will play an important […]
Arabian Post Staff Dubai Expo 2020 so far looks positive and will undoubtedly boost travel and hospitality within the UAE, thus proving a critical marker for recovery in its travel and tourism sector in terms of visitor numbers, PwC said in its latest Middle East Economy Watch, ‘Recovery accelerates in the GCC, despite inflation concerns’. The report said a combination of factors are contributing to recovery across the […]
