UAE

( Middle East Monitor ) – The disagreement between the UAE and Saudi Arabia over a proposed deal by OPEC+ to increase oil production is the latest sign that the close relations between the two Gulf states, and in particular those of their respective de facto rulers, are turning into a bitter rivalry. The Saudi-led […]

Climate Crisis

Ship Explosion Rocks Dubai, Mideast’s Largest Commercial Zone, Possibly as a Result of Extreme Heat

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Alarabiya reports from Dubai on the massive explosion on the deck of a ship that was coming in to dock at the Jebel Ali port there, which could be heard for miles and shook the city’s skyscrapers. Since the explosion was on the ship, it appears not to have done […]

Bahrain

Israel-Palestine conflict: why Gulf leaders are staying quiet – for now

The Conversation

By Simon Mabon | – It’s generally reckoned to be one of Donald Trump’s few major foreign policy achievements. On August 13 2020, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel signed a historic agreement normalising relations between the two states, and in the weeks that followed, other Arab states followed Abu Dhabi’s lead in what […]

Saudi Arabia

With 50K Yemenis starving to death and 3 mn displaced by War, Western Gov’ts still Back Saudi War

Helen Lackner

( OpenDemocracy.net ) – Two months ago, with the war in Yemen entering its seventh year, the UN secretary general, in his appeal to funders at the annual pledging conference, reminded everyone that “More than 16 million people [in the country] are expected to go hungry this year. Nearly 50,000 Yemenis are already starving to […]

Arab World

Middle Eastern monarchies: how do Arab ruling families hold on to power?

The Conversation

By David B Roberts | – When the Jordanian royal family gathered on April 11 to celebrate 100 years since the kingdom’s foundation, it was a picture of dynastic unity. Alongside King Abdullah was his half-brother, the former crown prince Hamzah bin al-Hussein, who had only days ago been placed under house arrest, following what […]

Arms Sales

US Resuming Arms Sales to United Arab Emirates is Disastrous, Given its Wars on Yemen, Libya

Human Rights Watch

By Afrah Nasser | – Yemen Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Division | – ( Human Rights Watch) – United States President Joe Biden called in early February for “ending all American support for offensive operations in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.” At the time, I, like many human rights advocates who have been […]

Displaced and Refugees

Yemenis face Famine of the Century and Mass Starvation unless President Biden pressures Saudis to Stop Port Blockade

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The head of the UN World Food Program, David Beasley said at a news conference this week covered by al-`Arabi al-Jadid (The New Arab) that five million out of 28 million Yemenis are in severe danger of starvation and 16 million are food-insecure. Food insecurity is a state of being […]

astronomy and outer space

First Arab Muslim Satellite enters Mars Orbit: UAE’s Arabo-Futurism and its Princess Leias

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Americans who are used to imagining Arab Muslim civilization as backward or barbaric might be surprised to hear that the United Arab Emirates, a country made up of seven Gulf Arab Principalities, has become only the fifth country to place a satellite in orbit around Mars. The science team behind […]

Houthi

Biden is Right to end US involvement in Bloody Yemen Conflict, but he Needs to end the War itself

Daniel Martin Varisco

Glen Cove, N.Y. (Special to Informed Comment) – President Biden’s about face on Saudi support for the war in Yemen, including setting aside the disastrous idea of designating the Huthis as a unique set of “terrorists”, is a hopeful step, but the road to peace is a steep climb. As noted by a recent report […]