[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on the Arabian Peninsula and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Arabian Peninsula Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week`s roundup to ap@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every week.]
Regional and International Relations
Qataris officially biggest spending tourists outside the EU Simon Neville writes on Qataris’ spending patterns in the United Kingdom, in The Guardian.
Saudi Control of Lebanon: A Little Tourism and Sympathy Ghassan Saoud examines the Lebanese-Saudi relations and describes Saudi Arabia as “a guardian of Lebanon,” on Al-Akhbar English.
Opinions and Reports
The Saudi Marathon Man Amy Davidson critiques the assumptions made by the American media and police that a young Saudi man injured during the Boston bombing last week was a suspect based on his nationality, in The New Yorker.
Crossing the Gulf’s red lines? An Inside Story episode on the fate of activists and opposition figures in the Gulf countries, featuring Fahad Shulemi, a Kuwaiti security analyst and a former colonel, Najeeb al-Nuaimi, a lawyer for the jailed Qatari poet Muhammad Rashid al-Ajami, and Sarah Leah Whitson, the executive director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch, on Al Jazeera English.
Kuwait – Arrest and detention of human rights defender Sulaiman Binjassim and excessive use of force by police at protest Gulf Center for Human Rights condemns the arrest and harsh treatment of the activist.
Kuwait court bails an ex-MP guilty of insulting emir A news report on Mussallam al-Barrak’s bail pending the appeal hearing against his jail sentence, on BBC.
Oman: Human rights defender Dr Salih Al-Azri arrested and held in incommunicado detention Gulf Center for Human Rights deplores the arrest of the human rights activist who was called for questioning by the Special Branch at the General Police Headquarters.
Qatar sentences man to lashes for drinking alcohol A news report on a foreign hairdresser who was sentenced to forty lashes for drinking alcohol, on Al-Akhbar English.
Beheading brings Saudi executions to 35 this year A news report on capital punishment in the kingdom, on Al-Akhbar English.
Earthquake rocks UAE: No more aftershocks expected A news report on an earthquake that shook the Gulf state last week, on Emirates 24/7.
Saudi Arabia deports ‘irresistible’ men deemed ‘too handsome’ to women Romil Patel reports on the deportation of three Emirati citizens who were attending the Janadiryah Festival of Heritage and Culture for fear that their good looks would make women fall for them, in The Telegraph.
Repression in Bahrain
Bahrain: Police ‘fire tear gas’ at boys’ school A news report on clashes between the police and students who were protesting and demanding the release of a colleague arrested last week, on BBC.
Clashes as Bahrain Grand Prix goes ahead A news report on anti-government protests in Bahrain on the eve of Formula One race, on Al Jazeera English.
ITV News crew forced to leave Bahrain ahead of grand prix Mark Sweney reports on the detention and deportation of ITV News team in Bahrain, headed by Rageh Omaar, a former BBC foreign correspondent, in The Guardian.
Report – Bahrain: Increase of Human Rights Violation to Protest the Formula 1 A detailed report released by the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights on the suppression of protests in Bahrain ahead of the race.
Bahrain activist Nabeel Rajab ‘denied medical treatment’ A news report on Sumaya Rajab’s statement that her husband’s request to go to hospital for a back injury has been refused by prison officials, on BBC.
Bahrain Crown Prince Salman addresses civil rights Bill Law writes on the crown prince’s description of Bahraini protesters as engaging in terrorist activities who deserve “zero respect,” on BBC.
Crisis in Yemen
US drone strike kills two alleged al-Qaeda members in Yemen A news report on the death of two people in drone strikes in Wadi Abida, on Al-Akhbar English.
Yemen women divided over rights fight A news report on the debates among women in Aden who enjoyed more rights before Yemen’s unification in 1990, on Al Jazeera English.
Human Rights Watch
Saudi Arabia: End Prosecution of Human Rights Lawyer HRW demands that the Saudi government drop all charges against Walid Abu al-Khair.
Kuwait: Ex-Lawmaker on Bail in ‘Insulting Emir’ Case A report by the organization on the release of Kuwaiti opposition figure, Mussallam al-Barrak, on bail.
Migrant Workers
Saudi Arabia to crack down on illegal workers A news report on new regulations imposed by the kingdom and their impacts on particularly workers from Yemen and India, on Al Jazeera English.
Education
Teaching the Limits of Media Freedom Is Tricky in the Gulf D. D. Guttenplan examines the challenges facing professors in universities in the Gulf countries who encourage critical discussions of the media, in The New York Times.
Arabic
السعودية: الدولة العميقة في مواجهة الحراك الشعبي
Fouad Ibrahim argues that Saudi Arabia`s "deep state" has been felt and utilized when popular movements in the kingdom are on the rise.
محمد بن سلمان ينجح في إقصاء خالد بن سلطان
A news report on the internal political implications of the ousting of Saudi Deputy Minister of Defense from his position.
السعودية تقص عمالتها السائبة
Mariam Tarhini reflects on the conditions of undocumented workers in Saudi Arabia.
السعودية تقترب من نهايتها؟
An editorial article on evaluating the possible waning of Saudi Arabia in light of its regional and international alliances and internal developments.
جدار يحمي السعودية من `رهاب الربيع
Zahra Mar`i writes on Saudi Arabia`s fear of Yemen and its intention to build a wall along the borders.
الوصاية السعودية
Sa`adallah Muzrani writes on the Saudi tutelage of Lebanon.
دولارات السعودية تفتح الحدود الأردنية للأسلحة
Mohammed Dalbah writes on Jordan`s decision to allow weapons, purchased by Saudi Arabia and Qatar for Syrian armed groups, to pass across its territory.
السعودية تعتقل 606 من الاجانب على الحدود مع اليمن
A news report on Saudi Arabia`s arrest of more than six hundred foreigners on the borders with Yemen.
هل ينفجر التسونامي السعودي على الحدود مع اليمن؟
Mohammed Rashad Obeid warns of an escalating tensions between Yemen and Saudi Arabia if the latter persists in its harassment of Yemenis in the kingdom and in its plans to build a wall along the borders.
آخر معتقل بريطاني في غوانتانامو السعودي شاكر عامر صائم منذ 70 يوما يحضر نفسه للموت وبكرامة
Ibrahim Darwish writes on Shaker Ammer, a British-Saudi man who has been on hunger strike for seventy days in Guantanamo Bay.
إخلاء سبيل المعارض الكويتي البراك بكفالة لحين صدور حكم الاستئناف بقضية الإساءة للذات الأميرية
A news report on the release of the Kuwaiti opposition figure Mussallam al-Barrak on bail until the hearing of the appeal decision.
تظاهرة في الكويت احتجاجا على سجن احد قادة المعارضة
A news report on protests in Kuwait last week after the court`s decision to jail Mussallam al-Barrak for five years.
النظر في الحكم على البراك الاثنين المقبل
A news report on the decision of Kuwait`s Appeal Court to re-try Mussallam al-Barrak on charges of insulting the emir.
إحالة رئيس مجلس الوزراء الكويتي إلى محكمة الوزراء
A news report on the Kuwaiti prosecutor general`s decision to summon the prime minister of state to the court of ministers to answer questions on public money.
السباقات الرياضية والشرعية السياسية
Said al-Shihabi writes on political legitimacy and sports in light of holding the Formula One Grand Prix in Bahrain.
البحرين: ولي العهد متفائل بنجاح الحوار
A news report on the Bahraini crown prince`s optimistic views on the national dialogue while the country witnesses clashes between protesters and the police coinciding with the Formula One Grand Prix.
مقتل ثلاثة عناصر من القاعدة وجنديين في غارة واشتباكات بوسط اليمن
A news report on the death of two alleged members of al-Qaeda in a drone strike and on the death of two soldiers and a militant man in clashes that followed the strike in the Yemeni region of Ma`rib.
الحركات الإسلامية ودول الخليج: فرصة لتصحيح العلاقة؟
Abdul Wahab al-Afandi examines the tensions between the Gulf states, especially the United Arab Emirates and the Islamist movements.
القاهرة والدوحة وتونس ماذا يحدث؟
Mohammed Saleh al-Musfir deplores the anti-Qatar sentiments in Egypt and Tunisia.
قطر تدافع عن سياستها تجاه سورية وتؤيد السلام مع إسرائيل
A news report on an interview given by the Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs, where he defends his country`s policy towards Syria and calls for a peace treaty with Israel.
وزير الحج السعودي يقول انه تم منح أكثر من ثلاثة ملايين تأشيرة عمرة هذا العام
A news report on a statement by the Minister of Hajj in Saudi Arabia who announced that the kingdom offered more than three million hajj visas this year.