[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
UAE Brokers US Visa Deal for Syrian Minister Nasser Charara reports on the mediating role the United Arab Emirates played in securing a US visa to the Syrian foreign minister.
Bahrain stung by Obama comment on sectarian tensions Yara Bayoumy writes on the Bahraini authorities’ disappointment with the US president’s description of the Gulf state as afflicted with sectarian tension.
Reports and Opinions
Women’s rights supporters condemn Saudi Arabia as activists ordered to jail Tracy McVeigh writes on Wajeha al-Huwaider and Fawzia al-Oyouni—jailed for helping a friend in an abusive marriage—who lost their appeal against the ten-month-prison sentence and two-year travel ban.
Saudi king holds audience dismissing health rumors King Abdullah meets with princes and religious scholars in Jeddah to dispel rumors on his deteriorating health.
Uproar after Saudi cleric says driving hurts women’s ovaries Saudis mock Shaykh Saleh al-Lohaidan who said that driving affects women’s ovaries and pelvises.
Activists claim Saudi held in secret CIA site A news report on Guantanamo detainee Mustafa al-Hawsawi who was allegedly held in a CIA detention site in Lithuania in 2004.
Saudi Arabia – Authorities continue to target human rights lawyer Walid Abu Al-Khair The Gulf Center for Human Rights expresses concerns over the partiality of Abu Al-Khair’s trial.
Saudi beheads man for murder: Ministry A news report on the beheading of a Saudi man, bringing the number of people behead in the kingdom to sixty-eight.
Kuwait warns stateless residents over protests The Kuwait interior minster warns that the government will deal firmly with protests planned for tomorrow.
Yemen gunmen kill suspected homosexual A man suspected of being homosexual is shot to death, a sixth such murder in Yemen in 2013.
Repression in Bahrain
Scores of activists imprisoned in Bahrain A Bahraini court sentenced fifty activists to prison on charges of forming an underground movement.
Bahrain: a Prominent Activist Naji Fateel Facing 15 years in Prison The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights condemns the fifteen-year prison sentence of Naji Fateel along with another forty-nine activists on Sunday.
Bahrain jails another 37 activists for up to 15 years A news report on a new ruling in Bahrain after the sentencing of fifty activists to prison on Sunday.
Bahrain opposition stages major rally Thousands of Bahrainis marched in Manama on Friday in solidarity with the politician Khalil Marzoup, who was arrested on charges of inciting violence.
Crisis in Yemen
Suspected al-Qaeda militants storm Yemeni army base A news report on the Yemeni army sending reinforcement to Mukalla to retake an army base controlled by suspected al-Qaeda fighters.
Yemen leak: former FBI man admits passing information to Associated Press A news report on Donald Sachtleben, who passed secret information about a US intelligence operation in Yemen in 2012.
Bomb kills Yemen security official in volatile south: agency The assassination of a Yemeni lieutenant colonel on Wednesday brought the number of assassinated officers in recent weeks to three.
UN Human Rights Council: Statement on the Human Rights Situation in Yemen Human Rights Watch publishes the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Yemen.
Migrant Workers
Revealed: Qatar’s World Cup ‘slaves’ Pete Pattisson investigates the appalling conditions under which Nepalese migrant laborers in Qatar work.
Qatar World Cup construction ‘will leave 4,000 migrant workers dead’ Robert Booth examines the International Trade Union Confederation’s report on the human cost of World Cup construction in Qatar.
Qatar: the building site from hell An editorial on the plight of migrant workers in the Gulf state.
At 16, Ganesh got a job in Qatar. Two months later he was dead Pete Pattisson writes on Ganesh Bishwakarma, who went to Qatar to work his way out of poverty but died two months into his employment term.
Qatar failing on forced labour, says UN agency Robert Booth and Owen Gibson write on the International Labour Organization’s concerns over the use of forced labor in Qatar.
‘Modern-day slavery’ in Qatar: there’s bad and good news Nicholas McGeehan argues that the plight of migrant workers in Qatar seems to have urged the 2022 World Cup organizers to take the matter seriously.
Qatar’s migrants: how have they changed the country? Mona Chalabi posts statistics and data on the impact of migrant labor on Qatar.
Qatar’s World Cup ‘slaves’: our readers respond Maeve Shearlaw reports on the reactions of The Guardian’s readers to the exclusive investigation into the working conditions of migrant workers in Qatar.
This hajj, Muslims need to ask questions about exploitation Riazat Butt argues that while demolition of buildings with historic and religious significance in Medina and Mecca has received attention, the exploitation of migrant laborers there has been ignored.
Arabic
لعبة الرهانات السعودية والانفتاح على طهران
Fouad Ibrahim examines the Saudi-Iranian relations in light of the Saudi king`s invitation of the Iranian president for Hajj.
لقاءات امريكية - ايرانية تربك السعودية
Madawi al-Rasheed argues that the meeting of the Iranian and US foreign ministers raises the concerns of Saudi Arabia.
"تبرعات خليجية" تتدفق على "الجهاديين"
A news report on donations from the Gulf states to the Syrian rebels.
اليمن: رهانات متداخلة.. ام توافق مؤمل
Abdul-Wahab al-Umrani analyzes the solutions for the political predicaments in Yemen.
عشرات الآلاف يتظاهرون في البحرين: تأكيد على المطالب.. وسلمية الحراك
A news report on thousands of Bahrainis marching against the government on Friday.
صدامات في البحرين قبل تظاهرة للمعارضة
Protesters clashed with policemen in a village in Bahrain on the eve of protests in the kingdom.
البحرين: الحكومة تحاور نفسها
An article on the fate of the National Dialogue in Bahrain.
رئيس "المجلس العلمائي" في البحرين ل"السفير": استهدافنا تصعيد خطير .. وموجه ضد طائفة
An interview with Majeed al-Mashal, head of the Olamaa Islamic Council, on the Bahraini government targeting of the members of the council.
20 جريحا في انفجار عبوتين ناسفتين في صنعاء
Twenty people injured in two explosions in Yemen.
مؤتمر الحوار في اليمن يقرر إلغاء اتفاقات تبيح ضرب الطيران الامريكي مشتبهي القاعدة والمدنيين
Participants in Yemen`s National Dialogue agree to cancel all agreements with the United States permitting drone strikes against suspects of al-Qaeda members.
محلل إسرائيلي عن مصادر غربية: السعودية تدرب مهاجرين يمنيين للقتال ضد النظام السوري
Zuhair Andrawus writes on Israeli sources claiming that Saudi Arabia is training Yemenis to fight against the Syrian regime.