[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
Saudi Prince praises Livni at Munich Security conference Lahav Harkov reports on the exchange between the Israeli minister of justice and the former director of the Saudi intelligence agency at the Munich Security Conference.
Kuwait launches campaign to financially support Egyptians: Kuwait Fund manager Doaa Farid analyzes Kuwait’s pledge to help Egypt.
Saudi Arabia to give Egypt up to $4 billion more aid: report The Saudi regime promises Egypt aid in the form of central bank deposits and petroleum products.
UAE summons Qatari ambassador over Muslim cleric`s comments Youssef al-Qaradawi`s criticism of the United Arab Emirates stirs a crisis between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Obama to visit Saudi Arabia amid tensions over Iran, Syria: report A news report on Obama’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia.
Reports and Opinions
Qatar`s armed forces pay €78.5m for Barcelona`s Renaissance hotel Stephen Burgen reports on the Qatar armed forces’ purchase of the five-star Renaissance hotel in Barcelona.
Saudi Arabia to jail citizens who fight abroad The Saudi regime issued a royal decree warning that it will imprison people who fight in conflicts abroad for three to twenty years.
Human rights activists condemn stringent Saudi counterterrorism law Activists condemn a new counterterrorism law, which defines “offending the nation’s reputation or its position” as a form of terrorism.
Saudi Arabia: No satisfaction An article analyzing dissatisfaction among Saudis despite the country’s wealth.
Kuwait opposition leader sentenced to one week Habib Toumi reports on a Kuwaiti court’s decision to sentence Musallam al-Barrak to one week in jail in the case filed against him by Al Shahed TV.
Kuwait oil workers plan to strike over pay cut Thousands of oil workers plan to go on strike over the government’s plan to cut their wages.
Saudi court sentences protester for 15 years A Saudi court sentences a Saudi man, who demanded the kingdom’s troops withdraw from Bahrain, to fifteen years in jail and seventy lashes.
Saudis behead citizen for murder The beheading of Habib al-Shammari, accused of killing a fellow tribesman, brings up the number of beheadings in the kingdom this year to four.
Saudi wanted over protests surrenders — police Mousa Jaafar Mohammad al-Mabyuq, who is on a wanted list of twenty-three activists in the Eastern Province, surrendered to the Saudi government.
Repression in Bahrain
Bahrain urged to investigate death in custody of Fadel Abbas Amnesty International calls upon the Bahraini government to investigate the death of a nineteen-year-old man in custody.
Bahraini wounded during arrest dies The ministry of interior asserts that Fadel Abbas died of wounds he sustained during a police operation to arrest him, rather than torture.
Bahrain`s doctors: Harsh treatment An article on the ill treatment of medics for their alleged support of protests in February and March of 2011.
Bahraini court shuts down Shi`ite clerical group Farishta Saeed reports on the Bahraini authorities’ decision to dissolve the Islamic Scholars Council.
Bahrain lifts travel ban on opposition leader The Bahraini authorities lift the travel ban on the leader of al-Wifaq National Islamic Society, and upholds the jail terms for eighteen opposition activists.
Crisis in Yemen
Yemen security officer critical after assassination bid Saeed Al Batati reports on the political scene in Yemen in the last few days.
Three explosions rock Yemeni capital Sanaa Three explosions near the ministry of defense are heard in Sana’a on Sunday night.
Yemeni militants kill 15 soldiers in Hadramawt attack Fifteen soldiers died in an attack on a checkpoint in Yemen.
Shi`ites overrun rival strongholds in north Yemen; 40 dead A news report on the death toll resulting from clashes between the Houthis and tribes in northern Yemen.
Fierce clashes kill 60 in northern Yemen An updated report on the death toll of the fighting between the Houthis and al-Hashid tribes.
Yemen tribesmen say seize German to push for relatives` release The kidnappers of a German national announce they aim to press their government to free imprisoned relatives.
Gunmen kidnap British national in Yemeni capital A news report on the kidnapping of a British oil-sector employee in Yemen, the second abduction of a foreigner in Yemen in the last few days.
Yemen`s main oil pipeline bombed, crude flow stops: sources Armed tribesmen bomb Yemen’s main pipeline again in Maarib, halting the production of oil less than a month after it was repaired.
Yemeni official says kidnapped Iranian diplomat still alive An update on the status of the Iranian diplomat who was kidnapped in Sana’a in July.
A Nation Chewing Itself to Death Cam McGrath argues that qat is destroying the Yemeni economy and draining water.
Yemen committee mulls federation options: report The Yemeni president formed a committee that will look into dividing the country into two or six regions.
Migrant Workers
Qatar World Cup: Fifa demands update on efforts to improve worker conditions Peter Mason examines FIFA’s demand that Qatar reports on how it has improved the working conditions of migrant workers building the facilities for the 2022 World Cup.
Paralysed in Qatar: Nepalese workers trapped in Kafkaesque Gulf nightmare Owen Gibson reports on thirty-three-year-old Dhana Prasad, who lies in a hospital in Doha with no medical care because the employment sponsorship system (kafala) denies medical care to migrant workers.
`Humane` homes for migrant workers delayed by planning system in Qatar Robert Booth and Owen Gibson provide an account of the overcrowded conditions and the delay in constructing “humane” homes for migrant workers.
Kuwait residency cap for expats touches off maelstrom Habib Toumi examines the Kuwaiti government’s plan to repatriate more than one million foreign workers in five years.
More than 1,300 illegals held in Saudi capital A news report on the latest crackdown on illegal foreign workers in the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia beheads Indian worker for murder An Indian worker accused of killing a Saudi national is beheaded.
Media
UN condemns detention of Al Jazeera team The United Nations Human Rights Commissioner expresses concern over freedom of speech in Egypt after the arrest of three Al Jazeera journalists.
Egypt refers Al-Jazeera journalists to trial Sarah El Deeb reports on the referral of twenty journalists from Al Jazeera TV network to trial on charges of joining or assisting a terrorist group.
Journalists express solidarity in calling for release of Al-Jazeera five Roy Greenslade blogs on British journalists’ call on the Egyptian authorities to release Al Jazeera staff.
Al-Jazeera Cameraman Acquitted in Egypt A Cairo court acquits Mohamed Badr, who was held on charges of committing violence.
Human Rights
Bahrain: Investigate Fatal Shooting by Police Human Rights Watch calls upon the Bahraini regime to investigate the death of Fadel Abbas.
The Deafening U.S. Silence on Saudi Rights Adam Coogle criticizes the US silence on human rights violations in the kingdom.
Letter to President Abd Rabu Mansur Hadi Re: Continued Unlawful Detention of Adel Yahya Said al-Khawlani Sarah Leah Whitson, director of the Middle East and North Africa Division in Human Rights Watch, urges the Yemeni president to release al-Khawlani who is still in jail even though the Specialized Criminal Court acquitted him of charges of affiliation with al-Qaeda.
Yemen: Two Years on, No Accountability Human Rights Watch calls upon the Yemeni government to form a committee to investigate human rights violation of the previous regime.
TORTURE IN OMAN The Gulf Center for Human Rights expresses concern over widespread torture in Omani penal institutions.
Bahrain must abide by its own laws and immediately release leading human rights defender Nabeel Rajab The Gulf Center for Human Rights demands the immediate release of the Bahraini activist.
Bahrain: Death of young detainee shot in head must be investigated Amnesty International demands that the Bahraini regime investigate the death of Fadel Abbas.
Arabic
8 قتلى في اشتباكات شمال اليمن
A news report on clashes between Houthi fighters and tribes in northern Yemen, which left eight people dead.
نحو 40 قتيلاً بين متمردين وقبائل في اليمن
An updated report on the death toll of the clashes between the Houthis and tribes in northern Yemen.
اليمن | الحوثيّون يتقدّمون في الشمال والخطف مستمر في الشرق والجنوب
A news report on the ongoing fighting in north Yemen and the increased incidents of kidnapping in the country.
خطف ألماني في اليمن واحتجازه في منطقة قبلية
A German national was kidnapped in Yemen two days ago.
اليمن: `الاشتراكي` وقواعد `الإصلاح` مستاؤون من تشكيل لجنة الأقاليم
An analysis of the reaction of Yemen’s major political parties to the committee in charge of defining federal regions in the country.
اليمن: مقتل 18 جندياً
Eighteen soldiers were killed when militants attacked a military post in Hadramawt.
الحوثيّون: ورقة إيران الكبرى في اليمن
An editorial on the close relations between Yemen’s Houthis and Iran.
القرضاوي يحث السعودية على وقف دعمها لنظام الحكم المصري
Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi, a prominent Egyptian Islamic theologian living in Qatar, urges Saudi Arabia to stop its support of the Egyptian regime.
"المدعو" القرضاوي يثير أزمة إماراتية ـ قطريّة
Youssef al-Qaradawi`s criticism of the United Arab Emirates stirs a crisis between the former and Qatar.
عن العلمانية المنتظرة في السعودية
Mohammed al-Sadiq analyzes the distortion of the notion of secularism in Saudi Arabia.
السعودية: أحد المطلوبين أمنياً في القطيف سلّم نفسه
Mousa Jaafar Mohammad al-Mabyuq, who is on a wanted list of twenty-three activists in the Eastern Province, surrenders to the Saudi regime.
السعودية: قانون غامض لمكافحة الإرهاب
Saudi Arabia starts the implementation of an ambiguous law that aims to fight terrorism.
محكمة بحرينية ترفض رفع منع السفر عن مساعد أمين جمعية الوفاق وترفعه عن أمينها العام
A Bahraini court rejects the request to lift the travel ban imposed on the political advisor of the general secretary of Bahrain`s al-Wifaq National Islamic Society.
المنامة تقطع أفق الحوار: حل المجلس الإسلامي العلمائي
A Bahraini court dissolves the Islamic Scholars Council, whose members are part of the opposition, a few weeks after the regime called for the relaunch of the national dialogue.
دعوات لإحياء ذكرى "14 فبراير": البحرين: المعارضة في الشارع مجدداً
Bahraini protesters demonstrate to demand the end of corruption, and condemn the death of a young man in custody and the dissolution of the Islamic Scholars Council.
البحرين: أحكام بالسجن على 18 شخصاً
Bahrain`s Court of Appeals sentences eighteen people to ten to fifteen years in prison on charges of attempting to kill four policemen in 2012.
سفير كويتي ينفي تصريحه بانسحاب بلاده من ادرع الجزيرة اذا هددت العراق
The Kuwaiti ambassador to Iraq denies reports ascribed to him that Kuwait would withdraw from the Arabian Peninsula Shield if the latter threatened Iraq.
ليفني والأمير تركي يتبادلان الحديث على هامش مؤتمر ميونيخ للأمن
The Israeli minister of justice and the former director of the Saudi intelligence agency exchange words during the Munich Security Conference.