Competing ideas for increased security in the Gulf “tinderbox”. UK under Johnson backs the US. Legal considerations.
Articles tagged: ‘Oman’
Oman and the Gulf crisis
Posted onOman has a record as defuser of crises and as mediator. Currently claiming to defuse but not to mediate.
New cities in the Arab world
Posted onEgypt has four decades of experience of building new cities. Others are newer to the game. Results have often been mixed.
The Eid – cricket queers the pitch
Posted onFestival marking end of Ramadan probably 5 June. Long holidays, traditional family celebrations, a travel boom. Clash with the cricket World Cup. Multiple wars continue.
Locusts
Posted onLocust swarms around the Red Sea and across Arabia may cause serious harm depending on the next three months.
NOPEC
Posted onThe US Congress is again considering legislation against the OPEC cartel. This time it may bite the bullet.
The Warsaw “ministerial”
Posted onUS/Polish conference in Warsaw shifts focus from Iran to a wider agenda. “A new era” (Mike Pence) – not
Qanats
Posted onAn ancient irrigation system still operating throughout the Middle East and elsewhere.
Prestige projects in the Arab world
Posted onAutocrats love grandiose projects. Arab autocrats are no exception. Religion, railways, new cities and culture are favoured fields.
Mawlid
Posted onMawlid popular holiday, widely celebrated by both Sunnis and Shia but condemned by some including Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Prophet’s Birthday (al-Mawlid al-Nabawi, or simply Mawlid) is celebrated in the month of Rabi’ al-awwal, by Sunnis usually on the 12th and by Shia on the 17th. There is some flexibility as the precise date is not recorded. This year 12 Rabi’ al-awwal coincides with 21 November, and in most Arab and Muslim states Mawlid will be today or tomorrow, though the celebrations begin the night before. In some countries …