Festival marking end of Ramadan probably 5 June. Long holidays, traditional family celebrations, a travel boom. Clash with the cricket World Cup. Multiple wars continue.
Articles tagged: ‘Oman’
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 …
FGM: progress in Africa
Posted onHuge decline since 1990 in FGM in Africa where it is most prevalent. Information about the Middle East remains scanty.
Oman: out of step
Posted onWith a record of mediating Oman breaks new ground receiving a visit by the Israeli PM.
Floods: a bad fortnight
Posted onFloods throughout the region this month causing death and destruction.