The Empty Quarter

KUWAIT: Emir dissolves parliament - elections expected

Trey — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:05:27 +0000

Kuwait's ruler dissolved parliament on Wednesday, setting elections within two months to end a long-running political crisis in the Gulf Arab country...

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KUWAIT: prospect of unconstitutional suspension of parliament looms

Trey — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 07:33:10 +0000

The question still remains whether the Emir wishes to abide by the constitution or abrogate it with the rumored two-year suspension. Al-Sabah has few legal options. Basically, he must choose new elections (and hope for a change in parliament), choose a new cabinet, or both...

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KUWAIT: cabinet resigns

Trey — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:15:48 +0000

HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah yesterday issued a decree accepting the resignation of the Cabinet barely two months after its formation following a political deadlock in the country over three requests to grill the prime minister...

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UAE: interview with najla al-awadhi - modeling female empowerment

Trey — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:31:13 +0000

As deputy CEO of Dubai Media and the youngest member of the United Arab Emirates parliament, Najla Al-Awadhi has quickly risen to prime leadership positions in a society that is still largely male-dominated...

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KUWAIT: arab times crime pages: smut, scandal…and the just plain weird

Trey — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 13:17:37 +0000

For those of you that like tabloid scandals and the like, I highly recommend the Arab Times crime pages...

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MIDEAST: al-qaradawi vs. ayman nour: on omar al-bashir

Trey — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:23:12 +0000

Qaradawi is the most recent personality to add his name to the dogpile of support that has been collecting in the Arab world in support of al-Bashir. Ayman Nour, on the other hand recently published a cutting criticism of the Arab support, and Egyptian support in particular...

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KUWAIT: more to discuss on kuwait’s political turmoil

Trey — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 10:31:37 +0000

Kuwait Times runs a piece looking at possible alternative scenarios besides a dissolution of parliament that may play out. Asharq al-Awsat is running a very interesting opinion piece asking if Kuwaitis, or Arabs in general, are even suited for democracy. And, yet another Kuwaiti minister is in hot water over a “scandal”...

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KUWAIT: ‘funky’ al-qaeda recruiter informing on yemeni terror financier mohsen al-fadhli

Trey — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:20:38 +0000

The Public Prosecution is interrogating MS who was arrested by police for luring and recruiting youths to fight Jihad against the foreign forces in Afghanistan, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting knowledgeable security sources...

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QATAR/YEMEN: al-bashir to travel to qatar summit despite genocide arrest warrant; yemen sides with sudan

Trey — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:33:54 +0000

I find it ironic that Arab states are now claiming the ICC has no jurisdiction in the Sudan, given that a month ago they were trumpeting ICC genocide charges against Israel. Yemen was particularly vocal, and is now being equally vocal about rejecting the ICC arrest warrant for Sudan...

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KUWAIT: al-Sabah to dissolve parliament, new elections in may…and september, and february…

Trey — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:57:59 +0000

A decree by Kuwait's amir to dissolve parliament and call new elections is imminent, a lawmaker said on Wednesday amid the latest political crisis to hit the Gulf state in a year. ‘A decree to dissolve the national assembly is ready and will be issued any moment,’ independent MP Saadun Hammad told reporters outside parliament...

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KSA: Arabs must be unified in dealing with ‘Iranian challenge’ - Saud al-Faisal

Trey — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:39:38 +0000

Saudi Arabia's top diplomat urged Arabs yesterday to stand up to Persian Iran's ambitions in the region, including its nuclear program...

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QATAR: human rights body rejects critical u.s. report

Trey — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:45:56 +0000

A top official at the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) has slammed a report of the US Department of State on Qatar’s record in human rights as “politicised” and “full of wrong information”. NHRC secretary general Ali al-Marri said the report has ignored the progress made by Qatar on its human rights record...

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BAHRAIN: arab world still pissed at iran

Trey — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 11:27:15 +0000

Asharq al-Awsat ran two editorials dedicated to the “Bahrain-is-part-of-Iran” comment....

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YEMEN: ‘abu nasir al-hawashi’ new leader of al-qaeda in the gulf? - wait, someones dyslexic

Trey — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 06:39:13 +0000

Abu Nasar Al-Haweshi from Yemen has been nominated as Al-Qaeda’s leader for Gulf Region, TheNation learnt through highly-placed reliable sources on Sunday... This really needs some confirmation – there is a whole lot here that just doesn’t add up...

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KUWAIT: kuwait working hard to get gitmo citizens back

Trey — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:14:49 +0000

The Kuwaiti government has spared no efforts for releasing the four Kuwaitis still held as terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah said yesterday.He denied accusations that the government has been slack on the issue of the Guantanamo prisoners...

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BAHRAIN: protesters fill bahrain’s streets; qatar & oman show no love

Trey — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:16:17 +0000

More than 1,500 Bahrainis took to the streets on Friday demanding the release of Shiite opposition activists who are due to stand trial next week for plotting to overthrow the Sunni government...

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BAHRAIN: more on the ‘bahiran’ fiasco

Trey — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:38:07 +0000

The crisis between Iran and Bahrain I wrote a little about yesterday is still going on, although it looks like it may have crested...

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GULF: collective nuclear plant ‘best option for the gulf’

Trey — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:46:58 +0000

NUCLEAR power is the best option for the Gulf states to meet their growing energy demands, but the key is to produce it collectively, experts said yesterday...

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BAHRAIN: there they go again – iran v. bahrain – round ?

Trey — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:35:23 +0000

Bahrain said on Wednesday it has halted negotiations with Iran over a major gas import deal in a deepening row over comments that touch on the sovereignty of the tiny Gulf kingdom...

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GULF: arabs nervous over u.s.-iran warming relations

Trey — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:45:18 +0000

Gulf Arab states are beginning to worry that any U.S. rapprochement with Iran could ultimately lead to their worst nightmare -- a nuclear-armed, non-Arab, Shi'ite Muslim superpower in their neighborhood...

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KUWAIT: kuwait ‘thinking seriously’ about nuclear power

Trey — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:16:02 +0000

Kuwait is “thinking seriously” about building nuclear power stations to keep up with skyrocketing power demand, Sheikh Sabah al Ahmed Jaber, the Emir of Kuwait said in remarks published on Wednesday...

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another former journalist involved in terrorism

Trey — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:37:02 +0000

The surprise that came with the most recent list of 85 came with regards the 50th name on the list; the journalist Obaida Abdul-Rahman Al Otaibi. The Saudi Ministry of the Interior statement revealed that Obaida Abdul-Rahman Al-Otaibi had left Saudi Arabia for the UAE in 2005, but that there was no information with regards to his current whereabouts...

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kuwait considering setting up terror rehab too

Trey — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:38:05 +0000

Kuwait is considering setting up a programme to rehabilitate nationals when they return from imprisonment in Guantanamo Bay, said Khalid al Odah, the father of one of the detainees. Approval of the plan, which is modelled on Saudi’s rehabilitation programme, will be one of the final steps in meeting US conditions for the release of the prisoners.

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kuwait oil minister sworn in under protest

Trey — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:47:42 +0000

New Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah took the oath in the National Assembly yesterday amid protests by a number of MPs who objected to his appointment.

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5, including kuwaiti, arrested in connection to terrorism in yemen

Trey — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 10:11:28 +0000

Three of the wanted terrorist suspects aged between 20-25 years old have been arrested in Marib province. The three suspects, who were arrested in a raid within a nationwide anti-terrorism campaign, include a Kuwaiti national.

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u.a.e. draft press law unacceptable to many

Trey — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:51:22 +0000

The draft media law passed by the Federal National Council (FNC) was criticised for its shortcomings by media professionals on Sunday, but a senior minister said it would encourage freedom of speech and protect journalists.

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kuwait looking at bank infusion, deposit guarantees

Trey — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:35:57 +0000

Kuwait on Monday offered to pump cash into troubled Gulf Bank which has been hit by losses from derivative deals. A group of investors meanwhile protested in Kuwait City's financial district against the government's handling of the global financial crisis and urged the Cabinet to resign.

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bahrain to push ahead with iran gas deal - why?

Trey — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 08:04:45 +0000

Bahrain intends to push ahead with plans to buy gas from Iran, despite the concerns of the US, an important ally for the small Gulf kingdom, senior officials say.

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stability better than democracy - arabs

Trey — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 04:35:43 +0000

About two-thirds of Arabs would choose stability over democracy in the region, according to a poll commissioned by the Doha Debates. A clear majority also said they believed that the Middle East is more democratic today than it was in 2004.

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advice for paulson: the answer is islamic finance?

Trey — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:58:30 +0000

The Islamic finance system, which introduces greater discipline into the economy and links credit expansion to the growth of the real economy, is capable of minimizing the severity and frequency of financial crises, says Umer Chapra, a well-known Saudi economist and winner of the King Faisal International Prize for Islamic Studies.

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