I don't understand sanctions on Iraq. Probably a lot of people don't. While three nuclear sites in Iran are exempt from sanctions this article also shows how the Iraqis are exempt on electricity sanctions from Iran. How does that work? This is how Al Monitor explains it. US gives Iraqis an out on Iran sanctions Bryant Harris November 5, 2018 Articl...
New Zealand PM bows out
Here's an article from The Economist which, while talking about John Key's resignation, states that NZ is "one of the most successful countries in the world. While this is debatable, there is no doubt that Key has had successes- namely international recognition- along with failures, housing, immigration and the environment. We have yet to see whether the new Prime Minister, John English, will have the same success.
VAT was introduced in the UAE on 1 January 2018. I'm sure ex-pats find many items more expensive. Most were expensive before. Now, visitors to the UAE can claim back VAT but they are being warned about s phishing scam. This article was in Khaleej Times. The new phishing scam has come to light following e-mails being sent out to customers of a local...
Yemen is the forgotten story of the Middle East. The war between the Houthis, and the Saudis and the Emiratis and of course the US and the UK (although not directly) is ongoing. There is little sign of let up, despite the US imposing a 30-day deadline for the warring factions to resolve their differences. I spent time in Yemen, travelling around, a...
I'm intrigued about the war in Yemen (though that's probably the wrong word). I toured Yemen in 2000, long before the war between the Houthi "rebels" and the Sunni ruler. It is a wonderful country, where there is a considerable good will for the ruler and the people. The fact that there is war is unbelievable, largely led by the Saudias and the Emi...
One of the forgotten issues in the Middle East is that Lebanon has been without a government since May. On 9 October, Saad Hariri, the Lebanese Prime Minister, said that if a government was not formed without 10 days he would resign. That hasn't happened and he still waiting. (Lebanese also has a complex power sharing structure so that all factions...
Turkey jails more journalists than China, Russia and Egypt combined. Yet Erdogan speaks about the need to uphold the truth. This doesn't add up. What does Erdogan want? For many Turks, Erdogan is authoritarian and a dictator who is trying to change Turkish society from a secular state to increasingly Islamic. What will happen? This is what The Wash...
The right-wing Israeli government has come into criticism at the UN. This is not surprising. My short time in Bethlehem exposed the difficulty of life for Palestinians, which is controlled on a day-to-day basis by the Israelis. Here's what Al Monitor said. UN speech angers Israeli human rights activists Shlomi Eldar October 23, 2018 Article ...
Research shows that what happens in the UK, can happen elsewhere f you're poor in the UK you get less, worse news — especially online, new research suggests Poorer people are less likely to go straight to a news site, and the researchers found no online news brand that was read by significantly more poorer people than wealthier people. By Laura...
It looks as though Saudi Arabia has got away with allegedly killing a journalist- an outspoken critic of the Saudi regime- with little to no damage to its relations with the West. It is hardly surprising that it has happened. This is what Saudi Arabia was banking on. When I was in the Middle East, as a journalist (and yes I have met Jamal Khashoggi...
Will the US take "action" against Saudi Arabia for the alleged murder of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, at the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul, Turkey? It's unlikely that any retaliatory measure will be severe enough to put a USD $110 billion arms deal by the US at risk. More than that though. The US still sees Saudi Arabia as a key ally against the ...
Keeping an eye on what is happening with “disappeared” journalist Khashoggi, it would appear that a full-blown diplomatic incident is looming. This is not surprising. Journalists often “disappear” in Saudi and in the United Arab Emirates. This is how Al Monitor reports the incident.
Disappearance of Saudi journalist puts Erdogan in difficult situation
Semih Idiz October 9, 2018
Article Summary
I apologise for not having been around recently. I’ve travelled from the United Kingdom to New Zealand, arriving back on Wednesday evening, and now I’m getting back into things.
One of the items which appears to be on top of the news agenda is the alleged murder of the Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, (whom I’ve met) at the Saudi embassy in Turkey. I’m told by a Saudi source that murder is not typically the Saudi way. That it’s more likely that the Saudis will abduct someone and blackmail the family. Let’s see.
This is what the BBC wrote about the case.
Jamal Khashoggi: Turkey says journalist was murdered in Saudi consulate
7 October 2018Fears are growing over the missing Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, after Turkish officials said they believed he had been murdered.
One of the Qatari construction companies isn’t paying its workers. And workers just can’t up and leave, or move to another employers, according to the article below.
When I arrived in Dubai, in the UAE, the weekend was still only a day and a half (half of Friday and Saturday) although journalists seldom got Friday off (or I didn’t anyway). And if you wanted to leave an employer that was in Dubai proper- ie not in a free zone- you needed to ask the permission of your employer. Employers also retained employees’ passports.
This was the same in Qatar. A lot of people were not allowed to move to another employee. And I’ve heard of other people and companies not being paid. Therefore, I was not surprised to read this article in The Daily Mail.
Amnesty International says Qatar isn't paying World Cup stadium workers, with hundreds owed up to £4,000
Press Release: 24 September 2018- Christchurch, New Zealand
Failure to speak English is the main barrier refugees face when looking for employment and accessing healthcare.
Other barriers to finding employment include discrimination- ethnic and gender- a lack of local work experience and a failure by employers to recognise qualifications gained outside New Zealand.
These are discussed further in a study carried out by the Canterbury Refugee Resettlement and Resource Centre (CRRRC). This study gathered information on the challenges refugees face when seeking employment, the quality of that employment, the state of refugee health and the ability of refugees to access health services.
The information was elicited from refugees themselves via a questionnaire. “Although the survey was conducted among refugees in Christchurch and its surrounds, the answers can be extrapolated to the rest of New Zealand,” one of the co-researchers, Sumaiya Nasir, general manager of the CRRRC said.
There are many Filipinas/os in the Middle East, most of whom are looking for good employment opportunities so that they can send money back home- often to send their children to work. It’s a sad situation. Even more so, when we learn that the mother is forced into prostitution and documents taken away.
I spotted this on the website of Khaleej Times, a national newspaper in the UAE.
Filipina expat forced to work as prostitute in Arab country
Filed on September 19, 2018 | Last updated on September 19, 2018 at 05.58 pm
There’s been a great deal in the media recently, the radio, the television and newspapers, about the financial crisis of 2008-2009- since it’s 10 years since the demise of Lehman Brothers, the investment bank.
I was in Dubai at the time, and suddenly our pay was cut somewhere between £2000-£3000 a month. It was then denominated in pound sterling rather than UAE dirhams, even though we had never agreed to the change. That seems to be the way companies are nowadays- domineering and bullying. Employees are only seen as a cost.
At the same time, the financial crisis coincided with the property crisis in Dubai- too much property and not enough investors. Blame the financial crisis, not government policy.
Here’s an article by Ben Bernanke, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, published by the Brookings Institute.
At the height of the financial crisis a decade ago, economists and policymakers underestimated the depth and severity of the recession that would follow. I argue in a paper released today by the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA) that remedying this failure demands a more thorough inclusion of credit-market factors in models and forecasts of the economy. I also provide new evidence that suggests that the severity of the Great Recession reflected in large part the adverse effects of the financial panic on the supply of credit. In particular, the housing bust alone can’t explain why the Great Recession was as bad as it was.
I’m in the UK currently and the news is full of stories, especially about Jeremy Corbyn- the leader of the Labour Party and the opposition- and about how the media and politicians are antisemitic. Some of the concerns are true; some are not. No doubt, this comment will be deemed antisemitic.
On reading the article below (which appeared in Al Monitor) I recall a conversation I had in Bethlehem, Palestine, by someone who had negotiated with the Israelis. He said that for the Israelis the “status quo” would always be better than any future deal.
Is Trump pushing Abbas to dismantle the Palestinian Authority?
Ben Caspit September 13, 2018
Article Summary
Bumpy road ahead for Egypt's first female Coptic governor
Menna A. Farouk September 4, 2018
Women's rights activists and Christian figures rejoiced as Egypt appointed its first Coptic Christian woman as governor of the Nile Delta city of Damietta.
The appointment of Manal Awad, the first Christian woman to hold the position of governor in Egypt, reflects an unprecedented state willingness to empower Christians and appoint them in leading government posts.
Former member of Egyptian parliament Gamal Assad said the Egyptian leadership’s attitude toward Christians has dramatically changed under the reign of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Assad added that there will have to be community support to any initiatives or decisions that are made in the interests of Christians in Egypt. “The new Christian governor in Damietta is going to be under threat because there are still followers of the Muslim Brotherhood group out there, and they are of course opposing the appointment of any Christian in a leading post,” he told Al-Monitor.
The dispute between Saudi Arabia and Qatar has been going on for 14 months. Saudi Arabia has now decided to go one step further and cut off Qatar entirely from Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, and in so doing change the geography of the region. This is what Khaleej Times, a Dubai-based national newspaper says.
Saudi Arabia hints at plan to turn Qatar into an island
Filed on September 1, 2018
The plan is the latest stress point in a highly fractious 14-month long dispute between the two states.
The role Qatar plays in Palestine, as well as with Israel, is an interesting one. There is more going on than often meets the eye. Here is an overview of what’s happening, from the Palestine Pulse, part of Al-Monitor. I was in Doha when Hamas had one of its first meetings there.
Will Hamas, Israel call Qatar-brokered truce?
Adnan Abu Amer August 30, 2018
Article Summary