Arabian Peninsula

By Khalid Al-Jaber and Giorgio Cafiero, for LobeLog (*) Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain’s football associations recently announced that they would participate in the Arabian Gulf Cup football tournament, which begins tomorrow. As many experts have …

New survey data shows that demonstrators feel more important, and prouder to be Iraqi, than before ! By Munqith Dagher, for The Washington Post (*) Iraq’s recent demonstrations are among the bloodiest protests in its modern history. Nearly 500 Iraqis …

As the government relaxes restrictions on men and women working and socializing together, coffeehouses are on the front lines of change. By Vivian Yee, for The New York Times (*) RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—For insight into these head-spinning times in Saudi …

By Agnes Helou, Journalist and writer, for Defense News (*) The so-called Arab NATO, a U.S.-led initiative, has the potential to address threats to the Gulf and the Middle East. So what is delaying the creation of such an alliance? An …

The decision to leave the oil cartel is aimed at reinforcing the country’s autonomy from its Persian Gulf neighbors. By Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, for The New York Times (*) The surprising declaration by Qatar about leaving OPEC on Jan. 1 …

Musical chairs in the Iraqi parliament can no longer solve the country’s problems. By John Hannah, for the Foreign Policy (*) The United States faces an increasingly urgent set of first-order policy questions in Iraq. Spoiler alert: The answer is …

Report also criticises kingdom for failing to carry out independent inquiries into its bombing raids in Yemen By: Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor at The Guardian (*) Saudi Arabia has been accused of using anti-terror laws to suppress free expression and …

UN secretary general António Guterres tells humanitarian donors conference war-torn country is facing ‘a tragedy of immense proportions’ By: Saeed Kamali Dehghan and Karen McVeigh, for The Guardian (*) The UN has been promised half the amount requested for its …

Gulf Cooperation Council states consider transforming into a union to arm themselves against Iran’s increasing dominance and the growing instability in the Middle East. By: Giorgio Cafiero, for Al-Monitor (*) Citing “security problems, economic challenges and other serious issues confronted …

By Tom Finn and Fatma al-Arimi, for REUTERS (*) MUSCAT, Jan 9 Caught between two vast neighbours locked in a regional struggle, Oman has long been to the Middle East what neutral Switzerland is to global diplomacy. But now its …