The Empty Quarter

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

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…

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…

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…

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

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…

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”…

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…

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…

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…

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

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…

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

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…

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…

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…

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

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Visiting Iranian Majlis (parliament) Speaker Ali Larijani said Wednesday Iran was ready to provide adequate security and economic guarantees to Gulf countries. Tehran seeks to forge bonds of rapprochement and understanding with other countries, particularly Gulf ones, Larijani told a news conference at the wrapping-up of his current visit to Bahrain.

The UAE Finance Ministry has injected a first tranche of AED25 billion ($6.81 billion) to boost the liquidity and capital of the banking system. Separately the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority is reported to have made up to $3 billion in the form of riyal and dollar deposits with banks in Saudi Arabia.

The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries enjoy robust balance sheets and are strong enough to withstand the steady decline in oil prices amid credit crunch, said a new report by global rating agency Standard and Poor’s.

A Nova Scotia woman detained in Dubai for three weeks expects that she’ll be free to leave today.
During what was supposed to be a 15-hour layover in Dubai, the 34-year-old Sydney woman was arrested at the airport for disrespecting a security official and charged with being drunk and disorderly.

According to a statement from the news channel, Al-Arabiya news reporters were stopped at a check point for an hour and video footage of an anti-government rally were confiscated. If you recall, al-Jazeera was prevented from covering rallies altogether awhile back.

مصادرة أشرطة فريق قناة ” العربية ” قرب صنعاء بعد تغطية فعالية لحسين الأحمر
صنعاء ” [...]

What can I say? I’m not really surprised.

Jordan maintains gender-equality standing on international index
Jordan Times - 11/11/2007
AMMAN - Jordan continues to hold its spot in the 2007 Global Gender Gap Index, which measures equality between men and women, ranking 104 among 128 countries included in the survey.
Although the Kingdom’s position remained the same as last [...]

In response to the report from Nabaa that Kuwait is hosting former YSP leader Ali al Baydh, SABA news publishes denials by the the Kuwaiti ambassador to Sana’a. Interesting that he says there is no “popular” support for a southern separatist movement.  

Reports of Kuwaiti hosting of Yemen ex-vice president denied
[21 October 2007]SANA’A, (Saba)- Kuwait has [...]

 
Abdel Aziz Saqr, Chairman of the Gulf Research Center, like’s Saleh’s proposals. He says they’re a “step in the right direction toward promoting democratic practices.”

 اعتبر رئيس مركز الخليج للأبحاث عبد العزيز بن عثمان بن صقر مبادرة الرئيس علي عبد الله صالح رئيس الجمهورية -الأخيرة - والتي تضمنت مقترحات هامة لتعديلات دستورية حيوية ، بأنها “تمثل [...]

  
Stepping up rhetoric on control of the Hormuz again. You would think if they could devise such an “advanced” monitoring system they could also figure out how to make airplane parts as well…
The Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps (IRGC) said Saturday that its troops have launched a new monitoring system which brings all movements in the [...]

So, whether I was right about this being a bogus story only meant to fluster Iran remains to be seen. Nevertheless, the story has touched a nerve with Tehran enough to elicit comments on the report by A-jad. Well done Debka. it is worth noting that A-jad calls BS on the story too, although he has his [...]

Ok, so apparently this is whole thing is comin’ from an old Debka article. I shoulda known. In my mine this just proves the bogusness of the whole thing. I especially like the part about how the new Saudi oil security force will protect the pipeline against “al Qaeda and Iran.” Another gem is how the [...]

New developments on the threat to the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon…and the Emirati ambassador as well. Bomb laden BMWs…hmm, wonder who could be planning that? Declining comment or to point the finger…hmm, wonder why Saudi would do that? Lebanese response here.
Lebanon - Sports and Youth Minister Ahmed Fatfat on Monday confirmed that both the Saudi and the [...]

I find this interesting. Qatar was also involved in the now-failed peace agreement between Yemen and the al-Houthis… Apparently Sheikh Hamad fancies himself the Jessie Jackson of Arabia. Wonder if we’ll see Taliban leaders granted assylum in Qatar as well?  
SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s Foreign Minister Song Min-soon appealed Monday to Qatar for help in resolving [...]

Hmm…I’m gonna hafta call BS on this. While the threat of Iran shutting down the Hormuz (or attempting to) is significant, a huge oil pipeline crossing enourmous swaths of undefendable terrain is a security nightmare. The Saudi’s are having enough problems defending the installations they have now…thus the new security force. This just sounds like more [...]

Women’s rights in the Gulf suffered a severe blow Monday, as Kuwait’s first female minister was forced to resign. Mubarak’s resignation puts her in unfortunate company - with a thief and a Salafi - and is particularly sad because she bares very little responsibility for problems within her ministry. The Kuwaitis would do better finding some Bulgarians to [...]