Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On April 2, the Republican Party more or less joined the Organization of Petroleum Exporting States Plus (OPEC+). That is the upshot of reporting by Timothy Gardner, Steve Holland, Dmitry Zhdannikov, and Rania El Gamal for Reuters that Trump threatened de facto Saudi ruler crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman with […]
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Arab World
In War Crime, United Arab Emirates Drone Strike in Libya kills 8 Civilians
(Beirut) – An apparently unlawful drone attack by the United Arab Emirates that hit the Al-Sunbulah biscuit factory in Wadi al-Rabie, Libya, south of Tripoli, on November 18, 2019, killed 8 civilians and wounded 27, Human Rights Watch said today, after investigating the incident. The UAE appeared to take little or no action to minimize […]
Lowest Solar bid in World History for new Abu Dhabi Facility, as expensive Coal, backed by Trump, declines further
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Abu Dhabi has accepted a historically low bid of 1.35 cents a kilowatt hour for a new giant 1.5 gigawatt solar farm, to be built at al-Dhafra by the largely government-owned French consortium Électricité de France (EDF) and China’s Jinko. The price is 44% less than was paid for the […]
Trump Narrative of Iran Meddling in Yemen dashed by Secession of Emirates-Backed Southerners in Aden
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al-Jazeera reports that the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the Arabian Sea port of Aden has declared independence. Aden is a little more populous than Philadelphia inside city limits, at about 1.7 million, which makes it about 5 percent of Yemen’s 28 million population. The STC maintains that the Riyadh […]
Trump’s Buddies in Saudi Arabia abolish Flogging, but Dissidents are Still Dying in its Jails and Journalists being Threatened
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Middle East Online reports that Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging as a punishment. Henceforward, offenders will be fined or jailed instead. It had been one of some 29 countries that still apply corporal punishment. Most of these countries are formerly British colonies that have retained older British penal laws from […]
With Oil Cratering and Saudis facing Mountain of Debt, what Future for Arab World with Coronavirus?
( Middle East Monitor ) – Oil prices have hit zero. Yes, oil was “sold” this week with producers only asking buyers to pay for transporting it to its final destination. This is the worst collapse in oil markets in history; it is unprecedented for oil to lose 94 per cent of its value in […]
The Arab Spring was not a Failure: Interview with Noah Feldman
Joseph Richard Preville interviews Noah Feldman: Detroit (Special to Informed Comment) – The Arab spring was a momentous era of revolutionary people power in the history of the Middle East and North Africa, beginning in Tunisia in 2010. Noah Feldman offers an interpretation of the meaning of the Arab spring and its aftermath in the […]
Trump is Using Saudi Arabia to Prop up his Big Oil Donors, and that should Worry Us
( Middle East Monitor ) – When Saudi Arabia approached members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its affiliates recently to cut oil production in an attempt to cushion the impact of the falling oil prices as a result of Covid-19, Russia rejected the proposal. The subsequent spat between Moscow and Riyadh […]
With Oil Prices in Freefall, Coronavirus Reveals Weaknesses of Saudis, Arab Gulf States
By Marwan Kabalan | – ( Middle East Monitor) – The coronavirus outbreak has put the Arab Gulf States under the spotlight and exposed their structural weaknesses. It has also suggested that security, which is often the focus because of geopolitical regional rivalry, especially with Iran, distracts from other equally important threats. While it is […]
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