[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on the Arabian Peninsula and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Arabian Peninsula Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to ap@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every week.]
Regional and International Relations
Saudi minister: US to remain energy dependent A news report on the oil minister’s dismissal of talk of US energy independence and assertion that the United States’ imports of oil from the Middle East in the second half of 2012 were the highest since the 1990s, on Al Jazeera English.
Factbox: Western forces in the Gulf A list of Gulf countries and the weaponry and military equipment they received from the United States and some Western countries, on Reuters.
UK sends underwater drones to Gulf for anti-mines exercise Nick Hopkins reports on a three-week exercise in the Gulf in which forty countries will participate, in The Guardian.
Qatari prince woos Israeli companies Assaf Gilad writes on a Qatari royal family representative’s upcoming visit to Israel and Qatar’s desire to encourage the exportation of Israeli high-tech products to the Gulf states, on Calcalist.
Arab League seems to soften Israeli-Palestinian peace plan A news report on the statement that Qatari prime minister made on behalf of an Arab League delegation in which he asserted that land swaps are possible, on Reuters.
Official: Human trafficking probe at Saudi diplomat’s home A media report on federal investigations into a case of human trafficking involving a Saudi diplomat, on CNN.
Festive mood greets Shailkh Khalifa in UK Abdul Hamid Ahmad reports on the Emirati president’s visit to the United Kingdom and the close ties between the two states, on Gulfnews.
Reports and Opinions
In Saudi Arabia, advocating peaceful change leads to lengthy prison terms for two dissidents Roy Gutman examines the Specialized Criminal Court’s equating the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association with al-Qaeda, and the implications of sentencing two human rights activists in the kingdom, on McClatchy Newspapers.
Saudi Arabia executes 37th convict this year A news report on the beheading of a Saudi national, raising the number of executions in the kingdom to thirty-seven, on Al-Akhbar English.
Bahraini sheikh wins Asia football presidency A news report on the election of Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa as the president of the Asian Football Confederation, on Al Jazeera English.
Saudi Arabia to allow girls to play sport at private schools A news report on the Ministry of Education's decision to allow Saudi girls to play sports in private schools according to certain criteria, in The Guardian.
Crisis in Yemen
A young Yemeni writer on the impact and morality of drone-bombing his country Glenn Greenwald writes on Ibrahim Mothana, a twenty-four-year old Yemeni writer and activist, whose writing brings to light the impact of drone strikes in Yemen, in The Guardian.
Making enemies in Yemen Akbar Ahmed and Harrison Akins examine how the drone strikes in Yemen have intensified antagonistic feelings towards the United States, on Al Jazeera English.
‘Democracy’ in spite of the people Nasser Arrabyee writes on Yemeni activists’ opposition to drone strikes and whether the drones’ targets can be captured rather than killed, on Al-Ahram Weekly.
Journalism Getting More Dangerous in Yemen A statement by Reporters Without Borders deploring the increase of threats and physical attacks on journalists in Yemen.
Repression in Bahrain
Bahrain: Arrest and incommunicado detention of human rights defender Mr Naji Fateel A report on the recent arrest of the human rights activist and member of Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, on Front Line Defenders.
Bahrain: The Return of the National Security Apparatus with a New Face A Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights report claims that members of the National Security Apparatus, following a report indicating their involvement in human rights abuses, have been wearing masks and civilian clothes when they raid activists’ homes.
Human Rights Watch
Saudi Arabia: New Rights Group Facing Harassment A statement by the organization condemning the persecution of members of the Union for Human Rights.
Dubai’s child labor complicity Juliane Kippenberg criticizes Dubai, a hub for gold trade, for ignoring the fact that children working in gold mining live and work in poor conditions.
Gulf Center for Human Rights
Yemen – The judicial harassment of human rights defenders and journalists, Mohammed Al-Abbsi and Mohammed Ayish A statement documenting the harassment of two activists by the Yemeni Ministry of Justice.
Bahrain – Human rights defenders in prison, torturers walk free, and UN Special Rapporteur on torture has no access to the country A report on the Bahraini authorities’ cancelation of the visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan Mendez.
Migrant Workers
Interactive: Powering the Gulf Sam Bollier and Mohammed Haddad provide an interactive representation of statistics and information on migrant laborers in Gulf Cooperation Council states, on Al Jazeera English.
Media
The Gulf’s Refined Media Prison Miriam Abdallah analyzes the low ranks that Gulf states occupy in the 2013 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, on Al-Akhbar English.
Saudi columnist claims he is banned Roy Greenslade blogs about Ali al-Elayan, who tweeted that he has been banned from writing for al-Watan after criticizing the interior minister, in The Guardian.
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