[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
Qataris officially biggest spending tourists outside the EU Simon Neville writes on Qataris’ spending patterns in the United Kingdom, in The Guardian.
Saudi Control of Lebanon: A Little Tourism and Sympathy Ghassan Saoud examines the Lebanese-Saudi relations and describes Saudi Arabia as “a guardian of Lebanon,” on Al-Akhbar English.
Opinions and Reports
The Saudi Marathon Man Amy Davidson critiques the assumptions made by the American media and police that a young Saudi man injured during the Boston bombing last week was a suspect based on his nationality, in The New Yorker.
Crossing the Gulf’s red lines? An Inside Story episode on the fate of activists and opposition figures in the Gulf countries, featuring Fahad Shulemi, a Kuwaiti security analyst and a former colonel, Najeeb al-Nuaimi, a lawyer for the jailed Qatari poet Muhammad Rashid al-Ajami, and Sarah Leah Whitson, the executive director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch, on Al Jazeera English.
Kuwait – Arrest and detention of human rights defender Sulaiman Binjassim and excessive use of force by police at protest Gulf Center for Human Rights condemns the arrest and harsh treatment of the activist.
Kuwait court bails an ex-MP guilty of insulting emir A news report on Mussallam al-Barrak’s bail pending the appeal hearing against his jail sentence, on BBC.
Oman: Human rights defender Dr Salih Al-Azri arrested and held in incommunicado detention Gulf Center for Human Rights deplores the arrest of the human rights activist who was called for questioning by the Special Branch at the General Police Headquarters.
Qatar sentences man to lashes for drinking alcohol A news report on a foreign hairdresser who was sentenced to forty lashes for drinking alcohol, on Al-Akhbar English.
Beheading brings Saudi executions to 35 this year A news report on capital punishment in the kingdom, on Al-Akhbar English.
Earthquake rocks UAE: No more aftershocks expected A news report on an earthquake that shook the Gulf state last week, on Emirates 24/7.
Saudi Arabia deports ‘irresistible’ men deemed ‘too handsome’ to women Romil Patel reports on the deportation of three Emirati citizens who were attending the Janadiryah Festival of Heritage and Culture for fear that their good looks would make women fall for them, in The Telegraph.
Repression in Bahrain
Bahrain: Police ‘fire tear gas’ at boys’ school A news report on clashes between the police and students who were protesting and demanding the release of a colleague arrested last week, on BBC.
Clashes as Bahrain Grand Prix goes ahead A news report on anti-government protests in Bahrain on the eve of Formula One race, on Al Jazeera English.
ITV News crew forced to leave Bahrain ahead of grand prix Mark Sweney reports on the detention and deportation of ITV News team in Bahrain, headed by Rageh Omaar, a former BBC foreign correspondent, in The Guardian.
Report – Bahrain: Increase of Human Rights Violation to Protest the Formula 1 A detailed report released by the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights on the suppression of protests in Bahrain ahead of the race.
Bahrain activist Nabeel Rajab ‘denied medical treatment’ A news report on Sumaya Rajab’s statement that her husband’s request to go to hospital for a back injury has been refused by prison officials, on BBC.
Bahrain Crown Prince Salman addresses civil rights Bill Law writes on the crown prince’s description of Bahraini protesters as engaging in terrorist activities who deserve “zero respect,” on BBC.
Crisis in Yemen
US drone strike kills two alleged al-Qaeda members in Yemen A news report on the death of two people in drone strikes in Wadi Abida, on Al-Akhbar English.
Yemen women divided over rights fight A news report on the debates among women in Aden who enjoyed more rights before Yemen’s unification in 1990, on Al Jazeera English.
Human Rights Watch
Saudi Arabia: End Prosecution of Human Rights Lawyer HRW demands that the Saudi government drop all charges against Walid Abu al-Khair.
Kuwait: Ex-Lawmaker on Bail in ‘Insulting Emir’ Case A report by the organization on the release of Kuwaiti opposition figure, Mussallam al-Barrak, on bail.
Migrant Workers
Saudi Arabia to crack down on illegal workers A news report on new regulations imposed by the kingdom and their impacts on particularly workers from Yemen and India, on Al Jazeera English.
Education
Teaching the Limits of Media Freedom Is Tricky in the Gulf D. D. Guttenplan examines the challenges facing professors in universities in the Gulf countries who encourage critical discussions of the media, in The New York Times.
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