Gulf in the News – January 3, 2014

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Byron Lewis

Tests prove held man is top Saudi militant linked with Iran embassy attack in Beirut

DNA tests yesterday showed that the man detained in Beirut and suspected in the Iran embassy bombing is the Saudi commander of an Al Qaeda-linked group. The tests confirmed that the detained man is Majid Al Majid, the commander of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, the army said yesterday. The group had claimed responsibility for a number of attacks, including the November 19 twin bombings at the Iranian embassy in Beirut that killed at least 23 people and wounded dozens. Al Majid is being held in a military hospital because “he is in poor health”, a medical official said.

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Gulf in the News – January 2, 2014

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Byron Lewis

It is forbidden to use phones while driving, says mufti

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

It is forbidden to use phones while driving because of the danger of causing accidents, the Eastern Province’s mufti said here recently. Khalaf bin Mohammed Al-Mutlaq was speaking to the media here during the launch of a campaign entitled “Don’t Be Captive to Your Mobile.” He also warned that young people are becoming addicted to the technology on their smart phones, distracting them from their school and religious duties. “It is forbidden to drive and use your mobile because of the risks involved.”

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Gulf in the News – December 20, 2013

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Byron Lewis

Nuclear energy’s benefits becoming more obvious, says UAE

Source: The National (Read full story)

Nuclear energy will account for carbon dioxide savings of 3.2 gigatonnes a year by 2050, a report says. The report, by the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the drop in damaging greenhouse gas emissions would come despite increased production to cater for greater global demand. “Nuclear energy is a source of energy that is available today and it has almost negligible carbon dioxide emissions compared to other hydrocarbon sources,” said Hamad Al Kaabi, the UAE’s permanent ambassador to the IAEA.

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NCUSAR’s Summer 2014 Washington, DC Internship Program – Applications Due February 28

Posted on December 19, 2013 by NCUSAR

Special Opportunity for Students:

The National Council Fellowships:
Washington, DC Summer Internship Program

June 2 – August 8, 2014

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ Washington, DC Summer Internship Program offers undergraduate and graduate students a ten-week professional, academic, and career opportunity internship in the nation’s capital. The program features a demanding mix of professional involvement, intellectual challenge, career exploration, and cultural encounters designed to provide interns with a rich and varied experience during their time in Washington.

Professional workplace experience: Interns are placed with one of over a dozen Near East and Arab world-related organizations in Washington, D.C., where they are expected to work 35-40 hours/week under the direct supervision of their host organizations.
Academic seminars: Interns take part in twice-weekly seminar sessions designed to provide them with greater depth of knowledge about the Arab world, to underscore the cultural, economic, and political diversity of Arab states, and to explore the intricacies of Arab-U.S. relations. There will be a particular emphasis, though not exclusively, on Arabia and the Gulf.
Site visits: Interns receive a behind-the-scenes look at many of the central institutions of federal government, national security policymaking, international diplomacy, and international business.

Gulf in the News – December 19, 2013

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Byron Lewis

Saudi envoy: West’s policies on Syria and Iran dangerous gamble

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

Saudi Arabia is prepared to act on its own to safeguard security in the region, the Saudi ambassador to Britain has said in a commentary published in the New York Times. Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf termed the West’s policies on Iran and Syria as a dangerous gamble. “We believe that many of the West’s policies on both Iran and Syria risk the stability and security of the Middle East,” the ambassador wrote. “This is a dangerous gamble, about which we cannot remain silent, and will not stand idly by,” he stated. Citing Iran’s backing for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, he said “rather than challenging the Syrian and Iranian governments, some of our Western partners have refused to take much-needed action against them.

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Eighteenth Annual Oman Cultural Immersion Program — February 19 – March 5, 2014

Posted on December 18, 2013 by NCUSAR

Applications Now Being Accepted for the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’

Eighteenth Annual
Oman Cultural Immersion Program

February 19 – March 5, 2014

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations is pleased to offer, through its Joseph J. Malone Fellowship in Arab and Islamic Studies Program, the Eighteenth Annual Oman Cultural Immersion study visit to the Sultanate of Oman February 21 – March 5, 2014. Fellows are required to participate in and complete a pre-departure orientation in Washington, D.C. to be held on February 19-20. This unique opportunity will provide a privileged first hand exposure to one of the Arab world’s most demographically, geographically, and socially diverse countries.

The National Council is currently accepting applications to participate in this study visit. APPLY NOW!

MALONE FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION (.pdf)

American professionals in academia, government, the military, non-governmental organizations, business, religious institutions, the media, civic associations, as well as the fine arts, humanities, and the social sciences are invited to apply.

The Eighteenth Annual Oman Cultural Immersion study visit will provide participants an educational experience that few Westerners and even fewer Americans have had. The program is choreographed to provide Malone Fellows an unparalleled diverse exposure to Oman — one of the most historically and culturally rich of all Arab and Islamic societies. Until relatively recent times, the Sultanate languished in its status as one of the most forgotten corners of all Arabia. Anyone in doubt about the extraordinary opportunity that being able to visit Oman in this manner presents need only consult any of the several National Geographic Magazine features on the country in the past two decades.

End Pictures: inlaid Islamic niches at the Grand Mosque in Oman’s Capital Territory; Middle Pictures: Bedouin Omani girls in the Sharqiyyah Sands.

Gulf in the News – December 18, 2013

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Byron Lewis

Kuwait Parliament Speaker praises deeply-rooted Gulf-EU relations

Source: Kuwait News Agency (Read full story)

Kuwait’s National Assembly (Parliament) Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim lauded Tuesday the strong and historic ties between Gulf Cooperation Council member states (GCC) and Europe. “Relations between the GCC countries and Europe are distinguished in all domains,” Al-Ghanim told KUNA following a meeting with the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz. He went on to say that “GCC states are the fifth biggest trade partner to the European Union.” Al-Ghanim added that GCC states are about to unify economic legislations to pave the way for broader and strategic partnership with the EU countries.

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Gulf in the News – December 17, 2013

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Byron Lewis

Saudi Arabia will go it alone

Source: New York Times (Read full story)

Saudi Arabia has been friends with our Western partners for decades; for some, like the United Kingdom where I [Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz Al Saud] serve as ambassador, for almost a century. These are strategic alliances that benefit us both. Recently, these relationships have been tested — principally because of differences over Iran and Syria. We believe that many of the West’s policies on both Iran and Syria risk the stability and security of the Middle East. This is a dangerous gamble, about which we cannot remain silent, and will not stand idly by. … While international efforts have been taken to remove the weapons of mass destruction used by the murderous regime of Bashar al-Assad, surely the West must see that the regime itself remains the greatest weapon of mass destruction of all?

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