30 Dec 09
Al-Qaeda in Yemen has claimed responsibility for a attempted terror attack on an airplane from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas day. Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutalleb attempted to detonate explosives but was overpowered by fellow passengers. The incident has sparked debates about airline security, as well as the (already fragile) situation in Yemen, where Abdulmutalleb was reportedly trained by Al-Qaeda.
A South Korean consortium was awarded a $40bn contract to build and run four nuclear power reactors in the United Arab Emirates. The project is to be the first civilian nuclear-energy initiative in the Arab World.
British hostage Peter Moore was released alive after two-and-a-half years in captivity in Iraq. The IT consultant was captured in Baghdad in May 2007.
19 Dec 09
A ship carrying a cargo of livestock sank off the coast of Lebanon. The vessel, headed from Uruguay to the Syrian port of Tartous, sank due to bad weather. At least 9 bodies have been recovered, with an estimated 35 still missing.
The defence ministry of Yemen reports it has foiled an Al-Qaeda attack, killing 34 suspected militants and arresting 17. The operations were carried out in the Abyan and Arhab regions. The Al-Qaeda group was planning a number of attacks against local and foreign targets, according to Yemeni officials.
The term of Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestine Authority, has been extended indefinitely as has the mandate of the parliament. Elections were due in January but have been postponed due to differences between rival factions Fatah and Hamas.
13 Dec 09
Worries over the Emirates’ financial health were fueled when Moody’s cut its rating for state-owned companies in Dubai.
A series of bombings targeting government buildings in Baghdad killed at least 120 people. An Al-Qaeda or Baathist group is believed to be behind the attacks, in an attempt to destabilise Iraq in the run-up to a general election in early March. An election law had been ratified two days prior to the bombings. The December attacks follow November’s lowest violent-death toll (88) since the American invasion in 2003.
06 Dec 09
Heavy rainfall in Saudi Arabia has led to floods resulting in around 100 deaths, according to local officials. Dozen are still said to be missing, raising fears the death will rise further. The heaviest flooding was reported in Jeddah and Mecca. Heavy rainstorms on Wednesday already hampered the start of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, however no casualties were reported in Mecca.
Three people have died in an explosion at a petrol station in Damascus, capital of Syria. The Syrian interior minister ruled out a terrorist attack, and said the tyre of the bus exploded as it was being pumped. The bus was carrying Iranian pilgrims visiting the Sayyida Zeinab shrine for Shia Muslims.
Dubai World outlined its plans to restructure $26bn in debt, following last week’s request for a six-month delay on debt payments. The issue raised fears in the Gulf region and hit global stockmarkets. Abu Dhabi, Dubai’s Emirate neighbour, was reluctant to intervene immediately with a bail-out, and said to review situations on per-case basis.
28 Nov 09
Fears over the financial health of Dubai hit global stockmarkets, following a request by Dubai World for a 6-month delay of repaying its debts. The government-owned investment company has been hit hard by the credit crunch and is said to have debts of USD 60bn.
In order to revive peace negotiations with the Palestinians, Benjamin Netanjahu, prime minister of Israel, offered to put a hold on building settlements in the West Bank for a period of ten months. To the dismay of the Palestinians, the offers excluded East Jerusalem, existing settlements and settlements already under construction.
The parliament of Jordan was dissolved halfway its 4-year term by King Abdullah, following tensions between the government and Islamist opposition.
A row erupted between supporters of the Egyptian and Algerian football teams, following a victory by Algeria. Both sides accuse each other of violent attacks. Dozens were hurt in Egypt, Algeria and Sudan. The Arab League has asked President Ghaddafi of Libya to mediate in the conflict.
25 Nov 09
Yemen’s rugged topography and fiercely tribal society have traditionally made central authority weak. However never before has the country been facing so many troubles at once, fuelling concerns over its stability and its possible side-effects in the region.
An impoverished country with a population of 23 million, Yemen was not bestowed with the resources as its neighbors and is the poorest country in the Middle-East. Its oil reserves (little though they were) are dwindling, and plummeting in 2009 and 2010 according to World Bank reports. The same source expects oil revenues to reach 0 in 2017. Most of these oil resources are found in (the once-separate) Southern Yemen, where unrest is growing as the population feels it is being marginalized and discriminated against.
A conflict in the North has intensified in the past few months, where Yemeni forces are battling a powerful clan (Houthi) which brands itself as mujahideen and whose followers belong to the Zaydi (Shia) sect. This civil war, which started in 2004 and has displaced over 250,000 people, has recently spilled over into the border region within Saudi Arabia, and raised concerns and speculation over a possible involvement of Iran with the Houthi’s.
President Saleh thus finds himself juggling with increasingly volatile situations: a Houthi rebellion in the north, a resurgence of Al-Qaeda in the east, and a brewing independence movement in the south. Saudi Arabian cooperation to stabilize the rebellion in the north, an end to the regional power struggles concerning this rebellion, a crackdown on Al-Qaeda (affiliated-) movements, and further economic diversification to cushion depleting oil revenues are all needed to prevent Yemen from slipping into becoming the world’s next failed state.
23 Nov 09
A new report released by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center and Georgetown University’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding lists the 500 most influential Muslims in the world today.
Recognizing scholars, politicians, scientists, philanthropists, women, as well as leading figures in media and the arts, the report intends to provide an objective overview of influential Muslims in all aspects and fields of society. The listing however has its shortcomings: the ranking only leads to the top 50 Muslims, and thereafter merely mentions the remaining 450 without any hierarchy of importance. Moreover, the listing tends to has a bias towards individuals adhering to more conservative forms of Islam. Missing names in the top-50 include Bashar Al-Assad of Syria and Mohamed El Baradei of the IAEA, whereas Muhammad Yunus (Grameen Foundation) is nowhere to be seen in the entire ranking.
The entire report can be read at rissc.jo.
22 Nov 09
Fighting intensified in Yemen, where Saudi Arabian forces blockade the northern coastline and assist Yemeni government forces to clamp down on rebels loyal to the Houthi clan. The Houthis are a militant group of Zaydi Shia operating in the rugged northern area of Yemen.
Fatah, the Palestinian group in power in the West Bank, says that the UN should recognize an independent state in the West Bank territory, in response to a stalemate in the search for a settlement with Israel.
The Dubai Government Economic Committee reported its economy is growing at a rate of 5%, less than in previous years but still higher than the most cautious forecasts.
In Lebanon, Hassan Nasrallah was re-elected as the head of Hezbollah following a congress which also adopted the newest party manifesto.
Total net profits of listed firms on the Stock Exchange of Kuwait dropped by over 70% in the first three quarters of 2009, according to a recent economic report. The global financial crisis is to blame.
18 Nov 09
Surf-as.org follows economic, political and social developments in the Middle-East, as well as other interesting topics relating to the Arab States.