Free Republic

Migrant workers in Qatar risk forced labour, human rights group says Report highlights range of labour issues amid construction boom for 2022 World Cup AFP Published: 00:00 June 13, 2012 Doha: Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned on Tuesday that migrant construction workers in Qatar, which is preparing to host the 2022 World Cup, risk serious abuse amounting to ‘forced labour’. “The government needs to ensure that the cutting edge, high-tech stadiums it’s planning to build for World Cup fans are not built on the backs of abused and exploited workers,” said HRW Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson in a...

The Gulf has come under increasing attack from Islamic insurgents, a leading analyst said. A former British intelligence officer said that insurgents have obtained increased access to such weapons as unmanned aerial vehicles and anti-ship missiles. The analyst said this would enhance any insurgency attack on shipping in the Gulf. "More advanced weaponry is now proliferating from state armories to terrorist groups, including drones, anti-ship missiles and shoulder-launched projectiles capable of defeating reactive armor," Paul Burke, a leading analyst said. "These weapons provide a dramatic increase in potential impact, providing terrorist groups with the capability to mount a strategic strike...

The United Arab Emirates is pressing Washington about buying the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. So is Israel. That's part of the United States' dilemma as it seeks to bolster the military forces of its Arab allies to counter Iran. The Americans also want their Arab friends, particularly the Persian Gulf states that neighbor Iran, to take more responsibility for their own defense at a time when the U.S. military is tied down in Afghanistan and Iraq. The F-35 program headed by Lockheed Martin of Maryland has fallen badly behind schedule. On March 11, the Pentagon admitted to a 2-year lag...

The Persian Gulf States have launched efforts to protect their territorial waters amid tension with neighboring Iran and threats from Al Qaida. Over the last two years, several Gulf Cooperation Council coast guards or navies have acquired or ordered fast patrol boats. They included Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Officials said the Gulf Arab countries were investing to expand their coast guards. "There is concern that terrorists could sneak into the area and carry out a major attack on energy installations," a GCC source said. The enhanced maritime security has resulted in confrontations between fishermen and...

The sinking of the South Korean frigate Cheonan last March 26 by a North Korean torpedo has prompted some Arab Gulf officials to wonder whether this would be a scenario that they would likely face with a nuclear-armed Iran in the future. North Korea, now equipped with nuclear arms, appears to have grown bolder in its provocations of its U.S.-allied neighbor in the south and other parts of East and Southeast Asia. An international team of investigators concluded that the warship was sunk by a North Korean torpedo. Seoul’s reaction has thus far been mild compared to its loss of...

The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East made an observation that the Gulf Arab nations wished he hadn't. General David Petraeus noted that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force, and it's 80 F-16E fighters could probably quickly destroy the entire Iranian Air Force. The Gulf Arabs would prefer the Iranians to believe their own propaganda, that the Iranian military is much more powerful than it actually is. The Iranian Air Force is mainly a mighty force only in terms of Iranian propaganda. The Gulf Arabs don't want the Iranians to make a strong effort to upgrade their...

The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East made an observation that the Gulf Arab nations wished he hadn't. General David Petraeus noted that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force, and it's 80 F-16E fighters could probably quickly destroy the entire Iranian Air Force. The Gulf Arabs would prefer the Iranians to believe their own propaganda, that the Iranian military is much more powerful than it actually is. The Iranian Air Force is mainly a mighty force only in terms of Iranian propaganda. The Gulf Arabs don't want the Iranians to make a strong effort to upgrade their...

BREAKING NEWS: Wall St. Journal: Headline Only Abu Dhabi Has Agreed To Provide $10 Billion For Dubai World Debt

DUBAI - Gulf Arab pledges to revive high-level diplomatic ties with Iraq reflect a growing awareness that only engagement with the Shi'ite-led government can counter the spreading influence of Shi'ite Muslim Iran.Sunni Arab governments who once funded Iraq's 1980-1988 war against Iran have held back from establishing top diplomatic ties with Baghdad since the U.S.-led war toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, citing security concerns and extensive Iranian sway.No Arab ambassador has been stationed in Iraq since Egypt's envoy was kidnapped and killed shortly after arriving in 2005.But in a step toward easing Iraq's diplomatic isolation, United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister...