Persian Gulf

Middle East, North Africa, Persian Gulf: Political Unrest Continues to Spread

Date: February 23rd, 2011 |

Following in the footsteps of successful popular revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, citizens in multiple countries across the region continued to organize mass demonstrations against their rulers, often resulting in skirmishes between government forces and protesters. In Libya, the government was using the military against its own citizens, and in Bahrain, tens of thousands of [read more]

Dubai: Zero Tolerance on Drug Possession

Date: August 2nd, 2007 |

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Possession of tiny amounts of illegal drugs means a jail sentence in the zero-tolerance United Arab Emirates, as evidenced by two Britons sentenced to four-year jail terms in Dubai in June. One was carrying 0.11 grams (0.004 ounces) of hashish, while the other, arrested two weeks later, had 1.18 grams (0.04 ounces). The law here [read more]

Dubai: Immigrant Laborers Will Protest at Tourist Sites

Date: April 11th, 2006 |

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Angry immigrant laborers who have no right to speak out about what they consider to be exploitation are plotting to take their protests to the beaches and shopping malls in this Persian Gulf state. They hope to shame tourists into concern about their plight and foster international press coverage of a system that a director [read more]

Yemen: Kidnapped Austrian Tourists Released Unharmed

Date: December 27th, 2005 |

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Two Austrian tourists were kidnapped by a local tribe Dec. 22 and released unharmed two days later in Marib province, one of two regions that the U.S. Embassy recommends travelers avoid. The Embassy�s warning was released two days before the kidnapping and cited information on current tensions in Marib and Saada. Travel for Embassy personnel [read more]

United Arab Emirates

Date: April 26th, 2005 |

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The case of a British woman who has been in jail in Dubai since March 5 illustrates the importance of knowing the laws of countries on your itinerary. She was arrested at Dubai airport because of an error in her passport, and was then required to provide a urine sample. Authorities found traces of codeine [read more]

Kuwait: Public Gatherings Banned to Prevent Sectarian Strife

Date: September 22nd, 2010 |

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Authorities banned all public gatherings in an effort to head off sectarian strife between its majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shiites as tensions flared over an exiled Kuwaiti Shiite’s comments allegedly disparaging the Prophet Mohammed’s wife, Aisha. Violators of the ban could face two years in prison. Several Sunni groups had planned demonstrations to demand [read more]

Yemen: Attack on Tourist Site

Date: July 4th, 2007 |

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Authorities have tightened security around government buildings and foreign facilities in response to the suicide car bombing of a group of Spanish tourists at an archaeological site in the troubled eastern province of Marib. Seven Spanish citizens and two Yemenis were killed in the bombing, which was blamed on al-Qaeda. The U.S. Embassy in Sana’a [read more]

Yemen: More Kidnappings of Westerners

Date: January 3rd, 2006 |

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Five Italian tourists were kidnapped a day after a former German diplomat and his family were released unharmed from a four-day kidnapping. These incidents followed on the heels of the abduction of two Austrians in December who were also released unharmed. The incident with the Italians was the fifth kidnapping in a year and the [read more]

United Arab Emirates: Dangerous Drivers

Date: December 20th, 2005 |

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The Persian Gulf countries have some of the world�s highest auto accident rates, with traffic deaths now the second-leading cause of death, after heart disease. According to the World Health Organization, countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region, including most Arab countries, has a traffic accident death rate of 26.3 per 100,000 population. Only Africa is [read more]

Qatar

Date: March 22nd, 2005 |

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The first suicide car bombing in this Persian Gulf state killed two, including a British man, wounded 15 others and raised fears that terrorism had arrived in this generally friendly nation. A previously unknown group claimed responsibility for the attack and vowed to carry out more against churches and �crusader� facilities, and specifically threatened the [read more]

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