[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
Saudi Arabia admits it used UK-made cluster bombs in Yemen “Confirmation by Saudi-led coalition raises pressure on UK government which has refused to curb arms sales to Riyadh.”
UK 'secretly selling arms to Saudi Arabia and elsewhere under opaque licencing system' Anti-arms trade campaigners worry that the UK is deeply involved in the international arms trade feeding despotic regimes.
Saudi Arabia set to execute 150 people for second year in row “Kingdom uses secret courts to impose death penalties on drug offenders, juveniles and political prisoners.”
With small changes, U.S. maintains military aid to Saudi Arabia despite rebukes over Yemen carnage “A senior fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington, said the move was unlikely to impact Saudi behavior or change the course of the Yemen conflict.”
Yemen's war destroys lives - even beyond its own borders Yemen’s smartest students are still stuck in Beirut with no financial support.
Egypt Responds to GCC Statement The Egyptian Ministry of Interior accused the Muslim Brotherhood in Qatar of involvement in the bombing of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul.
Saudi Arabia to 'inoculate' children against Westernisation, atheism and liberalism “‘Immorality’ laws are additionally used to crack down on pro-LGBT, feminist and reformist writing and social media posts, while ‘blasphemy’ is a capital offence.”
Jordan declares end of castle siege, says four gunmen killed Four civilians and five police officers were killed during the exchange of gunfire.
Uber's Mideast rival is worth $1 billion after Saudi investment Careem is now worth $1 billion.
TABLE-Food prices push Saudi November inflation down to year-low of 2.3 pct “Prices of housing and utilities climbed 6.4 percent after utility fees were raised in December, but food and beverage prices fell 2.6 percent."
Hack of Saudi Arabia Exposes Middle East Cybersecurity Flaws Cyber attacks last month disabled thousands of computers across numerous government departments in Saudi Arabia.
Kuwait Wants Abrams Tank Upgrades The estimated $1.7 billion sale would include 240 M2A1 machine guns and 480 M240 machine guns.
Iran to get first Airbus jet within weeks under sanctions pact “The first of the Airbus jets should be delivered in mid-January, part of plans to buy or lease 200 planes to renew IranAir's decaying fleet.”
Reports and Opinions
Saudi Arabia Rethinks Placing ARAMCO Stocks in US after Trump Win The Saud regime is worried that Trump will apply the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) once he is in office.
ISIS Threatens Bahrain while overnment Remains Silent ISIS deploys the same rhetoric that was used by the Bahraini government and its supporters when they launched their brutal crackdown against anti-regime protesters in 2011.
Bahrain central bank raises policy rates 25 bps The announcement came after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter point.
Maryam al-Khawaja: Bahrain remains in the grip of oppression, and the UK Government is partly to blame Maryam al-Khawaja, the co-director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, said “the UK had ‘become a problem’ for freedoms in the Gulf region.”
Lebanese PM in legal trouble in Saudi Arabia A major creditor obtained a court order demanding the money it is owed by the construction group owned by Hariri.
Calls for action as 'honour' killings in Jordan show sharp increase “Thirty-eight women have been victims of ‘honour’ killings this year.”
Jordan security forces storm castle to free captured tourists After shootouts with police killed at least nine people, armed men took hostages inside a medieval castle in the city of Karak.
Saudi Arabia adopts the Gregorian calendar Saudi Arabia has switched its calendar.
Driver held for assaulting gas station worker in Hail People on social media found the attack cruel and demanded harsh punishment for the driver.
Female German minister REFUSES to wear a hijab during visit to Saudi Arabia, days after Angela Merkel calls for a burka ban Concurrently, a Saudi woman was arrested for taking off her veil and posting her picture on Twitter.
‘I Filed For Divorce The Next Day’: Lifting The Lid On Polygamy In The UAE For the first time in the UAE, the private world of polygamy is being publicly examined.
BRIEF-Kuwait Finance House denies media reports on acquisition of Bahrain's Ibdar by Development Bank Kuwait denies a media report that the "Development Bank plans to acquire controlling stake in Bahrain's Ibdar."
'No walk of society is immune': Iran confronts a growing drug problem Crystal meth, painkillers, hallucinogens, heroin and opium are all prevalent in the country.
Crisis in Yemen
Thanks to UK and US intervention, al-Qaeda now has a mini-state in Yemen. It's Iraq and Isis all over again “The US and countries like Britain fail to combat terrorism because they give priority to retaining their alliance with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf monarchies.”
In pictures: Yemen's displaced women and girls A photo essay of women and girls internally displaced in Yemen.
UK cluster bombs used in Yemen by Saudi Arabia, finds research The revelation that UK-made cluster bombs have been used in Yemen implicates the country in war crimes.
Saudi Arabia, U.S. play down reports of curbs on military support “Saudi Foreign Minister said that Riyadh had not been officially informed of such decisions, which he described as contradicting the reality.”
‘Why is the world so quiet?’ Yemen suffers its own cruel losses, far from Aleppo. The war in Yemen continues unobserved while the world’s attention is focused on Syria.
IS suicide bomb kills 48 Yemen soldiers in payday queue “So-called Islamic State (IS) said it was behind the attack, similar to one on the same base days ago that killed another 48 soldiers.”
In Yemen, the war goes on and on and on... As people get ready for their New Year celebrations, more than twenty-million Yemenis are facing mass starvation.
Four suspected al Qaeda members killed in drone strike in Yemen: officials The Saudi-led war on Yemen has worked in favour of AQAP, allowing it to expand its territorial control over parts of Yemen.
Eleven headless bodies found in Yemen's port city Aden: news website “Yemen's second largest city has been suffering from lawlessness as armed groups including Islamic State and al Qaeda continue to maintain influence.”
UNICEF: One child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen At least 462,000 children are at risk of starvation, according to the United Nation’s children’s agency.
Exclusive: Yemen traders halt new wheat imports as famine approaches Traders want to continue importing wheat to feed the starving population, but are unable to open letters of credit.
Yemen's war wounded find comfort in 'brotherly' Oman Yemenis wounded by the war on their country get free treatment in Oman.
Three rounds of negotiations later, peace in Yemen is nowhere in sight While Yemenis starve and children die of hunger, the world has failed to intervene to stop this brutal war.
We Visited the Place the World Has Forgotten New York Times reporters went to Yemen and witnessed the war’s devastating effects.
Scottish government donates £250,000 to Yemen appeal “Sally Foster Fulton, spokeswoman for the Disasters Emergency Committee in Scotland, said the world must not be allowed to turn its back on the humanitarian disaster.”
Banned in 116 Countries, US Cluster Bombs Continue to Orphan Yemeni Children “‘There was a hole in his head with blood spilled underneath,’ Jubahi’s father, Mohammed Omar Medarij, told The Intercept before bursting into tears.”
Human Rights
Eyewitness: I Heard Sayed Alawi Al-Musawi Screaming “Have Mercy on Me…You Killed Me” The witness told Alawi's family that he heard Al-Musawi screaming out while being tortured.
Authorities Release Activist Ghada Jamsheer, Replace Her Prison Term with Social Work Jamsheer was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison over tweets she posted on her Twitter account.
Boris Johnson urged to call for release of activist who criticised Yemen war Nabeel Rajab faces up to fifteen years in a Bahraini jail for tweeting his opinion.
Martyrs Day 2016: Father of Martyr Mahmoud Al-Jaziri Honors his Two Martyred Friends Hani Kahmis &Hani Al-Wasati Bahrainis commemorated Martyrs Day to remember those killed by the regime during the uprising.
PHOTOS: Bahrainis Protest on Martyr Day Eve, Regime Forces Disperse Crowds with Teargas Canisters Protesters were faced with police forces firing teargas canisters and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds.
Ali Abdulemam: Jihad, What Immense Suffering You Recount in “Jaw”! “I did not read ‘Jaw’ like any other ordinary novel, as a part of me was present in the very fragments of its details. I experienced all their ‘atmospheres’ there.”
Activists Launch Solidarity Campaign with Sheikh Hassan Isa after Spending 480 Days in Solitary Confinement Protesters used hashtag #Sheikh_Hassan_Isa to demand his immediate release.
AFP: Bahrain Adjourns Trial of Opposition Leader Nabeel Rajab could face fifteen years in prison.
Bahrain: Opposition leader condemned to nine years in prison following unfair and arbitrary verdict A nine-year prison sentence for Sheikh Ali Salman was upheld by a Bahraini appeals court.