Middle East and the Gulf
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The happy martyrs
A Reuters report on Hamas acknowledging responsibility for the killing of three Israeli teenagers, with comment that its ‘happy martyrs’ helped ignite a war and that an alliance of the…
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An Appeal for Alan
Writing on the appeal by British imams for the release of hostage Alan Henning, the author is cynical that it may be public relations and unlikely to move the Caliphate’s…
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TCS bats for (Saudi) women
A report that Tata Consultancy Services has opened an all-women back office in Riyadh for 3,000 Saudi women, plus its toilets-for-schoolgirls initiative in India, with a link to Yahoo News.
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David Cawthorne Haines
After the reported beheading of British aid worker David Haines, the author asks what he was doing in Syria and whether ransoms should be paid, and offers a digression on…
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Every tweet tells a (Arab) story
Citing a study of Arab Twitter users, the author notes that Arabs on both sides of the Egyptian coup disliked the United States, that Iran is hated more than Israel,…
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Jihadi Death Row (no end in sight)
A Guardian live blog on the beheading of Steven Sotloff, with comment that governments must understand and neutralise jihadist ideology among Western youths.
