Blog archive: Qatar

  • 7th November 2021
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    Four ships carrying liquefied natural gas from Qatar have been diverted to supply Britain following a request for help from prime minister Boris Johnson, the Financial Times reported on Friday. One vessel arrived at the South Hook terminal near Milford Haven on...
  • 19th June 2020
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    From now until mid-September, Qatari citizens wishing to return home from abroad must first get permission from the government and then spend two weeks in quarantine when they arrive. It's a kind of luxurious imprisonment – at their own expense. Before boarding their flight they must book a...
  • 31st May 2020
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    There was good news from Qatar yesterday ... well, sort of. The Gulf state announced that 5,235 people with Covid-19 infections had recovered during the previous 24 hours. This was the highest number of recoveries so far in a single day, far outstripping the number of new cases in the same...
  • 18th May 2020
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    The wealthy Gulf state of Qatar – home to al-Jazeera television and controversial host for the 2022 World Cup – is offering to help the United States and other countries overcome the coronavirus crisis. That is the main story today on the front page of Qatar's The Peninsula newspaper. The...
  • 10th May 2020
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    Indian citizens have begun returning home from Arab states in the Gulf as part of a massive operation to repatriate them. Migrant workers in the Gulf have been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and many have been anxious to leave. Some nationalities have been able to do so...
  • 17th April 2020
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    Migrant workers are bearing the brunt of the coronavirus epidemic in the wealthy Gulf states. Often living in over-crowded accommodation, they are at particular risk of infection. Many are now also jobless. Some have been deported. Thousands more want to return home – but can't. India rejects...
  • 14th April 2020
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    Arab states in the Gulf are reporting large numbers of new Covid-19 infections among migrant workers. ● In Bahrain, foreign labourers account for almost half the confirmed cases – more than 600 have tested positive. ● In Kuwait, 679 of the 1,300 confirmed cases are reported to be Indian...
  • 9th November 2018
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    In 2014 two human rights researchers from Britain went missing in Qatar. They had gone to investigate the conditions of migrants working in the Gulf state and it turned out that the authorities, displeased by the researchers' activities, had arrested them. International...
  • 15th October 2018
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    The disappearance and suspected murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul is the latest in a long line of reasons for questioning Britain's relationship with Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf monarchies.  It's a relationship that has never been viewed with...
  • 24th July 2018
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    Largely unnoticed by the British public, the Emir of Qatar has arrived in London for a visit which includes talks with prime minister Theresa May. Visits by Gulf potentates don't generally arouse much interest in Britain and the Emir's arrival is no exception – though it hasn't escaped the...
  • 25th May 2018
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    Qatar has finally joined two of the key international treaties on human rights: the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR).  It is the third Arab Gulf state to join, following Kuwait (which did so more than 20 years ago...
  • 12th February 2018
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    A British member of parliament was paid £15,000 (almost $21,000) for helping to organise a "Qatar opposition" conference in London, it emerged yesterday. Daniel Kawczynski, a Conservative MP and a strong supporter of Saudi Arabia, declared the money in the register of members' interests...

Pages