•  The Saudi foreign minister criticizes Arab countries that favor ties with non-Arab states at the expense of inter-Arab relations, and calls for a revamp of the Arab League. (Agence France-Presse, Aug. 27)
• A Kuwaiti doctorate student says he was arrested and deported from the United States after his visa was cancelled on charges of 'suspicion'. (Gulf News, Aug. 30)
• The GCC Secretary-General describes the decision made by Costa Rica and Salvador on closing their embassies in Jerusalem as "a right and wise decision". (Kuwait News Agency, Aug. 30)
• US ambassador to Kuwait says the US will look to Kuwait for help in America's ongoing row with Iran. (Kuwait Times, Aug. 30)
• Seven political societies and four human rights groups plan to file a case against the government's naturalization practices. (Gulf Daily News, Aug. 31)
• Five Bahraini human rights organizations join a regional petition calling for the freezing of Israel's membership in the United Nations. (Gulf Daily News, Sept. 2)
  

• Policy Tools for Sustainable Use of Water Resources in the Gulf Region --  Dr Mohamed A. Raouf, Gulf Research Center, Dubai
  In this regard the concept of "virtual water"also holds immense relevance for the water-scarce countries. By assessing how much water can be saved through the import of certain food items and other products such as wheat, a huge amount of water can be saved and appropriately utilized. (More)
• Greening the Desert: Causes and Cost-Effect Scenarios -- Prof. Reginald Victor, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
  Oil is lifeline and "black gold" puts food on our tables and roofs over our heads. Exploration for oil and gas should be pursued with vigour, but the restoration of the explored and mined lands should not be ignored. (More)
• Arab Network for Desertification Monitoring and Assessment -- Erian W. F., The Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands, Damascus
  The causes of resource degradation and its subsequent impact on the agricultural production capacity of the WANA region entail various aspects. (More)  
  

For a detailed version of last week's highlights, 
view 'Gulf in a Week' at www.gulfinthemedia.com

•  The proposal to shift the prayer place of women within the circumambulation area to two places inside the Grand Mosque, away from the Holy Kaaba, draws mixed reactions. (Arab News, Aug. 26)
• Setting up a mechanism to protect the expatriate workforce and organizing the relationship between employer and employee are the main priorities for GCC countries, says the UAE minister of labor. (Gulf News, Aug. 31)
• Bahraini religious leaders slam the Ministry of Information for blocking educational and research websites such as Google Earth and not taking action against anti-Islamic websites. (Bahrain Tribune, Aug. 31)
• The UAE and Bahrain switch to a Friday-Saturday weekend in a move that will bring the two countries closer to the working week in the West and many other countries. (Agence France-Presse, Sept. 2)
• The Saudi Ministry of Labor does not intend to cause any harm to the private sector because it is "the goose that lays the golden egg," according to the labor minister. (Khaleej Times, Sept. 2)
  

• King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia says that he personally intervened to ensure that the lives of "rascal" militants were spared in a siege of a building containing terror suspects. (Reuters, Aug. 26)
• Hamad Al-Harbi, believed to be a member of the Peninsula Lions organization in Kuwait and a member on the "wanted" list of the US State Security Department, is being held at the Kuwaiti Central Prison, say media reports. (Arab Times, Aug. 26)
• Saudi Arabia says it has released over 700 suspected militants after clerics "corrected" their thinking in a special program aimed at stemming a three-year-old campaign of violence by Al-Qaeda. (Reuters, Aug. 28)
• Nine of 29 former Guantanamo Bay detainees who were repatriated in May and June to Saudi Arabia have been released from jails, says the Interior Ministry. (Arab News, Aug. 29)
• King Abdullah says that Saudi Arabia is seeking drastic solutions to problems threatening the region?s security and stability, including Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon. (Arab News, Aug. 29)
  

Geostrategic Oil Interests and the Gulf         
Dr Eckart Woertz, Program Manager, GCC Economics, Gulf Research Center

Energy conservation, a change in consumption patterns, especially in the industrialized countries, and an international dialogue on energy issues and alternatives are needed to avoid the kind of unilateral coercion and resource conflict that we have been witnessing. (More) 

Iran -- No Ifs and Buts, Only When      
PV Vivekanand, The Gulf Today (UAE), Aug. 29   

Iran has clearly stated that the US would be held responsible for any military action against it --regardless of who actually carries it out -- and that both the US and Israel would be targeted for retaliation. The implication is also clear: Iran would use whatever means at its disposal to hit at the US and Israel. (More)