Today's 4...Athletes, displacement, internet & hotels

The Daily Mail reported that Saudi Arabia may overturn their previous decision and allow women to compete in the London2012 Olympic Games. International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge has announced he is "confident" that Saudi will allow women to attend the sporting event. I am concerned this decision has come too late. With Saudi women banned from gyms since 2009 and still no confirmation of whether or not female contestants will be allowed to travel to London this summer I would be very surprised if Saudi's female athletes have been training sufficiently to reach Olympic standards. I wish the women of the closed Kingdom the best of luck in getting to London2012 should the decision be made in their favour.

Reuters AlertNet reported that civilian displacement in Yemen is increasing significantly due to tribal clashes in the north and ongoing violent struggles between the government and militias in the south. Such displacement is not surprising given the ongoing violence throughout the country. Nonetheless, this new challenge will be an unwelcome development for recently inaugurated President Hadi, who does not seem to be strong enough to deal with the current challenges. It is rumoured that the UN and USA are proposing aid provision to help the new President. Let’s hope they define their proposals before too long. It seems Hadi could do with some assistance.

CVT.ca reported on a recent study by Reporters Without Borders which singled out Bahrain as an "Enemy of the Internet". Bahrain is accused of clamping down on Internet freedom in response to the last year of anti-government protests on the small island kingdom, including media blackouts and harassing on social media users such as bloggers and twitter users. Whilst such behaviours are widespread throughout the region, I still find it saddening that regimes adopt such Dickensian measures to prevent the free flow of information.  

And finally...

Reuters reported that the Abu Dhabi will not issue any new hotel licenses until further notice due to over-supply. We have witnessed high-rise hotels shoot out the sand across the emirates of the UAE but now it seems there are too many. Some may see this as a sign that tourism is slowing down for the UAE, but I imagine it has more to do with the volume of hotels still under construction which has resulted in this decision.