If real estate is anything to go by, Dubai is snubbing its nose at Saudi efforts to replace it as the Middle East's go-to business and expatriate hub.

For the United Arab Emirates, it’s business as usual as Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s newly formed government wastes no time in implementing hardline policies aimed at forcing Palestinians to give up on the notion of an independent state and accept Israeli rule.

Saudi Arabia isn't wasting time to milk for what it’s worth soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to the kingdom. Neither are others in the Gulf eager to join the bandwagon.

An official visit to Xinjiang to assess the fate of Turkic Muslims in the troubled north-western Chinese Province is a risky proposition by any definition. Even so, it would be worth the risk if China and Turkey could agree on the terms of a visit.

One-upmanship in Middle Eastern sports just wretched up a notch as superstar Cristiano Ronaldo joins state-owned Saudi football club Al Nassr FC for reportedly a whopping US$241 million over 2.5 years.

Qatar 2022 put the myth of a separation of sports and politics to bed. Like in Qatar, human, worker, and LGBT rights are likely to be left, right, and centre as other Gulf and North African states move centre stage as hosts of and bidders for some of the world’s foremost mega-sporting events, the 2030 World Cup and the 2036 Olympics, and major Asian tournaments, including the Asian Cup and the Asian Games.

Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu’s far-right, Jewish nationalist, ultra-conservative coalition government threatens to put the Jewish state on a collision course with Diaspora Jewry and could weaken or undermine a pillar of Israeli national security: unquestioned US support. The looming crisis with two of Israel’s crucial constituencies, the United States and Diaspora Jewry, stems from Mr. Netanyahu's embrace of the far-right and willingness to sidestep the rise of anti-Semitism among Christian nationalists and Evangelicals, two groups that constitute the mainstay of US grassroots support for Israel.

This decade and beyond could be the era of Middle Eastern sports. It may not have sunk in yet, but the Qatar World Cup was the kickoff rather than the finale. Qatar and Saudi Arabia will be this decade's focal points of Asian sports. By 2030, Egypt and Turkey could become part of the global sports-hosting mix.

At first glance, Islamic scholars discussing the religious legitimacy of the United Nations and the nation-state sounds esoteric. It's not. On the contrary, it’s potentially revolutionary.

France defeated Morocco 2:0 on the pitch, but off the pitch Morocco is up 4:0.

Ultimately, the effects of Morocco’s off-the-pitch success may ripple much longer than the fallout of its stellar performance in the stadium.