Blog archive all
29th May 2013
The boundaries of today's Arab states are mostly the historical result of foreign rivalries. The lines that external powers drew on the maps often took little cognisance of ethnic or tribal identities and, ever since independence, Arabs have been grappling with the consequences.
Over the years… Read more
28th May 2013
The Villaggio shopping mall in Qatar, which proclaims itself as Doha's "newest and the largest family entertainment destination", was designed with an Italian theme. At the end of one corridor there's a gondola and behind it a large fresco depicting Venice.
Visitors often stop by the gondola to… Read more
27th May 2013
For months, the bodies of Hizbullah fighters killed in Syria have been returning to Lebanon for burial. At first the Lebanese Shia movement drew a veil over the circumstances – and country – of their deaths. Then, as the casualties became more difficult to conceal it changed tack and the men were… Read more
26th May 2013
Dozens of migrant building workers who joined a strike earlier this month in Dubai are now facing deportation.
Thousands of mainly Asian workers employed by Arabtec – one of the Gulf’s largest construction firms – stopped work on May 18 but returned after four days when police intervened. Unions… Read more
22nd May 2013
Six men were executed in Saudi Arabia yesterday, bringing the total so far this year to at least 47. Of those, at least 19 were non-Saudis according to Amnesty International.
In the south-western province of Jizan, five Yemenis were executed after being convicted of murder and a series of… Read more
20th May 2013
Amid growing political uncertainty in Algeria, copies of two newspapers were seized from the printers on Saturday night over reports claiming that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was in a coma.
The 76-year-old president has not been seen in public since April 17, when he attended the funeral of Ali… Read more
18th May 2013
In a little-noticed move, President Obama signed an executive order this week extending "the national emergency with respect to Yemen" for a further 12 months. The official announcement says:
"The actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Yemen and others continue to threaten… Read more
13th May 2013
Armed groups withdrew from Libya’s foreign and justice ministries at the weekend, ending a siege which lasted almost a fortnight, and bringing some respite – if only temporarily – in the country’s political crisis.
An agreement to call off the siege came after the armed groupshad been confronted on… Read more
12th May 2013
Preserving and promoting Arabic as "a linguistic identity" in the GCC countries was the aim of a three-day conference held in Riyadh last week.
Fears that Arabic – or at least the more formal standard version of it – may eventually cease to be the universal language of Arabs are by no means new.… Read more
11th May 2013
Abdelkader Kherba
An Algerian campaigner who distributed leaflets about unemployment has been convicted under a new law designed to restrict civil society activities in the country.
Abdelkader Kherba, a member of the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LADDH) and the National… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
