Blog archive all
8th May 2013
When a Gulf regime needs to state in public that relations with its most important ally are "robust and strong", we can be pretty sure that something is amiss. Thus, Bahrain's insistence that all is well between Washington and Manama comes amid increasing friction between the two countries..
Last… Read more
5th May 2013
Photograph published by the Yemen Times, said to show Yemenis rounded up for deportation from Saudi Arabia
Amid growing controversy over the mass expulsion of foreign workers from Saudi Arabia, Arab News reports that the governor of Riyadh, Prince Khaled bin Bandar, has extended the "Saudisation… Read more
24th April 2013
Bahrain's foreign ministry has expressed "dissatisfaction" with the US State Department's annual country-by-country report on human rights.
It says the section on Bahrain "lacks objectivity and impartiality, and overlooks Bahrain’s progress in maintaining and promoting human rights issues".
It also… Read more
14th April 2013
To mark the tenth anniversary of the Iraq war, I am re-posting diary entries that I wrote at the time for the Guardian's website...
American tanks and troops entered the main square of Tikrit early this morning. As Tikrit is Saddam Hussein's birthplace there were predictions that his… Read more
13th April 2013
To mark the tenth anniversary of the Iraq war, I am re-posting diary entries that I wrote at the time for the Guardian's website...
An Iraqi general who was in charge of liaison with United Nations weapons inspectors before the war gave himself up to American forces in Baghdad yesterday… Read more
12th April 2013
To mark the tenth anniversary of the Iraq war, I am re-posting diary entries that I wrote at the time for the Guardian's website...
On one of the bleakest days since the invasion began, US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday shrugged off turmoil and looting in Iraq as signs of the… Read more
11th April 2013
To mark the tenth anniversary of the Iraq war, I am re-posting diary entries that I wrote at the time for the Guardian's website...
Following 24 hours of victory celebrations in Baghdad, there are fears today that the war, far from ending, could simply be moving into a far more intractable… Read more
11th April 2013
Yemen's "interim" president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, issued a series of decrees yesterday which have been hailed as his boldest move yet towards curbing the influence of ex-President Saleh's family.
Saleh's son, Ahmad – formerly in charge of the Republican Guard – was named as Yemen's new… Read more
10th April 2013
To mark the tenth anniversary of the Iraq war, I am re-posting diary entries that I wrote at the time for the Guardian's website...
Someone produced a sledgehammer, and Iraqis took it in turns to hack at the base of the giant statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad.
They were making reasonable… Read more
9th April 2013
To mark the tenth anniversary of the Iraq war, I am re-posting diary entries that I wrote at the time for the Guardian's website...
Chaos and jubilation broke out in Baghdad this morning amid signs that Saddam Hussein's regime has lost control of the city.
Television showed scenes of… 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
