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28th October 2012
While encouraging the uprising against President Assad's dictatorship in Syria, the Saudi authorities remain very wary of any demonstrations on their own soil.
Small anti-Assad protests popped up last week during the hajj and there were also occasional glimpses of pilgrims waving Syrian… Read more
20th October 2012
On Friday morning Lakhdar Brahimi, the international envoy who is trying to broker a truce in Syria, warned: "This conflict, label it as you wish, if it continues, will not be limited to the Syrian borders."
By Friday afternoon it appeared that Brahimi's prophecy was being fulfilled when a bomb… Read more
18th October 2012
By arresting four young men for "misuse of social media" the Bahraini authorities have embarked on a battle that ultimately they are bound to lose.
The four have been charged (in the words of the interior ministry) with "defaming public figures" – an apparent use of the royal pluralsince, as the… Read more
2nd October 2012
Arab films, if they are shown in Britain at all, tend to be of the "art" variety. But last month, in a refreshing break from that tradition, the Arab British Centre, in conjunction with the ICA, organised a programme of popular films – the sort that ordinary Arabs watch. As the blurb put it ...
"… Read more
29th September 2012
A no-fly zone may yet be established in Syria – not imposed by foreign powers but through the efforts of rebel fighters on the ground. Air power is almost the only area of the conflict where the Assad regime still has a clear advantage, and the rebels are now beginning to challenge that.
The… Read more
28th September 2012
Photograph of the abducted men posted on Facebook
The Libyan militia that abducted 12 allegedly gay men at a party in Tripoli last week is planning to hand them over to the Ministry of Justice, the Libya Herald reports, allaying earlier fears that the men would be killed.
A vigilante group… Read more
26th September 2012
A vigilante group calling itself the Private Deterrent Force claims to have seized 12 gay men in Libya and is reportedly threatening to kill them.
A photograph (above) posted on the group's Facebook page shows the men with their heads covered and their hands up, facing a wall.
A note with the… Read more
21st September 2012
There was a flurry of media interest earlier this year over women's participation in the Libyan elections. In May, Najat Kikhia, who teaches statistics at Benghazi University, became the only female member of the city's council and the first woman elected to public office. She secured more votes… Read more
20th September 2012
With events in Gaza dominating the news from the Middle East, the long-running conflict in Syria has slid down in the headlines. To the extent that Syria is being reported at all, the main story for several days has been of political wrangling over leadership of the opposition.
This is unfortunate… Read more
12th September 2012
Opening the latest session of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva on Monday, Navi Pillay, the High Commissioner, gave a wide-ranging progress report which included a section on Bahrain.
The human rights situation in Bahrain remains an issue of serious concern, she said, adding:
"I reiterate my… 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
