Blog archive all
24th September 2011
While the sultan of Oman has been winning gratitude from President Obama for helping to secure the release of two American hikers imprisoned in Iran, the plight of three men facing jail in Oman is attracting less attention.
Journalists Ibrahim al-Mammari and Yousef al-Haj have been sentenced to… Read more
23rd September 2011
UPDATED
President Saleh, who had been receiving treatment in Saudi Arabia since he was badly injured in an assassination attempt last June,arrived in Sanaa suddenly on Friday morning amid celebratory gunfire from his supporters.
The situation in Yemen has deteriorated markedly during the last week… Read more
22nd September 2011
More than 5,000 men have put themselves forward as candidates for next week's municipal elections in Saudi Arabia. This is only the second time in almost half a century that Saudis (or rather, Saudimen) have had an opportunity to vote.
In 2005, half the members of the relatively… Read more
11th September 2011
It emerged last month that the American public relations firm, Qorvis, has signed a $40,000-a-month contract with the government of Bahrain to spruce up the kingdom's tarnished image.
Heading the firm's Bahrain operation is Matt Lauer, listed by Washington Life magazine earlier this year as "one of… Read more
6th September 2011
Efforts to resolve the political crisis in Yemen are now focusing on a transition plan proposed by the United Nations rather than the earlier plan put forward by the Gulf Cooperation Council.
AFP reports that President Saleh's party, the General People's Congress, has agreed to discuss the UN plan… Read more
4th September 2011
The government of Bahrain is developing quite a reputation for lying – in particular, by circulating false claims of international support for its repression.
Last week, Amnesty International issued a statement about the 14-year-old boy who died during a peaceful demonstration in the kingdom –… Read more
1st September 2011
Just over a month ago I noted that the Bell Pottinger, one of Britain's leading public relations firms, had been hired by President Saleh's regime in Yemen and was working for "an unnamed special entity" set up by the government in Sana'a.
Research by the Bureau for Investigative Journalism has now… Read more
31st August 2011
The political situation in Yemen remains as confused as ever – which is why I have avoided writing about it for some time. However, there are now a few signs of movement.
In a speech to mark the end of Ramadan, President Saleh (who is still in Saudi Arabia after being injured in a bomb attack last… Read more
29th August 2011
Just three days after Syria's best-known political cartoonist, Ali Ferzat, was beaten up by the regime's thugs, President Assad issued a decree on Sunday to "reform" the country's media law.
This is the latest in a series of apparently futile "reforms" announced by the president in the midst of the… Read more
20th August 2011
This week the Libyan National Transitional Council issued its "Draft Constitutional Charter" – a sort of provisional constitution for the country in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Gaddafi.
The Project on Middle East Democracy lists some of its specific provisions here, but a more revealing… 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
