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30th April 2011
The Yemeni "transition" agreement brokered by Gulf Cooperation Council states is due to be formally signed on Monday by the ruling party and opposition parties, but there is a lot that could go wrong.
It is reported that President Saleh will not attend the signing ceremony in Riyadh (presumably… Read more
30th April 2011
Undeterred by protesters calling for freedom in other parts of the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has announced some incredibly silly amendments to make its media law even more restrictive than it was before..
The amendments make it a crime to publish material that harms "the good reputation and… Read more
28th April 2011
What is the connection between the global financial crisis that began in 2007 and the current wave of Arab uprisings? Directly, there's not much connection but both can be considered as examples of the Black Swan Theory in action.
A black swan is big and out of the ordinary, and the theory named… Read more
26th April 2011
So now we know. The citizens of Daraa appealed for help, and the army obliged. For what it's worth, that's the government's line from Damascus.
"In response to the calls for help from the citizens of Daraa," the official Syrian news agency says, army units entered the city "to restore tranquillity… Read more
25th April 2011
Syrian forces unleashed a large-scale military offensive in the southern city of Deraa early on Monday. About 3,000 troops – some in standard army uniforms, others in black – entered the city around 4.30 am, accompanied by tanks and began "shooting randomly", according to a report (in Arabic)… Read more
24th April 2011
Yemen is slowly edging towards a negotiated departure for President Ali Abdullah Salih. The latest proposal put forward by negotiators from the Gulf Cooperation Council appears to have been accepted in principle by Salih and to a large extent by opposition parties – though they still have… Read more
23rd April 2011
The first person to file an application under Syria's new law "permitting" demonstrations – Fadel al-Faisal from Hassakeh in the north-east of the country – ended up being detained for several hours by the authorities, the Guardian reports.
That, basically, tells us everything we need to know about… Read more
22nd April 2011
President Assad issued a decree on Thursday ending Syria's 48-year state of emergency, though without abolishing the Emergency Law which will remain in place for possible use in future emergencies.
At the same time, he issued another decree (full text here) which ostensibly permits demonstrations… Read more
21st April 2011
An article on al-Jazeera's website explains why optimism about the proposed lifting of Syria's state of emergency is misplaced: it will make little or no difference:
"Many of the draconian charges on which opponents of the regime are routinely imprisoned exist either within the Penal Code itself or… Read more
20th April 2011
Two versions of the same meeting. First, from the UN News Centre:
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced his concern to Bahrain’s Foreign Minister about the violence in the country in which demonstrators have been killed or injured, and called for maximum restraint and caution.
During their… 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
