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23rd August 2010
After spending two months among the jihadists in southern Yemen, Iraqi-born journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad presents the first of two reports for the Guardian. Choice quote:
At Faisal's house, I asked him what he thought of the government's attempt to crack down on al-Qaida.
"Don't believe the… Read more
22nd August 2010
If you've never sampled the delights of freshly-caught Yemeni salmon, don't worry. Neither has anyone else. Yemen has no permanent rivers and, consequently, no salmon.
'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' is the title of a comic/satirical novelby Paul Torday which won a couple of awards and was serialised… Read more
21st August 2010
In the latest fighting in southern Yemen, a dozen or more soldiers and several civilians were killed during a battle near the marketplace in Lawdar, Abyan province, yesterday.
The ruling party's website blames "terrorist elements from al-Qaeda and some outlaw elements cooperating with them". In… Read more
21st August 2010
With the Jordanian parliament dissolved since last November, the cabinet is continuing to issue "provisional" laws – a practice that is allowed by Article 94 of the constitution so long as the laws relate to "necessary measures which admit of no delay".
One of these – though it is difficult to… Read more
17th August 2010
The assassinations of intelligence officers in southern Yemen continued yesterday with the shooting of Abdulkarim al-Dalei in Zinjibar. It was the seventh such attack in just over two months (see below), and there is clearly a pattern here: individual officers are being picked off – often by gunmen… Read more
15th August 2010
A Yemeni intelligence officer, Colonel Ali Abdul Kareem al-Ban, was shot dead outside his home in Lahej late on Friday. Reuters quotesan unnamed official as saying that al-Qaeda is suspected.
However, AFP implies that he may have been targeted by southern secessionists. It points out that the… Read more
13th August 2010
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has ordered that the issuing of public fatwas in the kingdom should henceforth be restricted to scholars of his own choosing.
The royal decree, sent to the kingdom's grand mufti (with copies to the interior and justice ministers) says:
"We have noticed some excesses … Read more
11th August 2010
Some reactions to Nasrallah's press conference in Lebanon on the assassination of Rafiq Hariri.
Writing in the Daily Star, Rami Khouri says the Hizbullah leader had four related aims when he made his statement accusing Israel:
Deflect attention from the widely expected accusation that Hizbullah… Read more
9th August 2010
Hassan Nasrallah's statement tonight was every bit as dramatic as his broadcast during the 2006 war when he announced than an Israeli naval vessel, hit by Hizbullah, was ablaze off Beirut.
The drama this time came from his revelation that for a number of years Hizbullah has been able to intercept… Read more
9th August 2010
The Saudi Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (the Haia) is to issue "regulations and guidelines" for the practice of ruqya (faith healing) "in an effort to stop the unlawful forms of the treatment often used by sorcerers," Arab News reports:
"Some people earn money by… 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
