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Saudi Arabia may be a miserable place to live, but it's not very often that a Saudi diplomat seeks refuge in the United States. The last time it happened was in 1994.
At the weekend, though, it emerged that Ali Ahmad Asseri, first secretary of the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles, has applied for… Read more
Al-Qaeda's campaign to demoralise the security forces in souther Yemen has taken a new twist.
Following a series of assassinations of officers, the militants have issued a list of 55 names – 31 state security officers, 15 members of the judiciary police and nine members of military… Read more
The authorities in Bahrain have warned religious leaders not to "misuse" mosques during the coming parliamentary and municipal election campaign.
"All religious individuals who are standing in the elections will be prevented from speaking in mosques from the moment their application to run is… Read more
Kuwait began recruiting women into its police force earlier this year and now has about 60. The move was highly controversial and is still opposed by some Islamist MPs.
One MP, Mohammed Hayef, was quoted as saying their role is "an abuse to the female identity, a violation of Islamic ethics… Read more
In the continuing crackdown on dissent in Bahrain, the government has seized control of the Bahrain Human Rights Society, the Associated Press reports.
The organisation's director, Abdullah al-Derzai, has been dismissed and a replacement will be appointed temporarily, pending the election of a new… Read more
The Gulf Cooperation Council – of which Bahrain is a member – has called on Britain to expel two Bahraini Shia opposition figures.
The pair – Hassan Mushaima of the Haq movement and Saeed al-Shehabi of the Bahrain Freedom Islamic Movement – are among 23 activists who were … Read more
Tension in Bahrain ahead of the elections scheduled for next month.
Twenty-three people, reportedly Shia activists, have been accusedof "forming an illegal organisation" aiming to "overthrow the government and dissolve the constitution", inciting people to "overthrow and change the… Read more
Following the king's edict last month, Saudi Arabia is continuing its campaign against fatwas from unauthorised clerics. Asharq Alawsat reports that the kingdom's telecom regulator has shut down three websites for violating the royal decree:
Saad al-Shihri, an official at the… Read more
"Approximately 50% of Arabic-speaking schoolchildren in Israel are suspected to have learning disabilities," according to the Edmond J Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities at the University of Haifa. "These children face lifelong stigmatisation, immense academic… Read more
It's good to see the endemic ill-treatment of domestic workers in the Middle East finally getting some attention from the mainstream international media. Under the headline "Little better than slavery", this week's Economist says:
Huge numbers of migrant domestic workers, mostly from Asia and… 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
