Blog archive all
18th April 2010
"Arabic will die out if it is locked up in classrooms." That was the provocative headline of an article by Achraf El Bahi in The National a few days ago. Lamenting that "proficiency in Arabic, proper grammar, conjugation and a broad use of vocabulary are seen as the sole purview of language geeks… Read more
16th April 2010
Demonstrators took to the streets of numerous cities throughout Yemen yesterday in what appears to have been the biggest nationwide protest for some years.
Organised by the Joint Meeting Parties (the main opposition grouping), the demonstrations highlighted a host of grievances, including poverty,… Read more
16th April 2010
Few countries are immune to the possibility of communal violence, but they differ in how they deal with it and what steps they take in the aftermath to prevent a recurrence.
A new report by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights looks at the growing problem of sectarian violence in Egypt and… Read more
15th April 2010
Yemen's leading arms dealer, Fares Mana'a, has had his assets frozen by the UN Security Council and the US Treasury.
Mana'a served for some time as head of the committee mediating between the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels, while allegedly simultaneously supplying the rebels with weapons.… Read more
14th April 2010
Al-Riyadh newspaper reports (in Arabic) on the case of a 65-year-old man in Saudi Arabia who went for a health screening test in preparation for his marriage to an 11-year-old girl. The man was found to be infected with hepatitis B.
The Saudi Jeans blog comments:
"The staff at the hospital were… Read more
13th April 2010
An unnamed domestic worker died when she fell from the third floor of a residential building in Mecca. Her body was found in the street below on Sunday, Arab News reports.
The woman, whose nationality has not been disclosed, had arrived in Saudi Arabia two months earlier.
A police spokesman said: “… Read more
12th April 2010
Kuwait deported four more Egyptians yesterday. Together with the 17 deported on Saturday, this brings the total so far to 21. Around 20 others are thought to be still under arrest in Kuwait.
Those arrested and expelled are believed to be supporters of the National Association for Change, a new… Read more
11th April 2010
The authorities in Kuwait are continuing their crackdown against support for Mohamed ElBaradei among the emirate's large Egyptian community. Yesterday, 17 ElBaradei supporters were expelled.
A total of 34 Egyptians have been arrested in Kuwait, according to ElBaradei's National Association for… Read more
11th April 2010
This video clip is causing a stir in Saudi Arabia. It shows Sheikh Muhammad al-Nujaimi, chairman of the interior ministry's religious advisers, laughing and joking with a woman. Not only that, but the woman – horror of horrors – isn't even wearing hijab and the neckline of her dress is alarmingly… Read more
11th April 2010
When foreign domestic workers fall out with their employers in Arab countries, it's not uncommon for the employers to falsely accuse them of crimes. It's not uncommon, either, for police to believe the employers rather than the foreign workers.
Writing about the problems of housemaids in Lebanon… 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
