Blog archive all
4th December 2009
The explosion in Damascus yesterday that wrecked the back and side of an Iranian bus, killed at least three people, started a fire and smashed windows in a building nearby was caused by the bursting of an over-inflated tyre – at least, according to the Syrian interior minister who attended the… Read more
3rd December 2009
A couple of weeks ago I suggested on this blog that the uprooting of thousands of villagers in southern Saudi Arabia last month was not just for safety reasons following an attack by Houthi rebels from Yemen and that the "temporary evacuation" was likely to become permanent. I was right: the… Read more
3rd December 2009
Pagoda-style minaret: Tongxin Mosque in Ningxia, China
A shack-mosque in Nouadhibou, Mauritania. The 'minaret' is a wooden pole with a louspeaker
A Geneva-based website has come up with the most sensible response yet to the Swiss "minaret crisis": do-it-yourself minarets that anyone can… Read more
2nd December 2009
The abolition of political sectarianism in Lebanon was identified as a national "priority" in the Taif agreement that ended the civil war 20 years ago. The agreement set no time-frame for abolishing it, and nothing was done.
Following the parliamentary elections last June (and five months of… Read more
2nd December 2009
Public anger continues in Saudi Arabia over the authorities' handling of the floods that killed more than 100 people last week.
In Arab News, Turki al-Dakheel attacks the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) for its upbeat coverage of the disaster. One news item said:
“The SPA reporter found the… Read more
1st December 2009
Troops were out in force in southern Yemen yesterday to prevent separatist demonstrations timed to coincide with Independence Day – the anniversary of the British withdrawalfrom Aden in 1967.
The last such occasion – Yemen's National Day on October 14 – brought thousands on to the streets in… Read more
1st December 2009
The Hamas-run government in Gaza is introducing a law that will allow execution of drug dealers, AFP reports.
Attorney-general Mohammed Abed said the government is cancelling the existing (Israeli) drug law and replacing it with an Egyptian law from 1962.
"The latter law is more comprehensive in… Read more
30th November 2009
Recalling that a prominent Saudi cleric declared the tsunami of 2004 to be a punishment from God for fornication and homosexuality in south-east Asia, I had been wondering what religious folk would make of the castrophic floods that hit Saudi Arabia last week – during the annual pilgrimage, of… Read more
29th November 2009
There is speculation among bloggers and on Twitter about the health of the Tunisian president, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. The president, who is 73 and won a fifth presidential term in elections last month, abruptly cancelled a visit from the king of Spain which had been scheduled for last Tuesday.… Read more
29th November 2009
Yemen dragged Saudi Arabia into its conflict with the Houthi rebels after realising it would not be able to defeat them militarily on its own, former vice-president Ali Salim al-Beidh claims in an interview published by Gulf News today.
Al-Beidh, who has been in exile since leading the south to… 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
