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Suddenly, just about everyone (at least among the Sunni elements in the Middle East) is lining up to support Yemen and Saudi Arabia in their war with the Houthi rebels – even al-Qaeda.
“We have a war of rhetoric and a lot of people with vested interest want to make this into a proxy fight [… Read more
Yemen’s Houthi rebels drew up a plan two years ago to establish a Shia state embracing parts of northern Yemen and southern Saudi Arabia, according to one of the movement’s former leaders quoted in the Yemen Post.
The state would include all of Saada province together with large areas of… Read more
Uncovering the past is one thing, but turning it into politicised "heritage" is something else. The National reports the arrival of 13 Polish archaeologists in Kuwait for a "rescue mission" before history is buried under a $77billion megaproject known as City of Silk:
Piotr Bielinski, the… Read more
Saudi Arabia has now admitted what the Houthi rebels have long claimed and the Yemeni government has long denied: it is engaged in cross-border military action in Yemen.
The admission, which was possibly accidental, came when Prince Khaled bin Sultan, the deputy defence minister, visited troops in… Read more
Yemen's Houthi rebels have released a video purporting to show a captured Saudi soldier, one of several they claim to be holding after last week's fighting.
"The rebels identified the man, who is seen receiving medical attention in the video, as Ahmed Abdullah Mohammed al-Amri," al-Jazeera … Read more
Some important new research raises doubts about the effects of the famous "surge" in Iraq and whether it could become a model for Afghanistan.
In an article for ISN Security Watch, Claudio Guler argues that the US surge – and the troop increase in particular – was not… Read more
Middle East International was a unique publication, once described by Edward Said as “the best fortnightly on the region”. Sadly, it closed in 2005 but now it's back, under the editorship of the BBC's former Middle East correspondent, Gerald Butt.
Among other things, the current issue takes a… Read more
Two journalists from Morocco's biggest-selling daily newspaper have been sentenced to jail for "publishing false information".
Rachid Nini, founding editor of al-Massae was given a three-month sentence and writer Said Laajal a two-month sentence in connection with a report on… Read more
Reinvigorated after its meticulously orchestrated election victory, the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia is hard at work again.
Fatma Riahi, a 34-year-old blogger and drama teacher from Monastir, was detained last week for interrogation – along with her computer. She has since been released… Read more
Another ludicrous parliamentary row has broken out in Kuwait - this time over a decision to include music in the core curriculum of schools.
Mohammad Hayef al-Mutairi, a tribal-Salafist MP, is seeking to grillthe prime minister (a move that can lead to impeachment) and threatening 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
