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The first UN aid convoy from Saudi Arabia to northern Yemen –delayed for several weeks – is expected to set off today carrying tents, mattresses, blankets and other items for about 2,000 people stranded in the border area as a result of the Houthi conflict.
It had been due to leave… Read more
Algerian journalist and rights activist Hafnaoui Ghoul is due in court on Tuesday, accused of criminal defamation over an article that talked about corruption and maladministration in Djelfa province.
This is just one of 16 lawsuits against Ghoul – all of them brought by local officials and all "… Read more
The Houthi rebels in northern Yemen claim to have captured Munabbih (Munabah), a district bordering Saudi Arabia.
Reuters quotes a rebel statement saying local residents had turned against the authorities because of rights abuses and "citizens took full control of government buildings".… Read more
The Saudi king's two-day "reconciliation" visit to Syria has prompted speculation about what it will mean for Lebanon, where wrangling over the formation of a new government continues, four months after the parliamentary election.
Saudi Arabia backs Saad Hariri's March 14 … Read more
Last week I wrote about the plethora of “hesba” lawsuits in Egypt where busybodies of a religious disposition launch what, in effect, are private prosecutions against people whose behaviour they consider un-Islamic.
Now, there’s an interesting new twist. The National reports… Read more
Yemen's parliament yesterday called on the government to bring the Houthi rebellion to a swift end (reports: Yemen Postand Almotamar).
Although this can be interpreted as support for the government's policy (since ending the rebellion is the declared intention of Operation Scorched Earth… Read more
This has been widely covered elsewhere but, since I've discussed the case on this blog here and here, I'll just note it for the record: the "Jeddah Casanova" has been sentenced to five years in jail and 1,000 lashes. He is appealing.
Posted by Brian Whitaker, 8 October 2009…
The niqab debate rumbles on in Egypt. Yesterday, an Islamist MP called for the resignation of Mohammed Tantawi, the government-appointed Sheikh of al-Azhar, after he told a female student to remove her face veil (original story in Arabic here).
Tantawi, who said he plans to… Read more
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of southern Yemen yesterday, calling for independence and waving flags of the former southern state which merged with the north in 1990. (Reports: AP,
AFP, Reuters, dpa.)
The protests were timed to coincide with a visit… Read more
Ever since Hisham Talat Mustafa was sentenced to death for murder, I have been wondering what device will be found to save him from the gallows.
Mustafa is no ordinary convict. He is – or was – a pillar of the Egyptian establishment: a multi-millionaire property magnate and a member… 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
