Blog archive all
21st August 2009
With a presidential “election” coming up in Tunisia in October, you might think Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali’s position looks secure. The 72-year-old dictator has been in power since 1987 and the last time he sought a popular mandate, in 2004, he secured an incredible 94.48% of the votes.
But Ben Ali is… Read more
21st August 2009
The latest issue of the Yemen Times gives a rare glimpse of daily life in the Saada war zone:
In the countryside of Saada, there is no electricity or phone service and generators can be deadly.
According to one resident of rural Dhahyan, her neighbours communicate by hand-written letters, and when… Read more
19th August 2009
For what, hopefully, will be Hosni Mubarak’s last presidential visitto the United States, the ageing autocrat is allegedly paying US-based Egyptians to demonstrate their support for him. The going rate is said to be $100. Oh dear, the US is so expensive. Back in Egypt, I’m told, the usual reward… Read more
19th August 2009
The Columbia Journalism Review has triggered a fascinating debate about the ever-blurring lines between journalism and blogging.
In an article, "Blogging in the Middle East: Not Necessarily Journalistic", Lawrence Pintak (American University in Cairo) and Yosri Fouda (al-Jazeera) start by pointing… Read more
18th August 2009
An American congressional delegation led by former Republican presidential candidate John McCain arrived in Yemen yesterday on a summer junket touring “post-war zones and forward operating bases” which also includes Libya, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, and … er … Iceland (!).
Presumably arch-neocon… Read more
18th August 2009
Major news organisations (CNN, Washington Post, BBC) missed a key point yesterday in their coverage of the Human Rights Watchreport on sexual orientation and gender in Iraq, reducing the issue to one of attacks on “gay” men.
As I explained here yesterday, and as HRW goes to some lengths to make… Read more
18th August 2009
More than two months after the Lebanese election, the saga of trying to form a government continues. In the latest twist, ex-general Michel Aoun is insisting on the re-appointment of his son-in-law, Jibran Bassil, as minister of telecommunications.
Bassil failed to win a seat in the June election… Read more
17th August 2009
Iraq is a dangerous place for many if not most of its citizens but a report issued today by Human Rights Watch looks at a spreading campaign of violence against one group in particular: men who are suspected of homosexual conduct or considered not “manly” enough.
Murders are committed with impunity… Read more
17th August 2009
Over the last seven years the Arab Human Development Reportshave explored most of the problems that hold back Arab societies and, on the whole, they have not minced their words. But there is one issue they have consistently shied away from discussing – the role of religion.
This is not very… Read more
16th August 2009
The international dimension of Yemen’s Houthi rebellion came to the fore yesterday when Iranian media reported claims of Saudi military involvement.
Yahya al-Houthi (a brother of the rebels’ dead leader) told Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency that Saudi Arabia “has gone so far as to deploy… 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
