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26th January 2014
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Yesterday’s events in Egypt – on the third anniversary of the uprising against Mubarak – resulted in at least 49 deaths and more than 1,000 arrests, according… Read more
22nd January 2014
When uprisings toppled the leaders of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya in 2011, other Arab regimes trembled. But not Qatar. Brimming with self-confidence, Qatar – perhaps alone among the Arab states – viewed the upheaval as an opportunity rather than cause for alarm.
"Qatar's regional posture went into… Read more
20th January 2014
In a column for the Independent last week, Robert Fisk wrote:
"Has ever the Arab awakening – the Arab 'Spring' if we were to believe the nonsense spouted at the time – looked more desperate, more bloody, more hopeless, more despairing than it does today?
"... the awful truth – and it has to be… Read more
18th January 2014
It's the "Great British Week" in Bahrain – an event designed to celebrate Britain's "friendship" with the repressive Gulf kingdom and secure some lucrative business deals.
Staying well away from the protests and teargas, a red London bus is touring the streets and Prince Andrew (the Queen's second… Read more
8th January 2014
"How should we judge a country's foreign policy?" Stephen Walt asked in an article earlier this week. "How do we decide whether it is smart, foolish, shrewd, lucky, successful, or disastrous?"
Answering these questions is less straightforward than it might seem. Walt, a professor of international… Read more
2nd January 2014
The Sunni-Shia divide is almost as old as Islam itself but during the last few years this ancient schism has played an increasing role in Middle Eastern politics.
It is certainly a factor in the Syrian conflict (though how big a factor is still debated) and Sunni Arab monarchs in the Gulf have… Read more
28th December 2013
Can driving a car be considered an act of terrorism? Apparently it can if you are a woman in Saudi Arabia. Saudi women who assert their right to drive have previously been charged with "disturbing public order" – an offence that is due to be classified as terrorism under a new law which is awaiting… Read more
26th December 2013
An online activist in Saudi Arabia whose views angered religious conservatives is threatened with apostasy charges that could result in his execution, CNN reports.
Raif Badawi, former editor of the "Saudi Arabian Liberals" website, is already serving a seven-year jail sentence but a judge has now… Read more
22nd December 2013
The latest issue of the Middle East Policy Council's journal contains a lengthy essay on US policy towards Bahrain, basically arguing that reforms in the tiny Gulf kingdom should stop short of full democracy.
Its author, Ronald Neumann, is a former US ambassador to Bahrain and currently president… Read more
16th December 2013
If Syrian government forces did not launch the chemical attacks near Damascus on August 21, we have to assume that rebel fighters did. Short of denying that the attacks took place at all, there is really no other possibility.
Although many people continue to dispute that the Assad regime was… 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
