Blog archive all
27th November 2013
A 29-year-old American is imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates over a comedy video posted on YouTube.
Shezanne "Shez" Cassim, who had been working in Dubai, was detained on April 7 and more than seven months later there is still no sign of a date being fixed for his trial. Several others,… Read more
27th November 2013
Amid all the debates about the future of the Middle East there's one issue of fundamental importance to millions of Arabs that hardly ever gets discussed. The issue is housing.
Housing is a thoroughly mundane topic and even when writers turn their attention to the built environment of Arab cities… Read more
27th November 2013
Saudi Arabia's crackdown on migrant workers continues to stir up racist sentiment, and the latest example is a column in Arab News headed "Say no to expats calling for Saudi citizenship".
The writer, Abdulrahman al-Zuhayyan, trots out a familiar collection of xenophobic prejudices: foreigners in… Read more
23rd November 2013
Military luxury: Al-Masah Hotel in Cairo
Al-Masah Hotel and Spa describes itself as a place "to escape the noise and the pollution" of Cairo, a place to enjoy quiet, contemplative moments sitting under a pergola with the drink of your choice.
"Since 2006, al-Masah Hotel has been the Cairo home… Read more
21st November 2013
A report published this week sets out to identify 10 foreign languages that British people are most likely to need during the next 20 years. Not surprisingly, the list includes Arabic and Mandarin Chinese – two languages which are not much studied in Britain at present.
The report, from the… Read more
20th November 2013
Presidential extension?
Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi
Presidential contender?
Ahmad Saleh
Following the uprising that led to the fall of President Saleh in Yemen, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi was "elected" to replace him.
Hadi's victory was scarcely surprising, since his name was the only one on… Read more
19th November 2013
Sometime in the future, when historians come to analyse the fall of the Saudi monarchy, the “regularisation” programme of 2013 is likely be seen as one of its causes.
“Regularisation” (a euphemism for expelling migrant workers in their tens of thousands) was meant to end the practice of illegally… Read more
18th November 2013
All militias from the Libyan city of Misrata have been told to leave the capital, Tripoli, within 72 hours, and "without exception", the BBC reports this morning.
The Libya Herald says the withdrawal call came from members of Misrata’s shura council, local elders and commanders of the city’s… Read more
14th November 2013
A satirical song about the Saudi crackdown on migrants has become a hit on YouTube. “Ja Jawazat” – depicting Asians without passports – has been viewed more than a million times since it was posted in June.
Saudi Arabia’s ill-conceived crackdown on migrants continues to take its toll, and one of… Read more
13th November 2013
An article in the Washington Post by David Ignatius reveals previously unreported French involvement in Yemen's Houthi conflict last year.
It says that the Saudis asked the US for imagery from surveillance satellites to assist their bombing of rebel positions in Yemen, but this was blocked by the… 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
