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In an effort to "instil discipline in the streets", Yemen's interior ministry has embarked on a controversial – and probably ill-fated – battle against unlicensed motorcycles, threatening to confiscate any that are used illegally. In the first week after the ban was introduced at the beginning of… Read more
It is exactly one year today since the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) was published. The anniversary has brought a deluge of criticism from NGOs – all basically saying the government has done far too little during the last 12 months to implement the BICI's… Read more
Anti-qat protest outside Yemen's parliament last weekend
In Yemen, old habits die hard and weaning the country off its predilection for chewing qat might appear to be the most hopeless of hopeless causes. For millions of Yemenis, the afternoon qat sessions are a national… Read more
Calls are growing for the reinstatement of Dr Rula Qawas who was dismissed from her post as dean of the languages faculty at the University of Jordan over a film complaining about sexual harassment on the campus.
Last year, students from Qawas's feminist theory class made a two-and-a-half-… Read more
Last week's riots could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for King Abdullah of Jordan. Gulf monarchs, nervous about any challenges to hereditary rule in the Arab region, are now looking at ways to prop up his throne. In the Financial Times [subscription] Simeon Kerr reports:
"… Read more
King Abdullah of Jordan paid tribute to his security forces yesterday while visiting injured officers in hospital: "They are our brothers and our sons, who displayed the highest level of professionalism, responsibility and wisdom in dealing with the recent events," he said.
Fifty-eight police… Read more
Yesterday I wrote about the case of a five-year-old girl who was allegedly tortured to death by her father, a religious scholar who is described as a "well-known" TV preacher. I also wondered whether the authorities would investigate properly and take action against the father if… Read more
As soon as Arabs started using the internet their rulers started hankering after ways to control it – almost invariably making themselves look silly and out-of-touch in the process.
Saudi Arabia, as might be expected, was one of the front-runners in internet paranoia and the kingdom's first… Read more
There's a horrific story on al-Arabiya's website which claims that a Saudi religious scholar who is also a "well-known" TV preacher tortured his five-year-old daughter to death.
The girl died a few days ago in a Riyadh hospital "after weeks of suffering from broken arms, a skull… Read more
Mohammed al-Dahabi, a former head of Jordanian intelligence, has been sentenced to 13 years in jail for "embezzling public funds, money laundering and abuse of public office".
He has also been fined $30 million and ordered to return the $34 million he is said to have laundered and embezzled… 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
