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The following is a statement issued on Tuesday by the London-based Iraqi LGBT organisation:
In Iraq, concern is growing of a renewed purge against the country’s gay community by government forces and hardline religious militia groups after the arrest of 25 men in Kalar, a small town north… Read more
What on earth is going on at Huffington Post? Hot on the heels ofTom Squitieri's articles presenting a sympathetic view of Bahrain's repressive regime (September 21, October 2 and
October 5), we now have Rob Sobhani scaremongering about Iranian designs on Bahrain.
"… Read more
A man has been jailed in Egypt for "insulting Islam" on Facebook.
Ayman Youssef Mansur, who had been arrested in August, was sentenced to three years with hard labour by a civilian court on Saturday on charges of "exploitation of religion to promote extremist ideas with the… Read more
On Friday the UN security council unanimously approved a resolution on the situation in Yemen – its first such resolution since the uprising began.
As expected, the resolution (full text here) calls on President Saleh to accept the Gulf Cooperation Council's wretched "transition plan" and… Read more
Two Saudi men have been arrested in connection with a video about poverty in Riyadh (above) which was posted on YouTube. Feras Bughnah and Hosam al-Deraiwish were summoned for questioning on Sunday and were reported to be still in detention on Tuesday.
The Saudi Jeans blog, which has … Read more
The government of Bahrain is desperately seeking international support for its repressive policies – so desperately, in fact, that if the support doesn't exist it's happy to invent it.
In April, it claimed that Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, had expressed support for Bahrain'… Read more
Next Sunday, October 23, will deliver the first tangible fruits of the uprising that toppled President Ben Ali in Tunisia when voters elect a 218-member National Constituent Assembly.
The assembly will not be a parliament as such: its main task is to draft a new constitution and prepare for… Read more
The violence in Cairo that left 24 people dead and more than 200 injured on Sunday night is the most alarming development so far in post-Mubarak Egypt.
Many are blaming the security forces for the bloody turn of events, arguing that the military council (temporarily) ruling Egypt is using… Read more
In an article for Huffington Post on September 21, Tom Squitieri began:
"The rubber stamp storyline out of Bahrain is that it is the latest chapter of the people rising against the evil rulers in the 2011 drama of the Arab Spring. Spend a few days and nights away from the hotels and… Read more
A fresh outbreak of trouble is reported in Qatif (eastern Saudi Arabia), which has a large Shia population. The interior ministry says 14 people were injured, 11 of them security personnel, in rioting on Monday and claims the disturbances were instigated by "a foreign power" – an apparent… 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
