Blog archive all
3rd July 2011
The new Moroccan constitution, endorsed by a referendum on Friday, has had a generally warm and uncritical reception from the US and the EU.
A joint statement from the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, and commissioner Stefan Fule described it as "a significant response to the legitimate… Read more
26th June 2011
Three weeks have elapsed since President Saleh left Yemen for treatment in Saudi Arabia after being badly injured by a bomb explosion in his palace compound. Since then, the situation has been very confused though it's beginning to clear a little.
Despite what Yemeni official may say about his "… Read more
24th June 2011
Ammar Abd Rabbo" src="/sites/default/files/moza_0.jpg" style="height:235px; width:388px" />
Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, wife of the emir of Qatar, is famous for her good works. In the eyes of many, she's the model of a modern, enlightened Arab woman.
Sheikha Moza is the driving force behind Qatar'… Read more
18th June 2011
The clear message from the Arab Spring is that the region's leaders must initiate swift and far-reaching reforms or risk being overthrown. So far, though, the only country that seems to be heeding that message with anything close to the level of determination that the situation requires is Morocco… Read more
17th June 2011
Today is the official start of the Women2Drive campaign in Saudi Arabia. It's still early but there are already a few reports of women taking to the roads.
In what seems to have been a night-time excursion before the official start, FouzAbd tweeted:
"Only mom is driving and I don't see any other… Read more
17th June 2011
Rami Makhlouf – the cousin of President Assad and Syria's most important businessman – has announced that he is giving up some of his business interests in a move apparently calculated to appease anti-government protesters.
Makhlouf, who is generally regarded as a symbol of corruption and privilege… Read more
16th June 2011
A couple of years ago – before the Arab Spring was even a twinkle in anyone's eye – I spent an evening chatting with Nesrine Malik, one of the Guardian's Middle East contributors. Somehow, our conversation got round to the question of why modern Arabic literature, not to mention TV drama, is so… Read more
13th June 2011
The "Gay Girl in Damascus" mystery was solved, up to a point, on Sunday when Tom MacMaster, a 40-year-old postgraduate student at Edinburgh university, announced that he was the person behind the blog, and apologised.
The confession came after investigations established a link between him and the… Read more
11th June 2011
The speculation about Amina Araf, aka Gay Girl in Damascus, reminds me of a similar episode in 2003 when many in the west were captivated by the writings of an Iraqi blogger who called himself Salam Pax.
His posts from Baghdad during and shortly before the US-led invasion became a must-read for… Read more
5th June 2011
On Friday, after hearing of the attack inside Yemen's presidential compound, I posted a tweet which said:
"Send Saleh abroad to be treated for his injuries. Problem solved."
That has now come to pass, but I doubt that it's a result of my suggestion on Twitter. It struck me at the time, though,… 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
