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It was in February 1999 that King Abdullah II came to the throne in Jordan. The following July, Mohammed VI became king of Morocco, and a year later Bashar al-Assad succeeded his father as president of Syria.
At the time, all three were hailed as a new generation of… Read more
President Saleh came under renewed pressure on Friday to accept the Yemen "transition" plan proposed by the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The US and several EU countries have now declared their backing for the plan. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said on Friday:
"We call on the parties… Read more
Following the comparatively swift exits of Ben Ali in Tunisia and Mubarak in Egypt, we now have three Arab leaders who face serious challenges to their power but are proving more much difficult to dislodge: Gaddafi in Libya, Salih in Yemen and Assad in Syria. Which of them, I wonder will be the… Read more
Will the Saudi regime ever understand that this is not a legitimate role for governments? The Ministry of Culture has just approved a set of rules for the "licensing" (i.e. control) of literary clubs, Arab News reports:
"The bylaws stipulate that a literary club should be licensed by… Read more
Since the Arab uprisings began, the United Arab Emirates has seen little or no popular unrest – and the authorities seem determined to keep it that way by cracking down on possible sources of dissent.
In the words of Human Rights Watch, "The government is reacting to domestic criticisms… Read more
The Gulf Cooperation Council said on Sunday that it will send its secretary-general, Abdul-Latif al-Zayani, back to Yemen for more talks following the aborted mission on Saturday when he was publicly snubbed by President Saleh.
Saleh has been refusing to sign a "transition" agreement… Read more
The Yemeni "transition" agreement negotiated by the Gulf Cooperation Council is falling apart even sooner than expected.
Fearing a coup in his absence, President Saleh is refusing to go to Riyadh with opposition parties for the signing ceremony.
On Saturday, he was visited in Sana'a by… Read more
The Yemeni "transition" agreement brokered by Gulf Cooperation Council states is due to be formally signed on Monday by the ruling party and opposition parties, but there is a lot that could go wrong.
It is reported that President Saleh will not attend the signing ceremony in Riyadh (… Read more
Undeterred by protesters calling for freedom in other parts of the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has announced some incredibly silly amendments to make its media law even more restrictive than it was before..
The amendments make it a crime to publish material that harms "the good reputation and… Read more
What is the connection between the global financial crisis that began in 2007 and the current wave of Arab uprisings? Directly, there's not much connection but both can be considered as examples of the Black Swan Theory in action.
A black swan is big and out of the ordinary, and the theory named… 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
