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The Syrian uprising appears to be growing but, as with Tunisia last December, it is getting relatively little coverage – especially in comparison with Libya. Libya has no great strategic importance, though of course foreign forces are involved and the events there are the sort that TV companies… Read more
More than 100 people are reported dead following an explosion at a munitions factory in southern Yemen on Monday . The Financial Times says:
According to a resident of the area, the explosion took place when local people swarmed into the building to steal ammunition, after government… Read more
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal last January, President Assad of Syria talked about reform. Not reform under pressure but reform with "conviction", as he put it.
"If you did not see the need for reform before what happened in Egypt and in Tunisia," he said, "it is too late to do… Read more
SYRIA
More protests, more repression. The NOW Lebanon website, which is monitoring events from Beirut, has the latest blow-by-blow updates.
Writing for the Syrian Revolution Digest, Ammar Abdulhamid notes that momentum shifted northwards on Saturday to the coastal… Read more
Colonel Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, is touting a "transition" plan for Libya, according to the Saudi-owned newspaper, Asharq Alawsat.
Saif's plan "would see him take over control of Libya from his father during a transitional period during which Libya would transform from a… Read more
The video above shows protesters in Deraa attacking a statue of the former Syrian president, Hafez al-Assad. The scene is highly evocative of Firdous Square in Baghdad, where Saddam Hussein's statue was toppled (with the aid of US troops) in 2003. Indeed, the wobbling statue of Assad is… Read more
SYRIA:
Security forces opened fire on protesters outside the Omari mosque in Deraa early on Wednesday, killing at least 15 people,according to al-Jazeera. However, the Syrian Revolution Digest, citing activists on the ground, says the number of dead could be 150 or… Read more
As turmoil continued in Yemen yesterday, President Salih
offered to step down by January next year after organising new parliamentary elections. The opposition has rejected this – and rightly so. He should go immediately.
Tying his departure to elections would provide Salih with an… Read more
In Yemen, Monday began with what appeared to be an attempted coup by the president's kinsman, General Ali Muhsin al-Ahmar who announced that he was siding with the protesters – and tanks duly appeared on the streets of Sana'a.
Since Ali Muhsin is the person Yemenis (including President… Read more
Aside from Libya, which is getting wall-to-wall media coverage, here are some other noteworthy events from the weekend:
SYRIA:
In the southern city of Deraa, protesters clashed with security forces on Sunday, for the third day running. Numerous buildings associated with 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
