Blog archive all
29th March 2011
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 any… Read more
27th March 2011
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 city of Lattakia… Read more
27th March 2011
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 revolutionary state to… Read more
26th March 2011
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 giving a… Read more
24th March 2011
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 more. Many of… Read more
23rd March 2011
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 excuse to cling… Read more
22nd March 2011
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 Salih)… Read more
21st March 2011
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 regime… Read more
19th March 2011
The Gulf's dinosaurs continued their battle for survival yesterday. In Bahrain they demolished the monument on the Pearl Roundabout which had been cleared of protesters on Wednesday. The official reason was to give the area a facelift and "boost the flow of traffic", though the foreign minister… Read more
18th March 2011
It has been a truly terrible day in Yemen, with more than 40 people reported dead as a result of attacks on demonstrators by the president's supporters in Sana'a. Although armed conflict is common in Yemen, there has been nothing like this in the capital for many years.
The Egyptian Chronicles blog… 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
