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Even the most unlikely Arab countries hold book fairs nowadays, many of them with the cachet "International" attached to their title. They are generally promoted as a sign of modernity, progress and cultural development – though I still find it hard to take most of them seriously. Far too often… Read more
The Committee to Protect Journalists has today released a
damning report on the Yemeni government's efforts to restrict press freedom. It looks in some detail at the legislative and administrative measures as well as extra-judicial violence against journalists.
In particular, it calls… Read more
Hisham Talaat Moustafa, the Egyptian billionaire and prominent member of the ruling party who paid a hitman $2 million to kill Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim, has finally escaped the gallows.
Last year Moustafa was sentenced to death for the crime, along with the hitman, a former… Read more
New research suggests closing down extremist Islamic websites is no substitute for directly challenging their religious ideology. (Read more at Comment Is Free.)
From the Egyptian daily, al-Masry al-Youm:
Chairman of al-Ahram newspaper Abdel-Monem Saeed said he has not received any complaints from authorities concerning the publishing of aPhotoshopped picture of leaders in negotiations held recently in Washington to put Mubarak ahead of… Read more
The six-day siege of al-Hawta (Hota, Huta) in southern Yemen ended yesterday with an official announcement that the army had cleared suspected al-Qaeda fighters from the town.
The huge operation, involving tanks, artillery, air strikes and 1,500 troops may have been intended to show donor… Read more
Abdel-Monem Said, chairman of al-Ahram, the leading pro-government newspaper in Egypt, has issued a statement headed: "The Ahram 'photo' and the Western media's reaction".
This is in response to criticism of the doctored photograph which purported to show President Mubarak… Read more
More than 1,500 Yemeni troops launched a major offensive yesterday against the southern town of Hota (Huta, Hawta) which they have been besieging since Sunday. Xinhua news agencyquotes a local counter-terrorism official as saying:
"The massive offensive started with ... air raids and a partial… Read more
As many as 15,000 civilians have now fled al-Hota (Huta), the southern Yemeni town which has been besieged by the military since Sunday.
Between 80 and 100 al-Qaeda militants are said to be holed up in the town (estimated population 20,000-25,000) and the surrounding area… Read more
In the continuing crackdown in Bahrain, Ayatollah Hussein al-Najati – a prominent Shia religious figure – has been stripped of his citizenship. The passports of his wife and three children have also been revoked.
Najati is the local representative of the Iraqi grand ayatollah, Ali al-Sistani.… 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
