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Good fences make good neighbours, according to an old proverb – the idea being that friction is less likely if those on both sides of the line know exactly where they stand. On that basis, the border fence between Israel and Lebanon is a bad one ... Read my full article at Comment Is Free… Read more
With Saudi Arabia and the UAE in a tizz about the evil that might result from unrestricted use of BlackBerry phones, the satirical website, NewsBiscuit, has come up with an idea: BlackBerry burqas. "With the veil in place only a tiny slit remains revealing just the time and date, thus preserving… Read more
Following last week's report that the Houthi rebels had captured200 Yemeni soldiers and a subsequent official denial (of sorts), the picture is clearing.
On Saturday, the Supreme Security Committee admitted that the rebels had "kidnapped" 228 soldiers and tribesmen… Read more
The Gay Middle East website has a compilation of attacks in Iraq last month directed against men who are gay or not looking sufficiently "masculine". Some were beaten up, some disappeared and others were murdered, according to the website's sources.
As a report by Human Rights… Read more
The decision by the UAE and Saudi Arabia to suspend BlackBerry data services from October has been widely reported, so I won't repeat the details here. But it's a tussle that has far-reaching implications. The Gulf states, as I've said before, want the economic benefits of modernity (and… Read more
A campaign is being launched today to exclude Saudi Arabia from the 2012 Olympics unless the kingdom allows women to compete. It is one of the last countries in the world not to let women take part.
Female sporting activity in Saudi Arabia is generally discouraged on religious grounds and… Read more
At the end of his fact-finding visit to Tunisia this week, Martin Scheinin, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, was full of praise for the Tunisian approach to dealing with terrorism. At least, he was if you believe the Tunisian media.
It is true that he… Read more
Following the recent demonstrations by animal rights activists in the Middle East, Joseph Mayton has written an article for Comment Is Free about vegetarianism and Arab culture.
The actions by Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan attracted a modest… Read more
Two hundred Yemeni soldiers who were reportedly captured by Houthi rebels in the north of the country on Monday are now said to have been freed. AFP quotes a mediator and "tribal sources close to the rebels" as confirming the release.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni defence ministry… Read more
In the renewed conflict in northern Yemen, the Houthi rebels have taken 200 soldiers prisoner, according to a military official cited by AFP. The troops are said to belong to a regiment of the Republican Guard.
The capture of the soldiers has not been confirmed by the rebels. A Houthi… 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
