Blog archive all
In a column for the International Herald Tribune headed "When Arabs Tweet", Rami Khouri takes issue with the US State Department's efforts to promote the internet and other digital technologies as a vehicle for political change in the Middle East.
Western policymakers, he says, need to "grasp more… Read more
This is outside the Middle East, I know, but relevant none the less. The American magazine, Commentary, is described in the New York Times as a small-circulation journal with an outsize influence. One commentator has even gone so far as to say that "no other journal of the past half century has… Read more
Fighting between the Houthi rebels, government forces and pro-government tribesmen continued in northern Yemen yesterday despite a short-lived ceasefire and the death toll over the last few days of conflct may now be as high as 50.
The Yemen Observer reports:
Local sources said that… Read more
Helem, the Lebanese LGBT organisation, has begun monitoring cases of homophobia from across the Arab region.
Although originally set up for the Lebanese in Lebanon, Helem often receives calls and emails from people seeking help in other countries where similar organisations don't exist. It is… Read more
It looks as if the on-off Houthi war in northern Yemen may be on again following two days of clashes that have left at least 22 people dead and more than 50 injured.
The German news agency, citing tribal sources, reports that seven pro-government tribesmen and five Houthi rebels… Read more
Several papers are reporting the case of Sabbar Kashur, a 30-year-old Arab from East Jerusalem, who has been sentencedto 18 months in jail after having sex with a Jewish woman.
An Israeli court convicted Kashur of "rape by deception" because although the sex was consensual he had misled the… Read more
The National reports on Saudi Arabia's efforts to codify its largely unwritten law in the face of opposition from religious conservatives.
"The absence of a penal code with clear definitions of crimes and appropriate sentences gives judges great latitude and it is not uncommon for a judge… Read more
The latest issue of the Tunisian weekly, al-Mawqif, has disappeared from the news-stands – apparently confiscated by government agents.
There has been no court order (which would make the seizure legal) and the government denies taking action against the paper, though witnesses have… Read more
After months of delay, Yemen's ruling party, the General People's Congress, has signed an agreement on national dialogue with the opposition alliance, the Joint Meeting Parties. The goal is to hammer out electoral and constitutional reforms ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for April… Read more
I received an email the other day from Jonathan Wright about myrecent comments on divorce and the Coptic church in Egypt. He writes:
I rather think you're missing the point in your comments on the Coptic Church and remarriage. You end by saying that "Meanwhile, the Coptic church continues to… 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
