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Today is the 20th anniversary of the unification of north and south Yemen (an event that I wrote about in detail in my online e-book,
The Birth of Modern Yemen).
In 1990, the north-south union made a lot of sense and in principle it still does today, but because of the way… Read more
Three of Egypt's most prominent human rights activists are due in court this morning, facing criminal charges of “insult, libel, blackmail and abuse of internet services”.
The three are Ahmad Saif al-Islam (of the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre), Gamal Eid (of the Arab Network for Human Rights… Read more
Bahrain has "temporarily frozen" the activities of al-Jazeera television inside the country for "breaching professional media norms and flouting the laws regulating the press and publishing".
The ban came to light on Tuesday when a team from al-Jazeera were prevented from entering… Read more
In Saudi Arabia, 1,600 women have signed an open letter supporting the kingdom's ban on gender mixing.
"Women are like sweets. If you keep them out in the open ... then nobody will take them. On the other hand, if you cover them then everybody will like them," one of the letter's supporters … Read more
Videos have been posted on the internet showing the aftermath of Saudi Arabia's bulldozing of a Yemeni village (reported hereyesterday). "Here were houses," a man says in one of them. There doesn't seem to be much left of the village and I can't help thinking that if the Israelis had done… Read more
Saudi forces are active across the border again, in Yemeni territory. In an incident that is being likened to Israel's destruction of Palestinian homes, the Yemeni village of Um Quaia’ah, close to the Saudi border, "was ravaged by Saudi bulldozers, including mosques and electricity poles… Read more
The Abu Dhabi authorities seem to be in a quandary over whether to let Sex and the City 2 be shown in the emirate. The film, due to be released on May 27, has Abu Dhabi as its setting.
Plans to shoot the film in neighbouring Dubai, using the ultra-modern facilities of Dubai… Read more
The Yemen Times has a few more details of the apparent attempt to assassinate President Salih on Saturday. The paper says the vehicles that came under attack were indeed the presidential convoy, though Salih was not in it – he had left earlier for Taizz by helicopter. The Yemen… Read more
Photo: mozzoom
The International Day Against Homophobia (Idaho) was observed in Beirut on Sunday with a programme of events. (I think Lebanon was the only Arab country where this happened, though there may have been something in Morocco.)
A set of photos has been… Read more
Saudi police are investigating a complaint by a Filipina maid that she was repeatedly raped over a period of three years by her employer in Taif. It is the second such case in less than a week. Arab News reports.
Posted by Brian Whitaker, 18 May 2010.
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
