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A court in the UAE has cleared Sheikh Issa bin Zayed Al Nayhan, brother of Abu Dhabi's ruler, of torturing a business associate.
A video which showed Sheikh Issa, assisted by men in uniform, torturing Afghan grain dealer Mohammed Shah Poor was widely circulated last year and was even… Read more
An editorial in the Washington Post at the weekend argued in favour of sustained, long-term – and probably expensive – American support for Yemen. So far, so good, but several things bother me about this editorial.
First, the headline: "Why it's wrong to rule out nation-building in Yemen".… Read more
An Egyptian women's rights group has rejected a proposal to intoduce women-only taxis in Alexandria.
The Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights says the idea is a legal, religious and social setback, as well as a violation of international agreements against discrimination.
The organisation… Read more
The government of ex-general Ould Abdel Aziz, who seized power in Mauritania in 2008 and then won a questionable election last July, has come up with a new law against terrorism.
Ould Abdel Aziz is generally given an easy ride internationally – easier than he deserves – because, as… Read more
It's an unfortunate fact of life that whenever Yemen becomes front-page news, sensible commentary about the country becomes harder to find.
Here, though, are two pieces worth reading. One is from Kevin Drum at Mother Jones. The other – appropriately headed "Aiding Yemen or aiding Saleh?" – is… Read more
Following the drive-by shootings in Nag Hammadi on Tuesday night, Coptic Christians marked their Christmas Day by going on the rampage yesterday. Here is the New York Times' account.
Once again, though, it is the Emirates-based paper, The National, which has the most perceptive… Read more
You may find it entirely unsurprising – and perhaps uninteresting too – to learn that until last year no Saudi royal had ever performed in a music video.
But that was before Prince Faisal bin Mansour bin Thunayan Al Saud, who previously "worked" as a bodybuilder and motorcyclist decided to embark… Read more
Seven people were shot dead outside a church in upper Egypt late last night following a mass to celebrate the Coptic Christmas. Al-Jazeera says three men in a car drove past and opened fire with machineguns in Nag Hammadi, 40 miles from Luxor.
A local bishop was quoted as saying he and… Read more
Following the introduction of internet censorship in Algeria (reported here last weekend), an online petition has been organised to oppose it.
The petition, which is in Arabic, French and English, says:
We, the undersigned, individuals and organisations, oppose the Algerian… Read more
For the first time in several months there are renewed hints of a possible ceasefire in northern Yemen's Houthi conflict. President Ali Abdullah Salih has set out a revised list of six conditions:
1. A full ceasefire, the re-establishment of safe passage on roads, and the surrender of… 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
