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Where does the New York Times’s celebrated Middle East commentator Thomas Friedman go to get “different perspectives on the news”? The Google Reader Blog poses this question – thenprovides an answer.
Among Friedman’s 17 most-favoured publications and blogs, there isn’t a single Arab… Read more
Violent confrontations over water shortages continued for a fourth day in southern Yemen on Tuesday. Police reportedly
used tear gas and live bullets to disperse the crowds and one demonstrator was injured. On Sunday, a protester was shot dead, according to Reuters.
Water has always… Read more
More news from the world's most sinful city. Following the arrests of the cross-dressing Filipinos, the scandal of thedancing bankers and the "devil-worship" at a heavy metal concert, Riyadh police announce that 807 people have been arrested during the past month for "… Read more
It's looking as if Lebanon will not have a new government until late next month – after the end of Ramadan. Ms Tee, blogging at B-side Beirut, outlines three current theories about the reasons for the delay:
1. Michel Aoun is making impossible demands
2. Saudi Arabia and Syria (the two… Read more
I came across some research the other day which seems very relevant to the Middle East. It seeks to explain why religion is so influential in some countries but not in others:
Although it's commonly assumed (at least by atheists) that increasing wealth and all that goes with it (science, education… Read more
This morning I noted, with a hint of scepticism, the Yemeni government's claim that the bodies of 100 Houth rebels had been found on roadsides around Harf Sufyan. The official government news agency has now issued a statement saying the claim was untrue.
A previous government… Read more
This has been widely reported elsewhere, so I’ll just note it for the record.
The Yemeni government says the bodies of 100 Houthi rebels have been found on roadsides around Harf Sufyan. "It seems these are members who had attempted to escape from the fierce fighting in Sufyan city… Read more
An interesting hijab debate has broken out in the Emirates after Dubai Bank, apparently without consulting staff, ordered all female employees – Muslim and non-Muslim alike – to wear a headscarf and abaya.
"Our bank is Islamic and must follow sharia in all respects, which will satisfy our… Read more
Not before time, the US embassy in Sana’a issued a statementyesterday expressing “deep concern” at the continuing conflict between the Yemeni millitary and the Houthi rebels. The statement continued:
We call on both parties to return to the ceasefire that was established last year. In the… Read more
Arabic has many expressions that you won’t find explained in a standard dictionary. This is not just a problem for foreigners: Moroccans talking to Saudis, or vice versa, can find themselves equally baffled.
Abdullah Arif, a 23-year-old Saudi living in Dubai, has come up with a smart solution… 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
