Blog archive all
15th January 2022
Record numbers of Covid-19 infections have been reported in the Middle East and North Africa this week. Official figures show more than 570,000 new cases during the last seven days – indicating that the Omicron variant is now spreading rapidly in the region.
Among the 20 countries monitored, nine… Read more
2nd January 2022
Covid-19 cases are rising again in the Middle East and North Africa. Last week's daily average of new infections across the region was running almost 50% above the previous week's figure.
Among the 20 countries monitored, 13 reported increases and in six of those the week-on-week rise was more… Read more
27th December 2021
A man suspected of supplying equipment to the Syrian army – including components that could be used in the manufacture of chemical weapons – has been arrested in the south of France after arriving there for a holiday, French media reported on Sunday.
The man has not been officially named but he is… Read more
23rd December 2021
The Research Handbook on Political Propaganda is a new book described by its publishers as "a crucial resource for both scholars and students". Optimistically priced at £195 ($258), it has 29 chapters by different authors presenting academic studies of propaganda in a variety of countries.
There… Read more
20th December 2021
On Sunday the Gulf emirate of Abu Dhabi began using a new Covid-19 "scanning" system to check people arriving by road from neighbouring Dubai. The system is a local invention and if it lives up to the claims made by its supporters it could revolutionise testing methods.
Known as Exponential Deep… Read more
17th December 2021
Daniel Kawczynski is the member of parliament for Shrewsbury in England, though he is jokingly known as the member for Riyadh. "I feel passionately about Saudi Arabia," he told the House of Commons during a debate in 2011. "I have been battling against extraordinary ignorance about – and… Read more
14th December 2021
A report in the Washington Post yesterday appears to confirm Syrian claims that Israel bombed chemical weapons facilities in the country last June – thus destroying evidence sought by OPCW investigators.
Although the paper's story is based on unnamed intelligence sources, information from… Read more
30th November 2021
A Yemeni journalist has become the latest victim of Saudi Arabia's laws against religious disbelief.
Thirty-year-old Ali Muhsin Abu Lahoum worked in Sana'a for the Yemen Times before moving to Saudi Arabia in 2015 and taking up a job with a TV station. More recently he is said to have been… Read more
13th November 2021
Covid-19 infections recorded in the Middle East and North Africa have seen a further drop during the past week, with a daily average of 14,985 new cases among the 20 countries monitored.
New infections peaked in mid-August when the daily average topped 73,000, according to official figures.… Read more
7th November 2021
Four ships carrying liquefied natural gas from Qatar have been diverted to supply Britain following a request for help from prime minister Boris Johnson, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
One vessel arrived at the South Hook terminal near Milford Haven on October 29, the second one… 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
