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Human rights organisations have welcomed a decision by Kuwait's constitutional court last week which overturned a law criminalising "imitation of the opposite sex".
Amnesty International hailed the ruling as "a major breakthrough for transgender rights in the region" and Human Rights Watch… Read more
A new book containing a chapter by a prominent defender of Syria's Assad regime has been withdrawn from sale, the publisher confirmed today.
The Research Handbook on Political Propaganda comprises 29 chapters by a variety of academic authors. When it first went on sale last December the… Read more
Record numbers of Covid-19 infections have been reported in the Middle East and North Africa this week – for the third week running. However, this week's increase is smaller than in the previous two weeks, suggesting the sudden spike caused by the Omicron variant may not last very… Read more
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… Read more
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… Read more
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
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
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
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… Read more
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
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
