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By: Brian Whitaker
Since feuding broke out in the Gulf last May, with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain on one side of the quarrel and Qatar on the other, the protagonists have been trying to persuade the rest of the world to take their quarrel seriously. They haven't had much success in doing so, though.… Read more
By: Brian Whitaker
Palestinian-born journalist Sameh Akram Habeeb is a very busy man. Since November he has been in charge of Fox News 24. He also runs the Amsterdam Times, Australia News Today, Berlin Tomorrow, Ireland Now, Moscow News Daily, the New York Herald, the Norway Post, Sydney Now, Vegas News Today and… Read more
By: Brian Whitaker
The head of an international human-rights-and-development organisation siphoned off more than $1 million of its funds to cover his gambling debts, police and bankruptcy investigators believe. Palestinian-born Loai Deeb founded the Global">http://al-bab.com/blog/2016/01/gnrd-scandal">Global… Read more
By: Brian Whitaker
As Saudi Arabia relaxes its rules against cinemas and women drivers, Egypt now looks set to inherit the coveted title of Arab country with the most absurd restrictions. Having made little progress in combating an Islamist insurgency, the Sisi regime has turned its attention to the "… Read more
By: Brian Whitaker
A court in Egypt has separated a mother from her two children because she is an atheist. The decision to refuse custody of the children came from a family court in Cairo last Sunday, Radio France Internationale (RFI) reports. RFI gives no further details of the case but notes that it comes in… Read more
By: Brian Whitaker
Senior legal figures from Arab and African countries are gathering in Rabat today for the annual Middle East Law Conference. The three-day event is held under the patronage of Morocco's king. Justice ministers, public prosecutors and members of supreme courts from countries in the region are… Read more
By: Brian Whitaker
A British organisation linked to the Trump-Russia affair is working with Saudi partners and the Moroccan justice ministry to hold a law conference in Rabat this week. Besides helping to host and publicise the event, the London Centre of International Law and Practice (LCILP) will be… Read more
By: Brian Whitaker
The Egyptian parliament's committee on religion has announced plans to make disbelief in God a crime. Under the current law against "contempt of religions" atheists can be prosecuted for expressing their disbelief in public but the committee's proposal would go further and criminalise… Read more
By: Brian Whitaker
When Yemen held parliamentary elections in 1997 Ahmed Ali Saleh, then aged 24, was a first-time candidate. Though new to politics, he won by a handsome margin – a victory that was no doubt helped by having his father, President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and many of the ruling party's elite as voters in… Read more
By: Brian Whitaker
Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been killed aged 75, held power in Yemen for almost 34 years – an extraordinary feat in one of the world’s most fractious countries. He likened his survival technique to “dancing on the heads of snakes” and his political career ended much as it had begun, in… Read more