Blog archive all
One much-repeated argument in favour of Brexit is that it will "liberate" Britain from the "burden" of complying with EU regulations. For several weeks now, the British government has been trumpeting the prospect of compensating for lost trade with Europe by boosting trade with the Gulf… Read more
The border between Iraq and Syria is 600 km long – and porous. As ISIS is gradually driven back in Iraq, this raises the question of how to prevent militants from returning via Syria. Securing the border is no simple matter and, as Mustafa Habib explains in the article below, it's an area… Read more
The story of Voiceless Victims, the fake human rights organisation that sought to "cooperate" with campaigns supporting migrant workers in Qatar, has taken a puzzling turn.
A newly-created Twitter account using the Voiceless Victims logo has begun tweeting about rape and sexual assaults in the… Read more
On a recent trip to Beirut I came across a stack of magazines that – judging by their cover photos – looked suspiciously like Arabic porn. Unambiguously titled "al-Jins" (Arabic for "sex") they were displayed on a newspaper stall in Hamra Street, for sale secondhand.
Their less-than-… Read more
There was exciting news from Oman last month when Sultan Qaboos – the Gulf state's despotic ruler for the last 46 years – was honoured with the 2016 Arab Human Rights Award. Previous winners have included the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of… Read more
The 2022 World Cup has turned into a mixed blessing for Qatar. What at first seemed like a brilliant opportunity to showcase the small Gulf state has instead brought a torrent of bad publicity – some because of the way Qatar was chosen by football's corrupt governing body, Fifa, to host… Read more
Saudi police have detained six people for the "crime" of attending a mixed-sex party at an apartment in Jeddah, Okaz newspaper reports.
The arrests – which were the result on some interesting detective work – reveal that the kingdom's police are in a high state of readiness "to deal with any… Read more
A fake human rights group which apparently tried to gather intelligence about genuine campaigners is claiming that its strange behaviour was the result of threats from "the bad guys".
The group, calling itself "Voiceless Victims", purported to be campaigning on behalf of exploited construction… Read more
A "non-profit" organisation which claimed to be campaigning on behalf of exploited construction workers in Qatar has been exposed as a fake.
Purportedly operating from France, where it used a false address, "Voiceless Victims" contacted several genuine organisations concerned about… Read more
A battle at the UN over the appointment of the Human Rights Council's first "independent expert" on LGBT rights appears to have been settled – for now. Vitit Muntarbhorn, the law professor from Thailand appointed in September to monitor "violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation… 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
