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Bahrain stepped up its suppression of critics yesterday by dissolving the kingdom's main opposition party, al-Wefaq, and confiscating its funds. An announcement by the government news agency said the party, which was founded in 2001, had "provided an environment" that embraced terrorism… Read more
A verse from the Qur'an says:
“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because God has given the one more [strength] than the other, and because they support them from their means.”
In Saudi Arabia this forms the basis for a system where all women must be assigned a male… Read more
In the midst of Britain's political turmoil there was a rare – and surreal – moment of consensus in the House of Commons this week over the BBC's use of the phrase "so-called".
MPs were discussing a government move to add four more groups to the official list of terrorist organisations: the… Read more
Kuwait yesterday became the first of the Arab Gulf states to set a minimum wage for domestic workers: they must now be paid at least 60 dinars ($198) a month.
A law on domestic work approved by the Kuwaiti parliament last year specified a 12-hour working day with a weekly day off, plus 30 days… Read more
Britain's continuing political upheaval resulted not only in the appointment of a new prime minister yesterday but also a new foreign secretary, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson – referred to by almost everyone simply as "Boris" or "BoJo".
In some ways, Boris and the Foreign Office ought… Read more
A visit to Syria last weekend by three members of the European Parliament has given the Assad regime a useful propaganda boost.
Ahead of the visit the Syrian government news agency, Sana, reported:
"A delegation from the European Parliament headed by Vice-President for the Committee on… Read more
Iraq’s law on how local parties are funded and founded has the potential to change the political landscape for better. But various parts of the new act seem to contradict one another.
It is less than a year before Iraq holds the next round of significant elections; the provincial elections, which… Read more
A British MP who recently went on two trips to Bahrain paid for by the repressive Gulf kingdom's rulers is due to return the favour next week by hosting a reception in the House of Commons "celebrating" 200 years of Bahraini-British relations.
Last October, Bahrain's foreign ministry splashed out… Read more
One of the world's strangest human rights organisations, the Emirati-funded Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD), was declared bankrupt by a court in Norway yesterday.
The case was brought by an employee, Thomas Bechmann, who claimed he was owed NOK 250,000 ($30,120) in unpaid wages… Read more
"Millennials are the first generation to grow up with the internet ... our minds do not operate within a nationalist space but within a globalised or internationalist space." A view of Brexit from a young British-born Moroccan. The article was first published on the Arab Millennial … 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
