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Towards the end of each month the director-general of the OPCW issues a report headed "Progress in the elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons programme". There have been 86 of these reports over the last seven years but what they reveal is not so much progress as a lack of it.
More… Read more
When the 193 countries that are parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention hold their annual meeting next week they will face a tricky question regarding one of the members.
The general assumption of the Convention is that if countries are willing to sign up to it they are also likely to comply… Read more
The coronavirus pandemic is about to enter a new phase as vaccines become available. Countries in the Middle East are making preparations and here is a round-up of what they are doing.
Some – mostly the wealthier ones – have struck deals with major pharmaceutical companies, often for more than one… Read more
Framed certificates printed in the style of medieval manuscripts and adorned with seals and signatures are much sought after in the Middle East. They are a way of acquiring prestige, getting jobs and, in some cases, laundering a person’s reputation. Thus, when it emerged recently that two Iraqi… Read more
REGIONAL OVERVIEW
The number of people known to have been infected with Covid-19 in the Middle East and North Africa passed the three million mark at the end of October. Across the region as a whole the level of new infections continues to rise, averaging… Read more
When Algerian police searched the home of 52-year-old Yacine Mebarki they found among his books a copy of the Qur'an. It was an old copy, he says, that he inherited from his grandfather. On closer examination, the police spotted that one of its pages was missing – and charged him with desecrating… Read more
An interesting situation is developing at the OPCW – the global chemical weapons watchdog – regarding Syria and Russia.
Last July the OPCW's executive council set a 90-day deadline for Syria to provide further information about its chemical weapons programme – some of which it was supposed to have… Read more
Week ending 3 October 2020
REGIONAL OVERVIEW
Almost 2.4 million Covid-19 infections have now been recorded in the Middle East and North Africa and the situation has worsened considerably over the past month.
New cases, which were averaging… Read more
Two Iraqi politicians have been awarded bogus degrees by a self-proclaimed university in Denmark, it has emerged.
● Former interior minister Qasim al-Araji received a worthless MA certificate from the unrecognised Aalborg Academy of Science in February 2019.
● Ahmad al-Ubaidi, the… Read more
On Saturday police in the Indian city of Mysore raided a ceremony where more than 100 people dressed in gowns and mortarboards were about to receive fake degrees.
The would-be graduates had paid up to 100,000 rupees ($1,357) for doctorates from the bogus International Global Peace University,… 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
