Blog archive all
9th November 2020
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
1st November 2020
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 more than 25,000 a… Read more
13th October 2020
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
6th October 2020
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
3rd October 2020
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 around 15,000 a day… Read more
29th September 2020
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 current… Read more
28th September 2020
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
26th September 2020
Week ending 26 September 2020
REGIONAL OVERVIEW
More than 2.2 million Covid-19 infections have now been recorded in the Middle East and North Africa and the situation continues to worsen. The total of new cases across the region, which was averaging around 15,… Read more
19th September 2020
Week ending 19 September 2020
REGIONAL OVERVIEW
Covid-19 infections in the Middle East and North Africa continue to rise. The total of new cases across the region, which was averaging around 15,000 a day at the start of this month, is now around 20,000… Read more
17th September 2020
There are a few countries in the world where the coronavirus pandemic has not followed the course that scientists expected – and the reasons are puzzling.
Yemen is one example in the Middle East and there are others in Africa such as Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan and Somalia.
Covid-19 took a long… 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
