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It's the "Great British Week" in Bahrain – an event designed to celebrate Britain's "friendship" with the repressive Gulf kingdom and secure some lucrative business deals.
Staying well away from the protests and teargas, a red London bus is touring the streets and Prince Andrew (the Queen… Read more
"How should we judge a country's foreign policy?" Stephen Walt asked in an article earlier this week. "How do we decide whether it is smart, foolish, shrewd, lucky, successful, or disastrous?"
Answering these questions is less straightforward than it might seem. Walt, a professor of… Read more
The Sunni-Shia divide is almost as old as Islam itself but during the last few years this ancient schism has played an increasing role in Middle Eastern politics.
It is certainly a factor in the Syrian conflict (though how big a factor is still debated) and Sunni Arab monarchs in the Gulf have… Read more
Can driving a car be considered an act of terrorism? Apparently it can if you are a woman in Saudi Arabia. Saudi women who assert their right to drive have previously been charged with "disturbing public order" – an offence that is due to be classified as terrorism under a new law which… Read more
An online activist in Saudi Arabia whose views angered religious conservatives is threatened with apostasy charges that could result in his execution, CNN reports.
Raif Badawi, former editor of the "Saudi Arabian Liberals" website, is already serving a seven-year jail sentence but a judge has… Read more
The latest issue of the Middle East Policy Council's journal contains a lengthy essay on US policy towards Bahrain, basically arguing that reforms in the tiny Gulf kingdom should stop short of full democracy.
Its author, Ronald Neumann, is a former US ambassador to Bahrain and… Read more
If Syrian government forces did not launch the chemical attacks near Damascus on August 21, we have to assume that rebel fighters did. Short of denying that the attacks took place at all, there is really no other possibility.
Although many people continue to dispute that the Assad regime was… Read more
Following their investigation of the Sarin attacks that killed hundreds near Damascus on August 21, the UN inspectors have continued to look into other alleged cases of chemical weapons being used in the Syrian conflict. Their latest report, issued this week, confirms that people in Syria have… Read more
My blog post yesterday about re-ignited debate over the chemical attacks in Syria last August has brought a surprising response from some regular critics of the mainstream media.
On one side of the chemical weapons debate is Seymour Hersh, the veteran investigative journalist, who suggested in an… Read more
In the blue corner, Seymour Hersh, one of America's most famous and highly paid investigative reporters. In the red corner, Eliot Higgins, who sits at home in an English provincial town trawling the internet and tweets and blogs about his findings under the screen name Brown Moses.
On… 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
