Search
by Brian Whitaker
Originally published in Middle East International, 19 March 2004
The arrest of a journalist on charges of "spreading false news damaging to public interest and security" has inadvertently highlighted questions about Yemen's presidential succession.
Saeed Thabet, a correspondent…
In the face of growing protests against his authoritarian rule, President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali delivered a seven-minute speech to the Tunisian people on 27 December 2010. A video was alsoposted on Facebook.
During the speech a telephone could be heard ringing, which gave rise to amused…
Election milestone
by Brian Whitaker
Originally published in Middle East International, 16 April 1993
YEMEN'S first multi-party elections, scheduled for April 27, will be a milestone for the country itself and the Arabian peninsula as a whole. For Yemen, they will be the final seal on unification…
Big brother
by Brian Whitaker
Originally published in Middle East International,28 June, 2002
WORK HAS begun in Yemen on installing an electronic surveillance system intended to prevent al-Qaeda suspects from entering or leaving the country.
Equipped with computers and cameras, it will monitor…
Speech to the Tunisian parliament by Zine el Abidine Ben Ali on 7 November 1987 after President Bourguiba was declared unfit to govern.
November 7, 1987
Full text:
In the name of God, the Clement, the Merciful
We, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Prime Minister of the Republic of Tunisia, proclaim the…
Fighting erupts across Yemen
by Brian Whitaker
Originally published in The Guardian, 6 May 1994
YEMEN was at war yesterday as forces controlled by the feuding president and vice-president fought each other throughout the country. All the main airports came under attack, as well as economic and…
Guns and butter
by Brian Whitaker
Originally published in Middle East International,17 September, 1999
AMID extraordinarily tight security measures, the streets of the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, have been described as unusually quiet of late. Officially, the clampdown is part of a government campaign…
Britons in the firing line plead innocence: Brian Whitaker, Burhan Wazir and Martin Bright on how a search for history and traditional culture ended in tragedy
Originally published in The Observer, 19 January 1999
LATE LAST YEAR two very different groups of Britons set out for Yemen. One comprised…
The Arab League was established in 1945. It has 22 members: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
Arab League website(Arabic)
Arab…
THE QUARREL between Yemen and Eritrea moved closer to a solution this week. As Middle East International went to press, the foreign ministers of both countries were due in Paris to sign an agreement which will take their Red Sea island dispute to arbitration.
Fighting broke out last December when…
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
