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Saudi Arabia's second-largest construction firm is likely to declare itself bankrupt, the Saudi Gazette reported today. For several months now, Saudi Oger, the debt-ridden company headed by Lebanese politician Saad Hariri, has failed to pay tens of thousands of its workers – many of them expatriate…
“This exhibition looks at works of art which tackle the effects and consequences of established walls and barriers, both physical and ideological.”
The pictures on this page are from Walls and Margins, an exhibition organised by the Barjeel Art Foundation in 2015-2016. The images and accompanying…
Thousands of Indian workers are trapped in Saudi Arabia, unable to leave the country and with no means to support themselves after their employer stopped paying them. At the weekend Indian embassy officials began organising emergency food aid following reports that several hundred workers had not…
Middle East for beginners
People who are interested in the Middle East but not very familiar with it often ask which books would provide a good introduction. A few years ago Robert Fisk, the veteran Middle East journalist, came up withsome suggestions. Feeling that his choices were a bit dated, I…
Unlike Africa, Australia or the Americas, the Middle East is not a clearly-defined land mass and its exact boundaries, even today, are still largely a matter of opinion. The Middle East is not so much a geographical entity as a geopolitical concept – invented, just over 100 years ago, by the…
One of the funniest comedy sketches shown on British television featured the Ministry of Silly Walks – an imaginary government department whose task was to encourage silly ways of walking and provide funding for their development.
I was reminded of this yesterday when Bahrain's information…
For several weeks now there has been growing evidence that Twitter is being used for a covert and highly organised propaganda operation which disparages Shia Muslims while supporting the Sunni Muslim governments of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
The tactic is to deluge Twitter with multiple copies of…
Boris Johnson, the former Mayor of London who was unexpectedly appointed as Britain's Foreign Secretary two weeks ago, is famous for his gaffes. No newspaper story about Boris is complete, it seems, without some amusing reference to his blunders and mishaps. But such are the expectations of him, as…
Strike Oppose exhibition, 2011
The pictures on this page are from Strike Oppose, an exhibition organised by the Barjeel Art Foundation and held at the Maraya Art Centre, Sharjah, in 2011. The images and accompanying notes come from the exhibition's online catalogue which contains further…
On March 26, 2015, civil war officially broke out in Yemen. On that day, Saudi Arabia marshalled a hastily convened coalition of the willing to forcibly intervene in Yemen’s internal affairs, launching an all out armed conflict between forces loyal to the ‘legitimate government’ of president ‘Abd…
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
