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3rd March 2010
It's strange how Reuters grandly describes the prominent Yemeni separatist, Ali Salim al-Baidh, as "an exiled former president of South Yemen". At a stretch, it's technically correct but it's also misleading.
Al-Baidh was secretary-general of the Socialist Party during the last few years of its… Read more
3rd March 2010
The winner of this year's International Prize for Arabic Fiction, announced yesterday, is the Saudi writer, Abdo Khal (pictured above).
His book, known in English as "Throwing Sparks as Big as Castles", is the story of a young man who leaves his family in a poor community in Jeddah to work as a… Read more
2nd March 2010
Security forces in southern Yemen raided a house in Zinjibar (Abyan province) early on Monday and a gun battle ensued. Several people were killed, including Ali Saleh al-Yafei, his wife and at least two children, plus two or more soldiers. Reports differ on the number of casualties.
According to… Read more
1st March 2010
Separatist demonstrations continued in Yemen yesterday, the second of “two days of southern anger” called to send a message to the international donors’ conference in Riyadh.
Twenty-one people were reportedly arrested as result of Saturday’s protests. The authorities switched off mobile phone… Read more
1st March 2010
More details have emerged about the case of Ahmed Mustafa, the young Egyptian blogger hauled up before a military court for "tarnishing the image" of the armed forces.
His "offence" occurred more than a year ago when he wrote in his Arabic-language blog about someone being removed from a military… Read more
28th February 2010
Thousands took to the streets of southern Yemen yesterday in protests timed to coincide with a meeting of the country’s international donors.
Demonstrations were reported in the main towns of four provinces – Dhali, Lahij, Abyan and Hadramawt – but there seem to have been only minor outbreaks of… Read more
28th February 2010
From the Egyptian daily, al-Masry al-Youm:
"The Public Funds Prosecution has uncovered that 11 MPs and 27 of their supporters in seven governorates accepted bribes from patients to receive state-financed medical treatment. According to investigators, the bribes ranged from LE1,000 to LE10,000" [$… Read more
28th February 2010
A 30-year-old Nepalese maid was found dead in her room at Hafr al-Batin, Saudi Arabia, on Friday. The unnamed woman is reported to have hanged herself. She was said to be "suffering psychological duress and had recently refused to work".
Less than a week ago an Indonesian maid died after falling… Read more
27th February 2010
The killing of Ali Tounsi, chief of the Algerian police, has been reported briefly in the international media. He is officially said to have been shot dead in his office by a colleague in a fit of madness.
His alleged assailant – named in the Algerian press as Choaïb Oultache – had worked with… Read more
27th February 2010
Stories are circulating on the internet that a young Egyptian named Ahmed Mustafa is about to be court-martialled for remarks he posted in a blog.
There are not many details but it seems that he complained about someone being removed from a military college so that a rich kid could take his place.… 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
