Surf Arab States

Arab States Weekly Review 26th Nov – 2nd Dec 2011

Parliamentary elections started in Egypt, the first fully free elections in six decades. Early results indicate that the Muslim Brotherhood and the more extreme Salafists had done well.

Bombings in Baghdad and Basra killed at least 45 people. As the last Americans troops prepare to leave Iraq, such attacks may cast doubt on the Iraqi forces’ ability to maintain security.

Kuwait’s prime minister and his cabinet resigned in Kuwait over allegations of corruption.

Five bloggers in Abu Dhabi received prison sentences of between two and three years for insulting the country’s rulers and sowing dissent, but were promptly granted a presidential pardon.