Surf Arab States

Arab States Weekly Review Jan 28th – Feb 3rd 2012

admin — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:17:04 +0000

74 people were killed in clashes between spectators from rival teams at a football match in the Egyptian city of Port Said. The police came under sharp criticism for failing to stop the trouble. The Egyptian cabinet called an emergency meeting.

The Arab League suspended an observer mission to Syria that was meant to aid a peaceful end to an increasingly-violent conflict between the government and protesters.

Iraq’s main Sunni party returned to parliament and will resume talks with Shia leaders, following a protest over an arrest warrant for the country’s Sunni vice-president.

Bedouin tribesmen in Egypt’s Sinai region released 25 Chinese workers they had kidnapped.

Arab States Weekly Review 21st – 27th January 2012

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:31:21 +0000

Yemen’s embattled president Ali Abdullah Saleh went into temporary exile under a deal with the opposition that will see power being transferred to a new government.

Egypt celebrated its first anniversary of the protests which led to Hosni Mubarak’s departure from power. In the country’s first free parliamentary elections, the Muslim Brotherhood and their hardline Salafi rivals won a joint 70% of the seats.

Arab States Weekly Review 7th – 13th January 2012

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:51:25 +0000

Syrian President Bashar Assad blamed the unrest in his country on foreign powers trying to destabilise the country and vowed to crush “terrorists”, whom he blamed for two recent suicide bombings in Damascus.

Over 100 people were killed in a series of bombings across Iraq. Many of the attacks were targeted towards Shia Muslisms. The violence raised the fears of new sectarian strife following the withdrawal of all American troops at the end of last year.

Arab States Weekly Review 31 Dec 2011 – 6 Jan 2012

admin — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:32:08 +0000

A team of observers of the Arab League visited Syria in an effort to persuade President Assad’s regime to withdraw its troops from towns, to free all political prisoners and talk to the opposition. The violence continued.

Egypt’s three-stage general election drew to a close with a final run-off to occur on January 11th. The relatively moderate Muslim Brotherhood is expected to gain most votes, though have indicated to prefer a coalition with secular parties rather than the extreme Salafists.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met in Jordan and had their first talks for more than a year.

Arab States Weekly Review 3rd – 9th December 2011

admin — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:28:55 +0000

The Muslim Brotherhood won a bigger proportion of the vote than expected in Egypt’s parliamentary elections, gaining 46% in a first round. The Salafists, a more extreme group of Islamists, won 21%. The voting is due to end in mid-January.

Kuwait’s emir dissolved parliament amid corruption allegations. Elections will be held within 60 days.

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

admin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:30:35 +0000

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.

Arab States Weekly Review 19th – 25th Nov 2011

admin — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:51:00 +0000

Protests erupted in Egypt calling for the Supreme Council of Armed Forces to step down and hand over rule to civilians. Around 40 people were killed in the protests by security forces. The military council said parliamentary elections would go ahead as planned on November 28th, and that presidential elections would be held by July.

A report by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry said the authorities had used ‘excessive force’ in a crackdown earlier this year against mostly Shia pro-democracy protesters.

Saif Al-Islam Qaddafi was caught in southern Libya, as was Muammar Qaddafi’s security chief Abdullah al-Senussi. Both are wanted by the International Criminal Court.

Yemen’s president Ali Abdullah Saleh signed an agreement brokered by the GCC, saying he would stand down and hand power to his vice-president.

Arab States Weekly Review 12th – 18th Nov 2011

admin — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 04:17:02 +0000

The Arab League voted to suspend Syria’s membership and apply sanctions, after Presidet Assad failed to implement a plan to end the violence. Turkey joined the call for action and King Abdullah of Jordan said Mr Assad should go.

An Egyptian court ruled that members of former President Mubarak’s National Democratic Party, which was dissolved after the was ousted in February, will be allowed to run in the forthcoming elections. A lower court had banned party members from standing.

Arab States Weekly Review 5th – 11th Nov 2011

admin — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 04:08:13 +0000

According to the UN, over 3,500 people have died since March in Syria’s uprising. Despite a proposed peace deal drafted by the Arab League, at least 60 people have been killed in the past week.

Arab States Weekly Review 29th Oct – 4th Nov 2011

admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 08:08:19 +0000

Syria’s foreign minister met with a delegation of the Arab League in Qatar to discuss an ending of the civil strife which has been ongoing for 8 months.

Palestine was admitted as a full member of UNESCO when the General Assembly voted by 107 votes to 14. The United States and Israel said they would stop their contributions.

Libya’s transitional council voted Abdurrahim al-Keib to be the country’s prime minister. He will head an interim government that is set to rule at least until elections to a constituent assembly next summer.