While we all know full well that a mother remains a mother through thick and thin and would be hard-pressed to abandon her son or daughter even in the most testing or ‘shameful’, even criminal, of circumstances... well we at Al Bawaba think that some of these mamas should be disappointed, if not positively ashamed, of their spawn. For the 'naughty' offspring on our short-list of shame, apparently it’s a bit much to ask that they turn out every mom’s dream of being decent upstanding citizens and as a bonus ...

We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate Mother’s Day than with a list of Arabized “yo mama” jokes! In Arabic the "your mum", maybe better known as the infamous “yo mama” franchise, carries a literal equivalent in Ummak … which gets used as a stand alone byword for a whole cascade of cultural insults, or borrowed with a qualifier for bad jokes. Except, we wouldn’t dream of being mean about our moms (or mums if you will!) - unless we're asking to have a frisbeed slipper land on ...

Netanyahu is facing a backlash against the Gaza conflict as Isaac Herzog’s Zionist Union government gains ground . For Arabs in the country , much is at stake in Israeli elections every four years. How do Israeli elections work? Candidate parties receive parliament seats proportionate to the number of citizens who voted for them. There are 120 seats total. Seats are counted. Unless a party wins the majority of seats, the next move is to negotiate among the candidates. (In recent polls Herzog stands at 24-26 seats, not even a ...

On March 15, 2011, exactly four years ago today, activists called on fellow Syrians to carry out a country-wide “day of rage,” against the leadership of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. By now, international attention to the conflict has turned almost entirely to tracking the gains and reprehensible antics carried out by Daesh in northern and eastern Syria. But there’s a lot more going on. T he Syrian government still carries out near-daily bombings on rebel-held areas across the country. Meanwhile, a mixed-bag of anti-government fighters are combating one another as ...

How are you doing on those New Year’s resolutions? Have you bailed on healthy eating? Lose that new gym membership card yet? Decided that love handles are in fact, lovable? Rise up, Lazarus! We have a few events that could lure you off the couch. The Middle East is increasingly becoming a travel destination for tourists looking to test their endurance (for serious athletic prowess or plain silly play) by participating in an increasing number of racing events that cover a range of sports beyond footraces. Last year, Al Bawaba ...