While we home in on Arab Spring strife, the Syria conflict and Gaza crisis, as well as Egypt's re-ignited revolution itch, it is tempting to forget that Iraq is still not out of the woods yet. Invasion, occupation, and full-blown civil war have taken their toll on a haguard community who are yet to mend the mess from sanction-drained Saddam Hussein times, let alone rebuild their reality following the terrible 2003 Iraq War, which drags on into a new decade. Iraq is a country today of war-scarred people who are ...

Like our favorite stars in the Middle East, the Muslim Brotherhood is no stranger to controversy. Although the Brotherhood might have made ground in the region when Morsi claimed victory in the Egyptian elections, the group's most formidable rival - the celebrity - has proved harder to overcome. Political debates might be known for getting nasty but no one fights dirtier than a famous diva with an axe to grind. With famous friends few and far between, the Brotherhood has been trying to get the most provocative stars and their ...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has just signed off on another loan for another poor country: this week it was Egypt’s turn. The fund, set up in 1948, has been the lender of last resort for decades now, but has gained a reputation as an enemy of democracy and the Arab Spring. Alongside the money comes a whole host of stipulations, usually involving cuts in government subsidies and the kind of neo-liberal economy that makes the rich richer and poor poorer. The Arab uprisings that started in Tunisia , have ...

As news of a ceasefire between the warring sides of Israel and Gaza breaks in this latest pillar of 'Defense', the Arab League is distinctly absent. The shuttle diplomacy that came about between Clinton and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was in the end brokered by Egypt's Morsi who guaranteed that Wednesday night's truce would hold. It was Egypt, acting independently of its Arab friends sat in the 'League', that rescued their Palestinian brothers in the eleventh hour- when it looked likely that Israel would go on a rampage in ...

Propoganda is part of the war machine and has been since time immemorial - Churchill engaged in it as much as Bibi Netanyahu and his nemesis Ismail Haniya of today. Public morale, as well as combatant spirit, has to be supported to avoid despair in the face of an impressive enemy. Yet in this latest Gaza war, hailed by the Jewish State as the Biblically derived, Operation Pillar of Cloud or Pillar of Defense, (for the more secular-minded) the propoganda has been more rampant than even the heavy-handed aerial assault ...

As we usher in the New 'Hijri'* Year, 1434, for Muslims, we cast our eyes back over the year gone by to glean an impression of how the religion fared in 1433. A review of Islam's highs and lows, gains and losses, inroads and setbacks in the course of a Hijri calendar year follows, looking mainly at the Middle East with its high penetration by the faith. From negative PR to failed delivery on expectations and promises to forge a better world for the people it purports to protect, Islam ...

While the Arab world is used to being rocked by car-bombs and mortar shells, it is less accustomed to rockers of the musical variety - punkers and metal-heads - who like to shake things up with their lefty lyrics and alternative attitudes. Sectarian clashes and rage against the regime might be par for the course, but rock bands with a cause to croon about present quite the challenge. Changing their tune From deeper underground, a new wave of bands with a battle to wage are breaking the surface and not ...

On a dreary winter day in a car showroom on the road to the airport, a side of the Arab world you rarely see was strutting its stuff. Hijabs and Lady Gaga shoes were all over the front row of the Amman Fashion Week, sponsored by Mercedes Benz, this weekend. In fact, it was all about the shoes for the fashionable set of the Jordanian capital. Not a flat sole in sight, the ladies of Amman wore a slick of red lipstick to compliment their skyscrapers. WoMan of the moment ...

In the first round of revolutions, the Arabian Gulf avoided, for the most part, a change in their regimes, placating opponents with money handouts and increasing welfare safety nets . The drama in Egypt or Tunisia was sidelined in this oil rich region and with good reason. In North Africa, the initial lot of Springs were started by economic hardship. Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest terrible financial conditions in Sidi Bouzid, while shocking unemployment in Cairo left young people the time and motivation to demonstrate against their ...

Now that the blind auditions and the battle rounds are out of the way, viewers of MBC's The Voice are looking forward to this weekend's first live show when the power will finally be put in their hands. But, although the vocal competition might be heating up, that's not the only reason viewers are tuning in. In the dramatic opening rounds pop politics - even regional affiliations- outrageous flirting, teary tantrums and spotlight grabbing antics stole the show from the competition itself. As the coaches' final teams of five get ...

In the final 48 hours before the presidential campaign transfers to the people-meter - or the vote - we ask the incumbent President Barack Obama to be held to account on behalf of the Middle East. Did he honor his promises and pledges to a region troubled and disappointed by his predecessor's work? What’s left on his Middle East tab worth of debt, should the man enter a second term, or else should he depart, owing? Did he keep the region secured from hostile threats - militant and nuclear? Did ...