Creator
Brian Whitaker
The trouble with Yemen
The US risks becoming embroiled in yet another foreign war that it cannot win if it intervenes in the politically fragile Gulf state.
The T-shirt seller of Beirut
The Phoenicians were the greatest traders of the ancient world and the Lebanese are their descendants. In Lebanon, every situation — no matter how dire — is an opportunity for…
al-Jazeera: Can it work?
Brian Whitaker wonders whether media stars such as David Frost and Rageh Omaar will give the world the truth it seeks.
Bart of Arabia
The Simpsons are a famously dysfunctional family from small-town America, but suddenly they have all learned Arabic and started talking like Egyptians, reports Brian Whitaker.
Unspeakable love
The threats directed against gay Arabs for besmirching the family’s name reflect an old-fashioned concept of ”honour” found in the more traditionalist parts of the Middle East.…
Behind the veil
”A heavy metal door guards the entrance to the women’s section of the Nardeen lighting company in Riyadh. To gain admittance, you press the bell and wait. In my case it is a long…
Huge shadow cast over Israel
Just a few weeks ago there was a feeling that Ariel Sharon, the master tactician, had finally broken the mould of Israeli politics. With his plans held hostage by the right wing…
Out in force
Hosni Mubarak’s party machine put on an overwhelming display of organisational strength recently as Egyptians voted in the country’s first contested presidential election. The…
Presidential candidate accused of forgery
Amid chaotic scenes in a Cairo court, the main opposition candidate in Egypt’s forthcoming presi-dential election went on trial on Tuesday accused of forgery. Ayman Nour, leader…
Syria starts packing
The once-feared Syrian intelligence agents vanished from Beirut and large parts of Lebanon on Wednesday, but not before repainting the jail in the basement of their headquarters.…
Pro-Syria supporters show might
Syria’s supporters in Lebanon struck back against the ”cedar revolution” this week with a show of strength that easily dwarfed anything their opponents have been able to muster.…
Little hope for Saudi’s all-male poll
Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s most traditional absolute monarchies, took a tentative step towards democracy on Thursday when male citizens went to the polls in the first…
Free poll not on agenda
Egypt is pressing ahead with ”very progressive” ideas for reform, but changing the way the president is elected is not one of them, at least for the time being, a spokesperson…
Saudi crisis aids militants
The weekend carnage in Khobar came less than a month after Saudi Arabia vowed to ”strike with an iron fist” against militants who carried out attacks and said it was making every…
‘Its best use is as a doorstop’
”Why are most Africans, unless forced by dire necessity to earn their livelihood with ‘the sweat of their brow’, so loath to undertake any work that dirties the hands?” ”The…