Middle East

Egypt’s military rulers make a(nother) mess

October 10, 2011 2:53 pm by Roula Khalaf

Egypt’s rulers are making a dangerous mess of the political transition. Long before the latest violence against Christian demonstrators – which left 24 people dead on Sunday night in Cairo – the military council which ousted Hosni Mubarak was losing the confidence of many of the activists who had seen it as their saviour.

On the surface, Monday’s violence was a reflection of the sectarian tensions that have flared up since the fall of the Mubarak regime, as attacks on churches by ultraconservative Muslims have escalated.

But they quickly turned into a condemnation of the military council ruling the country since the toppling of Mr Mubarak – and the Christian protesters were joined by Muslims.

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Tags: Egypt, Mubarak
Posted in Middle East | Permalink

‘The wrong Syrian died’

October 7, 2011 2:09 pm by FT

By Lina Saigol

Steve Jobs: Hero of the Arab spring. Or so say the tweeting foot soldiers of the unrest sweeping the region.

Their (somewhat tenuous) accolade is thanks to the biological father of the visionary co-founder and former chief executive of Apple who died on Wednesday, aged 56, being Syrian.

Abdel-Fattah Jandali, 81, was born in Homs, Syria’s third largest city and epicentre of the seven-month uprising against Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

A former professor of political science, Mr Jandali put Mr Jobs up for adoption because his girlfriend’s father was extremely conservative and would not let him marry her.

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Tags: Apple, arab spring, Steve Jobs, Syria
Posted in Middle East | Permalink

Saudi women’s rights – still a waiting game

September 27, 2011 2:49 pm by Roula Khalaf

It is a testament to the sorry condition of Saudi women that any step towards empowerment, however small or marginal, is greeted with joy. Women reacted warmly to King Abdallah’s pledge to include them on the advisory shoura council and allow them to vote and stand in municipal elections.

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Tags: arab spring, Saudi Arabia, women's rights
Posted in Middle East | Permalink

FT podcast: World Weekly

September 23, 2011 12:26 am by FT

Palestine, Turkey, Hong Kong

In this week’s podcast: As president Mahmoud Abbas presses his argument for Palestinian statehood at the UN – we ask former editor of the Jerusalem Post, David Horovitz and head of the Palestinian government media centre, Ghassan Khatib, what the people on the streets of Israel and Palestine really think about the prospect; then we talk about an activist Turkish foreign policy which sees Turkey facing confrontation on many borders; and finally, rising inflation and soaring property prices in Hong Kong open up the gap in living standards between the rich and poor.

Presented by Gideon Rachman with Dan Dombey in Istanbul and David Pilling in Hong Kong – interviewed by Serena Tarling. Produced by LJ Filotrani

Posted in Asia, Middle East, Turkey | Permalink

Erdogan lays claim to the Libyan revolution

September 17, 2011 9:20 pm by Gideon Rachman

Just a day after the visit to Tripoli by Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron, the Libyan National Transitional Council played host to another foreign leader – Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. The Brits and the French might have regarded it as a bit cheeky of Erdogan to roll up in Tripoli to try and bask in the success of the revolution, given that the Turkish prime minister had initially opposed Nato intervention. But the Turks saw it a bit differently. Some of the papers here in Istanbul reported that the British and the French leaders had rushed to Tripoli to upstage the Turkish prime minister. Erdogan himself seemed to see things this way, remarking sniffily – “We’ll see who gets the better reception.”

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Posted in Israel, Libya, Middle East, Turkey | Permalink

FT podcast: World Weekly

September 16, 2011 12:12 am by FT

Brics buying debt, Greece in trouble again, Palestine lobbies for statehood

In this week’s show: As Europe looks to China and other Bric nations to buy up its debt – we ask, is the global economy at a tipping point? Back in the Eurozone – rumours are flying again about the possibility of a Greek debt and Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel is under pressure; and, Palestinian leaders prepare to present their case to the UN for statehood.

Presented by Shawn Donnan with Joe Leahy in Sao Paulo, Jamil Anderlini in Beijing, Guy Dinmore in Rome, Gerrit Wiesmann in Berlin and Roula Khalaf and Ben Hall in the studio in London. Produced by LJ Filotrani and Serena Tarling

Posted in China, Europe, Germany, Greece, Middle East | Permalink

The Libya effect

September 13, 2011 5:22 pm by Roula Khalaf

Since the eruption of Syria’s uprising six months ago, one thing has been clear, for the protestors and the world alike: there would be no international military intervention to get rid of Bashar al-Assad.

Syrians are far too nationalistic to accept anything resembling outside military involvement, the argument went, and the Libya mission was too messy, too fraught with risk, to be attempted again.

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Tags: Libya, Syria
Posted in Middle East | Permalink

From FT.com August 22, 2011

Slideshow: Gaddafi endgame

Libya’s opposition move into Tripoli and say they will leave no stone unturned to find Muammer Gaddafi, arrest him and put him on trial. Look at our slideshow with some of the most striking images from Libya over the past 24 hours.

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Tags: Gaddafi, Libya
Posted in Foreign affairs, Middle East | Permalink

Page turns on Gaddafi

August 22, 2011 1:50 pm by Roula Khalaf

It was six months ago to this day that Muammer Gaddafi delivered his defiant rant against a popular rebellion, vowing to hunt down his opponents in every corner, inch by inch and, famously, “zenga (alleyway) by zenga.”

So hysterical was his outburst that it inspired a “zenga zenga” auto-tune that became all the rage in the liberated east of Libya, even though it was produced by an Israeli artist.

In the end, however, it was the fractious, rag-tag army of revolutionaries he had promised to pursue who swept, from zenga to zenga, into the leader’s stronghold of Tripoli, in a lightening journey that is drawing the curtain on his 42 year rule.

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Tags: Libya, Middle East protests
Posted in Libya, Middle East, World affairs | Permalink

Arab vs UK unrest: spot the difference

August 10, 2011 4:22 pm by Roula Khalaf

Middle Eastern autocrats are having a field day with the UK riots, taking pleasure at the mayhem in a western capital and interpreting it the way that suits their propaganda.

One hardline newspaper in Tehran blamed the violence on rising student tuition fees; another put the responsibility on the US and its economic policies. In Libya, the Gaddafi regime, once a friend of Britain but now a sworn enemy, also took aim at London. A presenter on state television on Wednesday hailed the rioting youth whom he said were demonstrating against a “fascist” government.

Continue reading: “Arab vs UK unrest: spot the difference”

Tags: Libya, Middle East protests, Syria, UK riots
Posted in Middle East | Permalink