Wed, 13 Jun 2012 14:00 GMT By Andrew Hammond DUBAI, June 13 (Reuters) – Bahrain’s economic reforms – once hailed as the most ambitious in the Gulf – seems to have stalled as hardliners in the Sunni ruling family who see Shi’ite […]
DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahrain’s King Hamad said on Wednesday he would not allow any more “insults” of the armed forces in the Gulf state in an apparent warning to leading Shi’ite opposition party Wefaq after criticisms it levelled earlier this week. Tweet
The street is mobilising again in Egypt after the Mubarak trial. The reasons appear entirely reasonable. Judge Ahmed Rifaat was clear that the evidence he was presented was shoddy. It was not enough to convict the six interior ministry security chiefs and […]
By Andrew Hammond DUBAI | Mon Jun 4, 2012 1:00pm EDT (Reuters) – Bahrain justified moves to ban a small Islamist group on Monday by saying a radical Shi’ite cleric based abroad was its spiritual leader, while the move was seen by […]
It’s easy to say in hindsight but there should not be any surprise that Mohammed Mursi and Ahmed Shafiq have come on top – by fair means or foul – in the first round of voting in Egypt’s presidential elections. The reason […]
Since this election has been one of the great guessing games of the age, I only spent the first of the two days of voting plodding the streets and stalking voters as they came in and out of schools. For what it’s […]
Walking around Cairo on the eve of the presidential election – the first free one, as media are calling it – and the sense of hope, anxiety and waiting is palpable. The city is of course crammed full of election posters, as […]
Fri, 18 May 2012 19:12 GMT By Andrew Hammond DUBAI, May 18 (Reuters) – Bahrain rejected on Friday an independent medical report that says a Shi’ite man found dead this year was tortured by electric shock, a finding that counters the Gulf […]
By Andrew Hammond DUBAI | Thu May 17, 2012 11:46am EDT (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s thrust for a Gulf Union, driven by fear of Arab Spring contagion and spreading Iranian influence, has stumbled on misgivings among smaller neighbors about a loss of […]
A few days after the great event, I finally watched the first debate between Amr Moussa and Abd al-Moneim Abu al-Futuh. Here are my thoughts on it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4r-x92f8D8&feature=g-u-u Tweet