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Middle East

By Al Jazeera Staff in Middle East on August 7th, 2011
BERJAYA
Yemeni anti-government protesters during a protest against the 33-year regime of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh

Al Jazeera staff and correspondents update you on important developments in the Yemen unrest.

Al Jazeera is not responsible for content derived from external sites.

Tags: Yemen
By Al Jazeera Staff in Middle East on August 7th, 2011
BERJAYA
Pictures on state media show destruction in Hama

Thousands continue to take to the streets across Syria, despite the bloody crackdown on protests. Activists say that thousands of civilians have been killed by security forces. We bring you the latest news from various sources.

Al Jazeera is not responsible for content derived from external sites.

By Teymoor Nabili in Middle East on August 4th, 2011
BERJAYA
EPA photo

The deputy speaker of Israel's parliament, Danny Danon, appeared on my radar only recently, after he co-sponsored the country's recent "Boycott Bill", a piece of legislation that was widely attacked as anti-democratic both at home and by Israel's traditional supporters in the US.

Danon was, and is, unapologetic about his action, calling critics "hypocrites" and seeing no problem in a law that rides roughshod over one of the bedrock principles of justice - the presumption of innocence.

Since Danon is supported by some as a possible future prime minister of Israel

By Al Jazeera Staff in Middle East on August 4th, 2011
BERJAYA
A supporter of former President Hosni Mubarak kisses a poster [Reuters]

Al Jazeera staff and correspondents update you on important developments in Cairo, as protesters take to the streets in the Egyptian capital to voice their dissatisfaction with the pace of reform following an uprising several months ago.

Al Jazeera is not responsible for content derived from external sites.

Tags: Cairo
By Teymoor Nabili in Middle East on August 4th, 2011
BERJAYA
Fayyad speaks during issuance of the first corporate Palestinian bonds [Reuters]

Two years ago, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority set himself a deadline. Salam Fayyad said that by August 2011 he would have in place the institutions and offices that would support an independent state of Palestine. Even if the practical operation of such a state continued to be made impossible by Israel, he felt, establishing his own "facts on the ground" would be a major step towards concluding the conflict in former mandate Palestine.

Well those two years are now up, so I travelled to Ramallah last week to ask the PM what progress he had made towards his aim. Surprisingly he told me, “job done”.

In Brussels recently, he said, the World Bank and the IMF both gave their blessings to his work, issuing what he called a "birth certificate" to the new state.

By Al Jazeera Staff in Middle East on August 3rd, 2011
BERJAYA
Mubarak, a former Air Force officer and only the fourth president in Egyptian history, served for 30 years. [GETTY/GALLO]

Six months after stepping down in the face of a massive uprising against his rule, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is set to become one of the few Arab leaders in recent history to be put on trial by his own people.

Read the charges against Mubarak and others.

Read a partial list of high-profile witnesses whom lawyers want to call.

Analysis: "Mubarak trial seen as symbolic test"

By Elizabeth Dunningham in Middle East on July 24th, 2011

When I arrived in Tunis last Saturday, I remembered how differently I'd felt when I arrived in the country six months ago.

We landed late on January 15, the night after President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali had fled the country.

Al Jazeera had been banned under his rule so we didn't know whether we would be allowed in. My heart was beating hard as I went through passport control, not knowing if they would still be following the old rules.

By Mike Hanna in Middle East on July 23rd, 2011
BERJAYA
Demonstrators chant slogans during a protest in Tunis July 7 [Reuters]

There’s been much reporting in the past week about a faltering revolution in Tunisia - about looming sectarian battles, confrontation with police, impatience at the speed of change, and derision at what are regarded as show trials of a president in exile.

Its accurate to say Tunisia has not had the best of times recently. The forcible end to demonstrations last Friday worried many, the shooting of a young boy in the central Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid brought back memories of the violence that accompanied the revolution that began there, and the curfew that is in force in many parts is an all too uncomfortable reminder that things are far from normal.

Tags: Tunisia
By Nisreen El-Shamayleh in Middle East on July 21st, 2011
BERJAYA
Several activists and journalists were injured in clashes with the police during last Friday's protests in Amman [Reuters]

In a rare outbreak of violence, a protest in Amman last Friday demanding political reforms ended in broken bones and cameras.

Several pro-reform protesters and journalists were injured in clashes with the police, leaving the media and officials wondering what exactly went wrong.

The Public Security Department said it is fully responsible for what happened but accused the pro-reform protesters and the Muslim Brotherhood of provoking the police and instigating the violence.

Journalists were promised compensation and four policemen were arrested for suspicion of being involved in the July 15 attacks.

Two pro-reform protests - on Saturday and Wednesday - took place after this incident and ended peacefully, in a clear attempt by the authorities to placate the people and improve the tarnished image of Jordan's security authorities.

Observers say they have reason to believe the protests planned for this Friday will not fall into chaos.

But al

Tags: Jordan
By Imran Khan in Middle East on July 18th, 2011
BERJAYA
Photo by Reuters

The last time I wrote about this city was in 2004.

The opening line was: "Behind the new and grand facades lay the hints of a bloody and violent past".

I was in town interviewing Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal. Things were tense, from landing at the airport to the interview. 

But landing in the city now as a tourist, not as a journalist, I can't see those hints of its past or feel that tension.

You can still see them of course. Shell marks, bullet holes, memories of the dead, the posters on the walls. 

But today I have different eyes.

Eyes that are looking for something different, beyond politics, beyond the nervousness these streets have felt over recent years.

It's like being blind and suddenly getting the gift of sight.

The light is so bright, it almost hurts your eyes.

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