Word on the Arab street, when not debating the latest on the Arab revolutions, and the state of catastrophe in Yemen or Libya or Syria, has turned to the new bid to expand the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Scrutiny lies with the two potential new candidates for entry into this Gulf state league, namely Jordan and Morocco. The twitter-sphere is buzzing (or tweeting) with humorous remarks, as well as more grave concerns around the implications of such a shift, for both sides of the equation: the new members and the ...

Surrounded by Six Sides: From North, South, East and West, Israel is being assaulted by peaceful Palestinian-supporting protestors who believe their time for triumph may have arrived earlier than expected on the occasion of the 63rd anniversary of the 1948 creation of Israel, known to Palestinians as the "Nakba" that marks the forced fleeing of Palestinians from their homeland. An attempted rescue operation May 15, 2011 saw Palestinians from all neighbouring borders attempting to 'liberate Palestine' through the weapon of peaceful protest. The Nakba day incidents on Israel's borders showed ...

Derrivative TV : It seems that the Middle East is a bit low on ideas when it comes to TV shows. An otherwise bubbling hot-tub abuzz with innovation, (take Dubai) that is the rapidly developing Arab World, seems to rely on borrowing TV from all over the globe. If it’s not soap operas from Turkey, it’s talent shows, reality TV shows, and game shows- from Europe and the West. From The Apprentice Dubai (el Idara Jadara) or El-Wadi- the Arabic version of The Farm - another Swedish creation that has ...

Self-defeating strategies and stunts by Arab nations that cost the Arab world more in damages not to mention negative PR than the so-called causes undertaken, that in themselves probably do not serve the interests of the people. Nor do these side-causes for that matter promote any arguably wider Arab Cause, such as Palestine. The following Arab countries share a habit of getting embroiled in either domestic or satellite external conflicts that do not necessarily succeed nor advance the cause intended, much less the country's own pressing issues. Yet it's not ...

With al-Qaeda's loss of its key asset OBL, a gaping (arguably prominent beard-shaped hole) is left for the filling. The position of Chief and head of the famous global terror outfit, will make for tough boots to fill given OBL's track record and noteriety. Under OBL's watch, this organisation has pulled off sensational terror operations and campaigns with world-resonating 'success' . The man for the job has to re-invigorate an organisation that was flagging with the debilitation of the core elite group in Pakistan, as well as maintain, if not ...

World's most dysfunctional family Even before OBL's much hyped capture, the bin-Laden family, as with many modern families, has somewhat dispersed, more so given the circumstances involved in being a fugitive family. Any large family comes with variety. And this is a large clan of a family. Even the core family unit- that is all four or five wives and between 12 and 26 children- travelled widely due to husband/ father’s career that took them from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan, Sudan and Afghanistan. The bin Laden family is one of ...

The man responsible for a trail of destruction amounting to the tune of 4570 dead and thousands more killed through his meddling in Iraq is dead and presumably in the sea. Will his reign of terror drown with him? So Obama finished him off - the world's most wanted man Osama bin-Laden. But Bush Junior certainly loosened the proverbial lid of the jar for him by kick-starting the wide-scale man-hunt with gusto, and officially declaring the search party to begin in 2001 when he demanded his nemesis Dead or Alive ...

April 29, 2011 and The Royal Wedding of the Century as it's being touted, went off even better than could have been dreamt by fairytale fantasists. General word on the street and vibe post-wedding, produced a sense of hope and optimisim for the newly wed, newly titled royal couple, for the institution of marriage and for the country, say historians. It was also an occasion where the people felt at one with their Royal Family as they welcomed in a 'commoner' in a tradition of non-aristorcratic ladies in line to ...

While protests officially first erupted in Darra- the town that’s spawned the Syrian Revolution, trouble actually first started 26 th January 2011 in Al-Raqqah, home to many Kurds in Syria. In Al-Hasakah, a predominantly Kurdish village, a man set himself a-light and died. The frustration started here , in a community of citizens upward of 150,000, who serve in the army but have til now been denied Syrian nationality. The Syrian revolution has been a slow starter , working its way in fits and starts. This Kurdish spark was a ...

In the Arab World, the most solemn week in the Christian calendar was matched by the sobriety of celebrations snatched during political upheaval and bloodshed. With revolutions getting bloodier, religion has taken a backseat, somewhat sidelined, for Arabs during this political turmoil, only remembered as a battle cry or appeal for preservation of life. Nevertheless, Easter time for the Christian Arab communities, who are often minorities at home, has been a reprieve from the suffering in the region this year: taking time out to recall the suffering of Christ, amidst ...

Here are the funniest moments that have come out of these Arab revolutions and upheavals: Apart from all the deaths and mass destruction above are some of the lighter things we can take from the revolutions because it turns out that dare we say it, revolutions make for good entertainment. Thank you Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Husni Mubarak, Bashar al-Assad, Ali Abdullah-Saleh, and of course last but not least, Muammar Gaddafi, the main actors in this terrible drama.