A R A B I C A ارابيكا
ACROSS THE BORDER
Muammar Gaddafi’s wife, daughter Aisha and sons Mohammed and Hannibal have fled to Algeria. The Foreign Ministry of Algeria officially confirmed the Gaddafi family members are on Algerian soil following reports over the weekend that a convoy of six armored vehicles crossed the Libyan desert into Algeria, possibly transporting Gaddafi and/or his family members.
END OF MONTH
As the end of Ramadan approaches, the Syrian Revolution Facebook group (with a membership of 270,000 people) is calling for Eid al-Fitr demonstrations after the Eid (holiday) prayers. The group is urging a push of protests “until the tyrant falls.”
PURSUIT OF FORTUNE
Egypt is intensifying efforts to recover funds stashed abroad by senior officials from the former regime of Hosni Mubarak. The Judiciary Committee to Recover Diverted Funds is set to open negotiations with Swiss officials to recover funds frozen in the aftermath of the January 25th revolution. The chairman of the committee, Assem al-Gohary, praised Switzerland for standing by the Egyptian people and freezing the assets of Mubarak-era officials. The committee is working to recover assets frozen by several countries, including Britain and Spain, Elaph.com reports.
ACT OF GRACE
To mark the end of Ramadan, Egyptian interim leader Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi commuted the death sentences of 230 protesters arrested during the January 25th revolution. Tantawi and the ruling military leadership have come under heavy criticism from the political opposition and youth groups for using closed military courts to prosecute civilians arrested during the 18-day revolution.
FASHION POLICE
Saudi’s highest religious authority, Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh is calling on the authorities to implement measures curbing the spread of “indecent” clothing for women. “Decent women now find it difficult to get decent clothes,” al-Sheikh said. The ministry responded by immediately sending a letter to regional chambers of commerce ordering them to ban the importation of “indecent dresses.”
Dresses “must not be open at the chest or abdomen” and “women’s pants must not be tight or low at the waist,” said Mohammed al-Shahri, head of the Clothing Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce. The Saudi daily Al-Watn reports that the sheikh took notice of the issue following complaints from women in Jeddah.
August 29, 2011
photo credit: illustir