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The Arab Spring, the Syrian civil war what they mean for the conflict in Gaza
A lot has happened since the 2008/09 Gaza conflict. While the rebellion in Syria means the Jewish state can expect little substantial interference from one of its long-time adversaries, the Mavi Marmara incident in 2010 means Israel can also expect little public support from Turkey. Here’s a look at the geopolitical situation in the region today.
Lingerie market in Muslim countries booming
Behind their more modest street clothes, many women in Arab countries apparently are wearing North American lingerie as western companies expand into these markets.
With slightly lower hems and largely altered advertisements, Canadian lingerie retailer La Vie en Rose has made a splash in Arab countries.
About 10% of the Montreal-based company’s annual revenue comes from its stores in Arab countries, and the company plans to expand to meet growing demands there, said Luc Poirier, the CFO and vice-president of international business.
“It was a bit surprising to see the growth compared to the Canadian market,” Poirier said. “Still, we feel that women, whether Muslim or whatever the religion, like to be fashionable. So if there’s a demand there, we thought we should try to serve it as well as we do here in Canada.” (Photo: Patrick Smith for National Post)
Middle East on the brink of war: analysis
As Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad clings to power with the quiet backing of regional powers Iran and Russia, the Middle East may be sliding slowly into war.
Squeezed between the rebellions of a bloody Arab Spring and growing fears of a possible military response to Iran’s growing nuclear threat, the region is becoming increasingly unstable.
“I would be very surprised if it turned into a Russian-American war, but this could be a Mid-East war: Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran, Syria, Israel all having at each other,” said Jack Granatstein, military historian and senior research fellow at the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute.
Graphic: Who might revolt? Who might fall?
Which domino will fall next? With uprisings sweeping the Middle East, no country in the region can feel safe from the threat of revolution. The Post looks at some of the forces driving the protests — the economy, lifestyle, education, the military, corruption and good governance. And Chip Pitts, a lecturer in human rights law at Stanford Law School, tells the National Post’s Aileen Donnelly about the chances of revolt — and their success — in other countries in the region. (Graphic by Richard Johnson)
(Text too small? The graphic as a PDF here)
Which domino will fall next? With uprisings sweeping the Middle East, no country in the region can feel safe from the threat of revolution. The Post looks at some of the forces driving the protests — the economy, lifestyle, education, the military, corruption and good governance. And Chip Pitts, a lecturer in human rights law at Stanford Law School, tells the National Post’s Aileen Donnelly about the chances of revolt — and their success — in other countries in the region.
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Anger rages through the Middle East and North Africa
From Benghazi to Bahrain, a new generation clashed with government forces, demanding more freedom and an end to autocratic control.
Bahrain police break up protest camp, three killed
Bahraini police stormed a protest camp in central Manama on Thursday, killing three people in a swift move to prevent protesters from emulating Egyptians whose Tahrir Square protests helped topple Hosni Mubarak.
Goodspeed Analysis: Is Libya ripe for revolution? Probably not
“Libya’s political order is beginning to fray, but as long as the state continues to provide jobs and services, demands for additional civil and political rights will remain muted,” predicts a recent report by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Jonathan Kay: Democracy will prevail in Egypt and across the Middle East
When the history of the Arab democratic revolution is written — whether in a month, a year or a decade — a sacrosanct place will be reserved for Mohammed Bouazizi, the 26-year-old man Tunisian street peddler who immolated himself last month after enduring a litany of abuses from the country’s unaccountable bureaucrats and police.
His plight symbolized the quiet, simmering sense of imprisonment felt by millions of his countrymen — and his name was on the lips of the protestors who brought down the nation’s government. The fuse that he lit has made its way to powder kegs in Algeria, Yemen, Jordan and — most significantly — Egypt, by far the most populous state in the Arab world.
(Photo: Egyptian demonstrators gather for prayers close to a destroyed vehicle filled with garbage in Tahrir Square in Cairo, on January 31, 2011, on the seventh day of mass protests calling for the removal of President Hosni Mubarak. Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images)
Taking to the streets: Unrest swept across the Arab world in the past week. A look at what’s happening.
Check out our full visual archive.
