Arab World

TeleSur | – – A United Nations top official said warring sides in Yemen, especially the Saudi-led coalition, have no regard for human life. The top U.N. official in Yemen said Thursday that Saudi-led airstrikes have killed scores of civilians in the past 10 days, including 68 in just one day, in what he called […]

Bashar al-Assad

Russia: Permanent Bases planned in Syria to fight Terrorism

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (informed Comment) | – – The US military says that the number of ISIL fighters in eastern Syria has fallen from 3000 a month ago to only 1000 today. Moreover a lot of the latter are fleeing into al-Assad-controlled territory, a severe security concern for the Syrian state. The US is […]

Displaced and Refugees

Egyptian parliament moves to make atheism a crime

contributors

Brian Whitaker | ( al-Bab.com The Egyptian parliament’s committee on religion has announced plans to make disbelief in God a crime. Under the current law against “contempt of religions” atheists can be prosecuted for expressing their disbelief in public but the committee’s proposal would go further and criminalise disbelief itself. In 2014, little more than a […]

Featured

Chess is Universal; Saudi Arabia isn’t: Women’s Boycott, Israeli Lawsuit

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Saudi Arabia under the hyper-active crown prince Muhammad Bin Salman is undertaking rapid changes in society and international diplomacy. But the kingdom’s conviction that it is ready to host international events has been demonstrated to be premature by a debacle over a chess tournament. A chess […]

Authoritarianism

Riyadh releases more royals in corruption probe, Demands $6 bn from Alwaleed

Juan Cole

Middle East Monitor | – – Saudi Arabia’s authorities have released a number of detained royals allegedly involved in corruption in public office. The move came after a settlement was agreed with the suspects, the daily Okaz reported yesterday. The pro-government newspaper added that the detainees, who had been held in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in […]

al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula

Trump’s Pentagon Admits to ‘Multiple Ground Missions’ in Yemen

Juan Cole

TeleSur | – – The U.S. Defense Department claimed the ISIS presence has doubled in Yemen. For the first time, U.S. Pentagon has admitted to carrying out “multiple ground missions” in Yemen. “U.S. forces have conducted multiple ground operations and more than 120 strikes in 2017,” U.S. Central Command, Centcom, in Tampa, Florida, said in […]

Displaced and Refugees

1,000 Days of War Bringing ‘Apocalypse’ on Yemen: Oxfam

contributors

TeleSur | – – The U.K.-based group said more than 5,000 people have died since the beginning of the war in March 2015. Yemen is on the brink of total collapse and an “apocalypse,” aid agency Oxfam said in a report Wednesday marking 1,000 days since Saudi Arabia and its regional allies began a military […]

Houthi

Saudi strikes have killed 136 civilians in Yemen, as Huthis Rocket Riyadh

contributors

Middle East Monitor | – – Air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen have killed at least 136 civilians since 6 December, Reuters reported. The UN verified that 87 civilians across the capital Sana’a, Saada and Hudaydah were injured. “We are deeply concerned at the recent surge in civilian casualties in Yemen as a […]

Saleh

Yemen: Will Saudis try to Impose Ahmed Ali Saleh, son of Dictator?

contributors

Brian Whitaker | ( al-Bab.com) | – – When Yemen held parliamentary elections in 1997 Ahmed Ali Saleh, then aged 24, was a first-time candidate. Though new to politics, he won by a handsome margin – a victory that was no doubt helped by having his father, President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and many of the […]