Saudi Arabia

By Mahad Darar, Colorado State University | – After nearly a decade of grinding conflict, Yemen looks to be inching toward a peace deal. Talks between the Houthi movement controlling much of the country’s north and Saudi Arabia, the regional power backing an anti-Houthi coalition in the war, are ongoing and being encouraged by international […]

Government surveillance

Former US Nat’l Security Agency Chief took $700K Contract from Saudi Arabia, After Khashoggi Assassination

Middle East Monitor

The former head of the United States’ National Security Agency (SNA) is revealed to have received at least $700,000 from consultancy contracts with Saudi Arabia, taking place even after the killing of journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. According to the Washington Post, which cited newly-released documents that it obtained as part of a Freedom of Information Act […]

China

Peace may finally be returning to Yemen, but can a fractured Nation be put back Together?

The Conversation

By Leena Adel, Curtin University and Ben Rich, Curtin University | – Last month, China brokered a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, a landmark deal that restored full diplomatic ties between the two bitter rivals. There was hope the detente could also bring an end to one of the world’s longest-running – and virtually […]

Houthi

Any New Yemen Truce must allow Participation of Citizens and Civil Society

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – Negotiations for a new truce in Yemen by Saudi and Houthi authorities present an opportunity to incorporate accountability and monitoring mechanisms that are essential for protecting Yemenis’ fundamental rights, Human Rights watch said today. Based on news reports, negotiations are apparently making progress. To effectively address Yeminis’ human rights, […]

China

Why the world should take Notice as Saudi Arabia joins Chinese Alliance – and how this relates to Taiwan

The Conversation

By Andrew MacLeod, King’s College London | – (The Conversation) – Saudi Arabia’s cabinet recently approved the decision to join the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). This could be a signal that Riyadh, with all its energy reserves, is choosing sides in the Ukraine war. Saudi Arabia, in part stung by US president Joe Biden’s […]

Iran

A Renewed Yemen Truce Is No Substitute for Justice

Peter Certo

By Peter Certo | – ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – The news that Saudi officials, who have been leading a bombing campaign in Yemen for eight years, met with the Houthi officials who control much of the country on April 9 to possibly renew a truce that ended in October is positive. But […]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia invests almost $40bn to become Video Gaming Hub

Middle East Monitor

( Middle East Monitor ) – In line with its ambitions to diversify its economy away from oil and to become a video gaming powerhouse, Saudi Arabia will be investing $38 billion in the local online gaming industry in Riyadh. According to a report by Bloomberg on Monday, Savvy Gaming Group, a subsidiary of the […]

China

As Longterm Partnership with US Fades, Saudi Arabia deals with China, Iran and Russia, too

The Conversation

By Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice University | – (The Conversation) – The fact that Saudi Arabia entered a rapprochement deal with Iran and chose China to broker it came as a surprise to many international observers. The agreement, officially called the Joint Trilateral Statement, was signed in Beijing on March 11 and begins the process […]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia: Law Enshrines Male Guardianship (HRW)

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch ) – (Beirut) – Saudi Arabia’s first codified law on personal status, issued on International Women’s Day in 2022, formally enshrines male guardianship over women, Human Rights Watch said today. The law contains discriminatory provisions against women concerning marriage, divorce, and decisions about their children. The Personal Status Law, issued on March […]