The United States (US) has secretly had at least a dozen Green Beret troops on the ground in Saudi Arabia, near the border with Yemen, since the end of 2017. This comes as something of a surprise given the Pentagon’s repeated statements stressing that American military involvement in the conflict in Yemen was solely limited[…]
07
May
May
On 2 April 2018, the Appeals Court in Muscat, Oman upheld the three-year sentence of writer and online activist, Abdullah Habib on charges concerning “state public order”. While the Court suspended two-and-a-half years of his sentence, he has been sent to Samail Central Prison to serve the remaining six months of his term. This recent[…]
04
May
May
After a longtime ban – spanning over three-decades – Saudi Arabia has re-introduce cinema into society. The decision is part of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s series of social reforms, as he brands himself a ‘modern’ and a ‘reformer’ in the international community. In reality, this is far from the case. The small steps he[…]
30
Apr
Apr
On 17 April 2018, Martin Griffiths, the new United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for Yemen, gave his first briefing to the UN Security Council. In his remarks, he told the Council that he will give them a framework for negotiations within the next two months and that a political solution to end the devastating fighting[…]
30
Apr
Apr
The United Kingdom recently opened a military base in Bahrain in an effort to bolster its role as a “major player” in the Middle East. Presiding over the formal ceremony last Thursday, Prince Andrew officially opened the base in front of a crowd including Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa. The base is the[…]
