Blog archive all
When Jeremy Corbyn became leader of the opposition Labour party in Britain last month I wrote a blog post looking at his public statements on international affairs and trying to draw some conclusions about how British policy in the Middle East might change under a Corbyn-led government.
While… Read more
Sharia in Britain (2)
Government refuses to back gender-equality measure
Last Monday, amid much fanfare from the prime minister, the British government issued a 40-page document setting out what it likes to describe as its "counter-extremism" strategy. Among many other… Read more
Sharia in Britain
House of Lords debate scheduled for tomorrow
Earlier this week the British government issued a 40-page document setting out its "counter-extremism" strategy. One of the proposals is for an independent review "to understand the extent to which sharia is being… Read more
The Art of Living international ashram in Bangalore, India
GNRD and the Indian guru
Rights group's puzzling connection
With the sudden death of Anne-Marie Lizin, the Emirati-linked Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) has lost one of its key figures – its… Read more
Anne-Marie Lizin, the Belgian politician who later became a key figure in GNRD, the controversial human rights organisation, died suddenly on Saturday. Mrs Lizin, who was 66, had been taken ill in Paris on 7 October and briefly hospitalised, apparently with heart problems. She then… Read more
In its latest annual survey of religious freedom, the US State Department highlights the kidnapping and extortion of Christians in Egypt. Church leaders say this is on the increase and according Pope Tawadros, head of the Coptic church, it is among the most significant problems faced by… Read more
Husband-and-wife GNRD executives, Jehad Jaghoub and Evgenia Kondrakhina
Norwegian police carried out further raids yesterday in connection with their investigation into suspected money laundering by the Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD).
The first raids, last May, which… Read more
Today's explosion at the Qasr hotel in Aden
It's easy to forget that there's a full-scale war raging in Yemen. Events in Syria which have more obvious repercussions internationally – the refugee crisis and Russian intervention, for example – tend to push it off the news agenda. Besides that,… Read more
Loai Deeb, founder/president of the Global Network for Rights and Development
Warning to GNRD donors
UAE-linked rights group placed on fundraising watch list
An organisation which monitors charitable fundraising has issued a public warning about the Global Network for… Read more
Belgium's supreme court has rejected an appeal by veteran politician Anne-Marie Lizin against her conviction for electoral malpractice. This probably signals the end of her political career in Belgium, though she still has an active globe-trotting role as "High Commissioner" of GNRD, the … Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
