Blog archive all
25th March 2015
Almost constantly since its foundation in 1932, Saudi Arabia has been involved in Yemen politically and sometimes militarily – often with negative consequences for Yemen. The article below looks at the history of this relationship. Click on the links to jump to different sections of the… Read more
20th March 2015
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Sweden's cancellation of its military cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia on human rights grounds has triggered a Saudi propaganda… Read more
19th March 2015
Saudi Arabia has been having a difficult time on the PR front lately – and deservedly so. The harsh sentence imposed on Raid Badawi for mocking the kingdom’s infinitely mockable religious establishment has attracted an unusual amount of international attention. Then this month, and partly as a… Read more
18th March 2015
While developing a relationship with the Church of Scientology in London, the controversial Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) has also been active up in the Arctic Circle. It has signed an internship agreement with the world's northernmost university, in Tromsø, Norway.
An… Read more
13th March 2015
My continuing investigation into the UAE-linked Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) has prompted a renewed smear campaign directed against me by the organisation's supporters.
At first sight, GNRD appears to be a normal human rights and development organisation. It has consultative… Read more
11th March 2015
International Women's Day gathering at the Scientologists' Fitzroy House in London.
The Church of Scientology continues to develop its secretive relationship with the Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD).
In a blog post on Monday, I noted that GNRD had attended "human rights… Read more
9th March 2015
Scientologist Lord McNair, assisted by Mahmoud Heidari, talks to Iranians about human rights, 11 February 2015.
I have been writing rather a lot about the Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) lately. It's a story with some strange twists and turns, from the discovery that its founder/… Read more
8th March 2015
A European politician who has been banned from public office because of electoral malpractice was involved in monitoring the 2014 presidential election in Egypt.
Last Thursday, an appeals court in Belgium confirmed a suspended prison sentence and a five-year ban from holding public office imposed… Read more
8th March 2015
Last week brought more embarrassment for the UAE-linked Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) following the revelation a few months ago that its founder/president had previously run a fake university in Norway. On Thursday, a court in Belgium gave GNRD's extravagantly-titled "High… Read more
5th March 2015
Martin Indyk: "back to the future" with traditional allies
America's unreliable allies in the Middle East
"There is no place in the world today where chaos is more prevalent and the reestablishment of order more critical than the Middle East." This is the troubling first sentence… 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
