For the second time in little more than four months the Saudi-led coalition has bombed a funeral gathering in Yemen.
An airstrike yesterday hit a house where women had assembled to mourn the death of another woman. At least five of them were killed in the attack and dozens wounded, ...
Blog archive: Saudi Arabia
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16th February 2017
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13th February 2017Amid escalating tensions within Yemen's "liberated" zone, two rival militias tussled for control of Aden airport at the weekend. Forces commanded by Saleh al-Amiri Abu Qahtan and reputedly paid by the Emiratis have been protecting Aden airport since 2015. On Friday they brought flights to a...
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3rd February 2017At a bizarre press conference yesterday, the Trump regime's chief spokesman falsely blamed Iran for an attack on an American warship – an attack that never happened. The story behind this fictitious incident provides an object lesson in how anonymous sources, a gullible reporter, a...
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2nd February 2017While the arrival of Donald Trump at the White House has been greeted with horror in many parts of the world, his fellow autocrats in the Arab Gulf states have been giving him a much friendlier reception. Trump spent an hour on the phone talking to the Saudi king last Sunday. The views of...
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31st January 2017When Donald Trump issued his now-notorious travel ban on Friday it was couched mainly in terms of protecting the US from terrorism. Framing it in this way gave its racist undertones an aura of respectability, though thankfully there were millions of people who refused to be fooled. Many opponents...
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30th January 2017Donald Trump, America's new ruler, had an hour-long phone conversation yesterday with his Saudi counterpart, King Salman, and allegedly they agreed on just about everything. The Saudi government news agency reported: "The views of the two leaders were identical on the files that were...
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27th December 2016Saudi police have detained six people for the "crime" of attending a mixed-sex party at an apartment in Jeddah, Okaz newspaper reports. The arrests – which were the result on some interesting detective work – reveal that the kingdom's police are in a high state of readiness "to deal...
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20th December 2016After a delay of more than six months Saudi Arabia finally admitted yesterday that its coalition forces have been using British-made cluster bombs in Yemen. A statement issued through the Saudi government news agency said the coalition had now "decided to cease usage" of those made in...
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14th December 2016Amid concern about civilian casualties in Yemen, the United States is cutting back on arms sales to Saudi Arabia – at a time when the Britain, the kingdom's other main supplier, is trying to increase them. The US has decided not to go ahead with a $350 million sale of 16,000 guidance systems...
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8th December 2016A British flag flying shamelessly alongside those of repressive Gulf regimes at the GCC summit in Bahrain yesterday signalled the opening of what prime minister Theresa May hails as "a new chapter" in foreign relations. Mrs May has decided that when Britain extricates itself from Europe the...
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6th December 2016Britain's prime minister, Theresa May, is in Bahrain today for the annual summit of the rich autocrats' club, the Gulf Cooperation Council. As the official announcement from Downing Street excitedly points out, she is the first British prime minister – and the first woman – ever to attend...
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30th October 2016Multiple airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen hit two prisons in a Houthi-run security complex yesterday, reportedly killing dozens of people, including prisoners. Other strikes which hit houses in Taiz province are reported to have wiped out two families, including women and...
