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In a move that appears to license war crimes, the Saudi king has issued a pardon for "all military men" involved in the Yemen conflict.
An announcement by the government news agency on Tuesday said the pardon would apply to "military and disciplinary penalties, in regard of some rules… Read more
Last Friday the OPCW published the results of laboratory tests on samples from a suspected chemical attack in Syria – thus prompting a wave of misreporting not only by the usual activists on social media but by others who ought to be setting a better example.
A few hours after the findings… Read more
The OPCW has now issued an interim report on the alleged chemical attack in Douma, Syria, last April. Although the investigation is not yet complete, laboratory tests so far have found possible evidence of chlorine use but no evidence of sarin or a similar nerve agent. The OPCW also visited… Read more
Following a vote earlier today the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is now authorised not only to investigate chemical attacks but also -- crucially -- to identify whoever was responsible.
The decision came from a special session of states parties to the Chemical Weapons… Read more
American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh claimed yesterday there is no evidence that the Assad regime has been using chlorine as a chemical weapon.
Numerous chlorine attacks have been documented in Syria and according to OPCW investigators the chemical has been used "systematically and… Read more
A three-day conference on "upholding the global ban against chemical weapons use" is due to take place in The Hague this week. The conference, officially a special session of states parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, has been called at the request of 11 countries – Australia, Bulgaria,… Read more
In the midst of a furore over the Trump administration's policy of separating the children of detained migrants from their parents, the United States has announced that it is pulling out of the UN Human Rights Council.
While these two developments are not directly connected many people will see an… Read more
In Yemen, the long-expected military assault on the port city of Hodeidah began this morning. Hodeida is currently held by the Houthis who control much of northern Yemen. According to local reports it is being attacked from the south by the Amaliqa ("Giants") Brigades – a surviving section of… Read more
Growing up in Lebanon during the civil war, Karl Sharro had a happy childhood and, he says, especially enjoyed "the long absences from school because of the fighting".
He must have learned something, though, because he went on to university and became an architect. But perhaps it was the… Read more
Jordan has had 12 prime ministers since King Abdullah came to the throne in 1999. Their average survival time in office is one year and seven months but the current prime minister, Hani al-Mulki, has fared rather better. Last week he passed the two-year mark though his future is now uncertain… 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
