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By: Brian Whitaker
Cooperation is good, but not always easy    There was a long-overdue development in Britain's general election campaign earlier today when Labour opposition leader Ed Miliband gave a speech on foreign policy – an issue which has largely been ignored until now apart from interminable… Read more
By: Brian Whitaker
An Iranian “armada” is heading towards Yemen, according to a report last Friday. A couple of days later, the American aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt set sail from the Gulf, also heading in the direction of Yemen. Fox News is in no doubt about what this means; a headline on its website … Read more
By: Brian Whitaker
  Lookalikes: Abozer Mohamed of Maarij (left) and Abozer Elmana Elligai of GNRD (right) Following the revelation that it is at the centre of a $13 million money-laundering investigation by Norwegian police, the Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) has been eager… Read more
Jamal Benomar, the UN's Special Adviser on Yemen    "What's needed is a UN-backed negotiation to end the Yemeni conflict," an article in the Guardian proposed yesterday.  It sounds like a good idea. Set up a National Dialogue to bring the warring factions together.… Read more
By: Brian Whitaker
For most practical purposes the Republic of Yemen no longer exists. Whether it can ever be reassembled into a single state is, to put it mildly, doubtful – though that appears to be the objective of the Saudi-led military intervention. Even in more peaceful times the writ of central government… Read more
By: Brian Whitaker
Since seizing power in Egypt, the Sisi regime has been cracking down on NGOs and homosexuality (among other things), and the latest move by the curiously-named Ministry of Social Solidarity strikes both targets in a single blow. The ministry is investigating a Giza-based NGO which is said to have… Read more
By: Brian Whitaker
Saudi Arabia has asked Pakistan to support its military intervention in Yemen by providing combat planes, warships and soldiers. But according to an article in the Pakistani newspaper, The Nation, Saudi Arabia has a further request: that any troops sent by Pakistan should be… Read more
By: Brian Whitaker
Prompted by the current turmoil in Yemen, I decided to search the old WikiLeaks files for US embassy cables discussing the Houthis. There are 284 documents with the keyword "Houthi", covering a period from August 2004 (during the first brief… Read more
Sisi: trying to avoid "wrong calculations". Photo: Erin Kirk-Cuomo   Amid speculation that Egypt may send ground troops to Yemen, and numerous reminders that the last time it did so – under Nasser in the 1960s – the adventure proved disastrous, President Sisi sought to allay… Read more
By: Brian Whitaker
Have British-made weapons been used by Saudi Arabia in air strikes that caused mass civilian casualties in Yemen this week? The question was raised yesterday in the Daily Telegraph, a popular newspaper among Britain’s military top brass. While the Telegraph merely reported calls for an… Read more