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At the end of June the UN Human Rights Council decided it needed someone to monitor "protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity" and voted to appoint an "independent expert". In September, the role was assigned to Vitit Muntarbhorn, a…
Egypt's Sisi regime has raised the price of fuel dramatically overnight, hours after a decision to let the Egyptian pound "float" (i.e. sink). Both moves are seen as preparing the way for a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.
Prices of government-subsidised diesel and gasoline…
This is not a trick question: Why does the governing body for gymnastics in Britain resemble the regime of Saudi Arabia? Answer: Because they both think they are entitled to punish people for blasphemy.
In Britain, unlike Saudi Arabia, there is no law against blasphemy – except, apparently, for…
Multiple 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…
Foreign secretary Boris Johnson: if Britain doesn't sell arms to the Saudis other countries will
Britain's parliament yesterday rejected calls for "a full independent UN-led investigation" into alleged war crimes in Yemen and for suspension of British support to the Saudi-led coalition…
Having declared that 2016 is the "Year of Egyptian Youth", President Sisi yesterday inaugurated a conference intended – in Sisi's words – to "have a dialogue and raise hope" among the young. But hope, along with sugar in Egypt, is currently in short supply.
At the opening session of the…
In a story labelled "exclusive", Reuters reports that Iran has stepped up transfers of weapons to Yemen's Houthis:
"The increased pace of transfers in recent months, which officials said include missiles and small arms, could exacerbate a security headache for the United States ...
"Much of…
Within hours of airstrikes that killed at least 140 Yemenis attending a funeral on October 8, the Saudi-led coalition flatly denied any involvement. A week later, the Saudis threw up their hands and admitted responsibility. So how did this sudden U-turn come about?
The Saudis might be still…
Yesterday the United States, Britain and the UN's special envoy issued a joint call for a rapid and unconditional ceasefire in Yemen.
"We are not calling for this in a vacuum," US secretary of state John Kerry said; there have been "communications" with representatives of the Houthis who…
Saudi Arabia now accepts that it should not have bombed the funeral in Yemen last Saturday, killing at least 140 people and injuring more than 500.
A statement issued today through the Saudi government news agency blamed the kingdom's Yemeni allies for instigating the attack based on false…
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
