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March 27, 2023
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Yvonne Ridley
Israel has gone to war yet again, but this time it's on home turf: Israelis are fighting with Israelis. The eyes of the world are on the Zionist state...
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March 23, 2023
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Yvonne Ridley
When the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W Bush flouted international law and unleashed Shock and Awe on Iraq in March 2003, the attack...
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Asia & Americas,
Europe & Russia,
ICC,
International Organisations,
Iraq,
Japan,
Middle East,
Opinion,
Russia,
UK,
Ukraine,
US,
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March 20, 2023
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Yvonne Ridley
Mother's Day in the Arab world is celebrated on the first day of spring, 21 March, and for many children it is the most important day of the year,...
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Article,
Asia & Americas,
Europe & Russia,
FIFA,
International Organisations,
Middle East,
Opinion,
Saudi Arabia,
UK,
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Videos & Photo Stories
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February 28, 2023
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Yvonne Ridley
No one likes to be ignored, but before it can happen, you have to be heard in the first place. In many ways, that makes the deliberate turning of...
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February 20, 2023
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Yvonne Ridley
As Jimmy Carter, at 98 the longest-lived US president, spends his final days with his family in "home hospice care", obituary writers will be busy reflecting upon the legacy...
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February 1, 2023
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Yvonne Ridley
The odious Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is in a league of his own when it comes to using the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, according to a new...
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January 30, 2023
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Yvonne Ridley
Sweden is one of the largest countries in Europe in terms of land mass, but it has a relatively small population of around ten million. It is generally regarded...
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January 11, 2023
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Yvonne Ridley
The Western media spewed forth barrel loads of pompous invective recently about why Qatar should never have been chosen to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Bewildered Qataris found...
Published in:
Afghanistan,
Article,
Asia & Americas,
Caribbean,
Cuba,
FIFA,
International Organisations,
Iraq,
Middle East,
Opinion,
Qatar,
US,
Vietnam
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January 6, 2023
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Yvonne Ridley
If it seems like Groundhog Day in Afghanistan, you could be right. The ruling Taliban seems to have made little change to its ideology and is even further away...
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January 1, 2023
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Yvonne Ridley
During his recent visit to the White House, US President Joe Biden promised Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the Ukrainian leader would "never stand alone". The grinning Zelenskyy reminded me of...
Published in:
Afghanistan,
Article,
Asia & Americas,
Europe & Russia,
Iraq,
Israel,
Middle East,
Norway,
Opinion,
Palestine,
Russia,
Syria,
Ukraine,
US
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December 2, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
Readers of my columns will know that I've never been a big fan of the United Nations because of its sheer inability to hold too many of the world's...
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December 1, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
In April last year, Israel reeled and railed against a Human Rights Watch report in which the Zionist State was revealed to be committing the crimes of apartheid and...
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November 30, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
The International Federation of Football Associations, FIFA, is a flawed governing body which has chosen to ignore a whole raft of corruption allegations — all denied — that it...
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November 23, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
There is a depth of sadness in the deep brown-eyed gaze of Islam Asalya that makes the observer uncomfortable, because you just know that there is a tragic story...
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October 30, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
Storm clouds are gathering over the skies of Egypt which have a hint of revolution within them. They could be the real reason why prominent climate change protagonists like...
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October 28, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
One of these days the political and military leadership in Israel will understand you can't kill an idea with bombs, bullets, brute force or bribery. Just when the brutal...
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October 26, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
When is a war not a war? Well, it depends on who is calling and firing the shots. As a young journalist, the first war I ever covered, albeit...
Published in:
Afghanistan,
Africa,
Argentina,
Article,
Asia & Americas,
Egypt,
Europe & Russia,
International Organisations,
Iraq,
Ireland,
Israel,
Lebanon,
Libya,
Middle East,
NATO,
Opinion,
Pakistan,
Palestine,
Russia,
Sri Lanka,
Syria,
UK,
Ukraine,
US
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October 14, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
Ordinary people have risen up against the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran a few times since its inception more than 40 years ago. Historically, that is not...
Published in:
Afghanistan,
Article,
Asia & Americas,
Europe & Russia,
France,
International Organisations,
Iran,
Middle East,
NATO,
Opinion,
Syria,
UK,
US
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September 28, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
Sheikh Qaradawi probably did more behind the scenes fighting for justice for the Palestinian people than the corrupt armchair warriors sitting in the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.
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September 26, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
The past few days have seen an almost unprecedented attack on high-profile supporters of Palestine resulting in a concerted effort to silence some of Israel's most vocal critics once...
Published in:
Article,
Asia & Americas,
Europe & Russia,
Israel,
Middle East,
Opinion,
Palestine,
Poland,
Qatar,
UK,
Ukraine,
US
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September 21, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
The British media want us to believe that the awful scenes of violence on the suburban streets of Leicester were triggered by a cricket match between India and Pakistan...
Published in:
Article,
Asia & Americas,
Europe & Russia,
India,
Israel,
Middle East,
Opinion,
Pakistan,
Palestine,
UK,
Videos & Photo Stories
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September 20, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
I must apologise for the absence of my regular column for MEMO. This was largely due to a sense of overwhelming grief and loss throughout the just ended mourning...
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August 31, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
It takes just a few seconds to post a tweet, but for one woman in Saudi Arabia it has resulted in a 45-year prison sentence which has shocked ordinary...
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August 23, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
Politicians in Pakistan rise to power and fall from grace with alarming regularity, so much so that not a single prime minister has ever completed a full term in...
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August 17, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
No doubt emboldened by US President Joe Biden's recent visit and matey fist bump with Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, a Saudi judge has just handed out the longest...
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August 16, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has been in existence for one year now, but change has been agonisingly slow; early promises on women's rights are as yet unrealised; and...
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July 28, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
We never seem to learn from history, even from the most recent events during our lifetime. Just today, for example, I had a feeling of déjà vu as a...
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July 25, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
I think most of us have heard of the chaos theory, commonly called the "butterfly effect", which states that if one butterfly flaps its wings at just the right...
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July 22, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
These are troubling times for the men who claim to run the world's greatest democracy. They have meddled so much in other countries' democratic systems and undermined so many...
Published in:
Afghanistan,
Article,
Asia & Americas,
Europe & Russia,
Iran,
Middle East,
Opinion,
Pakistan,
Russia,
Turkey,
US
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July 12, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
When Dr Deborah Lipstadt became America's special anti-Semitism watchdog she decided to embark on an 11-day tour of the Middle East, making Saudi Arabia the first stop. As predicted,...
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July 7, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
Rainswept and bleak, Gleann Fhiodhaig in the northwest Scottish Highlands couldn't be more different from Jabal Ar-Rahmah, which shimmers in the baking heat and desert climes on the outskirts...
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July 3, 2022
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Yvonne Ridley
It was no real surprise when Delhi police officers arrested Indian journalist Mohammed Zubair after he outed the media chief of Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for...
![An aerial view of the streets as Israelis continue protests against the Israeli government's plan to introduce judicial changes, seen by the opposition as an attempt to reduce the powers of the judicial authority in favor of the executive authority as part of the 'Day of Resistance' in Tel Aviv, Israel on March 25, 2023 [Amir Goldstein - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/AA-20230325-30680575-30680574-ISRAELIS_CONTINUE_PROTEST_AGAINST_GOVT_JUDICIAL_OVERHAUL_PLAN.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Israel has gone to war yet again, but this time it's on home turf: Israelis are fighting with Israelis. The eyes of the world are on the Zionist state...![The remains of a building which survived the US nuclear bomb that hit the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 [Daisy Ridley]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/PHOTO-2023-03-23-09-26-22-1-e1679569119322.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
When the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W Bush flouted international law and unleashed Shock and Awe on Iraq in March 2003, the attack...
Mother's Day in the Arab world is celebrated on the first day of spring, 21 March, and for many children it is the most important day of the year,...![Newcastle United football club badge [Kelly McClay/Flickr]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Newcastle-United.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
No one likes to be ignored, but before it can happen, you have to be heard in the first place. In many ways, that makes the deliberate turning of...![Retired US President Jimmy Carter [AFP/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/GettyImages-1126586316.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
As Jimmy Carter, at 98 the longest-lived US president, spends his final days with his family in "home hospice care", obituary writers will be busy reflecting upon the legacy...![A fan of Newcastle United can be seen wearing the traditional Saudi head dress and draped in a Saudi Arabia flag head of the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur in London, UK. [Robbie Jay Barratt /AMA/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021_10-17-Newcastle-fans-.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
The odious Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is in a league of his own when it comes to using the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, according to a new...![Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the crowd at mass opening ceremony in Denizli, Turkiye on January 28, 2023. [Murat Kula - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/AA-20230128-30112224-30112222-TURKISH_PRESIDENT_RECEP_TAYYIP_ERDOGAN.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Sweden is one of the largest countries in Europe in terms of land mass, but it has a relatively small population of around ten million. It is generally regarded...
The Western media spewed forth barrel loads of pompous invective recently about why Qatar should never have been chosen to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Bewildered Qataris found...
If it seems like Groundhog Day in Afghanistan, you could be right. The ruling Taliban seems to have made little change to its ideology and is even further away...![U.S. President Joe Biden and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet at the White House in Washington D.C., United States on December 21, 2022. [Ukrainian Presidency - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/AA-20221222-29806369-29806368-JOE_BIDEN_VOLODYMYR_ZELENSKYY_MEETING_AT_THE_WHITE_HOUSE.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
During his recent visit to the White House, US President Joe Biden promised Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the Ukrainian leader would "never stand alone". The grinning Zelenskyy reminded me of...![Palestinians hold placards during a protest against the agreement signed by the USA in support of the United Nations (UN) Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA), which imposes "obligations" on service recipients in front of the UN building in Gaza City, Gaza on October 05, 2021. [Ali Jadallah - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/20211005_2_50311929_69366571.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Readers of my columns will know that I've never been a big fan of the United Nations because of its sheer inability to hold too many of the world's...
In April last year, Israel reeled and railed against a Human Rights Watch report in which the Zionist State was revealed to be committing the crimes of apartheid and...![The Al-Jabir Towers in the Lusail City area in the Qatari capital Doha lit up with the Palestinian flag, 10 August 2022 [@PalCyberNews/Twitter]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/qatar-palestine-flag.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
The International Federation of Football Associations, FIFA, is a flawed governing body which has chosen to ignore a whole raft of corruption allegations — all denied — that it...
There is a depth of sadness in the deep brown-eyed gaze of Islam Asalya that makes the observer uncomfortable, because you just know that there is a tragic story...![Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi [Milos Miskov/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/AA-20220720-28461718-28461716-EGYPTIAN_PRESIDENT_ABDEL_FATTAH_ALSISI_IN_SERBIA.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Storm clouds are gathering over the skies of Egypt which have a hint of revolution within them. They could be the real reason why prominent climate change protagonists like...![The Lions' Den armed group in the old city of Nablus, photo published on 3 September 2022 [Lions' Den/Telegram]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/WhatsApp-Image-2022-10-10-at-3.23.43-PM-780x470-1-e1679484155944.jpeg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
One of these days the political and military leadership in Israel will understand you can't kill an idea with bombs, bullets, brute force or bribery. Just when the brutal...![Anti-war campaign group protest outside the US Embassy against US airstrikes in Syria and Afghanistan on April 19, 2017 in London, UK [Kate Green/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/20170419_2_23187836_21206755.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
When is a war not a war? Well, it depends on who is calling and firing the shots. As a young journalist, the first war I ever covered, albeit...![Almost a thousand of people are gathered outside of Wheeler Hall Auditorium of UC Berkeley in California, United States on September 23, 2022. [ Tayfun Coşkun - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/AA-20220924-28977271-28977233-IRANIAN_PROTEST_IN_BERKELEY_CALIFORNIA.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Ordinary people have risen up against the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran a few times since its inception more than 40 years ago. Historically, that is not...![Qatar's Egyption-born cleric Sheikh Yussuf al-Qaradawi on 26 March 2007 [FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-73702313-e1664354861607.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Sheikh Qaradawi probably did more behind the scenes fighting for justice for the Palestinian people than the corrupt armchair warriors sitting in the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.![Keir Starmer and Jeremy Corbyn on 6 December 2019 [Flickr]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/49187166228_24c46f9d1e_o.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
The past few days have seen an almost unprecedented attack on high-profile supporters of Palestine resulting in a concerted effort to silence some of Israel's most vocal critics once...![Post India vs. Pakistan Asia Cup cricket match in the streets of Leicester, UK [@BharatFirst_/Twitter]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/FdBC79FacAE7dUQ-e1663751408840.jpeg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
The British media want us to believe that the awful scenes of violence on the suburban streets of Leicester were triggered by a cricket match between India and Pakistan...![Britain's King Charles III, Camilla, Queen Consort, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, watch as the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II arrives at Wellington Arch from Westminster Abbey on September 19, 2022 in London, England [Bryn Colton/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243383830-scaled-e1663692143239.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
I must apologise for the absence of my regular column for MEMO. This was largely due to a sense of overwhelming grief and loss throughout the just ended mourning...![Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud takes part in the traditional cleaning of Kaaba, held as a ceremony, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on August 16, 2022.[Royal Court of Saudi Arabia - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/AA-20220816-28658093-28658088-SAUDI_ARABIAN_CROWN_PRINCE_MOHAMMED_BIN_SALMAN_ATTENDS_TRADITIONAL_CLEANING_OF_KAABA____.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
It takes just a few seconds to post a tweet, but for one woman in Saudi Arabia it has resulted in a 45-year prison sentence which has shocked ordinary...
Politicians in Pakistan rise to power and fall from grace with alarming regularity, so much so that not a single prime minister has ever completed a full term in...![Saudi women in the Saudi capital Riyadh on 21 June 2018 [FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/GettyImages-981246052.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
No doubt emboldened by US President Joe Biden's recent visit and matey fist bump with Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, a Saudi judge has just handed out the longest...![People are been evacuated after an explosion in front of the Istiklal wedding saloon during an event marking the death anniversary of Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in Kabul, Afghanistan on May 22, 2022. [Bilal Güler - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/AA-20220522-27943197-27943181-EXPLOSION_IN_KABUL.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has been in existence for one year now, but change has been agonisingly slow; early promises on women's rights are as yet unrealised; and...
We never seem to learn from history, even from the most recent events during our lifetime. Just today, for example, I had a feeling of déjà vu as a...![Activists during a protest in which they entered the UAV Engines facilities building in Shenstone, Birmingham, 24 July 2022 [VX Photo/ Vudi Xhymshiti]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Palestine-Action-Protest-in-Shenstone-July-24-2022-7.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
I think most of us have heard of the chaos theory, commonly called the "butterfly effect", which states that if one butterfly flaps its wings at just the right...
These are troubling times for the men who claim to run the world's greatest democracy. They have meddled so much in other countries' democratic systems and undermined so many...![Deborah Lipstadt in Rome, Italy on 17 October 2016 [Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/GettyImages-615187920-scaled.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
When Dr Deborah Lipstadt became America's special anti-Semitism watchdog she decided to embark on an 11-day tour of the Middle East, making Saudi Arabia the first stop. As predicted,...![The grave of Muslim convert Lady Evelyn Cobbold, buried in the Scottish Highlands [Yvonne Ridley]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/WhatsApp-Image-2022-07-07-at-8.49.36-AM-e1657183562323.jpeg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Rainswept and bleak, Gleann Fhiodhaig in the northwest Scottish Highlands couldn't be more different from Jabal Ar-Rahmah, which shimmers in the baking heat and desert climes on the outskirts...
It was no real surprise when Delhi police officers arrested Indian journalist Mohammed Zubair after he outed the media chief of Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for...