Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Yvonne Ridley
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Sweden’s hypocrisy could cost it NATO membership, warns Erdogan
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 as being the best place to live in a league of 198 nations when it comes to freedom and quality...
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The 2026 FIFA World Cup in the US will sportwash the horrors of Guantanamo
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 themselves being demonised by TV commentators and journalists alike in a tirade of what one news source described as “white...
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The Taliban has to change its ways, because the equality clock is ticking
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 from the promises it made to improve women’s rights when its fighters entered Kabul unchallenged in August 2021. Girls’ schools have...
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US promises only last as long as they suit Washington
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 a football manager who gets the full public endorsement of his club chairman days before being sacked. The likely reality is...
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UN ‘outrage’ was empty words to describe an empty ‘cavity’ in Gaza
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 most prolific human rights offenders to account. At times, its silence on such matters has been deafening. It was with huge...
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Dirty tricks, lies and collusion with lawmakers are employed to protect Israel at any cost
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 persecution; both are akin to crimes against humanity. The hard-hitting HRW report was called “A Threshold Crossed”. It detailed how...
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Qatar has delivered the FIFA World Cup, now let it bring peace to Palestine
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 “sold” the world’s greatest-ever sporting event to super rich Qatar. The astonishing allegations were published by the prestigious Insight Team...
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The real cost of Palestinian resistance
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 unfolding in there somewhere. Sadly, this young Palestinian student comes from Gaza, so his penetrating stare is all too familiar...
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Revolution is in the air at Sisi's climate conference
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 Britain’s King Charles III and politicians are not attending the prestigious global COP27 due to be held in Sharm El...
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The roar of the Lions' Den
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 occupation forces of the Zionist state think that they have contained Palestinian resistance, others step up to the mark with...
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The futility of war
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 intermittently, was in Northern Ireland. I was told to refer to Operation Banner euphemistically as “The Troubles” because the UK...
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The hijab is not the real issue in sanction-hit Iran
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 unusual in the normal way of revolutions. Like earthquakes, there are always aftershocks and second waves, and to that extent...
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Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi: A man for all seasons
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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Western democracy is being destroyed to protect Israel
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 and for all. While this blatant attack on free speech has been rolled out it has also served to divert...
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Britain is haunted by its violent colonial past
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 in Dubai last month. That narrative pushed by lazy journalists is much easier than confronting the real issues at play...
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The state of modern Britain and its monarchy
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 period in Britain. However, please don’t think for one moment that I was grieving over the demise of Elizabeth II,...
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Saudi Arabia’s power and global influence are wasted on one man
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 citizens across the kingdom. Nourah Bint Saeed Al-Qahtani was convicted in the Saudi Specialised Criminal Court on charges of using...
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We won't be fooled again, say people of Pakistan
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 office. The one constant has been the genuine love and affection ordinary people have for the military. However, that could...
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Who will stand up for women against the Saudi regime?
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 ever prison sentence to a peace activist and women’s rights campaigner for posting a few critical tweets about the regime:...
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Don't judge the Taliban after just one year in charge
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 the closure of schools for teenage girls continues to be a running sore for the international community. The country is...
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Barclays Bank must be held to account over its support for apartheid Israel
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 press release popped up in my email from the anti-poverty charity War on Want. The charity is launching a campaign urging...
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Israel’s killing of Palestinians in Nablus has triggered a backlash in British drone factories
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 time in just the right place it can cause a hurricane thousands of miles away. I’m not sure how true...
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American democracy has been turned into an illusion
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 overseas elections that their treachery is beginning to backfire. I am talking about the United States of America, which has...
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Before Israel alleges ‘anti-Semitism’ abroad, it should root out the plague at home
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, it wasn’t long before the US State Department’s anti-Semitism ambassador was confronted by an explosive episode of Jew-hatred. However, it...
