Greater Middle East

UN to Bahrain: investigate protester deaths

The UN Human Rights Commissioner called on Bahrain to investigate the deaths of several protesters during a security operation against supporters of a persecuted Shi'ite cleric.

Greater Middle East

Bahrain: ‘total suppression’ of human rights

A court in Bahrain dissolved the main opposition political party, an act Amnesty International said is a step toward the "total suppression of human rights" in the Persian Gulf monarchy.

Greater Middle East

Emir of Kuwait dissolves parliament

The Emir of Kuwait issued a decree to dissolve the country's parliament after weeks of deadlock over austerity measures imposed due to depressed global oil prices.

Greater Middle East

Yemen: Saudis bomb anti-bombing demonstration

Saudi fighter jets carried out air-strikes on a peaceful rally in Yemen's capital Sanaa that had been called to protest Saudi air-strikes, leaving several dead.

Watching the Shadows

US transfers 15 Guantánamo detainees to UAE

The US Defense Department announced the transfer of 15 Guantánamo detainees to the United Arab Emirates—the largest transfer so far, sparking Republican criticism.

Greater Middle East

Bahrain rights defender Maryam al-Khawaja speaks

Exiled Bahraini human rights defender Maryam al-Khawaja, speaking in New York, says the Arab regimes are exploiting sectarianism to pit revolutions against each other. 

Greater Middle East

Chemical attack against Syrian Kurds: report

Amnesty International notes claims that chemical weapons were used by Syrian rebels against the besieged Kurdish enclave of Sheikh Maqsood in the divided city of Aleppo.

Planet Watch

A ‘New Oil Order’?

Experts declare a "new oil order" in which hydrocarbons will lose market share to renewables. But is it market conditions or geopolitics that explain the current price slump?

Greater Middle East

Revolution in Syria and Turkey: mutual betrayal?

One of the greatest tragedies on the global stage now is that revolutions are going on in both Syria and Turkey—and they are being pitted against each other in the Great Game.

Greater Middle East

Kuwait upholds four-year term for tweeting

Kuwait's Supreme Court upheld the four-year prison sentence against an activist found guilty of insulting judges on Twitter—the latest in a string of such convictions for illegal tweeting.