2020-12-28: News Headlines

Alan MacLeod (2020-12-28). 'Freedom is blossoming': After dismembering a journalist, Saudi Arabia goes on a PR spree. mronline.org "Freedom is blossoming." That is how, without a shred of irony, CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson describes Saudi Arabia in his recent article.

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-12-28). Conviction of Loujain al-Hathloul in Saudi Arabia Condemned as 'Blatant Attack on the Most Basic Human Rights'. commondreams.org "We stand with the al-Hathloul family and their friends who have not given up, and continue to call on the Saudi government to free Loujain," said Ariel Gold of CodePink. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/loujain.jpg

Rayhan Uddin (2020-12-28). Saudi rights activist launches hunger strike over conditions at al-Hair prison. middleeasteye.net Saudi rights activist launches hunger strike over conditions at al-Hair prison | Former economics professor Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani becomes latest political detainee to challenge conditions at notorious Saudi facility | Mon, 12/28/2020 – 13: 28 | Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani, a Saudi professor and human rights activist, has been detained since 2012 (Screengrab/Twitter) | Jailed Saudi human rights activ…

MEE staff (2020-12-28). Biden adviser slams Saudi sentencing of rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul. middleeasteye.net Biden adviser slams Saudi sentencing of rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul | Jake Sullivan calls nearly six-year sentence handed down to women's rights activist 'unjust and troubling' | Mon, 12/28/2020 – 20: 04 | Jake Sullivan's criticism comes as Biden takes a harsher tone towards Saudi Arabia (AFP) | US President-elect Joe Biden's national security adviser has condemned Saudi Arabia over its sentencing of w…

MEE correspondent (2020-12-27). Yemen: Anger as newly sworn-in cabinet excludes women for first time in 20 years. middleeasteye.net Yemen: Anger as newly sworn-in cabinet excludes women for first time in 20 years | Women activists take to the streets declaring the composition of the Saudi-backed government as illegitimate | Sun, 12/27/2020 – 11: 13 | Dozens of female activists protested in Taiz city demanding women be given positions in the cabinet (MEE) | The swearing in of a new government in Yemen on Saturday has…

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-27). Any stupid move makes Tel Aviv interests legal targets: Yemen. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 27 (MNA) — An official at the Yemeni Foreign Ministry warned that any stupid move by the Zionist regime would lead to a full-scale war targeting the interests of the regime and its partners in the Red Sea.

Mustafa Abu Sneineh (2020-12-25). Al-Akhbar under cyberattack for reporting Saudi and Emirati bankrolling Israel deals. middleeasteye.net Al-Akhbar under cyberattack for reporting Saudi and Emirati bankrolling Israel deals | The Lebanese newspaper published a report on Riyadh and Abu Dhabi's plans to finance the new Arab normalisation agreements with Israel
| Fri, 12/25/2020 – 11: 56 | The reception space of the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper office in Beirut (Screengrab\Haitham al-Mousawi) | The website of the Le…

Staff (2020-12-24). Yemen's Humanitarian Crisis Worsened Amid COVID. truthout.org For Yemen, 2020 has been an apocalyptic year, which has exceeded even the worst forecasts for a country that has in recent years been ravaged by war and humanitarian disaster. | The rapprochement between the Houthis — a political and armed movement that controls two-thirds of the population of Yemen's population — and Saudi Arabia at the end of 2019 was viewed with some optimism, yet new clashes have since broken out across the country. Even the outbreak of COVID-19 did not stop the violence. As a result of ne…

Ed Rampell (2020-12-24). 'The Dissident' Details the Life and Death of Jamal Khashoggi. progressive.org The spine-tingling film documents the assassination—and cyber hacking—of the Saudi journalist, dissenter, and activist.