Archive: bahrain

17th June 2020
By: Brian Whitaker
Amnesty International has accused Bahrain and Kuwait of running "roughshod over people's privacy" in their use of surveillance technology during the coronavirus pandemic. The human rights organisation carried out a detailed technical analysis of phone apps in seven Arab states plus France, Iceland… Read more
14th April 2020
By: Brian Whitaker
Arab states in the Gulf are reporting large numbers of new Covid-19 infections among migrant workers. ● In Bahrain, foreign labourers account for almost half the confirmed cases – more than 600 have tested positive. ● In Kuwait, 679 of the 1,300 confirmed cases are reported to be Indian workers. ●… Read more
15th October 2018
By: Brian Whitaker
The disappearance and suspected murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul is the latest in a long line of reasons for questioning Britain's relationship with Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf monarchies.  It's a relationship that has never been viewed with much… Read more
26th January 2018
By: Brian Whitaker
The Saudi-owned Al Arabiya News channel has been fined £120,000 ($170,000) for "serious" breaches of Britain's broadcasting code. Yesterday's announcement came after Ofcom, which regulates broadcasting in the UK, upheld a complaint of "unjust or unfair treatment and unwarranted infringement of… Read more
31st August 2017
By: Brian Whitaker
Writing about conflicts in the Middle East for the New York Times yesterday, columnist Thomas Friedman talked of "the power that is lost to a society like Syria or Iraq that needs an iron fist to make its many into one, and when that fist is removed, how the society fractures into small shards". … Read more
11th August 2017
By: Brian Whitaker
Bahrain recently joined Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt in calling for the Qatari broadcaster, al-Jazeera, to be shut down. But a more obvious candidate for closure would surely be the Bahraini government's official mouthpiece, the misleadingly-named Bahrain News Agency (BNA). Whatever you think… Read more
23rd June 2017
By: Brian Whitaker
Having placed Qatar under economic siege earlier this month – in a row that was triggered by a fake news report – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have now issued a formal list of demands. Qatar has been given 10 days to comply, or face unspecified consequences. The demands – assuming they… Read more
6th June 2017
By: Brian Whitaker
The extraordinary propaganda offensive against Qatar which has been raging in sections of the Arab media for the last couple of weeks shifted from words to deeds yesterday when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt in effect placed Qatar under siege. There are four possible outcomes to this: 1… Read more
4th June 2017
By: Brian Whitaker
The day before unknown persons hacked a government website in Qatar, triggering a vicious media feud among Gulf states, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi was urging a former CIA director to give the Qataris "hell". On 23 May, a conservative think tank with strong Israeli connections held a conference… Read more
20th March 2017
By: Brian Whitaker
The Gulf's autocratic rulers have joined forces in denouncing Switzerland after it complained about human rights abuses in Bahrain. The row began last Tuesday when Switzerland's representative at the UN Human Rights Council made a brief statement expressing concern about five particular countries:… Read more