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☆ Honed at Home in Yemen, Houthi Propaganda Is Going Global
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Vivian Nereim | More About Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Soon after Yemen’s Houthi militia hijacked a commercial ship in the Red Sea, taking it and its 25-member crew hostage, the armed group used the vessel to record a music video. In the slick production, called “Axis of Jihad,” a drone camera pans over the hulking ship. Then a famous Houthi poet appears on the deck — accompanied by what appears to be a cardboard cutout of Qassim Suleimani, the Iranian commander assassinated in 2020 — and begins to sing. “Death to America and hostile Zion,” the poet, Issa al-Laith, calls out, backed by a relentless beat. “By God, we shall not be defeated!”The Houthis — an Iran-backed militia that controls northwestern Yemen — have long been skilled producers of propaganda, crafting poetry, television shows and catchy music videos to spread their messages.

Persons: Yemen’s, of, Qassim Suleimani, —, Issa al Locations: Red, America, Zion, Iran, Yemen, Gaza

The explosions woke Ali Al-Sunaidar and his children in the middle of the night — a familiar feeling after years of war. He knew that the ancient mud-brick buildings in Yemen’s capital, Sana, could collapse under the pressure released by bombings, so he opened the windows in his home, letting in the winter air. “We were terrified and anxious,” said Mr. Al-Sunaidar, a photojournalist in Sana, after dozens of American-led airstrikes hit Yemen on Friday local time, targeting the Houthi militia that controls much of the country’s north. “We’ve been living in tension, dread and horror for the last nine years.”A day later, the United States struck again, bombing a radar facility in Yemen, U.S. officials said. For nearly a decade, Yemen has been at war, pummeled by a Saudi-led military coalition supplied with American bombs in an effort to defeat the Houthis — a once-scrappy tribal militia backed by Iran that has evolved into a de facto government in northern Yemen.

Persons: Ali Al, Sunaidar, ”, Sana, “ We’ve Locations: Yemen’s, Sana, Yemen, United States, U.S, Saudi, Iran

☆ The Dilemmas of a Petrostate Preparing to Host a Climate Summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Vivian Nereim | More About Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The choice of a leading oil producer, the United Arab Emirates, to host this year’s U.N. climate talks has angered environmental activists. But for the Emirates and other countries both highly dependent on oil and deeply vulnerable to rising temperatures, grappling with climate change is an urgent dilemma for them, too. If the world abandons oil too quickly, the powerful authoritarian state that the Emirati rulers have built in 50 years could crumble as the revenue that finances much of their budget dwindles. It is an extreme example of the choices faced by many other countries as well in a world addicted to fossil fuels. “Our leadership are very future-oriented and already many years ago understood how important it is for us to diversify,” Mariam Almheiri, the Emirati minister of climate change and environment, said in an interview last week.

Persons: ” Mariam Almheiri Organizations: United Arab, Emirates Locations: United Arab Emirates, Emirates

Saudi Arabia won the bid to host the World Expo 2030 in a landslide on Tuesday, delivering a triumph to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, as he seeks to reshape the authoritarian country’s international image — and his own. Saudi Arabia won 119 of the 165 votes, easily defeating South Korea and Italy. The win gives Saudi Arabia the chance to bask in the global spotlight in the year that the crown prince’s plan to diversify the kingdom’s oil-dependent economy, “Vision 2030,” is meant to conclude. The victory also demonstrates how, once again, he has been able to wield the kingdom’s power, money and influence to overcome attempts to isolate Saudi Arabia over human rights concerns and efforts to stereotype it as a desert backwater with little to offer the world. He has sought to position himself as an indispensable global leader and the kingdom as a major destination for business and tourism.

Persons: Prince Mohammed bin Salman, ” Organizations: South, Saudi Locations: Saudi Arabia, Paris, South Korea, Italy

☆ Arab States Intensify Pleas for Gaza Cease-fire as Public Anger Mounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Vivian Nereim | More About Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

That concept has fallen flat in Arab nations, where many view it as a weak proposal that shows the U.S. is either unwilling or unable to hold Israel back. Jordan and Turkey have recalled their ambassadors to Israel in protest over the war, while United Nations officials have implored Israel not to impose “collective punishment” on Gazans for atrocities committed by Hamas. That ambiguous message reflects the challenges Bahrain’s American-allied royal family faces as they balance protecting their ties with the U.S. and Israel with insulating themselves from popular anger. “I have not seen such a large number in a spontaneous demonstration in Bahrain for a long time,” said Ibtisam al-Sayegh, a human-rights activist who attended a protest last month. Some Bahrainis carried signs depicting their king holding hands with Mr. Netanyahu — accusing the monarch of complicity in the murder of Palestinians as long as Bahraini relations with Israel continue, she said.

Persons: Blinken, Israel —, ” Khalid al, Suleiman, —, “, Bahrainis, Biden, ”, Ibtisam, Netanyahu — Organizations: Israel, Saudi, Okaz, United Nations, Bahrain’s, U.S, ” Riot Locations: U.S, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Gazans, Bahrain, American

Yemen’s Houthi militia claimed an attempted attack on southern Israel on Tuesday, saying it had launched a “large batch” of ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones toward Israeli targets. The Israeli military did not say who was behind the attacks. Last week, Abdulaziz bin Habtour, prime minister of the Houthi government, said the Houthis might attack Israeli ships in the Red Sea. Even the potential of Houthi attacks on southern Israel means that “Israel must now allocate capabilities that otherwise would have been used elsewhere,” Mr. Sobelman said. The Israeli military, in contrast, maintains high-tech air defense systems and is backed by staunch U.S. government support.

Persons: Yemen’s, Yahya Sarea, Sarea, Israel “, Israel —, ”, Ahmed Nagi, Abdulaziz bin Habtour, Farea, Yemen —, Daniel Sobelman, ” Mr, Sobelman, Nagi Organizations: U.S . Department of Defense, Lebanese, Hezbollah, Crisis, of, Chatham House’s, United Arab, Harvard Kennedy School’s, East Initiative, Iron, U.S Locations: Israel, Iran, Gaza, Palestine, Yemen, Sana, Saudi, Iraq, Red, East, North Africa, United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, Eilat, Iranian, Saudi Arabia

For 34 hours, the vast majority of the more than two million Palestinians who live in Gaza had no way to reach the outside world, or one another. They had no way to know whether their loved ones were alive or dead. Desperate paramedics tried to save people by driving toward the sound of explosions. In response to the attacks, the Israeli military declared a siege of the densely populated territory, cutting off electricity, water and medical supplies as it rained down a relentless barrage of aerial and artillery bombardments. The Israeli military also said that it was conducting airstrikes in Lebanon after at least 16 rockets were launched from there into Israeli territory.

Persons: Fathi Locations: Gaza, United States, Israel, Lebanon, Egypt

Since the war began, Saudi officials have returned to specific calls for a substantive Israeli-Palestinian peace process and for the creation of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Despite the escalating violence, it appears that American and Saudi officials are holding on to hopes of a normalization deal with Israel. Senators said they left Riyadh with the impression that Saudi leaders would still like to recognize Israel when the right moment arrives. Prince Mohammed launched a disastrous Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen in 2015 aiming to oust the Iran-backed Houthi rebels who nonetheless remain firmly in power there. It merely said that, although tensions persisted between Israel and the Palestinians, the Biden administration had “de-escalated crises in Gaza.”

Persons: Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Jordan —, Prince Mohammed, Houthi, Blumenthal, Israel “, Mr, Biden “, Jake Sullivan, “, Sullivan, Biden, ” Organizations: Saudi, Israel, Senators, State Department, U.S ., U.S, Foreign Affairs Locations: Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Palestinian, Jerusalem, Saudi, Riyadh, Yemen, East, Washington, U.S, United States, Gaza

For the international bankers, executives and officials who had gathered in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to make deals, the war raging in Gaza and Israel felt like a distant backdrop. Instead, when speakers took the stage, they praised Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to remake Saudi Arabia and focused on the future: artificial intelligence, longevity science, renewable energy. Israel has laid siege to the Gaza Strip and unleashed a fierce bombardment. That has prompted protests across the region, reinvigorating vocal Arab support for the Palestinian cause — including among many Saudi citizens. Yet Saudi officials have made it clear that they are determined to prevent all of that from casting a pall over Prince Mohammed’s plans for the kingdom, which include reshaping the economy to reduce dependence on oil and turning the country into a global hub for business and tourism.

Persons: —, Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s, ”, Yasir al, Prince Mohammed’s Organizations: Future Investment, Hamas, Gaza, Saudi Locations: Saudi, Riyadh, Gaza, Israel, Saudi Arabia, East

President Biden’s trip to Israel on Wednesday will put him in a region where grief and fury are mounting, not only toward Israel, but also toward the United States, the world power that has declared unyielding support for its chief Middle East ally. On Tuesday, widespread condemnation of Israel rippled across the region after a huge explosion at a hospital in the Gaza Strip killed hundreds of Palestinians who had been seeking treatment and refuge. Israel has denied being behind the blast, blaming a Palestinian group, Islamic Jihad, for a failed rocket launch. But even before that, many people across the region had come to view Israel’s war with Hamas — the Palestinian armed group that carried out a shocking attack on southern Israel more than a week ago, slaughtering 1,400 people — as an American-backed massacre of Palestinian civilians in the blockaded territory of Gaza. Israel has cut off water, medicine and electricity in the enclave and continued to target Gaza with deadly airstrikes, bringing the death toll to at least 2,800 before the hospital explosion.

Persons: Biden’s, Israel rippled Organizations: Gaza, Islamic Locations: Israel, United States, American, Gaza

Hundreds of Libyans protested on Monday from the devastated eastern city of Derna, demanding the removal of those responsible a week after torrential rains burst two dams and unleashed a catastrophe that killed thousands. Some protesters stood on the muddy, rocky earth that the floods carried through the city center on Sept. 11, washing entire neighborhoods and their inhabitants into the Mediterranean Sea. Others perched on the roof of a mosque that still stood, and a number appeared to be part of relief and rescue efforts, dressed in white biohazard suits and reflective vests. The cries of the protesters were part of a rising chorus of calls to hold leaders across the divided North African country accountable. Specifically, they want an international investigation into the circumstances that led to the bursting of the two dams on the edge of Derna.

Persons: “ Aguila, ”, Aguila Saleh Locations: Derna

☆ U.S. Deepens Security Pledge to Bahrain, an Adversary of Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Vivian Nereim | More About Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration signed a security agreement with the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain on Wednesday, deepening its commitment to defend the authoritarian country from attacks. The format of the agreement could serve as a template for other Gulf Arab governments that have demanded stronger security guarantees from the United States, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Bahrain — an island nation that is home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet — has a particularly tense relationship with Iran, located across the Persian Gulf. Under the new agreement, if the kingdom were attacked, the United States would consult with the Bahraini government and determine the best way to “confront the ongoing aggression,” said a senior Biden administration official, who briefed journalists on the condition of anonymity. One of the provisions in the agreement allows Bahrain and the United States to invite other countries to join the pact, the official said.

Persons: —, ” Organizations: Biden, United Arab, Navy’s, Bahraini Locations: Bahrain, United States, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Persian, United

More than 5,000 people were killed in Libya after torrential rains caused two dams to burst near the coastal city of Derna, destroying much of the city and carrying entire neighborhoods into the sea, local authorities said on Tuesday. Libya, a North African nation splintered by a war, was ill-prepared for the storm, called Daniel, which swept across the Mediterranean Sea to batter its coastline. The country is administered by two rival governments, complicating rescue and aid efforts, and its infrastructure had been poorly maintained after more than a decade of political chaos. In the city of Derna alone, at least 5,200 people died, said Tarek al-Kharraz, a spokesman for the interior ministry of the government that oversees Eastern Libya, according to the Libyan television station al-Masar. At least 20,000 people were displaced.

Persons: Daniel, Tarek al Organizations: Eastern, Libyan Locations: Libya, Derna, African, Eastern Libya

Thousands of people have been killed in Libya in the flooding caused by heavy rains that devastated parts of the country this weekend, a disaster exacerbated by the collapse of two dams in the coastal city of Derna, aid agencies said on Tuesday. Tamer Ramadan, head of the Libya delegation for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said the death toll from the flooding was expected to reach thousands in coming days. Speaking to reporters at a U.N. briefing via videoconference from Tunisia, he said 10,000 people were missing, and that those figures were based on reports from the Libyan Red Crescent on the ground. A Libyan ambulance and emergency services department said least 2,300 people had died and more than 5,000 were missing after heavy rainfall over the weekend in the northeast of Libya swelled waters over riverbanks, sweeping away homes and cutting off roads. The collapse of the dams, south of Derna, deepened the disaster after they unleashed water that swept through the city and carried “entire neighborhoods” into the sea, Ahmed al-Mismari, a spokesman for the Libyan National Army, the dominant political force in the area, said in a televised news conference on Monday.

Persons: Tamer Ramadan, Ahmed al Organizations: International Federation of Red, Red Crescent Societies, Crescent, Libyan National Army Locations: Libya, Derna, videoconference, Tunisia, Libyan

Rare street protests have broken out in Bahrain as a mass hunger strike enters its fifth week, activists say, in a faint echo of the uprising that swept the Gulf kingdom starting in 2011, during the Arab Spring. Inmates inside the country’s largest prison have been refusing meals since Aug. 7, protesting against what they and their relatives say are poor conditions, including systematic mistreatment, medical neglect and limited visitation rights. The government has denied those allegations, arguing that conditions are in line with international standards. Officials have announced some concessions, including an increase in the time that prisoners can spend outside, yet the strike has lasted for nearly a month. While the government says that only 116 prisoners are involved, activists say that they have documented more than 800 participants — a significant portion of the prison population in a small island state of 1.6 million people.

Locations: Bahrain

☆ Banned in Kuwait, ‘Barbie’ Sparks Delight, and Anger, in Saudi Arabia
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Vivian Nereim | More About Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Friday night, Mohammed al-Sayed donned a pale pink shirt and denim overalls to join a friend at a movie theater in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, where the men settled in to watch a film about a doll on a mission to dismantle the patriarchy. They watched as the movie imagined a matriarchal society of Barbie dolls where men are eye candy. They laughed when a male character asked, “I’m a man with no power; does that make me a woman?” They snapped their fingers in delight as a mother delivered a monologue about the strictures of stereotypical femininity. Then, they emerged from the darkened theaters to contemplate what it all meant. “The message is that you are enough — whatever you are,” said Mr. al-Sayed, 21, echoing the Ken doll’s revelation.

Persons: Mohammed al, Sayed, “ Barbie, ”, Barbie, “, Ken doll’s Locations: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

☆ Decaying Tanker in Mideast Is Emptied of Oil, Averting Catastrophic Spill
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Vivian Nereim | More About Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A United Nations operation to transfer more than one million barrels of oil from a decaying tanker into another ship off the coast of Yemen has been completed, officials said on Friday, averting a catastrophic spill that could have devastated marine life and communities across the Red Sea. But with one crisis averted, another looms: The recovery vessel could be stranded until thorny negotiations over who owns the transferred oil are resolved. For years, both of those governments have claimed ownership of the oil on the decaying tanker, called the FSO Safer, hoping to gain desperately needed revenue from its sale. “The most pressing step was to prevent oil spillover from the deteriorating FSO Safer,” said Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, an organization that researches conflicts. “Now, with the salvage operation concluded, we find ourselves returning to the difficult point concerning the oil inside the tanker.”

Persons: ”, Ahmed Nagi Organizations: Nations, FSO, Crisis Group Locations: Yemen

☆ An Oil-Rich Ally Tests Its Relationship With the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Vivian Nereim | More About Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The ruler of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, is a key American ally who counts on the United States to defend his country. These deepening relationships show how a Middle Eastern leader viewed by the U.S. government as an important partner is increasingly striking out on his own path. American officials have had limited success in persuading Sheikh Mohammed to align with U.S. foreign policy — particularly when it comes to limiting Chinese military ties and isolating Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. Instead, the Emirates has thrived on inflows of Russian money, oil and gold, fueling a feeding frenzy in real estate in the glittering metropolis of Dubai. The growing ties with both American rivals and expanding economies like India are all in preparation for a world that may someday be no longer dominated by the United States.

Persons: Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Vladimir V, Putin, Sheikh Mohammed Organizations: United Arab, U.S, Emirates Locations: United Arab Emirates, American, United States, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, Dubai, India

Ukraine will make a renewed push this weekend at a gathering in Saudi Arabia to win the support of dozens of countries that have remained on the sidelines of the war — the start of a broader campaign in the months ahead to build the diplomatic muscle to isolate and weaken Russia. Ukraine and Saudi Arabia invited diplomats from some 40 governments to talks in the Red Sea port of Jeddah. Notable among them were China, India, Brazil, South Africa and some of the oil-rich Gulf nations that have tried to maintain good relations with both Ukraine and Russia throughout the war, which began in February 2022. The meeting is the starting point of what is expected to be a major Ukrainian diplomatic push in the coming months to try to undercut Russia. It began on Wednesday, when President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine recalled his ambassadors for an emergency strategy session on how to get the country’s message out to the world.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky Locations: Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Red, Jeddah, China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Ukrainian

☆ Saudi Arabia Will Host Talks About Ukraine’s Peace Plan, Diplomats Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Vivian Nereim | More About Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Saudi Arabia will host talks on Ukraine’s peace plan with several other countries this weekend in the coastal city of Jeddah, three foreign diplomats in the kingdom have said. The diplomats, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the talks, said that several countries, including the United States and European nations, along with Brazil, China and India, had been invited, though it was not immediately clear who would attend. Russia did not appear to be among those invited. The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said that “Russia will keep an eye on this meeting” but would need “to fully understand what goals are being set,” Russia’s state-run Tass news agency reported on Monday. Many of the invited countries, and Saudi Arabia, have resisted American and European pressure to isolate Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.

Persons: Dmitri S, Peskov Locations: Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, United States, Brazil, China, India, Russia, Russia’s, Ukraine

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