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Brian Whitaker
Brian Whitaker

4.3K Followers

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Oct 1, 2022

British defender of Assad regime backs Russian referendums in Ukraine

A British woman who became a prominent defender of Syria’s Assad regime resurfaced this week as an “international observer” for Russia’s sham referendums in Ukraine. Vanessa Beeley — described by Russian broacaster RT as “ an independent investigative journalist” — told a news conference the voting procedures had shown “complete…

3 min read

British defender of Assad regime backs Russian referendums in Ukraine
British defender of Assad regime backs Russian referendums in Ukraine

3 min read


Sep 24, 2022

Revealed: EU and Soros funded reports by ‘Iran state-affiliated media’

A British academic whose Twitter account is tagged as “Iran state-affiliated media” was the main author of a report on Islamophobia published this week with funding from the EU’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme. The academic in question — former professor David Miller — is a director and founding member…

Iran

3 min read

Revealed: EU and Soros funded reports by ‘Iran state-affiliated media’
Revealed: EU and Soros funded reports by ‘Iran state-affiliated media’
Iran

3 min read


Sep 17, 2022

Muslim who converted to Christianity faces execution for apostasy in Libya

A man has been sentenced to death in Libya after converting from Islam to Christianity, according to local news reports. Details are scarce, but Dhiaa al-Din Ahmed Miftah Balao — described as an information technology graduate — appears to have previously been a devoted Muslim and is said to have…

Christianity

3 min read

Muslim who converted to Christianity faces execution for apostasy in Libya
Muslim who converted to Christianity faces execution for apostasy in Libya
Christianity

3 min read


Aug 25, 2022

Lights, camera, police action. The hazards of filming in Egypt

The Egyptian authorities have got themselves in a tangle over photography. They want the country to be seen as an attractive tourist destination and if photographers would just focus on nice things, like feluccas sailing on the Nile and sunsets over the pyramids, all would be well. The problem, though…

8 min read

Lights, camera, police action. The hazards of filming in Egypt
Lights, camera, police action. The hazards of filming in Egypt

8 min read


Aug 8, 2022

From Sandy Hook to Syria: the long trail of a conspiracy theory

Since its first appearance in 2012, the “crisis actors” conspiracy theory has become a popular way of denying reality — Shortly before Christmas in 2012 a mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in the United States left 20 children and six teachers dead. Eight months later an incendiary bomb hit a school in Syria’s Aleppo province, killing at least 10 students on the spot. …

Sandy Hook

6 min read

From Sandy Hook to Syria: the long trail of a conspiracy theory
From Sandy Hook to Syria: the long trail of a conspiracy theory
Sandy Hook

6 min read


Aug 1, 2022

Saudi court orders retrial after multiple acquittals in Mecca crane disaster case

Thirteen people charged in connection with the world’s worst crane disaster have gone on trial in Saudi Arabia for a third time, after previously being acquitted twice. The latest retrial in the seven-year-old case follows a decision by the kingdom’s Supreme Court to quash the earlier verdicts. The affair began…

Saudi Arabia

3 min read

Saudi court orders retrial after multiple acquittals in Mecca crane disaster case
Saudi court orders retrial after multiple acquittals in Mecca crane disaster case
Saudi Arabia

3 min read


Jul 23, 2022

Book review: ‘This Arab is Queer’

A few years ago Egypt’s Supreme Council for Media Regulation decreed that gay people must not appear in print or audio or visual media “except in recognition and acknowledgment of their misconduct”. …

LGBTQ

10 min read

Book review: ‘This Arab is Queer’
Book review: ‘This Arab is Queer’
LGBTQ

10 min read


Jul 22, 2022

Documents show Margaret Thatcher advocated using chemical weapons against Iraq

Following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, British prime minister Margaret Thatcher advocated using banned chemical weapons against Iraqi forces, declassified documents show. Despite the 1925 Geneva Protocol prohibiting their use, Thatcher repeatedly pressed the US to be ready to retaliate with chemical weapons if Iraq used them first. …

Iraq

5 min read

Documents show Margaret Thatcher advocated using chemical weapons against Iraq
Documents show Margaret Thatcher advocated using chemical weapons against Iraq
Iraq

5 min read


Jul 11, 2022

Science or sophistry? The bizarre search for hidden meanings in the Qur’an

Cryptic verses in the Qur’an have given rise to claims that they foretell modern scientific discoveries. But it’s a flawed idea with dubious origins. — There’s a verse in the Qur’an that cautions Muslims against spreading false news and urges them to check the facts first with people of “sound judgment”. It was good advice in the time of the Prophet Muhammad and it’s good advice now in the age of social media. But is…

Quran

10 min read

Science or sophistry? The bizarre search for hidden meanings in the Qur’an
Science or sophistry? The bizarre search for hidden meanings in the Qur’an
Quran

10 min read


Jun 29, 2022

Book review: Britain’s withdrawal from Aden

As British troops pulled out of Aden in 1967 the band of the Royal Marines struck up a tune to send them on their way — not Rule Britannia or Land of Hope and Glory but a Cockney song, Fings Ain’t Wot They Used To Be. It was an ironic…

Yemen

3 min read

Yemen

3 min read

Brian Whitaker

Brian Whitaker

4.3K Followers

Former Middle East editor of the Guardian. Website: www.al-bab.com. Author of 'Arabs Without God'.

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