BRUSSELS | 4 May 2026 (IDN | EEPA) — The following are the situation reports on Sudan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, the region and how the EU and the UN views it. Situation in Sudan (per 4 May) A drone strike on the family home of Sudan Shield Forces leader Abu Aqla Keikel in Al-Kahli village […]
After Executing Regime Critic, Saudi Arabia Fires Up American PR Machine*
By Lee Fang and Zaid Jilani
Saudi Arabia’s well-funded public relations apparatus moved quickly after Saturday’s (January 2) explosive execution of Shiite political dissident Nimr al-Nimr to shape how the news is covered in the United States.
The execution led protestors in Shiite-run Iran to set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, precipitating a major diplomatic crisis between the two major powers already fighting proxy wars across the Middle East.
The Saudi side of the story is getting a particularly effective boost in the American media through pundits who are quoted justifying the execution, in many cases without mention of their funding or close affiliation with the Saudi Arabian government.
Saudi Arabia’s ‘Anti-Terrorism Coalition’: An Iranian Perspective
By Hamid-Reza Azizi, Middle East Analyst*
The regional coalition led by Saudi Arabia in its onslaught on Yemen has not been able to achieve its goals after about nine months. However, Saudis have now taken a new step by forming an “anti-terrorism coalition.”Nonetheless, the makeup of this coalition and the time it has been proposed have raised serious questions about the goals and intentions of Saudi Arabia. In an analytic approach, a set of political and military considerations can be seen as underlying the formation of this coalition.
UN Sees Opening For Women in Political Space in Saudi Arabia
NEW YORK (INPS) – Saudi women were able to cast votes and run for seats in municipal elections for the first time in Saudi Arabia, representing an opening for women in the political space. This is the latest in a series of steps the Kingdom has taken toward women’s rights, following the 2013 decision of the late ruler of Saudi Arabia His Highness King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz Al Saud to grant 30 seats to women in the Shura Council.