Arabic press review: Yemen official accuses UK of setting up spy ring
Yemen official accuses UK intelligence of forming cells in the country
A former Yemeni official has accused the United Kingdom of forming intelligence cells in eastern Yemen, the Arabi21 website reported.
The former deputy governor of Mahrah governorate, Ali bin Salem al-Huraizy, said at a press conference that "the recent arrival of British forces in Mahrah governorate, located near the border with the Sultanate of Oman, paves the way for the arrival of additional forces in the future".
"Britain should learn from its previous experiences, following its failed occupation of Yemen which lasted 128 years," he warned.
Huraizy, a prominent tribal sheikh, accused London of forming spy cells and intelligence channels in Mahrah, just as the governorate “is witnessing a movement against foreign forces".
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Earlier this month, the British newspaper Daily Express published a report on the arrival of a special team affiliated with the British army to Mahrah to track down what it described as Iranian-backed "terrorists" who carried out an attack on the Mercer Street tanker in July.
Calls in Kuwait and Qatar to boycott HP and Puma
Activists in Kuwait and Qatar have launched a campaign to boycott global computer company Hewlett-Packard (HP) and sportswear giant Puma because of their support for the Israeli occupation, according to statements issued by the activists.
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in Kuwait has launched a campaign to boycott HP products under the slogan "I will not contribute", and described the company's actions as violating international humanitarian law, Al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper reported.
A promotional video published by the Kuwaiti BDS movement discussed how HP provides electronic advisory services to the Israeli army and police forces, helping track the movements of Palestinians. HP is also accused of supporting illegal settlement expansion by launching the Smart City project for Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories.
Meanwhile, activists in the Qatar Youth Opposed to Normalisation (Qayon) movement called for a boycott of Puma because of its support for Israeli sports clubs inside the settlements.
In the wake of the new campaign, the Qatar Sports Club announced the termination of its contract with the aforementioned company.
Lebanon parents urge children to leave country for good
Many citizens of Lebanon are advising their children to leave the country and not return, amid a crippling economic crisis in the country that has made even basic goods and services like medicine, electricity and fuel hard to access, Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat wrote.
Reporting from the departure hall of Beirut airport, the newspaper described seeing a Lebanese man embracing his daughter, telling her not to return to Lebanon and to pursue her future abroad, before turning to his other children and giving them the same advice.
Amid widespread shortages of basic necessities, inhabitants of the Beqaa Valley in eastern Lebanon have said that soldiers from the Lebanese army serving in the area have started planting crops near their military posts in order to feed themselves, the newspaper added.
*Arabic press review is a digest of news reports not independently verified as accurate by Middle East Eye
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