UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock speaks to the press, Sanaa, Yemen, November 29, 2018 (Mohammed Huwais/AFP)


I spoke with Monocle 24’s The Briefing on Thursday afternoon about the receding possibility of a ceasefire in Yemen’s civil war.

Although the UN is hoping for talks in Sweden next week, leverage against Saudi Arabia and the UAE — the two primary supporters of the Yemeni government — has been diminished. Donald Trump’s unconditional support of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, has given the Saudis cover from pressure. The UAE has created space for maneuver with the life sentence and then clemency for British academic Matthew Hedges, as the UK is the holder of the UN’s Yemen file.

Listen from 1:18:

EA on talkRADIO: Trump v. Migrants; UAE’s Power Play v. UK over Freed Academic