Reports to the United Nations in October 2022 cited more than 800 deaths of migrants attempting to cross into Saudi Arabia from Yemen. The reports to the United Nations were followed by reports from the Human Rights Watch. In efforts to understand the involvement of the United States in these deaths, President Biden is pressuring Saudi Arabia to identify which units are responsible. The Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington D.C. has denied these claims.
Saudi Arabia is the largest consumer of American military sales. Many Saudi Arabian units have received arms and training from the United States. Determining the responsible party will enable American military forces to identify American involvement in training or arming these units.
The relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia is important for the Middle-East, Americans, the migrants, and the rest of the world. News that has proximity to our lives is not required to be close geographically, just as this story may have significant global ramifications.
Do you have an About Me page, Joe, or is it just not linked on the front page of this theme?
News Comment: I like it, but maybe try to re-balance. A bit less on the summary and a bit more on the comment. As a news value, Proximity is about geography. I think what you’re getting at here is that proximity isn’t the main news value. This could be Conflict, or Currency (the Middle East is often in the news), and as you note, Impact. The US relationship to Saudi Arabia could potentially impact a lot of people.