Summary: the fighting in Libya may have all but ended in 2022 but that may be the calm before a coming storm as contestation grows over gas rights in the eastern Mediterranean.
Summary: the fighting may have all but ended in 2022 but that may be the calm before a coming storm as Washington prepares to challenge the Wagner group in Africa and contestation grows over gas rights in the eastern Mediterranean.
Summary: the UK has the opportunity to deepen trade relations with the GCC states who, even though China beckons, will need a strong counter-balance with the West to fully realise the goal of diversifying their economies away from hydrocarbons dependency.
Summary: with the appointment of the boss of the UAE’s national oil company to head up COP28, critics say it’s a sell out to big oil interests while others argue the choice of Sultan al-Jaber is a shrewd and positive move.
Summary: as a key defendant agrees to cooperate fully with Belgium prosecutors, the full extent to which the EU parliament was allegedly corrupted by Qatar and Morocco is set to be revealed.
Summary: with the Saudis and the Houthis continuing to negotiate directly on a peace deal, little thought has been given to the negative implications of such a bilateral agreement for the people of Yemen.
Summary: Britain bears a significant responsibility for the Palestine-Israel conflict but successive governments have chosen to ignore that responsibility while giving strong support to Israel. A distinguished Arabist and retired British diplomat argues that has to change and the first step is to recognise the state of Palestine.
Summary: the lenders who are bankrolling Egypt’s President Sisi, principally the Gulf states, are growing uneasy as Egypt’s currency woes and ever-mounting debt signal an economic crash is on the horizon.
Summary: Algerian authorities unleash a campaign against rainbow symbols; the Algerian LGBTQ+ community continues to be subjected to discrimination, abuse and sometimes violence.
Summary: 2023 promises to be a very difficult year for many MENA countries with only the Gulf states escaping the long shadow of a deep economic slowdown.
