Erbil: departure of the expats
Summary: our contributor returns to Erbil to discover an altered city, one caught in political stasis and sharp inequalities of wealth.
September 15, 2026
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Newsletter Archive
Below are all the Arab Digest newsletters going back to 17 June 2013
The Board of Peace: an unprecedented, unconstitutional and illegal subversion of US and international law
Summary: it has been nearly a year since the Gaza ‘ceasefire’ and the announcement of a 20 point peace plan to be carried out by an entity called the Board of Peace which to date has implemented very little of its mandate and is fundamentally illegal under both US and international law.
September 14, 2026
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A small bold step with big implications
Summary: Britain’s Foreign Secretary delivered a speech in Parliament the likes of which had not been heard before: the UK was asserting leadership in denouncing the Israeli government for its war against Palestine.
September 11, 2026
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Dateline 10 September 2028
Summary: our contributor leaps ahead two years to 10 September 2028 – just ahead of the US presidential election – to project the trend line of current events in the Gulf and the US onto a future history of the region and the world.
September 10, 2026
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Religious restrictions in Bahrain reveal sectarian tensions, regional power struggles
Summary: with the Iran war continuing, Bahrain’s majority Shi’a population finds itself under siege, facing further repression and religious restrictions from a regime that sees it as a security threat.
September 8, 2026
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Morocco needs a new economic growth model
Summary: despite promises to be the ‘King of the Poor,’ Morocco’s Mohammed VI has embraced an economic model that is impoverishing a majority, particularly young Moroccans, whilst further enriching a privileged elite.
September 7, 2026
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The UAE’s Extradition Machine: How African Warrants Are Testing Dubai’s Global Image
Summary: for years, Dubai was known as a place where fugitives could disappear behind the city’s wealth, skyscrapers and international connections. Increasingly, it is becoming the opposite: a place where foreign governments can have people arrested and sent home.
September 4, 2026
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A new chapter for Syria’s Kurds
Summary: Syria’s Kurds have moved into a new relationship with Damascus. However integration has proved a difficult challenge with the interim government of Ahmed al-Sharaa needing to do more work to convince Kurds they will have a meaningful place in the new Syria he is attempting to build.
September 3, 2026
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In case you hadn’t noticed the Yemen civil war is on again
Summary: though it is receiving little international attention the civil war has been ignited by the Huthis with implications that go well beyond the borders of Yemen.
September 1, 2026
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