Newsletter Archive
Below are all the Arab Digest newsletters going back to 17 June 2013
Migrating to a safer place, Yemeni version
Summary: desperate African migrants are using war-torn Yemen as a transit route with most attempting to reach Saudi Arabia but they are suffering appalling violence both inside Yemen and from Saudi forces at the border.
Saudi Arabia’s Giga Projects – from oil windfalls to ‘New Murraba’
Summary: Saudi Arabia’s crown prince is using giga-projects to drive forward his plan to wean the kingdom off its dependency on oil revenues; the results thus far of his Vision2030 project are mixed but if oil prices hold steady MbS may yet see some of his hugely ambitious schemes come to fruition by the end of the decade.
World Bank clamps down on Tunisia
Summary: with the country’s economic crisis deepening and President Kais Saied continuing to chart an erratic and increasingly dictatorial course the World Bank lowers the boom.
Haftar: the warlord rebounds
Summary: as Washington pushes forward on a UN plan for an election this year in Libya, the Biden administration once again dictates that personalities rather than the interests of the Libyan people will prevail.
An Iraqi perspective twenty years on from the 2003 war
Summary: the conventional wisdom among critics in the West remains that erroneous assumptions led to the war and once it ended a series of blunders entrenched chaos and violence; Renad Mansour offers a more nuanced perspective.
Dollar shortages, debts and (in)formal capital controls in MENA
Summary: roughly a quarter of countries in the Arab League, including currently suspended member Syria, are suffering from currency depreciation, a US dollar shortage and rising debt levels. Issues are being compounded by surging inflation, while in some countries (in)formal capital controls and sanctions are impacting trade and debt repayments.
A whole lot of passenger planes
Summary: with Saudi Arabia’s announcement of a massive purchase of Boeing’s Dreamliner 787s, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman beckons to Washington that fraying diplomatic relations aside, it’s business as usual.
Peak Oil (2): Dependency and Diversification
Summary: as peak oil approaches, two decades of diversification have left the UAE relatively well cushioned against the economic downsides. However, and despite MbS’s efforts, Saudi Arabia looks like having to play catch-up into strengthening headwinds.
Diplomatic relations restored
Summary: the renewal of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran is a win that takes down the temperature in the region and one that represents a setback for Netanyahu and a message for Biden.
Israel and the weaponisation of water
Summary: unequal water treaties have given Israel the ultimate weapon in its efforts to continue its colonisation of the Occupied West Bank and to exert control over Jordan.
Arab women and International Women’s Day
As the week in which women are being recognised globally draws to a close Arab Digest is pleased to remind members of our podcast contributions from Arab women over the past year.
Salman Abedi: why did he do it?
Summary: with the final volume of the report on the Manchester Arena bomber now released, many questions were raised and some answers delivered but the big question wasn’t asked.