Sample Newsletters
Find out what gets our members talking. Click on the links below to read recent articles which have sparked discussion.
Industrial zones in the West Bank
Summary: touted as a pathway to statehood for Palestine, free industrial zones in the West Bank are another weapon in Israel’s colonisation arsenal that have become even more potent with the extremist regime that Benjamin Netanyahu has pulled together.
Yemen: progress on prisoner exchanges
Summary: as peace talks remain stuck in uncertainty, one piece of good news is the release in two tranches of cohorts of prisoners held by both sides of the conflict.
Of anniversaries and Palestine
Summary: a grim week concludes with air strikes on Gaza and rocket attacks on Israel; as the cycle of violence escalates it is worth noting significant anniversaries.
Prospects for a ceasefire in Yemen
Summary: Yemen remains a country where tragedy in the form of a deadly stampede and hope in the shape of a prison release ahead of a potential peace deal stand side by side. We thank our regular contributor Helen Lackner for today’s article. A Yemen expert, Helen works as a freelance rural development consultant and is
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.
No End in Sight: Libya’s Consolidated Criminal Networks
Summary: the Libyan people have been abandoned to political and military elites that control the country with Mafia-style fiefdoms; their success in entrenching themselves in the state apparatus and in UN-sponsored peace talks means that unless bold initiatives are undertaken, the country’s future remains bleak.
Yemen’s bleak education picture
Summary: the damage done to Yemen’s education system by 8 years of protracted war is deep and will be lasting, scarring the country’s youth while denying them the possibility of productive work and meaningful careers.
The challenges earthquake aid faces in Syria
Summary: as the death toll from the 6 February earthquakes that hit Türkiye and Syria rises past 35,000 the situation of getting humanitarian aid to Syrian survivors is deeply compromised by internal and external rivalries created by Syria’s 12 year civil war.
Israel, the UAE and Gautam Adani
Summary: a high flying Indian billionaire has been brought to earth by a devastating report alleging extensive financial irregularities; both Abu Dhabi and Israel find themselves caught up in an unfolding scandal.
Crypto castles in the Gulf
Summary: Gulf states are making deals with the king of crypto as they compete to establish global dominance of a market that with the collapse of FDX has significant questions hanging over it.
GCC and UK: opportunity beckons
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.
The UAE’s COP28 finesse
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.