An Omani peace initiative and Saudi eagerness to end the war may possibly start Yemen on the road to peace but Emirati ambitions and Houthi gains complicate further an already intensely complex crisis.
Articles tagged: ‘Covid-19’
UAE diplomats accused in international gold smuggling syndicate
Posted on Categories Arab Digest EmailThe UAE is a key hub for gold trading linked to money laundering, organised crime and terrorist financing. The authorities have promised to clean up their act but a court case in India suggests there is still a long way to go.
Algerian election a pointless exercise
Posted on Categories Arab Digest EmailWith a stalled economy, a country under lockdown and much of the old regime still in power, Algeria holds an election that most of its people think is irrelevant.
Tunisia: a crumbling economy and an imperilled democracy
Posted on Categories Arab Digest EmailThe country is in desperate need of an IMF bailout but political bickering may stall an urgently needed loan; with Covid surging a new lockdown is in place.
Lebanon: no government and no answers
Posted on Categories Arab Digest EmailRather than find the truth about the devastating Beirut harbour explosion, the political elite ducks the issue while continuing to squabble over forming a government.
Covid and MENA tourism
Posted on Categories Arab Digest EmailTourism is a crucial economic sector for MENA that has been ravaged by the Covid pandemic and recovery is still a long way off.
Oman: a Covid surge and other challenges
Posted on Categories Arab Digest EmailThe Gulf sultanate of Oman has seen a steady rise in pandemic numbers that, coupled with low oil prices, is presenting significant challenges.
Is the Saudi intervention in Yemen about to end?
Posted on Categories Arab Digest EmailThe Saudis would like to find a path out of the Yemen war but the Houthi offensive in Marib tangles them ever deeper in a quagmire.
MENA facing a climate cataclysm
Posted on Categories Arab Digest EmailSummary: the Middle East and North Africa is a crucial battleground in the global struggle to contain the damage climate change is inflicting but time is fast running out for countries in the region to take concerted action.
Jordan’s Spring of Discontent
Posted on Categories Arab Digest EmailA Covid-19 surge and soaring unemployment are challenging Jordan’s King Abdullah II and threatening a government widely seen as incompetent and corrupt.