Summary: with the exception of occasional news reports, the war in Syria grinds on with little coverage of the growing threat of IS or awareness that the international community has moved to accept Bashar al-Assad back into the fold even as millions of Syrians continue to suffer inside and outside the country.
Summary: a rampant COVID crisis, ongoing economic collapse and justice denied for victims of the Beirut harbour blast demand that change come to Lebanon and now may be the best opportunity for the country to achieve it.
Summary: this year poses big challenges to the economies of the MENA region, many of which are already in deep trouble while a wealthy few will use their hydrocarbons revenues to ride out whatever rough weather comes their way.
Summary: Iran is seeking to maintain its successful asymmetric warfare advantages by attempting to secure a continuation of the status quo in Vienna, happy to trade short-term acquisition of nuclear weaponry for relief from sanctions and continued progress with its programme of regional interventions. With the United States pulling back, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh are preparing themselves to be able to disrupt that status quo should it threaten them.
Summary: the cause of the 2020 Beirut blast is debated but what is indisputable is that the failure to uncover the truth is denying the people of Lebanon the justice they deserve.
Arab Digest editor William Law is joined by the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Cinzia Bianco. Cinzia takes an insightful look at the year just past in the Middle East and North Africa, from coups, to Covid, to MbS and MbZ, to alliances abandoned and new ones forged. And she offers her predictions for 2022.
Summary: as Hezbollah and business elites continue their death hold on the country, Lebanon careens ever closer to collapse.
Summary: while scientists around the world rush to assess the impact of the emerging Omicron variant, much of the Middle East is at a worrying threat threshold.
Summary: while scientists around the world rush to assess the impact of the emerging Omicron variant, much of the Middle East is at a worrying threat threshold.
Summary: Hezbollah and its leader Hassan Nasrallah will go to any lengths to prevent the truth about the 4 August 2020 Beirut harbour blast emerging into the light.
