Qatar and a secret meeting in Kandahar
Summary: a meeting shrouded in secrecy may move the Taliban away from their fanatical repression of women and girls.
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Is Sisi Debt Crisis Morphing into a Banking Crisis?
Summary: as Egypt’s debt load mounts inexorably the rate of reform including the demand from lenders to demilitarise the economy is moving so slowly it may precipitate a banking collapse.
Reconstruction and the road back for Assad
Summary: as his allies and former Arab critics rally around the Syrian president he is using the lure of lucrative reconstruction contracts to strengthen his position.
Getting the EDGE on MbS
Summary: the United Arab Emirates has moved at speed to place itself in the top 25 globally of arms manufacturers and is aggressively pursuing new markets with ‘Made in the UAE’ drones providing a sharp contrast to similar efforts by Saudi Arabia.
Assad poised to return
Summary: the Syrian president who has conducted a ruthless and bloody war now appears poised to be welcomed back into the Arab fold by fellow dictators and authoritarian ruling families.
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.
North Sinai
Summary: despite President Sisi’s claim that an ISIS affiliate has been all but eliminated, a brutal military clampdown continues, ensuring that North Sinai’s dirty war will grind on with impoverished local communities paying the heaviest price.
Morocco-Qatargate
Summary: as a key defendant agrees to cooperate fully with Belgium prosecutors, the full extent to which the EU parliament was allegedly corrupted by Qatar and Morocco is set to be revealed.
LGBTQ+ Algeria: rainbow repression
Summary: Algerian authorities unleash a campaign against rainbow symbols; the Algerian LGBTQ+ community continues to be subjected to discrimination, abuse and sometimes violence.
Salman’s Electronic Army: watching the watchmen
Summary: as the online information war rages on, dissidents inside Salman’s Electronic Army counter its “counter extremism” by leaking information about its activities to the Saudi opposition.