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.
Summary: with the Saudis and the Houthis continuing to negotiate directly on a peace deal, little thought has been given to the negative implications of such a bilateral agreement for the people of Yemen.
Summary: the lenders who are bankrolling Egypt’s President Sisi, principally the Gulf states, are growing uneasy as Egypt’s currency woes and ever-mounting debt signal an economic crash is on the horizon.
Summary: 2023 promises to be a very difficult year for many MENA countries with only the Gulf states escaping the long shadow of a deep economic slowdown.
Summary: OPEC+ is due to convene next in early June but with a bull market resurgent the date may need to be pushed forward; however, right now is not the time.
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.
Annelle Sheline from the Washington-based Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft joins Arab Digest editor William Law for a conversation about US foreign policy in the Middle East. Two years into the Biden presidency perceptions about America and its role have shifted dramatically in the region but the president and his advisors seem locked in a belief that little has changed.
Summary: a new examination of the environmental efforts of Gulf hydrocarbons producers shows that behind the talk of a green agenda there is little of substance to stand up their claims to be onside with the struggle to save the world from environmental destruction.
Summary: Dubai has made the sale and consumption of alcohol easier and cheaper as it bids to retain top place in the Gulf tourism sector even as Mohammed bin Salman pours billions into developing a sector that to thrive requires that which is forbidden in his kingdom: the elixir of alcohol.
Summary: the decision by UNGA was hailed as a significant breakthrough for the cause of Palestinian rights, even as Netanyahu inaugurates the most extreme government in Israel’s history.
