Exhausted from conflict and eager for growth, Middle Eastern rivals try talking IT WAS A surprising choice for a summer holiday. On August 18th Tahnoon bin Zayed, the national-security adviser of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), turned up in Ankara …
Read More »Churches in the Arab world .. expansion and growth
Expansion in Egypt, growth in the Gulf, and looking forward to Saudi Arabia At an unprecedented pace, Egypt has expanded decisions to build and restore churches during the past few years, while Christian places of worship are increasing in …
Read More »The low price of oil will test governments in MENA
With less cash to bribe the people, some strongmen will resort to repression “In the history of any nation there are special moments and seminal events,” said President Uhuru Kenyatta in August. He was celebrating Kenya’s entry to the club …
Read More »Gulf states are trying to increase private employment
But subsidising pay is proving costly and ineffective BY NOW GULF rulers have tried almost everything. For much of the region’s modern history well-paid government jobs have been a birthright for citizens. This perk forms the core of the region’s …
Read More »The countries of MENA are parched
Governments are making things worse In the neighbourhood of Algiers where the presidential palace and foreign embassies are located, some think the water pressure has increased of late. But don’t tell those living in the suburbs of Algeria’s capital, where …
Read More »Jordan among first to vaccinate UN-registered refugees it hosts
Jordan has become one of the world’s first countries to start coronavirus vaccinations for United Nations-registered refugees, according to the U.N. refugee agency and the royal palace. As part of the kingdom’s national vaccination drive that began last week, anyone …
Read More »Lebanese move to west Africa, escaping the crisis at home
When banks started to fail and protesters began filling the streets in 2019, Moussa Khoury resisted the temptation to leave his native Lebanon. After a massive explosion flattened part of Beirut, the capital, last year, he fixed his broken windows …
Read More »U.S. support is keeping the undemocratic Palestinian Authority alive
Mahmoud Abbas’s unelected and illegitimate government is becoming increasingly violent, but Washington’s largesse is keeping it in power. At 3:30 a.m. on June 24, Nizar Banat, an outspoken critic of the Palestinian Authority (PA), was arrested at his home in the city …
Read More »How Middle Eastern conflicts are playing out on social media
By Daniel L. Byman (*) The Middle East has always been rife with enmity and rivalry, and its regimes have long taken advantage of the region’s many linguistic, religious, and cultural connections to shape the overall political environment. Regimes that …
Read More »What does food have to do with security in the Arab world?
By Anders Jagerskog (*) Food security may not seem a priority during current conflicts, but it is critical that the region seize opportunities to make better use of scarce water resources to address a longer-term challenge to the region’s stability. …
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