Middle East

“Terrorist organisations like Isis capitalise on climate change to get new members” By Borzou Daragahi, for The Independent (*) The most volatile region in the world is about to be plunged into further chaos because of climate change, academics and …

“Certain states are using their position to secure unearned external income — refugee rent.” By Gerasimos Tsourapas, for The Washington Post (*) As the number of refugees globally reaches records, states are developing diverse yet similar strategies of linking their …

Regional outlook in Middle East & North Africa remains grim in the fight against corruption The Corruption Perceptions Index 2018 presents a grim reality in the Middle East and Northern Africa where, despite some incremental progress by a select few, …

King Abdullah of Jordan on Monday warned that ISIS was regrouping and was once again on the rise in the Middle East. Months after the ousting of ISIS last year from their last Syrian holdout, Abdullah said his “major concern …

By Roger Cohen, for The New York Times (*) BEIRUT — Lebanon was ahead of the game on civil war and now is last to the Arab Spring, or at least an Arab something — a vast, united exhalation of …

A long-awaited “deal” gives Israel’s right wing what it wants. Of the many proposals for an Israeli-Palestinian peace rolled out over the decades, circumstances made the one President Trump announced on Tuesday the hardest to take seriously. While Mr. Trump …

By: King of Jordan Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein (*) In my previous five discussion papers, I put forward several ideas and visions related to Jordan’s political reform path. These included advancing crucial democratic practices, identifying the roles of stakeholders …

By: Robin Wright, for The New Yorker (*) In the Middle East, few men are pilloried these days as much as Sir Mark Sykes and François Georges-Picot. Sykes, a British diplomat, travelled the same turf as T. E. Lawrence (of …

Arabs make up just 5% of the world’s population, but they account for about half the world’s terrorism and refugees The Economist (*) IN DECEMBER 2010 Egypt’s cabinet discussed the findings of their National Youth Survey. Only 16% of 18-29-year-olds …

By: Tom Perry (editing by David Stamp) , for REUTERS (*) Twenty-six years after being forced from Lebanon’s presidential palace and into exile by the Syrian army, Michel Aoun is set to be elected head of state on Monday, backed …