AW

Saudi Arabia

File photo shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, in June 2019. (DPA)

With G20 presidency, Riyadh hopes to showcase its economic clout in year ahead

Iraq

US Army soldiers stand outside an armoured vehicle at a base south of Mosul, Iraq, February 23. (AP)

Iraq new flashpoint for US-Iran tensions, troop buildup mulled

Lebanon

Lebanese women shout slogans during a protest against the return of the civil war, in Beirut, Lebanon. (AP)

Lebanese mothers struggle to keep protests non-violent

Algeria

Azzedine Mihoubi, presidential candidate and secretary-general of the Democratic National Rally, delivers a speech during an election campaign rally in Algiers, December 4. (DPA)

Tensions escalate in Algeria over presidential election

Turkey

French President Emmanuel Macron (C) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2nd R) look at US President Donald Trump (2nd L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) during a photo shoot at the NATO summit, December 4. (AFP)

Turkey isolated in its Syria policy as Erdogan fails to secure NATO backing

Maghreb

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) meets with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in Rabat, December 5. (AFP)

In first visit to Morocco, Pompeo discusses Iran threat, security cooperation

Latest Issue

Issue: 233 | Sun, December 01, 2019

Top Stories

Iraqi PM resigns in wake of deadly crackdown, protesters vow to carry on

Erdogan-Sarraj deal risks scuttling diplomatic efforts, entangles GNA in border dispute

Mass arrests follow unprecedented wave of unrest in Iran as more turbulence looms

No end in sight for political impasse in Lebanon amid fears of ‘economic free fall’

GCC officials urge unity against Iranian threats

Mohammed Alkhereiji

Europe to operate Gulf maritime security mission out of French base in Abu Dhabi

Opinion

Does Britain believe in deradicalisation anymore?

Rashmee Roshan Lall

Objectification of women in Iran

Yemen war still on radar of US Congress

Gregory Aftandilian

Erdogan uses NATO rifts to buy time

Palestinian leaders are not ready for meaningful elections

New IAEA chief’s greatest challenge may lie with Iran

Abdul-Mahdi’s atypical resignation

Editorial

Refugees

A woman carries her child as she crosses a wooden bridge in the refugee camp of Moria, on the island of Lesbos on November 26. (AFP)

The plight of refugees in winter

Iran

In this file photo taken on November 16, 2019 Iranian protesters gather around a burning car during a demonstration against an increase in gasoline prices in the capital Tehran, on November 16. (AFP)

The cost of protest in Iran

Iraq

Anti-government protesters gather in Tahrir Square during protests in Baghdad. (AP)

For Iraqi protesters, PM’s resignation is ‘a drop in the ocean’

Azhar Al-Rubaie

Gulf

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (R) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz in Abu Dhabi, November 27. (DPA)

Cautious optimism precedes GCC summit

Mohammed Alkhereiji

Tunisia

Tunisian Prime Minister-designate Habib Jemli at his office in Tunis. (DPA)

Demands of restive population to challenge Tunisia’s next government

Lebanon

Police stand guard in front of the government house in Beirut. (AP)

Uncertainty shrouds formation of a new government in Lebanon

Iran

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi speaks during an interview in his office in Vienna, Austria December 3. (Reuters)

New UN nuclear chief vows to be ‘firm and fair’ in Iran dispute

Syria

Members of the Syria constitution-writing committee attend a ceremony to mark the committee’s opening meeting, in Geneva, October 30. (AFP)

Conflicting agendas, lack of clear timetable logjam Syria’s constitutional talks

Environment

Undrinkable. Water pours in Al Bida water tanks project in Basra. (Reuters)

Year after poisoning disaster, Iraq seeks end to its water crisis

Syria

A Syrian refugee waits in Beirut to board a bus to Syria, December 3. (AP)

Fallout on Syria from Lebanon’s crisis is not just economic

Simon Speakman Cordall

Egypt

Turbulent waters. Turkish drilling vessel Yavuz is escorted by Turkish Navy frigate TCG Gemlik (F-492) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Cyprus. (Reuters)

Turkey-GNA maritime deal rings alarms in Egypt

Economy

Rising potential. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (C) meeting with Eni CEU Claudio Descalzi (top L) in Cairo, January 16. (AFP)

Could Egypt cut into Qatar’s gas market?

Egypt

The Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation headquarters in Cairo, which hosted the meeting between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over the disputed Nile dam, December 3. (Reuters)

Nile dam talks end in Cairo with no deal

Hassan Abdel Zaher

East|West

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson attends a rally as part of an election campaign, in Colchester, England, December 2. (AP)

London Bridge attack deals severe setback to UK’s deradicalisation programmes

Culture

Lively scene. Artists paint a mural in Tataouine. (JAAC)

‘Carthage Days’ celebrates contemporary art in Tunis

Culture

Artist Lena Naassana, Saeida Rouass, Hannah Khalil and Nour Hage. (Dr Johnson’s House)

London exhibition explores Britain, Middle East ties

Karen Dabrowska

Society

Time-honoured tradition. Emirati Abdullah al-Suwaidi demonstrates how his ancestors would pick up oysters off the seabed, at the Suwaidi’s pearl farm, off the coast of al-Rams in the northern emirate of Ras al-Khaimah. (AFP)

On Emirates’ glittering coast, pearl trade lives on

Interview

Helping hand. Libyan students receive school supplies provided by UNICEF during the summer school programme at a local school in Tripoli, Libya. (Reuters)

UNICEF sees regression for children’s welfare in Arab World

Culture

Diversity in art. “Sa’af” installation by Shahad Alazaz in collaboration with local craftspeople from the Eastern Provinces of Saudi Ara (Courtesy Dubai Design Week 2019)

Dubai Design Week offers region its largest creative festival

N.P. Krishna Kumar

Society

Tough lives. A Tunisian woman sifts through garbage at a landfill in a poor district of Tunisia’s central city of Kasserine. (AFP)

Extreme poverty digs deeper into Arab region