Qatar Signs $20B Shipbuilding Deal with Korean Firms
On 1 June 2020, Qatar Petroleum (QP) said that it has signed agreements with South Korea’s “Big 3” shipyards to secure more than 100 ships costing more than 70 billion…
Will Gulf States Learn from Their Success in Handling the Pandemic?
The economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic for Gulf states has done far more than play havoc with their revenue base and fiscal household. It has propelled massive structural change…
Hezbollah Brings Lebanon to Its Knees
Lebanon is in a poor way. By January 2020 its currency had lost over 50 percent in purchasing power against the US dollar, and the country was ablaze as furious…
Morocco Invests $36 Million to Assist Farmers
On 2 June 2020, The Moroccan Minister of Agriculture, Aziz Akhannouch, said that his department had allocated $35.89 million to assist farmers affected by the lack of rainfall during the…
Khalifa Haftar – Has the Gamble Failed?
Why has the wind gone out of his sails, and can he ever recover the momentum that carried him to within an inch of success?
Israel Shines in the Gulf Where Big Powers Falter
The Firefly, an Israeli-built loitering kamikaze drone, part of the Spike family of missiles that the Jewish state has sold to various European nations, may be one reason why Gulf states,…
All Staff of Egyptian Hospital Test Positive for Coronavirus
All medical personnel at Al-Azhar University Hospital have tested positive for the coronavirus, Al-Jazeera reported. Consequently on 13 May 2020, The Egyptian Medical Syndicate (EMS) called for an increase in…
What Kind of Man Is Iraq’s New Prime Minister?
It was on 6 May 2020, following nearly six months of political wrangling, that Iraq’s new prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, took office, following parliamentary approval of most of his proposed ministerial appointments.…
US Military Drawdown in Saudi Arabia Threatens to Fuel Arms Race
One thing is certain, the recent US military pullback from Saudi Arabia will fuel a brewing arms race in the Middle East at a time when the region, struggling with…
Algeria to Begin Building Three New Seawater Desalination Plants
On 7 May 2020, the Algerian Minister of Water Resources, Arezki Berraki, stated that work on the construction of three new seawater desalination plants will soon start in Algeria. The…