Are the Taliban open to persuasion?
by Neville Teller Out of the blue, on June 1 the news broke that secret talks had taken place in mid-May between the head of…
Rebalancing US-Saudi relations
By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. A draft bill in the US…
Saudi Arabia’s high-profile sports blitz is off to a mixed start.
By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. Since arriving in Saudi Arabia five…
Sudan in Meltdown
On May 6 delegates from the two military groups slogging it out for control of Sudan met for pre-negotiation talks in Jeddah, each side represented by a three-person team. The discussions…
Gulf support for Turkey’s Erdogan is about more than economics.
By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. When jailed Turkish politician Selahattin Demirtas…
Gulf states test the boundaries of their agency
By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. More than three years after burying…
Shiites, not Jews, emerge as a touchstone of Saudi moderation
By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. Saudi Arabia has removed anti-Semitic and…
Culture wars bubble under Arab surfaces
By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. Religious conservatives and nationalists in the…
Are Muslim religious conservatism and political Islam making a comeback?
By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. Little did Elianu Hia know that…
Sudan in Meltdown
by Neville Teller On May 6 delegates from the two military groups slogging it out for control of Sudan met for pre-negotiation talks in Jeddah, each side represented by a…