When Dr. Marwa Gibril left her medical practice in the UK to return to Port Sudan in January, she knew she was entering a country in collapse. Cholera was spreading, health workers were fleeing, and millions had been displaced from their homes. Yet for Gibril — a family physician trained in Britain with a master’s […]
Read moreIs US pressure on Iraq over reliance on Iranian electricity a blessing in disguise?
Iraq has long had to balance its relationships between competing regional powers, particularly Iran and the Gulf states. Now, with renewed US harrying of Iraq to stop buying gas and electricity from Iran, Baghdad could be drawn further into the Arab orbit. On March 8, the US State Department said it was not renewing a […]
Read moreWhat mass graves uncovered in Libya reveal about Europe’s migrant crisis
From the orange desert sand of southeast Libya, investigators were met with the unmistakable signs of yet another cruel atrocity. In crude pits dug in this remote expanse, the tattered clothing and yellowing remains of multiple victims emerged from the earth. The recent discovery of these latest mass graves in the troubled North African country […]
Read moreHow conflict created the conditions for Sudan’s deadly cholera crisis
From displacement camps in Gedaref to overwhelmed hospitals in Al-Jazirah, Sudan’s ongoing cholera epidemic, exacerbated by its brutal civil war, has created a humanitarian crisis of staggering proportions. Since the cholera outbreak was declared in August 2024, Sudan has recorded at least 50,000 cases and some 1,300 deaths. These numbers are likely an underestimate, however, […]
Read moreCould we see a Palestinian state during Mahmoud Abbas’s 20th year in office thanks to the global coalition?
As Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas marks 20 years in office, his leadership remains a complex chapter in the Palestinian national story, characterized by division, disillusionment, but also dogged determination. Having succeeded Yasser Arafat in 2005, Abbas’ lengthy tenure has been shaped by challenges that have profoundly impacted the Palestinian people, the pursuit of statehood, […]
Read more2024 Year in Review: When turmoil and divisions deepened in Libya
When the Arab uprisings swept through the Middle East and North Africa in 2011, many in the West hoped the fall of these entrenched regimes would herald a new era of development and good governance. Instead, it marked the beginning of a period of unprecedented suffering for millions. Nearly 14 years later, in the wake […]
Read more2024 Year in Review: Conflict keeps Sudanese trapped in a nightmare without end
Sudan’s descent into chaos, triggered by the outbreak of civil war in April 2023, has created one of the worst humanitarian disasters of the 21st century. Despite its magnitude, the crisis has been overshadowed this year by events in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, leaving millions to endure unimaginable hardship with insufficient international attention or […]
Read moreHow Sednaya’s liberation exposed decades of systematic torture under Syria’s Assad regime
As jubilation spread across Syria following the overthrow of Bashar Assad on Dec. 8 after 13 years of civil war, Sednaya prison — a name synonymous with unspeakable horrors — finally fell into opposition hands. Thousands of Syrians flooded the gates of the infamous facility near Damascus on Monday, desperate for news of loved ones […]
Read moreCan Lebanon’s ancient cultural heritage be protected from war damage?
Towering above the fertile Bekaa Valley, the Temple of Jupiter and Temple of Bacchus in Baalbek stand as monumental symbols of Roman power, while the ruins of Tyre echo the splendor of the Phoenician civilization. Today, these UNESCO World Heritage sites, along with countless other historical landmarks, face a grave threat as the conflict between […]
Read more‘Abu Ivanka’ returns: Trump set to pick up from where he left off in Middle East
Defying almost all election predictions, Donald Trump, or “Abu Ivanka” as he is commonly known in the region, has secured what he has called a “powerful mandate” to form the next US administration, with massive implications not just for domestic politics but for the international community, including the Middle East. Since his election victory was […]
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