Middle East Near You

Over the past couple of weeks Saudi Arabia has upped the ante with regard to retaliation against the family members of political dissenters in the Kingdom. Former senior official...

When Saudi Arabia approached members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its affiliates recently to cut oil production in an attempt to cushion the impact of...

Iran is facing what is arguably one of its most difficult periods in its history. Years of US-led economic sanctions continue to have a negative impact on the economy,...

It is worth remembering that the initial protests in Syria were calling for social change, not regime change. It was the heavy-handed response of the Bashar Al-Assad government to...

The most plausible reason why President Trump ordered the assassination of the Iranian general commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Qassem Soleimani, is to shift attention away from...

Saudi Arabia is set to assume the presidency of the G20, the first time that an Arab state has held such a position.

The world’s largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, has finally decided against listing its shares in New York, London or Hong Kong, the world’s most lucrative stock exchanges. The company...

Sudan has always featured on the news for a variety of reasons.  Over the years, it has been the ongoing conflicts that engulfed the country attracting media attention.  The...

Abqaiq petroleum processing facilities and Khurais oil field in Saudi Arabia were attacked by a multitude of missiles and rockets last Saturday. Saudi Arabia has said Iran was behind...

“Sudanese are proud Arabs, they master the Arabic language and their firm Islamic adherence further emphasise their position as Arabs.”  Most Sudanese are sceptical, for various reasons, of being...

The war in Yemen is entering its fifth year with no solution in sight. Every day thousands of people, including women and children, are injured and maimed. According to...

Bags of blood donated by Ethiopian Jews were found dumped Israel in 1996; stacks of them. The discovery led to protests and riots in Israel. According to the New...

The attacks on two Japanese oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week have raised both concerns and exasperation in the region. Saudi Arabia, Britain and the US...

The military junta in Sudan has changed its political rhetoric; it has entrenched its position and is not yielding to the demands of the opposition. This is obvious, not...

Saudi Arabia hosted three summits side-by-side this week. Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud hosted the 14th summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Friday.  Saudi Arabia exploited...

The people of Sudan have been engaged in the protest against the government for the past four months. The protestors have been calling for the resignation of President Omar...

Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir visited Qatar on Wednesday. His visit comes during the most tumultuous time of his presidency back in his home country, in which Al-Bashir and his...

There have been a number of significant political events in the Middle East over the past few days. The ongoing protests in Sudan, for example, have claimed the lives...

I have just been to Soweto in South Africa, where I was surprised by how well-versed people are about what happened to journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Arabian...

The disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul has raised a number of questions about the safety and security of dissenting voices in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, especially...

South Africa’s proactive foreign policy often punches way above its weight. It draws its confidence from the country’s political history and what many still refer to as a “political...

Shia Islam, like many religious sects, continues to be polarised by political opinion. This has in history led to further sub-divisions of Shia Islam. Notwithstanding, there is still an...

Reuters news agency has reported that Saudi Arabia has scrapped plans to list shares of the state-owned energy giant Aramco on international stock exchanges. The report further alleges that it...

Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia has been touting socio-political and economic reforms in his country since June 2017; they include the privatisation of ARAMCO, the country’s...

The search and rescue organisation the White Helmets have received praise for their work from various governments and organisations across the globe. The organisation was founded by the former...

The civil war in Yemen has led to incredible human suffering, described by the UN as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.” While the military involvement of the Saudi Arabia-led...

The much-anticipated 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off in Moscow on 14 June. There was low-key advance hype about this tournament for obvious reasons, not least because Russia has...

King Abdullah of Jordan met with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia yesterday to discuss the ongoing protests in his country. Jordan...

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have been leading a political and economic blockade against the state of Qatar since 5 June 2017, which has led to the...

I am not known for commentaries about East Asia; it’s just not “my” region. However, moments avail themselves occasionally where one can share close and informative discussions with experts...

The Arabs have been and continue to be polarised on many political issues involving the future of the region. During the first Gulf War in 1990, the Palestine Liberation...

Talks about the River Nile between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia held in Khartoum on 5 April were deadlocked. The discussions revolved around Ethiopia’s construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam....