Middle East Near You

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....

US President Donald Trump has extended back-to-back invitations to the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar before the anticipated US-Gulf summit in Camp David. The...

Journalists are often told never to be the story themselves; “Tell the story, but never be part of the story” is the general advice. Al-Jazeera’s journalists and the network...

The Munich Security Conference has become one of the important annual platforms for global political leaders. Since its inception in 1963, the MSC has provided space for politicians and...

Throughout his presidential election campaign, Donald Trump made it clear that he intended to prioritise the United States in his politics and economics. His “America First” policy which he...

The immigration of Ethiopians to Saudi Arabia can be traced to the advent of Islam and the pursuit of business opportunities. Saudi Arabia in particular has been attractive to...

The 54th Conference of the African National Congress (ANC) was held at the Nasrec exhibition complex in Johannesburg from 16-20 December 2017. The ANC is the oldest political organisation...

Saudi Arabia has called a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo to discuss “Iran’s disruptive politics” in the region. This comes after the rather flimsy resignation of Lebanese...

The death of King Abdullah in January 2015 resuscitated a debate about reforms in Saudi Arabia. Many suggested at the time that perhaps the inclusion of younger princes in...

There is a long-running argument in Africa that the lumping together of different tribes into nation states is responsible for the intra-national conflicts in most African countries. Bringing different...

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the Deputy Chief Commander of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohammed Bin Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan is...

Saudi Arabia, Israel and the United States despise the Islamic Republic of Iran for different reasons, most of which have little to do with global peace and stability. Both...

The answer to the question posed by this article is simple: Qatar stands to lose in terms of its historical socio-political and economic investments in the Gaza Strip as...

It is another bad September for Israel in Africa. Sixteen years ago in Durban, Israel suffered a political blow at the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and...

The Kurds are known as the “world’s largest number of people without a nation”. There are over 30 million of them scattered around the world, although they live mainly...

On 5 June 2017 Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain imposed land, air, sea blockade on the State of Qatar and started a coalition against it....

On 4 January 2014, the so-called Islamic State in the Levant — Daesh — declared its capture of the city of Fallujah in Iraq. There followed a number of...

Speaking on the list of demands put forward by the Saudi-led coalition against Qatar, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement that “he hopes they will...

There is never a dull moment in the politics of the Middle East, says the old adage, and this week has been no different. After a lot of speculation,...

The ongoing blockade of Qatar led by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt has exposed the harshness of Middle Eastern politics. How did the situation...