Gulf Region
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COP26 climate conference
Saudi Arabia's climate strategy – greenwashing or genuine transformation?
Saudi Arabia has announced a comprehensive transformation strategy toward a green future. But what are the real drivers of the world's biggest oil exporter's "net-zero" vision for 2060? Jennifer Holleis reports
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Takeover of Newcastle United by Saudi PIF
Mohammed bin Salman and the Premier League: more than a game
The takeover of English football club Newcastle United by the Saudi Public Investment Fund is more than an attempt by the Kingdom to boost its own image. There are strategic economic interests behind the deal. Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman is also looking to consolidate his position at home. By Sebastian Sons
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Military coup in Sudan
Is the Arab Spring about to die in Khartoum?
General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan has declared a state of emergency in Sudan and dissolved the Sovereign Council, which was made up of military personnel and civilians. What will now happen in Khartoum is anyone's guess. The Sudanese experiment of peacefully wresting power from the military is facing its toughest test yet. An analysis by Karim El-Gawhary, reporting from Cairo
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Sex education in the Arab world
Let's talk about sex, habibi!
Sex education – taboo in the Middle East. Or is it? Thanks to social media, millions these days are daring to ask everything about "it". Jennifer Holleis has the details
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Future-proofing Islam
Focus on the soul of Islam
Indonesian religious affairs minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas set the bar high for both President Joko Widodo and Nahdlatul Ulama – the religious backbone of Widodo's government – when he laid out the agenda for his country's presidency of the G20 last week. James M. Dorsey has the details
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Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and Egypt
A new dawn for diplomacy in the Middle East?
International relations are shifting across the Middle East as regional powers adapt to America's retrenchment and China's growing influence. Although the region could become the site of another great-power competition, it also has a chance to pursue diplomatic openings and new security arrangements. By Fawaz A. Gerges
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Taliban takeover
Afghanistan crisis looms as West cuts aid lifelines
The world must take action now to prevent a deep and lasting humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. But what, if anything, can be done? The one billion dollars pledged by international donors is merely a short term fix, argues Rashmee Roshan Lall
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Arab world
"The people aren't ready" – can Arabs do democracy?
"The people aren’t ready for democracy" has been the constitutional basis for Arab tyranny, its favourite slogan and its sacred narrative for more than a century. Yet, asks Khaled Hroub, what chance does democracy have, unless it is repeatedly put to the test by the people at all levels of society?
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Western withdrawal from Afghanistan
The symbolic importance of the U.S. defeat
Caught up in discussions on the future of local Afghan forces and new Islamist threats, people are failing to grasp the historic scale of the debacle, argues Stefan Buchen in his essay
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Houses of healing
The success of early Arab medicine against epidemics
The coronavirus pandemic has turned lives upside down all over the world. In the Middle Ages, however, people lived with epidemics all the time. The best and most famous physicians worked in the Islamic world. By Dunja Ramadan
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Promoting human rights in the Middle East
The U.S. and Arab hearts and minds – an impossible task?
As the Biden administration attempts to promote democracy and human rights in the Middle East, it will confront the deep-seated belief among Arabs that U.S. policies are unfair to their central causes and biased in favour of the ruling elite of their countries. By Rafiah Al Talei
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Saudi Arabia, football and the Olympics
Making the leap from off-side to big league?
The Saudi national team is set to play the German Olympic squad at the Olympics in Tokyo later this month – a chance for the outsiders to make their mark. At the same time, and keen to buff up the nation's badly tarnished image, the Kingdom is looking to pitch for glory in the multi-million dollar football business. It's a risky strategy. By Sebastian Sons