Will the Saudi-Houthi crisis spill over into the Nile? Riyadh could withdraw its vital financial support to the country in retaliation for Egypt’s refusal to aid the war in Yemen. The Saudi troops, with a backbone of battle-hardened Sudanese fighters, were defeated in a few hours by the Houthi bands. They are now threatening Saudi […]
While a war strangles the Strait of Hormuz, a parallel risky run is underway for the neighboring strait controlling the routes to the Red Sea There’s no better way to grasp how quickly the world is changing than to look at what’s happening in Djibouti, the small state on the Indian Ocean where northern Somalia […]
The Turkish leader may find himself in more trouble just because of his diplomatic successes. Egypt, Israel, and the ideal of the Arab Risorgimento are on his path. If there is one thing that cannot be downplayed, it is the skill of Turkish President Recep Erdogan in executing his political strategy to restore, within possible […]
Many are working for peace in the ongoing conflicts, and feasible compromises should be achievable, because everybody is tired of war. But will any ceasefires last? “The lovers’ faith is like the Arabian phoenix — everyone says it exists, no one knows where,” the Italian poet Metastasio sang, in verses that come back to mind […]
The Mediterranean Sea needs to regain some unity of purpose to confront the present and future migration waves that could scuttle Europe forever Recent events in Ceuta, where many thousands of migrants breached Spain’s borders (and thus also those of the EU) after swimming across the stretch of sea separating Morocco from the Spanish enclave, […]
The USA, Russia, and Israel are losing face in their military operations and will try to save it. How will the EU deal with it? In Europe, the art of saving face — even when things go truly badly — is neither a well-known nor a particularly well-developed science among our decision-makers, and above all […]
Mali is facing a severe escalation of its long-running security and humanitarian crisis. After large-scale, coordinated offensives by Islamist and separatist armed groups, the military junta is struggling to maintain control nationwide. Civilians face dire conditions amid intensified violence, widespread human rights abuses, and blockades. Russian mercenaries, who had backed the junta and expelled French […]
