Tag Archives: Middle East

As longterm partnership with US fades, Saudi Arabia seeks to diversify its diplomacy – and recent deals with China, Iran and Russia fit this strategy

Saudi Arabia, to the surprise of many, chose China to broker its deal with Iran in March 2023. Chinese Foreign Ministry/Anadolu Agency via Getty Image Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice University The fact that Saudi Arabia entered a rapprochement deal with Iran and chose China to broker it came as a surprise to many international observers. The agreement, officially called the …

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The Palestinian territory Israel has turned into a firing zone: meet the cave-dwelling people of Masafer Yatta

Hajja Nuzha Al-Najjar in her cave-home in Masafer Yatta. In an oral history interview, she describes being shot in the leg by an Israeli settler in 2005. Mahmoud Makhamra, Author provided Aurélie Bröckerhoff, Coventry University and Mahmoud Soliman, Coventry University The people of Masafer Yatta are determined to hold on to their cave-dwelling lifestyle. “I was born in this cave …

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Life in the firing zone in Masafer Yatta, the Palestinian territory where people have lived in caves for generations

Hajja Nuzha Al-Najjar in her cave-home in Masafer Yatta. In an oral history interview, she describes being shot in the leg by an Israeli settler in 2005. Mahmoud Makhamra, Author provided Aurélie Bröckerhoff, Coventry University and Mahmoud Soliman, Coventry University The people of Masafer Yatta are determined to hold on to their cave-dwelling lifestyle. “I was born in this cave …

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How Turkey and Saudi Arabia became frenemies – and why the Khashoggi case could change that

Things between Saudi King Salman and Turkish President Erdogan have become rather tense. AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici Nader Habibi, Brandeis University The Oct. 2 disappearance of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi at his country’s consulate in Istanbul has put a spotlight on the deteriorating relations between Turkey and the Persian Gulf kingdom. Articles based on anonymous accounts from Turkish officials report …

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Desalination may be key to averting global water shortage, but it will take time

As the most water-scarce region on the planet, the Middle East is particularly reliant on desalination technology. Maxim Petrichuk/Shutterstock Kiran Tota-Maharaj, Aston University Clean freshwater is critical for sustaining human life. However, 1.1 billion people lack access to it worldwide. Desalination represents an increasingly popular way of addressing this. Desalination is the process of extracting salt from saline water to …

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In Egypt, where a meal isn’t complete without bread, war in Ukraine is threatening the wheat supply and access to this staple food

A man carries a tray of freshly baked bread outside a bread factory on Dec. 15, 2016, in Cairo. Chris McGrath/Getty Images Jessica Barnes, University of South Carolina Russia’s war on Ukraine is disrupting global grain supplies. Restrictions on navigation in the Azov Sea and the closure of ports have interrupted grain shipments from Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter, …

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Islamic State: death of leader is big step towards becoming a different kind of terrorist organisation

Dream of a caliphate as an Islamist homeland is receding. Mohammad Bash via Shutterstock Elisa Orofino, Anglia Ruskin University A “proto-state”, a “socio-political movement, the ”beast“ – all names given to a single group that, at its height, seemed to embody the west’s worst nightmare. You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, here. Islamic State …

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The Tinderbox: why I disagree with the view of history in this documentary on the Israel-Palestine conflict

Jerusalem, the city that is sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims. S1001/Shutterstock. Ronit Berger Hobson, Queen’s University Belfast When filmmaker Gillian Moseley, a Jewish Anglo-American, decided to make a documentary examining the question of belonging and home in the Holy Land – the coastal strip that stretches from Syria to Egypt, with Israel in the centre – she believed she …

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