Mustafa Menshawy, Lancaster University Shortly after four Arab countries – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt – imposed an embargo on Qatar in 2017, I flew into the country’s capital Doha. Hamad airport – usually buzzing with visitors from the Gulf countries (one of every four visitors to Qatar in 2015 came from Saudi Arabia) – was …
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Mars: mounting evidence for subglacial lakes, but could they really host life?
There seems to be a network of underground bodies of liquid water at Mars’ south pole. NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems David Rothery, The Open University Venus may harbour life some 50km above its surface, we learned a couple of weeks ago. Now a new paper, published in Nature Astronomy, reveals that the best place for life on Mars might be …
Read More »ثلاث رحلاتٍ جريئة تنطلق نحو الكوكب الأحمر
الولايات المتحدة، والصين، والإمارات العربية المتحدة يطلقون رحلات استكشافية رائدة إلى كوكب المريخ، المعروف بخطورته على البعثات الفضائية. ألكساندرا ويتزي، وسمريتي مالاباتي، وإليزابيث جيبني Nature (2020) doi:10.1038/d41586-020-01861-0 English article المركبة الجوالة الأمريكية “بيرسيفيرانس” سوف تهبط في “فوّهة جيزيرو” على كوكب المريخ (محددة بدائرة صفراء). Emily Lakdawalla/ISRO/ISSDC شهد العالم خلال شهر يوليو الماضي انطلاق ثلاث مركبات فضائية صاروخية صوبَ المريخ. إذ …
Read More »Bahrain v Israel: how sport could help cement peace accords in the Middle East
Sporting events and initiatives could help strengthen ties between the Gulf states and Israel. EFKS/Shutterstock Hussa Khalid, Loughborough University Back in 2016, I was excited for the Bahrain Women’s National team to compete in the Aphrodite Cup, an international football tournament held in Cyprus. Bahrain’s team, of which I was in charge, had previously participated in an earlier edition of …
Read More »University rankings don’t measure what matters
GettyImages Sioux McKenna, Rhodes University International rankings of universities are big business and big news. These systems order universities on the basis of a variety of criteria such as student to staff ratio, income from industry, and reputation as captured through public surveys. Universities around the world use their rankings as marketing material and parents and prospective students make life …
Read More »Is it too soon to herald the ‘dawn of a new Middle East’? It all depends what the Saudis do next JIM LO SCALZO/EPA Ben Rich, Curtin University US President Donald Trump heralded nothing short of “the dawn of a new Middle East” as the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed agreements normalising ties with Israel during …
Read More »The impact of Brexit on relations between the UK and Gulf countries
Hassan Obeid, INSEEC U. On January 31, the United Kingdom will cease to be a member of the European Union and regain its status as an “independent” trading partner. Over the course of 2019, the country ramped up its efforts to sign up trading partners and was able to establish 20 bilateral “continuity” agreements covering 50 countries or territories. While many …
Read More »Turkey-Greece conflict in eastern Mediterranean is less about gas than vaccuum left by Trump
Turkey’s Oruç Reis vessel has been carrying out seismic work in contested waters. EPA Clemens Hoffmann, University of Stirling The worsening stand-off in the eastern Mediterranean, frequently described as a gas conflict, has been gaining momentum. It may seem a strange time to be fighting over gas when prices remain in a slump due to weak demand and investors withdrawing. …
Read More »What’s next for Arab-Israeli relations after the UAE deal?
Simon Mabon, Lancaster University Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed a historic agreement which makes the Emirates only the third Arab state to recognise Israel after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. As part of the deal, dubbed the Abraham Accord, Israel has suspended highly controversial plans to annex the West Bank. But it has been …
Read More »What’s next for Arab-Israeli relations after the UAE deal?
Simon Mabon, Lancaster University Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed a historic agreement which makes the Emirates only the third Arab state to recognise Israel after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. As part of the deal, dubbed the Abraham Accord, Israel has suspended highly controversial plans to annex the West Bank. But it has been …
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