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  • Lebanon elections: Who are the major winners and losers?

    Lebanon's first elections since the country was devastated by its worst-ever economic crisis have unseated household names in Lebanese politics, shifted majority blocs, and yielded a surprising breakthrough for independents. Middle East Eye takes a look at some of the elections' most notable winners and losers.

  • Why are sandstorms becoming more common in the Middle East?

    From Saudi Arabia to Iraq and Kuwait to Iran, sandstorms have been blanketing the Middle East, causing delays to flights, school closures and thousands to be admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties. The severe weather caused by the strong winds, known as Shamal winds in the Gulf, has led many governments to take proactive measures. These follow warnings from experts that climate change could worsen and lead to more severe weather events in the coming years.

  • Emerging market investments are shrinking. How will MENA countries hit FDI targets? 

    The Goldilocks moment experienced in markets over the past couple of years is subsiding. Geopolitical risk, inflation, and US interest rates are all rising. In addition, two crucial macroeconomic trends will impact the future capital flows to emerging markets. First, globalization policies that have focused overwhelmingly on cost efficiency and rationalization will now focus on resiliency and values-based investments.

  • Emerging market investments are shrinking. How will MENA countries hit FDI targets? 

    A US economic slowdown or a recession couldn’t come at a worse time for emerging markets, particularly those in MENA, where most are fighting chronic unemployment, especially among youth and women, slowing growth, and higher debt levels. Large oil-exporting countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—are better positioned given heightened commodity prices. However, their lack of interest rate autonomy given the dollar peg limits their ability to deviate their monetary policy from that of the United States.

  • Is Iran’s ‘Bread’ Subsidy Reform a Half-Baked Idea?

    The policy that has triggered the protests has been widely reported as a cut to a “bread subsidy” that has suddenly increased the cost of bread and cereal-based products. This is inaccurate. The subsidy that has been eliminated was an exchange rate subsidy. The government had been providing Iranian importers allocations of hard currency below market prices. This policy indirectly subsidised the purchase of wheat and a few other foodstuffs by the importers. It did not directly subsidise the purchase of bread by ordinary people.

  • Can Qatar help moderate the Taliban?

    Dr. Courtney Freer, a fellow at Emory University, told Amwaj.media that Qatar has served as the “gatekeeper of mediation relations” between the Taliban and the west throughout the past decade via the Afghan group’s political office in Doha. Established in 2013, the office has provided a “neutral venue in a place where you don’t have the same legislation that makes such types of meetings impossible in, for instance, the US,” she explained.

  • Saudi Arabia: Remerging as the leader of the Islamic world?

    Over the past decade, various undercurrents were swirling in the Muslim world with nations trying to dislodge Saudi Arabia from its ostensible position as the leader of the Islamic world.

  • Why did Syria’s Assad pay a surprise visit to Iran?

    Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's recent trip to Tehran is seen by Iranian media and officials as an indicator of the comradery between the two nations. The precise reason for Assad's previously unannounced trip—or why his visit was kept under wraps—remains unclear. However, there are some speculations that Iran could be moving to fill the vacuum left by any Russian withdrawal from Syria as a result of the war in Ukraine.

  • Which countries have the most powerful passports?

    For the third year in a row, Singapore and Japan have the most powerful passports in the world. According to data from the International Air Transport Association, analyzed by immigration consultants Henley& Partners, citizens of those two nations can travel to 192 of 227 destinations without having to secure a visa. On the bottom of the list—seven places below North Korea—is Afghanistan, where nationals can gain visa-free access to just 26 countries and territories. Several states severed diplomatic ties with the beleaguered country after the Taliban seized power in August.

  • Will surging energy prices derail reforms in oil-exporting Middle East?

    In March, Iraq’s oil exports were worth just over $11 billion (€10.5 billion), the most the country has earned for oil in a month since 1972. Obviously, Iraq can afford to pay all of its bills this month, and the next. But what does this mean for reforms planned before these price rises? Is there even any point to them anymore?