Walking around Dubai’s GITEX exhibition this year, nothing from the wide array of “tech” products on display caught my attention, or enticed me enough to stop and ask questions. The event itself is the largest technology exchange and marketplace for Middle East and Africa, with the latest and greatest gadgets and gizmos available at hand.… Continue reading Minority Report: The Tech Life
Behind the Scenes: The Saudi-U.S. Arms Deal
The single largest military deal in American history signed on Saturday, May 20th in Riyadh may have appeared as a foreign policy coup for U.S. President Donald Trump. However the deal was a coup for Saudi Arabia as its military has been undergoing a major renewal and upgrade of its equipment. The majority of the… Continue reading Behind the Scenes: The Saudi-U.S. Arms Deal
Cairo’s Treasures of Trash
Overlooking Cairo’s Citadel, lies a small secluded community informally known as the Zabaleen, or garbage people. As the name suggests, the Zabaleen live in the midst of garbage that overwhelms the district’s narrow winding roads and small alley ways. Children play carefree and are oblivious to the stench of garbage that looms over them. If… Continue reading Cairo’s Treasures of Trash
Lebanon: Not All That Glitters Is Gold
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the top importer of Lebanese jewelry with about $26.96 million worth of products, or 58 percent of Lebanon’s total jewelry exports in the fourth quarter of 2015. When renowned divas Beyoncé, Madonna and Jennifer Lopez, prance on international stages draped in bedazzling jewelry, little do people know that a good… Continue reading Lebanon: Not All That Glitters Is Gold
UAE: Meet the World’s Youngest Minister
EARLIER this year in February, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Vice President and Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum appointed Shamma Al Mazrui as the country’s youth minister. The news would have been like any other cabinet shuffle, had it not been for the fact that UAE’s 22-year-old Mazrui had become the world’s… Continue reading UAE: Meet the World’s Youngest Minister
Resignation of Moroccan Opposition Figures Sends Shockwaves
The resignation of one the Arab world’s leading secular politicians has surprised politicians and analysts across North Africa. The sudden resignation of Ilyas El-Omari the head as the head of Morocco’s main opposition party the Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM) was announced at press conference on August 7th. Ilyas El-Omari will retain his presidency… Continue reading Resignation of Moroccan Opposition Figures Sends Shockwaves
King Abdullah: “My friends, we will solve the problems of our region!”
Jordan is getting ready for one of its most important conferences in recent years. The World Economic Forum on Middle East and North Africa (WEF MENA) will be held betwee May 19-21, 2017. Jordanian Armed Forces are preparing road blocks around the King Hussein bin Talal Convention Centre at the Dead Sea in order to protect… Continue reading King Abdullah: “My friends, we will solve the problems of our region!”
From Cars to Bags, Artist Brightens Up Gaza Streets with Calligraphy
GAZA, April 25 – With a thick black marker pen in hand, Palestinian graffiti artist Belal Khaled carefully draws an intricate Arabic calligraphic design on a silver Skoda. The art work decorates the sides of the car, running along the windows and down its doors, the latest in the 24-year-old’s mission to turn everyday objects… Continue reading From Cars to Bags, Artist Brightens Up Gaza Streets with Calligraphy
After Taliban Music Ban, Songbook Teaches Afghan Children to Sing Again
LONDON, June 14 – When Louise Pascale, an American music teacher, pulled a three-decade-old Afghan children’s songbook from her bookcase, she realised she was likely holding a treasure lost to Afghan children following a music ban imposed by the Taliban. Playing instruments was banned during the period of Taliban rule in late-1990s Afghanistan, and even… Continue reading After Taliban Music Ban, Songbook Teaches Afghan Children to Sing Again
Ethiopia: Wild South
It’s said that fortune favors the bold; in a region of chancers and missed opportunities there are occasions where this does appear to hold true. On the Bole thoroughfare, Addis Ababa’s Fifth Avenue last July, I was taken up several flights of darkened stairs into what looked like a jazz lounge. There we came across… Continue reading Ethiopia: Wild South
Careers
Like the idea of working for a company on the cusp of great change? At Newsweek Middle East, we are on a journey of growth, building on our brands and financial strength to get to where we want to go! Our mission is to foster global economic growth by empowering people everywhere with excellent news,… Continue reading Careers
Algeria: What Lies Ahead
For years, Africa’s largest country ––a heavyweight energy producer as well as a key regional player––has been regarded by most analysts, Middle East politicians and foreign diplomats as a pillar of stability. In recent history, the Algerian state proved its staying power by surviving the “Black Decade” of the 1990s when it relentlessly battled Islamist… Continue reading Algeria: What Lies Ahead
Pakistan Says U.S. Must Not Make it a “Scapegoat” for Afghan Failures
KARACHI, Pakistan, Aug 23 (Reuters) – Pakistan rejected on Wednesday U.S. criticism of its efforts to fight terrorism saying it should not be used as a scapegoat for the failure of the U.S. military to win the war in Afghanistan. U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his policy for Afghanistan on Monday, committing to an open-ended… Continue reading Pakistan Says U.S. Must Not Make it a “Scapegoat” for Afghan Failures
A Quarter of India’s Energy Demand Can Be Met with Renewable Energy
Increasing India’s renewables would save 12 times more than it costs Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., 22 August 2017 — India can raise its renewable energy use to meet a quarter of the country’s total final energy demand by 2030, according to the findings of a report presented today by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Renewable energy… Continue reading A Quarter of India’s Energy Demand Can Be Met with Renewable Energy
Raqqa Families Make Daring Escapes from Daesh Stronghold
RAQQA, Syria, Aug 21 – As Shawakh al-Omar huddled with 16 relatives in a single room in house in Daesh Syrian stronghold Raqqa, a mortar round slammed into the home next door, killing four people and shaking the building. The 57-year-old decided they should make a run for it. “We didn’t even have time to… Continue reading Raqqa Families Make Daring Escapes from Daesh Stronghold
Countering Fear
Two words guaranteed global infamy for fake terrorists this month: Allahu Akbar—Arabic for “God is the greatest.” They were allegedly used at a train station near Munich, as a mentally ill German man randomly killed one victim, and wounded three others in a knife attack. On the same day, an unidentified British volunteer taking part… Continue reading Countering Fear
EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Kurdish Intel Chief Lahur Talabani
Lahur Talabani’s journey to the forefront of the global war on terror began in the spring of 2002. It was a year after the 9/11 attacks had Americans questioning their intelligence failures in Afghanistan and the greater Middle East region. Talabani, then 26, was stationed in Ankara, representing one of the two main Iraqi Kurdish… Continue reading EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Kurdish Intel Chief Lahur Talabani
Yemen: Stairwell Lessons
Schools in one of Yemen’s largest cities, Taiz, are not empty. But they are not filled with students, either. Those that have not been completely destroyed by the conflict are now makeshift camps or barracks for Houthi rebels or resistance fighters locked in a nine-month war. Students have been left to study in streets, mosques… Continue reading Yemen: Stairwell Lessons
Gaza’s Pesky Pesticides
In Jabalia market, north of Gaza City, Mohammed Okasha, 42, moves between the stalls of vegetables wearily inspecting piles of tomatoes, cucumber, potatoes and other vegetables. Okasha suspects that the products are harming his family “because of the unhealthy and illegal use of fertilizers, which some farmers are using,” he tells Newsweek Middle East. Rumors… Continue reading Gaza’s Pesky Pesticides
Safe Bases: UAE’s Military Expansion in Africa
Two overseas Arab military garrisons are being established to secure a hold over one of the world’s most crucial chokepoints, right across the waters from Arabia. The military expansion is a clear reflection of a need felt across the Gulf Arab capitals to regain control of their own security, due to the deteriorating security situation… Continue reading Safe Bases: UAE’s Military Expansion in Africa
Beyond The Scars
“I saw my dad, I hugged him and his entire shirt got burned, even after twenty buckets of water were poured on me,” says Laxmi Agarwal. Agarwal was attacked with acid in 2005 while she was on her way to Delhi’s Khan Market. The reason? She dared to reject the advances of a man who… Continue reading Beyond The Scars
Farming Without Soil Seen as Solution in Land Without Water
CAIRO, Dec 14 – Growing lettuce in the desert is not most people’s idea of how to make a success of farming, but Amr Bassiouny believes he is on to something. The 30-year-old chief executive of Egyptian Hydrofarms says he is growing salad greens at his farm on the outskirts of Cairo using 90 percent… Continue reading Farming Without Soil Seen as Solution in Land Without Water
Taylor Swift Says DJ Subjected Her to Long, ‘Horrifying’ Grope
DENVER, Aug 11 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Taylor Swift testified on Thursday she was subjected to a “very long” and “intentional” grope by a Colorado disc jockey who appeared to be drunk during a photo session four years ago. The 27-year-old pop star was testifying for the first time for a U.S. District Court jury weighing… Continue reading Taylor Swift Says DJ Subjected Her to Long, ‘Horrifying’ Grope
This Week in History: November 9 – November 13
November 12, 1996: Charkhi Dadri Mid-Air Collision The Charkhi Dadri incident is considered the deadliest mid-air collision to date. A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 en route from Delhi to Dhahran, and a Kazakh Ilyushin Il-76 cargo en route from Chimkent to Delhi collided mid-air near New Dekhi, killing 349 people. The Saudi Flight 763 was… Continue reading This Week in History: November 9 – November 13