FLUID STATE OF PLAY IN THE GULF
Entering the already murky waters of Middle Eastern geopolitics this year was the widening rift between a number of Gulf states (with Saudi Arabia at the forefront) and their erstwhile regional ally Qatar.
SPLIT TIES: THE GULF IN CRISIS
The Arab world’s only trade bloc the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is at risk of disintegration following Saudi Arabia and its three allies announcing on 5 June thatthey have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar.
GEOPOLITICAL QUAGMIRE
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, along with their allies including Egypt, cut all diplomatic ties with Qatar recently. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have also placed on notice all Qatari citizens to leave their shores within two weeks.
THE G7 SUMMIT
Italy’s Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni – the host of this year’s G7 Summit held in Sicily’s ‘Pearl of the Ionian Sea’ Taormina – was joined by the heads of seven
ANTI-IRAN FRONT
In his first diplomatic mission as President of the United States, Donald Trump hopped on a plane to travel to where some believe
FIGHTING GRAFT
Mahatma Gandhi once said that “there’s enough on this planet for everyone’s needs but not for everyone’s greed.” The chronic
PEOPLE SMUGGLING
People smuggling and human trafficking aren’t the same and the difference between them is not always understood. The former is characterised by consent
FRANCE ELECTION
At first glance, it appeared as if the French voters had said a firm ‘no’ to populism and xenophobia. But apparently they had much
ONE BELT ONE ROAD
In January, a freight train from China reached the UK carrying 34 containers packed with clothes, shoes, suitcases and other
DOLLAR DOMINATION
Few would contest that the United States enjoys a privileged status in international trade. Yet, most of this privilege isn’t derived from unfettered markets,
WOMEN OF COURAGE
Shakespeare’s Hamlet may have typified the conventional image of women through his words: “Frailty, thy name is woman.” Yet, history continues to prove that
HERMIT KINGDOM
North Korea’s growing nuclear threat cast an ominous shadow over US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s first visit to the
TERRORIST RECRUITMENT
Inequality has become a hot-button topic today – understandably so. The facts are so obscene that it’s difficult to believe they’re real. In January,
SOUTH KOREAN SIEGE
Politicians ascend positions of leadership and often forget their raison d’être, behaving as if they’re not accountable to anyone. Thought leader Katherine
OIL PRODUCTION
It just so happens that the world’s oil wealth is located underneath a land in turmoil. It’s both a blessing and a curse: a blessing because it brings
EUROPE ELECTIONS
While referenda and elections in the UK and the US have always been of interest to those of us in the Eastern hemisphere, the unforeseen rise of populist
DISPUTED OILFIELDS
Within the vast deserts of the Middle East lies a hydrocarbon treasure. Prior to the discovery of oil, the local Bedouins paid no attention to
DIGITAL WORLD
The Digital Transformation Forum 2017 lured attendees with some facts to stop them in their tracks. According to a recent Gartner survey, 20 percent
LIBERATING SRI LANKA
In New Zealand, cultural ties to Europe remain strong – 74 percent have British or European ancestry and New Zealand is essentially
TRUMP’S FIRST 30 DAYS
America gifted its people and the free world with intellectual giants like Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy
