A Difficult Friendship
NEED TO KNOW A Difficult Friendship SAUDI ARABIA Saudi Arabia recently told American officials that Iran was planning an attack on the […]
Back Again
NEED TO KNOW Back Again ISRAEL When Israeli voters cast their ballots for parliament on Nov. 1, they will arguably be making […]
All Aboard
NEED TO KNOW All Aboard MIDDLE EAST /NORTH AFRICA France’s national railroad company, SNCF, hoped to build a high-speed train in California […]
Take It Off
NEED TO KNOW Take It Off IRAN Big protests over little scarves are threatening to destabilize the Islamic Republic of Iran. In […]
The Best, the Worst, of Times
NEED TO KNOW The Best, the Worst, of Times SAUDI ARABIA It was a time of lavish spending on ambitious projects. It […]
Twisting and Turning
NEED TO KNOW Twisting and Turning IRAQ From 2003 to 2009, the Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr waged an insurgency against American troops […]
A Tiger’s Tail
NEED TO KNOW A Tiger’s Tail WEST BANK & GAZA Palestinian lawyers took to the streets in Ramallah in the Israel-occupied territories […]
Same Old, Same Old
NEED TO KNOW Same Old, Same Old IRAN Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, a conservative former judge, won office a year ago promising […]
Oozing Wounds
NEED TO KNOW Oozing Wounds SYRIA Recently, some British tourists in Aleppo marveled at how rebel snipers a few years ago fired […]
Pride and Politics
NEED TO KNOW Pride and Politics ISRAEL Israel is set to hold its fifth election in less than four years, a surfeit […]
Second Spring
NEED TO KNOW Second Spring TUNISIA Commerce and public services ground to a halt in Tunisia recently as the country’s massive Tunisian […]
But First, Trust
NEED TO KNOW But First, Trust IRAN An Iranian engineer recently died and another employee was wounded in an “unexplained incident” at […]
Shattered
NEED TO KNOW Shattered LEBANON Lebanese expatriates took to the polls recently before parliamentary elections in their homeland on May 15. Their […]
Guns & Butter
NEED TO KNOW Guns & Butter MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA Observers in Tunisia are wondering how much higher food prices can […]
Stifled Spring
NEED TO KNOW Stifled Spring TUNISIA Tunisian President Kais Saied recently extended his North African country’s state of emergency through the end […]
It’s Good to Be King
NEED TO KNOW It’s Good to Be King JORDAN Jordan is technically a constitutional monarchy. However, King Abdullah II of Jordan wields […]
Guns and Butter
NEED TO KNOW Guns and Butter UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Last week, an explosion rocked Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab […]
Worst Crisis Today
NEED TO KNOW Worst Crisis Today YEMEN Houthi rebels in Yemen recently launched a drone and missile strike against the United Arab […]
Perception is Key
NEED TO KNOW Perception is Key EGYPT French automaker Citroën recently apologized for airing a television commercial in Egypt that featured the […]
Through the Past, Darkly
NEED TO KNOW Through the Past, Darkly LIBYA Muammar Gaddafi was a brutal dictator who ruled Libya for four decades. After rebels […]
Just Business
NEED TO KNOW Just Business UNITED ARAB EMIRATES The United Arab Emirates recently made Sunday a day off, putting the Persian Gulf […]
Moving On
NEED TO KNOW Moving On SYRIA Syrian President Bashar Assad’s friends and relatives are making billions selling an illegal amphetamine called captagon […]
A Place Called Rock Bottom
NEED TO KNOW A Place Called Rock Bottom LEBANON As befits a widow who follows local Muslim traditions in Lebanon, 32-year-old Ammouneh […]
Revolution Redux
NEED TO KNOW Revolution Redux TUNISIA Tunisian Najla Bouden Ramadhane recently became the Arab world’s first female prime minister. That’s a historic […]