Tag Archives: Middle East

News: U.S. & Allies Launch Air Strikes On Houthis In Yemen, 2024 Iowa Caucuses

The Globalist Podcast (January 12, 2024) US and UK forces have carried out air strikes against the Houthis in Yemen with mission support from the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Bahrain.

Targets reportedly include sites in the capital city, Sana’a, the Red Sea port of Al-Hudaydah, Dhamar and the northwestern Houthi stronghold of Sa’ada. We discuss the political consequences of South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

Also, an eventful week in US politics ahead of this year’s presidential election, Greece plans an initial public offering of Athens International Airport and the latest theatre news.

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – January 11, 2024

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The Guardian Weekly (January 10, 2024) – The new issue features ‘Middle East on the brink’ – The threat of a regional war. Also, Inside the Post Office Horizon IT scandal…

The assassination of a Hamas chief in Lebanon. A terror attack on mourners of an Iranian former general. Commercial shipping in the Red Sea targeted by Yemeni rebels, and a US airstrike in Iraq. All were separate events in the Middle East last week but all were linked, in one way or another, to the presence of autonomous but Iranian-backed militia forces in the region.

When asked to visualise the threat of war engulfing the Middle East, for this week’s cover, illustrator Carl Godfrey took a literal approach. “I wanted to convey the tense and unpredictable situation,” says Carl, “and there’s nothing more tense than looking down the barrel of a gun. Especially when those barrels are pointing in all directions, and the risk of war is expanding in all directions.”

News: The South Africa Genocide Case Against Israel, Taiwan Elections

The Globalist Podcast (January 11, 2024) Assessing the possibility of the International Court of Justice ordering Israel to halt its campaign in Gaza.

Plus: Taiwan’s all-important election this weekend, Poland’s political meltdown and the latest business news.

News: NATO Allies Meeting On Ukraine Air Defenses, Humanitarian Aid In Gaza

The Globalist Podcast (January 10, 2024) We discuss today’s Nato-Ukraine Council meeting against a backdrop of increased Russian attacks.

Also, the humanitarian situation in Gaza, a dispatch from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and Seoul’s new seatless subway carriages.

News: Wider Conflict In Israel-Gaza War, South Korea Political Crisis

The Globalist Podcast (January 9, 2024) Nik Gowing discusses whether the Israel-Gaza war could spark a wider conflict in the region – and beyond.

Also, Steven Borowiec updates us on South Korea’s political crisis ahead of national elections and, with less than a week to go, we look ahead to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos.

News: Blinken Middle East Tour, US Troops Exit Iraq, Ecuador Organized Crime

The Globalist Podcast (January 8, 2024) Antony Blinken’s latest multi-stop tour of the Middle East, Iraq prepares US-led troop exit and Ecuadorean president Daniel Noboa’s plan to hold a referendum on security measures.

Also, the business news and the winners of the Golden Globe Awards.

News: Fears Of A Wider Middle East War, Ukraine-Russia Prisoner Exchange

The Globalist Podcast (January 5, 2024) A discussion of the effect of the Israel-Gaza war on Lebanon and the potential for a broader fallout after a series of Israeli strikes on Hezbollah.

Also, the latest on Russia’s war in Ukraine, following the biggest prisoner swap since the beginning of the invasion. Plus: Louis Vuitton’s first luxury hotel, film news and Helsinki’s annual light-art festival.

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – January 5, 2024

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The Guardian Weekly (January 4, 2024) – The new issue features ‘Make or Break 2024’ – The biggest election year in history.

About 2 billion people have the opportunity to cast their ballots in polls that span the globe from the United States to Taiwan, and India to Mexico in 2024. The outcomes, as our analysts and correspondents explain in our big story, have implications for us all.

Washington bureau chief David Smith looks at the likely rerun of 2020’s Biden v Trump contest in November and explores what has changed and what has not in the US as the old adversaries square up. It is an almost foregone conclusion that Narendra Modi will be back for a third term as Indian prime minster, reports Hannah Ellis-Petersen from Delhi where analysts fear his victory will further imperil the country’s Muslim minority. And while Vladimir Putin will certainly continue as president in Russia, Pjotr Sauer explains why the man about to become fifth-time president might allow other candidates onto the ballot list. From Taiwan’s poll on 13 January to the 27-state European elections in June, how citizens vote will influence the geopolitical landscape for us all, while the conduct of campaigns will reveal how vulnerable democracies now are to misinformation and cyber interference from malign actors.

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – December 22, 2023

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The Guardian Weekly (December 20, 2023) – The new issue features Two wars and a growing divide between the global west and south. Plus: Best culture of 2023.

World risks new age of empires where might makes right, warns Estonian foreign minister

Margus Tsahkna

International institutions seem powerless in face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, writes Margus Tsahkna, arguing they ‘cannot survive unchanged’

The international rules-based system needs urgent and fundamental change if it is not to collapse, the Estonian foreign minister has said, calling for “a new global conversation” to begin on how to reform the UN and the international criminal court.

Writing in the Guardian on Wednesday, Margus Tsahkna says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has highlighted flaws in the system that risk fatally undermining people’s faith in it.

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Elsewhere, we shouldn’t forget there are plenty of reasons for hope. Having been expected to deliver little, the Cop28 climate summit turned out to be full of surprises – but was the final deal on fossil fuels just a ruse, asks environment editor Fiona Harvey.

Writers from the Guardian’s global development team reflect on the inspirational figures they met in 2023, from leaders to dancers to dads, who proved that humanity still has much to give. And leading conservationists and scientists tell us about the mysteries of the planet they wish they better understood.

The review of 2023 continues with the Observer’s selection of those we lost, recalled with affection by their friends. There’s also a dazzling range of images courtesy of the Guardian agency photographers of the year.

Last but not least, the Guardian critics’ top 10 rundowns of the best film and music of 2023, topped off with the Guardian Weekly team’s now-legendary television selections of the year.

News: Qatar-Israel-Hamas Bribe Scheme; Rwanda Migrants, Liz Cheney & GOP

The Globalist Podcast (December 13, 2023) – We examine Benjamin Netenyahu’s alleged scheme to bribe Hamas through Qatar.

Also, Tim Bale explains how, in the UK, Tory factions are pulling the strings on Rwanda; Liz Cheney’s message to the GOP; and film critic Karen Krizanovich reveals how Japan is breathing life into the US box office.