Tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia have escalated in recent days. Relations between the two African countries, already strained since 2011 due to Ethiopia’s construction and filling of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile—a project Egypt views as a major threat to its water and food security—have further deteriorated. The recent downturn
As Canada’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 2019 to 2022, I had a diplomatic front-row seat and occasional behind-the-scenes views into the quiet yet consistent progress that eventually led to the Abraham Accords. While I wasn’t surprised when the declaration was announced in 2020, I hadn’t anticipated how rapidly and warmly relations
The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, marked a watershed moment in global security and the US approach to counterterrorism. The coordinated strikes by al-Qaeda not only resulted in the tragic loss of nearly 3,000 lives but also fundamentally altered US domestic and foreign policy—leading to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the establishment of the
Growing up in a small rural village in northern Iraq, I witnessed that child marriage was normalized and widely practiced due to a combination of cultural traditions, economic hardships, and loopholes in the legal system. The girls I knew, like all children married at a young age, were deprived of their childhood and fundamental rights.
On June 26, the Court of Appeal of Paris ruled that Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons against his civilian population in 2013, despite these acts being committed in his official capacity as president of the Syrian Arab Republic, “cannot be considered as part of the official functions of a head of state [and] are
For almost a month, the Middle East and the international community waited on edge for Hezbollah’s retaliation for Israel’s assassination of its military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut on July 31. Its promised vengeance finally materialized on the morning of August 25. Hezbollah’s attack appears to have largely been a failure, and it remains unclear
With the presidential decree certifying the winners of the July 15 elections and calling for the Syrian People’s Assembly to convene on August 21, the 2024 election cycle has officially concluded. After President Bashar al-Assad called elections for the 250 seats of the Syrian People’s Assembly held in the areas controlled by his government, the
Turkey’s motivations for re-engaging with Syria after ending ties in 2011 are driven by regional security concerns, domestic political pressures, and the broader geopolitical landscape. With that in mind, Ankara’s primary objectives include addressing the People’s Defense Units (YPG) threat, facilitating the return of refugees, and seeking political stability in Syria—actions that are heavily influenced
A decade since the start of armed US intervention in the Syrian crisis, Turkey and the United States remain locked in a disagreement that impedes cooperation on the entire Syria file. Ankara demands that Washington halt its support for its chosen partners in northeast Syria, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed People’s Defense
The Mattei Plan, announced in October 2022 by new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as an innovative vision that the government of Italy would exercise in its relationship with Africa and African countries, has immediately taken center stage in the European political debate. The Mattei Plan is much more than an economic development plan, and it
