North Africa

In mid-2022, Iranian authorities accused Israel and the United Arab Emirates of stealing their rain. But Iran’s increasingly dire water shortages make it harder to blame others for the Iranian government’s poor water management. A new Mezze from the CSIS Middle East Program.

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Nicolas Pelham of The Economist about the Moroccan monarchy and King Mohammed VI’s unusual friendship with a German kickboxer.

As Egypt's economic crisis continues, a new proposition of introducing donkey meat to Egypt's cuisine causes public uproar amidst soaring food prices.

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Hafsa Halawa of the Middle East Institute and author of a new paper entitled Gulf Investment in Egypt, A balance of mutual need. They talk about the economic crisis that has plagued Egypt, shedding light on the factors that have contributed to its tumultuous state.

Suffering from a debilitating electricity and water shortage crisis, some communities in Libya resort to "power plays" and acts of intimidation to ensure their access to basic services.

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Prof. Killian Clarke of Georgetown's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service about his forthcoming book tentatively entitled The Return of Tyranny: How Counterrevolutions Emerge and Succeed.

GCC countries are beginning to tackle their obesity problem, but structural and cultural challenges to improving fitness abound.

Mvemba is joined by Cameron Hudson to unpack the long-term drivers of tensions between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Ayham Kamel of the Eurasia Group. They talk about the current diplomatic landscape in the Gulf, how leaders perceive their security interests, their views on the U.S. staying in power in the region, and how they are responding to the U.S. retrenchment from the Middle East.

What started as a job advertisement for a sandwich maker in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) quickly landed one firm in hot water last December. As the UAE pushes for companies in the private sector to hire more Emiratis, they're finding that there are some jobs that Emiratis don't want.