Al Majalla | The Leading Arab Magazine

Special coverage

US-Iran war and the regional repercussions

Yuval Abraham and Rachel Shor receive the Special Jury Prize for the film 'NAZA' at the closing of the Venice Film Festival, 12 September 2026.

'NAZA' and the battle over who gets to tell the story

Some see this prize-winning documentary about Israeli soldiers' crimes in Gaza as whitewashing by suggesting a plurality of opinion; others see it as important evidence

Samer Abou Hawwach

Eduardo Ramon

Science & Technology

Is climate change changing the taste of cheese?

High-yielding cows generate lots of metabolic heat that they find difficult to dissipate when air temperature and humidity rise together. The result is an effect on a much-loved food

Alaa Emara

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shares a moment with Russian President Vladimir Putin as Chinese President Xi Jinping looks on during day two of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, on 13 September 2026.

REUTERS

SPECIAL COVERAGE

Only China, India, and Russia can end the Iran war

Politics

Washington needs its rivals to create peace on its behalf

Amir Handjani

SCO summit: a Eurasia that no longer seeks US permission

China is not scared of Trump’s squeeze on Iran

Will US sanctions on Iran bite? It may depend on China

Iran’s shadow economy can adapt. But not indefinitely

Iran war deepens cracks in America’s alliances

Trump has lost the Iran war, but how badly?

Latest

Business & Economy

Iran’s shadow economy can adapt. But not indefinitely

Lina Khatib

Politics

Egypt’s Red Sea problems mount as Houthis take territory

Amr Emam

Science & Technology

The new AI divide and Saudi Arabia’s balancing act

Marco Mossad

Culture & Social Affairs

When the international debt mountain threatens to collapse

Mohamed Sharki

Politics

Xi puts China in the Middle East security equation

Charbel Barakat

Popular
Editor's Pick

Al Majalla/Reuters

Politics

A Houthi takeover of Bab al-Mandab cannot be tolerated

12 September 2026

The Iran-backed group's effective takeover of Yemen's western coast comes with serious regional and global implications. The world needs to act.

Alice Gower

Pete Reynolds

Politics

Inside Assad’s nuclear secrets

09 September 2026

Al Majalla reveals the structure of Syria's nuclear programme 19 years after Israel bombed the Al-Kibar reactor, detailing the involvement of other states and the assassinations that followed

Al Majalla - London

Underwater image of a diver among fish at the North Seymour Island dive site in the Galapagos archipelago, Ecuador, taken on 8 March 2024.

ERNESTO BENAVIDES / AFP

Business & Economy

The global race for rare earths reaches the ocean floor

07 September 2026

A critical mineral found on Japan's seabed has caught US attention, and the two are teaming up to see whether it can yield future benefits and reduce their dependence on China

Abdulfattah Khattab

Al Majalla/Reuters

Politics

The murky origins of al-Qaeda explained

09 September 2026

Thousands of Muslim volunteers flocked to Afghanistan in 1979 to fight the Soviets in response to a rallying cry, aided by the largest covert operation in CIA history

Steve Hewitt

ANDREA MICONI

Culture & Social Affairs

Susan Sarandon on fear, freedom, and refusing to change

08 September 2026

The renowned American actress tells Al Majalla about her gnawing drive for justice at the Venice Film Festival, where her new film 'Echo Chamber' premiered

Leila Amar

Arms depot explosions in Syria are not isolated incidents

Haid Haid

Geoffrey Hinton, the Houthis and the paradox of our age

Ibrahim Hamidi

UK sharpens criticism of settlements ahead of Israeli polls

Con Coughlin

It is the end of Iran's Islamic Republic as we know it

Alia Mansour

Infographics

El Niño: the climate phenomenon in the Pacific disrupting the world

Diana Estefanía Rubio

Politics

Only China, India, and Russia can end the Iran war

Washington needs its rivals to create peace on its behalf

Amir Handjani

Egypt’s Red Sea problems mount as Houthis take territory

The Iran-backed militia has seized most of western Yemen to effectively control the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea and therefore the Suez Canal

Amr Emam

Chinese President Xi Jinping shaking hands with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi before their meeting in Cairo, Egypt, on 2 September 2026.

Xi puts China in the Middle East security equation

Beijing's multi-pronged proposal links to the new three-way 'Mecca Alliance' between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Pakistan. What would be the parameters of this new Chinese security involvement?

Charbel Barakat

A Tuareg separatist soldier walks inside a damaged building in Kidal, on 9 May 2026.
Mali's government refuses to talk to "terrorist" armed groups after they launched unprecedented attacks on it.

Why JNIM is unlikely to break off from al-Qaeda

Mali's biggest jihadist group is more likely to follow the Taliban's path than that of Syria's rebels-turned-rulers

Sergey Eledinov

Profile

Ulrich Siegmund: the disarming right-winger making waves in Germany

The media-savvy AfD candidate led his party to victory in Saxony-Anhalt, bringing it within reach of power for the first time since World War II

Bryn Haworth

Ahmad Shah Massoud smiles during a press interview at his headquarters in Afghanistan, in a photo taken on 28 June 2001.

Ahmad Shah Massoud: the man who foresaw 9/11

An Afghan of Tajik heritage, Massoud was the enigmatic warrior who resisted the Soviets, the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. So why didn't the US back him?

Kamal Alam

Rupert Lowe speaks during Britain's Reform UK party's national conference in Birmingham, Britain, on 20 September 2024.

Rupert Lowe: Britain's far right has a new rising star

After breaking with Farage's Reform, he formed his own party: Restore Britain. Will it split the right-wing vote?

Bryn Haworth

Wang Huning, Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, at the conference's opening session in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on 4 March 2026.

Wang Huning: key advisor to three Chinese presidents

The chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference has shaped the country's trajectory since the 1980s. Al Majalla takes a look at his career and impact.

Charbel Barakat

Documents & Memoirs

Britain's complicated history with Israel

12 Sep 2026

The UK's recent criticism of Israeli action in the West Bank has drawn a sharp rebuke from Tel Aviv, but friction between the two countries is nothing new

Steve Hewitt

READ FULL ARTICLE

Jay Torres

Documents & Memoirs

From Corleone to Assad: the rise and fall of a dynasty

14 August 2026

Syria's hereditary republic grew into a mafia-style family regime. The similarities between their 54-year rule and the fictional Corleone family in 'The Godfather' movies are more than skin-deep

Ibrahim Hamidi

Thousands of Yemenis hold posters and portraits of Yemen's ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh during a rally in support of the former president on 24 August 2017.

AFP

Documents & Memoirs

The last days of Ali Abdullah Saleh

27 July 2026

Based on years of reporting and interviews, this account reconstructs how Yemen's former president forged an alliance with the Houthis, why it collapsed, and the events that led to his death

Anwar Al-Ansi

culture & social affairs

'NAZA' and the battle over who gets to tell the story

15 September 2026

Some see this prize-winning documentary about Israeli soldiers' crimes in Gaza as whitewashing by suggesting a plurality of opinion; others see it as important evidence

Samer Abou Hawwach

Culture & Social Affairs

Al Majalla's Film Watch

In this monthly round-up, we survey the latest releases from Arab and international cinema, from arthouse to blockbuster and everything in between

Wael Said

Palestinian singer Saint Levant during the Carthage International Festival at the Roman Theatre of Carthage, Tunisia, 5 August, 2025.

FETHI BELAID / AFP

Culture & Social Affairs

Saint Levant and what qualifies as 'good' Arabic music

The Palestinian singer-songwriter's turn to folk music exposes the class, status, and cultural prejudices that shape what we choose to listen to

Tareq Habjouqa

The rain-soaked cities of Saudi artist Fahad Al-Khalif

Visual artist Fahad Al-Khalif has emerged as one of the…

Mimoza Al-Arrawi

Interview with Tim Howkins - CENTCOM Spokesman

Science & Technology

Is climate change changing the taste of cheese?

High-yielding cows generate lots of metabolic heat that they find difficult to dissipate when air temperature and humidity rise together. The result is an effect on a much-loved food

Alaa Emara

The new AI divide and Saudi Arabia’s balancing act

As the US and China build rival AI ecosystems, Gulf states are being drawn into a technological divide that may become increasingly difficult to navigate

Marco Mossad

A smart AI Server on display at the HUMAIN stall during the opening ceremony of technology event LEAP in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 31 August, 2026

REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

LEAP 2026: Saudi Arabia’s AI blueprint comes into focus

Riyadh revealed the scale of its push to become a global technology hub at the annual summit that wrapped up on 3 September

Turki Harbi

Visitors attend the LEAP conference in Riyadh on 31 August 2026.

Reuters

A new weapon against cancer

Our cover story this week tracks recent developments in cancer treatment and how inroads in immunity could be a game-changer

Al Majalla - London

Ada Z Shen

Business & Economy

Iran’s shadow economy can adapt. But not indefinitely

Tehran has gotten good at evading longstanding US sanctions, but the bigger it expands its shadow network, the more exposed and corrupt it becomes, weakening it in the long run

Lina Khatib

When the international debt mountain threatens to collapse

With public and private liabilities worldwide estimated at a staggering $353tn and with many gearing up to borrow more, all agree that there is a problem, but few agree on how to solve it

Mohamed Sharki

Al Majalla

Will Trump entertain the Taliban's rare-earth invitation?

Afghanistan's mineral resources, including its coveted rare earths, are estimated to be worth more than $1tn, but so far China has been the main extractor, but a recent offer could change that

Kamal Alam

An Afghan miner extracts gold ore in the Ghulak Dara Valley in the Shighnan district of Badakhshan province, northeastern Afghanistan, on 28 July 2026.

AFP

The global race for rare earths reaches the ocean floor

A critical mineral found on Japan's seabed has caught US attention, and the two are teaming up to see whether it can yield future benefits and reduce their dependence on China

Abdulfattah Khattab

ERNESTO BENAVIDES / AFP

English Edition Soon

10 Sep 2026

The Egyptian Air Force aerobatics team "Silver Stars" performs during the second international air show and aerospace expo at El Alamein International Airport in El Alamein, Egypt, on 9 September 2026.

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