Al Majalla covered the Houthi takeover of Yemen’s western coast and its regional and global implications last week. Alice Gower explains how disrupting global trade has become both easier to inflict and harder to contain. Meanwhile, Ibrahim Hamidi shares his musings on the developments in his op-ed titled Geoffrey Hinton, the Houthis and the paradox of our age.

Meanwhile, our cover story last week transported readers inside Assad’s nuclear secrets, revealing 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. We also had a dedicated special coverage on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Steve Hewitt looks at the murky origins of al-Qaeda, while Maher Farghaly explains how the group adapted and survived after September 11. For her part, Lina Khatib examines how the global security landscape has changed since the war on terror.

And Henry Tugendhat explains why China is not scared of Trump’s squeeze on Iran, while Abdullah F. Alrebh pens a piece titled The Dallas gamble: why Republicans are nationalising local elections. In it, he says, “US midterm elections in November will determine control of Congress. Typically, these contests come down to local issues and local personalities, but Donald Trump wants to change that.” And Con Coughlin looks at the recent UK criticism of Israel’s settler crimes in the West Bank and, perhaps more importantly, the timing of the condemnations. For his part, Abdulfattah Khattab takes us to the ocean floor where the global race for rare earths has reached. 

And last but not least, Leila Amar interviews Susan Sarandon on the sidelines of the Venice Film Festival, where her film Echo Chamber premiered. The renowned American actress talks about her gnawing drive for justice and why Palestine has become an issue dear to her heart. And last but not least, Mimoza Al-Arrawi dives into the rain-soaked paintings of Saudi artist Fahad Al-Khalif, where architecture, memory, colour, and symbols challenge familiar laws of place and perspective.