Amid a growing threat posed by Yemeni Houthis to Red Sea security, regional and global players have begun to realise that the longstanding problem requires comprehensive and decisive action. In this week’s cover story, The Houthis: the final battle, Al Majalla offers hard-hitting analysis, examining the issue from multiple angles and perspectives. 

For his part, Amgad Fareid Eltayeb highlights the opportunities and challenges of a recently formed Saudi-led defence alliance to restore security to the Red Sea, while Kaswar Klara pens a piece titled Pakistan’s Red Sea calculus and the end of strategic ambiguity, where he explains why Islamabad may be compelled to play a more proactive role in regional security.

Zooming out in the region, Salam Zaidan explains why Iraq’s armed factions are still three steps ahead of the Iraqi government, while Sherine Younes explains why settler violence has surged ahead of Israel’s October elections. On to the US, Tarek Rashed profiles Abdul El-Seyed: the progressive Michigander who beat the pro-Israel lobby. “Come November, the Egyptian-American epidemiologist could become the first Muslim senator in US history, despite $70mn spent to defeat him in the Democratic primary,” he says.

In Culture, Samer Abou Hawwach gives a compelling take on the Ceuta tragedy in his piece titled Illusory homelands and unattainable paradises, while Bahaa I’yali explains why the Greek epic, The Odyssey, has survived millennia. For his part, Wael Said catalogues the life and career of Rushdy Abaza: the Don Juan of Egyptian cinema, in his piece on the occasion of what would be the 100th birthday of the actor-turned-heartthrob.

And last but not least, Rana Freifer looks at the US intervention to save the Japanese yen, explaining why it is so significant.