English Newsletter October 13

Al Majalla covered the third anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. In Israel’s long October, Michael Horowitz asserts that restoring Israeli confidence in their government will require a leadership willing to answer for the past and choose a direction beyond it. For his part, Frederic C. Hof urges Israel to reconsider its approach to Lebanon, while Gisella Ligios speaks to Syrians affected by Israel’s encroachment in the south of the country.

The big story in the region was, of course, Yemen. Ibrahim Jalal explains how Iran-Houthi escalation could backfire, while Ibrahim Hamidi looks at ways Syria can help the Yemeni government. For his part, Haid Haid highlights the importance of securing Syria’s oil pipelines for its regional energy ambitions.

Switching to the Horn of Africa, Amr Emam asks: Have Ethiopia's neighbours formed an alliance against it?. Read his article to find out. Al Majalla is also tracking Brazil’s election where Flávio Bolsonaro, an ally of US President Donald Trump, and Brazil’s incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will face off in a runoff on 25 October for the top job of Latin America’s powerhouse economy after neither won a majority in last week’s vote.

Jumping continents, Abdulfattah Khattab explains Why Europe’s gold is on the move, while Con Coughlin tracks the case of the former head of Germany's BND, August Hanning, who has been accused of sharing sensitive intelligence with an unnamed foreign power, and how it could negatively impact Western intelligence networks. Meanwhile, Khattar Abu Diab explains how AfD's rise is shaking Germany’s postwar political model, with repercussions for Europe’s balance of power.  

Alaa Emara examines several recent studies on the psychology behind belief in secret plots in his piece, What makes a conspiracy theorist? In Culture, Bahaa Iy’ali looks at how the Nobel-winning Canadian poet Anne Carson mourns through play, while Wael Said highlights the 9 Arab films vying for an Oscar.