The rare earths powering industries and fuelling conflicts

From Africa to the Arctic, certain metals and minerals are so highly sought after for today's strategic industries that countries will go to war over them. What are they? Al Majalla digs deeper.

Abdulfattah Khattab

Hedging Bets

[caption id="attachment_55232601" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Riyadh by night - Saudi's economy must diversify to sustain itself in the long term[/caption]Saudi Arabia’s role as a leading…

Paula Mejia

Credit Egypt

[caption id="attachment_55232311" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="A man walks with his bread bought from Magra El-Oyoun market on January 24, 2012 in Cairo, Egypt."][/caption] A decade ago,…

Stephen Glain

The Spoils of Oil

[caption id="attachment_55231910" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="An Iraqi petroleum worker walks past a gas burn off flame in the Anzalla oil fields in the Ninewa Province of Northern Iraq"…

Amy Myers Jaffe and Keily Miller

The Blind Leading the Blind

[caption id="attachment_55231770" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="A Tunisian vendor sells dried fruit before an election poster in Tunis"][/caption] A year after the revolution in Tunisia…

Paula Mejia

The Price of Union

[caption id="attachment_552305" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="Robert Cianflone/Getty Images"][/caption] The six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have emerged as influential…

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

Back in Business

[caption id="attachment_55229758" align="aligncenter" width="586" caption="Tunisia’s Minister of Tourism, Elyes Fakhfakh, recently signed a cooperation agreement with the UNWTO "][/caption]The World…

Daniel F. Rivera Gómez

Sanctioning Iran

[caption id="attachment_55229380" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="Protesters in Berlin against military action in Iran (PA)"][/caption] The United Nations and its individual members…

Richard Weitz

Up and Coming

[caption id="attachment_55229238" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="The Saudi Stock Exchange hopes one day to compete with major markets"][/caption] The last year has been difficult for Gulf…

Paula Mejia

Egypt’s IMF Lifeline

[caption id="attachment_55229024" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="Egyptians demonstrate on 25 January 2011, carrying banners to protest against the government, unemployment and about the…

Paula Mejia

Net Investments

[caption id="attachment_55228925" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="Social media websites, such as Twitter, are becoming increasingly integrated into daily life"][/caption] There has recently…

Desné Masie