In response to events since October 2023, Middle East nations have found that they are strong when acting in concert. This has the power to fundamentally change the game.
With nuclear know-how from Russia, weapons from America, infrastructure from China, and money from the Gulf, Egypt is making the most out of a world with many powers.
Moscow has its work cut out in Ukraine, where the ongoing war is a drain on resources. This means that the lofty regional ambitions it set out in 2023 have had to be recalibrated.
Netanyahu's quest for regional domination is now being pursued without thought to the diplomatic costs, including Israel's relationship with the US. Will this threaten its long-term survivability?
The bloc's foreign policy is now led by a Russia hawk who takes a sledgehammer to suggestions of appeasing Moscow. No fan of Putin's EU cronies, what will she make of Donald Trump?
Israel's war on Gaza, rising US-China tensions, the stubborn war between Russia and Ukraine, and the worsening effects of climate change top GCC leaders' concern this year
As Starmer visits Paris today to meet Macron and is being met with considerable goodwill from European capitals, the EU is wary of Starmer's pledge to seek "a much better" Brexit deal.
Americans are more fixated on their own problems and internal divisions, than other global challenges like China and Russia. The Middle East is hardly even a blip on Americans' radar anymore.
Military strategists have long warned that war should be waged only if those waging it know what they want to achieve. Herein lies a problem: Washington's war aims in Iran are incoherent.
Tehran isn't likely to easily fold if/when Trump attacks. This means that the longer a military confrontation drags out, the more untenable Washington's position becomes.
The conflict has forced Russia to scale back its global footprint and NATO to boost its defence spending. Meanwhile, China and Middle powers have emerged as key beneficiaries.
Natural resources like solar, wind, and water are set to provide 36% of global electricity production this year. Even for sceptics like Donald Trump, the trends are unmistakable.
Some point to his possible links to Mossad through his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, whose father was a known Israeli spy, and assert that he blackmailed powerful figures to exert influence
Al Majalla - London
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