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  • United States

President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders establishing the  “Trump Gold Card” and introducing a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas on September 19, 2025, in Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik / AFP

Trump's steep H-1B visa fees will do more harm than good

The president has slapped a one-off six-figure fee on visa petitions for specialist occupations seeking to work in the US. This will have huge repercussions for both industries and countries.

Abdel-Rahman Ayas 28 September 2025
Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (C) reviews a military honour guard with Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) during a welcoming ceremony in Beijing's Great Hall of the People on January 31, 2019. GREG BAKER / AFP

Pivot to China? Gulf states mull options after Doha strike

Israel's attack in Qatar erodes Gulf states' trust in the US and serves as a stark reminder that they cannot depend on American security guarantees

Xiaotong Yang 13 September 2025
Dela wa Monga, an artisanal miner, holds a cobalt stone at the Shabara artisanal mine near Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of Congo on October 12, 2022. Junior KANNAH / AFP

Ending wars in exchange for minerals: a new US model?

Three decades of fighting in eastern Congo involving Rwanda and others was supposed to have come to an end in June. Is US economic engagement the magic wand its wielder says it is?

Sergey Eledinov 06 September 2025
Elon Musk (R) has laid down the gauntlet to US President Donald Trump (L) with a new political party formed in response to their disagreement over Trump's tax and spending plans, which will add $3tn to the national debt. Dave Murray

Elon Musk’s new political party: grand plans and a tall task

America's political duopoly seems ironclad, having last been broken by Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Several have tried since, but none have succeeded. Can America's richest man break the mould?

Christopher Phillips 11 July 2025
Troops from the US-led coalition against Islamic State (IS) training SDF fighters in Syria's north-eastern Hasakah province on 7 September 2022. Delil Souleiman/AFP

Exit signs: America’s full withdrawal from Syria seems imminent

A flurry of decisions suggests that the end is nigh for US troops in Syria, and that this may come sooner than expected. In laying the foundations for withdrawal, Donald Trump wants 'out' by Christmas

Caroline Rose 07 June 2025

Lifting the veil on secret US-Assad talks

Al Majalla reveals the covert talks over several years between the representatives of a reluctant Syrian president and successive White House administrations hoping find a missing American.

Ibrahim Hamidi 21 May 2025
Russia's President Vladimir Putin greets Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi prior to the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9, 2025. Mikhail METZEL / AFP

As Trump visited the Gulf, Egypt was busy meeting with its new friends

These days, Cairo looks more to Beijing and Moscow than to Washington, a policy change with its roots in the toppling of Hosni Mubarak more than a decade ago.

Amr Emam 20 May 2025
A currency exchange shop in Moscow displays the Russian ruble to dollar exchange rate on November 27, 2024. AFP

Even if sanctions are eased, Russia's economy will be strained

While some indicators are positive, others are troubling. The arrival of Donald Trump in the White House has given the Kremlin a political boost, and lifting sanctions will help, but it is no panacea.

Nazareth Seferian 16 March 2025
Brian Stauffer

The effects of a Trump or Harris presidency on the Middle East

Donald Trump's previous administration offers clues as to how he would approach 2025-29, but Kamala Harris is more of an unknown quantity. Whoever wins, their policies would ripple through the region

Paul Salem 04 August 2024
US Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks at a campaign event on July 27, 2024. Stephanie Scarbrough/Reuters

Can Kamala Harris win?

Joe Biden's vice-president has an extraordinary opportunity. But she also has a mountain to climb

The Economist 30 July 2024
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US President Donald Trump speaks during a reception with business leaders on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on 21 January 2026. Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP
Politics

In Davos, a tale of two speeches

22 January 2026

Trump follows Greenland threats by announcing a "future deal," while Canada's prime minister describes it all as a "rupture in the world order"

Ravi Agrawal
Syrians celebrate in Raqqa on 19 January 2026, after Syria and the SDF struck a wide-ranging deal to bring Kurdish civilian and military authorities under central government control on Sunday. REUTERS / Karam al-Masri
Politics

Why Syrian army gains against the SDF unnerve Israel

20 January 2026

Israeli media have painted the "defeat of the Kurds" as a win for Türkiye, while Israel's military worries that this may carry negative implications for its presence in the Golan

Michael Harari
Opinion

The battle for the state is reshaping regional alliances

18 January 2026

From Yemen and Syria to Sudan and Libya, there is a concerted effort to reassert state authority and thwart moves toward the proliferation of quasi-states and fragmentation

Ibrahim Hamidi
A general view of a concrete block marking the "Yellow Line" drawn by the Israeli military in Bureij, central Gaza Strip, on 4 November 2025. BASHAR TALEB / AFP / Al Majalla
Politics

Is Israel annexing more than half of Gaza?

20 January 2026

The ambiguous meaning of Israel's new yellow line

Giovanni Legorano
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) shakes hands with Sudan's army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Cairo on 18 December 2025. AFP
Politics

Egypt stiffens its resolve to stop Sudan fragmentation

18 January 2026

For Cairo, stability in its southern neighbour is a national security issue. After almost three years of seeking a diplomatic solution, there are signs that it is now turning to firepower.

Amr Emam

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OPINIONS

Geoeconomic concerns top Global Risk Report

Majalla

Trump to SDF: 'Your services are no longer needed'

Fares Garabet
Fares Garabet

Syria’s deals with Assad-era cronies raise unsettling questions

Haid Haid
Haid Haid

Is Israel annexing more than half of Gaza?

Giovanni Legorano
Giovanni Legorano
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