GCC

Oman: Rentier State No More

Oman breaks Gulf tradition with first-ever income tax on top earners, marking a bold step toward post-oil economic transformation.

Renewables: The Best Coolant?

Gulf states outpace Europe on climate action, using oil wealth to build effective renewables while EU governments struggle under heat and debt.

An Emotional Rollcoaster: AI Governance in the Gulf

Users spiral into all-consuming obsessions with artificial intelligence, triggering delusions that tear apart families across the world.

Healthy Competition: A New Challenger to the Gulf’s Aviation Titans

Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Air is throwing a dose of healthy competition in the Gulf’s aviation “Big Three”: Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad.

EU-UAE Trade Talks: Small Steps Before Big Leaps

Europe's UAE trade talks might succeed where American bluster and Chinese pressure tactics have repeatedly failed.

Popular

Kawthoolei Republic: Italy’s CasaPound Export Radical Dreams to Myanmar

In Myanmar’s remote hills, a rogue general and his Italian allies are forging a sovereign state on a harvest of ideas Rome would not permit at home. 

Britain Navigates a Growing Trade Imbalance with China

As its trade gap with Beijing hits £42 billion, London is pursuing a growth strategy that increasingly tests the enduring strategic patience of Washington.

Winter Storm Research Rewrites a Witch Trial Tragedy

As new research published in Smithsonian Magazine this week connects a 1617 Arctic storm to Norway's deadliest witch trials, climate historians reveal how weather shock fed decades of persecution.

Prediction Takes Politics: Prophets and Polymarkets Collide

As 11 Peruvian shamans predicted Nicolás Maduro's fall on 29 December 2025, crypto traders were placing similar bets online—five days before U.S. forces extracted the Venezuelan leader to New York.

Mladenov Takes Over Gaza Board After Regional Veto

Nickolay Mladenov becomes Gaza peace board head after Arab states blocked Tony Blair, raising questions about whose interests guide Washington's selection.