THERE are gale-force winds blowing across the Arab world­-and ever more flags fluttering in them. As many states dissolve into violence or struggle with...

The Nile is at the centre of geopolitical rivalry in the region. At its heart is Egypt, where suspicions about former enemies and tensions with an age-old civilisation reveal deep-seated fears about water scarcity and losing control of the river.

One of Yemen's top journalists and activists close to the country's dominant Houthi militia, Abdul Kareem al-Khaiwani, has been killed, the group's official television channel al-Maseerah said. Police sources said al-Khaiwani was shot dead near his house in the centre of the capital Sanaa on Wednesday by unknown gunmen riding a motorbike.

GENEVA - The top nuclear officials from Iran and the United States took part in high-level talks on Monday as the two sides sought to meet a March deadline for finalizing the outline of an agreement to limit Tehran's nuclear program.

SANA, Yemen - The Houthi militiamen who effectively rule Yemen were increasingly isolated Wednesday as several Western countries joined the United States in closing their embassies here, despite few signs of deteriorating security in the streets.

Saudi Arabia's royal family has a complex structure, and because the late king's replacement is also in poor health, there has been some concern about the country's succession plan. Last month, Saudi Arabia's 91-year-old King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz died. His half-brother 79-year-old Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, took his place.

The rise of violent groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) are the product of governments' tendencies to ignore rights abuses, Human Right Watch has warned. "Human rights violations played a major role in spawning or aggravating many of today's crises," Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth said in the introduction to the 664-page World Report 2015.

Over the past year, the phrase "foreign fighter" has become part of the standard vocabulary for Middle East affairs, frequently used to describe the young men and women who traveled to Syria to join a bloody civil war. To a large extent, "foreign fighter" has become synonymous with the Sunni Muslims who join groups like the Islamic State or the al-Nusra Front.

THE House of Saud has been written off many times: when Arab nationalism swept through the Middle East; when the mullahs dethroned the Shah of Iran; when jihadists turned their suicide-bombs against the kingdom. Yet the sons of Abdel Aziz bin Saud have confounded all challengers.

The Islamic State's latest atrocities have triggered global revulsion. Beheading two utterly harmless and innocent Japanese men, Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto, was bad enough....

Jordan has conducted 56 raids in three days of air strikes targeting a stronghold of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, the country's air force commander has said. The country launched the bombing raids on the Syrian city of Raqqa, an ISIL stronghold, on Thursday after ISIL released video showing the killing of a Jordanian pilot held hostage by the group.

THE repertoire of new horrors keeps expanding. On February 3rd the jihadists of Islamic State (IS) released a video showing the immolation of Flight Lieutenant Moaz al-Kasasbeh, a Jordanian pilot captured after he ejected from his F-16 jet, over Syria in December.

It is a world full of crises. Syria is entering its fifth year of war and its death toll is staggering - perhaps as many as 300,000 have died. We have to unite. ISIL have committed unspeakable crimes, brutality ... I cannot describe the horror how a human being can be so cruel....

Dutch Disease was briefly mentioned in our reading as a phenomenon that is caused by the "sudden influx of foreign currency." Foreign exchange is presented as a blockade/distortion to economic growth and structural transformation. The article bellow will provide a more detailed account of what this phenomena entails. http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/11/economist-explains-2