Iraq has emerged as a significant partner for China as the latter actively expands its economic and diplomatic presence in the Gulf.

Developments in the Maghreb last month have once again drawn attention to the Arab Maghreb Union, the ambitious plan to unite the western region of the Arab world.

The opposite ends of the Arab world are experiencing two extreme weather conditions simultaneously: while the UAE and Oman in the east recover from last week’s unprecedented rain and flash floods, Morocco in the west is experiencing its sixth continuous year of drought.