Somalia

United States

United Arab Emirates

Military & Security

U.S. airstrikes on Feb. 1 in the Bari region of Somalia's Puntland state targeted underground caves believed to be hideouts for Abdulkadir Mumin, the leader of Islamic State Somalia Province, and senior commander Abdirahman Fahiye, Garowe Online reported on Feb. 3. 

Somalia: U.S. and UAE Carry Out Airstrikes Against Islamic State Somalia Province

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Syria

Turkey

Economics

Politics

Syria's provisional President Ahmad al-Sharaa visited Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, marking his first trip abroad and his first meeting with the kingdom's de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman, AP reported on Feb. 2.

Syria, Saudi Arabia: Al-Sharaa Visits Saudi Arabia as Damascus Deepens Gulf Ties

Chad

France

Russia

France completed the withdrawal of its military forces from Chad, Africanews reported on Jan 30.

Chad, France: France Hands Over Last Army Base in Chad

Sudan

The United States will impose financial sanctions on the leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Reuters reported on Jan. 16, citing three different sources with knowledge on the matter.

Sudan: U.S. To Sanction SAF Leader Following Reported Chemical Weapons Use 

Kenya

Kenya and the United Arab Emirates signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement during a visit by Kenyan President William Ruto to the United Arab Emirates, The Eastleigh Voice reported on Jan. 15.

Kenya: Ruto Signs Economic Partnership With UAE, Seeks Emirati Investments for Railway Expansion

Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, and allied militias had committed genocide in Sudan, Reuters reported on Jan. 7.

Sudan: U.S. Accuses Sudan's Rapid Support Forces of Committing Genocide

The leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan welcomed Turkish proposals to mediate the dispute between Sudan's SAF-led government and the United Arab Emirates, which is widely seen as providing military support to the SAF's rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, Le Monde reported on Jan. 6.

Sudan: Al-Burhan Welcomes Turkey-Led Mediation With UAE  

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Equatorial Guinea

Gabon

Nigeria

Venezuela

Algeria

Iran

Iraq

Kuwait

Libya

Energy

OPEC+ countries agreed to delay the phase-out of 2.2 million barrels of oil per day of production cuts from Jan. 1, 2025, until April 1 and to phase those cuts out over 18 months instead of the originally planned 12 months, Argus Media reported on Dec. 5. 

OPEC+: Members To Delay Boosting Oil Production for Third Time

Assessments

Israel

Yemen

Supporters of Yemen's Houthi movement brandish weapons and chant slogans as they take part in a protest staged in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza on Jan. 17, 2025, in Sanaa, Yemen. 

Israel-Hamas Conflict

The Houthis' intervention in the Israel-Hamas war has bolstered their military capabilities and domestic influence, which could embolden them to launch renewed offensives in southern Yemen.

What Will Yemen's Houthis Do With Their New-Found Strength?

China

Pakistan

The entrance to the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C.

Ahead of the first review of its newest IMF program, Pakistan seeks creditor assurances and a broader tax base.

Pakistan's Path to Meeting IMF Demands

Angola

Cote d'Ivoire

Ghana

Argentina

Brazil

Canada

Ecuador

Mexico

Jordan

Tunisia

Taiwan

Ukraine

Belarus

World map on a dark digital background representing global communication and global finances.

Cyber

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

RANE's Top 10 Risks for 2025 highlights high-impact, low-probability risks and trends from the annual forecast presented in more extreme terms.

RANE's Top 10 Risks for 2025

A billboard depicting a Houthi military official who was killed during Yemen's civil war overlooks the Yemeni capital city of Sanaa on Jan. 2, 2025. 

When its increased attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen likely fail to deter the militants, Israel will escalate further, potentially spreading the conflict into the Gulf states and restarting the Yemeni civil war.

Israel's Expanding Campaign in Yemen Risks Reigniting the Civil War

Abu Mohammed al-Golani (C), the head of Syria's leading insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, speaks during a press conference near Syria's northern Bab al Hawa border crossing with Turkey late on March 12, 2024.

Rival Gulf Arab states will pursue divergent goals amid Syria's evolving political transition, raising the likelihood of factionalism and resurging violence in the war-torn country. 

Gulf States' Competing Interests Could Disrupt Syria's Political Transition

Columns

On Geopolitics

Rebel fighters celebrate in the streets of Homs, Syria, in the early hours of Dec. 8, 2024, after seizing control of the city.

Syria, the geopolitical proving ground for virtually every major regional power, may be hobbled and damaged after 13 years of civil war. But it still gets a vote in its destiny. 

Syria Sets Out Toward a New and Uncertain Future

Fighters loyal to Yemen's Houthi group chant in Sanaa, Yemen, on Sept. 21, 2024, during a military parade marking the anniversary of the Houthis’ 2014 takeover of the capital.

The Houthis' economic vulnerabilities, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates' desire to avoid being re-entangled in Yemen's decade-long civil war, will reduce the risk of a major escalation in Yemen. 

Gulf States Work to Avoid Major Escalation With Yemen’s Houthis

Ethiopia

South Africa

Egypt

Indonesia

Moldova

India

Vehicles pass by a banner thanking outgoing Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and congratulating President-elect Prabowo Subianto and Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka ahead of their Oct. 20 inauguration in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Oct. 17, 2024.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: An Impeachment Case in Kenya, an Inauguration in Indonesia

As Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 enters its final five years, the Saudi government is likely to deepen reforms designed to improve the country's economic attractiveness and performance. But as it struggles to compete with its neighbors' social reforms and absorb potential global geopolitical shocks, Riyadh could adopt more coercive policies at times.

Evaluating Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 as It Enters the Home Stretch

Bahrain

Oman

Participants stand outside the pavilion of Oman as they attend day nine of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Dec. 9, 2023. 

The July terrorist attack in Oman will likely spark a regional security crackdown, despite the incident's limited political and economic consequences.

A Rare Terrorist Attack in Oman Portends a Regional Security Crackdown

Morocco

Palestinian Territories

Europe

Israeli soldiers guard a barrier, silhouetted against afternoon sun.

As Gaza moves closer to a post-war reality, political limitations in Israel and competing interests abroad muddy the waters of the region's future governance.

For Israel, the Challenge of Gaza's Future Governance Deepens

Snapshots

A map illustrating Turkey (in red) and the BRICS countries (in blue).

Joining BRICS would underscore Turkey's balancing act between the West and the Global South, but the organization's weaknesses will limit its potential for economic growth.

For Turkey, BRICS Is Far From a Political and Economic Panacea

The United Arab Emirates is located on the southwestern edge of the Arabian Peninsula. To its west is Saudi Arabia and to its east is Oman. Iran is only a few miles north, across the Persian Gulf. With desert in its west and south, dry mountains in its east and the warm waters of the Persian Gulf to the north, the United Arab Emirates' climate is unable to support agriculture beyond small-scale oases and camel herds. The country is divided into three broad regions: the coastal harbors of the Gulf, bounded by the sandy desert of the Rub al-Khali, or Empty Quarter; the interior, where settlements cluster around oases; and the northeast, which is broken up by the Al Hajar Mountains.      There are no natural rivers and few timber supplies in the United Arab Emirates, and nearly all the country's drinkable water is trapped beneath oases. In the premodern era, citizens mainly survived off piracy, trade and pearling, and the most powerful settlement was the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah near the Al Hajar Mountains. After the discovery of oil in the 1962, power shifted permanently to the more southern Abu Dhabi, which holds 94 percent of the country's proven oil reserves. These coastal cities are the core of the country. Founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan established the United Arab Emirates &mdash; the Arab world's only successful federation &mdash; in 1971 and ruled until his death in 2004. At that time, his son and current president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan took over power.      The United Arab Emirates seeks to maximize its independence while warding off the influence and control of more powerful regional players Saudi Arabia and Iran. To do this, it has leveraged its energy supply and strategic location to secure alliances with extra-regional powers like the United States. Utilizing its oil receipts, the United Arab Emirates has imported foreign labor from South and East Asia, as well as the Arab world. Combining that labor with global technology, the country has rapidly transformed itself from a desert backwater to a key transport hub, tourist destination and regional military power.  

SITUATION REPORTS

Somalia: U.S. and UAE Carry Out Airstrikes Against Islamic State Somalia Province

Syria, Saudi Arabia: Al-Sharaa Visits Saudi Arabia as Damascus Deepens Gulf Ties

Chad, France: France Hands Over Last Army Base in Chad

Sudan: U.S. To Sanction SAF Leader Following Reported Chemical Weapons Use

Kenya: Ruto Signs Economic Partnership With UAE, Seeks Emirati Investments for Railway Expansion

Sudan: U.S. Accuses Sudan's Rapid Support Forces of Committing Genocide

Sudan: Al-Burhan Welcomes Turkey-Led Mediation With UAE

OPEC+: Members To Delay Boosting Oil Production for Third Time

Forecasts

ANALYSES

SECTIONS

Explore

Subscribe

Help & Support