Vol 52 No 5 | LIBYA Gadaffi's fight to the death 4th March 2011 After seizing the east of the country and the oil installations, the opposition steels itself for a long campaign As Colonel Moammar el Gadaffi fights back hard against his opponents, the prospect of his early overthrow has given way to concern about widespread instability in a deeply...
Vol 52 No 5 | EGYPT The revolution continues 4th March 2011 The resignation of Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik, 77, on 3 March is another victory for protestors. Former Transport Minister Essam Sharaf succeeds him and is forming the next cabinet. Sharaf, 59,...
Vol 52 No 4 | EGYPT Dropping the pilot 18th February 2011 Under pressure from revolutionary youth, the army has pushed out Mubarak but its commitment to reform is highly questionable As everyone – save fearful tyrants – salutes the spectacular courage of Egypt’s young people in driving out President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak, the military has emerged as the...
Vol 52 No 4 | EGYPT Mubarak’s friends sanctioned 18th February 2011 Civilians who benefitted from the ancien régime may fare less well than their military counterparts. Hosni Mubarak’s younger son, Gamal Mubarak, is believed to have made a fortune...
Vol 52 No 4 | LIBYA Uneasy lies the head 18th February 2011 The WikiLeaks cables reveal much about the Gadaffi family and show that no one expects real change or reform until after the Colonel’s departure The secret world of Libya’s oil industry, as well as its palace politics, has been laid bare by the publication of hundreds of United States cables by WikiLeaks...
Vol 52 No 3 | EGYPT Mubarak stumbles to the exit 4th February 2011 As protestors and Mubarak supporters clash in Al Tahrir Square, the organised political parties are positioning themselves for negotiations The fast-growing power of Egypt's democracy movement seems set to force President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak from power sooner rather than later, following the military's promise not to suppress the street protests...
Vol 52 No 3 | EGYPT The major opposition 4th February 2011 New Wafd Party: nationalist and liberal with free-market values; founded in 1983, reviving the aristocratic and traditional Wafd, abolished after Gamal Abdel Nasser's 1952 'revolution'. It is considered a major opposition...
Vol 52 No 3 | TUNISIAFRANCE Ben Ali, biens mal acquis 4th February 2011 The Paris Public Prosecutor's office is opening a preliminary investigation into funds and property held in France by Tunisian ex-President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, his family and entourage. Transparency International...
Vol 52 No 3 | EGYPTBRITAIN Gamal Mubarak's retreat 4th February 2011 Gamal Mubarak, Egyptian presidential son and putative heir (until he announced on 3 February that he would not stand for President) of beleaguered President Hosni Mubarak, was widely rumoured to be...
Vol 52 No 2 | TUNISIA The jasmine and khaki revolution 21st January 2011 Protests after a desperate unemployed graduate’s suicide ousted the Ben Ali regime and may change regional politics The arrest of 33 members of the former ruling family less than a week after the overthrow of President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali on 13 January consolidates...