WEEKLY UPDATE - 08.15.2025

Travels

As I previously mentioned I’ll be traveling for much of the next six weeks. I just arrived in Morocco this week and unfortunately I have not been able to follow the news as closely as I would like. I will be on the road again next week, but I plan to produce something closer my normal newsletter. In the meantime, enjoy this picture of a street fountain the Moroccan city of Tetouan and some links to peruse.

In Other News

• Egypt:

  • In Israel’s largest gas deal, Leviathan partners ink $35 billion export deal with Egypt

  • Rent for $1 a month? Egypt says no ending a system that aided the poor

• Algeria:

  • Algeria, France tensions rise as French as French court issues arrest warrant for Algerian diplomat

• Saudi Arabia:

  • Saudi Arabia slams Israel’s move to annex Palestinian land, backs two-state solution

  • HRW: Executions in Saudi Arabia surge in 2025

• Yemen:

  • UN warms half of Yemen’s population now faces hunger

  • IDF downs latest Houthi ballistic missile

• Iran:

  • Iran says it arrested 20 alleged Israeli spies

  • Iran rejects planned transit corridor outlined in Armenia-Azerbaijan pact

• Syria:

  • UN: War crimes likely committed in Syria coastal violence

  • Syria signs $14 billion in investment deals

  • Syrian govt soldier killed in clashes with Kurd-led SDF

• Israel:

  • Itamar Ben Gvir taunts prominent Palestinian prisoner

  • Israel-Qatar tensions escalate after Israel kills Al Jazeera journalist

  • Plan for Israeli settlement expansion will bury Palestinian statehood, minister vows

Recommended:

• “Iran’s Firebrand goes Silent” Newlines Magazine

• “The Limits of Recognition” The Atlantic