Gulf

Ah, the perils of the high seas! Just when we thought the waters of the Gulf of Aden were safe, the specter of maritime piracy raises its head again. Recently, a Chinese fishing crew found themselves in the deep end—a bit too literally—after an unforeseen hijacking aboard their vessel. The oceans around the Horn of Africa, previously notorious for piracy, seemed to have calmed. But with this new incident, one wonders: has piracy made an unwanted comeback? Remarkably, and much to the relief of their loved ones, the crew…

How are the Gulf states flexing their muscles in Africa? Hassan Hassan, who founded and leads New Lines magazine, and Rana Mamdouh, a commissioning editor for Alpheratz (New Lines' Arabic sister publication), shine a light on this intricate web. Rather than clashing over ideologies, they honed in on gobbling up resources, further fragmenting nations already swimming in turmoil. It's complicated, to say the least.