Houthis Tighten Grip on Bab el-Mandeb – and African Ports May Lose Out
September 28th, 2026
Via The Africa Report, a look at how soaring fuel costs are tempting carriers back to Bab el-Mandeb, threatening West Africa’s mega-ship boom. Only a handful of deepwater hubs, and Djibouti, look set to gain. Iran’s Houthi allies have tightened their grip on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, opening a second front against global shipping just […]
Read more »War Made the Case For IMEC, Not Against It
July 6th, 2026
Via Ethan Chorin’s substack, commentary on how the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor’s vulnerabilities are the very reasons it is worth building: The status of IMEC, or India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor, may be the best indicator of who’s winning the current war in the Middle East, and how prepared the region is for worse crises ahead. The […]
Read more »Saudis Announce New Investments in Syria, a Sign of Deepening Ties
February 9th, 2026
Courtesy of The New York Times, a report on new Saudi and Syrian deals ranging from aviation to telecommunications, offering a much-needed boost to Syria’s battered economy: Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday sweeping investments in Syria’s telecommunications, energy, and aviation sectors, the latest sign of a deepening relationship between the two countries. The deals represent […]
Read more »Saudis In, UAE Out? Why Djibouti Has Become The Gulf’s Indispensable Outpost
January 8th, 2026
Via The Africa Report, commentary on how – in the high-stakes game of influence across the Red Sea – Djibouti is playing the Arabian Peninsula’s rival powers off one another to secure its own sovereignty – and its future: “Officially, Djibouti has no quarrel with the United Arab Emirates, nor with Dubai,” insists a government […]
Read more »Saudi’s AI Ambitions May Run Through Syria
November 5th, 2025
Via Semafor, a look at how Saudi’s AI ambitions may run through Syria: Courtesy of TeleGeography. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Saudi Arabia and Syria are in talks to build data cables connecting the kingdom to Europe, a move seen as a crucial part of Riyadh’s plan to become a global artificial intelligence hub. Syria […]
Read more »India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor: Promise, Peril, and the Politics of Connectivity
October 22nd, 2025
Via Modern Diplomacy, a look at the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) which was announced as a transformative connectivity framework which aims to link India, the Arabian Peninsula, and Europe through maritime, rail, energy, and digital networks: Source: Siasat.com During a recent meeting of Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.