The Unlikely Revival Of A Great Middle Eastern Railroad
March 15th, 2025
Via Noema, a report on how a railroad that once linked Damascus to Medina, its tracks and stations now crumbling into the desert or destroyed by treasure hunters, could help stitch a fragmented region back together: In the center of this city in southern Syria is a long, rectangular warehouse constructed of black basalt. It […]
Read more »There’s A New Power Scramble Underway in the Red Sea
March 12th, 2025
Via Ethan Chorin’s blog, commentary on the new power scramble underway in the Red Sea: As the Trump Administration attempts to broker deals to end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and as Russia has lost its Syria client (and its only warm water port outside the Black Sea), The Kremlin is quietly shifting military weight to the […]
Read more »Turkey’s Return To Africa
March 11th, 2025
Via Foreign Policy Research Institute, a look at Turkey’s return to Africa: What Does Turkey Want in Africa? Turkey is not the largest power interested in Africa. Its economic engagement, arms sales, and foreign aid are dwarfed by one or more of the major powers. However, its position as a minor player is often a […]
Read more »Moonshot: Turkey Building A Spaceport In Somalia
February 12th, 2025
Via The Economist, a report that Turkey is building a spaceport in Somalia: Alper Gezeravci’s first message from space was a patriotic one. “The future is in the skies,” he said from a Falcon 9 rocket on its 14-day mission in January 2024. The line is one of many attributed to Kemal Ataturk, Turkey’s founder, […]
Read more »Conflict Is Remaking the Middle East’s Economic Order
December 22nd, 2024
Via The Economist, a look at how conflict is remaking the Middle East’s economic order where Iran is boxed in as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Turkey look to capitalize: THE LIQUIDITY crunch could not have come at a worse time. Usually, most of Hizbullah’s budget arrives on a plane in Damascus, the Syrian capital, with […]
Read more »Trump, Not Turkey, Likely to Decide Somaliland’s Fate
December 16th, 2024
Via Middle East – Told Slant substack, interesting analysis of Somaliland in light of the recent Turkish-brokered agreement between Somalia and Ethiopia: Somaliland Seen Critical to Containing Iranian, Chinese Expansion in the Red Sea Turkey last week announced it brokered an understanding between Ethiopia and Somalia, in a bid to turn down the heat on an […]
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.