By Dhruv Shah On January 3rd, 2020, US drones targeted and killed Iran’s most important General, Qassem Soleimani. This audacious act has been the first time since WW2, the US has openly killed a foreign military leader. Five days later on January 8th, Iran retaliated with direct strikes of their own on Iraqi bases…
Author: Luca S. Delpippo
Middle East and North Africa Section Editor for the St. Andrews Economist
Lebanon: A New Hope or Renewed Despair?
Recent protests across Lebanon, sparked in October by a proposed ‘Whatsapp Tax’, have spiralled into a much broader movement calling for a political and economic overhaul to the country, having lost no momentum with the resignation of former PM Saad al-Hariri and the appointment of Hezbollah-backed, Hassan Diab. The new President has thus far failed…
The Hawala System and Sharia Banking
How Terror Abuses Financial Institutions Hawala, حوالة, in Arabic translates as transfer in English and trust in Hindi. The Hawala System is an Informal Value Transfer System (IVTS) which is essentially a system whereby money or value in the form of commodities, is transferred nationally or internationally by an organisation that does not offer financial services as…
Spain’s Possessions in North Africa: Undiscussed Controversy?
MENA Section columnist discusses the little known controversy surrounding the cities of Ceuta and Melilla.
The St Andrews Economist 