Although international observers praised the freedom and fairness of the elections, the country’s pro-Iran militias and party blocs have disputed the result, in which their share of parliamentary seats was slashed.

Analysts believe these militias were behind an attempt in November to assassinate Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi at his Baghdad residence, in retaliation for his attempts to reduce their influence.

Green initiatives

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy aims to reduce the Kingdom’s dependence on fossil fuels. Riyadh went a step further in October with the launch of two major initiatives designed to show that it is playing a leadership role in the global campaign against climate change.

When Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled the details of the Saudi Green and Middle East Green Initiatives during a special event in Riyadh, it was a landmark occasion for the region and committed Saudi Arabia to reaching net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2060.

In addition, the Kingdom pledged to completely eliminate oil from domestic power generation by 2030, replacing it with cleaner gas and renewables. Multi-billion-dollar investment programs to plant trees in the Kingdom were also announced, among other environmentally sound strategies. 

Sudan coup

General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan staged a military coup in Sudan in late October, overthrowing the civilian government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and declaring a state of emergency. Al-Burhan claimed infighting between the military and civilian parties was threatening the nation’s stability.

Pro-democracy groups, which toppled the regime of Omar Al-Bashir in 2019, took to the streets to demand a return to civilian rule. Following weeks of escalating violence, Hamdok was reinstated on Nov. 21 under a power-sharing arrangement with the military.

Although the international community backed the deal for the sake of Sudan’s stability, opposition groups continue to protest against the military’s involvement in government.

NOVEMBER

COP26

This year was the year when the effects of climate change got real for many people, with a spate of forest fires, flooding, droughts and storms wreaking havoc the world over. It was also the year when efforts to cut greenhouse-gas emissions began to be taken seriously.

At the UN’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, the world’s governments accepted a compromise deal aimed at maintaining a key global warming target of no more than 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels, with a last-minute change that toned down commitments to eliminate the use of coal.

Several countries complained the deal did not go far enough. However, it did set out rules for international trading of carbon credits and called on big polluters to come back next year with improved pledges for cutting emissions.

Omicron

Experts have said governments were woefully unprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic when it was declared by the World Health Organization in early 2020. Now, almost two years later, the world is still grappling with uneven distribution of vaccines and the emergence of new variants of the virus, the latest being omicron.

The variant was first identified in South Africa in late November and quickly became the dominant version in many countries. Studies suggest that the variant is not any more aggressive in terms of its effects than the alpha, beta, gamma and delta strains, but is more transmissible and potentially more resistant to vaccines.

Experts warn that persistent high rates of infection will continue to place a strain on countries’ health infrastructures and risks creating more-dangerous variants in the months ahead unless screening and vaccination rates in the developing world radically improve.

Although vaccination campaigns and precautionary measures in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Gulf states have been notably successful, other countries in the region have been less effective, leading to fresh spikes in cases.