AW

Yemen

Government soldiers and other people inspect the site of a Houthi missile attack on a military camp’s mosque in Marib, Yemen January 20. (Reuters)

Fighting escalates in Yemen after deadly Houthi attack

East|West

Honduras' President Juan Orlando Hernandez speaks during a news conference at the Presidential House in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, August 19. (Reuters)

Honduras becomes latest country to designate Hezbollah terror orginsation

Libya

Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj, Libya's internationally recognised Prime Minister, is pictured during an interview, in Berlin, Germany January 20, 2020. (Reuters)

Berlin conference reaches tentative consensus on Libya but scepticism prevails

Iraq

Burning tyres are seen blocking a road during clashes between security forces and anti-government demonstrators in Baghdad, Iraq, January 20, 2020. (DPA)

Iraqi officials: At least 13 wounded in violence in Baghdad

Iran

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (C-R) as he attends a tribute ceremony for the 11 Ukrainians who died in a plane mistakenly shot down by Iran during a spike in tensions with Washington at Kiev's Boryspil airport, January 19, 2020. (AFP)

Iran aims to examine downed plane’s black boxes, no plan yet to send them abroad

Lebanon

Riot police restrain a protestor during a protest against a ruling elite accused of steering Lebanon towards economic crisis in Beirut, Lebanon January 18, 2020. (Reuters)

Almost 400 wounded in Lebanon clashes Saturday: Rescuers

Latest Issue

Issue: 240 | Sun, January 19, 2020

Top Stories

Hezbollah’s support for Iran exposes its vulnerabilities at home and abroad

Simon Speakman Cordall

Demonstrations continue despite attempts to derail protests after Soleimani’s killing

Azhar Al-Rubaie

Protests go on in Algiers even as president pledges reform

Lebanon protests turn violent as ‘one-sided’ government preps cabinet

Iran sends hardline message, defends adventurism abroad

Fears grow over Turkey’s transfer of jihadists, mercenaries to Libya

Opinion

Isolated and detached from reality, Khamenei is no Gorbachev

Ghosts of all-out war hovering over the Mediterranean

What if the US liberated Iraq from Iranian occupation?

Ibrahim Zobeidi

Lebanon’s next government is doomed to fail

Lack of humanitarian aid to Idlib made worse by diplomatic wrangling

Soleimani is no Arafat and Haniyeh should know that

Marwan Kanafani

Trump’s NATOME initiative remains a blur

Editorial

Sahel

France's President Emmanuel Macron gestures next to Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou and Chad's President Idriss Deby during a news conference as part of the G5 Sahel summit on the situation in the Sahel region in Pau, France January 13. (Reuters)

Sahel security of concern to Arab world

US

US President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio, January 9. (AFP)

De-escalation between Iran and the US

Iran

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani holds a meeting in Tehran with Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge Arreaza (not pictured), January 21, 2020. (DPA)

Jailed UK-Australian academic says Iran made spy offer

Syria

Decisions on whether to help women with IS ties return from Syria has caused controversy in Europe

Norway minister resigns over decision to bring home IS woman

Jordan

On Friday hundreds of Jordanians took to the streets of Amman denouncing the "shameful" deal

Jordan parliament demands ban on Israel gas imports

"We want to send a message to the government: stop procrastinating. The people know what you're doing"

Iraqi protests escalate over lack of reform

Libya

A fighter loyal to the Turkey-backed Government of National Accord fires shots during clashes with the Libyan National Army in Tripoli’s suburb of Ain Zara. (AFP)

Fears grow over Turkey’s transfer of jihadists, mercenaries to Libya

East|West

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (2nd R) meets with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (2nd L) on the sidelines of Berlin's International Peace conference on Libya, January 19, 2020. (DPA)

Pompeo expresses ‘outrage’ to Egypt’s leader over imprisoned American’s death

Saudi Arabia

Aramco employees walk towards an Aramco private flight at Aramco private airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia May 22, 2018. (Reuters)

New visa provisions boost Saudi travel industry

Iraq

U.S. Soldiers walk past a site of Iranian bombing at Ain al-Asad air base, in Anbar, Iraq, Monday, Jan. 13, 2020. (AP)

Debate on ouster of foreign troops from Iraq shows US caught in web of own 'failure'

Egypt

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (C) attends a presentation of combat efficiency of the armed forces in Suez, Egypt. (Reuters)

New naval base boosts Egypt’s presence in the Red Sea

Hassan Abdel Zaher

Society

Twin woes. An Iraqi child peddler sells water bottles to people driving down a street in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. (AFP)

Poverty, resentment of corruption among engines of continuing protests in Iraq

Economy

$2 trillion valuation. Saudi officials watch the stock market screen displaying Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco, in Riyadh. (AP)

Saudi Aramco triggers greenshoe purchasing option

UAE

Looking ahead. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Group CEO, speaks during the opening ceremony of the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. (Reuters)

Government, business leaders discuss ‘sustainable development’ in Abu Dhabi

Tunisia

Welcome trend. A tourist tries on a Tunisian “chechia” (traditional fez) in a shop at a bazaar in the Medina (old town) of Tunis, last June. (AFP)

Tunisia’s tourism sector shows signs of recovery

Algeria

Celebrating identity. Algerian Berber women prepare couscous as they mark the Yennayer New Year in the village of Ait el-Kecem, south of Tizi-Ouzou, east of Algiers. (AFP)

Celebration of Amazigh new year reflects Algeria’s diversity but also stark contradictions

Books

Poignant window into Syrian culture. Cover of “Sophia: Or the Beginning of All Tales.”

‘Sophia: Or the Beginning of All Tales’ by Rafik Schami

Society

Protesters’ haven. Tahrir Beach on the banks of the Tigris in Baghdad. (Oumayma Omar)

Tahrir Beach, a safe haven for protesters from Baghdad’s turmoil

Culture

Koma Waidi volunteers in Aswan. (Courtesy of Koma Waidi)

First Nubian language dictionary published by volunteers

Interview

Imperial vision and Ikhwan links drive Turkey’s Erdogan