AW

Libya

Libyan National Army Field-Marshal Khalifa Haftar (R) meets with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (L) at Haftar's headquarters in north-eastern Libya, January 16. (DPA)

LNA army deploys fresh troops in its Tripoli offensive ahead of Berlin talks

Lebanon

Supporters of the Shia Hezbollah movement watch as the group’s leader Hasan Nasrallah delivers a speech on a screen in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh, January 12. (AFP)

UK adds entire Hezbollah movement to terror blacklist

Iran

Brian Hook, US Special Representative for Iran and Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of State, speaks to the media in Los Angeles, January 7. (AP)

US: Iran’s threats to fight beyond its borders will isolate Tehran more

Saudi Arabia

Former Saudi Ambassador to the United States Turki Al Faisal Al-Saud speaks in a conference in Washington DC, October 31, 2018. (AFP)

Soleimani killing wake-up call for Tehran: Former Saudi intelligence chief

Lebanon

Lebanese anti-government protesters block a main highway by garbage containers in Beirut, January 17. (AP)

Lebanese block roads as protests enter fourth month

Tunisia

Calling the shots. Tunisian President Kais Saied (R) meets with Rached Ghannouchi, head of Ennahda movement at the Carthage Palace, last October. (DPA)

Tunisia’s president takes centre stage as he searches for new PM

Latest Issue

Issue: 239 | Sun, January 12, 2020

Top Stories

Tunisia’s Islamists suffer political blow after parliamentary rejection of cabinet

Washington’s relationship with Baghdad suffers fallout from US-Iran showdown

Emily Przyborowski

After Sultan Qaboos dies, first Omani transition in 50 years

Despite call for ceasefire, fighting to continue in Libya

Erdogan and Putin’s call for Libya ceasefire rejected, reports of first Turkish casualties

Weakened by showdown with US, Iran faces outcry over plane downing

Opinion

Lack of popular legitimacy complicates task of Algerian government

What if the US liberated Iraq from Iranian occupation?

Ibrahim Zobeidi

One more twist in Erdogan’s imperial mindset

Running after the revolution

Carlos Ghosn could be bad news for Lebanon

Rashmee Roshan Lall

The unique legacy of Sultan Qaboos

Khairallah Khairallah

Risks but also opportunities for Saudi Arabia amid heightened Gulf tensions

Editorial

US

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

De-escalation between Iran and the US

Arab

Fireworks explode around the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, during New Year's celebrations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 1. (Reuters)

Hoping for peace in 2020

Iraq

Blast walls of the sleeping quarters for US soldiers are seen at Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province, Iraq January 13. (Reuters)

Iraq ouster of foreign troops would show US ‘failure’

Yemen

A reinforcement convoy of Yemen's Security Belt Force, dominated by members of the Southern Transitional Council, heads from the southern city of Aden to Abyan province, November 26. (AFP)

Yemen troops start withdrawing from Abyan province

Turkey

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses lawmakers from his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party during a meeting at the parliament in Ankara, January 14. (Turkey’s Presidential Press Office via Reuters)

Turkey starting troop deployment to Libya ahead of Berlin summit

Palestine

Christian Saunders, United Nations Relief and Works Agency's interim commissioner-general, speaks in Gaza City, January 16. (Reuters)

UNRWA feeling Israeli ‘pressure in East Jerusalem in particular’

Sudan

Members of the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are seen near the area where gunmen opened fire outside buildings used by Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) in Khartoum, January 14. (Reuters)

Sudan spy chief resigns after mutiny crushed

Egypt

A view of the platform of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea is pictured from the Israeli northern coastal city of Caesarea on December 19. (AFP)

Israel begins gas exports through Egypt

News & Analysis

SIM cards are reflected on a monitor showing binary digits in a photo illustration. (Reuters)

Amnesty takes Israel to court over spyware firm NSO

Syria

Islamic State militants pass by a convoy in Tel Abyad, northeast Syria, 2015. (Militant website via AP)

New evidence reveals ISIS hierarchy, could be used in prosecutions

Maghreb

Morocco, the land of coexistence

Moroccan king visits Jewish heritage site, promotes coexistence

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz (R) receives Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi in the Saudi Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah, September 25. (Saudi Royal Palace via AFP)

Saudi Arabia vows to support Iraq against Iranian ‘violation’

Libya

German Chancellor Angela Merkel listens to a journalist's question as Russian President Vladimir Putin looks at his watch during their joint news conference, in Moscow, January 11. (AFP)

Germany proceeds with Libya conference after failed Russian mediation

Libya

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference following a meeting with Italian Prime Minister, in Ankara, January 13. (AFP)

Turkey threatens to teach Haftar ‘a lesson’ as Berlin sticks to plan for conference on Libya

Sports

Morocco's Youssef En-Nesyri celebrates scoring a goal against Benin during the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations at Al-Salam Stadium, in Cairo, July 5. (DPA)

Sevilla sign Morocco international En-Nesyri

UAE

Technicians walk at the three thematic districts at the under construction site of the Expo 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 8. (AP)

US participates in Expo 2020 in Dubai thanks to UAE ‘generosity’

Palestine

An Israeli soldier points a laser light at the camera as others keep watch while a bulldozer demolishes Palestinian houses near al-Arub camp, in the occupied West Bank, November 19. (AFP)

Israel to create ‘nature reserves’ to maintain occupation of West Bank

News & Analysis

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man lights candles in an Ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood in Jerusalem, December 29. (AFP)

Israeli rabbi arrested for slavery after women found in Jerusalem

Saudi Arabia

Renovated buildings at the historic city of Diriyah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are pictured in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 27. (Reuters)

Saudi appoints princess as UNESCO representative

Algeria

Algerian riot police vehicles are lined up on both sides of a main street where anti-government protests are taking place, in Algiers, January 10. (AFP)

Algeria releases four jailed activists, to ban ‘hate speech’