AW

Yemen

‘First step’. Yemeni Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yaman (L) shakes hands with head of Houthi delegation Mohammed Abdulsalam (R) while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres looks on during the Yemen peace talks closing news conference in Rimbo, north of Stockholm, December 13.(AFP)

Hodeidah ceasefire deal clinched but Yemen peace not there yet

Mahmud el-Shafey

Maghreb

Cri de coeur. A French student shouts slogans during a protest against the government and education reforms, December 11. (Julien Mattiale Pictorium)

Trepidation and relief in Maghreb over ‘yellow vest’ protests

Qatar

Under scrutiny. Former UN official Jamal Benomar. (AP)

The strange case of UN envoy turned-Qatar lobbyist

Iraq

Broken system. A view of Mosul General Hospital.(Azhar al-Rubaie)

Mosul residents decry poor medical conditions

Azhar Al-Rubaie

Saudi Arabia

Creating synergies. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir (C) and Yemen’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed Hadrami (R) arrive to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of countries from seven Arab and African states surrounding the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, December 12. (AFP)

Riyadh makes ambitious push for new Red Sea bloc

Syria

The heat is on. A military vehicle is transported as part of a convoy on the outskirts of the city of Kilis in south-eastern Turkey near the border with Syria, December 13. (Ismet Bicen/IHA)

Erdogan’s threat of Syria intervention puts Turkey, US at ‘crossroads’

Latest Issue

Issue: 185 | Sun, December 09, 2018

Top Stories

Egypt expo reflects progress of Arab military industry

Qatar isolates itself amid intra-Gulf tensions

Military tensions escalate showdown between US, Iran

Tunisian Jewish cabinet member assumes office, holds on to favourite cafe

Yemen peace talks begin but major hurdles remain

Mahmud el-Shafey

Basra’s demonstrators to continue protests ‘until demands are met’

Azhar Al-Rubaie

Opinion

Drawing lessons from France’s yellow vests

Oussama Romdhani

Qatari ties to Iran, Turkey undermine regional security

Empty rhetoric did not save Saddam or Qaddafi, it will not save Iran

Ibrahim al-Zoubeidi

The not-so-trivial pursuit of Hezbollah

Israel’s actions speak louder than its talk of regional peace

The incredible chutzpah of Turkish, Iranian leaders

Iran’s guardianship is smothering Lebanon’s politics

Editorial

Women

Omaima Al-Khamis, a Saudi writer, delivers a speech after receiving Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature at the American University (AUC) in Cairo, December 11. (Reuters)

Arab women deserve to be academic leaders

MENA region

Palestinian youth run carrying Palestinian flags by the barbed wire fence along the border with Israel east of Gaza City, December 7. (AFP)

Regional tensions add to concern

Syria

Fear tactics. Children try improvised gas masks in their home in Binnish in Syria’s Idlib province, last September.(AFP)

US accusations over chemical attack crucial for Idlib battle

Simon Speakman Cordall

Egypt

Political grievances. Former chief of the Wafd Party Sayyid al-Badawi (C) and other leading party members during a news conference in Cairo. (Twitter)

Divisions threaten future of Egypt’s Wafd Party

Egypt

Useful expertise. Egyptian and African forces at the start of the military exercises at Mohamed Naguib Military Base in Matrouh governorate, December 9. (Egyptian armed forces spokesman’s Facebook account)

Egypt trains Sahel, Sahara militaries on fighting terror

Libya

Unaddressed grievances. A Libyan Tuareg man sits at a passport control post near the border with Algeria. (Reuters)

Deep anger in south-western Libya fuels unrest

Algeria

Honouring victims. Mohammed Isa (C-L), Algerian Minister of Religious Affairs and Endowments, welcomes Papal Envoy Cardinal Angelo Becciu (C-R) at the Chapel of Our Lady of Santa Cruz in Algeria’s northern city of Oran, December 8. (AFP)

Roman Catholic church beatifies martyrs in Algeria in historic first

East|West

Iranian human rights activist Farhad Meysami (Facebook)

International solidarity grows for jailed Iranian dissident

Society

Other fish to fry. A man walks past graffiti depicting poverty and homelessness in downtown Cairo. (Reuters)

Poll reflects anxiety, frustration in the Arab world

Syria

Biggest winner. A Russian soldier (C) places the national flag at the Abu Duhur crossing on the eastern edge of Idlib, September 25. (AFP)

The 2018 winners and losers in Syria war

North Africa

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Patricia Espinosa and UN Special Envoy for the 2019 climate summit Luis Alfonso de Alba at the COP24 UN Climate Change Conference 2018. (Reuters)

Experts warn of 'existential risk' at climate conference

Egypt

Whose voice? An Egyptian man reads a newspaper in the Zamalek district in Cairo. (AP)

New sanctions complete the siege of Egyptian media

Iran

Dark designs. A 2017 file picture shows Stuart Davis, a director at one of FireEye’s subsidiaries, standing in front of a map of Iran as he speaks to journalists in Dubai. (AP)

How Iran spreads disinformation around the world

Gulf

The Emir of Kuwait said in his speech: "Perhaps the most serious among the challenges we are facing is the dispute that has plagued our Gulf entity and its continuation."

Qatar turns deaf ears to GCC calls

Society

Restoring divides. May Nasr and the children choir perform at AUB auditorium (Partners Lebanon)

Music and art bring refugee, Lebanese children together

Egypt

Lamis Hadidi, host of “Houna al asima” (“Here is the Capital”) on the satellite channel CBC. (Lamis Hadidi’s facebook page)

New faces but old strategy in Egypt’s media management

Society

Culture for all. People gather at a public library operated by Assabil in the neighbourhood of Mannot in Beirut. (Assabil)

Lebanese NGO promotes culture of public libraries

Books

Egyptian author Shady Lewis Botros poses with a copy of his book "Ways of the Lord" in London, on December 04. (AP)

Egyptian novel explores Christians under controlling church

Travel

A view of the desert in Tunisia’s southern city of Douz. (Ministry of Tourism)

Douz: Tunisia’s prime winter destination and gate to the Sahara

Society

A 2017 file picture shows people taking a picture with the world’s first operational police robot near the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. (AFP)

UAE sees future in artificial intelligence