Simon Speakman Cordall

Simon Speakman Cordall is a section editor with The Arab Weekly.

Author Articles

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri (C) stands among supporters after a news conference during which he announced the formation of a new government, January 31. (DPA)
Lebanon forms new government after months of deadlock
February 02, 2019
A window on region’s fractures. The opening session of the fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in Beirut, January 20. (AFP)
Regional pressures, growing divisions undermine Arab summit in Beirut
January 26, 2019
Frozen camps. Syrian refugee children stand near tents at a makeshift camp at the Lebanese border town of Arsal, Lebanon, January 9. (Reuters)
Storms put fate of Syrian refugees in Lebanon on the line
January 19, 2019
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
December 15, 2018
Mediterranean hotspot. A view of Saint Julian’s Bay in Malta. (Simon Speakman Codall)
Old Arab influences linger in Malta’s present
December 01, 2018
Syrian President Bashar Assad (R) meets with Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hussein Gabri Ansari in Damascus, on November 12. (AFP)
Too many stakes for Iran to back out from Syria
November 24, 2018
Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces attend the funeral of one of their commanders in the Kurdish-controlled city of Qamishly, on October 29. (AFP)
Long battle against ISIS lies ahead in eastern Syria
November 17, 2018
In the line of fire. A Syrian woman walks with her child past destroyed buildings in Kobane. (AFP)
Syria’s Kurds brace for Turkish assault
November 10, 2018
Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) attend the funeral of one of their commanders in Qamishly in north-eastern Syria, on October 29. (AFP)
Kurdish SDF caught between Turkish, US aims in Syria
November 03, 2018
Proxy war. A Hezbollah supporter carries a picture of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in the Bekaa Valley, last May. (Reuters)
Iran accused of using civil flights to funnel arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon
October 27, 2018
Shadow insurgency. A fighter of Syrian Democratic Forces stands amid ruins of buildings near the Clock Square in Raqqa, on October 18. (Reuters)
Caliphate may be gone but ISIS’s shadow lingers
October 26, 2018
A man walks past a damaged building in the town of Binnish in Syria’s rebel-held northern Idlib province, on October 15. (AFP)
Idlib watches and waits as Sochi deadline passes
October 20, 2018
Charm offensive. A Russian soldier gives medical aid to Syrians at the Abu Duhur crossing on the eastern edge of Idlib province, on September 25. (AFP)
Russian soft power places Moscow at the centre of Syria’s chaos
October 16, 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Syrian President Bashar Assad in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, last May. (AP)
Assad likely to survive Syria’s brutal war
October 13, 2018
Missiles are fired from Kermanshah in western Iran to target positions of the Islamic State group in Syria, on October 1. (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps)
Iranian missile strikes spark wariness
October 06, 2018
Freshly dyed Syrian opposition flags are seen hanging out to dry outside shops in the rebel-held town of Maaret al-Numan, in the north of Idlib province on September 27, 2018. (AFP)
Russia and Turkey’s Idlib deal holds, for now
October 05, 2018
Russian servicemen watch the launch of the S-300 air defence system missile at the Ashuluk military polygon in Russia. (Reuters)
Russia’s missile system to impact conflict in Syria
September 29, 2018
Syrian rebel fighters from the recently-formed "National Liberation Front" rest under an olive tree along the frontline near the village of Abu Dali in the Idlib province countryside on September 1, 2018. (AFP)
Idlib agreement defers rather than defuses province’s threat
September 21, 2018
Children try improvised gas masks in their home in northern Idlib province, on September 12. (AFP)
State actors horse trade over Idlib assault as aid agencies brace for the worst
September 15, 2018
Smoke raises in the Syrian village of Kafr Ain in the southern Idlib province after an air strike on September 7. (AFP)
Exhausted population in Idlib finds itself lost between governments, armies and militants
September 08, 2018