As part of our Cover story package, Michael Horowitz examines how Türkiye-Israel relations nosedived, leading to the 2026 face-off between Ankara and Tel Aviv, not least over Syria.

Elsewhere, Anwar al-Ansi looks at the latest fighting in the western Yemeni city of Hodeidah, which has an important deep-water port. It is the latest clash between the Houthis and the internationally-recognised government.

Over to Asia, and Charbel Barakat turns the lens on China's septuagenarian leader Xi Jinping, with the question that is never asked and never answered: who will succeed him?

On a different note, Bryn Haworth kicks off with the argument that there is too much politics in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Or has it always been thus?

In Opinion, Mohannad Mubaideen argues that Jordan has done well to fight the fires of the Middle East to stop them at the gates, but that further reforms are needed if the country is to fulfil its potential.

Perceptive as ever, Haid Haid raises the issue of an activist's arrest in Syria, which triggered protests. The government has to strike a balance between forward progression and justice for past crimes. Is it?

In the Gulf, Zaid al-Fadheil shows how Arab states are stuck between the religious extremists in Tehran and the religious extremists in Tel Aviv, asking how they should escape these twin fires

In Business, Amr Emam explains how Egypt's government is relaxing rules of foreign ownership of property in the country. There has been a building boom but domestic demand is weak.

From land to sea, and Abdel-Rahman Ayas dives into the Strait of Malacca, another important maritime chokepoint, where Singapore seeks to steady the ship amidst the roiling waves of the Gulf and elsewhere.

In Culture, Mohamed Magdy reminisces over two lost dynamic communities of Egypt - its Jews and Greeks - tracing their past through the relics of the present in Cairo and elsewhere.

To literature now, and Yazan al-Hajj shows how the fourth Arden series continues a tradition that has repeatedly transformed the study of Shakespeare, but not yet for Arabic readers.

Finally, our Profile this week is of FIFA President Gianni Infantino. As Christopher Philips notes, the controversial head of an organisation that has just made $15bn from the World Cup looks likely to be re-elected.