The sheer number and pace of developments last week were hard to keep up with, but Al Majalla left no base uncovered. From Venezuela to Iran, Yemen and Syria, events moved at lightning speed. Our contributors unpacked complex issues and explained their significance to our readers. For his part, Ravi Agrawal poses 5 unanswered questions about Trump’s Venezuela plan, after it became clear that Maduro’s exit doesn’t mean the end of his government. Meanwhile, Stefanie Butendieck Hjerra profiles Venezuela’s vice president-turned-interim leader Delcy Rodríguez, describing her diplomatic style as “confrontational in tone but cautious in substance, and pursuing a strategy that marries public defiance with quiet pragmatism.” And last but not least, Faisal Faeq explains that The problem with Venezuela's oil is technical, not political. “Venezuela’s ultra-heavy crude requires hundreds of billions of dollars in sustained investment in upstream, upgrading, logistics, and export infrastructure,” he writes.

Switching gears, Arash Azizi opines that Change is coming in Iran after nearly two weeks of anti-government protests that have rocked the country. “Khamenei has struck a defiant tone amid growing protests against his regime, but a series of regional setbacks, coupled with an emboldened Trump, could finally bring it down,” he says. 

Our writers also weighed in on the troubling developments in Syria, where government clashes with SDF fighters in Aleppo worried observers about the possibility of an all-out civil war. Omer Onhon warns that Clashes in Aleppo may be the creaking before the earthquake. For his part, Haid Haid covered the tenuous ceasefire in place at the time of publication, asking: What next for Syria? He says, "It remains unclear whether Damascus's move to kick the Kurds out of Aleppo will pressure the SDF to implement the 10 March deal to integrate its forces into the Syrian army or harden its resolve to resist."

Meanwhile, Michael Harari weighs in on the Israel-Syria security negotiations held in Paris last week, where he says Damascus appeared to be more confident in its stance, but warns Israel could be dragging its feet as it currently enjoys a free hand for manoeuvre in Syria and wants to buy time to suss out Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's intentions and capabilities. 

For his part, Abdullah F. Alrebh explains Saudi Arabia’s red line in Yemen, where it made its position clear over threats to the country’s unity and territorial integrity after foreign-backed southern separatists tried to seize territory earlier this month. Meanwhile, Samer Elias combs through recently released meeting minutes between presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin, pointing out how the Russian leader foreshadowed the Ukraine war in 2008 and how Washington was well aware of Moscow's grievances over NATO expansion, but went ahead anyway.

In global health, World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lays out his organisation’s key achievements in 2025, while outlining its priorities for 2026. Read his piece to find out what they are.

And finally, in Culture, Houssam Maarouf writes from Gaza, where he visits destroyed and damaged markets, describing it as a “destruction of memory”. And Yasmin Abdallah bids farewell to Alexandria’s historic tram after a glorious 160-year run. “ The pace of life in the Egyptian city has forced change, replacing the much-loved old carriages holding memories of a bygone age,” she writes.