Is the United States gearing up for military intervention in Cuba? That's the question posed by co-authors William M. Leogrande and Peter Kornbluh, writing for Al Majalla earlier in the week.

Before his next war, US President Donald Trump has to extricate himself from the last, his attack against Iran, which has driven up energy prices. Pakistan is helping his resolve it, as Kamal Alam explains. 

A big factor is wars starting and ending seems to come down to the negotiating style of the world's most powerful man. Brian Katulis looks at Mr Trump's sound-and-fury diplomacy, asking whether it works or not.

On a related note, there certainly seems to be some personal chemistry between Trump and Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa, but as Haid Haid notes, bilateral relations need to be put on a stronger, more permanent footing.

Staying on Syria, Alia Mansour has noticed that there is a concerted campaign to drag the new Syrian government into Lebanon's squabbling, back-stabbing politics. So far, al-Sharaa and Co. have wisely distanced themselves.

Not far away, Israel's far-right government may sense that now is the time to claim sovereignty over the West Bank, given the sorry state of Palestine's leadership in Ramallah. Malek al-Athamna shows how this is a Jordanian problem.

Another opinion writer taking a historical view this week is Ibrahim Hamidi, who compares the Suez Crisis of 1956 with the US-Iran War of 2026. Both involved strategic waterways that carry much of the world's trade.

Talking of history, Yasmin Abdallah this week writes about the mahmal, a ceremonial passenger-less camel litter covered with intricately embroidered textiles that accompanied historic Hajj pilgrimage caravans of sultans' wives. 

Elsewhere is our culture section, Mona Shukri interviews the Jordanian short story writer Rashed Issa about his latest work and how he condenses words, not meaning.

In Business, Marcelle Nasr looks at Egypt's livestock markets, asking how inflation and geopolitical tension has driven up Eid sacrifice costs in a country that can ill afford any further cost-of-living rises.  

Across the Atlantic, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney has had a turbulent first year in the job, facing American threats and tariffs. Abdulfattah Khattab reviews the new man's last 12 months.

And finally, another American neighbour was in the news recently. Raul Castro, Cuba's 95-year-old former president and brother of Fidel, was indicted in the United States over an incident 30 years ago. Stefanie Butendieck-Hijerra looks at the quieter sibling who built Cuba's armed forces.