In a shocking exchange last week, US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traded barbs in the Oval Office. The two leaders shouted and spoke over each other in front of the press corps, after which Zelenskyy was invited to leave the White House. Keith Johnson walks us through the unprecedented debacle in his piece.

Meanwhile, Christopher Phillips pens a piece titled New realities for Ukraine awaken old challenges for Europe. In it, he says, “Europe continues to reel from a series of shocks dealt by the 'America First' administration of Donald Trump. The fate of Ukraine and Europe's security architecture hangs in the balance.”

Switching gears to Syria, Radwan Ziadeh pens a piece titled Syria’s transition takes its first baby step. In it, he writes on the Syrian National Dialogue that was held in Damascus’s presidential palace last week. He explains why the Dialogue ended up being the chosen transition model to take the country from revolution to elections and a new constitution.

And Alaa Shahine Salha writes on the blueprint for rebuilding the Middle East. He says, “From Syria to Gaza, a strategy to rebuild post-conflict Arab economies is slowly taking shape despite Israeli intransigence. It’s an enormous task, but the cost of inaction is higher.”

Meanwhile, world leaders teamed up to write an article calling for collective state action to end Israeli impunity. Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa; Anwar Ibrahim, the prime minister of Malaysia; Gustavo Petro, the president of Colombia; and Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla,  the general coordinator of Progressive International and acting chair of the Hague Group, explain how “Israel’s actions strike at the foundations of international law.”

On the ground in Gaza, Houssam Marouf speaks to Palestinians who are observing Ramadan amid grief and ruins. He says, “Mosques are rubble and families have been torn apart. Those who survived mourn those who did not. Amidst the trauma, celebrating seems strange. Yet in a sprinkling of lanterns, there is resistance.”

And Ibrahim Hamidi writes on the funeral that was held last week in Beirut for slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, which he said laid “Iran's 'axis' to rest”. And for those who think otherwise, Hamidi noted how “Israel menacingly flew its fighter jets over Nasrallah's funeral to remind Hezbollah's supporters of the new realities it has imposed on Lebanon's political landscape.”

And switching gears to Germany, Con Coughlin profiles its new centre-right chancellor, Friedrich Merz. In his piece, he says, “Germany takes a sizeable leap to the right as Merz's election is set to radically transform the country's political landscape.”

Meanwhile, Kawthar Zantour writes on how the sacking of Tunisia’s finance minister, Siham Nemsia, has helped disperse the ‘IMF shadow’ that was hanging over the country.

Meanwhile, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organisation, and Dr Adriana Blanco Marquizo, the head of the secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, co-author a piece saying that much progress has been made in curbing smoking around the world, but there is still much more that can be done. They point to the “1.3 billion remaining tobacco users globally, fuelled by a multi-billion dollar industry that peddles addictive and deadly products.”

Samer Abou Hawwach reviews the legendary Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar’s new film The Room Next Door, which he says “bathes death in light, colour, and calm.” “The remarkable award-winning film deals with the end of life head-on in what amounts to a rare cinematic meditation,” Hawwach says. And finally, Khodr Al Agha publishes his latest picks for Al Majalla’s bi-monthly Book Watch series, highlighting the vibrant and rich Arab literary scene.