After the UK, France, and Canada said they would recognise a 'State of Palestine', Majed Kayali asks whether this has brought statehood any nearer to fruition, in the run-up to the United Nations General Assembly in September.

In Syria's semi-autonomous border regions, such as Suweida in the south, outbreaks of violence since December 2024 are not simply sectarian, Caroline Rose explains; they are also turf wars in the lucrative smuggling trade.

In Sudan, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have just set up a parallel government, says Amjad Farid. Ironically for a militia accused of heinous war crimes, it is called the Government of Peace.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, Bilal Y. Saab says the government's task now is to disarm Hezbollah, which will not lay down its arms voluntarily. Why not use the Lebanese Armed Forces? They are not the ragtag crew they once were.

In Opinion, Hind Aleryani discusses the prominence and mixed fortunes of two Swedish politicians of Palestinian heritage, reflecting on the benefits of political participation in Stockholm of those of Arab origin.

In Turkey, there is quiet optimism that the terrorist PKK Kurdish group may finally disband, but as Rustum Mahmoud explains, the spectre of Israeli aggression goes to a fundamental part of Turkish identity.

The direction of the state in Syria is of concern to Alia Mansour, who says it can go one of two ways: towards stability, or chaos. Iran, which until recently held great sway over Damascus, may opt for the latter. 

In Culture, Al Majalla's Samer Abou Hawwach remembers Ziad Rahbani, the late musician, actor, poet, and political activist, and considers his legacy, after his recent death in Beirut, aged 69. 

In Saudi Arabia, public libraries are being given a makeover, says Jaber Muhammad Madkhali, to create new Cultural Houses, envisaged as hubs for innovation, ideas, and networking, in a bold new plan.

In Business, Hussein al-Sharaa considers the steps that his son (President Ahmed al-Sharaa) and his ministers will have to take to put the state and the economy on an even keel. No small task, given the decimation.

In Lebanon, where most of the population has to work with patchy broadband connections, Elon Musk's Starlink satellite-based internet could help, but as Abdulfattah Khattab explains, things are never that simple here.

Finally, Al Majalla profiles a former British diplomat who is now a senior UN official with a remit covering humanitarian affairs. Con Coughlin looks in detail at Tom Fletcher, whose criticism of Israel over Gaza has irked Tel Aviv.