Opinion

At this critical juncture, Syria could go one of two ways: towards stability and security, or towards chaos and bloodshed. Its friends are helping to guide it, but Iran has other ideas.

When people become disconnected from others, it can set in motion a cascade of health problems, both physical and mental. This disconnection is becoming more common. We need to wake up to it.

With initial projects worth almost $5bn, the new Syrian Saudi Investment Forum (SSIF) shows that Riyadh will help rebuild a war-battered regional country with huge private sector potential.

The perpetrators of violence in Sweida have not yet been brought to justice, with token gestures the best anyone has seen. If this new Syria is what it says it is, this is nowhere near good enough

Cleaved of its leverage, Iran will embrace chaos in Syria, with jihadists and smugglers waiting. Politics and investment will help stabilise Syria, and could offer Palestine hope. Up steps Riyadh

The wartime leader has just opted to bring independent anti-corruption bodies under his control, prompting thousands to protest on the streets of Kyiv. In Brussels and Moscow, they are watching.

The Palestinians are a minority in Israel, yet they are being bombed out of existence in Gaza. Odd, then, to see Israel bomb the Syrian government to defend the existence of another minority.

The president wants America's central bank to lower the interest rate so he can restructure the country's $37bn debt mountain, but the markets want him to leave the Federal Reserve alone.

Armed non-state actors in places like Iraq, Türkiye, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Syria are going to make-or-break the states in which they operate. Across the board, it is crunch time.

The Muslim Brotherhood was banned in April, but its political wing remains popular and restive. How will the state square that circle while enacting structural reforms and navigating crises nearby?

The past few days represent a watershed moment. For the central Damascus government, whose troops were bombed as they sought to quell the violence, this is make-or-break time.

Iran is suddenly showing Sasanian kings who defeated the Roman Empire alongside its commanders killed by Israel. It is not the first to reach for holy books and history books to rally a population.