This could be a decisive year for Beijing as long-running strategies collide with harsher geopolitical realities. The outcomes will shape global power balances well beyond 2026.
If fighting spreads beyond the predominantly Kurdish neighbourhoods of Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud and beyond Aleppo, there is a real risk that Syria could be dragged into a new civil war
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
Overcoming Yemen's fragmentation requires more support for the Riyadh-led path—one that rejects secession, all militias and institutionalises the state
The US has made it clear that securing a deal is a key priority, and it will be looking to pick up the pace of talks ahead of Israeli elections later this year
The two presidents seem to share a crucial flaw: both assumed that America's overwhelming military would suffice to shape the destinies of the countries that they targeted
The US could be secretly negotiating with elements in the government to take charge. The alternative is state and popular resistance, which sets the stage for more military action and insurgency.
In an interview with Al Majalla, the prominent French jurist discusses Israeli and Western duplicity, their violation of international law, and why Israel bears the cost of Gaza's reconstruction
Tehran's elite have few friends, but regional states fear the consequences of a disorderly transition. If Iran's 92 million people turn on one another, it could cause millions to flee abroad.
Going forward, the international community needs to reduce dependence on the US without upsetting the world's largest military and economic power. It will be a shaky tightrope to walk.
Scrapping foreign ownership caps and qualifying criteria will bring in more capital, with markets reacting positively to the latest reforms that build towards a more open country