China's all-powerful president turned 73 last month, but there is still no word on his successor. The 2027 Communist Party Congress may offer clues about the next generation

Clashes in the vital port city of Hodeidah were curiously timed, so soon after a senior Houthi delegation attended the funeral in Iran of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

The Turkish and American presidents showed that they enjoyed a good relationship but there are still issues to be resolved, both between them and within the wider alliance

Football at the highest level is no stranger to controversy, and World Cup tournaments are not immune to political intervention. Still, 2026 is proving to be much more than a talking point

The struggle between the Guards and the Speaker

Qassem Soleimani spent years building a network of pro-Iranian proxies or state allies in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. Syria fell in December 2024. At the end of June, so did two others

While Ruhollah Khomeini built the revolution, his successor Ali Khamenei built a state designed to survive him. With his son and heir Mojtaba absent from the funeral, what next for the regime?

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is Iran's dominant force militarily, politically, and economically, but there is growing pressure for its armed wing to merge with the Iranian armed forces

The real target of the explosions near President Macron's hotel was the idea of a new, open, trading Syria. The most effective response? To press on with the visit and move towards the future

Another 70 lawmakers have been picked by the president, creating a chamber of just over 200. Are these MPs pliable and subservient, or do they have teeth? That is now an important question for Syria