To effectively navigate Beijing's encroachment into the Middle East, Washington needs policy clarity and shrewd management of its relations with its regional partners

Typically, refugees of war return home in peacetime. This didn't happen for the Palestinians who have been in exile since 1948. Their temporary shelter has become their seemingly permanent abode.

Downgrade was prompted by declining foreign exchange inflows, continued restrictions to the Egyptian pound's exchange rate, as well as external pressures to the economy

The bleak situation in Palestine cannot solely be attributed to Israeli colonial policies, US support, or Arab inaction. The Palestinians have also played their part in perpetuating the situation

A peaceful phase would also facilitate the proper utilisation of Yemen's underdeveloped oil and gas resources, which constitute the largest proportion of the country's undeveloped GDP

Sudanese novelist Mansour Al-Souaim journals his life in Sudan, where war continues to rage and the future looks bleak

Proper respect for citizens' rights and especially an end to politically motivated arrests will help encourage the Yemenis the country needs to return home. Broader, federalised power will be key.

These could be the last elections in the country if its president wins again, according to the influential advisor, pundit and journalist. Democracy itself and the Kurdish issue are the main factors.

What remains of the legacy of the great Iraqi poet Badr Shakir al-Sayyab? Ali Mahmoud Khodir revisits the eventful life of the late poet as told by his son

Both candidates claim to have enough votes to win the presidential race in the first round and win most of the seats in the parliament. Will either man be able to achieve a landslide?