The outbreak of violence in Syria's south has jolted foreign powers into action. Russia's return there could bring more stability, but also threatens to undermine the US agenda

Classified documents from the 1970s obtained by Al Majalla show what led to the killing of the Lebanese Druze politician and how Syria came to occupy Lebanon

The Druze leader, whose forces were winning Lebanon's civil war, disagreed with Syria's president over it. Now, Al Majalla publishes a letter he sent to Assad, aiming to put them on the same page.

There is a growing awareness in Israeli society, deeply divided by the war in Gaza, that such provocations by far-right Jewish zealots do nothing but fan the flames of violence

Al Majalla visits the Druze-majority governorate, the scene of crimes allegedly committed at the behest of Damascus and speaks to citizens who relay the horrors they witnessed

Those watching the Israeli prime minister over the years will not be surprised to hear of his affiliation with the idea of a much larger State of Israel. Now he is acting on it.

An Egyptian author who remained forever the revolutionary bows out at the age of 88, his works leaving a lasting legacy

US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack used his latest visit to Beirut to deliver what was, in effect, an ultimatum to the Lebanese government, though he took care not to present it as such

First divided into mini-states, France later merged them into a federal union in 1922, which was a spectacular failure. In 1925, it was replaced by the Syrian state with Damascus as the capital.

The moves by France, the UK and other Western states appear to be more about appeasing domestic critics with symbolic gestures rather than a genuine attempt to change Israel's behaviour