It was over a month ago that Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al Abadi announced that the battle to recapture the city of Mosul was entering its final stages.But seven months after the military operation began, Iraqi troops are yet to take control of the heart of the heavily populated

The sudden shift in US position on the fate of Bashar Assad, enunciated last week by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, should not come as a shock to various players and interlocutors in Syria and Geneva.Even before his victory in the Novemb

Arab leaders meeting at the Dead Sea on Wednesday are not expected to adopt momentous resolutions that could spell a departure from previous positions on key issues that include Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Libya and the war on terrorism. But the overall message coming from the

The withdrawal last week of a UN agency report accusing Israel of being an apartheid state will not change the stark findings and harsh conclusions that two distinguished researchers had reached.The report, titled “Israeli practices towards the Palestinian people and the question

Nowhere is the conflict in agendas over Syria more evident than in the northern city of Manbij.In recent days, it has become a magnet for a multinational military build-up that includes major players — most are at odds with each other — today in the Syrian arena.The city of 70,00

If polls are to be trusted — especially after missing their target in the US presidential elections and the Brexit vote last year — the party of the most controversial politician in the Netherlands is projected to win most seats in the March 15 parliamentary elections.Geert Wilde

Jordan’s efforts to pacify Syria’s southern front by striking a truce between moderate rebel groups and Syrian government forces in the Daraa governorate appear to have been scuttled, following a sudden flare up of violence that started two weeks ago.Amman wants to secure souther

As he managed to stretch his control over most of eastern Libya, including the oil fields, after ridding Benghazi of the Islamist jihadist threat, Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar is now looking to capitalise on his gains in a bid to have the final say on the future of his country.H

Even before revealing details of how the safe zones in Syria will work, US President Donald Trump’s vague proposal, made soon after his inauguration, is creating confusion, questions and even doubts on most sides.Reportedly, the US president had discussed his idea with Saudi, UAE