The recapture by the Syrian army of the historic city of Palmyra last week marked an important turning point in the five-year conflict that has destroyed much of the country, killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.It was the first major battle between regime forces,

Europe is in shock following last week’s double suicide attacks in Brussels, the capital of the European Union and NATO’s headquarters.Daesh has claimed responsibility, but the attackers were all second-generation Belgians, most with criminal records and some on terrorist watch l

These are testing times for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the man who once represented Turkey’s best hopes to end conflicts with its neighbours and present a new face of moderate political Islam to the region and the world.Today he finds himself in a tight spot: waging

Russian President Vladimir Putin dropped a political bombshell Monday when he ordered the immediate withdrawal of most of his troops from Syria just as the second round of the so-called Geneva III talks between the Damascus regime and the opposition was about to begin. Until

The US presidential race is attracting attention outside the United States because of the stark contrast among candidates, especially on the Republican side, over foreign policy and the increasing possibility that outsider billionaire Donald Trump could soon become the presumptiv

The apparent victory of moderates and reformists in Iran’s parliamentary elections this Friday stunned hardliners as it underlined the state of the electorate’s mood and gave credence to President Hassan Rouhani’s reformist agenda.More important, though, was the big win that Rouh

It has been some time since US Secretary of State John Kerry talked about the two-state solution, illegal Israeli settlements and “tensions” — that should read daily Israeli provocations — at Al Aqsa Mosque compound.This week he met with His Majesty King Abdullah and later held t

Amidst the deep schisms, military escalation and political confusion in Syria today, it is difficult to believe that a political breakthrough will succeed in ending the war, put the country on the road to democracy, help it maintain its geographic integrity, disarm hundreds of ar

The collapse of the preparatory round of Geneva III talks last week was expected.The government delegation was not ready to acquiesce to opposition demands that the humanitarian clauses of UN Security Council Resolution 2254 on Syria be implemented in order to create the right co