Eurasia

Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi has announced to AFP that he had reached a “preliminary agreement” with Damascus on the integration of his troops into Syria’s military and security forces. Abdi, who heads the powerful Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), had met Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus last week, …

Hamas tightened its grip on Gaza’s ruined cities Tuesday, launching a crackdown and executing alleged collaborators, even as US President Donald Trump vowed to disarm the group. The Israeli military said the remains of four more hostages held in Gaza had been brought into Israel, a day after Hamas handed …

Amid the immediate joy of the hostage families, and the victorious crowing of the American President, Gaza’s peace plan may yet produce a long truce. Beyond the politicking of outsiders — Donald Trump’s quest for personal glory, Qatar’s desire to draw closer to the White House — fatigue among the …

Forging a durable, just, and comprehensive peace in the Middle East should mimic the construction of a bridge. On one side, the architects of peace must build forward from where they stand today: negotiate a cease-fire agreement, uphold it, and point it toward a lasting settlement. On the opposite side, …

For the first time in nearly four decades, Iran is on the cusp of a change of leadership—and maybe even of regime. As Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s reign nears its end, a 12-day war in June laid bare the fragility of the system he built. Israel battered Iranian cities …

The captagon economy in Syria was never the creation of a single political authority. New data suggests it is part of a deeply rooted regional network that transcends borders, governments, and even regime change. When former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government fell on 8 December 2024, the world’s attention turned …

Cultural facts and latest developments If we study the culture of individual peoples and set out to see how they differ from each other, even ethnically and within the same country, we can easily understand what centrifugal forces are at work and, if necessary, prepare remedies to prevent the collapse …

There is no shortage of failed peace plans in occupied Palestine, all of them incorporating detailed phases and timelines, going back to the presidency of Jimmy Carter. They end the same way. Israel gets what it wants initially — in the latest case the release of the remaining Israeli hostages …

Bottom Line Up Front Over the course of the past month, unidentified drones — widely believed to be Russian — have menaced Europe, intruding into foreign airspace and causing major disruptions and having destabilizing effects, including temporary airport shutdowns. The Kremlin has consistently denied that Russian drones have entered European …

Bottom Line Up Front Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, numerous seemingly sacrosanct red lines in the region have been crossed, including extensive warfare between Iran and Israel on each other’s territory, and the Houthi threat to commercial freedom of navigation through the Red Sea. The October 7 attack …