When the US formed its anti-Daesh coalition in September 2014, Saudi Arabia was one of the first Arab countries to join. From the very beginning of the conflict, the...

The Supporting Syria Conference, starting in London this week, aims to raise $9 billion for Syrian refugees. The purpose of this money is to end the limbo in which...

Since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, Geneva has hosted two rounds of peace talks. Today, Friday, a third round of UN-brokered talks is set to begin in...

Today the Iraqi army stormed the centre of Ramadi, the Iraqi city captured by Daesh in May. Backed by airstrikes from the US-led coalition, the Iraqi army is attempting...

When Russia began its campaign of airstrikes in Syria in September, Vladimir Putin said that his country would only target “terrorists”, primarily jihadist militants from the Daesh group. Yet...

“Over the past few weeks, there has been an alarming change in the way Saudi Arabia is discussed in Britain. The Kingdom has always had to deal with a...

Since the start of the year, in excess of 130,000 refugees have crossed to Europe from the North African coast. On some days, 20 boats set sail from Libya...

During the final days of this year's hajj pilgrimage in the holy city of Makkah last month, two large waves of pilgrims converged on a narrow road. The crowding...

The Syrian conflict is nothing if not complicated. The exact dynamics on the battlefield have shifted frequently in the five years since it began; so too has the role...

The Gaza Strip is a tiny patch of land – just 362 square kilometres (225 square miles) – that is currently home to around 1.8 million Palestinians. It has...

When Jordan broadened its anti-terror law last year, critics warned that it could be used to silence opposition. The law expanded the definition of "terrorism" to include any act...

Hugo Chavez, the then President of Venezuela, condemned Israel's actions during its invasion of Lebanon in 2006. He was the first world leader to do so, and it precipitated...

On Sunday, Syrian government warplanes attacked a busy marketplace in Douma, a rebel-held suburb of the capital city Damascus. At least 100 people were killed and more than 200...

Tomislav Salopek was kidnapped three weeks ago as he travelled in Egypt, about 14 miles west of Cairo. The Croatian national was working as a surveyor for a French...

On 8 August last year, Barack Obama authorised airstrikes against Daesh targets in Iraq. He said that it would only involve "targeted airstrikes to protect our American personnel, and...

One of the less-publicised victims of the 2003 invasion of Iraq was the country's electrical grid. This infrastructure has been damaged further by the continued unrest in the country;...

Israel has long been criticised by human rights groups for its use of "administrative detention". The term refers to detaining people – always Palestinians – without charge or trial....

When a nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers was agreed this month, some predicted that it would lead to a wider thaw in relations with western countries....

When the US formed an international coalition to fight ISIS last year, Turkey was a reluctant partner. It has been accused, at best, of turning a blind eye to...

Iran has been in the headlines fairly consistently over the last two years, as talks over the country's nuclear programme have reached their crescendo. The preliminary deal agreed this...

After years of deadlock and months of wrangling, a nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers was finally agreed in mid-July. The deal, endorsed by the UN Security...

In 2011, the Arab Spring was set in motion when Tunisian fruit vendor Muhammad Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest against corruption. He became a potent symbol of...

On 8 July 2014, Israel began airstrikes over Gaza, in what was known as Operation Protective Edge. The bombardment followed weeks of ramped up tensions that had begun with...

It didn't take long for talks between Yemen's warring factions to fall apart earlier this month. The five-day process, which was brokered by the UN and took place in...

When the Palestinian Authority joined the International Criminal Court (ICC) in April, commentators across the world warned that it was a provocative move that risked ratcheting up tensions with...

The Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish (often shorted to the Church of the Multiplication) stands in Tabgha, Israel, on the north-western shore of the Sea...

Does Israel operate an apartheid system? The question is highly fraught and provokes strong emotions on both sides. Pro-Palestinian activists argue that it does; defenders of the Israeli state...

Ever since the 2011 revolution in Egypt ousted President Hosni Mubarak and kick-started several years of political instability, the country's tourism industry has been struggling. The number of foreign...

For the past 13 years, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been gradually amassing power. The Justice and Development Party (generally known by its Turkish acronym, AKP) that he...

It is rare for top level foreign politicians and diplomats to visit the war-torn Gaza Strip, not least because it is controlled by Hamas, the political organisation viewed by...

This week, the eyes of the world are on Fifa, the international governing body of football, after top executives were arrested in Switzerland on American corruption charges. Fifa has...

This month, two Palestinians from occupied east Jerusalem have been jailed for their social media activity. The charges were related to incitement and "supporting terror" against Israelis. The first...