Syria
WORLD
Double Bind: Struggle in Syria Between Foreign Peace and Domestic Clashes
As diplomats in Paris weigh the price of peace with Israel, the shelling in Aleppo serves as a lethal reminder of the domestic fractures haunting the new Syria.
BUSINESS
Rails Across Continents: The Orient Express and Hejaz Line Revived
Two legendary railway lines, one in Europe and one crossing the Middle East, are being restored in 2025, proving that infrastructure can tell stories across time.
Gaza War
The Real Test of the Abraham Accords: Ceremony vs. Reality
As Washington celebrates a diplomatic photo-op, with the Abraham Accords, middle powers are redefining the Middle East map on their own terms.
Exhibitions
The Near East in the Louvre: Time Held in Stone
In the Mesopotamian galleries of the Louvre, lions still guard doorways and musicians still play for gods who fell silent thousands of years ago.
WORLD
Syria: Latest Visit Hints at Russia’s Return to Syria
Syria’s new president Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Putin in Moscow, signalling a pragmatic reset as Russia seeks to rebuild influence in the Middle East.
Popular
Winter Storm Research Rewrites a Witch Trial Tragedy
As new research published in Smithsonian Magazine this week connects a 1617 Arctic storm to Norway's deadliest witch trials, climate historians reveal how weather shock fed decades of persecution.
Prediction Takes Politics: Prophets and Polymarkets Collide
As 11 Peruvian shamans predicted Nicolás Maduro's fall on 29 December 2025, crypto traders were placing similar bets online—five days before U.S. forces extracted the Venezuelan leader to New York.
Mladenov Takes Over Gaza Board After Regional Veto
Nickolay Mladenov becomes Gaza peace board head after Arab states blocked Tony Blair, raising questions about whose interests guide Washington's selection.
Abu Dhabi Rebuffs British Universities Over Campus Radicalisation
The world’s wealthiest patrons now view Western campuses as hazards, forcing a costly inversion of the traditional hierarchy that once defined global education.
Bury the Lead: MTV ‘Death’ and the Way We Read Now
As MTV continued broadcasting across the United States and most of Europe on 1 January 2026, millions of social media tributes mourned a channel that had never actually shut down.
