Spotlight
Belonging in Today’s Britain
A reflective essay on identity, belonging and the shifting meaning of Englishness in an age of political upheaval explores the migrant experience — from asylum hotels to far-right rallies — and questions what it means to call the U.K. home.
Lebanon’s Uneasy Peace
Nearly a year after Lebanon’s war with Israel formally ended, the resulting peace feels fragile. Hezbollah faces intense international pressure to disarm, while Israeli strikes continue and fear of renewed conflict is spreading from Beirut’s suburbs to the southern border villages.
Putin Updates His Syria Strategy
The very existence of Syria’s new leader serves as a stark reminder to Moscow of what it has lost. For Russia’s influential, pro-war military bloggers, often a barometer of nationalist sentiment, the welcome given to interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa was a slap in the face.
As a Tenuous Ceasefire Holds, Will Gaza Dare To Dream Again?
As the ceasefire was announced, everyone in Gaza was caught between joy and disbelief — smiling, crying, uncertain whether to hope. It felt like the first deep breath after years of suffocation, a long pause from an even longer fear.
Stalled Reconciliation Leaves Hama’s Alawites in Limbo
In Syria’s Hama province, displaced Alawite villagers are unable to return to houses and lands now occupied by their former Sunni neighbors, whose own homes were destroyed. With property disputes unresolved and pistachio orchards — the region’s economic lifeblood — neglected, the fragile coexistence that once defined these communities risks collapse.
The Ballad of Fadel Chaker
Once the “King of Emotion,” the Lebanese singer Fadel Chaker’s career was derailed by his association with a radical cleric and alleged involvement in violent clashes. Yet despite his arrest this weekend, he’s topping charts again and is defended by legions of fans.
Inside Syria’s First Post-Assad Elections
In a country long accustomed to stage-managed politics, Syria’s first elections after the fall of Bashar al-Assad offered both the trappings of democracy, and a revealing look at a process of improvisation.