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May 10, 2026

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Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A young man stands in the entrance of tunnels that were used by the ISIS and the Assad's regime for fighting. Tadamon, Syria, February 7, 2025. (Photo by Raghed Waked / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by RAGHED WAKED/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Syria arrests Amjad Youssef, Tadamoun massacre perpetrator: What to know

Amjad Youssef appeared on video, allegedly killing dozens of civilians in 2013; he is the latest member of the Assad regime to be captured by the new Syrian government.

President of Syria Ahmed al-Shara arrives for the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at UN Headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025 in New York City.

Analysis

'Is it worth it?' Syria's Sharaa faces backlash over Missy Elliott performance

Backlash erupts after dancers perform to Missy Elliott’s “Work It,” exposing the tightrope between Sharaa’s outreach to the West and pressure from his Islamist base.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives ahead of a meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street in central London on March 31, 2026.

Syria’s Sharaa makes fourth visit to Saudi Arabia, first since Iran war: What to know

The visit comes in light of the deepening economic relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia post-Assad.

Latest News

How Syria's border opening with Iraq redefines Turkey-Kurd balance

Members of Iraq's security forces stand guard on the the al-Rabia border crossing with Syria on April 20, 2026.

EU to restore Syria cooperation pact ahead of May talks: What to know

Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP via Getty Images

Sharaa distances Syria from Iran war, says Israel talks ongoing: What to know

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Turkish Presient Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum in Turkey April 17, 2026.

Analysis

Is Syria’s Sharaa poised to outdo Turkey in formalizing gains for Kurds?

Kurdish people waving Kurdistan flags gather to celebrate Nowruz on the hill of Urkesh in the countryside of Amuda in northeastern Syria on March 18, 2026. Nowruz, meaning "new day," is an ancient festival that marks the start of spring and the new year on the vernal equinox, which usually falls on March 20 or 21. It is celebrated by more than 300 million people worldwide and has been observed for over 3,000 years across regions including the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus and parts of Eastern Euro

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Cagatay Cebe

In Istanbul, reporting on security and counterterrorism

Smoke and flames are seen following what witnesses said was an Israeli air strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip July 11, 2014. Israel pressed on for a fourth day with its Gaza offensive on Friday, striking the Hamas-dominated enclave from air and sea, as Palestinian militants kept up rocket attacks deep into the Jewish state. At least 79 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the offensive, which Israel says it launched to end persistent rocket attacks on its civilian population, s

Global jihad benefits from Gaza crisis

As Arab states do little to intervene in Gaza, militant jihadism continues to spread throughout the region.

Smoke rises during what activists said were clashes between rebel fighters and forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo's Sheikh Najjar frontline June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Hamid Khatib (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3WHOA

Aleppo rebels caught between Islamic State, regime

Rebels in Aleppo say they will struggle to prevent both the Syrian regime forces and a resurgent Islamic State from sweeping through the city and its countryside.

Youths wave Kurdish and Syrian opposition flags from the top of a building during a protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad at Kobani near Aleppo July 3, 2012. Picture taken July 3, 2012. REUTERS/Shaam News Network/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR34KQ3

Islamic State moves to capture another Turkish border crossing

The Islamic State is attacking Kobani canton, or Ain al-Arab, in an attempt to encircle the Kurdish autonomous region in Syria and capture a third crossing to Turkey.

Search and rescue team members work on one of the scenes of the twin car bomb attacks in the town of Reyhanli of Hatay province near the Turkish-Syrian border May 12, 2013. Twin car bombs killed 43 people and wounded many more in a Turkish town near the Syrian border on Saturday and the government said it suspected Syrian involvement. The bombing increased fears that Syria's civil war was dragging in neighbouring states despite renewed diplomatic moves towards ending two years of fighting in which more than

Turkey faces threat from returning jihadists

Having lost the proxy war it waged against Syria, Turkey now faces a potential threat to its own peace and stability by Turkish jihadists returning from Syria.

Money changers count Syrian pound notes and U.S dollars at a currency exchange shop in Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr district, September 9, 2013. Picture taken September 9, 2013. REUTERS/Abdalghne Karoof (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT BUSINESS) - RTX13FMH

Aleppans set up money transfer offices within the city

The division of Aleppo has separated families and made transferring money from east to west near impossible, prompting locals to take matters into their own hands.

A general view of the presidential palace is seen during a farewell ceremony for Outgoing Lebanese President Michel Sleiman in Baabda, near Beirut, May 24, 2014.
REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3QNB0

Lebanon: The summer when everything went wrong

Political, constitutional, livelihood and weather problems are happening simultaneously in Lebanon.

A street vendor waits for customers in Istanbul November 26, 2012. Through a decade of almost uninterrupted expansion, in which Turkey has established its economic and diplomatic clout as a Muslim democracy bridging Europe and the Middle East, the gap between the rich and poor has barely budged. Picture taken November 26, 2012. To match TURKEY-UNEMPLOYMENT/ REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT POLITICS) - RTR3AYYA

Syrian refugees aggravate Turkey’s unemployment problem

Syrian refugees working illegally at low wages are exacerbating already severe unemployment in Turkey.

Turkish trucks and tankers, shuttling between Turkey and Iraq, queue on a road leading to the Habur border gate in southeastern Turkey, before crossing into Iraq with their goods, February 23, 2008. Turkey's exports to Iraq jumped nine percent last year to $2.8 billion and its influence can be felt across northern Iraq in the form of supermarkets, consumer goods, construction firms and traders from all over Turkey. To match feature TURKEY-IRAQ/CONFLICT REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) - RTR1XKEF

Turkish truckers try to get on the road again

With the dangers and difficulties now inherent in transiting in Iraq and Syria, the Turkish transportation sector is looking for alternative routes to Middle Eastern markets.

A man purported to be the reclusive leader of the militant Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has made what would be his first public appearance at a mosque in the centre of Iraq's second city, Mosul, according to a video recording posted on the Internet on July 5, 2014, in this still image taken from video. There had previously been reports on social media that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would make his first public appearance since his Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) changed its name to the Islamic S

Did nostalgia for Islamic caliphate become a reality?

The Islamic State has exploited ideological tendencies of Salafist jihadists to establish its "Islamic caliphate."

Shiite volunteers from Hezbollah Iraq, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against militants of the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), gather together in Baghdad, July 6, 2014. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's coalition should withdraw its support for his bid for a third term and pick another candidate, Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr urged, amid parliamentary deadlock over the formation of a new government. Maliki has come under mounting pressur

Lebanese Hezbollah unlikely to intervene in Iraq crisis

Although some have expressed concerns that Hezbollah could intervene in Iraq to protect Shiite holy sites from Islamic State militants, a number of Lebanese politicians and sources close to Hezbollah dismiss this possibility.

Residents watch Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on a screen during his televised speech at a festival celebrating Resistance and Liberation Day, in Bint Jbeil May 25, 2014. The event commemorates the 14th anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTR3QT8E

Iraq events cause Hezbollah to go on full alert

The fall of western Iraq to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has cut the contiguous bridge from Iran to Lebanon, and Hezbollah fears that ISIS may try to sneak through to Lebanon.

The words: ' Baath, Arabism, Unity, Freedom, Socialism' are seen on top of a damaged building that belongs to forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo, June 19, 2013. Picture taken June 19, 2013. REUTERS/Nour Kelze (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTX10UMG

Russia banks on Syrian unity

As Moscow grapples with the changes in the region, it continues to support an inclusive peace process in Syria.