Middle East & Africa

Negotiations over Gaza

Israel and Hamas are not that far from a ceasefire agreement

But does Israel’s prime minister actually want to reach a deal?

Israel and Hamas

Hamas talks up a truce, but Israel may still invade Rafah

Will Israel agree to ceasefire terms?

Land of lousy armies

Why are Arab armed forces so ineffective?

Governments are splashing the cash, but that may do little to burnish their armies’ reputations

Campus protests

University protests about Gaza spread to the Middle East

But Arab students are looking to America for inspiration

How Gulf states rule

Gulf governments are changing, but not how they talk to citizens

Rumours about downpours in Dubai and rose in Riyadh stem from a lack of trust

Democracy’s dividends

How South Africa has changed 30 years after apartheid

Poverty is rife and inequality still starkly racial

In a pickle

Israel’s prime minister does not know where to go

Binyamin Netanyahu may be losing the plot

Militia mayhem

The Middle East has a militia problem

More than a quarter of the region’s 400m people live in states dominated by armed groups

Your money or your life

How much do Palestinians pay to get out of Gaza?

Middlemen are profiting from Gazans’ desperation

The Cyrus cylinder

Why Iranian dissidents love Cyrus, an ancient Persian king

The British Museum is sending one of Iran’s adored antiquities to Israel

The destruction of Addis Ababa

The historic heart of Addis Ababa is being demolished

Abiy Ahmed is imposing his vision on Ethiopia’s capital

Long walk to nowhere

How race and politics interact in modern South Africa

Why the ANC’s losses are not the official opposition’s gain