The president’s unrelenting bid for a third term is raising tensions that could inflame the region.
The country’s president is all too aware of the consequences of the meltdown in relations between Russia and the West.
Negotiators say a deal over the country’s nuclear ambitions is at hand, but trust issues remain.
Detailed investigations of possible war crimes arising from drone attacks in Pakistan and Yemen pose difficult questions for the US.
Ernest Hemingway immortalised the Paris-based Herald newspaper in his writing, but future readers will know it as the International New York Times.
Democrats of all stripes and colours rallied behind Barack Obama. Hard-line Republicans betrayed Mitt Romney. And so he lost.
Neither Sudan nor South Sudan can afford another conflict. But in Thabo Mbeki’s words, they are trapped in the "logic of war".
Despite the biggest UN operation ever, large numbers of people are being killed and displaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Survey by Save the Children highlights the devastating effects of malnutrition and predicts a disaster if the situation isn’t remedied.
Its archenemy to the north remains hostile, but Africa’s newest state is not blameless either.
The delayed reaction to last year’s drought crisis in East Africa exacerbated the heavy loss of lives.
A damning report says the poor organisation of the aid response to the East African drought contributed to the deaths of tens of thousands of people.
No image available
/ 15 December 2011
Former UN envoy warns of al-Qaeda’s commitment to create ‘new Somalia’ in region.
Ankara is a secular, moderate Islamist state, something its troubled neighbour could emulate.
No image available
/ 27 September 2011
The peaceful campaign against President Bashar al-Assad has failed — and a violent winter of armed resistance seems set to start.
Despite his absurd, buffoonish persona, Muammar Gaddafi clung to power in Libya for four brutal decades.
Syria’s president has lost whatever legitimacy he once had. Western governments must stop blaming those around him.
The giddy prospect of a third revolution in the Arab world, with Libya following Tunisia and Egypt into a brave new democratic era, is fading.
No image available
/ 17 January 2011
The official response to unrest on Tunisia’s streets comes straight out of a tyrant’s playbook.
No image available
/ 2 November 2010
Fears are rising that Sudan’s 2005 comprehensive peace agreement that ended decades of north-south conflict is about to collapse.
No image available
/ 11 October 2010
US President Barack Obama has barely a week to save the Middle East peace process, only months after he relaunched it amid optimistic predictions.
Washington’s impatience with Islamabad’s approach to counter-terrorism has led to US operations straying deeper into Pakistan.
Winning hearts and minds in Afghanistan can be uphill work, as United States soldiers have discovered.
A good — or bad — showing at the World Cup has significant political consequences for the countries and leaders concerned.
<b>Simon Tisdall</b> finds the calmer, greener side of a country better know for its hi-tech brands.
<i>Simon Tisdall</i>: Allegations that Syria sold missiles to Hezbollah may not pose a direct security threat but will revive tensions with Israel.
Aid agencies fear that the forthcoming elections may reignite civil war if Sudan’s underlying problems aren’t addressed
Barack Obama’s inauguration provided hope in a period marked by war, terror, nuclear fears and climate change anticlimax.
No image available
/ 30 October 2009
New terror tactics in Iraq are aimed at the squabbling fledgling state.
Tougher sanctions on Iran are unlikely, despite compelling reports that the country has an underground uranium enrichment plant.
United States hawks are circling as enthusiasm for sanctions on Iran fails to materialise either among its neighbours or in China and Russia.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s renewed house arrest has reminded the world of an intractable problem. Unified action is needed, say activists.