Syria's newly formed parliament has elected Abdul Hamid al-Awak its speaker in its inaugural session, the first since the ouster of the Assad regime in December 2024.

Yasser Mahmoud Abbas’s election to Fatah’s Central Committee was more than a routine congress result; it marked the rise of a figure long associated with business circles and behind the scenes roles into the movement’s top decision making body.

Despite being appointed prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi is not known for his prior involvement in direct politics or for holding government positions after the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Iraq’s parliament has elected Nizar Amedi as the country’s new president, ending a political deadlock that had paralysed government formation.

At one of Tehran’s most sensitive moments, the name of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has returned to the forefront not as one of Iran’s most hard-line figures, but as a potential channel of communication with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

At the age of 100, Walid Khalidi, the Palestinian historian from occupied Jerusalem, died on March 8, 2026, after a long intellectual journey that helped rebuild Palestinian memory on rigorous academic foundations and challenged dominant Zionist narratives of the 1948 Nakba.

Sultan bin Sulayem, Dubai’s ports chief, was removed from DP World in 2026 over ties to Jeffrey Epstein, revealing ethical, labor, and geopolitical controversies.

As part of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump announced on January 16, 2026, the appointment of General Jasper Jeffers to lead the newly established International Stabilization Force in the Gaza Strip.

Sheikh Ghazal Ghazal, long aligned with al-Assad, now uses sectarian rhetoric to challenge Syria’s new state and stir division on the coast.

Tucker Carlson, a prominent right-wing media figure, has emerged as a symbol of a notable shift within the conservative right by challenging long-standing taboos over relations with “Tel Aviv”.

As Iraq weighs a new prime minister, attention has shifted to the Shiite Coordination Framework, where Ali al-Shukry is emerging as a leading compromise candidate for the top post.

Nikolay Mladenov, the former UN envoy to the Middle East, has emerged as the leading contender to head the “Peace Council” for Gaza, a body that would oversee day-to-day governance of the territory.

Palestinian authorities have detained Hicham Harb, a suspect in the 1982 Paris attack, sparking legal and political controversy over his possible extradition to France.

Michel Issa assumes his post as Washington’s ambassador to Lebanon in a delicate political juncture dominated by the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons and the future of indirect negotiations with “Israel”.

Nicknamed “the King of Cannabis,” Mark Savaya, an American of Iraqi origin and a close friend of Elizabeth Tsurkov, has been appointed as U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy to Iraq.