The Yemen-related security alert that has led to a western diplomatic shutdown in the middle east and north Africa highlights an enduring feature of the United States's jihadist adversary.
The hope for progress in the core middle-east dispute arises at the very time when a new Iranian president tests Israel's unyielding stance on nuclear security.
Syria's war is producing humanitarian crisis, the growth of radical paramilitaries, violence in Iraq, and intra-state conflict. In the morass there is but one chance of progress.
A combination of extreme weather events and a coming temperature rise may be enough to induce the serious political shift needed over climate change.
The gap between Washington's strategic ambitions in Afghanistan-Iraq and the material results is becoming even larger.
How do Egypt's latest huge street protests relate to popular eruptions elsewhere in the world? A war involving Egypt and Syria in 1973 supplies part of the answer.
The provision of more sophisticated arms to Syria's rebels, in which Saudi Arabia is now deeply involved, will produce a more violent stalemate.
The election of a reformist president in Iran realigns the geopolitical stars, and brings the possibility of diplomatic progress on Syria.
The balance of forces in Syria's conflict in favour of Damascus is creating a dangerous regional dynamic. This puts wise diplomacy at a premium.
The imminence of severe climate disruption makes the work of those planning for the event more vital than ever.
The Arab awakening has eroded Israel's sense of regional security. Now Syria's civil war presents Israel with both urgent risks and impossible choices.
An understanding of the link between the shocking murder of a young soldier on a London street and "remote-control" attacks by western states is essential.
