Humanitarian crises

US Department of State's senior advisor to the president for Arab and African Affairs Massad Fares Boulos attends the Sudan Humanitarian Fund event at the Institute of Peace in Washington, on Feb. 3, 2026.

US says Sudan warring parties back withdrawal plan as donors pledge $700M in aid

State Department senior adviser Massad Boulos announced Tuesday that a "comprehensive peace plan" has been approved by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, though it still needs to be approved by Sudan's warring parties.

Sudanese army soldiers parade in the streets of eastern Sudan's city of Gedaref on Aug. 14, 2025, to mark the 71st anniversary of the formation of the Sudanese army.

RSF shells Sudan’s Kordofan as US-Saudi truce plan stalls: What to know

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces have launched drone and artillery attacks in Dilling, just a week after the Sudanese army said it broke a nearly two-year siege on the town.

US Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos (L) meets with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, Jan. 8, 2026.

US envoy pushes for Sudan truce in meeting with UAE’s MBZ after talks in Saudi Arabia

Boulos’ meeting in Abu Dhabi follows discussions earlier this week in Riyadh, as the two Gulf countries navigate both Sudan diplomacy and a dispute over Yemen.

A boy sits outside the entrance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) building complex in Gaza City, on Sept. 6, 2025.

Interview

UNRWA plans Turkey office to boost Gaza, Syria aid as pledges dip

Speaking exclusively to Al-Monitor, UNRWA’s Tamara Alrifai said the upcoming Turkey office would help the agency to expand its operations not only in Gaza but also in Syria.

Tamara Alrifai

Latest News

Analysis

US options constrained in Sudan as RSF snubs Washington, sanctions fail

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 21: Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies before the House Committee on Appropriations | Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs at the Rayburn House Office Building on May 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Rubio testified on the proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of State. (Photo by John McDonnell/Getty Images)

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

After 13 hours, 150 Gazans allowed to enter South Africa: What to know

A South African Airways (SAA) flight is seen on the tarmac before departing from the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Sept. 23, 2021.

Meet Rama Duwaji, Mamdani's wife and New York’s first lady of Syrian descent

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Interview

International Red Cross chief says Gaza conflict goes beyond anything he has ever seen

Members of the Red Cross stand amid the rubble of destroyed buildings as heavy machinery operates in the al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City on Oct. 27, 2025.

Pierre Krahenbuhl

Pierre Krahenbuhl

Director-General of the International Committee

A large poster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is decorated with paper flowers during the opening of the 42nd International Flower Show in the Tishreen park in the capital Damascus on June 22, 2022. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Syria's Assad accuses France of 'hysteria' for calling to put him on trial

Damascus is furious after French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said she thinks Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should stand trial for his role in the Syrian war.

People form a convoy as they celebrate in support of the Sudanese armed forces in Khartoum on May 12, 2023.

Sudan: 280 killed as fighting rages in West Darfur

The conflict in war-torn Geneina is ethnic in dimension and predates the current conflict between the Sudanese armed forces and the rebel Rapid Support Forces.

A relief cargo slated for war-ridden Sudan is loaded onto an airplane in Dubai, May 8, 2023.

More EU humanitarian flights expected to Sudan following agreement

After sending a first airplane with humanitarian aid, the European Union is now working on more air shipments.

Workers put final touches on the "PMC Wagner Centre", associated with businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner PMC (private military company) mercenary group, ahead of its opening in Saint Petersburg on October 31, 2022. - The centre offers free of charge spaces for inventors, project developers, IT specialists, experimental manufacturers and start-ups aimed at improving Russias defensive capacity, including information-wise. (Photo by Olga MALTSEVA / AFP) (Photo by OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP via Get

Analysis

France alarmed over Wagner’s role in Sudan as Russia expands in Africa

Following instances of instability in Mali and Burkina Faso that saw Russia's influence rise in Africa, France is closely working with Egypt to reach a cease-fire and avoid similar scenario in Sudan.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Smoke billows above residential buildings in Khartoum on April 16, 2023.

Alarm in Washington as Sudan slips into chaos

More than 180 people are dead after three days of heavy fighting between the Sudanese army and a rival paramilitary force.

The Horn of Africa

JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

2023 Mideast happiness rankings: UAE, Israel happiest as Lebanon hits bottom

The Middle East and North Africa region remains the least happy region after sub-Saharan Africa globally, but several regional nations have become happier in comparison to the previous period.

flooding in turkey

Turkey floods kill at least 14 in earthquake-hit zones

At least 14 people have died in flash floods that struck Turkey's earthquake zone, where hundreds of thousands of people are sheltering in tents.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Will Turkey's multibillion-dollar earthquake fund help reelect Erdogan?

Turkey's president has pledged to rebuild the earthquake-hit regions within a year, hoping that the ambitious plan will help him win over disenchanted disaster victims.

A chef holds a platter of kanafe during Hatay kanafe festival, July 23, 2019.

Culture

Turkey's Hatay kanafeh delicacy granted EU special status

Turkey’s earthquake-hit multicultural Hatay province receives recognition for its renowned Mesopotamian dessert.

Hairdressers give haircuts to people displaced by the earthquake at tent camp on February 19, 2023 in Hatay, Turkey. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit near Gaziantep, Turkey, in the early hours of February 6, followed by another 7.5-magnitude tremor just after midday. The quakes caused widespread destruction in southern Turkey and northern Syria and has killed more than 40,000 people. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)

Turkey's earthquake victims hit by exorbitant rent spikes, topping 60%

Turkey’s Justice Ministry is working on a draft amendment that would introduce jail terms of two to five years for landlords gouging prices in times of natural disasters.

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MP Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu holds a photograph depicting censorship while attending a session on a government-sponsored bill that criminalizes "disinformation" at the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) on October 13, 2022, in Ankara. (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey: Journalists bullied, censored by government over earthquake coverage

The post-quake experience of Turkey’s media offers clues as to what forms of censorship Ankara could employ in the upcoming election season.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) visits the area of a crushed wagon.

Turkey and Greece maintain post-disaster diplomacy after train crash

As Ankara condoles Athens over the fatal train crash, Turks praise the Greek transport minister's resignation and lament at Turkish government officials for not taking responsibility over quake failures.