Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
Ian Black

Creator

Ian Black

Guest Author

Dismay, disbelief, anger: When the votes were counted at the 2017 national elective conference and Ramaphosa was announced the new president of the ANC, defeating Dlamini-Zuma, Jacob Zuma struggled to control his emotions. (Gulshan Khan/AFP)

Cheap oil pushes Saudi reform

Saudi Arabia is realising that it has to look to a future that does not depend solely on fossil fuel.

Violent reaction: The execution of the prominent Shia cleric and activist Nimr al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia has been overshadowed by the burning of the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran.

Saudi executions go global

Awkward alliances in the fight against terror have complicated a proper response.

Russia’s Syria gambit could be a game changer

Reports from the scenes of Russia’s air strikes suggest that the targeting of groups other than Isis was deliberate. Yet the detail may not matter.

In tatters: Iran has provided financial and military support to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad since the uprising began in 2011.

Iran quietly extends its strategic influence in Syria

Tehran plays a critical role that unnerves its allies in the regime as much as its enemies.

Iran wants respect from the West

A nuclear deal has been struck, now the country seeks to play a positive role in the region.

No power, no water, no hope

Israel is finding it harder to deny targeting Gaza infrastructure, but it still claims that tunnels and rockets are its primary focus.

Israel’s path ‘worse than apartheid’

Noam Chomsky states that if Israel is boycotted, the same fate should befall the United States. He further believes that a boycott could backfire.

Political analysts say the Syrian ‘blood elections’ are President Bashar al-Assad’s way of intimidating the opposition and showing that he is still in charge.

Syria: A farce worth reckoning with

The ‘blood election’ has been widely denounced – but it strengthens Al-Assad’s regime regardless.

Getting to grips: Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem has support from his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov at the talks.

Blunders and stubborness hobble Syria talks

Syria: The long road to finding peace after years of war.

The UN estimates that half a million children are at risk. (AP)

Vaccination ceasefire urged in Syria

A polio outbreak to the east of the country has reinforced the call for relief workers’ safety.

EU warning to Israel wields clout

Boycotting Jewish settlements is a stark reminder that Europe is tiring of the stalled ‘peace process’.

A man grieves at a hospital where victims are being brought after clashes between police and supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi this week.

Blood, fear cast pall over Ramadan

Secular and fundamentalist friction rages as Egyptian military cracks down on coup backlash.

Egypt: Second revolution sets a dangerous precedent

The army’s "road map" is for a civilian, technocratic government and a short transitional period to be followed by new elections.

Mohamed Morsi.

Egyptian opposition’s rap sheet against Morsi

Egypt’s ousted president Mohamed Morsi stands accused of failing to govern democratically and being autocratic and incompetent.

Morsi remains stubborn: What happens next in Egypt?

With Egypt’s president looking increasingly isolated after being pressured to step down, here are three possible scenarios for the country.

Scenes such as this make it no surprise that the Syrian currency has suffered in the last year

Assad’s end could be nigh

As the power shifts on the ground, the CIA is predicting it could be in eight to 10 weeks.

A file photo taken on December 13 2010 of Tunisia’s ousted president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.

One step forward, two steps back for Tunisia

The government is reversing progress on human rights in Tunisia following last year’s Arab Spring revolution, Amnesty International has warned.

Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi.

Mohamed Morsi: A spectacular balancing act

Egypt’s president has the ability to dominate domestic politics. Now he has to find a way to appease the US after the embassy attack.

A man waves his rifle as cars and buildings burn in the US consulate compound in Benghazi.

Hunt on for Libya bombers

The United States has vowed to avenge the consulate attack that killed its ambassador and would work alongside the Libyan government.

US President Barack Obama has vowed to hunt down those responsible for the death of US ambassador to Libya
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Ambassador’s death: Justice will be done, vows Obama

Barack Obama has underscored the bond between the US and Libya, but vowed to hunt down those behind the possibly premeditated killing of the US envoy.