Julie Bishop says all options should be considered when it comes to Australia’s position on a post-civil war Syria.
AAP/Amanda Voisard
The real winners this week in international diplomacy have been Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
A damaged church in Maaloula, a Christian town in Syria.
Reuters/Omar Sanadiki
There’s an understandable impulse to treat all refugees the same regardless of religious identity. But is that actually helpful?
Pristine Dubai is apparently no place for displaced Syrians.
Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah
By refusing to take in Syrian refugees, the Gulf States’ governments prove they don’t care much about the humanitarian crisis on their doorstep.
Having none of it: the Saudi king, Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud.
Reuters/Yuya Shino
The Gulf’s most powerful state has been catching flack for its policy on Syrian refugees (or lack of same). What chance is there of a change?
Into the unknown.
Reuters/Faisal Nasser
The desert kingdom has never really figured out what to do about Syria – and time may be running out.
EPA/Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
The West has condemned Moscow’s ongoing support for Bashar al-Assad. But perhaps it is the least-worst option.
Iran’s nuclear deal promises an era of economic and, by extension, political collaboration with the West.
Reuters/Umit Bektas
In both domestic and international politics, Iran’s ruling clergy is enjoying a much more secure position than previously.
Fed up.
Reuters/Hasan Shaaban
With one of the world’s heaviest refugee burdens and a government incapable of governing, Lebanon is very much on the edge.
Mohammed Saber/EPA
Journalists can go where diplomats can’t: but that doesn’t make it easy.
Nadine Labaki’s Where Do We Go now?
courtesy Pathe Films
The Arab Women Film Festival seeks to deconstruct misunderstandings about women in the Arab world and its diasporas, and provide a more nuanced view of the challenges faced by Arab women today.
Iraqis have taken to the streets recently to demand their government tackle the corruption endemic to its political system.
Reuters/Ahmed Saad
Is serious reform to stamp out political corruption in Iraq even possible given inevitable opposition from those with a vested interest in the status quo?
Australian aircraft are set to join in bombing activities over Syria.
AAP
Australia must have a realistic view of the end goal in increasing its efforts in the fight against Islamic State in Syria, and start planning to stabilise and rebuild any territory retaken.
Nothing to see here: the aftermath of a reported chlorine attack in Syria.
Reuters
The war in Iraq and Syria might well now be a chemical one – but it won’t make any difference to the world’s response.
Australia should not wait until bodies are washed up on foreign beaches before it is spurred to action on addressing refugee flows.
Reuters/Dimitris Michalakis
Australia should not reserve its help for those fleeing conflict in distant wars. Its first duty should be to those who face death and persecution in its own region.
A global approach would significantly increase the burden-sharing between the refugee-hosting countries near Syria and the rest of the developed world.
Reuters/Stoyan Nenov
The size of the refugee crisis stemming from the conflict in Syria means that no single country can deal with it alone.
Tempers fray in Beirut.
Reuters/Aziz Taher
Lebanon’s garbage protests are spiralling out of control. Where will it end?
The Al-Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan is home to thousands of the nine million refugees displaced by the conflict in Syria.
Reuters/Muhammad Hamed
Australia should keep out of the Syrian conflict. Instead, it should respect the rule of law and the peaceful resolution of disputes by promoting a diplomatic end.
Residents of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip watch a parade by the military wing of Hamas to mark the anniversary of the war with Israel.
AAP/Newzulu/Mhmed Ali
Although Hamas also wants a return to normalcy in the Gaza Strip, it is potentially a double-edged sword for the movement.
US forces have been making targeted airstrikes over Syria since late 2014.
Reuters/Hamad I Mohammed
Australian air attacks against Islamic State targets in Syria would not be definitely legal but not definitely illegal.
Not so secure.
Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Islamic State’s Egyptian affiliate has been terrorising the Sinai Peninsula for months – and now it’s upping the ante.