David Blair's Blog, page 14

British troops in South Sudan will have no peace to keep

As a rebel leader condemns a peace deal, British troops will join a UN force whose main task is protecting terrified civilians

South Sudan's civil war claims more lives after President `violates` peace deal

President Salva Kiir has suddenly chosen to divide the country into 28 new states, undermining a central pillar of the peace agreement

Vladimir Putin���s catastrophic plan for Syria would deliver war without end

If Syrian Sunnis are forced to choose between Isil and the murderous rule of Assad, they will embrace the Islamist group

Qatari sheikh bought UK oil company while bound by diplomatic rules

Exclusive: Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani acquired a controlling stake in Heritage Oil while bound by the Vienna Convention forbidding "commercial activity" for "personal profit"

The Emir of Qatar who transformed his country: Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa

He turned his country into the richest state in the world - and now Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa officially serves as "Minister-Counsellor" at Qatar's Embassy in London

From Qatar's prime minister to junior diplomat: Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim

As prime minister and foreign minister of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad was one of the Middle East's key power-brokers and the architect of an ambitious foreign policy

Vladimir Putin forces the US to listen, but offers no solutions

Analysis: By calling for a grand alliance against Isil, the Russian leader ignores the fact that one already exists and has been in action for over a year

Russian jets in Syria mean no-fly zone is 'out of the question', warn experts

Vladimir Putin is carrying out Russia's biggest military intervention outside the old Soviet Union for almost 30 years

Iran's big woman problem: All of the things Iranian women aren't allowed to do

John Kerry softens US demand that Assad must go

The US secretary of state says that Assad's downfall can happen at the end of a Syria peace process, not the beginning