US president-elect Donald Trump is handing over US Middle East policy to people “who see God as some kind of cosmic real estate agent”, argues Stephen Zunes, chair of the Middle Eastern Studies Program at the University of San Francisco. Regarding Trump’s “to whom it may concern” threat that “there will be all hell to pay in the Middle East” regarding Israeli hostages, Zunes tells host Steve Clemons...

The Bahamas says it has rejected a proposal from the transition team of United States President-elect Donald Trump to take in migrants from other countries who may be deported by the incoming administration. In a statement on Thursday, the office of Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis said the scheme to have the Bahamas accept deportation flights “was reviewed and firmly rejected”. “The Bahamas simply does not have the...

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres calls for de-escalation, warns tens of thousands in Syria are at risk. Hezbollah’s secretary-general Naim Qassem has pledged the Lebanese group will stand by the Syrian government amid an advance by “terrorist groups” trying to sow chaos in the country. “They will not be able to achieve their goals despite what they have done in past days, and we as Hezbollah will be...