Lana Asfour is a senior journalist at al-Araby al-Jadeed English. She has written for the BBC, New Statesman, the Times, Observer, NYRB, Granta, OpenDemocracy, Al Jazeera English, the Daily Star Beirut, the London Magazine and Glamour, among others.
Survivors report 400 died after boat capsized on Sunday in the Mediterranean - one of the worst single tolls on record - while NGOs criticise EU patrol mission.
Fighting continues as Houthi rebels press further into Aden and spread east, but two weeks of Saudi-led air raids have allowed isolated counter-attacks.
Review: The Dream of Shahrazad and The Wanted 18 offer two wildly different but inspired insights into the region. Only one of them really succeds, however.
Some of the world's most senior diplomats have given scathing assessments of Blair's achievements, as it is reported he is to "step back" from his role as Middle East Envoy.
Syrian government forces are responsible for killing nearly 600 doctors and medical workers during the four-year war, Physicians for Human Rights said on Wednesday, calling the attacks a crime against humanity.
