When a wave of deadly ethnic violence swept through the northern Iraqi town of Tuz Khurmatu, Ahmed Hassan Majid's house was on the wrong side of an invisible line.

The Kurdish-Turkmen violence ignited by a checkpoint dispute in November has since faded, but divisions between the communities are sharper than ever.

A "Paris-style" suicide strike on the Indonesian capital Thursday confirmed Southeast Asian governments’ worst fears -- that citizens returning from fighting alongside the Islamic State group in the Middle East could launch attacks at home.

Regional nations have been warning for months of the possibility of attack, mirroring concerns expressed by European authorities fearful of the intentions of people returning home from conflict.

This week's suicide attack in Istanbul has dealt a fresh blow to tourism in Turkey, which had already lost holidaymakers due to growing European jitters over terrorism and a spat with Russia, once a top supplier of visitors.

Three months after double suicide bombings in Ankara that killed 103 people, mostly pro-Kurdish activists, Tuesday's attack, which killed 10 Germans, clearly targeted the tourist sector, one of the mainstays in a country which was the world's sixth-most visited in 2014.

Last summer, Syria's regime was on the back foot after a series of military defeats, but in recent weeks it has capitalized on a Russian air campaign to recapture territory.

The gains have been limited, and have relied heavily on support from mostly Shiite foreign fighters from Hizbullah, as well as Afghan and Iraqi forces, and Iranian "advisers".

Turkey has long been accused of tolerating and even collaborating with Islamic State (IS) jihadists but in recent months it has shown signs of sharply toughening its line against the group.

Now, after the suicide attack in Istanbul on Tuesday that killed 10 German tourists and was carried out by an IS bomber from Syria, will Ankara launch an all-out assault against the group to push it out of Turkey and end its presence on the Syrian border?

The 2011 revolution that toppled Tunisia's regime has awoken extremism in the country after decades of repression, turning it into a target for attacks and a key exporter of jihadists.

Analysts say the current state of affairs is a result of the legacy of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's 23 years of iron-fisted rule, as well as Tunisia's porous borders.

The world will heave a collective sigh of relief when west Africa's Ebola epidemic is finally declared at an end after claiming more than 11,000 lives over two years.

But with a cure still out of reach, and no vaccine on the market, are we better prepared for next time?

On January 14, 2011, Tunisians packed the streets of their capital and shocked the world by overthrowing longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

The revolution shook the Middle East, setting off the hopeful uprisings that came to be known as the Arab Spring.

Dreams rarely come true, at least not for long.

For a few incredible months, the prospect of a better life in Europe seemed within grasp, attracting a wave of more than 1 million migrants from the war-torn, poverty-stricken Middle East and Africa. To get there, they risked their lives at sea and parted with fortunes.

Long one of Iran's few Sunni Arab partners, Sudan has cut ties with Tehran in the latest step in its move towards Saudi Arabia as Khartoum seeks to end its isolation and right its economy.

The impoverished east African state followed Riyadh in severing relations with Iran, saying it was responding to attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the execution of a Saudi Shiite cleric.