The arson attack on Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran that prompted Riyadh to cut diplomatic ties with Iran was initially seen as a victory for hardline opponents of President Hassan Rouhani.

But analysts say the incident could ultimately backfire on his foes ahead of Iranian parliamentary elections next month, giving the moderate Rouhani ammunition as he confronts conservatives and works to restore his country's international reputation.

Western nations agree military action must be taken soon to combat the growing threat of the Islamic State (IS) group in conflict-wracked Libya, but analysts say there are no easy options.

Air strikes by an international coalition helped rebel forces to overthrow Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, but they have not been enough to dislodge IS from Syria and Iraq.

The Afghan Taliban have launched an unprecedented winter surge that points to a desire for an upper hand in peace talks, analysts say, while some suggest rogue Pakistani elements may be bolstering the effort to derail overtures by Islamabad to India.

Taliban fighting normally quiets down in winter months with the insurgents resting ahead of an annual spring offensive, but this year has seen a series of fierce attacks -- many focused on Kabul in recent weeks, including three in the capital since Friday.

Escalating diplomatic tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have added fresh strains on OPEC's unity as the cartel grapples with a common response to rock-bottom oil prices, experts said.

While it produces a third of the world's oil, the group has struggled with crude values that have tumbled some 60 percent since mid-2014, falling below $40 (37 euros).

Three months into a wave of violence some have likened to a new uprising, the Palestinian Authority has found itself adrift and increasingly out of touch with frustrated youths behind the unrest, analysts say.

There is even speculation of an eventual collapse of the PA, the governing authority set up under the 1990s Oslo accords that were meant to lead to a final peace deal.

Washington's single-minded pursuit of the Iran nuclear deal damaged its alliance with Saudi Arabia, experts say, and fed the escalating crisis in the Gulf.

The United States failed to manage its traditional Sunni Arab allies in the region while it reached out to mend ties with their bitter Shiite foes in Tehran.

Saudi Arabia's execution of a leading Shiite cleric reflects an assertive but risky new approach that threatens to escalate its proxy wars with arch-rival Iran in Syria and Yemen, experts said Sunday.

Hours after the Sunni-ruled kingdom announced Saturday's execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a driving force behind anti-government protests in 2011, angry demonstrators set fire to its embassy in Shiite-dominated Iran.

As Nigeria rings in 2016, the ever-present threat of violence by Boko Haram hangs heavy over Africa's most populous country, despite official claims that the battle against the Islamist group has been "technically" won.

After setting a December 31 deadline to rid his country of Boko Haram, President Muhammadu Buhari told the BBC: "I think technically we have won the war because people are going back into their neighborhoods."

The controversy over the upcoming re-publication of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" in Germany is having particular resonance in Israel, where memories of the Holocaust run deep and the book remains taboo.

Hitler's anti-Semitic rant, which he wrote from prison in the early 1920s, loses its copyright in Germany on Friday, and the country's first release of it since 1945 is due out soon in the form of an extensively annotated version.

U.S.-led strikes against Islamic State group officials in Iraq and Syria are robbing the jihadists of one of their most valuable resources: experienced mid-level commanders.

Ten of the group's higher-ups, including one with "direct" ties to the alleged mastermind of the Paris attacks, were killed in air strikes in December alone, the U.S. military said.