Turkey makes progress on sealing Syria border, but is it enough? Turkey’s granting the United States access to its military bases, among other factors, has muted US frustration at slow efforts to seal a remaining stretch of the Turkish-Syrian border to foreign fighters and oil smugglers. Syria
Why young Gazans need cement to get married In an attempt to curb the use of cement in tunnels Hamas has been building to attack Israelis, Israel restricts the importation of cement to Gaza, limiting the possibilities for many young people in Gaza to build homes. Palestine
Tony Blair's blunder on Middle East peace Tony Blair’s chance to play a political role in the Palestinian issue is slipping away, as the PA refuses to accept him, President Abbas and the PLO refuse to deal with him on a personal level and Hamas has turned down all his initiatives. Palestine
Coptic Pope's Jerusalem visit sparks backlash in Egypt The Coptic Church confirmed that its position regarding the ban on Copts visiting Jerusalem is unchanged, despite the travel of Pope Tawadros II to the city to attend the funeral of Bishop Anba Abraham. Palestine
Iranians tweet supreme leader's message, but Twitter thinks it's spam? Iran's supreme leader has once again penned an open letter to the young people of the West; however, many of those sharing his message via Twitter had their accounts mysteriously suspended. Iran
Larijani hopes to expand his political power Iranian parliament Speaker Ali Larijani is trying to transform the Followers of the Leader faction into a political organization. Iran
Why Cairo should devalue the Egyptian pound Recent devaluations of the Egyptian pound are making importers, contractors, consumers and the government nervous, but this may be what Egypt needs to become a more competitive exporter of products and services. Egypt
Turkey’s Kurds shaken by killing of human rights lawyer Turkey’s Kurds have united in grief over the perplexing killing of celebrated human rights lawyer Tahir Elci, whose loss some take as a sign that peace is further out of reach than ever. Turkey
The radicalization of Israel The extremist discourse between the political right and the left has drowned out the Israeli mainstream. Israel
Will Israel, Russia tighten coordination on Syria? Israeli security officials debate whether Russian military involvement in Syria will change the balance of power in favor of Israeli interests or against them. Israel
Is UNHCR in Jordan discriminating against Sudanese refugees? Sudanese refugees in Jordan have been protesting what they see as the UNHCR discriminating between them and Syrian and Iraqi refugees. Jordan
US threatens to bypass Baghdad, arm Sunnis against IS Congress and the Obama administration are demanding that Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi do more to combat sectarianism. Iraq
Sisi supporters secure second-round elections victory An overview of Egypt's upcoming parliamentary runoff elections and results. Egypt
Will thawing Iran's frozen assets help slow down climate change? In an interview with Al-Monitor, Iranian Vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar, who heads the country’s Environmental Protection Organization, outlines her views on Iran's environmental challenges — and how to confront them. Iran
Gossip grows as Rouhani skips meetings As rumors spread in the Iranian media about President Hassan Rouhani boycotting Expediency Council meetings, some observers are comparing his avoidance strategy to that of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iran
Are Egypt’s poor paying the price for Cairo development project? Hundreds of riverboat owners and crew members have been rendered jobless during a project to regenerate downtown Cairo, but officials say the situation is temporary. Egypt