Don’t expect IS fighters to flee en masse to Syria The logistics of the battle for Mosul and beyond don’t point conclusively to the Islamic State taking the fight into Syria next. Iraq
Turkey detains editor, staff of leading opposition paper Opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet was raided this morning and several senior staff members were arrested as part of what the government called a "terrorism probe" into some of its shareholders. Turkey
Is Yemen headed for partition? An open-ended cease-fire is needed for Yemen, but a de facto partition of the country is more likely. Saudi Arabia
Iranian hard-liner hints Ahmadinejad not completely out of the game An Iranian hard-line former MP reveals that Tehran Mayor and two-time presidential candidate Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf was barred from running in the 2009 presidential election — and that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may not be completely out of the game. Russia
How Iraqi real estate became the subject of corrupt dealings Real estate in Baghdad and other Iraqi areas has been subject to corrupt deals and law violations for some time, sparking governmental and popular concern about a growing phenomenon involving criminal gangs and corrupt public employees. Iraq
Internet disruption causes chaos in southeast Turkey A day after the co-mayors of Diyarbakir were detained, internet communications in 15 eastern and southeastern provinces were cut off, paralyzing the health, commerce and service sectors. Business
How Turkey’s AKP undid its legacy on 'Kurdish question' President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ended up reverting back to the "Old Turkey" concepts that he had criticized for years. Turkey
The billion-dollar deal that is stirring up Israeli army Senior IDF officers say that Israel should not have purchased three new submarines from Germany, but rather invested the money in air and ground defense. Israel
Is Israeli Zionist Camp facing its last chance? The Zionist Camp might be facing its very last chance to save itself from oblivion by reinventing its image and uniting the center-left electorate. Israel
How Netanyahu is keeping secret his move to help Palestinians Israel's failure to publicize a decision that benefits the Palestinians shows just how preoccupied Israel’s right-wing government is about a settler backlash. Palestine
Why 30 Palestinians celebrated Jewish holiday with settlers After a group of Palestinians accepted the invitation to celebrate the Sukkot holiday with residents of Efrat settlement, four of them were arrested by the Palestinian security service. Palestine
The man behind potential breakthrough in Hamas-Egypt ties Hamas and Egypt appear to be adjusting their attitudes toward each other, and Fatah’s dismissed leader Mohammed Dahlan probably has a role in this regard. Palestine
Hamas’ release of Fatah military wing leader raises speculation of deal Hamas has released Zaki al-Sakani from prison, raising questions of whether it was part of a deal between Hamas and Mohammed Dahlan, with whom it just restored relations. Palestine
Why OPEC still can’t get Iran to cut oil production Despite the agreement in principle on output cuts at its September meeting in Algeria, OPEC still has a long way to go in getting Iran to stop its drive to regain market share. Saudi Arabia
Hariri reverses political slide by backing Aoun presidency Saad Hariri’s success as prime minister will depend on new compact with Michel Aoun and Hezbollah, less so on Saudi Arabia; Al-Monitor breaks news of Russian draft plan for Syrian Kurdish autonomy; United States seeks ground force to isolate Raqqa. Saudi Arabia
Execution of Saudi prisoners widens gap between Baghdad, Riyadh Iraq has executed three Saudi prisoners and nine others are on death row, raising the objections of Saudi Arabia that wants Baghdad to transfer the prisoners to the kingdom. Saudi Arabia
