Half a million Palestinian children send letters to Ban Ki-moon Half a million Palestinians wrote letters to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as part of a campaign to shed light on Israel’s detention of Palestinian children. Palestine
Why Palestinians are unfazed by calls to cut off US aid Palestinians don't appear to be fazed by the calls of the Trump administration to cut off aid to the Palestinian government, as some feel that this could be a political relief from Washington pressures. Palestine
Hamas blames Abbas in stalemate over PLO reform Reform of the Palestine Liberation Organization remains at an impasse among the various Palestinian factions as pressure builds against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Palestine
Top Senate Democrat challenges Trump on Russia, Iran Senate Foreign Relations Comittee ranking member Ben Cardin laid out a foreign policy platform for the Trump era. Congress
Israel's new man in Ankara could be in for bumpy ride The choice of prominent diplomat Eitan Naeh as Israel’s ambassador to Turkey is a clear sign of the importance his government places on fixing the relationship, but though he's being magnanimously received in Turkey, he'll have his hands full clearing the path to normalization. Israel
Tehran’s air pollution fuels political quarreling The Iranian capital of Tehran's alarming levels of air pollution fan the flames of factional infighting. Iran
Will Trump be open to dialogue with Islamists? While President-elect Donald Trump took a strong stance against Islamists during his campaign, his openness to Turkey’s Justice and Development Party-led government shows that the coming administration’s approach to Islamists is still unknown. Egypt
Shopping portal rides Egypt’s e-commerce wave An online shopping portal created by young Egyptian entrepreneurs has seen an uptick in users, as Egypt's startup scene maintains optimism. Egypt
Will Trump see eye to eye with Erdogan's plans in Iraq, Syria? Ankara is hoping to find harmony with the incoming US administration on its fight against the Islamic State. Iraq
Little has changed between Turkey, Russia despite reconciliation Turkey’s economy has not seen the benefits from normalizing bilateral ties with Russia as Ankara tries to speed up the pace of economic fence mending. Turkey
Will Iran attract international oil firms in post-sanctions era? French energy giant Total’s move to return to Iran is a watershed after years of sanctions, but does this represent a broader process of international oil majors returning to the country? Iran
Does Turkey have upper hand in EU membership battle? Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s gamble with countries of the European Union may succeed if the Europeans blink first. Turkey
Israeli minister's gift gaffe leads to awkward standoff with Russians When Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited Israel, Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel impulsively offered him the expensive drone he was admiring in an incident that amused but also concerned Israelis. Israel
As IS loses power, will group tap women jihadis to fight? As the Islamic State suffers successive defeats in Iraq’s Mosul and Raqqa in Syria, it's increasingly likely that the women of the organization will shift from their traditional supportive roles to become suicide bombers or fighters on the front lines. Iraq
Why many Fallujah residents have yet to return home The city of Fallujah is not safe enough yet for residents to return, as IS cells are still operating and some are afraid of revenge by the Iraqi forces. Iraq
Congress votes to box Trump in on Syria sanctions The House easily passed tough new sanctions amid concerns President-elect Donald Trump will cozy up to Syrian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syria
