Egypt's underwater antiquities travel the world Egyptian antiquities discovered in the now sunken city of Heracleion and nearby towns are being displayed in exhibits worldwide in a bid to revive Egypt's declining tourism sector. Egypt
Cinema lovers campaign to reopen theaters in Upper Egypt Egyptians have created a social media campaign calling on the government to bring cinemas back to conservative Upper Egypt. Egypt
Turkish media mogul in court after publishing controversial story One day after Turkey's president blasted media mogul Aydin Dogan over a Hurriyet story he said sowed discord between the government and the armed forces, Dogan, who is also US President Donald Trump’s business partner, has been summoned to appear in court over fuel-smuggling accusations nearly a decade old. Turkey
Did Iran’s foreign minister write to Tillerson? An Iranian hard-line member of parliament has claimed that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is engaged in correspondence with the US secretary of state. United States
Turkish court upholds free speech … for Erdogan A Turkish court has given sanction to public insults by the president against dissident academics, yet another omen of how subservient the Turkish judiciary has become. Turkey
Has Israel recognized link between Gaza blockade, security threat? The report of Israel’s state comptroller about the management of the 2014 war in the Gaza Strip evokes officially for the first time the linkage between the distress of Gaza residents and the Hamas campaign against Israel. Palestine
Will Turkey attack Kurds in Manbij or move on to Raqqa? Now that the Syrian army has blocked the road from al-Bab to Raqqa, Turkey may instead assault Manbij, which won’t be easy. Syria
Israel has no Gaza policy A recently published report on the 2014 Gaza war reveals that Israel failed to develop its own goals before launching the war and still has not developed a real strategy concerning the Gaza Strip. Israel
Saudis make surprise trip to Iraq: Why now? Saudi Arabia is making overtures to Iraq as Iran's influence expands in the region. Saudi Arabia
Satire under siege in south Damascus With the threat of having to evacuate their homes hanging over their heads, activists and artists still manage to produce the satirical web series "Southern Sketch" in south Damascus. Syria
Why some in Fatah aren't pleased about new deputy leader Marwan Barghouti was not selected for the position of deputy leader of Fatah, despite the many votes he won during Fatah’s 7th congress, raising criticism within the movement. Palestine
