UAE company agreed to loan $13B to South Sudan in exchange for oil A $13 billion loan to South Sudan, funded by Hamad Bin Khalifa Department of Projects, marks the largest-ever cash deal for the country. United Arab Emirates
Turkey postpones Erdogan's White House visit Sources familiar with the planning of Erdogan’s program suggested to Al-Monitor that the real issue was the lack of clarity from Washington on the visit. Turkey
Analysis The 'eternal survivor': Netanyahu’s rising poll numbers in Israel explained Almost seven months after Hamas' attack, electoral support for the Israeli prime minister is slowly building against all odds. By Mazal Mualem In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics
In Israel, US envoy Hochstein talks Lebanon border tensions with Gallant US special envoy Amos Hochstein met with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and is set to speak with President Isaac Herzog as the Israel-Lebanon border remains tense. Israel
China hosts Hamas, Fatah delegations for reconciliation talks The meeting follows a Hamas official's statement that the movement was ready to join the PLO. Palestine
As Egypt steps in, will Israel pursue hostage deal or Rafah operation? As Qatar steps back and Egypt leads diplomacy on a cease-fire deal, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is closer to the moment of truth and decision between an agreement or a Rafah operation. Israel
Analysis How will Argentina's 1994 bombing probe impact Iran-Latin America ties? Argentina’s implication of Iran in the 1994 attack in Buenos Aires will not deter the Islamic Republic from pursuing relations with other countries in Latin America, says one expert. By Adam Lucente In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change
Record rainfall forces Gulf cities to rethink climate change A climate change monitor estimates that global warming made the Gulf deluge 10-40% more intense than it would have been in the pre-industrial era. United Arab Emirates
As pressure mounts, US delays plan to withhold aid from Israeli military unit The State Department's plan to block a notoriously violent Israeli military unit from receiving US security assistance could help address what some say is a failure to hold Israel to the same standards as other US arms recipients. Israel
