A thaw in Turkey’s relations with Egypt? Gulf Cooperation Council reconciliation may have set in motion Ankara’s desire for a reset with Cairo. Egypt
Biden's deputy secretary of state nominee OK'd by Senate committee The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved moving Wendy Sherman's nomination to the full Senate, with some Democrats and Republicans who had disagreed with her on the Iran deal voting to confirm her anyway. United States
Biden's CIA nominee stresses China over Iran during Senate hearing Ambassador William Burns said that China is the biggest challenge for the United States, but that Iran and Russia cannot be overlooked. Regional
Post-COVID Mideast economies look to the Gulf and Egypt The region took a hard hit from the pandemic, and it’s far from over, but Egypt and Saudi Arabia are managing better than expected. Regional
Why women in the Middle East find little to celebrate on March 8 From Beirut to Khartoum, women in the Middle East held demonstrations calling for the elimination of discriminatory laws and improvement of their situation. Saudi Arabia
UAE offers regional road map to deal with Iran Policies on coronavirus, nuclear issues may help recast regional security discussions, complement US policies. Saudi Arabia
LGBTQ association achieves major legal milestone in Tunisia A Tunisian court granted legal protection to Shams, a Tunisian association defending LGBTQ rights, setting a major precedence in the region. North Africa
Morocco’s balancing act on Israel and Palestine Moroccans protest against the "deal of the century" and want the government, which recently took possession of Israeli spy drones, to do more to aid the Palestinian cause. Palestine
Why Palestinians failed at the Security Council The Palestinians' push for a near-unanimous UN Security Council resolution opposing the Trump plan ran into a number of unexpected roadblocks. Palestine
Peace with the region is not a peace plan The Trump peace plan is flawed because it has more to do with building a coalition against Iran rather than with promoting peace between Israelis and the Palestinians. Saudi Arabia
Trump budget spotlights Tunisia in pitch to overhaul foreign military aid The State Department is dangling potential US aircraft sales to Tunisia as part of its pitch to overhaul foreign military aid. Iraq
Will Tunisia have a seat in future Libyan dialogues? Tunisia appears to have lost an opportunity to garner international support to help it cope with the crisis in neighboring Libya when it rejected an invitation to the Berlin conference. Algeria
Sudanese troops continue exit from war-stricken Yemen Sudan's military contingent in Yemen has been reduced to a symbolic presence as the main players in the Saudi-led coalition scale back their fighting. Saudi Arabia
Iraq president calls for restraint after meeting Trump in Davos Stressing the need for reforms to address youth unemployment and security, Iraqi President Barham Salih said "this is not time for another conflict" after meeting with his US counterpart in Davos. Iraq
Will Russia provide missiles to 'close the entire sky' over Iran? Given the recent escalation in tension between Tehran and Washington, Moscow is examining ways to possibly beef up Iranian military capabilities. Russia
Algeria strives to regain prominence as world powers debate Libya's future Despite Algeria's best efforts, nine years of conflict in neighboring Libya have essentially brought an international proxy war to Algiers' doorstep. United Arab Emirates
