Middle East crises loom in background as NATO leaders gather in Washington While this year's summit is expected to focus largely on the ongoing war in Ukraine, Iran's military support for Russia and Turkey's strategic balancing act with Moscow are expected to weigh on NATO leaders gathered in Washington. Washington Pulse
US, Israel hold second virtual meeting on Rafah Biden administration officials have denied offering to green-light an Israeli invasion of Rafah if Israel holds off on retaliating against Iran. Washington Pulse
One year on Sudan’s war: 14,700 killed, 8.6M displaced, 4.9M face starvation As the war in Sudan enters its second year, the humanitarian situation is worsening by the day with no prospects of an imminent end of the hostilities. North Africa Pulse
State Department staffer resigns over Biden's handling of Gaza Annelle Sheline is the second State Department official to publicly resign since Oct. 7, citing the erosion of US credibility on human rights in the Middle East as a result of the war. Washington Pulse
Congress doubles down on bipartisan Turkey sanctions after Trump’s victory lap Trump may have lifted sanctions on Turkey, but Democrats and Republicans alike still want to slap Ankara with their own stringent sanctions. Syria
Palestinian National Library to collect Palestine's scattered archives Palestine's former minister of culture, Ihab Bseiso, is in charge of establishing a national library — a project that will require a lot of diplomacy and fundraising. Palestine
New tourism: learning about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict An alternative tourism market, which offers tourists a chance to join Palestinians in an olive harvest or tour a refugee camp, has developed in Israel, so that tourists can experience the complex reality of this land. Palestine
Why more Arab Israelis go to university In the past decade, Israel has seen a significant rise in the number of Israeli-Arab students, but high numbers of Israeli-Arab students have also quit university. Israel
Egypt's Ministry of Religious Endowments boosts its imams' media skills Media trainings aim to give Awqaf's imams better verbal skills — not only against extremist views but also against their rival Al-Azhar. Egypt
Lebanon protests also bring Syrians, Palestinians out onto the streets Many of the 1.5 million Syrians and 174,000 Palestinians in Lebanon are taking part in the recent protests. Lebanon
Trump hails Syria ‘breakthrough,’ lifts sanctions on Turkey President Donald Trump hailed an apparent Turkish decision to halt a military offensive in Syria as a major breakthrough and said now the United States was getting out. Syria
Trump administration scrambles to salvage US troop presence in Syria President Trump says he would leave some US troops in Syria to keep the Assad regime and Iranian forces away from oil fields; the Syrian Democratic Forces commander speaks with both Trump and the Russian army chief of staff. Iraq
Tunisia's 'poker face' president sworn in Tunisia's new president, whose stolid demeanor earned him the nickname "RoboCop," has vowed to combat corruption. Tunisia
Following Trump’s lead, Putin gives Erdogan what he wants Even his greatest detractors in Turkey are complimenting Erdogan over winning US and Russian support against the Syrian Kurds. Syria
Erdogan still under fire in Iran despite Syria agreement While Iran's Foreign Ministry has welcomed the Russia-Turkey agreement on Syria, the Turkish president remains in hot water over the offensive he launched against Syrian Kurds. Syria
Russian military faces tall order following Putin-Erdogan Syria deal The Putin-Erdogan deal has the Russian military facing a number of critical issues it may not be comfortable with. Syria