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 seeks uptick in North Africa operations The House Homeland Security panel chief wants to boost funding for counterterrorism in the Sahara region. North Africa
Egyptian artist portrays soccer stars as saints Proud Egyptians have been putting the faces of their soccer team on everything from T-shirts to Ramadan lanterns, but when an artist decided to paint them as saints, all hell broke loose. Egypt
Congress presses Egypt on injured US citizen Congress wants Cairo to compensate an American citizen who was grievously injured when Egyptian security forces attacked a tourist group with US-made weapons. Egypt
What's the real motivation behind Trump's Mideast peace plan? UN sources are skeptical on the feasibility of the US Mideast peace plan, which is clearly in favor of Israel’s positions. Palestine
Turkey's presidential candidates divided over military cooperation with Moscow For the most part, Turkey's presidential candidates urge good relations with Russia, but things are more complicated when it comes to cooperation in the military field. Syria
Congress wants Trump to resume aid to Syria While Congress seeks to ensure that President Donald Trump resumes Syria stabilization aid, they also want to keep it out of the hands of Bashar al-Assad. Syria
Film about Egyptian superstar a hit everywhere but Egypt In Europe, Iranian director Shirin Neshat’s "Looking for Oum Kulthum" is seen as a landmark artistic collaboration across the Middle East, but Egyptian critics are unimpressed with its historical inaccuracies. Egypt
The congressional fight over F-35s for Turkey isn’t over Even as a US deal to sell 100 F-35s to Turkey moves forward with a rollout ceremony this week, lawmakers may deny the transfer of crucial technology needed to operate the jets. Turkey
As Astana trio meets in Geneva, questions loom over Syrian constitution The formation of the Syrian Constitutional Committee has been mired by disputes and delays, though this stalling could be beneficial to Moscow and the Syrian government. Syria
Will smaller plates help prevent Egypt's food waste? The Egyptian Food Bank has been cooperating with Egypt's hospitality industry to get surplus food to people in need, but this is only part of the huge problem of food waste. Egypt
As conditions shift in Syria, Kurds open to talks with Damascus Factors pushing Syrian Kurds to consider negotiating with the Syrian government include their loss of Afrin and the US-Turkey accord on Manbij. Syria
Renewed fight over Libya’s oil threatens entire country The repeated attacks against the country’s main oil lifeline will always be a looming threat as long as no central government is in place with full power over the entire territory of Libya. Libya