Can Congress stop Obama from making payments to Iran? Congress wants to rein in the White House's legal settlements slush fund. It's a little late for that. United States
Elusive US-Russia deal on Syria may again prove out of reach US Secretary of State John Kerry had been expected to travel to Geneva to try to finalize a deal with Russia for a nationwide cease-fire in Syria this week, but hopes for concluding the accord appear once again to have been lowered. Syria
How this invasive flower is taking over the Nile Egypt is considering several less-than-appealing options to combat the Nile’s invasive plant problem. Egypt
US backing ensures Arab-Kurd alliance in Syria will survive Liwa al-Tahrir walking out of its alliance with the Kurdish People's Protection Units caused plenty of excitement in Turkey, but did it really change anything in Syria? Syria
Why Turkey’s Gulenist purge is going way too far The Gulenist threat to Turkish democracy was not a myth, yet the anti-Gulenist purge itself is now also a major threat if it continues along the same path. Turkey
EU tries to mend fences with Turkey following attempted coup European officials stream to Turkey to overcome tensions that are putting arrangements such as the migration agreement at risk, but serious differences remain. Turkey
Khamenei calls for international investigation into hajj stampede One year after the hajj disaster that killed nearly 500 Iranians out of more than 2,000 people, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is calling for an international body to investigate. Saudi Arabia
Qatar or Iran: Who will save Hamas? The Hamas delegation will split forces after performing the hajj in Mecca, with Ismail Haniyeh heading to Qatar and Mahmoud al-Zahar visiting Iran. Saudi Arabia
Why did Fatah remove female candidates' names from electoral lists? Fatah did not identify the names of female candidates on some of its electoral lists running in the Oct. 8 local elections, which raised the ire of activists who took to social media. Palestine
Western legends fight Eastern heroes in new Iranian animation A group of seminary students are turning the popular book “Tintin and Sinbad” into an animated film series. Iran
Ultra-Orthodox arms dealer faces extradition to US Israel's Supreme Court has rejected Eli Cohen's appeal to stop his extradition to the United States for violating sanctions against Iran after a long history of evading prosecution for such offenses. Israel
Meet the man who might replace Netanyahu A recent poll put Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, if elections were held today. Palestine
Why law graduates are overwhelming Iraq's job market As public and private universities in Iraq are graduating significantly more lawyers than in the past, many lawyers cannot find jobs and the quality of the legal sector has declined. Iraq
How Army Day highlighted growing repercussions of Turkey's failed coup The forlorn observance of the traditionally joyous Victory Day in Turkey points to further polarization between conservatives and Kemalist secularists since the failed coup. Turkey
Research: No man’s land in Egypt Rather than being appreciated as a way to advance the nation, research — whether political, academic or scientific — is seen as a threat to national security. Egypt
What is Turkish army really doing in Iraq? It is not clear who will take control if Mosul is liberated from the Islamic State, but Turkey and its allies want nothing more than to prevent the Kurds from declaring a semi-autonomous state in the region. Iraq
