Islamic State continues to menace Iraqi-Syrian border

Security risks continue to fester in the mostly desert terrain between Iraq and Syria, where the Islamic State conducts brazen attacks even as its alleged leaders are reported killed.

Iraq

Egypt to launch international news channel at COP27 climate conference

Egypt is seeking to restore its media influence in the Middle East and Africa.

Egypt

Live Updates: Biden at GCC summit in Saudi Arabia 'US is not going anywhere'

Follow along for the latest updates on the US president's trip to Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia.

Legacy: Gulf

Analysis

Biden visit to Israel a ‘mixed bag’ because of differences on Iran 

Meeting between US and Palestinian presidents described as ‘warm’; UAE opts out of anti-Iran alliance; Biden agenda may include Saudi-American families banned from traveling. 

By Week in Review

Biden, Abbas look to reset US-Palestinian ties to pre-Trump era

The meeting between the US and Palestinian presidents was described as "warm," exceeding low expectations.

Palestine

Analysis

Families of Americans held in Saudi Arabia pin hopes on Biden visit

US families separated by punitive travel bans hope President Joe Biden will use his visit to secure the release of their loved ones.

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Israel hails Saudi agreement to open skies to all airlines

Riyadh has decided to allow flights from Israel to cross Saudi airspace, significantly cutting flight times to the Far East.

Israel

Hope, despair in Yemen as Biden travels to Saudi Arabia

Ahead of the US president's Saudi trip, Yemenis are feeling a mixture of optimism and gloom about its likely benefits for them.

Legacy: Gulf

Biden captures Israeli hearts

On the strategic level, the visit of US President Joe Biden to Israel generated mixed results, but on the level of image and intimacy, Biden captured the hearts of Israeli citizens.

Israel

Pentagon warns Turkey against renewed invasion of Syria

A US defense official called for a political process to end Turkey's perpetual battles with Kurdish militants.

Turkey

Will Tunisia, Algeria relations recover through land border reopening?

Several issues, including gas and the dispute over the Western Sahara, continue to linger over the tense Algerian-Tunisian relations, despite the reopening of the land borders between the two countries.

North Africa

HTS arrests members of little-known Syrian group behind attacks against Turkish army in Idlib

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham announced that it arrested most members of the Ansar Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Brigade, a small, little-known jihadist group that is hostile to HTS and has repeatedly targeted Turkish forces in Idlib.

Syria