Egypt sentences activist Sanaa Seif to 18 months in prison Seif, who had been in pretrial detention since June, was convicted Wednesday of spreading false news and misusing social media. Egypt
Ukraine rejects Iran's final report on downed passenger plane The Iranian government said last year's shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was the result of a human error. Iran
Iran operating new advanced centrifuges, nuclear watchdog finds According to an International Atomic Energy Agency report, Iran is now using IR-4 centrifuges to enrich uranium in violation of the nuclear accord. Iran
UN says Libya arms embargo 'totally ineffective' A United Nations panel of experts accused several member states, including Turkey and Russia, of fueling the Libyan conflict. Libya
How 2016 coup attempt led Turkey to buy Russian air defenses Turkey’s purchase of Russian air defense systems comes as part of Ankara’s efforts to obtain security and reassurance from Russia against the United States, which, it believes, was behind the 2016 coup attempt. Turkey
UAE shifts course in Yemen By cutting back its forces in Yemen, the UAE seeks to evade the material, humanitarian and moral consequences of the war all the while counting on its local agents to implement the UAE agenda in the country. Saudi Arabia
Oil, budgets, Kirkuk still nag Baghdad-Erbil relations Baghdad and Iraqi Kurdistan representatives have held a series of high-level meetings to try to resolve their longstanding issues, but so far without much apparent success. Iraq
Why Moscow is ignoring US cyberattacks on Iran Despite Russia's partnership with Iran, Moscow turns a blind eye to American cyberattacks on key Iranian targets. Russia
Assad’s forces resume shelling of Idlib President Bashar al-Assad’s forces have suspended a cease-fire and resumed airstrikes against Syria’s last rebel stronghold of Idlib, accusing the opposition of violating the truce. Syria
Turkey, US agree to coordinate on Syrian buffer zone A deal to jointly control a strip of territory now held by Syrian Kurds could reduce friction between Turkey and the United States after Ankara threatened a unilateral military intervention, but some human rights advocates say Turkey will use it to put Syrian refugees back in harm's way. Syria
Iran says US-led maritime coalition will create instability Iran’s defense minister has told regional defense officials that the US-proposed military coalition in the Persian Gulf would lead to instability. United States
Is Hamas linked to recent terror attack against Israeli youth? Israel’s security services suspect that Hamas or Islamic Jihad infrastructure in the West Bank were involved in the recent killing of student and IDF soldier Dvir Sorek. Palestine
Netanyahu’s campaign to delegitimize the left, suppress Israeli Arabs The response of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to revelations about past visits by Knesset members to Palestinian security prisoners is a blatant attempt by him to delegitimize the left. Israel
How Syrians in Kurdish areas get rid of extremism Following the arrest of an Islamic State cell in Hasakah in northeastern Syria, citizens were concerned about the ongoing presence of extremism in their areas despite the group’s defeat. Syria
Syrian city bans face coverings to fight crime, terror The local council in Azaz has prohibited civilians and armed forces from wearing masks and other face coverings in an attempt to make it harder to evade identification when committing a crime. Syria
Pentagon repeats warning to Israel on Chinese port deal The Donald Trump administration is repeating warnings to Israel to cancel a potentially lucrative port deal with China. Israel
