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
Lebanon's March 14 bloc takes stock on ninth anniversary As the ninth anniversary of the March 14, 2005, demonstrations in Lebanon approach, the March 14 movement is faced with both challenges and opportunities. Lebanon
Palestinian activists press Abbas to outlaw honor crimes Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has failed to sign laws criminalizing honor crimes despite pledges to do so. Palestine
Egypt, Libya at odds over border control Libya rejects Egyptian claims that jihadists are sneaking through its border, instead accusing remnants of the Gadhafi regime of causing its instability. Egypt
Netanyahu gets bounce from Iranian arms shipment Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's media campaign over the capture of the weapons shipment passed unnoticed by the foreign press, but reinforced his status in Israeli public opinion as "Mr. Security." Israel
Israel fears it has lost world attention on Iran Israeli defense officials estimate that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are behind the weapons vessel captured last week. Palestine
Assad sends signals to Russia, US While Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has offered Russian President Vladimir Putin full support in the Ukrainian crisis, he's also signalling a willingness to defuse tensions on the border with Israel. Syria
Syrian opposition can learn from Ukraine The Syrian opposition should reassess its strategy in light of Russia's position in both Syria and Ukraine. Syria
Vandals attack Catholic church in Gaza A small bomb at Gaza's Catholic church is the latest attack targeting the Palestinian Christian minority in the Hamas-ruled enclave. Palestine
Egypt caught between Russia, Saudi Arabia Egypt is struggling to find a way to leverage its ties with both Russia and Saudi Arabia to its own advantage. Saudi Arabia
Yemen hit with plague of commissions Yemeni politicians are fond of forming commissions as a means to dealing with problems, but those commissions rarely produce any results. Yemen
Bitter Maliki-Nujaifi exchanges strain political system With Iraqi parliamentary elections set to take place in less than two months, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's relationships with both Council of Representatives Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi and Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani are going from bad to worse. Iraq
Hamas debates technocrat government in Gaza The loss of financial support from Iran has reportedly contributed to Gaza's current crisis, according to Hamas sources. Palestine
