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
Israeli Defense Budget Under Attack Israeli ministers Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett, champions of the social justice movement, face a challenge responding to the defense establishment campaign against budget cutbacks, writes Mazal Mualem. Israel
Mayor Plans to Limit Arab Growth in Nazareth Mayor Shimon Gapso tells Daniel Ben Simon he intends to limit the proportion of Arab residents in Upper Nazareth. Israel
Encroaching Syrian Conflict Pits Hezbollah Against Jabhat al-Nusra Border villages of Hezbollah-backed Shiites sympathetic to Assad are clashing with the Sunni Jabhat al-Nusra, reports an Al-Monitor correspondent in Beirut. Lebanon
Qatar’s Political Influence on Hamas With its headquarters in Qatar, Hamas will have to accept the spirit and direction of its new patron, Emir Hamed Bin Khalifa Al Thani, writes Shlomi Eldar. Qatar
Iraq Pays $300 Million To Terror Victims Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, violence in Iraq has produced innumerable victims in need of financial compensation, writes Omar al-Shaher. Iraq
Iraqi Provincial Elections Bring Wave of Violence, Assassination Sunni candidates in the upcoming Iraqi elections are being targeted in a recent spate of assassinations, reports Ali Abel Sadah. Iraq
Has 'Fatahland' Returned To Lebanon's Shebaa Farms? The concept of "Fatahland" has been revived as a response to the Syrian conflict in Lebanese villages on the border areas with Syria, writes Nasser Chararah. Lebanon
EU Official: ‘We Don’t See the End’ Of Syria Crisis In an interview with Al-Monitor, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Dr. Kristalina Georgieva says Syria "is the crisis that makes me lose my sleep." Syria
Iraq's Anti-Terrorism Law Criticized Iraq’s anti-terrorism law has been criticized by Amnesty International and by many Iraqis, but the Iraqi government seems to be using the criticisms to promote a "tough on terrorism" image, writes Mushreq Abbas. Iraq
Iraqi Security Forces Cannot Stop Terrorism Mustafa al-Kadhimi asks how terrorists can operate with such impunity throughout Iraq, given that al-Qaeda is supposedly "besieged," and given the presence of numerous checkpoints throughout the country. Iraq
Erdogan Asks 'Wise People' To Make Case for Peace Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has chosen a delegation of "Wise People" to convince Turkish citizens about the benefits of his Kurdish peace plan, writes Kadri Gursel. Turkey
Imagine Israel Independence Day — 2014 Mazal Mualem outlines what the Israeli political map could look like one year from today. Israel
