Middle East crises loom in background as NATO leaders gather in Washington While this year's summit is expected to focus largely on the ongoing war in Ukraine, Iran's military support for Russia and Turkey's strategic balancing act with Moscow are expected to weigh on NATO leaders gathered in Washington. Washington Pulse
US, Israel hold second virtual meeting on Rafah Biden administration officials have denied offering to green-light an Israeli invasion of Rafah if Israel holds off on retaliating against Iran. Washington Pulse
One year on Sudan’s war: 14,700 killed, 8.6M displaced, 4.9M face starvation As the war in Sudan enters its second year, the humanitarian situation is worsening by the day with no prospects of an imminent end of the hostilities. North Africa Pulse
State Department staffer resigns over Biden's handling of Gaza Annelle Sheline is the second State Department official to publicly resign since Oct. 7, citing the erosion of US credibility on human rights in the Middle East as a result of the war. Washington Pulse
Gulf Cities Have Long Way to Go Before Leading Arab World The author takes issue with Sultan Al Qassemi's article calling the Gulf cities the new centers of the Arab world. United Arab Emirates
Nour Party: Don't Blame Islamists For Brotherhood's Mistakes In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, the head of the Egyptian Salafist Al-Nour Party, discusses the mistakes of the Muslim Brotherhood and the upcoming elections. Egypt
Lapid Draws Own Red Line on Iran Israel’s finance minister has said Iran should have no centrifuges and no plutonium at all. Palestine
My Conversation With Hamas Gershon Baskin, founder of the Israeli Palestinian Center for Research and Information, recounts his conversation with Ghazi Hamad, Hamas' deputy foreign minister. Palestine
Egypt Security Forces Scramble To Contain Deadly Violence Egypt's new government is struggling to restore stability in the country after the latest wave of violence. Egypt
Tribes Still Rule in Yemen The Yemeni revolution did not overturn the influence of tribes on Yemen politics. Yemen
4 Reasons Why US Shouldn't Reduce Aid to Egypt The recent decision by the US to withhold a major arms shipment to Egypt will have no impact on Egypt’s democratic transition. Egypt
Blame Media: Washington Faces Inevitable Predicament in Egypt The Egyptian government demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of how the US press operates. Egypt
Erdogan's Frustration Shows Over Syria Deal The Turkish prime minister is questioning John Kerry's praise of Syria’s compliance to date with UN Security Council Resolution 2118. Syria
Natural Gas Resources May Be Backstory in Syria War The Syria war, like many of the region's other conflicts, has an important oil and gas angle. Lebanon
Displaced Syrians Shed Light On Lebanon’s Internally Displaced The continuous flow of displaced Syrians into Lebanon throughout the civil war has served to bring attention to internally displaced Lebanese citizens, who lead similarly disaffected lives. Lebanon
Gulf Cities Emerge As New Centers of Arab World While historic Arab capitals such as Cairo, Baghdad and Damascus are embroiled in civil strife, Gulf cities are powering ahead as new centers for Arab culture, education and business. United Arab Emirates
