After meeting Netanyahu, Kushner agrees Hamas disarmament precedes Israel's withdrawal Israel and the Gaza Board of Peace have agreed that the Israeli military will begin withdrawing from the Gaza Strip after Hamas disarms. Israel
Analysis How Israel's rivalry, defense deals prompted Turkey to join Mecca pact Turkey’s growing rivalry with Israel and mounting regional instability are driving its defense alignment with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, despite risks of strategic entanglement and friction with NATO partners. By Barin Kayaoglu In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Israel moves against West Bank settlers after Huckabee criticism Who benefits from Lebanon’s amnesty law; Turkey's Fidan heads to Egypt amid questions over Saudi-led defense pact; and more. By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Analysis Fidan heads to Egypt amid questions over Saudi Arabia-Turkey-Pakistan pact Conflicting accounts of why Egypt stayed out of the agreement have exposed the competing interests shaping the region’s emerging defense architecture. By Amberin Zaman Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture
Newsletter: FutureVerse Red Sea tech risks resurface By Samuel Wendel In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Iran denies negotiations with US after Trump calls off strikes By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
'Rainbow' mosque in new banknotes riles Egyptians The Central Bank of Egypt shared its initial designs for the new Egyptian banknotes, but was heavily criticized when many Egyptians took the reflective watermark for an LGBT pride flag. Egypt
Egypt enrolls Russian imams in 'fatwa training program' to combat Brotherhood Egypt is helping Russia confront extremism, namely Muslim Brotherhood ideology, by training Russian imams in the Dar al-Ifta — including a 'fatwa training program.' Egypt
The Takeaway: Egypt weighs options on Nile dam as Ethiopia escalates war in Tigray Also, new Israeli envoy is "frighteningly serious"; Turkey’s wildfires; Nile crocodiles in Sudan; Sisi increases price of bread; and more … in about 1,500 words! Egypt
Is Ethiopia to blame for Nile crocodiles appearing in Khartoum? Officials in Sudan are advising citizens to avoid the Nile River because of crocodiles — which some are blaming on Ethiopia’s second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Egypt
Russia denies siding with Ethiopia in Nile dam dispute Egypt interprets Russian reluctance to back its position in the GERD dispute as pro-Ethiopian, but Moscow says it is pursuing a balanced position between Cairo and Addis Ababa. Egypt
Ethiopia-Sudan tension rises over Tigray conflict Sudan recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia after Addis Ababa accused Khartoum of interfering in the Tigray crisis amid doubts about Sudan’s mediating ability to end the nine-month-old fighting. Egypt
Egypt's president slices bread subsidies A controversial decision by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to cut bread subsidies despite an earlier promise not to tamper with the price of subsidized loaves has raised concerns that this move may trigger a wave of unrest reminiscent of the bread riots of 1977. Egypt
Egypt retrieves ancient priest statue from Holland Egypt has brought back an ancient statue of Nikaw-Ptah from Holland as the government works to recover many stolen antiquities from abroad. Egypt
New dredger joins expanded Suez Canal fleet A new dredger has joined the Suez Canal fleet to help maintain and expand the crucial waterway in the wake of the Ever Given crisis. Egypt
Gadhafi's son announces return to Libyan politics As soon as Saif al-Islam, the son of late Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi, announced his plan to return to political life, media outlets close to the regime in Egypt rushed to announce their support, thus raising many questions about Egypt’s position and whether Cairo would support him if he runs for the upcoming presidential elections in neighboring Libya. Egypt
Sinai militants launch sporadic attacks against Egyptian army Following the months-long calm, the Egyptian army said that eight soldiers have been killed and wounded in recent military operations in north Sinai, and 89 militants killed. Egypt
Egypt, Algeria find common ground on Libyan crisis Egypt and Algeria have been at odds over how to deal with the situation in Libya, but that may be changing. Egypt