Russia and the Middle East

• BBC: Return of the bear (Frank Gardner, November 14)
• "Thursday's visit to Egypt by a high-level Russian delegation, with the prospect of a $2bn arms deal, is only the latest sign of a trend that has been gathering pace since the Arab Spring unrest kicked off in early 2011...Twenty-two years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian clout in the Middle East is the highest it has been in a generation."
  

Afghanistan

• The Guardian: Afghanistan's poppy farmers plant record opium crop, UN report says (Emma Graham-Harrison, November 13)
• "Despite 10 years of western efforts to curb production, a combination of economics and political instability means farmers in the world's largest heroin-producing country are as enthusiastic as ever for the poppyFor the first time over 200,000 hectares of Afghan fields were growing poppies, according to the UN's Afghanistan Opium Survey for 2013, covering an area equivalent to the island nation of Mauritius."
  

Bahrain

• BBC: US urged to consider 'Plan B' to force Bahrain reforms (Bill Law, November 13)
• "A human rights group has urged the US to consider using the threat of removing the strategically vital Fifth Fleet from Bahrain as leverage to push for reform in the Gulf island kingdom that has been wracked by more than two years of anti-government unrest."
  

Egypt

• Washington Post: Egypt hosts top Russian officials, a sign it is turning further away from alliance with U.S. (Erin Cunningham, November 14)

• "The visit, which included discussions on strengthening military ties and diplomatic efforts on Syria, challenged the U.S. position as Egypt’s primary benefactor and was seen as a diplomatic swipe at Cairo’s increasingly estranged Western ally."
  

Iran

• LA Times: Iran's nuclear program has slowed almost to a halt, IAEA says (Paul Richter, November 14)
• "The previously unreported freeze may bolster the Obama administration and others in the six-nation diplomatic bloc hoping to persuade Tehran to give up its nuclear drive for good. The two sides are scheduled to resume negotiations Wednesday in Geneva."
  

Qatar

• Washington Post: Qatar loses clout amid fading Arab Spring (Abigail Hauslohner, November 14)
• "If 2011 was the tiny state’s year for victory laps — its flag flying high alongside the Libyan rebels, as the revolution there raged with Qatari support; its satellite channel Al Jazeera praised among Egyptian protesters in Tahrir Square; and everybody wanting a bag full of Qatari cash — 2013 has been a year for losses. Qatar is taking a beating as the Arab Spring revolts, which ushered in Islamist governments in Egypt and Tunisia and empowered upstarts across the region, yield to a reassertion of power by the region’s old heavyweights."
  

Syria

• The Guardian: The sons feared lost to al-Qaida in Syria (Constanze Letsch, November 11)
• "Parents in Turkish town of Adiyaman tell of anguish of searching for offspring recruited for jihad in neighbouring country. According to Turkish media reports, young men – and sometimes women – from across Turkey have left to fight in Syria. One newspaper estimated that around 500 Turkish nationals are with Syria's armed opposition."
  
• Washington Post: Syrian government makes battlefield gains ahead of planned peace talks with rebels (Loveday Morris, November 15)
• "Five towns south of Damascus, Syria’s capital, have fallen into army hands in the past 10 days, according to rebels. In the north, a rebel commander was killed in Aleppo, where the opposition was forced to issue an order this week for all armed groups to mobilize at the front lines."
  
• BBC: Syrian activists flee abuse in al-Qaeda-run Raqqa (Tim Whewell, November 13)
• "Raqqa, a city currently sheltering nearly a million people, is now under the full control of the group. One of the activists, photographer Mezar Matar, said: "I saw many people who had signs of lashes on their bodies after being released from an ISIS prison."
  

Turkey

• Washington Post: Turkey confronts policy missteps on Syria with rise of al-Qaeda across the border (Liz Sly, November 16)
• "Almost all of the foreign fighters contributing to al-Qaeda’s strength in northern Syria traveled there via Turkey, flying into Istanbul and transferring to domestic commercial flights for the trip to the border. With their untrimmed beards and their backpacks, the foreigners are often conspicuous in the sedate, Western-oriented towns of southern Turkey."