Kuwait has promised $4 billion in aid to Egypt, which together with contributions from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates makes up a $12 billion Gulf Arab package that shows support for the Egyptian army’s ousting of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on July 3. Despite some public unease about rapprochement with former arch-foe Iraq, analysts and diplomats give high marks to Sheikh Sabah for his pragmatic efforts to rebuild ties with Baghdad.

Popular Colombian band Bomba Estereo has been asked to cancel their free concert in Jaffa as part of a boycott of Israel. The appeal has been made by the Colombian section of the “boycott Israel” campaign has appealed to the band to turn down the invitation to play in Jaffa to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Several popular Egyptian television channels said they will suspend entertainment programming on Friday so that viewers can join protests urged by the army to confront “violence” and “terrorism." In a joint statement, the channels said the decision was “consistent with the will of the Egyptian people and in response to the call [by the army] to rally throughout Egypt on Friday, July 26 against terrorism.”

The jovial tug o’ war and children’s ice-cream-eating contest wouldn’t look out of place at any town fair. But the family festivities in the battle-scarred Syrian city of Aleppo had a surprising organizer: al-Qaeda... The attempt to soften Islamic State’s image comes as it struggles to win support in the areas of Syria that are outside government control. Many residents view the group as a foreign force more concerned with imposing Islamic law than with fighting against President Bashar al-Assad and his allies.

As chaos ensued on streets across Egypt this week, and speculation surrounding the whereabouts of ousted President Mohamed Morsi and his closest Islamist allies intensified, the country's national newspaper splashed an expose across its front page...Wrangling over the sensational headline underscores the biggest casualty of Egypt's two and a half year revolution: truth and accuracy.

With official relations between Palestinians and Israelis still poisonous after a century of conflict, any constructive dialogue is newsworthy. But these aren’t security forces talking about joint military patrols, nor is this discussion connected to the sudden resumption of peace talks after a three-year stalemate. The group, brought together by Cisco Systems, is speaking their common language: tech management.

Sharing a love for music – and head-banging – two Israeli and Palestinian rock bands have joined forces to take a “message of coexistence through rock’n’roll across Europe,” The Guardian reported on Monday. The Israeli band “Orphaned Land” and Palestinian group “Khalas” both believe that music is above politics, religion and conflict and should bring people together.

The United States is facing the worst of all worlds in the Middle East: interventions that erode Washington's prestige and popularity but fail to exert enough influence to secure U.S. interests. If Secretary of State John Kerry's effort to restart Israeli-Palestinian talks is to succeed -- and if the United States is to secure its interests, ranging from oil security to nuclear nonproliferation -- America must once again play a leading role in the region.