A recent massacre of Sunni youths in central Iraq and concerns that sectarian violence may pull the country back into dark times seem to have fostered plans for a new sect-based political bloc and rekindled talk of an autonomous Sunni region.

Although the Salafist Nour party failed to secure any seats in the Senate, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi decided to appoint two party representatives to the Senate.

As the possibility of Palestinian elections becomes more real, new and unexpected conflicts are propping up. In addition to the expected hurdles that Israel might put up, as well as the need for Fatah and Hamas to find common ground, an unexpected problem has arisen.