Once part of the elite, the fortunes of the country's 'third nationality' have fallen. Politically sidelined for supporting Turkey, Iraq's Turkmen have had enough and are now starting to leave.
The Iraqi PM and Joe Biden stuck to the script, emphasising economic opportunities. No one mentioned US troop withdrawal, but Baghdad's tense relations with Iraqi Kurds did come up.
The Iran war exposed the risks of being too closely tied to US military posture, which is why some Gulf states are repositioning themselves not merely as consumers of security but as architects of it
Supporting Israel used to help politicians get elected, but with Americans far more critical of Tel Aviv's influence on US policy, it has now become a liability at the ballot box
Sliman Mansour, the renowned Palestinian painter who used clay from his land to make his works after deciding to boycott art materials produced by Israel, has died at the age of 79