Moscow and Tehran behind Syria-Hamas reconciliation

• UNITED STATES - CIA experimenting to solve HR crisis

• TURKEY/PALESTINE/AFGHANISTAN - Istanbul hosts Hamas-Taliban rapprochement

• GEORGIA - Tbilisi looks into its oligarchs

• FRANCE - DPR still not entitled to know about operations in progress

• RUSSIA - Moscow's foreign affairs ministry reassesses view of China

• AFGHANISTAN/EUROPE - Europe's greater numbers of repatriated Afghans

Hakan Fidan makes his moves on Iraq's complex political chessboard 

The Turkish spymaster, tasked with meeting Iraqi politicians, now stands accused of interfering in the country's internal affairs. But this hasn't stopped him discreetly calling for the formation of a government that would guarantee Ankara's security and economic interests.

Turkish and Syrian spy chiefs Hakan Fidan and Ali Mamlouk talk again at Russia's initiative 

Keen to play the role of mediator between Turkey and Syria, Russia sponsored a new meeting between the spy chiefs of the two countries, which have been at daggers drawn since 2011. The results were not convincing but the meeting at least allowed Ankara and Damascus to set out their demands.