After Jordan, Emirates also furious with Netanyahu Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not only managed to get into a diplomatic row with Jordan, he also succeeded in angering the Emiratis. Israel
Iran operating new advanced centrifuges, nuclear watchdog finds According to an International Atomic Energy Agency report, Iran is now using IR-4 centrifuges to enrich uranium in violation of the nuclear accord. Iran
Lawsuit filed to close pro-Kurdish party after lawmaker stripped of parliamentary seat Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, a pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party deputy known to focus on human rights abuses, was stripped of his parliament seat and a lawsuit was filed to close the party March 17. Turkey
Netanyahu courts Arab voters as 'Abu Yair' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has adopted a new strategy for the Arab public: cynically rebranding himself as "Abu Yair." Israel
Israeli doctors against 'force-feeding' Palestinian prisoners Israeli medical associations claim that the "force-feeding" bill promoted by the government is unethical, but the authorities are still pushing the proposal forward to avoid image-damaging Palestinian prisoner deaths. Palestine
Cairo's shifting stance on Syrian crisis Cairo and its regional ally Riyadh have not been seeing eye to eye when it comes to the Syrian crisis and ways to resolve it, amid bitterness on the part of Syrian opposition factions that accuse Cairo of not strongly contributing to finding a solution to the crisis. Saudi Arabia
Interior Ministry: Rouhani hecklers 'rogue' elements Interior Ministry officials said that recent hecklers at a Rouhani event were rogue elements, drawing criticism that authorities are unable or unwilling to prosecute the culprits. Iran
Children's fashion show takes the runway in Gaza A children's fashion show, only the second of its kind in Gaza’s history, divided members of the civil society and religious hard-liners, who deemed the event non-reflective of Gazan society and culture. Palestine
Turkish judiciary halts school firings Turkey’s top administrative court has canceled provisions that laid the ground for the purge of some 8,000 principals in public schools and their replacement with government partisans. Turkey
Can PKK, Turkey’s Hezbollah reconcile? Resurging violence between two old Kurdish adversaries in Turkey’s southeast, the PKK and the Islamist Hezbollah, has generated fears of renewed Kurdish fratricide in the region. Syria
Egypt death sentences further radicalize MB youths According to some, the death sentences issued against former President Mohammed Morsi and Brotherhood members in Egypt will push youths into joining extremist groups in Sinai. Egypt
Hamas, Israel take baby steps toward truce The conduct of talks between Hamas and Israel about a truce has raised suspicions among Palestinian Authority and Fatah officials that Hamas hopes one day to establish a "State of Gaza," independent of the West Bank. Palestine
Political detente thaws Fatah-Syria relations The longstanding tension between Fatah and Syria seems to be easing on a number of fronts through cooperation between Palestine and the Syrian regime. Palestine
After elections, Erdogan’s shadow still looms Given his continuing hold over the AKP, negotiations for a coalition government could be stymied by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan if developments take a turn he does not favor. Turkey
Progress on Yemen slow but not dead The Geneva talks ended without results, but many hold that the real achievement was getting the sides to talk for the first time in months, perhaps allowing the international community to intensify mediation efforts. Saudi Arabia
'Bogus Muslims' exposed for 'fake it 'til you make it' attitude Muslims faking sudden commitments to a religious lifestyle for political and financial gain are facing backlash from pious Muslims as well as criticism from secularists. Turkey
