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
Deri Ready to Give Facelift To Israeli Shas Party The old-new chairman of Sephardic Shas Party, Aryeh Deri, plans to rejuvenate its identity as a traditional social party, distancing it from the sectarian tendencies of the ultra-Orthodox. Israel
Radical Groups Operate On Turkey’s Border Turkey is increasingly identified as a country facilitating radical forces in Syria, and thereby isolated among its allies. Syria
What, or Who, Killed Yasser Arafat? The Lancet's suggestion that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat might have been poisoned leaves room for doubt, not only regarding the credibility of the findings, but the motivations behind them. Palestine
The Roots of Radicalism In Political Islam Sunni and Shiite fundamentalists have both sought to return to their own ideal version of history while rejecting modernity. Turkey
Saudi Arabia Shifts to More Activist Foreign Policy Doctrine The kingdom should give priority to a regional initiative in Syria and a collective security framework for maintaining order in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia
Turkey’s Islamic Liberals The liberal voices among Turkey's conservatives, many of them women, will be the bellwethers of social change. Turkey
KRG Responds to Article On Terrorist Bombing in Erbil In a letter to the editor, a director in the office of the Kurdistan Regional Government's Representation to the US, Karwan Zebari, responds to Denise Natali's Al-Monitor article "Prison Break, Suicide, Bombing, Rock Iraqi Kurdistan." Iraq
Iraqi Youth Initiative Combats Sectarianism Citizenship Ambassadors aims to bring together youths from Iraq's various religious and ethnic communities and regional affiliations to combat the escalating sectarian conflict in the country. Iraq
Erdogan Provides Eid Allowance To Journalist A reporter asks, and receives, an eid allowance from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey
How Long Will Israel Stay Off the Nuclear Hook? The agreement on Syria's chemical weapons, and prospects for a deal on Iran's nuclear program, will bring even more attention to Israel's not signing either the Non-Proliferation Treaty or the Chemical Weapons Convention. Israel
Could Turkey’s Christians Wear Police Uniforms? A police department statement encouraging Turkey’s non-Muslims to become police officers is positive, but Turkey should still revoke the ancestry registry. Turkey
Assad Is a HeroFor Turkey's Neo-Nationalists For at least 20% of the people in Turkey, Bashar al-Assad is the only hope for toppling Erdogan. Turkey
