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
Iran’s Reformists teetering on electoral boycott as polls approach Faced with declining social capital, Iran’s Reformists are wary of electoral participation without requisite political authority. Iran
Annexing East Jerusalem, first step before annexing the West Bank? According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan, Israel will exclude some Palestinian neighborhoods from the Greater Jerusalem municipality, while annexing other East Jerusalem neighborhoods. Palestine
Egypt to launch another round of Palestinian negotiations Egypt is willing take another shot at unifying Palestinian factions, but no one seems to be getting their hopes up about the outcome. Palestine
Egypt’s Al-Azhar retreats from fatwa on beating women Al-Azhar's Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb ruled that women cannot leave the house without their husbands’ permission and may be beaten as long as no bones are broken, sparking an uproar in Egypt. Egypt
Elections expose the Pandora’s box of Israel’s religious right The ideological differences and open hostility among the national religious and ultra-Orthodox parties exposed by the April elections could backfire on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to call for new elections, in September. Israel
How Russia plans to take part in building Syria's IT sector As Syria seeks to restore some of its damaged IT facilites and build "an information society" in the country, Russian companies consider opportunities to chip in. Syria
Erdogan seeks lifeline from Trump to salvage US-Turkey ties It will take Donald Trump to close a deal with Turkey on a Syrian "safe zone." Syria
Furious Iranian officials claim sabotage in tanker incident After the United States accused Iran of being behind the attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman, Tehran accused Washington of "sabotage diplomacy." Iran
Iran’s central bank tightens grip on national payment system Iran’s central bank is increasingly closing loopholes in the country’s payment system that allowed for destabilization of the monetary and foreign currency markets. Iran
Cancer hits residents of Iraqi oil city of Basra The cancer rate has been on the rise in the Iraqi oil-rich province of Basra, and many blame this on increasing pollution and on depleted uranium dust from weapons used in the 1991 Gulf War. Iraq
Iran-backed militias struggle to resist US pressure Feeling the burden of US sanctions on Iran, the Popular Mobilization Units are flexing their muscles in Iraq, trying to strengthen their position. Iraq
Heavy rains hit IDP camp in Sanaa, adding to their misery Yemen's internally displaced not only suffered because of the heavy rainfall but also could not celebrate Eid al-Fitr as international humanitarian assistance has been mostly suspended. Saudi Arabia
