Egypt sentences activist Sanaa Seif to 18 months in prison Seif, who had been in pretrial detention since June, was convicted Wednesday of spreading false news and misusing social media. Egypt
Ukraine rejects Iran's final report on downed passenger plane The Iranian government said last year's shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was the result of a human error. Iran
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
UN says Libya arms embargo 'totally ineffective' A United Nations panel of experts accused several member states, including Turkey and Russia, of fueling the Libyan conflict. Libya
Al-Qaeda Seen Expanding Influence in Lebanon Salafist and jihadist groups, including those affiliated with al-Qaeda, appear to be deepening their roots within Lebanon, writes Nasser Chararah. Lebanon
Is There Method to Madness Of Nuclear Threats? Akiva Eldar wonders if there is a rational strategy behind the Iranian and Korean "mad leader" images. Israel
Will Israel Warm Up To Moderate Islamists? Mustafa Akyol argues that its recent apology to Turkey shows Israel can find a way toward peace with Islamists. Israel
Lessons From Land Day According to Clovis Maksoud, Land Day should remind leaders and the Arab Summit to stress Palestinians' human rights and unity. Palestine
Gaza Cancer Rates on Rise After each Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, cancer rates soar among Gazans as a result of increased radiation in the environment, reports Asmaa al-Ghoul. Palestine
A New Non-Violent Palestinian Anti-Israel Movement Emerges A new Palestinian anti-Israel movement that shuns violence is emerging, Ahmad Azem reports. Palestine
Hezbollah Says External Pressures Forced the Mikati Resignation Sources close to Hezbollah consider the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Mikati to be the result of pressure from outisde powers, writes Nasser Chararah. Lebanon
UAE Arrests Activist For 'False News' Tweets An Emirati activist arrested and charged with "spreading false news" on Twitter is yet another sign of dwindling free speech in the United Arab Emirates, writes Matt Duffy. United Arab Emirates
Gaza Fishermen Outraged By Renewed Israeli Restrictions Israel has again reduced Gaza's fishing zone to three nautical miles offshore, in violation of last November's cease-fire agreement with Hamas, Mohammed Suliman writes. Palestine
Erdogan's Good Fortune And Israel's Apology Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been Turkey's prime minister for over 10 years, and during that time he has had an incredible number of political victories; so many in fact that Cengiz Çandar writes that nobody is as lucky as Erdogan. Israel
The European Dilemmas On Arming Syrian Rebels An initiative to lift the European Union’s arms embargo to Syria and increase support to rebels has been met with strong EU opposition; the EU is unlikely to move further on that issue. Syria
Obama Misses TargetWith Nowruz Message Sasan Aghlani writes that the message delivered in US President Barack Obama's annual Nowruz speech indicates that he fails to understand his target audiences and the effects of sanctions on Iran. Iran
