Turkey-PKK Talks Move Ahead Talks between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) were proceeding without interruption after imprisoned PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan received three members of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) on April 2, writes Tulin Daloglu. Turkey
Yair Lapid: Israel's Minister For Facebook Affairs Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid is busy writing amusing feuilletons on his Facebook page, writes Mazal Mualem, revealing his lack of understanding of the true needs of the country's middle class. Israel
Hamas Re-Elects Meshaal For a Fourth Term Hamas has re-elected Khaled Meshaal to head the movement for a fourth term, writes Hazem Balousha. Palestine
KRG Minister: Our Problem With Baghdad Lies in the Budget The Kurdistan Regional Government’s reconstruction minister talks about the ministry’s plans to revitalize the housing sector and notes that the region’s problems with Baghdad center on budget allocations, writes Abdel Hamid Zebari. Iraq
Egypt and Hamas Try to Resolve Differences Relations between Hamas and Egypt are far from perfect, writes Omar Shaban. Palestine
Bipartisan Report Recommends Some Iran Sanctions Relief A new bipartisan report by the Atlantic Council says that opening authorized banking channels for humanitarian purposes would make it harder for Iran's government to blame the US for the pain sanctions are causing ordinary Iranians, reports Barbara Slavin. Iran
Erdogan’s 'Brave New Turkey' Looks to Past and Future Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s "brave new Turkey" bears a striking resemblance to the secular nationalist "old Turkey" of Kemal Ataturk, writes Karabekir Akkoyunlu. Turkey
Turkey Seeks Ottoman Sphere Of Influence Normalization of ties with the Kurds and Israel are part of a broader strategy for an Ottoman sphere of influence and confrontation with the "Shiite axis," writes Kadri Gursel. Turkey
Gaza’s Poets Despite lack of support from official sources, poets manage to get by in Gaza, writes Asmaa al-Ghoul. Palestine
Israel's Natural Gas Brings Opportunity, Choices With natural gas flowing to Israel from the bottom of the sea, the energy revolution is happening while the government delays crucial decisions, writes Idan Grinbaum. Israel
Baghdad, Capital of Arab Culture 2013 … Hopefully Baghdad was named the Capital of Arab Culture for 2013; however, when one compares Iraq’s political disarray to the country’s shining cultural achievements, a paradox becomes painfully clear, writes Clovis Maksoud. Iraq
Bassem Youssef and the Fate Of Independent Media in Egypt Bassem Sabry discusses the investigation of popular Egyptian political satirist Bassem Youssef as well as the fate of Egypt's independent media. Egypt
South Sinai Farms Go Organic, Struggle With Government Mohannad Sabry reports on an organic farm in the South Sinai that is succeeding despite many obstables. Egypt
Prisoner, Denied Treatment, Dies Of Cancer in Israeli Prison Daoud Kuttab interviews Tariq Abu Hamdia, son of Maysara Abu Hamdia, who died April 2 in an Israeli prison despite appeals for him to be released for cancer treatment, which he never received. Palestine
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
Iran and North Korea: The Nuclear Connection Western reactions to the North Korean provocations are watched closely by the Iranians, writes Ben Caspit. Israel
