Another Byzantine Church Becomes Mosque in Turkey The recent conversion of a Byzantine church in Trabzon from a museum to a mosque is prompting worries that Hagia Sophia in Istanbul might be next. Turkey
Confidence-Building Measures Needed For Israel-Palestine Talks Using "peace gestures" as bargaining chips only demonstrates that neither side is truly interested in peace. Palestine
Gazans Use Satire to Bypass Political Censorship To circumvent censorship, political critics have turned to satirical literature to express displeasure with local governance. Palestine
A Thorough Reassessment Of US Policy Is Required The United States needs to reassess its policy after Israeli moves to continue settlement activities threaten to derail the negotiation process. Palestine
How Turks Misinterpret Ergenekon Following the verdicts of Turkey's Ergenekon case, are Turks having the right kinds of discussions? Turkey
Iran’s New President Side Steps Questions About Talks With US Iranian President Hassan Rouhani treads carefully in answers to questions about US-Iran relations in his first press conference. Iran
Israeli Government Makes West Bank Settlements a National Priority The Israeli cabinet approved the national development priority map, adding to it more settlements in the West Bank. Palestine
Is Netanyahu Preparing To Bomb Iran? Is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “the weakest leader Israel has ever had,” about to make the historic decision to bomb Iran? Israel
Lapid: The Political Novice Who Never Makes Mistakes The reaction of Finance Minister Yair Lapid to the fiasco surrounding the appointment of a new governor of the Bank of Israel appears to show his inability to accept criticism. Israel
Former Chief of Staff Is a Convicted 'Terrorist' One needs to worry for younger Turkish generations as to what it means when the courts send Ilker Basbug, a former chief of general staff, behind bars for life as a “terrorist organization leader.” Turkey
Turkey’s Ergenekon Verdicts: Justice or Vengeance? After a case that lasted five years, more than 250 Turkish defendants were charged with belonging to "Ergenekon" and plotting an overthrow of the Erdogan government and were sentenced to, in some cases, life in prison. Turkey
Brotherhood Document Blames Israel, Iran, Gulf for Egypt Coup An internal Muslim Brotherhood document blames external forces for Egypt's coup without noting a single error by Mohammed Morsi. Egypt
Ergenekon Verdicts Mark Milestone for Turkish Democracy With the Ergenekon verdicts, Turkey is taking a very critical step on the path to true democracy. Turkey
Worries Grow About Fate Of Kidnapped Syrian Bishops The fate of the two bishops kidnapped in Syria on April 22 is still unknown, but they are feared to have been abducted and killed by Chechen jihadists, according to a Lebanese official. Lebanon
Slowly, Surely Iraqi Women Increase Visibility, Role in Society Although religious and conservative groups call for limiting the role of women in Iraqi society, women continue to flourish in the business and educational worlds. Iraq
Kurdish Civilians Fear Reprisals in Northern Syria Syrian Kurdish opposition groups claim rebel forces may be targeting Kurdish civilians. Syria
