Turkey Analysis: Erdogan's Risky Game on The Kurdish Issue

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoganOn the surface, there continues to be advance towards the "historic" resolution of the Kurdish issue. Dig a bit deeper, however, and you wll hit a major block: the ambitions of a Prime Minister trying to maintain and increase his power at every step of the process.

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Syria Feature: US Considering Military Steps for No-Fly Zone (Entous/Barnes)

Patriot Anti-Missile SystemThe White House, under pressure from key allies and U.S. lawmakers, is reviewing a new set of potential military options for assisting rebels in Syria, according to U.S. officials.

Among the ideas were proposals to bomb Syrian aircraft on the ground and to use Patriot antimissile batteries in Turkey to defend swaths of northern Syria from the regime's Scud missiles, they said.

Defense officials said those two options faced potentially insurmountable technological and legal hurdles, however — underscoring the difficulty of finding a plausible way to address increasing international pressure to weigh in more forcefully on the side of the Syrian rebels. Other options were also presented to the White House but officials declined to discuss them.

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Turkey (and Beyond) Live: A Peace Deal with the PKK?

Prime Minister Erdogan1200 GMT:Palestine. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency has suspended its operations in the Gaza Strip after demonstrators stormed its headquarters after a number of aid cutbacks caused the agency to withhold some cash handouts earlier this week.

Although cash disbursements will be limited, the UNRWA said that food distribution will continue as normal once guarantees are given that their operations can continue “unhindered.”

1132 GMT:Iraq. A bomb attack in the western Baghdad neighbourhood of Abu Ghraib has killed three soldiers while another bomb exploded near a vegetable stand in the city of Hillah (60 miles, 90 kilometres south of Baghdad) killing three civilians and wounding 15 bystanders.

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Syria Live: The Regime's Warning Over the Foreign Base in Jordan

2040 GMT: Grad Rockets In Ma'arrat al Nouman. We've been talking a lot about Ma'arrat al Nouman in recent days. On the front lines of Idlib province, the rwebel stronghold is flanked by two important bases, both of which have proven impossible for the rebels to breach despite months of bombardment. The bases are equipped with heavy bunkers, dug in artillery, and are being provided air support by Syrian jets.

Interestingly, however, we've seen a lot of new rebel equipment show up near Ma'arrat al Nouman, including several Do-It-Yourself launchers for 122mm rockets, better known as Grad rockets. Even more interestingly, some of these weapons and rockets appear as if they have been shipped to the area, perhaps from other Assad bases where they have been captured. This suggests that the rebel command organization may be making the capturing of Wadi al Daif and the Hamidiyeh bases a priority:

2017 GMT: Wounded Rebel Commander Recovering. Riad al Assad, a rebel commander who was injured in Deir Ez Zor, is recovering in a Turkish hospital, according to a prominent activist:

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Israel, Turkey (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A New Israeli-Turkish Relationship?

Recep Tayyip Erdogan & Benjamin Netanyahu1425 GMT: Palestine. Thousands of mourners have turned out for the funerals of three Palestinians, including two teenagers killed by Israeli army gunfire in Tulkarm.

On Tuesday, Maysara Abu Hamdeya, a 64-year-old prisoner serving a life term in an Israeli jail, died from cancer.

Palestinian officials accused Israel of delaying treatment for Hamdeya and gave him full military honours at the funeral in Hebron, where masked gunmen fired into the air as his body arrived at a mosque.

Amer Nassar, 17, and Naji Belbisi, 18, were killed in the wave of disturbances that followed the announcement of Hamdeya's death.

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Israel, Palestine (and Beyond) Live: Israeli Jets Strike Gaza for 1st Time Since November

See also Egypt Video Discussion: The Political and Economic Struggles
Syria Live Coverage: A Snapshot of the Cost of War in Aleppo
Tuesday's Bahrain (and Beyond) Live: An Agenda for a National Dialogue?

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1705 GMT: Egypt. Defying the judiciary, President Morsi has said Public Prosecutor Talaat Abdallah will remain in his position.

A Presidential spokesperson said a challenge to the court ruling ordering Abdallah's dismissal and the return of former Public Prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmoud is still being considered.

Last week, the Cairo Court of Appeals reinstated Mahmoud to his post, annulling a decree by Morsi replacing him with Talaat Abdallah.

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Bahrain (and Beyond) Live: An Agenda for a National Dialogue?

See also Syria Live: Insurgent Attacks in Central Aleppo
Monday's Mali (and Beyond) Live: At Least 7 Killed in Timbuktu Fighting

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1745 GMT: Tunisia. Tunisian officials and personnel from the International Monetary Fund will begin a week-long meeting on Monday, with a view to completing a $1.78 billion loan by late April or early May.

The IMF loan accord would require Tunisia to commit to a set of structural economic reforms. While the government sees the IMF loan as key to advancing development in Tunisia, there has been considerable criticism of the measure within the country.

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Iraq (and Beyond) Live Coverage: At Least 17 Killed in Mosque Bombings

See also Syria Live Coverage: Hesitating on Weapons to Insurgents?
Thursday's Saudi Arabia (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Prosecutor Demands "Death by Crucifixion" for Dissident Cleric

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2055 GMT: Bahrain. Police used tear gas and sound bombs to disperse hundreds of protesters who demonstrated in the capital Manama against the regime.

The marchers chanted, "The people want the fall of the regime" and "Down with [King] Hamad."

Several protesters were arrested, witnesses said.

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Turkey Analysis: Will the Kurdish Peace Offer Survive the Next Steps?

Recep Tayyip Erdogan & Abdullah OcalanLast week Abdullah Ocalan, the head of the Kurdish insurgency PKK, wrote a new page on Turkey's Kurdish issue with his New Year's message setting out a path to peace.

The carefully-prepared statement called on both Turks and Kurds to unite in a democratic country, setting out practical measures such as the withdrawal of PKK forces from Turkey.

The PKK‘s leaders approved the directives. The Government’s response was welcoming.

Yet this still may not be enough for a permanent resolution.

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Iran Live Coverage: Worrying About Syria

See also Saturday's Iran Live Coverage: Keeping an Eye on Human Rights

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1609 GMT: Election Watch. Another sign that reformists will participate in June's Presidential election....

Hojatoleslam Rasoul Montajabnia, the deputy of the Etemad-e Melli Party of detained opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi, has suggested that --- to see more participation in the election --- former Presidents Mohammad Khatami and Hashemi Rafsanjani must be involved without necessarily becoming candidates.

Montajabnia said, "With their active presence in the election environment, the intellectuals and the critics of the country’s officials and rulers will become interested in participating in the election."

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