A series of bombings across Iraq Wednesday evening killed at least 34 people. Within an hour in the capital Baghdad, 11 explosions, mostly car bombings, killed 23 people and wounded over 100 others, mostly in Shiite districts. Sadr City was hit the worst with three bombs, two of which exploded in busy markets, but attacks were also reported in Kadhimiya, Husseiniya, Mashtal, Baghdad al-Jadida, Saidiya, and Zafaraniya. Additionally, bombings in the northern ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk killed an estimated 10 people. A car bomb exploded near a government building, followed by another car bomb an hour later in the same area. On Thursday, four additional bombs killed at least 12 people in Shiite districts of Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul. No group has taken responsibility for the attacks. There has been a surge in sectarian violence in Iraq since the army raided a Sunni anti-government protest camp near the northern town of Hawija last month, killing an estimated 50 people.

Syria

The United Nations General Assembly passed a nonbinding resolution on Wednesday condemning Syrian government forces, praising the opposition, and calling for a political solution to end the war in Syria. The vote, however, showed a decline in support for the opposition since a resolution passed in August 2012 -- with 107 votes in favor compared to 133 in the previous vote and a drastic increase in abstentions. Many diplomats expressed increasing concerns over the rise in the presence of Islamist extremists in the conflict. There was also a sentiment that the resolution would not help to convince the Syrian government and opposition to participate in peace talks recently proposed by the United States and Russia. At the beginning of the session, President of the U.N. General Assembly Vuk Jeremic stated, "At least 80,000 have perished since the start of the hostilities, with most of the casualties believed to be civilians." Meanwhile, a BBC correspondent has reported evidence of a chemical attack last month in the northern town of Saraqeb. Eyewitnesses claimed that government helicopters dropped at least two devices containing poisonous gas on April 29. Additionally, doctors at the local hospital said they admitted eight people suffering from breathing problems. The BBC reported it has received videos that seem to support these claims, but is not able to independently verify them. In other news, a video posted on Thursday showed opposition al Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front fighters executing 11 Syrian soldiers they accused of committing "massacres."

Headlines  

• The White House has released over 100 pages of emails on the debate on "talking points" of the administration's first public account of the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya in September 2012.
• Islamist gunmen have abducted seven Egyptian security officers in the Sinai Peninsula Thursday reportedly seeking the release of jailed militants.
• Yemeni kidnappers have released three foreign Red Cross workers and their Yemeni interpreter who were seized Monday in the southern province of Abyan.  
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U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron met in Washington on Monday, reaffirming their commitment to the Syrian opposition. Cameron said his government has not yet made a decision to arm opposition fighters, but committed to double its non-lethal aid over the coming year as well as continue providing humanitarian relief for refugees. Obama spoke about U.S. and Russian efforts to bring together the Syrian government and opposition for negotiations, but injected a word of caution saying, "There are going to be enormous challenges." The Syrian regime and opposition have requested more details about the proposed conference before committing to attend. Obama also noted that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin several times and stated that Russia has an interest in encouraging a stable and democratic Syria after Assad leaves power. Putin is hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks on the Syrian conflict on Tuesday. Israel expressed concerns last week about Russia's arms deliveries of advanced S-300 missile batteries to the Syrian government. Meanwhile, an unauthenticated video has been released that appears to show a Syrian rebel eating the heart of a dead government soldier, drawing widespread condemnation. Human Rights Watch identified the man as Abu Sakkar, leader of the Independent Omar al-Farouq Brigade. The U.S. based human rights group said all people responsible for war crimes in the Syrian conflict will be held accountable. A spokeswoman for the opposition Syrian National Coalition said, "we completely condemn this act, which is an affront to human values, Islamic ethics and the ideals of the coalition and the Free Syrian Army."

Headlines

• On Monday, a car bombing close to a hospital in the Libyan city of Benghazi killed several civilians after four police stations were bombed last week which caused damage but no casualties.
• Saudi Arabia's health ministry has confirmed four new cases of the SARS-like coronavirus, with a total of 24 cases since the disease was identified in 2012.
• Israel approved a two-year austerity budget Monday despite large protests; meanwhile Prime Minster Netanyahu has come under scrutiny for his household spending.
• A Turkish fighter jet crashed Monday killing the pilot in the southern Osmaniye province near the border with Syria, but the cause of the crash is unclear.
• President Obama said the U.S. administration called the attack on Benghazi an act of terrorism from the beginning and called the dispute a Republican "sideshow." 
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Filipino Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said he recommended to President Benigno Aquino that he withdraw its peacekeeping forces from the Golan Heights after four soldiers were abducted Tuesday. The Syrian rebel Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade said it is holding the soldiers "for their own safety" and has posted two videos of the men to show that they have not been harmed. Two months ago, 20 Filipino peacekeepers were seized from the same area by Syrian rebels and were held for a few days before being released. The peacekeepers were used to demand the pullback of Syrian regime forces. A total 342 Filipino soldiers are posted in the Golan Heights. The group comprises about one third of the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) which has been monitoring the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria since 1974. Del Rosario said the soldiers were being held as human shields against attack by Syrian government forces and their exposure was "beyond tolerable limits."

Syria

British Prime Minister David Cameron is planning to use meetings in the coming days with Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama to discuss the crisis in Syria and suggest that an international conference be held in Britain. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with the Russian president and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov this week and announced a joint plan for a conference. However, while meeting with Jordanian officials in Rome on Thursday, Kerry said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could not be part of a "transitional government" in post-war Syria, which could pose a challenge to the agreement made with the Russians. Earlier, Kerry had said the situation was a matter for the Syrian people to decide. Meanwhile, in a televised speech, Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah, increased tensions with Israel saying the Syrian government would respond to recent Israeli airstrikes near Damascus by supplying Hezbollah fighters with weapons. Nasrallah was not clear about the type of arms, but said they were "unique weapons that it had never had before" and that it would "change the balance" of power with Israel. On Thursday, Syrian officials said they would retaliate for the Israeli strikes last weekend. Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told Agence France-Presse they would "not allow this to be repeated" and "would respond immediately to any Israeli attack."

Headlines  

• New York prosecutors have accused eight men of leading one of the largest cyber bank thefts ever spanning 27 countries and stealing $45 million from two Middle East banks.
• Radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada said he would voluntarily return to Jordan if the parliament ratifies a treaty with Britain, which has been "determined" to deport the international terror suspect.
• A Finnish couple and an Australian student abducted in December 2012 in Yemen, reportedly by al Qaeda militants, were released near the Omani border overnight Wednesday.
• Iran has announced a new attack drone, the Epic, capable of surveillance and offensive missions according to Iranian media.
• Three men were arrested at a demonstration of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews at Jerusalem's Western Wall protesting a group of women praying in garments traditionally worn by men. 
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Kurdish rebel fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have begun their withdrawal from southeastern Turkey as stipulated by a peace deal negotiated between Turkey and PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in March. Over 40,000 people have died in the conflict, which has spanned nearly three decades. There are an estimated 2,000 PKK fighters in Turkey, and they will withdraw in phases over the course of about four months. The PKK expressed concern over an apparent increase of Turkish troop movements and reconnaissance drones on Tuesday. During a negotiated withdrawal in 1999, the Turkish military ambushed Kurdish fighters, killing an estimated 500 people. Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas said, "We have no doubt about the state but fear provocation from dark forces." There was, however, no sign of military activity on Wednesday. The first fighters are expected to arrive in northern Iraq's Qandil mountains in a week. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized the timeline of the withdrawal, stressing that the fighters should disarm before leaving. But, this was rejected by the PKK, which feared the departing forces would come under assault.

Syria

After meetings on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei V. Lavrov announced a plan to arrange an international conference aimed at ending the over two year conflict in Syria which has killed over 70,000 people. Kerry said their intention is to convince representatives from the Syrian government and the opposition to attend. He continued that the United States and Russia want to hold the peace conference "as soon as practical, possibly, hopefully as soon as the end of the month." The move seemed to be an optimistic step as the United States and Russia have not been able to agree to unified efforts on Syria. Lavrov said the United States and Russia were committed to a deal that would assure the "sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Syria. Kerry and Lavrov did not offer details on how they would get the warring parties to the negotiating table, nor did they elaborate on why they expect these efforts would be any more successful than those taken in the past. Meanwhile, four Filipino U.N. peacekeepers were seized Tuesday "by an unidentified armed group" while they were on patrol along the ceasefire line between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights. The Islamist opposition group Martyrs of Yarmouk reportedly published a photo of the four men, and said they were being held for their own safety. The Martyrs of Yarmouk abducted 21 Filipino peacekeepers in the Golan in March, and released them after holding them for three days.

Headlines

• British physicist Professor Stephen Hawking has joined the academic boycott of Israel, pulling out of President Shimon Peres's annual conference over Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
• Suspected al Qaeda militants ambushed and killed three Yemeni air force pilots Wednesday when they were in a car traveling to the Al Anad air base, which is jointly used with the United States.
• Israeli police detained Jerusalem's top Muslim cleric Muhammad Hussein over reported disturbances ahead of Jerusalem Day, when Israelis mark the city's "reunification" during the 1967 Six-Day War.
• U.S. Republican lawmakers are continuing their inquiry into the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi, focusing on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 
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Israel launched airstrikes early Sunday into Syria for the second time in three days raising concerns of the spread of the Syrian conflict. Israeli jets reportedly hit several critical military facilities near Damascus, killing dozens of elite troops near the presidential palace, according to a Syrian military official. Opposition activists and fighters, as well as residents, said the airstrikes hit Republican Guard bases and long-range missile storehouses, as well as a military research center at Jamraya, which U.S. officials have said is Syria's main chemical weapons facility. The attacks came after a strike early on Friday on a weapons facility at Damascus International Airport, which security sources said had Iranian missiles, which were to be transferred to Hezbollah in Lebanon. An anonymous senior Israeli government official said, "If we don't take action now, we will be on the receiving end of those missiles."  Israel hasn't confirmed Sunday's attacks, and the White House declined to say if it believed Israel was responsible for the airstrikes. Syria condemned the strikes as a "declaration of war" and threatened retaliation, saying it was open to "all the options." While some analysts believe Syrian retaliation is unlikely, as a precaution, Israel deployed two of its Iron Dome missile defense batteries to its northern border and closed civilian flights to the northern Israeli city of Haifa. Meanwhile, with the increased speculation that chemical weapons have been used in the Syrian conflict, the head of the U.N. Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria Carla del Ponte said there is "strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof," that opposition fighters have used sarin gas. She did not elaborate as to when or where deadly nerve agent may have been used. Free Syrian Army spokesman Louay Almokadad dismissed the statement insisting the opposition fighters do not have nor want chemical weapons, and "don't have the mechanism to launch these kinds of weapons."

Headlines

• Libya passed a "political isolation" law, which would ban from office officials who had held a senior position under Qaddafi, in a move which could unseat Prime Minster Ali Zidan.
• China is hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for separate talks, showing a desire for a greater role in the region.
• A Kenyan court has sentenced two Iranians to life in prison after being convicted last week of possessing explosives, which they allegedly planned to use to attack Nairobi and Mombasa in 2012.
• Iraqi provincial election results show Prime Minster Nouri al-Maliki's coalition ahead in seven out of 12 provinces, including the capital, Baghdad. 
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Saudi Arabia's health ministry reported five more people have died from a new SARS-like virus and two others are undergoing treatment in an intensive care unit. The virus, know as novel coronavirus, or hCOV-EMC, is in the same family of viruses that include Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) which saw an outbreak in east Asia about 10 years ago, as well as those that cause common colds. But unlike SARS, it causes rapid kidney failure. The World Health Organization is not sure how the new virus is transmitted or how widespread it is. All of the deaths reportedly occurred in the oil-rich eastern Ahsa province. The health ministry said it was taking "all precautionary measures for persons who have been in contact with the infected people." Overall, 17 people have died from the virus of the 23 cases that have been detected in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Germany, and Britain.

Syria

Syrian forces have advanced in Homs a day after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made a rare public appearance. According to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, pro-government forces took control large parts of the strategic Wadi Sayeh district of central Homs Thursday. Opposition forces have controlled parts of Homs for over a year, and fighting in Syria's third largest city has been severe. If regime forces were to regain control of Homs, it would be a major blow to the opposition. Additionally, clashes were reported in the port of Baniyas, on the Mediterranean cost, for the first time since government forces entered the southern areas of the city in May 2011. Meanwhile, Assad visited the Umayyad Electrical Station marking May Day, the international Labor Day. In efforts to project confidence, Assad said, "They want us to be afraid," adding, "Well, we won't be afraid." At the same time, a new set of blasts hit near a shopping area as well a police headquarters in Damascus's central neighborhood of Bab Mesalla. According to Syria's state news agency, SANA, two people were killed and 28 others wounded in the attacks.

Headlines

• Saif al-Islam al-Qaddafi appeared for the second time in court on Thursday in Zintan facing charges of harming state security, but his trial was postponed until September 19.
• Militants killed at least 14 members of the anti-al Qaeda Sunni militia, the Awakening Council, in two attacks near Fallujah while the United Nations reported April was the deadliest month in Iraq since 2008.
• Flash floods in Saudi Arabia have killed 13 people and left four others missing in the heaviest rain experienced by the kingdom in over 25 years.
• The F.B.I. released photos on Wednesday seeking to find three men present at the scene of the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya in September 2012.

Arguments and Analysis

A warning from Erdogan's Turkey (Alp Altinörs, Ahram Online)

"In the Arab world, especially in Tunisia and Egypt, the so-called "Turkish model" has become one of the main propaganda slogans of reactionary forces.

The Nahda government in Tunisia and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt seem to believe that the success of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey can give them the hope of success and the popularity that they themselves are losing.

The economic realities hidden behind this glossy image of Turkey give a different image, however. It is true that the Turkish economy experienced a certain economic growth under the government of Erdogan-GDP grew between 2002 to 2012 by annual average of 4.9 percent (with the exception of 2009, in which GDP fell by 4.8 percent). In 2012, however, the growth rate dropped to 2.2 percent.

An Open Debate on Palestinian Representation (Al Shabaka: The Palestine Policy Network)

"Many Palestinians seek more effective and democratic representation, and to this end advocate reform of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). However, Osamah Khalil warned last month, in "Who are You?": The PLO and the Limits of Representation, that attempts at reform would end up saving a leadership that had lost its legitimacy and argued that a new representative body is needed to achieve Palestinian rights.

In this Al-Shabaka roundtable, policy advisors and members debate this perspective. Rana Barakat suggests that Palestinians are asking the wrong questions: The discussion should not be over whether to salvage or abandon the PLO, but how to imagine and execute liberation in political, social, cultural, and economic terms, a framing that puts the value of the PLO in context. Mouin Rabbani notes that the PLO was at its most representative when it was least democratic in conventional terms; he questions whether elections make sense in the Palestinian context, and calls for consensus on the national project as the first priority.

Dina Omar evokes Ghassan Kanafi's writing on "blind language" and its obstruction of strategic analysis and, after reviewing recent attempts to revive the PLO, concludes that it may be better to start from scratch. Fajr Harb argues strongly for reforming the PLO beginning with an overhaul of the Charter to represent Palestinians everywhere; otherwise, he warns, Palestinians risk acquiring yet another semi-functional body and becoming more divided than ever. Hani Al-Masri contends that calling for an end to the PLO without a clear alternative in sight could result in a much worse situation of fragmentation into disparate local, tribal, or sectarian groups and the complete dissolution of the Palestinian cause.

As'ad Ghanem points to the common causes at the heart of the Palestinian and Arab conditions and calls for rebuilding the Palestinian national entity after the PLO has "expired" based on seven fundamental principles. Yassmine Hamayel believes Palestinians need to dig into the early part of PLO history and the First Intifada to rediscover ways of working together to build a national identity and resistance, a time when being Palestinian was more than belonging to a political party. Aziza Khalidi calls for accelerating the transformation of an existing Palestinian global cultural space into a more cohesive "global cultural community" that would provide opportunities to create a more effective governance structure."

--By Jennifer T. Parker and Mary Casey

A powerful explosion hit the Marjeh district of central Damascus Tuesday, killing at least 13 people and injuring 70 others, according to Syrian state TV. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that nine civilians and three security men were killed and stated that the death toll is likely to rise. The blast hit near a hotel, shopping center, and a former interior ministry building and was followed by sporadic gunfire. The explosion came from a booby-trapped car. It is not clear who was behind the attack, or what was the intended target. The attack came a day after a car bombing in the Damascus neighborhood of Mezze, which targeted Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader al-Halki, who survived the attack. Opposition fighters have increased attacks on Syria's capital, but neither rebels nor the government forces have made significant gains.

Headlines

• An Israeli airstrike on Gaza killed a Palestinian militant on Tuesday hours after an Israeli settler was stabbed, shot, and killed by a Palestinian man at a West Bank bus stop in a recent escalation of violence.
• Between 20 and 30 armed militants have surrounded Libya's Justice Ministry, stepping up demands for barring Qaddafi-era officials from government offices.
• UAE President Sheikh Khalifa al-Nahyan is visiting Britain amid concerns over three jailed British men who were allegedly tortured by Dubai police.
• Egypt withdrew from global nuclear talks on Monday in Geneva, accusing other countries of not acting quickly enough. 
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U.S. officials have stated they believe that the Syrian government has used chemicals weapons, which may bring into question President Barack Obama's "red line" on Syria. In a letter to congressional leaders on Thursday, the White House stated that U.S. intelligence agencies assessed "with varying degrees of confidence" that the regime of Bashar al-Assad had used the chemical agent sarin gas on a small scale. Several officials went further to say that the intelligence agencies expressed medium to high confidence of their assessment. According to officials, the assessment was based on tests from soil samples and blood drawn from people who had been injured in the attacks in March near Aleppo and Damascus. The White House, however, is treading cautiously and said that "given the stakes involved" it would need "credible and corroborated facts" before Obama would take action. During his visit to Jerusalem last month, Obama said that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would be a "game changer" for U.S. involvement. U.S. administration officials said that the Pentagon has prepared a variety of options intended to secure chemical weapons stockpiles. A White House official said, "all options are on the table in terms of our response." The United States is joining Israel, France, and Britain in suggesting that the Assad regime has deployed chemical weapons. British Prime Minister David Cameron said there is "limited but growing evidence" that government forces have used chemical weapons, adding that "It is extremely serious, this is a war crime." 

Headlines  

• The Israeli military reported Thursday it shot down a drone off its northern coast near the border with Lebanon, bringing suspicions upon Hezbollah, which has denied responsibility.
• Iraqi soldiers have retaken the Sunni town of Suleiman Beg after gunmen retreated; meanwhile a roadside bomb killed four people outside a Sunni mosque in southern Baghdad, in four days of escalated violence.
• After nearly three decades of fighting, which has caused the deaths of about 40,000 people, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has said it will withdraw from Turkey beginning May 8.
• Jerusalem's district court ruled Thursday that women could not be arrested for praying at the Western Wall wearing prayer shawls, a practice Orthodox Jews say is reserved for men.
• Egypt's Pope Tawdros II, in his first interview since eight people were killed earlier this month in Muslim and Christian sectarian violence, said the Muslim Brotherhood led government is neglecting Christians. 
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Church sources in Aleppo and Damascus said the two bishops abducted on Monday remain missing, despite reports they had been freed. Armed militants reportedly seized Yohanna Ibrahim, head of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Aleppo and Boulou Yaziji, leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in Aleppo, in a contested area of northern Aleppo. Syrian officials have blamed a "terrorist group" while opposition fighters have denied any involvement, claiming they are working to find the bishops who are the most senior Christian figures yet to be caught up in the Syrian war. A Christian advocacy group and Al Jazeera reported Ibrahim and Yaziji were released on Tuesday, however later on, Abdel-Ahad Steifo, a Syriac member of the Syrian opposition, told Al Jazeera the bishops were still being held by their abductors. A source from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Damascus also said there was no indication of their release. Meanwhile, U.S. officials said that investigations have yet to produce conclusive evidence to confirm Israel's claims that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons. Brig. Gen. Itai Brun, Israel's senior military intelligence analyst, has cited photographic and other forms of evidence of the use of chemical weapons. However, White House spokesman Jay Carney stated, "We have not come to the conclusion that there has been that use." The Syrian regime has prevented a U.N. investigation into the alleged chemical weapons use. Soil samples were reportedly smuggled into Britain and suggested "some use of chemical weapons," however there was no evidence of who might have employed them.

Headlines

• An estimated 15 people have been killed in Iraq on Wednesday, including 12 security forces and gunmen, in apparent retaliation for Tuesday's raid by security forces on a Sunni protest camp.
• U.N. special rapporteur on violence Juan Mendez has expressed "deep disappointment" over what he said was "effectively a cancellation" of his trip to Bahrain, just days after a U.S. State Department report on human rights violations in the Gulf country was released.
• In hearings in Canada on Tuesday, Chiheb Esseghaier and Raed Jaser denied involvement in a plot to derail a train which officials say had support from al Qaeda in Iran.
• U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Egypt on Wednesday for talks that are expected to focus on preserving strong ties with the Egyptian military. 
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Iraqis voted Saturday in provincial elections in the first polling since the withdrawal of U.S. troops in December 2011. While violence has increased since the beginning of the year and over a dozen candidates (mostly Sunnis) were killed prior to the election, polling went without any major incidents. However, turnout was low with only about 50 percent of Iraqis coming out to cast their ballots, and many Iraqis expressed frustration, apathy, or disgust toward the emerging political elite. About 8,138 candidates are competing for 447 provincial council seats. However, not all of Iraq's provinces planned on participating in Saturday's election, and two largely Sunni provinces were prevented from voting due to a security risk posed by anti-Maliki protesters, according to the Shiite-led cabinet. According to Iraqi officials, preliminary results from the election may be released Wednesday. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition is expected to perform well.

Syria

Syrian opposition activists reported a "massacre" in a Damascus suburb on Sunday. After five days of fierce fighting in Jdaidet al-Fadl, a strategic town near a Syrian military base between Daraa and Damascus, at least 80 people were estimated killed, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, including three children and six women. However, the death toll is expected to be much higher as bodies were difficult to identify. According to the opposition Local Coordination Committees (LCC) at least 450 bodies were found in the town, about 300 of whom were civilians and 150 members of the Free Syrian Army. Syria's state news agency SANA said government forces "inflicted big losses on terrorists in Jdaidet al Fadl and destroyed weapons and ammunition and killed and wounded members of the terrorist groups." On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced $123 million in U.S. assistance to Syrian opposition forces, including non-lethal military equipment.

Headlines

• Egypt's Justice Minister Ahmed Mekki resigned Sunday over pressure from both Muslim Brotherhood supporters wanting to "cleanse" the judiciary and opposition activists accusing him of abandoning reform.
• Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel won Sunday's Grand Prix in Bahrain amid limited protests and heavy security.
• Kuwait has granted bail for former MP and popular opposition leader Mussallam al-Barrack, who was sentenced to five years in prison for insulting the emir.
• According to Iranian media, a new round of talks on Iran's disputed nuclear program is planned with the International Atomic Energy Agency for May 21, but the date has not been confirmed. 
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appeared in a rare television interview Wednesday, accusing the West of attempting to colonize his country. He said the West will pay a high price for what he claimed was support for al Qaeda in Syria's conflict. The Assad interview was broadcast by pro-government al-Ikhbariya TV, on Syria's Independence Day, which commemorates the end of the French occupation in 1946. Assad seemed to have hardened his stance on the war saying, "There is no option but victory," and maintained that he will not step down, asserting "no to surrender, no to submission." Additionally, he rejected claims of a sectarian element in the conflict stating, "I can say, without exaggeration, that sectarianism is less pronounced in Syria now than at the beginning of this conflict." Assad also criticized Jordan for allowing rebel fighters to move freely across the border. His comments came as the United States and Jordan announced that 200 U.S. Army specialists in intelligence, logistics, and operations are being sent to Jordan to work with Jordanian forces to mitigate border violence. Meanwhile tensions are increasing along Syria's ceasefire line with Israel over concerns that violence will escalate along the border. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his growing fears of weapons falling into the wrong hands in Syria, and stressed "we are prepared to defend ourselves if the need arises."

Headlines

• The United Arab Emirates has arrested seven members of a suspected al Qaeda-linked cell who it claimed were plotting attacks against the Gulf country.
• Egypt's public prosecutor has ordered the transfer of ousted President Hosni Mubarak from a military hospital back to Tora prison. Meanwhile, judicial sources announced the former leader's retrial will begin May 11.
• Iran has ramped up the installation of advanced centrifuges at its underground Natanz nuclear plant despite tightening international sanctions.
• Pro-democracy activists are stepping up demonstrations in Bahrain ahead of Sunday's Formula One Grand Prix.
• President of Iraq's Kurdish region, Masoud Barzani, announced parliamentary elections will be held in September.  
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Iranian officials are expecting hundreds of deaths after a major earthquake on Tuesday hit Iran near the border with Pakistan. Reports of the magnitude of the quake have ranged from 7.3 to 7.8 on the Richter scale, but it has consistently been cited as the worst in Iran in 40 years. According to the U.S. Geological Survey the epicenter was in southeastern Iran about 53 miles from the city of Khash, and it had a rare depth of nearly 9.7 miles. It was felt as far as Islamabad and Karachi in Pakistan; New Delhi, India; and in the Persian Gulf states. Causalities are expected to be high as the most severely hit area is home to nearly 2 million people, living mostly within the cities of Zahaedan, Saravan, and Khash. Tuesday's earthquake came just days after a 6.3 magnitude quake struck southwest Iran near the Bushehr nuclear power station killing at least 37 people and wounding 850 others. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake is extremely powerful, on par with the 2008 quake in China's Sichuan province that killed an estimated 68,000 people.

Syria

The heads of five U.N. agencies have made a joint call to the international community to take action to end the "cruelty and carnage" in Syria. In an article in the New York Times as well as a video, leaders from the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP), as well as the Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Valerie Amos, and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, said their agencies are working overcapacity to assist those affected by the conflict in Syria but insisted on the need for a political solution to end fighting. Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has issued a general amnesty for "crimes committed before April 16, 2013" according to state news agency, SANA. With the decree, "the death penalty will be replaced with a life sentence of hard labor." People convicted of joining the rebellion will receive a lighter sentence, however the amnesty does not apply to those who avoided conscription. It also does not apply to people convicted of smuggling weapons or drug related crimes. Syria's pro-regime al-Ikhbariya television announced it conducted an interview with Assad, which it will broadcast on Wednesday night. Assad has issued multiple amnesty decrees during the past two years of conflict, but has failed to appease the opposition. Opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib said, "We want an amnesty on crimes and the release of all innocents of which there are more than 160,000. Most importantly among them are women and children. If this happens we will say it is a token of a Syrian solution."

Headlines

• Police fired tear gas and clashed with students at the Jabreya boys school in Bahrain's capital Manama as tensions grow ahead of Sunday's Formula 1 Grand Prix.
• An Egyptian court ruled that former President Hosni Mubarak should no longer be held over his alleged involvement over the killing of protesters in the 2011 uprisings, but will remain in custody on recent corruption charges. 
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Syrian opposition activists have accused the government of committing a massacre they say was motivated by revenge. The attack was allegedly in Sanamayn, a town on the strategic highway betweenDamascus, Syria's capital, and the southern city of Daraa. According to the British based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Syrian forces began indiscriminately shelling and shooting in the town on Wednesday, destroying at least 20 houses and killing at least 45 people. One activist claimed some victims had been "summarily executed or stabbed or burned." However, the reports have not been verified. Other violence was reported across Syria including in Homs and Damascus, and according to Syrian activists, a regime aid convoy was ambushed near the suburbs of Hama. Between 125 and 149 people are estimated to have been killed Thursday. Meanwhile, a western diplomat said there is "hard evidence" that chemical weapons were used at least once in the Syrian conflict. The Syrian government requested a U.N. investigation into alleged chemical weapons in Aleppo province in March, but the assembled team of inspectors has been denied access.

Headlines

• The United States has slapped sanctions on an Iranian businessman, a Malaysian bank, and a network of companies for providing support to the National Iranian Oil Company.
• An Israeli court ruled that five "Women of the Wall" detained Thursday were not disturbing the peace, as Israel works to ease tensions between Orthodox and more progressive Jewish worshippers.
• Egypt's Shura Council approved a revised election law on Thursday for parliamentary polls expected later this year. The law has been sent to the Supreme Constitutional Court for approval.
• Twin bombings in Iraq hit outside a Sunni mosque in Kanaan, about 47 miles northeast of Baghdad, killing an estimated 14 people, as violence persists a week ahead of provincial elections.
• Tunisia has recovered $29 million it says was "stolen" by ousted President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, which was reportedly held in his wife's Lebanese bank account.
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Aftershocks have continued in southwest Iran after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday killed an estimated 37 people and injured over 850. There were over 80 aftershocks reported into Wednesday morning and the largest reached a magnitude of 5.4. According to Iran's Fars news agency, over 700 homes were destroyed, and two villages were devastated. Rescue efforts ended Wednesday, and Iran has declared a three-day mourning period. The epicenter of the earthquake was near the town of Kaki and it was felt in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Bahrain. It hit just south of the Persian Gulf city of Bushehr, where Iran's only nuclear power plant is located. According to Iranian officials as well as the Russian company that built facility, it has not sustained any damage and "is operating as usual." Iran sits on major faultlines and has been hit by several devastating earthquakes, including a 6.6 magnitude quake in 2003 in the southeastern city of Bam that killed over 25,000 people. After Tuesday's quake, Iranian media reported Wednesday that Iran is planning to build additional nuclear power reactors in the southeastern Gulf region.

Syria

Syria's opposition Islamist militant group al-Nusra Front has formally pledged allegiance to al Qaeda, a day after the Iraqi al Qaeda wing announced the merger of the two groups. The leader of al-Nusra Front, Abu Mohammad al-Golani, said in an audio tape posted online Wednesday, "The sons of Nusra Front renew their pledge (of allegiance) to the Sheikh of Jihad Ayman al-Zawahri and declare obedience." Golani, however said he was not consulted prior to the announcement by the head of Iraq's Islamic State of Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who said the two groups were joining under the name the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It is unclear, however, if Golani is denying the merger. Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary William Hague has said that Syria will be on the top of the agenda when the G8 foreign ministers gather today in Britain. He said he is pushing for "the urgent need for a political and diplomatic breakthrough on Syria." Hague will additionally hold a lunch meeting with representatives from the Syrian opposition. On the eve of the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that the United States is weighing "stepped-up" efforts to aid the opposition forces. 

Headlines

• Qatar has offered to buy $3 billion worth of Egyptian bonds, in efforts to help stimulate the country's plunging economy, adding to a $18 billion investment commitment to Egypt by 2018.
• U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry tied up a three-day trip to the Middle East saying separate talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders were "very constructive" in his efforts toward a peace deal.
• Jordan has opened a second camp to accommodate an increasing influx of Syrian refugees, which the United Nations said is expected to triple by the end of 2013.
• Saudi Arabia is building a 1,100-mile fence along its border with Yemen in efforts to ramp up security and stem migration. 
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