* Iranians take missile selfies, deride US to mark revolution Anniversary comes 2 weeks ahead of crucial parliamentary elections, where President Rouhani hopes for shift away from hard-liners.
* Syria conflict: Bashar Assad vows to retake whole country Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that he intends to retake "the whole country" from rebel forces.
* Turkey's Haunted Border with Syria Six years ago, Turkey's official narrative over its leaders' Kodak-moment exchanges of pleasantries with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Damascus promised the creation of a Muslim bloc resembling the European Union.
* Netanyahu: Situation not ripe for two-state solution PM tells Knesset Israel can't afford to sign an agreement with Palestinians until they agree to recognize Jewish state, demilitarize their own.
* Israel, Turkey begin new normalization talks Next set of covert rapprochement talks start in Geneva, as Ankara continues to demand Israel lift naval blockade on Hamas.
* Pope Francis in historic talks with Russian Orthodox leader Pope Francis has begun a historic first meeting with Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, in Cuba.
* Kurds seize key military base in northern Syria Rebels left reeling after losing their only military airport in Aleppo province, while Kurds keep on advancing.
* Kurds turn to 'great power' Russia as Turkey fumes 'Russia not just an actor, it writes the script'; Kurds turn to increasingly assertive Russia - which is happy to oblige in swipe at Turkey.
* Erdogan to EU: 'We're not idiots,' threatens to send refugees Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out against the EU on Thursday (11 February) and threatened to send millions of refugees in Turkey to the bloc's member states, just as NATO agreed to deploy ships in the Aegean Sea to ease the migrant crisis.
* Nato orders fleet to deploy in Aegean Sea 'to help end Europe's refugee crisis' The Nato fleet is being deployed to the Aegean Sea immediately in a bid to end the flow of refugees crossing the sea into Europe from Turkey.