All Middle East
- Tunisian town's mourning of a suicide highlights softer side of Salafism
Salafism has a reputation for intolerance and violence. But one Tunisian town's response to a local suicide, considered a sin, shows a different side.
- The Lebanese sheikh who's leading a sit-in against Hezbollah
Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir has shot to fame by rallying to the cause of Syria's rebels and taking on the most powerful faction in Lebanon.
- Syrian refugees flood Jordan, straining resources
The rate of Syrian refugee arrivals to Jordan has tripled this week as the civil war there deepens. That's a reminder that Syria's problems are spreading beyond its borders.
- Fifty years after Algerian freedom, youths take fresh look at France
Younger Algerians have a more pragmatic approach to France, Algeria's former colonial master. They view engagement with the West as a necessity, especially for creating jobs through investment.
- Israel's 'Occupy' movement struggles to get its groove back
Israel's social protest movement is struggling against divided leadership, a stronger government, and the perception that last summer's protests accomplished little.
- Iran nuclear talks: limited progress as both sides send military 'messages'
Technical talks today in Istanbul ended with agreement to meet again. The talks came against a show of force by both Iran and the United States.
- In Tunisia, leaders struggle to kick the problems that toppled Ben Ali
Rioting broke out in Tunisia earlier this month after rumors that a local art exhibit insulted Islam. But most of the protesters were not ultra-religious – just young, poor, and angry.
- The rules of love, as told by an Iranian cleric
Cleric Hossein Dehnavi’s comparisons of lovemaking in marriage to jihad have ensured that religious bookshops sell out of their stock of the new DVD every afternoon.
- In Israel, a push to learn Arabic
The current decline in the study of Arabic in Israeli schools could compromise coexistence efforts and the military's ability to gather intelligence. But one program is countering that trend.
- Why Turkey is holding back, for now, after Syria downed its jet
NATO and Turkey talked tough about Syria's shooting down of a Turkish military jet at an emergency summit in Brussels today. But they sought to calm fears of a broader escalation.
- Syria's chemical weapons: How secure are they?
Syria has been amassing chemical weapons since the 1980s and is believed to have a larger stockpile than any other country that has faced ethnic civil war.
- Syrian Army defections probably not decisive
By and large Bashar al-Assad's military is holding firm, in part because Alawites – who dominate the officer corps – believe they have little choice but to stick together or face annihilation.
- Egypt's president-elect Morsi vows to unite a divided nation
Egypt's president-elect Mohamed Morsi promised to unite a divided nation in a victory speech tonight. Not everyone is taking the Muslim Brotherhood leader at his word.
- Muslim Brotherhood's Morsi becomes Egypt's first civilian president
The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi was declared Egypt's first civilian president since the monarchy was overthrown in 1952. But he will share power with a military suspicious of his 84-year-old Islamist organization.
- Timeline: Egypt's revolution
- As showdown with military looms, Egypt liberals back Muslim Brotherhood
The Egyptian military has offered the Muslim Brotherhood a choice: give us sweeping powers, or lose the presidency.
- Russia warns that Iran nuclear talks too slow to forestall conflict
Russian is uniquely placed to mediate between Iran and world powers, but analysts say Moscow's role is limited in part by a lack of compromise from Washington and Tehran.
- FocusIs Egypt's revolution over?
Tahrir Square is filling again today, but it no longer holds the symbolic power for Egyptians that it did in early 2011. Now it's more of a democracy ghetto.
- Iran nuclear talks yield only one agreement: Let's meet again
Absent from the five marathon sessions in Moscow over Iran's nuclear program were any new incentives, from either side, to signal that compromise is imminent or even possible.
- Tahrir Square fills again as protesters contest Egypt's military rule
Thousands of protesters gathered in Tahrir Square Tuesday to criticize the Egyptian military's power grab in the shadow of Sunday's presidential elections.