All Middle East
- With Mosul under siege, an unlikely chance to save ISIS-enslaved Yazidis?
When Iraqi forces moved on Mosul, IS moved enslaved Yazidis back to Syria, frustrating activists trying to free them. But their relocation might make it easier to find and rescue them.
- For Iraqi family, son's role in battling ISIS speaks to hopes for national unity
A soldier's life and his death in Mosul is a profile of Iraqi determination to fight ISIS, and a lesson in why even a Shiite from southern Iraq is willing to shed blood to liberate a predominantly Sunni city to the north.
- First LookSaudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal makes plea to allow women to drive
One of the most outspoken members of Saudi Arabia's royal family urged the kingdom to let women drive as more working-class women carve more rights for themselves.
- With Aleppo poised to fall, Syria's Assad is set to rise
A victory would put the regime in a potentially advantageous position to recapture the 'essential Syria' – the western half of the country.
- First LookAleppo exodus: How can 16,000 people be helped?
The United Nation's Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator said in a statement Tuesday that he was 'extremely concerned' about the fighting in Aleppo, as government and allied forces seek to take back the city from rebels.
- Their town now liberated, Iraqi Christians talk of life under ISIS
The historic heartland of Assyrian Christians in Iraq was seized by the militants in 2014, and nearly all fled in the face of demands to convert, pay a tax, or die.
- FocusWhy schools have become a battleground in Turkey
Turkey's education system has long been shaped by secular tradition. But July's coup attempt has given President Erdoğan new license to remold an institution he sees as central to his goal of further Islamizing Turkish society and the state.
- First LookIran to US: honor nuclear deal, or else
Momentum is building in Washington and among Iranian hard-liners to oppose the deal and renew sanctions against Iran.
- For jihadists, Trump election brings a change in strategy
Jihadists want to convince Muslims that the West is at war with Islam. Statements by Trump and his team are changing how they do that.
- FocusIraq after ISIS: At site of massacre, bridge-building replaces blood feud
An ISIS slaughter in Tikrit in June 2014 terrorized Iraq's Army and drove a wedge between Sunnis and Shiites. But months of determined bridge-building have broken free of the powerful tribal impulse for revenge.
- Israeli hard-liners jubilant over Trump. Is that premature?
Members of Israel's hard right voiced elation at Trump's election and the end of the 'era of the Palestinian state.' But the president-elect has also indicated he might want to cut a deal 'for humanity's sake.'
- Egypt overturns Morsi’s death sentence. What about others on death row?
The decision makes it unlikely that the former president will be executed, although he remains imprisoned on a life sentence.
- Is US trying to defeat ISIS too quickly?
Opening a second front against ISIS in Raqqa, Syria, while fighting is already under way in Mosul, Iraq, could cause problems.
- The ExplainerThe Trump presidency: What will it change in the Middle East?
US relations with Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey are some of the most challenging in the region, and Donald Trump's election looks likely to unsettle them all.
- Afghan official: Taliban attack German consulate, killing 4
The Taliban issued a statement saying they had sent suicide attackers to the consulate.
- Why the Trump White House may not change much in Syria
Despite the president-elect's campaign-trail promise to 'knock out ISIS,' experts say that Trump's options in Syria are already limited.
- How Turkey's arrest of Kurdish lawmakers risks further civil strife
The Turkey-Kurdish peace process that Erdoğan once championed hits a new low, felled by Syria's conflict and his own ambition.
- First LookIsrael declines invitation to Paris Middle East peace conference
Israel rejected an invitation from France to a Middle East peace conference in Paris later this year, saying that it wanted to engage in direct talks with the Palestinians.
- Egypt tiptoes toward a 'breaking point'
Another Arab Spring? Not likely. But Egyptians' frustration is rising over President Sisi's heavy hand and a faltering economy. Sisi floated the currency on Thursday under pressure from the IMF, with which Egypt is negotiating a loan.
- In deeply divided Israel, Jewish and Arab women build case for peace
At a time when peace is not high on the Israeli public agenda, Women Wage Peace unites Arab and Jewish activists with a simple demand: that leaders just 'reach an agreement.'