All Security Watch
- Algeria defends hardline response to hostage crisis
Algeria's prime minister says quick intervention was 'the only way possible' to end the standoff, but some foreign governments said they should have been more closely consulted about rescue plans.
- After deaths and escapes, Algeria hostage crisis still not over
Islamist militants have taken gas plant workers from at least ten countries - including the United States - hostage in the Saharan desert.
- Algerian hostage crisis heightens as scores are reported dead
According to Algerian news sources, some 30 Algerians and 15 foreigners have escaped the natural gas field, and another 35 hostages have reportedly died in an airstrike.
- Tahrir, the saddest square in the world?
Some days it feels like it. The reporter takes a walk through Tahrir Square, the heart of the 2011 uprising against Egypt's Hosni Mubarak.
- Trouble at the line: Another soldier killed in India-Pakistan sparring
A Pakistani soldier was shot dead yesterday along the disputed Line of Control in Kashmir, making the past 10 days the deadliest period of cross border fighting in nearly a decade.
- Mali rebel fighters better prepared than first thought: French officials
Initial French estimates of a brief conflict may be revised as militants are not breaking quickly, French airstrikes continue, and more French troops are on the way.
- Mali Islamists threaten to retaliate 'at the heart of France'
France committed its forces to a military intervention in Mali to stop the Islamists' advance toward Bamako. Today, they threatened payback.
- Mostly forgotten, Egyptian trial of US NGO workers drags on
Sam LaHood and most of the other Americans accused of running illegal nongovernmental organizations fled the country last year. But 14 Egyptians and one American continue to face jail.
- Fate of Syria's Assad complicates international peace efforts
UN envoy Brahimi implied President Assad might not have a role in a future government, while Russia says only Syrians can make that call. Meanwhile, rebels said they took control of a key military base.
- Kurdish leader's murder in Paris threatens tentative Turkish-PKK peace deal
The killings of PKK founder Sakine Cansiz and two others could be an attempt to derail negotiations between Ankara and the PKK to peacefully end the militant group's separatist campaign.
- Japan to boost military budget amid regional tensions
The budgetary shifts are relatively modest but reverse the course of the past decade. The move comes at a time when Japan is increasingly at odds with China over disputed islands in the East China Sea.
- The 'Brotherhoodization' of Egypt and its unions
Is the Muslim Brotherhood making moves to extend its control over local governments and labor unions?
- British soldier killed in latest 'insider attack' in Afghanistan
The shooting highlights concerns about the Afghan National Army's ability to assume responsibility for security as international troops begin their drawdown.
- In Egypt a new cabinet, but same old IMF problem
A day after President Mohamed Morsi reshuffled Egypt's cabinet, an IMF representative was in Cairo to discuss a $4.8 billion loan. But the cost of that needed cash appears steep.
- Assad speech resoundingly dismissed by opposition and allies
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made a rare public speech yesterday that, outside the regime, is seen as offering nothing more than many more months of violence.
- Takeaway from Assad's speech? There will be no meaningful dialogue.
President Bashar al-Assad's first speech in months dashed any hopes that a negotiated settlement to the Syrian civil war was soon possible.
- The drip, drip, drip of Egypt's bad economic news
The Egyptian pound has tumbled in recent weeks, but it could go much further. Here's why.
- Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani teen shot by Taliban, is released from UK hospital
Malala Yousafzai quickly became an international symbol of resistance to the Pakistani Taliban after she was shot for her efforts to promote girls' education.
- Libyan cop in Benghazi kidnapped
The kidnapping of the head of the criminal investigations department in Benghazi, where four US officials were killed last year, is a reminder of how tough Libya's transition remains.
- Backward step for reform in Myanmar?
Yes, Myanmar's military backed government has promised elections in 2015 and released Aun San Suu Kyi from prison. But it's still calling the shots - and violently.