Syria launches major assault on strategic rebel stronghold

Syria launches major assault on strategic rebel stronghold

Opposition fighters say the bombardment of the city of Qusair, near the Lebanese border, is one of the most intense of the Syrian conflict.

Egypt's border with Gaza stays closed as protest continues

Nearly 170 demonstrators participate in a sit-in after the kidnapping of seven Egyptian soldiers last week in the Sinai Peninsula.

Syria's Assad dubious of U.S.-Russia peace initiative

In an interview with an Argentine newspaper, President Bashar Assad says he doubts the West wants a solution to the Syrian conflict. He also reiterates that he does not intend to resign.

More on the Middle East

Palestinians in West Bank's Area C suffer in limbo

Palestinians in West Bank's Area C suffer in limbo

MALEH, West Bank — In remote Palestinian villages of the northern Jordan Valley, children read by gas lamp, and water must be...

U.S. decries Russia weapons sale to Syria

U.S. decries Russia weapons sale to Syria

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Friday condemned Russia's delivery of advanced antiship missiles to Syria and its buildup...

Syrian soldiers warned daily of sectarian dangers, defectors say

Syrian soldiers warned daily of sectarian dangers, defectors say

MARAAT NUMAN, Syria — Each morning, after saluting the Syrian flag and before the warplanes take off, soldiers at army bases across...

Leak ended informant's rare opportunity, U.S. officials say

Leak ended informant's rare opportunity, U.S. officials say

WASHINGTON — Disclosure of a highly classified intelligence operation in Yemen last year compromised an exceedingly rare and...

Defense official says U.S. has authority to target terrorists anywhere

Defense official says U.S. has authority to target terrorists anywhere

WASHINGTON — A senior Pentagon official told a Senate committee Thursday that the U.S. would be at war with Al Qaeda for 15 to 20 more...

Obama says U.S. won't act alone on Syria

Obama says U.S. won't act alone on Syria

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Thursday ruled out unilateral U.S. military action in Syria even if proof emerges that Syrian forces...

Iran delays presidential election lineup

Iran delays presidential election lineup

TEHRAN — Iranians must wait until next week to find out who will be on the ballot in next month's presidential election, a key...

Morale hits a new low on Egypt stock market

Morale hits a new low on Egypt stock market

CAIRO — His phone doesn't ring and his charts are gloomy.

 Turkey leader to press Obama for greater U.S. role on Syria

Turkey leader to press Obama for greater U.S. role on Syria

WASHINGTON — President Obama faces a fresh test Thursday of his determination to steer clear of the civil war in Syria when he...

Turkey bombings prompt outcry over support for Syria rebels

Turkey bombings prompt outcry over support for Syria rebels

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Deadly weekend car bombings in a southern Turkish city have galvanized domestic opposition to the government's...

Syria rejects Turkish accusations in deadly bombings

Syria rejects Turkish accusations in deadly bombings

BEIRUT — Syria on Sunday rejected Turkish charges that Damascus was behind a pair of devastating car bomb attacks in southern Turkey...

Two last-minute candidates stir up Iran presidential race

Two last-minute candidates stir up Iran presidential race

TEHRAN — The run-up to Iran's June presidential election took a dramatic turn Saturday with last-minute candidacy announcements by two...

Administration emails raise new questions on Libya attack

Administration emails raise new questions on Libya attack

WASHINGTON — Email traffic exchanged during the drafting of talking points about the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound...

Five killings at Camp Liberty in Iraq: Calculation or despair?

Five killings at Camp Liberty in Iraq: Calculation or despair?

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, WASH. — The court-martial of Army Sgt. John Russell concluded Saturday with a military judge asked to decide...

Car bombs in Turkey kill at least 42 near Syria border

Car bombs in Turkey kill at least 42 near Syria border

BEIRUT — At least 42 people were reported dead Saturday in a pair of car bombings in the southern Turkish town of Reyhanli, the latest...

Congress speaks with a loud, muddled voice on Syria

Congress speaks with a loud, muddled voice on Syria

WASHINGTON — Sen. Dianne Feinstein made headlines recently by demanding a forceful U.S. response to Syria's use of chemical weapons...

Sword of division is poised over Iraq

Sword of division is poised over Iraq

BAGHDAD — Less than a year and a half after the last U.S. troops left, Iraq's political leaders are openly debating the prospect of...

U.S. reassures Syria rebels about its stance on Assad

U.S. reassures Syria rebels about its stance on Assad

BEIRUT — The new U.S.-Russia peace initiative for Syria will inevitably lead to the departure of President Bashar Assad, Secretary...

Tunisian man charged in terrorist case

NEW YORK — A Tunisian citizen who prosecutors say radicalized one of the men accused of plotting to derail a Toronto-to-New York...

Senate bill aims to toughen Iran sanctions

Senate bill aims to toughen Iran sanctions

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Wednesday that would sharply toughen U.S. economic sanctions on...

Envoy describes night of Benghazi attack

Envoy describes night of Benghazi attack

WASHINGTON — Minutes after Greg Hicks learned that the perimeter of the U.S. mission in Benghazi had been breached by men with guns,...

U.S. and Russia to seek Syria peace talks

U.S. and Russia to seek Syria peace talks

MOSCOW — The United States and Russia agreed Tuesday to try to bring together the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad and...

Iranian presidential candidates register for June election

Iranian presidential candidates register for June election

TEHRAN — Iranian presidential candidates began registering Tuesday for the national election next month to choose a successor to...

Israel says strikes in Syria target arms for Hezbollah

Israel says strikes in Syria target arms for Hezbollah

JERUSALEM — With three airstrikes against Syria since January, Israel has inserted itself forcefully into the "Arab Spring's" most...

Syria blames Israel for predawn blasts near Damascus

BEIRUT — Huge explosions were reported in Damascus early Sunday, just two days after a reported Israeli airstrike in Syria targeting...

Desperate migrants meet with misery in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula

Iraqi inquiries find excessive force in Sunni protest camp raid

BAGHDAD — Iraqi security used disproportionate force, including shooting unarmed civilians, during a raid on an encampment of Sunni...

Lebanon border region caught in Syria conflict

ARSAL, Lebanon — When Mustafa Ezzedine, a Sunni Muslim from this Sunni border town, wanted to buy some furniture, he undertook a...

Les Rois Hotel on Egypt's Red Sea is alcohol-free

CAIRO — Hold the martini, please.

U.S. considers sending arms to Syria rebels

WASHINGTON — The White House is considering providing weapons to the Syrian rebels, officials said Tuesday, but no decision is...

As Syria fighting grows, young professionals leave Damascus

DAMASCUS, Syria — White daffodils and violet daisies waxed aromatic from the crystal vase on the young couple's dining table....

Car bombs in 4 Iraqi cities kill at least 22

BAGHDAD — Shiite-dominated areas in southern and central Iraq were rocked Monday by car bomb explosions that killed at least 22 people...

4 Iraqi soldiers killed at Sunni checkpoint

BAGHDAD — Four Iraqi soldiers were shot dead Saturday, the day after Sunni Arab tribes in the restive western province of Anbar...

Iraq shuts down 10 television channels

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government ordered 10 predominantly Sunni Muslim satellite television channels to cease broadcasting Sunday,...

U.S. doubts on Syria lie in how sarin exposure occurred

WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence agencies unanimously agree that Syrians have been exposed to deadly sarin gas in recent weeks, but they...

White House suspects Syria used chemical weapons, seeks inquiry

WASHINGTON — The White House said for the first time that there was evidence Syria had used chemical weapons in its civil war, but...

Bashar Assad's forces reportedly take key Syria township

BEIRUT — The Syrian government says its forces this week seized a strategic township east of Damascus after weeks of fighting, but...

Israel says it shot down drone near Lebanon

JERUSALEM — Israel said Thursday that it shot down an unmanned aircraft that had entered Israeli airspace off the northern coast...

Egypt president sees 'deep state' as enemy within

CAIRO — President Mohamed Morsi casts himself as a leader navigating a landscape bristling with conspiracies by...

Israel's claim about Syria chemical weapons highlights 'red line'

JERUSALEM — Israel's accusation that Syria used chemical weapons against rebels raises the prospect that Damascus crossed what...

Iraq violence sparks fears of a Sunni revolt

BEIRUT — Security forces for the Shiite-led Iraqi government raided a Sunni protest camp in northern Iraq on Tuesday, igniting...

Egypt justice minister resigns after protests

CAIRO — Egypt's besieged justice minister has submitted his resignation after protests over the weekend by Islamists, who want to...

Egypt street vendors, store owners say Morsi is bad for business

GIZA, Egypt — The woman with crates of unsold tomatoes breathed in the boisterous music of slum life: creaking shutters, squawking...

John Kerry asks Turkish leader to delay Gaza trip

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Secretary of State John F. Kerry urged Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to delay a planned visit to...

Syria rebel coalition slams backers for failing to stop attacks

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Divisions between Syrian rebels and their foreign supporters came into focus Saturday as a leading opposition group...

In Jerusalem, activist hopes to restore Gypsy pride

JERUSALEM — Growing up poor and motherless in the slums of Jerusalem's Old City, Amoun Sleem dropped out of school at age 7 after...

Britain, France press for U.N. inquiry on Syria chemical arms use

WASHINGTON — The British and French governments have asked the United Nations to investigate what they believe is credible evidence...

Secretary of State John Kerry urges against new Iran sanctions

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John F. Kerry implored Congress on Thursday not to impose tough new sanctions on Iran, warning that...

Step toward possible military intervention in Syria

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is sending about 200 troops to Jordan, the vanguard of a potential U.S. military force of 20,000 or more...

Syria's Bashar Assad warns 'terrorism' will come back to West

BEIRUT — Syrian President Bashar Assad warned in a television interview Wednesday that the war against his government risked spreading...

John Kerry says need for action in Israel-Palestinian conflict is urgent

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John F. Kerry told Congress on Wednesday that any chance of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict...

Syrian opposition begins rewriting history in textbooks

ANTAKYA, Turkey — In newly printed textbooks at dozens of Syrian refugee schools, a small piece of Middle East geography has been...

Syria amnesty could free up to 7,000 inmates

BEIRUT — Syrian President Bashar Assad issued an order Tuesday freeing up to 7,000 prison inmates, but it was not clear whether the...

Egypt's Coptic Christians live in fear of Islamic extremists

CAIRO — The Mass was celebrated as if from centuries past: A bearded priest veiled in incense chanted for grace in a church along...

Egypt president uses tweets to convey kinder, gentler side

CAIRO — President Mohamed Morsi, at least for the moment, appears to be channeling his softer side.

Intrigue swirls as Iran prepares to choose next president

TEHRAN — The reform movement that took to the streets to protest alleged vote-rigging in Iran's last presidential election has been...

Egyptian town haunted by deadly accident

Syria car bombing kills at least 15 in Damascus

DAMASCUS, Syria — A suicide car bombing in central Damascus killed at least 15 people and wounded 53 on Monday, Syrian state...

Old animosities thrive in post-Kadafi Libya

ZINTAN, Libya — The prized scion of Moammar Kadafi is a prisoner of tribesmen in these mountains of scrub and ocher rock.

Iran nuclear talks appear headed for a stall

WASHINGTON — Iranian officials did not directly respond Friday to the latest American-backed offer to curb Tehran's disputed nuclear...

UC Riverside student leaders revoke divestment resolution

After much debate that brought the passions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to campus, UC Riverside's student government has reversed...

Syria rebel fighters not ready to give up power after war

JABAL AL-ZAWIYA, Syria — The rebel commander Jamal Maroof was fiddling with his iPhone when a young man brought him news.

In Egypt, a satirist facing charges remains irreverent

CAIRO — He arrived with a prankster's aplomb.

Humanitarian aid beyond the reach of many Syrians

REYHANLI, Turkey — The Syrian opposition fighter arrived unexpectedly at Dr. Mazen Kewara's office at the Syrian American Medical...

Balancing needs of women, ultra-Orthodox men in Israel's military

TEL AVIV — Israel's highest-ranking female soldier says efforts to draft male ultra-Orthodox students into the Israel Defense Forces...

Ten years after Iraq war began, Iran reaps the gains

BAGHDAD — Ten years after the U.S.-led invasion to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the geopolitical winner of the war appears...

Ex-U.S. soldier accused of joining Al Qaeda-linked group in Syria

WASHINGTON — Federal authorities arrested and charged a 30-year-old U.S. Army veteran turned Middle East "freedom fighter" with...

Artists in Egypt work in a tense atmosphere

CAIRO — The Muslim women in Marwa Adel's photographs are shadows, repressed by custom, religion, marriage and regret. While nude,...

Dror Moreh's 'The Gatekeepers' sheds light on Israel's Shin Bet

Israel's Shin Bet — think of it as a combination of the CIA and the FBI — prides itself on secrecy. So when documentary...

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