All Middle East
Erdogan seeks to extradite US-based cleric, testing US-Turkey tiesFethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally, has lived in the US since 1997. Erdogan claims that Gulen's followers are trying to topple his elected government.
The ExplainerHow Secretary Kerry's bid for peace ended up in tattersToday is the deadline for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, and the two sides won't even talk to each other. A look at how things went wrong 鈥� again 鈥� and what the options are now.
Chlorine attacks sink Syria's credibility on chemical weapons dealPresident Assad is accused of gassing rebel areas, despite joining a chemical weapons convention last year. Syria has missed its latest deadline for removing its chemical weapons.
Islam, scripted: Egypt reins in Friday sermons at mosqueThe聽Friday聽sermon is perhaps Egypt's most influential forum. In a bid to stifle every potential avenue of dissent, the military government is exerting control over the pulpit.聽
For Palestinians, empathy with Jewish suffering in Holocaust is complicatedPalestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas spoke out against the Holocaust 鈥� the first Palestinian leader to do so 鈥� just weeks after a trip by Palestinians to Auschwitz.
Poppies replace tourists in Egypt's Sinai desertEgypt's unrest has starved Bedouins in the Sinai of tourist dollars. They are turning instead to illegal opium production, risking the death penalty if caught.
Syrian smugglers enjoy a free-for-all among ancient ruinsWIth no worry they'll be discovered by Syria's intelligence agents, Syrian smugglers are plundering 鈥� and selling 鈥� everything from coins to funerary busts with impunity.
Peace talks over, Israelis and Palestinians push on as solo actsFor now, unilateral moves 鈥� like the Israeli annexation of West Bank settlements and Palestinian applications for international recognition 鈥� are the only options.
Breathing new life into Lebanon's ancient art of glassblowingBy boosting the recycling of green glass and finding a new use for it, Ziad Abichaker rescued the Khalife family and their trade from the brink of extinction.
Encircled and alone, Lebanese village braces for Syrian assaultTfail, located on a spit of land that extends into Syria, is surrounded by Syrian forces on three sides. Hezbollah, a regime ally, sits on the fourth side.
Why Israel may need to rethink its assumptions on Palestinian unityIsrael criticized Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas for siding with a terrorist group instead of pursuing peace with Israel. But Mr. Abbas can鈥檛 enforce peace without unity.
Tilt towards military unbalances Egypt's ultra-conservative SalafistsSalafist politicians who supported the military-led overthrow of former President Mohamed Morsi, their former ally, are flailing as security forces extend a crackdown on Islamists.
Europe keeps wary eye on jihadists traveling to fight in SyriaAs the number of Western fighters in Syria grows, officials in Europe say the situation could eventually prove more dangerous to the West than Afghanistan.
Arab entrepreneurs face digital divide in Israel's start-up tech sceneA new office park in Nazareth for Arab tech companies is a symbol of thwarted ambitions. Less than 1 percent of government research grants for tech firms go to Arab entrepreneurs. 聽
Cease-fires bring patchy peace to Damascus neighborhoodsSyrian opposition sources says rebels are only agreeing to regime-led local cease-fires because the alternative is starvation.
Four sons killed fighting for Assad, but mother's loyalty to regime enduresOf the estimated 150,000 killed in Syria in the last three years, at least 58,000 were regime fighters 鈥� an estimated 20,000 more than the opposition.
Behind Qatar's bet on the Muslim BrotherhoodQatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood through a punishing crackdown in Egypt is in part a bet on the longevity of people-powered political movements.
FocusCan Israel's natural gas reserves pump up regional peace?Israel is preparing to export a portion of its offshore natural gas reserves. The resulting business partnerships could hurdle political obstacles to better relations with neighbors.
Iran ahead of schedule in complying with nuclear deal, UN watchdog saysThe IAEA reported that Iran has significantly reduced its stockpile of near bomb-grade enriched uranium and is moving more quickly than required to dispose of remaining stocks by mid-July.
In Upper Egypt, police avert eyes from ethnic bloodshedIn Aswan, inter-tribal and ethnic tensions run high. Dozens died last week in two days of clashes while the Egyptian police focused on breaking up a local Islamist demonstration.
