All Middle East
How Saudi aid made a construction worker a top Syrian rebel commanderThe Saudis appear to have chosen Jamal Maarouf as leader of the Syrian Revolutionaries' Front by ensuring he remains flush with cash. But money can't command loyalty forever.
Whose water is it anyways? Resentment pools on Israel-Lebanon borderA Lebanese village well, newly crucial amid water shortages, is on the wrong side of the boundary between Israel and Lebanon, as is an add-on to a riverfront resort.
In Libya, media freedom isn't bulletproofAfter decades of severe censorship, media outlets are embracing the opportunity to broadcast freely. But they still have no protection if they anger powerful people.
Yemen's latest, greatest threat: Twitter?Expanding social media use means the Yemeni government can no longer spin its anti-Al Qaeda campaign as it wants, particularly when it comes to alleged US drone strikes.
海角大神s underwrite uptick in Ukrainian Jews immigrating to IsraelThe number of Ukrainian Jews arriving in Israel more than doubled to 777 in the first four months of 2014. 海角大神 Zionists are helping to pay for some of these moves.聽
On calm campus in northern Iraq, uneasy thoughts of BaghdadThe Monitor has followed the Iraqi Methboub family since 2002. Daughter Amal is flourishing at university, but worries about her family in Baghdad preoccupy her.聽
Educated and ambitious, Qatari women nudge their way into the officeQatari women outnumber men 2 to 1 at university, but a lack of work opportunities used to mean that a college degree was the end game. That's changing.
UN hopes its second Syrian refugee camp in Jordan gets it rightJordan opened Azraq, a second UN-run Syrian refugee camp, this week, rejiggering everything from food choices to toilet location based on three years of trial and error at Zaatari.
In West Bank, good Samaritans seek foreign bridesSamaritans, an ancient, shrinking religious sect, are replenishing their ranks by scouting brides from Ukraine and other countries.聽
Learning to say sorry in the Middle EastIn the past week, not one but two leaders 鈥� Turkish and Palestinian 鈥� made rare acknowledgements of the suffering of the 'other.' Critics have called the gestures opportunistic.
Fragmented and fearful, Iraqis go to the pollsAs Iraqis head to the polls Wednesday for national elections, the first since US troops left, the country is more fragmented and tilted toward extremes than at any time in the last decade.
With mass sentences, Egyptians seek justice, but come away empty-handedThe same judge who sentenced 529 Egyptians to death in Minya last month sentenced another 683 defendants to death Monday. The verdicts portray a judicial system run amok.
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.
