All Middle East
Pressure mounts on Obama to change tactics on IranIn a letter to the White House, Iran experts insisted diplomacy, not further sanctions, will have the best results. But US actions since then indicate more sticks than carrots.聽
Syrian rebel infighting could take dangerous turn if Assad fallsIf President Bashar al-Assad falls and the disparate Syrian opposition groups lose their common enemy, their ranks will likely fracture 鈥� perhaps violently.聽
Israel moves to further seal off Jerusalem from West BankIsraeli officials approved plans for 2,612 homes on Givat HaMatos, a hill between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Critics say the move would so fragment Palestinian areas that drawing borders of a future state would be unworkable.- Lebanon, Israel take step toward claiming big oil, gas depositsLebanon and Israel dispute their maritime boundary in the eastern聽Mediterranean, which contains some 8.5 percent of the world's oil and gas under the seabed.
If change comes to Jordan, it won't start in AmmanSince street protests began last year, Jordanians have warily eyed the southern towns that make up the regime's loyalty base. Residents there remain divided over where they stand on reform.
FocusHow some Israelis see the sacred in settlementsThe expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank is driven by more than politics and security concerns. Religious Zionists say settling the land is ushering in a messianic age.- FocusWhy some 海角大神s back Israeli settlers in the West BankUS Evangelicals' support for Jewish settlement of the West Bank has grown in the last decade or so, giving Israel greater traction in Washington.
Jihadis bankroll aid efforts in Syria to win followersAmong those with money to throw around in the scrum for influence are groups like聽Jabhat al-Nusra, which the State Department says has ties to Al Qaeda in Iraq.
Referendum on constitution reveals a deeply divided EgyptThe party tied to President Mohamed Morsi says that nearly 57 percent of voters supported the new constitution, while about 43 percent voted against it. A second vote comes later this week.
Egypt's referendum a vote on Morsi as well as the constitutionAs Egyptians vote today in a referendum on a controversial draft constitution, the debate is dominated by President Mohamed Morsi's actions, not the document.聽
Syrian opposition forces say they are on brink of major victory in AleppoIf Syrian rebels succeed in breaching an infantry school in Aleppo, they will gain some strategically critical pieces of territory, a windfall of supplies, and possibly a slew of regime defectors.聽
West Bank welcomes Hamas back with excitement - and apprehensionStill riding a wave of popularity after the Gaza war, Hamas held celebratory rallies throughout the West Bank. But worries about a return to the chaos and violence of the intifada are bubbling up.
Is Morsi a president for all Egyptians, or just Brothers?President Mohamed Morsi's reliance on Muslim Brotherhood activists to put down protests around the palace has further alienated some Egyptians from his rule.
The ExplainerWhy Israeli settlements debate is heating up againCritics say the placement and size of a newly proposed Israeli build-out would doom a two-state deal.
'Insulting religion': Blasphemy sentence in Egypt sends a chillBlasphemy cases are on the rise in Egypt. Passage of the draft constitution, with a clause prohibiting insulting prophets, could result in more decisions like today's sentence.
Family of journalist Austin Tice struggles with silence on kidnappingAustin Tice was kidnapped near Damascus in August. His family went to Beirut recently in hopes of extending their reach into Syria and finding out more about who might be holding him.
Vote no or boycott? Egypt opposition undecided as referendum loomsAnger over a draft constitution popular with Islamists has galvanized Egypt's opposition. But secular opponents of President Morsi still haven't decided what to do about Saturday's referendum.
As Syria's rebels close in, Assad has three optionsThe most likely is a retreat into the mountains controlled by his minority Alawite community.聽
Egypt's Morsi backs off decree, but fails to assuage protestersPresident Mohamed Morsi held firm in rejecting what had been a key demand of the opposition: delaying a referendum scheduled for Saturday on a new constitution.
As Egypt's Morsi remains defiant, a former top Brother speaks outA former senior leader of the Muslim Brotherhood outlined his disappointment in President Mohamed Morsi today, who is rushing through a new Egyptian constitution.
