All Middle East
Turkey sees promise in pivoting northWith its attempts to join the EU stalled and its leadership role in the Middle East marred by Syria's conflict, Turkey is turning its attention to a less tumultuous border 鈥� the Black Sea.
Poll: Spike in Palestinian support for military operations against IsraelSpurred by the recent Gaza conflict, continued settlement expansion, and a stalled peace process, Palestinian support for a military operation against Israel has jumped 20 percentage points in a year.
Israel tells underweight models to gain weight or get off the runwayIn a bid to combat growing rates of eating disorders, Israel's 'photoshop law' bans unnaturally thin models from the catwalk and restricts ads that are digitally altered to make models look skinnier.
Amid bloodshed and chaos, Syrian wages a war for neutral reportingRami Jarrah, a Syrian anti-regime activist now living in Cairo, is launching Syria's first non-state-run news outlet to provide something he sees as sorely missing: objective reporting.
Egypt's opposition still hopeful, despite many defeatsEgypt's opposition has been notoriously disorganized and unable to rally its supporters. However, it may have finally been beaten badly enough to overcome its troubles.聽
FocusObama's pivot to Asia? Middle East will still demand attention in 2013.The popular unrest of the last two years has left the Middle East volatile as 2013 kicks off.
Syrian conflict threatens to fracture IraqSemi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan and the central Iraqi government are on a collision course as the Kurds increasingly side with the Syrian opposition and Baghdad stands by the Assad regime.聽
Tunisia seeks gold in former dictator's assetsTunisia has been aggressively pursuing the assets of former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his associates, seizing bank accounts, luxury homes, and one-of-a-kind luxury cars.
Syrian moderates fear being edged out of uprisingSome of Syria's moderate opposition members worry they are losing a place in the fight against the regime as better-armed, more experienced hard-line groups proliferate.聽
Lebanese border means little in Syria's civil warWith Sunni villages sheltering Syrian rebel fighters and Shiite villages shipping Hezbollah fighters across the border, northern Lebanon is now just another frontline in Syria's war.
Aleppo's fledgling government reflects a society shaped by warRepresentation on Aleppo's Transitional Revolutionary Council will be determined partially by the number of each community's residents killed in the uprising and the level of destruction there.聽
In Hezbollah stronghold, Lebanese 海角大神s find respect, stabilityIn a 海角大神 home in a Shiite suburb of Beirut, images of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah share mantel and wall space with the Virgin Mary.聽
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.
