U.S. backs away from sanctions on Iran central bank

Despite weeks of tough warnings, the Obama administration has backed away from its calls to impose new and potentially crippling economic...

Syria crackdown continues, opposition says

Opposition activists said Syrian authorities showed no signs Thursday of stopping their attacks against civilians, despite a new pact...

Syria signs Arab League deal to pull back military

Under intense pressure from Arab states, Syria has signed a pact to pull its armed forces from the streets, release political prisoners...

Syrian colonel says he heads armed rebellion against Assad regime

From his heavily guarded enclave in Turkey, a leading Syrian defector says he is heading an armed rebellion against the regime of...

UNESCO Palestine decision sets off U.S.-U.N. confrontation

A decision by the United Nations' cultural organization to admit Palestine as a member state set off a confrontation between the U.S. and...

In Cairo, a war against weight is underway

After the revolution swept through Egypt last winter, Sherine Ezzat was ready for a change of her own. The 33-year-old equities trader,...

Israel to build housing to retaliate for Palestinians' U.N. moves

After a successful Palestinian bid to join the U.N. cultural agency, UNESCO, Israel said Tuesday that it would retaliate by issuing...

Tensions high a day after Gaza violence

The day after a series of Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli airstrikes killed nine militants in the Gaza Strip and an Israeli...

Syrian president's cousin pushes for democratic change

His family name is both help and handicap for Ribal Assad as he tries to push for democratic change in his homeland, Syria.

Airstrikes and rockets kill 10 people in the Gaza Strip region

The Israeli armed forces and militants based in the Gaza Strip exchanged attacks Saturday in a sharp escalation of violence that killed nine...

Mercenaries offered to help Kadafi's son flee, court says

A group of mercenaries has offered to help Moammar Kadafi's fugitive son and onetime heir apparent evade arrest and trial, an...

Syria protesters reportedly demand 'no fly' zone

Political violence killed at least 40 people across Syria on Friday, antigovernment activists said, as protesters took to the streets...

Syrian Americans in Syria feel unfairly targeted by sanctions

Ahmad is not one of Syrian President Bashar Assad's cronies.

Billions in Iraqi reconstruction money finally accounted for

A federal audit has finally accounted for nearly $6.6 billion in Iraqi reconstruction money that seemed to have disappeared after the U.S.-...

In Syria, Arab League holds talks with Assad

An Arab League delegation tasked with helping to end violence in Syria met Wednesday with President Bashar Assad, as antigovernment...

Mideast 'quartet' tries new approach with Israel, Palestinians

Frustrated in its bid to restart peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, the international group known as the Mideast quartet is...

East Jerusalem school textbooks are a war of words

When East Jerusalem teachers ask students to open their history books these days, pupils are wondering: Which one?

Moammar Kadafi buried in secret grave

The macabre and divisive drama over the decomposing remains of Moammar Kadafi appears to have concluded with his anticlimactic and anonymous...

U.S. pulls its ambassador from Syria

Robert Ford returns to Washington for now amid safety concerns prompted by what U.S. officials call a campaign of "malicious and deceitful...

American Israeli to be freed in Israel-Egypt prisoner swap

Israel and Egypt announced a prisoner swap Monday that will free American Israeli citizen Ilan Grapel, who was arrested four months ago in...

Tunisia votes in first elections since uprising

As Mondher Kouki waited to vote in the first free elections since political uprisings began sweeping the Arab world in January, he...

Tunisia vote could shape religion in public life

This nation that inspired revolution across the Arab world is facing another bellwether moment that may again foreshadow what happens...

Iraq eager to see U.S. troops leave

More than 1 million Americans have served in Iraq, and almost 4,500 lost their lives there. Now the Iraqis have given the U.S. military an...

Clinton defends troop withdrawal from Iraq

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday that the U.S. will maintain a strong military interest in Iraq after its last combat...