CLIMATE CHANGE: ‘High Glaciers Safe From Warming’

Global warming will melt far less of the glaciers of Central Asia than of those in other mountain ranges, shielding the people who depend on them for water from the effects of climate change for several decades at least, scientists say.

MIDEAST: Fighting Settlers’ Impunity and Immunity

The outer stone walls of the unused 12th century Ayyubid mosque in the Israeli centre of the city carried the black scars of attempted arson and hatred. "Price tag", the signature read.

Soviet-Armed Iraq Switches Allegiance to U.S. Weapons Systems

As the United States withdraws the last of its 50,000 troops after a nearly nine-year military occupation of Iraq, visiting Iraqi President Nuri al-Maliki had one final request: billions of dollars worth of U.S. weapons for his ragtag armed forces.

U.S.: Former Top Aide Offers Insight on Mideast and Iran

In his first public address since departing from the White House, Dennis Ross, former top Middle East aide to U.S. President Barack Obama, called for increased sanctions on Iran, a careful approach to new Arab regimes and a low-key approach to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Palestinian Flag Flies at UN Agency

Amidst a sudden downpour of rain here, the Palestinian flag was raised at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on Tuesday, marking Palestine’s admission to the specialised agency.

U.S.: New Republican Front-runner Roils Mideast Waters

Newt Gingrich has a well-documented reputation for bomb throwing, but his latest assertions about Palestinians threaten to blow at least two decades of U.S. Middle East diplomacy to pieces.

LIBYA: Old Ways Under a New Flag

"They would call you a Gaddafist if you drove one of those 4 X 4 cars," says Bashar, emerging from one of those traffic jams in Tripoli. "Today almost every rebel commander has one."

ISRAEL: Togetherness Takes Wings

Hasn't anyone dreamt once of taking refuge under the shelter of a bird's wings, coiled up in its feathers, catching a bird's eye view of what looks from above like paradise?

TUNISIA: Neo-Liberalism the Issue, Not Islam

On the verge of officially forming a coalition government to run the country and rewrite the nation's pre-revolution constitution, Tunisia's dominant, Islamist political party Ennahda has come under fire for its economic neo-liberalism, both from opponents and from coalition partners.

SYRIA: Civilians Pay Heavy Price for Political Deadlock

These days in Syria, "people dare not step a foot outside their homes because they're being shot at. And so they pass food from home to home by ropes through windows," Navi Pillay, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters Friday.

MIDEAST: Saudi Warning Could Escalate Nuclear Arms Race

The world's nuclear powers - both declared and undeclared - have come primarily from Asia: China, India, Pakistan and possibly North Korea.

MIDEAST: Life Without Water a Growing Threat

"Taking our water is not like taking a toy. Water is life, they cannot play with our lives like this," says Maher Najjar, deputy general director of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) of the recent Israeli threat to cut electricity, water and infrastructure services to the occupied Gaza Strip.

OP-ED: How About an Israeli Destruction Freeze?

Much was made of what many in the media described as a "confrontation" between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama over the building of illegal Israeli settlements (or colonies) in Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Civil War Looms as Syrian Protests Grow Increasingly Complex

As the Syrian uprising enters its ninth month, it faces some of its most daunting challenges to date, despite the consolidation of near-unanimous international condemnation of the Syrian government.

Stepping Towards Nuclear-Free Middle East

Representatives from over 65 organisations and countries convened in Amman, Jordan last week in an effort to lay the groundwork for the United Nations' goal of creating a Middle East without nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

Arab Spring Set to Music

The ability of artists to lyrically articulate the growing rage amongst disgruntled youth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has seen the emergence of politicised rap as a hidden weapon during the region's Arab Spring.

Q&A: ICC Referral Crucial to Ending Violence in Syria

"The violent crackdown against peaceful protesters and civilians in the Syrian Arab Republic has continued... since March of this year. More than 4,000 people have reportedly been killed. Tens of thousands have been arrested."

BOOKS-US: Deconstructing Thomas Friedman

A new book on the influential New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman sets out to debunk his hawkish, neoliberal views, accusing him of overt racism, factual errors and skewed judgments on issues ranging from the U.S. invasion of Iraq to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

ISRAEL: ‘Don’t be Right, be Clever’

Is his reticence vis-à-vis the Palestinians justified? Has his unsympathetic view of the convulsions gripping the Middle East conquered the world's leaders? Is he right about Iran's nuclear intentions?

EGYPT: Round One Goes to the Islamists

Islamists appear poised for a landslide victory in the first round of Egypt's parliamentary elections, putting them on track to secure a majority in the country's first parliament since the fall of president Hosni Mubarak.

Most Israelis Favour a Nuclear-Free Middle East, Poll Shows

A clear majority of Israeli Jews would support a nuclear weapons-free Middle East, even if it meant that Israel too would have to give up its stockpile of nuclear weapons.