U.S.-LIBYA: Obama Claims Vindication

The death of former Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi was hailed here Thursday by both the administration of President Barack Obama and some of his Republican foes as the latest in a series of victories for U.S. foreign policy.

Rights Groups Demand General Assembly Action on Syria

A coalition of 29 international human rights organisations is appealing to the 193-member General Assembly to act "immediately" to help halt the unbridled violence in Syria which has claimed the lives of over 3,000 people, mostly civilians, since the political protests began last March.

As 2012 Polls Loom, Caution’s the Word for Obama Foreign Policy

U.S. presidents seeking a second term are not known for taking risks in foreign policy in election years.

OP-ED: A Long and Winding Road to the End for Gaddafi

I came across an anti-Gaddafi demonstration for the first time in February 2011 in Baghdad's Tahrir square.

Doubts Shadow Egyptian Election

Egypt's interim government has begun accepting candidacy applications for parliamentary polls slated to begin Nov. 21. But as the country prepares for its first post-Mubarak elections, a number of political parties say they are considering boycotting the contest.

Finland to Host Conference for WMD-Free Middle East

After much delay, Finland has been chosen to host a 2012 conference to establish a zone free of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in the Middle East. The meeting aims to bring together all Middle Eastern countries, some of which share a long history of disagreement, such as Iran and Israel.

Rights Groups Praise U.S. Hold on Bahrain Arms Sale

A State Department announcement that it will delay the shipment of 53 million dollars in new arms to Bahrain pending the results of an international commission investigating alleged abuses by the kingdom's security forces earlier this year has evoked mixed reactions from human rights groups here.

Turkish Troops Enter Iraq After PKK Attacks

Turkish forces have launched an incursion into the mountains of northern Iraq following simultaneous attacks by Kurdish separatists in southeastern Turkey that killed at least 26 soldiers.

UZBEKISTAN: Forced Child Labour Kills

A 13-year-old boy has become the latest victim of state-sponsored forced child labour in Uzbekistan as its regime continues to ignore boycotts and international condemnation of its practices during the country’s annual cotton harvest.

Syrian National Council Seeks Legitimacy At Home and Abroad

As the death toll from more than six months of popular unrest climbs past the 3,000 mark, the opposition to the government of President Bashar al-Assad is intensifying efforts to present a unified face to both the outside world and the Syrian people.

World Bank Reveals Crippling Donor Dependency in West Bank, Gaza

The World Bank drew attention to the ongoing devastation wrought by one of the world's longest standing conflicts with the publication Monday of a report documenting high levels of donor dependency in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Qatar Launches New Global Award to Promote Education

The internationally-renowned Nobel Prizes have been awarded annually for superlative achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace.

MIDEAST: Freedom Is a Move to a Larger Prison

Rawda Odeh had mixed feelings when she heard the news that her son, 33- year-old Loai Mohammad Ahmed Odeh, was going to be released from prison as a result of the recently brokered prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas.

MIDEAST: Prisoners Deal Changes Rules of Conflict

Israel's prison authority has begun processing the first batch of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners to be swapped on Tuesday for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who's been held in captivity by Hamas-affiliated groups for more than five years.

Alleged Plot Weakens Claims of Iran’s Sway in Latin America

Claims by neo-conservative and right-wingers that Iranian influence in Latin America poses a growing security threat to the United States seem exaggerated, at best, with recent allegations that Tehran sought the help of an Iranian- American used-car salesman in a high-profile assassination plot.

MIDEAST: Palestinian Refugees Consider a Model for Return

In a new project that has tackled one of the most divisive issues plaguing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, a diverse group of academics, architects, urban planners and Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups are examining how the right of return of Palestinian refugees can be implemented on the ground.

TUNISIA: Islamists Rise Uncertainly After Repression

Aggressively repressed and forced underground by the recently deposed dictator Zine Abadine Ben Ali, the Tunisian Islamist party Ennahda is poised to become the dominant force in Tunisian politics.

TURKEY: In Border Province, Syrian Refugees Live in Limbo

Four months ago, the international media were replete with reports of Syrian civilians fleeing Bashar al-Assad's regime into southern Turkey. Today, media both in and outside of Turkey appear to have forgotten the plight of these refugees.

FBI Account of “Terror Plot” Suggests Sting Operation

While the administration of Barack Obama vows to hold the Iranian government "accountable" for the alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington, the legal document describing evidence in the case provides multiple indications that it was mainly the result of an FBI "sting" operation.

EGYPT: ‘Invisible Hand’ Playing With Sectarian Fire

Violent clashes in Cairo that left at least 25 Egyptians dead and over 300 injured on Sunday have deepened suspicions that unseen forces are manipulating the country's sectarian divisions for political gain.

To Be Black in Iraq

"Before being deployed to Iraq I never thought I’d come across people who physically resemble my friends and family back in Buffalo," says U.S. marines sergeant William Collins on a rare patrol around Basra’s Zubeir district.