Northern Iraq Instead of Syria: Turkish Army’s New Target?

With attacks by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) multiplying and spreading to a larger number of Turkish provinces, Ankara is under increasing pressure by nationalistic parties to take tougher measures against Kurdish activism, including a full-blown land incursion by the Turkish armed forces into northern Iraq.

U.S. Breaks Silence on Bahrain Crackdown

The U.S. State Department released a statement Friday urging the Bahraini government to reconsider a ruling that sentenced the director of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Nabeel Rajab, to a three-year jail term for organising opposition rallies.

U.N. to Close Syria Observer Mission

The United Nations has ordered the end of its observer mission in Syria, and said that it would withdraw its staff within the next few days.

In Peace, Palestinian Women Under Attack

After the brutal murder of a Palestinian woman in late July in a busy Bethlehem marketplace, local human rights groups are pushing for stronger reforms to stem violence against women in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Israel’s Iran War Talk Aims at Deal for Tougher U.S. Policy

Two recent interviews apparently given by Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak provide evidence that the new wave of reports in the Israeli press about a possible Israeli attack on Iran is a means by which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Barak hope to leverage a U.S. shift toward Israel’s red lines on Iran’s nuclear programme.

U.N. Chief in the Hot Seat over Non-Aligned Summit in Iran

When Cuba chaired the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) back in 1979, Western nations dismissed the world's largest single political coalition as lacking legitimacy since Havana was considered a close ally of the then-Soviet Union.

Rebels Claim Responsibility for Syria Blast

The main Syrian rebel group has claimed responsibilty for a series of explosions in central Damascus near the hotel used by the U.N. observer mission in Syria.

Fighting Against Soldiering

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox men, women and children have been demonstrating in Jerusalem against the Israeli government’s move to make military service mandatory for members of their community.

OP-ED: What to Make of the Latest Iranian-Turkish Row

Turkish-Iranian relations have been rocky since the deepening of the Syrian imbroglio, but the latest row suggests a new low.

Crowds in Cairo Praise Morsi’s Army Overhaul

The Egyptian president has ordered the powerful head of the army and defence minister, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, and several senior generals into retirement and canceled constitutional amendments issued by the military restricting presidential powers.

In Jerusalem the Past Is Alike, And Alive

“This is King David’s palace!” proclaims the Israeli tour guide with much fanfare, ignoring the cautionary “King David’s Palace?” legend on the sign. Opportunely opening the Bible, he reads from 2 Samuel 6:16, “As the Ark of the Lord came to the City of David…”

U.S. Denies Consensus with Israel on Iran Nuclear Threat

Tensions rose Thursday between the Barack Obama administration and the Israeli government when a leading Israeli official claimed to have knowledge of U.S. intelligence that portrays Iran as a more immediate threat than Washington has been saying.

Humanity Should Not Live Under Nuclear Threat

Now that the war in Iraq is considered ‘over’, another major goal of Israel has come into view: attacking Iran on the pretext that it may possibly be working on a nuclear weapon - though Pakistan, China, and India definitely already have them.

Syrian Forces Launch Ground Assault in Aleppo

The Syrian army has launched a ground assault on the northern city of Aleppo, sparking fierce clashes with opposition fighters in the frontline district of Salaheddine.

Persecuted Libyans Struggle to Be Heard

Pregnant women miscarrying due to mistreatment, detainees mainly from sub-Saharan Africa denied adequate food and water. Small cells crammed with 80-100 detainees subjected to arbitrary justice by Libya’s volatile militias, politically persecuted Somalis forcibly repatriated to Mogadishu, and hundreds of boat people dying trying to flee Libya for a better life in Europe.

Colonised by the Arabs, Abandoned by the World

Untamed stone villages line up over imposing green valleys. In winter they are white with snow. The luckiest have a view to the deep blue sea. "It’s gorgeous, isn’t it," says Amzi from his yellow cab. "Nobody would say we’re living in an open-air prison."

High-Level Defections, Escalating Violence Mark New Phase of Syrian Uprising

As government security forces continue a week-long siege of Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, high-ranking Syrian officials have begun to defect from the regime in record numbers.

Holy Sites Hold Fast to Status Quo

“With our spirit, with our blood, we’ll redeem you, O Noble Sanctuary!” the veiled teenagers fervently sing in unison in honour of the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan. Israeli police officers in uniform and full battle gear sit unimpressed under pine trees; others patrol the compound.

Palestinian Bubble Set to Burst

“It will collapse, and the collapse will be harder when it happens later,” says Tareq Sadeq, Palestinian economist and professor at Birzeit University, about the financial bubble building up in the Palestinian Authority government.

TURKEY: Caught Between Syria’s Kurds and a Hard Spot

In a display of muscle-flexing, Turkish tanks this week carried out military exercises on the Syrian border, just a few kilometres away from towns that Syrian Kurds had seized from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

As Fighting Escalates in Syria, a Frustrated Mediator Resigns

After five months of intense shuttle diplomacy aimed at resolving the growing 17-month old political crisis in Syria, a visibly frustrated Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan called it quits.