MIDEAST: Israel Hits Ground Realities

After pounding Lebanon from the skies for nine days, the Israeli army has begun, without any official announcement, the ground phase of its military operation, with thousands of elite troops having crossed the border into south Lebanon to hunt down Hezbollah fighters and their stockpiles of rockets.

MIDEAST: Fury Grips Syria Over Lebanon Attacks

The daily Israeli bombardment of Lebanon and the floods of refugees pouring in have set off a wave of anger through Syria.

MIDEAST: Lebanese Refugees Crowd Damascus

Syrian capital Damascus is being flooded with refugees. The devastation in Beirut is beginning to show in another capital.

RIGHTS-IRAN: No Winners in False Confession Game

On Jul. 15, a conservative Iranian newspaper with strong ties to the Iranian Intelligence Ministry reported that Ramin Jahanbegoo, a prominent scholar, had confessed to having collaborated with foreigners to spark a "Velvet Revolution" in Iran.

MIDEAST: Egyptian Mediation Pushed Back

Egypt's attempts to mediate the escalating crisis between Israel and Hamas appear to have run out of steam. The Egyptian 'retreat' follows a mystery attack on one of its ships.

MIDEAST: Diplomatic Moves Come, And Go

The diplomatic initiatives have begun. The first - and certainly not the last - came Monday in the form of a proposal by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for deployment of an international force in southern Lebanon to end the spiralling violence between Israel and Hezbollah.

MIDEAST: Hezbollah An Emerging Political Force

Hezbollah, a group often misunderstood by Westerners, is a militant but also a political group.

MIDEAST: Fleeing Lebanese Speak of Indiscriminate Bombing

People fleeing the bombing of Lebanon say the Israelis are targeting civilian neighbourhoods and vital infrastructure, and not just Hezbollah centres.

MIDEAST: Israel Trying to Force a New Balance

When Israeli planes bombed two runways at Beirut airport in the early hours of Thursday morning, signalling the start of a major aerial assault, the immediate trigger had been an attack the day before by Hezbollah militants who had crossed the Lebanon border into Israel, killed three Israeli soldiers and snatched two more.

MIDEAST: Refugees Speak of Catastrophic Bombing

Refugees fleeing Beirut in the face of Israeli air attacks are speaking of "haphazard bombings" and a crisis situation developing in the city.

MIDEAST: Lebanese Tremors Rock Syria

Syrians are outraged over Israeli air strikes in Lebanon that have killed 27 civilians and closed down Beirut's international airport.

EGYPT: Journalists Challenge New Press Law

Many journalists and opposition leaders are opposing a new law approved by parliament this week. They say the law fails to protect editors and reporters from imprisonment for so-called press violations.

IRAQ: Another Face, Another Raid

It could be called perhaps just another raid.

LIBYA: Not Terrorist, and Not Sure What

Like a horde of angry animals, Tripoli's black and white taxis circle its central Green Square, each vehicle in a hurry to reach its destination. Oddly, only a few appear to actually be carrying any passengers: "We still don't get enough foreign visitors", says taxi driver Mustafa, navigating his way through the treacherous straits of Tripoli's traffic. "When people in the West think of Libya, they still only think of terror."

MIDEAST: Israel Returns From Gaza With Little

Even as Israeli troops, backed by armoured vehicles and Apache attack helicopters, thrust into northern Gaza, political leaders were insisting the foray was temporary and military officials were wondering whether the operation had any hope of achieving its stated goal - ending rocket fire by Palestinian militants into Israel.

MIDEAST: Egypt Steps In Doubtfully

Egypt has dispatched a delegation of security experts to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to defuse rising tension. The Israeli military is poised to re-invade the territory following the abduction of one of its soldiers.

YEMEN: Breath of Principle in Presidential Race

The leading opposition candidate for presidential elections due September is a man of principle - and that is what the parties hope will speak for itself.

IRAQ: To Leave, Somehow

More than three years after the invasion, Iraqis seem increasingly to want to leave the country. Reports come pouring in about Iraqi refugees overwhelming Syria, Jordan and other nations in the region.

MIDEAST: Speedy Return To An Impasse

Ismail Haniyeh had not been seen since an Israeli soldier was kidnapped last Sunday by Palestinian militants from a military base close to the Israel-Gaza border. Fearing he might be targetted for assassination by Israel, the Hamas Prime Minister scratched his public appearances.

IRAN: Civil Society Feels Conservatives’ Wrath

Nearly a year has gone by since Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to office, and his establishment is continuing to suppress civil society, intimidate the press and arrest activists.

MIDEAST: Abduction Upsets a Plan

Heckled by hardline parliamentarians, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tried to strike a defiant pose. Despite the spiralling violence in the Gaza Strip, from where Israel withdrew unilaterally last year, he insisted he would press ahead with his plan for a unilateral pullback in the West Bank.