MIDEAST: Syria Runs Into Some Young Opponents

Ever since former prime minister Rafik Hariri was killed in a car explosion last week, two pillars of opposition have stood out.

MIDEAST: Lebanon Slips Into Political Turmoil

Less than 24 hours after the unexpected resignation of Prime Minister Omar Karami, the dominant question here is, what next.

MIDEAST: Blast Spreads a New Unease

For now it is just the recriminations that have resumed flying back and forth between Israelis and Palestinians, not yet the bombs, missiles and bullets in the same numbers as during the height of the Intifadah.

MIDEAST: Hizbollah May Hold the Key in Lebanon

Ever since the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri earlier this month, the radical Shia group Hizbollah has been much sought after by politicians opposed to the Syrian presence.

/CORRECTION*/POLITICS: World Bank May Fund Israeli Checkpoints

The World Bank, an international development institution that says it has no political agenda, may be preparing to fund Israeli security checkpoints around a controversial separation wall under construction on occupied Palestinian territories.

POLITICS: European-U.S. "Compact" Proposed for Thorniest Issues

On the eve of U.S. President George W. Bush first second-term trip to Europe, a group of 50 U.S. and European foreign-policy experts have proposed a "compact" to guide Washington and Brussels through a thicket of contentious issues that have spurred tensions between the two sides.

MIDEAST: Assassination Puts the Spotlight on Syria

It was a Valentine's day massacre in front of Beirut's formerly glorious St. George hotel. Violence returned to the Lebanese capital on a scale not seen since the end of the civil war 14 years ago, and its victim was the very man who was synonymous with the country's slow emergence from that nightmare, former prime minister Rafik Hariri.

MIDEAST: Cracks Appear in Truce Already

Having bathed in the dreamy tranquility of Sharm El-Sheikh and imbibed the heady atmosphere of their ceasefire summit at the Egyptian Red Sea resort, both Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas returned to considerably less attractive political landscapes at home.

POLITICS-US: A Meeting of Minds and Policy

There is little doubt that George W. Bush and Natan Sharansky, a Soviet émigré who is a top political official in Israel, share a similar perspective about international affairs, especially in the Middle East.

MIDEAST: ‘Pre-Negotiations’ Bring Some Promise

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon go into Tuesday's summit in Egypt with a strong common interest - to portray their long-awaited meeting as a success - but with very different agendas.

MIDEAST: Nuclear Heat Rises Over Iran

When Israel dispatched F-16 bombers almost 24 years ago to destroy Saddam Hussein's nuclear reactor in Osirak, the pilots knew they only had to hit a single target. Were Israeli or U.S. planes to be sent today to neutralise Iran's nuclear programme, the mission would be far more complicated: with Iranian facilities spread out, the pilots would have to strike targets across the country, and none of them a large, clearly identifiable reactor.

POLITICS-U.S.: Losing Feith

The departure by mid-2005 of the number-three man at the Defence Department, announced by the Pentagon Wednesday, marks the latest hint that Pres. George W. Bush is moving foreign policy in a more centrist direction.

RIGHTS: Israeli Trench Could Destroy 3,000 Palestinian Homes

As Israeli and Palestinian leaders move to increase security cooperation in Gaza, a major U.S. human rights organisation is urging the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to reject proposals to build an anti-smuggling trench along the Gaza-Egyptian border that could destroy up to 3,000 Palestinian homes.

MIDEAST: Could It Be Good News, Then

The signs have been so surprisingly positive that they elicited upbeat assessments even from some of Israel's more circumspect leaders. "We are witness to the beginning of positive developments on the Palestinian side," Israel's military chief, Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon, said over the weekend.

MIDEAST: Gaza Killings Cast a Long Shadow

The Palestinian militant groups who carried out the attack Thursday night in the Gaza Strip that killed six Israeli civilians said they had been planning the assault for weeks. But the timing is not coincidental: it is the first major challenge by armed groups to the newly elected Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

POLITICS-US: Bush Urged to Seize the Moment on Mid-East Peace

Three dozen of the nation's most prominent Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders Wednesday issued a special appeal to U.S. President George W. Bush to appoint a high-level special envoy to work full time on promoting peace talks between the governments of Israel and the Palestine Authority (PA).

MIDEAST: For Abbas, the Hard Bit Comes Now

Mahmoud Abbas must have unleashed a great sigh of relief when the results of the Palestinian election were announced Monday and it became clear he had won over 60 percent of the vote - a result he can present as a broad, popular mandate. But the electioneering was the easy part.

CHALLENGES 2004-2005: Old Conflicts Prepare for New Year

Yasser Arafat's death has liberated the Palestinians somewhat but not totally. Old habits and military occupation die hard. Too little has changed on the ground to speak about a possible breakthrough in the conflict and to hold out very much hope for the near future. Developments elsewhere, notably in Iraq, may be less predictable.

MIDEAST: Hezbollah Threat Hovers Above Palestinian Poll

For the second time this year, the Syrian capital Damascus was shaken last week by a bomb attack against a leading figure of the fundamentalist Palestinian group Hamas. The target of the attack survived but it was another reminder of the role that Syria seems to be playing in Palestinian affairs.

POLITICS-U.S.: Are They Serious About Syria?

Just when it appeared that Syria was complying in earnest with U.S. demands to secure its border with Iraq and even making unprecedented peace overtures to Israel, key neo-conservative opinion shapers are calling on President George W Bush to take stronger measures against Damascus, possibly including military action.

ECONOMY-EGYPT: Beaches Are Stronger than History

Since time immemorial, the pyramids and temples of Egypt have drawn visitors from the farthest corners of the globe. But in the last couple of years the numbers of tourists visiting ancient monuments has fallen, while vacationers have flocked to Red Sea resort destinations in record numbers.