MIDEAST: U.S. Pushing Beyond Settlement Freeze

"Nobody can usurp the right to determine the fate of the nation on their own - not the Palestine Liberation Organisation, nor anyone else. It is the will of the Palestinian people that must determine our future," declares Hamas political leader in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh.

MIDEAST: Widows and Children Begin to Beg

There are few parks and green spaces in Gaza, and those that exist are crowded with people hungry for nature. Day and night, people of all ages flock to the Joondi, or the park of the Unknown Soldier, in central Gaza City.

POLITICS: Obama and Netanyahu Still Tussling over Priorities

As world leaders prepare to gather here for the all-star "general debate" at the U.N. General Assembly on Sep. 23, two of them - U.S. Pres. Barack Obama and Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu - are still tussling over whether to prioritise their anti-Iran campaign or the push for a Palestinian-Israeli peace.

ENVIRONMENT: Cairo Sinking in Garbage

Garbage collectors in Cairo's Giza district have resumed work, but it could take weeks to clear the 25,000 tons of garbage that accumulated during their month-long strike, and longer still to solve the underlying problems.

MIDEAST: Textbooks Become a Dream

A chronic shortage of school supplies, and severely overcrowded classrooms are crippling Gaza's educational system as tens of thousands of children begin a new school year.

MIDEAST: Gaza’s Water Supply Near Collapse

The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that Gaza's access to safe supply of drinking water could cease at any time. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says outbreaks of disease could be triggered as a consequence.

MIDEAST: Israel Struggles to Wriggle Out of the Dock

The Goldstone Commission has delivered an unremittingly scathing report on Israel's 22-day war against Hamas in Gaza last December and January.

POLITICS: Firebrand Priest Leaves Mark at U.N.

Few critics of the United Nations' often skewed balance of power have matched the outspoken fury of the revolutionary priest who led the world body's principal organ until Monday.

RIGHTS: Tripped Up by Honduras, UN Council Turns to Middle East

The United Nations Human Rights Council set a firm precedent in favour of the international isolation of the de facto government that took over in Honduras after a Jun. 28 coup removed President Manuel Zelaya.

POLITICS: U.N. Team on War Crimes Condemns Israel, Hamas

A four-member United Nations fact-finding mission, which has just concluded an investigation into last year's brutal conflict in Gaza, makes a strong case for war crimes charges against Israel for its unrelenting 22-day military attacks on Palestinians, largely civilians, including women and children.

MIDEAST: Unrest Brewing Beneath Gaza Calm

The mile-long stretch that divides Israel's Erez border crossing into northern Gaza from the Hamas police border post is eerily quiet. But the mountains of rubble, twisted metal and craters which remain following Israel's intensive bombing campaign in January serve as a stark reminder that war between the two bitter enemies is still a possibility.

MIDEAST: To Rap Is to Resist

In a backstreet open-air café in Gaza late at night, Khaled Harara from the Black Unit Band starts to talk about rap.

MIDEAST: NGO Reports on Gaza War Belie Israeli Claims

This week, two respected human rights organisations - one Palestinian, one Israeli - each came out with very full reports into the extent of the damage caused by the assault Israel waged against Gaza last winter.

MIDEAST: Israel Taking Sharp Measures Over Iran

Questions about Iran's nuclear thrust are tumbling out, echoing around the world in several directions.

POLITICS-US: Obama Struggles to Regain Early Momentum

The United States Congress returns to work Tuesday after a turbulent summer recess that has raised doubts over President Barack Obama's ability to face down domestic opposition from Republicans and enforce party cohesion on issues ranging from healthcare reform to troop commitments in the increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan.

MIDEAST: Business Seeks Ways Past Political Impasse

Business between the Palestinian Authority and Israel is growing despite the political impasse over Israel's refusal to cease illegal settlement building in East Jerusalem and the Palestinian West Bank.

MIDEAST: Stolen Room Offers a Split View

In the early morning sunlight, the smoky window of the plush new apartment reflects back a golden tinge from the Dome of the Rock that stands at the heart of Islam's third holiest shrine.

US-ISRAEL: New Settlements Plan Heightens Tensions

The White House reprimanded the Israeli government Friday over reports that Israel plans to build hundreds of new housing units in West Bank settlements, the latest in a series of showdowns between Washington and Jerusalem over settlement construction.

MIDEAST: Israelis Target Medical Teams

Fourteen-year-old Muhammad Nayif's mother broke down as she spoke to IPS. Nayif died after being shot three times in the chest by Israeli soldiers Monday night.

ISRAEL: Madonna Applauded for her Silence

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong-il, Hitler, the Holocaust, ecological disasters, poverty in Africa, wars around the world, Obama and Martin Luther King: the appropriate images were all there, an overwhelming backdrop on the huge stage for the Queen of Pop's rendition of her song, 'Get Stupid' in Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park.

MIDEAST: Israelis Destroy Boats, and Lives

Until Monday, Omar and Khaled Al-Habil were the owners of a 20m fishing trawler staffed by five or six fishermen at a time, but employing around 18 in cycles. But that morning the vessel came under heavy Israeli navy machine-gun fire, and then shelling. The trawler caught fire.