LEBANON: Critics Decry “Destroy and Lend” Policy

Lebanon is firmly en route to becoming the third nation in the Middle East after Iraq and the Palestinian territories to experience a devastating Washington-backed war and a massive influx of new illegitimate debt to cover reconstruction expenses, anti-debt activists say.

POLITICS-US: Neo-Cons Denounce Khatami Visit as “Appeasement”

Next week's visit to the United States of former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has been strongly denounced by hard-line neo-conservatives and other hawks here as "appeasement".

POLITICS: Doubts Grow Over Bush’s Syria Policy

A growing debate within Israel over whether United States President George W. Bush's Middle East policies really serve the interests of the Jewish state has spread to Washington, where influential voices within the U.S. Jewish community are questioning the administration's hard-line positions in the region.

MIDEAST: U.N. Force Looks More European, Less Multinational

The conventional wisdom at the United Nations is that there are six - not five - veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council.

RELIGION: More Politics Than Faith at Global Meet

While delegates to the World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP) keep highlighting the value of religion in resolving conflicts, the discussions at the 8th assembly, underway here, are decidedly political.

MIDEAST: French Wary of a Lebanese Sandwich

Military experts are warning of dangers for the new peacekeeping force in the south of Lebanon, sandwiched as it will be between Israeli forces on one side and Hezbollah on the other.

POLITICS: ‘Middle East Conflict Threatens Global Peace’

Warning that spiralling violence in the Middle East presented a serious threat to world security, religious leaders gathered in this ancient city for a global inter-faith meet are calling for urgent resolution of festering conflicts in the region.

MIDEAST: Peace Groups Slam “Misguided” U.S. Policies

As a multinational peacekeeping force is slowly assembled at the United Nations to preserve the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, U.S. peace activists say the work toward a comprehensive settlement has only begun.

MIDEAST: West Bank Faces War Fall-Out

Just three weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was still enthusing about his plan for a unilateral withdrawal from most of the West Bank. The fighting in Lebanon, he said in an interview in early August, had not doused his determination to move forward with his plan. In fact, he said, the conflict with Hezbollah would ultimately help in promoting it.

MIDEAST: U.N. Seeks Muslim-European Peacekeepers for Lebanon

When the United Nations appealed to its 192 member states for troops for its revamped peacekeeping force in Lebanon, it was expecting mostly "well-trained, well-equipped" forces from the Western world.

MIDEAST: Lebanon Picking Up the Pieces

With the fighting over and many displaced Lebanese residents returning home, the focus is turning toward how to rebuild Lebanon's infrastructure and economy.

MIDEAST: U.N. Seeks Mostly Western Troops for Revamped Force

The United Nations is on a global hunt for troops, military equipment and logistical support to revamp its existing peacekeeping force in Lebanon, which has been mandated to monitor last week's ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

IRAQ: To Many, Lebanon Appears as a Mirror Image

Iraqis are beginning to see striking similarities between Lebanese civilians and their own position three years ago.

MIDEAST: What Israel Gained – Or Lost

As a ceasefire went into effect Monday morning between Israel and Hezbollah and a tense calm descended on the region, Israelis were wondering whether the truce would hold, and were beginning to ask questions about what they had gained - or lost - during the 33 days of fighting.

MIDEAST: Will Israel Defy the U.N. Again?

A cartoon in a U.S. news magazine many moons ago showed a Palestinian family huddled together in a refugee camp, as U.S.-supplied Israeli fighter jets kept bombarding the makeshift shelters in an orgy of destruction.

MIDEAST: Iranian Shadow Lengthens over Lebanon

While many Lebanese are united in their resentment against Israel for its assault on their country, they are divided in their views of Hezbollah - and of one of its main supporters, Iran.

LEBANON: UN Human Rights Council Condemns Israel

The United Nations Human Rights Council issued a strongly worded condemnation of Israel Friday for violating human rights and international humanitarian law in its military operations in Lebanon.

POLITICS-US: Hard-line Neo-Cons Assail Israel for Timidity

While much of the world has criticised Israel for carrying out a "disproportionate" war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, hard-line neo-conservatives have attacked the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for timidity.

MIDEAST: Veteran Policy-Makers Fear Disaster in U.S. Course

Alarms are definitely on the rise here.

LATIN AMERICA: Jewish Communities Ratchet Up Complaints of Anti-Semitism

Every time armed conflict flares up in the Middle East, Israeli embassies and Jewish communities around the world step up their efforts in defence of the Israeli cause, regularly accusing the press, or governments that criticise Israel's foreign policy, of anti-Semitism.

POLITICS: Arab Ministers Argue Lebanese Case at U.N.

Following a meeting of 17 Arab foreign ministers Monday in Beirut, a delegation from the 22-member League of Arab States arrived at the United Nations Tuesday to meet with Secretary-General Kofi Annan and address the U.N. Security Council on the ongoing conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah.