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Middle East

Iraq national museum long way from public opening
In Iraq's national museum, home to some of the world's most precious artifacts of ancient Mesopotamia, a caption beside a skeleton simply reads in ...
An agency-by-agency guide to Obama's 2014 budget
President Barack Obama has proposed a $3.8 trillion budget for fiscal 2014 that aims to slash the deficit by a net $600 billion over 10 years, raise ...
Yemen president orders military shakeup
Yemen's president removed his predecessor's son and nephews from powerful security posts on Wednesday in the most dramatic step yet in sidelining old ...
Iraq inspects 3rd Iranian plane to Syria this week
An Iraqi official says the country has forced an Iranian plane headed to Syria to land in Baghdad so authorities could search it for arms. It's the ...
Tensions emerge in al-Qaida alliance in Syria
Tensions emerged Wednesday in a newly announced alliance between al-Qaida's franchise in Iraq and the most powerful Syrian rebel faction, which said ...
Liberal Jews see a victory in proposed prayer area
Israeli authorities have proposed establishing a new section at the Western Wall where men and women can pray together, a groundbreaking initiative ...
US expected to increase aid to Syrian rebels
The Obama administration is expected to give Syrian rebels broader nonlethal military assistance, including body armor and night-vision goggles, while ...
Egypt's Morsi withdraws complaints against media
An Egyptian official says the president has ordered withdrawal of complaints against journalists for allegedly reporting rumors.
Analysis: Hamas wants bigger regional role
Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal has set an ambitious agenda for his new term, seeking to transform his Islamic militant movement that rules Gaza into a ...
Egypt denies hardliners halted Iran tourism
Egypt's presidential spokesman says tourist flights from Iran were not suspended because of pressure from "any particular groups." Ehab Fahmy's ...
Correction: Israel-Struggling Sect story
In a story March 17 about eastern European brides joining the Holy Land's dwindling Samaritan community, The Associated Press misspelled the name of ...
Syrian rebel group pledges allegiance to al-Qaida
The leader of the most formidable rebel group in Syria pledged allegiance Wednesday to al-Qaida but distanced himself from a claim that his Islamic ...
Second camp for Syrian refugees opens in Jordan
Struggling to cope with the influx of Syrian refugees, Jordan on Wednesday opened a second camp for Syrians fleeing the civil war at home. The kingdom ...
South Sudan urged to stop use of death penalty
South Sudan was one of 111 countries to vote in favor of a United Nations resolution last year calling for a moratorium on the death penalty, but ...
Mideast feminists reject Europe topless protests
Bewilderment, scorn, resentment. Women's rights activists across the Middle East are reacting with everything but joy to topless demonstrations in ...
Qatar pledges additional $3B aid to Egypt
Qatar's prime minister says the Gulf nation will give Egypt another $3 billion to bolster its ailing economy and help rebuild key industries.
Report: Kuwait proposes $1M fine for emir insults
Kuwait's information minister is defending a proposed media law that reports say could bring fines of about $1 million for insulting the Gulf nation's ...
Israel charges Arab who fought with Syria's rebels
Israel has arrested and charged an Israeli Arab for traveling to the "enemy state" of Syria to fight on the side of the rebels in the neighboring ...
Kerry meeting with Syrian opposition in London
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with Syrian opposition leaders and Russia's top diplomat a day after saying the U.S. could soon step up ...
Egypt's pope sharply criticizes president
Egypt's Coptic Christian pope delivered an unprecedented direct criticism of the Islamist president Tuesday after a mob attack on the church's main ...
Iran says 37 killed in earthquake in south
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake killed at least 37 and injured hundreds more in a sparsely populated area in southern Iran on Tuesday, Iranian officials ...
Syrian militant group unites with al-Qaida in Iraq
Al-Qaida's branch in Iraq and the most powerful rebel extremist group in Syria have officially joined ranks against President Bashar Assad to forge ...
Egypt's revolutionary cleric suspended over sermon
A Muslim cleric who became known as "the preacher of the revolution" for his sermons in Tahrir Square during the uprising against ousted President ...
10-year anniversary of Baghdad fall to US forces
Ten years ago, a statue fell in Baghdad's Firdous Square. Joyful Iraqis helped by an American tank retriever pulled down their longtime dictator, cast ...
5 UN troops, 7 others killed in South Sudan
Armed rebels that South Sudan believes are backed by Sudan opened fire on a United Nations convoy on Tuesday, killing five U.N. peacekeepers from ...