
WHY IT MATTERS: Issues at stake in election
A selection of issues at stake in the presidential election and their impact on Americans, in brief: ___ Abortion: Abortion and birth control are ...

In Gaza visit, Qatari emir forges leading role
The emir of Qatar on Tuesday became the first head of state to visit the Gaza Strip since Hamas militants seized the territory five years ago, ...

Hezbollah rejects international probe in killing
Syria's powerful ally Hezbollah was accused Tuesday by Lebanese political opponents of playing a role in the assassination of a top intelligence ...

Aleppans stretched to limit in war for Syrian city
The rumble of engines in the sky immediately set the Aleppo neighborhood below on edge. Men peeked from shops anxiously at the Syrian warplane ...

Syrian warplanes strike rebel-held town in north
Syrian warplanes on Tuesday struck a strategic rebel-held town in the country's north in an attempt to reopen a key supply route, activists said, as ...

Syrian regime and rebels constantly adapt arsenals
It was long past midnight, but the rebel commander couldn't sleep until his fighters returned from the Turkish border with the latest shipment of gear ...

FACT CHECK: Flunking geography, history
Voters didn't always get the straight goods when President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney made their case for foreign policy and national ...

Qatari visit hands Hamas major victory
When the ruler of Qatar arrives in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, he will hand the Palestinian territory's Hamas rulers their biggest diplomatic victory ...
UN planning peacekeeping force for Syria
The United Nations is already planning for a peacekeeping force in Syria should a cease-fire in that country take hold and pending a Security Council ...

Syrian violence spills into Jordan, Lebanon
A Jordanian soldier was killed in clashes with armed militants trying to cross the border into Syria on Monday and sectarian clashes overnight in ...

Lebanese army tries to force gunmen from streets
Lebanese soldiers in armored vehicles fanned out across the country on Monday to break down civilian roadblocks and chase gunmen off the streets as ...

Syria exposes Lebanon's thin veneer of stability
Potentially the most unstable country in the Middle East, Lebanon for the most part has stayed on the sidelines of the Arab Spring, keeping up ...
Al-Qaida's No. 2 in Yemen says in audio he's alive
A man claiming to be al-Qaida's No. 2 in Yemen released an audio denying reports that he had died in a U.S. drone attack, as Yemeni officials said ...
Oil price rises on Middle East conflict fears
Oil prices rose Monday after violence in Lebanon sparked fears of wider unrest in the Middle East. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for ...

Lebanon protesters try to storm government palace
The funeral for Lebanon's slain intelligence chief descended into chaos Sunday as soldiers fired tear gas at protesters who tried to storm the ...

Funeral for slain Lebanon official ends in clashes
Lebanese security forces unleashed a barrage of gunfire and tear gas in central Beirut on Sunday to disperse hundreds of protesters trying to storm ...

Car bomb kills 13 in Syrian capital
A taxi packed with explosives blew up near a police station in the Syrian capital Sunday, killing 13 people as the U.N. envoy tasked with ending the ...

Iran seeks renewed talks with familiar demands
Iranian officials have made no secret about their desire to reopen nuclear talks with the U.S. and other world powers as economic sanctions dig deeper ...

Syria has long, tumultuous history in Lebanon
Syria has a long and tumultuous history of meddling into Lebanese affairs. For much of the past 30 years, the seven-times-smaller Lebanon has lived ...

UN envoy presses for Syria cease-fire in Damascus
The international envoy to the Syria conflict pressed his call for a cease-fire with Syrian officials during a visit to Damascus on Saturday while ...

Top security official among 8 dead in Beirut blast
A powerful car bomb tore through the heart of Beirut's Christian sector Friday, killing a top security official and seven others in a devastating ...

UN envoy arrives in Syria amid calls for truce
Turkey and Germany on Friday threw their weight behind calls for a Syrian cease-fire during a Muslim holiday next week as the international envoy for ...

Beirut car bomb kills top official, 7 others
A car bomb ripped through Beirut on Friday, killing a top security official and seven others, shearing the balconies off apartment buildings and ...

Airstrikes in northern Syria kill at least 43
Syrian warplanes hammered a strategic city captured by rebels, leaving behind scenes of carnage captured Thursday on amateur videos that showed a man ...