Updated at 8:45 p.m. EST, Jan. 29, 2009At least eight Iraqis were killed and five more were wounded in light violence. No Coalition deaths were reported, but the U.S. Army reported that soldier suicide rates hit a new high for the second year in a row. A few attacks...
Despite the possibility of isolated violence and other problems, close watchers of Iraq's upcoming provincial elections say that a relatively smooth process there could be a bellwether for better days ahead, according to a new report [.pdf]. "Whereas the January...
Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank increased sharply in 2008, despite Israel's pledge at the beginning of the year to freeze all construction, according to a new report by an Israeli non-governmental organization [.pdf]. The report, released Wednesday by...
BAGHDAD - Uncertainty and tension are running high in Baghdad ahead of the provincial election due Jan. 31. But this time fears are also touched by a new hope. "Iraq is transitioning into something more stable," former Iraqi interim prime minister Ayad...
Hassan, an 8-year-old Gazan boy, could consider himself lucky. Last year, thanks to his serious illness, Israel let him in to be treated in a Tel Aviv hospital. Israel boasts of its generosity: after four decades of occupation, which has left Gaza's hospitals on a...
Updated at 8:15 p.m. EST, Jan. 28, 2009U.S. President Obama is meeting with defense officials at the White House today to discuss drawdown plans just as early polling begins in Iraq. Meanwhile, at least seven Iraqis were killed and another 10 were wounded in light...
When U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates accused Iran of "subversive activity" in Latin America Tuesday, it raised the question whether he is trying to discourage President Barack Obama from abandoning the hard-line policy of coercive diplomacy toward Iran...
A series of unexpectedly swift moves to begin addressing the Arab-Israeli conflict taken by Barack Obama in the week since he was sworn in as the U.S. president is being hailed by many regional specialists who were deeply frustrated by George W. Bush's relative...
President Obama's interview with al-Arabiya television is remarkable in several ways, but what strikes me the most is that it coincided with the first air strikes on Pakistan under his administration: 22 people were killed, including between four and seven...
DUBAI – The civilian nuclear deal between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States may fulfill the former's long-term desire to develop alternative energy sources and the latter's intention to promote a model for peaceful nuclear energy that sends a...
