Middle East

MEXICO Threats of drug cartel attacks against authorities have prompted the United States to shut down its large consulate in Juarez, providing no indication when the building will reopen.



Mexico - Drug cartel - United States - Ciudad Juarez - States

BAGHDAD -- Gunmen launched a rare, coordinated attack on Iraqi soldiers Thursday in a predominantly Sunni neighborhood of the capital and briefly erected the flag of the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq near a smoldering army checkpoint.


al-Qaeda - Iraq - Middle East - Baghdad - Warfare and Conflict

MIDDLE EAST Arab nations on Thursday backed the Palestinian president's refusal to immediately restart direct talks with Israel despite heavy U.S. pressure.



Middle East - Palestinian Territory - Mahmoud Abbas - Government - Arab League

QASR AL-YAHUD, WEST BANK -- Environmentalists claim that the hallowed spot along the Jordan River where Christians believe John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ has become too filthy for human use.


Jordan River - Jordan - Middle East - Israel - Baptism

LEBANON Lebanon is braced for another political crisis as a special tribunal set up to try the killers of Rafiq al-Hariri, the former prime minister, appears to be heading toward indicting members of Hezbollah, the Shiite militant group.


Lebanon - Middle East - Hezbollah - Syria - Hassan Nasrallah

ITAMAR, WEST BANK -- While Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak visited Washington this week to talk about peace gestures toward the Palestinians, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was planting a tree in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank -- an indication of permanence that few Palestinians would...


Religion and Spirituality - Jewish - Middle East - Jews - Israel

BAGHDAD -- Because of poor record-keeping and lax oversight, the Department of Defense cannot account for how it spent $2.6 billion that belonged to the Iraqi government, according to the inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.



Iraq - Pentagon - Middle East - United States - Business

Edited excerpts of interview by Washington Post's Janine Zacharia, with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Friday, July 23, 2010


Ehud Barak - Israel - Middle East - Prime minister - History

TEL AVIV -- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is due to arrive in Washington on Monday bearing two warnings for American policymakers: Sanctions won't thwart Iran's push for nuclear weapons, and Israel will strike directly at Lebanese government institutions if Hezbollah launches rockets at Is...



Lebanon - Middle East - Iran - Politics - Israel