Middle East

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

MOSUL, IRAQ -- In Iraq's third-largest city, buildings are bombed out and scarred by thousands of bullet holes. But unlike in many parts of Iraq that have calmed significantly in recent years, much of the damage is recent.


Iraq - Baghdad - Mosul - Police - United States armed forces

ASALOUYEH, IRAN -- Increasingly tough international sanctions over Iran's nuclear program have significantly slowed the county's most prestigious economic project, scheduled to rake in more than $130 billion in annual sales of natural gas after its completion.

BAGHDAD -- A rocket attack in Baghdad's Green Zone Thursday afternoon killed three guards employed by the U.S. Embassy and wounded 15 people, including two Americans, the embassy said.



Baghdad - Iraq - Middle East - Green - Politics

JAPAN Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Wednesday that the visit of a former North Korean spy could help resolve a decades-long mystery about the abduction of at least 17 Japanese citizens, an issue that is hindering normalization of ties between the two countries.


North Korea - Asia - South Korea - Megumi Yokota - Kim Hyon Hui