Middle East – News Stories About Middle East - Page 8

Iran Invites World Leaders to Discuss Nuclear Program

Iran to World
Leaders: Let's
Discuss Nuke
Program

Dec 31, 2011 1:30 PM CST

Iran to World Leaders: Let's Discuss Nuke Program

Tehran offers comes after new Western sanctions

(Newser) - Iran said today it has proposed a new round of talks on its nuclear program with six world powers that have been trying for years to persuade Tehran to freeze aspects of its atomic work that could provide a possible pathway to weapons production. The country's top nuclear negotiator,...

US Hawking F-15s to Saudis

Dec 29, 2011 5:32 AM CST

US Hawking F-15s to Saudis

For the paltry sum of $29.4B

(Newser) - As Iran continues its saber-rattling , the US is responding by beefing up the military might of a regional ally. The Obama administration will announce the sale of $29.4 billion in F-15s to Saudi Arabia, sources tell the AP , in a deal for 84 new jets and upgrades to 70...

Dead Sea Dried Up
120K Years Ago

Dec 10, 2011 9:41 AM CST

Dead Sea Dried Up 120K Years Ago

And it's in danger of happening again

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered that the Dead Sea pretty much vanished 120,000 years ago when the earth was as warm, or slightly warmer, than it is today, reports the BBC . It's in danger of doing the same today, this time helped along by populated areas taking the water that...

Jodan's King Says Syrian President Assad Should Resign

Jordan's King
to Syrian Prez:
'Step Down'

Nov 14, 2011 5:36 PM CST

Jordan's King to Syrian Prez: 'Step Down'

King Abdullah's comment is latest blow for Assad

(Newser) - Jordan's king said today that Syrian President Bashar Assad should step down for the good of his country, the first Arab leader to publicly make such a call as Syria's neighbors close ranks against an increasingly isolated regime. "If Bashar has the interest of his country, he...

Why Arab Intellectuals
Missed Arab Spring

ANALYSIS

Oct 30, 2011 7:39 AM CDT

Why Arab Intellectuals Missed Arab Spring

No Thomas Paines, no Vaclav Havels—and maybe that's a good thing

(Newser) - The Arab Spring protests that have roiled the Middle East for the past 10 months may have ousted dictators and brought more democracy to the region, but they've done so with precious little help from the Arab world's intellectuals, writes Robert Worth in an analysis in the New ...

As US Leaves Iraq,
It Eyes a Beefier
Gulf Presence

Oct 30, 2011 6:30 AM CDT

As US Leaves Iraq, It Eyes a Beefier Gulf Presence

US military looking to increase defense ties with states around region

(Newser) - The United States may be pulling out of Iraq by the end of 2011 , but that doesn't mean it's getting out of the Persian Gulf—in fact, the US military is looking to boost its combat presence in Kuwait and increase its military ties to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,...

Abbas Hails
'Palestinian Spring'
in Hero's Welcome

Sep 25, 2011 8:41 AM CDT

Abbas Hails 'Palestinian Spring' in Hero's Welcome

Triumphant president returns home

(Newser) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has received a hero's welcome in the West Bank, triumphantly telling his people the "Palestinian Spring" has begun following his historic speech to the UN last week. Abbas asked the world body on Friday to recognize Palestinian independence, defying appeals from Israel and the...

Deal in Works to Prevent
US-Palestine UN Showdown

Sep 20, 2011 7:48 AM CDT

Deal in Works to Prevent US-Palestine UN Showdown

Mahmoud Abbas would submit a letter, but not force a vote

(Newser) - The international community is hammering out a deal that would spare the US from having to veto Palestine’s move for statehood . There are several ideas floating about, but all revolve around the premise that Mahmoud Abbas would deliver a letter to the Security Council requesting statehood, but would not...

5 Reasons US Should
Allow Palestinian State

OPINION

Sep 15, 2011 5:36 PM CDT

5 Reasons US Should Allow Palestinian State

If Palestinians wait much longer, it will be too late: Reza Aslan

(Newser) - Palestinians plan to push for full statehood in the UN later this month, and the US vows to block them. Reza Aslan offers five reasons in the Los Angeles Times why America should buck Israel ("it is not political suicide") and change its mind:

Failed talks: Twenty years

...

Gaza Militants
OK Israel Cease-Fire

UPDATED

Aug 21, 2011 1:45 PM CDT

Gaza Militants OK Israel Cease-Fire

Egypt brokers deal to stop escalating violence

(Newser) - Gaza militants agreed to a cease-fire with Israel to stop spiking violence, a Hamas official said today, after a deadly attack across the Egyptian border on Israeli vehicles set off a three-day round of rapidly escalating Israeli airstrikes and rocket barrages from Gaza. The sudden flareup also threatened Israel-Egypt relations,...

Tunisia Fires Tear Gas
at Protestors

Aug 15, 2011 4:08 PM CDT

Tunisia Fires Tear Gas at Protestors

'We need another revolution,' says one as reformers grow restless

(Newser) - Cops in Tunisia today fired tear gas and used truncheons to break up an assembly of protestors outside Interior Ministry headquarters in Tunis. The mob called for a shutdown of the caretaker government and vigorous prosecution of supporters of ex-president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, who was forced out of...

Mideast Markets
Dive on US Downgrade

Aug 7, 2011 10:00 AM CDT

Mideast Markets Dive on US Downgrade

S&P credit rating reverberates overseas, as well

(Newser) - Stocks tumbled across the Middle East today as most regional markets reopened following the historic downgrade of the United States' credit rating. The region's markets mostly operate Sunday to Thursday, meaning they were the first to react to Standard & Poor's decision late Friday to cut the US...

Only 10% of Arab
World Likes Obama

Jul 14, 2011 1:36 PM CDT

Only 10% of Arab World Likes Obama

US more unpopular there now than it was under Bush

(Newser) - You know President Obama’s plan to reach out and win hearts and minds in the Middle East? It’s not going well. In a stunning new Pew Poll spotted by Glenn Greenwald of Salon , only 10% of residents in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates...

Egypt's Much-Ignored
Curfew Will Officially End

Jun 14, 2011 1:41 PM CDT

Egypt's Much-Ignored Curfew Will Officially End

'Imaginary' curfew was imposed to quell protests against Mubarak

(Newser) - Egypt’s practically non-existent curfew will become a literally non-existent curfew tomorrow when it is officially lifted. The move comes five months after President Hosni Mubarak imposed it in a futile attempt to keep his people from protesting. Mubarak mandated the curfew on Jan. 28 in Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez...

King Met With Bottle Attack
... or Warm Welcome?

conflicting reports dept.

Jun 13, 2011 12:54 PM CDT

King Met With Bottle Attack ... or Warm Welcome?

Conflicting reports surround King Abdullah's visit

(Newser) - King Abdullah II was met by either tossed bottles and stones or a warm welcome on a visit to Jordan's south today, according to conflicting reports from government officials. A security official said a crowd of youths flung objects at the monarch's motorcade in two incidents in the...

Hillary Clinton: Gadhafi Broaching Possible Exit

Jun 9, 2011 2:02 PM CDT

Hillary Clinton: Gadhafi Broaching Possible Exit

Libyan leader's closest aides proposing a 'transition'

(Newser) - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says she is aware of "numerous and continuing" overtures by people close to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to negotiate his departure from power. Proposals from "people close to Gadhafi" presented to unspecified countries include the "potential for a transition," Clinton...

Relief Flows as Egypt
Opens Gaza Border

May 28, 2011 7:22 AM CDT

Relief Flows as Egypt Opens Gaza Border

Four-year-old blockade ends

(Newser) - After a four-year blockade, Egypt today permanently opened the Gaza Strip's main gateway to the outside world, bringing long-awaited relief to the territory's Palestinian population and a significant achievement for the area's ruling Hamas militant group. The reopening of the Rafah border crossing eases an Egyptian blockade...

Syrian Protesters Cancel Only Vigil Government OKed

May 23, 2011 11:38 AM CDT

Syrian Protesters Cancel Only Vigil Government OKed

Candlelit vigil to honor fallen Syrians, canceled for unknown reasons

(Newser) - Activists in Syria canceled the first government-approved demonstration in the capital since a 48-year-old state of emergency was lifted last month, an official said today. The silent candlelight vigil in a Damascus public garden was to have honored some 900 people who have been killed since the uprising against President...

Millions in Europe, Asia
Face 'Unmapped'
Quake Risk

May 23, 2011 11:26 AM CDT

Millions in Europe, Asia Face 'Unmapped' Quake Risk

'Interior zone' earthquakes can be the deadliest

(Newser) - We’re well aware of longstanding earthquake risks in places like California and Japan. But Europe, the Middle East, and Asia face potentially deadlier threats—and it’s time for scientists to take action, researchers say. So-called “interior zone” earthquakes have killed 1.4 million in the past century,...

Obama:
We Stand
Behind Arab
Protesters

MIDEAST POLICY SPEECH

May 19, 2011 12:23 PM CDT

Obama: We Stand Behind Arab Protesters

Back Mideast peace deal based on 1967 borders

(Newser) - President Obama gave a wide-ranging speech on the Middle East today, speaking out forcefully in support of Arab protesters everywhere—even in US allies like Yemen and Bahrain. “After decades of accepting the world as it is in the region we have a chance to pursue the world as...