Middle East & North Africa Archive

President Bashar al-Assad has said that foreign parties are seeking to destabilize Syria, as pressure mounts for the United Nations to take the lead in efforts to end 10 months of bloodshed. World News Videos by NewsLook

Several people are reported to have been killed and dozens hurt by a bomb blast that went off in a central neighborhood of Damascus, the Syrian capital, on Friday.

In his first official trip abroad since his radical Palestinian group came to power in 2007, Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, is on a tour of the Middle East, with stops that have so far included Egypt, Sudan and earlier this week, Turkey. The visits aim to strengthen ties in the region in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings, which have so seen the rise to prominence of Islamist parties in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco. “Islamist political victories in Egypt and beyond have created a more conducive regional political environment, which Hamas seeks to […]

The ongoing transformation of the Middle East has affected every government and every political organization in the region. In some cases, the changes have led to a clearly visible victory; in others, an obvious defeat. In the case of Hamas, the radical Palestinian group that rules Gaza, the Arab Spring has brought a disorienting combination of extremely good and extremely bad news. Hamas now faces a starkly different world with conflicting forces at play. More importantly for the Hamas leadership, it must urgently make some very difficult decisions. On the surface, the Arab uprisings look like a cause for jubilation […]

On Dec. 25, 43-year-old Yevgeny Shevchuk was elected president of Transnistria by a landslide, winning nearly 80 percent of the vote in a runoff after outmaneuvering two powerful and seasoned opponents. It was a triumph for democracy in a remote corner of Southeastern Europe that few outside the neighborhood would have had any reason to notice. But it is worth taking note, not only because Shevchuk is a young reformer in a part of the world groaning under entrenched oligarchies, but also because his successful campaign offers a larger lesson at a time when popular democratic movements are shaking the […]

A wave of bombs struck two Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad, Thursday, officials said, killing at least 27 people. The blasts intensified fears of a renewed cycle of sectarian violence in Iraq. World News Videos by NewsLook

Iran’s exchange rate is experiencing unusual volatility, with the U.S. dollar and the euro both rising by more than 25 percent against the Iranian rial over the past three weeks, despite attempts by Iran’s central bank to stabilize its currency. This volatility has coincided with the approval by the United States and the United Kingdom of a new round of sanctions against Iran targeting the Iranian central bank (ICB). The sanctions will deny access to U.S. markets to any firm that engages in financial transactions with the ICB. Since Iran’s commercial banks have already been targeted by similar sanctions, the […]

Amateur video presented to Reuters shows Syrian protesters in setting up night camps in the main square of the city of Homs. The United Nations has said at least 5,000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began last March. World News Videos by NewsLook

The standoff over Iran’s nuclear program has raised tensions in the Persian Gulf, even as factional battles in Tehran have divided the Iranian regime. This WPR special report examines Iran through articles published in the past year. Below are links to each article in this special report, which subscribers can read in full. Not a subscriber? Purchase this document for Kindle or as a PDF from Scribd. Or subscribe now. The Nuclear Standoff Iran’s Slow but Steady Nuclear MarchBy Richard WeitzNovember 8, 2011 Iran and the Nuclear ParadoxBy Robert FarleyNovember 16, 2011 How to Stop Worrying and Live with the […]

Last year was a tough one in terms of global economics, humanitarian disasters and political leadership among the world’s great powers. But it was also the year of the glorious Arab Spring and hints of similar developments in Myanmar, Russia and Ethiopia. So while the year’s “fundamentals,” as the economists like to say, weren’t so good, it left us with plenty to be grateful for as globalization continues to awaken the desire of individuals for freedom the world over. Keeping all that in mind, here is my foreign policy wish list for 2012. A decisive election in the United States. […]