Obama came, saw and united, which is bad news for Assad

Ruth Pollard He came to woo the Israeli public and woo them he did, with endless symbolic gestures and a speech that won over many on both the right and left of the political spectrum.

Khalid Mishal: terrorist or rebel with a cause?

Paul McGeough Doha, Qatar FIRST comes one projectile, then another. Both are in full flight, moving quickly. Launched by Khalid Mishal in the early hours of the morning, they could be rockets over Gaza.

Saudi beheads Sri Lankan maid for murdering baby

Saudi Arabia beheaded a Sri Lankan maid on Wednesday after she was convicted of murdering her employer's baby, the interior ministry announced, despite calls for a stay of execution.

Saudis hold accused man for $1m in 'blood money'

A Philippine man has won a stay of execution hours before he was due to be beheaded for murdering his landlord in Saudi Arabia.

Tel Aviv, Jerusalem sound sirens as Israel extends strikes

Alisa Odenheimer and Calev Ben-David Palestinian missiles landed in areas around Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and air-raid warnings sounded in both cities as Israel extended its bombing of the Gaza Strip and planned to increase its military...

Paul McGeough

This time, the US can't buy the region's silence

Paul McGeough WE have yet to see the mettle of Barack Obama in his second term as US President, but it will be intriguing to watch how he sustains Washington's support for Israel in the coming four years - or not.

Obama leans on others to halt Gaza crisis

Matt Williams and Paul Harris New York: The US President, Barack Obama, has personally urged leaders in Turkey and Egypt to engage with Hamas over a "de-escalation" of hostilities in Gaza, while continuing to support Israeli...

Jordan teetering on the cusp of change

Ruth Pollard, Amman, Jordan Some call it a 'government by night', at once loathed and mocked for its habit of delivering bad news while the country sleeps. Jordanians say they never know what the mornings will bring.

Ruth Pollard

Slow burn on the road to revolution

Ruth Pollard Some call it a ''government by night'', at once loathed and mocked for its habit of delivering bad news while the country sleeps.

Under the veil of secret cinemas

In a country with no public cinemas and where only a few films have been shown to the public in more than three decades, it is a radical step: a group of filmmakers in Saudi Arabia has launched a...

China raps West over Syria split

China accuses some Western countries of seeking regime change in Syria and blamed their increasing support for rebel forces in the civil war as hurting the solidarity of the UN Security Council.

Women ready to be Saudi Arabia's new driving force

Ruth Pollard All eyes are on the increasingly frail King Abdullah, 88, as he prepares to choose a successor.

An alleged kidnap plot, a $490 million fortune and the Red Prince: royal rivalries force Saudi Arabia's 'little Barbie' princess into life of exile

Hugh Miles and Robert Mendick She was Saudi Arabia's "Barbie" princess; the pampered granddaughter of the Kingdom's founder and daughter of one of his most powerful and favoured sons.

Saudi women a first at Olympics

London Saudi Arabia will send female athletes to the Olympic Games for the first time, the International Olympic Committee said, ending a ban by the kingdom where women aren't allowed to drive.

Saudis may seek nuclear deterrent

Ben Doherty, Islamabad The arrival of a senior UN team in Tehran raises hopes that Iran may be in the mood to talk about its nuclear program.

Saudi women win support in campaign to exclude men from selling lingerie

Jeddah Only female staff will be able to sell women's lingerie in Saudi Arabia from today - ending decades of awkwardness in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom where women are expected to don black...

Lingerie jobs only for women

SAUDI ARABIA: From today, only women will be able to sell women's lingerie in Saudi Arabia, ending decades of awkwardness in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom where women are expected to don...

New bid to broker Middle East talks

Jonathan Ferziger TEL AVIV: Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met in Jordan for the first time in more than a year yesterday to determine whether there is hope of reviving the Middle East peace process.

Turkey loses patience with Syria

Ian Black TURKEY has frozen financial assets and cut strategic links with Damascus to ratchet up pressure on the regime of Bashar al-Assad to end its violence against protesters, following the Arab League's...