Middle East News

Many exchange shops closed in Damascus on Tuesday, fearing more chaos a day after the Syrian currency plunged to a new record low, reflecting growing fears in the capital following a U.S. decision to arm rebel groups fighting to topple President Bashar Assad's regime.

Afghanistan officials will open a U.S.-backed office in the Gulf nation of Qatar as early as Tuesday to facilitate direct peace talks with the Taliban, according to three senior administration officials.

Israeli police have launched an investigation to find perpetrators who vandalized cars and sprayed hate graffiti in an Arab town near Jerusalem.

Men detained for standing on Taksim Square in a protest against the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan are seen arrested inside a truck used by the Turkish police, June 18, 2013.

Iran's newly elected president showcased his reform-leaning image Monday by promising a "path of moderation" that includes greater openness on Tehran's nuclear program and overtures to Washington.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen.

Western nations are facing down Russian president Vladimir Putin at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland over his support for the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria.

Yemeni and American rights protesters have staged a demonstration in front of U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, demanding release of Yemeni Guantanamo detainees.

In this Sunday, March 3, 2013 file photo, A Kurdish female member of the Popular Protection Units stands guard at a check point near the northeastern city of Qamishli, Syria.

Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden's leaks to the Guardian newspaper have thrown back the curtain on the world of diplomatic espionage, revealing - in explicit detail - how British spies monitor enemies and allies alike.

Streisand says she is distressed to read about women in Israel "being forced to sit on the back of the bus" and women being assaulted while praying at Jerusalem's Western Wall.

BAGHDAD: Three bomb attacks in Iraq including a blast inside a roadside restaurant killed 12 people on Monday, officials said, the latest in a surge of violence that has left nearly 2,000 dead since the beginning of April.

America's newest Miss USA is leaving a white collar job behind for a world of glamour in her new role - and she can't wait.

Four Shiite Lebanese men were killed Sunday in an ambush in a volatile area by the border with Syria, hiking already high sectarian tensions and concerns over the spillover of the civil war raging next door.

Under Hosni Mubarak's rule, Egypt's authorities took a tough line on Egyptians coming home after waging "jihad" in places like Afghanistan, Chechnya or the Balkans, fearing they would bring back extremist ideology, combat experience and a thirst for regime change.

As police vehicles rolled into Kizilay Square in Ankara on Sunday, a woman approached a lightly armoured truck bearing the logo of the Turikish police anti-terrorism department and asked those inside: "What is this oppression? Have you no fear of God?" - Riot police firing tear gas and water cannons repelled thousands of anti-government protesters ... (more)

Syrian state TV and residents say an explosion has shaken a Damascus neighborhood that houses several embassies and a military airport.

The election of a new president in Iran and news that U.S. plans to provide weapons to Syrian rebels preoccupied Israeli officials and analysis this weekend.

Sunday's meeting between Israel's Yair Lapid and the Palestinians' Shukri Bashara marked the first high-profile meeting between officials since the new Israeli government took office in March.

A string of nearly a dozen apparently coordinated bombs and a shooting killed at least 30 and wounded scores across Iraq on Sunday, extending a wave of violence that is raising fears of a return to widespread killing a decade after the U.S.-led invasion.