President Obama declares an end to combat operations in Iraq. Israeli settlers to resume settlement building in Hebron ahead of peace talks. Pakistan blocks British military aid in flood relief efforts. All this and more in today's briefing.
Netanyahu distances himself from Yosef remarks before Israeli-Palestinian talks are set to begin in Washington. Chinese and North Korean media confirm Kim Jong-il visit. Campaign continues against female parliamentary candidates as five are killed in western Afghanistan. Chechen president heads op
The prospects for progress in the direct Israeli-Palestinian talks in Washington are meagre. But breakthrough is essential if Israel is to be saved from itself.
The nuclear dispute will not be resolved by negotiation, but that doesn't make an attack on Iran any less absurd.
The disconnection between the international left and its counterparts in Israel has become near total, to the detriment of the causes that both espouse. But a situation with complex roots can be remedied by looking more closely at the work of people on the ground, say Keith Kahn-Harris & Joel Scha
The Taliban propose a joint committee to investigate civilian deaths in Afghanistan. Pakistan has announced a crackdown on charities connected with Islamist militants. Israel and Palestinian Authority are on the brink of direct talks. The South African government uses a heavy hand to suppress the
Flood-ravaged Pakistan faces economic, political and security fall-out. Deadly attacks rock Iraqi capital, Baghdad. Afghan’s protest ‘civilian’ deaths. IDF accused of systematic abuse by rights groups. Blast in the Caucasuses. All this and more in today’s security briefing.
South African cabinet meet to discuss the possibility of sending peacekeeping troops to Somalia. North Korea expresses further anger as Seoul and Washington carry out further military drills. Secular Palestinian groups join Hamas, saying that a return to direct talks with Israel would be ‘dangerou
Our Gaza correspondent goes on a visit to the countryside, to see how farmers who have survived every sort of setback are faring this summer
An inquiry into Israel's raid on the Mamara is unlikely to heal the fractures of the Turkish-Israeli relationship. A definitive break in relations would alter the strategic balance of the middle east, leaving the possibility of peace even more forlorn, argues Avni Dogru.
Could a cosmopolitan citizenship in the Middle East ever include Israel? The fundamental meaning of Jewish cosmopolitanism for both its proponents and its antagonists was actually a sign of Jewish civilization long before the state of Israel was created
Netanyahu says Israel acted legally during flotilla raid. North Korea fires artillery shells into waters near South Korean border. Abu Bakar Ba’asyir arrested in Indonesia. Venezuelan and Columbian presidents to meet for talks to restore diplomatic ties. All this and more in today's security brief
