Starkville K-12 teachers travel to Israel, Jordan with MSU program
Four Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District teachers, as well as Mississippi State University students and professors, are traveling in the Middle East for an educational archeology trip offered through the Fulbright-Hays grant awarded last year.
AP Poll: Republicans wary of immigration from Middle East
With his call for blocking Muslims from entering the United States, Donald Trump may be tapping into deep concern among Republican voters about allowing Middle Eastern immigrants into the country, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.
Obama view of US role in Arab world challenged by crises
President Barack Obama’s view of the U.S. role in the Middle East and North Africa is being challenged by deepening crises in the very countries he has seen as models for his approach to the volatile region: Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Libya.
Anger, grief in Mideast at Islamic State killing of Jordanian pilot
The horrific fate of a captured Jordanian pilot, burned to death by the Islamic State group, unleashed a wave of grief and rage on Wednesday across the Middle East.
Bush officials did little oversight of CIA program
In July 2004, despite growing internal concerns about the CIA’s brutal interrogation methods, senior members of George W. Bush’s national security team gave the agency permission to employ the harsh tactics against an al-Qaida facilitator the agency suspected was linked to a plot to disrupt the upcoming presidential election.
Bitter Mideast greets U.S. torture report with shrug
This week’s revelations about the CIA’s harsh treatment of terror suspects in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks have been met with a collective shrug in the broader Middle East.
No end in sight for America’s Mideast war duties
Thirteen years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, this was supposed to be a season of relief, with Iraq managing on its own and most U.S. troops finally ending their combat duty in Afghanistan.
Some Christians arm as Mideast perils mount
Every day around sunset, dozens of residents of this small Lebanese Christian village on the border carry their automatic rifles and deploy on surrounding hills, taking up positions and laying ambushes in case Muslim extremists from neighboring Syria attack.
Kerry backs off Israel ‘apartheid’ comment
Secretary of State John Kerry says he chose the wrong word in describing Israel’s potential future after coming under withering criticism for saying the Jewish state could become an “apartheid state” if it doesn’t reach a peace deal with the Palestinians.
Palestinians say they don’t want Kerry to fail
The Palestinians don’t want to see U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s troubled Mideast peace mission fail, but will no longer feel bound by his ground rules if Israel fails to live up to its commitments, the chief Palestinian negotiator said Friday.
Spy’s release would be high-stakes gamble
The Obama administration is bringing the U.S. closer than it has been in years to granting convicted spy Jonathan Pollard an early release in a high-stakes gamble to advance Mideast peace talks.
Israeli demand sparks ‘Jewish state’ debate
Is Israel “the Jewish state”?
The answer may seem as obvious as the Star of David on the Israeli flag. Yet the question is starting to complicate the ambitious U.S. effort to ram through a peace deal between the Palestinians and Israel.
U.S. Jewish leader criticizes Israel boycott drive
A top American Jewish leader on Thursday called on Western governments to combat the growing international campaign to boycott Israel over its settlement activities, saying the phenomenon is one of the greatest challenges facing Israel.
Kerry plays down spat with Israeli defense chief
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday played down criticism by Israel’s defense minister of American efforts to broker peace in the Middle East, saying he wouldn’t let “one set of comments” undermine his work.
Israeli defense chief comments spark spat with U.S.
An Israeli newspaper quoted the defense minister Tuesday as deriding U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s Mideast peace efforts as naive and foolhardy, triggering an angry response from Washington and rekindling simmering tensions with Israel’s closest and most important ally.
Israel says it will build new homes in West Bank
Israel says it plans to build 1,400 new homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territory the Palestinians claim for their state.
Kerry: Mideast peace still possible
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted his Palestinian partner in peace-making efforts on Thursday, accusing him of embracing terrorists “as heroes,” harsh words that clouded the start of Secretary of State John Kerry’s tenth trip to the region to negotiate a peace deal he claims is “not mission impossible.”
In a selfie, a slain teen’s last moments
It’s a happy moment, a selfie taken by a group of teenagers on a sunny day in downtown Beirut. Mohammed Shaar sits among his friends in a red hoodie and his dark-framed glasses.
Hagel outlines new weapons sale plan for Gulf nations
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel opened the door for the U.S. to sell missile defense and other weapons systems to U.S.-friendly Gulf nations, with an eye toward boosting their abilities to counter Iran’s ballistic missiles, even as global powers ink a nuclear deal with Tehran.
Israel leader: Rest of world soft on Palestinians
JERUSALEM — Israel’s prime minister on Sunday accused the international community of being too soft on the Palestinians, saying the world must understand that peace