Apr 15 Little will for American involvement in Ukraine By Domenico Montanaro There is little American political will for strong U.S. intervention in Ukraine, a new poll finds. While a majority, 55 percent, say the situation in Ukraine is key to U.S. national interests, 50 percent of Americans don’t think the U.S. Continue reading
Apr 11 U.S. blocks Iran's controversial pick for UN ambassador By Julie Pace, Associated Press In a rare diplomatic rebuke, the United States has blocked Iran's controversial pick for envoy to the United Nations, a move that could stir fresh animosity at a time when Washington and Tehran have been seeking a thaw in relations. Continue reading
Apr 08 Watch News Wrap: Hagel, Chinese defense minister discuss disputed islands By PBS News Hour In our news wrap Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel met with China’s defense minister, who warned that his government is ready to use force to defend their sovereignty over a group of islands under territorial dispute with Japan and… Continue watching
Apr 02 Iran's new ambassador to the U.N. held Americans hostage in 1979 By Lara Jakes, Associated Press Hamid Aboutalebi was a member of a Muslim student group that stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Continue reading
Mar 28 Obama makes fence-mending trip to Saudi Arabia By Jim Kuhnhenn, Associated Press President Barack Obama is making a fence-mending mission to Saudi Arabia, an important Middle East ally that's grown nervous as the U.S. negotiates with Iran and pulls out troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. Continue reading
Mar 12 Trendlines: What does the Ukraine crisis mean for the Middle East? By Larisa Epatko Rapid developments in Ukraine have focused international attention on the region and, some fear, away from pressing matters in the Middle East. We explored the potential fallout of the Ukraine crisis in the web special Trendlines. Continue reading
Mar 04 Watch News Wrap: Netanyahu says sanctions on Iran should be increased By PBS News Hour In our news wrap Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the U.S. and the world to not allow Iran to proceed with any part of its nuclear program in remarks during a visit to Washington. Also, the court martial… Continue watching
Mar 03 Obama to meet Netanyahu to appeal for Mideast peace talks By Julie Pace, Associated Press Seeking to keep a pair of delicate diplomatic efforts afloat, President Barack Obama will personally appeal for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to move forward on peace talks with the Palestinians, while also trying to manage Israel's deep suspicion of… Continue reading
Feb 27 Syria tops list of human rights violations in 2013, US report says By Lara Jakes, Associated Press WASHINGTON -- A chemicals weapons attack in Syria last summer that the U.S. says killed more than 1,400 people was the world's worst human rights violation of 2013, the Obama administration concluded Thursday. The report by the State Department also… Continue reading
Feb 21 Taking apart Iran's nuclear program By Elizabeth Shell Why is the world watching Iran's nuclear program? Because many countries have accused the Islamic State of pursuing nuclear weapons capability, although Iran insists that its program is peaceful. Read on to see how they are affected by the interim… Continue reading