Since antiquity, the Middle East has been the trading nexus of three continents — Asia, Europe and Africa — and the vibrant birthplace to three of the world's great religions.
An Egyptian court on Saturday confirmed the death sentences against 21 people for taking part in a deadly soccer riot but acquitted seven police officials for their alleged role in the violence. Suspected fans enraged by the verdict torched the soccer federation headquarters and a police club in Cairo in protest.
Thousands of low-ranking policemen on strike across Egypt on Thursday refused orders to work and protested what they claim is the politicization of the force in favor of the president's Muslim Brotherhood party.
Egypt is headed toward a "collapse" that will impact "future generations" due to continuing violence and unrest, said President Mohammed Morsi appointee, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, on Tuesday.
Tens of thousands of mourners chanting slogans against Islamist President Mohammed Morsi poured into the streets of the restive Egyptian city of Port Said on Sunday for a mass funeral for most of the 37 people killed in rioting a day earlier.
In an impromptu conversation with Joe the Plumber during the 2008 presidential campaign, candidate Barack Obama famously acknowledged his support for redistributing the nation's wealth.
Thousands of opponents of Egypt's Islamist president clashed with his supporters in cities across the country Friday, burning several offices of the Muslim Brotherhood, in the most violent and widespread protests since Mohammed Morsi came to power, sparked by his move to grant himself sweeping powers.
Iran's nuclear ambitions predate the clerical dictatorship that overthrew the monarchy in 1979. The last monarch, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, reached the same conclusion when Britain, in 1968, suddenly relinquished all of its geopolitical responsibilities east of Suez - from Singapore to the Suez Canal, including the Persian Gulf and the oil that then fueled most of the Western world.
While America focuses on its internal problems and its involvement in three wars and the world focuses on the global economy, Iran is progressing on three dangerous fronts: nuclear weapons, armed missiles and naval capability.
