Lebanon's election passed smoothly, and the country now has a new prime minister. But forming a government is likely to prove tougher. Lucy Fielder reports from Beirut

Israel is pushing ahead with settlements, defying Obama to punish Adam, prophesies Khaled Amayreh in occupied Jerusalem

Palestinians refusing the colonial state imposed over their heads are branded terrorists while Israelis are given carte blanche to be outright racist against Palestinians. In occupied Jerusalem, Joharah Baker asks why

While heavily influenced by Iran, Hizbullah has deep ties across the spectrum of the Iranian elite, writes Franklin Lamb in Dahiyeh, Beirut

There is no short cut to democracy in Mauritania and no place for cosmetic reform, notes Gamal Nkrumah

The real struggle in Iran is not happening in the street, backed by foreign powers, but within the core of the Iranian establishment, writes Mustafa El-Labbad

Syria fears that traditional economic ties between Turkey and Israel, now in focus as Ankara seeks partners in a de-mining project on its southeast frontier, could trigger a crisis of Syrian national security, reports Bassel Oudat from Damascus

The Turkish government's attempt to clear mines along its southern and eastern borders triggers nationalist sentiment amid accusations that reclaimed land will be leased to Israelis, writes Gareth Jenkins in Ankara

A passenger jet carrying 153 people from Paris and Marseilles via Yemen to Comoros crashed into the Indian Ocean early Tuesday while trying to land on the tiny island nation of Comoros...

Surprised that the new US president isn't towing a Zionist line, Israel is resorting to all kinds of pressure tactics to maintain diplomatic cover for its colonial practices, writes Ayman El-Amir

Mixed messages are coming from Washington, says Asmaa El-Husseini