Middle East
Nukes, Oil and a Prince’s Redemption: A Trip Fraught With Perils for Biden
JERUSALEM — President Biden left Washington for a four-day trip to the Middle East on Tuesday to try to slow down an accelerating Iranian nuclear program, speed up the flow of oil to American pumps and reshape the relationship with Saudi Arabia without seeming to embrace a crown prince the C.I.A. believes was behind the […]
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Biden to Make First Visit as President to Israel and Saudi Arabia
JERUSALEM — When President Biden arrives in the Middle East this week, on his first visit as American head of state, he will find a region where alliances, priorities and relations with the United States have shifted significantly since his last official trip, six years ago. His visit opens in Israel and the occupied West […]
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The Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh: Tracing a Bullet to an Israeli Convoy
JENIN, West Bank — The journalists thought they were safe. Several blocks away, a gunfight between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian men had just stopped. Hoping to interview witnesses, the group of reporters headed down the street toward an Israeli military convoy. Among them was Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran Palestinian-American television correspondent. Suddenly, six bullets […]
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Fears Grow Over Iran’s Nuclear Program as Tehran Digs a New Tunnel Network
The deal, which President Donald J. Trump abandoned in 2018, limited Tehran’s ability to install new centrifuges and forced it to ship 97 percent of its nuclear fuel out of the country. Mr. Biden’s refusal of Iran’s demand to remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps from the list of terrorist organizations, along with a flow […]
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Biden Trip to Saudi Arabia Is Set, but Energy Help Is Not
WASHINGTON — President Biden’s much-anticipated trip to Saudi Arabia has been formally set for next month, the White House announced on Tuesday, but officials played down the chances of securing much immediate help in stabilizing energy markets roiled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mr. Biden will make his first trip to the Middle East as […]
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John R. Allen Resigns as Brookings President After Qatar Revelations
John R. Allen, the retired four-star general who once commanded American troops in Afghanistan, resigned on Sunday as president of the Brookings Institution, six days after a court filing revealed evidence that he had secretly lobbied for Qatar. His resignation is the latest indication of the seriousness of the federal investigation involving the general. Brookings, […]
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Mohammed Bin Zayed Becomes U.A.E. President
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan became the president of the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, formalizing the rise of a 61-year-old prince who has deftly wielded his country’s oil wealth to become one of the most influential leaders in the Arab world and a close partner of the United States. At […]
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Blinken to Press Mideast Allies for Stronger Support for Ukraine
SDE BOKER, Israel — When he joins a summit on Sunday focused on Middle East unity, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will ask some of the region’s top diplomats to rally behind another cause: helping Ukraine repel Russia’s invasion. The hastily arranged summit meeting in the Negev desert has been billed as a historic […]
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BA.2 Omicron Subvariant Driving Most Global Cases, W.H.O. Says
The World Health Organization reported that the highly contagious Omicron subvariant, BA.2, that is helping to drive another surge of coronavirus cases in Europe is now the dominant version of Omicron around the world. Globally, BA.2 made up about 86 percent of cases reported to the W.H.O. between Feb. 16 and March 17, the agency […]
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