The seven foul-smelling lagoons of sewage near Gaza's coast were supposed to be replaced by a globally funded waste-treatment plant. Instead, they epitomize the nightmare faced by foreign donors as they seek to rebuild the territory and open a pathway to peace. ...more

March 2, 2009

Israel declared a unilateral cease-fire Saturday in its 22-day offensive that turned Gaza neighborhoods into battlegrounds and dealt a stinging blow to the Islamic militants of Hamas. But Israeli troops will stay in the Palestinian territory for now and Hamas threatened to keep fighting until they leave. ...more

January 18, 2009

Islamic insurgents appeared to be scrambling for power Saturday, taking over several police stations in the capital as Ethiopian troops who have been propping up the government began to pull out, witnesses said. ...more

January 4, 2009

Gaza's deeply entrenched Hamas rulers won't be easily toppled, even by Israel's unprecedented bombings Saturday that killed more than 200 people, most of them men in Hamas uniform. ...more

December 28, 2008

The Bush administration will mount a last-ditch push this week to muster international backing for a relatively small U.N. peacekeeping mission in Somalia, in an effort to help stem piracy and prevent the resurgence of Islamic militants in the lawless east African nation, according to State Department officials. ...more

December 15, 2008

Nearly 600 newly trained Palestinian troops took up positions in this tense city on Saturday, as part of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' attempt to expand his control in the West Bank and keep Hamas in line. ...more

October 26, 2008

Suicide attacks have killed nearly 1,200 people in Pakistan since July 2007, most of them civilians, according to military statistics Monday that underscored the ferocity of the threat facing the U.S. ally in the war on extremist groups. ...more

September 30, 2008

A deadly American-led raid on a Pakistani village embarrassed the government and eroded support for the pro-U.S. presidential front-runner Thursday just two days before the election. ...more

September 5, 2008

Pakistan's largest political party on Friday proposed the husband of assassinated leader Benazir Bhutto to succeed the ousted Pervez Musharraf as president. ...more

August 23, 2008

Suicide bombers killed 59 people at a huge arms factory Thursday in one of Pakistan's deadliest terrorist attacks, adding to the turmoil from political squabbling that is threatening to tear apart the ruling coalition now that Pervez Musharraf has resigned as president. ...more

August 22, 2008