Though the U.N. has asked the parties backing the various entities in the Syrian conflict to stop injecting weapons into the violent war. The parties backing the various entities in the Syrian conflict seem to have declined to acede to the U.N.’s request: Heavy fighting resumed around the northern Syrian...

Efforts are being made to bolster the contingent of UN peacekeepers on the Golan Heights,even as it is being scaled down in the shadow of deteriorating stability between on the Israeli-Syrian border. Fiji, a tiny chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean, agreed to send it troops to strengthen the...

A G8 meeting today between President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the Syrian conflict ended without apparent progress. Reuters conveys the mood awkward: Both leaders looked tense and uncomfortable as they addressed reporters after about two hours of talks, with Putin staring mostly at the floor as he...

Two North American politicians – one from the U.S., one from Canada – have launched an initiative to advocate on behalf of that country’s political prisoners. The runup to the election saw a crackdown on “political activists, trade unionists and students,” with Amnesty International director for the Middle East and North Africa blasting...

Washington Institute fellow David Makovsky has taken to the New York Times to argue that Europe has to follow the example set two years ago by President Obama and, bluntly, make Palestinian leaders and citizens face some difficult truths: The only way to achieve Palestinian statehood is through direct, unconditional talks with Israel....

Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson announced today that Stockholm plans to cut assistance that it provides to the Palestinian Authority (PA), after Swedish officials became dissatisfied with the pace of Palestinian negotiations with Israel. Sweden currently provides $107 million annually to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank....