History Readings

Deadly violence and street protests in Tunisia on Wednesday postponed talks intended to end a political standoff that had thwarted completion of a new constitution in the birthplace of, and a relative bright spot in, the Arab Spring revolts.

the second anniversary of Tunisia’s first free election, the promise appeared to have slipped away again with attacks from two fronts on the moderate Islamist governing party, from militant hard-liners on one side and secular political factions on the other.

slamist militants in Sidi Bouzid, an interior province, killed at least six security officers on Wednesday and wounded several others, apparently in an attempt to disrupt the reconciliation

Nearly three months into the latest round of Washington-brokered peace talks in what has been the Middle East’s most intractable conflict, Mr. Kerry met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in Rome on Wednesday, having said the process had “intensified” over 13 negotiating sessions, i

After years of stalemate, the very fact that the talks are continuing — and, perhaps even more important,

“In a period where the whole Middle East is moving in the direction of chaos, having one area where the parties are trying to further stabilize their relationship is a positive development,”

I had the privilege of following Malala Yousafzai, on and off, for six months in 2009, documenting some of the most critical days of her life for a two-part documentary.

When Malala opted for some trashy American sitcoms, I was forced to remind myself that this girl – who had never shuddered at beheaded corpses, public floggings, and death threats directed at her father — was still just a kid.

she is a teenager, fighting for her life after being gunned down by the Taliban for doing what girls do all over the world: going to school.

American and other Western officials say the elimination of Mr. Assad’s stockpiles of poison gas would be a major accomplishment.

“But if this can be solved satisfactorily, diplomatically, it is clearly better for everyone,

Iran, by contrast, has insisted that the West acknowledge what it says is its right to enrich uranium as part of a negotiated compromise that would put limits on the nation’s nuclear program.

As the United States grapples with some of the most intractable problems in the Middle East, it has run into a buzz saw of criticism, not from traditional enemies but from two of its strongest allies.

And during a stop in Rome, Mr. Kerry sought to reassure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel that the Obama administration would not drop its guard in the newly invigorated nuclear talks with Iran.

But the criticism by Saudi officials has been the most vehement, as they have waged a campaign against the United States’ policy in the Middle East in private comments to diplomats and reporters, as well as in public remarks by a former intelligence official.

A federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that a conservative group supporting the mayoral candidacy of Joseph J. Lhota may accept contributions of any size, saying New York State’s limit on donations to independent political groups was probably unconstitutional.

The case was brought by New York Progress and Protection PAC, which said that a conservative donor from Alabama, Shaun McCutcheon, pledged to donate at least $200,000 to the group, and that other donors were likely to do the same.

“This was a very good and clear decision by the court, and it’s consistent with courts all across the United States.”

At least 48 female prisoners have been released by the Syrian government in one of the final stages of a complex three-way hostage deal, reports say.

Meanwhile electricity is slowly returning to Damascus after a rebel attack on a gas pipeline.

The rebels insisted their hostages were fighters with the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah, and were demanding the release of women detainees in exchange.

Bank of America's Countrywide Financial unit has been found liable for defrauding two US government-backed mortgage companies by a federal jury.

ruling is a major win for the US government, which launched the case in the wake of the financial crisis.

The month-long trial focused on a Countrywide programme that was internally called "Hustle" or "high-speed swim lane"

Pirates have seized two US sailors from an oil supply ship off the coast of Nigeria, officials say.

In kidnaps in the region, crew members are normally freed unharmed after any oil on board the ships is stolen.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters: "We are concerned by the disturbing increase in the incidence of maritime crime, including incidents of piracy off the coast of West Africa, specifically in the Gulf of Guinea."

Kenyan journalists came under threat this week from the Kenyan authorities over their coverage of last month’s Westgate mall attack, after video suggesting possible looting of the mall by Kenyan forces was aired on national television.

In a speech on Wednesday, Kenya’s Inspector General David Kimaiyo lashed out more broadly at news coverage of the investigation into the Westgate attack, alleging that the news reports were meant to provoke and incite negative opinions of the country’s security forces.

that you need not to provocate a propaganda war: you need not to incite Kenyans

After 27 years, the world's most famous plane had been pensioned off - first by Air France and then by British Airways - marking the end of supersonic passenger flight.

"It was probably more advanced than Apollo 11, which put the first men on the Moon."

No military plane came anywhere close. It was so manoeuvrable and there was so much spare power, even ex-fighter pilots weren't used to it."

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has said it is "really not on" for friends to spy on each other, referring to alleged US snooping on her phone calls.

The spying row threatens to overshadow EU talks on economic growth and migration to the EU. Mrs Merkel has demanded a "complete explanation" of the claims, which came out in the German media.

In a separate development, Italy's weekly L'Espresso reported that the US and UK had been spying on Italian internet and phone traffic.

Ms. Merkel herself angrily demanded assurances from President Obama that her cellphone was not the target of an American intelligence tap

“If that is true, what we hear, then that would be really bad,” Mr. de Maizière told ARD, Germany’s leading state television channel. America is Germany’s best friend, he noted, adding: “It really can’t work like this.” He suggested that there would be consequences. “We can’t simply go back to business as usual,” he said. Katrin Göring-Eckardt, the leader of the Greens, shared the indignation, noting that America is a close ally but that normal business could not be conducted “if we go about suspecting one another.” Her consternation was mixed with an element of “we told you so.” The Greens had argued since the first disclosures last summer of mass American surveillance that Ms. Merkel needed to be more vigorous and not simply accept American assurances that no German laws had been broken.