Politics

A security breach on a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight has halted a key regional air link, affecting thousands of business and leisure travellers.

Washington spent two decades and hundreds of millions of dollars trying to win Arab audiences with a satellite channel. The story of Alhurra says a lot about how public diplomacy works, and how it doesn't.

The idea that Israel pushed America into Iraq was popular on both the left and the right. The record at home was messier: Israeli opinion was split, and the government's calculations were more cautious than the neoconservative project.

Washington's democracy rhetoric after 2001 raised hopes of a rapprochement with reformers in the Muslim world. The gap between words and policy made the partnership harder than it looked.

Pakistanis often describe their relationship with the United States as a betrayal by a partner who only calls when it needs something. The history explains why the anger runs so deep.

The uprisings of 2011 seemed to come from nowhere. In fact they drew on years of organising, economic grievance and a few crucial sparks.

A country-by-country guide to the uprisings of 2011, and where each ended up.

A guide to the agreements, declarations and resolutions that are cited again and again in the region's conflicts.