 | Party politics |
| Glittering gathering reflects Iraqi election crisis |
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| Israel marks Shalit anniversary |
| Rallies are planned in Tel Aviv to mark the fourth anniversary of the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by Palestinian militants. |
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| US Congress backs Iran sanctions |
| The US Congress overwhelmingly approves new sanctions against companies trading with Iran over its nuclear programme. |
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| Tough penalties |
| How do you punish a football team? Some examples... |
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| Lebanon tries to save Arabic |
| Can Lebanon save Arabic from slowly going extinct? |
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| Iran 'steps up' enrichment work |
| Iran produces 17kg (37lb) of uranium enriched to 20%, it says, defying UN attempts to halt its nuclear programme. |
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| Farewell, l'hitraot, wa masalaam |
| Heavenly olive oil and other tales in Tim Franks' final diary after three years as correspondent in Jerusalem |
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| Wild land |
| Is Yemen becoming a jihadist plotter's paradise? |
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| Jerusalem housing plan 'illegal' |
| UN chief Ban Ki-moon says Jerusalem municipality's plan to demolish Palestinian homes in Silwan is illegal and unhelpful. |
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| Syria jails leading rights lawyer |
| An award-winning lawyer and activist has been jailed for three years in Syria, human rights groups say. |
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| Migrants 'live in fear in Libya' |
| African migrants in Libya are "living in constant fear" and its human rights' reforms are stalling, an Amnesty report says. |
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| Pakistan protest over Iran hanging |
| Demonstrations take place in the Pakistani port city of Karachi against the hanging of a militant leader by Iran. |
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| Iran university reform sparks row |
| A row breaks out over President Ahmadinejad's battle for control over Iran's biggest and richest university. |
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| BBC Mid-East report 'confidential' |
| A legal bid to force publication of a BBC review of its Middle East coverage is rejected by the UK Court of Appeal. |
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| Israel launches 'spy satellite' |
| Israel launches a spy satellite called Ofek-9 that will reportedly be used to spy on Iran's nuclear programme. |
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| Online diplomacy |
| But can Syrians and Israelis make peace via the web? |
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| School row mothers pardoned |
| Israel's supreme court overturns jail sentences for ultra-Orthodox Jewish mothers who defied a school integration ruling. |
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| Iran doubles highest banknote |
| Iran doubles the denomination of its highest banknote to 100,000 rials, worth about $10, its Central Bank Governor says. |
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| Jerusalem park plan draws US ire |
| The US criticises an Israeli plan to demolish 22 Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem to make way for a tourist park. |
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| Israel asks UN to shelve inquiry |
| Israel asks the UN to ditch an international inquiry into an Israeli raid on a ship trying to break the Gaza blockade. |
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| Faith battleground |
| Secular Israelis call for reform of ultra-Orthodox schools |
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| Iraq electricity minister resigns |
| Iraq's electricity minister says he will resign after violent protests in several cities over chronic power shortages. |
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| Saudis gold guesstimate doubles |
| Estimates of the amount of gold reserves by Saudi Arabia are doubled to 323 tons after an accounting change. |
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| Ancient Egypt city located by radar |
| An ancient Egyptian city believed to be Avaris, the capital of the Hyksos who ruled 3,500 years ago, has been located by radar. |
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| Israel details plan on Gaza goods |
| Israel gives details of how it is to ease the Gaza blockade, with all civilian goods now expected to be let into the territory, officials say. |
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| Iraq suicide bombing kills eight |
| Eight people are killed in a suicide bombing at a market in the northern Iraqi town of Shirqat, police say. |
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| Iran bars UN nuclear inspectors |
| Iran tells the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency it will not allow two of its inspectors to enter the country. |
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| Gulf states eye China bank float |
| Qatar and Kuwait are reportedly lining up to invest $3.6bn in the upcoming flotation of the Agricultural Bank of China. |
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| Cultural exchange |
| Refugee guides bring London museum to life |
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| Iran hangs Sunni militant leader |
| Iran hangs Jundullah Sunni militant group leader Abdolmalek Rigi, who was arrested in February, official reports say. |
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| Baghdad car bombings kill 26 |
| At least 26 people are killed in a twin car bombing in Baghdad, officials say, amid speculation banks may be a new target. |
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| No Gaza joy over blockade easing |
| Israel says it is easing the land blockade of the Gaza Strip, but few people there are optimistic it will improve the situation, says the BBC's Jon Donnison. |
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| Attack on Yemen security HQ |
| Gunmen attack Yemen's security headquarters in Aden, killing at least 10 security officers and freeing militants. |
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| Meeting Syria's Bashar al-Assad |
| A Syrian leader pivotal to regional war and peace |
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| Press rejects "easing" of blockade |
| Israel's announcement that it will take steps to ease its blockade of Gaza has been dismissed by Arabic press as a cynical ploy |
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| Irish-Palestinian connection |
| Why the Palestinian cause finds favour in Ireland |
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| Israel school protests draw fire |
| Some Israeli commentators have had enough of giving in to "separatist interest groups" and relish the prospect of confrontation caused by the High Court ruling's against ultra-orthodox Hassidic Jewish parents. |
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| Libya becomes migrant dead end |
| Libya becomes dead end for Africa's migrants |
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| Why time is against Ahmadinejad |
| Why Iran's leader faces a bigger battle now |
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| Iranians in exile - One year on |
| Activists who fled Iran on the year since elections |
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| Keeping impartial in the Mid-East |
| How does a Jewish journalist report the Middle East? |
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| Your pictures: Yazidi temple |
| BBC website reader Chris de Bruyn's pictures of the Yazidi temple at Lalish, near Mosul in northern Iraq. |
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| Pictures: Nowruz celebrations |
| New year celebrations in Iran and Iraq |
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| 'I had to flee Iran or face jail' |
| Student activist Ali Kanturi jumped bail and fled Iran after a two-year struggle against his country's legal system. |
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