The current standoff with Iran is similar to the 'fateful' period before the 1967 Arab-Israel war, when Israel launched a preemptive strike, said Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Russia continues to oppose any United Nations intervention in Syria, even as violence escalates. But Russia might be persuaded to act if the Assad regime looks certain to fall, experts say.

The US plan to end its combat mission in Afghanistan by the end of 2013, shifting to an 'advise and assist' role, may not mean a huge change for troops on the ground.

Pakistan's highest court said on Feb. 2 it would charge Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani with contempt of court for refusing to reopen a corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari.

Iran's President Ahmadinejad begins a tour of anti-American capitals in Latin America in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday. The trip seeks to counter perceptions of Iran's isolation over its nuclear program.

The jailing of Turkey's former top military official, pending a trial on charges of terrorism and plotting to bring down the government, is only the latest of hundreds of arrests of those who pose a threat to the government's power.

Some Chinese scholars worry that the new US defense strategy could promote strategic competition in the long term. The most likely theater for crisis? The South China Sea.

The Arab League will hold an emergency meeting Saturday to decide whether to pull its monitors from Syria amid continued violence. If the Arab League recalls its monitors, international pressure on Syria would mount.

Last year was momentous, but the region may just be getting warmed up.

Liege attack in Belgium appears to have been carried out by a lone gunman using grenades and automatic weapons.

Images of Greek protesters waving signs of German Chancellor Merkel in Nazi uniform have troubled Germans. Many in struggling eurozone countries resent Merkel's hard line.

Some Iranian conservatives praised yesterday's attack on the British embassy, while others condemned it as endangering national security as tensions rise with the West.

Chinese officials have reacted cooly to President Obama's announcement Wednesday that US Marines will be based in northern Australia, closer to the disputed South China Sea than any other US land forces.

Pakistani Ambassador Husain Haqqani's offer to resign hasn't been accepted yet, and perhaps won't. But the reasons for a raging Pakistani controversy are worrying.

Europe's two-year debt crisis, now threatening the global economy, has shown shortcomings in the way Europeans make decisions. President Obama and others urged quick action.

The hefty victory of an Islamist party in Tunisia's election kicks off a year of constitution writing. Urgently needed now is a bill of rights to guarantee freedom for all, regardless of creed or politics.

The Gilad Shalit deal has set a dangerous precedent for prisoner exchanges and weakened the Palestinian Authority, say some Israeli officials.

The Bulgarian ruling party candidate for the presidency garnered 40 percent of the vote in Sunday's election. The smooth conduct of the election is seen as a sign the country's fledgling democracy is maturing.

The US recalled Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, who has been a sharp critic of the Assad regime. His departure comes amid intensifying scrutiny of the country's brutal crackdown on protesters.

The case of a toddler run over twice and left in the road to die has sparked a morality debate in China about the legal and ethical shortcomings in a China focused on economic progress.