WORLD
March 15, 2010 | By Edmund Sanders
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried Sunday to move beyond a diplomatic rift with the U.S. even as Obama administration officials reiterated their displeasure with a controversial housing project in East Jerusalem. In his first public comments about last week's tense visit by Vice President Joe Biden, Netanyahu expressed regret for Israel's surprise announcement of 1,600 new housing units to be built on land occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East War. U.S. officials say the move embarrassed Biden and jeopardized efforts to restart peace talks with Palestinians, which was a purpose of his visit to the Mideast.
WORLD
March 14, 2010 | By Jeffrey Fleishman
Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed Saturday to allow foreign observers to sit on an election commission, reversing a decree that sidestepped international oversight and drew U.S. criticism that he was jeopardizing his government's credibility. Karzai's decision followed weeks of pressure from the international community to improve the legitimacy of elections. The president's reelection in August was widely regarded as fraudulent, and his recent decision to do away with foreign monitors further agitated the United Nations.
WORLD
March 14, 2010 | By Paul Richter
Beginning as a spat over a single housing project, a dispute this week between the Obama administration and Israel has ballooned into the biggest U.S.-Israeli clash in 20 years, adding to months of strain between Washington and one of its closest allies. Israel's decision to move ahead with 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem, announced during a visit by Vice President Joe Biden, drew criticism from Washington in language rarely directed at even Iran or North Korea. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Israel's announcement "was an insult to the United States."
WORLD
March 8, 2010 | By Edmund Sanders
Vice President Joe Biden was due to arrive Monday in Israel on a mission to mend relations after a rocky first year for new administrations in both countries. During the three-day visit, Biden is expected to consult with Israeli leaders about Iran and kick off peace negotiations -- albeit indirect ones -- between Israelis and Palestinians. The Palestine Liberation Organization led by Fatah formally endorsed U.S.-brokered talks on Sunday. But analysts and officials say the primary objective for Biden, the highest-ranking administration official to visit Israel since President Obama's election, is to give Israel's government a diplomatic nod and boost Israelis' confidence in the U.S. president.
WORLD
March 1, 2010 | By Borzou Daragahi
Iran has dramatically shifted its public tone toward the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, dropping its previous deference while harshly criticizing the agency's latest report and its new director-general as an incompetent and biased lackey of the West. On Sunday, Iran's supreme leader and highest authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, lashed out at the International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors Iran's nuclear program and adherence to the international Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, in a move that could signal a further deterioration of cooperation between the agency and the Islamic Republic.
NATIONAL
March 1, 2010 | By Richard Simon
Two and a half years after lawmakers fell short in their effort to pass a resolution to recognize the Armenian genocide, sponsors of the long-debated measure are launching a new bid to bring the issue before the House. Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Valley Village), who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee and backs the resolution, plans to bring it before his panel Thursday. It will come before the House "only if the votes are there to pass it," Berman said. "Once we pass it out of committee, we're going to try to get those votes."
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
February 25, 2010 | By Seema Mehta
In a dispute that commingles foreign policy and a quest for political advantage, U.S.-Israel relations have taken an unexpectedly central role in the California race for Senate. Rivals in the race for the Republican nomination are questioning whether former Rep. Tom Campbell is sufficiently supportive of Israel. They base their criticisms on his voting record, statements about a Palestinian homeland and capital, and some of his past associates. Their allegations have raised enough concerns for Campbell that he plans to meet Monday with the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
WORLD
February 21, 2010 | By Laura King
Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday made an emotional appeal for coalition troops to strive to prevent civilian deaths as a major offensive in the south by U.S., British and Afghan troops entered its second week. The president's remarks, in a speech to Afghan lawmakers, came as Western military officials announced that troops involved in the fighting for the Taliban stronghold of Marja had shot and killed an Afghan man a day earlier, mistakenly believing he was menacing a patrol with a makeshift bomb.
WORLD
February 21, 2010 | By Tracy Wilkinson
The highest-level meeting of U.S. and Cuban officials in Havana in years was overshadowed Saturday by a flourish of recriminations reminiscent of the Cold War-era tensions that have long polarized the two nations. The talks Friday in Havana focused on immigration issues, including visas and repatriation, part of a dialogue resumed in July after a six-year suspension. Both governments labeled the talks as positive. But on Saturday, Cuba scolded the U.S. officials, who used their visit to meet with dissidents.
WORLD
February 14, 2010 | By Tony Perry
Hundreds of Afghan men walked for miles over dusty roads Saturday to hear the Marines explain those angry sounds of war coming from the Taliban stronghold of Marja. Nearly 400 elders, farmers and tradesmen attended the open-air meeting called by their tribal leaders. In the distance, artillery boomed and Hellfire missiles exploded as the Marine-led assault on Marja entered its first full day. For the U.S., the meeting was part of a strategy to move quickly from the fighting to the establishment of at least the beginnings of a government that answers to President Hamid Karzai, not the Taliban.