A bomb killed an anti-Syrian politician Tuesday in the second such assassination in three weeks, fuelling opposition fears that Damascus and its Lebanese allies are hitting their enemies in a bid to restore their fading authority. Former Communist Party leader George Hawi, 67, was killed by an explosion under his …

TEHRAN (AP) — Tehran’s arch-conservative mayor capped a stunning political rise Saturday to claim second place in Iran’s presidential race and face one of the nation’s most famous statesmen in a head-to-head vote. Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — a 49-year-old former student radical backed by Iran’s ruling clerics and their military …

BAGHDAD — Donny George of the Iraq Museum is more concerned about security than most museum directors. Books on George’s shelves summarise his struggle: “Institutional Trauma: Major Change in Museums and its Effect on Staff,” “Museum Security and Protection” and “Moving the Mountain: A Guide to Moving Collections.”