A car bomb ripped through a bustling shopping district in a religiously mixed neighborhood of western Baghdad on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people and wounding about 20 as the U.S.-Iraqi security operation entered its third week.

Saudis crowded to camel races and sword-dancing this week at a desert cultural festival that has come to reflect growing anxiety over national unity and the loss of tribal Arab identity to Western culture.

An Egyptian court on Wednesday upheld a decision by the state prosecutor and ordered a freeze on the assets of 29 Muslim Brotherhood members known to be the financiers of the country’s most powerful opposition movement.

Israel has denied seeking permission from the United States to fly warplanes over Iraq as part of its preparations to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities. In a statement to Israel Radio on Sunday, Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh denied such arrangements existed and accused “international authorities who prefer to avoid dealing …

Israeli troops disguised as Palestinians killed an Islamic Jihad commander and two activists in Jenin on Wednesday in a new crackdown in the north of the occupied West Bank.

By opening the door to a high-level dialogue with Iran and Syria, the US appears to be embracing a diplomatic strategy that its critics have long said was essential to stabilise Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki invited neighbouring countries and world powers on Wednesday to a March 10 meeting in Baghdad, saying he hoped it would help bring reconciliation and support for his government.

Leaders of two nations faced with strong international pressure — Iran for its nuclear programme and Sudan because of the conflict in Darfur — closed ranks on Wednesday as Sudan’s Omar Bashir and visiting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran gushed in support of one another.

 King Abdullah on Wednesday called on the international community to intensify efforts “at this stage” to revive the Middle East peace process.

Most Westerners know comparatively little about Saudi Arabia and its House of Saud rulers. Yet Western powers — first Britain, then the United States — have been instrumental in elevating the House of Saud to the position it currently occupies and in maintaining its rule against all odds.