Middle East

Immigrant workers from Asia are building the skyscrapers of Dubai while A-list celebrities are hired to promote the city to rich Westerners

Dubai debt shock knocks £14bn off bank shares

Britain is in the front line as fears grow over exposure to the Gulf emirate's financial problems. Sarah Arnott reports on a day that sent global stock markets reeling.

Inside Middle East

'Iraq invasion was of questionable legitimacy'

Friday, 27 November 2009

The invasion of Iraq was of "questionable legitimacy", Britain's ambassador to the United Nations at the time of the war said today.

Curtain rises on new dawn for Iraqi theatre

Friday, 27 November 2009

As the clock strikes eight, the curtain is raised at the Iraqi National Theatre in what actors hope is a return to regular night-time performances, six and a half years after the US invasion.

Is Dubai the 'New Lehmans'?

Thursday, 26 November 2009

Sean O'Grady: The disarray in Dubai looks like losing everyone involved about $80bn and has already shaken the stock markets.

Dubai's debt shakes world markets

Thursday, 26 November 2009

Debt-swamped Dubai today asked for a six-month reprieve on paying its bills, causing a drop on world markets.

Israeli cabinet approves settlement 'restriction'

Thursday, 26 November 2009

The Israeli cabinet has approved a "restriction" of West Bank settlement construction for a 10-month period in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says is a bid to show the world that Israel wants peace with the Palestinians.

'Iraq was not top of weapons concerns list'

Wednesday, 25 November 2009

Foreign Office officials said they believed Saddam Hussein's nuclear programme had been dismantled.

Does this show British soldiers broke Geneva Conventions?

Tuesday, 24 November 2009

Public inquiry to be launched into allegations of abuse against Iraqi civilians at UK-run detention camp

Saddam options 'discussed a year before Iraq war'

Tuesday, 24 November 2009

British officials privately discussed the prospect of "regime change" in Iraq in late 2001 - more than a year before the invasion.

British tourist killed in Israeli helicopter crash

Tuesday, 24 November 2009

The helicopter crashed about 300 metres from the seaside city of Netanya this afternoon.

Gulf: A choice between liberalisation or recovery?

Tuesday, 24 November 2009

When video showing a UAE royal family member apparently engaged in torture emerged this year, it passed virtually unreported in the Gulf. Such an episode may point towards an encroaching problem for the region, and its potential to reclaim economic glory in a post-recession world.

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