Middle East

Fireworks lit up the sky around the Atlantis Hotel during last year's opening on Palm Jumeirah, which drew a large crowd of celebrities

Dubai Babylon: The glitz, the glamour – and now the gloom

The Gulf state's dash for intense economic growth at breakneck speed was a project that was bound to fail. Karen Attwood and Mark Leftly report on an extraordinary tale of success leading to excess.

Inside Middle East

Dubai: The party in the desert ended months ago

Saturday, 28 November 2009

There was no escaping the news that the emirate was in trouble. But in the eye of the storm, writes resident Conor Purcell, nobody noticed

Fears for Iranian Nobel peace laureate in regime crackdown

Saturday, 28 November 2009

Human rights groups demand help for activists alongside nuclear talks

UN watchdog raps Iran over nuclear programme

Friday, 27 November 2009

Twenty-five nations backed a resolution that demands Tehran immediately freeze construction of its newly revealed nuclear facility.

'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.

Dubai debt shock knocks £14bn off bank shares

Friday, 27 November 2009

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.

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.