Rod Nordland

Israel has never been more isolated. Its best friend, the United States, had vetoed 41 Security Council resolutions condemning Israel in the past three decades, but was about to vote for the Jan. 8 resolution denouncing the attack on Gaza when President Bush intervened, at the behest of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

There were no cheers in the Ranoush Café in Gaza City when Barack Obama was inaugurated. A few dozen young Palestinians watched the proceedings on one of the place's four televisions, listening to Al-Jazeera's Arabic voice-over as they sucked on Hubbly Bubblies, which are big water pipes with burning charcoal in the bowl.

Charges and countercharges about who's responsible for civilian deaths in Gaza.

In Zeitoun, Gaza, 29 members of one family lost their lives. Why?

Residents return home during first day of ceasefire.

Even if Israel's ceasefire holds, the impact in Gaza will be felt for a long time to come.

On the ground, it's hard to see a path to victory.

"A friend once told me that I was the only person he knew who was both 100 percent American and 100 percent Iranian," writes Hooman Majd in his engaging book, "The Ayatollah Begs to Differ" (published stateside this fall).

When you hear the brutal details about Zimbabwe, it's hard to imagine how it can get any worse without the government collapsing, or Robert Mugabe resigning.

Young and desperate, Somali pirates aren't afraid to commit heinous acts of destruction, says one of their leaders.

How to finally rid the seas of Somalia's growing pirate problem.

Barack Obama spoke often and passionately about Darfur while campaigning. But the African holocaust that will confront him first is the ongoing slaughter in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

A blanket of secrecy surrounds a sensational British criminal case.

Sherry Jones, whose historical novel about the Prophet Muhammad's favorite wife, Aisha, was dropped by Random House in August over fear of reactions from Muslims, may yet become another Salman Rushdie.

Britain's Turner Prize does, and makes no apologies for it. Just don't touch that garbage on the floor.

Austria's far-right parties may have modulated their tone, but their message is increasingly familiar.

The general who heads up the U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur came to London last week to talk up his much-maligned force, now almost a year old. "Many have said, 'UNAMID, you are so useless'," says Gen.

The global war on terror isn't going so well on the judicial front. Last week a London jury failed to convict eight British Muslims of a suicide plot to smuggle sports drinks full of explosives aboard transatlantic flights—the initial catalyst for banning liquids and creams onboard ever since.

Did would-be terrorists get away with a murder plot?

Gen. David Petraeus has no intention of doing a victory lap on his way out of Iraq. As he heads off next month to take over the U.S. military's Central Command, in charge of Afghanistan as well as Iraq, he leaves a country on the rebound.

As he prepares to depart Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus cautions against premature declarations of victory.

Gen. David Petraeus explains why vigilance is still needed in Iraq, and why Afghanistan in some ways is a bigger worry.

The U.S. military helped reopen several public pools in steamy Baghdad this summer, restoring some normalcy for beleaguered residents. But the openings were not without problems.

Baghdad's zoo gets a new guest, healing some old wounds.

Even after handing over a war criminal, Serbia is far from ready to join the EU.

Will Zimbabwe's strongman be allowed to stay in office now that he's signed an agreement with the opposition leader?

In Zimbabwe, no victim is too young for Robert Mugabe's brutal reign. And the opposition is finding fewer and fewer places to hide.

It just got tougher for Zimbabwe to print banknotes. So how do people cope in a country where even a bus ride costs billions?

For beleaguered Zimbabweans, a slight respite as Mugabe makes waves at the African Union summit in Egypt.

A group of white farmers bears the brunt of ZANU-PF's force.