By Elisabetta Povoledo for the New York Times 24 July 2014                          ROME — Mariam Ibraheem Ishag, a Christian woman whose death sentence in Sudan for refusing to renounce her faith set off an international protest, arrived in Rome on Thursday morning to a hero’s welcome and a private audience with [...]

The Associated Press 22 July 2014 RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — For the first time since an unprecedented diplomatic rift among Gulf powerhouses, Qatar's emir flew to Saudi Arabia late Tuesday in a surprise visit and met with King Abdullah to discuss cease-fire efforts that have yet to bring an end [...]

24 July 2014 Central African Republic's mainly Muslim Seleka rebels will sign a ceasefire with 'anti-balaka' Christian militia on Wednesday, having dropped their demands for the country to be split in two along religious lines, Seleka officials told Reuters. Seleka's call for the country to be officially partitioned into a [...]

By Megan Rowling for the Thomson Reuters Foundation 15 July 2014 LONDON - Aid group Oxfam has called on other rich nations to follow the example of Germany, which has promised €750 million ($1 billion) for the U.N.'s fledgling Green Climate Fund. "This announcement ends the deafening silence we've had so [...]

By Edith M. Lederer for the Associated Press 19 July 2014 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will leave Saturday for the Middle East to help end the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, the U.N. political chief said Friday. The U.N. chief has been on the phone with many leaders since [...]

By Mathew Hoye for CNN 14 July 2014 President Barack Obama used the annual White House Iftar dinner Monday evening to briefly discuss the crises unfolding in the Mideast. "No country can accept rockets fired indiscriminately at citizens," Obama said. "And so we've been very clear that Israel has the [...]