Using its political stability, great economic wealth, and diplomatic ties with various local affiliates across the Middle East, Qatar developed a soft power strategy in several high-profile negotiations, from securing a key peace agreement in the Darfur conflict, to seeking political consensus in Lebanon, and mediating between the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels.

NPR's wide-ranging interview with President Obama covers recent executive actions on Cuba and immigration, race relations in the U.S., health care, the midterm elections and extending democracy in the Middle East.

It's peculiar that the US president has more say about the death of an Arab than the life of an American, and yet despite all the Middle East turmoil, he has not sat down for an interview with an Arab journalist since 2009.  

Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati says that the best way to fight against Iranophobia and Shiaphobia is the clever usage of Iran’s soft power.

I used to be asked how the US could deploy its soft power in the Middle East more effectively. That was in the days of the Iraq and Afghan wars and President George W Bush’s ill-advised warnings to the world that “you’re either with us or against us”.

Fears of a third intifada could mar the vital Christmas tourism season in Israel and the Palestinian territories, delivering a second blow to an industry still reeling from the summer Gaza war, say officials and venue operators on both sides.

Britain is to establish its first permanent military base in the Middle East since it formally withdrew from the region in 1971.  The base, at the Mina Salman Port in Bahrain, will host ships including destroyers and aircraft carriers.  The UK said it was an "expansion of the Royal Navy's footprint" and would "reinforce stability" in the Gulf.