Dubai retained its position as the second most important international retail destination globally for the third consecutive year – according to a report.  The emirate came closely behind London, which also retained its number one position, according to the 2014 edition of the annual How Global is the Business of Retail report released by real estate consultancy firm CBRE.

Visitors from the Middle East have topped a ranking of tourist spending in the UK, with the average family likely to shell out a staggering $42,000 per trip.  People from the UAE, Egypt and other regional countries spend more in the UK than all other foreign nationalities, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

The Afghan people have an opportunity now to build on the progress that's been made, to achieve a more secure, more prosperous, and more peaceful future. President Obama has made it clear that as they do, the United States will stand with them.

The US State Department has launched an experimental unit to fight al-Qaeda ideologists on Twitter across the web. But can it actually stop terrorism?

The Middle East’s seemingly endless conflicts are diverting attention and resources from a graver long-term threat that threatens the whole region, the growing scarcity of water, and the situation will get worse before it gets better — if it ever does get better. Years of war, careless water supply management, unchecked population growth, ill-advised agricultural policies, and subsidies that encourage consumption have turned a basically arid part of the world into a voracious consumer of water. The trajectory is not sustainable.