There was plenty of enthusiasm across the Muslim world for President Barack Obama's Cairo speech Thursday, although much of it was tempered by a withholding of judgment until talk of change is translated into action. And there were mixed feelings about whether policy changes would be forthcoming and on Arab and Muslim responsibility to help bring it about. The only crowds TIME could find watching the speech in Lebanon were Hizballah supporters in the city's southern suburbs. "He ...

President Obama will arrive in Saudi Arabia Wednesday, his first stop on a Middle East trip that will include a major speech intended to repair a damaged U.S. image. The president will deliver the widely-anticipated address in Cairo, Egypt, on Thursday in hopes of reaching out to Muslims and begin a dialogue. "I think what is important is that we demonstrate that the United States wants to pursue a different relationship and ensure that Muslims around the world understand the ...

President Obama travels to the Middle East on Tuesday in an effort to repair a damaged U.S. image -- and seemingly reset relations with the Muslim world. It's a process that has been in the works since his first week in office. "My job is to communicate the fact that the United States has a stake in the well-being of the Muslim world, that the language we use has to be a language of respect," Obama said in a January ...

Latin American leaders usually have few qualms about lecturing the U.S. on what they regard as the folly of its Cuba policy, especially of late. Re-integrating Cuba has become a priority issue for many if not most of the region's governments, who see it as a way to break with the Cold War politics and U.S. hegemony that burdened the region in the 20th century. Calls for Washington to lift its 47-year-old trade embargo against Cuba have rarely been louder, especially since President ...

Continental shelves beneath the retreating polar ice caps of the Arctic may hold almost double the amount of oil previously found in the region, scientists say. In new findings, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Arctic may be home to 30 percent of the planet's undiscovered natural gas reserves and 13 percent of its undiscovered oil. A team of scientists at the USGS collaborated with international researchers to conduct the first-ever comprehensive assessment of undiscovered oil and gas reserves within ...

In a sudden surge that took Asian health officials by surprise, the Japanese health ministry confirmed on Monday at least 125 new cases of the A virus — or swine flu — in the country's western prefectures of Osaka and Hyogo. Officials have shut down around 1,000 schools since many of the infected were high-school students. Japan, along with the United Kingdom and Spain, is now one of the few countries outside of North America where the World Health Organization ...

As the troubled waters of the global economy continue to swirl, government and business leaders from the Middle East and around the world are gathering on the shores of the Dead Sea to chart a course out of the crisis. "We're hoping to build from the momentum of Davos and the G-20 summit," said Kevin Kelly, chief executive of Heidrick & Struggles and co-chairman of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, a four-day event this week in Jordan. ...

Ever since the year 1204 A.D., when the soldiers of the Fourth Crusade sacked the Christian city of Constantinople instead of "liberating" Jerusalem from Muslim rule, Christians in the Middle East have been understandably wary of emissaries of Rome. Today, as Christians in the Middle East welcome Pope Benedict XVI on his first trip to the Holy Land, many are worried that the unpredictable Pontiff might stir up passions at a time of religious strife and political cold war. "The ...

Civilians continued to flee Pakistan's northwest in droves Monday as government troops prepared to engage Taliban militants in the crisis-hit Swat Valley. More than 360,000 Pakistanis have fled their homes since May 2, the United Nations has reported. "Obviously more people are on the move," said Ariane Rummery, a spokeswoman for the U.N. human rights commissioner. "Not everyone is registered." Thousands of vehicles fled Swat Valley on Sunday, where up to 15,000 Pakistani troops are preparing to move against approximately ...

A Scottish court has convicted eight men of child sexual abuse in what police say is the largest pedophile ring ever dismantled in Scotland. Staff members from Mardan Medical Center have treated 2,124 patients from clashes between the Pakistani military and Taliban fighters in more than two weeks of fighting, according to Dr. Arshad Ahmed. Many had shrapnel wounds, he said. Pakistani officials have said they expect as many as 500,000 civilians to flee the Swat Valley as fighting -- ...