22 April 2013 Last updated at 12:01 GMT Hagel said the Obama administration remained committed to Israel’s security The United States is to equip Israel with a range of advanced missiles and fighter jets, new defence chief [...]

22 April 2013 Last updated at 13:15 GMT Mr Barrak said the ruling was ‘victory for the people’ A prominent Kuwaiti opposition leader has been granted bail pending appeal against a five-year jail sentence for insulting [...]

The new US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel is starting a tour of the Middle East. He begins in Israel where the United States has just announced that is its planning to bring its investment in the Iron Dome anti-missile defence system to several [...]

21 April 2013 Last updated at 23:19 GMT By Daniel Estrin PRI’s The World, Jerusalem Sex is a touchy subject – not least among Israel’s highly conservative [...]

Gulf investors have bought into some of Europe’s biggest football clubs, from Manchester City to Paris Saint-Germain, Kuwait’s Fawaz Al Hasawi set his sights lower when he bought British football club Nottingham Forest last year, [...]

21 April 2013 Last updated at 18:51 GMT Syrian government troops have seized a town near Damascus, killing at least 80 people, including women and children, opposition activists say. The army stormed the town of Jdiadet al-Fadl [...]

21 April 2013 Last updated at 15:45 GMT Egypt’s justice minister has resigned, following demands from Islamist supporters of President Mohammed Morsi for the “cleansing” of the judiciary. Ahmed Mekky was seen [...]

21 April 2013 Last updated at 13:58 GMT The protesters set fire to barricades Bahrain anti-government activists have clashed with police and blocked roads into the capital, in a bid to disrupt the Formula 1 Grand Prix. The protesters [...]

21 April 2013 Last updated at 11:36 GMT The camp is suffering severe overcrowding and some UN agencies warn they will soon no longer have funds to supply essential aid to its residents Eight Syrians have been arrested on suspicion [...]

21 April 2013 Last updated at 11:08 GMT The protesters set fire to barricades Bahrain anti-government activists have clashed with police and blocked roads into the capital hours before the Formula 1 Grand Prix is due to start. The [...]

20 April 2013 Last updated at 23:06 GMT By Jeremy Bowen BBC Middle East editor Seven million Syrians now need humanitarian assistance, according to an estimate from the United [...]

20 April 2013 Last updated at 22:31 GMT The Friends of Syria group includes the US, European and Arab nations US Secretary of State John Kerry has announced a doubling of US aid to Syria’s rebels and told a Friends of [...]

20 April 2013 Last updated at 13:41 GMT By Bill Law BBC News Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman has addressed political and civil rights in the Gulf [...]

The UK has long-established ties with many Gulf states, but never has the economic link been them been so important. Ahead of the UAE president’s state visit to London, Simon Atkinson examines how the dynamic between the regions is changing.

Thousands of Dubai’s residents commute to Abu Dhabi for work, but from August government workers will have to move to the emirate or lose their housing allowance. Some critics say the controversial policy has only been introduced to push [...]

20 April 2013 Last updated at 09:50 GMT Security forces were patrolling in large numbers outside polling stations Iraqis are voting in a provincial election, the first ballot since the departure of US troops in late 2011. Iraqi [...]

20 April 2013 Last updated at 02:46 GMT Rafid Jaboori BBC Arabic, Baghdad The polls are taking place amid tight security The provincial elections being held in Iraq come at [...]

19 April 2013 Last updated at 12:43 GMT At least seven people have been killed in a mortar attack on a Sunni mosque in northern Iraq, police say. Dozens more were hurt in the strike as worshippers were leaving the building [...]

19 April 2013 Last updated at 14:43 GMT Clashes have escalated in the run-up to this weekend’s Grand Prix race Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have blocked a major motorway in Bahrain ahead of Sunday’s [...]

19 April 2013 Last updated at 09:20 GMT Clashes have escalated in the run-up to this weekend’s Grand Prix race Heavy clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces have continued into the night in Bahrain, [...]