Iron Dome ready in November; Saudi legal reform takes a step forward; Iran's hand in Iraq highlighted by U.S. general; France "at war" with AQIM; Turkey gives boost to Azeri enclave

At long last, a Green charter; The shipping shell game; Religious sanction for "special weapons"; Another incursion into Iraq

Another step forward for Nabucco; North Korea arms bound for more than Iran?; Turkey deal on Iran sanctions -- breakthrough or delay tactic?; Turkmen leader endorses new party; Political gridlock in Baghdad

YEMEN HEADED FOR ECONOMIC DISASTER...; WHILE WASHINGTON MOVES AGAINST AQAP; COMMISSION UPENDS IRAQI POLITICS; CENTRAL ASIAN YOUTH SEEK MADRASSAS ABROAD

BATTLE AGAINST AQAP MAKES FOR ODD COUPLES; HAMAS RAISES STAKES AT EGYPTIAN BORDER...; AND RESUMES ATTACKS ON ISRAEL ON EVE OF MISSILE SHIELD...; AMID ACCUSATIONS OF DISLOYALTY; KAZAKH-CHINA PIPELINE ONLINE

Remember Moqtada al-Sadr? Just three years ago, the firebrand cleric and his feared Mahdi Army militia were the scourge of the coalition in Iraq, spearheading the Shia opposition to the United States and its allies in the former Ba'athist state. Since then, the man who ranks as one of Iraq's most notorious native sons has largely disappeared from view, preferring flight rather than fight in the face of an increasingly assertive central government in Baghdad. Now, however, there are signs that Sadr is poised on the brink of a major political comeback – one that could significantly reconfigure Iraqi politics.

Lebanon gets a new government; The IMU ascendant; Saudi joins fray against rebels in Yemen; Iraq clears hurdle for national election

Iraq reverses course: no referendum on security agreement; UAE enters nuclear club with a bang...; ...while snubbing Iran; A Saudi-Syrian rapprochement?; Turkey continues the hunt for al-Qaeda

Sounding the alarm over al-Qaeda in Yemenl Hamas reconsiders strategy; All eyes on Turkey and missile defense; Iraq's political map takes shape

Russian-Iraqi relations inch toward normalcy;
Moscow's power play