BASPORTS.COM | MIDDLE EASTERN NEWS

1. From Abroad, Trying to Mold a Post-Assad Syria

While opposition groups are mostly concentrating on ending the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, they are also positioning themselves for the question of who will rule after he is gone.

2. Explosions Hit Major Syrian Cities, Leaving at Least 3 Dead

Explosions in two major cities are further signs that rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad are shifting tactics.

3. Saudi Envoy Returns to Cairo

The ambassador had been recalled and missions were closed after a wave of protests by Egyptians against the detention of an Egyptian lawyer in Saudi Arabia.

4. World Briefing | Middle East: Israel: Hagai Amir, Brother of Rabin’s Killer, Is Freed

Hagai Amir, the brother of the killer of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, was released from prison on Friday after serving 16 years for helping to plan the 1995 assassination.

5. 2 Dead and Hundreds Hurt in Latest Clashes in Egypt

Dozens of people were injured in a renewed outburst of protest and violence, as Egypt enters what may be a climactic stage of its turbulent shift from military rule.

6. Iranians Vote in a Runoff for Parliament

Conservative factions that already dominate the Parliament seemed to be cruising to victory Friday in a second round of elections to the 290-member assembly.

7. Aleppo Clash Poses Risk of Widening Syrian Revolt

A violent crackdown on protesters in the country’s largest city could complicate matters for President Bashar al-Assad, who has deftly maneuvered to stay in power throughout the uprising.

8. Egypt’s Military Rulers Deny Role in Fatal Clashes

The generals also defended their tenure, and said they were “committed” to handing over power to a civil authority by the end of June.

9. Latest Shift in Jordan’s Cabinet Sows Doubts on Reform

Since protests inspired by the Arab Spring rocked Jordan 15 months ago, King Abdullah II, who promised electoral changes, has replaced three prime ministers.

10. Palestinian Resistance Shifts to Hunger Strikes

With the peace process stalled, analysts see nonviolent resistance as a critical tactic for the Palestinian national movement.

11. Crackdown in Aleppo, Syria, Leaves Students Dead

The bloody repression of the student protest on Thursday by Syrian forces further eroded a truce negotiated under United Nations auspices.

12. Cairo Journal: Cairo’s Subway Is Efficient, Orderly and Dependable

As chaos persists in the city’s streets, Cairo’s subway remains a model of efficiency, order and dependability for the three million people who ride it every day.

13. Deadly Clashes Erupt in Egypt Ahead of Vote

Violence killed at least 11 people and threw the race into disarray as some candidates blamed the military for the deaths and said they were halting their campaigns.

14. Israel Military Clears Soldiers in Deaths of Gaza Civilians

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it had closed its inquiry into the deaths of at least 21 Palestinian family members during the 2009 Gaza war, and denied charges that forces deliberately attacked civilians.

15. World Chess Federation Leader Visits Assad in Syria

Kirsan N. Ilyumzhinov held a three-hour meeting with Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, on Sunday, but it was unclear whether he was acting on his own or unofficially on Moscow’s behalf.

16. Baghdad Journal: Iraqi TV Show Dares to Talk About Sex

“There Is Someone” is a show that has attracted a huge following with the sort of talk that is popular with young men everywhere, but censors and religious groups are not laughing.

17. Private Peek at Author's Blur of Fact and Fiction

Orhan Pamuk's Museum of Innocence takes not just a novel approach to a museum, but a curatorial approach to a novel. A guided tour by Mr. Pamuk.

18. Dubai Finesses Ease of Luxury Shopping for Chinese

Some 214,000 Chinese tourists came to Dubai last year, a nine-fold increase from 25,000 visitors a decade earlier, and stores are responding with incentives and brand names.

19. Jordanian Donors Privatize Relief

Wealthy Jordanians are providing the bulk of aid to thousands of Syrian refugees who have crossed the border to escape the conflict in their country.

20. Gulf Again Able to Reap a Rich Harvest of Pearls

An industry that had become moribund has been revived by the Middle East’s first pearl culture farm.

21. Methodists Vote Against Ending Investments Tied to Israel

The United Methodist Church voted against two proposals on Wednesday to divest from companies that provide equipment used by Israel to enforce its control in the occupied territories.

22. Recruitment for Syria Monitors is Slow, U.N. Says

Only about half of the 300 people sought to monitor the cease-fire have made commitments to do so, the top United Nations peacekeeping official said.

23. American Group Seeks Suspension of Iran from International Monetary Fund

An American advocacy group is seeking to pressure the International Monetary Fund to withdraw all its holdings in Iran’s central bank or to suspend Iranian membership.

24. The Lede Blog: Video of the Security Crackdown in Cairo

Eyewitness accounts and video from Cairo, where soldiers used force to end a protest against military rule outside the ministry of defense on Friday.

25. The Lede Blog: Syrian Activists Report Crackdown on Student Protests in Major City

Video posted online by Syrian activists appeared to show a crackdown on student protesters in the city of Aleppo, the country's most important commercial center.

26. The Lede Blog: Video Shows Cairo Protesters Were Attacked by Armed Assailants

Video posted online by activists in Egypt offered clear evidence that the assailants who attacked a sit-in in Cairo this week, killing at least 11 people, were armed.

27. At War Blog: Head of Drill Sergeant School Reinstated

A command sergeant major is vindicated after being suspended under a cloud

28. At War Blog: Remembering the Dead: New Names for a Wall That Keeps Growing

In Florida, a tribute in bronze pays homage to explosive ordnance disposal technicians, a special group within the military that has lost 289 members since 1942.

29. At War Blog: From the Desk of Osama bin Laden

Letters and documents recovered from Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan suggest his grip on Al Qaeda was not as tight as the world thought.

30. Despite Chaos Above Ground, Cairo’s Metro System Runs Smoothly

The Cairo subway continues to offer residents consistent, efficient service, while most others suffer in the year since the revolution.

31. A Show of Solidarity for Hunger Strikers

Scores of Palestinian prisoners have joined a hunger strike that officials say now counts more than 1,500 participants.

32. Clashes Erupt in Egypt Ahead of Vote

The violence threw the presidential race into disarray as several candidates, some blaming the military for the deaths, said they were halting their campaigns.

33. WORLD: TimesCast | Bahrain Grand Prix

April 20, 2012 — The controversial Bahrain Grand Prix, which begins on Friday, has become a flash point between the Sunni royal family and much of the majority Shiite population.

34. Op-Ed Contributor: On Iran, Reality Bites

Nowhere is there any optimism that the talks with Tehran will succeed.