Middle East

Since the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi, Egyptian authorities have been systematically trying to break his Muslim Brotherhood. Their most recent target: the mosques and charities that formed a vital part of the Brotherhood's vast social network and helped it dominate recent elections.

Weapons inspectors are still in Syria assessing the country's stockpile and how to destroy it. It's unclear where the weapons would go if they were sent abroad, but there are signs that such a move is under consideration.

Secretary of State John Kerry says he's hoping Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles can be consolidated quickly and shipped out of the country. Experts say it is possible, but risky. International chemical weapons experts are still mapping out Syria's stockpiles to see what can be moved.

Talks on Iran's suspect nuclear program wrapped up Wednesday. No breakthroughs came from the talks, but diplomats cite progress toward a solution of this long-running crisis.

Nuclear negotiators from six world powers and Iran head to Geneva for talks surrounded by more optimism than has been seen in years. Positive rhetoric from the new administration of President Hasan Rouhani has raised hopes that diplomacy may once again be ascendant instead of sanctions and threats of military action. Analysts say the trick will be getting the slow-moving negotiating process to respond before these expectations fade. Much will depend on the West's, and especially Washington's, willingness to consider leaving low-level uranium enrichment in Iran's hands, and on whether Congress can be persuaded to hold off on more punitive sanctions that could derail the diplomatic effort.

Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani says he will seek a nuclear agreement and an end to crippling Western economic sanctions. This has raised hopes that better economic times may be ahead. But Rouhani's team, as well as economists, say Iran's problems are deep-rooted and won't be easily solved.

Sisters Nagwa, Dina and May had always been close — until now. The political crisis in Egypt has ripped apart their relationships. One sister believes the Muslim Brotherhood is destroying the country; the other two are committed Islamists. It's a domestic tragedy that is playing out across Egypt.

The U.S. has provided more than $1.5 billion to Syria since the war began more than two years ago. Virtually all of it is has been spent on humanitarian aid and social programs, though that gets much less attention than the relatively small amount that goes to the Syrian rebels.

On Sept. 27, President Obama called Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, ending 34 years of silence between the leaders of the U.S. and Iran. A phone call between the leaders was greeted with great hope and deep skepticism, born from decades of bad blood, mistakes and sometimes outright aggression.

But the prime minister maintained Israel's bottom line of "full dismantlement" of Iran's enrichment program and called the new rhetoric from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani "hogwash."