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Middle East
2:33 pm
Wed December 14, 2011

Egyptian Islamists Favored In Second Phase Of Voting

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Credit Eman Helal / AP
Women stand in line waiting to cast their votes in Suez, Egypt, on Wednesday. For months after the revolution, the port city had no government or services. Some voters are turning to the Salafists or the Muslim Brotherhood to bring about change.
Credit Khaled Desouki / AFP/Getty Images
Egyptian women line up to vote in Giza, southwest Cairo, on Wednesday, during the second round of parliamentary voting. Islamists swept to victory in the first stage.
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A steady stream of voters showed up Wednesday at polling centers in the port city of Suez and in eight other governorates in Egypt. Islamists are expecting to boost their lead in the second phase of the country's landmark parliamentary elections.

The first phase was held last month, and the third and final phase will come next month as the country votes by region.

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The Two-Way
2:31 pm
Wed December 14, 2011

In High Profile Case, Two Romanian 'Witches' Arrested

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By Eyder Peralta

Witches. Police. Blackmail. And TV celebrities.

Yep, that caught our attention, too, so we had to pass along a strange case that has made its way to court in Romania. The government has arrested two self-professed witches who are accused of blackmailing their clients. The AP reports:

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Africa
2:20 pm
Wed December 14, 2011

South Sudan: Will Oil Lead It Out of Poverty?

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South Sudan, the world's newest nation, is still trying to find its feet, and private companies, international aid experts and diplomats have gathered in Washington this week to see if they can help.

The five-month-old country is one of the most underdeveloped places in the world and it still has many lingering disputes with its former rulers in Sudan — disputes that could scare off potential investors.

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Middle East
2:14 pm
Wed December 14, 2011

Mysterious Events Leave Tehran Feeling Under Siege

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Credit AFP/Getty Images
A picture released by the official website of Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Dec. 8 shows Iranian Revolutionary Guard Brig. Gen. Amir-Ali Hajizadeh (right) looking at a U.S. spy drone that crashed in Iran on Dec. 4.
Credit GeoEye via Google Earth/Digitalglobe/Reuters (top) / ISIS (bottom)/Landov
A combination of photos released by Institute for Science and International Security on Dec. 2 shows satellite images of a military base outside Tehran, Iran, on Sept. 9 (top), and the same base with extensively damaged buildings on Nov. 22 — 10 days after a mysterious explosion occurred at the missile base.
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Originally published on Wed December 14, 2011 5:12 pm

It's never easy trying to figure out just what is going on in Iran.

But it has been especially difficult of late — after an explosion that reduced a missile base to rubble, another blast that was heard but not seen, and the mysterious case of the downed American stealth drone.

These events have left a slew of questions and very few answers.

The huge explosion at the missile base outside Tehran on Nov. 12 was heard in the capital, about 30 miles away, and, satellite pictures show, it devastated the base.

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It's All Politics
1:56 pm
Wed December 14, 2011

Not So Fast Newt: Gingrich As Polling Phenomenon

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Poll after poll shows Newt Gingrich with a commanding lead for the Republican nomination for president.

The latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll is the gaudiest yet, giving the former speaker of the House 40 percent among Republicans across the country, nearly double the number for erstwhile front-runner Mitt Romney.

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