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Pakistan elections: Who's running?

This election will mark the first transfer of power from one government to another without any military interference. Here is a look at the main candidates for prime minister.
Five energy challenges for Venezuela

With the passing of Hugo Chávez, the issue of what Venezuela chooses to do with its oil moves to center stage for the energy industry – and for environmentalists. Here are five energy challenges that Venezuela will have to face.
Sports in 2012: here are some Monitor highlights

It’s impossible to list all the records set in 2012, but here’s a short rundown of some heralded highlights, plus 20 of our favorites, including some you might have missed.
Focus
The Monitor's top 11 US stories of 2012

From storms to politics, the year was a wild ride. What are the most meaningful US stories of 2012? Here's the Monitor's list, in roughly chronological order.
10 best books of 2012, according to Amazon's editors

The staff of book giant Amazon selected their picks for the 10 best titles of 2012. Here's the full list.

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Energy Voices Qatar – rich and dangerous – eyes Syria

Faced with a glutted market for its liquefied natural gas, Qatar eyes development of Syrian gas fields as a huge opportunity, if Assad can be forced from power.
Terrorism & Security UN: Syrian regime, rebels both increasing attacks on civilians (+video)

UN investigators said they have strong evidence of human rights abuses committed by both sides of the conflict in Syria, which has left more than 19,000 people, mostly civilians, dead.
Terrorism & Security Iran's Revolutionary Guard admits to providing military assistance in Syria

Iran confirmed on Sunday what has long been suspected: It is providing assistance to the Syrian government in its war against an uprising. Iran's Qods Force is also operating in Lebanon.
Scientists manage to boil water without bubbles

A new type of nanomaterial exploits the Leidenfrost effect, in which droplets of water can skate across hot a hot surface without boiling away, to boil water without creating explosive bubbles.
Ally no longer? Obama weighs options in post-Arab Spring Egypt.

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's slow and tepid response to protests targeting the US embassy confirmed Washington's worries: The US-Egypt relationship is entering a testing phase.
Energy Voices Does OPEC really have 80 percent of the world's oil? Maybe not.

OPEC's oil reserves haven't been independently verified, but there's evidence they've inflated the numbers. Here's why it matters.
Libya attack graphically marks rise of fundamentalist Muslims

The new wild card in Arab and Muslim politics may be the hardline Salafi Muslim groups that have emerged from the Arab Spring.
The Monitor's View: Hard lessons in liberty for the Middle East

With pro-democracy struggles in trouble in Iran and in the Arab Spring, opposition figures now realize that unity against tyranny is easier than unity in favor of democracy. Many see the need for a change.
Killing Yemen Al Qaeda's No. 2 is no death blow to the group

The death of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula No. 2 Said al-Shihri is only a setback for the group, which also recently lost its foothold in southern Yemen.
Yemeni defense minister unhurt after deadly bomb attack (+video)

13 people, including part of the minister's security detail, were killed when a car bomb exploded as the minister's motorcade was driving by in the Yemeni capital.
Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula No. 2 killed in Yemen drone strike, government says

Yemeni military sources say Said al-Shehri was killed last week in an operation thought to have been carried out by a US drone.
Jordanian militant threatens Assad regime in Syria

A militant leader in Jordan, who has been linked to al-Qaida and several high-profile attacks, warned Syrian President Bashar Assad, 'our fighters are coming to get you.'
US formally designates Pakistani Haqqani network as terrorists

The US already has placed sanctions on many Haqqani leaders and is targeting its members militarily but it had held back from formally designating the al-Qaida-linked network a terrorist group amid concerns about hampering peace efforts in Afghanistan and US relations with Pakistan.
Iran's charm offensive at NAM summit thwarted by Syria, nuclear work

Iran's effort to prove that international isolation efforts have failed was undermined by discord with the UN and Egypt over its nuclear work and continued support for Syria's President Assad.
Egypt President Morsi's harsh words for 'oppressive' Syria regime

The rallying call by Mohammed Morsi showed the huge divide between Iran's stalwart support of Assad and the growing network of regional powers pushing for his downfall.
Why no safe zone in Syria, yet? 5 complications

The flood of Syrian refugees entering Turkey – as many as 5,000 a day for the last 10 days – has ratcheted up the pressure for a safe zone’s creation. But a safe zone is complicated and carries many risks.
Iran presents its own cease-fire proposal for Syria at Non-Aligned summit

Iran, trying to be seen by its neighbors as a peacemaker, rather than with suspicion, will ask attendees at the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran to back its cease-fire proposal for Syria.
Syrian rebels claim to shoot down government helicopter (+video)

A Syrian army helicopter has crashed in Damascus, the government says. The opposition says rebels shot it out of the sky. Meanwhile, reports are surfacing that a massacre took place in Daraya.
The public – and private – reasons the US isn't arming Syrian rebels

The US has said publicly that it doesn't want to feed the violence that is largely affecting civilian populations in Syria. Privately, officials have concerns about what hands US arms might fall into.
3 smart novels for the last weeks of summer

Three male characters head to the desert hoping to change their lives.
Nigerian government enters talks with Boko Haram

The Islamist militant group has killed thousands in its rebellion against the Nigerian government. Nigerians are hopeful that negotiations will bring a respite from the violence.
More telltale signs of cyber spying and cyber attacks arise in Middle East (+video)

A Saudi energy company has lately confirmed that its computer networks were targeted by a cyberattack. But perhaps more important is the discovery of Gauss, malware believed to be related to the Stuxnet worm that attacked Iran's nuclear centrifuges in 2009.
Terrorism & Security UN observers pull out of Syria as Western intelligence work ramps up

According to news reports, Britain and Germany are providing intelligence to Syrian rebels and looking the other way as Gulf countries provide rebels with heavy weapons.
Reader recommendation: City of Veils

Monitor readers share their favorite book picks.
UN to end observer mission in Syria

Conditions for possibly extending the United Nations' military observer mission – reduction of violence and no use of heavy weapons – had not been met, France's UN ambassador Gerard Araud announced. The current president of the Security Council said the mandate would end Sunday.