World View: United Nations Creates the Nation 'Palestine'

Schools and shops closed early across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as Palestinians partied all day to celebrate the creation of the state of Palestine by the United Nations General Assembly, on the day of the 65th anniversary of the creation of the state of Israel. However, the vote was just symbolic in the sense that the state of Palestine has no defined borders, and is a "non-member observer state" of the United Nations, not a full-fledged member. 30 Nov 2012

World View: Israel Scrambles to Weaken UN Vote on Palestinian Status

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas has arrived in New York City, and on Thursday he's expected to win a vote in the United Nations General Assembly on a resolution that will create a state of Palestine, giving it non-member-state observer status. Israeli officials had been hoping to build a block of 40-50 "quality" nations would either abstain or vote against the resolution, but that is now unlikely. 29 Nov 2012

World View: Europe Announces €44 Billion Bailout for Greece

round 2 am, Tuesday morning, after a 12 hour meeting, the Europeans declared victory, giving Greece a new 44 billion euro bailout loan, enough to meet commitments through the end of the year. 28 Nov 2012

World View: Morsi Breaks 'Hope and Change'-esque Campaign Promises

Many Egyptians voted for Mohamed Morsi as the first democratically elected president in Egypt for 5,000 years because they saw him as a "hope and change" candidate who would reverse the direction of the country after the dictatorship of deposed ruler Hosni Mubarak, and would bring order out of the chaos in the streets and in the economy. 27 Nov 2012

World View: Egypt's Stock Market Crashes 10%

Egypt's stock market opened on Sunday for the first time since president Mohamed Morsi issued his Constitutional Declaration giving himself dictatorial powers, and the news wasn't good. Stocks fell almost 10%, and would have fallen farther if it hadn't been stopped by automatic triggers. 26 Nov 2012

World View: Egypt's Judges Prepare to Act Against Morsi

On Saturday, different groups of judges held separate extraordinary meetings and assemblies, either supporting or condemning Morsi. Hundreds of judges at the general assembly for the Judges' Club at the High Court discussed measures to oppose Morsi, and have called for strikes in Alexandria and other cities. 25 Nov 2012

World View: Full Text of Morsi's Constitutional Declaration

"Previous constitutional declarations, laws, and decrees made by the president since he took office on 30 June 2012, until the constitution is approved and a new People’s Assembly [lower house of parliament] is elected, are final and binding and cannot be appealed by any way or to any entity. Nor shall they be suspended or canceled and all lawsuits related to them and brought before any judicial body against these decisions are annulled." 24 Nov 2012

World View: Mohamed Morsi Appoints Himself 'Pharaoh' of Egypt

Many Egyptians were shocked on Thursday by the announcement, accompanied by nationalistic music, of a new decree by president Mohamed Morsi granting himself extensive additional powers. Any decisions that he took since taking office in June, and any decisions he takes in the future, are final and not subject to review by the courts or appeal. 23 Nov 2012

World View: Egypt's Mohamed Morsi Big Winner in Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement

Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi emerged as the major winner in the negotiation that ended with a peace agreement between Israel and Hamas. Morsi was able to accomplish a lot more than the deposed president Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak never particularly liked Hamas, and he cooperated fully with Israel by keeping the border between Gaza and Egypt sealed. 22 Nov 2012

World View: Gaza-Israel Truce Deal Fails to Materialize

Sources from Hamas and Islamic Jihad said that there would be a deal on Tuesday evening, but Israel did not confirm. Israel has said that a peace deal they would agree to a peace deal only when there are international guarantees that there would be no further missile attacks from Gaza for a long period of time. 21 Nov 2012