Despite Setbacks, Hamas’ Grip on Gaza Has Never Been Tighter

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Over the weekend, Gaza’s Hamas rulers marked a year of bloody, weekly protests that have failed to break the Israeli blockade. Rocket attacks brought a wave of Israeli airstrikes and unprecedented protests broke out against the Islamic militants’ increasingly unpopular rule. And yet Hamas’ control over Gaza is tighter…

Qatar Will Pull Out of OPEC Amid Tension with Saudi Arabia

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The tiny, energy-rich Arab nation of Qatar announced on Monday it would withdraw from OPEC, mixing its aspirations to increase production outside of the cartel’s constraints with the politics of slighting the Saudi-dominated group amid the kingdom’s boycott of Doha. The surprise announcement from Qatar’s minister of state for…