Optimism in Iraq after record low casualty rateIRAQ: MILITARY AND civilian death tolls in Iraq fell dramatically in May, raising hopes that violence is on the wane in the …Mon Jun 02 2008 - 01:00
Sadr calls for referendum on accord being negotiated between US and IraqDISSIDENT SHIA cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is calling for a popular referendum on a status of forces agreement between Iraq and the…Fri May 30 2008 - 01:00
Iraq's parliamentary talks falter as Sunni bloc outlines its portfolio demandsIRAQ: IRAQ'S SUNNI parliamentary bloc yesterday froze talks on rejoining the government due to a dispute over ministerial portfolios…Thu May 29 2008 - 01:00
Nothing achieved in Israeli talks, says AbbasMIDDLE EAST: PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday that nothing had been achieved during six months of negotiations…Mon May 26 2008 - 01:00
Israel and Syria confirm talks over Golan HeightsMIDDLE EAST: SYRIA AND Israel confirmed yesterday that they are set to begin indirect negotiations over the Golan Heights occupied…Thu May 22 2008 - 01:00
Palestinians who stayed behind arouse the suspicion of allLetter from Ramle: BUTHAYNA DIBIT, a tall Palestinian Israeli, a high crown of dark curls on her head, parks at the edge of …Tue May 20 2008 - 01:00
A celebration to one is an affront to the otherPALESTINE: For Palestinians, the 60th anniversary of the birth of Israel recalls the beginning of their national tragedy, writes…Sat May 10 2008 - 01:00
Islamic Jihad says it will not formally agree truceMIDDLE EAST: ISLAMIC JIHAD announced yesterday it would not formally accept a ceasefire for Gaza which did not include the West…Fri May 02 2008 - 01:00
Tariq Aziz trial delayed as Green Zone shelledIRAQ: THE TRIAL of Tariq Aziz, Iraq's former deputy premier, and seven co-defendants was delayed yesterday due to heavy shelling…Wed Apr 30 2008 - 01:00
Nearly 40 killed in Sadr attack on US and Iraqi forcesIRAQ: AT LEAST 38 people were killed in Baghdad in fierce clashes on Sunday, the US military announced yesterdayTue Apr 29 2008 - 01:00
Erdogan in fresh bid for Syria-Israel peace dealMIDDLE EAST: TURKISH PRIME minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Saturday in an …Mon Apr 28 2008 - 01:00
Al-Sadr calls for end to clashes with Iraqi armyMIDDLE EAST: IRAQI PRIME Minister Nuri al-Maliki received a boost yesterday when Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for an end…Sat Apr 26 2008 - 01:00
Rejection of Gaza truce plan adds to Hamas difficultiesMIDDLE EAST: THE DISMISSAL yesterday by Israel of a proposal for a six-month ceasefire in Gaza has placed Hamas and Cairo in…Sat Apr 26 2008 - 01:00
UN agencies stop Gaza services due to fuel embargoUN: UN AGENCIES yesterday suspended or curtailed humanitarian operations in Gaza due to Israel's fuel blockade.Fri Apr 25 2008 - 01:00
Hamas accepts 1967 border but still rejects state of IsraelPALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: HAMAS WILL not recognise Israel, Khaled Mishaal, its politboro chief, said yesterday in response to…Tue Apr 22 2008 - 01:00
Carter meets Hamas and calls blockade of Gaza an atrocityEGYPT: FORMER US president Jimmy Carter is set to meet Hamas chief Khaled Mishaal in Damascus today in spite of stiff opposition…Fri Apr 18 2008 - 01:00
Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army remains focus for Maliki's struggling governmentIRAQ: THE STRUGGLING Iraqi government of Nuri al-Maliki yesterday continued a two-pronged offensive against the populist movement…Tue Apr 15 2008 - 01:00
Maliki warns Sadrists on pollIRAQ: IRAQI PRIME minister Nuri al- Maliki has warned that the movement of radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr will be barred…Tue Apr 08 2008 - 01:00
Fatah and Hamas agree on reconciliation planMIDDLE EAST: FATAH AND Hamas yesterday signed a seven-point Yemeni-sponsored reconciliation plan and pledged to hold direct …Mon Mar 24 2008 - 00:00
Fatah government losing support among Palestinians, poll revealsMIDDLE EAST: THE US-BACKED Palestinian leadership is losing popular support and the Fatah government is regarded as less legitimate…Wed Mar 19 2008 - 00:00
Survey shows Iraqis more optimistic about future but do not credit USIRAQ: FIVE YEARS after the US invasion, Iraqis have expressed more optimism about their lives and their country's future than…Tue Mar 18 2008 - 00:00
Strict Islamic state allows Catholic church to openQATAR: THOUSANDS OF Catholics attended the consecration in Doha on Saturday of the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary (St Mary…Mon Mar 17 2008 - 00:00
Hamas waiting for reply to ceasefire proposalsMIDDLE EAST: DEPOSED PALESTINIAN prime minister Ismail Haniyeh announced yesterday that Hamas is waiting for Israel's reply …Thu Mar 13 2008 - 00:00
Is this the beginning of a new intifada?MIDDLE EAST: A third bloody Palestinian uprising may have begun long before last week's seminary massacre.Mon Mar 10 2008 - 00:00
Charities urge Gaza intervention as humanitarian crisis worsensMIDDLE EAST: HUMANITARIAN GROUPS yesterday urged the international community to end the isolation and siege of Gaza, where conditions…Fri Mar 07 2008 - 00:00
Rice implicated in bid to oust Hamas from governmentMIDDLE EAST: AS US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice began yesterday's mission to relaunch negotiations between Israel and…Wed Mar 05 2008 - 00:00
Iran rejects UN resolution as state visit to Iraq endsIRAN: TEHRAN YESTERDAY condemned a United Nations Security Council resolution imposing fresh sanctions on Iran's refusal to …Wed Mar 05 2008 - 00:00
Veto of law on powersharing a 'setback' to US Iraq agendaIRAQ: A POWERFUL Iraqi Shia faction yesterday denounced the rejection by Shia vice-president Adel Abdul Mahdi of legislation…Fri Feb 29 2008 - 00:00
Rights group seeks ban on cluster munitionsMIDDLE EAST: The death and devastation wreaked by four million cluster bomblets fired by Israel into southern Lebanon in 2006…Mon Feb 18 2008 - 00:00
Arab satellite TV faces censorshipEGYPT: Information ministers of the 22-member Arab League have adopted a proposal to regulate and restrict content broadcast…Sat Feb 16 2008 - 00:00
Gates backs pause in troop withdrawal from IraqIRAQ: US defence secretary Robert Gates has endorsed a pause in the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.Tue Feb 12 2008 - 00:00
Palestinians may soon outnumber Israeli JewsPALESTINE: The Palestinian central board of statistics reported on Saturday that the Palestinian population of the West Bank…Mon Feb 11 2008 - 00:00
Israel's power cuts 'war crimes'ISRAEL: Israel's fuel and power cuts to Gaza amount to collective punishment and violate international law, Human Rights Watch…Fri Feb 08 2008 - 00:00
Egypt seals last opening on frontier with GazaISRAEL: Egyptian soldiers closed the last opening on the frontier with Gaza yesterday, ending 11 days of unfettered movement…Mon Feb 04 2008 - 00:00
Hamas co-operates with Egypt on resealing of Rafah borderMIDDLE EAST: Egyptian border guards yesterday unrolled bales of razor wire and began to erect a new fence along the border with…Wed Jan 30 2008 - 00:00
Leading Arab nationalist Habash dies at 81JORDAN: George Habash, one of the most influential Arab figures of the 20th century, died in Jordan on Saturday, aged 81.Mon Jan 28 2008 - 00:00
Hamas vows to keep Egypt border openMIDDLE EAST: Black-clad Hamas activists yesterday drove a bulldozer through a section of Israel's iron wall separating Gaza …Sat Jan 26 2008 - 00:00
Musician becomes first Israeli to be given a Palestinian passportMIDDLE EAST: Conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim has accepted Palestinian citizenship, becoming the first Israeli to be given…Wed Jan 16 2008 - 00:00
Iraq votes to rescind some anti-Baath measuresIraq: The Iraqi parliament on Saturday adopted legislation to permit former members of the Baath party to resume government …Mon Jan 14 2008 - 00:00
Year-long deadlock in Lebanon may be broken by Arab LeagueLEBANON: In a last-ditch effort to end the political crisis in Lebanon, Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa is set to arrive…Mon Jan 07 2008 - 00:00
Banks swamped as Malta and Cyprus become latest members of euro zoneBanks were swamped yesterday with Cypriots seeking euros on the first full day of trading in the currencyThu Jan 03 2008 - 00:00
More deaths in Gaza as Abbas proposes dialogueMIDDLE EAST: Clashes in Gaza yesterday killed a Hamas policeman and a member of the Fatah-affiliated Dugmush clan, raising the…Wed Jan 02 2008 - 00:00
Kurds agree to delay Kirkuk voteIRAQ: The Kurdish regional assembly has capitulated to Baghdad by agreeing to a six-month postponement of a referendum on whether…Fri Dec 28 2007 - 00:00
Hamas has consolidated control in Gaza - reportMIDDLE EAST: Six months after seizing control of the Gaza Strip, Hamas remains in control and is unlikely to be ousted by international…Sat Dec 22 2007 - 00:00
Hamas flexes muscles before meeting of donorsMiddle East: In anticipation of today's meeting of donor countries in Paris, Hamas demonstrated its strength in the Gaza Strip…Mon Dec 17 2007 - 00:00
Iran's former president to lead coalition into electionIran: Former president Mohammad Khatami is set to lead a 21-party coalition with the aim of winning a majority in Iran's parliament…Mon Dec 17 2007 - 00:00
General's killing raises tension in LebanonLebanon: The assassination of a senior Lebanese army general yesterday exacerbated tensions in a country already on edge due…Thu Dec 13 2007 - 00:00
Israel rebuked over settlement homes planMIDDLE EAST: Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud Al Faisal has castigated Israel for approving the construction of 307 homes …Wed Dec 12 2007 - 00:00
Iraq calls for Gulf security pact to include IranIRAQ: Iraq yesterday called on Gulf states to form a regional security pact which would include Iran.Mon Dec 10 2007 - 00:00
Arab opinion welcomes Iran reportMIDDLE EAST: Arab opinion seems to have been greatly relieved by the news that the US National Intelligence Estimate found that…Fri Dec 07 2007 - 00:00
