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
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
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
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
Opposition calls for mass protest in BeirutMIDDLE EAST: A mass demonstration has been called for today by Lebanon's Hizbullah-led opposition to mark the first anniversary…Sat Dec 01 2007 - 00:00
Iran hails release by US of nine detaineesIRAN: Nine Iranians held in Iraq by US forces were released yesterday and handed over to the government of Iraq.Sat Nov 10 2007 - 00:00
UN warns Lebanese factions against rearmingUN: UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon has warned Lebanese factions against rearming and training militias and urged them to end…Fri Oct 26 2007 - 01:00
Amnesty accuses Hamas, Fatah of rights abusesMIDDLE EAST: Amnesty International yesterday issued a report sharply critical of Hamas and Fatah for violating Palestinian human…Thu Oct 25 2007 - 01:00
Hopes rise as Iran moderate called in for talksIRAN: Iran announced yesterday that the country's former top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, and his successor, Saeed Jalili…Mon Oct 22 2007 - 01:00
Warning of Palestinian violence if US talks failMIDDLE EAST: Palestinian chief negotiator Ahmad Qurei warned yesterday that if the US-sponsored regional summit in November …Fri Oct 12 2007 - 01:00
Beirut parties seek way ahead as young seek way outBeirut Letter: Never knowing what the next moment might bring, Beirutis live day by day, unable to plan for tomorrow, next week…Wed Oct 10 2007 - 01:00
Iraq vows to charge guards in BlackwaterMIDDLE EAST: The Iraqi government has pledged to prosecute guards employed by the US Blackwater security contractor for the …Tue Oct 09 2007 - 01:00
Saudi legal reforms welcomedMIDDLE EAST: Saudi officials, lawyers and reformers have welcomed a major restructuring of the kingdom's justice system decreed…Sat Oct 06 2007 - 01:00
Maliki rejects US Senate resolution on country's partitionIraq: Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki yesterday rejected a US Senate resolution proposing the division of Iraq into autonomous…Sat Sept 29 2007 - 01:00
Ghanem killing will not stop Lebanese pollMIDDLE EAST: Lebanese legislators yesterday vowed to go ahead with a presidential election despite the assassination of one …Fri Sept 21 2007 - 01:00
World Bank warns on state of Palestinian economyMIDDLE EAST: The World Bank reported yesterday that if the economic slide in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories is…Wed Sept 19 2007 - 01:00
Al-Sadr faction quits Shia bloc in parliamentIraq: The parliamentary faction loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced yesterday that it had no intention of toppling…Mon Sept 17 2007 - 01:00
Saudi minister bans Arabic paperSaudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia has banned influential Arabic daily al-Hayat from circulation in the kingdom following the publication…Thu Aug 30 2007 - 01:00
Largest Sunni faction signs deal with Shia-Kurd allianceIraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki yesterday declared that the Iraqi Islamic Party, the largest Sunni faction, has signed a …Mon Aug 27 2007 - 01:00
Iraqi governor killed by bomb as Maliki visits SyriaIRAQ: The governor of a southern Iraqi province was killed by a road-side bomb yesterday morning on his way to work.Tue Aug 21 2007 - 01:00
Power crisis in Gaza as EU stops oil fundingMIDDLE EAST: Gaza's sole power plant shut down its fourth generator yesterday when fuel did not arrive to maintain operations…Mon Aug 20 2007 - 01:00
Iran's elite corps rejects US terror group allegationIRAN: Iran's Revolutionary Guards yesterday dismissed Washington's threat to designate the corps as a terrorist group.Fri Aug 17 2007 - 01:00
