Former US official met senior Hamas figures in GenevaA FORMER high-ranking US official met two senior members of the Palestinian Hamas movement in Geneva last month, according to…Fri Jul 17 2009 - 01:00
Sand storms a further blow to Iraqi hopesIRAQ IS experiencing the worst sand and dust storms in memory, blotting the landscape and the country’s prospects for economic…Wed Jul 15 2009 - 01:00
Palestinians rule out any further West Bank settlementsTHE PALESTINIAN Authority rejects any compromise between the US and Israel which would permit any Israeli settlement construction…Mon Jul 13 2009 - 01:00
Egypt's President Mubarak planning to retire and transfer power to sonARAB MEDIA are reporting that Egypt’s president for the past 28 years, Hosni Mubarak, is planning to step down following an early…Sat Jul 11 2009 - 01:00
42 die in Iraqi bombings as ethnic violence flaresAT LEAST 42 people were killed and 80 wounded yesterday in the worst bomb attacks in Iraq since US forces completed their pull…Fri Jul 10 2009 - 01:00
Amnesty says Israel's Gaza action breached laws of warAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL holds that Israel’s offensive on Gaza, launched without warning on December 27th last year, breached the…Thu Jul 02 2009 - 01:00
US forces leave Iraqi towns and citiesON A day hailed as a milestone on Iraq’s road to full sovereignty, US forces yesterday completed their formal withdrawal from…Wed Jul 01 2009 - 01:00
Lebanon worries on the wane as Berri is re-electedCELEBRATORY GUNFIRE rippled across Beirut yesterday, proclaiming the re-election of Nabih Berri to a fifth consecutive term as…Fri Jun 26 2009 - 01:00
US to reappoint Syrian envoy after four-year hiatusSYRIA’S AMBASSADOR to Washington, Imad Mustafa, yesterday welcomed reports that President Barack Obama is set to appoint a new…Thu Jun 25 2009 - 01:00
Truck bomb kills at least 80 in northern Iraqi townAT LEAST 80 people were killed on Saturday when a massive truck bomb exploded in a town near the disputed Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk…Mon Jun 22 2009 - 01:00
Aid agencies call on Israel to end blockade of GazaFORTY UN and international humanitarian agencies have called on Israel to end its blockade of Gaza, where 80 per cent of residents…Fri Jun 19 2009 - 01:00
Palestinians say Israeli speech 'closes door to permanent status negotiations'PALESTINIAN SPOKESMEN from all factions have condemned Sunday’s policy address by Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu in…Tue Jun 16 2009 - 01:00
Syria crucial to peace - MitchellUS ENVOY George Mitchell said on a visit to Syria that it has an integral role to play in peacemaking in the Middle East.Mon Jun 15 2009 - 01:00
Culture of corruption prompts Iraq's PM to pledge crackdownTHE RESIGNATION of a minister and the levelling of charges of embezzlement, mismanagement and criminality by parliament at several…Sat May 30 2009 - 01:00
Israel to allow expansion in settlementsISRAEL HAS rebuffed US president Barack Obama by declaring its intention to continue building in settlements in occupied territory…Fri May 29 2009 - 01:00
Biden makes a strategic visit to Lebanon ahead of crucial electionsUS vice-president Joe Biden held discussions in Lebanon yesterday with the country’s president, Michel Suleiman, ahead of the…Sat May 23 2009 - 01:00
France hails new Palestinian cabinet and pledges support for 'viable' stateFRANCE YESTERDAY welcomed the formation of a new Palestinian cabinet and pledged Paris’s backing.Fri May 22 2009 - 01:00
History made in Kuwait as women elected to parliament for first timeFOUR US-educated professional women made history on Saturday by winning election for the first time in half a century to the …Mon May 18 2009 - 01:00
Abbas cabinet rejected ahead of talks with HamasPALESTINIAN PRESIDENT Mahmoud Abbas’s plans to form a new caretaker government yesterday ahead of reconciliation talks with Hamas…Thu May 14 2009 - 01:00
New Fatah cabinet listing risks reconciliation talks with HamasWEST BANK-BASED Fatah yesterday published a list of ministers in a new Palestinian Authority cabinet from which Hamas, the ruler…Wed May 13 2009 - 01:00
Arab hopes rise ahead of Obama addressARAB EXPECTATIONS of US president Barack Obama are high ahead of his address to the Muslim world next month.Mon May 11 2009 - 01:00
Changes to peace plan for Palestine rejected by SyriaSYRIAN FOREIGN minister Walid Muallem insisted yesterday that there was no need to amend proposals in a 2002 joint Arab peace…Fri May 08 2009 - 01:00
Leader says Hamas ready to end Palestinian-Israeli conflictHAMAS POLITBURO chief Khaled Meshaal said yesterday the movement was ready to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the…Wed May 06 2009 - 01:00
Clinton renews US support for Iraq and LebanonUS SECRETARY of state Hillary Clinton pledged not to abandon the people of Iraq or Lebanon during unannounced visits to Baghdad…Mon Apr 27 2009 - 01:00
UN urges dialogue between Arabs, Kurds over TamimAMID RISING tensions in northern Iraq, a UN commission has urged Arabs and Kurds to resolve their dispute over oil-rich Tamim…Fri Apr 24 2009 - 01:00
Egyptian security moves betray growing fear of IranEGYPT KEPT up verbal pressure on the Lebanese Shia Hizbullah movement yesterday while its police continued to scour Sinai for…Thu Apr 16 2009 - 01:00
Palestinians deport conductor over Holocaust concertPALESTINIAN SECURITY men detained and deported to Israel a conductor who took a youth orchestra from the West Bank Jenin refugee…Thu Apr 02 2009 - 01:00
Iraq moves to counter Kurdish power in provincesBAGHDAD IS reasserting Iraqi sovereignty in three northern non-Kurdish provinces where Kurdish officials, peshmerga militiamen…Sat Mar 28 2009 - 00:00
Fall in oil price hampers Iraqi reconciliation effortTHE COLLAPSE in the price of oil caused by the worldwide eco- nomic slump is undermining Iraq’s reconciliation efforts at the…Thu Mar 26 2009 - 00:00
Iran prepared to engage with US, says KhameneiIRAN’S SUPREME leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei indicated on Saturday that Tehran is prepared to respond positively to US president…Mon Mar 23 2009 - 00:00
Aziz gets 15 years for role in execution of profiteering Iraqi merchantsIRAQ’S FORMER deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz was imprisoned for 15 years yesterday for his role in the summary execution of…Thu Mar 12 2009 - 00:00
Assad says Syria ready to negotiate with NetanyahuSYRIAN PRESIDENT Bashar al-Assad made it clear yesterday that he is prepared to negotiate peace with an Israeli government formed…Tue Mar 10 2009 - 00:00
Fayyad confident unity government will be formedPALESTINIAN PRIME minister Salam Fayyad said yesterday that he is confident a government of national consensus will be formed…Mon Mar 09 2009 - 00:00
How big-power agendas and 'green lines' have kept Cyprus dividedBOOK OF THE DAY : Getting it Wrong: Fragments from a Cyprus Diary 1964 By Martin Packard, AuthorHouse UK 416pp, $19.98Mon Mar 02 2009 - 00:00
Hague tribunal meets to inquire into assassination of former Lebanese PMTHE INTERNATIONAL tribunal established at The Hague to try the alleged assassins of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri…Mon Mar 02 2009 - 00:00
Clinton arrives in Egypt for 'rebuild Gaza' conferenceUS SECRETARY of state Hillary Clinton, on her first journey to the Middle East since becoming Washington’s senior cabinet member…Mon Mar 02 2009 - 00:00
Fatah and Hamas to meet in Cairo ahead of key Arab summitSENIOR FIGURES from a dozen Palestinian factions are set to meet today in Cairo to start talks following two days of preparatory…Thu Feb 26 2009 - 00:00
Partial reopening of Baghdad museum opposed by Iraqi ministry of cultureIRAQ’S NATIONAL museum has partially reopened nearly six years after it was pillaged as Baghdad fell to US forces.Tue Feb 24 2009 - 00:00
Syria keen to broker Fatah, Hamas deal, says KerryFOLLOWING TALKS with President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Saturday, US senator John Kerry announced that Syria is prepared…Mon Feb 23 2009 - 00:00
Hamas may sign truce if Israel agrees to concessionsHAMAS IS prepared to sign deals next week for an 18-month truce with Israel, the lifting of Israel’s blockade on Gaza and the…Sat Feb 14 2009 - 00:00
Despair and pessimism in Arab press at resultPALESTINIAN PRESIDENT Mahmoud Abbas responded to the Israeli election result by saying that he would not resume negotiations …Thu Feb 12 2009 - 00:00
Amnesty accuses Hamas of torture and killingsAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL yesterday called on the de facto Hamas government in Gaza to immediately end violence against men suspected…Wed Feb 11 2009 - 00:00
UN agency demands return of Gaza aid if shipments to restartTHE UN Relief and Works Agency did not resume shipments of food and medical supplies into the Gaza Strip yesterday, although …Mon Feb 09 2009 - 00:00
Visit by Ban reaffirms strong UN ties to Iraq, says MalikiUN SECRETARY general Ban Ki-moon yesterday paid an unannounced visit to Baghdad where he met Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki…Sat Feb 07 2009 - 00:00
Hamas delegate held by Egypt after Cairo peace talksEGYPTIAN SECURITY personnel yesterday detained and searched members of the Hamas delegation returning to Gaza following talks…Fri Feb 06 2009 - 00:00
Palestinian Authority to provide $600m for GazaTHE PALESTINIAN Authority in the West Bank has announced $600 million (€467 million) in funding for the reconstruction of all…Thu Feb 05 2009 - 00:00
Iraq vote leaks suggest unity groups gain at expense of sectarian partiesLEAKS FROM Iraq’s electoral commission reveal that nationalist parties backing a strong central government seem to have triumphed…Tue Feb 03 2009 - 00:00
Counting of ballots under way as Iraqi provincial elections pass off peacefullyTHE COUNTING of ballots got under way yesterday in Iraq’s second provincial polls since the US toppled the Baathist regime in…Mon Feb 02 2009 - 00:00
Gaza's children refused exit for treatmentGAZA’S SERIOUSLY wounded children offered treatment in Europe are being prevented from travelling to host countries by the internationally…Mon Jan 26 2009 - 00:00
In the eye of the stormPROFILE: JOHN GING: John Ging is an ex-Army officer who worked in Rwanda during the genocide and was in the Balkans when ethnic…Sat Jan 17 2009 - 00:00
