Shia party dominant in final Iraq poll resultsIRAQ: The Shia religious alliance emerged yesterday as the largest single party in Iraq's new parliament but fell 10 seats short…Sat Jan 21 2006 - 00:00
Emir of Kuwait buried in simple, unmarked graveKuwait: The emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber Ahmad Sabah, died yesterday and was buried before sunset in an unmarked grave in accordance…Mon Jan 16 2006 - 00:00
Stampede blamed on unruly pilgrimsSAUDI ARABIA: Stunned pilgrims continued to search for missing loved ones yesterday following the stampede on Thursday which…Sat Jan 14 2006 - 00:00
Shias to block Sunni changes to constitutionIRAQ: Iraqi Sunni and secular politicians yesterday rejected the contention of Abdel Aziz Hakim, the head of the Shia United…Fri Jan 13 2006 - 00:00
Syrian president refuses to talk to UN about Hariri murderSyria: The Syrian president has rejected a request to be interviewed by the UN commission investigating the assassination of…Mon Jan 09 2006 - 00:00
Hamas says region 'will be better off' without SharonArab reaction to the stroke which felled Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon was mixed, with rulers and commentators expressing…Fri Jan 06 2006 - 00:00
Sheikh Maktoum dies while at thoroughbred sale in AustraliaDubai: The emir of Dubai, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al-Maktoum, died yesterday of a heart attack while on a visit to Australia…Thu Jan 05 2006 - 00:00
UN asks to meet Assad over Hariri killingSYRIA: The UN commission investigating the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri has asked for meetings…Tue Jan 03 2006 - 00:00
Syria expels politician for Hariri remarksSYRIA: Syria's ruling Baath party yesterday expelled former vice president Abdel Halim Khaddam and called for him to be tried…Mon Jan 02 2006 - 00:00
Fugitive Chalabi replaces dismissed Iraqi oil ministerIRAQ: The dismissal of Iraqi oil minister Ibrahim Bahr Ulum and his replacement by Ahmad Chalabi, the head of the country's …Mon Jan 02 2006 - 00:00
Alliance between Shias and Kurds under discussionIRAQ: The leader of Iraq's largest party, Abdel-Aziz Hakim, yesterday met the country's president Jalal Talabani, to discuss…Thu Dec 29 2005 - 00:00
Korei will not contest Palestinian electionsMIDDLE EAST: Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Korei has withdrawn from parliamentary elections on January 25th following the…Tue Dec 27 2005 - 00:00
Opposition leader in Egypt jailed for 5 yearsEGYPT: An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced Ayman Nour, a leading opposition figure, to five years imprisonment for forging…Tue Dec 27 2005 - 00:00
Syrians killed Hariri, says UN investigatorMIDDLE EAST: The outgoing head of the UN team investigating the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri…Mon Dec 19 2005 - 00:00
Iraq political parties sign pact of honourIraq : At the end of last week, key Iraqi political parties and associations conferred for two days in the Baghdad suburb of…Mon Dec 12 2005 - 00:00
Egypt poll viewed as major triumph for IslamistsEYGPT: Preliminary results issued yesterday for Egypt's first contested poll gave the ruling National Democratic Party 73 per…Fri Dec 09 2005 - 00:00
UN questions Syrian officials over assassination of former Lebanese PMUN: A UN team investigating the assassination in February of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri yesterday began questioning…Tue Dec 06 2005 - 00:00
TV call for hostages to be freedIRAQ: The mother of one of four peace activists kidnapped in Baghdad has made a televised appeal for their release as five Iraqi…Mon Dec 05 2005 - 00:00
Al-Zarqawi's journey - from petty criminal, to jihad in Afghanistan, to war on USJORDAN/IRAQ: Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the group headed by Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, has claimed responsibility for Wednesday night's hotel…Fri Nov 11 2005 - 00:00
Egyptians vote in country's first contested parliamentary electionsEgypt: Egyptians will cast ballots today in the initial phase of the country's first contested parliamentary electionsWed Nov 09 2005 - 00:00
Syria tries to halt UN action over Hariri murderSYRIA: In a bid to stave off UN action against his country, Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, decreed on Saturday the creation…Mon Oct 31 2005 - 00:00
Arab media not optimistic about Iraq's future after referendumIRAQ: Arab media did not take an optimistic view of the future of Iraq following the expected adoption of the constitution in…Tue Oct 18 2005 - 01:00
Iran works assiduously to secure interests in IraqIRAN/IRAQ: Tehran's interest in, and influence of, the new Iraq is hugely important, writes Michael Jansen.Tue Oct 04 2005 - 01:00
US marines try to root out al-Qaeda near SyriaSYRIA: US forces yesterday fought insurgents in the village of Sada in a fresh offensive to prevent infiltration by militants…Mon Oct 03 2005 - 01:00
Sistani to tell Iraqis to vote for constitutionIRAQ: Iraq's most senior Shia cleric, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, is expected to issue an edit calling on the faithful to vote in…Sat Sept 24 2005 - 01:00
Iraq's divided police force lacks drive of a single visionIRAQ: The storming on Monday of Basra's police headquarters by British forces to rescue two undercover servicemen detained by…Fri Sept 23 2005 - 01:00
Iraq pursues former minister for $1.3bn corruptionIraq: Iraq's Commission on Public Integrity revealed yesterday that Baghdad will soon issue a warrant for the arrest of Hazem…Tue Sept 20 2005 - 01:00
Abbas seals Gaza-Egypt borderMiddle East: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday that Gaza's frontier with Egypt had been sealed six days after…Mon Sept 19 2005 - 01:00
Views differ on source of Arafat's fatal illnessMIDDLE EAST: The mystery surrounding the death of former Palestinian president Yasser Arafat was partially resolved yesterday…Fri Sept 09 2005 - 01:00
Gunmen murder ex-security chief in GazaMIDDLE EAST: Former Palestinian security chief Moussa Arafat was assassinated before dawn yesterday by 100 masked gunmen armed…Thu Sept 08 2005 - 01:00
Arab world unites to criticise Iraq constitutionIRAQ: Officials and commentators in the Arab world yesterday poured scorn on Iraq's new constitution, arguing that it does not…Wed Aug 31 2005 - 01:00
Sunnis reject Iraq's constitutionIRAQ: Iraq's constitution was formally presented to parliament yesterday in spite of its rejection by Sunnis on the drafting…Mon Aug 29 2005 - 01:00
'Judaising' of Jerusalem continuesMIDDLE EAST: Palestinian children formed a conga line behind a youth from Italy pushing a boy in a wheelchairWed Aug 24 2005 - 01:00
Confronting Israelis with bandanas and onion slicesMIDDLE EAST : They gather every Friday after communal prayers at the mosque in Bi'lin 20 minutes west of Ramallah: Palestinians…Sat Aug 20 2005 - 01:00
The party spirit fades because of a misused democracyIraq Letter: A year ago I attended the inaugural meeting of a women's movement launched by Iraq's Independent Democrats, a secular…Wed Aug 10 2005 - 01:00
Ability of Palestinian forces questionedPalestine: Palestinian security services may not be able to counter threats to Israel's troops and settlers as they withdraw…Thu Aug 04 2005 - 01:00
King Fahd of Saudi Arabia dies after long reignSAUDI ARABIA: King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, the kingdom's fifth monarch, died early yesterday and was succeeded by his half-brother…Tue Aug 02 2005 - 01:00
Lebanon, Syria try for better relationsMIDDLE EAST: Lebanese prime minister Fuad Siniora and Syrian president Bashar Assad have called for relations between their …Mon Aug 01 2005 - 01:00
Mubarak calls Arab summitEGYPT: Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, yesterday announced the convening of an Arab summit next week at the Red Sea resort…Fri Jul 29 2005 - 01:00
Former warlord freed in LebanonLEBANON: A former Lebanese Maronite Christian warlord was freed yesterday after serving 11 years in prison for crimes committed…Wed Jul 27 2005 - 01:00
Bombings linked to Taba attack last year, say policeEGYPT: The bombings in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula early on Saturday morning had considerable resonance in Egypt and the Arab world…Mon Jul 25 2005 - 01:00
Sunnis suspend talks on constitution after killingIRAQ : Sunni participation in the commission drafting a constitution for Iraq has been suspended, following the assassination…Thu Jul 21 2005 - 01:00
Is Iraq drifting towards a bloody civil war?IRAQ : Iraq's senior Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, has warned of "genocidal war" if the current high level of violence…Wed Jul 20 2005 - 01:00
Insurgents target Shia areas as death toll risesIRAQ: The increase in suicide bombings which killed at least 160 people and wounded 400 since last week came soon after US and…Mon Jul 18 2005 - 01:00
Car bomb in Beirut wounds ministerLEBANON: Lebanon's outgoing deputy premier and defence minister, Elias Murr, was wounded yesterday when a car bomb exploded …Wed Jul 13 2005 - 01:00
Arab world unites to express its revulsionArab reaction Media commentators across the Arab world echoed official spokesmen by expressing severe condemnation and revulsion…Sat Jul 09 2005 - 01:00
Syrian leader gives backing to AbbasMIDDLE EAST: Syrian president Bashar Assad yesterday reiterated his country's support for the struggle of the Palestinian people…Fri Jul 08 2005 - 01:00
Hamas refuses Fatah's offer to govern jointlyMIDDLE EAST: The Islamic movement Hamas yesterday turned down an offer from the ruling Fatah movement to form a national unity…Wed Jul 06 2005 - 01:00
From 'Arabia felix' Yemen has become impoverished cul-de -sacLetter from Sanaa: Only 20 people disembarked from the Syrian Airways flight at Sanaa and lined up to have their passports stamped…Tue Jun 28 2005 - 01:00
Syria separates party and stateSYRIA: The 10th congress of Syria's ruling Baath party concluded yesterday after adopting modest but significant reforms.Fri Jun 10 2005 - 01:00
