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 9 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 7 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 6 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 5 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 3 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 2 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
Onslaught threatens very existence of Fatah, says its Jerusalem representativeHUMAN RIGHTS: THE ISRAELI onslaught on Gaza threatens the very existence of both the secular Fatah movement and the Palestinian…Tue Jan 13 2009 - 00:00
Four Palestinian factions join forces to defend strip Nowhere safe in Gaza, says UN officialHUMANITARIAN CRISIS: FIGHTERS FROM the four main Palestinian factions are engaged in the defence of GazaWed Jan 7 2009 - 00:00
ICG calls for ceasefire in Gaza, proposes actions for both sidesTHE INTERNATIONAL Crisis Group (ICG) yesterday called for an immediate cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, followed…Tue Jan 6 2009 - 00:00
Lack of food and medicine a catastrophe, say aid groupsISRAELI SHELLING killed 14 members of two Palestinian families yesterday, raising the fatality toll to more than 90 since Israel…Tue Jan 6 2009 - 00:00
UN official rejects Israeli view of extent of hardshipWar in Gaza: PALESTINIAN SOURCES reported yesterday at least 500 Palestinians have been killed (including 75 children and 30…Mon Jan 5 2009 - 00:00
Arab rulers split over who is to blame for attacksON THE eve of today's emergency meeting in Jeddah of foreign ministers of the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference…Sat Jan 3 2009 - 00:00
Attacks condemned as supplies dwindle and deaths riseDEPOSED PALESTINIAN prime minister and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh yesterday called for an immediate halt to the Israeli attack…Fri Jan 2 2009 - 00:00
Navy attacks activist vessel carrying doctors to StripAT 05.15 yesterday morning the SS Dignity, an 18m yacht carrying three doctors, three tonnes of medical aid and peace activists…Wed Dec 31 2008 - 00:00
Aid mission: boat departs CyprusIn freezing rain, shivering volunteers yesterday loaded boxes of urgently needed medical supplies on the SS Dignity in Larnaca…Tue Dec 30 2008 - 00:00
Abbas blames Hamas for Israeli attacksARAB REACTION: AS DEMONSTRATIONS opposing Israel's unprecedented onslaught on Gaza erupted across the Middle East yesterday, …Mon Dec 29 2008 - 00:00
Rockets fly as Hamas talks of extending Gaza ceasefireSEVERAL ROCKETS fired from Gaza struck Israel yesterday after a senior Hamas figure declared the movement is prepared to consider…Wed Dec 24 2008 - 00:00
Obama urged to have dialogue with Iran leaderIRANIAN NOBEL Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi yesterday called on US president-elect Barack Obama to meet Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad…Tue Dec 23 2008 - 00:00
Compromise in Iraq on non-US foreign troopsIRAQ'S PARLIAMENT yesterday reached a compromise over a deal extending the mandate of non-US foreign troops deployed in Iraq.Mon Dec 22 2008 - 00:00
Two dozen Iraqi interior ministry officers arrestedTWO DOZEN Iraqi interior ministry officials have been arrested on charges of belonging to an outlawed political party.Fri Dec 19 2008 - 00:00
People of Basra eager to see British troops withdraw from IraqBRITISH FORCES set to withdraw from their last base in the southern province of Basra by the end of July are pulling out in accordance…Thu Dec 18 2008 - 00:00
Iraq's criminal court 'failing to provide justice'IRAQ’S CENTRAL criminal court is failing to meet accepted standards of due process or to conduct fair trials.Wed Dec 17 2008 - 00:00
Agreement on US presence in Iraq up to 2011 approvedIRAQ'S PARLIAMENT yesterday approved by a solid majority the pact governing the presence and operations of US forces in the country…Fri Nov 28 2008 - 00:00
Iraqi resistance groups agree to co-ordinate insurgent attacksTEN IRAQI resistance groups have agreed to unite and co-ordinate attacks on US and Iraqi forces.Thu Nov 13 2008 - 00:00
Majority in Middle East welcome Obama victoryMIDDLE EAST: THE OVERWHELMING majority of people in the Middle East welcome the victory of Barack Obama in the presidential …Thu Nov 6 2008 - 00:00
US strike on Syria aimed at insurgent 'launch pad'BAGHDAD HAS declared that Sunday's US helicopter raid on Syria targeted an area near the border where foreign fighters crossed…Tue Oct 28 2008 - 00:00
Fatah accord plan given conditional support by HamasMIDDLE EAST: HAMAS HAS given conditional support to an Egyptian proposal to reconcile with its Fatah rival.Wed Oct 22 2008 - 01:00
Iraqi leaders hold off on approving US pactIRAQI POLITICAL leaders meeting yesterday took no decision to approve a pact allowing US troops to stay for three years, and …Mon Oct 20 2008 - 01:00
Iraq council studies plan for US troop withdrawalA DRAFT text of a US-Iraq status of forces agreement, based on an end of 2011 withdrawal from Iraq, was discussed yesterday by…Sat Oct 18 2008 - 01:00
US team warns of fresh ethnic violence in IraqTHE TEAM preparing the latest US intelligence analysis of the situation in Iraq warns that ethnic and sectarian tensions could…Thu Oct 9 2008 - 01:00
Iraq signs provincial election lawIRAQ: IRAQ'S THREE-MEMBER presidency council has signed the provincial election law approved by parliament last month.Sat Oct 4 2008 - 01:00
Twenty killed in attacks on Shia mosques in BaghdadIRAQ: SUICIDE BOMBERS struck at two Shia mosques in Baghdad yesterday, killing 20 people and wounding another 50 as they left…Fri Oct 3 2008 - 01:00
Bombing in Lebanon kills five soldiersLEBANON: FIVE LEBANESE soldiers were killed yesterday when a car bomb exploded next to a bus in rush-hour traffic in Tripoli…Tue Sep 30 2008 - 01:00
Iraqi parliament approves provincial elections lawIRAQ: THE IRAQI parliament yesterday overcame months of deadlock by adopting a provincial election law.Thu Sep 25 2008 - 01:00
Quartet has failed to help Palestinians, say NGOsMIDDLE EAST: THE MIDDLE East Quartet has failed to deliver essential progress on the ground in the occupied West Bank and Gaza…Thu Sep 25 2008 - 01:00
No evidence of nuclear reactor found at Syrian siteSYRIA: INITIAL TESTS of material from a Syrian site bombed by Israel last September do not support US allegations that the target…Mon Sep 22 2008 - 01:00
Hamas clashes with clan claim 12 lives in GazaGAZA: TWELVE PEOPLE were killed in Gaza yesterday during clashes between Hamas security forces and members of the heavily armed…Wed Sep 17 2008 - 01:00
Violence surges in Iraq amid political stalemate as Gen Petraeus departsIRAQ: VIOLENCE HAS spiked ahead of this week's departure of Gen David Petraeus, outgoing overall military commander in Iraq.Mon Sep 15 2008 - 01:00
US cedes control of Anbar security to BaghdadIRAQ: IN A formal ceremony in Ramadi yesterday, the US handed over security for Anbar, Iraq's largest province, to the Baghdad…Tue Sep 2 2008 - 01:00
Maliki reshuffles team to negotiate US dealIRAQ: AT THE current crucial stage in negotiations with the US over an agreement to govern the presence and operations of US…Sat Aug 30 2008 - 01:00
Israelis shadow peace boats exit from GazaISRAEL: ISRAELI NAVAL vessels shadowed the SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty as they started their 370km (230miles) return journey…Fri Aug 29 2008 - 01:00
Palestinian peace activists sail into Gaza StripMIDDLE EAST: PEACE ACTIVISTS who breached Israel's blockade of Gaza in two Greek-flagged wooden boats lunched yesterday with…Mon Aug 25 2008 - 01:00
No deal on US presence in IraqMIDDLE EAST: US SECRETARY of State Condoleezza Rice and Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari declared yesterday that Washington…Fri Aug 22 2008 - 01:00
Iraqi forces storm governor's office in Diyala provinceIRAQ: IRAQI FORCES stormed the governor's offices in Baquba yesterday, capital of the turbulent Diyala province, killed his …Wed Aug 20 2008 - 01:00