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 7 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 5 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 5 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 8 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 4 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 7 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 3 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 2 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 7 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 1 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 9 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 6 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 Sep 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 Sep 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 Sep 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 Sep 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
Palestinian rivals welcome Yemen's mediationMIDDLE EAST: Fatah and Hamas have welcomed a mediation effort between the two groups proposed by Yemeni president Ali Abdullah…Sat Aug 11 2007 - 01:00
Secular ministers boycott Iraqi cabinet meetingsIRAQ: The Iraqi government crisis intensified this week following a boycott of cabinet meetings by five ministers belonging …Wed Aug 8 2007 - 01:00
Abbas will work with Israel in advance of conferenceMIDDLE EAST: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas announced yesterday that he is prepared to work with Israel to delineate the…Fri Aug 3 2007 - 01:00
43% of Iraqis live in absolute povertyIRAQ: Forty-three per cent of Iraqis live in absolute poverty and one-third of the population is in need of emergency aid, according…Tue Jul 31 2007 - 01:00
Arab League wants UN or Quartet to sponsor talksMiddle East: Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa said yesterday that the international conference proposed last month by…Mon Jul 30 2007 - 01:00