Abbas ready to defy Hamas over pollMIDDLE EAST: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has met election officials to prepare for a referendum on a proposal calling…Tue Jun 06 2006 - 01:00
Iraqi PM promises 'iron fist' to crack down on factions in BasraIRAQ: Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Malaki declared a one-month state of emergency in the southern port city of Basra yesterday…Thu Jun 01 2006 - 01:00
Sunni deputies unhappy with new governmentIRAQ: After five months of wrangling over posts and policies, Iraq's parliament confirmed a new government on Saturday when …Mon May 22 2006 - 01:00
Iraq partition proposal based on several false premisesWorld View : Senator Joseph Biden, senior Democrat on the US Foreign Relations Committee, recently added his influential voice…Sat May 13 2006 - 01:00
Quartet to discuss funding for Palestinian AuthorityMIDDLE EAST: The quartet comprising the US, UN, EU and Russia is scheduled to meet today to decide what to do about funding …Tue May 09 2006 - 01:00
Shias still deadlocked over nomination of JaafariIRAQ: Iraqi Shia politicians yesterday failed to break the deadlock over the nomination of the transitional prime minister, …Wed Apr 12 2006 - 01:00
Iraq visit aims to break deadlockIRAQ : US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and British foreign secretary Jack Straw began an unannounced two-day visit to…Mon Apr 03 2006 - 01:00
Annan seeks tribunal for Hariri suspectsUN/Lebanon: United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan has called upon the UN Security Council to authorise negotiations for…Thu Mar 23 2006 - 00:00
An Irishwoman's DiaryTomorrow afternoon in McKee Barracks, Dublin, the former Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lieut Gen Gerald O'Sullivan, DSM…Mon Mar 20 2006 - 00:00
US and Iran to hold talks on IraqIRAQ: Officials in Tehran and Washington have declared their intention to hold a dialogue on Iraq, signifying a possible end…Sat Mar 18 2006 - 00:00
Jaafari will withdraw as Shia candidate if askedIRAQ: Iraq's transitional prime minister, Ibrahim Jaafari, has offered to withdraw as the Shia candidate to head the new government…Fri Mar 17 2006 - 00:00
Syria aiding inquiry into Hariri death, reports UNLEBANON: The report of the UN commission investigating the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri was …Thu Mar 16 2006 - 00:00
Kidnapped American peace worker found shot dead in BaghdadIraq: Tom Fox, one of four Christian peace activists kidnapped in Baghdad last November by a previously unknown group calling…Mon Mar 13 2006 - 00:00
Amnesty accuses US of tortureAmnesty Report: Amnesty International yesterday accused the US and its allies of abusing and torturing prisoners in Iraq nearly…Tue Mar 07 2006 - 00:00
Alliance urged to reconsider Jaafari as leaderIRAQ: The United Iraqi Alliance, the largest grouping in parliament, said on Saturday that it would continue to back Ibrahim…Mon Mar 06 2006 - 00:00
Arrests indicate al-Qaeda targeting JordanJORDAN: The arrest in Jordan of a Libyan and three Iraqis plotting bomb attacks indicates that the Hashemite kingdom, a British…Sat Mar 04 2006 - 00:00
Iraq on brink of civil war, warns crisis groupIRAQ: Since the bombing of the Shia Askari shrine in Samarra, Iraq has been teetering on the brink of disasterWed Mar 01 2006 - 00:00
Askari shrine one of holiest for ShiasIRAQ: The blast that destroyed the golden dome of the Askari shrine at Samarra was intended to provoke Iraqi Shias into attacking…Thu Feb 23 2006 - 00:00
Radical Shia cleric meets Jordan's king but remains a wild cardIRAQ / JORDAN : The radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who mounted two uprisings against the US occupation of Iraq, has met…Mon Feb 20 2006 - 00:00
US losing battle for Iraq hearts and minds - studyIRAQ: In its latest report on Iraq, the International Crisis Group argues that the US is fighting an enemy it does not know …Fri Feb 17 2006 - 00:00
Divided Lebanon honours slain HaririLEBANON: Many of the hundreds of thousands of Lebanese who yesterday converged on central Beirut to honour slain former premier…Wed Feb 15 2006 - 00:00
Syrian reshuffle signals commitment to reformSYRIA: When he carried out the long-awaited reshuffle of his government last weekend, Syrian President Bashar Assad sent a message…Tue Feb 14 2006 - 00:00
Shia pick Jaafari to head new regime in IraqIraq: Incumbent Iraqi prime minister Ibrahim Jaafari was chosen yesterday as the nominee of the Shia United Iraqi Alliance to…Mon Feb 13 2006 - 00:00
Exiles meet to organise opposition to Syrian president AssadSYRIA: Former Syrian vice-president Abdel Halim Khaddam and the leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Ali Bayanouni, have…Fri Feb 10 2006 - 00:00
Lebanese blame Syria for violence at embassyMIDDLE EAST: Lebanon's Social Affairs Minister Nayla Muawad has called on the government to file a complaint against Syria to…Tue Feb 07 2006 - 00:00
Saudis set to give financial aid to Palestinian AuthorityMIDDLE EAST: Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Authority are to begin talks this month on financial aid of $1Fri Feb 03 2006 - 00:00
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
