Beirut / Washington, DC - In an editorial that appeared Tuesday in the Washington Post Syria compared breaking its relations with Iran to the United States breaking its relations with Israel.
Beirut - Lebanon's Druze spiritual leader Sheikh el Akl Naim Hassan urged the Lebanese factions to overcome the obstacles preventing the formation of a cabinet, underlining the need to "strengthen and consolidate an agreement and understanding among the Lebanese."
Beirut - The fugitive Fatah al-Islam leader Shaker Absi has slammed in an audiotape Lebanon's Sunnis and Hezbollah and criticized the Lebanese army's role in the clashes between pro and anti-government supporters last month.
Members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have dismissed as unjustified and political a recent US report accusing their countries of not combating human trafficking. Foreign ministers of the GCC (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
A hard-line Somali Islamist leader on Tuesday rejected a three-month truce reached between Mogadishu and its political foes, casting a damper on a fresh United Nations bid to bring peace to the shattered nation. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, an influential
Members of Pakistan's intelligence services and its paramilitaries are supporting Taliban insurgents who enter Afghanistan to attack US and NATO forces, a US think-tank said in a report on Monday. The study by the RAND corporation, funded by the US
The US State Department has condemned Yemen's jailing of a journalist, saying it points to a "distressing trend" in which Yemeni courts muzzle independent media. The editor of Zaidi weekly Al-Shura, Abdel-Karim al-Khiwani, who was jailed for six years, was
Immunity from Iraqi law for foreign private guards is a sticking point in the deal between Washington and Baghdad over long-term US troop presence in the country, a top US official said Tuesday. "The issue of contractors including [foreign] security
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday accused his country's top court of overstepping its brief by upholding a ban on Islamic headscarves at universities in a critical ruling for the governing party's future. It was Erdogan's first public
An Israeli Cabinet minister confirmed on Tuesday that a transfer of tax revenues to the Occupied West Bank was delayed because the Palestinian premier urged EU nations not to boost ties with the Jewish state. Finance Minister Roni Bar-On said
Pakistan's deposed chief justice arrived here on Tuesday to join a "long march" calling for the government to reinstate him and other judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf. Hundreds of lawyers and political activists chanted "Go Musharraf go!" and waved
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine refugees launched an appeal to international donors on Tuesday to fill a funding shortfall that hit $98.8 million last year. UNRWA Commissioner General Karen AbuZayd said the agency also needed additional
The head of the Sunni tribe of executed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was assassinated on Tuesday near the late leader's home village, police said. Sheikh Ali al-Nida and his driver were killed after insurgents planted a bomb in their car
Egypt will "soon" host inter-Palestinian talks between Fatah and Hamas, Palestinian Ambassador to Cairo Nabil Amr said on Tuesday. Egyptian President "Hosni Mubarak accepted the request by [Palestinian President Mahmoud] Abbas during their meeting on Monday that Cairo should host
Pakistani Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani said the government would freeze defense spending in the upcoming budget, state media reported Tuesday, as the country tries to tackle growing economic problems. Nuclear-armed Pakistan spent 275 billion rupees ($4.1 billion) on defense during
Syria's culture minister arrived in Paris on Tuesday on the first visit by a Syrian government member in three years, confirming a thaw in Franco-Syrian ties following the political breakthrough in Lebanon and one day after the US State Department
Lebanon spent another day waiting for the formation of a new unity cabinet on Tuesday, but senior figures from both the ruling March 14 camp and the March 8 opposition alliance expressed confidence that the difficulties would be ironed out.
The volatile security outlook in Lebanon continues to eclipse political efforts to build on the Doha agreement and foster greater stability in the country, with clashes and shootings continuing to occur across the country. Jalal Hassanein, a 27-year-old Palestinian, was
At a time when many people are ready to give up on Lebanese politics and are seeking ways to leave the country for good, a group of students of diverse nationalities are in Beirut learning the workings of Lebanese politics,
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday suggested holding peace talks with Lebanon, following last month's announcement of Israel's indirect, Turkish-mediated negotiations with Syria. "I would have been glad if - after the announcement of the talks with Syria -
