Tripoli- Gunmen from rival sectarian factions exchanged machinegun and grenade fire on Friday in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli, killing at least two people and wounding 9, medical sources said.

Syrian skies seem to be finally clearing after a very long storm and the virtual shunning of President Bashar Assad from the international political scene for almost three years. Many may perceive the recent rapprochement between Syria and France as

Chief veterinarian for the Indian UN battalion (INDBATT) Lieutenant Colonel Satvir Singh, in full uniform, lowers himself on one knee on the side of the road in the southern Lebanese town of Shebaa. He reaches under the goat as the

We welcome recent moves by Syria to improve relations and positively engage with neighboring countries. We hope that indirect talks with Israel will lead as soon as possible to direct negotiations. The European side will fully support these efforts, as

The Lebanese Option Group (LOG), headed by Ahmad al-Assad, said Friday that the national unity government was unable to produce a ministerial statement, and that therefore it cannot achieve "any change as it [the Cabinet] is based on contradictions." The

Syrian security forces at the Abboudiyeh border crossing in northern Lebanon detained on Thursday night a Lebanese army sergeant and a civilian, Al-Mustaqbal newspaper reported on Friday. Al-Liwaa newspaper said on Thursday that heavy shooting took place between the Syrian

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Friday lodged a formal complaint with Israel for a series of violations of Lebanese airspace over a two-day period. In a press release Friday, UNIFIL spokeswoman Yasmina Bouzianne demanded Israel bring a

Efforts to draft a ministerial statement continued to flounder on Friday, despite continuing contact between leaders of competing political coalitions in Lebanon in the aftermath of the formation of a national unity Cabinet some two weeks ago. A day after

Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah said the national dialogue should focus on the way that all Lebanese parties take part in the defense of Lebanon. "I do not believe that the permanent debate over the legitimacy of the

A Youtube video, uploaded on the Internet this week, showing a blindfolded and handcuffed Palestinian being fired on at close range by an Israeli soldier in the presence of a lieutenant-colonel, has made international and regional headlines. On July 7,

The Iraqi officer leading a US-financed anti-jihadist group is in no mood for small talk - either the military gives him more money or he will pack his bags and rejoin the ranks of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. "I'll go back

Barack Obama said Friday that Iran should promptly accept an international call to freeze its uranium enrichment program, which some nations see as a potential step toward obtaining nuclear weapons, and not wait for the next US president. The US

Eighty-six people accused of plotting to topple Turkey's Islamist-rooted government will go on trial on October 20, Anatolia news agency reported on Friday. The trial, which has sharpened political divisions in Turkey, will be held in a special hall at

An influential Iranian cleric told the West on Friday an ultimatum would not help talks with Iran over its nuclear plans, after Washington told Tehran it had two weeks to respond to a package of nuclear incentives. Iran and the

Israeli police plan to question Prime Minister Ehud Olmert next week as part of an investigation that could force the Israeli leader out of office, officials said on Friday. A government official said Olmert's office has agreed to allot two

Sudan threatened Friday to expel peacekeepers from Darfur if President Omar al-Bashir is indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court. "We are telling the world that with the indictment of our president al-Bashir we can't be responsible for

Three soldiers were killed in southeastern Turkey on Friday in a landmine explosion blamed on Kurdish rebels, security sources said. The landmine was detonated by remote control while the soldiers were combing a road in the mountainous Sirnak province, near

One policeman was killed and 17 people were wounded when a suicide bomber in a car detonated his device outside a police headquarters in the east Yemen town of Sayun on Friday, local police said. A police official blamed "extremist