Middle Orient News

DOHA (Reuters) – Rival Lebanese leaders signed a deal on Wednesday to end 18 months of political conflict that had threatened to push the country to a new civil war. The agreement, reached after six days of Arab-mediated talks, also paved the way for the election of a new president.

BAIJI, Iraq (Reuters) – A U.S. military helicopter air strike on Wednesday night killed eight civilians, including two children and an elderly man, north of Baghdad, police officials said on Thursday.

TEHRAN (FNA)- The White House denied on Tuesday a report by Israel’s Jerusalem Post that President George W. Bush intends to resort to military forces against Iran before the end of his term in January 2009.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s ambassador to the UN said the Iraqi government and not foreign forces should be in charge of the country’s security affairs.

TEHRAN (FNA)- US Defense Secretary Robert Gates rebuffed calls for diplomatic engagement with Iran Tuesday.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Bahrain’s Al Wefaq parliamentary bloc has rejected the recent anti-Iran statements made by the commander-in-chief of the defense forces.

DOHA (Reuters) – Rival Lebanese leaders signed a deal on Wednesday to end 18 months of political conflict that had pushed their country to the brink of a new civil war. The deal, concluded after six days of Arab-mediated talks in Qatar, paved the way for parliament to elect army …

GAZA (Reuters) – An Israeli air strike killed a Palestinian civilian in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Tuesday, medical workers said.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The Iraqi army launched an operation on Tuesday to take control of Baghdad’s Sadr City slum, the power base of Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Oil rose on Monday, extending last week’s climb that saw prices jump to a record high near $128 a barrel, as geo-political overshadowed gains in the US dollar.