Middle Orient News

Lebanon challenges Syria on borders, formal ties

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) — Lebanon’s prime minister challenged Syria on Friday to mark borders between the two countries and establish diplomatic relations. But Syria said it was not ready to make such commitments.Prime Minister Fuad Siniora told the UN Security Council he had asked Secretary General Kofi Annan to “confirm …

Read More »

Iraqi leaders task Maliki to be PM

BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Tough-talking Shiite Jawad Maliki was tasked to form a coalition government by Iraqi leaders on Saturday, ending a four-month political deadlock that many feared could pitch the country into a sectarian civil war.

Read More »

Iraqi women much worse off under occupation

Iraqi women were treated far more better during the Saddam Hussein era, and their rights were much more respected, local rights NGOs concluded after an extensive survey in Iraq.  “We interviewed women in the country and met with local NGOs dealing with gender issues to develop this survey, which asked …

Read More »

Fierce fighting continues in Afghanistan

Taliban Mujahiddeen fired 30 rockets at a base of American troops in Naway Adda, Barmal district of Paktika province on the nigh between Thursday and Friday, Dr. Muhammad Hanif, spokesman of Taliban government told Afghan Islamic Press. He said they do not have details about the damage caused by the …

Read More »

Siniora heads to US seeking Bush backing

BEIRUT (AP) — Prime Minister Fuad Siniora headed to Washington on Monday for a meeting with US President George W. Bush where he was expected to seek American political and economic support for Lebanon’s efforts to extend its authority over all Lebanese territory and revive the war-shattered economy.

Read More »

Dead Sea ‘dying’

EIN GEDI, Israel — The Dead Sea is dying, with the world’s saltiest water body threatened by a lack of freshwater and an increasingly tense political situation, environmentalists have warned.

Read More »