Middle Orient News

GAZA CITY — The discovery of deadly bird flu in both Israel and the Palestinian territories is pushing the two sides to work together despite plummeting relations as Hamas prepares for government.

KHARTOUM (AFP) — Arab leaders meet in Khartoum for their annual summit Tuesday under pressure to take a more active role in Iraq and find a common stance on dealing with a Hamas-led Palestinian government.

LONDON — Battered, bloated and broke, the Palestinian Authority faces an uncertain future under a new Hamas leadership at odds with the PLO, Israel and the West.

TEHRAN — US-Iranian talks to discuss Iraq could open a valuable channel of communication between the two foes, but analysts say a history of missed opportunities dampens hopes of any broader dialogue developing.

Troops rescue Western hostagesBAGHDAD (AP) — The American military spokesman said on Thursday that major violence in Iraq was confined to just three of Iraq’s 18 provinces, but the fighting raged on with at least 56 more Iraqis reported killed in shadowy execution-style slayings, bombings and gunbattles.

MANAMA (AFP) — Some 300 Muslim religious figures opened a two-day conference in Bahrain Wednesday in support of the Prophet Mohammad following the row over his depiction in cartoons in European papers.

KUWAIT CITY — This tiny Gulf country is increasingly nervous — as are some of its neighbours — about Iran’s controversial nuclear programme, right across the water. But heading into a key summit, Arab leaders overall are divided, and publicly squabbling, over how to defuse a crisis that has caused …

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) — Violence is surging in Sudan’s south as well as its western Darfur region, fuelled by government inaction even after years of global attention, UN envoy Jan Pronk told the Security Council on Tuesday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Gunmen wounded dozens of Shiite pilgrims and killed two in Baghdad on Wednesday, raking their vehicles with machinegun fire in the latest outbreak of sectarian violence that is threatening Iraq with civil war.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (AFP) — US President George W. Bush defended his Iraq war strategy Monday, as the conflict entered its fourth year amid mounting sectarian strife and lower-than-ever support in the United States.