Middle Orient Press

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Two-thirds of Pakistanis want President Pervez Musharraf to resign and his allies will fare badly in parliamentary elections next month, according to the first major poll published since he declared emergency rule.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Already furious at President Pervez Musharraf over a crackdown on opponents and emergency rule, Pakistanis from middle class housewives to the poor have a new gripe just weeks ahead of an election — the price of bread.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Prospects for a free and fair general election in Pakistan next month are poor and a rigged result could lead to more instability and play into the hands of Islamist militants, election watchdog groups said.

(Reuters) – Lebanese army investigators searched for clues on Thursday in the assassination of a top general who had been tipped to become the next army chief. Brigadier General Francois al-Hajj, killed by a 35 kg (77 lb) car bomb on Wednesday, was the first military officer to be killed, …

RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia on Tuesday condemned Israel for restarting settlement activity after a promise to stop building on occupied land helped persuade Riyadh to attend U.S.-brokered peace talks in Annapolis last month.

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s ruling AK Party, which has Islamist roots, signaled on Friday it plans to ease a ban on the wearing of the Islamic headscarf in universities under a new draft constitution.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The air still smelled unmistakably of blood and the street was still strewn with shredded store mannequins and clothes.

The Afghan ministry of defence has announced plans to treble the size of its army. The ministry said this was to dissuade Afghanistan’s neighbours, Iran and Pakistan, from interfering, as well as to provide better internal security.

One old investor used binoculars to watch stock prices. Others yelled out instructions to brokers who scribbled down prices on a white board.

Chances of a breakthrough appear slim when Iran’s main nuclear negotiator meets Europe’s top diplomat on Friday in a last effort to avert tougher sanctions over Tehran’s disputed atomic program.