Middle Orient

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Benedict, in his strongest comments yet on the situation in Gaza, on Sunday condemned the violence that has killed hundreds of “innocent victims.” Speaking at his weekly Sunday noon prayer, the pope also asked his listeners in St Peter’s Square and around the world to …

GAZA (Reuters) – After 22 days of devastating Israeli air strikes and shelling, shocked Palestinians emerged onto the rubble-strewn streets of the Gaza Strip on Sunday to collect their dead and inspect their shattered homes. Women sat weeping amid the ruins of their houses, hiding their faces, many too distressed …

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) – European and conservative Arab leaders said on Sunday Israel and the Palestinians must turn a shaky ceasefire in Gaza into a permanent peace that prevents any recurrence of violence. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the host of a summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm …

ALGIERS (Reuters) – Public anger over Gaza has added to economic and political strains in Algeria that will make for an uncomfortable test of nerves ahead of a presidential election in a country with a history of popular unrest. A steep drop in oil revenue, questions about the integrity of …

GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli forces killed a Palestinian in the Gaza Strip on Sunday in an area where militants had fired mortar bombs in defiance of a unilateral Israeli ceasefire, medical workers said. The incident occurred near the Gazan town of Khan Younis, the workers said, identifying the man as …

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan flies to Brussels on Sunday for a visit aimed at boosting the Muslim country’s troubled bid for European Union accession. Erdogan’s trip, his first to Brussels in four years, comes as Ankara faces EU pressure to speed up reforms in a decisive …

GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli forces and Palestinian militants exchanged fire in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, hours after Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire, the Israeli military and Hamas sources said. “Gunmen fired at our forces in the northern Gaza Strip,” an Israeli military spokesman said. “They returned fire from the …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian First Lady Azam al-Sadat Farahi, in a letter to her Egyptian counterpart, asked for her help to facilitate aid delivery to Palestinians. “Witnessing the dead bodies of women and children is painful and even worse is that some governments in Arab and Islamic countries do not support …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki Sunday called for a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, stressing that just ceasing fire by the Israeli military is not enough. “A mere halt of aerial, naval and ground attacks without a pull-out of the forces from the occupied …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Captain of Iranian cargo ship, carrying Iran’s aid to Gaza, stressed that his vessel will wait in international waters until its mission is accomplished. “We will be waiting until we accomplish the mission. Our objective is to deliver the cargo to the Gazans,” Goudarz Qaleh-Golab said. “We started …