Middle Orient

CAIRO, Egypt, June 19–A meeting of the Quartet of Mideast peacemakers due next week in Egypt will likely be put off after some partners asked for a delay following the Palestinian Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip, top Arab diplomats said on Tuesday.

Egypt is attempting to arrange safe passage to the West Bank for approximately 340 Palestinian refugees who fled to Egypt in the aftermath of the Hamas victory in Gaza.

NCRI – Reuters reported on Sunday, June 17 from Baghdad, that the Iraqi tribal leaders and local politicians and parliamentarians from the Iraqi province of Diyala in a conference condemned the Iranian meddling in Iraq and voiced their support for the presence of the Iranian opposition, People’s Mojahedin Organization of …

BAGHDAD — The “Good Morning Iraq” presenters chatted amiably in front of a scenic backdrop of Baghdad’s Tigris River. Just then a body floated into view.

EREZ CROSSING, Gaza — Umm Mohammad and her children cowered in no-man’s-land on Monday with Israeli troops firing warning shots in front and Hamas gunmen behind.

MOGADISHU (Reuters) — A large blast wounded at least two children in Mogadishu on Monday near where a national reconciliation conference — twice delayed over insecurity — is due to be held next month, witnesses said.

TRIPOLI — Libya’s supreme court on Wednesday begins hearing the final appeal of six foreign medics sentenced to death for infecting children with HIV, raising the prospect of a swift end to the eight-year crisis.

MADRID (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, a key player in Middle East politics, said he fears conflicts in the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Iraq could explode into a global one, adding that his monarchy was making great efforts to reach peace.

BAGHDAD (AP) — US and Iraqi forces launched attacks on the capital’s northern and southern flanks to clear out Sunni insurgents, Al Qaeda fighters and Shiite militiamen who were chased from the capital and Anbar province during the first four months of the Baghdad security operation, military officials said Monday.

BEIRUT (AP) — A previously unknown group on Monday claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on northern Israel, reflecting Lebanon’s increasingly dangerous mix of armed organisations.