Middle Orient

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Israeli forces crossed into Lebanon last week in an effort to clear mines and the Lebanese army opened fire while Israeli forces were still in their own territory, a U.N. investigation reported.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday that a deal with North Korea over its nuclear program should serve as a message to Iran that international diplomacy could achieve results.

Reuters) – Eleven people were killed in two bomb blasts near the Christian mountain town of Bikfaya, north of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Tuesday, security sources said.

EU president Germany sharply condemned attacks on buses in Lebanon on Tuesday and called upon all sides in the country to take steps to avoid an escalation of violence.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group on Tuesday threatened to retaliate against the United States if it tried to capture its Damascus-based leader.

The Yemeni-Gulf Joint Committee (YGJC), attended by YemeniMinister of Planning and International Cooperation, the head of the delegation,Abdulkarim Al-Arhabi, and representatives from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, Gulffunds, Arab Development Fund and Islamic Development Bank, started Tuesday its meetings in Riyadh.

The Jordanian government on Tuesday strongly condemned terrorist blasts that rocked eastern Beirut this morning killing some people and injuring others.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert heads to Turkey this week, where he will ask Israel’s closest Muslim ally to help in the international effort to curb Iran’s nuclear program, officials said.

AMMAN, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) — Visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called here on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to abide by the Mecca agreements and form an efficient Palestinian government.

President George Bush has sought to play down suggestions of a strike against Iran amid tension over Tehran’s alleged involvement in Iraq’s violence.