Middle Orient

Iran analysis may be too late for UN meeting

VIENNA (AFP) — UN nuclear inspectors will not have crucial Iranian samples analysed in time for a meeting November 24, suggesting the UN atomic agency may be unable to rule whether to refer Iran to the UN Security Council for violating international safeguards, diplomats said Friday. UN inspectors got access …

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War fuelled UK terrorism — former envoy

LONDON (Reuters) — London’s former ambassador to Washington says the war in Iraq fuelled homegrown terrorism in Britain, in comments likely to cause further problems for Prime Minister Tony Blair at the end of turbulent political week. Sir Christopher Meyer, who was heavily involved in the planning that led up …

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Iraq offensive targets Al Qaeda

BAGHDAD (Reuters) — US forces mounted their biggest offensive in a year against Sunni Arab insurgents in western Iraq on Saturday, saying they would make the lawless area on the Syrian border safe for voters in next month’s elections. An assassination attempt in Baghdad on a Sunni leader whose group …

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New pressure to end corruption as World Bank cuts support

SANAA — Taxi driver Mohamed Abdul Karim swears under his breath as he swings past the giant, multimillion dollar mosque being built to honour Yemen’s president. “I don’t make enough money to feed my family every month, and we go and spend millions of dollars on another mosque,” said Abdul …

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Ahbash group at centre of Hariri probe

BEIRUT — The Lebanese Sunni Muslim group Ahbash, which describes itself a charitable organisation promoting Islamic culture, is at the centre of the UN probe into the murder of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri. The UN inquiry probing the assassination has named Ahmad Abdel-Al, believed to have been a top …

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2,000 companies made illicit payments to Iraq — report

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — More than 2,000 companies paid about $1.8 billion in illicit kickbacks and surcharges to Saddam Hussein’s government through extensive manipulation of the UN oil-for-food programme in Iraq, according to key findings of a UN-backed investigation obtained by the Associated Press. The report — to be released …

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Troops block smuggling routes with Syria

SULTAN YACOUB (AP) — Commandos manned positions near Palestinian bases in this rugged region Thursday and soldiers blocked smuggling routes along the Syrian border as Lebanon beefed up efforts to control its territory amid heightened tensions with Syria. The tense standoff with the pro-Syrian Palestinian groups, which started Wednesday, demonstrated …

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Arms still flowing to Lebanon from Syria — UN

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) — Arms are still flowing across the Syrian border to Palestinians in Lebanon, a UN report said on Wednesday, adding further pressure on Damascus after threats of sanctions by France and the United States. Secretary General Kofi Annan, in a report to the UN Security Council, said …

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World dismay over Iranian remarks

LONDON (AP) — Governments around the world expressed shock and scorn Thursday at the Iranian president’s call for Israel to be “wiped off the map,” and several summoned Tehran’s envoys in their capitals for a reprimand. However, Israeli calls for Iran to be suspended from the United Nations over the …

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