Middle Orient

DAMASCUS (AP) — Syria accused Israel on Tuesday of seeking to exploit intense US-led pressure on Damascus to reject calls for peace talks over the occupied Golan Heights. “Israeli officials are trying to exploit the wave of political, media and psychological pressure on Syria in order to express in a …

CAIRO (AFP) — UN Secretary General Kofi Annan sought Tuesday in Cairo to assuage Arab fears over possible action against Syria but urged Damascus to cooperate fully with the international probe into the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri. “The message must go out that impunity will not be …

BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Gunmen killed a second defence lawyer acting in Saddam Hussein’s trial for crimes against humanity on Tuesday, renewing questions over whether the former president can get a fair trial amid Iraq’s daily violence. Another defence lawyer was slightly wounded in the attack on their car in Baghdad, …

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s army chief told a parliamentary committee Tuesday that the military will keep up its deadly hunt for members of Islamic Jihad, despite threats by the Palestinian group to retaliate with suicide bombings. Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz told the Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee that the …

CAIRO — As Muslims held a mass prayer at Cairo’s Mustafa Mahmud Mosque, the personal tragedies of Sudanese refugees continued to unfold a few metres away, screened off from the Eid Al Fitr festival like an eyesore. For the rituals marking the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan, the …

CAIRO (AP) — A member of an outlawed opposition group who is running for a seat in Egypt’s upcoming parliamentary elections was detained Thursday on accusations of stealing religious alms to supplement his campaign spending. Essam Mokhtar, a member of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, was later released after appearing before …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Oct 29,2005 In the Name of God, the Almighty Statement by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The statement issued by the President of the UN Security Council on the International Day of Qods upon the proposal of the Zionist regime was aimed to cover up …