Middle Orient

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) — Lebanon’s prime minister challenged Syria on Friday to mark borders between the two countries and establish diplomatic relations. But Syria said it was not ready to make such commitments.Prime Minister Fuad Siniora told the UN Security Council he had asked Secretary General Kofi Annan to “confirm …

BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Tough-talking Shiite Jawad Maliki was tasked to form a coalition government by Iraqi leaders on Saturday, ending a four-month political deadlock that many feared could pitch the country into a sectarian civil war.

Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao received a celebrity welcome in Seattle, as the West Coast state of Washington sought to strengthen its trade ties with the Asian country.

Iraqi women were treated far more better during the Saddam Hussein era, and their rights were much more respected, local rights NGOs concluded after an extensive survey in Iraq.  “We interviewed women in the country and met with local NGOs dealing with gender issues to develop this survey, which asked …

Taliban Mujahiddeen fired 30 rockets at a base of American troops in Naway Adda, Barmal district of Paktika province on the nigh between Thursday and Friday, Dr. Muhammad Hanif, spokesman of Taliban government told Afghan Islamic Press. He said they do not have details about the damage caused by the …

BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Gunmen killed the brother of a top Iraqi Sunni politician, officials said on Monday, in the second killing in days of a relative of a Sunni leader as deadlock over a unity government showed no sign of loosening.

BEIRUT (AP) — Prime Minister Fuad Siniora headed to Washington on Monday for a meeting with US President George W. Bush where he was expected to seek American political and economic support for Lebanon’s efforts to extend its authority over all Lebanese territory and revive the war-shattered economy.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — As far as the Abu Hawa family is concerned, the sale of two floors of their home on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives was perfectly legitimate.

EIN GEDI, Israel — The Dead Sea is dying, with the world’s saltiest water body threatened by a lack of freshwater and an increasingly tense political situation, environmentalists have warned.

KIRKUK — Armed men fill the corridors of power in Kirkuk’s government building as police, soldiers and bodyguards trade fierce looks outside the offices of council members. What the squabbling politicians and their retainers are not doing in this building, however, is shooting at each other, giving hope for the …