Middle Orient

TEHRAN — US-Iranian talks to discuss Iraq could open a valuable channel of communication between the two foes, but analysts say a history of missed opportunities dampens hopes of any broader dialogue developing.

Troops rescue Western hostagesBAGHDAD (AP) — The American military spokesman said on Thursday that major violence in Iraq was confined to just three of Iraq’s 18 provinces, but the fighting raged on with at least 56 more Iraqis reported killed in shadowy execution-style slayings, bombings and gunbattles.

MANAMA (AFP) — Some 300 Muslim religious figures opened a two-day conference in Bahrain Wednesday in support of the Prophet Mohammad following the row over his depiction in cartoons in European papers.

KUWAIT CITY — This tiny Gulf country is increasingly nervous — as are some of its neighbours — about Iran’s controversial nuclear programme, right across the water. But heading into a key summit, Arab leaders overall are divided, and publicly squabbling, over how to defuse a crisis that has caused …

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) — Violence is surging in Sudan’s south as well as its western Darfur region, fuelled by government inaction even after years of global attention, UN envoy Jan Pronk told the Security Council on Tuesday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Gunmen wounded dozens of Shiite pilgrims and killed two in Baghdad on Wednesday, raking their vehicles with machinegun fire in the latest outbreak of sectarian violence that is threatening Iraq with civil war.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (AFP) — US President George W. Bush defended his Iraq war strategy Monday, as the conflict entered its fourth year amid mounting sectarian strife and lower-than-ever support in the United States.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Suspected insurgents marked the third anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq Monday with roadside bombings that killed at least eight policemen, and authorities reported finding 15 more bullet-riddled bodies, one of them a 13-year-old girl, dumped in the capital and in the Tigris River south of …

RAMALLAH — Fateh-affiliated gunmen stormed government buildings, briefly took over a power plant and blocked a vital road in the Gaza Strip on Monday, as the coastal strip lurched from humanitarian crisis to security chaos.

BRUSSELS — After a quarter of a century in exile, the leader of Syria’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood scents power after forming a coalition with secular, nationalist, liberal, communist and Kurdish opposition parties.