Middle Orient

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s most powerful politician, a secretive cleric who once led a militia based in Iran, launched the campaign this weekend of a Shiite alliance set to win the biggest number of seats in this month’s parliamentary vote. Two years after appearing on Iraq’s murky political scene, Abdul-Aziz Hakim …

Damascus denies involvement ANJAR, Lebanon (AP) — On a small hill overlooking this border town that was once a stark symbol of Syrian power in Lebanon, an excavator shovels soil as white-gloved Lebanese army forensic experts comb the earth hunting for grisly reminders of this country’s brutal past.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel on Sunday lambasted Russia over the sale of anti-missile systems to arch-enemy Iran, the latest round of what the local press has dubbed the Iranian-Israeli arms race. Iran, already under intense international pressure over its nuclear activities, has reportedly bought 29 mobile air defence systems …

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi authorities said Sunday they had uncovered an insurgent plot to fire rockets at the courtroom when Saddam Hussein’s trial resumes this week. The defence has challenged the legitimacy of the court and wants more time to prepare its case. Ten witnesses are due to testify when …

TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defiantly brushed off Western concerns about its nuclear programme in a feisty speech Saturday marking the 25th anniversary of a revolutionary militia. In remarks aimed at countries “which are suspicious of Iran’s nuclear activities,” Ahmadinejad demanded: “Who has given you the right to …

BARCELONA (AP) — Leaders of the EU nations, Israel and its neighbours open a summit Sunday at which Europe will push for a leap in relations by linking billions of euros in economic aid to sweeping democratic and other reforms on the Mediterranean’s southern and eastern rims. On Saturday, as …

RAFAH (AFP) — The Rafah border terminal between the Gaza Strip and Egypt opened to a flood of excited Palestinians on Saturday, giving them a gate to the outside world for the first time in almost three months. At least 2,000 Palestinians — some leaving the tiny strip of territory …

TEHRAN (AP) — Raising the stakes before a possible showdown at the UN nuclear agency, Iran’s parliament on Sunday approved a bill requiring the government to block in-depth inspections of its nuclear facilities if the nation is referred to the Security Council for possible sanctions. Of 197 lawmakers present, 183 …

BAGHDAD — Safia Taleb Souhail has ambitions to be Iraq’s first woman president one day. A month before a poll in which she hopes to win a parliamentary seat, the former exile is upbeat about women’s rights and democracy.

RAMALLAH — The resignation of much-admired Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayyad will deliver a major blow to efforts to attract investment and highlight the limitations of a reform drive, analysts said Sunday. Fayyad has submitted his resignation, it emerged over the weekend, in a move that sources said was the …