Middle Orient

TEHRAN — Western diplomats are confident Iran has chosen a pragmatic line in negotiations over its nuclear programme and say a long-term deal is possible with the EU, and eventually the United States, if they can come up with the right incentives. In recent months the Islamic republic has been …

TEHRAN (Reuters) — Pressure mounted on Wednesday on four hardline candidates in Iran’s June 17 presidential race to reach consensus on a single nominee to challenge wily former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who leads opinion polls. A new survey showed Rafsanjani, 70, still leading the pack of eight candidates, but …

WASHINGTON (AFP) — For the first time since its launch in March 2003, a majority of Americans feel the Iraq war has not made the United States a safer place to live, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll published Wednesday. Fifty-two per cent of the 1,002 adults who took …

BAGHDAD (AFP) — Twenty-two Iraqi soldiers were kidnapped near the Syrian border, an Iraqi military source said Wednesday as four US soldiers were killed in less than 24 hours in attacks north of the capital. With no let-up in the targeting of the country’s fledgling security forces, senior Iraqi Shiite …

Israel to free 400 prisoners today OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Agencies) — Israel will free 400 Palestinian prisoners on Thursday in what Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has called an attempt to boost moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of a Gaza withdrawal. Palestinian officials dismissed the long-delayed release as a public relations …

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israel’s most respected TV news anchor took a firm stand against Israeli settlers and occupation that could sway public opinion much as his US counterpart did on the Vietnam war nearly 40 years ago. For four decades, Haim Yavin has anchored the evening news on Israel’s public …

CAIRO (AP) — Dressed mostly in black, about 500 Egyptian journalists, human rights activists, celebrities, novelists, and pro-democracy supporters responded to a call Wednesday to protest the alleged harassment of women journalists and protesters during last week’s referendum vote. The women were reportedly beaten and groped while protesting or covering …

BAGHDAD — When it comes to peace and stability in Iraq, there may be no greater obstacle to success than Anbar province, a vast region of desert and scrubland stretching west from Baghdad. A huge sandy expanse dissected by a major highway, an oil pipeline and the Euphrates River, Anbar …

KHARTOUM — Food supplies are critically low in many parts of southern Sudan, exposing thousands of people to starvation, the region’s leaders and humanitarian agencies have warned. They blame the looming crisis on a poor harvest, the return of thousands of refugees and the inability of humanitarian agencies to provide …

TEHRAN (AFP) — Two high-profile candidates for Iran’s presidency raised the stakes in their campaigns Wednesday, both evoking the taboo topic of relations with the United States and one challenging the status of the Islamic republic’s supreme leader. “We have to democratise the political system,” said Mohammad Reza Khatami, the …