Middle Orient

Abbas in Syria

DAMASCUS (AFP) — Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Syria on Wednesday for talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad, on his first visit to Damascus since being elected in January. He was greeted at the airport by Foreign Minister Farouq Sharaa and was to meet Assad on Thursday, during a …

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Iraq rebels threaten to kill Egypt ambassador

BAGHDAD (AP) — Kidnappers of Egypt’s top diplomat in Iraq threatened to kill him Wednesday because Egypt has allied with “Jews and Christians,” according to a statement on a website linked to Al Qaeda in Iraq. Pictures of the envoy’s ID cards were posted as proof he was held by …

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Top nuke negotiator did not resign — spokesman

TEHRAN (AP) — Iran’s top nuclear negotiator will remain in place at least until the country’s new hardline president takes office, his spokesman said Wednesday, denying a report from the state news agency that said he had resigned. But the report throws into doubt the future of Hasan Rowhani — …

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Coup-plagued Comoros mark independence day with government reshuffle

MORONI — Amid persistent poverty and a shaky federal union between its three islands, the coup-plagued Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros celebrated independence on Wednesday with a Cabinet reshuffle. Announced on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Comoros’ July 6, 1975 independence from France, the changes saw the …

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Darfur parties agree on basics, adjourn talks

ABUJA (Reuters) — The parties to peace talks on Sudan’s Darfur region on Tuesday signed a declaration of principles, a breakthrough in negotiations aimed at settling a 2-1/2 year conflict that has killed tens of thousands. But the broad declaration left the nitty-gritty of a comprehensive peace settlement for later …

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Iraqis say security forces use torture to extract confessions

BAGHDAD — As she tells it, security forces put her in solitary confinement for days on end, whipped her with electric cables and accused her of having sex with a stranger. Humiliated and fearful for her life, the 46-year-old Iraqi housewife went before a TV camera and “confessed” to helping …

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Sharon orders speedup in building barrier

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered quicker work to finish Israel’s contentious West Bank separation barrier, especially the section enclosing Jerusalem, a senior official said Wednesday — and Palestinians responded that Israel is trying to dictate borders while taking over their part of the disputed city.

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Iraq launches fresh raids on rebels

BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Iraq’s prime minister announced a new phase in anti-insurgency operations on Monday, as troops seized more than 100 suspects around Baghdad airport and hunted the kidnappers of Egypt’s envoy in the capital. Political efforts to undermine revolt among Sunni Arabs moved forward with parliament’s formal acceptance of …

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Pullout may incite Sharon assassination — Katsav

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Reuters) — Israeli President Moshe Katsav said on Monday the vocal opposition of pro-settler rabbis to Israel’s Gaza pullout could incite ultranationalists to try to assassinate Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. “In the struggle over the disengagement someone is likely to distort the rabbis’ messages,” Katsav told army Radio. …

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Police force often the only hope for Iraqi jobless

HAMYYA, Iraq — Tawfiq Jamil hasn’t worked since Saddam Hussein’s government fell more than two years ago. A former taxi driver, the 28-year-old was forced to sell his car after the war to try to provide for his wife and seven children, and hasn’t been able to find a new …

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