Middle Orient

TWO SISTERS AND one man were wounded early Monday morning when Israel launched a second air strike in as many weeks in the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian hospital sources, the three bystanders were wounded by shrapnel from three missile strikes in what the Israeli army said was an operation …

BAGHDAD (AFP) — A double suicide attack killed at least 27 people in Iraq on Monday, while in an embarrassing turnaround US forces released a moderate Sunni political leader they admitted had been detained “by mistake.” In the eastern province of Diyala, an Iraqi air force aircraft crashed with four …

FRENCH PRESIDENT JACQUES Chirac tried on Monday to limit the damage from his people’s rejection of the European Union constitution while the leaders of the 25-nation bloc battled to keep the new charter alive. Chirac spoke to several EU partners to reassure them that France, for decades one of the …

BEIRUT (AP) — A decisive victory in Beirut legislative elections for the son of slain former Premier Rafiq Hariri marked a turning point in Lebanese politics — a solid rejection of pro-Syrian politicians that began with the February assassination. Hariri’s ticket won all 19 seats up for grabs in Beirut …

CAIRO (AFP) — Egyptian women have launched two separate initiatives, one calling on citizens to wear black clothes and the other a white ribbon, to protest the assault of several women during last week’s referendum. Female activists protesting against the nature of the constitutional referendum submitted to Egyptians on May …

RIYADH (AP) — Authorities are interrogating more than 30 Saudis who may have been trying to enter Iraq from Syria to join the insurgency, but were sent home at a time when Syria is under heavy American pressure to stop foreign fighters from crossing its borders. Brig. Mansour Al Turki, …

TEHRAN (AFP) — Leading Iranian presidential candidate Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani released his election manifesto on Monday, promising a “interactive and constructive diplomacy” but without mentioning relations with the United States. In a 24-page “pact with the people,” the top cleric also vowed to “effectively” defend human rights, improve freedom of …

TEL AVIV — Military action would not stop Iran’s nuclear programme but could be a last resort to delay any quest for an atomic bomb, the mastermind of Israel’s 1981 air strike on the Iraqi reactor at Osiraq said on Monday. While Israel and its US ally have not excluded …

KHARTOUM (Reuters) — Sudan arrested the local head of an international aid agency on Monday over a report on hundreds of rapes in Darfur in the first such action against a top relief worker since a rebellion in the area began in 2003. Paul Foreman, the country head of the …

MOGADISHU (Reuters) — Rival Somali factions armed with truck-mounted machineguns fought on Monday for control of a town where President Abdullahi Yusuf plans to set up a temporary capital, killing and wounding several people, residents said. Hundreds of militiamen attacked the southern town of Baidoa at about 3:45am (0045 GMT) …