CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt has proposed February 22 as the date for the start of a dialogue between Palestinian groups, several of the groups said in reports published Tuesday. Foreign Minister Ahmed Abou Gheit of Egypt, which has been mediating between the groups, told reporters: “We will invite the Palestinian …

BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) – Thousands of Shi’ite Muslims in southern Iraq are wrestling with a choice of religion or democracy before a pilgrimage which may prevent them from voting in an upcoming election. Pilgrims from the southern city of Basra are setting out on an arduous walk hundreds of km …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama vowed on Monday that his new Middle East envoy George Mitchell would engage vigorously in the quest for Israeli-Palestinian peace and expressed confidence he would achieve concrete results. Wading quickly into Middle East diplomacy, Obama dispatched Mitchell, a veteran international trouble-shooter, to tackle a …