JEDDAH (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad made surprise journeys to Saudi Arabia and Egypt Sunday, seeking support from Arab leaders as he faces an unprecedented challenge from a defecting ex-vice president and alleged Syrian involvement in the assassination of a former Lebanese leader.

BAGHDAD (AP) — A US army Black Hawk helicopter crashed and killed all 12 Americans believed to be aboard, while five Marines died in weekend attacks. The mounting death toll, about two-hundred Iraqis were killed

TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran has vowed that its decision to resume nuclear fuel research is not negotiable, causing EU negotiators to cast doubt on the prospect of fresh talks aimed at convincing Tehran to halt enrichment activities.

MARIB — The government dispatched more helicopter-born troops on Wednesday to encircle a rugged mountain hideout and cut off water deliveries to the region where a reneged tribe is holding five Italian tourists hostage.

KUWAIT CITY (AP) — Kuwait’s newly-enfranchised women have been added to the voter rolls for the first time, and the country now has more women voters than men, the interior ministry said on Wednesday.

Sharon had been investigated in a series of corruption scandals OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli police are to access computer data which they believe will show Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s family received an alleged $3 million bribe, public radio reported on Wednesday.

PARIS (AFP) — Syria needs to comply with the demands of the UN probe into the murder of Lebanon’s former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, French President Jacques Chirac warned on Wednesday. “Syria must answer the demands” of the international inquiry into Hariri’s killing,

BAGHDAD (AFP) — A suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of an Iraqi funeral procession on Wednesday, the bloodiest in a string of attacks across the country that left more than 50 people dead and scores wounded. The bomber, wired with explosives, walked up to a group of …

GAZA — Another day of disorder ravaged the Gaza Strip Wednesday, as gunmen linked to Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades went on the rampage in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, bulldozing a barricade on the Gaza side of the Egypt border and killing two Egyptian soldiers.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last night suffered what doctors told Israeli TV was a “significant stroke.” The 78-year-old Sharon, who was treated for a minor stroke last month was rushed into hospital yesterday