BAGHDAD — Iraq’s most powerful politician, a secretive cleric who once led a militia based in Iran, launched the campaign this weekend of a Shiite alliance set to win the biggest number of seats in this month’s parliamentary vote. Two years after appearing on Iraq’s murky political scene, Abdul-Aziz Hakim …

Damascus denies involvement ANJAR, Lebanon (AP) — On a small hill overlooking this border town that was once a stark symbol of Syrian power in Lebanon, an excavator shovels soil as white-gloved Lebanese army forensic experts comb the earth hunting for grisly reminders of this country’s brutal past.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel on Sunday lambasted Russia over the sale of anti-missile systems to arch-enemy Iran, the latest round of what the local press has dubbed the Iranian-Israeli arms race. Iran, already under intense international pressure over its nuclear activities, has reportedly bought 29 mobile air defence systems …