Middle East News

China raised the death toll from riots in Xinjiang to 184, state media said Saturday, adding that most of those killed were Han Chinese in the first ethnic breakdown of the number since communal violence erupted in the far west.

Senior officials from over 140 countries began to meet here on Saturday to discuss the agenda and draft documents for the 15th Non-Aligned Movement ( NAM) summit due on July 15-16 in this Red Sea resort city, preparing for the movement's direction-taking summit in a new world situation, Xinhua reported.

Azerbaijan, Baku, July 10/ Trend News U.Sadikhova /

The inevitability of the role of Syria in Lebanon's political life is the main reason why France has supported the development of relations between the two countries, but will continue to expand the influence of Damascus in Beirut, without third party mediation.

Israel has taken a surprising 2-0 lead over Russia in the Davis Cup quarterfinals after Dudi Sela rallied to beat Mikhai Youzhny in the second singles match, AP reported.

Israel has taken a surprising 2-0 lead over Russia in the Davis Cup quarterfinals after Dudi Sela rallied to beat Mikhai Youzhny in the second singles match, AP reported.

In this July 13, 2008 file photo, a view of the Golan Heights, close to the border with Syria, is seen.

BAGHDAD a ' Iraq's U.S.-led invaders inflicted serious damage on Babylon, driving heavy machinery over sacred paths, bulldozing hilltops and digging trenches through one of the world's greatest archaeological sites, experts for UNESCO said Thursday.

Bombs killed nearly 60 people in Iraq on Thursday in the worst violence since U.S. combat troops withdrew from urban areas last week, and American forces released five Iranian officials suspected of aiding Shiite insurgents.

The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, told the media on July 9 that the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, kept his promises concerning Lebanon, AFP French agency reported.

Syrian Minister of Health Rida Adnan Said announced Thursday that the country has confirmed its second case of influenza A/H1N1 from the family of the first case, which had been identified a few days ago, Xinhua reported.

Five Iranian diplomats, taken hostage in the Iraqi city of Arbil, have been released, said the Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad, Hassan Kazemi Qumi, Fars news agency reported.

Two successive suicide attacks in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar on Thursday killed at least 20 people and wounded 60, police said.

If prosecutors are able to prove that Israeli spy networks are operating inside Lebanon, it will constitute a violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and undermine Security Council resolutions, a top UN envoy told reporters here on Wednesday, Xinhua reported.

A U.S. official denied an Israeli newspaper report Wednesday that Washington had agreed to the continued construction of 2,500 housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, despite its calls for a freeze, Reuters reported.

Five Iranian diplomats kidnapped in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil in 2007, will be handed to the Iraqi government soon, an Iraqi source has unveiled.

On July 8, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his spouse Asma al-Assad visited the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, AzerTAj state news agency reported.

President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Ambassador of UNESCO and ISESCO, MP Mehriban Aliyeva and spouse of the President of Syria, Asma al-Assad, who is on visit to Baku, visited today thalassemia center in Baku, AzerTAj state news agency reported.

The doors for cooperation between Azerbaijan and Syria are open, and this gives us confidence in a prosperous future, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad said during the talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev, the AzerTaj news agency reported.

Israel and the United States have reached a deal allowing the Jewish state to build about 2,500 housing units already under construction in West Bank settlements, AFP reported