Ronald Joseph Radcliffe was also fined $30,000 when he was sentenced Monday in federal court.

The head of the U.N. agency aiding Palestinian refugees is warning of a looming funding shortfall and appealing for another $100 million.

Iran took another step Monday that will keep it high on the map of global nuclear trouble spots by announcing plans to begin processing its uranium stockpile to higher levels of enrichment.

Iran's intentions, announced in a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nation's nuclear watchdog, sounded alarm bells among nuclear-energy experts and international leaders working to curtail Iran's nuclear program because they represent another step in the direction of producing a nuclear bomb.

Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 9 / Trend News U.Sadikhova /

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov held talks with his Israeli Counterpart Avigdor Lieberman, during which the sides discussed political and economic relations between the two countries, the Israeli embassy in Baku told Trend News.

The head of Egypt's upper house of parliament refused to consider a plan to change the country's flag to include the Giza Pyramids, a government daily reported on Tuesday.

Palestinian leaders have not set specific terms on which they would accept a U.S. offer to mediate indirect peace talks with Israel, and expect clarification on such talks in a week, President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 9 / Trend News U.Sadikhova /

Today Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has launched his three-day official visit to Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb 8 / Trend News U. Sadikhova /

If the negotiations between Syria and Israel resume, Washington will still play a key mediating role of a third party, U.S professor on Middle East politics Joshua Landis said.

Spanish King Juan Carlos arrived Monday in Beirut on a two-day visit to Lebanon during which he will inspect Spanish troops serving with UNIFIL in southern Lebanon, dpa reported.

New clashes have broken out between Israeli police and Palestinian youths in Jerusalem.

The No. 2 leader of Egypt's opposition Muslim Brotherhood and two other top figures were arrested by police Monday in a dawn sweep targeting members of the nation's most powerful opposition group.

In this Jan. 4, 2010 file photo, an Emirati man looks over the city view at an observation point screen at the observation deck of the Burj Dubai tower, on Level 124 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas is visiting Moscow as Russia seeks to expand its role in Middle East peacemaking.

The Jordanian authorities have denied entry to deputy leader of the Islamic movement in Israel Kamal Khatib, the activist was cited as saying on Monday by the daily newspaper al-Sabeel.

Expert: Dialogue between West and Hamas would rather be seen as Russian policy's victory in Middle East

Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 8 / Trend News E. Ostapenko /

There are no signs that Moscow would oppose any dialogue between Hamas and the West. On the contrary, relations between Hamas and the West would rather be seen as a victory of the Russian policy in the Middle East, Middle East Researcher, International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO), Are Hovdenak, said.

Police detained senior leaders of Egypt's banned Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest opposition group, in a series of predawn raids on Monday, the group said on its website.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) was still studying ideas the US has presented to renew negotiations with Israel, a senior Palestinian official said Monday - denying reports that President Mahmoud Abbas has agreed to resume indirect talks under the patronage of US peace envoy George Mitchell, DPA reported.

President Bashar al-Assad and Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri on Sunday discussed the latest developments in Lebanon and the positive progress in the Syrian-Lebanese relations, SANA reported.

Dubai police said they'll issue a warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if an investigation concludes that Israel's Mossad intelligence service was behind the murder in the emirate of a senior Hamas official, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon on Sunday denied apologising to a senior Saudi diplomat before a rare public handshake between officials of the two states, AFP reported.