Middle East News Archives

The United Nations Monday observed the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People at its New York Headquarters with a special commemorative meeting, a new photographic exhibition and a concert by Maqamat, an orchestra of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, Xinhua reported.

Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah says the movement provides Lebanon with stability and security against a 'permanent threat called Israel', Press TV reported.

A senior leader of Islamic Hamas movement expected on Monday that the prisoners swap deal between his movement and Israel will be finalized in December, Xinhua reported.

Hezbollah's chief on Monday announced the group's new "manifesto," which calls on all countries to "liberate Jerusalem" and declares the United States a threat to the world.

American troops did not expect to play a role in stabilizing Iraq after overthrowing Saddam Hussein, a key adviser to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Monday.

WASHINGTON Victor Ruiz has been looking for work since January. An Air Force pension helps, but it's not enough to keep his family afloat.

Israel will likely release 980 Palestinian prisoners as part of a deal for the release of captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, the State Prosecution said Sunday, in response to a High Court of Justice petition, initiated by bereaved families, as well as the Almagor Terror Victims Association.

Ynet news website quoted Israeli court documents as saying Israel could free 450 prisoners selected by Hamas and, "as part of a unilateral gesture to the Palestinian people, an additional 530 terrorists chosen by Israel." More than 7,000 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons.

Swiss voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on minarets on Sunday, barring construction of the iconic mosque towers in a surprise vote that put Switzerland at the forefront of a European backlash against a growing Muslim population.

Israel's defense minister on Sunday ordered his office to triple the number of construction inspectors in the West Bank to enforce a new settlement freeze declared by the government, while settler leaders vowed to defy the edict.

BAGHDAD - Turning on their TVs during the long holiday weekend, Iraqis were greeted by a familiar if unexpected face from their brutal past: Saddam Hussein.

Iranian state radio says the country's parliament has approved a bill earmarking $20 million to support militant groups opposing the West.

Drive-by shootings, killings and extortion are the new calling cards of a weakened insurgency in Mosul, replacing suicide bombings as the worst nightmare for residents of the northern Iraqi city.

A Saudi lawyer said on Saturday he will sue the city of Jeddah, as thousands took to Facebook to blast authorities in a rare burst of open outrage after floods killed more than 100 people in the Red Sea port.

Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov said Saturday that despite the cabinet's decision to temporarily freeze settlement construction, his ministry would continue to develop tourist sites in the West Bank.

Alicia discovers evidence that a juror may have been bribed with $35,000 in a class-action lawsuit against a major pharmaceutical company.

Saddam Hussein was telling the truth, this time. The United States just didn't believe him.

The decline will be especially high from the United Arab Emirates, which contributes around 25% of India's total remittance inflows.

Saturday, November 28, 2009 AL-QUDS: The birth rate among Israel's Muslim Arab minority has fallen by a quarter since 2000, official figures showed on Friday.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia a " Saudi Arabia says nine of its soldiers fighting Yemeni rebels on the border are missing and the kingdom's monarch is vowing to defend the country.A defense ministry statement said the fate of the soldiers remains unknown.

U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei, left, confers with U.S. envoy Glyn Davies on Friday in Vienna, Austria.

And the European Parliament yesterday urged Turkey to proceed with a oefull and non-discriminatorya implementation of the Ankara protocol which includes the opening of Turkish ports to Cypriot traffic.

Photo by BGNES An Israeli air strike wounded four Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Friday morning, according to the Israeli military and Palestinian medical workers.

On Thursday, federal regulators approved a request to add Al Jazeera English to the list of satellite services eligible to be distributed in Canada.

ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia: Iranian hajj pilgrims staged a peaceful protest without incident Thursday as millions of Muslims amassed for the peak of the world's largest pilgrimage.

Hundrends of Iraqi protesters demonstrate against the election law in the city of Mosul , 360 kilometers northwest of Baghdad , Iraq , on Wednesday, Nov.

Defense lawyers are alleging misconduct by Justice Department prosecutors in the case against one of five Blackwater security guards accused in the killings of 17 Iraqis in Baghdad.

Dubai will ask creditors of two of its flagship firms for a standstill on debt worth billions of dollars as a first step towards restructuring Dubai World, the conglomerate which spearheaded the emirate's breakneck growth.

Lebanon's new cabinet has agreed on a policy statement that acknowledges Hezbollah's right to use its weapons against Israel, despite disagreement by some members of the ruling majority, AFP reported.

Deposed Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haneya denied on Thursday earlier statements of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas which said Hamas is holding secret talks with Israel, Xinhua reported.

The Palestinian Authority has reacted negatively to Israel's offer to temporarily restrict construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, BBC reported.

Iran and Libya, not Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime, were Britain's main security concerns before the invasion of Iraq, Foreign Office officials testified Wednesday at an inquiry probing Britain's role in the war, AP reported.

Azerbaijan, Baku, November 25 / Trend News, U.Sadikhova /

Days of Azerbaijani Culture will be held in Egypt in January 2010, as well as there are plans to hold the fourth session of the inter-governmental commission on cooperation between the two countries, Azerbaijani ambassador to Cairo Faig Bagirov told Trend News.

The Palestinian Authority has reacted negatively to Israel's offer to temporarily restrict construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, BBC reported.

Azerbaijan, Baku, November 25 / Trend News, U.Sadikhova /

First Lady of Egypt Susan Mubarak was conferred the rank of an honorary doctor of Azerbaijan Economic University. The Diploma of Honorary Doctor was handed by rector Shamsaddin Hajiyev during his visit to Egypt, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Egypt Faig Bagirov told Trend News.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed a 10-month freeze on West Bank settlement construction in what he says is an attempt to jumpstart Mideast peace talks, AP reported.

Islamic religious authorities have begun tightening their grip on Iranian public schools, a report said Wednesday, as hard-liners expand an ideological "soft war" against Western influence.

Eight St. Louis area men have pleaded guilty to federal charges for selling stolen goods at five St.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - An international human rights group has urged a Saudi court to overturn a death sentence imposed on a Lebanese man convicted of practicing witchcraft.

The Prime Minister's Office is expected to announce Wednesday a 10-month freeze on construction in settlements in the West Bank, sources in the American administration told Haaretz.

Top Israeli diplomats have made a rare visit to the Persian Gulf state of Oman this week to discuss Middle East peace efforts, said a senior Omani official Wednesday, AP reported.

In this Feb 26 file photo, Israeli soldiers wear gas mask as they take part in a home front command army drill simulating a chemical missile attack at an army base near Tel Aviv.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday accused US President Barack Obama of doing "nothing" to achieve peace in the Middle East. Speaking to Argentinian newspaper Clarin, Abbas said he hoped that Obama would "take a more important role in the future."

Nancy Isenson, DW-WORLD.DE

On the final day of his maiden trip to Israel since becoming foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle has called for a speedy resumption of talks between Israel and the Palestinians under the so-called roadmap to peace.

The UK government's claim that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) is to be probed later by the official inquiry into the war, BBC reported.

Israel refuses to release 40 Palestinians whom the Islamic Hamas movement demands for freedom in a prisoner exchange deal a well-informed Palestinian source said on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.

With no Israeli-Palestinian negotiations underway, no agreed terms of reference for such talks, and Israel's refusal to freeze settlements posing a key challenge, a senior United Nations official Tuesday called for "immediate actions on the ground" to prevent Middle East peace efforts from unravelling, Xinhua reported.

UNIFIL: Israel informed UN Secretary-General of its willingness to discuss withdraw from Lebanese al-Ghajar

An official of United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Tuesday that Israel informed the UN Secretary-General of its willingness to discuss withdrawal of its troops from al-Ghajar village, Xinhua reported.

Turkey and Israel on Tuesday signed Joint Economic Commission (JEC) 4th term meeting memorandum of understanding, Anadolu reported.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak Tuesday warned Lebanon that it, not Hezbollah, would be the target of retaliatory attacks should the militant group escalate tension along Israel's northern border, Xinhua reported.

An Israeli prisoner exchange with Hamas has not yet been agreed and may not happen, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday, after a senior cabinet colleague predicted a breakthrough within weeks, Reuters reported.

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Tuesday rejected an Israeli initiative to resume peace talks in exchange for suspending settlement activities in the occupied territories for 10 months, Xinhua reported.

Two people were killed on Tuesday when a civilian helicopter crashed into the waters off the coast of Netanya, a city in northern Israel, local daily Ha'aretz cited rescue workers as reporting.

Google is documenting Iraq's national museum and will post photographs of its ancient treasures on the Internet early next year, Google chief Eric Schmidt announced Tuesday, AP reported.

Via Michael Goldfarb , you would think the US is monitoring a kindergarten playground instead of fighting a war: Navy SEALs Face Assault Charges for Capturing Most-Wanted Terrorist Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq - the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards ...

The U.S. State Department announced Tuesday that it is now offering a reward of up to $5 million for a Palestinian bomb-maker suspected of once targeting commercial airliners and of aiding the Iraq insurgency.

Yemeni troops take position allegedly during clashes with Shiite rebels in Saada province, about 240... Yemeni troops take position allegedly during clashes with Shiite rebels in Saada province, about 240 kms north of Sanaa, in this file photo.

Iraq's parliament amended the country's vetoed election law on Monday with a version that failed to appease Sunni Arabs, who fear they are being marginalised.

The visa regime between Turkey and Libya will be annulled after Turkish Prime Minister Receb Tayyib Erdogan's Libya visit, CNN Turk Reported.

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 24 / Trend News /

Azerbaijani Consul General Elin Suleymanov delivered a lecture during the weekly service at the Temple Judea Synagogue upon the invitation of a Los Angeles Jewish community, the Azerbaijani Consulate General in the U.S. reported.

Syria welcomes the Lebanese Prime Minister Saeed al-Hariri's forthcoming visit to Syria, Presidency's Political and media Advisor Bouthaina Shaaban said, SNS reported.

Three Palestinians were wounded early on Tuesday as Israel carried out three air strikes on Hamas-run Gaza in response to rocket fire from the enclave, witnesses, medics and the army said, AFP reported.

U.S, New-York, Nov.24 / Trend News K.Pashayeva /

On Nov.23, the Azerbaijan Society of America (ASA) and Azerbaijani-American Council (AAC) joined the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA), the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), the "Turk of America" magazine and the Uzbek Initiative in organizing a symposium on the "Jewish identity in the Turkic world". This one-day educational conference under the Pax Turcica initiative was hosted at the Center for Jewish History in New York. Among the event co-sponsors were the International Charity Fund of Mountain Jews (STMEGI), the Bukharian Jewish Congress of US and Canada, the Turkish American Action Committee, the Turkish-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TACCI), and the "Kavkaz" Jewish Youth Center.

The long-awaited official inquiry into the Iraq War is to begin by taking evidence in public, AP reported.

The Palestinian people will not launch a new intifada against Israel, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday night, referring to concerns that long-stalled negotiations and rising tensions would pave the way to a new popular uprising in the Palestinian population, Jpost reported.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met Israel's Minister of Industry, Trade, & Labor Binyamin Ben Eliezer in Ankara on Monday, Anadolu Agency reported.

Industry, Labor and Trade Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer on Monday urged Turkey to resume its role as mediator in peace negotiations between Israel and Syria, a day after Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Ankara's impartiality had been canceled out by its "insults and tongue-lashing against Israel."

The world must engage, not isolate Iran in the push for Middle East peace and Iranian leaders should negotiate with Western nations for a "just and balanced" solution to concerns over its nuclear program, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Monday.

Tests confirm remains are those of Alec Collett, who was kidnapped in 1985 while working on an article for the UN An undated picture of British journalist Alec Collett, who was abducted in Lebanon in 1985.

A Palestinian nun who co-founded a charity dedicated to educating Arab girls on Sunday took an important step toward sainthood.

A stepped-up campaign by Iraq's prime minister against Saddam Hussein loyalists is alienating Sunni Muslims and stoking tensions between them and the majority Shiites ahead of key national elections.

The Turkish army is the only army that protects democracy, Israeli President Shimon Peres was quoted as saying by the Turkish CNN Turk television channel. The president was commenting on the Turkish-Israeli relations.

Rejecting a news report suggesting that Turkey has cancelled a deal with Israel for purchasing unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül, has announced that Turkey has given Israeli contractors 50 days to fulfill the long-delayed deal for the delivery of the Israeli-made surveillance drones, known as Herons, Today's Zaman reported.

Turkey condemned the killing of a senior Turkmen politician by gunmen in northern Iraq on Sunday, Turkish media reported on Monday.

An American soldier was killed in action south of Baghdad, the U.S. military said Monday, Xinhua reported.

Senior cabinet ministers, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, decided on Sunday to work toward a withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces from the northern portion of the village of Ghajar on Israel's border with Lebanon, Haaretz reported.

Amid a flurry of media reports that after more than three years of deadlock, Hamas may agree this week to release St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit, President Shimon Peres told reporters in Cairo on Sunday that progress had been made toward a prisoner swap, Jpost reported.

The man in charge of the inquiry examining events surrounding the Iraq war has said his committee will not produce a report that is a "whitewash", BBC reported.

Israeli President Shimon Peres said Sunday negotiations for the release of an abducted Israeli soldier from Hamas have seen "real progress," Xinhua reported.

Israel's president said Sunday expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank was a "marginal" issue blocking resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians, Reuters reported.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Sunday called on Israel to stop building settlements in the occupied lands, including East Jerusalem, Xinhua reported.

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 21 / Trend News U.Sadikhova /

The Palestinian Authority's intention to present the issue of declaration of an independent state unilaterally to voting at the UN Security Council is highly symbolic and revealing of a deep frustration with regard to the stalled peace process, said Chiara Sulmona (Chiara Sulmoni), European analyst for Middle East Policy.

Egypt reported Sunday the 10th A/ H1N1 flu death case, a statement issued by the Egyptian Ministry of Health said, Xinhua reported.

A senior Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) official warns that Iranian missiles will be on their marks to target the very heart of Tel Aviv in the event of a military attack on the Islamic Republic, Press TV reported.

Israeli planes carried out air strikes against targets in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, injuring seven Palestinians, Palestinian medical workers said, Reuters reported.

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews demonstrated on Saturday at Intel Corp.'s new electronic chip plant in Israel, in protest against work taking place at the site on the Jewish Sabbath, Reuters reported.

Israeli forces on Saturday arrested members of the Palestinian Authority's intelligence services in the occupied West Bank for the second day in a row, Palestinian security sources said, AFP reported.

A Japanese engineer kidnapped last week by Yemeni tribesmen has been seized by al-Qaida elements and taken to an unidentified location, News Yemen reported Saturday.

Leaked documents have revealed the extent of tensions between UK military commanders in Iraq and their US allies.

Qatar, the worlda s largest producer of liquefied natural gas, expects the construction of a railway system will cost 17 billion euros as the Persian Gulf state seeks improved transport links with its neighbors.

Israel will anger all Muslims if it does not resolve Jerusalem's disputed status, Egypt's president warned his Israeli counterpart on Sunday.

Iraq's state television has shown what it says are confessions of alleged conspirators in October bombings of government offices that killed more than 150 people.

Iran will begin large-scale air defense war games Sunday aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from possible attack, a senior military commander said Saturday, reflecting the country's concern that Israel could make good on threats to strike militarily.

Saudi health officials announced the first deaths from swine flu of this year's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, as four pilgrims succumbed to the disease soon after arriving in Saudi Arabia.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has defended the alleged terrorist mastermind Carlos the Jackal, saying the Venezuelan imprisoned in France was an important revolutionary fighter who supported the cause of the Palestinians.

Hamas has come to an agreement with armed groups in the Gaza Strip not to fire rockets at Israel, the group's interior minister, Fathi Hamad, told reports on Saturday.

Herman Van Rompuy's appointment as the first European Union president provoked fears in Turkey that he might hinder Ankara's hopes of joining the bloc, with some media declaring outright that he is anti-Turkish. Photograph by: YVES HERMAN Credit: REUTERS Van Rompuy is a compromise candidate, but he is obviously backed by France and Germany, so this ...

Yemen's coast guard says Somali pirates have hijacked a Panamanian cargo ship in the treacherous Gulf of Aden between the Arabian peninsula and the Horn of Africa.

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 20 / Trend News U.Sadikhova /

Iraqi Sunni parties, including Vice President Tareq al Hashim's political movement, are unlikely to refuse to participate in the parliamentary elections in January. Meanwhile, Kurdish MPs are likely to boycott, Iraqi Foundation for Development and Democracy (IFDD) head Ghassan Attiyah told Trend News today over the phone from Baghdad.

The Justice Department intends to drop manslaughter and weapons charges against one of the Blackwater Worldwide security guards involved in a deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting, prosecutors said in court documents Friday.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has agreed to postpone parliamentary and presidential elections that had been set for January.

The U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee condemned Iran on Friday for a violent crackdown on protesters after presidential elections this year that the Iranian opposition says were rigged.

I guess there comes a time in a celebrity's life when he or she just has enough money.

A top aide to Iraq's Shiite spiritual leader is calling on the country's fractious political blocs to solve a crisis over a key election law that threatens to delay national polls planned for January, AP reported.

An Israeli minister said on Friday he was to travel to Turkey, in the first such visit since Israel's military offensive in Gaza at the turn of the year strained ties with Turkey, AFP reported.

The Secretary General of Hezbollah movement, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, has been re-elected chief of the Lebanese movement for a sixth term, Press TV reported.

Increasing numbers of English-language Web sites are spreading al-Qaida's message to Muslims in the West. They translate writings and sermons once largely out of reach of English readers and often feature charismatic clerics like Anwar al-Awlaki, who exchanged dozens of e-mails with the Army psychiatrist accused of the Fort Hood shootings, AP reported.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that Israel is currently conducting secret negotiations with Hamas, HaAretz quoted Israeli TV Channel 10 as reporting.

A jailed leader of the Fatah movement, Marwan Barghouti, says Palestinian factions must be united and launch a campaign to achieve statehood, BBC reported.

Egypt recalled its ambassador from Algiers for consultations on Thursday after Egypt's soccer team lost to rival Algeria in a play-off to reach the World Cup finals, accusing its fans of post-match thuggery in Sudan, Reuters reported.

RIYADH,Saudi Arabia - RIYADH, Saudi Arabia a ' Increasing numbers of English-language Web sites are spreading al-Qaida's message to Muslims in the West.

Peace talks with Israel have failed and the Palestinians must launch popular and diplomatic campaigns to achieve statehood, Marwan Barghouti said in an interview from his prison cell.

Iraqi lawmakers will vote Saturday on how to break a deadlock over a key election law after a vice president vetoed the legislation, causing a crisis that could delay a national vote scheduled for January and affect the timetable for an American troop withdrawal.

President Barack Obama is now confirming what many have long suspected: He will miss his January deadline to close the Guantanamo prison - partly because he cannot persuade other nations to take the detainees.

German mediators are continuing to broker efforts to produce a prisoner swap deal for with the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, senior Hamas leader Usama Al-Muzeini said.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas this week countered Israeli and American claims that a Middle East peace deal could be reached before the end of his term, Israeli Haaretz reported.

Israeli chip maker TowerJazz (TSEM.TA) and Tanner EDA, a maker of electronic design automation (EDA) tools, said on Thursday they will jointly develop process design kits for analog/mixed-signal designers, Reuters reported.

Israeli warplanes bombed two smuggling tunnels and a military training compound in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, wounding three people, said officials in the Palestinian territory ruled by the Islamist Hamas movement, Reuters reported.

USA, New York, Nov.19 /Trend News, K.Pashayeva/

On November 23, Azerbaijan Society of America (ASA) and Azerbaijani-American Council (AAC) will be joining the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA), the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), the "Turk of America" magazine and the Uzbek Initiative in organizing a one-day symposium on "Jewish Identity in the Turkic World". This one day educational grassroots conference, organized under the Pax Turcica Initiative, will be held at the Center for Jewish History in New York. Among other event co-sponsors are the International Charity Fund of Mountain Jews (STMEGI), the Turkish-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TACCI), the Bukharian Jewish Community of the US and Canada, the Turkish American Action Committee and "Kavkaz" Jewish Youth Center.

Israel no longer trusts Turkey to mediate peace talks with Syria, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, signalling how much relations have deteriorated between the regional allies in recent months, Reuters reported.

The European Union (EU) expressed its dismay on Wednesday for Israel's decision on the expansion of the settlement of Gilo in East Jerusalem, Xinhua reported.

Iran on Wednesday rejected plans for it to send most of its stocks of low-enriched uranium abroad, delivering a severe blow to UN-brokered efforts to allay Western concerns over its nuclear ambitions.

A senior Afghan official allegedly took a $20 million bribe to steer a copper mining project to a Chinese company, a glaring example of the claims of corruption clouding the Obama administration's deliberations over expanding the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan.

In this Sunday, June 14, 2009 file photo, Iranian supporters of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi are followed by Iranian riot-police in front of Tehran university during riots in Tehran, Iran.

A Gaza charity headed by the interior minister of the militant Hamas group on Wednesday offered $1.4 million to any Arab citizen of Israel who abducts a soldier.

US company Intel will stop employing Jewish workers at its Jerusalem plant on Saturdays, following a large protest rally by Orthodox Jews, reports say, BBC reported.

Iraq's Sunni Arab Vice President Tareq al-Hashimi has vetoed part of an election law over its failure to allocate any seats to Iraqis living abroad, Press TV reported.

Turkey says Israel's hard-line policy is an obstacle blocking efforts to restart the peace process in the region, Press TV reported.

The United States has voiced its "dismay" over Israel's approval of 900 additional housing units at a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, BBC reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, when visiting a navy base in the north port city of Haifa on Tuesday, slipped and narrowly fell into the sea when boarding an inflatable boat, local news service the Ynet reported.

The French president says his country is ready to mediate between Syria and Israel and warns that extremists could benefit from a continued deadlock in the Mideast peace process, AP reported.

An Iraqi policeman uses a scanner device to inspect a taxi at checkpoint in central Baghdad, Iraq, on Tuesday, Nov.

The French president says his country is ready to mediate between Syria and Israel and warns that extremists could benefit from a continued deadlock in the Mideast peace process.

Sadiya Khadem Rashid just needed a stamp. One stamp from Baghdad's city hall so she could receive $850 in compensation given to displaced Iraqis who return home.

Iraqi Kurds threatened Tuesday to boycott national elections slated for January unless parliament seats are reallocated in what they consider a fair manner, throwing into doubt the vote which could determine how quickly U.S. can troops go home, AP reported.

The Israeli army has punished a group of soldiers for protesting the forcible evacuation of settler homes in the West Bank, AP reported.

Chief of Trend News Middle East Desk Rufiz Hafizoghlu

As do all Islamic traditions, the hajj is rooted in deep wisdom and virtues.

Hajj pilgrims can receive information on the attributes and rules of the hajj in religious books. But not every pilgrim is capable of understanding the spiritual essence of the hajj.

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 17 / Trend News U.Sadikhova /

The Palestinian Authority can declare itself an independent state unilaterally only after receiving the international community's support - especially the Western world's, said adviser to the head of the Palestinian National Authority Nabil Shaath.

The United States voiced opposition Monday to unilateral Palestinian moves to seek recognition for an independent state, saying negotiations with Israel were the best way forward. AFP reported.

Georgia, Tbilisi, Nov. 17 / Trend News N.Kirtzkhalia /

Georgian First Lady Sandra Roelofs is on a visit to Israel this week. She has already met with female MPs and Israeli Foreign Ministry representatives.

Two Israeli soldiers were sentenced to 30 days in jail on Monday for refusing to take part in the evacuation of a wildcat Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, a military spokesman said, AFP reported.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez met on Monday with her visiting Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres, urging him to reach peace in the Middle East to contribute to achieve a safer world, Xinhua reported.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dropped in on U.S. troops in Iraq on Monday, thanking them for the sacrifices they and their families are making, AP reported.

President Barack Obama said on Monday that al Qaeda remained the biggest threat to U.S. security, as his aides stepped up pressure on Afghanistan and Pakistan to cooperate with Washington's strategy in the troubled region, Reuters reported.

Israel warned the Palestinians on Monday that declaring a state without concluding a peace agreement would lead to Israeli counter-measures that could include annexation of more of the occupied West Bank, Reuters reported.

Yemeni army said Monday it killed 10 Shiite rebels and arrested five others in separate clashes in northern Yemen, the ruling People's Congress Party reported on its website.

A group of Israeli soldiers disobeyed orders Monday to help in the dismantling of several structures that Jewish settlers had built without government authorization in the occupied West Bank, Reuters reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition government faced its first crisis on Monday when his most powerful political ally threatened to deny him support over a budget dispute, Reuters reported.

The United Nations is outlining a plan to help Iraq end its dispute with neighboring Kuwait over war reparations, 19 years after Baghdad invaded the oil-producing Gulf state, a U.N. official said on Monday, Reuters reported.

Iraqi Shiite leader Al-Hakim will pay a visit to Turkey on Nov.19, CNN Turk reported.

Last month, as part of her recent "Women Around the World" series, the talk show queen conducted an interview via Skype with Dr.

Gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms abducted and killed at least 13 people in a village west of Baghdad, in what some described as revenge against Sunnis who helped fight al-Qaida, Iraqi officials said Monday.

Former President Bill Clinton visited the Temple Mount and Western Wall in Jerusalem on Sunday.

At least 12 people have been shot dead by gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms in a pre-dawn attack in a village south-west of Baghdad, officials say, BBC reported.

Iraq's Science and Technology Minister Raed Fahmi says the country needs access to civilian nuclear energy for its economic and energy needs, Press TV reported.

After Israel released photos it said proved that a huge shipment of weapons for Hezbollah came from Tehran, Iranian news agencies publish evidence showing that the photos are forged, Press TV reported.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy called on the international community to support the Middle East peace conference in Paris, the Turkish news agency Anatolia reported today.

The wife of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks out to keep alive the memory of Palestinian women and children suffering from a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 16 / Trend News A.Akhundov /

The Azerbaijani national football team lost to Iraq in an international tournament in the United Arab Emirates.

Turkish General Staff said on Sunday that Friendship Sea-2009 Turkish-Egypt Bilateral Military Exercise would be performed in in Eastern Mediterranean in November 16 and 21, 2009, Anadolu Agency reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday in the government's weekly cabinet meeting that Israel is ready to renew peace negotiations with Syria. However, he expressed opposition to Turkey acting as a mediator in those talks, saying he preferred France, a "fair and objective" mediator, dpa reported.

Azerbaijan, Baku, November 14 / Trend News, U.Sadikhova /

Despite that the EU and the U.S. differently view the problem of Jewish settlements, experts do not believe that Brussels will unlock the peace process and will play the role of leading mediator in the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.

Rioters smashed shop windows, hurled stones at police and set fire to several boats moored in the southern French port of Marseille after Egypt beat Algeria in a soccer World Cup qualifying match on Saturday, Reuters reported.

Hamas authorities did an about face on Saturday and dropped a plan to keep schools in the Gaza Strip open on a Palestinian holiday founded by the rival Fatah faction, Reuters reported.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem have protested outside the offices of the US firm, Intel, against the plant operating on the Jewish day of rest, BBC reported.

Jordan's professional associations on Saturday slammed what they described as a weak stance demonstrated by some Arab governments and regimes in the face of " Israeli violations" against Al-Aqsa Mosque, Xinhua reported.

Senior officials of Syria and Turkey on Saturday called for enhancing commercial and economic cooperation between the two countries and reviewing their local and regional development experiences, the official SANA news agency reported.

Egyptian police shot and killed an African migrant on Saturday as he tried to slip across the border to Israel, and three others were detained, a security source said, Reuters reported.

US President Barack Obama yesterday won the strongest backing yet from Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on the Iranian nuclear crisis, as the US leader warned that Tehran was running out of time.

An Iranian former deputy defense minister who has been missing for nearly three years was abducted by Israeli agents and is now being held in Israel, several Iranian news Web sites reported Sunday.

The deaths have provoked angry demonstrations in this stable U.S. ally. Jordan has largely escaped the reputation for human rights abuses that clings to many of its neighbors.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Israel 's Army Radio station on Sunday that the Palestinians plan on asking the U.N. Security Council to recognize their independence.

Iraqi women hold pictures of their relatives, who are prisoners, during a protest in Najaf, 160 kilometers south of Baghdad , Iraq , on Saturday, Nov.

Iran's greatest master of traditional music, Mohammad Reza Shajarian, always avoided open clashes with his country's ruling hard-line clerics.

Former president Bill Clinton, whose energetic efforts to broker Palestinian-Israeli peace deal collapsed, urged both sides Saturday to end their decades-old conflict, saying they cannot escape their common future.

JERUSALEM - More than a thousand devout Jews noisly protested in Jerusalem on Saturday against plans by computer chip maker Intel to operate on the Jewish day of rest.

Lebanon's new government, a shaky coalition of Western-backed factions and the militant Hezbollah, is unlikely to tackle the chief challenge the country faces _ a buildup of the Iranian-backed group's weapons _ even as the rockets cause sharp new tensions with neighboring Israel.

It's claimed British soldiers copied sexual and physical abuse from photographs taken at the notorious US-run Abu Ghraib jail.

Iran's Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar says that Iran and Iraq will share intelligence to fight organized crimes, Press TV reported.

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 13 / Trend News U. Sadigova /

The crisis in Turkey-Israel relations over the Middle East will not lead to a break in ties, but rather expand dialogue and mutual understanding between the two countries, Turkish Center for Strategic Studies of the Middle East (ORSAM) head Hassan Kanbolat told Trend News today.

Hamas has suspended its rocket launches against Israel since the Gaza Strip war and is similarly curbing other armed Palestinian factions in the territory, Israel's military chief said on Friday, Reuters reported.

Four members of the Algerian football squad were injured when their team bus came under attack from stone throwers as it arrived in Cairo, BBC reported

Syrian President Bashar Assad said that U.S. President Barack Obama should come up with a firm plan of action to renew peace talks between Syria and Israel, Israeli Haaretz reported

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that U.S. President Barack Obama should come up with a firm plan of action to renew peace talks between Syria and Israel, Reuters reported.

UN plans global anti-corruption reviews Eds: APNewsNow. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates A U.N. official says an agreement has been reached for sweeping anti-corruption reviews on how countries account for their public assets.

Turkey's government on Friday announced new measures aimed at reconciling with minority Kurds and ending a 25-year-old insurgency, but there was no mention of the sweeping amnesty sought by Kurdish rebels.

A high-speed train derailed in western Turkey on Friday, news reports said. There were no reports of injuries.

Iran's closest allies in the Middle East are seizing on a deadlock in U.S.-backed peace efforts to try to sway a frustrated Arab world to their side.

Palestinian and Israeli officials say troops have killed one Palestinian along the Gaza border, AP reported.

Peter Galbraith, an influential former American ambassador, is a powerful voice on Iraq who helped shape the views of policymakers.

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman speaks with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad at the Syrian presidential palace in Damascus on Thursday DAMASCUS - The Lebanese and Syrian presidents vowed during talks in Damascus on Thursday to keep up coordination between the two Arab neighbours amid signs of improved ties.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - PESHAWAR, Pakistan a ' Gunmen killed a Pakistani working at the Iranian Consulate in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Thursday, adding to security fears in the country as it presses an offensive against the Taliban along the nearby Afghan border.

A Jewish-American extremist has been charged with shooting to death two Palestinians and trying to kill others with explosive devices and poison.

Palestinian polls, scheduled for January, should be postponed, election body urges, BBC reported

Two Awakening Council group members were killed and five people injured in two separate attacks in and near Baghdad on Thursday, an Interior Ministry source said, Xinhua reported

Israel displayed for the first time Wednesday a collection of rare coins charred and burned from the Roman destruction of the Jewish Temple nearly 2,000 years ago.

The leader of Lebanon's mainly Shia movement Hezbollah says US President Barack Obama's promise to engage with Muslims has proved to be false, BBC reported.

Saudi Arabia has imposed a naval blockade on northern Yemen's Red Sea coast amid its offensive on Houthi fighters in the mountainous region, Press TV reported.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel would be prepared to hold immediate peace negotiations with Syria, as long as the talks were held without preconditions, HaAretz reported.

The Egyptian government has welcomed the life imprisonment imposed by a German court on a man who murdered a pregnant Egyptian woman, BBC reported.

Israeli President Shimon Peres welcomed Brazil to peace negotiations in the Middle East on Wednesday during his visit to Brazil, saying his government's stance towards the Palestinians is to return land in exchange for security guarantees, Xinhua reported.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon Wednesday had a phone conversation with the Lebanese prime minister-designate and reiterated "the readiness of the United Nations to work with the new government in tackling the challenges that face Lebanon," Xinhua reported.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks in Paris on Wednesday over bilateral ties and the restart of the peace process in Middle East, Xinhua reported.

Jordan reported two more A/H1N1 flu deaths, bringing the country's death toll of the influenza to ten, Jordan's Health Ministry announced Wednesday, Xinhua reported.

Jewish American math teacher Goldie Burdetsky never expected to find herself working the front desk of a hotel in southern Israel alongside management interns young enough to be her children, Reuters reported.

Israel released documents and pictures on Wednesday which it said provided proof that a massive arms shipment seized at sea last week came from Iran, AFP reported.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called again on Wednesday for a halt to Israeli settlement building before he would resume talks with Israel, accusing it of trying to scupper Palestinian statehood, Reuters reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, at odds over Jewish settlements, made no apparent dent in the dispute as they sought to find ways Wednesday to revive Mideast peace efforts.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians were rallying Wednesday to mark the fifth anniversary of the death of their iconic leader Yasser Arafat.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Just minutes before anti-riot police charged opposition marchers in Tehran last week, a new chant bubbled up from the crowd: "Death to Nobody." It was more than just a play on the "Death to America" slogans that are staples of Iran's political life.

Former executives at US security contractor Blackwater Worldwide have admitted sending about $1m to Iraq to pay off officials angry about the fatal shootings of 17 civilians by its employees, according to a report.

Thousands of Palestinians gathered Wednesday to mark five years since the death of their iconic leader Yasser Arafat, with president Mahmud Abbas due to address the West Bank rally, AFP reported.

Egypt has registered the sixth A/ H1N1 flu death case in the country, Al-Ahram daily reported on Wednesday, Xinhua reported.

New cabinet of ministers of Lebanon wants to separate foreign policy from operation of government: Chatham House's expert

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

Words by Saad al-Hariri, who heads a new Lebanese government, that this event opens a new page in the Lebanese history, are both constructive and rhetorical, said Nadim Shehadi, Associate Fellow for the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the British Institute of International Affairs Chatham House.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is going to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Paris on Wednesday, the Elysee Palace said Tuesday in a statement, Xinhua reported.

The United States accused Iran in the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday of illicit arms deliveries to Lebanese guerrillas, endorsing charges by Israel after it seized a ship in the Mediterranean last week, Reuters reported.

Israel is readying all options to try to force Iran to halt its atomic program, Israel's top general told a parliamentary panel on Tuesday, an official said, Reuters reported.

Israeli President Shimon Peres urged Brazil to use its growing clout to challenge Iran's threats against his country during a visit here just two weeks before Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, AFP reported.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki on Tuesday said that his security forces arrested a terrorist allegedly involved in Baghdad deadly bombings that killed and wounded more than 600 people, Xinhua reported.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has significantly expanded its ability to strike deep into Israel with rockets that can now reach the Jewish state's largest cities, and now possesses tens of thousands of projectiles, Israel's army chief said Tuesday.

Lebanese new Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced the formation of Lebanon's new cabinet on Monday night, bringing an end to the five-month cabinet impasse following the June parliamentary elections.

Pirates have hijacked a Panamanian-flagged ship with 18 crew off the east coast of Africa, the latest in an increasing number of attacks, a Somali businessman said Tuesday.

A former British soldier has admitted for the first time that he saw two of his colleagues kicking and hitting a handcuffed Iraqi prisoner minutes before he died.

A passenger bus overturned with Iranian citizens traveling to Syria on their way to see holy sites. As a result 10 people died, the Irirbnews television channel reported.

Dueling visits to Brazil by the presidents of Israel and Iran are showing the South American powerhouse's growing role in Mideast diplomacy, AP reported.

Reporting from Beirut and Doha, Qatar - After a months-long deadlock, Lebanon's rival political camps agreed to a unity government that includes both American-backed Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim political party and militia that the United States considers a terrorist organization, Los Angeles Times reported.

The Gaza Strip-ruling Hamas authorities on Monday banned the holding of a conference for the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in Gaza, organizers said, Xinhua reported.

Arab League head Amr Moussa on Monday urged the Palestinian president to reconsider his decision not to run for a second term in the January 2010 elections, Jpost reported.

A senior U.N. official on Monday called on Israel to allow building materials into Gaza, warning that the thousands displaced by an Israeli offensive early this year face a cold winter without proper accommodations, AP reported.

The possible collapse of the Palestinian Authority , Israel's negotiating partner, loomed Monday, as several aides to its president, Mahmoud Abbas , said that he intended to resign and forecast that others would follow.

This photo taken Oct. 1, 2009 shows Iranian musician Shahram Nazeri, center, and his son Hafez, right, rehearsing for an upcoming Los Angeles concert in Beverly Hills, Calif.

A senior Iranian prosecutor accused three Americans detained on the border with Iraq of espionage on Monday, the first signal that Tehran intends to put them on trial.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) says that a plan proposed by Israel to form a temporary Palestinian state is not acceptable, Press TV reported.

Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday warned that the failure of Middle East negotiations would lead Palestinians to renew resistance efforts as an "alternative solution", Haaretz reported.

An Islamic group Monday announced its responsibility for firing a rocket from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, Xinhua reported.

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 9 /Trend Capital, A.Badalova/

Iraq will not export gas to Europe until the demand for fuel is satisfied on the domestic market, Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said.

A senior opposition leader in Israel unveiled a peace plan Sunday that held out the possibility of negotiations with Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group in control of the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported.

Yemen's Houthi fighters say they have shot down a fighter jet during clashes with government forces in north-western Yemen, Press TV reported.

President Barack Obama hailed the Iraqi parliament's passage Sunday of a much-delayed election law, declaring it a milestone as the Iraqi people take charge of their future, AP reported.

The White House announced Sunday that President Barack Obama would be meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu during the Israeli prime minister's trip to Washington to address Jewish groups, ending days of uncertainty, AP reported.

Syrian President Bashar Assad said that Turkey must cultivate good relations with Israel if it wishes to assist his country, according to an interview published in Turkish daily Hurriyet on Sunday, Jerusalem Post reported.

Algerian security forces killed three extremists in eastern province of Tizi Ouzou, local daily al-Watan reported Sunday on its website.

Lebanon will have a new cabinet very soon, about five months after the parliamentary election in June, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said Sunday, Xinhua reported.

Thousands of Palestinians turned out in Hebron on Sunday to urge Mahmoud Abbas to run again for the presidency following his announcement that he did not want a second term in the job, Reuters reported.

President Shimon Peres spoke at the 14th annual memorial ceremony for the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to continue efforts for peace, Ynet reported.

Lebanon's prime minister-designate is preparing to announce a new government after securing the opposition's support five months after winning the country's election, VOA reported.

It is the British empire of the dead.Scattered across 150 countries and managed from a modest office building near London's Heathrow Airport, a global patchwork of graveyards constitutes a beautiful memorial to the ugliest carnage: the 1.7 million fighting men and women who died for Britain and its dominions in the world wars of the last ...

The White House announced Sunday that President Barack Obama will be meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu during the Israeli prime minister's trip to Washington, ending days of uncertainty.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday denied that Omar Hassan al-Bashir was responsible for genocide in Darfur and said he would be more comfortable talking to the indicted Sudanese president than to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the state-run news agency Anatolian reported.

The U.S. Homeland Security secretary says she is working to prevent a possible wave of anti-Muslim sentiment after the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas.

Beirut: Hezbollah is rapidly rearming in preparation for a new conflict with Israel, fearing that Benjamin Netanyahu's government will attack Lebanon again prior to any assault on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Saudi forces pounded Yemeni rebels on Saturday for a fifth straight day as Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh ruled out a truce in his war on the Shiite insurgents.

Shimon Peres spoke to a crowd of thousands at the square where Rabin was gunned down by a Jewish extremist who opposed his peace policies on Nov.

Senior Iranian lawmakers rejected on Saturday any possibility of Tehran shipping uranium abroad for further enrichment, intensifying pressures on the government to reject the U.N.-backed plan altogether.

A chaplain exhorted hundreds of mourners gathered at a candlelight vigil to not give up hope as Fort Hood and its surrounding community looked to each other for comfort after an Army psychiatrist allegedly went on a deadly shooting spree at the military base.

Lebanon's opposition, including Iranian-backed Hezbollah, agreed on Friday to join a national unity government proposed by Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri, a senior opposition source said.

Prosecutors have dismissed a complaint filed by a group of Norwegian lawyers accusing Israeli leaders of war crimes over its deadly incursion into Gaza last year.

A cousin of the man suspected of shooting fellow soldiers at a Texas military base says he had little contact with his Palestinian relatives in the West Bank but had told family there that he suffered discrimination in the U.S. Army because he is a Muslim.

Israel said Thursday that Hezbollah could have bombarded the Jewish state for a month with the weapons confiscated in the country's largest-ever arms seizure, and called on the world to focus on the Lebanese militants' chief backer, Iran, rather than assailing Israel.

Posted By tehranchik 12 hours, 47 minutes ago in Political News > Born and reared in Virginia, the son of immigrant parents from a small Palestinian town near Jerusalem, he joined the Army right out of high school, against his parents' wishes.

A Jewish settler who was arrested for allegedly having murdered two Palestinians was approached by Israel's internal security agency to be an informer after the attacks, the agency said Friday.

Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Nov. 6 / Trend Capital H.Hasanov /

Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmed Fathalla discussed Turkmen President Gurbangulu Berdimuhammedov's preparations for an official visit to Egypt in 2010 in Ashgabat today.

An unassuming college math student has become an unlikely hero to many in Iran for daring to criticize the country's most powerful man to his face.

Israel on Friday rejected a U.N. General Assembly resolution urging an investigation into a report saying war crimes were committed in Gaza, and condemned the world body vote as "completely detached from realities", Reuters reported.

The UN General Assembly has voted in favour of a resolution calling for independent inquiries by Israel and the Palestinians into war crime claims, BBC reported.

The United States on Thursday vowed to continue its cooperation with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas when the latter reiterated his decision not to run for re-election in January, Xinhua reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday cited his country's seizure of a weapons-carrying cargo ship as evidence that Iran is committing war crimes by supplying the Lebanese Hezbollah movement with weapons intended to "kill as many civilians as possible", Xinhua reported.

Israeli security forces late today released a ship believed to have been carrying weapons from Iran to Hezbollah, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported. Israel seized the ship earlier this week in Mediterranean waters.

Nov. 4 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the seizure of an alleged arms shipment to Hezbollah proves Israel's enemies are guilty of war crimes.

Naji Hamdan, an American of Lebanese origin, looks from the balcony of his home, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Thursday Nov.

Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said Wednesday that economic and political cooperation between Iran and Iraq is expanding, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's tense exchanges with Pakistani civilians and Arab diplomats over a harrowing week of foreign stops exposed the confining limits of her office.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallim met today with the Iranian president in Tehran, the Iranian Mehr news agency reported.

Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrilla group denied on Thursday any connection with a shipment of weapons that Israel said it had intercepted on the high seas, Reuters reported.

During the visit to Trabzon, Israeli Ambassador to Ankara was met with protest actions by students of the Karadeniz Technical University, the Turkish Anadolu new agency reported. The protestors threw eggs to a car caravan of the ambassador.

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 5 / Trend News U.Sadikhova /

Experts see a connection between the U.S. weakening its pressure on Israel during peace talks with the Palestinians and Washington's strategic cooperation with Israel in the Middle East.

The General Assembly today began its debate on the report of the United Nations probe which found that both Israeli forces and Palestinian militants were guilty of serious human rights violations during the Gaza conflict earlier this year, US web-site reported.

Saudi soldiers carry the body of their comrade Turki al-Qahtani during his funeral in Jizan yesterday.

Iranian protesters took to the streets today as they do every Nov. 4 to mark the 30th anniversary of the U.S. embassy takeover .

A man who kidnapped and raped five children, one of whom was left in the desert to die, has been sentenced to be beheaded and his body publicly crucified.

Israeli naval commandos seized a ship Wednesday that defense officials said was carrying more than 60 tons of missiles, rockets and anti-tank weapons from Iran to Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.

Islamic Hamas movement on Wednesday said its fighters are ready to confront Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip if the Jewish state carried out its threats to attack the coastal enclave, Xinhua reported.

The Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission warned that Thursday (November 5) will be the last day for the lawmakers to agree on an election law, otherwise the country's national elections will have to be delayed, Xinhua reported.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says Washington does not accept the legitimacy of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and wants to see their construction halted "forever."

One Saudi border guard was killed and 11 others injured in an attack near the country's southern borders with Yemen, the official news agency SPA reported Wednesday.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who arrived in Cairo on Tuesday night, held talks on Wednesday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss the latest efforts aiming at reviving stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Nile TV reported.

Israel urged other countries to oppose a controversial report on the Gaza war when the UN General Assembly debates it on Wednesday, as the army chief of staff said the next battle will again be in Gaza, AFP reported.

Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani paid a visit to Iraq on Nov. 4, Mehr news agency reported.

Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah says Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and Tehran has the right to continue its nuclear program, Press TV reported.

Navy special forces took control of an arms-laden ship located 100 miles off the coast of Israel, the army said on Wednesday, Haaretz reported.

A relatively strong earthquake measuring 4.9 on Richter scale jolted port city of Bandar Abbas in southern province of Hormuzgan early Wednesday morning and caused panic among residents, according to preliminary data, 269 people were injured, the Iranian Fars news agency reported.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday condemned a UN report that accuses Israeli forces and Palestinian militants of committing war crimes in Gaza early this year as irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy, Haaretz reported.

Police suspect that Yaakov (Jack) Teitel, who has confessed to murdering two Palestinians and carrying out a long list of other, less deadly, terror attacks, also murdered two traffic policemen in the Jordan Valley eight months ago - a crime originally attributed to Palestinian terrorists, HaAretz reported.

Jewish settlers have taken over another house in East Jerusalem after a long legal battle with Palestinians who said they were the rightful owners, BBC reported.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Cairo Tuesday night for talks with Egyptian leaders in an effort to resume the Middle East peace talks, an informed source at Cairo International Airport told Xinhua.

The UN General Assembly is scheduled to open a debate on Wednesday on the Goldstone report on the Gaza conflict, which accused both Israelis and Palestinian militants of violating human rights during the three-week conflict, a UN spokesman announced here Tuesday, Xinhua reported.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband stressed on Tuesday that Israeli settlement activities are "illegal" and obstacles to peace, Xinhua reported.

A 4.9-SCALE earthquake struck the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas early today, injuring at least 209 people, according to the official news agency Irna.

AIN, United Arab Emirates: A laboratory in the UAE has built what it says is the world's first Arabic-speaking robot which could soon go into mass production to serve as staff in shopping malls.

A Palestinian woman gestures as she sits in front of the disputed house in east Jerusalem.

It has witnessed some of Iran's most tumultuous events: the fall of the shah, the return of Ayatollah Khomeini and the transformation from pro-western monarchy to revolutionary Islamic republic.

Hamas militants in Gaza have successfully test-fired an Iranian rocket able to reach Israel's largest urban center, the country's military intelligence chief said Tuesday, AP reported.

The Syrian Foreign Minister, Walid al-Muallim will visit Iran, IRNA reported.

Hamas militants in Gaza have successfully test-fired in recent days an Iranian rocket able to reach metropolitan Tel Aviv, the country's military intelligence chief said Tuesday.

Washington tries to shift responsibility for peace process on Palestinians: assistant to president of Palestinian National Authority Nabil Shaath

Azerbaijan, Baku, November 2 / Trend News U. Sadikhova /

The weakness of the U.S. administration to persuade Israel to observe major requirements of the road map leads to the fact that Washington is trying to shift responsibility for resumption of peace talks on the Palestinians, assistant to the president of the Palestinian National Authority Nabil Shaath said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Palestinian authorities have made positive steps to improve security and those moves should be reciprocated by Israel, VOA reported. Clinton had angered Palestinian leaders with earlier comments praising an Israeli offer to limit the expansion of Jewish settlements.

Israel on Monday released six lawmakers of the Palestinian Islamic Hamas movement, who are residents of East Jerusalem and the West Bank and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Hamas sources said, Xinhua reported.

A phone call claiming the presence of a bomb in a Kuwaiti school on Monday forced the evacuation of students and the faculty, the state KUNA news agency reported.

U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei on Monday urged Iran to respond quickly to his nuclear fuel proposal while warning the world against using force.

Nearly half of all Iraqis who died in October perished in a single coordinated attack against government offices in Baghdad, a tally by The Associated Press showed Monday.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, welcomes Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,... Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, welcomes Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for a meeting at the presidency in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Oct.

A spate of violence across Iraq killed 10 people on Sunday as officials said that repairs to government offices struck by massive bombings last week will cost around $16 million.

Kazakhstan, Astana, November 2 / Trend News K. Konyrova /

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev will pay official visit to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on November 3-4 on the invitation of King Abdullah II bin al-Hussein, Kazakh official representative Yerzhan Ashikbayev said at a press-conference in Astana on November 2.

The Arab countries should join efforts to resume the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations, British Foreign Minister David Miliband said on Nov. 2, the Russian Vesti television channel reported.

The number of civilians killed by violence in Iraq jumped higher in October after two huge suicide bombings in Baghdad while the two U.S. soldiers killed in combat in October was the lowest monthly number this year, Reuters reported

The Arab League secretary general says the stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians would resume only after a freeze on the expansion of Israeli settlements, Press TV website reported.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton prepared Monday to consult with Arab foreign ministers on Obama administration efforts to get Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace negotiations, two days after she raised Arab ire by praising Israel's offer to limit - but not stop - Jewish settlement construction, AP reported

The authorities have arrested a resident of the West Bank settlement of Shvut Rachel for suspected murder and a role in a string of murder plots, according to details of an investigation revealed Sunday after a gag order was lifted, Haaretz reported.

Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Nov. 2 /Trend News, D.Azizov/

The first group of pilgrims from Uzbekistan will leave for Saudi Arabia on Nov. 10, the Uzbek Board of Muslims reported.

Saudi authorities on Sunday discovered an arms cache used by al-Qaida militants in the capital of Riyadh, Xinhua quoted Saudi Press Agency SPA as reporting.

A woman was killed and 11 people were wounded in a bomb explosion in the holy Shiite city of Karbala south of Baghdad on Sunday, a local police source said, Xinhua reported.

A Palestinian was suffocated to death on Sunday when a smuggling tunnel along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt collapsed, medical sources said, Xinhua reported.

At least seven people were wounded in two coordinate car bomb explosions at a parking-lot in central Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's western Anbar province on Sunday, a well-informed police source said, Xinhua reported.

In the Mideast to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls Israeli offers on Jewish settlement growth 'unprecedented,' but the Palestinians insist on a freeze, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, has promised further domestic reforms at the annual conference of his ruling National Democratic Party in Cairo, BBC reported.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tried Saturday to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, whose chief negotiator characterized the process as "stuck", CNN reported.

Developers unveiled the restoration of a 650-year-old mosque in Cairo's old city, part of an effort to revitalize the impoverished district and boost tourism to the country's treasure trove of Islamic sites, AP reported.

The Turkish foreign minister said that Turkey and Iraq would form a significant axis in their region, the Journal of Turkish Weekly said.

The Lebanese army intelligence has reportedly arrested on Friday a top Fatah al-Islam official, the local As-Safir and al-Liwaa dailies reported on Saturday.

Tensions in the Turkey- Israel relations will not affect the deep Jewish-Turkish friendship, National Director of the giant U.S. organization Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman said, CNN Turk reported.

The Palestinians on Sunday accused U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton of undermining progress toward Mideast peace talks after she praised Israel for offering to curb some Jewish settlement construction.

Israeli authorities have arrested a Jewish-American extremist suspected of carrying out a series of high-profile hate crimes against Arabs, peace activists and a breakaway Jewish sect.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia a " Saudi authorities have discovered large quantities of weapons in the capital Riyadh belonging to al-Qaida terror network, an Interior Ministry spokesman said Sunday.The official Saudi Press Agency quoted Maj.

A bomb attached to a bicycle killed five people in southern Iraq on Sunday, and at least five others were killed in violence across the country, police said.

The government should force illegal aliens out of the country, as an influx of foreigners will bring drugs and disease into Israel, Interior Minister Eli Yishai told Channel 2 Saturday evening.