Two dozen Iraqi interior ministry officers arrestedTWO DOZEN Iraqi interior ministry officials have been arrested on charges of belonging to an outlawed political party.Fri Dec 19 2008 - 00:00
People of Basra eager to see British troops withdraw from IraqBRITISH FORCES set to withdraw from their last base in the southern province of Basra by the end of July are pulling out in accordance…Thu Dec 18 2008 - 00:00
Iraq's criminal court 'failing to provide justice'IRAQ’S CENTRAL criminal court is failing to meet accepted standards of due process or to conduct fair trials.Wed Dec 17 2008 - 00:00
Agreement on US presence in Iraq up to 2011 approvedIRAQ'S PARLIAMENT yesterday approved by a solid majority the pact governing the presence and operations of US forces in the country…Fri Nov 28 2008 - 00:00
Iraqi resistance groups agree to co-ordinate insurgent attacksTEN IRAQI resistance groups have agreed to unite and co-ordinate attacks on US and Iraqi forces.Thu Nov 13 2008 - 00:00
Majority in Middle East welcome Obama victoryMIDDLE EAST: THE OVERWHELMING majority of people in the Middle East welcome the victory of Barack Obama in the presidential …Thu Nov 06 2008 - 00:00
US strike on Syria aimed at insurgent 'launch pad'BAGHDAD HAS declared that Sunday's US helicopter raid on Syria targeted an area near the border where foreign fighters crossed…Tue Oct 28 2008 - 00:00
Fatah accord plan given conditional support by HamasMIDDLE EAST: HAMAS HAS given conditional support to an Egyptian proposal to reconcile with its Fatah rival.Wed Oct 22 2008 - 01:00
Iraqi leaders hold off on approving US pactIRAQI POLITICAL leaders meeting yesterday took no decision to approve a pact allowing US troops to stay for three years, and …Mon Oct 20 2008 - 01:00
Iraq council studies plan for US troop withdrawalA DRAFT text of a US-Iraq status of forces agreement, based on an end of 2011 withdrawal from Iraq, was discussed yesterday by…Sat Oct 18 2008 - 01:00
US team warns of fresh ethnic violence in IraqTHE TEAM preparing the latest US intelligence analysis of the situation in Iraq warns that ethnic and sectarian tensions could…Thu Oct 09 2008 - 01:00
Iraq signs provincial election lawIRAQ: IRAQ'S THREE-MEMBER presidency council has signed the provincial election law approved by parliament last month.Sat Oct 04 2008 - 01:00
Twenty killed in attacks on Shia mosques in BaghdadIRAQ: SUICIDE BOMBERS struck at two Shia mosques in Baghdad yesterday, killing 20 people and wounding another 50 as they left…Fri Oct 03 2008 - 01:00
Bombing in Lebanon kills five soldiersLEBANON: FIVE LEBANESE soldiers were killed yesterday when a car bomb exploded next to a bus in rush-hour traffic in Tripoli…Tue Sept 30 2008 - 01:00
Iraqi parliament approves provincial elections lawIRAQ: THE IRAQI parliament yesterday overcame months of deadlock by adopting a provincial election law.Thu Sept 25 2008 - 01:00
Quartet has failed to help Palestinians, say NGOsMIDDLE EAST: THE MIDDLE East Quartet has failed to deliver essential progress on the ground in the occupied West Bank and Gaza…Thu Sept 25 2008 - 01:00
No evidence of nuclear reactor found at Syrian siteSYRIA: INITIAL TESTS of material from a Syrian site bombed by Israel last September do not support US allegations that the target…Mon Sept 22 2008 - 01:00
Hamas clashes with clan claim 12 lives in GazaGAZA: TWELVE PEOPLE were killed in Gaza yesterday during clashes between Hamas security forces and members of the heavily armed…Wed Sept 17 2008 - 01:00
Violence surges in Iraq amid political stalemate as Gen Petraeus departsIRAQ: VIOLENCE HAS spiked ahead of this week's departure of Gen David Petraeus, outgoing overall military commander in Iraq.Mon Sept 15 2008 - 01:00
US cedes control of Anbar security to BaghdadIRAQ: IN A formal ceremony in Ramadi yesterday, the US handed over security for Anbar, Iraq's largest province, to the Baghdad…Tue Sept 02 2008 - 01:00
Maliki reshuffles team to negotiate US dealIRAQ: AT THE current crucial stage in negotiations with the US over an agreement to govern the presence and operations of US…Sat Aug 30 2008 - 01:00
Israelis shadow peace boats exit from GazaISRAEL: ISRAELI NAVAL vessels shadowed the SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty as they started their 370km (230miles) return journey…Fri Aug 29 2008 - 01:00
Palestinian peace activists sail into Gaza StripMIDDLE EAST: PEACE ACTIVISTS who breached Israel's blockade of Gaza in two Greek-flagged wooden boats lunched yesterday with…Mon Aug 25 2008 - 01:00
No deal on US presence in IraqMIDDLE EAST: US SECRETARY of State Condoleezza Rice and Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari declared yesterday that Washington…Fri Aug 22 2008 - 01:00
Iraqi forces storm governor's office in Diyala provinceIRAQ: IRAQI FORCES stormed the governor's offices in Baquba yesterday, capital of the turbulent Diyala province, killed his …Wed Aug 20 2008 - 01:00
Syria and Lebanon move closer to formal separationSYRIA/LEBANON: THE SYRIAN and Lebanese presidents ended a ground-breaking two-day summit yesterday by reiterating their intention…Fri Aug 15 2008 - 01:00
Israeli plan to withdraw from 93% of West Bank rejectedMIDDLE EAST: THE PALESTINIAN Authority yesterday rejected a proposal reportedly floated by Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert…Wed Aug 13 2008 - 01:00
US close to deal on phased pull-out of forces from IraqIRAQ: BAGHDAD AND Washington are said to be nearing agreement on the staged withdrawal of US forces from Iraq over the next …Sat Aug 09 2008 - 01:00
Sadr calls on Mahdi Army to end all armed actionIRAQ: DISSIDENT IRAQI cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is today set to order members of his Mahdi Army militia to put aside their arms…Fri Aug 08 2008 - 01:00
Hamas and pro-Fatah clan clashes kill nineMIDDLE EAST: ISRAEL YESTERDAY returned to Gaza 32 members of a clan who fled the Strip after clashes with Hamas police which…Mon Aug 04 2008 - 01:00
Hamas holds Fatah chiefs in retaliationMIDDLE EAST: POLICE LOYAL to Hamas yesterday detained senior figures of the Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip, ratcheting up …Sat Aug 02 2008 - 01:00
Palestinian PM seeks emergency funds to pay staffMIDDLE EAST: PALESTINIAN PRIME minister Salam Fayyad has asked the World Bank for a letter to help him secure emergency funding…Wed Jul 30 2008 - 01:00
Fatah arrests 50 supporters of Hamas in West BankMIDDLE EAST: TENSIONS BETWEEN Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have risen to their highest level since Hamas seized control…Tue Jul 29 2008 - 01:00
Film-maker Chahine dies in Cairo at 82EQYPT: YOUSSEF CHAHINE, the Arab world's greatest film-maker and recipient of the 50th annual lifetime achievement award at …Mon Jul 28 2008 - 01:00
Six Sunni ministers rejoin Iraqi coalitionIRAQ: SIX MINISTERS from the Iraqi Accordance Front, the main Sunni parliamentary bloc, rejoined Iraq's Shia-Kurdish coalition…Mon Jul 21 2008 - 01:00
West Bank model not an effective one, says ICG reportMIDDLE EAST: THE WEST Bank has not become a model of effective Palestinian control and good governance, although gains have …Sat Jul 19 2008 - 01:00
Parliament seeks to resolve Iraqi electoral law disputeMIDDLE EAST: THE IRAQI parliament is due to meet today in an attempt to resolve a dispute over an election law which must be…Thu Jul 17 2008 - 01:00
Israel, Hizbullah prisoner swop set for todayMIDDLE EAST: HIZBULLAH REGARDS today's German-mediated prisoner swap with Israel as a triumph, writes Michael Jansen.Wed Jul 16 2008 - 01:00
Iraq and US fail to find agreement on troop numbers and future relationsIRAQ: IRAQI AND US negotiators have given up on an attempt to reach by the end of the month separate agreements governing the…Tue Jul 15 2008 - 01:00
Israeli settlements put talks in doubtMIDDLE EAST: THE PALESTINIANS may suspend negotiations with Israel in protest at Israeli construction plans for East Jerusalem…Sat Jul 12 2008 - 01:00
Sweltering Cyprus taps Greek water to help beat drought crisisLETTER FROM NICOSIA: GLOBAL WARMING has come to Cyprus. It ambushed us with a fourth year of drought.Fri Jul 11 2008 - 01:00
Turkish leader on landmark first visit to IraqTURKEY: TURKISH PRIME minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid his first visit to Iraq yesterday, becoming the second regional leader…Fri Jul 11 2008 - 01:00
Western multinationals win first round of tenders to boost production in Iraqi oilfieldsIRAQ: IRAQ YESTERDAY announced the first round of tenders opening its oilfields to foreign firms and providing for large-scale…Tue Jul 01 2008 - 01:00
Anger in Iraq as US troops kill premier's cousinIRAQ: IRAQI OFFICIALS said on Saturday that a raid on Friday by US special forces killed a relative of prime minister Nouri …Mon Jun 30 2008 - 01:00
Gaza truce near collapse as rockets hit IsraelMIDDLE EAST: THE CEASEFIRE between Gaza and Israel was close to collapse yesterday after two mortars were fired from the Strip…Sat Jun 28 2008 - 01:00
Nuclear inspectors in Syria to investigate bombed siteSYRIA: INSPECTORS FROM the International Atomic Agency (IAEA) arrived in Damascus yesterday to probe accusations that Syria …Mon Jun 23 2008 - 01:00
Hamas accepts Egyptian-brokered Gaza ceasefireEGYPT: CAIRO CONFIRMED yesterday that an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire covering Gaza could commence as early as tomorrow.Wed Jun 18 2008 - 01:00
Amnesty says plight of millions of Iraqi refugees is being ignoredAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL yesterday accused the international community of doing nothing while Iraqi refugees are facing hardship…Mon Jun 16 2008 - 01:00
Iraq-US talks on relations have reached 'a dead end'MIDDLE EAST: PRIME MINISTER Nuri al-Maliki said yesterday that negotiations on initial US texts defining long-term Iraqi-US …Sat Jun 14 2008 - 01:00
Iraqi PM tries to allay Iran's fears of attack by USIRAQ: IRAQI PRIME Minister Nuri al-Maliki yesterday tried to reassure Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and senior officials…Mon Jun 09 2008 - 01:00
