Banks swamped as Malta and Cyprus become latest members of euro zoneBanks were swamped yesterday with Cypriots seeking euros on the first full day of trading in the currencyThu Jan 03 2008 - 00:00
More deaths in Gaza as Abbas proposes dialogueMIDDLE EAST: Clashes in Gaza yesterday killed a Hamas policeman and a member of the Fatah-affiliated Dugmush clan, raising the…Wed Jan 02 2008 - 00:00
Kurds agree to delay Kirkuk voteIRAQ: The Kurdish regional assembly has capitulated to Baghdad by agreeing to a six-month postponement of a referendum on whether…Fri Dec 28 2007 - 00:00
Hamas has consolidated control in Gaza - reportMIDDLE EAST: Six months after seizing control of the Gaza Strip, Hamas remains in control and is unlikely to be ousted by international…Sat Dec 22 2007 - 00:00
Hamas flexes muscles before meeting of donorsMiddle East: In anticipation of today's meeting of donor countries in Paris, Hamas demonstrated its strength in the Gaza Strip…Mon Dec 17 2007 - 00:00
Iran's former president to lead coalition into electionIran: Former president Mohammad Khatami is set to lead a 21-party coalition with the aim of winning a majority in Iran's parliament…Mon Dec 17 2007 - 00:00
General's killing raises tension in LebanonLebanon: The assassination of a senior Lebanese army general yesterday exacerbated tensions in a country already on edge due…Thu Dec 13 2007 - 00:00
Israel rebuked over settlement homes planMIDDLE EAST: Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud Al Faisal has castigated Israel for approving the construction of 307 homes …Wed Dec 12 2007 - 00:00
Iraq calls for Gulf security pact to include IranIRAQ: Iraq yesterday called on Gulf states to form a regional security pact which would include Iran.Mon Dec 10 2007 - 00:00
Arab opinion welcomes Iran reportMIDDLE EAST: Arab opinion seems to have been greatly relieved by the news that the US National Intelligence Estimate found that…Fri Dec 07 2007 - 00:00
Opposition calls for mass protest in BeirutMIDDLE EAST: A mass demonstration has been called for today by Lebanon's Hizbullah-led opposition to mark the first anniversary…Sat Dec 01 2007 - 00:00
Iran hails release by US of nine detaineesIRAN: Nine Iranians held in Iraq by US forces were released yesterday and handed over to the government of Iraq.Sat Nov 10 2007 - 00:00
UN warns Lebanese factions against rearmingUN: UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon has warned Lebanese factions against rearming and training militias and urged them to end…Fri Oct 26 2007 - 01:00
Amnesty accuses Hamas, Fatah of rights abusesMIDDLE EAST: Amnesty International yesterday issued a report sharply critical of Hamas and Fatah for violating Palestinian human…Thu Oct 25 2007 - 01:00
Hopes rise as Iran moderate called in for talksIRAN: Iran announced yesterday that the country's former top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, and his successor, Saeed Jalili…Mon Oct 22 2007 - 01:00
Warning of Palestinian violence if US talks failMIDDLE EAST: Palestinian chief negotiator Ahmad Qurei warned yesterday that if the US-sponsored regional summit in November …Fri Oct 12 2007 - 01:00
Beirut parties seek way ahead as young seek way outBeirut Letter: Never knowing what the next moment might bring, Beirutis live day by day, unable to plan for tomorrow, next week…Wed Oct 10 2007 - 01:00
Iraq vows to charge guards in BlackwaterMIDDLE EAST: The Iraqi government has pledged to prosecute guards employed by the US Blackwater security contractor for the …Tue Oct 09 2007 - 01:00
Saudi legal reforms welcomedMIDDLE EAST: Saudi officials, lawyers and reformers have welcomed a major restructuring of the kingdom's justice system decreed…Sat Oct 06 2007 - 01:00
Maliki rejects US Senate resolution on country's partitionIraq: Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki yesterday rejected a US Senate resolution proposing the division of Iraq into autonomous…Sat Sept 29 2007 - 01:00
Ghanem killing will not stop Lebanese pollMIDDLE EAST: Lebanese legislators yesterday vowed to go ahead with a presidential election despite the assassination of one …Fri Sept 21 2007 - 01:00
World Bank warns on state of Palestinian economyMIDDLE EAST: The World Bank reported yesterday that if the economic slide in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories is…Wed Sept 19 2007 - 01:00
Al-Sadr faction quits Shia bloc in parliamentIraq: The parliamentary faction loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced yesterday that it had no intention of toppling…Mon Sept 17 2007 - 01:00
Saudi minister bans Arabic paperSaudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia has banned influential Arabic daily al-Hayat from circulation in the kingdom following the publication…Thu Aug 30 2007 - 01:00
Largest Sunni faction signs deal with Shia-Kurd allianceIraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki yesterday declared that the Iraqi Islamic Party, the largest Sunni faction, has signed a …Mon Aug 27 2007 - 01:00
Iraqi governor killed by bomb as Maliki visits SyriaIRAQ: The governor of a southern Iraqi province was killed by a road-side bomb yesterday morning on his way to work.Tue Aug 21 2007 - 01:00
Power crisis in Gaza as EU stops oil fundingMIDDLE EAST: Gaza's sole power plant shut down its fourth generator yesterday when fuel did not arrive to maintain operations…Mon Aug 20 2007 - 01:00
Iran's elite corps rejects US terror group allegationIRAN: Iran's Revolutionary Guards yesterday dismissed Washington's threat to designate the corps as a terrorist group.Fri Aug 17 2007 - 01:00
Palestinian rivals welcome Yemen's mediationMIDDLE EAST: Fatah and Hamas have welcomed a mediation effort between the two groups proposed by Yemeni president Ali Abdullah…Sat Aug 11 2007 - 01:00
Secular ministers boycott Iraqi cabinet meetingsIRAQ: The Iraqi government crisis intensified this week following a boycott of cabinet meetings by five ministers belonging …Wed Aug 08 2007 - 01:00
Abbas will work with Israel in advance of conferenceMIDDLE EAST: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas announced yesterday that he is prepared to work with Israel to delineate the…Fri Aug 03 2007 - 01:00
43% of Iraqis live in absolute povertyIRAQ: Forty-three per cent of Iraqis live in absolute poverty and one-third of the population is in need of emergency aid, according…Tue Jul 31 2007 - 01:00
Arab League wants UN or Quartet to sponsor talksMiddle East: Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa said yesterday that the international conference proposed last month by…Mon Jul 30 2007 - 01:00
Senior Palestinian figures criticised in reportMIDDLE EAST: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas promised reform yesterday after an internal investigation castigated senior…Sat Jul 28 2007 - 01:00
Abbas security adviser steps down in GazaMIDDLE EAST: Former Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan resigned yesterday as presidential security adviser six weeks after Hamas…Fri Jul 27 2007 - 01:00
Hizbullah reiterates rockets threatMIDDLE EAST: Hizbullah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah has reiterated in a TV interview that the Lebanese movement could …Wed Jul 25 2007 - 01:00
Iraq measures disputed by oppositionIRAQ: Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki urged parliament on Saturday to cut its August holiday and adopt legislation deemed…Mon Jul 23 2007 - 01:00
Majority of Palestinians want parties to reconcile, says pollPALESTINE: A new poll shows the overwhelming majority of Palestinians give national reconciliation priority over negotiations…Fri Jul 20 2007 - 01:00
Arab League postpones Israel talksMIDDLE EAST: The Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers postponed today's visit to Israel on behalf of the Arab League to …Wed Jul 11 2007 - 01:00
Spiralling violence claims 200 lives in two daysIraq: Iraqi prime minister Nouri al- Maliki has condemned as a "heinous crime" Saturday's bombing which killed 150 people and…Mon Jul 09 2007 - 01:00
Palestinians take pride in renovating historic buildingsLetter from Jerusalem: Khaled and I walk through Herod's Gate, turn sharply right and climb the shallow steps which lie beside…Wed Jun 13 2007 - 01:00
US says Iran must act after 'positive' talksUS: The US and Iran yesterday ended a 27-year diplomatic rupture with four hours of talks between their ambassadors in Baghdad…Tue May 29 2007 - 01:00
48 die as Lebanese army battles militantsLEBANON: The fiercest domestic clashes in Lebanon for 16 years erupted yesterday between the Lebanese army and a Palestinian…Mon May 21 2007 - 01:00
Next year will decide if Iraq fragments, says reportIRAQ: Developments over the next year could decide the fate of Iraq, where multiple conflicts continue to rage and where the…Fri May 18 2007 - 01:00
Senior resignation threatens Palestinian governmentThe Middle East: The resignation yesterday of Palestinian interior minister Hani al-Qawasmi threatens to topple the unity government…Tue May 15 2007 - 01:00
Shia faction steers away from links with IranIRAN: The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the second-largest Shia fundamentalist faction in parliament, …Mon May 14 2007 - 01:00
Suicide bomb shatters peace in Kurdish areaIRAQ: The suicide lorry bombing yesterday in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil is the first attack in the relatively peaceful…Thu May 10 2007 - 01:00
Cheney faces tough talking from Arab states on US goalsMIDDLE EAST: US vice-president Dick Cheney begins a tour of Middle East states today in an effort to bolster Arab support for…Tue May 08 2007 - 01:00
Conference on Iraq ends without bridging gulf between US, IranIraq: The two-day international conference on Iraq ended yesterday without bridging the gulf between the US and Iran or securing…Sat May 05 2007 - 01:00
Conference on Iraq ends without bridging gulf between US, IranIraq: The two-day international conference on Iraq ended yesterday without bridging the gulf between the US and Iran or securing…Sat May 05 2007 - 01:00
