Flood of desperate migrants see Malta as stepping stoneLetter from Valletta: Dame Winter, armed with squalls and rough seas, is reducing the number of illegal African immigrants making…Fri Oct 20 2006 - 01:00
Shias win vote on regionsIraq: Abdel Aziz Hakim and his pro-Tehran Shia parliamentary faction have won a major victory as Iraqi legislators approved …Fri Oct 13 2006 - 01:00
Rice to ask Saudi help in pacifying Iraqi SunnisMIDDLE EAST: US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said yesterday during a stopover at Shannon en route to the Middle East …Tue Oct 03 2006 - 01:00
Eight killed as rival Hamas and Fatah forces clash in GazaPALESTINE: As US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice began a tour of Middle Eastern capitals in a bid to strengthen Palestinian…Mon Oct 02 2006 - 01:00
Fatah, Hamas divided over recognition of IsraelMIDDLE EAST: Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh said yesterday that he would not head a national unity government which…Sat Sept 23 2006 - 01:00
Yemenis to vote in presidential pollYEMEN: Yemenis go to the polls today in their country's first competitive elections to choose a president and officials on governorate…Wed Sept 20 2006 - 01:00
Hizbullah accused of war crimesMIDDLE EAST: In a report published yesterday Amnesty International accused Hizbullah of committing "serious violations of international…Fri Sept 15 2006 - 01:00
Four killed in attack on US mission in DamascusSYRIA: Four men armed with automatic rifles and grenades yesterday attempted to storm the US embassy compound in the diplomatic…Wed Sept 13 2006 - 01:00
Blair promises to help rebuild LebanonMiddle East: British prime minister Tony Blair yesterday pledged to help rebuild Lebanon's infrastructure, which was devastated…Tue Sept 12 2006 - 01:00
Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz diesEGYPT: Naguib Mahfouz, the Arab world's sole winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, died yesterday at 94 from a bleeding ulcer…Thu Aug 31 2006 - 01:00
Amnesty report accuses Israel of breaching international lawAmnesty International has concluded that Israel violated international humanitarian law and committed war crimes during the four…Thu Aug 24 2006 - 01:00
Military operation was planned, says HizbullahHizbullah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah declared yesterday that Israel's military campaign in Lebanon was not a spontaneous…Thu Jul 27 2006 - 01:00
Israel ignores ceasefire offerIsrael failed to respond yesterday to a Hamas proposal to halt violence in GazaWed Jul 26 2006 - 01:00
Death squads claim more victims in IraqIRAQ: While world attention focuses on events in Lebanon and Israel, violence in Iraq continues to escalateThu Jul 20 2006 - 01:00
Digging for the past in a Greek time capsuleLetter from Cyprus: We wake before the birds, snatch breakfast, and scramble into jeeps for the short ride to the portWed Jul 19 2006 - 01:00
Arab League condemns Israeli offensivesEGYPT: Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on Saturday condemned Israel's offensives in Lebanon and Gaza, declared…Mon Jul 17 2006 - 01:00
Bombing a country into its third civil warMIDDLE EAST/Analysis: The fragile Lebanese government has tried to bridge the country's sectarian divisions by calling for national…Sat Jul 15 2006 - 01:00
Incursion adds to long-suffering Palestinians' woesMIDDLE EAST: Israel's operations in the Gaza Strip and West Bank have compounded the sufferings of Palestinians living there…Fri Jun 30 2006 - 01:00
Kuwaiti women go to the polls to vote for first timeKUWAIT: Kuwaitis go to the polls today in the 11th assembly election since the emirate introduced a parliamentary system in …Thu Jun 29 2006 - 01:00
Abbas decries 'crime against humanity'MIDDLE EAST: Reaction/analysis President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Israel's military incursion into Gaza as a "crime against humanity…Thu Jun 29 2006 - 01:00
Maliki blueprint unlikely to stop the violenceIRAQ: The 24-point reconciliation plan presented yesterday to parliament by Iraqi premier Nuri al-Maliki is unlikely to provide…Mon Jun 26 2006 - 01:00
Hamas and Fatah in talks on unity planPalestine: It appeared unlikely last night that senior Hamas and Fatah officials would reach early agreement on a plan calling…Tue Jun 20 2006 - 01:00
Zarqawi death divides opinion in Arab mediaIRAQ: Arab and Muslim reactions to the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi have been mixed, with radicals generally praising him and…Sat Jun 10 2006 - 01:00
Fears killing may lead to retaliatory attacksIRAQ: There were fears last night in Iraq that the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted Sunni Muslim militant in the…Fri Jun 09 2006 - 01:00
Iran takes positive view of EU nuclear proposalIRAN: Iran has so far adopted a positive approach to the European proposal delivered by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana…Thu Jun 08 2006 - 01:00
Abbas ready to defy Hamas over pollMIDDLE EAST: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has met election officials to prepare for a referendum on a proposal calling…Tue Jun 06 2006 - 01:00
Iraqi PM promises 'iron fist' to crack down on factions in BasraIRAQ: Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Malaki declared a one-month state of emergency in the southern port city of Basra yesterday…Thu Jun 01 2006 - 01:00
Sunni deputies unhappy with new governmentIRAQ: After five months of wrangling over posts and policies, Iraq's parliament confirmed a new government on Saturday when …Mon May 22 2006 - 01:00
Iraq partition proposal based on several false premisesWorld View : Senator Joseph Biden, senior Democrat on the US Foreign Relations Committee, recently added his influential voice…Sat May 13 2006 - 01:00
Quartet to discuss funding for Palestinian AuthorityMIDDLE EAST: The quartet comprising the US, UN, EU and Russia is scheduled to meet today to decide what to do about funding …Tue May 09 2006 - 01:00
Shias still deadlocked over nomination of JaafariIRAQ: Iraqi Shia politicians yesterday failed to break the deadlock over the nomination of the transitional prime minister, …Wed Apr 12 2006 - 01:00
Iraq visit aims to break deadlockIRAQ : US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and British foreign secretary Jack Straw began an unannounced two-day visit to…Mon Apr 03 2006 - 01:00
Annan seeks tribunal for Hariri suspectsUN/Lebanon: United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan has called upon the UN Security Council to authorise negotiations for…Thu Mar 23 2006 - 00:00
An Irishwoman's DiaryTomorrow afternoon in McKee Barracks, Dublin, the former Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lieut Gen Gerald O'Sullivan, DSM…Mon Mar 20 2006 - 00:00
US and Iran to hold talks on IraqIRAQ: Officials in Tehran and Washington have declared their intention to hold a dialogue on Iraq, signifying a possible end…Sat Mar 18 2006 - 00:00
Jaafari will withdraw as Shia candidate if askedIRAQ: Iraq's transitional prime minister, Ibrahim Jaafari, has offered to withdraw as the Shia candidate to head the new government…Fri Mar 17 2006 - 00:00
Syria aiding inquiry into Hariri death, reports UNLEBANON: The report of the UN commission investigating the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri was …Thu Mar 16 2006 - 00:00
Kidnapped American peace worker found shot dead in BaghdadIraq: Tom Fox, one of four Christian peace activists kidnapped in Baghdad last November by a previously unknown group calling…Mon Mar 13 2006 - 00:00
Amnesty accuses US of tortureAmnesty Report: Amnesty International yesterday accused the US and its allies of abusing and torturing prisoners in Iraq nearly…Tue Mar 07 2006 - 00:00
Alliance urged to reconsider Jaafari as leaderIRAQ: The United Iraqi Alliance, the largest grouping in parliament, said on Saturday that it would continue to back Ibrahim…Mon Mar 06 2006 - 00:00
Arrests indicate al-Qaeda targeting JordanJORDAN: The arrest in Jordan of a Libyan and three Iraqis plotting bomb attacks indicates that the Hashemite kingdom, a British…Sat Mar 04 2006 - 00:00
Iraq on brink of civil war, warns crisis groupIRAQ: Since the bombing of the Shia Askari shrine in Samarra, Iraq has been teetering on the brink of disasterWed Mar 01 2006 - 00:00
Askari shrine one of holiest for ShiasIRAQ: The blast that destroyed the golden dome of the Askari shrine at Samarra was intended to provoke Iraqi Shias into attacking…Thu Feb 23 2006 - 00:00
Radical Shia cleric meets Jordan's king but remains a wild cardIRAQ / JORDAN : The radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who mounted two uprisings against the US occupation of Iraq, has met…Mon Feb 20 2006 - 00:00
US losing battle for Iraq hearts and minds - studyIRAQ: In its latest report on Iraq, the International Crisis Group argues that the US is fighting an enemy it does not know …Fri Feb 17 2006 - 00:00
Divided Lebanon honours slain HaririLEBANON: Many of the hundreds of thousands of Lebanese who yesterday converged on central Beirut to honour slain former premier…Wed Feb 15 2006 - 00:00
Syrian reshuffle signals commitment to reformSYRIA: When he carried out the long-awaited reshuffle of his government last weekend, Syrian President Bashar Assad sent a message…Tue Feb 14 2006 - 00:00
Shia pick Jaafari to head new regime in IraqIraq: Incumbent Iraqi prime minister Ibrahim Jaafari was chosen yesterday as the nominee of the Shia United Iraqi Alliance to…Mon Feb 13 2006 - 00:00
Exiles meet to organise opposition to Syrian president AssadSYRIA: Former Syrian vice-president Abdel Halim Khaddam and the leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Ali Bayanouni, have…Fri Feb 10 2006 - 00:00
Lebanese blame Syria for violence at embassyMIDDLE EAST: Lebanon's Social Affairs Minister Nayla Muawad has called on the government to file a complaint against Syria to…Tue Feb 07 2006 - 00:00
