Middle East News

TUNIS (Reuters) - Western and Arab powers meeting in Tunis Friday will issue a "challenge" to President Bashar al-Assad to let in aid for victims of Syria's intensifying conflict - but a Libya-style military intervention is not on the agenda. They come together as international outrage over Assad's repression of unrest …

VIENNA/TEHRAN (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog's latest mission to Iran failed to budge a defiant Tehran over its disputed nuclear programme, sending oil prices to a nine-month high over fears of an increasing risk of confrontation with the West. The United States criticised Iran on Wednesday over the collapse of the …

An international conference on Syria this week will do little to help resolve the crisis and the lack of progress is allowing the country to collapse into civil war, an opposition figurehead warned.

KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan Taliban on Thursday called on security forces to turn their guns on foreign "infidel invaders," the group said on its web site in English, after an Afghan soldier joined violent protests and shot dead two NATO troops. "(The) Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan calls on all the youth present in the …

Britain will push for a tightening of the diplomatic and economic "stranglehold" on Syria at a meeting of regional powers in Tunisia on Friday, Foreign Secretary William Hague said.

An Afghan soldier shot dead two NATO troops on Thursday as violent anti-US protests over the burning of copies of the Koran swept the country for a third day.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Simultaneous early morning attacks on mostly Shi'ite targets across Iraq killed at least 60 people and wounded dozens on Thursday in one of the bloodiest days of violence since U.S. troops pulled out in mid-December. The attacks that appeared to pitch al Qaeda-linked Sunni Muslim insurgents against Shi'ites …

NEW DELHI, Feb 23 (AlertNet) - Afghanistan's decade-long conflict has forced more than half a million people to flee their homes -- many of whom are at risk of disease, hunger and possible death in city slums across the impoverished country, Amnesty International warned Thursday. Increasing attacks by militants, as well …

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's week-long parliamentary election campaign began on Thursday, the official IRNA news agency said, a vote likely to highlight the popularity of the clerical establishment as it stands firm against Western pressure to curb its nuclear work. It is shaping up as a contest among clerical and political …

A wave of attacks blamed on Al-Qaeda killed at least 39 people on Thursday, in what Iraq's parliament speaker said was an attempt to derail an Arab League summit planned for the end of March.

KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan soldier at a U.S. base in the country's east joined violent protests against the burning of copies of the Koran and shot dead two foreign troops, Western military sources said. Protesters charged the base in Nangarhar province after the Taliban urged Afghans to target foreign bases and kill Westerners …

At least 50 people have been killed and hundreds injured in a wave of apparently co-ordinated shootings and bombings across Iraq.

Campaigning began in Iran on Thursday for parliamentary elections to take place on March 2, with officials and state media calling for a big turnout to counter "enemies' threats" against the regime.

Syrian forces launched a massive bombardment of rebel districts of Homs on Thursday, defying a world outcry over the killing of two Western journalists and a citizen reporter who were among the few to bear witness of the civilian toll.

The mother of Sunday Times correspondent Marie Colvin has paid tribute to her "passionate" daughter following her death in Syria.

The Syrian regime was not responsible for the deaths of two Western journalists who "sneaked" into the country, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.

China refused again on Thursday to say whether it would attend a global conference aimed at ending the violence in Syria, as a bloody crackdown on protesters intensified.

Hackers calling themselves the 'Iranian Cyber Army' have attacked the website of mainly Muslim neighbour Azerbaijan's state television station, the communications ministry said on Thursday.

(Reuters) - Here are details of some of the major attacks in Iraq in the past year: March 29, 2011 - At least 53 people are killed and 98 wounded when gunmen take hostages at a provincial council headquarters in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, precipitating a battle with security forces who sweep in to end the siege. …

The verdict in the landmark murder and corruption trial of ousted Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak has been set for June 2, Judge Ahmed Refaat said on Wednesday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The death toll in a wave of bombings and other attacks across Iraq on Thursday has risen to 50, police and hospital sources said. The early-morning attacks were conducted against mainly Shi'ite targets in Baghdad and several other towns and cities. (Reporting By Kareem Raheem; Writing by Francois Murphy; …

Iran accused Israel of assassinating its nuclear scientists as part of a "war game" while it denied any role in attacks on Israeli diplomatic targets in several countries.

AMMAN (Reuters) - A main opposition group on Wednesday called on Syrians to boycott an upcoming referendum on a new constitution, saying it was an attempt by President Bashar al-Assad to cover up a crackdown. "The regime is using this proposal to cover up for its massacres. A constitution cannot be prepared unless all political …

AMMAN (Reuters) - Unrest in Syria is causing chaos at the country's banks, which posted bumper profits last year as a plunge in Syria's currency boosted foreign exchange gains, but will struggle this year in the face of rapidly declining deposits and rising bad loans. ...

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos will head to Syria soon in an attempt to secure access for aid workers seeking to deliver emergency relief to people trapped in the country's conflict zones, the United Nations said on Wednesday. U.N. spokesman Eduardo del Buey said U.N. Secretary-General Ban …

The mother of an Iranian American sentenced to death in Iran on allegations he worked for the CIA was able to see her son as the United States pressed Wednesday for consular access to him.

A fruitless visit to Iran by UN nuclear inspectors raised tensions on Wednesday, with Russia warning of "catastrophic" consequences if it leads to a military attack on its Middle East ally.

The UN's humanitarian chief, Baroness Amos, is to travel to Syria to negotiate access for aid workers in the conflict-torn country as the reported death toll rises.