Middle East News

Lebanon, US set up joint military commission

AP - 2 hours, 42 minutes ago

BEIRUT, Lebanon - The United States and Lebanon on Monday set up a joint military commission to bolster military cooperation — a move that follows the first visit by the newly elected Lebanese president to Washington.

  • Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, speaks during a media conference with France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, not seen, at Abbas' headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
    Hamas lawmakers: Abbas term ends in January AP - Mon Oct 6, 5:55 PM ET

    GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Hamas will cease to recognize Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian president after Jan. 8 and replace him with one of its own leaders, according to a resolution approved by the Islamic movement's legislators Monday.

  • Israeli television producer Elad Kuperman from the Israeli version of the reality show Big Brother is seen in a synagogue to be used for the show, at their studios in Neve Ilan, near Jerusalem, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008. In Israel, even Big Brother has to take a break on the most solemn day of the Jewish calendar. When Israel marks Yom Kippur this week, the country will come to a complete standstill. For the makers of cult reality show Big Brother, this means turning off the cameras on the round-the-clock program and building a makeshift synagogue for a religious contestant. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty)
    Israeli "Big Brother" shuts down for Yom Kippur AP - Mon Oct 6, 5:14 PM ET

    NEVE ILAN, Israel - The television show "Big Brother" will confront a new reality in Israel Wednesday evening with the start of Yom Kippur.

  • Palestinians sue for money over settlement AP - Mon Oct 6, 3:27 PM ET

    JERUSALEM - Five Palestinians are suing the Israeli government for $430,000 because Jewish settlers seized their West Bank land for an unauthorized outpost.

  • Leading Israelis say they were duped into Obama ad AP - Mon Oct 6, 2:50 PM ET

    JERUSALEM - Three Israeli security figures said Monday they were duped into taking part in an ad supporting Barack Obama made by the same group that was behind comedian Sarah Silverman's "Great Schlep."

  • Inaam Hamid, 43-year-old former political prisoner and mother of five, speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in Baghdad, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008. Hamid said she'll run for re-election for the Baghdad provincial council. Violence has declined dramatically in Iraq over the past year, but lingering fear bred by rampant crime and a small but die-hard insurgency has left many Iraqi women afraid to run in the elections, to be held by Jan. 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
    Iraqi women fear going public as candidates AP - Mon Oct 6, 1:56 PM ET

    BAGHDAD - The 38-year-old teacher wanted to participate in Iraq's first provincial elections in four years — until she realized that a new law would require the ballot to list her name, not just her party.

  • Military officers pray on October 5, during a funeral ceremony for two Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with Kurdish separatist PKK rebels in southeast Turkey on October 3, in Istanbul. The Turkish army on Monday stepped up operations against Kurdish rebels, bombing their hideouts both in neighbouring Iraq and inside Turkey after 17 soldiers were killed in a rebel attack last week.(AFP/File/Bulent Kilic)
    Turkish jets bomb Kurdish hideouts in Iraq, Turkey AP - Mon Oct 6, 12:33 PM ET

    ANKARA, Turkey - Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish rebel hideouts in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey on Monday in retaliation for the killing of 17 soldiers three days ago, the military said.

  • Iraqi girls in school uniforms pass by US soldiers and Awakening council members during a foot patrol in the Sunni neighborhood of Fadhil in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Oct. 6, 2008. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
    Iraqi lawmaker urges resolution of minority issue AP - Mon Oct 6, 11:32 AM ET

    BAGHDAD - A senior Iraqi lawmaker on Monday called for an urgent resolution to Christian demands for a minority quota system in upcoming provincial elections, while the electoral commission ruled out any possibility of holding the vote this year.

  • Hamas blames Israel for stalled Schalit talks AP - Mon Oct 6, 11:16 AM ET

    PARIS - The exiled leader of Hamas says talks with Israel over the possible release of an Israeli sergeant are "at a standstill."

  • Sudan reports surrender of rebel unit AP - Mon Oct 6, 10:58 AM ET

    KHARTOUM, Sudan - The Sudanese military says 116 Darfur rebels have surrendered, and the U.N.-African Union mission is trying to confirm the report.

  • Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, right, and Israeli Foreign Minister and head of the ruling Kadima party, Tzipi Livni, attend the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008. Olmert has resigned in a corruption scandal but remains caretaker prime minister until his successor as head of the ruling Kadima party, Tzipi Livni, forms a coalition.(AP Photo/Ronen Zvulun, Pool)
    Israel's Olmert brings security concerns to Russia AP - Mon Oct 6, 8:59 AM ET

    MOSCOW - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will visit Moscow beginning Monday, aiming to focus on Russian arms sales to Israel's enemies. By contrast, Russia hopes the meeting will bolster its image as a Middle East peacemaker.

  • Iran: No US request on diplomatic post AP - Mon Oct 6, 5:34 AM ET

    TEHRAN, Iran - Iran says it has not received any request from the United States to establish a diplomatic outpost in Tehran.

  • Yigal Zalmona, a curator at the Israel Museum, displays pages from the diary of Ilan Ramon, an Israeli astronaut who died in the fatal mission of space shuttle Columbia, in Jerusalem, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008. Pages from the Israeli astronaut's diary that survived the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia and a 37-mile fall to earth are going on display starting Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008 in Jerusalem. The diary belonged to Ramon, Israel's first astronaut and one of seven crew members killed when Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry into the atmosphere on Feb. 1, 2003. (AP Photo/Rachael Strecher)
    Astronaut's diary goes on display in Jerusalem AP - Sun Oct 5, 8:26 PM ET

    JERUSALEM - Pages from an Israeli astronaut's diary that survived the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia and a 37-mile fall to earth are going on display this weekend for the first time in Jerusalem.

  • US Army General David Petraeus (L), Commander of American forces in Iraq, and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker (R) speak to the media during a news conference in Washington, DC, in April 2008. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday awarded the State Department's highest honor to Crocker and Petraeus, as she highlighted the "long road" in Iraq.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Alex Wong)
    US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,177 AP - Sun Oct 5, 7:05 PM ET

    As of Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008, at least 4,177 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

  • Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert speaks at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008. Israeli prime Minister Ehud Olmert has resigned in a corruption scandal but remains caretaker prime minister until his successor as head of the ruling Kadima party, Tzipi Livni, forms a coalition.(AP Photo/Ronen Zvulun, Pool)
    Olmert to urge Moscow: Don't arm Israel's enemies AP - Sun Oct 5, 4:56 PM ET

    JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, traveling to Russia this week on one of his last diplomatic missions, said Sunday he would urge Moscow not to sell sophisticated weapons to Israel's enemies.

  • Tzipi Livni, Israeli Foreign Minister and head of the ruling Kadima party, attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008. Israeli prime Minister Ehud Olmert has resigned in a corruption scandal but remains caretaker prime minister until his successor as head of the ruling Kadima party, Tzipi Livni, forms a coalition. (AP Photo/Ronen Zvulun, Pool)
    Livni: Time running out on Israel-Palestinian deal AP - Sun Oct 5, 2:23 PM ET

    JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister-designate Tzipi Livni warned Sunday that time is running out for a peace agreement with the Palestinians, with extremists gaining strength as negotiations stumble.

  • Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai World, talks to the audience about the Nakheel Harbour & Tower project, a more than 1 kilometer high tower of 270 hectares, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
    Dubai aims to top its own world's tallest tower AP - Sun Oct 5, 2:17 PM ET

    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - With its world's tallest building nearing completion, Dubai said Sunday it is embarking on an even more ambitious skyscraper: one that will soar more than 10 American football fields.

  • 18 illegal immigrants killed in Turkey road crash AP - Sun Oct 5, 5:44 AM ET

    ANKARA, Turkey - A truck packed with illegal immigrants from Afghanistan and Myanmar overturned in western Turkey on Sunday, killing 18 people and injuring 23, authorities said.

  • Kim Hall, left, and Jocelyn Clark hold up signs in protest of the government's $700 billion financial rescue plan, Friday, Oct. 3, 2008, in Cleveland. They were collecting the shirts off pedestrian's backs. Stocks surged while credit markets remained strained Friday ahead of an expected House vote on the government's $700 billion financial rescue plan. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
    Al-Qaida: US economic crisis equals Muslim victory AP - Sun Oct 5, 12:15 AM ET

    CAIRO, Egypt - An American member of al-Qaida pointed to economic troubles in the United States as proof that "the enemies of Islam" face defeat, in an English-language video released Saturday.

  • UN nuclear meeting indirectly criticizes Israel AP - Sat Oct 4, 5:50 PM ET

    VIENNA, Austria - A U.N. nuclear conference indirectly criticized Israel on Saturday for refusing to put its atomic program under international purview, but the Jewish state evaded a Muslim-led attempt to link it to nuclear proliferation in the Mideast.

  • U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill answers reporters' question after meeting with his South Korean counterpart Kim Sook at Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 3, 2008. The chief U.S. envoy at six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament met with Kim Sook Friday after spending three days in the North trying to persuade it to resume dismantling its nuclear program. (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man)
    Israel accuses NKorea of Mideast proliferation AP - Sat Oct 4, 2:26 PM ET

    VIENNA, Austria - Israel accused North Korea on Saturday of covertly supplying at least half a dozen Mideast countries with nuclear technology or conventional arms.

  • U.S. military commander in Iraq General Raymond Odierno, left, talks to Polish Commander Major General Andrzej Malinowski before the start of the Polish soldiers end of mission ceremony in their military Camp Echo in Diwaniyah, 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008. (AP hoto/Ceerwan Aziz, Pool)
    Poland leaves Iraq but doesn't give up helping US AP - Sat Oct 4, 2:12 PM ET

    DIWANIYAH, Iraq - Poland turned over control of an area south of Baghdad to American troops on Saturday, making it the latest in a string of countries to leave the dwindling U.S.-led coalition.

  • An ultra-Orthodox woman walks past a shop selling long-sleeve shirts and ankle-length skirts which women are required to wear according to Jewish law, in a religious neighborhood in Jerusalem, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008. In Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, where the rule of law takes a back seat to the rule of God, religious zealots are on a crusade to stamp out unchaste behavior. They hurl stones at women for 'sins' as trivial as wearing a red blouse, and attack stores that sell devices that can access the Internet. In recent weeks, modesty enforcers have been accused of breaking into the apartment of a Jerusalem woman and beating her because they suspected she consorted with men. They also torched a store that sells MP4 players, fearing devout Jews would use them to download pornography.(AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
    Jewish 'modesty patrols' sow fear in Israel AP - Sat Oct 4, 9:45 AM ET

    JERUSALEM - In Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, where the rule of law sometimes takes a back seat to the rule of God, zealots are on a campaign to stamp out behavior they consider unchaste. They hurl stones at women for such "sins" as wearing a red blouse, and attack stores selling devices that can access the Internet.

  • A U.S. Army soldier from Ironhawk Troop, 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, patrols in Mosul, 360 kilometers (224 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Oct. 3, 2008. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
    Analysis: Stable Iraq could influence Mideast AP - Fri Oct 3, 10:54 PM ET

    BAGHDAD - As violence in Iraq recedes, neighboring states are pondering how to deal with an unwieldy country that could re-emerge as a key player along with Saudi Arabia and Iran in one of the world's most strategic regions.

  • Israeli general warns Hezbollah of harsh response AP - Fri Oct 3, 3:27 PM ET

    JERUSALEM - Israel will use "disproportionate force" if Hezbollah guerrillas attack Israel, a senior military commander said in published comments Friday, adding that any village used to fire missiles against the Jewish state will be destroyed.

  • Yemen: 28 Somali migrants die when boat capsizes AP - Thu Oct 2, 6:49 PM ET

    SAN`A, Yemen - Yemen's Interior Ministry says 28 Somali migrants have died after their boat capsized off the town of Shabwa because of strong wind and high waves.

  • Sudan president says charges threaten Darfur peace AP - Thu Oct 2, 1:10 PM ET

    ACCRA, Ghana - Sudan's president has warned that attempts to prosecute him on charges of waging a genocidal campaign in Darfur are undermining the peace process aimed at stopping the violence.

  • US soldier pleads guilty in Iraq killings AP - Thu Oct 2, 9:52 AM ET

    VILSECK, Germany - A U.S. soldier pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of accessory to murder and was sentenced to eight months in prison for his role in the killing of four Iraqi prisoners who were bound, blindfolded, shot and dumped in a canal.

  • Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, in an interview published Monday, said his country did not believed Israel or the United States would launch a military strike against Iran over its nuclear program.(AFP/File/Behrouz Mehri)
    Iran hints at nuclear rethink if gets guarantees AP - Thu Oct 2, 9:29 AM ET

    BRUSSELS, Belgium - A leading Iranian nuclear envoy on Thursday suggested the country could reconsider its uranium enrichment program if it gets cast-iron guarantees of regular international fuel supplies for its nuclear power plants.

  • US troops in Iraq encouraged to vote in November AP - Thu Oct 2, 9:28 AM ET

    BAGHDAD - U.S. troops in Iraq were encouraged to vote in November's presidential election during a visit this week by a group of officials from several states.