There are 17999 articles

  • Iran hangs Sunni group leader

    The leader of Jundallah, the armed Iranian Sunni Muslim group, has been hanged, the official Irna news agency reported. "After the decision of the Tehran revolutionary tribunal, Abdulmalek Rigi was hanged on Sunday morning," Irna said. It quoted a court statement as saying: "The head of the armed counter-revolutionary group in the east.. More

  • US seeks Kyrgyz refugees' return

    The United States has urged Kyrgyzstan to ensure the safe return of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Uzbek refugees who fled last week's deadly violence in the south of the Central Asian nation. Robert Blake, a US assistant secretary of state and top envoy to the region, made the comments on Saturday after talks with Roza Otunbayeva, the Kyrgyz interim.. More

  • UN says Afghan security worsening

    There has been a surge in roadside bombings and assassinations in Afghanistan during the first four months of this year, a new UN report has revealed. Attacks involving improvised explosive devices have skyrocketed 94 per cent, compared with the same period in 2009, the report submitted to the UN Security Council on Saturday, said. The number of suicide.. More

  • Police building attacked in Yemen

    Armed men have attacked a building housing Yemen's intelligence services in the southern port city of Aden, sparking a clash with security forces in which 11 people were killed. Security officials said heavily armed men entered the building's detention facility on Saturday after clashing with the building's guards. Nearby residents said they could.. More

  • Israel warns Lebanon aid ships

    Israel has told the UN that it will use "all necessary means" to stop ships from Lebanon from carrying humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip. In a letter to Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, and to the Security Council on Friday, Gabriela Shalev, Israel's UN ambassador, also called on the Lebanese government to prevent the ships.. More

  • Abbas holds talks with US envoy

    Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has told George Mitchell, the US-Middle East envoy, that the United States must press Israel to lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip. Mitchell arrived in Ramallah, the political capital of the occupied West Bank, to meet with Abbas on Friday, after talks with the Israeli prime minister on the previous day. Saeb.. More

  • Kyrgyz leader visits troubled south

    Roza Otunbayeva, Kyrgyzstan's interim leader, has travelled to the country's south to help ease tensions in the region after a week of ethnic violence. Her government has struggled to put an end to the clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz that have left at least 200 people dead and displaced thousands more. "The aim of the visit is to acquaint.. More

  • Israel to 'liberalize' Gaza embargo

    Israel's security cabinet has agreed to ease the land blockade imposed on Gaza following an international outcry over a deadly raid on an aid flotilla convoy. "It was agreed to liberalize the system by which civilian goods enter Gaza (and) expand the inflow of materials for civilian projects that are under international supervision," an official.. More

  • US expands Iran nuclear sanctions

    The United States has announced additional sanctions on Iran targeting individuals and institutions it said have been helping the country to develop its nuclear program. In a statement on Wednesday the US treasury expanded its blacklist to include another of Iran's state-controlled banks, a shipping line and more of its elite Revolutionary Guard Corps. The.. More

  • Israel weighs Gaza blockade easing

    Israel's security cabinet is meeting to discuss proposals for easing the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Ministers are widely expected to approve a "blacklist" of goods which are not allowed into Gaza. Products not on the list would be allowed into the territory. If implemented, this would be the opposite of current Israeli policy, which allows.. More

  • Barcelona to ban face veils

    Barcelona is set to become the first big city in Spain to ban Islamic face veils in public buildings such as markets and libraries. The city's municipal government released a statement on Tuesday announcing the prohibition, which is due to take effect after the summer. "Barcelona will forbid the use of the burqa, niqab and any other item which.. More

  • Kyrgyz violence level 'alarming'

    Rapes and killings against children and women are happening at an alarming rate in southern Kyrgyzstan as ethnic violence continues, the UN says. At least 176 people have been killed so far in the unrest in the Central Asian nation, which began on Friday. Kyrgyz authorities admit that the toll could be several times higher than the official numbers. The.. More

  • Indonesian jailed for hotel attacks

    An Indonesian man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for his involvement in last year's deadly twin hotel bombings in Jakarta. The south Jakarta district court found Amir Abdillah guilty of helping a splinter of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) group plan the suicide bombings that killed seven people and wounded more than 50. Presiding Judge Sudarwin.. More

  • Iran to send aid ships to Gaza

    Iranian ships carrying aid supplies are due to set sail for Gaza in the coming week, Iran's state news agency has reported. The move is likely to further heighten tensions in the region. Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency said the first ship carrying humanitarian aid will leave the port of Khorramshahr this week, heading towards Gaza. "This.. More

  • Bangladesh landslides kill dozens

    Landslides in southeastern Bangladesh have killed at least 24 people, with many victims being buried alive as they slept overnight. Another seven soldiers are missing in the Cox's Bazar region, 296km south of Dhaka, the capital, after heavy rains on Tuesday triggered flash floods and landslides in two areas. "We could not start our rescue efforts.. More