There are 17997 articles

  • Israel accused of 'new Gaza crime'

    A senior UN official has suggested that Israel should be held accountable for a "new crime against humanity" during its January assault on the Gaza strip. Richard Falk, the UN's special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said Israel had confined Palestinian civilians to the combat zone in Gaza, a unique move which.. More

  • Lebanon blast 'kills PLO leader'

    At least four people, including a senior official from the Palestinian Fatah movement, have been killed in an explosion at a refugee camp in southern Lebanon, security officials say. A Fatah spokesman in the occupied West Bank said that Kamal Naji - also known as Kamal Medhat - had been "assassinated". Naji was deputy representative of the.. More

  • U.S. to put "exit strategy" in Afghanistan policy

    The new U.S. policy for Afghanistan to be unveiled soon will contain an exit strategy and include greater emphasis on economic development, President Barack Obama said. With violence rising ahead of elections in August, Obama has already committed an extra 17,000 troops to Afghanistan, but on Sunday he said military force alone would not end the war. ".. More

  • China arrests 100 Tibetan monks

    Chinese police have arrested nearly 100 monks after what they describe as a riot by hundreds of Tibetans, according to state media. The official Xinhua news agency said all but two of the 95 arrested in the ethnic Tibetan area of the western province of Qinghai on Sunday were monks. Xinhua said the Tibetans were arrested for their involvement in a.. More

  • Children killed in US plane crash

    A small plane has crashed in the US state of Montana, killing 17 people, including several children, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Mike Fergus, an FAA spokesman, said the single-engine turboprop Pilatus PC-12 crashed about 150 meters from the airport in Butte, Montana, while trying to land on Sunday. Fergus said initial.. More

  • US says thousands of Iraqi prisoners to be freed or charged

    Thousands of Iraqi prisoners being held indefinitely without charge by U.S. forces will be freed or prosecuted in Iraqi courts by the middle of this year, the U.S. commander in charge of them said on Sunday. U.S. forces are currently holding just over 13,000 Iraqi prisoners, Brigadier-General David Quantock, commander of the U.S. detention operations.. More

  • Venezuelan army 'seizes ports'

    Venezuela's military has taken control of all the country's major airports and sea ports, a move that critics say is meant to limit the powers of mayors, governors and other potential rivals to Hugo Chavez, the president. Chavez said on Saturday: "Since this morning we began to reverse the disintegration of national unity." The takeover,.. More

  • After turmoil, Pakistan reinstates chief justice

    Pakistan's top judge Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, cheered by triumphant crowds, resumed his post Sunday, 16 months after he was ousted and a week after new protests pushed the nation into chaos. The government's decision to reinstate Chaudhry in order to defuse a debilitating crisis has been celebrated on the streets, and supporters carrying balloons.. More

  • Deadly clashes in Russia's Dagestan

    At least five soldiers and several anti-government fighters have been killed in clashes in the Dagestan region. Clashes between government security forces and armed opposition groups started on Thursday in the Karabudakhkentsky district, about 30km south of the regional capital Makhachkala. The bodies of 10 fighters were reportedly found after security.. More

  • Israel stops Jerusalem celebrations

    Israeli police have prevented Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem from holding events to mark the city's designation as "capital of Arab culture" for 2009. About 20 Palestinians were detained in and around East Jerusalem on Saturday, but there were no reports of violence, Shmulik Ben-Ruby, a police spokesman, said. Police reinforcements.. More

  • Iran calls on Obama to back up talk

    Iran has called for concrete steps to back up talk by Barack Obama, the US president, of a "new beginning" in US-Iranian relations. Obama released a video message on Nowruz, the traditional Persian New Year, offering to resolve past conflicts. But Iran says it wants to see fundamental changes in US policy before opening dialogue. Reacting.. More

  • Scores killed in Afghan fighting

    At least 70 people have been killed, including 18 policemen and four Canadian soldiers, in a series of clashes in Afghanistan. The four Canadians, part of the international assistance force,were killed in two separate explosions on Friday that also killed an interpreter and injured eight soldiers and an Afghan national, the Canadian military said. Nine.. More

  • 2 US Navy vessels collide in the Strait of Hormuz

    A nuclear-powered US submarine has collided with another US vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, injuring at least 15 sailors, the US navy says. The incident occurred around 1am local time on Friday when the USS Hartford submarine collided with the USS New Orleans, an amphibious ship, in the narrow strait south of Iran, the navy told Al Jazeera. Fifteen.. More

  • UN: Gaza assault a 'war crime'

    The United Nations special reporter on human rights in the Palestinian territories has said Israel's military offensive on Gaza "would seem to constitute a war crime of the greatest magnitude under international law". Richard Falk called the 22-day bombardment a "massive assault on a densely populated urbanized setting", with.. More

  • Major earthquake hits Tonga coast

    An earthquake measuring a magnitude of 7.9 has struck off the coast of Tonga. The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre released an alert following the earthquake on Thursday, but cancelled it hours later, saying no Tsunami was expected. "When no major waves are observed for two hours after the estimated time of arrival ... then local authorities.. More