There are 17997 articles

  • Mediterranean, EU nations to boost ties with grand new union

    French President Nicolas Sarkozy and 42 leaders on Sunday launched a union between Europe and its Mediterranean neighbours amid hopes the grand plan will bring fresh impetus to Middle East peace efforts. Heads of state and government from the 27 EU nations and an arc of countries from north Africa to the Balkans -- representing some 756 million people.. More

  • Syria and Lebanon to establish ties

    Syria and Lebanon have agreed to open embassies in each other's capital. Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, made the announcement on Saturday as he hosted Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, and Michel Sleiman, his Lebanese counterpart. Al-Assad has also asked France and the US to assist in direct peace talks between his country and Israel. A.. More

  • Assad pushing for Israel talks

    Syrian President Bashar Al Assad asked France last night to assist in direct peace negotiations between Syria and Israel, alongside the US. Ending years of isolation from the West, Assad held talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the eve of a major EU-Mediterranean summit and signaled his willingness for face-to-face talks with Israel. "The.. More

  • Deadly blast hits Afghan market

    A suicide attack in south Afghanistan has killed at least 21 people, many of them children, police say. The bomb was detonated in a market in the Deh Rawud district of Uruzgan province at about 1030 local time. Provincial police chief Jumma Gul told the BBC that a suicide bomber on a motorbike had struck a police vehicle. The past few months have.. More

  • France rejects veiled Muslim mother

    A French court has denied citizenship to a Muslim woman from Morocco, ruling that her practice of "radical" Islam is not compatible with French values. The 32-year-old woman, known as Faiza M, has lived in France since 2000 with her husband - a French national - and their three French-born children. Social services reports said the burqa-wearing.. More

  • Seven Pakistani troops killed in ambush: official

    Suspected Taliban militants ambushed a Pakistani paramilitary convoy Saturday in a restive northwestern town, killing at least seven soldiers and wounding dozens more, officials said. The convoy was heading to a fort outside Hangu district near the border with Afghanistan when the rebels attacked it with rocket propelled grenades and assault rifles,.. More

  • N Korea agrees to nuclear checks

    Negotiators from six-nation talks in China have agreed steps to verify North Korea's nuclear disarmament. Officials from China, the US, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas agreed Pyongyang would finish disabling its main nuclear facility by October. The other nations will complete deliveries of fuel and economic aid ahead of visits by verification.. More

  • Bashir seeks Arab League support

    Khartoum has asked the Arab League to hold a meeting of foreign ministers after a move by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek the arrest of Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president, for alleged crimes in the Darfur region. Egyptian media said on Saturday that Sudan called for the meeting "to look into the situation between.. More

  • Russia, China veto UN sanctions on Zimbabwe

    China and Russia vetoed targeted UN sanctions on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe over his disputed re-election, prompting an angry reaction from the United States which cast doubt on Moscow's reliability as a G8 partner. The Chinese and Russian envoys joined their colleagues from South Africa, Libya and Vietnam in opposing a US draft resolution.. More

  • Cuba lowers reform expectations

    President Raul Castro has given his most sombre assessment of Cuba's economic situation since he succeeded his brother Fidel in February. In a televised address before the assembly, Mr Castro said he would have to lift restrictions on salaries more slowly than anticipated. He said key reforms could be affected by global rises in food and oil prices. Ra.. More

  • Sudan condemns Bashir arrest plans

    Khartoum has condemned as "criminal" plans by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek the arrest of Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's president, for alleged crimes in the Darfur region. The US state department confirmed on Friday that a prosecutor at the court in The Hague would apply for a warrant on genocide and crimes against humanity charges. &.. More

  • US soldiers 'found dead in Iraq'

    The bodies of two US soldiers missing in Iraq for more than a year have been found, their families have told the Associated Press news agency. Spc Alex Jimenez and Pte Byron Fouty were seized in an ambush in May 2007 in an area south of Baghdad. The body of a third soldier, Pte Joseph Anzack Jr, was found in the Euphrates river a short time after.. More

  • Lebanon announces unity government

    Lebanon has announced a new 30-member national unity government, seven weeks after an agreement brokered by Qatar brought the country back from the brink of civil war. Fouad Siniora, reinstated as Lebanon's prime minister, announced the new cabinet following a meeting with Michel Sleiman, the president, in Beirut on Friday. Mohammad Chatah, a.. More

  • ICC to seek arrest of Sudan's Beshir: report

    Prosecutors on the International Criminal Court will seek an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir next week for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur, reports said Friday. ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo will request the warrant on Monday in the first-ever bid before The Hague-based tribunal to charge a sitting head.. More

  • UN agrees to Bhutto investigation

    Pakistan and the United Nations have agreed in principle to set up a UN panel to investigate the killing of Pakistani ex-PM Benazir Bhutto. Pakistan's foreign minister said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had agreed to his government's request for such an investigation. A UN statement said a broad understanding had been reached, but further consultation.. More