There are 17997 articles

  • Istanbul fireworks blast kills 20

    Two explosions at an unlicensed fireworks factory in Istanbul have killed at least 20 people and injured dozens, Turkish officials say. The blasts, at just after 0930 (0730 GMT), caused part of the five-storey building in the western Davutpasha district to collapse. Rescuers working at the scene said there were no further signs of life from beneath.. More

  • Israel war report 'deeply flawed'

    Human rights organization Amnesty International has condemned as "deeply flawed" an Israeli report on Israel's conduct in the war in Lebanon in 2006. Amnesty criticized the inquiry for not addressing the issue of alleged war crimes by Israeli troops, such as "the indiscriminate killing of civilians". The government-appointed Winograd panel found.. More

  • Hamas sets Rafah border conditions

    A delegation led by Khaled Meshaal, the leader of Hamas, has proposed joint Palestinian-Egyptian control of the Rafah crossing. They set down these conditions on Thursday on the second day of talks in Cairo geared towards resolving the week-old crisis on the Gaza-Egypt border as Egypt continued its mediating role between Hamas and Fatah. The delegation.. More

  • Suicide bomber kills Afghan official

    A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing Helmand province's deputy governor and five other people, officials said. The bomber struck while people were praying inside the mosque in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, provincial police chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal said. Helmand's deputy governor,.. More

  • Abbas rules out deal with Hamas

    Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has ruled out talking to Hamas unless the group meets certain conditions, including previous Gaza border arrangements. But Hamas, which governs the Palestinian enclave, has said it must have a role in the control of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza. Abbas met Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president,.. More

  • Olmert facing war report criticism

    Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister, is expected to face heavy criticism in a report into the conduct of the 2006 war against Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon. The Winograd commission, which was appointed by Olmert after public pressure in the aftermath of the inconclusive conflict, will publish its final report on Wednesday. Interim findings delivered.. More

  • UN drops Gaza crisis statement

    The United Nations Security Council has abandoned efforts to adopt a statement on the crisis in the Gaza Strip caused by an Israel's blockade after the US refused to support it. The envoy for Libya, the council chair, blamed the United States for the failure on Tuesday after a week of arguing over the wording of the non-binding statement. The.. More

  • Bill proposed on Turkey scarf ban

    A bill to allow women in universities to wear headscarves has been presented to Turkey's parliament. The governing Justice and Development (AK) party and the opposition Nationalist Movement (MHP) party said students would be allowed to wear headscarves as long as they tied them under the chin, leaving their faces exposed. The headscarf is a highly.. More

  • Missile strike kills 12 in Pakistan

    Three suspected militants allegedly planning suicide attacks died Wednesday when a bomb detonated early, police said, in the latest violence near the Afghan border where 12 people were killed in a missile attack a day earlier. On Tuesday, more than 500 students chanting "Death to America" protested Pakistan's support for the U.S.-led fight against.. More

  • Hamas rejects border 'agreement'

    Israel says it will not oppose a deal that would see the Palestinian Authority (PA) of Mahmoud Abbas take control of the Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt, according to officials. However Hamas, which controls Gaza, says it will not recognize any agreement between Abbas and Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, over the crossing. Egypt increased.. More

  • Gruesome find in Iraqi province

    Nine bodies and 10 severed heads have been discovered near Miqdadiya, north-east of Baghdad, Iraqi police say. The 19 victims were all male and some had died in recent days, said a Diyala province police spokesman. The nine intact bodies were handcuffed and had been shot dead, local medical sources said. Diyala province is where US and Iraqi.. More

  • Algeria hit by fatal bomb blast

    At least three people have been killed after a car bomb exploded outside a police station in the town of Thenia, 55km east of the Algerian capital, according to witnesses. The explosion on Tuesday caused serious damage to the area surrounding the police station after police opened fire on the car preventing it from reaching the building. Earlier.. More

  • Kenyan opposition MP shot dead

    A Kenyan opposition politician has been shot dead by gunmen outside his home in the capital, Nairobi. Police said that they were not ruling out "political motives" connected to the disputed presidential elctions on December 27 in the killing of Mugabe Were, a politician for the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM.) Police said that two gunmen shot Were.. More

  • Fresh efforts to seal Gaza border

    Egypt has started choking off supplies to its border zone with Gaza in an attempt to discourage Palestinians from pouring into the area, reports say. The people of Gaza have been crossing freely into Egypt for a sixth day after militants destroyed the border wall. Security forces have been powerless to prevent the flow of people stocking up on food.. More

  • US troops killed in northern Iraq

    Five US soldiers have been killed in a roadside bomb attack in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the US military has said. A patrol that was hit in the explosion then came under small arms fire before US and Iraqi forces secured the area, Reuters news agency reports. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki announced the start of a major offensive in Mosul.. More