There are 17999 articles

  • Iraq minister offers Turkey talks

    Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has told the BBC his government is ready to discuss with Turkey how to deal with the PKK Kurdish separatists. He was speaking after Iraq protested to Turkey about recent shelling into mainly Kurdish areas in northern Iraq. Turkey has deployed tanks and thousands of troops to its border, and says it has the right.. More

  • 'Dozens dead' in Afghan clashes

    Thirty Taleban fighters and two members of the security forces have died in an intense military clash in north-west Afghanistan, the authorities say. Militants attacked police posts in Badghis province, near the border with Turkmenistan. The Taleban have disputed the government's account. There were also reports that 27 fighters have been killed.. More

  • Cairo campus veil ban struck down

    A court in Egypt has ruled that the American University of Cairo cannot ban women from wearing the Niqab - the full Islamic face covering - on campus. The ruling comes after a lengthy legal battle between the university and a female student, who was told she had to remove the Niqab for security reasons. Supporters of the Niqab greeted the ruling.. More

  • Russia warns US on missile plan

    The US should halt moves to deploy a missile defense shield in central Europe, pending further talks, the Russian foreign minister has said. Sergei Lavrov was speaking after President Bush made clear Poland and the US were committed to the plan. Russia has proposed a radar station in Azerbaijan should be used instead of Polish and also Czech locations... More

  • Gaza militants launch Israel raid

    Palestinian militants have launched a raid into Israel from the Gaza Strip. The militants used an armored jeep to burst through the Kissufim border crossing, and attacked a nearby Israeli army post, leading to a gun battle. One of the attackers is reported to have been killed. The Israelis said they suffered no casualties. The cross-border attack.. More

  • Six dead in attack on Iraq prison

    Six civilian prisoners have been killed and at least 50 wounded in an attack on a US-run detention camp in Iraq, the US military says. The attack was aimed at Camp Bucca in the south of the country. There were no Americans injured or wounded in the incident, according to a US military statement. Meanwhile, at least 12 Iraqi soldiers were killed.. More

  • Iraq police chief's children held

    Gunmen in Iraq have attacked the house of a senior police officer, killing his wife and 13 other people and taking away three of his children. The attack took place late on Thursday on the house of Col Ali al-Jurani, the head of emergency police in the town of Kanaan, in Diyala province. Diyala has been the scene of some of the worst violence in.. More

  • First CIA rendition trial opens

    The first criminal trial over the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" of terror suspects has opened in Italy. Twenty-six Americans and six Italians are accused of kidnapping an Egyptian terror suspect and sending him to Egypt, where he was allegedly tortured. The Americans - most believed to be CIA agents - will be tried in absentia. Italy has not announced.. More

  • UN condemns Ahmadinejad comments

    UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said he was "shocked and dismayed" at recent comments by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about Israel. Iran's official news agency reported Mr Ahmadinejad saying that the world would soon see Israel's destruction. He said the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 showed for the first time Israel's weakness. The.. More

  • Saudi prince 'received arms cash'

    A Saudi prince who negotiated a £40bn arms deal between Britain and Saudi Arabia received secret payments for over a decade, a BBC probe has found. The UK's biggest arms dealer, BAE Systems, paid hundreds of millions of pounds to the ex-Saudi ambassador to the US, Prince Bandar bin Sultan. The payments were made with the full knowledge of the Ministry.. More

  • Fatah man shot dead in Gaza clash

    Hamas militants in Gaza have shot dead a member of the rival Fatah party, in the first eruption of Palestinian infighting after a two-week truce. The man was killed when the home of his brother, a Fatah official, was surrounded by militants from Hamas. Nine people were also hurt in the confrontation in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, hospital officials.. More

  • Twelve killed by cyclone in Oman

    Twelve people were killed when Cyclone Gonu struck the Gulf country of Oman, an emergency official says. The storm was the strongest to hit the Gulf for decades, damaging buildings and trees in Oman's capital, Muscat, and leaving many roads flooded. High winds and heavy rain were also reported, and electricity and water supplies were interrupted... More

  • Darfur peace force command agreed

    The UN and the African Union (AU) have agreed on the command structure of a joint peacekeeping force to be deployed in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region. Under the plan, the AU will run day-to-day operations, while the UN is expected to have overall control. The UN will hold a series of meetings with Sudan's president next week to determine whether.. More

  • US rejects German G8 climate goal

    Washington says it will not agree to a deal on slashing greenhouse gas emissions at the G8 summit in Germany. A top US climate official said the G8 should not dictate members' policies, but President Bush said he still had a "strong desire" for a post-Kyoto plan. Washington's row with Moscow over US plans for a shield in two former Soviet satellites.. More

  • Israelis kill two Palestinian men

    Israeli forces have killed two Palestinians, one an elderly man shot in the West Bank and the other a Hamas militant in Gaza hit by an air strike. The army said it responded to fire as troops entered a house in Hebron. The 67-year-old man was killed and his 65-year-old wife was seriously wounded. In Gaza Strip, the army said it killed an armed militant.. More