There are 17999 articles

  • Overseas votes start French poll

    French citizens from some overseas regions have begun voting in the country's presidential election. The first votes were cast in Saint Pierre and Miquelon off eastern Canada - but voting in mainland France will be on Sunday. Socialist Segolene Royal is battling conservative candidate Nicolas Sarkozy. In the final day of campaigning on Friday,.. More

  • Hamas rejects US security draft

    Hamas group has rejected a US plan for improving security and easing restrictions on movement in the Palestinian territories. It requires the dismantling of certain checkpoints in the West Bank in return for an end to rocket attacks on Israel. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the plan would legitimize Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.. More

  • Tape of 'dead' al-Qaeda man aired

    An audio recording said to be of al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq - who the government said was killed this week - has appeared on a militant website. The website says it is a message from Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who Iraq said had died in factional fighting. There is no confirmation the tape is genuine. The tape says claims of internal fighting are "lies and.. More

  • Iran's nuclear negotiator 'spied'

    A former top Iranian nuclear negotiator arrested on Monday is to be charged with spying, Iran's conservative Fars news agency has suggested. It quotes an unnamed source saying that Hossein Mousavian is to be charged with espionage relating to nuclear affairs. Tehran's public prosecutor has confirmed that Mr Mousavian is being held in prison. Mr.. More

  • Iran FM attacks US policy in Iraq

    Iran has issued a strong attack against US policy in Iraq, blaming the American presence there for sectarian violence. Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was speaking at a summit of world and regional powers in Egypt, called to discuss Iraq's security. The summit had been expected to see the first high-level talks between the US and Iran.. More

  • Israelis call on Olmert to resign

    Tens of thousands of Israelis have rallied in Tel Aviv, calling for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to quit over his handling of last year's Lebanon war. Demonstrators filled Rabin Square three days after an official interim report sharply criticized Mr Olmert's role in launching and running the war. Followers of political parties from across Israel's.. More

  • French poll rivals in final push

    France's presidential candidates have started their final day of campaigning ahead of Sunday's vote. The latest opinion polls suggest that conservative candidate Nicolas Sarkozy has a firm lead over Socialist Segolene Royal after Wednesday's TV debate. A new Ifop poll for the Le Monde newspaper put Mr Sarkozy at 53%, with Ms Royal trailing with.. More

  • Bomb hits Afghan army bus in Kabul

    A bomb struck a bus taking Afghan soldiers to work in the capital Kabul early Thursday, killing the driver and wounding 25 more people, police and the defence ministry said. The bomb, which the Taliban said they planted, was hidden in a car parked at the side of the road and was remotely detonated as the bus went by, an army officer said. "Twenty-five.. More

  • Hezbollah leader hails Israeli war report

    Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, has said that he "respects" Israel for recognising that it was defeated by his guerrilla army during the 2006 war in Lebanon. Speaking in southern Beirut on Wednesday in a speech aired by Hezbollah's al-Manar TV, he added that he admired Israel's ability to criticise itself and learn from its failures. "It's.. More

  • Teheran arrests ex-nuclear official

    Iranian authorities have reportedly arrested the country's former nuclear negotiator on charges of espionage. Iranian media reported on Wednesday that Hossein Mousavian was being held on espionage charges in Tehran's Evin prison after being arrested at his house in the city. IRNA, Iran's state-run news agency, citing an "unofficial informed source,".. More

  • ICC issues Darfur arrest warrants

    The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for a Sudanese minister and a militia leader suspected of war crimes in the Darfur region. Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmed Haroun and Janjaweed leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, also called Ali Kushayb, are wanted on 51 counts. Sudan says the ICC has no jurisdiction to try Sudanese.. More

  • Powers gather for Iraq conference

    Diplomats from industrialized countries and regional powers are gathering in Egypt ahead of a key international meeting on bringing stability to Iraq. They will discuss reconstruction and security in the Sharm el-Sheikh resort. On Thursday, delegates are to endorse the International Compact for Iraq (ICI), a five-year plan giving foreign support.. More

  • Turkey PM condemns court ruling

    Turkey's prime minister says a court ruling annulling the parliamentary election of a new president was like "firing a bullet at democracy". Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party has asked parliament to approve an early general election to try to resolve the impasse. That election now appears set for 22 July, a month after Mr Erdogan's preferred date of.. More

  • Bush vetoes bill that would require Iraq pullout

    George W. Bush has vetoed legislation that would have forced him to start pulling US troops out of Iraq this year. The bill he has rejected, from the Democrat-controlled Congress, links war funding to a timetable for withdrawal. "Setting a deadline for withdrawal is setting a date for failure and that would be irresponsible," Bush said in a nationally.. More

  • Iran slams US 'hostile attitude'

    Iran will not negotiate with the United States until it stops its "evil approach", the government's spokesman was quoted as saying yesterday, two days before the two nations were due to attend a meeting on Iraq. US officials say Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is ready to talk with Iran on the sidelines of the conference in Egypt tomorrow and on.. More