There are 17999 articles

  • Iraq 'talking to militant groups'

    Talks are taking place between the Iraqi government and some insurgent groups, a senior Iraqi official says. Saad Yousif al-Muttalibi, of the Ministry of National Dialogue and Reconciliation, said none of the groups were linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq. Mr Muttalibi said the talks might be getting close to a point where some of the groups lay down their.. More

  • Bush advisers ordered to testify

    A Congressional committee has voted to order key White House aides to testify under oath about the controversial firing of eight federal prosecutors. The White House has offered to let the aides speak to Congress, but not under oath, and will resist the new order. Congress wants to question Karl Rove, President Bush's top political adviser, as well.. More

  • Heavy fighting erupts in Somalia

    Heavy fighting has broken out in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, between government forces backed by Ethiopian troops and armed insurgents. A BBC correspondent says seven people were killed in the battle, the heaviest since the Islamists fell last year. He says there has been a dramatic escalation in attacks against government targets in recent weeks... More

  • Pakistan's top judicial official quits

    A deputy attorney-general resigned yesterday citing a crisis over government efforts to sack Pakistan's top judge, as lawyers and the opposition vowed more protests against the government. The suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on March 9 after the government lodged unspecified accusations against him has infuriated lawyers and many ordinary.. More

  • West officials meet Palestinian ministers

    In the first contact between the US and the recently formed Palestinian unity government, Jacob Walles, the US consul-general to Jerusalem, has met Salam Fayad, the Palestinian finance minister. The EU also made its first contact with a non-Hamas minister but is unlikely to resume funding to it any time soon, EU officials said. Tuesday's meetings.. More

  • Lebanese MPs demand Hariri trial

    Lebanese politicians have gathered in the parliament to demand a session aiming to ratify a court to try suspects in the murder of Rafiq al-Hariri, a former prime minister. About two dozen MPs from the ruling majority appealed to Nabih Berri, house speaker, to convene the first parliamentary session of the year, but he refused. "We came to parliament.. More

  • US, Palestinian officials 'meet'

    Palestinian finance minister Salam Fayyad says he has met the US consul general in Jerusalem, Jacob Walles, in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Mr Fayyad is a political independent included in the Hamas-led government. Correspondents say the meeting is the first between a US official and a member of the new unity cabinet. Israel is boycotting the.. More

  • Saddam's former deputy hanged in Iraq

    Taha Yassin Ramadan, Iraq's former vice-president, was hanged before dawn on Tuesday for his role in the killing of 148 Iraqis in Dujail, an official in the prime minister's office said. "Ramadan was hanged at 3:05am today," said the official who witnessed the hanging. No official announcement has been made by the government. The official said.. More

  • Deal with whole government, says Meshaal

    The political leader of Hamas has told Al-Jazeera that foreign powers must deal with the whole Palestinian national unity government rather than individual officials. Khaled Meshaal's remarks came as the US said it would decide whether to have contacts with non-Hamas officials on a "case-by-case" basis. "There is a Palestinian consensus that.. More

  • 63 dead in Russian retirement home fire

    At least 63 people died early Tuesday when a fire ripped through a retirement home in southern Russia, the Interfax news agency reported quoting local officials. Some 27 more were injured in the fire that broke out in Kamyshevatskaya village in the Kuban region, officials said, adding that a total of 93 people were staying at the facility. Those.. More

  • Israel snubs new Palestinian unity government

    Israel has said it will not deal with the new Palestinian unity government, accusing it of refusing to renounce violence and recognise Israel's right to exist. But there were signs that its main ally, the US, would adopt a more conciliatory approach, saying Washington would probably maintain contact with non-Hamas members of the new government. The.. More

  • Kabul bomber attacks US convoy

    Several people have been wounded, including a child, after a suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a US embassy convoy in Kabul. The attack, which happened on a main road often used by Nato and US-led troops, was the first suicide bombing inside the capital of Afghanistan this year. First aid was administered to two people at the.. More

  • US in second day of Iraq rallies

    Thousands of people have taken to the streets of US cities for a second day of protests against the war in Iraq. Rallies were held in New York, San Francisco, Portland and in other cities ahead of Tuesday's fourth anniversary of the start of the conflict. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have died as well as some 3,200 US troops. Organisers said thousands.. More

  • Blair 'destroyed public trust'

    Britain's public standards watchdog has launched a stinging attack on Tony Blair, accusing the prime minister of undermining trust in politics after coming to power 10 years ago promising to be "purer than pure." A "cash-for-honours" scandal has dogged Blair's last months in office and he has twice been questioned by police as a witness. Blair is expected.. More

  • US 'ready' for non-Hamas contacts

    The US says it has decided that it will have contact with some of the new ministers in the Palestinian unity government, sworn in on Saturday. A US consular official in Jerusalem said the US would maintain contact with ministers it feels it can work with. US officials deny this amounts to a shift in policy, saying they will still not deal with Hamas... More