There are 17999 articles

  • Moscow hospital fire kills dozens

    A fire at a Moscow drug rehabilitation hospital has killed 45 women, most of them young addicts. Officials say they are "90% certain" that arson caused the blaze at Moscow's Hospital 17, in the south-west of the city, early on Saturday morning. All appeared to have died of smoke asphyxiation even before the first firefighters reached the building... More

  • 'Children killed' in US Iraq raid

    Six children and eight women are among at least 32 people killed in a US air raid northwest of Baghdad, according to Iraqi police and local officials. Khedr Hussein, an Iraqi police major, said 32 people were killed at Ishaqi, 90km north of Baghdad. Mayor Amer Alwan told Reuters news agency that US aircraft bombed two homes in the early hours of Friday. He.. More

  • 'Heavy fighting' in Somali town

    Somali government fighters, backed up by Ethiopian troops, have attacked Islamist positions sparking heavy fighting, an Islamist leader says. The clashes have occurred in Dinsoor, 110 kilometres (70 miles) south-west of government base Baidoa. Islamist leader Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed called on all Somalis to "stand up and defeat the enemies". The.. More

  • Haniya vows not to recognize Israel

    Palestinian PM Ismail Haniya has reiterated that his Hamas-led government will not recognize Israel. This a key demand of Western donors who have suspended direct aid to the Palestinian Authority. Mr Haniya is on a visit to the Iranian capital, Tehran. He made the comments during a Friday prayers address. He said efforts to "liberate usurped Palestinian.. More

  • Nasrallah to address Beirut protest

    Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, is to address thousands of opposition protesters calling for the Lebanese government to resign. Demonstrators have now been on the streets of the capital, Beirut, for seven days and another massive rally has been arranged for Sunday. The opposition has called for "a historic and decisive" demonstration,.. More

  • Bush calls for new Iraq approach

    George Bush has called for a "new way forward" on Iraq, the day after a scathing report by the Iraq Study Group called for a change in US strategy. "I believe we need a new approach," the US president said following talks with Tony Blair, the British prime minister, his closest ally on the Iraq war.The British prime minister said he welcomed the conclusions.. More

  • Islamic Courts snubs UN resolution

    The Union of Islamic Courts executive council in Somalia has rejected a UN resolution that authorises a regional force to support the interim Somali government.Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, head of the Union of Islamic Courts, said in an interview with Al Jazeera that the decision was "not made by the UN but by the US".He said: "We [the Islamic Courts].. More

  • Saddam makes surprise showing

    Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has appeared in court, despite saying a day earlier that he would refuse to attend further hearings of his genocide trial. On Tuesday, he had said he could no longer put up with "continued insults" by the chief judge and prosecutors. The deposed leader and six others are on trial over their role in a campaign against.. More

  • Two Palestinians shot in Gaza

    Israeli forces have shot and injured two Palestinians in separate incidents on the Gaza perimeter fence, according to the Israeli military. The shootings are the first cracks in a local ceasefire that has been in place since last week. In the first incident, Israeli soldiers shot a man who appeared to be laying a mine near the border. The second.. More

  • Iraq report 'is no magic formula'

    There is no "magic formula" to solve the crisis in Iraq, a major report on US policy in the country says. But the Iraq Study Group (ISG) report also says that not all options have been exhausted, and urges talks with Iran and Syria. While endorsing the need for a policy shift, it stops short of a firm timetable for a troop pullout. President.. More

  • Dozens killed in Baghdad attacks

    At least 36 people have been killed in shootings, mortar and bomb attacks in Baghdad, Iraqi officials have said. In northern Baghdad, at least 15 people died and several were injured when gunmen attacked a bus carrying civilian employees of a Shia religious group. Shortly afterwards, at least 15 people were killed and some 25 wounded in three car.. More

  • Beirut funeral for Shia protester

    The funeral of an anti-government protester is being held in Lebanon's capital, Beirut. Ahmed Mahmoud, a Shia, was killed by an unknown gunman in a Sunni district after leaving an opposition protest. Anti-government protests called by Islamist movement Hezbollah are now in their fifth day, with police reporting street clashes on the last two nights... More

  • Gunfight at US embassy in Yemen

    A gunman has opened fire outside the US embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, before being shot by security forces and arrested, Yemeni officials say. No embassy staff were injured in the incident outside the well fortified and heavily guarded compound. The suspect was taken to hospital and will be interrogated, officials said. The Yemeni authorities.. More

  • Washington's UN envoy quits post

    The US ambassador to the United Nations is to leave his post when his temporary appointment runs out, officials say. John Bolton was unable to win the necessary Senate support for him to continue in the job. He took up the UN posting last year during a Congressional holiday after his nomination stalled in the Senate. He is the second high-profile.. More

  • Anger at UN chief's Iraq comments

    Iraq's national security adviser says he is shocked by UN head Kofi Annan's suggestion that the average Iraqi is worse off than under Saddam Hussein. Mouwaffaq al-Rubaie also accused the UN of shying away from its responsibility towards the Iraqi people. The UN secretary general, who leaves office after 10 years on 31 December, told the BBC that.. More