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  • Fatah and Hamas close to deal

    Mahmoud Abbas,the Palestinian president and Fatah leader, has said he expects a unity government to be formed between Fatah and Hamas this month. It is hoped that the forming ofsuch a government would lead to the lifting of a Western aid embargo, as well as trade restrictions imposed by Israel. Abbas said in a speech marking the second anniversary.. More

  • Rights group wants Rumsfeld charged

    A US-based rights group defending Guantanamo Bay detainees is seeking criminal charges against Donald Rumsfeld, the outgoing US defense secretary. The Centre for Constitutional Rights said it would ask German prosecutors to open an investigation and, ultimately, a criminal prosecution that would look into the responsibility of high-ranking US officials.. More

  • Haniya will resign if sanctions are lifted

    Ismail Haniya, the Hamas leader, has said that he would step down as Palestinian prime minister if it would persuade the West to lift economic sanctions. "When the issue of the siege is on one side, and my being prime minister is on the other, let the siege be lifted to end the suffering of the Palestinian people," Haniya said, referring to the international.. More

  • US studying Iraq options

    US military commanders are re-evaluating strategy for achieving better results in Iraq,a US general has said. Marine General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Friday an evaluation was being undertaken by General George Casey, theUS commander in Iraq, and General John Abizaid, thecommander ofUS forces in the Middle East, as.. More

  • Dutch mull ban on Muslim face veils

    The Dutch government has said it will seek a way of banning the wearing of burqas and other Muslim face veils in public places, possibly becoming the first European country to impose such a ruling. Friday'sannouncement comes at a time when the debate on such veils and whether they prevent Muslims from integrating has gathered momentum across Europe.. More

  • Israel accused of 'state terrorism'

    A Palestinian official has accused Israel of state terrorism afteran attack in Gaza that killed 18 civilians, and said Israeli apologies for such incidents were insincere and no longer acceptable. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, told an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Thursday: "This is terrorism, this is state terrorism. "These.. More

  • Mubarak warns on Saddam execution

    Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has warned that hanging former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will lead to even more bloodshed in Iraq. A Baghdad court condemned Saddam Hussein to death on Sunday for the killing of 148 Shia Muslims after a 1982 assassination attempt against him. Mr Mubarak said hanging the former president would only enhance sectarian.. More

  • Iran warning over UN resolution

    Iran's top nuclear negotiator says Tehran will review its ties with the IAEA unless Russian changes to a UN draft resolution on Iran are accepted. Ali Larijani made the threat of reduced co-operation with the UN's nuclear watchdog as he arrived in Moscow for talks on Iran's nuclear policies. A resolution drafted by the UN Security Council's three.. More

  • UK says it is tracking 30 'terror plots'

    British intelligence services areinvolved in tackling more than 1,600 people from 200 groups or networks who are actively engaged in terrorism, the head of the domestic spy agency MI5 has said. Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller said in comments on Thursday that led television news bulletins late on Thursday and early editions of Friday's newspapers that.. More

  • Iraqi police on torture charges

    Iraq's interior ministry has charged 57 employees, including a police general, with human rights abuses over the alleged torture of hundreds of detainees at a prison in eastern Baghdad. Police Brigadier Abd al-Karim Khalaf said the charges marked the first time officers in Iraq's post-invasion police force had been charged with the crime of torture. The.. More

  • Senate win puts Democrats in control

    Democrats have wrested control of the Senate from Republicans with an upset victory in Virginia, giving the party complete domination of Capitol Hill for the first time since 1994. Jim Webb'swin over incumbent Senator George Allen on Wednesday gave Democrats their 51st seat in the 100-seat Senate, an astonishing turnabout at the hands of voters. Allen.. More

  • Islamic Courts: Somalia deal possible

    The most senior leader of Somalia's Council of Islamic Courts has said that a peace deal can be struck for his Horn of Africa country, but only if neighbouring Ethiopia withdraws troops protecting a weak transitional government. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys told The Associated Press in an interview by telephone from Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, on.. More

  • Democrats take House of Representatives

    The Democrats have taken control of the House of Representatives in the US midterm elections and are closing in on the Senate. Many votes still remain to be counted but Democrat gains in many main seats led the White House to acknowledge, late on Tuesday night,that it had lost control of the house. Tony Snow, White House spokesman, said:"We believe.. More

  • Russian police killed in Chechnya

    Chechen separatists have killed seven Russian police in an ambush in southern Chechnya, one of the biggest attacks on federal forces this year. Tuesday's attack was on a convoy near the village of Tai in Shatoi in the south of the territory, Russian news agencies said on Wednesday. The convoy was returning to base when it was attacked. Nikolai Varavin,.. More

  • Israeli shells kill women and children in Gaza

    Israeli tanks have killed at least18 Palestinians, including sleeping women and children,in an attack in Gaza. Mahmud Assaly,director of Beit Lahiya hospital, saidthe people were killed when tanks opened fire on several houses early onWednesday. Attaf Hamad, a witness, said thattank shells struck and demolished at least four houses in the attack... More