Middle East News

Pirates have hijacked a Panamanian-flagged ship with 18 crew off the east coast of Africa, the latest in an increasing number of attacks, a Somali businessman said Tuesday.

A former British soldier has admitted for the first time that he saw two of his colleagues kicking and hitting a handcuffed Iraqi prisoner minutes before he died.

A passenger bus overturned with Iranian citizens traveling to Syria on their way to see holy sites. As a result 10 people died, the Irirbnews television channel reported.

Dueling visits to Brazil by the presidents of Israel and Iran are showing the South American powerhouse's growing role in Mideast diplomacy, AP reported.

Reporting from Beirut and Doha, Qatar - After a months-long deadlock, Lebanon's rival political camps agreed to a unity government that includes both American-backed Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim political party and militia that the United States considers a terrorist organization, Los Angeles Times reported.

The Gaza Strip-ruling Hamas authorities on Monday banned the holding of a conference for the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in Gaza, organizers said, Xinhua reported.

Arab League head Amr Moussa on Monday urged the Palestinian president to reconsider his decision not to run for a second term in the January 2010 elections, Jpost reported.

A senior U.N. official on Monday called on Israel to allow building materials into Gaza, warning that the thousands displaced by an Israeli offensive early this year face a cold winter without proper accommodations, AP reported.

The possible collapse of the Palestinian Authority , Israel's negotiating partner, loomed Monday, as several aides to its president, Mahmoud Abbas , said that he intended to resign and forecast that others would follow.

This photo taken Oct. 1, 2009 shows Iranian musician Shahram Nazeri, center, and his son Hafez, right, rehearsing for an upcoming Los Angeles concert in Beverly Hills, Calif.

A senior Iranian prosecutor accused three Americans detained on the border with Iraq of espionage on Monday, the first signal that Tehran intends to put them on trial.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) says that a plan proposed by Israel to form a temporary Palestinian state is not acceptable, Press TV reported.

Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday warned that the failure of Middle East negotiations would lead Palestinians to renew resistance efforts as an "alternative solution", Haaretz reported.

An Islamic group Monday announced its responsibility for firing a rocket from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, Xinhua reported.

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 9 /Trend Capital, A.Badalova/

Iraq will not export gas to Europe until the demand for fuel is satisfied on the domestic market, Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said.

A senior opposition leader in Israel unveiled a peace plan Sunday that held out the possibility of negotiations with Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group in control of the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported.

Yemen's Houthi fighters say they have shot down a fighter jet during clashes with government forces in north-western Yemen, Press TV reported.

President Barack Obama hailed the Iraqi parliament's passage Sunday of a much-delayed election law, declaring it a milestone as the Iraqi people take charge of their future, AP reported.

The White House announced Sunday that President Barack Obama would be meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu during the Israeli prime minister's trip to Washington to address Jewish groups, ending days of uncertainty, AP reported.

Syrian President Bashar Assad said that Turkey must cultivate good relations with Israel if it wishes to assist his country, according to an interview published in Turkish daily Hurriyet on Sunday, Jerusalem Post reported.