Middle East News

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki pulled ahead on Sunday in early results of an election Iraqis hoped would end years of sectarian strife, but a divided vote suggested long and fraught talks to form a government are ahead.

Sana'a (Yemen), March 15 (DPA) At least two senior members of Al Qaeda were killed in an airstrike by the Yemeni Air Force in a remote village in the south of the Arab country late Sunday, the Defence Ministry said.

Baghdad, March 14 (DPA) New results from Iraq's elections announced Sunday showed Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's coalition ahead in the southern province of Basra, and his top rival leading in the western province of al-Anbar.

Tehran, March 15 (DPA) Tehran has accused the United States of having launched a 'cyber war' against Iran, state television network IRIB reported Sunday.

Algeria is to host a meeting of foreign ministers from Sahara desert states this week to try to hammer out a joint plan of action for tackling the growing threat from al Qaeda insurgents, officials said.

Jerusalem, March 15 (DPA) Israeli security forces arrested a Hamas military leader suspected of heading cells responsible for the murders of 70 Israeli civilians during the Palestinian uprising which broke out in 2000, the Israeli military spokesman said Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced regret on Sunday for the announcement of a Jewish settlement plan that has strained ties with Washington and threatens the revival of Middle East peace talks.

Kandahar (Afghanistan), March 14 (DPA) A series of five explosions and gunfire killed at least 35 people, including police forces in southern city of Kandahar, an interior ministry spokesman said Sunday.

Tehran, March 14 (IANS) Iran claimed to have busted a spy racket allegedly linked with the US intelligence agency CIA and arrested 30 people for operating an internet network to gather secret data related to Iran's nuclear scientists.

At least 27 people were arrested in northern Egypt on Friday after fighting erupted between Muslims and Christians over land, security sources said on Saturday.

Jerusalem, March 13 (DPA) Groups of young Palestinians rioted Saturday in the old city of Jerusalem and the West bank after Israeli police closed both areas to devout Muslims seeking to go to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Temple Mount.

Doha, March 13 (DPA) Some 1,500 delegates representing 175 parties to a treaty designed to protect endangered species around the world on Saturday gathered in Qatar to discuss how best to protect wildlife.

Kabul, March 13 (DPA) Afghan President Hamid Karzai is ready to include two international monitors in the country's election watchdog ahead of parliamentary polls in September, his spokesman said Saturday.

Baghdad, March 13 (DPA) Iraq's electoral commission Saturday released, then quickly withdrew, early results from Baghdad that showed Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's coalition leading in the capital.

Kabul, March 13 (IANS) Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to jointly fight against terrorism and extremism in the region and emphasised that terror is a common threat for both countries, the Afghan president's chief spokesman, Waheed Omar, said Saturday.

At least 24 people were injured in northern Egypt in fighting between Christians and Muslims over land, officials told state media on Saturday.

Baghdad, March 13 (DPA) As early results from Iraq's parliamentary elections trickled in, leading politicians Saturday began what promised to be complicated negotiations on forming a government.

Kabul, March 13 (IANS) Six civilians were killed and one injured as a roadside bomb went off in Afghanistan's southern Uruzgan province Saturday, a statement from the interior ministry said.

Cairo, March 13 (DPA) Thirty people were injured when clashes broke out between Christians and Muslims in a rural area in northern Egypt, media reports said.