Middle East News

Cairo, Nov 13 (DPA) A 14-year-old Afghan girl, held for four years as a sex slave by an Egyptian family in their Saudi home, praised a Saudi court's decision to behead her tormentors, in remarks published Friday.

Jerusalem, Nov. 13 (ANI): The Israeli Government has been asked to purchase the house of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and turn it into an art gallery commemorating the Holocaust.

London, Nov.13 (ANI): Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is set to give evidence in public to the Iraq war inquiry in the run-up to the next election, it was announced on Thursday night.

Jerusalem, Nov.13 (ANI): Presidential and parliamentary polls in the Palestinian territories that were scheduled to be held in January 2010, have been postponed indefintely in view of the objections raised by the Islamist group Hamas, which controls the Gaza.

Kabul, Nov 13 (DPA) A suicide bomber blew himself up in front of a military base in the eastern part of the Afghan capital Kabul and wounded three people, officials said Friday.

Palestinian elections due on Jan. 24 were effectively cancelled on Thursday after the independent Central Election Commission recommended postponement, saying conditions would not permit a fair vote.

Tehran, Nov 12 (RIA Novosti) Russia has to fulfill its contract on the supply of S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Iran, Iranian Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi has said.

Tehran/Berlin, Nov 10 (DPA) US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Monday called for Iran to immediately release three US hikers charged with espionage after four months of detention in Tehran.

Gaza, Nov 9 (IANS) A pro-Al Qaeda group in the Gaza Strip has fired a rocket into southern Israel Monday, the group said on its website.

Baghdad, Nov 9 (DPA) Two US pilots were killed in northern Iraq Monday when their helicopter went down, Iraqi police and the US military said.

South Sudan could face famine following low rainfall and a surge in tribal conflicts, the United Nations children's agency UNICEF said on Sunday.

Supporters of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas turned out in the West Bank on Sunday to urge him to run again for the presidency following his announcement that he did not want a second term in the job.

Thousands of Palestinians turned out in the West Bank on Sunday to urge Mahmoud Abbas to run again for the presidency following his announcement that he did not want a second term in the job.

Sudan's political parties accused each other of widespread fraud and intimidation as voters began to register for the oil-producing state's first multi-party elections in 24 years.

Saudi battles Yemeni rebels for fifth day
Al-Khubah: Saudi forces battled Yemeni rebels for a fifth straight day on Saturday as medics said seven Saudis and an unknown number of rebels had been killed. Huge plumes of smoke could be seen rising above Jebel al-Dukhan, a 2,000-metre peak that marks the frontier near the border town of Al-Khubah, some 60 km from the Red Sea coast.

Dubai, Nov 7 (IANS) At least 1.5 million pills worth nearly $4 million were seized between January and October in a crackdown on illegal drug supply in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), WAM news agency reported.

Tehran, Nov 7 (DPA) More than 100 people have been arrested on charges of 'disturbing the public order' during a demonstration earlier this week in Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported Saturday.

Tehran, Nov 7 (DPA) Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards accused Pakistan Friday of releasing the leader of a Sunni rebel group ahead of a deadly attack it carried out in southeast Iran, state television IRIB reported.

Younger Palestinian leaders were in no rush on Friday to step into the shoes of President Mahmoud Abbas after he said he did not want to run for re-election in January.

Sana'a (Yemen), Nov 6 (DPA) Saudi air force jets resumed shelling positions of Shia rebels on the country's southwestern border with Yemen for the third day Friday, the rebel group said in an e-mailed statement.