Middle East
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Ahmadinejad rivals cement hold on Iran parliament
2012-05-05 06:34:52 UTC
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Final results for many constituencies in Iran's parliamentary runoff elections show conservative rivals of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad winning a solid majority of seats and cementing their hold on the legislature.
The parliament has no direct control over major policy mat...
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Syrians questioning whether armed revolt works
2012-05-04 18:01:50 UTC
BEIRUT (AP) — The woman wearing a blood-red dress stood in the middle of a busy intersection outside Syria's parliament holding up a red banner: "Stop the killing, we want to build a homeland for all Syrians." Drivers tooted their horns and supporters clapped.
Rima Dali's act of defiance last ...
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Rabin killer's brother released from Israel prison
2012-05-04 05:46:46 UTC
JERUSALEM (AP) — The brother of the man who killed Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin has been released from prison after 16 1/2 years.
Hagai Amir was serving a sentence for complicity in the 1995 killing. His brother Yigal Amir is serving a life sentence for gunning down the prime minister ...
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4 students killed as Syrian forces raid university
2012-05-03 20:17:13 UTC
BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian forces stormed student dormitories during an anti-government protest at Aleppo University Thursday, firing tear gas and bullets in an hours-long siege that killed at least four students and forced the closure of the state-run school, activists said.
U.N. truce observers to...
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Hamas says it's holding talks with 5 EU countries
2012-05-02 19:41:51 UTC
BEIRUT (AP) — The Palestinian Islamist Hamas has been holding secret political talks with five European Union member states in recent months, a senior official in the militant group told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
If confirmed, such talks would be a sign that the isolation of Hamas is ...
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US-Afghan pact achieved despite Karzai's rhetoric
2012-05-02 18:50:36 UTC
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan's president has branded his U.S. allies as corrupt, wasteful and contemptuous of Afghan lives. Once he even threatened to join the Taliban. Nonetheless, Hamid Karzai signed a deal that could keep thousands of U.S. troops in his country for years.
Despite h...
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Israeli ministers: Election won't affect Iran
2012-05-02 18:28:33 UTC
JERUSALEM (AP) — Two top Israeli security officials said Wednesday that the prospect of early national elections will have no influence over a decision over whether to strike Iranian nuclear sites.
Both Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon said in published commen...
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Iran seeks sanctions rollback as nuke talk goal
2012-05-02 18:03:34 UTC
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has made no secret of its hopes for the next round of nuclear negotiations with world powers: Pledges by the West to ease sanctions as a step toward deal making by Tehran.
Iran's pitch is certain to smack head-on into resistance and counter proposals by the West. But i...
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Army mortar shells kill 10 in Syrian village
2012-05-01 18:34:31 UTC
BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian forces fired mortar shells into a farming village Tuesday, killing 10 people, among them two young children, and sending panicked residents running for cover, activists said.
U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous deplored the ongoing violence and promised to put 300 observ...
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Suicide blasts kill 9 in Syrian city of Idlib
2012-04-30 15:44:48 UTC
BEIRUT (AP) — Two suicide bombers blew up cars rigged with explosives near a military compound and a hotel in northwestern Syria on Monday, killing at least nine people and wounding nearly 100, state media said.
The powerful blasts, which tore two craters into the ground and ripped the facade ...
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Israel says inclusion on UN list 'absurd'
2012-04-30 15:28:01 UTC
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's Foreign Ministry has criticized a U.N. statement that places the country on a list of nations it says are moving to further restrict advocacy and rights groups.
Spokesman Yigal Palmor on Monday called Israel's inclusion on the list "absurd."
The office of the U.N. ...
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Prime Minister Netanyahu's father dies at 102
2012-04-30 05:53:10 UTC
JERUSALEM (AP) — Benzion Netanyahu, historian, Zionist activist and influential father of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, died Monday in his Jerusalem home, the Israeli leader's office said. He was 102.
Born Benzion Mileikowsky in Warsaw, Poland, Netanyahu was a devout follower of r...
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Weaker al-Qaida still plots payback for US raid
2012-04-30 02:10:05 UTC
WASHINGTON (AP) — A year after the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida is hobbled and hunted, too busy surviving for the moment to carry out another Sept. 11-style attack on U.S. soil.
But the terrorist network dreams still of payback, and U.S. counterterrorist officials warn that,...
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Austria: Ex-Libya oil chief found dead in Danube
2012-04-29 19:58:52 UTC
VIENNA (AP) — Libya's former oil minister, who last year announced he was abandoning Moammar Gadhafi's regime to support the rebels who ultimately toppled him, was found dead Sunday in a section of the Danube river flowing through Vienna, Austrian police said.
Police spokesman Roman Hahslinger...
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Egypt military rulers promise government reshuffle
2012-04-29 19:07:12 UTC
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's ruling military council promised Sunday to reshuffle the Cabinet, hours after the Islamist-dominated parliament suspended sessions to protest the panel's failure to heed repeated calls for the government's dismissal.
Parliament Speaker Saad el-Katatni said he received a ca...
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Official says Israeli premier exploring early vote
2012-04-29 19:03:26 UTC
JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to decide by next week whether to move up national elections, an Israeli official said Sunday.
Parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 2013. but Netanyahu told political allies on Sunday that he would not cave in to "extortion"...
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Wife: Bahrain hunger striker fed against his will
2012-04-29 17:47:18 UTC
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — The wife of a jailed Bahraini hunger striker was granted her first visit in two weeks Sunday, then accused authorities of using feeding tubes and other life-saving measures on her husband against his will.
In recent weeks, the case of rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja...
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Syrian: Iran arming Syrian army to fight the rebels
2012-04-29 07:46:53 UTC
Syrian opposition: Some neighboring countries, particularly Iran and Iraq, are arming the Syrian military to continue the fight with the opposition, one of the leaders of the Syrian opposition, who wished to remain anonymous, told Trend on Saturday.
According to the source, the authorities the...
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Dubai spends $250M to get full control of Atlantis
2012-04-28 23:45:57 UTC
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai says it now has full control of the Atlantis resort hotel perched atop its palm-shaped island.
State-run investment firm Istithmar World said late Friday it paid $250 million to buy out financially troubled business partner Kerzner International Holding...
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Israeli ex-intel chief slams PM's Iran stance
2012-04-28 23:31:34 UTC
JERUSALEM (AP) — The former head of Israel's Shin Bet security agency has accused the country's political leaders of exaggerating the effectiveness of a possible military attack on Iran, in a striking indication of Israel's turmoil over how to deal with the Iranian nuclear program.
Yuval Diski...
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Syria derides UN chief as peace plan in crisis
2012-04-28 21:47:35 UTC
BEIRUT (AP) — Syria derided U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon as biased and called his comments "outrageous" Saturday after he blamed the regime for widespread cease-fire violations — the latest sign of trouble for an international peace plan many expect to fail.
In new fighting Saturday, activists said ...
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ElBaradei returns to Egypt politics with new party
2012-04-28 21:40:11 UTC
CAIRO (AP) — Reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei launched a new political party Saturday that he said aims to unite Egyptians and save the country's revolution from a messy democratic transition.
The Constitution Party marks a return to public life for ElBaradei, who declared in January that he wo...
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Gunmen kill 2 guards in attack on Afghan governor
2012-04-28 16:28:54 UTC
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Two Taliban militants hiding handguns in their shoes infiltrated a government compound in southern Afghanistan on Saturday in an attempt to assassinate a provincial governor, setting off a fierce gunbattle that left two security guards and both attackers dead.
The ...
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Iraq leaders call for solution to political crisis
2012-04-28 16:05:50 UTC
BAGHDAD (AP) — Leaders from nearly all of Iraq's top political blocs called Saturday for a solution to a crisis pitting the Shiite-led government against Sunnis and Kurds, saying the dispute threatens the country's national interests.
The statement came after three days of meetings that brough...
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Syria accuses UN chief of encouraging 'terrorists'
2012-04-28 15:47:12 UTC
BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian state-run newspaper accused U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday of encouraging "terrorist" rebel attacks by focusing his criticism on the government, while other government media reported that the navy foiled an infiltration attempt by gunmen who tried to land on...