BEIRUT - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has given final approval to the establishment of diplomatic relations with Lebanon, after intense pressure from both France and the United States. Damascus had never formally recognized its smaller neighbor since both countries gained independence from France in 1943. 
After months of pressure from the United States, France and a […]

WASHINGTON - The United States is cautioning Syria against new intervention in Lebanon following a terrorist attack in Damascus late last month that Syria has blamed on Lebanon-based militants. U.S. officials say they have been monitoring Syrian military activity along the Lebanese border.  
U.S. officials are expressing concern about Syrian military moves along the Lebanese border […]

BAGHDAD - Egypt has sent its foreign minister to Iraq for the first time in nearly two decades to expand relations between the countries.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit met his Iraqi counterpart, Hoshyar Zebari, and visited locations for an Egyptian embassy while in Baghdad Sunday.
Officials say the two sides discussed the possibility of Egypt […]

WASHINGTON - Bahrain’s foreign minister is calling for Arab countries to form a regional group that includes rivals Iran and Israel. 
Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa says the organization could get under way even if not all members recognize each other.
Of the Arab states, only Egypt and Jordan recognize Israel. Non-Arab Iran is particularly opposed […]

BEIRUT - A car bomb has exploded in the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli, apparently targeting a Lebanese Army bus.  Five people, including at least three soldiers, were killed in the blast and at least 21 people were wounded.  
Red Cross and civil defense ambulances ferried the wounded to nearby hospitals after a car-bomb exploded […]

BEIRUT - A car bomb has exploded in the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing at least 17 people and wounding 14 others. 
Syrian state television says the vehicle, packed with 200 kilograms of explosives, went off Saturday near a crowded intersection, leading to the holy shrine of Sayyeda Zeinab, popular with Shi’ite Muslim pilgrims.
Shi’ite pilgrims from both […]

BEIRUT - Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh is threatening to track down Islamic militants and arrest them inside their houses, following a crackdown, yesterday, in which at least 25 alleged suspects in Wednesday’s attack on the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa were detained.
Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh minced no words in condemning the perpetrators of Wednesday’s […]

WASHINGTON - Authorities in Yemen have arrested at least 25 people with suspected links to al-Qaida in connection with Wednesday’s attack on the U.S. embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
The assault killed six Yemeni security personnel and four bystanders, including an 18-year-old American woman and the Yemeni man she recently married.  Six attackers also were […]

WASHINGTON - Islamist militants are claiming responsibility for a car bomb explosion outside the U.S. Embassy in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, that has killed at least 16 people.
A group calling itself Islamic Jihad in Yemen also threatened further strikes.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Ryan Gliha said several other explosions occurred after the car bomb blast Wednesday. Witnesses also […]

BEIRUT - Lebanon’s top political leaders are meeting at the presidential palace in a bid to reach a national reconciliation pact among feuding factions. Attempts to get the pro-Iranian Hezbollah to disarm, however, are threatening to derail the talks.
Fourteen of Lebanon’s top political leaders have been meeting at the country’s presidential palace, overlooking Beirut, amid […]

BEIRUT - Lebanese officials say a bomb killed a pro-Syrian politician near Beirut, just days before rival factions are due to begin national reconciliation talks.
Authorities say the bomb detonated Wednesday as Druze leader Sheik Saleh Aridi was in his car in the village of Baissour.
Aridi is the first public figure to be assassinated in Lebanon […]

CAIRO - Residents of the poor shanty town of Duwayqa were victims of a huge rockslide that saw boulders crashing down on their homes early Saturday. At least 31 people are confirmed dead and hundreds are still missing, stuck under the rubble.
Residents of Duwayqa, a shanty suburb in Cairo, were buried alive Saturday when huge […]

BEIRUT - The leaders of France, Syria, Turkey and Qatar met in Damascus Thursday to discuss the burning issues of peace between Israel and Syria, Iran’s nuclear program, and the situation in Lebanon. The four-party summit is giving Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad a forum to rejoin the international community after several years of being ostracize. 
The […]

WASHINGTON - Muslims around the world are beginning to observe the holy month of Ramadan.
Most of the world’s Muslims marked the first day of Ramadan on Monday, but the starting date varies in some countries depending on the sighting of the crescent moon.
Shi’ite Muslims in Iraq and Iran begin observing the holy month Tuesday, while […]

JERUSALEM  - Besieged Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are getting a brief reprieve thanks to a gesture from Egypt. 
Egypt reopened its Rafah border crossing with Gaza for the first time in months, allowing hundreds of Palestinians to enter the country. Both Egypt and Israel sealed their borders with Gaza after the Islamic militant group Hamas routed […]

BEIRUT - Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas is meeting with top Lebanese officials, on a two-day visit, expected to include discussions over the future of the large Palestinian refugee community in Lebanon, and the armed presence of different Palestinian factions on Lebanese soil. 
The red carpet was out, and an official honor guard stood at attention, […]

BEIRUT - Lebanon’s Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is in Iraq for trade talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. His trip comes one week after King Abdullah of Jordan became the first Arab head of state to visit Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora on Wednesday became the second top Arab […]

WASHINGTON - Syria and Lebanon have agreed to take formal steps to define their common border, a day after pledging to establish full diplomatic relations for the first time. 
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his visiting Lebanese counterpart, Michel Suleiman, announced the agreement in a joint statement Thursday. The two also agreed during a second day […]

WASHINGTON - Syria and Lebanon have agreed to establish diplomatic ties and exchange ambassadors for the first time since the two countries gained independence more than 60 years ago.

A Syrian government adviser says President Bashar al-Assad and his visiting Lebanese counterpart, Michel Suleiman, made the decision during talks Wednesday in Damascus. She says the two […]

BEIRUT - At least 16 people were killed, seven of them Lebanese Army soldiers, and more than 30 people were wounded, in an explosion targeting an intercity passenger bus in the northern port city of Tripoli. The explosion follows weeks of tensions in Tripoli and comes just hours before Lebanon’s new president Michel Suleiman was […]

BEIRUT - Lebanon’s national unity Cabinet has adopted a manifesto that allows the Hezbollah militant group to keep its weapons for fighting Israel. 
Lebanese Information Minister Tareq Mitri says the 30-member Cabinet approved the policy statement unanimously on Monday.
The move clears the way for Lebanon’s parliament to vote on it later this week. The document is […]

JERUSALEM - Rival Palestinian factions have clashed in the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by the Islamic militant group Hamas. At least four people, including two Hamas policemen, have been killed and dozens wounded.  
Machine gun and mortar fire rang out in heavily-populated Gaza City as Hamas security forces stepped up the pressure on their […]

BEIRUT - The Lebanese army has been deployed in an attempt to stop sectarian violence in the north of the country that has killed at least nine people and wounded more than 50.
Soldiers and armored vehicles patrolled the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli Saturday, as clashes continued between Sunni Muslims and rival Alawites, a Shi’ite […]

BEIRUT - The sounds of gunfire and explosions in northern Lebanon echoed through the streets of Tripoli Friday as fighting between sectarian groups intensified.
Lebanese police say at least one person has been killed and 10 wounded in Friday’s fighting between Sunni and Shi’ite gunmen.
Officials say most of the fighting has been concentrated in the Sunni […]

PARIS - Syria and Lebanon said Saturday they have agreed to establish diplomatic relations and open embassies in either country’s capital for the first time since Lebanon’s independence in 1943.
The announcement that the two countries would establish full diplomatic ties was made by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, following four-way talks between the presidents of France, […]