Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering easing Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip to allow in supplies for some Western-funded rebuilding projects, Israeli and Western officials said on Monday. But any easing of restrictions at border crossings with the Hamas-ruled

Israeli settlers are waging court battles to evict dozens of Palestinians from homes in an Occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood, a move threatening to widen Israel's rift with US President Barack Obama over settlements. They are trying to reclaim plots of

Jewish settler mobs rampaged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Monday, hurling stones, burning fields and wounding at least four Palestinians, furious that Israel may raze some outposts in the occupied territory under US pressure. As the attacks were under way,

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will decide on Iran's nuclear program and relations with the US, irrespective of who wins this month's presidential election, a senior official said on Monday. Hoping to win votes from both reformers and conservatives, rivals

A plague of snakes has caused panic in Iraq's southern province of Nasiriyah, biting cattle and worrying residents as the reptiles flee the country's water-deprived marshes. "We have been surprised in recent days by the unprecedented number of snakes that

The interior ministry announced Monday that the first Sikorsky helicopter to fight fires arrived in Beirut and a ceremony will be held on the occasion at Beirut airport on Tuesday.Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud and a delegation from Akhdar Dayem association

Through the eyes of many, a Palestinian refugee camp might seem like a place of despair, but the children living in one refugee camp have captured the improbable beauty of their very hard lives. A photo exhibition by the children

Around 100 students from eight universities in Lebanon are coming together to create an independent youth media outlet just seven days before the parliamentary elections. The outlet, Sawt Ashabab (Youth Voice), hopes to represent young Lebanese in the media, and

Many Lebanese have a nose for money and it is never more sensitive than at election time. Some candidates in next Sunday's parliamentary polls are trying to tilt close contests in key constituencies by offering voters anything from cash and

An Ain Mreisseh street in Ras Beirut has been named after American University of Beirut (AUB) Professor Emeritus Ibrahim Dagher, who had performed the first open-heart surgery in the region in 1958, a university student said on Monday. The AUB

Egypt will supply Lebanon with 600 million cubic meters of gas each year under to help the country meet growing energy demand, Energy and Water Minister Alain Tabourian announced on Monday. Tabourian said he signed the deal with his Egyptian

In its annual review of the state of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement around the world, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) maintained Lebanon on the Watch List, as reported by Byblos Bank's Lebanon This

Egypt's seat of Islamic learning, Al-Azhar, will launch a satellite channel to give the world a better understanding of Islam and counter some Islamic outlets preaching "extremist dialogue," its architects said on Sunday. Sheikh Khaled al-Guindy, a scholar at Al-Azhar

On a fog-filled stage last week, the six women of the band Ashira ("I will sing" in Hebrew) are rocking their die-hard fans. A man enters the auditorium and is promptly asked to leave. Ashira has been playing together for

General Motors Corp. filed for bankruptcy on Monday, forcing the 100-year-old automaker once seen as a symbol of American economic might into a new and uncertain era of government ownership. The bankruptcy filing is the third-largest in US history and

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Monday reassured the Chinese government that its huge holdings of dollar assets are safe and reaffirmed his faith in a strong US currency. A major goal of Geithner's maiden visit to China as Treasury

The Federal Reserve is studying significant moves in the US government bond market last week that could have big implications for the central bank's strategy to combat the country's recession. But the Fed is not really sure what is driving

The Palestinians currently find themselves in a situation that arguably presents an excellent opportunity to drive a hard bargain in their quest for statehood. The stage is set with a US president who is committed to pushing all parties to

Report says photos contain apparent rape and sexual abuse of Iraqi prisoners

On second anniversary of abduction of five Britons in Baghdad, their families remain hopeful they will be released