Of all the human rights that have been systematically obliterated in Lebanon over the past century or so, the most precious is, unquestionably, the right to life, especially when large numbers of human beings, innocent or not, are easily and
The Lebanese National Bloc party headed by Carlos Edde said on Thursday the government's revoking of its decisions to dismantle Hizbullah's telephone network "will be considered as a sign of weakness." The bloc said in a statement that consensual presidential
The General Labor Confederation (GLC) issued a statement on Wednesday saying that plans for the general labor strike on May 7, which escalated into the worst violence in Lebanon since the 1975-1990 Civil War, "had in fact begun over a
Minister of Transport and Public Works Mohammad Safadi said on Thursday the Lebanese have to initiate a dialogue immediately to discuss the future of their country and pave the way for a new phase of a agreement. "Overloading the Lebanese
Pakistani militants on Thursday accused the US of carrying out a missile strike in the country's lawless tribal region and vowed to avenge the attack, which killed at least 12 people. Maulvi Omar, spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, said a
A suicide bomber apparently wearing a burqa blew up in a busy bazaar in southwestern Afghanistan Thursday, killing 16 people, officials said, as eight rebels died elsewhere in the country. The extremist Taliban movement, which regularly uses suicide attacks in
Senior representatives of feuding Lebanese political parties are scheduled to begin talks on resolving their power struggle in Doha today, and the venue could not be more appropriate: Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese have effectively been made economic refugees by
Around 500 minors are currently detained by the US army in Iraq, as well as nearly a dozen juveniles in Afghanistan, a US civil liberties group revealed on Wednesday. "Since 2002, the US has held approximately 2,500 individuals under the
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday he thought more visits to Iran by private American citizens might help bridge differences between the two countries. But Gates, who in 2004 advocated greater diplomatic engagement with Iran, said he believed it
Saudi Arabia will tell US President George W. Bush on Friday that he must push for a settlement of the Palestinian problem if he wants to counter Iran's growing clout in the Middle East, analysts say. And despite tensions with
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sacked his interior minister, the ninth cabinet change in his near three-year presidency, the government daily Iran reported on Thursday. Ahmadinejad has appointed political ally Mehdi Hashemi as caretaker of the ministry, replacing the Mostafa
A female Afghan journalist was stabbed and wounded Thursday, authorities said, a day after unknown men threatened to kill her unless she quit her job at a local television station. The Information Ministry said the attack on Nelofar Habibi, a
Libyan authorities have arrested 240 illegal immigrants and are preparing to repatriate them, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday. Those detained in operations around the country were of various nationalities, a statement said without giving details of when the arrests
An explosion Thursday at a dairy plant near Ankara killed two workers and injured five, Anatolia news agency reported. The explosion ripped through a compound where a steam boiler was operating, police told Anatolia. It was not immediately known what
The United Nations on Thursday evacuated its civilian staff from Sudan's flashpoint town of Abyei where clashes flared for a second day between the army and southern ex-rebels. "We evacuated all our staff over the last 36 hours, that is
Oil prices surged nearly $2 a barrel Thursday as the dollar fell against the euro and investors anticipated strong demand for diesel fuel in parts of China ravaged by Monday's earthquake.Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose $1.87 to $126.09
Iraqi security forces carried out mass arrests in the main northern city of Mosul on Thursday as a major crackdown against Al-Qaeda entered its second day, officials said. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who traveled to Mosul on Wednesday to spearhead
Palestinians protested across the Occupied Territories and the region on Thursday to mark the 60th anniversary of the Nakba, or catastrophe, of the birth of Israel and the exodus of hundreds of thousands of refugees. The commemoration of the Nakba
Visiting US President George W. Bush vowed on Thursday to support Israel in battling "terror" groups as the nation marked the 60th of its creation over top Palestinian land. "America stands with you in breaking up terrorist networks and denying
