DUBAI- Indian President Pratibha Patil opened on Tuesday in Dubai a counseling centre for Indians working in the United Arab Emirates, a day after a rights group urged her to address the "abuse" of...

JERUSALEM, Steve Weizman- Israel's parliament on Monday passed a law calling for a national referendum ahead of any withdrawal from annexed east Jerusalem or the Golan Heights, a move that could...

UNITED NATIONS- UN investigators have overwhelming proof that Hezbollah militants carried out the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, Canadian broadcaster CBC said Monday....

BEIRUT- Qatar's premier flew to Beirut on a surprise visit on Monday in a bid to contain rising tensions in Lebanon, hours before the country's president was due to leave for Doha, the president's...

CAIRO- Egypt denied on Sunday that President Hosni Mubarak had swayed his then US counterpart George W. Bush to invade Iraq in 2003 because its leader Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass...

CAIRO, Ines Bel Aiba- Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said on Sunday that he will not return to the negotiating table with Israel without a settlement freeze that includes annexed Arab east...

WASHINGTON- US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday congratulated Lebanon on its upcoming independence day, reaffirming the US commitment to the country's unity and sovereignty. "Today,...

BERLIN- Pope Benedict XVI criticised a French law banning Muslim women from wearing the Islamic full-face veils in public, saying women should be able to wear them voluntarily, according to a book...

CAIRO- At least 100 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood were arrested across Egypt on Friday less than 10 days ahead of legislative elections, a security official and organisation members...