DAMASCUS- A military court has sentenced a human rights activist to one year in jail on charges of membership in a "secret" organisation, Syrian human rights groups reported on Thursday. Abdel...

BEIRUT- Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri should use his contacts to prevent Hezbollah being accused by a UN-backed tribunal probing the murder of his father Rafiq, the Shiite group's number two...

BEIRUT, Mohamad Ali Harissi- Divisions in Lebanon over a UN-backed tribunal probing the murder of the country's ex-premier deepened on Wednesday, with Hezbollah vowing to try to block financing for...

GENEVA- The UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday agreed to back a report which found "clear evidence" for legal action against Israel over its attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. The resolution,...

JERUSALEM- Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed on Wednesday his commitment to forging peace with the Palestinians at talks with visiting US envoy George Mitchell, the premier's office said....

WASHINGTON- US Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged Iyad Allawi, one of two principal contenders vying to become Iraq's next prime minister, to speed up negotiations to form an "inclusive"...

UNITED NATIONS- The new Middle East peace talks are a "dead letter" because of Israel's renewed settlement building in occupied Palestinian territories, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said...

PARIS- World leaders expressed regret and disappointment Monday after Israel announced it would not extend the 10-month moratorium on new settler homes in the West Bank. Israeli settlers resumed...

CAIRO- Former Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Maher, who served as the country's top diplomat between 2001 and 2004, died on Monday aged 75, the official MENA news agency reported. Maher died in...