WASHINGTON - Vietnam needs to improve its human rights record if it wants to build a close relationship with the United States, a senior US envoy said Wednesday ahead of a visit to the region....

DAMASCUS - Syrian and Arab human rights groups jointly called on the Syrian government on Wednesday to free ailing 79-year-old rights lawyer Haytham Maleh, jailed for "disseminating false...

DAMASCUS - Iraq's vice president said in Damascus on Tuesday that his country wanted to improve relations with its neighbour, which soured following last year's massive bomb attacks in Baghdad. In...

DUBAI, W.G. Dunlop - Dubai police said Tuesday they are seeking the arrest of Israel's prime minister and the head of its spy agency over the murder of a top Hamas militant in a hotel room of the...

CAIRO, Mona Salem - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas met with Arab foreign ministers on Tuesday in Cairo to weigh up holding indirect talks with Israel. The meeting, which encompassed the...

GENEVA, Hui Min Neo and Alix Rijckaert- Neutral Switzerland has dented its reputation as a global mediator as weaknesses in its foreign policy are exposed in its escalating row with Libya, analysts...

ABU DHABI, W.G. Dunlop - Dubai's police chief said on Monday the suspects in a Hamas chief's assassination in the emirate are now hiding out in Israel to avoid arrest and urged the Jewish state to...

WASHINGTON - The United States criticized Israel on Monday for authorizing more Jewish settlements in annexed Arab east Jerusalem, describing the move as "counter-productive." "We've relayed our...

RIYADH, Paul Handley - Manmohan Singh arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday for the first visit by an Indian premier to the oil kingpin in 28 years with energy imports, Middle East peace and Islamic...