Middle East News

Afghan governor warns Dutch over pullout: report

LONDON (AFP) - - The governor of an Afghan province pleaded Tuesday with the Netherlands not to withdraw troops from the region next year, warning its job is "only half finished," a report said.

Brazil's president urges West to work with Iran

BRASILIA, Brazil - Iran's leader got a welcoming bear hug from the Brazilian president, who urged Western nations to drop threats of punishment over the Iranian nuclear program and instead negotiate a fair solution.

Peacekeepers should prepare to leave Darfur - Sudan

By Louis Charbonneau

TV: Israel proposing 10-month settlement freeze

JERUSALEM - Israel TV reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is proposing a 10-month freeze in construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Iraq vote in fresh doubt as new bill faces veto

BAGHDAD (AFP) - - Iraq's upcoming general election will be delayed, a top MP warned, because an amended electoral law agreed on Monday is likely to be vetoed for a second time by the country's Sunni vice president.

Iran's Ahmadinejad on controversial trip to Brazil

BRASILIA (AFP) - - Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday began a controversial visit to Brazil, the key leg of a tour to sympathetic Latin American and African countries he sees backing Tehran's vision of "a new world order."

Israel has history of uneven prisoner swap deals

Palestinians said Monday that negotiators were close to exchanging an Israeli soldier held by Gaza militants for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Iranian official in fake degree scandal dies

TEHRAN, Iran - Former Iranian Interior Minister Ali Kordan, who was dismissed after being accused of faking a law degree from the University of Oxford, has died, reports said Monday.

No deal yet on Shalit prisoner swap: Israeli PM

JERUSALEM (AFP) - - Israel has not yet reached a prisoner-swap deal with Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday as efforts for the release of soldier Gilad Shalit appeared to gather pace.

Iran police arrest 12 couples for partner swapping

TEHRAN (AFP) - - Iran's moral police have arrested a dozen couples for engaging in illicit sexual acts, including swapping of partners, the conservative Jomhuri Eslami reported on Monday.

Afghan security plans 'a tall order'

KABUL (AFP) - - Afghan government plans to boost army and police numbers massively have been greeted with scepticism by diplomats and military experts who say the figures are too ambitious.

Iraq says October 25 bombers came from Syria: spokesman

BAGHDAD (AFP) - - Iraq on Sunday for the first time said that the bombers who killed more than 150 people in Baghdad on October 25 came from neighbouring Syria, but steered well clear of accusing Damascus of collusion.

Iran wants nuclear fuel guarantees, warns against air attack

TEHRAN (AFP) - - Iran's envoy to the UN atomic watchdog said on Sunday that Tehran wants a guaranteed supply of fuel for a research reactor as a military chief warned that any attack on its nuclear sites would be crushed.

Sudan delays elections by six days

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan on Sunday announced a six-day delay to long-awaited elections to make up for hold-ups in registering millions of voters in the oil-producing country.

Iran releases ex-official on bail in mass trial

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran released a former vice president on a $700,000 bail Sunday after his lawyer said he had been sentenced to six years in prison in the mass trial of opposition figures accused of fomenting the post-election unrest.

Egypt's president warns Israel over Jerusalem

Iran's Mousavi tells government to end intimidation

By Fredrik Dahl and Hashem Kalantari

Iran begins war games to protect nuclear sites

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran on Sunday began large-scale air defense war games aimed at protecting the country's nuclear facilities against any possible attack, state television reported.

Pakistan troops repulse militant attack

KHAR, Pakistan (AFP) - - Pakistani troops on Sunday repulsed an attack by militants on one of their posts in a lawless tribal region, killing 11 rebels, officials said.