Middle East News

Settler housing plan threatens Mideast talks
Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank are in a position to build as many as 13,000 housing units once the Israeli government’s partial freeze on construction runs out this month

Iraq: The awakening of an economic giant
Beneath the unsettled surface, Iraq, with the fourth largest oil reserves in the world, is an economic giant, slowly but surely awakening after a 30-year slumber

Iran frees female US hiker
Iran’s judiciary has freed Sarah Shourd, one of three US citizens seized as they hiked near the country’s border with Iraq last year and subsequently accused of spying on the Islamic republic

Iran-Africa cooperation can establish lasting peace: Iran
Cooperation between Iran and Africa in different fields can establish sustainable peace in the region and the world, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Wednesday.

US creditor snubs deal on Dubai World debt
Aurelius Capital Management is the only creditor not to have approved a restructuring deal on the troubled conglomerate’s $25bn of liabilities, people close to the talks say

Egypt’s building progress
Egypt has seen a prolonged property boom over the past five years as developers have tapped into pent-up demand from the affluent higher reaches in society

US: time may come for special nuke probe of Syria
A U.S. envoy on Thursday suggested time was running out for Syria to cooperate with a U.N. atomic agency probe of alleged secret nuclear activities before the agency invokes its seldom-used authority to call for a special inspection a possible prelude to U.N. Security Council involvement.

Gaza violence casts shadow on peace talks
One Palestinian man was killed and three others injured in an Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip after a spike in the number of rockets and mortars fired from the territory on Israeli towns

Israel Stocks: Israel stocks off for 3rd day
Israel stocks finish lower for a third day, led down by Israel Chemicals and Teva Pharmaceutical but offset in part by gains in a few key tech issues.

Israelis and Palestinians meet in Egypt
The leaders have travelled to Egypt for a second round of direct peace talks, but without resolving a dispute over the expansion of Jewish settlements

Barak: peace with Lebanon, Syria possible
JERUSALEM, Sept. 16 (UPI) — Peace with Lebanon and Syria is possible, Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak said while touring Israel’s northern border Thursday. Israel – Syria – Lebanon – Ehud Barak – Middle East

Fresh violence ahead of Bahrain poll
Suspected hardliners from Bahrain’s majority Shia population set off explosions targeting vehicles belonging to the security forces, in an escalation of violence a month ahead of elections

Iraqi soldiers killed by bomb; US-Iraq raid kills 7
MOSUL, Iraq – Nine Iraqi soldiers were killed on Wednesday when a roadside bomb destroyed a bus in the volatile north and at least seven people were killed in a US-Iraqi raid in western Iraq, security sources said.

Sanctions put choker on Iran oil exports
Tehran faces mounting difficulties selling its crude oil with tighter sanctions depriving the country of essential shipping and banking services

Under IAEA pressure, Syria and Iran point to Israel
Western powers pressed Syria to give U.N. inspectors access to the remains of a suspected nuclear site in the desert, but Damascus and its ally Iran said the focus should be on Israel, which bombed it to rubble.