Cairo- Kenneth Chan Egypt’s President reassured followers of the Coptic Church that they were full members of Egyptian society after recent clashes between Christians and Muslims, sources reported earlier this week. “In practice, we are a single people, we must stay bound by ties of affection at all times,” Egyptian …
Read More »Iraqis Despair at Struggle of Their Daily Lives
BAGHDAD – ReutersPrice spikes have turned onions into a luxury. There is barely any electricity, and the Iraqi telephone networks are so bad that a call-in show with the prime minister had to be canceled. “There we were, happy to have Iyad Allawi on air after months of working on …
Read More »Car bombs rock Mosul, White House says Iraqi elections far from perfect
BAGHDAD – AFP Twin car bombs killed at least two Iraqi soldiers in Mosul, while the White House joined the US-backed interim government in acknowledging Iraq‘s elections would be far from perfect.Against the backdrop of violence, Washington announced it has ended its fruitless hunt for weapons of mass destruction, which …
Read More »US gives up search for Iraq WMD
Iraq-BBCIntelligence officials have confirmed the US has stopped searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. They say the chief US investigator, Charles Duelfer, is not planning to return to the country. Mr Duelfer reported last year that Iraq had no stockpiles of chemical or biological weapons at the time …
Read More »European press reduce Iraqi coverage
Several news organizations will cover elections from abroad By Agence France Presse (AFP) PARIS: Threatened with kidnap or death, European journalists are reducing coverage of the Iraqi election process to a strict minimum. Both the French and the Italian governments have formally advised journalists not to travel to the violence-wracked …
Read More »Lebanon Accuses France, US of Meddling
BEIRUT – AFP Prime Minister Omar Karameh has launched a scathing attack against the ambassadors of France and the United States, accusing them of meddling in Lebanon’s domestic affairs, the press reported Thursday France and the United States sponsored a UN resolution opposed by Lebanon’s Syrian-backed government which calls for …
Read More »Top Iraqi Shiite cleric’s aide killed as Turkish businessman kidnapped
BAGHDAD – AFP An aide to Iraq’s top Shiite cleric has been murdered barely a fortnight before elections the Shiites are tipped to win, while gunmen seized a Turkish businessman and killed seven Iraqis outside a Baghdad hotel.As the country prepared for its first free and fair polls in half …
Read More »Sharon Phones Abbas in Highest Contact for Years
JERUSALEM – ReutersIsraeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon phoned Mahmoud Abbas Tuesday to congratulate him on his election as Palestinian president and offer cooperation, the highest-level contact between the sides in nearly four years. But Palestinian militants resumed rocket and mortar fire at Jewish settlements in Gaza, signaling tough challenges ahead …
Read More »Some Assyrians Face Long Trek for Voice in Iraq Vote
Would you drive 320 miles to vote? Would you do it twice in a single month? Iraq – Los Angeles – AINA Los Angeles, twice this month, to register and vote for Iraq‘s new National Assembly. “It’s very important. We have to go and vote,” said Toma, whose Assyrian Christian …
Read More »Clashes erupt on Lebanon border
Libanon-BBCThe UN said a French officer on patrol was killed by the shelling near the disputed Shebaa Farms area. A Swedish UN officer and a Lebanese man were reported wounded in the incident. The attack came after an Israeli officer died and three soldiers were hurt when Hezbollah militants hit …
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