Middle East News

An upcoming concert by Paul McCartney has revived memories of the 1960s, when an Israeli official supposedly called off a Beatles concert for fear it would corrupt the nation's youth.

TOURISM CHIEFS PLAN 'BAGHDAD EYE' Tourism chiefs want to build a 'Baghdad Eye' Thursday August 28,2008 Iraq is calling on companies to submit designs to build a giant Ferris wheel in Baghdad -- the latest in a ...

Aug. 27 - Palestinian police find a mentally disabled brother and sister who were imprisoned by their father for 20 years.

Scientists using American space technology have started a huge project to digitally photograph the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest known version of the Hebrew Bible, and post it on the Internet for all to see, ...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United States asked Iraq for permission to maintain a troop presence there to 2015, but U.S. and Iraqi negotiators agreed to limit their authorization to 2011, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said.

"It was a U.S. proposal for the date which is 2015, and an Iraqi one which is 2010, then we agreed to make it 2011. Iraq has the right, if necessary, to extend the presence of these troops," Talabani said in an interview with al-Hurra television, a transcript of which was posted on his party's website on Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for protesters who defied a blockade of Gaza by entering by sea says one was arrested after returning to Israel by land.

A former security adviser to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said in comments published Tuesday that he had quit his job so he can freely speak about what he called the danger Iran poses in the Middle East.

Tue, Aug 26, 2008 A man suspected of being one of Israel's most powerful crime bosses is charged with using a Los Angeles gang to distribute a million Ecstasy pills and paying one of the gang's members to kill ...

HEBRON, West Bank (Reuters) - A Palestinian man imprisoned his two mentally ill children for more than 20 years in a dungeon he dug under his house because he was ashamed of them, Palestinian police said on Tuesday.

Police officers found the brother and his sister, in their 30s, in an unlit and unventilated dungeon during a raid against arms and drug dealers in the West Bank village of Beit Awa.

The father told police he has imprisoned his children because he did not want people to laugh at him for bringing "abnormal children to this world".

Anonymous August 26, 2008 12:06 PM EDT SEOUL, South Korea - Just two months ago, North Korea blew up the cooling tower at its main nuclear reactor, a dramatic act meant to show the world it was committed to ...

Three blasts killed at least 34 Iraqis on Tuesday, most of them in a suicide car bombing that struck a group of police recruits, officials said.

OIL prices edged higher on Monday in choppy, thin trade as the major Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline resumed operations after repairs from a fire and fresh unrest in Nigeria's oil-rich south.

ONE of two US Marines facing court martial for their alleged role in the slaying of unarmed civilians in Fallujah, Iraq in 2004, pleaded not guilty to charges of unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty,. ...

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel are focused on the thorny issue of how much Syrian territory is under Israeli occupation, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Monday.

In the first official comment on the content of the talks, which began in May under Turkish mediation, Moualem said the two sides were seeking agreement on land Syria controlled before Israel occupied the Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East war.

"We feel that the two sides are serious about solving the lingering issues that are being discussed. Foremost is determination of the June 4, 1967 line," Moualem told reporters after meeting his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme religious leader, responded to mounting domestic criticism of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with a strong statement of support, praising his internal policies and his ...

Happiness and optimism may help guard against breast cancer, while adverse life events may increase breast cancer risk, Israeli researchers said.

Visitors enjoy the day in-line skating in Liberation Gardens, a former military camp under Saddam Hussein's regime now turned into a garden and amusement park, in Sulaimaniyah in the Kurdistan region of Iraq ...

Monday, August 25, 2008 GAZA CITY: Dozens of pro-Palestinian activists from 17 countries toured the Gaza Strip on Sunday after their two fishing boats were allowed in despite an Israeli naval blockade of the ...

A passenger plane bound for Iran crashed shortly after takeoff from the Kyrgyzstan capital of Bishkek on Sunday, claiming the lives of 68 people onboard, the health ministry said.

Sir Paul McCartney is set to perform in Israel, 40 years after his legendary band, the Beatles, were banned from playing in the Holy Land.

Israeli media were abuzz with excitement on Sunday with news of McCartney's visit. The rock star was scheduled to play earlier in the year, but the show was canceled. Israeli media reported McCartney would perform in Tel Aviv on September 25.

Tel Aviv city officials could not be reached to confirm the report. McCartney's publicist, Stuart Bell said, 'Nothing's been confirmed.'