Iraqi Kurd president makes symbolic Baghdad visit
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The president of Iraqi Kurdistan, Masoud Barzani, visited Baghdad on Sunday for the first time in more than two years, in a symbolic step to resolve disputes between the central government and the autonomous region over land and oil…
Britain deports cleric Abu Qatada after legal marathon
LONDON/AMMAN (Reuters) – A radical Muslim cleric once called “Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe” was deported from Britain to Jordan on Sunday, ending years of British government efforts to send him back home to face terrorism charges.
Gunmen attack Sinai checkpoints close to Israel border
CAIRO (Reuters) – Armed men attacked four security checkpoints on Sunday in the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid, close to Egypt’s border with Israel and the Gaza Strip, part of an upsurge of violence there since Wednesday’s overthrow of Islamist Pres…
Syria’s Brotherhood says West must step up arms to rebels
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood called on Sunday for the United States and Europe to deliver the rebels promised military support after the opposition’s National Coalition voted in a new president and ended a months-long …
Two more die in Saudi Arabia from MERS coronavirus
RIYADH (Reuters) – Two more people have died of the SARS-like coronavirus MERS, Saudi Arabia’s Health Ministry said, bringing to 38 the number of deaths from the disease inside the country shortly before Islam’s Ramadan fast when many pilgrims visit.
Egyptian security forces raid Al Jazeera’s Cairo office: Al Jazeera
CAIRO (Reuters) – The Qatari-owned media company Al Jazeera reported on Sunday that Egyptian security forces had raided its Cairo office.
Israeli cabinet approves ultra-Orthodox conscription law
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s cabinet approved a draft law on Sunday to abolish wholesale exemptions from military duty granted to Jewish seminary students, stoking ultra-Orthodox anger over the break with tradition.
Pakistan brings back death penalty, to anger of rights groups
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s new government, trying to appear determined to rein in escalating crime and militancy, has ended a ban on the death penalty, in a move condemned by international organizations as inhuman and retrograde.
Egypt’s central bank governor flies to Abu Dhabi
CAIRO (Reuters) – The governor of Egypt’s central bank, Hisham Ramez, flew to Abu Dhabi on Sunday, officials at Cairo airport said, following Egyptian media reports Cairo was seeking financial aid from Gulf states after the ousting of Islamist presiden…
Back to the future for Egypt’s state media
CAIRO (Reuters) – “The army and people, one hand!” was the rallying cry of jubilant masses of Egyptians in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on the night Hosni Mubarak fell, and again last Wednesday, when the army overthrew elected President Mohamed Mursi.
