Middle East News

TEHRAN, Iran - An Iranian news agency reports that the judiciary has after just a day lifted its ban on a popular newspaper which ran a photo of a Baha'i temple.

RAMALLAH, West Bank - At the top of the list of Palestinian prisoners likely to be freed in a possible swap for an Israeli soldier is a firebrand politician many Palestinians believe is a likely future president who can pull them out of their current political deadlock.

BAGHDAD - Google is documenting Iraq's national museum and will post photographs of its ancient treasures on the Internet early next year, Google chief Eric Schmidt announced Tuesday.

BAGHDAD - A senior official said Tuesday that Iraq must delay a national vote scheduled for January because of a political dispute, and the vice president who triggered the crisis indicated he would veto a key election law for a second time.

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran said Tuesday it was ready to exchange its low-enriched uranium with a higher enriched material, but only on its own soil, to guarantee the West follows through with promises to give the fuel.

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's official news agency reports a political activist and former head of the Tehran municipal council has been released on bail in the mass trial of opposition figures accused of fomenting the post-election unrest.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - For years just an obscure fight raging in remote desert mountains, Yemen's war with Shiite rebels has been dragged up to a new level, inflaming the rivalry between the Middle East's two powerhouses Saudi Arabia and Iran.

JERUSALEM - Israel's military says it has carried out three airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, targeting a weapons-manufacturing facility and weapons smuggling tunnels.

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

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AFP) - The world's largest annual religious pilgrimage began on Wednesday but was overshadowed by the swine flu pandemic as 2.5 million Muslims massed at the holy city of Mecca for the hajj.

CARACAS (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Caracas for a meeting on Wednesday with President Hugo Chavez, as the two outspoken anti-US leaders try to boost ties.

SANAA (Reuters) - Around 200 protesters gathered outside the Iranian embassy in the Yemeni capital on Wednesday, shouting slogans against what Yemen says is Iranian backing for northern rebels.

SANAA (AFP) - Yemen said on Wednesday it has ordered the closure of the Iranian hospital and clinic in Sanaa due to what it said was Iran's support of the facilities and lack of transparency in their accounts.

GAZA CITY (AFP) - The Hamas-run government in Gaza said on Wednesday it would begin requiring all Palestinians wishing to enter Israel from the besieged territory to obtain permits three days in advance.

CARACAS, Venezuela - Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won support for his country's nuclear ambitions and expanded his reach in Latin America in a three-country goodwill tour that took him to close ally Venezuela for his final stop.

KARBALA, Iraq (AFP) - Two bombs within minutes of each other exploded at a restaurant early Wednesday in Iraq's shrine city of Karbala, wounding at least 26 people, police and medical officials said.

CARACAS (Reuters) - Opposition parties and the Jewish community criticized a visit by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Venezuela, citing worries over his denial of the Holocaust, human rights violations and Iran's nuclear program.

JERUSALEM (AFP) - An Israeli minister said on Tuesday that an agreement with Hamas to swap a Gaza-held soldier for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners was "very close," despite earlier efforts to rein in speculation.

VIENNA (AFP) - World powers have drafted a resolution to be voted on by the UN atomic watchdog later this week condemning Iran for concealing a second uranium enrichment site, diplomats said on Tuesday.

RIYADH (AFP) - Saudi King Abdullah and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero held talks on boosting bilateral ties and the situation in the Middle East, the official SPA news agency said on Wednesday.

LA PAZ (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Bolivia for a short visit Tuesday and promptly issued a joint statement with President Evo Morales on the right of all nations to pursue nuclear energy for peaceful ends.

LONDON (AFP) - The first full-scale inquiry into Britain's role in the Iraq war opened with testimony suggesting Washington was gearing up for possible conflict two years before Tony Blair led London to war.

BAGHDAD (AFP) - The United States upped pressure on Iraqi politicians on Tuesday to reach a deal on holding elections as Washington sought to avoid delays on the pullout of thousands of troops from the country.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran could consider sending its low-enriched uranium abroad, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, apparently softening its opposition to a U.N. plan aimed at keeping a check on its nuclear ambitions.

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - US President Barack Obama is "doing nothing right now" to restart the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said in an interview published Tuesday.

AMMAN (AFP) - Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday ordered his government to amend the country's controversial election law and ensure a "transparent" vote, a day after he dissolved parliament.

SAN'A, Yemen - A Japanese engineer seized by Yemeni tribesmen seeking to swap him for a prisoner with al-Qaida links was released Monday after a week in captivity.

VIENNA (Reuters) - Six world powers have drafted a resolution at the UN nuclear watchdog urging Iran to clarify the purpose of its previously secret uranium enrichment site and confirm it has no more hidden atomic work, diplomats said.

PARIS (AFP) - A French attempt to win a 41-billion-dollar (27.2-billion-euro) contract to build nuclear power stations in the Emirates is at risk over pricing, the La Tribune newspaper reported on Wednesday.