World News

A U.S. Soldier stands guard outside a mobile command post at Fort Hood, Texas, Nov. 5, 2009, following an attack by a lone gunman. The attack left 13 dead and numerous injured.

photo: US Army

Death penalty rare, executions rarer in military
read more Khaleej Times

WASHINGTON ' Though the suspect in the shooting rampage at Fort Hood could face the death penalty, he will be prosecuted in a military justice system where no one has been executed in nearly a half-century. Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist alleged to have killed 13 people at the massive Army installation in Texas last week, might also...

09/30/07 - U.S. Army Paratroopers from Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 321st Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division watch as Afghan National Security Forces search people passing through a

photo: U.S. Army photo by Spc. Micah E. Clare

Envoy against troop boost
read more Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, who once served as the top U.S. military commander there, has expressed in writing his reservations about deploying additional troops to the country, three senior U.S. officials said yesterday. The position of Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry, a retired lieutenant general, puts him in stark opposition...

A man walks through a former black jail where a young woman says she was raped while being illegally detained in Beijing, China, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009.

photo: AP / Elizabeth Dalziel

China 'running illegal prisons'
read more BBC News

China is running a number of unlawful detention centres in which its citizens can be kept for months, according to Human Rights Watch. It says these centres - known as black jails - are often in state-run hotels, nursing homes or psychiatric hospitals. Among those detained are ordinary people who have travelled to Beijing to report local...

Hezbollah's chief Hassan Nasrallah speaks in a videotaped message broadcast over a giant screen in Beirut, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2008

photo: AP / AL Manar

Hezbollah leader lashes out at Obama
read more Khaleej Times

BEIRUT ' Hezbollah's leader on Wednesday accused President Barack Obama of absolute bias in favour of Israel and disregard for the dignity of Arabs and Muslims. Shaik Hassan Nasrallah said Obama has gone even farther in his military support for the Jewish state than his predecessor, George W. Bush - who was reviled in much of the Arab world for his...

Saudi soldiers are seen at army base in the southern province of Jizan, near the border with Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009.

photo: AP

Yemen rejects Iran security offer
read more Al Jazeera

The government of Yemen has declined an offer from Iran to help "restore security" and mediate an end to years of fighting with Houthi rebels, saying the conflict is internal and should be handled only by its own government. Despite that declaration, Saudi Arabian forces have been allowed to keep up their attacks on rebel positions. Manouchehr...

In this image released by the White House, President Barack Obama meets with his national security team to discuss Afghanistan in Situation Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2009.

photo: AP / The White House, Pete Souza

Obama war council weighs Afghan troop boost
read more MSNBC

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama again convened his war council on Wednesday for talks considered critical to his deliberations on boosting troop levels in the increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan. Though the White House insists Obama has yet to decide among the , U.S. officials said there was growing support among his top advisers for...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, shakes hands French President Nicolas Sarkozy upon his arrival for a meeting at the Elysee Palace, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009.

photo: AP / Christophe Ena

Netanyahu-Sarkozy talks focus on Iran, Middle East
read more Daily Star Lebanon

By Agence France Presse (AFP) Thursday, November 12, 2009 - Powered by Ron Bousso Agence France Presse PARIS: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks Wednesday in Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy focusing on Iran and the crisis in the Middle East peace process. Neither leader spoke to reporters...

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, looks on during a media conference at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.

photo: AP / Muhammed Muheisen

Abbas resists U.S. pressure to resume peace talks
read more The Star

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - The Palestinian president on Wednesday resisted U.S. pressure for a resumption of peace talks with Israel, repeating his demand for a complete halt to West Bank settlement building before negotiations. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivers a speech in the West Bank city of Ramallah November 5, 2009....

Trade and Foreign Ministers pose for a group photo at a APEC Ministerial meeting in Singapore, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. Singapore will host 21 world leaders at the APEC summit later in the week.

photo: AP / Ng Han Guan

Apec opens with call to resist protectionism
read more The Daily Tribune

11/12/2009 Singapore Asia-Pacific economies led by the United States and China opened annual talks yesterday with calls to fight protectionism or risk reversing the regions fragile economic rebound. Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said resisting protectionism was the topmost concern, as foreign and trade ministers from the 21-member...

Palestinian boys hold portraits of late leader Yasser Arafat during a ceremony to commemorate the Nakba, or the catastrophe, the Arabic term used to describe the uprooting of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians with the 1948 creation of the state of Israel, in the West Bank village of Beit Anan, near Ramallah, Saturday May 10, 2008. In the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinians staged events to remind the world that Israel's creation as been their "nakba," or catastrophe. Hundreds of thousands were uprooted during the 1948 war over Israel's creation, and some 4.5 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants are scattered across the region toda

photo: AP / Muhammed Muheisen

Palestinians remember Arafat
read more Yahoo Daily News

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) – Tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered Wednesday to honour their iconic leader Yasser Arafat, with president Mahmud Abbas due to address the rally amid a brewing political crisis. The fifth anniversary of Arafat's death finds Palestinians more divided than ever and his successor Abbas pondering resignation...