20 flights without bags after Egypt airport strike

By AYA BATRAWY

Egyptian officials say baggage handlers in Cairo's airport have gone on strike to protest a colleague's death, leaving passengers on 20 intern…

Suspected US drone in Yemen kills 4 militants

By AHMED AL-HAJ

A suspected U.S. drone strike killed four al-Qaida militants Saturday in a southern Yemeni province once overrun by the group, according to se…

Blasts rock Libya's capital and eastern city

ESAM MOHAMED

Libyan officials say explosions went off in the capital Tripoli and the restive eastern city of Benghazi, but no casualties were reported.

AP PHOTOS: Palestinians in Egypt exiled, forgotten

By AYA BATRAWY

In 1948, Suleiman Mamoudi fled by foot with his parents and other families from their village of Bir el-Sabae in Palestine. The 28-year-old an…

Egyptians targeted with blasphemy charges

By MAGGIE MICHAEL

The pale, young Christian woman sat handcuffed in the courtroom, accused of insulting Islam while teaching history of religions to fourth-grad…

Egypt Muslim-Christian clashes leave 1 dead

By MARIAM RIZK

Egyptian security officials say clashes between Muslims and Christians in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria left one man dead of a hea…

Egypt security forces clash with Cairo protesters

By SARAH EL DEEB

Egyptian security forces have fired tear gas at protesters hurling firebombs at them in central Cairo, hours after hundreds of opponents of Eg…

Tunisia bans conservative Islamist conference

By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA

Tunisia's Interior Ministry on Friday banned a conference by the North African country's most prominent ultraconservative Islamic group, setti…

Egypt police close Gaza border to protest kidnap

By MAGGIE MICHAEL

Dozens of disgruntled border policemen forced the closure of Egypt's main crossing point into the Gaza Strip on Friday to protest the abductio…

Iraqi officials: bomb strikes a Sunni area in Baghdad, raising overall daily death toll to 58.

A look at `enforced disappearances' worldwide

By The Associated Press

The U.N. Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances is pressing governments to provide information about open cases. Over the pas…

Rights groups: Syria holds thousands incommunicado

By KARIN LAUB

About 30 security agents showed up just after midnight, breaking down the door to an apartment in the town of Daraya near the Syrian capital o…

Hints of political change on horizon in Algeria

By PAUL SCHEMM

The Arab Spring may finally be en route to Algeria.

Iran may ban candidates who seek ties with US

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI

The head of Iran's constitutional watchdog says it may disqualify candidates in June presidential elections who seek full relations with the U…

Report: Bahrain police search home of top cleric

Associated Press

A main opposition group in Bahrain says police have searched the home of the Gulf nation's most senior Shiite cleric, who has strongly sided w…

CIA chief makes unannounced Israel visit

An Israeli defense official says the head of the American CIA spy agency has made an unannounced visit to Israel.

Coptic cleric says he will sue Israeli police

An Egyptian Coptic cleric who was mistreated during Orthodox Easter services is threatening to sue.

Report: Torture evidence found in Syrian prisons

By ALBERT AJI

A human rights group says it has found documents and physical evidence indicating Syrians were arbitrarily detained and tortured in government…

Syria ex-minister leads rebuilding plan

By BARBARA SURK

A six-member U.N. team led by a former Syrian planning minister is drawing up a comprehensive postwar reconstruction plan even as the country'…

UN: 14 Iranian exiles moved from Iraq to Albania

By SAMEER N. YACOUB

The first exiles from an Iranian opposition group have moved to Albania from a camp near Baghdad as part of a relocation process, the United N…

Saudi officials expand labs to track deadly virus

Saudi Arabia says it has dedicated nine additional laboratories to help investigators track a deadly new respiratory virus related to SARS tha…

Jordan jet crashes near Syrian border, 2 killed

By JAMAL HALABY

Jordan's military says a trainer jet has crashed near the Syrian border, killing its two Jordanian pilots.

US Navy tests anti-mine drones in Gulf drills

The U.S. Navy is putting underwater drones through wartime-style drills as part of international mine-clearing exercises in the Persian Gulf f…

Confrontation looms as Tunisia moves on salafis

By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA

Tunisia is taking a harder line on preaching by ultraconservative Muslim groups, a crackdown that has sparked demonstrations by rock-throwing …

Israel: Mortar shells from Syria hit Mt. Hermon

By ARON HELLER

Israel's military says stray mortar shells from the fighting in Syria have struck a popular tourist site, Mt. Hermon in the Golan Heights.

Critics assail Israeli silence on Arab peace plan

By JOSEF FEDERMAN

On the surface, the Arab League's improved peace initiative offers Israel everything it ever dreamed of _ normal relations with an entire regi…

Attacks against Lebanese Alawites deepen fears

By BASSEM MROUE

Lebanese members of the Syrian leader's Alawite sect fear their tiny community will be a casualty of the civil war raging in the neighboring country.

Israeli leader under fire for costly lifestyle

By ARON HELLER

For years, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been saddled with an image of a cigar-smoking, cognac-drinking socialite. Now a new d…

Palestinian rivals promise unity government

A leading Palestinian official says rival groups Fatah and Hamas have agreed to form a national unity government in three months.

Jerusalem family tattoos pilgrims for centuries

By DANIELA BERRETTA and IAN DEITCH

Orthodox Christians visiting the Holy Land often return home with more than just spiritual memories. Many drop by a centuries-old tattoo parlo…

Iran expresses regret over killing Afghans

Iran has expressed regret for the shooting deaths of Afghan migrants entering the country illegally over the weekend.

Saudi Arabia: 4 news cases of SARS-linked virus

Saudi Arabia has confirmed four new cases of a deadly new respiratory virus related to SARS that appears centered in the Arabian Peninsula but…

Attacks on Sunni mosques fuel fears in Iraq

By SAMEER N. YACOUB

A sharp rise in attacks on Sunni holy sites in Iraq is feeding fears that the country could spiral into a new round of sectarian violence simi…

Verdict in trial of Egypt activist on June 3

By MARIAM RIZK

Egypt's state news agency says judges have decided to keep a prominent activist in detention until June 3, when a verdict is expected on a cha…

Report: Lawmakers join complaint on president

A report says more than half the members of Iran's parliament have joined a complaint against the president for accompanying his chief adviser…

Israel minister criticizes Russia over Syria arms

An Israeli Cabinet minister is accusing Russia of destabilizing the Middle East by selling weapons to Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.

Iran says $100 per barrel is 'fair' price for oil

Iran's oil minister says the country supports prices of $100 for a barrel of crude.

Egypt's Mubarak talks for 1st time since detention

By SARAH EL DEEB

In his first comments to the media since he was detained more than two years ago, Egypt's ousted leader Hosni Mubarak said he is dismayed at t…

Leading candidates in Iran's presidential race

By The Associated Press

The following are potential front-runners in Iran's June 14 presidential election to succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The list of candidates will …

Iran's cunning Rafsanjani seeks one more shot

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI and BRIAN MURPHY

Signs on currency exchange shops in Tehran explained why the doors where temporarily shut: Waiting to see if former President Akbar Hashemi Ra…

Party's withdrawal threatens Moroccan govt

By SMAIL BELLAOUALLI

Morocco's second largest political party has announced it is withdrawing from the Islamist-led government elected during the Arab Spring and l…

Israel grounds drone aircraft fleet after crash

By TIA GOLDENBERG

Israel's military has grounded a fleet of high altitude surveillance drones after one was downed over the Mediterranean Sea.

Correction: Mideast-Young and Hopeless-Glance

By The Associated Press

In a May 11 glance about Mideast economic figures, The Associated Press erroneously reported that the regional gross domestic product is nearl…

Egypt's Mubarak talks for 1st time since detention

Egypt's former president, Hosni Mubarak, has spoken to the public for the first time since his detention two years ago, saying he is dismayed …

Thousands in Israel protest proposed budget

Israeli police say protesters are marching in Tel Aviv over proposed tax hikes and benefit cuts.

Job training, loans ease Arab youth unemployment

By KARIN LAUB

Just six months of learning to mend air conditioners changed Mohammed Nabouti's life.

Vendor's suicide reflects despair of Mideast youth

By KARIN LAUB

On the day he chose to die, Adel Khedri woke up at 6:30 a.m., took his black backpack and headed down to the busy boulevard where he worked as…

Iran lifts ban on Reuters news agency

An Iranian semi-official news agency says a court has lifted a ban on the Reuters news agency, allowing it to restart its operations in Iran.

Saudi king replaces air force commander

Saudi Arabia's monarch has replaced the commander of the kingdom's air force.

Strong quake jolts southern Iran, 15 injured

Iranian state TV says a strong 6.2 magnitude earthquake has jolted the south of the country, injuring at least 15 people.

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