http://www.voanews.com/archive/middle-east/latest/594/598.html middle-east http://www.voanews.com/img/voa/rssLogo_VOA.gif http://www.voanews.com/archive/middle-east/latest/594/598.html en-US 2012 - VOA 60 Sun, 19 May 2013 14:59:35 -0400 Pangea CMS – VOA Police in Tunisia fired tear gas to disperse stone-throwing Islamists in two cities after the government banned the hardline Ansar al-Shariah group from staging its annual congress Sunday.  The events underscore the growing clout of Muslim extremists in the once staunchly secular North African country.  The assassination of secular opposition leader Chokri Belaid in February sparked Tunisia's biggest popular demonstration since its 2011 revolution.  Police blame a Salafist ... http://www.voanews.com/content/tunisian-fear-growing-threat-of-radical-islamists/1664020.html http://www.voanews.com/content/tunisian-fear-growing-threat-of-radical-islamists/1664020.html Sun, 19 May 2013 12:09:49 -0400 Africa Lisa Bryant http://www.voanews.com/content/tunisian-fear-growing-threat-of-radical-islamists/1664020.html#relatedInfoContainer Iranian authorities executed two men on Sunday convicted of working for Israeli and U.S. spy agencies, Iran's Fars news agency reported.      Mohammad Heidari, accused of passing security-related information and secrets to Israeli Mossad agents in exchange for money, and Kourosh Ahmadi, accused of gathering information for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, were hanged at dawn, it said.      The sentence for their execution was handed down by ... http://www.voanews.com/content/iran-hangs-two-spies-working-for-israel-us-report/1663962.html http://www.voanews.com/content/iran-hangs-two-spies-working-for-israel-us-report/1663962.html Sun, 19 May 2013 10:14:05 -0400 Middle East Reuters Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held out the prospect on Sunday of further Israeli strikes inside Syria, pledging to act to prevent advanced weapons from reaching Hezbollah and other militant groups.      Although Israel has not publicly taken sides in the civil war between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebels trying to topple him, Western and Israeli sources say it has launched air strikes in Syria to destroy weapons it believed were destined for Lebanon's ... http://www.voanews.com/content/netanyahu-takes-aim-at-weapons-leakage-in-syria/1663951.html http://www.voanews.com/content/netanyahu-takes-aim-at-weapons-leakage-in-syria/1663951.html Sun, 19 May 2013 09:54:38 -0400 Middle East Reuters Egyptian police enraged by the kidnapping of seven of their colleagues by Islamist gunmen in the Sinai Peninsula blocked a commercial border crossing with Israel on Sunday, security sources said. Police have been blocking another border post, the Rafah crossing into the Gaza Strip, since Friday to press the government of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, who belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood, to help free the seven. Dozens of police expanded the protest on Sunday by blocking the al-Awja ... http://www.voanews.com/content/egyptian-police-block-israel-border-crossing/1663941.html http://www.voanews.com/content/egyptian-police-block-israel-border-crossing/1663941.html Sun, 19 May 2013 09:31:00 -0400 Middle East Reuters Syrian state television says government troops have entered the rebel town of Qusair as part of a weeks-long offensive to recapture the strategic area connecting Damascus to the Mediterranean coast. Syrian TV said state security forces moved into Qusair on Sunday and began hunting down terrorists - the government's term for rebels fighting a two-year war to oust autocratic President Bashar al-Assad. A Syrian official told Western news agencies that government troops captured the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-town-of-qusair-under-fire/1663858.html http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-town-of-qusair-under-fire/1663858.html Sun, 19 May 2013 06:09:24 -0400 Middle East VOA News http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-town-of-qusair-under-fire/1663858.html#relatedInfoContainer Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says in a newspaper interview that he will not step down before next year's elections. Assad's comments were published Saturday in the Argentine newspaper, Clarin.  They were the first about his political future since the United States and Russia agreed this month to try to bring the Syrian government and opposition together for talks about a peaceful resolution to Syria's conflict. Washington and Moscow have backed opposite sides in the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/assad-says-he-will-not-step-down/1663808.html http://www.voanews.com/content/assad-says-he-will-not-step-down/1663808.html Sat, 18 May 2013 19:37:27 -0400 Middle East VOA News It was a violent day in Iraq Saturday with at least 11 people killed and 10 policemen kidnapped as hatred simmers between the ruling Shi'ite majority and the Sunni minority. Gunmen broke into the home of an anti-terrorism policeman in the Baghdad suburb of Rasheed, killing him, his wife, and two children.  Another security officer was killed elsewhere in Rasheed. Police say gunmen killed a Sunni cleric near his home in the southern port city of Basra and a car bomb exploded in the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/gunmen-kill-iraqi-police-officer-and-family/1663557.html http://www.voanews.com/content/gunmen-kill-iraqi-police-officer-and-family/1663557.html Sat, 18 May 2013 07:12:24 -0400 Middle East VOA News The top U.S. military officer says Russian missile shipments to Syria are "ill-timed" and "very unfortunate." The remarks by General Martin Dempsey were the first U.S. confirmation that Russia made the sale of so-called ship-killer cruise missiles to Syria. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday the missiles will embolden President Bashar al-Assad and prolong the suffering in Syria. The New York Times says the Russian anti-ship cruise missiles ... http://www.voanews.com/content/us-criticizes-russian-missiles-sale-to-syria/1663518.html http://www.voanews.com/content/us-criticizes-russian-missiles-sale-to-syria/1663518.html Sat, 18 May 2013 00:27:49 -0400 Middle East VOA News The top U.S. military officer says Russian missile shipments to Syria are "ill-timed" and "very unfortunate." The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, said Friday the missiles will embolden President Bashar al-Assad and prolong the suffering in Syria. He said Assad could think the missiles somehow will make him safer and more prone to a miscalculation. The New York Times reports the Russian anti-ship cruise missiles are more advanced than ... http://www.voanews.com/content/us-russian-missile-shipments-to-syria-very-unfortunate/1663442.html http://www.voanews.com/content/us-russian-missile-shipments-to-syria-very-unfortunate/1663442.html Fri, 17 May 2013 18:06:09 -0400 Middle East VOA News The U.S. State Department has denied Iranian media reports that the United States deported the Iranian wrestling team ahead of a Sunday meet in Los Angeles. A State Department official tells VOA's Persian News Network that U.S. authorities had nothing to do with their departure. The wrestlers abruptly returned home after beating the American team in an exhibition Wednesday at Grand Central Station in New York City. None of the 18 Iranian wrestlers was allowed to speak to VOA on the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/iranian-wrestlers-unexpectedly-leave-us-early/1663207.html http://www.voanews.com/content/iranian-wrestlers-unexpectedly-leave-us-early/1663207.html Fri, 17 May 2013 13:47:29 -0400 USA VOA News http://www.voanews.com/content/iranian-wrestlers-unexpectedly-leave-us-early/1663207.html#relatedInfoContainer Bombings have targeted Sunni worshippers outside a mosque near Baghdad. They are the latest in a wave of bombings in Iraq this week that have killed dozens. http://www.voanews.com/media/photogallery/1662071.html http://www.voanews.com/media/photogallery/1662071.html Fri, 17 May 2013 10:56:00 -0400 Middle East Pigs once played an important economic role for Cairo's Coptic Christians, and helped keep the capital clean. Now, after a controversial culling, they are making a return. A city of 18 million people produces a lot of trash. Much of Cairo's ends up in a Coptic Christian enclave called Garbage City, where people recycle just about everything. Lately, they are getting help from a secret source. Tucked behind mountains of trash and a wall of flies is a pen full of pigs - the ultimate ... http://www.voanews.com/content/the-secret-life-of-egyptian-pigs/1662922.html http://www.voanews.com/content/the-secret-life-of-egyptian-pigs/1662922.html Fri, 17 May 2013 09:33:45 -0400 Middle East Elizabeth Arrott http://www.voanews.com/content/the-secret-life-of-egyptian-pigs/1662922.html#relatedInfoContainer A series of bomb attacks has targeted Sunnis in Iraq, killing at least 70 people and increasing fears of renewed sectarian conflict.   The deadliest blast Friday struck Sunni worshippers who were leaving a mosque in Baquba, just north of Baghdad, and was followed by a second explosion as people gathered to help the wounded. At least 41 people were killed in the twin bombings. Later in the day, a roadside bomb exploded during a Sunni funeral procession in Madain, south of Baghdad, ... http://www.voanews.com/content/dozens-killed-in-bombing-outside-baghdad/1662872.html http://www.voanews.com/content/dozens-killed-in-bombing-outside-baghdad/1662872.html Fri, 17 May 2013 08:46:50 -0400 Middle East VOA News http://www.voanews.com/content/dozens-killed-in-bombing-outside-baghdad/1662872.html#relatedInfoContainer Egyptian policemen blocked the crossing into the Gaza Strip on Friday to protest against the kidnapping of Egyptian security forces in the Sinai, witnesses and sources said. Locals said police had placed barbed wire across the entrance to the border and closed the gates with chains, leaving hundreds of Palestinians stranded on both sides of the fence. Islamist gunmen abducted seven Egyptian security forces on Thursday and have demanded the release of imprisoned militants in exchange for the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/angry-egyptian-policemen-close-crossing-with-gaza/1662830.html http://www.voanews.com/content/angry-egyptian-policemen-close-crossing-with-gaza/1662830.html Fri, 17 May 2013 06:52:46 -0400 Middle East Reuters United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is in Russia, where he said it is important to not "lose momentum" in setting up a peace conference on Syria next month. Ban told reporters Friday that momentum gained by talks between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov should be built upon, not wasted. He said a U.N. team is ready at any time to investigate claims that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against rebels. Lavrov has said ... http://www.voanews.com/content/un-chief-discusses-syria-with-russian-officials/1662809.html http://www.voanews.com/content/un-chief-discusses-syria-with-russian-officials/1662809.html Fri, 17 May 2013 05:22:59 -0400 Middle East VOA News http://www.voanews.com/content/un-chief-discusses-syria-with-russian-officials/1662809.html#relatedInfoContainer Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews protested in Jerusalem on Thursday against plans to enlist men from their community into the military, a proposal supported by the secular majority pushing for a more equal share of the burden on Israeli society.   A sea of black coats - the traditional attire of ultra-Orthodox men - engulfed Jerusalem streets near the city's military draft bureau where the crowd heard rabbis warn that army service would irreparably harm their way of life.   “The ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ultra-orthodox-jews-protest-in-jerusalem-vowing-to-defy-draft/1662678.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ultra-orthodox-jews-protest-in-jerusalem-vowing-to-defy-draft/1662678.html Thu, 16 May 2013 17:54:56 -0400 Middle East Reuters Egypt's Sinai peninsula has grown increasingly lawless since the revolution, with officials bringing new accusations the region is home to terrorist training camps. Egypt's Sinai Peninsula has long been a country apart. It has its share of foreign tourists seeking sun and sand on the Red Sea. But for residents, life is hard. The Bedouin have long felt disenfranchised and excluded from the tourist wealth in southern Sinai. Now, in northern Sinai, jihadists, smugglers and common ... http://www.voanews.com/content/egypt-sinai-engulfed-in-post-revolution-lawlessness/1662663.html http://www.voanews.com/content/egypt-sinai-engulfed-in-post-revolution-lawlessness/1662663.html Thu, 16 May 2013 17:35:17 -0400 Middle East Elizabeth Arrott http://www.voanews.com/content/egypt-sinai-engulfed-in-post-revolution-lawlessness/1662663.html#relatedInfoContainer Two Saudi princes will not be able to keep details of an international commercial dispute a secret, a British court ruled on Thursday, despite lawyers arguing that the case could damage Saudi relations with Britain and the United States.      The appeal was made by Prince Mishal bin Abdulaziz al Saud, a former defense minister, and his son Prince Abdulaziz bin Mishal, who are locked in a legal business tussle with Jordanian businessman Faisal ... http://www.voanews.com/content/saudi-princes-lose-battle-to-keep-uk-lawsuit-secret/1662624.html http://www.voanews.com/content/saudi-princes-lose-battle-to-keep-uk-lawsuit-secret/1662624.html Thu, 16 May 2013 16:14:52 -0400 Middle East Reuters The conflict in Syria is taking a steep toll on its neighbors. Videos from Syria being posted to the Internet show a now-familiar theme - a country ripping itself apart - neither side willing to give in. Syria's neighbors are reeling from the fallout and spillover... a point driven home by two car bombs in southern Turkey, leaving more than 40 dead. Middle East analyst Steven Heydemann says the Syria impact is reverberating. “Different kinds of regional conflict and competition are ... http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-strife-spilling-over-infecting-region/1662606.html http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-strife-spilling-over-infecting-region/1662606.html Thu, 16 May 2013 15:57:23 -0400 Middle East Jeff Seldin (Washington, D.C.) http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-strife-spilling-over-infecting-region/1662606.html#relatedInfoContainer A United Nations group and some individual countries are collecting evidence trying to determine whether chemical weapons have been used in Syria. Damascus is believed to have one of the world’s largest chemical weapons arsenals, including mustard gas, the more modern sarin and even VX - the most toxic of all chemical weapons. Charles Duelfer, a former head of the Iraq Survey Group that investigated the extent of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, said Syria has about five or six key ... http://www.voanews.com/content/former-weapons-inspector-sees-disturbing-trend-in-syria/1662600.html http://www.voanews.com/content/former-weapons-inspector-sees-disturbing-trend-in-syria/1662600.html Thu, 16 May 2013 15:40:25 -0400 Middle East Andre de Nesnera Ultraconservative Muslim leaders in Tunisia are warning the more moderate Islamist government they will resist any new efforts to rein them in and will defy a measure requiring organizers to get government permission for gatherings and protests.   The warnings come as Tunisia's government, led by the moderate Islamist Ennahda Party, is working with neighboring Algeria to hunt down militants linked to al-Qaida in the Mount Chambi border region in the west of the country. Government ... http://www.voanews.com/content/tunisia-salafists-muslims/1662556.html http://www.voanews.com/content/tunisia-salafists-muslims/1662556.html Thu, 16 May 2013 15:18:37 -0400 Middle East Jamie Dettmer President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan say the U.S. and Turkey are determined to see Syrian President Bashar al-Assad leave to pave the way for a political transition.   In a news conference following bilateral talks, both leaders downplayed differences over Syria, underscoring the importance of maintaining pressure on the Assad regime while sustaining Syria's opposition.   President Obama recognized Erdogan for being "at the forefront" ... http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-erdogan-to-pressure-assad-regime/1662367.html http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-erdogan-to-pressure-assad-regime/1662367.html Thu, 16 May 2013 12:57:35 -0400 Middle East Dan Robinson http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-erdogan-to-pressure-assad-regime/1662367.html#relatedInfoContainer Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to press the United States to take a more active role in response to the situation in Syria as he meets Thursday with President Barack Obama at the White House. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the leaders will discuss ways to bring an "essential" transition to Syria.  Those include aid to the Syrian people and to rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad, as well as support for a proposed peace conference ... http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-pm-to-press-us-on-syria/1662201.html http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-pm-to-press-us-on-syria/1662201.html Thu, 16 May 2013 10:00:04 -0400 Middle East VOA News http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-pm-to-press-us-on-syria/1662201.html#relatedInfoContainer Israel plans to declare legal four unauthorized West Bank settler outposts, a court document showed on Thursday, days before U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry returns to the region to try to restart peace talks.   Israel has been sending mixed signals on its internationally condemned settlement policy as Kerry pursues efforts to revive negotiations Palestinians quit in 2010 in anger over Israeli settlement building on occupied land they seek for a state.   In a reply to a Supreme ... http://www.voanews.com/content/israel-to-authorize-4-west-bank-settler-outposts/1662133.html http://www.voanews.com/content/israel-to-authorize-4-west-bank-settler-outposts/1662133.html Thu, 16 May 2013 08:33:15 -0400 Middle East Reuters http://www.voanews.com/content/israel-to-authorize-4-west-bank-settler-outposts/1662133.html#relatedInfoContainer Iran's top nuclear negotiator says Tehran is ready to continue nuclear talks with world powers at any time, to address their concerns about its controversial atomic program.   Saeed Jalili said Thursday that Iran is willing to meet negotiators from the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany before or after its June presidential election, in which he is a candidate.   He also reiterated Iran's position that it has the right to enrich ... http://www.voanews.com/content/iran-expresses-readiness-for-further-nuclear-talks/1662076.html http://www.voanews.com/content/iran-expresses-readiness-for-further-nuclear-talks/1662076.html Thu, 16 May 2013 07:01:53 -0400 Middle East VOA News http://www.voanews.com/content/iran-expresses-readiness-for-further-nuclear-talks/1662076.html#relatedInfoContainer Multiple car bombs have exploded in Baghdad, killing at least 12 people in mainly Shi'ite districts of the Iraqi capital. At least 13 more people died in other violence, according to officials. The blasts Thursday hit the Sadr City and Kamaliya areas, leaving at least 18 other people wounded. The attacks follow a wave of bombings Wednesday that also struck mainly Shi'ite neighborhoods. Those blasts killed at least 33 people. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki blamed the violence ... http://www.voanews.com/content/car-bombs-hits-sadr-city-in-iraq/1662044.html http://www.voanews.com/content/car-bombs-hits-sadr-city-in-iraq/1662044.html Thu, 16 May 2013 05:53:56 -0400 Middle East VOA News In the basement of a villa in central Tripoli, young Libyans seeking an escape from violence and disorder watch an American movie classic screened using a simple projector and laptop.   They may feel they have plenty to relate to in James Dean's teenage character as he battles society's constraints and institutions in “Rebel Without A Cause''.   Nearly two years after the revolution that toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's progress towards democracy has ... http://www.voanews.com/content/libya-tripoli-secret-cinema/1661532.html http://www.voanews.com/content/libya-tripoli-secret-cinema/1661532.html Wed, 15 May 2013 11:57:21 -0400 Middle East Reuters http://www.voanews.com/content/libya-tripoli-secret-cinema/1661532.html#relatedInfoContainer The United States and Russia say they believe they will soon convene peace talks to end the violence in Syria. At the United Nations, the General Assembly is expected to adopt a resolution Wednesday condemning the continued bloodshed there.  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told a joint news conference in Sweden that both he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are "very, very hopeful" that plans to hold a June peace conference in Geneva are progressing.  Lavrov ... http://www.voanews.com/content/kerry-lavrov-confident-on-syria-peace-plan/1661438.html http://www.voanews.com/content/kerry-lavrov-confident-on-syria-peace-plan/1661438.html Wed, 15 May 2013 10:50:56 -0400 Middle East VOA News http://www.voanews.com/content/kerry-lavrov-confident-on-syria-peace-plan/1661438.html#relatedInfoContainer Palestinians clashed with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday during demonstrations to mark 65 years since what they call the Nakba ("catastrophe") when Israel's creation caused many to lose their homes and become refugees.        U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is to return to the region on Tuesday in another bid to revive peace talks frozen since 2010. But a resolution remains elusive and many Palestinians cling to a desire ... http://www.voanews.com/content/palestinians-mark-65-years-since-displacement/1661415.html http://www.voanews.com/content/palestinians-mark-65-years-since-displacement/1661415.html Wed, 15 May 2013 10:33:17 -0400 Middle East Reuters Iraqi officials and hospital sources said a series of bomb blasts in Baghdad and other cities have killed at least 20 people and wounded 65 others. The deadliest of the attacks took place in the northern city of Kirkuk, where two car bombs and a separate roadside blast targeting the city police chief's convoy killed nine people. In Baghdad, car bomb blasts struck several Shi'ite neighborhoods, killing at least eight people. Earlier, in Tarmiyah, 50 kilometers north of the Iraqi ... http://www.voanews.com/content/iraq-bombings-kill-12/1661390.html http://www.voanews.com/content/iraq-bombings-kill-12/1661390.html Wed, 15 May 2013 10:16:29 -0400 Middle East VOA News In a vote Wednesday at the U.N. General Assembly, support for Syria’s opposition was weaker than previously, with a symbolic resolution garnering less outright support and nearly double the abstentions than a similar vote nine months ago. Reacting to the continued paralysis in the 15-nation U.N. Security Council, Qatar and several other countries decided several weeks ago to push for a resolution in the U.N. General Assembly on the situation in Syria, which continues to deteriorate. In the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/un-set-for-syria-vote/1661237.html http://www.voanews.com/content/un-set-for-syria-vote/1661237.html Wed, 15 May 2013 03:33:54 -0400 Middle East Margaret Besheer http://www.voanews.com/content/un-set-for-syria-vote/1661237.html#relatedInfoContainer A senior United Nations official says talks between the U.N. nuclear watchdog and Iran about Tehran's nuclear program failed to reach an agreement and no date has been set for more meetings.   The International Atomic Energy Agency's top nuclear inspector, Herman Nackaerts, said Wednesday he and his team had intensive discussions but "could not finalize the structured approach under negotiation for a year and a half."   The talks in Vienna were the tenth held by ... http://www.voanews.com/content/parallel-talks-focus-on-iranian-nuclear-program/1661225.html http://www.voanews.com/content/parallel-talks-focus-on-iranian-nuclear-program/1661225.html Wed, 15 May 2013 02:15:26 -0400 Middle East VOA News A blast that killed three people in Libya's second city Benghazi was caused by fishing explosives that detonated accidentally, not a car bomb as originally thought, a local government official said on Tuesday.   But rights activists said the incident was symptomatic of deteriorating security in a country whose government exerts scant authority beyond the capital Tripoli.   The oil-producer is largely split into fiefdoms of armed groups that were instrumental in the 2011 ... http://www.voanews.com/content/libya-benghazi-explosive/1661143.html http://www.voanews.com/content/libya-benghazi-explosive/1661143.html Tue, 14 May 2013 19:13:00 -0400 Middle East Reuters Gunmen using silenced weapons attacked at least nine liquor stores in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing 12 people, police and medical sources said.   Police sources said the attack targeted a row of stores selling alcohol in Zayona district of eastern Baghdad, which has a majority Shi'ite population.   Even though most people shun alcohol, forbidden under Islamic law, Iraq is a generally less conservative Muslim society than neighbors such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, thanks to its mix ... http://www.voanews.com/content/iraq-baghdad-liquor-store-killed/1661124.html http://www.voanews.com/content/iraq-baghdad-liquor-store-killed/1661124.html Tue, 14 May 2013 18:04:58 -0400 Middle East Reuters Saudi Arabia has confirmed six new cases of the SARS-like novel coronavirus in its Eastern Province, state media reported on Monday and Tuesday, citing the health ministry.   It reported four new cases late on Monday and a further two late on Tuesday. One of the new cases has been treated and the patient was released from hospital, while the other new cases were still being treated, the Saudi Press Agency reported.   On Sunday, Saudi Arabia said it had had a total of 24 confirmed ... http://www.voanews.com/content/saudi-arabia-confirms-six-new-cases-of-sars-like-virus/1661103.html http://www.voanews.com/content/saudi-arabia-confirms-six-new-cases-of-sars-like-virus/1661103.html Tue, 14 May 2013 17:12:06 -0400 Middle East Reuters The International Criminal Court's prosecutor said on Tuesday she would open a preliminary examination into events surrounding the 2010 Israeli raid on a humanitarian aid flotilla bound for the Gaza strip, in which nine Turkish activists were killed.   The prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said in a statement that she was obliged to open a preliminary examination following a referral from the Indian Ocean island nation of Comoros, where one of the vessels that were raided was ... http://www.voanews.com/content/international-court-examines-israeli-raid-on-gaza-flotilla/1661050.html http://www.voanews.com/content/international-court-examines-israeli-raid-on-gaza-flotilla/1661050.html Tue, 14 May 2013 16:08:30 -0400 Middle East Reuters Iran on Tuesday defended its election as the rotating chair of the world's sole multilateral disarmament forum after the United States announced that its ambassador to the U.N. Conference on Disarmament would boycott any meeting led by Tehran.   The U.N. Conference on Disarmament has been deadlocked for about 15 years. While the chairmanship of the Geneva-based body is largely ceremonial, it is a high-profile position.   "The Islamic Republic of Iran is a founding member of ... http://www.voanews.com/content/iran-defends-post-as-chair-of-united-nations-disarmament-conference/1661031.html http://www.voanews.com/content/iran-defends-post-as-chair-of-united-nations-disarmament-conference/1661031.html Tue, 14 May 2013 15:54:01 -0400 Middle East Reuters Syrian soldiers slowly stab a man to death, puncturing his back dozens of times. A rebel commander bites an organ ripped out of an enemy combatant. A young boy hacks the head off a prisoner. A soldier mutilates the genitals of a corpse.   These are the images of Syrian conflict, the first war in which the prevalence of camera phones and Internet access has allowed hundreds of gruesome war crimes to be broadcast, spreading hatred and fear. They are defining the war that is spilling across ... http://www.voanews.com/content/analysis-syria-savagery-will-thwart-reconciliation/1660974.html http://www.voanews.com/content/analysis-syria-savagery-will-thwart-reconciliation/1660974.html Tue, 14 May 2013 15:01:05 -0400 Middle East Reuters Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on Thursday. The two leaders agree that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must go, after two years of violence that has left more than 70,000 people dead. But, Obama and Erdogan have sharp disagreements on their approaches to Syria and other key Middle East issues. Following Saturday's car bombings in the Turkish town of Reyhanli, Prime Minister Erdogan is expected to press President Obama ... http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-pm-heads-to-washington-to-discuss-syria-other-regional-issues/1660946.html http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-pm-heads-to-washington-to-discuss-syria-other-regional-issues/1660946.html Tue, 14 May 2013 14:51:13 -0400 Middle East Dorian Jones The first of an estimated 2,000 Kurdish militants withdrawing from Turkey have arrived in Iraq as part of a peace process aimed at ending one of the world's bloodiest insurgencies. The group of at least 13 men and women from the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, crossed into the Heror area of northern Iraq early Tuesday. The militants began leaving their bases in Turkey last week, with the full withdrawal expected to take three to four months. The move is one step in a peace deal ... http://www.voanews.com/content/first-withdrawing-kurdish-rebels-reach-iraq/1660494.html http://www.voanews.com/content/first-withdrawing-kurdish-rebels-reach-iraq/1660494.html Tue, 14 May 2013 03:27:53 -0400 Middle East VOA News U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says he expects Syria's government and the main opposition coalition to attend a peace conference in early June. Speaking in Stockholm Tuesday, Kerry said Russia has informed him that the Syrian government has presented names of potential negotiators. Syrian state media quotes Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi as saying the government needs more details before making a final decision whether to attend the talks. Kerry warns Syria that a boycott ... http://www.voanews.com/content/putin-netanyahu-to-hold-syriafocused-talks/1660485.html http://www.voanews.com/content/putin-netanyahu-to-hold-syriafocused-talks/1660485.html Tue, 14 May 2013 02:27:33 -0400 Middle East VOA News http://www.voanews.com/content/putin-netanyahu-to-hold-syriafocused-talks/1660485.html#relatedInfoContainer The fractious factions in the Gaza Strip and across the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories have found one voice to unite behind - a 22-year-old youth singing songs about a lost homeland on the Middle East's version of 'American Idol'.   Gaza native Mohammed Assaf has become the first Palestinian to qualify for 'Arab Idol', a TV talent show staged in Beirut, in which singers perform for judges and voting viewers.   He is now one of the last 10 contestants - ... http://www.voanews.com/content/palestinians-gaza-strip-arab-idol-mohammed-assaf/1660327.html http://www.voanews.com/content/palestinians-gaza-strip-arab-idol-mohammed-assaf/1660327.html Mon, 13 May 2013 17:17:55 -0400 Arts & Entertainment Reuters http://www.voanews.com/content/palestinians-gaza-strip-arab-idol-mohammed-assaf/1660327.html#relatedInfoContainer Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may face charges for accompanying an ally to register for the June presidential vote, the electoral watchdog said, in a possible move by rival conservative hardliners keen to pre-empt any challenge to Iran's clerical supreme leader.   After mass protests that followed the 2009 election, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may have looked to next month's vote to install a loyal conservative president but the surprise candidacies of two major ... http://www.voanews.com/content/iran-ahmadinehad-may-face-charges-over-election-appearance-with-aide/1660328.html http://www.voanews.com/content/iran-ahmadinehad-may-face-charges-over-election-appearance-with-aide/1660328.html Mon, 13 May 2013 17:12:16 -0400 Middle East Reuters http://www.voanews.com/content/iran-ahmadinehad-may-face-charges-over-election-appearance-with-aide/1660328.html#relatedInfoContainer President Barack Obama is under increasing pressure to intervene in Syria’s civil war, either by ordering air strikes on government targets, arming the opposition or setting up a no-fly zone to protect the rebels trying to oust the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The pressure is coming from all directions – from Obama’s political rivals at home, the Syrian rebels themselves and powerful U.S. allies such as Britain, France, Israel and Turkey. All of them argue Syria has already crossed ... http://www.voanews.com/content/some-legal-ethical-and-pragmatic-considerations-on-syria-intervention/1658908.html http://www.voanews.com/content/some-legal-ethical-and-pragmatic-considerations-on-syria-intervention/1658908.html Mon, 13 May 2013 16:50:22 -0400 Middle East Cecily Hilleary http://www.voanews.com/content/some-legal-ethical-and-pragmatic-considerations-on-syria-intervention/1658908.html#relatedInfoContainer Syria's rebels are fragmented into hundreds of armed groups who control swathes of the north, while government forces appear to have consolidated their hold on the capital, a senior Red Cross official said on Monday. Marianne Gasser, who left Syria 10 days ago after completing a term as head of the International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC] team there, said there had been signs of "more assertiveness" by the government around Damascus since April. Attempts to take aid to ... http://www.voanews.com/content/icrc-says-many-armed-groups-hold-swathes-of-north-syria/1660325.html http://www.voanews.com/content/icrc-says-many-armed-groups-hold-swathes-of-north-syria/1660325.html Mon, 13 May 2013 16:44:36 -0400 Middle East Reuters http://www.voanews.com/content/icrc-says-many-armed-groups-hold-swathes-of-north-syria/1660325.html#relatedInfoContainer A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced two men to lashes and prison terms for converting a woman to Christianity and helping her flee the conservative Islamic kingdom, the Saudi Gazette reported on Monday.   A Lebanese man was sentenced to six years in prison and 300 lashes for converting the woman, while a Saudi man was sentenced to two years and 200 lashes for aiding her escape abroad, the English-language daily said. It added that the pair had challenged the verdict and would ... http://www.voanews.com/content/saudi-arabia-to-punish-men-over-womans-christianity-conversion/1660223.html http://www.voanews.com/content/saudi-arabia-to-punish-men-over-womans-christianity-conversion/1660223.html Mon, 13 May 2013 15:01:32 -0400 Middle East Reuters Iran expects progress will be made in talks this week with the United Nations' atomic agency, Tehran's nuclear envoy said on Monday, but Western diplomats held out little hope of an end to the deadlock. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been trying for more than a year to coax Iran into letting it resume a stalled investigation into suspected atomic bomb research by Tehran, which denies any aims to make nuclear weapons. Wednesday's talks in Vienna will be the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/iran-expects-progress-in-un-nuclear-talks-west-skeptical/1660151.html http://www.voanews.com/content/iran-expects-progress-in-un-nuclear-talks-west-skeptical/1660151.html Mon, 13 May 2013 13:58:20 -0400 Middle East Reuters http://www.voanews.com/content/iran-expects-progress-in-un-nuclear-talks-west-skeptical/1660151.html#relatedInfoContainer Syrian refugees in Turkey say they fear a backlash after car bombings that killed 50 people and wounded many others over the weekend in a border town.   Turkey is home to some 400,000 refugees from the two-year civil war in Syria, and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has emerged as one of the most vocal leaders in the region supporting the uprising against Syria's Bashar al-Assad.   The bombings in the border town of Reyhanli have increased fears that Syria's civil war is ... http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-refugees-backlash-turkey-bombing/1660144.html http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-refugees-backlash-turkey-bombing/1660144.html Mon, 13 May 2013 13:47:11 -0400 Middle East Reuters A Syrian rights group says government forces have ousted rebels from a southern town on a strategic highway connecting Damascus to the Jordanian border. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad secured control of Khirbet Ghazaleh on Monday. The Syrian government has been waging a counteroffensive against rebels in the southern province of Daraa in recent days, reversing some rebel gains made earlier this month. Rebels have been ... http://www.voanews.com/content/activists-syrian-troops-oust-rebels-from-southern-town/1659987.html http://www.voanews.com/content/activists-syrian-troops-oust-rebels-from-southern-town/1659987.html Mon, 13 May 2013 11:07:54 -0400 Middle East VOA News A Libyan official says a car bomb has exploded outside a hospital in the eastern city of Benghazi, killing at least nine people.   The official said the car was in a parking lot next to the hospital. At least a dozen people were wounded in Monday's blast.   No other details were immediately available.   Libya has seen an increase in violent incidents in recent days, as the government struggles to exert its authority over armed militias two years after the overthrow of ... http://www.voanews.com/content/car-bomb-hits-libyas-benghazi/1659918.html http://www.voanews.com/content/car-bomb-hits-libyas-benghazi/1659918.html Mon, 13 May 2013 09:56:42 -0400 Middle East VOA News