Kosovo Parliament Speaker Jakup Krasniqi has asked Turkish authorities to help the newly independent country get recognised by Islamic countries. Most of Kosovo’s 90 percent Albanian majority are secular Muslims. During his visit in Ankara, Krasniqi met with his Turkish counterpart Koksal Toptan and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. …

Singapore – Oil rebounded above $42 on Friday amid signs Saudi Arabia would deepen supply cuts next month, after sinking 2 percent overnight on signs of worsening demand from the United States, the world’s top energy consumer. US crude for February delivery rose 85 cents to $42.55 a barrel by …

AMMAN, Jan. 9 – Jordan’s activists has mulled a legal war against Israel in light of its intensive offensive against the Gaza Strip which has claimed over 700 lives there, local daily The Jordan Times reported on Friday. Representatives from 20 civil societies and law schools in the kingdom met …

TOKYO, Jan. 9 – Japan is studying the feasibility of sending a special envoy to related countries to help end hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians, Kyodo News said Friday. Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said during a House of Representatives Budget Committee session that Tatsuo Arima, special envoy on the …

UNITED NATIONS – China on Thursday called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and the comprehensive and effective implementation of the new Security Council resolution by all parties concerned. Zhang Yesui, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, said the newly adopted resolution reflects the shared expectations and desires …

Israel pushed ahead with its offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday, ignoring a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire to the 14-day-old conflict. Israeli warplanes dropped bombs on the outskirts of the city of Gaza, residents said. Elsewhere, Palestinian medics said tanks shelled a house in …

GAZA (Reuters) – Israel pushed ahead with its offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday, ignoring a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire to the 14-day-old conflict. Israeli warplanes dropped bombs on the outskirts of the city of Gaza, residents said. Elsewhere, Palestinian medics said tanks shelled …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Many voices around the world speak up for the Palestinians, but few in the U.S. Congress. Lawmakers in Washington routinely pass nonbinding resolutions supporting Israel during Middle East crises. The Senate has backed Israel’s ongoing battle against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip and the House of …

KABUL (Reuters) – Two U.S. soldiers were killed in a suicide car bomb attack in a market in southern Afghanistan, NATO said Friday, adding the Taliban had claimed responsibility. The attack happened Thursday beside a busy market in the Maywand district of Kandahar province and a district police chief told …

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – In an apparent reversal of earlier promises to Arab states, the United States on Thursday abstained from voting on a Gaza ceasefire resolution at the United Nations Security Council. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the decision to abstain was because the United States first …