January, 2006

• 4 January

  Jerusalem Muslim leader calls for halt to Israeli excavation project

  In 1996, Palestinians rioted after Israel opened an archaeological tunnel by the compound OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AP) — The top Muslim cleric in the holy land on Tuesday called on Israel to halt work on an archaeological project near a disputed holy site, saying continuing the dig would inflame tensions in …

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• 4 January

  US bombs house, kills family — police

  BAIJI, Iraq (Reuters) — A US air strike on a house in northern Iraq killed six members of an Iraqi family, prompting anger on Tuesday among minority Sunni Arab political leaders and the local police chief. The US military said aircraft bombed the building in the northern oil refining town …

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December, 2005

• 31 December

  Kidnappers insist on demands for Germans’ release

  The German family are being held as bargaining chips for the release of five brothers imprisoned by Yemeni authorities SANAA (AFP) — Yemeni tribesmen holding hostage a German family of five, including a retired senior diplomat, will not release them until their demand for the release of jailed fellow tribesmen …

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• 31 December

  Mutilated bodies found in southern Egypt

  BANI MAZAR (AFP) — Ten mutilated bodies were found early on Thursday in a southern Egyptian village, some of them missing their vital organs and laying in pools of blood, police sources said. The bodies of 10 Egyptians — four men, two women and four children — were found in …

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• 31 December

  Lebanese psychics keep a nation on its toes

  BEIRUT — When psychics and astrologers jostle for air time on Dec. 31 to tell TV viewers what to expect in 2006, sceptics may be tempted to switch channels. But, after last year’s predictions, many will think twice.

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• 31 December

  Mystery of Ben Laden’s year of silence

  PARIS — He has not issued any public statement all year. Speculation has grown over his influence, health and even possible death. Where is the Western world’s most wanted man, Osama Ben Laden?

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• 31 December

  Lights out in Baghdad as power remains erratic

  BAGHDAD — Baghdad is getting only around six hours of electricity a day, down from 11 in October, and attacks on Iraqis working on US-backed reconstruction projects are at a record, the US military said on Wednesday.

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• 31 December

  AT A GLANCE

  Greek patriarch boycotts Israeli Christmas party OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Reuters) — The Greek Orthodox Patriarch in Jerusalem boycotted an annual Israeli Christmas party on Thursday because the invitation failed to recognise him as the church’s new leader, a church official said. A clergyman sacked by the church over an alleged land …

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• 27 December

  The war in Chechnya is continuing

  The Russian politicians and mass media are lying when they say that the war in Chechnya is over. The situation is just becoming worse and worse all the time, says Isa Dzjabrailov, deputy Minister of Information in the Chechen exile government.

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• 27 December

  Israel and the Arab world — a hidden trade waiting for a political deal

  CAIRO — Staff members at a Riyadh hospital got a surprise when they looked at the fine print on the paper cups they were using. Workers in a storeroom at a Dubai hospital were similarly shocked when they took a close look at the tags on a large shipment of …

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