Middle East News

SANAA, Yemen - Yemen's embattled president backed away from a mediated deal that would have seen him step down in exchange for legal immunity, and his forces Saturday killed four people while pushing hundreds of anti-government demonstrators out of a square where they had been camped, witnesses said. Full Story »

TRIPOLI, Libya - NATO on Saturday brushed aside Moammar Gadhafi's call for a truce and negotiations to end an international bombing campaign, and alliance warships cleared sea mines laid by his forces near the harbor of the only major city held by rebels in western Libya. Full Story »

CAIRO - The once outlawed Muslim Brotherhood said Saturday its new political party will contest half of the seats in Egypt's parliamentary elections in September, revealing plans to become a major force in the country's post-revolution politics. Full Story »

MANAMA, Bahrain - Bahrain's authorities took broad swipes at Iran on Saturday, accusing Iranian-based hackers of trying to crack into a government website and urging a boycott of Iranian goods in retaliation for alleged interference in the island kingdom's unrest. Full Story »

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Iran's spy chief took his seat at a planned Cabinet meeting in Tehran and waited with the other ministers for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The embittered president never showed up. Full Story »

BEIRUT - Syrian troops killed four people Saturday while storming a mosque that became a focal point for protesters in the besieged southern city of Daraa, and security forces in Damascus kept dozens of women from marching on parliament to urge President Bashar Assad to end his crackdown on a six-week-old uprising. Full Story »

BAGHDAD - Iraqi lawmakers approved a controversial $400 million settlement Saturday for Americans who claim they were abused by Saddam Hussein's regime during the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Full Story »

BAGHDAD - Iraqi officials say a suicide bomber in the northern city of Mosul has killed 7 people. Full Story »

MARRAKECH, Morocco - Moroccan King Mohammed VI vowed Saturday that a bombing in the heart of the country's tourist hub of Marrakech that killed at least 16 people will not derail the kingdom's program of democratic reforms, the official MAP news agency reported. Full Story »

BAGHDAD - The U.S. military says an American soldier has been killed while conducting military operations in southern Iraq. Full Story »

TRIPOLI (AFP) - Moamer Kadhafi vowed Saturday not to step down and proposed talks to end Libya's conflict, a call rejected by rebels and by NATO, as his forces pressed an offensive against the key port of Misrata. Full Story »

DAMASCUS (AFP) - Troops and snipers killed six civilians on Saturday in the flashpoint city of Daraa, activists said, as Syrians buried scores of people killed in a "day of rage" on Friday. Full Story »

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranian lawmakers have called on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to end an eight-day boycott and accept the supreme leader's decision to reinstate the intelligence minister, Shargh newspaper reported on Saturday. Full Story »

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) - Ismail Haniya, the prime minister of the Islamist Hamas movement in power in the Gaza Strip, said on Saturday he was "ready to resign." Full Story »

CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) - The formerly banned Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's best-organised movement, announced on Saturday that it has formed a non-theocratic party that will contest up to half of parliament's seats in September elections. Full Story »

TEHRAN, Iran - A hard-line cleric warned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Friday to end an escalating power struggle with Iran's supreme leader, calling it a religious obligation to do so and accusing the country's enemies of trying to sow rifts among its leadership. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States is waiting to see if a new Palestinian government is formed after Hamas inks a deal with its rival Fatah before deciding on any changes to its aid policy, officials said Friday. Full Story »

SANAA (AFP) - Yemen's embattled president met loyalists on Saturday before holding talks with the Gulf Cooperation Council chief who was in Sanaa to invite rivals to ink an accord aimed at ending months of bloodshed. Full Story »