Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi is to pay to visit Syria with an "initiative to solve the crisis", the league said, without clarifying further details. The trip followed a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo. They also called on Damascus to stop the violence and start reforms immediately. The UN claims more than 2,200 people have died since protests against President Bashar al-Assad began in March. The Arab league is increasing pressure ... Read more »

Eighty-three candidates are to run in Bahrain's September 24 partial elections that are being boycotted by the Shiite opposition. Eighteen MPs from Shiite bloc Al-Wefaq quit parliament in protest at the suppression of pro-democracy protests in February and by –elections are held to replace them. Six women are among the candidates in the Shiite-majority constituencies which have 180,000 eligible voters. "There are no significant figures among the candidates,... Read more »

Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir has announced a two-week unilateral truce within the state of Southern Kordofan. The area holds most of Sudan's known oilfields left, after the country's south seceded last month. This ceasefire announcement on Tuesday came in the wake of weeks of fighting between government army and rebels. Activists have blamed the government of launching air strikes specifically targeting the state's ethnic Nuba group

Saudi Arabia has donated 50 million US dollars to help save children from malnutrition in famine-hit Somalia, the World Food Programme said in a statement, Middle-east-online.com reported. The WFP appealed for funds saying they "will help save the lives of thousands of children before they fall into severe stages of malnutrition, at which point it would become impossible to keep them alive." "The United Nations World Food Programme welcomes a generous contr... Read more »

Heavy fighting is taking place in Lybian capital city of Tripoli around the compound of Col Muammar Gaddafi. Yesterday rebels seized control of much of the city. Jubilant crowds spent the night in central Green Square, previously the scene of nightly pro-Gaddafi demonstrations. A rebel spokesman says pro-Gaddafi army still controls 15-20% of the city. The rebels also informed they had captured Col Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam, but there is no word of the col... Read more »

Eleven Yemeni tribesmen were perished overnight in two suicide attacks in the southern province of Abyan, which is said to be a stronghold of Al-Qaeda. Tribal sources blamed Al-Qaeda members of the attacks in two villages of Abyan province, where Yemeni tribesmen and the army have been battling rebels from the "Partisans of Sharia (Islamic law)" who are believed to be linked to the Al-Qaeda network. A suicide bomber killed Sheikh Abu Bahr Ashal and two othe... Read more »

Israel-Egypt relationship have been destabilized after series of attacks. Eight Israelis perished in Thursday's assault along the Egyptian border, eight people were killed. New rulers of Egypt demanded Israel investigate the deaths of three of its policemen, who reportedly were killed when Israeli forces hunted for the gunmen behind Thursday's roadside ambushes. Israel struck militants in Gaza and Palestinians fired rockets back on Friday. As a protest Egyp... Read more »

Arab world is intended to target Israel over its assumed atomic arsenal at a UN nuclear agency conference next month. Western countries express concerns that this may undermine broader steps to ban such arms in the Middle East. It is unclear whether the International Atomic Energy Agency’s annual member state meeting would back the move after it last year narrowly rejected the resolution initiated by Arab states calling on Israel to join a global anti-nucle... Read more »

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has informed UN chief Ban Ki-moon that military operations against protesters have "stopped", a UN spokesman Farhan Haq said. Mr Ban during a phone call said that "all military operations and mass arrests must cease immediately," and Assad responded that they had been "stopped". Mr Assad is under tight international pressure to end his violent crackdown. According to activists, Nearly 2,000 people are believed to have been k... Read more »

Libyan troops loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi are fighting rebels for control of the coastal town of Zawiya, less than 50km west of Tripoli on the road to Tunisia's border. Both rebels and government forces claim to control the town. Nato believes pro-Gaddafi army no longer have the capacity to launch "coherent operations". US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said yesterday that Col Gaddafi's "days are numbered", reinforcing the impression among some experts tha... Read more »