Syria demands guarantees to pull back troops
Syria on Sunday demanded written guarantees that insurgents will stop fighting before it pulls back troops under the terms of a peace plan, casting additional doubt over a truce due to start this week. Full storyIran rejects West’s ‘demands’ before elusive talks
Iran on Sunday rejected demands the West is reportedly to submit at talks due to take place in days, saying it will neither close its Fordo nuclear bunker nor give up higher-level uranium enrichment. Full storyUS gives Afghans control in deal on night raids
Afghanistan and the United States signed a deal on special forces operations in the insurgency-wracked country Sunday putting Afghans in charge of controversial night raids. Night operations by international special forces... Full storyLibya struggles to contain tribal conflicts
When 26-year-old Yussef heard about clashes in the Libyan oasis city of Sabha, he wasted no time in picking up a rifle and heading across the desert to support his fellow Tibu fighters. Full storyIsrael bars German Nobel laureate Gunter Grass
Israel on Sunday barred German author Gunter Grass from entering the Jewish state, citing a poem in which he accuses Israel of plotting Iran’s annihilation and threatening world peace. Full storyFugitive Saddam deputy urges resistance in video
The most senior member of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s entourage still at large has criticised the present government and urged former Iraqi Baathists to reorganise their resistance to it, according to a video broadcast on... Full storyRegistration for Egypt’s top job closes
Registration for candidacy in Egypt’s first post-uprising presidential election closed on Sunday. 20 people have registered so far, each hoping to lead the Arab world’s most populous nation. The candidates include former Arab League... Full story27 killed in Haiti road accident
At least 27 people were killed in a major road accident in Haiti Saturday when a truck carrying people overturned on a highway south of Haiti’s capital, hospital officials said. ‘By now, we have counted 27 dead,’ Joel Charles, hospital... Full storySuu Kyi meets Karen ethnic rebels
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi met on Sunday with Karen ethnic minority rebels in her first significant foray into politics since her win in election a week earlier. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who won her first-ever seat... Full storyPope appeals for peace in world’s trouble-spots
Pope Benedict XVI appealed for peace and reconciliation around the world, singling out Syria, Mali and Nigeria in his Easter Sunday message before 1,00,000 faithful in Saint Peter’s square. Full storyHopes fade for 135 buried in Pakistan avalanche
