more images

In exile, Iraqis step out for a life impossible amid the uncertainty back home

DAMASCUS, Syria — After fleeing their bloodied homeland, where violence and increasing conservatism confine their compatriots’ lives, some Iraqis in exile are taking the opportunity to enjoy living outside the box.

Jordan king: Washington puts Israeli-Palestinian conflict on backburner amid Iran worries

ROME — Jordan’s king said in comments published Monday that the U.S. administration seems to be focusing more of its attention on Iran and less on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying time was running out to make peace.

Ancient burial chambers in Jordan Valley threatened by quarrying

AMMAN - An international report has indicated that ancient burial chambers in the Jordan Valley are being threatened by modern development and may be demolished.

US envoy tries to break Mideast deadlock as Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

JERUSALEM — When President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, his Mideast envoy was hard at work in Jerusalem trying to revive a faltering peace process on which Obama has staked his credibility and that of the United States.

Obama envoy faces uphill struggle to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks

JERUSALEM — President Barack Obama’s Mideast envoy finds himself increasingly hamstrung, with Israel’s foreign minister on Thursday all but ruling out a peace deal for years to come and the Palestinian leader weakened by his decision not to push for a Gaza war crimes tribunal against Israel.

Judge says evidence against Jordanian teen sufficient to continue Dallas bomb plot case

DALLAS — A Jordanian teenager accused of trying to blow up a Dallas skyscraper researched how to use a cell phone to detonate a bomb and recorded a 7-minute video he believed would be transmitted to Osama bin Laden, an FBI agent who oversaw the investigation testified Monday.

Hamas ramps up criticism of Abbas over suspension of efforts to try Israelis for war crimes

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hamas leaders on Monday launched an unprecedented attack against President Mahmoud Abbas, saying they no longer consider him a Palestinian after he agreed to suspend efforts to go after Israel for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Israeli police deploy in Jerusalem as tension rises around disputed holy site

JERUSALEM — Israel deployed thousands of policemen in and around Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday to prevent a new round of disturbances around a tense site holy to Jews and Muslims.

Jordan contacts US over Jordanian citizen suspected in Dallas bomb plot

AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan’s government spokesman says Amman has asked the United States for information of a Texas terror plot involving a Jordanian citizen.

US military: suspect in 2006 murders of Iraqi Taekwondo team arrested

BAGHDAD — Iraqi commandos and U.S. forces have arrested a suspect in the 2006 kidnapping and murder of an Iraqi taekwondo team whose highway ambush became one of the symbols of Iraq’s lawlessness during its worse years of sectarian violence.

UN agency helping Palestinian refugees marks 60th anniversary

UNITED NATIONS — In marking its 60th anniversary Thursday, the cash-strapped U.N. aid agency for Palestinian refugees asked the world for more generous funding and a renewed push to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Suicide attacker strikes mosque north of Baghdad as bombings kill at least 17 in Iraq

BAGHDAD — Suicide attackers struck near a Shiite mosque north of Baghdad and a checkpoint west of the capital on Monday as bombings killed at least 17 people nationwide.

Suicide car bomb kills 8 at checkpoint near former insurgent stronghold in western Iraq

BAGHDAD — A suicide attacker drove an explosives-packed car into a line of vehicles at a checkpoint in western Iraq on Monday, killing eight people and wounding 16, police and hospital officials said.

Suicide car bomb near western Iraqi city of Ramadi kills 8 at checkpoint

BAGHDAD — A suicide car bomber targeted a line of vehicles stopped at a checkpoint in western Iraq on Monday, killing eight people and wounding 16, police and hospital officials said.

Car bomb near western Iraqi city of Ramadi kills 7, wounds 14

BAGHDAD — A suicide car bomber targeted a line of vehicles stopped at a checkpoint in western Iraq on Monday, killing seven people and wounding 14, police and hospital officials said.

Madonna wraps up her world tour with a sightseeing tour of Jordan’s Petra

PETRA, Jordan — The Material Girl has wrapped up her world tour with a sightseeing trip to Jordan’s famed ruins in Petra.

US defense chief vows broad, harsh punishments if Iran refuses nuclear talks

AMMAN, Jordan — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the United States will seek much tougher United Nations sanctions on Iran if that nation spurns the offer of talks on its disputed nuclear program.

Global health officials debate how to slow spread of swine flu until vaccine becomes available

GENEVA — Some Muslim countries are advising pregnant women not to attend the hajj pilgrimage. China is quarantining any visitor suspected of having a fever, while priests in New Zealand have been banned from placing Communion wafers on worshippers’ tongues.

Jordan convicts al-Qaida militant in slaying of US diplomat, sentences him to death

AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan’s military court has convicted an al-Qaida militant in the 2002 slaying of a U.S. diplomat in Amman and sentenced him to death in a retrial.

Queen Noor calls on Russian, US presidents to take step forward on nuclear arms cuts

AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan’s Queen Noor, a founder of an international initiative to eliminate nuclear weapons, called on the presidents of the United States and Russia to advance the cause at their Monday summit by agreeing to significant cuts in their arsenals.

Jordan, Canada sign free trade agreement boosting market access

AMMAN, Jordan — Canada has signed a free trade agreement with Jordan, its first with an Arab country.

Florida woman pleads guilty to collecting dead mother’s Social Security benefits

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A Florida woman accused of hiding her dead mother’s body and collecting federal benefits for six years has pleaded guilty to a theft charge.

US urges Arabs to make concessions to convince Israelis to resume peace talks, say officials

CAIRO — Egyptian officials said Thursday that America’s Mideast envoy has urged Arab nations to reopen Israeli diplomatic missions and take other steps to normalize relations immediately as incentives for the Jewish state to revive the peace process with Palestinians.

EU court voids asset freeze of terrorism suspect in UK; Cites lack of review, allows appeal

LUXEMBOURG — An EU court on Thursday voided a 2001 European Union decision to freeze the assets of a suspected Jordanian terrorist held in Britain, saying the case lacked a proper judicial review.

Obama’s Mideast envoy to visit Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Palestinians and likely Syria next week

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s envoy for Mideast peace is leaving Sunday on a trip to the region, following President Barack Obama’s call in Cairo for renewed efforts to restart peace talks.

‘Salam’ diplomacy: Obama’s words and references win favor with Muslims

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The tone of respect was set from the opening lines of President Barack Obama’s address to the Muslim world.

Susan B. Jordan, activist lawyer who represented SLA member, killed in plane crash in Utah

LOS ANGELES — Susan B. Jordan, an activist lawyer who represented high-profile clients such as Symbionese Liberation Army member Sara Jane Olson, has been killed in a plane crash in southern Utah, authorities said.