World News

Palestinians sit on the rubble of a destroyed building after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Wednesday, Jan.14, 2009. Two and a half weeks of Israel's fierce assaults on Gaza's Hamas rulers have destroyed at least $1.4 billion worth of buildings, water pipes, roads, power lines and other assets, independent Palestinian surveyors

photo: AP / Ashraf Amra

Ban Ki-Moon: Gaza reconstruction not being addressed
read more BBC News

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said more must be done to repair damage done in the Gaza Strip by Israeli military action one year ago. Mr Ban said Gazans were being denied "basic human rights" and urged Israel to end its "unacceptable and counterproductive blockade". He said Israeli well-being depended on conditions...

This photo, taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran shows an Iranian protestor flashing the victory sign during anti-government protest at the Enqelab (Revolution) St. in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2009

photo: AP

Witnesses: Iran cops fatally shoot 4 protesters
read more MSNBC

updated 7:52 a.m. ET Dec. 27, 2009 TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters in the capital Sunday, killing at least four people in the fiercest clashes in months, opposition Web sites and witnesses said. Thousands of opposition supporters chanting "Death to the dictator," a reference to hard-line President...

Palestinians attend a rally held by the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), marking the first anniversary of the Israeli offensive on Gaza, in an area destroyed by the January offensive in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, Friday, Dec. 25, 2009.

photo: AP / Khalil Hamra

Gazans mark anniversary of war
read more Al Jazeera

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are marking one year since the start of Israel's 22-day offensive on the territory, which left hundreds dead and damaged millions of dollars worth of infrastructure. Hamas officials held a ceremony on Sunday outside the destroyed Palestinian Legislative Council building in Gaza City - one of the first targets of the...

Residents cast their ballots at a polling station in Zagreb, Croatia, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2009

photo: AP / Darko Bandic

Croatia Votes for New President
read more Wall Street Journal

Associated Press Associated Press A combo shows three leading presidential candidates, Milan Bandic, left, Ivo Josipovic, center and Nadan Vidosevic. ZAGREB, Croatia -- Croatians are voting for a new president Sunday in an election marked by allegations of corruption as the country tries to fight graft and smooth its entry into the European Union....

Shiite Muslim women express their grief during the festival of Ashoura in Karbala, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday Dec. 26, 2009.

photo: AP / Ahmed al-Husseini

Millions of Iraq Shia Muslims gather for Ashura
read more Khaleej Times

KERBALA, Iraq - Millions of Shia Muslims gathered at shrines and mosques across Iraq on Sunday for the Ashura religious festival while Iraqi forces stood watch against the bloody attacks that have marred past pilgrimages. Loudspeakers blared traditional Ashura chants across Baghdad and the city of Kerbala, site of the most important shrine where...

Israeli soldiers are seen during an army operation in the West Bank city of Nablus, Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009.

photo: AP / Nasser Ishtayeh

Israeli Military Kills 6 Palestinians
read more The New York Times

JERUSALEM - The Israeli military killed six Palestinians on Saturday, three in the West Bank whom it accused of killing a Jewish settler and three in Gaza who it said were crawling along the border wall planning an attack. It was the deadliest day in the conflict in nearly a year. Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister, called it "a sad day...

An aerial view of the vast destruction of the Sri Lankan southern coast, between the towns of Colombo and Hambantota, caused by the Indian Ocean tsunami, January 2005

photo: UN file / /Evan Schneider

Lost and found: Recovering from Sri Lanka's tsunami
read more BBC News

On a plantation in the island's south-west, Sarath Kumara and his men harvest the cinnamon crop as the birds of the forest sing. The slender trunks of the shrub will give spice. From the leaves they will extract oil for cooking, medicine and aromatherapy. The rhythm of farming life seems timeless. But the tsunami brought death to this village. Mr...

A U.S. Marine with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment provides support by fire during Operation Cobra's Anger in Now Zad, Afghanistan, Dec. 5, 2009.

photo: USMC / Cpl. Albert F. Hunt

Obama's troubles are at their most desperate in Afghanistan
read more The Observer

On a mild mid-December morning, the chairman of US joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, strolled through a humble market in Nawa. Mullen was in the heart of Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold where US marines have spent months fighting – and dying – to pacify. Just a few months earlier, Nawa's market was nearly abandoned. But this past...

Airport police operate a checkpoint for vehicles entering Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009.

photo: AP / Jason Redmond

US charges plane bombing suspect
read more Al Jazeera

The Nigerian man suspected of trying to set a bomb off on a US passenger aircraft on Christmas Day has been formally charged. The 23-year-old Umar Abdulmutallab was charged with attempting to blow up the plane by setting alight a high explosive device attached to his body. Abdulmutallab is to make his first court appearance later on Saturday, the...

Palestinians received assistance from the refugee relief agency UNRWA

photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

No celebration as UNRWA turns 60
read more BBC News

By Barbara Plett BBC UN correspondent The UN agency which looks after Palestinian refugees commemorates its 60th anniversary this month. But there's no celebration. Prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement look dim and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is keenly aware that its "temporary" mandate could continue for...