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Syrian President Bashar Assad's order to make a modern hospital out of a notorious prison where his father had held political detainees was praised Tuesday by former inmates as a sign of a new relaxation in political life.

While Russia plans to resume weapons sales to Iran, the Defense Ministry said Thursday it will not supply any hardware capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction.

After three days of talks, oil producers and consumers failed to agree on the two key issues that divide them: oil supplies and a fair price for the fuel that drives their economies.

A desert casino that raked in millions of dollars for Palestinians before hostilities with Israelis erupted was shelled overnight from the direction of a Jewish settlement, company officials said Monday.

Israeli troops shot dead five Palestinians in the West Bank, but the army and Palestinian security officers disagreed as to whether or not the men had posed a threat to the soldiers.

President Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party consolidated its grip on power in the third and final phase of Egypt's parliamentary elections, unofficial results showed on Thursday.

As deadly violence escalated in Gaza and Bethlehem on Wednesday, two of the men who won the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to forge peace met in Gaza, seeking to find a way to break the cycle of violence that has wracked the region.

Police fired tear gas into crowds and prevented supporters of opposition candidates from voting in Tuesday's final runoffs, following the same course of action they have used in previous rounds of Egypt's parliamentary elections.

Police open fire on angry crowd in latest Egyptian election violence

Israelis are losing faith in the Oslo peace process with the Palestinians, although they still overwhelmingly support making peace with their Arab neighbors, an Israeli pollster said on Tuesday.

Egyptians began voting on Wednesday in the third and final stage of parliamentary elections that are certain to keep President Hosni Mubarak's party firmly in power.

Iran's most popular female legislator stood trial Tuesday for taking part in a Berlin conference while her husband announced he was reversing his resignation as culture minister to defend himself in court.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel was on course on Wednesday for an early general election after Prime Minister Ehud Barak supported calls for an early election.

Two people were hurt on Wednesday when student protests in support of Palestinians in their struggle against Israeli occupation turned violent, security sources said.

Under pressure from Saudi Arabia and Iran, Qatar is considering closing an Israeli trade mission but will await the outcome of Palestinian-U.S. contacts before making a final decision, Qatar's foreign minister said Thursday.

A royal family member from the Gulf state of Qatar gave Iraq a Boeing 747 jumbo jet Thursday, calling it an expression of solidarity with President Saddam Hussein and ordinary Iraqis, the Iraqi News Agency said.

Egyptians began fasting on Monday, the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, amid signs that the belts of the faithful may stay tighter than usual this year.

Iranian authorities have impounded a tanker suspected of smuggling Iraqi oil, state-run radio reported Thursday.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov arrived in Baghdad Monday on the first leg of a trip that will take him to Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov arrived in Kuwait on Saturday to discuss tension in the oil-rich Gulf region 10 years after the Gulf War.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov accused the United States and Britain on Tuesday of breaching U.N. resolutions by using their warplanes to patrol no-fly zones in southern and northern Iraq.

Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev is planning to visit Iran, a senior Russian general accompanying Sergeyev on a visit to Japan was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency as saying on Tuesday.

Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev was quoted as saying on Thursday that he intended to visit Iran, despite a diplomatic row with the United States over potential arms sales.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov discussed the stalled peace process in the Middle East on Wednesday, Egypt's state news agency said.

Russia has not yet signed any new arms contracts with Iran, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov insisted Saturday, playing down U.S. concern over Moscow's decision to resume weapons sales to Iran.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov shrugged off on Thursday a U.S. threat to impose new sanctions on Moscow over arms sales to Iran.

President Saddam Hussein announced on Friday the end of a month-long campaign for volunteers to fight Israel, saying more than six million Iraqis had come forward.

Saddam Hussein has called on Arab rulers to cut their ties with Israel, but urged Arab states to open their borders with the Jewish state to allow Arabs to

Saudi Arabia will not let Britain join the investigation into an explosion that killed one Briton in the capital Riyadh, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef said in remarks published on Monday.

Saudi Arabia has opened its land border with Iraq for the first time since the 1991 Gulf War to facilitate the transportation of Saudi exports, the English-language daily Arab News reported Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia executed four Filipinos for murder and armed robbery and a Saudi convicted murderer on Friday, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

Saudi Arabia, home of Islam's two holiest shrines, and most other Gulf Arab states will start the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan on Monday, regional news agencies reported on Saturday.

U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah agreed in talks on Sunday that a way had to be found to stop violence between Israelis and Palestinians, Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said.

The sun-drenched scene in a fragrant Jerusalem rose garden on Tuesday had all the hallmarks of a class picnic -- save for the signs that read

A motorcycle loaded with explosives blew up outside a coffee shop in the Kurdish-held enclave of northern Iraq, killing six people, a spokesman for a Kurdish party said.

Arab singers are serenading the Palestinian Intifada uprising with songs of heroism that are sweeping the Middle East.

A strong quake shook a Turkish region bordering Iran and Iraq on Wednesday, sending terrified residents rushing out of their homes, officials said. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Authorities have recovered explosives that three Kuwaitis and a North African had planned to use in attacks on a U.S. Army camp and on the homes and cars of Western military personnel, an Interior Ministry official said Saturday.

A 69-year-old Swedish diabetic held hostage for more than two weeks by Yemeni tribesmen has been freed.

Yemeni tribesmen have released a Swedish engineer held hostage for more than two weeks.

Syria has begun to release some 600 political prisoners on the orders of President Bashar al-Assad, amid calls for a national political debate including the opposition.

Syria has barred Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt from entering its territory because of his calls for Damascus to pull back its troops to the borders between the two countries, a deputy said on Tuesday.

Syria and Lebanon said Wednesday they will boycott a meeting here of foreign ministers from the European Union nations, Israel and its neighbors, dimming hopes the Europeans can be helpful in reviving Mideast peace talks.

An infiltrator from Syria was captured Monday in northern Israel, and residents in a nearby border region reported seeing a hang-glider flying south from Lebanon, raising concerns about possible attacks, official said.

President Bashar Assad has ordered the release of 600 political prisoners in what officials Thursday portrayed as a sign of new thinking among Syria's leadership.

Syria has begun redeploying its army in Lebanon in a prelude to an eventual withdrawal, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Friday.

Syria will upgrade its ties with Iraq to full diplomatic relations, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara said Wednesday.

Syria on Tuesday accused Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak of exceeding the Nazis in repression of the Palestinians, and warned that current tensions endangered the whole world.

Turkey and Syria, which came to the verge of armed conflict two years ago over Turkish Kurd rebels, will negotiate an agreement to settle their disputes, a presidential aide said on Friday.