Syria floats direct talks with Israel
September 5, 2008
DAMASCUS, Syria (CNN) — Syria hopes a series of indirect talks with Israel will soon lead to direct negotiations, President Bashar al-Assad told CNN’s Cal Perry Thursday in an exclusive interview.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy (right) and Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad meet in Damascus.
Al-Assad said that possibility was discussed during a summit attended by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the leaders of Turkey and Qatar.
Word of the Syrian proposal came during a landmark visit to Damascus by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. He and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad took part in a summit Thursday that also included the leaders of Turkey and Qatar. Read more
Lawmaker accused over decapitated pop star
September 5, 2008
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — An Egyptian lawmaker and business tycoon was arrested Tuesday in the death of a Lebanese pop singer, Egypt’s chief prosecutor said, accusing the man of paying a former police officer $2 million to kill her.
Hisham Talaat, a lawmaker from the ruling party of President Hosni Mubarak, is accused of ordering the death of 30-year-old Suzanne Tamim, who was found decapitated in her Dubai apartment in July, chief prosecutor Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud told The Associated Press.
The death made waves in Egyptian media in early August and prompted a media ban in Egypt last month, following reports that a high-profile Egyptian figures were involved. Read more
U.N. peacekeeper killed in Lebanon
September 4, 2008
BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) — A United Nations peacekeeper working to clear landmines died Wednesday in southern Lebanon, according to a spokeswoman for the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon.
U.N. peacekeepers have had a presence in Lebanon since 1978 after Israel withdrew.
The person died in an explosion as the UNIFIL explosive ordnance disposal team surveyed a field near the village of Aitaroun, where mines are believed to have been planted, according to spokeswoman Yasmina Bouziane. It was UNIFIL’s second mine-related death since 2006, she said.
“UNIFIL medical and explosive ordnance disposal teams were immediately dispatched to the location and an investigation is under way,” she said. Read more
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