Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has backed US Democratic presidential candidate Barak Obama's proposal for American troops to leave Iraq within 16 months, according to an interview with German magazine 'Der Spiegel'.

A group calling themselves the Shiite Islamic Resistance in Iraq have released a video, saying that one of five British hostages held since May 2007 has committed suicide, although there is as yet no evidence to support this claim.

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Saturday flew in to Tel Aviv on a previously unannounced visit to Israel and the West Bank, for a two-day trip focused on the Middle East peace process and efforts to boost the Palestinian economy.

Iraq's Sunni community ended its year-long boycott of Prime Minister al-Maliki's government, with six Sunni ministers from the National Concord Front appointed to ministerial posts, including deputy prime minister.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acknowledged that the US has modified its position on diplomacy with Iran. Asked about the decision to send a senior envoy to talks in Geneva, Rice said "the US doesn't have any permanent enemies".

Meeting in Madrid for a three-day inter-faith conference sponsored by Saudi Arabia, representatives of the world's main monotheistic religions called for an international agreement to combat terrorism and prevent "a clash of civilisations".

Although Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said a Shia revolt in northern Yemen had ended, military sources said the Houthi rebels had seized a village in the troubled area and fighting was still raging.

Lebanon's telecommunications minister Gibran Bassil (photo) has claimed that hundreds of Lebanese citizens have received calls from Israeli authorities urging them to abandon Hezbollah or risk facing another war.

Five Lebanese prisoners, including convicted murderer Samir Qantar (left), were personally welcomed by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah before a roaring crowd in Beirut as Israelis marked the prisoner swap with a somber service.

A gunman opened fire on a tourist bus in the Jordanian capital of Amman, wounding six, including four Lebanese nationals, a Palestinian and a Jordanian. The alleged attacker attempted to commit suicide, according to a Jordanian official.

At least 40 people were killed when a bus and a train collided at a level crossing near Egypt's northwestern town of Marsa Matruh, police said. Initial media reports say a truck failed to stop and pushed traffic into the path of the oncoming train.

US-led forces have handed over central Iraq's Diwaniyah province to local security forces; more than half of the war-torn country's 18 provinces are now under local supervision.

Former British PM Tony Blair, the Middle East peace quartet's envoy, won't be travelling to the Gaza Strip on Tuesday as planned initially because of a security threat.

African and Asian foreign ministers meet in Indonesia for a one-day conference to discuss Palestinian reconstruction alongside Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Gazprom's CEO has said that the Russian company is ready to participate in major oil and gas projects in Iran. This comes just days after French Total pulled out of a multi-billion dollar investment in the country.

Israeli officials have revealed that a peace-seeking message sent from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was conveyed through Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

A prisoner swap between Israel and Lebanese group Hezbollah has been set for Wednesday, which will include the release of Samir Qantar, currently serving a life sentence for killing a policeman in northern Israel in 1979.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has hailed the "gesture of peace" made by Arab leaders attending the landmark Mediterranean summit, which opened in Paris on Sunday.

Britain, Germany and the US have welcomed Saturday’s deal between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Lebanese counterpart, Michel Sleiman to open embassies in each other’s capitals.