International Politics of the Middle East

"It is not possible for those who belong to the Muslim faith to carry out genocide," Erdogan told ruling party members.

Syrian President Bashar Assad earlier Sunday urged Turkey to maintain good relations with Israel, in order to mediate Damascus-Jerusalem peace negotiations.

During Ehud Olmert's tenure as prime minister, Turkey mediated five rounds of talks between Israeli and Syrian officials. Toward the end of Olmert's term the two sides were on the verge of resuming direct negotiations. At the last meeting between Olmert and Erdogan, the Turkish leader called Syrian President Bashar Assad and relayed messages to and from Olmert. But after Operation Cast Lead earlier this year and the freeze in negotiations with Syria, Erdogan said Olmert had stabbed him in the back.

The president of Yemen has ruled out a truce in the escalating conflict with Houthi fighters in the north.

Heavy clashes had been reported at the Saudi-Yemeni border as Saudi forces battle Yemeni rebels for the fifth straight day on Saturday.

The Shia Houthis, fighting their own government over alleged discrimination, had also claimed to have captured some Saudi soldiers on Friday.

Emirati boys are posting lower examination scores and dropping out of high school at a much greater rate than Emirati girls, newly released research shows.It also found that among pupils who complete secondary schooling, many fewer boys go on to a university education.

although 70 per cent of Emirati girls enrol at university after high school, the figure for boys is only 27 per cent.

The drop-out rates are highest in Grade 10, the first non-compulsory year of school, when many boys abandon their education to pursue jobs in the public sector.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog has asked Iran to explain evidence suggesting the Islamic Republic's scientists have experimented with an advanced nuclear warhead design, the Guardian reported in its Friday edition.The newspaper, citing what it describes as "previously unpublished documentation" from an International Atomic Energy Agency compiled dossier, said Iranian scientists may have tested high-explosive components of a "two-point implosion" device.The IAEA said in September it has no proof Iran has or once had a covert atomic bomb program.The Vienna-based IAEA was not immediately available for comment on Thursday.Iran's Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) were also unavailable for comment when contacted by Reuters.

officials in Sanaa denied there had been any attacks on Yemeni territory.

Saudi warplanes and helicopters had dropped phosphorus bombs on its fighters in the areas of al-Malahaid, Jabal al-Mamdud, al-Husama and al-Mujdaa.

A Saudi government adviser said the air force had targeted rebels who had seized Saudi parts of Jabal al-Dukhan, which they said had now been recaptured by troops.

The UN will temporarily evacuate 600 "non-essential" international staff from Afghanistan

UN has 1,300 international staff based in Afghanistan.

The temporary relocation of staff out of Afghanistan is likely to take three to four weeks,

Gaza's aquifer and only natural freshwater source is "in danger of collapse," the UN is warning.

The plant is handling twice its capacity and is only able to partially treat the sewage.

In addition, with several years of drought and the digging of hundreds of illegal, unregulated wells, the UN Environmental Programme says at least three times more water is extracted than is replenished each year.

appeared to endorse an Israeli position that talks could start before a settlement freeze which the Palestinians are demanding.

Washington has changed tack, saying the most important thing was to get the negotiations going again.

The Palestinian refusal to acquiesce in this means the chances appear slimmer than ever that these talks about talks can be turned into substantive negotiations, BBC Jerusalem correspondent Paul Wood said.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas has test-fired a rocket capable of reaching Tel Aviv from Gaza, Israel's head of military intelligence has said.

rocket was believed to be of Iranian origin and had been successfully fired out to sea.

no immediate comment by Hamas and it is not clear what evidence there is that the rocket came from Iran.

Israeli commandos seized a ship Wednesday that defense officials said was carrying more than 60 tons of missiles, rockets and anti-tank weapons bound for Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas.The pre-dawn seizure near Cyprus was a rare interception of a suspected arms shipment by Israel, which has long accused Iran of arming its enemies. Israel offered no evidence to support its claim that the weapons came from Iran and were meant for Hezbollah.

Eli Shaked, former Israeli ambassador to Egypt, said the growing arsenals of Hamas and Hezbollah are changing the balance of power between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant groups.