Jordan executed two al-Qaeda prisoners before dawn, just hours after an online video purported to show Islamic State group militants burning a captured Jordanian pilot to death in a cage.

Jordan executed two al Qaida prisoners by hanging, after Islamic State (IS) militants put to death a captured fighter pilot by burning him alive in a cage.

Japan’s prime minister said he was left “speechless” by a video purportedly showing one of two Japanese hostages of the extremist Islamic State group had been killed.

Israel has said it will “respond harshly” to an attack on a Jerusalem synagogue in which four people were killed.

Pope Francis has arrived in Jordan, kicking off his three-day trip to the Middle East.

A senior Iraqi military commander has said it will take a few days to fully dislodge al-Qaida-linked fighters from two key western cities.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has urged world leaders to stop fuelling the bloodshed in Syria with weapons and get both sides to the negotiating table to end the “biggest challenge to peace and security in the world”.

A Jordanian MP has been accused of opening fire on a colleague with an automatic rifle, chasing him through parliament before being overpowered.

Jordan’s prime minister announced price hikes for petrol and other fuel, setting off demonstrations and calls for general strikes.

A radical Islamist cleric — described by prosecutors as a key al Qaeda operative in Europe — cannot be deported from Britain to Jordan to face terrorism charges, judges ruled in the latest twist in a protracted legal saga.

DOZENS of soldiers and security forces were gunned down by suspected army defectors in southern Syria, a deadly ambush that comes as President Bashar Assad increasingly appears unable to manage the crisis, activists said.

Dozens of soldiers and security forces have been gunned down by suspected army defectors in southern Syria, a deadly ambush that comes as President Bashar Assad increasingly appears unable to manage the crisis, activists said today.

Former US senator George Mitchell has resigned as President Barack Obama’s special envoy to the Middle East amid turmoil in the region and fruitless attempts at rekindling Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Thousands of Jordanians took to the streets of the capital today to voice allegiance to King Abdullah II in the biggest show of support for the monarch since opposition protests began 10 weeks ago.

The revolution on the Nile raises serious questions about the stability of other Arab regimes, reports Brian Murphy from Dubai

More than 250,000 people joined a mass protest in Cairo's main square today in the largest protest yet in a week of unrelenting demands for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to leave after nearly 30 years in power.

Acil Tabbara reports from Dubai on unrest in the region and the role played by Facebook

Thousands of Jordanian opposition supporters have taken to the streets in the capital Amman, demanding the resignation of the prime minister.

THE Palestinians want peace talks with Israel to continue, US envoy George Mitchell said in Cairo yesterday, a day after the Palestine Liberation Organisation urged president Mahmoud Abbas to quit the negotiations.

Jordan's Queen Rania has undergone a non-surgical procedure in New York to correct an irregular heartbeat, the Royal Palace said today.

US president Barack Obama challenged Middle East leaders to seize a fleeting opportunity to deliver peace to a region haunted by decades of hostility.

OPENING Mideast peace talks under the shadow of fresh violence, US President Barack Obama vowed yesterday not to allow “extremists and rejectionists” to undercut long-stalled negotiations on creating a sovereign Palestinian state beside a secure Israel.

A SUICIDE bomber who killed eight people at a CIA base in Afghanistan was an al-Qaida triple agent who duped Western intelligence services for months before turning on his handlers, jihadist websites boasted yesterday.

YOUTUBE has broadcast its first live event, an extravaganza which was part concert and part variety show and which drew comments from viewers ranging from “awesome!” to “train wreck”.

King Abdullah II of Jordan plans to visit Iraq soon in the first trip by an Arab leader since Saddam Hussein was deposed in 2003, officials said today.

US president George Bush is going to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt next month to try to speed up the Middle East peace process and celebrate the Jewish state’s 60th anniversary.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy toured the ancient Jordanian ruins of Petra today, hand-in-hand with his new girlfriend, supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni.

Jordanians headed to the polls today to elect their second parliament under King Abdullah II, amid apathy toward Islamist politicians and scepticism that the government will help create jobs or alleviate growing poverty.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought support from Egypt today in her quest to nudge Israelis and Palestinians closer together before a Middle East peace conference tentatively set for late November.

THE father of a Jordanian doctor reportedly arrested by police investigating three failed bombings said yesterday his son was devoted to becoming a surgeon and incapable of carrying out such attacks.

THE Israeli cabinet yesterday approved the release of frozen tax funds to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a step to bolster the moderate leader in his standoff against the Islamic militant group Hamas.

Efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking will shift into higher gear in the coming week, with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert travelling to Jordan and his foreign minister heading to Cairo to discuss a sweeping Arab peace proposal, an Israeli official said today.

Efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking will shift into higher gear in the coming week, with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert travelling to Jordan and his foreign minister heading to Cairo to discuss a sweeping Arab peace proposal, an Israeli official said today.

An international diplomatic drive for Mideast peace gained momentum today, with Israel welcoming the idea of a regional peace summit and Saudi Arabia suggesting it would consider changes in a dormant peace initiative to make it more acceptable to Israel.

Israel tonight threatened to stop dealing with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, if he goes ahead with plans to join Hamas in a new government, as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Arab allies sought a way to push forward the stalled peace process.

Anti-riot police scuffled with demonstrators in Cairo as Muslims marched in Jordan and Lebanon to express outrage over Israeli renovation work near Islam’s third-holiest shine.

Lebanon’s prime minister today abruptly pulled out of an international gathering of world political and business leaders in Switzerland, reflecting tensions in his nation.

Concerns about global warming and resolving the seemingly endless tensions in the Middle East are set to dominate the agenda of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Switzerland.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II told an Israeli newspaper today that his country wants its own nuclear programme.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Jordan today for talks that the Jordanian government hopes will culminate in renewed American efforts to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made a surprise visit to Jordan yesterday for talks with King Abdullah II on ways to revive Middle East peacemaking.

US President George Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki opened talks today after yesterday's planned meeting was cancelled following disclosure of US doubts about the Iraqi leader’s capabilities and a Baghdad protest at Bush's attendance.