SOLDIERS opened fire yesterday on thousands of protesters defying a government ban and streaming toward the landmark square that had been the symbolic centre of the uprising to break the political grip of the Gulf nation’s leaders.

Security forces have fired tear gas on thousands of protest marchers in Bahrain's capital after angry calls to topple the Gulf nation's monarchy.

Thousands of mourners have called for the downfall of Bahrain’s ruling monarchy as funerals begin for the victims of the security forces’ attack on pro-reform protesters.

State-run newspaper Al-Ahram said tonight an Egyptian reporter shot during clashes earlier this week died today of his wounds, the first reported journalist death in 11 days of turmoil surrounding Egypt’s wave of anti-government protests.

IRISH trainer Carl O’Callaghan could be a new face at Royal Ascot in the summer after hitting the big time with his American raider Kinsale King in the Golden Shaheen at Meydan.

Irish-born trainer Carl O’Callaghan could be a new face at Royal Ascot in the summer after hitting the big time with his American raider Kinsale King in the Golden Shaheen at Meydan.

THE brother of the Palestinian leader assassinated in Dubai has called on the Irish Government to expel the Israeli ambassador from Ireland.

A Hamas leader assassinated during a visit to Dubai last month exposed himself to attack when he breached security protocol by talking about his trip over the phone and making hotel reservations on the internet, the militant Islamic group said today.

The Israeli and Palestinian leaders today called off a planned summit this week, dealing a new setback to efforts to halt nearly a month of fighting between the Israeli army and militants in the Gaza Strip and restart peacemaking.

A militant commander affiliated with Palestinian Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement was shot dead today.

A suicide bomber rammed a police checkpoint in northern Iraq with an explosives-laden vehicle today, killing more than a dozen people, the deadliest attack on a day when at least 25 people died in violence around the country.

Bomb attacks targeting Iraqi police patrols in Baghdad left at least 18 people dead and 57 wounded this morning, police said.

Three bomb attacks targeting police patrols in Baghdad left at least four people dead and more than 40 wounded this morning, police said.

A SUICIDE car bomber detonated explosives in a crowd of labourers gathered across the street from a major Shi’ite shrine in southern Iraq yesterday, killing at least 53 people and wounding 105.

A Jordanian who was responsible for slaughtering two US soldiers last month was fatally wounded in a clash with security forces, a senior Iraqi official said today.

Gunmen kidnapped the head of Iraq’s Olympic committee and at least 30 employees today after storming a meeting of sports officials just days after the coach of Iraq’s national wrestling team was killed.

ISRAEL bombed the home of Hezbollah’s leader in Beirut yesterday as part of a widening assault in Lebanon since Shi’ite fighters captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight.

Lebanon accused Israel today of launching “a widespread barbaric aggression” aimed at bringing the small nation to its knees and urged the international community to end the military offensive.

Gunmen in Baghdad intercepted a minivan apparently carrying a coffin to the Shiite holy city of Najaf today, killing all 10 people on board.

SECURITY officials said a car bomb on Friday killed a leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad — an Iran-backed militant group that persisted in attacking Israel while other major factions adhered to a cease-fire.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader in southern Lebanon died today from wounds from a car bombing that also killed his brother, security officials said.

Bomb blasts, rocket and gunfire killed at least 10 people and injured 23 in the Iraqi capital today, police said.

An Israeli missile that destroyed a vehicle in Gaza City killed three children as well as two Palestinian militants.

Two car bombs killed ten civilians today in a blast at a petrol station in central Iraq and another one targeting a two-car convoy carrying foreigners through central Baghdad, police said.

Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim arrived in the US more than three years ago as babies joined at the tops of their heads. Tomorrow, the four-year-olds will return home to Egypt as two boys living independent lives.

After a year of mounting criticism, Secretary-General Kofi Annan defended the United Nations yesterday and urged global leaders to restore the organisation’s credibility by adopting broad reforms needed for the world to act together to tackle poverty, terrorism and conflict.

Roadside bombs killed two American soldiers in northern Baghdad and ignited a train carrying fuel in the south of Iraq’s capital, killing two Iraqis and wounding six others, officials said today.

GUNMEN killed an aide to Iraq’s most influential Shi’ite cleric and two bodyguards in a drive-by shooting outside a Baghdad mosque yesterday — an attack likely to stoke tensions between the Shi’ite majority and the Sunni minority, officials said.

Jordan has refused to license the printing of a novel written by Saddam Hussein because it would harm the kingdom’s relations with its eastern neighbour, a senior government official said today.

Saddam Hussein’s family will publish next week a novel written by the ousted Iraqi leader before the US-led war on Iraq, his daughter said today.

A car bomb exploded outside an Iraqi army base in central Baghdad today, killing six soldiers and wounding 25 others, officials said.

A judge on the special tribunal that will put Saddam Hussein and members of his former regime on trial was assassinated in the Iraqi capital, according to an Iraqi police official and a media report.

An Afghan court has sentenced a man to death today for the 2001 killing of three foreign journalists and an Afghan colleague who were pulled from their cars, robbed and shot as they rushed to cover the collapse of the Taliban.

MAHMOUD Abbas could hardly be more different from the man he seeks to replace: unlike Yasser Arafat, he likes to work in the shadows, shuns publicity, listens to advisers, deplores violence.

A car bomb exploded northeast of the Iraqi capital today, killing at least seven police officers in an apparent attempt to assassinate a deputy governor who was wounded in the blast.

US intelligence analysts now believe Saddam Hussein is much more likely to be alive than dead, it was reported today.

President Bush called Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas today to reiterate the need for both Palestinians and Israelis to fight terror and resume peace negotiations.

ISRAELI troops stormed a Hamas stronghold yesterday and exchanged fire with dozens of masked gunmen in the most intense battle in Gaza in 31 months of fighting. Twelve Palestinians, including two children and a top bombmaker, were killed.

US military officials have denied that American marines shot into a crowd of civilians in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, killing as many as 10 people.

Egypt’s motor racing boss is confident the country will be ready to stage a Formula One race by the end of 2004.

A suicide bomber's mother says she wished her son luck shortly before he killed an Israeli toddler and her grandmother.

Egypt has become the latest country looking to join the Formula One calendar with plans for a circuit near the Pyramids.

A suicide bomber blew himself up on the patio of a restaurant near the Israeli coastal town of Haifa today, wounding up to 20 people.