The man behind an anti-Muslim film that sparked widespread violence in the Middle East has denied violating his probation stemming from a 2010 bank fraud conviction.

The Californian man behind the anti-Muslim film which sparked violence in the Middle East is expected to be asked by a judge in Los Angeles today whether he violated his probation for a 2010 bank fraud conviction.

BAHRAIN’S king has declared a three-month state of emergency and gave the country’s military chief wide authority to battle a Shi’ite-led protest movement that has threatened the Sunni monarchy and drawn in forces from around the Gulf.

Egypt’s president Hosni Mubarak held talks with his economy team today as thousands of anti-government protesters remained camped out on Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

There are reports that the headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party have been set on fire in Cairo as protestors stay out on the streets despite a curfew.

A 12-YEAR-OLD Yemeni child-bride died after struggling for three days in labour to give birth, a local human rights organisation said.

A 12-year-old Yemeni child-bride died after struggling for three days in labour to give birth, a local human rights organisation said.

FBI counter-terrorism agents lack the language skills and cultural understanding needed to succeed, a high-profile whistleblower claims.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today ruled out ceasefire talks with Hamas, calling the country’s battle against the Islamic militant group a “true war”.

Intensive negotiations are under way toward freeing British journalist Alan Johnston, who was kidnapped three months ago in Gaza, a senior Hamas official said today.

Israel's deputy defence minister today threatened to target Hamas' political leaders, calling them "terrorists in suits" after a Hamas rocket attack killed an Israeli woman.

Suicide bombers killed 13 people in a pair of attacks today around the Iraqi Sunni city of Ramadi, in what local officials said was part of a power struggle between al-Qaida and tribes that have broken with the terror network.

Palestinian officials are trying to persuade the kidnappers of a long-held BBC journalist that they are mistaken in using Islamic justifications for their actions, an aide to the Palestinian prime minister said tonight.

An Egyptian has been identified as a possible suicide bomber in the Sharm el Sheikh terror attacks in the first breakthrough in the investigation.

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 HAMAS leader has said the militant group could accept creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza and a long-term truce with Israel, signalling a possible new overture to end hostilities.

The spiritual leader of the terror group believed to have killed two American hostages in Iraq this week and responsible for a string of other deadly attacks has been killed in a US air strike, his family and Islamic clerics said yesterday.

US president George Bush told a sceptical Arab world that the actions of soldiers who mistreated Iraqi prisoners “don’t represent America” and pledged that “justice will be served”.

Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy criticised Youssef Safri for the tackle that landed Colin Healy in hospital with a serious injury.

A serious injury to Irish international Colin Healy overshadowed a gripping game between Sunderland and Coventry at Highfield Road.

ISRAEL withdrew most forces from a Gaza Strip refugee camp yesterday after a swoop on suspected arms-smuggling tunnels, using tanks and bulldozers, that left eight Palestinian dead and more than 1,000 homeless.

Jermain Defoe insists he will not let talk of a big-money move to Manchester United unsettle him.

Hassan Kachloul has dedicated his first Aston Villa goal to the memory of close friend and fellow Moroccan international Youssef Belkhoja, who died of a heart attack during a match earlier this month.