Breaking News

Greece's Deputy Foreign Minister Marilisa Xenogiannakopoulou has resigned in protest at a controversial bailout agreement the country needs to avoid going bankrupt. Three other cabinet ministers resigned earlier in the day.

Breaking news from the MIDDLE EAST

SYRIA

Free Syrian Army denies implication in Aleppo blasts

The head of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Ryad al-Bashar, has told FRANCE 24 that his forces were not involved in Friday's twin blasts on security buildings in Syria's second city of Aleppo, denying an earlier claim by an FSA colonel.

SYRIA

Fears of major assault as Syrian tanks encircle Homs

Tanks encircled opposition neighbourhoods in Homs on Friday, prompting resident fears of an imminent major assault to subdue the town at the centre of the uprising. Local hospitals are already overflowing after a week of bloodshed.

DIPLOMACY

US, Israeli officials meet amid rising concern over Iran

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman met for talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington Tuesday amid speculation that Israel is considering a military solution to international concerns over Iran's nuclear programme.

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GULF STATES

Gulf Cooperation Council countries to expel Syrian envoys

The member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- have agreed to expel their Syrian ambassadors and recall their own envoys from Damascus, a statement issued Tuesday said.

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

Abbas to head Palestinian interim government

Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas agreed Monday to form an interim unity government with Mahmoud Abbas as prime minister. The move prompted Israel to warn that any reconciliation with Hamas jeopardised progress on peace.

MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE

Turkey, Qatar urge renewed negotiations with Tehran

Turkish and Qatari officials said a military strike on Iran would be disastrous for the region and dismissed suggestions of tighter sanctions to rein in its nuclear programme, saying renewed negotiations with Tehran were the only option.

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SYRIA

China defends veto on Syria resolution

China on Monday defended its veto of a United Nations draft resolution calling on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to leave power, on the grounds that last year’s resolution on Libya led to foreign interference that went beyond its mandate.

YEMEN

Overnight air raids target al Qaeda militants in Yemen

Overnight air raids targeted al Qaeda posts in Yemen, killing at least 11 militants including several local leaders, witnesses said Tuesday. Al Qaeda fighters have capitalised on months of political unrest to take over areas of the country's south.

SYRIA

Some Arab observers in Syria ‘for pleasure'

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ISRAEL

Netanyahu set to win new Likud leadership mandate

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks set to win a new mandate to head the Likud party in a Tuesday primary. With elections not due until 2013, Netanyahu's call for a primary has prompted speculation that he intends to call an early vote.

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JORDAN

Hamas leader on first official trip to Jordan since exile

Hamas leader and Jordanian national Khaled Meshaal arrived Sunday on a first official visit to the country since his 1999 exile. The visit is seen as likely to mollify Jordan's Islamist groups, which have agitated for sweeping political reforms.

A bid for Palestinian statehood

Palestinian territories

Thousands of Palestinians rally to support statehood
ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT

Ten key dates on the path toward Palestinian statehood
DIPLOMACY

Palestinian UN bid seeks 'to level the playing field'

IRAQ

Suicide bomber hits Shiite funeral in Baghdad

A suicide bomber detonated an explosive-filled taxi near a Shiite funeral procession in Baghdad Friday, killing at least 31. Sectarian clashes have worsened since PM Nuri al-Maliki sacked a Sunni politician in December.

SYRIA - EXCLUSIVE REPORT

On the ground with the Free Syrian Army

Foreign journalists have been mostly unable to work in Syria since the uprising began last March and a harsh government crackdown ensued. Two undercover FRANCE 24 reporters provide an exclusive report of conditions on the ground.

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IRAQ WAR

US marine spared jail over Haditha killings

US marine Sergeant Frank Wuterich was on Tuesday spared a jail sentence for his role in a 2005 massacre of 24 civilians in the Iraqi city of Haditha. The Staff Sergeant now faces only a demotion to the rank of private.

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HAMAS

Hamas chief to visit Jordan 12 years after expulsion

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal is due in Jordan Sunday on his first official visit since his 1999 expulsion, when Hamas was accused of threatening the security and stability of Jordan. A Jordanian spokesman called the visit "a new chapter in relations."