TEHRAN: In 1989, Hizbullah was targeted by a number of local Lebanese players, with regional and Arab sponsorship and tacit American support. Relations between the party and Syria deteriorated, reaching their nadir with the military showdown between the party and the Amal Movement, the Syrian leadership's closest Lebanese ally (led then, as now, by Nabih Berri, who since 1992 has also been Parliament speaker), which plunged the Lebanese Shiite community into a dangerous internecine war. ... more

The controversial trial of 11 Iranians accused of corruption heard yesterday how a millionaire carpet dealer gave money and gifts to prominent religious and political figures while defrauding state banks of more than Dollars 100m (Pounds 69m). ... more

TEHRAN -- The first session of the trial of Shahram Jazayeri, the first person charged with serious financial corruption, took place yesterday. ... more

HERAT, Afghanistan, Jan. 21 - Iran is working to consolidate its influence in the western part of Afghanistan through a firm alliance with the local ruler and the steady shipment of aid and supplies that may include weapons, residents and officials say. ... more

Islamic republic's Security forces have been deployed massively, at this time (07:20 AM IR local time), in downtown Tehran and especially around the "Hor" (former Bagh-Shah) square of Tehran. ... more

An international conference on rebuilding Afghanistan wraps up Tuesday in Tokyo. Donors have so far pledged more than $3-billion to help the war-ravaged country. ... more

TOKYO -- The U.S. and other big donors pledged billions of dollars to rebuild Afghanistan despite fears that the country's fledgling government isn't prepared to handle significant flows of aid money. Led by large donations from the U.S, the European Union and Japan, the nearly 50 countries gathered here for a two-day conference said they are prepared to give more than $1.5 billion this year to begin reconstruction. Longer-term but less-certain pledges are expected to exceed $4 billion, still well below the $10 billion the United Nations says is needed during the next five years. ... more

TOKYO, Jan. 22, Kyodo - Interim Afghan authority leader Hamid Karzai told two Japanese lawmakers Tuesday he intends to try to improve Afghanistan's relations with the United States and Iran. ... more

Mossad head Ephraim Halevy is the only senior security official in Israel who has publicly called for leaving the door to dialogue open with moderate elements in Iran, even if the official voices emanating from Tehran are still hostile. ... more

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Monday that the Iranian threat to Israel is becoming tangible and that Iranians have been contacting Islamic Movement activists from the Israeli Arab population over the past few months. ... more

ALMOST 200 Iraqi prisoners held in Iran for the past decade have returned home, the first of 697 Iraqi detainees Tehran has promised to release this week. ... more

The Tel Aviv District Court sentenced Mark Eden, who was convicted in a plea bargain of attempting to make contact with foreign agents, to two years in prison. ... more

For some time, military and political leaders in both Saudi Arabia and the United States have been quietly debating the value of a continuing U.S. military presence in the kingdom. Some on the American side argue that restrictions on U.S. activities and frictions with the Saudi government outweigh the advantages of basing planes, command and control systems and some 5,000 troops on Saudi soil; others say it would be far more difficult for the United States to defend the Gulf, or mount a new campaign against Iraq, without the deployments. Now the Saudi leadership around Crown Prince Abdullah has let it be known that it may seek to phase out the U.S. presence once the Afghan campaign is over. ... more

The state of confusion in Saudi Arabia is coming to a head. There are intimations of revolutionary rift with the United States, and with it the possible collapse of what has hitherto been one of America's indispensable allies in the Middle East. Overall, the desert kingdom bears on it the manufacturer's stamp "Made in Britain, about 1925," and that is no guarantee of endurance. ... more

Heavily armed attackers on motorcycles sprayed automatic gunfire outside the US government cultural centre today, leaving four dead and 11 wounded, police said. ... more

Four unidentied gunmen sprayed bullets outside the American Centre in the eastern Indian city of Calcutta, killing four armed police guards and injuring 20 people. ... more

Five journalists were killed in Iran between November 1998 and February 1999. The Iranian authorities announced that "rogue elements" in the security services had carried out the killings, and some Ministry of Information employees were tried in secret for the murders. The trial was condemned as a sham by the victims' families, their lawyer (who was arrested on the eve of the trial) and human rights and journalists' organisations internationally. ... more