Middle East News

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meets Arab foreign ministers in Cairo to discuss whether to resume direct talks with the Israelis.

Officials investigate damage to a Japanese oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, amid reports of a collision or an attack.

A sandstorm downs an Iraqi military helicopter, killing its five-member crew, while a Baghdad blast kills five Iraqis, officials say.

Rights group Amnesty International accuses Iran of persecuting a lawyer involved in the high profile case of a woman sentenced to death by stoning.

Mannequins and pictures of underwear models will be removed from women's clothes shops under new rules announced by Hamas.

Environmental group WWF apologises to Saudi Arabia after one of its workers vandalised the country's nameplate at a climate conference.

The government in Nepal lifts a ban that prohibited Nepalis from seeking work in Iraq.

A Japanese oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz is damaged by what has been reported as a freak wave, injuring crew members.

A US federal watchdog harshly criticises the US military for failing to account properly for almost $9bn (£5.8bn) of reconstruction funds for Iraq.

Around 300 Bedouins living in Israel's Negev desert are made homeless after police raid their village and raze their homes.