Middle East News Headlines

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Tuesday executed five Yemenis convicted of crimes and displayed their bodies in public as a deterrent for future criminals, the government said.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Here is a look at the deadliest attacks in Iraq since the withdrawal of U.S. troops on Dec. 18, 2011:

BAGHDAD (AP) — A car bomb exploded as Sunni worshippers were leaving a mosque after evening prayers Tuesday in Baghdad, the deadliest in a string of attacks that killed at least 20 people nationwide in a week of the most sustained sectarian violence in the country since U.S. troops withdrew more than a year ago.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's election overseers removed potential wild-card candidates from the presidential race Tuesday, blocking a top aide of outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a former president who revived hopes of reformers.

The eight candidates approved Tuesday for Iran's June 14 presidential election to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who cannot run again because of term limits.

BAGHDAD (AP) — New attacks in Iraq killed 13 people and wounded dozens on Tuesday, officials said, after a bloody day that claimed more than 100 lives across the country.

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian troops and police mistakenly fired on a Bedouin funeral in the Sinai Peninsula on Tuesday, security officials said, in the opening salvo of a sweep searching for security personnel kidnapped by suspected militants.

BEIRUT (AP) — Despite recent rebel setbacks in Syria's civil war, the main opposition bloc signaled a tough line Tuesday on attending possible peace talks with President Bashar Assad's regime.

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — A Moroccan court has convicted two men of homosexuality and public indecency, and sentenced each to four months in prison, in the latest case against gays in this North African nation.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — A Palestinian report shows human rights abuses by the rival governments in the West Bank and Gaza are on the rise.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's chief peace negotiator said Tuesday that the current stalemate with the Palestinians is harmful for Israel, days before U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to arrive in Israel for his latest push to restart long-dormant talks.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli and Syrian troops exchanged fire across their tense cease-fire line in the Golan Heights on Tuesday, prompting an Israeli threat that Syria's leader will "bear the consequences" of further escalation and raising new concerns that the civil war there could explode into a region-wide conflict.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's election process slipped into a tense holding pattern Tuesday amid speculation that candidates blocked from the ballot include a top aide of outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a former president who revived hopes of reformers.

BEIRUT (AP) — Backed by elite troops of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group, Syrian government forces fought rebels in a strategic opposition-held Syrian town near the Lebanese border for the third straight day Tuesday.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — A Saudi official says police have detained 10 more members of an alleged Iranian spy ring — eight Saudis, one Lebanese and one Turkish national.

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian security officials say police and military forces have clashed with armed tribesmen in a north Sinai village by the border with Israel, leaving one gunman dead.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's military chief issued a stern warning to Bashar Assad on Tuesday, saying the Syrian leader would "bear the consequences" of any more attacks on Israeli forces near the Syrian border.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian news websites boosted speculation Tuesday that election overseers have barred two prominent but divisive figures from next month's presidential ballot, in a move that would eliminate a threat to the country's hard-liners.