Middle East News - AFP

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki fired the head of Baghdad's security forces on Wednesday after bombings in the capital which killed 127 people, a statement from his office said. Full Story »

AMMAN (AFP) - Jordan's King Abdullah II named former royal court minister Samir Rifai as prime minister on Wednesday and, in a move analysts said signalled a new push for reform. Full Story »

TEHRAN (AFP) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that Iran's plan to build 10 new uranium enrichment plants was not aimed at confronting the UN atomic watchdog, which censured Tehran last month, the state television website reported. Full Story »

JERUSALEM (AFP) - The Israeli parliament on Wednesday passed the first reading of a bill requiring a referendum to approve a pull-out from annexed east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights as part of any peace deal. Full Story »

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said on Wednesday a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas was still stuck on the question of which prisoners Hamas wants in exchange for a captured Israeli soldier. Full Story »

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Thousands of demonstrators rallied outside the Israeli prime minister's residence in Jerusalem on Wednesday to protest a 10-month moratorium on new building permits for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank. Full Story »

BEIRUT (AFP) - A Syrian court has asked 25 Lebanese figures, including the police chief and top prosecutor, to appear for questioning over the murder of their country's ex-premier, a Lebanese official said on Wednesday. Full Story »

JERUSALEM (AFP) - A US-born Jewish settler suspected of having murdered two Palestinians and carrying out a string of hate attacks against missionaries and gays went on trial Wednesday. Full Story »

RIYADH (AFP) - Saudi Arabia rebuffed charges that the US kidnapped a Iranian nuclear scientist on a pilgrimage to Mecca, a Saudi newspaper said Wednesday, while a leading Iranian politician branded the act "terrorist behaviour." Full Story »

JERUSALEM (AFP) - The European parliament demanded on Wednesday that Israel explain why it prevented a delegation of MEPs from travelling to the Gaza Strip despite initially authorising the visit. Full Story »