Beirut

• Naharnet May 25, 2013, 6:29 PM

Iran's defense minister insisted on Saturday that the country has never sent \"military forces\" to Syria, reiterating its denial of allegations by Western powers backing Syrian rebels.\"The Islamic Republic of Iran has never sent military forces to Syria and will never do so,\" Ahmad Vahidi said in a statement reported by Iranian media.

• Naharnet May 25, 2013, 6:29 PM

A car bomb targeting a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims north of Baghdad killed five people on Saturday, police and a doctor said, the second attack on Shiite Muslim faithful this week.The bomb, which exploded on the highway from Balad to Samarra, also wounded 19 people, the sources said, adding that most of the casualties were Iranians.

• Naharnet May 25, 2013, 6:29 PM

Israel on Saturday accused Syrian forces of trying to provoke conflict as the two sides rowed over responsibility for a border clash.Tensions around Golan Heights ceasefire zone between the two rivals have escalated since Syrian forces fired across the U.N.-patrolled ceasefire line and hit an Israeli military vehicle on Tuesday.

• Naharnet May 25, 2013, 6:27 PM

A Sri Lankan Buddhist monk died Saturday of severe burns a day after setting himself on fire to protest the slaughter of cattle, an official said.Bowatte Indaratna, 30, succumbed to his injuries at the National Hospital in Colombo where he was rushed Friday after his self-immolation bid in front of the highly venerated Temple of the Tooth in the...

• Naharnet May 25, 2013, 6:27 PM

French President Francois Hollande on Saturday invited African leaders to a \"peace and security\" summit later in the year.\"I invite all African leaders to Paris for a meeting that will be devoted to peace and security and therefore in some way also, the fight against terrorism,\" he told reporters on the sidelines of African Union celebrations...

• Naharnet May 25, 2013, 6:05 PM

An organization calling itself the \"Syrian Electronic Army\" has launched a cyber attack against the water distribution system of Haifa, Israel's third largest city, an expert said on Saturday.The attack \"by this organization which we don't know exactly who is behind\" was carried out two weeks ago and failed, said Professor Yitzhak Ben-Israel,...