Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has approved the construction of 455 housing units in the West Bank, his office said Monday. The move comes as Israel and the United States have been increasingly at odds over the settlement issue. U.S. President Barack Obama has insisted Israel freeze all settlement activity as a necessary step toward advancing negotiations with Palestinians. The Jewish settlements are spread throughout the Palestinian West Bank. Israel maintains the settlements are needed ...

Iran and Venezuela plan to stand up against "imperialist" foes by strengthening bilateral cooperation on a range of issues, including nuclear power, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday. "Expansion of Tehran-Caracas relations is necessary given their common interests, friends and foes," Ahmadinejad said after a meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart President Hugo Chavez, according to Iran's semiofficial FARS news agency. Chavez was in Tehran on Saturday with a team of high-ranking officials for a two-day visit. Chavez reiterated the goal: ...

The landslide defeat of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's leading opponent, Mir Hossein Moussavi, who some analysts predicted would win the election, triggered protests around the world.

U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell, who is in the Middle East to try and kick-start the peace process, will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday morning.