Gulf Cooperation Council

Western nations on Friday pushed Egypt to persuade Palestinian militants to end rocket attacks from Gaza and backed Israel's right to self-defense, laying bare a new divide with the Arab world.

Syrian opposition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib in London on Friday met British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who said he would decide within days whether to officially recognise the newly united coalition.

Saudi King Abdullah has called for reason and wisdom during a telephone conversation with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in which he discussed the latest clashes between Gaza and Israel, state news agency SPA reported.

Syrian opposition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib was meeting with British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Friday in London, seeking UK recognition and pressing for an end to an EU arms embargo.

Syria's regime unleashed tank fire and air strikes on rebels on Wednesday as it slammed France for recognising an opposition bloc formed in Qatar which it said amounted to a "declaration of war".

Syria's regime unleashed tanks and warplanes against rebels as battles raged on Wednesday, after France recognised the newly united political opposition and raised the prospect of arming its fighters.

France recognised the newly formed opposition National Coalition on Tuesday as the sole representative of the Syrian people, the first Western country to do so, and said the question of arming them must now be reviewed.

Syria's new opposition chief on Tuesday called on world powers to arm President Bashar al-Assad's foes, as Arab and EU leaders urged his coalition to seek broader support inside the war-torn country.

Deadly fighting raged in Syria on Tuesday, a watchdog said, as Arab and European leaders urged the newly united opposition to seek broader support even after it was recognised by Gulf states.

Deadly fighting raged near Damascus and in Syria's northeast on Tuesday, as the Arab League urged more groups to join a newly formed opposition bloc that won swift recognition from the Gulf states.

The six Gulf states recognised a newly formed opposition bloc as the Syrian people's legitimate representative on Monday, as border violence stoked fears of a spillover of the 20-month conflict.

The six Gulf states recognised a newly formed opposition bloc as the Syrian people's legitimate representative on Monday, as border violence stoked fears of a spillover of Syria's 20-month conflict.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met in Cairo on Sunday with Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi for talks about the Syrian conflict, agreeing on the need to move forward but finding little common ground.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov flew to Cairo on Sunday as he kicked off a flurry of diplomatic activity focusing on the 19-month-old conflict in ally Syria.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was on his way to Cairo on Sunday, state media said, as he kicks off a flurry of diplomatic activity focussing on the 19-month-old conflict in ally Syria.

Morocco, facing slower growth and effects of the economic crisis in European partners, aims to attract investments from the oil-rich monarchies of the Gulf which King Mohammed VI has toured.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, current chair of the Non-Aligned Movement, travels next week to Azerbaijan and Kuwait to attend forums on boosting cooperation in Asia, the state-run IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.

The United States is pushing Gulf countries to develop missile defense plans, amid what they see is a rising threat from Iran, US officials said Friday.

Syria peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi faces the arduous task of seeking an end to a bloody conflict that has dim hopes of a peaceful outcome, as world powers remain divided over a solution, analysts say.

The chief of the Red Cross was on Monday headed to Syria on a humanitarian mission, his office said, as an air strike on a northern rebel bastion killed 18 people and a car bomb rocked a Damascus suburb.