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Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- The brother of al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri is proposing to mediate a peace deal between the West and Islamists. In an exclusive interview with CNN, Mohamed al Zawahiri unveiled his proposal for the first time, saying he is in a unique position to help end the violence and that both sides need to make concessions. As the al Qaeda leader's brother, he says they are ideologically inseparable, and that if anyone can talk his brother out of violence it's him. He is like so many former prisoners I've met -- calm, collected, focused and...

ISTANBUL, June 27 — President Bush reassured Turkey on Sunday that it was once again a friend in good standing, despite its refusal to support American troops in the invasion of Iraq last year. Meanwhile, administration officials pressed other reluctant NATO allies to commit themselves to rebuilding Iraq's security forces. On the eve of a two-day NATO summit meeting that will be dominated by Iraq and the rifts caused by the American invasion, Mr. Bush concentrated on the theme of reconciliation and on refocusing the alliance to use its military muscle in new ways, especially in Iraq. "We are going...

Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - Syria has asked Australia to use its close relationship with the U.S. to help facilitate the rogue state's rehabilitation, but Canberra said it expects Damascus to follow Libya's lead by addressing concerns relating to terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has met with Syrian diplomats to discuss these issues, a spokesman said Wednesday. Downer told newly-appointed Syrian charge d'affaires Tamam Souliman this week that "Australia would welcome moves by Syria to engage more broadly with the West." Australia believed Syria had a long way to go, however, and advised it to...

<p>U.S. to Open Iraq Contracts to Germany, Handelsblatt Reports Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. will allow German participation in $5 billion worth of contracts to rebuild Iraq, the Handelsblatt business newspaper reported, citing unidentified U.S. government officials.</p> <p>German companies will be permitted to bid for orders to rebuild Iraq's electricity network, water supply and transport systems, the paper said in an advance release of a story in tomorrow's edition. Along with those of other countries that didn't join the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, German companies were excluded from an initial batch of contracts worth 18.6 billion euros ($23.6 billion), Handelsblatt said.</p>

ISLAMABAD : In a bid to continue the process of a composite dialogue in a "positive way", India and Pakistan have reached an understanding not to make statements against each other through the media. Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said that the understanding had been reached between him and his Indian counterpart Yashwant Sinha. Official media also quoted him as saying at a public meeting in his constituency in Kasur during the weekend that the sincere implementation of South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement, signed during the SAARC summit, would usher in a new era of prosperity for...

Schroeder says Germany ready to help on Iraq Tue December 16, 2003 11:30 AM ET BERLIN, Dec 16 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said on Tuesday Germany was ready to make a "substantial contribution" to rebuilding Iraq ahead of talks on Iraq's debt with U.S. special envoy James Baker. "We will talk about what we should do with Iraq's debt," Schroeder told reporters before going into a meeting with Baker. "Germany is ready to make a substantial contribution to help rebuilding a democratic and stable Iraq. That will be the subject of our talks today and I think that...

As France feels the bruises of its diplomatic fight with America over Iraq, and worries that its revenge will be long and bitter, it is finally questioning the leadership of President Jacques Chirac. Still dazed by the speed of Iraq's capitulation, M Chirac is groping for a sequel to his defiance of the march to war. He has dispatched his foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, all over the Middle East to seek out a French role in whatever comes next. On Tuesday, he called President George W Bush for a frosty, 20-minute conversation supposed to clear the air. M Chirac's...

The anti-war alliance of France, Germany and Russia seemed to be unravelling last night when President Jacques Chirac and Chancellor Gerhard Schröder moved to repair relations with America and Britain. As Tony Blair flew to Hanover for a summit with Mr Schröder, M Chirac spoke by telephone to President Bush for the first time since the row over the failed attempt to secure United Nations approval for war in Iraq. French officials said M Chirac told Mr Bush in the 20-minute call of his readiness "to act pragmatically and case by case" on issues such as disarmament, sanctions, interim government,...

Henry Kissinger, former US secretary of state, and Larry Summers, the former Treasury secretary, were named on Monday to head a taskforce to find ways to repair the fractured relationship between the US and Europe. The Council on Foreign Relations group will examine the state of US policy towards Europe at a time when the transatlantic alliance has been shaken by disagreements between the US, France and Germany over the war in Iraq. Both sides have tried to play down the divisions since the war began, and French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin said on Monday that "it is useless...