An Iraqi taxi driver was shot dead by a private security guard hired to protect US convoys driving through Baghdad, Iraqi officials said Monday.

Turkish women protest on Monday against Israel in Istanbul as Israeli President Shimon Peres was in Ankara to address parliament today. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who arrived in Ankara on Monday, is also due to address the assembly.

Israeli President Shimon Peres pledged Monday that his country would work for a tangible result at an upcoming US-sponsored Middle East peace conference, saying that the Jewish state is ready to make peace with the Palestinians.

Gunfire killed at least seven people and wounded 80 on Monday at a Fateh memorial rally for Yasser Arafat attended by more than 200,000 supporters of the defeated faction in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Lebanon’s Western-backed ruling coalition on Monday accused the pro-Syrian opposition party Hizbollah of obstructing initiatives to resolve a crisis over the looming presidential election.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi here on Tuesday reiterated that his country would continue nuclear activities with full transparency.

The Islamic Republic of Iran and Kazakhstan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) here on Tuesday to further bolster economic, trade, technical and scientific cooperation between the two sides.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called on all the parties involved in his country’s nuclear issue to support the present trend of constructive interaction between the Islamic Republic and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Iran on Tuesday gave India a four-month deadline to formally agree its participation in a multi-bln dollar project to transport Iranian gas to India via Pakistan.

Iranian Government Spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham underlined Tehran’s resolve to enrichment uranium at an industrial scale, saying that his country aims to provide fuel for its nuclear power plants.