AMARA, Iraq (Reuters) – Supporters of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr accused Iraqi security forces on Friday of heavy-handed action in a crackdown in the southern city of Amara, calling it a “clear provocation”.

BERLIN (Reuters) – A German court on Thursday sentenced an Iraqi man to three years in jail for distributing messages by al Qaeda leaders on the Internet.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Hamas has won a measure of the international recognition it sought by indirectly negotiating a truce with Israel but faces a challenge keeping other Palestinian militant factions in line in the Gaza Strip.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia warned on Thursday it might have to use force against Georgia if Russian peacekeepers were attacked again in its southern neighbor.

PARACHINAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistani security forces backed by helicopter gunships killed five militants on Thursday after four truck drivers were killed in an attack on a food convoy in the troubled northwest region, an official said.

KABUL (Reuters) – Four U.S. helicopter engines worth more than $13 million have been stolen while they were being trucked from Afghanistan to a port in Pakistan to be shipped home, the U.S. military said.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has called on investors in the liberalizing power sector not to stuff their “stomachs” with quick profits and pledged harsh treatment for those not respecting national and social interests.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq said on Wednesday it was committed to meeting a deadline for a long-term security pact with the United States, as Washington confirmed it dropped a demand concerning the divisive issue of immunity for private contractors.

OPEC president Chakib Khelil says it is ‘illogical and irrational’ to think increasing oil output would ease off soaring prices. “To ask the oil producers to increase their output is illogical and irrational,” Khelil was quoted as saying the Algerie Presse Service (APS) news agency on Friday.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the enemies plotted to abduct and assassinate him during his recent visit to Iraq in March. Addressing a meeting of clerics in the holy city of Qom, Ahmadinejad noted that the plot was foiled because of last-minute changes in his schedule.