TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iraqi transport ministry activated an agreement with Iran to operate lines for flights between the Baghdad and Najaf airports, on one hand, and the Mashhad International Airport in Iran on the other, a senior advisor for the transport minister said. “The lines between Baghdad and Najaf in …

TEHRAN (FNA)- An Iranian-chartered ship which was seized in the Gulf of Aden by Somali pirates in November was released. The ship named “Delight,” which was carrying 36,000 tons of wheat when it was hijacked, was released Friday night, the urgent reaction committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s president here on Saturday strongly condemned the performance of the United Nations in dealing with the horrific crimes of the Zionists in Gaza and called for a fundamental change in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Speaking to Basiji (voluntary forces) staff of the Presidential office on …

TEHRAN (FNA)- British Foreign Secretary David Miliband in an unprecedented move wrote a letter to British Muslim leaders to placate criticism about the UK’s policy in refusing to condemn Israel’s massacre of nearly 900 Palestinians in Gaza. “I thought it would be helpful to be in touch about the extremely …

GAZA – Israeli leaders trying to find a knockout blow against Hamas militants defying a 17-day-old assault on the Gaza Strip have sent army reservists into battle. With the Palestinian death toll nearing 900 and international pressure for a ceasefire mounting, Israeli forces might launch a full-scale attack on Hamas …

GAZA (Reuters) – Israel and Hamas vowed to keep fighting on Sunday, ignoring international calls to stop the Gaza conflict which entered a 16th day with heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian guerrillas. Hamas’s leader in exile, Khaled Meshaal, said his Islamist group would not consider a truce until …

KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Ukraine, Russia and the EU struck a monitoring agreement Sunday that should enable the resumption of Russian supplies to Europe, large parts of which have been plunged into a mid-winter energy crisis. Officials said monitors would begin work within hours to oversee gas flows via Ukraine to …

(Reuters) – Israel and Hamas remained locked in a 16-day-old Gaza war on Sunday, ignoring international calls for a ceasefire. The Palestinian death toll topped 850, including many civilians. Three Israeli civilians, killed by rockets, and 10 soldiers have died. Here are some questions and answers about the conflict:

RIYADH (Reuters) – A leading Saudi campaigner for political rights has been released without charge after eight months in detention, a rights activist said on Sunday. Matruk al-Faleh, a politics professor, was set free on Saturday after he was taken from his offices at King Saud University in Riyadh last …

GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli soldiers killed 10 Palestinian gunmen during clashes in the city of Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian medical officials said. The location of the fighting, on the southwest side of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip’s biggest population centre, suggested Israel was intensifying a more than two-week-old offensive. Troops previously …