Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that he has made repeated efforts over the last two years to engage Saudi Arabia in peace talks with the Taleban.

The Lebanese parliament has approved a new election law as part of a reconciliation process begun in May.

A group of Western tourists, who spent 10 days as hostages in the Sahara Desert, have returned home.

The Iraqi government says it will allow doctors to carry guns for self-defence. The decision follows complaints by medical workers and other professionals that they have been repeatedly targeted by criminals and militants.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Foreign assets held by Iran’s banking system surged to $129bln on the back of high oil prices according to the Central Bank of Iran.

TEHRAN (FNA)- 10 members of the notorious Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) were arrested in France and Switzerland last week on charges of money laundering, judicial sources said.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran on Monday said that Germany plays a constructive role in its nuclear standoff with the West.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution underscored the need for upholding justice and making progress in the beginning of the fourth decade of the Islamic Revolution, but meantime reminded scholars to move within the framework of principles to prevent from falling into pitfalls.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran is to host a two-day meeting of the trade promotion organizations of regional states from January 18, an official in Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) announced here on Sunday.

TEHRAN (FNA)- The newly-appointed governor of Central Bank of Iran (CBI) said Monday that the bank will provide the banking system with a credit of 60,000 billion rials to grant loans to incomplete projects and production units requiring capital in circulation.