TEHRAN (FNA) – Iran plans to privatize 47 firms in its energy sector worth $90 billion and set up a holding company for these assets which it will list on four international exchanges, a National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) executive said.

TEHRAN (FNA) – Iran’s Presidential Advisor Mohammad Nasser Biriya has said that Turkey’s approval of the Hijab law shows Islam has prevailed in the country.

TEHRAN (FNA) – Iranian Consul General Saeed Kharazi on Saturday called for stronger bilateral ties between the peoples and governments of Iran and Pakistan.

 vreme ce relatarile referitoare la iminenta declararii independentei Kosovo nu mai contenesc, premierul provinciei, Hashim Thaci, fost comandant UCK, a declarat chiar ieri ca peste o suta de state ar fi gata sa recunoasca noua entitate separatista. In acelasi timp, diplomatiile sarba si rusa explica ONU ca legile internationale nu …

MOSCOW – A jailed former oil executive gravely ill with HIV/AIDS was transferred to a specialist clinic on Friday, Russia’s prison service said, following an international campaign on his behalf.

OTTAWA – Canada said on Friday it plans to keep its 2,500-strong military mission in Afghanistan until the end of 2011, almost three years longer than initially scheduled, and wants to shift the focus to training Afghan forces.

PRISTINA, Serbia – Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said on Friday about 100 countries were ready to recognize the province’s independence from Serbia as soon as it was declared.

MOSCOW  – President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia would not allow itself to be drawn into what he called a new arms race.

BEIRUT  – Arab League chief Amr Moussa brought feuding Lebanese parties together on Friday to try to agree on a new government and end a protracted political crisis.

GHAZNI, Afghanistan – A suicide car bomber targeting an army convoy killed three people on Friday in Afghanistan, witnesses said.