WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday denied reports of discontent between Washington and NATO allies over Afghanistan, a day after a newspaper quoted him criticizing NATO’s counterinsurgency skills.

PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN – A bomb exploded in a crowded Shi’ite Muslim prayer hall in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Thursday, killing four people and wounding several, a government spokesman said.

BELGRADE – Serbia votes on Sunday in a presidential election pitting a pro-Western liberal against a nationalist in a vote seen as a plebiscite on Belgrade’s place in the world as it prepares for the loss of Kosovo.

UNITED NATIONS – Russia on Wednesday backed its ally Serbia, saying Kosovo will never become a member of the United Nations or other international organizations if the breakaway province unilaterally declares independence.

TEHRAN (FNA) Iran’s deputy Foreign Minister Alireza Sheikh Attar and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in a meeting in Guatemala City on Thursday conferred about the decisions adopted during OPEC’s recent heads-of-state summit in Saudi Arabia.

TEHRAN (FNA) Iran Wednesday invited Indian companies to invest in developing oilfields.

TEHRAN (FNA) Malaysia’s Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Tuesday rejected US President George W Bush’s description of Iran as the leading state sponsor of terrorism, and said the comment would cause discord.

TEHRAN (FNA) Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili said in Beijing Thursday that Tehran will continue its positive cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

TEHRAN (FNA) Iran on Wednesday said that it backs the Arab League chief Amr Mussa’s efforts to persuade warring Lebanese factions to agree a compromise plan allowing the election of a new president.

TEHRAN (FNA) Crude oil rose after Iran said there is no need for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase supply at its Feb. 1 meeting.