Eurasia

MIDYAT, Turkey (Reuters) – In a remote village near the Turkish-Syrian border, a land dispute with neighboring villages is threatening the future of one of the world’s oldest functioning Christian monasteries. Critics say the dispute, which has become a rallying cry for Christian church groups across Europe, is a new …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called on the new US President Barack Obama to understand and recognize the new Middle East now emerging in the world system. “The most urgent requirement for Obama is to understand the emerging Middle East. To do so, the new US administration needs …

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iranian lawmaker cautioned that the West, especially the US, has resorted to soft overthrow plots to topple democratic governments. “Today, western states, especially the US, have turned to soft revolution to topple governments in democratic states by inciting public opinion,” member of the Iranian parliament’s National …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Sustained engagement and dialogue is necessary to diminish New Delhi and Islamabad concerns, Pakistani foreign minister reiterated on Tuesday. Stressing the importance of anti-terrorism cooperation between the two countries, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that suspending the dialogue between the two countries is just to the advantage of …

TEHRAN (FNA)- The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon described Israeli attacks on UN building and schools during war in Gaza outrageous. “It is an outrageous and totally unacceptable attack on the United Nations,” Ban said about the destruction of UN-run buildings and schools in Gaza during Israel’s 22-day war …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned Czech charge d’affaire in Tehran Jan Kouril, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, to criticize EU’s double-standard policy towards human rights violations in Gaza. The Ministry also criticized European Union’s fecklessness that has encouraged Israel to continue brutalities against Palestinian …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran shut its natural gas pipeline to Turkey on Tuesday for maintenance work following a technical hitch. Mahmoud Loqmani, a supervisor at one of the gas dispatching centers in Iran, said Turkey’s state gas company BOTAS was informed of the stop in gas flow. Turkish media outlets also …

Ahead of his inauguration as the 44th United States president, Barack Obama’s winning smile is plastered on billboards and posters all around Kosovo, the most pro-American nation in Europe due to US support for its secession from Serbia. Washington was among the first capitals to recognise Kosovo’s declaration of independence …

A group of Albanian NGOs sent an open letter to Prime Minister Sali Berisha on Monday to protest against the application of value-added tax, VAT, on non-profit organisations, calling it a serious threat to the existence of civil society in Albania. Though the Albanian non-profit sector is thriving with hundreds …

Montenegro and Italy have formed a joint economic association in a bid to boost trade and expand economic cooperation, AKI reported. Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said that the volume of Italian investments in Montenegro was “far below expectations”, given the vicinity of the two countries, and the “quality of …