Middle Orient

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran and Italy have signed an MoU in archeological research to enable Italian archeologists help with Iran’s Burnt City project.

TEHRAN (FNA)- India will soon start negotiations with Iran and Pakistan on the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline. The negotiations will resume after the formation of the new government in Pakistan, said Murli Deora, New Delhi’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – About one thousand people protested in central Amsterdam on Saturday against right-wing lawmaker Geert Wilders and the imminent release of his film expected to be critical of the Koran.

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) – More than 100 Kurdish demonstrators and 10 policemen were injured and more than 160 Kurds detained across southeastern Turkey on Saturday when police broke up spring festival celebrations, security sources said.

SANAA (Reuters) – Reconciliation talks between Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas hinge on Hamas’ response to a proposal about the future of the Gaza Strip, the Yemeni foreign minister said on Saturday.

ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) – Egypt held talks on Saturday with representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, part of a push for a truce between the militant groups and Israel, officials said.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran laid out a Haft Seen in the depths of the breathtaking turquoise waters of the Persian Gulf on the occasion of the Iranian New Year.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei on Thursday called the new Iranian calendar year of 1387 (March 20, 2008-March 20, 2009) as the year of “innovation and flourish.”

TEHRAN (FNA)- The ancient Iranian calendar was a solar calendar. The fact is repeatedly documented in the ancient Avesta writings. One of the most important solar festivals is called Nou Rouz – the New Year. Nou Rouz literally means the ‘New Day’ and is celebrated on the vernal equinox in …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned Thursday that military action against Iran would be “a real disaster” and the Middle East could explode if the international community does not handle the many conflicts in the region very carefully.