JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Aid agencies poured resources into the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday, providing basic essentials to tens of thousands of Palestinians in need of emergency aid after three weeks of devastating conflict. Israel, which controls border entry points into Gaza, said it hoped to triple the number of …
Read More »France signals easing conditions for Hamas talks
PARIS (Reuters) – France signaled on Tuesday that it might be prepared to hold talks with Hamas even if the Palestinian Islamist group does not recognize Israel as Paris and other Western powers have demanded for years. The “Quartet” of Middle East mediators — the United States, the European Union, …
Read More »TIMELINE: Israeli-Hamas violence
(Reuters) – Voicing shock at stark scenes of destruction, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, and Israel was poised to withdraw its troops. Here is a timeline of events since a six-month ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip ended last month. December 19, …
Read More »Women may win seats, not rights, in Iraqi poll
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – More than a quarter of the 14,431 candidates registered for Iraq’s provincial council elections are women, but college student Fatma Imad sees few women’s faces on the posters plastered across her neighborhood. “Even if I want to choose a woman, where are these women? I don’t see …
Read More »IAEA to look into Gaza uranium ammunition claim
VIENNA (Reuters) – The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog said Tuesday it would look into a claim by Vienna-based Arab ambassadors that Israel may have used ammunition containing depleted uranium in Gaza attacks. The International Atomic Energy Agency said the request was made in a letter addressed to Director General Mohammed ElBaradei …
Read More »U.N. chief Ban sees “heartbreaking” Gaza damage
GAZA (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, voicing shock and anger at the “heartbreaking” devastation, visited the Gaza Strip on Tuesday to pledge aid for Palestinians after Israeli attacks killed 1,300 and made thousands homeless. Israel had withdrawn most of its force before U.S. President Barack Obama was inaugurated — …
Read More »Iranian VP Sees Change in Regional Equations after Gaza War
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Vice President Parviz Davoudi said in a meeting with Turkey’s Ambassador to Tehran Salim Kara Osmanoglu here on Tuesday that regional equations will change following the recent developments in Gaza. Noting that presentation of road maps and international solutions for managing affairs of different countries and the …
Read More »Iranian Official Terms Gaza Good Test for Obama
TEHRAN (FNA)- The issue of Palestine and Gaza is a proper test for Obama, Iranian Supreme Leader’s representative at the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Hassan Rouhani said here on Tuesday. “We should see what Obama does when declaring his policies and taking action. I think there is a test …
Read More »Solana Declares EU Readiness to Monitor Gaza Ceasefire
TEHRAN (FNA)- EU is ready to monitor implementation of ceasefire in Gaza, EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana said in a meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Safari. At the meeting held in Brussels on Monday, the two diplomats discussed Gaza, Afghanistan, Caucasia and the Central Asia and other …
Read More »Iran Lauds Independent Countries’ Support for Gaza
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in separate letters to independent heads of state, praised them for boycotting Israel and supporting the oppressed people in Gaza. The Iranian president called cut of commercial and political ties with Israel a “revolutionary and valuable stance”. Ahmadinejad in his letters expressed his confidence …
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