Middle Orient

US defence secretary Robert Gates is in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on a previously unannounced visit.

Teams of divers and helicopters with night vision cameras are continuing to search for survivors after a ferry carrying around 150 people sank off the Black Sea coast of Turkey. The roll-on, roll-off vessel, which also had 75 vehicles on board, had left the port of Bandirma and was heading …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iraq is prepared to restart talks with the United States and Iran, and is checking with both sides to see if a fresh round can be scheduled, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said on Sunday.

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Bush administration is pushing through a broad array of foreign weapons deals as it seeks to rearm Iraq and Afghanistan, contain North Korea and Iran, and solidify ties with onetime Russian allies.

TEHRAN (FNA)- The US has agreed to sell 1,000 buster-bunker bombs to Israel – a deal that could significantly improve Israel’s ability to strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in an interview published on Sunday he will remain in office until 2010, a decision likely to stoke tensions with Islamist Hamas rivals who oppose his peace talks with Israel.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s cabinet debated for the first time on Sunday a proposal to offer compensation to Jewish settlers who volunteer to leave parts of the West Bank that would be handed to the Palestinians in a future peace deal.

At least 10 people have been killed in two bomb attacks targeting security forces in Iraq. A roadside bomb killed six Kurdish peshmerga fighters in Khanaqin town in Diyala province, north-east of Baghdad.

The most senior judge in Saudi Arabia has said it is permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV channels which broadcast immoral programmes.

TEHRAN (FNA)- A United Nations envoy said on Wednesday that Iran plays a significant part in supporting Iraq’s stability and economic developments given the close ties both countries share.