Middle Orient

TEHRAN (FNA)- The fifth exhibition of petrochemical, paint and industrial coating materials kicked off work in Isfahan on Monday.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is slated to arrive here in Tehran on Saturday.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran and Turkey have worked out the details, including the pricing, of a deal to produce natural gas in the Islamic Republic and export it to Turkey, senior Iranian and Turkish officials said on Tuesday.

TEHRAN (FNA) – Iran said in a letter Tuesday that it would respond to an offer from six world powers related to Tehran’s nuclear program after receiving some clarifications about the proposals, an EU source said Tuesday.

TEHRAN (FNA) – Pressure is mounting on Germany to cancel its approval of a major business deal between a German company and Iran.

(BBC NEWS) Hamas says it has released the top representative of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party in the Gaza Strip. Zakaria Agha was held for four days after being seized by Hamas gunmen.

(BBC NEWS) Palestinian medical workers say a teenager shot by Israeli troops in the West Bank village of Nilin last week has died of his wounds.

BALCILAR, Turkey (Reuters) – A gas explosion killed at least 17 girls and injured 27 others, wrecking a dormitory at a school in southern Turkey on Friday, a military rescue official said.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The number of civilians killed in Iraq last month fell to less than a quarter of the toll in July 2007, government figures released on Friday showed, underscoring a dramatic improvement in security.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s government called for calm on Friday to dampen a bitter row over the status of Kirkuk, a day after Kurdish councilors called for the city to become part of the largely autonomous region of Kurdistan.