Middle Orient

KERBALA, Iraq (Reuters) – Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims poured into Iraq’s holy city of Kerbala on Saturday, defying bomb attacks across the country to attend a rite that has become an annual show of strength for the Shi’ite majority.

ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraq’s Kurdish autonomous region has agreed to withdraw troops from a neighboring Iraqi province and hand over security in the area to forces of the central government, a Kurdish official said.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran increased its gas exports to Turkey after the Russia-Georgia conflict disrupted supplies from Azerbaijan.

KERBALA, Iraq (Reuters) – A roadside bomb struck a minibus packed with pilgrims bound for Iraq’s holy Shi’ite city of Kerbala on Friday as authorities deployed more than 40,000 police and soldiers to avert new violence in the annual rite.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will meet Friday Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on the second day of his visit to the neighboring country.

GAZA (Reuters) – Israel closed border crossings with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in response to a cross-border rocket attack, but Palestinian officials said banks were able to bring in 68 million shekels ($19 million) to ease a cash shortage.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Israel will not allow the return of any Palestinian refugees as part of a future statehood deal, Olmert’s office said on Thursday.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Syria and Lebanon agreed on Thursday to resume work towards formally demarcating their borders but Damascus said the boundaries of the disputed Shebaa Farms would not be drawn until Israel withdrew from them.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Lebanon’s freed prisoner Samir Qantar announced that in case of any threats against Iran, his fighters will not leave the Iranian nation alone and help defend the country.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran has almost half the volume of reservoir storage compared to a year ago, Energy Ministry said.