Middle Orient

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for a referendum to determine the future of the Palestinians and urged Western governments to end their support for Israel.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Turkey on Thursday for a two-day visit to the neighboring country for talks expected to focus on bilateral ties, including the enhancement of an energy partnership.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Bombs in four parts of northern Iraq killed at least six people on Wednesday, and Iraqi forces said they expected more attacks as they pursue Sunni Arab militants in the volatile north.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli forces shot and wounded an armed man who crossed from Syria into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on Wednesday, the army said. Violence along the Israeli-Syrian border is rare and the army said the incident was reported to United Nations forces in the area.

TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) – At least 15 people including nine soldiers were killed in Lebanon on Wednesday, according to security sources, in the deadliest attack on the army since a battle with al Qaeda-inspired militants last year.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday welcomed as a “very good first step” Syria’s decision to establish diplomatic relations with Lebanon at an ambassadorial level.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman agreed on Wednesday to establish diplomatic relations between their countries at ambassadorial level, a Syrian official said.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran plans to establish a free-trade zone on its border with Iraq, Baghdad’s Ambassador to Tehran Mohamed Meguid al-Sheikh said Wednesday.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Turkey will increase its imports of gas from Iran to compensate for a reduction in supplies from Azerbaijan resulting from the conflict in Georgia, a senior source from the Turkish pipeline company Botas said on Tuesday.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Palestinians gave their national poet Mahmoud Darwish what amounted to a state funeral in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday, mourning a man who articulated their sense of loss, exile and defiance.