Middle Orient

PARIS (Reuters) – Six French men and one Algerian went on trial in Paris on Wednesday accused of involvement in a network smuggling Islamist fighters to Iraq.

RIYADH (Reuters) – A group of Saudi clerics has come out in support of a colleague who issued a fatwa saying two writers deserve to die if they did not retract views that he said made them apostates.

GAZA (Reuters) – Hamas voiced willingness on Wednesday to talk to Fatah as part of a Yemeni reconciliation initiative but said the secular faction must drop its demand the Islamist group first give up control of the Gaza Strip.

KUWAIT (Reuters) – Kuwait’s ruler has dissolved parliament days after the government resigned, Al Jazeera television reported on Wednesday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s presidential council paved the way for provincial elections on Wednesday when it signed a law seen by Washington as crucial to helping reconcile the nation’s factions.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran reported it will sign a final agreement to export natural gas via pipeline to Pakistan in April.

TEHRAN (FNA)- The outcome of the regular parliament elections in Iran will not affect the foreign policy of the government, regarding the nuclear plans, a political analyst said.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s budget for the new Iranian year, which starts on 21 March, will be 20 per cent bigger than last year, at $304bn compared with $253bn.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Similar to other years, Iranians all across the country celebrated the ancient Persian tradition of Last-Wednesday-of-the-Year Fireworks (Chaharshanbeh Souri) as a prelude to Nowruz (the start of the new year).

TEHRAN (FNA)- Switzerland and Iran signed a huge deal on Monday for the supply of Iranian natural gas to Europe, sparking harsh criticism from the United States.