Middle Orient

TEHRAN (FNA)- Emboldened by the indifference of the world community, Israeli troops feel free to kill scores of innocent Palestinian citizens in what has now become everyday incursions and bomb raids on Palestinian areas, specially Gaza.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Sunday extended his congratulations to Dmitry Medvedev on his victory in Russia’s presidential election.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Indonesia’s state oil and gas company PT Pertamina will sign an agreement with an Iranian firm to build oil refinery in Banten province with a capacity of 200,000 barrels of oil per day.

TEHRAN (FNA)- For decades the United States has funded an effort intended to persuade Christians, Zoroastrians and Jews move out of Iran. Now their leaders are questioning American motives as sects that have lived here for thousands of years dwindle rapidly as a result of the migration.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran is ready to negotiate with international community over such issues as non-proliferation and disarmament, the Islamic Republic’s foreign minister said Sunday.

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain warned Israel on Friday over the expansion of Jewish settlements, saying any building on occupied Palestinian lands, including in East Jerusalem, was illegal under international law.

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) – Powerful Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has not been seen in public for months, issued an unusual statement on Friday explaining his absence to his followers and admitting splits in his movement.

ANKARA (Reuters) – Iraqi President Jalal Talabani began his first visit as head of state to neighboring Turkey on Friday, just one week after Ankara ended a major army ground offensive against Kurdish PKK rebels based in northern Iraq.

GAZA (Reuters) – A Palestinian guerrilla was shot and killed on Friday in the northern Gaza Strip near the border with Israel, a militant group said.

Following are security developments in Iraq at 6:00 a.m. EST on Friday.BAGHDAD – Police said the death toll from coordinated bombings in the Karrada district of central Baghdad on Thursday had risen to 68. Another 120 were wounded in the attack, which the U.S. military and Iraqi government blamed on …