Middle Orient

An executive at the Iraqi Ministry of Oil announced that Iraq and Iran have inked an agreement to build two networks, one of which will deliver oil byproducts from Iran to the southern Iraqi port of Basra.

Iran and Sri Lanka Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote their tourism relations.

China believes Iran has the right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy but supports nuclear non-proliferation efforts, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said.

Iran on Wednesday has banned the latest novel by Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, saying the initial publication of “Memories of My Melancholy …” was a bureaucratic error.

Iran, the number-two OPEC exporter, on Thursday spoke out against any hike in the cartel’s output, saying there was enough oil in the market despite prices approaching 100 dollars a barrel.

The Pentagon on Wednesday said it was not worried about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons amid the political crisis there, rolling back from comments made by a senior U.S. general who called the issue a “primary concern.”

Pakistani opposition parties tried to forge a united front on Wednesday against military president Pervez Musharraf, who insisted his state of emergency was vital for fair elections.

Baghdad, the epicenter of Iraq’s sectarian bloodshed, is starting to rebuild its shattered infrastructure, but political feuds and the threat of renewed attacks could reverse progress, officials said on Wednesday.

Sectarian strife remains a great threat despite improving security, Iraqi leaders said at a conference on Wednesday, hours after a powerful roadside bomb exploded not far from where they met in central Baghdad.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Wednesday talks on Palestinian statehood must be predicated on the recognition of Israel as “the state of the Jewish people”, a new Israeli condition.