Middle Orient

An earthquake measuring 3.2 on the Richter scale jolted Shar-e Rey in the vicinity of Iran’s capital city of Tehran on Friday.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II said Friday that Israel must choose between the mentality of “Israel the fortress” or “peace and security with its neighbors.”

Israeli forces have wounded at least two Palestinians in a fresh raid in the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian sources say.

The Palestinian People’s Party on Saturday announced its initial acceptance to join a national unity government that is expected to be ready in a week.

A police commando member was killed and four policemen wounded in two bomb attacks in Baghdadon Saturday, an Interior Ministry source said.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said on Saturday that Iran is studying U.S. proposals for talks on Iraq.

Hamas gave Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh its list of nominees for ministerial posts in a national unity cabinet on Saturday, but a source in the Islamist movement declined to reveal the names.

 A large portrait of Mike Mansfield, dogged Democratic foe of the Vietnam war, hangs near the U.S. Senate chamber where a new generation of Democrats is trying to stop another unpopular conflict — in Iraq.

Iraq’s Air Force should have 50 to 60 helicopters by the end of the year, including 28 new Russian aircraft, Iraq’s defence minister said on Saturday as he inspected two refitted Vietnam-era Huey helicopters in Baghdad.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia’s king personally welcomed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad upon his arrival Saturday, a rapprochement many hope will help calm sectarian tensions threatening the Middle East.