The most recent fighting in the Gaza Strip, which has left many dead, confirms that the internal strife plaguing the Palestinian occupied territories since the rise of Hamas to power in January 2006

Local authorities clamped a total curfew on the Shiite holy city of Najaf in central Iraq on Friday to thwart attacks a day after 73 people died from twin suicide bombings in nearby Hilla.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has launched anniversary celebrations for Iran’s Islamic Revolution with a defiant promise to push ahead with the country’s controversial nuclear programme.