MOSCOW – Russia on Friday sent 12 air force bombers to take part in naval exercises over the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans, Itar-Tass news agency quoted a spokesman for Russia’s air force as saying.

BERLIN, Feb. 1 — Germany on Friday rejected a formal request from the United States to send forces to war zones in southern Afghanistan, the latest setback to the NATO alliance as it tries to scrape together enough troops to battle resurgent Taliban forces and stabilize the country.

TEHRAN (FNA) – Foreign ministers of Iran and Africa are due to attend a meeting here in Tehran in the near future, Islamic Republic’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Friday.