PARIS (Reuters) – France signaled on Tuesday that it might be prepared to hold talks with Hamas even if the Palestinian Islamist group does not recognize Israel as Paris and other Western powers have demanded for years. The “Quartet” of Middle East mediators — the United States, the European Union, …

(Reuters) – Voicing shock at stark scenes of destruction, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, and Israel was poised to withdraw its troops. Here is a timeline of events since a six-month ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip ended last month. December 19, …

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – More than a quarter of the 14,431 candidates registered for Iraq’s provincial council elections are women, but college student Fatma Imad sees few women’s faces on the posters plastered across her neighborhood. “Even if I want to choose a woman, where are these women? I don’t see …

VIENNA (Reuters) – The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog said Tuesday it would look into a claim by Vienna-based Arab ambassadors that Israel may have used ammunition containing depleted uranium in Gaza attacks. The International Atomic Energy Agency said the request was made in a letter addressed to Director General Mohammed ElBaradei …

GAZA (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, voicing shock and anger at the “heartbreaking” devastation, visited the Gaza Strip on Tuesday to pledge aid for Palestinians after Israeli attacks killed 1,300 and made thousands homeless. Israel had withdrawn most of its force before U.S. President Barack Obama was inaugurated — …

SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria has received the first quantities of Russian gas on Tuesday and normal daily supplies to domestic consumers could resume in 24 hours, the Economy and Energy Ministry said. Sofia has requested at least 8.6 million cubic meters of gas a day, the ministry said in a …

MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) – Russian gas reached Europe via Ukraine for the first time in two weeks on Tuesday after Moscow and Kiev ended a contract row that cut supplies to about 20 European countries. Austria, Slovakia and Hungary said they had started to receive gas though pipeline operators said it …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Vice President Parviz Davoudi said in a meeting with Turkey’s Ambassador to Tehran Salim Kara Osmanoglu here on Tuesday that regional equations will change following the recent developments in Gaza. Noting that presentation of road maps and international solutions for managing affairs of different countries and the …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili, in a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Muwafaq Al-Rubaie here in Tehran on Tuesday, called for coordinated efforts by regional countries to develop joint security infrastructures. “Ways and means required for enhancing and consolidating high level joint security …

TEHRAN (FNA)- The issue of Palestine and Gaza is a proper test for Obama, Iranian Supreme Leader’s representative at the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Hassan Rouhani said here on Tuesday. “We should see what Obama does when declaring his policies and taking action. I think there is a test …