LONDON (Reuters) – Britain has formally handed over responsibility for the running of Basra airport to Iraqi authorities, the Ministry of Defence said on Friday, a move that paves the way for Britain to withdraw from Iraq. The airport, on the outskirts of Iraq’s second largest city in the south …

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – A suicide bomber struck a lunch gathering of Sunni Arab tribal leaders on Friday in a town south of Baghdad, killing at least 23 people and wounding 42 others, security spokesman Major-General Qassim Moussawi said. The U.S. military said its initial reports said 21 were killed and …

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s defense minister said on Friday Pakistan was still failing to crack down on militants blamed for the Mumbai attacks, and that New Delhi had not deployed troops despite tension with its neighbor. India has been mobilizing support across the world to press Pakistan to crack …

MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) – Russian gas kept flowing to European Union states on Friday, a day after Moscow cut off flows to Ukraine in a contract dispute, but importers across the continent were watching for signs their supplies were faltering. The European Union’s Czech presidency said it considered the row between …

JAMRUD, Pakistan (Reuters) – Trucks rumbled through Pakistan’s Khyber Pass on Friday, resuming the transport of supplies to Western forces in Afghanistan three days after authorities suspended shipments to clear out militants. Pakistani Taliban militants in the Khyber region have been trying for months to block vital supplies bound for …

GAZA (Reuters) – They boarded buses in the pre-dawn murk on Friday, lucky foreign passport holders allowed by Israel to escape from seven days of Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip. “The situation is very bad. We are afraid for our children,” said Ilona Hamdiya, a woman from Moldova married …

LONDON (Reuters) – Russia’s decision to cut off gas supplies again to Ukraine underlines the urgent need for Europe to reduce its dependency on Russian supply, because the annual row over payments seems unlikely to end soon. Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom cut off Ukraine in the middle of winter …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian student groups have appealed to the government to authorize martyrdom-seeking volunteers to leave Iran and fight against Israel in response to the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip. The government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had not responded to the call by Wednesday. Five student groups and a …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran said it cuts oil output by 545,000 barrels per day from Thursday, Jan. 1 in line with OPEC’s decision to reduce production in its bid to try to shore up tumbling crude prices. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed in Algeria this month to cut …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iraq said on Wednesday it wants thousands of the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) members at a camp north of Baghdad to leave the country, although it does not plan to expel them by force. Iraqi forces take over responsibility for Camp Ashraf, home to 3,500 MKO terrorists, …