ST PETERSBURG, Russia – Three activists stormed an office of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s political party in St Petersburg on Thursday to accuse him of ignoring the plight of ordinary people in the economic slowdown. Two members of the banned National Bolshevik Party handcuffed themselves to a radiator while …

LAHORE, Pakistan  – Pakistani police said on Thursday they had arrested three suspected Indian agents planning to attack prominent people and installations, including offices of a militant group blamed for November’s attacks in Mumbai. The men, all Pakistani, were arrested on Thursday in a village close to the Indian border …

WASHINGTON  – Sending thousands more troops to Afghanistan enjoys broad U.S. political support, from President Barack Obama on down, but some analysts — both in and outside government — are not convinced by the plans. They question whether extra soldiers and Marines will be able to stabilize the country and …

RAMALLAH, West Bank  – U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell called on Thursday for an opening of trade crossings into the Gaza Strip with the involvement of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. Following talks in Ramallah with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is at odds with Gaza’s ruling Islamist movement Hamas, …

GAZA  – Whole streets lie in ruins, many thousands of Palestinians are homeless after weeks of Israeli bombing and foreign aid cash is piling up. As a builder in the Gaza Strip, this should be Anwar al-Sahabani’s big moment. Instead, though, he sits at home, angry and sad, not just …

MOSCOW  – Russia may base warplanes in Georgia’s rebel Abkhazia region in support of a naval base soon to be constructed there, Interfax news agency quoted a Russian official as saying on Thursday. NATO countries expressed concern on Wednesday at reports on Interfax quoting unnamned military sources that Russia planned …

BRUSSELS  – NATO countries expressed concern Wednesday about reports that Russia plans to set up bases in Russian-backed breakaway territories in Georgia, a NATO spokesman said. Representatives of the 26 NATO states discussed the issue on Wednesday and alliance Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer will raise it with Russian Deputy …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran is ready to fight and annihilate Pakistan-based terrorist groups in case Islamabad voices content and issues the required permit, Deputy Police Chief Ahmad Reza Radan said. Radan’s remarks came as terrorist militants killed a number of Iranian soldiers in an ambush in the country’s southeastern borders with …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Military action is no good prescription for Afghanistan’s problems, Iranian deputy foreign minister for European affairs said on Wednesday. In his speech at the Greek Institute for International Studies, Mehdi Safari underlined that the foreign forces should withdraw from Afghanistan, and said that drug cultivation has grown extremely …

TEHRAN (FNA)- The European Union is responsible for its negative and pernicious decision to remove the name of the anti-Iran terrorist group, the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), from its blacklist, Iran announced. The European Union decided Monday to remove the MKO from its blacklist, a move which angered Iranian people …