RIYADH (Reuters) – Gulf Arab leaders gathered in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Thursday for an emergency meeting on Israel’s offensive in Gaza that could help scupper an Arab summit proposed by regional maverick Qatar. King Abdullah called the meeting, pre-empting a bid by Qatar to stage an Arab summit …

DUBAI (Reuters) – Support has slipped for a special Arab summit on the Israeli offensive in Gaza proposed to be held in Qatar on Friday, with several countries dropping out after a tug-of-war highlighting Arab divisions. Qatar’s emir insists his invitation still stands, but Arab League official Hesham Youssef said …

MADRID (Reuters) – Russia has lost its status as a reliable gas supplier to Europe after European Union states were cut off for days from Russian gas, the International Energy Agency (IEA), said Thursday. The agency advises top industrialized countries on energy policy. “Russia has cut off its status as …

HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) – An Afghan army helicopter crashed Thursday in the western province of Herat, killing a top Afghan army general and 12 soldiers, officials said. General Fazl Ahmad Sayar was one of the Afghan army’s key commanders in charge of the western region, the Defense Ministry said in …

KARACHI (Reuters) – Pakistani police arrested more than a dozen Islamist militants in the southern city of Karachi Thursday after a gun battle following a pre-dawn raid on their hideout, officials said. Two policemen were killed and nine wounded before the militants’ resistance was broken after several hours of shooting. …

TEHRAN (FNA)- A top Iranian aviation official said his country is prepared to order passenger planes from Boeing if the United States lifts sanctions against Iran. Iranian Civil Aviation Organization spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh said Thursday that US sanctions are self-defeating because they deny Boeing huge profits. “The United States is …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Consul General Mohammad Eghbal Asghari called on Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti to discuss bilateral ties and other issues of mutual interests, including Pakistan’s efforts to release Tehran’s kidnapped diplomat. The commercial attaché of Iranian Consulate in Peshawar, Heshmatollah Attarzadeh Niaki, …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said some of the Arab leaders were standing back in silence and even supporting Israeli attacks on Gaza. “Unfortunately, some regional, Islamic and Arab states for whatever reason and with a smile of satisfaction, are supporting or tolerating this rare genocide in silence,” Ahmadinejad …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s Vice-President for Judicial and Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad Reza Rahimi conferred with Tunisian Foreign Minister Abdelwaheb Abdallah over bilateral ties and mutual cooperation in a meeting in Tunis. During the meeting, the two sides discussed bilateral relations, explored ways to further develop relations and exchanged views over regional …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Etisalat, the United Arab Emirates’ largest telephone company, will be able to earn as much as $1.6 billion in revenue from its Iranian mobile-phone operations in five years, ING Groep NV said. The price of $398 million paid by the company and the local partner “seems too good …