The Culture Minister of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan Sultan Rayev laid emphasis on extending cultural ties with Iran during a meeting with the director of the National Library and Archives of Iran (NLAI) Ali-Akbar Asha’ri on February 26.

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s historic trip to Iraq will be a landmark in the two countries’ relations, Iraqi ambassador to Tehran Mohammad Majid Al-Shaikh said here on Tuesday.

PRISTINA – Kosovo told Serbia on Tuesday it would not yield one inch of its territory, and a violent protest by ethnic Serbs in Bosnia against Kosovo’s secession highlighted continued volatility in the Balkan region.

KALININGRAD, Russia – The new maternity hospital in Russia’s westernmost region has state-of-the-art German equipment in its operating theatres and the staff know who to thank: Dmitry Medvedev.

ISLAMABAD – Pakistani security forces have arrested an al Qaeda-linked militant wanted in connection with an assassination attempt on former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto hours after she returned from exile in October.

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s upper house of parliament unanimously adopted a resolution on Tuesday condemning what it called efforts to denigrate Islam and promote hatred.

Five policemen and a three-year-old child were killed this morning in Afghanistan when the vehicle they were travelling in hit a roadside bomb in the eastern province of Khost, close to the border with Pakistan.

GENEVA – Iraqi hospitals remain unable to cope with mass casualties and many Iraqis still die due to ill-equipped centers, despite a drop in violence in some areas, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Tuesday.

BAGHDAD – A suicide bomber killed 14 people in an attack on a bus in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Tuesday, security sources said.

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia – Hundreds of protesters tried to attack the United States consulate in Bosnia’s Serb Republic on Tuesday, smashing shops in the city centre after they were pushed away by riot police.