The Islamic Republic Air Force and the IRGC have initiated a joint military exercise with the aim of coordinating their aerial defenses.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Ehud Olmert appealed on Monday for a partial peace deal with the Palestinians before he steps down as Israeli prime minister, but President Mahmoud Abbas rejected the idea on the eve of talks between the leaders.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Firing by Pakistani troops forced two U.S. military helicopters to turn back to Afghanistan after they crossed into Pakistani territory early on Monday, Pakistani security officials said.

GENEVA (Reuters) – Israel’s deadly shelling in the Gaza Strip in November 2006 may constitute a war crime, South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu said in a report to the United Nations released on Monday.

TBILISI (Reuters) – NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer condemned Russia’s military action against Georgia but shied away from making any commitment to the ex-Soviet state on when it will be invited to join the military alliance.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Any state which decides to impose sanctions on Russia over its military intervention in Georgia will suffer symmetric losses, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – A dramatic fall in violence has breathed life into Baghdad’s once moribund property market, although the hunt for homes in Sunni and Shi’ite enclaves bodes ill for sectarian reconciliation in the Iraqi capital.

US defence secretary Robert Gates is in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on a previously unannounced visit.

High level NATO talks aimed at showing support for Georgia in its recent conflict with Russia are taking place in Tblisi. The NATO delegation, headed by Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, will meet with Georgia’s President Mikhael Saakashvili.

Teams of divers and helicopters with night vision cameras are continuing to search for survivors after a ferry carrying around 150 people sank off the Black Sea coast of Turkey. The roll-on, roll-off vessel, which also had 75 vehicles on board, had left the port of Bandirma and was heading …