TEHRAN (FNA) – The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced here on Friday that the country’s economic growth rate in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2007) reached 6.7 percent, a 0.7 percent rise in comparison to that of the same period in its …

TEHRAN (FNA) – US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he would favor holding direct talks with Iran and Syria in a bid to stabilize the Middle East if elected president.

The Taliban insurgency and terrorism has recently gained strength in Afghanistan in spite of the presence of about 50.000 US-led NATO troops in the country.

An undersea cable carrying Internet traffic was cut off the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai, officials said Friday, the third loss of a line carrying Internet and telephone traffic in three days.

The head of Iran’s judiciary is seeking to impose limits on public executions amid a rise in death-penalty cases during President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s 2 1/2 years in office. 

Iraqi and European Union officials have discussed plans for Iraq to supply the EU with natural gas. Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain Al-Shahristani met EU External Relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs in Brussels Thursday. 

The 26th Fajr International Film Festival was inaugurated here on Thursday evening at Tehran’s National Grand Hall. The ceremony was attended by Deputy Culture Minister for Cinematic Affairs Mohammadreza Jafari-Jelveh and a number of cinematic figures and artists.

LAHORE, Pakistan – A Pakistani lawyer who has spearheaded opposition to President Pervez Musharraf has come out of three months of detention as defiant as ever and insisting the president step down.

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan – A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden car into a Pakistani security force checkpost in the North Waziristan tribal region on Friday, killing six men, a security official said.

MOSCOW – Europe’s main election watchdog warned Russia on Wednesday it would not monitor a presidential vote next month unless Moscow eased restrictions on its work.