The new Hamas-Fatah coalition was to set to clear a final formal hurdle today, approval by the parliament, before taking on the challenge of persuading a sceptical world to end a crippling year-long boycott of the Palestinian government.

A suicide bomber driving a tanker truck detonated his explosives in a line of cars waiting to enter Fallujah, killing at least six people and wound dozens, police said today.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the complementary role the Iranian and Syrian nations play has established the best type of brotherly ties between the two countries beyond cordial relations or common interests.

Islamic Republic’s Prosecutor General Dorri Najaf-Abadi described the Warner Brothers film ‘300’ as a great insult to the Iranian nation, and reminded that no one can raise doubts about the identity and grandeur of the Iranian nation.

Syrian Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-Utri stressed the need for the consolidation of Tehran-Damascus ties under the present sensitive juncture of time, reminding that Iran and Syria are, as always, siding with each other to develop regional stability and security.

While the Bush administration works to stop Iran from having any constructive role in Iraq, Iranian air-conditioners fill Iraqi appliance stores, Iranian tomatoes ripen on the windowsills of kitchens here and legions of white Iranian-made Peugeots sit in Iraqi driveways.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Afghanistan’s Taleban movement, which threatened to kill an Italian journalist unless its demands were met, said Friday the ultimatum was over but could be extended on request. Daniele Mastrogiacomo, 52, was kidnapped with two Afghan colleagues in southern Afghanistan on March 4. A top Taleban commander told …

GANDAMAK, Afghanistan — On a dirt road leading into Afghanistan’s White Mountains, there is a sign bearing American and Afghan flags that looks eerily out of place.     “This project has been undertaken by the Islamic Government of Afghanistan with the financial assistance of the people of the United States of …

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – NATO troops opened fire on a police patrol in southern Afghanistan, apparently mistaking them for hostile forces, and killed five policemen, a senior police official said Friday. Another six policemen were missing after the shooting late Thursday in the volatile Gereshk area of the southern province of …

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad underlined that a consensus among the 5+1 member states could not dissuade him from taking the trip to New York and defending the rights of the Iranian nation at the UN Security Council.