Serial numbers and markings on explosives used in Iraq provide “pretty good” evidence that Iran is providing either weapons or technology for militants there, US defence secretary Robert Gates said today.

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) – Hamas urged the West on Friday to accept a new Palestinian unity government but leading officials from the Islamist group said they would never recognize Israel nor abide by existing peace accords.

Lebanon’s Defense Minister Elias Murr refused to return a truckload of weapons that was seized by Lebanese authorities on Thursday to Hizbullah, and said there were reports of possible attacks being planned by

 Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney sought to dispel doubts about his opposition to abortion while campaigning Friday in the heart of South Carolina’s Bible Belt

Gunmen dressed in Iraqi army uniforms swept into a village south of Baghdad early Friday, abducting 13 civilians and killing at least 11 of them, police said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Friday was cautious about a deal signed between the Hamas militant group and Fatah aimed at establishing a new Palestinian unity government.

Beirut- It was projected to be a golden year for Lebanon and one to beat all records; instead 2006 with its string of crises including a 34-day war proved a disaster for the tourism sector.

LONDON (Reuters) – A British soldier was killed and three were wounded by a roadside bomb in Basra in southern Iraq on Friday, the Ministry of Defence said.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – U.S. military helicopters killed eight Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers and wounded six others in northern Iraq on Friday in what appeared to be a “friendly fire” incident, Kurdish officials said.

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator cancelled on Friday a trip to a conference in Germany where U.N. officials had hoped talks with European policy makers would secure a “time out” in a row over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.