Eurasia Press & News

TEHRAN (FNA) The economic impact of US sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program is unclear and Iran has signed about $20 billion in energy contracts with foreign firms since 2003, said a US audit report.

BAGHDAD – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised Iraq on Tuesday for passing the first in a series of critical laws meant to reconcile warring Iraqis, saying progress was remarkable even though more was needed.

ANKARA/SULAIMANIYA, Iraq – Turkish warplanes attacked Kurdish guerrilla targets in northern Iraq on Tuesday, Turkey’s General Staff said, but there were no reports of casualties or serious damage.

GAZA – Israel killed at least 18 Palestinians, nearly all Hamas militants, in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, in violence the Palestinian Authority said was a “slap in the face” to President George W. Bush’s peace efforts.

TBILISI – Georgia’s opposition vowed on Tuesday to press on with street protests and mount a legal challenge to a presidential election which it says incumbent Mikhail Saakashvili rigged in his favor.

BEIRUT – A car bomb damaged a U.S. diplomatic vehicle in Beirut on Tuesday, killing at least three people and wounding 16, but the U.S. State Department said no Americans were hurt by the blast.

LEBANON – At least three people were killed in an explosion which damaged a U.S. diplomatic car in Beirut on Tuesday and wounded a passenger, security sources said.

KABUL – A commando-style suicide raid on Afghanistan’s top hotel, frequented by foreigners and diplomats, shows a new style of Taliban attack aimed at soft civilian targets, diplomats and analysts said on Tuesday.

KABUL – A commando-style suicide raid on Afghanistan’s top hotel, frequented by foreigners and diplomats, shows a new style of Taliban attack aimed at soft civilian targets, diplomats and analysts said on Tuesday.

BAGHDAD – Iraq’s oil minister said a helicopter from the U.S.-led coalition caused a blaze on Tuesday that shut the major Shuaiba refinery near the southern oil hub of Basra, but an industry official blamed a mortar attack.