Eurasia Press & News

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in a phone contact with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari on Friday called for an immediate stop of the United States’ adventurism and illegal measures in Iraq.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he was decisive to develop Iran’s ties with Latin American states during his visits to Venezuela, Nicaragua and Ecuador.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- A second Chinese oil company is close to signing a memorandum of understanding to invest $3.6 billion in an Iranian gas field amid US pressure for Beijing to scrap another similar deal.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday said Islamabad valued its relationship with Iran, and emphasized strengthening the existing affinity between the two countries by expanding economic ties.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- In the early hours of Thursday morning, US forces raided the Iranian consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, detaining at least five employees. The arrests were clearly aimed at reinforcing the bellicose message contained in President Bush’s speech.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) — US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington would hold Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri Maliki to his promises to reduce sectarian violence and that it was now time to see results.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President George W. Bush on Saturday challenged lawmakers sceptical of his new Iraq plan to propose their own strategy for stopping the violence in Baghdad.

RAMALLAH (AP) — Significant progress has been made in secret coalition talks between the supreme Hamas leader and envoys of moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, officials from both sides said Saturday, signalling a sudden shift in atmosphere after several weeks of deadly internal fighting.

CARACAS (AFP) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is locked in a tense standoff with the United States, arrived Saturday in Venezuela for talks with his ideological “brother,” President Hugo Chavez.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Iraqi Vice President Tariq Hashemi said his fellow Sunni Arabs account for the majority of the thousands of Iraqis killed last year and are the victims of ethnic “cleansing” by gunmen driving them from Baghdad.