RAMALLAH, Nov. 7 – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denied on Friday that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is holding political prisoners in its prisons, contrary to what Islamic Hamas movement claims.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – A senior Iraqi official on Thursday explicitly backed U.S. President-elect Barack Obama’s plans to withdraw combat troops from the country by mid-2010, Baghdad’s clearest endorsement yet of Obama’s exit strategy.

LARNACA, Cyprus (Reuters) – Eleven European politicians sailed to Gaza from Cyprus Friday after saying attempts to get to the Palestinian territory via Egypt failed.