As of Friday, May 9, 2008, at least 427 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures May 3 at 10 a.m. EDT.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani called on the international community to take up a fair approach towards Iran’s nuclear issue and create a more conducive climate for Iran to give reassurances on its nuclear program.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran blasted NATO on Wednesday for being “indifferent” towards Afghanistan’s growing drugs problem and called on European states to help Tehran fight smuggling of heroin and other narcotics from its eastern neighbor.