UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — New UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday acknowledged that he faced daunting challenges in many crises worldwide, from the Middle East to North Korea, and put troubled Darfur at the top of his list of priorities.

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States said Wednesday it raised concerns with Iraq over the timing and procedures for Saddam Hussein’s execution before he was hanged, but insisted the former dictator got justice.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, stressing his country’s nuclear power, said that Iran will soon start nuclear fuel production at an industrial level irrespective of the strong opposition shown by the US president and other world powers.