The speaker of the lower house of Afghanistan‘s parliament defended his country’s newly passed amnesty bill on Monday, saying it was misinterpreted in the West. “Unfortunately certain elements have embarked on propaganda against it,” Mohammad Yunus Qanooni told reporters after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer …

A prominent Iranian MP described Bushehr nuclear power plant as a symbol of Iran-Russia cooperation, warning that any delay in the construction and launch of operation of the plant serves the interests of those opposing expansion of Tehran-Moscow ties.

Iranian Judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi stressed that Iraq is in need of an Islamic coalition which could stretch a protection umbrella over the heads of all Iraqi groups and forces.