Palestinian intelligence chief seriously wounded in blast as Abbas announces dialogue with Hamas  Agencies   AN ISRAELI AIR strike in Gaza killed four Palestinians, including a top Islamic Jihad fighter, on Saturday, prompting calls of revenge by the armed group to continue targeting Israel in rocket attacks.

  الامريكي‌         ¼br />   ………………………………….                   ¼br /> ط‌هران‌/  9  ايار /  مايو/  ارنا                         ¼br />   وجه‌ رئيس‌ الجمهوريه‌ الاسلاميه‌ الايرانيه‌ محمود احمدي‌ نجاد …

The following is the full text of Ahmadinejad’s letter to George Bush:  “In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, Mr George Bush, President of the United States of America, For sometime now I have been thinking, how one can justify the undeniable contradictions that exist in the international …

TRIPOLI (AP) — Oil-rich Venezuela’s anti-American president, recently slapped with a US arms embargo, was given a warm welcome to the Libyan capital Wednesday by Col. Muammar Qadhafi, whose authoritarian regime was only just removed from Washington’s list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

DAMASCUS (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister warned against a possible “escalation of the crisis in the region” as he arrived in Damascus on Thursday to discuss his country’s nuclear programme and the situation in Iraq with the Syrian president.

TEHRAN (Reuters) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday derided foes of Iran’s nuclear work as mentally disturbed, ignoring a fresh plea by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan for all sides in the dispute to calm their rhetoric. Pursuing a diplomatic effort, European nations want to offer Iran security guarantees …

ROME (AP) — Premier Romano Prodi said Thursday the war in Iraq was a grave mistake but that Italy would remain on the front lines in the war against terror.

BEIRUT  — The UN Security Council’s call for Syria to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon was expected to stiffen Damascus’ resolve against formal links to its tiny neighbour, a move it has steadfastly rejected for six decades. Three factors, at least, are at work against Syria heeding the UN resolution …

BRUSSELS (Reuters) — Donors and financial institutions will meet in Brussels next week to try to flesh out a temporary aid mechanism for Palestinians, still split over its scope and how it should work, diplomats said on Thursday. Donors suspended direct aid to the Palestinian Authority after Islamist group Hamas, …

GAZA CITY (AP) — Security forces loyal to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and a new army run by the Hamas-led government paraded through the streets with assault rifles and stared each other down Thursday, competing for control of the Gaza Strip.