TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian oil ministry denied reports Wednesday of a fire on an oil platform in the Persian Gulf, but said that output had been cut while a gas leak on the facility is being tackled. “There was no fire…gas is leaking from some of the pipes into the …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran and Iraq are negotiating a new memorandum of understanding that will substantially increase the number of Iranian pilgrims visiting the country. Iraq’s Tourism and Antiquities Minister Qahtan Abbas is leading the negotiations with a visiting Iranian delegation on a deal that will facilitate travel between the countries, …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Kharg Petrochemical Complex, a major Iranian petrochem producer located in Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, has clocked a total petrochemical production of 1.6 mln tons for the current Iranian year (starting March 20th 2008) up 5% over the same period of 2007. The total sales from petrochemicals …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran criticized Canada for violating the rights of Muslims and other minorities as well as its recent support for Israeli crimes in Gaza Strip. Iran made the move in the fourth summit to review human rights situation in the world which was held in UN European office in …

Serbs from north Kosovo blocked the roads at the border with Serbia on Thursday morning in protest at the European Union reopening two customs points that were burnt down just after Kosovo’s declaration of independence last February. The two border points, known as 1 and 31, were set on fire …

The two presidential candidates viewed as favorites in Macedonia’s March 22 election, both employed as professors at the Skopje law faculty, have not received pay checks for two months, sharing the fate of thousands of Macedonians who are still awaiting late salary payments. According to a report in Macedonian daily …

Serbia’s dinar currency, that has lost 25 percent of its value in the last three months, will soon become stable and the state will keep its floating rate to avoid big wage cuts, Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said. “We expect the dinar to become stable, ” he said in an …

Two months into the mandate of the European Union police and justice mission, officials and legal professionals in Kosovo say they find the EULEX-operated courts stricter, more procedural, but also more professional and effective compared to the judicial authorities run by the United Nations mission . The United Nations mission …

JERUSALEM – The Israeli navy intercepted and boarded a freighter trying to break the blockade of Gaza on Thursday and ordered it to make for Israel’s nearest Mediterranean port, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said. “The navy boarded the vessel, stopped it and it is now bringing it to Ashdod,” Barak …

BISHKEK  – Kyrgyzstan’s parliament will vote next week on whether to shut a U.S. air base, an important staging post for U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan, Kyrgyz officials said on Thursday. Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced closure of the Manas base in Moscow on Tuesday after securing financial aid from …