TEHRAN (FNA)- The tradition of playing a musical instrument called the karna has long been practiced in the northern region of Gilan Province during the month of Muharram and on the day of Ashura (the day when Imam Hossein (AS) and his seventy-two companions were martyred on 10th of Muharram). …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran once again reiterated the need for continued international and regional diplomatic efforts to remove the offensive and siege against Palestinians in Gaza. During the last week, over a dozen senior Iranian diplomats were dispatched to various world countries to invite them to push for the said two …

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iranian politician described proposals put forward by Middle Eastern and European states to end the Gaza conflict as “honey injected with poison” that would not protect Palestinian rights. Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, a major figure in the Islamic Republic, was apparently referring to ideas put …

The impact of the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute on the Balkans reached crisis point on Thursday, leaving hundreds of thousands without heating and forcing businesses to cut production or shut down altogether. Many Balkan countries have no alternative routes and rely almost entirely on Russian gas, which stopped flowing completely on …

Albania will officially apply for EU candidate status in the coming months, Prime Minister Sali Berisha said on Thursday. The announcement came during a meeting with the Czech Ambassador in Tirana on the occasion of the Czech Republic assuming the six-month rotating presidency of the EU in January. Stressing his …

Serbia clinched a deal with Hungary on Thursday to buy gas from the reserves of its northern neighbour, averting at the eleventh hour a heating crisis sparked by the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute. Local media quoted the cabinet of Serbian President Boris Tadic as saying said Tadic struck the deal with …

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, ended its mission to Albania on Thursday after monitoring its economy for 17 years, its departure criticised as premature by economic experts and the opposition. Prime Minister Sali Berisha described the end of the IMF mission as the end of post-communist transition for the Albania’s …

Germany’s Doris Pack said the European Union should put pressure on Serbia to normalise its relations with Pristina or risk a continuation of the inter-ethnic violence in north Kosovo. Belgrade has vowed to never recognise the declaration of independence by its former province and is keeping a firm hold on …

A group of hackers from Kosovo defaced the website of Serbia’s ministry of energy on Thursday in a payback strike for a similar intervention on the website of Kosovo’s energy ministry by Serb hackers earlier this week. “United States of Albania” and “Don’t play if you don’t know the game”, …

Judge Viorel Andreies was elected the new president of a key body guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary in Romania, the Superior Council of Magistracy, CSM. The European Union, which Romania joined in January 2007, has urged Bucharest to continue reforms in the justice system – plagued by delays in …