RAMALLAH – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged Hamas Islamists on Monday to agree to early elections and to open a “new page” by ceding control of the Gaza Strip and holding reconciliation talks with his Fatah faction.

GAZA – Hamas and Fatah fighters waged gun battles in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday that raised to seven the number of people killed in the deadliest clashes between the rival Palestinian factions in months.

ISMAILIA, Egypt – Israel has agreed to allow 550 Palestinians who have been stranded in Egypt for roughly four months to cross into the Gaza Strip on Tuesday via the Jewish state, Egyptian security and border sources said.

KARACHI – Pakistan’s share market tumbled for a second straight day on Tuesday as investors waited for a clearer picture to emerge of the country’s political crisis.

WASHINGTON – The United States expressed concern on Monday about any indefinite postponement of elections in Pakistan after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and encouraged Islamabad to go ahead with the vote.

JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has barred new construction work, building planning and occupancy tenders at West Bank settlements without his approval, documents show.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency) Presidents of Iran and Comoros in a phone conversation on Tuesday stressed development of mutual relations.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency) Iran said it hoped Palestinian issue would be resolved through the implementation of a Tehran plan which calls for the restoration of Palestinians’ rights.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency) Iran’s former nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani termed Iran-Egypt relations as progressive, saying that both sides are active to boost cooperation in different grounds.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency) Iran’s gas sales to Turkey reduced following the spread of a freezing cold weather across the country and a subsequent cut in Iran’s imports from Turkmenistan, an informed source said.