Eurasia Press & News

GAZA CITY (AP) — Hamas said Saturday it would double the size of its paramilitary force in Gaza, defying President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision to outlaw the unit and raising the stakes in an increasingly bloody power struggle between the two rivals.

BAGHDAD (AP) — In the opening battle of a major new drive to tame the violent capital, the Iraqi army reported it killed 30 gunmen Saturday night in a firefight in a Sunni insurgent stronghold in the centre of the city, just to the north of the heavily fortified Green …

WASHINGTON (AP) — President George W. Bush’s plan to send more troops to Iraq is already running into trouble on Capitol Hill, with Republicans joining Democrats in raising eyebrows before the president even makes his case.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) — Beleaguered Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert faced increased criticism and plummeting polls Friday after returning empty-handed from a summit with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just as debate rages over sending more US troops to Iraq, there are differing views about whether economic incentives such as micro-loans and US-funded jobs programmes would coax fighters to trade guns for tools.

BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki on Saturday threatened to “review” relations with countries which criticised the bungled execution of Saddam Hussein, saying the hanging was an internal matter.

TEHRAN (Reuters) — Iranian reformist parliamentarians on Saturday blamed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government for failing to prevent United Nations sanctions.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- A senior Pakistani lawmaker voiced his country’s support for the construction of Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, stressing that Tehran-Islamabad cordial ties will enter a new phase following the endorsement of the pipeline construction contract.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- A former senior Iranian nuclear negotiator stressed the need for the two parties in Iran’s nuclear standoff to harness the present crisis.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Chinese Ambassador to Tehran underlined the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear activities, and further stressed that the Islamic Republic has always been opposed to the proliferation of nuclear arms.